ASUS A716 Reviewed by John K. Goodman

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://users.cwnet.com/jgoodman/A716review/A716Review.html' target='_blank'>http://users.cwnet.com/jgoodman/A71...A716Review.html</a><br /><br /></div>"As an animation supervisor for feature films, I I use my PDA on a daily basis to take notes, send and receive email, check web sites and watch animation and video. I have used the HP Jornada 568 for a few years. I really liked it for many reasons, not the least of which were its form factor, extended battery, and multimedia capabilities. But it was finally starting to show its age. So, I had been waiting for a PDA to come along that would satisfy several criteria I had..."<br /><br />This is an excellent, and very thorough article - and it has some of the best photos I've seen in an enthusiast review. That man knows how to use a camera. Way to go John! Let me know if you want to write reviews for Pocket PC Thoughts... :wink:

[Rickyohead]

I very much enjoyed the review as well. great job John, you convinced me to get the a716!

[powder2000]

Pretty good review, with lots of pictures. I really like this unit, don't know what it is about it, but the small features and design quirks are what makes it unique to me (rom storage, case, mic, removable antenna). The size seems to be right for me too, as I found the jornada very comfortable to hold. I also like the placement of the mic at the bottom for VOIP.

[Deslock]

A post in the thread for the ppcthoughts article last week mentioned this review, which was very detailed:
http://www.pocketmatrix.com/reviews/a716/

That review also linked to this thread with PocketQuake benchmarks for many PPCs. The A716 beats everything:
http://www.pocketmatrix.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8858

I don't play FPSs anymore and even if I did I don't think I'd play Quake without a mouse, but still that's impressive. My main complaint with the A716's hardware is that the screen footprint is significantly smaller than the device. Hopefully when the 730 comes out with VGA, they'll increase the screen size... they should be able to squeeze a 3.8" or even 4" into it...

http://www.brighthand.com/images/ASUS_A716_S.jpg

given that HP can squeeze a 3.5" screen into this:

http://www.brighthand.com/images/ipaq4155_main.jpg

[Prevost]

Perhaps this is the most interesting comment by the reviewer:

"The A730 is supposedly the same as the A716 with a VGA Screen.
Which sounds like a good idea, but...

...I think if they want that to succeed they've got to make the screen at least 4". Because having compared the A716 and the Toshiba e805's VGA 4" screen, all I can say is "Eyestrain"! It was really tiring to read/write such tiny fonts, and the resolution of the stylus tip wasn't always small enough to tap a particular button or menu the first try. In fact I found this aspect of the VGA screen almost as annoying as the eyestrain. On a 3.5" screen like the A716 it would be even worse, bordering on unusable.

I'm rapidly forming the opinion that PDA's dont need to be VGA.
I do kind of Like the Palm T3 resolution of 480x320, kind of like the original Macintosh, that seems do-able."

Something I've been thinking and saying here from the start.

Come on guys, making that screen 4" across won't make VGA better.

It is also very interesting that this long-term PPC user DOES LIKE T3 resolution better than a VGA PPC. :twisted:

[jgoodman]

I'm rapidly forming the opinion that PDA's dont need to be VGA.
I do kind of Like the Palm T3 resolution of 480x320, kind of like the original Macintosh, that seems do-able."

Something I've been thinking and saying here from the start.

Come on guys, making that screen 4" across won't make VGA better.

It is also very interesting that this long-term PPC user DOES LIKE T3 resolution better than a VGA PPC. :twisted:

Indeed I do. On the flip side though, I believe ASUS is also the manufacturer of the T3 for Palm. (http://www.palminfocenter.com/view_Story.asp?ID=3679) They obviously know how to do larger resolution screens right, as evidenced by the T3 (http://tinyurl.com/36dk8), so I wouldnt put it past them to come up with some clever way to make VGA work better on a 4" screen, although I certainly dont know what that would be.

So what does that mean? Basically at this point in the evolution of VGA for PPC, I find it lacking.
But, that doesn't mean I couldnt change my mind if someone, like ASUS, came up with a better implementation.

