Advice when buying a palmtop
A palmtop is a portable electronic computer that focuses on giving fast information like addresses, dates, meetings, memos etc. Today there are palmtops with voice recording functions, Internet capabilities, and even colour screens. Before deciding what kind of palmtop you need you should know what you want to use it for. Do you plan to use the palmtop mainly as an electronic personal organizer or more as a simpler version of a laptop?
Inputting data The screen Memory Memory cards
CompactFlash Secure Digital Multi Media Card Springboard MemoryStick Operating system Size and Weight Extra functions
There are two different ways of putting information into your palmtop. Either through a minimal keyboard (as with a laptop but smaller) or by using a pen, or stylus on the screen. With a stylus you can input data either by tapping an on-screen keyboard or by using handwriting recognition. Some palmtops can recognise your actual writing while others require that you write in a special way. Many palmtops come with both methods of data entry. Normally a palmtop with a minimal keyboard is larger, heavier and more powerful, while a palmtop reliant on the stylus method is more portable but with less capabilities.
The screen is a very important factor when choosing which palmtop to buy. There are many different screen resolutions and types. What all palmtops do have in common is the LCD screen (floating crystal). The LCD screen in stylus-based palmtops often has a similarly sized screen to the keyboard model, but with inferior resolution. The standard models have a resolution of 160x160 pixels, but there are also stylus-based models with an improved resolution of 240x320 pixels. Palmtops with a keyboard can have a resolution of 640x480 pixels, which means that more advanced operating systems and applications can be used. There are also colour screens available but they generally cause batteries to discharge at a faster rate than the monochrome versions. The screen type varies between the lighter and stronger TFT screen or the cheaper DSTN screen.
The memory is the most important factor when buying a palmtop. The memory varies
enormously between different types and models, but most palmtops are capable
of being upgraded to provide greater memory if required. Memory can vary anywhere
from 2MB to 32MB RAM memory (internal memory). There are two dominating operating
systems – Pocket PC and Palm OS.
There are many different types of cards and standards for palmtops. Here
are some of them:
Also called cf-card. The card can have a size until 1 gigabyte. There are also
bluetooth-cards in cf-fomat. CompactFlash have two different types; type I and
type II. The difference between I and II is the heigth of type 2 = 5,5mm and
type I = 3,3mm. Card type II can have bigger capacity. It’s important to know
that type I can be used in type II but not the other way around.
Also called sd-card. A standard starting to show up among new palmtops. Compared
to the cf-card the sd-card is considerable smaller.
Also called mmc-card. This is the older version of the sd-card. So you can
use mmc-card in palmtops with sd-slot. Mmc-card can only be used as memorycard.
A proprietary card that works only with products from Handspring. Each card
has a specific function - some are games, some provide telecommunications functions,
some provide extra memory, digital cameras, mp3-players etc. In Handsprings'
latest models the springboard cardslot is removed.
This memory card option was originally designed by Sony and is currently only
supported on their palmtops. They are typically used for storage.
Pocket PC and Palm OS are the two most common operating systems. There is a
pronounced difference between the two. Palm OS is an operating system based
partly on text and is in monochrome. This is an operating system for the user
who demands neither colour nor complicated graphics. Palm OS is very user-friendly
- you navigate simply via buttons both on the screen and outside. Pocket PC
looks very much like the other Windows operating systems and is capable of handling
more advanced graphics and applications. There is also greater use of multimedia
than in Palm OS - hence you can watch high-resolution pictures and listen to
music and films. Unfortunately Pocket PC demands a faster processor, more internal
memory and stronger batteries - these factors make the palmtop considerably
more expensive. If you are a machintosh user you have to buy a special software
to use Pocket PC.
Stylus-based palmtops are often smaller and lighter than those with keyboards.
If you want a palmtop that fits in your shirt pocket or belt, then you'll want
a palmtop without the minimal keyboard.
The latest palmtops have new features such as: digital cameras, mp3-players,
gprs navigationssystem, bluetooth and ir.
