Yep, this is an ongoing dilemma for new PDA users... it's kind of like the schism between surgeons and internal medicine!
Here's my two cents...
I'll start off by saying that I own an Palm Tungsten|T and am quite happy with it. It is small, durable, and doesn't have anything "extra" on it to cause problems (keyboards, cameras, etc.)... although that makes it a little more utilitarian and certainly not as much fun!
Pocket PC's are very fast, no doubt, and have very elegant screens with nice durability and software than feels very much like your desktop computer. Unfortunately, battery life is an issue, as well as the amount of software available for the Pocket PC. Palm has just been much more prolific than the Pocket PC, and although much of the software may not be of quite the same caliber, it is certainly quite usable. There is also much more freeware available for the Palm...
www.palmgear.com has several very good medical programs that are totally free, whereas I have been hardpressed to find many free programs for the Pocket PC.
Style is really the major difference between the two. The Palm developers have gone through great lengths to make many of the Windows Desktop programs compatible with the Palm Handhleds, but using a Palm/Clie/etc. still has a very different feel than using a Pocket PC. I have found that most people who are do not rely heavily on their PDA are much happier with the Pocket PCs, for I think the standard software is just a little more appealing to people used to Windows and not used to PDAs.
As for speed, I've really found that Palm Handhelds can be very quick when you utilize such programs as Silverscreen/ZLauncher/XLauncher to enable quicker loading of programs and McPhling to have a quick pop-up menu of useful programs (all can be found at
www.palmgear.com). I really do think that Palm's are more versatile and more stable, but I do admit to being biased.
So, I think the best thing to do is to find people who have both types of PDA and get a feel for them. You must decide what you would be most comfortable with in terms of:
1. Size (Clie's are very impressive, but rather bulky, as are many Pocket PCs)
2. Battery Duration (are you one to forget to charge your batter, or do you use your PDA constantly and require longer battery length)
3. Entertainment (all PDAs have some sort of MP3 player, but Pocket PCs do use Windows Media Player and may be more familiar in that sense. Clie's and the Zire 71 have digital cameras, but you must realize that these are not high quality pictures- but pretty good. Also, there are many more games available for the Palm OS, but Pocket PC is beginning to invest in more high quality games).
4. Wireless capabilities (Pocket PCs have really begun to integrate both BlueTooth and Wi Fi for wireless capabilities. This is becoming available with the Palm Tungsten series and newest Clie's).
5. Sharing programs (Ahem... you may find many of your colleagues are better able to share Palm programs than Pocket PC programs...)
Well, just a few things to think about. I really do recommend getting a feel for the different PDAs before purchasing one. Also make sure to protect it well (try to find a warranty that protects you against scratches or screen damage... many won't).
Grant
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