Asus MyPal A636
By elegantly integrating a GPS receiver and a foldout antenna into a PDA, Asus turns the heads of the perpetually lost with its Asus MyPal A636. While it's heavier and thicker than competing mapping PDAs, the A636 has excellent controls, and its well-designed maps provide an accurate location fix and reasonably good directions. We love the nearly nine hours of battery life, but the A636's performance is mediocre, and the 3.5-inch screen is not as good as that of dedicated map machines.
However, if you want a device that will keep you on track, both in your life and on the road, the Asus MyPal A636 does a fair job. At $600, it's pricey but on a par with similar devices.
Design of Asus MyPal A636
Unlike the new generation of handheld and portable in-car GPS devices, the Asus MyPal A636 is first and foremost a PDA with a GPS receiver and antenna grafted onto its case. The gray and dark-silver body is rugged and looks like a dozen other PDAs on the market but has a foldout GPS antenna on the back. With it open, the unit can tap into the constellation of 24 GPS satellites that are constantly orbiting the earth for accurate mapping and directions. Measuring 4.8 by 2.8 inches, the A636 feels good in the hand, but at 0.7 inch thick and weighing 6.5 ounces, it's 0.1 inch chunkier and an ounce heavier than the similar Mio 168RS and gargantuan compared to the Garmin Nüvi 350. The 1.75-inch square antenna sticks out of the side and swivels 90 degrees to grab the strongest satellite signal; it can also be used as a crude stand.
Like the Garmin Nüvi 350 and the Mio 168RS, the A636's 3.5-inch, 240x320-resolution color screen is a little too small for the car, so expect to squint a little to see details. We like the Lowrance iWay 500c's 5-inch display better, but the A636's spoken directions are right on the money, and the device's speaker (located beneath the screen) is surprisingly loud and clear.
Next to the speaker are two circular control pads. The keys are well marked and easy to use one-handed, but like other PDAs, the A636 comes with a thin plastic stylus for more exact work. In addition to volume up and down, the device has buttons for calendar, voice notes, and contacts, as well as for switching between landscape and portrait mode. Oddly, it doesn't come with a way to instantly launch the mapping app, but you can reprogram one of the shortcut buttons to do this. While the front scroll-up and -down buttons are acceptable, a jog-dial button on the side would have helped make this device even better for quickly going through Web pages or mapping choices. In addition to a headphone jack, the system has a SDIO/MMC expansion slot and a recessed reset button.
Asus includes a vinyl slipcase, AC and auto power adapters, a synchronization cable, a 256MB SanDisk Secure Digital card, a car cradle, and a gooseneck windshield-mounting arm that attaches to a car's windshield with a suction cup. We noticed that the car cradle has a tendency to shake loose of the windshield arm.
Features of Asus MyPal A636
Inside the Asus MyPal A636 is an up-to-date PDA with Windows Mobile 5 software and programs. The device comes with the basic organization and planning software as well as the Destinator 5 Personal Navigation application and nine regional map sets, including data for Hawaii, Canada, and Alaska. Unfortunately, you'll need to tediously load three CDs, then select the maps to install on the SD card using Destinator. Plus, the 256MB card has barely enough room to hold the data for the Northeast. If you're planning a trip of any length, we recommend investing in a 1GB card, or you'll have to reload a new set of maps every thousand miles or so.
The maps themselves are accurate, with plenty of detail and thousands of preprogrammed points of interest; in addition, the interface's predictive entry streamlines adding addresses. Those who always seem to be going from one appointment to another will appreciate that any Outlook contact can be mapped in a matter of seconds. It might take a little getting used to, but for the geographically challenged, the interface is a powerful tool, with a compass needle, controls for zooming in and out, and a bird's-eye view of the road ahead. Our favorite is the optional banner that highlights the next turn. While it doesn't show speed or time, the interface displays current altitude if you've acquired a lock on four or more satellites. You can set it to avoid highways, but it lacks a GM-10 receiver for instant traffic updates. At the moment, neither Asus nor Destinator provides map updates to include new roads or take account of construction, but Asus says it's planning to start a free update service in the spring. Alternatively, you can use Microsoft's Streets & Trips maps instead of those provided.
Based on Intel's 416MHz XScale processor and 192MB of memory, the A636 has 128MB of built-in flash ROM and 64MB of RAM; about 85MB is available for use. The GPS mapping uses a SiRF Star III single-chip receiver and a 75mm patch antenna. With Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and infrared, the A636 can always be connected, although the IR windows can be blocked by the GPS antenna. The 1,300mAh battery has a little more capacity than the typical PDA, but Asus doesn't offer an extended-range battery pack. Because it's a Windows Mobile computer at heart, the A636 includes the latest mobile versions of Word, Excel, Internet Explorer, Outlook, Windows Media Player 10, and a basic PowerPoint presentation viewer. Its ActiveSync 4 software set up in a few minutes and worked like a charm for moving data, maps, and music. The Asus status screen consolidates key info about the PDA, but it isn't available when applications are running. Unlike some other PDAs, Asus doesn't include much in the way of extra utilities.
Performance of Asus MyPal A636
Performance on the Asus MyPal A636 was a mixed bag. In terms of its navigation abilities, we were impressed with the A636's ability to lock onto satellites in about 20 seconds and immediately plot our position with a large arrowhead. Whether we were walking through the concrete canyons of Manhattan or driving up and down the East Coast, it reliably plotted our position and direction. For the most part, its routes were efficient, and it reacts quickly to missed turns by calculating a new course, although on one occasion, it had us going in exactly the wrong direction on a roundabout route. It can be frustrating because every so often, the screen blanks out and takes a second to redraw the entire map.
As a PDA, the Asus MyPal 636 is a midrange performer that delivered reliable service over a week of daily use, although it had a tendency to lock up when connected to a host PC that had gone in sleep mode; fortunately, both woke up together. In performance tests, the A636's CPU index score fell midway between that of the HP iPaq rx1950 and the HP iPaq hx2790, but its SPB benchmark score (239) was 20 percent less than either of them. The Wi-Fi radio's 95-foot range was acceptable for office or hot spot use but measured 50 percent less than its competitors. On the bright side, with nearly nine hours of battery life available, it can run for twice as long as the Mio 168RS or three hours longer than the Garmin Nüvi 350.
The good: An excellent example of integrating GPS into a PDA, the Asus MyPal A636 includes North American maps, a loud speaker, and excellent battery life. It also has Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Windows Mobile 5.
The bad: Thicker and heavier than competitors, the Asus MyPal A636 has a 3.5-inch screen that's too small for viewing driving directions, and the included 256MB SD card holds the bare minimum of maps. There are also no map updates available at this time.
The bottom line: The Asus MyPal A636 is a PDA with a built-in GPS receiver that puts maps and directions on an equal footing with appointments and e-mail. While it delivers accurate directions and long battery life, it's a bit sluggish.
Editors' rating
Average
5.8 out of 10
Ratings explained
Design: 6
Features: 6
Performance: 5
Source: CNET
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posted by Clint at 11:47 AM - 0 comments
Thursday, February 23, 2006
I-mate PDA-N
Although I-mate is better known for its smart phones in the United States, the company calls itself "specialists in Windows Mobile device solutions," and that includes PDAs. Hence, the I-mate PDA-N.
The handheld runs the latest Windows Mobile 5 operating system and includes many of the features found on other PDAs today, but it also throws in some extra tricks, such as GPS navigation and VoIP support. However, you're going to pay a price for such features, as the PDA-N costs a whopping $499. Along with its smart-phone siblings, the I-mate Jamin and the I-mate SP5, the I-mate PDA-N is scheduled for release in April.
Upside: As we mentioned, the I-mate PDA-N includes VoIP support and ships with Skype loaded on the device, so with the built-in Wi-Fi, you can use the PDA-N to make phone calls over the Internet--a boon for mobile professionals. Also, useful to road warriors is the embedded 12-channel GPS receiver, which can help navigate to various client meetings, conferences, or the kids' soccer practice. I-mate will also package it with a vehicle mount.
Standard features on the I-mate PDA-N include Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC Edition, with the full Office Mobile suite, Bluetooth (in addition to the aforementioned Wi-Fi), a 300MHz Samsung processor, and multimedia support (WAV, WMA, AMR, and MP3 music files, as well as M-JPEG/WMV video files).
Downside: The I-mate PDA-N comes with only 128MB of ROM and 32MB of RAM, which is a bit on the low side for a device of this class. Fortunately, there is an SDIO/MMC expansion slot. Also, on the small side is the PDA's screen. It measures only 2.8 inches diagonal, and though it has a crisp 240x320-pixel resolution and shows 64,000 colors, most handhelds today come with at least 3.5-inch displays. Finally, we're curious to see what the battery life is on the PDA-N, considering the advanced functions, such as VoIP and GPS. According to I-mate, the PDA-N has a rated battery life of 5 hours in GPS mode and 8 hours playing a looped video; we'll be sure to put these claims to test when we get it into CNET Labs.
Outlook: Being the new kid on the block, the I-mate PDA-N will have to prove that it can play with the big boys: HP, Dell, and Palm. On paper, it has the credentials and even steps it up a notch with its included VoIP functionality, but can it actually deliver on performance? Check back soon for a full review.
Source: PCMag
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posted by Clint at 8:47 PM - 0 comments
Saturday, January 21, 2006
HP iPaq rx1950
HP spruces up its entry-level handheld line with the HP iPaq rx1950 model, a slim and light PDA that doesn't cut corners on performance or battery life, with class-leading results. Armed with the latest Windows Mobile 5 operating system, the rx1950 can be a pocket office on the road but skimps on a few features here and there, most notably Bluetooth. At $300, however, the rx1950 costs half that of high-end business PDAs, so if you're on a budget and you're OK with the lack of Bluetooth, then the HP iPaq rx1950 is a perfectly capable handheld.
Design of HP iPaq rx1950
One of the HP iPaq rx1950's greatest assets is its sleek design. Unlike the company's other entry-level PDA, the HP iPaq rz710, the rx1950 does away with the squarish, utilitarian form factor and returns to the more classic-looking and aesthetically pleasing rounded edges of HP's older models, such as the HP iPaq H1940 and the HP iPaq H4150. As with the entry-level Dell Axim X51, the rx1950's curved bottom makes it easy to slip into a pocket or a bag in a hurry. The PDA's petite proportions stand out with a weight of 4.4 ounces and dimensions of 0.6 by 2.8 by 4.5 inches, making it a few tenths of an inch smaller and a couple of ounces lighter than the Axim X51, the HP iPaq hx2790, or the Palm TX. With its small AC charger and cables, the rx1950 is truly a travel-friendly device.
