On Test: Handheld PCs

No matter how well organised you are, there are times when it's handy to be able to check your appointments or look up a phone number when you are away from your desktop PC. A notebook computer can be cumbersome to carry around with you on a regular basis but if you still need access to email and a diary when you're on the move, a handheld computer may be the answer.

Like mobile phones, handhelds have evolved from their brick-like beginnings to become sleek and powerful devices. You can still take notes and add appointments to your diary but you can also listen to music, look at photos and even browse the internet by linking the device to a mobile phone.

The price of handheld computers has also slimmed down and, if you forgo some of the flashier features included in the most expensive models, you can pick up a very capable handheld computer for a bargain price.

We've selected six of the cheapest handhelds on the market today and put them through their paces. Prices range from £110 up to £230. Read on if you want to bag yourself a bargain. And don't forget to look for the best price with Computeractive's Active Prices service.

Dell Axim X30
£222
Handheld computers are designed with portability in mind, and the Axim X30 is no exception, offering Wi-Fi wireless connectivity so you can surf the web while you're on the move.

It also offers Bluetooth wireless connectivity, which means the device can connect wirelessly to printers, mobile phones or a PC, making transferring data to and from the Axim that bit easier. Dell has supplied software to simplify the business of finding and connecting to wireless networks and you can switch the wireless communications features on or off using the button situated on the right hand side of the unit.

The 3.5in screen is bright, clear and responsive to the stylus and the Pocket PC operating system loaded on the X30 supports handwriting recognition, which is a handy way of jotting down notes and entering text without a keyboard. The stylus itself is fairly comfortable to write with, but something that feels a bit more substantial and heavy in the hand would have been welcome.

Battery life was about average for a handheld device running Pocket PC and the Axim ran out of juice after playing music files for six-and-a-half hours. There is no cradle included in the box for charging the unit or synchronising data between the Axim and a PC, for example, which is a shame.

To make the job of synchronising data with a PC easier, Dell has included Microsoft ActivSync software and Outlook. Connect the Axim to a PC on which ActivSync is installed and the software will constantly monitor the data held on the computer and on the X30 and copies any changes between the two.

At £222 the Axim is one of the pricier models on test here, but it's also one of the most powerful, with a great range of features including an SD card slot so you can save files and olders to a removable memory card.

HP iPaq 1940
£217
Although the iPaq 1940 looks rather small compared to some of the other devices in the test, its screen is actually exactly the same size as those of its rivals. The stylus is just long enough to fit comfortably in the hand and is not too flexible, despite being plastic. Text entry with the stylus is easy on the responsive touch-sensitive screen and text and graphics are clearly displayed. The iPaq's battery life was just under five hours, which is just about good enough if you are able to recharge the device every day, or at least every other day.

On the downside, there is no cradle supplied in the box to simultaneously charges the unit and transfer data to and from a PC, so you are restricted to using the USB cable supplied in the box. Alternatively, you can connect the unit to a PC wirelessly using infrared or Bluetooth. The Pocket PC operating system features set-up wizards to help you make Bluetooth connections with instructions specific to most mobile phones. When a Bluetooth connection is made, the power button glows blue, which acts as a reminder that you're using Bluetooth - a significant drain on any handheld device's batteries.

The iPaq's headphone socket is smaller than usual. An adaptor is supplied to connect headphones with a standard jack but you will have to be careful not to lose it. If you want to use the device to listen to music, you can increase the number of songs using the SD card slot rather than clog up the 64MB of internal memory with files.

The iPaq's software enables you to create backups just in case the battery runs out. It can be set to back up regularly or when the battery drains to a certain level. All the shortcut buttons on the front are clearly marked, but there is no scroll wheel to the side of the screen, which makes it awkward to read long documents.

Mitac Mio DigiWalker 336
£180
The square design of the Mio DigiWalker 336 makes it look chunkier than other handhelds in this group test but it is actually one of the lightest units. The screen and shortcut buttons are all standard fare for a Pocket PC-based unit, but one difference is that the DigiWalker features a touchpoint instead of a cursor pad. This was not to our taste, as we found it difficult to click down the touchpoint without also moving the cursor.

To keep the size of the unit down, an extendable stylus has been included but it's not as comfortable to use as a fixed-length stylus. There is no scroll wheel on the side of the DigiWalker, which makes it unwieldy to navigate long documents or menus, but it does have some useful extra software installed. There is an alternative to the Pocket PC Today screen for checking the diary and To Do list, and an alternative to Windows Media Player for playing music.

Backup software is also included so you can save data to an SD or MMC memory card, but you'll have to buy this yourself, as there are no cards included. Battery life was weak and lasted only four hours in our test. We found that switching to the power-saving setting affected the system performance adversely too.

Palm Tungsten E
£150
The Tungsten E uses the PalmOS operating system rather than Pocket PC as all of Palm's models do. One of the first things you'll notice about this £150 model is the dedicated text input area that takes up the bottom third of the screen. This means that the actual display area is smaller than that of other models here. The Tungsten E makes up for this with a very high resolution screen which displays text clearly and sharply.

