Asus Mypal 636N review

Thought I’d do my own review on Asus mypal A636N PDA/GPS as I have one and couldn’t live without it. The unit is a great PDA, and with a GPS built in, makes this unit a great valued price product.

The ASUS 636N is a PDA and GPS in one. There are other similar products but for the price and features you can’t go wrong. These two units have been around for a while, and the A639 has recently been released that supersedes the 636 range. So I thought the time to buy was right.

Anyway, let’s get to the features and specs …….

Here’s a pic of the A636N:

The specs are as follows:

PU Latest 416MHz Intel® XScale processor
Operating System Latest Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 ( Pocket PC )
Display 3.5″ Transflective TFT LCD 65k Full-Colors, 16-bit Display QVGA, 240X320 resolution touch panel
Memory 128MB Flash ROM and 64MB SDRAM
User available storage ROM 75MB for western languages 71MB for eastern languages
GPS Latest SiRF StarIII GPS chip
Embedded 25mm*25mm swivel patch antenna
External antenna jack

Expansion Slot One slot – SD slot(SDIO/SD/MMC)
Audio Integrated microphone and speaker
One 3.5mm earphone jack and MP3 stereo
Communication Bluetooth 2.0
WLAN 802.11b + g
SIR (115.2kbps Max)
USB 1.1 Client GPS navigation
Battery 1300 mAh, removable/ rechargeable Li-ion battery
Dimension 122mm x 73.2mm x 18.8mm/19.45mm(L*W*H)
Weight 186g (with battery)
Note *Enhance Bluetooth 2.0 to Bluetooth EDR (Enhanced Data Rate).

The difference between the A636N and the A636 is that the A636 only has 11M wireless and Bluetooth 1.1. Unfortunately they both have a USB 1.1 interface. USB 2.0 was introduced in the A639.

For GPS navigation, I use TomTom software. It works well on this unit, and TomTom appears to be the software of choice. It works well, especially as I can turn the display sideways on the A636N for better viewing of maps/routes. From what I was reading around the net, the SiRF StarIII GPS chip was a must as it locked onto satellites quicker than other chips and performed better. Works well for me! As you can see from the picture, the antenna is on a swivel mount, which folds neatly behind the unit when not in use.

The other must in purchasing a PDA was getting one with a removable battery – which the Asus has got. If the battery fails, then all I have to do is replace it, not send the whole unit away for repair.

As far as the PDA side of things go, it perform like any other PDA similarly equipped. Windows pocket mobile is flawless, and connectivity to other devices via bluetooth and wireless is easy.

Installing apps is via USB connectivity to a PC running Microsoft Activesync. Again, easy to do.

What I was really impressed with is that the A636N came with all the cables/adaptors necessary – including the suction mount (and charger) for the car when using the GPS function. So the only additional purchase I had to make was a decent sized SD memory card to store all my data. The Asus comes with a 64M card.

Here’s a pic of the A636N mounted on the bracket attached to the windscreen via the suction cap:

Overall, I think the Asus 636N is a great product for a great price. It’s certainly a step up from my old LCD palm Pilot.

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