From: Martin Howard (mvhoward_at_mac.com)
Date: Thu Jul 29 2004 - 15:12:11 PDT
On Jul 29, 2004, at 14:56, Dirk Hornbeck wrote:
> Thanks Martin for your enlightening post. I'm still on the fence about
> getting a
> MP2100 with all the cards, boards, and tinkering vs. a Tungsten T3
> (also with a
> 480x320 display and out-of-the-box convenience). I figure either way,
> I'll be
> shelling out about $500 to get everything I want.
I bought the Newton for $180 from J&K Sales. The WiFi card cost me $57
and the Bluetooth card $56, so it comes in at under $300, plus shipping
(no tax, all out of state). I did splurge, since I bought a second
rechargable battery (~$45), the SER-001 board (~45), and a case (which
was an absolute joke and I shall be returning). In retrospect, the
SER-001 board was unnecessary. A $13 cable would have been just as
good, probably a lot easier to use, and would have saved me about five
hours of headache before I though to check the pin configuration on the
adapter I was using. I also needed a $20 USB->DB9 serial adaptor to
use with OS X.
By comparison, the Tungsten T3 sets you back around $400, as no WiFi
support, and its Bluetooth implementation is apparently a joke. The
Sony PEG-UX50 is $600 and does both WiFi and Bluetooth, but I have an
inherent distrust of anything that packs into 2"x3"x1" and claims to
come with everything including a kitchen sink. The Sharp Zaurus
SL-6000 ships for $680 from Amazon (Oops! It's their "secret price"!
Don't tell anyone!) and does Wifi, but Bluetooth is uncertain on that
machine. The T3 and (presumably) the Sony will sync with iApps on the
Mac, but I'm guessing the Zaurus is not going to. The Zaurus is
probably even more of a hot-rod than the Newton MP 2100... but there
are limits to how much I'm willing to tinker. Sometimes, I just wanna
take a note, book an appointment, or look up someone's telephone
number.
So, in light of that -- the Newton is not only the most capable, but
also the bargain of the group.
M.
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