Handheld OS: Switch or stay?

by Ernest Khoo | 20 September 2002 3:32pm SGT

To switch or not to switch, that is the question. With all the new and wonderful features introduced in the Pocket PC 2002 operating system, there're more reasons for a Palm user to switch to Pocket PCs. Here, we provide you five compelling reasons to defect to Pocket PCs. Then, we'll play the devil's advocate and tell you why, despite all the flashy features on the Pocket PCs, you should stand by your trusty Palm.

Pocket PC | Palm

5 reasons to switch to Pocket PC


	1.	Multimedia galore With the Windows Media Player preinstalled on the Pocket PC, you can listen to MP3s and watch short movie clips. With the voice recording features, you can take down voice memos with the press of a button. These features, however, are available only on selected Palm-powered devices. So if you're looking for an entertainment center in your hands, go for the Pocket PC.

	2.	Gaming madness The Pocket PC is a wonderful handheld gaming machine. Since 16-bit color and a high resolution 320 x 240 pixels display are standard on new Pocket PCs, games look amazing. Also, with an ARM processor at the heart of these devices, game developers can write games that take advantage of the powerful chip to push graphics and gameplay to the limits. Don't believe us? Just check out games like the Command & Conquer-like realtime strategy game Argentum.

	3.	Tight Windows integration Not only are Pocket-sized versions of Microsoft Word and Excel preinstalled on the Pocket PC, the Inbox works seamlessly with Outlook. In addition, when you plug your device into the cradle, it shows up on your Windows PC as a connected Mobile Device. You can then seamlessly manage the files and folders directly from your PC.

	4.	Network support For enterprises, the ability to connect to networks and servers are important. While Palm handhelds require you to purchase third-party software to do that, Pocket PCs come with these features built-in. You can use the Virtual Private Network connections and the Terminal Services Client to remotely access servers and networks.

	5.	Easy to switch In an attempt to win over current Palm users, Microsoft has made it easy for this group to defect to the Pocket PC camp by including the Block Recognizer handwriting recognition software that's almost identical to Palm's Graffiti. Also, Pocket PCs can now accept contacts and memos beamed from Palms, so there's no excuse for Pocket PC folks to complain that they can't exchange information with other Palm users.

Switch or stay?

For the moment, the Palm operating system remains the industry standard, although that lead is notably lessening. Analysts predict that by 2004, Pocket PC will own as much as 40 percent of the market, with Palm falling to 45 percent.

Still, while Microsoft clearly has the momentum, Palm remains ahead with its solid foundation and strong community of users and third-party software. Research firm IDC projects that Palm will continue to retain its market lead in the handheld market for the next five years. Palm's upcoming release of its OS 5.0--a major upgrade that will mark the platform's transition to the more powerful StrongARM processor--may also lessen industry concerns that the company is lacking a real sense of innovation.

Pocket PC | Palm

5 reasons to stick to Palm


	1.	Value for money Compared to Pocket PCs, Palm-powered handhelds are cheaper, and with the right software, they can do almost everything a Pocket PC can. The cheapest Palm, such as the Palm m105 (left), will set you back about S$150. The lowest-priced Pocket PC, however, will cost you from S$699.

	2.	Abundance of software The Palm developer community is larger than that of the Pocket PC. This means there is more software available for Palm OS handhelds than Pocket PC ones. Subsequently, this means you're more likely find an app for your needs on the Palm platform. The last time we checked the Palm software site, Palmgear.com, there were about 15,181 software available. On Pocketgear.com, a Pocket PC software site, there're only about 10,117 titles available.

	3.	Elegantly built OS The Palm OS is elegantly designed and simple to use. Applications normally consist of just a single file, hence making file management really easy. Using the execute-in-place concept, programs are executed in the RAM and time is not wasted copying the file from one place to another. If the program needs to use additional data, it tells the OS what file it want to acess and immediately retrieves it to read and write the data. On the other hand, files on Pocket PCs are like those on Windows. When installing a program, a few files are copied onto the device. Hence, you can't just remove a program by deleting the executable. Also, the RAM on the Pocket PC is divided into storage and active RAM. When executing a program, the OS copies the require files into the active RAM before executing, just like what happens on your desktop PC's storage drive and active RAM. That's why for some tasks, a 33MHz Palm can be as fast as a 206MHz Pocket PC since resources are not wasted for Palm to needlessly copy data back and forth.

	4.	Long battery life Compared to Pocket PCs, the battery life of Palm handhelds are still longer. A Palm with a monochrome screen can last for more than a week while color ones can last for four to five days. Pocket PCs, due to the fact that they require more resources to run, need to be charged at the end of the day. In fact, the next-generation are said to double battery life, according to a ZDNET UK report.

	5.	Investment protection If you're currently using a Palm, there's no reason you should change to a Pocket PC, especially if you've invested money on software and time to key in your data on your device. When the new ARM-supported Palm OS 5 is introduced, your data and application can still be used on the new OS since it supports the Application Programming Interface (API) of the current OS 4.

Handheld OS: Switch or stay?

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