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As CE devices go, this isn't a bad example, but the Jornada 690 is never going to be the most desirable of units. The first thing that hit us about the 690 was its size - it's quite bulky compared to some of the other models on test here. It's also quite heavy, weighing in at a hefty 0.53kg once the standard lithium-ion battery is attached to the slot at the rear.
It's not a device you can just throw in your shirt pocket. Having said that, it does have a lot of extra features that are not present on other, lighter models, and this will make it an attractive option for some users.
Turn the unit on and you'll initially be impressed with its screen. At 6.5in, it's large enough for everyday use. The screen is a CSTN display with a resolution of 640 x 240, using 65,536 colours - more than adequate for all but the most demanding tasks.
Indoors, the screen is bright and clear, but if you take the unit outside it becomes much more difficult to read, which can be annoying. Nevertheless, there are some pre-programmed settings provided, so that when you change locations, you don't have to change each of the brightness and contrast settings individually. You can override these pre-sets, though, and specify your own.
The keyboard is not the worst we've seen by any stretch of the imagination, but that's not really saying all that much as PDA keyboards are often a poor compromise. The keys themselves feel very sturdy and are responsive to the touch, but they are extremely small. This makes touch-typing nigh on impossible. As well as the usual 'qwerty' layout, you also get 11 hot keys which act as shortcuts to the installed programs.
Another clever, time saving addition is the four hard icons to the right of the display. These allow you to change system settings such as volume and display controls. Mounted on the front of the case, you'll find three audio controls for recording and playing back memos. An audio lock-slider is located next to these and helps to stop you accidentally entering record or play mode. The built-in microphone and speakers give relatively good recording and playback quality, but they're nothing special.
A nifty little stylus is provided for use on the touch-screen. This fits neatly into a spring-loaded slot on the front of the 690. The touch-screen's sensitivity is very good, and it's easy to select items on the display and perform drag-and-drop operations.
Under the bonnet, the 690 is powered by the Hitachi SH3 processor running at 133Mhz. This makes it a fairly responsive machine, but the battery life does suffer a bit, coming in at around eight hours.
The unit comes with 32Mb of SD-RAM as standard - a healthy amount for a Windows CE machine. If you want to opt for a model with less memory, then you could always choose the Jornada 680 series. These PDAs come with 16Mb of memory as standard, but cost less than their successors.
One real plus point for the 690 is the number of ports. On the left of the unit you'll find a Type II PC Card slot. Next to this you'll find the IrDA port. We would have preferred this to be placed at the rear, but at least it has been included. On the underside of the unit, you'll find a slightly cumbersome flap that opens to accept Type I Compact Flash cards.
At the rear, is a proprietary socket that acts as a serial port when the supplied cable is attached. On the right-hand side is a modem port, and this is a great addition to the Jornada range, which makes it a cinch to browse the internet and check up on your email.
The supplied web browser is, naturally, Microsoft Pocket Internet Explorer, since this is a CE machine we're talking about. Pocket Outlook is used to perform all the functions of an email client, contact management program and calendar. You'll also find pocket Access, Excel, PowerPoint and Word. These work quite well as cut down versions of the popular desktop programs, and you can synchronise the 690 with Microsoft Outlook, Schedule+ and Exchange.
Included in the box you'll also find the docking cradle, but this doesn't add any extra functionality to the unit as such. It has a DC port and the proprietary slot for the serial cable at the rear, so once you place the unit in the cradle it will start to charge and allow connection to your PC. Both these ports are present on the PDA itself, but you might find them easier to manage through the cradle.
Overall, the Jornada 690 will have some appeal for those who value a unit with PC slots, Compact Flash card slots and a modem. Ultimately, we found it to be a bit too unwieldy and expensive when compared to the other models on test here.
ContactHewlett Packard 0990 474747 www.hp.com
See also:
All Palm PDAs
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