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PDAs forum: Lost and Confused Sailor- iPod Touch or HP iPAQ 110/111?

by: fcgoates January 25, 2009 4:38 AM PST

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Lost and Confused Sailor- iPod Touch or HP iPAQ 110/111?

by fcgoates - 1/25/09 4:38 AM

Hello,
I'm in the US Navy, stationed overseas in Japan. I'm about to embark on another 3 year tour (can you hear the theme to Gilligan's Island?) aboard a ship slightly bigger than what the Skipper had going from him back in his hayday... which leads me to this question. Have Palm, HP and other PDA had their hayday now since the iPod Touch is out? I have this fantastic deal to buy a HP iPAQ 110/111 (same model just different numbers) for $100 off the normal price (my store is doing a closeout sale on them). I'm tempted to buy the iPAQ as I know I will be very busy and need a PDA with WiFi capablility. However, I can't seem to find any third party apps unlike the iTouch which seems to be expanding their arsenal every time I go to Apple.com. I don't want to buy an iPAQ and have little to no new apps to choose from before my three year tour is up. What good is buying an iPAQ if the market has/will have very little going for it in the next few years- besides programmers that makes programs for personnel in certain fields (I.e. medical)?

Also, I'm going for my Master's Degree. I will have a Dell Laptop with Office 2007 onboard, and with the iPAQ I can use Windows Mobile 6 and continue input for a research paper on the iPAQ from anywhere in the world on Win Mobile Word, but I can't seem to find an app that lets me use something close to Word on the Touch. Does anyone know something I don't? I need a serious PDA, but I don't want my PDA to be all work and no play. I have read both pros and cons- No Bluetooth, no expandability, no Office software, etc., on the iTouch. For the iPAQ, I've read the Windows Media Player is awful on Windows Mobile, the sound from the one speaker is crummy, not as sexy and not as many apps for the iPAQ (versus the Touch), etc.

Therefore, I'm confused and need some expert opinions (or someone who is smarter in this field as I know practically nothing about the PDA world- other than what I have just researched and the fact I can use it to help me get organized, reminders, etc.) Should I just wait until the next version of the iTouch comes out this year- I've read it may include a GPS in it- which is good because I love to run and track my runs. Where are the third party apps for Windows Mobile? I did a search, didn't find much and even the HP rep didn't really help me out either when I inquired about HP apps and third party vendors' apps as well. Does anyone have good Windows Mobile app websites I can check out?

Please help out this "lost and confused" sailor and sorry for the novel.


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The itouch is a MP3 player

by bigboy73 - 1/25/09 11:50 AM

In Reply to: Lost and Confused Sailor- iPod Touch or HP iPAQ 110/111? by fcgoates

The itouch doesn't do as well away fropm a PC as Palm's and Pocket PC's do. A very good Pocket PC can almost relace a laptop, and they allow you to do work items. the itouch is MP4 player that has some PDA abilites(but it is nice have a lot of memory built in), but you will be stuck with a less powerful operating system. I would say go with the Ipaq, and than maybe get a Little Sandisk Sansa for longer Mp3 playing abilites, but the 111 has a good batterylife, and you can just replace the battery eventually or add higer capacity battery. Their are six times the applications availabe for the Windows Mobile OS, and Palm OS also, the itouch is still in development and alot of the apps are useless little buggy ones people send out while still trying to learn how to right for the touch. So i would say Ipaq and a 4gb SD and a seperate dedicated MP3 player over an Itouch, it's more developed, and the 111 is a 8th generation Pocket PC so it's the best ofthe best. Hope this helped any more questions post.

P.S. PDA's are not dead, the manufactuars are trying to move on even thoe their is still a market for a stand alone handheld computer.

bigboy73


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A naval novel :)

by John.Wilkinson Moderator - 1/25/09 12:42 PM

In Reply to: Lost and Confused Sailor- iPod Touch or HP iPAQ 110/111? by fcgoates

"However, I can't seem to find any third party apps unlike the iTouch which seems to be expanding their arsenal every time I go to Apple.com."
-> WindowsMobile actually has a FAR more significant collection of third-party software available than the iPod Touch does. The difference is that Apple created the AppStore as a more-or-less mandated location for developers to display their wares. With WindowsMobile developers are free to distribute their applications however they see fit. Thus, many applications are available through the major third-party application stores such as Handmark.com, Handango.com, and PocketGear.com, while thousands more are available through general web searches leading to individual developer's websites.


"I can't seem to find an app that lets me use something close to Word on the Touch"
-> Indeed. There are third-party applications under development which will add MS Office-compatible functionality, but as of yet such does not truly exist for the iPod Touch.


"I've read the Windows Media Player is awful on Windows Mobile, the sound from the one speaker is crummy, not as sexy and not as many apps for the iPAQ (versus the Touch), etc."
-> Windows Media Player isn't the best, but it is functional and you can easily replace it with TCPMP, a handy freeware application that supports a far wider range of audio and video files. The speaker is also not the greatest, but from experience I do not consider the iPod Touch's speaker to be of high quality either. Either way I recommend headphones or external speakers. And despite appearances, the iPaq actually has several times the number of applications available than the iPod Touch.


"Should I just wait until the next version of the iTouch comes out this year- I've read it may include a GPS in it- which is good because I love to run and track my runs."
-> Right now that is purely rumor. The 2nd generation iPod Touch was just launched in September and, if Apple sticks with their current release process, the 3rd generation will not be available until the end of the year, assuming the current economic crisis does not delay development. I wouldn't wait 9+ months, especially based on rumors circling before Apple even makes its own plans.


"Where are the third party apps for Windows Mobile?"
-> I listed the top three sources above and can make specific product recommendations upon request.


Regards,
John


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