Review of PDA Asus MyPal A626

Life photos of A626

Sales package:

• PDA
• 1200 mAh battery;
• User guide
• Charger
• Carrying case
• CD with software (ActiveSync and Outlook)
• Mini-USB data cable

In 2006 ASUSTeK released a number of successful models, both in the segment of communicators and Pockets PCs. Among its latest-and-greatest, we should particularly emphasize Asus A600, the A620 and the A636. The highlight of our today’s review belongs to the same MyPal 6xx line-up. The company sticks close to the tradition of launching GPS-enabled PDAs (the A686, the A696), and Asus A626 can be regarded as an addition to this range. That is, it sports no design traits that would confine you to portrait-only orientation. Another characteristic feature of the entire series is brilliantly tweaked power consumption – all offerings coming from this product line show off big numbers in battery life tests.

The company positions the MyPal A626 as “pure PDA”, as it is the line-up’s junior model having no GPS-module onboard. The A626’s sales package is extremely unpretentious, including only the essentials. However we were quite surprised by the absence of a cradle from there as it had become par for the course for most PDAs.

Design and controls

The device’s looks can be deemed traditional for Asus-branded PDA solutions. Availability of GPS-module in senior models leaves its own stamp on all offerings that belong to the line. In fact, that is why the first launch goes in landscape orientation. The asymmetrically placed display (if put the device in vertical position, it will be a bit closer to the right spine) serves as just another proof that landscape setup is intended for the A626.

Measuring 117x70.8x15.7 mm at 158 g, the A626 fits in the image of a today’s PDA. The device is larger in size than Acer n311 but is pretty much comparable with other solutions. This PDA is meant to be carried in bag or briefcase in the first place; as although it comes packaged with a carrying case, it has no belt clip. The case made of thick black material features Asus logo on the face and has firm grip on the PDA.

The A626 comes in conventionally-looking rectangular form without protruding details and slightly rounded edges and spines. The PDA’s face has metal finish that goes along the perimeter and partly touches the side plates. Black plastic is used for the display’s frame. Our review unit had silver front plate; however they are now planning to launch three extra trims: gold, blue and light blue. At that, the only part that varies in color is the front fascia, whereas the rest of the casing remains coated in black.

The rear utilizes standard black plastic, which seems far too unsophisticated and cheap; and naturally the combination of metal and plastic is something we haven’t used to see too often, which makes for more primitive looks of the A626.

Beneath the screen, on the face plate, you will find four keys and a round five-way navigation key. Further down on the left is a small speaker grill, on the opposite side is the similarly-patterned grill, hiding wireless interfaces indicator underneath, as for the rest it is here chiefly for the sake of it. The keys under display are dedicated to the following functions (from left to right): voice notes, contacts, calendar, quick menu, more of which later.

Bulky in size navigation pad stands a bit above the casing surface, which makes it a cinch to work with, as well as with other fascia-mounted keys. Above the screen you will find a small hole, where charging LED is placed.

The left spine plays host to a Mini-USB slot which serves for linking up the PDA with PC or charging up the handheld. The slot is left uncovered. The right-hand side houses two elements: hold switch and 3.5mm audio jack. The elements mentioned, placed both on the spines and on the edges, are placed flush with the casing, which is a reasonable approach as all the three devices of the new line feature identical shells and in view of GPS-module embedded in the senior models they all are supposed to be used in car. That is why the casing is made flat with no protruding parts.

The presence of 3.5 mm jack for headphones gives you an opportunity to use Asus A626 as a music player. We tasted sound quality with in-ear phones Sennheiser MXL 51 The sound proved to be clear without any unwanted noises. Top volume level is not particularly high, but seems sufficient to use the player on the street. Of course, music-conscious users will definitely turn up their noses at the A626, but our point of view is purely subjective.

The upper edge is armed with the power button and unprotected memory expansion slot. The card format applied here is one of the most wide-spread among PDAs – SD/MMC with SDIO support. The biggest memory card you can use with the A626 should be the most capacious unit on the market, just like we’ve come to expect. Switching to the bottom end, you can see the soft reset key and Infrared window, as well as the stylus silo.

