iPAQ 5600 Pocket PC on eBay? Apparently!

[jt3]

This whole line (5600 series) was discontinued by Compaq because they couldn't get the bugs worked out (before being taken over by HP). Judging from the state of the 5400 when it was initially released, and the fact that the cases are identical, it leads me to wonder exactly how much effort HP put in to squash those bugs.

True, most of the bugs were with the Phone modules, and HP hasn't yet released an iPAQ with those capabilities, however, I have the sneaking suspicion that HP simply took out the phone support, and released the unit "as is" without even trying to test the rest of the unit. Those of us who had one of the initial 5400s know what I mean.

At any rate, this auction probably is legit, but this is likely a pre-production model, that won't be supported, won't operate properly (probably equal to the initial 5400s), and won't ever be updated. Basically, that makes this a $400+ novelty item, which is a bit steep for people like me whose money tree refuses to take root, but for someone who is willing to spend the money on a unit more for the "glory of having it" than for any possibility of actually being able to use it... well... knock yourself out.

[jt3]

This whole line (5600 series) was discontinued by Compaq because they couldn't get the bugs worked out (before being taken over by HP). Judging from the state of the 5400 when it was initially released, and the fact that the cases are identical, it leads me to wonder exactly how much effort HP put in to squash those bugs.

True, most of the bugs were with the Phone modules, and HP hasn't yet released an iPAQ with those capabilities, however, I have the sneaking suspicion that HP simply took out the phone support, and released the unit "as is" without even trying to test the rest of the unit. Those of us who had one of the initial 5400s know what I mean.

At any rate, this auction probably is legit, but this is likely a pre-production model, that won't be supported, won't operate properly (probably equal to the initial 5400s), and won't ever be updated. Basically, that makes this a $400+ novelty item, which is a bit steep for people like me whose money tree refuses to take root, but for someone who is willing to spend the money on a unit more for the "glory of having it" than for any possibility of actually being able to use it... well... knock yourself out.

[guinness]

It isn't the first HP prototype to wind up on ebay though:

The Jornada 575, the Xpander (which was actually pulled off ebay) and now the iPaq 5600.

Someone will buy it, just to mess around with it and say that they have one.

[kfluet]

Originally Posted by KayMan2k

It has got to be fake. There isn't enough room in the 5xxx body for BlueTooth, WiFi AND CDMA! Plus the top black thingy doesn't have an extra LED for the supposed CDMA.

It looks totally real to me.

There is no WiFi in this unit. Just bluetooth and phone. The phone module goes where the WiFi unit is in the 5400.

For a while you could buy a phone module from foxconn.com (the iPAQ parts store), and it looked a lot like the modules he is including in the auction. People were talking about whether putting one of these modules into an early-model 5400 (with the SIM slot) would work, but the problem was that nobody had any software to make the phone functions run.

The real questions are (1) whether or not this device on eBay has the working phone software for cdma and/or gsm and (2) whether it will work with a cell provider.

I'm sure some prototype collector out there will be very happy with this even if it doesn't work.

[Enderet]

Just to add a little bit more heat to the debate in regards to this "5600", some time ago, a so called "dahmooser" posted here in PPCThoughts about having a 5650". I called him a liar and probably said some mean things and he sent me the following PM:

Enderet,

Believe me, I didn't lie to you. I have a 5650 sitting here in front of me that I cannot even use! it won't sync properly, it doesn't recognize that it has a slot for a GSM chip and WAN capabilities. Ereader won't activate. Its a "goddamn" frustrating shame.

Since my brother's company IS under NDA I shouldn't have posted anything, but I was just so frustrated that I couldn't get it to work that I wanted to see if anyone knew how to.

In my readings of PPC 2003 over the past few days it looks as if what's on the unit I have is a cobbling together of pieces that MS makes to simulate what PPC 2003 is now. This unit is a couple months old (received) but I couldn't use it because the battery was faulty.

