The skinny on Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition
posted August 12th 2004 11:31AM
CNet has a little roundup of four new Pocket PCs running on the new Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition operating
system, Dell's Axim X30, HP's iPAQ hx4700 (pictured at right) and rx3715, and the MyPal A730 from ASUS (they even
through the Motorola MPx220 in there for good measure, since it does run on Windows Mobile 2003 SE, just on the
Smartphone version). Not a major overhaul of the Pocket PC OS, but it does add a few nice features to the mix like the
ability to switch between portrait and landscape modes (which was way overdue), better wireless security, and support
for a wider variety of screen resolutions. Not exactly a great leap forward, but there's still plenty of grumbling
about how HP and Dell won't offer upgrades to this latest version for owners of older Pocket PCs.
[Via Pocket PC Thoughts]
The grumbling over HP not offering upgrades stems from the iPaq 5550/5555 being just barely one year old, and HP holding back on upgrades. The newer iPaqs are very minimal upgrades over the existing units, and so HP seems to be attempting to create artificial value in these new models being the only ones with Windows Mobile 2003SE.
Be sure to let HP and Dell know how you feel about this. In the case of HP, there is a petition you can sign. It's a small bit you can do, but hopefully the numbers will become large enough to get HP's notice, or some of the tech journalists' notice if HP fails on this.
http://www.petitiononline.com/HPWMK3SE/petition.html
HP lost my business by not releasing the 2003 OS for their original iPaq. I'm certainly not surprised in the LEAST that they're screwing their more recent customers too.
In all fairness, I did receive two upgrades - one to PPC 2000, and another to PPC 2002. Then someone at HP made a "business decision" (They decided they wanted more money, basically) and stopped permitting the upgrades.
So screw them. Someday when so-called "Pocket PCs" are more like PCs and less like throwaway appliances, maybe I'll buy another one.
I stopped buying HP products after getting fingers burnt by purchasing iPAQ 5550, lousy unreliable software, unreliable battery performance. Then it seems no 2003 second edition without purchasing new device. They have to be joking. I should have learned my lesson earlier after the failure of two of HP's bubble jet printers and very shabby performance from one of their scanners.