Comments on: Preview of Palm OS 5

Troll???

It says "multiples", and that probably means whole numbers, so I think the Handera screen loses.

I'm just surprised that they limited themselves to no denser than 320x320

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Jeff Meyer

You want virtual desktops? Isn't the "multiples 160x160" allow this?

Oh please! I know you love your Clie, but I would rather have a much larger, rectangular screen than Sony's crap. It is certainly not "so much better" than 320x240 of Handera or PocketPC.

> 320x320 on a square screen will produce higher dpi
> than 240x320 on a rectangular screen.

Especially since Sony makes their screens smaller than on any Palm except the m1xx devices. Will they do 320x320 on a Treo for an encore?

> Look before you speak!

I have and square screens stink, and non-fexible software APIs that support only a couple of useful resolutions are even worse.

320x320 = 4 X the resolution of 160x160, not double.

I use my clie 610 w/keyboard and word processor for real writing when away from my desk. I found the higher resolution and readability to be a critical requirement.

IMO - "look first" was a valid test for me. Please don't call the Sony "crap", etc. - those comments only displays narrow-mindedness and technical bigotry, and provide no useful information. Technology choices are typically based upon analysis of features and usability, and the opinions of users with real experience with these devices are valuable aids.

If you look at Clie and then look at pocketpc, you think you went from 1028x768 to 800x600 PC resolution.

Let's be clear here.

I think the answer should be obvious unless you need magnifying glasses.

They only do what's good for business, there's no time for children playing "I don't like japanese product".

I'm using ThinFontFix on my Clie, and that has been a very satisfactory solution to the thinness of the initial Sony English fonts. Works very well, and doesn't require FontHack (though lubak's fonts are interesting enough to get me to try it.)

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Jeff Meyer

BTW:
****** Pilot 1000 (upgraded to 1 meg!! LOL) => Palm Professional =>Palm Pilot III => Palm V (lost so bought a Vx) => Palm Vx => M505
Had most of them all and love each one of them, but I think my wife loves it when they come out with new ones more than I do, she gets my old ones!! She's now using my Vx....

"In this
way, users will be able to run the same Palm OS
4.0 applications on either hardware platform and
exchange information between the two. To pro-tect
existing hardware investments, support will
continue to be provided for the 68000-based
Palm OS platform, including such improvements
as support for high-density displays."

Got it!

and would you like that tablet in 320x320, 640x640 or 1280x1280? Yeah, I suppose a tablet could work that way, but a sub-notebook type would definitely be out.

That must be why the medical center here bought dozens of them to use as wireless terminals into their patient databases. Apparently you just don't get it at all as to where the markets are heading. You are going to be seeing more and more of these types of devices in all shapes and sizes. Palm is apparently conceeding all of those markets to Microsoft, QNX, Linux, whoever. I highly doubt the Palm OS will survive if it is limited to low-end PDAs, once there is that much market pressure from above.

If you don't believe me, just look at what happened to all those WinCE machines that came out only a few years ago. Why do you think MS and other mfgs are putting so much efforts in the smaller form factor . . .

I guess either I'm blind or you just don't want to see the whole wide world.

Here once again is why tablet or subnotebook will not work.

Palm succeeds because of small form factor and simplicity. I want to have my Palm with me all the time, and anything bigger than the current form factor makes it impossible to carry it in all conditions.

Second, if I want to carry something bigger, then I want all the computing power there is. Since I can't really carry a subnotebook or tablet on me, I would probably carry it in my briefcase. Aha! Once I put soemthing in the briefcase, I might as well put in a fully featured notebook that weighs around 3 to 3.4 lbs than subnotebook or tablet that's under powered.

Duh! We weren't talking about palm sized devices here.

> Second, if I want to carry something bigger, then I want all the computing power there is.

Duh again! Flatpanel touchscreens are getting better and cheaper, and RAM is cheap. There are millions of places where sub-notebook (way cheaper, instant-on, low failure rate) are more than adequate for business, kiosk, terminal and Internet appliance applications.

I'm glad you enjoy your laptop and Palm, but those aren't even the markets being discussed.

This is completely a cost relationship. It will soon be possible to do these devices for $300-$500 (or even less) equipped with 802.11 wireless functionality. They don't require mechanical drives and can be easily flashed to support the required functionality.

