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iPAQ vs. other new Pocket PCs

A FEW WEEKS AGO I told you about the new Hewlett-Packard Jornada 565. I said at that time that the Jornada was a terrific little PDA capable of accomplishing many new tasks — including the ability to automatically PPTP into my work servers — allowing me to have a Terminal Server session going at the same time I’m accessing my MSNBC e-mail.

(Note: The Pocket PC OS is a product of Microsoft, which is a partner with NBC in MSNBC.)

Now, we hear from the other Pocket PC manufacturers to see what shape their new devices will take. I’ve been lucky to be able to play with two more of the new PDAs over the past few weeks, the all new iPAQ 3860 and the first offering from Toshiba.

Compaq’s new iPAQ is still the one to beat. Its new screen (yes, I’m told it comes from a new manufacturer) is slightly larger than the screens on competitors’ devices. All the color screens (they now have to meet minimum resolution standards) reproduce the same number of pixels — it’s just that some do so with a larger dot-pitch (spaces between the pixels). Any way you measure them, iPAQs have the largest screen.

iPAQs also now have an expansion slot. This is in addition to the CF and one or two-slot PC Card sleeves you can buy. As another part of the 2002 PPC standard, the new iPAQ has a SD card slot built into the top of the device — the new brown plastic section which also includes the power switch, the light-sensor, and the speaker (which used to be built-into the four-way pointing device on the bottom.)

The stylus, always a cause for concern in the older model has been redesigned so that it can fit in its slot always you put it there. Now, you just tap the top of the stylus and it pops out of its hole. The old design forced you to align the stylus properly or have it remain stuck inside.

Compaq has removed the AC charging slot — there’s a new dongle that’s supplied to accomplish that — or you can plug the AC adapter into the cradle or a PC card sleeve. Otherwise, the new iPAQ is very similar to the old iPAQ — and that’s a good thing.

There’s some new built-in software that Compaq puts inside. One which I absolutely love is the Self Test application. I’ve never seen my PDA go through the paces before, and it’s kind of neat to be able to troubleshoot a problem. That might become more significant as these devices become more and more sophisticated.

The new iPAQ is a solid device. Seems a drop lighter in weight than the last model, and it took only a few seconds for someone like me — an old iPAQ-hand — to fall in love with it. I believe the Compaq folks have set a high standard for everyone else to follow.

Compaq will still be selling its older design devices. All run on the new Pocket PC 2002 operating system. All iPAQs will now come with 64MB of RAM. Manufacturer’s retail prices are $499 for the older 3700 series and $599 for the new 3800 series, and there’ll soon be a 3800 with a built-in Bluetooth chip that will sell for $649. 
New to the handheld computer game is Toshiba. I’ve been fortunate to be allowed to play with a Japanese-market version of its new Pocket PC. It’s called the Genio E in Japan and will be called the Pocket PC e570 here in North America. A preview version of the new operating system (in English) was installed for my tests.

The Toshiba is also a terrific device. Basically, the e570 is very similar to the new H-P and the new iPAQ — same processor, same amount of flash memory, many of the same features — except for its expandability.  
The Toshiba has a unique dual slot on the top — it accepts Type-II Compact Flash cards (that means you can use a CF-sized Microdrive hard drive) as well as a Secure Digital (SD) slot for memory and an upcoming Bluetooth module. Without a doubt, the e570 comes with the best standard expansion capabilities of any of the new PPCs. 
The Toshiba comes standard with 64MB of RAM and claims up to 8 hours of battery life per charge. I never even came close to that amount in my testing — but then again, I had no Toshiba power utilities installed on my test device, so it wasn’t really a fair test. The e570 has a retail price of $569.

There are also new devices that I didn’t get to test from Casio and Audiovox plus a ruggedized PPC for business from the people at Symbol — the people who bring you the new Wi-Fi certified 802.11 Type-I Compact Flash wireless Ethernet card for any of these new PPCs. Acer, NEC and Fujitsu also announced Thursday that they’ll be producing PPCs that will hit the market in the next few months. That means there’ll be a lot of people making PPCs. I hope to get a chance to play with all of them in the near future.

For now, here’s a quick review of how the new devices stack up against each other:

H-P Jornada 565/568: 32 MB or 64MB; flip-up cover; removable battery packs (with built-in back-up) for up to 14 hours between charges; promised future expansion options via the Type-I CF slot.

Compaq iPAQ 3860: 64MB; built-in SD slot; add-on sleeves for CF cards, PC cards and future expansion needs; slide-on cover pack.

Toshiba e570: 64MB; built-in SD and Type-II CF slot.

One last note, in what someone might determine to be a desperate attempt at getting some press on Pocket PC launch day, Palm has announced a lowering of prices on its m100 and m105 PDAs, down to $99 and $149 respectively. Then again, maybe they’re just trying to sell more devices.