Palm vs. Pocket PC. Here We Go Again…
I was over at Palminfocenter.com today and noticed a posting by Mike Cane entitled “Why I Won’t Be Buying A Pocket PC“. In some ways I have to agree with some of his points and frustrations about Pocket PCs, but I totally disagree about his conclusions on why “Palm is better than Pocket PC” and wonder about his reasons about publishing this nasty little screed.
It’s obvious from reading the article that Mr. Cane is using a very one-dimensional argument. In other words, just about all of his argument consists of is jabs at Microsoft and Bill Gates, pointing his finger at the ill-fated Microsoft Bob and old Windows versions (3.0) as examples of typical Microsoft products, his opinion on the design and size of old Palm-Size PCs and Pocket PCs from years past, and comparisons to unreleased versions of Palm devices (the Tungsten T3) and software (TextMaker for Palm OS).
He doesn’t like Pocket Word. Who does? But it’s better than the standard Notepad and Memo Pad functions on Palm devices. That’s why products like TextMaker exist, to give full word processing functionality to handheld devices. He also goes into a tirade about problems with beaming between two Pocket PCs. In my many years using Windows-based Handheld PCs, Palm-Size PCs, and Pocket PCs,I’ve never seen that happen, and I’ve also been able to beam items between Pocket PCs and Smartphones with no difficulties.
Referring to the Smartphone as a “half-neglected hobby” of Bill Gates is downright stupid in light of recent articles that have shown that both Motorola and Samsung are on the verge of releasing Smartphones. If Palm Solutions Group doesn’t watch it, Smartphones from HTC, these two companies and other vendors could eat the Treo 600 for lunch.
My point in this rant is that if Mr. Cane doesn’t like Pocket PCs, then he shouldn’t buy one. But he and other writers shouldn’t use questionable arguments to try to “beat the drum” for one handheld platform over another. Frankly, I gave up worrying about the “religious wars” over what handheld OS is better than the rest a long time ago. As far as I’m concerned, a person’s decision on what to buy for a PDA should be based on how comfortable they feel with the device, compatibility with their home and business computing environments, and their needs. That’s why I have remained platform agnostic over the years.
For example, I wouldn’t force a Pocket PC on my technically inept boss if it was the last PDA in the world - she needs the bare bones simplicity of a Palm device. However, one of my other co-workers needs the additional functionality and enterprise-savvy capabilities of the Pocket PC, and I aimed her at an hp iPaq 2215 recently. She’s thrilled with the device and loves how fast it syncs compared to her old Palm IIIxe. For some people, the Symbian-based Nokia mobile phones might be a better idea.
In concluding today’s rant, all I have to say is GIVE IT A BREAK. I am SO sick and tired of seeing pro-Palm rants on PalmOS sites and pro-Pocket PC tirades on Pocket PC sites. There still isn’t one single PDA that can do everything for everybody, and my fellow online journalists do the world a disservice by fanning the flames of platform bigotry.
More Reader Responses
Keep ‘em coming, folks! If you haven’t sent me an e-mail with your list of electronics that you carry with you everywhere, do it now. This has been a lot of fun seeing what kind of gadgets people are addicted to.
Our first note this morning comes from Matt Lim of Walnut Creek, CA. Matt writes:
Nokia 3650 and an HP iPaq 2215. That’s all I need and carry it all in my pockets. I use the 3650 as a wireless modem for the 2215 through Bluetooth.
Those Nokia 3650 camera phones seem to be VERY popular. My next guest is Ron Vinson, who says:
I’m a Palm addict and have recently purchased a Zire 71. That keeps me from having to take my digital camera (an old Kodak DC240) around with me although the picture quality isn’t the best. I also have a Nextel i90c flip phone. I think I may think about getting a Treo 600 when they’re available so I can carry less stuff.
Thanks, Ron! Now here’s a note from Lisa Bourse:
T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone. On longer business/pleasure trips bring a Sony VAIO laptop with me. Have both the unlimited GPRS and unlimited WiFi service from T-Mobile, use the GPRS with the PPCPhone and WiFi in Starbux for the laptop. No digicam.
