PDA Reviews

The Blackberry Bold 9000 was one of the most awaited and anticipated handset to date. And this phone has continued RIM’s legacy for the qwerty smartphones. Most of the people still are in the mindset that Blackberry is only for the business people and that it does not have much to offer for others. Though a couple of other latest models of Blackberry contradicts this thought, Blackberry Bold completely changes this “for business only” tag that is attached to Blackberry. RIM has aptly named the phone as Bold as RIM has taken a very daring step in to the new world of the all in one smart phones. By doing so, Blackberry has not eliminated its serious core features such as email and security and in addition to these features, Bold has included the HSPDA (3.5G) and GPS attracting the interests of more consumers.

With the Bold 9000, its maker Research in Motion hopes to create as much as a furore as the iPhone 3G. Let us see if it has the features and performance to create the same.

A stylish Blackberry:

The Bold 9000 is a flat handset that sits comfortably in your palms. Though it is heavier than the other Blackberry handsets, this one has got a much cleaner and a stylish look. Bold has managed to achieve this look with its smart silver magnesium alloy trim around its circumference with each of the lines of the qwerty keyboard separated by silver lines. When Bold 9000 is viewed from the front, it look very flat, and the keys do not protrude like the ones on the Blackberry 8800 series.

A great keypad:

The first thing that strikes you as soon as you see the Bold 9000 is that, “It seems to be too wide”. This width is in fact advantageous to the phone in various areas. For instance, this allows RIM to offer you with a full QWERTY keyboard and a larger, wider display. We have already praised the keypad of Nokia E71 a lot and the keypad of Bold 9000 is as good as that one. The spacing between each of the keys is just the right amount and since the keys are raised at one edge, they can pressed very easily and distinguished too. Typing can be very fast. RIM’s own tests proved that Bold’s QWERTY keypad had the highest typing rate of all qwerty sets. The faux metal border surrounding the keypad and screen is not as good as the metal casing that is found in Nokia E71.

Impressive display:

Not only is the keyboard awesome, the display is also a very impressive one. The LCD screen of Bold is not touch sensitive and feels much durable than Pearl’s screen which had a tough plastic coating. Over all, it is smart, classy and much more desirable. It has an upgraded half VGA 480×320-pixel resolution and the ability to display 65,000 colours. It is Bold, sharp and colourful. The display is the ideal one for watching videos and checking mails. For now, the Bold 9000 is available only in piano black.

Navigation:

For the sake of main navigation, there is a track ball that is similar to the one in Blackberry Pearl. This trackball had always been both plus and minus because, while some people feel comfortable using it, some of them feel that it is very fiddly. However, it works well and all the irritation is only till you get used to it and once that is done, the pearl like navigational device makes searching through the long lists and going through menu very straightforward. As with most of the other Blackberry handsets, Bold 900 also has got the voice command hardware button that is very easy to use. On pressing it, you will hear the “say a command” voice, after which you can say your smartphone what to do.

Bold 9000 - A unique rear design:

Traditionally the Blackberry sets come with leatherette cases and as a difference, Bold 9000 smartphone has its 2Mp camera and video capture unit in the rear is covered by mock leather. A Blackberry logo has been embossed on its back and we are quite sure that it is not a coincidence that Apple also has a central distinctive silver logo on back of its iPhone. We agree that it is unfair to make design comparisons between Blackberry and iPhone. Bold is said to have been planning the design for three years. In fact, the Bold resembles the smartphones of Motorola and HTC more than the Apple iPhone.

Headphone jack:

RIM does not disagree on the fact that most of us prefer to use our own headphones than the ones that come with the box and hence, it has kindly equipped Bold 9000 with a 3.5mm headphone jack. The only issue here is that it has been put on the side of the phone, top or bottom would have been desirable.

Beautiful interface:

The interface of Blackberry has never been interesting and hence, we have never been a fan of it. But RIM has made a very wise move by redesigning it, the Blackberry OS 4.6. The naff icons on the white and the signature background image of highway disappearing over the horizon are all gone and an array of neon symbols has been introduced and they look, kind of cute. Initially it has got six function icons that include lock, email, contact book, calendar, web browser and GPS navigation. And on a translucent bar on top of the display are, time, date, phone network, connection status, battery life and signal strength. All of these are customisable.

RIM has provided you with the option to customise your own feature set. By pressing the Blackberry button, you can move, promote and demote items from the main display and then create a mini taskbar of your frequently used applications. It does not stop here, there are numerous predefined and user assignable shortcut keys you can create. We studied that Blackberry’s policy is to apply all innovations introduced on one generation of handset to successive models.

Upgraded with new features:

We had literally cursed RIM for not including many features like HSDPA and Wi-Fi in the other previous Blackberry models. But Bold has come out as an answer for everything. Though RIM has introduced these features in its models quite lately, they are perfect. These features offer high speed email and internet access anywhere you go and with GPS, you will be able to locate yourself accurately. The GPS facility included works well when you are outdoors, but does not do a great job when you are indoors. Blackberry maps will be very handy while navigating around your town. You can even send your location to your friends and help them find you. But the Google maps that you can download from the net do a better job.

RIM has improvised Bold from the other blackberries on various notes, the best is giving it a speedy processor of speed 624MHz. It delivers that amount of power that is required for a busy smartphone. The Bold does not lag in any of the applications like accessing the web or while using the GPS.

E-mail and browsing:

BlackBerry Bold 9000 is one of those smartphones which does not compromise in its service quality. It is one of the most exhilarating experiences to use the IM, Internet, Email and you can always remain connected.

Setting up the email is not a big deal in the Bold 9000. It is very straightforward depending on your requirements. If you do not intend to use it to access your company mail id, then you can always make use of the Blackberry internet service to setup a variety of mail accounts that includes Microsoft exchange too. Attachments are also supported. The bright backlighting of the handset ensures that there is a clear contrast between the text and background. The internet browser of Bold is easy to use too but the absence of a flash player is disappointing. The web browsing using the 3G connection is quite good. Still, the graphics heavy web pages take a while to get loaded while less bandwidth-intensive furniture like site logos and headers appears quickly.

File Management:

The Bold 9000 features WordToGo and SlideshowToGo with the help of which you can use MS Word and MS PowerPoint to its best. You can also copy, paste and adjust the font size as you work. The extremely colourful LCD display is a pleaure to work with. The streaming capability on this smartphone is built-in and helps to have fun with the online videos or musical broadcasts. You can browse and access info without making use of the phone inbuilt memory.

Personal Organizer:

The Organiser of this smartphone is the Phone Book which allows you to store numerous contact details in its memory, the Calendar allows to make appointments and important things to do. This also features an alarm clock and a task list manager which allows you to lead a well calculated and planned schedule for your day.

Multimedia:

Another important point to note about the BlackBerry Bold 9000 is its media management and playback credentials. RIM has enlisted a respected audio/video software specialist Roxio to come up with a media manager that helps you identify and categorise your photos and music.

The multimedia utility is real fun and frolic with the Bold 9000 3G smartphone as it is with its’ precursors like BlackBerry Pearl or the BlackBerry Curve or the 8800 series. This smartphone is one which entraps the user with its integrated music player and the business options as well. The user is exposed to immensely rich audio and video playbacks which can be transferred or downloaded as personal choice.

Music player and supported formats: The music player of the smartphone is good. It supports several formats and more than just usable. The BlackBerry media synchronization allows transfer of desktop iTunes to the mobile. The videos are explicitly vivid in colour clarity and displaying the sequences as the music files are rich in sound. Individual playlists can be created which is easy to save and playback. The headset can be plugged in or the Bluetooth stereo can be accessed. Multiple activities like replying your emails while you enjoy your music at the backend can be done. With the internet connectivity logged into, you can watch your favorite news channel or any other clippings while you wait on other activity.

DivX and some xVid video codecs are supported, as is WMV (Windows Media Video) and H.264. For audio, the Bold can play the key formats of MP3, AAC and WMA9/10.

The speaker phone is very loud indeed. This is very handy for hand-free and conference calls. But the tinny quality that a majority of the loudspeakers have can be sensed in this one too.

Camera: The 2 megapixel camera that RIM has equipped Bold is not impressive. The photos taken in daylight were not good enough and with just a LED photo light, the night shots were also not impressive enough. Quality of the photos is just enough to share some funny moments with your friends via MMS, but do not expect them to look great when they are viewed in a PC.

Battery life:

Blackberry Bold 9000 has a standby time of 10days and talktime of four hours. Using the Bold like every other average user, it lasts for a day before it needed a recharge, which is not bad keeping in mind the usage of HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), Wi-Fi and GPS.

