Palm vs. Pocket PC?
Not to cause a Mac vs. PC style argument, I would seriously like to know which
OS developers are working with more now, or expect to be working with next
year at this time. Palm has held market share for years with their basic,
stable platform, while WinCE seems to me to provide a wider range of abilities
and possibilties. Is Windows Media the "killer app" for the handheld computing
devices? Who uses their Palm or Pocket PC extensively and would care to share
their viewpoints? Which one should I ask Santa for this year? (Not that I
deserve either one, mind you. I'm getting coal this year.)
James
# 1 Re: Palm vs. Pocket PC?
"James Jefferies" <jjefferies@raycommedia.com> wrote:
>
>Not to cause a Mac vs. PC style argument, I would seriously like to know
which
>OS developers are working with more now, or expect to be working with next
>year at this time. Palm has held market share for years with their basic,
>stable platform, while WinCE seems to me to provide a wider range of abilities
>and possibilties. Is Windows Media the "killer app" for the handheld computing
>devices? Who uses their Palm or Pocket PC extensively and would care to
share
>their viewpoints? Which one should I ask Santa for this year? (Not that
I
>deserve either one, mind you. I'm getting coal this year.)
>
>James
i design a wireless router for my company. essentially it maintains a virtual
private network over parallel wireless networks performing packet level switching
based on cost and signal strength of each network.
soon, we will provide both a blackbox embedded product as well as a desktop/laptop
"software only" product. since ms platforms are predominent in the desktop/laptop
market, we are targeting CE for our embedded development. this will allow
us to leverage development across both platforms.
this isnt exactly what you are asking, but as a developer of a wireless infrastructure
product, i thought i'd weigh in.
its not that we think CE is the best embedded platform, but 3.0 seems to
be acceptable enough and the advantages of being able to leverage back and
forth to the desktop/laptop is powerful.
chris at 2007-11-12 0:16:33 >
# 2 Re: Palm vs. Pocket PC?
James,
If you are interested in where the market is going, then perhaps your
best bet is to examine both platforms and decide which one YOU want to work
with. Nobody knows the future, but we can make good guesses based on history
and the current state of the market. That said, PalmOS devices hold 72%+
of the palm-pc type market. This is clearly market leadership, one that
Microsoft, despite millions of dollars of investment in both advertising
and products, hasn't been able to overtake.
I've been involved with pen-based computers since the mid 90s, and have
developed for both Windows 3.1 for Pen and the Palm OS environment. I own
a Palm Pilot Professional and two WinCE devices. As a developer and user,
I prefer the PalmOS to WinCE, and this is not to say that I hate Microsoft
products. When it comes to an unbiased evaluation of the palm platform,
it is clear that the PalmOS is better than WinCE. It is much faster, cleaner
and easier to use than WinCE. It feels more natural than WinCE, where PalmOS
seems to flow smoothly from one task to the other, WinCE (versions 1-3) all
seem clunky and slow. That said, I do have my eye on the new Compaq iPAQ
H3650 Pocket PC, it looks fantastic to the eye, but I hope that the performance
matches the physical design.
Where the market will go tomorrow is unknown, what will be the true
turning point for palm and wireless devices will be the high-speed connectivity
that is projected to come online in 2004 (2-11 mbps apparently). This, along
with higher performance devices will truly make wireless computing a practical
reality. I am a wireless developer as well, working with the very basic
WML and HDML tools that currently exist. This field is SET to explode into
the marketplace, but before it can, we have to see an improvement in the
devices and connectivity speed.
So, in sum, my advice is to buy (wish for?) the device that you like
to work (play?) with, and expect that the devices that are out in 18 months
will not resemble what you will be wishing for this Christmas. Don't hope
to purchase something today that will give you the "platform" for tomorrow.
Tomorrow's platform will only be available tomorrow. :)
Ron McMahon
rmcmahon@quickdrive.com
"chris" <chofstaedter@padcomusa.com> wrote:
>
>"James Jefferies" <jjefferies@raycommedia.com> wrote:
>>
>>Not to cause a Mac vs. PC style argument, I would seriously like to know
>which
>>OS developers are working with more now, or expect to be working with next
>>year at this time. Palm has held market share for years with their basic,
>>stable platform, while WinCE seems to me to provide a wider range of abilities
>>and possibilties. Is Windows Media the "killer app" for the handheld computing
>>devices? Who uses their Palm or Pocket PC extensively and would care to
>share
>>their viewpoints? Which one should I ask Santa for this year? (Not that
>I
>>deserve either one, mind you. I'm getting coal this year.)
