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The 10 most over-hyped, useless PDA applications - Brighthand.com Smartphone and PDA Discussion Forums
I have been meaning to write this for quite a while?
My PDA is an excellent PIM ?
And has been since my Pilot 1000 back in 1996.
As I take stock of my latest IPAQ, I realize that it is also a decent picture viewer (although I can?t show pictures on a TV ?
Why not?). AvantGo still works well, like it did starting in 1998.
Outside of that, I still can?t recommend a PDA to a non-nerd.
Why? Cuz they really sukk at doing anything else.
Here then, are?
The 10 most over-hyped, useless PDA applications: [list=1][*] E-mail - I cannot manage my 100+ messages per day on my PDA.
I cannot quickly preview messages.
I cannot say ?Leave this message alone and let me read it later on my desktop ?
But please delete this one".
Attachments? Forget about it!
My inbox has 1000+ items.
I must download ALL OF THEM if I want to use Outlook on my PDA.
I think I will pass .[*] Cell Phone - My current cell phone is provided free by my carrier.
It is the size of a matchbox with 50 hours of standby time.
Why would I give this up for a device the size of a wallet with 5 hours of standby?
I thought phones are for talking anyway - why do they need a display?[*] MP3 players - My MuVo MP3 player is even smaller than my cell phone.
Again, why would I want to have a device that is 4 times bigger with significantly shorter battery life?[*] GPS Navigation ?
I have had at least 4 receivers including a new Bluetooth unit.
I have tried no less than 10 GPS PDA software packages.
While a GPS application can occasionally confirm that I am lost, once I have established my location, a fold-out paper map still beats the 2?x3?
PDA screen for real world navigation.
GPS software is still in its infancy.
When it is going to grow up?[*] Word Documents ?
Surely you jest! Word documents are converted as they are downloaded.
Pictures are lost and mangled.
Embedded content?
Looks like a high school science experiment gone bad.[*] PDF Documents ?
Can you say ?scale??
PDF document become a series of lines and dots when viewed full page.
Zoom in, and you might as well be using a GPS application to navigate in Manhattan (one of the funniest things I have ever done with my PDA ).
Also, PDF viewers are the slowest PDA applications I have ever used.[*] Appointment Alarms ?
In my pocket = ?I can?t hear you!?
Vibrate mode? Sorry, only on those ancient and silly cell phone things.[*] Security ?
Please enter a 4 number PIN or 8 character password with mixed numerics and a shifted character.
Please repeat for every item on this PDA that you want secured.
Security was an afterthought, wasn?t it?
[*] Web Browsing with PIE ?
I bet you never thought the left-right scroll bar could be that long?
Dynamic HTML? What?s that?.
No one uses it, do they?
[*] Bluetooth ? Why not let my BT connect to some useful devices, like: HiFi headphones, a keyboard, a mouse and proper-sized display?
Na. That would make my PDA useful [/list=1]
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If I dig around enough, I can find you a cookie for your revelations.
Other than that, all I can say is that you're lambasting the PDA for limitations that are beyond its control on at least one occasion.
Bluetooth. Its limited in bandwidth regardless of what type of device its in.
Hifi headphones? If that sort of thing really mattered to you, you wouldn't even suggest such a thing as hifi headphones that were wireless.
If you want 'em, you're just a gadget freak who would never be satisfied anyway.
Aha!
Found it.
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Quote: : must download ALL OF THEM if I want to use Outlook on my PDA.
I think I will pass.
Think IMAP.
Quote: : PDF Documents ?
Can you say ?scale??
Can you say "RepliGo"?
Quote: : Security ?
Please enter a 4 number PIN or 8 character password Security is an afterthought on every OS.
This isn't a limitation of the PDA;
Checkout PocketLock (and there are other similar programs): it does various strong encryptions, but if you use only a 4 or 8 character key you're not going to get the benefits of the better encryption methods on any system, PDA or desktop.
Its GIGO; you only get out of it what you put into it.
Quote: : Web Browsing with PIE PIE sucks, period.
This isn't new news.
Check out NetFront if you want to surf.
Quote: : Bluetooth ?
Why not let my BT connect to some useful devices, like: HiFi headphones, a keyboard, a mouse and proper-sized display?
Na. That would make my PDA useful You're describing a laptop.
Maybe you should have purchased one.
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These limitations are valid if you view the PDA as a PC replacement.
The original PDAs (when was that?) were basically meant for keeping an address/phone book.
I spoke with Beth Goza (former Microsoft Pocket PC guru) a few years ago about some of the limitations you describe.
As far aw Word, Excel and similar apps go, the Pocket PC apps were never meant to replace the desktop version.
MS included these so you could open basic email attachments.
That said, email is terrible as mentioned.
How many of todays emails are html based?
The only good thing I can say is that is provides an open door for third party providers to do their stuff.
It's too bad you can't order your operating system piecemeal.
Buy the whole thing or leave out Word, Excel, Reader, and other useless apps and pay less.
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Quote: : Security is an afterthought on every OS.
No it's not, just on Microsoft OSs.
But in all seriousness, I have to agree with you Craig .
The applications you mention are lacking on the PPC but do recognize that's not what the PPC was designed for.
I have a laptop to meet these other needs I have, but my PPC is still nice for the smaller things.
I don't do production work on my PPC because it has many limitations, but it's still nice for reading an ebook for a few minutes or checking my email real quick.
I use webmail to avoid the problems you have.
And my PPC is much easier to carry than my laptop.
All of these devices (PDA, laptop, cell phone, mp3 player, etc) all have their dedicated uses and I use them as such.
