By Randall Hull

Tech Talk

This biweekly column offers solutions to personal technology problems submitted by readers. Neither the author nor this newspaper endorses products or companies mentioned.

Q: I’ve been considering getting a handheld. I have seen two types of handhelds available - those based on the Palm operating system and those running Microsoft Pocket PC. What are the differences between the two and which is better?

A: OK, let’s compare. The biggest difference is, the Palm OS was designed from the ground up whereas Pocket PC is really a dumbed-down version of Windows.

Pocket PC offers a Windows-style environment and fancier graphics bundled with “pocket” versions of Microsoft applications such as Outlook, Windows Media, Internet Explorer, Word and Excel. Palm OS provides a very fast, user-friendly interface with the basic applications you want in a PDA. Palm OS is currently the most popular handheld OS, which means there are thousands of additional applications to download and install, expanding its capabilities.

Both have desktop synchronization, but Pocket PC exclusively synchronizes with Windows PCs. The Palm OS, on the other hand, syncs to Macs and Windows PCs, including Microsoft Outlook on both platforms. Both allow you to send and receive through infrared “beaming,” although Pocket PC will beam images, music files and documents.

Both support e-mail for POP3 or IMAP4 and Instant Messages. As a bonus, Pocket PC handles HTML messages. Character recognition is comparable on both but Pocket PC offers “Rich Ink” which captures natural handwriting.

Pocket PC supports voice recording for notes or responding to e-mail. Palm OS currently doesn’t. Pocket PC’s Windows Media Player offers audio and video playback, including MP3 files. Palm OS optional software does as well but without stereo output.

The Palm OS and programs are memory-efficient making 8MB of RAM sufficient for most users, double that for color. Though robust, the Pocket PC requires a minimum of 32MB and runs best on 64MB.

Pocket PC outshines Palm OS in high-resolution, action games such as Quake or arcade-style Donkey Kong. However, there is a huge library of simple, elegant games for the Palm OS as opposed to a short list for Pocket PC.

Palm OS device screens are generally 160-by-160-pixel resolution. Pocket PC screens are 320-by-240-pixels. The higher resolution offers smoother text and images. But they cost more, weigh more and tend to suck batteries dry in no time.

Which is better? If you have standardized on the Microsoft environment, Pocket PC handhelds are for you. If you like a simple interface, more software choices, Mac compliance and a few more Hamiltons in your wallet, Palm OS handhelds are the way to go.

Please keep questions to 100 words or less. Send to: Tech Talk, Town Crier, 138 Main St., Los Altos 94022 or email techtalk@latc.com.

Randall Hull is a Los Altos resident and owner of The Br@nd Ranch, an advertising and marketing agency.