Asus MyPal A632 / A636 Reviews

By elegantly integrating a GPS receiver and a foldout antenna into a PDA, Asus turns the heads of the perpetually lost with its Asus MyPal A636. While it's heavier and thicker than competing mapping PDAs, the A636 has excellent controls, and its well-desi...

An excellent example of integrating GPS into a PDA, the Asus MyPal A636 includes North American maps, a loud speaker, and excellent battery life. It also has Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Windows Mobile 5.

Thicker and heavier than competitors, the Asus MyPal A636 has a 3.5-inch screen that's too small for viewing driving directions, and the included 256MB SD card holds the bare minimum of maps. There are also no map updates available at this time.

The Asus MyPal A636 is a PDA with a built-in GPS receiver that puts maps and directions on an equal footing with appointments and e-mail. While it delivers accurate directions and long battery life, it's a bit sluggish.

The ASUS A636 and A632 are the first Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PCs with integrated GPS to hit the US market. We'll take a look at the full-featured A636 which offers the SiRF Star III GPS chipset, WiFi, Bluetooth, an SD card slot, 256 meg SD card with Des...

, but its ergonomics are excellent. The large 3/4" speaker grille faces front and ensures that you'll hear voice guidance in the car, and the A636 has both a directional pad and an application launcher pad that's arranged much like a d-pad for easy use

A number of manufacturers have begun releasing Windows Mobile Pocket PCs targeted at the GPS Navigation market. These devices usually include a built in GPS receiver and bundled navigation software. The downside is that they may be a bit too complicated f...

Built in SirfSTAR III GPS receiver, Widcomm Bluetooth stack with A2DP, Great battery life, Included windshield mounting system, USB settings options

No dedicated soft-keys, Car mount doesn't have audio out port, Proprietary sync cable, No VGA screen, No built-in TMC support

    Overall, the Asus A636 is an excellent multi-use device for in-car navigation. While the form factor isn't exactly innovative, the large screen is good for viewing maps while driving. A VGA screen would have been nicer, but would have a...