Like other entry-level PDAs, the HP iPaq rx1950 has a 3.5-inch-diagonal QVGA screen that shows a 240x320 resolution--which is the price you pay for its modest dimensions--rather than the more detailed 3.7-inch VGA display used on the Dell Axim X51v or the latest 4-inch screens. Still, it shows 65,536 colors, and it's rich and bright enough for most uses. One thing we did notice is that you need to press the stylus firmly on to the screen for it to work. Although we miss having a plastic screen cover to protect the display, we like that all it takes to go between portrait and landscape views is holding down the Calendar button for a couple of seconds. You'll find this button, as well as three other customizable shortcut keys--Contacts, Inbox, and Wireless, by default--and the navigation toggle just below the screen. Above the display, there is a power switch, which is flanked by two small LEDs that indicate alerts, battery status, and wireless status.
A quick study, the HP iPaq rx1950 has a standard 3.5mm headphone jack and a stylus slot at the top, as well as an SD expansion slot. The remainder of the design is standard PDA fare, with a voice-record button and a recessed reset button on the left side. Its infrared window is on the bottom near the synchronization port, but to our dismay, the system cuts a major corner by including only charging and synchronization cables and not a full docking cradle. HP sells a $50 desktop cradle, but it lacks the ability to charge a second battery, as is the case with Dell's Axim X51 series. Also included in the box is a soft protective case, a start-up CD, and a user guide.
Features of HP iPaq rx1950
Running the latest Windows Mobile 5 operating system, the HP iPaq rx1950 has many of the features of bigger and more expensive PDAs, including updates to Microsoft's mobile versions of Word, Outlook, Excel, Internet Explorer, and PowerPoint. This means that the rx1950 can work with Word docs that have tables and images, and you can preview a presentation before the big show, although forget about editing the show or playing PowerPoint's embedded audio and video clips. With ActiveSync 4 and Windows Media Player 10 Mobile, the rx1950 is easier to synchronize with a PC and can play all the major audio and video file formats, including MP3, WMA, and WMV. On the downside, this PDA doesn't come with the extra games that Dell loads on its PDAs, but we love HP's Image Zone software, which not only displays images and sets up slide shows but also has a color histogram. HP includes a couple of extra utilities, such as a self-diagnostic test and Pocket Panel Lite, which allows you to check your PDA's battery life, available memory, and backlighting settings right from the Today screen.
Built around Samsung's new ARM-based SC32442 processor, the HP iPaq rx1950 may be slower on paper than just about any recent PDA, but its 300MHz clock speed is deceptive. The system is a strong performer that can compete with faster Intel-based PDAs, but we'll have more on that in the Performance section. Barely the size of a thumbnail, the CPU has hidden extras such as a flash-memory controller and has been designed to reduce lag time by packaging all essential equipment in one unit. There is 96MB of user-accessible memory onboard--64MB of ROM and 32MB of SDRAM--and 33MB of key data can be stashed in the persistent storage area that is immune to a dead battery. Overall, the internal memory is pretty small for such a device, so you'll definitely want to load up on some SD expansion cards.
For wireless connectivity, the HP iPaq rx1950 comes with integrated Wi-Fi (802.11b) for getting online at home, the office, or at a hot spot. The good news is that the rx1950's connection software is simpler and easier to use than the setup for the iPaq hx2790, but we sometimes had trouble establishing an online connection, requiring a restart. After connecting at home, the office, and a hot spot, we found that the PDA had a Wi-Fi range of just 70 feet, about half that of some competitors. Yet more disappointing than the short Wi-Fi range is the lack of Bluetooth. Similarly priced models, such as the Palm TX and the Dell Axim X51, come with both wireless options, and we would have liked to see the same in the iPaq rx1950.
Performance of HP iPaq rx1950
Despite having one of the slowest clock speeds of a PDA on the market, Samsung's 300MHz processor powers the HP iPaq rx1950 to the head of the class, making it one of the fastest devices of its kind. It may run at 300MHz vs. 624MHz for Intel's XScale PXA270, but raw speed isn't everything, because the rx1950 was faster at synchronizing with a host computer than the bigger and much more expensive HP iPaq hx2790. It can churn through data about as quickly as other Windows Mobile 5 PDAs costing twice as much, regardless of whether it's editing an Excel spreadsheet, reading e-mail, or viewing a presentation. Over the course of a week of daily work, the PDA did extremely well, and unlike many of its competitors, the device never got warm. It played music, video files, and images without delay, but the unit's rudimentary sound system is easily overwhelmed and delivers distorted audio at medium volumes.
Battery life was outstanding. In CNET Labs' tests, where we looped a video clip with all wireless radios off and backlight set to midlevel, the HP iPaq rx1950's 1,100mAh lithium-ion battery lasted for an amazing 9 hours, 40 minutes of constant use. That's nearly double the battery life of either the Dell Axim X51 or the HP iPaq hx4700. If that's not enough, the heavier extended power pack should go for about 15 hours of typical use.
Editors' rating
Good
6.8
out of 10
Ratings explained
Design: 7
Features: 6
Performance: 8
The good: The thin and light HP iPaq rx1950 features integrated Wi-Fi and Windows Mobile 5, and it has outstanding battery life.
The bad: Unfortunately, the HP iPaq rx1950 lacks Bluetooth and has low onboard memory.
The bottom line: Light, thin, and ready for just about anything the business world can throw at it, HP's iPaq rx1950 is a strong performer but falls short with lack of Bluetooth and low memory.
Source: CNET
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posted by Clint at 6:04 PM - 0 comments
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Nokia 770 Internet Tablet
You can pull down Web pages on most PDAs, smart phones, and BlackBerrys, but let's be honest: The Web wasn't meant to be shoehorned into a 3-inch screen. Enter the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet, a PDA-like communicator with a wide, Web-friendly screen and loads of multimedia features. Priced at $359.99, it's an affordable solution for anyone who prizes Web accessibility but doesn't want the weight, the bulk, or the expense of a full-blown laptop.
Unfortunately, it won't be long before you're pining for a notebook's speed and versatility--the Nokia 770 runs like molasses and lacks key features such as VoIP and instant messaging. Although Nokia plans to add them in 2006, you'll still be left with a painfully slow device that requires either a Wi-Fi hot spot or a Bluetooth-enabled phone to get online. Ultimately, the 770's only real advantage over a PDA is its dazzling high-resolution screen, but on those merits alone, it's hard to recommend.
Design of Nokia 770 Internet Tablet
The Nokia 770 Internet Tablet bears more than a passing resemblance to a PDA, except that it's designed with a landscape orientation and has the wide screen to match. The unit measures 5.5 by 3.1 by 0.7 inches and weighs 8.2 ounces with its sliding-metal screen cover in place. It's a bit too long to fit comfortably into a pants pocket and a bit too heavy for the inside breast pocket of a sport coat, which otherwise seems like a natural fit, given the 770's slim, checkbooklike design. Ultimately, you may find the 770 difficult to carry anywhere.
The aforementioned cover might seem like an annoyance at first, especially when you realize that it adds extra bulk to the Nokia 770. It's reversible, however, so you can slide it over the backside of the device without worrying about misplacing it. What's more, when you slide it over the screen while the 770 is still on, it automatically puts the unit in standby mode. Slide it off again, and the 770 wakes up instantly--nice. Unfortunately, when you reverse the cover, it blocks access to the stylus silo--a silly and annoying design flaw. Equally irksome, the flat plastic stylus fits only one way into the silo.
The Nokia 770 is almost all screen--touch screen, that is. Its TFT LCD measures 4.1 inches diagonally; by contrast, the display on the Dell Axim X51v PDA measures 3.7 inches. That extra 11 percent may not seem like much, but it's enough to make Web pages easier on the eyes. The real news, however, is resolution: At 800x480 pixels, the 770 can display most Web pages with little or no horizontal scrolling required. The screen renders bright, colorful, and incredibly crisp images, making browsing a much more pleasant experience than you'd expect.
To the left of the Nokia 770's screen, a four-way navigation pad enables one-handed operation--you can use it to hop between links, scroll through lists, and make selections. Below the navigator, Back, Menu, and Home buttons also assist in stylus-free operation. Along the top of the 770, you'll find a full-screen toggle button, which removes all but the nav bar from Web pages; an incredibly handy zoom rocker; and the power button. The 770's USB port, 3.5mm headphone jack, AC connector, and media slot can all be found on the bottom edge.
The Nokia 770's expansion slot is disappointing. Although the 770 seems like it could easily accommodate popular SD media, it instead forces you to use a Reduced Size MMC card. These are not only harder to come by and pricier than SD media but also top out at 1GB. On the plus side, Nokia does supply a 64MB card and an adapter, so you can access it via a standard MMC reader on your PC.
To enter data on the Nokia 770, you can tap-type using an onscreen keyboard or try the handwriting-recognition software. We found the latter fairly awkward, especially compared with the more accommodating systems on most PDAs. Although we could enter standard alphanumeric characters, the engine frequently recognized letters as spaces and gave us uppercase letters when we wanted lowercase.
Nokia's printed manual is terse but comprehensive, covering all topics in very brief detail. Fortunately, we found we could figure out most of the Nokia 770's operations via guesswork. The interface is clean, attractive, and fairly intuitive, though it can be difficult to remember when to press the actual Menu button and when to click its onscreen counterpart; the two buttons launch different sets of menus.
Features of Nokia 770 Internet Tablet
The Nokia 770 may look like a PDA, but it has a decidedly Web-oriented feature set. The device connects to the Web via Wi-Fi hot spots or your Bluetooth- and data-enabled cell phone. This being a Nokia product, the 770 should incorporate some kind of CDMA or GPRS connectivity, but alas, that's not the case. Thankfully, we had an easy time ferreting out hot spots in our area; the 770's internal antenna has excellent range, and the onscreen-connection selector shows signal strength for each discovered network and whether or not it's locked.
Your Web-browsing experience is robust, thanks to the fact that the Nokia 770 employs the excellent Opera 8 Mobile browser, which supports such amenities as JavaScript, plug-ins, and even Flash content. Go to the AccuWeather Web site, for instance, and you'll see animated satellite maps. We particularly liked the various view options; you can zoom in and out, and you can choose Optimized View to have pages rescaled to fit the screen width, with little to no loss of formatting. We just wish the 770 were more adept at saving pages for offline viewing. As it stands, you're limited to saving only the current page; you can't store an entire site.
