Frustrated Palm user

[Scott]

I have been a resonably happy palm user for the about a year but lately have become frustrated with some hardware reliability issues. Without going into detail here they appear to relate to Static Electricity Discharge and based comments to various forums appear to be a common problem.

I would appreciate any comments from Pocket PC users about hardware reliability for units such as the latest IPAQs.

Also is the latest version of Pocket PC (2002?) stable. The palm platform has mountains of software available but loading too much on the device can cause crashes.

I understand that these are very broad topics but any comments would be appreciated - these things are expensive in Australia and I want to make an informed purchase decision

Thanks in advance

Scott

[DScott]

Greetings;

Check out these links, there is tons of info on each unit.

Choosing the right PPC (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/Jan02/PocketPC2002.asp)

PPC Comparision (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/BG2002/pocketpctab.htm)

I have used a Plam 3xe and a iPAQ 3635 and love running PPC2002. I have had not problems finding software and more appear everyday.

Goto the links and read up
Scott

[mperetz]

I don't think that the initial reply to that member's question actually addresses his/her concerns.

The platforms from Palm and Microsoft are imperfect. Both will crash under certain conditions. I have owned several of both OS-based devices and can easily crash them. If I had to decide based on which crashed more, I would honestly have to say that I couldn't decide.

I currently use a Pocket PC 2002, and it crashes all the time depending on how many programs are open, what types of programs are open and active, and even more to the point, where they are located in memory. Some programs work well stored on the SD card I have, and some obliterate the machine. I recently learned this with FADE.

A lot of using these machines is trial and error - sometimes what seems to work for one person in terms of a group of programs they like will not work for you - based on your particular machine and any cards you may or may not have added to it, and any settings you may or may not have changed.

I will say that both machines are relatively stable if - and only if - you don't add any 3rd party software to them other than what came on them. But most of us do and I'll eat my PDA if you show me someone who hasn't had to reset or reconfigure their machine based on some set of factors having to do with added software.


As for choosing - I can say with certainty that the Pocket PC can 'do' more in terms of processor intensive and memory intensive programs. It's simply inherent in the architecture.



That's my $.02

[Scott]

Thanks for the input - much appreciated.

[Xorg]

I've used a Sony NR70V Clie and iPaq 3975 for the past three weeks, trying to figure out which one to return. VERY difficult decision, but the iPaq went back.

One factor was that the iPaq locked up at least twice a day, the Clie twice a week. Both units were running the same third party apps. This being said, nothing a quick reboot didn't fix on either unit. Reboots seem to take longer on the Sony.

[mperetz]

I'm curious, do you think it has to do with the combination of the machine and OS, or just the OS, or just the machine?

I keep thinking it doesn't really matter which Pocket PC you have, since they are all Pocket PC really running the same OS... but I'm probably wrong. It probably has something to do with the 'integration' of the OS and the hardware.

I don't know anything about that... but originally my thinking was that the varying costs between brands within a particular OS had more to do with a)paying for a brand name and b)paying for hardware add-ons/features like a PCMCIA slot/MMC/SD card slot or something.

Basically, what I am wondering is if the equivalent PPC 2002 device from Toshiba or HP should be virtually identical in terms of 'reliability' and crashing. Or the same for Palm devices between Palm, Handspring and Sony, for example.

I thought mostly people were paying for the 'brand' and somewhat for hardware differences.

[Xorg]

I'm sure it does, especially when vendors use proprietary components and they don't control the OS itself. I'm curious if Palm owners experience as many crashes, since Palm owns the OS code and the determines the hardware platform.

This may be more of a concern down the line as vendors add more bells and whistles and need to support more features.

This also plays into PocketPC's hands, since the OS is readily upgraded on most PocketPC devices, not so easy with PalmOS devices. In fact, if and when HP releases the next series of iPaqs, I may switch back from the Sony NR70V, since I can't upgrade the NR70V to Palm OS 5!

[Scott]

Thanks for the comments - they are most welcome in making an informed decision.

My main concern in writing was to do with the reliability of the actual hardware (I probably shouldn't have raised different issues in the one post).

My M500 has become a paperweight and is being sent back tomorrow for a replacement (with a refurbished unit no doubt). This is quite frustrating for a unit that is only 11 months old. The discussion boards seem to have many cases of these type of failures and the popular theory seems to be that they are casued by static discharge.

Can anyone shed light on the reliability of the IPAQ range from a purely hardware point of view?

I have borrowed one for the past week or so and am very impressed. About the only negative I can see compared with the M500 is battery life - but the screen more than makes up for that.

Thanks again

Scott

[mperetz]

Is that there isn't such a thing as a 'purely hardware' point of view. That's what I learn from this discussion at least. I'd also say that you should go with the iPAQ if you have found it to work very well for a week.

It's all a bit of a gamble, but I for one have never gone back to Palm after using the big, colorful screens with fast processors on the Pocket PCs. Palm OS machines are great if you have limited use requirements, but if you want to listen to audio books (as I do) while simultaneously reading emails or whatever, or look at some video clips in full-motion video, then you can't really compare them. Pocket PC wins hands down.

[Xorg]

I would have agreed with all of those PocketPC pluses and advantages, until I tried the Sony Clie - which offers all of the above on a screen with better resolution than the iPaq currently offers :-)

I believe the generation of iPaqs (due out soon) will have 340x480 screens and integrated Wi-Fi, and that will make them worth the premium over the existing top end PalmOS units.

For me at least, the two units offered the same functionality, ran the exact same programs at the same speed (including full motion video and text based apps) with the $200-300 spread required for the iPaq.

[mperetz]

And I would agree with you... except that I think that the iPAQs are severely overpriced, and the same for the Sony. That being said, for under $400 (in this case under $300) you can get something like the Toshiba e310 that I use, and it blows away anything Palm OS could offer from any vendor. I have never been able to afford an iPAQ, nor am I sure I would feel comfortable spending that much on a PDA unless my business paid for it (in which case... go for it). These things go out of date too fast for me to invest heavily in and most of them are overpriced in my humble, subjective opinion.