Toshiba e805 vs. Ipaq 4155 Help!

[Brad Isaac]

Bk,
I think I saw in another thread you decided on the e805? That is probably the best choice for nothing else than it's much more exciting than the 4155 Toshiba has had some problems in the past with their e750s etc. But this device may just what is needed to turn around that rep.
If you do get it today, tell us what you think! I'm dying to know.

[bkbroil]

I am NOW THE PROUD OWNER OF A TOSHIBA e805! I spent all day house shopping with my wife and kids but the deal was I got to pick up my new toy first! I went from house to house and every time we would get back in the car I would look at my Circuit City bag and think "I don't want to be here, I want to play with my new toy!"
I haven't even cracked the seal on the box... You know what I'll be doing for the next couple of hours! I'll keep you posted.

[nigeljedi]

Congrats! I always feel like a little kid again when I crack the seal on a new techie-toy! I especially love opening new PPC's!

[bkbroil]

Yes! I feel like a kid at Christmas! My wife asked me "Is this absolutely necessary, this Pocket PC Thingy?" Without hesitation, I answered "Yes, I use it for work everyday...you know that." Doh! I didn't even think about it....I mean is it really necessary? In my mind, it is. It's what keeps me young! So yes...it IS absolutely necessary!

[Brad Isaac]

So have you cracked the seal yet?
I am sort of hoping you say "Brad, as a Pocket PC developer, you need one of these for....testing! Yeah, that's it...testing!"

[bkbroil]

I'm not doing this justice but the difference in the screens is amazing! Both of these are at full brightness and the Ipaq looks like it's at half dim compared to the Toshiba
Later I'll take some pics of it at VGA mode...but right now..the battery on my camera is dead...(Isn't that the way it always works out )
BTW....the fuzziness at the top left of the toshiba is the reflection of the light above my table.

[knelson]

You did inform your wife that the new PocketPC was for her benefit, right? You do these things for her and the family.

[nigeljedi]

Yeah, you must tell her that it is for the good of the family and mankind. If you didn't buy the Toshiba, life as we know it would crumble and disintegrate before our very eyes.
Yep. That ought to do it!

[bkbroil]

I told her this was about doing better in my job which means more dough for the NEW house that she's been talking about. That makes sense doesn't it? I have to buy gadgets in order to get a house with more than one bathroom!
Here is MSReader on the Toshiba compared to the Ipaq. The pictures may do it justice but it is so much easier to read in high resolution!

Here is Pocket Informant on both....I can see two weeks ahead...It is very easy to read...You may think that the type is too small..but it's not.

Here was my BIG TEST...DVD to Pocket PC on both devices.
First the Ipaq...Kind of gray.....I sometimes have to squint if it's a dark scene. But it does the job nicely.

Next the Toshiba in High Res....Bummer! Windows media player doesn't go to 640 x 480.

Here it is on the Toshiba in Normal mode. The screen is crystal clear. Having 2MB in Video memory makes watching these movies an extreme pleasure!

I'll keep you up to date as I go.... Still having a blast!

[Anonymous]

I faced the same dilemma, but I chose the 415x instead. Ufortunately, I had to hide it from the wife :<. Why? I really don't need it, I just WANTED it. Reaon for purchase: unemployed, bored, and irresponsible use of credit.
Bought it at CompUSA- 6 months no interest or payments.

[bkbroil]

I just WANTED it

That's the best reason!
What happened to my life? I used to be able to buy things just because I WANTED it! Now.....I pretty much have to put in a Purchase Request and wait to see if it fits in the budget and wait for that Purchase Order.
I just realized....I am not the CEO in my house! I think I'm low man on the totem pole....and you know what? I don't think my benefits package is that good..

[Anonymous]

Well, when you're out of work, its kinda hard to talk the wife into anything. Besides, I would like to buy her a house this year.

[bkbroil]

when you're out of work, its kinda hard to talk the wife into anything

I don't think being out of work, has anything to do with it! I am working right now (fingers crossed) and all I hear about is buying a house also.

[Anonymous]

When I submitted a purchase request, it was quickly turned down by my CEO. My CEO told me waite until your iPaq is broken. Unfortunately, my iPaq was just serviced by PDAsmart.com (VISA paid the service fee becuase I purchased it with VISA cc ). And, it has regained its life for another, I would say, 1-2 years.
Oh, well...

[Bruanor]

woo! I'm not alone! My girlfriend moved in a few months ago, and naturally, the marriage topic has been brought up... more so recently. You know how hard it is to justify a PPC upgrade to her when she's looking at shiny bobbles!
Maybe if I dropped it... yeaaaa, thats the ticket She'd feel bad for me and let me buy a new one right? right??
Bru...

[bkbroil]

Maybe if I dropped it... yeaaaa, thats the ticket She'd feel bad for me and let me buy a new one right? right??

You would think...but wait and see how good she'll become at fixing things. Before you know it, you'll be handing her screwdrivers and electrical tape!

when she's looking at shiny bobbles!

