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Which Pocket PC!?

1

14k

Senior member
I know nothing about Pocket PCs, but I would really like to get myself one.

Any suggestions on which one to buy? Am I right in saying that they are just more advanced versions of these Palm Pilot things?

I am most concerned about being able to watch movie clips and listen to mp3s. Would it be possible to watch a DivX encoded movie on a Pocket PC? I read that the harddrive (storage memory) on these things are at most 64MB. How large in capacity can these expansion cards get? Could you get one that holds 800MB? If so, I should be able to watch DivX movies, right!?

I would also be looking at a newer model, small in size, and a nice design. US$450 is probably the most I could pay.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
 
Brighthand would be a much better resource for Pocket PC's. There, read up on them, including guides on how to reencode movies for your Pocket PC.

These machines run Windows CE, a slimmed down version of real windows, and they're are MUCH more powerful than Palm Pilots. They play colorful games, music, movies, etc. And yes, most machines are around 64MB internal, though the more powerful devices have dual slots so you can expand up to 1.5GB (1GBCF + 512MB SD) (or more if you get a PCMCIA adapter).

OK, you soulnd like you want a powerful Pocket PC. Here's what I'd do.
Get the iPAQ 2210/2215. This machine is the fastest one made yet (ie run Super Nintendo games without lag at autoskip 1 frame). This machine is almost perfect as long as you get one with a good screen (some devices have griddy screens) (see before you buy or buy somewhere you can return if you're not happy).

This 2215 is also the lighest dual slot device there is. It has both CF (which can also take PCMCIA adapters) and SD.

Try to get one from ebay for ~330ish (new ones are 399) That way, you'll have cash for a big CF (like a 512MB for ~$90 or a 256MB for ~$35) and an SD card (256 for $50). I recommend getting a keyboard along with the device (HP folding keyboard). Also get a wifi card for $30 if you want to have it networked.

Good luck!
 
Don't expect to run a full-sized 800 MB DivX file on your Pocket PC. You will most likely have to reencode your DivX file to fit the screen. I don't think Pocket PCs run quite fast enough to decode a full sized video without dropping frames yet.
 
Yes, 4GB card....but the $?

After encoding, you may get pretty good quality and speed though. It's somewhere in the Brighthand discussion forums under Pocket PC and under General Discussion.
 
Wow, thanks Ionizer. I might just go out and get the iPAQ h2210, plus it got a really good review on brighthand.com. I can't find any info on the h2215 though, and whether it's available.
 
This isn't totally relevant, since I haven't tried watching DivX, but anyhow...

I picked up an Ipaq 2210/2215 (exact same models, just numbers differs due to sales channels, blah blah). It's definately a pretty nice handheld, and kicks the crap out of my old Palm Pilot for functionality and looks. This Ipaq does have the Compact Flash and SD slots, so yes, you can use both types of memory at the same time, or use an IO device in one (wifi, etc) and memory in the other. Bluetooth is built-in, although I haven't had a chance to check the speeds for streaming media over it, and reviews have been mixed.

The only thing I dislike about the Ipaq 2210 is the fact that it's an XScale processor (400Mhz) and Microsoft saw fit not to bother to rebuild Windows 2003 for XScale, which means the processor runs windows slightly slower because it was originally built for ARM. Exact speed differences I'm not sure of. This also applies for software, which is 99.9% built for ARM devices. (Edit: This Ipaq is still considerably faster than the ARM based PocketPCs available, or atleast I'd like to think it is, but I haven't seen the numbers, anybody have any info on this?)

From a development perspective, this is frustrating. Especially since you can download Embedded Visual C++ 4 with the Windows Mobile 2003 SDK and an ARM compiler for free from microsoft, yet if you want to build for XScale, the compiler is $399US from Intel.

