Compras Nikon Bluetooth |
Other highlights of the Compaq iPAQ include a microphone and a speaker as well as an audio-in jack. It features an infrared port for wireless data transfer. The Compaq iPAQ uses five buttons plus a five-way joystick. The iPAQ connects to either USB or serial ports. The iPAQ allows you to input data in your own handwriting, by soft keyboard, by voice recorder, or through inking. Both audible and visual alarms alert you when you have a scheduled event.
What sets this Pocket PC apart from similar devices on the market is its sleevelike expansion-pack system. The expansion-pack system allows you add functionality to suit your particular needs. Expansion-pack options currently include a CompactFlash pack, the ability to attach a CompactFlash card slot to your iPAQ, an executive leather and PC Card expansion pack, and a water-resistant sports pack. In the future, Compaq plans to release a global positioning system pack, so you can make your iPAQ pocket PC into a GPS unit.
The Compaq iPAQ is sporty and small. At 5.11 by 3.28 by 0.62 inches and 6 ounces, it fits in your hand or slides into your pocket with ease. Don't let the size fool you into thinking you don't get many applications with your iPAQ. You receive a great deal of Microsoft software, such as Pocket versions of Word, Excel, Internet Explorer, and Outlook as well as the full desktop version of Outlook 2000. Compaq has also built in utilities so that frequent actions--such as switching between tasks, adjusting volume, or changing backlighting--are only a click away.
Compaq offers a one-year warranty on parts and labor for the iPAQ.
What's in the box
Bad- With small amount of memory you can sometimes have a problem of certain programs not functioning properly. Since the pocket pc manages its memory automatically you cant always use your on board memory to its full advantage.
The foul part on Compaq is that you must buy accessories for example the carring case you get with it is a sleeve which is tight as hell to pull your pocket pc which means you need to buy accessories and since there is no slot to stick a memory card in you have to buy a new sleeve that allows you to put a memory card in then you got to get the card seperately which all together can run you over another 100 or more which as we know will be more. Which is funny cause you can get a real pc for the price of this.
I guess buy now your wondering what the good is:
Well if your the type like me that has a lot of appointments on a daily basis and keeps forgetting those important meetings than this is definately for you. Its great because you have many programs that interact with your pc like word and excel plus once linked to your pc you can connect through the net download and whatever which is cool. The programs that you can load are amazing like you can turn your pocket pc from a calculator to a voice command gaming system to even a remote control for any tv stero or vcr or dvd player doesnt matter.
I have found it very useful in my newly busy life and a great benefit for reminders. Battery last pretty long even with the color screen I mean if you plan on using it the whole day and plan on doing serious programs on it better bring your charger.
Later
Pro's:
Pocket PC operating system is wonderful. It is just like Windows and has everything Windows has to offer in a little tiny version. I am a programmer, and love the ability to connect to databases with this product
MP3. What else do I need to say about that?? Wonderful!
Document Library: A specially designated place tos tore eBooks was a wonderful idea!
Screen: Crisp and clean. Perfect clarity, much better than the Sony's.
Con's:
Battery Life: Very short. I need to recharge fully every night and do a restore as the battery dies throughout the day.
Size: Very bulky. In today's marketplace I find it hard to believe this model cannot be more compact. Warning: This BARELY fits in the Coach mini-office.
Lack of accessories: Try to find a hardcase for this model. Yikes! Without it, your iPaq will turn on on its own, draining the battery even more.
Cons:
Software - MS still has some glitches... but only once in a while (~1/month) after a sync the machine will 'freeze' and needs to be soft reset (w/no loss of data).
Also be aware of another problem other ppl have encountered with pluging in the ear phone jack to listen to music, then removing them and having no sound on the external speakers. This may have been fixed on the more recent devices.
...
The color screen is great. It is well lit, easy to read. The programs that come with the unit halp me keep myself organized at home or on the road. I already used Microsoft Outlook to organize everything while at my desk. The Activesync software that comes with the Ipaq automatically found all my appointment, calendars, and contacts and put them into my Ipaq for me.
Sure, it only has 32mb of storage. But I have hundreds of contacts, 40-60 eamails per day, and I subscribe to Avantgo for offline web broiwsing and I never get near the maximum.
If I want to store some music files, I just add a 64mb Compact Flash card and I have plenty of space. That 64mb card can store about 2 and a half albums when compressed into WMA format. I use my Ipaq on planes as a music player similar to an MP3 player (Can't call it an MP3 player if I use WMA files, can I?) All I do is hook up my headphones, turn on the media player (Included with PocketPC software), and put the player in my breast pocket.
The only thing I would like to see is longer battery life. I regularly travel and after 8-10 hours of continuous use, I have to recharge it.
One accessory I would recommend....I picked up a USB Sync cable that also recharges the battery from your USB port. It's great when on the road...one cable both charges and syncs up the Ipaq...
I am using a DLink wireless card with a wireless 802.11b access point both at home and work. I can now quickly and easily check email or look up a website and carry it around. It did take a bit of research getting thw wireless to work though.
The ipaq is also pretty pricey once you get the jacket, the network card and expansion memory or an ibm microdrive.
I've had my Ipaq for 48 days now, the unit has been in Compaq's repair process for over 13 of those days. Seriously, I'm an extremely patient person and believe that I have given them more than a chance to redeem themselves - I've asked repeatedly for them to replace my Ipaq since it has now been sent in for repairs 3 times but was denied because it wasn't for the same problem on each occasion.
Bottom line - it will cost an additional $50 for a 1 year CarePaq (ScarePaq) to allow them to replace the unit when there are problems. I would say it's worth the fee but I can all but guarantee that the replacement(s) will have problems as well.
This product is in such demand because it truly is (read should be) the greatest PocketPC out there. At this point, Compaq doesn't care that they don't work because they are making revenue...wait until they realize the amount of money they've spent shipping these things back and forth for repairs.
They have also been offering refunds to those who are not satisfied.
I've had mine for 6 months and haven't had these problems. I'm happy with my device. It's a lot easier to use on a plane than my laptop, I can check my e-mail in just a couple of minutes, I can browse full websites (not clips) wirelessly.
Can your Palm do that?
I bought the ipaq 3630 pocket pc as it seemed the handhelds were 'going out of style' so to speak, & I wouldn't have as wide of choices of 3rd party software or updates available to my existing applications (if you can't beat them, join them).
I think the ipaq is the best of the pocket pc pdas available. Its very fast, the OS is much more stable. The handwriting recognition is very good & you really don't need the extra HW recognition pgm that comes with it 'Transcriber', as Transcriber is slower too. The battery lasts about 6 hours. (1-2 hours less than the standard Jornada battery). The best settings on the ipaq to save your battery are: turn device off if not used for 1 min + turn off backlight if device is not used for 10 sec. I am using the ipaq with a IBM 1 gig microdrive - this allows for many reference DBs (I have about 9 of them) to be carried with me. The screen is very readable. I have not had a problem with the stylus getting stuck (as I remember to put it back in, in the correct orientation). The MP3 player or making home movies & sound (with digital camera pictures & recorded songs)are fun, but I really don't use that feature much (it uses up your battery fast), & I need this machine for work.
