Gave up on PPC, just ordered a U70 !!

[spinedoc]

Am I the only one wondering at the anemic pace of Pocket PC hardware development? In addition to this I became greatly disheartened by HP's stance on upgrading to the newest OS, and their lackluster new PDA's (yes even the 4700 in my eyes is just so so). I also did not desire to wait another 2 months for the Asus VGA PPC.

So after much research I took the plunge and grabbed the Sony U70 off of Dynamism.com. The unit is a bit larger and thicker, and a lot heavier than a PPC, but for my purposes it will serve well. Main use will be patient interaction, daily notes and such, the PPC was just too lacking for this and Tablet PC's were just too large and bulky for this. The good part is that the U70 was virtually the same price as a new tablet PC! I also plan to install Microsoft tablet edition on the U70, along with SP2.

Will post some pics and reviews for anyone interested in this, even though it is not PPC related, sort of.

[Jason Dunn]

I'd be quite interested in seeing how this works out for you. :-)

[spinedoc]

You know what really really got me to buy it? It was primarily hard drive size. I really expected someone to release a PPC with a hard drive by now. Why could someone not fit a 1.8" drive into a PPC? Is it the size? Hell the U70 is not much larger than one of the larger PPC's and has a 20gb hard drive (not to mention the P4 1ghz, 512MB of memory, 5" 800X600 TFT, etc etc).

So while we think we are advanced with VGA PPC's with 64-128MB of memory and still no hard drives, we are really being slowly divested of our cash with these anemic hardware upgrades every 2 years. I am wondering if the lack of hard drives is the way hardware makers are differentiating (ie forcing us to buy) PPC's from media players? While on that subject what is the use of a media player if a PPC with a hard drive can do the same or better? I am just at quite a loss for understanding.

As for price, it seems the PPC's are increasing, not decreasing. Plus there is the headache of finding programs that do what I want, and the double headache of wondering if they are compatible with WM SE!!

[dean_shan]

Yes please post a review on the U70. I really want to know how well it works in real world situations.

[Brad Adrian]

I really expected someone to release a PPC with a hard drive by now...
I agree that the pace of truly innovatice Pocket PCs seems slow, and that a hard drive would be nice. I think we have to remember that, even though there may be a market for a Pocket PC with a 20GB hard drive, the vast majority of users don't need that kind of system. We are the hardcore, driven, technophilic minority. And, even given the capabilities of the average Pocket PC, the prevailing model is NOT to produce a notebook replacement; it is to produce a notebook companion.

[dh]

I agree that the pace of truly innovatice Pocket PCs seems slow, and that a hard drive would be nice. I think we have to remember that, even though there may be a market for a Pocket PC with a 20GB hard drive, the vast majority of users don't need that kind of system. We are the hardcore, driven, technophilic minority. And, even given the capabilities of the average Pocket PC, the prevailing model is NOT to produce a notebook replacement; it is to produce a notebook companion.
I don't know Brad, if you don't want a seperate music player, 20MB (or more) would be just great in a PDA. I'm personally hoping that the next Zaurus will come with a mini hard drive, assuming there is a new generation someday.

As for keeping Pocket PCs as a laptop companion, I'm sure that's simply a marketing thing by Microsoft who want to keep churning out the Win XP licenses and all those copies of MS Office. I think we will have to look for other OSs to give real portable functionality.

[ignar]

James Kendrick at jkOnTheRun wrote about his experience with U70. Should be a good read for those who are interested.

http://jkontherun.blogs.com/jkontherun/2004/08/a_typical_day_w.html

[maximus]

And, even given the capabilities of the average Pocket PC, the prevailing model is NOT to produce a notebook replacement; it is to produce a notebook companion.

Couldnt agree with you more. As a person that has been lugging laptop, PPC and mobilephones around, I have stopped searching for an ideal one-device-for-all.

