A few of my 'inventions'

[Trimac20]

I was just thinking of some accessories which could be really useful for Pocket PC users for entertainment, business.etc and am surprised they already haven't be conceived. Anyway, here are some of my 'inventions' which undoubtedly have been thought off before.

EXTERNAL Hard-drive (not CF): Of course designed specifically for Pocket PC, it would be about the size of a matchbox and attach to the back of the unit allowing capacities of over 30GB.

Floppy/CD/DVD/Flashmedia/etc. reader for Pocket PC: All Pocket PCs should be equiped with a USB port (The Toshiba e800 is the only one I know at the moment with one) to connect to external drives. Of course this also means they can connect to standard peripherals such as mice, keyboards, gamepads, printers.etc and even bluetooth/ir dongles.

Also, I think Pocket PCs should include AV output for display on TVs, projectors. Of course with current resolution...

And they should invent screen protectors made of a special material which 'absorbs' finger prints/ dust.etc. Better yet, all ipaqs should include a super heavy-duty protection.

A SD to CF adapter : Amazingly, they haven't released one yet!

And of course, high-end ipaqs should include a built-in modem/modem card with a speed of at least 56kps.

Any thoughts, input.etc.etc?

[Sven Johannsen]

All Pocket PCs should be equiped with a USB {host} port

If they just did that one thing, 80% of your others would be covered :?

[PetiteFlower]

There are screen protectors which do not show fingerprints or dust, at least not like the naked screen does. They're called Write Shields, and they rock :) I believe the Boxwave screen protectors also do the same thing.

[Aerestis]

even bad screen protectors don't really allow dust and finger prints. when my friends use un-capped pens instead of the stylus (dont ask me why) the ink is easy to wipe off as well. Oh, and feel free to get a bit of pizza on them. It comes off too.

[Wiggster]

EXTERNAL Hard-drive (not CF): Of course designed specifically for Pocket PC, it would be about the size of a matchbox and attach to the back of the unit allowing capacities of over 30GB.
The stop-gap preventing this is the lack of a good power supply to power both the PPC and the hard drive. Also, transfer speed using current PPC technologies would be slow, but no one owuld mind.

Floppy/CD/DVD/Flashmedia/etc. reader for Pocket PC: All Pocket PCs should be equiped with a USB port (The Toshiba e800 is the only one I know at the moment with one) to connect to external drives. Of course this also means they can connect to standard peripherals such as mice, keyboards, gamepads, printers.etc and even bluetooth/ir dongles.
You said it. Only problem would be that the Pocket PCs would need drivers written for them to use the devices, as the standard Windows 9x and XP drivers wouldn't work.

Also, I think Pocket PCs should include AV output for display on TVs, projectors. Of course with current resolution...
There are lots of CF solutions that let you use VGA output to hook up to a display. These have been around since the old days of Windows CE 2.0 and Handheld PCs. However, I doubt that most endusers need this functionality built-in.

And they should invent screen protectors made of a special material which 'absorbs' finger prints/ dust.etc. Better yet, all ipaqs should include a super heavy-duty protection.
The problem with such a thing is that you can't "absorb" finger prints: it's absorbing oil. There are a few coatings/polymers which aren't very receptive to the oil the body produces, but it's virtually impossible for something to be fingerprint free. We just need a transparent teflon :mrgreen:
And super-heavy duty protection means super-heavy duty size and weight. There are existing [url=http://www.mobileplanet.com/product.asp?cat%5Fid=101&cat%5Fname=Pocket+PC+Devices&dept%5Fid=2680&pf%5Fid=MP913643&listing=1]rugged[url] Pocket PCs. Note the price, size, and weight of such devices.

A SD to CF adapter : Amazingly, they haven't released one yet!
I'm sure they have some reason, such as power drain and slower throughput, but I've yet to see any concise reason.

And of course, high-end ipaqs should include a built-in modem/modem card with a speed of at least 56kps.
They used to be built-in to all the Handheld PCs, but the fact is that not many users really use modems any more. Broadband and WiFi are much faster, and don't cost that much more nowadays.

But good thoughts, all.

[Trimac20]

That may be so, but nothing beats the convenience of a built-in modem. Here in little Perth, WA there are two options for mobile internet: pay a fortune using your phone as a bluetooth modem, or use (well most of the time it doesn't work) one of the two or so (yes only two) reliable Wi-Fi hotspots in town. They should bring back modems in Pocket PCs, possibly in an ADSL broadband flavour.

[clbsvi]

I second the suggestion for a built-in phone-line 56K Modem. Also agree that the PPC's power supply limitation and processor speed plus the lack of PPC-specific drivers limit the availability of the other goodies. For me, the SD card slot just doesn't cut it. I want the capability to use CF cards in both my PPC and my laptop; SD cards are just too expensive, too small and fragile. I keep returning to the thought that PPC's are an accesssory to a laptop/desktop, as well as superb personal information managers. Games and MP3 music are other benefits, but I can even do these better with a dedicated device like an iPod or Dell "iPod". Same thing goes for using GPS in a PPC. A dedicated GPS device does GPS better and less expensively. All the above is just my opinion so save your flaming and potshots for the true heretics (Palm Pilot types). Thanks for listening. Love this site and the excellent forums. You guys and gals rock !!

[cftarnas]

That may be so, but nothing beats the convenience of a built-in modem. Here in little Perth, WA there are two options for mobile internet: pay a fortune using your phone as a bluetooth modem, or use (well most of the time it doesn't work) one of the two or so (yes only two) reliable Wi-Fi hotspots in town. They should bring back modems in Pocket PCs, possibly in an ADSL broadband flavour.

I believe there are CompactFlash 56K modems so I think adding them would be a but of overkill, especially [A]DSL modems. DSL would have very limited use, pretty much any one that has a DSL line set up would have a desktop PC if not a wireless network. You just can't plug a DSL modem into any line and dial up, the phone (or ISP) needs to set the line up to be DSL capable.



How many businesses (other than hotels, where yes, you have a line to plug into, but then you could have the compact flast modem in your bag) around Perth would allow you to plug your PPC into their phone line to check email (let alone places that have a DSL line set up for you to use).



-chris

[Trimac20]

Yes, thats the problem with living in an oversized country town: its backward and years behind the Eastern States. I 'tested' two of the three (yes there are actually three, but one was only recently added) only listed Wi-Fi hotspots and oddly enough neither worked. Every time I find any signal it cuts off almost immediately.

What I'm thinking is of a Wireless SD or built-in Modem which could double as a phone. It seems such an eminently essential product that I'm surprised that few companies have even considered the idea of a standalone SD-Modem. But then, I suppose 'technological' and of course financial limitations would prevent this from becoming a reality.