PDA Giant Sharp Promises Linux-Running PDAs 177
ECaldwell writes: "It looks as though Sharp is stepping up to the PDA plate with a unit (the Zaurus) that uses Linux instead of Palm, CE or a proprietary OS. These units are designed to be direct competitors with Palms, Handspring and other PDA's. The timing for a release of is planned for around Christmas.
The problems for Palm and CE devices so far is the limit of easy to use programming languages which makes it difficult for a novice to write even an basic progam (I don't know C or C++). The good news here is, with Linux loaded on a Zarus we should be able to use any of the great languages that Linux already supports to flood that market with good software." (Read on for more).
Lynuhx indicates a Japanese-language page where you can see a cute mockup of this thing, and denisbergeron points to these two links on yahoo for a bit more: [(1) and (2)] Sharp's products and reputation seem to have languished in the U.S., so this planned offensive will be interesting -- especially if by Christmas, "Linux PDAs" has become a crowded field.
Yeah (Score:1)
Sounds cool... (Score:3)
It's a shame that so much cool technology never makes it over here from Japan. I remember, at least 8 years ago, I met a Taiwanese student that had a device that was probably about the size of a TI-92. It had a built-in dictionary with a few languages crossreferenced to English, a currency calculator, a TI-81, and probably a few other things, built-in. I have yet to see anything like that in the US.
Of course, by now we have PDAs like the Palm Pilot, but I have to wonder how many great ideas never make it over here. After all, my favorite Final Fantasy game was Final Fantasy 5, and that's still hard to find in America, and was only officially released a year or two ago here...
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pb Reply or e-mail; don't vaguely moderate [ncsu.edu].
Programming platforms aren't a problem for PDAs. (Score:5)
That's ridiculous.
For WindowsCE you have Visual Basic, Waba, KVM. For Palm, you have AppForge, Satellite Forms Pro, Waba, KVM, PQAs, etc.
how's compatability (Score:2)
How easy? (Score:2)
Development (Score:1)
MOVE 'ZIG'.
Graffiti (Score:4)
Is there an open source equivalent? Or even a Linux equivalent that will run on these vaporous Linux PDAs? I'd love to run Linux on my PDA, if for nothing but the applications, but without Graffiti, I'm sure I wouldn't use it much.
Then again, how does text entry happen on WinCE? I've never used it.
Vaporware (Score:2)
It'll be nice to see, but I honestly can't say I'll ditch my Palm IIIc for one. Maybe if it'll double as wireless Xterm.
Cost? (Score:2)
Why should the user care about the underlying OS? (Score:2)
From a developers perspective, maybe linux would be cool on a palm device - but this has little to do with marketability of the product to the masses.
Good Connectivity (Score:3)
This will let you dial out on your GSM mobile and print to IR capable printers. A quite connected device. With an MP3 player and an MPEG viewer, I'd be all set!
-Pat
Re:Graffiti (Score:1)
Some background info on PDA etiquette (Score:5)
You should see their Japanese Ads (Score:2)
other capabilities (Score:1)
One thing I wonder about is how it'll sync; will Sharp include a Linux desktop sync program? I can just imagine the uproar if it doesn't include the ability out-of-the-box to connect to existing Linux boxes...
Beowulf cluster of these things, yadda yadda yadda.
It's not the kernel. It's the API. (Score:5)
It's not the kernel that's important, it's the API. Because of this, it doesn't matter that there are lots and lots of programming languages available for Linux/Unix systems. It is simply not the issue for a PDA, if you haven't got a PDA-centric API to start with.
You cannot simply take the current standard APIs for desktop Linux application development (and there are several) and put them on a PDA. You need handwriting recogniation or some similar data input method, you need graphics output, you need a flash-memory file system. All this in a device that has little memory to start with.
Once you have all this, your version of Linux is so product-specific and different from what you know from your desktop that it might be worth considering to use one of the existing PDA-centric environment such as PalmOS or CE.
