iPAQ is the PDA of my Dreams
Written: Oct 26 '00 (Updated Dec 09 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: bright clear display, stereo sound, Pocket PC operating system
Cons: A few quirks with ActiveSync, expensive
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| amykhar's Full Review: Compaq iPAQ H3650 Pocket PC |
updated 12/09/2000
I am the proud owner of a new iPAQ. I have a few confessions to make before I get to the meat of this review. First, I don’t need a PDA. I don’t have a lot of meetings to track, I don’t travel for work, and I am seldom away from my desktop PC. The iPAQ is nothing more than an expensive toy for me. Second, my decision to buy an iPAQ and not a Palm was based on one feature, and one feature alone. The iPAQ has the ability to play mp3 music. Therefore, I realize that any review I write on an iPAQ is probably not going to reflect a typical user’s viewpoint.
I also must confess that when I bought my iPAQ, I had little or no knowledge about the various options available in handheld devices and their software. My knowledge has grown over the past month as I have played with my new toy and done a bit of online research.
I have decided to write this review anyway because I believe that there are a lot of people like me out there. There are enough people with a little money to burn in their pockets, a love of all gadgets, and a lust for the latest and greatest on the market.
This review is intended to do two things. First, I hope that it will help a potential consumer decide if an iPAQ will meet their needs. Second, I hope to provide new iPAQ owners with some valuable resources that will help them turn their new toy into a valuable tool.
Overview of the iPAQ
The Compaq iPAQ is a handheld Pocket PC. It comes with Pocket Word, Pocket Excel, Pocket Streets, Pocket Money, and more.
The iPAQ display is its shining feature. It has a clear, bright 240 x 320 pixel screen that boasts 4,096 colors.
In addition to the color display, the iPAQ also has stereo sound. With headphones on, I found the sound quality to be better than the Iomega HipZip mp3 player that I recently purchased.
Another great aspect of the iPAQ is that it comes with 32 MB of RAM, compared to the 8 MB that the best of the Palm models have. In order to add more memory to the iPAQ, you will have to buy an expansion sleeve for the iPAQ as well as flash memory cards. Expansion sleeves can be hard to find on the market right now. However, I have found that Circuit City does get them in stock occasionally.
Although the iPAQ ships with Pocket Internet Explorer, it is not Internet ready. If you want to get online with your iPAQ, you are going to have to either buy an external modem for it, use an infrared connection with a cell phone, connect via cables connected to a PC, or hook up a LAN connection. Thus far, I have found no need to get online with my iPAQ. I simply synchronize it with my desktop PC and catch up with my news, weather, and horoscopes while offline.
What I Love About My iPAQ
There is a lot to love about my new toy. It is visually appealing, fast, intuitive, and capable. Primarily, and I do hate to say this, it is cool.
The sleek design of the iPAQ combined with the bright, clear display make the Palms that I have seen look like clumsy television remotes. I will admit that appearance is a pretty pathetic reason to buy a handheld organizer, but I do love the look and feel of the iPAQ.
The iPAQ performs even better than it looks. From the manuals, I can tell you that it has a 206 MHz Intel StrongARM 32 bit RISC processor. If you are like me, that won’t mean much to you. What does mean something to me is that my iPAQ can multitask better and faster than some desktop computers I have owned. I can run several applications at once and flip between them easily.
The iPAQ utilizes the Microsoft Pocket PC operating system. If you can use Windows, you will find navigating around your iPAQ to be intuitive. Within a matter of minutes I had the basics mastered and could get basic tasks accomplished. There are some differences (many annoying ones) between regular Windows and a Pocket PC, but the learning curve isn’t steep at all.
I have come to love all that my iPAQ can do. I can now catch up on the news and weather while waiting in a doctor’s office. I can type up an Epinion in Pocket Word while sitting in the park with my kids and upload it to my PC for posting when I get home. In short, my iPAQ gives me many of the benefits of my computer wherever I may roam.
One of the best things about owning cool gadgets is watching others lust after them. Thus, the “coolness” factor of the iPAQ is something I find enjoyable. When using it out in public, I invariably see people casting curious glances my way. In fact, people have even stopped to ask what it is, and to see a little demonstration of what it can do. My vain side loves the fact that the iPAQ screams high-tech coolness to all that walk by.
