iPAQ, Therefore, I AM...
Written: Oct 28 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Eye-catching styling; bright color display; very sleek; battery charges in cradle
Cons: A bit bulky with add-ons; battery life stinks; accessories aren't cheap; dust under screen
The Bottom Line: Great PDA with great features. A few minor annoyances including short battery life and dust under the screen. Overall, this is a great PDA
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| donavos's Full Review: Compaq iPAQ H3650 Pocket PC |
I'd like to begin this review by admitting that I own an iPAQ 3650, but that I don't really need it. I probably don't really need a PDA, or half the electronic gadgets I spend my dwindling free time obsessing over for that matter! Needless to say, the iPAQ is an expensive but very cool to play with toy. It is also very addicting and you will find yourself spending oodles of time learning the features and downloading cool applications.
Features
I will begin with the necessitated description of the features of the iPAQ for those of you who haven't been bombarded with them for the 100th time. The iPAQ 3650 comes standard with 32mb of RAM (random access memory) and 16mb or ROM or read only memory. The difference between the two for those of you who may be interested? RAM is used to run certain basic programs and functions that your computer needs to operate correctly, and functions only while the computer is receiving power. ROM contains the bare minimum of instructions needed to start your computer that is essentially unchangeable. You can usually easily add more RAM, but not more ROM.
In any respect, other features include an Intel StrongARM processor running at 206MHz - a fairly fast speed. StrongARM processors are a newish breed of processors that do well with running resource hungry applications like ones usually found on Pocket PC's like the iPAQ. The iPAQ's screen is a very bright reflective color TFT
display with 240x320 resolution and 4096 colors. This feature is one of the big pluses of owning an iPAQ as the screen is really beautiful.
Other features include a lithium polymer rechargeable battery with what Compaq swears is a 12-hour life between charges (maybe if you don't turn the thing on!). Also included is a USB docking cradle with a battery charger. It is very nice to be able to recharge your PDA in the cradle. One disadvantage of this, is that the iPAQ does not have a serviceable battery (i.e. a battery that you can replace like a "AA" or "AAA" as you would in say a Palm V. The repercussions of this are that on long trips where you don't have convenient access to a power supply, you're out of luck.
Another neat feature is a voice-recording and playback feature. Haven't really used it yet, but it is nice to know that if some brilliant insight on how to tackle world hunger, cure cancer, and/or what I need to get from the grocery store comes to mind while I am on the bus ride home I can remind myself later with style...
Software that is preloaded on include pocket Microsoft versions of applications including: Microsoft Word, Excel, Money, and Explorer. One of the advantages of the Pocket PC platform is that most of your PC Desktop files can just be dropped into your iPAQ folder and synced on to your iPAQ.
So what about iPAQ has people going nuts over this thing? Well, firstly, the thing is just really cool. And I mean cool in every sense of the word. Cool to look at, cool to play with, and cool to say to bedazzled onlookers that this is an iPAQ. So what are we left with after we get all the "coolness" out of the way? Well, what you get out of this device really depends on what you are really getting it for. I can't speak for the general population of iPAQ owners but I for one got this as a cool toy to play with. I am not important or busy enough to need to have and keep track of my schedule on a minute-by-minute basis. Nor do I need to compose email or play minesweeper on the fly. So that said, this PDA has tons of features that are very functional (if you really need them). Lets begin with the first obvious utility, the OS.
A giant in the palm of your hand...
As if we didn't have enough Windows in our lives as it is (unless you are like me and work in an office with more virtual Window's then real ones...) Microsoft decided to try and conquer the tiny world of PC with it's Pocket PC platform. Here is a warning for Window's usees, Pocket PC is not exactly what you think it is. I have heard a lot of complaining about Pocket PC and I think a lot of it comes from people who have either had a palm or used one at some point in their lives. I will admit that Pocket PC is nothing like the Palm OS. But why would you expect to be? How much resemblance is there between Mac's and PC's?
I will also admit that the Palm OS is more functional and intuitive then the Pocket PC platform when it comes to simple management of calendar, contacts, appointment functions and just navigation of the OS in general. The weakness of Palm, however, is that it is limited. You can't manage a remote server from your Palm, for instance (for those of you dying to do so) or play MP3's. So really what it comes down to is a decision between wanting to have basic, easy functionality (Palm)or more advanced (and arguably less functional)features (Pocket PC). The OS on the iPAQ gets a little getting used to, but after a while, you will pick it up and it will seem intuitive. Pocket PC 2002 is scheduled for release soon, and it touted as more closely resembling the look and feel of Windows 98 so for those of you who find this appealing, you may want to wait for the next batch of handhelds that ship out with Pocket PC 2002.
Day to Day...
