Comparing 3 Linux PDAs

[Brandon Gohsman]

Sure,

I was using a Handspring Visor Prism. It was pretty and cool but the 160
pixel x 160 pixel screen kind of sucked. I finally decided that I was going
to replace it after the 3rd time it crashed during a hot-sync forcing me to
reload all of the software and data on it (which took forever). This article
came about the same time.

Keep in mind that the Handspring Prism runs about $450.00. I bought the Yopy
Development Kit (which includes the device) for $590.00. So, what makes it
worth the additional cashola?

First and foremost, it is running Linux, not the Palm OS or Windows CE.
Second, the screen is 320 pixels x 240 pixels. It has the same color depth
as both the Handspring Prism and the new Palm m505. It has a microphone and
speaker built into it along with audio in and out ports. And it natively
plays MP3's. And instead of 8Mb of RAM, it has 16Mb of static and 32Mb of
flash RAM. That combined with the compact flash expansion port, which takes
not only compact flash media but IBM's new mini drive up to 1Gig makes it a
very, very powerful little handheld device.

So I sold my Handspring and my MiniDisk player on eBay and bought a Yopy. It
is currently enroot from Seoul, Korea. I'll have to let you know how I like
it once it actually shows up (I am hoping it is in English).

Oh, I also opted for the $70.00 digital camera for it.

I am really curious to see what Linux apps I can get away with running on
it. Of course, Perl is on my wishlist.

So, why didn't I go for one of the other two? Well, I am racist against
Compaq (bad past experiences). And the other one just didn't look cool. I
know, that's shallow of me, but I am a graphic designer, after all. Form and
function and stuff.

So that pretty much sums up my weekend.

Brandon

-----Original Message-----
From: Del Nicholls [mailto:dln at gilsongfx.com]
Sent: Monday, May 21, 2001 10:17 AM
To: brandon at squareonedesign.com
Subject: RE: Comparing 3 Linux PDAs

Brandon,

Sounds good. Could you tell us the features that led to your purchase?

Thanks,

Del Nicholls
Gilson Graphics


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-grand-rapids-pm-announce at pm.org
[mailto:owner-grand-rapids-pm-announce at pm.org]On Behalf Of Brandon
Gohsman
Sent: Monday, May 21, 2001 10:02 AM
To: Perl Mongers
Subject: FW: Comparing 3 Linux PDAs


Interesting article for those of you who like PDAs. I found it so
interesting, in fact, that I bought one.

Brandon

-----Original Message-----
From: Denise Olliffe [mailto:deniseo at oreilly.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2001 2:40 PM
To: brandon at squareonedesign.com
Subject: Comparing 3 Linux PDAs

"If you didn't know that you can get not one, not two, but three
Linux-based PDAs, then this article is for you.

In the past, laptops have been the only real option for mobile Linux,
but that's changing. A recent article on the O'Reilly Network compares
three Linux PDAs: Compaq's iPAQ, Agenda Computing's VR3 and G.Mate's
Yopy.

Linux on Your PDA
by Chris Halsall * 05/11/2001
The first part of a four-part series testing Linux PDAs.
http://linux.oreillynet.com/pub/a/linux/2001/05/11/linux_pdas_one.html

Chris Halsall is a specialist at automated information gathering and
presentation systems. He is President of Open Source Solutions Inc. and
Vice-President of the Victoria Linux Users Group.

Please pass on to your members if you think they'd be interested.

--Denise