Asus A626 3.5-inch PDA Windows Mobile 5.0, Wi-fi (802.11 B+g), Bluetooth 2.0 (edr), - MYPAL A626

Looks good, feels good

8/12/2008

I don't know a lot about PDAs, pocket pcs, iphones, whatever.

But I do know that this one is pretty good at what it does... it works. It starts up immediately, shuts off immediately, recognizes your handwriting impressively well. It runs programs quickly and effortlessy. I've read a lot of other good reviews on it as well, but I don't know enough to compare it to other handhelds.

My only minus is the picture/video quality. Compared to iphones and itouches, it's definitely below the bar.

Buy this if you want something good for work or school.
Buy an iphone/itouch if you want entertainment.

What you would expect from a Windows based device

7/30/2008

After about 7 years of using 2 Palm based PDAs I had to buy a new PDA because my Z22 broke. It had been easy to use but not as reliable as I liked, and hadn't lasted as long as I would expect. The reviews on the Palm devices in general indicated that this was a problem, so I decided to experiment and ended up with the Asus 626 running Windows Mobile.

Well, it's pretty much what I should have expected. In theory it's more flexible, it has more capabilities, but any specific thing I do is harder to get done. Physically it's bigger and heavier. Simply taking the stylus out is a pain, because it's in an odd spot and is folded up.

The software is buggy in very obvious ways. The "Today" home screen that gives you a summary of appointments, tasks, etc doesn't update when you add an appointment or task, so the display is incorrect. There are obvious graphical glitches where parts of the screen don't get redrawn, so part of the screen sometimes displays a chunk of another program.

Carrying out operations is more painful and seems to involve more traversal of menus. For example, editing a calendar item on the Palm required a simple tap. On the Asus, I have to tap, bring up a menu, and hit edit. A lot of these are probably things that people would accept if they haven't used a Palm, but having used one, it's annoying.

The connection between the PC and the Asus requires some jiggling to get the PC to recognize the Asus. I have to do a variety of plugging, unplugging, and switching the Asus off and on to get things to work. And the ActiveSync program keeps switching off using the USB connection, so I have to periodically go into its settings and switch that back on again.

I'm sure that the Asus is a more powerful device and that over time I'll find use for that power, but basically if what you are looking for is a PDA so you can easily do the basics of calendar, notes, shopping lists, etc, you want to stick to the Palm.

Great PDA except for video

6/19/2008

I have used this pda for several weeks now and I really like it. It is well-made and has great sound quality from earphones, and even from it's little speakers, considering the size. It runs Office files and other files such as the Bible plenty fast. It's only weakness is playing back Windows media video files. I have found that keeping files limited to 385kbps CBR works well. In order to look good and play smoothly, the best resolution I've found is 240x180 pixels at 24fps, instead of 320x240 pixels, which is the max screen resolution.

I have not tested the WiFi very much, but it has worked fine in airports. It does use the battery up quickly.

FYI, creating play lists in Windows media player is tricky. To create a playlist, you first need to add whatever files you want into the Now Playing directory. You may need to start playing them. Then you can hit Menu>Save Playist and give it a new name.

A good deal!

6/18/2008

I adore my ASUS A626. I use the contact list, task list, schedule, and documents daily in my job as a pharmacy technician. When I upgraded from my last PDA, I chose the A626 because it was an affordable Pocket PC, a great alternative to the Palm based PDA. Granted, my favorite games are unplayable now as the Pocket PC and Palm systems don't 'mesh' properly, but I love my A626.

The only downside I can see is the lack of accessories. I have only found one case for this item, and the case isn't that convenient (It has to be opened to write or page down in a document).

My personal pet peeve is I can't 'page down' in word on the handheld. I read documents on my handheld quite a bit, and the only way to 'page down' is to tap the bar on the side of the page. I've gotten too used to pressing the 'down' button on the direction pad of the handheld... But, that is just a pet peeve.

Am I glad I bought it? Yes. Would I buy it again? Definitely.

rolling disappointments

5/27/2008

stoked to get it, specs seemed great, but got it and was distressed about thickness of it..oh well, just takes getting used to...but weird lag time from press of power button and actual display on and ready to use....not long, but longer than expected...then the OS seemed so slow....and for all its memory, it did not seem to juggle more than a few applications being open....THEN the final straw....after syncing one day, it would not power up...hard reset got the ASUS screen, the green Windows screen, then the screen would go black and the buttons would flash their blue backlight a few times and then nothing would happen...or the red light that indicated wifi connection would flash a few times and then nothing....all of this after less than 30 days of ownership....
ipaq 4000 series still the best in my book...too bad you cant put WM6 on those...oh well, asus...i am not impressed