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University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus
Health Sciences Library

PDA Guide

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Introduction

The PDA Guide provides links to resources for the handheld users of the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center.  While most web sites featured here are accessible to anyone, the PDA Guide also includes links to several proprietary databases available only to primary affiliated students, staff and faculty of the Health Sciences Center and the University of Colorado Hospital. These restricted resources are noted as HSC/UCH and the user must log in with his/her name and institutional ID for off-campus access.  If you have any questions about this page, please contact Lilian Hoffecker (lilian.hoffecker@uchsc.edu, 303-724-2124).

NOTE:  Devices with the Palm Operating System and WiFi capabilities (e.g., Palm TX, LifeDrive, Tungsten series) cannot connect to the campus Guest wireless network [updated 3/7/08].
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Basics

Cases.com  PDA cases.
[Shopping]
CNET Handheld Reviews  
[Shopping]
CNET Handhelds Buying Guide  
[Shopping]
CNET's Quick Guide to Operating Systems  Palm, PPC, Blackberry, Symbian, Windows Mobile
How to Buy a PDA  Compares Blackberry, Palm and Windows Mobile.
[Shopping]
Mobile Tech Review  
[Shopping]
PalmGear Knowledge Base  Updated 2004.
PDA Accessories  from PDAAccessories.net
[Shopping]
PDA Compare  From Dave's PDA.com. Select models and create customized tables to compare specs.
PDA Glossary  from Handango.
Rhinoskin PDA Cases  
[Shopping]
Security FAQs for Mobile Devices  from UCHSC/UCH ITS.
[Security]
Stylus Central  PDA styluses.
[Shopping]
WiFi Networking for your PDA  Mobile Tech Review, 2003(?)
[WiFi]
ZDNet  
[Shopping]
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Stand - Alone PDAs

It's hard to find PDAs that are not also phones.  Here are among the few remaining models that do not include the cell phone component, but have the memory, processor speed, and wi-fi capabilities that most health care professionals need. 
HP hx2495  $399.99 retail. Windows Mobile 5. Review from CNET .
HP hx2795 - refurbished  $399 - refurbished. Windows Mobile 5. Review from CNET .
HP iPAQ 110/111   $299.99 retail Windows Mobile 6.  Review from Brighthand.
[new]
HP iPAQ 210  $449 retail.  Windows Mobile 6 . "First thoughts" Sept 9 2007, from Brighthand.
[new]
Palm T/X  $299 retail. Palm. Review from Mobile Tech Review .
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Recommended Health Resources

Widely recommended clinical resources, including drug references, point-of-care tools, and practice guidelines for medicine, dentistry, nursing and pharmacy.
DynaMed  UCD-AMC only. Evidence-based, clinical point of care tool.  Palm, PocketPC (Windows Mobile), Windows Smartphone, and Blackberry. Web-based version for the iPhone.  Follow these instructions for download and installation which includes requesting a serial number from dynamedsupport@ebscohost.com (make sure you use your campus email address) and registering for an account with Skyscape, Dynamed's partner for the PDA version.
[new]
Epocrates Rx  Drug database with medical calculator. Palm, PocketPC/Windows Mobile, Blackberry, and Online. Go here for Installation instructions.  For more information, see also Epocrates Essentials Journal of  Family  Practice, and The Perils of PDAs correspondence from J. Copeland in The Canadian Journal of Medicine .
[Drug Reference]
Essential Evidence Plus (aka InfoRetriever)  UCD-AMC only. (Build 071214 January 1, 2008) Evidence-based family medicine. Palm, PocketPC, and Windows PC. Make sure you register in order to be able to access the  full version not just the 30 day trial. See registration instructions .  Off campus access to library resources including Essential Evidence Plus - log in with name and institutional ID (student or employee ID).   Please Note:  New users will need an Essential Evidence Plus User-Name and Password to install the application   Please contact Lilian Hoffecker 303-724-2124 for more information.  See installation instructions and registration instructions for more details.  See also information on Windows Vista.
[Point-of-Care]
FirstConsult  UCD-AMC only. An evidence-based clinical information tool. Windows only, no Mac version. Palm and PocketPC. Click on First Consult in upper left then Download First Consult On Pocket Consult on the right side.  Off campus access - log in with name and institutional ID. Use Internet Explorer (not Firefox or other browsers) during installation. See the End User Guide (PDF) for detailed installation instructions.
[Point-of-Care]
Shots 2008  2008 immunization schedule. Palm, PocketPC and Online.
[Pediatrics and Nursing]
Skyscape UCD-AMC Portal  25% discount on eBooks for UCD-AMC students staff and faculty. Select from the Recommended titles or any e-book from the entire catalogue of over 300 titles.  Many different platforms including Blackberry and Symbian.
[eBooks]
Thomson Clinical Expert (formerly mobileMicromedex)  UCD-AMC only. Handheld version of Micromedex. Click on Handheld PDA tab. Windows only. Installation instructions (PDF). No Mac version. Palm and PocketPC. Clinical Expert is NOT compatible with Treo Windows models (700w). To access the site from off campus or from a library workstation, log in with your name and institutional ID number.

