steven n fettig's Jitterin' Thoughts

    I have been so happy with the latest device I have been able to test that I had to say something. I have no time (again) because of events in the business world (always exciting), but I thought I would post a few thoughts about the Toshiba e800 and Mark/Space's Missing Sync for Pocket PC:
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1) I still think Palms kick Pocket PC's butts, but there are two things missing from Palms that I am oh-so-sick of: missing Bluetooth SDIO support under Palm OS 5 and the missing high-resolution, large screen that the e800 offers (by the way, the e800 and e805 are the same - one comes with an additional software package that I can't remember and didn't care about in the first place).
2) Pocket PC 2003 has better handwriting recognition than the Pocket PC version found on the Toshiba e740 (another model I played with for a month last year). It still has quite a way to go, but it is definitely better.
3) Mark/Space is awesome. Really. They developed the Missing Sync for Sony Clie (another of my favorite Palm OS based PDA's - the UX/50 was my last one, but the size of the screen eventually was what blew it - plus lack of a CF slot), which was a God-send when I originally moved to the OS X platform. Now they have a fairly reliable Pocket PC-to-iCal/Address Book program (for you OS X junkies). There are some problems with the syncing, but it works well enough for me not to complain - yet.
3) The 480x600 resolution on a 4" LCD is awesome. I don't mind working with small text. (If you do, then the 480x600 resolution may be too difficult to see and/or find useful.) In fact, that is the whole point of trying to cram so much info on a small device... it's smaaaallllllll.
4) If you are going to make sense of surfing on the device, forget IE for Pocket PC. I can't stand Microsoft's browsers in the first place (it irritates me to no end that so many sites are IE specific), but the one on the Pocket PC is even worse than the one you find on every Windows desktop. Download NetFront. It is worth every penny. (If you can afford to blow $600 on a PDA, then the extra $30 shouldn't kill you.) It supports tabs and it renders pages much better than IE.
5) Also, there is a program that does wonders for getting everything out of the high resolution capabilities of the e800: RezFix 2.0 Pay for it, too. It's worth it. Period. (If you don't understand my logic, see the above comment about blowing $600 on a paper replacement.)
6) Pocket PC 2003 (as with every other Microsoft PDA OS) is bloated. It feels bloated. It runs bloated. Thank goodness it is on a 400 MHz Xscale processor. Given this, it works for what I use it for... when I don't have to reset it.
7) I don't understand why so many Pocket PC developers insist that you install their programs from a Windows machine. You - yeah, you, the one developing for the Pocket PC - will you please give me an installer that I can run from the PDA itself??? What a novel idea.
8) I don't rely on the e800 as my only electronic paper pad, so I am willing to put up with its quirks. It is really the screen that has me - you won't believe it until you see it.
hmmmm.... I can't think of anything else right now.