NEC MobilePro 880 H/PC Pro

All right, you can’t put it in your pocket! But you can type on it easily, browse the Web with its built-in 56 Kb modem, and view Web pages, e-mail or documents on its crisp, full 600x800 color display. With all the news about Pocket PCs, NEC’s release of its new MobilePro 880 Handheld PC Pro almost slipped by us.

The MobilePro 880—inside and out

The NEC MobilePro 880 is the updated version of the full-screen MobilePro 800 introduced by NEC over a year ago. Like its predecessor, the MobilePro 880 has a large screen capable of displaying 64K of colors. The screen on the unit I tested was very readable. It seemed a little brighter around the edges than in the center, but only in the opening desktop screen.

The MobilePro 880 also comes with a 78-key, 92% full size keyboard. It’s about the size of a keyboard on a small notebook PC and probably one of the best keyboards on any Handheld PC Pro. The keys are closer together than a standard desktop PC keyboard and don’t travel as far. I found that it took a day or two of part-time use to fully adjust to the differences. During that time I’d occasionally hit the wrong key or hold a key down too long and type it twice. But once I got the feel of the keyboard, typing was a breeze. The MobilePro 880 has a pad below the keyboard that you rest your palms on while you're typing. If you’ve never typed on a keyboard with one of these pads, it’s another thing that takes getting used to. But it’s supposed to help prevent repetitive-motion injuries.

NEC VR4121

The major hardware to the 880 is on the inside. Both of NEC’s new MobilePros, the 880 and the smaller 780 are powered by NEC’s new VR4121 MIPS processor, which clips along at 168 MHz. Without exceptions, applications opened and closed quickly on the test unit. And with the exception of some very large spreadsheets and Word documents, most documents opened quickly. I tested a 780 a while back and it was about as fast as the 880. Both of these newer MobilePros are noticeably faster than their predecessors.

The various I/O ports are spaced evenly around the edge of the 880. The C/F Card slot and phone jack are on the right edge. The PC Card slot, the mono speaker/headphone jack and the AC power jack are on the left. Nothing except two LED indicators are on the front edge. The back has the IrDA port, serial port and USB port. I like this relatively spacious arrangement of ports and card slots.

The case is a nice silver-gray with black accents. The 880 is the size of a very small notebook computer. It weighs two pounds, six ounces and it was easy for me to carry in one hand. The case is a little too smooth to provide a good grip. Carry it with an underhand grip or keep it in your briefcase.

The MobilePro 880 comes with an AC Adapter, a VGA-out cable, a serial connectivity cable and a modem cable. These items are also available as accessories if you want to purchase a spare or replacement. NEC also offers the following optional accessories for the MobilePro 880. A Deluxe Carrying Case; Combination Earphone/Microphone; High-Speed Printer Cable; Stylus 3-pack; and the MobilePro UltraCareSM Extended Service, which extends warrantee for two additional years.

Microsoft and NEC software

The MobilePro 880 comes with the Microsoft Windows CE 2.12 operating system and the Handheld PC Professional Edition version 3.01 set of applications. These include “Pocket” versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and Outlook (Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, and Inbox). Also included with the H/PC Pro applications are various setup and communications utilities and, of course, the game, Solitaire.

In addition to these Microsoft programs, NEC has built into ROM the following programs: