From: Toby Hutton (tobyhutton_at_mac.com)
Date: Tue Aug 02 2005 - 13:01:59 PDT
On Aug 02 '05, Brian G. wrote:
> On 8/2/05, Toby Hutton <tobyhutton_at_mac.com> wrote:
> >=20
> > Which one is your primary PDA? Do you still use the Newton?
> The Zodiac is/has been my primary PDA since it replaced my Sony Clie
> NX70V after Sony announced that they were departing the PDA market.
Sounds like you have the PDA kiss of death. :) Are *you* the reason
Sharp are killing the Zaurus? :)
> The Zodiac is as close to a mini-Newton as you can get.
You're making a convincing argument for snapping up one of these
machines.
I owned 3 Palms over the years (III, V, m505) and then stopped using a
PDA at all when I didn't have room in my pockets and was carrying my
laptop around with me anyway. Recently I ditched the laptop and wanted
a PDA again, mostly as a PIM and a repository for my ideas/notes.
So I bought a 2100 about 6 months ago. It's not really working out for
me. The handwriting recognition isn't up to par (in my experience it's
not as good as what Windows Mobile offers and my accuracy was better
with Palm's graffiti anyway.) It feels slower than my old 33MHz m505
and the digitizer isn't as accurate (a sign of it's age, I guess.) The
software library isn't bad but it's almost entirely all shareware and I
can't bring myself to spend money on apps (if the author is still
around) that have free equivalents on the Palm or are enhancements that
make the builtin apps work as they should've when shipped (eg.
MoreInfo.)
I think all the praise that the Newtons still get is 90% nostalgia for a
device that was ahead of it's time. It's good, but not as special as
everyone seems to make it out.
I'm tempted to get a Zaurus, purely because of the Linux thing, but I
don't know anyone with one and am not about to throw down the cash for a
device & OS/environment I've never touched. At the top of my list is
now a Treo 650 because the smartphone thing appeals too. It's the
familiar Palm OS, it's a phone and it has a keyboard. (I need to play
with one to check which is better/easier - graffiti vs. keyboard, but I
think keyboard will win.)
Holding me back from swapping the 2100 for a Treo is Palm's recent
efforts to appear completely out of touch. They look like a company
without real direction and are going to be in trouble if they don't get
their act together. They have had OS 6 waiting to be used for years now
haven't they? but there aren't any devices taking the plunge..? They
bought Be's assets and some Be engineers too, didn't they? What's come
of that?
Toby.
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