Standards? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Standards!

(with apologies to Mel Brooks, and all who went before…)

As mentioned previously, I’m considering the purchase of a PDA. While the idea of a $250 piece of software on a tiny little chip to keep track of the birds we’ve seen has sort of gone by the way-side (as Rob points out, “$250 (plus $275 for the PDA) for a Palm-based birding directory? You’re kidding me, right? A Peterson’s or Audubon field guide and notebook are much cheaper…”), the idea of a PDA to have ready access to my calendar and e-mail, along with a few other functions is still very much alive. So, now I’m back to my usual premise when choosing hardware: choose the application software first, and then let that drive the hardware requirement, within certain limits (ie., $300 MSRP).

Since almost all of the gadgets I’m looking at have WiFi and Bluetooth, and the usual array of business software included, I’ve started to consider the more esoteric functions I’d like to be able to perform, like audio real time analysis, guitar tuner and chord software, GPS, view pictures from my camera, etc.

I’ve discovered, though, that while the Palm PDAs are pretty much standardized in their software requirements, the PocketPCs which run Windows Mobile are all over the map. For instance, there are several different processors in the PocketPCs — ARM, MIPS, etc. — and certain software is written only for certain processors. So, while the array of software for PocketPCs may be larger, and the hardware features of a particular PocketPC device more robust, a particular device may only be able to run a subset of that software, whereas with a Palm device, if it runs a particular OS version, any software that will run on that OS (and most earlier versions) should work.

It reminds me of the early days of PCs versus Macs!

That aside, although I was leaning toward a Palm T|X because it would run the birding program, the device hardward is a little limited in that it has no provision for an audio input (aside from the little built-in microphone and a questionable hack on the internet) and it can only use SD/SDIO/MMC cards. My camera uses CompactFLASH cards. Also, the battery is not user-replaceable. I’ve since found that the Dell Axim X51-520 will meet or exceed my needs, for about the same price — with the exception of a possible desire to run the birding program.