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Online retailer PROPortable is accepting pre-orders for the Asus MyPal A730, one of the most eagerly awaited Pocket PCs of 2004.

You can choose between a MyPal A730 with or without Wi-Fi wireless networking. The edition without Wi-Fi is due for release at the end of September for $500, while the version with Wi-Fi won't be available till a month after that for $600. Both MyPal A730 handhelds integrate Bluetooth.

Pocket PC aficionados know Asus as a manufacturer that packs a lot of features into its products. The specifications for the MyPal A730 don't disappoint.

The MyPal A730 is one of the only Pocket PCs with a VGA (640x480) display. Toshiba was first out of the blocks with a VGA screen for its e805, while Hewlett-Packard's recently announced hx4705 is another.

VGA lets users view whole Web pages on a PDA without scrolling, for example. It also makes working on spreadsheets and word processor documents easier and more manageable on a small handheld display.

In addition to supporting VGA, the MyPal A730 screen measures 3.7 inches and displays 18-bit color, which translates into 262,144 colors, surpassing all other Pocket PC models.

There is also an Intel 520MHz XScale CPU, 128 MB of RAM, both CompactFlash Type II and SDIO Secure Digital slots for peripheral and memory expansion, as well as a 1.3 megapixel camera for up to 1280x960 resolution-sized pictures.