PalmOS
‘vs’ Windows
|
O |
ne of the most commonly asked PDA questions
I was asked is, “Why PalmOS over PocketPC?”
It was supplemented by, “Windows Mobile or PalmOS?” or “what PDA
operating system is the best?” There is
no correct answer – I prefer PalmOS but my reasons for preferring one camp doesn’t
mean I’ll avoid other operating systems, not to mention that some of my reasons
will be academic to other users. As a
general rule of thumb, all PDA operating systems tackle similar problems and
all can do the basics (personal
information management) well enough for the majority of users.
To the end user, Windows Mobile (or PocketPC, Windows CE) essentially attempts to shrink a modern
Windows desktop into a handheld format.
The Windows Mobile “Today” screen shows the user information pertinent
to that particular day, including appointments, tasks and email, and can
readily be enhanced with the addition of new features (such as application
launchers, battery meters, and similar).
Most applications are launched from a Start button / Menu system,
typically requiring two taps.
PalmOS takes a different approach;
instead it expands upon the paper-based organiser concept. The PalmOS “launcher” application shows the
current time, battery status, and applications that may be launched. Applications are organised into categories,
such as Utilities, System and Games. In
many respects, the beauty of a PalmOS device is this natural simplicity. It allows quite unexceptional hardware to
perform core personal information management duties very well indeed. Readers should note that this simplicity is
also PalmOS’ disadvantage.
To an experienced Windows Mobile
user, the standard PalmOS launcher method seems very simplistic. You have to use the Calendar or Datebook
application to ascertain what appointments you have that day rather than the
operating system tell you this.
Depending on the device, the standard application suite does not allow
using themes or images to brighten up the device appearance.
To an experienced PalmOS user, the
Windows Mobile Today page is sluggish and fiddly to navigate. PalmOS users have a large number of
alternative applications we can use to show Today’s information (my own favourites are either the PalmOS 5∙2
and later Calendar application or ZLauncher). You have to be quite specific where you tap
to launch an application and you’ve no way of knowing what the power status of
the device is until you get the low battery warning level. Microsoft insist on making the page “pretty”
with a bitmap image.
Once past the initial page, the
differences between the two operating systems run deeper. For all intents and purposes, PalmOS does not
multitask with the exception of playing music or handling a call whilst using
the PDA functionality on a convergent device.
When one opens an application, the old one is closed and data is
saved. Windows CE through PocketPC through
Windows Mobile supports proper multitasking.
When you open an application, the original is kept running in the
background. The operating system should close applications when it starts
to run low on memory, but it is difficult for the user to ascertain what is
running at any one moment without either using a third party application (HP’s
iTask on the iPAQ is one example), or sifting through several menus to
reach the memory settings gadget.
After years of experience with
both Windows Mobile and PalmOS devices, the benefits to the typical user are
limited for non-connected duties. Yes,
it is possible to have the device downloading email messages whilst you check
your appointments using a Windows Mobile device and you can’t do this with a
PalmOS unit. You also keep your search
results with Windows Mobile, with PalmOS as soon as you select a search result,
it loses the data and you have to re-run the Find operation. However, Windows Mobile needs a fast
processor and plenty of memory to take advantage of the multitasking
abilities. On many devices, the
multitasking strength becomes a weakness unless the user is prepared to
manually close applications.
Throw in a “connected device” and
it opens up a whole new arena. By
connected, I mean to the outside world via a wireless radio of some
description. It may be a Bluetooth connection to a mobile ‘phone to access the
Internet for email or web pages, or via a WiFi radio
for the same. Or the device may have the
GSM / GPRS radio anyway, such as the Tungsten W. Here,
the advantage is that you can be downloading your email whilst reading a
webpage or checking your schedule. As it
happens there are solutions to this problem that PalmOS for the Treo (and other PalmOS 5 devices).
One other important difference
between PalmOS and Windows Mobile is how the core personal information
management applications handle their databases.
Windows Mobile only updates the database once you have finished an
action - closed the notes section, for example - whereas PalmOS updates the
database in real time. Although this
difference may seem trivial, when combined with Windows Mobile’s multitasking,
it can result in some very annoying losses of data. If, for example, whilst annotating an
appointment you decide to switch to the tasks database manager and the unit
crashes, the two operating systems behave in a different manner. Using PalmOS, you don’t lose any data but
using Windows Mobile, you lose all edits to the annotation since the last time
you closed the note. In this sense,
Windows Mobile is very much like any other variant of Windows, except no
standard application I have used has an automatic save facility.
PalmOS and Windows Mobile also
manage memory in a slightly different way.
In simple terms, Windows Mobile divides free memory into two types -
storage and program memory. Storage is
for exactly that - storing the files and databases that the user generates and
edits. Program memory is the memory
required by the operating system for the purposes of running applications - in
this respect, it is analogous to either physical or virtual memory on a desktop
computer. The amount of memory that
PalmOS reserves for its own purposes does vary, but I have never known a PalmOS
4·x (or lower) device to require more than 1 Mb of space. Windows Mobile’s relatively inefficient
memory management is compounded by the personal information database size
relative to PalmOS, which tends to be approximately 20% larger for an
individual record (with no attached notes).
Windows Mobile has some important
advantages over PalmOS. The first is
that PocketOutlook has more fields than the basic PalmOS 4·x equivalents and
this means that for the typical user running Outlook on his or her desktop, it
is directly more compatible (and explains the reason why an individual
record is typically larger). The
other advantage is that individual item note fields have a limit of 30,000
characters, whereas PalmOS users have a 4,000 character limit. Both of these limitations have been somewhat
lifted in later versions of PalmOS 5.
The other advantage is that
Windows Mobile contains rather more than the straightforward personal
information management applications built in to ROM, some PalmOS devices
contain this functionality, others do not.
It also ships with PocketWord, PocketExcel and Pocket Internet Explorer. These three applications greatly enhance
individual device functionality since, straight out of the box, the unit is
more compatible with a desktop computer also running Microsoft software. Of course, this is what Microsoft have in
mind all along. In order to be as
functional, a PalmOS 4·x device requires additional third party software, which
consumes valuable memory. The full
QuickOffice 6·0 suite - which admittedly gives a PalmOS device a word processor
and spreadsheet with greater functionality compared to a Windows Mobile 2002
device - requires approximately 3 Mb of memory.
On a 8 Mb unit, this is a significant proportion of available
memory. Most PalmOS devices ship with a
free version of Documents-To-Go, which can trade punches with PocketOffice
applications – but needs to be added to the device.
Some Sony CliÉ devices shipped
with a wider variety of applications built into the device.
My
Take
My Philips Velo worked well with
Windows CE 2 but it wasn’t perfect. It
was occasionally sluggish but generally robust.
My collection of PalmOS 3∙x
an 4∙x devices, including the first, my Palm
IIIxe, worked very well.
My iPaq
H3950 ran PocketPC 2002, which proved to be an unreliable, bug-ridden
operating system.
My PalmOS 5 devices have not been
as robust as my PalmOS 3 or 4 units. In
most cases, this appears to stem from the applications I use rather than the
device itself but to me as an end user it doesn’t matter.
The Qtek 9100, a Windows Mobile 5
device, represented a wonderful piece of hardware running an appalling
operating system.