[Editor's note: Thanks to Sambit Bhattarai for his feedback on the strengths and features of the iPAQ rx3715.]
Say good bye to “Personal Digital Assistants” and hello to “Mobile Media Companions!” That's what HP is calling its new rx3000 series Pocket PCs. The devices will still be based on Microsoft's Windows Mobile OS and will still be packed with a variety of productivity applications. But HP's focus is media and their goal is to allow consumers to control and access digital content anywhere. HP has two rx3000 series devices currently available: the iPAQ rx3715 and the iPAQ 3115 Pocket PC. We reviewed the rx3715. (HP has posted specifications for a third device, the rx3415. However, it was not yet available when this review was completed in late September, 2004. We'll limit our comments to the rx3715 and rx3115.)
HP iPAQ rx3000
Fast processor; plenty of internal file storage
Outwardly, the rx3000 series iPAQs are nearly identical devices. They have a grey-black finish with black plastic highlights and a 3.5” diagonal 240x320 pixel color touch screen. This is a QVGA screen and not the VGA display found on some of the new Pocket PCs. The devices in this series also have an SDIO card slot, five application launch keys, and a 5-way navigation pad. They are a little thicker and heavier than the rx1700 series devices, but that's because all rx3000 series devices have built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capability and a removable battery.
There are significant differences between the devices in the rx3000 series. The rx3115 is powered by a 300 MHz Samsung S3C 2440 processor; the rx3715 has the 400 MHz version of the same processor. The rx3115 has 64 MB of RAM and 32 MB of flash ROM (with a 4 MB File Store); the rx3715 has 64 MB of RAM and a whopping 128 MB of flash ROM (with a 96 MB File Store). The battery on the rx3115 has a 920 mAh capacity; the one on the rx3715 has a 1440 mAh capacity. A high-capacity 2880 mAh battery is available as an option. The rx3115 comes with a synchronization cable; the rx3715 has a sync cradle.
Both the rx3115 and rx3715 have built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth transceivers and software to support them. In addition, the rx3715 has a built-in 1.2 mega pixel digital camera with 4 X digital zoom, capable of capturing still images and short videos. The camera and higher-capacity battery make the rx3715 a fraction of an ounce heavier than the rx3115.
Mobile Media Companion software
The rx3000 series is based on the Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition software, which includes the Windows Mobile OS, setup utilities, and a number of productivity applications. In addition to the Microsoft software, there are a number of HP applications built into flash ROM.
HP is marketing the rx3000 series as “Mobile Media Companions” and packs them with software that supports multimedia functions:
- HP Photosmart Camera—a digital camera application that lets you take pictures, capture short videos, and change camera settings (rx3715 only).
- Macromedia Flash Player—lets you play Flash media content.
- Pocket TV Pro—lets you play MPEG1-formatted video.
- HP Image Zone—electronic photo album that lets you view and edit digital images.
- iPAQ Mobile Media—lets you browse and play digital media as well as stream or download media from a Windows XP PC. You can also access Nevo Remote Control from this application.
- Nevo Remote Control—lets you remotely control your TV, VCR, DVD player, and more.
- iPAQ Entertainment—a custom version of the Today screen with shortcuts to digital imaging and entertainment applications.
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