I guess the biggest drawback to the ipaq is what is in common to all pocket pcs & palm devices, the small screen & limited word processing conversions. I have M'soft word documents that are quite long & in a outline form. They are essentially unreadable on a pocket pc even in landscape mode or even converting them to eBooks format with M'soft reader. Reformatting the hidden codes in these MS Word documents even on your desktop to fit a small screen is not a job for the faint of heart. Pocket Word is very limited. I also bought a keyboard for the ipaq, but the keyboard doesn't support 'ctrl B' for bolding, etc. Pocket Excel works great tho.
Syncing with my desktop has been fine, no problems there. With the HP, I could do editing, change excel, get on the Internet etc & really not worry about getting things onto the desktop. With a Pocket PC or Palm, its best to do all your work on the desktop, then sync with the PDA.
I don't bother accessing the Internet from the ipaq so I don't need a modem. If you want to use a modem tho, then you can't use a CF card or the IBM microdrive, as an expansion sleeve only allows a modem OR a card.
The HP Jornada 690 (or now 720), lets you do EVERYTHING but it has a larger footprint & costs more. However I kind of miss it, but it was bigger & I am not sure software developers will support it as enthusiastically as the Pocket PCs which are more consumer oriented.
As for a Palm, if you want anything more than a calender or contacts, forget it. I bought one of these too & returned it the same day. The Palm can only have 1 to max 3 applications open at a time, then it runs out of memory. I have had 9 programs open at once on the iPaq or the HP & never run out of memory & the machine doesn't come to a halt either.
I think this is a great product but to satisfy customers availability is mandatory.
Thank you very much for your attention.
runs dry. You couldn't get a girl's number if you had caller ID, but hey this sleek little chunk of sexy technology may give you the self confidence needed to fill out a personals ad on the web.
To check this out right click mycomputer->properties->Device Manager, then look under the USB icon.
If you have that kind of USB you will not be able to sync with the IPAQ through usb. I have been syncing with a serial since and it is terrible. It takes approximately 30 min. to sync an mp3, and at least 20 min. to sync avantgo. If you have an open host controller USB I would not advise getting the IPAQ.
Overall, I have to say that I am very happy with my IPAQ since I can sync at work with a USB.
I have owned the palm IIIc and the Handspring Prism. First the Prism, simply, not worth the money. The only advantage of the prism over the IIIc is the expansion port but the components are so expensive that it isn't worth it. So given the choice I would choose the IIIc over the prism. The screens for all intents and purposes are equal and you will not be able to tell the difference most of the time. My primary reason for getting the IPAQ over any palm type device would be the unit's speaker. I purchased all of my pda's to make sure that I am on schedule but the palm type devices don't have a loud enough speaker to warn me of a meeting. The IPAQ is loud, extremely loud. I also found the palm type devices to be somewhat limiting. In approximately one day you will know the entire machine and you will also know that, that is about all you can do with it. However, on the other had the IPAQ is way more complicated to use and to set up but I feel that if there is something unique that I need to do it will be able to do it.
Before buying the IPAQ I read many reviews and many of them said that Compaq's service was terrible. I must say that I do not agree. As a matter of fact I found there service to be A++ and the operators to be extremely polite and patient.
Also DO NOT buy this unit to play mp3's. It will be maxed out in about 4 standard mp3's because the IPAQ allocates part of it's memory for running programs so in reality you only have about 14 mgs of space to work with for your files. Also don't plan on upgrading the memory for the ipaq since the 64 meg cards cost $310 + $50 (prices from Compaq) for the expansion jacket.
One more note about the available software. There is not as much available software for the IPAQ (or any other PocketPc) as for the Palm devices. So if you want to do something highly specialized plan on spending more money after you get your pocketpc.
I know that I gave alot of cons and little if any pros, eventhough I said I was happy with my unit. I did this primarly because when you are spending [this much] on anything, the cons are way more important.
I swiftly pulled out my credit card and purchased the Sexy Silver Compaq iPaq H3650. I'm a Psion man myself, but ever since that chance meeting in a remote airport, I've never looked back.
The iPaq is more than just another PDA, it a MP3 player, a picture viewer and a ebook reader plus more.
One thing I like most about the iPaq is its ability to synchronise perfectly with Outlook. Psion products I've had in the past always seemed to miss information or were difficult to setup. The iPaq was easy to setup and synchronisation through the serial or infrared ports is a breeze.
I'm left handed, but still find the handwriting recognition software extremely accurate.
I would recommend the iPaq everytime - If you can get your hands on one.
SOME TIPS TO SHARE: for friends who want to expand by jackets for CF cards, think buying the PCMCIA jacket instead. There are PCMCIA card adaptors for CF cards. So you only need one PCMCIA jacket to serve both purposes!
The iPAQ saves individual Notes that you make in the sub-directory where you create them in the Notes app area. This results in them initially having a name such as "Work1, Work2, etc. (i.e., if you have a Note directory called Work). This is not very helpful so you have to rename them by doing a "tap and hold" on the file name, and giving it the new name. Otherwise you end of with lots of Notes with non-descript names with numbers at the end. Not too helpful.
For better power management, watch the screen brightness setting which you set from the Settings menu. You can also hit the "Q" button and pop up the Q menu and get to it from there. A lot of times you can reduce the backlight setting and save power and extend battery life. Otherwise running it at the highest intensity you'll only have about 3 hours. Also, in direct sunlight, where the iPAQ works great but the Palm and Casio units wash out totally, you can set it on "power save" mode
If you use the digital recorder function, be careful what you have the settings here. The iPAQ will record anywhere from 8,000 Hz, Mono, 2KB/sec, to 44,100 Hz, 16-bit, stereo, 172 KB/sec. You'll find that even the 22,050 Hz, stereo settings will cause even short notes to take up 300K of space. After a few of these you're out of memory and you'll wonder why. The default setting of 8-bit mono is okay so I just leave it there.
This setting is also hard to find and can be found under Settings\Personal\Input\Options.
I've found my iPAQ to be the best of the Pocket PCs out there. Hope these suggestions help.
The speaker is really amazing when playing an MP3 , it's just like a miniture boombox. Plug in your headphones and you got an MP3 player ! Download the Pocket TV software and you can watch movies on this baby anywhere ! I personally thought that alone was worth the price of this gadget, but that is not all it is capable of. It can handle almost all the necesarry work that is needed to be done on a laptop or desktop computer. Preinstalled software of Word ,Outlook ,and the Pocket Street makes this device really involved in your everyday lifestyle.
Battery is impressing. It survived a whole 15-hour workday with me of average use. (No Videos)
All in all , I take my hats OFF to compaq for creating such a great product ;)
The screen is very sharp and controls layout is excellent (stereo jack, speaker/controller, etc.
