Simplicity and Quick Response Time Key to PDAs
Apr 23 '00
As an avid PDA user, simplicity and quick response time from organizer is key to my use. When I'm looking up a phone number, I want it quick, I don't want to have to have to wait eons for my organizer to load up the phone book application and then spend yet more time looking up the number I want.
I work with embedded devices at work, and thus, I own several PDAs: A Palm V, a Palm IIIx, both which run PalmOS, and a Compaq Aero 2180 and a HP Jornada 690, both which run Windows CE. My choice: the Palm V, a small, useful device which has all the key applications I need and is amazingly simple.
PalmOS was designed to run on low-power and low-performance hardware. Thus, application load time is negligable--the phone book loads in an instance. Nevertheless, this means that any PalmOS device won't be able to handle resource-intensive applications like a MP3 player, or a Movie player. This translates to amazing battery life--my Palm V has lasted me an entire month without having to recharge it. Color support was recently introduced into PalmOS (the Palm IIIc), whereas it has been a feature in Windows CE since that operating system first came out.
Windows CE was touted as the do-anything OS when it was released, and Microsoft's PDA implemenation of it is amazingly resource intensive. Thus, hardware costs more, you need 16-32 MB of RAM to do anything useful, but on the flip side, you can run anything from a web browser to a MP3 player. If you're the type of guy who wants everything and the kitchen sink thrown into your PDA, then a WinCE device is for you. N
Me, I like simplicity. I want a simple user interface, one that lets me enter my contacts and write down my to-do tasks easily and without much effort. I don't care much for having a MP3 player, nor do I really want to browse the web on my PDA. I do want to have the ability to install different apps--like, for instance, a money manager or scientific calculator--stuff which exists for PalmOS since there is a huge developer pool for the device. Thus, PalmOS was the clear choice for me. If you like simplicity over gaudiness, then a PalmOS-based device is the clear winner.
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Epinions.com ID:
MediaLabGuy
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Member: Wesley Chan
Location: Cambridge, MA
Reviews written: 48
Trusted by: 29 members
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