Compaq iPAQ 3635 Pocket PC Bundle (with Compact Flash Jacket)

[Archived in Handhelds, Hewlett Packard, Products]

Manufacturer: Hewlett Packard
Price at amazon.com: Used from $125.00

List price $549.99



Product Features:

• Pocket PC bundled with CompactFlash Expansion Jacket, enabling you to add memory and functionality such as a modem or wireless LAN Card
• Also comes with Conduit Peacemaker Professional Software for beaming information to and from a wide range of PDAs and ZioGolf2 3-D golf game
• 240 x 320 TFT LCD screen displays more than 4,000 colors
• 32 MB RAM and 16 MB ROM
• What's in the box: iPAQ 3635, CompactFlash expansion sleeve, 950 mAh Lithium Polymer battery, Two styli, Vinyl slipcase, AC adapter, User manual

Product Description:

The iPAQ 3635 features Compaq's color Pocket PC plus a CompactFlash expansion sleeve that allows you to add extra memory or optional modules such as a wireless modem. Compaq's iPAQ Pocket PC combines a real Intel processor, new hardware, and a sleek industrial design that fits in your hand to create a powerful and stylish PDA you can take anywhere. The iPAQ offers 32 MB of RAM and 16 MB of ROM--enough memory to hold a robust package of applications while leaving you a lot of room for your own... read more


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Description from Manufacturer:There's no doubt that the Compaq iPAQ 3600 series occupy that rare class of gadgets that's noticeable for being eye-catching and fashionable as well as functional. Even if you don't regularly shuttle between nations in a private company jet, using the sleek metal device may make you feel like a high-powered executive (or at the very least, make other people think you are).

The most striking feature of the iPAQ is its bright, crisp color screen. We were a little surprised to discover that it only displays 4,096 colors (compared to color offerings from Palm and Handspring, for example, which display up to 65,536 colors). While the color quality is fine for everyday use, photos can appear somewhat grainy or posterized.

Other hardware notables include a headphone jack for listening to digital music (or even just the built-in alert sounds, which are the best we've heard on any device), an infrared port for beaming data to other similarly equipped Pocket PCs, and a voice recorder for capturing your ideas while in traffic. The unit is powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that performed acceptably for a color display. A connection port at the bottom accommodates extension packs that can read CompactFlash media, PC Cards, and other peripherals (or just brightly colored jackets for expressing your fashion sense).

In terms of storage and software, the iPAQ is a modern workhorse. It has 32 MB of RAM for storing large media files like MP3s and movie or animation clips, plus 16 MB of ROM that houses the included applications. These include the Microsoft Windows CE 3.0 operating system, Pocket PC versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, Internet Explorer, Money, Windows Media Player, and Reader as well as applications like a calendar, contact list, task list, and notes.

The iPAQ accepts data using a handwriting recognition system that was surprisingly tolerant of our scribbled notes--we encountered problems mainly with two-stroke letters like t, i, and k. An onscreen keyboard comes in handy in these situations, or you can use the "inking" feature to write directly on the screen, followed by a Recognize command that translates the writing into letters. Although inking seemed to lag slightly behind the stylus as we wrote, it picked up 80 to 95 percent of the letters.

This isn't to say that the iPAQ is perfect, however. Many aspects of Windows CE 3.0 drove us crazy, like the irrational choice to put the program menus at the bottom of the screen and present them so they don't appear to be menus at all. Another quirk is the iPAQ's Navigator, a large four-direction button below the screen that can be used to scroll through selections. Looking at the QStart screen (an icon view of most of the programs), you can highlight different icons using the Navigator. However, counterintuitively, you have to push up and down on the Navigator to highlight objects to the left and right, respectively. Pushing the center of the Navigator acts like the Enter key on a computer keyboard, taking you to the selected program or file.

The iPAQ interfaces with Windows-based PCs (sorry, Macintosh users) using Microsoft's ActiveSync 3.1 software (which also includes a full version of Outlook 2000). The synchronization process is pretty efficient, and lets you browse the contents of the iPAQ from your desktop. However, it took three PCs running three flavors of Windows and three ActiveSync installs before we were able to get the computer to recognize the iPAQ.

It's worth noting that the glitches we ran into were more interface annoyances that are probably easy to adapt to (though we'd rather have software engineers bend to users' needs). The iPAQ 3600 series is the closest device we've seen that (mostly) intelligently packs the capabilities of a full-size PC into a handheld. --Nelson Finn

Pros:

• Good color screen
• Easy transfer of Word and Excel files between PC and handheld
• Good handwriting recognition
• Expansion jackets provide for more memory and peripherals

Cons:

• Awkward Windows CE interface
• ActiveSync synchronization software can be flaky

Average Customer Rating:

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Comment: King of the PDAs and Wireless Wonder Rating:
The IPAQ plus the PC card expansion sleeve is a terrific way to access the Internet wirelessly using the OmniSky service. I had previously accessed OminiSky with a Palm Vx and the Ministrel modem, but this machine is much faster and much more reliable for accessing email and web sites and has a screen that looks about 800% better. Also excellent with E-books from PeanutPress.com, and Excel and Word work almost like desktop versions. If you enter much data: a) load the Transcriber application which recognizes handwriting pretty well; b) purchase the Targus keyboard for about $99 which attaches to the bottom and lets you type. While not a true "notebook PC," the combination of the IPAQ and the keyboard gives you the opportunity to do reasonably sized spreadsheets and create letters and short text files very easily with a total weight of less than a pound. By the way, the IPAQ plus the keyboard works very well on the tray of a standard (Coach) airline seat where a notebook computer cannot be easily used. Highly recommended as a stand alone PDA, a way to get wireless email (with OmniSky), and a very light weight and small (although limited) alternative to taking a notebook computer on a trip.

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Comment: Great PDA for the Price! Rating:
I was an avid Handspring Visor user (got one when they first came out 2 years ago), and never thought I would switch to windows platform. But when I saw the great price for the Ipaq 3135 I figured I would give it a try, and have never regretted the switch.
the Pros:
1) You can upgrade memory with cf cards (much cheaper than handspring, and can hold LOTS of files)
2) You can also play mp3 music (also great with lots of storage in cf cards)
3) Use of MS word and excel ( I like it better than the Documents to go program. Seems to convert easier)
4) easy wireless web with my Kyocera phone (just one cable and the included MS Explorer and you're ready to go)
The Cons:
1) Screen clarity is not great (but no worse than my old visor)
2) Not as many programs available (yet)
3) yes, it's bigger with the cf sleeve (so get a decent case that holds both, and you'll be fine)
Bottom line...get it while it lasts (unless you can spring for the new color models!)

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Comment: hard to read the screen Rating:
This is a good value, but the screen is very difficult to read in less than perfect lighting conditions. Under bright flourescent lights in the office, it is fine. The rest of the time, though, I have a heck of a time with it. The internal memory also isn't really big enough to store MP3s. I decided to go back to paper and pen.

Posted at November 11, 2003 06:43 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)