Handtops, UMPC - Handtops and Smartphones -

I've been using Handtops since September of 2004 with the the Sony U50 and the OQO since April 2005. I have also been using a Treo 650 smartphone since this past Winter.

For me, each device has its specific purpose.

For example, the Handtop is better suited for portable, laptop-like activity:
- Running applications that only work on Windows XP, 2000, 2003, or Vista
- Not having to buy duplicate software to run in Windows Mobile or PalmOS
- MS Office editing
- Using Outlook/Palm Desktop (more full-featured PIM applications)
- Corporate VPN access (IPSec and SSL VPN that require Java/ActiveX)
- Remote desktop control (e.g. VNC, RDP/Terminal Service/Citrix, GoverLAN, etc.)
- Collaboration site access to SharePoint, LiveLink, Wikis, and Blogs
- Web conference calls and remote desktop control such as NetMeeting, MeetingPlace, MSLive, WebEx, and Genesys
- Sales quote process
- Providing more effective presentations with Tablet OS
- Development
- Engineering documents
- More interactive order entry
- Field diagnostics
- Field notes
- Accessing certain websites that only work well with a full version operating system like Windows XP
- Many sites I visit don't work well in the Treo. Handtops.com for example looks horrible on the Treo. My sites like cheap gas finder sites like atlantagasbuddy.com, Google maps, and many shopping sites also do not look or act right using the Treo, but on the OQO it's perfect.

A Handtop is also a device that can be used anywhere, if it can be carried. You can use it in a car, standing in line somewhere, waiting in a car/store for your significant other while they shop or run an errand (my Dad use to bring books with him...I have games, the Internet, movies, TV shows, music, and electronic books), while on the couch, in the office docked, while standing giving a dynamic presentation, and, again, where ever you are. I stated in the forums once that I don't see people walking around with a laptop, UMPC, or Tablet in a mall, but that people walk around with a cell phone, a BlackBerry, a Treo, a SideKick, an iPod, a Gameboy, and a PSP at the mall.

The example for the smartphone that I'm familiar with is the Treo, which is much better for phone and PIM functions than a Handtop. It is a device that can be used to edit list items such as:
- Shopping lists
- DVD lists
- To do lists
- Storing directions prior to going anywhere
- PIM items (calendar, phone numbers, quick notes, etc everything available in Outlook)
- Reading MS Office files (Documents to Go is an excellent piece of software)

Other uses of the smartphone have also been:
- Voice recording/dictation
- Playing MP3s (the speaker is very loud on the Treo and I use it to play music while I'm at the pool)
- Alarm clock (again that speaker is loud)
- Quick Internet access to look up product reviews, movie listings, movie reviews, TV schedules, Google, find phone numbers that I do not already have while I'm away from home, find road advisories and traffic reports, find cheap gas, etc.
- Quick photos or video sharing (I bought a convertible USB SD card...this plus the USB port on the OQO lets me take video from the Treo, quickly upload it from the SD card to the OQO, and share it on a Website for my family to watch my son every day).

Sometimes I miss having a tiny and pocketable cell phone like the Nokia 6820i that I could place in the same pant pocket as my wallet, but the Treo does so much in a larger device that I'm willing to carry it on my belt instead.

As for the OQO, it's pocketablity gives me the portability to take it everywhere with me and use it in work and play situations. I posted more about pocketability, here: link

I am looking forward to my experiences with the new Sony UX, but I am waiting for others' feedback and not willing to be the pioneer on this new platform.