Google's new toys
Posted by Keldyn on 13 December 2002 - 11:05 · 4 comments & 463 views
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Forum name: Keldyn
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#1 Posted by ENiGmA on 13 Dec 2002 - 13:38
- Looks like Google has been busy. Let's hope that Google and "BloatWare" don't become friends.
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#2 Posted by kanej on 13 Dec 2002 - 14:12
- It would be cool if the Froogle thing gave you a price comparison too, like shopper.com or pricewatch.com. Imagine something like that (and mysimon.com doesn't count) for [b]all[/b] product types?
Some more information has come in concerning the latest offerings from Google Labs.
Google Viewer
The Google Viewer displays the pages found as a result of your Google search as a continuous scrolling slide show. You can view your search results without using your keyboard or mouse and you can adjust the speed with which the images move across your screen. Each image of a page's contents is accompanied by a short "snippet" describing that page.
Google WebQuotes
Google WebQuotes annotates the results of your Google search with comments from other websites. This offers a convenient way to get a third party's opinion about each of the returns for your search, providing you with more information about that site's credibility and reputation.
Froogle
Froogle is a new service from Google that makes it easy to find information about products for sale online. By focusing entirely on product search, Froogle applies the power of Google's search technology to a very specific task: locating stores that sell the item you want to find and pointing you directly to the place where you can make a purchase.
The X5 is a great Pocket PC. It is capable of doing all the things that modern day Pocket PCs can do. It has all the software, hardware and bells and whistles that every other Pocket PC on the market has, except for some sort of built-in wireless networking. More about that in a minute.
I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to play with the X5 for a few weeks now. It has done everything I need it to do - up to and including being the only computer I took with me on my recent trip to London. It’s a lot smaller and lighter than any laptop I could have taken and it allowed me to surf the Web plus access, read and answer my MSNBC.com e-mail in my hotel room via my trusty Compact Flash modem. Then again, any other Pocket PC could have done the same thing. But, overall the X5 worked really well especially for a $199 Pocket PC.
One quick mention about one little piece of software that Dell has included with the Axim. The switcher bar is great! Once you turn it on there are three little icons placed at the top of your screen. One allows you to easily exit programs running in the background — another lets you control screen brightness and the third lets you easily monitor the current charge on your batteries. Other Pocket PCs may include one of two of features. The Axim has it all.
So, is the X5 worth it? In one word, absolutely! This is a full-fledged, full featured Pocket PC selling at bargain prices. Yes, the X5 is on the large side of PDAs — but on the other hand, when you compare it to other Pocket PCs it’s not all that much larger, if at all. If you look at it another way the price per pound factor is amazing.
But the most important feature of the X5 is what it means for all PDAs. I think it’s difficult to rationalize buying a $500, $600 or even $700 Pocket PC when you can get an equal device for $200-300. In some cases, when you factor in the X5’s built-in expansion slots versus others’ add-on sleeves — the Dell an out-and-out steal.
And for those of you who feel the addition of built-in 802.11b or Bluetooth makes other manufacturer’s Pocket PCs more desirable please tell me why someone’s $500/650 model is hundreds of dollars better than a $199/299 X5 with a $100 802.11b or Bluetooth Compact Flash card. I’d rather pocket the savings.
On every count the X5 is the clear winner. Expect to see other Pocket PC manufacturers’ new smaller, less-expensive devices in the near future. I also expect to see a drop in the prices they’re charging for their current PDAs. But, if you’re looking for a full-featured PDA right now, you can’t do much better than the $199 Axim X5.