Warranty:

RIM offers Blackberry Bold 9000 one year standard warranty.

Verdict:

With the introduction of Blackberry Bold 9000, RIM has proved that it is cared about the changing trends of the market and the changing interests of the business men. This is a great phone and we recommend that you will have to try it, even if you are already having any other type of Blackberry it is a great choice for a PDA. The Bold 9000 will be the ultimate choice for those who want something different from Apple iPhone and Nokia E71.

The Blackberry Bold 9000 is available for free on contracts with several networks such as Three, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone.

Read reviews of Pearl 8120, Pearl 8100 in our website.

Blackberry Bold 9000 - Technical Specification Table

When the line-up of PDA’s of the year 2003 was announced by HP, the line up itself proved to be a great evidence of the thoughtfulness of the manufacturer in considering the specific needs of specific groups of people. While the HP iPAQ Pocket PC series 4000 and 5000 aimed on the corporate sector managers and executives, the Pocket PC 1900 and 2000 series aimed solely on the individual consumers and the average users. One of the major complaints about the earlier model iPAQ PDAs was that they did not provide built-in expansion slots. Well, HP has given ears to this and has come up with the HP iPAQ H2210 Pocket PC .

The Hewlett Packard iPAQ H2210 Pocket PC has been designed with a mobile professional in mind. This model boasts to be having a lot of pluses. It is the first model to have been released with dual expansion slots that includes integrated CompactFlash Type II and Secure Digital and it is also the only mobile to have used the then released Windows Mobile 2003. Though this model is not as slim or affordable as the HP iPAQ H1940, the H2210 has got a lot more of other attractive features.

Compact body and a great display of H2210:

As we said earlier, though the iPAQ H2210 is not as compact as its predecessor, it is not big too. It has its dimensions to be (H X W X D) 4.3″ x 3″x 0.6″, weighing just 5.1 ounces. The PDA HP iPAQ H2210 is in fact lighter and slimmer then the original iPAQs that did not have any expansion slots. This model has a top-notch transflective, 65,000-color, TFT display of resolution 240 x 320. This display is particularly very impressive as it seems to be brighter than the ones found in of Toshiba’s e330 and e335 models. While used indoors, the white background has very less grey and while outside, you will be able to read the text without any problem even in bright sunlight.

Buttons and ports available:

Below the screen are four quick launch buttons and a directional pad. The power button is available on the top of the device and there is a LED just behind the power button that changes colours (green/ orange and blue) depending on the type of alert that it is sending. Out of the two lights, one is blue that indicates Bluetooth and the other notifies device alerts and when the power adaptor is being connected. The power button is small and slightly inset and is very easy to press and get the device activated. The top of the PDA has the highlight feature of the Pocket PC, the dual expansion slots to which you can slide in a CF I or II or SD card and SDIO cards. The bottom of the device only contains a sync connection port, no separate power adapter connection.

Similarities with the Dell model:

Though HP claims that the iPAQ H2210 Windows Pocket PC was under development even before the Dell Axim X51V was released, it is hard to stop thinking that the two models are illegitimate cousins. And one of the main reasons for thinking so is that, both these models have a black rubberised side panels that prevents the device from slipping out of your hands. However, we have to confess that the H2210 looks better than the Dell X5.

Responsive joystick like button and the absence of a recording button:

HP has managed to incorporate some unique design features into the iPAQ H2210. It has a very responsive joystick like navigational button that gives a true feel of a joystick rather than a four way navigational key. No dedicated button is provided for voice recording memos, it has to be activated from within the notes application. However, this is definitely not going to be a worrying factor for most of the users as the record button is hardly used and it usually has a habit of being accidentally activated. The iPAQ can be connected both via sync cradle connection or via the integrated Bluetooth.

The cradle and protective cover:

The package contents differ slightly form what you get with its predecessor. It includes a cradle and canvas protective cover. Another major advantage is that since iPAQ H2210 Pocket PC PDA has the standard headphone minijack, you will be able to use whatever headphone you want without having to buy an extra adaptor. The cradle is elegant, eye-catching as usual with HP devices. There is no decorative neon inscription like those Dell and Asus have, but you can charge the device and a spare battery at the same time. It is relatively light but rock stable on the desk. The USB cable offered is short and it would have been better if it was long enough. The protective case is somewhat strange. It is not the usual case but a simple folding pocket made of a tough material, sewed together on the sides with rubber. The Pocket PC fits in well and basic protection is guaranteed. But the worst part is that, the stitches inside a quite sharp and so that the sides of your PDA might get scratched after a few days of use.

