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Linux PDA Part Deux
PolarCow writes: "Everyone's favorite Linux powered PDA retailer is back. Empower Technologies/LinuxDA are releasing a new variant of Linux-powered PDA. The new one is called the PowerPlay V. Its hardware is comparable to that of the Palm Vx. Thin, rechargable and with an enhanced display. I'm salivating already."
..From the product info page:
DataSync Program Only Available in MS Windows Platform
?
air and light and time and space
From simply running Linux/DA on a Palm V or Vx?
This page has good pix and stats for the PowerPlay V, though they're all CG. So does this thing really exist, and if so, why? Why not simply load Linux DA O/S for Palm onto a Palm Vx and get all the benefits of a Linux palmtop, including Windows-only desktop synchronization?
Don't get me wrong—this all looks interesting, but if it's going to be based on cloned last-generation-Palm hardware, and it won't work with a Linux desktop, why is it important or appealing to anyone?
Every PDA I've seen until now, comes with connectivity to MS Outlook on MS Windows, but none (including the Linux-based ones) come with connectivity to KArm and Kab.
Although I welcome Linux on PDAs, I think it's not really the major issue at hand. What we need is connectivity to KDE.
Is the one I have now, the Psion Revo - Of course it's not linux, nor WinCE - It's EPOC - an OS made for small devices - The revo is the best I've EVER tried - I've had three palmtops, and I've tried the HP jornada handheld (too big) - the Revo is just right. The fact that it has a keyboard makes the difference (I know the HP has too, but the device is too bulky).
It's about 200 US$
If I need to do linux stuff on it, I just use VNC for EPOC (get it here (downloads - bottom).
Ok, the sync could be better, but you can't have it all.
Any technology distinguishable from magic, is insufficiently advanced.
I ordered their Power Play III. They said it would take six to eight weeks to ship.
They charged my credit card within one day.
Eight weeks later, I still had not heard anything, after emailing them twice.
Finally, they responded to my email, and told me that my PDA would ship on the 19th of November, and that it would take an additional week to arrive.
They would not give me a tracking number, no matter how many times I emailed.
After the week was up, the PDA had still not arrived. I waited another three days, and still nothing.
In the meantime, I had ordered the Sharp Zaurus SL-5000D, and I got it in eight days.
I therefore wrote to the sales and info people at Empower Technologies, and I told them that I no longer wanted the PowerPlay III. They said they would issue me a refund, and since FedEx *still* had not delivered the PowerPlay III, that they would have FedEx return it directly to them and then issue me a refund.
A day later, and two days after I got my SL-5000D, FedEx delivered it. I checked the Tracking Number to see that FedEx had delivered it somewhere else first, but apparently Empower didn't see fit to check that.
So now I had a PowerPlay III that I no longer wanted, after being assured that Empower would have it directed back to them.
I wrote them again, and they said *I* was responsible for shipping it back to them. Furthermore, I was to insure it, and then give them a tracking number!! Needless to say, I was rather upset (since they wouldn't give me one), and wrote them a nice but firm email. They changed their tune, and then told me that I would get "reimbursed" for the shipping.
The next day, a FedEx guy showed up at my house (I was at work) to pick up the PowerPlay. Empower had called FedEx for a pick up order, but they did not tell me first!! Since I was at work, the package wasn't ready.
Then they said they would have FedEx pick it up again. The package stayed between my doors waiting for FedEx to return for another week. They never did.
Finally, I dropped it in a FedEx box, and it was redelivered to me. I got very upset at that point, and wrote to Empower that they had better call for FedEx pick up, and have them meet me. They have finally done that, and as of this morning, the package is on its way back to Empower. I checked "Bill To Sender" on the FedEx form, and the FedEx guy took it even though there was no account number.
I have yet to see how long it will take to get my refund, but I am not holding my breath!!!
In short, while more expensive, the Sharp Zaurus SL-5000D was a much better product, from a much more reliable company.
libertarianswag.com
Runs an OS that looks like a clone of PalmOS but without the ability to run palm apps. Sure it's open source. But do you really need that in a PDA?
Only syncs with Win (even palm syncs with Mac and Win).
Why even bother? These people seem to be showing even less innovation than Palm.
I just cant see a resaon why anyone (except a small minorty) would want this. They could have atleast had a sceen like the Handera 330.
*sigh*
This looks very similar to the Vtech Helio in terms of memory (2MB flash, 8MB SDRAM) and display (160x160 greyscale). The Helio lacks IRDA, but makes up for it with a 75MHz RISC processor with proper MMU as opposed to the Powerplay's 16MHz DragonBall. The Helio can also run Linux, but comes preloaded with Vtechs own VT-OS.
The Helio is also keenly priced. Brits can pick them up for £49.99 from the Carphone Warehouse, whilst you chaps across the pond can get them from a number of sources (often for less than $50, apparently).
Okay. I've owned a palmpilot before.. I've used them.... and they work fine for what they were designed for.
HEre's what I want to know...
What sorts of cool things can anyone do with one of these power handhelds? ipaq, etc (I don't know many). What's the nerd incentive here? I mean, just running linux on a $500 device is pointless if it has no purpose.
So.. I ask you, linux based or not, what cool shit can you do with a PDA nowadays? Let's hear some real examples.. not 'theoretically you could do blah blah'.
Unlike WinCE and PalmOS, there is no single variant of GNU/Linux on PDAs, and the variety is more likely to increase than to consolidate. Some of them run X and a common widget library like Gtk+ or FLTK, some don't and run QT on the framebuffer. One distribution may use the large glibc 2.2, a different one uses a reduced micro-libc. Of course the PDAs run GNU/Linux on different architectures. Some might even choose BSD instead of Linux for the kernel, or not even a Unix-like OS.
It's simply impossible for an ISV to provide off-the-shelf software for GNU/Linux PDAs of any kind. The user won't install a different widget library or even an X server to run the software. He won't install a statically-linked binary of several megabytes in size. A Java engine is still too large at least for the less powerful PDAs.
No, he should only need to install the _content_ and use it with some kind of standardized application - an email client, a web browser, an addressbook, a PIM, a media player, even a geographical map viewer for GPS or navigation.
Today it's sheer incredible how proprietary data formats and protocols have established especially on PDAs, without anyone complaining about it. Exchange data with a desktop PIM? Read a book? Store news from a Web site for offline reading? In any case you'll need a special proprietary application on either the PDA or your desktop (Windoze) PC, or even on both. And all you care about is content, as much as you want to read Slashdot or some other web sites instead of just playing with Mozilla, Galeon, Konqueror, IE, Opera or whatever your favorite Web browser would be.
Fortunately since both PalmOS and WinCE have their market share and GNU/Linux PDAs beginning to appear, there is no single handheld platform with a market share large enough to ignore anything else. So hopefully content vendors will discover that they'll only reach a larger customer base by either providing proprietary data formats and closed-source applications for a dozen of systems, or by using free specifications for their data which can be used on independent applications.
Therefore it's especially the lowest-end GNU/Linux PDAs which contribute to the need of standards. An iPAQ, a Yopy or a Zaurus could easily have two or three different toolkits installed. A VR3 or a LinuxDA certainly can't.
I'm a huge Linux fan. I've been using it for years. It's on every machine that I own. I have one machine that dual boots with Windows 98 so that I can play games (yes, I have Wine running with full GL support but I still get better framerates under Windows). I also have a Palm Vx. I could not not be less impressed by this device. Who cares if it runs Linux? It looks like all they did was try and build a PalmOS clone from it. How crappy would Linux be if it's sole purpose was to mimic Windows? As mentioned above, you don't get Palm App support and these geniuses can't even create some Linux connectivity software. Not to mention that if you want to buy Linux DA stand-alone from these people you'll be charged as much as for Palm OS 4.1, but apparently without benefitting from any of it's features? Back to the drawing board guys.