Is Your Handheld Powerful Enough To Allow You To Leave The Laptop At The Office?

[Ed Hansberry]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9111898&intsrc=hm_list' target='_blank'>http://www.computerworld.com/action...&intsrc=hm_list</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"As handheld devices become more like full-fledged computers in their own right, the question of whether business travelers might be better served by leaving their laptops at home is again being asked by IT managers and end users alike. But that still appears to be more of a future goal than a current reality."</em><br /><br />Is your handheld powerful enough to allow you to leave your laptop behind? For entertainment, I can listen to music (though I prefer my MP3 player to Windows Media Player), watch movies, read books and play games. For productivity email is the killer application allowing me to stay in touch. I can open and view most spreadsheets and documents to get a sense of what they contain, but when it comes to viewing or editing a large spreadsheet, my handheld falls a bit short. I also cannot manage my personal finances on my device, and being a user of MS Access for a number of things, my handheld is out for that task.<br /><br />For me, it would depend on the trip. I have a vacation coming up and am planning on getting absolutely zero work done, so the laptop may stay behind, but for all but the shortest business trips, I'm afraid the laptop goes in the bag. How about you?<br /></p>

[tregnier]

I use a Dell Aximx51v. I have plenty of apps. I tried to use it as a notebook replacement a couple of times. I have the Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, use Textmaker, etc. While it is possible to replace the notebook, it just ain't as productive nor as pleasurable. I'd much rather schlep a notebook.

Thanks!

BTW, If they would have added a phone to my Dell Axim, I'll bet Dell would be in the smartphone business in a big way. It's simply the best PPC ever!

[rcf2]

I have good experiences traveling only with my HTC Advantage even in short business trip, weekends and holidays as well.

[mmidgley]

I can't comment directly on whether my ppc would allow me to leave a laptop behind--because so far I haven't had to buy a laptop. The ppc can do the most important things needed while traveling. If I did have one it'd probably just enable me to spend more time playing games.

m.

[alese]

I have tried that many times, but my iPaq 3870 with it's qVGA screen wasn't enough to replace my notebook and my first Phone edition - HTC Himalaya also fell short.
But then I got HTC Universal with quite usable keyboard, VGA screen... it could pass for notebook replacement (with TextMaker and PlanMaker) but it was frustrating and full of compromises.
For a while I gave up, and last year I even bought UMPC (Raon Everun), to be my notebook replacement - and I have to say it worked well for PC tasks, but not for mail and getting online (lack of inbuilt 3G)...
Unfortunately it's broken now, so I once again tried a WM device - I got an HTC Advantage and after two weeks I'm still in loved :-)
It's not too big, it's screen is great and with USB host and VGA out I think it's the first PDA that could replace my notebook for almost everything, and with the 3G built in I could do the rest of the stuff via remote desktop SW.
It's not perfect though - USB HDs typically don't work and WM is still lacking, but new Opera and SoftMaker Office make up for a lot...

[hummingbirdhill]

Huge amounts of posting and email responses in my duties as a writing instructor of online courses for the local university do prevent my iPAQ 211's substitution for my laptop. I require a larger screen for copious reading as well as a full-sized keyboard for intense typing.

As far as Access on my 211 is concerned, HanDBase quickly, easily, efficiently converts my Access DBs to its own format and transfers the files to my 211 . . .

My gradebooks are in Excel and, after the initial transfer of the files to my iPAQ, I haven't been able to figure how to have them automatically update my 211 when it connects to my desktop for a sync . . .

[carbonyle]

I've an Axim x51v and it is great for many things but it can not replace a laptop.
The day I want replace my laptop (13.3 inches) I'd like to buy a asus Eee: it's small but has a bigger screen than my axim, 1gb ram, a sd slot too (my axim is wm6.1 so it is sdhc compatible) and linux is a powerful OS but if you need a big hard drive...anyway big hard disk are for movies and music 99% more or less legal
So a VGA pocket pc is good but a ultraporable can be better (depend of the situation: to check mail my axim is faste: no boot time)

[Underwater Mike]

I used to use my Axim with a Stowaway keyboard as a substitute while traveling. It worked passably for all but the most intense tasks. Then, I got an 8125 and took a giant step back in usability.

I've had my iPhone for two weeks. It doesn't approach the wide functionality of the Axim, but I didn't expect it to. OTOH, the things it does, it does extremely well -- much better than the WM equivalents.

