Styling, Software, and a Color Screen
Philips Nino 510 Philips has succeeded in taking their stylish Nino series of Palm-size PCs to new heights with the color screen Nino 510. If you liked the Nino 200 and 300 series you'll love the 510. The new chrome and black Nino is identical in styling to the 200/300 series. The most striking difference is a bright 4" diagonal DSTN 256 color LCD display. Screen contrast is controlled with a software utility instead of the small wheel used on previous Ninos. This eliminates the accidental changes in contrast that could happen with the 200 and 300 series. Also, the Nino 510's improved screen eliminates the "e.k.g. effect" seen on previous Ninos, when drawing straight lines in Jot or NoteTaker. Mono headphone jack, music & audio booksIn addition to the color LCD, Philips has added a mono headphone jack for Audible and MP3 music playing. You'll need to download an MP3 player from Xaudio (www.xaudio.com) if you want to play MP3s. An Audible player is built into the 510. The audio is clear and the volume is similar to what you would find on a portable CD player. I did notice that when the user has their headphones plugged in, it's difficult to insert or remove the stylus or open the CompactFlash slot. ConnectivityThe Nino 510 ships with the docking cradle for easy synchronization to the desktop. It also has an IrDA port at the top of the unit as well as a CompactFlash slot for Ethernet or modem access. Further, the Nino 510 can use the same clip-on modem as the Nino 300, for easy access to e-mail without using the CompactFlash slot. Finger Real EstateThe button layout on the 510 is identical to the Nino 300 series. Philips stayed with separate action, up and down buttons instead of a single jog wheel that some consumers prefer. These buttons and the exit button are located on the left side of the 510. On the right side you'll find the 4 application launch buttons. The power on button for the Nino 510 is on the top of the unit. Like other Ninos the 510 is more suited to a right-handed writer, holding the unit in their left hand and using their thumb for the action/up/down buttons. A left-handed user will have to get used to using their fingertips to perform these functions. Under the HoodPhilips has continued with the same level of performance by using the 75 MHz Toshiba MIPS CPU for the Nino 510. The unit comes with 16 MB of RAM enough for most users. I recommend changing the memory allocation to 4 MB for Program Memory (for running programs) and 12 MB for file storage. This is done from the Control Panel - System - Memory. Also, the Nino 510 continues the use of the NiMH rechargeable battery pack or 2 AA alkaline batteries that the 300 did. Philips estimates that you'll get 8 hours of use on a fully-charged NiMH battery pack. A Lithium-Ion battery pack would have given better battery life, but it would have been a little more expensive and it probably would have meant not being able to use AAs. It's handy being able to use regular AAs in a pinch, but they'll only give you about 2-3 hours of use. As usual, your battery life will vary. The Nino 510 ships with the NiMH rechargeable battery pack, AC adapter, and docking cradle. Philips also offers their clip-on modem for the Nino 510. For those of you who have already invested in Nino peripherals, the accessories are the same for the Nino 300 and 510. Palm-size PC applicationsMicrosoft includes the following standard applications on every Palm-size PC. These applications are built into ROM and do not have to be installed by the user.
Great add-on applicationsPhilips has assembled a nice set of additional software applications for the Nino 510. Built into the Nino's ROM are the following applications:
Clearly Philips has improved on a good design with the Nino 510. But the big plus with the 510 is the additional bundled software, which really makes the unit useful right out of the box. I wish Philips had recognized the interest in stereo music and had included a stereo headphone jack instead of a mono. It would have made the Nino much more appealing, especially when compared to the Casio E-100. The Philips Nino 510 comes with a one-year limited warranty and is priced at $449 at the Philips online Nino Store (nino.philips.com/store/index.html).
Screen 1: The Audible player built into the Nino lets you download audio books, magazines, news and more from audible.com and view them on your Nino 510. Screen 2: CoolCalc adds seven different calculators to the Nino, plus the ability to create customize calculators of your own. Screen 3: The T-9's large, nine-key input pad takes up the lower half of the Nino's screen. Each key represents three or four characters. Tap in the word and T9 lists the different possible words above the keypad. Tap on the desired word and it's entered.
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Chris
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