The real problems with Android, Pre and iPhone.

[dsrtao]

I've been using PalmOS devices almost continuously for 12 years.

This equips me with certain prejudices:

- the thing in my pocket is a limited-speed, but general-purpose computer. I can download an SDK for it and write my own programs. So can everyone else, which means that in addition to a laughable number of commercial programs, there is a thriving community of open source and shareware apps. Every device works this way; you don't have to buy a special developer's edition to experiment.

- when I buy the next one, pretty much all of my programs will continue to work.

- battery life is sufficient unto the entire day, no matter what I'm doing with it.

- I can back it up to a set of files on my computer; a serial or USB or Net connection is all I need to do that.

- I can install programs by copying them over from my computer, and also by downloading them from the Net... if I put them on a web page, I can use that.

- I can drop it on to concrete or asphalt a few times a year and only have cosmetic issues if the screen doesn't break.

- If it crashes, nineteen times out of twenty that's a hardware problem or a specific app, not the OS. It doesn't crash often.

Comments

[thesaucernews.livejournal.com]

I still have my old Palm z22. Never use it anymore, but when I had my Mac, I had the Palm synced with iCal and read ebooks on it and used it a fair amount. The battery lasted a long time, too. Everything else I have that even uses batteries (that would be three laptops) won't even twelve hours between charges.