>>
>>James
>
>i design a wireless router for my company. essentially it maintains a virtual
>private network over parallel wireless networks performing packet level
switching
>based on cost and signal strength of each network.
>
>soon, we will provide both a blackbox embedded product as well as a desktop/laptop
>"software only" product. since ms platforms are predominent in the desktop/laptop
>market, we are targeting CE for our embedded development. this will allow
>us to leverage development across both platforms.
>
>this isnt exactly what you are asking, but as a developer of a wireless
infrastructure
>product, i thought i'd weigh in.
>
>its not that we think CE is the best embedded platform, but 3.0 seems to
>be acceptable enough and the advantages of being able to leverage back and
>forth to the desktop/laptop is powerful.
>
# 3 Re: Palm vs. Pocket PC?
The software company I work for develops applications for both WinCE and Palm
OS (we have many handheld devices, dating all the way back to the original
Casio's and HP's). Currently, I am using the new Compaq iPaq. I've had it
for about 2 months and I love it. It's fast, 206mhz, has a lot of cool features,
and to me is very simple to use. A co-worker uses the Palm VII and dislikes
it for several reasons. 1) no rechargeable batteries. I know this sounds
silly, but you have to buy and carry AAA batteries wherever you go, because
it drains battery life. And when it dies...it dies. 2) the features available
on his Palm do not compare with the features on my Compaq. example: downloading
pictures, ebooks, mp3's.
You need to figure out how much you're going to use your handheld device.
Keep in mind, when I got my first handheld, I didn't think I'd use it nearly
as much as I actually did. I travel a lot, now I can download ebooks onto
a flash card, and I don't have to carry books onto an airplane with me.
I have pocket Word and Excel and I do actually use them all the time.
After you decide if you're going to use a Palm or a WinCE device, you have
to decide which device to buy. If you choose WinCE, it's a no brainer...find
an iPaq!! The next best is the HP Jornada 548, but it's heavier & thicker,
not as fast, more expensive...however, you may have better luck at locating
one, and it does have a hard cover screen protector. The Palm VII is wireless,
you have to pay for the monthly service ($49.99 unlimited access). The Palm
V has a sleeker design than the Palm VII.
With this said, I am sticking up for the iPaq. I was able to locate mine
at CompUSA. I don't know if Amazon, Mobile Planet or Compaq have started
shipping or not. Getting the expansion slots was pretty easy, it's getting
the device that's a little more difficult.
One more thing I like about the iPaq, it works in the sunlight. May not
sound like a big deal, but I can sit in my car in traffic and find a phone
number I need. With the other devices you can't even see the screen in the
sunlight.
Let me know if you have other specific questions.
-Niccole
"James Jefferies" <jjefferies@raycommedia.com> wrote:
>
>Not to cause a Mac vs. PC style argument, I would seriously like to know
which
>OS developers are working with more now, or expect to be working with next
>year at this time. Palm has held market share for years with their basic,
>stable platform, while WinCE seems to me to provide a wider range of abilities
>and possibilties. Is Windows Media the "killer app" for the handheld computing
>devices? Who uses their Palm or Pocket PC extensively and would care to
share
>their viewpoints? Which one should I ask Santa for this year? (Not that
I
>deserve either one, mind you. I'm getting coal this year.)
>
>James
# 4 Re: Palm vs. Pocket PC?
James,
You might find this article of interest:
http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/pocketpc-conf-article.html
The article discusses a recent effort of Microsoft's to round up a bunch
of the leading Palm authorities to get their feedback on the new Pocket PC
to see what they liked or disliked. It's an interesting read.
FYI, I designed and built a web-based application for General Motors using
an IIS web server, Terminal Server (TS), the Windows CE Terminal Server Client,
and some small handheld CE devices (NEC MobilePro 800s with 800x600 color
touch screen)using Symbols 2Mbps wireless LAN cards in the PC slot. Since
then, 802.11b came out so you could switch to 11Mbps, but you'd need compatible
access points and cards and there are some issues to explore when mixing
Direct Sequencing (DS) and Frequency Hopping (FH) spread spectrum devices
and/or LAN segments.
