This article reviews the Medion MDPPC 250 Pocket PC PDA with GPS Navigation. This device is at the budget end of the combined Pocket PC/Sat Nav market, so I was interested to see how it would compare to the more expensive HP iPAQ 5720 previously reviewed on this site.

This review will be split into two. This week I take a look at the Pocket PC and what is has to offer. Next week I will give an in depth report of the GPS navigation.

Box Contents

Inside the box you will find the following items:

- Medion MDPPC 250
- Touch screen stylus
- Docking Station
- External GPS receiver
- Car kit – includes windscreen mount, holder and car charger
- Battery
- USB cable
- CD-ROM (includes Microsoft Outlook 2002 and ActiveSync software)
- Instruction Manual

Detailed Specifications

- Model ID: MDPPC 250
- Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003
- Pocket PC versions of Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, Reader, Internet Explorer and MSN Messenger
- Microsoft Windows Media Player 9 Series
- Medion Navigator 5 (on provided SD card)
- External GPS receiver: SiRF Star II
- Samsung S3C2410 300Mhz processor (ARM)
- 3.5” colour touch screen
- Display Pixels: 240 x 320
- ROM/RAM Size: 32 Mb / 64 Mb
- SD / MMC expansion slot
- Headphone jack
- Microphone/speaker

Setup

When the device is first switched on you are guided through a few initial setup screens to configure the PDA. Once this is done you can start using the device.

The PDA comes with a CD-ROM containing Microsoft ActiveSync and Microsoft Outlook. ActiveSync enables information on your PC to be synchronized with your PDA. This is information like your Outlook calendar, email inbox and contacts. You also have the option to create a shared folder on your PC which allows you to synchronize other documents between your PC and PDA, such as Word or Excel documents.

The whole setup process went smoothly. Once ActiveSync was installed it automatically transferred my Outlook calendar, email inbox and contacts over to the PDA.

The best place to start exploring the PDA is the ‘Today’ page, otherwise known as the Start screen. This is the page that is displayed when you switch on the device. It shows you at a glance the current date and time, your calendar appointments for the day, any unread email messages, and any tasks you have setup.

The Medion comes with an instruction manual which does a pretty good job of explaining the PDA side of things, but there is not enough documentation on how to use the Navigator satnav software/GPS.

Usability

You can navigate around the Medion Pocket PC using either the provided stylus or by using the program buttons at the bottom of the screen.

These buttons provide access to the following commonly used functions:

- Start screen
- Email inbox
- Contacts
- Calendar

There is also a navigation pad which moves up, down, left and right. Pressing the centre of this pad confirms a selection. This navigation pad can be useful for navigating items like your email inbox. These buttons can be adapted to access other programs if you’re not happy with the defaults.

People who don’t like using a stylus on the touch screen will welcome these buttons. I found the stylus pretty easy to use and rarely used the buttons.

On the side of the device there is also a button for recording voice notes. Unlike the HP iPAQ 5720, there is no option to rotate the screen, but that is only a minor niggle.

The 300Mhz processor overall performed pretty well. Applications loaded quickly and I didn’t observe any sluggishness or undue delays whilst using the device.

Docking Cradle

The Medion comes with a docking cradle which was a welcome addition. The more expensive HP iPAQ 5720 which I reviewed recently had no docking cradle. The docking cradle is a bit fiddly to use at first, you need to press the PDA firmly into the docking cradle before a connection is made. After a few attempts you will soon find this straightforward.

The PDA does not draw any power from the USB cable so don’t rely on your PC to keep the PDA fully charged. If you intend to keep the PDA connected to your PC for long periods of time then you must keep the docking cradle power supply switched on. If you don’t do this then the batteries will drain rapidly, in around 6 or 7 hours.

You can also purchase a separate battery pack if required which fits in the bottom of the docking cradle. This would allow you to charge the PDA without the need for an electrical socket.

Office Software

Outlook is probably the best piece of software on the Medion PDA. I found it straightforward to check my emails, manage my appointments and lookup contacts.

I personally found using applications like Excel and Word on this device too fiddly. The screen is just too small to work effectively with any documents, although if you just want to store documents or transfer documents from one PC to another, then it will perform fine.

When using applications like Word and Excel there are several different handwriting modes available. You can either use an on screen keyboard or use one of the handwriting recognition methods. I found the Block Recognizer and Letter Recognizer very difficult to use, the PDA had difficulty recognizing my handwriting.

I had much greater success using the Transcriber Only method. I found this method much more natural, more closely resembling using a pen on paper, although still a bit fiddly at times. It takes a bit of practice but after a day or so you soon get used to it. Providing you don’t write too fast then the PDA should be able to recognise your handwriting without any problems.

Connectivity

There is no connectivity out of the box with this PDA which is a shame. That means no Bluetooth or wireless. If you want Bluetooth or wireless capabilities then you will need to purchase a separate SDIO card. Bear this in mind before purchasing.

When the PDA is connected to your PC the ActiveSync software will automatically download new emails to your PDA. Once you disconnect the PDA from your PC you lose that capability. You will need to periodically connect the PDA to your PC to pickup new emails.

If you only need to synchronize your emails and calendar once a day then this PDA will perform fine. You could for example, synchronize the PDA first thing in the morning, and then check your calendar and new emails on the train whilst commuting into work. For these types of task it will perform great. You could then synchronize the PDA again once you arrive at the office.

I found the whole synchronization process worked well. It was useful being able to synchronize my calendar in the morning and then take the device out and about, and get reminders about forthcoming appointments later in the day.

Media

The Medion comes with Microsoft Windows Media Player 9. I downloaded a few MP3 tracks onto the device and encountered no problems using the Medion as a MP3 player. There is a headphone jack on the side of the device if you want to use it for this purpose. The Medion also comes with two games – Jawbreaker and Solitaire.

Medion Add-Ons

As mentioned earlier, the Medion PDA does not support Bluetooth or wireless out of the box. The Medion does though have an SDIO slot. If you really want Bluetooth or wireless capability then you can purchase a Bluetooth or wireless card separately and plug it into the SDIO slot. These cards retail in the UK for under £20 so they are not too expensive.

Medion Pocket PC Summary

Overall this is not a bad PDA device offering easy integration with Outlook on your PC. I found Outlook worked very well with the screen size although you may find power applications like Word and Excel too fiddly to use.

The overall usability of the PDA is good and it has a reasonable battery life. The lack of Bluetooth and wireless may put off power users who want to regularly connect up to a network to synchronize the device. If you only want to synchronize the PDA once a day using the USB cable then it will perform fine. A separate SDIO Bluetooth or wireless card can be purchased to overcome this limitation.

What I liked
- Good integration with Microsoft Outlook
- Pocket PC easy to use
- Docking cradle included

What Could Be Improved
- No Bluetooth or wireless out-of-the-box
- Ability to rotate screen

Medion Navigator

The Medion Pocket PC also comes with an external GPS receiver and Navigator satellite navigation software. How does it compare to the TomTom that comes with the HP iPAQ 5720.
Read the Medion Navigator review.

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