PDAs

Limited support is available for personal digital assistants (PDAs) and similar mobile devices.

Due to the complexity and variability of the PDA world, device-specific help is often not available. For basic PDA operations (synchronizing with the desktop computer, installing software, etc.), owners are best served by consulting the manufacturer's printed documentation, web site, and customer assistance facilities.

Wireless

There are many different wireless communication methods: cellular telephone, Bluetooth, infrared. NCSU's wireless operates on the IEEE standard 802.11b/g. Some classrooms may use 802.11a.

Connecting a Wi-Fi PDA at NCSU:

• your PDA must have either an integrated or a plug-in 802.11b/g wireless card;
• your PDA must have a web browser capable of connecting to secure web sites;
• you must have an NCSU Unity username and password.

Make sure the Wi-Fi interface is turned on. Unlike laptops, most PDAs require you to turn on the wireless interface. It is usually off by default to conserve battery life.

Open your PDA web browser and go to any web page. For example http://www.ncsu.edu/. The NCSU NOMAD authentication page should appear in your browser.

Email

IS&T supports VersaMail and SnapperMail for email on cell phones and PDAs running Palm OS 3.5 or higher. Both VersaMail and SnapperMail use Kerberos authentication, and secure IMAP connections and SSL port configurations. The following pages provide details on what is supported by IS&T, and guidelines for helping you select a device.

VersaMail and SnapperMail Versions and Devices Supported by IS&T Guidelines for Choosing a PDA/Mobile Device -- coming soon Currently, IS&T does not support any email clients on Pocket PC, except MIT WebMail.

MIT WebMail MIT community members can also take advantage of MIT WebMail, which requires only a web browser -- no other client is needed.

IS&T has received occasional reports of PDA web browsers that do not work with MIT WebMail, or do not format messages for optimum readability. More testing of specific combinations of browser, version, and device is needed before specific recommendations can be made, but the browsers that ship with the current PalmOS and PocketPC seem to give consistent performance.

Calendar

Oracle Calendar is NC State's enterprise-wide calendaring system. Accounts are free to all faculty and staff.

IS&T supports the Oracle Calendar Sync for Palm clients on Macintosh OS X and Windows systems, for synchronizing between MIT TechTime and Palm devices running Palm OS 3.3 or higher. IS&T does not support the Oracle Calendar Sync client for Pocket PC.

Known Issue: The Treo 650 and Tungsten T5, running Palm OS 5.4, are not compatible with Oracle Calendar Sync for Palm 9.0.4 for Macintosh, and cannot synchronize. Oracle is aware of this problem and working on a new release.

Purchasing a PDA

Information Services and Technology is not in a position to recommend specific devices for purchase. For the most part, the decision of what to buy depends on what you intend to do.

If you want only the basic functionality of a PDA (calendar, to-do-list, memo pad, address book, etc.), a low-end device should be sufficient.

If you expect to add extra software (graphing calculator, word processing or spreadsheet software, printing capability, etc.), a device with larger memory and storage capacity may be needed.