 With
their first foray directly into the Pocket PC market, NEC has given its
flagship mini, the MobilePro P300, plenty of enterprise appeal.
Integrating Pocket PC 2002 along with the latest industry-standard
hardware into a stylish and surprisingly thin silver shell, the P300
really gets down to business.
INSTALLATION
NEC suggests upgrading to Outlook 2002 (if you're not already running it) before
installing ActiveSync. A full version of Outlook 2002 is on the
installation CD. Other than that upgrade, installing the ActiveSync software, and
adding the NEC device driver (also on the installation CD), nothing else
is necessary to get the P300 up and running on a host PC. The PC will
need Microsoft Windows 98, Me, NT
4.0 (SP6), or 2000 Pro (SP1 or better) plus an Internet connection. Our
device was shipped to us with the battery fully charged.
FEATURES
The P300 -- just 4.72" (w) x 3.07" (d) x 0.73" (h) -- is fortified with a 206 MHz
Intel StrongARM 32-bit RISC processor, 32 MB flash ROM, 32 MB RAM, and a
32 MB
SD card. It weighs in at 6.7 ounces. The display is a reflective
color 3.8-inch TFT LCD display 320 x 240 resolution (more than 65,000
colors) with four front light settings: low, medium, high, and maximum
brightness. The removable cover hinges from the top of the P300 and can
also be folded behind the unit, helping to keep its compact footprint. The
four standard interface buttons line up near the bottom of the device
and include these default functions: My Menu, Calendar, Contacts, and
Tasks. The four-way Navigation control resides between the buttons with
two on either side, and is rather unique in that its four-point design
is built around the unit's square, single-speaker audio output, which
resides at the heart of the control.
The uniquely designed cradle supports both USB and serial
connections, and the AC adaptor can be used via the cradle allowing the
P300 to sync and charge simultaneously, or travelers can forgo the
cradle and charge the 10 hour Lithium-Ion battery directly using the
same AC adaptor.
The P300 houses both types of industry-standard card ports: CompactFlash
(CF) and Secure Digital (SD), while also offering an IrDA port,
stereo speaker, and a built-in microphone. Other notables: a headphone
jack, sturdy strap swivel, CF card ejector, scroll dial, and recording
button. Data entry is achieved through the use of the P300's touch
screen with stylus pen, soft keyboard, Block Recognizer, Letter
Recognizer, or Transcriber.
The P300 employs Microsoft's Pocket PC 2002 operating system and
comes with Pocket Word, Pocket Excel, Outlook, Pocket Internet Explorer,
Microsoft Reader, and Windows Media Player. PPC 2002 supports secure
network access, better device security, and more reliable
synchronization than its predecessor. The P300 comes with some
pre-installed software including MobilePro Synchronization System and
Insignia Jeode Java Plug-In. Other bundled software includes productivity enhancers such as
ArcSoft's PhotoBase and WESTTEK's ClearVue, Voice Messenger from Ruksun,
as well as some games and additional tools.
OPERATIONAL TESTING
The sleek, compact design of the P300 and its cradle make our iPAQ 3635
with CF expansion sleeve look like an old wooden boat. The P300 packs a
lot of user interface bells and whistles into the left side of the
device, including a thumb-jog wheel, both a Power and Record button, the
SD card slot, and a CF card ejector button. The placement and design of
the SD card slot was excellent. The Handera 330 PDA for
example, was designed with both the CF and SD card ports on the top of
the device, leaving only a few millimeters between the two cards. NEC's
design worked beautifully, incorporating a spring-loaded door to protect
the storage slot when not in use. The placement of the Record button is
the only design decision that tended to frustrate me from time to time.
I inadvertently (and repeatedly) would press the button when lifting the
device out of the cradle, which launches the Notes screen and recording
interface
Carrying the P300 around the office for several days was long enough
for me to realize that while I wasn't too excited about the cover's
mechanics, it offered very good protection to both the screen and the
input buttons on the dashboard. While the plastic clasps used to affix the
removable cover to the top of the PDA didn't seem up for the
long haul, the magnet embedded in the PDA itself kept the cover on
tight even when I removed the device from my pocket or a small pouch on a
laptop case. The major advantage to this type of cover
appears to be allowing the user to fold it behind the device to keep it
out of the way, just as you would the cover on a small spiral-bound
notepad. A Wi-Fi or storage card installed in the CF port on the top of
the device (directly behind the cover's hinge) however, prevents this
from happening. Instead, the cover flops back and extends awkwardly off
the back of the device, resting on the CF card.
Software Supplements
The documentation says that one or more of the follow applications come
with the included 32 MB SD card: ArcSoft's PhotoBase and WESTTEK's
ClearVue, Voice Messenger from Ruksun, NEC's MobilePro Synchronization
system, ZIOGolf and Golfwits, though the card that came with my demo
unit was blank upon reception. Nevertheless, all the applications can
also be found on the installation CD that accompanies the unit.
Since
the Voice Messenger from Ruksun supports VoIP via a handheld, I couldn't
pass up the opportunity for a couple of quick tests. To sustain a voice
conversation from the PDA to the desktop, the desktop must also be
running a version of Ruksun's Voice Messenger -- MSN Messenger won't do. I
installed a Wi-Fi card in the P300 and was receiving excellent signal
quality for my small battery of VoIP tests. After getting all the client
software installed, a TMC Labs team member and I then initiated several
conversations via Voice Messenger and a PC. Over the MobilePro's speaker
the voice quality was barely audible, at best. Switching to a headset on
the MobilePro improved things, however, we couldn't use a headset with a
microphone due to the lack of a microphone jack. At the full 11 Mbps throughput
of our Wi-Fi card, the latency was still measurable in full seconds. A
cool toy to play around with, but I didn't find much use for Voice Messenger
considering the enterprise focus of this PDA.