The stylus slides into the silo vertically, if you are holding the A626 sideways, which is quite different from our previous experience. In other words, if you put the device vertically, the stylus socket will be located horizontally at the bottom edge. The advantage of this layout is that whichever way you hold the A626, the stylus will never end up sliding out of the silo on its own.

Stylus is extensible, though it snaps open and closed with authority. When closed, it measures 62 mm tall, and 92 mm when opened. Basing of its thickness and size, we should better say that it is not very easy to use, just average. For most of the PDAs this stick usually turns out to be rather thick. But in this way Asus A626 is inferior even to Acer n311 with its already pretty skinny stylus. Ultimately, you will get used to it, but at first it might seem too small and inconvenient, especially to those who have dealt with other PDAs in the past.

Display

It is one of moot points about the whole of Asus’s updated range. The A626 sports touch-sensitive TFT-matrix measuring 3,5” from corner to corner. The active zone of the display at that makes up 70x52 mm with 320x240 pixel resolution and up to 65 K colors. Usage of QVGA resolution in the at-the-frontier PDA line-up is a questionable step. The company decided to arm the screen with glare filter, which makes for matte shine of the display and thus dim and faded picture. But this drawback is fully compensated by the screen’s high brightness and the ability to adjust this parameter precisely.

The vertical viewing angles are superb – the image doesn’t get distorted at all. But the horizontal ones let the A626 down when you incline the PDA. Partly, the reason is the matte coating; in the sun the display gets heavily washed out, yet remains readable. Generally speaking, the screen is comfortable to use, but lags behinds the competition in terms of picture quality, beating them with the brightness level. Nevertheless why would they throw QVGA in it, is quite obscure since even communicators are now getting VGA resolution.

Battery life

The handheld carries a 1200 mAh Lo-Ion battery onboard, which is par for the course for many PDA by various manufacturers. Though, it is quite another matter that in many models capacity like that allows getting only moderate or even sub-standard figures of battery life. As the manufacturer claims, in the A626 this capacity will be enough for 15 hours of music playback with the screen switched off.

Below are the results of our standard battery life tests.

Reading mode – the least power-hungry mode of all. Display backlighting level is set to the minimum that makes for comfortable reading, then we launch Haali Reader and activate auto-scrolling.  

MP3 mode – self-explanatory test. Display backlighting gets switched off (in case with the P3400 it was set to the floor), volume level is set to the medium level, and then we link up the PDA with headphones and playback MP3-files with 128 Kbit/s bitrate via MortPlayer.  

Maximum load - display brightness is set to maximum, thereupon with start up TCPMP player and initiate playback of 320x240 pixel movies.

  

The numbers put up by Asus A626 are common for ASUSTeK PDAs – much like its predecessors, the model trumps other offerings in all work modes. On maximum load the PDA stayed online for about 4,5 hours, in reading mode – a tad less than 22 hours. In MP3 mode we squeezed almost a day (22 hours 56 minutes) out of the handheld, which is undisputable one of the highest numbers among all PDAs and communicators.

  

For those who are eager to learn more about battery life of other Windows Mobile-based devices, that happened to be in our scope.

        

Performance

Asus A626 is powered by a 312 MHz Intel XScale PXA270 CPU. Out of 64Mb of RAM 54.05 Mb is user-manageable, which is enough to get most of the tasks completed. The size of the bundled flash-memory makes and 77.65 Mb, and is more then enough for installing and running the most essential applications. Vast majority of apps may be installed on the memory card.

We carried out a standard test with SPB Benchmark pack. In view of the fact, that the test does not give an objective picture of the performance of handhelds running WM 5.0, we have extracted only a few types of data from it. In terms of performance, the A626 is among the best in our chart.

Then the device was put through its paces in TCPMP benchmark. tested with Benchmark built n TCPMP video player. 100% performance means smooth film rendering without dropped frames, but with possible collapses during dynamic scenes. 120% and more ensure smooth playback without lags or dropped frames at all.

