Since Jim posted his question, and y'awll replied are there any other thoughts about field data collectors? My trusty HP 360lx seems to have lost its capability to respond to screen taps, thereby making it largely useless, so suddenly a new product is in the offing. Has anyone tried the Compaq iPAQ pocket pc? It looks quite appealing.

Julian

Reply to post by Julian, on July 25, 2000 at 10:29:33:

We have just finished 4 weeks of data collection on our Palm IIIxe with Pendragon Forms 3.1, and it has gone extremely well. Recommend you look at the combination (total cost about $400).

Reply to post by Julian, on July 25, 2000 at 10:29:33:

I'm not going to go back and check all the earlier threads to see if I'm being redundant here, so apologies in advance.

From all reports the Palm is very reliable and as Russ pointed out if it's lost or damaged it's a pretty limited $ loss. And long life, low cost batteries. But for me the big draw back is no keyboard, which you're probably accustomed to with your DOS based HP.

You get a keyboard in the "handheld" class of Windows CE machines but they are power pigs and I hear varied things about the real functionality of the "pocket" versions of the MS Office applications that are supposed to run on them.

There's supposed to be a movement to develop a new standard that combines the older characteristics of keyboard and newer characteristics of functionality, but I haven't heard if it's anywhere near market. I can't find the link but try http://www.morphyone.org

It's a big step up in initial cost but IBM keeps showing off prototypes of the "wearable" PC with full PC functionality, worn on your belt with a "head up display" worn like eyeglasses and voice recognition to make it dance. They showed at PC Expo in NYC this Spring but I don't know if there is a market date or price.

Keep us posted.

Reply to post by Julian, on July 25, 2000 at 10:29:33:

Thanks to everyone who has commented on this topic. We've purchased the Psion Revo, currently on sale at www.psion or psionusa.com for $299. It is small, combines touch screen with a keyboard, has a spreadsheet and is readable in the full sun. Ed Brennan has used the Psion Series 3 for years but thinks the Revo is even better. For us, it came down having a regular keyboard, something that we all seem to prefer in the field. I'd like to thank Phil Harris, our intern from Myerscough College, who followed up my questions with lots of good research (and who discovered the sale price!).

Reply to post by Julian, on July 25, 2000 at 10:29:33:

The traditional wisdom has always been - for desk top office operations - select softwre that will do the job first, then hardware to support it. Mobile computing makes hardware perhaps an equally important consideration because of real differences in functionality: keyboard or not; battery life; screen size and readability; etc. And cost is an issue too.

But software has to remain in the equation. If your host software is a spreadsheet then maybe a spreadsheet in the mobile platform is just fine. But if your host is a relational database maybe a field unit that won't support it is inadequate. If you lose time and accuracy in every use hour because of data collection functionality or transfer and conversion a few hunderd dollars in acquisition cost gets made up very soon.

Reply to post by Jerry, on July 25, 2000 at 10:29:33:

I am still pondering the lack of palmtop in my life. In the course of my musings about whether or not to have the old 360lx repaired I came across a web site dedicated to HP palmtops.

For anyone still wanting a real keyboard system check out www.mrpalmtop.com They have a full range of new and used systems.

Julian