What's Most Important in Your Next Pocket PC? [Archive]

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Jason Dunn

10-27-2002, 01:01 AM

I was thinking about the next generation of devices, and what they'll bring, and it made me wonder what the single most important thing in the device was. Battery life? Speed? Small size/weight? Wireless? Pick the most important thing to you from the list below when considering the purchase of your next Pocket PC (whether that be from the current crop of devices or a next-generation device). This list may not be complete, so if I'm missing your #1 need, let me know in the comments.

Janak Parekh

10-27-2002, 01:05 AM

How about "all of the above"? :lol:

Seriously - the one problem I don't have is the battery life. With a iPaq 3870 and a CF+ sleeve, the dual battery setup lasts forever. I've totally stopped looking at the Power meter. I personally find it pocketable too.

Overall, I'm very happy with my unit. I'd love integrated CDMA and WiFi, but I'm living OK without them and with a Socket card (and, again, having the sleeve with a second battery is a lifesaver). I'll be watching the 5400 series closely, myself.

I'll tell you what I want before a next-gen PocketPC - actual Bluetooth phones other than the T68. I have the T68, and it's great, but I would much rather have CDMA where I live, but none of the darned Verizon phones are bluetooth!

OK, enough ranting...

--bdj

mookie123

10-27-2002, 01:13 AM

Janak Parekh

10-27-2002, 01:17 AM

This is kind of offtopic, but...

Death to Bluetooth, Long live Mini USB2.0.
Why not Firewire? It already offers everything you want, except handheld market adoption (and not that USB 2-to-Go even exists yet!)

I'm talking about the scenario where I'd like to surf using my cell phone. I do it all the time with my iPaq and T68. I used to do it with my iPaq and v8160. Let me put it this way: holding both or pocketing one with a cable dangling sucked.

for wireless I take WiFi. BT should be banished from all memory as soon as possible. Dang, WiFi consortium should pay me for this post. :D
OK, find one cell phone manufacturer that thinks the battery requirements for WiFi are integrable. I keep Bluetooth on my T68 on all day, and it impacts the battery life maybe 10-15%.

--bdj

Boxster S

10-27-2002, 01:30 AM

How about the option for a small/lightweight device?

I can't believe you left out that one

tj21

10-27-2002, 01:42 AM

Increased screen resolution!

I'm done buying Pocket PCs at 240x320 and am seriously considering switching to a Clie NX70 mainly for the larger screen. I hate to do it but the smaller resolution just doesn't cut it any more. 360x480 should be a minimum for .NET but I'd still like MS reduce the size of task bars and scroll bars to increase space.

But integrated Bluetooth should be a must as well.

TJ

ECOslin

10-27-2002, 01:46 AM

Will it work when I need it to, will it do the job, can it do the next job, how hard is it to set up for the job?

Is my PDA mission essential equipment? Or, if its lost with baggage what impact does it have on the mission?

My z50 will do presentations, thru a vga-out, to a projector.
My Maestro won't, Many Ipaqs will with a sleeve.

My z50 still gets second looks for it's subnotebook appearance.
My Maestro has a common form factor that I fear is common. I've been asked if it was a Palm Pilot a couple of times too many. Ipaqs look more techy.

Both use common CF cards that my data is more easily pocketed and read if my device is lost.

It's just a thing with me, but I hold Battery Life to be most important, it doesn't impress anyone if it does not work.

Edward

mookie123

10-27-2002, 01:53 AM

quote="BigDaddyJ"

Why not Firewire? It already offers everything you want, except handheld market adoption (and not that USB 2-to-Go even exists yet!)

the Mini USB spec was just announced about less than a year ago so it's very new. First product using it will start showing up at year end. (Even Palm Zire already adopting this mini USB 2.0)

Firewire patent is controled by Apple. and USB 2.0 is faster and easier to build than firewire. They are still building the new and improved firewire 2.0. but I seriously doubt any sane company will bow to Apple fee and licensing scheme.