The PalmOS API is pretty damn neat -- for its specific purpose. You get all the APIs and a full-fledged developers kit (based on the Gnu C compiler and other Gnu tools) for free. C as a language is damn easy to learn and is probably the one language almost every programmer knows. Other than that, there are several alternative (commercial) development kits out there for people who want to avoid C. (Yes, I tried the PalmOS API. I cannot comment on CE, though.)
There are several PDA-environments based on Linux out there, but none of them are actually ready for prime time and all of them require significant rewrites of your existing source. I do hope that one of them will, I was very impressed by the PDA-version of Qt. But again: you cannot use the current advantages of Desktop Linux as arguments for a PDA Linux.
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Psion is a player too! (Score:3)
The OS on my Revo comes complete with a multiple destination, multiple device TCP/IP stack that supports infrared, serial cables and modems. Out of the box it supports syncing with any IR capable phone and sending SMS messages and it can print via IR too! My Revo comes with it built into ROM! Oh yeah, and it comes with a multiaccount POP client, a WAP browser and Opera 3. For nothing extra. With a Palm, you'd need about $100 worth of add-on software to do all that. The software is much higher quality too!
Psion's PDAs have a built-in compilable programming language called OPL that really rocks. It reminds me of TCL/TK because it is so easy to build an interface and get your application working. Check out www.symbiandevnet.com to see more.
You coders should pick up a Psion 5MX or Revo .. I could use a nice IRC application and a Weather checker.
-Pat
Re:Graffiti (Score:1)
but then my nino got stolen, so i dont have a pda anymore... but i really miss having one...
ease of programming? (Score:4)
Of course, visual basic sucks ass as a programming language, but it is 'easy'.
Anyway I don't see why being able to run Linux on a PDA will create a huge overwhelming amount of 'cool' software. I mean, most people already know C++, and I don't see that much cool client-side stuff written in Perl, or whatever.
Typo (Score:1)
Re:Development (Score:1)
but how thick is it ? (Score:2)
My current PDA (visor deluxe) is very thick -- (atleast compared to something like the palm VX), and thus I find myself tempted to leave it at home instead of drag it along with me.
On the otherside -- the palm VX is so thin it can fit in a specially designed wallet (thats only slightly larger then a regular wallet) -- which means it wouldn't be any more of a burden then my wallet which I already carry.
So forget OS squabbles, and tell me about the next ultra-thin pda :)
Re:Programming platforms aren't a problem for PDAs (Score:4)
www.pocketsmalltalk.com [pocketsmalltalk.com]
Re:Development (Score:1)
eh? (Score:1)
The article only mentions Java support. Java's nice and all, but there's a lot of work to be done if you want C, C++, or even BASIC programs to work.
Who wants to port gcc to a (I assume) proprietary machine language?
My mom is not a Karma whore!
Re:Graffiti (Score:2)
check it out (Score:3)
Those of you who haven't tried looking at the Japanese site are missing out and adding some confusion to the discussion.
The input method for this device is actually a small thumb-keyboard, similar to the RIM blackberry device. It's hiding underneath the control buttons, which is very cool as it stays out of the way when you're looking up information. I think this would make entering data much easier than Grafitti, which has lots of problems (ever tried playing zork on a palm while riding the subway? endless frustration :).
It also contains some kind of mpeg 4 movie player.
This device is really cool... but the future of these devices is definitely how well they interact with your other computer systems. If it's not too hard to create conduit-like things for it, that would help, but even better would be an easy way to pass any kind of information between it and multiple computers.
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QAExpress [qaexpress.com]: bug tracking made simple.
The cost... (Score:5)
You can be happy to, go Here [microsoft.com]. This is just for pocketPC, though, not the HPCs, or whatever
Re:Battery Life (Score:1)
As very few people know, NiCAD actually beats out NiMH batteries in 99% of applications. Panasonic sells 1100mAh AA NiCAD batteries at my local Costco in six-packs. In fact, the last just as long as Alkaline batteries in situations where 2 AAs are used.
