Gateway 100X PDA
Gateway 100X PDA
David Carnoy Executive Editor / Reviews
Executive Editor David Carnoy has been a leading member of CNET's Reviews team since 2000. He covers the gamut of gadgets and is a notable reviewer of mobile accessories and portable audio products, including headphones and speakers. He's also an e-reader and e-publishing expert as well as the author of the novels Knife Music, The Big Exit and Lucidity. All the titles are available as Kindle, iBooks, Nook e-books and audiobooks.
Expertise Mobile accessories and portable audio, including headphones, earbuds and speakers Credentials
- Maggie Award for Best Regularly Featured Web Column/Consumer
2 min read
NDA 6-23 Gateway 100X PDA First Take
Gateway's handheld ambitions had been rumored for a while, and now the secret is officially out: Following Dell's lead, the company will release a Pocket PC 2003 handheld called the 100X PDA in July. We got a look at an engineering sample of the upcoming device and have a few early impressions to impart.
Like the Dell Axim X5, the 100X is no lightweight, at 6.52 ounces and 5.11 by 3.07 by 0.71 inches. But the Gateway is arguably sleeker, with a silver finish and thumb grips at the bottom of the device (no, those aren't speakers). The 100X, like the Axim, also has dual Secure Digital and CompactFlash expansion slots.
Under the hood, the PDA runs on a 400MHz Intel XScale processor and is powered by a 1,250mAH removable lithium-ion battery. You get the now-standard 32MB of ROM and 64MB of RAM but no built-in Bluetooth. The 65,000-color transflective screen looked decent enough, but we'll have a better idea of how good it is when we compare it side by side to the screens on the new HP and Toshiba handhelds.
Gateway says $299 is the target price for the 100X, but similar to Dell's early sales strategy for its PDA, the company will probably sell it for $349 with a $50 rebate at launch. In its presentation material, the company says SOHO and corporate buyers will be its primary market, with a secondary focus on the consumer, education, and government segments. All in all, this Pocket PC doesn't have much of a wow factor as far design or price are concerned. But at first glance, it seems to be a solid handheld debut for Gateway, and we look forward to putting the device through its paces once the company sends us a review unit.
Gateway's handheld ambitions had been rumored for a while, and now the secret is officially out: Following Dell's lead, the company will release a Pocket PC 2003 handheld called the 100X PDA in July. We got a look at an engineering sample of the upcoming device and have a few early impressions to impart.
Like the Dell Axim X5, the 100X is no lightweight, at 6.52 ounces and 5.11 by 3.07 by 0.71 inches. But the Gateway is arguably sleeker, with a silver finish and thumb grips at the bottom of the device (no, those aren't speakers). The 100X, like the Axim, also has dual Secure Digital and CompactFlash expansion slots.
Under the hood, the PDA runs on a 400MHz Intel XScale processor and is powered by a 1,250mAH removable lithium-ion battery. You get the now-standard 32MB of ROM and 64MB of RAM but no built-in Bluetooth. The 65,000-color transflective screen looked decent enough, but we'll have a better idea of how good it is when we compare it side by side to the screens on the new HP and Toshiba handhelds.
Gateway says $299 is the target price for the 100X, but similar to Dell's early sales strategy for its PDA, the company will probably sell it for $349 with a $50 rebate at launch. In its presentation material, the company says SOHO and corporate buyers will be its primary market, with a secondary focus on the consumer, education, and government segments. All in all, this Pocket PC doesn't have much of a wow factor as far design or price are concerned. But at first glance, it seems to be a solid handheld debut for Gateway, and we look forward to putting the device through its paces once the company sends us a review unit.