PDAs forum: Looking 4 PDA that can Mark Texts as Unread & Apply Alarms

1.) Marking as read/unread is now common, but alarms attached to text messages are not standard.

2.) Ubuntu is not a smartphone OS option, and Linux implementations are fading out. Android, though, is a Linux-based mobile OS.

3.) Android (by Google) and WebOS (by Palm) offer the best native support for Google accounts.

4.) Text messages are not lost by random mis-taps in most cases.

5.) The iPhone is the only smartphone that refuses to support Flash. All other major mobile OSes either support Flash or will in the next couple months.

6.) AGPS and Bluetooth are standard.

Bottom line:
Given your requirements, I would recommend giving the Palm Pre, a WebOS smartphone, a first look. It is ideal for those that manage multiple calendars (one for you, one for your toddler, one for your ...) and also integrates information from multiple sources (Google, Yahoo, Facebook, etc. accounts).

Hope this helps,
John

1.) No, the Verizon Pre Plus will not work on the Sprint network. (They use different technologies.) Thus, you'd have to wait for the Pre Plus to come to Sprint.

2.) Flash and video recording support is added by the WebOS 1.4 update; Sprint will be pushing out the update very soon.

3.) The construction is not great, but it is not cheaply made and the keyboard is sufficient for those used to a thumbboard. An on-screen keyboard may also be coming.

4.) Battery life is just average, but the Pre charges faster than most (~2 hours), has a host of charging adapters available, and has a user-replaceable battery, so you can purchase an extended battery (~$45) and swap it out as needed. Thus, it's actually more adequate than the iPhone.

5.) Palm will be releasing the Palm Elan in the near future, though little is known at this point. Rumor is it may be a touchscreen-only model (no physical keyboard) heading to AT&T and possibly others.

6.) You may also consider the Samsung Moment, an Android-powered smartphone with a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Android is geared a bit more towards the tech-savvy user but also meets your requirements.

John