The drawback to all rechargeable batteries is that they usually put out 1.25 volts instead of the 1.5 volts Alkaline gets. This is not an issue in CD players where only two are used (only .5v difference) but is a big deal in my Sega Nomad where 6 are used (1.5v difference) but I simply wired two extra battery holders in-place to compensate. So for a grand total of 15$ I got a battery pack that lasts twice as long as Sega's 60$ NiMH battery pack (which takes 12Hrs to recharge as well, compared to the 4Hrs for my NiCAD batteries).
Another thing: NiCAD has a longer life (# of times it can be recharged), is much lighter, and are cheaper to buy.
My PDA (Score:3)
I manage just fine with a notepad and a pencil.
Advts
.No programming required.
Can be easily customized.
Glue languages are available for a dime
Graffiti optional.
Disadvts
Doesn't cost too much. There goes my bragging rights.
Re: Why a user cares about the OS (Score:1)
Symbol is already doing it (Score:2)
Symbol is partnering with various folks to provide a palm on steroids running java on linux. I've seen some of these customized for a particular vendor partner, and they rock.
Programming languages (Score:5)
I would like to point out, though, that just because it runs Linux doesn't mean you can run perl on it or something like that. I just checked, and my perl modules alone are 16MB. Sure I have some extra stuff, but that's the stuff that makes it useful.
The reason most people write in C or C++ for PDA's is speed. I'm involved in a project right now where I'm porting a satallite forms app to Metrowerks C. Not that it didn't work, or wasn't pretty, etc, but it was too slow. PDA's are kinda like programming back in the old days when every pointer mattered and every byte accounted for. Unlike desktop PCs, you're looking at MHz in the double, not triple digits, and memory is usually less than 8M on the majority of palm pilots, and that's shared storage AND heap memory. Not to mention that there's this 32K of contiguous data thing to deal with.
So, just because linux is there doesn't mean you get all these great scripting languages for it, but on the other hand, just because it isn't doesn't mean you CAN'T have them either. The source is free, grab gcc-pila and start porting!
i wonder if they'll make it "open zaurus" (Score:1)
i'm so punny...
Re:java!?! (Score:1)
Re:It's not the kernel. It's the API. (Score:1)
The same applies here. Except, in this case, there might be handwritting recognition.
Also note how it would be quite easy to get mucho-memory in there. I don't figure it would be too terribly difficult to get 128 megs in there relatively economically. That's plenty of space for pretty much anything you'd want on such a device.
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CAIMLAS
if (Score:1)
--
Peace,
Lord Omlette
ICQ# 77863057
Re:but how thick is it ? (Score:2)
Yes, I too would be less inclined to bring along a thicker PDA (like my first gen keyboard one), because it's just not worth it. On the other hand, we can easily get in the habit of taking along small and simple things, which is probably once cause of the Palm's popularity. It may not have the greatest specs or features (even for the price), but it's got a great size and fits in the hand very naturally with great handwriting recognition. That, and not battery-sucking color screens, is the key to a successful PDA.
Linux PDA disclaimer... (Score:1)
Like many others have said, Linux is a great OS with great possibilities, but the lack of good character recognition, and lack of a decent GUI have led to the downfall of Linux as a viable OS for the handheld market.
Until I see a REAL LIVE Linux based handheld running w/a decent touchscreen based GUI (where I have to type little) I will stick to my Cassiopeia and WinCE.
Just my worthless
Re:i wonder if they'll make it "open zaurus" (Score:1)
Re:It's not the kernel. It's the API. (Score:1)
I am not an expert either, but AFAIK...
Fast (= RAM) memory is a major drain on battery power, so I doubt that huge amounts of memory will be the norm in a PDA setting. The memory used on flash cards is very slow, but also uses very little power. You have to find a compromise.
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Re:Why would you want to program on a PDA? (Score:2)
some possible stats (Score:1)
Re:Graffiti (Score:1)
I think that's the best way to go, but there does need to be a way to get data in "on the road." So far, this is all I've seen from the open source camp, and it does have it's issues.
