[jnunn]

My main criterion for buying a new PPC is screen resolution; the PPC screen is the main reason why I chose the PPC over Palm in the first place. As my proficiency with fitaly grew, I became more and more frustrated trying to be a mobile writer and spreadsheet user on QVGA.

The PPC is marketed as a workhorse but the screen cramps my work. I still use my old, dusty, semi-reliable iPAQ3600/SS2 and could never justify buying a new PPC if I would be stuck with the same cramped screen space. I would love to be satisfied enough with my PPC to buy a new device when cool features come out but the screen resolution has always held me back. Screen resolution is a very big deal to me.

I could buy a Sony or wait a little for the Tungsten T3 (HOT !!!) but I admit my PPC bias so I wait for next summer. If there is no screen improvement or promise of screen improvement by summer 2004 then I will become a Palm convert.

[jnunn]

My main criterion for buying a new PPC is screen resolution; the PPC screen is the main reason why I chose the PPC over Palm in the first place. As my proficiency with fitaly grew, I became more and more frustrated trying to be a mobile writer and spreadsheet user on QVGA.

The PPC is marketed as a workhorse but the screen cramps my work. I still use my old, dusty, semi-reliable iPAQ3600/SS2 and could never justify buying a new PPC if I would be stuck with the same cramped screen space. I would love to be satisfied enough with my PPC to buy a new device when cool features come out but the screen resolution has always held me back. Screen resolution is a very big deal to me.

I could buy a Sony or wait a little for the Tungsten T3 (HOT !!!) but I admit my PPC bias so I wait for next summer. If there is no screen improvement or promise of screen improvement by summer 2004 then I will become a Palm convert.

[GoldKey]

Really ironic, I bought a portable dvd player with LCD screen when they first came out. Less than 2 year later, I bought a Laptop with a much bigger screen and a DVD drive for about the same price.

[Jonathon Watkins]

I suppose I upgrade when I feel too left behind AND when whatever device I am using develops some kind of problem. So, at the moment I am perfectly happy with my Axim X5 and will probably only upgrade when I get 640x480 screen AND ....... heck - when someone other than Toshiba give us a decent VGA unit. :wink: :lol:

I don't have a laptop as I can do most things I need with the Axim. For everything else I have a few desktops. :mrgreen:

[beq]

There are always exceptions though. Even the ZD columnists were all saying "wait" during the months leading to Centrino release...

[JF in Detroit]

Regarding the waiting game, can you say 'vaporware'? :devilboy:

[Newsboy]

Originally Posted by Goldkey

Really ironic, I bought a portable dvd player with LCD screen when they first came out. Less than 2 year later, I bought a Laptop with a much bigger screen and a DVD drive for about the same price.

Actually, I'm selling my DVD player now that I'm getting the Inspiron 1100. Four months ago I went out and bought the best DVD player I could find, the Toshiba SDP-2000. Spent $600. Thing is, the battery only lasts 2.5 hours (less than my new laptop), the screen is half the size, and it weighs over three pounds. I'd rather have the laptop to be honest.

[Sheynk]

I've been trying to keep up with PPC for over a year going through 4 (extended warranty :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: ) and then gave up.

Its impossible.

Ive been patient with my pc though....i upgraded...but thats about it.

650 P3
512 sd ram
128mb Gforce3
13gb HD (getting a 40 soon)
cdrw
8x dvd
dont even ask about the other crap dell puts in their computers....

since im graduating highschool in 2005, (the year longhorn comes out) im gonna get the most top of the line PC possible (prolly a laptop) and have it last me through college!

[Excalliber]

I wouldn't count on that release date if i were you. Remember, we're talking about Microsoft :lol:

[NeilE]

My purchase is usually driven by the old thing not meeting my needs anymore. Of course, one thing leads to another which leads to another...

Case in point: I got a Canon 10D two months ago, leaping from film to digital. I realised that all the slides I was shooting were just getting scanned in anyway, and I was wasting a ton of time cleaning up the slides in Photoshop because of dust and crap. I figured I could either buy a really good film scanner, or just get a digital camera

Of course, a month later I ran out of space on my antiquated 30GB hard drive. This, coupled with the grand opening of Fry's downtown (oh dear) lead to a new 160GB drive.

Then I realised that I had Photoshop 5.0, and there were a few subtle things I wished it did. So I upgraded to Photoshop 7. And a Wacom tablet (a cheap one!) to give me better precision while editing.

This weekend I was using Photoshop to edit a 31MB TIFF file, and I realised waiting 5 minutes for the picture to load sucks. My Athlon 600MHz lasted me 3 years, but it was time for an upgrade. That, coupled with the new Fry's downtown, and I convinced myself I needed a new motherboard and CPU. Of course, the RAM is totally different than my old RAM, so I needed new RAM too.

It never ends... Jason, once you get that Digital Rebel, you don't know what you're in for 8O

[ricksfiona]

Yes, I agree with NeilE. I usually purchase new equipment on a 'need' basis. I just built a new computer for myself this weekend:

P4-C 2.4GHz 800MHz FSB
1GB RAM Dual Channel
ATI Radeon 9700 Pro 128MB
2 - Western Digital Raptor 10k Hard drives in RAID 0
Cooler Master Aluminum case

Did I need this? Well, I just didn't realize the speed difference between this and my basic 800MHz Thunderbird. With my new computer, I can boot it up, do SOME work, shut down, and all of this before my old computer finishes booting up! Plus it looked like my USB ports and motherboard were starting to wig out. EVERYTHING works the way it's supposed to on the new system.

I want to upgrade my 3870 to a 5555 for the simple reason that I KNOW it's not fast enough and it doesn't have enough memory. Throw a good sized database on a 3870 and prepare to wait for a while for searches. Plus you can't put much into main memory. If the 5555 were a little thinner and lighter, it would be SOOO close to perfect.

When it comes right down to it, you upgrade for repair/replacement, performance and capacity. I had a 486-100MHz computer that ran Office applications just fine... Just don't ask it to do much more than that.

And regarding the 'waiting for the next big thing', you'll be waiting forever. Just about any laptop and p.c. is several magnitudes more powerful than just about any normal user can ask for.