genio 550g

[islandsnow]

does anyone know if they are actually going to release the genio 550g pocketpc in the US later this year or anytime soon?

[foldedspace]

http://www.compusa.com/products/pro...uct_code=294962

Release date isn't until mid-august

[RickP in AZ]

Ah... but the specs are *wrong.* They lost it as a Toshiba (allegedly it is supposed to be marketed as an Audivox,) 32MB (Japan has 64MB, could be lowered by Audiovox as with the Maestro,) and StrongARM... the e550g is most definitely an Xscale... And it labels it as a 3.5" screen *not* the 4" of the e550g.

Plus Audiovox siad they would be releasingn it in Q4 of 2002. CompUSA needs to check themselves... But is does give one hope...

RickP in AZ

[islandsnow]

can anyone confirm compusa's claim that the genio e550g is scheduled to be released august 16th? somehow i can't believe that. especially when i see the specs on the unit. how can toshiba be so dumb to release something that has only 32mb ram? and not even xscale? or even built-in wi-fi like the tosh 740! i think the lowest standard right now is at least 32mb rom/64mb ram, and xscale. i know i know. the os is not optimized for xscale nor is any apps. don't think having a 4" screen justifies giving up to lower memory and processor.

compusa claims that it is based on manufacturers information. but i can't find anything on the US version of the e550g anywhere on toshiba's site or audiovox's site. i would think there would be some kind of information or hype on this highly touted ppc if its coming out in 2 weeks!

[Dave Conger]

Seems that page is no longer there (or is that an invalid URL). I was hearing the same as RickP...Audiovox is release a 550g device in the US, not Toshiba.

[islandsnow]

that previous URL is no good. try this one:

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product%5Fcode=294962&csearch=

[Dave Conger]

Thanks islandsnow, that is one bizarre page. This is kind of like PCMall posting the Sony SL10...because they posted conflicting specifications as well. It looks like someone screwed up...but I guess we will see August 16th.

[Gallivant]

Dumb to put out a 32mb unit? Actually, it makes a lot of sense. In truth, very few people actually need 64 meg. Those who do, generally need big SD or CF cards to hold everything. I don't have a PPC yet, but my total application load won't be more than 10 megs or so. I need space for eBooks and - especially - audio, and a measly 32mb doesn't mean much when music's concerned. I need 256mb to be happy... minimum. Since I'm not going to get as much as I'd like, I may as well settle for saving some cash.

Actually, the 550 might be just what I'm looking for, as long as the street price drops a hundred bucks or so. Must save pennies...

[portus]

Read the CompUSA link again, they've updated the information. This unit is exactly the Genio e550G that was introduced earlier in Japan. I actually sent a inquiry to Audiovox about a week ago for their confirmation of the e550G release but haven't heard any reply yet. This may be the reason why. Toshiba may have decided to release the e550G from their own hand instead.

[islandsnow]

yeah compusa updated their site. but now they just say that "detailed product information not available".... i am still skeptical that this unit will even be released.

as far as the comment about "dumb to put out a 32mb unit?"... dumb in the sense that why would you release something that is a downgrade of everything else that is coming out now? i mean, isn't the so called minimum standard at this point in time: xscale processor, 64mb ram, cf slot/sd slot? you are right, maybe only a few people need the full 64mb of ram. but we don't know how the apps will be once people start writing xscale optimized code..etc... ram, memory, hard disk... we all know that the more is better. most people will never need 5GB of hard disk space on their desktop pc's. but people want more. if you are paying $599 for a unit, why would you settle for 32mb of ram when there are other units selling for the same price for a lot more? if you want to save pennies, why are you looking at the 550? why not get the tosh e310? its strongarm, it has only 32mb or ram, it has a cf slot... and its definately not $599. are you justifying the 550 just because of the 4" screen?

[Gallivant]

Actually, the 310 has only a SD slot, its screen is smaller (I'm read a lot of eBooks, so screen size matters a lot), and - very importantly - the 310, due to its inability to act as a USB host, can never have a Stowaway keyboard, which is a basic neccessity for me.

And given the problems we've encountered with XScale... well, it might be worthwhile at some point, but I don't feel like dealing with a processor that performs *worse* than its predecessors in everyday tasks.

[islandsnow]

ok i guess that bigger screen does make a difference if you spend a lot of time reading ebooks... i'm more of a power user, so i'd like more onboard storage for apps, and the slots, etc... well, compusa updated their site again... this looks more like it... e550g 64mb ram/xscale

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product%5Fcode=294962&csearch=

now, what do we believe?

well i just called my local compusa store... according to them, they will have 60 units come august 16th... now i am really anxious if this is indeed true!

[river]

The E550G will be released look at the following link
http://www.excite.co.jp/world/url/?wb_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.zdnet.co.jp%2Fmobile%2F0204%2F18%2Fn_nge.html&wb_lp=JAEN&wb_dis=2

With 4" screen, 64 mb ram, SD+CF slots, and build in 1 GB microdrive.

This is the pocketpc to get.

[Dave Conger]

river, those are Japanese links. We are talking about the US version. The Toshiba Genio e550g has been released already in Japan.

[Jason Dunn]

...and build in 1 GB microdrive.

It will not have a built-in 1 gig Microdrive - at best it will be included in the box, but I'm 100% sure it's not built-in.

[Sslixtis]

My biggest question is where they state a bright, clear 4-inch backlight TFT LCD supporting 65,536 colors and 240 x 320 pixel resolution Does that mean it will have a beautiful screen like the new iPaq 39xx series? Backlight TFT? Will this actually be a Backlit Transflective? I didn't think any PPC used anything but Transflective (sidelit, of course, except 39xx) these days.

[Sslixtis]

OK, I just got off the phone with Shop Toshiba USA and they said that the Toshiba Genio e550g was going to be marketed in the US, "ONLY" through Comp USA and that the August 16th ship date was acurate. I asked about the Tech Specs but their representitive said that since only Comp USA was carrying that model he didn't have them. 8O

[Thinkingmandavid]

hello:)
That doesnt make sense that since only CompUSA was carrying it that he didnt have the specs. Does he realize how dumb that sounds?
I doubt myself it will have a built in gig but we shall see. doesnt sound right to me, that link is to the japanese site, i dont know about anyone else but my japanese is way off:)
It looks cool on the pic but we shall see

[Dave Conger]

That doesnt make sense that since only CompUSA was carrying it that he didnt have the specs. Does he realize how dumb that sounds?

Since it is a CompUSA only product, that might make sense. This would be similar to different products in different countries. Since US Toshiba sales was called, and US Toshiba sales isn't selling the product, there is no reason they should have the specs.

[islandsnow]

just for the heck of it, i went to compusa during my lunch break. and guess what?! they had the e550g units in already! woo hoooo... so i'm charging mine up right now :lol:

[Dave Conger]

just for the heck of it, i went to compusa during my lunch break. and guess what?! they had the e550g units in already! woo hoooo... so i'm charging mine up right now :lol:

Aww, lucky you. I went to mine and the guy was just like "uhh, yeah, the e740?" He wouldn't even check for me to see if they had the 550g.

[islandsnow]

i am posting some pics of my 550g... not really anything different from whats been posted on the net before. i've heard from another forum that these units are being recalled from compusa because of faulty battery. can anyone else confirm that? i checked with my local compusa store and they don't know anything about a recall. the battery seems to go down a percentage quite fast. not sure if i'm just being paranoid.

[Thras]

Islandsnow,

Great pics. Can you upload a couple of a close up of the button / d-pad area? Did your unit come with an extra d-pad? Can you tell us the difference between the two of them? Have you tried playing any games on the unit? How about dual button presses? Are they registered? Diagonals? First impressions?

Cheers.

[pocketpc568]

Here is the e550g in a sale ad for Compusa, thought you guys might be interested. By the way I live in Chicago, and all the units local stores had were recalled. Hope it comes out tuesday. Notice the free 64mb CF card and the free 802.11b CF card with a $20 mail in rebate. Not bad.

[Thras]

Thats a pretty sweet deal! Does it actually list the type of 802.11 cf card?