Issues: * I wish it had an integrated compact flash slot (you need to get a sleave which adds bulk). But, I suppose Compaq had to make some tradeoff's and it's OK. What they should have done is included the compactflash sleave with the unit instead of the useless plastic it came with (it makes an OK ashtray).
* The synch/power cradle is a bit clugy but it's pretty. You need to get a traveling kit (power, synch,etc)
* The power adaptor is large. I wish they would standardise these friggin things so you don't need a suitcase full of them.
Overall, this is one super product and I use it every day. Also, you MUST get Microsoft Pocket Streets. This is the best applciation out there for a pocketPC.
a couple of annoyances: The stylus holder accepts the stylus in either direction (left-right, not top-down), but will jam in the last inch if you put it in backwards. Why not use a design that would only fit in one way, or make it symetrical so it didn't matter? you jam this stylus in good, and it's never coming out, not without a trip to service. I'd rather have seen a Palm compatible stylus holder, so one of the excellent aftermarket ones could be used (Pentopia makes a stylus/pen combination that rocks!)
The data connection on the stand is a flimsy design that makes an uncomfortable "chunk" sound everytime you connect it. I don't know how well it's going to last.
the hard plastic slip case that comes with it has no face cover, so it doesn't protect the screen, and it latches into place only lightly. a quick movement will launch the unit out of the case. So the "protective" cover actually provides a negative level of protection, creating a situation where damage is certain to happen. Better to buy the leather case, looks nice and much better protection.
The voice recorder button is placed in the perfect place to bet hit accidentally, and often. I delete odd recordings almost every day.
ActiveSync has a long way to go to become a mature application. It works, but it's very limited in capabilities.
built in lithium ion batter makes for a nice slim unit, but what happens if it needs replacing? The case is sealed.
The system reminder alarms are LOUD, no amount of adjusting volume settings seemed to change it. I had to turn them all off, otherwise anytime a reminder went off, the entire office would hear it.
all in all, the best handheld PC available now, but the market has a lot of maturing to do as of yet.
* The exterior design is great looking with all the buttons in a comfortable place for my hand....Casio's buttons are wrong for the hand
* I've used Compaq desktops and laptops in the past and found them to be reliable
* The Compaq iPAQ is the only screen can be fully seen in full daylight
* Compaq's version was the most popular by consumer response and online consumer opinions
* The price was in the middle range....
I easily loaded in my addresses and schedule via the USB port on my computer (win 98). Since I travel 100%, I've found that this pda is perfect for:
Why has the iPAQ enabled me to be more productive on the road?:
* I download my email before I leave work or home for the airport. While on the plane, I can easily read my email and reply using the iPAQ. Although I haven't been able to secure a modem card yet, when I get to my hotel, I simply hook the iPAQ up to my laptop and sync my email.
* I've started using Expedia.com to book my flights, hotels, and rental cars. Expedia allows you to download your itineraries directly into the iPAQ along with street maps/directions. This saves me a lot of paper since I usually print out a confirmation for each service I book online.
* I have created a profile for Pocket I.E. so I can have certain webpages downloaded on the iPAQ. This is handy to download the current news or stock report and read it on the go. Review and edit documents using Pocket Word and keep your laptop in your bag.
* One of the most difficult things to do on the road is to pay my bills. With Pocket MS Money, I'm able to connect to my bank (via my laptop or iPAQ modem card) and download my current statement as well as pay my bills via auto payment. Read e-books using Pocket Reader. The ClearType technology allows you to easily read on the small screen.
* The most important item for me on the iPAQ is Pocket Excel. It allows me to complete my expense report on the fly daily or while flying home.
You can't do all of that on a Palm! And if you relate to "coolness", this pda has it!
- Schedule planner (synch with home and work)
- Read email, including Word and Excel attachments
- Address/ contacts data
- Notes (including free hand simple drawings)
- Business applications (mainly spreadsheet)
- MP3 player
- Personal pictures (JPGs) although this is a small screen
- Ebook reader using Project Gutenberg text files.
I have not owned a PDA before, and was not impressed by friends' Palms since they appeared to be just electronic address and calendars. This is *quite* a bit more...
Good Points -
- Excellent screen -- very bright and colorful (although other people have reported dust under the screen, I have not found any)
- Word and Excel. In my professional life I live on these. I have several self written Excel spreadsheet on the iPAQ which aid me greatly in daily working enviroments. And it's really impressive to see a client's reaction when I pull out the iPAQ and do a company valuation or financial model spreadsheet on my PDA. These are "Pocket" versions of Word and Excel, so they don't have the full features of the desktop versions, but for something I can put in my shirt pocket and take with me, they are quite functional.
- Ezpandability. I picked up the Compact Flash sleeve and now have a machine with essentially 100 MB RAM, using a 64 MB CF card. Using a spare card I can swap out 64 MB of data at a time -- mp3s for music or data for work. This has replaced me carrying a 100 MB zip disk around.
- Power. I've run test MPEG video clips on this in full color and sound. 200 MHz is more than my last generation desktop's processor power.
- Excellent handwriting recognition without needing to learn a new language. Still not as easy as just writing and took me a day to get used to, but for taking meeting notes etc it is very good.
- Versatility. Excel, word, email, mp3, games, ebooks, voice recorder, jpg viewer -- I'm very impressed to get this in one device. Some of the wireless connectivity options through the expansion sleeves (CF or PCMIA wireless modem and through the installed Internet Explorer) look very impressive, although I have not tried them yet.
Could be Improved -- Most of these are quibbles or personal preference...
- Connectivity. I use the provided USB cradle at home and aserial cable at work. I had to buy the serial cable for the workmachine (no USB port) and I think Compaq should have provided it.Autosynch works pretty well, but I have had some duplicate meetingsshow up on my schedule. Part of that I think, it that I am learningto use it, and switching between Outlook at home and MS Exchange atwork. Other people have reported connectivity problems that I havenot encountered.
- Battery. The unit has an internal wired inbattery which is rechargable from either the cradle or an externalpower adapter. I would have preferred a replaceable (and rechargable)battery just in case. I get from 4-6 hours of standard usage out ofthe battery now.
- Software availability. There are severalhundreds of programs availabe and more being added each week -- but Iwould like to see more available including standard business products.In particular, I am *VERY* surprized there isn't a pocket version ofPowerpoint -- although I understand one is near release.
-Earphone volume is loud with earbuds, so I run it at near minimumvolume.
- Case or cover for the iPAQ. Compaq provides a smallsimple case, and aftermarket vendors have others available. I'm usinga surplus HP65 calculator case which works very well. I would havepreferred a snazzy case from Compaq to show off the machine -- butthat is my personal preference.
All in all, I am *very* impressedwith this machine. There are things that could be better, but overallit is very good. People who have seen this being used by myself droolover it...
