lawman67's Full Review: Hewlett Packard iPAQ h2215 Pocket PC
For the last 4 or 5 months I've owned and used first the iPaq h1910 and then the h1945 PDAs, and I've been absolutely by both. Last week in a show of great clumsiness and incredible stupidity I sent my h1945 flying across the room with its case open. With the screen magically converted into a nice spider-web pattern, I went to Staples and bought a new PDA, the h2215. I used the 2215 for a week, then returned it to the store.
Prior to using the 19xx and 2215 iPAQs, I had happily used a Palm Vx. I bought the iPAQ 1910 and later the 1945 quite simply because they are really the first Pocket PC units that can satisfy a Palm V owner's standards for size and svelt appearance. Other Pocket PCs, even the thin Toshibas, are just too bulky. Other units are either thick, tall, wide, or in the case of the Dell, ALL OF THE ABOVE. The small iPAQs, however, are roughly the same size as the Palm V (only a bit thicker), which is to say, they are extremely small.
The problem with those small units (and the Palms as well) is that they don't use the same flash memory format that my digital camera uses (Canon G3), and I thought it would be cool to view photos and movies directly on my PDA rather than using the smaller screen on the camera. The iPaq 2215 did a great job viewing the 4 megapixel JPEGs from my camera (set to maximum quality and full resolution). The fast 400MHz XScale processor required barely a second or two to draw the large images, faster than my Pentium II laptop.
One area where the 2215 (or the 1945, for that matter) doesn't measure up to the 1910 is screen quality. I was hoping that moving to a more expensive unit would net a better LCD, but that is simply not the case. The screen isn't bad, with even color and even backlighting, but it just isn't as vibrant as the 1910, even when set to full bright.
The 2215 has the same control layout as the 1945, with the exception of the record button, which is absent. No big deal there, I never used it anyway. The control disk is more responsive than the smaller one on the 1945, but I had no complaints about the ergonomics of the 1945, and find the 2215 even more comfortable to use.
So far, you may think this sounds like the best PDA on the planet. Well, you may be correct. It is extremely fast and while I don't have any advanced games, the performance with large image files suggests that games and movies wouldn't cause any problem for the sophisticated hardware.
The 2215 uses a 400MHz Intel XScale processor, while the 1945 uses a 266MHz Samsung processor. Performance of the 2215 and 1945 so far appears about identical to the H1910, which uses a 200MHz Intel X-Scale - I cannot tell the difference in response. You will not be watching feature films on either small iPAQ pocket PC with anything resembling DVD-quality, but even the 1910 handled shorter movies in what I guess to be VHS quality just fine, and I am certain the 2215 will do better, with the biggest limitation being the screen size of these devices.
The 1910 had two serious compromises, it is not upgradeable to the new 2003 OS, and its SD slot lacked SDIO capabilities (may be only lack of driver software, I'm not sure). The 2215 and 1945 solve both of those problems, coming preinstalled with the Pocket PC 2003 operating system (now called Windows Mobile 2003), and with not only SDIO functionality, but built-in bluetooth. as well. Speaking of Bluetooth and SDIO (for WiFi 802.11), Pocket PC 2003, oops, I mean Windows Mobile 2003, includes zero-settings netowrking, which is supposed to work just like Windows XP does on a desktop or notebook computer. I don't yet own an SDIO WiFi card and have no bluetooth enabled devices, so I can't verify this, but if it is as easy as Windows XP, then this will be a significant upgrade. SDIO isn't that big of a deal on the 2215 as compact flash WiFi cards are cheaper and more plentiful, as are conventional wired lan cards.
The new 2003 OS is also significant because it is built on the new .Net Framework 4.2 architecture, unlike Pocket PC 2002, which was based on Windows CE 3.0. I had no stability problems with the 1910, but from what Microsoft says, the difference seems to be much like that between the old Windows 9x and NT architectures, the new system simply having a more robust kernel. My 1945 didn't crash once during the four or five months I owned it, and I can't see any reason why the OS would be any less robust on the 2215.
So with all the praise, you may ask why I returned the 2215? In one word, size. It is just a little too big and more importantly, too thick for my liking. I carry a small leather Tumi bag with my PDA, a compact camera, cell phone and wallet with me everywhere I go, and the 2215 was a just a bit too tall, and too thick for carrying comfort. The 2215 in its case is actually a bit bigger than my old Palm III in its zippered leather Coach case, which is what I have been carrying while searching for a new PDA (I sold the Vx).
Oh well, I guess I'll just buy another 1945 or wait a bit and see what other Palm V-sized devices are coming down the pike.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 375 Recommended for: Gadget Lovers - Trendy and Hip
A sleek Pocket PC with the optimal combination of features, performance, and expandability Compact Flash and Secure Digital slots for flexibility and ...More at Amazon Marketplace
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