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PDAs |
Matthew
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Writer
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PDAsPalm Pilot and HP Jornada |
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I wrote these reviews in the Spring of 2000.
What
does it do? It has an address book,
a diary, a to do list, an email reader, a memo pad and an expenses tracker and
all of them link to their counterparts on your PC.
Why
buy one? It's compact, easy to use,
easy to link to a PC, cheaper than the competition and there's loads of software
for it on the net. The Pilot V is
cooler than the IIIx.
Why
not? it's not really viable without
a PC. Also, if these matter to you:
no colour screen, no keyboard, can't play MP3 audio.
For
the last two weeks I have been using a Pilot IIIx (street price of about £175
excl. VAT) as my digital Filofax. I
have to confess that I have been using its ancestor, the Palm Pilot
Professional, for about two years so I am already a big fan. The new system is very similar to the old one - the same software and
operating system. It has the same
small form factor - about the size of a packet of cigarettes - but adds a
built-in screen cover. And,
importantly, it runs on two AAA batteries which means that if they run flat on a
long trip away from mains power you're not stuck. The Palm V (approximate street price of £270) uses the same operating
system and software as the Pilot IIIx but for the extra money you get an even
smaller, more stylish form factor and a better screen.
I
used mine with Microsoft Outlook and the link was seamless and easy to use.
If you don't use an existing PC-based information manager, it comes with
PC versions of all its software which allow you to enter your data using the PC
keyboard. Once the software is
installed, click the button on the docking station and everything synchronises
in a few minutes. You can also
download email to read later although I rarely use this.
Away
from the PC, you use a stylus to enter data and operate the system. To enter text, the Pilot uses the Graffiti system which recognises one
character at a time when drawn out at the bottom of the screen in simplified,
standardised letterforms. This takes an hour or two to get used to but is easy to
master. It is not, however, very
rapid and is best used for adding the odd address or writing short notes.
As
an aside, I have downloaded several games to my Pilot, including Pac-Man, and
also an excellent personal finances program that links directly into Microsoft
Money 99. There is a lot more
besides on the web because the system has been around for a few years.
It
is in the information management and PC integration that the Pilot shines.
It is it's focus and simplicity that attracts me - it doesn't pretend to
be anything it's not.
Co-ordinates
Pilot's
website has lots of information and links to shareware and commercial software (www.palmone.com),
Intellisync provides Pilot connections for many PC PIMs (http://www.intellisync.com/),
Money makes your Pilot an extension of Microsoft Money 99 (http://www.ultrasoft.com/).
Check out the new pdQ Pilot / Phone from Qualcomm.
Finally, MicroWarehouse sell Pilots online (http://www.microwarehouse.co.uk/).
What
does it do? Address book, diary,
email reader and to do lists. Links
up with Outlook or Schedule on a PC. Looks
like Windows 95.
Why
buy one? Gadget factors: impressive
colour screen, built-in microphone. Similarity
to Windows 95 interface. Good
handwriting recognition. Links to
Microsoft AutoRoute.
Why
not? Lousy battery life. Non-standard battery. It's
very blue.
I
took the Jornada (street price about £340 incl. VAT) on holiday for a week to
test it out away from the temptation to use my old standby, a slightly tattered
old Pilot. I like to be able to jot
down notes while I am reading and I hoped that I could do this easily either on
screen or by using the built-in voice-recording feature. Before I left I synchronised the HP with my PC in the office.
This was very easy thanks to Microsoft’s CE services software which
automates the whole process. The
desktop charger doubles as a docking port for the HP and the software detects
the presence of a docked CE device and automatically synchronises the email,
to-do list, diary and address list. I
was also able to download and translate my company’s business plan for viewing
on the HP, hoping to review it during my trip.
I
liked several things about the HP. Its
similarity to Windows made it feel familiar and friendly. The screen cover conveniently folded underneath the unit like the cover
of a reporter’s notebook. As I often travel abroad, I liked the dual time zone feature
on the system clock that would make time zone changes simple. I also liked the fact that the volume can be turned up high enough to
actually wake me in the morning as I distrust hotel alarm clocks. Finally, a full HP business calculator was a good addition to the library
of programs. Rounding off the
built-in software is the classic Windows Patience game.
Since
I had Microsoft AutoRoute on the PC (a program I used to know well having ported
it to the Macintosh many moons ago) I was able to download chunks of map data to
the Jornada to search en-route. An
A-Z detail map of West London took about 500k and came up very clearly on the
screen.
I
was very impressed with the colour screen – it was clear and bright wherever I
used it apart from Pocket AutoRoute, the colour screen is a bit of a wasted
opportunity. Similarly, the voice
recording turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. Once I had loaded my data, the remaining memory could only
manage a poor eight minutes or so of recording time. The last problem with the recorder is that the recording and playback
quality is poor. Even in a silent
room it is scratchy and muted.
A
major frustration was that the built-in rechargeable battery ran flat on the
third day of the holiday. Since I
didn't take the charger with me and the Jornada wouldn’t accept standard AA
batteries, I wasn’t able to use it for the rest of the holiday. This would be pretty serious on a business trip especially since the
battery life is relatively poor (measured in hours rather than days of use).
Overall,
I thought the Jornada’s potential greatly exceeded its utility. The main reasons are the poor battery life, unimaginative built-in
software and lack of memory. I have owned two now-antique HP portable systems in the past
– both DOS machines the size of paperback books – and, frankly, I would
rather have had either of them on this trip than the Jornada.
Hewlett-Packard's
own website contains a lot of information about the Jornada (http://www.hp.com/jornada/products/420/overview.html).
C/Net's Download.com (www.download.com)
contains a large library of software for Windows CE systems. Finally, Intellisync has software that links the Jornada to non-Microsoft
PC software (www.intellisync.com).