Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

John wrote:

> Yes but I was not talking about GameBoy, I was talking about Palm units.
>
> Sony is out of the PDA market, so no need to bring them up. Palm still
> makes units with these lame soldered-in batteries which will be hard if
> not impossible to find 2-5 years after the PDA was introduced. I've had
>
> a Palm VII since 2000 and this VIIX since 2003. I dont plan on
> downgrading to a soldered-in battery chemistry. I can live without the
> multimedia. And guess what? My batteries are still available
> everywhere.

I recently replaced the battery in my Treo 270 and it was most definitely
not "soldered in." I had to remove the back of the unit to replace the
battery which was attached by a cable and some glue but the process was
remarkably easy. The batteries on Palm units are similar and should be
similarly easy to replace.

While I appreciate the convenience of being able to pop AAA batteries in
and out of a handheld as needed -- I used a Palm III for two years and a
Visor for two years before getting a Treo -- AAAs just don't have enough
juice for what I do with my handhelds.
>
> Personally I don't really understand why the people are so crazy about
> the
> Pocket PCs or HPCs. If sound and color graphics are so important,
> wouldn't a
> Toshiba Libretto be better? This can do everything better after all.

I can think of at least four reasons: price, pocketability, usage
patterns, and battery life. A mini-notebook like the original Toshiba
Libretto is a miracle piece of engineering but it can't replace a PDA. For
one thing it can cost up to ten times as much as a PDA ($2000 for the
Libretto vs less than $200 for a Tungsten E). It is also physically larger
and heavier than a typical handheld (two pounds or more vs six ounces or
less). This is large enough that you're less likely to automatically take
it with you. Also, a mini-notebook is overkill if all you want to do is
listen to MP3s something that a PDA can help you do quite well (an iPod is
even better for this purpose of course). Reading on a notebook no matter
how small, can be cumbersome but on a PDA with a bright, high resolution
color screen, it's almost as easy as reading a paper book. And when you
consider the storage capacity of a modern PDA, especially a PDA equipped
with one or more expansion slots, the appeal of a PDA as a reading tool is
very high. Finally, if you think the battery life on modern PDAs is bad,
just try using one of those little mini-notebooks for more than two hours.
>
> I sometimes wish the manufacturers would understand that not everybody
> really needs the latest and greatest, just something realiable. Just
> look at
> the success of the Volkswagen beetle years after the Germans quit making
> them in Germany.

Yes, I imagine that classic Palm IIIs and Handspring Visors will continue
to have long productive lives for years to come.

> For me I'll keep multimedia out of a PDA for know.

Not me, if for no other reason than because I don't want to have to carry
around an iPod, a PDA, and a cell phone. I'm anxiously awaiting the Treo
650 (or whatever they wind up calling it) so I can finally leave my
Tunsten E at home.

Although if you're willing to (or want to) keep the cell phone separate,
the ideal multimedia PDA would be an updated Handspring Visor. Use the
springboard slot as an adaptor for compact flash cards and build auxiliary
batteries that fit into the springboard slot. That way if you're low on
juice, you can just pop out the CF wi-fi card and pop in a spare battery.
Add an SD slot or two for memory storage and the odd SDIO peripheral and
while you're at it give it USB master circuitry so it can directly
interface with flash drives and USB enabled printers. Throw in a generous
amount of memory and a fast processor. Now build it in two flavors: one
with a keyboard for e-mail fanatics and one with a virtual graffiti area
for the video mavens. Throw in a one megapixel camera and such a machine
could really sell in large numbers.
--
Wonderfalls unaired episode quote of the day:

"I was fine when existence had no meaning. Meaninglessness in a universe
that had no meaning. That I get. But meaninglessness in a universe that has
meaning. What does it mean?"
— Jaye's brother Aaron in "Muffin Buffalo"

Roberto Castillo
robertocastillo@ameritech.net

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

"Zombie Elvis" <NOSPAMrobertocastillo@ameritech.net> wrote in message
news:BD7DFAE4yf@ameritech.net...
> Although if you're willing to (or want to) keep the cell phone separate,
> the ideal multimedia PDA would be an updated Handspring Visor. Use the
> springboard slot as an adaptor for compact flash cards and build auxiliary
> batteries that fit into the springboard slot. That way if you're low on
> juice, you can just pop out the CF wi-fi card and pop in a spare battery.

Hmm. Do you know for certain that a CompactFlash WiFi card will work with a
Visor with a Springboard-to-CF adapter (e.g. MemPlug)?

I have a Visor Platinum and I couldn't get enough money for it to warrant
selling it (the Stowaway keyboard is just too good and I can't find one like
it for my Clie). I was already toying with getting a CF adapter; if I can
run WiFi on the critter with it, I'd be really happy. The Xircom WiFi card
worked okay but I was never totally satisfied with how it operated, so I
sold it.

Jim