Subject: [NTLK] Newbie Question
From: "john_fraser_at_mac.com" <john_fraser_at_mac.com>
>I just can't believe that nothing has caught on like the newton since.
Is Apple
>really that ahead of the game?
Short answer "yes". Really.
Long (verbose) answer:
Just bought a HandSpring Neo with free VisorPhone. The combo beats any
other thing I've tried for quick, portable Web/e-mail access (Eudora
browser supports secure connections) and carrying data in your pocket.
On the plus side:
- 8 mB instead of 4 internal, but one proprietary expansion slot instead
of 2 PCMCIA slots.
- HotSynch is convenient
- scroll and control buttons on the case
- pretty good battery life
- HandSpring "SpringBoard" expansion slot, altho a lot of the
accessories seem overpriced (wow - a 33.3K modem for only $89.95!!)
However, I would have never bought it without the phone come-on, because:
- this brand-spankin'-new unit runs at a whopping 33 mHz (vs Newt's 169
mHz), altho I've overclocked it to 47 mHz.
- screen is not rotatable (except some apps support this) and it is
tiny! I mean tiny tiny. Tiny. The usable screen real estate is about 1/4
the area (15 cm diag vs 8 cm diag) of an MP2000. Couple this with the
fact that it's 72 pixels per inch and not 100 PPI as the Newt and the
comparison is more startling: 640X240 (153,600) vs 160X160 (25,600)
pixels. Over the next decade I'd invest heavily in consumer eyeglass
companies' stock.
- limited address book; 5 slots only for phone and/or e-mail, I don't
know the limit on the Newton, but it ain't 5.
- No inter-program cooperation, like on the Newt when you want to fax a
note, and the routing slip allows you to get a fax number from the
address book. Not even close. I even contacted MoreInfo people, as they
have a Palm OS "app linking" program. They were very honest, and said if
I use and enjoy MoreInfo on the Newt I would not be satisfied with their
product for the Palm.
- Visors have a microphone, but it's useless w/o an appropriate
SpringBoard module, such as the VisorPhone.
- Forget MP3s - at least I can approximate them on the Newt with
SoundIconMaker. Most Palms and clones use a piezo buzzer (!) instead of
a speaker. So until the warranty is over and I crack it open to add a
"real" tiny speaker, no HAL startup sounds or Scooby-Doo alarms. The
best one can approximate are MIDI-like tunes, a la a Nokia phone. Woopie!
- no "gestures" for text editing, no double-tapping a word to see other
recognition choices; heck you've got to use a menu command to copy text.
Apparently 3rd party apps can add these features.
- no soups, no global "find", heck "Find" only searches the first or
last part of a word!
- hand-cramp-inducing toothpick stylus. I know I can buy bigger ones,
but where do I store them? (Please no NC-17 suggestions). The Newt's
full-sized stylus with springloaded stylus holder (and pull-out stylus
rest) is sheer design elegance.
- to get an app like the memopad to fax or print you need separate 3rd
party fax or print software, which may not work with all apps.
- 4-bit greyscale, just like our venerable Newt, but the whole O/S is
not in greyscale, so you miss the visual appeal. Also the built-in
dithering of images leaves a LOT to be desired vs the same images on the
Newt.
- backlight is "reversed" black turns white and visa-versa, like a photo
negative. I guesss this must be due to some limitation, as I tried a
utiity to leave the dispay as-is when the backlight is on, and it is
well-neigh unreadable.
- the O/S is single-threaded, no open calculator while your memopad is open.
- no handwriting recognition. Jot seems to work the best of the 3
available (vs TealScript and the new MyScript) if you want just
l-e-t-t-e-r--b-y--l-e-t-t-e-r and you have to manually insert spaces.
Forget punctuation w/o the soft-keyboard. My Newton will be taking notes
in meetings and audits for probaby the next 5 years.
Note, I can't speak for PocketPC (or whatever it's called this month)
but I've played with a color Cassiopeia and a co-worker bought a 150$
B&W iPac. Feature rich (decent handwriting recognition, MP3 player, nice
display, etc.) but a bizarre, labrynthine, convoluted (I think you get
my drift) interface. Heck, I think it took 5 or 6 taps to stop a running application.
Don't get me wrong, I really like the Visor, but I recognize its severe
limitations. I really think where Apple failed was the NCU app, which
was farmed out and not perfected, and the Newton's size. Imagine if the
MP2000/2100 was the size of it's screen only, say with 2 stacked PC card slots.
Many, many companies do things like this; a product so far ahead of it's
time that only a few recognize it, and usually too few and too late.
--Mark Rollins, CIH, CSP mark_at_mrollins.com www.mrollins.com mrollins_at_thermo.com
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