Author: Roy Eassa
Date: 10:06:10 09/03/01
Go up one level in this thread
On September 03, 2001 at 04:26:37, Steve Maughan wrote: >Christophe, > >>>If so, we are starting to hear things now! >>>So for a bit more money I can get what a Palm will look like in a few years >>from now?! >> >>It's just that there are much more applications available for the Palm than for >>the Pocket PC. Much more. > >I've used a Palm for the last three years and have recently bought a PocketPC >(iPAQ) - here's my take on the Palm v PocketPC battle. > >For me the main distinction is that the PocketPC tries to be exactly what the >name says - a mini PC. Almost a notebook replacement but not quite. The Palm >take a more pragmatic approach and tries to be an organiser not a PC. It's also >smaller and has better battery life. As far as applications are concerned both >have all that I require so it's not an issue (for me). All in all I do actually >prefer the Palm as a general portable / useable unit. I think it does a better >job of what it sets out to do. However if you're into chess the tables are >turned somewhat as the iPAQ has by far the most processing power (206 MHz ARM). >This is probably about x10 to x15 the speed of the Palm. The Palm has Tiger and >Genius which are able to beat 99% of chess players but Genius, Fritz and soon >Tiger for the Pocket PC are the strongest portable chess opponents. > A very balanced report. Let me say, I bought a Handspring Prism (color Palm clone) last Christmas (actually got it as a birthday + Christmas gift). My intention was to use it 95% for chess. It is indeed very good as a chess platform, but it's even better for other stuff. Every day dozens of new goodies come out for it. Many are free. I'd venture to say there are more good FREE apps for the Palm than there are commercial/shareware apps for the PocketPC. One of the key ideas behind the Palm is that you will sync it frequently with your PC. If you do that, everything is backed up. But more importantly, it acknowledges that you ALREADY HAVE a PC and don't need another PC in your pocket. The Palm takes an entirely different approach to doing things. You don't have "files" and directories and the like (at least that most users see). You don't have to manage many kinds of tasks that you would on a PC. You willfully give up some of the "power" in return. It's just a different philosophy, and for many people it works great. Some techies might prefer a handheld PC. (A true hard-core techie might insist on having BOTH.) For chess, until very recently, the Palm was superior to the PocketPC (better software). Now, I'd say that the PPC, or at least the iPaq, is surpassing the Palm. But if you buy a Palm for chess, you will end up using it for a LOT of other things. I think that's a good thing. Having said all that: today I see a Compaq iPaq (206 MHz; 32MB RAM) on sale for about $430 US after rebate, at Circuit City (and no sales tax in nearby New Hampshire!). It's normally $500 or more. I'm seriously thinking of buying one. After all, I started out by thinking I wanted a PocketPC (I'm a techie) but ended up being persuaded by many people in THIS FORUM that a Palm was a better choice (thank you!). Now I may end up one of each...
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