Memory and processor of iPAQ H2210:

When it comes to features, apart form the additional expansion slots, this model is quite similar to its predecessor. It has got 32MB of ROM to include the new Pocket PC 2003 OS and 64MB of RAM, out of which only 56MB can be made use of by the user. The most wanted Bluetooth is available. And on the side of differences, this iPaq H2210 uses the 400MHz XScale processor, and you do get consumer-grade IR, which allows you to turn the device into a programmable universal remote control using the included Nevo application. We feel that the allegedly more energy-efficient 266MHz Samsung processor could have done a better job than the processor that has been employed.  Though the 400MHz PXA255 processor that is employed is said to be the fastest processor in the current market, the Samsung version is equally speedy and energy efficient too.

Nevo remote control application:

Beyond the above mentioned Nevo remote control application, you cannot expect much in terms of the software extras. The Nevo application is a truly multifunctional remote control. You can define any number of devices, separately for each room. Even though there is a huge number of presets for TV sets, VCRs, DVDs, amplifiers and other infrared controlled devices of different makes, many are missing. The programme includes a learning mode which will be very handy. The Pocket PC OS 2003 has got more embedded applications than that of the OS 2002. The usual assortment of demos and the full suite of Microsoft applications like pocket Microsoft office, internet explorer, reader, streets and windows media player are available for your use.

iPAQ Backup:

Some of the other notable applications includes the iPAQ Backup which is a diagnostic toolkit that allows you to test your device and Peacemaker, which is an application that negotiates communication between pocket PC and Palms. iPAQ Backup is an advanced solution for backing up data and programmes. You can choose what you would like to back up, which databases, files and registers. You can also choose to compress and/or encrypt the data or exclude some types of files. As a cherry on the cake, you can tell the programme to back up your files at a specified time or when the battery power decreases to a set level.

Image viewer application:

HP has also included an image viewer application, another one comes with the OS and the OS also has a very addictive gaming application called the jawbreaker. Well, it is nothing exceptional as it simply displays all pictures in a folder and you can choose pictures to view in their real size or create a slide show, which can morph one picture into another using several effects.

Video and Audio:

HP iPAQ H2210 Pocket PC runs video smoothly and the audio quality is also quite good, which might have been improved with the upgrading to Windows Media 9. The iPaq audio control panel acts as an equaliser and using this, the bass and the treble levels can be adjusted.

Battery and its life:

Another good feature of  HP iPAQ Pocket PC H2210 that is worth mentioning is that, this model has removable batteries and so, you will be able to swap an extra cell when required. But unlike the H1940, the H2210 is not compatible with the older iPaq expansion sleeves and accessories. The battery life of the model has very respectable numbers. With the background light set to 50%, the device lasts for 4hours and 24 minutes and plays MPEG video for a little more than three hours.

Package contents:

The package contents include a HP iPAQ h1940, Li-Ion battery 900mAh, AC power supply with an adapter for direct charging of the device, a cradle with a USB cable, a protective case, a CD-ROM with Outlook 2002 and bonus apps, a coupon worth 5 points for iPAQ Choice Software, a quick start guide, a warranty card and a few leaflets.

Warranty:

HP offers the HP iPAQ H2210 Pocket PC one year limited warranty.

Verdict:

The HP iPAQ H2210 Pocket PC does not have anything really bad in its pockets. Its dual expansion slots, great transflective display, Bluetooth, consumer grade IR, removable battery, and its ability to double as a remote control for home theater gear are all its major plus points. With so much to offer, they is no reason why we must stop you form getting one in your pockets.

You may also be interested in reading reviews of HP Compaq iPAQ H3970 Pocket PC, Toshiba e405 Pocket PC.



Technical Specification details of Hewlett Packard iPAQ H2210 Pocket PC

The world has been governed by the windows for over two decades and no wonder we have become accustomed to the little icons, start button and applications like word and Excel, not to mention even the classics like solitaire. Now, you can get them all in form of pocket PC or PDA. With the release of the 400MHz XScale processor by Intel, the term itself earned a great deal of credibility. The following review is on one such pocket PC called the HP Compaq iPAQ H3970.

