Give me a few good reasons to buy a PocketPC.

[verbal]

So I'm looking around Dell's website and see I can get a PocketPC for a damn good price. I'm a big geek and love new toys to play with. Plus I have some Dell credit burning a hole in my pocket. I do plan on getting a laptop in the next few months, but I like having the possibility of getting a new toy.

So, give me some reasons to buy a PocketPC. Aside from it letting me jot notes easily, keep track of my to-do's and phone numbers. A few things I'd like to use it for are...

Wireless access. Not sure how well this works. I'd use it for instant messengers (AIM/ICQ/Yahoo). Maybe some websurfing or something.

Wardriving just for sh!ts and giggles. (please spare the moral arguments and keep this thread on topic.)

I have a digital camera that uses compact flash. Would it be possible for me to view the pics on the PPC? And possibly copy them from the compact flash to an SD card?

Anybody else buy a PPC when they really didn't need one? Just bought it for an extra gadget to play around with?

[Sven Johannsen]

So I'm looking around Dell's website and see I can get a PocketPC for a damn good price. I'm a big geek and love new toys to play with. Plus I have some Dell credit burning a hole in my pocket. I do plan on getting a laptop in the next few months, but I like having the possibility of getting a new toy.

So, give me some reasons to buy a PocketPC. Aside from it letting me jot notes easily, keep track of my to-do's and phone numbers. A few things I'd like to use it for are...

Wireless access. Not sure how well this works. I'd use it for instant messengers (AIM/ICQ/Yahoo). Maybe some websurfing or something.

Works great, given the screen real estate. Often start an IM on the desktop and need to do something in the house. Just let the participants know, and log on with the PPC wireless, rejoin the chat and wander. Lots more content becoming PDA aware these days. Number of ways to cache and view content later off-line if that interests you.

Wardriving just for sh!ts and giggles. (please spare the moral arguments and keep this thread on topic.)? Nothing about wardriving implies illegality. Open access points in violation of the owner's agreement, and overt attempts to break security not withstanding. A little integrity when finding an open node that shouldn't be, is welcome as well.

I have a digital camera that uses compact flash. Would it be possible for me to view the pics on the PPC? And possibly copy them from the compact flash to an SD card?? Absolutely. Do need a third party picture viewer though, but there are some phenomenal ones at low cost.

Anybody else buy a PPC when they really didn't need one? Just bought it for an extra gadget to play around with

I have three. What do you think? :wink: But if that is your intent, buy two. You'll wind up really using one, and need the other to play with. :lol:

[verbal]

Anybody have any reasons they could give on why to buy one? If you bought a PPC when you didn't need one, what do you use it for?

[Crystal Eitle]

Well, does *anybody* really need a Pocket PC? I certainly didn't, but then I have a pretty strict definition of the word "need."

Having said that, I can't imagine living without my Pocket PC now. I use it for everything - reading books, listening to music, keeping track of my calendar and expenses, playing games. I'm already much better-organized than I was in my pre-PPC life. And with everything it's capable of doing, I never have to be bored during downtime again.

I also use it for writing (journal-type stuff) and making lists.

Like someone said in another thread, it's not just one toy, it's a whole bunch of toys!

And that's on a Pocket PC that doesn't even have wireless (the iPaq 1910). With wireless, you'll be able to do even more.

Buy it! You know you want to!!!!! :twisted:

[ironguy]

I'm a big geek and love new toys to play with

Isn't that enough reason? :mrgreen:

[Pony99CA]

I have a digital camera that uses compact flash. Would it be possible for me to view the pics on the PPC? And possibly copy them from the compact flash to an SD card?? Absolutely. Do need a third party picture viewer though, but there are some phenomenal ones at low cost.

Why would you need a third-party viewer? Pocket IE should display JPEGs just fine. I don't know about TIFFs, but only hardcore photographers use those, I suspect.

In any event, I thought the Dell came with Resco Picture Viewer (http://www.resco-net.com/PicView.asp).

Steve

[PetiteFlower]

In any event, I thought the Dell came with Resco Picture Viewer (http://www.resco-net.com/PicView.asp).

Yup, it does.

