Questions for 4155 users, the real issues.

[IIIsynthtaxIII]

Thanks in advance for your help guys, it's very appreciated.

I have no experience with the unit, and don't have access to one, so I'll need to rely on your answer!

1) How well does the built in WiFi work? (Range, stability, speed, easy of use, battery suckage, advanced settings) The more detailed the answers the better.
2) How bad REALLY is the yellow tint issue? I've seen some pics where it was only noticeable at a really low angle, while other's it looked almost as bad as the 1910.
3) What's with the IR port? Do you find its location a real pain or is it a blessing in disguise?
4) Any issues I might not have heard about?

Thanks for your help!

lllsynthtaxlll

[jneely]

Just got my 4155 within the last 2 weeks...

1) Can't give a good answer yet - haven't played with it enough. I'll definitely be getting the extended battery though...

2) My screen is pretty darn yellow. It's the only thing I can find wrong with the 4155 (other than I wish it had more memory). I even see yellow if I look directly down onto it at a 90 degree angle. In fact, I have to tilt it a bit downward (like I'm looking just a bit at the top of the unit).

I'm beginning to think they had two runs of these screens, because I've seen some reviews that show the yellow as hardly visible.

My screen however is very yellow at what I would call a normal angle for usage in my hand.

On the bright side, I'm already beginning to ignore it -- for what it's worth...

3) IR port isn't exactly optimal for use as a remote control, but wasn't an important factor for me.

4) No other problems to speak of. I can't believe how small this thing is.

[IIIsynthtaxIII]

That yellow thing is really bad, I don't understand what's wrong with HP. It's the only thing that I can see stopping me.

Is there a patch that helps make it less aparent? A program or something I heard about a while ago?

I plan on getting the extended battery too, but I can't seem to find any good pics of it on a 4150. I know there were forums with pics, but they never work. Can someone post some pics of it with the extended battery?

5) Does it fit in the cradle with the extended battery?

Thanks,

lllsynthtaxlll

[Sven Johannsen]

I don't get the yellow thing. I can see the yellow on mine if I have significant white space and view it at an unusual angle. Barring those conditions I think my 4155 screen has more color depth (seems richer) than my 2215. I suppose it could be runs of production, but my wife's is similar to mine, and bought several months apart.

It is apparent that the cradle is designed to fit the extended battery. Now I just wish SENA would make a case that fits it. (the extended battery)

[Kati Compton]

2) How bad REALLY is the yellow tint issue? I've seen some pics where it was only noticeable at a really low angle, while other's it looked almost as bad as the 1910.
Remember you're dealing with 2 variables here. Not only that different units may have the issue to varying degrees, but also that different people will notice it to varying degrees.

[Dave Potter]

Dido on the case issue with the extended battery - I haven't found any cases that will fit the 415x with the extended battery.

As far as the yellow screen goes - I have never understood what the big deal was with this. I have had an iPAQ 3970, a 1935 and now a 4150. The latter two have been branded with the yellow screen stigma. I don't understand why. Sure - if you view the screen at an angle you see the yellow. So what? Is there some reason that I am missing why someone would want to view their screen at an angle? I dunno about other people - but I looked at my 1935 straight on and also look at my present 4150 straight on. Viewed straight on - it's just not an issue.

WiFi works great. Range, stability and speed are very good. Not sure what you mean by advanced settings though. As for WiFi's effect on battery life - sure, it sucks more juice. Standard battery life with WiFi on constantly is 2.5 to 3 hours. With the extended battery and WiFI on constantly life is about 6 hours.

IR port placement is also not an issue for me. The IR port isn't commercial grade anyway and only has about a 6-10 inch range so it's useless as a universal remote. Other than as a universal remote - why would anyone want to use IR these days when the 415x comes with both Bluetooth and WiFi??

Hope this helps.

[IIIsynthtaxIII]

Yeah, thanks for the replies.

A big issue was WiFi, because it's all internal but my CF wifi card sticks out quite far and doesn't have as good range as I would like.

But the big issue was the screen.

The BargainPDA review HERE (http://www.bargainpda.com/default.asp?newsID=1703&showComments=true) shows it as not being that bad, I would have no issue with that.

BUT...

The PocketPCDubai review HERE (http://pocketpcdubai.com/iPAQ_h4150/ipaqh4150_page1.html) shows the screen being much worse, even head on.

Since I'm buying it used, it's more a concern for me.

Thanks,

lllsynthtaxlll

[bigkingfun]

1. The built-in wifi works great. Compared to my previous iPAQ (5450) it seems faster. I can't really quantify that, it just seems like it. I haven't run the battery right down on wifi, but again my seat-of-the-pants feeling is that it is more efficient than the 5450 was.

