HP iPAQ 4155 Pocket PC

[Archived in $300 - $400, Bluetooth, Games, Handhelds and PDAs, Hewlett Packard, Music, Productivity Software, Products, Wi-Fi (802.11b)]

Manufacturer: Hewlett Packard
Price at amazon.com: Used & new from $319.95




Product Features:

• Slim, sleek, and affordable
• Integrated Bluetooth for wireless communication with other Bluetooth devices
• Secure Digital slot for greater storage and expansion
• VPN software provides enhanced security for wireless connection
• Removable/rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery for continuous power

Product Description:

Slim, sleek, and affordable with optimized performance to keep you productive while you're on the go, the HP iPAQ Pocket PC h4155 is a Microsoft Windows Mobile-powered Pocket PC packed with powerful features including integrated WLAN 802.11b, Bluetooth, and a Secure Digital (SDIO) slot.

Average Customer Rating:

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Comment: Light, fast ...nearly perfect Rating:
My old IPAQ 3835 works great, but its large and clunky, so I decided to retain it as a mostly dedicated GPS for my car, and buy this sweet little Wi-Fi enabled IPAQ 4155.

Why this model? There basically are two other Wi-Fi IPAQs but they both have gadgets attached which make them larger, heavier, and thus not as useful. One model has fingerprint recognition (the IPAQ 5555) which is a pretty unnecessary property unless you are a CIA agent. The other has a little keyboard (the IPAQ 4355) and is for people with good eyesight and tiny fingers. This describes most 2 year olds who unfortunately do not type very well despite those little digits.

Wi-Fi is the key here. It connects easily to any available wireless network. It is also Bluetooth enabled, a feature for which I have no present need, but you may.

So this is the cheapest Wi-Fi IPAQ and the most useful.

As to its other Pocket PC features, its display is awesome, bright and clear. Get a 128MB SD card to vastly increase your storage at a reasonable price.

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Comment: Remarkably thin! And all the necessary features Rating:
As a previous owner of PDA's (palms) and specifically ipaqs (both a 3870 and a 2215), I am proud to say I've finally found a PDA that satisfies all my needs.

But first, I'd like to start with one piece of advice for any first time Pocket PC purchaser.

** If you're unsure between two models, ALWAYS choose the smaller. **

Why? Because the extra features of a large-sized PDA (like a fingerprint reader?!?!) are almost never worth the increased probability you choose to leave it behind. A PDA's usefulness scales rapidly with its vicinity to you. And a PDA is just about the size of a pocket.... You get the idea..

Okay:

THE PROS (somewhat obvious)
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1. it is ultra thin and weighs only 5 ounces.
2. the screen is bright
3a. it has wireless 802.11b
3b. the wireless features are now very intuitive and somewhat secure, a vast improvement over pocket pc 2002.
4. it has bluetooth for syncing wirelessly or for accessing your bluetooth enabled phone. (This I haven't tested with this ipaq)
5. it comes with a cradle, unlike some of their other models

THE CONS
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1. HP removed the stylus holder from the cradle... which means you can't hold an extra stylus conveniently in front of a docked ipaq anymore. Which means, if you want to quickly access something on a docked ipaq, you have to remove the stylus, which you must do very carefully or you'll disconnect the 'paq.

2. the battery life is much poorer than pretty much all competitors'; most notably the Dell AXim series.

3. no compact flash, only secure digital. Although, almost all compact flash ports are typically used for these days is to hold 802.11b cards, which this device has integrated. And SD memory has gotten remarkably cheap, so it shouldn't bother most users. Still, if you have a compact flash requirement, keep that in mind.

4. the screen is slightly yellow when viewed from a skewed angle. Some people care about this... if you're one of those people, be advised. Straight-on, the colors are accurate, however.

5. the new navpad isn't so great for games

Okay, that's it:
Finally, some advice

1. about the wireless features: they drain a lot of juice, so simply turn them on and off as you need them.

2. if you use it to read eBooks, the MS reader it comes with is already outdated! (And the error message is vague about that... I had to figure out the problem by reading microsoft's knowledge base.. not fun.) You'll need to do an update.

3. Buy a protective case; the one it comes with is basically garbage.

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Comment: The best pda I've owned Rating:
I switched from palm OS to the iPAQ and am happy with every aspect of this great PDA. Synchronization is so easy and seamless. Screen is easy to read and clear. Features are great especially both wifi and bluetooth. Have used for powerpoint presentation review and applications are quite good. Only drawback is that some "universal" portable keyboards don't work with this unit.

Posted at November 11, 2003 07:27 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)