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Pocket PC 2002
Microsoft is holding some sort of launch event today for a pile of new Pocket PC devices. Pocket PC Thoughts has a bunch of news items; PDA Buzz has a report and pretty comparison chart looking at the different models, and I'm sure people will post more links in the comments. So, is this the mighty Palm-killer?
Unless these pocket PCs start being a lot cheaper, Palm still has some edge.
These are certainly nice and all, but with all those high performance processors, high memory, color screens - the price keeps running up. These are going to dominate the "pocket pc" category, and at the typically higher price, they have to be a 'pocket pc', because you couldn't afford a desktop as well. (If you can afford the desktop as well, then you're likely above the mass market.)
I'll still take a Palm-class device plus a good (and not pricey) desktop rather than a pocket pc anyday.
I find it interesting that even with all the hype that Microsoft has generated the question still remains "Is this the palm killer?" This implies that the PalmOS is the yard stick by which all other handeld OSes are measured.
I hope Palm doesn't give into the hype and drastically changes the OS to address PocketPC. If they do then they will in a sense have become the Palm Killer that Microsoft is striving to be.
You're not seriously suggesting that your Palm Pilot operated for a month straight? Of course not, you said average use. Figure out how many hours of continuous use that "month of average use" actually turns out to be. I would be incredibly suprised if it turned out to be much more than about 15 hours of actual use. Every time you put that PocketPC in it's cradle, it recharges the internal battery. I have yet to run my iPaq right down to nothing and I've had it over a year.
The problem with palm is most users find they have to haul a laptop around (or find a workstation) in addition to their palm in order to satisfy all their needs. With Pocket PC we're starting to hear people say "With this thing I don't need my laptop anymore", and that's how many people can justify spending >$500 on a pda and why palm continues to loose market share to Pocket PC.
After 6 years they are within an ounce and a few 10ths of an inch of the first generation Palm (Pilot 1000). Of course the newer Palms are almost half the size.
If you want a palmtop which requires a holster but can show 30 second color videos and play Doom, then PocketPC is for you.
If you want a palmtop which fits comfortably in your pocket, and can store appointments, phone numbers, maps and play a game or two, Palms are still ahead (just get an older one and don't pay too much).
I was hoping my (borrowed) Ipaq would at least partially replace my laptop. Unfortunately, the PowerPC OS is still so buggy that the damn things are almost unusable for anything serious. After the third time it crashed (in the process wiping its entire filesystem, network card drivers, preferences, etc.), I gave up the idea of using it for serious work.
It's a neat toy, but if you rely on it, you can't have silly software flaws like that. The worst part is the synchronization software. At least when the Palm crashes, a quick Hotsync gets you more or less right back to where you were (assuming you're not too far away from your computer.) With the PocketPC, full backups aren't performed automatically every time you synchronize-- should the thing crash, you're stuck with the most recent explicit backup you made.
And I never could find a way to mount Windows network drives over the network-- a feature that would be extraordinarily useful on such a tiny system. It's a snap with Linux, just use NFS.
PocketLinux may well be the answer... But most users will probably be stuck with Windows, as I was (it didn't belong to me, and I wasn't sure I could restore back to WinCE.)
It's called check box marketing. And MS is really good at it.
:)
IE:
Comparison:PocketPC | Palm
Processor: 200Mhz | 16Mhz
Color: 16bit | Grayscale
Screen Size
Memory 64mb | 8mb
etc. etc. etc...
They do it with Xbox VS. PSX2 too. In the numbers game, MS wins. (Except for battery life.)
May as well mod me as redundant, cause I've said this before.
I'm going to go back in my box and will think within the limits of my box: MS Sucks Linux Good I read too much Slashdot.
You know, specs have little to do with overall computing experience. The total design integration between hardware, software and form factor for a specific price is the real test. But Palm is going to be in trouble unless they start delivering at least some hardware that beats Pocket PC devices on numbers alone.
I love my Palm device and it does everything I need and more. But it isn't flashy. Microsoft has always understood that consumers are basically stupid and look at charts like these to make decisions. Just seeing that each of these have 64mb of RAM opposed to Palm's 8mb dooms them.
Until somebody invents a clever word or phrase that can be used to rate price against crashes, app usefulness and security, Palm is going to take a second seat to Pocket PC. Consumer Reports always uses "Consumer Satisfaction" as their main test of a product. Ever seen PDAs evaluated on that? I thought not.
There is no need to use a SlashDot sig for SEO...
You are with true. People not uses MS Word because WordPerfect was there first, people not uses MS Excel because Lotus 1-2-3 was there first, people not uses MS Access because FoxPro was there first, people not uses MS Windows because Apple MacOS was there first. Things sure be look bad for PocketPC to me from bizarro world.
If you mod me down, I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.
