Design:

Rugged Body:

The PDA’s design is a bit retro. Most Pocket PCs these days have a more hidden speaker, yet on the Asus A636, you have got a big circular speaker grill that echoes back to the boom boxes of the 80’s. This is intended to emphasis the high quality speaker that was used here. In the center you see the directional pad along with the action button.The body measures 4.8 x 2.8 inches with a thickness of 0.7 inch and weighing 6.5 ounces. The body is grey and dark silver in colour. The antenna is about 1.75 square inch and can rotate 90 degrees.  Antenna is quite strong and grabs the signals when swilled at 90 degrees.

Display:

The screen size and display quality are the most rated when it comes to devices like these. While viewing maps the screen size should not be disappointing. Our A636 does not disappoint either. Asus MyPal A636 GPS PDA has a 3.5″ transflective colour display which has a very strong contrast, excellent colour saturation and brightness.  It looks better in the indoors compared to the outside, and it comes with a resolution is around 240 x 320 pixels.

Control pads:

Two circular control pads are located just adjacent to the speakers. The keys are well marked and have the advantage that we can use them single handily. In addition to the volume controllers, the device has separate buttons for calendar, voice notes, and contacts as well as options to switch between modes like the landscape or portrait.  Mapping applications are not launched instantly but you have options to reprogram any of the shortcut buttons for this. The front scroll up and down buttons do a good job, the jog-dial button would have been a better option to browse the web pages quickly.

Sound:

The speakers are typically good, and the sound through the front facing speakers is pretty loud. This is a mandatory feature required for the GPS feature for the sake of hearing voice guidance in the car. The stereo headphones are good for listening to MP3 and movies.  This ASUS product comes with a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, mic, and a voice recorder application

Feature:

Software:

Software package included in the Asus A636 MyPal Handheld PDA include operating system, mobile office suite including Outlook Mobile, and desktop Outlook, Terminal Services, Mobile 10, File explorer, Hand writing recognition, games like Solitaire, Bubble breaker, calculator, VPN connections. In all, this PDA is comprised of calendar, contacts, tasks, notes, message applications.  Also inclusive are several utilities, like ASUS Status program which resides on the task bar. Click on this task bar to see the CPU speed setting, available memory, storage, battery and of course, the backlighting. There is a screen rotation utility, along with shortcuts to Bluetooth and WiFi. Additionally, these icons can turn radios on and off. Customisations for balance, volume, treble, bass and 3D effect are provided along with mic gain settings and Automatic Gain control

Wifi and Bluetooth:

Connectivity in the Asus A636 PDA is quite good, especially being offered with Bluetooth 1.2 and WiFi 802.11b. The blue tooth software is especially user friendly and fully featured. The software used by ASUS is Broadcom stack and software which is typically nice when compared to other software. This features a wizard that settles the connectivity with variety of other devices like high quality audio gateway devices such as stereo headphones, connecting to a mobile phone for wireless internet access, ActiveSync, hands free/headset profiles, business card exchange, keyboard, mice, serial port.  The ASUS application provides you with useful data about status, data rate, signal strength, IP address. The settings section allows to set the power saving, auto power off, radio power usage and the preamble. Information regarding the current connection is given in the IP info. Site survey shows all access points in range with SSID name, channel, signal strength, and MAC address of the base station.

GPS:

There is a built in receiver which you can flip open and swivel, so that the receiver plate is parallel to the sky. It is equipped with the latest SiRF III GPS chipset which provides GPS receivers high sensitivity, low power consumption and time. With this chipset our GPS receiver becomes powerful and particularly sensitive and can get excellent signal even when the signal is weak like areas of dense foliage, downtown buildings, and indoors.  Hence, the device has a faster time to fix especially time to first fix speed.  The device roughly takes about 35 seconds to start from the time the receiver is activated. This is a twenty channel GPS receiver that tracks nine satellites and gets strong signals from at least eight of them.  The GPS interface shows the current longitude, latitude, altitude and velocity as well as graph that shows the number of satellites the receiver is tracking and their signal strength. To launch this GPS applications go to the Destinator app, tap the satellite symbol on the lower right corner or up top on the GPS Status icon in the Destinator Settings.

Map:

Inside the Asus MyPal A636 is an up-to-date PDA with Windows Mobile 5 software and programs. The device comes with the basic organization and planning software as well as the Destinator 5 Personal Navigation application and nine regional map sets along with NAVTEQ map data and points of interest (POI).  This software is in the SD card which also has some map data pre-loaded. To install the Destinator application, simply plug the SD card. To create your own maps install the Destinator map console on your PC from the Destinator CDs in the ASUS package. The maps can tell you about the size of the map data and also come in thirteen languages.

Navigate:

Real time navigation is something that is really striking. The destinator provides all the necessary tools to navigate the routes and customise the guidance.   The tools are grouped into three: the first is the Destination group where you have options to enter the addresses for route navigation. Pick up POI s from the map database, or input a new address if the location is elsewhere. You can also pick your point in the map and set it as the destination. Tools to customise the visual guidance like directions view, map view etc are found in the Options group. The last group of icon based tools are settings for maps, GPS Status page, route options. With aid from these tools Destinator makes it easy to quickly find or input an address as destination. Overall the Asus A636 navigates routes in a very professional way in both quickest route and shortest route tests.

Ease of access:

Both visual and voice guidance are provided by the Destinator PN software. The Visual includes map view where you can spot the area where you are in and the route highlighted in easy to spot lines from your current location. There are few shortcuts in small icons on the map view to give us a quick access to zoom, check GPS satellite stats, daytime and night view and turn directions that show the street names and symbols. The visual is offered in many colour themes and also in many languages.  The voice guidance is bang on target. The voice quality is perfect and the natural human voice used here is far too good compared to older versions. The voice alerts come on at 500 yards by default which seriously is good. You have a choice to select or deselect some types of voice alerts like GPS status warnings, speed warnings and likes. There are 5 languages in which the voice guidance comes: English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.

Performance:

Powered with a 416MHZ PXA 272 Intel XScale processor, Asus has chosen a better battery life and could deliver considerably good performance. The applications run with good speeds after slight launch delay. ASUS A636 Pocket PC offers options to customise the CPU speed settings so you can set it to maximum, normal, power save, or auto setting.  The auto setting is quite effective and maintains a decent battery life while improving the CPU performance as needed. The RAM is plenty with 64MB installed, 58 available and 49 free with no programs running on it.  The device also holds a 128MB of flash ROM with 59 available and 25 additional MB available as flash disk.  So, overall the performance is a mixed bag.  Considering its navigation ability, the A636 MyPal can easily connect with satellites in 20 seconds and can plot our exact location. The routes are efficient and it quickly calculates new routes without much delay. As a PDA the A636 is a performer that offers reliable performance for daily use. The battery life of 9hours has turned to become a very attractive feature of the PDA.

Battery:

Packed with a 1,300 mAh Lithium ion battery, the A636 MyPal Pocket PC PDA gives it good run times, and has enough staying power to last a full length movie played using Windows media player and MP3 for over 13 hours with the screen turned off and CPU set to save power. Compared to other models our PDA, it has a hold switch on its rear so that you can use it as a portable MP3 player without the fear of battery drain which would occur while an accidental push on some buttons. Adjust the screen brightness to around 75%, your Aus MyPal PDA would just consume about 50% of its battery capacity. Overall, the battery life is satisfactory.

The Package:

Asus includes a vinyl slipcase, AC and auto power adapters, a synchronization cable, a 256MB SanDisk Secure Digital card, a car cradle, and a gooseneck windshield-mounting arm that attaches to a car’s windshield with a suction cup. We noticed that the car cradle has a tendency to shake loose of the windshield arm.

Warranty:

Asus offers the A636 a parts and labour warranty for a one year period from the date   purchase.

Verdict:

By elegantly integrating a GPS receiver and a foldout antenna into a PDA, Asus turns the heads of the perpetually lost with its Asus MyPal A636. While it’s heavier and thicker than competing mapping PDAs, the A636 has excellent controls, and its well-designed maps provide an accurate location fix and reasonably good directions. There are many occasions when a GPS enabled PDA make compromises in either section. So, at times, the PDA portion might lack power, recent OS, or wireless connections. Till date the Asus A636 My Pal is one that rules both departments. The chipset and underlying hardware are simply excellent. So to sum up you have a product that could simply fetch you a machine that only lacks in looks.

