The ultimate PDA: Dell, listen to this

[Ranma13]

Next thing you know, you guys will be complaining about the price, size, and weight. You can't have something for nothing. PDAs can only be as small as they are because they remove features that are present in bigger devices, like laptops.

4 inch screen? People were already saying the hx4700 is too big. 1.3 megapixel camera? Do you want to pay an extra $100 for that? 2200mA battery? Do you like adding extra inches onto your PDA thickness? A USB 2.0 host? Keep dreaming, not on a PDA.

Charge via a USB port? Do you realize that the USB port can only provide something like 500mA of power MAX? At that rate it'll take days to fully recharge one battery. And upgrade PIE, MS can't even get IE on XP to work correctly, what makes you think they'll do anything on PIE first?

Since when did Dell have the right to order Microsoft around? Or since when were they allowed to bundle free software with their products? Even free software has copyrights, I can't just start my own computer company, load up the computers with free software and sell them like that.

Suggested price: $500. Riiiiight. Maybe a device like this will come along after 2006, but by then something way better would have already come out.

If you're going to suggest improvements on a device, at least keep it realistic.

[eugenia]

Ranma13,
you really don't think correctly on this one.

>4 inch screen? People were already saying the hx4700 is too big

Yes. Because the rest of the PDA was big too. If the body around the screen is slim enough, no one will complain.

>1.3 megapixel camera? Do you want to pay an extra $100 for that?

I can assure you, a low quality 1.3 MP costs about $20 on the OEM taiwanese circles.

>2200mA battery? Do you like adding extra inches onto your PDA thickness?

No. Dell already sells this battery. It's the same size as the 1100 one.

>Charge via a USB port? At that rate it'll take days to fully recharge one battery.

No, it would take about 8-10 hours. Which is not big deal if you have a laptop with you on vacations, but don't want to take the power cord too.

>A USB 2.0 host? Keep dreaming, not on a PDA.

You obviously don't know much. The Asus MyPal already comes with one and it's really usable (people have being plugging in usb keys on it). It is already being done successfully.

>Since when did Dell have the right to order Microsoft around?

Haha, that's the best I hear today. Dell *can* order MS around, because Dell is the biggest MS customer. Besides, no one said anything about "ordering around", development cost money and if Dell wants consultant work from MS, they would pay for it. And they will get better prices than anyone else, no less, because as I said, Dell is the biggest MS customer. Why do you find it weird that I ask for better software? If Dell wants to be ahead of the competition extra software work is also required on top of top notch hardware parts.

>Or since when were they allowed to bundle free software with their products?

For the love of God!! Who said ANYTHING about including software for free??? You have to pay royalties to include Netfront or Resco's image viewer! Just like Sony/Palm pay Access.co.jp to include netfront on their pdas and Sharp pays Opera for their Qtopia/Linux pdas. That's standard policy and it happens A LOT. The manufacturer pays an upfront license fee after an agreement. It's nothing weird!

>If you're going to suggest improvements on a device, at least keep it realistic.

Honestly, I have done so.

[Ranma13]

I would have to disagree, but I'm not in the mood for a ping-pong flame war.

[eugenia]

I am not here to start a flame war either, but I got teased with your arguable comments. Sorry about that.

>4 inch screen? People were already saying the hx4700 is too big

Anyways, here are the two PDAs next to each other:
http://www.bargainpda.com/assets/3351.jpg

The Hx4700 is bigger and uglier, but that's only because HP didn't manage to cut the "head" off of the PDA like Dell has done so. Dell would not have such problems because they already know how to make slim PDAs. The only thing that would add to the bulkiness of the PDA I suggest would be the camera, not the actual screen, which is only 0.3" bigger from the current x50v anyway.

[Kodo]

Hey Eugenia, regular OSN reader here. Great post.
I would, though, love to have 802.11a so I/we can operate on 5GHz and avoid the 2.4GHz phones that are out and about in public places and even our homes. I know, more power required, but if it was dual-band, we could go from b to a automatically if the connection dropped.

[eugenia]

>Hey Eugenia, regular OSN reader here. Great post.

hi, thanks! :)

>avoid the 2.4GHz phones that are out and about in public places and even our homes

You are invited to my home village in Greece, in the mountains. Only goats are there now, no mobile phones... Coming to think about it though, there's no internet either. ;-)

[Double-Trinity]

What would I want in an "ultimate pda"? Be warned, this is pretty detailed:

• 5" 800x600 screen, same dotpitch as current VGA, but even more space (I serously can't get enough...) It wouldn't need to run "pocket PC" os, vanilla WinCE would do just fine (and it would run most of the PPC apps with a little tweaking, anyway)
  
  
• Make it so that the PDA's front-side is almost all screen, with nothing around the screen except 1/2 inch or so in vertical space dedicated to hardware buttons and D-Pad.
  
  
• To make up for the fact that the 5" screen would make the device wider than the average pocket pc (but not taller due to the skimpy button-portion) it would be thin.
  
  
• Make a secure, attachable flip-cover that could flip all the way back, flush. (less need for a case)
  
  
• Instead of adding a "humpback" for high-capacity batteries, offer an optional "second battery" that matches the case and can snap firmly on the bottom of the unit, powering it through the USB.
  
