looking for a cheap palm

[Timberline Echoes]

We decided to get a GPSr for our friend (DQ Donna) for her b-day so she can go caching instead of just finding them with our hints. She is not hooked up to the net but she won’t be doing a ton of caches as she works full time, has a handicapped adult daughter (Aunty Amber) and her DH will be getting a lung transplant soon… so we will download the waypoints in for her. Now we are figuring the best way to give her the info… either print out a few for her at a time… or invest in a palm.

We have a handful of her friends and relatives that are chipping in for the GPSr but not sure if there will be enough to get a palm unless we can get a used one at a reduced price.

So if anyone knows of one please let us know.

Thanks,
Jim and Cathy

[Lostby7]

I have one I can send you…..assuming Bec says it’s OK.

[greyhounder]

Sure! Just talk to one of us about it — it has some quirks, but is usable.

Bec

[CinemaBoxers]

Wow… we’ve been looking for a cheap one as well. Looked on eBay, and have bought there before – but so many of the listings have way too much ‘fine print’.

Please do spread the word if anyone knows where to find one reasonably. (Hubby doesnt want one – I do! LOL)

[greyhounder]

ebay is really the cheapest place to get one — or occasionally in this section.

Bec

[czernicachers]

I may have an old one sitting in my basement, I will search this weekend.

[Team Deejay]

I picked up my first Palm on Ebay for $8, and it worked fine for a while. Eventually the unit failed, however, and I decided to buy a new one from Palm for $90. I think Ebay is a good option if you aren’t sure you will use it, but the cost of a new one is low enough that its probably worth the expenditure if you are sure you will use the unit.

[bluesquirtles]

Hey Paula,
I might have one for you…. its old but if you want it just for caching it should do. I will search it out if you want a go of it. Let me know.

Sheryl

[rush-2112]

We are looking for a cheapie also…The only real requirement is that it still loads from my PC via usb cable… other then that if it works all the better…lol

Ted & Jenni
AKA Rush-2112

[Coastiegirl04]

I bought the one i have on Ebay, and with buying it on ebay cheap and used.. i don’t have to worry about if i scratch it or something verses if i bought it new then that would suck..

[NSLP1]

Ebay is generally your best bet for cheap palms. I would recommend the m500 series or higher, because of the SD slot capability for additional storage.

Also note that if you get one with a poor battery, you can get replacements, (ebay also has those) and they are easy to replace. I replaced 3 or 4 of them for the units I had bought for resale at my paperless training last year.

[Team Deejay]

@rush-2112 wrote:

We are looking for a cheapie also…The only real requirement is that it still loads from my PC via usb cable… other then that if it works all the better…lol

The REALLY cheap ones (under $20) are usually serial, rather than USB. The M-500 that I had was a serial unit. If you have to have USB, you are probably looking at something produced in the last 5 years.

[CinemaBoxers]

My computer doesnt even have a serial port… LOL

[NSLP1]

I believe all the m500 series Palms I bought from e-bay last year had USB cradles.

The original cradle for my personal m500 bought from Palm several years ago “may” have had a serial cradle, but I had since bought a usb sync cable for it (with car charger) which works great, and is easier to use with the hardshell case.

It isn’t the Palm that is usb/serial it is the cradle or cable that determines it. I think I still have a couple cradles (though without power supplies) if someone is interested. without the power supply it will sync, but it wont charge. I would think the power supplies are the same between serial and usb cradles for the same model palms.

[Team Deejay]

Oops, I slipped a digit there. Mike is correct about the M500. The unit I had was an M100, which only had a serial cradle available. (It also ran on AAA batteries, so your car charger comment tipped me off.) M100s can be had for around $10. I would expect to pay more like $25 for an M500.

By the way, I don’t know anyone who tried paperless who went back to printing out cache sheets. I bought the M100 because I wasn’t sure if I would use a Palm. Once I determined that I was “paperless to stay”, the $ commitment for a new Palm (around $100 with a hardshell case, including shipping) was easy to make when my M100 gave up the ghost.

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