What about the Compaq Aero 1550 with Windows Pocket PC OS? Does anybody have any comments about these? It would seem that they might offer a good compromise between the Palms and iPaqs in terms of price and flexibility. Since you can pick one up for $229.99 shipped from Amazon.com w/ a coupon (maybe even cheaper elsewhere), they are about the same price as a Palm IIIxe. Can anybody comment on these? I am in the market and am torn between this or a Palm OS device.
hey guys, those who own the visor (the regular one, not the deluxe), I have a question. I just got one as a gift and I noticed something very odd about the stylus. There's nothing from preventing it from just slipping right out. If I turn the visor upside down, the stylus just slides right out. Is this the case for all visors, or is something wrong with mine. It just seems really strange that this would be normal. If it is, what's a good replacement stylus I can get that won't slide out, and where can I buy one? Thanks
Jin
Jin
Yes, I know what I said sounds insane, but there is some truth behind it. I have a Casio EM-500, 150 mhz processor, not quite 206, but close enough. Anyways, take a 28mhz palm, or a visor platinum, and an ipaq, and make an avantgo channel for these very forums, and see which one comes up first. It might not be as pretty on the palm, but it formats WAY faster. Its an absolute total pain in the ass to get anything but simple web pages and pre made portable content to have a decent speed on any pocket pc, and I am saying this from experience with several palms and pocket pcs. Try adding a channel for voodooextreme and it'll take a good couple of mins for it to come up.
Sure the palm browser is not quite as feature filled, but do you need all of that on a PDA? I havent tried a palm IIIc so I dont know how well a palm will handle color, but I used to have a Aero 1550 and 2100 (basically the same, one with and one without color), and the speed was the same so I doubt color has much to do with speed.
Now I'm not going to argue that a 206 mhz processor wouldnt be nice, no matter how you look at it, a 16mhz processor isnt going to be playing mp3s or movies anytime soon.
And its not just the browser. Now dont get me wrong, I'm a fan of pocket pcs, but theres something seriously wrong. Even for simple PIM tasks, the pocket pc needs far more comparative processing power, not to mention memory. Why on earth should I have to reserve half my ram just to run the program? You dont even need program ram on a palm.
I used to stick with pocket pcs, but not only is the palm faster, its more functional. I have yet to find a decent database for the ppc (MobileDB for the palm), and its also impossible to find decent school management software for the ppc (Four Zero, a must for any student). If pocket pcs had comparable software, I'd waste no time in going back.
Each platform has its merits, but palm seems the way to go, FOR NOW. Pocket PC is definitely the future. Going back to a 160x160 8bit color screen is hard from the EM-500 screen (320x240, 16 bit color, and just plain beautiful). Photos look WAY better on it.
So where do these problems lie? I believe it stems from two factors, the non proprietary nature of the pocket pcs, and the pps trying to bite off more than they can chew. Windows CE is not only written for handhelds, but also for many other platforms, such as embedded OSes. So some bloat lies there. Also, ppcs run on three different processors (Mips, SH-3 and ARM), and programs have to be recompiled for each. So not only does the os have to be translated (A VM or so?), so do the programs, and thats a LOT of overhead. Its that reason that Java is so much slower than C++, and C is much slower than assembly level machine language. As far as I know, palm software has to be almost always written in assembly, or some other very low level code, and I believe Visual Studio or some high level language is used for PPCs. Having one processor across the entire lineup, albeit a very slow processor, definitely has its advantages.
Also, there is simply no reason to fully format a web page on a PDA. With only 240 pixel wide screens, scrolling to the side is a major pain, and the fit to page option in mobile IE doesnt always work as advertised. If my p90 laptop can format voodooextreme in seconds, why does it take minutes on a 150mhz PPC? They are in SERIOUS need of optimization.
Now none of this matters if the PDA gets done for you what you need it to. As long as its fast enough, processor specs dont matter. But the simple fact lies that PPCs can be extremely slow at simple tasks, and while palm may not be as pretty doing the same, at least it gets it done. I am NOT a palm junkie, after using both platforms heavily (I've been through a Palm IIIe, IIIx, IIIxe, hopefully a IIIc soon and a Compaq Aero 1550, 2100, and casio EM-500), I just cant deny that palm gets the job done for now.
As far as the 1550 goes, its a great unit for the price, the 70mhz processor aint that bad, it gets the job done, but dont expect to be formatting major web pages, typing major documents in pocket word, and reading long books with microsoft reader. And the black and white screen goes, its prob the best I've seen so far.