Notes for Clinical Expert:
PocketPC: Cannot install to memory card.
Palm: For memory card installation, install to main memory initially then move to the card by tapping the upper left corner on the opening screen and selecting Move Data from the drop-down menu.
[Drug Reference and Point-of-Care]
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More Health Resources

5 Minute Clinical Consult for Dental Professionals  Commercial. 25% discount from Skyscape. (Click on Browse All Subject on the left > Dentistry). Palm and PocketPC.
[Dentistry]
AACN's PDA Center  Commercial. Many ebooks and applications from the American Association of Critical Care Nursing. Palm and PocketPC.
[Nursing Software Site]
Bioterrorism Decision Support Tool - American College of Physicians.  Smallpox, inhalation anthrax, cutaneous anthrax, and chemical terrorism. Palm.
Bioterrorism Documents - American College of Physicians.  Guide to Chemical Terrorism Identification, Quick Facts about Plague, and others. Mainly Palm Pocket PC users must use the iSilo or PalmReader document readers. 
C-Tools 2.0  American Cancer Society's PDA tool for cancer screening.  Palm and Pocket PC/Windows.
CDT-4 Code Module  Commercial. Must have EDentistry Reader. Palm.
[Dentistry]
Clinical Practice Guidelines for Handheld Computers (National Guideline Clearinghouse)  Jumpsite of the Agency for Health Research & Quality for PDA practice guidelines. Offers many guidelines from six associations including for example, the American Heart Association and the Centers for Disease Control. Palm and Pocket PC.
[Practice Guidelines]
Clinical References - American College of Physicians  Various topics including Commonly Used ICD-9 Codes, DSM-IV Criteria for Major Depressive Episode, Normal Lab Values from MKSAP 12, and others. Mainly Palm Pocket PC users must use the iSilo or PalmReader document readers.
Dental Materials 1.0, Dental Records 2.0, and Orthodontics 3.0  Database for keeping track of dental materials, database for keeping track of patients, and a database for orthodontists. Palm.
[Dentistry]
Diabetes Software  Mostly commercial. Various applications for diabetes patients. Platform varies but includes Palm, Pocket PC and cell phone operating systems.
Diagnosaurus  Differential diagnosis tool. Palm, (Windows and Mac) and Pocket PC (Windows only).
[Point-of-Care]
FirstConsult  UCD-AMC only. An evidence-based clinical information tool. Windows only, no Mac version. Palm and PocketPC. Click on First Consult in upper left then Download First Consult On Pocket Consult on the right side.  Off campus access - log in with name and institutional ID. Use Internet Explorer (not Firefox or other browsers) during installation. See the End User Guide (PDF) for detailed installation instructions.
