Brighthand iPAQ Round-up Article

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.brighthand.com/article/Everything_About_The_New_iPAQs' target='_blank'>http://www.brighthand.com/article/E...t_The_New_iPAQs</a><br /><br /></div>"Tired of waiting for the new iPAQs to arrive? Well, your wait is almost over. In the next few weeks you'll have the chance to put your hands on HP's finest iPAQs to date. To tide you over until they hit store shelves, we've gathered up everything you need to know about the new iPAQs -- from detailed specifications, to pictures, to when they'll be available -- and assembled it in this preview. But before we get to all that, let's take a look back at the major events in the history of the iPAQ."<br /><br />Steve at Brighthand has put together a useful article that summarizes the new iPAQs coming out, the specs for them, and when you can expect to see them. If you'd like to pre-order from our affiliate partner Mobile Planet, here are some links:<br /><br />• <a href="http://www.mobileplanet.com/private/pocketpcthoughts/product.asp?pdept_id=900101&cat_id=902&cat_name=POCKET+PC&dept_id=2621&pf_id=MP965603&listing=1">Pre-order iPAQ 1940</a><br />• <a href="http://www.mobileplanet.com/private/pocketpcthoughts/product.asp?pdept_id=900101&cat_id=902&cat_name=POCKET+PC&dept_id=2621&pf_id=MP965605&listing=1">Pre-order iPAQ 2210</a><br />• <a href="http://www.mobileplanet.com/private/pocketpcthoughts/product.asp?pdept_id=900101&cat_id=902&cat_name=POCKET+PC&dept_id=2621&pf_id=MP965604&listing=1">Pre-order iPAQ 5550</a><br /><br />I noticed that Amazon.com has pulled all their listings for the new iPAQs, so if history repeats itself, they'll be cancelling those pre-orders that many of you made :cry: (that's what they did when they pre-announced the Jornada 568). You may want to have a couple pre-orders in the queue with different vendors to ensure you get a device quickly.

[mmidgley]

> if history repeats itself, they'll be cancelling those pre-orders

:evil: I hope that Amazon either pulled the listings because they have pre-orders to cover all of (or more than?) their first (or first few) shipment allotments, or HP just asked them to until they are officially announced.

You can pre-order through MobilePlanet, but only through a private/affiliate reference (ie via PocketPCThoughts or Dave's iPAQs)--I don't see MobilePlanet listing pre-orders publicly yet. Interesting that their ETA is July 15th at this point for the 555x.

m.

[pocketpcdude1024]

According to PDABuzz, they also posted an removed the new Sony Clies from their site (NZ80 and NZ73 or something like that... ;) )

[Sslixtis]

Well, from the listed specs for the 3 new iPaqs I'm not impressed.

The 2210 only has 56Mb RAM user accessible as well as a puny 900mAh battery and no jog dial/rocker. I had such high hopes for this unit. Oh well.

The 5550 on the other hand looks pretty good, still no jog dial/rocker but the rest of the specs are NICE, plus it sports the 3.8" screen and a bigger battery than the 2210.

At this point however, I must say I'll wait on more OEMs to release their PPC 2003 devices. :?

[Deslock]

I grabbed Amazon's 2200 photos before they were pulled. They're in this Brighthand thread:

http://discussion.brighthand.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=80056

I have a question about Brighthand's 1900/2200 specs:

The specs I've seen floating around are:
HP1900 4.23 oz
HP2200 5.49 oz

Brighthand lists:
HP1900 4.37 oz (124 g)
HP2200 5.1 oz (144.2 g)

What are the actual numbers? The differences are minor, but in one case the 2200 weighs 30% more than the 1900 and in the other case it weighs only 16% more.

It's not a big deal... stats don't tell the whole story anyway and we'll all get to see the 2200 soon enough... but still, what's the deal?

[possmann]

Very cool - still looking for that next gen of PPCPE to come out... While the VDA is a great model - it's old and I really can't wait to see what will be coming out to replace it (GSM/GPRS).

[rmasinag]

Sigh...mebbe by christmas my 1940 will be tested and readily available by then :cry:

[ledowning]

I was looking forward to the 2200 series for an upgrade as I thought it would have built in wi-fi and a larger battery than what seems to to spec'd out. Guess we'll see what other vendors have to offer. (Dell??) The 5500 series looks good though, but CDN$ pricing might make it tough to shell out the cash for.

:roll:

[szamot]

I think Amazon is just doing some research to see how many hard core geeks are out there trying to part with their cash.

[nishka]

Hi all,

So this SD card based 802.11 intrigues me. Here's my question:

Will anything be sticking out of the side of the unit after the card is inserted? I'm really sick of having stubs and antennas jutting out of my devices :). After playing with my girlfriend's iBook (with the airport card tucked neatly under the keyboard) I'm looking for the same clean lines on my next PDA>

[Jason Dunn]

Will anything be sticking out of the side of the unit after the card is inserted?

Yes, I'm 99% sure that it will. They haven't been able to come up with a flush WiFi CF card yet, and they have even less space to work with in the SD form-factor...

[nishka]

That's too bad... My money goes to the PDA that has everything flush.. I don't like the e740's screen so that's the only thing holding me back.

[Don Tolson]

I was a bit bummed too, to hear that there was (possibly) no record button (although that seems to have been favourably resolved, I think) and no jog dial. Those are things I use almost daily on my J568! They seem such simple little things, why can't they just leave them in????

I was getting myself (and my wife!) ready for an 'upgrade' to the 2200 series this summer. Oh well....

