Gave up on Palm

[Vincent M Ferrari]

I've been a loyal lurker around here forever, and just recently started posting.

Yesterday night I decided, with a little logical unbiased help from my wife, a Palm IIIc owner, that the Tungsten should get the heave ho.

No multimedia to speak of, and no MP3 playback coming anytime soon...
Web browsing that is mediocre...
Mediocre e-mail with no attachments...

The best part of it is my games, most of which are now available for the PPC, as Astraware has finally woken up.

I'm nervous though, as I've tried this conversion before; completely drop the palm for my Audiovox Maestro, and ended up going back to the Palm. This time, there's no turning back, as I'm trading my Palm in permanently while it's still worth something.

Is there any advice you guys can give on making this conversion something that will stick this time? I'm trading the TT in for the HP Ipaq 1910. I've had my eye on it for awhile, and was interested in it even when I had my TT.

Any suggestions will be appreciated in a heartfelt way :D

[mscdex]

The Dell Axim is pretty decent as well.

[Janak Parekh]

I'm nervous though, as I've tried this conversion before; completely drop the palm for my Audiovox Maestro, and ended up going back to the Palm.
What was your initial troubles with the Maestro? It's worth pointing out most of the newer units have much better battery life. I've played with the 1910 and it is a beautiful little unit.

--janak

[Vincent M Ferrari]

I don't know what it was exactly, but it doesn't feel right. Even now it still isn't quite, "right." It's something intangible...

I actually changed my trade-in to a Toshiba 330, since the SD slot on the 1910 is not SDIO, and it will preclude me from Bluetooth, something I've grown very fond of.

I think my big gripe with the Maestro was that it didn't really give me the flexibility in software I was looking for. However, I've noticed the software landscape for the PPC has improved dramatically over the last 8 months or so (the last time I tried a PPC), so I think it's worthy of another shot. I'm trying to stay in the $300 range, since I would like to have to lay out as little as possible on my tradein with JJPepple.com.

Since I see a lot of posts from you, I'd be curious to know what your thoughts are on the 330 and if that would be a good fit for me...

[Janak Parekh]

I don't know what it was exactly, but it doesn't feel right. Even now it still isn't quite, "right." It's something intangible...
How long did you own your Pocket PC? I had the same perception the first month - especially when my hand would involuntarily look for the icons on the silkscreen, for example. After the second month or so I felt really comfortable with the PPC OS.

Since I see a lot of posts from you, I'd be curious to know what your thoughts are on the 330 and if that would be a good fit for me...
I haven't used the 330, but I've played with the 310 a little bit. It's a nice device, a bit taller and wider than the 1910. Its other problem is that doesn't have a transflective display, but rather a reflective display; the 1910's display is stunning. Personally, I would go for a 1910 on the low-end, or a higher-end transflective unit with SDIO. But your requirements may differ, so don't take my advice as gospel; go to a store and hold them for yourself. :)

--janak

[alcdroid]

I am yet another palm to PPC convert and I went for a e330 for my first PPC. I guess the size is the first thing to get used to, as it might certainly feel like a monster compared to the Tungsten T. I have not yet held the 1910, but i imagine it is the same size as the S-series clie...and they are really quite small. The other part was unlearning grafitti and all I can say is...thank God. The transcriber feels much more natural than grafitti....and my handwriting improved as well.

As for e330 specific thoughts, I find it the best of the sub-$300 bunch since it has a full 64 (or 63.x)Mbytes of RAM and potential expansion possibilities via the SDIO slot and optional USB host cable. This is quite important for me since I do not plan on buying a new PDA in the near future. As for the reflective screen, it is quite good. Sure, transreflective screens are much better, but I am one of those people who is not really too fussy about the screen. If it looks good to you, then that's all that matters.

Cheers!

[Vincent M Ferrari]

I think you're right. That's one of the reasons I picked the Toshiba unit... Size...

I think I'm going to enjoy it, though, as I've already enjoyed a large portion of what a PPC can do, and I've been reading here forever keeping up to date even though I didn't use my PPC.

Interestingly enough, I credit this site with my switch to the PPC permanently, and between this site and the forums (where everyone is amazingly helpful), I just know that while I'm going through my growing pains, I'll at least have someone I can turn to to get help :wink:

[Janak Parekh]

I have not yet held the 1910, but i imagine it is the same size as the S-series clie...and they are really quite small. The other part was unlearning grafitti and all I can say is...thank God.
It is indeed that tiny. I liken it to the size of the Palm Vx. As for unlearning Graffiti, you don't have to, you know. I used Block Recognizer for quite some time; I'm only now learning Fitaly. I do also use Transcriber, but each input mechanism has its advantages and disadvantages.

I'm not ragging on the e330, mind you, it's probably a great unit.

--janak

[hollis_f]

I do also use Transcriber, but each input mechanism has its advantages and disadvantages.
--janak I'd love to hear what you thin the advantages of Graffitti are? Everytime I've tried a Palm that is what's put me off. Yes - I could invest time in learning how to use it. But I already know how to write in English and I can't see how Graffitti can be any faster than Character Recogniser.

[Janak Parekh]

I'd love to hear what you thin the advantages of Graffitti are? Everytime I've tried a Palm that is what's put me off. Yes - I could invest time in learning how to use it. But I already know how to write in English and I can't see how Graffitti can be any faster than Character Recogniser.
Well, one of them is certainly that people already know Graffiti. I know I come from that background. :)

Having said that, the unistroke mechanism of Graffiti is sometimes more convenient than Jot/Character Recognizer. I don't like the latter's "t" and "i" characters, personally. But hey, I'm learning Fitaly now, so I don't use either anymore. :D I certainly agree Character Recognizer is more intuitive, and we'll see it in Palms soon anyway.

My point was more of the "flexibility" standpoint -- you can use whichever combination of SIPs to suit your tastes. I used to use a combination of Transcriber and Block Recognizer; now I'm using Fitaly exclusively while I learn it, but in the long run I'll probably use both Fitaly and Transcriber.

--janak

[Traveller]

I use the Block Recognizer since Graffiti is second nature to me (a couple of times I've written Graffiti symbols on a white board without thinking).

I find the Pocket PC implementation of Graffiti better than the Palm version. Don't know what it is but it recognizes my strokes all the time whereas on my old Palm VX, I would get occasional errors. Maybe the hardware on my iPaq is better.