Friday, January 10, 2003
Medion MDPPC 100 Pocket PC
Posted by Janak Parekh in "HARDWARE" @ 04:00 PM
Christian Torring, a avid Pocket PC Thoughts reader and maintainer of his own site (www.pdamed.dk), writes in with a review of a new European Pocket PC. Read on - I think you'll find it strongly resembles a number of different Pocket PCs, as I mentioned in an article a few weeks ago and for which he's done some follow-up research.
This Pocket PC is interesting because it came on the market without any warning, and without any information available on the Internet.
Medion makes/sells computers and electronic hardware in Europe, and has a reputation of sticking their name on things they don't produce themselves.
I had a hunch that this Pocket PC was identical to the Mitac Mio 338, and maybe also the Viewsonic v35 and Packard Bell PocketGear 2030. All these Pocket PCs look pretty much the same, and have roughly the same specifications, so I jumped at the opportunity to purchase this device at a very reduced price.
I am now nearly 100% certain that the Medion is identical to the Mitac Mio 338, and I think that Mitac has developed it, but I cannot prove this. If you compare the pictures of the Medion with the Mitac, you will see the striking resemblance, and some of the Medion's bundled software has pictures of another Mitac PPC (the 558). After resetting, the PPC shows a Medion logo.
For more information on the Mitac Mio 338, check out these links:
First impressions
Build quality, stylus, buttons, speaker and microphone: This is by far the smallest and lightest Pocket PC I have ever held. It is as light as the smallest Palm, as thin, and only slightly longer.
The plastic feels like plastic and is a little flexible, but the PDA feels very good to hold with its slightly rounded edges. There is a small hole in the upper left corner, and I assume it's for hanging the PDA from your neck; I don't know if that is useful or not.
The stylus is of the telescopic type, and it automatically extends when pulled out. It is very slippery, but pretty solid to hold and use, and it seems to be made of aluminium. The stylus is also difficult to get out when the PDA is in the case, because it is situated on the back instead of the side, and I have begun using my old iPaq stylus instead (slipping it into the case).
The buttons feel very good, and I particularly like to see a jog-wheel on the left side. The D-pad has 4 directions (that means no action button) and it is difficult to push up and to the side at the same time (so not very good for games, but not different from other Pocket PCs).
The power button is on the top, and is easy to push. The record button is on the left side, and can be easily pushed by accident (will turn on the device).
The speaker is of relatively good quality and surprisingly loud, but makes the whole thing vibrate. The microphone is of poor quality, but no worse than the one in my Casio E200.
The screen:
The screen is great; I was not expecting to see such quality at this price. I compared the screen to the iPaq 3970, and it is just as good in most regards. I took a long time comparing them with low ambient lighting, and the only difference was that the iPaq could be set a little bit brighter and the Medion had some wavy irregularities of the lighting at the bottom when viewed from certain angles. Also, when viewing very bright objects, like a card in Solitaire on the green background, it effects the tone of the background onto the sides of the card. I only just noticed this problem, and have not compared it to the iPaq, but it is not really a problem for me. Do remember that this Pocket PC only has a 3.5" screen.
The screen is VERY bright; even when turned to the lowest setting, it is brighter than the Casio E200 at its HIGHEST setting. It would actually be nice if the brightness could be set a little lower, because it would improve the battery life. When the backlight is turned off, the screen is disappointingly dark to look at, not as good as my iPaq 3660 or Casio E200 and I would not want to use it this way.
Battery: The manual says 8 hour of continuous use, and after that, you get 72 hours before data is lost. I have found the specifications for the Mitac Mio 338, which are much more detailed, and they say: Un-swappable Lithium Ion, 900mAh, Active - 8 hours, Suspend - 14 days, Shut Down Retain memory state for a minimum of 72 hours after low battery shut down. In formal testing I let it run with half brightness without using it. Half brightness is significantly brighter than on the Casio, but this is what I will compare it to because it is the most likely setting in practise. The Casio has a 950 mah Li-Ion battery and also runs at 200 MHz, but using the older StrongArm processor. During the testing the Casio had a CF card installed, and the Medion an SD card.
Results:
The Medion could play MP3 files for 5 hours, with the screen turned off, before the battery level was too low to play.
MP3 playback: Surprisingly rich sound. I tested the device by playing "Taxi Ride" by Tori Amos encoded in 192kbps from the original CD. I used my superb Sony MDR-EX70LP head phones, and was pleased to notice a crisp and loud sound quality. The ubiquitous click before every playback is still there (just the first track). Only HP seems to have fixed this problem with the iPaq 5450. I would have no problem using this device as my primary MP3 player, if I didn't already have a Panasonic MP3 player. Background playback from the SD card was not interrupted by accessing the SD card with another program.
Cradle:
Feels solid, and uses USB, with a power-in built into the USB-connector. The Power-in-plug is a little bit smaller than the one used in iPaqs and Casios, but is otherwise a standard plug (the same as the one used in many cellular phones).
