The sleek, less-than-5-oz. HP iPAQ h4155 Pocket PC offers optimized performance that will keep you productive, both while you're on the move and when you've reached your destinations. Integrated WLAN 802.11b, Bluetooth and a Secure Digital (SDIO) slot round out this model's powerful features.
1 breaks easily, can't be repaired cheaply
I purchased an HP IPAQ 4155 several months ago and was initially impressed with its functionality and power. However, the touch-screen fractured shortly thereafter, rendering it useless. I don't recall placing any stress on the screen or striking it, but it fractured while sitting in my pocket in its 'protective' case. Very fragile. The replacement touch screen cost $85 (I was just replacing the touch screen, not the LCD itself)! My trouble was only beginning. I am a trained computer technician, but I could not even OPEN up the damn unit to replace the touch screen without the case breaking into pieces. What a rip-off. They purposefully designed the unit so that you have to buy a new one if anything breaks, or send it in to HP so they can charge you an arm and a leg. I will not buy another HP product.
2 Screen Breaks and it will.
All the good reviews are from people that have just purchased this item. Wait till the screen breaks by its self.
I have owned 5 ipaqs, starting with the Aero and going all the way to 4155.
One day I looked at my ipaq and it had a crack on the screen about 1 inch long. I knew immediately that the crack will grow and it did.
The unit has never been dropped or mishandeled. Its does not even have a scratch on it. I am a person that uses a super fine tip fiber tip for my regular writing and never exert any pressure on the pen, letalone the stylus.
The crack came by its self and now the repair costs are in excess of 180 $.
After reading all the people that have broken their ipaq screens I am thinking of filing a class action law suit against HP. They should provide free screen replacements to their customers. (something similar to what compaq had to do to replace all floppy drives for their customers)
I will try to setup a blog page where we can get together and sue the company.
[...]
3 Melted screen
As other reviewers I was very excited about this little toy, until (as happened with other reviewers too) the screen melted yesterday. Now I am stuck without the PDA and with a headache of fixing it. HP should spend more on engineering and quality parts, less on marketing.
4 Get a Palm.
When I got up today I found my iPAQ 4155 with a melted screen. Sometime in the night sitting on it's base it just died. Called support and was told that it was a common thing to have happen. Then I was told that it would be $175.00 to fix it. I'm now going out and getting a Palm. I wish I would have saved my money.
5 Would be a 5 if the 802.11B were easier to set up
I love this little thing. I bought it to take class notes in college, and for the organizing capability when i am done. Used with a IR keyboard, this little thing is perfect, small, light and lasted me for 6 hours of notetaking a day, and allowed me to back up to the SD card I have in case the battery dies.
I first got used to an M100 a few years back, so this was quite the cnage with OS and all, so there was a learning curve. I do love it though, and accessing most websties (some do not work with the pda - not HP's fault) from school or downtown Portland is an awesome feature.
I don't see replacing this anytime soon, I am hooked. It's integrations with my laptop (runs Win2k) is great.
6 iPQA 4155 is too fragile, shatters when dropped
The iPAQ 4155 is a perfect palmtop for you if you never drop anything. Previous HP palmtops that I've owned have been sturdy and could handle being dropped even in parking lots. I accidentally dropped the iPAQ 4155 in my house two months after purchase. It shattered. I had made the mistake of not purchasing an accidental damage warranty ($100/year). HP support was unhelpful and rude and expensive.
7 nice piece of hardware, but no 2003SE update
The 4155 is a very nice hardware. Good design and high quality manufactured. The mixture of features (WLan, Bluetooth, Irda, changable akku) combined in such a tiny and lightwight device is impressive.
But reading that HP decided they will NOT supply upgrades of Pocket PC 2003 Second Edition for this device makes me thinking that I should have bought something else...
8 The compact "do it all" PDA
I have been very impressed with this PDA. It is far and away superior to the 36xx series model that I am replacing. I have been very impressed by the 8.0211 b WiFi
Its screen is brighter and clearer than the previous model I have owned and its ideal for surfing the internet. I have used my home WiFi set up and seamlessly surfed the `net right out of the box for months. The updated media player is also great for streaming video of multiple formats right off the `net. Bluetooth also makes connecting to the net via an enabled cell phone (i.e. Sony Ericson 61x) a breeze.
I have found I prefer this size PDA as opposed to the larger models; This is where I think palm had it right over the original ipaqs. Its about the size of a color Palm V and even fits in the Mont Blanc case that I had for one with almost perfect button alignment.
This is my favorite PDA to date. Don't think I will be replacing it anytime soon.
9 The LCD cracks by itself!
The LCD cracked while in my pocket with no drop or hit!
Sent the unit to HP and after bouncing around their customer service, I was charged $190 for the repair. Browsing the internet (unsuccessfully trying to find a cheaper repair option) I found several similar complains. It seems like the IPAQ4155 has a serious quality problem that costs 50% of the value of a new unit to fix. I am selling my unit as soon as it comes back from repair and will never by an IPAQ anymore!
10 The problem isn't the PDA, it's Hewlett-Packard warranty!
I bought a pocket pc ipaq and it was very nice, but just for one year...two months after the warranty ended, the product failed to never work again. I sent it to the service, but after one month! they gave it back to me and told me that it is not possible to repair it, or the cost will be more expensive than buying a new one. So I spoke with Hewlett-Packard, and they assigned my case to a "customer advocate", but that person is a real HP advocate who told me "HP products doesn't fail.."??