Alright, Lisa! The next person, Dave Chinn, must wear his pants around his ankles if he carries all this around on his belt or in his pants pockets:
At work I have to carry a Skytel 2-way pager for one system and a Nextel BlackBerry phone/PDA for e-mailed service requests. I hate the BlackBerry’s interface so I also have a Palm Tungsten T for my PDA. I find that pictures help out a lot in my biz (I’m an accident investigator for a law firm) and so I use a Canon PowerShot G3 to take photos. I can’t use my Nextel phone for personal use, so I have an old Nokia (not sure of model) candybar phone for that. I’ve also begun to use a Gateway/Motion Computing Tablet PC for work so that gets lugged around too. When I’m not at work I just have the Tungsten and Nokia phone with me. The G3 is a nice camera so I have a personal one that gets dragged with me on vacations. I don’t carry it with me all the time but also have a Gameboy Advance. My ipod does get attached to my belt at all times as well. Think I need to get a life? 
Dave - I think you win the “geek of the year” award!
Reader Responses: What do YOU carry?
I’ve received a good flock of reader responses to yesterday’s posting about what people carry with them in terms of electronic gizmos. Over the next few days I’ll post a few of them. The first is from Jason Tucker, who writes:
I used to carry my Nokia 3650 during my day to day operations. I sometimes would carry my Ipaq 3765 + WiFi card around the office for jotting down some notes, surfing then ?net. Now it?s down to just the P800. Love this phone, I only wish it had WiFI with it for around the office. If I?m going out of town it?s my Archos Jukebox 20 for traveling on journeys.
Thanks, Jason!
Next up is…my sister, Susan Sande??? Yeah, there are a bunch of gadgetheads in our family. Our dad has been a ham radio geek for a half-century and loves playing with electronics of all sorts, my sister is just about as bad as I am about having “toys”, and my nephew (her son) is a genius who carries around a Sony Clie and other toys. We’re all licensed hams as well. Here’s Susan’s comment:
All the time:
I carry my digital camera bag as my wallet, so at any given time I have my Sony V1 and my cell phone.
While commuting:
In addition to above, if it is a work day I carry my IPAQ 3845. And my Nikon binocs are always under the seat.
While traveling:
While traveling, in addition to above I carry my Sony Laptop, headphones, assorted CD’s and DVDs. If I am traveling cross country I also carry a 2M radio, handheld if flying, big watts if driving.
Cool! And Vince Carpenter writes:
Yeah I’m sick but I still carry my Newton MessagePad 2000 with me everywhere. It’s the best damned PDA ever. For a phone and fun gadget I use a Nokia 3650 camera phone. It’s actually starting to edge out my Newton in terms of usefulness. That’s it. Nothin’ else.
And thank you Vince!
How Many Devices Do YOU Carry?
An article on another PDA site got me thinking about what electronic devices I carry with me on a regular basis. I’m now down to one device that I carry with me ALL the time, and that’s an HTC Tanager Smartphone (AKA Orange SPV e100). That’s a bit different from the years when I carried a PDA and a cell phone with me - and some of those cell phones in the days of my Apple Newton MessagePad weren’t exactly small! Now I have one tiny device that can do everything, and I can just stick it in my pocket. That’s a far cry from the days when I used to carry a bag with the Newton and a cell phone, plus an acoustical coupler so I could do a 9600 baud “wireless” dialup to my e-mail!
When I am commuting I carry one additional item with me - an Apple iPod MP3 player. Despite the fact that I can store WMA and MP3 files on the Smartphone and listen to them on there, I like the iPod’s capabilities and capacity too much to give it up. If someone can add a 10 - 20 GB hard drive to a Smartphone and also give it the power to play tunes and perform other functions at the same time, I’ll gladly give up the iPod.
When I travel, I’m take two additional devices with me - my Compaq TC1000 Tablet PC and a Canon PowerShot S230 digital camera. The Tablet PC requires an extra layer of security and add-ons, so I find myself bringing along a locking cable, the AC adapter, and other goodies to make the Tablet useful on the road. It works well with the digital camera, since I can pop out the CF memory card at the end of a day of taking pictures and slap it into the Tablet PC to back up the photos.
I’d be interested in hearing from PDAntic.com readers on how many devices THEY carry all the time, while commuting, or while traveling. Send me an e-mail and I might print your answer!
Press Release: Electric Pocket Designs MMS Architecture for Handspring Treo 600
Based upon Electric Pocket’s Pixer MMS, users will be able to send and receive multi-media messages with their Treo 600 smartphones
WYE VALLEY, UK, July 23 2003–Electric Pocket Limited announces it is working with Handspring to develop a standards compliant multi-media messaging service (MMS) solution for the Treo 600 smartphone. Handspring’s new MMS application, which will be based upon Electric Pocket’s popular Pixer MMS foundation, will enable carriers that sell the Treo 600 to offer powerful MMS capabilities to their customers.
