Which to buy?

[od1]

I'm sure you guys get plenty of "help me choose which pocket pc to buy" posts, so I apologize in advance...

I have narrowed my list down to 4 (for reasons of location/budget/availability), they are:

- Acer N30
- HP iPAQ h1930
- HP iPAQ rz1710
- HP iPAQ h1940 (a little more expensive, but I will consider it if it's really that much better)

I realize that this is an HP forum, but I'd appreciate a none-biased review of the Acer if possible :wink:


THANKS!

[ADBrown]

Avoid the 1710 like ebola. It's nasty. I'd suggest the N30 or the 1940. They both have Bluetooth, and the former has USB Host (for hooking up a portable hard drive, USB keyboard, things like that) and the latter has a swappable battery.

[od1]

Thanks for the advice. Now I only have 2 to choose from! The iPAQ site says that the 1940 also has a USB port... Which of the 2 would you (or anyone else reading this) personally recommend?

[ADBrown]

Thanks for the advice. Now I only have 2 to choose from! The iPAQ site says that the 1940 also has a USB port... Which of the 2 would you (or anyone else reading this) personally recommend?

The 1940's USB port is USB Device. You can't use it to hook up a hard drive. I'd say that if hooking up a portable hard drive--say for a car or office jukebox, something like that--sounds like something you'd want to be able to do, get the N30. Otherwise, there's no reason not to get the 1940, which is probably a better value and form-factor.

[od1]

Thanks again. But still a hard toss up!

I read that movies and games would be a much finer experience on the iPAQ. I suppose instead of hooking up portable hard-drives I could opt for large SD cards?

[ADBrown]

Thanks again. But still a hard toss up!

I read that movies and games would be a much finer experience on the iPAQ. I suppose instead of hooking up portable hard-drives I could opt for large SD cards?

Yes, but to a certain limit. The largest size SD card that's practically priced right now is 1 GB. That's a lot of storage, even for music and movies, but it depends on how much you want to store and how you want to use it. You could also, of course, buy multiple 1 GB SD cards.

[Darius Wey]

I own the h1940 and have to say that I've never been happier. The extra Bluetooth support and faster processor make it a better option over the h1930. You will find that although the processor is touted at 266MHz (Samsung S3C2410), it delivers comparable performance to a lot of Intel XScale 400MHz processors out there, and never have I been unhappy with its performance.

So in my opinion, I'd go for the h1940. :)

[Kowalski]

i have never seen acer n30 and dont know anything about the device, but i can say that you will be very happy with 1945 unless you want
CIR(you can use your device as a universal remote)
CF slot(you can add extra storage and some pheripherals)

my friend owns one, and all i can say about the form factor is WOW! 1945 might not be the best performer but it is absolutely the coolest and smallest device!

[od1]

Thank you all for the help!