I'm talking about the scenario where I'd like to surf using my cell phone. I do it all the time with my iPaq and T68. I used to do it with my iPaq and v8160. Let me put it this way: holding both or pocketing one with a cable dangling sucked.

ehrrr.....make the cable longer maybe? so you can tied up your phone on your neck, and holding the iPAQ on the other hand :P (joking. but that's just minor cosmetic problem......)

OK, find one cell phone manufacturer that thinks the battery requirements for WiFi are integrable. I keep Bluetooth on my T68 on all day, and it impacts the battery life maybe 10-15%.

Think about it, Wireless phone transceiver probably uses even more power than WiFi, this is just tweaking frequency and wave pattern , big deal. The problem with BT it's just not offering much more the benefit by adopting new networking standard. BT 1.1 is just not fast enough to do anything useful than light weight file transfer, so forget about hooking up your DVD player to your PDA via BT

in fact there are several companies already combining WiFi with phone tranceiver system. (random google search)

http://www.rf-solutions.com/news_press.htm#Convergence

Paragon

10-27-2002, 02:09 AM

mashtim

10-27-2002, 03:10 AM

dual mem slots, significant battery life, great screen, lightweight, WiFi..... all those are great and absolutely necessary. I already have most of that with an e740.

What I want? A GSM AND WiFi-enabled device that allows me to be connected both on the road AND at home/in my office (without using my GSM account to surf while at home).

CoreyJF

10-27-2002, 03:39 AM

I would like to vote but there wasn't an all of the above button.

disconnected

10-27-2002, 03:56 AM

I also couldn't choose just one thing.

The things I want most are out of the control of the PDA manufacturers.

On the device level --
I'd love a 4" screen (transflective).
I'd like dual slots, but I can live with just the SDIO slot, especially when the SD 802.11b card comes out.
I'd like more ram and more battery life, but it's not essential.

On the OS level --
I want PIE to be improved, at least back to the level of PPC2000.
I'd really like a higher resolution screen.

From Sprint --
I want a Smartphone with bluetooth (preferably built in) or even just a plain phone with bluetooth, and a reasonable price for data.
This is what I want most, so I'm considering switching to tmobile and a t68i -- would still prefer a Smartphone though, so I could use either the phone or the PDA for browsing.

Don't Panic!

10-27-2002, 04:11 AM

I want a Windows Media Player that doesn't pause the picture while playing videos... But seriously all of the above should have been an option.

Don't Panic!
Bobby

EricMCarson

10-27-2002, 04:58 AM

I'm talking about the scenario where I'd like to surf using my cell phone. I do it all the time with my iPaq and T68. I used to do it with my iPaq and v8160. Let me put it this way: holding both or pocketing one with a cable dangling sucked.

ehrrr.....make the cable longer maybe? so you can tied up your phone on your neck, and holding the iPAQ on the other hand :P (joking. but that's just minor cosmetic problem......)

OK, find one cell phone manufacturer that thinks the battery requirements for WiFi are integrable. I keep Bluetooth on my T68 on all day, and it impacts the battery life maybe 10-15%.

Think about it, Wireless phone transceiver probably uses even more power than WiFi, this is just tweaking frequency and wave pattern , big deal. The problem with BT it's just not offering much more the benefit by adopting new networking standard. BT 1.1 is just not fast enough to do anything useful than light weight file transfer, so forget about hooking up your DVD player to your PDA via BT

Now seriously, the whole point of bluetooth is to eliminate the geek factor with all those cables. If you really want cables dangling from your neck or pocket, go get 60" gold chains too, they are about as attractive. Bluetooth, with the elimination of cables, just makes my PDA that much more usable when I am mobile (isn't that the whole point of the PDA?). I can use the internet through GPRS, use the IA dialer to make a call and then pass it off to my bluetooth headset, get driving directions through a bluetooth GPS receiver, on and on and on. All of this without ever knowing where the phone or GPS receiver is, and without ever having to find the correct "dongle" on the cables.

