When you're choosing an operating system, keep the following items in mind:
The Windows Mobile platforms, since they're diminutive versions of the
Windows desktop OS, will be quite familiar to those who already have
experience with a Windows-based laptop or desktop. The Palm platform,
on the other hand, is simple to use and said by many to be intuitive.
Being somewhat dense, myself, I usually don't find any operating sys-
tems (or program applications for that matter) to be intuitive -- I have
to commit the complete user manual to memory. That being said, even I
find the Palm OS extremely simple to use.
Microsoft produces both Windows Mobile OS and Microsoft Office appli-
cations (such as Outlook, Word, and Excel), so it makes sense that
Pocket PCs can interface easily with these applications. Palm, however,
also offers several PDAs that work almost equally well with these appli-
cations. If you happen upon a model that doesn't, an application such as
Dataviz Documents to Go can ease compatibility problems.
All program applications written for PDAs and Pocket PCs are intended
for use on those devices. You can't use desktop programs on a PDA or
Pocket PC, and their program applications aren't compatible with desk-
tops or laptops. Some programs, however, are being released in both
desktop and handheld versions so you can enter information into one
device and sync it with the other.
Time was, many more software applications were written for the Palm
OS than for the Windows Mobile platform -- but that difference has
dwindled until it's no longer a relevant issue. Both platforms are compat-
ible with a wide variety of games and software applications. Many, if not
all, of these are exclusive to one OS or another. So if there's a game or
application you just can't live without, make sure it's supported by the
OS you're favoring.
Before choosing between the Palm and Windows Mobile OS, I strongly sug-
gest you test-drive several models loaded with each platform. That's really
the only way to know for sure which one you're more comfortable with.
Picking a PDA
After choosing an operating platform for your PDA (see the previous section),
you have to choose a handheld device to run it. Pay special attention to
Synchronization: Be sure that any device you consider comes with a syn-
chronization cable or cradle, along with sync software. A PDA is a self-
contained unit, but you do need access to a desktop (or laptop) PC to
Part I: The Wonderful World of Wireless Fidelity
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