PPC Phones...

Hey man... we've talked about Tablet PCs. Then we've moved on to UMPCs. Of course, now we need to end the story with PPCs!!! Lots of PCs eh?

For the record, I've been studying a bit... But not enuff... If you see WL write anything tomorrow, you can fuck him when he comes back... Bad WL!!!

Ideally, when I first started using a Pocket PC Phone, I had great dreams for it. However, ultimately the PPC failed to live up to WL expectations because of two deficiencies - Screen size and Computing power.

I read an article that says that market research finally conclude that there is a correlation between screen size and productivity... Duh! Simply put, even the largest PPC with a 3.8" LCD Screen is too small to do shit... Plus, the CPU power is really bad that it can't do stuff like open large PDF files and surf the net decently. Ok, maybe it's also the GPU power, or rather lack of GPU that forces the CPU to do a software rendering of the screen.

This is why... WL is so hard on for the UMPC platform. He thinks that the UMPC will be able to fulfill this "lost legacy" that the PPC was promised to do. Ultimately, if this succeeds, what da fuck is the PPC useful for anymore???

Indeed, WL was thinking about this... For the record, I'm done with my PPC purchases for the forseeable future. I'm happy with my Dopod 838 Pro (i.e. HTC TyTN). It offers a good sharp 2.8" QVGA screen with a QWERTY keypad. Current and future PPC phone products don't really offer much of an improvement over it, as PPC tech has been stagnating for quite some time. I guess the next time when I buy another PPC is when my current one breaks down. And it has performed superbly so far... and it should do so for as many years as it can!!!

And sometimes WL ask himself - Why do I use a PPC Phone if it has failed to live up to its supposed function? Indeed, I admit there is no reason too! I guess, it's kind of the case of once you experienced it, you can't go back...

What I still like about my PPC is:
1) Synchronization with MS Outlook. This is a real plus. Unlike you common folks, I never have to worry about stuff like SIM card storage space, backup contacts, etc... cause all of them is synchronized with my PC. However, the recent announcement of the iPhone gaining some MS synchronization support may soon render this advantage obsolete... Hell, WL using iPhone that's new... I can't imagine it.
2) Multi-functionality. The PPC is really like a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none. It can do lot's of stuff - Surf web, Read PDF, Read MS Office files, Record Lectures, Read Maps, Handy Notetaker (for quick scribbles), Cameraphone, Alarm clock (really loud too), etc... but it does none of the functions really well. In fact, sometimes I do question myself, is it justified spending S$1000 on a PPC phone which to be honest I don't utilize it's non-phone function that much?

I guess that's probably why I didn't buy a brand new HTC TyTN when I sold off my big and slow Dopod 900, and took the chance of buying a 2nd-hand unit. S$1000 is really too high a price to justify for such a device. For the record, WL purchased the HTC TyTN for S$650 (w/ accessories).

However, the more stupid thing I did in retrospect was to purchase a Eten M600 for S$200, 2nd-hand unit of course. It works fine, last I tested it, and technically speaking it's meant to be a "backup PPC Phone"... but with the PPC getting more obsolete especially with the the introduction of the UMPC... will I need a backup PPC phone? Strictly speaking, I could probably do OK with a normal phone for about a week or so, while the HTC TyTN is sent for repair.

And it has crossed my mind... maybe I should just sell the Eten M600 since I won't have any foreseeable need for it, and it has become more of a luxury than a necessity. Should I?