The Nokia 770's e-mail client offers basic messaging functionality, including support for attachments, custom folders, and both POP3 and IMAP4 accounts. You also can set up scheduling so that the 770 automatically sends and receives mail at designated intervals. Of course, this works only if the unit is either on or in standby mode, and it lacks an LED indicator to alert you of newly arrived messages.
Fans of RSS newsfeeds will appreciate the fact that the Nokia 770 devotes nearly half of its home screen to new posts. You can configure the device to fetch updates at regular intervals or just tap the Refresh button at the bottom of the News box. Alas, adding new feeds is something of a hassle, as you have to copy links from the browser, then paste them into an Add Feed field in the News Reader applet. Admittedly, you can also enter the feed URL manually if you know it; however, we wish the 770 had a more streamlined method for adding feeds.
As much as we liked finding an Internet radio selector on the Nokia 770's home screen, we were disappointed that Nokia provided a link to only one station. It's up to you to find and add other stations, which can be a slow and often frustrating process. Assuming you can find a link to one that's compatible--and there's no way to know for sure if it is without trying it out--you then have to perform the same kind of copy/paste hoop jumping that's required for adding RSS feeds.
As for the audio player itself, it's a fairly basic applet with intuitive onscreen controls and support for playlists, both imported and on the fly. Yet because it doesn't play WMA files--protected or otherwise--you can't listen to tunes purchased or downloaded from most online stores. That's not too surprising, given the open-source nature of the OS, but it does limit the 770's appeal as a mobile jukebox.
On the video front, the Nokia 770 can play AVI, MPEG-1, MPEG-4, and RealVideo movies, but don't count on any software to help you convert your videos to a compatible format. If the device can't play a file natively, you're out of luck; actually, you may be out of luck anyway--see the Performance section for details. As for audio, the 770 plays MP3, nonprotected AAC, and WAV files, along with a handful of other, mostly obscure formats. Curiously, Ogg Vorbis isn't among them, despite the 770's Linux-based OS. But the tougher codec pill to swallow is the lack of support for Windows formats, namely WMA and WMV. That will undoubtedly limit the 770's appeal to some users. At any rate, if you want to listen or view any of these multimedia files, you'll definitely want to load up on those RS-MMC cards, as the Nokia 770 comes with only 128MB of flash memory, 64MB of which is user-accessible.
Inexplicably, Nokia chose not to include any calendar or contact-management features, which might have sealed the 770's place as a suitable PDA replacement. Although it does include basic tools such as a calculator, a world clock, and a sketch pad, productivity just isn't part of the mix. We're also disappointed by the 770's lack of VoIP and instant-messaging features, which Nokia attributes to limitations of the Internet Tablet 2005 operating system. The 2006 version will add these and other services; Nokia plans to offer an upgrade in the coming year, but the exact time frame is unknown.
Performance of Nokia 770 Internet Tablet
Operating the Nokia 770 tends to be a painfully slow experience. Most applications, including the Web browser, took several seconds to load. Even something as simple as closing an application can cause the 770 to pause for a few beats. Things really came to a grinding halt when we loaded a 1MB PDF on the device and selected the Show Images option. The 770 appeared to lock up, but in reality, it was just taking a long time (several minutes) to render the images. If you plan to use the 770 as a PDF viewer, plan to do it with text only.
Similarly, though the browser supports it, don't expect to enjoy much Flash content. The sample animations we looked at ran like slide shows, and the Flash games we tried were just plain unplayable, running at about one frame per second. As for videos, the Ice Age 2 trailer that came preloaded on the 770 played smoothly, but other clips we tried, including low-resolution MPEG-1 files, were noticeably jerky. It's unfortunate that Nokia doesn't specify the optimal settings for video playback, as we could use third-party software to convert clips to the preferred size and format. As it stands, watching video on the 770 is very much a hit-or-miss proposition--mostly miss in our experience.
On a positive note, once a Web page has loaded, you can scroll up and down with almost no delay; the screen refreshes very quickly. Why can't the Nokia 770 be that snappy in other areas? Software could be part of the problem. After receiving our demo unit, we downloaded and installed a firmware update that made the 770 a bit faster overall, though it still wasn't nearly fast enough. With any luck, a future update will boost performance to the point where you don't constantly feel as if you're waiting for the device to respond. Nokia promises 3 hours of browsing time and seven days of standby time from the 770's removable battery.
Editors' rating
Mediocre
4.9
out of 10
Ratings explained
Design: 5
Features: 6
Performance: 3
Source: CNET
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posted by Clint at 9:10 PM - 0 comments
Saturday, January 07, 2006
HP iPaq hx2790
As PDAs increasingly morph into mobile phones and vice versa, the HP iPaq hx2790 stands out by ignoring this technological cross-pollination. By sticking to the basics, it generally does a good job of mixing just enough entertainment potential with its business abilities to satisfy road warriors. Plus, the addition of Windows Mobile 5 arms mobile professionals with even more tools for getting business done while on the go.
On the downside, this PDA lacks the high-resolution screen of competing products, such as the Dell Axim X51v and the Palm TX, and doesn't do images and video justice. The hx2790 is also overweight and chunky, and at $500, it's one of the most expensive PDAs out there. However, if security is of the utmost importance to you, then you can't beat the iPaq hx2790, with its biometric fingerprint reader. Also of note: If you happen to have one of the older versions of the hx2000 series, HP will offer Windows Mobile 5 upgrades in spring of 2006 for $39.99.
The HP iPaq hx2790 picks up where the hx2750 left off and doesn't add any new design features. Built around a sturdy frame and case, it's been designed to take road abuse with rounded corners and protective rubber inserts that offer some extra grip. At 3 by 4.7 by 0.6 inches and 6.4 ounces, the gray and silver device feels good in the hand but is a tad longer and heavier than the similar Dell Axim X51 series. We really like the iPaq's included smoked-plastic screen cover, but it adds half an ounce to the package and doesn't flip all the way over. Alternatively, it makes a cool easel for holding the unit upright if you put it on backward.
Speaking of the screen, the HP iPaq hx2790's 3.5-inch display shows 65,536 colors, but its QVGA (240x320) resolution can't compete with the generation of VGA (480x640) models, such as Dell's Axim X51v, which pump out four times as many pixels. Still, it's bright and rich enough to satisfy most, with easy-to-read text. For those in a hurry, the PDA has four instant-start application buttons just below the screen and a fingerprint reader to help protect data and access to the system. In a month of use, the latter function never yielded to the wrong finger but sometimes balked at opening up for the right one.
For those who like to have their flash memory and use it, this PDA comes equipped with both Secure Digital and CompactFlash expansion slots (located on the top of the device), which accept even the slightly thicker CompactFlash hard drives, such as the IBM or the Hitachi Microdrive modules. A standard headphone jack is next to the card slots, making this PDA a music machine for listening to tunes on the go. Finally, there's a lone voice-record button on the left side. Aside from the aforementioned flip cover, HP packages the hx2790 with an AC adapter and a desktop cradle. More accessories are available for purchase from HP, such as a Bluetooth GPS kit for $329.99 and a snap-on thumb keyboard for $49.99.
Powering the HP iPaq hx2790 is a top-speed 624MHz Intel XScale processor along with 256MB of memory, of which there's 192MB of ROM and 64MB of SDRAM. The device has 144MB available in the fail-safe iPaq File Store. Again, this isn't anything groundbreaking or new in comparison with the HP iPaq hx2750, but that's not to say it's a bad thing, since these components are adequate in getting the job done.
The biggest improvement comes with the inclusion of Microsoft Windows Mobile 5, an evolutionary update to the Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition that was used on the hx2750 model. In addition to enhancements to mobile versions of Word, Excel, Internet Explorer, and Outlook, the machine has a handy PowerPoint viewer. This can turn the PDA into a one-on-one presentation machine after the screen orientation is set to landscape to mimic a monitor. Additionally, HP's exclusive Image Zone program not only displays pictures but also adds a color histogram and a slide-show feature.
Like many other PDAs, the HP iPaq hx2790 comes with both Wi-Fi (802.11b only) and Bluetooth radios for maximum data flexibility. While the separation of the setup screens into Manager and Settings sections makes for some confusion, the software can help you get connected to a hot spot whether you're at home, at the office, or at the local coffee shop. The software for linking to a Bluetooth phone is excellent and easy to follow. Synchronizing data with a host PC works well with the included USB cradle, but the host fails to recognize the hx2790 when connected to a USB hub. Windows Mobile 5 brings an updated ActiveSync 4, which promises easier and faster PC synchronization, but there have been widely reported connectivity problems with version 4. Fortunately, Microsoft has since released ActiveSync 4.1 to fix the issue; you can download the update from Microsoft's Web site.
Battery life and performance were solid. In CNET Labs' tests, where we looped a video clip with all wireless radios off and backlight set to midlevel, the HP iPaq hx2790's 1,440mAh lithium-ion battery lasted for 5 hours, 22 minutes of constant use, about an hour more than the hx2750 and the Dell Axim X51v and 5 minutes short of its iPaq hx4700 cousin. It should be just enough for a full day of stop-and-go computing. A $130 double-capacity battery pack should make it possible to leave the AC charger behind for two-day trips, but it adds another ounce to the hx2790's already ponderous weight. Although there's an occasional delay in reacting to commands, the hx2790 generally worked well in a variety of uses, from e-mail machine to iPod replacement to video viewer.
Editors' rating
Very good
7.4
out of 10
The good: The HP iPaq hx2790 boasts Windows Mobile 5, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and a fingerprint reader for added security. The PDA also performed well in CNET Labs' tests.
The bad: The chunky and heavy HP iPaq hx2790 has a low-resolution screen compared with its competitors, and it's expensive.
The bottom line: The HP iPaq hx2790 is a PDA for those who are looking for a traditional, businesscentric approach to ultraportable computing and don't mind paying for it.
Source: CNET
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posted by Clint at 5:21 PM - 0 comments
Dell Axim X51v
Over the past year, Dell has earned a reputation for producing some of the best PDAs on the market--first with the high-performance and the recently discontinued Dell Axim X30 series, then with the versatile Dell Axim X50 series.
Now, the company is out with the new Dell Axim X51 series. Although these Pocket PCs keep the same design as the X50 series, they have plenty of new features. They come with a more robust software bundle and are the first stand-alone PDAs to run the Windows Mobile 5 operating system. Unfortunately, the X51v suffered from subpar battery life and sluggish performance in our tests. That said, with everyday, casual use, the Axim X51 series--the high-end Dell Axim X51v ($499), the middle-of-the-road Dell Axim X51 ($399), and the entry-level Dell Axim X51 ($299)--includes very capable PDAs that should fit the needs of consumers and business users alike.
