ugade to ppc 2003...... worth it???

[Griff]

Hi
I have an Ipaq 3970 and was thinking of upgading to ppc 2003 is it worth doing? is it that much better than 2002
Thanks

[lbendlin]

The 3970 has a 400 MHz processor, so you have some advantages

- Xscale code
- .Net CF in ROM
- better SD driver
- newer BT stack (not sure this is an advantage 8))

Unless you use a jacket that is not supported by WM2003 (like my GSM/GPRS jacket) then you should see a better experience with WM2003

As far as I know there are no plans to release WM2003SE for the 3970

Lutz
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Lutz

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[Griff]

Thanks for the advice

[DavidW]

As Griff is in the UK, my advice (as a UK 3970 user who has upgraded to 2003) is that it's probably not worth it.

The upgrade kits are much more expensive in the UK than they are in the States - what costs something like US$25 in the States costs around 42 pounds over here by the time you include VAT and shipping.


I wouldn't dispute that 2003 is based around a rather more robust OS (which gives some performance improvements). The significantly upgraded Internet Explorer is nice if you use it. There's a few enhancements in Inbox - but no widespread improvements to the built-in applications.

SD drivers is a bit of a moot point, as HP have released fixed SD drivers for the 2.10 Pocket PC 2002 ROM. The .NET Compact Framework in ROM can save some RAM, as increasingly applications are using it (it's at the expense of the Embedded Visual Basic runtime, which comes out of the ROM and has to be installed if you want to use any eVB applications - I don't, so I haven't installed it).



However, the more important issue to my mind is that HP have not supported the 3970 beyond making the 2003 upgrade kit and charging for it. For example, whilst the Bluetooth stack in the 2003 ROM is a huge improvement over the one in the 2002 ROMs, there's fixes available for it but, unlike for current iPAQs, HP haven't released them for the 3970.

HP didn't even bother releasing drivers for the official wireless LAN card for the 3970, the WL110, even though they exist (I eventually got generic Agere drivers to work).


I think it's all but certain that there won't be a 2003SE ROM for the 3970 - if HP charge for 2003SE upgrades, then I think it's certain they won't bother.



I wouldn't downgrade my machine to 2002 - but I do wonder whether the cost was really worth it, especially if you've got any add-on hardware or software that doesn't work properly on 2003 that you'll also have to spend money on replacing or upgrading. If you've not felt the need to upgrade by now, I'd suggest you may be better off saving the 42 or so pounds towards a future new machine.


Once Pocket PC 2003 became available, HP discontinued the Pocket PC 2002 upgrades for some old iPAQs originally supplied with Pocket PC 2000. Though 2003SE is only really a reissue, and this may not happen again, it could be that HP discontinue the upgrade kits in the near future, especially as they've been available now for around a year. If you want to upgrade, you probably should upgrade now.

On the other hand, I don't think there's been a huge amount of Pocket PC 2003 only software. I suspect the time will come when software developers will drop support for 2002, and decide instead to take advantage of the additional features in 2003, but I suspect by the time that happens the 3970 will have fallen some way behind what is then available. For now, the 3970 holds up pretty well compared to the current range, but it will be fairly clearly superseded by some of the rumoured new machines that are supposed to appear before the end of the year. I suspect I'll upgrade to a new iPAQ later this year - until now, there's been nothing that's a sufficient step up from the 3970 to make an upgrade worthwhile.


Don't be tempted to install a ROM you may find for download online - not only is this not a legitimate way to acquire Pocket PC 2003, but you could finish up with one of the early betas that are illegally floating around. The early beta ROMs don't have working Bluetooth, and it can be all but impossible to get back to Pocket PC 2002 or to the official Pocket PC 2003 ROM - especially if you care about the asset details (as you will if you use software that uses activation, such as TomTom Navigator 2 or 3).



David

[Griff]

Thanks very much for your detailed response I will leave the upgrade based on what I have read thanks again

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