PDA/Smart Phones - which one?

[VJ]

I have tried the Palm OS5 simulator, and must say I seem to prefer Symbian... (I know that a simulator is not that convenient as a device, and most likely lacks some functionality)
Chances are that the Treo650 will also not be able to receive faxes...

Those two things (and the size) seem to put me off of going for a Treo650...


Jörg

[lecter]

I've tried Symbian on a Nokia 6600 and wasn't at all impressed by it...maybe it's better on a stylus-equipped device. On the other hand, I'm on my 3rd PalmOS PDA by now and i've really liked each one...ah well, it's all a matter of personal taste, I guess, especially since in the smartphone market there's not much of a feature gap between the big 3.

[VJ]

That is true... The OS wouldn't be my most limiting factor (as long as it isn't some proprietary thing), both have similar functionality and 3rd party applications.



Jörg

[Kooldino]

Originally posted by lecter
I don't know about you, but that's pretty jaggy to me...Plus, having OS5 in 160x160 means some apps don't work. It's a very nice device, just kinda dated at the moment...the 650 is pretty much perfect, though

I wouldn't consider it "awful" by any stretch. Looking at my 600 right now, I'd estimate it had a 2.5" screen, corner to corner. So at 160x160, that's around 226 pixels corner to corner. Around 90 pixels per inch.

I'm also sitting in front of a 21" monitor (which is say...20" visible). Running at 1024x768. 1280 pixels corner to corner. 64 pixels per inch.

So if my 20" monitor had as many pixels per inch as my 2.5" PDA screen, it would be running at the equivalent of somewhere between a res of 1280x1024 and 1600x1200. Far from awful, although I agree the Treo 600 could make do with some improved res.

[Wombat]

The 600 has a 47mm * 47mm screen, or 3.16 inches across. 71 ppi.

Why you're running a 21" monitor at 1024x768 is beyond me. I'm running my 19" at 1280x960, or 88 ppi.

160x160 IS a horrid resolution for a PDA these days. I've had two PDAs, a Visor Deluxe (160x160 grayscale) and my SJ-22 (320x320 16bit TFT). The amount of extra information that can be displayed neatly on the 320x320 is huge.

[Kooldino]

Originally posted by Wombat
The 600 has a 47mm * 47mm screen, or 3.16 inches across. 71 ppi.

According to this site it's 2.2":

http://www.infosyncworld.com/reviews/n/4444.html

Either way, it's still more ppi than my monitor is running.

Why you're running a 21" monitor at 1024x768 is beyond me. I'm running my 19" at 1280x960, or 88 ppi.

http://www.griffintechnology.com/archive/monitors/Mitsu18.html

That's why. ;-)

160x160 IS a horrid resolution for a PDA these days.

I understand it's the low end of the scale, but to call it horrid is ridiculous. Granted, I appreciate the 320x320 screens, but they're also bigger screens as well. 160^2 on a 2.something inch screen looks better than you'd expect.

For example, the 2.9" Game Boy Advance display (read: bigger than my Treo display) weighs in at 240 x 160. It's nothing amazing, but it looks pretty clear to me, and I don't hear people call the GBA res "horrible".

GBA is ~100ppi. And if the T600 is in fact 2.2" like that site says, then it's actually ~103ppi.

What's my point? Point is, while it can be better, calling it "horrid" or "awful" is just ignorant. The resolution of the T600 never inhibited me from being able to view as much info as I wanted on one screen at a time. I wouldn't want the info to be ANY smaller than it is now. If it were clearer though, I wouldn't complain.

I've had two PDAs, a Visor Deluxe (160x160 grayscale)

Well, first of all your Visor Deluxe has a 3.9" display. So 160x160 on a display that big is going to look bad compared to the same res on my 2.2" display. In fact, my 2.2" 160^2 display (~103ppi) looks ALMOST as good as your 3.9" display WOULD look at 320^2 (~116ppi).

See where I'm going here?

and my SJ-22 (320x320 16bit TFT). The amount of extra information that can be displayed neatly on the 320x320 is huge.

Well, that's going to look better than your Deluxe for 3 reasons

1-it has 4 times as many pixels

2-it's almost a half inch smaller (according to google), so the higher res screen will appear that much clearer since the pixels will be smaller.

3-It's a high color display. I know that has nothing to do with res, but it's going to make it look that much better, and it can antialias and shade things, etc. It's going to help it appear to be even clearer.

[Chrono_Wanderer]

ya, with my TJ-37, i can't go back to 160x160...

[Kooldino]

Originally posted by Chrono_Wanderer
ya, with my TJ-37, i can't go back to 160x160...

Again, read my above post. With it's 4" screen size (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1650451,00.asp), 320^2 is a must.

But mine is a 2.2" 160^2 screen

TJ-37=113ppi 4"
T600=103ppi 2.2"

End result, my display is 91% as clear as yours. The only reason you have more pixels is because you have a bigger screen. Your pixel density is a whopping 9% better. Capice?

[Kooldino]

Fun fact:

Running 320^2 on a 2.2" (205ppi) display is comparable to running 2048 x 1536 on a 12" viewable display (213ppi).

According to you guys, anything short of that is just horrid.

[VJ]

Well, one has to take into account other things; compatibility with applications being the most important...

Just to give an idea, a Psion has a 5.9" widescreen display, but runs 640x480 (grayscale).
(BTW, I run my 17" LCD at 1280x1024, and my 17" CRT at 1280x960...)


Jörg

[Kooldino]

Originally posted by VJ
Well, one has to take into account other things; compatibility with applications being the most important...

That's true, but the only fews apps that I couldn't run due to not having a high res screen were games. I would have liked to have high res to play them, but it wasn't a big deal.

[VJ]

I'm not sure what the impact of the resolution is on the readability of the display in sunlight... But if there is a link, that might also be a reason to prefer high resolution displays...


Jörg

[Helevitia]

Treo 650 will be released next month - FYI.

http://www.brighthand.com/article/palmOne_Finally_Officially_Announces_the_Treo_650?site=Palm

[VJ]

Outside the US we'll have to wait till next year... :-)


Jörg

[Kooldino]

Originally posted by VJ
I'm not sure what the impact of the resolution is on the readability of the display in sunlight... But if there is a link, that might also be a reason to prefer high resolution displays...


Jörg

In my experience, they're both equal. Other variables such as contrast ratio, brightness, etc probably is what determines it.

OMG look at the HORRID resolution of the screenshot of this treo 600:



I noticed the peanut gallery didn't post to admit they were wrong after my last few posts.