Why I switched from Palm to Pocket PC and why I 'might' switch back to palm
Years ago I bought a Casio organiser from a retail outlet in the uk after feeling I couldn’t justify spending more on a palm pilot pro, however after a couple of weeks of disappointing use I returned the Casio and dug deep to get a pilot. The pilot pro had a mono screen with a backlight, it had removable triple a batteries.
The pilot never left my side, at work, home, I added many free applications, which made the device very much a computer (not just an organiser) that fit in my pocket.
A few years later I upgraded to a Sony clie peg-n770c/u which offered a more memory (8meg), 320 * 320 colour screen, memory card slot built in rechargeable battery.
Now for a bit more detail what I use pda’s for:-
Tasks
I have multiple category tasks (for different people).
The tasks are assigned to different people – this gives them priorities and also forms a log for a projects etc.
These tasks are tracked through outlook and sync with my PDA therefore I can go to a meeting with the very latest update on progress of a project.
I keep & sync all tasks even completed tasks – I have hundreds, I often search for information on work carried out.
Calendar
I store appointments (surprisingly) , I use it as a diary, but as for task I have probably thousands, – no I do have thousands.
Contacts
I have around 300 contacts
Memos / notes
I have around 200 notes
I have installed various free applications, secure data area (password encrypted memos), conversion programs, timers / clocks, pdf viewer, quick notes, games, music (on the memory stick)
I use Graffiti for entering data and know most of the shortcuts and am pretty fast using it – as fast as the device will take of course.
This all fits into ‘under’ 8 meg – some of the task notes get trimmed when syncing.
Up to Date
My Sony is dying. In the past I have repaired the memory stick holder, some of the flexible circuit inside, but the now the battery no longer holds a charge and I don’t want to spend any money on it.
Also I told my wife it can’t be repaired ;)
So what to buy – well at first there was only Palm, after ‘assuming’ pocket PC’s were juicy on power consumption, slow, unstable and basically crap (being a palm loyalist) So I started browsing forums, and reading news articles when the latest palm TX caught my eye at the £200 mark it was within my price range, however reading further into the news and announcements by palm I started to wonder how long the palm operating system would last.
Palm are going to use windows mobile for a new palm treo – beginning of the end?
I can no longer buy the well made Sony Clie as they no longer manufacture PDA’s.
This reminded me of the video recorder wars between Betamax, VHS and yes Video 2000.
Funny enough Betamax was a mainly Sony standard and although both Video 2000 and Betamax were superior to VHS, VHS won the day.
What about the OS2 operating system from IBM? I still use this today to control equipment at work, this has many features that have only been just been implemented in windows XP, years after OS2 came out.
Anyway to cut a very long story short I felt that it was time to make a switch to a new windows mobile operating system, after all my main computers use windows XP and outlook, excel, word, so what could be better than having windows, outlook, excel, word, battlefield 2 (I wish :)) on your PDA– how could I go wrong?
So which pocket PC? I selected the Dell Axim x51v
Well I liked the features, voice recorder, LEDs to let you know what’s going on, gorgeous VGA screen, removable battery, flash memory (due to the battery going I lost data on the clie), coupled with 30% off list price if you ordered before 28th December and being a Dell, who make some excellent PC’s.
Although I was going to pay £40 more than the price of a palm TX the Axim would include a cradle – a must for me.
So I ordered it on the 2nd of December and it was delivered on the 14th of December
I tinkered, adjusting settings etc just to familiarise myself with the new operating system. I like the wifi and was able to connect to my home wireless network, excellent screen, I was initially concerned (and still am) with the battery life, however I need to evaluate this with my normal usage which to be honest will not include a lot of wifi use.
So I’m pretty happy, yes? Well !”£$%^& no!
I have been waiting for my IT department to install the software so I can sync all the latest data with my new toy. The initial sync took around 15-20 minutes, subsequent syncs took around 10 seconds – no problem.
However after syncing a have found a serious problem.
S L O W, and I mean slow, The calendar and tasks can take over 30 seconds to load initially. To filter tasks by category can take 5 seconds, moving through day, week, month, year view in the calendar and various switching to a specific day from the year view etc can sometimes take 10 seconds! But does vary. it seems to be loading into cache memory??. As a comparison the clie and pilot are both instant.
Memory. On my Clie
Todo database - Tododb 593k
Calendar database - Datebookdb 317k
What is going on? The tasks and appointments have no extra content than they have on my original palm pilot but are 100% slower to access. This is not what I expected or what I can accept.
I have also noticed that since the sync other aspects of the system have become slower like full power off / on which can take 1 minute and sometimes the unit freezes with no indication (hourglass) that the thing is doing anything.
Is this down to the operating system or is it the Dell hardware?
I have tried the processor settings with no change.
If I can’t resolve this problem or if this is what I should expect from a pocket PC device them I’m going to seriously consider returning it and buying Palm and take the risk of buying a (maybe) dying but superior palm operating system.
I've found the same thing. Kinda like switching from fast text only DOS apps to slower, graphic-intensive Windows apps. Very annoying. I've got an old Palm, and for appts and contacts it's much faster, but for multimedia stuff like movies and music, there's no contest.
Sounds to me like you are having some of the OS issues reported all over this forum. I'd wait till close to the end of your 30 days to see if the promised OS update/fix comes out. If it does, that "MAY" improve some of what you are seeing.
