TH-55 clie and X30 - such a shame...

[keef]

Firstly, apologies for this long post. But it does seem rather timely, as I've just noticed a post about a new member upgrading from a T3 to the X30. I've just bought a TH-55 with the aim of moving back to the Palm fold.

I should start by pointing out that I’m not anti-Palm, and I’m not necessarily pro-Pocket PC. I’m pro-whatever-works-for-me. I was a confirmed Palm addict, first with a Sony Clie, then with the Tungsten T. I loved this unit but when I saw the Dell Axim I just knew that was the way to go. Wifi, blazing speed, Bluetooth – it had it all. Even thought I’d invested a fair bit of cash in Palm OS software I hoped that the transition to the “dark side” would be worth it. And it was. I LOVED the fact that I could browse while sitting in the living room, that I could pick up mails from anywhere in the house and (with the advent of Pocket Player) I can stream shoutcast stations and my entire MP3 collection from wherever I am within a fairly wide radius of my house. It took a bit of learning (“x” button – what’s that all about?). But it all seemed so cool…

But after a while I got to thinking about what I actually used my Axim for. I used it for the calendar, I used it for the contacts. And that was pretty much it. I’m not a power user (or so I thought). Everything else was just “gimmicky”. So I started to get to thinking a couple of months ago about going back to the palm fold because, even with software like Pocket Informant on the PPC platform, nothing comes close (IMO) to the excellent Datebook 5 on the palm. And I missed the higher resolution of the palm machines. And I missed real graffiti (and block recognizer on the PPC ISN’T real graffiti!). The one thing I would miss is the wifi, But with the Sony TH-55 having that as standard (and Bluetooth – I live in the UK) that could be solved. So I went onto e-bay, put in a bid and now I’m the proud owner of a TH55 that I received yesterday. And, after only a day with the new machine, I’m regretting it and am about to put it up for sale. Let me explain…

First off – Hotsync. By god, I’d forgotten how incredibly frustrating syncing a Palm OS machine to the PC is. Nothing is automatic, everything has to be initiated. And don’t get me started about things like Pocket Mirror and Intellisync (of which you only get the “lite” version with the machine. This is tantamount to buying a car and having to pay extra for a complete steering wheel!!) Regardless of whatever the Palm community say, until you’ve used a Pocket PC to sync to an actual PC you don’t know what a joy it can be. I’ve NEVER had my axim hang on me during a sync. The new TH-55 hung twice yesterday. And when it hangs it’s (usually, but not always) a reset. I’m very happy with the way activesync works. Drop the axim in its cradle and it syncs. Make a change on the PC and it immediately changes on the axim. And I can drag files to the axim without having to go through any kind of filtering system. It’s there on my desktop, ready and waiting to be used as extra & portable storage should I need it. Drag and drop a word document to the dell and it’s there, either on the SD card or on the machine itself. Admittedly, with the advent of WinXP this is handled much better on the Sony machines (the host PC now recognizes it as a removable drive so it’s easier to work with) but it’s taken a while to get there.

Get the issue of the syncing out of the way and the TH-55 starts to look a whole lot better. The screen and resolution are fabulous, and side-by-side comparisons between this and the Axim reveal how low-res PPC QVGA is. Browse to a website and you can see a LOT more on the Sony machine. It’s all legible as well. Very tasty. I’d read a bit about web page rendering speeds on the TH-55 but I’ve got to say that I didn’t notice a great deal of difference between the two machines. The simple way that the Palm handles memory is perfect. When it says that you’ve got 26Mb left then you know that you’ve got 26Mb left. On the PPC it’s all BIS, actual memory, external storage, install so-and-so here but not there or else the world will end and you’ll catch avian flu. It’s a learning curve to be sure, and sometimes it seems that it’s complication for the sake of complication (or else it’s there to placate the more serious “geeks” who like to really dabble!). And I really like the fact that the TH-55 is “intelligent” in that when you tap on the browser it automatically launches the wifi client. As far as I know, there is nothing on the Axim that replicates this. You have to enable wifi manually. OK, it’s not exactly a hardship but it would be nice to have the machine recognise that when you tap on IE you want to enable wifi, and likewise inbox. So wifi on the TH-55 is great. Easily as good as the Dell. But (and here’s another niggle) why or why can’t I have wifi and BT enabled at the same time???? That’s right – if you’ve got wifi enabled on the Sony unit then you have to forgo BT, and vice versa. A problem? Yes. I want my cake and I actually want to eat it too.

