From: "Randy" 

Workpad z50?

"Don Hills"  wrote in message
news:UgcFCtgaXK5e092yn{at}attglobal.net...
> In article ,
> Ellen K.  wrote:
>>
>>Last time they did at least give me extra batteries, only because I
>>screamed about all the time I wasted on the plane the time before.   The
>>laptop was a little Gateway and the batteries didn't weigh much so it
>>was OK.  The time before it was a   h e a v y   Dell.
>
> It sounds like you'd like a machine with the battery life of a PDA but the
> form factor of a small laptop. I have just such a machine. It gets at
> least
> 10 hours on a charge (15 hours on the optional extended battery). It only
> weighs 2.5 pounds. It has a 90% size keyboard with a good feel, a touchpad
> and a full VGA screen. It has a full set of ports (serial, printer, modem,
> VGA, USB, PCMCIA, CF) so you can "plug in" in the office. It
runs WinCE
> and
> has built-in Pocket Office (IE, Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Access and
> Excel).
>
> There's just one catch: You can't get one. It's an HP Jornada 820 palmtop,
> a discontinued model. And apparently they didn't sell well, so they
> dropped
> the whole palmtop line in favour of handhelds. Now the only choices are an
> ultraportable laptop (heavier, and only 3 to 4 hours battery life) or a
> handheld such as an iPaq with an add-on keyboard (screen too small for
> serious work.)
>
> I can understand why WinCE palmtops weren't popular. They were considered
> a
> cross between a PDA and laptop with the disadvantages of both. I used to
> think that way too, but when I found one in a scrapyard in perfect
> condition
> for US$7 it was just too good a deal to pass up. Now that I've used it for
> a
> while, I've realised that the right way to look at it is as having the
> advantages of a PDA and laptop, not the disadvantages. I lose
> pocketability
> and the ability to run "standard" Windows apps, but I get PDA-style
> "instant
> on" and long battery life plus laptop ergonomics (keyboard, display,
> ports).
> I'm really going to miss it when it eventually dies (it's almost 8 years
> old)
> because I don't think there is anything on the market that can replace it.
>
> HP Jornada 820:
> http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/abouthp/histnfacts/museum/personalsystems/0038/
>
> --
> Don Hills    (dmhills at attglobaldotnet)     Wellington, New Zealand
> It's ironic that people who are too smart to engage in politics
> are governed by people who are not as smart.

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