|
|
|
|
Home Page
Tip of the Day
CE Top News Stories
CE Personal Productivity Solutions
CE Enterprise Productivity Solutions
Business Solutions Journal
Contact Us
| January/99 | February/99 | March/99 |
| April/99 | May/99 | June/99 |
| July/99 | August/99 | Sept./99 |
| Oct./99 | December/98 |
Past Journal Entries from April:
Apr.-3099
Apr.-2999
Apr.-2899
Apr.-2699
Apr.-2399
Apr.-2299
Apr.-2199
Apr.-2099
Apr.-1499
Apr.-1399
Apr.-0999
Apr.-0899
Apr.-0699
Apr.-0599
Apr.-0299
Apr.-0199
There's nothing like a cover story on sex to drive up the newsstand sales of a magazine. So I'm sure that copies of the latest of edition of Fortune Magazine are flying off the shelves as they are snapped up by people eager to learn about the hottest new issue that the Fortune 500 is grappling with: Sexual Addiction.
That's right. Sexual Addiction. As Fortune so luridly puts it in terms that could equally grace a horror movie trailer: "A primal problem emerges from the shadows in a new--and dangerous--corporate environment."
Actually, the "problem" doesn't appear to be quite as serious as Fortune paints it. According to two experts quoted by the magazine only 4 – 6% of the US population suffers (if that's the right verb) from this affliction. Though how they managed to come up with these figures I have no idea.
But that hasn't stopped the emergence of special facilities charging corporations as much as $850 per day to treat sexed-out executives through the inevitable series of 12-step meetings, therapy sessions, and role-playing. No doubt, after this article appears their business will boom even further!
As the recent "Simply Palm" campaign featuring naked women in various poses with a Palm V has proven, sex can also drive sales of PDA devices (not to mention the "Simply Porn" spoof campaign on the Internet that generated rivers of news ink). I'm not saying that Windows CE device manufacturers should copy Palm, but I do sometimes wish that they would inject a little more glamour into their products. About the only company that has got anywhere close to doing this is Philips with their "cool-dude" ads for the Nino. Still, they were also responsible for the awful Four Girls and A Nino series about Ally McBeal wannabes that has mercifully disappeared from their Home Page.
Who knows, perhaps it's safer to stick to features and benefits after all.
R.I.B.
Back to top
Home
Do you have any comments about Windows® CE that you'd like to share with us and the thousands of other visitors to our site? The WinceBiz Forum is the place to air them.
Having a website like Windows CE Business Solutions is an excellent forum for someone like me to espouse my views on everything relating to Windows CE and just about any other topic under the sun. However I suppose there is some implied responsibility to the audience -for if the content isn't appealing they won't come back! No audience, and I may as well go back to talking to myself at my desk.
The WinceBiz Forum will not only be an excellent place for others have their chance to stand at the pulpit but it should also give WinceBiz a much better idea about what subjects and issues are important to the people who visit our site. Can you imagine visiting a website that continously provides you with the content you're looking for?
Hey! If I'm really lucky perhaps someone will send in an opinion or review that completly conflicts with someone elses opinion and a rip roaring, good ole fashioned debate will ensue. I'll bet this Windows CE thing could be really exciting stuff!....hmmm.
R.I.B.
Please click here to participate in this exciting new interactive feature.
R.I.B.
Back to top
Home
When I purchased my first Windows CE device, the HP LX620, it took me quite a while before I noticed that it had built-in audio capabilities, and even when I discovered the Voice Recorder feature I hardly ever used it. The idea of recording a message for transcription later seemed far more too much hassle to bother with.
Now with the growing popularity of MP3 music and the audio books service on www.audible.com, audio has suddenly become an increasingly critical feature, particularly for Windows CE Palm-size PC devices. Want to take some music to listen to on your flight? Then download some MP3 files from a site like www.mp3.com, save them on a CompactFlash memory card, and play them back on your Palm-size PC at your leisure. Quick, easy, free, and saves you the trouble of having to carry a Walkman (though I'd advise you to pack some spare batteries).
