Ipod Touch vs Pocket PC

[asims]

Greetings!

I've had a pocket PC for years and have just started looking at the Touch (not the Iphone). Currently, I have the HP hx2495 with 1GB CF card and 2GB SD card. Where could I find a good comparison chart between what the Touch can do and my Pocket PC can do? Here's what I do know: I won't need more than the 8GB Touch because I haven't filled up the two memory cards yet on my ppc (and I've had it for at least two years); and the battery on the Touch is not easily replaceable. Oh, I also know that the ppc seems to be a little outdated now (a couple of young ladies on the bus asked me what my device was that I was using).
Simply put, my question is two-fold -- what can my ppc do that the Touch cannot, and what can the Touch do that the ppc cannot?

[Sven Johannsen]

Simply put, my question is two-fold --
[Quote]what can my ppc do that the Touch cannot,
run more than one app at a time
view flash (youTube) in a browser
add or swap memory if you need to
connect to a BT keyboard or mouse
get new applications from more than one place.
support multiple media file formats
be used with gloves on
sync productivity files via USB while connected (iPod syncs only PIM and Media via USB using iTunes, other files, powerpoint, pdf, etc. require third party programs and transfer mechanisms via WiFi)

and what can the Touch do that the ppc cannot?
impress young girls

[asims]

Sven, you are hilarious!

Thanks for the great points!

[doogald]

Funny. I actually have gloves that work with an iPod Touch.

To add to the list of things that you can do with the Touch: update the OS reliably, including keeping all of your settings. Also, browse the web without needing to go for a coffee break and a pee between pages. Transfer photos, music and video files without crossing your fingers. Letting you know if that picture you just hung is level.

[asims]

doogald, thanks for adding to the list. I like hearing from both sides. Those things you mentioned, are you able to do them all from a regular Touch or did you have to jailbreak it first? (No offense intended. Reading other comparisons, I just learned that term and hope I'm using it right.:o)

[doogald]

Of course that list was tongue-in-cheek, but I was not talking about a jailbroken Touch. So far, at least, every iPhone OS update has been provided to all Touch models (though the major updates have come at a cost, as I recall, so did the one OS update I received for my Axim.) There is a third party level app that uses the accelerometers in the Touch to show if the device is level. OS updates reflash the phone, but the tie-in to iTunes is done well enough that all of your content, apps, etc. are just as you left them with an update.

[Sven Johannsen]

Actually I also have an iPhone, so I can help there too. No he didn't have to jailbreak the phone to use the special gloves he either bought or made (instructions available on the web, but not in flash). I have that level app and it is pretty neat, no jailbreak, just a clever use of the sensors, that many WM devices are coming with now. It's the sensor that automatically switches portrait to landscape. My Zune has it too. Makes for fun gaming.

The speed comments have some validity. You tend to have more going on on a WM device though. Really not sure I could choose between Opera on my Pure or Safari on my iPhone. They each have there plusses and minuses that are a bit individual. Bottom line to me, is I am trying to view a web page on half a 3x5 card. I don't enjoy it, I live with it. There isn't anything you can do with the UI that compensates for the size IMHO.

On the sync front, well, I really haven't had any significant issues, though I can't deny that is one of the weakest parts of the WM ecosystem. Should be rock solid and it's not. On the other hand iTunes doesn't let me sync much.

I'll still stand by the bottom line. Barring a particular app not having been written for the WM OS there isn't anything I can't do with it than I can with my WM device., and in many cases there is a pretty good equivalent. The iPhone is unquestionably more polished, but at the expense of the multitasking. That may not be in the forefront of considerations, but when you are used to browsing the web, answering a call, looking up a resturant address in your contacts, cutting and pasting that into a txt or e-mail, all while you have twitter and IM running in the background, you miss it with the iPhone OS. Run this, big button, home screen, run that, big button, home screen, select that, big button, etc.

This can easily be a WM or Apple fan boi war, but the reality is both platforms have some very distinct and unique things to offer, that only you can decide what is more imortant to you. More important because which ever you choose you will be getting stuff and giving up stuff. You are familiar with the WM side, though not a current one. I would try to get hold of a sample of each and see what floats your personal boat. Only problem I see is there aren't really many WM classics around anymore...the Touch equivalents with no phone.

[asims]

Thanks, Sven, for your input. You're right, my final decision would be based upon my preferences and what my use-habits are. And you bring up some good points, one being that there are very few WM classics around anymore. I can't afford to go to a WM smartphone because I can't afford the 'mandatory' charge of $25 extra per month that Verizon would charge me just because I would have the ability to access the Internet (even though I wouldn't. But that's a different rant.).

