Upgrading to Loox
After enjoying the Cassiopeia E-200 for a couple of months, I decided to drop by at my friendly computer vendor this past week. They had 3 new PPC models, all at the S$1200 range - the O2 XDA, HP iPAQ 3900 and the Fujitsu LOOX.
The O2 XDA was small, but lacks brightness control and was really heavy. The iPAQ 3900 has a extremely nice display, loud speaker, but still bulkly and lacks built-in CF storage. Guess which of the three I went home with?
The LOOX is probably the most advance PDA currently available. I understand that it is only available in Asia at this time. It is smaller and thinner than the HP iPAQ and brighter than the O2 XDA. With xScale, bluetooth and a faster processor (400 mhz), it is a good buy.
Since I am primarily interested in upgrading my Cassiopeia to play games, I am greatly influenced by the great joy-wheel that looks like the designers have gaming in mind. All you have to do is keep a finger pressed on it to navigate around - just like dedicated game pads.
The promised longer battery life of 10 hours is almost too good to be true. I have been playing with it for a few hours and it is still going strong. Unlike iPAQ and Cassiopeia, 2 hours is the best you can get at any time. Super!
While a PDA is not really heavy, holding it for, say an hour while engrossed in some game can be a strain. LOOX is lighter than most (175gm), and has nice moulds that really helps you get a firm grip on the device. The way HP iPAQ and Cassiopeia are built, they require extra effort to keep them from slipping off my sweaty palms.
As much as I enjoy the latest built-in Bluetooth, wifi, xScale and all the goodies, these extras that I am not using (for now) are affecting some of my favourite games. Turjah2 will not load, the gameplay for iGolf suddenly becomes jerky and some programs just sits there. Many games are not affected, and thank goodness... emulators work fine.
All in all, the LOOX is a great PDA - small, light and bright with a long battery life.