Hopefully, these guys will embed some kind of graffiti in it making it a complete solution.
Re:Nonsense (Score:3)
You forget about the combined memory requirements of the Linux kernel, the C-library, the C++-library, the X server, the GTK libraries etc. Now take your favourite existing Linux app (how about Mozilla?), type make and try to put it in the little memory that's left. There's no swap space, no hard disk, just a bit of RAM.
You'll have to do some serious work on all these components, taking out unneeded stuff, to save space.
The PalmOS as an example runs on 512 Kilobytes ROM and 256 Kilobytes of RAM (used for stack and user data). Try to do that with Linux and an X-less GTK+. It is possible, sure, but you can't claim that it will work "out of the box".
That's why a PDA-centric API offers less functionality than a desktop-centric API, to begin with.
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Re:Graffiti (Score:1)
Re:Programming platforms aren't a problem for PDAs (Score:2)
There's a lot in palm programming that, while easy for those familiar with the realm, would be very confusing to someone who has written a few apps.
However, as the author says, a familar platform will let you write in whatever you're most familar with, be it bash, perl, or gtk
Re:Yeah (Score:1)
Re:but how thick is it ? (Score:2)
Which are all things I carry with me at different times of the day / week :)
Re:Psion is a player too! (Score:1)
What's not to like about it? a keyboard that I can type on (though, I have skinny fingers).. built in word proc, spreadsheet, address book with a dialer, terminal app, audio recorder, the OPL language (though, I never did understand it.. I'm more of a basic user though
Now, the reasons why I switched to a palmos device (palm 3xe) are somewhat simple.
1) smaller size, my psion 5 was almost a tiny laptop, while my palm 3xe is somewhat okay to break out while waiting for a movie to start and check the time, or your email..
2) avantgo.
3) the mulitude of 3rd party apps and developers resources..
Now, palm
-I miss the compact flash slot on my series 5.. I never used it, but now that cf memory is cheap I'd like to
-I seriously need something better than graphite.. waay back in the day (of the palmpilot professional even) I bought a pda called avigo.. which had a useable T9 keyboard that I could bang some stuff out on.. I'd love to have some software like the 'transcriber' that wince has.. true handwriting recognition..
-sound support, even if it really has no use, it was fun to play the odd
-decent wireless net access anywhere, I can use a cellphone in my area (granted, analog only.. for now), why can't I get some kind of addon for my palm, for a decent price and with a plan that has some kind of sanity to it.. (what? $30 for 500k a month? are you crazy?)
I plan on fixing at least of my probs in a few months by buying a handspring visor and the compact flash adapter springboard.
(maybe I'll find a prism for a good price.. or I'll stop dreaming and I wont..)
-since when did 'MTV' stand for Real World Television instead of MUSIC television?
Re:Linux PDA disclaimer... (Score:1)
Re:Yeah (Score:1)
Actually, CE IS easy to develop for (Score:1)
Linux PDA's (Score:5)
Graffiti: this is a concern for usability. The only one that I've seen mentioned is xscribble. It's characters are similar to Palm's graffiti, but not exactly the same. I don't know how well it works in general, but on the Agenda VR3d, it needs a little work.
Speed and Memory: Definitely a potential problem. A Palm responds nicely at ~16MHz (don't know for sure). Linux needs a little more power. VR3 is using a 66MHz processor, but it's not as responsive as a Palm. The beta kernels/roms do improve this. They also need a lot more memory to run well. Not a problem for the highend PDA's that have 16-32MB of RAM, but for the VR3 with 8MB, it might be a problem.
Portability: I haven't ported anything myself, but others have. How easy it is will depend on the program. The limitations of a PDA (small screen, less colors) can make it harder to directly port. On the other hand, programs written for the VR3d can easily be compiled to run on an x86 box.
Open source: I'm not sure if this was mentioned before or not. A linux PDA with flash memory can be customized. Compile your own kernel and applications. If you don't like the way the Planner works, you can modify it for yourself. You can't do this for other PDA's.