All off the shelf stuff, no real development of any kind on the CE device
itself as all of the real functionality was derived from the web application
via the IIS server. Would not have even used Terminal Server except it was
much easier to do in order to use some built in capabilites of Internet Explorer
(IE) via TS to the CE device in lieu of developing custom CE software. There
was also a unique JavaScript navigation functionality that wasn't compatible
with Pocket Internet Explorer.
With the newer browser capabilities in the Pocket PC, I believe you could
toss TS and just use the integrated browser. The only exception would be
where we were pumping AutoCAD drawings to the CE device via IE using AutoDesk's
Whip!
The GM facility using this app covered approx 1 million square feet. Once
wireless access points were added, you could roam throughout the entire facility
and access the app via the handheld CE devices. We even mounted a couple
to some small electric carts and wired the power to the cart battery. The
carts are used by plant supervision so they had continuous access to plant
product and active fault data among other odds and ends.
Battery life is the only really problem. If the AutoCAD drawing viewer requirement
is dropped, an HP Jornada 680 with an extended battery will pretty much last
more than a typical workshift. I suspect the new Pocket PCs might fare as
well or better.
-Eric
"James Jefferies" <jjefferies@raycommedia.com> wrote:
>
>Not to cause a Mac vs. PC style argument, I would seriously like to know
which
>OS developers are working with more now, or expect to be working with next
>year at this time. Palm has held market share for years with their basic,
>stable platform, while WinCE seems to me to provide a wider range of abilities
>and possibilties. Is Windows Media the "killer app" for the handheld computing
>devices? Who uses their Palm or Pocket PC extensively and would care to
share
>their viewpoints? Which one should I ask Santa for this year? (Not that
I
>deserve either one, mind you. I'm getting coal this year.)
>
>James
# 5 Re: Palm vs. Pocket PC?
James you have asked the million dollar question.
I was introduced to handheld devices at a baseball game. A friend worked
for a company developing for both the palm and CE devices. He had 3 devices,
a palm wireless, a hp, and a iPAQ. I looked at them in that order. All of
the devices were cool, but the iPAQ stoll the show. It's speed and features
won my heart over the others in just a few moments.
As a software developer, I'd start with CE and port to the Palms. Microsoft
supports both equally well, but the features of the CE devices are ahead
of Palms top of the line product.
So, to answer your question, it depends on the device you use and what you
want it to do. I now own a iPAQ and would not trade it for any of the other
devices. As a programmer, I feel I have a lot of growth available with this
device and as a user, I feel I can't get along without it. Funny, a month
ago I'd never used one.
Kreg
"James Jefferies" <jjefferies@raycommedia.com> wrote:
>
>Not to cause a Mac vs. PC style argument, I would seriously like to know
which
>OS developers are working with more now, or expect to be working with next
>year at this time. Palm has held market share for years with their basic,
>stable platform, while WinCE seems to me to provide a wider range of abilities
>and possibilties. Is Windows Media the "killer app" for the handheld computing
>devices? Who uses their Palm or Pocket PC extensively and would care to
share
>their viewpoints? Which one should I ask Santa for this year? (Not that
I
>deserve either one, mind you. I'm getting coal this year.)
>
>James
# 6 Re: Palm vs. Pocket PC?
I was forced to buy a Palm since most of our conference customers on the
Internet side use Palms. I like it OK, but I am envious of the IPaq.
I use my Ricochet more than any of them, though, but that's cause I'm an
email freak.
--
Robert Scoble
Editor, Thunder Lizard Productions
Fawcette Technical Publications, Inc
http://63.192.218.207 <<--Fawcette's Speaker FAQ
http://www.netmeeting-zone.com Microsoft MVP for NetMeeting
Phone: 650-688-2442
Fax: 650-321-3818
###
"Niccole" <niccole@stingray.com> wrote in message
news:39eda824@news.dev-archive.com...
>
> The software company I work for develops applications for both WinCE and
Palm
> OS (we have many handheld devices, dating all the way back to the original
> Casio's and HP's). Currently, I am using the new Compaq iPaq. I've had it
> for about 2 months and I love it. It's fast, 206mhz, has a lot of cool
features,
> and to me is very simple to use. A co-worker uses the Palm VII and
dislikes
> it for several reasons. 1) no rechargeable batteries. I know this sounds
> silly, but you have to buy and carry AAA batteries wherever you go,
because
> it drains battery life. And when it dies...it dies. 2) the features
available
> on his Palm do not compare with the features on my Compaq. example:
downloading
> pictures, ebooks, mp3's.
>
> You need to figure out how much you're going to use your handheld device.