Bored with work ? Lets run Spellforce: breath of winter on laptop. Tired at malls ? Warring nations or oggs on axim. Need to make a phone call? Motorola V600. Need to send a lot of smses ? Laptop bluetoothed to V600. All of these fit inside a regular briefcase. Works for me.

[spinedoc]

I think the most compelling reason for a hard drive for the non technically oriented is as a MP3 player, and lately as a full blown video media center. It kills me to see an Ipod or a media center device with a large hard drive and my $600 Pocket "PC" is limited to 64mb?!? Maybe with another $250-$300 I can gain 2gb more by getting a SD and CF memory card, but then again there goes my expandibility.

I still dont understand why I need to spend $500 on a media/video player when all my PPC needs is a hard drive to do the same thing. Same thing goes for a MP3 player.

[Kati Compton]

I think the most compelling reason for a hard drive for the non technically oriented is as a MP3 player, and lately as a full blown video media center. It kills me to see an Ipod or a media center device with a large hard drive and my $600 Pocket "PC" is limited to 64mb?!? Maybe with another $250-$300 I can gain 2gb more by getting a SD and CF memory card, but then again there goes my expandibility.

I still dont understand why I need to spend $500 on a media/video player when all my PPC needs is a hard drive to do the same thing. Same thing goes for a MP3 player.
Well, I think PPCs would need to be designed with bigger batteries for this to work. I mean, you wouldn't want to watch a movie or two on the flight only to discover that when you landed you'd run out of battery so couldn't look up the name of the hotel you were staying at. ;) Unfortunately, this is a problem with multi-function devices. With devices separte, you can prioritize battery usage, and you have multiple batteries. Converged devices sound like a good idea, and for many situations I'm sure they are, but battery life is a downside.

[Zab]

Im saving to buy a 1GB SD card ( im really wishing i had a CF slot now! ). Reason? I dont have enough room to hold but maybe 3-7 MP3's right now w/o a card. I have a ton of mp3's on my desktop that i would love to be able to listen to at work or other such places. But i dont have the room for them. So i have to buy a card. I would be completely willing to pay up to 100 USD for even a 5 gig HDD.

[spinedoc]

I received my u70 in the mail this morning and have been working all day to replace Win XP Pro with Win Tablet Edition. I finally have it set up the right way, now I am working on getting SP2 installed. I must say this unit is everything I expected and then some. This is the way a "pocket PC should be, I will never go back to windows media, thats for sure. Luckily enough I will still use my Ipaq 2215 as a gym MP3 player and workout logger.

Preliminary notes:
Plus: Runs any windows program you throw at it, ANY!
runs some games, so far call of duty.
Awesome screen, handwriting recognition really really works (unlike windows mobile which is quite hit or miss)
Multiple input methods: stylus, mouse pad on unit, scroll pad on unit, external keyboard touchpad, external bluetooth or usb mouse, etc.
Did I mention the screen? 800X600 res, crisp, clear, bright, very accurate touchscreen.
Hard drive! It is quite liberating to have a 20gb hard drive, the days of worrying how many programs I can install on 64mb are gone forever!
Full version of microsoft office runs great!!
Internet browsing is super good!
Tons more pros that I am too excited to name right now.

Cons: Only con so far, and of course its a big one, is battery life. With Wifi on and full brightness, with me tinkering and utilizing the hard drive 99% of the time installing programs it lasts about 2.5 hours. I will be buying the extended battery. I will post when I am able to do half brightness with wifi off as it will be used when out and about.

Will post pics if anyone is interested and has somewhere I can have them hosted or upload them.

[spinedoc]

Well, I think PPCs would need to be designed with bigger batteries for this to work. I mean, you wouldn't want to watch a movie or two on the flight only to discover that when you landed you'd run out of battery so couldn't look up the name of the hotel you were staying at. ;) Unfortunately, this is a problem with multi-function devices. With devices separte, you can prioritize battery usage, and you have multiple batteries. Converged devices sound like a good idea, and for many situations I'm sure they are, but battery life is a downside.

