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borderliner
12-07-2004, 08:24 PM
Hello, Im new to this forum, and this is my first post/topic...
The reason I came here is one and simple..
I am thinking about getting a pocketPC, but am not sure about do I realy need it.. I am not a bussinesman, do not have any job, am a student...
I would like to know what do you use your pocketPC for?

Sven Johannsen
12-07-2004, 08:57 PM
Everything I used to use my Dayplanner, MP3 player, handheld game box, calculator, and assorted other paper and electronic things, for.

Ripper014
12-07-2004, 09:25 PM
The basic use for a PocketPC... and my personally most useful function is data collection. Whether is for PIM information.. books.. manuals... notes... my device is a data gathering monster. What this means is that for the most part I always have the information I need at my fingertips...

For secondary uses... there is always entertainment... games... music... and video... There are still many other uses...more than can be mentioned in a brief statement...

Examples are Financial Management... Internet Access... GPS... and on and on and on... Consider it as a laptop lite...

capo
12-07-2004, 09:48 PM
All that and more, Sven :-) Borderliner, it sounds like you have a solution in search of a problem. Why are you considering a Pocket PC? Are you hoping to solve some problem, simplify some process or fill some need? Or is it just good old-fashioned technolust? (if that's the case, welcome to the club - I have a hunch there are more than a few of us here :-) Funny thing about these little devices - after you acquire one, you'll probably start discovering all sorts of reasons you need it... My own reasons - calendar, contacts and to-do list, password and private data lists and a personal journal. It's a secondary MP3 player (I can't do voice control of my iPod or Dell DJ), it's a game machine and reading collection for doctor's offices, planes, traffic jams, meetings and other otherwise wasted time. I have several translations of the Bible plus assorted study aids and notes as well as MP3's of an audio Bible for study and listening. It automatically collects weather forecasts, stock price updates and assorted news that interests me, I can do email and internet in a pinch. Calculator, shopping list and a mobile interface to MS Money (my primary personal finance software), IM, remote server administration in a pinch, GPS and even the occasional ripped video file from my TiVo or a DVD. Some of these things are very useful (calendar, for instance), some are a bit silly (ripped DVD for example) but that's just me.

buss
12-08-2004, 12:24 AM
I started using a Franklin Planner about 15 years ago. At that time I was was incharge of a small operation that pretty much did the same thing day and day out. But I wanted to get organized and develop better organizational skills. About 8 years ago I gave up the paper based planner for a Palm and have since migrated to the PPC.

A young person wanting to develop those skills would do good with a PPC now to prep for the future. (Now you have an excuse to purchase, an investment in your future)

Like any other tool, you do not know what you have until you use it. Great for games and MP3s too :way to go:

Darius Wey
12-08-2004, 06:50 AM
Hi borderliner, welcome to Pocket PC Thoughts.

Personally, I use my Pocket PC for everything.

Personal information management, media playback, note-taking, storage of images, e-book reader, the odd game sometimes, surfing the net and checking my email, etc.

In most cases, you will find that once you make the plunge into the Pocket PC market, you will never look back. And if you scout around the forums, you will find a lot of software recommendations that will help you fit your Pocket PC with a heavy software arsenal that will let you accomplish what you want it to. :)

borderliner
12-08-2004, 01:06 PM
Thank you all for replying, youwe been most helpfull, just keep em coming please :)

borderliner
12-08-2004, 01:17 PM
um, and one more thing...
Which pocket pcies support the streaming technology like the one in the new HP ipaq rx3715 media companion??

Sven Johannsen
12-08-2004, 03:48 PM
um, and one more thing...
Which pocket pcies support the streaming technology like the one in the new HP ipaq rx3715 media companion??

All of them. Nothing special about the 3715 except marketing. There are a few more media centric applications included, but the basic capability is the same on others. The only diff now, I believe, is that you can get WMP10 on it and that supports more DRM (swell), and media syncing between a desktop with MP10 and the PPC.

borderliner
12-08-2004, 04:07 PM
so everyone can stream?
But ofcourse with a specific not-freeware program right??
What is DRM!?

capo
12-08-2004, 04:24 PM
If you haven't done it yet, it'd definitely be worth your time and trouble to scan through and read some of the posts in these forums - I remember posting to one a while back about streaming audio. Mine is not the only solution, but I do use a freeware app called GSPlayer to stream audio wirelessly from Live365.com.
DRM is digital rights management - copy protection, basically. It's there to defeat music thieves, but probably does a better job at just generally mucking up the experience for legitimate users. Thieves are pretty creative and willing to go to amazing lengths to avoid paying for the music they consume. But that's just my opinion (as an artist and a listener) and a subject for another thread...

Darius Wey
12-08-2004, 04:43 PM
so everyone can stream?
But ofcourse with a specific not-freeware program right??

Both freeware and non-freeware applications can do this. In fact, the included Windows Media Player will allow you to play streamed content as well! :)

borderliner
12-08-2004, 04:49 PM
yes I read about that. But I also read about that you cant stream mp3 or divX/xvid files...
One more question: whats the average battery life of PPCies under normal work and under max usage (when watching a movie with a sound for an example..)

gdyson
12-09-2004, 07:05 PM
I too am a student, after 20+ years in the work force, and I use my iPaq everyday in class. I take some notes, keep track of assignments and grades, appointments (including class schedules), and occasionally record lectures. I also use it to type emails to my daughter, who is out of the country. I am actually planning on doing more with next semseter as the college expands its wifi coverage, and I get a wifi card for Christmas. :)
Hope this, and the other responses, help.

Greg

borderliner
12-09-2004, 10:02 PM
they did help...
Thank you every one for replying on my questions, theywe been most helpful just keep on posting:D , but I have another one question though... :)

:?: what is stylus?

Jeff Rutledge
12-09-2004, 10:36 PM
what is stylus?

The stylus is the writing instrument used to tap on the screen. Kind of a plastic pen.

RD100
12-11-2004, 11:54 PM
I consider my Pocket PC to be an extension to my desktop computer.

It allows me to take my documents with me, and update and view them while away.

I can also:
play hundreds of games, (Doom, Chess, Billiards, Bowling, Card Games, etc)
view internet webpages,
manage my checkbook,
maintain my schedule , task list, and contacts (address book),
view my email,
view internet news sites offline,
view TV Guide and easily add shows to watch to my scheduler,
view News Groups (ie internet forums),
convert formats of data (Gallons to Liters, etc),
view detailed street level maps of the entire US,
read eBooks,
listen to MP3s,
watch videos,
view Photos.
This list of what you can do can go on and on.

The stylus, which is a small plastic pen, functions like a mouse on a PC.

neomotion
12-12-2004, 11:26 AM
I have to agree with RD100. I see it as an extension off my desktop. I surf the web, e-mail, write essays on my desktop, and sync with my ppc, so I have all the important information with me. Because i wanted a small formfactor, and didn't want to carry 2 devices with me, I went for the Mda Compact (a cross between a Pocket PC and a cell phone).

I don't think you can consider it as a replacement for let's say a laptop, but with the right software installed, it can be a lean mean pocketpc machine.

falser
12-13-2004, 05:27 PM
I just found another use for my new PDA - a secondary alarm clock. SPB Time is exactly what I've been needing for a long time. I have trouble waking up in the morning, I often turn my alarm clock off before fully waking up and thus oversleep. So last night I set a duplicate alarm in the PDA to go off a few minutes after my regular alarm clock, and the PDA is on the other side of my bedroom so I have no choice but to get up and turn it off.