Finding Handheld Birding Apps

One technology I have been enthusiastic about for several years is handheld computing. I have become deeply attached to my PDA (a Palm TX) and have experimented with applications of all kinds, some successful, some not. Despite my efforts and imagination, I am not persuaded my PDA is a real field tool for birding. It is not something I want to run in anything but warm and sunny conditions, and the stylus is easily lost in high grass. It has limited battery life at least away from a car charger. And it is not easy to manipulate quickly when referencing or writing. And let’s not talk about Internet access when even cell phones don’t work! I can see using a PDA in the field for keeping a checklist (well, at least at base camp) and taking field notes on the notepad, but then again a real pen-and-paper pad works just fine. The backyard bird watcher has more options, more control of environment, and better access to the home wireless network! And if need be I can --at home -- comfortably look up whatever I need, take notes, and so on when I don’t have a field guide handy. Good applications are few and far between. National Geographic has run out a high quality but expensive guidebook for handhelds, and Tweetchirp has a pretty good bird call application. But at the moment, (shrug) this is not the place, quite yet, for my Palm TX. As I evolve into fancier electronics, perhaps things may change.