BTW, since the phone transceiver eats up as much power as WiFi, think about having your phone battery drain twice as fast with WiFi built in. That's not an experience I'm looking forward to. Bluetooth on my T68i has never decreased the power on my phone to the point where it is noticeable and my phone is on 24 hours a day (I recharge approximately every 2 1/2-3 days).

As far as the bandwidth issue goes, I have yet to have someone show me that they need more than 768k bandwidth on the PPC. Your DVD player is only kicking out 667-760K max (unless you are kicking out HDTV signals, which cruise at about 1.5M). I haven't seen a PPC2K device yet that even comes close to taking advantage of the full speed of my T1 connection at work through the bluetooth access point because the speed limitations on the device (and I've tested many, many devices). For almost every application possible that I have ever wanted to run (GPS, printing, GPRS internet, WLAN through BT access point), BT has worked great with no noticeable difference between it and WiFi on the PPC devices.

If you want super fast speed, go get a laptop (or tablet pc) & WiFi. If you want portability and battery life, get a PPC with bluetooth.

Jonathan1

10-27-2002, 05:29 AM

Janak Parekh

10-27-2002, 05:53 AM

the Mini USB spec was just announced about less than a year ago so it's very new. First product using it will start showing up at year end. (Even Palm Zire already adopting this mini USB 2.0)
So I did some research on this, and it appears Mini-USB is the same thing as USB, but a smaller connector (a la Sony's i.Link for their 1394 ports). Sure, I could see that adopted by devices. The question is if Pocket PC's will uniformly support USB host functionality. While some do today, it's a small minority. The whole problem is that USB has this host-guest architecture, which Intel specifically designed to prevent peer-to-peer, sans PC communication. If the iPaq 6000, et. al. don't support USB host, Mini USB 2.0 is not going to help at all. (Firewire, since it's a peer-to-peer technology, needs no such host capability...)

Firewire patent is controled by Apple. and USB 2.0 is faster and easier to build than firewire. They are still building the new and improved firewire 2.0. but I seriously doubt any sane company will bow to Apple fee and licensing scheme.
Several points:

1. Apple doesn't control all the patents on Firewire - they have about 2/3rds, there's a bunch of other companies involved. They have in fact created a patent pool. IEEE-1394 is also an established standard.

2. The "monstrous fee" for Firewire is a whopping $0.25/unit. Whoop-de-doo. The cost of developing and integrating a new technology is far higher.

3. Firewire has already been rated to be slightly faster than USB 2. Firewire 2 should blow USB 2 out of the water.

By the way, you're right in saying that USB will be the de facto standard for all future Pocket PC's; Intel and Microsoft are closely coordinating to ensure this. It's almost as frustrating as the DVD(+/-)RW competition, though, that an established, well-working standard is being ignored. It'll be interesting to see if Sony puts i.Link on their Palm devices in the future, though :D

ehrrr.....make the cable longer maybe? so you can tied up your phone on your neck, and holding the iPAQ on the other hand :P (joking. but that's just minor cosmetic problem......)
I know you're being humorous, and someone else suggested this, but I've tried it. The Socket cell phone CF card's cable as well as the iPaq serial cables were plenty long enough. It had nothing to do with that. I don't want to be carrying a cable everywhere I go! I keep an iPaq in my right pocket, a T68 in my left pocket, and I can walk without a bag and whip out my iPaq and surf as necessary. Are you ready to carry 3-4 cables in a fanny pack wherever you go?

Also, try pocketing a antenna-enabled cell phone upside-down. It sucks. (FYI, all CDMA phones in the US have antennas, so a non-antenna phone is not a choice). Try pocketing it right-side-up, it also sucks. Believe me, I was doing this before most anyone else, and the GPRS + Bluetooth alternative is far, far superior.

