Rating: 
Summary: Fun
Review: It is the best PDA of 7 that I have owned.
Rating: 
Summary: Great feature list but doesn't deliver on its potential...
Review: Widely advertised as the firste PocketPC PDA with integrated 802.11b wireless, the e740 looked like a great opportunity to synch with my PC over my company's pervasive wireless net. Unfortunately, our IS department hasn't been able to figure it out, and Toshiba technical support won't ("We don't provide support for active synchronization over a wireless network...") or can't help. The e740 may just have a problem handling VPN, which provides security for the corporate network, but Toshiba support doesn't want to talk about it.Additionally, great expandability in a very thin package is offset by a dim (compared to iPAQ) display and an awkward-to-hold rectangular design. There are also some hiccups with ActiveSynch...still, if I could get a wireless connection at work, I'd consider it a good investment. Maybe it works for surfing the web at Starbucks, but if you need it to work at the office, make sure that somebody else already has one that works with your wireless network.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice PDA -- Networking Still Weak
Review: .
As a PDA, the Toshiba e740 is the best I've seen yet. However, it, like all PDAs based on Microsoft's Windows CE, falls short on networking. I've been hoping that Microsoft and its partners would get networking right some day. The Toshiba e740 looked like it might be the answer. With its built-in WiFi wireless network adapter, it appeared that the e740 at least would provide useful local area network connectivity. However, like most WiFi devices, the e740's range is too short and the battery drain is too high. Oh, well, how about wide area networking with a wireless modem? I was able to find one wireless modem that would plug into the e740's compact flash slot. This modem, its name escapes me, adds 5 inches to the e740's almost 5 inches and costs an arm and two legs in monthly fees. With the modem in place, the e740 takes on the form factor of a clamshell handheld Windows CE PC. Forget that. I'm trying to replace a Blackberry wireless e-mail device. I'm now looking at Handspring's Treo 300. It's got everything that the Blackberry delivers including size plus it's a wireless phone, has a color screen and supports web browsing. Wireless networking is part of your phone service and the cost for wireless phone and networking (from Sprint) is about the same as I'm now paying for separate wireless phone and Blackberry wireless e-mail. For the record, I'm an IT consultant and author specializing in electronic communications. The latest edition of my book "Mastering Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server" (Sybex), is available from Amazon.com.
Rating:
Summary: Great PDA ¿...if you don¿t have to connect to a PC.
Review: First the good new. The Toshiba E740 is a great value. Compared to PocketPCs like the iPaq, you get dual storage slots and wireless connectivity all in a very nice sized package. An add-on wireless card would cost you about $100 and take up a valuable slot. Add to this an excellent Amazon price and I believe this is one of the best bangs for the buck. Now the bad news. ActiveSync has serious flaws. I have had more problems in three weeks using ActiveSync with the E740 than I have had with by previous iPaq and Jornada over the past three years combined. Besides the ActiveSync connection going away a couple of times a day, the most frustrating problem is when I drag a file over to the E740 and ActiveSync disconnects in the middle of the transfer. Toshiba acknowledges these problems but does not have a date for a fix yet. I give the E740 5 stars, but the frustrating ActiveSync experience 1 star.
Rating:
Summary: From Palm to PocketPC
Review: I've had a Palm since the days they had "Pilot" on the end of them. 3 Palms later I decided that it was time to check out the PocketPCs and what they can do. After reading a few reviews and doing some shopping I decided on the e740 and could not be more happy with it (well, maybe only slightly happier if Microsoft hadn't written the OS). The unit is only slightly heavier then my last Palm (IIIx), but has so much more to offer. Transfering everything from my Palm to the PocketPC in about an hour I was able to start really playing with it, and was very pleased with how it worked. But, as with all things, it isn't 100% perfect (but still worth the 5 stars). The worst part of the design is the record button, which is assigned to the "5th hotkey" located on the left side of the unit. When placed in the case the e740 comes with the button is at the perfect "grasping" spot -- which has caused me to press it many times when I pull it out. Not something too annoying, but I think they could have done better. The only other problem I've had with the PocketPC is with the OS. The fact that it is a Microsoft product aside, it's been a hard adjustment with the fact that programs really don't close when you think you close them. An "X" icon appears in the top-right of any app but this does not actually close the application, as one would expect it to with the Windows style OS -- it is more to the effect of minimizing. It is possible to close the apps, but it is actually a 2-3 step process... seems kind of excessive for such a simple task. This, however, is a OS issue and not something to be held against the e740. One, slightly misleading, point to be made concerns the "wireless" feature. This wasn't something I was looking at as part of my criteria, but it should be noted that this is *NOT* at wireless modem! You will not be able to stand out in the middle of the park and get your e-mail with the built in features. The wireless feature is more of actually a "wireless LAN" feature -- which worked out great for me in the end! The PocketPC does everything my old Palm did and so much more! The e740's built in wireless capabilities have already proven themselves very useful. The color screen is of very good quality and the overall function of the device gets my thumbs up. The only thing I miss from my Palm is the writing functions. The PocketPC is more dependant on the tap keyboard, where the Palm was better suited for the handwriting. You can do handwriting recognition for some things, but not for everything.
Rating: 
Summary: Thin, sleek and full-featured... but with flaws
Review: The e740 met all my buying criteria (on paper)... User-replaceable batteries, dual removable media slots- CompactFlash AND secure digital (without bulky, expensive "sleeves"!), and built-in 802.11b (so I don't have to waste a slot for a Wi-Fi card.) Now that I've had it for awhile, there are several annoyances that I'll have to learn to live with... 1) The stylus is somewhat difficult to get in & out; hopefully it will loosen up over time. 2) When I power on, I get an "unrecognized CF card" message about half the time. This results in non-recognition of my CF card and I have to power cycle in order to correct this. Formatting the CF card may help, but backing up & restoring will be a PITA! 3) The default synch method mysteriously changes itself from USB to Bluetooth. (I don't *have* a Bluetooth card, but there are Bluetooth settings and configuration options all over the place.) When this happens, it's impossible to synch, and it's not obvious why. It took awhile to figure this one out. I've since edited the registry to remove all the Bluetooth crap. (Hopefully this hasn't affected my 802.11b- I haven't tried it since making these changes, but if it has, I can hard reset and restore my recent backup.) 4) The hard reset switch is next to the Wi-Fi switch- it's easy to hit the wrong switch by mistake, then you have to restore from backup. (IF you backed up!) 5) The IR port is on the left side- I would have preferred it on the top. If you want to send/receive via IR and your notebook has the IR port on the left (like my Vaio), one of them has to be upside down. 6) It's *very* easy to push the SD card by accident, thus disengaging it and popping it up- especially when pushing the unit into it's "leatherette" case. This is probably standard with any unit that has a top-mounted SD slot, though. 6) Due to the location of the "voice memo record" button, it's *very* easy to push it by accident- especially (every time) when extracting the unit from it's "leatherette" case. I changed the button assignment to get around this, but I miss the ability to quickly and easily record a voice memo. 7) Battery life is not very good, but this may be standard for Pocket PCs- my frame of reference is an old (grayscale) PsPC which lasted several days under normal use. And on my old Casio E-15, when the battery *DID* run out, I could pop in a couple of AAA alkalines, which I carried around for emergencies. I plan to build a battery extender for the e740. 8) Bundled software... (What bundled software?) 9-99) The list of annoyances in the PPC2002 OS could fill a book, but that's not Toshiba's fault. I'm still very happy with my purchase- I just need to learn to live with all these annoyances. I still highly recommend the e740- it's slim, stylish, comfortable in your hand, and it's the only game in town if you need user-replaceable batteries, dual expansion slots and built in Wi-Fi (without "sleeves"!). If you can live with and work around its shortcomings, it's a great choice.
Rating:
Summary: Toshiba e740-Good feature/value unit.
