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Comments · 7
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So...
So you're saying software designed for mobile phones doesn't work as well on a little computer like device as software which was designed for little computer like devices?
Wow. Amazing. Incredible.
And they're the same age too!
No, wait, Windows CE is 13 years old. It's had a little more time to design the window manager for different screen sizes.
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Re:X-Com
http://www.pdagold.com/software/detail.asp?s=1138
This is a bit closer for those of us with a Pocket PC -
HTC's Wizard a possible candidate
As soon as my current contract expires, I'm planning to purchase a T-mobile MDA, which is a rebranded HTC Wizard. It seems to have the features you want, USB connectivity (make sure you have a cable intended for USB 2.0), Bluetooth, wireless, etc.
One guy's experience getting it to work as a modem is here:
http://www.pdagold.com/articles/detail.asp?a=269
The HTC Wizard seems to have good reviews, although nothing is perfect, and even though its CPU is dual-core, people are concerned about its speed.
www.xda-developers.com has more information on this and similar phones that HTC puts out. I highly recommend checking this site out if you do decide on this phone. -
Re:Palm is great for small business & geeks
Unlike "PocketPCs", a Treo actually fits in a pocket.
http://www.mobiletechreview.com/image/phones/JAM_6 315_treo650.jpg
http://www.pdagold.com/img/articles/en/large/00000 00214_VQC702979101.jpg
Take a look at this picture and guess which one is the pocketpc phone. And unlike the Treo with its huge aerial its actually attractive and small enough to hold to your heard.
Surur -
A battery life less than a work-day is worthless.I just bought an HP Jornada 820.
Nice keyboard, conservative screen and No-Internal-Moving-Parts = 8 to 10 hours on a standard battery. With an extended battery, (if I ever manage to find one), the machine will get up to 15 hours on one charge. Not ideal, but better than a 'down by lunch time' modern machine.
When a portable word processor is all you really need, that's all you should really buy. Best part is that after shipping and a spare battery, I paid only about $275 on ebay.
Too bad the Alphasmart Dana is too bloody expensive for what it is. (Over $450 for a keyboard and an LCD screen???) But the real shame is that the QuickPad Pro seems like it was rushed to market before the programmers finished their job. That puppy got between 50 and 100 hours on a set of 4 AA's, but their internal word processor only edits
Although. . , (after I'd made my purchase of the Jornada 820), a tech support guy for the QuickPad company got back to me and told me that while those limits were true, the machine was nonetheless able to run an old DOS copy of Word if you could find one, which had no such restraints. This is very cool, though, like I said, I learned this after I'd bought a different machine. Ah well. In any case, the QuickPad is just barely this side of a heavy purchase; $300 before shipping costs!
-FL -
Re:And cue the anti-convergence zombies..
Boo hoo, why can't I have a phone that just makes calls. I have 20 other devices that I carry on my batman like utility belt that do each_function_separately.
The problem is that these devices often look more practical than they are IRL. I own a (cheap, ebay-acquired) Treo. The small keyboard looks really good until you actually try it. On the bonus side, with that thumb training, I'll probably be able to to pull-ups with my fingers by the end of the month...
Another thing is that these devices are often marketed as what they aren't: ultra-portable computers, allowing you to be productive (as in desktop-like productive) on the go. No way.
To me the ideal device would be an HP 320lx with an upgradable (read: open source) OS and (potential) 802.11b capacity. That, and my old, small, perfect-shaped Motorola v60 as a phone. That's two devices, each of which does what it does near-perfectly. Small loss of pocket real estate, huge gain in efficiency and satisfaction !
Why on earth they ditched the palmtop computers and went for stylus input or thumb keyboard is beyond me. Those machines might be the only possible competition for the oh-so-cute-and-practical but oh-so-damn-pricey 12.1" iBooks that my co-workers keep waving under my nose (grrr). With a palmtop solution, you loose some functionality, but you gain other features (even the amazing portability of small iBooks can't compete with something you can put in the pocket of your jacket - oh, and 8 hours battery life with standard alkaline batteries as a bonus) and you divide the price by 3 (not to mention 2nd hand market!)
Hell, see the prices of 320lx on ebay, how much would it cost to make a new, slightly improved 320lx ? If anyone can provide information about the closest thing there is to a monochrome (battery life !) handheld device that can be extended with 802.11b and an open OS, I'd be very grateful.
</rant>
Thomas -
Re:Here's a cheaper idea
The HP H2210 has a long range IR, and includes the Nevo universal remote control app.
