Return my TX?

[JHNguyen]

Hello,
I just bought a Palm TX, and I'm not sure if this is the PDA for me.
Few things I like to do are:

Listen to Mp3s/Watch Videos
Surf Web/ Check Email
Do short hw assignments/research for hw
Chat

One thing I noticed about the Palm TX, was that battery life was long, but it couldn't multi task. It'd be cool if I could listen to an mp3.. surf the web, and be online on msn messenger (incase someone needs to talk to me) at the same time. But I've heard that PPC's battery life sucks. I'd like to use it as an mp3 player when I'm at school. So decent battery life is a must.

Should I switch to a PPC? My first choice was the dell axim, but I really don't want to wait for it to ship to me. I'm looking for something that would be easy to find at most stores.. Possibly the HP models?

Price isn't really an issue now, as long as it's under $500. The cheaper, the better.

p.s: I enjoy listening to music on myspace, and the pure volume sites. I don't think it's possible on the TX, is it on a PPC?

So the main question is: Should I return my TX, for a PPC? Is PPC's battery life ok?

Thanks,
John

[Masterchief]

You can do two of the things listed at once. You can listen to music while operating another program/app. If using Pocket Tunes, go to prefs/ background prefs. Check enable background play.

You may consider a PPC for your other needs. Battery life will be notably shorter, however you will gain some added capability. I recommend getting your hands on an operational PPC and trying out the features you are looking for. A PPC user here may be able to check out myspace.com and see how well it is rendered.

[r0k]

The battery life gap between Palmos and PPC is narrower now than it once was, but I doubt you will find any pda with the battery life of the TX. The TX is capable of playing music in the background while you do one other thing, either surf the net in blazer, or read email, or use chat but not all three at once. Many palmos apps resume where you left off, which feels like multitasking but really isn't the same thing. Another advantage of Palmos is the ability to sync with something other than outlook.

So it's up to your personal preference. If you like PPC and don't mind being tied to outlook, then go for an axim. They can be had in the $400 price range. There are folks who feel that Palmos is more stable than PPC and folks who prefer PPC. It's really your choice. I would recommend you take some time to set the TX up the way you like (before the return time limit expires), before moving on to PPC so you can make a more thorough comparison.

Here are a few "objective" pros and cons from somebody who is a TX owner but who has owned pocket pc's along the way:

TX/Palmos Pros:
* well designed PIM apps, calendar, contacts, memos, todos
* battery life, simply the best available
* wifi, very easy setup
* bluetooth
* 320x480 screen, good looking but uses less power than 640x480
* 3rd party apps
* "NVFS" never lose anything if battery dies, plus long battery life
* SD card expansion
* well designed hotsync

TX/Palmos cons:
* lack of true multitasking
* lack of true "protected" os - stability is questionable (a matter of opinion)
* "NVFS" incompatability with many older Palmos apps
* hotsync only runs on request, not continuous
* weaker infrared than ppc
* less real RAM than many users would like to see on the device. can't run some apps that used to run on T3 which had 12 meg of RAM available to run programs.

Axim/PPC pros:
* windows file system
* active sync runs all the time
* more manufacturers means more competition can mean lower cost
* sd card can be used for more than just memory
* wifi
* bluetooth
* stronger infrared than palmos
* some models include a cf slot in addition to sd card
* WM5 has no memory slider (also see cons below)

Axim/PPC cons:
* windows stability is questionable (a matter of opinion)
* active sync runs when you don't want it to
* wifi/network setup more difficult than palmos
* pim apps not designed as well as palmos pim apps (calendar, contacts, etc)
* multitasking means apps are left running in background and you must hunt them down and kill them from time to time
* WM5 eliminates the memory "slider" that used to allow you to allocate more memory to storage or to program execution. This really is a plus, but many ppc users are frustrated by the lack of this feature because they don't understand that with NVFS on WM5, there is pure RAM dedicated to running programs all the time.

hope this helps...

[JHNguyen]

One question..
Is surfing the web on a PPC better than a Palm?

[r0k]

One question..
Is surfing the web on a PPC better than a Palm?

i would have to say it has the potential to be better on a ppc. at least you can get opera on ppc, while on palmos browser options are very limited. there is blazer, eudoraweb, and xiino. if you want to try opera, you must have a jvm installed. java is notoriously slow.

on the other hand, network setup on a palmos pda is better. you can have separate dns settings for every connection while windows still tries you to change your one and only settings every time you have a problem.

you can get flash on ppc but not on palmos.

so i think it is clear that ppc has the slight edge here...

[Adama D. Brown]

One thing I noticed about the Palm TX, was that battery life was long, but it couldn't multi task. It'd be cool if I could listen to an mp3.. surf the web, and be online on msn messenger (incase someone needs to talk to me) at the same time.

As mentioned, you can do some limited things in the background, but not too many.

But I've heard that PPC's battery life sucks.

The difference is minimal. Some models can go as much as 12 hours on minimal settings with a standard battery. You might want to investigate some of the battery tests in our reviews to see how certain models perform.

Should I switch to a PPC? My first choice was the dell axim, but I really don't want to wait for it to ship to me. I'm looking for something that would be easy to find at most stores.. Possibly the HP models?

Don't go HP. They're generally overpriced for what they deliver, and HP's support is questionable. If you want a Pocket PC, you'd be better off with Dell, shipping time and all.

p.s: I enjoy listening to music on myspace, and the pure volume sites. I don't think it's possible on the TX, is it on a PPC?

I'm not familiar with how music on MySpace or these other sites works, so I can't tell you for sure. However, there is a wider variety of streaming music options on Windows, if that's what you mean.

[Adama D. Brown]

at least you can get opera on ppc, while on palmos browser options are very limited. there is blazer, eudoraweb, and xiino. if you want to try opera, you must have a jvm installed. java is notoriously slow.

To clarify, the need for Java refers to using the Opera Mini applet, designed for mobile phones, on a Palm. The native Opera version for Windows doesn't require or use Java.

[holvoetn]

Hello JHNguyen, it is with some sadness I see the answers we have given you before now come back as a reason for not keeping the TX.

We told you before PalmOS can not multitask. We told you before you could however listen to mp3 in background. etc etc ...

I hope you will have more joy from your PPC

[JHNguyen]

Hello JHNguyen, it is with some sadness I see the answers we have given you before now come back as a reason for not keeping the TX.

We told you before PalmOS can not multitask. We told you before you could however listen to mp3 in background. etc etc ...

I hope you will have more joy from your PPC

Thanks for the tip.
So far the TX is doing good for me. The only thing that bothers me is the internet browser. Not sure if I should switch to the PPC just for that.

Multitasking sort of worked out for me. I wanted to be able to chat, and be on the internet, and verichat lets me be on all the time, and alerts me when I'm messaged. Cool software..


PPC's can really get up to 12hrs? I can't even get that much on my Palm.. (i don't think)

Either way though, I'm feeling better about my purchase with the Palm.. and leaning more towards keeping it.

John

[Adama D. Brown]

PPC's can really get up to 12hrs? I can't even get that much on my Palm.. (i don't think)

Some models do, depending on the settings. Not using WiFi, obviously, but you can get that with Bluetooth. There are also alternative batteries which can offer up to 3x the runtime of the standard battery, though at a greatly increased size.