PocketMatrix

I'm not sure exactly why Randall dislikes the Ipaq 38xx series, but i personally think the HP 56x don't even come close to the E200's & 38xx. I'm currently being loaned several PPC's at the moment for developing purposes, but apart from looking quite attractive, I really don't think there's a lot in the HP's favour.

Out of the E200 & Ipaq 3835/50, it's probably a closer call, in my opinion. They both have a history of bugs & issues, but none are particularly critical now. I use a 3870 but i must admit i might have purchased an E200 if it was available when i upgraded. The 2 different mem card slots on the E200 are useful, as is the USB host feature, although the 2 slots may not be a major concern if you don't already have any cards of a certain type. The 38xx has extremely good battery life and has the benefit of being able to use any of the many expansion sleeves already available, but lacks a USB host facility.

There are plenty of issues i'd recommend considering if you were about to purchase a new device, but seeing as you're getting an E200 *anyway*, it seems like there's no point in going to the hassle of selling it, buying an Ipaq, etc especially when there isn't a great deal seperating the 2 devices. I'd recommend sticking with the E200, which many consider to be the superior device anyway.

I have to agree with Randall and I have owned all three devices at one time or another. I took back my iPAQ3835 and exchanged it for an E200. The iPAQ was just collecting dust so I why not take a shot with the E200. As far as I was concerned the contrast issue is a defect that Compaq was not going to correct so I took it back to CompUSA and used my ESP to get an E200. If I have problems with the backlight Casio will exchange it so I was not too concerned with that problem.

The E200 has the best screen of all the reflective PPC devices, IMO. I like my HP568 but the Casio just squeaks by. The iPAQ screen while richer in displaying colors suffers too much from the dark contrast problems to take advantage of this feature.

As far as button problems, while the E200 has some issues it still is no worse than the iPAQ38xx's joke of a joypad. What were they thinking?! Diagonals are almost impossible and the shape is just plain stupid. And if you enjoy gaming than you will just love the GAPI speed problems that is another nice feature of the 38xx. While some developers have addressed this problem, many more have not which makes the the 38xx the slowest on average of all the PocketPC devices, IMO.

IMO the 38xx is only a good choice you are not into multimedia or gaming. Otherwise look into the other PocketPCs. The screen, speed issues, and joypad just drag this thing down too much.

I think the ipaq 3835 is probably better than the e200, but definitely better than the Jornada. I have an ipaq and the only 2 apps i found that are still affected by of the gapi problem are Pocket Hustler and Blender technology preview. And there is far more software that runs incorrectly on the e200 due to other problems with the machine which still haven't been resolved yet.

Yep, I'd like to see what device everyone has and which device they are recommending.

I don't own an ARM device at all. Of course my recommendations come soley from the fact that the guy at CompUSA allowed me to load a demo of Snails onto each device. I messed around with them for quite a while, checking out little differences here and there. No, my opinions are not based soley on the playabilty of Snails.

The iPAQs stupidly shaped button wasn't really a hinderance to Snails, but it isn't the kind of game that relies on diagonals either. Before you even start arguing that "I never have probs with diagonals" here is an ergonomic fact: a rounder button is much easier to use, with more precision and quicker response.

USB should have been implemented in the first gen WinCE 3.0 devices. Plain and simple. Drivers are still required, but at least you have the feasibility to connect your printer, keyboard, mouse, joystick, HD, CDROM, DVD, Network, etc. The alternative is to keep buying those damn expensive PPC specific devices.

Someone could possibly get a brain and create a USB client that connects to another PPC, similar to Gameboy.

I haven't messed with those devices in a long time. All I remember is that it was e-200, Jornada 56x, and iPAQ 38xx in that order. I don't need to know the details that seperated them anymore.

Like I already stated, the iPAQ isn't a bad device, and I am not suggesting that anyone that bought one made a bad choice. If you're happy, then great. I just wouldn't be happy with it.

I also tried the Toshiba/AudioVox and the be-300. Be-300 is a joke, hopefully people don't think they are getting cheap PPC.