First, the pros: The unit is *extremely* powerful and fast! The 206Mhz StrongARM CPU makes quick work of just about any task you throw at it. A whopping 32MB of RAM is amazing to have in a unit this size! The design is fantastic, I love the rounded aluminum case and the overall size of the unit amazed me. (I really expected it to be much bigger. As it is, it's just barely larger than my Palm IIIxe. Or, to put it another way: "INCREDIBLE COSMIC POWER! Itty bitty living space.") The color and resolution of the screen is wonderful and battery life is great, especially considering the amount of power they've packed into this unit.
The "Expansion Sleeve" system is a fantastic addition as well, a bit like the expansion units you can get for Handspring's Visor. While the unit is extremely powerful "out of the box", the ability to add Compact Flash or PCMCIA slots, wireless modems, GPS units and so forth makes it even more powerful. I personally have a 340MB IBM microdrive on the way, and I'm still giggling over the fact that I'll have a 200+ Mhz, 32MB RAM, 340MB computer that fits in the palm of my hand and runs for several hours off of an internal rechargable battery.
Now the cons: The unit as a whole, while nicely designed, seems like it could have used another month or so of engineering. The "rocker button" that also makes up the speaker enclosure just doesn't have a very finished feel to it. It makes "squeaky springy" noises when I use it, which is a little unsettling. The screen is very nice, but needs some sort of protection to prevent it from getting scratched up, and there are numerous reports of getting dust or other "gunk" under the screen which show up as annoying bright spots when the backlight is on. Finally, I can't help but feel that the mechanism that holds the stylus in is just going to break and stop working some day. It's nice having a mechanical action to "pop" the stylus out of its socket, but it would be much more reliable to use friction to hold it in, the way the Palm units do it.
And then there's the PocketPC software it runs... I've gotten very attached to my Palm IIIxe over the last few months I've had it and I really appreciate what it can do for me and understand what it's *not* supposed to do for me. Without being too critical, I'll just say that I haven't found anything that PocketPC really offers me that PalmOS doesn't, and a lot of unneccesary overhead. If PocketPC is a revolutionary improvement on the WinCE codebase, I'd hate to have to use an older version!
I must say though, I'm getting very spoiled by the speed at which the PocketPC software on the iPAQ responds as opposed to PalmOS on the much less powerful Palm I have, but that's a tribute to the power of the hardware more than anything the OS offers me.
Further, despite what I've heard others say about it, I find that the "Microsoft ActiveSync" software to be abysmal at best and nearly useless as a sync tool on average. It will only allow me to sync to *two* different desktops?! I have my work machine, my home machine and my laptop: pick any two. I have had no end of trouble with conflict resolution and invariably wind up just deleting everything off the desktop and re-syncing everything from scratch off the iPAQ. If you want an iPAQ to make it easy to move data from one machine to another, you will be sorely disappointed.
(Of course, my issues with PocketPC and ActiveSync are soon to be a moot point for me as I'll eventually be running Linux on my iPAQ full-time, thanks to the Open Handhelds Project.
Software availability for PocketPC on the StrongARM CPU is currently miniscule at best, although I expect it to quickly increase considering the popularity of this device.
All in all I'd say that it's a little pricey, maybe released a couple months early, and despite what I percieve as serious drawbacks of the PocketPC OS, it is without doubt one of the hottest (and coolest) geek toys on the market today. If you're at all into geek styling, you *need* one of these devices, if not for its power and expandability, at least for its cool-factor. (But good luck finding one!)
I've owned a Psion 5, a Palm V and a Nino. The Nino was a complete waste of time (too slow, too little memory). The Psion's synchronisation with Windows was appalling, so that fell by the wayside. The Palm V has been a great PDA, and I feel guilty when I hear its beeps of dispair from the closet...
However, the Ipaq *was* worth the wait. For sheer richness of media (I'm listening to excellent quality MP3 on it now) it beats the Palm hands down, but then you pay for it. Battery life seems pretty good, although you need to be sure to recharge to avoid data loss (unlike the Palm). And the Windows integration is excellent - the USB cable was unnecessary, I sync with Windows 2000 via infra-red. It feels sturdy, is beautifully engineered, and clearly beats every other PocketPC hands down: bettering this will require other manufacturers to integrate Bluetooth or some similarly compelling selling point.
I only have a few criticisms of the product: - The heavy PC Card sleeve is a little too easy to slip off - A little more documentation would have been nice - It runs Windows, which has already managed to total my Inbox during a fouled synchronisation. The Palm *never* did that to me.
And was it worth abandoning my Palm V for this? I think so. I need to carry around a lot of documentation, and the Palm just can't present it this well, regardless of which third-party application you use. Palm will continue to attract people who only want PDA functionality: but for those that want a little more, the Ipaq really is the standard to beat.
Recent inquiry re: software failures including inaccurate info reflected on "Today" screen (future dates data presented as currenct schedule) and other software failures resulted in the following comment from Compaq: "...back up all of the data on the unit (because this will erase everything) and turn the unit off, using the switch on the bottom, and then back on. That may fix some of the problems you are having." No further suggestions or offers of assistance were offered.
I can't wait for Palm to release an updated version. It will provide me with an excuse to convert back to Palm.
Finally, synching is really cool. To synch your Palm, it goes in the cradle and you press synch, but don't leave it there as the cradle drains the battery. With the iPaq, leave it in the cradle--it charges the battery--and synch happens automatically in the background. Update a contact in Outlook? As soon as you save, ActiveSynch detects it and pushes it to your iPaq with no intervention.
Pocket PC beat PalmVx for its color support and the kind of applications it supports and for its ability to upgrade.
So, it came down to Pocket PCs.
The best Casio is too crooked looking and heavy! The latest was OK but the style was missing compared with the iPAQ. HP lost with iPAQ in the color brightness category. HP not only looks too simple compared with silvery look of iPAQ, it [costs] more for nearly the same features. Of course, HP has a built in slot for compact flashcard which is a big plus for it. I almost got it before I decided if I will use the built in slot a lot! It was a close one between these two and I choose iPAQ mainly for the looks, and the color depth it gives over HPs and the ratings it got over other pocket PCs and most of all it almost looks as cool as PalmVx in looks!
PalmVx is way overvalued for what it can be done with it compared with Pocket PCs but I agree it has the coolest looking hardware.
I can see it.
I can see mobile computing....REAL mobile computing.
I can see wireless internet....REAL full browsing wireless internet.
I can see wireless networking.
I can see Global Positioning System.
I can see wireless streaming video and wireless video conferencing.
I can see and hear the multimedia...mp3, mpegs, and beyond.
I can see wireless printing and communication with printers and other devices.
I can see it all... and I can see it all with my Compaq iPAQ Pocket PC 3630... and I'm very happy with what I see!
Ron Moskowitz
I have the same problem with mine, but there is a fix for it. This started happening after a couple of weeks and has happened at least 10 times so far, since I use mine a lot, but using this trick I have always been able to get it out again. Just turn the iPAQ upside down and tap on the side near the stylus hole, and also try hitting the butten a few times while you're at it. This has always worked and gotten it un-stuck. After that, the button will work again and release the stylus--until the next time it gets stuck.
