There used to be a simple opposition between cheap Palm handhelds and pricey but powerful multimedia Pocket PCs, but today there is a lot of overlap. The Palm side has ramped up the power by adopting ARM-based processors similar to those used in Pocket PCs, and introducing a new version of the Palm OS. Meanwhile, the Pocket PC players have launched smaller and/or cheaper models such as the Hewlett-Packard iPaq H1910, ViewSonic V35 and the Dell Axim X5.
In fact, Palm OS devices now cover a wider range of the consumer market. At the low end, there is the naff but cheap Palm Zwire, which uses the old Dragonball processor. At the high end, there are ARM-based machines such as the Sony Clié NZ-90, which not only offers Pocket PC-style multimedia, but trumps them by including a 2-megapixel camera.
Dell's Axim has made the biggest impact of the new Pocket PCs, mainly because of its price. The Axim X5 comes in two variants: a 300MHz machine with 32MB of memory for £197, and a 400MHz device with 64MB of memory and a cradle for £267. This compares with about £300 (reduced from its original £386) for an ARM-based Palm Tungsten T with 16MB of memory and a 174MHz TI processor. However, the Tungsten T has the advantage of built-in Bluetooth for wireless connection to a mobile phone.
There is much to like about the Axim. It feels solid, has a good screen, and packs in a large CompactFlash II expansion slot as well as a standard SD card slot. While the Axim feels somewhat utilitarian, its cradle is a substantial and remarkably shiny piece of high tech engineering. The cradle lets you synchronise the Axim with a personal computer, recharge the battery, and recharge a spare battery in an extra slot at the back.
Although the Axim is bulky by today's standards, it is slightly smaller than a traditional iPaq complete with a CompactFlash expansion sleeve, and much cheaper. I can foresee companies that have developed applications on a couple of iPaqs rolling them out on a couple of hundred Axims.
However, when it comes to style-conscious buyers, the Axim is trounced by HP's new H1910 version of the iPaq. This is smaller, sleeker, and has a brighter screen, though it is also more expensive at £299. It comes with stereo earphones (its voice recording works better than Dell's) and a synchronisation cable but no cradle, which is an optional extra. If you have already acquired a CompactFlash memory card and/or IBM hard drive, Ethernet networking and Wi-Fi cards and so on, tough: they won't fit.
Size does make a difference. The H1910 is 4.46in tall, 2.75in wide and half an inch thick, and weighs 4.23oz (120g). On every dimension, it is smaller than Palm's Tungsten T, and is more than an ounce lighter. The Dell Axim, by contrast, measures 5.04in by 3.21in, and it is 0.71 thick, which makes it larger all round than the Tungsten T; at 6.9oz (196g), it is also 1.3oz heavier.
The major drawback with the iPaq H1910 is the memory. Only 46MB of the 64MB fitted is available to the user, and that is without either Transcriber (the excellent handwriting recognition program) or Windows Media Player loaded. So to use those, you not only have to install them from the companion CD, you have to load them into memory that you intended to use for other things.
Other applications that have mysteriously gone missing from the iPaq H1910's built in memory include Microsoft Reader, the electronic book software, MSN Messenger instant messaging, and the Terminal Services client software, which is important to corporate users. Pocket Word and Excel have survived, but this is not impressive for a £299 machine. The Pocket PC sales pitch has always been "look how much more you get built in". In this case, it should be "look how much we've left out".
In fact, the current prize for packing the most in should probably go to Sony for the Clié NZ-90, which includes a 2-megapixel (1600 x 1200 resolution) camera and electronic flash. In other respects, the NZ-90 is much like last year's NR70V, with its 0.1mp (320 x 240 resolution) camera, but with a 200MHz ARM-style processor and the new Palm OS 5.
However, the NZ-90 has some significant drawbacks, including the measly 16MB of memory. This makes it impractical for multimedia, unless you add a Memory Stick, and they are not ideal for storing large amounts of data. Also, the camera is not very flexible, and is not well placed for video conferencing unless you want to advertise your multiple chins.
Another problem with the NZ-90 is the camera's battery consumption. You think you have many hours left, but when you switch to the camera, the system does a quick recalculation and decides you don't have enough juice to use the camera, or just the flash.
Finally, although the NZ-90 has lots of neat features - including Bluetooth, a swivelling screen, a small keyboard, and a CompactFlash slot for a Wi-Fi card - it is a bit of a monster. It measures 5.6 by 3.0 inches, bulges to almost an inch thick, and weighs 10.3oz (292g). Much as I love the idea of a PDA (personal digital assistant) with a proper camera, the £600 price of an NZ-90 is better spent on two separate devices.
