WTB: mobilepro 880 or 790?

Hi everyone,
This site has been such a great resource! I'm looking to buy my first HPC.. and on top this is my first post here. So after much consideration I'm jumping right in.

A friend of mine has a Jornada and I've coveted it for a while. After trying it for a bit though I found I really developed issues with the size of the keyboard - I have RSI (right elbow) and carpel tunnel in both wrists. After an hour of writing I started to get cramps. :( A number of people were telling me how great a Dana (alphasmart) is but it really doesn't look right for me. I am currently writing an SF novel - 2nd one (1st novel is in 3rd draft) and need something with a big keyboard that shows more than 6 lines of text (Dana's screen is very small).

I think the solution is a HPC. I've got a 5lb laptop but I don't need a lot of bells and whistles. Just something to write with on the subway or streetcar. I do need Word though. Is there any problems anyone has had using Word CE and MSWord?

I've narrowed down the search - mobilepro 880 or 790 - although I'm not terribly clear on the difference between a 780 and the 790. (and actually between the 770 and 780 - though I went through some of the old data sheets). I can't alas afford the new 900. Any comments?

I'm also wondering - in general if anyone else does a lot of typing on any of these? Is there another option someone might recommend I buy? I need something lightweight, with a near full keyboard.

If someone has one for sale in Canada this might be best for me. I'm in no rush really. I just missed an 880 that went for sale on ebay = I mailed the person and by the time they replied it was sold. :C sigh. If anyone would like to discuss or contact me, I'm zero.space @ gmail.com

I can't wait to join in the community as a proud owner... of something. ;-)

decide about how much screen real estate you need. 800x600 vs 640x240 vs portability

btw. 880 is like a big 780. 780: same as 790, but older OS (can be upgraded, 880 too). 770 is slower than 780.

btw, glad to hear you like the site hope you can buy your dream hpc soon.

Edited by cmonex 2006-04-11 3:52 PM

The hpc2k OS (790) is much faster and more flexible. You can run many ppc programs, including a browser called Netfront. The IE in the 790 allows access to many more sites than IE on the 780/880.

As a writer internet access may be important to you.

The 880 comes alive when the ROM chip from a 790 is installed. That gives you the hpc2k OS with all the advantages mentioned.
Plus, as you may know, the 880 has a nice 800x600 screen.

The keyboards on the 780/790/880 are identical.

For subway and local bus a 790 is easier to operate IMO.

Are you in the GTA by any chance?

Yes, as a matter of fact I work in downtown Toronto.
That was the one thing I wasn't certain about: The keyboards on the 780/790/880 are identical! Hurray!

I spend most of my days on the Net. It's always nice to get hooked up, but wireless isn't so critical. something to carry on the TTC is of far more interest until I could get someplace and plug it in, or until I got home.

I'm so pleased to meet someone here on the forum from "home turf"

identical? dunno, i like the keyb on my 789 better than on the 800 maybe just my units though i know a friend of mine likes the 770 better than the 790 for the same reason, even though 770 is really supposed to be the same as 790 regarding the keyboard.
so yeah we can say they're identical on the 880/790!


edit: haha, some of my relatives live in toronto. (i live very far away though)

Edited by cmonex 2006-04-12 7:14 PM

Canadians are taking over the site, eh?

Hi;

Both cmonex and wallythacker have valid points with regard to screen real estate and portability as well as the usability of the OS for the internet. You're going to have to make some tough decisions...

I'd like to add a couple of more things to the mix:

1 - If you're currently using a laptop to write, you may find the screen of the 770/780/790 too small. The 880 will definately display a lot more text, which can be especially useful when looking at ideas in context as well as their flow.

2 - Although Pocket Word isn't bad for a low-end word processor (it's probably all you really need, especially if you do your editing/rewriting on a desktop), you might want to take a look at TextMaker (full-featured word processor, http://www.softmaker.com/english/tmh_en.htm).

3 - Have you actually used a 770/780/790/880? If possible, try one before you buy. I'm also in downtown Toronto so it you want to try a 700 or 780 (and TextMaker), send me a private message and we can get together.

Rick

hehe.
don't worry, we'll be quite polite about it

That's exactly the reason I'm avoiding the Dana's - seeing six lines of text would drive me mad. I'd probably still use the laptop / desktop (at work) as the primary machines.



Wow, this is excellent! I was concerned with exactly what this site quotes: "What about document conversion then? Fabulous in theory, badly executed: As soon as you move a .DOC file to your Handheld PC, all features that Pocket Word cannot process are stripped and thrown away."

I'm not so worried about headers/footers - not something found in most creative writing texts, but swapping back and forth between programs could certainly become an issue.



What a fantastic offer! I will drop you a note and maybe we can get together and have a coffee. I've never actually seen anything but the Dana's or my friend's Jornada - which i find terribly small in the keyboard area. I don't mind the screen size so much but the keyboard drives me mad.
I'll drop you an email later. Thank you!

This may not be as bad a problem as one would think. I, probably along with a lot of other people, use CF cards to transfer data, thus bypassing ActiveSync. I just use Save As in Pocket Word to save my file as plain text or RTF (in WinCE 2.0). On a MobilePro 770, or above, you get even more options when using Save As and can even save in some Word formats...

Rick

Edited by Richard Plume 2006-04-14 3:53 PM

Wow...
I just wanted to share with you all my great thanks for the help on this forum!
I haven't bought the machine yet, but I did meet up with Richard for a coffee - and funny enough - we work 3 blocks from each other.
He was amazingly helpful. I got to see just how great these machines are... so light! so efficient!

The 770 is awesome but it looks like I'm going to search out a 790 for the time being. possibly a 780.
I have to admit I liked the keyboard of the 770 better than the 780. Not any difference in size, but the depth of keys.

I hope one day we'll have enough users here in Toronto to get a little club together. TextMaker is certainly worth investing into.

now...
to see what comes up here in Canada. I wouldn't mind so much buying from outside of Canada but the shipping costs usually are painful.

-------
BTW, Richard,
I forgot to ask if you know if I can get an external battery pack for the 790 - like the one you showed me for the 780?
Do you know if I could use rechargables?


I'm so excited...
You people have won me over

glad to hear that hehe..

strange, a friend of mine loves the 770's keyboard just like you do, more than on the 780 & 790 (he has had & tried all three)..
now i'd really like to know if this is a general thing about these models, i'll check if there's a difference for me too

Is the 770's screen as bad as that of the '800? (compared to '780)

Actually I think zero-G meant to refer to the 700 keyboard, not a 770 (I had both a 700 and a 780 at our coffee get together).




I don't know if the 770/780 AA battery pack will fit a 790. Does anyone else have any experience using it on a 790? Has anyone used recharageable AAs in it instead of regular AAs?

Rick

um, yes it is worse on my 770 than on my "789" (780 with hpc2000 rom)

oh, keyboards, so thats why i didnt notice any difference