Now that the Eee PC has spawned some new competition in the segment (e.g., I am waiting with baited breath for the MSI Wind and the Dell machine this fall), I'm not sure that I even want a mobile device to replace a full computer. After trying for eight years to juggle the compromises required, I think I'd just rather have a smart phone that does the basics without fuss, and a truly carryable notebook for the other stuff.

[Brad Adrian]

I found out this past weekend that I probably can't afford to leave home without BOTH my laptop and Pocket PC. My family and I took a long weekend trip to the beach, and I only intended to check my e-mail the first day for some important documents I was expecting.

My motel had no connectivity (It's a vacation, right?), so I had to use Internet Sharing with my Tilt in order to download those documents.

[eugarps]

All,

When I left for a recent trip to Ecuador, I took my iPAQ 6945, my iPHONE (2G), my Palm TX, and a keyboard. The iPHONE had not been upgraded to os 2.0, so I left it turned off most of the time. The iPAQ and the Palm worked well. I found myself using the Palm and its keyboard most often, only using the iPAQ for the odd phone call. I did light up the iPHONE to make a call in Quito. The International Dialing Assist really works well! No hassles trying to find country codes, etc. Just dial and the iPHONE does the rest.

I could probably travel with just the iPHONE, once Data Viz comes up with Documents to Go for iPHONE, WEBIS develops Pocket Informant for iPHONE, and Laridian develops its iPocketBible as a built in app. An external keybroad would REALLY help, Mr. Jobs! Hey Mr. Jobs..... Are you there?

So: I left the notebook home. Did I miss it?.....Some If I had real engineering work to do, would I still carry my Thinkpad X40?..... Absolutely!

My $0.02 (USD)

Bill

Conclusion: For my consulting and pleasure travel, the X40 stays home. For field engineering, the X40 goes along. Heck, its total travel weight is only 5 pounds with its brick and power cord.

[buckyg]

For a real business trip, probably not. For a long weekend trip like Brad described, yes. But I would suggest checking things out before you go. I took just my Ipaq on a long weekend trip one time. The main use was for emergencies: emails, contacts and a couple of checklist-type docs. So I took my Ipaq, a charger and my VPN hard token. I also took a CF modem just in case there wasn't wifi available.

Turns out I didn't need any of that for that weekend, but I decided to try things out anyway. My work stuff did okay, could check email, had access to all the info I would've needed. But there was one thing that surprised me: I couldn't access my home personal email via the web! Yeah, PIE didn't like some of the scripting the page used. After getting Opera, it worked just fine. Had that been work email, I would've been temporarily up a creek. (Yeah, I could've accessed my home email if I'd setup Messaging before I left or looked up the settings online)

So try thins out from home first, as if you're on the road. Make sure you can access/do everything you would need.

[txa1265]

I have tried in the past, but generally found that I cannot manage for more than a day without a 'real' PC ... which is why I have hopped off the WM upgrade treadmill and stuck with my beloved HP iPaq 4355.

[Brad Adrian]

...like Brad described...
The one thing I CANNOT imagine is going ANYWHERE without my Pocket PC Phone (or at least a phone/PPC combo). I accidentally left my Tilt in the motel room the other day for a few hours and I think I actually started showing symptons of withdrawal.

Besides, when my wife and daughter get into their "shopping zone," my Pocket PC is the only thing that keeps me occupied and waiting patiently. I can stand quietly in a corner and while away the time checking e-mail, looking at the evening's TV schedule and playing a couple of games (WordPop and Trivial Pursuit).

[Jason Lee]

I haven't taken a laptop on a trip in years. I went to a conference a year ago and drug my laptop with me just in case. Never took it out of the bag.

There have even been days at work where i was rebuilding my computer or using for testing something where i used my PPC as my desktop for the day. :)

With things like opera and the softmaker apps there really is no reason for me to carry a laptop. My phone does more than my laptop acutally. Phone, camera, media player, maps/gps, location search, movies/radio/TV, email, web, office stuff...

When i am at home i will often check my email and browse forums from my phone because it is faster than turning on my computer or waiting for outlook to start. Almost all of my forum reading and posting is done from my phone. :)

[Duncan]

With things like opera and the softmaker apps there really is no reason for me to carry a laptop. My phone does more than my laptop acutally. Phone, camera, media player, maps/gps, location search, movies/radio/TV, email, web, office stuff...