No change with the design:

Having HP Compaq iPAQ H3970 switched off, it can be easily mistook for the previous model as they look virtually the same. It has a plastic enclosure that imitates metal. It has got metallic buttons and a black crown. The Pocket PC is relatively wide having its dimensions as, 3.3” x 5.3” x 0.6” (W X H X D) inches. This wideness is an advantage as it helps in giving a good hold and there is also a small bump on the left side of the PDA, where the thumb lies, which further enhances your grip to the Pocket PC.

Excellent display:

Most of the front area of the PDA is occupied by the display of about 96mm diameter. Compaq iPAQ H3970 possesses a TFT transflective display that is not only huge, but also amazingly bright too. The screen had a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels and supports about 65K colours. The colour, brightness, contrast, everything that is up to the right level as it should be, as it is quoted in a classic, “White is really white and Black is really black“. The display will be bringing a great deal of joy for the passionate gamers. Its predecessor suffered with the too dark scenes but the H3970 is simply perfect.

The touch layer of the PDA seems to be perfect too. Even the corners can be controlled precisely and they are sensitive to the right proportion too, this is one of the areas in which most of the PDAs suffer to show a good performance. Setting the display is straight forward and easy. Apart from the backlight adjustment feature, iPAQ also offer you with smooth manual adjustment for battery and mains operation. Overall, the display features of Compaq iPAQ H3970 are excellent.

Buttons and controls:

Under the large display lies the navigational pad along with four soft buttons. The crown of the PDA sports a mike, main switch, speaker, two LED indicators and a light intensity sensor that automatically adjusts the backlight of the display according to the brightness of the surrounding. The backlight adjustment though is not that accurate, it still exhibit’s a great improvement when compared with its implementations in the previous models. When the lighting conditions change, the backlight intensity does not change immediately but has a gradual and pleasant smooth transition. The blue LED is used to indicate the activities of the Bluetooth and the other green and orange LED indicates the status of the PDA such as charging or calendar event notification etc.

Other controls:

There is not much to say about the sides of the HP Compaq iPAQ H3970 PDA. The right side is empty where as, the left side has a sound record button, that can also be assigned to do some other functionality. The design of the device has been done such a way that it should be held in left hand. The top has much interesting things to talk about. Apart from a microphone, it also has a stereo headphone jack, stylus shaft and a SD slot. The bottom of Compaq-HP iPAQ H3970 Pocket PC has a reset button and two connectors out of which the smaller connector is used to connect cables, external keyboard, cradle and other accessories and the bigger connector acts as a system bus connector that connects with various types of jackets. The bigger connector is a solution that offers a wide range of expansion possibilities.

Expandability options:

Since HP Compaq iPAQ H3970 Pocket PC has the same dimensions as that of its predecessor, all of its accessories such as the expansion packs, keyboards, cases etc are all compatible. Though there are wide range of expansion possibilities, they are too costly. For instance, Compaq has not included the support for CF slot and the additional jacket will solve this issue. One of the major drawbacks is that, even the thinnest available jackets make the H3970 quite thick.

Set of features:

HP Compaq iPAQ H3970 is of the H3900 series which inherited most of its features and characteristics from its predecessor, the  H3800.

Applications:

The ROM has several new and innovative applications. The task manager, iTask looks the same as the predecessor but has four points higher. The backup utility offered works slightly better than what was previously available. The user will be able to select backup options from a very extensive list such as databases, individual files, registry, place of backup etc. Options are also offered to choose if the file has to be compressed or encrypted, whether to exclude executable and DLLs and even whether to store backup info in a .LOG file. Most importantly you get to choose backups once, daily or weekly, a very appreciable feature.

Picture viewer and Infrared control:

There are two more unique features included in HP Compaq iPAQ H3970 Handheld PDA . A simple picture viewer with slide show feature is available. Though this is not a miraculous feature, it is most welcome by those who have the habit of viewing photo from time to time. The other one is a neat infrared control that is compatible with home appliances, TVs, DVD players etc. This functionality offers immense capabilities and allows you to configure a set of control for each room, each person. The database of the application has a preset for a wide range of appliances. In case any of the appliance that user wants is not listed, its specification can be downloaded from a specialised website.

