Design:

The Palm Centro is almost a slenderised version of the Treo, as it has lost its bulk significantly. Its dimensions are better now,(H x W x D) 4.2 x 2.1 x 0.7 inches, and it has obviously lost its weight and now weighing just 4.2 ounces (119 grams). It is considered as the smallest PDA phone that is ever released by Palm to date. It has come out in two vivacious colours along with Black viz. Olive Green and Vibrant Rose. It fits into your palm easily and its smooth case makes it better for handling. Its 320 x 320 Transflective colour touch screen makes it look very cute and easy to handle. The QWERTY Keyboard is a new feature and the keys are gel-soft and very nice with good sensitivity to touch. It also has customisable side buttons for easy access to your options and the Menu button is at the bottom of the keyboard. The headset jack, the microphone and the Connector are all respectively from left to right, at the bottom of the handset.

Features:

The Operating System:
Unlike the palm Treo, the Palm Centro PDA Phone has very distinctive features that reduce the gap between the Palm and other well established and powerful companies like Nokia and HTC. As usual, it features the unique platform or operating System, the Palm OS, made by ACCESS 5.4.9. This is a different OS and also a useful one. It has a good Bluetooth connectivity, which is must faster than the Treo’s.

Documents to Go Professional Edition:
The Documents to Go Professional Edition, version 10, is a new feature that helps you in handling your documents faster and with more efficiency and is especially very useful for the business people and executives. With this particular feature, you can create and edit documents such as Microsoft Word and Excel files. You can also PowerPoint presentations and can open and read PDF files.

Interesting Add-ons:
Microsoft Direct Push Technology is provided for the delivery of Microsoft Outlook Email as it receives. There are thousands of add on applications available for download and use. Another feature that is very interesting is that the Palm Centro smartphone can be used as a modem to connect your laptop to the high speed network. This serves as a very good purpose particularly when you are travelling.

Internet Applications:
The most attractive features are the ones that involve the celebrated internet applications like Facebook and Google. The Facebook for Palm, is a software feature that allows you to get instant access to Facebook and helps you connect and share with your people. The Google Maps is another very useful application that helps you locate the places in the world. These two are the most important and the excellent features that came with the Palm Centro. The HotSync is a giant application that supports data synchronisation from your mobile at a faster rate. You can also visit Yelp, Flickr and many more with the Centro. There is an Email facility for accounts like Gmail, Yahoo and AOL. It also provides you with the download section that takes care of your downloads from the internet. The Sprint Mobile Email allows you to send and receive Emails very quickly even while you are on the go. This is a very crucial feature that is useful to all the executives.

Instant Messaging:
Instant Messaging or the IM facility is very much useful in being in contact with your dear ones. This comes with a chat style view that makes the messaging much more lively than ever. Instant messaging is possible with Yahoo, AIM and Windows Live Messenger.

My Centro:
The My Centro option is a unique feature that has an array of new options for you to explore on. The Quick Tour option enables a quick look at the working of your phone. This is very useful for the first time users as they need to adapt to the new software. The five way navigator enables easy access to multiple options at a time.

Watch TV and Shop online:
You can also shop online for anything and then helps you in managing your buying options very effectively. The Sprint TV is an additional feature that can be used to view the TV programs on your mobile. After you install the software, then you can avail this facility. The Blazer 4.5 is a web browser that is quick enough. The Sprint’s EvDO network seems very nice as browsing became very easy with this option.

Other features:
The Nuance Voice Control option makes subtle changes in the voice of the speaker and can give the impression of a different person speaking. The Pocket Tunes Deluxe has all the tunes and the ringtones that make your phone sound melodious. The world clock feature shows you the time around different parts on the globe. Last, but not the least, the dual-band Radio plays you the radio from different local radio stations.

Performance:

The performance is good and certainly a lot better when compared with Palm’s previous versions of PDA mobile phones.

Call Quality:
When we speak of the Centro, the first thing that we are reminded of is the Call quality. The Call quality is excellent. It can be compared to that of a landline phone. It has been tested and both the speaker and the receiver sounded great to each other with excellent quality. So, there are no problems at all with the Centro, when it comes to the Call quality.

Speed:
Also, the CPU or the processor, Intel X Scale PXA270, is fast enough with 312 MHz frequency. It works with both CDMA 2000 (3G) and GSM networks. The internet connection is fast and the browser is quick enough and very seldom, it encounters a problem.

Camera:
The 1.3 mega pixel digital camera, with 2x digital zoom facility, performs well even in dim light circumstances. It can give you good video and picture quality. All the pictures and the videos that are taken can be stored in the built-in memory card of capacity of 128 MB. You can also use any other memory card, if you want higher storage capacity. You can separately buy a 4 GB expansion memory card. A microSD card is supported by the phone.

With all the features mentioned above, the Palm Centro performs well and its performance has filled in the gap between it and its competitors.

Palm Centro Battery:
The battery is Lithium ion of 1150 mAh. The battery is removable and replaceable. It has a life of up to 300 hours for standby mode and up to 3.5 hours of talk time.

System Requirements:
For the process of synchronisation, you must have a desktop or a laptop system that meets the requirements. Your system must have an operating system that is either of Windows XP, Windows Vista or Mac OS X v 10.2 – 10.4.

Warranty:

The customers are provided with a warranty of up to 2 years from the date of purchase.

Verdict:

This is a great opportunity for the people who want a good PDA for a low cost. The Palm Centro PDA is amazingly low when it comes to cost, just $99. So, it is very cheap and valuable. You cannot otherwise imagine a good PDA phone for such a low price. It also has a wide range of applications that are very useful. The features are fine and appreciable. The performance is up to the mark. The Bluetooth connection has minimum problems. The Facebook and Yahoo facilities are great. The Palm Centro is currently the rated when it comes to the internet traffic. The Call quality and the voice clarity are excellent and on a par with the best in the business. The web browser is fine and very interesting. The Palm operating system might be a new encounter to many but it is easy to adapt and simple to use. The touchscreen display is very good and the battery life is okay. Many say that the battery life is lower than many other PDA phones, but for such a cheap amount, you cannot expect for more. The minuses are that the keyboard is too small for an average hand. The PDA does not look that stylish. It lacks that ‘wow’ factor in it and when compared to the design of the other companies in the market like Nokia, HTC and a few others, it looks a bit toy like. The phone lacks a very good speaker. There is also no Wi-Fi in the phone and it is definitely going to cost to Palm. On the whole, even though it costs cheap, it can be bought due to its unique features. It will do a world of good to the mediocre businessmen.

Check 2010 latest PDA Reviews, other Palm PDA Reviews in this website.

Palm Centro PDA - Technical Specification Details

Pros:
1. Numeric Keypad for Text input
2. Bundled Car kit
3. Loads of useful business oriented applications
4. HSPDA Connectivity
5. Convenient Power Switch
6. Amazing Processor speed and hence, great performance
7. Excellent battery life.
8. Hardware lock

Cons:
1.    Camera lacks a flash
2.    An ordinary design
3.    Shutter lag in camera
4.    No Bundled maps for GPS
5.    Bulkier than the average common Pocket PC
6.    Low RAM

Review:

Asus, the Taiwanese company, is an active player in the Windows Mobile smartphones. It lags behind the leading player of the market-HTC.  Asus is not as prolific as HTC; it still has a couple of PDAs in its portfolio. Its main differentiator since the My-Pal devices is the inclusion of GPS. It launched the flagship model – the Asus P750 in the already crowded scene. However, Asus has made sure that the model is not dropped defenseless. It is a Windows Mobile 6 Handheld with HSPDA, a 2.6″ TFT touchscreen, an amazingly fast 520 MHz Marvel CPU, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, stereo and a 3 MP Autofocus camera. Sounds good enough to take on HTC branded devices. But one might re-consider buying the phone due its recent entry in Windows Mobile.

The Asus P750 smartphone caters to users looking for a full featured PDA which can deliver business and GPS functions. It also has its own weaknesses-an average screen diagonal and absence of a FM tuner. It does not have direct competitors even in the HTC league. However, the i-mate Ultimate 8150, the HTC Touch Cruise, the Gigabyte GSmart i350 and the E-TEN glofiish X800 are its rivals.

Design:

Dimensions and Built:
The first impression one gets about the P750 is its well designed in looks and has similarity to some Nokia N series mobile phones. The P750 has a solid built and weighs about a 130 grams, that is 60gm lesser than the HTC TyTN II. Its dimensions of (H x W x D) 113 x 58 x 17.4mm makes it a compact phone in the PDA segment. The P750 is made up of brushed metal on the front and the matt black plastic on the back. The metallic keys give it a distinct high-end feel. Around the display is the brushed metal and above it are the video call camera and the stylishly designed earpiece grill, reminiscent of the Nokia 6500 classic and the E-ten glofiish X800. The coat is wear resistant and the tip of the navigation button is rubber-ized. The stylus is of telescopic design and overall, the phone is ergonomically designed.

Keypad:
Perhaps the most appreciable part of the P750’s design is its well designed keypad. It does not have a QWERTY keypad, something that is initially difficult to adjust to, but a great form factor. Usability however suffers due to the lack of backlighting on the metallic keys of the front row. Apart from this flaw, the rest keys on the keypad have a strong backlighting. Above the screen is the status indicator which changes from colour to colour indicating either battery charge or GSM activation. Below the Display are the joystick navigator, a numeric keypad and a quite number of other shortcut keys including the OK key and the ModeSwitcher key. The P750 lacks a thumbable virtual keyboard, so the stylus comes very handy. The keys might appear to be a bit crowded however they are good to type with. We at PDA reviews, faced a small minor gripe with the ‘2’ button. It required more force to depress than the other buttons.

