Which PPC for me?

[JHNguyen]

Hello,
I'm getting rid of my laptop, sort of.. I'm giving it to my sister, so I'll only get to use it occasionally. And I'd really like to use a PPC instead of buying another laptop. I know you can't do many things with it.. but here's what I'm looking for.

-Surf Web (will I still be able to stream music?)
-Check Email
-Chat on AIM
-MP3 Player
-Video player
-Homework..typing stuff and printing it (if this is even possible)

I'm not going to carry this thing everywhere, and I'm not sure what these things are capable of.. but thats basically all I need it to do. Unless there's something cool I don't know of? :lol:

I want to try to keep it under $350.. the lower the better of course.. A few that caught my eye were the Dell refurbished x51's.. but I wasn't sure which model was right for me.

I'm 16, if this makes a difference. I won't be needing that GPS stuff.. etc.

John

[Cybrid]

Short answer, yes. to a limited fashion.
Some gotchas
Pocket Internet Explorer is very limited. You can however obtain more robust browsers in order to compensate. May cost $
Similarly all your needs about 90% could be met but you have to remember that it is smaller/less capable than a laptop. You wouldn't be able to do all the things a laptop offers you with nearly the same ease.
You'd have to decide, is ease of portability worth the sacrifice?
Example: Large book reports will require an external keyboard $. To ensure that things print in a proper format you'd need textmaker $ .Then a printing application that supports your device $. A compatible printer $?
It can be done but you'll need to learn (time) need to adapt (time) spend some serious cash to get an acceptable result that your laptop could do with ease. If you don't need/want up to the minute portability...stick with the laptop. Use the money to get your sister a cheaper/older laptop.

[r@dimus]

On your list, the only one that is going to be difficult to do and stay within your budget is your homework. Like was said, you're going to need an external keyboard of some kind and TextMaker, and a printing app. Here's some rough prices on those things:

Infrared keyboards go for around $50. A Think Outside or Dell Bluetooth keyboard runs around $100. If might be possible to get a full-sized PC Bluetooth keyboard to work if there's a driver for it.

If you want a mouse, Think Outside has a nice Bluetooth one for around $50.

Textmaker is $50.

A printing application will run you between $9 and $30.

Printing will be accomplished through either a WiFi connection, if you PDA is so equipped, or infrared. Your printer will either need to be on the network or have an IR port for this to work.

Then there is the issue of how willing you'll be to spend extended periods of time working off the small screen of a PPC compared to a laptop. It might not be so bad with the screen set to landscape orientation, but it's still peanuts compared to a laptop.

The closest that PPC's come to being laptop replacements, in my opinion, is the top-end Dell X51v. You can jack in all sorts of peripherals and adapters via the CF slot. The VGA screen can support more applications and web sites. The CPU is as fast as many laptops were around 4-6 years ago. Then there is the perk of a built-in VGA out connection so you can tie it into an external monitor. There's a thread over on Aximsite where a guy took a X51v and basically turned it into a desktop system:

http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showthread.php?t=121415

So, yes it could replace a laptop in a lot of ways but not within your budget. For what it would cost to do this with a PPC you could buy a pretty decent refurbished laptop and still have some cash left over.

[JHNguyen]

Hey,
Thanks for the help so far..
I guess I was being sort of silly about the whole printing thing. I do have access to a laptop most of the time, so I'd be able to print from there. The whole printing thing just woulda been a cool thing to me.. like, print out some stuff from a website or some short notes.. not a giant research paper.. My printer is actually on our wireless network also, so I think it'd be easier? But either way though, now that I think of it, printing isn't a huge thing.

It's just MP3/Video player for when I'm at school.. Surfing the web, and checking email when I'm at home.. that's pretty much it really. I must ask though, are a lot of sites unviewable on a PDA? w/flash, or java or whatever? I'm really into streaming music off websites to find new music to listen to, and would hate to lose that.

Lastly, everyone keeps saying the Dell Axim is my best bet.. Although it probably might be, are there any other solutions? I saw the Palm TX at my local frys which looked nice, and also an HP (don't remember the model, but it was a little smaller than the other PDA's which was a plus to me). I have a week off of school right now, and I want that thing now.. :D Dell is going to take forever to ship it to me.

Sorry for all the questions..
Hope you guys can help.