But just as I'd begun to appreciate the benefits of MP3, Interactive Objects has announced that Microsoft will purchase its digital audio player technology, which provides the first stereo playback software for the Palm-size PCs and supports Microsoft's new Windows Media Technologies 4.0 platform. The first Palm-size PC expected to feature this new technology is the Cassiopeia E-100.
In addition to stereo support, one of the key benefits of Windows Media 4.0 is that it delivers twice the compression of MP3, effectively doubling the storage capacity of music files on Windows CE. These are compelling features for the audiophile, but with thousands upon thousands of MP3 files already on the Internet, how quickly will music and other audio content created in the new file format become available? Given the reluctance of most major record companies to embrace the Internet as a distribution mechanism because of their (legitimate) concerns over copyright protection, this is a serious question.
For the moment, it's best to adopt a wait and see approach while the audio standards battle rages. In the short term, I'll stick to MP3 but I don't think it will be too long before we start seeing music being published in the Windows Media 4.0 format.
R.I.B.
Back to top
Home
It's been a long time since I've published a book review on the Business Solutions Home Page, so I was pleased to be able to complete my review of Bill Gates' new tome, Business @ The Speed Of Thought, over the weekend. While it doesn't really break any new ground, the book does provide a practical blueprint for how managers and companies should navigate the opportunities and dangers of the brave new digital world. And coming from Bill Gates it probably will carry a whole lot more weight among the general business community than numerous other ebusiness titles written by authors and consultants with seminars, training courses and other services to sell once they've made their name in print.
I found my new color Palm-size PC a very handy tool while reading the book for taking down notes and writing down quotations. In fact, by the time I had transferred to Note Taker file to my PC the review had almost written itself. It saved me a lot of the time I would normally have spent referring back to the book to quotes and rereading important sections while writing the review. I look forward to the day when I can read the latest new titles in electronic format and bookmark key passages and make annotations directly into the electronic text. That sure would make my life easier….
R.I.B.
Back to top
Home
During the course of my career, I've had to endure more than my fair share of sales pitches and until yesterday I thought I'd learned to handle just about every stratagem that has ever been invented. Until that is I was called on by a snappily dressed young hotshot with an MBA (I know this because he had printed the initials on his name card) trying to sell me some exhibition space.
"So tell me about your company," was the first thing he said as I sat down opposite him.
"What do you mean?" I asked nonplussed. "You're trying to sell me something and you don't even know anything about company?"
The guy hurriedly tried to explain himself but I wasn't listening. Not even a "customized" proposal with my company's name on it or some highly attractive pricing could spark my attention. In less than thirty seconds he had completely blown any chance of making a sale to me. I think we both felt relieved when the meeting broke up a few minutes later.
I'm not sure whether the sales guy was trying to implement some harebrained strategy to wrong foot me in the hope that this would put me at a disadvantage in the subsequent negotiations or whether he was just arrogant or stupid. But if he had just spent a couple of minutes searching my company's website and then opened his pitch with a line like "I see your product X is doing really well in the market, but if you participate in this show you will be able to reach a much wider audience…" I would have been a lot more receptive to his proposal. Technology, whether it be a pre-loaded Pocket PowerPoint presentation on a Windows CE device or something as basic as boiler plate text in a Word file that you can "customize" for every customer by activating the Search and Replace feature, can really help to facilitate the sales process. But it's no replacement for good old-fashioned manners and plain old common sense!
Back to top
Home
I've posted a review of the bREADY Viewer eText reading application on the Enterprise Solutions section of the website. Although I still have doubts as to whether the .brd file format this will become a universally accepted standard for Windows CE devices, I was impressed with the program. Now I am trying to put together some documents using the bREADY Publisher component and hope to be able to post the results on the website on Monday.
