Us Ipaq

Eddie-Rocket

Hi Dudes,
I was looking into getting an IPAQ on amazon.co.uk the 64mb model is a cool £499 sterling adding all the extra toys to it would put it at the £800 mark or IRL£1000. Tis a bit costly for a toy no matter how handy it is. I was wondering if anyone has taught about or even gotten in an IPAQ from the US. All one needs to do is get a UK charger.

Any sceal ?

All the best,
Ed

Trojan

Lo Ed,

hows NUIG keeping? Settling in alright?

Not terribly relevant to your question, here's a review of the IPAQ... you might find some good links off it.

http://computers.cnet.com/hardware/0-2709830-404-2265321.html?tag=rev

FYI here's another couple you might be interested in:
http://www.cnet.com/wireless/0-5939521-7-6219651.html?tag=st.wr.5939521.bhed.5939521-7-6219651 and its source: http://www.domode.com/

Talk to ya,
Al.

amp

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/53/21588.html

R. Daneel Olivaw

Dude, the iPAQ is never going to be upgraded. HP own iPAQ and the new 560 series Jornadas are way better than the iPAQ (regardless of what the design team have made, HP are unlikely to want two competing products that both cost money to develop).

New Jornada has the StrongARM 206MHz CPU like in the iPAQ, up to 64MB standard, built in CF slot, 16 bit colour, proper case with a flip lid (so you don't have to worry about the screen getting scratched to hell (which is why Jornadas sold at all....they are very durable)).

Take a look at http://www.brighthand.com. The iPAQ is also over 18 months old now, remember. The 560 series takes just about every good point in the iPAQ and smooths it all out.

Also, it has the new PocketPC OS 2002.

Regnak

I think you should get the Compaq Ipaq - I've had mine for over a year and it's been brilliant. It wasn't stable until the new Rom update v1.77 came out - check when you buy - if you get 1.69, update it ASAP.
As for the HP and Casio's - they're ****e - the only reason you HAVE to buy them is you can't upgrade them to pocket Pc 2002 !!! All the previous owners were shafted and they can't upgrade full stop. Only Compaq Ipaq users can do this - Ipaq's are the leader, no doubt, they have the best peripherals, best future upgrades and there no stoppin' them ( ok I'm biased, so what ). Why buy a HP that you have to throw away next year because they didn't bother including any way to upgrade it ? Maybe the news ones are ok now, but the Ipaq is a design that has worked fine for the past year, beaten back the competition, and had upgradeability foresight when it first shipped !
That's my main gripe against the Hp.
Anyhow - the deals' they're doing now are brilliant, you can buy the 64 meg version with a stowaway keyboard and I think the flash rom add-on for under £500 Ex VAt in Dublin too ! The US version is the same except for the power supply and www.dabs.com will supply you one of these no hassle.
Anyhow - sorry to all for ranting - I just find it funny soneone is recommending a HP over a Compaq Ipaq - old HP users note : Buy the new one - I'll just pay £20 for my upgrade to PocketPc2002 thank you very much !

Eddie-Rocket

Where in Dublin are they doing them deals???

Ed

R. Daneel Olivaw

Originally posted by Regnak

As for the HP and Casio's - they're ****e - the only reason you HAVE to buy them is you can't upgrade them to pocket Pc 2002 !!! All the previous owners were shafted and they can't upgrade full stop.

This is all wrong. The old 540 series had no Flash ROM, the iPAQ did. Hooray.....

But the 560 series includes 32MB Flash ROM, of which 8MB is backup RAM, and 24MB is for the new PocketPC 2002 OS. It is upgradeable, as the RAM is flashable,.

And if you care to notice, the iPAQ has only 16MB of Flash ROM, so basically ISN'T upgradeable, unless you something I don't. I haven't seen one mention of any 2002 upgrade for iPAQ anywhere, and the ROM size that the iPAQ is just too small.

The iPAQ is a very old design, it has known design flaws (the screen collects dust for some reason, the input joystcik looks cool, but cannot process more than one button at a time, and so playing games involved using a virtual joypad on the screen - NOT good to pressing down on it, is it?).

Also, you'll have to fork out lots more to get any upgradeability, exept in the new 560 series you can use 256MB Compact Flash cards as standard. This allows is a decent battery life, unlike the paltry 3 hours you'll get with an iPAq wen playing MP3s.

The iPAQ is a very old model now.......and forget about the old 540 series, they did suck and the iPAq was better, but the iPAQ can't hold anything to the 560 series.

Also, there is a removable battery, something that helps battery life as well. And the screen has a protective case as standard, so all in all, the whole thign will actually fit in your pocket with decent capabilities, unlike the iPAQ which is helpless with zero expansion and zero protection for the screen as standard.

The new 565 and 568 are being launched at the start of October. And remember Compaq are not exactly a company that is going to even exist on it's own in 4 months, so don't expect an "iPAQ-2". Everyone was talking about it for this summer, but all you get is 64MB instead of 32MB. And the ROM cannot contain the new OS, remember.

Regnak

For Ipaq deals we use a distributor from work but any of the Tech suppliers should be able to get them in - I was told the trade price was :
32 meg Ipaq, Compact Flash sleeve & 32 meg CF card £396+VAT+Markup
64 meg Ipaq, Pcmcia sleeve, Foldaway keyboard £487+VAT+Markup.
I can't give out the supplier but ring Compaq and ask them for a retail store that are doin' Ipaq deals and they should help you out. At least you get it locally. If you get no joy get back to me.

As for the Ipaq being outdated and can't upgrade to PocketPc2002 try this :
http://www.compaqordercenter.com/ipaq2002upgrade/
It'll be about £20-£30 and I've already confirmed with my local supplier that they will have them in October. They have a few demo copies in now but can't sell them on.

Maybe the New HP's and others are ok - the Ipaq does have the problems you mentioned R Daneel, but it's taken a year for them to get their act together, the Ipaq can be upgraded by third parties to 64 meg and a bigger ROM and it still going strong.
As for playing MP3's - I can't see how having 256 meg Cflash memory equates into longer battery life - I'd imagine that the HP will die fairly quickly like all PocketPc's and is not really suited to good MP3 playing unless on the mains. I get a good 2 hours use out of mine but then have to recharge it. You're still better off with a Diskman that can read raw MP3's off the CD I think.

Best of luck with the HP if you decide to go for it - I'm sure Compaq will waiti until next year before doing anything major with their design so HP might take the lead but for volume and popularity I think the Compaq Ipaq has the lead still, 1 year on, if only just - whcih isn't bad for today's dod eat dog consumer electronics world.

acous

Dude, the iPAQ is never going to be upgraded. HP own iPAQ and the new 560 series Jornadas are way better than the iPAQ (regardless of what the design team have made, HP are unlikely to want two competing products that both cost money to develop).

Compaq is planning to unveil its new iPAQ at the Gitex 2001 expo which takes place in the Dubai World Trade Centre from October 14th to 18th. - http://www.infosync.no/en/news/n/578.shtml

btw eddie-rocket... what are the extra toys that bring it up £300?