A guide to handheld operating systems

Rick Broida CNET

Published: 10 Aug 2006

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Go to section: Introduction Palm OS Windows Mobile BlackBerry Symbian Which handheld OS is right for you?

Which handheld OS is right for you?

Now you have a general overview of what each handheld operating system has to offer, but you still may be asking yourself: which OS is right for me? This will largely depend on what types of functionality are important to you. Palm and Windows Mobile handhelds offer mass appeal to individuals and companies alike with their mix of productivity and entertainment features. For years, these two handheld operating systems have competed fiercely to attract handheld buyers. But now, they're almost evenly matched in terms of the core applications: address book, calendar, to-do list and memos. Palm still holds the advantage in PC synchronisation as it works with both Mac OS and Windows-based computers right out of the box; it also benefits from a large library of third-party applications. However, Windows Mobile is by far the most capable multimedia platform.

For heavy email users, BlackBerry's combination of push technology and integrated QWERTY keyboard is hard to beat. And although they've generally been more business-centric devices, RIM has made a push to reach more customers with consumer-friendly models, such as the BlackBerry 7100 series. Still, for now, if you want any type of entertainment features, such as music or video playback, you won't find it on a BlackBerry.

Finally, while Symbian might not be the most recognised OS among the group, it offers corporate users powerful productivity and security tools, and the versatility of the OS opens itself up to more general audiences.

To further help you with your buying decision, we've rounded up some of our top product picks for each handheld OS. Check them out below.

Top handheld choices by operating system
Palm	Windows Mobile	BlackBerry	Symbian
Palm TX	Orange SPV M5000	Black Berry 8700g	Nokia E61
Palm Treo 650	O2 Xda IQ	O2 BlackBerry 7100x	Nokia 9300
Palm Tungsten E2	Fujitsu Siemens Pocket LOOX N520	RIM BlackBerry 7230	Sony Ericsson M600i

 

Go to section: Introduction Palm OS Windows Mobile BlackBerry Symbian Which handheld OS is right for you?

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