Excellent point, although I would point out that the makers of Pocket PC's should offer more options for extended batteries. Most PPC's do have options for aftermarket extended batteries. But from what I read these "media players" which do video do not last much longer than an average pocket PC with an extended battery. As an MP3 player I know my ipaq 2215 lasts me quite a few hours with the standard battery.

I do agree with you, but believe you have just pointed out another flaw in the PPC that the manufacturers are not really pushing too hard to fix.

[jkendrick]

Spinedoc, set the power management to Vaio Ultimate Battery and brightness around the middle of the slider. Turn WiFi off when you're not using it. I get 3 hours this way and over 5.5 hours with the extended battery. Check out my website for other information about the U. You should also join the U70 yahoo group if you haven't already.

I think we will see a WinXP based mobile platform from MS in the next few years that marries the handheld and tablet.

[spinedoc]

Thanks jk, I have read your review and webpage tons of times in anticipation of my U70 arriving. I did have a question I was hoping I could get your help on.

Installing SP2 crashed my U70, rendering it unbootable. I do not have a bootable CD rom, but I do have a usb floppy that works as bootable (TDK FD100) and I have the Win Pro setup floppies. I am able to get into a win pro command prompt via the floppies, but I have no idea how to do a network install from a network CD Rom!! Please help!!

I have joined the u70 group, almost a week ago, and am still waiting for approval from the mod.

FYI on the input, this is what PPC should have been. ie: I dont even use the stylus for input unless I ned to text. The mouse stick is awesome, and I can perform all my functions just holding the unit in both hands and using the mouse stick.

[jkendrick]

There are lots of information on the yahoo group so I hope you get access soon.

Meanwhile, go to BeyondTheTech and get the net boot stuff. This site is run by a U70 owner who's collecting hacks and information to put it all in one place. There's a lot of info on net booting here:

http://www.beyondthetech.com/downloads/sonyu70/

[spinedoc]

Excellent link jk!! I downloaded the netboot utility with instructions, but still cant get my u70 to see my laptop. Dont know if its the physical setup.

My laptop is connected via wifi to a wireless router using the DHCP on the router, so it has a IP address assigned by the router. I am connecting the U70 by a crossover cable directly to the laptop, so I wonder if this is an issue.

I think I am going to just pony up the money for the bootable CD drive, but I was hoping to have it working by the weekend for a trip to NYC.

LOL, I guess it is true about Fri the 13th!!

[jkendrick]

Excellent link jk!! I downloaded the netboot utility with instructions, but still cant get my u70 to see my laptop. Dont know if its the physical setup.

My laptop is connected via wifi to a wireless router using the DHCP on the router, so it has a IP address assigned by the router. I am connecting the U70 by a crossover cable directly to the laptop, so I wonder if this is an issue.

I think I am going to just pony up the money for the bootable CD drive, but I was hoping to have it working by the weekend for a trip to NYC.

LOL, I guess it is true about Fri the 13th!!

You know I didn't realize it was Fri the 13th until you told me. :(

I use the Sony DDRW drive which is bootable so I avoided all the netboot problems.

[Zero101]

Well, I think PPCs would need to be designed with bigger batteries for this to work. I mean, you wouldn't want to watch a movie or two on the flight only to discover that when you landed you'd run out of battery so couldn't look up the name of the hotel you were staying at. :Wink: Unfortunately, this is a problem with multi-function devices. With devices separte, you can prioritize battery usage, and you have multiple batteries. Converged devices sound like a good idea, and for many situations I'm sure they are, but battery life is a downside.

This is one reason I like the 3800/3900/5500 Ipaq series. The PCMCIA expansion sleeve I use has an extended battery in it... so when my 2GB Toshiba PCMCIA hdd is spinning movies on a plane, it's not draining much juice from the PDA itself. Sure, it adds to the bulk, but when I land I put the sleeve in my bag and the PDA in my pocket. :mrgreen: