Acer n311 review

Acer's n311 is the replacement for the n50, its previous high-end PDA. It is smaller and sleeker than its predecessor, has a much higher-resolution screen, and runs the latest Windows Mobile 5 operating system.

The n50 was a slim and attractive PDA, but the n311 is even smaller. It is very slim, and the front is almost entirely taken up by the 3.7" screen. The n311 is much smaller than Dell's Axim X51v, and the silver and black finish is attractive. Despite its slimness the n311 feels stiff and robust. The stylus is accurate, but the joystick is so close to the bottom of the PDA that it is hard to use with one hand.

The n311 has a 480x640 pixel screen, meaning it has four times the resolution of its predecessor. This makes text and graphics sharper on the screen, and also leaves more room for Pocket Internet Explorer to display web pages properly. If you are near a wireless hotspot, connecting to the internet is easy using the n311's built-in wireless networking and the more technically minded should be able to connect to the internet through their mobile phone using Bluetooth.

Aside from some small improvements to the standard Word Mobile, Excel Mobile and PowerPoint Mobile programs, the n311's Windows Mobile 5 operating system has the significant advantage of supporting persistent memory. PDAs based on previous versions of Windows Mobile stored all documents in volatile memory, so you would lose all your data if the PDA ran out of battery power. Persistent memory keeps its data even if you lose all power, so your documents are much more secure. The only disadvantage is that it is slightly slower than volatile memory, so loading documents takes more time than on the n50.

The n311 has 128MB of persistent memory to store programs and data, as well as an SD card slot for optional additional storage. This gives it enough room for plenty of contacts, emails and documents, but also some space for media files. The n311 will play MP3 and WMA audio files, and playback quality is reasonable, although the treble is slightly muddy. Windows Mobile 5 will also synchronise your media with Windows Media Player 10 on your PC, so any audio and video files Media Player can play are automatically converted to the right format for the PDA. The n311 could play our test video files without any problems, but frame rates were jerky during fast action sequences.

Acer's n311 is not quite as fast as Dell's Axim X51v (below), nor does it have as much standard memory. However, it is £25 cheaper, slimmer and better looking, so if you want a full-featured and stylish PDA, the n311 is a good buy.

Author: Chris Finnamore