“Simple, easy-to-use, multi-media messaging will be an important feature of Treo 600,” said Joe Sipher, vice president of worldwide marketing for Handspring. “We are delighted to work with Electric Pocket, with their vast experience in multi-media messaging and PDA application development, to develop a Treo-specific MMS application for our customers.”
Electric Pocket’s MMS technology will enable Treo 600 users who subscribe to multi-media messaging services to send and receive MMS messages, including pictures and handwritten notes, directly from their device via MMS. The MMS solution being designed by Handspring and using Electric Pocket’s messaging architecture, will make picture messaging easier for users, as they can take advantage of the handheld’s
screen, stylus and QWERTY keyboard when composing messages. It will also enable users to leverage the digital camera built into the Treo 600, allowing them to snap and send pictures to others within a matter of seconds.
“We have been developing specialized applications for the Treo series since it was first introduced, and are very excited to work with Handspring to develop the MMS technology that will be a key ingredient to making the Treo 600 a revolutionary communications device,” said Iain Barclay, Electric Pocket’s Chief Product Officer. “Electric Pocket has made a significant investment in developing multi-media messaging technologies for wireless PDAs, which can be leveraged by device manufactures and operators looking to offer MMS solutions to their customers.”
The Treo 600 is expected to be commercially available worldwide in Fall 2003.
T2: The Sequel
Palm introduced an updated/upgraded Tungsten T called the T2 today. While it shares the same svelte case as the original Tungsten T, the T2 has slimmed down in terms of price ($399 MSRP instead of the $499 Palm charged when the original T debuted) and has bulked up in RAM (32MB).
Other changes include a transflective 320×320 display rather than the reflective display used on the T; this should help with visibility in outdoor lighting situations. ROM size is doubled from 4MB on the T to 8MB on the T2, and the OS has been updated to version 5.2.1 from the original 5.0.
Palm has pre-installed the PhoneLink, Dialer, SMS, VersaMail 2.5 and Palm Web Browser Pro software in ROM. Previously, you needed to install these applications from the Palm Essentials CD after your first HotSync. They’ve also set up Documents To Go v5.0 to be automatically installed during the first HotSync, once again making it much easier for people to get up to speed with their T2.
Palm is also moving in the multimedia direction it started with the Zire 71 by including Palm Photos, RealOne Mobile Player and Kinoma with the T2. In a move designed to please corporate security departments, 128-bit encryption and scheduled password protection has been implemented.
It appears that Palm took a hint from ActiveSync for Pocket PCs in the newest desktop software by making it possible to “drag and drop” files and have them automatically converted to the proper format. This capability has been available in Microsoft’s ActiveSync for several years. Finally, Palm is using Graffiti 2 and Write Anywhere on the T2 - you no longer have to open the T2 to expose the “Graffiti area” to enter data, you can just scrawl anywhere on the screen for data entry.
All in all, this is an evolutionary change, not a revolutionary new device. I was never overwhelmed with the original Tungsten T, and I can’t say that I’d spend $399 for the T2 - I’d much prefer to buy a Zire 71!
Cool Smartphone Tip!
I am one of those people who has had enough “interesting” experiences with trying to use ActiveSync with multiple Pocket PCs and multiple computers that I tend to shy away from adding new devices (i.e., my Smartphone) to both my home and office PCs.
This tends to be irritating, since I’d like to add my work appointments to the calendar on my Smartphone, but I don’t want to go through the usual hassle I encounter of getting duplicate or missing calendar, task and contact entries on either my new device or my work PC. I was bemoaning the fact that I was going to have to manually enter appointments into the Smartphone when I had a brainstorm.
Since I have my PDAntic.com e-mail account set up on the Smartphone, all I would have to do is take my Outlook meeting notices, save them in vCal format, then e-mail them to myself. Upon receiving the e-mail on the Smartphone, all I would have to do is simply click on the file enclosure and it would show up in my calendar.
As simple as this sounds in theory, it was even more simple in practice! I opened a number of my upcoming meetings in Outlook, did a quick “File…Save As…vCalendar (vcs)”, and then sent my Smartphone an e-mail with the .vcs file enclosed. Within 30 seconds, I had received the e-mail and installed the calendar events. There’s only one catch - recurring appointments can’t be saved as .vcs files.
Note that this can also be used for sending contacts to your device. In that case, all you need to do is open the contact you want to send, then “File…Export to vCard file”. The .vcf files can be received and opened with one click as well.
