Comments on: Handhelds with QVGA Color Screens Coming this Year

Wouldn't collapsible graffiti in a 320 x 320 screen require something like 320 x 480?

So what you're saying is let's have a virtual graffiti area that can't be used. Didn't Palm already do something like that in the Pilot?

I think you're missing the point. I want to use the whole pickin screen. iSilo photos are great on my Handera. Wordsmith also supports, not to mention quick office. Several offer screen rotation as well. I don't need higher than QVGA resolution, just let me maximize the space I can use!

Agreed..

a color Handera would be SWEET!

Man I hope it comes quickly tho...

Most of the 330's casing is not silver, just the top part that goes around the screen, the rest is black. When it is closed, it appears to be mostly black with a line of silver around the edge. When it's open and I'm using it, there is something about the silver around the screen that seems like it makes the screen better to look at. Yeah, I know it sounds dumb, but I think if it was all black (as some have suggested) the screen wouldn't appear as nice or read as well. Probably some kind of optical effect.

Yes, when it is off, and you open the cover and stare directly at the front of it, it looks darn tacky. In real use though, I think it actually looks much better than the ugliness some, who have only seen web photos of it, would claim. Certainly better than older Palms and Visors.

I like the "Tech" look and feel of the HandEra. Guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

Why don't they change the casing but keep the connector?

Or adopt the universal connector and include a III style attchment so you can still use your old peripherals?

It's only my opinion but I believe HandEra's next model should use the Universal Connector rather than the III series one the 330 uses. When the 330 was announced, there were plenty of people with lots of III-series handhelds and peripherals looking for an upgrade and HandEra gave them one that saved them lots of money. However, those III series peripherals are aging and replacements are becoming hard to find. The Universal Connector is the Wave of The Future™. I believe HandEra would be smart to switch. Dependence on a peripheral connector for which there are few new peripherals isn't in anyone's best interest, especially HandEra's.

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News Editor

I agree too. I have a 330, but I really hope HandEra switches to Palm's universal connector as well. Yeah, I have a bunch of Palm III connector cradles and a III connector GoType, but the rest of my peripherals are CF. I'd much rather see HandEra resolve the desires of people wanting USB at this point.

The m50x form factor is great, but if HandEra can give me both CF and SD in a form same or smaller than Pocket PC is doing it, that's good enough for me.

From that perspective, the Palm III connector was itself "nothing of the sort, but a proprietary concept" as you put it.

It would be difficult and impractical to just take the Palm III connector and convert it into some kind of super-high speed serial port.

I'm pretty sure people from HandEra have already stated months ago that the 330 would be their last device with that connector.

Yes, HandEra did claim that the 330 would be their last device with the III-style connector. What they go to next is still TBA, but Palm's Universal Connector looks to be a likely bet.

Next time you call, ask what the form factor will be, what screen they're using, how fast the processor is, and how much memory it'll have.

Why in the world would palm NOT allow other OEM's to use the Universal Connector.

Isn't the whole idea of the new connector is to have a common interface acress all Palm devices?

I hope they don't want to keep it to themselves. That would be soooo weak.

So do I.

I think all IO ports on a Palm powered device should stick to some form of standard.

Pocket PC and Handera have it right when they include CF for periphial accesories. Palm should do the same and forget about making SD a standard for periphials. It would take an act of God for Palm to spur up enough interest for hardware manufacturers to flock to this rather than stay with CF.

While SD IO is now a standard, it is far from industry adoption.

having a STANDARD periphial port accross all Palm PDA's would probably help compete with M$ too since users on that end could switch over to Palm and bring along their accesories and leave that brick behind for land fill ;)

I'm referring to the SD slot being used as an IO (periphial) port, not just memory.

Keep in mind also that even though SD is smaller than CF. The hardware required for most add ons often fit WITHIN the CF housing, where as the same periphial on a SD card will of course NOT fit inside a tiny SD card housing. Thus the actual size of SD add ons compared to CF add ons may be identical.

I persoanlly love CF for periphials with my H330. most of the add on is protected and firmly secured within the slot istead of sticking out too much and creating a break point.

Besides, using SD for a hardware add on will rob you of memory expansion at that time. Imagine using a SD GPS, but no memory available to store the maps.

Thanks Ed. Is it still January? Feels like September.

Thanks, Robrecht

I agree wholeheartedly, I currently have the Sony N760C and I love the hi-res screen but a soft grafitti area would only make it better. it's just too bad that palm didn't do the liscencing of this tech otherwise we'd be sure to see it included in future versions of the OS.

Ryan

I think the real key is brightness and contrast. As much as I want to upgrade from my IIIc, I still gotta say its screen is incredibly readable indoors. The SONY screens are rather dark by comparison, though I haven't been able to judge their readability with the thin font fix.

Thanks, Robrecht

I do agree that the PPC 'virtual graffiti' is annoying, but the 330 is much better. Do you own a 330 or are you just assuming it is like your PPC?

Although a lot of programs don't yet support the virtual graffiti, it works quite nice when they do, and doesn't bother me when they don't. My graffiti skill has improved quite a bit because now I can see my strokes and what I am doing wrong ;)

> I prefer the consistency of the separate, fixed, grafitti area.

Then don't close the virtual one.

To the reader who hates moving the soft grafitti:

I used to think it sucked. But I have a hack on my 330 called Auto Silk Hack. It remembers whether I had the grafitti area up or down the last time I used any given application, and then resumes that state the next time I use that app, i.e. if I use Wordsmith and put the grafitti down, then exit, when I return to Wordsmith the 330 will auto-pop my grafitti back down...

That was a lot of writing for such a small point!

...In accordance with the prophecy...

Quik_Fix
quikfix@hotmail.com

The holy grail of PDA screens is true-VGA resolution. 480x640. I've seen it on a prototype device, and it was drool-worthy. A qVGA screen (240x320) will pixel double straight to VGA nice and easily. There is no way in hell that you're going to scale a 320x480 screen into a 480x640 screen without horribly distoring the image. The non-integral shift (160x160->240x240, 1.5x multiplier) over with now, to make life easier later when (not if, when) PDAs eventually go true-VGA. Don't try and create yet another aspect ratio and multiplier set when you don't have to, it only makes life harder for everyone.

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Before you argue bias and claim Sony's superior numbers, take a lot at where the market actually sits. HandEra has a high number of developers on board with their resolution. Sony isn't winning any races in that department, it's pretty even (so much for the Sony "advantage"). Both have their own handful of apps that only support their resolution but many of the big names support both.

copy writer fluff isnt sticky enough for fast readers. Personally, I would prefer a spec sheet.

>I don't understand the 180g model. The only advantage
>ot could theoretically have would be virtual
>graffitti. If they are not going to bother, there's
>no point for that model.

Well, personally, I prefer writing with a pen - something I do every day away from my Palm - to typing with my thumbs - something I don't do anywhere. It just feels more natural to grab a pen and start scribbling, even if the characters are slightly weird, than to poke at a QWERTY keyboard with two fingers. I'll certainly buy the 180g myself, hard Grafitti or no.