a good mobile tool for anyone using office applications
Written: Jul 16 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: small light quick
Cons: poor audio
The Bottom Line: good tool for anyone using office applications and a serious option to be considered for specialized areas of field work
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| nzwaneveld's Full Review: NEC MobilePro 780 Pocket PC |
General
The Nec MobilePro is a light weight handheld PC (770 grams) with a good number of features. The quick device initialization, reasonable keyboard, and expandability make the NEC MobilePro a good tool for anyone using office applications and an interesting tool for data collection in the field. Software Developers should also consider the MobilePro 780 as a serious option for specialized areas of field work.
My rating for this device is:
Overall: ****
User-friendly: ****
Price/performance: ***
Operating System
One of the interesting characteristics of the MobilePro is the operating system: Windows Handheld PC 2000. This is a stripped version of the normal Microsoft operating system for use in PDA's and handheld PC's. The operating system 'Windows Handheld PC 2000' is also known as 'Windows CE 3.0'. The MobilePro is shipped with a number of applications in its 24MB ROM: Pocket Internet Explorer 4.01en, Pocket Outlook 3.1en, Pocket Word 3.01, Pocket Excel 3.01, Pocket PowerPoint 3.01, Pocket Access 3.01, Media Player, Inkwriter, Calculator, World Clock, Voice Recorder, PC Link, Terminal, Solitaire and the Microsoft Terminal Server Client. The advantage of having these applications in ROM is that the software will keep on working properly after hang-ups, resets, or other nasty events. The disadvantage is that you cannot upgrade your applications. Data files that have been saved in the flash memory (16MB Flash ROM) will generally also survive hang-ups and resets and you will only risk losing unsaved data in memory and open files. In the 16MB Internal Flash ROM only 14MB is available for storage.
Processor
The disadvantage of all Windows CE-versions is that they require a fast processor and relatively a lot of memory. This generally resulted in fairly slow performing, heavier, and high battery-consuming PDA's. These PDA's often had difficulty to compete with the Psion and Palm PDA's. Despite the larger size and weight than these competitors, Windows CE does have its advantages. Just think about the portability of data and the look and feel of the applications. NEC has built the MobilePro 780 around a quick 168 MHz Mips VR4121 processor and 32 MB of internal memory. As the applications rapidly pop up onto the screen, you get the feeling that you are working on a state of the art device. The performance is a pleasure instead of being painfully slow.
Display
The color display has a size of 8.1" diagonally with a screen resolution of 640 x 240 pixels. This is not really large, but is adequate for most of the applications. Excel looks strange on this type screen. You will also find that it is a bit awkward to browse on Internet at first, but it gets better once you are used to it. The Pocket Office software only supports 256 colors, but the display can handle up to 64K colors.
The screen quality should not be compared to what you may be used to on a notebook. If you look closely you will see that the colors of the displayed images are not uniform (a single red line can be display several shades of red) and give the impression that it is a bit smudged. As I said, you have to look closely to see this. I did not find this disturbing during normal use because only a small percentage of the total image is affected.
A great advantage of the display is that it is touch sensitive. By simply touching an icon you start up an application. This beats the mouse and keyboard anytime.
Keyboard
The keyboard is small, but large enough for typing email messages and letters. I would not try to type a large report using this keyboard. The MobilePro does not have a mouse. Mouse movements are all done using the stylus pen. The right mouse button is simulated by using the stylus pen in combination with the ALT-key. This also requires some time to get used to. Other alternatives would have only increased the size of the MobilePro and somehow, I don't see myself effectively using a mouse outdoors :-) I found that the stylus pen suites fine.
Ports
The MobilePro 780 has the following ports: Serial, VGA-out, infrared transmitter and receiver, and an audio jack.
The serial port can be used with the supplied serial cable to connect your handheld to a PC. This allows you to transfer / synchronize data between the handheld and PC.
The VGA-out signal has a resolution of 800 x 600 pixels.
The audio jack is a story itself. You will find my comments on the audio jack in the next paragraph.
