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PDA prizefight: Palm OS 5 v Windows Mobile 2003

Rick Broida CNET

Published: 26 Feb 2004

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Round 7: Multimedia

	For years, when it came to playing games, watching movies and listening to music, Pocket PCs outperformed Palm OS devices because the core Microsoft hardware included a relatively fast processor, a high-resolution (320 by 240 pixel) screen and digital audio capabilities. Indeed, the mobile version of Windows Media Player enabled audio and video playback right out of the box.

Until the arrival of OS 5, Palm users mostly were stuck with slow processors, low-resolution screens and Apple II-quality audio. A few high-end Sony CLIE models changed all that before OS 5 arrived, but did so with proprietary tweaks to the operating system. Now Palm OS supports the same Intel XScale processors used in Pocket PCs, as well as 320-by-320-pixel (and higher) screens and MP3 playback courtesy of RealOne Mobile Player. In short, Palm OS has caught up with -- and, in cases such as screen resolution, surpassed -- Windows Mobile.

Yet not all Palm OS handhelds take advantage of these newly supported capabilities. The Zire 21, although it runs Palm OS 5.2.1, has only a low-resolution greyscale screen and rudimentary audio capabilities. Even the £149 (inc. VAT) Sony CLIE PEG-TJ25 doesn't have digital audio. All Pocket PCs, on the other hand, feature the same core capabilities they've had for years and now carry faster processors to boot. In fact, several third-party Windows Mobile media players enable you to view native MPEG movie files, no conversion required.

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