On the left of the phone are a jog dial button and a shortcut for voice recording. On the right side of the Asus P750 Pocket PC are a GPS antenna slot (to plug in an external GPS antenna for better reception) and a slider that allows you to put the handset in standby more by just sliding it upwards and locking it by sliding it downward. Any accidental press on the keypad brings the device out of the standby mode, so make sure it is locked. But perhaps, the un-noticeable advantage of the slider is the fact that you can lock the keypad in whichever application you use, unlike the other phones, which can be locked only from the homescreen. On the right side of the phone also have a power switch, a camera shutter and a MicroSD slot. The base of the phone has a mini USB port and an audio connector.

Display:
The Size of the Display screen of the Asus P750 GPS PDA is 2.6 inch, smaller than the current standard of 2.8 inches. It has a QVGA resolution of 320 x 240. However, there have been reports of unlocking the display to work in true VGA mode. TFT Technology powers the screen. The colour depth is 65k and the image quality is high. The image dearness and the view angles are better than the P525. Yet the maximum brightness is not very high, which makes it difficult to read it in direct sunlight. This a common issue with most PDAs. The sun resistance is not ideal either.

Interface:
The Asus P750 Smartphone offers a Standard Windows Mobile interface minus the 6.1 upgrade. It does not have anything akin to the TouchFLO of HTC, it has the ASUS Launcher. The upper line has service indicators like the Signal quality, battery meter or GPRS/Wi-Fi etc. The lower line has the contextual button functions. The Default main window shows the current day, the service provider, the messaging stats, the tasklist, the personal data of the owner and the indicator area. It can be varied as per your wishes. The Desktop can feature a custom picture or a photograph. On the main desktop, the start menu contains a list of apps installed on your PocketPC. The Settings options let you alter a variety of settings of your phone.  The Phone has 2 kinds of menus – the quick access and the main menu. To activate the quick access menu press the start button.

The main menu is a windows styled window with icons and app names. The window can hold up to 12 icons per screen. In lieu of a Task Manager, there is a status app that gives you an overview on the CPU Frequency Mode, The USB Mode (Card Reader or ActiveSync), the brightness, the battery, the memory and Storage. In the Interface, the ModeSwitcher application deserves special mention. It gets activated when the ModeSwitcher key on the keypad is pressed. This brings up a row of 4 shortcuts to some features like changing screen orientation and a running tasks switcher.  The last app is the Asus P750 is the Backup which allows a full backup which can be restored later if needed.

Features:

Connectivity:
The P750 features Tri band GSM (GSM 900/1800/1900), Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 b+g), Bluetooth V2.0+ EDR, USB 1.1 and a built-in GPS antenna and is the first one from Asus to have HSDPA connectivity. So, theoretically, it can hit speeds up to 3.6 Mbps whereas it is usually much lower and depends on the quality of your operator’s network. The Triband GSM radio allows you to roam without a problem. Apart from these, the usual fare of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi allows the user to remain connected with the world. It lacks an Infrared port but there are other options available. So, the Asus P750 is good at what Pocket PCs are actually all about-connectivity. The Wireless Manager is standard. The first one deactivates all the communication modules and the next one handles Wi-Fi , Bluetooth , Phone and Data.
Business Applications:

The various business functional applications include UR Time, Meeting Time Planner and Newstation. With “Ur Time”, one can set up to four different countries. “Newstation” provides news and blog updates through RSS settings. The Meeting Time planner makes meeting scheduling more efficient than ever. AutoCleaner function ensures that your applications are properly closed and free up space and memory for other functions. Perhaps the most interesting business feature that the Asus P750 has is the Business Card Recognition which allows you to capture all details of a business card without the need to input the data into your phone.

Travelog:
One interesting feature of the Asus P750 PDA GPS is Travelog. It allows users to record and share their travelling pictures, routes, Points of Interests (POIs) and schedules. Using Google Earth’s satellite maps format, users can create a journal of their journeys and put snapshots and loads of tidbits about their travel on their blogs with ease. Travelog also provides data like height from the sea level and etcetera. The in-built GPS antenna supports TMC (Traffic Message Service) allowing users to get real time traffic updates and help them avoid those nasty traffic jams. The GPS Catcher feature allows you to update satellite data quickly providing accurate location for navigation on the move. With the GPS Catcher feature, the P750 is able to update satellite data quickly providing the map with the route for your destination.

Location Courier:
The Location Courier feature of the P750 Handheld PDA will also help prevent users from ever getting lost. The Location Courier feature of this PDA reports the user’s position in terms of co-ordinates to predefined contacts preventing them from ever getting lost. Yes, even in large vast open countries, making this PDA the best safeguard for their daily safety.

Lack of Pre-installed GPS Maps:
For a GPS handheld the most important application is maps. The P750 does not come with any navigation software/maps bundled with it. So, the cost of buying those maps adds on to the price of the P750. It has Garmin Mobile XT trial version which is ok to use. When installed with third party software such as the iGo, the SiRF Star III GPS worked like a charm. The lock speed was delightful and the positioning was accurate even in dense city streets.

Intuitive Contact List Search:
Another useful feature that the P750 features is the way it searches for contacts. Just by typing the name on the keypad, all contact names with that combination show up. Users can also preset up to 99 contacts and quickly dial by holding on to the keypad numbers. All of this can be done using the jog dial making it easily operable by a single hand. Each contact has the last call field to it which displays the number and the time in which the last call was made to that contact. A full log including calls to and from numbers, call duration and time of call is available.

Memory:
The P750 has a RAM of 64MB – a disappointment for many. The ROM of 256MB is quite sufficient for basic functionality. The memory card slot is the micro SD standard, which is a universal variant. The maximum card capacity is 4GB. There have been reports that the 64MB RAM can be upgraded to the 128MB by simply replacing the BGA chip with an aftermarket one.

Camera:
For a PocketPC Camera, performance is not usually a high priority. The Asus P750 has a 3 MP auto focus shooter. It offers a nice and well laid menu with features including scene modes (auto, night, and sports), self timer, Burst mode, Colour effects (normal, black & white, negative and sepia) and Geo-tagging. You can modify the white balance, brightness, contrast and saturation. The Asus P750 has let us down in terms of image quality. Its low quality lens makes the images softer on the edges. It fails to reproduce fine details and over sharpens the scene. It lacks a protection cover for the camera, so one has to be as careful as possible. The camera also lacks a flash and a mirror for self shooting. Pictures up to a resolution of 2048×1536 can be taken and videos up to a resolution of 176×144 can be shot. Overall, it is pretty much an ordinary camera.

Performance:

The ASUS P750 runs on the Marvell PXA270 CPU which operates at a frequency of 520 MHz. It is a huge improvement over its previous predecessor and poses a huge challenge to its competitors. The PXA270 core provides a high performance. However 3D profiles in Java are not supported. All the applications we have tested run without a hassle. Even when one runs multiple applications, not much of performance degradation happens.

Accessories:

Along with the Asus P750 is provided a sync and charge cable, a stereo hands-free kit, a user manual, a CD containing essential software, a pouch, a wall socket charger, a spare stylus and the 1300mAH battery.

Battery Life:

The Asus P750 GPS System runs on a bulky 1300mAh which has a reasonable run between charges. Claimed to run for 6 hours talktime and 240 hours on standby mode. It runs for 2 days on moderate usage. A Full charge managed to support the GPRS for a whole 6 hours before running out. The processor speed can be altered to conserve power with four settings available: Turbo, Standard, Power Saving and Automatic mode. In Automatic mode, the P750 was able to play music nonstop from a microSD card for over 12 hours. The battery life is significantly much better than the HTC Diamond which had battery inadequacies.

Battery life:

The Asus P750 is provided with a warranty period of a year.

Verdict:

Asus have outdone all their previous models. The P750 Pocket PC is a wonderful example of business phones that are feature packed and are available in the mid-price segment. It is chunky and the hardware design could have been much tidier. However there is no denying that the Phone is one of the best to be released this season. It has a multitude of buttons which means you do not really need to use that stylus often. It has connectivity features like Bluetooth, WI-Fi, GPS and Edge. It has a great processor and a long lasting battery life. Its features bundled along with some impressive software make it an excellent multi-function handheld.

Asus P750 Handheld PDA - Technical Specification Table

With the Bold 9000, its maker Research in Motion hopes to create as much as a furore as the iPhone 3G. Let us see if it has the features and performance to create the same.

A stylish Blackberry:

The Bold 9000 is a flat handset that sits comfortably in your palms. Though it is heavier than the other Blackberry handsets, this one has got a much cleaner and a stylish look. Bold has managed to achieve this look with its smart silver magnesium alloy trim around its circumference with each of the lines of the qwerty keyboard separated by silver lines. When Bold 9000 is viewed from the front, it look very flat, and the keys do not protrude like the ones on the Blackberry 8800 series.

A great keypad:

The first thing that strikes you as soon as you see the Bold 9000 is that, “It seems to be too wide”. This width is in fact advantageous to the phone in various areas. For instance, this allows RIM to offer you with a full QWERTY keyboard and a larger, wider display. We have already praised the keypad of Nokia E71 a lot and the keypad of Bold 9000 is as good as that one. The spacing between each of the keys is just the right amount and since the keys are raised at one edge, they can pressed very easily and distinguished too. Typing can be very fast. RIM’s own tests proved that Bold’s QWERTY keypad had the highest typing rate of all qwerty sets. The faux metal border surrounding the keypad and screen is not as good as the metal casing that is found in Nokia E71.