The A626 does pretty well. In most cases non-converted video will not be played back adequately, but as for the rest, the CPU power seems always sufficient.

Connectivity

The device comes with all the wireless connectivity options you might need - from infrared-port to Wi-Fi.

As for Infrared-port, there is nothing to dwell upon.

The device comes equipped with miniUSB cable used for synchronization with PC as well as for data connections. The A626 makes use of a dated USB 1.1 protocol, which limits the data connection speed to 12 Mbit/s. In practice it will take from 30 to 40 seconds to upload a 10Mb file to the handheld’s memory. For USB-connection the capability to use PDA as a card reader is provided. To make this possible, you should enable this option in the USB settings.

The device carries Bluetooth 2.0 module with EDR support onboard. The PDA comes installed with Broadcom (Widcom) drives, which is a good thing, as many latest-and-greatest PDAs are preloaded with Microsoft’s software, whose functionality is limited The number of profiles supported can make unprepared user tremble. The A626 contains all necessary profiles including A2DP (stereo sound to Bluetooth-headset).

 

When tested, the A626 brought about no Bluetooth-related issues. All profiles did well: Internet access via phone, synchronization with desktop PC, files and contacts beaming, Bluetooth keypad coupling. Driver version - 1.7.1. Build 9701.

The list of supported profiles is as follows:

- A2DP-Source
- AVRCP-Target
- BIP-ImagePush
- BNEP
- BPP-SenderDev
- DUN-DT
- FT-Client
- FT-Server
- GAP
- GAVDP
- Generic Object Exchange 
- HCRP-Client
- Headset-AG
- HID-Host
- OPP-Client
- OPP-Server
- PAN-Group
- PAN-User
- SDAP
- Serial-DevA
- Serial-DevB
- AVCTP
- AVDTP

Wi-Fi 802.11b/g.. Everything works like a well-oiled machine; as setting up Wi-Fi is everything but a hassle. Wi-Fi application is still very limited in capabilities because of the poor coverage. Essentially, the device offers only a few useful apps, making use of Wi-Fi connectivity. Radio, streaming video and web surfing – are the first thing you have on the mind when thinking of Wi-Fi. Internet-telephony presented by Skype worked on the PDA without delays or any other problems.

Software

The device runs on Windows Mobile 5.0 for Pocket PC. Standard applications this operating system comes loaded with are covered in our dedicated article. Don’t forget, though, that this one is a PDA, meaning that it has no phone functions.

Review of Windows Mobile 5.0 for Pocket PC >>>

Review of AKU update packs for Windows Mobile 5.0>>>

Now let us turn to the suite of applications pre-installed on the PDA, which is not big, to be honest. As most of other manufactures, Asus has decided not to modify what the OS already brings to the table with additions of their own.

Mode Switcher – is a small app that proved to be of great help in practice. In fact, it does the same job as ALT+TAB combination on your desktop. If you remember, such combination is used to bring up menu to switch between active applications or programs. In Asus A626 everything is done in pretty much the same way with two modes at your disposal – active applications or system programs and options. The former allows you to browse launched applications, while with the latter, you will be able to go back to Today screen, start up Windows Media Player and rotate the display.

 

This application has a dedicated button on the casing – the last key on the right. Pressing it one time calls up a pop-up window, and after that, punching this button, you can select in the list the application you need, let the key go when an application is highlighted, and the A626 goes into it.

ASUS Status is a module used for displaying system status thumbnails on Today screen. In minimized state it is the A icon you see, tapping on it will bring up a window in the lower right corner, featuring system information: USB connection type, CPU work mode, backlighting level, memory volume and battery charge. Any of these items can be removed from the list if your wish.

 

Audio is here to enable you to adjust sound. Using it you will be able to tweak balance, 3D, Bass, Treble. Here you may also set up microphone sensitivity during recording as well as record modes themselves.

    

 

Conclusion

This handheld has turned out to be pretty queer; as of today it can be rightfully attributed to the old guard of PDAs, and that’s the thing Asus has done by calling it a “Pure PDA”. The fact of the matter is that the PDA losing its weight from day to day and manufacturers cease to release classic solutions. Asus naturally spotlights the GPS-armed PDAs, and the A626 simply doesn’t belong to that line-up.

