jonathanchoo
03-24-2004, 05:40 AM
A boring review
I have been a PalmOS user all my life except when I used the Toshiba e310 for a whole year between August 2002 & August 2003. It was pickpocketed on the London tube but luckily my insurance policy allowed me to obtained another PDA. I got the h2210 but returned it after 2 weeks because it was bulky, the screen was washed out, it feels cheap and Bluetooth support on it was bad. That same week (end of Sept 2003) I got the T3.
Well, 6 months on and I decided to purchase a new PPC. Not because I don't like my T3 but because I was bored with the lack of nice games on it. During my year with the e310 I build up a nice collection of games including Rayman Ultimate and Hexacto Soccer.
Now my upgrade cycle is every 6-12 months so I decided to get a low/mid end model. Saving my money on the next generation PDAs. It was down to the h1940, h2210 and h4150. Expansys was selling an open boxed h1940 for £115 (inc VAT and delivery) but I saw the screen in Dixons and it was bad. I finally decided to get a h4150 from a dealer for a nice price.
First impressions: very small and light. Reminds me of my PalmVx. Unlike the Vx, this one is made of plastic(Why!?). The front side's texture is weird although I like the back. Performance wise, it is slow when compared to my T3. I immediately uploaded some apps. ActiveSync feels alot faster although connection broke many times and even bluescreened my computer. Cradle was a dissapointment - was difficult to use. No way anyone can plug the PDA in one-handed. It has a nice weight on it though (similar to Vx and m5xx cradles)
The screen was nice. Its smaller than the T3's screen and the resolution is obviously not as good. It was also slightly yellowish when viewed from an angle. My T3 which had a pure white screen was far superior. The buttons are small but I have smallish fingers so its not a problem. The games I played are faster than on the e310. So it does impress well in what I wanted it to do.
Bluetooth support is terrible. Being a long time Bluetooth user (since Ericsson's excellent T39m mobile), I was dissapointed that Microsoft has implemented Bluetooth so badly. There are too many menus for one thing and although I have setup partnership with my mobile, T3 and PC it is still way buggy and could not force my GPRS to work. And for some reason everytime I dial-up to the internet through my T630, it would NOT turn on Bluetooth first. I have to turn it on manually. On my T3 is was auto. I was able to check my e-mail 2 minutes after turning on my T3 for the first time. In the end I had to go to o2's website and download their setup program.
Haven't have time to try out WiFi since nobody here uses WiFi. I might go to central London tomorrow to try it out or might just wait till Easter holiday and heading to Brighton beach to use their free hotspot there. I expect trouble in getting it to work though.
Outlook still sucks (imagine I have to do an appointment at 10.15am and I need to manually type '10' and '15' manually. When will Microsoft implement the tab system found on datebook and calendar programs on the PalmOS platform. From what I know Agenda Fusion or Pocket Informant has these 'tabbing' feature but I dislike using those programs since its so bloated with unused 'features'. But I might try v6 of Fusion when its released to see if there is any improvements.
Stylus is nicer than the h2210 series but it feels like my old Sony Clie toothpicks. HP needs to get bigger stylus or spring loaded (ala Tungsten Ts) stylus.
Overall I am happy with this little chum. Until I can get e-mail and SMS working and finding a decent PIM replacement, this will be a purely entertainment PDA. Well for games only since I prefer the T3 for audio and video (nothing beats a big screen). I like this for the size but overall I prefer the T3's design.
If anyone knows how to get Bluetooth w@p and GPRS working nicely please e-mail me at jonchoo515 <@> yahoo co uk Maybe then will I retire my T3 to eBay.
I have been a PalmOS user all my life except when I used the Toshiba e310 for a whole year between August 2002 & August 2003. It was pickpocketed on the London tube but luckily my insurance policy allowed me to obtained another PDA. I got the h2210 but returned it after 2 weeks because it was bulky, the screen was washed out, it feels cheap and Bluetooth support on it was bad. That same week (end of Sept 2003) I got the T3.
Well, 6 months on and I decided to purchase a new PPC. Not because I don't like my T3 but because I was bored with the lack of nice games on it. During my year with the e310 I build up a nice collection of games including Rayman Ultimate and Hexacto Soccer.
Now my upgrade cycle is every 6-12 months so I decided to get a low/mid end model. Saving my money on the next generation PDAs. It was down to the h1940, h2210 and h4150. Expansys was selling an open boxed h1940 for £115 (inc VAT and delivery) but I saw the screen in Dixons and it was bad. I finally decided to get a h4150 from a dealer for a nice price.
First impressions: very small and light. Reminds me of my PalmVx. Unlike the Vx, this one is made of plastic(Why!?). The front side's texture is weird although I like the back. Performance wise, it is slow when compared to my T3. I immediately uploaded some apps. ActiveSync feels alot faster although connection broke many times and even bluescreened my computer. Cradle was a dissapointment - was difficult to use. No way anyone can plug the PDA in one-handed. It has a nice weight on it though (similar to Vx and m5xx cradles)
The screen was nice. Its smaller than the T3's screen and the resolution is obviously not as good. It was also slightly yellowish when viewed from an angle. My T3 which had a pure white screen was far superior. The buttons are small but I have smallish fingers so its not a problem. The games I played are faster than on the e310. So it does impress well in what I wanted it to do.
Bluetooth support is terrible. Being a long time Bluetooth user (since Ericsson's excellent T39m mobile), I was dissapointed that Microsoft has implemented Bluetooth so badly. There are too many menus for one thing and although I have setup partnership with my mobile, T3 and PC it is still way buggy and could not force my GPRS to work. And for some reason everytime I dial-up to the internet through my T630, it would NOT turn on Bluetooth first. I have to turn it on manually. On my T3 is was auto. I was able to check my e-mail 2 minutes after turning on my T3 for the first time. In the end I had to go to o2's website and download their setup program.
Haven't have time to try out WiFi since nobody here uses WiFi. I might go to central London tomorrow to try it out or might just wait till Easter holiday and heading to Brighton beach to use their free hotspot there. I expect trouble in getting it to work though.
Outlook still sucks (imagine I have to do an appointment at 10.15am and I need to manually type '10' and '15' manually. When will Microsoft implement the tab system found on datebook and calendar programs on the PalmOS platform. From what I know Agenda Fusion or Pocket Informant has these 'tabbing' feature but I dislike using those programs since its so bloated with unused 'features'. But I might try v6 of Fusion when its released to see if there is any improvements.
Stylus is nicer than the h2210 series but it feels like my old Sony Clie toothpicks. HP needs to get bigger stylus or spring loaded (ala Tungsten Ts) stylus.
Overall I am happy with this little chum. Until I can get e-mail and SMS working and finding a decent PIM replacement, this will be a purely entertainment PDA. Well for games only since I prefer the T3 for audio and video (nothing beats a big screen). I like this for the size but overall I prefer the T3's design.
If anyone knows how to get Bluetooth w@p and GPRS working nicely please e-mail me at jonchoo515 <@> yahoo co uk Maybe then will I retire my T3 to eBay.