What do we do if we don't want a WM-based device?

[Chaos]

With recent devices of the non-WM variety becoming more and more bland and failure-prone, where can people like myself (who don't touch Windows if at all possible) turn?

The reason this has become a point of interest for me recently is my NX70V is beginning to show it's age, in the lack of built-in bluetooth, wifi, and only 16 MB of memory. Considering how much of what I do is web-based, it's becoming near-useless to me at the moment, unfortunately (while I have a wireless card for it, it eats battery too fast to be really useful).

So, to start, look at recent Palm devices...

Tungsten T5: Software problems, no wifi.
Lifedrive: HD lag, hardware failure, some software issues. I considered looking at one for a while, but I've read many complaints about the hardware failing multiple times for some people, even after several replacement devices. Not to mention the reported software flaws.
Treo 650: It's a phone. What about people who don't want a phone? No wifi as well.

(You may ask why I'm noting the lack of wifi built-in, when Palm has a SD wifi card. It's because of the battery life. Using an external wifi card draws much more power than a built-in one ever does. And of course it also ties up the memory slot.)

What about Linux? Nothing seriously interesting from Sharp in the Zauri, with the lack of wifi and bluetooth totally. The C3000 was interesting for it's microdrive, but that was more than a year ago now... And (aside from Nokia with it's 'internet tablet') no one else seems terribly interested in Linux for the present (Palm, possibly, in the future - but that's bound to be at least a year away).

Looking at the (rumoured/semi-confirmed) upcoming devices...
Tungsten X: Looks interesting, from the wifi/bluetooth rumours... But will it have the same software problems as the last Tungsten? Or the hardware issues of the Lifedrive? Palm doesn't have a confidence-inspiring record recently.
Zire 22: Low-end... Nothing too special for someone who wants more 'bells-and-whistles'. Although it looks like a solid low-end device, as the other Zire 2xes have been said to be.
New Lifedrive: Not really much known. Maybe a larger hard drive? Maybe they'll not have the hardware and software problems that the original is said to have...

And then you have the Windows Mobile camp, where wifi and bluetooth are standard, as is compact flash and SD. But of course you have the wonderful stability and compatibility of Windows under the hood, not to mention a monopolist company behind the wheel... A company seemingly-dedicated to DRM in the future, as well, who look to be in a prime position to become a near-monopoly on the PDA market - the same position they're currently occupying in 'desktop-land'. Although with my Windows dislike firmly entrenched, I have to confess to, however briefly, considering looking at a WM device in the future... VGA + >600 Mhz + wifi/bluetooth + dual expansion... Very tempting, however ashamed I am to admit to such a thing as being tempted by Windows-based devices.

But, my question is simple... Where do PDAs stand if one doesn't want to consider Windows Mobile? The only hope I can see are the possibility of Palm catching up quickly with their 'next generation', in the TX, or the Nokia 770, which unfortunately still has no concrete release date...

[Laurens]

I'd wait one or two months for feedback on the TX. Most of the issues with the T|5 can be attributed to the early and buggy NVFS implementation. I think most bugs have been fixed by now. The T|E2 is relatively trouble-free, for instance.

[dillon65]

Hello Chaos:

I have read your thread, and honestly I can understand your concerns.
Furthermore, I would like to add that your issues with the T5 are incorrect; I have had no problems with the T5 especially with third party software.

There are quite a few sites, that carry the update information for software, when it comes to the T5. If you purchased a new car, I could not see exchanging the tires from your previous car.

dillon

[Pride Of Lions]

Originally Posted by Chaos

Although with my Windows dislike firmly entrenched, I have to confess to, however briefly, considering looking at a WM device in the future... VGA + >600 Mhz + wifi/bluetooth + dual expansion... Very tempting, however ashamed I am to admit to such a thing as being tempted by Windows-based devices.

Sigh.

[volwrath]

Chaos,

I think you nailed the state of nonM$ PDAs. i do disagree with your statement about the stability factor of the CE devices. I softreset my Axim 1-2 times/week max, and have never hard reset it. A friend of mine who has the Treo 650 has had to hard reset it 4-5 times. He also played with my X50v, and like the VGA and built in wifi, but said the OS sucked

[Chaos]

Originally Posted by Laurens

Most of the issues with the T|5 can be attributed to the early and buggy NVFS implementation. I think most bugs have been fixed by now.

Originally Posted by dillon65

Furthermore, I would like to add that your issues with the T5 are incorrect; I have had no problems with the T5 especially with third party software.

I guess it's almost like the Lifedrive in that aspect then. Hell for some, perfect for others... I know someone who has a T5, and he's had more or less nothing but trouble with it. Major sync problems (both on the desktop software side, and the handheld hardware side - USB sync is supposedly iffy at best for him), huge problems getting the ROM update working, and more hardware/software problems (it could be either), which caused the battery to drain itself overnight without even doing anything...

Like I said, however... It seems to be a similar situation to the Lifedrive... Poor quality control - which is the major thing I fear for the upcoming TX and new Lifedrive.

Originally Posted by volwrath

i do disagree with your statement about the stability factor of the CE devices. I softreset my Axim 1-2 times/week max, and have never hard reset it. A friend of mine who has the Treo 650 has had to hard reset it 4-5 times.

That's interesting... I've read various things, possibly not with the Axim - I can't remember the details, that states people have had major problems with WM being unstable, in some cases. Wildly unstable. That's interesting with the Treo... From what I've read/heard the Treo seems to be, in general, the best recent Palm device, in terms of being stable, few problems (aside from the minor issue with the filesystem for the first while).

Originally Posted by Pride Of Lions

Sigh.

I know the feeling... Even thinking about possibly looking at WM devices is a bit scary to me. But there's the unfortunate draw of the fact that they have so much better hardware than the recent Palm devices...

[Pride Of Lions]

Originally Posted by Chaos

I know the feeling... Even thinking about possibly looking at WM devices is a bit scary to me. But there's the unfortunate draw of the fact that they have so much better hardware than the recent Palm devices...

Yeah. I'm currently drooling over this thread that Alexander posted the other day. BT, WiFi and GPS, with the VGA screen is just about everything I've always wanted in a PDA. No phone, no camera, just pure powerful capabilities. I guess I might have to try this PPC thing out after all.

[Colin Dunstan]

Here is an interesting comment from Loose wire:

But while I long ago lost hope in Palm turning its software into more than a colour version of its mid 1990s original, I have never been a convert to Windows on a handheld. Is there no vision out there about how we use our portable devices that isn't just an ugly, stripped down and clunky version of what we have to put up with on our desktop?

[eno]

Originally Posted by Chaos

What about Linux? Nothing seriously interesting from Sharp in the Zauri, with the lack of wifi and bluetooth totally. The C3000 was interesting for it's microdrive, but that was more than a year ago now... And (aside from Nokia with it's 'internet tablet') no one else seems terribly interested in Linux for the present

Expect that to change this year. Google's Android runs on top of a Linux kernel so there may well be more phones/devices that run Linux this year.

You make no mention of the Nokia devices which are all very good devices.

BTW, I fully expect a WiMax-enabled Nokia tablet to be released at the end of April.

[Nate the great]

@eno

This thread is over two years old. Nokia's Internet Tablets did not exist yet in September 2005.

But I agree, they're really neat.