I use mine all the time, I would forget EVERYTHING without it. I also use it to carry around word docs with directions to all my friends' houses and Pocket Streets as well, because I get lost like you wouldn't believe. If I was rich I'd get a GPS for it, but unfortunately I'm not right now...maybe someday!

I also use it for web stuff now that I have the nifty Gomadic cable to hook it up to my cell phone. AIM works great(if you do a search on here you can find it for free) though I wish they would come out with a PPC version of Yahoo IM. Surfing is....interesting, not a ton of mobile-friendly sites out there, but it's getting better. And once I get switched to my new Comcast account I'll be using it to check email.

I play games on it too :)

[verbal]

You're all starting to convince me a little bit. Keep the replies coming people! =)

I know it shouldn't be discussed here. BUT, just out of curiosity, how many of you actually pay for PPC software?

[PetiteFlower]

I pay for things that I think are worth paying for. 99% of PPC software has free trials so you can determine whether it's worth the price or not. And of course a lot of it is freeware as well. So far all I've paid for is Pocket Plus and SPB Free Cell. There are a couple of other programs/games that I'm considering buying in the future but I can't swing it right now. But I have plenty of free programs on there too :)

[ipaq38vette]

If you are asking about Kazaa(lite), yes there are alot of PPC programs. However, it is illegal.

[bljarv]

It sounds like you've mostly convinced yourself already! :lol:

[Pat Logsdon]

I use my Axim for a bunch of things:

Reading - I currently have 22 full-length e-books on my Axim. Microsoft reader uses ClearType, which means that it's easy on the eyes to read for long periods at a time. Plus, if you like to read at night, you don't need a flashlight! :way to go:

MP3 Player - I have 42 music files on my Axim. One of my favorite things to do is read an ebook while playing music from a custom playlist, usually tailored to match the mood of the book I'm reading.

Checkbook - I purchased Mastersoft Money, and I use this to balance my checkbook. I use this every day, and it's SOOO much better than using paper. Since I started paying my bills online, I don't need to use my checkbook at ALL now.

Organizer/Planner - The company I work for issues everyone a Franklin paper planner. Using the calendar and tasklist built into the PPC 2003 operating system, I've found that I don't need to use my planner - it's been gathering dust for the last 2 years.

Writing - I'm a fiction writer working on a book, and it's VERY nice for me to be able to write almost anywhere, at any time, in a word processor that I can keep in my pocket. With the Dell folding keyboard, I can write a few pages on the Axim, save the file, sync it up when I get home, and edit the file on my desktop. A simple resync will then put the edited file back on the Axim, and I'm ready to go for the next day.

Calculator - Kind of embarrassing, but I use this quite a bit. Much better than using my fingers and looking like an idiot. :oops:

Games - There are quite a few games to play that are custom-built for Pocket PC's. I've killed many hours recently playing Everquest. There are also great games like Argentum, Age of Empires, and a bunch of card, bubble, and tetris- type games out there, too. Also, there are Nintendo emulators out there (like YameCE) that will allow you to play old Nintendo games if you can find the ROMs.

Wireless Internet Access - With a WiFi card or built-in WiFi, you can access the internet from wireless hotspots, both free and commercial (Starbucks, hotels, etc.), or from a wireless home network. I like being able to check my email at Starbucks in the middle of writing, and I've also used it to stream music from my PC to my Axim as I work around the house.

I also pay for all of the software that I have on my Axim. I'd like to use the Walmart analogy here, if I may. :D In my opinion, software developers that write for Pocket PCs are like mom and pop stores in Your Town, Your Country. They're small, and they're usually totally dedicated to the Pocket PC platform, or PDAs in general. They really hurt when they miss sales due to pirating.

Software developers for Desktop systems, like Adobe or Macromedia are more like Walmart. It's still illegal to use their software without paying for it (and you shouldn't do it, especially if you can afford it), but it's probably not going to kill their business.

[ipaq38vette]

<quote:Surgical Snack>
I also pay for all of the software that I have on my Axim. I'd like to use the Walmart analogy here, if I may. In my opinion, software developers that write for Pocket PCs are like mom and pop stores in Your Town, Your Country. They're small, and they're usually totally dedicated to the Pocket PC platform, or PDAs in general. They really hurt when they miss sales due to pirating.

