In search of the PDA, Holy Grail

Author's Rating:

Pros: Great color screen, intuitive design, thin, well thought-out engineering, affordable.

Cons: The speaker is not very loud.

The Bottom Line: 
The best PDA on the market, for the price. Period.

Author's Review
THE QUEST

I'm a self-admitted "High Tech Red-Neck". I recently allowed the left-side of my brain to shut down completely. I now rely on a PDA to keep me on task, on time, and on-the-ball. When my Palm V crashed (after 50 days of use), I panicked! I missed deadlines, meetings, and basically fell apart. The previous owner of two Palm Pilots, I was happy with the Palm OS until a friend of mine showed me his Pocket PC. The failure of my Palm V, was an obvious sign from God to begin my quest for the Holy Grail of PDAs.

MY JOURNEY

I looked at it all - the Tungsten, Zire, Dell, etc. A review of ALL the reviews I could find on the Internet revealed strengths and weaknesses to every unit. Price was a concern. I was not in the market for a $500 unit. For the price and functionality, I decided on the Toshiba e330. I kept detailed notes from my journey and have the following notes to pass on to you from my adventure log...

OPENING COMMENTS

Toshiba recently released (October of 2002) the e330, a beefed up version of its predecessor (the Toshiba e310). Powered by a 300MHz XScale processor, the e330 also has 64MB of onboard RAM. The e330 itself is virtually identical to the e310 in appearance, but weighs in at merely 0.2oz more. The e330 does a lot more!

I love the voice recorder feature on the Toshiba. It is easy to record audio notes or add audio to your written notes and play them back (either from the Pocket PC or your work station - after you sync).

I've only owned Palm OS, PDAs prior to my purchase of the Toshiba Pocket PC. I will never go back. The handwriting recognition is much better and several options (Block Recognizer, Keyboard, Letter Recognizer, and Transcriber) are available to input data. The color screen, voice recording, windows application, memory, expandability and stable feel of the unit leaves my Palm V in the dust. The Pocket PC is actually easier to set-up and sync than the Palm. I'm fundamentally anti-microsoft, so praise is hard for me offer up - - but is deserved here.

QUICK SPECS

* 300MHz XScale Processor
* 16-bit Color Reflective TFT; 3.5" TFT
* 64MB RAM/32MB ROM (Flash)
* MediaQ Graphics Controller
* Scroll & Select Wheel, Multidirectional Button, Four Programmable Buttons
* SD/SDIO Slot Onboard
* Weight 5.9 oz
* Headphone Jack

THE REVIEW

The Toshiba has the latest operating system, Pocket PC 2002, which is a step ahead of the Pocket PC and Windows CE operating systems. This is the slimmest Pocket PC on the market. It fits easily into my front pant pocket. It is not as wide as a 3.5", 1.44MB, "floppy," computer disk (but about three times as thick).

The e330 is a standard Pocket PC with Pocket Word, Excel, Internet Explorer and Outlook. Also included as part of the base Pocket PC package are MS Reader, Media Player and Acrobat Reader. Note that Microsoft is now including Outlook 2000 rather than Outlook 2002 with Pocket PCs. My Pocket PC came with the Outlook 2000 and the 2000 program works just fine.

The e330 looks identical to the e310 but has a lower price and does more. What does the e330 add? The new XScale processor running at 300 MHz (the e310 has a 206 MHz StrongARM processor), 64 megs of RAM rather than the e310's 32 megs, a much brighter, more evenly lit screen, and a better directional pad.

The Pocket PC comes with one SD (Secure Digital) card slot for memory expansion. The e330 supports USB keyboards if you purchase the optional USB adapter cable (I have not tried this accessory though).

DETAILED SPECS

Display: Reflective TFT color LCD, 65,536 colors, Screen Size Diag: 3.5", Resolution: 240 x 320. MediaQ Graphics chip with 256k cache.

Battery Lithium Ion rechargeable. Battery is not user-replaceable.

Performance: Intel XScale 300MHz., 32MB Flash ROM, 64MB built-in RAM.

size: 4.9 x 3.1 x 0.4. Weight Approximately 5.9 oz.

Audio: Built in speaker, mic and stereo headphone jack. Voice Recorder and Windows Pocket Media Player included.

