Newbie - Dell Axim X51 520Mhz

[flipperman]

Hello all,
Just ordered the above for my Daughter for a criggy present. She's a nq teacher & has been dropping the hint that a pocket pc/pda? would be very handy for her job. I've ordered it as it comes basically because I didn't know what other bits n bobs she'd need to go with it & they also look expensive on the Dell site compared to other places, including here! So thats the first of my questions, what else do I need to buy? SD card/Compact flash, cables/connectors etc. She has said that other teachers make powerpoint presentations on their laptops at home, store them to a card & then couple them to a projector to display them in class, can this be done? As a stand-alone unit will it connect to the internet & receive/send mail or do I need other kit, she does already have wireless internet access but would she be able to use the kit outdoors if a signal is available without other gizmo's. I'm totally clueless with pocket pc/pda, haven't even seen one nevermind used one so please don't get too technical on me. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

[getsurfers]

Sounds like a laptop would be a better choice based on what you've said.

Mem card would be needed, personally 512mb or 1gb are pretty cheap.
You can view powerpoint presentations using the mobile viewer, not create them. You also couldn't play presentations directly from the PDA to a projector.
If the device support wi-fi, then no other equipment is needed to surf wirelessly providing you have a wireless router/accesspoint to use at home. Just because there may be other peoples round your house, this does not mean that you can use them freely.

[flipperman]

Thanks 'getsurfers', understand that pp presentations cannot be created with a pda, she already has a laptop so she would be creating them on that. She travels some distance to work by public transport so the ease of carrying a pda would be much preferred to lugging her laptop about (its a 17" w/s desktop replacement..heavy), they also attract attention like bees around a honeypot in class so she doesn't like to take it to work. Regarding cards, is it best to go for SD rather than CF. Can a PDA not be connected to a projector via a specific for purpose cable of any description? Sorry if my initial post confused you!

[flipperman]

BTW I'm well aware of the situation with internet access, she pays for what she uses. I know of the contraversy over freeloading signal usage from others via wireless signals.

[getsurfers]

Originally Posted by flipperman

is it best to go for SD rather than CF.

Go for SD.

Originally Posted by flipperman

Can a PDA not be connected to a projector via a specific for purpose cable of any description?

Not easily and cheaply. The solutions I've found are as expensive as the PDA it'self, making a laptop a better option.

[flipperman]

Thanks again, I'll have to talk to her re projection, could be that the school has the cable(s). On the subject of cables which do I need to connect the pda to a laptop & can files be sent via that cable rather than by card or am I confusing the issue?

[getsurfers]

The device *should* come with everything you need to connect to a laptop and transfer files using a sync program call activesync (comes with the device, or free from the microsoft site).