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PCWorld has an interesting read about "When a PPC is not a good replacement for the laptop." -- The Problem with PDAs
At first, I thought "Oh great, here is another article about some non-technical person who is blasting the PPC market." But I was wrong. I actually agree with the author.
I travel alot, and taking just a PPC on a 1 or 2 day trip is fine...but any longer than that and I will take my laptop. The story goes into some specific situation that he encountered while taking a week long business trip with just an Axim X30. I applaud his efforts and it gives the article credibility because he actually "tried it" instead of just speculating about the problems he would encounter.
What do you think? Would you ever travel with just a PPC (and no laptop)?
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I find his article a little silly. The author obviously didn't take much time to think about his trip. None of the problems he encountered were the fault of the PDA. Had he spent the time to equip his PDA as he had originally equipped his laptop he would have had zero problems. Why blame the PDA for his lack of forsight. I couldn't disagree with him more.
No offence, but that author is clueless ...
I don't even own a PPC, yet i know, when you go on a vacation with a piece of hardware, always double check you have everything with you.
Like his example of power charge cable ... i mean, come on ... He's blaiming the ppc for his own stupid mind ( forgetting the power cable ), yet, he's quick to point out how his notebook has the powercable always with it ... hint: then always keep your powercable with your ppc ... now that was hard was it?
Most of the example's he pointed out are things he dident think about. Now, next time he goes on a vacation, trust me, he will have his cable with him, he will have his efax set to pdf ( and adope reader with him ... to be honest, i'm suprised that he dident even install it before his trip on his ppc ), he will remember his password.
This author is bitching about something, while at the same time, i'm betting he can go back xx years in time when he got his first notebook, and write a identical story about how notebooks arent good for your next trip becouse i'm betting he had the same problems ...
A case of new technology, and a person's 0 expierence with the device on a trip ... same thing can heapon to his notebook, his gps, his wallet etc ... "Oeps, i forgto my wallet at home, so now i'm gone write a article how wallets are no good on trips"
My primary computer is a great big desktop with three monitors, scanner, three printers, fax, etc... I also have a laptop that I use when I need to work remotely or need to get some serious work done sitting by the pool.
Is the desktop more powerful, yep. But it takes me an afternoon to move across the room. Does anyone really think that a touchpad is better than a great big optical mouse?
With each technology you have trade-offs. Some people are willing to make those others are not (I guess you could check a desktop if you really needed, I remember doing that too many times in the early 80's).
I wouldn't bring my PPC as my only computer for anything longer than an overnight trip, mostly for the ergonomics. If I need to wait an extra 10 minutes in security that's fine, I'll do more than 10 minutes of extra work looking at a great big screen before I go to bed. (Of course I will be using the PPC in bed to get ready for the next day.)
Whether a PPC works on the road depends on what you do. If you are a programmer or a graphic designer forget it. For others it might work just fine.
I've never viewed a PPC as a replacement for a PC or laptop. they are supplements. To be used when they make sense.
Lately I've been leaving my PPC at home more on the weekends, I can keep a calendar and contacts on my phone and one less thing in my pocket is nice. Now even my supplemental computers have supplements?
A case of new technology, and a person's 0 expierence with the device on a trip ... same thing can heapon to his notebook, his gps, his wallet etc ... "Oeps, i forgto my wallet at home, so now i'm gone write a article how wallets are no good on trips"
Brad, what this guide describes in his article is what happened to a guy who went in to a trip a resolved to buy a PPC in his way to the airport not knowing anything about PPCs.
I can take my PPC to a long trip and the only time I'm going to need my laptop is if somebody ask me to make any change to one of my programs in .NET. For the rest, I can take care of my whole business from my PPC.
This kind of articles are just a good p... of s.... and excuse my French written by somebody that did not take the time to load his PPC for a long trip and is blaming the PPC for his stupidity.
While I would never take just my PPC on a trip of more than a couple of days I can appreciate what the author is trying to say in this article. The power cord thing is obviously a lousy design by Dell. Why should you need a dongle to plug your adapter into the device directly? That's just silly to me. The other problems he relates are the same problems an executive new to the platform would face.His point is really simple: if I take my laptop I don't have to do all that extra planning.
It's a problem that new Windows Mobile users must face. It does not occur to new owners that major MS apps do not have a PPC equivalent. As the hardware on PPCs gets more powerful it really behooves MS to include a complete s/w offering for business travelers who demand connectivity. Think of all the 3rd party apps and utilities you have installed on your device and compare that with the Treo out of the box. I'll bet the Treo owner can get more done out of the box than the new PPC owner.
Don't get me wrong- the PPC properly equipped is the finest mobile platform anywhere. It's just getting there that is the problem for novices.