So I have a nice US$700 pocket pc that doesn't work. Next time I will find a minimum 3-years warranty.
11 It's packed with features, but packed with bugs
I've been on the PDA scene for a while now, and bought a Palm IIIe. It was great; reliable, long battery life, and stylish.
I then moved to the iPaq 3870. It was brilliant; the bluetooth let me connect to my phone to get Internet and Email on the move. It was great, again; reliable, long(ish) battery life, and stylish.
Then, I decided to upgrade to the h4150, to take advantage of the built-in wireless and its clear, crisp screen. As I use satellite navigation a lot, I needed a screen I could see in my car at all times.
This, I got, and the navigation works a treat. Also, the wireless is intuitive (compared to PPC 2002's offering), but not perfect. Synchronisation is frought with problems; sometimes I end up synchronising my PDA's contents entirely, even though I've only changed someone's phone number, or adjusted a calendar date.
Sometimes the unit won't synchronise without a reset.
On the note of reliability, this unit seems to require rebooting a lot more often than its predecessor. If bluetooth doesn't work ... reset. If wireless doesn't work ... reset. If synchronising doesn't work ... reset. See a pattern emerging?
If you buy this unit, and you want to keep this unit, you MUST buy a protective case with it. The one that comes with it is alright, but it's not very protective. I've since cracked the screen and the touch-screen is basically useless now, and it'll apparently cost me £70-£100 ($120-$180) to repair, which I'm not too happy about.
The unit is great, but buggy. If you want a feature-packed, thin, stylish PDA, then get this. If you want a reliable PDA with long battery life, look elsewhere.
12 Loved by College Student
I've been a PALM OS user for several years until my friends convinced me to buy the new iPaq 4155. As I waited for it to arrive in the mail I was regretting my decision to drop $400 on something that I didn't really NEED.
Only after I setup my new gadget did I realize how much it was going to help me with life! I love how easily it syncs to my PC and the wireless is working great. I've downloaded a ton of stuff and still haven't filled the initial memory.
The main reason that I bought the 4155 over the 2215 was asthetic -- the 4155 is not only prettier, but sleeker as well. If you aren't buying a handheld for the look as well as the usefullness, I'd go for the 2215.
13 The best pda I've owned
I switched from palm OS to the iPAQ and am happy with every aspect of this great PDA. Synchronization is so easy and seamless. Screen is easy to read and clear. Features are great especially both wifi and bluetooth. Have used for powerpoint presentation review and applications are quite good. Only drawback is that some "universal" portable keyboards don't work with this unit.
14 HP sells seriously compromised products
After dealing with HP, their warranty and technical staff I would not consider buying any more of their products especially after what I already knew about the quality of the PC's they sell. They tout theat they are committed to quality, durability and reliability. The 4155 is far from reaching any of those descriptions. If you ever call them you will more than likely talk to some one that can't really speak english well and will not know much about any technical aspect of their own products let alone resolving any major issues you might have with their products that they are asking top dollar for. I am very unsatisfied with the reliabilty and durability of this product. The battery life and charging function seems to always be on the fritz and the screen scratches easily. It is also very fragile and is made of glass. A far cry from durable. If these things were alot more reliable and were made of higher quality I would never had to experience the poor support that HP offers from their staff over the phone. Alot of time and money was wasted trying to deal with a company with very poor standards of customer support and quality. If one of these fields could be mentioned as being excellent than half of the money you spend on their products would be worth it. Besides that you better have alot of time and money before you buy one of their products, enough money to be able to afford two or three of each item you buy from HP. I have to also mention more than half of their products always gets returned to them, serviced and coming back with more problems. They make it difficult to resolve, with their mail back procedure instead of a service center or dealer. I will never consider putting an HP product into use as a business device or any role wich reliablilty is crutial.
15 Great Pocket PC
I bought the HP IPAQ 4155 for 3 Reasons: 1)I set up a Wireless B/G Network in my home and needed to access it while I was on the road.
2) I was becoming dissastifed with how slow my Treo 300 was surfing the web.
3) I wanted to surf the web as fast as possible without a laptop or PC.
I've had this unit about a month. I am extremely satisfied with it thus far. It is my first Pocket PC. I've been using the Palm OS for over 5 years. To be sure, the Palm OS is more intuitive to operate. But I can do so much more with Windows Mobile Premium 2003. The HP IPAQ is a great MP3 Player (get excellent sounding stereo headphones), a very good PDA and, above all, has tremendous WIFI signal strength. The WIFI is built into the unit so there is really nothing to set up. I connected to my wireless network at home as soon as I took the unit out of the box. Lots of people have wireless routers in NYC so it is simple for me to connect (for free) when I am outside my home. I find the WIFI signal strength on the unit is about 1500 feet; but that depends upon the Router I am connecting to. I am so satisfied with the HP IPAQ 4155 that I am seriously considering ditching my Treo 300 and getting a Bluetooth Phone so I can surf the Internet when I cannot pick up a WIFI signal. The Processer inside this unit is very fast. I have not tried the Bluetooth yet.
The only negatives were the cheap case and cradle and the weak battery. My battery was going down to 0 after 2 hours of wifi surfing. I rectified these deficiencies by buying a hotsync charge and sync cable, a new custom case and a 2000mAh battery, which required a bigger battery door. Now I can surf a good 4 hours daily with the wifi before the battery completely drains.
Bottom Line: HP hit a homerun with this unit.
16 powerful; easy to use, except for bluetooth settings
I have owned this product for about 4 months and loaded 6-8 additional programs. I added a 256 MB SD card to handle the load. Speed and reliability have been great. The range of the 802.11b receiver is better than my laptop. I considered the Palm Tungsten T3 but bought this product for the combination of 802.11b and bluetooth. Also, I wanted a user-replaceable battery.
I previously used a Handspring Visor. Switching from Palm to Windows Mobile 2003 is easy once you realize that unlike Palm, any program or function continues to run until it is turned off in the memory control applet in system settings. Pressing the "X" in the upper right hand corner does not shut down the program, it simply removes it from view. Sometimes the system becomes slow because of the multitude of programs running. I find that among the additional programs I have loaded, only the Audible.com listener causes instability and crashes. Also, be aware that PocketPC 2002 programs will not always run on Windows Mobile 2003.
Setting up email accounts is fast and simple. Email attachments such as word or excel files must either be translated into Pocket Word or Pocket Excel format via the sync process or viewed by the Westek Clearvue software included on the installation CD. It is also useful to install the included Adobe Acrobat software to view pdf attachments. Overall, Documents to Go on the Palm platform is a better solution for viewing and altering email attachments, however.
The bluetooth settings for connecting to the internet with a GPRS phone are difficult, unless you have one of the few Sony-Ericsson phones listed. The instruction manual does not even explain that certain settings are necessary and vary from phone to phone. Luckily, I found what I needed to use for my Cingular Siemens on an obsure forum hosted by Pocket PC Magazine. I recommend a program called GPRS Manager to make it easy to connect your Ipaq to the internet through your cell phone, should you need that feature.
17 Ditch that Palm
I have been a Palm user since the original Palm Pilot came out. It has been a hassle to try and sync with Outlook, Word and Excel. Also trying to hotsync books was a big deal. With the IPAQ 4155 all the above are a breeze. The wireless internet and bluetooth are so easy to setup. I was worried that there is no "epocrates" for the pocket PC, but the Pocket PDR (free) is an even better product. Will never go back to the Palm again.
18 Poor Service from HP/IPAQ
PLEASE read this before you buy an HP IPAQ product so you know how you will be treated if you should have a problem. I own about 6 HP products between IPAQ's, printers and scanners, and I always chose an HP before any other product, until NOW.
I purchased 3 IPAQ's within 2 months. One for myself, my husband, and my father to the tune of $1350! There are days I don't even use my IPAQ, so it isn't abused. My IPAQ froze up on Thanksgiving day of 2003. It would not do anything, so on Monday, I called HP service, they said they wouldn't do anything because the 1 year warranty had expired. I purchased two of the three on Oct. 4, 2002 and this was November! I thought, oh, this product is only good for 1 year of use?
So I talked to a few "higher up's" in the service area and got told that I am on my own. Then I had my husband call up there and they agreed to send us a box with shipping paid so we could send the unit back for them to diagnose the problem. Fair enough. They call within a week and left us a message telling us that the mother board is shot and it will cost $217 to fix. I just got done paying $450 for the product just over a year ago!! You have to be kidding!! This unit was obviously DEFECTIVE from the beginning. And because of a few days of warranty lapse, HP won't step up to the plate and help at all.
So my husband calls back up there and talks to another "higher up" again (because obviously he got further than I did the first time), and her verdict was that HP will not stand behind their product at all. We have to pay the entire bill. Well I will tell you what, I will not fix this HP product, nor will I EVER buy an HP product again. And furthermore, I am in one of the hugest business markets in the world and talk to customers all day long, and I will be sure to tell them of how HP treats their customers. They should stand behind their product, Period!
If they haven't figured it out, PEOPLE make a business and HP's people and policies are ludicrous! If I have a customer that has a problem and is 2 months out of warranty, I will make our manufacturer stand behind their product and fight for my customer's rights!! It is obvious that HP doesn't care about their customers at all. Good to know!! Beware of big business.
19 Great PDA
It is an excellent PDA. I am practically paperless. No notepads to meetings, no Visio pictures. Al integrated into my PDA. Can sync with my laptop anytime and sync. back.
Problems
The sync. of Pocekt Word documents to MS-Word causes pictures to move up and down. I may doing something wrong, but it's kinda irritating.
The Connection Manager is a little intrusive.
I wish there would have been a good case in the market
20 I love it!
Media player - The sound quality is acceptable. It is much better with a headphone or an external speaker.
WIFI - excellent reception and not difficult at all to set up. I was in a Chicago and I could even get signals from the building across the river. (For those war-chalking warriors this is it!)
ActiveSync - The ActiveSync is easy to use and integrates extremely well with Outlook. The optional Avantgo is very useful too. You can download maps and directions from Mapquest before you go on a road trip. You can even sync bookmarks between your desktop's IE and Pocket IE.
For those Chinese-speaking folks, there are tons of software packages out there that allow you to input and read Chinese characters. The one that I am using is called CE Star and it costs 29.99. I must say it's well worth the money. It recognizes my handwriting and it does Simplified and Traditional Chinese translations as well. It even recognizes Japanese characeters!
