importance of jog dial

[Chris Pi]

From what I understand the 5550 ipaq's won't have a jog dial because they still take the sleeves. How much does the jog dial help navigating on a ppc? I'll be using pocket ie alot.

[Chris Pi]

From what I understand the 5550 ipaq's won't have a jog dial because they still take the sleeves. How much does the jog dial help navigating on a ppc? I'll be using pocket ie alot.

[Sslixtis]

In my opinion, for PIE a Jog Dial is nice but not really that big a deal. However, it is a must have if you read alot of e-books and it is kind of nice ofr Windows Media Player.

For me the lack of a Jog Dial on the iPaq 22xx PPCs is a deal breaker! :cry:

[WyattEarp]

A jog dial is IMO a personal preference. I tried it once and found it slow and cumbersome. Unless you are use to it (most likely from being a past owner of a Sony Palm OS device) you will have a learning curve to deal with since most people are use to a stylus or finger press which I found to be faster than any jog dial.

[bigkingfun]

I switched from an e740 to a 5450 and the jog dial is the one thing I really miss. I read a lot of ebooks and email on my PPC and the jog dial is really handy for scrolling. I don't use Pocket IE a lot, but I never used the jog dial with it anyway. Most of the time you need to tap links with the stylus, so you can scroll with it just as easily.

[Sven]

Most of the time the jog dial is replicated as up and down on the D-Pad as well. So scrolling vertically can be accomplished without a stylus. It is what you like and get used to.

It was great on the 540 series HPs which had the jog dial but no d-pad. Very usefull. On my 568 Jornada and Dell I find myself scrolling with the pad much more than the side jog. JMHO, YMMV.

[Gremmie]

Originally Posted by bigkingfun

I switched from an e740 to a 5450 and the jog dial is the one thing I really miss. I read a lot of ebooks and email on my PPC and the jog dial is really handy for scrolling. I don't use Pocket IE a lot, but I never used the jog dial with it anyway. Most of the time you need to tap links with the stylus, so you can scroll with it just as easily.

Agreed, I was a long time ipaq user but after swtiching out my e740 I kinda missed the jog dial. That being said, the e550's d-pad is extremely poor so it did not serve as a good subsitute.

[Janak Parekh]

Mind you, there is a substitute: the volume controls on the left side of the 5450 can be remapped into Up/Down buttons using third-party hacks such as GoLandscape. Not a jog dial, but it's closer to it.

--janak

[Kati Compton]

Originally Posted by Janak Parekh

Mind you, there is a substitute: the volume controls on the left side of the 5450 can be remapped into Up/Down buttons using third-party hacks such as GoLandscape. Not a jog dial, but it's closer to it.

If the hacks don't automatically work for the corresponding buttons on the new 555x series, I'm sure there will be enough interest that they will soon.

[ironguy]

My rocker switch is the most used mechanical item on my Jornada 568. I've been having digitizer problems lately and was all set to get a new 2210... until I found out there is no jog/rocker. I imagine it was removed to make way for the SD slot. Try to hold your PPC in one hand and turn pages in an ebook using the Dpad only while holding a sandwhich. See why it's necessary? Now I'm not sure what to do about a new PPC. :cry:

[Sslixtis]

Originally Posted by Ironguy

I've been having digitizer problems lately and was all set to get a new 2210... until I found out there is no jog/rocker. I imagine it was removed to make way for the SD slot. Try to hold your PPC in one hand and turn pages in an ebook using the Dpad only while holding a sandwhich. See why it's necessary?

The SD slot on the 2210 appears to be on the top along with the CF slot which is really cool. However, that gives HP even less of a reason not to have included a jog/rocker on the side! My HP 568's rocker was perfect, I moved to the iPaq 3955 and was really disappointed with the lack of a jog/rocker, it was one of the reasons I replaced it after just 2 months. Alot I liked about the iPaq, but no jog/rocker, no removeable battery, AND having to rely on Compaq Customer Service vs HP Customer Service. It just had to go!

The Dell Axim has a jog dial on the side, the placement takes a bit of getting used to as it's lower than on the Jornada. But atleast you wont starve while reading an eBook! I use my PPC to read eBooks while eating all the time. :lol: