04-16-2004, 05:30 PM
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Sage
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 706
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The Mio Digiwalker 339 - Multimedia To Go
Product Category: Pocket PC
Manufacturer: Mitac
Where to Buy: Mitac
Price: $499.95 USD
Specifications: Intel PXA 255 with 64 MB RAM and 32 MB ROM. Integrated VGA camera.
Pros:- Integrated camera;
- Size;
- Extra ROM software and remote control headphones.
Cons:- No Bluetooth or WiFi;
- Camera doesn't work well in poor lighting;
- No extra software on the CD.
Summary:
Since the Cassiopoeia E100, Pocket PC users have been waxing lyrical about the superior multimedia capabilities of Windows CE. However, until recently, Pocket PCs with integrated cameras have been pretty rare. The Mio Digiwalker 339's raison d'etre is to be a portable multimedia centre.
Read on for the full review!
The m339 is focused on delivering multimedia on the go. With an integrated VGA camera, funky MP3 player (complete with remote control), movie viewer and picture viewer it seeks to be the multimedia Swiss Army knife of the Pocket PC realm.
What�s in the Box?
Inside the m339's colorful packaging there are few surprises. There's a fairly standard bundle of bits and pieces. As well as the PDA. You also get:- User's Guide;
- Software CD;
- Cradle and power supply;
- headphones with remote control;
- slip case.
Figure 1: As you can see, inside the Mio Digiwalker 339 box is the standard fare you'd expect from any Pocket PC.
Documentation and Bundled Software
The documentation that ships with the m339 is a mixed bag. On one hand there's a very clear and thorough overview of Windows Mobile 2003 with all of the Premium Edition applications described. In fact, as a general reference guide for the operating system, I'd say that it borders on excellent. However, device specific functions such as the camera, are less complete and there is little technical information about the m339. For example, I couldn't find anything specific about the integrated camera.
The bundled software CD comes with Activesync 3.7 and Outlook 2002, as expected. In addition there's Avantgo, Windows Media Player 9 Series and... that's it. There's no trialware or other bonus software. I think that MiTAC's lack of experience as a reseller shines through here. While they are an experienced OEM, they don't seem to have grasped the retail side of things.
A Bird in Hand...
The first thing that struck me about the m339 was its size. Given that this unit has the integrated camera, it's surprisingly thin at 13.8 mm thick.
Figure 2: The m339 is quite a svelte device
Along the left hand side are two buttons; Power and Record. At the bottom of that side is the 2.5 mm speaker jack. Fortunately, the m339 ships with a set of headphones with a 2.5 mm jack. But if you prefer to use your own headphones you'll need an adaptor.
Figure 3: As you can see the buttons on the left side are nicely recessed into the m339.
The right side was quite spartan with only the latch for the battery cover.
Figure 4: The right side of the m339 is pretty clear, with just the latch for the battery cover.
In the hand, the m339 felt comfortable. The four buttons, located below the 3.5 inch transflective screen inside the 121 mm by 73 mm body, are well placed and responsive. On the unit I had, the buttons gave a reassuring click when pressed. The joy stick was responsive and felt far more comfortable that the dpad on my iPAQ 2210.
Figure 5: The buttons are well spaced and the joystick is very easy to use and responsive.
The stylus is a little thin but is quite comfortable to use. When you extract the stylus from its holder on the top left of the device, it extends telescopically to its full length.
Figures 5 and 6: The stylus fully extended and contracted.
The screen is one of the better ones I have used. It is very bright - far brighter than my iPAQ h2210. When viewing photos and videos it was very clear with great color saturation. In bright sunlight the screen was only just useable. I can�t see this device being used outdoors very much.
Start your Engines
The m339 is headlined by the popular Intel PXA 255 processor. In supporting roles there's 64 MB of RAM (57 MB is user accessible) and a 32 MB ROM. However, a notable omission from the cast is a permanent file store like many of the HP iPAQs and Dell Axims.
Benchmarking, using Spb Benchmark, showed the m339 to be a steady, if not brilliant, performer. Benchmarked against the iPAQ h2210 for comparison, I got the following results.
Figure 7: While the overall picture is not that great for the Mio 339, the details of why it scored low need to be looked.
OK, so the overall score is not that great for the m339. The iPAQ h2210/5 scores significantly higher. However, when you look at the next few graphs you can see where most of this difference is generated.
Figures 8 to 12: As always, an overall benchmark is not the best indication of performance for a specific device.
What the detail shows is the much of the m339's poorer performance is caused by its slower file system. What it also shows is that the m339's graphics performance is somewhat stronger.