The location of the stylus is on the back of the ipaq which proves to be an inconvenient location if you have your ipaq in a protective case.
The form factor of the 4155 is very small. It fits well in the pocket so you can carry it around to impress your friends by, for example, firing up Pocket Excel at the end of the dinner to split up the bill. :P It is definitely one of the most stylish PDAs I've ever seen. PocketPC has long been known as bulky but this 4155 totally changes the game! It's even slimmer and sleeker than a Palm Tungsten.
As mentioned by other reviewers, the screen does turn yellow when viewed it from an angle. But c'mon...who looks at his PDA at 170 degrees? The screen is perfectly fine when viewed at normal angles (90 +/- 30). At extreme angles (160+), nothing is readable anyways so why bother?
21 Superb PDA
I had been always curious about the Pocket PC OS and its usefulness and practicality on the PDA environment. I am now a believer and definitely prefer it over the Palm OS due to its ease of use, compatibility and similarity to the Windows PC environment. This also results in a faster learning curve.
Integrated wireless:
This was the selling factor, and it did not dissapoint me. I got it to work at home and at the office, where I connect to different wireless access points. The iPAQ allows you to create individual profiles for every connection, so there is no need to manually configure every time you switch networks.
Bluetooth:
This technology is becoming more common around airports, offices, malls and other places, although probably you'll need to incur in a connection fee. I have not tested this feature yet although my iPAQ recently came across and recognized a Bluetooth network on one of the airports I travelled to.
Synchronization:
The iPAQ supports Outlook (preferably 2002) for Calendar, e-mail, notes, file and task synching. The Active Synch software is included and required on your host PC in order to start synchronizing with your PDA. A maximum o 2 PCs (partnerships) can be established for synching. Methods of synchronization include IR(Infrared), USB(using the included cradle), WLAN (yes, you can synch wireless) or serial.
Word and Excel documents are automatically converted into Pocket PC format when they are synchronized with the iPAQ. The original document needs to be copied into the Pocket PC folder (Pocket_PC My Documents) on your host PC before performing the synch.
Internet:
In order to connect to the Internet, you are required to be connected to a network, be it WLAN or Bluetooth. There are a few interesting web links included with your iPAQ and you can add your own favorites as well. Navigations is similar to Internet Explorer although you are required to scroll up/down and left/right continously on web sites that are not mobile-friendly.
E-mails:
E-mail accounts on the iPAQ are setup in an almost exact manner as Outlook on a normal PC. By default, and in order to conserve memory, e-mail attachments are not downloaded, there's also a default limit of e-mails you can carry at a time. E-mails can be downloaded while connected to the Internet or synched using the methods mentioned previously.
What about games? Two games are included: Guess what? Solitaire is one of them! The other one is Jawbreaker, a very simple but extremely entertaining game. There are many web sites with additional programs that can be downloaded for your iPAQ.
Programs and utilities included:
MSN Messenger, Windows Media Player, Pocket Excel and Word, Pocket MSN, Microsoft Reader, Calculator, Terminal Services Client among others.
Security:
Password security is optional; there are two security options, a simple 4-digit number and a more complex alphanumeric password option. Wireless connection security is obtained using 64 or 128 bit WEP encryption. Obviously your PDA is as secure as the network it is connecting to. Setting up 128 bit encryption on your iPAQ won't work if your wireless access point is unsecured.
Time settings: Up to two different time zones are available at the same time.
Display:
Very clear display, sharp, easy to read text, adjustable text size and fonts in some programs.
Battery:
The iPAQ possesses a respectable battery duration. It obviously varies according to your battery saving settings. Reducing the default screen brightness helps as well as turning off the wireless access or lowering the sound volume.
Settings:
You can monitor memory usage and power consumption, remove programs, adjust backlight settings, align the screen, sharpen the text, etc.
Other features:
Voice recording: There's a button on the upper left corner of the iPAQ to start recording short messages or reminders, very handy.
MP3 audio: MP3 files can be downloaded and played on your PDA using Windows Media Player. A headphone jack is also available for your private listening pleasure. Memory is limited though, is not like you can have a CD full of music on your iPAQ, don't confuse it with an MP3 player.
Letter Recognizer - A very cool option where the iPAQ attempts to recognize your handwriting and converts it into readable text.
Block recognizer - It's similar to the Palm's graffiti recognition
Transcriber - It recognizes words written in cursive
Notes can also be quickly handwritten as if using the iPAQ as a paper Notepad.
Images can also be viewed using your iPAQ, and as with the MP3 files, you should consider the memory limitations.
Memory:
Additional memory can be obtained with Secured Digital (SD) memory cards. These come on 128, 256 and 512MB sizes at reasonable prices.
The HP iPAQ 4155 is a complete, full-featured piece of equipment, well worth its price.
