Two Handfuls Of Handhelds

rgarcia writes: "CNET has this story: Panasonic announced on Monday its first handheld computer, the Toughbook 01, which is designed to complement its notebook line of the same name. The consumer electronics maker has been selling into a niche in the notebook market by focusing on durable laptops that can withstand the shock of a fall and can resist moisture, dust and scratches. I know Ive dropped a few in my day. Damn things are fragile. Cool design, though I dont know if its actually better." And an unnamed reader points out that DALinux now has hardware available: "They claim it is Palm compatible, but it won't run palm apps - so what 'Palm compatible' means is anyone's guess. But it is a cool gadget, it runs Linux, and, most importantly, it is affordable." "Palm compatible" better at least mean painless address-book import.

Comments

compatibility

[Ravagin]

Well, someone is clearly not an obsessive PDA geek.

Being one myself, however, I'd wager both of my shoes that "PalmIIIxe-compatible" means the body of the device works with III/VII-series peripherals (PalmPix, PPK(ooh), maybe even the various palm robots). Presumably, then, there is also the same kind of serial port. I think this is an excellent move on the manufacturer's part.

I'd like to note also that in my far from humble opinion, the IIIxe remains the best PalmOS device made by Palm.