2. The yellow tint issue isn't a problem for me. I notice it if I look at the screen from a really low angle, but I would just never use it that way. I use it a lot with a portable keyboard, and it sits at a bit more of an angle than I would normal have it in my hand, but even then I don't notice the yellow. This was the one thing that made me hesitant about this model, but if I hadn't read any mention of it beforehand, I doubt I would ever have noticed it.

3. I don't use IR, so it's fine with me. The biggest problem I would see with the IR port is if you wanted to use it with one of the "universal" IR PDA keyboards.

4. I haven't had any other problems at all. Of all my iPAQs (3850, 5450, 4150) this is the most solid one I've used.

[IIIsynthtaxIII]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I wasn't sure if I should get a 4150 or 54/5550... From what I've seen though, the 4150 is definately the way to go.

I think I'm more calm now about the yellow tint issue, because as long as it's not a big deal from head on, I can handle it. I too have a portable keyboard (stowaway xt), is that the same one you have bigkingfun?

I've used a 2210 extensively, and all the benchmarks show that the 4150 is much faster - can anyone vouch for that in real world use?

Thanks,

lllsynthtaxlll

[Aquatic]

here's my 2 cents.. had the 4155 since November.

Wifi is pretty good. Just for fun I pulled it out and did a bit of "war" driving through town. I could pick up several networks from the street--both commercial and residential. For my wireless, stucco (call it concrete) walls, I can get a reliable signal to about 75 - 100' or so.

My model, the yellow tint is not an issue. I DO see the tint when I look at the screen from a low angle, but since that's pretty darn unnatural, I don't notice the tint a bit. Pictures, etc all look good.

Don't use the IR port much, and the few times I have, it's a pain I think. with BT and wifi, it's pretty much a nonfactor for me.

The cradle works fine with extended battery--in fact, you can have the extended battery on the unit AND charge another extended battery at the same time, no problem.

I would definately get some sort of case/screen protection for it--it's so thin and wonderful you don't think twice about slipping into your pocket...change, pens, etc could do some damage.

it's nearly my ideal unit...I would want longer run times in a std size battery, larger screen (4-5") and perhaps vga support. for now, for the pricing you can find, it's a great PDA!

[JGRicci]

Best
PDA
Ever.

[Sydney Bristow]

1) How well does the built in WiFi work? (Range, stability, speed, easy of use, battery suckage, advanced settings) The more detailed the answers the better.
Well, this is my first PPC, so I can't really say in comparison to other WiFis...but I'd say it's working quite nicely. :)

2) How bad REALLY is the yellow tint issue? I've seen some pics where it was only noticeable at a really low angle, while other's it looked almost as bad as the 1910.
I couldn't figure out HOW to get the yellow tint xD So I kept looking at it in very strange angles, and finally found that it appears when I look at it from south-west corner. I don't know about anyone else, but I never look from that angle so...:lol:

3) What's with the IR port? Do you find its location a real pain or is it a blessing in disguise?
Ehhh...I haven't had the necessity to make use of it yet, so...no opinion ^^;;

4) Any issues I might not have heard about?
I heard that every time you soft-reset it, some bunch of appointments or something gets invisibly stored, thus eating up space...but there are softwares that prevents it (not sure where it is, try searching for it ^^)
Also, there's the appointment-alarm problem, where if you turn the PPC off and there's an appointment (with alarm that should go off), there's a chance that the alarm will not go off.

That's all I can remember for now, but in my opinion, they're just minor issues (well...the alarm thing is a bit bad, but I believe there were fixes for it someplace as well, though they don't work perfectly either :roll: ), and HP 4150 is definitely worth it ;)

[ignar]

My 4150 screen is VERY yellow. It looks better head on, but still quite noticeable when compared to other PDA's. I have Treo 600, Tungsten T3, and iPaq 4150 side by side in the cradles on my desk, and yellow tint of 4150 is definately noticeable and it is the worst one to read ebook on among three. It's a shame since I really like 4150 but my primary usage of PDA is eBook and document readings. I once purchased Dell X3i, but while it has a whiter screen, I couldn't stand its size compared to 4150.

[Ce]

The screen of the 4150 is, apart from the richer colors and better contrast it's the worst HP screen I've seen since the screens before the 39xx generation. It's not only the yellow, but also the grey becomes a little purple and the yellow becomes a bit grey (had two new machines that I returned because of this) when tilting the screen a little.

both units had pretty decent WiFi reception but bad, very bad Bluetooth reception. Both units max. between 10 and 20 inch.

The shoehorned a lot of usefull stuff into this little but very powerfull device. But the bad screen and Bluetooth reception made me return it twice :(