Design of Dell Axim X51v
When it came to the Dell Axim X51v's design, Dell decided to go with the philosophy of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." The Axim X51v's styling is nearly identical to the X50's, keeping the sexy black and silver color scheme and aesthetically pleasing rounded edges. The X51v is just a hair thicker than its predecessor (4.7 by 2.9 by 0.7 inches and 6.2 ounces), but it won't weigh you down. It's also a solidly built device that's comfortable to hold, and we like the rubberized backside cover for better gripping.
The star attraction on the Dell Axim X51 is undoubtedly its 3.7-inch VGA screen. Thanks to a 640x480-pixel resolution and a 16-bit-color output, you'll enjoy sharp text and images, and there's continued support for landscape and portrait modes. Below the display are your standard shortcut keys to Calendar, Contacts, Inbox, and Home, plus a four-way navigation toggle with a center Select button. Although we criticized the Axim X50 for its diminutive toggle, by now we're used to it, yet we still caution users with bigger fingers. A speaker, a power button, and a status LED line the top edge of the PDA's face.
It's easy to access many of the Dell X51v's features with a click of a button. Aside from the aforementioned shortcut keys on the front, there are two buttons on the left spine that activate the voice recorder and wireless connection. There's also a hold button, which is always appreciated, since it prevents any unnecessary battery drain if the device is accidentally turned on. On the top of the Axim X51v, you'll find a 3.5mm jack that accepts Walkman-style headphones, dual CompactFlash and SD expansion slots, and the stylus. The handheld's battery is user-replaceable, and you can swap out cells by unlocking the sliding battery-release lever on the back.
Dell provides all the basics to get you started. Accessories in the box include a soft protective case, a desktop-synchronization cradle, a power adapter, and a companion CD. The cradle has an extra slot for charging a second battery, which is nice. A high-capacity cell is available for $99 and promises to double battery life. Other optional accessories are available, such as a GPS navigation system (Bluetooth or wired), a Bluetooth keyboard ($99.95), and a presentation bundle ($49).
Features of Dell Axim X51v
The Dell Axim X51v's biggest makeover is in the features department. Some elements remain the same, though, such as the 624MHz Intel XScale PXA270 processor and the Intel 2700G graphics engine. Also, there's still 16MB of dedicated video memory and 64MB of SDRAM, but the really good news is that Dell bumped up the flash ROM from 128MB to 256MB, 192MB of which is user-accessible. This, coupled with the dual expansion slots, amount to ample storage space. Another thing that helps is the addition of the Windows Mobile 5 operating system. The new OS has built-in support for persistent storage, so when the battery drains completely, your data remains intact.
With Windows Mobile 5, Microsoft also swapped out Pocket Word and Pocket Excel in favor of a new Office Mobile Suite that includes Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, and PowerPoint Mobile. Yes--PowerPoint. Although you can't edit slides, you now can view presentations right on your PDA. We gave it a whirl, and we were impressed not only with the ability to watch slide shows but also with the various options. You can skip directly to specific slides, change the orientation, and choose playback options, such as loop, turn off/on animation, and zoom in/out. The last option is particularly handy, since a thumbnail of the slide is presented in the lower-right corner of your screen. What's more, you can choose particular spots on the page to zoom or automatically go back to the full slide. Unfortunately, these tasks seemed to take a lot out of the Axim X51v, as there was a noticeable delay in response time (see Performance). As for the other applications, Word Mobile now supports documents with embedded images and tables, plus Excel Mobile handles charts. We put these applications to test, and while the experience was not ideal, given the size of a PDA's screen, we were able to open and view tables and charts in all our documents.
On hand to sync your PDA with your PC is the updated ActiveSync 4. It allows for easier and faster synchronization, but be sure to pay attention during the installation process. You first must install ActiveSync 4 from the companion CD before ever connecting the Dell Axim X51v to your PC; otherwise, the wrong driver will load, and your computer will not detect the PDA. Also, there have been a number of reported problems with ActiveSync 4, such as partial synchronization and dropped data transfers--Microsoft will issue an update in late November to resolve the problems. In the meantime, you can find troubleshooting tips and more information on Microsoft's Web site.
If you're wondering about the Dell Axim X51v's multimedia capabilities, here's the dish. The Pocket PC still features Windows Media Player 10 Mobile, so you can listen to your favorite WMA, MP3, and WMV music files and view album art. Plus, Windows Media Rights Management 10 gives you access to audio and video content from subscription services, such as MSN Music, Musicmatch, Napster, and Wal-Mart Music Downloads.
he Dell Axim X51v comes with built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, which can run simultaneously. As mentioned before, you turn on the wireless radio with the shortcut key on the left spine, but you are now required to press the button twice--once to turn it on and once to confirm your selection. The status LED will blink blue and green to let you know wireless is on, as will two icons--signal bars and the Bluetooth logo--that appear in the lower-right corner. The Axim X51v comes with the Bluetooth 1.2 stack, so now there's support for more multimedia accessories, such as stereo Bluetooth headphones. You can check your Wi-Fi configuration, network strength, and more via Dell's WLAN Utility.
While the Dell Axim X50v didn't impress with its lackluster software bundle, the X51v is a completely different story. The companion CD comes with a plethora of useful and fun applications, including Battery Pack Lite, Calligrapher, Resco File Explorer and Picture Viewer, and eWallet. We particularly liked Battery Pack Lite, which installs a handy toolbar across the top of your PDA's screen and displays your battery life, memory status (internal and expansion card), and screen brightness. It's nice to have all this information immediately accessible, rather than having to go through various menus. The X51v also continues the tradition of being packaged with a gaming bundle; titles include Geo Rally EX and Toy Golf.
Performance of Dell Axim X51v
Overall, we were disappointed by the Dell Axim X51v's performance. It scored below our expectations in CNET Labs' tests, but that said, we're finding this to be a common problem with all the new Windows Mobile 5 PDAs. This may be in due part to the more demanding operating system and unchanged processor speeds from previous models. The PDA responded sluggishly to taps of the stylus and lagged when multiple applications were running in the background.
Also, while the new and improved battery-management feature of Windows Mobile 5 supposedly lengthens the battery life, this wasn't the case for the Dell X51v. Playing a looped video clip with all wireless off and the backlight set to high, the X51v lasted only a little more than 4 hours, which isn't bad but is definitely not spectacular either. By comparison, the Dell Axim X50 and the HP iPaq hx4700 lasted an hour longer. However, since our tests are designed to drain the battery in the most intensive way, this score translates to about 7 or 8 hours of real-life usage.
The news isn't all bad. The Dell Axim X51v offers a great 3D look with beautiful icons, menus, and buttons. Plus, it offers great wireless performance. Its built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth worked flawlessly in our tests, and we were able to connect access points and Bluetooth-enabled devices with ease.
Editors' rating
Very good
7.4
out of 10
Ratings explained
Design: 8
Features: 8
Performance: 5
The good: The sleek Dell Axim X51 series boasts Windows Mobile 5, integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, dual expansion slots, and a user-replaceable battery.
The bad: With its less-than-stellar battery life, the Dell Axim X51 didn't perform up to our expectations.
The bottom line: The Dell Axim X51 series offers a nice combination of features, but we were disappointed by the subpar battery life.
Source: CNET
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posted by Clint at 5:06 PM - 0 comments
Palm Z22
Although the technology world focuses largely on the latest features and the flashiest design, there are many consumers who don't need or want all the bells and whistles. With PDAs, this means stripping away the wireless connectivity and multimedia features and going back to the core function of a handheld: organization. And this is exactly what the new Palm Z22 does.
Targeting first-time handheld users, parents, and students, this $99 device has no tricks or gimmicks. It organizes your most important data--contacts, appointments, and so forth--and lets you view photographs, but that's about it. It's even more basic than the company's previous entry-level model, the Palm Zire 31. Still, if you're ready to graduate from your day planner to a PDA, the Z22 is a good start.
The Palm Z22 is absolutely adorable. Showing off a sporty white and midnight blue color scheme, it's probably the smallest and lightest (2.7 by 4.0 by 0.6 inches; 3.4 ounces) PDA we've seen, and it slips easily into your bag or pocket. Yet, we worry about the durability of the plastic casing (think iPod Shuffle) and screen, which tends to hold a lot of fingerprints and smudges. We recommend you invest in a protective case or, at the very least, screen overlays to prevent scratches. Palm is offering a two-pack of Flexi cases with four screen protectors for $14.99.
Speaking of the screen, the Palm Z22's 2.5-inch-diagonal screen displays thousands of colors, but with its low 160x160-pixel resolution, the viewing experience is a little painful. Images and text just aren't as sharp as those of other PDAs, but you can improve the situation a bit by adjusting the contrast and holding the PDA farther away. We also noticed that the touch screen isn't particularly responsive. Oftentimes, we had to tap an icon numerous times in order to call up an app or maneuver around the display. Below the screen is the virtual Graffiti input area, as well as shortcuts to the Home Page, Menu, HotSync, and Find functions. Additionally, there are two shortcut keys to your Appointments and Contacts, as well as a four-way navigation toggle with a center Select key. Finishing out the Z22 are a mini-USB port and a stylus holder on the top, as well as a lone Reset button on the back.
The Palm Z22's feature set is bare bones, but you get the staple Calendar, Contacts, Memos, and Tasks applications for organizing your most important data. Within those programs, you can customize your data even more. For example, you can designate your Personal and Business appointments by color-coding them, plus you can add photos to your contacts. The Z22 also syncs with Microsoft Outlook for e-mail. With 32MB of memory--20MB of it user-accessible--the PDA can hold about 6,000 addresses, 10 years' worth of appointments, and more. You also get an expense-tracking program, a world clock, a notepad, and a calculator. Palm provides a couple of fun extras, including a game called Crazy Daisy and an eBook reader with three complete books: The Duke and I, Never Eat Alone, and Smoke and Mirrors. Unlike with the Zire 31, however, you can't listen to music on the Z22, but you can carry and view photos individually or as slide shows.
The Palm Z22 is powered by a 200MHz processor that delivers smooth operation with no real noticeable lag when switching between programs. Palm says the Z22's rechargeable battery can last up to one week with casual use. We've been using the Z22 for about four days on a single charge, and the battery indicator says we still have about one-quarter of the charge left.
Editors' rating
Good
6.2
out of 10
The good: Light and compact; 32MB of memory; lets you view and store photos; affordable.
The bad: Low-resolution screen; touch screen isn't always responsive; doesn't play music files.
The bottom line: The Palm Z22 provides an affordable, very basic, and easy-to-use PDA suitable for first-time buyers and technophobes.
