hamishmacdonald
01-06-2005, 05:58 PM
I just wrote up a guide to explain to a co-worker in Canada the terms on a comparison chart of the new VGA Pocket PCs, and it occurred to me that I should share it with the community here. Hopefully someone out there will find this helpful:
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This is a chart outlining the current VGA Pocket PCs on the market:
http://www.firstloox.org/VGAppc.htm
I'll describe what each of the features in the chart mean:
VGA — this is the type of screen. I'm only recommending VGA screen models because I find the way they render text is just SO much nicer for me to look at, because I do so much of it. If you don't care about this, you might want to skip the whole list and buy the HP 3715. It's got the older QVGA screen, but the battery life is incredible and it comes with lots of fun multimedia features.
Processor speed — They're all around the same. The higher speed ones aren't so noticeably faster that you'd ever see it, from my experience.
Graphics card — Not used yet, and will likely only ever matter for games, or for movies encoded at a really high rate -- which would make them too huge to carry easily.
Wireless — This is WiFi (or "Airport" as Apple calls it). You *want* this, since it gives you access to "hotspots" in airports, hotels, and possibly at home.
Bluetooth — Not very widely adopted in North America, but huge here in Europe, this is another radio chip technology for connecting devices, such as PDA to phone, PDA to computer, phone to headset, etc. Version 1.2 has some improvements, but if your phone doesn't have it, it's not a deciding factor.
IR port — This only matters if you want to use your PDA as a remote control. High geek factor, though it does allow you to turn off those distracting TVs over people's shoulders in bars. "Consumer IR" is full-strength, with a range of 20 feet. Everything else is about 12 feet.
ROM — The amount of memory given to the operating system. Most PDAs now save a chunk for "File Store", which is an emergency backup space.
RAM — Your active memory for processing tasks. Pocket PCs work a little differently from PCs, in that the programs you install and the files you store on the device take away from your RAM. Happily, it's getting pretty cheap to buy high-capacity SD (Secure Digital) and CF (Compact Flash) memory cards now, and you can install programs and store files on these, too.
Note: There's a rumour going around that the next version of the operating system, due out sometime this year, will require 128MB of ROM. It's unsubstatiated as yet, so you may or may not want to take this into consideration. These devices become obsolescent very quickly, though, so it's best to buy a one for what it can do for you NOW.
Expansion — This is the sort of cards the device can use. Most of us who've been using these for a while have invested in CF cards, so it's important that these devices have that, and they all do. The QVGA Pocket PCs are often only SD.
USB host — Gives you the ability to connect thumb-drives, hard drives, and keyboards to your Pocket PC's USB cable. My only experience of using this is with the Pocket LOOX, and the transfer rates are pretty slow, so it's good for small files, but music and movies will take a long time to transfer.
VGA out — Only the Dell has this. It's the option to add a connector (not yet available) which can connect to a TV or projector.
Battery — These numbers are the rating in MegaAmperes (mAh). Higher is better.
Extended Battery — Optional extra-capacity batteries you can buy, which usually stick out like a camel-hump from the back of the unit, but add a lot of extra life.
Camera — They're all pretty crap at the moment. I've heard the Asus MyPal has a slightly better one, but they're all in the range of last year's camera phones. It's fun to play with, but don't depend on it, especially in dark conditions (there's a flash on the MyPal and the LOOX, but you have to be close to the subject and — well, flash photos are wretched).
Navigation — All these units have a little pad you can tilt about with your finger to move, for instance, a page up and down, or to scroll about in games. The HP has a new trackpad, like a laptop's, but it's hard to see how that's useful on something that already has a touch-sensitive screen. I've not read good things about it.
Sync Port — USB 2.0 is a lot faster. Only the HP iPAQ 4700 has USB 2.0, but it's also a huge PDA by comparison. It reminds me of my old Newton. That said, it does have a plastic flip-cover, which could do away with needing a case. (Though, WARNING, these devices are pretty frail. I keep breaking mine, and I'm not doing anything heroic with them, so I'd recommend a case of some sort.)
Other — VOIP is "Voice over Internet Protocol". There's a program called Skype (www.skype.com) that's free, and you can use it on any current Pocket PC, so I wouldn't worry about getting special features for it.
Available — The LOOX has just become available in North America without a camera, and the Asus isn't available in Europe (or I likely would have bought one).
BIG FAT CAVEAT EMPTOR: Like I said, these things can be frail. I just sent my LOOX away today because its screen got cracked over the holidays (I don't even know how). I'd ordered a Dell Axim to replace it and got it yesterday, but am waiting a week now for an exchange because it had a memory fault. So... If you can get an extended warranty, do. If you can get accident cover, even better. Dell offers both of these, which is nice. I'd also recommend buying it somewhere where you can take it back easily. I keep doing stuff by post/courier, and it's a pain in the butt.