I've been wondering about this myself. I bought my first PDA a year ago and am surprised at the speed of it (not real quick) and at how frequently I have to reset it. I'm not much of a Windows user but I, like you, have started me to wonder if it is the fault of the hardware, the apps, or the OS?
Its very difficult to compare the Palm and PocketPC worlds, especially when it comes to system speed. Here's a few things to keep in mind when you are making your decision:
1. WM5 is an evolving OS, sitting essentially at a 1.0 release. Its sufferring from the same issues that Windows 95, XP, etc. all had when they were first released. Both MS and the system manufacturers are working out the bugs and will eventually get to a stable platform.
2. The x51v has a VGA screen, making it at least 4x as big as the screen on your Palm. A lot more CPU power is needed to keep the GUI going.
3. A Pocket PC is essentially that -- its a small computer that runs a different flavor of Windows. It will never be as fast as a device that only serves as a PIM, but does offer far greater functionality and expandability.
If the x51v is your first experience with a PocketPC, I can see why you are underwhelmed. There are a lot of problems with the series, and while people here have learned to deal with them, those coming from a Palm won't be. From reading your post, I think you should buy an x30h. You would be very happy with the speed, stability, and functionality in that device. And it will be a much more fair comparision for a Palm user.
But if you still want to give it up, ship it to me. I'll be happy to take it off your hands.
Back to the point. I had (actually still have) a Palm V (i think). Apparentley the first color device they came out with. When I first got it there were many many bugs in that device, but I learned to cope, and about 3 months later an update came out and that was it. WM5 is still sitting at that initial stage where, yah it's here but..... You know what I mean.Give it some time. It's gonna take a while but I bet it will be fixed soon enough. Media on any Pocket PC device is a hands down comepetion. Plus the Palm OS is lacking a little bit. Windows Based devices offer a way better GUI. Also a hands down competion. It simply seems more pleasing. More often than not, Windows Mobile based devices are better capable of handling Wi-Fi, and sometimes bluetooth. That is a setback in this release the BT stack that is, but give it time.
Just my 2 cents
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"If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce would today cost $100, get one million miles to the gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside." Robert X Cringely
Addition who needs that kind of stuff any way huh?
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The TX and LD are the best of the Palm lineup and the X50v and X51V are the best of the Dell PPC lineup.
I can make either platform do what I need it to do. I use a Dell X50V for the interchangable batteries, dual card slots, and big bright display screen.
There are some links under the Archival Thoughts section of my View MyPDA that you may find useful.
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I have both platforms and use both... but for different purposes. I have a Tungsten T3 (migrating to a TX) as well as a Dell Axim x50V. Both platforms have their strengths and weaknesses and both can do 80% the same stuff pretty well.
Basically, if PIM applications are most important to you (as it sounds they may be), you will probabaly be happier with a Palm because they are designed to handle that kind of app very efficiently. This does *not* mean that PocketPC's can't do PIM well, it just means that Palm devices are more efficient at this kind of app.
On the other hand, if you need (or like) VGA screens, and the optimum in multimedia or wireless, you'll likely be happier with a PocketPC because those devices generally handle those apps more effectively. That does *not* mean that Palms can't handle movies, MP3's, WiFi, etc. because they certainly can. It just means that generally, PocketPCs provide a higher level of hardware implementation for these apps.
Both systems suck at battery life (color screens and internal radio transmitters saw to that!) compared to the older B&W screen devices.
Both systems have their share of reported hardware or OS problems and have fixes to various degrees of effectiveness.
Also, don't worry about PalmOS going away in anywhere close to the forseeable future. The addition of Windows and Linux operating systems to 'Palm' machines will supplement, not supplant, PalmOS systems (or maybe Linux systems that act like PalmOS devices). The company is not about to abandon the roughly 20,000-30,000 legacy PalmOS apps.
If you select a PocketPC of some kind, you will just have to live with the fact that the various Windows OS's require more 'attention' (ongoing soft resets, etc.) than does the PalmOS. The former is just way more complicated than the latter.
On PPC I use PocketInformant with PocketBreeze as the today screen integrator with iLauncher to organize applications under tabs. MagicButton provides the CLOSE function for the Windows X=minimize quirk.
There is a link to a screen print off of my View MyPDA.
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S L O W, and I mean slow, The calendar and tasks can take over 30 seconds to load initially. To filter tasks by category can take 5 seconds, moving through day, week, month, year view in the calendar and various switching to a specific day from the year view etc can sometimes take 10 seconds! But does vary. it seems to be loading into cache memory??. As a comparison the clie and pilot are both instant.
I have also noticed that since the sync other aspects of the system have become slower like full power off / on which can take 1 minute and sometimes the unit freezes with no indication (hourglass) that the thing is doing anything.
Is this down to the operating system or is it the Dell hardware?
I have tried the processor settings with no change.
If I can’t resolve this problem or if this is what I should expect from a pocket PC device them I’m going to seriously consider returning it and buying Palm and take the risk of buying a (maybe) dying but superior palm operating system.
Please help.
You should try a WM2003SE device, rather than the X51v with WM5 until they work out the bugs in WM5. If you need to use an organiser NOW rather than wait months for OS updates etc, why not return the X51v and get the X50v instead ? Personally, I wouldn't make a hasty decision in going back to Palm, based solely on your experience with WM5.
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