On the side of technology:

The HP Compaq iPAQ H3970 had the best possible technology that a Pocket PC can possess at the time of its release. It runs using the Intel PXA250 processor which is also known as the Xscale that runs at a speed of 400 MHz. But one of the major dents involved is that, since the system and applications in the PDA are not optimised in a such a way to be operated by the processor, the overall speed of the PDA is much lower than you would actually expect. Unlike some of the other Pocket PCs in the market, you will not be able to control the speed of the processor by yourself as the system takes care of everything by itself. An upgrade in the OS can be expected, having a flash ROM of 48MB. The model without Bluetooth feature has only 32MB of Flash ROM.

Storage facilities:

HP has included an excellent feature in the Compaq IPAQ H3970 that would make it possible for you store any of your most sensitive data in the available 48MB of ROM, which remains even when the PDA completely runs out of battery. You will be having around 22MB of storage space that appear in the PDA as iPAQ file store. Contact information and calendar data can also be stored in here as it will remain even after a hard reset. The operating memory has a sufficient capacity of about 64MB out of which you will have 63MB for your use.

Communication features:

The wide range of communication features of the Compaq iPAQ H3970 gives it the high end tag. Having the support for USB and serial communication, it allows for synchronisation of data with a PC. If you want to eliminate the fuss of the cables, you can also make use of infrared to connect to desktop, mobile phones or any other PDAs. It has a speed of 115.2Kbps which is more than sufficient for most of the basic functionalities. In addition to these, Bluetooth is also available which has a data transfer speed of 20KB/sec. Actually, the Bluetooth functionality works much faster but here, the speed is limited due to the way the technology has been implemented.

Audio quality:

The audio quality from the speaker is nothing less than excellent and it proves to be of a quality that is above the range of what is expected out of a PDA category. The MP3 playback is great and the sound recorded in the built-in mike sounds great too. The output from the headphones do not lag behind at all. The user can experience clear and undistorted audio without even a hiss, even at the high levels of volume. The advantages does not stop here as HP has equipped the Compaq iPAQ H3970 with an option for bass and treble adjustment for the headphone output, which is again new and a unique feature for a Pocket PC. The microphone is one of the most sensitive ones that we had ever encountered in any PDA. When recording, the iPAQ H3970 produced excellent results which is not only because of the high quality of the microphone but also because of an utility known as the AGC, Automatic Gain Control which automatically adjusts the level of recording.

Applications that come in the CD:

As in the case of the other Compaq PDAs, the iPAQ H3970 also has got a set of applications on an accompanying CD. Apart from the demo version applications that can even be downloaded from the web, some of the other applications included are, iPresentation Mobile Converter LE, WordLogic, Quick View Plus, Bust’em game, Conduits Pocket Watch and F-Secure FileCrypto.

The package contents:

The package mostly remains to be the same as H3800. The package contents include the HP Compaq iPAQ H3970, a cradle with a USB and serial connector, a pseudo-jacket ,  charger, reduction, a spare stylus which has become a standard, CD-ROM, user guide, a warranty card and a leaflet with a code. The pseudo jacket offered is to protect the display, it is a jacket with a transparent flap which we feel is quite inconvenient. The inconvenience is that, the device cannot be held comfortably and is difficult to write over the display, we feel that a leather case would have done a better job. A reduction is included for charging iPAQ outside the cradle. The cradle has got traditionally two connectors, USB and serial respectively.

HP Compaq iPAQ H3970 comes with one year warranty.

You get to choose the applications:

As mentioned in the package, you get a leaflet with an automatically generated code. When you visit the website mentioned in the leaflet, after registration, you will be prompted to enter the code and once the code is entered, you would get to choose up to five commercial applications for free. This gives the users more of flexibility and is certainly better than someone choosing a set of five applications, burning it in a CD and including it in the package. Not everybody will like all the applications that are included, by this way, the users get to choose what exactly they want.

Battery:

Having mentioned that the display is very bright and the battery is the same 1400mAh that was available in the previous models, you might be thinking that the battery life will be a nightmare. But that is not true, the battery performance is great too. Compaq iPAQ H3970 is capable of playing a full MPEG movie on a loop for about three hours. Some of the devices offer a backup battery that protects your data for weeks even if your mobile is kept completely switched off for weeks. But, iPAQ lacks one. It rather uses something else to protect and retain the data. That is, if the battery drops beyond a level, the Pocket PC does not switch on and makes use of the remaining power to secure the data until a recharge is done. Though this is a common feature that can be found in all the devices that do not use a backup battery, the difference Ipaq has made is that, it allows the user to set that critical level. If the critical level is decreased, you will be able to use the very last drop of battery.