Sure the palm browser is not quite as feature filled, but do you need all of that on a PDA? I havent tried a palm IIIc so I dont know how well a palm will handle color, but I used to have a Aero 1550 and 2100 (basically the same, one with and one without color), and the speed was the same so I doubt color has much to do with speed.
Now I'm not going to argue that a 206 mhz processor wouldnt be nice, no matter how you look at it, a 16mhz processor isnt going to be playing mp3s or movies anytime soon.
And its not just the browser. Now dont get me wrong, I'm a fan of pocket pcs, but theres something seriously wrong. Even for simple PIM tasks, the pocket pc needs far more comparative processing power, not to mention memory. Why on earth should I have to reserve half my ram just to run the program? You dont even need program ram on a palm.
I used to stick with pocket pcs, but not only is the palm faster, its more functional. I have yet to find a decent database for the ppc (MobileDB for the palm), and its also impossible to find decent school management software for the ppc (Four Zero, a must for any student). If pocket pcs had comparable software, I'd waste no time in going back.
Each platform has its merits, but palm seems the way to go, FOR NOW. Pocket PC is definitely the future. Going back to a 160x160 8bit color screen is hard from the EM-500 screen (320x240, 16 bit color, and just plain beautiful). Photos look WAY better on it.
So where do these problems lie? I believe it stems from two factors, the non proprietary nature of the pocket pcs, and the pps trying to bite off more than they can chew. Windows CE is not only written for handhelds, but also for many other platforms, such as embedded OSes. So some bloat lies there. Also, ppcs run on three different processors (Mips, SH-3 and ARM), and programs have to be recompiled for each. So not only does the os have to be translated (A VM or so?), so do the programs, and thats a LOT of overhead. Its that reason that Java is so much slower than C++, and C is much slower than assembly level machine language. As far as I know, palm software has to be almost always written in assembly, or some other very low level code, and I believe Visual Studio or some high level language is used for PPCs. Having one processor across the entire lineup, albeit a very slow processor, definitely has its advantages.
Also, there is simply no reason to fully format a web page on a PDA. With only 240 pixel wide screens, scrolling to the side is a major pain, and the fit to page option in mobile IE doesnt always work as advertised. If my p90 laptop can format voodooextreme in seconds, why does it take minutes on a 150mhz PPC? They are in SERIOUS need of optimization.
Now none of this matters if the PDA gets done for you what you need it to. As long as its fast enough, processor specs dont matter. But the simple fact lies that PPCs can be extremely slow at simple tasks, and while palm may not be as pretty doing the same, at least it gets it done. I am NOT a palm junkie, after using both platforms heavily (I've been through a Palm IIIe, IIIx, IIIxe, hopefully a IIIc soon and a Compaq Aero 1550, 2100, and casio EM-500), I just cant deny that palm gets the job done for now.
As far as the 1550 goes, its a great unit for the price, the 70mhz processor aint that bad, it gets the job done, but dont expect to be formatting major web pages, typing major documents in pocket word, and reading long books with microsoft reader. And the black and white screen goes, its prob the best I've seen so far.
NFS4
No Lifer
- Oct 9, 1999
- 72,636
- 47
- 91
BigDee, I don't know why your Casio performs so slowly as you say, but mine is lightning quick even when pulling up these forums...be it through Avantgo or through my 56k modem.
<< Also, there is simply no reason to fully format a web page on a PDA. With only 240 pixel wide screens, scrolling to the side is a major pain, and the fit to page option in mobile IE doesnt always work as advertised. If my p90 laptop can format voodooextreme in seconds, why does it take minutes on a 150mhz PPC? They are in SERIOUS need of optimization. >>
Sounds like your PocketPC has issues. Even with a modem, VE doesn't take long to load up for me. And why have a fully featured browser? B/C when I'm away from my desktop, I use my iPAQ as a COMPUTER. And I want ALL of the features. Cookies, Java, etc. IE shrinks down my pages and it looks very good. There is minimal side scrolling for the pages I go to. And while I was home over Thanksgiving break, I placed orders through Buy.com and Amazon.com using the iPAQ and was able to make my posts as usual through Anandtech Forums. I was also able to browse my normal daily trip of websites just as easily as on my Desktop.
Why have a feature filled browser?? I say WHY NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When browsing offline channels, pages come up instaneously. In fact, Anand was so impressed with the speed we were looking to get one for him to replace his Palm V.
As for simple PIM tasks as you say...same thing. Lightning quick and extremely responsive. And I have 32MB of RAM, and am only using up 5.45MB of storage space and I have a BOATLOAD of programs installed.
<< But the simple fact lies that PPCs can be extremely slow at simple tasks >>
My iPAQ is never slow...the only time it even hesitates is when opening up Reader, and that only takes 2 seconds. Maybe the StrongArm processor is just much faster clock for clock than the MIPS processor in the Casio. Benchmarks show the iPAQ drilling the Casio left and right and for the same price.
I will say this though, my old Aero 2110 w/PocketPC upgrade was DOG slow with the 70MHz MIPS processor. This iPAQ feels more than 3 times as fast as that old bag of bones.
<< Also, there is simply no reason to fully format a web page on a PDA. With only 240 pixel wide screens, scrolling to the side is a major pain, and the fit to page option in mobile IE doesnt always work as advertised. If my p90 laptop can format voodooextreme in seconds, why does it take minutes on a 150mhz PPC? They are in SERIOUS need of optimization. >>
Sounds like your PocketPC has issues. Even with a modem, VE doesn't take long to load up for me. And why have a fully featured browser? B/C when I'm away from my desktop, I use my iPAQ as a COMPUTER. And I want ALL of the features. Cookies, Java, etc. IE shrinks down my pages and it looks very good. There is minimal side scrolling for the pages I go to. And while I was home over Thanksgiving break, I placed orders through Buy.com and Amazon.com using the iPAQ and was able to make my posts as usual through Anandtech Forums. I was also able to browse my normal daily trip of websites just as easily as on my Desktop.
Why have a feature filled browser?? I say WHY NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When browsing offline channels, pages come up instaneously. In fact, Anand was so impressed with the speed we were looking to get one for him to replace his Palm V.
As for simple PIM tasks as you say...same thing. Lightning quick and extremely responsive. And I have 32MB of RAM, and am only using up 5.45MB of storage space and I have a BOATLOAD of programs installed.
<< But the simple fact lies that PPCs can be extremely slow at simple tasks >>
My iPAQ is never slow...the only time it even hesitates is when opening up Reader, and that only takes 2 seconds. Maybe the StrongArm processor is just much faster clock for clock than the MIPS processor in the Casio. Benchmarks show the iPAQ drilling the Casio left and right and for the same price.
I will say this though, my old Aero 2110 w/PocketPC upgrade was DOG slow with the 70MHz MIPS processor. This iPAQ feels more than 3 times as fast as that old bag of bones.
I just tested, and it took me 20 seconds to load the general bbs forum listing, and a full 2 mins to load a 20 post thread, on my 150mhz EM-500. Using simple arithmetic and giving some room for the faster clock by clock speed of the ipaq, it should take you 1 min. This is with cookies, images, sounds everything. It took 8 seconds to load the exact same post on my 28mhz palm (Afterburner overclocked). If it wouldnt be too much to ask, could you time for yourself how long it would take to load a similar 20 post thread on this bbs? I find it hard to believe that I'm doing anything wrong, I cant find any other explanation other than the os or browser for this speed discrepancy.
Using a palm modem, I could place the same orders through avantgo, so I dont see that as any sort of advantage.
While I cant really say I was ever extremely cramped for space on any of my pocket pcs, the fact that programs are twice as large and you need to reserve memory for program use is a definite problem. However, much of my problem is filling the memory on the pocket pcs was simply because I couldnt find enough decent programs to fill it with.
And I'm not going to argue that the Ipaq isnt fast. But does it really seem 200mhz fast? Considering the size and simplicity of even pocket pc apps compared to desktop apps, you should wonder why there is even a delay at all, no matter how slight it may be. Its be no means slow, but for the price, I'd definitely expect more.
Regardless of their capability, I still feel ripped off by palm. Strictly on a technical basis, the aero 1550 costs the same as a palm IIIxe, and with the pocket pc you get 16mb of ram, 16mb of rom, a bigger and better screen, better speakers and sound capablity, a processor triple the speed etc etc compared to 2mb rom, 8mb ram and a crappy screen and slow processor. Palm seems to definitely be making a far larger profit.
Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Palms are technicalogically (is that even a word?) inferior, but definitely use every ounce of their power. Pocket pc units are beasts, but the os is a hog.
