Toshiba e750 Pocket PC

Featuring a new mobile processor, the most internal memory of any PDA (64MB RAM plus 64MB non-RAM for a total of 128MB), built-in 802.11b wi-fi, the best PDA screen from Toshiba so far. and good battery life, the e750/e755 is close to being perfect. The compact (0.6 inches thin) and attractive form factor is a huge plus, as well.

The new Intel processor (PXA255 running at 400Mhz) is without doubt the star of the new line-up. It's an updated version of the first-gen Xscalar processor, which wasn't getting good reviews due to lack of optimization options. The e750/e755 *is* optimized for the new processor, which results in speedy application launches and operations. Nothing gives a Pocket PC user more pleasure than seeing his/her favorite app come up instantly. The e750 also allows you to switch between two speeds, hence you can choose between higher speed or better battery life. Even at the lower speed, PPC apps feel quick and responsive. The LiIon battery is user replaceable, and an optional "extended" battery is available now from Toshiba.

What's left to improve for Toshiba is their lackluster customer support. Because their PPCs are made by an OEM in Taiwan rather than in their own plants in Japan, the build quality is still a bit lacking, but the e750/e755 seems to be better made than the e740, which was getting a lot of complaints.

Update with more details:

The e750 is indeed a joyful PDA! The high price and the lack of a built-in camera aside -- but who really needs the latter, right? -- it really comes close to being a master-of-all-trades device. I haven't tested the wireless features as much as I had hoped, due to the fact there just aren't many free hot spots around these days. But I'll update this review when I get more hands-on experience in this area.

In terms of everyday use this is a true workhorse. I'll talk more about the specs below, but the numbers don't really reveal how pleasant using the e750 is. The hundreds of annoyances that plagued the e740, its older cousin, have been fixed. There are far fewer crashes and syncs go more smoothly. At just 6.5 ounces, while not the lightest Pocket PC, you get something very close to a handheld computer, especially when you get the foldable keyboard!

The e750 has a total of 128MB of RAM, 32 of which is ROM, 32 is flash-ROM (which means content stored on it won't go away even if the battery is completely dead... think of it as a small hard disk without moving parts), and the rest 64 is true user-accessible RAM. Having a real 64MB to play with is a bliss, especially for someone like me who started out with 16MB on the Casio EM-500 and last saw 46MB on the HP iPaq 1910. The extra 18MB makes a big difference. Now I can play Doom and Quake at the same time!

Given the thin form factor of the e750, it still amazes me how it can feature both a Type I/II CompactFlash (CF) slot as well as a Secure Digital (SD) slot. Since wi-fi is already built-in, both can happily be used solely for storage expansion. The highest capacity for SD right now (as of April 2003) is 512MB, but that costs a small fortune. The best value belongs to 256MB cards, and I highly recommend the one from Lexar (see my review there). If you put in a 512MB SD and a 512MB CF, you'll get 1GB of extra storage for under one-hundred-fifty dolrs! The CF slot can probably be used for other peripherals; but the situation is not clear right now as to which CF peripherals will be supported in the e750.

The 3.8-inch (measured diagonally) screen is the largest among Pocket PCs on the market today, and the best from Toshiba so far. I personally like the screens on the iPaq 1910 and Viewsonic V35 better, but this screen is more than "good." The resolution is still PPC's standard 240x320, so it would be nice to see someday PPC manufacturers would go higher than that. I'd love a PPC the size of the e750 but with a 4" screen and 320x480 resolution!

There are a lot of optional accessories you can get for the e750, including the foldable keyboard and extended battery mentioned above. This is truly an exciting newcomer to the PPC family... one that looks and performs like a winner.


Excellent PocketPC-->After three years of owning PPCs, best!   April 18, 2003
22 out of 26 found this review helpful

I've owned various Pocket PCs (over 12 models) since the original iPAQ was available, and the Toshiba e750 is the closest the perfect as they come! Having come from an iPAQ 3970 (which was also near-perfect), I had very high standards for my next Pocket PC. And I'm very glad to say the e750 has met that criterion thus far. Note, I did own the e740 but contrary to the e750, I thought that was near-garbage.

