May/June 1996
Pen Lab Review
Motorola Envoy 150
Love at first sight
I feel like a guy with two girlfriends. Though I dearly love my Newton MessagePad
130 and would never leave it for anything, the more I play with the newly-upgraded
Motorola envoy 150 wireless communicator the more I want one. Fortunately
(for a while at least) I can get away with having both.
Addictively convenient
The original Motorola Envoy, however much delayed, was a good device, and
helped General Magic establish its Magic Cap operating system in a piece
of blue chip hardware. The ARDIS-based wireless email service was, and still
is, addictive for anyone whose work life is built around email. Though the
original and new Envoys are slightly bulky compared to other handheld devices
due to the space needed for the radio and battery, this is a small price
to pay for wireless. And speaking of price, ARDIS has of course lowered
its rates since the Envoy was introduced, though the service is still a
little spendy for high-volume email users.
An interesting new face
The new Envoy is physically identical to its predecessor, weighing the same
1.7lb. The most noticeable feature of the unit is the new screen, which
you will either love or hate depending on your expectations. Jointly developed
by Motorola and Polaroid, OmniMax technology, as it is called, is being
touted as a "passive backlight." If you have been spoiled by spending
any time on a real backlit device such as a MessagePad 130, a Magic Link
PIC-2000, or a Zaurus 5800, you will be disappointed with the Envoy 150.
Compared to the original Envoy, though, the new screen is terrific. It uses
a holographic reflector technology that takes even a little ambient light
and reflects it back as a soft yellow-green glow. Outdoors in direct or
indirect sunlight the screen turns green, blue, orange, yellow, and sometimes
red depending on your angle to the sun. This spectral effect is not unpleasant
and has no effect on readability. In an office environment the new screen
works very well, with good contrast.
Looks best from the front
When you use the Envoy on a desk you can turn the unit around to tilt the
screen to a more natural angle, then set the screen image to rotate using
Magic Cap's control panel. Unfortunately, the OmniMax technology seems to
be direction-centric; when you turn it around it will only reflect at an
inconvenient angle. I was disappointed that Motorola missed this opportunity
to make the Envoy even more useful and pleasant to use. They could also
add some kind of folding brace to keep the rotated screen supported for
tapping and writing. Set up this way, the lack of a brace limits using the
Envoy, though it could be used with an external keyboard.
Smart and fast
The Envoy 150 ROMs have Magic Cap version 1.5, whose features and improvements
were reviewed in the last two issues of Pen Computing. On the Envoy, the
revved-up OS feels fast and solid. Combined with the eye relief afforded
by the shiny new screen the Envoy is a real pleasure to operate. Motorola
has bundled lots of software with the Envoy 150, including Lexicus QuickPrint,
Pocket Quicken, and OAG FlightLine.
I think I'm in love p; again.
Contact: Motorola Wireless Data Group 800-894-7353 <www.mot.com/wdg/>
Pen
Computing Issue #10