Hardware for PlecoDict 2.0

[PalmASB]

Hello!

Due to the fact, that PlecoDict 2.0 won´t run on OS4, I was browsing the latest offers at Ebay. The Tungsten T might be a good and cheap choice but only has a Palm OS 5.0. So my question is, will the new version work on that device or do I need the version 5.2.1

A used Pocket PC might be another option, what´s the oldest bios that will be supported by PlecoDict 2.0?

Cheers;
Cas

 

[mikelove]

I'd steer clear of the original Tungsten T (in fact we specifically avoid mentioning it on the hardware page), the audio implementation on it (among other things) was rather quirky and you might encounter some issues with the new audio playback feature.

For Pocket PC, pretty much any device running Windows Mobile 2003 or later should work; I actually still prefer the WM2003 devices over newer ones, partly because I had a (very small) role in developing WM2003 but mostly because it legitimately seems to be more stable/responsive than any of the subsequent releases. Performance-wise there should really be no difference between the older models and the new ones, the performance gains in mobile processors since WM2003 have been minimal (I think because chip manufacturers have been worrying more about power consumption lately).

 

[Sarevok]

Performance-wise there should really be no difference between the older models and the new ones, the performance gains in mobile processors since WM2003 have been minimal (I think because chip manufacturers have been worrying more about power consumption lately).

WM2003 is MUCH faster than WM5, because of that different usage of RAM and ROM, one just has to be careful about the battery and not let the power drop down to zero. Rumor has it that WM6 is about as fast as WM2003 while you still don't need to worry that much about the battery. But I don't believe it until I see it...

Stability-wise I don't know much about WM2003 since I haven't been using such device for a longer period of time (only helped with installation of some for a couple of computer-illiterate friends... promoting Pleco at the same time :mrgreen. But what I know is that WM5 is highly unstable. Even after my recent hard-reset and re-installation of everything - I did only install those things I really need, refrained from experimenting with any software, that could possibly be unstable and it seems to crash more often than ever (I suspect the CPU scaling soft to be responsible... maybe I'll get rid of it)

 

[PalmASB]

Hi Mike,

If audio is all, that won´t work on the Tungsten T, then I would go for the unit, because I don´t need this function anyway. Much more important though is the new flashcard mode that I´m really looking forward to. Will I encounter any problems there?

Cheers;
Cas

 

[mikelove]

Other functions should work OK; the heap memory on the Tungsten T is a bit low but should be sufficient, and if you run into crashes / slowdowns there are a number of utilities available that can turn some storage memory into extra heap memory. But we don't have a Tungsten T for testing anymore, and there aren't exactly a lot of people using them, so if some other T-specific problem does arise I can't promise we won't just disable that feature (or leave the problem unfixed) for Tungsten T users, so you might be safer getting a Tungsten E or some other model with a larger installed base / more current OS.