PPC 2002
The MobilePro offered a crisp, bright, 65,000 LCD needing only a nimble
touch with the light, durable stylus to get things started. The
"Microsoft Mobile" logo branded into the handheld's wallpaper
is yet another indication Microsoft has marketed its PPC 2002 operating
system heavily toward business applications. Fortifying it naturally,
with Outlook e-mail and scheduling extensions plus Terminal
Services and VPN capabilities, these features are the attention-getters
and the attraction that businesses with Microsoft solutions already in
place are searching for.
Just as ActiveSync helps users transfer
information between the desktop and handheld, Terminal Services allows
users to interface with Microsoft Servers from their P300s. A user with
proper network clearances need only know the server's IP address, or even
its DNS, to log on and retrieve the latest info, or save information
to that server. After logging onto the server once, Terminal Services
will save a server's addressing information making the interface no
different than logging onto the network via a networked PC. Though
Terminal Server is built into Windows 2000 and not Windows NT Server,
Microsoft offers the software as a free download for use with Windows NT
Server. Terminal Services clients are also available free of charge.
The MobilePro also comes with the Pocket versions of Microsoft Word
and Excel, as well as Microsoft Reader, MSN Messenger, and Windows Media
Player. These applications all offer a limited, but useful section of
functionality their larger siblings are known for. P300 users will be
happy to know that even though Microsoft failed to come up with and
include a Pocket PowerPoint program for the 2002 operating system,
ClearVue's suite of pocket-size readers allows slide documents to be
viewed via the handheld, in addition to spreadsheet and text documents.
Other Notables
I also really liked the programmable LED on the top of the device, right
above the NEC logo. To readers it may seem almost inconsequential,
however I found myself relying heavily on the light to
inform me at a glance if the P300 had successfully connected to the network
(flashing blue), synced to my PC (flashing cyan), if the microphone was
active when using the Ruksun Voice Messenger or recording a .WAV for a voice
e-mail (flashing green), to inform me of the battery's condition (50%
battery life flashing red), and so forth. The LED supports seven
re-programmable color settings in all.
Another program worth mention is Synchrologic's synchronization
system for the MobilePro. Called the MobilePro Synchronization System,
the program allows business users to handle all mobile applications at
one time such as downloading files, software applications, and software
updates; backing up files; sending and receiving e-mail messages; and
synchronizing PIM data. The MobilePro Synchronization System
client is a part of a system that requires a MobilePro Synchronization
System server, which manages content flow.
NEC offers an excellent one-year limited warranty, covering parts and
labor and hardware technical support. Concurrent with the limited
warranty, the customer receives at no additional charge one year of
UltraCare Service. This service includes Rapid Exchange, allowing customers to receive a replacement system the next business day. The
MobilePro P300 UltraCare Service includes a toll-free hotline for
hardware technical support 24 hours a day, seven days a week (excluding
some holidays). NEC MobilePro P300 UltraCare Service options cover an
additional one or two years of service and can be purchased with the
system or within 90 days of original purchase.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
The device performed well in all of my tests. Initially, I had a problem
syncing the P300 on a computer with three other handheld identities
using a previously installed copy of ActiveSync 3.5. The device wasn't
being recognized as connected to the computer. I installed the P300 on
two other PCs and had no other problems transferring data between the
host and the P300, including large MP3s, and multiple Word and Excel files as
well.
When testing Ruksun's Voice Messenger, voice was raspy and
distorted over the external speaker, but much clearer when using the
headphones. Although the microphone seemed to perform okay, its
positioning directly below the snap-on cover didn't seem like an optimal
place for a microphone. The cover would have also been more attractive
if the magnetic system that works so well to keep it closed on the front
of P300 was employed to keep the cover pinned open while the device is
in use.
I wonder what percentage of enterprise handheld users also own or use
a laptop computer as their host PC? Though I loved the look of the
cradle, its serial and USB interface, and the fact that the AC cord can
be plugged directly into the P300 for charging, why doesn't the USB cord
do the same? Who wants to cram a cradle that
doesn't break down or fold in half into their laptop bag ? It just seemed like with the
device's focus on enterprise and mobility, this would have been taken
into consideration.
Lastly, I don't think it's too early to integrate Bluetooth (Compaq's
iPAQ 3870 supports it) with higher-end handhelds. In fact, I think this
type of connectivity to compatible peripherals would be an asset to the
P300s business approach.
CONCLUSION
NECs MobilePro P300 is a well-designed, highly functional handheld
computer. With support for Wi-Fi, industry-standard hardware and
operating system, included Secure Digital 32 MB storage card, and a
great warranty, at $599.00 NEC's entrant into the Pocket PC realm is
priced competitively. Billing as an enterprise PDA becomes apparent in
the P300's business-orientated bundled software, its warranty, and
MobilePro Synchronization system, while the programmable LED and unique
cradle give the product usable character and personal style. NEC seems
to have effectively increased the competition in the business handheld
market with the MobilePro P300, a sharp, colorful Pocket PC with an
enterprise accent.
Michael Gallo is a technology editor for TMC
Labs, and a regular contributor to Planet PDA. He welcomes your
comments on this article in our Planet
PDA Forum.
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