MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - the dark side beckons: help me answer the call

ignatz · 08-19-2004, 12:52 AM

As I expected, the 640x480 machines are far and away past what I would be comfortable spending. I'm not an early adopter and tend to buy equipment that's a year or so out and middle of the field, so that I'm not paying top dollar. I literally carry my PDA with me all the time, including in the warehouse when I'm working fabrication (I like to listen to books on tape then) and I'm much more concerned about carrying $500 around than $200.

Thanks for the links Bob and Craig. I agree, Bob, that I'm sure it's not all better in PPC land. I think that at the core I really feel that I need a bigger screen. I do a *ton* of reading and that damn little screen on the T|E is going to hurt me. Even if the resolution is such that I can't get the same small font size, I think that such a large screen would be much easier on me. And a jog dial or something similar would be nice too. Something a little more adaptable to my insatiable reading. For some reason the T|3 and it's weird slide-out mechanism has always turned me off, but in fairness, I've never had one in hand to see what it was really like. I'm definitely not a fan of M$, but I do think that I'm having a spell where I don't think that they're the devil, at least for now. I'm a small time network admin for about 15 computers, and lately Microsoft has been doing me right, loathe though I am to admit it. Thank god the days of Windows 98 are all but behind us now...

All in all I'm not a huge fan of where Palms seem to be going. With Clie out, I think that a lot of the innovation is gone and certainly the heat is off Palm in that sort of competition. Now they just have to keep the Palm as a product afloat. If they can pull off a coup and unveil some well thought out OS6 devices I may reconsider, but I think that PPCs are where the new ideas are coming out. Much as I love my T|E, it has its problems. The buttons were never great, and they are definitely showing their age, getting harder to respond. The device is only about 9 months old, and though it's had heavy use, I think that it should do better than that. I'll be pissed if the electronics last but the inputs fail. The text entry options pretty much suck. Graffiti has never worked very well for me and the virtual keyboard takes up the whole freakin screen. In the limited experience that I've had with PPCs, the handwriting recognition seemed much better and the large screen makes the keyboard more practical.

Still and all, Palm is not MS, and that's a plus. OS competition is a great thing. I think that the apps for Palm are more fully developed, though that may only be temporary. The TH-55 still calls me, with its astounding battery life and big screen and wifi, though why it seems to be consistantly priced $50 higher than the T|3 I don't quite understand. I'm simply in an exploratory phase, and I may stick with my T|E for a good while yet. (I should really use my birthday to upgrade my home CPU, which is seeming slower lately...) Hmmm. It does seem that Palm is going to have to make a move soon. Seems there are more like me who are testing the wind and trying to see which way things will go. Is it just me, or does it seem that for Palm a lot is hanging in the balance on their next moves? If OS6 lives up to the rumors, and Palm comes out with a round of innovative and competitive devices, they could extend their lease on life for a while. But if OS6 takes too long to arrive, and it's devices don't shine, I think that those watching the wind may begin to move over faster to the PPC platform.

So this thread has morphed from a request for product info into a discussion of the philosophy of Palm vs PPC. (Something that we should perhaps do a bit more of here. We're all pleasant folks and not prone to flaming, so I think that we're not likely to devolve into shouting matches...) Writing this all out has clarified things in my mind a bit, though I'm still not sure which direction I'll jump. I'm not nearly as well informed about industry developments as some of ya'll, and I would love to hear other perspectives from the rest of ya'll, whose opinions I respect above most others. And if I've misspoken on any point, please let me know.

08-19-2004, 12:52 AM	#11
ignatz mechanoholic Posts: 582 Karma: 1000217 Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Sarasota, FL Device: Nook STR/iPhone 4S/EVO 4G	As I expected, the 640x480 machines are far and away past what I would be comfortable spending. I'm not an early adopter and tend to buy equipment that's a year or so out and middle of the field, so that I'm not paying top dollar. I literally carry my PDA with me all the time, including in the warehouse when I'm working fabrication (I like to listen to books on tape then) and I'm much more concerned about carrying $500 around than $200. Thanks for the links Bob and Craig. I agree, Bob, that I'm sure it's not all better in PPC land. I think that at the core I really feel that I need a bigger screen. I do a ton of reading and that damn little screen on the T\|E is going to hurt me. Even if the resolution is such that I can't get the same small font size, I think that such a large screen would be much easier on me. And a jog dial or something similar would be nice too. Something a little more adaptable to my insatiable reading. For some reason the T\|3 and it's weird slide-out mechanism has always turned me off, but in fairness, I've never had one in hand to see what it was really like. I'm definitely not a fan of M$, but I do think that I'm having a spell where I don't think that they're the devil, at least for now. I'm a small time network admin for about 15 computers, and lately Microsoft has been doing me right, loathe though I am to admit it. Thank god the days of Windows 98 are all but behind us now... All in all I'm not a huge fan of where Palms seem to be going. With Clie out, I think that a lot of the innovation is gone and certainly the heat is off Palm in that sort of competition. Now they just have to keep the Palm as a product afloat. If they can pull off a coup and unveil some well thought out OS6 devices I may reconsider, but I think that PPCs are where the new ideas are coming out. Much as I love my T\|E, it has its problems. The buttons were never great, and they are definitely showing their age, getting harder to respond. The device is only about 9 months old, and though it's had heavy use, I think that it should do better than that. I'll be pissed if the electronics last but the inputs fail. The text entry options pretty much suck. Graffiti has never worked very well for me and the virtual keyboard takes up the whole freakin screen. In the limited experience that I've had with PPCs, the handwriting recognition seemed much better and the large screen makes the keyboard more practical. Still and all, Palm is not MS, and that's a plus. OS competition is a great thing. I think that the apps for Palm are more fully developed, though that may only be temporary. The TH-55 still calls me, with its astounding battery life and big screen and wifi, though why it seems to be consistantly priced $50 higher than the T\|3 I don't quite understand. I'm simply in an exploratory phase, and I may stick with my T\|E for a good while yet. (I should really use my birthday to upgrade my home CPU, which is seeming slower lately...) Hmmm. It does seem that Palm is going to have to make a move soon. Seems there are more like me who are testing the wind and trying to see which way things will go. Is it just me, or does it seem that for Palm a lot is hanging in the balance on their next moves? If OS6 lives up to the rumors, and Palm comes out with a round of innovative and competitive devices, they could extend their lease on life for a while. But if OS6 takes too long to arrive, and it's devices don't shine, I think that those watching the wind may begin to move over faster to the PPC platform. So this thread has morphed from a request for product info into a discussion of the philosophy of Palm vs PPC. (Something that we should perhaps do a bit more of here. We're all pleasant folks and not prone to flaming, so I think that we're not likely to devolve into shouting matches...) Writing this all out has clarified things in my mind a bit, though I'm still not sure which direction I'll jump. I'm not nearly as well informed about industry developments as some of ya'll, and I would love to hear other perspectives from the rest of ya'll, whose opinions I respect above most others. And if I've misspoken on any point, please let me know.