There are a small but significant number of users that just don’t like palm-sized, pen-entry devices. They don’t want all the power and expense of a laptop PC, but they do prefer a clamshell design with a larger screen, a built-in keyboard large enough to touch type on, instant ON, long battery life, and software in ROM. This article briefly reviews two such devices, both of which run the latest version of the Windows CE operating system—Windows CE .NET 4.2.

NEC’s MobilePro 900c

The NEC MobilePro 900c is an update, based on the MobilePro 900 introduced last year. Measuring 9.69 x 5.05 x 1.19 inches (24.6 x 12.8 x 3.0 cm) and weighing 1.8 pounds (0.82 kg), the 900c is the size of a very small notebook computer. Unlike most notebooks, it has a 1/2 VGA color touch screen (8.1 inch diagonal, 640x240 pixels). Input is handled by the 92% full-size, 78-key QWERTY keyboard, with mouse functions replaced by tapping a stylus on the touch screen.

NEC’s MobilePro 900c

The MobilePro 900c sports a 400 MHz Intel PXA255 processor and is powered by a 4-8 hour, 2200 mAh lithium ion rechargeable/replaceable battery. The device has 64 MB of SDRAM and 64 MB of flash ROM—32 MB for the OS and applications, and the rest accessible to the user for program installation and data storage. It has two expansion card slots—one Type II CF Card and one Type II PC Card—that give it excellent expansion capabilities. It also has USB host and slave ports, serial port, VGA-out port, and a stereo headphone jack. The USB host capability lets you connect a full-size keyboard, mouse, and other USB appliances. Communications are handled by the built-in 56K data/fax modem or by optional wireless solutions that slip into the card slots.

As mentioned, the 900c comes with the Windows CE .NET 4.2 OS pre-installed. It also includes Handheld PC versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Internet Explorer, Media Player, a backup utility, a fax program from bSquare, and a viewer for Adobe PDF documents. NEC also includes a custom-developed viewer/editor for Excel spreadsheets, as well as calendar, contacts, and tasks managers. A number of other utilities are included, include an alternative synchronization solution from NEC.

Standard accessories include an AC power adapter, USB connectivity cable, standard battery, stylus, and an RJ-11 modem cable. Optional accessories include a 4400 mAh battery, automobile adapter kit, carrying case, serial cable, and VGA-out cable.

The MobilePro 900c is priced at $899 and is available directly from NEC and from selected resellers. For more information, visit NEC’s Web page (http://www.necsam.com/mobilesolutions/produ...).

Psion Teklogix’s NetBook Pro

The Psion Teklogix NetBook Pro is based on, and physically similar to their popular NetBook, a handheld that runs the EPOC operating system. The Pro is a tiny bit larger than its predecessor, measuring 9.25 x 7.24 x 1.38 (23.5 x 18.4 x 3.5 cm) and weighing 2.95 pounds (1.34 kg). It’s about a pound heavier than the 900c, primarily because of its 8.4 inch diagonal, 800x600 pixel, SVGA color touch screen.

Psion Teklogix NetBook Pro

It uses the 400 MHz version of the Intel PXA 255 processor and has a whopping 128 MB of SDRAM to run programs and store data, but only 32 MB of flash ROM, all of which is occupied by the OS and built-in apps. The Pro’s keyboard has four rows of keys, lacking a row of application launch buttons on the top. This allowed the keys to be a little taller than those on other handhelds.

The NetBook Pro does not have a built-in landline modem, but does have three expansion card slots: one Type II CF card, one Type II PC card, and one SDIO card slot. These three slots give you a lot of flexibility to add hardware features and storage memory. Finally, it comes with a 2200 mAh lithium battery with over 8 hours of usage.

The NetBook Pro incorporates Microsoft’s Windows CE .NET 4.2 operating system, and includes Handheld PC versions of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player, WordPad, and File Explorer. It also includes MSN Messenger, a basic calculator, and a variety of Microsoft setup, configuration, and communications utilities. NetBook Pro comes with ActiveSync for Pro-to-PC synchronization. The other built-in applications are from third-party software developers. Primary among them are Pocket On-Schedule, which adds e-mail, calendar, contacts, tasks, notes, and journal functions, and a series of viewer programs for displaying, but not editing, images, PDF files, PowerPoint presentations, and Word and Excel documents.

Standard accessories include an AC power adapter, battery, USB connectivity cable, user manuals, and companion CD. Optional accessories include replacements for standard accessories, serial connectivity cable, power adapters for US, UK, and EU outlets, cigarette-lighter power adapter, spare/replacement stylus 3-pack, and 2.5-3.5 mm audio jack adapter.

The NetBook Pro Handheld PC is priced in the $1,500 range and is available directly from Psion Teklogix (http://www.psionteklogix.com).

Which one’s for you?

I’ve used both of these devices on the road and they get the job done. I prefer the NEC MobilePro for writing and editing articles—it’s more compact and easier to carry, and I find the keyboard easier to use. The 1/2 VGA screen gets in the way when I browse the Web, but I don’t do much of that when traveling. I appreciate the fact that the NetBook Pro has better battery life, which comes in handy when I’m on an airplane or waiting for a flight. The larger screen is a definite plus when I do go up on the Web to check my e-mail or look for product information.

Either one of these devices is expensive, especially compared to a low-end Pocket PC. A new Pocket PC with an external keyboard will set you back $350-400—less than half the price of the MobilePro and less than 1/3 the price of the NetBook Pro. All things considered, if you’re an individual looking for something in the “mini-notebook” form factor, you should also look at the smaller laptop PCs available from Toshiba, Sony, and others. However, if you want to create a custom solution for your enterprise using Windows CE NET 4.2, check out the NEC and Psion Teklogix Handheld PCs.