HP iPAQ 1945 Pocket PC Review

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(More customer reviews)The iPAQ 1945, also sold as the iPAQ 1940, is the first in a line of planned successors to the iPAQ 1910. HP has addressed many of the concerns that 1910 users had, namely that the 1910 was too slow and lacked hardware expansion options. The 1945 is powered by a new 266MHz processor from Samsung which rivals, and sometimes surpasses, the usable speed of many XScale chips from Intel. Other features of the iPAQ 1945 include 64MB of RAM (56MB of which are user accessible), a crisp, bright transflective color screen, onboard Bluetooth wireless, and a Secure Digital slot which can use SD flash memory cards and SDIO peripherals such as 802.11b WLAN cards.
Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC replaced Pocket PC 2002 as the most current Pocket PC OS in June 2003 and comes installed on the 1945. While the version of Windows Mobile 2003 pre-installed on the iPAQ lacks a few minor applications (such as Microsoft Reader), each can be downloaded for free. Because HP left the choice to the end-user, the iPAQ File Store - unused space on the ROM - has over 13MB free for software, files, etc.
As I mentioned before, the Samsung processor keeps the 1945 moving along very well. Having recently used an iPAQ 5450 (400Mhz PXA250 XScale), a Toshiba e755 (400MHz PXA255 XScale) and a Toshiba e355 (300MHz PXA255 XScale), I can say that, from a casual use point-of-view, the iPAQ 1945 surpasses the speed of the iPAQ 5450 and Toshiba e355 and feels basically on level with the Toshiba e755. One of the touted benefits of the Samsung processor is long battery life, and while I didn't get the eight hours that HP suggested I might, I got almost seven hours use out of the 1945 with the backlight on its lowest setting before I had to recharge; a very good result.
There is only one real drawback to the iPAQ 1945, as I see it, and it's relatively minor and completely fixable: the 1945 ships with only a USB Sync cable, not a cradle. While some might actually prefer this, I miss not having a cradle to rest the iPAQ in while it's not in use. The good news here is that there is a cradle available (the same cradle that works with the iPAQ 1910), and you can purchase if you want it.
All-in-all, the iPAQ 1945 is an amazing addition to the Pocket PC family. If you like small, light PDAs with oomph, the 1945 might be right up your alley.

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This slim and sleek, feature-and super-value-packed Pocket PC is small enough to fit in your pocket or purse yet substantial enough to keep your life in order. It includes multimedia, Bluetooth (wireless ready with SDIO WLAN 802.11b card), and plenty of room to expand and accessorize!Be productive wherever you are with popular applications, including Microsoft Office (Pocket Outlook, Word, and Excel), varied features, and large storage capability. The HP iPAQ h1945 fit in your purse or pocket: at 2.75" wide and 4.37 oz., it's easy to keep with you. Access the Internet, e-mail, and corporate data at home, at work, or on the go with the optional SDIO WLAN 802.11b card. Print documents, e-mail attachments, and pictures straight from your HP iPAQ h1945 to a local printer (printing software included). Be entertained by your favorite multimedia, right at your fingertips. Enjoy brilliant color and image sharpness courtesy of the transflective TFT LCD (64,000 colors). Be ergonomically correct with the touch-sensitive display for stylus, built-in speaker and microphone, four programmable launch buttons, and more. Do more as your needs grow by expanding via the integrated SD slot.

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Compaq H3835 iPAQ Color Pocket PC Review

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(More customer reviews)I have been using an iPAQ 3635 (32MB RAM/ 16MB ROM) for almost a year and just upgraded to the new 3835 model a few days ago (my old 3635 developed a defect and I was given full credit towards a replacement).
While the 3835 is basically a good evolutionary upgrade from the 3635, there is at least one "gotcha" that Compaq does not go out of their way to point out: Compaq changed the Power/Data interface from once model to the other. On the 31xx, 36xx and new 37xx iPAQ models, the power interface and the data interface are separate. On the 38xx series, Compaq chose to combine the two interfaces into a single, slightly larger (and thus incompatible), combined power/data interface. This means that you won't be able to use some accessories you purchased for your older model with the new 38xx series, such as that the:
- Targus Stowaway foldable keyboard
- the 31xx, 36xx and 37xx "Universal" or Serial Sync cradles
- the 31xx, 36xx and 37xx sync cables.
You can use the your old AC Adapter and your car / airplace power cables if you have the interface converter adapter.
If you have a big investment in these power- and/or sync-related accessories, give some consideration to purchasing a 37xx model rather than a 38xx servies model.
There are some differences between the 38xx and 36xx (and new 37xx) series, but I have not used my 3835 long enough to notice a huge difference in performance. The 38xx has
- Double the RAM and ROM of the 36xx (this is good if you were finding 32MB RAM to be too confining)
- An integrated SD slot for 64/128MB memory cards without having to use a CF Card expansion pack (a truely useful new feature)
- Pocket PC 2002 vs Pocket PC original (some additional, applications, functionality and ease-of-use)
- a 64K color screen vs. a 4096 color screen (the difference not so obvious so far)
- 1400mAh battery versus a 950mAh battery (but the rated battery life remains 10 hours)
- A different task manager (which at first blush appears a bit less easy to use .. but that's probably just me)
- Some additional software bundled by Compaq, including IBM ViaVoice (voice commands) and iPresenter PowerPoint (for converting and displaying PowerPoint presentations - quite useful for me).
There other differences, but it's best to go to Compaq's website and print out the QuickSpecs to see for yourself.
All-in-all, I'm not sure if upgrading from a 36xx to a 38xx is really worth it if you have to pay full for a new 38xx; but if you only have to pay the price delta between the two, and you don't mind not being able to use (for now) productivity-increasing accessories such as the Targus Stowaway foldable keyboard, it was certainly worth to me.

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Perfect condition, no scratches on screen, may be minor marks on case. Good battery, stylus latch, stylus, SD slot, usb connector. Tested and Checked. Software free from internet. No case or CD. Sync charge cable gets power from PC. Sync Stand and Power Supply Available Separately.

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Compaq iPAQ 3955 Color Pocket PC Review

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(More customer reviews)While most of the reviewers have done a great job of examining the various technical advantages of this amazing little device, I'd like to take a moment just to describe the incomparable beauty of the operating system itself. Long gone are the days when the Pocket PC Operating System was home to a handful of difficult-to-use, technical software hash-togethers; today, a Pocket PC can do everything and anything. Microsoft's original marketing ploy for the device - "Can your Palm do this?" (answer: not unless its holding a Pocket PC) - rings truer than ever. Some of the things you can do with a Pocket PC:
1) Using a connection to the internet (purchase a Secure Digital wi-fi card and stick it into the iPaq) you can transfer money and check your bank balance, if you bank support online banking. Do it anywhere in the house, or even at Starbucks, using their wi-fi hotspots.
2) You can watch your DVD movies on the airplane on the iPaq using Pocket TV; checkout [the website] for idiot-proof instructions on how to transfer those movies you downloaded...(legal movies, of course ;) into your Pocket PC in no time flat.
3) Play Super Nintendo and Original Nintendo - as well as Gameboy games - on your Pocket PC. Of course, ROMS are generally illegal. So in reality, you cannot do this. But if you were so inclined, various emulators - all of them, except for the SNES, are full speed (and larger than original screen size, in the Gameboy emulator's case) - are readily available on the internet. Checkout pocketgamer.org for info on Pocket PC gaming.
4) Use it as a remote control. If you've misplaced the sound system remote again, simply use the iPaq sitting in your pocket.
5) Look at (and edit) your digital camera pictures. If your digital camera uses secure digital cards, it is simply a matter of sliding the card into your iPaq. Otherwise, purchase the extra-slim Silver Slider Expansion Pack for the iPaq (about $50) and then you can insert compact flash cards (a more popular digital camera format) into the iPaq.
6) Get the latest headlines and news briefs from the Internet every morning using Microsoft Plus Sync'n Go (available in MS Plus!: Digital Media Edition, available to purchase and download over the Internet) and watch MSNBC at work or in the bus. No commercials, no advertisement, such a quick rundown of the day's news. Simply dock your Pocket PC in the morning, and you're all set.
7) Play Quake - the original, fully 3D version - on your Pocket PC. Fully legal to play the demo version on the optimized Pocket Quake engine, available to download for free at pocketmatrix.com
8) Play Tomb Raider, Simcity 2000, and, within months, the complete version of Worms World Party on your device. All are available to purchase and download from trusted online retailers like handango.com
9) Replace all your glove compartment maps with MS Pocket Streets, available for free from MS to download over the Internet. Maps are fully zoomable; streets appear just like on a real map, or just click on any street to identify it. If you are really into, purchase Pocket Copilot, a black plastic sleeve with an antenna that slides onto your iPaq and makes it a full-color, ultra-professional GPS system with audio instructions ("Next intersection, turn right"). Even comes with a suction cup holder so you can attach the GPSed iPaq to your car dashboard.
10) Experience e-Books the way they were meant to be experienced. Countless classics, from Kurt Vonnegut to George Orwell, are available...And anything published in the 1920's and earlier (Hemmingway, anyone?) is copyright-free; in other words, go to goggle and type in the book's title and "Microsoft Reader ebook" along with free, and you're bound to find something. Otherwise, check [online] to find out if your favorite book is available to purchase for MS Reader, Palm Reader, or Adobe Reader (all compatible with Pocket PC, even the second one!)
11) Edit documents with on the fly spell-checking (i.e. underlines mistakes in red as you type) along with synonyms, pictures, headers, tables, etc. using Textmaker, a third party app that is as fully functional as Word in every single way.
12) Forget the dictionary; 8 megabytes or less is enough for virtually any of the various dictionary (and translator) products available for Pocket PC.
13) Play the shareware versions (or full, if you own the originals) of Hexen, Heretic, and Doom, all for free. Open source engines for all three games are available, and easily accessible, on the Internet. Take a peak at pocketgamer.org to find out more.
14) Using Thunderhawk, a third party Internet Browser, you can view websites in 100% full "virtual" resolution. When you type in a site address, the website first goes through Thunderhawk's servers and is transformed into a virtual page that then appears on your Pocket PC. Everything...appears just as it does on your PC, with support for all cookies and proprietary standards. Palm cannot match that - it is 100% real web browsing.
...In other words, calling a Pocket PC an organizer is an understatement like no other. This is a PC, with all the advantages of portability, that fits in your pocket. Amazing little gadget - if you like technology, you will adore the iPaq.

