PC User to Convert to Macs, but Pocket PC Brings About Problems

tvfollowertvfollower
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Oh no, a PC user on AppleInsider.com! Kill him! Stone him!



Anyway, for college I am going to need a laptop, and I am very intent on getting a Powerbook (hopefully Powerbook G5s will exist next year). I am currently a PC user, but I have basically been convinced that Macs are the way to go...the sexy looks and speed turn me on.



But, I'm also thinking about getting a Pocket PC (specifically, the HP iPaq 1945, or perhaps the newest descendant of that when the time comes), and I was wondering what Mac users have to say about Pocket PCs. Personally, I think that Pocket PCs are bulky and weird, but then came along the iPaq 1910, and it convinced me that Pocket PCs can be both small (it's thinner than any Palm I've ever seen) and fast, and I love the built in Pocket Word and Pocket Excel.



So my dillema is:



1) Do Mac users not like Pocket PCs?

2) Is it awkward to use Pocket PCs with Macs?

3) Is technology such as "The Missing Sync for Pocket

PC" (Pocket PC iSync conduit for syncing with iCal, iTunes, etc.) perfected enough to be usable?



Any advice? Should I just stick with Palms? The iPaq 1945 is just so damn amazing, though! I can imagine what a similar iPaq next year will be like...

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 6
    homhom Posts: 1,098member
    1. No, we don't just dislike them, he hate them



    If a PocketPC (It will always be Wince to me) is what you want you should be ok.



    VersionTracker reviews say that Missing Sync is pretty good software, but I have not used it, so I can't tell you for sure. You mentioned the Pocket versions of Word and Excel. Every review I have read says that Documents to Go is better than either of the Microsoft products. So YMMV.
  • Reply 2 of 6
    tvfollowertvfollower Posts: 2member
    What would you say to this dude's response:



    http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.p...hreadid=171107
  • Reply 3 of 6
    torifiletorifile Posts: 4,024member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by tvfollower

    What would you say to this dude's response:



    http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.p...hreadid=171107



    maxintosh knows what he's talking about. He's had a Palm TT and those are seriously easy to use with a mac and now he's raving about his PPC. If it works well enough for him, I'm sure the program is good enough.
  • Reply 4 of 6
    eboychikeboychik Posts: 7member
    While I liked Missing Sync for my Sony Clie when I used a Palm device, now that I have a PPC I find that Virtual PC still works better than the new Missing Sync for PPC or PocketMacPro. Neither one replicates the entire ActiveSync functionality the way Virtual PC can, since VPC can run ActiveSync with Outlook. MissingSync and PocketMacPro only handle some of the PIM databases, and installation of apps is much more difficult if not impossible without .cab files.



    That said, the downside of VPC is that syncing is intermittent, meaning that you can place your PPC in the cradle and it won't always sync without some fiddling around with connection settings. I can always get it to work eventually, but it's not as regular as on a PC- more hit or miss. There is no intermittence with Missing Sync or PocketMacPro.



    Just my .02



    eBoy
  • Reply 5 of 6
    torifiletorifile Posts: 4,024member
    That's not just a problem with VPC. It's ActiveStink's problem. I had a toshiba e740 and I read no end of complaints about that piece of shit program. The issues were so annoying that I gave up the PPC for my Palm TT and haven't looked back since. Now, at the time the only alternative to VPC and AS was Pocketmac and that was WORSE than either of them on their worst days, so... Now, with the Missing Sync, I think it could be a different story.
  • Reply 6 of 6
    eboychikeboychik Posts: 7member
    ActiveSync certainly has its faults, especially in comparison with Palm's HotSync, but MissingSync still won't let you sync memos, and if you can sync Word files at all - which you can easily do with VPC - it looks to be difficult.



    From Mark/Space's website:



    Mark/Space, Inc. announces the first third party iSync conduit offering support for iCalª and Address Book synchronization in the upcoming release of Missing Sync for Pocket PC. Missing Sync for Pocket PC enables Mac users to connect and synchronize information between a Pocket PC handheld and a Mac running Mac OS X and iSync version 1.1.



    Missing Sync for Pocket PC is the only product that integrates your Pocket PC handheld with iTunesª and iPhotoª, as well as synchronizes calendar items, to do items and contacts with the iCal and Address Book applications. From within iTunes your handheld and memory cards show up as an MP3 player, where you can add and remove audio files by simply dragging and dropping. From within iPhoto you can export and resize photos for optimal viewing on a Pocket PC handheld.



    "Mark/Space's expertise with iSync conduits now allows Pocket PC users the choice to use a Mac and synchronize their data with iCal and the Mac OS X Address Book." said Brian Hall, President/CEO of Mark/Space, Inc., "The Mac savvy method of mounting the Pocket PC handheld on the desktop and integration with iTunes and iPhoto provide a level of multimedia integration not even available with ActiveSync¨ on a Windows PC."

    - - -

    Sure I have some photos and songs on my PPC, but that's not my primary use for the device, so this seems like a feature that is nice but not essential. And iCal and Address Book are just not full-fledged PIM managers. They are measly compared to PalmDesktop or Outlook or Entourage. But if the new Missing Sync works for you, great! Maybe I'm spoiled.



    eBoy
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