When i am at home i will often check my email and browse forums from my phone because it is faster than turning on my computer or waiting for outlook to start. Almost all of my forum reading and posting is done from my phone. :)

Agreed - I wouldn't dream of carrying my laptop around anymore.

Softmaker Office enables me to work on Word, Excel and Powerpoint files just fine.
Opera/NetFront are fantastic web browsers.
I don't need a separate camera, GPS, MP3/video player or phone with me - 'cos I have them on my PPC.
Email is much easier on my PPC than on the laptop and Pocket Informant does a better job than Outlook.
I connect to my projector and printer via Bluetooth, my work network via WiFi.

Frankly I'm having difficulty thinking what I would need the laptop for.

[daS]

On short trips, I "cheat!" :D

I don't take the laptop, but I do leave it connected at home. Then I use GoToMyPC on the ATT Tilt to connect to the laptop for those apps that don't work with Windows Mobile.

This is also handy to deal with higher bandwidth applications when I only get a GPRS or EDGE connection: I can start up an app on the remote laptop, then disconnect and wait a couple of minutes, then connect again to finish the job. Sometimes I have huge downloads I need to process and I can do that remotely better than if I carried the computer with me.

My only gripe about using the WM device in place of a laptop is that most of my customers do not allow camera-phones in the building. I can take the laptop, but not the AT&T Tilt. :(

[Stinger]

I'd rather dump my eee netbook in my bag than worry about making compromises. The battery life is fantastic, it's relatively light and it'll run any Windows software I throw at it.

Then all I need is a relatively small phone for tethering purposes.

[polstein]

If you're willing to live with the larger phone - then the HTC advantage IS a portable laptop.

Helps if your company has a terminal server you can connect to also! Hey, my ppc runs Windows 2003 server :)

I got sick of emergency calls where I'd have to run to the car, get my laptop, boot, connect to the internet..etc. With a ppc you can be connected and using a terminal session within about 15 seconds - at any time.

Before we had the terminal, I used VNC to connect to my work pc - which works, but not smooth enough to have a laptop ready for emergency.

Anyway, 5" screen + terminal server means I don't carry a laptop anywhere anymore.

..but I do have to carry a bluetooth headset everywhere instead (cause you can't hold the Advantage up to your head)

[rdecker]

I have tried this with my i-mate 8502. Works pretty well. I use the TV out feature of the phone and connect it to the hotel TV (mostly flat screens these days at the places I stay). I use my Apple Bluetooth keyboard paired to the 8502 for all the entry.

[griph]

Unfortunately not. I'm a regular user of Adobe Creative Suite 3 and AutoCad LT 2009 and they just wont run on my Touch Dual. Besides even if they did, the screen is so small and lack of a mouse would make it impossible. So the answer is no!
:-)

[Rocco Augusto]

I can't do it, even for basic computing stuff like browsing the web and typing up semi long emails. The Windows Mobile Standard devices screens are just way to tiny to replace anything I would use for business :(

[Duncan]

I can't do it, even for basic computing stuff like browsing the web and typing up semi long emails. The Windows Mobile Standard devices screens are just way to tiny to replace anything I would use for business :(

I was quite concerned that the screen of my Touch Pro would be too small to use effectively, but it isn't at all, just more convenient for making the device smaller.

[Rocco Augusto]

I was quite concerned that the screen of my Touch Pro would be too small to use effectively, but it isn't at all, just more convenient for making the device smaller.

Yeah the actual screen dimensions on my Blackjack are nice but the resolution is ridiculous. 320x240 is just way to small to for doing a lot of things. Then you take into account that you're losing at least 20-40px for the top and bottom bars for your start menu and icons and you're left with even less space.

I can't wait until they start releasing the standard devices with screen resolutions of 640x480 or higher :)

[bnycastro]

I have been without my own notebook for close to 10 months [sold my VAIO UMPC and am still waiting for the notebook to replace it with]. I've been relying solely on my TyTN2 when at home or when abroad.
--
So far so good :)

I do email, notes, docs/spreadsheet, im, surfing, music, gaming all on my device. Oh and I call/sms too!

I guess the only thing I can't or don't do on my device is internet banking.