The old tablet PCs were sometimes more expensive than notebooks, and the sub-notebooks were almost that expensive. That was a totally different ballpark. When the prices on the next generation bottom out, businesses and individuals will grab what they need for different settings.

Actually that's only trus for you, many people out there want a PDA with a keyboard (like psion), so they really don't wanna do wireless with a palm, they wanna do wireless with a PDA with a keyboard.

> I can do wireless with Thinkpad X. Why get another device with lower capability and limitation.

some people want something that much much smaller than thankpad X, but little bigger than a Palm. Why is it so hard for u to believe that some people want a device that's little bigger than palm and much smaller than thinkpad X ?? why don't you use Sony Picturebook as an example ?? that's even smaller. For christ sake please some acting like an analyst

Should things hold true to form with such new products in the PDA world, the accessories we've all come to enjoy and *need* will dribble in several months afterwards. And given Palms past history, my guess is a new connector will come with the OS5 machines along with a steep upgrade path for current users who'll will want the new models.

Basically, Palm is hoping to hold on for another year until their innovations hit the marketplace. That gives the PPC pushers / warriors / huns (take your pick) a great opportunity to continue to push the hardware side while refining their software offerings.

As a Palm stockholder and former user of almost all generations of Palms from the 5000 to the 505, I'm beginning to sense that some point in the next five years Palm will become to PDAs what Apple is now to the PC, a significant, albeit minor manufacturer of an alternative to the mass marketed devices coming from Compaq, HP, Casio andothers, underneath which one will find MS.

And aside from all the theological, philosophical and physics based arguements, both pro and con Palm, that hurls back and forth on this message board and others, the driving force behind it all is numbers and wages.

I'm not in the industry but my guess, and I freely admit it is a guess, is that MS employs considerably more programmers at a much higher average salary than Palm. On the hardware side, aside from Sony, Palms are the product of small companies with enough capital in their collective accounts to fuel MS for about two or three days (another guess on my part).

Wars are won on the battlefield by people dedicated to their cause, convinced of its merits beyond doubt, and going into the fray very well equipped. Some times the underfunded, understaffed army wins, but most times not.

A part of me hopes I'm very, very wrong. I've enjoyed watching Palm create what I consider one of the most useful products of the last 25 years of computer advancements. And as I watch my investment in their stock languish in the $3 - $4 range, my hope does come from a selfish motivation. However, I just can't shake the feeling that the big dog is quickly gaining ground.

I develop for both platforms and the brilliant elucidations you posted for PocketPCs may have been true for devices from 1 year ago but certainly isn't true today. For example, I get 10 hours of battery life from my work Jornada 568; 13 hours if I play MP3s with backlight off. The latest m505 and T615 only rate 8 hours.

I'm previewing OS 5.0 and let me tell you: To most people it will only be like a slightly beefed up T615. Most of the power is under the hood and it will take tons of 3rd party development to realize this OS. I would say about 1 year after the introduction of OS 5.0 to see a suite of good OS 5.x apps.

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter to me whether it's a Palm or PocketPC. It's just another handheld. You people who treat this stuff like a religion or some ideology need to get a LIFE.

Moron.
You've never even seen let alone used a Jornada 568. So don't make me smack you.

Your BS blinds you.

All platforms (Palm, Pocket PC, Linux), as with personal computers (MacOS/X, Windows, Linux) have users, fans and contradictors.

But if we compare each specification, each advantage and each disadvantage of all platforms, and add the general satisfaction with each one, we could conclude that the gap between Palm and Pocket PC is minor than one year ago... But when OS 5 and ARM arrive at the Palm next generation, the gap will grow!

We would assume that 85% of the market share of Palm OS (Palm, Handspring, Sony, etc.) explains what platform is better, but this isn't a correct analysis. In the battle Mac OS/MacOS X vs. Windows 9x, 2000 and XP, the leader is Windows but the best is MacOS X.

Best regards from Colombia, and excuse me for my bad English...

MaurOS X.

Your processor will either be a 68000 (Dragonball) or an ARM. Some setups might have both processors or some form of hybrid-- but you run ARM code on an ARM, and 68000 code on a 68000. (Note that they could also run 68000 code on an emulator on the ARM-- but they aren't going to run ARM code on a 68000.)

So, the only way to get an "ARM-Compliant" processor is to get an ARM processor. There aren't any yet.