Wednesday, July 23, 2003
How Things Change In Just A Few Years
Posted by Ed Hansberry in "THE COMPETITION" @ 04:00 AM
In 2001, low end Pocket PC devices cost as much or more than high end Palm devices. Sure, the Pocket PCs could do more, a lot more, but if you wanted a basic PDA for $200-$400, you had a basically two choices for your platform. PalmOS or PalmOS. :lol:
Well, today that is not the case at all. In fact, not only have Pocket PCs come down to the Palm price point, they have gone below it in some cases. Look at the announcement today on the Tungsten T2. For $399, you get a 320X320 screen, a whopping 32MB of RAM, a 144MHz TI OMAP processor, integrated bluetooth, a voice recorder and an SDIO slot.
For the same money, you can get an HP iPAQ 2215. The screen has a lower resolution at 240X320, but it has 64MB of RAM, a 3-4MB ROM file store, networking, full screen handwriting recognition, a removable battery, multitasking, full file system and a Compact Flash II slot. Now, I know what you are thinking - the iPAQ must be huge compared to the Tungsten. Palm has had the svelte devices for years. Well, not anymore. The iPAQ is 4.54 x 3.00 x 0.61 in. and weighs in at 5.1oz. The Tungsten T comes in at 4.00 (closed) x 3.00 x 0.60 in. and weighs in at 5.6oz. When you open the TT it grows to 4.80 inches high, larger than the 2215! I am assuming the T2 shares the physical dimensions of the TT.
And if I'm not mistaken, isn't the HP iPAQ 1900 series the smallest color data-centric handheld in production today? It is even smaller in some dimensions than gray-scale devices. My how times have changed.
Well, today that is not the case at all. In fact, not only have Pocket PCs come down to the Palm price point, they have gone below it in some cases. Look at the announcement today on the Tungsten T2. For $399, you get a 320X320 screen, a whopping 32MB of RAM, a 144MHz TI OMAP processor, integrated bluetooth, a voice recorder and an SDIO slot.
For the same money, you can get an HP iPAQ 2215. The screen has a lower resolution at 240X320, but it has 64MB of RAM, a 3-4MB ROM file store, networking, full screen handwriting recognition, a removable battery, multitasking, full file system and a Compact Flash II slot. Now, I know what you are thinking - the iPAQ must be huge compared to the Tungsten. Palm has had the svelte devices for years. Well, not anymore. The iPAQ is 4.54 x 3.00 x 0.61 in. and weighs in at 5.1oz. The Tungsten T comes in at 4.00 (closed) x 3.00 x 0.60 in. and weighs in at 5.6oz. When you open the TT it grows to 4.80 inches high, larger than the 2215! I am assuming the T2 shares the physical dimensions of the TT.
And if I'm not mistaken, isn't the HP iPAQ 1900 series the smallest color data-centric handheld in production today? It is even smaller in some dimensions than gray-scale devices. My how times have changed.