You can thank the marketing departments for this convergence of functionality, not the real world users.
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Many of the PDA limitations I listed can be addressed with software.
Take Word documents for example.
Why are they converted when they are transferred to my PDA?
It appears to be a holdover from the days when PDA?s had 20 Mhz processors, 9600 baud serial syncing and 1 MB of memory.
With today?s devices, word document mangling is unnecessary.
Security = bigger woes.
The Pocket PC 2003 OS sorely needed a Cryto-API.
Without it you cannot have integrated security with single-signon.
Instead you get application level security which simply does not cut it.
Or you get add-ons, like those listed They are all different ?
And certainly have more holes that OS implemented security.
MP3 or telephony = come on!
Dedicated devices work better and are much cheaper.
Handling real documents = why not?
Who is a ?geek freak??
I just want these applications to work to a minimum standard.
BTW: I have a notebook computer.
I use it remote e-mail (including this posting), navigation and documents reading/writeing.
It has integrated security.
It has (some) applications that work.
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Here's my rebuttal...
1- I don't see a PDA replacing my desktop/laptop for several of these applications you mention.
It's just supposed to be there when my pc can't.
You can't fit a 1600x1200 21" display, full size keyboard, mouse, dvd drive, etc in your pocket.
There are workarounds to get you close on some of these but I don't see all of these things fitting in my pocket anytime soon.
2-agree, cellphones need good battery life.
I like the smartphone idea though, one device in my pocket is better than 2 or 3.
3-disagree, I have a 1GB CF card and it works great.
I don't have to carry around three devices, just two so the size is 0 IMO.
There is the battery life issue, I keep my screen off when playing MP3's.
I have a $10 sync-charge cable at my desk that I use if I am going to listen to music all day.
For a couple+ hours it works fine without charge though.
4-I haven't done any heavy duty GPS use but it has met my needs finding an address the couple times I've actually needed it.
If you want a small screen that fits in your pocket your never going to match the 3ft by 3ft or bigger size of a high res printed map.
Can a printed map find an address, give you directions, show you where you are at?
5-See my comment for #1.
6-See my comment for #1.
7-The alarm on my ipaq 2200 is pretty loud.
I just wish there were a seperate volume control for MP3 playback so I didn't have to turn external speaker alarms down when listening to MP3s.
8-I put all my secure data in eWallet which has encryption.
I don't want to enter a password everytime I turn the thing on, so I risk all the other info stored with no security.
Ever seen the bio-metric scanner on the ipaq 5xxx?
Series, that's what it is for if that's what you need.
9-See my comment for #1.
Just use WAP/mobile sites on the PDA if you need "info on the go".
There are plenty of links on these boards to sites formatted to fit smll screens.
10-I don't think Bluetooth has the horsepower to send data to a big/high res display or to send high quality audio.
Remember it is a low power, short range, secure, cable replacement.
Keyboard & mouse I agree with.
I've been happy with Bluetooth since I got my ipaq 2200, IOgear class 1 dongle, SE T616.
Hated it with my Loox.
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Quote: : 8-I put all my secure data in eWallet which has encryption.
I don't want to enter a password everytime I turn the thing on, so I risk all the other info stored with no security.
Ever seen the bio-metric scanner on the ipaq 5xxx?
Series, that's what it is for if that's what you need.
How long is your key string?
If its only 4-8 characters, you aren't going to get any benefit by using the 128+ bit encryption routines - I remember Developer One posted an explaination on their website when they first posted the increase to from 64 (48?) bit to 128 bit.
There is also an encrypted filesystem available for PPCs - I'm just a little too distrusting to try it.
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I probably use about all of the above mentioned, & I don't look at them as limitations, I look at them as extensions.
If I'm at my at my office or den, I use the desktop or laptop for these things.
But while watching TV, working out, traveling, etc.
It's nice to be able to do all these things, & more.
You can be a nerd & carry a laptop everywhere you go, because everyone will notice;
Or you can be a nerd & carry a handheld device, & no-one will know.
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Quote: :
How long is your key string?
If its only 4-8 characters, you aren't going to get any benefit by using the 128+ bit encryption routines.
4-8 characters can be used as a seed to generate 128+ bit keys.
It is done all the time - particularly in corporate environment to ensure proper randomness.
I don't think the length of the key matters anyway.
It is the inconvenience of entering any number of characters on a PDA.
On my desktop, I routinely enter 8-10 alphanumeric passwords.
It is acceptable to me because I have a keyboard to enter the data.
With a PDA, things are different.
Pulling out the stylus to enter a password, borders on painful.
Having to do it several times a day (or in one session) approaches agony.
Fingerprint readers have promise.
The big concern is: what if reader security can be broken?
Having a complete security system relying on this single point of failure will not fly.
Key lengths offer security based on probability of success given a hypothetical number of CPU cycles dedicated to the task (all of which can be expressed as a statistical formula).
What are the chances that fingerprint readers can - or have been - broken?
And as I said before, a security infrastructure must be provided to all applications.
Who is responsible?
Microsoft (!).
Yes, Microsoft has poor track record on the PC.
Its not because think don't how to make systems secure.
There are just more people trying to hack their systems.
If the same number of hackers attacked Linux, the security problems would be equal or greater (Please excuse me while I gag.
I do have some difficulty defending Microsoft .
With that said, PPC security absolutely requires Microsoft to step up to the plate and provide: secure files, single signon and some form of easy-to-enter "identity" mechanism that is available to all applications.
Every application vendor "rolling their own", will not solve this difficult problem.
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