PPC and Palm Devices - Differences?

[Aerestis]

I'm not too clear on the differences besides the Processors, OS's, and applications available. I should be recieving a Dell Axim 5 soon, but I'm starting to wonder what the difference between it and a good Palm is. I played with a Palm, and I have to say that it was very fast, and very sleek looking. I enjoyed using it a lot, and it was very comfortable to my needs. I also enjoyed using an IPaq, however I don't know the series that it was from. The Palm was a Tungsten|E. But anyhow, I couldn't tell the difference. The iPaq certainly wasn't slow, and it was the same level of user friendliness, and it had the same applications.

In the end, it's really all about whether or not you want a palm in your palm, or a PocketPC, isn't it. Sort of like having an Apple machine or an Intel/AMD sort of machine.

I have read about rumours suggesting Palm is far less powerful and generally a bad product. But I never read this about PPC. I don't know I'm just very confused, and I really don't get it.

Anyhow, if this is a bad topic for the forum, then just let me know if you close it or delete it so I know what's up. I'm not trying to start a war, I'm looking for educated and unbiased opinions on both the PocketPC and Palm devices.

Thanks in advance!

Steve

[PoweriPaq]

I think there was an article between the two, an unbiased one. It all depends what you need. Here at work, sometimes I get bored, so I turned on my Pocket PC to watch a full movie on it. When the TV Tuner is out, I'll be getting that as well. I had Palm Vx and all I used it for was to organize my contact information and scheduler. Occasional gaming, but gaming is as far as I could get with it. Now, with Palm, you can surf the internet, it comes with Netfront browser which has Java built-in. Depending on which Palm device you get, the Sony one has a built-in Camera and Bluetooth. The Pocket PC device could have ranges from Built-In WiFi, Bluetooth and Compact Flash or just built in Bluetooth for the cheaper version.

I think both Palm and Pocket PC is about the same in price and as far as which one is more powerful, it's all depend what the user wants. Palm isn't a bad product, you would have to go to a Palm Website and ask them the same question you asked here, maybe you'll get an unbiased answer.
http://discussion.brighthand.com/palmhandhelds/

[Aerestis]

thanks, I'll definitely ask there as well. Oh, and I was just reading around, and I read that palms and ppcs are made from plastics coated in metal... is that true? If I'm paying over three hundred dollars for something, I would appreciate it being made for high quality materials. Then again, it does make it far lighter if it's plastic... Hummm. Yeah, I guess it wouldn't be a bad thing. But still, I was definitely under the impression that they are made from solid metals.

[PoweriPaq]

Actually, I would prefer it to be in pure steel, so when I drop it, the floor breaks instead of the ppc. And when someone tries to steal it, I can smash their head with my ppc. It would be a good PPC, non-stealable, not easy to break and overall, weighing like a brick.

Eventhough it's made of plastic coated in metal, it's still strong. I wouldn't want to drop it, and I haven't drop mine, yet. Knock on wood. The price is definitely high, and it's because of the component inside, not outside. I would rather have a reliable component than a reliable housing, though both would be nice, but then, are people here be ever satisfied with how the PPC is? Doubt it. I'm still waiting for the perfect one. But like I said above, pure steel. :lol:

[Thinkingmandavid]

I have used a Palm and a PPC and I prefer a ppc. This is because I enjoy the windows OS and find its familiarity convenient. For a while the ppc could do so much more than a Palm and so that was a good reason to go with a Palm.
In my opinion using a palm or ppc is a matter of choice. As many know on here and have either complained (2 that I know of) or laughed, that I have picked on Palm. My personal experience with Palm was not great, but it did do the organizing funcitons well.
My ppc allows me to do synching of documents that would have taken extra software for Palm to do. That extra software is Documents to Go.
The T3 is really nice looking and a good idea that came with it, so I give Palm credit for the T3.

[Fishie]

Im using a Palm TungstenE at the moment wich I got as a backup device just in case something happened with my Ipaq 2215.

And guess what, I lost my Ipaq so for the time being I have to make do with the Tungsten and altough the screen is supernice I hate most of the other things about it.

[Aerestis]

The palm I would like comes with Documents to go, mp3/video playing, so I suppose that is fine. So Fishie, could you please explain what you hate about it? I am seriously considering this so if you have information that is in depth or in any way useful I would love to hear from you.

The T|E for the price seem good to me... When I was playing with it, I found it was fast and extremely useable.