Not surprisingly, the CPU scores are almost identical. But then again, they are running the same processor.
Ins and Outs
MiTAC has chosen to keep the m339 fairly basic. Other than the camera, a fairly significant inclusion, the m339 keeps the IO side of things simple.
There's an SDIO slot that can be used for a Wireless LAN or Bluetooth adapter. However, if you use the camera a lot then you'll probably need to use the SD slot for a memory card so that you can store photos and videos. A second memory slot, either SD or CF would have been a wonderful addition.
On the upside, the IR port is consumer standard with a four meter range. Coupled with the right software you could use the m339 as a universal remote control.
Figure 13: Looking at the top of the m339 you can see the stylus, SDIO slot and IR port.
Like all Pocket PCs, the m339 has a port at the bottom for connection to a sync cable or cradle. A cradle, while not particularly heavy, is provided. I'd have preferred for it to be a little heavier as it skated across my desk a few times. Conveniently, there's also a separate jack for connecting the power supply for filling the 900 mAh Lithium Ion powerplant.
Figure 14: The base of the m339 showing the sync port and seperate AC adaptor jack
As well as holding the m339, the cradle can hold a second battery...if only the m339 had an easier system for switching batteries. Extracting a battery was a difficult task. The simple solution to this would be a small strap to make lifting the battery out of its snug slot easier.
Figure 15: A top view of the cradle showing the holder for the second battery.
Photo Time
So far, I could be reviewing just about any Pocket PC. But what you're all really wanting to know is "Is the camera any good?". Well, as long as you can live with some of the limitations it is pretty good.
At 640 by 480 resolution, it's not going to set the world on fire. However, it is capable of taking reasonable snaps.
Mounted at the back of the m339 in the top left corner, the camera is equipped with a small flash. It is capable of taking jpeg pictures at 640 by 480 and mpeg video at either 15 fps at 220 by 176 ( QCIF ) resolution or 10 fps at 320 by 240 ( SIF, QVGA ) resolution.
Figure 16: The camera. You can just see the stylus at the very top of the picture, giving you an idea of its position.
It's one thing to integrate a piece of hardware into a device, but it's quite another to make it easy to use. MiTAC have included a very nice piece of software, MioCam, for taking advantage of the camera.
When activated from the Start menu, MioCam, lauches. Surprisingly, the application runs in landscape mode. The photo preview takes up almost all of the screen with the application control buttons down the right side and some information such as the level of digital zoom and which folder your photos will be stored in. You can use the jotstick for zooming in and out with the digital zoon and pressing the joystick will take a photo.
Image quality varies greatly depending on the lighting conditions. The pictures shown were taken using the default setup of the camera in natural light. Under good lighting conditions the camera performed adequately. However, the lack of a decent flash meant that it was not much good indoors unless the room was very well lit.
 
Figures 17 and 18: Thumbnails of a couple of outdoor shot. Click on the individual pictures to open them in full size.
To help you manage the photos you take, the m339 also has a Picture Viewer application. To be honest, while it's OK, I doubt that i'd use it much. I'd prefer to use Spb Imageer as Picture Viewer isn't very quick and was really little more than a file manager for pictures.
Figure 19: The MiTAC Picture Viewer application is very basic.
The Music Man
As well providing you with the visual part of the multimedia puzzle, the m339 satisifes on the musical side side of things. In addition to Windows Media Player, the m339 ships with a separate MP3 player.
The MioPlayer, loaded in ROM, has a very funky default look that can be skinned. While it might seem a little redundant to include MioPlayer when WMP is already there, its integration with the bundled set of headphones is a great inclusion.
Figure 20: I like the look of MioPlayer. Sure, it's just a skin but it just looks cool.
The stereo headphones come complete with a remote control so that you can adjust the volume, pause/play and navigate forward and back between songs. It's a shame that the same headphones could not be programmed to work with other media players.
Figure 21: MiTAC's inclusion of some headphones with remote control capability really add to the m339's abilities as a pocket multimedia powerhouse.
There's more...
As well as the MioCam and MioPlayer applications, MiTAC add a couple of other nice applications to enhance your Pocket PC experience.
First up, there's eMenu. As the name suggests, this is a menu/front screen application for managing all of your applications. This of it as a Programs folder with tabs for sub folders. It was very easy to set up and looked pretty good. Like so many similar applications, it works best when assigned to a hardware button.
Figure 22: eMenu is nice but it lacks the polish of other menus like Dashboard.
To help you keep all of your data safe and sound, the m339 has its own Backup/Resore utility. While very simple it works well. It's great to see that the Pocket PC OEMs are starting to realise that Activesync backup just isn't good enough.