Asus MyPal A636 PDA Pocket PC - Technical Specification Table

Design:

Iconic Form factor:

The design of the PDA is the first thing that came to our notice. This new Motorola  Moto Q 9h Mobile Phone comes with a slim and sleek design which is the iconic feature in this form factor. The high end finishes includes exquisite and soft touch materials which gives you a rich and seamless product experience. It comes with a QWERTY keyboard and display of good resolution that makes typing out emails, SMS messages, notes and even presentations quite cool. The screen adjusts itself well under lights.

Wide, Wider, Widest:

Distinctly, compared to its companions in the Q series, Moto Q 9H seems to be the first one to be in a GSM carrier while others come with a CDMA carrier. The speakers are located in the front on top of the QPGA screen. This looks as wide as Nokia E 61i which is regarded as the widest smart phone till date. It looks way thin compared to Blackberry but surely is difficult to wrap your hands around.

Display:

Designed with a QPGA screen of resolution 320 x 240 pixels, the Q 9h gives you a top class display set up. The screen lets you watch your emails or movies and gives you clarity which you could expect from a high end mobile like this one. It has the self adjusting technology that allows you to read your mails irrespective of the environment. Even in this tiny volume you could watch MP4 and WMV clips with no hiccups. But we must accept, it is still a pain navigating through full sized Web pages on this tiny screen.
Buttons and Ports:

The slot locations have not changed much from the previous versions. There is a Micro SD slot which appears to be the easiest slots to reach from left. The  micro card SD reader is designed to accept cards up to 32GB.There is also a Micro USB port which would be particularly useful for charging sinking or accessories. On the right there is the volume control along with a back button typically used to exit an application and move to the front menu. The rear side hosts the 2 mega pixel camera along with a flash. The battery cover encloses the battery and also near it is the speaker which could be used as a play back or as a speaker phone while in a drive.

Keyboard:

The QWERTY keyboard in Moto Q 9H Smartphone is big and accounts for the overall size of this phone. The keypad is something special with the keys smooth and sensitive. The keys are brightly backlit for typing in darker environments. The keys are highlighted in blue. The scroll wheel in the previous models have been replaced with up and down keys, as well as select and back buttons on the right side of the phone. It is crammed with many tiny keys which includes @, #, & etc., along with numbers visible on the letter keys. There are also the ‘Enter’, ‘Shift’ and ‘Alt’ keys that perform the same functions as the computer keyboard. Motorola has sorted the problem of finger slips by providing a much rougher grip. Along with the normal keys are the short cut keys which are aligned at the bottom tray along with the spacebar which are dedicated for launching Calendar, Address Book, Music Player and Camera applications plus speaker toggle key. The only problem that possibly arises is that, you end up pressing the short cut keys instead of pressing the space bar. The up, down, select and back are available for easy access on the right side.

Connectivity:

The connectives include a single external port, a micro USB jack, USB sync cable and Ac adapter. The company gives you a Motorokr S9, Bluetooth stereo headset and hands free phone. The S9 head set would be your favourite pick if you have the habit of listening to music while jogging or walking. It is also hands free phone that works well to switch between a call and music listening.  Unlike other PDA s, the Q 9H has omitted a standard stereo headphone jack, which disappoints some of those who would have loved to plug their connectors to it.

Features:

Jet Set Go Connectivity:

We would like to describe the connectivity speed with this term. The Moto Q 9H is the first one to incorporate the HSDPA (High Speed Down Link Packet Access) service which accounts for its very high DSL speeds. With this technology, you could experience downloading speed of 3.6 Mbps. Equipped with all materials in its arsenal, this phone would allow you download music at high speed, or stream a video, or browse the internet. It is sure to give you access to your choice no matter where ever you are.  The hardware takes time to process the information and is not as swift as the network. Hence, you could expect some delay.  Despite all this, we felt down when we found that this is devoid of WiFi. Though the phone has a 3G network to support, the network would become bleak at certain points.

GPS Built in:

With GPS built-in, you would be able to track your routes through this phone. Applications like Google maps, Live search would give you real traffic information with the help of satellites. TeleNav GPS navigator service provided by AT &T and Rogers has been used here. The software sends GPS information to the server which sends back the necessary mapping information to Q 9H, thereby, freeing it from storing huge map files which are required while using a GPS service. On top of this, the service is offered at a much lower price with flexible plans.

Camera:

The Motorola Moto Q 9h sports a 2 MP camera with flash is on its rear. The flash allows you take pictures even when the light is quite dim. The camera application gives you easier means to upload and download pictures to your phone. For still images you have several shooting modes and a choice of 4 resolutions. The maximum zoom is up to 8x. You are also given the luxury to adjust pictures with white balance and brightness settings. But unfortunately, the clarity of pictures are just average. The camera is still haunted with fuzzy images, focus and hit – miss results on exposure.

Operating System:

The Motorola Moto Q 9h PDA has employed the Windows Mobile 6 operating system. This operating system is best suited for mobiles considering its ability to multitask. It also supports computer attachments to share the internet connectivity through USB and Bluetooth. The current date, email messages and tasks would be displayed on the screen which really gives you a good user interface experience.

Software Package:

Motorola has packed some additions into the hood of Q 9h. To start off, instead of the standard windows explorer, it has the Opera pre installed. The makers must have realized the change people had craved for. It also has the latest Office Mobile, Java Manager if ever you would require a java application. Other than the lone occasional problem this package gives, while you access your Gmail, no further bottle necks could be spotted. A handy wizard lets you access POP3 and IMAP accounts just by entering your password. Several popular instant messaging clients including Yahoo and Windows Live are pre-installed in Q 9H. In addition to the PDF viewer and a ZIP manager, other personal information tools like calendar, track list, notepad and calculator have also been included.

Downloads:

This part features the software you could possibly download. Initially you will be able to download the My Q Pak Bundle which includes various useful applications. You have wide number of choices open ranging from My Space Mobile to Mc Afee VirusScan Mobile Ready handset.

The Specs:

Underneath this brilliant form factor lays the champ who is responsible for the functions the phone does. It is none other than the TI OMAP 2420 processor with a speed of 325 MHZ. Along with a 256 MB flash memory and 96 MB RAM, the processor delivers a performance much higher than Blackberry Curves 312 MHZ. With about 120 MB of user available storage and 39 MB of available memory performance is above average.

The Extras:

The Motorola Moto Q 9H PDA phone includes 3 way calling, conference calling, speed dial, text and multimedia messaging. The SIM can hold up to 250 contacts. The system allows you to assign a picture or a group ID and even ringtones for caller ID purposes.

Performance:

When it comes to performance the first thing that comes to my mind is the HSDPA technology which would allow you faster and better speeds to download your favourite songs or videos, or to connect you with your friends. The Q 9h PDA shows its capability as a media player. Rendered with a 320 x 240 pixels resolution display and a colour depth of over 65,530, it could play movies smoothly with a jump or jerk here and there.  The Bluetooth and wireless have done their jobs in ensuring fast connectivity.  With this kind of processor and memory available, the speed performance should be excellent, unfortunately, there is some delay in response, particularly in the case of multiple tasks. The system crashes have declined compared to older versions which is very good news considering that performance has shot up well.

Loud and Clear:

This is yet another remarkable aspect of this phone. As a phone, the clarity of voice and the speaker sounds are two things you would love to talk about. The reception on the other side is clear and loud. The speakers are so audible that you could place them near the cup tray while driving and still you would be able to hear them clearly. With the dual speaker technology, the music player sounds rich with plenty of sound.

There is relatively very less parts where the phone has not shown quality. Along with top quality applications and with a superior Windows mobile 6 operating system the phone has notched a top quality performance.

