I'm looking to purchase a PDA and am seeking suggestions on ones that will sync with linux. I will need one that supports 3rd party software (Drug reference guides, Medic field guides, etc...). Also, suggestions for linux PIM's to sync with. I'm not wanting to break the bank, so what would be the cheapest but still meet my few requirements

Any Palms basd on the older Palm 4.x OS should work fine... I just think they are lack-luster. Most are pretty cheap though.

Many Palm OS 5.X PDAs are problematic in terms of synching and backup.

That said, I have a LifeDrive (a Palm OS 5.x hack makes it work), and it works fine for backing-up when I switch to USB Mass-storage device mode and just dump files. Synching fails on some critical files and the end-result is that I lose Calendar data if I screw it up. Linux is being ported to the LifeDrive by hobbyists, but it's not ready for prime time yet. WiFi, Bluetooth, sound, and power management don't work yet. But a working OPIE or GPE is available... you just have to shut the thing down and reset it to get back to the Palm OS to turn the thing off, or use wireless...

Installation should work on the Palm OS 5.x series,... I would just use a pilot-xfer command line script to do that though (you can call it from the GUI), and not try to back-up the device or do a full synch.

Those WinCE PDAs actually are supposed to work fairly well... surprisingly enough. Some of them have been hacked to now run OPIE or GPE on a Familiar Linux framework, and work quite well.

Then there are the Sharp Zaurus models (they run embeded Linux), if you can find one. They are pricey to obtain and most are Japanese models that have been hacked to run in English, or whatever. Other PDAs based on Linux exist, but are tough to find.

Note: Be careful if you use Kontact (a KDE pim),... the Calendar link seems to be configured to overwrite your device the first time... and you might erase everything...

Hi,
We import and translate the Sharp Zaurus and Nokia 770 Linux PDAs. The Zaurus is a Japanese device, but the underlying OS, GUI and applications were all in English originally, so the "hack" is to put everything back. The end result is a completely English experience.
I don't think you could find a better PDA to use with Desktop Linux, but then I'm a bit biased

Cheers,

Since It was built around the idea of using an embeded Linux,... I suppose you wouldn't find a better PDA than the Zaurus,... problem is price and availability... especially for the clamshell models with the hard drives.

I use a LifeDrive (has a 4 GB HD),... and the project to port Linux to it is going very nicely. The only problems that remain are; good battery/power management (it's now just adequate), Wifi (there are no linux drivers available for the chipset and nowbody has yet reverse engineered it, or created a shim to use the Palm one), Bluetooth, and the client enabling of the sound (the driver is there).

Once these things exist,... I'm giving my LD a brain transplant and wiping Palm off it... Then I'll have t a true multithreading Linux OS running on what is essentially a compact PC...