Pocket PC 2002

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Posted by michael on Thursday October 4, 2001 @06:19AM from the things-to-break dept.

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?

4 of 305 comments (clear)

Colonel Mustard did it in the CompUSA by szcx · 2001-10-04 06:25 · Score: 5, Interesting

Palm is the mighty Palm killer. Pocket PC (and now Pocket PC 2002) are just nails in the coffin.
There are warehouses full of Palm devices they can't give away while HP, Casio, and Compaq are having trouble manufacturing Pocket PC's fast enough to meet market demand.
Not at those prices! by FreezerJam · 2001-10-04 06:25 · Score: 5, Insightful

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.
Re:The Palm is already dying by sulli · 2001-10-04 06:28 · Score: 5, Interesting

Huh? I don't get it. MHz matters not on an organizer. What matters are ease of use, battery life, and cost. What's clobbering Palm is the fact that people are still happy with the Palms they bought 2-3 years ago and see no need to upgrade - not a wholesale shift to Pocket PC.

--

sulli
RTFJ.
It is the Palm killer. Here's why: by corky6921 · 2001-10-04 06:47 · Score: 5, Interesting

I used to work at a very Linux-oriented company, with a guy who absolutely hated Windows. He ran Linux on everything, and had a Palm.
One day he got an iPaQ to replace his Palm Pilot. "Oh, are you going to run Linux on it?" I asked him. "No," he said, "I am running Windows CE."
When I asked him why, he said it was simply easier to develop software for Windows CE handhelds. Palm forces you to buy a developer kit, but you can use standard Microsoft tools to develop for Windows CE. Windows CE 3.0 even has the source code available.
Palm has a large legacy base, but they've missed the boat both with development tools and with color screens and MP3 playback. Why should I buy a Palm when I can buy a handheld PC that I can use as an MP3 player, voice recorder, and have wireless Internet access in full color to boot?
Dataquest thinks so too.