Think about it, Wireless phone transceiver probably uses even more power than WiFi, this is just tweaking frequency and wave pattern , big deal. The problem with BT it's just not offering much more the benefit by adopting new networking standard. BT 1.1 is just not fast enough to do anything useful than light weight file transfer, so forget about hooking up your DVD player to your PDA via BT
No, Bluetooth is more than that. By having different modes of communication, power requirements can be adjusted accordingly. Bluetooth has a "idle mode", a "discoverable mode", and a "transmitting mode" to say the least. The power requirements of Bluetooth in all of these modes is far less than the cellular signal and WiFi's idling modes.

in fact there are several companies already combining WiFi with phone tranceiver system. (random google search)
Yes, I know; Ericsson is looking to implement a dual-mode wCDMA and WiFi phone. This will require major advances in battery technology, plus some very clever WiFi implementation. I'm not trying to predict the long-term solution for PAN's, but Bluetooth is here, works now, is more secure than WEP, etc. (Universal WideBand is another dark horse, long-term, so don't assume WiFi is the predetermined solution :))

Obviously it's not going to work for DVD's (Eric, note that DVD's may have a 600KBps rate, but Bluetooth is 700Kbps), but it will work for internet surfing for at least the next 2-5 years, which is what I'm (and a lot of consumers) are looking for.

--bdj

dunneldeen

10-27-2002, 06:08 AM

Give me a device with Firewire (or at least USB 2.0) and it would find a place at the top of my list.

vincentsiaw

10-27-2002, 07:23 AM

all the option is already there, just waiting for the manufacturer to put it in a new package, except battery technology, which hasn't improve alot yet. when i will get a pocket pc that can be turned on, with backlight on for 12 hours continuosly :?:

Pony99CA

10-27-2002, 07:32 AM

How about "all of the above"? :lol:
Actually, it's not a joke. I completely agree. One feature doesn't usually make a device; it's the overall mix of features that's important. That's why I chose my original iPAQ 3650 -- I wanted a 3670, but wasn't willing to pay $100+ for 32 MB more RAM. When I bought my iPAQ 3870, it was based on many factors (Pocket PC 2002, 64 MB RAM, the 16-bit color screen, SD slot, Bluetooth, etc.), not just one.

I might be able to rank the items, but picking a single most important item might imply that's all I cared about. For me, I want better battery life (and I use a dual PCMCIA sleeve, which has a built-in battery), a better screen (especially in daylight), built-in WiFi (so I wouldn't have to use my dual PCMCIA sleeve all the time), more memory (I have 64 MB, so another 64 MB device would be a minimum with no incentive to upgrade on that account), and CDMA 1xRTT (I hope I got those letters correct) capability. Built-in GPS would be great, too.

Think about it in a different way. Would you buy a car based on one main feature -- speed, gas mileage, styling, price?

Steve

Pony99CA

10-27-2002, 08:03 AM

FLEXABLE screen! Imagine having a device about the size of a fat pen. You hit a button and a 8"-10" screen rolls out. Then when you sit the device down the laser keyboard comes on.

For those of you laughing at this idea I want you to copy this post and look back on it a few years down the road when it's a reality.

I'm not laughing. In fact, I came up with this idea on my own several years ago. I called it the Flexi-Comp, and it was basically an overhead transparency. The top 2/3 of it was the "screen", and the bottom 1/3 was the "keyboard". (They would both just work the same way, but the bottom 1/3 would display a keyboard layout, so you wouldn't need any extra laser keyboard.)

With the work being done in electronic ink (little balls with black & white surfaces in them), this might not be so far off. There already is a roll-up keyboard available, but it seems a bit bulky now.

NOTE: I'm not claiming that I was the first to have the idea of a flexible computer, just that I came up with it independently. I was thinking about the ideal form factor for electronic books one day, and the idea hit me. Also, in the late 70s or early 80s, I came up with a system I called CompuView, or CV, which was basically a video-on-demand service. I wish I'd patented some of my ideas, but I'm too lazy. :lol:

Steve

techie

10-27-2002, 09:20 AM

In order of preference....

