Much Improved
Written: Sep 22 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Sexy, Fast, good multimedia
Cons: No display cover
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| SomeNYCGuy's Full Review: Compaq iPAQ H3650 Pocket PC |
I purchased this product because I had an HP Jornada 430se, and they found out that the 64K color display was really only 4K. So, they offered to buy back the HP after nearly a year. So, I decided to go shopping for newer technology.
While the Compaq also only has 4K colors, its overal multimedia is better than the 430se by a long shot, and somewhat better than the new HP 540 series. The display is great in terms of readability, and gets quite bright. At one point, I could use it as a mini flashlight, its that bright. It has an optional auto-adjusting light setting, so you don't need to waste battery power with full-on screen brightness (I wish there was a feature that would let you adjust the automatic settings to your preferences, rather than when the device thinks it is too dark). The audio is more than sufficient in my opinion, but don't expect mega bass or anything, unless you use headphones.
The new PocketPC software (WinCE 3.x) beats the 2.x hands down. It only took a few minutes to get used to the slightly different interface, but with more software included like PocketWord and PocketExcel, it's pretty slick.
The only bad thing I could say, is that without the lame leather pouch, there is no cover for the touch screen. And the stylus storage mechanism scares me because you press a button to eject the stylus (I'm afraid it may get stuck for some unknown reason).
The Compaq is pretty fast, but I never really noticed any appreciable slowdown, even on the older HP. 32M RAM seems plenty, and I now have the Zio golf game, the ActiveSky multimedia player, several SKY videos, and one of my own test programs on it (I wrote programs for a living). The requirement of purchasing an expansion sleeve to get a Compact Flash or PC card slot isn't much of a hinderenace to me for 2 reasons: 1. I on't have or seem to need an expansion yet. 2. I have the unit in the sleeve that comes with it already, and find it easier to hold in my hand that way.
The device itself can only be described as 'sexy'. I thought Cassiopia was pretty, but this beats it. Its small and lightweight, and just pretty. The carrying pouch that comes with it is lame, very tight around the unit, and also does not support an expansion sleeve. I would like to see some other options in this area.
The cradle is ok, and works fine, but I tested the Infrared, wireless, IRDa port with my laptop, and it worked just fine. I will now get a USB IRDa device to add to my desktop for synching.
The device was hard to find though, and most of the stores I went to were sold out. I read that CNet rated it #1 on its 'Top 5 Gadgets' article, and I see why.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 499
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Epinions.com ID:
SomeNYCGuy
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Member: Mario G
Location: New York
Reviews written: 31
Trusted by: 3 members
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