Linked by Eugenia Loli-Queru on Sat 21st Feb 2004 11:13 UTC
I already have a PalmV PDA with PalmOS 3.5. I never use it. I practically have absolutely no need for an organizer. Yet, I wanna buy a new one. That geek gene in me (that my mother unsuccessfully tried to kill over the years) what really wants is a "truly mobile PC" that just isn't a laptop. So, for the last few days I was shopping around the Internet for a new PDA (preferably a PocketPC this time) that would fit the kind of thing I am looking for. I was... horrified to find out that what I need isn't... invented yet.
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I've been through more PDAs than I care to count. I ended up settling on the Sony U101. It runs your desktop OS of choice, and it is built for desktop or standing use (the grips on the sides and the positioning of the mouse control and buttons were done so that subway travellers in Japan could use the U101 while standing).
PDAs always have a frustration factor because you are usually stuck running WinCE or other pocket-os that won't run apps you need it to (plus the display size is useless if you want to read a PDF manual for example).
I've installed WinXP and Linux on my U101 and both work like a charm (although there are a few minor issues under Linux).
The other bonus is that when I go on vacation I take my DVCam and U101. I have a stock 30Gb external USB2 drive, and DV Editing software loaded on the U101. I get no dropped frames, the U101's USB2 port powers the portable drive, and it beats lugging a laptop and a lot of cables around.
As for battery life, the battery is about the size of a paperback but 1/4" thick. You can also go for the larger battery which is a little thicker. I recently took a flight from LAX to Heathrow and had no problems playing 3 divx encoded movies on it without swapping the large battery out.
The U101 has the first version of the Pentium M low-power chipset. I believe Sony custom-ordered it for the U101 before the M was officially branded as such by Intel.