which device?

hello there...
i know this is maybe the consequent pain in the ass kind of topic, but i am still uncertain about it and i need help... for over 2 years now i am wondering whether to get a laptop or a handheld. having in mind the price of mobilepro 900c, zupera smartboook or coxion webbook i found i'd better go with a low-end laptop instead of buying one of those expensive devices. they are just perfect, but don't fit either my budget or requirements. so i dropped both the laptop and the high-end hpc ideas and decided to get a less expensive model. having a look at the highly detailed list at (http://www.hpcfactor.com/hardware/devices) and spending numerous hours browsing the web i found the following devices are closer match to my needs:

jornada 728 or 720
mobilepro 900 or 790
ntt docomo sigmarion III

again the 900 is an expensive thingy and i'd probably prefer to go with a jornada or 790 equipped with a solid memory card or microdrive from ebay, than getting a plain 900. the sigmarion is a nice idea too, but it feels a bit too japanese for me...

i basically need a device that would allow me to: be able to type large texts, browse the net, use icq, check my mail, record audio files, play mp3s (stereo output needed), watch movies, play games and perform other basic tasks.

so which of the devices above would suit best my needs? as far as i have read, the keyboard of the jornada is too small for continuous typing. and do those devices have enough processor power to play movies? should i spend $600 on a 900 or should i go with 2-3 times cheaper jornada / 790 and why? thanks.

You can at least eliminate the 790 from your list, it's mono sound only.

first question.. why do you prefer the HPC over the laptop? only because of the price or are you positive an hpc fits your needs more? it depends on your style of computer usage.. a laptop is the best for these many tasks, but if you need a more portable thing, and instant on and battery life is more important, for example you travel a lot (like me) or just can't or don't want to use AC power then it's definitely a HPC! with a hpc it is really like you're running off AC instead of battery power also instant-on is really useful, you'll be surprised how comfortable it is! and it can do the tasks you listed just not so perfectly as a real laptop. not so much of a compromise in my opinion but it depends entirely on you.
which hpc? i have a jornada 728 for laptop replacement (i have a laptop too but it rarely gets any use because of the 728! ), and i can tell you it's suitable for continuous typing in spite of the small size. there are others who don't agree with me, it's again a question of personal preference. my suggestion: try one out in real life!
afaik, it's almost as fast as the 900 for most of the tasks though i'm not sure about the movies but it doesn't really matter because of the following: it's ok for playing movies but doesn't have a TFT display so it won't be perfect! and the same applies to the 900.. so it's no real use if the 900 can play videos with more fps. only the sigmarion has TFT. but yes, the sigmarion is japanese so it isnt the perfect device again.. and won't run all hpc2000 programs, most of them will run though.
i hope you can see more clearly now and that you decide right

Edited by cmonex 2005-06-06 12:26 PM

I'm currently using the Smartbook and it is indeed better at all those things you mentioned, altho its battery doesn't last as long.

I used to use the Jornada 728, and it is still pretty good at those things. Yes the keyboard takes getting used to, but it really depends if you have large hands. I'm 5'6 and I guess my hands are about average. I was really surprised how useable the Jornada keyboard was. I can type all day on it with few problems. One problem is the number keys: they are smaller than the alphabet keys so they don't align correctly. But you don't type numbers that often anyway. The other problem is that you can't really rest your wrists on the table while typing on it, because your palms need to be further. Just bring a wrist pad or use the books

The Jornada's Intel process is good enough for running all those apps and media players. However don't expect to play a lot of games due to incompatibilities with PPC games and the screen's ghosting issue.

Hi!

I am going to purchase a MP790 this summer, but lately I have had second thoughts. Because I don't have a ton of money, I will have to buy based on price. Basically, I am looking for an HPC with "WiFi in a jacket pocket", and I, too, need to know everything about the 790 before I buy.

hey takwu have you had the opportunity to try the sandisk wifi in the 728? i'm really curious especially since i saw this card for 30$ somewhere

well, some of the ppc games can be run but they won't be perfect. there are some good native hpc games tho. in any case if you want a gaming machine you'd better look at ppc's but i guess it would be just a secondary use for you so no problem

jacket pocket? is size important for you? you might consider a jornada 72x then =)

As a recent buyer of a MP790 (thanks Snappy!) I can certainly tell you that it's not the smallest HPC out there You may be better off grabbing a Jornada 72x as they do seem significantly less in size..

Any specific questions about the 790?

cmonex, i have a laptop, but unfortunatelly they are not so portable for a daily use. on the move i do typically need a really portable device to write down ideas and thoughts. sure entertainment is an issue too, that's why i pefer to have a single device while on the move, instead of carrying my mp3 player and a protable dvd player if i decide to watch a movie. i realize the quality of the movies will be poor, but i believe no pocketpc can beat it either i can run photoshop, dreamweaver and spliner cell on the laptop, but i can not afford carrying it with me all day long just because i need to write a couple of ideas and especially at the bar, where most of the great ideas are usually born . so that's why i decided to buy a pocket device.

takwu, i do have a kind of piano player fingers, so i believe the keyboard of the jornada will not be much of an issue then. i really like typing on the full sized keyboard of my pc because of the speed i am typing at. typing on the laptop keyboard is a bit of a nightmare for me, but i guess it all depends on how often it's used and i use a laptop veeery rarely indeed. i am sure this will change once i get a hpc.

as for the games, i am planning to get n-gage to replace my nokia 6800 which i use as writing device at the moment

so what's the difference between the 728 and 720 then? i read an article about it and found not so much, except the 64mb ram... other important additions? is the 720 easily (and of course inexpensively) upgradeable to 728 and does it worth it?

The 728 has a higher ROM, build new chassis and 64MB RAM. That's it.
The thing can technically be upgraded by installinga 728 ROM... but you may as well buy a 728 in the first place. You can't just 'buy' the neccessaries.

While there is (was) a dealer reflashing the SigIII with an English ROM... mostly they're Japaense OS devices, so having an understanding of Japaense will be required. It's a CE4 device as well... so be careful of the OS differences.

For you "little" guys who have no problem typing on the Jornda, there is a physiological direct proprotional relationship between finger size and penis size.

Me...I'm all thumbs...



Rich

Okay...okay, so every now and then I get off-topic and show my senility....

this relationship isn't proven at all not that i mind it, as it can't be applied to me in any case

thanks for the additional info, i think you'll be happy with a jornada 72x then!



just like me, i almost never use my laptop even if it's a subnotebook (1.3 kg and 10"4) but the jornada 728 gets much use almost every day...

I'm gonna get flamed, but if you are already thinking about replacing your phone, why not get a SmartPhone?

find one that accepts memory cards and has bluetooth, and get an additional keyboard with it.

just an idea.

So basically what you're saying here Rich is that you're always off target and never get the job done?