Free software: This goes with being open source. If you've ever looked through the Palm program archives, there are many shareware apps that cost about 10 bucks each. While some of those might be worth the money, many are not. A linux PDA encourages developers to write free software. This will certainly benefit the end user.
The future of Linux in the PDA world is far from certain. It's quite possible that it will lose to Palm's near monopoly on cheap PDA's. It could, on the other hand, do far better than Palm ever will. It really depends on how many people will support Linux in the handheld environment.
On a side note... I've repeatedly seen people calling the Linux PDA's vaporware. Some might be, but I have one sitting in front of me. Sure, it hasn't been officially released, but it is definitely real.
Re:Psion is a player too! (Score:1)
In 1997 the 'talk' was about Palm and Windows CE. No mention of the Newton, even though more 2X00's were being sold and the Newton division was showing a profit, you had real handwriting rec, text to speech, voice rec, sound recording, and the ability to play movies.
Psion just doesn't have the market share in the US to get mention.
Chuckle: C is "damn easy to learn" (Score:1)
Either that or they've never tried Python.
http://www.python.org
There's even a port of Python 1.5.2 for Palm OS (though it's alpha software).
http://www.isr.uci.edu/projects/sensos/python/
-DA
PDA Innovation (Score:1)
Re:Programming platforms aren't a problem for PDAs (Score:1)
What the hell happened to Java? (Score:1)
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A mind is a terrible thing to taste.
Re:It's not the kernel. It's the API. (Score:1)
Re:Linux PDA's (Score:1)
Well a normal linux Distro takes up about 1 Gig. Should we assume that's what we need for a decent PDA? No.
Just as with every PDA OS, it will be stripped down, shrunken, compressed, optimized, etc. If linux doesn't run great on a PDA the maker is to blame for not doing a good job of modifying the kernel and apps to perform well. Hell ELKS smokes on my 12 MHz 286. http://i.am/elks
Re:black people (Score:1)
Re:It's not the kernel. It's the API. (Score:2)
The PalmOS is devastingly easy to program for. Granted, you only have an extremely small resolution to work with (I think 160x120. Correct me if I'm wrong), but everything in the user interface is exactly where it should be. They really spent a lot of time working to make sure things were both easy for the user... and the programmer.
Programming (Score:1)
Loser.
"The good thing about Alzheimer's is that you can hide your own Easter eggs."
Re:Nonsense (Score:1)
Ease of Programming Languages (Score:1)
Re:Chuckle: C is "damn easy to learn" (Score:1)
Good Things (Score:1)
Re:It's not the kernel. It's the API. (Score:2)
Re:Linux PDA's (Score:1)
These are rough figures off of the top of my head:
LinuxVR kernel (2.4.0-test9): 4MB
Current Romdisk: 8MB
Total Flash: 16MB
So, it is fairly stripped down, but not perfectly yet. These numbers, particularly the romdisk, should shrink soon. (an enhanced compiler and linker that will make programs smaller and faster, is currently being worked on).
Programming hard? (Score:3)
However, I have downloaded the Visual Basic WinCE Dev kit, and it works quite well. Visual Basic, since version 5, has had the ability to compile to native x86 code. However, it still retains the p-code mode, which is very beneficial on PDA devices. You get this fairly complex program and it takes only a few K. It has a full emulation environment, where you can simulate different screens, etc.
If timothy finds VB too hard of a language to program in.... well..... Seek help
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The IHA Forums [ihateapple.com]
Sweet. (Score:1)
Re:Really? (Score:2)
Sure it will be. But then again, how many applications are you really going to want on such a device?
The storage limitation is part and parcel for that sort of hardware - and it's the same issue no matter what OS you use.
"That old saw about the early bird just goes to show that the worm should have stayed in bed."
It's about time... (Score:2)
Re:Programming platforms aren't a problem for PDAs (Score:1)
Without a doubt Python is my scripting language of choice, but I agree with the post suggesting that the API's you have to work with are more important as they determine how much work you have to do to make your program run.
