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| Toshiba Releases High-Res PPC |
by Scott Raulinaitis, Editor - 10/23/2003 - 3:24pm EST
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Toshiba officially announced two new PDAs running Microsoft's Pocket PC 2003 OS today. The Toshiba e400/405 is a slim model that looks pretty much like any other PPC you've seen. Thanks to Microsoft's recent relaxation of their strict guidelines for licensees using the Pocket PC OS, Toshiba was able to offer this PDA in a color other than silver. It features a 3.5" diagonal transflective screen, 300MHz XScale PXA261 CPU, 64MB of RAM, and some intriguing voice command software. It's 5.1 ounces and costs $300, pitting it against HP's Bluetooth-equipped h1945.
But you don't care about that. That's boring. What's interesting is Toshiba's other new model, the e800/805. What makes the e800 so interesting is that it features a 480x640 resolution 4" diagonal screen. Of course, you'll have to take my word for it (and the pics at PDAfrance to prove it), because finding this spec listed on their site will require a magnifying glass, because for whatever reason, they're not touting that as a primary feature. Huh? Earth to Toshiba: That is the feature on the e800. Sure, it's got 128MB of RAM, built-in Wi-Fi, a healthy 1320mAh user-replaceable battery, USB host support, and both a Compact Flash and SDIO slot. But at $600, it would still be considered rather pricey compared to HP's recently released h4150 which may lack the e800's CF slot, extra 64MB of RAM, and larger battery, but is priced at a much more reasonable $450.
Did you find the fine print that mentions the 480x640 resolution yet? Well, you better hold on to that magnifying glass, because you'll probably need to carry it with the e800. Unlike the higher-resolution modes used on the Palm OS, the Toshiba's high-res mode doesn't appear nearly as well thought out. On the Palm OS, title bars, menus, buttons, scroll bars, and other UI widgets are "pixel doubled" making them the same physical size as they would be if they were on an older 160x160 Palm OS device. That means that they're just as easy to see and tap on with your stylus. On this Toshiba, however, those "widgets" aren't pixel-doubled, resulting in very small text and buttons. Reading and tapping on these things could be an excercise in frustration. What's more, in what looks like an effort of trying to run before they've learned to walk, there still doesn't appear to be native support for landscape mode.
So $600 for a device with tacked-on support for high-res from a company whose support for their PDA products has a bad reputation among geeks. Who will buy this thing? Those very same geeks, that's who. Geeks are a fickle bunch, after all, and they do love their gadgets. Who cares how well it's implemented or which company is making it. Just check out that high-res 480x640 screen!
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