I would recommend, if you're on a budget, looking for an e750 rather than an e740. I have an e740 and while I am happy with it, it does have a history of problems since Toshiba seems to have been testing several concepts with it that it didnt' really get get right completely until the e800 series. The e750 though solves most of the problems with the e740, though.
Improvements are :
Larger and brighter screen
More RAM (I believe?)
Updated processor with twice the cache (and signficant performance improvement)
Windows Mobile 2003 instead of Pocket PC 2002
More stable and less likely to hard reset so I hear
I wouldn't recommend an e740 to a first time PDA user as it is likely to scare them away. If you still get one and go into it knowing its a bit on the touchy side, you can still get a lot out of it. I use it for gaming and surfing the net and it does do its job well. How much can you get the e740 for? Its likely someone knows a better option at teh same price.