Hi-Grade Hi-Pad 131

Microsoft's new operating system for handhelds, Windows CE 3.0, has been available only on devices from three different manufacturers: Hewlett Packard (HP), Casio and Compaq. Until now, that is.

Systems integrator Hi-Grade has now thrown its own hat into the ring with its new Pocket PC called the Hi-Pad 131, and it can easily hold its own with models from other manufacturers.

The Hi-Pad 131 is about the same thickness and weight as the Casio Cassiopia E115. This makes it slightly hefty to carry around - you certainly wouldn't want to put it in your jacket pocket, for example. That said, the extra thickness does enable it to offer a Type II Compact Flash slot, as opposed to the Type I slots found on HP's Jornada 540 series, and nothing at all on Compaq's iPAQ. This means that it can take an IBM Microdrive for up to 1Gb of external storage.

Hi-Grade also sells a Type II Compact Flash digital camera for use with the device. Costing £69 including VAT, it's a nifty little unit and can swivel so that you can look at the screen and take snaps at the same time. It is more of a gimmick than anything else, to be honest, as the images provided by the manually focusing lens can hardly be described as good quality. The software provided to drive the camera looks as though it was written for CE .0: it places the start bar at the bottom of the screen. It's easy enough to use though, and would be an entertaining sideshow.

The Hi-Pad is driven by a 131Mhz NEC MIPS processor, and has the standard 32Mb of Ram and 16Mb of Rom. The 320 x 240 screen is all right, although not quite as well defined as that in Compaq's iPAQ. It works well enough though, and is capable of displaying 16bit colour.

As with all the colour Pocket PCs, it is very difficult to see anything at all without turning the backlight on, and there's a dedicated button for this on the left-hand edge. This switches off after a user-defined period of time. Adjusting this, however, is something of a problem. If you try to get to the backlight settings through the power applet in the settings menu, as is standard with Pocket PCs, you get an error. You have to use Hi-Grade's own Advanced Settings program to achieve this.

There are plenty of shortcut buttons: the left-hand edge sees power, jog dial, start key, quick voice record, and backlight buttons together with a headphone socket and DC in. An IrDA port is situated at the top of the device, and the adequate stylus slides into the top of the chassis, as with the Casio. A microphone is situated at the front. The four buttons on the front of the unit can be redefined, but are by default set to open up programs such as tasks and contacts.

The lithium-ion battery has a quoted battery life of 7.5 hours. There's also a backup battery to protect your data if it runs out and, uniquely, should this run down it does not need replacing - it simply recharges itself the next time you plug the Hi-Pad into the mains.

Synchronising the PDA is extremely easy, as with all Pocket PCs. The Hi-Pad comes with a docking cradle that, if plugged into the mains, serves as a recharging point too. Unfortunately, the interface is serial, not USB, so expect file transfer to be slower. The Hi-Pad comes with the latest version of ActiveSync for this purpose.

The device has the same mammoth level of software loaded on it that other Pocket PCs have - Internet Explorer, Media Player, Pocket Word, Pocket Excel and Pocket Streets to name but a few. Hi-Grade has also included a bonus CD with a ton of shareware programs on it, to help you appreciate the power of your new device.

Ultimately, we can't escape the feeling that this Pocket PC nearly works, but not quite. In its favour, it is the cheapest model around, and it has just enough processing power and memory to cope with the convoluted operating system. The fact that it is just a bit too bulky for us, plus the serial connection and the couple of irritating software glitches, pulls it down a star.

Nevertheless, the Hi-Pad would be a good way for someone on a budget to experience the richness of Pocket PCs.

Contact
Hi-Grade 020 8532 6111