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By:
Fujitsu Seimens Preface: How
ironic it is that, as I prepare to write this review, I look back and realize
that it is the third anniversary of the writing of my first review for Palm247
– that of the Sony Clie
NX70V that I received for Christmas that year. It
seems like buckets of ink have flowed from my pen since then as I have written
countless reviews and articles since that time – almost all of them for Palm PDAs, accessories, and software. But
a new year brings me into a new era – one in which I embark from the familiar
world of Palm PDAs and software and into a totally
new world of Windows Mobile devices and software. The
reason for bringing this up as part of this review is to prepare those of you
that have been active in the Windows Mobile community for some time for the
inevitable mistakes that you may find in the first few reviews of Windows
Mobile software or devices. As a newbie
to this technology, I may inadvertently attribute a program or PDA feature to a
specific product without realizing that said feature may actually be imbedded
into the operating system itself. If
such mistakes are made, that are unintentional and a corrective email to
david@pda247 would be much appreciated. So,
without further discussion, let’s talk about the Loox
720.
Introduction: Several months ago I began exploring the
possibility of replacing my Zodiac 2 , which was still
working at the time, with another PDA.
Due to the changes in the PDA market, many of which were discussed in
some podcasts that I recorded for Shaun, I decided to
make the switch and move over into the Windows Mobile community. I
sought advice from some trusted PDA experts and the model that came most highly
recommended was the Loox 720 from Fujitsu Seimens. This
presented a slight problem in that none of the Pocket Loox
models are marketed in the North American marked by the manufacturer – which meant
having to acquire one from over seas.
This also brought into question the warranty status and availability of
repairs on this side of the big pond – a service that I ended up needing after
a few short days (more on that later…).
It took a little while but arrangements were finally made and I was able
to obtain one from the great folks over at Clove. During
all this time, as we were leading up to the Thanksgiving Holliday here in the
States, my Zodiac finally gave up the ghost (may it rest in pieces…) and so I
went several weeks without a PDA of any kind.
When the Loox finally arrived at the Post
Office (standard shipping from England to the States is 10-14 days…), I left
work and drove over to pick it up – not even waiting for the mail carrier to
deliver \t that afternoon.,
I was like a kid on Christmas morning and couldn’t wait to get to
my van and open the box and get my first look at the L720. My first impression: “My God! It’s tiny!!”
What’s in the box? As
soon as I got back to my office I promptly unboxed everything and began setting
it up. The box contained the following: · Loox 720 · · Cradle · Stylus · USB sync / host cable · AC adapter with British and European · Manual · Getting Started guide · Microsoft Companion CD · Software voucher Not
waiting to read the instructions (I figured I could do that during the
recommended twelve hours of initial battery charging…) I removed the back cover
and installed the battery before sliding it into the cradle. I then inserted the British plugs into the
adapter, attached the cable to the cradle, and, using a Universal AC Travel
Adapter, plugged the charger into the power strip at my desk. The next thought
that crossed my mind as I prepared to install software and read the manual was,
“Twelve hours! You gotta
be kidding me!!” Specifications:
Just
like some classic cars, it’s not what is under the hood that immediately
attracts you to the Loox 720, but what is on the
outside – in this case the most beautiful display that I have encountered on a
PDA. The Loox
720 features a large 3.6” 640x480 VGA TTF screen that provides
a crisp, clear, bright display which is easily visible even in direct
sunlight. I tend to adjust the
brightness down to about 40% or so when I am inside and then boost it up to
about 90% r so when I am using it in bright situations such as with my
Bluetooth GPS on sunny days. Since
we started with the outside of the Loox, let’s
continue examining it before turning our attention to the inside of the
unit. Beneath the screen and the Fujitsu
Seimens logo are the primary control buttons. While these are labeled and initially
configured to pull up your calendar, contacts, connectivity options, the Today
screen, they are user definable as are all the other buttons on the unit.
Sandwiched
between these four application buttons is something that was totally new to me
and that is a 4-way directional pad with a select button in the middle. Having come from a Zodiac 2 and, before that a NX70v and a long line of older Palm PDAs,
this is my first PDA to feature this. As
I am not a big game player, I don’t think I’ll be too inconvenienced by the
small buttons being so near to the edge of the unit but it does make me long
for the extra buttons and joystick of the Zodiac. Located
to the right of the buttons is the primary speaker on the Loox. I say “primary” because there is also a
smaller speaker located in a slot above the screen. This smaller “speaker”, when used in
conjunction with the microphone located on the bottom, will allow you to use
the 720 as a VOIP phone or with Skype when connected
to your network. The primary speaker is
only the size of a dime but it produces plenty enough volume to wake me up in
the morning or to hear the GPS instructions while the car radio is also on.