__________________ James Kendrick Microsoft MVP - Tablet PCwww.jkontherun.com Lockergnome contributor- Mobile Lifestyle...using mobile devices since they weighed 30 lbs.
add in the difficulty with ActiveSync with Exchange Servers and the author has a valid point. Mail can be somewhat difficult with a PPC if you company uses groupware.
His point is really simple: if I take my laptop I don't have to do all that extra planning.
If you take your laptop you have 7 more pound in your baggage. That's the main point why anyone would consider to take a PPC into a trip instead a laptop
So to me the article is very weak.
Don't get me wrong- the PPC properly equipped is the finest mobile platform anywhere. It's just getting there that is the problem for novices.
Exactly, In my opinion he could write the same article explaining to new users that everything could be done by properly preparing the PPC and not giving the sence to the article of DO NOT TAKE A PPC TO A TRIP. That was very stupid. Like I said, if I'm thinking about a trip where I wont do a line of coding in any program I will take my PPC and I'm ready to do all I need to do from my PPC. In the extreme case that I receive an email in word that I can't open in my PPC because I have not bought TextMaker, I can forward that to any of my friend and have them converted for me. So once again... Ignorance is not a good reason to blame in a platform. I agree that our PPCs should be a little better prepare out of the box to handle at least MS Office formats, but.... NOBODY IS PERFECT
All the issues the writer encountered had, IMHO, very simple workarounds or solutions. I do not believe an experienced PPC user would have run into the same snags w/ the issues raised.
I really think the author was trying to demonstrate the impressions of a "newbie" with the Windows Mobile platform. Yes, all of his problems could have been prevented or solved by an experienced user. He states that himself. But the new customer that buys it to take on trips will encounter that exact same thing. That's unfortunately true.
How many people do you know that are so computer illiterate that you would never recommend a PPC to because you know you'll be forever supporting it?
__________________ James Kendrick Microsoft MVP - Tablet PCwww.jkontherun.com Lockergnome contributor- Mobile Lifestyle...using mobile devices since they weighed 30 lbs.
How many people do you know that are so computer illiterate that you would never recommend a PPC to because you know you'll be forever supporting it?
well, that´s true too, I´m the IT manager of my company and I never have recommended a PPC to any of our often traveling managers just because I don´t want to end hearing the same thing that this guy wrote in his article.
How many people do you know that are so computer illiterate that you would never recommend a PPC to because you know you'll be forever supporting it?
That's so funny that you brought this up.. My brother-in-law keeps asking me "What kind of PDA should I buy?" and I keep telling him...."Ahhhh, you don't need one. It won't do you any good".. and here's the funny part....he asks me once a week as I'm over his house fixing his computer... Somehow he thinks I'm technical support..
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For me, a PPC, keyboard and recharger are about all I need for the most part. As most of my travelling is for pleasure, I am not going to be doing any high end developing, etc. So answering emails is about the extent of it. Much better than a biggie laptop on the plane if you ask me.
For me, a PPC, keyboard and recharger are about all I need for the most part. As most of my travelling is for pleasure, I am not going to be doing any high end developing, etc. So answering emails is about the extent of it. Much better than a biggie laptop on the plane if you ask me.
I actually recommend the PPC platform to newbies for the simple reason that its easier to support for moving documents and syncing w/ Lotus Notes. Syncronization w/ Louts Notes is much more straightforward than in Palm. Clearly this is a specific issue but I think it easier to work w/ documents natively and have them come across in one folder than to convert w/ Palm.
I actually recommend the PPC platform to newbies for the simple reason that its easier to support for moving documents and syncing w/ Lotus Notes. Syncronization w/ Louts Notes is much more straightforward than in Palm. Clearly this is a specific issue but I think it easier to work w/ documents natively and have them come across in one folder than to convert w/ Palm.
This is the very problem I encounter with most newbies- documents. Pocket Word and Excel strip formatting and mangle formulas which just blows newbies away. Add that to the myriad of ActiveSync problems and you know what has caused many novices to abandon the platform.
Experienced users know how powerful Windows Mobile is. Novices often never become experienced users.
__________________ James Kendrick Microsoft MVP - Tablet PCwww.jkontherun.com Lockergnome contributor- Mobile Lifestyle...using mobile devices since they weighed 30 lbs.
Sigh... the author missed a golden opportunity. Rather than complain about how poor a PPC is as a notebook replacement, he could've used it as an educational exercise to educate others so that they wouldn't make the same mistakes as he did. Oh Well.
Sigh... the author missed a golden opportunity. Rather than complain about how poor a PPC is as a notebook replacement, he could've used it as an educational exercise to educate others so that they wouldn't make the same mistakes as he did. Oh Well.
VERY good point!
One also has to consider the source. We're talking about PCWorld magazine. It's not in their best interest to say positive things about any PC replacement.
But I was wrong. I actually agree with the author. 
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