Impressive display:

Not only is the keyboard awesome, the display is also a very impressive one. The LCD screen of Bold is not touch sensitive and feels much durable than Pearl’s screen which had a tough plastic coating. Over all, it is smart, classy and much more desirable. It has an upgraded half VGA 480×320-pixel resolution and the ability to display 65,000 colours. It is Bold, sharp and colourful. The display is the ideal one for watching videos and checking mails. For now, the Bold 9000 is available only in piano black.

Navigation:

For the sake of main navigation, there is a track ball that is similar to the one in Blackberry Pearl. This trackball had always been both plus and minus because, while some people feel comfortable using it, some of them feel that it is very fiddly. However, it works well and all the irritation is only till you get used to it and once that is done, the pearl like navigational device makes searching through the long lists and going through menu very straightforward. As with most of the other Blackberry handsets, Bold 900 also has got the voice command hardware button that is very easy to use. On pressing it, you will hear the “say a command” voice, after which you can say your smartphone what to do.

Bold 9000 - A unique rear design:

Traditionally the Blackberry sets come with leatherette cases and as a difference, Bold 9000 smartphone has its 2Mp camera and video capture unit in the rear is covered by mock leather. A Blackberry logo has been embossed on its back and we are quite sure that it is not a coincidence that Apple also has a central distinctive silver logo on back of its iPhone. We agree that it is unfair to make design comparisons between Blackberry and iPhone. Bold is said to have been planning the design for three years. In fact, the Bold resembles the smartphones of Motorola and HTC more than the Apple iPhone.

Headphone jack:

RIM does not disagree on the fact that most of us prefer to use our own headphones than the ones that come with the box and hence, it has kindly equipped Bold 9000 with a 3.5mm headphone jack. The only issue here is that it has been put on the side of the phone, top or bottom would have been desirable.

Beautiful interface:

The interface of Blackberry has never been interesting and hence, we have never been a fan of it. But RIM has made a very wise move by redesigning it, the Blackberry OS 4.6. The naff icons on the white and the signature background image of highway disappearing over the horizon are all gone and an array of neon symbols has been introduced and they look, kind of cute. Initially it has got six function icons that include lock, email, contact book, calendar, web browser and GPS navigation. And on a translucent bar on top of the display are, time, date, phone network, connection status, battery life and signal strength. All of these are customisable.

RIM has provided you with the option to customise your own feature set. By pressing the Blackberry button, you can move, promote and demote items from the main display and then create a mini taskbar of your frequently used applications. It does not stop here, there are numerous predefined and user assignable shortcut keys you can create. We studied that Blackberry’s policy is to apply all innovations introduced on one generation of handset to successive models.

Upgraded with new features:

We had literally cursed RIM for not including many features like HSDPA and Wi-Fi in the other previous Blackberry models. But Bold has come out as an answer for everything. Though RIM has introduced these features in its models quite lately, they are perfect. These features offer high speed email and internet access anywhere you go and with GPS, you will be able to locate yourself accurately. The GPS facility included works well when you are outdoors, but does not do a great job when you are indoors. Blackberry maps will be very handy while navigating around your town. You can even send your location to your friends and help them find you. But the Google maps that you can download from the net do a better job.

RIM has improvised Bold from the other blackberries on various notes, the best is giving it a speedy processor of speed 624MHz. It delivers that amount of power that is required for a busy smartphone. The Bold does not lag in any of the applications like accessing the web or while using the GPS.

E-mail and browsing:

BlackBerry Bold 9000 is one of those smartphones which does not compromise in its service quality. It is one of the most exhilarating experiences to use the IM, Internet, Email and you can always remain connected.

Setting up the email is not a big deal in the Bold 9000. It is very straightforward depending on your requirements. If you do not intend to use it to access your company mail id, then you can always make use of the Blackberry internet service to setup a variety of mail accounts that includes Microsoft exchange too. Attachments are also supported. The bright backlighting of the handset ensures that there is a clear contrast between the text and background. The internet browser of Bold is easy to use too but the absence of a flash player is disappointing. The web browsing using the 3G connection is quite good. Still, the graphics heavy web pages take a while to get loaded while less bandwidth-intensive furniture like site logos and headers appears quickly.

File Management:

The Bold 9000 features WordToGo and SlideshowToGo with the help of which you can use MS Word and MS PowerPoint to its best. You can also copy, paste and adjust the font size as you work. The extremely colourful LCD display is a pleaure to work with. The streaming capability on this smartphone is built-in and helps to have fun with the online videos or musical broadcasts. You can browse and access info without making use of the phone inbuilt memory.

Personal Organizer:

The Organiser of this smartphone is the Phone Book which allows you to store numerous contact details in its memory, the Calendar allows to make appointments and important things to do. This also features an alarm clock and a task list manager which allows you to lead a well calculated and planned schedule for your day.

Multimedia:

Another important point to note about the BlackBerry Bold 9000 is its media management and playback credentials. RIM has enlisted a respected audio/video software specialist Roxio to come up with a media manager that helps you identify and categorise your photos and music.

The multimedia utility is real fun and frolic with the Bold 9000 3G smartphone as it is with its’ precursors like BlackBerry Pearl or the BlackBerry Curve or the 8800 series. This smartphone is one which entraps the user with its integrated music player and the business options as well. The user is exposed to immensely rich audio and video playbacks which can be transferred or downloaded as personal choice.

Music player and supported formats: The music player of the smartphone is good. It supports several formats and more than just usable. The BlackBerry media synchronization allows transfer of desktop iTunes to the mobile. The videos are explicitly vivid in colour clarity and displaying the sequences as the music files are rich in sound. Individual playlists can be created which is easy to save and playback. The headset can be plugged in or the Bluetooth stereo can be accessed. Multiple activities like replying your emails while you enjoy your music at the backend can be done. With the internet connectivity logged into, you can watch your favorite news channel or any other clippings while you wait on other activity.

DivX and some xVid video codecs are supported, as is WMV (Windows Media Video) and H.264. For audio, the Bold can play the key formats of MP3, AAC and WMA9/10.

The speaker phone is very loud indeed. This is very handy for hand-free and conference calls. But the tinny quality that a majority of the loudspeakers have can be sensed in this one too.

Camera: The 2 megapixel camera that RIM has equipped Bold is not impressive. The photos taken in daylight were not good enough and with just a LED photo light, the night shots were also not impressive enough. Quality of the photos is just enough to share some funny moments with your friends via MMS, but do not expect them to look great when they are viewed in a PC.

Battery life:

Blackberry Bold 9000 has a standby time of 10days and talktime of four hours. Using the Bold like every other average user, it lasts for a day before it needed a recharge, which is not bad keeping in mind the usage of HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), Wi-Fi and GPS.

Warranty:

RIM offers Blackberry Bold 9000 one year standard warranty.

Verdict:

With the introduction of Blackberry Bold 9000, RIM has proved that it is cared about the changing trends of the market and the changing interests of the business men. This is a great phone and we recommend that you will have to try it, even if you are already having any other type of Blackberry it is a great choice for a PDA. The Bold 9000 will be the ultimate choice for those who want something different from Apple iPhone and Nokia E71.

The Blackberry Bold 9000 is available for free on contracts with several networks such as Three, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone.

Read reviews of Pearl 8120, Pearl 8100 in our website.

Blackberry Bold 9000 - Technical Specification Table

The Hewlett Packard iPAQ H2210 Pocket PC has been designed with a mobile professional in mind. This model boasts to be having a lot of pluses. It is the first model to have been released with dual expansion slots that includes integrated CompactFlash Type II and Secure Digital and it is also the only mobile to have used the then released Windows Mobile 2003. Though this model is not as slim or affordable as the HP iPAQ H1940, the H2210 has got a lot more of other attractive features.

Compact body and a great display of H2210:

As we said earlier, though the iPAQ H2210 is not as compact as its predecessor, it is not big too. It has its dimensions to be (H X W X D) 4.3″ x 3″x 0.6″, weighing just 5.1 ounces. The PDA HP iPAQ H2210 is in fact lighter and slimmer then the original iPAQs that did not have any expansion slots. This model has a top-notch transflective, 65,000-color, TFT display of resolution 240 x 320. This display is particularly very impressive as it seems to be brighter than the ones found in of Toshiba’s e330 and e335 models. While used indoors, the white background has very less grey and while outside, you will be able to read the text without any problem even in bright sunlight.

Buttons and ports available:

Below the screen are four quick launch buttons and a directional pad. The power button is available on the top of the device and there is a LED just behind the power button that changes colours (green/ orange and blue) depending on the type of alert that it is sending. Out of the two lights, one is blue that indicates Bluetooth and the other notifies device alerts and when the power adaptor is being connected. The power button is small and slightly inset and is very easy to press and get the device activated. The top of the PDA has the highlight feature of the Pocket PC, the dual expansion slots to which you can slide in a CF I or II or SD card and SDIO cards. The bottom of the device only contains a sync connection port, no separate power adapter connection.

Similarities with the Dell model:

Though HP claims that the iPAQ H2210 Windows Pocket PC was under development even before the Dell Axim X51V was released, it is hard to stop thinking that the two models are illegitimate cousins. And one of the main reasons for thinking so is that, both these models have a black rubberised side panels that prevents the device from slipping out of your hands. However, we have to confess that the H2210 looks better than the Dell X5.

