Toshiba e740

Toshiba is a relative newcomer to the PDA business, but the company has a clear idea of who it's targeting. Its sleek, brushed-metal handhelds are more understated than Compaq's iPAQs, but still give off an air of corporate desirability. The e740 is Toshiba's top-of-the-range model, and it's a veritable Rolls-Royce of organisers. There are three flavours - Bluetooth, 802.11b and plain 'vanilla'. It's currently the only PDA to offer 802.11b integrated as standard. Other than the choice of built-in wireless technology, the three are identical, with the same robust and dependable chassis.

The e740 is a quick PDA too. With the 400MHz XScale CPU, it's very responsive and achieved one of the shortest times to display our test JPEG. It's also got a full complement of expansion ports, with both SD and Type II CompactFlash sockets. Despite the double slots it's still quite svelte and weighs in at around 181g, somewhere in between the Pocket LOOX and iPAQ. Opt for one of the wireless radio models and you'll be able to add the other wireless standard on CompactFlash or SD and still have a slot free for a memory upgrade.

The e740 adds further potential with the novel Toshiba Expansion pack. This sports a VGA and a USB port and works in tandem with the e740's on-board ATi Imageon graphics processor to turn the PDA into a portable presentation tool. Simply hook the Expansion pack up to a projector, load your PowerPoint presentation into the IA Presenter application on the handheld and run the presentation at user-definable resolutions up to 800 x 600.

The USB port can drive a standard USB PC keyboard, but not a mouse (at present) due to the absence of a pointer in the Pocket PC OS. In theory, you could even hook up a monitor and keyboard and pretend the e740 was a real PC. At £20, the Expansion pack is a bargain, which makes you wonder why Toshiba didn't bundle it as standard.

One option you don't have at present, unfortunately, is a standalone foldable keyboard. The Toshiba Expansion pack's USB keyboard capability is some compensation, but this isn't as elegant a solution as the keyboards you can buy for an iPAQ or Pocket LOOX (see Keys to success, p98). Our other niggle was that on one of the e740s we had on test the battery lock mechanism was loose and was easily knocked into the open position, preventing the PDA from turning on. We suspect this was due to unusual wear and tear as a review unit, however.

The e740's screen isn't as easy to read as the iPAQ's, but it's clear and bright, making it one of the best on test. The Imageon chip also accelerates MPEG-4 video playback, and we found the Toshiba could play 320 x 240 Windows Media files almost frame accurately from an IBM Microdrive, making this a viable candidate to be a pocket VCR.

As with all the Pocket PCs on test, battery life is a major bugbear, particularly running the Microdrive. With its regular battery, the e740 lasted scarcely two hours under continuous use. There's a long-life battery, which extends this to around eight hours, but it adds a lot of bulk and weight. The docking cradle has been designed to accommodate this larger battery, but the leather carrying case hasn't, which leaves you without screen protection for your PDA.

Overall, this is a well thought-out and feature-rich PDA. What really lets the e740 down, however, is the high price. At £465, the Bluetooth version is the most expensive unit on test, although the WiFi version looks more attractive at £429 - only from Expansys, though, and numbers are limited. Although the e740's features are comprehensive, and some of them unique, unless you need its Expansion pack and are in love with the styling, Fujitsu Siemens' Pocket LOOX offers a similar feature set for considerably less. The e740 may be the Rolls-Royce of PDAs, but you pay for the quality.