About to buy an H1940.. few questions ;p

[t10]

Hey all, am a newbie here so please bare with me.

I used to have an old Ipaq 1560 or something, it was huge, and was same weight as a brick and a half. I bought it in the first place to browse the internet, but it took 9 years to load a page on that thing, so I sold it off 2 weeks after I got it, loosing some cash on the transaction.

Anyways, time goes on, and I got my eye on the new H1940. I absolutely love the size of it, the weight, and the bluetooth/SD slot. However, I do have a few questions.

Can you browse the internet on a PDA? I mean seriously browse, without waiting 2 minutes for each page to be proccessed. (And i dont mean the connection speed, say if the pages were cached on the hdd, or you did the usb connection).

I have 2 phones with IR ports, can you browse the net wirelessly, by connecting the PDA to the phone through the IR port? If the answer is yes, will I browse in real "WWW" format like I am doing so now sitting at my desktop, or will it be the WAP stuff like on my phone (text and stuff).
PS. My phones are Siemens S40, and Nokia 8290. (btw I do know about bluetooth and cables, but am just interested in IR for now)

If the unit is off how long will it hold the charge? I read some reviews, and all mostly just mention the amount of playback on one charge.

Processor wise, is there now a standard of handheld proc's? Like in the desktop world you have the x86, so if I dl an x86 prog, I know I can run it. For the H1940, will in run the intel xscale apps, or even older stuff like old ppcdoom apps etc.. ?

Thats about it, if some questions are really retarded, I am sorry in advance lol ;p

Thanks guys.

[nosmohtac]

Can you browse the internet on a PDA? I mean seriously browse, without waiting 2 minutes for each page to be proccessed. (And i dont mean the connection speed, say if the pages were cached on the hdd, or you did the usb connection).

It's quite a bit faster than that, but it also depends on which browser your using. pocket IE is very slow at loading pages. There are other browsers you can install that are faster (Thunderhawk, FTX browser)

I have 2 phones with IR ports, can you browse the net wirelessly, by connecting the PDA to the phone through the IR port? If the answer is yes, will I browse in real "WWW" format like I am doing so now sitting at my desktop, or will it be the WAP stuff like on my phone (text and stuff).
PS. My phones are Siemens S40, and Nokia 8290. (btw I do know about bluetooth and cables, but am just interested in IR for now)

Yes. You can browse the same way you are now using your phone with an IR connection. On web sites like this one, they have a mobile version to keep from scrolling side to side, but if you will be viewing sites without mobile versions, it becomes very cumbersome to scroll around the page to read anything.

If the unit is off how long will it hold the charge? I read some reviews, and all mostly just mention the amount of playback on one charge.

I'm not sure on the 1940. It varies depending on model and manufacturer. Some have a backup battery that will only allow enough time to replace the battery, others don't have a backup battery, but it uses the main battery as a backup, and won't allow you to turn the unit on after it gets so low. There are variations on these two that I mentioned.


Processor wise, is there now a standard of handheld proc's? Like in the desktop world you have the x86, so if I dl an x86 prog, I know I can run it. For the H1940, will in run the intel xscale apps, or even older stuff like old ppcdoom apps etc.. ?

The first generation of PPC's had different processors in them, but when PPC2002 came out, MS standardized them by requiring that they be based on the ARM processor, which is what the first iPAQ's were. The new X-scale processors are still based on the ARM architecture, and will run most of the PPC2002 programs. The 1940 is running the new WM2003 OS, and some prorams from 2002 had to be rewritten for 2003, but the nice thing is, you are buying from a company with a good history of product support in this area. If a new OS comes out, it will likely be available for your device, If a lot of your programs won't run on the new OS and you don't see any real need to upgrade, you don't have to.

If I have made any errors in the info I've given, I apologize. Feel free to correct me.

[caywen]

pocket IE is very slow at loading pages
I've not seen this behavior. I browse on my 1945 and it is quite zippy. Maybe you are referring to the PocketPC 2002 and 2000 versions of PIE.

I'm quite happy with my 1945. It's diminuitive size makes it a real joy to have. It may not have wifi or CF slot, but bluetooth and SDIO give me most of that functionality anyways.

[JustinGTP]

Nice summary there nosmohtac

-Justin.

[t10]

yes nosmohtac, great post, thanks a lot bud.

One last thing guys, how does the Intel PXA255 400 MHz that is found in H2210 stack up against the Samsung chip in terms of performance? Say if I were to run stuff like Pocket Quake, which one yield greater performance. I did a lot of google searching for benches, but coudnt find any.


Edit: LOL, am looking through hp specs site, and cant see if 1940 has an IrDa port or not. LOL, anyone know for sure? ;p

[Chris Spera]

yes, the 1940/45 has an IR port. Its on the left side of the device near the Record button.

If you're interested in suring the web via IR, I hope you're looking forward to doing it while completely stationary. In order to surf, you're going to have to keep the PDA and phone in constant alignment, without any interruption in signal.

In other words, it just ain't gonna happen. You're better off pairing via BlueTooth; and then you're only going to be able to surf as fast as the phone can connect.

As far as content goes, there are some sites that offer graphics and text; but yes, you're right, suring on that size screen just isn't optimal, and its definitely not the same as a desktop.

If you switch to a landscape mode, then yes, you'll have a better go; but its still different, and the sites just aren't as graphic intensive.

If you're looking for a true desktop surfing experience, the best place to get it is your desktop...


Kind Regards,


Christopher Spera

[t10]

hehehe, I know about the line of sight thing with IR, it is not a problem at all. See I go to lectures all the time, but half the time I sleep, or play snake on my phone (yeah am a great student). I can easily put my phone down on the desk and line it up with the pda, and just check email, or look through some forums or something, I obviously wont do it while moving.

BTW, is pocket IE, VBB or whatever forums use compatible?

And the last thing still, any benchmarks on Siemens 266mghz chip vs the intel 400mghz one?

[polbit]

t10, as far as the speed of 1945, it is really quite good. Have a look at these:

http://discussion.brighthand.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=85034&highlight=1945+speed

From a personal experience, between Toshiba e755, e355, and the 1945, the 1945 seems as fast as the e755, and faster with some programs.

[t10]

Hmmm, anyone know the differences between 1940 and 1945?

gonna go check out hp site...

[Chris Spera]

They are the same PDA. One is sold at Retail, the other Direct.


Kind Regards,


Christopher Spera

[t10]

Thanks a lot guys, Am goign to go buy it right now, and will pair it up with Ericsson T610.

Thank you very much to those who replaied.

[t10]

Just bogut the H1940 from BestBuy here in Toronto. Price was $399+tax, I mentionned the $10 off that I saw in futureshop add, they reduced the price to $388+tax, the thing ended up costing me $448.

:mrgreen: