Has HP Abandoned 63xx Owners?

[Jon Westfall]

My 6315 seems to be coming up a lot in conversation lately, and if there is one thing this device does well its dividing people into two well defined groups: Those who like it, and those who <i>absolutely hate</i> it. I personally have a love-hate relationship with this machine. On one hand, when it works properly, I love it. On the other hand, the majority of the time is broken / hung up / soft resetting, etc.. - I hate it. And despite all of the various pros and cons of the device and the vocal discussion of it here and elsewhere, HP seems unable or unwilling to fix it.<br /><br />Personally, I felt until recently that I had just been spoiled by ROM updates from HTC through Club I-mate, which occur fairly regularly. I figured they were the exception and that HP's 6 months without a ROM update may be normal. However, after receiving a few emails from other users, and realizing that 6 months is a pretty substantial time in computer terms, I've re-evaluated my thoughts and am now wondering if perhaps I was wrong. <br /><br />Do you think that HP has abandoned 63xx users? Is it a crime of carelessness (i.e. they don't care about us) or a crime of misinformation (i.e. they don't know how to fix it)? What should we, as consumers and community participants, do about it, other than just give up and move to a new device?

[cesarfong]

not only 6XXX users.. i guess in the whole new family, I feel HP is not worrying more for his customers.. i hope i am wrong but the time is giving us the right :(

HP is very worry creating new models but be careful as we say in spanish "el que mucho abarca poco aprieta"... (who wants more, do less)

[alabij]

6 months is a long time for a device that supposedly has a life of 1yr. Personally I blame T-Mobile for ever picking up this crap from HP. They should have stuck to the HTC phone like they've been doing in their European divisions.

Let's be honest. When this device works its great. More often than not it fails when needed the most. I thought the whole idea of the PPC was convenience.

HPs failure in the PC and PPC media isn't due to Carly, it's pure lack of customer service. The way I see it, HP treats its consumers as if it were dealing with its B2B partners, "this is what we have, take it or leave it"

[williamtai]

I definitely felt abandoned by HP. For a device that cost $600, I would hope that HP would be more willing to fix the enormous amounts of bugs on this ppc. When it's working, it's good as a converged device. But the number of times that I have to soft reset the device to get it back in working order (whether from hung software, memory leaks, or no reception until reset) is next to ridiculus. I've been telling friends to stay far away from this model until they get it right.

[johnegq]

THEY FORCED ME TO SELL IT!

They have abondoned us!!! I had my 6315 for a couple months and prayed for a ROM update. No Update! I sold mine on Ebay just a few days ago! I purchased it expecting to be able to use bluetooth...worked occassionally. I hoped the Samsung processor would be strong...its weak (by todays new processor standards)

HTC rocks! I am so jealous of their phones! Too bad they are sooo expensive. I resorted to two devices again: Axim x50v &amp; n-gage qd. I am so amazed by the power and screen of the x50v!

[bvkeen]

I don't have the 6315, but had a 4700 until 3 weeks ago. Other than its memory and bluetooth issues, I loved it. But I tried a Dell x5Ov and bought it and sold my 4700. Within three days of receiving my x5Ov, Dell had a ROM update for it. And, rumor has it that they have one in the works to address some bluetooth issues. Based on my past experience with HP, I'd be surprised if they issue a ROM update in the near future. I've always loved the HP devices I've owned, but it looks like Dell is trying to be number one and is putting forth the effort to do so.

[freitasm]

What should we, as consumers and community participants, do about it, other than just give up and move to a new device?

Other than this? Move to a new brand - or back to the old one (i-mate). The devices i-mate is working on are really nice machines. Even the original i-mate Pocket PC Phone Edition (O2 XDAII) is a good machine. The PDA2k and PDA2k EV-DO are really nice - fast, plenty of memory and good support.

[lowair]

I am not a 6315 owner. But I felt betrayed during my 5550 experience. I know that my next device will be a smartphone/pocketpc. But I have been totally turned off from HP. I am still not sure what I am going to choose, but I can tell you this, it will NOT be an hp product!

[MikeUnwired]

I don't have the 6315, but had a 4700 until 3 weeks ago. Other than its memory and bluetooth issues, I loved it. But I tried a Dell x5Ov and bought it and sold my 4700. Within three days of receiving my x5Ov, Dell had a ROM update for it. And, rumor has it that they have one in the works to address some bluetooth issues. Based on my past experience with HP, I'd be surprised if they issue a ROM update in the near future. I've always loved the HP devices I've owned, but it looks like Dell is trying to be number one and is putting forth the effort to do so.