I'll wait for the day when palm will get with the times. Theyre rumored to be using arm chips soon, and doubling the resolution of the screen wouldnt hurt.
The speed of the ppc isnt nothing to really complain about, but I expect more from a 150mhz processor. Maybe when ppc gets decent applications I'll consider switching back, but until then itll be hard to pry me away from my palm.
Anyways, I'll be waiting to hear from you about the speed of the forums on the ipaq, I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt.
Using a palm modem, I could place the same orders through avantgo, so I dont see that as any sort of advantage.
While I cant really say I was ever extremely cramped for space on any of my pocket pcs, the fact that programs are twice as large and you need to reserve memory for program use is a definite problem. However, much of my problem is filling the memory on the pocket pcs was simply because I couldnt find enough decent programs to fill it with.
And I'm not going to argue that the Ipaq isnt fast. But does it really seem 200mhz fast? Considering the size and simplicity of even pocket pc apps compared to desktop apps, you should wonder why there is even a delay at all, no matter how slight it may be. Its be no means slow, but for the price, I'd definitely expect more.
Regardless of their capability, I still feel ripped off by palm. Strictly on a technical basis, the aero 1550 costs the same as a palm IIIxe, and with the pocket pc you get 16mb of ram, 16mb of rom, a bigger and better screen, better speakers and sound capablity, a processor triple the speed etc etc compared to 2mb rom, 8mb ram and a crappy screen and slow processor. Palm seems to definitely be making a far larger profit.
Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Palms are technicalogically (is that even a word?) inferior, but definitely use every ounce of their power. Pocket pc units are beasts, but the os is a hog.
I'll wait for the day when palm will get with the times. Theyre rumored to be using arm chips soon, and doubling the resolution of the screen wouldnt hurt.
The speed of the ppc isnt nothing to really complain about, but I expect more from a 150mhz processor. Maybe when ppc gets decent applications I'll consider switching back, but until then itll be hard to pry me away from my palm.
Anyways, I'll be waiting to hear from you about the speed of the forums on the ipaq, I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt.
NFS4
No Lifer
- Oct 9, 1999
- 72,636
- 47
- 91
<< And I'm not going to argue that the Ipaq isnt fast. But does it really seem 200mhz fast? Considering the size and simplicity of even pocket pc apps compared to desktop apps, you should wonder why there is even a delay at all, no matter how slight it may be. Its be no means slow, but for the price, I'd definitely expect more. >>
Well considering that I can play MP3's and WMA's in the background while browsing through the OS, or through Pocket IE, or typing word documents without it skipping. I'd say that 206MHz is pretty damed fast.
Through Avant Go (with images, cookies, etc. on):
Anandtech Forums Mainpage - 4 sec
General Hardware (the first 20 posts, b/c Avantgo won't log into the forums for you) - 3.76 sec
Voodoo Extreme - 18.78 sec
This Thread (the first 20 posts, b/c Avantgo won't log into the forums for you) - 30.15 sec
Hmmm, wonder what took so long for the last one...
*Edit* The reason why it's slow (I would assume) is b/c it isn't specifically formatted for Avantgo. All the channels I subscribe to I get from Avantgo's page and hence they are optimized. Hence the reason why I don't have the forums as one of my channels.
NFS4
No Lifer
- Oct 9, 1999
- 72,636
- 47
- 91
I use my PDA to surf the web when I'm away from my desktop machine. i.e., out of town, at home from college, etc.
During my 5 days at Thanksgiving break, my PDA served as my only connection to the net for email, web browsing, FTP, Telnet, and AOL chat.
They need an ICQ client so that I can have everything
During my 5 days at Thanksgiving break, my PDA served as my only connection to the net for email, web browsing, FTP, Telnet, and AOL chat.
They need an ICQ client so that I can have everything
I recently bought an Ice color Visor Deluxe... due at my door on Monday.
Can't wait to get it but are there any special things I need to be aware of? Defects, parts easily broken, etc etc.
Can't wait to get it but are there any special things I need to be aware of? Defects, parts easily broken, etc etc.
Eug
Lifer
- Mar 11, 2000
- 24,159
- 1,806
- 126
I'm buying a laptop for this sort of thing. It's not really a bonus for me to have this stuff on a PDA, and I don't want to pay for it.
PocketPC IS good, but the price point isn't very good for most people, and the speed isn't necessarily faster. Decide what you need, and then make your decision on which PDA to buy. But remember, everyone has different needs.