Software developers for Desktop systems, like Adobe or Macromedia are more like Walmart. It's still illegal to use their software without paying for it (and you shouldn't do it, especially if you can afford it), but it's probably not going to kill their business</quote>

Very true.

[LorryDriver71]

Wireless Internet Access - With a WiFi card or built-in WiFi, you can access the internet from wireless hotspots, both free and commercial (Starbucks, hotels, etc.), or from a wireless home network. I like being able to check my email at Starbucks in the middle of writing, and I've also used it to stream music from my PC to my Axim as I work around the house.

Huh!! So your saying if you have wifi then you can get free internet access in these places. If I had one of them near me I'd just walkin there buy one coffee and drink it really slowly useing the internet all day! Sorry if thats a really dumb thing to say, i don't really understand wireless internet.

[Sunnyone]

I mostly use my PPC to be better organized. As a former Franklin planner person, I found paper organizers to be such a hassle. I hated carrying the binder around everywhere, so I ended up not bringing it and then not getting all my tasks and such written down. My Axim's a lot easier to bring along and I'm much better at keeping all of my information up-to-date. I also love being able to have a little fun during my down-time. I couldn't play games with my Franklin or listen to Audible content or read e-books. I'm an avid reader and it's great to have multiple books without having to carry paperbacks around. Also, my husband's happy not to have stacks of paperbacks all over the house. :roll:

Go ahead, you know you want to. And once you're one of us, you'll find many reasons of your own, I'm sure.

[verbal]

Grrr...you guys aren't helping me save any money! :)

Part of the hard decision is I want to buy a laptop soon. Although the PPC isn't that expensive, it's still $200+ that could go towards my laptop. BUT I'd be able to have the PPC NOW instead of waiting a couple months for the laptop. :evil:

I hate toys and I hate having so many expensive hobbies. :roll:

[PetiteFlower]

Most public commercial wifi hotspots are not free(like Starbucks), you have to pay to use them. I have no idea how much. Of course if you have a wireless network in your house then you won't have to pay any extra to access that, other then what you pay for the wireless router, wifi card for the ppc, and internet connection that is :)

[Jude]

Last year I was choosing between getting a PDA or a laptop since I had neither at the time. I decided to go with a Pocket PC and have never regretted my decision. I can do everything with it that I wanted and needed to do with a laptop, surf the net, send and receive e-mail, write short notes or long documents, do instant messaging/chatting, even photo editing. And I do things with it that I would never do with a laptop, such as use it as a portable music/movie player (no need to use a separate gadget anymore, allowed me to chuck my CD/MP3 players), voice recorder, calculator, picture viewer, phone/address book, and e-book reader (no need to lug around paper books! got me reading more stuff more often.). I'm not much of a gamer anymore, but it makes for a great portable gaming device too. A Pocket PC is loads more fun than a laptop. After a few weeks of using a Pocket PC I realized that I didn't even need a laptop. So I never even got one. And given a choice now, I would rather get a new Pocket PC than a laptop.

The biggest advantage a Pocket PC has over a laptop for me would be their ability to turn on instantly (no booting!). It's really a huge advantage to be able to use it right away and not have to wait around a minute for the OS to load. Also, don't discount the fact that you can really take your Pocket PC with you anywhere, that it can actually fit in your pocket and you can hold it with one hand. Not something you can do with even the smallest laptops. This is more of a big deal than you may think at first. If you already have a decent desktop, try using a Pocket PC and you might realize that you don't even need that laptop and would be better off spending the extra cash or credit on accessories or software for your Pocket PC (or you can just upgrade your desktop).

By the way, I'm a very disorganized person and yet I've never really used my Pocket PC as an organizer or planner. I'm just not the type to list my appointments. It's nice to know I can use it as such if necessary though.

[Pony99CA]

Software developers for Desktop systems, like Adobe or Macromedia are more like Walmart. It's still illegal to use their software without paying for it (and you shouldn't do it, especially if you can afford it), but it's probably not going to kill their business.
Actually, your claim isn't completely true. Adobe's Acrobat Reader and Macromedia's Flash player are both available for free on the Pocket PC.

