Archive for February, 2007

This is the first Pocket PC PDA that comes integrated with GPS. The sleek PDA offers the SiRF Star III GPS chipset, WiFi, Bluetooth, an SD card slot, 256 meg SD card, Destinator navigation software and a brilliant QVGA display.

In Brief
The unit is well designed and works well in portrait and landscape modes which is a nice feature for product that offers GPS and mapping functionality. The large 3/4″ speaker grille faces front and this would ensures that you’ll clearly hear voice guidance when driving.

The A636 runs on a 416 MHz PXA 272 Intel XScale processor which is fast by integrated device standards. The proessor is not really power hungry so it will extend battery life, an important factor for a GPS device. The A636 has a 1,300 mAh Lithium Ion battery which is re-chargeable.

Connectivity has been redefined in A636 with the inclusion of both Bluetooth 1.2 and WiFi 802.11b. Bluetooth software is full featured and user friendly allowing easy-to-follow procedures for connecting to a variety of other devices.

GPS-wise, the ASUS A636 has a built-in GPS receiver that is turned-on when you flip the GPS receiver panel open and swivel it so that the receiver plate is parallel to the sky.

The SiRF III GPS chipset that comes with the unit provides for GPS receivers that are of high sensitivity, lower power consumption and fast time to fix speed.

Pros
Nice screen, clear sound. Excellent GPS hardware and mapping software. Has both Bluetooth 1.2 and WiFi. Good battery life.

Specs
Operating system: Windows Mobile 5.0 for Pocket PC
Processor: Intel XScale PXA270 416 MHz
RAM: 64 MB (58.09 MB available)
Flash ROM: 64 MB (59.21 MB available)
Flash Disk: 25.74 MB
Interfaces: SD/MMC with SDIO, IrDA, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi (IEEE802.11b), USB 1.1 client (synchronization, charging, card reader)
Built-in GPS receiver SiRF Star III, external rotating antenna, connector for extra antenna.
Screen: 3.5″ (active zone: 53×71 mm) with 240×320 pixels, 64K colors, 240 backlight levels
Battery: removable Li-Ion 1300 mAh
Dimensions: 122×73.2×19-19.5 mm
Weight: 186 g

Read more [MobileTechReview]