It's not due for release until mid-year, but we've snagged an early look at Toshiba's next PDA.
One of the few drawbacks of Toshiba's Wi-Fi-enabled e740 was its less than stellar screen.
So it comes as no surprise that the company has endowed that model's successor, the e750, with a much-improved display. There's more good news: Toshiba has also thrown in an extra 32MB of storage space and has slightly refined the design, making a good PDA even better. We're still waiting for a final shipping unit, but we did get our hands on a preproduction model and have some early impressions to impart.
The e750 looks very similar to the earlier e740, sporting the same black-and-silver case, as well as the two expansion slots for both CompactFlash and Secure Digital cards. And at 12.45 by 7.86 by 1.52cm and 195gm, the e750 is nearly the same size as the older model, though it's slightly heavier.
Power up the unit, however, and you'll immediately notice a big difference. The e750's 16-bit, 65,000-color screen is now transflective, and it's both brighter and more uniform than that of earlier Toshiba handhelds. Another plus is the additional 32MB of storage space. The e750 has the traditional 64MB of RAM that you'd expect to find in a high-end pocket PC, plus 32MB of nonvolatile flash ROM--great for backing up and safeguarding your data against hard resets and power losses. Less of a step up is the unit's processor. The e740 sports a 400MHz Intel XScale ZPXA 250 chip, whereas the e750 ships with a 400MHz PXA 255, which is presumed to slightly outpace the older CPU.
The device's main attraction is its built-in Wi-Fi capability. With an ever-increasing number of hot spots--wireless-access points--popping up in cafes and hotels, this Toshiba positions itself less as a wireless gadget for the home network and more of a business tool for the corporate traveler.
At first glance, the bundled software selection looks a little meager. The only extra program is Toshiba's Home software, which organizes your frequently used applications and quickly deactivates apps running in the background.
Though Toshiba hasn't done anything all that groundbreaking with these new PDAs, the improved screen and the extra storage space are big pluses. Our preproduction unit seems promising, so we're itching to get our hands on a shipping model. Look for our full review soon.
Toshiba Pocket PC e750
Company: Toshiba Australia
Price: Australian price and availability TBA
Distributor: Selected resellers
Phone: 13 30 70
3%
2%