Battery:

Battery is the area where the Motorola Moto Q 9h PDA stands distinctly ahead.  The Q 9H comes with 2 types of batteries; a BT 90 for heavy usage and BT 60 for normal usage. Interestingly, it also comes with 2 new coverings because; BT 90 needs a slightly larger outfit to cover it. The batteries are claimed to last nearly 9 hours of talk time and 30 days standby. The larger battery would last three days without charging despite the fact that you could use the phone in speaker mode and surf the internet. Overall, Battery ends up being one of the highlight selling points of the PDA.

Warranty:

Motorola offers its Moto Q 9h one year limited warranty for parts and labour.

Verdict:

Now comes the final word for the Motorola Moto Q 9h PDA. Seriously, the pros have outweighed the cons by remarkably greater margin. The makers have focused on email access and entertainment and hence, have blended functionality with entertainment in one device. The price is seriously low compared to other PDAs which are devoid of these features. The Quad band technology lets you stay connected across the globe. The Bluetooth wireless technology gives you a better sound quality. USB 2.0 full speed download enables faster file transfer from PC to micro SD card in the phone. With a frame rate of 30 per second watching live videos have become less cumbersome. The sound is excellent plus keys are perfect and lets you message fast. We could go on and on with the positives and we feel satisfied except for the few cons here and there. Well, the screen is devoid of touch. Added to that, the phone also lacks Wifi, making it vulnerable at certain points where the 3G connection goes down. Apart, from these there are not much faults to point out. Finally, this has its own flaws which would never pull your mind back once you eye its umpteen features.

Check Nokia Smartphone Reviews, Asus PDAs Reviews in this website.

Motorola Moto Q 9H - Technical Specification Details

A sleek and stylish looking device, the m500 allows one to add memory, store and backup data and even add a camera or a wireless modem. This compact piece has software that allows one to connect to the internet and send emails via cell phone or modem. With a 33MHz Motorola DragonBall Processor and an installed memory of 8 MB, the m500 is well loaded. So will this model be successful too? Does it have what it takes to be a great PDA? Read on to find out.

Design:

Nothing Innovative:

Many users have been waiting for Palm to release a model as a rival to PDAs from Compaq, Handspring etc. While the newer PalmOne m500 PDA features an expansion card slot as well as a host of refinements, it did not have anything innovative as expected. In fact its predecessor the Palm VX at discount rates is a great competitor to the flashy newer PDAs.

Looks similar to the Palm V:

When we first saw it, we could not help noticing that the m500 is very similar to the Palm V. The shape of the m500 does differ from that of the Palm V, but the difference is subtle enough not to be easily noticed. The m500 has sides that have a curve that run along the length of the PDA in place of the slight flare at the bottom of the Palm V. The top of the m500 is more curved too. When it comes to size, the model is as long and wide as the Palm V.  The m 500 is slightly thicker. Considering that the difference in between their thickness is in the order of millimetres, these devices look pretty similar.

Build Quality:

The back part of the m500 Handheld PDA is made of plastic and not metal. That perhaps explains its light weight. However, the device still feels solid. The casing does not flex, crack or creak when squeezed.  Unlike the Palm V the casing is not glued but is held to the body with the help of 4 screws that can be removed by a T5 Torx driver.

The Buttons:

On the front of the device are 2 application buttons and a power button. The Application buttons on the m500 are slightly larger than the ones found on the Palm V making them easier to press. These buttons also have a better tactile feedback.  Also, the buttons sit flush with the casing making it hard to accidentally activate them. The very annoying one piece scroll button has been replaced by 2 small scroll buttons which no longer would press against the fold over cover ( an issue with the Palm V) . The size of these buttons maybe a problem to a person with larger fingers.  The power button on the m500 is present on the same location as it is on the Palm V. The only changes being that the button is now translucent and with a bulge making it easier to press. This button also doubles as a battery charge indicator.

Ports:

Both sides of the m500 have silos available.  But they are not for styli like they were meant to be in the Palm V. The silo on the left is used as an attachment location for the cover provided. One can also attach a case if necessary. The right side silo is meant for the stylus.  The stylus is  metal bodied  and has plastic ends. It is slightly shorter than the one found on the Palm V. Because of this small difference, the Palm V styli are incompatible with the m500.  On the top of the device are the IR port and yes, the expansion card slot.  The IR port allowed the m500 to connect to another palm PDA at a distance of 5 feet without any inconsistencies. The expansion card slot allows SD cards or MMC cards.  These SD cards allow storing of large files and are a handy way to bring large databases along with you.

Display:

The Palm m500 PDA features a monochrome screen that is comparatively less green that of the Palm V and has a digitiser made of plastic rather than glass. We guess that the plastic version is more flexible and resistant to falls ¬¬¬¬than a glass one. The display quality is very similar to the Palm V and so is the reverse backlight.

Features:

Processor:

The M500 runs on a 33MHz Dragonball VZ processor just like the m505. Most of the tasks were done instantaneously and that was expected of it.  However on our Quartus benchmark test, the processor did not do well. It could possibly due to the incompatibility between the application and the new OS. The m500 is as fast as the Visor Edge when it comes to doing tasks or playing games such as Dreadling.

Memory:

The Palm m500 features in built memory of 8MB which is sufficient to store thousands of addresses, appointments for a few years and up to 50 standard applications.

Palm OS 4.0:

The Palm m500 is the first device to feature the OS 4.0 version.  But most of the software changes are noticeable only when it comes to performance or are presented as subtle tweaks. The newer additions include a Notepad, a Clock, Card Info and extra security. The notepad can be accessed by pressing the rightmost hardware button. The notepad allows one to scribble a note instead of using Graffiti. Each note is time and date stamped. The memo pad which has been replaced by the notepad is still available as a separate application. The clock program allows users to set an alarm for the current 24 hours. It lacks the feature to set a recurring daily alarm.  The Card info is a small application that gives details about the expansion card inserted. While the addition of these applications is welcome, there is nothing really innovative or interesting about them and hence it let us down.

Small Tweaks:

With the new OS, the Palm m500 allows one to call up the onscreen keyboard and use both keyboard taps and graffiti strokes to enter text.  This makes entering text faster if you are good at graffiti letters. There is a new screen included that allows one to clear all the alarms at the tap of a stylus.

SD/MMC Slot:

The best feature about the m500 is the SD/MMC slot. As of now, the slot can be used for expanding the memory and running applications. Expanding memory is something which most of us would never need thanks to the in built space of 8MB on the device. When an SD card is inserted into the device, it automatically switches on. When one tries to run an application on a SD card, it is immediately copied into the RAM and run from there. The application runs normally and when exited, it is deleted from RAM.

USB Cradle:

The Palm m500 features a USB HotSync cradle that allows quick and easy transfer between the PDA and PC or Mac. It holds the handheld tightly and the m500 must be removed in a specific way for it to make a proper connection. Near the USB plug at the end of a cord is  a power plug where the cradle plugged on to the wall.  The USB cradle allows for faster HotSync operations than its predecessor the Palm V.

Vibrate and Flash alarm:

The m500 features a new vibrating and flashing alarm apart from the irritating alarm sounds . It is the first device to feature vibration. While the vibration is not exactly super strong, one can notice it shaking when placed in a shirt or jeans pocket. The flash alarm turns off the sound and has the LED blink, a great feature in case of meetings where you would not want to disturb anyone. All the alarms have a snooze button which is for a fixed 5 minute period. During the snooze, an asterisk blinks in the upper left hand of all applications.

Extra Security:

The m500 has a newer security feature of automatic lock. One can assign a password and encrypt data to keep information safe.

CD Contains:

The CD that comes along with the m500 is bundled with lots of useful software. There is an AOL application that allows one to email and send IM to friends using a data enabled phone or a landline modem. The AvantGo application included is a web channel manager that allows one to sync internet content either wirelessly or through desktop sync. The DocumentsToGo allows one to view and edit word documents and Excel spreadsheets. The Photosuite application is an image and video viewer and supports the following formats : PG, .GIF, .BMP, .TIF, .PNG, AVI, MOV, QT, ASF, and WMV .  While viewing videos on the m500 is useless, viewing pictures is not bad.  The PowerOne Calculator is handy considering it has useful functions such as tax, tips, percent change and date calculations.