Steve

[nosmohtac]

Grrr...you guys aren't helping me save any money! :)

Part of the hard decision is I want to buy a laptop soon. Although the PPC isn't that expensive, it's still $200+ that could go towards my laptop. BUT I'd be able to have the PPC NOW instead of waiting a couple months for the laptop. :evil:

I hate toys and I hate having so many expensive hobbies. :roll:


I didn't need a pocket pc either. My employer requires us to carry a rulebook the size of a small briefcase. Within the last few years they made it available in palm reader format, so I could've gotten by with a cheap palm. That wasn't good enough for me though. I saw what a pocket pc could do in comparison and jumped on the pocketpc bandwagon and haven't looked back.
Like most of the previous posts I too use it for organizing my calender, as a reminder for birthdays,appts., and anniversaries, reading ebooks, listening to mp3's or .ogg files., watching movies, and....oh yeah....playing games.
If you have a desktop computer that is satisfactory for now and were thinking of getting a laptop for portability, you may find that you don't even need the laptop after using the pocket pc for a while. Especially if you get a wifi card and a folding keyboard.
IMHO pocket pc kicks but on a laptop in many ways. Oviously the size factor, but you can't beat the instant on aspect of a handheld device(no waiting for the OS to boot up every time you want to look at something).
After you get in to it and see the possibilities (compact flash gps or serial gps, car mount [either vent, dash, or windshield mount], plus so much more) you will become a true pocketpc fanatic.

I know this will be your first pocket pc, but my only advice to you is to go for the high end Dell. For only a $100 more than the low end one, you get a charging cradle(IMO the best one of any pocketpc), 64MB of RAM instead of 32MB, 48MB of ROM (Where the OS resides) instead of 32MB and 400MHz instead of 300MHz.
You would likely be very happy with the low end one, but I talked several coworkers who were potential palm pilot buyers into buying a Dell, and a few of them have told me they are already planning on getting the high end Dell.

All of this, and I own an iPAQ 3970. But hey....you go Dell

[Pony99CA]

I pay for things that I think are worth paying for. 99% of PPC software has free trials so you can determine whether it's worth the price or not. And of course a lot of it is freeware as well. So far all I've paid for is Pocket Plus and SPB Free Cell. There are a couple of other programs/games that I'm considering buying in the future but I can't swing it right now. But I have plenty of free programs on there too :)
Yes, there are plenty of free programs out there -- including Free Cell. :-) Check out CTCards (http://home.attbi.com/~butchg/wsb/html/view.cgi-catalog.html-.html), which includes eight card games, including Free Cell, Spider Solitaire and Spades.

UPDATE: Well, it was free when I got it. Apparently they're charging $12.99 now, but maybe you can find the free version still.

There was also another free version of Free Cell from Pocket-G (http://www.pocket-g.com/freegames.html), but I liked the CTCards version better, and I deleted it.

Steve

[PetiteFlower]

Oh I know you can get Free Cell for free but I really liked the SPB game, for some reason I seem to win at it like 8000 times more then I ever did on the PC version! And it was only $5 so I just bought it :)

[verbal]

Ok, I'm almost convinced. And I can always return it.

Name the top THREE (three only!) programs you think should be on every PPC. Why and what are their uses?

[Pat Logsdon]

Software developers for Desktop systems, like Adobe or Macromedia are more like Walmart. It's still illegal to use their software without paying for it (and you shouldn't do it, especially if you can afford it), but it's probably not going to kill their business.
Actually, your claim isn't completely true. Adobe's Acrobat Reader and Macromedia's Flash player are both available for free on the Pocket PC.
While this is technically true, it's still a sneaky (and smart) move on the part of these companies. Give away the players and readers for free, but THEN charge through the nose for the tools to create the files that can be played/read in the free products. Acrobat and Flash MX certainly AIN'T cheap. 8O

Classic "saturate and screw" maneuver. :razz:

[dh]

Ok, I'm almost convinced. And I can always return it.

Name the top THREE (three only!) programs you think should be on every PPC. Why and what are their uses?