I’m not sure if the Pocket PC Phone supports .vcs / .vcf files as well, but if so this is a great alternative method of moving calendar and contact info from any PC to your connected mobile device!
Shut The Door, Please…
Since I’m now using my HTC Tanager Smartphone almost exclusively, I have my Pocket PC Phone acting as strictly a Pocket PC and NOT a phone. Yesterday I had a bit of a scare with the PPC Phone which taught me two things; 1) always read the manual and 2) learn what, if any, function all of the various reset switches and “doors” on your device have.
I wanted to make some changes to a “fuel and maintenance” spreadsheet I have in Pocket Excel, so I grabbed the Pocket PC Phone and tried to fire it up. Nothing. It just wouldn’t start up. I thought that perhaps the battery was dead, so I grabbed the AC adapter (same as the one for my Smartphone, by the way) and plugged in the device. No LED lit up to tell me that the device was charging. Hmmmm… Now it was starting to look like the device was dead.
I quickly grabbed it and looked closely at the device. There didn’t seem to be anything amiss. The last thing I had done to the device was to open the tiny rubber door on the left side of the PPC Phone to remove the SIM so I could put it back into the Smartphone. I tried removing the SD card, pressing the reset switch, pressing the battery switch (which, by the way, can erase everything on the PPC Phone!), and still I couldn’t get the device to turn on.
About this time it occurred to me that I should look at the owners manual and see if there was anything else I could do. Of course, when I got the PPC Phone and the Smartphone I didn’t get a real manual, so I got onto T-Mobile’s website and downloaded the PDF file version.
Shortly after downloading the manual I was perusing the troubleshooting section and noticed a comment about the “Smart Card door” (what they call the SIM door). It basically said that if your device wouldn’t start up you should make sure that the Smart Card door is closed, that the device was fully charged up, etc… Sure enough, when I took a closer look at the Pocket PC Phone I noticed that I had not fully pushed in the Smart Card door. When I did that, the charge light immediately came on (I was still plugged in) and all was well.
The moral of this story is that sometimes the smallest, most unexpected things are what cause your techie toys not to work, and that you should always have a copy of the manual on hand and be familiar with it. I know it’s a sign of weakness to many of us in the tech industry to actually have to open a manual, but they do have some really good information in them sometimes!
Using a Pocket PC or Smartphone with Mac OS X
Long-time Macintosh developer Mark/Space released the “Missing Sync for Pocket PC” application yesterday. This package works with both Pocket PCs and Smartphones and is an iSync plugin that emulates ActiveSync and synchronizes Pocket Outlook with Address Book and iCal on the Mac. There are also plugins for iTunes and iPhoto, and you can even do an internet passthrough.
Here’s some detail from the Mark/Space press release:
“Mark/Space, Inc. announces the first third party iSync conduit offering support for iCal? and Address Book synchronization in the upcoming release of Missing Sync for Pocket PC. Missing Sync for Pocket PC enables Mac users to connect and synchronize information between a Pocket PC handheld and a Mac running Mac OS X and iSync version 1.1.
Missing Sync for Pocket PC is the only product that integrates your Pocket PC handheld with iTunes? and iPhoto?, as well as synchronizes calendar items, to do items and contacts with the iCal and Address Book applications. From within iTunes your handheld and memory cards show up as an MP3 player, where you can add and remove audio files by simply dragging and dropping. From within iPhoto you can export and resize photos for optimal viewing on a Pocket PC handheld.”
Still Ticking…
It’s Thursday. And the Smartphone is still connecting. It looks (hopefully) like the problems I was experiencing with GPRS connectivity are resolved!
One interesting “feature” I noticed yesterday: if I’m in the middle of a GPRS session on my Pocket PC Phone and a phone call comes in, the device gives me the option of answering the call and temporarily disabling the GPRS connection in the process. It turns out if I’m using GPRS on the Smartphone, it’s essentially “blocking” any calls that are coming in.
The way I found this out is that right in the middle of downloading some e-mail I noticed a message that said I had received a new voice mail. When I checked my voice mail, it was my wife saying that my phone must not be working as her call had gone directly to voice mail…
This is not a show-stopper, but it is rather inconvenient!
Axim Glitch Slows Down Devices Running New OS
Yes, your brand-new Dell Axim X5 running Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC DOES run slower than your Dell Axim X5 running Pocket PC 2002.
I had received e-mails from some Axim users who, anxious to get the latest and greatest instead of waiting for Dell to release a ROM upgrade, bought new Axim X5s and found them to run slower with the new OS version than with the old.
