Technology Palm OS vs. Pocket PC OS

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AlbertConstable

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I am about to buy my first PDA and want to have the best functionality in terms of medical software. Are virtually all pieces of software available on both Palm and Pocket PC or does one OS have a significant advantage over the other?
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Pocket PC is more stable, and seems to offer better functionality.

Palm OS offers more software (especially free software) and seems to be more simplistic to use.

Just try each out and see which one you like. Like everything Microsoft enters into, they seem to be dominating the PDA market these days. That doesn't mean that it's necessarily any better than the Palm PDA's.

I suggest trying each and buying the one you like. Pocket PC's are generally more expensive the Palm PDA's, and this may affect your decision of which to buy.
 
Thanks for your reply. I have tried both out and I am happy to use either one. I can see all the specs and whatnot in stores and online so that's not too tough to compare either.

My main question is which would be more useful for a medical student in terms of software? Does someone with PocketPC miss out on a lot of the great medical software available for Palm OS? Are the people writing software giving up on Palm OS and only writing for Pocket PC now? Is there some other trend I should be aware of? Without significant experience around the software that is useful (and useless) for a medical student, I am unsure which OS will serve me better.

If anyone has some more insight on that, I would appreciate it greatly.
 
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AlbertConstable said:
Does someone with PocketPC miss out on a lot of the great medical software available for Palm OS? Are the people writing software giving up on Palm OS and only writing for Pocket PC now? Is there some other trend I should be aware of?
Click to expand...

With StyleTap (www.styletap.com), I dont see why a PPC user not able to utilise those Palm softwares! 🙂
 
AlbertConstable said:
Thanks for your reply. I have tried both out and I am happy to use either one. I can see all the specs and whatnot in stores and online so that's not too tough to compare either.

My main question is which would be more useful for a medical student in terms of software? Does someone with PocketPC miss out on a lot of the great medical software available for Palm OS? Are the people writing software giving up on Palm OS and only writing for Pocket PC now? Is there some other trend I should be aware of? Without significant experience around the software that is useful (and useless) for a medical student, I am unsure which OS will serve me better.

If anyone has some more insight on that, I would appreciate it greatly.
Click to expand...

To the best of my knowledge, almost all of the available medical software is available on both platforms, but there may be more free versions available for Palm.

I think this one comes down to the actual PDA itself.
 
How exactly would one try both models before buying?

I had a palm pilot about 2 years ago. I was thinking about getting another when Sony stopped making the Clie'. With no incentive to stay with the Palm format (my 128MB memory stick is now a part of my digital camera), I am looking to get a new PDA with Wi-Fi. I have no idea where to start.
 
spinosum said:
With StyleTap (www.styletap.com), I dont see why a PPC user not able to utilise those Palm softwares! 🙂
Click to expand...
Agreed. With Styletap for PPC, Palm loses any advantage it once had. Anyone that doesn't get a PPC w/ Styletap is just investing in a platform whose lifespan can be easily measured in months rather than years...
 
AlbertConstable said:
I am about to buy my first PDA and want to have the best functionality in terms of medical software. Are virtually all pieces of software available on both Palm and Pocket PC or does one OS have a significant advantage over the other?
Click to expand...

Hi!
I'm surprised to read how people are confusing you. There is no comparison, when it comes to a medical professional seeking an answer, as PALM is much better for a doctor. Reason? simply that truckloads of freeware is available for palm OS and not for pocket PC. If u have any doubts, go to any freepalm website and search how many quality medical softwares they have, compared to so few for Pocket PC.
This is simply the biggest advantage, however palm OS is also simple and user friendly. When you can do everything on palm that you can on pocket pc, why bother to buy something which wouldn't benefit you as a doctor? Palms are Wifi capable, can store your images and videos, can play mp3's and have "documents to go" which is like microsoft office in your handheld.

Choice is yours, but i would strongly suggest that you buy a palm. Go to google and search this question there, you will find the answer as well.

Regards

Naseer
 
I'd prefer getting a Pocket PC instead a Palm, yes, there's more palm software for doctors than PPC, but palm seems to be "dead", there are no new palm models and PPC is at its full power...soon there will be the Windows Mobile 5 and there's more software available and you have a wider range of PPC than palm, but it's up to you, it depends on what you're going to use it. I have PPC and "I'm lovin' it" eheheh
 
Re: PC vs Palm

I'm in the same situation. I've used both in the past, and at one time Palm was king. However, that is changing rather fast. The PC based systems are a bit more expensive, but you are also getting a lot, including integration with Microsoft's PC systems.

One BIG reason that I'm considering for not going with a palm is the battery situation. With a PC based system, you can replace the battery once it is dead after all the recharging With the Palm (at least the few that I have been looking at), when the battery dies you throw the PDA away - there is no way to replace the battery. I suppose you could have it shipped to the company and have them do it for major $$$ (if they even offer this service).


Re: Memory

I have a question on memory. With all the medical software out there, how much memory is required to hold most of the major packages? I'm seeing units with 32M, 64M, 128M and even 256 megs. Of course the more memory you have the better, but do I need to spend the extra dollars for the added memory? Do you find that you need to switch out programs because your current memory cannot hold all your data and programs? Just how does all that work?

Thanks
 
BACMEDIC said:
Re: Memory

I have a question on memory. With all the medical software out there, how much memory is required to hold most of the major packages? I'm seeing units with 32M, 64M, 128M and even 256 megs. Of course the more memory you have the better, but do I need to spend the extra dollars for the added memory? Do you find that you need to switch out programs because your current memory cannot hold all your data and programs? Just how does all that work?

Thanks
Click to expand...
It depends on the size of the software you want to install in your PDA... if you get one of those PDA's with a SD, MMC or CF slot (avoid Memory Stick and less famous types of memory cards), those memory cards are quite cheap, so you can get extra 128Mb of storage for $20 or something. It's better for you to get a cheaper PDA and spend some extra money on the card cuz it will be cheaper than getting one of those PDA's with a bigger storage.
 
Naseer said:
I'm surprised to read how people are confusing you. There is no comparison...
Click to expand...

Frankly, I used to be a loyal Palm user, until the PPC came out with their VGA display. I do a lot of self-revision notes in my Pocket PC. To be honest, if u let me choose to read an ebook or PDF journal on that tiny screen of a PDA, i will go for the best resolution. So at the moment, PPC is the solution. If Palm T5 was a VGA device, I would have gotten it long time ago.
 
Palm is going to release a Palm with Windows Pocket PC 😀
 
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