Are handheld pcs obsolete???

Hi Folks,

I am entirely new to your community.

I have just recently dusted off my Cassiopeia A-11 handheld pc. uploaded about 600 clients to the contacts, installed PPviewer, added in some nice fonts and sound wav files to personalize the unit. I am actually enjoying the unit more now than when I purchased it 10 years back.

However I have been looking into the market for something similar, but I find absolutely nothing, all units are now PDA with no keyboards or keyboards which have to be attached, no word processors or excel. What gives, did these sort of units die out.............????

I find it far more handy than a laptop, it can basically do all that a laptop can from a business perspective even though it is 10 years dated and it is so small, not power supply needed and its excellent for data capture and word processing.

It would be nice to have a color screen, be able to play clips ect.

Can anyone guide me to a site where I could purchase something comparative?

Thank you for reading this far.

Regards
Rabbit

Rabbit

Have a look at -

http://www.usedhandhelds.com/

Thanx for the quick response.

Soz I perhaps didn't phrase my question correctly.

Do any companies produce new Handheld units or is have they become obsolete??

I realise that 2nd hand units are readily available, but I am interested in a new unit.

Regards
Rabbit

There are a few still available...not many though. How about the Psion Netbook Pro?

Rich

In short, Microsoft killed them and now it tries to convince ppl that HPC never existed - take a look at M$ site and try to find something about HPC :/

Any idea why??? It really is a useful tool.

M$ has their plans known only to themselves. And their plans aren't to make people happy but to increase their stock value, period. If hpcs had continued to evolve on a larger scale IMO laptops would be obsolete. Hpcs would all have ample ram and 600mhz cpus and huge batteries, long life, yada yada.

Anyway, are hpcs obsolete? Not in my mind.

I really love my Psion Netbook Pro. This HPC is still sold and supported by the manufacturer. They even just recently released a new OS image.

-Win CE 4.20
-800*600 active matrix display
-400 Mhz Xscale
-3 expansion card ports
-wonderful keyboard

Whats not to love? Oh yah, the price. Expect to pay something like $1300 new. I got mine from ebay for $600 lightly used, but be careful, ebay scams for this item are VERY frequent.




Edited by Rocketman 2006-02-27 3:44 PM

The MobilePro 900C is still fairly new...

Obsolete? No, I wouldn't say so. Obsolence implies there is absolutely no more use for an item. However, because MS is no longer "really" supporting them, they are becoming very limited. When they get redundant, then I suppose they'll be obsolete.

I mean, really, the average person doesn't need more than a decent word processor, email, web, and maybe a few other applications, all of which are readily supported by handhelds. However, we all get drawn into the rat race for bigger and better. So, with less and less support and more competition from subnotebooks, MS's new supposed Origami whatchamacallit, entrenchment of pocket devices like PPCs, BlackBerries, and cellphones (who REALLY wants to surf on a 1.5" screen???), the HPC platform is just becoming more and more of a compromise.

... as for excessive materialism and consumption... excuse me while I bid on a shiny 17" PowerBook on EBay... ;-)

Edited by ozone 2006-02-27 6:03 PM

I think they are enjoying a resurgent popularity. I just got a Jornada 720 on Ebay and they seem to be selling like hotcakes there. There are tons up for auction and it seems like they all get bid on. The 728's are a bit more scarce but they are going too. The last one I saw went for over $400. Frankly, I think people are getting sick of the "smaller is better" mentality the manufacturers have. Maybe we'll see some new units because of it. :-)

Sue

Obsolete in the eyes of the manufacturers and Micro Flopt. It was a crying shame how the H/PC format was mismanaged. Of course so is the way PC's are going is as well. I build a desktop for around $500.00 that has more power than NASA used to get to the moon, BUT I STILL HAVE TO WAIT FOR IT TO BOOT UP!!!

I have some single board computers that rum Windows embedded systems. They are instant on, don't loose data if they loose power. I'm playing with putting one in a laptop case. Using an old Mobilepro unit would be better, but the form factor isn't right.

The Origami might be what we are looking for, but I bet they screw that up as well.

The new " DUAL CORE" might be useable, if it ever reaches distribution.

Meanwhile, we just have to make the best of what we have. The H/PC remains one of the best tools for daily management of info yet developed.

mmmmm.............thanx for all the input guys, it is greatly appreciated.

I have therefore concluded that although Handhelds are not obsolete, since they are still in use, handhelds are no longer manufactured, the only method of obtaining one is purchasing second hand.

Very sad actually, since as mentioned in one of the threads above, the handheld has the capability of running your entire office (not gaming or multimedia) away from your desktop, with superior battery life compared to a laptop and far more portable.

I checked out MobilePro, however the size basicall classifies itself as a laptop.

Thanx again
Regards
Rabbit

But, if we get the word out about how wonderful these little gems are, maybe, just maybe, there will be broader interest this time around, and then it'll be up to PDA manufacturers to market them the right way this time around. They can be sold new at a profit nowadays for far less than the obscene prices quoted when they were in production the first time around, and lowering the profit margin per unit may well result in greater profits in the long run as interest surges. (Nothing wrong with dreaming, as long as one doesn't drool on the pillow.)

Rabbit,
I am sorry to say that you are correct. If you really must have a brand new device with manufacturer's warranty and stuff, and won't consider anything as big as the Mobile Pro 900, the closest thing to buy now is the HTC Universal (aka iMate JasJar) Pocket PC Phone. However that device is smaller than HPCs and the keyboard is pretty much strictly for thumb typing.

Edited by takwu 2006-03-02 3:05 AM