I've never heard that term, what are bobbles?

[Bruanor]

bobbles, trinkets, doo-dads... small shiny objects, about the size to fit on a certain finger that do little more than sparkle.... I mean, come on! a PPC does SO much more

[Brad Isaac]

FACT: A Pocket PC will help you earn more money and thus afford more and better bobbles. <--- Hope I said that right.

[Bruanor]

bk, so how is the Toshiba? I was surfing around checking them out, and I gotta say, they look like a tempting buy. The enhanced res being one of the biggest draws, even tho media player dosen't like it.
So how does it match up against an ipaq? I'm torn over weather to go with an ipaq 5555, samsung i700 (tho I don't love the idea of carrying my PPC as a phone Everywhere) and the Toshiba.
I'm going to be buying once I nail down a few more web contracts (promotional plug!) .. so help a fellow addict out
Bru...

[Brad Isaac]

I'm going to be buying once I nail down a few more web contracts (promotional plug!) .. so help a fellow addict out

Sure! Could you clarify what it is you are wanting to do?

[bkbroil]

I'm torn over weather to go with an ipaq 5555, samsung i700 (tho I don't love the idea of carrying my PPC as a phone Everywhere)

I was torn over whether to buy the Toshiba or the Ipaq 4155. I was going back and forth over whether I wanted a small form factor or the VGA screen. My final decision was based on the fact that I knew I what I was getting with the Ipaq 4155 --> a newer faster Ipaq (Nothing exciting)
But the Toshiba has something that I never used before --> VGA..the possiblilties are limitless.
And I am extremely glad I got the Toshiba...it's perfect for me. There are tons of people out there that are creating little hacks for the high resolution screen. I spent last night following a bunch of threads about a VGA hack for Pocket Informant 5.x (and the developer of PI, Alex Kac got involved).....I wound up installing the hack and it looks great. But thats me....I like fiddling with it all the time and trying new things out. The talk in all the different forums has been saying that WM2004 will support VGA...so the media player problem will be solved...

[Bruanor]

More or less, anything web related. Multimedia/Macromedia Flash, HTML, PPC sites. I've done a few pages for palm/ppc and even a couple for cell phones.
I've been designing/developing for almost 7 years now, and recently started working full time as a freelancer. So I'm always on the look out for new opportunities.
I can msg you with some links etc if you want Brad.
Bru..

[Brad Isaac]

Originally Posted by bkbroil

And I am extremely glad I got the Toshiba...it's perfect for me. There are tons of people out there that are creating little hacks for the high resolution screen. I spent last night following a bunch of threads about a VGA hack for Pocket Informant 5.x (and the developer of PI, Alex Kac got involved).....I wound up installing the hack and it looks great. But thats me....I like fiddling with it all the time and trying new things out. The talk in all the different forums has been saying that WM2004 will support VGA...so the media player problem will be solved...

Bk,
I'm glad you are doing well with the Toshiba. I know while you were deciding, I wanted to offer you a bit of warning about the prior Toshiba models - not because I've sworn my allegiance to any specific brand, but because I've seen some bad Toshibas in my day. In fact, one of the longest threads on PPCA involves a Toshiba support issue. Do you think this unit is solid enough to overcome their "lemon" reputation of some of the earlier models? I sure hope so, because you've almost talked me into getting one 8-)
Fun stuff!

[bkbroil]

So far so good..I am trying to put it to the test for the next two weeks....because I only have 14 days from Circuit City to return it to them...after that I have to go through Toshiba for support...
But it is a solid machine so far....
1. I don't like the stylus
2. It took me an hour to figure out how to soft reset it. It is NOT in the manual. (at least I couldn't find it...) I figured out how to soft reset it by going to The Gadgeteer's review of the e805.
3. I thought I had a defective unit last night when I couldn't get the buttons to work...I thought I was going crazy! No matter what button I pushed nothing would happen....Turns out I switched the "Hold" button on. So it did it's job...
As for you - Brad -- I think you should have one of these just for the Achieve-it development.

[Brad Isaac]

Originally Posted by Bruanor

I can msg you with some links etc if you want Brad.
Bru..

Yeah, why don't you do that?

[Brad Isaac]

BK, how well does the WiFi work?
I may just have to do that for development, that 128MB of onboard is a sweet addition too

[bkbroil]

BK, how well does the WiFi work?
I may just have to do that for development, that 128MB of onboard is a sweet addition too

Wifi works great! Now I need to build one of those lapdesks for it!
128MB is great also...I had my old Ipaq upgraded by PPCTechs to 128MB and so I was used to having the extra space.

[jkendrick]

We have a whole section on Tools covering all these e800 topics and more! We also have a sticky post listing all hacks for the e800 and their links.
And of course MyVGA which opens up the landscape terrain.
Shameless plug is off now.

[Brad Isaac]

Hi James,
I sent you an email yesterday, did you get it? With the email situation these days, just would like to confirm

[jkendrick]

Brad, no I never got an email. Why don't you send it again or PM me here or on Tools.