From Palm to Pocket PC back to Palm

[lOyIlGyRl13299]

Ok well recently, I have decided to jump from the Pocket PC back to the Palm OS. My first PDA was a Palm m130. My mom is now using it. I got it on Christmas of 2002. My second PDA was a Compaq iPaq 3850, which I got almost a year ago. I'm currently using it now. Recently, though, I have decided to go back to the Palm OS. Back then, when I was using the m130, the Palm OS was considered to be just an organizer, and the Pocket PC was supposed to be a laptop replacement that you could view video clips on and access the Internet and do Word and Excel. I'm going to be getting the Sony Clie PEG-UX50 on my birthday, (Feb. 10th). I had to save up some money ($200) and my parents are going to give me the rest (I'm only 15, btw). So anyway, the point of all this is because I'm actually EXCITED to go back to the Palm OS. I really had fun with my m130, ironically, more than my iPaq 3850. With my iPaq, I couldn't use any applications other than the few I could download directly from my Pocket PC because ActiveSync worked about 2% of the time I've had it, which is almost a year. My Palm, which my mom now has, sync's about 99.5% of the time. I just can't wait to go back to the Palm OS. Can anyone tell me how much has changed since the m130 (Palm OS V4.1)? Thanks. I don't want to start a flame war. Sorry if I sound biased.

[Ed Hardy]

Things have changed a lot and are about to change even more. If you are interested in multimedia, you should look into Kinoma (www.kinoma.com). Soom cool games for the UX50 are Warfare Inc. (http://www.handmark.com/warfare/) and Master Thief (http://www.cascatagames.com/thief/).

The release of Palm OS 6 is expected to big a big change for the platform:
http://www.brighthand.com/article/Pa...ed_on_Schedule

[lOyIlGyRl13299]

Thanks! But today I was looking at videos at News.com on PDA's, and I saw this video of the NZ90. It's a big monster-looking PDA, but man, it's COOL!!! Gives me second thoughts on buying the UX50 and going with the NZ90. I can get it for about $575 on Ebay. The only downside is that I would have to buy a WiFi card . WiFi is the main reason for me getting a new PDA, and I definitely want a Clie. Multimedia and the camera and web browsing are what I will be using it for the most. Plus I will play TONS of games. Which is better for my needs, not conisdering size, the UX50 or the NZ90?

[pixelator]

Originally posted by loyilgyrl13299
My second PDA was a Compaq iPaq 3850, which I got almost a year ago. I'm currently using it now.

No wonder you didn't care for it - that's a rather outdated PPC!

With my iPaq, I couldn't use any applications other than the few I could download directly from my Pocket PC because ActiveSync worked about 2% of the time I've had it, which is almost a year.

Sounds like you had some USB issues, or perhaps an old version of AS that came with the 3800. I can understand that would have been frustrating.

My Palm, which my mom now has, sync's about 99.5% of the time. I just can't wait to go back to the Palm OS. Can anyone tell me how much has changed since the m130 (Palm OS V4.1)? Thanks. I don't want to start a flame war. Sorry if I sound biased.

A lot has changed on both platforms. PPCs are now more reliable, faster, smaller, cheaper and (still) have better games and video playback capability than Palms. PalmOS has also spawned some great models, but if you're easily irritated by not being able to load apps, I'd advise against the UX50 and suggest an NX80 or other N-series (like the NZ90 you mentioned). People are reporting issues with portrait/landscape mode as well as system instability when loading apps.

If you have any interest in still going with a PPC, check out the iPAQ 4155, 4355, Toshiba e805 or Viewsonic V36. Otherwise, I'd look for a good deal on an NX80 or NZ90 (be warned, the latter doesn't have the best battery life).

[lOyIlGyRl13299]

Thanks Pixelator! Thanks too, Ed. I agree with you that the 3850 is very old. But I'm just not interested in Pocket PC's anymore. I've played with some Windows Mobile 2003 Pocket PC'S and they really didn't do it for me. The high-end Clie line sparks my enthusiam, however. I think I'm going to go with the NZ90 instead of the UX50. One of the main things I want a Clie for is games and other multimedia, and I just can't see myself using the small screen of the UX50. Also, the UX50 has the hardware button issue. So I'm going to get the NZ90 (battery life is no issue since I charge my PDA's everyday). The size is no issue either. I can get the NZ90 on Ebay for only $419. I'm getting it for my birthday (Feb. 10th). Thanks for all the advice. I'm glad I didn't start a flame war!

[pixelator]

Congrats - make sure you check out cliesource.com and get your NZ90 info on! There's lots to learn. The NR/NX/NZ are tinker-gadgets that respond best when you have the latest tweaks and hacks.

I'm sure you'll like the camera, the NZ90 is very impressive in that regard. And yes, they have some killer deals on that model these days!

[lOyIlGyRl13299]

Thanks! Cliesource.com has been excellent and have answered all of my questions very satisfactory! I think I'm going to be really happy with my NZ90....

[ocean158]

I was a diehard palm user from palm pilot 5000, but now after using my ipaq 2210, I don't think I could ever go back. You're right, the ipaq is like a laptop replacement, it completely mirrors my desktop.

Wish they could blend in all the good points of palm with pocket pc though. But I don't think I could go back to palm on its own.

[Ed Hardy]

Have you read my review of the NZ90?
www.brighthand.com/article/Sony_NZ90_Review

It's not a bad handheld, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you need a 2 megapixel camera with you all the time. Do you think you'll be taking pictures with it several times a day? If not, I wouldn't recommend this model.

A good alternative is the NX80V. It's a good bit smaller, has more Heap Memory which makes its browser a lot better, but still has the 320 by 480 pixel screen.

I think you'll enjoy that nice large screen.

[lOyIlGyRl13299]

Is the NX80V basically the NZ90 without a good 2mp camera and smaller? Is it Palm OS V5.0? I went to Best Buy today, and they had the NX80V and the NZ90 on display. I personally like the NX80V better, but I'm worried that the NX80V will have less features. I don't need the 2MP camera, but I do want a Clie with a camera that can take videos. I know the videos will be low resolution, but I still like the cool feature ....I don't care if the still camera is good or not. I have a Sony Ericsson T616 and I like playing with that camera, and it's pretty bad. So that's not a big deal for me. Thanks for reccomending the NX80V to me. I didn't get to play with the PDA's for long, only about 5 mins, so I only got to basically get the feel of the devices. I like that the NX80V is thinner. Thanks for the replies! Sorry for so many questions, just want to make sure that I'm getting the right device for me. BTW, I love your reviews! They're long and very thorough. The best I've seen! Oh, and ocean158, I agree with you. If the Pocket PC blended all the good points from the Palm OS with the PPC OS, I would be all over it! But I do like the Clie's better than Pocket PC's for my needs, but that's just my opinion.