Comdex Spring is certainly not as glitzy as its Comdex Fall counterpart in Las Vegas, but PDADash reports that Casio is generating a lot of excitement at the show with its Cassiopeia E-100 color Palm-size PC. PDADash even went so far as to describe this device as "Microsoft's poster child for the Wyvern generation of Palm-sized units - it's the fastest, with the most colors, and the only one that supports stereo audio output."
Although it might seem less exciting than the Cassiopeia E-100,Proxim's announcement that its RangeLAN2® wireless LAN technology will enable today's mobile work force using Windows CE Handheld PC devices running the new client software to have wireless access to critical corporate data, email, and desktop applications on Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Terminal Server Edition may in the long term have more impact on the business user. There is no doubt that wireless connectivity will in the future be the killer application for handheld devices, and this is a positive move in that direction.
Back to top
Home
We are pleased to an unveil a dynamic new look to the Windows CE Business Solutions Home Page today, and hope you find the new layout more attractive than the previous one and much easier to navigate.
Redesigning the site has been a huge job, and I'd like to thank my partner from TimWORKS© for all the hard work he's done on this project. As a complete amateur in the workings of HTML, I'm glad that all I have to do is create the content!
We are constantly looking at ways in which we can improve the site, and would appreciate any feedback you could provide us. Please feel free to drop us a line at: wincebizrib@oocities.com.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Back to top
Home
As a voracious reader, I feel almost naked if I don't have a book, magazine, or newspaper with me whenever I go out – even if I'm just making a short trip to the supermarket or Post Office. I feel that any moment I spend standing in line without some material to occupy my mind is wasted; if I were still a kid I would probably be labeled as hyperactive.
Anyway, I've long hoped that it would be possible to store reading materials such as novels or articles on my Palm-size PC so I could save the hassle of carrying around a heavy tome. With the monochrome devices, however, intensive reading was more a struggle than a pleasure. But now the arrival of color Palm-size PCs has completely changed the picture. Text is a joy to read on the paper-white background of a color Palm-size PC screen, and features such as jog wheels make scrolling up and down documents easy.
In short, from a hardware point of view, color Palm-size PCs are great for reading electronic documents. But as I've discovered after a lot of heavy research on the Internet and hours of testing document reading and publishing programs, there is still a lot of work to be done on the software and content side before electronic document reading becomes a mainstream application for the business user. What's needed above all is a standard file format like Adobe Acrobat that can be adopted by both publishers and users. That would make things a whole lot easier for everyone!
To see what kind of applications and content are currently available, please take a look at the eText Reading update we've posted on in the Color Palm-size PC Business Users' Guide. It also contains some ideas on potential applications for delivering electronic documentation to color Palm-size PCs in a corporate environment. Over the next few days we're also going to be posting some reviews of electronic document viewing and publishing software, so please watch out for them.
Back to top
Home
Although the European Community has embarked on such a grand undertaking as adopting a single currency, it still hasn't got round to standardizing more mundane items like phone jacks. As a result, getting connected to the Internet and your email can be a nightmare if you a doing a "grand tour" of different European countries.
On a recent trip to Singapore I bought myself a Global Telephone Travel Kit made by a company called Ora Electronics, which will – I hope – make getting connected in Europe a snap in the future.
The kit contains an almost bewildering number of different telephone jack adapters for use in Germany, France and other French Speaking Countries, the UK and HK, Australia, and Italy, in addition to a handy screwdriver, fax/modem cable, and wire adapter.
I'm not sure that I'll ever use all these items, but it's reassuring to have them on hand with me when I am on the road. The extra weight the kit adds to my baggage is minimal, and it doesn't take up too much luggage space either. Who knows, once the European Community gets the Euro running at full throttle, it will turn its attention to making life that little bit easier for the business traveller.
Back to top
Home
Even though the new color Palm-size PCs have enough battery life to last a full business day, you still need to be careful when using your device for extended periods to prevent it from running out of power when you most need it. Here is a number of helpful hints for maximizing the battery life of your color Palm-size PC -- many of which I have gleaned from bitter experience.