Happy buying!
-----------
This is a chart outlining the current VGA Pocket PCs on the market:
http://www.firstloox.org/VGAppc.htm
I'll describe what each of the features in the chart mean:
VGA — this is the type of screen. I'm only recommending VGA screen models because I find the way they render text is just SO much nicer for me to look at, because I do so much of it. If you don't care about this, you might want to skip the whole list and buy the HP 3715. It's got the older QVGA screen, but the battery life is incredible and it comes with lots of fun multimedia features.
Processor speed — They're all around the same. The higher speed ones aren't so noticeably faster that you'd ever see it, from my experience.
Graphics card — Not used yet, and will likely only ever matter for games, or for movies encoded at a really high rate -- which would make them too huge to carry easily.
Wireless — This is WiFi (or "Airport" as Apple calls it). You *want* this, since it gives you access to "hotspots" in airports, hotels, and possibly at home.
Bluetooth — Not very widely adopted in North America, but huge here in Europe, this is another radio chip technology for connecting devices, such as PDA to phone, PDA to computer, phone to headset, etc. Version 1.2 has some improvements, but if your phone doesn't have it, it's not a deciding factor.
IR port — This only matters if you want to use your PDA as a remote control. High geek factor, though it does allow you to turn off those distracting TVs over people's shoulders in bars. "Consumer IR" is full-strength, with a range of 20 feet. Everything else is about 12 feet.
ROM — The amount of memory given to the operating system. Most PDAs now save a chunk for "File Store", which is an emergency backup space.
RAM — Your active memory for processing tasks. Pocket PCs work a little differently from PCs, in that the programs you install and the files you store on the device take away from your RAM. Happily, it's getting pretty cheap to buy high-capacity SD (Secure Digital) and CF (Compact Flash) memory cards now, and you can install programs and store files on these, too.
Note: There's a rumour going around that the next version of the operating system, due out sometime this year, will require 128MB of ROM. It's unsubstatiated as yet, so you may or may not want to take this into consideration. These devices become obsolescent very quickly, though, so it's best to buy a one for what it can do for you NOW.
Expansion — This is the sort of cards the device can use. Most of us who've been using these for a while have invested in CF cards, so it's important that these devices have that, and they all do. The QVGA Pocket PCs are often only SD.
USB host — Gives you the ability to connect thumb-drives, hard drives, and keyboards to your Pocket PC's USB cable. My only experience of using this is with the Pocket LOOX, and the transfer rates are pretty slow, so it's good for small files, but music and movies will take a long time to transfer.
VGA out — Only the Dell has this. It's the option to add a connector (not yet available) which can connect to a TV or projector.
Battery — These numbers are the rating in MegaAmperes (mAh). Higher is better.
Extended Battery — Optional extra-capacity batteries you can buy, which usually stick out like a camel-hump from the back of the unit, but add a lot of extra life.
Camera — They're all pretty crap at the moment. I've heard the Asus MyPal has a slightly better one, but they're all in the range of last year's camera phones. It's fun to play with, but don't depend on it, especially in dark conditions (there's a flash on the MyPal and the LOOX, but you have to be close to the subject and — well, flash photos are wretched).
Navigation — All these units have a little pad you can tilt about with your finger to move, for instance, a page up and down, or to scroll about in games. The HP has a new trackpad, like a laptop's, but it's hard to see how that's useful on something that already has a touch-sensitive screen. I've not read good things about it.
Sync Port — USB 2.0 is a lot faster. Only the HP iPAQ 4700 has USB 2.0, but it's also a huge PDA by comparison. It reminds me of my old Newton. That said, it does have a plastic flip-cover, which could do away with needing a case. (Though, WARNING, these devices are pretty frail. I keep breaking mine, and I'm not doing anything heroic with them, so I'd recommend a case of some sort.)
Other — VOIP is "Voice over Internet Protocol". There's a program called Skype (www.skype.com) that's free, and you can use it on any current Pocket PC, so I wouldn't worry about getting special features for it.
Available — The LOOX has just become available in North America without a camera, and the Asus isn't available in Europe (or I likely would have bought one).
BIG FAT CAVEAT EMPTOR: Like I said, these things can be frail. I just sent my LOOX away today because its screen got cracked over the holidays (I don't even know how). I'd ordered a Dell Axim to replace it and got it yesterday, but am waiting a week now for an exchange because it had a memory fault. So... If you can get an extended warranty, do. If you can get accident cover, even better. Dell offers both of these, which is nice. I'd also recommend buying it somewhere where you can take it back easily. I keep doing stuff by post/courier, and it's a pain in the butt.
Happy buying!