Forgeting the embedded applications (the only ones I use are Internet Explorer and MS Reader), my three top programs for work use are:

1. Pocket Informant. Great application for managing time and contacts.
2. @mail. For handling all my Outlook mail folders. The next best thing to actual Outlook.
3. Repligo. An excellent way to be able to view all the work related files I have, regardless of format.

With these three, my Axim is a fantastic mobile tool. (Don't forget all the fun stuff as well).

[verbal]

BTW: If I do get a PPC, would I be able to upgrade to new versions of the Microsoft PPC OS when they're released? Or am I stuck with the one it comes with?

Are there any other OS options for PPCs, yet still be able to run most programs?

[Jacob]

BTW: If I do get a PPC, would I be able to upgrade to new versions of the Microsoft PPC OS when they're released? Or am I stuck with the one it comes with?

Are there any other OS options for PPCs, yet still be able to run most programs?

1. It really depends on the manufacturer. There really isn't any guarrantee that you'll be able to upgrade the OS, but just make sure the ROM is flash (I think most are). I think it's unlikely that models such as the 1910 will be upgradeable since they don't have enough room in ROM for the full PPC 2002 OS even.

2. I've heard of some Linux ports for the PPC, but I don't know anything about them.

[verbal]

When using the internet on your PPC, can you goto almost any site? Or does it have to be "PPC friendly?"

[PetiteFlower]

Some sites are PPC friendly, most are not I'm finding. Sometimes you can go to the regular URL and it will detect that you're on a moblie device and redirect you to the mobile site, and sometimes you have to actually enter the mobile url. And of course lots of sites don't have mobile versions at all. Maybe in a few more years...*sigh*

[verbal]

So what happens if I try to goto a site that doesn't have ppc version? Will it look really ****ty? Will I get the page but have scroll a lot?

[PetiteFlower]

No you'll get an error, you won't see the page at all.

In most cases even with PPC friendly sites you have to scroll a lot.

[Pony99CA]

No you'll get an error, you won't see the page at all.
That's not true, in general. Most pages that I visit aren't formatted for the Pocket PC and come up fine. You may have to scroll a lot, but most of them certainly can be viewed.

What pages are you getting errors with? I've used things like Amazon and Sports Illustrated without getting errors.

Steve

[PetiteFlower]

I can't remember the urls right now but at least one of them is at&t's webmail site. I got it a bunch of other times too.

[qmrq]

This is more of a big deal than you may think at first. If you already have a decent desktop, try using a Pocket PC and you might realize that you don't even need that laptop and would be better off spending the extra cash or credit on accessories or software for your Pocket PC (or you can just upgrade your desktop).


A bit off topic, but upgrading your workstation is very rarely cost effective. :P

[qmrq]

Regarding this chat about how your handheld will display various websites:

Someone mentioned that some websites will detect that you are using a Pocket PC device and either redirect you to a mobile version of the site, or redirect to an error page telling you that your browser is not supported. You can work around the latter by changing some registry settings [namely the ones that tell remote servers what browser you have] but this will also not allow PPC friendly sites to redirect you to their mobile versions.

Regarding questions about what sites will/will not display on a PPC device:

Almost all sites will display on your Pocket PC, though those that are not optimized for the 320x240 display will require quite a bit of scrolling. The limitation that will frustrate most users is that Pocket IE does not support Java Script. It does, support Jscript, which is Microsoft's proprietary version of Javascript. These two standards don't play nice though, so don't have high hopes for viewing script laden pages from your handheld.

[Pony99CA]

I can't remember the urls right now but at least one of them is at&t's webmail site. I got it a bunch of other times too.
You're probably right about that. A lot of Web mail sites don't seem to work with Pocket IE. Hotmail and AOL's Web log-in have difficulties, too.

However, that doesn't really have anything to do with displaying the Web page, but more with the code it can execute, I think. Of course, to a user trying to get their E-mail, the "why" doesn't much matter. :?

Steve

[Peter Traugot]

*Chicks will dig you!!!!






[Well, the chicks on this board anyway :lol: ]

[PetiteFlower]

Yeah, all 4 of us ;)