A fun part of my job is trying out the goodies vendors send us for review. Below I describe a few accessories for my HP iPAQ h2215 Pocket PC. In most cases, the vendors offer similar products for other Pocket PC models.
A collage of iPAQ accessories mentioned here.
Stylus and case—who knew?
I never understood why people spent money on third-party styluses until Paul Schiller from PDA Panache sent me a silver HQ22 HP iPAQ Deluxe Stylus Upgrade, which replaces the stylus that came with my iPAQ h2215. After using the new stylus for about a week and reading Paul’s informative FAQ about styli and touchscreens (http://www.pdapanache.com/stylusfaq.asp), I changed my tune. The feel of the stylus as well as the color and quality of its tip make a subtle but noticeable difference. What I like best is the stylus’ built-in pen, which you access by unscrewing its top. Countless times I’ve needed a pen, but had only my Pocket PC.
As I describe below, I’m hard on my devices, so I finally decided to carry my Pocket PC in a case. In looking through our pile of goodies, I found the rich looking and feeling tan leather iPAQ 5450 case from Piel Frama (http://www.pielframa.com/indexeng.htm). The 5450 case was slightly too big for my iPAQ h2215, but they also offer one designed for the h2215. I really like its look and its practicality. It has a flip-over cover with a nifty magnetic closure system and a removable belt clip. I can use my Pocket PC and its ports without removing the case. The inside of the flip cover has a number of slots that hold business cards, credit cards, SD and CF cards, or a spare battery.
HP camera and micro keyboard
As a long-time fan of PDA keyboards, I anxiously awaited the arrival of HP’s Micro Keyboard, an attachable QWERTY thumb keyboard that slips on the bottom of h2200 and h4100 series iPAQs. The keyboard is small and I found myself pressing the wrong key when I first started using it. Further, I found myself awkwardly alternating between the keyboard and the touchscreen, in a way similar to how I alternate between keyboard and mouse on my desktop PC. If I were using my iPAQ to respond to a lot of e-mails or to enter a lot of text in Word or Excel, I’d probably adopt the Micro Keyboard, and adapt to its limitations. However, for now, I am sticking with my favorite soft keyboards (Fitaly, Tengo, Tapless).
I came to a similar conclusion about the HP Photosmart Mobile Camera, an accessory that slips into the SDIO slot of an iPAQ and adds a 1.3 megapixel digital camera with 4X digital zoom that’s capable of capturing still images and video with sound. HP includes user-installable software that lets you take still pictures and video, play them back, and manage them. The Photosmart Mobile Camera is a worthy effort which may be useful in specialized applications such as real estate or insurance adjusting. However, I’d give the image quality and software usability a B minus to C plus. I’ll stick with my stand-alone digital camera for now.
Finally, despite Diane Dumas’ enthusiasm about Bluetooth (see “Bluetooth Fever”, page 36) and the fact that it’s built into most of the newer iPAQs, I have yet to make use of its potential. The first item I will likely try is HP’s Navigation System with Bluetooth GPS Receiver, reviewed in the last issue of Pocket PC magazine on page 35 (http://www.PocketPCmag.com/may04/bluetoothGPS.asp).
PPCTechs to the rescue
I’ve been rough on my iPAQ. First, I managed to dislodge and loose one of its side grips. Then, I used brute force to remove the battery, broke the battery cover snaps, and had to use tape to keep the cover shut. Fortunately, Leonard Wesson of PPCTechs (http://www.pocketpctechs.com) sent me a kit of goodies that made it better than new.
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