PDA: Pocket PC vs Palm OS

[JoPalm]

What's the differences? Advanatage disadvantages? I've used a palm vx for the last few years...

 

[Connoisseur]

Pocket PC's generally use Windows CE which is the portable edition of windows xp. Essentially, they're geard to do just about anything a desktop can do (some games, videos, pictures etc.) just much smaller. The palm os based pda's, in my experience are much more spartan and geared towards purely business tasks such as personal organizer, text etc and because of this are a little faster. I think the current edition of palm os has become more flexible but pocket pc's generally do more.

 

[JoPalm]

Pocket PC's have added features I guess then vs the Palm OS which is geared to more business types?

 

[Connoisseur]

Yeah. Pocket PC's are essentially their namesake...tiny PCs. They can do video, music, games, office progs etc. Palms are focused on business. Although I haven't checked prices lately, I believe Pocket PC's are a decent bit more expensive than the palms.

 

[Connoisseur]

Err, I was just looking at the specs on the latest Palm Tungsten handhelds. With the latest version of PalmOS and hardware, it is VERY similar to a Pocket PC. It too can do music, color pictures and some video (and is also quite pricey). So in revision, pocket pc's have Windows CE while palms have PalmOS, both of which are now quite similar. The only thing is, you'll probably find a lot more software for the WindowsCE one. But in all honesty, if I were to buy one now, I'd base it on aesthetic preference. I believe the most popular models for PocketPC's are the HP iPaq line and the Tungstens are the most popular Palm models.

 

[8ballcoupe]

I think the most important consideration in deciding between Pocket PC and Palm OS PDAs is software availability. On Pocket PC you have versions of a lot of the standard desktop software. But Palm OS has been around a long time and has had the advantage of a large, dedicate fan base. A LOT of specialty apps have been written for Palm OS. I was astonished at some of the medical software a buddy of mine (cardio-thoracic surgeon) was able to show me on his PDA.

Ernie

 

[vegetation]

Palm is very well established in the business and educational ap market. Even though Palm OS 5 is fundamentally different from the older B&W Palms, it still runs the software with ease. Hardware is no longer a limiting factor of Palms as they used to be (i.e. no more glorified 68k processors). Only software group that is seriously lacking on Palms compared to WinCE is 3d multimedia type games.