Responsive joystick like button and the absence of a recording button:

HP has managed to incorporate some unique design features into the iPAQ H2210. It has a very responsive joystick like navigational button that gives a true feel of a joystick rather than a four way navigational key. No dedicated button is provided for voice recording memos, it has to be activated from within the notes application. However, this is definitely not going to be a worrying factor for most of the users as the record button is hardly used and it usually has a habit of being accidentally activated. The iPAQ can be connected both via sync cradle connection or via the integrated Bluetooth.

The cradle and protective cover:

The package contents differ slightly form what you get with its predecessor. It includes a cradle and canvas protective cover. Another major advantage is that since iPAQ H2210 Pocket PC PDA has the standard headphone minijack, you will be able to use whatever headphone you want without having to buy an extra adaptor. The cradle is elegant, eye-catching as usual with HP devices. There is no decorative neon inscription like those Dell and Asus have, but you can charge the device and a spare battery at the same time. It is relatively light but rock stable on the desk. The USB cable offered is short and it would have been better if it was long enough. The protective case is somewhat strange. It is not the usual case but a simple folding pocket made of a tough material, sewed together on the sides with rubber. The Pocket PC fits in well and basic protection is guaranteed. But the worst part is that, the stitches inside a quite sharp and so that the sides of your PDA might get scratched after a few days of use.

Memory and processor of iPAQ H2210:

When it comes to features, apart form the additional expansion slots, this model is quite similar to its predecessor. It has got 32MB of ROM to include the new Pocket PC 2003 OS and 64MB of RAM, out of which only 56MB can be made use of by the user. The most wanted Bluetooth is available. And on the side of differences, this iPaq H2210 uses the 400MHz XScale processor, and you do get consumer-grade IR, which allows you to turn the device into a programmable universal remote control using the included Nevo application. We feel that the allegedly more energy-efficient 266MHz Samsung processor could have done a better job than the processor that has been employed.  Though the 400MHz PXA255 processor that is employed is said to be the fastest processor in the current market, the Samsung version is equally speedy and energy efficient too.

Nevo remote control application:

Beyond the above mentioned Nevo remote control application, you cannot expect much in terms of the software extras. The Nevo application is a truly multifunctional remote control. You can define any number of devices, separately for each room. Even though there is a huge number of presets for TV sets, VCRs, DVDs, amplifiers and other infrared controlled devices of different makes, many are missing. The programme includes a learning mode which will be very handy. The Pocket PC OS 2003 has got more embedded applications than that of the OS 2002. The usual assortment of demos and the full suite of Microsoft applications like pocket Microsoft office, internet explorer, reader, streets and windows media player are available for your use.

iPAQ Backup:

Some of the other notable applications includes the iPAQ Backup which is a diagnostic toolkit that allows you to test your device and Peacemaker, which is an application that negotiates communication between pocket PC and Palms. iPAQ Backup is an advanced solution for backing up data and programmes. You can choose what you would like to back up, which databases, files and registers. You can also choose to compress and/or encrypt the data or exclude some types of files. As a cherry on the cake, you can tell the programme to back up your files at a specified time or when the battery power decreases to a set level.

Image viewer application:

HP has also included an image viewer application, another one comes with the OS and the OS also has a very addictive gaming application called the jawbreaker. Well, it is nothing exceptional as it simply displays all pictures in a folder and you can choose pictures to view in their real size or create a slide show, which can morph one picture into another using several effects.

Video and Audio:

HP iPAQ H2210 Pocket PC runs video smoothly and the audio quality is also quite good, which might have been improved with the upgrading to Windows Media 9. The iPaq audio control panel acts as an equaliser and using this, the bass and the treble levels can be adjusted.

Battery and its life:

Another good feature of  HP iPAQ Pocket PC H2210 that is worth mentioning is that, this model has removable batteries and so, you will be able to swap an extra cell when required. But unlike the H1940, the H2210 is not compatible with the older iPaq expansion sleeves and accessories. The battery life of the model has very respectable numbers. With the background light set to 50%, the device lasts for 4hours and 24 minutes and plays MPEG video for a little more than three hours.

Package contents:

The package contents include a HP iPAQ h1940, Li-Ion battery 900mAh, AC power supply with an adapter for direct charging of the device, a cradle with a USB cable, a protective case, a CD-ROM with Outlook 2002 and bonus apps, a coupon worth 5 points for iPAQ Choice Software, a quick start guide, a warranty card and a few leaflets.

Warranty:

HP offers the HP iPAQ H2210 Pocket PC one year limited warranty.

Verdict:

The HP iPAQ H2210 Pocket PC does not have anything really bad in its pockets. Its dual expansion slots, great transflective display, Bluetooth, consumer grade IR, removable battery, and its ability to double as a remote control for home theater gear are all its major plus points. With so much to offer, they is no reason why we must stop you form getting one in your pockets.

You may also be interested in reading reviews of HP Compaq iPAQ H3970 Pocket PC, Toshiba e405 Pocket PC.



Technical Specification details of Hewlett Packard iPAQ H2210 Pocket PC

No change with the design:

Having HP Compaq iPAQ H3970 switched off, it can be easily mistook for the previous model as they look virtually the same. It has a plastic enclosure that imitates metal. It has got metallic buttons and a black crown. The Pocket PC is relatively wide having its dimensions as, 3.3” x 5.3” x 0.6” (W X H X D) inches. This wideness is an advantage as it helps in giving a good hold and there is also a small bump on the left side of the PDA, where the thumb lies, which further enhances your grip to the Pocket PC.

Excellent display:

Most of the front area of the PDA is occupied by the display of about 96mm diameter. Compaq iPAQ H3970 possesses a TFT transflective display that is not only huge, but also amazingly bright too. The screen had a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels and supports about 65K colours. The colour, brightness, contrast, everything that is up to the right level as it should be, as it is quoted in a classic, “White is really white and Black is really black“. The display will be bringing a great deal of joy for the passionate gamers. Its predecessor suffered with the too dark scenes but the H3970 is simply perfect.

The touch layer of the PDA seems to be perfect too. Even the corners can be controlled precisely and they are sensitive to the right proportion too, this is one of the areas in which most of the PDAs suffer to show a good performance. Setting the display is straight forward and easy. Apart from the backlight adjustment feature, iPAQ also offer you with smooth manual adjustment for battery and mains operation. Overall, the display features of Compaq iPAQ H3970 are excellent.

Buttons and controls:

Under the large display lies the navigational pad along with four soft buttons. The crown of the PDA sports a mike, main switch, speaker, two LED indicators and a light intensity sensor that automatically adjusts the backlight of the display according to the brightness of the surrounding. The backlight adjustment though is not that accurate, it still exhibit’s a great improvement when compared with its implementations in the previous models. When the lighting conditions change, the backlight intensity does not change immediately but has a gradual and pleasant smooth transition. The blue LED is used to indicate the activities of the Bluetooth and the other green and orange LED indicates the status of the PDA such as charging or calendar event notification etc.

Other controls:

There is not much to say about the sides of the HP Compaq iPAQ H3970 PDA. The right side is empty where as, the left side has a sound record button, that can also be assigned to do some other functionality. The design of the device has been done such a way that it should be held in left hand. The top has much interesting things to talk about. Apart from a microphone, it also has a stereo headphone jack, stylus shaft and a SD slot. The bottom of Compaq-HP iPAQ H3970 Pocket PC has a reset button and two connectors out of which the smaller connector is used to connect cables, external keyboard, cradle and other accessories and the bigger connector acts as a system bus connector that connects with various types of jackets. The bigger connector is a solution that offers a wide range of expansion possibilities.

Expandability options:

Since HP Compaq iPAQ H3970 Pocket PC has the same dimensions as that of its predecessor, all of its accessories such as the expansion packs, keyboards, cases etc are all compatible. Though there are wide range of expansion possibilities, they are too costly. For instance, Compaq has not included the support for CF slot and the additional jacket will solve this issue. One of the major drawbacks is that, even the thinnest available jackets make the H3970 quite thick.

Set of features:

HP Compaq iPAQ H3970 is of the H3900 series which inherited most of its features and characteristics from its predecessor, the  H3800.

Applications:

The ROM has several new and innovative applications. The task manager, iTask looks the same as the predecessor but has four points higher. The backup utility offered works slightly better than what was previously available. The user will be able to select backup options from a very extensive list such as databases, individual files, registry, place of backup etc. Options are also offered to choose if the file has to be compressed or encrypted, whether to exclude executable and DLLs and even whether to store backup info in a .LOG file. Most importantly you get to choose backups once, daily or weekly, a very appreciable feature.

Picture viewer and Infrared control:

There are two more unique features included in HP Compaq iPAQ H3970 Handheld PDA . A simple picture viewer with slide show feature is available. Though this is not a miraculous feature, it is most welcome by those who have the habit of viewing photo from time to time. The other one is a neat infrared control that is compatible with home appliances, TVs, DVD players etc. This functionality offers immense capabilities and allows you to configure a set of control for each room, each person. The database of the application has a preset for a wide range of appliances. In case any of the appliance that user wants is not listed, its specification can be downloaded from a specialised website.

On the side of technology:

The HP Compaq iPAQ H3970 had the best possible technology that a Pocket PC can possess at the time of its release. It runs using the Intel PXA250 processor which is also known as the Xscale that runs at a speed of 400 MHz. But one of the major dents involved is that, since the system and applications in the PDA are not optimised in a such a way to be operated by the processor, the overall speed of the PDA is much lower than you would actually expect. Unlike some of the other Pocket PCs in the market, you will not be able to control the speed of the processor by yourself as the system takes care of everything by itself. An upgrade in the OS can be expected, having a flash ROM of 48MB. The model without Bluetooth feature has only 32MB of Flash ROM.

Storage facilities:

HP has included an excellent feature in the Compaq IPAQ H3970 that would make it possible for you store any of your most sensitive data in the available 48MB of ROM, which remains even when the PDA completely runs out of battery. You will be having around 22MB of storage space that appear in the PDA as iPAQ file store. Contact information and calendar data can also be stored in here as it will remain even after a hard reset. The operating memory has a sufficient capacity of about 64MB out of which you will have 63MB for your use.

Communication features:

The wide range of communication features of the Compaq iPAQ H3970 gives it the high end tag. Having the support for USB and serial communication, it allows for synchronisation of data with a PC. If you want to eliminate the fuss of the cables, you can also make use of infrared to connect to desktop, mobile phones or any other PDAs. It has a speed of 115.2Kbps which is more than sufficient for most of the basic functionalities. In addition to these, Bluetooth is also available which has a data transfer speed of 20KB/sec. Actually, the Bluetooth functionality works much faster but here, the speed is limited due to the way the technology has been implemented.

Audio quality:

The audio quality from the speaker is nothing less than excellent and it proves to be of a quality that is above the range of what is expected out of a PDA category. The MP3 playback is great and the sound recorded in the built-in mike sounds great too. The output from the headphones do not lag behind at all. The user can experience clear and undistorted audio without even a hiss, even at the high levels of volume. The advantages does not stop here as HP has equipped the Compaq iPAQ H3970 with an option for bass and treble adjustment for the headphone output, which is again new and a unique feature for a Pocket PC. The microphone is one of the most sensitive ones that we had ever encountered in any PDA. When recording, the iPAQ H3970 produced excellent results which is not only because of the high quality of the microphone but also because of an utility known as the AGC, Automatic Gain Control which automatically adjusts the level of recording.

Applications that come in the CD:

As in the case of the other Compaq PDAs, the iPAQ H3970 also has got a set of applications on an accompanying CD. Apart from the demo version applications that can even be downloaded from the web, some of the other applications included are, iPresentation Mobile Converter LE, WordLogic, Quick View Plus, Bust’em game, Conduits Pocket Watch and F-Secure FileCrypto.

The package contents:

The package mostly remains to be the same as H3800. The package contents include the HP Compaq iPAQ H3970, a cradle with a USB and serial connector, a pseudo-jacket ,  charger, reduction, a spare stylus which has become a standard, CD-ROM, user guide, a warranty card and a leaflet with a code. The pseudo jacket offered is to protect the display, it is a jacket with a transparent flap which we feel is quite inconvenient. The inconvenience is that, the device cannot be held comfortably and is difficult to write over the display, we feel that a leather case would have done a better job. A reduction is included for charging iPAQ outside the cradle. The cradle has got traditionally two connectors, USB and serial respectively.

HP Compaq iPAQ H3970 comes with one year warranty.

You get to choose the applications:

As mentioned in the package, you get a leaflet with an automatically generated code. When you visit the website mentioned in the leaflet, after registration, you will be prompted to enter the code and once the code is entered, you would get to choose up to five commercial applications for free. This gives the users more of flexibility and is certainly better than someone choosing a set of five applications, burning it in a CD and including it in the package. Not everybody will like all the applications that are included, by this way, the users get to choose what exactly they want.

Battery:

Having mentioned that the display is very bright and the battery is the same 1400mAh that was available in the previous models, you might be thinking that the battery life will be a nightmare. But that is not true, the battery performance is great too. Compaq iPAQ H3970 is capable of playing a full MPEG movie on a loop for about three hours. Some of the devices offer a backup battery that protects your data for weeks even if your mobile is kept completely switched off for weeks. But, iPAQ lacks one. It rather uses something else to protect and retain the data. That is, if the battery drops beyond a level, the Pocket PC does not switch on and makes use of the remaining power to secure the data until a recharge is done. Though this is a common feature that can be found in all the devices that do not use a backup battery, the difference Ipaq has made is that, it allows the user to set that critical level. If the critical level is decreased, you will be able to use the very last drop of battery.

Verdict:

The HP Compaq iPAQ H3970 Pocket PC is one of the best pocket PCs in the market. This mobile has no notable weaknesses. The display is excellent, not to say the audio. The iPAQ is just on the correct path. Some minor tweaks made in the PDA has made the PDA a high end device. It has something to offer everybody. We certainly recommend it.

Read reviews of HP iPAQ 214 Pocket PC, HP iPAQ 114 Pocket PC in this website.



Technical Specification Details of HP Compaq iPAQ H3970 Pocket PC

Palm had finally made up its mind to integrate WiFi in one of its handhelds, named Palm LifeDrive in May 2005 but the happiness of seeing wireless features was not long lived once we found that the cost of Palm LifeDrive cannot be digested. And then latter, the same year, it released the Palm T|X PDA with both WiFi and Bluetooth and this device had proved that, if a device has premium features, it is not necessary that it has to have a premium price tag. Along with the wireless features, it has a long list of other features that makes it a good competition to its rivals like Dell Axim X51 and HP iPaq rx1950.

After Palm reacquired the rights to the ‘Palm’ brand name, The TX and Palm Z22 Handheld PDA are the first new models they introduced. In that way, Palm then dropped the ‘Tungsten’ sub brand name, highlighting the strong Palm name brand.

PDA design:

The design of the Palm T|X Handheld PDA is very similar to that of its predecessor Palm Tungsten E5 except for the colour theme used. On a fast look at the device, you will tend to think that the device is black, but it is not so, the PDA is having a midnight colour scheme. This Palm handheld feels very sleek and compact, having its dimensions as, 4.7″ x 3.0″ x 0.6″ (H x W x D) and weighs just 5.2 ounces. It is just slightly larger and taller than the Tungsten E2. It is both shorter and thinner than the LifeDrive.  Though it is not as solid as Palms some of the previous models, it is having a reasonable built quality.

Display:

Palm T|X PDA is having an amazing display which is a 4-inch Transflective TFT display of resolution 320 x 240 pixels and supports more than 65,000 colours. The text and pictures displayed are very sharp and clear. You can also have fun with the display by customising the PDA with a lot of colour themes. You can do a lot of operations such as switching between portrait and landscape modes, switch on the FM radio, and bring up the virtual keyboard in just a tap of a button with the help of the toolbar that lies in the bottom area of the display. The 4″ rectangular display takes the majority of the front area of Palm TX. The sides of the PDA are smooth and the edges are well rounded.

Buttons and ports:

The main control panel lies just below the display which provides you with shortcut keys for Home, Favourites, Calendar, Contacts and Internet. The square like, main navigational pad is available in the center. The power button and the stylus holder sits on the top. Overall, the layout is spacious and logical. On the side of connectivity, a memory card expansion slot and a standard 3.5mm headphone jack are available on top of the device. SD expansion slot, which unfortunately lacks a dust cover. A port for the AC adaptor and USB ports can be found in the sides, but since they are placed very close to each other, you fill find it difficult to make use of both the ports at the same time. In case you want to reset you Palm T/X, you will find a button at the rear of the device that you will have to press with the help of any sharp device.

Processor and memory:

Palm T|X Pocket PDA is having a good deal of features. It is very easy to configure and setup the device. The device runs in the 312MHz Bulverde Intel processor. The processor is fast and you will not be able to see much of lagging in any of the areas. The operating system used is Palm OS 5.4. This PDA is having a non-volatile flash memory of 128MB out of which you will be able to use 100MB. This amount of memory will be more than enough for jotting down the details of ample number of contacts, but if you are planning to have any multimedia files like MP3 music and images, you will certainly need more memory, which you can expand with the help of the memory expansion slot. The memory expansion slot of Palm T|X can accept a memory card of 2GB capacity. And since the memory is non volatile, you will not be having any fear of loosing any information at any cost.

Wi-Fi:

Though Palm had introduced the WiFi late, it has done its job efficiently. It make connections with the web swiftly and the process is not complicated at all. All that it needs is a couple of clicks and your job will be done. It automatically starts up the connection and shuts it down automatically too, thus saving on battery life, while the Blazer browser does a fine job of reformatting websites to fit the screen. Web pages with simple text and images will get loaded in a matter of seconds but the ones with heavy graphics might take a while though. It is annoying to have to view cached pages by default and can get confusing when browsing and surfing the Internet. Although you can change the configuration, somehow it seems to revert to the default, maybe that happens after synchronising again and again. The second wireless option, that is, the Bluetooth connections are as efficient as that of the Wi-Fi connection. All the manipulations such as connecting, pairing, sending and receiving files, all can be done without any trouble.

Features related to Wi-Fi:

The advantages of having the WiFi does not stop with this, a free service called the Avvenu gives you remote access to your computer at work or home and allows you to share content with others and upload data. Though the service is free, you will have to download the Avvenu agent into your computer and then set password for the sake of security. You can also enter encryption settings in order to have enhanced security. For having more fun, you can also subscribe to MobiTV, which is not free though and watch live television on your handheld. This service allows you to have up to 10 channels that runs at 24fps.

Features:

The other features that are included in the Palm T|X PDA Handheld are, DataViz’s Documents To Go 7 and VersaMail 3.1 for professionals who can work on the go. The Documents To Go application allows you to view and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Desktop Synchronising that includes updating software and files using your PC to load and update files are residing in the PDA and has no problems. Graffiti 2 writing software is included to input data into the handheld and writing down using the stylus is fast and accurate for hand writing recognition.

The VersaMail 3.1 has support for eight email accounts such as, POP, IMAP, APOP, or ESMTP and hence delivers emails to you. Since VersaMail works with Exchange ActiveSync, you will be able to connect directly to your company’s exchange server.

Some of the other essential miscellaneous applications included are, Quick Tour, Calc with Advanced mode, Calendar, Card Info, Contacts, Dailer, Expense, Favorites, HotSync, Media, Memos, Note Pad, pTunes, SMS, Solitare, Tasks, Blazer web browser and World Clock.

Multimedia:

For the sake of multimedia entertainment, Plam T|X Wireless PDA has Pocket Tunes, with wich you will be able to listen to your favourite tunes and podcasts. The formats supported by Pocket Tunes include MP3, WMA which requires the deluxe edition, PCM WAV and Ogg Vorbis. Ogg Vorbis is an open-source codec, that means, no one has to pay licensing fees when it is used, unlike codecs such as MP3, WMA, or AAC. Many focus groups claim that music files compressed by the Ogg Vorbis codec sound better than those created with commercial codecs. This kind of format has the extension OCG. You will also be allowed you create and edit play lists, shuffle your play list and even customise the theme, skin and look of your player. You can create slide shows of your photos and give a musical background to it. The video and music playback are clean and smooth. The sound quality and the volume levels were very impressive too.

Audio:

A mono speaker is available in the rear of the device which is just adequate for the purpose of gaming and alarms. MP3s can also be played via this speaker, but we feel that, if you could invest on a headphone, that will do a good job providing you a better experience. As in the case of the T5, the TX also does not have vibration support or even LEDs for indications and the worst part is that, it still uses the old fashioned pilot 1000 alarm sounds for calendar. The absence of microphone is disappointing too.

Battery:

The battery used in the device is not user replaceable which is disappointing, but it is the long life lithium ion. On heavy usage the battery might last you for five hours else, it might give you up to ten hours. The device has a lot of battery and power saving features incorporated in it. For instance, if not used for 3 minutes, the TX goes into hibernation, hence power saving.

Package:

The package of the device includes a flip cover that attaches itself to the left side of the device and protects its screen and facia from any accidental scratches. But we would suggest you to get a complete protection, may be a full size case. Apart from the flip cover, the other contents of the package include an USB cable, an AC adaptor, a user guide and an installation CD. The CD is a very useful one as it is bundled with a number of software and some interactive tutorials. You also have a number of optional accessories on offer that includes Bluetooth GPS navigational system and Palm’s universal wireless keyboard.

Verdict:

The integrated WiFi, Bluetooth, the large and bright display and good battery life: all these features makes it hard for us to not recommend the Palm T|X PDA. And the most important of all, it offers wireless solutions at an affordable price. But, if you are a casual user and if you are not in any real need of WiFi, then you can choose Palm’s Tungsten E2.

Check other PALM PDAs, reviews, specification details in our website.



Palm T|X Handheld PDA - Technical Specifications, Features

Since the announcement of the iPhone, there was a lot of hype and talking about it all over the world. It seemed as though it was the only phone that was available and peoples dignity lied in getting hold of it. Some people are still wise enough to even see what the other manufacturers have got in their bags. Apple’s front running rival HTC is considered in this review. We are taking a tour through the iPhone like PDA of HTC which is the HTC TyTn II, otherwise called as, the HTC Kaiser or HTC P4550. This is the successor to the TyTN, which was otherwise called as the varioII or Vodafone v1650 or Orange SPV M3100. The Kaiser was released after a lot of speculation and rumours, now, let us have a look if it is strong enough to pose a threat to the iPhone.

Some tweaks with the design:

The design of the Kaiser is very much similar to its predecessor, but when you have a closer look at the phone you will be able to find significant changes and upgradations made. The HTC P4550 Kaiser Smartphone is having a slimmer dimensions than its predecessor, that being (H x W x D) 110 x 58 x 18mm and weights 160 grams that is, 16 grams lighter. Though it is nowhere near the slimness of the Blackberry 8800, the Kaiser is not a pocket bulgier too. A difference with the HTC P4550 that can go un-noticed is that, it opens form the other side which means, opening the phone with your right hand will be easier but if would want to hold the smartphone in your left, you might feel uncomfortable.

Tilting display:

HTC TyTn II Pocket PC is having a 2.8″ display with a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels resolution. The  display is clear and bright and also does not suffer from the yellow colour cast that has been common on earlier devices. The screen once extended, to reveal the keyboard can also be tilted upwards. The tilting screen is just more than a gimmick as it can be of great help when you are browsing and typing emails. Since the screen can be tilted to any angle between zero to 45 degrees, it is less prone to reflections and you can view it in a way that is comfortable for you.

Body architecture:

The bottom of the HTC TyTn II Smartphone has a microSD card slot that has a complete plastic dust cover. You can also find a External USB connector for syncing or charge and audio. Next to that a reset button and the space for the stylus. The right side of the PDA has the power and camera buttons. And on the left a scroll wheel along with OK and voice notes button. The rear side of the device has the loud speaker and the camera too and the built in GPS is indicated by a large rubber cover over the external GPS antenna socket. In order to insert a SIM card you have to slide the keyboard open and then look on the rear of the screen. Under a flap you will find the SIM card slot.

Fun with keyboard:

The keyboard is a sliding QWERTY keyboard which is quite good. The keyboard itself is great fun to use as you can here a jingle, each time it is opened and closed. The keys are well laid out and very easy to type on for its font size. The numbers and some important symbols can be typed in quickly with just a flick of the function key. A dedicated period key is the most welcome part. There are a pair of soft keys just above the keyboard that allow you to access the main menu any time you with without having to reach the touch screen. You also get a couple of indicator LED’s that show you the Caps and Function status. The keys are back-lit but the back light turns on only when the conditions are fairly dark which saves you more power. The clickable scroll wheel is of great use both in the portrait and as well as in the landscape mode that allows you to navigate through the menus with a great deal of ease. On the front of the TyTN II you will find the five way navigational pad, a couple of soft keys, send and end phone buttons, an IE button, Email button, Windows Button and an OK button. The overall set-up looked like a baby laptop.

The interface:

The windows mobile home screen has an attractive control pad with a big digital clock display along with the weather forecast for your chosen location. The shortcuts for your favourite contacts and applications is also available. Thumb driven scrolling and panning to other applications is possible with the help of the TouchFLO. This allows you to scroll down without using your stylus or using your nails to reach the corner of the phone to get hold of the skinny scroll bars. You will not find the 3D cube on the TyTN II and no gesture based swipes across the screen as these both require a more sensitive touchscreen technology.

Camera:

The camera has been upgraded to a three mega pixel one but still it lacks flash or self portrait mirror. Though the 3 mega pixel sounds to be not a lot, we must keep in mind that this is just a PDA. The pictures are quite good when in outdoors but without the flash, you cannot expect much indoors or in low-light areas. The auto focus is available that allows you to take even the smallest shots with much detail.  There is a front facing camera available for 3G video conferencing. You will not need the self portrait mirror as you are having the front-facing VGA camera.

Robust features and performance:

On top of GPRS, the HTC Kaiser also features HSDPA and 3G for lighting speed browsing if the GPRS does not work that fast for you. Being a quad band phone, you can use is virtually in any part of the world. The inclusion of the GPS is another significant improvement over the original TyTN. The GPS included allows you to choose from a range of navigation software packages including the Wayfinder or the Telmap or even the CoPilot. Its function is good enough that you can also use it as your in-car satellite navigation system. When you enter Comm Manager or look through the settings menu and programs list there is little to give away the fact that the device has built in GPS. There is no definitive GPS on/off switch, you simply enter a GPS enabled application and things should start to work.

As with the Touch, the HTC P4550 Pocket PC applies HTC’s proprietary TouchFLO, thumb-driven interface to the standard Windows Mobile 6 installation. You cannot expect the TouchFLO experience to be the same as the HTC Touch, as this is a somewhat cut down implementation of the technology. Though this does not worry us much, up- gradation is what we are all looking forward to and not any cut downs. The best of the TouchFLO’s features are included though. The HTC P4550 remains powered a 400MHz processor, but this time, by Qualcom and not Samsung as is the case in the original TyTN. The phone cold-boots quickly, wakes up from standby instantly and applications generally launch without undue delay the difference in the speed is much noticeable. There is a pause for a couple of second when you flip the mobile from portraite to landscape mode but that pause is not long enough to make to loose your temper.

The standard internal memory provided for the Kaiser is 256MB, after you load it with the email and contact information, you will be getting around 120MB for the files and 66 plus MB for your applications.

The USB headset provided is nothing more than awful. And the PDA also lacks a standard 3.5mm headphone socket.

Battery:

The battery life of P4550 is quiet good. You will be able to get around three days on occasional usage with a single charge, but if you play your MP3 then, this rate degrades significantly.

Box contents:

The TyTN II comes in the standard black HTC package. The box contents include the PDA itself, Suede effect case, Mains Charger, USB Sync/Charge cable, Application CD with ActiveSync, Sprite Backup, GPRS Monitor and TomTom 6, ExtUSB hands free headset, Battery, Clear screen protector, Spare Stylus, Manual and a getting started guide.

Verdict:

The upgrades that HTC has made form the original TyTN is pleasing and has really worked hard over it. The Kaiser offers you almost everything that you would expect out of a smartphone. Its design, GPRS, 3G, HDSA and GPS features are very appealing. The tilting screen adds the style factor and is a great device for messaging. If you are very fussy with the camera, then you might be disappointed.

HTC TyTn II Pocket PC, having such good features, if you are trying to get hold of one without on contract with any of the mobile phones, then you will have to pay a very dearly cost. Just try to get hold of it on any contract that suites you. We are happy with the features and performance of the PDA.

