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TPGGTR Part 4 Close, But No Cigar
September 22, 2001
I’ve been living with an iPAQ Pocket PC that’s been upgraded to a beta version of the new Pocket PC 2002 OS for a couple of weeks now, and it’s been an enjoyable experience. It’s obvious that Microsoft is really listening to people and trying to make a superb handheld device. Some of the new features, such as the Block Recognizer (essentially built-in Graffiti support) and Bubble alerts are a large step forward. Other improvements, though relatively minor, such as adding a volume control to the Start bar at the top of the screen, still make working with the Pocket PC platform much easier.
The out of the box experience for a Pocket PC is indeed richer than the one you get with a Palm OS device— the entire “Pocket Office” with scaled-down versions of Outlook, Word, and Excel is just part of that. There’s also better connectivity built-in, with Inbox (which now allows subfolder syncing) and Pocket Internet Explorer. In other words, you don’t have to buy anything extra to get productive right away. That doesn’t mean though that there aren’t some third party programs you might purchase to enhance the experience— I’ve tried out several and really liked them,
including PocketInformant and several products from DeveloperOne. I’ll be writing reviews of those products in the coming weeks.
I must admit to being completely torn about my personal device decision. For two weeks I have been carrying both handhelds, using both of them for my usual daily tasks— appointments, to dos, contact management, notetaking, and of course a little gaming here and there. The Pocket PC hardware is far superior to what is available on the Palm platform. Especially the screen- the bright, clear screen of the iPAQ is an absolute joy to behold, and the ability to see more data without the dedicated Graffiti area getting in the way is a definite plus. Voice recording is pretty cool too, but it isn’t a necessary tool for me. Those hardware advantages have some drawbacks too, as the iPAQ is twice as thick as the m505, and a little bit longer. The battery also doesn’t last as long as the one in my Palm m505, but it’s good enough and charges up quite quickly.
Synchronization is another major area of concern, and I have been rather pleasantly surprised in this area. I’ve heard all sorts of horror stories about ActiveSync, but version 3.5 really works. I didn’t have any problems at all, and actually found that I like the conflict resolution model in ActiveSync better than the ones found in Palm’s HotSync.
Instead of simply copying both instances of a problem item to the handheld and the Palm Desktop, which means opening up the HotSync log, finding the cryptic error message, and then requiring you to go in and delete the out of date item manually, ActiveSync pops up a box showing you full information about both items and asks what you want to do. I like that kind of control, though it seems somewhat out of character for a synchronization program that is “always on” and constantly updating your handheld with changes made on the desktop and vice versa when it is docked in the cradle.
But a handheld is more than the sum of its parts, and for me software is the key deciding factor. I rely on ActionNames, Bonsai, PocketQuicken, and WordSmith on a daily basis. And I’m used to having things happen instantaneously on my Palm m505— seeing that hourglass on the Pocket PC was a disconcerting reminder of how often I have to wait for things to happen on my desktop. I don’t think that I should have to deal with the same sort of issue on my mobile device. If you start out with a Pocket PC, never having used a Palm, you might not even notice it. But as a Palm user, that’s a big issue for me.
What that means is that this Palm-user will remain a Palm-user, but only until something better comes along. After all, what’s important in this mobile equation is what works for me. Whether I have a Palm or a PocketPC doesn’t matter, as long as it does what I want and lives up to my expectations. My dream handheld device would combine the incredible
screen, connectivity, and multimedia power of the Pocket PC with the tiny form factor, awesome battery life, and third party software solutions available on the Palm OS platform. That may not be too far off in the future, with Palm planning to switch to ARM processors and with several of their licensees innovating new solutions, such as Sony with MP3 playback and HandEra with the disappearing Graffiti area and QVGA resolution.
In the short term that means that yours truly, while continuing to use my Palm m505 as my primary device, will continue to learn about and explore the Pocket PC side of the equation. As I come across worthy products I’ll write about them, regardless of platform. But I think you’ll find that even though I can’t promise to remain 98% Palm OS, this site will still stay pretty close to that mark. The Palm OS platform is what got me interested in mobile technology, and today it’s still the best one for my organizational needs.
