DISQUS

Alan Feather · 1 year ago

Since Windows CE is the world's most unreliable OS, I wouldn't touch this with a barge pole. If it's not running XP or Linux (and my preference would be for Linux) I am not interested.

Mike Cane · 1 year ago

Dear God! You've found an OS that makes *Linux* seem good: WinCE!!

Informix · 1 year ago

Linux, of course. No contest. In fact, give me Linux any day over XP and Vista.

John · 1 year ago

CE Is reliable, has been for years.... I own a Sigmarion 3 and Smartbook G138 and can say without doubt I can go months without a crash.

They are instant on and perfect if you need somthing very portable that you can grab and take notes without having to boot the machine or wait for anything. Opera shoudln't be a problem as it can be made to run on CE .net 4.2, there is also firefox mobile and a new version of Netfront coming out. But even then ce .net 4.2's Pocket IE runs very fast on Smartbook and handles almost all sites (esspecially as I have flash 7 and Java plugins working).

The fact they also have a linux version is good as if they had any sense you would be able to change the OS if you wanted.

You often find people running down CE have never actually used a Core CE device and are basing it on WM phones or similar.

There is also a lot of very good software available on CE (which I am sure if this device is a success will appear in MIPS versions). Softmaker Office (2008 due out with very powerfull word, excel and powerpoint compatible applications), Skype, Qmail3 (html and secure mail compatible mail software), TCPMP (very good media player with plugins for all sorts of formats - DIVX, XVID, MP3, AC3, MPEG2, MPEG4 etc.. etc..)

TBH when it comes to software there are not all that many gaps (and what is missing usually requires a bigger screen to use productively).

It is also very usefull to be able to have/use PIM software that can easilly sync with a desktop machine (not as easy on a laptop).

If I had 10 min in starbucks to take some notes or quickly look up a website over wi-fi I would much rather have my Smartbook than a full laptop. The benefit of instant on/off and longer battery life is a boon for reporters and anyone else needing somthing to write on with no easy access to power points. It also means I can go out and about for a day or two and not even worry about taking an AC adapter.

Yeah laptops are better at lots of things but a lot of people miss the things where HPC (Handhelp PC) type devices bring to the table.

patty · 1 year ago

I agree. I'm old enough to remember the old hpc's and I miss an instant on device, that can easily be carried around. In fact until very recently I was considering whether a sigmarion 3 would fit the bill till something else came out. This would be great for carrying around in general. I'm not trying to replace my laptop and do everything on it.

John · 1 year ago

The Sig3 is great for that. It will even fit in inside coat pockets and some suit pockets and is a lot lighter than the J720... The Sig3's screen is a little cramped but is great for grabbing quite notes etc.

The smartbook G138 is superb (I guess about the same size as the razorbook) and is without doubt the fastest HPC class device for browsing etc. (though not as good as Sig3 for video - due to sig having an imageon 4200 GPU).

There should be no problems with any apps designed for CE running wihtout a touch screen. The smartbook as a pointer with buttons and a touch screen. Also NEC 900C and Sigmarion 3 have USB host and can be used with USB mouse (all apps work just the same with mouse as they do with touch screen).

I am looking forward for this device. Just hope some software companies do MIPS versions of their software.

John

Menno · 1 year ago

As a proud owner of a Razorbook / Alpha 400 / Trendtac, i'm not unhappy with the linux OS since i installed a patch to get me some Root. The Dutch Trendtac has a growing userbase of people porting software for the little laptop and it seems there will be a WinCE install / recovery procedure available soon. So i'll try WinCE and choose my favourite.