Did Palm just catch up with PocketPC?

[Martin]

check out this new device by Sony. It looks amazing, has a 200mhz ARM processor, has tons of functionality (build in camera - 640x480, optional 802.11b card) and from the pics, a FULL screen. it will also play back mp3s, mpeg4s, voice recorder, build in keyboard.....

I don't have great knowledge of PDAs, but it seems with this device, Sony has put Palm on par with PocketPC.

what do you guys think?

 

If the new PalmOS is any good they still have a chance at taming PocketPC.

 

[SaltBoy]

What do I think? I think I don't have enough money.

 

[UNCjigga]

Hard to say since I've never used PalmOS 5. Suffice it to say that the biggest weakness with Palm was the old aging OS (pretty much the same since its release 7 years ago) and the sluggish hardware (66mhz vs. 400mhz in PocketPC.)

 

[WinkOsmosis]

Size of a Pocket PC
Battery life of a Pocket PC
Processing power of a Pocket PC (and what programs are you gonna run with this power?)
PalmOS
Proprietary memory stick slot
Proprietary CF slot
Useless built in keyboard

It serves no purpose.

 

[NFS4]

No, b/c PocketPC's in the 400-500 range like the Asus myPAL and Toshiba e550G weigh 4.9 and 6.1 ounces respectively. MUCH less than the Sony which weighs 8 ounces and they both are thinner as well. They also have 400MHz processors and 64MB RAM as apposed to 200MHz and 16MB of RAM. The e550G has dual expansion slots (SD and CompactFlash). Both PocketPC's get better battery life than the new Sony (new Sony only gets 5 hours with the backlight OFF). Plus you can get the Toshiba e740 with dual slots, AND built-in 802.11b for about $400 from Amazon.com and it weighs about 6.7 ounces.

Then there's the the Toshiba e310 which can be had for $199 after MIR. It has 32MB RAM, SD slot, and weighs/is as thin as the Asus MyPAl.

Sony STILL has a ways to go to compete in this space.

New Sony specs:

? $500
? 200MHz processor
? Proprietary expansion
? 16MB onboard RAM
? 8oz
? 5.5" long, 2.9" wide, .93" thick
? Manufacturer claim of 5 hrs of battery life with the backlight off

 

[WinkOsmosis]

Oh yeah, the screen is 480x320, not VGA.

 

If someone comes out with an entry-level model $200 - $300, color display, 200Mhz processor, 32M then Palm is back in the game. Otherwise they f'd it up again.

Some people just want a nice organizer, not a tiny computer.

 

[Maverick]

why the hell is Sony wasting its time with Palm when they could make a bad ass pocketPC?

 

[NutBucket]

And to think I almost bought a NC710C. This looks sweet.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

They'll probably cop out though and slap in the XScale, which isn't worth squat until PocketPC.NET arrives, since 2002 isn't optimized for it. In the "real-world" testing it's pretty tough to tell the difference between a 206 ARM and a 400 XScale.

- M4H

 

[Martin]

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
They'll probably cop out though and slap in the XScale, which isn't worth squat until PocketPC.NET arrives, since 2002 isn't optimized for it. In the "real-world" testing it's pretty tough to tell the difference between a 206 ARM and a 400 XScale.

- M4H

That's what I was going to point out. All the articles I've seen say that there is no performance difference between 450mhz and 206mhz.

 

[iamwiz82]

guys the battery time is 5 hour WITH THE BACKLIGHT OFF! Thats absolutely horrible! I'd be suprised it if lasted 3 hours with it on!

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Well, given that most "battery life" claims are bunk anyhow, I'll claim four hours w/o and two hours with backlight.

- M4H

 

[Descartes]

I do a lot of handheld development for my company's clients, and very, very few have requested Palm. Of course, this is my experience; I can't speak universally.

I will say that, from a developer standpoint, the Pocket PC is infinitely more attractive. While I enjoy having to compile my Palm apps from the CLI using PRC-Tools under Cygwin (CodeWarrior sucks), I can't ignore how beautimus Visual Studio .NET's SDE (Smart Device Extensions; in beta now) is. Couple that with a *REAL* emulator (not that pseudo-emulator from the embedded Visual Tools garbage) and I'll never see a Palm again.

In summary: PPC all the way!

 

[rh71]

Umm... all this new technology with that price and it's not even a phone ?!

My top choice is still the Treo 300 (once Sprint gets it's act together).

 

I really hope Apple comes out with their rumored revolutionary PDA/phone (meaning not an ugly brick like the Palm/PPC offerings) and buries Palm and Microsoft.

 

[WinkOsmosis]

Originally posted by: rh71
Umm... all this new technology with that price and it's not even a phone ?!

My top choice is still the Treo 300 (once Sprint gets it's act together).

So when you switch from Sprint because it keeps disconnecting you, you're stuck with an integrated phone? The inventor of cellular himself, I forget his name, hates integration. Separate tools for separate tasks.

 

[T2T III]

No, b/c PocketPC's in the 400-500 range like the Asus myPAL and Toshiba e550G weigh 4.9 and 6.1 ounces respectively. MUCH less than the Sony which weighs 8 ounces and they both are thinner as well. They also have 400MHz processors and 64MB RAM as apposed to 200MHz and 16MB of RAM. The e550G has dual expansion slots (SD and CompactFlash). Both PocketPC's get better battery life than the new Sony (new Sony only gets 5 hours with the backlight OFF). Plus you can get the Toshiba e740 with dual slots, AND built-in 802.11b for about $400 from Amazon.com and it weighs about 6.7 ounces.

Plus, I thought I read where some Pocket PCs will be hitting the streets soon with a $299 (list) price. Which only means that the street prices will be less.