Helge
P.S.: Last but not least: what's up with that flimsy cradle? Every time I put it in there I thought I'd break the connectors.
Positive:
-This beats the Palm in almost every way possible. Clear and bright screen that is perfectly viewable in sunlight. Not to mention that it's also crisp color as well. The brightness is totally adjustable and there's even a sensor that you can set so it will automatically adjust the brightness accordingly. Very cool.
-The hotsync speed blows away the Palm. What's also very nice is that it can dynamically sync with your Outlook mail, contacts, calendar, notes, etc. If you have the Ipaq already connected in the cradle and you're sorting and deleting your email on your desktop, the Ipaq will instaneously synchronize every delete/add that you make on your desktop. With the Palm, you have to press the hotsync button everytime or schedule a hotsync. With the Ipaq, you just plug it in and forget about it.
-The integrated Windows Media Player is awesome. It's basically an integrated Mp3 player that can play any mp3. You now have music on the go and plus you can plug in headphones to your Ipaq, and listen to your music at work.
-You can also record with the built-in microphone your voice or voice reminders
-Everything with Outlook - Contacts, Emails, Calendar appears the exact same way as it does on your Ipaq.
-Very accurate Handwriting recognition. One of the best selling points for the Apple PDA is now available for the Ipaq. Same technology and accuracy that the Newtons run on.
-With the Palm V, you're limited to the amount of memory you can store of only 2MB or 8MB if you have the Vx. With the Compact Flash Card, you can store up to whatever your compact flash can hold. Currently, it's at 1GB. That's a lot of mp3s.
-Overall, it looks very cool (Matrix silver) and it's the fastest and most top of the line PocketPC you can buy out there on the market. And because it's so hard to get, it just raises the cool factor even higher. =)
Some of the negative sides
-Doesn't come with a serial cable. So people running NT have to purchase this cable separately.
-Size. It is a little bulkier than the sleek Palm V, but it still fits in my pocket and I can carry it in my bag.
-Accessories are hard to find and anything related to this item (including the Ipaq itself) is hard to find. Too bad a hard cover case isn't available yet for this. I'm still looking btw.
-Software. There's much more third party software out there available for Palm than there is for PocketPC. Go figure...Palm owns 70% marketshare for PDAs. This will slowly change.
Overall...the Ipaq is very nice. If you can afford one and find one available, I really suggest this as a very good strong buy.
In my mind, their brand image has suffered greatly and they have wasted my time, energy and money.
The iPaq comes with a USB docking station and charger. I think, I will try to buy an auto adapter soon, because it charges to full capacity very quickly. I am on the road a bit and don't want to really carry another standard charger (eg PC, phone).
My iPaq connects to my PC a work seemlessly. I have all my appointments,emails downloaded automatically, so I am always on top of things. I have started reading books on the iPaq, not much is yet available, but you can read in dim conditions and changing a page is a thumb push EASIER than turning a page in a book.
I went to Paris last week and used the free map to help me figure out where to stay and where to go. Its only the start (the apps) of what is going to make the CE type devices the "PC" of the future.
After playing around with this machine for a good 24 hours now, I have several observations that should be of interest to those who are looking at getting this machine. If anyone has any comments/questions/suggestions about any of this, contact me at mikew@airmail.net.
Plusses -------
TFT color screen is clearer and slightly larger than the HP. Processor is a bit over 200MHz, so it's pretty snappy. 32MB RAM for programs and internal storage, plus 16MB RAM ROM for Windows CE, give this thing a lot of room to grow. I like the recorder feature, just click and hold a button on the side and you have a digital recorder. Media player looks interesting, though if you want to use this for MPGs much, plan on buying the upgrade so you can install a 32MB or 64MB CF card. Stock handwriting recognition is acceptable, much better than MARS and Pen Services 2.0 (that's notebook pen computers for those who don't know, a technology that never realized its place, and is sorely missed).
Drawbacks ---------
I own 3 Pen-based notebooks, a DTR-1, Compaq convertible, and my favorite, a IBM 360PE convertible. I've owned a few others...
One of the things "we" realized years ago is that pen based computer screens needs to have a little friction so as to prevent the pen from scating all over the place. If the screen is too slick, it's difficult to control and handwriting recognition will suffer. The iPAQ has a very slick screen.
Probably the most dumbfounding factor about this is something I've since found a lot of posts about: lack of accessories! I have two Win95 machines at home and run WinNT at work (not Win2000). None of my desktop machines support USB, and the retail package only comes with USB. Serial isn't available yet, or you're hard pressed to find it at least (I haven't). Compaq tech support hasn't helped.
I am disappointed with the fact that you have to buy a special attachment that will EXTEND THE LENGTH of the unit, just to use flash memory (CF) cards. I don't know what the addition to the cabinet's length will be. My guess is up to another 2", which will make this the longest of the Pocket PCs (the HP, which is slower, but established, doesn't require anything for a CF card). Moreover, these aren't available either. So there's no way to sync it up at work, which was my #1 reason to get it. Compaq tells me they should be caught up by DECEMBER 2000. The way I've managed to get around this so far is to use my wife's notebook and upload software via infrared. It's a slow, painful process, but it'll get me communicating with it for the time being.
My model, just purchased yesterday, is a 3630. Compaq has already released information about the new 3650. I couldn't see much of a difference spec wise, though it might be worth holding off another month if it's sigificant.
The mapping software on the ROM is old and current map format (downloadable from microsoft.com) is incompatible. The CD did not come with a Dallas map, so it appears I'll have to chew up some of my 32MB and install the new mapping software to actually use it.
There is very little in the way of software out there at this time for the StrongARM processor. I've spent 2 days looking around and choices are greatly limited.
Lastly, the rounded bottom proves a little cumbersome, since you cannot rest your wrist anywhere while writing. A square base would be preferrable, although the rounded one looks cool at first glance.
That sounds like a lot of griping, but they're all issues for me. At this point I'm tempted to take it back for the HP, which again had a slightly smaller, duller screen (though it's not slick like the iPAQ), and mainly, slower processor. Not having to grow the base just to insert a tiny CF card is a major consideration for me.
Oh, battery life surprised me. If you leave the backlight on low, expect 6-8 hours of average use.
One last note. I spent some time with TScribe (Transcriber, Microsoft's improved handwriting recognition software, available for free from their site). After about an hour of tweaking, I can honestly report that it is the best cursive handwriting recognition I've seen, and a good tie with the Newton. Newton held the record on that for several years.
I'm interested in any comments, so email me above if you want.
Mike W Programmer Dallas
The USB connection is by far superior to the old serial connects for synch speed. Transferred 500 contacts in 3 secs.
Once the expansion sleeves hit the market (October)... I think this one is a winner!
