Acer n300 Live on the Acer Web Site

[Darius Wey]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://global.acer.com/products/pda/n300.htm' target='_blank'>http://global.acer.com/products/pda/n300.htm</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Designed for essential productivity, the Acer n300 features a high-brightness 3.7" VGA-quality display, the latest Microsoft® Windows Mobile™ Version 5.0 Software, a powerful processor and convenient wireless connectivity, for fast, versatile mobile computing."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/wey-20051124-n300.gif" /><br /><br />The much-loved VGA baby of the Pocket PC world, the Acer n300, is now live on the Acer web site. An official specs sheet indicates that the device has a Samsung S3C2440 300MHz/400MHz processor, 64MB RAM, 64MB/128MB Flash ROM, a 3.7" VGA (480 x 640) TFT-LCD, an SDIO/SD/MMC slot, USB-Host/Client 1.1, Bluetooth 1.2, 802.11b Wi-Fi (on the high-end model), and Windows Mobile 5.0. No word yet on a release date or price, but it's signs like this that indicate the device will probably be on sale anytime soon.

[KTamas]

*drool*

*nosebleed*

:oops:

[shinysteve]

Its a lovely device and all that but, er, is that samsung procesor up to anything?

I've heard that tic for tic its faster than an older Xscale but, anyone know if its man enough to run full screen divx's. (I guess about 1.5mbps of divx)

Does it have any form of video out?

Steve.

[Darius Wey]

Its a lovely device and all that but, er, is that samsung procesor up to anything?

I've heard that tic for tic its faster than an older Xscale but, anyone know if its man enough to run full screen divx's. (I guess about 1.5mbps)

It can. A lot of people seem to disregard the Samsung processors, but they pack quite a punch. My old iPAQ h1940 had one, and my current E-TEN M600 has one. They're very snappy. :)

[Andy Whiteford]

It has no video out.

[sum1mad]

this is the reason i kept an eye on this site for, thanx for the good news.
only thing i still wish it had... is a video chip, but you cant have it all

and i'l settle for the size of the acer then the video proc that comes with with the dell anyday.

I was just wondering if anyone knew if Acer is planning to update the n50 series to windows mobile 5?

[Patrick Y.]

Its a lovely device and all that but, er, is that samsung procesor up to anything?



Steve.

In addition to what Darius said, Samsung processor always outperform Intel's chip at the same clock speed. My guess is that this 400mhz chip has the same performance as 624mhz Intel chip.

[pocketpcadmirer]

Its a lovely device and all that but, er, is that samsung procesor up to anything?



Steve.

In addition to what Darius said, Samsung processor always outperform Intel's chip at the same clock speed. My guess is that this 400mhz chip has the same performance as 624mhz Intel chip.

Hi Patrik and Steve !! I agree to both of you. My friend too has the 'old' ipaq 1940 and indeed I didn't feel any difference between my o2 mini and his ipaq. The difference can, however, be seen in intensive games like "resco gardians" which is pretty CPU intensive game. But in normal day to day tasks that me and my friend do(schduling our college and after-college classes, class-room notes exchange, contact lookup, basic workings with pocket word :!: and pocket excel) we really don't feel anything slow.
:roll: Probaly the efficiency of the CPU is more in case of Samsung processors when compared to Intel processors. This can similarly be compared AMD and Intel CPUs. :mrgreen:

Sunny

[stevelam]

This can similarly be compared AMD and Intel CPUs. :mrgreen:

Sunny

Any chance of AMD producing mobile processors? 64bit? Dual Core?


:rotfl:

[KTamas]

This can similarly be compared AMD and Intel CPUs. :mrgreen:

Sunny

Any chance of AMD producing mobile processors? 64bit? Dual Core?


:rotfl:
Actually, I'd like to see AMD on the mobile processor market...

[stevelam]

This can similarly be compared AMD and Intel CPUs. :mrgreen:

Sunny

Any chance of AMD producing mobile processors? 64bit? Dual Core?


:rotfl:
Actually, I'd like to see AMD on the mobile processor market...

Yeh so would I really.

Hey KTamas

I once had a friend who tried to show how good a hacker he was by hacking your location!!! :lol:

[Fishie]

AMD does have processors for embedded solutions.

[Andy Whiteford]

I noticed an improvement going from the h1940 (Samsung 266mhz) to the h4150 (Intel 400mhz) but it was only noticeable in games at certain points. I'm definitely expecting an increase in performance with the 400mhz Samsung processor over the Intel at the same clock speed; I would imagine it will be close in real use performace to the 520mhz Intel, perhaps a little higher. Just for the record, the FS LOOX 720 uses the 520mhz Intel with its VGA screen and performs very well so I imagine the Acer with its 400mhz Samsung will perform at least as well as that and more likely better.

