Product Reviews

PDAs with built-in cameras are becoming more common, but few are aimed as closely at the amateur paparazzo as the Asus MyPal A730. As well as all the PDA functions of Microsoft's Pocket PC 2003 Second Edition, Asus is making a big deal of the A730's imaging capabilities. It has a 1.3-megapixel camera, built-in LED flash and a high-resolution 640x480 screen.

Asus is so keen to show off the camera that it has included a comprehensive suite of imaging applications on top of the standard Pocket PC software bundle. The range of picture modes rivals a standalone digital camera, with an exposure option for every situation and some neat effects to give your pictures a professional air, such as black and white, sepia and a scary negative mode.

Those in a hurry to get their D-list celebrity snaps off to the tabloids also don't need to worry about finding a PC, as the built-in image-editing software means you can sharpen, crop and colour-adjust your incriminating snaps before emailing them via your Bluetooth-enabled

ADVERTISEMENT

phone.

Unfortunately the A730 is never going to replace a dedicated digital camera for serious photographic use. Although the 1,280x960-pixel images look superb on a PDA's display, once they are transferred to a PC high levels of noise and heavy JPEG compression are evident, especially for pictures taken in low light conditions. However, the quality is still superior to the vast majority of camera phones, and the bright LED flash makes close-up nocturnal shots possible. It can also record videos with sound, but any epic documentaries are stymied by the meagre 64MB of RAM.

At first glance the A730 certainly looks like a high-end PDA. The whole handheld feels well constructed, and the rear of the device appears to be encased in aluminium. Closer inspection shows it to be metal-effect plastic, but this at least keeps the weight down to just 170g.

The selection and shortcut buttons are chunky and easy to use, and there is a well-placed thumb button for the camera's shutter. The top houses side-by-side SD and Compact Flash memory card slots, making it simple to add more memory and WiFi, which is a rather surprising omission and a shame considering the large screen's suitability for web browsing.

Asus's MyPal A730 has much to recommend it: it looks great, has a superb screen and far better imaging capabilities than nearly any PDA or phone available. However, the low 64MB of memory and omission of WiFi as standard are surprising, and it is hard to recommend it over the identically priced and far better specified Dell Axim X50v in our Hotlist (below, right).