Why you chose PPC over palm? Looking to buy a pda

[naked]

Just wanting some information on why you guys/ladies chose a Pocket PC device over a palm os device.

Thanks!

Luke

[SHoTTa35]

POS just to me isn't as smart as it should be. Simple yes but simplicity isn't always good. It's good for them to sell but when you make stuff too simple the smarter joes out there wont be impressed. They to me are just simple in the wrong places. While they(PPC vs POS) can do just the samethings in general... PPC is much simplier for connectivity and multitasking.

I dunno, if i keep going i'll just ramble on but guess you can figure out that i like PPC more than Palms (maybe cuz i'm a MS whore? Hmm.. who knows)

[Locksmith]

I've gone from Palm to PPC, back to Palm (company requirement) and back to PPC.

These are all generalities.
Screen is nicer
Digitizer is better
Outlook and Excel work better.
Generally the whole PPC package seems better.

[c38b2]

I am back to Palm because I believe that a PDA is more than the sum of its parts - I believe that proper integration is crucial to the overall useabilty of the device. This cannot be quantified so it often gets overlooked in ads, but I have found in my experience that I can do anything I need to do on my Palm in seconds and often withour even getting the stylus out. I have also found that the Palm OS is extremely reliable and easily backed up to your computer via HotSync. When I was using my Pocket PC I often felt like it was working against, not with, me in everything from simple PIM management to synchronization. Just read this (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=26520) thread to get an idea of some of the shortcomings of the Pocket PC.

[minimage]

While I understand that Palm has come a long way since October 2002 (when I bought my first CE device), I have to say that's when I finally gave up my battle to stay away from Windows-based handhelds, because CE devices with color and more storage could be had for much lower prices, and they looked better, too! All Palm had at the time (I believe) was the grainy Palm IIIc, and it was out of my reach. My Cassiopeia BE-300 wasn't a real PocketPC, but it sure had a purty LCD! It played music and browsed the web (thanks to a wireless card), too! Was Palm even doing that back then? I liked being able to edit docs, not just read them, which is all I could do with Docs to Go. Sure, my BE didn't come with PocketWord and PocketExcel, but I found 3rd-party apps to handle this for me. When Dell came out with the Axim X5, I decided it was time to stop tweaking my BE for more than it was worth and get the real thing. Palm still didn't have what I needed, or if they did, it was still the wrong price. No matter how much I drop my Axim, it's still with me, and I try not to care what anybody's got now, because I don't have deep pockets. I think I'd sure love to get into VGA, though. *sigh*

[danesh]

I have used Palm for over 2 years and like SHoTTa35 pointed out it is a good OS for basic PIM functionality. But after a while, the user requirments outgrow the features served by Palm. To me, the two primary reasons why I moved to PPC were:

1. Transcriber - the ability to write anywhere on the screen in your own handwriting. Though some Sony POS models offer the ability to write anywhere on the screen, you still need to use graffiti strokes.

2. Multi-tasking - in POS 3.5 (the one I used), there was no multi-tasking. Not sure whether its there now.

[JohnnyFlash]

I've been on the PPC bandwagon for so many years now. But, back when I decided on a platform, my decision could have been chalked up to a couple of capabilities that the PPCs had back then, but the Palms didn't.

I wanted color for games, the Palm was grayscale. I wanted sound capabilities in order to listen to MP3 music. The Palms were silent excpet for system beeps. And finally, I wanted video capability in order to watch pocket films. The Palms didn't offer the ability to play video, and the PPC did, even back at that early stage of development.

Of course, the platforms are much closer in capabilities nowadays. But, despite that, I continue to stick with the Pocket PC for one (to me) very important reason: The Pocket PC manufacturers, and Microsoft in particular, are very interested in the portable gaming market. Palm is not (although they give lip service to the topic occasionally). And this is paramount to me since I do not get my hardware through an employer or anyone else. I pay myself, and my E-805 is a portable gaming platform first, and a business organizer and address book second...a DISTANT second. Palm continues to focus on the business market, and the business uses of it's hardware. Not only does that leave me out in the cold it just leaves me cold...period!

[Jeff Rutledge]

For me, it's not so much what made me choose PPC over Palm. I made the switch as soon as PPC2000 came out (I got one of the first iPAQ 3600's).

What I can say is that I had a couple of opportunities to get my hands on Palm devices since I have switched (evaluations for work) and I couldn't give them back quickly enough. I find the Palm O/S very limiting.

[jimski]

I used Palm devices for four years before I joined the Sony PDA of the month club (4 different devices in 6 months). The Sonys wet my appetite for more features and when the Bluetooth enabled iPAQ 3800 was released I decided to take the PPC plunge.

While I will admit that things like Active Sync bugs and unexplained random hard resets (backup often) have kept me up a few nights I really prefer the PPC interface over the POS. And the PPC's integration with Outlook Desktop is nearly seamless. People may say that there are more apps written for the POS, but my experience has shown that those written for the PPC are very well designed and feature rich.

I will still recommend a Palm for computer novices, because it is just easier to setup and use, but for those wanting a bit more the PPC is the way to go.

[Aerestis]

Well, I currently use a Palm. It's pretty cool... I use it every day, and I run the batteries dry, and recharge every night. I really enjoy using it as well. I listen to mp3's, watch videos, play games, write games, show instructors animations and images for my graphic design and animation courses, keep documents ready for editing, work on html stuff, and ultimately I just have fun with it. But I don't know... Maybe I should have gotten a pocketpc.

Life can be SO HARD on me

[minimage]

If you can afford and if you like Palm, then I see no reason to get a PocketPC. I want Microsoft to have competition. I want Palm to enjoy continued success, even if they let me down in the past, because my Palm and I had some good times before I had to move on.

[Kowalski]

palm is dead already. and you know why: because they started a fight with microsoft!
the devices we easy to use and cheap thanks to their monocrome and single tasking environment but for afew years palm devices began to be more complex and version 6 of palm os is even multitasking.
this makes palm and ppc the same class and definately microsoft will win

[Thinkingmandavid]

My first pda was a a Palm, now PalmOne. At first it was ok and exciting. AS time went by it was boring and it was not as appealing as pocketpc's. No color was the main thing, and not enough memory. I remember 8 megs and everyday I was looking to see how much storage space I had left. Obviously, there is 64 megs but it was not available in a Palm back then.
As time went on my Palm would soft reset on its own. This was annoying when I entering PIM info, I would loose information. It then went to a hard reset and I would loose all of my information and it was very upsetting. The only savior was my laptop for resyncing.
I then went to a Revo and it was awesome! I would be with that today if it were not for the lack of color and wireless.
I now own a Toshiba e350...it is getting the job done. I have dropped it several times, but it is still working. I do not know for how long but I will push it to its limits. I have only had to hard reset a few times, maybe two. I know I chose to do so one time. I feel it is a good multi-tasking device.
Any pda chosen will need improvement and more than likely you will find some area it needs improvement.
Most importantly get what you want and get it for your current needs and the needs you will have six months from now. Maybe your current needs do not require wireless, but maybe in six months you will be needing wireless. So think ahead so that in the long run you will save & :D

[c38b2]

palm is dead already. and you know why: because they started a fight with microsoft!
the devices we easy to use and cheap thanks to their monocrome and single tasking environment but for afew years palm devices began to be more complex and version 6 of palm os is even multitasking.
this makes palm and ppc the same class and definately microsoft will win
Remember that it is Microsoft that always picks the fight, not the alternative company (Palm, Apple, etc). I think that if Palm has held out this long, they can hold out much longer, at least until Microsoft is bored with the Pocket PC platform. Look at Apple still thriving, and I have to say that Palm has made some better business choices than Apple.

[socrates63]

I started on the PPC (Philips Nino, Casion E100, iPaq 3670), briefly went over to Palm (Sony Clie SJ33), and then returned to the PPC platform (iPaq 2215).

After a few years with the PPC, I bought a Clie for a more simpler life. That lasted about 6 months.

I guess all depends on your needs and desires. I found that the PPC ultimately suited my wants better than the Palm.

