• Full desktop OS (Vista or XP), thus desktop applications

• Decent resolution (800×480 minimum)
• Decent screen size (physical dimensions)
• Decent storage on SSD, HDD

What will I lose by moving away from my Pocket PC? My built-in phone and some portability as UMPC's are obviously larger. Is this a big deal? Not as much as it used to be – read on…

I am using my PDA more and more and the small screen of my device is bugging me a lot – and hurting my eyes. Pocket PC's only seem to be getting smaller and smaller screens however, and any of the newer devices with larger screens have major drawbacks – the HTC Advantage with it's lack of phone support and it's stupid magnet (why have a portable device that cannot sit next to a wallet or another device with a HDD? duh), and the HP IPAQ 200 with it's nice 4inch screen but no phone. If a Pocket PC has no phone and a small screen then I am looking elsewhere – and the only elsewhere is towards the new generation of Ultra-Mobile PC's.

The concept of carrying around a full computer running the same applications as my everyday PC is very appealing. No more syncing of data, no more shelling over cash for Pocket PC software that is a cut-down imitation of the real thing. As I am a IT Manager/Developer it also means I will have access to tools that are required for my job at hand 24/7 – there will be no requirement for me to lug my laptop around when on the go. Sure I will have to carry a small phone plus a UMPC as opposed to a single device, but there are some advantages in that as well such as each device being optimised for its purpose.

To move away from a Pocket PC however there are a few requirements that a UMPC must meet to cover my everyday usage. It must be able to support at least 4 hours battery life. It must still be very portable in terms of overall dimensions. I also want to be able to use it in situations where it must be quiet and discreet. For example I use it a lot in places like my church to take notes and have study/reference material at hand – I don't want the device to be too obvious and distracting to others. For a UMPC to run desktop software it must also be reasonably fast and have decent storage capacity. A keyboard is not a huge requirement for me – I am very capable with a touchscreen combined with a Fitaly onscreen keyboard for data entry, but if a keyboard present and it does not add too much real-estate to the device then that is fine.

So that gives a bit of background on my usage and feature requirements.

There are two UMPC devices that interest me the most at this point. The RAON Digital Everun and the OQO 02. Until a few days ago the HTC Shift was also on the list, but definitely not now – the limited battery life and limited Windows Mobile took care of that.

To decide between the two devices I asked for feedback from the community. The feedback I received was mainly sweeping comments that the OQO was the better device in nearly all areas except battery life and was by far the more "productive" office machine. I kept feeling like there was more to the Everun than that – so I made the following chart to compare the two devices feature for feature. The end result? It's a tough call but I think in terms of value for money and overall usage the Everun is going to be hard to beat… especially when thinking in terms of moving away from a Pocket PC rather than as a desktop replacement.

RAON Digital Everun vs OQO 02