Software: Pocket PC 2002 operating system. Microsoft Pocket Office suite including Pocket Word, Excel, Internet Explorer, Reader, and Outlook. Also, Terminal Services, MSN Instant Messenger for Pocket PC and Voice Recorder as well as handwriting recognition.

Expansion: 1 SD (Secure Digital) slot. Supports SDIO.

Software in ROM:
Microsoft® Pocket PC software 2002 (Premium Edition) includes Pocket Outlook® (manage calendars, tasks, and contacts), Pocket Internet Explorer, Pocket Word (view and edit Word documents), Pocket Excel (view and edit Excel documents), Microsoft Reader 2.0 for Pocket PC (read electronic books), Windows Media™ Player for Pocket PC (enjoy digital music), MSN Messenger, Microsoft® Transcriber, Terminal Services Client, Note Taker, Voice Recorder, ActiveSync™ 3.5, Calculator, Solitaire, VPN client, Beaming client

Backup utility, SIM Manager

Software on included CDs:

Microsoft ActiveSync™ v3.5 (for PC synchronization)
Microsoft Outlook 2002 (desktop version)
MS Money for Pocket PC (Desktop version required), Pocket Streets (Desktop version required), Internet Explorer 6.0 (for desktop), Windows Media Player 8.5 for Pocket PC and 7.1 for desktop), Microsoft Reader (for the PC), Microsoft Reader, Activation Pack (for free content), Microsoft Reader eBooks, AvantGo,

Processor • Intel® PXA250 processor at 300MHz; Memory • Main memory: 64MB SDRAM; 3.3V; Program memory • 32MB CMOS Flash ROM; Display • 3.5” TFT reflective color display; 240 x 320 (portrait) resolution (16 bit); Front light fluorescent lamp; 65,536 (64K) colors; 5 step Brightness control (by Software); MediaQ Graphics Controller; 256KB internal video memory * Input Devices • Touch Panel: Analog resistance sensitive system touch panel; Controls/Buttons: 5-way navigation button; 4 application keys- Calendar, Contacts, Task, Menu; 3 function navigator (Toshiba Scroller) for Up, Down and Action; Reset switch; Voice record button; Power on/off button; Battery on/off switch, Stylus pen; Expandability • 1 SD (Secure Digital) card slot (3.3V)

Ports • Universal Serial Bus port – (Client, Host*); IrDA Infrared port (115kbps); DC-in; Cradle connector port (26 pins); Stereo headphone jack

Physical Description • Dimensions (LxWxH): 4.9” x 3.1” x 0.4” Weight: 5.9oz (w/Stylus & battery); LED Indicators: One 2 color (Green, Orange) LED for Power Indication: 1. Green: Full Charge (while power source is AC adaptor); 2. Orange: Charging (while power source is AC adaptor); 3. Orange Flash: Alarm; 4. Yellow (Green and Orange): Out of Temperature; 5. Off: Power on/off; User Power on Password
Sound • AC-97 Codec Chip; WM9705 Sound Chip; 16-bit stereo; 44.1KHz Sample Rate; Full Duplex Record and Playback; Software Volume Control (by software); Built-in Microphone and Built-in Speaker; Stereo Headphone jack; Power Supply • AC Adapter: 5V/2A DC output; 100-240V input voltage, 50/60Hz frequency; Battery Pack: Rechargeable Advanced Lithium-Ion battery; 3.7V / 1000; Battery Saver: Stand by, Display Auto Off; Recharge time (Main battery on/off)


Operating System • Microsoft Pocket PC 2002; Additional Software • Pocket Word; Pocket Excel; Pocket Outlook®; Pocket Internet Explorer; Microsoft® Reader; Microsoft® Windows® Media™ Player 8 for Pocket PC; File Explorer; MSN® Messenger; Microsoft® Transcriber; Microsoft® Active Sync® 3.5; Microsoft® Outlook® 2000; Adobe Acrobat® Reader® for Pocket PC

WARRANTY INFO

Manufacturer Warranty • 1 year parts, labour and battery; 90-day limited warranty on operating system and applications.

ALSO INCLUDED

Soft case
Manual
Warranty Card
Cradle
Power cord
CD (w/software)
USB cable
Quick start card
(1) One memory card

RECOMMENDED

*Buy a hard case (to protect the screen) and hold extra memory cards
*Buy plastic transparent screen covers (over-lays) to protect the screen
*Buy a Toshiba Pocket PC

THE HOLY GRAIL?

No, but the best PDA for the price. Yes!