Sony and Palm Pocket PCs? Not Quite What You Were Thinking...

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.washingtonpost.com/' target='_blank'>http://www.washingtonpost.com/</a><br /><br /></div>A keen-eyed Pocket PC Thoughts reader spotted this article graphic on the Washington Post's home page:<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/pocketpc-notquite.gif" /> <br /><br />Seeing as I'm still correcting people when they call my Pocket PC a Palm Pilot, this comes as a refreshing reminder that Pocket PCs have gained tremendously in mindshare over the past year, so much so that the term Pocket PC is being used to describe PDAs that are not running the Windows Mobile OS. Ah, how times have changed. Have any of you Palm owners had someone say "Oh, is that a Pocket PC"? ;-)

[dh]

It was certainly a great piece of marketing when the Palm Pilot arrived. That was way back in the US Robotics days wasn't it?
When you consider that the Pilot name had to be dropped years ago, it's amazing how even people with zero interest in handhelds remember and use it.

Calling them just a Palm is not as good because people have no idea if you mean a part of your hand or an electronic organiser. At the same time Pocket Peee Ceee isn't the most catchy name of all time either.

Any way why did Pilot Pen sue USRobotics over the name? It's not as though anyone's going to confuse the organiser with a pen. Why didn't they sue the airlines and the airforce as well? :lol:

[arnage2]

I guess Pocket pc and palm pilot are just generic terms, now. (keeping in mind palm pilots havent been made since 1998)

[jake080]

I guess Pocket pc and palm pilot are just generic terms, now. (keeping in mind palm pilots havent been made since 1998)

...YEP!

[c38b2]

Have any of you Palm owners had someone say "Oh, is that a Pocket PC"? ;-)
Uh, no. :wink:

[zarxic]

Have any of you Palm owners had someone say "Oh, is that a Pocket PC"? ;-)

What are Palm owners doing on this site? :wink:

[Paul P]

Have any of you Palm owners had someone say "Oh, is that a Pocket PC"? ;-)

I gave up correcting people. :)

Btw, I wonder if the mistake will appear in the corrections section of the newspaper if you let them know. :) "Yesterday we referred to a Palm device as a PocketPC. We regret making that mistake and apologize."

[Kacey Green]

I used to hate it when people called my nino a palm pilot, this was back when they were still called that. I mean it like looking at a general and saying look a 2nd Lt.

Now when they call Rex a Palm pilot, I calmly explain to them that it's not a palm. They then say what's the difference, and I give them a few reasons why the PPC is a better value for your money, or why its mor cool, or what you can do with it. (depending on what it was that made them take notice, they may say "you got any games?", "How much did that cost?", etc.) When they ask the price I explain that Rex is a refurbished unint, and tell them the price. (If they seem puzzeled by the word refurbised, I quickly explain what the remanufaturing process involves)

[Mobile_Bear]

Have any of you Palm owners had someone say "Oh, is that a Pocket PC"? ;-)

I gave up correcting people..."
I have to be honest, and admit that recently I have heard: "Is that a PDA?"

[Tom W.M.]

Have any of you Palm owners had someone say "Oh, is that a Pocket PC"? ;-)
I gave up correcting people. :)
Me too. Now I refer to my MobilePro 780 H/PC as my "mini computer thing." I still have to constantly answer the question, "Can you get Internet on that?" though. :roll:

[Cameron_Talley]

Have any of you Palm owners had someone say "Oh, is that a Pocket PC"? ;-)
I gave up correcting people. :)
Me too. Now I refer to my MobilePro 780 H/PC as my "mini computer thing." I still have to constantly answer the question, "Can you get Internet on that?" though. :roll:

I have the same issue, especially when browsing my AvantGo pages. "Can you get the internet?" or "Are you on the Internet" is a popular question. Very annoying.

[Kacey Green]

I still have to constantly answer the question, "Can you get Internet on that?" though. :roll:

I get that all the time, I've stopped explaining it and change my responce to yes

are you on the net now?
no

can I get on the net?
it's mine foo' stop asking :idontthinkso:

Edit: added smiley

[Kacey Green]

I have the same issue, especially when browsing my AvantGo pages. "Can you get the internet?" or "Are you on the Internet" is a popular question. Very annoying.

avantgo makes these lines of dquestions even worse.
Very annoying indeed :|

[bjornkeizers]

What are Palm owners doing on this site? :wink:

Hey!!! :D

I too get the 'Do you have internet?' question all the time. By now, I'm sick of explaining it as well.

[Ryan Joseph]

I have a PPC Phone, which is even worse. People are always going, "whoa, what's that?"

I say, "It's a Pocket PC,"
Blank Stare.
"It's like a Palm Pilot,"
Now they understand.

And when I get the inevidible "Can you get the Internet on that thing?" I can answer yes. Then, for some reason, they always want to try it. :roll:

Anyway, I guess Palms have been around for so long that everyone has at least heard of them. That's why when we say "Like a Palm Pilot" people understand. That picture shows that things may be slowly swinging in our favor. :mrgreen:

[WyattEarp]

When I'm asked: Is that a Palm? I usually just say "Yes, it's a palmtop only it's called a Pocket PC" And like everyone else the usual follows:

Question: "Can you go online with that?"
My reply: "Yes"
Odd stare and person walks away

The general public doesn't seem to know the difference between the two so it doesn't annoy me. We need to remember people are curious about what they don't know and everyone can't know everything. Share what you know. :D

[Kacey Green]

is that a baby or a puppy?
Answer
Can I touch it?

Can you get on the internet with that?

[jake080]

ahh, great story lines guys ;)
i personally used to correct people on that all the time, but its gotten so annoying i just dont even pay attention to it. Truth is though, that when i hear someone misname the device, im thinking, 'thats detestable, the blasphemer!'

~Jake

[Kacey Green]

I've got another: I'm jammin' to my music with my headphones, and someone comes up to me and asks "That thing plays MP3s 8O"
"Yes but right now I'm listening to WMAs, I think they sound better per bitrate."
:?:
"Explanation"

[Bill Gunn]

PC stands for Personal Computer. A personal computer doesn't have to run a Microsoft OS. A Palm brand PDA is certainly a computer. It's personal, and it's pocketable. So calling it a pocket pc should only be a problem for the marketing folks at Microsoft.

[Kacey Green]

you make some points bill, but from my understanding microsoft owns the rights to the term Pocket PC just like they own the term Windows Mobile

[joelevi]

I guess Pocket pc and palm pilot are just generic terms, now. (keeping in mind palm pilots havent been made since 1998)

I don't know how many times I've been asked "hey, what kind of Palm Pilot do you have?" and I have to gently describe the not so subtle differences between a Pocket PC and a simple, digital dayplanner. ;)

And if I have a Pilot pen in my pocket does that make it a Pocket Pilot? ;)

[funngunn2]

Have any of you Palm owners had someone say "Oh, is that a Pocket PC"?

Aye, and it annoys me (no offense to the PocketPC'ers :wink: ). When I mention the term 'PDA,' people just stare at me in confusion. Only when I say, 'Palm Pilot' do they understand. Thank God my close friends are tech-savvy (and use Palms/PPCs) and know their notation. It's either 'Clie' or 'Palm' or 'iPAQ' or 'insert PDA name here' I hear from my friends.