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What
handheld/wireless toys am I running? And, what software am I using? The answers
lie below...
Currently Running
| Device Name | Applications & Accessories | Comments |
| Pocket PCs | ||
| @migo PD-600C (URThere) | This Pocket PC doesn't leave the house. Its battery drain rate is very high. I doubt if it could last the day under ordinary usage (checking Contacts, Calendar, and taking notes using Notes, Word, or HanDBase). I use it exclusively for testing applications. | |
| Casio E-115 | Applian CoolCalc Casio
Digital Camera Card |
This under-appreciated PPC is my 2000 beta test system. Why? It has a spare battery, a Type II CF card slot, and a 64K color LCD. The reviews I write are often based on tests run on the E-115. |
| Casio EM-500 | Audible Player Sandisk 32MB MMC |
It surprised me how popular this PPC was with only 16MB RAM until I actually was given one to play with. Now, I understand its appeal. Small, great screen, good battery life, and fast. |
| Compaq iPAQ 3530 Upgraded to Pocket PC 2002 |
Compaq CF Card Sleeve |
This is the most popular PPC around if we can believe the lack of stock in most retail shops. My problem is that it really needs a CF or PC Card sleeve to be useful. Then, it is too big to fit in the carrying case it ships with. I didn't carry my iPAQ around much until Dale Coffing told me to look at E&B Slipper PAQ w/clip for the iPAQ with CF or PC Card sleeve. |
| HP Jornada 545 | This is was the first Pocket PC I owned. It served as my day-to-day PPC until I bought the 547 with double the RAM in December 2000. | |
| HP Jornada 547 | Applian PicturePerfect Ezos EzWAP NSBasic/CE Omnisky
Novatel Minstrel 540 CDPD wireless modem |
This was my the Pocket PC I carried
with me everyday until I got my HP Jornada 565. It is the same as the 548 except that it ships with a
serial cable instead of a USB cradle. I use my 545's USB cradle with the
547. I no longer use the Minstrel 540 CDPD modem since I cancelled my subscription to OmniSky. The CDPD network is not available in the places I want to use it. And, just as importantly, the Minstrel 540 does not work with the HP Jornada 565 that I use as my day-to-day Pocket PC. |
| HP Jornada 565 |
AlbatrosSlides Applian RemindMe DeveloperOne ScreenSnap DDH SoftwareHanDBase Ilium eWallet Ilium ListPro Microsoft PocketStreets Pocket Informant Yahoo Messenger Handspring Sportcase |
This is the Pocket PC 2002 I usually carry with me on a day-to-day basis. HP did a good job of producing a lightweight device with a good screen. My only complaints about this unit are: 1. Its so-called "snap in" battery was very difficult to install. 2. Its stylus design is even worse than the 540 series stylus. 3. Its speaker is not loud enough for the alarm to be heard under conditions where the iPAQ's alarm is easily heard. |
| Handheld PCs | ||
| Compaq Aero 8000 | Li-ION battery discharges very quickly. Backup battery never worked quite right. | |
| HP 620LX | Upgraded with the Windows CE 2.11 HPC-Pro ROM-set. The 620 seems much slower with the upgraded ROMs | |
| HP Jornada 820 | The screen hinge has become a bit loose in the past month or two. | |
| HP Jornada 720 | This is the Handheld PC I usually carry with me on a day-to-day basis. The speaker only works sporadically now. And, every now and then a freshly charged battery will go dead while the unit is suspended. I still use it quite a lot though. | |
| Palm OS | ||
| Handspring Visor Platinum | AvantGo Eudora HandWrite3 HanDBase JunglePort ListMaker QuickOffice Handspring 8MB Flash Module |
I bought my first Palm OS device in December 2000 to help support Palm owners in the MSN/ZDNet Handhelds Forum that I managed until March 15, 2001 (ZDNet terminated all their Online Forum Managers). I must admit that as a die-hard Pocket PC/Handheld PC user, I learned to respect the Palm OS based on using the Visor regularly for while. I only use it now to check on matters related to its communicating with a Pocket PC. |
| Device Name | Comments |
| Pocket PCs | |
| Casio E-10 | Discharges AAA alkaline batteries nearly instantly. Can't be used except when sitting in a cradle with A/C power. |
| Casio E-11 | Discharges AAA alkaline batteries nearly instantly. Can't be used except when sitting in a cradle with A/C power. |
| Casio E-100 | Traded-in to Casio for the E-115 |
| Compaq Aero 1520 | Upgraded with Windows CE 3.0 Pocket PC 2000 ROM-set. The plastic nub that holds the backup battery in place snapped when I replaced the backup battery. The door no longer locks in place. The device works fine. However, I'm not sure I will carry it around much now that the backup battery could fall out with my knowledge. |
| HP Jornada 420 | |
| Philips Nino 312 | LCD screen has darkened around the edges. Makes for difficult viewing |
| Handheld PCs | |
| Compaq C-Series 2010C | Its screen hinge broke off. The keyboard was difficult to use. The battery had the shortest battery life of any HPC I ever owned. For a while I had to keep it plugged in anytime I was not using to keep the battery from dying. |
| HP 320LX | This is the first Windows CE device I bought. It still works like a champ. I put it away simply to recover some much needed desk space. |
| NEC MobilePro 700 | Still works fine. The LCD screen on this model always had low contrast and was difficult to read. The screen hinge broke but I was able to repair it. |
| NEC MobilePro 750C | I think the NEC MobilePro 700 series has the optimal size for a HPC. It is small enough to stick into nearly any travel/brief case. And, it has a great keyboard and battery life. My only regret is that I neglected to upgrade its ROM to PRO (2.11) while the upgrade kit was available. |
| Vadem Clio | LCD screen usually does not display anything when turned on. This unit is effectively unusable. |
| Other | |
| Apple Newton Messagepad 130 |
 Circa
1996.The 130 was near the end of the Newton development cycle. The
Newton line defined PDAs as we know them today despite the fact that some
people think Palm invented the concept. In my opinion, Palm made the
concept workable, popular, and marketable. But, Apple was far far ahead of
their time with the Newton. It could run on either AA Alkaline or a
rechargeable battery pack. It had a PC Card slot for memory. It had an
Infrared transceiver for wireless data transfer. It had a flip top cover.
It had hard icons etched on the bottom of the screen. It had an optional
external keyboard. And, it had what I still think is one of the best
handwriting recognition systems and HWR metaphors that I wish current-day
PDA designers would adopt. It was also, unfortunately, large, heavy, and
bulky (almost three times the size of the Handspring Visor Platinum).
Still, all Palm and Pocket PC users today owe a debt of gratitude to the
vision of the Newton designers for much of what we use today. |
| HP 95LX |
 Circa
1991. The
MS-DOS based HP 95LX was the first clam-shell handheld that I know of. It
still has a few features I wish the current Windows CE-based Handheld PCs
had: (1) A user-definable database (Pocket Access doesn't count) and (2) A
spreadsheet with graphing. |
| Radio Shack TRS-80 Model-100 |
 Circa
1984. The Radio Shack
TRS-80 Model-100 had 8KB (as in 8192 bytes, not 8 megabytes) of RAM,
300 baud built-in modem, and what may be the finest keyboard on any
ultraportable. The most amazing thing about it is that as it approaches
the end of its second decade of life is that it still works! |
| Sharp PC-1500 |
 Circa
1982. The
Sharp PC-1500 was also marketed by Radio Shack as the TRS-80 PC2. It
had about 2KB RAM, a BASIC interpreter, and -- believe it or not --
graphics on its narrow LCD display. It also had an optional docking base
with a four-color pen plotter/printer. Its calculator functions still beat
nearly everything soft-calculator I've seen to date. |