I've had my hx4700 since the very beginning and haven't had any problems with it that would require a ROM update. Sure, I'd like Windows Media 10 and the updates to Pocket Informant, but what I have isn't broken per se either. I use the WiFi and Bluetooth pretty much everyday to some degree and haven't had any hiccups that would make me wonder when HP was going to fix this blasted thing.

Now, I'm sure there are things lurking in the system that could be improved -- and that would be nice. But, I'm not seeing a need to run to the phone and call HP about this or that either on the hx4700. From what I hear, the h6315 is a different matter entirely. If I had the problems you guys have had with that, I'd be up in arms too.

It's my understanding that the Dell X50v has pretty poor battery life (the recent review at The Gadgeteer proves that point yet again.) I rarely run out of battery before I run out of day and that's important to me.

[alex_kac]

Not to defend anyone or any company, I do want to point out something about phone devices. Phone devices have a much greater wait for updates because operators do not like changing software on their networks. They require 3-6 months of testing PER UPDATE in many cases. So it may not be HP's fault.

[bvkeen]

I don't have the 6315, but had a 4700 until 3 weeks ago. Other than its memory and bluetooth issues, I loved it. But I tried a Dell x5Ov and bought it and sold my 4700. Within three days of receiving my x5Ov, Dell had a ROM update for it. And, rumor has it that they have one in the works to address some bluetooth issues. Based on my past experience with HP, I'd be surprised if they issue a ROM update in the near future. I've always loved the HP devices I've owned, but it looks like Dell is trying to be number one and is putting forth the effort to do so.

I've had my hx4700 since the very beginning and haven't had any problems with it that would require a ROM update. Sure, I'd like Windows Media 10 and the updates to Pocket Informant, but what I have isn't broken per se either. I use the WiFi and Bluetooth pretty much everyday to some degree and haven't had any hiccups that would make me wonder when HP was going to fix this blasted thing.

Now, I'm sure there are things lurking in the system that could be improved -- and that would be nice. But, I'm not seeing a need to run to the phone and call HP about this or that either on the hx4700. From what I hear, the h6315 is a different matter entirely. If I had the problems you guys have had with that, I'd be up in arms too.

It's my understanding that the Dell X50v has pretty poor battery life (the recent review at The Gadgeteer proves that point yet again.) I rarely run out of battery before I run out of day and that's important to me.

I cannot argue with any of your points, as I really had no trouble with the 4700 and truly did enjoy it. The x50v does have less battery life but I use an extended battery, and prefer the x50v form factor even with the extended battery. I also like the screen better.

There was nothing that I could see on the x50v when I got it that justified a ROM update - I had made my decision to keep it and sell the 4700 even before the ROM update came out. WiFi and Bluetooth seem to behave as well for me on the Dell as on the 4700, but people have reported problems with these with both devices.

My only real point was to highlight that Dell has already come out with a ROM update and that it is rumored to have another in the works, whereas HP has not. Again, from my own use, neither really needed an update, as appears to be the case with your use. However, some users of both devices have been "pleading" for updates.

Having said all that, I could well buy another HP device when WM2005 is made available on them, unless I decide to go with a SmartPhone. Regardless, next time I'll take more time with my purchase, though. I bought the 4700 before the x50v became available - if I had waited, I might have gone with the Dell first (partly because of price, partly because of the brighter screen). And finally, you raise the very valid point that the 6315 is a device that everyone is up in the air about. I think, for the most part, the 4700 and x50v owners are both a pretty happy lot, so my post was probably somewhat out of place to begin with.

[acollet]

how ironic! I just dumped my x50v for the hx2750 for tiring of the constant soft resets to reenable wifi and bluetooth would consistently fail to load. Granted the hx2750 does not have VGA but for 128MB onboard, biometrics , etc... I'll take the trade off. Hope you x50v is better than mine.

[Jon Westfall]

I really debated on posting this, and after seeing the replies so far, it seems like I'm not the only one who thinks 6 months is a bit unreasonable. The strangest thing about this phone has already been pointed out - when its working well, its great, However - it always seems to not work well RIGHT when its needed! Its kinda uncanny that it can sense that sort of thing ;)

As soon as that HTC Universal is available, the 6315 can be relegated to "Backup Phone" status ;)

[bvkeen]

how ironic! I just dumped my x50v for the hx2750 for tiring of the constant soft resets to reenable wifi and bluetooth would consistently fail to load. Granted the hx2750 does not have VGA but for 128MB onboard, biometrics , etc... I'll take the trade off. Hope you x50v is better than mine.

I'm loving mine and actually soft-reset it less often than my 4700. I've rarely HAD to soft-reset either one, but I have a quirk about doing it when program memory drops below 25-27 MB. From what I've read in the 4700 and x5Ov forums, though, maybe I'm luckier than some or use bluetooth and WiFi less. (For one thing, I've never had to run both services at the same time.)

