12-13-2004, 06:00 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 1,055
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A Strong Competitor - Asus MyPal A730 Reviewed
Product Category: Hardware, Handheld, Pocket PC
Manufacturer: Asus
Where to Buy: Mobile Planet (affiliate)
Price: $499
Specifications:- 520Mhz Intel processor;
- 64 MB SDRAM, 64MB FLASH ROM;
- 3.7" VGA 65536 color display;
- Compact Flash and Secure Digital slots;
- Bluetooth and USB Client/Host;
- 1.3 MP Camera;
- 1100 mAh battery for up to 9 hours battery life;
- 117.5mm x 72.8mm x 16.9mm, 6 oz (170 g).
Pros:- Beautiful, large VGA display;
- USB Host support is useful for those who want to connect external devices;
- 1.3 MP camera;
- Case design is solid and well built;
- Cradle is solid and heavy;
- Very long battery life.
Cons:- Taking pictures is a slow process and pictures are impossible to take in dark conditions;
- WiFi model coming soon.
Summary:
Asus has introduced a high end Pocket PC that rivals the HP iPaq hx4705 in price and features. It's built well, has a VGA screen, and a ton of other features at a very competitive price. Does this device have what it takes to compete with the big boys?
Read on for the full review!
What's in the Package?
The Asus MyPal A730 comes with the usual array of items. The cradle is heavy and makes sliding the PDA into and out of it easy. It even features a convenient stylus holder, although there is not a battery slot for charging a second battery. A USB sync cable and power cable plug into the back of the cradle. They also double as travel cables to sync and charge the PDA.
The A730 also comes with a fairly nice case with a magnetic closure. A slot on the back of the case allows you to slip your belt into it. It also comes with a removable wrist strap.
Figure 1: The included A730 case.
Finally, a CD is included with a ton of free and trial software. Some of the software is only available in Traditional Chinese, however. The English programs included are MoneyTracer, Presentation DX, Pocket Painter, Map King, Engineering Calculator, Dung Cleaner, and Monster Chinese. Some will find these programs useful, but I didn't bother to install them. Still, kudos to Asus for including such a large software bundle.
What Really Matters...the PDA
I was really impressed by the Asus A730 on many levels. First of all, the PDA is well built. The buttons have a good "click" to them and do not rattle. The PDA is made of a very hard plastic, which closely imitates an aluminum metal finish.
Figure 2: The MyPal A730 is well built and feels solid to the touch.
The MyPal A730 features a removable battery; the entire back of the case slides out for access to the battery. This gives the back of the PDA a clean look with no annoying doors or hinges.
Figure 3: The entire back slides out for easy access to the battery.
The top of the PDA gives you access to a headphone jack, Compact Flash slot, and Secure Digital slot. As expected, both memory slots come with slide-in covers to protect the slots from getting dust-laden.
Figure 4: Top of the A730.
The bottom of the PDA contains the sync/charge port, reset pin, and the stylus slot. Yes, the stylus goes into the bottom of the PDA. Considering that I am used to accessing the stylus from the top of the PDA, it took me quite a while to adjust to pulling the stylus out from the bottom of the device. This is frustrating since you must pull the device out of the cradle to access the stylus. That makes the cradle's "stylus holder" very convenient. I found it very useful to keep the bundled second stylus in the cradle stylus holder at all times.
Figure 5: The stylus is located on the bottom of the device.
The PDA's VGA screen is very large and bright. After playing around with this device for a few days, I couldn't bear reading news on my QVGA HP iPAQ 4155. If you're thinking about buying a new device, I'd highly recommend buying one with a VGA screen. I am not going to show VGA vs QVGA screenshot comparisons, since these kinds of comparisons aren't related to the device itself.
Figure 6: The A730's screen at full brightness is much brighter than the iPAQ 4155.
The size of the Asus A730 is larger than I like my PDAs to be. Of course, I prefer my PDAs to be as small as possible since I keep them in my jeans pocket. I would have preferred that this device come with a flip cover, which would eliminate the need for an external case.
Figure 7: The A730 is noticeably larger than an iPAQ 4155.
A unique feature of this PDA is the USB host support. You will have to purchase the proprietary cable separately, which connects the USB device to the PDA's sync port. I wasn't able to test this feature since I did not have the right cable.
Camera & Sound
The MyPal A730 has a built-in 1.3MP camera, making it one of only a few of the currently available VGA resolution Pocket PCs to offer such a feature. However, the pictures are murky in scenes that are lit with artificial light. Even with the flash on, I couldn't get the pictures to look quite right. It's nice, however, to see a Pocket PC manufacturer include a flash with the camera. A flash can make all the difference in a dark scene. Another thing to note is that it takes the "Asus Camera" application several seconds to start up, which pretty much eliminates the possibility of using this camera to take quick shots. I think that this slowness problem can be fixed with a ROM update. In general, however, the 1.3MP pictures turn out very nice when taking pictures of scenes illuminated with natural light.
Figure 8: This is a picture of my room taken with a very bright fluorescent light.
On the other hand, the ASUS Camera application has some cool features including a picture organizer and a slide show program. It can also access photos stores anywhere on the Pocket PC.
Figure 9: The included ASUS Camera program is loaded.
Sound plays well on this device. The built in speaker is loud, and mp3s play well through the headphone jack. The model that I tested includes the new Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition "Adaptation Kit Update 2" (aka AKU2), which basically includes the new Windows Media Player 10. Since this program is still in its debug stages, I did not thoroughly test it out. However, I will include a screenshot for your drooling pleasure. As you can see, Windows Media Player 10 is a massive update to the previous player. I especially like the new look of the program.