[Darius Wey]

I noticed an improvement going from the h1940 (Samsung 266mhz) to the h4150 (Intel 400mhz) but it was only noticeable in games at certain points. I'm definitely expecting an increase in performance with the 400mhz Samsung processor over the Intel at the same clock speed; I would imagine it will be close in real use performace to the 520mhz Intel, perhaps a little higher. Just for the record, the FS LOOX 720 uses the 520mhz Intel with its VGA screen and performs very well so I imagine the Acer with its 400mhz Samsung will perform at least as well as that and more likely better.

Andy, I have some CPU indices if you're interested. According to the benchmark results, the Samsung S3C2440A 400MHz processor performs on par with an Intel Bulverde 400MHz processor. The 520MHz flavour is slightly faster, while the 624MHz still faster, but only just. There's a slight possibility that the benchmarking program is more optimised toward the Intel processors. Whatever the case, I'd take these results with a grain of salt. I'm using a Samsung 400MHz processor now and it feels darn fast - more than capable of smooth video playback and fast all-round system performance.

Here are the indices:
Samsung S3C2440A 400MHz - 1501.2
Intel Bulverde 520MHz - 1848.2
Intel Bulverde 624MHz - 1919.7

My two cents - I think the high-end n300 model will be a solid device.

[Andy Whiteford]

I might have this wrong but is the Intel line better at Floating Point operations hence why games show the biggest difference? Otherwise, the Samsung performs faster clock for clock. If this is the case then the benchmarking tool might have a high weighting towards Floating Point.

[indiekiduk]

Acer should have put GSM in that

[pocketpcadmirer]

Acer should have put GSM in that

Well its upto company. Getting GSM is indeed a tedious job. You have to get into contracts with myraid of service providers. :) which is a difficult task. Example: the now 'old' ipaq 6300 series is still being released in some countries !!

Sunny

[Jonathan_w]

If you all really want to know the performance check out some reviews on the ipaq 37 series. The high end device had a 400 samsung. But if I remember correctly the performance was not as good as a 400 intel.

[sapibobo]

I think this thread need a name change, " Intel vs Samsung Mobile Processor"..... :wink:

And yes, as an ex 1940 user, that device is damn fast!

[beq]

Sweet Acer n311, will you be mine?

[Godsongz]

Sweet Acer n311, when will you be mine?

[Menneisyys]

Its a lovely device and all that but, er, is that samsung procesor up to anything?

I've heard that tic for tic its faster than an older Xscale but, anyone know if its man enough to run full screen divx's. (I guess about 1.5mbps of divx)

Samsung CPU's aren't bad. Their only disadvantage is that only one brand of IR controllers support them. Hopefully the flash controller in this unit is far better than that of the iPAQ rx3715...

BTW, why would you need 1.5 Mbps for DivX? In most cases, 700-800 kbps is well enough for full size videos.

[MemphisIS]

Any announcements/speculation on ballpark price? Google=nothing 8O

[Mark Johnson]

Want one now! Any leads on importers? How can I get my hands on one in the US?

[Darius Wey]

Any announcements/speculation on ballpark price? Google=nothing 8O

Still nothing. Once we find get some info, we'll keep you posted via the front-page.

[Darius Wey]

Want one now! Any leads on importers? How can I get my hands on one in the US?

I'm not aware of Acer's operations in the U.S. - are they active there?

If they aren't, you should be able to pull one in from Europe or the Asia-Pacific. Look at a reseller based in one of those two regions who might be willing to ship to the U.S. (hopefully, with warranty support). Otherwise, visit Expansys to see if they'll stock the unit.

We don't have any information on resellers yet, but once we do, we'll post it on the front-page.

[Bl_Chicken]

Any announcements/speculation on ballpark price? Google=nothing 8O

Still nothing. Once we find get some info, we'll keep you posted via the front-page.

In fact, n310/n311 annoucement have been made for France.
http://www.pdafrance.com/articles/newsitem.php?id=6039
This excellent site in french have some nice pictures and a video of one n310 preproduction model.

To make it simple :
The handheld seems really nicely built (what looks aluminum is in fact made of aluminum).
The handheld have been delayed due to instabilities issues with WM5. It should be out beginning of dec in France.
A blazzing 299€ (tax incl.) for n310 and a whooping 349€ (tax incl.) for n311.

Unfortunately I am not sure it will be sell in USA.

I wondering what to choose between an 311 and a X51v wich is currently 20% off in France (about 400€ tax incl).

Do you think guys there is a big difference in performance between a intel 624 MHz and a samsung 400MHz?

[Darius Wey]

Do you think guys there is a big difference in performance between a intel 624 MHz and a samsung 400MHz?

If you frequently use CPU-intensive applications (e.g. games, or media players dealing with high bitrate playback), then the Intel 624MHz will outperform the Samsung 400MHz. But for standard day-to-day applications, Samsung's processor will more than fulfill your needs.

[Andy Whiteford]

Happy Christmas to me! :)
That would put the device around the £250 mark which compares well with the more powerful X51v. Hopefully they have ironed out all of the WM5 issues and are not just shipping it to make good sales for the Christmas period.

[Wilko]

This looks like my next PDA and I really like the spec and small size. My only concern is that it is made by ACER. I have always thought of Acer as *not* at the quality end of the market or am I mistaken ?

I was about to buy the IPAQ rx1950 but then I saw this one.

Secondly, does anyone have any experience with a 3.7 inch display compared to the normal 3.5? Any display issues?


Wilko
__________________________________________
IPAQ 1940 (current), Toshiba E310

[Darius Wey]

Welcome to Pocket PC Thoughts.

This looks like my next PDA and I really like the spec and small size. My only concern is that it is made by ACER. I have always thought of Acer as *not* at the quality end of the market or am I mistaken ?

Everyone has their own opinion on whether a particular company is good or not. To add my two cents, I've used a couple of Acer products before - the quality was very good, but unfortunately for you, I have no experience with their support since I've never needed it. At the end of the day, I certainly wouldn't be one to say that they should be avoided.

Secondly, does anyone have any experience with a 3.7 inch display compared to the normal 3.5? Any display issues?

None at all. A 3.7" screen is just as usable as a 3.5" screen (if not, better, if you value a bit more screen space). Also something you might want to keep in mind about the n300 is its support for VGA (480 x 640 resolution). It's a huge step up in clarity from the QVGA screens (240 x 320 resolution) you're used to. Text and images will look sharper.

[Wilko]

Thanks for the heads up. Now its the waiting game for when it hits the shops ...

[t-rowan]

I am looking to upgrade from a HP 4150 (which I love) to the n311 or a Dell X51v. Anyone partial to one or the other? I realize the n311 isn't out yet, but based on the specs would you choose the n311 over the X51v? The main trade-off for me seems to be the USB host with the n311 and the GPU &amp; price with the X51v. I use my PDA a lot for games, video, and internet usage. Should I wait for the n311 or bite the bullet and buy a Dell?

[sum1mad]

its too late to phone any of these stores and be shure, but after searching on the net looking if the n311 is on sale....this is what i found

can all these sites be wrong? anyway i'l check in the morning


http://nl.kelkoo.be/b/a/sbs/114501/15237265.html 349,72 €

http://www.databyte.nl/100procent/prijzen/show.asp?artcode=065 € 345,00

http://www.centralpoint.nl/redir.cgi?page=index.html&amp;what=fp.php&amp;by=/ice.cgi?a_ssrp=1&amp;d_catg=43171804&amp;d_vend=Acer € 322.91 (incl.)

http://www.takeitnow.nl/redir.cgi?page=index.html&amp;what=fp.html&amp;by=http://www.takeitnow.nl/ice.cgi?a_ssrp=1&amp;d_vend=Acer&amp;d_catg=43171804&amp;d_word= 330.40 inc btw

http://www.obcs.nl/ice.cgi?a_ssrp=1&amp;startpos_search=20&amp;d_catg=43171804&amp;vrd=&amp;d_sort= € 314.06(incl.)

t-rowen
if you like gaming that much and are willing to go for a bulkier devise then the dell x51v is your pda, it has a "Integrated Intel® 2700G multimedia accelerator with 16MB video memory"

[Andy Whiteford]

None of those links have any in stock but let us know how you get on and if they have an estimate of stock.

[Bl_Chicken]

Looks like we will have to wait a little bit more.
Apparently, release date for France has just changed from beginning to end of December. :evil:
http://www.pdafrance.com/pdaforum/showthread.php?s=&amp;threadid=70004&amp;pagenumber=3

Plus time to get one or two reviews of the baby...
Looks like Santa Claus is gonna be in late for me this year...:mrgreen:

Still better having a delayed product than crap WM5 issues...

[Godsongz]

I would have loved to have this earlier, but I'll still wait. It IS my next PPC. Besides, gives me a little more time to save for a big SD card to go along with it since I can't use my CF in this puppy.