07-26-2002, 09:53 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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iPAQ is 'tainted brand'
http://www.theregus.com/content/54/25757.html
What? No updates in five hours? Sorry guys, we're slipping. Anyway, here's one of the more interesting articles I've read on The Register in quite a while (it might be because it's not written by Register staff - hmm). Alex Kac was the first to bring it to our attention, and the article goes into detail over some of the issues that have plagued the iPAQ recently (they don't even go into the dust and screen issues from the 1st generation iPAQs). It's a great read, and by the end you'll be wondering, like me, why HP decided to keep the iPAQ (although we all know the reason - the iPAQ had better mindshare and marketshare than the Jornada). Not that the Jornada was perfect either - why can't anyone make a rock-solid Pocket PC without major flaws?
"I recently had to go to bat for a user of the iPAQ. He tells me he's spent the last two years trying to get Dixons and Compaq to admit that his model has a duff circuit; it only works when absolutely fully charged. In the course of his two year battle, he's been persuaded by tech support that the machine isn't working because he has an out of date PC, and has been talked into buying a new one. He's been talked into buying new software, downloading "fixes" which don't fix, and generally, being miserable about lost data, lost business caused by failures, and wasted time. I got onto a senior Dixons executive working in quality control, and gave him a hard time. He seemed surprised I was bothering. "The iPAQ, you know what the problem with it is, surely? It doesn't work."
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07-26-2002, 10:03 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 335
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Very interesting read...
I read the article prior to your posting, and given its source - Guy Kewney who is/was one of the top computer magazine journalists - I give it some weight. Guy Kewney has sometimes dipped into the tabloid style, but in most articles what he states is proven right.
So.....What does this do for the 5000 series mentioned previously?
What I wanted is iPaq type innovation and HP (calculator style) robustness. I've had my HP 42S calculator for nearly 15 years and it still works flawlessly - although is that dust iunder the screen.... :wink:
My 2c
PJE
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07-26-2002, 10:05 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 168
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HP Rep: "We don't do things like that in HP. If a product has faults, we withdraw it, we replace it, we fix it, we produce a new rollout. It's terribly expensive! - so we don't launch a product till it's ready. But Compaq was just producing faulty designs, and replacing them with untested updates."
Err... What about the dust ridden HP56x series?! That's NEVER really been fixed.
The iPAQ is extremley buggy -- SD slot causing the system to freeze and the backlight problem being the major problems I've encountered. The bluetooth and expansion pack problems are intolerable! These things really should have been discovered before release.
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07-26-2002, 10:10 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Take1
Err... What about the dust ridden HP56x series?! That's NEVER really been fixed.
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Well, FWIW, HP didn't hassle me about returning my unit because of dust. And in the 54x series, when it was revealed that they were 12 bit colour and not 16 bit colour, they offered full refunds to people. THAT was quite good of them.
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07-26-2002, 10:12 PM
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Sage
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 713
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I love my 41CV!!!
Quote:
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Originally Posted by PJE
What I wanted is iPaq type innovation and HP (calculator style) robustness. I've had my HP 42S calculator for nearly 15 years and it still works flawlessly - although is that dust iunder the screen....
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I can beat that. My Helwett Packard 41CV turns twenty this year. It's the only calculator I've owned since high school.
...and no dust, either.
---
Bwana Jim
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07-26-2002, 10:14 PM
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Sage
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 713
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Jason Dunn
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Take1
Err... What about the dust ridden HP56x series?! That's NEVER really been fixed.
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Well, FWIW, HP didn't hassle me about returning my unit because of dust. And in the 54x series, when it was revealed that they were 12 bit colour and not 16 bit colour, they offered full refunds to people. THAT was quite good of them. |
They did the same for my 430se. Full refund, no questions asked because of the 12bit/16bit mess. I didn't even know it was 12 bit only until they told me.
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07-26-2002, 10:22 PM
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Magi
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 2,341
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Re: iPAQ is 'tainted brand'
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Jason Dunn
"I recently had to go to bat for a user of the iPAQ........... I got onto a senior Dixons executive working in quality control, and gave him a hard time. He seemed surprised I was bothering.
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Jason, that is very cool of you to do that. I'm impressed!
Dave
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07-26-2002, 10:25 PM
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Mystic
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,768
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iPaq vs Jornada
iPaq was first with a cool design and the name became to mean PocketPC to the uneducated... similar to how "PalmPilot" means "PDA" to many folks. The Jornada 56x line however eclipsed the iPaq. I thought the decision was premature... and maybe this is a glimpse that they are re-evaluating that position. I have owned both (my wife still has an iPaq) and I still can't see a reason why someone would prefer the iPaq design with it's requirement for bulky sleds to have any meaningful expansion capabilities.
__________________
Jonathan (JonnoB)
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." -Edmund Burke
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07-26-2002, 10:40 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Re: iPAQ is 'tainted brand'
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Paragon
Jason, that is very cool of you to do that. I'm impressed!
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Uhh...that was a quote from the article...not something I did. 
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07-26-2002, 10:47 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 217
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Kind of makes dust seem like a minor issue, huh?
Boy, after reading all the issues with the iPaq 3800/3900 series devices it really makes me glad I stuck with my trusty Jornada 568. I had a couple specs of dust and received a replacement quickly. Other than minor dust issues I have had nothing but solid performance from my Jornada. My 548 was a workhorse too and my wife still uses it (and she is nowhere as careful as I am with my devices). I have never once had to perform a hard reset, which is pretty amazing considering I review a ton of software and regularly install and remove programs. I loaded up with the PC battery pack and MMC battery and plan on sticking with this solid device for a while. Nothing out there impresses me yet, although the LOOX may be a nice unit.
I can't say enough how I NEED the removeable battery and think it should be a standard. I took a trip to San Diego last week and went without any type of charging device and just had my extra battery pack. I could work on my Jornada all I wanted to and not worry about shutting down because I could simply replace the battery. Why don't they have users like us designing and making decisions on Pocket PC devices? I think we could turn out a winner.
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