JHNguyen

[Mister HP]

If you want a Pocket PC just for surfing the web, then any Pocket PC with WiFi capabilities should suffice. Choosing between Dell and Hp; however, is completely up to you. Although I do not have any experience with Dell, many of my friends are quite pleased. I myself own a HP Pocket PC and am extremely pleased with it. If your school has hotspots, then that would be a perfect environment for your new Pocket PC (of course you would be using it for studying :lol: and an occasional break here and there :wink: haha). Between Pocket PCs and Palms, although what I am about to say can be argued and defended, I would purchase a Pocket PC. It honestly depends on your taste but if you are more of the tech-savvy type, I would recommend the Pocket PC for a number of reasons (i.e. larger selection of useful applications, arguably easier synchronization, more possibilities overall). I just hope I don’t get flamed by any avid Palm users :mrgreen:. In my opinion, and I hope I have some people back me up here, the Pocket PC overall is a stronger machine compared to the Palm. And for your music streaming wants, I have just the application (use it all the time). It is called Resco Radio- it allows you to stream many preset popular internet channels with the possibilities of streaming channels of your interest. If you want to have a look, here is the website: http://www.resco.net/pocketpc/radio/default.asp

Hope this helped a bit,
Mister HP

[JHNguyen]

any certain models you suggest?

John

[r@dimus]

Palm has some nice devices, but it seems like they are having something of an identity crisis of late. They have devices running Palm OS, the Life Drive which is kind of a different creature, and the Treo 700w which runs WM5. I have to wonder what effect this has on third party software development.

[JHNguyen]

I'm sort of leaning towards the Palm TX for a couple reasons..

Pros:
1. Cheaper than Axim NEW.. (but a refurbished axim would be cheaper)
2. I'd be able run out to the store and buy it.

Cons:
1. Palm OS - Alot of people say windows mobile is better.
2. While the TX only has 312mhz, i could get a refurbished dell with 520Mhz.. not sure if that makes a huge difference since Palm OS, and Windows are different.

Any other bad things about the Palm TX.. would it be able to do everything I need it to do?

[r@dimus]

I'm sort of leaning towards the Palm TX for a couple reasons..

Pros:
1. Cheaper than Axim NEW.. (but a refurbished axim would be cheaper)
2. I'd be able run out to the store and buy it.

Cons:
1. Palm OS - Alot of people say windows mobile is better.
2. While the TX only has 312mhz, i could get a refurbished dell with 520Mhz.. not sure if that makes a huge difference since Palm OS, and Windows are different.

Any other bad things about the Palm TX.. would it be able to do everything I need it to do?

Yes, the TX would probably do what you want to do. If the included media software won't stream music someone out there has probably written one that will. I'm sure someone out there has written a printing app as well.

But, as someone who was a Palm users some years back my vote in on a Pocket PC. You'll pay a little more for a similarly capable device, but I think it's worth it.

[Cybrid]

You'll have trouble with Flash and Java. Basically there are Pocket PC and perhaps Palm clients but they are very intensive and handheld aren't as powerful as PC's. Simple as that.

For the Palm vs. PPC debate.
Palm has been overtaken in development but MS has slowed down in development too.
What is a critical difference that you should consider...

Palm=co-operative multitasking. In order to do two things at the same time, both of those applications have to be written to share control.
Pro:Simplicity=less conflict/instability. Overall a simpler, easier to use OS that you'll soon outgrow if you are constantly going "Gee, what else can I do?"
Con:You're doing one thing at a time.

Pocket PC:Pre emptive multitasking. The OS multitasks, apps. must be written to multitask.
Pro:you can run whatever you want with whatever else you want...Do more all at once. Overall a much more robust and adaptive OS. It can do more out of the box than you can at present imagine.
Con:Complexity=conflict/possible instability

[Mister HP]

Pocket PC:Pre emptive multitasking. The OS multitasks, apps. must be written to multitask.
Pro:you can run whatever you want with whatever else you want...Do more all at once. Overall a much more robust and adaptive OS. It can do more out of the box than you can at present imagine.
Con:Complexity=conflict/possible instability

To add to the pros and cons, I think that synchronizing, a large part of both Pocket PC and Palm, is simpler to use for the Pocket PC. HotSync, from what I know, is an unpleasant utility to install and use on the PC. I'm not saying that ActiveSync is perfect or even close for that matter, but at least it gets the job done (or at least most of the time :lol: ). If I were you, I would rather save a little more and buy a Pocket PC (refurbished or not) than go for a Palm. If you are going to be spending a somewhat large sum of money (considering that you are a student) for something you intend on using for many purposes, go for the Pocket PC. And one more thing- make sure that Fry's or whatever store you choose to purchase your new handheld from has a good exchange/return policy.
Best of Luck