Group test: Budget PDAs

The winner is...
Palm Zire 72
£219
The lowdown
Replacing the popular Zire 71, the consumer-focused 72 has lost the neat camera-concealing slide mechanism, but gained a bit more room for other features.

What’s good?
A 1.2-megapixel camera housed in a very slim, appealing shell. Bluetooth, increased memory capacity, faster processor – pretty much everything is an improvement on the original.

What’s bad?
Everything, that is, except the newly plastic stylus. Also, the “soft touch paint” finish may feel nice, but it also peels off far too easily.

Do you need it?
It gets our vote. Nicely put together, with some good features at a decent price.

Specs
Processor: 312MHz Intel PXA270
Operating System: Palm OS 5.2.8
RAM: 32MB
Expansion: SD(IO)/MMC
Connectivity: Bluetooth
Screen: 16-bit colour
Size: 75 x 116 x 17mm
Weight: 136g

8/10
www.palmone.com

Acer N30
£169
What’s good?
Unique central loud speaker supplies surprisingly good sound. Decent specs for the price, including Bluetooth.

What’s bad?
For this price? Not much – unless you’re particularly attached to the five-way joypad that you usually get on PPCs.

Specs
Processor: Samsung S3C2410 266MHz
Operating System: Pocket PC 2003
RAM: 64MB
Expansion: SD(IO)/MMC
Connectivity: infrared, Bluetooth
Screen: 16-bit colour
Size: 71 x 118 x 13 cm
Weight: 130g

8/10
www.acer.co.uk

Mitac Mio 339
£210
What’s good?
Pleasantly lightweight and very slim. VGA still camera with flash is unusual. Good software extras.

What’s bad?
Lack of “big name” branding may bother some people, as might the lack of Bluetooth.

Specs
Processor: Intel PXA255 400MHz
Operating System: Pocket PC 2003
RAM: 64MB
Expansion: SD(IO)/MMC
Connectivity: infrared
Screen: 16-bit colour
Size: 72mm x 122 mm x 14mm
Weight: 130g

7/10
www.lowestonweb.com

Dell Axim X30 Standard
£161
What’s good?
Attractive chassis that’s well made, compact and light.

What’s bad?
Bare minimum of features - just 32MB of memory – and not much in the way of extras.

Specs
Processor: Intel PXA270 312MHz
Operating System: Pocket PC 2003
RAM: 32MB
Expansion: SD(IO)/MMC
Connectivity: infrared
Screen: 16-bit colour
Size: 76 x 115 x 15mm
Weight: 140g

7/10
www.dell.co.uk

Palm Zire 31
£109
What’s good?
Very affordable, decent looking handheld with good enough specs for entry-level users. SDIO compatible expansion slot.

What’s bad?
The STN colour screen is rubbish compared to a proper 16-bit TFT screen, but it’s still usable. The excellent Tungsten E is just £40 more and you get a superb screen and proper metal casing.

Specs
Processor: 200MHz Intel ARM
Operating System: Palm OS 5.2.8
RAM: 16MB
Expansion: SD(IO)/MMC
Connectivity: infrared
Screen: 16-bit STN transmissive display
Size: 74 x 112 x 16mm
Weight: 116g

7/10
www.palmone.com

Mitac Mio 338
£130
What’s good?
Nice price and a decent software bundle

What’s bad?
It feels a bit cheap and the specs are outdated.

Specs
Processor: Intel XScale 200MHz
Operating System: Pocket PC 2002
RAM: 40MB
Expansion: SD/MMC
Connectivity: infrared
Screen: 16-bit colour
Size: 77mm x 122 mm x 12 mm
Weight: 120g

6/10
www.lowestonweb.com