Always fully recharge your device before taking it out with you: As obvious as this may sound, it can sometimes be difficult to remember to pop your device in its cradle when you get home late at night after a long brutal day. Perhaps the best thing to do is make sure that you keep your Palm-size PC cradle next to your mobile phone cradle. That's what I do; it acts as a sort of double reminder.
Minimize use of the backlight: The screen may be a lot brighter when the backlight is on but it draws a lot of power. So only use this feature when it's really necessary.
Remove CompactFlash Cards as soon as you finish using them: Whenever you install a CompactFlash memory or communications card in a Palm-size or Handheld PC, Windows CE automatically flashes a warning message about battery life. You would do well to heed it because, like the backlight feature, CompactFlash cards drain power very quickly.
Minimize the Power Off Settings of your device so that it automatically turns itself off after note being used for a while: It can be very easy to leave your device on by accident, particularly if your are very busy. To change the Power off settings, all you have to do is tap Start>Power and the Power Off tab, and then the following menu will appear.
You can decide how long the device can be idle before it automatically shuts off. The default time is two minutes but you can reduce this to one minute.
Always carry a fully-charged replacement battery: Just to be safe, you should always carry a replacement battery with you. They're small and light enough to be carried in a bag or briefcase, and they're not outrageously expensive. And when you're stuck in a long meeting or delayed in airport lounge without access to a power point they can be a true lifesaver!
Back to top
Home
Sitting through interminable meetings listening to long and boring presentations is an unfortunate if unavoidable price one has to pay for joining the exalted ranks of middle management. But even if there's no way you can politically afford to absent yourself from such gatherings, with a Palm-size PC in hand you can not only alleviate your boredom but also impress your colleagues or customers with your diligence and close attention to the proceedings.
Compared to notebooks, Handheld PCs, and good old-fashioned pen and paper, Palm-size PCs are the ideal tool for helping you survive even the most monotonous meetings. First of all, unlike notebooks or Handhelds, the screen on your Palm-size PC is so small that there's no way that the person sitting next to you will be able to see exactly what you are writing. And unlike paper, they leave no physical evidence of the caricature you drew of the boss or the intricate doodle that you spent hours constructing.
More important, if you prepare yourself properly, you can load enough reading material and fun applications to keep yourself occupied for hours on end -- while your poor ignorant colleagues think that you're busily scribbling down the profound insights that you have gained during the discussions. Here is a brief Palm-size PC Meeting Survival Guide. I hope you'll find it useful.
Of all the standard Palm-size PC software applications, Note Taker is by far the most useful for getting you through meetings. You can use it to write down brief reminders to yourself, such as the shopping you need to get on the way home, jot down sudden ideas and inspirations that come to you (where do you think I get most of the ideas for my journal entries?), and - if you're really desperate - even take notes from the meeting.
If you're feeling in any way creative, you can also use the Rick Ink feature to doodle or draw pictures of the people sitting around the table. These can be quickly hidden from view by pressing the Instant On/Off button on your device should a colleague show too much interest in what you are doing.
If you think you'll need to bring in some reading materials with you, be sure to download Mobile Channel content from the Internet before going into the meeting. I'm a great fan of the MSNBC Mobile Channel, which is an ideal way of keeping up with all the latest news. The Sony Pictures Entertainment Scoop Mobile Channel provides excellent coverage of all the latest happenings in the world of entertainment, and there are now numerous specialist channels delivering many different types of content.
As an alternative to Mobile Channels, you could also download electronic novels and thousands of business and technical articles from websites like MemoWare. For this, you'll also need an electronic book reading application such as DocView.
Games may be a more enjoyable way of passing your time, but they're also a lot more risky. Your colleagues may question why you keep aggressively pressing the application buttons on your device with a manic expression on your face while they are struggling to stifle their yawns of boredom. Perhaps the safest option is Solitaire -- not the most exciting form of entertainment but a lot more interesting than listening to the monotonous drone of yet another poorly-prepared speaker.
