Before you get a PocketPC instead of an dedicated music player you should check the sound quality. I got a Palm Tungsten E2 last summer and though its audio output has an annoying background noise that is immediately audiable when the handheld is turned on. My iRiver mp3-player doesn't have any such noise at all.
Regards, Dov On 3/24/06, Oleg Goldshmidt <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > "Geoffrey S. Mendelson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > > > On Fri, Mar 24, 2006 at 12:09:49AM +0200, Uri Even-Chen wrote: > > >> How much is a pocket PC? I was thinking to buy a portable MP3 > >> player myself, buy your E-mail reminded me that it might be better > >> to have something that can read E-mail too. > > > > I really don't know, good ones are about 3500 NIS, but the > > definition of good is very fluid. You can get cheap ones for about > > 1800 NIS. If that's too limited for depends upon what you want to > > do. > > I have not checked the prices in Israel lately. I got my iPAQ 4155 in > the States for $350 a couple of years ago, with built-in WiFi, > BlueTooth, IR, e-book reader, etc. I have sent and received emails > with it, although on my latest travels I have had some problems > configuring email in such a way that I could send it without > registering one way or another with some local ISP (servers on the way > didn't relay, unsurprisingly). I am fairly sure it was a configuration > problem that I had no patience to track down (preferred the touristy > bits). > > > The problem with pocket PCs is more a question of how do you answer > > an email? If you are good with a tiny keyboard then you can do it. > > The handwriting recognition software on iPAQs is really good, and has > been for quite a few years. I've written fairly long emails on it, > taken notes during meetings, etc. > > > I "played" with a pocket PC/cell phone combo with a full keyboard, but > > I was unable to use it. The keys were just too small. Other people had > > no trouble. > > There are folding full-size keyboards, too - I used to have such a > keyboard, courtesy of one of my previous employers. The small screen > was the biggest trouble in that case, typing was easy. This time I > decided not to buy a keyboard - they are fairly expensive and the > handwriting recognizer answers my needs. The 4155 does not have a > keyboard at all, and it does not bother me in the least. > > > Not every hotel has WiFi, my son stayed in a top of the line hotel in > > Seoul which had relativly fast internet via ethernet. I don't know of > > a pocket PC that supports ethernet. > > The older ones had PCMCIA slots where you could stick an Ethernet > adapter. The newer ones went for a smaller, slimmer form factor and > come with built-in WiFi. > > The solution for this problem does not seem to me very difficult. If > you travel to big cities like Seoul and stay at top hotels, you can > find out in advance which ones provide WiFi and which stick to regular > Ethernet. Even if your hotel is not if the wireless type, it should > not be a big problem to find a coffee shop or another public place > with wireless. > > If you travel around rural Asia I would imagine that either wireless > or Ethernet connections will be few and far between. > > In a pinch one can use the solution that we adopted on business trips > in the years when iPAQs were around but WiFi or broadband weren't (5 > years ago or so): we used to travel with an iPAQ and a cell phone - > anywhere you are, place the cell phone opposite the iPAQ's IR, dial in > (you need to know the right numbers, you can dial in directly to you > ISP in Israel, assuming you have the service, e.g., as a backup to > your broadband at home), and use your cell phone as a modem. The IR > link serves as a serial connection. Download your mail, compose the > replies at your leisure, another call will send the mail on its > way. I suspect it will still work today. > > -- > Oleg Goldshmidt | [EMAIL PROTECTED] | http://www.goldshmidt.org > > ================================================================= > To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with > the word "unsubscribe" in the message body, e.g., run the command > echo unsubscribe | mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > ================================================================To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word "unsubscribe" in the message body, e.g., run the command echo unsubscribe | mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
