I am typing this review using NEC's newest Windows Powered handheld, the MobilePro 790. I'm flying to New York City for the PC Expo computer show. The 1/2 VGA color-screen Handheld PC 2000 sits on an airline tray table with room left over for a glass of water and a small notepad. I've set the Times Roman font in Pocket Word to 18-point blue for easy viewing and editing.

Hal Goldstein writing this article on a NEC MobilePro 790 Handheld PC 2000 somewhere in the skies between St. Louis and New York.

The passenger squeezed next to me asks, "Is that a laptop?"

I can't give a simple answer. That's the problem.

"Well, it's not exactly a laptop, but I am using a version of Word. Tonight I will answer my e-mail in my hotel room. It runs Windows CE, which is like Windows, but not exactly, since it won't necessarily run the same programs. It has versions of Excel, PowerPoint, Internet Explorer. It contains all my contacts, appointments, and tasks, which I synchronized from my desktop at work. Oh, and it can play music and run videos."

From his look, I could see I hadn't exactly cleared things up.

Perhaps the inability to place the MobilePro 790, the latest Handheld PC 2000, in a known category explains, at least in part, why this class of machines has not attracted many mainstream users. Microsoft and Handheld PC developers consider it only as a "vertical market" device.

NEC and HP are the only major companies today producing Handheld PCs that use the Windows CE operating system and are suitable for both business and consumers. Both NEC, with its first UltraLite, and HP, with the Portable Plus and OmniBook 300, began producing self-contained, instant-on machines in the 1980s. These machines are like Pocket PCs with keyboards. They come with an operating system and an application suite built in, plus battery-powered, non-volatile RAM for storage. The small size, light weight, instant boot, built-in software, and relatively long battery life are all boons for mobile users, and for those who require basic computer capabilities without the headaches.

Unlike the smaller HP Jornada 720, the MobilePro 790 will not fit into your pocket. It must be carried in a shoulder bag or small briefcase. Closed, this super-thin "mini-notebook" computer is a mere 1.1 inches thick, 9.6 inch wide, and 5.2 inch deep. At 1.7 pounds, it's heavier than a Pocket PC, but a lot lighter than most notebooks. Despite the size, you can easily touch type on its 92% full-size keyboard.

I used the MobilePro 790 on this trip to write and take care of e-mail correspondence, on the plane and in my hotel. I also used it to take notes at a seminar. Except for the day of the seminar, I left the MobilePro 790 in the hotel for my wife, who is definitely not a technophile. A writer, Rita enjoys the convenience of working on the highly portable, instant-on MobilePro 790.

Tried and true hardware

The hardware is the same as the NEC MobilePro 780's. The 64K color, 8.1-inch diagonal, 1/2 VGA, touchscreen display (640 x 240 resolution) folds over the keyboard. The result, for a clamshell device with a static, truly touch-type-able keyboard, is as small as possible. For more details and a different perspective on the NEC H/PCs, see Rich Hall's reviews of the MobilePro 780 and 770.

The unit has both the thicker Type II CF and Type II PC card slots. Since gigabyte-plus storage is available on Type II cards, that means there is room for databases, large spreadsheets, a library of your favorite music, or even a couple of movies. These card slots can also pull I/O duties with devices such as wireless access, LAN connection, or GPS cards.

A scroll wheel, embedded in the hinge area, can be configured for line or page scrolling, and used to move through menus. Ten user-definable, quick-launch, half-sized keys marked with the icons of the built-in applications take up the top keyboard row. Two additional top-row keys adjust brightness.

NEC 790 MobilePro Scroll Wheel

When I asked about battery life, a NEC spokesperson said, "Since battery life varies so much according to usage, there is no way to accurately estimate battery life on the MobilePros."  I would guess that a range of 8 to 12 hours would be reasonable. Watching a full-length video would more rapidly use up battery life. On my flight home I was stuck in airports for 12 hours. For most of that time, I read and responded offline to previously downloaded e-mail, and worked on this article. There was still plenty of battery life when I finally arrived home. To be safe you can purchase a second, user-installable, lithium-ion battery pack.

International usage

The MobilePro 790 was created with the international user in mind. The 56 Kbps V 9.0 built-in modem can be configured for Europe (CTR21), France, Japan, the UK, or the US. The 100-240V, 50-60 Hz, 2-pronged, U.S.-sized adapter is quite light and covers only 1 outlet socket. The keyboard can be configured for U.S. or International English.

What's new: Moving from the MobilePro 780 to 790

The MobilePro 780 and 790 look identical physically and use the same 168 MHz 64-bit MIPS microprocessor. The main differences between the machines are the updated operating system and 16 additional megabytes of non-volatile Flash storage. The 780 and 790 both have 32 Mb of RAM.