Back to top
Home
Maps are an obvious application that will allow business users to take full advantage of the enhanced viewing capabilities of their color Palm-size. So it doesn't come as much as a surprise that Microsoft is currently offering a free copy of Microsoft Expedia Streets and Trips 2000 to anyone* who buys a Palm-size PC from March 31 to June 30 this year, and has posted a free version of the company's Pocket Streets application as well as sample maps for people to download from its Windows CE website.
I took Pocket Streets for a test drive and found the results on my color Palm-size PC illuminating. The visual quality of the map images was truly stunning, and I was impressed with the flexibility that the program gives you in viewing the maps in varying styles and levels of detail and in searching for street names and places.
One of the features I really like about Pocket Streets is the number of options it gives you as to how you want to view the maps. You can choose whether to have a light or dark background and the level of detail you want to display.
I myself prefer to use the dark background but can see the value of using the light background option in dimly-lit conditions.
Another powerful feature in the application is its Zoom Out and Zoom In capabilities. You can zoom out to get a clear idea of where you are in the city and then zoom in to view the location of the place you want to get to. The program provides a surprisingly deep level of detail; when you tap a location on the screen with your stylus the address will appear.
Zoom-Out View
Zoom In View
Pocket Streets also has excellent search capabilities, which allow you to find addresses and places you are looking for. You can type in either the street name or the name of a landmark and the program will automatically generate a list of options for you to choose from. Here are the results of a search for Golden Gate that I conducted.
Since I don't have a copy of Expedia Streets and Trips 2000 installed on my PC, I was only able to get a taste of the basic capabilities of the Pocket Streets program. But it's not to difficult to envisage how I could save myself a lot of trouble on future business trips by pre-loading my Palm-size PC with maps of the cities I'm visiting as well as customized maps showing the routes from the airport to my hotel or my customer's offices.
It would be a great application too for mobile staff like sales people or field technicians, who would be able to plan their daily itineraries more efficiently and instantly find the location of places they need to visit in an emergency.
For more information about the Microsoft Expedia Streets and Trips 2000 Palm-size PC promotion, please click the following hyperlink. http://www.microsoft.com/windowsce/products/highlights/q1ppcpromo.asp *Unfortunately, this promotion applies only to people who have bought Palm-size PCs in the US and Canada.
You can download the Pocket Streets application and sample maps at: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsce/Products/download/maps.asp
You might also check out the Microsoft Expedia website at www.expedia.com to learn more about the different types of mapping and route planning applications you can carry out with this program.
Back to top
Home
One of the great benefits of an open platform like Windows CE is that it provides manufacturers ample room for innovation not just in the design of their hardware, but also the extra accessories and software features they add to their devices. This is certainly the case for the new generation of color Palm-size PCs. And although this may lead to greater confusion among potential buyers, it also provides far greater freedom of choice to consumers and business users.
To help you sort through this confusion and select the color Palm-size PC that is right for you, I have compiled detailed comparison charts showing the hardware and software features of all the leading color Palm-size models currently or soon to be on the available on the market. In addition, I have added some explanations of what I consider to be the most important factors you should consider when choosing a color Palm-size PC device and listed them in order of importance.
Screen
Battery Life & Recharging
"Look & Feel"
Memory Size
Audio Capabilities
Processor Type
CompactFlash Slot Type
Accessory Items and Software Bundles
Please note that it is not the policy of the Windows CE Business Solutions Home Page to recommend individual devices. Rather, it is to provide our visitors with the information you need to make informed choices.
Screen
Probably the single most important factor that will influence your choice of a color Palm-size will be the quality of the device's screen. Unfortunately, sorting through the competing claims made by the hardware manufacturers regarding the technological merits of the screens on their devices is a tough process. So the best piece of advice I can give you is: even if you plan to buy a color Palm-size PC via the Internet or mail-order, head off down to your local computer store and compare the screen on each device before you place your order. That's the only way you'll be able to make a decision you are comfortable with.
