At first glance: Card-size PDA Royal Vista

Hot donuts Vista

One of the nearly vacant industries PDA - this area of ​​so-called Card-size PDA, that is, the CPC about the size of a credit card. The most prominent representatives of this class - a line of PDA REX. And then, finally, the web has been discovered about the new PDA Royal Vista with similar capabilities, but less expensive (around $ 60) and, accordingly, claim to be the "people's" PDA, a kind of "hot donuts" being sold on every corner . So what is really behind flashy words and bright pictures? As far as this PDA may be of interest in Russia? Company MakTsentr courtesy hPCru one copy for study and testing.

In Store

Beautiful packaging in the style adopted in modern Taiwanese peripherals for desktops (eg, Genius): slightly pretentious and impractical. Inside you can find: PDAs Vista.

CD with software VistaLink, VistaSync and CompanionLink.

Join with a folding keyboard.

Serial cable to connect to the PC.

Case-book of leatherette with adhesive strip.

A little book - user manual in English, French and Italian.

Leaf c FAQ, and a few leaves, a registration card.

Vista or Vista for the future

Vista (in literal translation: perspectives, view of the future) - it is a very small device the size of 60x91x8 mm and weighs 45 grams (without keyboard). Powered by battery-pill type 2032, and another is the same used for backup power. User data is stored in memory in 768 KB. Inside, as seen in the figure, was not anything remarkable, several frameless soaked chips (chip-on-board), plus one more: 4 Mbit (512 KByte) memory chip from Winbond (W29C040T-90, http://www.winbond .com/product/overview/memory/p_c0222.htm). Hmmm ... That is, somewhere there is mikroshemka to 256 KB. Non-touch LCD screen with resolution of about 160x80 has nothing. The main distinguishing features of PDA organizers and notebooks are only two: the presence of a file system (albeit greatly curtailed, but available), and the ability to install third-party software. None of these conditions is the case with Vista is not satisfied, although when you look at the device creates a lasting impression that before you just PDAs. Nevertheless, it is not. All probably familiar with electronic notebooks from Casio, so here, Vista, as it turned out, only this version besklaviaturny notebook plus the opportunity to share with your desktop PC. However, let's get in order.

Principles and features of

Principles rather strange. No way to enter except through the hook the keyboard or via snihronizatsiyu with a desktop PC is not provided. That is in offline mode, you can only view the data or, if you please, fasten your keyboard. The main body of only eight buttons: four of them - this arrow (navigation). One serves as the on / off switch as well as the return (such as Esc). Another controls the various modes of the calculator. Penultimate carries something like a menu or option, here it is called "switching between modes. And the latter serves to confirm the choice (such as Enter). On the main page of icons, six countries, which clearly did not touch the hand of the designer: In my opinion, they have drawn some free time one of the developers will likely just for myself, and so it remains. Under the thumbnails of the status bar - polosochka with battery status, current time. Settings can be adjusted by clicking on the artsy image of a spanner. Total settings a bit and they are quite significant: the contrast, the 12-24-hour mode, date format, language (Russian, of course not), the time after which Vista automatically turns off. It also includes a centrally-off sound, shows the percentage of free memory, synchronization is activated. Audible alarm weak in volume and persistence, the lessons of Palm on this issue does not count. If the device turns off automatically (after some time of inactivity), then when you turn your gaze at the main screen, and not a place where you were before shutting down. In this case, for example, if you typed in notepad some record, but got distracted phone conversation, during which the unit has managed to shut down, then your account safely lose and have to start all over again. When you restart after reset steadily lost adjust the contrast, although the numerical value, put up in the settings remain the same. SDK for Vista and never will, accordingly, there will be no third party applications. The possibility to install any additional applications are also not provided. Total. Vista - a thing in itself, poorly thought out, much of the software, apparently, was taken from a similar keyboard notebooks.

Embedded applications or simple is good in moderation

Well, the standard set. A notebook, plain, without categories, without the possibility of entering the line ending character (when you press the Enter, Vista believes that a set of notes is over), with a maximum length of 205 characters. Very serious. Calendar. Trying to make comfortable, good there is a wealth of experience on notebooks, and a calendar by and large failed. It really is quite convenient and simple. For example, you can assign a recursive (ie, recurrent) events, but it all a lot of them just copied from the source. And if you want to change something, would have to edit each event individually. Nevertheless, I repeat, the calendar is completely functional. For some time prior to the event, you can configure the audio signal, provided categories. Case. To-do list, too, is simple and functional, the date of execution associated with the same calendar that records the event. For cases there are priorities, expiration date, current status (ready / not ready). To-do list can be sorted by featured ready / not ready. Phonebook allows the distribution of contacts on the criteria of personal / business / other. Bit fields: name, company, phone number: home, work, fax, mobile, pager, address, e-mail box for entering notes. Is a function of viewing records large print, for some reason called a special registered name (for imposing?). Hours. Analog and digital. Three alarm clocks, independent of the shared calendar, but with the possibility of a periodic repetition. Set date, time, cities in which you live and where guests (there is Russia, and in her Moscow, St. Petersburg and ... Khabarovsk). There is also a strange setting "DST", which makes an amendment to an hour in the "Clock", but on the main screen while showing an hour wrong. Total. Embedded applications are very weak and uncomfortable. Those who are already using PDA approach to PIM, like implemented in the Vista, all seem very strange and incomprehensible.However, for users of electronic notebooks, he may be close.