Mobile Connectivity Software CD:

Other than the pretty useful software included in CD, there is another notable addition - Palm’s Mobile Internet Kit.. This helps in transferring email, browse the Web ( using the Web Clipping technology) and uses SMS text messaging on a GSM phone with IR capabilities.

Performance:

When speed is the criteria, the m500 is as fast as the Palm V. But the benchmark tests revealed that the m500 is almost one and half times faster than the Palm V.  It is however not perceivable as we could not notice any speed difference between the two devices when launching applications.

Great Visibility:

The m500 PDA was readable in  outdoor, indoor and dark conditions. Reading it in outdoors was a pleasure as it was crystal clear. However, it was not so readable indoors or in the dark.

Speakers:

The speaker on the m500 is a tad bit louder than the m100 which itself is slightly louder than the Palm V.  While one can use this PDA as an alarm clock while on the move, it is still capable of beeps only and lacks DTMF tone generating capabilities.

What is in the Box?

The Palm m500 comes along with a stylus, a rechargeable lithium ion battery, a USB hot sync cradle, Palm Desktop Software and Palm Mobile Connectivity software, a getting started guide and a handbook.

Battery Life:

The Palm m500 runs on a rechargeable lithium ion battery. The m500 has a decent battery life in spite of being switched on most of the time.  Heavy usage would drain it dry but that’s after several hours of usage.  The PDA lasts around 30 days with light usage of lesser than one hour a day.  It takes about one whole hour to charge it back to full power on the cradle.

Warranty:

The Palm m500 comes with a warranty of one year for its parts and labour.

Verdict:

While the Palm m500 is a great product and a step forward for the Palm line, it is not as flashy or as revolutionary as the Palm V was.  The SD card expansion slot, the USB connector, better buttons, great software and the vibrating alarm are things that would standout in the list of pros for the device. However, the OS does not feature much improvements and the device is a tad bit too expensive.  It’s a better idea to go for either the next model, the Palm m505  if you are ready to shell out a little more for a colour PDA  or the predecessor the Palm V if you think you can do without SD functionality.

Check Latest PDA Reviews,  other Palm PDAs Reviews, Specs in this website.

PalmOne m500 PDA - Technical Specification Table

Design:

Cute Device:
As always, with the Asus PDAs, the A626 is designed very well and it is very comfortable to hold. At 1.5 cm of thickness, it is extremely slim to hold in one hand, so that it will be easy to type with the other. The dimensions of the device is, (H x W x D) 11.7cm x 7.08cm x 1.57cm and it weighs only about 158 grams. This means that, you have a very slim and light PDA with you, which makes you feel comfortable and stylish. Now, if you look at the PDA in detail, the device is landscape oriented, which is pretty rare; you will normally see a PDA portrait oriented. The display is fairly large, and occupies most of the real estate. Then there are four main buttons that take you to the most important features of the device. Then there is the conventional joystick surrounded by the directional keys and this keypad is surrounded by two speakers on either side.

Stainless Steel Finish:
This is a very special feature of the Asus MyPal A626 Handheld PDA. If you look at the present PDAs, you will find out that most of them are made of either plastic or aluminium. But, Asus has gone on with using stainless steel for its PDAs instead of the usual options. You may wonder what might be the benefits of using a device made of stainless steel are; well, such devices are highly resistant to damages caused by shock and very durable and they are also resistant to abrasion and finger prints. So, the device is always clean and healthy with its stainless steel panel. The finishing is also very good and the polished surface makes the device very shimmering, giving it the ultimate style that consumers long for.

Solid by any means:
Complementing the attractive design, the Asus A626’s display is one of the best you will see in the PDA market. Since the display occupies the most of the front part of the device, it had to be a touch responsive type. This makes the display look even better and bigger than the usual ones. The 3.5 inch TFT LCD screen is very comfortable to look at, especially when reading or typing mails, reading eBooks, playing games and watching movies. The 16 bit QVGA display, with full 65k colours helps in providing a great display for all the utilities that you will find in the Asus A626. The screen does not retain finger prints and therefore, your screen is always clean and lucid. Another advantage of the display is that it is an antiglare type, which means that, there are no reflections of objects from the screen and this enables a clearer display. All this features of the display collectively makes it one of the best in the current market.

Stylus:
Although the stylus is one of those that are not very uncommon, many PDAs are not providing it now due to issues concerning space and weight of the device. But the MyPal A626 Pocket PC has got a very short and sturdy stylus that is placed very well, at the right hand corner of the device. It is a pretty strong one and does not get damaged even after prolonged use. Another thing is that the tip of the stylus is also quite smooth and the consequence is that the soft and delicate LCD of the device is also not damaged easily. The screen also gives a very good touch response when the stylus is used. Hence, more often than not, the stylus is better than your fingers.

Connectivity:
Connectivity is also one of the important aspects of any device, and particularly a PDA. The Asus A626 has got a few options for you to connect it to other devices and interchange data such as files, documents, music files, videos, pictures and many more. As we have already seen, there is a slot provided for an external memory card, which has to be an SD card and at the most a 4 GB one. There are also a few connection slots provided, like the USB 1.1, which can be used to primarily connect the device to and sync it with your computer. There is also a headphone jack provided for audio out. You can connect headphones or an audio cable of a music system to this jack. Hence, the Asus A626 provides the basic connectivity features and with good efficiency.

Features:

The Asus A626 PDA Pocket PC is equipped with ample set of features for us to talk about. Most of the mid range PDAs produced by Asus, like this one, have more or less the same features. Although there are not any new features in the MyPal A626, the ones that are included are very useful. Let us peek at various features of this new PDA from Asus.

Processor: Not the best in the business
The processor is the most important of all the features since it relates the very performance of the device. It decides how fast and efficient any device works. You can relate this to the processor of your computer. The Asus A626 features the Intel XScale PXA270processor of 312 MHz frequency. This may be surprising because, you will find that most of the modern PDAs come with at least a 624 MHz processor. This indicates that the speed and its efficiency of the device will be half the average ratings. But nevertheless, it is not that bad since there are not many options or features that would pull out a lot from the processor. It will still be able to perform well with the minimal features that are available in the A626. Overall, the problems will be very few and far between.

Operating System:
It can be said that, this feature of the Asus A626 will be the most decisive one. The device comes with the Microsoft Windows Mobile version 6 as the operating system. The benefit in using a PDA with the operating system from Windows is that, the device will be easy to use and also the user interface will be much better than many other operating systems that you will find in other prime PDAs in the market. The main features that you will find in this operating system include a revamped Mobile Office in which there are newer versions of pocket Word, pocket PowerPoint and pocket Excel. This means, these applications are made easier to work with and also to simplify your works such as working out a document and printing, or presenting a project in the office. Things like these make this operating system a very commendable one. A device that looks stylish on the outside, must also look great on the inside too and the MyPal A626 suites the description.

Wi-Fi:
Since people using the PDAs will be online for most of the time, they need to choose a PDA that has the Wi-Fi option. The Asus A626 has the option for you to connect to the internet from your office or a cafe through the Wi-Fi ports. All you need to do is just go to the option in your menu that denotes Wi-Fi and then you will be directed straight to the internet. Now, for those of you who use this option on a regular basis, it will be a lot better and easier if this option is set as a shortcut, so that you can access it with just a single click.

Bluetooth:
Bluetooth has been around for quite a long time now, and it is also a very useful application that allows you to connect your device to any device that comes with this option; like your computer, laptop, television, mobile phone etc., and hence, your device can exchange data and files with almost any other electronic device in your home. Additionally, it is the Bluetooth 2.0 version that is featured here. Hence, the communication is a bit faster than normal and it is also easy to search for new devices.

Memory:
With a memory of 256 MB flash ROM and 64 MB of Ram, your PDA has enough memory for the daily round. But for the purpose of entertainment and expansion, you need to have greater memory. So, Asus has provided the facility for the expansion of the memory of your device. Hence, you can now include a new memory card and can store enough data. But, not all memory cards are compatible with the device; only SD cards and that too only up to a capacity of 4 GB are compatible. Hence, should you buy a new memory card, you must be careful while choosing it.

