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Used PDA Phones: Advantages And Disadvantages of Buying Used
PDA phones have been on the market for several years, but have only recently risen to a position of preeminence. Whether this trend is due to Apple’s superlative iPhone, or just an inevitable function of time, the result is that the market for used PDA phones is expanding by the day in volume and in scope. As with any purchasing decision, there advantages and disadvantages to be weighed. It is also important to understand how some of those advantages and disadvantages are actually likely to increase or wane over time.
The primary advantage that all PDA phones have had over regular phone is the abundance of features as well allow users a more effective method of interaction than just pressing a dozen or so buttons. The same holds true for used PDA phones as well; the most dramatic innovation in terms of user interface for PDA phones came with Apple’s iPhone and its integral multi-touch technology. If one is not very concerned about multi-touch user interface technology, then it is certainly possible to find used PDA phones that offer input functionality that is substantially greater than that of a normal mobile phone. Of course, there are used iPhones on the market and they would also qualify as used PDA phones in the minds of many consumers and retailers despite officially being referred to as a smartphone.
These enhanced user interface features come not only in the form of keyboards and telescoping styluses, but also with software designed to take advantage of such hardware. After all, what good is a fold out QWERTY style keyboard that allows users to quickly to type out emails or enter web addresses without a mail program and a web browser?
The wealth of programs that have grown up around these input technologies may be a blessing or a curse for used PDA phones and new phones alike. While it is great to have a wealth of useful features in a convenient package, it unlikely that many of these software applications will stand the test of time. The problem is that some tasks such as web surfing were meant for desktop and laptop PCs which do not share the power and thermal design limitations of any PDA phone, must less older, used PDA phones. As a result, developers writing applications for new and used PDA phones work with very modest hardware requirements and often have to sacrifice features and/or speed to end up with software that are barely capable of getting the job done for today. That lackluster performance is likely to degrade as new features become the standard in everything from web sites to the ubiquitous Microsoft Word document.
While older hardware found on used PDA phones cannot hope to keep up with the ongoing evolution of modern software, there is a plus side: the technology is tried and there are user reviews. Whenever a new PDA phone hits the market, it is always a bit of a gamble. Will this platform take off? Will the manufacturer stop supporting it after 6 months only to introduce a slightly upgraded version? Will it be reliable? These are all questions consumers contemplating the purchase of used PDA phones can simply look up the answers to online. Are there ongoing software developments, or does the product simply seem dead? How did it rate in the eyes of reviewers, but more importantly consumers and consumer advocacy groups?
The reason one should be wary of any review site or publication is that they sell advertising space. Even if the advertiser does not have a vested interest in Brand Alpha versus Brand Omega, they defiantly have a vested interested in selling their aftermarket product. Statistically readers don’t buy products when magazines spend paragraph after paragraph focusing on products and their shortcomings. All products have shortcomings, and they are easy to find, but most publications cannot sell advertising space without trying to keep things upbeat. Sticking with consumer reviews may be a better avenue, but always google any consumer review paragraph by paragraph. Is it repeated on a dozen different web sites? If so, it might be a viral advertising campaign at work and not trustworthy. The bottom line is that knowing what one is getting into is much easier with used PDA phones than with new PDA phones.
The downside to that very knowledge may sometimes be that end of the road has already been reached, or will soon come. This may not be an entirely bad thing if one’s needs are modest and unlikely to evolve. If the used PDA phone can handle a calendar application and that is its primary function other than that of a mobile phone, then it may not be so bad unless or until one is eventually forced to update their desktop software to a version that is no longer compatible with that of the used PDA phone.
Price is always the biggest advantage, but it can also be a disadvantage. Obviously used PDA phones cost less than new phones, often by a fairly high margin. Still, could that money have been saved or held on to longer to buy a more modern used PDA phone, or a new PDA phone perhaps? This may seem like buyer’s remorse, but it is actually prudent shopping, and that is the reason one is considering used PDA phones to begin with, is it not?
The final pair of potential disadvantages one should be mindful of when shopping for used PDA phones are: replacement parts and carrier lock-ins.
Finding replacement parts of used PDA phones, such as chargers, batteries, styluses and so on, can be time consuming and quite expensive. What seems like a great deal on a used PDA phone today might quickly turn out to be a horrible idea when one discovers that the battery only holds a 12 minute charge and new batteries are nearly impossible to track down. Add to this the fact that some used PDA phones are locked into specific wireless carriers, denying one the freedom of choice
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