Source: CNET
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posted by Clint at 5:04 PM - 0 comments
By elegantly integrating a GPS receiver and a foldout antenna into a PDA, Asus turns the heads of the perpetually lost with its Asus MyPal A636. While it's heavier and thicker than competing mapping PDAs, the A636 has excellent controls, and its well-designed maps provide an accurate location fix and reasonably good directions. We love the nearly nine hours of battery life, but the A636's performance is mediocre, and the 3.5-inch screen is not as good as that of dedicated map machines.
However, if you want a device that will keep you on track, both in your life and on the road, the Asus MyPal A636 does a fair job. At $600, it's pricey but on a par with similar devices.
Design of Asus MyPal A636
Unlike the new generation of handheld and portable in-car GPS devices, the Asus MyPal A636 is first and foremost a PDA with a GPS receiver and antenna grafted onto its case. The gray and dark-silver body is rugged and looks like a dozen other PDAs on the market but has a foldout GPS antenna on the back. With it open, the unit can tap into the constellation of 24 GPS satellites that are constantly orbiting the earth for accurate mapping and directions. Measuring 4.8 by 2.8 inches, the A636 feels good in the hand, but at 0.7 inch thick and weighing 6.5 ounces, it's 0.1 inch chunkier and an ounce heavier than the similar Mio 168RS and gargantuan compared to the Garmin Nüvi 350. The 1.75-inch square antenna sticks out of the side and swivels 90 degrees to grab the strongest satellite signal; it can also be used as a crude stand.
Like the Garmin Nüvi 350 and the Mio 168RS, the A636's 3.5-inch, 240x320-resolution color screen is a little too small for the car, so expect to squint a little to see details. We like the Lowrance iWay 500c's 5-inch display better, but the A636's spoken directions are right on the money, and the device's speaker (located beneath the screen) is surprisingly loud and clear.
Next to the speaker are two circular control pads. The keys are well marked and easy to use one-handed, but like other PDAs, the A636 comes with a thin plastic stylus for more exact work. In addition to volume up and down, the device has buttons for calendar, voice notes, and contacts, as well as for switching between landscape and portrait mode. Oddly, it doesn't come with a way to instantly launch the mapping app, but you can reprogram one of the shortcut buttons to do this. While the front scroll-up and -down buttons are acceptable, a jog-dial button on the side would have helped make this device even better for quickly going through Web pages or mapping choices. In addition to a headphone jack, the system has a SDIO/MMC expansion slot and a recessed reset button.
Asus includes a vinyl slipcase, AC and auto power adapters, a synchronization cable, a 256MB SanDisk Secure Digital card, a car cradle, and a gooseneck windshield-mounting arm that attaches to a car's windshield with a suction cup. We noticed that the car cradle has a tendency to shake loose of the windshield arm.
Features of Asus MyPal A636
Inside the Asus MyPal A636 is an up-to-date PDA with Windows Mobile 5 software and programs. The device comes with the basic organization and planning software as well as the Destinator 5 Personal Navigation application and nine regional map sets, including data for Hawaii, Canada, and Alaska. Unfortunately, you'll need to tediously load three CDs, then select the maps to install on the SD card using Destinator. Plus, the 256MB card has barely enough room to hold the data for the Northeast. If you're planning a trip of any length, we recommend investing in a 1GB card, or you'll have to reload a new set of maps every thousand miles or so.
The maps themselves are accurate, with plenty of detail and thousands of preprogrammed points of interest; in addition, the interface's predictive entry streamlines adding addresses. Those who always seem to be going from one appointment to another will appreciate that any Outlook contact can be mapped in a matter of seconds. It might take a little getting used to, but for the geographically challenged, the interface is a powerful tool, with a compass needle, controls for zooming in and out, and a bird's-eye view of the road ahead. Our favorite is the optional banner that highlights the next turn. While it doesn't show speed or time, the interface displays current altitude if you've acquired a lock on four or more satellites. You can set it to avoid highways, but it lacks a GM-10 receiver for instant traffic updates. At the moment, neither Asus nor Destinator provides map updates to include new roads or take account of construction, but Asus says it's planning to start a free update service in the spring. Alternatively, you can use Microsoft's Streets & Trips maps instead of those provided.
Based on Intel's 416MHz XScale processor and 192MB of memory, the A636 has 128MB of built-in flash ROM and 64MB of RAM; about 85MB is available for use. The GPS mapping uses a SiRF Star III single-chip receiver and a 75mm patch antenna. With Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and infrared, the A636 can always be connected, although the IR windows can be blocked by the GPS antenna. The 1,300mAh battery has a little more capacity than the typical PDA, but Asus doesn't offer an extended-range battery pack. Because it's a Windows Mobile computer at heart, the A636 includes the latest mobile versions of Word, Excel, Internet Explorer, Outlook, Windows Media Player 10, and a basic PowerPoint presentation viewer. Its ActiveSync 4 software set up in a few minutes and worked like a charm for moving data, maps, and music. The Asus status screen consolidates key info about the PDA, but it isn't available when applications are running. Unlike some other PDAs, Asus doesn't include much in the way of extra utilities.
Performance of Asus MyPal A636
Performance on the Asus MyPal A636 was a mixed bag. In terms of its navigation abilities, we were impressed with the A636's ability to lock onto satellites in about 20 seconds and immediately plot our position with a large arrowhead. Whether we were walking through the concrete canyons of Manhattan or driving up and down the East Coast, it reliably plotted our position and direction. For the most part, its routes were efficient, and it reacts quickly to missed turns by calculating a new course, although on one occasion, it had us going in exactly the wrong direction on a roundabout route. It can be frustrating because every so often, the screen blanks out and takes a second to redraw the entire map.
As a PDA, the Asus MyPal 636 is a midrange performer that delivered reliable service over a week of daily use, although it had a tendency to lock up when connected to a host PC that had gone in sleep mode; fortunately, both woke up together. In performance tests, the A636's CPU index score fell midway between that of the HP iPaq rx1950 and the HP iPaq hx2790, but its SPB benchmark score (239) was 20 percent less than either of them. The Wi-Fi radio's 95-foot range was acceptable for office or hot spot use but measured 50 percent less than its competitors. On the bright side, with nearly nine hours of battery life available, it can run for twice as long as the Mio 168RS or three hours longer than the Garmin Nüvi 350.
The good: An excellent example of integrating GPS into a PDA, the Asus MyPal A636 includes North American maps, a loud speaker, and excellent battery life. It also has Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Windows Mobile 5.
The bad: Thicker and heavier than competitors, the Asus MyPal A636 has a 3.5-inch screen that's too small for viewing driving directions, and the included 256MB SD card holds the bare minimum of maps. There are also no map updates available at this time.
The bottom line: The Asus MyPal A636 is a PDA with a built-in GPS receiver that puts maps and directions on an equal footing with appointments and e-mail. While it delivers accurate directions and long battery life, it's a bit sluggish.
Editors' rating
Average
5.8 out of 10
Ratings explained
Design: 6
Features: 6
Performance: 5
Source: CNET
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posted by Clint at 11:47 AM - 0 comments
Thursday, February 23, 2006
I-mate PDA-N
Although I-mate is better known for its smart phones in the United States, the company calls itself "specialists in Windows Mobile device solutions," and that includes PDAs. Hence, the I-mate PDA-N.
The handheld runs the latest Windows Mobile 5 operating system and includes many of the features found on other PDAs today, but it also throws in some extra tricks, such as GPS navigation and VoIP support. However, you're going to pay a price for such features, as the PDA-N costs a whopping $499. Along with its smart-phone siblings, the I-mate Jamin and the I-mate SP5, the I-mate PDA-N is scheduled for release in April.
Upside: As we mentioned, the I-mate PDA-N includes VoIP support and ships with Skype loaded on the device, so with the built-in Wi-Fi, you can use the PDA-N to make phone calls over the Internet--a boon for mobile professionals. Also, useful to road warriors is the embedded 12-channel GPS receiver, which can help navigate to various client meetings, conferences, or the kids' soccer practice. I-mate will also package it with a vehicle mount.
Standard features on the I-mate PDA-N include Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC Edition, with the full Office Mobile suite, Bluetooth (in addition to the aforementioned Wi-Fi), a 300MHz Samsung processor, and multimedia support (WAV, WMA, AMR, and MP3 music files, as well as M-JPEG/WMV video files).
Downside: The I-mate PDA-N comes with only 128MB of ROM and 32MB of RAM, which is a bit on the low side for a device of this class. Fortunately, there is an SDIO/MMC expansion slot. Also, on the small side is the PDA's screen. It measures only 2.8 inches diagonal, and though it has a crisp 240x320-pixel resolution and shows 64,000 colors, most handhelds today come with at least 3.5-inch displays. Finally, we're curious to see what the battery life is on the PDA-N, considering the advanced functions, such as VoIP and GPS. According to I-mate, the PDA-N has a rated battery life of 5 hours in GPS mode and 8 hours playing a looped video; we'll be sure to put these claims to test when we get it into CNET Labs.
Outlook: Being the new kid on the block, the I-mate PDA-N will have to prove that it can play with the big boys: HP, Dell, and Palm. On paper, it has the credentials and even steps it up a notch with its included VoIP functionality, but can it actually deliver on performance? Check back soon for a full review.
Source: PCMag
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posted by Clint at 8:47 PM - 0 comments
Saturday, January 21, 2006
HP iPaq rx1950
HP spruces up its entry-level handheld line with the HP iPaq rx1950 model, a slim and light PDA that doesn't cut corners on performance or battery life, with class-leading results. Armed with the latest Windows Mobile 5 operating system, the rx1950 can be a pocket office on the road but skimps on a few features here and there, most notably Bluetooth. At $300, however, the rx1950 costs half that of high-end business PDAs, so if you're on a budget and you're OK with the lack of Bluetooth, then the HP iPaq rx1950 is a perfectly capable handheld.
Design of HP iPaq rx1950
One of the HP iPaq rx1950's greatest assets is its sleek design. Unlike the company's other entry-level PDA, the HP iPaq rz710, the rx1950 does away with the squarish, utilitarian form factor and returns to the more classic-looking and aesthetically pleasing rounded edges of HP's older models, such as the HP iPaq H1940 and the HP iPaq H4150. As with the entry-level Dell Axim X51, the rx1950's curved bottom makes it easy to slip into a pocket or a bag in a hurry. The PDA's petite proportions stand out with a weight of 4.4 ounces and dimensions of 0.6 by 2.8 by 4.5 inches, making it a few tenths of an inch smaller and a couple of ounces lighter than the Axim X51, the HP iPaq hx2790, or the Palm TX. With its small AC charger and cables, the rx1950 is truly a travel-friendly device.