Second, my disappointed review: WHERE ARE MY ACCESSORIES?????!!!!!!! COMPAQ HAS DONE SO VERY POORLY IN THIS AREA. NO EXPANSION JACKETS. NO SERIAL CRADLE SO I CAN SYNC MY IPAQ AT WORK. NO NOTHING. NOTHING. NOTHING, EXCEPT SOME EXTRA STYLUSES AND A MODEM TO PUT IN MY IMAGINARY EXPANSION SLOT!!!!!!!!!
OK...I feel better. I love my Ipaq. I going to go play with it now.
I highly recommend iPAQ if you can find one.
The iPaq is very lightweight and much more powerful than the other PocketPCs on the market today. My only knock on it is that it does not have a compact flash port built in and my expansion pack has been on back order for a while. That being said, the iPaq will make you say, "Palm Who?"
The screen is VERY easy to read and the color very good (although 12 bit not 16 bit). Word documents look great, even tables are readable (although large tables are tough because of the small screen size). Same goes for Web pages, save pages for offline viewing and you can read them on the iPaq (screen size annoyance depends on the particular Web page design).
The only bad things I can say is that the auto-light sensor does not work well for me. It usually picks a setting too dark for my tastes. Syncing Outlook Tasks is a bit annoying as it sticks them all as documents in your sync folder. Syncing on my Win98SE system with USB is erratic but works flawlessly on Windows 2000 Pro. Closing porgrams is annoying, even with the Compaq button. Why they left out the close button on each app is beyond me.
Overall this is the best PDA yet. All the advantages of a Palm plus it works with your regular Office documents and has a useful Web browser. Getting used to it takes about an hour. It suffers from the obvious limits of its size but this is its advantage as well. The screen makes reading easy and I've read 40 page Word documents on it with ease.
With some more memory, a modem card, and perhaps a travel keyboard like they have for the Palm, you really can leave your laptop at home.
Now if only the expansions would get off backorder so I could get some more memory...
Compaq needs to deliver the complete product and functions so vividly exhibited in all of their web based literature. And with Comdex coming, they must know that the competition will be on their heels! Note that the literature shows USB or Serial Cradle, depending on region: they tell me they're only shipping with USB and that Serial is a (customer payed) option.
The sound is pretty darn good for such a small device and the device is extremely user friendly.
The auto-adjusting light is a god-send...especially when you want to save some battery life. I usually only have to recharge mine once a week!
I use my new toy for everything: email, dictionary, book reader, mp3 walkman, note taker. If you need an all-in-one handheld solution, this is your bag, baby.
Microsoft's software bundle was a little more on the mass-market side (you know, less details...). This includes the active sync CD and the software license for Outlook 2000. The CD also includes some extras like the Avantgo client (highly recommended) and about 10 megs worth of e-Books (mostly classic novels.)
My wife saw the iPaq and went nuts, she just loved the look and the guy sitting next to me at the bar was watching the entire process through the corner of his eye. I think I was more interested in finding about what I can do with this thing. I can tell you nothing much at the time 'cause when I tried to turn it on I could not: There is a switch at the bottom that you have to move before using it.
The iPaq is very nice looking, but you will have to get used to it, especially if you come from Palm land. It is not a pocket pc, despite whoever says otherwise. It is just about the same size of the Palm IIIc, and only wearable when you have a jacket on. The rest of the time you will have to carry it on your hand or in a briefcase or purse.
The quick access buttons are very small and on the iPaq I still don't get what the arrow means, nor the italic Q isotype. The logos on the Calendar button and Contact are very un-expressive and reminiscent of the Outlook icons for both apps (not very good father figures.) The arrow button will launch a Quick Launch manager with all your apps, (you have to create a shortcut every time you install a program...absurd!) The Q button launches a QMenu with some useful choices.
The iPaq does not have a direct button to the Programs window and this makes it difficult to navigate, especially if you don't like the Compaq QStart utility like me. You have to go through the Start menu pretty much for most of your choices, and it still doesn't include all of them, so be prepared to do a few clicks to get to a program you have not recently used. There are no direct buttons to the volume control nor to the brightness utility; and there are only few quick access buttons so it pretty much rules out reprogramming them. (I guess Compaq engineers forgot these are consumer products!).
Finally, I guess most of the bulk of the software I want is on a Pocket Pc Pack that you get if you register via the Pocketpc.com website. The thing is they are going to ship mine in THREE WEEKS. Don't you think it should be included in the package? I guess Microsoft wants to know who is buying these things, since they are the deliverers.
To conclude, the quick access buttons need some revision (not to mention they should put some more), the screen is simply a Palm killer, kudos for the silver Vader, gothic look, and the software still needs some more brain storming. `Simple is better' hasn't gotten Palm to 7 million fellows for nothing. If you have a Palm V, you will definitively want to carry that one on you, and the other on your pocket (your briefcase pocket that is.)
I'll echo other reviewers by saying that this thing is the best, and blows every competing Pocket PC out of the water! The screen is so bright, you could use it as a flashlight. The software package is rich. I know Windows CE, has been known to be quarky, but all the apps run smoothly and without complications. I'd visit Compaq's web site for a full run down.
Before I bought it I had been using A Visor. Let me tell you, I never got the hang of writing freehand. The iPaq's character recognition function is 100 times better. It's the best thing next to old fashioned pen and paper, still the most accurate.=)
I'm a student, and the fact that you can transfer Office documents from PC-to-iPaq is very useful. The Mp3 player is a plus. And the voice recorder, is amazing. I don't even have to take notes, but if I need to, I can quickly jot down a few things and convert it into type later, although i must admit, that my handwirting could stand some fine tuning.
All-in-all, this is thing is great. I haven't tried connecting to the internet yet, so I don't know about that. I do know that to do those things, as well as us CF cards you have to buy expansion packs. I haven't been able to get them yet. That is the only annoyance I can imagine.
In short, get it! No excuses. (Oh yeah, it holds addresses too. Probably about 50 million.)
I have purchased the Pretec modem for use on the road and am able to dial in to my ISP (MSN) with no problems. Just have to make sure I remember to get the number for the city I am going to beforehand.
I would recommend this to anyone who is tired of carrying a laptop around all over the place and wants a simple way to get Email, look up contacts, etc.
-- The number of useful applications is far beyond what the Palm offers. Just having Word, Excel, and Outlook makes this unit worth the $$. I downloaded a 2,000 row excel spreadhsheet into the iPAQ and it handled it quickly and perfectly.
-- The speed is LIGHTNING fast! It loads word in 1/2 sec, compared to 5 sec on my 475mhz PC. The response is instantaneous for most actions.
-- The useability of Outlook is much better than the Palm PIM manager. It is faster, better looking, and the instant and automatic keyboard appearance when name searching is fabulous!
-- The synching feature is better and faster than the one on my Palm. Once you place a file in the synch directory, it will always keep it synched with the one on your desktop. This is most important with documents like excel files that are constantly changing.You can also customize the synching to be automatic or manual, and it reads changes to synched files a few seconds after they occur.
-- The Reader application is great. I just wish there were more titles than old fiction classics to select from.