- battery life
- size
- size
- size
- size
- connectivity (bluetooth, GPRS, 802.11b/c/de/f/h/g

It needs to be slimmer and last forever on a single charge. With the connectivity options, you wont need a cellphone, just the bluetooth headpiece and voice activation (they are soooooo close to getting this going, but not quite).

carlosgp

10-27-2002, 02:14 PM

I'm an avid reader, so my preferences are all about screen. Well, you can inlude size too :)

mememe

10-27-2002, 04:11 PM

You missed the one that is the kicker for me..
It has to be the size of the Palm Vx/M515...

nwarren

10-27-2002, 06:48 PM

I think the results and the discussion say one thing - there is no one single improvement that will make everyone happy!! This is a really tricky situation for the manufacturers and highlights the feature issues they have to contend with.

Until they can deliver desktop power and compatibility, with desktop connectivity speeds and display resolutions, within a form factor that fits in a shirt pocket and battery life that lasts more than one or two working days then there won't be a single solution for the vast majority (80-90%).

In the meantime then they have two choices - develop multiple devices with different options or design a single device with multiple options...may the third choice is a bit of both!!

I'm lucky enough for my paying job to allow me to evaluate loads of mobile devices - currently I've got a couple of iPaqs, a Tosh e570, an XDA, a tablet PC, a range of about 6 different Nokia phones (incl the 7650) and a couple of laptops (I'm still waiting for my Smartphone :))). What I've found is that no one device satisfies me in all circumstances.

I love the power of my Dell C400, coupled with the fact that I can carry it around. I love the portability of the 7650, and the colour screen, camera, email etc is great but inputting data is poor. The XDA is great with its integrated GPRS and PIM functions.

So I guess I'm still at the multiple devices for using in different situations stage. What I really want is seamless connectivity between all of these - I want my PIM data on all of them, and for it to be up to date. I want to be able to do what I want, when I want and where I want.

What I think this says is that for the time being (and some time to come yet), the focus for real usability development needs to be on making all these devices straightforward 'portals' to my work and data - whether that be calendar, email or Office documents.

In the meantime, I'll keep bodging things together, using whatever technologies are provided - cables, USB, BT, WLAN, GPRS, extra batteries, memory cards, data exchange software etc - as far as I'm concerned the more options that are built-in the better. With today's technology, for my next laptop, I don't see why I shouldn't expect integrated wireless everything (BT, WLAN, GSM/GPRS)?

Will T Smith

10-27-2002, 11:08 PM

Death to Bluetooth, Long live Mini USB2.0.

imagine all the possibilities....
interface with portable hardrive, telephone, disk player, camera, scanner, printer, BIG actual radio transmitter forget dinky built in WiFi....etc.

for wireless I take WiFi. BT should be banished from all memory as soon as possible.

Dang, WiFi consortium should pay me for this post. :D

Good luck getting drivers for all this. Remember, USB is not a "standalone" technology. USB implementation is VERY dependent on the host (master) CPU for shuffling data around.

Contrast this with firewire, which is peer-to-peer.

Beyond that, just remember that Bluetooth is a wireless cable replacement technology. USB2.0 isn't even remotely addressing the same issues as bluetooth.

Will T Smith

10-27-2002, 11:14 PM

I really don't care about batt life any more simply because I drop it into the cradle at the end of the day and it charges. I don't need 12 hours of batt life. IMHO as long as its getting at least 6-8 with backlight set to medium while playing music through my headphones I'm happy.

My biggest concern is that MS get rid of their windows 9x OS for the Pocket PC. That is what I consider the Pocket PC OS. Its Windows 9x of the PDA world. I want a Windows 2000 OS. Something that won't crash when a program crashes. Something the handles memory or in actuality allows YOU to handle memory in a better fashion. (Try moving the slider to allow a large file in main memory and watch the damn thing slide right back to center.) Some real security in the OS

Jonathan, for being quoted as an intellecutal, that response shows remarkable unbridled ignorance.

