XScale and Windows CE 4.0 to Debut at Comdex Los Angeles

[EmXtrix]

Comdex attendees will be among the first to see XScale prototypes and working versions of Windows CE 4.0.<p><font face=verdana size=2><b>Read More:</b> <a href="http://www.pocketnow.com/cgi-bin/directory/detailed.cgi?db=news&id=497">XScale and Windows CE 4.0 to Debut at Comdex Los Angeles</a></p>

[Russ Smith]

The article makes some good points and seems to predict continued success for Pocket PCs in the business and technical arena but there are some odd points:

The article talks about the resurfacing of "WIntel," but in hand-helds, completely ignoring the fact that one system has been running Pocket PC on a StrongArm for well over a year now.

I was also amused by a few quotes in the article:
"Palm is the Macintosh of the handheld world"
I thought Macintosh was the one who makes more powerful but ultimately more expensive machines. I also thought they were the ones with the smaller market share.

"We run into people intimidated by the Pocket PC. It doesn't have ease of use"
OK. I realize that I'm not a good judge of "easy" because I actually read the manuals and figure my way around problems, but I'm thinking this particular argument has been way overstated and bears too little resemblance to the truth.

Some industry experts believe devices like Handspring's Treo is a compelling reason to stick with Palm OS. "It doesn't matter if it doesn't have much processing power. It is a killer device"
I guess an iPAQ with the wireless sleeve with be an apocalyptic device.

[sponge]

But here's one problem I don't think anyone has realized yet.. processor heating? A chip running at 1ghz is going to be a hot bugger, and the low power consumption is useless if we need a big fan in there..

-sponge

[Russ Smith]

Actually, they did think of that. The XScale is more than just a faster StrongARM. There are a number of technologies employed in the XScale which reduce power consumption and, thus, heat production. In normal use, the XScale processor draws about 1/10th the power that the current StrongARM does. It was designed with mobile processing in mind, knowing full well that a hand-held can't be sporting a cyclone fan.

[EmXtrix]

Originally posted by Russ Smith
I was also amused by a few quotes in the article:
"Palm is the Macintosh of the handheld world"
I thought Macintosh was the one who makes more powerful but ultimately more expensive machines. I also thought they were the ones with the smaller market share.

I think what the author might have meant is that Macintosh computers used to be really great around 1995, and then slowly but surely Windows took over - COMPLETELY! Maybe the offer is referring to how Palm used to rule most of the market in the beginning, and now Pocket PC is pushing it aside... Also, perhaps the author is referring to the OS... For a while, the Mac OS used to be the same... boring... thing over and over again with a little update every now and then (as far as I can remember from my experiences with my 1995 Performa PowerPC). In the meantime, Windows was going through big changes from 95, to 98, to ME, and now to XP...

[sponge]

95, 98, and ME were pretty much exactly the same, plus some bugs and/or/probably not fixes, and a couple random features. Any other OS to 2K/XP is a pretty big jump, even NT4.

At least I know I didn't experience much different coming from 95 to 98SE.

-sponge