Figure 23: Although not highly featured, the backup utility is functional and works pretty well.
I'll Just Reach Into My Utility Belt
The other extra that the m339 ships with is the Mio Utility that you can find in the System folder under Settings.
Figure 24: The Settings folder showing the mysteriously named Mitac Utility
Its three tabs let you:- see some basic system information such as the ROM and Operating System version.
Figure 25: The System Information tab from my review unit.
- set your m339 to either use the CPU at its maximum capacity all the time or run the device to get the best battery life. This is a smart idea and lets you decide, depending on what you're doing whether battery life or performance is more important.
Figure 26: My favorite Mitac Utility feature is its ability to let you manage the performance vs battery life equation.
- decide which system event, such as SD card insertion or button presses, can power the device on. Again, this doesn't make a big difference to the device, but sometimes it's the little things that can enhance the user experience.
Figure 27: The options you can set for powering on your m339.
Conclusions
The Mio Digiwalker 339 boasts that it is the world's first Pocket PC with an integrated digital camera. The camera takes reasonable photos but I would not use it as my main camera. However, for people that need to take a quick snap or shoot a short video, it is quite handy. I can see the m339 being used by mobile workers that need to take the occasional photo in the field. The audio side of the equation is well executed but a further memory slot and the addition of Bluetooth would make this a great device.
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04-16-2004, 05:56 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 190
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Very nice review, but seriously - who will buy a machine of this kind? Only one slot, NO wireless, not-an-outstanding performance (like Asus machines have), weak digital camera with weak resolution.......no way. The only good thing about it is the Audio control.
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Omikron using SonyEricsson K700i & iPaq h2210
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04-16-2004, 06:08 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 481
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by omikron.sk
Very nice review, but seriously - who will buy a machine of this kind? Only one slot, NO wireless, not-an-outstanding performance (like Asus machines have), weak digital camera with weak resolution.......no way. The only good thing about it is the Audio control.
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This seems to sum up the product very well. There doesn't seem to be anything special about it.
Jeff-
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04-16-2004, 06:56 PM
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Theorist
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 279
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Mitac's answer to the Zire 71, I guess. A little late though. It has the benefit of looking a lot like a Jornada.  I wish I could find an audio control like that for my iPaq. But $450 for that is simply silly. Should be at most $300.
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iPAQ h3635 => Jornada 548 => Jornada 720 => Jornada 568 => iPAQ h1935 => iPAQ h1940 => Axim x50v
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04-16-2004, 06:57 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 233
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I just wish more manufacturers would switch to that joystick design instead of the d-pad. My SE phone has a joystick and it's so easy to use.
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04-16-2004, 06:58 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 1,055
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$500 for a device without WiFi or Bluetooth? Sorry, but I really don't think how this will sell. The only plus it has is a remote, but I don't know anyone who uses a Pocket PC primarily for listening to mp3s.
For this kind of money, I'd buy a multimedia Archos Video Jukebox or an iPod.
Good review though.. thanks!
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04-16-2004, 07:34 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 84
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Great another handheld I can't get into work. These built-in camera gadgets will have limited use in a number of sensitive industries, where security plays a role in what is or not allowable.
D.psi
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04-16-2004, 09:21 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 481
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Skoobouy
Mitac's answer to the Zire 71, I guess. A little late though. It has the benefit of looking a lot like a Jornada. I wish I could find an audio control like that for my iPaq. But $450 for that is simply silly. Should be at most $300. |
$300???? - I think it should be more like $225 - $250. It seems to be targeted at the lower end of the market.
Jeff-
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04-17-2004, 12:27 AM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,049
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well it looks nice but it does not do enough. When I go from my e355 I want it to be an upgrade to something more powerful, and this falls short.
NO wi fi :?: No bt :?:
And at that price :!: Somebody need to hit them on the head with that pda.
Lapchinj wrote
Quote:
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$300???? - I think it should be more like $225 - $250. It seems to be targeted at the lower end of the market
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I agree, 250 to the most in my opinion. Because it is not doing the latest adn it is only 64 megs, might as well just be an entry device for the ppc market. I know some popular models are at 64, but please, the days of 128 are coming so why bother with 64? At least jump to 96 :!:
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"Do not try. Do or Do Not. There is no try"Yoda, Empire Strikes Back
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04-17-2004, 05:30 AM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 55
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Definitely not the world's first ppc with integrated cam.
The first thing that came to mind was Viewsonic v36, and actually, thinking about it, it look just like it -- side buttons, camera placements on the back, stylis size and color and placement...hmmm
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