The e750's screen is excellent and comparable to the 3970's (I will not settle for less). It's bright and sensitive (unlike the e750). Sound quality is excellent through headphones and good through the internal speaker (the iPAQ's is by far clearer and louder through the speaker, but quality difference is not discernible).

The WiFi range is something I was quite surprised with...the e740 did not extend beyond about half my home in Ad-Hoc setup, however my e750 covers my entire home and even up to across the street (the card in the computer is a Lucent Orinoco Silver PCMCIA card). WiFi works flawlessly and was quite simple to set up...definately a step above the e740's poor manager.

Video playback, which utilizes the ATI Imageon 100 chip inside the e750, is also FLAWLESS and surpasses all units I've owned (I didn't keep the e740 long enough for players to become available that took advantage of the chip). I have videos encoded at 29.97 fps that play full-frame using PocketMVP (www.....com)

The extra 32MB of ROM is quite pragmatic, and I've utilized it to the fullest...I've never had so many eBooks and programs crammed onto my unit's internal storage.

The only thing I can complain about is the unit's battery life. While it is removable, I'd really have liked it if Toshiba had included a larger battery. As it stands, battery life is good without WiFi, but only about 2 hours with WiFi enabled.

Nonetheless, the unit is excellent and I would reccomend it without qualms, especially if you have a WiFi network. The CF and SD slots work well to load this device with memory (I have 1.5 GB of storage in addition to the internal...512MB SD and 1GB CF...1.5GB of storage and WiFi...what more do I really need?)


Toshiba product support is poor   July 2, 2003
7 out of 23 found this review helpful

Toshiba's legacy of poor product support continues with this product. With a year invested in ignoring the problems of the e740, Toshiba has failed to support it as a product and is likely to do the same with the e750.


Toshiba e750   June 29, 2003
6 out of 9 found this review helpful

The Toshiba 75x has an impressive array of features and the dual card support is extremely important as you can use the SD slot for memory and the CF slot for more unique expansion cards. On the surface the unit has extreme promise. Unfortunately Toshiba support is maddening. Be very sure you are happy with what you get, because history (e740) is that it will never change. Toshiba's standard fix is to come out with a new unit and drop early adopters like a rock. A prospective buyer owes it to himself or herself to take a look at some of the PDA user groups before purchase.


New e750 users   July 4, 2003
Ben Kanter (San Diego, ca United States)
6 out of 7 found this review helpful

Purchasing the e750 is my first venture into the PDA world. Dropping my PAA (personal analog assistant, AKA my little black date book) was long overdue. I bought the unit 3 weeks ago...and the price has dropped since then. The newer units come with the new 2003 operating system so I'd reccomend buying directly from Toshiba or make sure you're getting the newest product. Our local retailers still have the older e750s on their shelves.

Did a lot of research prior to my purchase. This unit runs faster and more efficiently than the equivalent IPAQ...plus has built in CF and SD slots without having to add a "sleeve". Built in wi-fi was a must for me. Initially I couldn't get it to work with my home Linksys network, and utilized Toshiba's on-line (email) support staff. They answered my messages amazingly fast i.e. within one day and sometimes within an hour our two, even late at night (Pacific Std. Time). It turned out the e750 was fine...I had to upgrade my Linksys Firmware, a very simple process. Once that was accomplished, the unit accessed the network without any further effort.

There is a side button which accesses the voice recorder. Initially this is set to wake the system up...which is a real pain due to accidental activation. Luckily this function is easily disabled. Toshiba has a custom menuing system for organizing your programs. It's intuitive and I find it very useful.

The internal 32 Mbytes of NAND (nonvolatile memory) is very handy and makes for a simple way to backup the system. I do this every couple of days, and once per week copy the back up file to my PC just in case...

Downloaded programs are running as advertised: quickly and without any hangups. Have not had to either soft or hard reset the unit a single time due to system problems.

Be aware: if the the battery is allowed to completely discharge, you'll lose all information you haven't backed up. In addition, the unit comes with IA Presenter software for doing Powerpoint presentations directly from the e750. Unfortunately, the "expansion" kit which is required to connect to a digital projector isn't currently available (there is a discounted combination package of the expansion kit and a long life battery)...on "back order".

So, in short, the unit runs as advertised and has a beautiful screen. Can't wait for the expansion pack so I won't have to lug my portable PC to give presentations.