Check other latest PDA Phones,  Best selling Pocket PC Reviews in this website.



HTC P4550 Kaiser Smartphone/Pocket PC - Specification Details

Nokia E71 is the successor of Nokia E61 and was released after a long wait. The long wait shows the efforts of the engineers of Nokia’s total dedication in making the phone simply a gorgeous device.

Design:

It looks fantastic, slim and everything else that represents the word “stylish”.  Nokia E71 PDA Smartphone has a chrome trimmed front which is flat and the screen seems to almost have a mirror finish and has a metal finishing to its rear. Unlike its predecessor, it is extremely slim, slimmer than the Apple iphone. It slips easily into your pocket and can go un-noticed. Being thin and compact, we cannot find a single thing that Nokia has sacrificed to make it attain that form factor. A slip case also comes along with the phone, it does not have much impact over the “slim factor” of the phone. But, having a metallic finish means, it is a finger print magnet.

Great keyboard:

Ergonomics is very important in design of any gadget and Nokia E71 has not failed to give its best in ergonomics too with its remarkable engineering. Stuffing all the keys in a narrow chassis but the point is in making it usable. Nokia E71 PDA Phone has done just that. The key-pad has a rubbery feel which adds grip to the typing and the keys are slightly domed in order to increase the ease of typing. The layout of the keys are very sensible. It does have the QWERTY style and the most commonly used symbol keys such as period, @ and comma are placed in such a way that they can be accessed instantly without holding on to the shift key. The nice white backlighting on the key-pad is very helpful while reading.

Predictive text is included, which you might be thinking is not necessary for a QWERTY keyboard. But, this works in a different way and still being helpful as is with the case of the iphone. If you were typing fast and mis-spelt a word, then it would suggest the word and do the auto correct for you. It also helps you save a lot of time. It suggests words for you halfway through your typing and all that you would need to do is, simply hit on the spacebar which would select the suggested word and you can keep moving.

Navigation:

There is no scrolling trackball like the one available in blackberry but the directional pad provided is very easy to use. The control cluster has the directional pad, the four shortcut keys (two each in the either sides of the directional pad), a pair of soft keys and the call and hang-up keys. Though the call and hang-up keys look smaller, it will not be posing any problem while using it. The four shortcut keys are well sized. The middle key also serves as a notification light which glows until you have cleared an event or until the expiration time you had set for the light finishes, in case you had missed any event. It is a good innovation to get rid of the age old annoying status light.

Crystal clear display:

There is nothing marvellous to describe about the display of Nokia E71 Smartphone. It is just a 2.36″ display having a resolution of 320X240 pixels. The display is not a touch screen, yet, the quality is outstanding by being bright and clear with just the required amount of contrast. Since the screen is transflective, it can be viewed without ant troubles even in bright afternoon sunlight. Pictures and video look very clear in the screen. The screen will be particularly appreciated while some heavy browsing.

Memory:

It has an internal memory of 110MB and the expansion slot is provided too. There is a micro SD card slot just above the micro USB port on the handset and hence you will be able to expand the memory of your Nokia E71 to the highest capacity of memory card currently available in the market. The data transfer speed to the memory card over the USB is on par with its previous models.

Connectivity:

Nokia E71 not only supports GPRS, EDGE and standard 3G, but also has full HSDPA support with 850MHz and1900MHz UMTS. For it to be used when you move to any part of the earth, it has the quad-band technology.

The other means to connectivity to external world includes WiFi 802.11 a,b,g, Bluetooth 2.0 and a FM radio tuner.

Having so much of connectivity involved, would you expect Nokia to leave out the GPS? Yes, E71 has an A-GPS (assisted GPS). This uses the location information gleaned from the cell you are connected to which provides a quicker satellite fix. The speed of the GPS is so good that even dedicated satellite navigators do not have. Since E71 has nokia’s own mapping software preinstalled, you will not have to worry about downloading Google maps. It acts like a proper satellite navigator giving you proper turn by turn instructions. But, this is available only for free three day trial after which it requires seven pounds subscription for each month.

Multimedia:

Nokia E71 sports a 3.2 mega pixel camera with LED flash on the rear along with a VGA video call camera in the front.

Similar to its predecessors, Nokia E71 Business Phone has a single speaker in the upper left of the phone but has a better quality than them. It sounds louder and good for ringtones and alerts. Music sounds just fine and not the best as the bass is completely missing giving a tinny sound.

Talking about the call quality, it is an absolute pleasure to make a call in Nokia E71. Being a PDA, it does not compromise as a phone. Nokia, excels as a phone as it should.

Operating System:

Coming to the OS, E71 uses the Symbian’s S60 3.1 platform, which provides you with lightning speed responsiveness. Being speedy, E71 has not compromised on its battery life. It manages to remain speedy with the HSDPA data support having a very decent battery life.

Quick office offers support for viewing and editing office documents, PDA files and ZIP utility. But there is no support for Office 2007.

The visual makeover done for the messaging application looks good. All the texts are presented in a very readable manner and mails look great on the phone.

e-mail support:

Coming to the part of software, it is an E-series device and can it be without email. Nokia E71 is equipped with POP3 and IMAP accounts which are a breeze to connect to. The E71 also includes Nokia’s Mail for Exchange email client by default. This allows you to connect to Microsoft corporate email accounts and receive your push email. You can also sync contacts, tasks and calendar info too. There is no support for Blackberry connect which was offered by Nokia E61.

Browsing:

Surfing the Net is better than with most built-in browsers available today. Pages are displayed in full and, interestingly, the E71’s browser supports Flash and lets you watch YouTube videos, although it seems to be fairly sluggish and the audio streams faster than video.

Battery:

Nokia E71 uses 1530mAh lithium polymer battery. You will get up to four days with a single charge on average usage. It that not completely impressive? But one disappointment is that, you still cannot charge your Nokia handset via USB.

Nokia E71 comes with 24 months warranty.

Verdict:

Nokia E71 has very minor faults, which can be totally ignored. Its beautiful engineering and ample connectivity options are simply mind-blowing. With its good battery life and display, it satisfies the basic needs too.

Being loaded with so much of features, you must have thought that it must be heavy on your wallet too, if that is the case, then you are wrong, it is reasonably priced. And as you must have guessed, yes, it is certainly recommended by us.

Cheap, Best, FREE Nokia E71 Black Deals

Nokia E71 PDA Phone - Technical Specification Details

Cheap, Best, FREE Nokia E71 Grey Deals

Nokia E71 PDA Phone - Technical Specification Details

Cheap, Best, FREE Nokia E71 White Deals

Nokia E71 PDA Phone - Technical Specification Details

Pros:

• Good performance
• Included both WiFi and Bluetooth
• Has dual slots for SD and CF memory cards
• Faster processor
• Better than an average battery life
• Excellent audio and video playback

Cons:

• Bulky and undesirable design
• Absence of hold button
• Very poor outdoor display visibility
• Sans simultaneous usage of WiFi and Bluetooth
• Steep pricing

Review:

Asus was not a familiar name in the PDA industry, as they were known for their motherboards, graphic cards and some other components. The Asus MyPal A716 was one of the first PDAs to use the windows mobile 2003 OS for pocket PC which also bundled along with it, Bluetooth, Wi-fi, support for SD memory cards and compact flash too. Though all these features seem to be an eye-candy, the PDA as such was definitely not one of those kinds.

Bulky design:

Asus MyPal A716’s unpopularity was basically due to its very sturdy and bulky design. This Handheld PDA came in silver coating, a kind of silver that did not give the PDA  a pretty look, that the usual silver coloured phones have. It does have a metal polished finish. Its dimensions were 5.3 x 3.0 x 0.7 inches, weighing 6.9 ounces, with this factual data, you can imagine the bulkiness of the PDA.

Display:

MyPal A716 Handheld PDA has a 3.5 inch transflective LCD screen that supports about 65,536 colours. An irritating fact about the display that cannot be left untold is about its complete blank-out in sunshine. Regardless of the brightness settings of the phone, you will not be able to see anything in the display.

Navigation, buttons and ports:

The navigation is quiet user friendly and would look familiar. There are four programmable buttons that surround the circular five-way navigational pad. They are adequately spaced, which reduces the risk of any miss-press. Towards the left is a small speaker. The power button, as in the case of the other PDAs is located on the top of the phone, which is built in a slightly recessed manner which avoids accidental power up. This feature aids in unwanted charge losses.

There are two LEDs in the top of the PDA in a clear strip of plastic. The green LED glows solid which the battery charge is full and blinks while charging. The blue LED on the top of the PDA that denotes if the wireless connectivity is switched on. It would have been better, if the LED glowed in different colours inorder to differentiate between which wireless had been switched on. A fast IR port which has a maximum throughput of 4Mbps is located on the left side of the pocket PC. The Wi-Fi antenna, the compact flash and the SD slot being on top of the PDA.  If you want to perform a soft reset, the antenna can be unscrewed.

The bottom port allows you to connect the Pocket PC to the cradle or to the PC directly with the help of the included USB cable. The right end of the bottom has small openings for the microphone.

When the battery is removed, a tiny switch will be visible that allows you to switch on or off the internal backup battery. This switch when turned off, will erase all the personal data and would reset the PDA to its defaults.

Initial set-up:

Setting up Asus MyPal A716 Pocket PC is very easy and straight forward. All that you will be needing to do is, synchronise the time, calibrate the stylus and just read the quick instruction manual. The desktop screen would look familiar. The top left corner has the start button, which provides access to the pocket PC main menu.

