Passion or Coincidence, What made you stick with your PPC?

[Aerestis]

Was there anything special or just neat that made you stick with the pocket pc? Perhaps it saved your life, or helped you pick up attractive women or men (This could be almost as unlikely as it saving your life). Or maybe you just thought it looked the coolest so you chose it. It could have been that you wanted to stay connected as often as possible.

What made you choose? Model, Brand, the type of handheld all together, anything. I'm really intrested in reasons :D

Thanks!

[JonnoB]

I used a Palm Pilot before, went to Pocket PC because of development needs and then never looked back. Once in a while, I will take a look at the new Palm devices some of my friends carry and it convinces me not to be tempted. It is getting harder and harder to do that these days as many of my friends have switched as well.

[buckyg]

I'll admit, it started as a novelty or toy. A friend and fellow tech geek had one. After playing with it a little bit, had to have one. The PPC quickly became a useful, everyday, indispensable tool for me. I started on an old Casio e-105 to an e-125 to an iPAQ 5455 to my current 5555.

I can't think of anything else that is this portable that has helped me keep organized, helped me professionally and also kept me entertained. Visiting sites like this keep showing me new things to do with it. From time to time, I go back and try something out I had not used for awhile or never tried. Seems like there's always something new. My PPC has kept me entertained for years now.

I'd say it was passion and not coincidence.

[Pat Logsdon]

I write every day, and at the time I got my first PPC, I couldn't afford a laptop. My casio e-125 with a Stowaway keyboard was my first baby, and now I'm STILL writing every day with my 4150, hp folding keyboard, and Textmaker. Textmaker + the keyboard are the killer "app" for me.

And then there's the movies, the navigation, the geocaching, the games, etc. etc... 8)

[mountainguy]

Aerestis,

Your post and and question is intriguing. I have had a Pocket PC since 2000 and use it all the time. Nothing is more portable or faster than a PPC. I do a lot of international travel and contacts, flight schedules and notes all fit easily in my Ipaq. This is especially true with international addresses and telephone numbers that don't always fit other formats.

Whether I am using it in Pakistan, Thailand, Peru or France, it always has worked like a charm. A year ago my best friend and I spent 10 days walking through the Lake District in England. We were careful with our weight as we were carrying everything we needed in our packs. The second day on the ramble, I cleaned out my pack and mailed a bunch of things back to a buddy in London. I DID NOT send him my PPC as we were using it for all kinds of things including keeping a record of the trip on the PPC.

I jokingly used to say, "Take my wife, take my kids, but don't touch my Pocket PC." I used to say that, that is ....until I came home from an overseas trip once and found my wife had put a divorce attorney's telephone number on the speed dial. Just kidding.

PPCs are great and their use really is limited by your imagination. Can't wait to read the other posts.

Kenn

[Aerestis]

That's really cool then. Surgical Snack, would you say that you're as productive with the ppc and folding keyboard as you would be with a laptop? I think since laptops are in my opnion still a bit big, that a ppc would be easily as powerful for text editing.

I wish the keyboards weren't eighty dollars CAD :D :cry:

[Pat Logsdon]

That's really cool then. Surgical Snack, would you say that you're as productive with the ppc and folding keyboard as you would be with a laptop? I think since laptops are in my opnion still a bit big, that a ppc would be easily as powerful for text editing.

As far as my writing goes, I'm even MORE productive with my ppc than I am with my laptop. I keep it on my belt at all times, so if I have an idea, I just turn it on, fire up Textmaker and write it down with Decuma On-Spot. When I get to Starbucks, I just pull the keyboard out of my bag, unfold it on the table and connect the ppc. I'm typing in 30 seconds.

MUCH easier than with a laptop, and with Textmaker, I have easy access to all of the Word functionality, as well as the option to save it in full Word format.

I wish the keyboards weren't eighty dollars CAD :D :cry:
Me too! That's why I bought a refurbished one on eBay for $39. :mrgreen: Works great!

[Aerestis]

I should have a look at ebay then, that sounds excellent. It sounds really exciting to have the ability to type stuff up almost anywhere I go, hehe. I like that idea. I can't wait to get one and use it for school :D

[jkendrick]

I have to concur with Surgical. My e805 and the Stowaway keyboard allow me to write anytime or anywhere I have free time. Yesterday I was sitting in Starbuck's with this setup. First I answered all my email and then I wrote an article.

The keyboard, TextMaker, and the VGA screen give me anything a Tablet PC can give me but with a small and light form factor. Oh, and a battery that lasts all day.

[brenlen]

My PPC was delivered a week ago Thursday… I am only beginning to unlock the potential of my Axim x3i. At home and school I can utilize the wireless network from my couch or the university café. I am able to jot down important notes, and contact people through message boards, email, and AIM, as well as stay informed with frequented websites.

I chose the Axim because it was the least expensive of the PPCs with built in WiFi, which is the perfect choice for a beginner user.

[shawnc]

Of all the responses you get, mine will be the lamest. This is my 4th or 5th PPC and though my Axim performed admirably, I was convinced that it would be my last PPC. I was mostly fed-up with the Word round-tripping issue, but there were to many other minor problems that just didn't make it fun for me anymore. And since I DON'T use my PPC for scheduling, fun was important to me.

I was all set to try the new Treo but as a previous owner, I was just expecting a bit more in terms of form-factor. But I was still v-e-r-y interested in this little beauty.

Now to the point, xmas is right around the corner and my wife is bugging me about what I want. There was just something about the Treo that kept me away but there was NOTHING in PPC-land that made me want to stay. Bottom-line is I had to come up with something so I figured I'd try the 4150. I knew I had 30 days to return it and that would buy me more time to figure out what I really wanted. Man was I mistaken. I have fallen in love with this PPC. I can't believe it took so long to get this right, but other than the alarm issue, this thing does EVERYTHING as advertised. And I have NEVER had a PPC that performed as advertised. There was ALWAYS something that required a much higher level of technical skill than I possessed (whoever thinks a non-IS person will ever look forward to Hacking a registry they are deluding themselves). That's not the case with the 4150. I love it and am glad to remain in the PPC camp!

[Aerestis]

haha, that's great. I hope I get to have the same sort of experience one day :D

[Dave Potter]

I've owned a few Palm bases PDAs over the last 6-7 years and found them useful for keeping names & phone numbers and a bit of scheduling - but little else. I was never really inspired by any of them. The closest I came to inspiration with a Palm based PDA was my HandSpring - and even this left me feeling flat and unenthusiastic.

Then, I started a new job about a year ago and they gave me an iPAQ 3970. It was like an epiphany. All the things that I wished I could do with the Palms of the past were now within reach. I was immediately in love.

Over time though, I grew tired of the 3970. I found it too big and heavy. After the initial couple of months of euphoria, I grew bored. At that time, there wasn't much in the way of software that interested me. More and more over time the 3870 just sat in it's cradle unused.

Then last November, I decided to revisit the whole PDA thing and purchased an iPAQ 1935. The size of the unit was extremely attractive to me - as was the price. This was the point when my obsession began.

Is it me, or does anyone else think that PPC software has come a long way in the last year? There just seems to be more variety out there - and better quality stuff.

Since November, I have found far more software to acquire than I could possibly fit on my 1935. To further fuel my obsession, I purchased a SDIO Bluetooth card and a SDIO WiFi card. Now, I just can't seem to put the thing down - much to my wife's chagrin.