Windows Mobile Editor Anthony Newman takes ASUS' MyPal A620BT handheld for a spin and gets to know this solid performer.
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ASUS have released their second Pocket PC, the MyPal A620BT, which is an updated version of the company's first Windows Mobile 2003 handheld - the A620. This version is aesthetically very similar to its predecessor, but there are a couple of important differences between the two devices.
 | The A620BT offers a good range of connectivity options through its CompactFlash Type II expansion slot, infrared and integrated Bluetooth
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Design
With this new handheld, ASUS have ditched the expensive aluminium shell of the original A600. Although this is a shame, the A620BT is still a good looking piece of kit, with sleek lines and a quality appearance befitting its status as the smallest CF-equipped Pocket PC. It does, however, exhibit a fair bit of creaking, which thankfully appears to be purely cosmetic.
The device is very slim at 1.3 cm, but a little wide, so it doesn't sit as comfortably in the hand as some of its rivals. It is, however, one of the lighter Pocket PCs on the market at 141 g and as such makes little impression in a suit, which is a good thing.
The display is a 3.5" transflective jobbie, with good levels of brightness and colour saturation, not to mention excellent ClearType support. Our only reservation is the viewing angle, which although good and even side-to-side suffers a bit vertically. The touchscreen, thankfully, is very positive and avoids the pitfalls of sponginess well while still giving feedback.
This is partly due to the stylus, which initially did not impress: it is one of those terribly light moulded plastic affairs and seems very cheap. After a while of use, however, little ergonomic touches emerge and we found the blighter quite comfortable.
The buttons are also fairly good, although some are rather oddly placed. The power button sits on the top-left corner of the device's front, and is rather easy to press when withdrawing the unit from the included slip-case.
This problem also afflicts the record button, which is placed just above the microphone on the front top of the case, just right of centre. This is a bizarre and rather inconvenient place to put it. The rest of the buttons are placed as normal with a pair either side of the central 5-way D-pad. The glossy silver buttons are slightly recessed and dimpled, providing good clicky feedback without too much resistance. The same goes for the raised D-pad, which is easy to control barring the exception of the action button - an occasionally elusive beast. ASUS have provided software settings to allow the various buttons to be locked when the power is off. This is very handy, and a feature that more manufacturers should implement.
Notification of charging, appointments and Bluetooth activity is provided by two LEDs notched into the top-left corner of the A620BT, and provide a bright enough glow to be noticed without being too annoying.
Audio is one area in which the A620BT absolutely shines. The headphone output is great, with no hissing or popping - just loud, clear audio. The speaker, mounted on the lower-right of the face, is frankly very poor, both quiet and tinny, but this is more than compensated for by the software options included by ASUS. As well as volume controls, there are controls for left-right balance, treble and bass output. Adjusting these does not induce any distortion: for once, a bass boost that actually works. The same level of functionality is applied to the microphone, with the unit at hand beating even the legendary iPAQ for options on this front. Microphone sensitivity can be adjusted manually, with a further slider for gain control and a toggle to the automatic gain control. The quality of recordings was quite good even in noisy environments, and the microphone proved sensitive enough to serve in lectures or meetings.
Connectivity
Expansion is provided by an industry-standard IR port, mounted mid-way down the left side, and a Compact Flash slot mounted centrally on the top of the device. This takes Type I cards as-is, and a panel disengages from the back should the user wish to insert a Type II card. There is a USB port on the bottom for power and synchronization, with a separate connector for the supplied AC adaptor. The biggest connectivity option - and the reason for the 'BT' suffix to the device's moniker - is the included Bluetooth. This proved completely intuitive to set up and totally flawless in use thanks to Windows Mobile 2003. Within seconds we were happily sharing files with both PCs and other PDAs thanks to its informative wizards. It also includes an extensive range of profiles, including Audio Gateway, which isn't often seen on mobile devices.
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