22 Awesome features, but lots of quality problems
On paper the iPaq 4155 looks like a dream Pocket PC (unless you compare to the even better, VGA-capable Toshiba e805), with features every PDA geek would die for. (Ok, I'm exaggerating.) I won't go through the list and the features are well listed here on Amazon. But you should be aware of the many quality-control problems that have made iPaq notorious from day one. Foremost is the battery issue. Yes, the battery here is replaceable, but after just a month of use it's already degrading significantly. I'm not even talking using wireless a lot! We are talking basic PDA functions like checking calendar and addressbook and reading a few webpages via Avantgo and looking at a few JPEG pictures. You cannot afford not to recharge it every night, otherwise it *will* go dead on you when you least expect it. Second I don't know if this is still a consistent problem, but there's a already a few specks of dust under the screen. Yes, I'm talking the 4155 here, not the original, what was it, four or five iPaq's before they supposedly fixed the problem? Yet another problem is the buttons, which feel unresponsive most of the time, and the stylus is a pure joke. The overall user experience is quite disappointing, unless the whole purpose of your existence is to extol the virtues of Pocket PC.
For my money, I'm sticking with my Palm and Toshiba e805.
23 Petite power, but for a price
This sleek little baby was a Christmas present to myself after losing my aged Palm V in a cab. I'm very glad I did.
Since my Palm had basically become a glorified address book, I was torn between a stripped-down device and a powerful machine that could go well beyond storing names and numbers. Although the iPaq cost the same as my old Palm did three years ago, I still balked a bit at the hefty price tag. But I finally bit after reading many glowing reviews. I also sprang for a 256 megabyte card and a foldable keyboard, both of which have turned out to be great accessories.
I'll get my main complaint out of the way first. It takes quite a bit of poking around to figure out how to use this thing, as in being able to find out where files and programs are stored. There are many different folders, some of which have arcane names like "ConnMgr", which I assume is "connection manager" or somesuch, but which contains no readable files. So why even make it visible?
Also, as a Palm user for five years, I was used to the simple interface and unified desktop application. A Pocket PC is basically like another drive for your main computer. ActiveSync is pretty seamless when dealing with Outlook (I have the lastest 2003 version, and it even transfers over Notes and recorded sound files that you can then access from your desktop) but doesn't hold your hand as far as transfering files and programs on to the device.
This is not to necessarily denigrate HP or Microsoft. This iPaq targets power users who should know their way around a file management system. Once you get oriented with the software, it actually opens up a lot of choices my Palm never gave me.
Now a run-down of the good stuff:
-- DESIGN: The size and heft are perfect. Big enough to feel comfortable and sturdy yet small enough to slip in a shirt pocket.
-- SCREEN: Bright and crisp. There is that yellowing when viewed at an angle, but since I always look at the thing straight on I'm not bothered by that.
-- MEDIA: I get much use out of the Media Player as I listen to music during commutes. It is also great to dazzle people with the latest video clip of my young son. Video playback is smooth overall, though there seems to be some dropping of frames. The image viewer is also great for flipping through more photos than my wallet could ever carry.
-- WORK: More than just an ambitious MP3 player, the iPaq has Word and Excel. I've used Word to compose letters and Excel to enter workout data. Both transfer seamlessly over to the desktop. Word is orders of magnitude more powerful than the memo composer on the Palm, and is one of the main reasons why I went for a Pocket PC. I write a lot on a daily basis and wanted something that I could use at meetings or conferences.
-- WIRELESS: I have only used the Wi-Fi and so far only with Starbucks' T-Mobile network. So far it has been easy to use, though that particular service is expensive, and I look forward to the day when wi-fi is ubiquitous and free. I tinkered briefly with Bluetooth, getting the iPaq to recognize my friend's mobile phone, but we didn't have time to actually try to exchange data. Nonetheless, I am pretty sold on the idea of wireless and the iPaq will likely lead to me setting up a home wireless LAN and shopping for Bluetooth gear in the future.
-- OTHER: The note-taking application has proven very useful, and after the media player may be my most-used program. You can type, scrawl, or dictate entries. The voice recorder is of good quality.
Overall this device has proven to be all I had hoped. It has taken my mobile computing to a new level and it was definitely worth the extra bucks to get there.
24 Light, fast ...nearly perfect
My old IPAQ 3835 works great, but its large and clunky, so I decided to retain it as a mostly dedicated GPS for my car, and buy this sweet little Wi-Fi enabled IPAQ 4155.
Why this model? There basically are two other Wi-Fi IPAQs but they both have gadgets attached which make them larger, heavier, and thus not as useful. One model has fingerprint recognition (the IPAQ 5555) which is a pretty unnecessary property unless you are a CIA agent. The other has a little keyboard (the IPAQ 4355) and is for people with good eyesight and tiny fingers. This describes most 2 year olds who unfortunately do not type very well despite those little digits.
Wi-Fi is the key here. It connects easily to any available wireless network. It is also Bluetooth enabled, a feature for which I have no present need, but you may.
So this is the cheapest Wi-Fi IPAQ and the most useful.
As to its other Pocket PC features, its display is awesome, bright and clear. Get a 128MB SD card to vastly increase your storage at a reasonable price.
25 Never worked--terrible customer service
I ordered an HP iPAQ 4155 online on Nov 27 and received it on Dec 4 just in time to take it with me on a business trip overseas from which I returned just before Christmas. The 4155 never worked--the only screen that ever appeared was the alignment screen. Due to the holidays, I didn't get around to calling HP Technical Service until Jan 8. HP confirmed that the 4155 didn't work and told me that it could be repaired but not replaced because it was more than 30 days since the purchase date(35 days after receipt).HP TA said that the case had to go to Customer Relations to appeal for a new one.Hearing nothing by Jan 21, I called and HP said no customer relat no. was available & to wait one more week to hear from them. I am very unhappy with HP service to date.
26 Great Product
I have had my 4155 for two months now and I have had none of the problems mentioned in some of the other reviews. I, in fact, dropped my unprotected pda from pocket height onto a marble floor and, while I picked it up with my chest pounding, discovered it suffered not even a scratch. In addition, mine has yet to crash.
Blue-Tooth and Wi-Fi work great, plenty of memory for my needs, and the speed is plenty. A little pricey but for the size and functionality I found it worth it.
27 Smallest full featured iPAQ yet!
If you've been looking for a thin and compact iPAQ with all the essentials including wi-fi and bluetooth, and you don't need a compactflash slot, then this is it. I was online thru my wifi network at home within seconds, almost configures itself. I have a Netgear 802.11g/b system and have easily gone anywhere inside my home as well as outside, approx 50' with no problem at all. I thought this model was the "ultimate" iPAQ until I tried my son's 4355, exactly the same plus integrated "thumb keyboard", and I was surprised by this because I have large fingers. The 4355 is slightly thicker, .1", and less than 1" longer with the keyboard and it's a better design than a Sony Clie because the keys are both larger and better spaced. However if your bottom line is smaller is better then you can't go wrong with the 4155. The only reason it doesn't rate 5 stars is battery life, if hp had used the same battery as used in the 4355 I would have given it 5! Buy an in car charger, problem solved.
28 buyer beware
do your homework before you buy this device!! it is primarily / solely for folks who work in a wi-fi shop....or spend their life in starbucks. getting it enabled to go on a wireless network is a nightmare...and do not count on the new compaq tech team to be helpful...i spoke to them 3 times, rec'd 3 different ideas on how to proceed. i finally just returned the pretty device. i likened it to a date who looked great but was dysfunctional....
29 My Fifth Generation PDA
This is my fifth generation PDA--two levels of Sharp organizers followed by two levels of Handspring Visors--and certainly this one wins on display, size, weight, and capability. The wireless capability is great and works well for me both at home and at work. There are three things that keep me from giving it a 5 star rating: 1)the documentation (what little there is) is pitiful--Handspring provided an excellent PDF-based manual; 2)you can't buy the accessories most places--Best Buy, Circuit City, Office Depot, etc. I guess that's what Early Adopters face!; and 3)you have to be very careful to seat the unit properly in the cradle on the first try. If you don't, you'll have to reboot and try again.
30 Everything I Expected
I purchased the h4155 to upgrade my h3835 that had given me a couple good years of service. The 2 reasons that I made the switch was: 1) the size of the device, 2) Wi-Fi built in without an antenna. After a month of usage, I am very pleased with my choice. The speed is noticeably faster and the new OS is a pleasant change as well. I've used bluetooth a couple of times to transfer files and it has worked well. WiFi works great as well. I can now actually use WiFi instead of fiddling with the settings trying to get IE to work.
I'm an avid user and this device has been a real joy. The quality seems good to me (I carry the device in the hp belt case all the time with no problems).
31 Two words.......... Cracked Screen
I agree with an earlier review, that this product has some reliabliity issues. The screen seems to crack on it's own. I was bending over and the pda slipped about 12inches out of my pocket and cracked the screen (in the protective case). If you are going to spend this much money on something, it seems rediculous to not come with some kind of way to protect the screen. I used to have a Sony TG50 and I dropped it all the time. It took a licking and kept on ticking. It makes me miss my Sony TG50 that came with a protective covering. Warning don't buy without extended warranty that covers cracked screens and a extra durable case that will protect the screen.
32 Need to reset it from time to time.
I was thrilled when I just got the iPAQ4155. It is so stylish and powerful. Things changed suddenly after just two days, the iPAQ "died" for no reason. No matter which button I pused, it did not come up. First I thought it was because the battery ran out (butit shouldn't for I checked there was still 40% of battery when I turned it off one hour ago.), then I plugged in the DC power supply and still the same thing. I was so frustrated and worried about the painful things of sending it back for repair. I even regretted that I shouldn't have bought it online (from Amazon) otherwise I could just dropped in a store to return it. After all these frustration, I sought the last resort before packing it: hard reset and it worked! As expected, all my installed applications and files were gone!!!
The same thing has happened a couple of times in the last two days. Now I learned that I don't need to hard reset it, a soft reset will do! But it's still extremely disturbing and I don't know whether eventually even the reset button won't work ...
Anyone else has the same experience? And any hint about why? I treated the little gadget very nicely -- carrying it in a leather belt case!
33 Great functionality. Poor reliability
This product is really full of features, but the screen cracked twice by itself in one month.
34 Awesome!
Everything I expected AND MORE in this little pocket pc. All the functionalities you need in your everyday life as well as everything you could possibly wish for in a portable device: WiFi, Bluetooth, IR, etc. I couldn't be more pleased about this device! Highly recommended for all users!!!
35 All-in-all a great product (especially for only $450)
I have very few complaints with my iPAQ. I've had it for about a month now, and using it in conjunction w/ my Bluetooth enabled Sony Ericsson T610 has been pretty sweet.
Like others have said, the battery life is nothing great. A little more memory would be nice as well. But the battery life and memory isn't sub-par; it's current with the market right now.
