Back in February 2002 (PC Authority issue 51 page 42) we ran a comprehensive round up of the latest PDAs in the market, but its amazing what difference a few months make. Toshibas entry to the market, the e570, won the Quality Award, but was pipped at the post by the Palm m125, which won the value award with its extremely competitive price.
The e570 was released as a Palm killer, but came out at a price that knocked the rest of the Pocket PC competition for six. Now the e310, Toshibas cut-price model of its Pocket PC PDA line, has been released at just $899. Its not as feature-rich as the e570, but it still has plenty going for it.

Internally the e310 is built around the same components as the e570, such as the 206MHz StrongARM processor, 240 x 320 TFT screen and 32MB ROM, but it differs in a few aspects. The first and most notable difference is that the e310 has 32MB of RAM for files and applications instead of the e570s 64MB, while the other major difference is to do with memory expansion.

One of the advantages of the e570 was its support for both CompactFlash and SD (Secure Digital) memory expansion. This has been pared back with the e310 to just an SD slot, which still allows up to 388MB of memory, but disadvantages a lot of existing PDA owners with CompactFlash cards who are looking to upgrade. It even cuts out the burgeoning add-on expansion market that has readily adopted the CompactFlash format.
The excellent design of the e570 has been tweaked with the e310 its fabulous design makes the unit look like its all screen. The 240 x 320 TFT display was a major selling point of the original e570, as its lit from the front, not backlit like other displays. This is a minor point, but the difference is major as you can easily see the screen even when outside.

The e310 is also extremely light, weighing in at a mere 140g, and its the thinnest PDA on the market, unlike the Siemens SX45 (page 45), which may well be the thickest. Even in its pouch, the e310 is one of the rare PDAs that can actually slip into a pocket and leave room for keys. Even though this PDA is slim and light, its well constructed and durable youd really have to treat this unit badly in order to damage it.

It runs Microsofts Pocket PC 2002 operating system, which includes Microsoft staples such as Pocket Word, Excel, Outlook and Internet Explorer. For the PC theres Outlook 2002, Active Sync 3.5 and Transcriber. PC Synchronisation is made either via infrared or with the USB 1.1 cradle. This cradle also recharges the Lithium-Ion battery in the PDA when it is docked. The battery has a specified runtime of 10 hours in use, or 15 days on standby, and the e310 seemed content to power up anytime in the weeks
we tested the unit.

Youre supposed to be able to play MP3s and videos on the unit with Windows Pocket Media Player, and you can, but the in-built speaker should be left alone and only used for audio emergencies. Plug a set of headphones into the stereo audio jack, and youre fine.
All up, the e310 is an exceptionally good PDA, and it comes at a pleasing price point, although the single SD slot could prove a sticking point, as it limits the units usages and expandability. For example, Toshiba sells a Bluetooth unit that fits within the SD slot, but this means you have to remove any extra storage before you use it.