-- Applications software loading is far easier then on the Palm OS. On the Palm, you have to jack around with finding the right location to put a file so it will synch. On the iPAQ, you load the application from your PC like any other software program and it loads immediately on the iPAQ without any file placement games.
-- The game capability is terrific due to the excellent color screen and some good game applications. Some of the games that come on the unit on the free expansion package are superior (pac-man and the cubicle game). What an advance over the game boy! (if you can afford the $500 price of admission).
-- It really is small enough to stuff in your back pocket. The Jornada is far heavier (by 3 oz.
-- The future expandability of this thing is mind-boggling. Modem, wireless RF, and vast additional storage is available now, and other remarkable inventions such as GPS will be available soon (I think).
-- Compaq support has been excellent. It also helps when your laptop is a Compaq as well (heh heh).
I feel that the iPAQ will replace my PC in the near future for a lot of what I do, once additional hardware, modem, etc. is purchased...
-- The number of useful applications is far beyond what the Palm offers. Just having Word, Excel, and Outlook makes this unit worth the $$. I downloaded a 2,000 row excel spreadhsheet into the iPAQ and it handled it quickly and perfectly.
-- The speed is LIGHTNING fast! It loads word in 1/2 sec, compared to 5 sec on my 475mhz PC. The response is instantaneous for most actions.
-- The useability of Outlook is much better than the Palm PIM manager. It is faster, better looking, and the instant and automatic keyboard appearance when name searching is fabulous!
-- The synching feature is better and faster than the one on my Palm. Once you place a file in the synch directory, it will always keep it synched with the one on your desktop. This is most important with documents like excel files that are constantly changing.You can also customize the synching to be automatic or manual, and it reads changes to synched files a few seconds after they occur.
-- The Reader application is great. I just wish there were more titles than old fiction classics to select from.
-- Applications software loading is far easier then on the Palm OS. On the Palm, you have to jack around with finding the right location to put a file so it will synch. On the iPAQ, you load the application from your PC like any other software program and it loads immediately on the iPAQ without any file placement games.
-- The game capability is terrific due to the excellent color screen and some good game applications. Some of the games that come on the unit on the free expansion package are superior (pac-man and the cubicle game). What an advance over the game boy! (if you can afford the $500 price of admission).
-- It really is small enough to stuff in your back pocket. The Jornada is far heavier (by 3 oz.
-- The future expandability of this thing is mind-boggling. Modem, wireless RF, and vast additional storage is available now, and other remarkable inventions such as GPS will be available soon (I think).
-- Compaq support has been excellent. It also helps when your laptop is a Compaq as well (heh heh).
I feel that the iPAQ will replace my PC in the near future for a lot of what I do, once additional hardware, modem, etc. is purchased. The only problem with this thing is getting one! ...
I have one of the first production models of the H3650 and to date I have noticed no real short-comings.
The ups: It is FAST! Very Fast for a handheld computer. The term Pocket PC is perfect for this device. It came loaded with Pocket versions of Word, Excel, Internet Explorer, Outlook, Microsoft Money, Microsoft Reader, and Solitare (Yes, even a game). This beast is world's ahead of the Palm generation. I have had a Palm III for about 2 years. For the longest time I kept looking to get a Windows CE device so that I could do more that just be somewhat organized. The Palm's are good at what they where designed for but they just weren't designed to be a computer.
Size wise the Ipac is barely bigger than the Palm III, thickness included. It is easy to hang on to, and easy to read the screen.
The Ipaq can play mp3's and .wav files out of the box. By downloading some free software it can even play mpeg videos.
The downs: The record button can get pressed when you don't mean too. Compaq should have released some accessories for the Ipaq when they shipped the first bunch. Compaq should bump up the production of these babies (I want to buy another one for my wife).
Summary: If your looking for more than just a Palm, look here! This PDA is the best I've seen to date!
However, in the same light, there are the problems which exist with any colour device: battery life, memory usage for colour graphics, glare... to name three. The clear resolution and briliant colours however may make up for this.
What makes this a bit of a downer in terms of a handheld is the price. Colour displays are not cheap, and the question of their necessity is still being hotly debated. The promise of colour movies and pictures is enough to draw in many, but when the question of usability is brought up there are many things left to be desired at this point.
No doubt with a reduction in price the iPAQ will step forward to take a commanding place in the Pocket PC market, but until that time it will likely take a backseat to its sibling, the Aero 1500, or cousins in the Palm area.
Randy,
This unit replaces my Casio E-100. This unit does not compare. It consistantly outdoes my E-100. The screen is truly viewable in all light situations. I took the unit out in full direct sunlight. I was able to clearly see the screen and use it. This is not possible with the E-100. I am also impressed with the speed. Push a button or icon and the application is instantly loaded. 206 Mhz does make a drastic difference in speed. The USB connection allows me to synchronize in seconds. It takes minutes using the serial port on the E-100. The power meter shows actual battery life left, as opposed to other units that indicate simply low and high. My unit is too new to comment on the battery life. So far it appears to be very good.
I have absolutely no buyers remorse on this one. It is a productive tool for me.
Listening to music on the go was another reason why I purchased this particular unit. I won't need a separate portable Mp3 player. The only thing I am concerned with is memory and I have been searching everywhere for the CF Jacket so I can pop in another 64meg card. Right now I am limited to about 4songs. Another cool feature is the autoSync I hook my unit up AutoSync goes to the web updates my news and sports info. Checks my e-mail and syncs my files up. I drop a couple of new mp3s into the folder have a cup of coffee and head out!!
This beats the hell out of my Psion5. The only thing I miss about the psion5 is it's large keyboard. I am sure it beats the PalmOS as well.
Anyone want a Psion5?
I had a tough time getting one, but now I have the iPaq. I can say that this a great companion to a PC -- something my laptop is, but this much more convient. I find the following features the most useful:
- Voice recorder: never thought I was a voice recorder type until I started using this one. Making a short note of something takes one second and is less obtrusive than trying to jote it down.
- Character recognition: No learning a new graffiti script here. Just a couple of slightv)ery slight) adjustments to how I write a couple of letters and my iPac can read my writing better than my co-workers. And if I carry over these slight adjustments into the real world, my co-workers will benefit, too.
- MP3 player: It's been a long time since I worried about carrying my tunes around with me. Having a player with me has made my days a bit more calmer as I wait in line. An unexpected benefit.
- Pocket Word, Excel, etc.: Now I can read the attachements to e-mails! I was also able to get a jump start on a spreadsheet I wanted to do while waiting at the airport, but this time there was no looking for a table and a plug in.
Those are just a start to the features I'm using.
As far as the hardware goes, the iPaq is palms down (pun intended) a winner over its HP and Casio peers. A slim, light weight product with _excellent_ visibility in daylight, the iPaq leaves the others in the dust. A faster processor than the others means there's no waiting. Syncing with my laptop takes just seconds, even with hundreds of items to sync.
I find the 'game pad' interface easy to use, intuitive and comfortable. Everything is in the right place.
This would have been a 5 star rating except for the fact that there is no built in CF slot -- you must purchas a separate expansion pack to add memory.
