pocketPC as a notebook - is it possible?

[iandyr]

Thinking about buying a pocketpc and a keyboard. I want to take notes and write some text about 5-10 pages long.

Is it possible/a good idea?

[ntractv]

Very possible. I have the iPAQ 3835 and the Targus Keyboard. Use it all the time for taking meeting notes and writing long e-mails. Works out great.

[nickl]

I am an editor for a scuba magazine and I frequently use my Dell Axim X5 and foldable keyboard to write travel articles on the road. When I'm done writing, I simply email myself the Pocket Word document (we use Macs at work).

Sure beats lugging my dinosaur G3 around!

[iandyr]

thanks - it would be nice not carry my laptop with me all the time.

[blusparkles]

Certainly possible. Keep in mind, though, that you won't be able to see much on the screen at any one time, which is something that you take for granted when writing on a desktop or laptop. The ability to quickly check something that you wrote 5 paragraphs ago is not as easy on a Pocket PC, as you'll have to scroll up to see it, and then scroll back down to where you were. On a desktop/laptop, you'd be able to see that paragraph on the same page.

If you want to do some serious word processing, scrap Pocket Word and get TextMaker (http://www.softmaker.de/tmp_en.htm), which has all of the formatting options that are noticeably absent in PW, like headers, footers, tables, graphics, paragraph, borders, fields ..

My advice is that if you're going to do extensive word processing with formatting, then doing so on a Pocket PC may be frustrating. It's certainly doable though. Just my $0.02

[iandyr]

oh no I just wanted one-sided answers that forced me to buy a PocketPC :wink:

But thanks blusparkles - the things you mention are just what I feared. Maybe the conclusion is to try it out in the shop.

[nickl]

I agree with blusparkles, writing on a laptop is much more desirable. But I, for one, have recently begun leaving my Mac G3 at home for the following reasons:

> The laptop's added weight in my bag would absolutely kill my shoulder.

> When typing on a plane, and the fat a$$ in front of me would put his seat back, I'd cringe, knowing some people who had lost their laptops due to that reason.

> Every time I walk through security, I don't have to pull out my laptop and I breeze right through.

> I can take the Pocket PC into meetings

> I can check email from a moving taxi without pulling out the laptop

If you're a road warrior, and just need something to transfer your thoughts into 1's and 0's, then definitely spring for a Pocket PC, which, it seems you've already settled on.

[LorryDriver71]

I'd cringe, knowing some people who had lost their laptops due to that reason.


How did they lose their laptops? I don't get ya.

[nickl]

If you've ever used a Mac G3 on a plane, the back of the seat in front of you always seems to catch the top of the laptop screen as the seat's reclining. I have a friend who's screen was wiped out by a reclining seat.