Like other entry-level PDAs, the HP iPaq rx1950 has a 3.5-inch-diagonal QVGA screen that shows a 240x320 resolution--which is the price you pay for its modest dimensions--rather than the more detailed 3.7-inch VGA display used on the Dell Axim X51v or the latest 4-inch screens. Still, it shows 65,536 colors, and it's rich and bright enough for most uses. One thing we did notice is that you need to press the stylus firmly on to the screen for it to work. Although we miss having a plastic screen cover to protect the display, we like that all it takes to go between portrait and landscape views is holding down the Calendar button for a couple of seconds. You'll find this button, as well as three other customizable shortcut keys--Contacts, Inbox, and Wireless, by default--and the navigation toggle just below the screen. Above the display, there is a power switch, which is flanked by two small LEDs that indicate alerts, battery status, and wireless status.
A quick study, the HP iPaq rx1950 has a standard 3.5mm headphone jack and a stylus slot at the top, as well as an SD expansion slot. The remainder of the design is standard PDA fare, with a voice-record button and a recessed reset button on the left side. Its infrared window is on the bottom near the synchronization port, but to our dismay, the system cuts a major corner by including only charging and synchronization cables and not a full docking cradle. HP sells a $50 desktop cradle, but it lacks the ability to charge a second battery, as is the case with Dell's Axim X51 series. Also included in the box is a soft protective case, a start-up CD, and a user guide.
Features of HP iPaq rx1950
Running the latest Windows Mobile 5 operating system, the HP iPaq rx1950 has many of the features of bigger and more expensive PDAs, including updates to Microsoft's mobile versions of Word, Outlook, Excel, Internet Explorer, and PowerPoint. This means that the rx1950 can work with Word docs that have tables and images, and you can preview a presentation before the big show, although forget about editing the show or playing PowerPoint's embedded audio and video clips. With ActiveSync 4 and Windows Media Player 10 Mobile, the rx1950 is easier to synchronize with a PC and can play all the major audio and video file formats, including MP3, WMA, and WMV. On the downside, this PDA doesn't come with the extra games that Dell loads on its PDAs, but we love HP's Image Zone software, which not only displays images and sets up slide shows but also has a color histogram. HP includes a couple of extra utilities, such as a self-diagnostic test and Pocket Panel Lite, which allows you to check your PDA's battery life, available memory, and backlighting settings right from the Today screen.
Built around Samsung's new ARM-based SC32442 processor, the HP iPaq rx1950 may be slower on paper than just about any recent PDA, but its 300MHz clock speed is deceptive. The system is a strong performer that can compete with faster Intel-based PDAs, but we'll have more on that in the Performance section. Barely the size of a thumbnail, the CPU has hidden extras such as a flash-memory controller and has been designed to reduce lag time by packaging all essential equipment in one unit. There is 96MB of user-accessible memory onboard--64MB of ROM and 32MB of SDRAM--and 33MB of key data can be stashed in the persistent storage area that is immune to a dead battery. Overall, the internal memory is pretty small for such a device, so you'll definitely want to load up on some SD expansion cards.
For wireless connectivity, the HP iPaq rx1950 comes with integrated Wi-Fi (802.11b) for getting online at home, the office, or at a hot spot. The good news is that the rx1950's connection software is simpler and easier to use than the setup for the iPaq hx2790, but we sometimes had trouble establishing an online connection, requiring a restart. After connecting at home, the office, and a hot spot, we found that the PDA had a Wi-Fi range of just 70 feet, about half that of some competitors. Yet more disappointing than the short Wi-Fi range is the lack of Bluetooth. Similarly priced models, such as the Palm TX and the Dell Axim X51, come with both wireless options, and we would have liked to see the same in the iPaq rx1950.
Performance of HP iPaq rx1950
Despite having one of the slowest clock speeds of a PDA on the market, Samsung's 300MHz processor powers the HP iPaq rx1950 to the head of the class, making it one of the fastest devices of its kind. It may run at 300MHz vs. 624MHz for Intel's XScale PXA270, but raw speed isn't everything, because the rx1950 was faster at synchronizing with a host computer than the bigger and much more expensive HP iPaq hx2790. It can churn through data about as quickly as other Windows Mobile 5 PDAs costing twice as much, regardless of whether it's editing an Excel spreadsheet, reading e-mail, or viewing a presentation. Over the course of a week of daily work, the PDA did extremely well, and unlike many of its competitors, the device never got warm. It played music, video files, and images without delay, but the unit's rudimentary sound system is easily overwhelmed and delivers distorted audio at medium volumes.
Battery life was outstanding. In CNET Labs' tests, where we looped a video clip with all wireless radios off and backlight set to midlevel, the HP iPaq rx1950's 1,100mAh lithium-ion battery lasted for an amazing 9 hours, 40 minutes of constant use. That's nearly double the battery life of either the Dell Axim X51 or the HP iPaq hx4700. If that's not enough, the heavier extended power pack should go for about 15 hours of typical use.
Editors' rating
Good
6.8
out of 10
Ratings explained
Design: 7
Features: 6
Performance: 8
The good: The thin and light HP iPaq rx1950 features integrated Wi-Fi and Windows Mobile 5, and it has outstanding battery life.
The bad: Unfortunately, the HP iPaq rx1950 lacks Bluetooth and has low onboard memory.
The bottom line: Light, thin, and ready for just about anything the business world can throw at it, HP's iPaq rx1950 is a strong performer but falls short with lack of Bluetooth and low memory.
Source: CNET
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posted by Clint at 6:04 PM - 0 comments
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Nokia 770 Internet Tablet
You can pull down Web pages on most PDAs, smart phones, and BlackBerrys, but let's be honest: The Web wasn't meant to be shoehorned into a 3-inch screen. Enter the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet, a PDA-like communicator with a wide, Web-friendly screen and loads of multimedia features. Priced at $359.99, it's an affordable solution for anyone who prizes Web accessibility but doesn't want the weight, the bulk, or the expense of a full-blown laptop.
Unfortunately, it won't be long before you're pining for a notebook's speed and versatility--the Nokia 770 runs like molasses and lacks key features such as VoIP and instant messaging. Although Nokia plans to add them in 2006, you'll still be left with a painfully slow device that requires either a Wi-Fi hot spot or a Bluetooth-enabled phone to get online. Ultimately, the 770's only real advantage over a PDA is its dazzling high-resolution screen, but on those merits alone, it's hard to recommend.
Design of Nokia 770 Internet Tablet
The Nokia 770 Internet Tablet bears more than a passing resemblance to a PDA, except that it's designed with a landscape orientation and has the wide screen to match. The unit measures 5.5 by 3.1 by 0.7 inches and weighs 8.2 ounces with its sliding-metal screen cover in place. It's a bit too long to fit comfortably into a pants pocket and a bit too heavy for the inside breast pocket of a sport coat, which otherwise seems like a natural fit, given the 770's slim, checkbooklike design. Ultimately, you may find the 770 difficult to carry anywhere.
The aforementioned cover might seem like an annoyance at first, especially when you realize that it adds extra bulk to the Nokia 770. It's reversible, however, so you can slide it over the backside of the device without worrying about misplacing it. What's more, when you slide it over the screen while the 770 is still on, it automatically puts the unit in standby mode. Slide it off again, and the 770 wakes up instantly--nice. Unfortunately, when you reverse the cover, it blocks access to the stylus silo--a silly and annoying design flaw. Equally irksome, the flat plastic stylus fits only one way into the silo.
The Nokia 770 is almost all screen--touch screen, that is. Its TFT LCD measures 4.1 inches diagonally; by contrast, the display on the Dell Axim X51v PDA measures 3.7 inches. That extra 11 percent may not seem like much, but it's enough to make Web pages easier on the eyes. The real news, however, is resolution: At 800x480 pixels, the 770 can display most Web pages with little or no horizontal scrolling required. The screen renders bright, colorful, and incredibly crisp images, making browsing a much more pleasant experience than you'd expect.
To the left of the Nokia 770's screen, a four-way navigation pad enables one-handed operation--you can use it to hop between links, scroll through lists, and make selections. Below the navigator, Back, Menu, and Home buttons also assist in stylus-free operation. Along the top of the 770, you'll find a full-screen toggle button, which removes all but the nav bar from Web pages; an incredibly handy zoom rocker; and the power button. The 770's USB port, 3.5mm headphone jack, AC connector, and media slot can all be found on the bottom edge.
The Nokia 770's expansion slot is disappointing. Although the 770 seems like it could easily accommodate popular SD media, it instead forces you to use a Reduced Size MMC card. These are not only harder to come by and pricier than SD media but also top out at 1GB. On the plus side, Nokia does supply a 64MB card and an adapter, so you can access it via a standard MMC reader on your PC.
To enter data on the Nokia 770, you can tap-type using an onscreen keyboard or try the handwriting-recognition software. We found the latter fairly awkward, especially compared with the more accommodating systems on most PDAs. Although we could enter standard alphanumeric characters, the engine frequently recognized letters as spaces and gave us uppercase letters when we wanted lowercase.
Nokia's printed manual is terse but comprehensive, covering all topics in very brief detail. Fortunately, we found we could figure out most of the Nokia 770's operations via guesswork. The interface is clean, attractive, and fairly intuitive, though it can be difficult to remember when to press the actual Menu button and when to click its onscreen counterpart; the two buttons launch different sets of menus.
Features of Nokia 770 Internet Tablet
The Nokia 770 may look like a PDA, but it has a decidedly Web-oriented feature set. The device connects to the Web via Wi-Fi hot spots or your Bluetooth- and data-enabled cell phone. This being a Nokia product, the 770 should incorporate some kind of CDMA or GPRS connectivity, but alas, that's not the case. Thankfully, we had an easy time ferreting out hot spots in our area; the 770's internal antenna has excellent range, and the onscreen-connection selector shows signal strength for each discovered network and whether or not it's locked.
Your Web-browsing experience is robust, thanks to the fact that the Nokia 770 employs the excellent Opera 8 Mobile browser, which supports such amenities as JavaScript, plug-ins, and even Flash content. Go to the AccuWeather Web site, for instance, and you'll see animated satellite maps. We particularly liked the various view options; you can zoom in and out, and you can choose Optimized View to have pages rescaled to fit the screen width, with little to no loss of formatting. We just wish the 770 were more adept at saving pages for offline viewing. As it stands, you're limited to saving only the current page; you can't store an entire site.
The Nokia 770's e-mail client offers basic messaging functionality, including support for attachments, custom folders, and both POP3 and IMAP4 accounts. You also can set up scheduling so that the 770 automatically sends and receives mail at designated intervals. Of course, this works only if the unit is either on or in standby mode, and it lacks an LED indicator to alert you of newly arrived messages.
Fans of RSS newsfeeds will appreciate the fact that the Nokia 770 devotes nearly half of its home screen to new posts. You can configure the device to fetch updates at regular intervals or just tap the Refresh button at the bottom of the News box. Alas, adding new feeds is something of a hassle, as you have to copy links from the browser, then paste them into an Add Feed field in the News Reader applet. Admittedly, you can also enter the feed URL manually if you know it; however, we wish the 770 had a more streamlined method for adding feeds.
As much as we liked finding an Internet radio selector on the Nokia 770's home screen, we were disappointed that Nokia provided a link to only one station. It's up to you to find and add other stations, which can be a slow and often frustrating process. Assuming you can find a link to one that's compatible--and there's no way to know for sure if it is without trying it out--you then have to perform the same kind of copy/paste hoop jumping that's required for adding RSS feeds.
As for the audio player itself, it's a fairly basic applet with intuitive onscreen controls and support for playlists, both imported and on the fly. Yet because it doesn't play WMA files--protected or otherwise--you can't listen to tunes purchased or downloaded from most online stores. That's not too surprising, given the open-source nature of the OS, but it does limit the 770's appeal as a mobile jukebox.
On the video front, the Nokia 770 can play AVI, MPEG-1, MPEG-4, and RealVideo movies, but don't count on any software to help you convert your videos to a compatible format. If the device can't play a file natively, you're out of luck; actually, you may be out of luck anyway--see the Performance section for details. As for audio, the 770 plays MP3, nonprotected AAC, and WAV files, along with a handful of other, mostly obscure formats. Curiously, Ogg Vorbis isn't among them, despite the 770's Linux-based OS. But the tougher codec pill to swallow is the lack of support for Windows formats, namely WMA and WMV. That will undoubtedly limit the 770's appeal to some users. At any rate, if you want to listen or view any of these multimedia files, you'll definitely want to load up on those RS-MMC cards, as the Nokia 770 comes with only 128MB of flash memory, 64MB of which is user-accessible.
Inexplicably, Nokia chose not to include any calendar or contact-management features, which might have sealed the 770's place as a suitable PDA replacement. Although it does include basic tools such as a calculator, a world clock, and a sketch pad, productivity just isn't part of the mix. We're also disappointed by the 770's lack of VoIP and instant-messaging features, which Nokia attributes to limitations of the Internet Tablet 2005 operating system. The 2006 version will add these and other services; Nokia plans to offer an upgrade in the coming year, but the exact time frame is unknown.
Performance of Nokia 770 Internet Tablet
Operating the Nokia 770 tends to be a painfully slow experience. Most applications, including the Web browser, took several seconds to load. Even something as simple as closing an application can cause the 770 to pause for a few beats. Things really came to a grinding halt when we loaded a 1MB PDF on the device and selected the Show Images option. The 770 appeared to lock up, but in reality, it was just taking a long time (several minutes) to render the images. If you plan to use the 770 as a PDF viewer, plan to do it with text only.
Similarly, though the browser supports it, don't expect to enjoy much Flash content. The sample animations we looked at ran like slide shows, and the Flash games we tried were just plain unplayable, running at about one frame per second. As for videos, the Ice Age 2 trailer that came preloaded on the 770 played smoothly, but other clips we tried, including low-resolution MPEG-1 files, were noticeably jerky. It's unfortunate that Nokia doesn't specify the optimal settings for video playback, as we could use third-party software to convert clips to the preferred size and format. As it stands, watching video on the 770 is very much a hit-or-miss proposition--mostly miss in our experience.
On a positive note, once a Web page has loaded, you can scroll up and down with almost no delay; the screen refreshes very quickly. Why can't the Nokia 770 be that snappy in other areas? Software could be part of the problem. After receiving our demo unit, we downloaded and installed a firmware update that made the 770 a bit faster overall, though it still wasn't nearly fast enough. With any luck, a future update will boost performance to the point where you don't constantly feel as if you're waiting for the device to respond. Nokia promises 3 hours of browsing time and seven days of standby time from the 770's removable battery.
Editors' rating
Mediocre
4.9
out of 10
Ratings explained
Design: 5
Features: 6
Performance: 3
Source: CNET
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posted by Clint at 9:10 PM - 0 comments
Saturday, January 07, 2006
HP iPaq hx2790
As PDAs increasingly morph into mobile phones and vice versa, the HP iPaq hx2790 stands out by ignoring this technological cross-pollination. By sticking to the basics, it generally does a good job of mixing just enough entertainment potential with its business abilities to satisfy road warriors. Plus, the addition of Windows Mobile 5 arms mobile professionals with even more tools for getting business done while on the go.
On the downside, this PDA lacks the high-resolution screen of competing products, such as the Dell Axim X51v and the Palm TX, and doesn't do images and video justice. The hx2790 is also overweight and chunky, and at $500, it's one of the most expensive PDAs out there. However, if security is of the utmost importance to you, then you can't beat the iPaq hx2790, with its biometric fingerprint reader. Also of note: If you happen to have one of the older versions of the hx2000 series, HP will offer Windows Mobile 5 upgrades in spring of 2006 for $39.99.
The HP iPaq hx2790 picks up where the hx2750 left off and doesn't add any new design features. Built around a sturdy frame and case, it's been designed to take road abuse with rounded corners and protective rubber inserts that offer some extra grip. At 3 by 4.7 by 0.6 inches and 6.4 ounces, the gray and silver device feels good in the hand but is a tad longer and heavier than the similar Dell Axim X51 series. We really like the iPaq's included smoked-plastic screen cover, but it adds half an ounce to the package and doesn't flip all the way over. Alternatively, it makes a cool easel for holding the unit upright if you put it on backward.
Speaking of the screen, the HP iPaq hx2790's 3.5-inch display shows 65,536 colors, but its QVGA (240x320) resolution can't compete with the generation of VGA (480x640) models, such as Dell's Axim X51v, which pump out four times as many pixels. Still, it's bright and rich enough to satisfy most, with easy-to-read text. For those in a hurry, the PDA has four instant-start application buttons just below the screen and a fingerprint reader to help protect data and access to the system. In a month of use, the latter function never yielded to the wrong finger but sometimes balked at opening up for the right one.
For those who like to have their flash memory and use it, this PDA comes equipped with both Secure Digital and CompactFlash expansion slots (located on the top of the device), which accept even the slightly thicker CompactFlash hard drives, such as the IBM or the Hitachi Microdrive modules. A standard headphone jack is next to the card slots, making this PDA a music machine for listening to tunes on the go. Finally, there's a lone voice-record button on the left side. Aside from the aforementioned flip cover, HP packages the hx2790 with an AC adapter and a desktop cradle. More accessories are available for purchase from HP, such as a Bluetooth GPS kit for $329.99 and a snap-on thumb keyboard for $49.99.
Powering the HP iPaq hx2790 is a top-speed 624MHz Intel XScale processor along with 256MB of memory, of which there's 192MB of ROM and 64MB of SDRAM. The device has 144MB available in the fail-safe iPaq File Store. Again, this isn't anything groundbreaking or new in comparison with the HP iPaq hx2750, but that's not to say it's a bad thing, since these components are adequate in getting the job done.
The biggest improvement comes with the inclusion of Microsoft Windows Mobile 5, an evolutionary update to the Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition that was used on the hx2750 model. In addition to enhancements to mobile versions of Word, Excel, Internet Explorer, and Outlook, the machine has a handy PowerPoint viewer. This can turn the PDA into a one-on-one presentation machine after the screen orientation is set to landscape to mimic a monitor. Additionally, HP's exclusive Image Zone program not only displays pictures but also adds a color histogram and a slide-show feature.
Like many other PDAs, the HP iPaq hx2790 comes with both Wi-Fi (802.11b only) and Bluetooth radios for maximum data flexibility. While the separation of the setup screens into Manager and Settings sections makes for some confusion, the software can help you get connected to a hot spot whether you're at home, at the office, or at the local coffee shop. The software for linking to a Bluetooth phone is excellent and easy to follow. Synchronizing data with a host PC works well with the included USB cradle, but the host fails to recognize the hx2790 when connected to a USB hub. Windows Mobile 5 brings an updated ActiveSync 4, which promises easier and faster PC synchronization, but there have been widely reported connectivity problems with version 4. Fortunately, Microsoft has since released ActiveSync 4.1 to fix the issue; you can download the update from Microsoft's Web site.
Battery life and performance were solid. In CNET Labs' tests, where we looped a video clip with all wireless radios off and backlight set to midlevel, the HP iPaq hx2790's 1,440mAh lithium-ion battery lasted for 5 hours, 22 minutes of constant use, about an hour more than the hx2750 and the Dell Axim X51v and 5 minutes short of its iPaq hx4700 cousin. It should be just enough for a full day of stop-and-go computing. A $130 double-capacity battery pack should make it possible to leave the AC charger behind for two-day trips, but it adds another ounce to the hx2790's already ponderous weight. Although there's an occasional delay in reacting to commands, the hx2790 generally worked well in a variety of uses, from e-mail machine to iPod replacement to video viewer.
Editors' rating
Very good
7.4
out of 10
The good: The HP iPaq hx2790 boasts Windows Mobile 5, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and a fingerprint reader for added security. The PDA also performed well in CNET Labs' tests.
The bad: The chunky and heavy HP iPaq hx2790 has a low-resolution screen compared with its competitors, and it's expensive.
The bottom line: The HP iPaq hx2790 is a PDA for those who are looking for a traditional, businesscentric approach to ultraportable computing and don't mind paying for it.
Source: CNET
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posted by Clint at 5:21 PM - 0 comments
Dell Axim X51v
Over the past year, Dell has earned a reputation for producing some of the best PDAs on the market--first with the high-performance and the recently discontinued Dell Axim X30 series, then with the versatile Dell Axim X50 series.
Now, the company is out with the new Dell Axim X51 series. Although these Pocket PCs keep the same design as the X50 series, they have plenty of new features. They come with a more robust software bundle and are the first stand-alone PDAs to run the Windows Mobile 5 operating system. Unfortunately, the X51v suffered from subpar battery life and sluggish performance in our tests. That said, with everyday, casual use, the Axim X51 series--the high-end Dell Axim X51v ($499), the middle-of-the-road Dell Axim X51 ($399), and the entry-level Dell Axim X51 ($299)--includes very capable PDAs that should fit the needs of consumers and business users alike.
