Survey: Palm OS Users Have Fewer Problems

According to a PC World survey, users of Palm OS handhelds are a bit more satisfied with their devices than Pocket PC owners.

PC World has announced the results of its tenth annual survey about the service and reliability of different brands of computers. This year it tried something new and also asked about other types of electronics, including handhelds. The results are based on the responses of about 32,000 of the magazine subscribers.

The survey results show that 32% of Pocket PC users have a problem that either required calling tech support or that limited the device's usefulness. While the Palm OS's percentage is better, 25%, it still means that a quarter of users had a significant problem with their Palm OS handheld.

According to PC World's analysis, many of the Pocket PC's problems related to ActiveSync, its desktop synchronization software, which shouldn't surprise long-time users of this platform.

The survey also shows that 68% of Palm OS users are highly satisfied with their handheld's user friendliness, while 63% of Pocket PC users are. While Microsoft has made progress on making its handheld operating system easier to use, apparently it hasn't done quite enough. In the "Ease of Use" category, all the Palm OS licensees received a "Good" rating, while most Pocket PC licensees got a "Fair", with the exception of Dell, which recieved a "Good".

The full results of the survey are available on the PC World web site.

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