[Point-of-Care]
Glucose One  Tracking glucose and carbohydrate intake. Palm.
Glycemic Index Meal Planner  Commercial. Calculates glycemic index and glycemic load. Palm and Pocket PC.
JournalToGo  Get abstracts and news from health sciences publications. Palm and Pocket PC.
MedCalc  Medical calculator with formulas and scores from "Absolute Neutrophil Count" to "Winters' Formula." Palm.
Medical eBooks - Skyscape  Discounted e-books from Skyscape.
[eBooks]
mobile MerckMedicus  Merck Manual and other resources. Wired and wireless versions. Must register with Merck. Palm and Pocket PC. Windows PC only, no Mac version.
[Point-of-Care]
NCLEX, and Other Nursing eBooks  Commercial. 25% discount from Skyscape. (Search NCLEX). Including Lippincott's Review for NCLEX-RN, Frye's 3000 Nursing Bullets for NCLEX-RN, and Davis's NCLEX-RN Success. Palm and PocketPC.
[Nursing]
Nursing eBooks - Skyscape  Discounted e-books from Skyscape.
[eBooks]
Patient Tracker  Charting application for patient information. Palm and Pocket PC.
PDA Resources for Evidence Based Medicine  The Health Sciences Library's list of EBM resources. Both Free and Commercial. Palm and Pocket PC.
PDR.net  Get Thompson Clinical Expert free with registration.
[Drug Reference]
Pediatric Nursing  Commercial. Various applications from Pediatrics-on-Hand. Palm and PocketPC.
[Nursing]
PEPID  Commercial. Reference documents for clinical decision support in the areas of emergency medicine, primary care, clinical nursing and more. Sold by subscription. Palm and Pocket PC.
[Point-of-Care]
PIER PDA - American College of Physicians.  Commercial with 25% discount from Skyscape. Palm and Pocket PC. PIER web is free to ACP members.
[ACP]
Pocket Guidelines  From the American College of Cardiology. Palm and Pocket PC.
[Practice Guidelines]
Shots 2008  2008 immunization schedule. Palm, PocketPC and Online.
[Pediatrics and Nursing]
Tarascon Pocket Pharmacopoeia  Commercial. Palm, PocketPC, and Print. (See "Evaluation of drug information databases for personal digital assistants" in the Am J Hlth-Syst Pharm, 2004, 61(10):1015-11024.)
[Drug Reference]
WISER  Wireless Information System for Emergency Responders. "...a system designed to assist first responders in hazardous material incidents." Palm, PocketPC, and Windows PC.
[Point-of-Care]
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WiFi and Sync'ing