The
Loox 720 is so packed with features that every
conceivable location is used for something and the bottom is no exception. It not only contains the port for syncing and
charging the PPC but also the hole for the reset button and the previously
mentioned microphone.
Centered
above the screen is the smaller speaker mentioned above. To the left of it is the IR port. At the right corner is the power button. There are also two small LED lights. The one on the right blinks red when the unit
is charging and remains constant when the Loox is
fully charged. The one on the left
indicated a wireless connection with green for WIFI and blue (what else…) for
Bluetooth. It will blink if you have
that service active on the Loox and remain constant
when a connection has been established.
Located
behind these, and actually on the top of the Lox, is the 1/8” headphone jack,
the expansion slots for the SD card and CF card, and the silo for the stylus.
The
back of the Loox is pretty plain with most of it be g
taken up by the cover for the battery. The one exception is the camera
unit. The Loox
features a 1.3 mega pixal camera. Just to the left of the camera lens is a
round metallic mirror that will assist you when making photos of yourself. Above the lens is a small but surprisingly
bright LED flash that actually does a pretty good job if you are close enough
to your subject.
Both
sides of the L720 are slightly scalloped (in order to help you grip it better I
suppose…) and contain buttons as well.
On the right side is a single button that, by default, starts the voice
recorder for making voice memos. You can
also enter text notes from the screen that it brings up.
On
the left side, just beside the camera lens, is a Quick Launch button for
pulling up a program menu from within any application. Above it is a jog wheel with which to scroll
up and down within the menu (or other applications) and your selection is made
by pressing in on the jog wheel. These
two buttons serve a dual role, however in that they are also used to access the
camera functions. Holding in the Quick
Launch button will open the camera program and pressing in on the jog wheel
will activate the shutter. Moving the jog wheel up and down while the camera is
on will switch back and forth between 1x and 2x zoom. As
long as we are discussing the camera, let me mention that Fujitsu Seimens also makes a Loox 718
which is identical to the 720 in all areas but comes without the camera. While the quality of the camera is fairly
poor in my opinion (most cell phones take better photos…) the difference in the
price was nominal so I opted for the 720.
After all, we can all think of times in our lives when we thought,
“Darn! I wish I had a camera with me….” Now
that we’ve thoroughly explored the outside of the Loox
720, let’s pop the hood release and see what really makes this thing go. The
Loox 720 is powered by a real hot rod of an engine:
an Intel PXA272 520 MHz processor. When
it comes to memory, for guys at Fujitsu weren’t too skimpy either. They included a whopping 128 Mb of RAM and an
additional 64 Mb of They
then decided to enhance the connectivity options by giving the standard
(although rapidly becoming antiquated) IR port a couple of big brothers: Bluetooth
and 802.11B WIFI. Of
course it doesn’t do any good to build a hot rod of a PPC and have it “run out
of gas” after just an hour or two so the designers also included a 1640mAh
Lithium Ion battery that will power the Loox 720 for
up to 12 hours. If that isn’t enough battery life for you, the battery is
easily user-swappable and the charging cradle contains a slot to charge an
extra battery. In
order for all these wonderful pieces of technology to play well together, Fujitsu
Seimens chose to use Windows Mobile 2003 as their
operating system. At the time of its
release, WM2003 was the latest and best (and some say it still is…) operating
system for the PPC. While rumors
prevailed for a while that upgrades would be available that would allow users
to upgrade to WM5, which appears not to be the case. Over-all Opinion: The
Loox 720 is an amazing piece of technology – but is
not without its faults. For one, I would
have preferred to have a metal case on a PPC that costs $600 US. This the first time that I have had a PDA
with a plastic case and I found it too easy to mark up for my taste. After only having it for a few weeks (part of
which time it was in the shop for a screen replacement…) I had it jarred out of
my hand and it fell face down on the floor, marring the plastic case in a
couple of different areas. That
incident, combined with the broken screen, has convinced me of the need to
always keep the Loox in a protective case. One
other disappointment that I have with the Loox 720 is
that, even with the compact flash slot filled with a memory card, there is
still a sizeable gab between it and the SD card slot – thick enough for you to
inadvertently slide your SD card into it if you aren’t paying attention to what
you are doing. The
only other “fault” that I find with the 720 is that the stylus is absolutely tiny.
I’ve used tooth picks that were larger!
LOL. Actually, it is very
difficult for someone of my size to comfortably hold and use a stylus that
small and I find myself only using it as a backup stylus. When
you put the features on one side of a scale, however, and place the few
“faults” on the other, you will find that the attributes of the Loox 720 far exceed any complaints that you may have. Every
time I think about all the things that this PPC will do, I always return to my
first impression, “My God! It can do all
that and yet it’s so tiny!” |
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