4150: Initial Impressions and Open Question Forum

[Palmguy]

Well, it's here. And I sure like the lil' guy! I wasn't as shocked with the size as I was going from 3950->2215, but it is definitely impressively small. I'm happy with the screen, I don't see any yellow tint at any normal viewing angle. The finish of the front of the device is nearly identical to that of the 2215. I like the finish of the old school iPAQs better, but that's just me. The action button appears to be separate from the D-pad, which feels just fine BTW.

I will test out Wifi tonight when I go back on campus.

I don't have any BT devices, except for my two iPAQs themselves. I'll try a partnership in a little bit.

LED blinks red when charging, I guess the other one is a BT indicator.

Build quality looks good.

Any questions, please ask and I'll do my best to answer.

I did order from eCost exactly 24 hours ago, and with their $9.99 Fedex overnight it just got here. Not too shabby!

Almost missed the Fedex guy when I went down to get a burger at the party downstairs. Came back up and he was about to leave! I would have had to wait until Monday!!!

[Palmguy]

Couple more things...

The cradle looks a little goofy. It does hold another battery. It has the hp logo embossed on the front though, that looks good.

I just tried a file transfer over BT, and it worked very easily. Definitely impressed with that!

[Martin I Pettinger]

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Hi Palnguy

Do you have a Stowaway keyboard for the iPAQ 3950? I read somewhere that the connector on the iPAQ 4150 is the same as the 3950. Also how does the 4150 compare to the 2210. I am thinking of upgrading from my iPAQ 3850 to either a 4150 or 2210 - not sure I want to give up the Compact Flash slot though! Keep your thoughts coming.

Martin

[Palmguy]

Hey, no I don't have a keyboard for the 3950. I sure wish that I did though, it would be a great combo! The connector is the same for the 3800-3900-5400-5500-2200 and now the 4100 series. I sold my 3950 back in June when I got the 2215, which I am now going to sell.

As far as CF, some people have different needs, but I only ever needed CF for Wifi. With that now integrated, I have no need for CF. Unless there is some CF-specific device you have to have, I say move on! The 4150 is amazing. This is finally a device that has everything I need in it without the need to buy anything else or carry anything else around with me. I've got my 64 meg SD card for backup and my essential files (class notes in PPT format, spreadsheet backups, eBooks, etc...), a few things stored in RAM, and that's it! I can walk around campus now and pull my iPAQ out of my pocket and be online, without having to pull out a Wifi CF card and put it in, meanwhile keeping the case open to accomodate the card.

You will be extremely happy going to a transflective screen from your 3800. Big, big difference. I think that the most shocked that I have ever been with a PDA is when I got my 3950 in after using a 3650 for over a year. Wow.

[drosenth]

Palmguy, thanks for the quick review. Keep the info coming. I hope to order my HP soon.

PS - Time to change your signature :)

[Palmguy]

Few more things...I've got about half of my software on my iPAQ now, and so far no compatibility issues. There shouldn't be any, not really breaking new ground software wise.

As I said earlier, BT setup was very simple, but the only device I have to connect to is my other iPAQ. If I can find someone with a BT-equipped phone I'll try it out. I'm leaving shortly to go on campus and test out Wifi. I just registered my new MAC address with the campus network so I should be good to go. I do like the screen on the 4150 better than that of the 2215. The colors seem richer/truer, and there is no yellow tint at normal viewing angles.

Speed feels typical, I wouldn't expect it to be any faster than the 2215, but it does feel maybe just a tad faster. Backup to SD only took a matter of seconds. Reader is still pretty slow.

It is a little tricky to get the 4150 out of the cradle, but it's not horrible. Charge from 41% to full took about an hour or so. The battery door is also somewhat tricky to get off, but most people should not have to take the door off too often.

My major gripe: I've never had a 1900, so I don't know if the stylus is the same, but it is a little metal toothpick. Very skinny, IMO at least. It is metal, which is a bonus, but it is a bit too small for my liking.

I've heard on Brighthand that the Covertec 1900 case works with the 4150, which is very cool. The 4150 appears to be very near to identical in size to the 1900.

[Palmguy]

Ok...just went over to UCF to try out Wifi.

Wow. It hooked right up. Before I got over there, I was searching for the configuration screen, i.e. to edit the SSID etc. On campus network requires that you enter in the SSID, it won't automatically pick it up. I couldn't find any of this so I figured what the heck, I'll just turn it on and see what happens! Sure enough, bam, it hooked right up. I didn't even have to enter the SSID. All I had to do was register my MAC beforehand, and it instantly hooked up!

Strong signal strength I might add, not sure where the AP was in the building I was in, but I had 3 bars.

[juan_chiriboga]

First day with my H4150, and have to say I am impressed. It took a few tries to pair it with my T68i. However, everything seems to be working great.
Are there any keyboards for the h4150 yet? How about drivers for the HP foldable keyboard?

[Nikhil]

The latest drivers for the HP Foldable keyboard should work (I can't find my keyboard so I can't test it haha). The Stowaway XT should work as well.

If you look at the accessories guide included with the 4150, there is a picture of the thumb board for the 4150. Looks almost identical to the Jornada 560's thumb keyboard minus the flip cover.

[JohnJohn]

The latest drivers for the HP Foldable keyboard should work (I can't find my keyboard so I can't test it haha). The Stowaway XT should work as well.

If you look at the accessories guide included with the 4150, there is a picture of the thumb board for the 4150. Looks almost identical to the Jornada 560's thumb keyboard minus the flip cover.

Can you scan the Thumboard pic and post? I can't find one on the net I think that's also the new thumboard for the 22xx series. Please and Thank you.

[Palmguy]

One more slightly minor gripe: we are now back to only 5 brightness settings. I don't know if the 1900 is the same way, but every iPAQ I've had after my 3650 had more precise adjustments.

[JustinGTP]

So I just bought the HP Foldable Keyboard which cost me 170.00 canadian, so I hope this will work with the 4100 series? If it does, then I can upgrade in the future :)

-Justin.

[Palmguy]

It sure will. Same connector as virtually all current iPAQs (not 1900).

[ignar]

So I just bought the HP Foldable Keyboard which cost me 170.00 canadian, so I hope this will work with the 4100 series? If it does, then I can upgrade in the future :)

-Justin.

I just tried it and it worked great. I also used Stowaway XT keyboard with the latest driver and had no problem.

[madbart]

From a size & weight perspective what should i expect in downgrading from a 5450?

I have yearned for the last couple of years for a PPC in a similar form factor to my old Plam Vx. The pure bulk of the 5450 has been driving me nuts!

[iampedro]

Well... I am going to wait and find out if I really need this PDA and justify it and wait until I can go and decided what to do with this PDA...

It really looks great, but I have heard lots of bad pr about the old ones and that is why they are forsale...

Who knows... I will see what happends in the future.. PDA's are going to be evolving just like every 6 months...

[christheswiss]

palmguy,

sounds like a nice device, I have the 1945 and love it. The form factor can't be beat.
Question: in earlier posts a few wekks ago, I understood that the 4100 series come with NEVO remote, is that so ?

Thanks :D

[Itanium]

Question: in earlier posts a few wekks ago, I understood that the 4100 series come with NEVO remote, is that so ?

According to the latest information available, 4xxx series doesn't have a consumer grade IR, the IR port is rather located at the side of the unit. Therefore, NEVO is not included in the packate, unfortunately.