Gaming:
In the beginning, PDAs were restricted only to office use and were not providing that much of entertainment. But slowly, as entertainment crept into all walks of life, you find entertainment being provided on almost all the devices. Gaming has also been a fascination and it helps a lot in relaxing the minds. The MyPal A626 also, like many other latest PDAs, comes with the option for gaming on it. There are lots of games available on the internet that run on the pocket PC platform. You can download them and install into your device. There is also the accelerator inside the device that is specially designed for this very purpose of gaming. Hence, even while you are on the go, gaming is with you.

Clearly, there is no deviation from the norms regarding the features. Asus has stuck to the basics and saw to it that nothing is exaggerated and also at the same time that the PDA is made useful to almost everyone, let alone the businessmen. And for that mid range price tag of the A626, it is a very good overall package of features on offer.

Performance:

Of late, performance is the one aspect that has been bringing down the sales of the PDAs from Asus. Hence, this time around Asus has decided to concentrate on the performance of their PDAs by lowering the number of features. Many improvements are made in order to make the Asus A626 better than its precursors. Let us have a peek at the performance aspects of the A626 and see if it is any better this time.

Video and Audio:
Even though the Asus A626 is powered by an inferior version of the most used processor, it is still good enough not to make you worry about the overall performance of the device. The fact that there is a reduction in the number of extra features, meant that more of the processor’s power is now concentrated on the most important aspects of the device. Arguably, they are the video and the audio performances of the Asus A626. Both these aspects are very good on the device. With the very good display technology that is used, combined with a reasonable processor, the videos on the MyPal A626 look really good. Watching movies on this device is fun and when a headphone is connected, you get a realistic movie experience. Hence, there is a good audio complementing the videos. This is really a great combination. And also the gaming is quite good and for those that play mid range games, you will experience no lags or blurs and your gaming will be pretty comfortable. The problem arises only with the high end games. Otherwise, everything is fine.

Battery:

The Asus A626 comes with a 1200 mAh lithium ion battery that gives you a battery life of at least 3 hours (talk time). Another good thing about this is, unlike many others, is that the battery is removable. This means that you can remove the battery whenever you want and replace it with a new one. This facility comes in handy when you are out of your house and there is no option or time to recharge the battery. Then, you can always use a second one as a replacement.

Warranty:

The Asus MyPal A626 PDA comes with a limited parts and labour warranty for a period of one year from the original date of purchase. For more details, you can visit their website.

Verdict:

After having gone through all that is detailed above, it can be concluded that you will find very less negatives with the Asus MyPal A626. A pleasing design, with all the strength and beauty in the world, a very good lot of features that includes one of the best operating system and software package, and a very good performance make up the list of positives regarding the Asus A626. A comparatively slow processor, lack of a good number of features including that of a camera and a phone, make up the list of negatives. But, we need to realise that no device in the world in completely perfect and everything has its own negatives. Considering the very reasonable price tag, it can be said that the MyPal A626 is one of the most buyable PDAs in the market. No problems if you do not like this. There are many other devices from Asus itself which are better at performance; but to enjoy that, you have to swipe in some extra from your plastic.

Check Nokia PDA Phones, Acer Smartphone Reviews in this website.

Asus MyPal A626 PDA - Technical Specification Table

Acer is predominantly well known for its laptops and desktop PCs. But in order to patch up its position in the PDA market and to withstand the fierce competition from HP, Dell, Samsung and few other giants, it has released the Acer beTouch E100 series Smartphone.

Design and Display:

The E100 is a sleek PDA and comes with block form factor. It looks very stylish, just like a candy bar and in particular, the black coloured one is the best looking of all. Its dimensions are (H x W x D) 113 x 56 x 12.8 mm and they show that it is indeed slim. It is also very light in weight, weighing just about 118.0 grams. Its SAR value is 0.732 W/kg. The special features in the design are the Acer UI 3.0 and the scroll wheel. These are indeed very useful and make it easy for scrolling and browsing as there is no number pad as in normal PDAs. The 2 megapixel camera is an addition to its beauty. The camera is good and gives you no troubles.

The 3.2 inch display is a reasonably big one and hence is very comfortable for viewing. The TFT resistive touchscreen is an additional feature and it is not delicate. So, even after a prolonged use, it does not get damaged. The display has a 65k colour system, as expected. The screen resolution is 240 x 400 pixels and type WQVGA.

Features:

Acer has come out with some new features to add to the value of the beTouch E100 Windows Smartphone. Its highlight  feature is the My Phone. With this feature, you can upload the contents of your phone to the web and can also synchronise them. Contents like the contacts, events, files and others can be synced with this feature. Another one is the Windows Marketplace, powered by Microsoft. With this feature, you can always connect your phone to the internet and the browse for software and applications. You can also buy and download them if you like.

3G / HSDPA:
Acer has released this phone with the main feature being the 3G and the HSDPA or the High Speed Downlink Packet Access. These two are the unique features of Acer E100. With the 3G facility, you can have faster and accurate access to the mobile networks. The HSDPA is another important feature relating to the mobile network access. It is an enhanced 3G option that allows the networks based on the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System. This enables higher data transfer speed and capacity. These days, many companies are offering this option of HSDPA via Wi-Fi or Ethernet and also for ports for the connection of the conventional landline telephones. So, this feature enhances the speed of the network and hence increases the signal strength.

Touchscreen and Scroll Wheel:
The Acer beTouch E100 PDA Phone comes out with two of the features that many others currently do not have; a touchscreen and the scroll wheel. The touchscreen is rather a common feature you will see on many of the PDAs. But this one is more durable. We see that many of the touchscreens are delicate and they get damaged after a long use. But this one is robust and is not damaged that easily. It has to be robust because there is no stylus provided with the phone and hence you need to use your fingers. When it comes to the Scroll Wheel, it is very easy to operate on. It makes your work easier especially while multitasking. Since there is no keypad provided, the Scroll Wheel is the only option and it plays a major role in the operation of the phone. Browsing and scrolling are easy on this phone with this option.

Wireless Connectivity:
For any PDA, wireless connectivity is one of the most vital applications and without it the PDA does not serve the purpose. The Acer E100 has an integrated wireless connectivity and an integrated GPS receiver in it for easy access to any wireless network. The GPS system helps you track your position and also know the routes to the nearby places. With this feature, you can also combine the PDA with the navigation software and covert the device into a fully operating sat navigating device. Or you can also use it with Google Maps software to find out ways to different places nearby you. Places such as restaurants, cash machines, pubs, banks and others in your vicinity. So, this is one of the distinct and useful features available with the Acer E100.

The connectivity includes the Quadband for the GSM frequency bands and there are also many connectivity options for you such as the A-GPS, GPS, HSDPA, and HSUPA.

Customisation:
The Acer beTouch E100 3G/HSDPA Windows Smartphone features the option for the customisation of your phone. With this facility, you can personalise the looks and the options the way you want with your phone. While the default model of the phone comes out in black outfit, Acer provides you with a few more colours that make your phone look very cute. These colours include pink, green and red. All the colours are bright and most importantly, they are replaceable. You can always put on and remove these colours covers whenever you want. Also, the customisation option is extended to the options and applications featuring in the phone. You have a customisable home screen that allows you put your best and the most important applications before you. This feature leads to the delight of many people.

Social Networking:
However busy you are, you would always want to catch up with your friends and family. Social networking is the answer to this and hence the Acer E100 provides you with it. It features social networking websites such as Facebook and Flickr. With these, you can check out your favourite videos, blogs. You can also chat with your friends and share your views, photos and videos with them. Even while you are on the move, you can always be in touch with your dear ones.

Windows Mobile 6.5:
The Acer beTouch E100 is powered by the Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system. This is just like the heart of the PDA. This operating system from Microsoft is very effective for mobile use and allows you access to applications like Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and other important applications. You can also browse the web with the help of the Internet Explorer. All these applications are very well known to all and are also very easy to use on the mobile. There is a corporate email server so that the business users can also get themselves connected securely to the mail server and then access their emails when they are out of office.

