Entered CNET Catalog: 06/19/2003
SKU: 0032017188891
Manufacturer: Toshiba
Manufacturer description
Easy to use, the Toshiba Pocket PC e355 Series features the new Microsoft Pocket PC 2003 operating system delivering enhanced schedule/calendar capabilities, wireless communication support and data backup synchronization. Users also have access to familiar applications such as Pocket Word, Pocket Excel, Pocket Outlook and Microsoft Windows Media Player for Pocket PC 2003 acting as a direct compliment to your notebook PC device.Product summary
The good: Relatively inexpensive; great-looking screen; included photo-editing software.
The bad: Stripped-down operating system; only 16MB of ROM.
The bottom line: Though inexpensive and better than earlier Toshibas, the e355 has little to set it apart from its numerous competitors.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 08/18/2003
The most-notable difference between the e355 and earlier Toshibas is that the new case is charcoal gray rather than silver. The size is the same at 4.9 by 3.1 by 0.4 inches, and the weight increased by only 0.1 ounce to 5.2 ounces. Below the screen remain the typical program buttons; the five-way directional pad; and the small, internal speaker, which is still a bit weak, but now you can boost it a little using the Advanced Sounds control panel.
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| Except for being gray rather than silver, the e355 looks just like the e310 and e330 Toshibas. |
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| Flat as a pancake: The e355's depth is a very slim 0.4 inches. |
On the other hand, the 3.5-inch display is new. The e355, like the e750, moved up from the old screen to a transflective one, which is much brighter, more evenly lit, and capable of producing 65,536 colors at the standard Pocket PC resolution of 320x240 pixels.
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| The cradle is heavy and bulky, but you can charge the e355 without it. |
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| The leatherette jacket protects the screen. |
Like the e310, the e355 syncs with your PC via a sturdy cradle. It's great for home use, but the base is a bit too heavy to lug comfortably; you can purchase an optional USB power/syncing cable for less than $20. If you want to simply recharge during travel, all you need is the AC adapter, which plugs directly into the bottom of the unit.
While the different screen is immediately noticeable, some subtle changes are equally significant. The 300MHz Intel XScale processor is the PXA255, which is slightly speedier than the e330's PXA250. The amount of RAM is the same at 64MB, but surprisingly, the e355 has only 16MB of ROM--not much room for the OS or data backup. You can--and should--add storage space via the Secure Digital/MultiMediaCard (SD/MMC) slot on top of the device.
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| The e355's somewhat weak and tinny speaker sits just below the function buttons. |
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| You can add extra storage space via SD/MMC media, a must for backing up files and data. |
The e355 also uses the latest Pocket PC OS, Windows Mobile. It includes all the staples, such as Word, Excel, Outlook, and Internet Explorer, plus two new apps: Windows Media Player 9.0 and a game called Jawbreaker. But the aforementioned ROM shortage forced Toshiba to leave out a couple of the usual preinstalled programs, the most notable of which is Windows Mobile's Pictures application.
Because the e355 also comes with ArcSoft PhotoBase, the Pictures omission is not a problem. PhotoBase, much like the Microsoft app, lets you view and manipulate images on your handheld. However, we would've preferred Pictures, whose installation is one step shorter. The e350 doesn't have PhotoBase, so if you buy that model, you'll get no image viewer/editor at all.
The main software CD includes Outlook 2002 and ActiveSync 3.7, but aside from those, you get little more than a handful of Microsoft applications, a link to AvantGo, and Adobe Acrobat for Pocket PC.
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 The e355 moved to the great-looking transflective screen of the pricier e750 series. |
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Music didn't seem loud enough until we'd cranked up the volume in the Sound and Advanced Sound control panels. Then our tunes were loud enough to hear in any environment, but they lacked a bit of the richness we've heard from other handhelds, such as the Garmin iQue 3600.
There's a lot to like about the e355's 320x240-pixel, 65,536-color screen. It's transflective, so it's bright and crisp in all lighting situations. The e330's display was sidelit, but the e355's is backlit for a more-even appearance.
Battery life was also pretty good, considering the unit's smallish 1,000mAh lithium-ion cell. For our test, we played a video loop with the brightness at 66.6 percent. We usually choose 50 percent, but that setting is unavailable. Even so, the e355 ran the movie for 3 hours, 51 minutes. While that time is not astounding, you can make the battery last longer by decreasing the brightness or shutting off the backlight completely, as you would while listening to MP3 files.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14out of 14 user reviews
Still in daily use July 5, 2010
Pros: Great for business contacts and notes, a lot of them. Intermittant use as an mp3 player, calender, and calculator. The on-screen keyboard, fairly large display are better than the tiny buttons on my blackberry, and it still fits in my shirt pocket.