Design of Dell Axim X51v
When it came to the Dell Axim X51v's design, Dell decided to go with the philosophy of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." The Axim X51v's styling is nearly identical to the X50's, keeping the sexy black and silver color scheme and aesthetically pleasing rounded edges. The X51v is just a hair thicker than its predecessor (4.7 by 2.9 by 0.7 inches and 6.2 ounces), but it won't weigh you down. It's also a solidly built device that's comfortable to hold, and we like the rubberized backside cover for better gripping.
The star attraction on the Dell Axim X51 is undoubtedly its 3.7-inch VGA screen. Thanks to a 640x480-pixel resolution and a 16-bit-color output, you'll enjoy sharp text and images, and there's continued support for landscape and portrait modes. Below the display are your standard shortcut keys to Calendar, Contacts, Inbox, and Home, plus a four-way navigation toggle with a center Select button. Although we criticized the Axim X50 for its diminutive toggle, by now we're used to it, yet we still caution users with bigger fingers. A speaker, a power button, and a status LED line the top edge of the PDA's face.
It's easy to access many of the Dell X51v's features with a click of a button. Aside from the aforementioned shortcut keys on the front, there are two buttons on the left spine that activate the voice recorder and wireless connection. There's also a hold button, which is always appreciated, since it prevents any unnecessary battery drain if the device is accidentally turned on. On the top of the Axim X51v, you'll find a 3.5mm jack that accepts Walkman-style headphones, dual CompactFlash and SD expansion slots, and the stylus. The handheld's battery is user-replaceable, and you can swap out cells by unlocking the sliding battery-release lever on the back.
Dell provides all the basics to get you started. Accessories in the box include a soft protective case, a desktop-synchronization cradle, a power adapter, and a companion CD. The cradle has an extra slot for charging a second battery, which is nice. A high-capacity cell is available for $99 and promises to double battery life. Other optional accessories are available, such as a GPS navigation system (Bluetooth or wired), a Bluetooth keyboard ($99.95), and a presentation bundle ($49).
Features of Dell Axim X51v
The Dell Axim X51v's biggest makeover is in the features department. Some elements remain the same, though, such as the 624MHz Intel XScale PXA270 processor and the Intel 2700G graphics engine. Also, there's still 16MB of dedicated video memory and 64MB of SDRAM, but the really good news is that Dell bumped up the flash ROM from 128MB to 256MB, 192MB of which is user-accessible. This, coupled with the dual expansion slots, amount to ample storage space. Another thing that helps is the addition of the Windows Mobile 5 operating system. The new OS has built-in support for persistent storage, so when the battery drains completely, your data remains intact.
With Windows Mobile 5, Microsoft also swapped out Pocket Word and Pocket Excel in favor of a new Office Mobile Suite that includes Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, and PowerPoint Mobile. Yes--PowerPoint. Although you can't edit slides, you now can view presentations right on your PDA. We gave it a whirl, and we were impressed not only with the ability to watch slide shows but also with the various options. You can skip directly to specific slides, change the orientation, and choose playback options, such as loop, turn off/on animation, and zoom in/out. The last option is particularly handy, since a thumbnail of the slide is presented in the lower-right corner of your screen. What's more, you can choose particular spots on the page to zoom or automatically go back to the full slide. Unfortunately, these tasks seemed to take a lot out of the Axim X51v, as there was a noticeable delay in response time (see Performance). As for the other applications, Word Mobile now supports documents with embedded images and tables, plus Excel Mobile handles charts. We put these applications to test, and while the experience was not ideal, given the size of a PDA's screen, we were able to open and view tables and charts in all our documents.
On hand to sync your PDA with your PC is the updated ActiveSync 4. It allows for easier and faster synchronization, but be sure to pay attention during the installation process. You first must install ActiveSync 4 from the companion CD before ever connecting the Dell Axim X51v to your PC; otherwise, the wrong driver will load, and your computer will not detect the PDA. Also, there have been a number of reported problems with ActiveSync 4, such as partial synchronization and dropped data transfers--Microsoft will issue an update in late November to resolve the problems. In the meantime, you can find troubleshooting tips and more information on Microsoft's Web site.
If you're wondering about the Dell Axim X51v's multimedia capabilities, here's the dish. The Pocket PC still features Windows Media Player 10 Mobile, so you can listen to your favorite WMA, MP3, and WMV music files and view album art. Plus, Windows Media Rights Management 10 gives you access to audio and video content from subscription services, such as MSN Music, Musicmatch, Napster, and Wal-Mart Music Downloads.
he Dell Axim X51v comes with built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, which can run simultaneously. As mentioned before, you turn on the wireless radio with the shortcut key on the left spine, but you are now required to press the button twice--once to turn it on and once to confirm your selection. The status LED will blink blue and green to let you know wireless is on, as will two icons--signal bars and the Bluetooth logo--that appear in the lower-right corner. The Axim X51v comes with the Bluetooth 1.2 stack, so now there's support for more multimedia accessories, such as stereo Bluetooth headphones. You can check your Wi-Fi configuration, network strength, and more via Dell's WLAN Utility.
While the Dell Axim X50v didn't impress with its lackluster software bundle, the X51v is a completely different story. The companion CD comes with a plethora of useful and fun applications, including Battery Pack Lite, Calligrapher, Resco File Explorer and Picture Viewer, and eWallet. We particularly liked Battery Pack Lite, which installs a handy toolbar across the top of your PDA's screen and displays your battery life, memory status (internal and expansion card), and screen brightness. It's nice to have all this information immediately accessible, rather than having to go through various menus. The X51v also continues the tradition of being packaged with a gaming bundle; titles include Geo Rally EX and Toy Golf.
Performance of Dell Axim X51v
Overall, we were disappointed by the Dell Axim X51v's performance. It scored below our expectations in CNET Labs' tests, but that said, we're finding this to be a common problem with all the new Windows Mobile 5 PDAs. This may be in due part to the more demanding operating system and unchanged processor speeds from previous models. The PDA responded sluggishly to taps of the stylus and lagged when multiple applications were running in the background.
Also, while the new and improved battery-management feature of Windows Mobile 5 supposedly lengthens the battery life, this wasn't the case for the Dell X51v. Playing a looped video clip with all wireless off and the backlight set to high, the X51v lasted only a little more than 4 hours, which isn't bad but is definitely not spectacular either. By comparison, the Dell Axim X50 and the HP iPaq hx4700 lasted an hour longer. However, since our tests are designed to drain the battery in the most intensive way, this score translates to about 7 or 8 hours of real-life usage.
The news isn't all bad. The Dell Axim X51v offers a great 3D look with beautiful icons, menus, and buttons. Plus, it offers great wireless performance. Its built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth worked flawlessly in our tests, and we were able to connect access points and Bluetooth-enabled devices with ease.
Editors' rating
Very good
7.4
out of 10
Ratings explained
Design: 8
Features: 8
Performance: 5
The good: The sleek Dell Axim X51 series boasts Windows Mobile 5, integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, dual expansion slots, and a user-replaceable battery.
The bad: With its less-than-stellar battery life, the Dell Axim X51 didn't perform up to our expectations.
The bottom line: The Dell Axim X51 series offers a nice combination of features, but we were disappointed by the subpar battery life.
Source: CNET
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posted by Clint at 5:06 PM - 0 comments
Palm Z22
Although the technology world focuses largely on the latest features and the flashiest design, there are many consumers who don't need or want all the bells and whistles. With PDAs, this means stripping away the wireless connectivity and multimedia features and going back to the core function of a handheld: organization. And this is exactly what the new Palm Z22 does.
Targeting first-time handheld users, parents, and students, this $99 device has no tricks or gimmicks. It organizes your most important data--contacts, appointments, and so forth--and lets you view photographs, but that's about it. It's even more basic than the company's previous entry-level model, the Palm Zire 31. Still, if you're ready to graduate from your day planner to a PDA, the Z22 is a good start.
The Palm Z22 is absolutely adorable. Showing off a sporty white and midnight blue color scheme, it's probably the smallest and lightest (2.7 by 4.0 by 0.6 inches; 3.4 ounces) PDA we've seen, and it slips easily into your bag or pocket. Yet, we worry about the durability of the plastic casing (think iPod Shuffle) and screen, which tends to hold a lot of fingerprints and smudges. We recommend you invest in a protective case or, at the very least, screen overlays to prevent scratches. Palm is offering a two-pack of Flexi cases with four screen protectors for $14.99.
Speaking of the screen, the Palm Z22's 2.5-inch-diagonal screen displays thousands of colors, but with its low 160x160-pixel resolution, the viewing experience is a little painful. Images and text just aren't as sharp as those of other PDAs, but you can improve the situation a bit by adjusting the contrast and holding the PDA farther away. We also noticed that the touch screen isn't particularly responsive. Oftentimes, we had to tap an icon numerous times in order to call up an app or maneuver around the display. Below the screen is the virtual Graffiti input area, as well as shortcuts to the Home Page, Menu, HotSync, and Find functions. Additionally, there are two shortcut keys to your Appointments and Contacts, as well as a four-way navigation toggle with a center Select key. Finishing out the Z22 are a mini-USB port and a stylus holder on the top, as well as a lone Reset button on the back.
The Palm Z22's feature set is bare bones, but you get the staple Calendar, Contacts, Memos, and Tasks applications for organizing your most important data. Within those programs, you can customize your data even more. For example, you can designate your Personal and Business appointments by color-coding them, plus you can add photos to your contacts. The Z22 also syncs with Microsoft Outlook for e-mail. With 32MB of memory--20MB of it user-accessible--the PDA can hold about 6,000 addresses, 10 years' worth of appointments, and more. You also get an expense-tracking program, a world clock, a notepad, and a calculator. Palm provides a couple of fun extras, including a game called Crazy Daisy and an eBook reader with three complete books: The Duke and I, Never Eat Alone, and Smoke and Mirrors. Unlike with the Zire 31, however, you can't listen to music on the Z22, but you can carry and view photos individually or as slide shows.
The Palm Z22 is powered by a 200MHz processor that delivers smooth operation with no real noticeable lag when switching between programs. Palm says the Z22's rechargeable battery can last up to one week with casual use. We've been using the Z22 for about four days on a single charge, and the battery indicator says we still have about one-quarter of the charge left.
Editors' rating
Good
6.2
out of 10
The good: Light and compact; 32MB of memory; lets you view and store photos; affordable.
The bad: Low-resolution screen; touch screen isn't always responsive; doesn't play music files.
The bottom line: The Palm Z22 provides an affordable, very basic, and easy-to-use PDA suitable for first-time buyers and technophobes.
Source: CNET
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posted by Clint at 5:04 PM - 0 comments
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