Toshiba e740 / e750 PDA (WiFi model)

• PDA
• Cradle
• CF and SD blanking plates
• 1x 1000mAh battery
• Power adapter / charger (5V @ 2A positive centre 'tip')
• 'leather' case

I got my e740 from Canada since it was far cheaper than the UK price at the time. I found it to be a very buggy device, both soft and hardware -wise, and after some wrangling I got it replaced with an e750. The e750 is basically the same device but has the software bugs mostly fixed, and (so far as I can tell) all the hardware bugs too.

The mains adapter is a tiny inline switch-mode 'brick' and has a standard 2 ping mains socket on it. It is fully auto ranging and will work in the US and Europe also. This is good if you travel, of course. The cradle is VERY solid, with a heavy cast metal base, and has plenty of space inside to use if you like to mod it. I find the PDA slides into it easily, unlike the 'airy fairy' compaq cradle, which, whilst pretty, feels cheap and plasticy, and is too light to stop it sliding around on the desk.

I shan't devote much space to the Windows OS on the device - its windows CE, 'nuff said. Toshiba bundle the data backup utility, and on the e755, a photo viewer (the only thing to differentiate it from the e750). the version shipped with my e740 was stable, and the early e750 version less so. I have since 'flashed' PPC 2003 onto my unit, which is a little better, but still (surprise) locks up every so often. The media player only gives passing glances at open formats and is best avoided.

The PDAs are available in two forms, bluetooth and WiFi. I have the latter, and have found it works reliably for the most part. on PPC 2002 I occasionally had was seems to be a software bug (now nicknamed the 'enum bug' by e7xx users), wherein the WiFi wont work until the device is soft reset. the WiFi seems to be an internal USB module, interestingly. I cant really comment on the bluetooth.

The PDA is constructed well. It feels solid, with the exception of the sides of the casing being a little 'pliable' and the top panel is only held on with two screws, where it seems three might have been more sensible. the battery is small, and seems to fit well, although to look at the mechanism you might not believe it at first. However, it does work.

Battery life is decent, at about 4-5 hours normal use, and up to 8 hours playing music with the backlight off. The mains adapter (unusually) can plug directly into the PDA without the use of the cradle, which comes in handy if traveling light. Overnight, in standby, it can drain about 5-10% (probably a little unfair as I think a reminder shot off during that test). the battery is 1000mAh, and standby current is 10mA @ 5V from my measurements. In use, between 230mA and 270mA, and with WiFi, full backlight, and playing music, 570mA. (with WiFi alone, it lasts ~2 hours, so the WiFi probably accounts for most of the 570mA there). The battery recharges fairly quickly in the cradle and is *replaceable* (for about 40ukp) unlike most other PDAs. A high capacity 3000mAh battery is available also. One thing of note is that it is worth turning off IrDA 'discoverable' mode, as this drains the batteries noticeably faster than when it is off.

The PDA is a bit unusual in that it is closer to its desktop cousins than most others. It has a dedicated video processor (ATI Imageon 100) and a USB host controller, as well as the usual USB client port. It can even drive a VGA monitor via an optional port replicator (all the real logic is inside the PDA).

The e740 differs most importantly from the e750 in that it uses the older and far slower/buggier PXA250 CPU, unlike the PXA255 in the e750. the e750 is up to twice as fast at some tasks, thanks in large part to its internal bus being twice as fast (although the CPU core is just as fast in both machines at 400MHz). The PXA255 is also more energy efficient.

The e740 has an annoying feature that the record button wakes it up, which, given its slightly poor placement tends to waste batteries (there are workarounds however). The e750 allows you to prevent the button waking the PDA, which is handy. Both models allow stereo audio output and the quality is more than good enough. the same cannot be said of the e740 microphone recording, which is dire (clicks get recorded thanks to poor power regulation). The e750 does not suffer from this. The e750 also allows the use of a headset mic and an inline volume control (nice).

Linux support for winCE PDAs is patchy (no specs). The e740 and e750 work with the 'ipaq' kernel module (USB serial driver for pocketPCs) and you can use synCE along with pppd to connect to, transfer files to/from, and install software on the PDA (from the .arm.CAB files). This works reliably.

The e750 is what the e740 SHOULD have been. it is a superb PDA (with a price to match!). For your money you get a much more sophisticated device than contemporary iPaqs offer (USB host, video capable, built in WiFi, and TWO card slots (1x SD, 1x CF)). I cant honestly recommend the e740 unless you dont care about the audio bugs in particular, but the e750 really shines. The devices will run PPC 2003, too, which is good news for those who buy one with 2002 installed. Interestingly, the USB host and VGA are in the main unit, so the 'port replicator' isnt technically a requirement, in theory a more compact 'custom' cable could be made, although I dont know of anyone doing this yet. Many people are using the USB for goodies like GPS (without wasting a CF slot) and USB harddiscs (although these usually draw too much power to work without a powered hub between them and the PDA. The USB 'Cuecat' barcode scanner works too. I think its a great machine, and am looking forward to the day I get Linux onto it and can use it to its full potential.

• 240×320 16 bit colour reflective TFT screen
• 16bit stereo CD quality sound output
• mic line in (e750 only)
• headset control function (e750 only)
• CF type II slot
• SD slot with SDIO
• IrDA (SIR and FIR)
• USB host (requires port replicator)
• VGA output (requires port replicator)
• Mains adapter and charger
• 400MHz PXA 250/255 (e740/e750 respectively)
• Built in video acceleration (ATI IMAGEON 100)