I do envy your 128 MB. As for QVGA, I do like VGA a lot but I sometimes wish I'd just stuck with my 2215 and put some money into a memory upgrade - I'd have more money in my pockets!

[cesarfong]

I have a 4700 too and I really like it but no ROM update, no WMP 10, and seeing a dell device that cost almost 200 dollars less ... it makes you think....

[Rob Alexander]

Do you think that HP has abandoned 63xx users? Is it a crime of carelessness (i.e. they don't care about us) or a crime of misinformation (i.e. they don't know how to fix it)? What should we, as consumers and community participants, do about it, other than just give up and move to a new device?

Heck, this is an easy one. You don't even need to specify the product. Here's the deal with the new HP; WYBIWYG (What you buy is what you get). If it works and continues to do so, then great. If it doesn't work in some manner (as in bugs in ROM), then it never will. If the hardware breaks under warranty, then plan to be without your product for a long time and to be thoroughly aggravated by the time you get it back. Carly's new marketing-heavy, engineering-light and support-light culture (bless the board for finally seeing the light) has forever changed this company from one you could trust to one that invests only in getting the dollars out of your pocket. Once the sale is done, it's done. It's a crime, but there's nothing careless about it. It's a strategic decision.

[mesposito2]

The 6315 needs a ROM update badly. However, the real question is to why HP doesn't care, and they don't.

I think it's real simple. If they cared, they would have fixed the problems. HP is not a small company with limited resources. They could have fixed the issues if they wanted to. They don't want to.

The question is the 'Why' part.

I've thought for a long time that the companies making these devices are too big, and they probably throw too many people at producing these devices, so they end up costing them a fortune to make. Then, if they dont' take off like the IPOD, they can't afford to provide service or consider what's happening with a device that already hit the streets.

It would be interesting to know how many IPAQ's HP sells a year compared to how may IPOD's Apple sells. Here Apple has an advantage in that they can concentrate mostly on one device, and not have to worry about making over 10. Maybe HP should follow suit. Do we really need so many IPAQs? I went onto HP's site and counted 13 IPAQ's.

rx3115, rx3715, rz1715, hx2415, hx2755, hx4705, h4355, h2215, h4155, h6315, h5500, h5100, h4350.

Is there really a market for 13 different IPAQ's? I doubt it. Maybe if they concentrated on making 3 devices and supporting them, things would be better. I know it would be easier for the consumer to choose one. That's for sure.

This is just a guess. Maybe they're making tons of money and still don't care, but I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt.

Mark

[ppctk]

h6315. I have one. I lusted for it. I bought it. I paid to leave my old carrier. Now I hate it as a phone AND as a PDA.

The phone part sucks. Reception is bad. Missed calls, mysetrious perios of unresponsiveness. Bluetooth weirdness with headsets, etc.

I had a Newton, HP 320LX, Palm II, Palm Vx, HandSpring Visor, iPaq 36xx 32MB, 3650 64MB, 3670, h4150. Loved them all.

HATE this h6315 and being TRAPPED with a carrier by it. Further insulted by lame carrier and lame HP support.

Unit won't turn on or off reliably, cause IT thinks it's doing something. 15-90 seconds later it does something. C'mon! That is NOT a UI.

WiFi sucks. Just stopped work here places where it used to work. Also, WiFi won't connect to ANY shared key WEP systems.

I blame TI, HP and T-Mobile.

I'm mad at TI. Does the OMAP go to sleep when h6315 goes unresponsive? Is it just to weak to do the job? NO MORE TI PROCESSORS FOR ME

I'm mad at HP/Compaq, after FIVE machines I liked-- Why this lousy unit? Hello Benq, Nokia or anyone else.

I'm mad at T-Mobile. DId anyone try say moving between two towers? My unit gets paralyzed if its using GPRS and loses reception for a few moment. Even with a strong signal nothing happens until a reset.

BYE BYE T-MOBILE revenue, not buying HotSpot service, not using extra minutes , SMS or data. So much for avg revenue per user.
Oddly, I do NOT blame Microsoft.

Come on HP, TI, T-Mobile. Give me a reason to not HATE you due to the H6315!

I don't even know who I can freakin call to vent, let alone get any action or help.

[ppctk]

How about an amnesty program for h6315 users.

Get out of 2 year contract free OR get credit for towards a smartphone that works.

[kcwester]

The 6315 definitely needs a ROM update. When it is in my purse I can't hear it ring and miss many phone calls. I never had this problem with my T-Mobile phone and had to turn it down. I also need to do resets to get the phone to work and when using Bluetooth headset can't turn the PPC off or it won't turn back on without a soft reset. I love all the features and use GPRS and Wireless quite frequenty but fee these other issues should be addressed. It was not a cheap device and we should get what we paid for.