Palm may have the marketshare today, but I see good things for these PC-compatible companions. I espcially look forward to being able to develop and customize my own applications and utilities with my exsiting skillset, something I wouldn't be able to do with a Palm.
Windows CE works well, Far superior to the Palm units I looked at ( Everyone I know that has a palm likes the Palm, but most would switch after seeing the compaq)
Documentation on how to get around windows ce would be helpful, But it is not to hard to figure out.
More bang for the buck than the palm IIIC for those wanting color.
My only complaints to date,
1.) The cover for the hidden system on/off switch does not stay latched closed, a minor annoyance not worth returning the unit.
2.) The unit comes with a USB cradle, Windows N/T does not support USB, The serial cradle is not available yet ( not that I can find as of 8/4/00) Consequently I have to wait until Sept to make this sync with my work computer.
3.) Support to make this sync with Lotus Notes could be a challenge.
Overall, I like the unit better than the Palm, HP, or Casio units I looked at.
The advertisement pictures do it a "professional" injustice. I was a little apprehensive that the unit would look too much like a "GameBoy" for serious business use. However, that quickly vanished when I saw that the front "joystick" device was flat and unobtrusive. My peers all were impressed. It feels solid and metal-like, but I believe it is metalized plastic. The buttons are solid and I really like the way it is so responsive--I seem to never have to wait while applications launch. It's like having a Pentium PC in your hand.
Here are my feelings so far after only several days of use:
* - The display is truly outstanding--bright, clear, functional, under any lighting conditions. The only negative is that it does look a little bluish for pictures--maybe a limit of the backlight or only 4096 colors. However, it is a reasonable design compromise and not a distraction to me.
* - I like the way it sites in the cradle by my desk and shows me new messages appearing in my inbox. I just downloaded PicturePerfect to try--it creates a pleasant picture slide show while the iPaq is docked. I copied over several digital family photos. Now it sits and shows them like a Photo album. PicturePerfect is a nice application and performs great on the iPaq!
* - I use it with USB on Windows 2000. Microsoft ActiveSync works very well. It's interesting to see the changes take place on the iPaq as I read or delete email on my PC, and visa versa. The only disappointment was that it won't sync both my separate work and home email accounts in Outlook, as I was hoping to keep both on my iPaq.
* - Last night the kids were having fun recording and playing back their voices, and now I have 30 wav files-- treasures I can electronically preserve so we can laugh about when they are older. It's like taking snapshots of their voices. I would never do that with a tape recorder--too much setup. Now I can record simple voice note for later action.
* - So far, the 32 mb of memory goes a long way. Over the weekend, I loaded pictures, sound bits, several Word files, and an Excel file from work. I was impressed that Excel's entire spreadsheet transferred seamlessly. As an experiment, I changed a cell and copied the file back to the PC and reloaded it into Excell successfully. Impressive! Similarly, I loaded a large Word file of a book I extracted from a CD program. This still doesn't even put a dent into the memory. However, I've yet to do MP3 files, which uses 1 mb per minute.
* - Battery life is 8-10 hours. At home I mistakenly forgot to plug the charger in along with the USB. It ran all day long in its cradle until I noticed a low battery warning. A quick plug-in and it charged in a few hours.
As I am still discovering, the newness hasn't yet worn off. However, it appears I finally won't need to lug around my laptop as much anymore. It's well worth waiting for while Compaq ramps up their production. I am quite impressed with this iPaq device--it is good balance between power and functionality. Now, I hope they sell enough to encourage after-market supporting products. Nevertheless, I now have a device worthy of my development attention that will run the mobile applications I've dreamed of writing without feeling compromised or constrained!
When Compaq introduced their Aero 2100 series of handheld computers in 1999, they disappointed many with a murky screen displaying only 256 colors and a micro 2.5mm headphone jack instead the more traditional sized 3.5mm jack we are used to. Fortunately, Compaq offered a free software upgrade which boosted color output to 65,000 and finding an adapter for the headphone jack was as easy as going to my local Radio Shack.
So, when Compaq announced their new Ipaq I was excited. I was excited to think that I would get the best features of the Aero, with the superior new features and awesome design of the Ipaq. Unfortunately, the Ipaq team left me a bit deflated.
I was most disappointed with the cradle. Compaq chose to ship all Ipaqs with a USB version. Maybe you like having a cradle, but I don't need one. Sure, the cradle is nice, but wouldn't we have been better served had Compaq supplied USB and serial CABLES instead? What is even more maddening is Compaq's decision to alter the connection port on the Ipaq from the Aero 2100 standard. This renders any legacy cables useless and if you're an Aero owner who chose to upgrade, like me, you'll have to spend another $40 if you want to use your new Ipaq with other products like your cellular phone. Shame on Compaq.
I was also disappointed to see Compaq chose to go with only a 12-bit, 4,086 color screen instead of a 65,000 color screen. While the Ipaq's screen is quite a bit brighter than the Aero's, the difference in resolution in photos is extremely noticeable. I'm hopeful Compaq's engineers will offer a color upgrade similar to the Aero's.
Finally, instead of a mail-in rebate for the compact flash jacket, why not just include it as standard equipment?
With its superior speed and awesome looks, the Ipaq is a good machine. I only wish it was a little better.
A previous Amazon review stated that "The USB connection on Windows 2000 is a bit finiky." I have experienced major problems under Windows 2000 using the USB docking station -- it got worse and worse to the point where I can no longer sync at all. This feels like a software issue involving the included Windows sync software, as the sync software now reports that the USB port is not available. Maybe Intellisync 3.7 is the cure (if anybody knows the answer to this, please report it).
It has a great screen, making reading everything easier for me. I love the MP3 player, and having my favorite photos to show off. Reading books actually works for me on this (and it didn't on my laptop) and emails and word documents are a snap. I print pretty well anyway, so handwriting recognition is about 95% (! much better than I get with Palm).
After all of the raving, I do have to say that this is a complex device that takes some effort to master. I crashed 4 times working out how to transfer MP3s and JPEGs in one day (I have never crashed a Palm). More capabilities and features = more complexity and less stability. That said, it does work extremely well. Just be ready to invest time to learn it. After 1 week, I am also ready for more memory. (Time to go shopping for accessories. $$)
I'd say that the base product is robust and very well designed, the documentation (there isn't any) and accessories (not available yet) have been rushed and have not been done well. I expect that Compaq will improve this in the coming weeks. Activesync was not included, so be ready to download this from the net if you want to sync with Outlook.
I'd recommend this product. It's very fun.
The other "claim to fame" of the iPAQ is that its design is based on the Digital/Compaq "Itsy" design, a StrongARM handheld running Linux and the X Window System. Compaq engineers are now working on making the iPAQ a usable platform for running Linux and X. ...
Q: What's yellow, and equivalent to the Axiom of Choice?
A: Zorn's Lemon.
All of the true things I am about to tell you are shameless lies.
-- The Book of Bokonon / Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