  
• Have an uncrippled USB 2 port
  
  
• Put a second USB connector on one side to allow for accesories when the main connector occupied with an extra battery or docked, also a choice of portrait or landscape for snap-on keyboards
  
  
• offer a foldable, USB-keyboard with USB passthrough to allow for a mouse or Jumpdrive/HD music player to be attached. Since extra power might be needed to run all this stuff, the other USB slot would be available for the extra battery.
  
  
• CF/SD slots
  
  
• Long range IR
  
  
• WiFi/Bluetooth
  
  
• Fastest mobile processor available, with graphic chip
  
  
• 256 MB of fast built-in storage for programs
  
  
• 256 RAM
  
  
• External mic support
  
  
• programmable jog wheel and buttons on the side

NOTE: the dimensions I have in mind are definitely a manageable size, this device would be about the same size as a Stowaway bluetooth keyboard without the "nub" where the AAA batteries fit, and without the little stand. In fact, it would be a good bit shorter, and only a little bit thicker. If I went with just a flipcover, that would mean SVGA in my pocket :D

[Hobbbbit]

eugenia, I'm sure for you to be happy, you would need an ability to install all those operating systems you are writing about all the time:-)
Thought I might see you in here when I read Dell update note on your site today:-)
And as for me, I would just want ability to switch between true VGA and qVGA mode without soft reset, longer battery life... Much longer battery life. And better wi-fi set up utility. Oh, and no stupid cameras. I hate them in phone, and I would hate them in Pocket PC. Totally useless thing just takes valuable space and increase price. Otherwise, I'm fine with X50v, and even with pIE. And if you hate pIE that much, Mozilla is going to be available for Pocket PC soon enough anyways.

[Kodo]

>Hey Eugenia, regular OSN reader here. Great post.

hi, thanks! :)

>avoid the 2.4GHz phones that are out and about in public places and even our homes

You are invited to my home village in Greece, in the mountains. Only goats are there now, no mobile phones... Coming to think about it though, there's no internet either. ;-)

No internet!! *jonez* *jonez*..there's no way I could do that..lol. I'm an addict. I go to online addiction classes...online.. ;)

No, seriously though. I went out and bought 900MHz phones so I can avoid my wifes laptop from dumping when the phone rang. The other day I was in a doctors office when a phone in the office next over rang and cut the connection. Funny, I could here them chattering "It did it again..why does it do that.. "..lol I didn't have the heart to tell them why.

[Kodo]

Mozilla is going to be available for Pocket PC soon enough anyways.

DO tell!! :)

[eugenia]

>eugenia, I'm sure for you to be happy, you would need an ability to >install all those operating systems you are writing about all the time

Naaah... not really... maybe Qtopia though... and QNX... and maybe PalmOS under emulation... (kidding)

>And if you hate pIE that much, Mozilla is going to be available for >Pocket PC soon enough anyways.

Actually that won't do much good for us x50v users. It is already known that the Minimo application will require a 64 MBs RAM (48 MBs minimum, stretched), and that's how much RAM the PDA already has. Mozilla is simply too big to fit on current PDAs, and they are still on version 0.2, and also they are moving way too slow. Bottom line: don't count on Minimo any time soon (I have talked with the two sole devs of minimo too, I interviewed them last year too).

[Kodo]

>

Actually that won't do much good for us x50v users. It is already known that the Minimo application will require a 64 MBs RAM (48 MBs minimum, stretched), and that's how much RAM the PDA already has. Mozilla is simply too big to fit on current PDAs, and they are still on version 0.2, and also they are moving way too slow. Bottom line: don't count on Minimo any time soon (I have talked with the two sole devs of minimo too, I interviewed them last year too).

Damn, you just crushed me. I pretty much hate anything IE now. I can't live with out FireFox and Minimo would be killer to have in lieu of PIE.

[Hobbbbit]

Actually that won't do much good for us x50v users. It is already known that the Minimo application will require a 64 MBs RAM (48 MBs minimum, stretched), and that's how much RAM the PDA already has. Mozilla is simply too big to fit on current PDAs, and they are still on version 0.2, and also they are moving way too slow. Bottom line: don't count on Minimo any time soon (I have talked with the two sole devs of minimo too, I interviewed them last year too).

Didn't know that Minimo would take so much space. But I'm not counting on it anyways. I'm just fine with pIE. It's not like I'm going to use it for anything but reading news from time to time and maybe checking web-mail. And I doubt that any spyware can actually run on Pocket PC at this point. So not really worried about security holes.

[Double-Trinity]

Actually that won't do much good for us x50v users. It is already known that the Minimo application will require a 64 MBs RAM (48 MBs minimum, stretched), and that's how much RAM the PDA already has. Mozilla is simply too big to fit on current PDAs, and they are still on version 0.2, and also they are moving way too slow. Bottom line: don't count on Minimo any time soon (I have talked with the two sole devs of minimo too, I interviewed them last year too).

That seems very odd to me, 64 MB on a PDA when firefox packed with extensions only takes up 18 MB from a fresh start? I don't think I've seen it above 68MB with a bunch of tabs and things open, either.

The X50 already supports charging via USB. It just has to be in the cradle, plugged into USB and powered off and away it goes. No mains necessary.