You have to manually synchronise the Tungsten E with your computer, but it makes a complete backup of all the data held on the handheld every time you do this. This means that if you ever lose information or buy a new Palm, restoring the data is painless. There is no support for handwriting recognition but you can input text using graffiti shorthand.

The Tungsten E can also play MP3s but unlike the Pocket PC-based handhelds we've looked at here, the Palm operating system does not allow you to use the main memory of the Tungsten for storing music. To listen to music on the move you will have to buy an SD memory card that you can fit into the slot at the back of the device.

If you want to work on Office documents away from your desk, the Tungsten E comes with some very attractive software to convert Word files. The Documents To Go software adds support for more advanced functions like formatting and table creation.

Palm Zire 31
£110
The Zire 31 is a great balance between fun and performance at a low price. At only £110, the Zire matches the other models here in terms of features and specifications in nearly every way. Like the Tungsten E it runs on PalmOS and so the bottom third of the screen is dedicated to text input. The screen is full colour but is a lower resolution than the Tungsten, so some graphics are not finely rendered on-screen.

There's only 14MB of available memory but, as Palm OS is far more frugal in its consumption of memory than Pocket PC, it is unlikely you will find this limiting. Where the Zire 31 excels is in its battery life. It played our music continuously for an incredible 18 hours and 37 minutes. No other handheld came close in the test and if you intend to use yours continuously then this is the one to go for.

The screen is easy to write on using graffiti shorthand and the stylus is comfortable to use. Also, you can use the on-screen keyboard to input text by tapping letters with the stylus. Like the Tungsten, the Zire 31 needs an SD or MMC memory card on which to store music files and you'll need to buy this separately.

As there's no cradle included with this model, the device must be connected to a PC using a USB cable to synchronise data. The Zire 31 will share information with Outlook, but if you don't have this it comes with its own Personal Information Manager called Palm Desktop.

Toshiba e400
£230
The Toshiba e400 stands out from the crowd with a bold purple case. The body of the unit is more elongated than other models here but the screen is actually exactly the same size. It is a slightly heavier unit than others we've looked at in this test but that gives it a feeling of sturdiness rather than being unwieldy.

Like the Mitac Mio DigiWalker, the stylus is extendable and is not as comfortable to use as a normal stylus. There is no cradle to sit the e400 in when charging or synchronising data with a PC, but there are cables provided for both of these functions. Similarly, there is also no support for either wireless networking or Bluetooth.

The e400 is great for music lovers. Not only is the headphone socket a standard size, but there are Media Player shortcuts for all of the buttons on the front. To make sure you don't change tracks inadvertently, there is a hold switch on the side of the case. Battery life was very good too at nine hours and was the best of all the Pocket PCs in the test.

There is a very good Today screen replacement that crams in reminders, a battery-life status indicator and shortcuts to applications. There is also an excellent backup utility with 32MB of memory dedicated to storing vital information. This function can be set to make backups even when the e400 is switched off, so you will never have to worry about losing crucial data.

If you have any trouble reading from the small screen of a handheld computer, the e400 includes some unique text-to-speech software. This will read out any text files, emails or text that has been copied to the clipboard. It is also possible to give voice commands to the e400 rather than tapping commands on-screen.

Hand to hand combat
At this price level you're not going to find a handheld packed with all the bells and whistles, but we were impressed with the features in our crop. All of them can be used to play MP3 music files as well as offering solid performance as a personal organiser.

There can only be one winner, though, and in this group it is the Palm Zire 31. This handheld computer offers a colour screen, lets you play music when you're out and about and its battery lasted the longest in our tests. Palm OS-based handheld computers are also easy to use, despite not sharing data with Office applications easily. The Zire lacks the internal backup facility of Pocket PC-based handhelds, but it's far easier to restore data to a Palm OS-based device in general.

A handful of downloads
AvantGo
AvantGo is a free service for saving web pages to your handheld device to read later. The standard account allows you to download up to 2MB of pages, which is enough to get all the day's top news stories onto your handheld.

Converter
Never be at a loss if you want a measurement in inches when it is given in centimetres. This excellent piece of software is free for Palm OS-based handhelds.

Palm Reader
Available for both Pocket PC and Palm OS, this allows you to read e-Books on your handheld device. You can also create your own e-Books.

Pocket Informant
An updated diary program for Pocket PC. Replaces built-in contacts, calendar and tasks applications.

DateBk 5
An improved diary for Palm handhelds, this offers better views of your diary and makes use of colour graphics and icons.

OmniRemote
Software that enables you to use your handheld as a remote control.

Snood
A very addictive hybrid of Tetris and Bricks.

Full-Screen Keyboard
If you find it hard to use character recognition with your Pocket PC, Full Screen Keyboard creates a new keyboard onscreen you can tap using a stylus.

Vexed
A deceptively simple-looking game for the Palm OS. Match coloured blocks to make them disappear.

Blocks
An unofficial version of Tetris.

Adobe Reader
Read documents created in this popular format on either a Pocket PC or a Palm OS.