Compaq's completely redesigned iPAQ Pocket PC sets a new industry standard for speed, style, expansion and versatility.
A few weeks ago, I was sitting in the doctor’s lounge at Memorial Hospital-Memorial City, in Houston, TX browsing the Web (in real time) on my new iPAQ. A crowd of physicians gravitated around me to try to sneak a peak at this cool, new Pocket PC recently introduced by Compaq. One doc’s interest really took me by surprise, because Dr. Naaman is a devout Palm Pilot user and was never interested in even looking at my previous Windows CE devices. We both have owned nearly every manufactured device of our respective operating systems and neither of us was going to convince the other to “convert” to the competing product. When Dr. Naaman looked at my iPAQ I thought I saw envy in his eyes. I showed him some of the features that you will read about below. Now, after all of these years he’s giving up his color Palm Pilot and is going to buy an iPAQ. Read on and you will understand what, in my opinion, makes the revolutionary new Compaq iPAQ the best Pocket PC (or Palm Pilot) money can buy!
A bright and crisp display in a thin and light package
The first things you notice about Compaq’s new iPAQ H3600 Pocket PC are its cool design and clear 12-bit color TFT screen. The crisp, ultra-bright screen measures approximately 2 by 3 inches and uses a new reflective display from Sony. There is no question in my mind that the iPAQ has the best overall screen of any portable device I have ever used. Images and documents can be easily viewed both indoors and out. Take it out on the golf course, on a plane, in a car, or to the theatre. No environment will challenge your vision. Be warned however, the backlighting is so bright on the “Superbright” setting, it might offend your neighbors in the theatre, or worse the actors on the stage. The sidelit screen displays 4,096 colors. Though competing products claim 65,000 colors, I could find no discernable difference in side-by-side comparisons of currently available Palm-size and Pocket PCs. The Palm IIIcx has only 256 colors and the difference between it and the color-screen Pocket PCs is very noticeable. Another plus built into the Pocket PC is the ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts the display quality by detecting the amount and intensity of light of the surroundings. There are five brightness settings (Power Save to Super Bright) but no contrast control. The contrast control isn’t needed.
Fast processor and lots of memory
Opening and closing applications and documents is quick on the iPAQ. A 206 MHz Intel StrongARM processor powers this Pocket PC. The iPAQ is well over twice as fast as its predecessor, the Aero 2100, and faster than any of the other Pocket PCs. The iPAQ’s built-in software is stored in 16 Mb of ROM and 32 Mb of RAM provides plenty of room to run applications and store thousands of Contacts.
A quick tour of the device
The iPAQ is a unique, well-designed, information appliance. The sturdy brushed- metal case measures 5.11" high x 3.28" deep x .62" wide and weighs 6 oz (similar in size and weight to the Palm III series). The action buttons are ergonomic, well placed and easy to use. As you hold the device, in your left hand, your thumb automatically gravitates to the recessed “voice recording” button. This button is user programmable if instant recording is not desired. Continuing the tour, the top of the device contains the stereo headphone jack, microphone, IR port, and spring loaded stylus (with a separate release button – an improvement over the previous Aero 2100 series).
The face of the device contains the ambient light sensor, indicator light, and power button. Below the screen is the large “Navigator” button, which doubles as a game pad. This large, 5-way rocker panel replaces the traditional side jog-shuttle wheel used by most other Palm-size and Pocket PCs. The Navigator button provides easy access to any application with a single click. It allows up, down, left, and right navigation, and pressing down the center of the Navigator button is just like clicking a mouse or tapping the screen. The audio speaker is placed under the Navigator button for better sound quality and a standard 3.5mm audio jack with stereo output provides high fidelity when listening to audio books or MP3 titles. (Note: the speaker on my pre-release version of the iPAQ was not functional.)
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