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Compaq Aero 1530Slim and sexy, but is grayscale still in vogue? (December 1999 issue) One of the big benefit of being on staff at a magazine is that editors can pass around devices that we receive for review. This gives our readers different perspectives on the same unit and often exposes more of the unique features and inadequacies. While the First Look (see last issue) focused mainly on the feature set and the new physical attributes of the super-slim Aero 1530, a long-term usability test of the device by an owner of an Aero 2130 unearthed a few new intricacies and flaws of the thinnest Palm-size PC to date. As discussed in the First Look article, the 1530's 16-shade grayscale screen has a reverse pixel backlighting display. What this means to the user is, when the backlight is activated in lighted conditions, the display inverses the black and white on screen. Thankfully, the Compaq's screen is so good that it remains usable in most low light conditions without activating the backlight. In no-light or very low light conditions, the backlight appears to normally light the screen with no evidence of inversed color schemes and performs very well. So you'll be fine in a movie theater or outside at night, but dimly lit rooms might provide a viewing challenge for the 1530. The 1530 also has a few vexing cosmetic and internal changes from the original Aero 2100 series. First, the seldom mentioned but incredibly cool vibration alert has not been implemented on the 1530. A shame, since it is truly innovative and just needed a slight retooling to make it a real asset in Windows CE. Second, the voice recorder button moved from the upper-left corner to the side of the unit, above the scroll wheel. This prevents users from making a voice recording while the 1530 is housed in its slip cover. And finally, the scroll wheel has been reduced in size, but it is now notched to provide more friction. While people with larger hands will have a more difficult time operating the scroll wheel, most should find it very accommodating. Unfortunately, Compaq chose to stay with a 70mhz version of the MIPS processor. That CPU was mediocre in the first round of devices, and the sluggishness is now exacerbated by the fact that all the new Palm-size PCs are shipping with processors running at well above the 100mhz mark. We had hoped to see some speed improvement since grayscale devices push far less data to the screen, but no such luck. As you can see from the benchmarks, the 1530 has almost the exact same performance average as the color Aero Palm-size PCs which scored 18.97 and 18.13. However, we should mention that the 1530 does not suffer from the color screen refresh problems that plague our 2100 model units. What the Aero 1530 lacks in CPU performance, it makes up in battery life. With a battery that weighs under an ounce, we were able to achieve almost ten hours of use-unheard of in Windows CE history. Even the first-generation Philips Nino with a battery four times the size only yielded a maximum of four hours of power. With the ability to perform a full workday, this might provide a rationale for selecting a black & white device over the full color Palm-size PCs that now dominate the marketplace. Another reason that the 1530 is compelling is that I was able to find it for sale online for as low as US$245; the lowest price at which a new Windows CE device has ever hit the streets. This makes it an attractive purchase for entry-level users, as well as a cost-effective second device for a multiple user family. With 16MB of onboard memory, the 1530 also makes a great primary personal or business device. And the 1530 comes with extra accessories like a travel serial cable and an automobile recharging cord in addition to the docking station and AC power cord that are also included. Compaq even threw in two spare styli and a slipcover. With all of those accessories, it is amazing that they were able to keep the MSRP at a low US$299. Optional accessories include a 56k CompactFlash modem, AC travel charger, deluxe folding case and their new "sport case" made of neoprene. With a beautiful body and slim profile, the Compaq Aero 1530 is meant to be a Pilot-killer, clear and simple. So the real question isn't how the device performed in our tests, but rather how it will perform in the marketplace. Will users embrace a black and white device in a universe of color? We all know what happened to black and white TV sets, after color televisions appeared. Let's just hope there's room for this sexy and slim variant of a Windows CE device that contends that black and white (well, grayscale) is beautiful.
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