This rather new Operating system from Microsoft is a very interesting one. It features an updated version of a honeycomb style main menu in it, and this not only gives a stylish appearance, but it also makes it easy to browse and scroll between the different options and applications featuring in the phone. There is also a finger-able screen for home and contacts so that it is easy to go to the home page and also to view the contacts faster. The Internet Explorer application is also revamped with some of the new features like the touchable zoom option, with which you can zoom the web pages to the required extent. This is a very appreciable option and it is actually required in the PDA phones because; the screens are considerably small in these phones and make it very uncomfortable for viewing. So many people feel it difficult if the web pages are too small to read. This is the one of the areas where Acer scores over the others. Also, as discussed earlier, the features like My Phone and Windows Marketplace are one of the very utile options provided by Microsoft. So with the combination of Microsoft Windows Mobile and Acer beTouch E100, you have the power in your hands.

Performance:

Processor performance:
The Acer beTouch E100 features the Qualcomm 7225 processor with 533 MHz cycle speed. This is not a famous one and is also not the best one in the market. But at the same time, it is also not the worst one. So, the performance is good but you cannot expect it to be the best. With so many features that are discussed above, the processor gives you just about good performance. There is also a hue and cry among its customers that there is a problem of system hanging and the phone hangs at particular times while performing particular tasks. This may prove to be one of the minuses in this mobile.

Camera:
This model from Acer features the 2 megapixel camera in it. With this, you can get digital pictures that look as if taken by a digital camera. So, you can get pictures with good clarity. You can then view the pictures on a high resolution screen with good clarity. You can the share these pictures with your family and friends through the social networking websites like Flickr and Facebook. You can also connect to the internet and then send these photos through email to all your dear ones. This camera also has the digital zoom option and this option, more often than not, does not reduce the quality of the image too much. So, you can always capture your joyous moments by the Acer E100.

As a multimedia player:
You can also record videos with this camera. This one supports video recording for a video resolution of 240 x 320 and the frame rate of this camera is 30 fps. The camera supports many video formats such as MP4, 3GP, WMV, H 263 and H 264. Video streaming through the internet is also possible with the Acer E100.

This beTouch E100 PDA smartphone has many options when it comes to playing music. It supports many formats like MP3, AAC, eAAC+ and WMA. So, there are no problems concerning the conversion of the music files from one format to the other. Also, you can also sync your mobile with the Windows Media Player and then play the music of your interest. Also, playing of ringtones is easy with this mobile. The mobile supports different formats of ringtones like monophonic, polyphonic (64) and MP3. So, you can download ringtones of different formats without worrying about their compatibility.

Messaging:
The Acer E100 has many messaging options that include SMS, MMS including video, instant messaging through MSN and email through POP3, SMTP, IMAP4, and MS exchange.

Memory:
Coming to the memory of the mobile; there is a lot of memory on offer for the storage of. You can store unlimited number of numbers in the phonebook. This is a very good feature. In many of the mobiles these days, there is a certain limit even when it comes to the phonebook. But there is no such limit with the Acer E100. All your calls such as the dialled calls, missed calls and the received calls are stored for a period of 30 days. For all this, there is an internal memory in the phone. But for all other purposes, there is a need for an external memory card. There is a slot available for a micro SD card in the phone. This external memory card is essential to store all the files such as music, videos, documents and other data. So, you can transfer the data easily with the help of this micro SD card.

There are different call features such as Hands Free and Caller ID facility. With the Hands free facility, you can talk over the phone using wireless technology. With the Caller ID facility, you can see the number of the caller.

Connectivity:
There are two types of connectivity options: Mini USB and Bluetooth. With the mini USB, you can sync your mobile with your PC and then share or copy files between them. So, this is a very important tool. Also, the Bluetooth software is a very important feature nowadays. It has been one of the most important features in all the mobile phones. This also is essential for the data transfer between many devices, but the only difference and an advantage is that this is a wireless type of data transfer system and it can be used anywhere on earth between two devices that support Bluetooth.

Security:
For any PDA, especially for the ones involving the connection to internet, security of the private data is at stake. So, there is always a possibility for the loss of confidential or personal data. So, that is why Acer has ensured that there are no such problems by introducing new Security features such as Device Lock, Remote Lock and Memory Card encryption. With the device lock, your phone will be locked when not in use. The remote lock locks the internet access to the phone so that there are no viruses entering into your phone. The memory card encryption software scans the memory card for viruses and deletes if there are any. All these options save your phone from data corruption.

So, all the options and features discussed above help greatly in the performance of the phone and overall performance is considered to be good.

Battery:

The battery is Lithium ion type with amperage of 1140 mAh. With this battery, you get a standby time of about 400 hours and a talk time of five hours.

Warranty:

Acer offers parts and labour warranty for a period of one year from the date of purchase.

Verdict:

The Acer beTouch E100 is a good mobile to have. It has a very slim design and is perfectly apt for business professionals. The touchscreen display is fine and all the features are very useful and unique. The internet connectivity is good and the most important thing is that it is one of the few models that have a phone facility. Many of the others do not have such a facility and hence, this is one of the pluses. The only minus in this mobile is that it hangs quite frequently and many customers have already expressed dissent regarding this. The cost is also a bit on the higher side. Other than these, there are no problems at all and it is a very good gadget to have, especially when you are on the move.

Acer beTouch E100 Smartphone - Technical Specification Table

Pros:

• Powerful processor
• Snappy and efficient performance
• UMTS 3G feature
• User friendly QWERTY keyboard
• Excellent sound quality
• Bluetooth implementation
• Redesigned firm grip surface
• Great usability features
• Improvised camera with video recording at 30fps
• MS Voice Command feature

Cons:

• The Battery is smaller, thus the battery life is also shorter
• No built-in Wi-Fi system, so users have to add an external Wi-Fi car
• The square 240 x 240 pixels screen is smaller than the standard size, which reduces the visibility and even though most of the software are compatible with this resolution, it is not at all good enough for gaming.

Review:

Palm Treo is a big name in the international market of PDA phones and smartphones. Palm Treo phones are of two types, one is the Palm OS and the other is Window Mobile. Both have been rather a revolutionary achievement. When the predecessor of Palm Treo 680 was released, it was claimed to be a landmark in the PDA and smartphone market. Palm Treo 750 from Palm and Cingular was said to be a cross of a smartphone and a pocket pc, such were its features and attributes and it took the Treo family a step ahead in the international market as well. It was the most refined and power redefined Windows mobile Treo.

Design:

A make-over:
Palm Treo 750, the predecessor to the Palm Treo 650 is a redesigned version of the same, but convenience and comfort level of users has been well kept in mind. The case redesigning makes the Palm Treo 750 look more compact and precise. Moreover, a stubby jutting antenna which was found in the previous editions of the Palm Treo has been removed. Palm Treo 750 sports a palm-friendly look and shape and has soft, rubberized and padded grip in various colour schemes.  The Palm Treo 750 is solid and well made in terms of looks and feel and feels wonderful in hand.

The feel:
Palm Treo 750 PDA Phone has a soft-touch rubberized finishing, which helps to have a firm grip of it in hand. The surface texture is thrilling and appealing and the Palm Treo 750 is slick and lighter than the previous editions of Palm Treo PDA phone series. The base colour is navy blue and has a bezel silver display along with side grips made up of plastic which looks like brushed metal by appearance. There is a single LED which is hidden, that is, the silver bezel is devoid of any window. Only while indicating charging status, the LED lights up to show its existence, which does not keep flashing to notify and indicate any kind of phone service or Bluetooth status. Thus, users who do not like LED flashes for notifications, Palm Treo 750 is good news for them. Moreover, the LED does not even flash to notify about appointment reminders and alarms, thus it is not user friendly enough because one has to look at the screen to check for missed alarms and reminders. This PDA phone has a single-piece ample stylus, unlike the generalized telescopic, ultra-thin ones, which is an added advantage with the user friendly interface. It is easy to grip and more efficient in usage terms.