WiFi Free Spot  Find free WiFi hotspots in public libraries, airports, coffee shops, stores, and restaurants.
[recommended, WiFi Hot Spots]
16th Street Mall  
[WiFi Hot Spots]
ActiveSync 3.8  Palm and PocketPC/WindowsMobile 2003. Syncs with Windows XP.
[Synchronization]
ActiveSync 4.5  Windows Mobile 5.0. Syncs with Windows XP.
[Synchronization]
Apple Retail Stores  
[WiFi Hot Spots]
Arapahoe Library District  
[WiFi Hot Spots]
Aurora Public Library  
[WiFi Hot Spots]
Cherry Creek North Shopping - Fillmore Plaza  
[WiFi Hot Spots]
Colorado Springs Airport  
[WiFi Hot Spots]
Dazbog Coffeehouses  
[WiFi Hot Spots]
Denver Public Library - Central Branch  
[WiFi Hot Spots]
Monkey Bean  
[WiFi Hot Spots]
Panera Bread  
[WiFi Hot Spots]
WindowsMobile Device Center  Syncs with Windows Vista.
[Synchronization]
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Software

Utilities, references, software sites and other resources.
AACN's PDA Center  Commercial. Many ebooks and applications from the American Association of Critical Care Nursing. Palm and PocketPC.
[Nursing Software Site]
Acrobat Reader PDA Version  Palm and PocketPC.
[Document Reader]
AvantGo  Use this application to subscribe to hundreds of news and information services including CNN, AccuWeather, and Denison Update. Palm and PocketPC/WindowsMobile.
[News]
BDicty/Beiks  Commercial. Dictionaries for English, other languages, and medical. Palm, PocketPC/WindowsMobile and Smartphones.
[Reference]
Best Pocket PC Freeware  A list of the "best" according to Best Tools for the Job. PocketPC/WindowsMobile.
[Software Site]
Destaller Lite  Uninstaller for Palm. Click on Download Free Lite Version on the right. Palm.
[Utilities]
Doctors Gadgets  
[Software Site]
Documents To Go  Commercial. Palm and Symbian.
[Document Reader]
eBook Primer, Memoware  Excellent explanation of eBook and text file formats for the PDA.
[eBooks]
FileZ  Great file management software, especially for deleting applications (i.e., uninstalling). Palm.
[Utilities]
HandheldMed  medical ebooks for Mobipocket.
[eBooks]
Handmark  
[Software Site]
Healthy Palm Pilot  
[Software Site]
iSilo  30 day trial. Palm, PocketPC and other platforms.
[Document Reader]
Medical eBooks - Skyscape  Discounted e-books from Skyscape.
[eBooks]
Medical iSilo Depot  Freeware, shareware, trials. iSilo.
[eBooks]
Medical Pocket PC  
[Software Site]
Memoware  Freeware, shareware, trials. Includes different document types including Doc, iSilo, Mobipocket, and others.
[eBooks]
MobiReader Standard  Palm, PocketPC, and other platforms.
[Document Reader]
Nursing eBooks - Skyscape  Discounted e-books from Skyscape.
[eBooks]
PDA Cortex  
[Software Site]
PDA TopSoft  
[Software Site]
Pediatrics On Hand  
[Pediatric Software Site]
PocketPC Freeware  Great source for FREE Pocket PC and Windows Mobile applications [posted July 24, 2007].
[Software Site]
RoboForm  Password manager for internet browsers (free), and PDAs. Posted June 12, 2007.
[Security]
Skyscape UCD-AMC Portal  25% discount on eBooks for UCD-AMC students staff and faculty. Select from the Recommended titles or any e-book from the entire catalogue of over 300 titles.  Many different platforms including Blackberry and Symbian.
[eBooks]
SplashID  Commercial. Manage your passwords. Palm, PocketPC/WindowsMobile, Symbian, Blackberry.
[Security]
Tucows  
[Software Site]
Unbound Medicine  Medical eBooks.
[eBooks]
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Hardware

Information on different PDA manufacturers and models.
Axim Drivers and Downloads  
[Dell Axim]
Axim User Guides  from Dell.
[Dell Axim]
AximSite  Resources, forums, tutorials. Devoted to the Dell Axim.
[Dell Axim]
HP iPAQ  Order from Hewlett Packard.
[HP Ipaq]
HP iPAQ Accessories  from HP.com
[HP Ipaq]
LifeDrive  from the Palm Store.
[Palm]
mytreo.net  News, reviews, knowledge base for Treo users.
[Palm Treo]
Palm Handhelds  from the Palm Store.
[Palm]
Palm Owner Resources  
[Palm]
Palm Treo  Order from Palm. Models include Treo 650, Treo 680, 700p, 700w, 700wx
[Palm Treo]
Repairs and Parts for Dell Axim 51/51v  from PDASmart.com.
[Dell Axim]
Treonauts  Everything Treo.
[Palm Treo]
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Articles and Other Information