Palm hit(s):
- Sony's 320x320 screen kicks butt over any of the PPC 320x240 screens.
- Astraware Bejeweled in ROM...addicting game
- Palm Reader is great. I like to ability to change background and text color. I hate reading text on white backgrounds. Even without things like ClearType, the fonts and crisp and look good.

Palm misses
- Out of the box, Palm datebook does not sync with all of Outlooks fields. Imagine my surprise when I couldn't find the location information for the meeting. I had to run back to the office to look it up on Outlook. After digging around, I got it to sync the office location, but it misses a lot of other fields.
- The SJ33 runs Palm OS 4, and I found it sorely lacking in multimedia capabilities.
- Palm is touted as being simple to use...I would agree...but it's simple to use because it's a simple device compared to a PPC.
- I found ActiveSync and software installation on PPC more intuitive than Palm's IntelliSync, conduits, and Palm Desktop software installation method. Maybe it's just me, but I'm pretty happy with ActiveSync.
- PPC has better games and more of them.
- Bang for the buck, PPC offers more...way more. Back when I got the Clie, I paid close to $200. At that time, I could have bought a PPC for $250 (there was a $50 rebate on the iPaq 1910).
- Nothing like Calligrapher/Transcriber on Palm OS 4. Very limited choice of input methods, but I got used to Graffiti well enough. What really sucked was the fact that you couldn't see what you were writing on the screen.

[Kowalski]

Remember that it is Microsoft that always picks the fight, not the alternative company (Palm, Apple, etc). I think that if Palm has held out this long, they can hold out much longer, at least until Microsoft is bored with the Pocket PC platform. Look at Apple still thriving, and I have to say that Palm has made some better business choices than Apple.
i dont think that microsoft will leave mobile devices, in fact microsoft will go for more!
of course palm never dies like linux, but if palm would not leave its place(simple, poor multimedia and less expensive products) certainly had more chance to survive. but they coose to fight with microsft.
on the hardware side microsoft has dell,hp, asus, toshiba and so on...
what palm has is only sony!
yes palm will survive but we cant say they'll live, instead palm will crawl

[Aerestis]

Remember that it is Microsoft that always picks the fight, not the alternative company (Palm, Apple, etc). I think that if Palm has held out this long, they can hold out much longer, at least until Microsoft is bored with the Pocket PC platform. Look at Apple still thriving, and I have to say that Palm has made some better business choices than Apple.
i dont think that microsoft will leave mobile devices, in fact microsoft will go for more!
of course palm never dies like linux, but if palm would not leave its place(simple, poor multimedia and less expensive products) certainly had more chance to survive. but they coose to fight with microsft.
on the hardware side microsoft has dell,hp, asus, toshiba and so on...
what palm has is only sony!
yes palm will survive but we cant say they'll live, instead palm will crawl

A lot of people think ppc's are stupid. The Palm handhelds come across as more professional and they are generally preferred by both schools and businesses. Is that really... Crawling? Palm will no doubt lose some space in the market to microsoft, but that's a good thing. But look at Apple, even they have managed to survive and do more than just crawl. A good product that millions love will probably never crawl.

[Kowalski]

i think that by the windows mobile 2003, pocketpc s just got a solid feel.
to this time the platform evolved heavly and palm had a plus here. because they were in the market befoure microsoft.
but now with the windows mobile 2003 SE our devices will be more solid and reliable.
and looking from a proffesional perspective, PPC offers more than Palm can.
no one can deny that

[abid786]

I have used Palm for over 2 years and like SHoTTa35 2. Multi-tasking - in POS 3.5 (the one I used), there was no multi-tasking. Not sure whether its there now.

Nope:D

It will be there in Palm OS 6, which will come out in the fall:)

Abid

[abid786]

What really sucked was the fact that you couldn't see what you were writing on the screen.

You obviously missed the app Graffiti Anywhere:) It allows the use of graffiti on the whole screen, so you can see what you are writing:)

Abid

[JessicaBrillian]

I started Palm, went PocketPC, but that's not to say PPCs are better. Personal pref, run them yourself and make a informed decision :) (and listent to some of these guys too)

Jess