There's a lot to like about the e330, but it faces much stiffer competition than its predecessor, the e310, did.
Earlier this year, Toshiba dropped a bomb on Palm OS devices when it released the e310, a slim, light, color Pocket PC which now retails for a list price of AU$698.50. Now the company is offering the Pocket PC e330, which sports a faster processor, more RAM, and an introductory AU$899.03 price tag. More of a step up than a redesign, the e330 is definitely an improvement over the e310. But with all the other big handheld players honing their designs and new Pocket manufacturers such as Dell, ViewSonic, and Fujitsu entering the market, the e330 finds itself running more with the pack rather than ahead of it.
Cosmetically, the e330 is virtually identical to the e310. It has the same silver case and 16-bit (65,000-color) screen, and at 4.9 by 3.1 by 0.4 inches and 145 grams, it's only a hair bigger. While there are smaller and lighter Pocket PCs, the Toshiba is positively skinny compared to bulky devices such as Dell's Axim X5.
Without the sticker on the back of the unit labeling it an e330-series unit, you might mistake this handheld for its older cousin, the e310. Below its 3.5-inch, reflective TFT display are the typical program buttons, the five-way directional pad, and the small, internal speaker. While the speaker's sound is rather weak and tinny, it will alert you about upcoming appointments. The LED on the upper-left corner blinks amber when the alarm sounds and glows green when the battery is fully charged.
As with the e310, the e330 syncs with your PC via a heavy but sturdy cradle. While this is great
for syncing at home, the base is a bit heavy to lug comfortably, and there's no dongle to help road warriors sync with their laptops. However, if you just want to recharge during travel, you need only bring the AC adapter, which plugs directly into the bottom of the unit.
To protect the e330, Toshiba furnishes users with a slipcover. The jacket looks just like the e310's except that it lacks the gray trim. To protect the screen, Toshiba also supplies a single screen overlay, conveniently adhered to an order form, so you can purchase more if you lose the supplied one.
Internally is where the e330 differs from its sibling. Under the hood, you'll find a 300MHz Intel
XScale processor (up from 206MHz) and 64MB of RAM rather than the e310's 32MB. Both the e310 and the e330 contain a MediaQ Graphics Controller, which provides 256K of internal graphics memory. That's nothing like the 128MB behemoths of desktop graphics, but it's a start.
Like the e310, the e330 has a Secure Digital (SD) card slot for adding more storage and even
peripheral devices such as Bluetooth adapters. The unit lacks a CompactFlash slot like the step-up e740, but this is a necessary compromise; a CompactFlash slot would add unwanted girth to the Toshiba's slim form.
The e330 has all the standard software you'd expect in a Pocket PC. Microsoft Pocket PC 2002 runs the show and includes the Pocket versions of Word Excel, Outlook, Internet Explorer, and Windows Media Player. Toshiba also tosses in a Pocket version of Adobe Acrobat and its Home software, which lets you organize your frequently used applications and quickly deactivate programs running in the background.
As with many devices, certain aspects of the Toshiba's performance were impressive while others were a bit disappointing. Due to its 300MHz Intel XScale processor, the Toshiba offered satisfactory overall performance on a number of different tasks. Battery life has been improved over the e310's, but the screen, while decent, isn't as good as some of the screens we've scene on competing Pocket PCs. More on that in a minute; first, a few observations about processing power.
Unless you're planning on playing the latest, most graphics-intensive Pocket PC games, you'll find the e330's performance satisfying. We ran different applications, sorted Excel files, played pinball, and watched videos with no problem and little lag. The unit dropped frames in the fastest video scenes, but that's to be expected considering the unit's 300MHz processor.
Battery life was one of the Toshiba's best traits. If you like music, you'll appreciate that even with the backlight on halfway, the e330 can hold a tune for 4 hours and 16 minutes before needing a recharge (it stops playing MP3s when about 16 percent of the charge is left). Without playing MP3s, we got nearly 8 hours of regular use out of the device before the battery drained completely.
On to the screen: granted, the e330's 240x320-pixel reflective display is readable in brightly lit situations and offers a 16-bit (65,000-color) image. But there's something about combination of the backlight and the screen's reflective surface that makes it look a little dim with a slight bluish tint. For example, blacks are never completely black, and all colors glitter somewhat, giving the screen a speckled appearance. In addition, the backlight, which is positioned at the bottom of the screen, doesn't quite reach the top, so the display appears a bit darker at the very top.
It's worth pointing out that this is probably the same screen as the e310's, and while we didn't nitpick its performance in that model, times and technology have changed, and comparably priced competitors such as the Dell Axim X5 (regrettably not yet available in Australia) serve up brighter, richer screen images.
Toshiba e330
Company: Toshiba Australia
Price: AU$899.03
Distributor: Selected resellers
Phone: 02 9887 6000
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