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The
A716 Up Close and Personal:::...
Undoubtedly
the A716's biggest competitor, and the nearest in terms
of raw specifications is HP's iPAQ 4150. Because the A716
incorporates an CF slot while the 4150 doesn't you would
naturally expect it to be slightly larger, but by how much?
Here's
some pictures comparing the two.
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MyPal
A716 (Left) +++ HP 4150 (Right)
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Well,
first impressions are that while HP were out locating the
very latest in miniaturized components, the ASUS team were
on the phone shouting "send me the biggest ya got!".
I don't necessarily mean that in a bad way, there's no doubt
in my mind after using the device for a few weeks that the
increased size is much better for gaming purposes. It isn't
however of much use when you need to tuck it in a suitable
pocket and move with it.
I'm
kind of odd in that when I spend big money on something
I don't necessarily want it to be too small. I always get
to wondering if corners were cut or compromises were made
in order to cram everything in. I'm quite happy with "slightly
large" so long as it all works well, but I know many
people aren't, and if you like your PDA petite and pocketable,
the A716 probably isn't going to top your list of potential
purchases.
In
addition to being considerably larger than the 4150, the
A716 also features an external antenna which adds to its
unwieldy looking nature. Whether the space taken by the
CF slot has made the use of an internal antenna difficult
I couldn't say, but certainly the 4150 has its antenna integrated
into the body and doesn't seem any less sensitive because
of it.
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MyPal
A716 (Left) +++ HP 4150 (Right)
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The
left hand side of the A716 is certainly where it's all happening.
In addition the the "Enter" button, the "Back"
and "Next" scroll buttons and the reset hole are
the infrared port window and battery lock. The battery lock
is a sliding latch which is operated by the tip of your
stylus and to protect your data the A716 won't function
unless this latch is in the locked position.
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MyPal
A716 (Bottom) +++ HP 4150 (Top)
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On
the opposite side we see only the DC power connector and
the the black ridges which allow you to slide the stylus
from its silo.
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MyPal
A716 (Bottom) +++ HP 4150 (Top)
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To
be fair to ASUS, the one area you'd expect the A716 to suffer
is in its thickness, yet despite the CF slot they've managed
to do a pretty good job of keeping this dimension under
control. In fact it's barely thicker than the 4150 is which
is quite an achievement in itself.
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MyPal
A716 (Bottom) +++ HP 4150 (Top)
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The
microphone aperture is placed somewhat annoyingly at the
bottom which makes it impossible to use to good effect while
the device is in its cradle.
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MyPal
A716 (Bottom) +++ HP 4150 (Top)
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