Customer Reviews

Toshiba e805 Pocket PC with Windows Mobile 2003

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

i got my unit and as soon as i took it out of the box, i found that the screen would not respond to the stylus. so, i could not use it past the initialization stage! this unit has all sorts of problems that you can read about on forums, such as:

- screen taps not responding
- noise coming from the unit
- batteries not holding charge

although i was aware of bad experiences some people had, i really wanted the vga screen and thought i would try it out anyway...

turned out to be a big waste of time, since i had to wait about 3 weeks for this thing to get off back order!

i have purchased all kinds of technology items and have never had anything with such a major defect upon opening it; this is just unacceptable.

The LCD is amazing(640x480).
It's very good for web browsing.
Unfortunately, the 640x480 is not automatically
available. I had to use a small patch
available on the internet. I'm still
having problems with some programs
when I use the 640x480 mode.
Another problem is a "dead" area
on the top of the screen. Toshiba did
a lousy job, and they are not providing
any support for users which want to
use the 640x480.
The 320x240 (default) is too ugly, since
the display is quite big (4 in).
Anyway the PDA is quite impressive, after you
install the patches that allow you to use
most programs in 640x480.

Well, I took the plunge and replaced my E740 finally. I decided to go with the E805 because of the built SD and CF card slots. I bought the Pharos GPS system at the same time, hence my decision to get the 805 over any of the HP models.

Out of the box, the unit is a thing of moderate beauty. The blue face is a welcome change from the standard silver faces of most PDAs. The button panel is well layed out and very handy. There is an option to make the 4 way button into an 8 way button, that might be handy for gamers.

On turn on, the thing just aims to please the user. This screen is BRILLIANT, even when not in VGA mode. It's bright, bigger than most at 4 inches and has wonderful color. When you switch to VGA mode, it gets even better, but more on that later. The box has all the necessary equipment, and in a few moments I was installing everything that I have from previous PDAs and delighted to see it all working well. Then I noted the speed, this thing is a demon. Having the extra memory (128mb) and 400mhz processor is a real boon. By the time I was done installing all my software on it, I was nowhere near the memory crunch I had with all my previous machines.

The built in VGA is a little weird, since as delivered by Toshiba, the VGA mode is very limited in what it can do. There are, however, 2 free programs over at the brighthand site that allows all programs to use VGA mode.

The built is WiFi is GREAT, I turned it on and it found my wireless network in a few moments and I was surfing the web. Gotta love that!

All in all, this is my best and favorite PDA of all. Bye IPAQ, Hello 805

Pros - Memory, beautiful screen, speed, great looks, built in Wi-Fi connectivity.
Cons - A little bigger than most

When I first took it out of the box, it didn't, but I thought that was because the battery needed to be charged. I did finally get it setup and working. It was beautiful. Then the screen started acting weird, I'd tap the scroll bar and the today screen would pop back up, or I'd tape the "next" button and a different program would flash and then go away and then back to the today screen. Sometimes I'd turn it on and the screen wouldn't respond, then all of a sudden it did again. It was getting so bad that I hard reset and still couldn't get the screen to respond. I tried calling Toshiba, who only offers 90 days tech support, and they said they'd have someone call me back. A week later, I called them again and a week later I called a third time. Finally, I couldn't get the unit to respond at all, so I called J&R (where I purchased it via Amazon link) and they told me to send it back. They'd check it out and IF they found a problem they'd exchange it and refund my shipping fee. A lot of hassle for a very expensive machine, Toshiba is awful. I hope J&R comes through, as they agreed. They were nice on the phone, I think they will.
I did get my new, replacement from J&R. I was charged for it and I'm still waiting for them to credit me for the one I returned to them. The new one works MUCH better! It's a pleasure to use. I've only let the battery run down once; it stays pretty good, 4 or 5 days with normal use. This screen works the way it should. It responds well and it's really quick. I restored from a backup on my CF card and was up and running in seconds. I really love it. I like the CF and SD card slots and the fast processor. I like it much better than the iPAQ 5455 I had.

I had the iPAQ but I had to have an expansion pack to use a CF card and the battery seemed to die everyday. This has everything I want built in. I know it doesn't have Bluetooth, but either does my laptop or cell phone but both have IR so the included IR on the e805 was important. I have a 1gb CF card and a 512sd card which are recognized without a hitch (not the case on my iPAQ where I constantly had to soft boot) WiFi configured really easily. I backed up my new unit and did a hard reset and restore, which worked perfectly and easily. I love the large screen for viewing my photos and short mov videos and my maps from pocket streets, the included apps are great but I did have one multimedia app from my iPAQ that I use and love. Battery lasts about 3 days w/normal use. Not as large as I expected, but then the iPAQ w/expansion was very large and heavy. I use a leather case for the e740 which was tight at first, but works great. Toshiba isn't the greatest with support or customer service and this unit didn't come with ANYthing, no cards, no screen cover, no case, which did come with my iPAQ. But I love the built in CF and SD cards, the large screen, ease of use voice recorder. The only thing I don't like is the stylus.

I purchased the e805 dispite the bad reviews here and let me tell you mine works fine. I use it with navagation software and find it works way better than I expected.(travroute) E-mail works fine as does connecting to wireless internet services. I have had no problems with the screen. Not to mention I got lucky and paid $499.00 from COMPUSA. 2 THUMBS UP...Anyone interested in navagation software should give TRAVROUTE a try.

I placed one of the earliest orders for this unit. The unit is fine, as far as that goes.
Feb 2, 2004
Now I am having problems with the device (see appended comments below)

March 18, 2004
More problems: the unit is now inoperable (see appended comments)

Additional Comments as of 2004-02-08:
1) The touch screen is now starting to malfunction. When I first turn the unit on I am getting many clicks (as if I am tapping the screen, which I am not). Also, later, if I even touch the case at the upper/right corner (not even near the actual display) the unit clicks (as if I am tapping the screen). Also upper sides of case sometimes.
2) Status of Toshiba Order for critical supplies (screen overlays and replacement styli):
Shipping is Waiting to Pack Order (from Toshiba account status)
In other words, they still don't have the items. <P....

About March 10, 2004 the screen overlays FINALLY arrived. Not a bad turnaround for something critical - two months. However, the unit is now inoperable, the screen does not respond. Did a total system reset, was operable for awhile. Then, screen clicking like a geiger counter it has stopped responding again.

The e805 has 128 MB of RAM, a 2MB video card (quite speedy graphics compared to the standard 384KB), 400 MHz XScale 255 processor, WiFi, CF, SD, 32 MB NonVolatile Flash Memory, 4 inch screen. Everything works just fine. The WiFi connetcs easily due to the Mobile 2003 OS. The really important part about the e805 is its 4 inch screen with VGA capability. Otherwise its an e750 with more RAM.

At first glance the VGA screen is stunning (provided you download the two essential hacks from brighthand: resfix and undead.) You can browse web pages easily with marginal panning. The photos are crisp and clear. However, if you plan on browsing, or looking at spreadsheets for more than a few minutes then there is a strong chance you are going to think that the text is too hard to read. I have very good close vision, and I found myself reaching for my e750 to rest my eyes. Also, when you're using the PDA to enter appointment and task information the small text seems really unnecessary. Three fourths of the screen is unused.

The bottom line is that if you think that VGA is going to be really great, then I recommend you reading some text for a few minutes off the screen at the store first.

By the way, if you don't think that you'll use the VGA capability then don't pay the $600 for this machine. The 320x240 resolution looks absurdly large on the 4 inch screen.

The toggle switch on my new e805 broke the second time I moved it from WiFi to off. I sent the unit in under warrenty. Toshiba warrenty department said the mother board must be replaced to fix the toggle switch and is not covered under warrenty. They charged $125.00 to repair unit. I've bought a lot of Toshiba products, this will be the last.
Guy A. Edwards
Sturgis
South Dakota

Finally a Pocket PC to please the geekiest of the geeks. With the patch provided by a kind programmer, the e805 can display VGA (640x480) in native mode, and the results are stunning. Webpages and especially Excel will look tiny, but I never use Excel on Pocket PC anyway, so to me that complaint is moot. (Obviously if you do use Excel on your PDA this is important to know.) In addition to the great screen, I also love the 805's speed, memory and built-in wi-fi. Let's not kid ourselves: this is a high-end PDA and not everyone will find it a good value. But if you want VGA, this is the only game in town, and it's a good game.