Another thing is the FileStore. Prior to this, I had the 1945, which has the same dimensions (.01cm smaller?) and similar feature set (minus Wi-Fi). The FileStore (an area of memory that isn't erased when if you must hard reset) is only 3mb on the 4155, compared to 13mb on my 1945.
I love the fact that it fits in my scrub pocket, and obviously the wi-fi is great. I have gone into Starbucks and connected so effortlessly that my email was synced before I placed my order.
If you get this (which if you want to have the ability to use WiFi, Bluetooth all in a PPC you should get this one) I would suggest getting one or two SD cards. I currently have a 256mb card, and sometimes it even feels too small.
One last thing: missing the CF card slot doesn't seem that important when you have the SDIO ability. I'm hoping to see more peripherals built using this standard in the next year.
36 Great Device but poor IRD
I have the h4155. It is my first handheld device. I ABSOLUTELY love it! I have wifi in my home and it connects to it without a hitch. I also have a Pharos BT GPS device that works great with it. It uses com 6 though, despite everyone saying its supposed to use com 8. The IRD is a problem on this ipaq becuase its on the bottom of it! You have to turn it upside down to use the IR. I downloaded TV Remote controller from pdawin, which works fine, but I have to turn the h4155 upside down to use it, and it only sends a signal up to 5 feet and has to be in line of sight. I love everything else about it. The colors are good, and I have not noticed a yellow tint that others speak of. The sound quality is pretty good also.
37 Finally what I've wanted from a PDA
The new iPAQ 4155 is what I've been looking for. I've hopped around from Palm OS to Pocket PC, prefering the Pocket PC desktop integration and OS but finding that most of the high-powered ones were just way to big to carry around. The 4155 is TINY - smaller than my Clie I replaced and light! Easy to carry around, I don't even notice it in my pocket. The screen is bright and crisp. The 400mhz Intel processor is plenty for my needs. I've played games on it, emulated an old Atari, handled all my work, and linked it to databases with no problem.
The integrated wireless was the selling point for me. I'm a wireless engineer, so it helps to be able to carry around such a small device with built-in 802.11b. My only complaint is that it does not allow you to manually set the SSID information if it automatically detects wireless network SSIDs, but that probably won't be a big problem for most users.
Again, this is the PERFECT handheld. I've finally found a handheld I absolutely love - and I've been looking since the original Palm Pilot.
38 Tiny, Stable, and Fast
I've had several PPC's, and this one is by far the best. The OS is stable compared to prior versions, the processor handles media clips with ease, battery life is acceptable, and the small form-factor is hard to beat. I have a few minor gripes:
1. The included stylus is necessarily small (skinny) and somewhat difficult to manipulate.
2. The included cradle leaves something to desire -- it does have a slot to charge an extra battery, but requires two hands and some concentration to place the PPC on the cradle, and the cradle plug assembly seems flimsy.
3. The included nylon case is fine, but the voice record button is located right where you grab the 4155 to remove it from the case, which sometimes leads to inadvertent recording.
4. The IR port is in a strange spot: the bottom corner of the unit.
5. Accessories are currently hard to find.
In all, these issues are quite minor, and IMO, the unit still deserves five stars given the competition.
39 Great Little Pocket PC
After being a palm user of several years the only regret I have is that I didn't switch sooner. The wireless lan is amazing. Connecting to any wifi connection is a breeze. The vibrant color screen is an ease on the eyes after looking at a monochromatic screen for so long. Synching with my pc is simple and I like the fact that you can drag and drop files back and forth from the pocket pc and the desktop. Couldn't be happier!
40 Phenomenal Product
A couple of days ago I decided to make the big leap from Palm (i.e. Handspring Visor) to PocketPC - and am I glad I did! Not only is there the obvious parallel of going from black to color, but the ease of synching ALL of my necessary files (especially Outlook) without having to go through mediator interfaces (e.g. DataViz and Chapura) is fantastic. All of the data comes through (not just truncated), and it is extremely legible.
The third-party applications and data sources give it an enormous breath and functionality. But the deciding factor for this particular model was: no antenna to stick out, and yet both BlueTooth and Wi-Fi compatible.
Have no doubt about purchasing this excellent productivity tool - you will not regret it!
41 Simply Outstanding
iPAQ 4155 in my opinion is simply the best handheld device on the market right now. Combination of ideal size, full features and excellent performance is almost hard to believe. I've used it for about a month now and I am very satisfied.
I use almost all of the advanced features including Bluetooth connectivity to my Sony T610 cell phone for remote internet access (this setup works quite well with T-Mobile data account), wi-fi networking at work and home, terminal services for control over other computers, data synchronization through wi-fi, VPN connectivity, etc etc. And of course, email and other related scheduling features work very well. All of this with a familiar Windows interface that is, I am happy to report, stable if not entirely intuitive.
There are few relatively small gripes, like I wish the back cover of the unit was silver (aluminum) to match the front, the cradle could have been better designed no to put so much tension on the connector, more memory would have been nice (this, however, can be remedied quite easily by adding a non intrusive SD memory chip), the OS integration could be more stable (thankfully it is easy to recover from the rare freeze), the included case needs a belt clip, and such. However, these should not deter anyone form enjoying the fine product that 4155 is.