PocketPC OS was actually VERY AHEAD of it's time from the get go. 32-bit memory (protected), pre-emptively multi-tasking, sophisticated file system and advanced I/O capabilities.

Certainly, it is not without it's rough edges. However, Palm OS has yet to come even CLOSE to the level sophistication of PocketPC OS.

Please do some reading on your subject and educate youself prior to your next posting.

Sven Johannsen

10-27-2002, 11:51 PM

Guess I'd have to fall into the camp of "I can order them, but give me most of them." If I had to pick one thing to better my current device, which would then imply it's importance to future ones...Battery Life...under normal operating conditions, backlight on, WiFi running (or MP3 running, etc....), at least some active load.

USB 2.0? Braaaaach, Bleeech. Best I can tell it's just faster USB 1.1, which IMHO is the source of 9/10 of sync issues. That is not just a PPC observation, I consistantly loose comm with USB printers, graphics tablets, etc, as well as it being a PITA for PPC. Just today, had to resync a hard reset PPC with a new installation of Win XP and AS 3.6. Wouldn't see the device for nuthin. Reboot, remove and re-install AS. Nuthin. Remove install AS 3.5. Nuthing. Grabbed a serial sync cable and it came up first time, no muss no fuss. From that point on the USB worked OK, but if I had been a first time PPC user, this thing would have gone back to the store.

I'd vote for BT, if BT was more ubiquitous on PCs. I like syncing with WiFi. I've had it work when USB was acting up, but man it sucks power. Maybe PPCs should be sold with a BT dongle. No. wait, they'd make that hook to the USB port and screw it up.

Can't believe folks are voting for 4" screens. The device would have to be bigger you know. There are size complaints now, and you want it bigger? I say there needs to be some other form factor for some things, but lets create Paperback Book PC, something about 5x7 (total) that really lends itself to e-book reading and video watching. My PPC needs to fit in my pocket, shirt pocket at that.

Jonathan1

10-28-2002, 01:49 AM

Jonathan, for being quoted as an intellecutal, that response shows remarkable unbridled ignorance.

PocketPC OS was actually VERY AHEAD of it's time from the get go. 32-bit memory (protected), pre-emptively multi-tasking, sophisticated file system and advanced I/O capabilities.

Certainly, it is not without it's rough edges. However, Palm OS has yet to come even CLOSE to the level sophistication of PocketPC OS.

Please do some reading on your subject and educate youself prior to your next posting.

Huh. Thanks for being insulting. You could have just as easily scratched that first line and still made your point but what the he!!. Why not insult me as well.

The key word you used is “WAS” not IS but “WAS”
Ahead of its time 2 years ago maybe. That was then. This is now. I don’t care about Palm. I’m not using a Palm. I don’t care about comparing apples to oranges. Simply put the Pocket PC system is to the PDA world as Windows 9x is to the desktop world. This OS can be crashed by 3rd party software. Its memory management IS a joke. Please dispute this with facts to the contrary. What sophisticated file system are you talking about? FAT? Just because it does have a file system doesn’t make it sophisticated.
Now look at Activestink for a second. You can’t actually cut and past from your desktop to the Pocket PC. It won’t let you. How about the speed limitations in AS? How many people are STILL having a heck of a time getting the Pocket PC to consistently and stably link to the desktop? In 2 year time we’ve had a .6 upgrade in Activestink and to date just go browse the boards and see how many complaints you get about this software. Where is this forward momentum?!?!

I will agree 2 year ago the Pocket PC was revolutionary. Since that time what forward momentum have we seen in the OS? Patches here, patches there, and a .5 upgrade that is Pocket PC 2002. I’m sorry if I come off more then a tad jaded but I want some forward momentum from the Pocket PC camp. I look at what Sony has done in the last 1.5 year with an aging OS and think my god if Sony can pull off such things why hasn’t MS yet?!?! Where are they? Why have we not heard word one from them? Is this another platform MS is slowly pulling away from?!?! Am I the only one that feels this way?