It is pretty difficult to connect the PDA to the cradle, and just as hard to pull it out, but after a couple of days use it loosened up a bit. I would have preferred a USB cable with the possibility to charge via the USB outlet, like the new iPaqs, but that is probably just me. You will not be able to sync in the cradle with any kind of case on, unless some kind of flip top lid is designed (there is some room behind the device, but not to the sides and under it).
Speed: Transferring to the device was as fast as on my Casio E200, but transferring to the SD card was surprisingly slow; more than 5 times slower than to internal memory (I timed a transfer of a 12MB program to the SD card: It took 11 minutes to transfer it, and after that it took another 9 minutes to finish the installation). It is a lot slower than with the same SD card in the Casio, but running programs from the SD card worked fine, and I can't tell the difference between running from internal memory and the SD card.
Screen update is good; while scrolling is not as fluid as on my Casio (which uses double buffering), it is more fluid than on my iPaq 3660. Looking up stuff from the large reference works I use is just as fast as on the iPaq and Casio, but maybe just a little bit slower than on the the iPaq 38XX and 39XX (no direct comparison though).
Boot-up time is as fast as the other Pocket PCs, that is, after a soft reset. By the way, a surprising thing happens after a soft reset: if you delete any system file, e.g. a shortcut, it will magically reappear after a reset. This must be because of the system residing in RAM instead of ROM as it does on most Pocket PCs.
The case:
As you can see, the Medion Pocket PC comes with a very nice foldable case, but as you can also see, the colour is disgusting, or at least not to my taste. Why not just make it black?
The material is probably imitated leather, but feels nice, and the closure is magnetic. It is difficult to get the stylus out, when in the case, but you can leave it out a little bit without fear of it falling out, because of the case's high friction.
Conclusions
What I like:
I feel confident that we will see many Pocket PCs the coming months, based on this very device; a couple of them have already surfaced (I believe), like the Mitac Mio 338 and Packard Bell PocketGear 2030. If I am right, we will also see accessories coming out, because there will quickly be a demand for them, but until then, you are stuck with a pretty basic device with a brilliant screen.
This Pocket PC is interesting because it came on the market without any warning, and without any information available on the Internet.
Medion makes/sells computers and electronic hardware in Europe, and has a reputation of sticking their name on things they don't produce themselves.
I had a hunch that this Pocket PC was identical to the Mitac Mio 338, and maybe also the Viewsonic v35 and Packard Bell PocketGear 2030. All these Pocket PCs look pretty much the same, and have roughly the same specifications, so I jumped at the opportunity to purchase this device at a very reduced price.
I am now nearly 100% certain that the Medion is identical to the Mitac Mio 338, and I think that Mitac has developed it, but I cannot prove this. If you compare the pictures of the Medion with the Mitac, you will see the striking resemblance, and some of the Medion's bundled software has pictures of another Mitac PPC (the 558). After resetting, the PPC shows a Medion logo.
For more information on the Mitac Mio 338, check out these links:
- Press release: http://www.mitac.com/micweb/news/pr-file/pr021113.htm
- Specifications: http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=MIO338
- Processor: Intel PXA250 - 200 MHz
- Screen: Transflective TFT, 3.5", 65,536 colours (16bit)
- ROM: 32MB
- RAM: 64MB SDRAM (usable 36MB)
- Ports: SD/MMC, IR, Headphone, Power, connector for USB-cradle
- Weight: 120 grams
- Dimensions: 12.3 x 7.7 x 1.2 cm
- Case: Foldable light brown leather (or imitated leather) case with magnetic closure
- Price: $350 US in Denmark, equivalent to $250-300 US in North America
First impressions
Build quality, stylus, buttons, speaker and microphone: This is by far the smallest and lightest Pocket PC I have ever held. It is as light as the smallest Palm, as thin, and only slightly longer.
The plastic feels like plastic and is a little flexible, but the PDA feels very good to hold with its slightly rounded edges. There is a small hole in the upper left corner, and I assume it's for hanging the PDA from your neck; I don't know if that is useful or not.
The stylus is of the telescopic type, and it automatically extends when pulled out. It is very slippery, but pretty solid to hold and use, and it seems to be made of aluminium. The stylus is also difficult to get out when the PDA is in the case, because it is situated on the back instead of the side, and I have begun using my old iPaq stylus instead (slipping it into the case).
The buttons feel very good, and I particularly like to see a jog-wheel on the left side. The D-pad has 4 directions (that means no action button) and it is difficult to push up and to the side at the same time (so not very good for games, but not different from other Pocket PCs).
The power button is on the top, and is easy to push. The record button is on the left side, and can be easily pushed by accident (will turn on the device).
The speaker is of relatively good quality and surprisingly loud, but makes the whole thing vibrate. The microphone is of poor quality, but no worse than the one in my Casio E200.
The screen:
The screen is great; I was not expecting to see such quality at this price. I compared the screen to the iPaq 3970, and it is just as good in most regards. I took a long time comparing them with low ambient lighting, and the only difference was that the iPaq could be set a little bit brighter and the Medion had some wavy irregularities of the lighting at the bottom when viewed from certain angles. Also, when viewing very bright objects, like a card in Solitaire on the green background, it effects the tone of the background onto the sides of the card. I only just noticed this problem, and have not compared it to the iPaq, but it is not really a problem for me. Do remember that this Pocket PC only has a 3.5" screen.