I got a working battery (same as 5455) now, but now the truth is I am far more frustrated that before.

You have no reason to believe any of this, so I don't expect you to. But I was raised as believing that a person is only as good as their word, and I am telling you, its sitting right here in front of me - dead.

My only hope is that the 5655 will come out and I'll be able to download or buy some kind of ROM flash to update it. Otherwise, ah well, a $700 paperweight.

feel free to Im me in MSN Messenger, as you are one of the few who uses it.

As it is right now HP hasn't even announced it to the public, which makes me concerned that they may junk it and make something better, smaller, and faster. Then this unit will truly just be a myth.

Then he states his name and that is the end of it. I feel somewhat bad by letting this out, but oh well.

8O :? :| http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/foru...025&highlight=

Just decided to go back and look for this. I guess I was a little too harsh, but it wasnt just me. :cry: [/quote]

[JonasGrumby]

Originally Posted by guinness

It isn't the first HP prototype to wind up on ebay though:

The Jornada 575, the Xpander (which was actually pulled off ebay) and now the iPaq 5600.

Someone will buy it, just to mess around with it and say that they have one.

To be honest, I bought a half dozen pre-production Windows CE machines a while back on eBay, for what amounted to $10 a unit.

A number of Casio A-20's with 320x480 screens, an unmarked NEC, a Casio Aladdin test unit, and two 320lx's in green, unmarked cases and an early version of Windows CE 2.0 installed.

I actually got one working, and later added a backlight.

This and the X25 I'd love to add to my collection, if only I could afford them!

[Aaron Halbert]

Hi,

I am the owner of PocketLoft, and I'd just like to intervene to say that the referenced source, PocketPt, ripped the story and images right off of PocketLoft, and even used images residing on our server. The auction was originally found by our EIC, edeab220. I don't mean to be annoying, but for the little guys, this type of thing hurts. It could have brought a lot of new readers to PocketLoft, but instead, we got blown away and ignored. :| So, if anyone cares to make a correction, I'd really appreciate it.

Aaron

[David Prahl]

We'd be happy to give credit where credit is due. What kind of "correction" do you mean? On the E-Bay auction or on this forum?

[Aaron Halbert]

I meant on this article. Let me try to explain what happened again:

-edeab220 finds the auction

-It's turned into a news article

-PocketPt uses it w/o giving credit, and uses images on our server, sucking up bandwidth

-PPCT and other large sites post the story, but PocketLoft gets ignored (no fault of PPCT - it's the PocketPt site I'm upset with)

I'm sorry I have to complain, but breaking new stories is a good way for small sites to grow, and the few that PocketLoft has come up with have left PL in the dust. :| Thanks for hearing me out. :wink:

[theone3]

Originally Posted by Aaron Halbert

Hi,

I am the owner of PocketLoft, and I'd just like to intervene to say that the referenced source, PocketPt, ripped the story and images right off of PocketLoft, and even used images residing on our server. The auction was originally found by our EIC, edeab220. I don't mean to be annoying, but for the little guys, this type of thing hurts. It could have brought a lot of new readers to PocketLoft, but instead, we got blown away and ignored. :| So, if anyone cares to make a correction, I'd really appreciate it.

Aaron

Thanks for making the correction guys. It's really sad that a site like pocketPT should do such a thing.

If you care to look back through the forums, you'll find i posted here, leading to PL, well before this article was written. :wink:

[PetiteFlower]

Originally Posted by Paul P

Why should someone tell eBay? hehe Where is the harm? Seller is being forthcoming. I am sure someone at HP knows about it, and clearly, they are not concerned.

Well if this unit is not meant for sale or is part of an NDA then it's against Ebay's policies, and they might want to know so they can shut down the auction......If HP were to find out about it after the fact, they could sue Ebay for making money off of an illegal sale, so they really try to keep things legal. Not always successful but if you bring things to their attention then they are usually pretty good about shutting them down.