PDA prizefight: Palm OS 5 v Windows Mobile 2003
Published: 26 Feb 2004
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Microsoft may rule the desktop world, but in the battle for handheld supremacy, it's still anybody's game. Found in handhelds from PalmOne, Sony, Kyocera, Samsung and other manufacturers, the Palm operating system has held a market-share advantage since the beginning, but Windows Mobile 2003 (née Pocket PC) is no longer just nipping at its heels; it's nipping away at its sales, as well. |
But if you put the Palm OS in the ring with Windows Mobile, which handheld operating system would survive the bout? Is one notably stronger than the other?
To find out, we booked eight rounds of PDA pugilism, pitting Palm OS 5.2.1 against fast-rising challenger Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 in categories such as ease of use, Office compatibility, and multimedia features. For the most part, we left the hardware outside the ring, as features such as battery life and processor speed vary widely from model to model across both platforms. The operating systems threw some seriously powerful jabs, and the winner may surprise you.
Full Talkback thread
25 comments
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Nice try to award Palm OS 5 as the winner! I disag... JED -
First of all, the difficulty you describe in openi... Steve Hall -
At a time when PDAs are used for more than just ha... Anonymous -
I have used to both the Pocket PC and Palm systems... Anonymous -
In using both the pocket PC and Palm for a long ti... Bill Ayers -
I used the Palm OS for six years and loved it. I... Paul Alandt -
I disagree as well with the direction this article... Anonymous -
Actually, they *did* compare the two fairly a... Verne Arase -
absolutely agree with the article. being a user of... David T -
The PDA market is losing out to smartphones. It wo... shekhar -
Given a choice, I will opt for Palm just simply I... Michael Lee -
i think pocket pc is better than palm os ,especial... hock lam lee -
You seem to be comparing the Pocket PC out of the... Peter Freeth -
I notice reading previous comments that opini... Denis -
If you want a paper weight, or at least to blow so... James E. Freedle II -
I recently purchased a PDA. Before doing doing tha... Nightz -
Windows Explorer makes Windows Mobile the winner i... Erik -
I was genuinely pleased with my Palm PDA - Sony Cl... Anonymous -
Not only does this article not compare like with l... Anon -
I think the article is rather good, no favorites a... Marijan Franovic -
After looking carefully at current PDAs I bought a... Duncan Corps -
Its been 2 years since the day i had my first PDA... strayato hirzaki -
And this is not an OS comparison I think. What abo... Michael Elfial -
I owned an IPAQ for a year and it was replaced 3 t... Monty Green -
hmm i'm stuck, i have had my IPAQ 1940 for ne... Anonymous

