Let us try to list out the pros and cons of Asus A626:

Pros:

• Good battery life
• Three wireless connectivity options available
• 3.5 mm audio jack

Cons:

• Aged QVGA-display
• No scroll wheel
• Sub-standard performance
• No cradle in the package

This device will suit the users who want to get all standard functions from their PDA: organizer, music and video playback, but at this not very sophisticated in their demands. Much will depend on the price the company will set. At 300-320 USD Asus will become an interesting offering, but as the price goes higher, the consumers start having more doubts about the A626. For the time being Acer n311 comes at an average price of 400 USD in Moscow. At that this handled tops Asus A626 in many ways, saving for the missing Infrared.

At the end of the day, HP iPAQ hx2190 has to be the A626’s closest rival, however today it costs about 280 USD. The models are pretty much identical, though Asus has Wi-Fi on its side, which is not always demanded by users after all. Thus, the outlook of Asus MyPal A626 are very obscure at present – despite having brilliant implementation of all announced features, it has some strong rivals, and the outcome will heavily depend on the price matter.

Specifications:

• Type: PDA
• Position in the line-up: above Asus A620
• Rivals: HP iPAQ hx2190
• Materials used: plastic, metal
• Operating system: Windows Mobile 5.0 for Pocket PC (AKU 2.6)
• Процессор: Intel XScale PXA270 312 МГц
• RAM: 64 Mb (54.04 Mb available), ROM: 77.65 Mb available for storing user data and applications
• Connectivity: SDIO/SD/MMC, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, USB 1.1 for charging/synchronization, Wi-Fi (IEEE802.11b/g), IrDA
• Display: TFT 3.5” (70x52 mm – active zone) with 320x240 pixel resolution, 65 K colors, adjustable backlighting
• Dimensions: 117x70.8x15.7 mm, Weight: 158 g (battery included)
• Battery: detachable 1200 mAh Li-Ion unit

Asus A620Bt: long battery life and fast performance

Standard kit:

• PDA
• Docking station
• Charger
• Leatherette case
• CD
• User's guide

In 2002 Asus was among the first to introduce a Pocket PC powered by new processor Intel XScale PXA250. The model featured a longer life in the off-line mode (one of the longest due to an optimized power consumption system), tiny dimensions (it was the smallest handheld before the appearance of MiTAC Mio339), aluminum shell and high performance. The device became very popular then. Everybody looked forward to new models in the line. In summer 2003 there had been released the long awaited update – Asus A620. The A620 experienced improvements with the transflective screen and Bluetooth support, but some features got worth scaring away first model users.

The shell is made of plastic and there is no aluminum as in the MyPal A600. But we won’t think of it as a drawback, all recent models come with non-metal shell. As a matter of fact it’s the norm for modern handhelds. Only Sony applies metal insertions in its Hi-End models. Having assessed the plastic quality we found it appropriate. However the shell doesn’t look that expensive as in the latest HP iPaq models (you will not mix it with metal either by touch or by sight). The casing doesn’t creak and there are no backlashes to be seen. Nowadays the given model is the thinnest among handhelds with integrated Compact Flash slot (13.3 mm) due to the absence of SD/MMC slot. But it’s taller and wider against its direct rival – HP iPaq 2210. See the photo to compare dimensions of the A620 with other models. It looks that way side by side with the iPaq 1940 (the smallest Pocket PC today). The dimensions of the A620 are average, you can’t call the handheld big or small.

I found the design too angular, the model lost hardly perceptible smooth lines of the MyPal A600. Many will like it, but not everybody. The angular form affects the comfort use – the handheld doesn’t perfectly fit the hand. Besides the sides lack control elements. The handheld with the CF slot weighs light – just 141 grams. During the tests the device lay in jacket’s pocket and proved almost weightless.

Being a most efficient device the handheld draws attention to its application buttons (these important for those planning to play capacious games and console emulators). Application buttons are good to use, have enough size, respond accurately and proved good in playing dynamic games. They feel more comfortable (due to the size) compared to that in the iPaq 2210. However there are less keys on the front side than in Dell Axim X3i (another PDA featuring high performance), so it will be less convenient to play SNES and Genesis emulators that need more keys (for example, SNES joystick is equipped with 8 buttons).

The device is equipped with a soft navigation pad, a controversial solution. There are just few examples where the soft joystick fits the place: Toshiba e550 and FS Pocket LOOX 600 (you rock the joystick slightly instead of pushing it). The soft joystick fails in most models (the iPaq 5450, MiTAC Mio558). As a rule, hard keys are better implemented (Dell Axim X3, HP iPaq 4150, iPaq 3970, Palm Tungsten T3). The tested model has a kind of an “average” joystick, not “soft” or “hard”. On the one hand, you press the joystick in the direction needed (not deflect it), on the other hand there is no clear response. Surprisingly the joystick proved good in games (less convenient than in the Axim X3, but better than in the iPaq 2210). The integrated speaker is located in the lower right corner, it sounds relatively loud.

On the left side you won’t see a scroll wheel or dictaphone button (compared to the iPaq 2210, its main rival). Note, the MyPal A600 enjoyed the wheel, badly implemented though. Well, use the joystick (not that convenient) to read books or turn the screen at 90° (we did so during tests). On the top there are the CF slot (you can remove its back cover to plug some perpetual equipment), the common 3.5 mm headphone jack and the silo. The stylus is made of plastic and has an average weight. We didn’t come across any difficulties while using it.

At the bottom there is the plug, which connects the handheld to the cradle or the synchronization cable.

The cradle is included in the standard kit. However it looks cheaper now with black plastic and poor design (the title Asus no longer glitters). In all, it docks the handheld firm. As for the case, it has no belt clip and looks very cheap.

The A620 contains a 3.5-inch, transflective TFT display supporting 65K colors. The screen is clear, sharp, and does a good job reproducing colors like that in the iPaq 2210. The brightness level allows you to read with the minimum backlight in the dark.

Interface

Compact Flash. The producer didn’t include the SD/MMC slot for the sake of compactness. It’s the only PDA from the recent models that goes without the SD slot. However you can use SD card with the special adapter (you can buy it for some $30). It’s impossible to use two different type cards simultaneously. On the one hand, Compact Flash cards are traditionally less expensive than their SD counterparts, and their maximum memory size is larger. On the other hand, you won’t succeed in using simultaneously a CF GPS extension card and a memory card (to locate large maps that are too heavy for RAM). In all, a single CF is better than a single SD/MMC (though it affects the dimensions) and worse than two slots (you can copy files from one card to another and simultaneously use the card with some perpetual devices).

Bluetooth. As for this wireless standard, we will cut the story short, as the handheld has the standard set of WIDCOMM drivers (common for almost every iPaq model). That is Bluetooth here contains maximum functionality (the transfer of files and contacts, the network profile, Internet connection from the handset, PC synchronization). We had no problems using the A620BT with the Laptop PC and Bluetooth mobile phone. We should mention Bluetooth voice profile that is not set default in some iPaq models (activate it in the register). We tested the handheld with the Sony Ericsson HBH-65 garniture, however we didn’t reveal any positive application of such a bundle. Poor sound won’t do to reproduce music. Well, before the appearance of Bluetooth 2 standard including “music profile” the bundle PDA – Bluetooth hands-free remains just for fun.

Battery

The A620BT contains a non-replaceable Li-Ion battery (1300 mAh). At the moment due to the efficient power consumption system the handheld features the longest battery life. Asus claims 19 hours of off-line work. Our tests revealed 15 hours 40 minutes in the mp3 mode on a single charge (files read from the memory card, the screen off, processor in the Power Saving mode)! 17 hours sharp it took to read books with the minimum backlight and without the memory card involved. At the maximum load the A620 lasted 3 hours 40 minutes (full screen brightness, 400 MHz frequency rate, video mode, Bluetooth on). At low screen brightness and Bluetooth off the handheld was good for 4-5 hours playing games (a record figure!). I can’t recall a handheld with the color screen showing higher performance (I mean standard batteries).