Figure 10: A preview of Windows Media Player 10.
WiFi Coming Soon...
The Asus A730 will come in two separate models. One model will feature Bluetooth only, and the other model will have Bluetooth and WiFi. My test unit only had Bluetooth, which was a small disadvantage since I use the WiFi on my Pocket PCs quite a lot. However, I was told that a dual-connectivity model will be arriving shortly.
Included Asus Programs
In addition to the Asus Camera program discussed above, ASUS also includes their own backup and and launcher programs. The Asus Backup program is useful to do basic backups. However, it doesn't include any sort of scheduled backup mechanism, so you'll have to manually run backups. Asus Backup does have a feature, however, called "SmartKeeper," which will automatically back up the PDA when the battery power is low.
Figure 11: The Asus Backup program is useful for basic backups.
The Asus Launcher is quite unique. You can easily create categories for your programs and move the icons from one category to another. You can also edit the titles of the programs or remove the icons altogether. I found this launcher to be much more useful than the basic Pocket PC launcher.
Figure 12: The Asus Launcher is far better than the standard Pocket PC launcher.
Benchmarks
The MyPal A730 performed very well in the SPB Benchmark tests. In this preproduction unit, the A730 scored a value of 2064.2 in the CPU Index tests. However, the A730 scored lower than the iPAQ 4150 in platform index tests. Keep in mind that I was testing a preproduction unit, so take these benchmark values with a grain of salt. Overall, my informal tests with the A730 made me feel that the A730 was actually faster than my iPAQ 4155.
Figure 13: SPB Benchmark CPU Index.
Figure 14: SPB Benchmark Platform Index.
Regarding battery life, this Asus model was able to hold its juice very well, especially considering it sports a VGA screen and a very hot processor. I used SPB Benchmark to run battery tests on the device. At max backlight and standard usage, the device lasted for 3 hour, 9 minutes. However, with no backlight and no usage, the device lasted for over 6 and a half hours. This battery life is more than satisfactory to me. This A730 doesn't have built-in WiFi, so naturally the battery drain wouldn't be as high as a PDA with WiFi. However, Asus says the included 1100 mAh battery should last up to 9 hours. Obviously, I didn't get anywhere close to 9 hours. If you need more power, Asus sells an optional 1800 mAh battery as well.
Conclusion
All in all, I'd highly recommend the Asus MyPal A730 at its MSRP price of $499. If Asus is able to price their upcoming WiFi version at under $549, I think this device will be a steal. The MyPal A730 definitely has what it takes to compete with the HP iPAQ hx4705.
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12-13-2004, 06:15 PM
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Mystic
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,734
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Quote:
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1.3 MP camera, a first for the Pocket PC;
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Can some-one say Loox 720?
Surur
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12-13-2004, 06:17 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 444
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Zack, any idea how this thing compares subjectively with the X50v? And, WTH is "Dung Cleaner"? :rotfl:
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12-13-2004, 06:24 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 34
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Asus A730 - Battery problem
I've been trying out an Asus A730 recently, considering it as a replacement for an HP 4150. The VGA screen is great, but last weekend, my A730 sat in a drawer, turned off, with no programs loaded in memory. When I came in to work Monday morning, the battery had drained down to 30%. My 4150, which I used constantly over the weekend to look at Notes, Excel spreadsheets, Contacts, and Reminders, and to run other programs, also had its battery drained down....to 84%.
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12-13-2004, 06:39 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 10
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I have a question about these new devices that can act like a USB Host. Do they also act like a USB client when connected to a PC? Could you see the CF card for instance? Probably not, but just curious. That would relieve me of having to carry a USB card reader around (I know, I could explore the device and see the card, but I seldom use Exploere to do file management. I need a drive letter).
S.
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12-13-2004, 07:04 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 139
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720 has more capabilities. This is a good device (of course it's EASY to be better than 4700) but I still prefer my 720.
50v could be second, this third and MAYBE after them, the 4700...
OF COURSE it's not the first device with 1.3MP camera.
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12-13-2004, 07:49 PM
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Philosopher
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 555
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Nice subtle product placement :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
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12-13-2004, 08:42 PM
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5000+ Posts? I Should OWN This Site!
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 5,133
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12-13-2004, 09:14 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,329
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by felixdd
Nice subtle product placement :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
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 I was going to say the same thing. I SUPPOSE that there is a chance that he was taking the picture in front of his iMac and simply didn't pay close enough attention. There is also a chance monkeys might fly... 
I like the Asus. It�s a nice device. The reason I didn't go with it is the 4" screen on the 4700. It's just too juicy to pass up IMHO that and the lacking of WIFI. My next device must have WIFI. Not optional.
__________________
PDA History: Palm Pilot 5000 -> Apple Newton 2100 -> Casio E-11 -> iPaq 3650 (64MB Upgrade) -> iPaq 3700 -> Casio EM-500 -> HP Jornada 568 -> HP iPaq hx4705 www.spreadfirefox.com |
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12-13-2004, 10:41 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 139
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pitty that for you guys at the other side of the pond is more difficult to get hold a LOOX 720... really the best I've seen by far ever (and I've seen many - inc. ahem a certain new model by a very big company)
anyway as I said 730 is certainly good (still lacking some things compared to the aforementioned model) and certainly better (to my opinion) that the certain new model by a very big company I talk about above
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