[roberto_torres]

Anyone knows what will happen with the difference in processor in the 1900 series? I think that with PPC 2003 most software will be written specially for the Xscale processor. I don't understand why HP is not using an xsacel with their new 1900's.

[kagayaki1]

Anyone knows what will happen with the difference in processor in the 1900 series? I think that with PPC 2003 most software will be written specially for the Xscale processor. I don't understand why HP is not using an xsacel with their new 1900's.

It's my understanding the Samsung processor was based on the X-Scale architecture, making it completely compatible with all StrongArm / X-Scale devices. Don't worry about compatibility, but perhaps reliability and actual speed.

[maximus]

Maybe I didnt look carefully enough, but on the "description" of 5550, they mentioned:

Check out these key features:
With broad choice of wireless capabilities such as integrated Bluetooth and WLAN 802.11b, you can access the Internet, email, and corporate data at home, at work or on the go


But on the specification, they mentioned:

integrated wireless: Integrated Bluetooth (ver.1.1)

Which one is it ? Integrated 802.11b or not ?

[PeterLake]

I have the same question as Maximus. Is 802.11b integrated?

[jimski]

I believe their reference to "integrated wireless" on the 5550 means WLAN 802.11b and 802.11g, along with whatever other standard may come along.

[ctmagnus]

The 5150 and 5550 have integrated wireless; the Brighthand article states 802.11b.

[Rob Alexander]

integrated wireless: Integrated Bluetooth (ver.1.1)

Which one is it ? Integrated 802.11b or not ?

Since the 5500 series is an upgrade of the 5400 series, and the latter had 802.11b (as well as bluetooth), I think you can count on that. Also, in the chart at the bottom, in the row on integrated wireless and the column on the 5000 series, it says:

"Bluetooth;
802.11b"

So Brighthand also believes it'll have 802.11b, but not 802.11g. Of course, with no official announcements yet, you can never be sure. If the past is any example, they'll be right on lots of it, but will also have missed a few things.

[Abba Zabba]

I can't wait for the new models to debut. Since I dropped my last iPaq and had the screen crack the next model that I am going to purchase wil be the 55xx..but the 22xx series looks pretty tempting :lol:

[kagayaki1]

I don't think we'll see 802.11g yet; too power hungry for a PDA, and not quite widespread adoption yet (yeah, I know, we all have it, but not everyone). Besides, if HP is still having trouble with the 802.11b systems in the 54xx series, why would we want another relatively untested technology in the 55xx series? :roll:

[maximus]

If they put 802.11g, that will definitely be a selling point. Better indoor range, 54 kbps :) Yeah, it also means higher battery drain, but with 802.11g, you can download stuffs 3 times faster than 802.11b, which means, lower battery consumption perbyte transferred.

[Rob Alexander]

If they put 802.11g, that will definitely be a selling point. Better indoor range, 54 kbps :) Yeah, it also means higher battery drain, but with 802.11g, you can download stuffs 3 times faster than 802.11b, which means, lower battery consumption perbyte transferred.

Sorry, but it looks like we may not be seeing those 54 Mbps speeds with 802.11g after all. Turns out the final draft standard has reduced the speed to between 10 and 20 Mbps. That hasn't been ratified yet, but it's looking like that's how its going to go.

http://www.computerworld.com/mobiletopics/mobile/story/0,10801,81450,00.html

[Sslixtis]

It's my understanding the Samsung processor was based on the X-Scale architecture, making it completely compatible with all StrongArm / X-Scale devices. Don't worry about compatibility, but perhaps reliability and actual speed.


Actually, the Samsung processor is based on ARMv4 technology same as the StrongARM was, while the Xscale is based on ARMv5. PocketPC 2002 is optimized for ARMv4, which is why there isn't any great speed advantage with the Xscale PPCs vs. the StrongARM PPCs. I doubt very much that PPC 2003 has been optimized for ARMv5 much less the Intel specific Xscale. I would really like to see the Samsung models because they are probably going to be every bit as fast, if not faster, than the New Xscale PXA255 400Mhz models at basic OS functions.

Palm OS 6 will probably be optimized for ARMv5 before any PPC OS... :cry:

[maximus]

Final 802.11g draft standard throttles data rates down
The lower throughput is needed to protect 802.11b WLAN gear


Li said the lower actual vs. raw data rates for 802.11g arose from the need to assure backward compatibility with millions of existing 802.11b Wi-Fi client devices and access points that operate in the same 2.4-GHz frequency band. The 802.11g standard includes built-in protection mechanisms to ensure that the devices don't interfere with older 802.11b devices.

This is exactly why I hate politics so much. They are actually tuning down the 802.11g to ensure that it will not canibalize 802.11b. Doh.

I think we should vote to dissolve IEEE and replace it with a board consists of pure engineering guys.

[ctmagnus]

...with 802.11g, you can download stuffs 3 times faster than 802.11b

Conceptually, yes, but the bottleneck with most Wi-Fi-to-Internet connections lies with the ISP and not with the access point. At least with most home connections.

[maximus]

Conceptually, yes, but the bottleneck with most Wi-Fi-to-Internet connections lies with the ISP and not with the access point. At least with most home connections.

I agree. But wouldnt it be fun to tell your friends that you have the power of 54Mbps on your pocket ? Ready to go anytime at your command ? :wink:

[ctmagnus]

Conceptually, yes, but the bottleneck with most Wi-Fi-to-Internet connections lies with the ISP and not with the access point. At least with most home connections.

I agree. But wouldnt it be fun to tell your friends that you have the power of 54Mbps on your pocket ? Ready to go anytime at your command ? :wink:

:rock on dude!: :twisted: