Woefully inaccurate article over at ZDnet. . . PPC vs Palm

[Macguy59]

Check out this out

http://techupdate.zdnet.com/techupdate/stories/main/0,14179,2909299,00.html

[johncj]

Wow! That guy's writing has been pointed out to me in two very different forums for his wild inaccuracy. If you know anything about XML, check his last column. If anything, it's worse than this one.

[egads]

Check out this out

http://techupdate.zdnet.com/techupdate/stories/main/0,14179,2909299,00.html

The only thing I found inaccurate were the prices he threw out and that BlueTooth was prefered wireless option. The rest of the stuff in the article was pretty much correct in my opinion. Microsoft has never been able to put out small, tight, fast software/OS. They always get their speed from more memory and faster processors. Like I said in another post, With a 400Mhz processor I would expect my Axim to be a hell of a lot faster than it is. I still love it, but I wish it was 4 times faster than it is...

[Macguy59]

Check out this out

http://techupdate.zdnet.com/techupdate/stories/main/0,14179,2909299,00.html

The only thing I found inaccurate were the prices he threw out and that BlueTooth was prefered wireless option. The rest of the stuff in the article was pretty much correct in my opinion. Microsoft has never been able to put out small, tight, fast software/OS. They always get their speed from more memory and faster processors. Like I said in another post, With a 400Mhz processor I would expect my Axim to be a hell of a lot faster than it is. I still love it, but I wish it was 4 times faster than it is...

Price was his main point. To have the same fucntionality I currently have with my PocketPC and WI-Fi card would require a Sony clamshell PDA and their PROPIETARY; OVERPRICED WI-FI card. The cost of my PPC setup: $370 The cost for the Sony setup: $620 (which still has less capabilities). Price points no longer are the deciding factors. It's form and function. For my money the PPC is top dog :D

[guinness]

You can't compare an XScale processor (a chip designed for low-power consumption devices) to a Pentium II,III,IV, Athlon XP processor (desktop, power required for my Athlon XP 1800+ is almost 70 W). Two entirely different beasts (along with the system bus and memory interfaces), I just impressed that I can carry around a fraction of my PC power in the palm of my hand. The Palm OS is ok, but I also want to able to listen to MP3's, watch movies, play cool looking games, and do all the PIM type stuff that the Palms can do. The only Palm OS devices that impress me are the Sony's but those aren't much cheaper than some iPaq's and you have to live with the MS. The Tungsten, even with OS 5, looks exactly the same as every other Palm, except with the hi-res color screen and can't play audio due to a software bug.

[ux4484]

I see the biggest item lacking is a mention of multimedia and multitasking functionality. But then again, multitasking with PPC's PIM apps is a moot/negative point compared to POS (my Visor switchs faster between PIM apps than my Dell does). He's right on the money for PIM IMO.

I'm with egads, while I love the Dell, I was expecting blinding PIM speed compared to my old Jornada (the main reason I sold it after 6 months).
It's not that bad (the review), just not thourogh enough (on either side), and he should better clarify the "apples and oranges" of PDA purchasers.

He also neglects to mention Palm's $500 "chickleTT" that seems a pretty small step up to me from a m515 for a rejected Star Trek communicator design.

[Macguy59]

I realize that Ziff-Davis publications in general tend to rerun older stories when nothing new is at hand, but good grief make an attempt to update it at least a little. As a side note I bought my girlfriend a Palm M100 to see if having a PDA would be of benefit to her life. Having spent some time with it while helping her , I have found the Palm OS to be not very intuitive. Inputing data is terrible. It seems like screen taps require a whole lot more pressure then on a PPC. And who can read the damn screen without constantly having to rotate the unit for a decent viewing angle. And this is indoors ! The so-called backlight is pathetic. I truely feel sorry for those that use low end Palm devices.

[ux4484]

the whole m1xx line has physically smaller screens than other models and have only plastic in their screens which requires more pressure AND goofy viewing angles. I've had no such problems with my Visor, or any other Palms I've used. when palm goes cheap, they go really cheap and the Zire and m1xx lines are not representive of Palm Devices.
Should have got her a Sony SJ or SL device, you'd have no such gripes.
Also make sure to install hackmaster and these two hacks: graspeedy and keyboard hack, they make graffiti work almost Identical to Char recognizer.

[Macguy59]

the whole m1xx line has physically smaller screens than other models and have only plastic in their screens which requires more pressure AND goofy viewing angles. I've had no such problems with my Visor, or any other Palms I've used. when palm goes cheap, they go really cheap and the Zire and m1xx lines are not representive of Palm Devices.
Should have got her a Sony SJ or SL device, you'd have no such gripes.
Also make sure to install hackmaster and these two hacks: graspeedy and keyboard hack, they make graffiti work almost Identical to Char recognizer.

Thanks for pointing out that sub $150 Palm devices are merely toys :wink:

[ux4484]

Thanks for pointing out that sub $150 Palm devices are merely toys :wink:


But I never said all sub$150 Palm OS devices were toys.
Visor Neo's while discontinued by Handspring can still be got for $99 bucks, Sony SL10's can be had for as little as $119, SJ20 can be had for $159, Palm III's (with OS 4.1) can be had new by the dozen at ebay for less than $89, Palm V's; ebay for $99.
Any one of those would have been a better choice than the m100.

OF course you knew that when you got it for her........just so she'd ask you to to help her trade up :D .

One thing you can do with a m100 that none of us can do is....have all your PIM info.....and carry it around for a month in your pocket/purse without ever putting it in a cradle/charger. This (IMO) is why low/mid range Palm's are more popular with women than PPC's.
(please no requests for verification data.....just look at the membership)

[Phil Dx]

My wife got a Palm M105, and the battery lasts 3 days if we're lucky, it's a constant hassle powering the thing up to find it's died overnight and having to go through the <replace batteries, reinitialize, resync> process.

I agree with the comment that cheap Palms are 'very cheap'. I've just bought a Pocket PC because of the poor experience with the Palm. I think Palm has done it's sales no good at all by releasing such a dismal beginners model.

[AndrewLubinus89]

Well, don't ever buy a palm. They just aren't worth it. If you want something that is good buy a clie. And if you want good basic pim functions get a visor edge or a treo. Palms aren't worth the money. :)

[mirkazemisaman]

I am not really into the PDA market, but Palm must be losing a lot of money with PPCs like the Dell Axim, aren't they?

[spursdude]

I am not really into the PDA market, but Palm must be losing a lot of money with PPCs like the Dell Axim, aren't they?

Much of the reason they manage to sell their devices is because of the brand-name. What's that you've got? Oh, it's a Palm Pilot. I'ver never heard of a Pocket PC...It looks like a Palm Pilot to me.

I think I'm gonna get a Palm Pilot...hm, this one says Palm on it. Must be good.

You get the idea...

[Abba Zabba]

Last week sometime I had some blowhard tell me that Palms were infact better than PPCs. [/Begin rant here] I totally ripped him to shreads talking about all the differences and advantages. HE claimed that he heard it from some other source. Yeah Sure :roll:

[thepalmdefender]

My wife got a Palm M105, and the battery lasts 3 days if we're lucky, it's a constant hassle powering the thing up to find it's died overnight and having to go through the <replace batteries, reinitialize, resync> process.

I agree with the comment that cheap Palms are 'very cheap'. I've just bought a Pocket PC because of the poor experience with the Palm. I think Palm has done it's sales no good at all by releasing such a dismal beginners model.

odd... mustve been defective... my palm III would last for roughtly a month before replacing the batts. i must admit i dont like alkaline batts though. and why do you need to resync? as long as you dont keep them out for too long then it acts like nothing ever hapened.

anyway i quickly skimmed this post and that artical and found (i hope this hanst been mentioned yet) that this section is very innacurate...

Keep in mind, however, that the price difference between a Pocket PC and a Palm PDA can be tremendous. In fact, while a high-end Palm costs around $400 in most cases, a comparable Pocket PC can easily hit $700. You could buy a Dell Pentium 4 desktop PC with a flat panel display for that price. That's a heavy duty tithe for the privilege of flashing a Windows logo from the palm of your hand.

well there im gonna say that ppc cant really 'easily' hit 700. i think that is only one model. err 400 prolly is about right for some high end palms but 800$ for others so that is innacurate. as for the rest of the article i might comment on that later