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View Full Version : HP iPAQ 210 Enterpise Handheld Delivered Today


Jason Dunn
02-22-2008, 12:30 AM
Well look what the nice courier man delivered to me today: an HP iPAQ 210 Enterprise Handheld (courtesy of HP)!<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/ipaq-210-enterptise-handheld.JPG" /><br /><br />Look for an unboxing video later today or tomorrow, then a video review in a few weeks after I've had a chance to use it.

yet_another_guest
02-22-2008, 12:37 AM
I pray this iPaq is as good as the 4700 was. I am waiting so long for a high-end non-phone PDA.

If only the screen is good and bright, then everything will be fine.

iant54
02-22-2008, 12:45 AM
I've no idea what the 4700 is like, but this 214 (UK version of the 210) has a very good screen!

Dyvim
02-22-2008, 06:04 AM
Looking forward to your review, Jason. I've been following the 210 forum over on Brighthand for the past few weeks. As a big fan of non-phone dual-slot Pocket PC devices (a category of devices which has been languishing since 2004), the 210 is of interest to me.

Menneisyys
02-22-2008, 07:48 AM
I've no idea what the 4700 is like, but this 214 (UK version of the 210) has a very good screen!

I really hope someone posts some comparative (!!!) shots of the two devices. I've posted no less than three posts on this at BrightHand (see http://forum.brighthand.com/showthread.php?t=253431&amp;page=7 , http://forum.brighthand.com/showthread.php?t=254398&amp;page=4 and http://forum.brighthand.com/showthread.php?t=254596 ).

If anyone has both devices, please do read at least one of my above posts and make some comparative shots.

SHC
02-22-2008, 09:37 AM
I would be interested too. I don't have a problem with the 214's screen apart from the less than tactile feel when tapping. But it didn't give me the same "wow!" feeling as I got with the 4700. I can't compare directly as my 4700 was thieved, however from memory the 214 is perhaps a bit dull. colors are not as vibrant. But that may just be my flaky memory!
But having come from several PPC phones since my 4700, the 214 screen is just in a whole different league.

Menneisyys
02-22-2008, 09:49 AM
I would be interested too. I don't have a problem with the 214's screen apart from the less than tactile feel when tapping. But it didn't give me the same "wow!" feeling as I got with the 4700. I can't compare directly as my 4700 was thieved, however from memory the 214 is perhaps a bit dull. colors are not as vibrant. But that may just be my flaky memory!
But having come from several PPC phones since my 4700, the 214 screen is just in a whole different league.

Yup, Ive noticed the same "dullness" with the 214 I played with at MWC. However, I couldn't directly compare it to the h4700 in there; this is why I'm asking for some screenshots in dark, with vibrant colors (like the ones of my test photos).

stylinexpat
02-22-2008, 10:37 AM
Looking good in that box :mrgreen:

Dyvim
02-22-2008, 02:08 PM
Looking good in that box :mrgreen:
You think? With that blue hand I think that box looks like the box of some $49 off-brand PDA knockoff. HP could stand to learn a thing or two about packaging from the likes of HTC (Advantage has great packaging) and Apple.

Of course, it's what's inside the box that counts.

captgoodhope
02-22-2008, 04:38 PM
One weird thing about the 210 is the hardware buttons don't turn the thing on. To record a note you have to push the power button and then the record button.

Ed@Brighthand
02-22-2008, 04:42 PM
I really hope someone posts some comparative (!!!) shots of the two devices. I've posted no less than three posts on this at BrightHand
We're not dissing you; it just doesn't seem like anyone who still has an hx4700 has bought an iPAQ 210 yet.

There's been quite a bit of debate whether the new iPAQ is enough of an improvement to justify replacing an hx4700 or an Axim X51v, considering there are unofficial Windows Mobile 6 upgrades available for both the older models.

I can understand people holding off a bit, as the unit Adama used for the Brighthand review (http://www.brighthand.com/default.asp?newsID=13810) has already developed a serious hardware problem.
-

MkH
02-22-2008, 08:10 PM
Finally a new PPC with a VGA display!! I won't buy a converged device, they don't seem like they would last long enough for me. I like the style and design of the HP210, it reminds me a lot of the good looking ASUS A730 (my second choice VGA PPC 3 years ago) with its black face, silver back and the arrangement of buttons. I opted for the HP hx4700 over the ASUS A730 because it had a flip cover, magnesium case, longer battery life, faster processor...

What I want to know about the HP210 is where's the docking cradle? Is the USB client/host capable? Is there a flip cover option? How sturdy is the housing? And when can we stop calling it an iPaq?

ADBrown
02-22-2008, 09:49 PM
In case anybody's wondering, the hardware problem Ed referred to was digitizer failure.

What I want to know about the HP210 is where's the docking cradle?

HP's still working on this, but they do plan to release at least one type of cradle.

Is the USB client/host capable?

Yes.

Is there a flip cover option?

No, at least not unless one's produced by a third party.

How sturdy is the housing?

Pretty good. It's not polished magnesium by any means, but it's reasonably robust.

And when can we stop calling it an iPaq?

(Shrug) That's its name.

indiekiduk
02-22-2008, 11:44 PM
One weird thing about the 210 is the hardware buttons don't turn the thing on. To record a note you have to push the power button and then the record button.

thats just a setting in Keys

solnyshok
02-23-2008, 09:57 AM
- How filesys behaves? Is it noticeable at all? How often it kicks in? What is an effect of having a full internal flash?

- How responsive is GUI? Due to slow flash in hx4700 it was too slow for most users' tastes.

- How fast in fact are the SDHC and CF slots? They have been PAINFULLY slow in hx4700. Would be interesting to see speed of copying a 1.4GB movie over WiFi to SD and to CF cards.

- How Opera Mobile, the best WM browser to date, runs?

- How fast is WiFi connection? In previous model, it never reached even theoretical half of theoretical 11 Mbps. So, how well the new G connection works?

ray7t7
02-23-2008, 10:56 AM
I also got my 210 today. I really like it but doesn't seem as strongly built as previous ipaqs I've owned but ordered a good leather case which can keep in at all times and still use. sure is nice not going through what I went through before when I'd get a new ipaq, experienced now in using.
Hope you enjoy yours.[/i][/b]

Tanker Bob
02-23-2008, 07:32 PM
- How filesys behaves? Is it noticeable at all? How often it kicks in? What is an effect of having a full internal flash?

I haven't noticed it at all. I never used WM5, but came straight from WM2003SE (Dell X50v), so I think that I would quickly notice such a slow down.

- How responsive is GUI? Due to slow flash in hx4700 it was too slow for most users' tastes.

Seems fine, comparable to the X50v. The flash in the 211 seems very fast.

- How fast in fact are the SDHC and CF slots? They have been PAINFULLY slow in hx4700. Would be interesting to see speed of copying a 1.4GB movie over WiFi to SD and to CF cards.

They seem about as fast as the X50v. Loading large databases like dictionaries and Wikipedia take about the same amount of time as on the X50v. Download speeds to the card seem faster than the X50v, but I'm sure that a large part of that is the improved WiFi. I don't have any timing numbers to offer.

- How fast is WiFi connection? In previous model, it never reached even theoretical half of theoretical 11 Mbps. So, how well the new G connection works?

WiFi is very fast, much faster and more reliable than the X50v. G connection seems to work fine so far. FWIW, no real WiFi connection ever reaches the theoretical limit due to packet overhead, real-world interference, etc. The 211 has the best WiFi speed I've seen to date by far in a handheld. That and the screen are its strongest points.

Hope this helps.

solnyshok
02-23-2008, 08:26 PM
Thanks, Tanker Bob.

kamikun
02-24-2008, 04:36 AM
Tanker Bob and all you other lucky summinas who have one of these new toys to play with...

A little off topic but over at SoftMaker, they released the new public betas for SoftMaker Office 2008 for the PocketPC (http://www.softmaker.com/english/ofp08_en.htm). Included are updated versions of TextMaker and PlanMaker, of course, but also a PPC version of Presentations.

I've tried these out on my O-L-D Toshiba e800 w/ first ed WM2003 and they rock... albeit somewhat slowly (sorta like Unca Joe down at the Junction). But I'd love to see them in action on this new device or on an HTC Advantage.

With limited RAM and a slow processor they look nice but are pretty impractical to do real creative work on. But with lots of RAM and CPU cycles they seem like a killer-app for VGA machines with large screens.

WyattEarp
02-25-2008, 04:11 AM
SoftMaker Office should be fine on the 210. I used it exclusively on my desktop &amp; 4700 before it was stolen, now just the desktop. I never had a problem running it even from an SD card. At more than 5MB it's the largest software package for WM if i recall correctly do it did load a little slower than the others but that's were the slowness stops. SoftMaker has been working on load times so hopefully it's gotten faster.

Jason Dunn
02-26-2008, 08:06 PM
I really hope someone posts some comparative (!!!) shots of the two devices.

If I had a 4700, I definitely would, but I don't, so I can't...sorry. :?

185driver
02-28-2008, 12:56 AM
One weird thing about the 210 is the hardware buttons don't turn the thing on. To record a note you have to push the power button and then the record button.

Does anyone know if the iPAQ 100 series has this same "feature" (at least I assume it is a feature)? It seems that behavior would negate the need for a dedicated hardware lock switch for those users who like to carry their devices naked in the pocket. Just curious.