I’ve been in the Pocket PC camp since day one when they went on sale April of 2000. I know Pocket PC’s and I love them, heck I help lead our user group here in MN, but that doesn’t mean I can’t get frustrated with them.

toshtoshtosh

10-28-2002, 01:53 AM

Well, since you gotta chose, I'll take a 4inch 640x480 transflective display.

With that photos would look as good as holding developped film in your hand.

Newsboy

10-28-2002, 02:57 AM

...it doesn't impress anyone if it does not work.

Edward

Bingo. I hate going to play an MP3 or show someone my WiFi connection, and my Maestro dies halfway through it.

I'd like a bigger screen, but I'd also like a business card size device. I no longer want a "do-it-all" PDA, because it does none of it as well as I'd like. I think my WinCE future consists of two devices:

1) A mini-notebook, such as the IBM Z50, or NEC MobilePro 880.

2) A Windows powered Smartphone, or an XDA.

ECOslin

10-28-2002, 03:02 AM

I'd like the capability of using a full size keyboard(by bluetooth, wan or esp), with landscaped screen and possibility of Vga out.

Enough battery power to start my truck or run it til I don't care.

Separate backup battery.

Edward

Take1

10-28-2002, 07:46 AM

Gotta agree with the hi-res requirement. I use my NR-70 more than my iPAQ simply due to the fact that everything is in super hi-res. I'm a big eBook fan and I specifically got the NR-70 for reading eBooks and it's by far the best PDA I've ever used for this purpose. Here's a list of what I would like to see in the next PPC:

1. High res at least double resolution of the current.
2. Audio quality on par with the 38xx and 39xx iPaqs.
3. Battery life of at least 10 hours at med. brightness.
4. Transfective screen (backlit reflective for Marlof)
5. Dual slot (2 SD or SD/CF)
6. removable battery (like HP568)
7. clamshell design or similar built in cover which 'dissapears' when open.
8. Revised OS that doesn't have SD access problems, freezing, or slowdowns.
9. Big a*s screen like on the Toshi e550G (do the opposite of Casio).
10. METAL case -- don't care if it weighs 7.0 oz., I want METAL. Lots of it.
11. Size on Par with e550G (WITH built in cover) or NR70.

jojaboi

10-28-2002, 09:29 AM

@PARAGON

I'm with you all the way with the flexible screen idea. i been tellin my brother that's what i want to see for a while now. and don't feel bad, he laughs at me too :D. whoa, can u give me a link where i can learn more about the technology?

brandon

PPCRules

10-28-2002, 07:45 PM

Integrated CF slot.

(c'mon Dell, out with it.)

techie

10-28-2002, 10:46 PM

You guys aren't thinking big enough...

1. High res at least double resolution of the current.
2. Audio quality on par with the 38xx and 39xx iPaqs.
3. Battery life of at least 10 hours at med. brightness.
4. Transfective screen (backlit reflective for Marlof)
5. Dual slot (2 SD or SD/CF)
6. removable battery (like HP568)
7. clamshell design or similar built in cover which 'dissapears' when open.
8. Revised OS that doesn't have SD access problems, freezing, or slowdowns.
9. Big a*s screen like on the Toshi e550G (do the opposite of Casio).
10. METAL case -- don't care if it weighs 7.0 oz., I want METAL. Lots of it.
11. Size on Par with e550G (WITH built in cover) or NR70.

