My Conversion
By Anna Marie Garcia , Copyright 2003
Revised 3/29/2003

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After about two years of every Pocket PC owner I know haranguing me about how much better the Pocket PC was than Palm, I finally decided to take the plunge, and bought a Pocket PC (HP iPAQ 1910). I’d been a heavy Palm (Palm M505) user for about 5 years, so I figured I might go through some serious withdrawal and might even have to enroll myself in a 12-step program. But I’m happy to say, I made the switch and it wasn’t nearly as painful as I thought it would be.

I was looking for free software that would somehow sync up the two systems, and finally was referred to http://www.stratabase.com/resync/downloads.php by Chris De Herrera. It was a beta version (which I found out means it is kind of experimental and might have a few quirks), but I went ahead and tried it.

I’m not exactly a computer guru, so I just downloaded and kept blindly clicking on “OK” or “Next” until I finally got it downloaded onto my computer. I followed the onscreen instructions and synced my Palm with Outlook, then synced Outlook to my Pocket PC.

For some odd reason a number of the addresses came up twice in my Pocket PC, so I had to go through and delete duplicates (there was probably a better way of doing that, but as I said before, I ain’t exactly on a rocket scientist level in this area). Anyway, I got all my information transferred, and I’m up and running on my Pocket PC.

I still have a few minor frustrations working with my Pocket PC, but I think it’s mainly because I am still so ingrained in the Palm way of life, and I expect my Pocket PC to work exactly like my Palm did. I still think the Palm calendar is a bit easier to use, but to make a true comparison, I think I’d have to use my Pocket PC for about another 5 years to be on a level playing field.

The graphics on my Pocket PC blows the Palm right out of the water. There is NO competition. And I’m absolutely in love with being able to listen to MP3’s and audio books. And although I’m not into games, I have to admit, the games on the Pocket PC are much more colorful and seem to be “cooler” then the games on the Palm. The whole syncing process with my Pocket PC is better than Palm too. I like the fact that once I link up my Pocket PC with my home PC, the Pocket PC works just like another hard drive, so I can look around and move things on my Pocket PC from my home PC. The whole system seems to “flow” better.

Also, 5 years ago, there was a ton of software for Palms, and not too much for Pocket PC’s. It seems now that Pocket PC’s are the forerunner and offer more software than Palm. I like reading books on my PDA, and I can find a LOT more books for a Pocket PC than for my Palm.

I hope this helps anyone trying to make the switch themselves (at least without doling out money for an expensive syncing program).

Also, I’m not trying to badmouth Palm, I think overall it’s a simpler system for someone that only uses the absolute basics (calendar, addresses, etc.), but if you want audio features and more expandability, then I think the Pocket PC is the way to go.

Good Luck!

Anna Marie Garcia
Texas

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