The Everex Freestyle Palm-size PC

Smallest of the Small

By Chris De Herrera

If you like Windows CE in a small package, you should take a look at the new Everex Freestyle, the smallest of the new Palm-size PCs. The Freestyle is Everex's first foray into the world of PDAs, and they have scored well with features such as their silent vibrating alarm and light-weight portable data cradle, and more. Let's take a closer look at the Everex Freestyle.

A quick look at the basics

This review looks at the Everex Freestyle Manager, their mid-range Palm-size PC. Everex also makes the Freestyle Associate and Freestyle Executive. The different Freestyles come with a slightly different set of accessories. In addition, the Manager and Executive have a 66 MHz processor and 8 MB of RAM. The Associate has a 54 MHz processor and 4 MB of RAM. Other hardware features, and the built-in software are the same for all three versions.

All Freestyles have a 320x240 backlit touch screen, CompactFlash slot, serial and IrDA ports, and built-in voice record/playback capability. The Freestyle is powered for up to 20 hours of continuous use by two rechargeable NiMH AAA batteries, included with the unit. The Freestyle Manager comes with a Mobile Cradle, world wide A/C Adapter (100-240v, 50-60hz), a synchronization cable, backup battery, carrying pouch, Quick Setup guide and manual. The package also includes CD ROMs with Windows CE Services 2.1 and bonus Software (see sidebars).

All Freestyles come with the Windows CE 2.0 operating system and Palm-size PC applications, including Pocket Outlook (Calendar, Contacts, and Tasks), Notetaker, Voice Recorder, Mobile Channels. The Freestyle also includes a number of built-in configuration utilities.

The Freestyle is a well-designed unit. Its thin matte black case is easy to hold and easy to slip in and out of your pocket. The Freestyle has four application-launch buttons on the face of the unit, letting you access your most important applications. By default, these are set to launch Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, NoteTaker and Voice Recorder. However, you can program them to launch any application.

Adapting to the "Finger Real Estate"

The Freestyle, like all Palm-size PCs, comes with an Action button built in to facilitate one-handed use. The Action button is actually a rocker switch that lets you scroll up or down a page (or menu items) and select an option by pressing in on the center of the button. The Freestyle has its Action button on the right-hand side of the unit. (The Casio E-10 reviewed last issue had its Action button on the left side.)

Whether this will be difficult or hard for you to use depends on how you hold the Freestyle. For example, if a right-handed person decided to hold the unit in his right hand, he would have to navigate and press the Action button with his thumb. I think it's easier to use the thumb to access the Action button, but that leaves the right-handed person with the problem of using the stylus in the left hand.

A right-handed person would probably be better off holding the Freestyle in his left hand (which isn't usually as coordinated as the right) and getting used to navigating with that hand. I hesitate saying that this is a left-handed machine, but it might be initially easier for a left-handed person to use it. Whichever hand you use, if you have the headphones plugged in, you may have a difficult time finding the backlight and Voice Record buttons on the left side of the Freestyle.

Hardware features enhance functionality

Everex has some additional hardware features that enhance the Freestyle's functionality. The serial cable and the AC Adapter can be plugged into the unit itself, or the data cradle that comes with the unit. This lets you leave the cradle behind when you travel. In addition, you can attach the Freestyle to its AC adapter and use it while you are recharging its batteries.

The Freestyle comes with a unique Vibrate alarm mode. This feature causes the Freestyle to vibrate when a World Clock daily alarm or Calendar appointment comes due. It can be used in conjunction to or in lieu of the audible alarm. The Vibrate mode is very useful in meetings when want to know about an appointment without disturbing others. The vibrating is noticeable when the Freestyle is in your shirt, pants, or even inside coat pocket. You may not notice it if the Freestyle is in your outside coat pocket. The Vibrate alarm works in conjunction with the Notification LED, but you can turn Vibrate off and still use the notification LED. The green Notification LED is not very visible in normal lighting situations although it is visible under darker lighting.