Review: The e740 was great in its time, but now it has been bested by HP's new iPAQ 5400 series iPAQs, which not only have built-in WiFi, but Bluetooth, Biometrics fingerprint security, Compaq's AMAZING transreflectived TFT display, a removeable 1250mAH battery (roughly 25% larger than the e740), compatibility with nearly all iPAQ 38xx/39xx accessories, and better sound quality. The WiFi in the 54xx series is greater range as well due to an external antenna. The e740 has two things over the 54xx...1) a jog dial, and 2) a CompactFlash slot (which the iPAQ requires a sleeve for)->not to mention price (the e740 can be had for $400 while the 54xx costs $699 retail). I also like the e740's jog dial. But beyond that, unless price is an issue, the 54xx is the way to go.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Microsoft Pocket PC Available Today
Review: I recently lost my Compaq iPAQ H3975 and decided to replace it with the Toshiba e470 - I could not have made a better choice. Cosmetically the Compaq is superior, however it's important to note that the Toshiba more than makes up for that with real and useful features. Check out those built-in slots for memory cards on the e740. The Compaq requires a bulky "expansion sleeve" (which effectively doubles the width of it) to read the memory cards I use in my Canon digital camera - the Toshiba does not as the proper MMC slots are built-in. Wireless is a big factor too. Compaq has "Bluetooth" wireless capability, but for me it was completely useless since I don't have any Bluetooth-compliant printers, etc. The Wi-Fi Wireless in the Toshiba allows me to leverage our Apple Airport network - ten minutes after the thing charged up I could surf the web wirelessly from anywhere in my home. I can't stress how cool this really is when you just want to check news headlines, etc. and not have to deal with the hassles of booting a laptop. Battery life on the e740 is about the same as the Compaq (I play a lot of MP3's), but the Compaq did sound louder on my Sennheiser headphones. My only complaint with the e740 is its design; cosmetically the device looks positively 1999, particularly with its round chrome operational button. The e740's features place it way high on a usability scale, which makes it this author's choice of Pocket PC's available today. I have heard that the next generation of wireless PDAs from all manufacturers will either feature Wi-Fi or wireless phone capabilities, so you may want to just wait four more months and see what the future brings, but if you must have a Pocket PC today then this one should suit your needs very well.
Rating:
Summary: Best PDA on the market - With the best price
Review: Toshiba has hit a home run - at a VERY low price (despite what others have said), they are offering dual expansion, integraed wi-fi, a great screen, and a battery that can be swapped. There are some downsides though, mostly having to do with Toshiba software. The backup application, though usable, is not near as powerful as the iPaq 39xx series. The frontlight (somewhat surprising) options aren't as extensive as the iPaq 38xx and 39xx series, and has a very strange reflection when viewed in direct light, a poor viewing angle, with sometimes uneven lighting. I have noticed some issues with the hardware buttons as well. Most of these issues can easily be fixed by a firmware upgrade, though I don't see that coming from Toshiba anytime soon. Unfortuantely, the battery life doesn't seem as good as my iPaq 3835, something that can't be fixed easily; but, with the removable battery, you can pick up the huge high-life battery, or another normal battery to give you some extra time. The technical support is good, with a 24/7 (I was on at 4am CST) PDA support chat room, and the standard phone and e-mail support. Despite the downsides, I'd highly reccomend this PDA to anyone. The dual expansion, allowing for SD and CF cards to be used a once. The integrated wi-fi (with the best software I've seen, though not good enough, mainly due to Microsoft's software) has great reception, on par with most PC card radios, though it is a battery drain. The Xscale and ATI graphics should keep you ready when software is finally released supporting it (don't hold your breath though). I love the form factor, not as flashy as the iPaq, much more of a retro feel, that I've come to love. This is a PDA for early adopters - the most features, with the least expansion options (no third-party cases, keyboards, etc.), but I wouldn't trade it for any other PDA.
Rating:
Summary: Best Pocket PC you can buy
Review: This is about as good as Pocket PC gets. It has all the things you'd expect from your top PPC plus both an SD and CF card slot and 802.11b (WiFi). Toshiba loaded this thing and in a package just 6/10s of an inch thick. You can get an optional Bluetooth SD card (if you have something against 802.llb) and a VGA capable expansion module that lets you pump Power Point presentations to a projector - you'll be the hit of the boardroom. A lot of people complain about the Xscale processor not making a big splash. It seemed fine to me but in fairness I am not someone that expects to be able to watch movies or plays a lot of MP3s on his PDA. Hey, some people do. Me? I want my PDA to work for a living. I would have to concede that the Xscale is certainly overshadowed by the rest of this machines features. Battery life is not too bad thanks to a (relatively) huge 1000 mAh LiIon battery pack. You can get spares and easily change this battery without even closing you applications. I would have given the e740 a fat 5 stars (and then some) if the 802.llb had worked out of the box but I had to [spend] a Saturday figuring it out. This despite the excellant Toshiba on-line technical support (the e740 is too new for these guys to have the answers yet). Here's a clue: turn off the power saver in the WiFi configuration - it saves power by not letting you surf the net!
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