For those wondering about the Loox 720

[RunningWoman]

Several members have asked about this Fujitsu Siemens PPC. I've answered some specific questions in this thread, in Message #24. (http://www.1src.com/forums/showthread.php?t=77006&page=1&pp=15)

www.firstloox.org is another good place to do some research. Their home page has a tab for reviews of the Loox 720, and the Loox 720 forum is very helpful as well. It reminds me a lot of the TH-55 forum here on 1src. There are threads for known bugs, a user satisfaction survey, and one for USB keys, mass storage devices and peripherals that work with the Loox. It's good reading for anyone considering complementing their TH-55 with a Pocket Loox.

I hope this is helpful. It's unfortunate that buying a PDA has become so difficult for those of us in the states--it's a little scary putting out this much money for something sight unseen.

My advice would be to know how you're going to use a device, and then check the boards for what users have to say about that. For example, I'm not a big gamer, so I can't tell you anything about the Loox as a gaming machine. (Except that I do recall developers in the firstloox community have written patches that have increased the graphics rendering speed and done something to make the button response faster!)

VGA is somewhat like HiRes was when it first came out. You'll need to hack the registry a bit, but there are several fine tools available for that if you're not sure of yourself there. It's a lot of fun, but it's not entirely straightforward. The exciting thing is that there's a lot of development and applications being written for the Windows Mobile/VGA platform now to take advantage of these new devices. I was amazed at what I discovered.

Have fun!

Kim :cool:

[Jayman]

Kim are you jumping ship? --- I am considering as well.

[RunningWoman]

Hi, Jayman!

Not exactly jumping ship ... more with one foot on each platform, so to speak. I got the Loox because I liked the screen and wanted to see what PPCs were like since I wasn't at all impressed with the T5, and didn't have much hope for future Palm devices with PalmOne as the standard bearer. Much to my surprise, I found a lot of great apps under Windows Mobile that are equally good or better than what I used under the Palm OS. And I discovered all of my preconceptions about the Dark Side were wrong. I love this little Loox, but my TH-55/E1 still goes everywhere. I rely on them both, and had Sony NOT left the market I'd probably still be exclusively a Palm user. (Although the PPC features are enough to make you look twice!)

I'm running Agendus and all my games on my TH-55/E1 with SMS and email apps as backups to the ones I run on the Loox. I've got all the other apps I used to use still on there, too, with the exception of MobiPocket, for which I've moved the books and license to the Loox. Reading eBooks in VGA with any TrueType font you install is really gorgeous--as is TextMaker for word processing.

The one thing I haven't had time to really implement is a complete PIM like Agendus Pro. I've decided on Pocket Informant after trying Agenda Fusion (the other big competitor), which has lots of customization available--probably akin to DateBk5. I know it'll do what I want, however I just haven't had the time to work with it and learn it yet. I have it installed and syncing, but it's pretty much the default set-up. So that's my problem, not a fault of the PPC world.

PDAs are great, and it saddens me that so few choices are available here in the US, and especially for Palm users. Both Palm and PPCs have their idiosyncracies, but the bulk of information available is to be found on the internet. As a result, there is a lot of misinformation being spread, which I think hurts the PDA market in general. If I had never had one of these marvelous little machines and walked into BestBuy or CompUSA, I doubt anything there would convince me to buy one. Until that is reversed, I worry about the future of both Palm and PPCs ... I hate smartphones, but they seem to be the device receiving the most marketing and shelf space.

For me, it seemed clear that my next device after the TH-55 would be a PPC. I didn't want to be in a situation where I had to make a sudden decision on which one to buy, and have to learn a new OS and software where I depend on my PDAs heavily ever day. Too much stress!

This way I've had a chance to really play with the Loox, while still relying on my Clie. It's been the ideal way to transition to Windows Mobile for those able to justify two PDAs. I'm very fortunate to have been in that position, I know.

I've even got them both syncing with my iBook!

Kim

[Jayman]

Kim,

Where did you buy your loox? How much was it shipped to the US?

[NJL!2016]

I "jumped ship" and I don't regret it. I love my PPC (it's not as unstable as people lead you to belive)

[Chou Chou]

I love my TH55 and dread the day it gives up but it will come no doubt. I am really impressed by those of you who have a TH55 and Loox 720 side by side. How is the battery life?? This is what I would miss in the TH55 besides all the investment of applications.

[LupeValenz]

'ello 'ello there ^_^. With a very nice and capable palm, I don't see me upgrading with palm for a while so I want to test out PPC devices, VGA devices mostly, more specfically, Loox 720. With the Jog Dial, it will feel like a Sony Device ^_^. I have a treo 650 and would like to know does Bluetooth work good with those two together? (Hopefully Palm and PPC can live be paired up happily for once :D).
VGA: I heard Landscape orientation for VGA devices are slow and was wondering if there is anyone that can compare it with a TH55 landscape.
Battery Life: How is it? Is it as good as the TH? Can I go a couple of days without having to recharge it? I usually use my PDA for a couple hours a day, surfin net, emailing, reading, writing, listenint to music and watchin movies/anime.
Decuam for PPC, is it as good as Palm? It should be since its from the same manufacturer.
PDF viewer. What I really am lookin for is, is there a suitable app that replaces Picsel on the PPC? I seen Acrobat for PPC and really don't like that. I want a nice, clean interface with no buttons and want to have it scroll smoothly and perfectly like TH can do. Is there an app possible? :D

[tapf!]

Yeah, the Loox 720 is a real nice Device! I own one too, and I love the sharp screen and the silence (NO schcreen buzzing :) )

If you have Questions to that device, just ask, and I answer if I can.

Fabian

[LupeValenz]

Can you answer the question I had in the first post?

Like the landscape, is it pretty slow when you change rotation? I like how snappy TH55 changes rotation.
How is the battery life? I use my pda alot during the day for watching movies, listening to music, writing, reading, surfin the net and emailing. How long would the battery last doing all that for about 2-3 hours a day?
PDF Viewer: Is there something like Picself for PPC? I saw the Acrobat reader for PPC and kinda hate how the icons there. I want it to be a clear, menuless screen to view the PDF. I also want it to scroll and zoom in as smoothly as Picsel does for TH.

Thats my concerns for now, oh and also, will you give me your Loox? ;) heheh

[Telyx]

PDAs are great, and it saddens me that so few choices are available here in the US, and especially for Palm users.
My first Palm PDA was a Pilot 1000. At that time, there was also the 5000 (which was being cleared out along with the 1000) and the PalmPilot Personal and Professional were just being released. Sony had yet to make a PDA, Handspring wouldn't exist for another year or two, there were no PPCs yet, and the Apple Newton (a very large PDA, or maybe a small tablet computer?) was being discontinued. To tell you the truth, I'm amazed at how MANY choices there are now.