06-07-2002, 06:35 PM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,228
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Government Computer News tests 5 PDA's
http://www.gcn.com/21_11/reviews/18661-1.html
We must not have any governmental readers because as far as I know, we've never had a submission from this online site, which is also distributed in paper form. In fact, that is where I got it - my father-in-law saw a copy in his office and noticed an iPAQ as he flipped through it and let me read it.
Anyway, they took 5 PDA's, an iPAQ 3870, Jornada 565, Clie NR70V, IBM Workpad C505 (think Palm M505) and Casio BE-300, and put them through their test lab. One interesting test was their battery drain test. After three hours of continuous use, not specified as to what that is, but assume it is the same for all thus putting them on equal ground, they see what the battery level is. Of course, the Jornada romped with 75% life left. Woohoo! But this was interesting. The C505/M505? 50%. I thought those things lasted 3 weeks or something.  And the Clie? Fuggedaboudit. 10% left. I guess all those pixels really drain it.
I was finally happy to see an independent test with the following quote. "The usual criticism of the Compaq iPaq Pocket PC H3870 is its steep $600 price tag and similarly expensive peripherals. Although $600 sounds like a lot for a digital organizer, it’s not too much for a good handheld computer." Exactly! And when all was said and done, it was one of two "Readers Choices." The Jornada got the other. So, why didn't they like the new super-flip-with-the-built-in-keyboard-and-camera-and-you-have-to-love-my-screen Clie? Pics were low quality, and it tried to do too much with low memory (16MB, the max that Palm OS4 can address) and a weak processor - which is the 66MHz Dragonball - the fastest PalmOS processor right now. Look for some righteous hardware from Sony when OS5 releases and allows StrongARM/X-Scale processors. The 505 got bad marks simply because of its price. For a few bucks more, you can get an iPAQ, or you should save a few bucks and get an M130 or M125. And the BE-300? Well, that is just embarrassing. 
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06-07-2002, 06:43 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 90
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Quote:
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A Type II CompactFlash expansion pack is $50, a PC Card expansion slot is $200 and a PCMCIA expansion slot $150.
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:?: :?: :?: :?: :?:
So what do I get if I pay $50 more for my PC-Card expansion slot over my PCMCIA expansion slot? 
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06-07-2002, 07:17 PM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,228
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by ben
So what do I get if I pay $50 more for my PC-Card expansion slot over my PCMCIA expansion slot? |
I saw that. I wonder if the $200 one is the new PC Card Plus with the removable battery?
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06-07-2002, 07:40 PM
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Editorial Contributor
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 5,411
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I looked at the PDF chart. I wonder how they got that Microdrive in the iPaq's SD slot, and why they couldn't find anything bigger than a 64M CF card for the Jornada :?:
Don't know how long ago this was written but the publish date was 5/20/02. Guess we've come a long way from the 32M SDand 32M CF cards that were all that were available way back then. He was able to come up with a 128M Memory Stick though. :?
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06-07-2002, 07:57 PM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,228
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Sven
I looked at the PDF chart. I wonder how they got that Microdrive in the iPaq's SD slot, and why they couldn't find anything bigger than a 64M CF card for the Jornada :?:
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I didn't notice that, but I bet it came from the OEM web sites. I haven't checked recently, but 2 months ago 64MB was the biggest CF you could buy from HP and Compaq, while Sony sells the 128MS on their site. As for the 1GB MD, well, that was on Compaq's site too. You do need a $35 CF adapter though.
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06-07-2002, 08:07 PM
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Neophyte
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 3
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8)
I wouldn't say that about government employees. There are about 6 of us here (a unnamed DoD facility) where I'm at that check your site at least twice a day. This is actually our main source of information and new software for our iPAQ's.
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06-07-2002, 08:15 PM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,228
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by shockwave
8)
I wouldn't say that about government employees. There are about 6 of us here (a unnamed DoD facility) where I'm at that check your site at least twice a day. This is actually our main source of information and new software for our iPAQ's.
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:lol: Ok, then you aren't reading gcn.com. :lol:
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06-08-2002, 02:25 AM
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Thinker
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 414
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As a former subscriber to GCN I just want to point out that they are idiots. Complete idiots.
I work at the Post Office and they spend more money on less working technology than you could possibly imagine. Last year they got HP 700s (?Ok what was last years model of the HP clamshell?) My guess is that with the cards, software, special multiple unit cradels, they had $1500 into each one. They used them for one month and sent them to the regional office and auctioned them off for $75 apiece. None of the supervisors really knew how to use them anyway, except maybe to surf the Web for Porn when they were supposed to be doing real work.
GCN! Indeed.
Sorry, for the rant, I just have to be honest about technology in the government sector. It ain't pretty.
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06-08-2002, 02:28 AM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 252
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The battery test is an interesting one. Personal Computer World (UK) did a PDA issue a few months ago. If memory server the results of the Pocket PC's were within 5% of the colour palms.
This really is something that could do with being provided to the general population to counter that 'a palm battery has a half life of 15000 years' nonsense that still gets put about.
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06-08-2002, 03:17 AM
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Pupil
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 13
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Jason,
Maybe someone should send this article to that Stats guy from Gartner that spoke at the PocketPCSummit...... Price... Battery life.... :wink:
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Linear Mode