[islandsnow]

Islandsnow,

Great pics. Can you upload a couple of a close up of the button / d-pad area? Did your unit come with an extra d-pad? Can you tell us the difference between the two of them? Have you tried playing any games on the unit? How about dual button presses? Are they registered? Diagonals? First impressions?

Cheers.

hey thras... sorry, i couldn't get a better closeup of the d-pad... my camera doesn't do a good job on closeups... anyway, i haven't really tried any games yet. but the manual says that its a 8 way directional pad...

again, i haven't used the 550g for gaming yet... but my first impressions are very good! i love it. i'm just trying to find out at this point if mine is one of those recalled one's. will have to visit compusa tomorrow.

[Nikhil]

islandsnow-

What do you think of the screen? Is it evenly lit?

Also one question...I wonder if Toshiba rectify something that annoyed me with the e570/Maestro...does the unit turn off the CF/SD/Sound/Backlight at any low point of battery life? The e740 goes all the way to 1% before turning itself off, but sound, backlight, slots, and WiFi all work from 100% to 1%. The e570, if both slots were used, would start turning off the backlight at 30%, the sound and SD slot at 20%, the CF slot at 10%, and the unit around 7%.

[islandsnow]

islandsnow-

What do you think of the screen? Is it evenly lit?

Also one question...I wonder if Toshiba rectify something that annoyed me with the e570/Maestro...does the unit turn off the CF/SD/Sound/Backlight at any low point of battery life? The e740 goes all the way to 1% before turning itself off, but sound, backlight, slots, and WiFi all work from 100% to 1%. The e570, if both slots were used, would start turning off the backlight at 30%, the sound and SD slot at 20%, the CF slot at 10%, and the unit around 7%.

this is my opinion.. yes the screen is evenly lit. of course you need to be looking at it straight on. while on battery though, you cannot go higher than one notch above half way on the frontlight setting. but it really isn't a problem.

not sure about the cf/sd/sound/backlight turning off. i haven't tested it that far yet and besides i don't have a sd card yet. i just did a short test on battery though. running windows media player constantly with screen toggled off, at the two hour mark, it drained 27% of the battery. after that, i left the screen on (without the backlighting) and for the next hour, another 20% battery was drained. is that normal? good? bad? not even sure if i'm doing the test correctly.

after so much hype and talk about this unit, how come it feels like i'm the only one that bought this?! anyone else have any initial experiences with this?

[pocketpc568]

Here are the links to the free peripherals with purchase of the e550g.

802.11b CF card
http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=293046

64mb CF card
http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=293153

Islandnow, did you get these with your purchase? If not, I would go back today and demand them.

[cholcomb]

hello:)
That doesnt make sense that since only CompUSA was carrying it that he didnt have the specs. Does he realize how dumb that sounds?
I doubt myself it will have a built in gig but we shall see. doesnt sound right to me, that link is to the japanese site, i dont know about anyone else but my japanese is way off:)
It looks cool on the pic but we shall see

the E550G does not have a built in gig microdrive. That model is the E550G/MD, and I have not seen it for sell in the US yet. I noticed that Expansys was selling it but has pulled it. It now says dicontinued. Can some one get some pics of the screen on. The 4" screen sounds like it would be nice. I'm getting impatient waiting for the Loox, and don't want another iPAQ with the bulky expansion pack just for the CF slot. If they would have put built in Bluetooth in this baby it would be close to perfect.

[Will T Smith]

PocketPC needs a 320x480 screen before this large screen is truly useful.

I hope that ClearType is accelerated in hardware. Otherwise all the text will appear painfully grainy.

[islandsnow]

Islandnow, did you get these with your purchase? If not, I would go back today and demand them.

as a matter of fact, i called them yesterday. they said that as long as its within 14 days, they will match any price difference or offers. so i'm going down today to pick up those peripherals...

[don996cab]

Hi Islandsnow,

It appears that all of the compusa stores in southern california recalled them due to a battery problem. I would strongly suggest that you make your compusa acknowledge that, and they give you a new one, when compusa reintroduces them nationwide. just to be safe.

also, can you post pics of the screen on? Is it a sidelight screen or a transreflective like the ipaq? Since it is still the same resollution as the 3.5" ppc, is the screen blurry, or just as sharp?

how do you like the dpad? It seems awful small compared to the massive screen.

