The screen is a bright 240x320 TFT capable of showing 65k colours. It also has a SD IO adapter for SD and MMC expansion cards, and a GPS receiver for Location Based Services.

There's no software on the unit that uses the GPS (that I can find anyway) but there's bound to be plenty of applications in development for that. Although it is a phone, the Falcon does not come with a keypad like a standard mobile, instead you press the green phone button (underneath the screen) which brings up a dialer in the display that you can operate either with your fingers or (preferably) with a stylus.

The install CD comes with Windows ActiveSync and Windows drivers for the Pocket PC to be used as a modem. Windows Mobile 2003 comes installed, with Pocket Internet Explorer. Pocket Word, Pocket Excel, Media Player, Microsoft Outlook, MSN Messenger and other standard software (including the games Jawbreaker and Solitaire).

The stylus is housed behind the antenna stub, which is a great idea as its protected there and not easy to lose.

Physical
For a PDA the Falcon is about as sleek looking as they come, with a silver and black finish and excellent display area and overall styling. As a phone it won't win any beauty contests, however, as its 129 X 73 X 18mm dimensions make it considerably wider and a little taller than most mobile phones around today.

Calling
The Falcon is a fully featured phone with two way text messaging and an internal phone book that synchronises to Microsoft Outlook. It also has fax capability and voicemail. The phone application is the standard Windows Mobile application, which works well.

The sound quality is clear and crisp, but users might want to have either a screen protector or use a headset if trying to avoid grease or makeup on the screen. The phone buttons for Call and Hang Up are backlit, making it easy to use at night. During a voice call the sound can be turned up and down with a button on the left side, under the memo recorder button.

Any other time this button controls the device's sounds level. The buttons for Contacts and Appointments are located on the top of the front, on each side of the speaker. The speakerphone function also works well, but don't accidentally turn it on while you have the Falcon up to your ear as it is LOUD. 

Web surfing
In terms of data transfer, the Falcon is impressive. Browsing web sites or downloading large emails was fast on Mobile JetStream (up to a maximum speed of 153kbps). What's even better is the Falcon comes with a built in modem program, so you can use it to connect your laptop to the network if required.

This is an advance from previous PDAs which lacked this capability. Connections can be made via IR or serial cable (sadly Bluetooth isn't an option). Just like with Internet Explorer on a desktop, it is easy to save favourites to the Falcon. Email via POP3 servers also work a charm, although it would pay to get the sales person to help you set this up in the shop, as I had to make a few calls to get all the setup details correct.

You might want to have the charger with you if you're browsing the internet a lot or checking email frequently. Browsing a few pages and checking emails used 50% of the battery charge in one morning and the Falcon does not like to be run down, as it is not operating one of those battery systems that need to be run out for their health occasionally.

On the contrary, a power down on the Falcon will result in data loss - leaving users with only the original software the device came installed with. Although the hassles this could cause are somewhat alleviated by the Falcon's ability to synch with your PC (so you can just reload all your data), it's still a scenario worth avoiding. Bottom line? If you're not using it, keep the Falcon charging in its cradle.

September 2004

By Mauricio Freitas

Applications
As mentioned above the Falcon comes standard with Microsoft Office applications like Word, Excel and Outlook. Moving documents from your desktop PC to the Falcon is done using the 'Explore' function in Microsoft ActiveSync.

Once you have them onboard, editing and creation is intuitive as for the most part everything is based around the Windows operating system you're most likely already familiar with on your desktop PC. The OS has in-built handwriting recognition software, so you can either input by writing on the screen with a stylus or launch the virtual on-screen keyboard and tap away.
 
Summary
This is a data centric PDA with mobile capabilities, a converged device. I think it's appropriate to use it as a data device first and a phone second. Battery life is an issue. The back light must be on for a user to work effectively on the Falcon. Annoyingly, the back light switch off default is set at 10 seconds, so pausing to think about something for longer than that means you have to tap the screen again to light it up. This setting can be easily adjusted to five minutes, but of course, the battery will run down faster as a result.

In its defense, I never actually ran the Falcon down, and it gives you plenty of warning if its battery needs a charge. The Falcon does not have camera or camcorder functionality.

The applications that are on board are totally in line with the standard Windows applications any business person is using daily and were easy to use. I did struggle to disconnect from the internet, however, needing to actually turn the phone off (not the device - just the phone) to break the connection, but as Telecom point out, you only pay for the data you use, not the time you're connected.

If you have a preference for the MobileJetStream network and are looking for a mobile communications device with strong data capabilities, the Falcon is for you. And even if you need more power, you can always use it as a modem, plug it into your laptop and stay connected.

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