Asus MyPal A716 PDA Review - Performance
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To test the performance of the A716 I used the Spb Benchmark suite. This suite allows for testing of the processor power, the file system, the ActiveSync transfers (program used to communicate with your PC), and the graphics system as well as other more general areas of performance. Using this suite also enables a comparison of the A716 to other popular and similarly featured Pocket PC's. The test setup I used is as follows:
(Please note this information really only has an effect, and a slight one at that, on the ActiveSync test.)
Asus MyPal A716 w/ 64mb RAM, Pocket PC 2003 and an Intel PXA255 400 MHz processor
The models I compared the A716 to were the Toshiba e750, the HP iPAQ 5550, and the Dell Axim X5. First up is the general Spb Benchmark which judges overall speed:
The A716 wins hands down in this test but things took a slightly different turn in the next test:
Although the overall speed test went to the A716, HP and Toshiba's entrants came out on top when specifically looking at the CPU performance. The Dell came in last but that can be attributed to the fact that it is a bit of a dated model.
It's a bit of a sad day for Asus on File System test -- not only did the A716 lose out to the bigger competitors but even to the little Axim X5 with its year older build date and OS.
The next test certainly shows where the A716 can surpass even the $200 more expensive iPaq:
This may look like a fluke, but I assure you it's not. I ran the benchmark twice and the benchmark itself runs each test 13 times and takes an average. The MyPal A716 seriously wallops all the competition on this one. Next up is the ActiveSync test which tests transfer rates between the PDA and the PC it's connected to via the USB cable
Again the A716 comes out on top with quite a lead on its closest runner up. I can vouch for this one as well because when I connected the USB cable it downloaded over 20 contacts from Outlook in about 2 seconds.
Lastly, the Platform index:
Platform index reflects the overall performance of the operating system running on your Pocket PC. It mainly depends on performance of the operating system itself, performance of file manipulations and built-in applications such as Pocket Word or Pocket Internet Explorer.
The last test I ran was a battery test. I fully charged the A716's battery, set the CPU to auto, set the backlight to stay on, turned WiFi/Bluetooth off, turned off the IR beam receiver, and ran a short video clip with sound repeatedly until the battery was too low to play the clip. The A716 hung on for an impressive 4hrs and 36 minutes. I'm not sure whether it was a coincidence or not but exactly 1hr before it quit playing the clip, a warning popped up reminding me to charge the battery or change it for a fresh one. The internal battery (when it is switched on) will keep your data safe while changing the battery or if the power completely dies.
After the video clip stopped playing, I turned on the wireless receiver and surfed the Internet for another hour and 25 minutes at which time the screen went blank and I had to put it back on the charger. Regular usage afforded me about 14.5hrs, which although shy about 4.5hrs of the 19 that the manufacturer suggests is still very respectable, and if that's not enough for you, you could always buy the optional extended life battery which is supposed to double the usage time.
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