Personally I use a USRobotics Pilot and I wouldn't change it for anything (apart from the newer backlit PalmPilot!) its small, simple and effective. WindowsCE, as its users complain, is the biggest screen hog ever. Toolbars, start bars and so on take up SO MUCH space that you can just about cram in three lines of text on the screen at a time. Now I don't know about you but personally I rather scrap any similarity with Windows95 and instead just make something which works well on a small screen. Hmmmm a bit like the Pilot maybe? I'd never used an interface like the Pilot's but I didn't have any troubles from the word go and it uses a small screen effectively.

But the last technical laugh must go to British handheld manufacturers Psion who can convert to and from Microsoft Office files better than WindowsCE. This does not bode well for the future of WindowsCE as its aimed at the desktop away from the desktop market. In other words being compatible with Windows95 is essential and it doesn't happen.

When Psion saw their market assaulted by the might of Microsoft along with its hardware partners like Compaq, Hewlett Packard, Sharp etc. they knew there was a very big chance of their being muscled out just by the sheer amount of money the competitors could throw at marketing. But Psion have cannily launched their own WindowsCE look-alike with superior operating system (better screen use especially, I'm told) better file conversion and so on. Its aimed at the US market as the Europeans firstly thankfully haven't had much of a chance to buy a WindowsCE machine and secondly they adore their Psion 3 model machines.

Well I have to say none come dumber that dear old WindowsCE. Where would this column be without it?

© 1997 j-dom media. contact us.

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by Jason P. Kitcat [e-mail him]