Print Full Article Print This Page Download the PDF E-Mail This URL

To run cool enough in the tight space of a tablet form factor, all these devices are endowed with low-power, cool-running CPUs. Most prevalent in our review is Transmeta Corp.'s Crusoe processor. Both the SonicBlue ProGear 1050 and the FICA AquaPad contain Transmeta processors -- the former a TM3200 (400 MHz) and the latter a TM5400 (500 MHz). The ViewSonic uses an Intel Corp. StrongArm SA-1110 (200 MHz), and the Honeywell unit is based on a National Semiconductor Geode GX1 (333 MHz).

The amount of memory offered by the devices is also consistent. The Honeywell WebPad is the exception, weighing in with a mere 64 MB of SDRAM compared with the 128 MB in the ProGear and AquaPad and the 112 MB in the ViewSonic ViewPad. The memory and processors provided for excellent performance in all the devices, with the exception of the ProGear, which was burdened out of the box by its choice to run Windows 98 SE as opposed to an embedded operating system designed to run on lower CPU and memory devices.

On Displays, Size Does Matter

Several high-end PDAs offer high-resolution, full-color displays capable of rendering images and displaying presentations and Web pages as well as any notebook or PC. However, in most cases it's the size of the display that makes your average PDA tank at these tasks. The Web pad overcomes this limitation by offering, on the average, a 10.4-inch TFT display with 800-by-600 resolution (the SonicBlue ProGear also offers an optional 1024-by-768 display). The screen makes up 90 percent of the devices' size -- and is the factor that drives the cost past the $1,000 mark. Yet these displays are worth the money: Presentations, Web pages and streaming media were remarkably clear and brilliant on the displays of all the devices we tested.

The only real deviation in size came from FICA's AquaPad, whose display is a mere 8.4 inches. Still large enough to show presentations and Web pages, the smaller screen size offers an overall device design that is more sleek than those of its competitors.

Some Web pads have the capability to change the orientation of the display, from landscape to portrait to a complete 180-degree rotation. Of the units we tested, only the SonicBlue ProGear and ViewSonic ViewPad 100 offer this capability, and we found it useful. Web pages displayed in portrait mode (more height than width) required less scrolling.

Application Support

Basic PIM (personal information management) capabilities should be a given with Web pads, and all the devices in our review do indeed support e-mail and Web browsing. The big disappointment is in calendaring support, which is offered only by the ViewSonic ViewPad. Calendaring is a necessity in today's mobile world, and the lack of this feature will, in most cases, detract from the IT manager's ability to make a business case for these devices.

Citrix and Terminal Server support are found on the ViewSonic ViewPad and Honeywell WebPad but not on the SonicBlue ProGear nor the FICA AquaPad, though the installation of software on the ProGear is a simple matter, and support could be deployed as easily as on a notebook or desktop.

Microsoft PowerPoint presentation support is spotty, but the ability to view PDF documents is supported by all the devices in our review. Microsoft Word and Excel viewing and editing capabilities are also provided by most units, a huge plus over PDAs, which generally offer only limited viewing capabilities, if anything at all.

Java support is provided on all the Windows CE devices via Insignia Solutions' Jeode run-time engine, which is based on PersonalJava and therefore doesn't fully support Java applications and applets not built specifically for PersonalJava. Applets built on Java2 technology did not load and initialize on any of the devices in our review, so support of Java for Web browsing or Web-based applications is sketchy. Applications would need to be developed to the PersonalJava or EmbeddedJava standard -- not Java2.

Keep in Touch

Networking -- LAN, WAN and mobile -- was a big differentiator in this review. The SonicBlue ProGear and Honeywell WebPad offer integrated 802.11b support, which is excellent if you have the infrastructure. The ViewSonic ViewPad is the most flexible, providing not only a Type II PCMCIA slot for 802.11b -- also offered by the FICA AquaPad -- but an integrated 10-/100-Mbps LAN connection via its cradle. Beyond 802.11b, the Honeywell WebPad offers only a USB connection, possibly problematic for mobile users who require dial-up access while on the road.

The big issue with network support in these devices is integrated drivers. Certainly Windows CE drivers are available for many popular 802.11b NICs, but installation is not nearly as pleasant as the plug-and-play support traditionally offered by PC platforms. The ViewSonic ViewPad offers integrated support for only Proxim- and Xircom-based 802.11b NICs, while the AquaPad offers support for a wide variety of cards, including Cisco Systems Aironet and Lucent Technologies/Agere's Orinoco.

Software Management

Like PDAs, most of the devices we tested require synchronization software for installation and deployment of additional software. Microsoft's ActiveSync software is distributed with the ViewSonic ViewPad, and USB-to-PC connectivity via the cradle provides for easy updating and deployment. The SonicBlue ProGear, unique because of its full OS support, makes integration into existing network-based software management systems a snap.

Online updating of software is provided for all units. The Honeywell WebPad uses FTP to perform software and firmware updates and requires configuration, while the other devices provide a point-and-click update functionality.

After testing these devices for weeks, we found that the SonicBlue ProGear met our demands for software management, application support and ease of use, and we gave it our Editor's Choice award. The ease of installing new software makes the ProGear a great choice for integration into an existing infrastructure, and, as with the Honeywell WebPad, its built-in 802.11b NIC makes networking a breeze. Although we liked the AquaPad's sleek design, brilliant display and networking support, its updating and synchronization facilities are, like those of the Honeywell WebPad, unwieldy to use.

The only real negatives we discovered with the ProGear involve the responsiveness of the unit and a lack of installed support for Microsoft Office applications. The Windows CE 3.0 devices are extremely responsive to input, while the ProGear, with its full Windows 98 SE load, is a bit more sluggish than we'd like. A faster processor (the ProGear runs on a 400-MHz Transmeta Crusoe chip) and additional memory would likely solve the problem.

Calligraphic support on all these devices is sketchy at best. The only exception is the ViewSonic WebPad, but even it performed poorly in this area. We're comfortable with the accepted Palm OS calligraphic format and found that, while the keystrokes used on the ViewPad were almost the same, the actual recognition by the device is extremely poor. We were forced to abandon the notion of using the stylus as a text-input device and instead simply used the virtual keyboard. We'd like to see this support become more widely available and stable across the board.