Verdict:

The HP Compaq iPAQ H3970 Pocket PC is one of the best pocket PCs in the market. This mobile has no notable weaknesses. The display is excellent, not to say the audio. The iPAQ is just on the correct path. Some minor tweaks made in the PDA has made the PDA a high end device. It has something to offer everybody. We certainly recommend it.

Read reviews of HP iPAQ 214 Pocket PC, HP iPAQ 114 Pocket PC in this website.



Technical Specification Details of HP Compaq iPAQ H3970 Pocket PC

Palm T|X Handheld PDA with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

Palm had finally made up its mind to integrate WiFi in one of its handhelds, named Palm LifeDrive in May 2005 but the happiness of seeing wireless features was not long lived once we found that the cost of Palm LifeDrive cannot be digested. And then latter, the same year, it released the Palm T|X PDA with both WiFi and Bluetooth and this device had proved that, if a device has premium features, it is not necessary that it has to have a premium price tag. Along with the wireless features, it has a long list of other features that makes it a good competition to its rivals like Dell Axim X51 and HP iPaq rx1950.

After Palm reacquired the rights to the ‘Palm’ brand name, The TX and Palm Z22 Handheld PDA are the first new models they introduced. In that way, Palm then dropped the ‘Tungsten’ sub brand name, highlighting the strong Palm name brand.

PDA design:

The design of the Palm T|X Handheld PDA is very similar to that of its predecessor Palm Tungsten E5 except for the colour theme used. On a fast look at the device, you will tend to think that the device is black, but it is not so, the PDA is having a midnight colour scheme. This Palm handheld feels very sleek and compact, having its dimensions as, 4.7″ x 3.0″ x 0.6″ (H x W x D) and weighs just 5.2 ounces. It is just slightly larger and taller than the Tungsten E2. It is both shorter and thinner than the LifeDrive.  Though it is not as solid as Palms some of the previous models, it is having a reasonable built quality.

Display:

Palm T|X PDA is having an amazing display which is a 4-inch Transflective TFT display of resolution 320 x 240 pixels and supports more than 65,000 colours. The text and pictures displayed are very sharp and clear. You can also have fun with the display by customising the PDA with a lot of colour themes. You can do a lot of operations such as switching between portrait and landscape modes, switch on the FM radio, and bring up the virtual keyboard in just a tap of a button with the help of the toolbar that lies in the bottom area of the display. The 4″ rectangular display takes the majority of the front area of Palm TX. The sides of the PDA are smooth and the edges are well rounded.

Buttons and ports:

The main control panel lies just below the display which provides you with shortcut keys for Home, Favourites, Calendar, Contacts and Internet. The square like, main navigational pad is available in the center. The power button and the stylus holder sits on the top. Overall, the layout is spacious and logical. On the side of connectivity, a memory card expansion slot and a standard 3.5mm headphone jack are available on top of the device. SD expansion slot, which unfortunately lacks a dust cover. A port for the AC adaptor and USB ports can be found in the sides, but since they are placed very close to each other, you fill find it difficult to make use of both the ports at the same time. In case you want to reset you Palm T/X, you will find a button at the rear of the device that you will have to press with the help of any sharp device.

Processor and memory:

Palm T|X Pocket PDA is having a good deal of features. It is very easy to configure and setup the device. The device runs in the 312MHz Bulverde Intel processor. The processor is fast and you will not be able to see much of lagging in any of the areas. The operating system used is Palm OS 5.4. This PDA is having a non-volatile flash memory of 128MB out of which you will be able to use 100MB. This amount of memory will be more than enough for jotting down the details of ample number of contacts, but if you are planning to have any multimedia files like MP3 music and images, you will certainly need more memory, which you can expand with the help of the memory expansion slot. The memory expansion slot of Palm T|X can accept a memory card of 2GB capacity. And since the memory is non volatile, you will not be having any fear of loosing any information at any cost.

