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The PDA test. By Matt Henkes

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23rd Oct 2007
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For the mobile professional, staying in touch can be crucial if you want to keep yourself in the loop. Staying on top of email and telephone communications requires the latest in advanced gadgetry. Matt Henkes tested some of the UK’s best selling personal digital assistants to see which one best fits the bill.

Palm TXPalm TX - £250
The highly rated Palm TX scores highly across the board. Weighing in at 149g, 7.8cm wide by 12.1cm deep by 1.5cm high, the device comes equipped with a range of multimedia features and works with both Windows and Mac systems. Integrated WiFi and Bluetooth make connecting to the internet fast and easy. A 3.7-inch screen with 320x480 pixels of resolution provides a crisp display and the sleek compact design will fit easily into your pocket.
Light, attractive, sensibly priced and highly useable – 9/10

HTC TyTN IIHTC TyTN II - £400
HTC’s new release looks and feels a tad bulkier than some of its competitors, but includes a nifty slide-out keyboard and tilt screen mechanism that just about makes up for it. It features a GPS receiver, though only comes with a ‘taster’ of the TomTom Navigator 6 software that you’ll need to make use of it. Also includes a built in camera that doubles as a business card reader.
Nice features but let down by its size and weight – 7.5/10

E-TEN Glofiish M700E-TEN Glofiish M700 - £380
Another device offering GPS and a slide out keyboard, the M700 does not look as sleek as some other handhelds and weighs in at a hefty 165g. The keyboard functions very well when tapped with thumbs while holding the device between two hands. Anyone wanting to create a large number of emails, edit documents or send a lot of text messages may find this format more useful than some of the touch screen devices available. Its integrated SiRFStar III GPS receiver, combined with the Location SMS software (not included in every package option) can send a text message detailing your longitude and latitude to any specified recipient.
Packed with features, but a little on the heavy side – 8/10

Motorola MC35Motorola MC35 - £400
In tests this device’s battery stood up extremely well, delivering its first low battery warning almost three hours before it ran out completely. However, the device runs the Windows Mobile 5 system, rather than the newer and more popular Windows Mobile 6. Unusually, it also features a joystick navigation function, which feels like it could be vulnerable to breakage. But if battery life is a quality you value, as most mobile professionals must, this device is well worth a look.
Clunky navigation and old software, but top for battery life – 7/10

Nokia N800 Internet TabletNokia N800 Internet Tablet - £280
The N800’s touch screen interface was the easiest to master of all the PDAs tested. Fitted with the highly efficient Opera web browser, the tablet’s web-surfing ability is limited only by the speed of your local WiFi connection. However, this device comes without many of the other regular PDA tools that you would expect, meaning that you may find yourself shelling out for extra gadgets. However, this is one of the first devices to really deliver a quality web-browsing experience.
Well executed but overall a bit limited – 7/10

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