034pda-overviewed.qxd 02.03.2001 14:11 Uhr Seite 34 COVER FEATURE PDAS AND HANDHELD PCS Overview: Latest PDAs and Handheld PCs MOBILE ASSISTANTSANDREAS HUCHLER Since, in the previous articles about electronic scheduling, the topic of PDA synchronisation kept cropping up, it’s probably high time to introduce you to some of the most common models in a little more detail. For the moment, we’ll restrict ourselves to the popular stylus PDAs from the company Palm and the Psion Handheld PCs. If you’re in the process of deciding which usable alternatives such as Psion Handhelds start to pocket organiser or PDA to add to your come within reach in terms of price. Psion home Linux PC, you’ll find yourself Handhelds sit between stylus PDAs and (sub) overwhelmed by the massive choice of PDA notebooks. It is possible that using the ten-finger variants and model designations. But on closer typing method at which you may be a virtuoso on inspection, the models now on the market can your home PC will cause you to stumble a little, at be classed into groups according to their main least at first, due to the miniaturisation of the characteristics. keyboard. After a certain familiarisation phase, though, you could soon be forging ahead at the Input and display same sort of typing speeds with keyboard The Palm Vx – handhelds as you do with the home PC. But a luxury-class stylus PDA The type of data input has a direct influence on the beware! The keyboard quality is not equal in all typical range of everyday use of a mobile organiser. models. So: Try before you buy! With the Palm Pilot series, from the American The same applies for the displays. Again, there market leader Palm, all data input is done are sometimes massive differences in quality from completely by means of your more or less skilled one model to another. Ideally, of course, it would be handling of a plastic stylus or an ordinary ballpoint. advisable to test the display quality of the organiser Alongside the pressure-sensitive touchscreen before buying, under varying intensities of light display for menu selections and drawings, the user (strong light, normal daylight, twilight, and dark). In normally also has the use of a graffiti area for practice, though, you will probably have to settle for entering letters and numbers. If you’d like to make experimenting a bit with the contrast settings and new entries (appointments, notes or addresses) in the background lighting. these devices, you should first learn the graffiti alphabet. Even though learning these strokes and Steadfast data and multiplicity of curves (each stand for specific numbers and symbols) should not generally be too difficult, it is applications tiresome to enter longer texts, such as letters or Apart from the basic choice between stylus PDAs essays, in such a PDA. and keyboard handhelds, there is also a whole Palm does in fact now also offer flip-down range of other factors which may affect your keyboards for the Palm Pilots. This accessory, purchase decision. One very important question is though, is usually only available as an option, so how long you can run the mobile organiser with a The new Palm m100 is costs extra. Also, you’re then moving rapidly with fully charged battery, before it gives up the ghost. affordable, even for personal use your stylus PDA into price regions where universally This means, in the worst case scenario, (with a 34 LINUX MAGAZINE 7 · 2001 034pda-overviewed.qxd 02.03.2001 14:12 Uhr Seite 35 PDAS AND HANDHELD PCS COVER FEATURE purely Ram solution without long-term storage Data exchange and media), that it forgets all the data which you have synchronisation painstakingly entered into it since the last synchronisation with your home PC. Psions from In conclusion, I would like to Series 5 have so-called compact flash cards, on address a somewhat delicate which important data can be permanently stored, issue: The fact that proprietary similarly to Zip diskettes. applications run on proprietary When buying a specific PDA you are also usually PDA operating systems, which at the same time unintentionally deciding on the usually also store their schedule and availability of software applications beyond the address data in no-less-proprietary file standard applications, which come with it. A look at formats. This does of course mean that data http://netsurf.pda.tucows.com/ shows that, synchronisation (from the PDA application to the depending on the operating system puttering away Linux application and back) has so far been possible Recording longer documents while inside the organiser, there is a greater or lesser under Linux, at least in the case of EPOC-based on the move would is best achieved with a keyboard handheld like the amount of (sometimes freely available) applications Psion handhelds, only by means of very baffling Psion 5mx PRO software. methods (see the corresponding Workshop on this Obviously the amount of Ram in the organiser is subject in this issue). also