And what is the mha battery rating.

thanks

[bslenter]

:?:

Ok so everyone is talking about the great 4" screen, and I'm already drooling. Then I visit the following website and it mentions 640x480 mode on the unit!!

http://www.pdagold.com/articles/detail.asp?ArticleID=62

...look about halfway down the page. There's also a photo of the screen which is clearly showing a higher-than-normal resolution.

If this is true then I'm very stoked! Does anyone know anything about this mode? Is it real? Is it a built-in feature of the OS or must a 3rd party app be used to activate it? If it's not really useable now, what about when the next version of Windows PocketPC comes out, which will supposedly utilize higher resolutions?

Can't wait to see this one in stores...

[Dave Conger]

Does anyone know anything about this mode? Is it real? Is it a built-in feature of the OS or must a 3rd party app be used to activate it?

Probably just something like JimmySoft LandscapeX which can change the resolution up to 1024x768.

http://www.pdagold.com/software/ppc/301/detail.asp?ApplicationID=1773

[bslenter]

Yeah that could be true but what about this photo...

http://www.pdagold.com/img/articles/Toshiba_e550_08.jpg

Looks like true 640x480 to me. Notice the tiny icons in the lower left corner.

[Dave Conger]

The resolution change programs change the whole screen, so even those buttons on the bottom would be shrunk.

It could always be something only in the Japanese version.

[islandsnow]

Hi Islandsnow,

It appears that all of the compusa stores in southern california recalled them due to a battery problem. I would strongly suggest that you make your compusa acknowledge that, and they give you a new one, when compusa reintroduces them nationwide. just to be safe.

also, can you post pics of the screen on? Is it a sidelight screen or a transreflective like the ipaq? Since it is still the same resollution as the 3.5" ppc, is the screen blurry, or just as sharp?

how do you like the dpad? It seems awful small compared to the massive screen.

And what is the mha battery rating.

thanks

well, i went to a different compusa store and they confirmed the faulty battery problem. so i returned it. now they are telling me that the next shipment might come in 2-3 weeks... geez...

i wouldn't say the screen was blurry. it looked pretty sharp to me.

[MattPatty]

I called this morning and they have several in stock. The deal they got going is only good thru saturday or so they said. So I may have to go pick one up on Friday.

[islandsnow]

I called this morning and they have several in stock. The deal they got going is only good thru saturday or so they said. So I may have to go pick one up on Friday.

well the 2-3 week timeframe they gave me was way off. my local compusa stores got the new shipment yesterday. so off i go to buy another 550g... and this time they assure me that these unit's battery should be okay.

but yes, the ad special ends saturday. so i got my wi-fi card ($20, free after rebate), and 64 mb cf card free.

[duckie201]

1 of the CompUSA's in my town heard nothing of the recall (just so happens to be the one I'll be working at this Sat.)
The other one knew of the recall but said that it will take weeks before the new shipment comes in. Is there any way for me to distinguish which PDA is defective from the serial #? :roll:

[bslenter]

After daily trips to several CompUSA's in the SF Bay Area over the last week, I finally found and purchased a spankin' new E550G. Wooohooo!

This has got to be the best PDA out there right now, hands down. Sure there are a few other recently released units that have a couple of advantages over this unit, but overall I'd have to say this is the best choice, and not a bad price either (considering the CompUSA bundle deal and all, which I understand expires TODAY).

I'm going to post a separate mini-review here or on a separate thread. But let me straighten out two things now:

* Previously I raised the question of a possible 640x480 mode on the screen. See previous posts in this thread. Well I can now say for certain that this DOES NOT exist. I can see the pixels within the screen and they are too big for that to be possible. This is a 320x240 native screen just like all the others. However it is still a VERY NICE screen and very pleasing to look at.

* The screen IS NOT transflective. The only bummer about this unit that I can think of. It is reflective like most units out today, side-lit from the bottom. However it has very even illumination and decent contrast, much better than most reflectives out there. Definitely better than the E570 and E310. Almost as good as transflective, just not quite as much contrast or brightness.

Look for my review soon...