is the pocket pc dead?

Chaka Kahn · 07-14-06, 03:13 PM

i mean seriously, there are hardly ANY devices to choose from today. i remember in 2003-2004 all the devices offered and now look, very little. the smart phone has taken over. an example is this forum. look at all the phone sub forums now. i don't recall that being there before. you open up the pocket pc magazine (which has now included smartphone in the title

) and look at the device comparison page. compare it to an issue from 2003 or 2004 and note that there were hardly ANY of those stupid phones.

let's see, there is the dell axim x51v, the hp rx series (which is weak as hell) and then the hx series which has slimmed down, and asus, well, haven't heard of them in awhile. who else? garmin? gps? wow. acer? have to import it. the rest are those stupid phones.

i know that many of you use the smart phones and this is all in my opinion, but what the hell, is there no demand for the regular pocket pc? the market is just crap for the devices now. i remember window's mobile @ microsoft's website and they had the device listings. well, years ago the page was FILLED with PPCs, including my device. i checked today, there are THREE devices.

/rant
/blog

i want to hear other people's input on this, hopefully people that have been using pocket pcs before 2003. is there any future to them? should i stop waiting for a new device to come out? will there be another device coming out?

also, those UMPCs are out and oh boy, that's another killer.

mental ambiguity · 07-14-06, 03:36 PM

I dunno, I love my Cingular 8125/HTC Wizard. I bought it out of necessity. The hx4705 I had was great, but in the mobile world I live in, being connected is getting more and more important. And, I'm not always able to stop off at a wifi hotspot or any such thing to do what I need to do.

A year or so ago, I was adamant about have a separation of devices. Hated the PocketPC phones. Now, I won't go back to a regular cell phone. The uses are too great to me.

If I ever get out of the IT field though, this may all change.. But now that I've been using it for a little bit, I doubt it..

However, overall, I think the trend is to go to converged devices. I think that the standard PocketPC is on its way out the door. It was a great run while it lasted, but with people being more and more mobile, and wanting to get their email and such on the run, I don't see it lasting much more than another couple of years or so.

imported_Pogi · 07-26-06, 07:59 AM

I too have picked up a PDA phone and find it very useful, more so than my Ipaq 2210, which simply acts as my GPS navigation system.

I've ventured into the I.T. industry hence I've been using the PDA phone they gave me more. The phone itself just makes it much more convenient. But I still carry my trusty 2210.

I do believe the plain PocketPC is being phased out by Smart phones, the Blackberry and pocket laptops.

It's unfortunate, but I will still continue to use my reliable (only if it isn't dropped and gets hard resetted) 2210.

Raymond_Tengen · 08-06-06, 09:59 PM

It's a shame indeed. PPC are slowly disappearing. Although I still use it regularly, I sometimes think to myself that I should've got a Smartphone instead as it is a PPC+phone.

jpryor · 08-07-06, 10:58 AM

I am currently a converged device disliker (hate is such a strong word). That may stem from the fact that I don't need push e-mail.

My job requires power and functionality of a device. I am composing and editing word documents, spreadsheets and reading PDF's. Something I couldn't imagine doing on a converged device. Personally, I don't mind 2 devices. I don't always need my ppc and I can have a small phone.

This may all change as the phones get smaller (mostly thinner) and more powerful, I may gravitate towards the "darkside" as some PPC enthusiasts may call it. Only time will tell.

Both devices have their place in the community and unfortunately, converged devices are becoming more and more popular.

my .02 cents

mental ambiguity · 08-07-06, 02:17 PM

Hmmm.. One thing too that I've noticed with converged devices versus the pocketpc's.. Of course, it's only stuff I've noticed in my limited scope of view.

I'm starting to get real heavily into custom ROM's and such. Something I never even came close to thinking of with my hx4705. Now I'm looking to start building my own custom ROM for my 8125, as well as my own custom extended ROM (which I currently have blanked out).

