Future Perfect: Looking Past Pocket PC 2002

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[ChrisSpera]

After taking a long hard look at the Upgrade in a review, (seen here: http://www.pocketnow.com/cgi-bin/directory/content.cgi?db=reviews&id=211) I really have to agree with Michael.

Despite the affection I feel for the upgrade, and the extent to which its given me extra and/ or enhanced functionality, I'm beginning to experience many of the issues that everyone is complaining about.

My 3635 frequently has performance issues requiring soft resets to resolve. There appears to be a memory leak, or at the very least, an issue with memory management.

While it would have been nice to see this delivered on time, I would much preferred for Compaq to actively communicate the need for additional QA time to its upgrade customers. Yes, the upgrade was late, and it was late because they said they needed more QA time; but they didn't communicate status with the drooling public until later than we expected, furthering an anticipation of release. I hate that this was late, but I hate more that the upgrade needs further Service Packs to correct.

Christopher Spera
pocketnow Contributing Editor & Columnist

pocketnow.com -- it's all about portability...
http://www.pocketnow.com

[Russ Smith]

At the time, I was impressed by the new functionality of PPC2K2 as well as the enhanced features of the new machines. In retrospect, I think both arrived just a bit before they were "ready." With PPC2K2, it may be a calculated risk as XIP allows upgrading the OS in place and rather painlessly (especially when compared to the pre 1.77 iPAQ pray-you-don't-get-a-brick ROM upgrades).

If I had my preference, the new OS would have waited for the XScale hardware, allowing both more beta-time to work out all the little kinks and {(muttered under my breath) self-distruct backlights, too-dark/upside down displays, and buttons that forget they're being pressed} {ahem} hardware issues. As at least one person has commented, sometimes I feel like we're all beta-testing for the next models.

The problem is that the speed of enhancement is going to have to accellerate if the Pocket PC is going to retain it's position as clearly more powerful than Palm. (Palm seems to have finally twigged on the fact that no inovation in four years means loss of market share.) The problem can be overcome by continued support for upgrading (Far better than the half-upgrade for 3600 iPAQ, which, in turn, was better than none at all.), maybe even on a hardware level. The problem will have to be overcome by more agressive testing before release. (It sure beats agressive excuse-making afterward.)

A (probably) unforseen consequence of the speed of enhancement will be to equally enhance the value of leasing arrangements for enterprise customers and enhanced warranties for consumers, which allow for replacement with the most current model. I'd much rather pay just a bit over $100 for each new generation.