BUDGET PDA’S

UNDERSTANDING POCKET PC
TYPICAL SPECIFICATIONS: 300MHZ PROCESSOR, 64MB RAM, 32MB ROM

Microsoft’s Pocket PC operating system bears many similarities to the Windows OS, with the same Start menu button that gives you access to the PDA’s applications. It’s designed to be easy to integrate with a Windows-based computer straight out of the box. This means that there are mobile versions of the MS Office applications – Word and Excel – and a mobile Outlook utility that will synchronise with the calendar, contacts, emails and tasks of your computer.

Pocket PC has become popular among manufacturers, and there are now far more PDAs on sale using this OS than Palm. This greater choice of handhelds means that there’s likely to be a design to suit everyone, but the handhelds featuring a Microsoft OS still tend to be far more expensive than Palm-based ones, as this month’s group test shows.

Where Pocket PC PDAs tend to excel is in their multimedia capabilities. Users wishing to listen to MP3s on their handheld are usually advised to opt for Pocket PC devices, partly because all units come bundled with Windows Media Player. However, with Sony on the case, the Palm OS has begun to catch up on the multimedia front, and the company now bundles a music player with many of its new devices.

Pocket PCs tend to have larger memory capacities than Palms because of the way that the OS has been built. The system creates a large amount of temporary files while running programs and will also keep files running in the background when you think you’ve closed them. This can cause problems with the memory, and if you want to add a lot of applications to your Pocket PC you will probably need to invest in a memory card.

If you’re hoping to use Wi-Fi on your handheld, then the Pocket PC perhaps offers the most straightforward connection options. The Pocket PC 2003 OS has a start-up wizard for connecting wirelessly, making the process very straightforward. However, some manufacturers remove this application from their units if the PDAs don’t have Wi-Fi built in, so make sure that you check this before going out and buying one.

Acer n10
Dell Axim X3 Performance
Toshiba e400

REVIEW CO-ORDINATOR:
Katie Lee