It seems as though palm JUST made the move to color screens with high resolution. The 320x320 screen on the T|E is very brilliant though, I was impressed.

[Thinkingmandavid]

Aerestis, the Tungsten e is a good pda for the money, and yes it is quick at what it does.
You could easily do everything that you want to with it and be happy :wink:
I just looked at Palmone.com, and they are selling the Tungsten e for 199.99 with five free Real.com downloads for the mp3s, and the mp3 kit for only 19.99. NOw that is a good deal :)
Free ground shipping!

[Fishie]

The palm I would like comes with Documents to go, mp3/video playing, so I suppose that is fine. So Fishie, could you please explain what you hate about it? I am seriously considering this so if you have information that is in depth or in any way useful I would love to hear from you.

The T|E for the price seem good to me... When I was playing with it, I found it was fast and extremely useable.

It seems as though palm JUST made the move to color screens with high resolution. The 320x320 screen on the T|E is very brilliant though, I was impressed.

The MP3 is alright, videofiles suck big time.
Kinomaplayer is horriblme qualitywise and the sound gets effed up beyond belief in the conversion process.
The lack of multitasking is hurting me greatly, no real filestructure etcetera either.
Docs to go is cool but yes stuff does lose formatting.
The price is good yes and the machine does what I bought it for(cheap emergency device in case something happened to my real workhorse) but it doesnt even come close to fullfilling my current needs.

[Aerestis]

thanks fishie and thinkingmandavid.

I noticed that 199.00 price and I am impressed so far.

I wonder why the sound would be so lossy? I doubt I would be lugging mpegs about with me but it would be handy to be able to show my instructors my 3d animation work that I do at home instead of only what I do at school.

Hmm, would I be able to place one or two mp3's onto either a palm or a PPC without having expansion memory? Or can you store items directly to the device? I won't be getting an extra storage card for about a month, probably.

Anyhow, a good thing to be asked, is if there is anything you can do on one that you can't do on another? That came to mind a moment ago.

Steve

[Fishie]

thanks fishie and thinkingmandavid.

I noticed that 199.00 price and I am impressed so far.

I wonder why the sound would be so lossy? I doubt I would be lugging mpegs about with me but it would be handy to be able to show my instructors my 3d animation work that I do at home instead of only what I do at school.

Hmm, would I be able to place one or two mp3's onto either a palm or a PPC without having expansion memory? Or can you store items directly to the device? I won't be getting an extra storage card for about a month, probably.

Anyhow, a good thing to be asked, is if there is anything you can do on one that you can't do on another? That came to mind a moment ago.

Steve

You can on PPC, not possible on Palm.
The MP3 playback requires an expansion card on the Palm.

[Aerestis]

Ahhh well darn. I suppose that makes it so there is a lot of room for applications, but is sort of lame. The cheapest reasonable sized card I can find for data is $99.99 CAD, which is quite a bit. I wish I could use my usb flash drive with it :wink: It would be bulky, but whatever.

[Air]

Dell X3 is also $199 right ow
and the viewsonic V36, with VGA camera is also $199 at amazon.

better performance, replaceble battery, better multimedia, better games, ad of course better softwares overall.

[Aerestis]

Air - Could you explain why they are better softwares and so on over all? I don't understand why they would be is all.

Also, I have that model coming to me. I suppose then I'll be able to know what's great about ppc... But still, I'm not about to pull Palm out of the equation.

I am really curious as to why the softwares are better though. Do you think so because they look better? I am sort of turned off by the gross graphics of most palm applications. It is a definite drawback... Not that a calendar needs to look nice, but it is always a plus if it does.

edit: I do like the idea of a replacable battery, but really, is it very important? What are the chances that I will ever need a new one? I would get a year warranty at a local store and that is I am sure enough time to see if the battery is ok or not.

Also, you have to admit that grafitti (Sorry if I spelled that wrong) is a very handy thing to have around. Especially if you don't want to have to pay to obtain something that can do the same.

[Aerestis]

I just realized that I am starting to sound like I am on Palm's side. In truth, I would prefer a PPC currently, but I am really trying to find out as much as possible.

Does anyone know if my device will recharge if I simply plug it into a wall? Next week in school I will be using it plugged into a wall CONSTANTLY; it would be excellent if that recharged it... I would be topping off the battery regularly, in some cases without their being use. I hope this is possible, that would be awesome. Or do I have to recharge by plugging in the sync cable? I'm not very clear on that.

[yslee]

I've used both platforms quite a bit, and I find Palm easier to use (less tapping on the screen and all, and a more intuitive approach). However its file system is rather retarded, and as such I do prefer the PPC's ability to read PC files just like that. Very good for referencing materials (no conversion required, just copy and go). Also the software on PPC can be a good deal more powerful, so it is a matter of choice.

For Palm, you can download the Palm simulators and try installing some apps you'd use to see if you like the interface and features; for PPCs I guess it's good to know a friend using one now. :D

[Aerestis]

Do you mean retarded as in slow or just an offensive term for stupid? hehe. I've heard elsewhere that the file system is a bit silly... I'm not sure why that would be? Does it not use folders and documents like any other file system?

[Janak Parekh]

Do you mean retarded as in slow or just an offensive term for stupid? hehe. I've heard elsewhere that the file system is a bit silly... I'm not sure why that would be? Does it not use folders and documents like any other file system?
Stupid. The internal memory of the device does not use a filesystem. :evil: Instead, it uses a collection of "databases". Ther are tools to make this easier to manage, but Pocket PC's notion of having a filesystem throughout the device makes much more sense, IMHO.

--janak

[billbuckner]

I just realized that I am starting to sound like I am on Palm's side. In truth, I would prefer a PPC currently, but I am really trying to find out as much as possible.

Does anyone know if my device will recharge if I simply plug it into a wall? Next week in school I will be using it plugged into a wall CONSTANTLY; it would be excellent if that recharged it... I would be topping off the battery regularly, in some cases without their being use. I hope this is possible, that would be awesome. Or do I have to recharge by plugging in the sync cable? I'm not very clear on that.

I believe you can, depending on which company you use.

[Aerestis]

oh ok cool. I'll be using the Dell Axim. Sorry for that mistake with their, I recall being corrected in grade three for that one :wink: It makes me feel a bit silly.

I think I am going to go pick up a Tungsten|e and just see how it goes. I am able to return either my ppc or the Palm if I get a Palm, so I think I might spend some tiem with both to really make a decision. I almost feel like palm is inferior for some reason, like it's really not as capable. ppc seems to have the ability to truly expand. Correct me if I'm wrong of course, but it seems like Palm might be falling behind. Microsoft for one thing has too much influence, users trust them. And the ppc just has more customization features, more gaming potential, and a more familiar interface.

Oh well, we'll see over time. I'm going to find out this week, I hope. It should be exciting :D

[Thinkingmandavid]

Trying both OS's out is a good idea for you. It will help you in your decisions making and see pros and cons that have been discussed on here.
I think for 199.99 the Viewsonic v36 with the camera is a good deal and the Dell x3.
Someone mentioned less taping on the screen, that is only for some programs. If you want to delete a name on a Palm it is a longer process than a ppc. That is in my opinion. Tap and hold on a ppc and then delete. For the Palm there is more steps involved. That is a minor thing for what you are trying to buy your pda for.
I think everyone on here has done a good job in being neutral in answering your question so it is great. :wink:

[Aerestis]

Definitely, I really appreciate all of these answers. On friday I am going to run down and pick up a Tungsten|E at Staples, because they have a deal that just started today where it comes with a bunch of extra stuff for the same price :) If I do decide to keep the palm, I'd like the extra stuff. it's just little things, probably a twenty dollar saving, but it's enough for me. For some reason I still haven't recieved the Axim, but I can wait. It would be such a rush if I got them both on Friday, hehe.

[Aerestis]

Well, I am playing with a Tungsten|E. It's a very fast pda, and I like os5 a little. I'm really happy with easycalc, a free calculator available for it, and I really enjoy graphitti. Sorry if I spelled that wrong, that word has always gotten me :wink: The screen is also nice. In general these devices are really incredible. But I don't know, dispite it running cpu-demanding games flawlessly, having some great software, a great screen, and a other things, I'm not too sure yet that it's what I would like to keep. I'm now intrested in a Toshiba, but I couldn't seem to get the model to turn on. The price was down eighty dollars though, and I am one of those people who accidentally (or not) buys everything when it's on sale. Hmmm, we'll see. For now though, I can really understand why Palm and PocketPC are so close in the race. They are both reeeaaally cool :D Tomorrow I have a good lengthy bus ride. I'll have tons of time to get cosy with the t|e and see how I feel about it. That Toshiba definitely caught my eye though... However, it was still 379 CAD. (But it was down from 449!!) hehe