A little while ago I mentioned that I didn’t think I was a power user. Well, recently I’ve begun to think that maybe I am (well, sort of…). One of the ways I use my Axim is to stream audio. When I’m in an office environment I need to keep the volume down so as not to annoy other people, so I use a Bluetooth headset to stream the music to. OK so it’s not stereo and it’s below FM quality but it does the job – I get to jig about in my chair listening to some crunchy rock while the rest of the world gets on with its business. And I can even move desks (within reason) and walk and talk to people without breaking the signal. I can also hear phones ringing and people can talk to me without me having to remove any headphones and ask them to “…say that again?”. Try and do this on the TH and you’re stuffed. It’s one or the other for you matey. Don’t ask for too much. Of course, to actually stream music you need to be able to access either:-

a) the network and the server PC with the MP3’s on or,
b) a web based server such as shoutcast or,
c) a specific URL (I use Windows media encoder to stream Musicmatch jukebox to my Dell)

And the Sony unit makes this difficult. You need extra software to actually link up to the PC’s in your network (and even then, the only software that I’ve found that might do this doesn’t actually work with the TH-55 – yet). And you need to know things like IP address, domain names etc. If you use Resco Explorer on the PPC then you can simply enable wifi, map the network and bobs your aunt sally’s uncle. You’re then free to browse all the files on your remote machines, dragging things over and opening things as you see fit. It’s all seamless, as it should be with a PC running a Microsoft OS and a PDA running an OS from the same company. This synergy is something that Palm lacks.

I still love the simplicity of the palm OS environment (although the lack of a multi-tasking OS does now bother me slightly. I want to be able to download in the background while listening to an MP3 while working on a document and having access to my calendar and contacts at the same time). And I still think that, coupled with the stunning 320x480 resolution, Datebook 5 is absolutely THE BEST PIM on any platform. And the battery life on the TH-55 is something that the Dell unit can only dream about, even when you’re surfing using wifi and listening to MP3’s. But I’m having a hard time justifying keeping the TH-55 when some of the things I now take for granted on the Axim just aren’t there on the Sony unit. I can’t go to a website and download an AVI trailer, for example, because I know it won’t run on the Palm. It needs converted. And there are certain places on the memory stick that files have to be placed so that the standard applications can “see” them (MP3’s and movie files for instance). Handling of excel / word files etc. are now better than they used to be but still ain’t perfect. A 1Gb SD card is about £60. A 1Gb MS is – well, it’s way more than I’m willing to pay.

Maybe I’m missing something. If there are any inaccuracies in the above then I apologise. Like I said, I’ve had the unit for a day or so and I’ve had a pretty good play with it but it seems to me that it still lags behind in being able to be completely integrated into my PC-centric life (both at work and at home). I’m not anti-Palm. I love it and, for a fleeting moment, was actually contemplating going back to that OS because of all the good things I remember from the early Clies and the Tungsten. As an electronic organizer I honestly don’t think that it can be beaten. Screen resolution, Datebook 5 and general ease of use make it a winner on this front (and Zlauncher is possibly the greatest launcher there is). The PPC is NOT an organizer – rather it’s a fully featured pocket PC, something that I think I’ve only just begun to realise. So maybe it’s not the TH that’s lacking, maybe it’s just my expectations. Oh well…

[psionandy]

Thanks for the feedback. Its clear that there is no such thing as a perfect PDA yet. All of them have their strengths and all of them have some realy Stupid features.

I was tempted by the wireless ability of the TH55 (i really wanted the NX73 when i bought my palm t2 but there was no way i could afford it). And if Sony hadn't have pulled out of the PDA market I would probably have one instead of the Axim.

I had a brief flirtation with the Zaurus (linux PDA). If you think PPC has a steep learning curve then its nothing on the Zaurus. It was fun in a very frustrating sort of way. I had the feeling it could do anything but getting it to do so was really hard work. Then someone in the office got an Ipaq. He was doing in Mins what it took me hours to do on the Zaurus. So after a bit of searching round i got my axim and am now happy :).