PocketPC IS good, but the price point isn't very good for most people, and the speed isn't necessarily faster. Decide what you need, and then make your decision on which PDA to buy. But remember, everyone has different needs.
Damn, my Visor Ice came today, on a SUNDAY, from Amazon.. wish I can open it.. as it's for the Wife's x-mas. I order a Blue the day before I order the Ice and it's still not here. I order another Blue for my sister and it's still not here, and I order them before I order the Ice.. WTF!?!? oh well, can't wait for mine to arrive..
OS
Lifer
- Oct 11, 1999
- 15,581
- 1
- 76
Overclocked my m100 to 32 mhz and set memory and wait states to fast settings. It's a fast little b!tch now, zero pauses for almost everything.
Theres a deal out floating out there for a IIIxe for 150 should I switch? One of the reasons I bought the m100 is that they are supposed to be more durable, and I hear bad stories about the 3 series and cracked screens
Theres a deal out floating out there for a IIIxe for 150 should I switch? One of the reasons I bought the m100 is that they are supposed to be more durable, and I hear bad stories about the 3 series and cracked screens
Well then thats the point. 30 seconds on a 206mhz processor to load what would only take 8 on a measly 28mhz processor, and it looks pretty much the same. Looks the same on my 1550 than on my palm, so I'll assume IIIc would match the ipaq, aside from the lower res screen. Avantgo doesnt use specially formatted pages, the predefined content is just very simple webpages. Pocket IE (its not quite IE 5 as you state, not even close) is just plain slow. Its definitely way cool to bring the forums with you on the go, something that is out of reach for the pocket pc. Sad, but true.
Maybe I'm different, but PDAs playing back MP3s and WMA just doesnt impress me. I'd rather use a md player. If it could hold more than 2 or 3 songs without clogging up the entire pda's memory than I'd consider it. I refuse to use 64kbps wma, cause it sounds like crap.
I'd like to switch back to a more powerful Pocket PC unit one of these days, but they need to get better applications. Theres things you can do on your palm that while pocket pc would be more than able to handle, cant pull it off because of low application support. And that OS really needs to be revamped. The UI is great, but whats underneath is pretty crappy.
BTW...want ICQ? Get a palm! Sad isnt it?
Maybe I'm different, but PDAs playing back MP3s and WMA just doesnt impress me. I'd rather use a md player. If it could hold more than 2 or 3 songs without clogging up the entire pda's memory than I'd consider it. I refuse to use 64kbps wma, cause it sounds like crap.
I'd like to switch back to a more powerful Pocket PC unit one of these days, but they need to get better applications. Theres things you can do on your palm that while pocket pc would be more than able to handle, cant pull it off because of low application support. And that OS really needs to be revamped. The UI is great, but whats underneath is pretty crappy.
BTW...want ICQ? Get a palm! Sad isnt it?
NFS4
No Lifer
- Oct 9, 1999
- 72,636
- 47
- 91
<< its not quite IE 5 as you state, not even close >>
It's close enough IMHO. I can do everything but animated banners (who wants that sh!t anyway) and Shockwave (there is actually a program out that integrates into PocketIE though).
Otherwise, I can do everything else that IE 5.5 does on my desktop.
<< BTW...want ICQ? Get a palm! Sad isnt it? >>
Actually, there is a MIPS version...just not an ARM version available yet.
<< Maybe I'm different, but PDAs playing back MP3s and WMA just doesnt impress me. I'd rather use a md player. If it could hold more than 2 or 3 songs without clogging up the entire pda's memory than I'd consider it. I refuse to use 64kbps wma, cause it sounds like crap. >>
I use 80kbps WMA's and it sounds great through my stereo headphone jack. As for memory usage, that's why I have a 32MB and 80MB CF card for storage
I've been wavering between the Palm IIIc, the Compaq Aero 1550 and the Handspring Visor Platinum - all of which are in the same price range taking advantage of various deals at Amazon. I gave up last night and bought the Visor Platinum.
It's my first upgrade to my ancient Palm Pilot Pro (yes, the original OS 1.0 one).
Anyway, thanks for a (mostly) informative thread. I learned quite a bit. I'm still not sure if I shouldn't have gone with the Palm IIIc though.
It's my first upgrade to my ancient Palm Pilot Pro (yes, the original OS 1.0 one).
Anyway, thanks for a (mostly) informative thread. I learned quite a bit. I'm still not sure if I shouldn't have gone with the Palm IIIc though.
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