Palm Tips  From the HSC Library, Spring 2007.
[recommended]
Pocket PC Tips  From the HSC Library, Spring 2007.
[recommended]
"Palm reading" 1: Hardware (2002)  Canadian Journal of Medicine (See also comments - The Perils of PDAs - hyperlinked at the end.)
"Palm reading" 2: Software (2003)  Canadian Journal of Medicine (See also comments - The Perils of PDAs - hyperlinked at the end.)
Bluetooth, WiFi, Cellular Data - Explained  from Dave's PDA. Excellent explanation of differences in wireless data.
CNET's Quick Guide to Operating Systems  Palm, PPC, Blackberry, Symbian, Windows Mobile
Dalhousie University, Faculty of Medicine Handheld Recommendations  Helps the user decide on Palm vs. PocketPC.
Epocrates essentials: is the expanded product an improvement?  Fox GN. Journal of Family Practice, 2005, 54(1):57.
Evaluation of drug information databases for personal digital assistants  American Journal of Health-Systems Pharmacy, 2004, 61(10):1015-11024.
Gmail for IMAP email  Get IMAP Gmail on your PDA (e.g., Windows Mobile 6).
[new]
Gmail for POP email  Get POP Gmail  on your PDA.
[new]
Mobile Device Operating System - Explained  Dave's PDA Excellent explanation of Palm vs PocketPC OS with screenshots of different interfaces.
New User's Guide to Windows Mobile  Hantulla, Dan. Smartphone and PocketPC Magazine, April 2006.
Palm vs. Pocket PC  Many linked articles, from About.com.
PDA Buzz  News, shopping, discussion.
PDAs that sync with Mac and Windows  How to sync your Pocket PC with a Mac. CNET.
Portable digital video instruction in predoctoral education of child behavior management  Boynton JR, Johnson LA, Nainar SM, Hu JC. J Dent Educ. 2007 Apr;71(4):545-9.PMID: 17468317
[new]
Projecting PowerPoint presentations with a PDA  Yam, CS. AJR, American Journal of Roentgenology 2005 Apr; 184(4):1356
Security FAQs for Mobile Devices  from UCHSC/UCH ITS.
[Security]
The transforming effect of handheld computers on nursing practice  Nursing Administration Quarterly 2005 29(4):308-314, PMID: 16260994.
What is the Difference Between GSM and CDMA?  Article from WiseGeek on cell phone signals.  Posted June 15, 2007.
What's the Difference Between the Two Types of Windows Mobile?  Brighthand, December 8, 2006.
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Web Sites for the Small Screen

Narrow in width and simple in format, these websites are designed to be surfed by PDAs and cell phones.
Amazon Anywhere  
Flickr  
Google PDA  
PubMed for Handhelds  
Wapedia  
Yahoo  
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Discussion Forums

Brighthand's Discussion Forums  
Mobile Tech Review Forums  
PDA Street Forums  
Pocket PC Thoughts Forum  
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Daylight Savings Time 2007

Daylight Saving Time 2007  for Blackberry. Posted Jan., 2007
Daylight Saving Time updates  for Palm including Treos posted Feb 22, 2007. Use this update to change daylight-savings-time rules for all U.S. cities. You can also change the settings city by city (see How-To Series immediately below).
Daylight savings time update  for Windows Mobile/Pocket PC. posted Jan. 2007
How-To Series: Change Or Update To New Daylight Savings Time Settings  for Palm. via Palm Discovery. Flash video on how to change settings one city at a time. posted Feb 16, 2007
When does Daylight Saving Time/Standard Time begin?  NIST posted Jan., 2007
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Vista Information

Epocrates supports Vista  Updated June 14, 2007
Essential Evidence Plus (aka InfoRetriever): Windows Vista Compatibility  Palm devices must use Palm Desktop version 6 or later to synchronize Essential Evidence Plus (InfoRetriever) with a PC running Windows Vista. 
Palm Desktop software installation on Windows Vista  Palm. posted Feb 21, 2007
WindowsMobile Device Center  Syncs with Windows Vista.
[Synchronization]
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Latest News

10 Reasons To Hate Cellphone Carriers  From Wired, Oct 30, 2007
FCC Chairman says 700 MHz spectrum must be open  From Engadget  July 10, 2007
Hewlett Introduces a Web Feature to Make Document Printing Mobile  From the New York Times August 20, 2007.
HP Announces Five New iPAQs  From Brighthand Sep 5, 2007
Verizon Opening its Wireless Network to 'Any Apps, Any Device'  
Why Mobile Japan Leads the World  From Mobility Today, September 26, 2007.