As for the post suggesting that one doesn't want to program on the PDA, I would agree. In general you want to create an program (even a small one) and deploy it to your PDA. But if you ever wanted to program it would be a scripting language rather than something like Java.
Re:Sounds cool... (Score:1)
Re:Programming platforms aren't a problem for PDAs (Score:3)
Which, for various reasons, are unavailable, not favoured or simply not acceptable to many of the best and brightest, and many of the rest of us as well.
Obligatory flames from VB victims aside, anyone that can code well, can code well under linux. It's a programmers system from the ground up, that's its strength, and its weakness.
The success of a platform like this will directly depend on the the manufacturer getting them into the hands of the right hackers ASAP.
"That old saw about the early bird just goes to show that the worm should have stayed in bed."
Handwriting recognition (Score:4)
http://www.patentburner.com/~overcode/glyphrec.
Not quite usable yet, but pretty soon handwriting recognition will not be a problem under Linux. Several other projects have also written recognizers, but this one outperforms all of the ones I've seen. It requires very little memory (5k code, 20k database). And it's GPL
As for graphics output, the Linux framebuffer console does a great job, and it's a standard part of the kernel.
Today's PDA's are pretty damn powerful -- many have 32-bit processors (often MIPS- or SH3-based), and at least 8 megs of RAM. The MIPS kernel certainly needed some modifications to run on handhelds, but it's still recognizably Linux, as evidenced by some of the applications it's already running.
-John
Re:Graffiti (Score:2)
Is there an open source equivalent?
Well, Graffiti's been ported from Newton to Palm, and the strokes themselves aren't patented. I don't see any obstacle to an implementation in Linux. After all, just because it's an open-source platform doesn't mean that it will only run open-source software.
Kevin Fox
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Re:Linux PDA's (Score:2)
check it out, it's pretty cool.
-Andy
Not a big deal... (Score:3)
Not a mockup, I saw one 2 hours ago (Score:2)
PocketLinux and MobileLinux (Score:2)
1. PocketLinux
2. MobileLinux
3. Yopy's Linux
Will a Linux OS for PDAs splinter or will the various distros eventually merge? Time will tell.
Newton HWR on WinCE! (Score:2)
it's not the OS (Score:2)
What cool apps could there be?
you only really need address book and note taker.
Beyond that there are games - gameboy style
the rest of the stuff ppl are on aout mp3, movies are waiting for processor power & ram & battery life not Linux
Personally I reckon that something like Inferno http://www.vitanuova.com is a better choice. Specialist Computers need specialist tools not universal tools. Mind you Inferno runs on plenty of platforms, uses byte code & a common architecture. It's an abstracted OS. Kind of Java but with a standard graphical environment too.
It's coming soon to the Ipaq & SH3/4
Limbo - it's language - is simple & powerful and is write once run anywhere
Psion, the forgotten PDA (Score:2)
I especially like the spreadsheet function which is what I nearly use all the time. The "database" (ahum, how dare I say it) is terrible: anything than a simple table is impossible.
Since I'm a coder I looked at OPL. It is a BASIC-like laguage and you can have a lot of fun with PEEK and POKE ;-) Reminds me my BASIC days. The PDF's documentation is good and is easily downloadable from somewhere on the psion site. (Sorry, no link, I'm at work right now)
I wrote some small tools that I needed, but programming for this thing is nearly impossible for larger projects. Any PDA development platform should come with an emulator for a full-grown PC: "develop on PC and deploy on PDA" (I saw this "slogan" somewhere in previous comments)
I saw the Revo (a workmate has it) and was very impressed. Most of my workmates have Palms, which are very flashy (Play Simcity during meetings!), but I think they come with too few standard software....yes I miss the spreadsheet! I saw you could buy some, but I was spoiled by Psion....So there is no way that I'll buy a Palm. Pricing is about the same for the Revo and and a "nicer Palm", and except for Grafitti, it offers nearly nothing more (actually less).
Re:Linux is being handed victory (Score:2)
Well, just kidding.