Productivity

The A620BT contains standard 64MB of SDRAM, but only 55 MB of it are usable for programs and data. The integrated nonvolatile memory amounts to 35 MB and is used to back up files and run small applications. The handheld is powered by the Intel XScale PXA255 400 MHz processor. During tests it proved one of the fastest just slightly yielding to FS Pocket LOOX 610 (or Asus A 716), sometimes even outpacing it.

We used the SPB Benchmark package to test the productivity. For this purpose we’ve chosen highly productive models and set the Asus A620 processor in the Advance Performance Enhancement mode.

The myPal A620 is listed second after the LOOX. The difference between them keeps within the statistical error.

The file system index describes Pocket PC file system speed (read/record/move). The A620 slightly breaks away.

The platform index describes total Pocket PC platform speed including the built-in applications (Asus still leading). The results correspond to that of the previous test, as the platform speed depends on the file system speed.

The synchronization speed is the lowest in the range, though the A620 lags from the leader by 26%.

Well, Asus A620 turned to be the leader, though the gap is insignificant, not to mention invisible speed difference. You’ll demand such productivity when playing emulators (PSX or GBA) or capacious 3D games.

As usual we tested graphics with PocketQuake game in the mute mode (turn the sound off by nosound 1 console command leaving other settings on).

I’d say the A620 almost equals the leader. In the Demo 1 it performed a little worse than the Pocket LOOX, in the Demo 2 MyPal outpaces the leader.

Let’s pass over to video tests. We launched several test clips at different intensity (kbps – kilobit per second, DivX 5.03 codec used). Sound got encoded in the mp3 format with 128kbps bitrate. We applied the criteria of dropped frames while playing, the less the better and tested a fragment from the motion picture Cats and Dogs (the fight scene). See the results:

The PDA Asus MyPal A620 looked not that brilliant here, especially after the surprising result after SPB Benchmark test and Pocket Quake.

Software

The handheld runs Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC Premium Edition. Read about standard applications for this operating system in the respective review on our site. Extra programs include:

Asus Backup. This is easy program to back up data. It features poor settings compared with similar programs, but it doesn't fail to perform its main functions.

Asus Launcher. This is an alternative program to the task manager, with poor settings it proved almost useless. Only fresh PDA users might use it at the first time.

Asus Settings. Here you can tune extra settings (frequency rate, backlight, microphone sensitivity, button assignment). This is a very useful program as it automatically and intelligently backs up existing system status and data in order to prevent loss when the power level is low.

Conclusion

Today in Russia the handheld costs some $380-400, that’s the same price range as for the iPaq 2210, its main rival. I hesitate to advice on the certain model. The HP model looks more attractive, has smaller size and two slots for extension. The handheld by Asus wins performance tests and enjoys better time of the off-line work. The Pocket LOOX 610 without Wi-Fi can’t compete with the iPaq 2210 or Asus A620bt because of its high price ($460-480) and large dimensions. The junior modification the MyPal A620 (without Bluetooth) listed for $320-340 has no rivals. Perhaps it is the best low-end solution among other Pocket PC.

General features:

• Class: business
• Position in the line: above Asus A600
• Rival models for Bluetooth version: HP iPaq 2210
• Rival models for version without Bluetooth: none
• Operating system: Windows Mobile 2003 Premium Edition
• Processor: Intel XScale PXA255 400 MHz
• Memory: 64 MB RAM (55.2 MB available to the user)
• ROM: 64 MB (34.81 MB available to the user)
• Connectivity: Compact Flash (CF) Type II slot, IrDA (FIR/SIR), Bluetooth (optional), USB client (only synchronization)
• Display: 3,5” (active screen: 53x71 mm), 240x320 pixels, 64K colors
• Battery: Li-Ion 1300 mAh
• Dimensions: 125x76.8x1 3.3 mm
• Weight: 1 41 gram.