Zlauncher is the thing I realy miss from the palm world. Which is ironic as when I had the palm i wanted a 'windows like front end' and so i got Zlauncher. And Documents To Go is better than Pocket Office.

Of course in a perfect world I would love a Wifi enabled Colour Psion 5MX or Revo (with card slots) but that ain't gonna happen.

Hang on
Psion (no longer in PDA market)
Sony (no longer in PDA market)
Sharp (no longer in PDA market outside of Japan)
Palm (Who knows if they are in the PDA market any more :) )

I see a pattern here.... but i hope Dell ain't going anywhere

I just sold my TH-55 on eBay. While I agree that the higher resolution is really nice (as is the camera, which you may or may not find out you like, and the long MP3 playing), there are many reasons why I prefer my Axim now, even though I had to give up those things. I posted on 1src about it a while, but I can sum it up now:

* Activesync. You said it.
* Multi-tasking. You said it. I had to resort to hacks in order to copy and paste stuff from NetFront.
* Speed. No way is NetFront faster than IE for me. Yes, when pages download it can be slow, but pages load fast. Try Bejewelled on the TH-55, and you will see how it drops frames.
* Battery life. Except for MP3 playing on the Clie (and only constant bit rate, not variable), battery life on the Clie is actually not that great. We Cliesource members did a big test on battery life, taking data from a couple individuals with new TH-55s. Max battery life out of the box: a little over 4 hours. I get comparable times with my Axim, PLUS I can swap a battery in.
* I happen to like the WM UI better. It's more graphical; some people might like ascetic UIs though.

I hope you like your TH-55. I had mine for about a year, and it was great. For me though, the Axim X30H was a minor improvement in trade, and once I get a VGA WM2005 phone I'll be way happy. :approve:

[John Blasdell]

I had several WinCE handhelds, switched to Palm (Visor), now I own and carry both a TH55 (probably the best overall PDA ever) and an Axim X30 High. My chief complaint with the TH55 (US version) is the lack of Bluetooth. Let me comment on just one aspect of your post: ActiveSync vs. HotSync. Overall, I've had much less trouble with HotSync and find it much more flexible. I suspect your software or TH55 has a problem (hangs, then resets). I can set any of the HotSync conduits to individually overwrite the Desktop, overwrite the handheld, do nothing, sync...whatever I choose. Try configuring your next ActiveSync to overwrite desktop Outlook with the handheld's info, overwrite the Excel documents on the handheld with files from the desktop...it's easy with HotSync. I sync with the Palm desktop on one PC, with Outlook on my notebook (so I can sync info w/ my Axim). I used the program that came with the Clie to enable Outlook syncing -- no problems. And HotSync can sync files that are anywhere on the PC, not just in one special folder.

We may all be using WM handhelds soon; the P1 dummies seem obsessed with Smartphones. I prefer carrying a separate cell phone and PDA for many reasons, but that may not be possible in the near future.

[axcilla]

Thanks For The Information.

I look at it this way the Axim is for someone who needs a hand held computer

The palm is for a paperweight or someone who dislikes only a briefcase

palmOS is COMPLETELY LAME on streaming audio
pocket pc has realone for .rm (real stopped to develop new version of real for ppc and palm, what a shame); wmp for .asx (this is 100% natural); and GSPlayer (for streaming mp3/ogg, and on-demand playback)
I went for Tungsten T, major mistake (HP H1945 is a lot better), then Axim (poor support, also shame on Dell)
now I have RX3115, finally found the machine I want to use on the road

[bryanbellis]

Had my Dell X30H a week now, and the Palm T3 is on Ebay UK. right now I'm missing the much better screen resolution, and size, of the Palm, the faster OS (X30H seems quite sluggish compared to my 4000MHz T3), and I never once had a HotSync problem. If Palm wasn't, in my view, on the way out, I'd probably have stuck with the Palm. As someone said, DateBK was miles better than anything I've found for the X30, and Ultrasoft Money miles better than anything I can thus far find. But, I'll stay with the PPC, though still reserving judgement. The PPC implementation of Word and Excel is awful. The Palm actually did a far better job of this "computing" with Docs To Go than the PPC does.

It's mostly people that haven't had a recent high end Palm that bash it and laugh, but thus far the computing experience on the Palm was much better and more reliable. But, as said, I'm still learning the PPC and I "probably" plan to stick with it.