Tungsten and OS 6 Compatability

[Larken]

I love the Tungsten screen. I love the Tungsten's small size. It feels very good in your hand. It has excellent sound quality. I have never seen a better Palm. But I had one major problem that caused me to return it. Palm is talking about a new OS6 due to release in February. According to what I've heard, the unit this version of the OS runs on will need at least 64MB of memory and an ARM processor. If the timeline is correct and there are no delays (although I'm sure there will be), it means that I have just paid $500 for a Palm with a lifespan of 4 months. That seemed a little foolish to me, so I returned mine after about three weeks. I exchanged it for a Toshiba PocketPC. I've never had a good familiarity with that area of Microsoft turf, so I thought I'd take a couple months to familiarize myself with it. Understand that my view is from a support perspective. When a new model comes out, it is typical that I trade up for it. If anyone has any more information on the new Palm OS6, please share. I'd like to know if the information I've heard is accurate.

[plyte]

What the hell are you talking about? Where do you get your informations? I suppose you are well served with a pocket PC. Have fun with it. And never go back to Palm.

Plyte

[Larken]

There's a mature response. I ask for feedback and I get flamed. Basically, I've heard two different things. I've heard that OS 6 will be compatible with the Tungsten in one place. I've heard that it might work on the Tungsten, but not to it's full capability because the Tungsten doesn't have enough memory to take advantage of it. Anyway, I'm just looking for any information and a source that would show me which road to take. I'm becoming more comfortable with my new Pocket PC, but I still much prefer the Palm.

[sleuth255]

Hi Larken

please refer to my response to your identical post on this (http://www.pdastreet.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6484) thread also located in this forum.

[OldBlue]

Larken

I'm sorry to hear you've been seduced by the Dark side of the Force. :D (I tried a PocketPC PDA a while back, too. Went right back to Palm in a week. I had problems with the sync and it kept crashing on me.)

Like you, I enjoy the "latest and greatest", too. I also take into account perceived value (from my perspective, since I'm the one paying and using the item) and price vs performance. With re to OS6, I have read that it will be released mid-2003 and I have not read about a 64MB requirement (That sounds a bit excessive to me, but then, what do I know?) That means the TT that I bought in October will be 9 months old and I will have had 9 months of productive use with one of the coolest and most recognizable PDAs around. I can decide at that time if it is worth getting an OS6 device. If I do, then I can sell my TT and recover most of its cost. If not, I will stick with my TT and will add to the 9 months of use I've already had. ... As a tangible example, I bought an m505 in May 2001 for $355 and sold it last month for $200. That's makes it a $155 PDA that I used for 18 months. Not at all costly considering all the usefulness it has provided. ... Also, as another example, Windows XP has been out for a while, but I'm still using 98SE on one PC and Millenium on another. Just because something new is released does not mean that the existing item is obsolete or worth the cost of replacing.

Sorry about being so long winded, but at least it wasn't a flame. :D (What makes some people so self-righteous that they lose civility and flame others' posts? ... just wondering out loud, K?)

OldBlue

[sleuth255]

Wow, if OS 6 will be out in 4 months, I wonder how (or why for that matter) they will fit in an OS 5.1 update? Yet updating they are with a new webbrowser, java client, and vpn software. Check Palmsource for more info.

Seems like an awful lot of work for an OS that will be obsolete in 4 months...

[Larken]

Thanks for the input, OldBlue. I take your perspective on many of the things you mentioned. I am becoming more comfortable with my PPC. The most frustrating thing I'm finding is that if I make a change to it that is very significant, I have to make a backup to the memory card. If I don't, the system will inevitably do something that will cause me to have to hard reset it, and I will lose all of my work. I think I'm going to hang onto this unit for a few weeks and then revert back to the Tungsten. I do like how much better Scrabble and Monopoly look on the PPC though :) And Sleuth, I understand totally the sarcastic points you are making. If the source of the information regarding Palm OS 6 compatible hardware weren't so reliable, I wouldn't be sitting here asking these questions. Heck, I wouldn't even have traded in my Tungsten to begin with. I'm hoping that my source is wrong, and I'm just taking this time to better familiarize myself with Pocket PC. It might be the plague of handhelds everywhere, but it's still knowledge, so it has to be worth something. BTW, my source made an interesting point. Could Sony be considering turning toward PPC? After all, Sony produces Everquest which just came out on the PPC. No plans for a version for the Clie has been mentioned though. Makes you wonder...

