Seriously considering the E550G - Buy now or wait just a little longer?

[Bill Harrison]

I was at compusa the other day and got my hands on an E500g... love the screen, love the form factor. It seems like the fastest currently available Xscale, have not found any thing pointing to why, but it seems to bench signifigantly better then the others.

I currently own a URThere @migo, works great, and has a built in PCMCIA, so that is love right there. But, I am yearning for something a little newer, and the screen on this puppy was a beauty! I have heard word of soon coming new PPC's, and the @migo does do the trick, so do you think i will be better off waiting a short while (midyear) for something in the tube, or just go with the E500G now. I guess the main thing is the PXA255, has anyone seen any benches on it that show it to be worth waiting for with the doubled bus?

I am thinking on waiting, but will there be a new ppc with that great 4" screen?

Also, it seems to me that Toshiba seems to be the current innovator in the PPC world... They always seem to be coming out with the new devices!

[dMores]

there is always something new and better coming soon.

you have to decide if it's the right time for you to upgrade. The 550g looks very pretty. haven't seen it in real life, but it's definately a good buy.

but then, i'm glad i got my LOOX :)

[Bill Harrison]

Yeah, I am not that gun shy, but since I do have a working decent PPC in my hands, and the rumor is that new models are not far off, I dont mind waiting a few months. If it was a year off, I would own a 550 today. But if its not that long, I will wait....

[Peter Traugot]

I own a 550g and, although I love the unit (no dust behind the screen.), I am fairly certain that I will NEVER see an OS upgrade or any kind of unit specific patch. The unit, forgive the term, is a bastard. It really has no parent. Toshiba handed this device off to Audiovox, and in turn, Audiovox has simply "put" the unit in CompUSA and that's that.

Yes, there are some peripherals for it, but the extended battery doesn't really work and the PC card sleeve doesn't recognize many standard cards due to the fact that it is a USB interface, not serial.

Does the screen rock? Yes. Is it a small form factor for what it has? you bet. Am I happy with it? In a word, yes. Would I have made a sifferent choice knowing what I know now? Maybe.

I think my biggest disappointment is with Miscro$oft, not Toshiba. Although REAL support would be nice, the general Xscale issues are the biggest bummer.

My .02

[mscdex]

I managed to find a place to download EUU3 for the E550G:
http://www.audiovox.com/PPCupgrade3.html