Thursday, June 12th, 2008
When it comes to PDA’s, I have two preferences: my trusty old Sharp Zaurus SL 5500 and HP iPAQ’s. I was looking around today and I found some news on an iPAQ model that I haven’t heard of before; the HP iPAQ 910.
The device has classed a ‘Business Messenger by HP and looks like yet another attempt to grab some of the Blackberry market share.
Don’t let that last statement stop you from having a look. The spec on the HP iPAQ 910 is pretty impressive:
- Windows Mobile 6.1 (touchscreen interface)
- QWERTY keyboard
- 3 megapixels camera
- GPS
- Tri-band UMTS/HSDPA 7.2Mbps
- Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
- HP Voice Reply (hands free and eyes free email functions)
- Compatibility with lin-of-business apps i.e. Oracle and SAP
There’s more detail here.
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Tuesday, June 10th, 2008
I know the HP iPAQ 214 has been around for a while but we’ve only just managed to get our hands on one now.
HP have dubbed this PDA an ‘Enterprise handset’ and, based on first impressions it certainly does look to have the goods. HP and many other vendors know they face stiff competition from an advancing army of UMPC’s and need to deliver what the customer wants. So, let’s take a look at the HP iPAQ 214 and see what this PDA has to offer you and me.
Design
The iPAQ 214 looks vaguely similar to the to its smaller cousin the iPAQ 110 but with a chunkier, more boxy feel created by the squared edges. The chassis design makes the iPAQ 214 feel…well, not uncomfortable…just chunky.
The case features a very attractive black gloss coating. The only annoyance was that smudges and fingerprints show up very clearly on the casing.
The external layout of the HP iPAQ 214 hides the range of features available. Just below the screen are four front buttons and a directional pad. The two inner two buttons are used for the Start menu and OK/close buttons with the soft keys providing access to calendar and messaging functions. A nice feature here is that these two buttons are mappable. This allows you to set up the iPAQ 214 for one handed use.
The thick, metal stylus is definitely a step up from the toothpick-like offerings that ship with certain other devices.
The iPAQ 214 weights 6.8 ounces. Not light by anyones standards but, oddly, it doesn’t feel heavy. This may well be due to the fact that the weight is spread over the large area that makes up this PDA (5.0″ x 3.0″ x 0.63″).
The screen really is fantastic. The 4″ LCD gives a good, crisp display which renders complicated web pages exceptionally well for a device of this size. A sensor built into the iPAQ 214 allows the PDA to automatically alter the backlight to optimise for lighting conditions and we found this to be pretty effective. The only minus point here was the touchscreen. You have to apply a fair amount of pressure to the screen to register an action. We did recalibrate the screen a couple of times but no change.
The speakers were a disappointment. Even a full volume it was difficult to hear some of the audio output.
The 624 MHz Marvell XScale PXA310 gave adequate performance. I was surprised that HP didn’t opt for a higher specification 800Mhz model but may have chosen the current CPU in order to keep costs down.
The HP iPAQ 214 ships with Windows Mobile 6 Classic without Microsoft Outlook - pretty standard. I would expect future versions of the iPAQ 214 to ship with Windows Mobile 6.1 or 7, when it’s released.
Now we come to the really interesting part. Expansion and connectivity. The HP iPAQ 214 excels. A CompactFlash and a separate SDHC card slot allows to this device to use a 32 GB memory card in each slot for a maximum total of 64 GB of SSD storage.
This device features 802.11G Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 so you’ll have no problems hitting hotspots or connecting to your mobile phone. The iPAQ 214 also features a 24-pin connnector port and min-USB which both allow you sync and charge the device.
Battery life is good coming in at around 8 hours when used under an average load. Once we cranked up some applications, media and WiFi access this fell down to about three hours thirty minutes. I know it doesn’t sound great but I really did abuse this PDA.
Conclusion
I have to admit that I’m a great fan of Windows but this PDA rocks. Yes, there are a few annoyances but given the features and capabilities of the HP iPAQ 214 I’m prepared to forgive especially when you consider the price: about £220.
Specification
624 MHz Marvell XScale PXA310 Processor
128 MB RAM; 256 MB flash (185 MB available)
4.0″, 640 x 480 touchscreen LCD
CompactFlash slot; SD slot with SDHC and SDIO support
24-pin iPAQ connector; Mini-USB connector
802.11b/g Wi-Fi (supports WPA2), Bluetooth 2.0/EDR
Downside
Poor sound quality from the speakers. Slow startup when WiFi is enabled.
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