In fact, color Palm-size PCs come with a variety of different screens, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. The Compaq Aero has what's known as a reflective TFT (thin film transistor) screen, which allows you to view the display without a backlight (though this feature is still included for use in poorly lit conditions). The key advantage of a reflective TFT screen is that it helps save battery life. In addition, you can view the screen in bright daylight (something I can't do for example with the color screen on my HP LX620).
The HP Jornada 420 on the other hand features a CSTN (color nematic screen technology) screen, and also has a nifty software utility that allows you to adjust the contrast and backlighting of the screen in indoor and outdoor lighting conditions. While the CSTN screen on the HP Jornada delivers rich color (particularly when the backlight feature is on), it does draw heavily on power, which dramatically reduces battery life. Unlike other color Palm-size PCs, the HP Jornada also has transparent flip cover to protect the screen; as an additional bonus you can start up the device by simply tapping on the screen.
So far, I haven't had the chance to see the other color Palm-size PC devices that have been announced. But Casio claims that the FSTN (sorry, I don't know what this stands for) screen on its E-100 supports 65,535 colors compared to the 256 colors supported by the other devices. It'll be interesting to see what kind of "real-world" benefits this impressive number delivers when the device finally hits the market.
Battery Life & Recharging
After screen quality, battery life is probably the most important consideration for many users. No matter how fancy your device is, if it shuts down due to lack of power during the middle of a meeting it is worse than useless!
With the exception of the Philips Nino 500, all the color Palm-size PCs feature Lithium Ion batteries, though given that Philips is claiming a battery life of eight hours the battery type doesn't seem to be a major issue. Compaq claims up to ten hours for its Aero, while HP claims around six hours for its Jornada.
Since all the devices seem capable of delivering enough battery life to last for a full business day, you should also consider a couple of other important factors, particularly if you travel regularly on business. One major drawback of the HP Jornada in my eyes is that you can only recharge it via its cradle, so you will have to carry the cradle whenever you go on a trip lasting more than a day. A minor inconvenience perhaps, until you discover that you've forgotten to pack the cradle when you arrive at your hotel after a long day of meetings and you need to urgently access your email.
On the other hand, the HP Jornada uses an off-the-shelf Sony Lithium Ion battery so that you should be able to buy a replacement fairly easily -- and at a significantly lower price than you'd pay for the proprietary batteries used in the other color Palm-size PCs.
"Look & Feel"
While many of us like to pretend that we base our technology buying decisions on "objective" considerations like performance, specifications, and features, it is often more intangible factors like "look and feel" that play a critical part in our final choice. But even in this area there are tangible items that you should carefully consider the most obvious of which is the size and weight of the devices.
Compared to the first generation of Palm-size PCs, the color devices are bigger and heavier overall, weighing as much as 10 ounces with the batteries inserted. (Please see the Size & Weight Comparison Chart for further details.) If you're carrying the device around with you all of the day, you need to make sure that it is comfortable to hold in your palm for extended periods. If you're at all like me, one of the main tasks you will use your device for is taking notes during long and boring meetings!
Another thing you should consider carefully is the location of the On/Off switch and the application buttons on the device to make sure that they are conveniently located. Many people also like the jog wheels integrated on the original Nino for scrolling up and down applications; some of the other color Palm-size PCs now also come with this feature.
Memory Size
Windows CE Palm-size PCs come with two types of memory: ROM (Read-Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory). ROM is used to store the Windows CE Operating System and any other applications the manufacturer has decided to "burn in" to the device. In a very real sense, the size of the ROM is irrelevant because you can't erase any applications from it or install any new applications. That's why it's called Read Only Memory.
The size of the RAM is a far more critical factor, because it is used for running your applications and storing files and any additional applications you have installed on your device. My own advice is to buy a device with as much RAM as possible -- preferably a minimum of 16MB. That way your device will deliver better performance and provide the room you need for installing the growing number of third-party applications that are becoming available -- not to mention graphics and audio files.
Audio Capabilities
With Compaq, Casio and Philips all having announced that they will include AudiblePlayer software that allows you to download audio books and articles from www.audible.com with their devices, the audio capabilities of color Palm-size PCs will become an increasingly important consideration for many users. The growing popularity of the MP3 software from www.xaudio.com is also another important factor.
While all the color Palm-size PCs have a built-in speaker, you will need to install a headphone set for a good listening experience. One drawback with the devices is that they have a 0.25mm audio jack (unlike the 0.35mm audio jack on Walkmans), so getting high-quality earphones can be a problem. In addition, the Casio E-100 is the only color Palm-size PC to support stereo headphones; all the others support mono only.
Processor Type
Windows CE Palm-size PCs come with RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing) processors rather than the CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computing) CPUs that you will find in a standard desktop or notebook PCs. While the clock speed (expressed in MHz) is important, whether your processor is running at 75MHz or 100MHz has very little (if any) impact on the overall performance of the device; memory size is a far more critical factor. All five color Palm-size PCs feature high-performance processors that will deliver all the headroom you need to run your Windows CE applications, so I wouldn't base your buying decision solely on this factor.
CompactFlash Slot Type
All five color Palm-size PCs feature a standard 3.3V Type I/II CompactFlash slot, which should mean that you will have no problems installing all types of CompactFlash cards such as memory, fax/modem, and network cards. HP in particular has also been aggressively promoting the fact that the CompactFlash slot on the Jornada is "shielded" so that it will be able to support the forthcoming CF1350 Flex paging card from Motorola. If you think you might need to use this solution, then make sure that CompactFlash slot on your device also meets the "shielded" specification.
Accessory Items and Software Bundles
Although perhaps not as important a factor as the other ones I have mentioned, if you have a chance you should take a look at the accessory items that come with the device. The single biggest thing I hate about my Everex Freestyle is the stylus, though I love the foldable MobileCradle. The quality of the carrying pouch is also something you should look at. Sometimes it's the seemingly little things that can drive you crazy!
All the color Palm-size PCs come with pretty respectable bundles of utilities such as menu utilities as well as full blown applications like expense managers, image viewers, and calculators. But with Windows CE software now widely available and reasonably cheap, you'll probably end up installing other programs in any case.
Back to top
Home
The successful launch of so-called E-Books, the SoftBook and RocketBook, has shown that there is a strong demand for devices that allow people to read texts electronically. This trend is mirrored by the thousands of documents that you can download from websites such as MemoWare to read on Palm or Windows CE devices.
However, having spent the best part of my weekend trawling the Internet for electronic book reading applications and worthwhile electronic content, I have come to the conclusion that there is a long way to go before electronic book reading will become a standard feature on Windows CE Palm-size or Handheld PCs.
Ironically enough, the major roadblock is not with Windows CE hardware. While the monochrome screens on the first generation of Palm-size PC devices are hardly ideal for intense reading, black text looks great when set against the white background on a color Palm-size PC or Handheld PC screen, as the screenshot below so clearly illustrates. Furthermore, Microsoft has announced that it is working on new font technology that will further enhance the electronic book reading experience in the future.
In fact, the major roadblock has more to do with business than technology. Both the SoftBook and RocketBook operate subscription models where users have to pay for the books they download from the Internet or via fax/modem. Windows CE users on the other hand have to make to do with difficult-to-use freeware programs and limited and often eclectic content.
This stuff may be free. But unless software developers and publishers can figure out a business model that will enable them to make money and protect the copyright of their content, Windows CE users will have to be satisfied with reading 18th century novels and short business tracts from little-known sources rather than the latest blockbusters from Tom Peters or Tom Clancy.
My purpose here is not in any way to belittle the amazing efforts of people who have spent hours of their spare time writing book viewing software and assembling massive and well-organized collection of electronic documents. But as someone who has only limited time to play with, I'd be more than happy to pay a monthly subscription fee to a site like www.audible.com so that I can receive the latest business books and any other content that catches my interest to read on my Palm-size PC. The cost would be far outweighed by the added convenience of such a service. Are any publishers or book clubs out there listening? I sense that this could be a great business opportunity.
