TO begin with, a comparison between the PocketPC and the Palm is like a comparison between apples to oranges. Some would even see this as an unfair exercise since each product satisfies needs of different users.

However, it is evident that the Microsoft-backed PocketPC has already caught the fancy of many, including some loyal followers of the most popular personal digital assistant in the world. Thus, it is impossible not to compare the emerging contender to the runaway winner.

In fact, a recent quick poll conducted by ZDNet shows that many see that PocketPC devices will one day beat Palm. That day seems to be not so distant.

What separates PocketPC devices from the rest of the Palm cohorts is perhaps its "coolness factor."

Being a Palm user for more than a year, I, myself, was blown away when I first saw Hewlett Packard’s Jornada 548 PocketPC device. Though I’ve been hearing stories about the Palm’s multimedia capabilities, I find the PocketPC entrancing.

For people who love listening to MP3 music like myself, the PocketPC’s Windows Media Player capable of playing MP3 or Microsoft’s Windows Media Format for compressed music adds at least two "Os" to the word "cool."

Yes, the Palm can play MP3 but I will have to buy separate accessories to do just that. Now that solves my auditory needs.

The PocketPC, which boasts of 32 megabytes of busting memory, however, can take in just a few MP3 songs. Putting more music might mess up the PocketPC’s operating system (the iPaq and the Jornada have 32Mb RAM plus 16 Mb ROM for the programs and a host of applications).

Considering that the PocketPC operating system has been "hard-coded" into the internal ROM, the device still requires enough memory to run applications without crashing the system.

A solution to this problem involves investing on an expansion jacket that allows me to "plug in" memory like the CompactFlash cards. Of course that comes with a price. Also, such "add-ons" are also in short supply globally.

At this time, Compaq’s PocketPC, the iPAQ 3650, costs around $500. Because of high demand but short supply of PocketPC devices, prices have skyrocketed. These devices had been auctioned off at eBay with prices starting of at $800.

For more than a year, I would religiously sync my Palm with the desktop just to get the latest information from my favorite websites. This exercise, however, became a pointless one because I could not do this everyday. Besides, I was always out of the office.

With the PocketPC, I can readily view any website with my Pocket Internet Explorer in full and crisp color minus software add-ons like Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) or AvantGo—a small application used to view a modified version of websites on a Palm or any similar devices. I must admit though that AvantGo on my Palm kept me excited for a while.

For my Pacquito (the name with which I Christened my Compaq iPaq H3650), however, I again will need to invest on an expansion jacket and on a CompactFlash modem. A wireless modem CompactFlash card currently costs about $400.

Both the Palm and PocketPC offer wireless surfing, by the way. That I must acknowledge. Palm offers this through OmniSky using the Palm VII. The Palm, however, pales in comparison with the PocketPC’s speed and multimedia capabilities.

Compaq is, in fact, slowly bundling applications for the wireless feature of its PocketPC devices. In the Philippines, the computer manufacturer revealed it has been working with local manufacturing firms, telcos and retailers on customized wireless applications.

"We’re working with two major telcos on possible wireless services such as Global Positioning System for the PocketPC," says MJ Eronico, product marketing manager of the Internet products and services and portables division of Compaq Philippines.

The Palm platform has become popular among Filipinos because they can beam applications, e-mail and other data to another person with a Palm via infrared. PocketPC users are left out of the circle. Well, so they think.

As the PocketPC slowly eats away on the market share of the Palm, and as Microsoft’s army of developers come up with applications for this cool device, problems such as not being able to share files with the Palm become irrelevant.

Currently, a group called the Peacemaker allows PocketPC users to transfer information via infrared to Palms. If you’re a PocketPC user, check out http://www.conduits.com/ce/peacemaker, and see how simple it is to move all those contacts, e-mail, calendar and tasks into the PocketPC. In a little experiment, I was able to transfer most of my Palm contacts to the iPAQ.

Unfortunately, this application has not yet perfected the marriage of the Palm and PocketPC formats. Some information beamed from the Palm to the PocketPC and vice versa often appeared cluttered.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has somehow made information exchange between the handheld to the desktop flawless. However, it took me a while (at least an hour) to configure my PocketPC to talk with the desktop.

Microsoft’s program called ActiveSync is able to sync up my contacts, incoming and outgoing e-mail messages, tasks and notes in Microsoft Outlook. It even goes beyond that. It also syncs some files in my Pocket Access, Pocket Excel and Pocket Word into the desktop. Data can be transferred using a fast USB or a slower serial port connection.

Now, that’s integration.

The PocketPC is just one cool device I would not dare ignore.

Why? It comes with a 206-MHz Intel StrongArm microprocessor, 32 megabytes of RAM (more than double of the Palm), and a nice backlit 12-bit display that appears nice even under direct sunlight, a cute navigation-button-cum-speaker, and a digital voice recorder. The display measures 2 ¼ by 3 inches, features 4,096 colors, and changes brightness automatically depending on ambient light.

That slew of features, however, is equal to $500—obviously a high-end but full-featured product compared with the Palm. But Microsoft and the device manufacturers like Compaq, Casio and HP are working ways to bring down the price. Compaq has, for instance, come up with a monochrome version with price pegged at $300.

The dearth of supply of PocketPC globally has partly contributed to the high cost of PocketPC devices. Compaq recently announced, however, that it is ramping up production, and is expecting to flood the market with more units and accessories by next year.

"Locally, I received a minimum of three calls about the PocketPC. Our resellers Yutivo Corp. and Lamco have just ordered more units due to high local demand for the product," says Eronico.

I, too, have my share of frustrations and complaints about the PocketPC. Among them is the scarcity of expansion packs that would allow me to explore its other features. I must admit that support for the Palm locally is a lot better.

Its battery life is also limited to a maximum of 12 hours. So I often would charge it even before it runs out of battery.

Still, I’m willing to wait for a few months until the local market catches on. So if you were to ask me which one I prefer: a PC in my pocket or a glorified organizer in my palm?

The answer seems obvious. I would rather go for the "cool" factor.