[sleuth255]

Sorry Larkin, didn't mean to sound so sarcastic, but it was late when I posted my reply...:rolleyes: The fact remains that I really think that OS6 is a 1Q04 product, 4Q03 at the earliest. It just doesn't make good business sense and it doesn't follow the previous upgrade frequency of PalmOS. It also doesn't make sense that current ARM based palms won't be upgradable. The only palm devices that aren't upgradable historically have been specialized devices (Treo 300) and devices based on an older hardware platform. It doesn't look like PalmOS will be changing hardware architecture in the near future. Also, the TT has a very large amount of available flash. (can't wait for a JackFlash update!)

That being said, there are new Palm devices coming out in the first quarter of 03. Here's my prediction:

XScale TT
OS 5.1
Additional Bluetooth features and T68i integration.
New Web Browser
New Java Client
New VPN Client
Better email integration (attachment handling)
32 Megs of RAM (they can finallyexpand RAM and still conserve battery life by leveraging the XScale advanced powersaving features built into the OS5 DAL).


Think of it as a PalmVx upgrade.

Current TT users will get a free OS5.1 upgrade shortly afterwards.

[ion]

For information on OS 6 go to:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/27855.html

[Larken]

Good information. Thanks everyone. The fella that I spoke with in regards to the whole 32MB or 64MB of onboard memory gave me the following reasons. First, there was multitasking. I'm not sure, but I don't believe that I've read that OS 6 will be a multitasking OS. Has anyone else heard? This fella contends that if the OS multitasks, it has to use a swapfile the way PPC does. That's why you get a PPC with 64MB of RAM of which only 32MB approximately are available for use. He also contends that ARM based programs are larger and more robust than normal Palm apps. I'm not sure if this is because it takes more code to accomplish the same task, or if this is because of the presumption that since the unit is capable of more bells and whistles, more will be added thus increasing the size of the program. Not real clear on his thinking here. I've been trying to get him to jump on here and post his thoughts and insights, but no luck so far. Thanks again for the info. :)

[plyte]

Sorry Larken,

I was in a bad mood that day. Of course flaming is not the right way to lead discussions.

Plyte

[OldBlue]

Larken

Does your source have solid evidence to support his statements or is he just speculating and comparing Palm OS with PPC? Just because Microsoft does things a given way does not mean that other developers will need to do the same. e.g. Windows vs Mac OS and Palm OS vs PPC. Your source may be correct (I can't say that he is wrong, because I obviously don't know), but he should cite credible sources to back up his claims or statements.

OldBlue

[zerolight]

even IF it does need a large swap file. there's no reason why palm couldn't allow u to use a storage card for the swap file IF you felt the need to upgrade to OS6. and lets face it, thats not going to be a necessity for many people. yes... I would always want the latest OS, but there are many folk out ther quite happy wth OS3.5, never mind 5 or 6. Many folk buy the PDA just to use, as intended, for work. They have no interest in OS versions, just that it does what it says on the tin.

[sleuth255]

Here's some great info on OS 6!

Try this out:

More details on OS 6 surface (http://www.palminfocenter.com/view_story.asp?ID=4496&curpage=1)

Then go here:

PalmSource COO Mike Mace answers questions about OS 6 (http://www.palminfocenter.com/view_story.asp?ID=4496&curpage=2#69710)

It's obvious that PalmSource considers the TT a prime candidate for an OS 6 upgrade. The decision will be up to Palm of course, but the information from Mike Mace is very encouraging.

[OldBlue]

sleuth255

Thanks for the great and credible info re OS6.

OldBlue