Full length movies?

[Ferns]

I'm considering buying a pocket pc as an alternative to taking my laptop when I go on trips. I want one that I can check my emails and a couple of forums I subscribe to via the open access points that most US motels seem to have. I would also like to watch movies on the plane.

I'm thinking that one where I can carry a spare fully charged battery, and a couple of SD cards with full length mpegs on them would be good, and I've been looking at the HP iPaq rx 5935 and the Fujitsu Siemens Pocket LOOX N520.

GPS would also be a cool bonus but not necessary. Sometimes getting lost when you're touring adds to the fun.

Is what I want to do possible or am I expecting too much? I've been tring to find somewhere locally for a hands on demo but can't in my area, so some user opinion would be good

[Sven Johannsen]

Checking your e-mail depends a bit on the system that delivers it. The PPC mail system does real well in the Exchange environment, as long as the Exchange administrators are willing to support it. If you are using a different system, it still works but you have to fiddle a bit more. You can get issues like not being able to sync your replies between your PPC and desktop (just CC yourself).

You can carry a spare battery or one of the high capacity external batteries that are available. These are external devices that are as big or bigger than the PPC, but can be useful charging cell phones and BT headsets, etc. The size isn't as big an issue in a plane.

You can get 4G SD cards and get full length movies under 500K easily. remember that reducing the resolution does a lot. a 320x240 movie takes 1/4 as much space as a 640x480, and way less than the normal video file. A good transcoder does wonders here.

GPS is easily added with a BT receiver, if you really want it. The important part of this desire is the software, not the receiver. That is typically a third party purchase regerdless if it is a built in GPS or external.

I think you can certainly go the PPC route if you have been honest about your needs. It is not a little laptop. Don't expect it to be and you will be surprisewd at what it can do. Expect it to be and you will be disappointed.

[Nurhisham Hussein]

...and I've been looking at the HP iPaq rx 5935 and the Fujitsu Siemens Pocket LOOX N520.

Fujitsu Siemens have announced that will be withdrawing from the Pocket PC market, so maybe the 520 might not be a good choice right now. There are however plenty of alternatives - I would suggest you get one that supports SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) formats. You can get 8GB SDHC cards now.

BTW, welcome to PPCT!

a 320x240 movie takes 1/4 as much space as a 640x480, and way less than the normal video file.

Actually, a bit more than that, if the audio codec used is the same. In my experience, it's usually between a third to a half as large. But...the point is well made - transcoding your video files makes a lot of sense in that you get much reduced file sizes without degrading image quality (at least, not to the point it's noticeable on a PPC screen).

[Ferns]

Thank you for the input guys, this makes things clearer for me. Regarding email, I had thought to just use a web based service like Gmail, but I have been considering registering a domain name and using that so if I have to, I will.

I already have a couple of programs that will convert video to a suitable size, one of which came with my Sandisk Sansa. I just don't like watching video on it because the screen is just a little too small for me to watch comfortably.


I also take your point about not expecting it to do everything a laptop can, I don't need that anyways. I travel to the US fairly often and once there, my normal means of transport is a motorcycle, and while my laptop isn't a massive extra weight to carry, if I can meet my needs while reducing space and weight, then that's good.

Regarding the GPS, I'm usually riding with some of the locals so getting lost isn't a problem, but sometimes I just like to take off by myself and it will be useful then.

Again, thank you guys, I'm totally sold on the idea now. Now I just have to make the decision on what model to buy. Pity about Fujitsu Siemens though.

[Nurhisham Hussein]

I already have a couple of programs that will convert video to a suitable size, one of which came with my Sandisk Sansa.

Bear in mind that out of the box, the only videos Pocket PCs will play are in WMV format. You'll need a third-party program to play anything else - Core Player is recommended, or its freeware TCPMP version, which will play most anything but Real Media and h.264 (I think).

[Menneisyys]

I already have a couple of programs that will convert video to a suitable size, one of which came with my Sandisk Sansa.

Bear in mind that out of the box, the only videos Pocket PCs will play are in WMV format. You'll need a third-party program to play anything else - Core Player is recommended, or its freeware TCPMP version, which will play most anything but Real Media and h.264 (I think).

TCPMP also plays H.264, but a bit slower than CorePlayer.

I, however, still recommend the latter (despite the price tag): except for some nuances, it's WAY decidedly than TCPMP, particularly if you like the WMP library.