Reviews
Toshiba e805
Vibrant 640x480 VGA arrives on the PDA!
68 MAXIMUMPC MARCH 2004
Dazzling and droolworthy,
Toshiba’s e805 introduces the
finest screen ever to grace a
Pocket PC. Can you say 640x480?Dazzling and droolworthy,O
ne of the most satisfying
results of forking over a
lot of dough for the latest
technology is that it makes your
friends look at their own gear with
a sudden sense of embarrassing
inadequacy. We call it the “locker
room effect,” and Toshiba’s e805
handheld will have your peers
blushing with envy when they
check out its impressive VGA
resolution. That’s right: 640x480
on a Pocket PC screen—a first for
the platform.
Squinting at this resolution on a
4-inch transflective display may
not sound like a great time, but the
crispness, clarity, and brightness of
the screen immediately won us
over (and made us wish the unit
came with some sort of screen
protection, even a rudimentary
sleeve, which it does not). Still,
there’s a hitch. Switching into VGA
mode performs a soft reset on the
device, and when the e805 assumes
its 640x480 glory, you’ll find thatonly four applications are
available: ClearVue Document ,
Spreadsheet , Presentation , and
Image. These apps will allow you
to view Microsoft Word , Excel ,
and PowerPoint files, but you
can’t edit them. ClearVue Image
allows you to view images in
common formats such as JPG,
BMP, and PNG.
Windows Mobile for Pocket
PC 2003 doesn’t have built-in
support for VGA resolution (it’s
expected in the next iteration
of Mobile), so the paucity
of application support is no
doubt a result of not being able
to guarantee compatibility
with applications that didn’t
anticipate VGA resolution on a
handheld. Power users don’t have
to abide by this restriction, though.
A third-party utility called ResFix
allows all applications to work in
VGA mode (see the sidebar).
As you’d expect from such a
groundbreaking device, its guts are
just as intimidating as its display.
The e805 uses Intel’s PXA263 proc
running at 400MHz with 128MB
SDRAM memory, and the video
is powered by an ATI chip with
an unprecedented 2MB of video
memory. There’s also 32MB of
CMOS Flash ROM for the OS,
and another 32MB Flash ROM
disk that’s protected from erasure
during a hard reset for saving
application data. CompactFlash
(Type I and II) and an SD slot are
available for external storage.
The e805’s built-in mic and
speaker are huge improvements
over previous Toshiba handhelds.
And we're pleased that the Wi-Fi
range seems to be slightly greater
than that of the iPaq 5555. An
optional “Presentation Pack”
($100) brings out the best of the
VGA screen with an RGB port for
external monitors and a USB
adapter for use with external
peripherals.
Unfortunately, the telescoping
stylus is horrible, and needs to be
jettisoned in the next revision.With all this processing muscle,
you’d expect the e805 to be a sweet
gaming handheld. While its four-
way d-pad can transform into a
nice eight-way pad, a significant
button lag is a real pain in the arse
for action gaming. Otherwise, only
the iPaq 5555 can challenge the
e805 for quick arcade fixes.
While the luscious picture is a
terrific leap forward for handhelds,
the e805 gets held back by the
limited implementation of the VGA
screen. It’s a must-have only for
guys and gals who want a top-of-
the-line handheld with just about
every feature in the book (with the
notable absence of Bluetooth) and
are willing to pay top-dollar for it.
—LOGAN DECKERResFix—All VGA, All the Time
If you decide to buy Toshiba’s e805, you
absolutely must download ResFix. Two
versions are available; ResFix 1.0d is a basic
utility that allows any application
to be displayed in VGA mode. This doesn’t
guarantee the applications will display
correctly, but even reluctant applications will
usually display in one-quarter of the screen.
The catch is that you cannot use Toshiba’s
resolution-changing utility after installing
ResFix. Doing so will force you to perform
a hard reset to recover.
ResFix 1.0d is free, but for $10, you can
buy ResFix 2.0 , which allows you to rotate
the screen into landscape mode so
applications display as they would on a
640x480 monitor. Check out home.comcast.net/
~swdeveloper/ to download this utility, and to
see photographs of ResFix 2.0 in action.Enough hardware muscle for games and video,
and the exclusive VGA mode is breathtaking.SILVER SCREENBLUE SCREEN
Optimum VGA requires a third-party hack; very
expensive; frustrating button lag.
$600, http://www.toshiba.comMAXIMUMPC VERDICT 9
3.0“5.25“