Browsing the internet on you PPC, tell me stories of it...

[imported_dcorsi]

I am a long time Palm user looking to get either a iPaq 194x or a iPaq 221x. I have used a Phillips Velo 500, Casio E-11, E-105, and E-115 in the past.

The tie breaker between the 194x and the 221x for me is if I am going to use the internet on the unit or not. Games, photos, video and music are bonus. My home is fitted with Wi-Fi and I travel constantly with a laptop (1/3 of the year on the road) which I connect via Wi-Fi at home and dial up on the road. Within the next year I am thinking of switching to a Bluetooth phone with my T-Mobile account and getting unlimited monthly GPRS via Bluetooth to my laptop to replace my dialup account (I have cable at home.)

Into this mix add my PDA...

Now on the surface the idea of browsing the web using my PDA seems pretty cool. Couple it with Bluetooth (albeit a slow connection, like a 33.6 modem speedwise) and once in a while in a car it will be great to get movie times, the weather etc. I can do that on my current WAP phone today but it is a pain with the terrible slow "browsing" if you can even call it that. Wi-Fi appeals even more since I enjoy it at home with my laptop but all the local spots I could use it I don't frequent or require T-Mobile or other "hotspot" accounts I don't want to pay extra for.

The other problem is I enjoy browsing, even on the road, on a full laptop with a full browser, multiple windows open, usenet groups etc. At home with my Wi-Fi network and a CF Wi-Fi card would be cool but why wouldn't I use my desktop computer or laptop?

My point is this... The technology is cool but how ARE YOU using your Pocket PC on the net? Isn't it a big comprimise? If you use it online at home why do you choose it over your computer? If you use it on the road why do you choose it over a laptop? Are your browsing sessions or email sessions lengthy? Do you use usenet, IM, and other non web features frequently?

Part of me wonders if I should just get a 194x and that way I always will have a bluetooth option, small size, and great build quality but the other part wonders if I shouldn't just get a 221x for $100 more, a CF Wi-Fi card, and the fastest unit out there today... larger size and lesser plastic quality and all.

I know I have been confusing and long winded but I hope you get the idea. Let me know how you use your PPC in your daily life on the internet so I can see if those uses match my need. I am having difficult envisioning the things I can do...

Thanks!

[rob]

I'm not going to get into which iPaq is better suited, since I own neither. I'll just adress the browsing issue. For me, thats the last thing I use my Pocket PC for. 320x240 resulotion just is too painful for me to, as well as the speed factor. WM2003 has improved the browsing speed, but still, we're not talking Pentium/nVidia here. Really the only time my device goes online is to update my AvantGo pages, as well as Worldmate and (when it used to work) Journal Bar.

I do use my WiFi all the time to sync, as well as access my Shared folder on my desktop. I also will stream music files, or internet broadcasts to my Pocket PC, but as to strictly browsing, only as a last resort. I still take my laptop with me for any extended trip, and though I can browse the internet, and download newgroups on my Pocket PC, its so much better doing it on a desktop or notebook.

[Eitel]

If you like to see big pages with a lot of animation and everything else, then you will be dissapointed with the small screen of a PDA. Now, this days you can find a lot of pages that are optimized for a PDA. You can find a lot of information like weather, movie times, and many other things that can help a lot on the road if you can go wireless.

Me? I just like to lay in bed with my PPC and browse a couple of sites wireless.

[imported_astro]

What Rob said.

I don't use it to go online too often due to the screen limitations. Mainly to check weather, TV listings, view news, forums and email. To me, it is a lot quicker to turn on the 2215 and pop in the Wifi card. Poof, instant access, browse for a few minutes, and I'm done.

I don't need to wait for a few minutes for the PC to power up, login, open my browser, blah blah blah, then shut down the computer, etc. Although it is only a few minutes difference, if I don't need a PC to to the job, then I'll use my iPaq.

Now if I want to actually use the web to look for stuff, I'll fire up the PC or laptop.

I picked up a SMC 2642W CF card at CompUSA for $29.99 after rebates.

TigerDirect has the D-Link 660W CF card for the same price AR.

Now if I had to fork out $150.00 for a CF card, I probably would not be using WiFi, but for $30-$40, the convenience is worth it to me.

[imported_dcorsi]

I am starting to think then the 194x is the way to go. My favorite PDA of all time was the Palm V and I think it was because it packed the best of the PDA world at the time into the smallest package. From the very latest reports in the other forum the 194x series is getting 90% the same frame rates as the 221x in the brutal games and videos that stress test these units. Furthermore I still get bluetooth which is likely the only way I will use the PDA online in the future when I trade my Samsung S105 cell (with T-Mobile) for something with Bluetooth so I can get an unlimited GPRS account for use with the iPAQ and my laptop while on the road (finally allowing me to ditch my dial up provider that I have had for 9 years.)

[imported_astro]

2215's also have Bluetooth in addition to the built-in CF slot. I haven't seen the 194x's, but IIRC, there wasn't too much of a size difference between the 221x's and the 191x's.

[Fett56]

what kind of sites... i like to do that too... and go on aim.

[imported_fil]

I use my Palm Vx still for PIM/work stuff because I can easily shove it into my pocket with my keys or wallet. It's small and it gets the job done. I'm also a long time Palm Desktop user and have grown accustom to simple but very functional applications.

I carry an IPaq h3955 brick in my car for entertainment?Divx movies, MP3s, playing emulated games SNES/Mame, and I carry tons of documents with my 5gb PC Card hdd in the sleeve. But that?s my point, I don?t carry it every where like my Palm because it's huge. Are you happy to see me, or is that an IPaq in your pocket?

The 2215/1910 are the first PocketPCs that are pocketable and I will try to switch to Outlook for my PIM applications.

From the first ?2215s available at Fry?s? posts, my and many other people?s excitement is because of the dual-slot feature offered with the form factor. Think about it, dual slots and the size are the biggest reasons why people are jumping all over this platform. The CF and SD slot means no more sleeve that make the IPaq a huge brick that you won?t carry it everywhere with you.

If you look at the specs, performance, vibrant screen, and memory, my h3955 is almost better than both the 1910 and 2215. A ton of software works well on the 3955, but people (myself included) are excited to go to the new platform EVENTHOUGH many of those applications do not work well or at all on Windows Mobile 2003.

My suggestion, let the early adopters and vendors iron out the bugs and get the 2215 when it?s cheaper.

For me, I bought a 2215 on the HP educational discount for $267, so the price was already in my must have and the wife approved it after seeing it at CompUSA.

Oh, and browsing is nuts on the 320x240 screen, it's not nice.
Most sites today are at least 800x600 or larger. I hate scrolling through sites at that resolution. And the lanscape software stinks--JSLandscape, NYDITOT, Thunderhawk, etc.. They morph the sites and make them unreadable or you still are stuck scrolling around forever.

Think of the IPaq as a device when you're not home. I browse simple sites for maps, movie listings, and quick references when I'm away from the house. At home, I use a ultraportable Dell Latitude LS to surf the web.

Good luck!

[Scarpad]

I'm browsing with mine at home. I like being able to watch the game on the couch and fire up the PPC to check scores, My Favorite Sites etc, just nice and convienient

[imported_fil]

Try it with a mininotebook/ultraportable laptop with a wifi NIC. You won't use your PDA at home for surfing.

Java, Javascript, ActiveX, Frames, XML, and your corporate VPN apps just work on your laptop versuses your PDA.

Web browsing on a 320x240 PDA is fuggly at best, but if you can tolerate it...cool.

I'm a PDA fanatic, but it's still easier to have a laptop for surfing.