Average Display:
The Palm Treo 750 Smartphone sports a 16-bit 4.4 x 4.4 cm square TFT touch screen. The square 240 x 240 screens are not really a great thing when compared to any other devices in the market and it is quite a loss as around 80 pixels are lost from one side, as compared to the generalized standard screen resolution of 320 x 240 pixels. These screens are also compatible with few other phones and are found on other Palm Treo models as well as on the HP iPAQ hw6945. These 240 x 240 screens, even though quite smaller in size are very easy and comfortable on user’s eyes.
The only mentionable drawback of these screens is that the text and graphics are smaller in size and looks as though they are crammed in to fit the 2.6” LCD screen. The Palm phone’s tough transflective touch screen which has a display of 65k colours and can support both landscape and portrait modes of viewing, though it is baseless as the its screen is square, and not rectangular. Therefore, there will not be any kind of change in the view in landscape mode in a square screen. The LCD is very bright and the colour saturation level is also remarkable. The picture quality is also very sharp which maybe an added benefit because of the crammed screen space, which means a greater pixel density, which in turn enhances sharpness.

The Keyboard:
The keyboard of the Palm Treo 750 is still highly similar to the Palm Treo 700 series and has the same kind of key size, tactile feedback and key travel. The backlit keys are predominantly black and the number keys are silver for fast and easy dialling and they are 9mm wide and 10mm tall. The number keys also share letters with them, so to enter numbers the Fn key has to be used, but the Fn key is sticky and it does not need to be pressed and held. Pressing it once will let one access its function and pressing the Fn key twice will activate num lock, just like the shift key. The keyboard is not roomy enough, but is quite usable, thus, unlike other QWERTY phones, thumb movement is quite restricted in the Palm Treo 750. Moreover, for characters and symbols, including colon, can be found under a pop-up list on pressing the Alt key, which is a bit tacky as there is no place for characters and symbol keys directly on the keypad.

Buttons, Ports and Connectivity:
The Palm Treo 750 PDA phone does not have a jog wheel, but around the d-pad surrounding the phone has OK buttons which thus helps in improved one-handed operation of the device. The device also has a Windows Start Menu. Moreover, the Treo 750 has below its display screen, the usual Windows Mobile software keys and the call send and call end buttons are in their usual standard locations. The volume up and volume down keys are on the left hand side of the device and along with it there is another button which is user-assignable and it is generally set to camera by default. On the right hand side of the Palm PDA phone, there is a large Infra Red window and there is also a miniSD slot below that covered by a door. Other than these, towards the bottom edge of the device, there are the Charge and sync ports. Towards the top the ringer on/off slider is located along with the stylus.

The speakerphone, camera lens and the self portrait mirror are on the back side and the battery is available on the rear with a cover. The SIM card slot as usual is placed beneath the battery and under the miniSD cover, along with a soft reset hole. In order to perform a soft reset, the Palm Treo 750, user will have to remove and re-insert the device’s battery. Beneath the standard earpiece there is a square coloured touch screen and below that a 5-way navigator along with two soft keys is present whose function can be changed dynamically depending on different applications. Overall, the Palm Treo 750 is a re-designed model of its predecessor and is just a bit narrower and a little bit thicker but has a classy look. Users who have a fascination for larger in size smartphones would not mind this device, whereas it might not be well-appreciated by fickle minded, fashion conscious users because of its size.

Features:

Windows Mobile phone:
The Palm Treo 750 has customized its operating System is quite a number of ways to enhance and improve the usability as in comparison to the prior Palm Treo Windows Mobile pocket PC phones. Included in the list of these improvisations are Speed Dialling, which is picture based and is styled in list form; Screen plug-ins for search queries like Google; A search bar to find a contact by the name and/or number for easy dialling and to top it, the right soft key is basically a shortcut which allows access to various applications like the dial pad, the contact list, the call log, the Wireless Manager settings for the device itself and the Today screen or the speed dial. Pressing the Fn button and the OK button, locks the phone’s screen and all other buttons and pressing and holding the ‘ok’ button gives access to the Task Manager. The Alt key provides a pop-up menu for all special characters and symbols in almost everywhere where it finds its usage and the battery icon on top of Today’s screen when tapped shows the remaining percentage of charge. The provision for speed dial helps to assign a contact to any particular letter or rather key on the keypad. Thus pressing and holding that particular key will allow easy and instant call access to the related contact saved for that key. The Treo 750 PDA phone also includes MS Voice Command 1.5 along with its various customizations which helps in supporting Bluetooth headsets.

Data reception:
The Palm Treo 750 has a GSM radio which catches signal anywhere in the world where GSM service is available and thus the Treo 750 is a device that can be used conveniently, worldwide. Its quad band GSM radio works on the 850/900/1800/1900MHz bands and can also handle GSM, GPRS and EDGE. The phone’s 3G radio also works on the European and US bands (850/1900/2100MHz) and it supports UMTS rather than the standard HSDPA for data even though the latter one is faster in its service. UMTS at 384k might top out, although faster results are a sure thing if Cingular’s proxy is used, which is hardcoded into its registry for IE in relatively stronger service areas. Palm’s promised upgrade in Q1 2007 moved the Palm 750 to HSDPA servicing, which means an upgraded and enhanced speed ranging from 600-1,000k can be obtained in strong Cingular 3G coverage areas with a theoretical maximum speed of 1.8 Mbps, which technically is quite high and almost impossible to get on any other PDA phone. Before that, two different utilities were developed for the non-HSDPA enabled HTC Hermes device which was to enable HSDPA on the device.

Internet:
The Palm Treo 750 PDA Smartphone has IE and Outlook in their respective mobile versions for any kind of Internet-based work or tasks. The benefit of Outlook is that it supports IMAP and POP protocols, more than one email accounts, various authentications and MS direct push email. Moreover, it is highly user-friendly when it comes to mobile messaging and user can also install any kind of compatible third party Windows Mobile browsers like Opera and Opera Mini for instance. But for the Opera Mini browser, a Java VM installation is required for it to run as Mini Opera requires the same as a platform and the Palm Treo 750 does not come preloaded with the JAVA VM. Once Java VM is downloaded and installed the third party browser, Mini Opera will function properly and moreover it helps in certain other things in bits and parts for example it will also make the PDA phone compatible for viewing maps via the Google Earth provision.

Camera and its features:
The Palm Treo 750 PDA phone has a 1.3 megapixel camera; can click photos up to a maximum of 1280 x1024 pixels and the device also supports a wide variety of low profile resolutions which are helpful in usage in caller id’s, contact photos, email, or Multimedia messaging service (MMS).The Palm Treo 750 offers a 2x digital zoom and has three different modes, namely the Normal, the timer, and the burst mode. There are three different settings for rendering image quality and a use can chose to save a clicked photo in the MiniSD card. But, other than this, there are no variety of image settings, effects or balance as the Palm Treo 750 uses a standard Windows Mobile 5 application component, named as the Microsoft Microsoft’s Pictures and Videos application, which is a very generalized and standard camera application. The Palm Treo 750 can shoot synchronized video along with the audio in 3GP format at a very high frame rate of 30fps. Audio recording is optional, that is the user can turn it on or off according to his requirement and relevance, and video recording resolutions can also be altered from 352 x 288 (CIF) to 176 x 144 and moreover, the recording length is also specified, ranging from a minimum of 15 seconds up to unlimited.

The Acoustics:
The Palm Treo 750 is a killer when it comes to applications. Due to the 3G’s superior quality voice codecs, the incoming and outgoing call quality of the PDA is excellent and the volume is also more than sufficient, even though it does not have an impressive external sound quality in compared to the previous Palm Treo models. The reception quality is of the 3G as well as the GSM is also quite good. The Palm Treo 750 has a 2.5mm stereo headset jack and a loud speakerphone which is placed on the rear of the device and the phone comes with a complimentary stereo headset with inline microphone.

Voice Command:
Treo 750 has customized its features and applications and MS Voice Command 1.5 is a boon with its added Bluetooth headset support. It provides true voice recognition without any kind of tags or training and thus this feature is really helpful as the device can detect voice command and can work accordingly even when the user is busy doing something else when it is inconvenient for hand-held usage. Any button can be assigned as the Voice command shortcut button even the hands free Bluetooth headset is in collaboration to this feature. It is fun and very convenient. Any query or anything a user wants to know or read from the phone can be done by this feature and the voice command feature will tell the user or read out to him via the Bluetooth feature.