Cons: I'm worried that if the batterys should fail, I may not find a replacement. The original rechargable batteries are still in use and are not user replaceable.
out of 14 user reviews
Good, still
Pros: I wrote last year about this one, and i'll write another one now. Im stil going to give her a thumbs up rating. Why? This PDA is great for the person who has no need for WiFi. I need this now, and think ill replace this one with a dell axim x50. This
Cons: Slow video playback, weak speaker, navi buttons dont always work, I find myself resetting quite often. Good organizer, music device (w. headphones) But dont consider using a wifi sd card (a miostake i made), because this pda does NOT support SDIO format
out of 14 user reviews
Lot of computer for the money
Pros: I paid $180 online for my E355, and I LOVE IT. The size is perfect; nice, big, clear screen without a lot of bulk. I use it primarily for managing my contacts and appointments, but I've also gotten a lot of use out of the MP3 player. Being absent-minde
Cons: Before I figured out the soft reset thing, I had some issues with synchronizing w/ Outlook (after upgrading to Office 2003). I tried contacting support, but no one would help me; I have to admit, Toshiba has a lousy product support policy. I ended up fi
out of 14 user reviews
Don't Count on Toshiba Support!
Pros: Great value for first PocketPC
Cons: Toshiba advertises (on packaging and online documentation) that their e355's SD slot is SDIO compatible. THIS IS NOT TRUE! They used a proprietary format called SDIO NOW! that is not compatible with most 3rd party SDIO devices (i.e. SanDisk's SD WiFi ca
out of 14 user reviews
Product is not reliable, more stylus strokes required to get to information
Pros: Richer programs, graphics
Cons: Write protect for SD card malfunctioned causing destruction of program on SD card. File Explorer repeatedly malfunctions not allowing management or viewing of files on SD card. PC2002 malfunctions to not allow selection of files, contact information, ap
out of 14 user reviews
Awesome low-priced PDA!
Pros: I'm writing this review using my PDA, the E-355, which I've been using extensively for about 3 months now. It does evertying I need for a mid-level PDA. It's very light and sleek looking. Very easy & intuitive to use. The buttons are easy to use &
Cons: My few criticisms are that ther are not enought accessories for it, the SD Slot is fairly limited (it seems to me that compact flash-base PDA's have more accessories), and there are not enought 3rd party products for the Toshiba like there are for other P
out of 14 user reviews
good overall - short battery life
Pros: good little machine. does everything i need it to: word processing, surfing the web, and counting calories (bought software)
Cons: battery life is short. haven't had the machine for a long time and i'm worried about what happens to it when the battery wears out.
out of 14 user reviews
Great for first PocketPC
Pros: The Toshiba e355 is a good value, easy to synchronize, and fun to read ebooks.
Cons: Not a good selection of software included.
out of 14 user reviews
Great little investment
Pros: Low cost: Just $199 at QVC. Has everything I need for work. I use it more than my PC now. Using Excel on it all day long. Better than my old Palm any day. If I loose it or break it. It is not much to replace it and back in business again.
Cons: Wish it came with Power Point reader.
out of 14 user reviews
Solid unit for the money
Pros: Contrary to other reviews, the design to me is sleeker and more upscale than other models. The screen is totally awesome. Also made by a more reputable Toshiba. Tons of memory.
Cons: Infrared has very short range, I bought a universal remote program and the range was 6 feet at best.
out of 14 user reviews
Grossly Underated
Pros: very inexpensive (179.00) from harmony computers. very good screen quality compared to e330 series. thin, solid build quality. it's a toshiba, a company known for it's quality products. having owned a dell axim 5 300 which is 199.00 and is also a brick w
Cons: no cpmpact flash slot would be the only downside but i don't really need it as the sd slot does the job for me. i'm not a road warrior or into wireless bluetooth or whatever. i use my pocket pc for avantgo, ebooks and of course tons of game playing
out of 14 user reviews
One of the most cost effecient pocket pc's
Pros: Very slim and light weight, touch is very sensitive, and a excellent value.
Cons: Not confortable while holding in hand, and a cheap case that you must remove the unit while using.
out of 14 user reviews
cool but it has a couple setbacks
Pros: the screen is cool and looks great
Cons: i have had for 2 months and has already screwed up like one time the power button didnt work the other i lost all my saved stuff
out of 14 user reviews
Best of the PDAs I have owned.
Pros: Great build quality, good battery life on low screen brightness, good sound quality when playing Mp3s, loud and clean sounding internal speaker. Ignore what the reviewer said about the low amount of ROM it doesn't really matter that much on this model.
Cons: Internal speaker could be a tad bigger, comes with a crappy leather pouch, it is hard to understand how to set up pocket outlook with computers that already have Outlook on them, and there may be some issues with Outlook 11 here shortly.