Synchronize with your desktop PC or a long-forgotten stash

So we got to one of the most important issues, because in fact in many cases only need to have quick access to phone numbers or your schedule for today, and all changes can be made solely on the PC. As we recall, the synchronization software for PDAs daVinci (another unit from the Royal, of him will be discussed in another article) was at one time frankly weak. I am concerned by the question, whether with him to do anything in the meantime? Unfortunately, on this account until I can not say, because in the case of Vista used completely different software, probably, licensed and ... very peculiar. Advance look at what online site Royal is an update to the software synchronization, decide to experiment. Test platform - Windows 2000 Pro, one serial port is configured Palm Desktop 4.0, PsiWin 2.3, ActiveSync 3.1. Of course, each of them includes only manually when I want. Insert disk, run a nice setup with tips, pictures and other things. You can choose from to install standalone PIM application or application VistaLink CompanionLink to synchronize with MS Outlook (not together). Put VistaLink, because it's interesting to see how it all looks. Runs WizeInstaller, asks where to install, puts no problems. To restart, but, apparently, only to run from startup VistaSync (analog HotSync). Does not restart, run VistaSync handles in TaskBar icon appears on the menus and settings. VistaLink run and ... Several otoropevayu of surprise - quite a while has not met GUI from Windows 3.x! VistaLink is a kind of designer PIM, which can be customized according to your wishes: all creeps, moving, category configured, in general, a former happiness to the user, for example, Windows 3.11 for Workgroups. It's a miracle to be seen, and where only a rarity unearthed? Looked at in the process - well, it is, start the virtual dos machine (ntvdm), under which all this economy up and running, not to recall the phrase about "cheap, reliable and practical, though not aesthetically pleasing. About the cheapness and practicality there is no doubt, but about the reliability should be checked. Run sync on Vista. Quickly said that it's OK, sync successfully completed. However, PIM did not appear. Once again - the same thing. Run a synchronization from VistaLink, flies port unreachable COM1 ... Repeat several times in several different ways: no, still nothing. Whatever the successes reported by Driver VistaSync synchronization in their windows, in VistaLink nothing appears. But in daddy backup (there is such ibid., which is set VistaLink) every time you sync added half a dozen files with total size of about 620K ... And in TaskManager bred a whole bunch of VistaSync (and therefore the port is probably busy all the time). Okay, enough, I put an update VistaSync. At first glance it seems that everything is OK, the data from the Vista appeared in VistaLink, folder backup stopped wasting appear unnecessary files, it seems, there really is now a backup. Now everything is working properly? None. The simplest example. Created in the address book on Vista a new contact and wash it.Synchronized, but what is it? I see a message such persuasion: "To no longer see this message delete any entries only on the desktop. Now restart Vista using the reset, there is no answer to the question of whether to delete all the data" no "and repeat the synchronization" (??!! !). That's it. Later, in various trials take place a variety of bugs and finally GPF, which kills the processes of Vista (I wonder what would happen on Win9x?). I understand that the use of all facilities in the state in which it exists, is simply impossible. Sync with Outlook 2000 tried, by itself, it also does not work, errors CompanionLink not issued, but in Outlook does not appear, deal has almost did not. Total. Synchronize with your PC is, but for skilled people with a lot of time and a greater willingness to use it is Vista.

Keyboard

Decent thing. It is quite convenient and simple. Print speed obtained is a decent little mistakes. Exactly the same keyboard, only with another connector that comes with daVinci. It is a pity that there is no key Backspace, have arrows to move the cursor to the desired location, and then to remove extra characters with Del. Key Esc (I was looking for a long time) was located next to the Enter, which is justified by the principles of navigation in Vista.

What We Liked

Idea. Niche card-size PDA is still filled with very little. But it is quite fertile ground for business. And there is already a worthy representative - it REX. Frankly, I expected from the Vista features, at least close to the REX. It is a pity that it is not. But the precedent is already there, and there are rumors that the next Vista will be a touch screen and a full SDK for developers. Cool story, so hard to believe. For more than one year Royal bothered to even finish and lay out an SDK for daVinci. Price. Nothing to talk specifically about anything. $ 60. For what the device seemed a good price. For what turned out to be, alas. Serial port connector. It is designed as ... MiniJack. Finally, although one company did not invent his three thousand slot and use the standard (albeit from a different domain). Peripherals to a PDA with a similar connector would cost just $ 10-20 less just because of the fact that the connectors MiniJack sold on every street corner. Cheholchik. Very comfortable and Velcro in place, everything is thought out. The quality of execution. Despite the Chinese production, all done entirely accurately, with no scratches or other defects affecting the appearance. Printed circuit board assembly of the elements and pinout also look quite decent. Filing. I mean, packaging, kitting, and product description on the website Royal. True Vista itself does not work and yet not a PDA, contrary to statements ... But to the marketing department this fact has nothing to do, is not it? So, his work has been done perfectly.

What do we have?

Those who want to get a PDA, buy Royal Vista is not worth it. First the device and software is clearly unfinished. Secondly, I repeat, Vista is not the CCP. Those who need an electronic notebook, but only a small, may well like Vista. As a standalone unit, it deserves attention. In addition, by synchronizing with a PC sooner or later, lead still in order. That's just bad luck with the Russian language, there is no localization. Sources, Materials:

Official website of Royal

Maushammer

The authors, translation:

Anton Kuznetsov