my first pocket pc
Written: Feb 19 '04 (Updated Feb 19 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Small size, good price, clear and bright screen, packed with features
Cons: Have to buy a case separately, back battery cover is flimsy
The Bottom Line: Good things sometimes come in small packages. Packed with features, and serves all my student needs.
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| uhhh_i_dunno's Full Review: Hewlett Packard iPAQ H1945 Pocket PC |
First Impression: Shopping for a new PDA several months ago to replace my broken Palm Zire71, I decided to give the iPaq series a try. First thing that appealed to me: despite the slim and small size, the hp1945 had almost all the features my Zire71 had for a comparable price.
Screen: Bright enough for me at the second mark, and calibration is a breeze. It's a little different from the Palm screens in that it is harder and more firm, but this makes for a tougher surface that more readily resists scratches - in fact, I don't have any scratches visible to my eye after several months of usage. (I found the Palm screens to scratch easily, especially around the Graffiti writing area).
Build Quality: After several months of usage, I found all the external buttons to be working well, without any problems. The D-pad is a little protruded outward and rough, but I've seen newer hp1945 models out that have improved D-pads, and it actually isn't that great of an annoyance. The SD card slot has worked well for me and the card has never gotten stuck, and all things have held together pretty well. The only two things I can gripe about - the back cover to the battery is quite flimsy and is easily scratched in its center, especially if you put the PDA down on a table often to write on the screen. It should have been made of aluminum, and not plastic. The frame around the IR port has also cracked a bit such that the black plastic cover rattles around a bit when I carry the PDA around. But these are relatively minor wear-and-tear things that come about naturally, thus I must praise the build quality of HP's iPaq.
Data Entry: Rather than just settling for one system of entry, HP decided to use four options. The Transcriber (which I would not recommend) has the user write directly on the screen and the PDA "translates" the writing into text on-screen. It isn't very accurate, even with the customizing options, and slow to enter data. The Block Recognizer is much like the Palm Graffiti system, except that I found it to be less accurate and a little confusing to use. The Keyboard is self-explanatory, but only use the Large Keys option because the small keys are too hard to hit accurately. I always use the Letter Recognizer, which is an improved version of Palm's Graffiti system, with separate box-areas for writing upper-case, lower-case, and numerals/symbols. In any case, these are more than enough-options for any user to enter in data. There are no unique keyboards designed to fit the hp1945, but you can always get a Universal Wireless PDA Keyboard from Targus or Belkin like I did if you ever need a keyboard.
Other Features: The SD card is pretty useful, especially if you have a compatible camera or want to store extra data on a removable card. It's pretty ubiquitous nowadays, and you can even find SD card slots on new notebooks and desktops that you can easily pop into to transfer data. The voice recorder comes in handy sometimes, and can be optioned for a single voice or a group conference. There are so many unbelievable customizations packed into this little thing, even the type of recording wav file (bit rate, etc) can be changed. There is enough memory to go around, and it really operates like a mini-version of Windows XP Home...which it actually is if you think about it.
Connectivity: Syncing the hp1945 is a breeze - just plug in the USB wire, and if both computer and PDA are on and running ActiveSync, it will automatically pop up and synchronize/back up all data. Files can be drag-and-dropped into the PocketPC drive in My Computer, allowing for easy connectivity to the PDA.
Last Thoughts: I always thought that Pocket PCs were too bulky and crash-prone, but the hp1945 has proved me wrong. I don't think I'll be replacing it any time soon, because it's so useful to me and does everything I need it to do (Word processing, Calendar, To-Do List, PocketBible, ImageViewer) in a small and convenient little package. I highly recommend for the high school/college student or businessman (if the Tungsten series from Palm is too pricey).
One more thing: there is a case for this iPaq, which I have used long and well; you can find it on www.hpshopping.com and search for hp1940 series accessories
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 280
Recommended for: Students - Stylish and a Best Value
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Epinions.com ID:
uhhh_i_dunno
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Reviews written: 7
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