Back to top
Home
If you use your Windows CE Palm-size PC or Handheld PC as heavily as I do, and in all sorts of places, it's very easy to get the device's screen dirty. This not only makes it more difficult to view the displayed information; in my experience, it also reduces the word recognition rate of the Jot Handwriting Recognition software on my Palm-size PC.
I've tried many ways to keep my screen clean, but it wasn't until I picked up a couple of boxes of If you use your Windows CE Palm-size PC or Handheld PC as heavily as I do, and in all sorts of places, it's very easy to get the device's screen dirty. This not only makes it more difficult to view the displayed information; in my experience, it also reduces the word recognition rate of the Jot Handwriting Recognition software on my Palm-size PC. I've tried many ways to keep my screen clean, but it wasn't until I picked up a couple of boxes of Concept Kitchen's PDA Screen Clean during a recent trip to Singapore that I found a screen care product that I was comfortable with. The PDA ScreenClean package features two separate products: Karma Cloth and Brain Wash. Karma Cloth is a soft leather cloth that I use on an almost daily basis to remove the dust, cigarette ash and other fluff that somehow manages to find its way on the screens of my devices with annoying regularity. It certainly spruces up the LCD very quickly and the soft material ensures that there is no scratching. Brain Wash is a more intensive two-step wet-dry cleaning solution that I use on the last day of every month to give the screens on my HP LX620 and Everex Freestyle a thorough spring cleaning. The results are amazing. I can start each new month with a screen that is almost restored to its original pristine glory. PDA ScreenClean can be purchased from the Concept Kitchen website for $19.99. If you care about maintaining the quality of your screen, I would definitely recommend you to buy it. during a recent trip to Singapore that I found a screen care product that I was comfortable with.
The PDA ScreenClean package features two separate products: Karma Cloth and Brain Wash. Karma Cloth is a soft leather cloth that I use on an almost daily basis to remove the dust, cigarette ash and other fluff that somehow manages to find its way on the screens of my devices with annoying regularity. It certainly spruces up the LCD very quickly and the soft material ensures that there is no scratching.
Brain Wash is a more intensive two-step wet-dry cleaning solution that I use on the last day of every month to give the screens on my HP LX620 and Everex Freestyle a thorough spring cleaning. The results are amazing. I can start each new month with a screen that is almost restored to its original pristine glory.
PDA ScreenClean can be purchased from the Concept Kitchen website for $19.99. If you care about maintaining the quality of your screen, I would definitely recommend you to buy it.
Back to top
Home
As a loyal user of the HP LX620 I was excited to read that the company has announced an upgrade for the device, featuring productivity applications from HP and an upgrade from Windows CE 2.0 to Windows CE Handheld Professional Edition software.
My excitement was tempered somewhat, however, when I read the rest of the press release. Not only will the upgrade have an estimated price of US$179 (it does after all feature 32MB DRAM); but also it will not be available until "early June". A long time to wait considering today is April Fools Day!
I'm not sure either whether HP's strategy of building easy upgradeability into its Windows CE products is a good one either. One of the main benefits of Windows CE devices is that they are a lot easier to use and maintain than notebooks or desktop PCs. Upgrades may enhance functionality and features but they also add unnecessary complexity for both companies and end-users.
I certainly would not like to be in the shoes of an MIS manager who has to recall all the H/PC units being used by their sales force and then physically remove the memory board from each device and replace it with the new upgrade module. The logistics would be a nightmare! And even as a reasonably savvy user I'm not sure I would want to go through the hassle of carrying out an upgrade myself. The potential risks would far outweigh the benefits.
In any case, there are other cheaper and more effective ways of offering upgrades. I myself would love to get my hands on the applications such as an MP3 player that HP is offering as part of its upgrade. Why not make these available free of charge (or even for a small fee) via the HP home page to all registered HP LX620 and HP LX650 owners? What better way of collecting valuable information about the usage patterns and potential requirements of your customers? The goodwill that such an offer would generate would also be tremendous.
Back to top
Home