Marketplace Pick
Market Pick
Asus, Take Me Home (1/3)
Asus MyPal A636 GPS-Enabled Pocket PC
INTRODUCTION
A number of
manufacturers have begun releasing Windows Mobile
Pocket PCs targeted at the GPS Navigation market.
These devices usually include a built in GPS
receiver and bundled navigation software. The nice
thing about these types of Pocket PCs is they often
cost less than a stand-alone or in-car GPS
Navigation system... and they've got many more
features. The downside is that they may be a bit too
complicated for the average user. The Asus A636 is the first
of such Pocket PC Mobile Navigators running on Windows Mobile 5.0. We'll take a thorough look at the execution of this combination. Read on for the review!
WHAT'S HOT
The Asus A636 has a 416Mhz Intel XScale
processor, 3.5" QVGA screen, 128Mb Flash ROM (60Mb + 25Mb
partition user accessible), 64Mb RAM, built in SiRF
StarIII GPS with 25mm antenna, SDIO slot, Bluetooth
1.2, and WiFi 802.11b. It's also bundled with Destinator
Pocket Navigator 5 and a 256Mb SD card containing an auto-installer for the software.
(all images link to higher resolution)
|
Device (no cover) |
Size (inches) |
Weight (grams | ounces) |
|
Asus A636 |
4.80" x 2.88" x 0.76" |
186 | 6.56 |
|
4.25" x 2.28" x 0.93" |
160 | 5.64 |
|
|
4.92" x 2.81" x 0.71" |
210 | 7.40 |
|
|
4.18" x 2.31"
x 0.68" |
150 | 5.30 |
|
|
4.70" x 2.90" x 0.70" |
175 | 6.20 |
|
|
4.60" x 3.21"
x 0.58" |
138 | 4.80 |
|
|
5.17" x 3.03" x 0.59" |
187 | 6.60 |
|
|
4.50" x 2.80" x 0.64" |
158 | 5.57 |
|
|
4.48" x 2.75" x 0.53" |
120 | 4.23 |
|
|
4.68" x 2.95" x 0.73" |
190 | 6.70 |
|
|
4.57" x 2.95" x 0.63" |
142 | 5.01 |
|
|
4.71" x 3.01 " x 0.65" |
164 | 5.80 |
|
|
5.43" x 3.30" x 0.63" |
206 | 7.26 |
Click on any of the above links to view our review of a handheld listed.
THE DEVICE
Let's take a closer look at the device
itself. The Asus A636 also comes with a USB cable
adapter with power plug,
a car cigarette lighter adapter, an AC adapter,
windshield mounting arm, cradle for mounting arm, software CD and
manual.
The PDA's design is a bit retro. Most Pocket PCs these days have a more hidden speaker, yet on the Asus A636, you've got a big circular speaker grill that echoes back to the boom boxes of the 80's. This is intended to emphasis the high quality speaker that was used here. In the center you see the directional pad along with the action button. When you're in Destinator PN, the icons represent
The bottom of the device is where you'll find the reset button, the proprietary sync USB port, and the 3.5mm headset jack covered with a rubber flap.
On the right side you'll see the hinge for the GPS antenna and the infrared port.
The top of the device is where you'll find the SD slot, power button, and stylus silo.
The left side is a set of grooves. There are notches in these grooves that will make the device snap securely into it's car-mounting cradle.
On the back of the device you'll see how the GPS antenna opens and rotates. There's also the battery cover and a switch labeled "hold." The hold switch locks down the device and shuts of the screen so that it can't be used. This is a nice feature for keeping the device in the car as a navigation system since you don't have to shut off the GPS software. If you use the power switch while the GPS software is running, it will have to be restarted when you turn the device back on. The hold button can also be used to get optimized battery life while listening to Windows Media Player (up to 18 hours).
One potential problem with the GPS antenna on the back is when you snap it down into place, the image on the screen gets distorted as if there was pressure on the liquid crystals from behind. I'm not sure if that could eventually damage the screen, but it's kind of scary.
The suction-based windshield mount and cradle is very sturdy, and has an interesting side-holding design. There's a ball swivel where the cradle attaches to the mount arm which lets you position the cradle in any way you want. The cradle also has a power adapter plug so that you can keep the Asus A636 charged at all times. It does not have an audio-out port however, so you'll have to use the built in speaker instead of your car stereo. That also means you won't be able to listen to MP3s in Media Player at the same time.
Regarding size, the Asus A636 (second from bottom) is nothing special. It's about average in all dimensions compared to other 3.5" screen sized PPCs.