1. I agree with.
2. I want dolby surround sound. Its coming to the PC (dolby are getting into the PC market), so why not my PPC.
3. Battery life should be huge. 10 hours is not enough when you are travelling for a day or more (I live in New Zealand). I want it to run for a week, just like my cellphone.
4. The screen should be bright and readable in all lighting conditions.
5. 1GB RAM. If they can (almost) do it with a something as small as these new XD format cards, why not inside the PPC. I want the slot for other things (e.g. connection to projector), not just as the main memory storage.
6. Irrelevant if the battery lasts a week or more. Still, would be useful.
7. Size is ***important***. C'mon, who really carries their iPAQ in their shirt pocket, esp with a backpack.
8. AMEN!
9. The screen should either be fold-out, or the same size as the unit itself. Why is my ppc bigger than the screen + buttons? It shoudn't be.
10. Its gotta be light, so metal is out.
11. Size is important, but those devices are still way too big.

Just my $US0.01c worth (NZ 2c is not worth much these days).
Cheers.
Techie.

JornadaJ

10-29-2002, 05:11 AM

Hey, I'm glad I'm not the only one wanting a metal case!

I was hoping for big things with the new class of PPC's coming out. I am a bit let down by the fact that the OS isn't optimized for X-Scale, or so I've heard. It just seems like huge oversight on MS's part. Passing a chance to possibly deal Palm a death blow. Kind of like letting Lee slip away after Gettysburg...sorry, reading a book on the Civil War, forgive my influences.

Anyway, I honestly think I may pass this generation. It just doesn't seem like the big advances I'd hoped for. If aftermarket companies can 'plus up' the memory to over 100MB, why can't the factory for a lot cheaper?(Economy of scale.)

I was showing my Jornada to a friend, who I am trying to convince that he wants to take the training wheels off and get a PPC. He mentioned possibly adding a AM/FM radio. If you used a metal case, that could serve as a basic antenna, or use the cord for the headphones. I don't know if it can be done, but not a bad idea. I know there are sleeves, but I hate the diea of carrying a sleeve for everything...

Jonathon Watkins

10-29-2002, 11:25 AM

The thing that really, really interests me most is a 4' VGA transfexive screen. Then there won't be any problems with running older software at it's 'native' resolution. With 480x360 you have the problem that older software can't exactly be fitted to the screen. With 640x480 you just need to have 4 pixels for every 1 on the old 240x320 screens. Perfect! :D

The original laptops had very large bezels and the screens were 8 or 10 inches max. As technology and the manufacturing techniques increased we got 12 and even 13 inches of screen into the same area. The same type of thing should be possible for PPCs. OK at the moment 4 inch devices are rather large, but it should be able to shrink them down somewhat. There is always the physical limits of the 4 inch screen, but I want a ‘holsterable’ device – not a pocketable one. I can’t even comfortably fit the Toshiba 310 in my pocket – I always use a belt clip – so 4 inches of screen would be great.

The other things would be nice too. A metal case would be great – the extra strength would easily offset the extra weight. Great Audio is a must – I take it for granted as I do for dual slots. We are at the mercy of the slow improvements in battery technology at the moment – but the figure of at least 10 hours does seem right. A built in cover of somekind is something that is mysteriously absent on most of the current PPCs. :x

Anyway – with all these new manufactures (Dell, Viewsonic etc.) coming onto the scene – it should be possible to get an ‘idea’ device for each of us. – Please
:D

ECOslin

10-29-2002, 01:23 PM

Alright, a flexible screen might be an improvement in break resistance.

But, I wonder if the material will dimple and how would that affect the display? If you take any plastic sheet material hard enought to provide a backing and treat it roughly. Does it recover without leaving a stress mark like a V shape?

Rough and tumble.

The only display problems running the wrong pda software on the wrong pda were screen width ones. The power management for a Handheld Mips stayed at the defined resolution on a PocketPC Mips. The height was right but only the center of the window was visible in correct resolution in the PDA screen.

What about a transreflective screen that is solar panel enough to soak up a charge while you're using it?

Edward

Steven Cedrone

10-29-2002, 03:42 PM

What about a transreflective screen that is solar panel enough to soak up a charge while you're using it?

What about an integrated flip cover that doubled as a solar trickle charger?

Steve