While it is probably very possible to do this with the hx4705, I've never seen it so much as I have with the PocketPC phone/SmartPhone based devices. Seems to be done very extensively, as there's just no pleasing some cell phone users..

imported_Bittermormon · 08-07-06, 03:37 PM

Originally Posted by jpryor

Personally, I don't mind 2 devices. I don't always need my ppc and I can have a small phone.

That wasmy major arguement against getting an MDA. But with the glory of SIM cards I too can have a small phone in about 30 seconds. (BTW in teh 3 weeks I've had my MDA I havent used my siemens sl56 once)

gylman · 08-07-06, 05:53 PM

My problem with smartphone is the form factor. To me the 4" VGA screen on the 4700 was ideal. UMPCs are too big and not pocketable, while the kind of screen and resolution you get on a phone device is not useful for document reading. I love the fact that everywhere I go with my PPC I have whatever book I want to read, whatever game I want to play, and can access the internet/email as needed. I wouldn't turn down phone access if it came in the same form factor, but obviously it doesn't now, and won't in the future.

slashlos · 08-07-06, 08:32 PM

Well, I'm a career IT type who still thinks cell phones aren't that reliable here in the U.S., unlike Europe or South America. Until the various alphabet soup of networks (i.e., cdma, tdma, gsm) converge, and U.S. carriers agree to compete on an equal footing, I'd rather have the devices separate. U.S. wide adoption of GSM would be nice, but I'll probably be retired by then...

I do hope for devices that one day will truly be voice activated, connect nearly anywhere, and really address the PPC side of things but until such time, I'll keep 'em separate.

dfmclore · 08-07-06, 09:02 PM

IMHO the PDA still has a place as for the smart phone the screen is too small for my elderly eyes. The screen on my V710 is horrible in daylight and the many uses that I put my H2210 are not an option I can't imagine trying to read on my V710 even if it were capable. I could go on but alot has been covered here and in other forums. My next PDA will be an HX2415 or 95 depending on whether or not the get the bugs out of WM5 by then. My next cell will be a SLVR or RAZR I like Motos. I am intrigued by the IJAM but I have one big issue with multi's if one goes down your SOL.

**PocketBrain** · 08-08-06, 10:18 AM

there is still a market for the PPC for now, but yeah, convergence devices and UMPC's are starting to muscle in from both directions on the PPC's. Once they shrink the UMPC's form factor by one more notch, if they keep the $500 projected price point, there will be little room for PPC's. Windows Mobile will be the domain of convergence only, then. Of course, you will always be able to run your emulator and use old PPC programs! I look forward to an affordable and transportable UMPC as my next PPC.

.

gylman · 08-08-06, 10:28 AM

Is there anything even on the horizon for the UMPC that might be "pocketable"? That would certainly influence my buying decisions now (looking to buy a backup HX4700).

Chaka Kahn · 01-15-07, 02:31 PM

I am saying it is dead right now. Pocket PC magazine is lucky they changed their name to include smartphones because there wasn't a single article about a pocket pc. The entire thing was about smartphones. I don't remember if it was like this in the last issue, but I would say it is over.

**Elrendhel** · 01-15-07, 03:24 PM

PocketPC is not just the device, but the operating system as well. If you look at a smartphone, the OS listed in the Asset Manager will likely identify itself as "Pocket PC Phone Edition".

Smartphones are generally defined as any device having more to offer than just telephony services. Calendars, Memos, or PDA functionality are all that it takes to label such a phone as a "SmartPhone". So it goes that any PDA with telephony services will also be considered a Smartphone. But there are plenty of devices out there that have NO telephony services, like the Pocket Loox n560, newly released in Europe over the last four or five months.

But the writing is on the wall, PocketPCs will start including telephony services as part of future default build-outs (just like Wireless WiFi is becoming more and more a standard).

People that buy a PDA that happens to include PCS/CELL telephony services will continue to call their devices PocketPCs or PDAs, and people who buy their device for the cellphone telephony services will continue to call their devices smartphones.

So when you talk about PocketPCs being dead, you can't be further from the truth.

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