Round One: System Features
(the Palm OS vs. Pocket PC)

System features are, undoubtedly, the most difficult to compare. While the Pocket PC hardware has 2-4 times the amount of memory available, Pocket PC applications and data often require 2-4 times as much space. The same can be said for processor speed, where a device that screams at 206 MHz on the Pocket PC may very well yield the same performance as the 20 MHz Palm IIIc (Editor's Note: As Palm applications become more color-dependant, we feel the 20mhz processor might prove to be a weak point). Thankfully, not all system comparisons are that difficult to make.

First, the Palm Pilot edges out the Pocket PC in battery life, since one of the Pocket PC devices yields only 6 hours of power. Our staff loves the Pilot's automated infrared receive capability and the smooth way it handles incoming IR data (as evidenced in Palm's "train meeting" commercial). At press time, we were able to find much lower street prices for the Color Palm Pilot than any of the Pocket PCs. To be fair, Pocket PCs have just recently gone on sale, so we expect their prices will drop as soon as the initial rush for devices is over. But this is important for people interested in an immediate purchase. Finally, the Pocket PC offers absolutely no connection to the Macintosh platform, making the choice in the matter a no-brainer if you're an Apple Computer household. 

The area that the Pocket PC shines in is multimedia. With thousands of colors, versus the Palm's 256 and more than three times the pixel resolution, displaying photos and web pages is far more impressive on the Pocket PC. Also, the Compaq iPAQ is the only device in our tests that has a screen with full readability in broad daylight. In addition, the Pocket PC has the benefit of an entire suite of multi-media applications; sporting an audio book reader, MP3 player and the invaluable voice recorder. The Pocket PC also "one ups" the Pilot in data entry methods with single stroke (graffiti), mini-keyboard and full handwriting recognition as well connection options (to the desktop) offering serial, IR and USB. Speaking of the computer connection, the Pocket PC synchronizes nearly 6 times faster than the Pilot and offers automated (no-button) synchronization. 

It's nearly too close to call in this category, so let's move on to a comparison of the built-in applications.  

 * These statistics are from the manufacturer's information, not our testing environment. Please note that individual user results may vary.

Published: 6/1/00