Re:Nonsense (Score:3)
I think Mozilla, Gtk+, Qt, and the C++ libraries are so huge because people these days write for reuse and generality, not simplicity, maintainability, space, or efficiency. I have concluded it's pointless to argue that point. Most programmers educated in the last 10 years don't even believe that they are doing anything wrong when they do that.
that's great news (Score:2)
PDA Giant, just a minute! (Score:2)
Less we forget the mobilion (Score:2)
I personaly would like to handle one before giving it praise.
Re:Programming platforms aren't a problem for PDAs (Score:3)
Look at the various Symbian-produced EPOC boxes. Lovely things - I've got a Psion 5 and I'd never go back to a Palm III.
They also come with OPL as standard - I've not played with it much but it's apparently pretty much BASIC. So, well known and pretty simple.
Yet how many people use them?
The argument that availability of programming tools to hackers is the critical factor in success may swing well to a Linux-focussed crowd, but it's wrong I'm afraid. Hackers simply aren't a large enough percentage of the userbase, while most non-hackers don't know how to get the software they've written. Don't believe me? Find a non-techie with a Palm, look at what's on it and be amazed.
The critical factor remains price. How low can you go while still being acceptably usable. Palms are borderline acceptable (IMO) but also very cheap. Psions are orders of magnitude superior and more capable - and come with the apparently critical programming tool preinstalled - yet remain a niche player, largely because they're dearer. You have to play with the things for a while to understand why a Palm isn't as good as a Psion - and why the Psion is genuinely worth the doubled price - but most people won't do that, so buy the Palm.
What still baffles me is why people then buy Palm Vs. Clearly less capable than Psions, you can spot that a mile off. Also a similar cost. Yet I see more Palm Vs than IIIs and m100s as a rule. Weird.
Re:How easy? (Score:2)
Re:Programming platforms aren't a problem for PDAs (Score:2)
You're looking at this from the wrong persective. Ultimately, any hardware platform lives or dies based on the size of the third party development community. The availability of a mainstream OS running on a PDA, with widely available programming tools, instantly makes it easy to develop for -- not just by hackers, but by small independent software houses. And that is what could make this a great success. Plus, of course, Sharp have a long history of getting it right when it comes to portable computing. Their PC-1500 from the mid-80s was way ahead of its time, comparable to Psion's early efforts several years later.
Re:Graffiti (Score:2)
William
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Lettering Art in Modern Use
Re:Programming platforms aren't a problem for PDAs (Score:2)
Re:It's not the kernel. It's the API. (Score:2)
However, I would love to see a linux kernel on a handheld, with a window manager that emulated the Palm UI. That way, in the future, when you are writing a palm program that uses some backend unix .so you dont have to sweat it.
Re:Programming platforms aren't a problem for PDAs (Score:2)
With a PDA I'm far less convinced. From what I see, the majority of users treat them, pretty much, as electronic organsers with a backup facility. They already have the diary, the address book, the calculator and the memopad. What more could you want in your pocket?
Note here I'm not saying it's all I want or even need in _my_ pocket - but I'm a computer nerd who's prepared to play and investigate. I also know what's possible. I'm far from convinced any of that is true for the average user - it's just this cute little gadget which sits in their pocket and looks flashier than a diary. Maybe it can even play Tetris or solitaire. Hence Palms win - they look good enough in the shops and they're cheap. Which results in the extra software being written as they get into a larger userbase, some of which includes hackers. Later the hackers may buy them due to the extra software - but that's more due to the Network Effect than greater availability of the relevant tools. You can't get better than 100% availability...
Maybe there's some research out there which can settle this, but from my experience third party software really isn't an issue for the average end user as they don't know there's any for any of them - so what does it matter that there's more for one than another?
Re:Yeah (Score:2)
anyway, they are 70 MHz Mips processors with 8MB ram, 16 MB flash rom running a 2.4 version of the linux kernel, embedded qt (I think) or X
Pretty cool
Psion Emulator (Score:3)