You can use this thing as a mp3 player, use instant messenger, add a digital camera through the SDIO expansion slot, install software and games, read books, do work with email, excel, word, surf the net, connect to networks, and on and on... If you can imagine a miniature laptop pc, you are getting the picture. It is not however, an exact duplication of laptop or desktop capabilities. But it is a remarkably useful and powerful tool.
One word of advice: it takes patience and determination to make it do what you want it to do, particularly with more advanced features. But if you like this kind of stuff, then the capabilities are definitely there for you to use. If you're not technically savvy, then have someone knowledgeable help you set up everything you want and DO A BACK UP of it!!! Once you got that, you have one very powerful tool.
Verrrry Cool.
42 Ipaq 4155
I have the ipaq 4155 for 1 week now, replacing my dell axim5 that I did love. But the size of the 4155 changes everything : its always in my pocket rather than in my briefcase.
My screen is not yellowish, little clearer and sharper than the Axim5 one. Application much faster, including videos and flight sim. Wifi works fine, Bluetooth not tested yet.
I really love it, very happy having buying it.
Minors Cons (to find some) :
- HP case : not to big, acceptable but not wonderfull (I'd like flap like cliˇ or first palm III)
- the stylus is hard to get form its hole (you need nails...)
- plugging to the cradle is not very resistant and clever (you scratch the cradle every time and landing is difficult)
NB : As no accessories for the 4100 family are in stores yet, I bought a HP1910 sync and charge cable to synchronise at home and it works fine !
Messenger needs a patch to work, and hp picture viewer is excellent.
43 A Pocket PC that finally works
I've tried older Palm products and Pocket PC's in the past but nothing was worth it for me to carry around. But I've finally found something that works. The HP Ipaq 4155 is great. I really needed a PDA/pocket PC but didn't know what to get. I wanted wireless and like the windows interface. I liked the idea pocket word and excel and don't like graffiti. This was a bit pricey but I took a gamble and am happy I did!!!
It has been super easy to use and understand. Syncing is a cinch with Outlook. The software that is included is quite handy and there is a lot of other auto-syncing software that is available for free that gives you daily news, movie reviews, maps etc. It's almost like being online.
I have had no stalls or any problems that I can list. The wireless networking connected to my Linksys router without a single complication. And surfing the web works about as well as I expected. Pages load but you have to scroll around to see everything so I can find what I want but it's not as easy as a realy computer obviously. I have yet to try bluetooth. The screen and interface are great. It includes an extra stylus which is nice. All in all this has been everything I hoped for so far. If you're in the market for a Pocket PC and want features such as bluetooth and wireless networking then don't hesitate to get this one!!!
44 Wowee!
I just got this PDA and I must admit... after jumping back and forth from Palm to PocketPC for the last two years trying to find a device that fits... I do believe I've been smitten. Cupid must have been packing a pistol, because I am in love with this device. What mare can you ask for powerful, compact, and connectivity for days. The OS is stable on this device and I have yet to have any problems worth mentioning. The latter could not be said for the Toshiba E740, Ipaq 1910, Tungsten T, T2, or T3. If you are in the market for a PDA and you are looking for form and function, you cannot pass this little diddy up.
45 Remarkably thin! And all the necessary features
As a previous owner of PDA's (palms) and specifically ipaqs (both a 3870 and a 2215), I am proud to say I've finally found a PDA that satisfies all my needs.
But first, I'd like to start with one piece of advice for any first time Pocket PC purchaser.
** If you're unsure between two models, ALWAYS choose the smaller. **
Why? Because the extra features of a large-sized PDA (like a fingerprint reader?!?!) are almost never worth the increased probability you choose to leave it behind. A PDA's usefulness scales rapidly with its vicinity to you. And a PDA is just about the size of a pocket.... You get the idea..
Okay:
THE PROS (somewhat obvious)
--------------------------
1. it is ultra thin and weighs only 5 ounces.
2. the screen is bright
3a. it has wireless 802.11b
3b. the wireless features are now very intuitive and somewhat secure, a vast improvement over pocket pc 2002.
4. it has bluetooth for syncing wirelessly or for accessing your bluetooth enabled phone. (This I haven't tested with this ipaq)
5. it comes with a cradle, unlike some of their other models
THE CONS
--------
1. HP removed the stylus holder from the cradle... which means you can't hold an extra stylus conveniently in front of a docked ipaq anymore. Which means, if you want to quickly access something on a docked ipaq, you have to remove the stylus, which you must do very carefully or you'll disconnect the 'paq.
2. the battery life is much poorer than pretty much all competitors'; most notably the Dell AXim series.
3. no compact flash, only secure digital. Although, almost all compact flash ports are typically used for these days is to hold 802.11b cards, which this device has integrated. And SD memory has gotten remarkably cheap, so it shouldn't bother most users. Still, if you have a compact flash requirement, keep that in mind.
4. the screen is slightly yellow when viewed from a skewed angle. Some people care about this... if you're one of those people, be advised. Straight-on, the colors are accurate, however.
5. the new navpad isn't so great for games
Okay, that's it:
Finally, some advice
1. about the wireless features: they drain a lot of juice, so simply turn them on and off as you need them.
2. if you use it to read eBooks, the MS reader it comes with is already outdated! (And the error message is vague about that... I had to figure out the problem by reading microsoft's knowledge base.. not fun.) You'll need to do an update.
3. Buy a protective case; the one it comes with is basically garbage.
