You do not need to buy a PDA if you already own an iPod. Simply use your iPod as a PDA. Your iPod can do more than just play music. Your iPod already has the capability of storing such things as your contacts, calendar information, and your notes. Although the iPod is not in the running for PDA of the Year, it can serve as a ready backup for contact and calendar info while you are traveling or if your normal one is broken.

If you have never tried using your iPod as a PDA, you should probably go check out your iPods Extra menu. This Extra menu is where you will find your iPods Clock, Contacts, Calendar, Notes, and of course Games. Besides storing your latest music files, your iPod is able to store phone numbers, addresses, web site URLs, and other important information that you may need, up to 1,000 contacts! If you wish to export this information about your contacts, you can do so via vCard format from Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Palm Desktop, or any email applications that support the vCard.

To start inputting your contact information into your iPod, go to the Extra menu and choose the Contacts options. If you currently do not have any contacts, your iPod will give you instructions on how to do so. If you are going to import your contacts information, your Windows XP needs to recognize your iPod as hard drive before it can start exporting to your iPod.

Once you connect your iPod to your computer, double-click on My Computer and select your iPod icon. If you are using Outlook 2003 or Outlooks Express with iTunes 6, you can go ahead and automatically synchronize your contacts using iTunes and your iPod. Go to the Edit menu and select the Preferences option. Now select the iPod option and the Contacts button. Now choose Outlook or Outlook Express from the Sync Contacts From on the drop down menu. This is where you can choose if you would like to sync all of your Outlooks contacts or you can go ahead and choose only those you wish to export to your iPod. Click on OK to confirm these choices.

If you would like to export calendar information from Outlook or Outlook Express, you can do so by going through the same steps you did for exporting your contact data. In addition to keeping your contact and calendar data, your iPod is also able to store text data. After you save your text as a text file, save it to a folder of your choosing that is located on your local hard drive. No you are able to drag and drop the text file onto your iPods Notes directory.

However, you cannot do this with .RTF files. If you are using Microsoft Outlook 2003 or Outlook Express 6 or later, as well as iTunes version 6, it will be very easy for you to maintain your iPods data. Simply go to the iTunes File menu and select the Update iPod option. Take note though, if you are using an older version of Outlook, you will have to update your calendar data manually or you will need to use a third-party sync application.

Even though your iPod may never come close to replacing the PDA you normally use, your iPod can serve as a good backup incase you leave your PDA somewhere or if your PDA is broken. Your iPod should be able to help with your day-to-day activities by storing contact information, calendar data, and notes that contain important information.

For people using iPods on their Mac computers, they have the advantage of the iCal function as well as storing their contacts with more relative ease than those using Windows computers. Windows users, if syncing your contacts becomes a hassle, you can purchase iPod Sync 2.24, which retails for around $15. This software program will allow you to synchronize your iPod like it is a PDA. It will store all of your Outlook data, from your schedule to all of your email. Also, the iPod photo units will let you store complete PowerPoint presentations on your iPod for easy portability and use.