> Keep in mind, when I got my first handheld, I didn't think I'd use it
nearly
> as much as I actually did. I travel a lot, now I can download ebooks onto
> a flash card, and I don't have to carry books onto an airplane with me.
> I have pocket Word and Excel and I do actually use them all the time.
>
> After you decide if you're going to use a Palm or a WinCE device, you have
> to decide which device to buy. If you choose WinCE, it's a no
brainer...find
> an iPaq!! The next best is the HP Jornada 548, but it's heavier &
thicker,
> not as fast, more expensive...however, you may have better luck at
locating
> one, and it does have a hard cover screen protector. The Palm VII is
wireless,
> you have to pay for the monthly service ($49.99 unlimited access). The
Palm
> V has a sleeker design than the Palm VII.
> With this said, I am sticking up for the iPaq. I was able to locate mine
> at CompUSA. I don't know if Amazon, Mobile Planet or Compaq have started
> shipping or not. Getting the expansion slots was pretty easy, it's
getting
> the device that's a little more difficult.
>
> One more thing I like about the iPaq, it works in the sunlight. May not
> sound like a big deal, but I can sit in my car in traffic and find a phone
> number I need. With the other devices you can't even see the screen in
the
> sunlight.
>
> Let me know if you have other specific questions.
>
> -Niccole
>
>
>
> "James Jefferies" <jjefferies@raycommedia.com> wrote:
> >
> >Not to cause a Mac vs. PC style argument, I would seriously like to know
> which
> >OS developers are working with more now, or expect to be working with
next
> >year at this time. Palm has held market share for years with their basic,
> >stable platform, while WinCE seems to me to provide a wider range of
abilities
> >and possibilties. Is Windows Media the "killer app" for the handheld
computing
> >devices? Who uses their Palm or Pocket PC extensively and would care to
> share
> >their viewpoints? Which one should I ask Santa for this year? (Not that
> I
> >deserve either one, mind you. I'm getting coal this year.)
> >
> >James
>
# 7 Re: Palm vs. Pocket PC?
James,
My company, MWTech, has been developing mobile applications on the Windows
CE platform for about 3 years. Our clients have mostly been in the mining
industry, where the following have been issues:
- Durability
- Large volumes of data
- Different kinds of screen sizes required
Now, because of one construction client's demands, we're spreading our wings
into PalmOS development. It'll be an interesting comparison for my technical
staff.
The best article I've ever seen comparing PalmPilots with Windows CE can
be found here: http://www.infoworld.com/articles/mt/xml/00/06/26/000626mtpocket.xml
The author makes a strong case that the operating systems are for two
completely different markets. I wouldn't go that far, for there is some
definite overlap, but it's an interesting premise nonetheless.
Sincerely,
Robert Werner
President
MW Technologies
The Mobile Workforce Experts
http://www.mwtech.com
"James Jefferies" <jjefferies@raycommedia.com> wrote:
>
>Not to cause a Mac vs. PC style argument, I would seriously like to know
which
>OS developers are working with more now, or expect to be working with next
>year at this time. Palm has held market share for years with their basic,
>stable platform, while WinCE seems to me to provide a wider range of abilities
>and possibilties. Is Windows Media the "killer app" for the handheld computing
>devices? Who uses their Palm or Pocket PC extensively and would care to
share
>their viewpoints? Which one should I ask Santa for this year? (Not that
I
>deserve either one, mind you. I'm getting coal this year.)
>
>James
# 8 Re: Palm vs. Pocket PC?
PalmOS is the way to go. Many more programs are written for it.
Check out PalmGear.com and other web sites that offer Palm Software. If you
are looking to create a serious business app Palm is the the way to go.
Besides... This Time..Microsoft cant give away handhelds in order to kill
their competition. Palm has a big following and you gotta go with the platform
that has the most support.
"James Jefferies" <jjefferies@raycommedia.com> wrote:
>
>Not to cause a Mac vs. PC style argument, I would seriously like to know
which
>OS developers are working with more now, or expect to be working with next
>year at this time. Palm has held market share for years with their basic,
>stable platform, while WinCE seems to me to provide a wider range of abilities
>and possibilties. Is Windows Media the "killer app" for the handheld computing
>devices? Who uses their Palm or Pocket PC extensively and would care to
share
>their viewpoints? Which one should I ask Santa for this year? (Not that
I
>deserve either one, mind you. I'm getting coal this year.)
>
>James
