Tom's Hardware Review Asus Mypal A730

[Jonathon Watkins]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www20.tomshardware.com/mobile/20040903/index.html' target='_blank'>http://www20.tomshardware.com/mobil...0903/index.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"The days when a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) only functioned as a mobile electronic calendar are long gone. In the meantime, the availability of powerful, energy-saving CPUs and the option of expanding devices with additional memory in the form of SD or CF memory cards has turned the PDA into a multifunctional talent. Whether as a mobile MP3 player, a photo display unit for your digital snapshots or a navigation system - a pocket PC is always the right accessory. With the Mypal A730, slated for release in stores starting in September for USD 500/450€, Asus takes the gadget a step further towards "digital convergence"".</i><br /><br /> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/mypal-a730-landscape.jpg" /> <br /><br />Tom's hardware step up the plate again with an 8 page review of Asus's latest and greatest. There's often a slightly different reviewing angle at Tom's, along with plenty of benchmarks and this review is no different. It's definitely worth a look. Their conclusion is that the Mypal A730 has an impressive 3.7" display, a fast CPU but is pricey. That last item can be remedied however, especially as the rest of the VGA Pockets should be arriving in the near future. Competition. Got to love it. 8)

[jonathanchoo]

God! Do people still read THG after they tried to do in AMDMB and [H]ard|OCP.

Nice review though and a breath of fresh air compared to other normal PDA reviews since this one takes a look at the technical aspect of the device.

[Enderet]

what did they do?

[jonathanchoo]

Last year, AMD was showing off the Athlon64 at Million Man Lan 2 event and AMDMB.com was there to cover the show. They were denied access. Apparently (and this is just speculation) THG made a deal with AMD to be the only press allowed in. Basically a media blackout.

Ryan Shrout, owner of AMDMB.com then wrote an editorial based on what happened. You can read it here: http://www.amdmb.com/article-display.php?ArticleID=243

THG threaten to sue him for libel. Ryan who was a college student couldn't foot the bill so [H]ard|OCP decided to help pay his legal fees. [H]ard|OCP has been enemies with THG for a long time since the days of the Wooly Mammoth so it was no surprise.

THG finally backed down but I guess to many PC enthusiast that was it. They had to put up with THG's bias against AMD processors for years and now this. I sitll go there from time to time to read on non processor related reviews and tips. To be fair [H]ard|OCP isn't that great either (but they have humour) and I much rather read Ars Technica reviews.

[arnage2]

c'mon. when is this gonna come out?

[Duncan]

Some pretty shoddy fact checking in that review: With the predecessor model Mypal A620, the Bluetooth module was still an extra and there was no SD card slot at all. The A730 marks Asus' long-awaited departure from that tradition. Besides sporting a CF card slot, the new model has also made room for SD cards. That will be news to a716 owners - and a620BT owners too... At this point, more than just a few people will be asking themselves why a PDA with a digicam is only first hitting the market now. Only those people who haven't been paying attention...

Neither of those necessarily affect the conclusions reached in the review - but they hardly inspire confidence in the reviewer...

[UtK]

I really hope they'll improve unit speed a bit.
For now, it shows 22 FPS in Morphgear where 620 shows 28-29. Thats not good. ASUS managers said that speed on a final retail unit will be 2-3 times more than on the engineering one - so there is still hope.