I have an ipaq h22xx. Only complaint I have about it is that I don't  
  
like the directional thumbpad, as it's difficult to scroll correctly  
  
when reading a long, multi-page pdf.  
  
Is there any other compelling reason in the new devices to consider one  
  
of them or should I stay with the h22xx?  
  
Thanks.

Werner Ruotsalainen [MS MVP - Mobile Devices] wrote:  
  
Hi, thanks. I tried that. The trouble is that the keys are recessed.  
  
They're OK to start an application but they're a pain to scroll through  
  
reading.  
  
How does a VGA one work for reading? is the text too tiny? Which one  
  
would you recommend that would have a good screen (VGA or without VGA),  
  
be relatively inexpensive, has a good scrolling set of buttons, and  
  
replaceable batteries?  
  
Thanks.

The h2210 is an overall pretty nice and quick device. Much as I have several  
  
newer devices (including the latest x51v and HTC Wizard), I still use it on  
  
a daily basis (while I only take out my old iPAQ 3660 for  
  
compatibility/program testing purposes), mostly for audio recording.  
  
Nevertheless, if you need a better screen (the 2210 has a really washed-out  
  
one), built-in Wi-Fi/GPS, VGA etc., it's worth considering a newer one. If  
  
you don't need any of these advanced stuff, the 2210 is still a very good  
  
(and still up to date - all new apps are compatible with the 2210)  
  
alternative.  
  
The D-pad in the h2210 is indeed pretty bad. If your particular PDF reader  
  
application supports key remapping, try mapping "down" to one of the four  
  
hardware keys.  
  
"casioculture" <casioculture@gmail.com> wrote in message  
  
news:1141593434.882724.270050@e56g2000cwe.googlegroups.com...

Nope. With VGA, characters may be far more crisp (the device has 4 times  
  
more pixels to render a pixel) - and, if you choose so, you may decrease  
  
their size so that more text can be rendered on one page.  
  
Good screen and being cheap don't generally walk hand in hand. Speaking of  
  
only VGA devices (I'd recommend a VGA device if you really want to read a  
  
lot on your PDA), the x50v/x51v (by far the cheapest VGA Pocket PC's in the  
  
States) have a screen that is, to put it mildly,  not the best in Landscape  
  
mode (in Portrait, however, they're as good as those of the much more  
  
expensive alternatives); see  
  
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&p=578&more=1 for more info  
  
/ user opinions on this. Also note that the first two links in the  
  
"Recommended reading" section,  
  
http://pocketpcmag.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=21118 and  
  
http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=36377 , discuss  
  
exactly this question (VGA PDA's as book readers).  
  
Of course, you may not necessarily dislike the x50v/x51v - give them a try  
  
to see whether they are good enough. Also, if you don't plan to use them in  
  
Landscape mode at all, they're (now) the best buy.  
  
Otherwise (frequent Landscape use), I'd go for either a (second-hand) iPAQ  
  
hx4700 or a Pocket Loox 718/720 if I wanted to have a VGA device that offers  
  
excellent Landscape readability. They are, however, considerably more  
  
expensive than the x50v/x51v.