So what is the iPAQ like on a day to day basis? I have had mine for over a month and at first it seemed a little intimidating to make sense of the OS and doing simple things like making appointments and adding contacts to my contact list. I was also a little weary of the syncing process given the horrible history Pocket PC handhelds have had. I was pleasantly surprised with how easily and quickly syncing actually is. The supplied cradle on the 3650 comes with a USB port making the syncing process take half the time that it would with my old Palm III (in most cases less then a minute!). Another great feature is that when the iPAQ is in the cradle it continually monitors for changes on your PC to applications that are shared between your iPAQ so when something changes the iPAQ syncs automatically to the changes. The sync process also runs quietly in the background of your palm so you don't even know that you’re syncing and therefore can run applications. Installing new software is a breeze as well and is seamless.
Contrary to what other reviewers have stated (quasar, for example) I do not find the iPAQ to weigh that much and I have an add-on sleeve attached to the device. Granted, I am 6'5 and 235lbs, but I am not working out with this thing, nor am I struggling to keep it in my hand for more then a minute. It weighs less then a Palm Pro (which I still own and use for a paperweight...)
I also don't find the screen pixilated. The screen is actually a very big plus for this PDA because of how brilliant and bright it is. One of the interesting features is that you can change the brightness level to 4 different settings. There is no external brightness adjustment, but that isn’t a big deal. The interesting feature about the brightness of the screen is that there is an option to select automatic screen adjustment based on light conditions. In this mode, the iPAQ continually monitors ambient light and adjusts the screen accordingly. I have had trouble seeing other color PDA screens in sunlight, but the iPAQ is very easy to read outdoors.
Nothings perfect...
So of course, I have some mostly minor complaints about the iPAQ. My first complaint is that the battery life really stinks. I get at most 2-3 hours between charges and nowhere near the 12 hours that Compaq claims. In making this claim, there is no explicit statement that the iPAQ is actually on, so perhaps this would address the overwhelming discrepancy in charge time. My suspicion is that Compaq is hoping that the device spends a considerable time in it's cradle, happily charging, so that you never really realize that you are a long commute home in rush hour traffic away from a dead iPAQ.
My second complaint is dust. I have heard others complain about this bizarre problem. Apparently, the iPAQ screen is not sealed and therefore allows dust to accumulate under the screen where you can't get to it easily. What ensues, is that tiny dust particles live under your screen and get illuminated by the bright display. Very annoying! I am not sure what percentage of iPAQ owners have this problem, but I have owned my iPAQ for a month and I already have dust under the screen. Compaq has addressed this issue to some extent by installing a "static dust collecting strip" under the screen. From what I have heard, however, this only partially (at best) deals with the problem. Dust seems to find its way under the screen when the stylus is out of its port. My recommendation for those of you thinking of buying a iPAQ is to keep the provided stylus in the port at all times and to just get a secondary one to use on a consistent basis. This is very annoying, but somewhat necessary until Compaq deals with the problem more adequately.
My other complaint is that accessories are not cheap although ah plenty. Add on's include a Compact Flash expansion sleeve allowing you to extend the RAM memory of your iPAQ essentially endlessly. Other expansion sleeves include a PCMCIA expansion sleeve that allows you to use standard PCMCIA cards like modems and the like on your iPAQ. This is a very nice feature that further increases the expandability of the iPAQ but will cost you a pretty penny or a thousand at a retail price of $150.00.
Another accessory that is very functional is the iPAQ keyboard from TARGUS. This expandable keyboard is quite impressive. It folds up to a size very similar to a Palm PRO and then unfolds to a full size keyboard. The hand righting recognition on the iPAQ is actually not very good and the keyboard is almost a must for entering in any reasonable amount of info into the PDA. That will set you back about $100.00 as well.
Final Thoughts
For those of you who have made it this far in the review, here a few closing thoughts. Overall, the iPAQ is a very functional and, let's not forget, cool, PDA. For the most part, its great features out way its flaws and its expandability via expansion sleeves makes for a lot of flexibility and expandability. There is even a company developing a TV reception add on that allows you to watch TV on your iPAQ.
Here are some general warnings. The iPAQ retails for around $400.00 so it is not cheap, and accessories are also not cheap so you will be spending a considerable amount of $$ investing into this. Also, the iPAQ 3635 is exactly the same as the 3650 but the 3650 is considerably more expensive. I have heard that Compaq released the two models with intentions of the retail version sold in stores 3650 would be more expensive then the ones sold on-line 3635 even though they are the exact same models. Finally, make sure you a lot a lot of free time when you purchase this iPAQ because you will be obsessed with it for a good while!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 380.00
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Epinions.com ID:
donavos
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Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 0 members
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