[Prevost]

Are you John K. Goodman?

Many other here know better what is inside Windows Mobile better than me, but following what they have said in PPCT, I understand that the reason for VGA being what it is lies in the operating system. So, the number of pixels shown per screen must be always in a 4:3 screen size ratio and in round multiples. Then this makes current resolution 320x240 pixels, that doubled makes those ilegible 640x480.

Now, this is what I understand. Consider that there are other resolutions that mantain the 4:3 ratio as can easily be observed in the Control Panel of any Windows Desktop, like 1024x768, that is NOT a round multiple of anything...

Although I believe the real problem is that resolution (considering it as how many pixels form an image and consequently making each pixel smaller) does not improve going VGA, but just how many pixels are displayed at a time while mantaining pixel size. Again, this is what I understand.

In turn, Palm high resolution screens are switchable between a mode comparable to PPC VGA (and being also ilegible too!), and a mode in which the amount of info shown per screen is similar to the old 160x160 mode BUT with more pixels available to render images, making for true high resolution of legible-sized text.

[Will T Smith]

Are you John K. Goodman?

Many other here know better what is inside Windows Mobile better than me, but following what they have said in PPCT, I understand that the reason for VGA being what it is lies in the operating system. So, the number of pixels shown per screen must be always in a 4:3 screen size ratio and in round multiples. Then this makes current resolution 320x240 pixels, that doubled makes those ilegible 640x480.

Now, this is what I understand. Consider that there are other resolutions that mantain the 4:3 ratio as can easily be observed in the Control Panel of any Windows Desktop, like 1024x768, that is NOT a round multiple of anything...

Although I believe the real problem is that resolution (considering it as how many pixels form an image and consequently making each pixel smaller) does not improve going VGA, but just how many pixels are displayed at a time while mantaining pixel size. Again, this is what I understand.

In turn, Palm high resolution screens are switchable between a mode comparable to PPC VGA (and being also ilegible too!), and a mode in which the amount of info shown per screen is similar to the old 160x160 mode BUT with more pixels available to render images, making for true high resolution of legible-sized text.

The choice of VGA is certainly interesting considering the Palm 320x480 resolution. I think that palms choice was very natural. 320x480 springs from 320x320. This was the square resolution of Sony's first Hi-Res Clie units. It is also exactly DOUBLE the old resolution. This makes it possible to double size 160x160 apps with a bit of trickery (though I'm not sure if they employed it).

320x480 came from Palm finally ditching the dedicated input area in favor of PocketPC's "soft" input area. So all the 320x320 stuff still works fine, as can the 160x160 stuff.

Microsoft going 320x240 to 320x480 is NOT doubling. It's takes scaling factors that will make doubling legacy app sizes (through trickery (preferably hardware)) difficult. Basically, things won't look right.

So 640x480 is the natural choice for forward migration AND staying a leg up on palm. There is NOTHING inherint about 640x480 that should cause eyestrain. The issue is getting developers to include 640x480 modes with larger fonts. If anything, it should casue LESS eyestrain. Don't forget, unlike a desktop monitor, you can always shove a handheld closer to your face to read a tricky bit.


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Jornada and ASUS 716

I'm glad to see someone else make this comparison. The unit is almost everything one would WANT to seen in a new Jornada that will NEVER emerge from HPaq. The only thing missing is the slip contacts and the integrated $.10 plastic flip lid (replacing the need for 60 cases (I carry my Jornada in a holster, it doesn't NEED a case)).

The newer units from HP are getting cooler. But they REALLY SUCK in the battery department. They resemble like the battery systems out of my OLD, OLD Compaq Aero 1500 (which I really loved). The extended battery on the 2200 is a JOKE compared to the simplicity of the Jornada style (now Asus style(cell phone style)) battery.

I hope to see the ASUS units making it on the shelves of US retailers. Hopefully, some of those screwdriver shops that KNOW ASUS's amazing record for quality will start pimping these.

I'm looking forward to replacing the Jornada with the Asus 716 (or 730). Now the migrating Jornada users will simply need to find a way to gerry-rig a flip cover ;-)