Anyhow... I'm interesting to see how the DivX playback works out for you, since I'm always trying to find more using for my Ipaq. Oh, and the one thing I actually meant to mention... SecureDigital memory is usually available in a max size of 512MB, while compact flash can easily be found in 1GB size, except the price is quite high. 512MB of compact flash is fairly good, price wise. Anything large than 1GB will be rediculously priced. SecureDigital is almost always more expensive than CompactFlash (or this has been my experience).

Hope that helps a bit. 🙂
 
So can people confirm that PocketPC 2003 isn't optimized for the XScale? I knew 2002 wasn't, and if 2003 isn't thats just sad.
 
Originally posted by: buleyb
So can people confirm that PocketPC 2003 isn't optimized for the XScale? I knew 2002 wasn't, and if 2003 isn't thats just sad.
Click to expand...

No it's not. Why would it be??

PocketPC2003 runs on three different processors:

Intel X-Scale
Intel StrongARM
Samsung ARM

Makes no sense to specifically optimize for X-Scale when there are other processors out there for the platform.
 
Dells are cheaper, yes, but they've had quirks with their WM2k3 release etc. The Axim is also 6.9oz's and is quite a big handheld.

The iPaq is really fast, and it's also really small and light at 5.1oz. If you get a bluetooth dongle for your computer, you could have it networked, or using a wifi CF card (~$30) works too if you have a wilan.
 
Originally posted by: 14k
Would it be possible to watch a DivX encoded movie on a Pocket PC?
Click to expand...

Sure...if its a really low bitrate. Don't think that you're going to be able to just take your Kazaa movies and have it play them 🙂
 
Originally posted by: chocoruacal
Originally posted by: 14k
Would it be possible to watch a DivX encoded movie on a Pocket PC?
Click to expand...

Sure...if its a really low bitrate. Don't think that you're going to be able to just take your Kazaa movies and have it play them 🙂
Click to expand...

Indeed, just get a budget labtop, most labtops under $1k have DVD drives and are 2GHZ+ in speeds which make it ideal for divx playback.
 
Originally posted by: NFS4
Originally posted by: buleyb
So can people confirm that PocketPC 2003 isn't optimized for the XScale? I knew 2002 wasn't, and if 2003 isn't thats just sad.
Click to expand...

No it's not. Why would it be??

PocketPC2003 runs on three different processors:

Intel X-Scale
Intel StrongARM
Samsung ARM

Makes no sense to specifically optimize for X-Scale when there are other processors out there for the platform.
Click to expand...

True enough, but it would be much appreciated if there was some way to obtain an XScale optimized version... Having worked for an embedded real-time OS company who provided an OS which could be ported to any processor, maybe I just assumed it was the norm to build your OS for your processor and hardware.

Isn't this how Windows CE used to be? With specific board and processor specific packages that were built around the core of the OS, with everything being optimized? (By optimized, I mean by the compiler, the code for the core OS functionality wouldn't be optimized for specific hardware or software)
 
They have yet to report on how fast the intel strongarm models run with WM2k3 (none available yet). The Samsung Arm V4 based chip does well in the ipaq 1945, thought not as well as the PXA-255 on the 2215.

Every device is different in speed even if some share the same processor. It doesn't matter if it's optimized or not as long as the end result is a fast device, and that's one area where the 2215 stands out 🙂

*Drool* smooth SNES emulation!

PS I got a Toshiba e740, ie the one that's not gonna get a WM2k3 upgrade. Wifi is fun though, and having dual slots is useful!
 
Originally posted by: NFS4
Originally posted by: buleyb
So can people confirm that PocketPC 2003 isn't optimized for the XScale? I knew 2002 wasn't, and if 2003 isn't thats just sad.
Click to expand...

No it's not. Why would it be??

PocketPC2003 runs on three different processors:

Intel X-Scale
Intel StrongARM
Samsung ARM

Makes no sense to specifically optimize for X-Scale when there are other processors out there for the platform.
Click to expand...

