Processors

At first glance it would seem that the iPAQ wins out by having a higher clock speed, but the difference in performance is not that evident in normal daily use. The only time you'll see the big difference between the two PPCs is when you're using the E-Book reader and when you're surfing web pages which have very complex layouts and those differences are measurable in seconds.

What matters more is the processor. This is because when searching for programs for your PPC, you have to get the version which is compiled for your PPC's processor. The iPAQ uses the newer Intel StrongARM processor and it is virtually impossible to find older Windows CE software that runs on this processor, this is only a problem if you're moving from a previous Windows CE device and would like to use all your old software on it. The EM500 uses the NEC MIPS processor which has been in use since the old Cassiopeia days and therefore you should have no problem running your old software on it.

Anyway here are some numbers for you benchmark types. Benchmark program here, times are all in milliseconds.

The benchmark basically performs GDI operations and some calculations and records the time it took to perform the operation, the iPAQ suffers in the GDI operations because it uses a 12bit screen and it is uncommon for processors to process bits which aren't in multiples of 8s.

Display Depth

That's right the iPAQ (and the HP Jornada 58x series) has a weird 12-bit display screen. Other than having less data to work with when displaying stuff, a 12-bit screen also means the processor has to move irregular data around. As you can see from the benchmark above the iPAQ really suffers when performing graphical operations.

But does it matter if a real world app was compiled and optimized especially for it? Nope, this is proven by the spectacular Turjah arcade game by Jimmy but when browsing webpages, some of the pictures you see might become real ugly.

As I have no time to prepare a comparison you can find one here at the excellent Dale Coffing's Site.

So this is pretty much a matter of whether you can take staring at a 12bit screen or not.

Onboard RAM

It is quite evident that the EM500 loses in this area, after all we can never have enough RAM right? If this was the US, it wouldn't be a big problem - we can just waltz down to our local computer shop and buy some MMCs to use in the EM500, but this is Malaysia where computer retailers like to swap the words 'small' with 'expensive'. MMCs are overcharged to the point that their price is 100% higher than what they should be. Hopefully in the future I'll be able to get a list of reputable dealers where you can get this stuff from cheaply cause I'm looking for some MMCs myself as well. And if local retailers fail you, there are always the online retailers.

The iPAQ also suffers in a way because it has no built in media slots, instead the iPAQ uses expansion sleeves so the user can choose what type of slot they need. This is bad for us here because we are at the mercy of our local Compaq branch to bring in the sleeves, and I don't really have that much confidence in them yet, after all they are the ones who decided we should be getting a serial cradle instead of a USB one. More on this later.