Processor and performance:

Asus MyPal A716 PDA uses a top-of-the-line 400MHz Intel XScale PXA255 processor, 64MB each of RAM and ROM, and an additional 32MB of flash memory. This handheld has more than enough oomph for PIM (personal information management) and productivity tasks. In fact, excellent graphics and sound make this device a solid choice for gaming, as well. Overall, the A716’s performance fell just short of the Toshiba Pocket PC e805’s.

One of the healthiest feature of Asus MyPal A716 is that, it comes with an Asus backup that allows you to have a backup of your data onto a flash card. This feature makes sure that you do no experience any kind of data loss, which is very important if you are owning a pocket PC.

Wireless connectivity:

The exciting information about Asus MyPal A716 PDA/Pocket PC is that it has both Bluetooth and 802.11b wireless, but the irritating fact is that both of them cannot be used at the same time.

The WiFiME application that is bundled along with Asus MyPal A716 is very handy and gives you a greater control over your WiFi connectivity. The signal strength if the WiFi connection is displayed on the top corner of the screen, which can be used to access the menu. The menu offers you options for renewing your IP address, search for access points and also view some statistical data. When the WiFi connectivity is switched on, you can swap to Bluetooth by just enabling it from the bottom right of the display, an action which would automatically terminate your WiFi connectivity. But, you cannot expect the same to happen when you want to switch from the Bluetooth connectivity to WiFi. You must first disable Bluetooth by disabling it by clicking the Bluetooth option. This kind of differences is not ideal for a PDA.

Audio and video quality:

The sound quality of Asus MyPal A7 Handheld PDA was impressive. The integrated speakers were good, but when connected using a headphone jack, it did an even better job. It performed much better than what we actually expected it to do. Having an optional memory card, A716, would eliminate your requirement of any other MP3 player. Good battery life is also complimentary to this fact. The integrated microphone does a decent work. It is handy while taking a quick note and listening to it latter.

Coming to the video playback, the Asus MyPal A716 again surprised with an impressive quality presentation. You can just open the media player and view a content online that can be streamed for free. With its impressive player, it proves to be a good MP4 player too. The video clip is usually in 300k stream, but with the use of the compact flash cards, you will be able to attain better quality.

Impressive battery:

Asus MyPal A716 is having a 1,500mAh removable battery, but each time you want to remove it, you will have to use the stylus. One thing that must be kept in mind is that, you will have to lock the battery once you have inserted it, else, it would refuse to work. Asus’s optional 3,000mAh cell doubles longevity but increases the unit’s size and weight. The battery life of A716 is estimated to be about 19 hours which is not that bad. The box contents of the PDA includes the power chord, a cradle, an USB chord, an inverter chord, a good-looking black carrying case and the PDA itself. It has a very long power chord that tangles very easily, leaving it in a mess. The information package that comes along with A716 has a copy of the Pocket PC premium 2003 including outlook 2002, warranty information, an extra software disk, a quick start guide and a an user’s manual that has sufficient information on everything.

Asus MyPal A716 comes with one year warranty.

Some final words:

The MyPal A716 pocket PC is one of the most feature-rich phones. With its cost being steep too, if the PDA is really worth it, is a doubt.

Asus MyPal A716 needs more improvements. Some of its inabilities makes us, pdareviews.org.uk, not to recommend it strongly. Rather, you can opt for the HP iPAQ Pocket PC h4150, which is available for the same price but is of lesser weight and can manage the wireless connectivity in a better way. But, again, if you do not want to compromise over the compact flash slot, you can choose Asus MyPal A716 itself as HP iPAQ h4150 lacks one.

Asus MyPal A716  PDA - Technical Specification Table

Until the release of this unit, Toshiba was suffering comments on their other PDAs like “unrounded silver rectangular units that lacked style” and “ the only PDA that had SDIO slots that are not compatible with SD WiFi cards”. With Pocket PC e405, Toshiba managed to overcome most of its disadvantages with a happy note.

Design:

The Toshiba e405 Pocket PC PDA had some style factor added to it. It has surprisingly come out in a metallic blue casing. The unit is very slim and light. The inset hard plastic grips are textured lightly and gives a good grip of the PDA in your hands. A glossy black plastic wraps around top of the unit’s screen.

Display:

Toshiba e405 Pocket Computer has an excellent 3.5″ transflective display. The display is bright enough and its colours are saturated and sharp. There is not any specific colour that is dominating and it is a pleasure to watch images and videos in the display. The brightness settings had ten gradations. In order to save the battery charge, the Pocket PC automatically adjusts the brightness of the display according to the amount of battery charge left. Which means the screen is kept at 50% brightness by default when there is enough charge. The 3.5 inch display dominated the entire PDA and had the so called “X-Factor”.

Buttons and ports:

The stylus is placed on the upper right corner of the pocket PC. It has the smallest power button ever in a PDA on its top left corner. There is a LED which glows either amber or green indicating the status of the battery charge. If the battery does not require any charging for any time soon, then the LED stays green, and when you will be running low of the charge, the LED glows amber. This is as you must have thought, a very handy feature. The record button is present on the upper left side, and just below it is the jog or action dial which when pressed, launches a highlighted application. The IR port is located in the lower left side just below the hold slider switch . The right side of the unit is empty while the headphone jack and the SD slot are placed on the top edge.

Toshiba e405 PDA was the one it first have the d-pad. It was a large five way square d-pad surrounded closely by the four standard application buttons. It moves without any discomfort in all the directions. The task and calendar buttons are made to look like a single button, connected by a thin band. But, they do act separately and simultaneously during gaming. The d-pad does not respond quickly, and this can be observed well during playing games which requires immediate responses.

The home button does nothing! Yes nothing! Hence, you will have to assign it to one of the most often used applications, so that you can land on it without any trouble.

The processor:

The e405 Pocket PC from Toshiba uses the Intel Xscale PXA261 processor which runs at 300 Mhz. This is quiet good for a budget PDA. The performance of the processor is good when tested with the gaming and video playback applications.

Memory:

It has 64MB of internal RAM out of which 62MB is free for your use. The operating system consumes 10MB of memory. Additionally, the pocket PC has 32MB of non-volatile NAND flash ROM which can be used to store data, backups and programs. The content of the flash ROM is permanent and will not be erased even when you do a hard reset to your PDA.

The IR port and the SD slot that supports SDIO fulfils your expansion needs. The SD slot goes well with the sandisk and socket SD WiFi cards.

The operating system:

The operating system used by e405 is, Pocket PC 2003 Professional edition which has lesser number of features than that of the Pocket PC 2003 Premium edition. The absent features include MS Reader, Image programs and Terminal services. However, the MS reader applications can be installed separately on yourself.

Video and audio playback:

The video playback is quiet decent at 23.95 frames per second. Yet, it was not able to live up to the quality of HP iPAQ Pocket PCs [read reviews of HP iPAQ 114, HP iPAQ 214]. Audio again was just satisfactory. While playing multimedia too, the audio was loud and decent, but was not up to the standards of HP iPAQs. Alternatively you may use the head phone provided that is to be connected to the 3.5mm headphone jack, the audio via the headphone is much better.

The interesting and entertaining voice recorder application is available. The Toshiba e405 Handheld PDA also has in it an Audio Control Panel applet which allows you to adjust the microphone EQ for Conference recording, Short Range recording and Normal recordings. The volume of the headphone can also be set independent to the volume of the speaker. The right and left side volumes of the headphone can also be set individually.

The voice command and text to speech applications:

As we mentioned earlier, Toshiba’s e405 and e805 are the first ever pocket PCs to come with the voice command and text to speech applications. All that you will have to do is, install these applications from the CDROM that is provided, both together takes about 6MB of memory. The voice command application button is assigned to the record button, and once you press it, the unit beeps and then you will have to pronounce your command to with the e405 would respond. In case the device does not understand your command, it gives a drum beat sound. Mostly, it had no problem in understanding the commands and it accepts a long list of commands.

The text to speech comprises of three applications. Mail speech, text speech and speech settings. The mail speech reads your mails aloud including the sender and subject. The text speech reads the text files up to 32KB in size.

Softwares included:

Since the Toshiba e405 is a budget Pocket PC, it does not come with a significant 3rd party software bundle. However it does come with a nice selection of Toshiba’s own applications. Toshiba’s backup program allows you to back up the to either internal flash ROM or an SD storage card and Toshiba also includes their World Clock application, which allows you to track the time and date in your home city and two others. With the exception of the voice command and speech applications, all Toshiba applications are pre-installed in ROM. In addition, you will get the standard Windows Mobile 2003 applications pre-installed in ROM. These include Pocket versions of Internet Explorer, Word, Excel, Outlook, MSN Messenger and Pocket MSN. The e405, but not e400, comes with ArcSoft’s PhotoBase software, which allows you to view images, create photo albums and make minor edits to photos.

Battery and package:

The Toshiba e405 personal digital assistant uses a 960mAh lithium ion battery which is not user replaceable. It is really very disappointing to know that the battery is not swappable. But on the other side, the performance of the battery is very good for a PDA of this capacity. It gives a decent talk time of around four hours . The talk time will differ based on whether memory card is used or not and the brightness of the display.

The box contents include The e405 is more commonly found in retail markets and includes ArcSoft PhotoBase image viewing software. A USB cable, charger, and software CD and manuals.

Verdict:

Its SDIO slots now supporting SDIO as well as, Bsquare’s SDIO. It was the first PDA to have voice command and text to speech applications, with a good processor, ample RAM and SD slot. e405 PDA was one of the high end models with more horse power and a VGA display. Hence, it is certainly recommended by pdareviews.

Toshiba e405 Pocket PC - Technical Specifications, Features