I happen to develop PalmOS software, amongst other things. Palm simply does not force you to buy anything, you have to agree not to rip them off to download the SDK, but this takes all of 5 seconds. Don't believe me, go to http://www.palmos.com/dev/tech/tools/sdk40.html
While it is true that I use Metroworks Codewarrior for Palm, which is somewhat costly, I could have instead choosen the Lite version (free), GNU's PRC-Tools, or any number of other FREE compilers and tools. Furthermore, I would assert that most developers that really matter (as in those that develop software that is useful or widely used) are not even going to be turned off by the pricetag on Metroworks. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you need to already own VC++ or something to use MS' PocketPC SDK? They don't have a free alternative, right?
While I have not yet developed Windows CE applications, I must say that most of Palm's documentation is simply excellent, which is a stark contrast to my other development experiences with MS. In short, I have few complaints about Palm.
The question is, why buy more than I need when it costs significantly more, shorterns my battery significantly, and is generally bulkier and more fragile. Also, I can buy color if I need it (You get what you pay for). You can get wireless internet for Palm too. Why in God's name would you want mp3 on your PDA? It's not enough to listen to for any prolonged period and you can't use it for for exercise... A dedicated mp3 player is a much more appropriate solution.
You say Palm missed the boat. I say Palm has already filled the boat--several of them. Their current problem owes largely to the fact that people they've already filled such a large part of the market and most people don't NEED fancy new PDAs every year, be it Windows or Palm. These PocketPCs haven't proven themselves to be anything more than a NICHE market for a handful of techies and trend setters.
The long and short of it is that I would not at all be suprised to see the PocketPC's prove to be a money loosing operation, while Palm turns around nicely [especially since PocketPC's level of technology will be more appropriate later on], at least once the economy picks up.
Who is on top now or is the near future is somewhat irrelevant. Wireless connection and access is the key to the success of these devices. My IIIx with TRG memory upgrade has served me well and will continue to serve me well. But when an affordable PDA/Cell combination, with 320x240 screen, and capability of running text or graphic connection to my current ISP account without an additional monthly fee for connection, then I will upgrade. I think a lot of people are waiting for this combination, but all the players are fighting for market share ahead of customer satisfaction. Is that too much to ask? eigerface
Here's my two cents, from a Palm perspective: I bought a VIIx to play with about six months ago - the price was right ($199 on sale, with an additional $100 rebate if you cared to sign up for the $29.99 a month service plan for palm.net for a year). I love it - the only thing I don't like is the additional weight from the modem, which I don't use that much, anyway. I'm redecorating my house, and I keep all the measurements from wall, ceilings, floors, etc on it. Passwords on GNUKeyring, contacts, phone numbers. I keep e-texts on it, and it's been worth the purchase price just to have something to read during those unexpected waits. It's easy to whip out and take down a quick phone number or note, as opposed to groping for a paper and pen, and then later losing the paper. I find PalmOS and it's small, elegant apps appealing in a time when even boxes of Linux distros claim they need 32mb of RAM or better.
Color, the ability to play mp3s, do voice recording, play videos and whatever else whizbang things PocketPC can do just plain don't appeal to me, especially when they come with the penalty of added size/weight and shorter battery life. I'd rather read a book than watch TV, anyway, so maybe that's just me. If I were going to consider a PocketPC, especially for notetaking purposes, I would seriously consider going with a used sub-notebook instead.
Christina! Bring me an axe!
Efficiency. A PocketPC device needs all 206 MHz just to overcome Microsoft's over-elaborate, "all things to all people" code base. Everything about the PocketPC screams "inefficiency", from the fancy multi-colored title bars to the screen layout to the single processor hardware.
Constrast this with a Sony Clie N710C*. It has a 320x320 screen instead of 160x160. That's 4x as many pixels to push. Yet the screen is just as snappy as a low-res monochrome Palm, and faster than a 320x240 PocketPC screen. Their secret? Hardware acceleration. A first for Palm devices, AFAIK.
Audio Player and gMovie use the headphone audio output. And when you're not using those apps, the audio output powers down. That's how Sony beats PocketPC on overall battery life. I just checked Microsoft's PocketPC hardware page, and the HP Jornada claimed 14 hours of battery life. Everyone else was 10 hours or less. Maybe if they throttled that 206 MHz....
In short, Microsoft is giving hardware manufacturers an "easy" way out, dictating a fast, power-hungry CPU and letting the software do the rest. Sony gave their engineers something to do besides design a case, and their good work shows in the fact that they can match PocketPC feature-for-feature using an "inferior" 33MHz Dragonball processor.
*: I picked the N710C because a) it is closest in feature set to PocketPC devices, and b) I have one sitting here on my desk.
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BTW, the numbers I mentioned above come from a program called Runtime. I currently have v1.5.1, but here is a newer version on PalmGear.