Ausdauer, that PocketPC presentation was pretty cool. However, I still have my concerns from this platform. When it came to buying my PDA, the following critera were the most important to me:
1. Price. I was asking for a PDA as a Christmas gift. I had never had one before and it was sort of a novelty. (However now that I have it, I can't get along without it!) Cost was a very serious concern as I didn't want to break my girlfriend's bank! Price is a very serious concern for PocketPC with a 2MB Handspring Visor selling for $149, and my 8MB Visor Deluxe selling for $249. A PocketPC sells for $499 and $599? I can't even place these devices in the same category with this much of a price difference!
2. Battery life. The Palm platform is very good with batteries. A set (2) of AAA size alkalines lasts for about a month in my Visor. I can't imagine that a PocketPC (or color Palm) can last nearly this long.
3. Instant-on. With my Visor, all I have to do is press one of the 4 app buttons and I have instant-on access to any of 4 apps.- no boot-up time, no splash screen, no fuss no muss. I don't know for sure, but I really can't imagine any Microsoft device leaving the assembly line without it having to display at least a MS splash screen every time you turn it on. This would get very aggravating to me. Feel free to correct me if the PocketPC does not display a splash screen on startup.
4. Expandability My Visor uses proprietary-slot modules, the PocketPC uses Industry Standard Sandisk CompactFlash Slot ?©. Score one for PocketPC. I didn't want to buy a 3Com Palm Pilot and be stuck with its basic functions -forever so I bought the Handspring.
5. Platform Standard My business uses Palms to organize. The Handspring Visor runs Palm apps just fine and uses the same Mac software as a 3Com Palm Pilot. Many business a lot larger than mine are already standardized on Palm.
Well, these were my most serious concerns in my purchase of a PDA. I understand that PocketPC is trying to more than just a simple PDA, but for a lot of the Palm buyers, this is all they need. |