On-device applications like the speed dial and the Today Screen and one-touch dialling are also available which help to simplify calling or dialling a contact when Bluetooth head set is not in use.

Software Bundle with Palm Treo 750:
Almost all Windows Mobile Pocket PC and Pocket PC Phone Edition devices sport touch screens, on-screen keyboards, handwriting recognition etc, though the handwriting recognition or the software keyboard are not a entirely a main software feature of the Palm Treo 750 PDA phone, as it has a full QWERTY keypad. The software features of the Treo 750 also include viewing Powerpoint presentations, viewing and editing Microsoft’s Mobile Office Word and Excel documents, using the Outlook Mobile, working on the Mobile Internet Explorer etc. Other than this, Windows Media Player 10, Modern Link, Terminal services, viewing and recording pictures and videos, using Pocket MSN along with Hotmail and/or MSN messenger, support of VPN connections and secure certificates, using File explorer, playing solitaire, Bubble breaker and using Calculator are included in the Software feature list of this PDA device. On the PDA outlook, there is a provision for contacts, tasks, calendar, notes and emails which can be easily synchronized only to Windows.

The Treo 750 also includes their very popular application for threaded SMS application, a car kit manager, a key guard facility to lock the device’s buttons and touch screen even when on a voice call. User can also add ringtones very easily using Sounds, and also has a Bluetooth plug-in for Windows desktop along with a wireless manager, which can control both the Bluetooth radio stations as well as the phone itself as a device. Moreover, the bundled third party software are also notable as we get MS voice command, which is amazingly accurate and efficient, Handmark Express, a game names Astra ware’s Dynamite, Sprite Backup and Piscel’s PDF reader and furthermore, a number of download links are also provided for downloading and installing the Avenue and Audible software. It is also compatible with a subscription navigator service called TeleNav, which is promoted by Cingular.

Performance:

Responsiveness:
Recently, quite a number of PDA phones came with a Samsung’s ARM/XScale compatible processor, and the Palm Treo 750 PDA phone has also joined the league as it is loaded with the Samsung SC32442A 300MHz processing unit. The power saving features of Samsung processors along with the strong performance is quite commendable as it is a rare combination for a processing unit. Generally a processor which is very high in performance has a low power saving capability and vice-versa. The Palm Treo 750 is highly responsive considered by Windows Mobile 5 standards without any kind of undo lag opening menus and applications. It has a 500 contact database which opens in a jiffy and scrolling up and down the contact list is also remarkably fast without any kind of problem as such. It supports only 240 x 240 jar extension games which are not very common but then any game which metes out the compatibility requirement runs well enough in the Palm Treo 750 and the device also has a very good video playback.

Memory:
Unlike its predecessors, the Palm Treo 750 has a 64Megabyte RAM to run applications and programs, which is standard for any other smart phones or PDA phones. Out of this 64 megabyte RAM, approximately only 29 megabytes are free post-booting and the Palm Treo 750 also has a 128 megabyte flash ROM, out of which only 60 megabytes are available for users as a lasting and persistent memory that can survive total battery drainage. It has a miniSD card slot, which is expandable up to 2 gigabytes for expansion of the basic storage. The Palm Treo 750’s miniSD slot also supports SDIO and the device is also compatible with Spectec’s miniSD Wi-Fi 802.11b card.

Multimedia Capabilities:
The Palm Treo 750 PDA phone comes with Windows Media Player 10 Mobile for MP3, Internet, Radio and Video Playback is formats like WMV, 3GP and ASF, like any other Smartphones or Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC. It also supports third party players and music streaming from iTunes to the phone is also possible with the use of Avenue software bundled via the download link. The sound may not be very loud, but the sound quality through the rear speaker is very clear and the stereo headphones have an excellent sound quality as well. Because of the phone’s square screen size, a perfect aspect ratio is not possible for video playback, but with the help of ATI graphics accelerator, video playback is not that bad an experience on the Palm Treo 750. The Palm Treo has a plausible average video playback speed of around 477.40% with original frame rate of 24fps and original data rate of 310 kbit/s. These are quite remarkable benchmark results compared to other models of the Palm Treo series or any other PDA phones available in the market.

Camera performance:
The Palm Treo 750, like the other models of the Palm Treo series. A 1.3 megapixel camera is a total disappointment in such a loaded phone, where any other phones sport a better resolution camera. But, some improvisations have been made in the palm Treo 750’s camera, which in spite of having the same resolution as its predecessors, gives us better picture quality with good colour hue and saturation, with minimal noise and generally with generally almost correct and proper colour balance. Due to its high frame rate, the recording quality is quite good and the picture is smooth, though at times it seems to be a bit blocky. Be it the change in camera hardware, or change in lens, or better processing techniques, but whatever it is, the Palm 750 is definitely way better in its image taking potentials than the other models of the same series, even though it has the same camera resolution as the others.

Bluetooth:
The Bluetooth has been modified and improved as well in the Treo 750. The device has an absolutely normal range and efficiency when it comes to the Bluetooth device, compared to the poor range and sometimes iffy status in case of dial up networking in the previous models of the Palm Treo series. The Palm Treo 750 is highly compatible with handsfree features and has a good efficiency even though it has a dial up networking. The Palm Treo 750 has A2DP for Bluetooth headphone stereos and can also handle AVRC for controlling the playback with head set buttons. The Palm Treo 750 PDA phone also has a well modified and efficient Bluetooth 1.2 radio and this device also supports handsfree, headset, and a serial port which is used by the Bluetooth GPS other than its compatibility with A2DP and DUN and it is also complimented with file transfer profiles. Overall the Bluetooth service of the Palm Treo 750 is very good and moreover the sound quality of the Bluetooth mono and stereo is also excellent.

Battery Life:

The Palm Treo 750 PDA has a 1200 mAh Lithium Ion battery, which complements the weight reduction solution of this model, as the other Palm Treo models sport a larger 1,800mAh battery. Thus, if used moderately, the Palm Treo 750 has to be charged every alternate day in average with the push email turned off. With the push email turned on, the battery life reduces to some extent and the charge might last as long as 24 hours. Thus, the Palm Treo 750 PDA phone has average battery consumption unlike the other power hungry models of the Palm Treo series. The Treo has in box, a compact charger of 110-240v and it is the only mean to charge the device, as it does not support USB charging, even though it might well synchronize with USB and power cables. Thus, users will have to carry the compact world charger on road or anywhere they go, which might be tacky at times, and the fact that it does not support USB charging is a con.

Box contents:

The package contents include Palm Treo 750 PDA phone, Lithium Ion Battery, Compact AC charger ( 110 – 240v), USB sync cable, Stylus, Screen Protector, A user manual and a Software CD.

Warranty:

Palm offers its Treo 750 PDA 12 months warranty for parts and labour.

Verdict:

The Palm Treo 750 PDA phone is not another shattering bulky not-so-efficient model of the Palm Treo series, and neither is it just a redesigned model of its predecessor. The Palm Treo 750 is very efficient and in many ways better than other phones of its league in terms of performance. It sports an improved, faster and more performance and power saving oriented processing unit, an enhanced and improved video playback, a well modified and improved camera, and a better, and more powerful implementation of Bluetooth in a slim, light-weight, well textured, antenna – less casing. But the best thing about the Palm Treo 750 PDA phone is that it is the first Palm Treo model promoted by Cingular, which is available with GSM service! The Palm Treo 750 PDA phone, unlike the other models of the same series, is neither just moderate in call quality, nor is too low on sonority and audio quality. It is both loud and very clear when it comes to the sound quality, be it the rear speakers, or the head set, and the call quality is also far better. It is user-friendly, which is very important and with a good grip and redesigned casing, feels great in hand. Concluding it all, the Palm Treo 750 PDA phone is quite a package with a number of modifications, redesigning, customizations of efficiency performance and usability. For users who love the power of windows mobile and are also fascinated by one hand operation and qwerty keyboard, the Palm Treo 750 is quite an obvious choice without a second thought.

Check other Palm PDA Reviews, Handheld PDAs in our website.

Palm Treo 750 PDA Smartphone - Technical Specification Table

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