Monday, July 28, 2003
How Many Devices is Too Many? And Can One Device Ever Be Enough?
Posted by Crystal Eitle in "THOUGHT" @ 09:15 AM
Hi all! I just got home from a weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is it ever good to be back. I missed you guys (and gals)!
This is the first airplane trip I've taken since I got my Pocket PC, and what a difference it makes. I'm a believer in traveling light, and having a Pocket PC allows me to travel lighter than I ever have before, since it replaces books, magazines, a journal, CD player and CDs, and games.
However, I'm not traveling as light as I could. While my Pocket PC can do it all (except make phone calls and take pictures - but there are Pocket PCs out there that can do these things), I find that specialized gadgets can do certain jobs even better. So in my purse, I have a total of four gadgets: cell phone, camera, Otis audio player (which I got free with my Audible subscription), and my trusty iPaq 1910. I also spent quite a bit of time playing with a Gameboy Advance SP that my boyfriend bought for the trip. And then of course there are the extras that go along with the devices: chargers, headphones, cases, etc. (Not to mention the CF card sleeve and Stowaway keyboard my boyfriend brought along with his iPaq 3875, plus his digital camera and cell phone. Between the two of us, we had a lot of gadgets).
Is it desirable to have one device that can do everything? Or is it better to have specialized devices for each job? I suspect it's a matter of personal preference. One concern for me is battery life; I literally have had nightmares about my Pocket PC running out of juice and leaving me with nothing to do. Specialized gadgets tend to have longer battery life; my cell phone can go for a week on one charge, my camera can go for a surprisingly long time (plus I carry a spare battery), the Audible Otis gets 10 hours of life from one set of batteries, and the Gameboy Advance can be played for up to 15 hours (according to its specs).
Also, with specialization comes speed, and hardware optimizations. It's fun to play games on my iPaq, but I wonder whether gameplay on a Pocket PC will ever come close to gameplay on a device that is specially made for gaming; the GBA just blew my iPaq away in that department. The buttons on most Pocket PCs are not ideal for playing games. And the speed of a specialized device can be astonishing - transferring audiobooks to the Otis is about 5 times faster (in my rough estimate) than transferring audiobooks to my Pocket PC. For me, the advantages of specialization are worth it. (Or maybe I'm just trying to justify my gadget addiction! 8) ) I'm curious how Pocket PC Thoughts readers stand on this issue. Is your goal to have one device that can do it all, or do you like to carry around two or more specific devices to meet your specific needs?
This is the first airplane trip I've taken since I got my Pocket PC, and what a difference it makes. I'm a believer in traveling light, and having a Pocket PC allows me to travel lighter than I ever have before, since it replaces books, magazines, a journal, CD player and CDs, and games.
However, I'm not traveling as light as I could. While my Pocket PC can do it all (except make phone calls and take pictures - but there are Pocket PCs out there that can do these things), I find that specialized gadgets can do certain jobs even better. So in my purse, I have a total of four gadgets: cell phone, camera, Otis audio player (which I got free with my Audible subscription), and my trusty iPaq 1910. I also spent quite a bit of time playing with a Gameboy Advance SP that my boyfriend bought for the trip. And then of course there are the extras that go along with the devices: chargers, headphones, cases, etc. (Not to mention the CF card sleeve and Stowaway keyboard my boyfriend brought along with his iPaq 3875, plus his digital camera and cell phone. Between the two of us, we had a lot of gadgets).
Is it desirable to have one device that can do everything? Or is it better to have specialized devices for each job? I suspect it's a matter of personal preference. One concern for me is battery life; I literally have had nightmares about my Pocket PC running out of juice and leaving me with nothing to do. Specialized gadgets tend to have longer battery life; my cell phone can go for a week on one charge, my camera can go for a surprisingly long time (plus I carry a spare battery), the Audible Otis gets 10 hours of life from one set of batteries, and the Gameboy Advance can be played for up to 15 hours (according to its specs).
Also, with specialization comes speed, and hardware optimizations. It's fun to play games on my iPaq, but I wonder whether gameplay on a Pocket PC will ever come close to gameplay on a device that is specially made for gaming; the GBA just blew my iPaq away in that department. The buttons on most Pocket PCs are not ideal for playing games. And the speed of a specialized device can be astonishing - transferring audiobooks to the Otis is about 5 times faster (in my rough estimate) than transferring audiobooks to my Pocket PC. For me, the advantages of specialization are worth it. (Or maybe I'm just trying to justify my gadget addiction! 8) ) I'm curious how Pocket PC Thoughts readers stand on this issue. Is your goal to have one device that can do it all, or do you like to carry around two or more specific devices to meet your specific needs?