Audio
The MobilePro has a built in microphone and mono speaker. It also has an audio port for an integrated earphone / microphone (optional accessory). However, the quality of the sound with the built-in microphone & speaker and the integrated earphone / microphone is poor. It is good enough to use for voice recordings, but if the idea of using the MobilePro as MP3 player crosses your mind, then forget it! I felt that the quality of sound may improve by using a better headset. I tried to get an audio connector for the MobilePro so that I could connect my own headset and compare it with the quality I get with other audio devices. Unfortunately the required connector is smaller that the connectors that I could find in well-stocked retail shops for electronic parts. The required connector seems to be a proprietary component. Since I have no idea if the quality of sound will actually improve with a top quality headset, I am very reluctant to cut the connector off a perfectly good accessory.
Expansion slots
The MobilePro has two expansion slots. One slot is a Type II CompactFlash slot and can only be used by a 16MB CompactFlash Storage card. You can use the card to store email attachments, presentations and other files. The removable card acts like a disk drive and requires no power to hold data.
The other slot is a Type II PC Card slot. This slot is used for many types of cards such as for expanding memory, a network adapter and the IBM MicroDrive. The IBM 1GB MicroDrive worked perfectly (and this is when I got the disillusioned idea to use the MobilePro as fancy MP3 player). Xircom has a 10MB network adapter for Windows CE devices, but it did not work well with the MobilePro. The throughput is on average 100kB/sec IF the adapter is working. Xircom is working on a new driver for Windows CE 3.0, so it would not be fair to currently blame the Nec MobilePro for this problem.
The slot can also be used for wireless network adapter, but make sure that the drivers are designed for Windows CE 3.0 and compact enough for use with your limited internal memory.
Connectivity
Besides the connectivity you get through the expansion slots, the MobilePro has a built-in V.90 modem and Infrared Port. A RJ-11 telephone cable is included.
Power
The MobilePro uses Rechargeable Lithium Ion Batteries (recharge time is 4.5 hours). You can get spare Lithium Ion Batteries. Indoors you can also use the AC adapter to power the MobilePro.
Accessories
The availability of accessories is equally important to me. It tells me more about the positioning of the product by the manufacturer. If there are hardly any accessories, or if they are expensive or hard to get, then the product starts to loose its attractiveness. If there is a large range of affordable accessories, then I get more confidence in the products future. If accessories fit other models as well, then I more or less expect that I still will able to get accessories in a year or so.
You can get a large number of accessories for the MobilePro 780. Everything from Cables, Carrying Cases, CompactFlash Cards, Stylus Pens, Earphone / Microphone, AC Adapter, and Lithium Ion Batteries. Its all there! NEC even thought of including an AA Battery Adapter so that you can power your MobilePro with AA batteries in case you are unable to recharge your MobilePro Lithium Ion Battery.
Possibilities
The NEC MobilePro 780 is good if you are only going to use the Office software.
If you are expanding the MobilePro with the IBM 1GM MicroDisk, then the MobilePro 780 also becomes a very interesting tool for data collection in the field. I have been developing data collection software for GPS equipment. Up to now I have been using a laptop for field work. I tested these applications without modification on the MobilePro 780 with an IBM 1GB MicroDrive and the performance was great for gathering and processing a constant stream of GPS data (1 second intervals). I will be implementing the touch sensitive screen for software control as field conditions do not always permit / recommend keyboard control. I believe that the durability, processor speed, internal memory and connectivity possibilities of the MobilePro will also prove to be very useful and reliable for other applications of data collection in the field.
Conclusion
The quick device initialization, reasonable keyboard, and expandability make the Nec MobilePro a good tool for anyone using office applications and a serious option to be considered for specialized areas of field work. Together with the availability of accessories I see the MobilePro 780 as a serious player in the PDA and Handheld PC market.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 799
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Epinions.com ID:
nzwaneveld
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Member: Nico Zwaneveld
Location: Somewhere in the Low Lands...
Reviews written: 17
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ICT Consultant
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