.KEYWORD celte0800
.FLYINGHEAD LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
.TITLE Upgrade blues and the physics of product reviews
.DEPT
.SUMMARY In this month’s edition of Letters to the Editor, one reader questions whether a handheld can indeed replace a laptop, and another reader offers a critical analysis of a past product review, putting what some might consider too much thought into the relative buoyancy of handheld organizers and lunch meat.
.EDNOTE In this month’s edition of Letters to the Editor, one reader questions whether a handheld can indeed replace a laptop, and another reader offers a critical analysis of a past product review, putting what some might consider too much thought into the relative buoyancy of handheld organizers and lunch meat.
.H1 Upgrade frustrations
This letter was written in response to the article, "Can a handheld replace a laptop?" originally written by Jeff Carlson for PalmPower magazine and reworked by Steve Niles for the July 2000 issue of Pocket PC Life. The article can be found at http://www.pocketpclife.com/issues/issue200007/cereplace001.html.
Thank you for sending me by email features from your interesting new magazine. Please keep sending them!
I refer in particular to Jeff Carlson’s recent article, "Can a handheld replace a laptop?" I asked myself this question back in January and decided, "Yes," but you may like to hear of my experiences.
I purchased an Aero 1520 (running Windows CE 2.1) in April and found it indeed can do all the tasks asked of it. It can send and receive emails, plus attachments that can be opened and read, send faxes, connect to the Internet, etc. To do this, I had to purchase some fax software (bFax Express) and install a software modem (TDK Global Pulse) to connect to my Nokia GSM phone. I also added Calligrapher handwriting recognition software and a PDF reader.
I have since upgraded this Aero to a Pocket PC, and you may be interested to hear that it is now less versatile as a result. The big problem is with ActiveSync 3.1 for Pocket PC. Whereas before I could send and receive emails either from the desktop or from the Aero (using ActiveSync 3.0 to transfer the files), I now find that it is impossible to transfer files from the default ActiveSync email account to one with connectivity to the mobile phone. This means that it is no longer possible to receive emails on my desktop, synchronize them onto my Aero, and reply to them remotely on the Aero at a later date. The "connect" box is grayed out in the ActiveSync account. It is not possible to transfer manually any of the emails from the ActiveSync account to those from which I can connect by phone. The Compaq help-line personnel have also tried and found no way of doing this. What was Microsoft thinking to introduce such a serious limitation? Surely I can’t be the only person who has a tendency to spend a few precious moments in the office, grab my emails from the desktop computer onto my handheld and run for the airport?
Another problem concerns bFax Express. Please be advised that it doesn’t work with Pocket PC. The manufacturers (bSquare) advised me to change to bFax Pro 5, but they now tell me that it doesn’t work with the TDK Global Pulse modem. So I’m without a fax, and there doesn’t seem to be any software available.
The above may be of interest to other readers, and I would be grateful for any advice you can give me on finding another synchronization program that doesn’t have the serious limitation of ActiveSync 3.1.
As a last point, I don’t entirely agree with Jeff that a keyboard is a must: it really depends on your job. I need to do quite a bit of writing while standing up (taking notes whilst visiting customers’ plants), so a palmtop PC with handwriting recognition is the answer for me. I also spend a lot of time at airports: try using a keyboard when standing in a queue to board the plane. If you really need a keyboard, then I would suggest going for a handheld PC. Even for taking notes in a meeting, I still prefer not to use a keyboard, especially when with customers. It is too distracting and noisy. I will be buying a keyboard, nevertheless. Thanks for the tips on where to buy, Jeff. It will speed up data entry when I’m in the hotel room at night sending emails.
Nick Coote
.H1 Thinking outside the box
The following letter was written in response to the article, "Otter Box offers PDA protection" in the July 2000 issue of Pocket PC Life at http://www.pocketpclife.com/issues/issue200007/ceotterbox001.html.
I was fascinated by your review of the Otter Box sample that fit your PDA so nicely. Very well written.
However, I think you may have missed much of the point of buoyancy calculations:
Buoyancy is a function of both the total weight and the net flotation of the box, the PDA, and the air inside the box.
Unless the same weight of Lebanon bologna (my absolute favorite since I lived in the Philly area as a child!) occupies the same overall volume as the PDA, the amount of air inside the box was significantly different, thereby affecting the buoyancy. You didn’t mention the volume of Lebanon bologna compared to the PDA beyond saying that it was "about the same size," but my seat-of-the-pants recollection is that it probably occupies about half to two-thirds the volume, leaving plenty of extra air to be buoyant. Since you are pretty sure that the box is (was?) watertight, it would be very easy to try it with the PDA itself.
Also, I would hesitate to extrapolate your crush test to encompass safe survival of the PDA. The cracking you describe sounds like one edge of the box deformed enough to crack the ABS. Because the Lebanon bologna occupies a smaller volume and is much more flexible than the PDA, it survived nicely. Earlier in the article, you described the PDA as being a "tight fit" in the box. Since the PDA is pretty rigid in construction, I wonder if it would also have survived.
I wouldn’t worry about this problem at all, since the likelihood of dropping the box and having it run over are pretty slim. But, dropping something overboard or taking a wave on a boat is more likely.
Thanks for forcing me to think about the physics involved in this otherwise mundane product.
Tom Russel
.H1 Staff editor Steve Niles responds
Nicely reasoned argument there. I admit physics aren’t my strong suit. You’re right–there might have been some stress placed on the PDA if it had been in the box when I ran it over. Still, I think the Otter Box is a good product and proved itself to be quite durable. And, as always, we must continue to recommend Lebanon bologna, if not as a product testing vehicle, at least for lunch.
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.H1 Product availability and resources
For more information on bFax Pro 5.0, visit http://www.bsquare.com/products/p_bfaxpro.htm.
For more information on TDK Global Pulse, visit http://www.communica.se/tdk/global_pulse_palm.htm.
For more information on the Nokia GSM phone, visit http://www.nokiausa.com.
For more information on Calligrapher, visit http://www.paragraph.com/products/internetink/calligrapher/features.html.
For more information on ActiveSync 3.1, visit http://www.microsoft.com/pocketpc/downloads/activesync.asp.
For more information on the Otter Box, visit http://www.otterbox.com.
To read "Can a handheld replace a laptop?" visit http://www.pocketpclife.com/issues/issue200007/cereplace001.html.
To read Steve Niles’ review of the Otter Box, visit http://www.pocketpclife.com/issues/issue200007/ceotterbox001.html.
.H1 Bulk reprints
Bulk reprints of this article (in quantities of 100 or more) are available for a fee from Reprint Services, a ZATZ business partner. Contact them at reprints@zatz.com or by calling 1-800-217-7874.
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