Wi-Fi:

Though Palm had introduced the WiFi late, it has done its job efficiently. It make connections with the web swiftly and the process is not complicated at all. All that it needs is a couple of clicks and your job will be done. It automatically starts up the connection and shuts it down automatically too, thus saving on battery life, while the Blazer browser does a fine job of reformatting websites to fit the screen. Web pages with simple text and images will get loaded in a matter of seconds but the ones with heavy graphics might take a while though. It is annoying to have to view cached pages by default and can get confusing when browsing and surfing the Internet. Although you can change the configuration, somehow it seems to revert to the default, maybe that happens after synchronising again and again. The second wireless option, that is, the Bluetooth connections are as efficient as that of the Wi-Fi connection. All the manipulations such as connecting, pairing, sending and receiving files, all can be done without any trouble.

Features related to Wi-Fi:

The advantages of having the WiFi does not stop with this, a free service called the Avvenu gives you remote access to your computer at work or home and allows you to share content with others and upload data. Though the service is free, you will have to download the Avvenu agent into your computer and then set password for the sake of security. You can also enter encryption settings in order to have enhanced security. For having more fun, you can also subscribe to MobiTV, which is not free though and watch live television on your handheld. This service allows you to have up to 10 channels that runs at 24fps.

Features:

The other features that are included in the Palm T|X PDA Handheld are, DataViz’s Documents To Go 7 and VersaMail 3.1 for professionals who can work on the go. The Documents To Go application allows you to view and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Desktop Synchronising that includes updating software and files using your PC to load and update files are residing in the PDA and has no problems. Graffiti 2 writing software is included to input data into the handheld and writing down using the stylus is fast and accurate for hand writing recognition.

The VersaMail 3.1 has support for eight email accounts such as, POP, IMAP, APOP, or ESMTP and hence delivers emails to you. Since VersaMail works with Exchange ActiveSync, you will be able to connect directly to your company’s exchange server.

Some of the other essential miscellaneous applications included are, Quick Tour, Calc with Advanced mode, Calendar, Card Info, Contacts, Dailer, Expense, Favorites, HotSync, Media, Memos, Note Pad, pTunes, SMS, Solitare, Tasks, Blazer web browser and World Clock.

Multimedia:

For the sake of multimedia entertainment, Plam T|X Wireless PDA has Pocket Tunes, with wich you will be able to listen to your favourite tunes and podcasts. The formats supported by Pocket Tunes include MP3, WMA which requires the deluxe edition, PCM WAV and Ogg Vorbis. Ogg Vorbis is an open-source codec, that means, no one has to pay licensing fees when it is used, unlike codecs such as MP3, WMA, or AAC. Many focus groups claim that music files compressed by the Ogg Vorbis codec sound better than those created with commercial codecs. This kind of format has the extension OCG. You will also be allowed you create and edit play lists, shuffle your play list and even customise the theme, skin and look of your player. You can create slide shows of your photos and give a musical background to it. The video and music playback are clean and smooth. The sound quality and the volume levels were very impressive too.

Audio:

A mono speaker is available in the rear of the device which is just adequate for the purpose of gaming and alarms. MP3s can also be played via this speaker, but we feel that, if you could invest on a headphone, that will do a good job providing you a better experience. As in the case of the T5, the TX also does not have vibration support or even LEDs for indications and the worst part is that, it still uses the old fashioned pilot 1000 alarm sounds for calendar. The absence of microphone is disappointing too.

Battery:

The battery used in the device is not user replaceable which is disappointing, but it is the long life lithium ion. On heavy usage the battery might last you for five hours else, it might give you up to ten hours. The device has a lot of battery and power saving features incorporated in it. For instance, if not used for 3 minutes, the TX goes into hibernation, hence power saving.

Package:

The package of the device includes a flip cover that attaches itself to the left side of the device and protects its screen and facia from any accidental scratches. But we would suggest you to get a complete protection, may be a full size case. Apart from the flip cover, the other contents of the package include an USB cable, an AC adaptor, a user guide and an installation CD. The CD is a very useful one as it is bundled with a number of software and some interactive tutorials. You also have a number of optional accessories on offer that includes Bluetooth GPS navigational system and Palm’s universal wireless keyboard.

Verdict:

The integrated WiFi, Bluetooth, the large and bright display and good battery life: all these features makes it hard for us to not recommend the Palm T|X PDA. And the most important of all, it offers wireless solutions at an affordable price. But, if you are a casual user and if you are not in any real need of WiFi, then you can choose Palm’s Tungsten E2.

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Palm T|X Handheld PDA - Technical Specifications, Features