Rarely have I had more than one app open at a time, so I probably wouldn't mind the one-app-at-a-time limitation. And out of a total of approx 3.5 GB of available memory, I have almost 2 GB left; so the 8 GB would probably be sufficient.

Besides using Informant 2007's Contacts and Calendar, the programs I've used quite often are the following:
MSExcel (including using formulas), MSWord, Notes,
a password manager, three different ebook readers, SPB Backup, Freecell, and a clock program. Occasionally, I'll sync up with my laptop using ActiveSync, and occasionally, I'll connect to the Internet using Wifi (but I've never been able to view videos from youtube on it).

Based upon that, would a Touch 2nd or 3rd Gen be sufficient for me?
I really hope I'm not coming across as someone who's trying to convince himself (or his wife :)) that he needs a Touch. I would just like to upgrade my ppc (are there better ones out there?) but the prices for them are higher than the Touch. I'm surprised whenever I see that the model I have (hx2495) is still over $200.

[Sven Johannsen]

You'd have to get some Touch/Apple guru to talk about your Excel/Word requirements. I'm not going to paint a pretty picture there, but I won't represent my self as the expert. I do have an MS Office third party product on my iPhone, and that is one of the reasons for my 'sync' comments. It has to use a seperate WiFi conduit to get Office docs on and off the device because iTunes, the sync option, doesn't support just files, and there is really nothing like a file system on the Touch/iPhone. Beyond that irritation, you are confined to your finger for interaction. If you have a pointy finger you may be OK, but if it is pudgy, OK fat, like mine, it is a trick to do productivity stuff on the capacitive screen. (IMHO) So if you ask me, if Office stuff is very important to you, that would be a negative for the Apple side of the house. I may just not have found the magic key here, but I havn't looked hard having a WM option, which works quite well, as well as the iPhone.

If you like Informant, I expect you aren't going to be impressed by the Touch's contacts and calendar...just sayin'.

[Lucy]

I am in the same boat. I have an Ipaq 6515 that has been rock solid and now it is time to update. My ipaq has all you mentioned and wifi and is a smartphone and the cost and commitment is a little onerous to go with the iphone. Still wondering where the best bang for my buck is.

[asims]

Thank you very much for all the input! I think I'm going to stick with my hx2495 until it dies in my hands, or until a company makes something that can do exactly what this one can (but is not a smartphone) and more and is cheaper than replacing what I've got with another IPAQ.
Who knows, with the way the electronic world is constantly changing and improving, maybe that'll be next year!:D

[asims]

For all of you who contributed to this thread and/or read this thread, I gotta tell you that I made my decision and bought a hx2750 off of ebay. I'm really happy with it too! The reason I went with it was because it is very similar to the hx2495 (virtually identical) except that it has a faster processor and more onboard memory. Yes, it also has a cool fingerprint scanner, but I don't plan on using it.
But now I've got another dilemma - how do I transfer all of the programs as well as calendar and contact information over to my new pda. I've already installed some of the programs by transferring the .cab files over and running them. But I have a couple of them (SPB Backup and Pocket Informant) that I need the registration code and I can't find.
So here's my more specific question - how can I get those registration codes? Is there someone specific that I could contact?
My second specific question is - how do I transfer all of my calendar and contact information over to the new pda? I've already tried the method of synchronizing one and then the other and that method didn't work (for some reason, the hx2495 just won't download it's information to my computer).
One more bit of information, the hx2750 can take both the SD and CF cards that I currently have, so I've been able to utilize that avenue of transferring non-program files like Notes and Excel files.
Any ideas would be appreciated and discussed.

Quick update - good news/ bad news kind of thing:
Good news first - I did figure out how to get my lost registration code for the SPB software - I went to their website, typed in the email address I used to register the software with, and they emailed it to me again. Simple enough!:D Now I'll just delete it from my old one.
Now the bad news - I discovered that I got Pocket Informant 2007 way back when Handango was giving it out for free on a Free Friday giveaway. So unless I pay for another copy (or wait for another free giveaway), I'm out of luck.:(

4/27/10 10:22 pm
Woohoo! I was able to find out a quick and painless way to transfer all of my contacts and appointments to my new pda! Menneisyys posted a tutorial back on 7/17/07 on what program to use and how to use it! I'm so happy!!