Another almost newbie with questions

pcbogert · 01-20-03, 06:29 PM

I have been looking at the AXIM for a few weeks and am thinking of getting one. I used to use a Palm for basic organization, but pen and paper work fine for the most part. While I would probably start using Outlook, I listed my primary and secondary uses for getting a PocketPC.

My primary uses would be to have access to some basic office apps and some Bible software for when I am out of my office studying (I try to get away to the local bookstore for an extended lunch 4-5 times per week), keeping lists, and PIM stuff. Secondary uses would be MP3 playing, Audio Books, Ebooks, and showing off pictures of my new granddaughter.

Some questions before I take the plunge:

1. How good is MP3 quality compared to a regular MP3 player?
2. Can I mix data, MP3 and pictures on the same memory card?
3. Can cards be swapped in and out (i.e. - in case I have one for music, one for data, etc.)?
4. Will Word/Excel formats translate cleanly the the desktop equivalents?
5. Would I be better having a dedicated memory card reader for transferring data/MP3's or is the PocketPC fast enough?

Thanks for your help!

Mattman · 01-20-03, 07:14 PM

Good day, pcbogert,

I will answer your questions to the best of my knowledge (which isn't anything grande, but.... :P )

1) MP3 quality is relative to the bitrate within MP3 file itself. The Axim is capable of playing MP3 equivilant to any MP3 player. The better the quality of the MP3, the more memory it will take up. It's a trade off that you will have to decide on depending on your musical pallette. I would think that most people can't really tell one from the other though.

2) I do not have a memory card at this time, but it is my understanding that you can put whatever you want on a memory card, and it wouldn't make any difference to the other files on the card. In other words, you can mix and match....

3) Cards can be swapped at your convenience. Don't forget, with the Axim you can use a CF card and a SD card simultaniously. Advantage, Axim.

4) Word/Excel documents seem to work seemlessly for me. Granted, I haven't been working with any 100 sheet spreadsheets performing calculations to determine the position of Jupiter relative to what is on CBS in July of 2021, but I don't think there would be any problems with this.

5) I have read posts here where some people feel transferring files to the Axim through the USB cradle is fast enough, while others insist on having readers. I think it comes down to personal preference and patience level. By all means though, transferring mp3 via the USB cradle is NOT painstakingly slow.

Good luck in your decision!

commoved · 01-20-03, 07:54 PM

Mattman was right on, but just be careful with Word and Excel formats. The PPC versions do not support all the format options of the PC versions. Graphics -- Word tables -- other really fancy stuff don't come across to the PPC. If you take the PPC file back to Windows, you will see the fancy formatting is permanently gone.

Not a biggie if you know about it, and there are 3rd party programs that handle more fancy formatting. There are plenty of posts on this in the forums, you'll find all the details if you're interested.

JakeRich · 01-20-03, 08:59 PM

All I can add is "Congratulations on the new granddaughter!"

pcbogert · 01-20-03, 09:17 PM

Thanks for the answers, and for the congrats. She's been a lot of fun!

Home Skillet · 01-21-03, 09:04 AM

The Pocket PC Holy Bible program and it comes in handy all the time for me. Congrats on the grandaughter. I'm waiting to be an uncle of a newly born neice soon.

pcbogert · 01-21-03, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Home Skillet@Jan 21 2003, 08:04 AM
The Pocket PC Holy Bible program and it comes in handy all the time for me. Congrats on the grandaughter. I'm waiting to be an uncle of a newly born neice soon.

I think I would like to have the Laridian software with the NASB and Strongs Gk/Hbrw numbers/defs.