The 780 used Window CE 2.1 and Handheld PC Pro applications. The 790 moves to Windows CE 3.0 and Handheld PC 2000 applications. The newer software provides better Web compatibility, easier access to server-based applications (see the Terminal Server Client article on page xx), and adds the Windows Media Player to the suite of built-in applications. (See "The New Handheld PC 2000" www.pocketpcmag.com/Jan01/HPC2000.stm for more details on the Handheld PC 2000 software upgrade.)

New to the MobilePro 790 is 16 Mb of non-volatile Flash ROM. 14 Mb can be used for backup, additional storage, or software applications. 2 Mb is reserved for Windows CE application and operating system patches. Thanks to this permanent storage feature, I didn't have to worry about my battery running out of juice during my airport delays—I kept saving this review into the predefined folder named "Internal Flash ROM." As with other Handheld and Pocket PCs, an additional 32 Mb of RAM is used both for storage and for system memory. That means that, in most cases, at least 16 Mb of internal RAM is available for storage.

Interestingly, NEC decided to use the Flash ROM folder in addition to the CD ROM to include several ready-to-install pieces of software. These include Primer, a PDF viewer; bSquare backup software; and HPC NetProfile for LAN or WAN access from more than one location.

Finally, NEC reserved 2 Mb of the Flash ROM for operating system patches. This means that users should be able to download and install fixes to the operating system without using any of the internal RAM memory. Unfortunately, there is no 780 to 790 upgrade path, and the MobilePro 790 itself is not ROM-upgradeable except for bug fixes.

MobilePro limitations

For a low to moderate degree of Web surfing, the half-screen VGA is acceptable. However, the lack of screen real estate can get cumbersome for intensive Web work. The NEC 880 Handheld PC Pro, which is quite similar to the NEC 790 but with a full SVGA LCD, would be a better choice for prolonged Web or large spreadsheet viewing. There is no official word as to when an NEC 890 Handheld PC 2000 will be available. Based on history, early 2002 is probably a good bet.

I would have preferred the more natural diamond configuration of the arrow keys rather than the bottom-row linear orientation, but keyboard compromises had to be made to keep it small.

A problem common to all Handheld and Pocket PCs that I wish would be fixed is that there is no way to mute sound directly from the keyboard. Keyboard clicks or, worse, alarms can prove embarrassing in meetings or public events. The most efficient (but still noisy) way to mute sound on the 790 is to use the Windows Media Player launch key and then mute the sound in Windows Media Player.

I was a little disappointed that I couldn't use my standard Walkman headphones in the NEC as I can with the HP 720 Handheld and all of the Pocket PCs. The MobilePro's jack is non-standard and serves as both a mike port and an earphone port. You need to buy the combination earphone/microphone from NEC, and the audio-out is mono, not stereo. Finally, unlike the HP 720, the MobilePro does not have external hardware controls for Media Player. This lack of a stereo headphone jack and external Media Player controls simply means that NEC does not consider these features particularly important to the enterprise user.

Who should consider purchasing one?

In spite of the minor criticisms above, I really like the NEC MobilePro 790. Its size is ideal for much of what I do when I travel—writing, e-mail, note taking, viewing Excel spreadsheets, and Web browsing. Other users will appreciate the Handheld PC 2000's built-in Pocket PowerPoint and Pocket Access applications, and enjoy its music and video capability with built-in Windows Media Player. Almost everyone will take advantage of the desktop syncing of Outlook information.

To me, the MobilePro 790 would be an ideal companion for travelers and students, as well as for others, such as lawyers, who take a lot of notes in meetings or at research facilities.

The non-volatile Flash ROM, which can store custom applications and critical data, makes the unit ideal for vertical corporate usage. Even without specific vertical applications, corporations can supply Handheld PCs to their mobile employees rather than handing out expensive notebooks. The built-in software should be sufficient to handle the needs of many mobile users while at the same time minimizing the cost of ownership.

Finally, it is a great machine for novice users who want easy-to-use, straightforward e-mail, Web browsing, word processing, PIM, spreadsheet and multimedia ability. The instant-on feature and the permanently installed built-in applications would minimize new-user frustration. Its small size and weight mean it needs only a small place on a desk and can be carried around the house. I really think Microsoft and the manufacturers are missing the boat by not developing and promoting this type of machine for such a potentially large consumer market.

The NEC 790 MobilePro Handheld PC retails for around $900. The best price I found as we went to press was $899.99 at iGo (www.igo.com/pages/nec/). For more information on the 790, and links to other online stores, visit NEC's Web site (www.neccomp.com).