ASUS MyPal A716

ASUS is an Asian computer manufacturer that has been testing the U.S. PDA market for over a year now. They introduced their first U.S. device, the A600, in early 2003. I reviewed it in our March 2003 issue (http://www.SmartphoneMag.com/Mar03/zayo.asp) and was impressed by its graphics performance. In the Feb/March 2004 issue I reviewed another device of theirs, the A620 (http://www.SmartphoneMag.com/Mar04/asus.asp). I have been using the A620 as my personal device since the review, because of its snappy performance. But there were a few things I didn’t like about it. Fortunately, the new ASUS MyPal A716 addressed all of my criticisms.

Making a good thing better

Like the A620 before it, the ASUS A716 is powered by a 400 MHz processor and comes with 64 MB of RAM and 64 MB of flash ROM. A little over 25 MB of the flash ROM can be accessed for data storage and program installation. Like the hard drive in your desktop PC, flash ROM is non-volatile memory. If your A716 battery runs out completely, the data stored in flash ROM is safe. (That is not the case with RAM.)

Fortunately, it’s not very likely that your A716 is going to run out of battery power. This device incorporates the ASUS “Smart Power Saving technology,” which gives it the best battery life of the current Pocket PCs. ASUS claims that you’ll get 18-19 hours of continuous use, but manufacturers’ estimates are, in most cases, best-case scenarios. An independent test performed by Matt Keys (http://www.pocketmatrix.com/reviews/a716/) rated it at over 12 hours. It’s not 19 hours, but it’s still very impressive. One thing I did not like about previous ASUS Pocket PCs was that none of them had user-replaceable batteries. The A716 remedies this, shipping with a 1500 mAh replaceable, rechargeable lithium-ion battery. In addition, ASUS will offer a 3000 mAh extended-life battery as an option. With a 12-hour battery life for the standard battery, I’m not sure how necessary an extended-life battery would be for the average user. But if you take long international plane trips, or are away from electrical outlets for extended periods, a 3000 mAh spare battery will keep you up and running for a long time.

I love the fact that ASUS included a Type II CF slot and an SDIO slot. (Fig. 1). The card slots are located on the top of the unit, so cards are easy to insert and remove. Also located on the top of the unit are the 3.5 mm stereo headphone jack (Fig. 1, right), the Wi-Fi antenna (Fig. 1, left—the small white cylinder), and the stylus silo (next to the Wi-Fi antenna). You can unscrew the antenna to remove it, but this cuts the range of the Wi-Fi radio.

Fig. 1: The CF and SD card slots are visible here. The little cylinder sticking up on the left is the Wi-Fi antenna.

Like all Pocket PCs, the A716 has four programmable application launch buttons and a navigation pad on the front of the device below the display. I particularly liked the navigation pad, a large round button with a concave face. Your thumb or finger fits comfortably into the concave face and the action of the button is so smooth and positive that it almost entirely eliminates accidental presses.

Also like all Pocket PCs, the A716 has a USB connector port on the bottom edge of the device that allows it to connect to your desktop PC via the synchronization cradle that ships with it, or via an optional USB or serial connectivity cable. It can be powered and recharged through the synchronization cradle. In addition, ASUS placed a power receptacle on the lower right edge, allowing you to connect the A716 directly to the AC power adapter.