It makes sense because the XScale has some real beef to it if anyone ever optimised their software to run on it. I agree, a std ARM binary is the way to go for ease of programming, but there embedded porting is much easier when they are all in the same family to begin with...
 
Microsoft saw fit not to bother to rebuild Windows 2003 for XScale
Click to expand...
I have a Linux PDA with an XScale and recently recompiled mplayer with optimizations for it (armv5l) instead of normal ARM, but the performance difference was really small. The reason the PXA250 performs so terribly against the StrongARM is that it has a cache bug, the workaround being to disable cache write-back entirely. I have a PXA255, but several other people I know have PXA250 units and got a lot of performance back by recompiling their kernels with XScale errata off (risking instability). There is also a bus difference between the StrongArm and PXA250, but it's pretty negligible (103 vs. 100 MHz, I believe). But anyway, this optimized OS thing isn't such a big deal IMHO.
 
No, not that big a deal, although more performance can never be a bad thing. It's just nice to know that all the money you spent on a new device that uses a new, faster processor, is actually working at full capacity.

The only reason I mentioned it, however, is because I'm a developer, and the prospect of developing for these tiny devices makes giddy. (Sorry, couldn't find a better word... it's still morning) Not being able to compile for native XScale without shelling out the big bucks, nor being able to find software anywhere that's already compiled for XScale, is a little frustrating.
 
Originally posted by: Gaunt
No, not that big a deal, although more performance can never be a bad thing. It's just nice to know that all the money you spent on a new device that uses a new, faster processor, is actually working at full capacity.

The only reason I mentioned it, however, is because I'm a developer, and the prospect of developing for these tiny devices makes giddy. (Sorry, couldn't find a better word... it's still morning) Not being able to compile for native XScale without shelling out the big bucks, nor being able to find software anywhere that's already compiled for XScale, is a little frustrating.
Click to expand...

Exactly what led me to ask 🙂
 
OK, starting to get a headache now! =)

I have until mid-September to get this Pocket PC. Will there be any new pocket pcs released in the next few weeks worth waiting for that may top the iPAQ 2210? Otherwise, I'm going out to get this iPAQ 2210 in the next few days.

Thanks again.
 
while XScale has high potential, it is a bitch to write software for with optimizations in mind, and it really needs them... think of, in really bad terms, the xscale as being a P4 and the samsung arm being an athlonXP. The samsung has lower clock speeds, but can do more with each cycle. From reading around, a samsung 266 will lose some/win some split about 50/50 against a 400mhz xscale. Add into this the fact that battery life is slightly better on the sammy, and that is the way I would go.

Model I would get? Ipaq 1940/45 (same model, 40 is the model sold online, 45 is retail outlets.). Smallest ppc by a good margin, best screen on the market, decent battery life, and it fixed the problems of the 1910. Only real disadvantages I see are lack of built in wi-fi and no cf slot. A steal at $300 retail though.
 
Upcoming devices that may be quite good include the Mitac Mio's, the JVC unit, and the Dall Axim X7. You can find some details on both the JVC and the Mitacs at infosync.
 
I have a Toshiba e755 (400MHz PXA-255 processor, PocketPC 2003) and I've been pretty happy with it.

It's lighter and slimmer than some of the big HP iPaqs, has integrated 802.11b, a CF slot and an SD (SDIO) slot. Beautiful 3.8" 16-bit screen. An ATI graphics chip - accelerated video for some games and supports 800x600 VGA output with an expansion connector. 64MB RAM plus built-in 32MB Flash memory for additional storage. I've added a 256MB SD card to mine. Bottomless storage for me for some time to come.

The built in WiFi is really nice - don't need to use up a slot (and no antenna sticking out). And Toshiba makes a Bluetooth SD card for those who want Bluetooth support.

Most CompUSAs carry this device, so it's pretty easy to find one to play with first.

It's not the absolute smallest on the market, but not the biggest either. For all it's got (big screen, dual slots plus integrated WiFi), it's very reasonably sized I think.
 
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