The Freestyle's display is a 320x240 touch screen, just about the same size as the Casio E-10. The contrast on the E-10 is a little better, but the Freestyle is still very readable in reasonable lighting conditions. The backlight feature on the Freestyle is not bright enough to be used for extended periods of time, but adequate for a quick glance at important data.

The Freestyle's Mobile Cradle comes with an internal battery holder for a pair of AA batteries. These power the Freestyle whenever it's in the cradle, letting you use the system for extended periods of time without the AC Adapter. [NOTE: This also saves on the life of the Freestyle AAA batteries. Use the AC Adapter when available to preserve the life of the cradle's AA batteries.] Also, the Cradle has an adjustable stand that allows it to fold flat for traveling. There is no notification icon when the Freestyle is plugged into the Mobile cradle and the mobile cradle is using alkaline batteries. While the unit is in the cradle, the speaker is blocked, muting the sound somewhat.

The padded leatherette case provided is a little shorter than the unit itself by approximately 3/8" and dips down even further on the left side to expose the Voice Recorder button. This lets the user use the voice recorder application even when the Everex is in the case. However, it also exposes the top edge of the Freestyle to damage if you drop the unit. The front and back of the case are made of stiffer material, providing extra protection for the LCD display, no matter which way you put the Freestyle in the case.

The Freestyle and all other Palm-size PCs come with an industry-standard CompactFlash slot. This lets you add Flash memory, a fax/modem, or a LAN adapter to your unit. When you insert a CompactFlash card into the slot, your Freestyle is automatically powered up and displays a message asking whether you want to use the card on battery power. (The Casio E-10 waits until you press the On button, before displaying the message.) Fax/modem and other cards draw their operating power from the unit they are inserted into. If you answer "Yes" to this question, the CompactFlash card will draw battery power from the Freestyle until the Freestyle automatically powers down. This significantly reduces your battery life, especially fax/modem and other I/O cards. If you are going to leave a CompactFlash card in the slot, leave it powered off until you need it. If you plug a CompactFlash card in and do not answer the prompt, the system will still power the Compact Flash card until the unit auto powers itself off.

As upgrades to the Palm-size PC operating become available, the Freestyle can be upgraded via an access panel in the back of the unit (the same panel that covers the backup battery). Everex recommends that users send their units in for future upgrades, but accessing the circuit board is simple and removing the circuit board and plugging a new one in looks easy enough.

The Freestyle Manager has 8 MB of RAM. The internal RAM can be used to store programs and data files as well as execute programs. By default, the Freestyle splits this RAM so that 1200 KB is reserved for data storage and 6934 KB for program memory. I recommend that Freestyle users adjust this to approximately 5000 or 6000 KB for data storage and the rest for program memory. This will provide ample memory to run the applications, and give you more room for data storage. The memory partition can be changed in the System application, found in the Settings menu.

Finally, the Freestyle comes with a jack that lets you use an optional earphones/ microphone combination set. This lets you record and play back higher quality voice recordings. Note that the jack is 2.5mm, not as common as the 3.5mm which standard headphones use. The Freestyle manual says that the optional earphones/microphone combination can be purchased online at freestyle.everex.com.

Everex has done a good job in creating a Palm-size PC. The Freestyle is the smallest of the Palm-size PCs, according to pre-release specifications of others (only three have made it to market). The Freestyle has a lot of nice extras, including the vibrating alarm and the portable mobile cradle. I thought the backlighting was only adequate and I had some problems with the placement of the Action key. But the backlighting is not meant to be used much and Rich Hall (Editor of Handheld PC Magazine) likes the placement of the Action button on the right side of the Freestyle.

If you are interested in getting a Palm-size PC, you should at least take a look at a Freestyle and make up your own mind about button positions and backlighting.

Everex Freestyle Available at one of the following retail locations: CompUSA Direct (800-364-1729), ComputerCity (800-992-5416), MobilePlanet (800-MPLANET), or Micron Additions (888-8MICRON). Web site: freestyle.everex.com.