I Hate to Admit it, but it Has Flaws
When I spend $500 on a toy, I have a tendency to ignore its flaws. I desperately need to justify the expenditure to myself (and others). However, to be fair to my readers, I must bring the little quirks that I have found out into the open.
The most annoying problem I have with my iPAQ is that it has sporadic problems with the software used to synchronize it with my PC – Microsoft ActiveSync. Quite often, it refuses to connect properly. Other times, it will connect buy not synchronize my data. I have uninstalled and reinstalled ActiveSync more times than I can count and still encounter the same problem.
Today, I finally gave up and called Compaq technical support for help with the problem. From my phone call, I learned a few things. First, the Compaq phone system menu stinks. I had trouble figuring out whom I needed to talk to for help. Finally, I gave up and picked a menu number at random and had the person who answered the phone find someone to help me. Second, the Compaq tech support people that I dealt with are friendly, professional, and knowledgeable. They were able to help me solve my problems and get things working properly. Third, problems with ActiveSync are a known issue. Some USB drivers just can’t seem to handle the stress of keeping up the link between the iPAQ and a desktop PC. Compaq helped me find updated drivers, and my problem was solved.
The other things I find annoying about the iPAQ are data entry and some aspects of the Pocket PC operating system. Data entry takes time to get used to on an iPAQ. The iPAQ ships with the ability to recognize handwriting (sort of) and a tiny simulated keyboard that can be used to tap out text. Although I got to be pretty fast with the “keyboard” it really isn’t practical for extensive typing, and the handwriting recognition leaves a lot to be desired. However, I did find Microsoft Transcriber, which offers better handwriting recognition for the iPAQ. Transcriber can be freely downloaded, and is much more accurate than the software that ships with the iPAQ.
My one true gripe with Pocket PC software is that most programs do not have a way to exit gracefully. There is no File -> Exit on any menu, and no little “x” button to close a window. Instead, I am forced to use a button on the iPAQ to shut down a given task. From what I have read, there are third party task manager software applications that greatly improve task management for a Pocket PC. In my opinion, almost anything would be an improvement.
All in all, the flaws I have found have not been fatal. I have found workarounds for them, and things are running smoothly again.
Resources to Help Make the Most of an iPAQ
The help index on my iPAQ leaves a bit to be desired. It does have a bit of information on basic operation, but if you want to get more from your iPAQ, you should check out some of these web sites for advanced help, software, and resources.
The PocketNow web site offers product reviews, tips, tricks, software, discussion boards and more. I have found it to be a great help for basic problems and questions that I have had.
http://www.pocketnow.com/
The PocketPC web site is run by Microsoft. It has official support articles, tips, software and more.
http://www.microsoft.com/pocketpc/default1.asp
Pocket PC Magazine is an interesting web site for catching up on the latest news regarding Pocket PCs.
http://www.ppcmag.com/
Conclusions
Although I freely admit that my iPAQ is nothing more than an expensive toy for me, I do love it dearly. The few flaws that it does have would certainly not prevent me from highly recommending it to anyone who has some money to blow and wants the coolest PDA on the market. If all you are looking for is a PDA that can get the job done, you would probably be happy with a Palm or Visor and spend a lot less money. But, if you want bright colors, stereo sound and the ease of Windows, the iPAQ is the handheld device that you are looking for.
Updated Miscellaneous Observations
Primarily, I use my iPAQ for entertainment. I listen to MP3’s, play games, and read offline web articles. For these purposes, it has performed quite well – as it should. The media player tends to be a strain on the battery, the iPAQ is probably not ever going to be the best choice for listening to music in remote locations.
I have seen some complaints about the workmanship of the device. My only complaint is that the stylus does not want to stay in it’s place anymore. As soon as I insert it, it springs partially out.
One tip I do have is to buy (or make) screen protectors for the iPAQ. These thin, clear pieces of plastic help protect the screen from scratches. They are a bit pricey if you buy them at office supply stores, but can be easily made with transparency film and a template that can be easily found online.
Finally, do not miss the freely downloadable game PocketPop. I can’t review it for Epinions, because it is not linked, but is a fun, addictive game for the iPAQ. The fact that it is free only makes it better.
I still love my iPAQ. I don’t get to use it as much as I would like, because I simply do not have a lot of idle time. My biggest difficulty with it is that my children keep trying to get their hands on it so they can play PocketPop.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 499
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Epinions.com ID:
amykhar
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Member: Amy
Location: USA
Reviews written: 320
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