Pen Computing 27 - April 1999 -- Let me start out by
saying that I think the new Compaq Aero 2100 color palmsize PC is a sensational
product. I wouldn't normally gush like that over a late pre-production unit, but
what I saw was enough to thrill me and renew my belief in Microsoft Windows
CE-based PPCs. Here's why: First of all, Compaq put into the Aero the same
glorious indoor/outdoor readable high-reflective color screen I first saw at
Sharp in Japan. The technology is called HR-TFT, or "super-mobile." It provides
perfectly good color and contrast indoors, and you can still read it in the
brightest sunlight. In fact, the brighter the light, the more vibrantly the
Aero's screen comes to life. When I first saw that screen on the Japanese Color
Pocket Zaurus, I was so impressed that I bought one in the Akihabara, even though
it only runs Japanese software. The fact that Compaq brings to the US a low cost
product with the same ultra-high tech screen with only a lag time of a few months
after Japanese consumers got to see it is sensational. What's even more
sensational is that the Aero's indoor readability is actually even better than
that of the Color Zaurus. The sidelight of the MI-310 is either on or off,
whereas the Aero has two brightness levels, with the brighter setting being
stronger than that of Sharp's own unit.
Second, the Compaq's overall design is
close to perfect. In a case of deja-vue that must be both flattering and
disconcerting to the good folks at Philips, most recent PPC designs borrow in one
way or another from the stylistic trail the Nino blazed, and the Aero is no
exception. To my eye, however, the Aero looks even better, it isn't littered with
a plethora of side buttons like the Nino, and the matte silver front bezel looks
both high-tech and elegant.
Third, the Aero carries on Compaq's tradition of
providing superior audio in its Windows CE products. Among handheld PCs, the C
Series 2010 and 2015 handheld PCs were without peer, and the Aero, likewise, has
excellent audio. To be honest, I was very underwhelmed by the audio subsystems of
all first generation palmsize PCs. For taking quick voice notes and playing them
back they were nearly useless. The Aero on the other hand has good recording
quality and crisp, strong playback. It's the first PPC I've come across that I
could truly use to record ideas while driving to work and then playing them back
loud enough to easily understand the recording.
Forth, battery life. After the
very decent battery life provided by first generation handheld PCs, expectations
were high for monochrome palmsize devices. Sadly, the reality was that some of
the early monochrome PPCs ate batteries at a ferocious rate. That boded ill for
color units, but my fears were unfounded. Though the Compaq's Li-Ion battery is
small, it packs 900mAh. Compaq claims it has up to ten hours of battery life.
I've been exploring the unit ever since it arrived a couple of days ago, and
played solitaire for several hours, yet the battery charge still reads "good."
We're on to something here. Then again, my Japanese Sharp Pocket Color Zaurus,
which uses a Hitachi SH-3 chip and the same HR-TFT gets at least 15 hours from a
couple of AAs.
Physically, the Aero is about the same size and weight as the
monochrome Nino, i.e. larger than a Palm III and some of the other first
generation PPCs, but definitely handy and small enough to fit into my
shirt-pocket. The rocker on the left side is small and handy, the escape button
is in the right place (at least for right handers), and I like the placement of
the four application buttons on the front below the screen. I also like the
spring-loaded pen that pops out of the unit, as the one on my old Newton
MessagePad 2100 does. Since this is a pre-production unit, I won't even go into
all the other goodies Compaq built into this jewel, like the vibrating alarm, the
ultra-cool Audible Content Player that plays digital audio files downloaded from
www.audible.com, or Compaq's value-added software. As it stands now, I can pay
the Compaq Aero the highest compliment any editor can bestow on a product: I
would buy one with my own money.