Dell ran benchmarks on the devices and found the same result, so they’re now holding up shipments of the Axim X5 until the problem can be resolved. Dell has said that they wil continue to take orders for the Axim X5, but will not ship any new units or offer the software update for Axims running Pocket PC 2002 until a fix is available.
The “new” version of the Axim has only been available for three weeks, so the number of affected users is minimal. Dell will still have to figure out a way to distribute any fix to the affected Axims, probably in the form of a downloadable patch or a CD-ROM sent to users.
Smartphone Status As Of 07:51 MT 7/16/03
Maybe it WAS just a network problem.
I began to wonder if the intermittent GPRS connection I was experiencing with my Smartphone was a network problem when I spent a weekend in the Colorado resort communities of Vail and Aspen and was able to connect for three days with no problems. Upon my return to Denver, things went south again… What was weird is that my Pocket PC Phone continued to operate with no problems. Perhaps the signal strength in the Denver area was just low enough that the Pocket PC Phone could pick it up while the Smartphone couldn’t?
Since I needed to have internet connectivity during my convention last week, I pulled the SIM from the Smartphone and put it back into the Pocket PC Phone, and proceeded to use that device. On Sunday night I decided that I really wanted to give the Smartphone another chance so I put the SIM back into it and fired it up. Well, here it is Wednesday morning and I still have GPRS connectivity. That’s the longest stretch of continuous service I’ve had since I got this device.
What’s nice is that I’m finally able to test the Smartphone in my day-to-day work, surf and check e-mail while commuting, and otherwise give it a full workout. Over the next week or two I will continue to monitor the situation and then (provided it continues to behave) do a full writeup for PDAntic.com. I have to admit that the one-handed operation and bright screen of the Smartphone are beginning to grow on me.
Smartphone Status As Of 08:37 MT 7/15/03
I must be lucky today. As mentioned, I turned on the Smartphone last night and I am going to keep trying to use it as much as possible. At bedtime last evening, I turned the radio off and plugged it in for power and a sync. This morning, I unhooked it and turned the radio back on - surprise, it actually connected to GPRS! I was able to do some surfing and e-mail downloads on the way to work this morning so that made me happy.
One note - I had also moved a bunch of MP3s over to the Smartphone last night to see if I could listen to them through the included stereo headset. On the plus side, the music sounded wonderful. On the negative side, any time I tried doing another function with the Smartphone (i.e., web surfing with IE) the music “broke up” so it’s obvious that the Smartphone doesn’t have enough power to be able to perform two functions at once. I guess I’ll keep using my iPod for tunes…
More later!
Smartphone Hell, Phase 2
Just for grins, I’m going to keep an ongoing blog describing my success or lack thereof with the HTC Tanager (AKA Orange SPVx) Smartphone. As you know from previous posts, I’ve had limited success with this handy little device - sometimes it works just fine, but then it seems to lose its ability to connect to the Internet through GPRS for a day or so.
I have been using my Pocket PC Phone for the last few days, so the Smartphone was sitting around fully charged up and ready to roll. Earlier this evening I powered the PPC Phone down, popped out the SIM, inserted it into the Smartphone, and powered up. It’s up and running, complete with GPRS connection. How long that connection will last is uncertain…
The folks at Microsoft has graciously offered to either re-flash the ROM in this device or replace it if I’m still having the same issues in a couple of weeks, so I’ll be sure to keep voluminous records on how it is actually operating (or not).
Convergent Technologies GSM/GPRS CF Card
One of my gripes right now is that I’m “stuck” using a Pocket PC Phone, which makes it very difficult to smile when one of my co-workers comes wandering by with a brand new HP iPaq 2215. Of course, the nice thing that I have that they don’t is a phone, a Pocket PC and a wireless internet connection all in one package.
That’s all changed, and now I have no good reason NOT to run out and buy an iPaq 2215 - as long as I buy Convergent Technologies’ new CF GSM/GPRS card ($225) at the same time. Simply grab this card, pull the SIM out of your existing GSM phone, drop it into the slot on the CF card and you’re ready to roll. Plug it into your iPaq (or other Pocket PC) and you can immediately set up a GPRS connection. Want to use it as a tri-band GSM phone? Simply load on some software like Running Voice GSM and plug in a headset, and you have a fully functional mobile phone.
This isn’t an inexpensive solution ($400 for the iPaq, $225 for the Convergent card, and another $32 for the Running Voice software), but if you want a fast Pocket PC and the ability to connect wirelessly to the world, it’s great!
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Joy of Tech!
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MacLevelTen
