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Developer & Designer, News Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,959
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My Opinion...
Why I Won't Be Rushing Out To Get a Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition Pocket PC...
Okay, I've thought about this one for a while, and I thought I'd just share my opinion, and maybe after reading this, I could get yours as well. This post is in no way meant to offend anyone, and I apologise if anyone is to take offence from this.
I currently have an HP iPAQ h1940. It, along with many other well-known iPAQs, runs Windows Mobile 2003 First Edition, and was neglected by HP in being upgraded to WM2003SE. So where does that leave me? I now have a device that does not have WM2003SE, and so I don't get native support for landscape, no native PIE enhancements, no nice OS interface changes here and there. But is that all? Now that Microsoft has released Windows Media Player 10 Mobile, I, along with many other WM2003FE users, will miss out on a potential upgrade to one of the most commonly used media players out there in the market. Why is this so? Microsoft have only chosen to make this available to WM2003SE users, and in itself, has to be provided by the manufacturer of the device.
So here I am: (1) Without WM2003SE on my existing device due to HP's actions, and (2) Without a potential upgrade to WMP10 Mobile because HP did not provide a WM2003SE upgrade in the first place.
But from a broad perspective...does my Pocket PC do what I want it to do? Yes it does. As a portable media device, it suits my purposes. Sure, I'd like to have the upgrades, but if they are not available, well "tough" is what I say! And as a PIM, it also serves me well. Not to mention being a quick on-the-go note taker, e-book reader, etc.
Yet I still sit here thinking, "Man...I'd so want the new updates offered in WM2003SE!" But...does it warrant the shelling out of hundreds of dollars so that I can lay my hands on a WM2003SE (VGA or not)? Probabaly not. The way things have happened in the past with minimal companies offering OS updates, and many program updates being restricted to specific OS versions, I'd like to sit and think that the device I have at the moment would be safe for another few years from being outdated. Sadly, this is not so. WM2003SE has raged the market and brought all sorts of goodies, yet in the big picture, it is just another variant of the initial WM2003FE OS (Windows CE 4.2). So when Windows CE 5.0 makes its debut, where will that leave WM2003SE users? Without ROM updates to the new OS? Without an update to WMP11 Mobile? The possibilities are endless, and whether such events happen, only time will tell.
So what was the point of this little rant? Well, for the average WM2003FE user, I'd like to think that you can look at your device now and wonder whether the benefits you gain from having a nice new WM2003SE device are really that significant. Sure, the "cool" factor is there, and perhaps even on a productivity scale, it's there as well, but if you look well into the future when the even newer Pocket PCs running the newer OSes are released, the WM2003SE devices may not look too "cool" after all. And with current company practices on updates made available to devices, you'd think that that "cool" factor has sunken even lower.
So while I'd like to lay my hands on a WM2003SE device, I think I will keep the cash in my piggy bank for the next year or two as I really cannot complain with what I have now. And hopefully, when Windows CE 5 graces the Pocket PC market, I would be considering an upgrade then. In my opinion, if you own a WM2003FE device and are thinking of updating to a newer device running WM2003SE, I urge you to reconsider the benefits you would get. And if indeed you decide to go ahead with it, consider where that would leave your WM2003SE in a couple of years time. For the first time Pocket PC buyer, there is nothing wrong with purchasing a WM2003SE device. But for the current WM2003FE user, is it really worth it? That is my question and my opinion. What are your thoughts? 
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