decisive as to how many such applications from If you want to make sure from the start that your third party suppliers, apart from the operating mobile organiser can exchange its data with Linux system and standard applications, will fit in. applications without making a great fuss, then it is Incidentally: there are now a few projects which advisable – at present in any case – to acquire one have taken it upon themselves to port the Linux of the numerous Palm PDA variants. But as operating system onto such mini platforms, such as everywhere in the software field, the same applies the ARM Linux Project at here: All things come to those who wait, including a http://www.arm.uk.linux.org/. corresponding open source solution! ■ Palm m100 Handheld Palm Vx PSION revo PSION Series 5 PSION Series 5 mx PRO Manufacturer Palm, Inc. Palm, Inc. Psion PLC Psion PLC Psion PLC Manufacturer-URL http://www.palm.com/uk/ http://www.palm.com/uk/products/ http://www.psion.com/revo/ http://www.series5mx.com/ http://www.series5mx.com/ products/palmm100/ vseries.html welcome.html welcome.html Price £150 £300 £240 Discontinued model£450 (revo PLUS with 16 Mb about £300) Organiser-Type Stylus-PDA Stylus-PDA Keyboard/Stylus Handheld PC Keyboard/Stylus Handheld PC Keyboard/Stylus Handheld PC Software data Standard-Operating system Palm OS 3.5 Palm OS 3.5 EPOC 32 (Rom) EPOC 32 (Rom) EPOC 32 (Ram) Provided applications Addressbook, Calendar, Appointment calendar, symbol table, E-Mail, SMS,Appointment calendar, Appointment calendar , Contacts, Clock, alarm, calculator, and voice Clock, functions, Desktop and E-Mail connection, Phone Manager, Contacts Wordprocessor, spreadsheet, database, recorder, PIM: Note book, contacts, Memo, notes, To Do list, memo, Wordprocessor, spreadsheet, database, calculator, agenda and data Computers Currency converter, calculator, calculator, Notes, alarm, world information, Desktop: Wordprocessor, Security, games Notes, alarm, world information, Games, Browser spellchecker, spreadsheet and Games, Browser drawing Communication: Fax, E-Mail and Web Browser IrDA-communication, PC Link software Hardware-Data Processor Motorola EZ CPU, 16 MHz Motorola Dragonball, 16 MHz 36 MHz ARM710T RISC-CPU 18.432 MHz ARM710 Core 32 MHz ARM710T RISC-CPU Workspaces (Ram) 2 Mb (+ 2 Mb Rom) 8 Mb 8 Mb (+ 8 Mb Rom) 4 / 8 Mb (+ 6 Mb Rom) 24 / 32 Mb Ram only Steady storage media - - - Compact Flash-Card (16 Mb) Compact Flash-Card (16 Mb) Sceen size 160 x 160 Pixels, 4 Greyscale 161 x 160 Pixels, 4 Greyscale 480 x 160 Pixels 640 x 240 Pixels 641 x 240 Pixels (Touchscreen with 16 Greyscales) (Touchscreen with 16 Greyscales) (Touchscreen with 16 Greyscales) Power supply 2 Micro-Batteries (AAA) Lithium-Ion battery (internal) Lithium-Ion battery (internal) 2 x Alkaline batteries (AA) + 3 x Alkaline batteries (AA) + Backup battery Backup battery Size (in cm) 11,8 x 7,9 x 1,8 11,5 x 7,7 x 1 15,7 x 7,9 x 1,7 17,2 x 8,9 x 2,4 17,0 x 9,0 x 2,3 Weight (with Batteries) 140 g 115 g 215 g 354 g 354 g Link options Hotsync cable to the PC (serial) HotSync docking station (Cradle), serial External docking station with serial link Serial connection (RS232) Serial connection (RS232) Infrared interface with the PDA Infrared connection Infrared connection Infrared connection Other provided accessories Hotsync-cable, DB-25-Adapter Network adapters No longer available, discontinued model Serial PC cable connection Stylus 2 Stylus provided Stylus Stylus CD-Rom with Software CD-Rom with Software CD-Rom with Software CD-Rom with Software Short introduction Short introduction, manual Handbook Short introduction, manual Sleeve Leather covering General data exchange possible over serial interface possible over serial interface possible over serial interface possible over serial interface possible over serial interface with Linux Synchronisation with Console Tools: pilot-link Console Tools: pilot-link (see articles) Unfortunately there is no Unfortunately there is no , Unfortunately there is no Linux-PIM/Groupware (see articles) synchronisation software under Linux, synchronisation software under Linux synchronisation software under Linux, X11: various Frontends X11: various Frontends Psion uses their own data types that Psion uses their own data types Psion uses their own data types that (j-pilot) and others (j-pilot) and others is proprietary that is proprietary is proprietary Applications (e.g. StarOffice 5,2) Applications (e.g. StarOffice 5,2) Solution 1: Psiwin over a Windows Solution 1: Psiwin over a Windows Solution 1: Psiwin over a Windows emulators (VMware/Win4Lin) emulators (VMware/Win4Lin) emulators (VMware/Win4Lin) WWW: various Web-based WWW: various Web-based Solution 2: Psiconv: converts Solution 2: Psiconv: converts individual Solution 2: Psiconv: converts Groupware Suites Groupware Suites individual Psion data types into Psion data types into individual Psion data types into the usual PC formats the usual PC formats the usual PC formats (e.g.