@migo PD-600C

.: By: Matt Keys :: July 6, 2001 :: Page 2:.

Here is a picture in direct sunlight.

-Screen

          As some of you may know, the @migo uses almost the same screen technology as the iPAQ. In case you are not familiar with the iPAQ’s screen go here for an excellent review of all the screen technologies. One small difference between the @migo and the iPAQ’s screen is that the @migo has a thinner screen than the iPAQ’s forcing it to use a smaller sidelight bulb. The effects of this smaller light bulb can be seen, for instance since the @migo’s screen is lit from the left you can see the screen get gradually darker from left to right. I only noticed this since Dale Coffing of PocketPCPassion pointed it out, and I do not consider it an issue that I would factor into my purchasing decision. One larger difference between the @migo and iPAQ is that the @migo can display 65,536 colors while the iPAQ can only display 4,096. You will not notice this difference in your normal built in applications, but it does become evident while watching movies, playing games, or viewing pictures. The sidelight of the @migo has a very handy brightness wheel on the left hand side, and while the @migo does not get as bright as the iPAQ, I find that I keep the backlight on its lowest setting anyways. I have noticed that when you put the backlight at its higher brightness settings the device becomes quite warm on both the back and front.

The case with the flap open	A picture of the mark the case made  on my @migo

-Case

        The case that came with the @migo was certainly original. It was a side opening case with a flap that goes over the side to keep it shut. It uses a magnetic closure and has the bottom cut out so you can easily sync while in its case. I like the idea, they were defiantly going somewhere with this case but I think they failed in a few areas. One of those being material, the case is made of a leather look-a-like vinyl, which is not exactly what I had hoped for. Though, I cant really say that any other stock case really blows me away either. The quality of the case construction is just mediocre, with extra flaps of vinyl left over on the sides without being cut off. I would be curious to see what actual protection the case provides; it is a very thin case with almost no padding (perhaps an attempt to keep the size down). Between the two layers of vinyl there is some sort of cardboard insert to stiffen it up. I accidentally bent the flap of my case and now it has a wrinkle there.  The case is actually so thin that the metal from the magnetic closure left a mark on the back of my @migo as seen in the picture above. I will look forward to a quality case from a third party manufacture, perhaps even based on the original case with improvements on the areas noted above.

Look at all those buttons!

-Buttons galore

          I have never seen so many buttons at once! The @migo has 4 programmable buttons on the left side along with a wheel to adjust the sidelight brightness. On the front of the unit there is a 4-way Direction pad and four programmable buttons perfect for gaming. The @migo does not suffer from the infamous iPAQ button issue where you can only press one button at once; instead the @migo invented its own issue. The @migo’s problem is much less noticeable that the iPAQ’s and I commend Palmax for being original. The problem with the @migo buttons is that you can only press two buttons at once, which is fine for just about any game you will play. But I have noticed one stipulation while playing quake; the 4-way Directional pad “emulates” an 8-way Directional pad. If you want to go diagonal up and right then the @migo uses an up + a right button. This uses two buttons to go diagonal, meaning that you cant go diagonal and jump or shoot. Also the four programmable buttons on the front of the device are one “set” so to speak; you can only press one of them at a time in conjunction with a direction on the D-pad. I would like to give thanks to Brian K from the Brighthand forums for pointing out some of these button issues.

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