Toshiba e310 Pocket PC

Amazon.com Product Description

Packaged in an attractive, sleek design, the Toshiba e310 Pocket PC features a familiar user interface and tools powered by Microsoft Windows Pocket PC 2002. It weighs just under 5 ounces and is less than a half-inch thick. Equipped with a 206 MHz Intel StrongARM processor, the Toshiba e310 features a 32 MB SDRAM memory and 32 MB of flash ROM (for future upgrading). It's powered by a built-in lithium rechargeable battery, which recharges via the included USB cradle.

Operating System
Microsoft's Pocket PC 2002 operating system, released in late 2001, offers many enhancements over the previous OS. You'll get improved handwriting recognition, more reliable synchronization, increased security, and the ability to chat using MSN Messenger. It also features new Pocket versions of Outlook, Word, Excel, and Internet Explorer.

Display
The Toshiba e310 delivers brilliant images with its 3.5-inch TFT display. It supports over 64,000 colors and has a 240 x 320 resolution. Active matrix, also called "thin film transistor" (TFT), is the brightest, sharpest, clearest, and most expensive type of LCD flat-panel display that is practical for handhelds.

Expansion
With its integrated Secure Digital (SD) expansion slot, you can easily store and play your multimedia files and carry your important documents wherever you go. You'll also be able to add functionality with optional SD modules, such as the optional Toshiba Pocket PC Bluetooth wireless SD card.

Multimedia
Play digital audio (both MP3 and WMA) and video (MPEG-4) files using the Windows Media Player software. The Toshiba e310 is also compatible with audible.com files, for listening to audiobooks, radio broadcasts, and more. Record your thoughts with the built-in microphone and voice-recording software. You can play back using the small speaker on the front or via the stereo headphone jack. You also get the Microsoft Reader e-book software.

In the Box
The Toshiba e310 comes with a USB cradle, AC adapter, stylus, soft slipcase, quick-start card, and warranty card. It is backed by a one-year limited warranty.

Product Description

PC devices have been slimming down with each successive generation, but Toshiba's e310, which measures only .47 inches thick and weighs 4.9 ounces, is the first to approach Palm V-sized territory. If that weren't impressive enough, the device sports a full-color, reflective LCD; a 206MHz Intel StrongARM processor; 32 MB of both RAM and ROM; and a Secure Digital (SD) expansion card slot. The e310 has all the makings of a groundbreaking product that will have the kind of impact on the PDA market that the original iPaq did. Since the e310 runs the Pocket PC 2002 OS, you can expect all of the usual features, including MP3 and video playback; Pocket Word, Excel, and Internet Explorer; and compatibility with the growing library of third-party software. The SD expansion slot will allow you to add a big memory card for storing applications, data, music, and video clips.

Customer Reviews:

Ebook reader only--very crashy.......2006-02-25

I bought this device to read ebooks, and it does ok for a low price (like under $100). I use Word, Tiny Ebook Reader, MS Reader and Mobipocket. They all work, within limits.

This device is extremely crashy and locks up a lot if you try to do too much. Make sure you never have more than one application running, and I would never trust my contacts or calendar to it.

As I bought it to use as a pure ebook reader, and got it cheap, I'm satisfied, but don't be fooled into thinking it's a real Pocket PC, it's just not stable enough.

Nice but no backup battery.......2005-02-23

This is the fourth PDA I've owned, and while it has a lot to offer, you really need to ask yourself if the small size is worth the tradeoff of a ridiculously expensive main battery and no backup battery. I was used to getting at least a week on a charge (which I'm sure seems short to the Palm folks), but for this a long weekend of NON_USE can be enough to drain the battery. And that's not trivial, since there's no backup battery. Never again will I buy a PDA without a backup battery.

Light weight is the only good quality!!.......2004-10-24

I own this pocket pc for less than two years; it already gives up on me. System freezes, unusable every time it powers up, update the ROM and it still won't work. (It only works when I reset it). I did regret from buying it ever since I got it. It has little memory storage and eats battery like crazy. No second charger where you can take it with you when travel, and no user replaceable battery. In my case I didn't need this replaceable battery thing, because it stops working before the battery life stops. Only good quality about it is its light weight! I didn't want to criticized, but I had enough! People said it has good display, and it looks nice. When it compared next to my co-worker's HP iPAQ, this looks like a peace of junk, then again, I only paid $250.00 for it at that time.

-.......2004-09-01

I have been enjoying this item thoroughly. I purchased mine at Costco over a year ago. I have never had trouble with the battery, of any of the sorts mentioned, but I tend to run the backlight at low power since the default is super bright, and uses up the battery faster.
I have found that it only takes a few hours to get a full charge, and that overnight is ideal. One charge lasts me all day at work/school, and I still have more than enough left play music all the way home.
I have the same 128 MB card, but have never had trouble with it except when I was sharing it with my camera. The trouble was caused by the camera, not the PDA.
Crashing and freezing is a symptom of having Microsoft Software on the computer, and is rather typical with many PDA's. Overnight is an excellent time to run data backups, and if you save the backup to your SD card, you can quickly restore from even the worst crashes
One of the best things you can do for this PDA is install a DOS emulator and then in the emulator, install an old version of windows, ie 3.0. Copy an old windows 3.0 compatible Encyclopedia CD to a 512 MB SD card, and you have a fully functional reference system as well as full computer functionality when you use an IR keyboard. I have found it to be perfect for school. It works well enough, that I don't make use of the portability feature of my laptop anymore.
The worst problem I have ever experienced is that with an IR keyboard, it picks up a lot of static from any nearby electronics, including the AC adaptor, and thus far, I have yet to see a keyboard that will work with it which isn't wireless.

Love it.......2004-06-29

Truly a great PDA. The smallest one I've ever owned (3rd, of 4 total), and one of the fastest.

Pros:
-Tiny, light
-Blazing fast
-Long battery life
-Bright screen
-Very loud speakers for the size
-Can run multiple (6-10) programs without major problems
-Expandable through SD slot
-Great for reading E-Books, several included on the CD
-Sync feature is easy to use, yet allows to get contacts, notes, e-mail, even websites
-Sturdy - A high drop (from a shelf in my book-case) did absolutely no damage
-Inexpensive, great value

cons:
-Was hard to find a new unit (bought mine a few months ago, used), Toshiba stopped selling this, for whatever reason
-32 MB means you might want to get SD card if you're going to be watching movies, I got a 256mb card, holds an entire movie in great quality, and still holds a bunch of MP3's
-Doesn't come with headphones

If you buy it, hope you enjoy it as much as I did

Electronics:

Electronics

Electronics