The screen is VERY bright; even when turned to the lowest setting, it is brighter than the Casio E200 at its HIGHEST setting. It would actually be nice if the brightness could be set a little lower, because it would improve the battery life. When the backlight is turned off, the screen is disappointingly dark to look at, not as good as my iPaq 3660 or Casio E200 and I would not want to use it this way.
Battery: The manual says 8 hour of continuous use, and after that, you get 72 hours before data is lost. I have found the specifications for the Mitac Mio 338, which are much more detailed, and they say: Un-swappable Lithium Ion, 900mAh, Active - 8 hours, Suspend - 14 days, Shut Down Retain memory state for a minimum of 72 hours after low battery shut down. In formal testing I let it run with half brightness without using it. Half brightness is significantly brighter than on the Casio, but this is what I will compare it to because it is the most likely setting in practise. The Casio has a 950 mah Li-Ion battery and also runs at 200 MHz, but using the older StrongArm processor. During the testing the Casio had a CF card installed, and the Medion an SD card.
Results:
- 8-month-old Casio E200 with CF card: 3 hours 20 minutes before turn off (2:10 before first warning)
- Medion with SD card: 5 hours before turn off (3:20 before first warning)
The Medion could play MP3 files for 5 hours, with the screen turned off, before the battery level was too low to play.
MP3 playback: Surprisingly rich sound. I tested the device by playing "Taxi Ride" by Tori Amos encoded in 192kbps from the original CD. I used my superb Sony MDR-EX70LP head phones, and was pleased to notice a crisp and loud sound quality. The ubiquitous click before every playback is still there (just the first track). Only HP seems to have fixed this problem with the iPaq 5450. I would have no problem using this device as my primary MP3 player, if I didn't already have a Panasonic MP3 player. Background playback from the SD card was not interrupted by accessing the SD card with another program.
Cradle:
Feels solid, and uses USB, with a power-in built into the USB-connector. The Power-in-plug is a little bit smaller than the one used in iPaqs and Casios, but is otherwise a standard plug (the same as the one used in many cellular phones).
It is pretty difficult to connect the PDA to the cradle, and just as hard to pull it out, but after a couple of days use it loosened up a bit. I would have preferred a USB cable with the possibility to charge via the USB outlet, like the new iPaqs, but that is probably just me. You will not be able to sync in the cradle with any kind of case on, unless some kind of flip top lid is designed (there is some room behind the device, but not to the sides and under it).
Speed: Transferring to the device was as fast as on my Casio E200, but transferring to the SD card was surprisingly slow; more than 5 times slower than to internal memory (I timed a transfer of a 12MB program to the SD card: It took 11 minutes to transfer it, and after that it took another 9 minutes to finish the installation). It is a lot slower than with the same SD card in the Casio, but running programs from the SD card worked fine, and I can't tell the difference between running from internal memory and the SD card.
Screen update is good; while scrolling is not as fluid as on my Casio (which uses double buffering), it is more fluid than on my iPaq 3660. Looking up stuff from the large reference works I use is just as fast as on the iPaq and Casio, but maybe just a little bit slower than on the the iPaq 38XX and 39XX (no direct comparison though).
Boot-up time is as fast as the other Pocket PCs, that is, after a soft reset. By the way, a surprising thing happens after a soft reset: if you delete any system file, e.g. a shortcut, it will magically reappear after a reset. This must be because of the system residing in RAM instead of ROM as it does on most Pocket PCs.
The case:
As you can see, the Medion Pocket PC comes with a very nice foldable case, but as you can also see, the colour is disgusting, or at least not to my taste. Why not just make it black?
The material is probably imitated leather, but feels nice, and the closure is magnetic. It is difficult to get the stylus out, when in the case, but you can leave it out a little bit without fear of it falling out, because of the case's high friction.
Conclusions
What I like:
- X-Scale (should be power saving, but only 200 MHz)
- Very cheap
- Brilliant screen
- Small size
- Low weight
- Nice buttons
- Jog-dial
- Very good battery life, although only 900mAh
- Good speaker and good quality MP3 playback
- Decent case
- SD/MMC port with good execution of software
- Ugly coloured case
- Only 36 + 5 MB usable memory
- SD/MMC port probably not SDIO
- Slow transfer to SD card
- Un-swappable battery
- Plastic like feel
- Telescopic stylus could be subject to wear
- Stylus very slippery
- Anonymous hardware manufacturer (so far), so system updates could be a problem
I feel confident that we will see many Pocket PCs the coming months, based on this very device; a couple of them have already surfaced (I believe), like the Mitac Mio 338 and Packard Bell PocketGear 2030. If I am right, we will also see accessories coming out, because there will quickly be a demand for them, but until then, you are stuck with a pretty basic device with a brilliant screen.