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You want to do more with life? The iPAQ Pocket PC H3900 series is designed to ride along on the voyage of life - in your pocket or mounted to your mountain bike. It's not much bigger than a calculator and comes standard with applications like Microsoft Pocket Word, Excel, Outlook, Internet Explorer, and Windows Media Player. Cool new features include integrated Bluetooth, Consumer IR, 65,000+ color screen, increased battery life, and Microsoft Pocket PC 2002.

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HP iPAQ 4355 Pocket PC Review

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(More customer reviews)I have owned almost every iPaq made to date plus a few other brands and without a doubt, the 4355 is the best by far. Yes it is a bit bigger then most of the other iPaq's, but I do not have a problem with that as it fits so well into my hand and just "feels right" A 1560 mAh battery comes standard with the unit which is about 500 mAh more then most PDA's resulting in a good 3-4 days usage before recharging. I spent once over two hours on WiFi at a local Starbucks and the battery was still going stronge. The WiFi setup could not be simpler, just turn on the unit, select WiFi ON and it has a "snooper" built in and will find the Wifi, add all the correct addressing information and you just connect right away. Takes no more then 10 seconds to handle this. The BlueTooth works perfectly on my HP printer at up to about 30 ft and the other nice thing I found is that the Logitech Bluetooth Keyboard has a universal Bluetooth transmitter/receiver and and I could hook into this with ease for ActiveSync. Along with that, I purchased a 512 MB SD card, a beautiful leather case by the company Piel (www.ipaqcases.com) and with those options I am all set. I find I actually use the keyboard alot and its very neat as its got a "Timex Indaglo" color blue backlight for the keyboard which is very handy.
I use the unit for alot of large JPG pictures and they look stunning on the display and also maps created by MapPoint 2004 for Pocket Streets and its amazing ow fast this unit will open even a very large map (17 MB) The screen can be read outside in bright sunlite (well as bright as it gets here in Seattle) which I cannot say for many other PDA's. The programs just "snap open" (e no waiting and rare to see the hourglass symbol) This PDA does of course run the latest PPC software which is called Pocket PC 2003 Premium. Only bad thing, but this is the custom tese days with PDA's is no manual (partial one on the CD) So if you are new to Pocket PC's I would get something "Everything you have always wanted to go with your iPaq" by Frank McPherson. Also its neat as the battery charger unit with the built in USB 2.0 Interface (will run USB 1 also) has a second slot for an extra battery if you want. This kind of option it usually not available or if it is, sells for a rather high price. IF you do not think you will use the keyboard that is built in, there always is basically the same model without the keyboard and that is the iPaq 4155. But this unit does come with a smaller battery (1000 maH I beleive) and I really like the long life of the one that comes with the 4355. Usually I can also find a good number of things I don't like, but not in this model ! A clear winner in the PDA world !
Tedd Riggs
Redmond,WA
T_Riggs@msn.com

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Even with its small size, iPAQ 4355 is packed with powerful features, including integrated WLAN 802.11b and Bluetooth, a built-in keyboard, and a Secure Digital (SDIO) slot. Its proven wireless capabilities and security allow you to stay connected and protected in or out of the office.

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