[Newsboy]

As a former iPaq 1915 owner, I can say with some authority...you've been screwed. Grab your ankles.

I will never. Ever. Buy another HP product.

[heyday]

I'd have to dis-agree with most of the complaints here.

I love my 6315.....yes I do about 2 soft resets a day...... but I've pretty much had to do that with any PPC I've owned.

The biggest problem for me is my bluethooth headset. If I turn on the PPC BEFORE I close the boom on the headset, the PPC will not recognize the head set unless I do a soft reset.

I've kind of gotten used to it now. I just make sure I close the boom first and wait about 30 seconds before turning off the PPC.

The only other problem I had was major bad echo but that seamed to be fixed after I sent in and got a new sim card.


heyday

[mesposito2]

I'd have to dis-agree with most of the complaints here.

The biggest problem for me is my bluethooth headset. If I turn on the PPC BEFORE I close the boom on the headset, the PPC will not recognize the head set unless I do a soft reset.

I've kind of gotten used to it now.

heyday

I love mine too, but you're not supposed to need to get used to the phone's headset not working most of the time. That's the point. HP could fix this if they wanted to. I can live with the 6315, but I have to say that as a phone it's horrible. I've spent $200 in bluetooth devices that I can't keep connected. I ride down the road resetting the 6315 so that I can use the headset. Without the headset, I can't hear because the built-in speaker isn't loud enough or clear enough.

These are known issues for most everyone using a 6315. We can all put up with issues. The question is to why the issues aren't being addressed.

Mark

[CrashX]

I'd have to dis-agree with most of the complaints here.
And I'd have to agree with heyday.

My 6315 has been stable since the day I purchased it. It does a soft reset only once per day, and that's only because the scheduled backup that runs at 2:00AM performs the reset automatically upon completion. Installing all my applications to the SD card leaves me with plenty of program memory available, even when running several applications at once (WebIS Mail, IE, Agile, etc.). So even though it doesn't have the ememory of some of the newer devices out there, what it has is plenty for what I do.

For my first Pocket PC, I'd have to say I picked a winner. What it does, it does well, and it does everything I need and then some.

[CrashX]

Oh, almost forgot...

For those of you having bluetooth issues with the 6315, have you tried applying the bluetooth update that's been posted at pdaphonehome.com (http://pdaphonehome.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&amp;threadid=39586)?

Most people have said it resolves just about all the bluetooth connection issues they've experienced. I never had a problem with my bluetooth headset, though the patch allowed me to use the 6315 as a bluetooth modem for my laptop. It's definitely worth looking into.

[alabij]

I'd have to dis-agree with most of the complaints here.

I love my 6315.....yes I do about 2 soft resets a day...... but I've pretty much had to do that with any PPC I've owned.

The biggest problem for me is my bluethooth headset. If I turn on the PPC BEFORE I close the boom on the headset, the PPC will not recognize the head set unless I do a soft reset.

I've kind of gotten used to it now. I just make sure I close the boom first and wait about 30 seconds before turning off the PPC.

The only other problem I had was major bad echo but that seamed to be fixed after I sent in and got a new sim card.


heyday

It seems you have more problems than I have. The issue isn' that there aren't workarounds. It's that this workarounds could be minimized and averted with a ROM update.
I'm sure if there was a ROM update that rectified your many complaints you'd love your device even more.

[Warwick]

Im still using my Compaq brand 3870, I sold off the HP 545 I had after months and months of repair work led to threats of a court battle. I was so sad when HP aquired Compaq, but its done now and its just a case of deciding which brand to buy now that the Compaq has been taken out of the Ipaq.
Ill avoid the 6300's and most likely anything from HP, especialy after reading this thread.

[jgalindo]

I love my 6315!


Of course it has some problems, but I can live with them. Otherwise, what is the alternative?

I want a pocket pc phone with GSM/GPRS/Bluetooth/WIFI/Camera

Other devices are over 50% more expensive. Or am I missing something? My plan is to upgrade to the next $500 device after using my 6315 for two years.

[elbowz]

As a former iPaq 1915 owner, I can say with some authority...you've been screwed. Grab your ankles.

I will never. Ever. Buy another HP product.

I agree completely. As a former Jornada owner I've still not forgiven HP for the post merger screw-over.

It does seem that the prevailing wind at HP has been to sell the device and then abandon the customer. Not just for PDAs either - some of their printers over recent years have been an affront to humanity.

I hope the top-level re-shuffle will redirect HPs energies back towards being a technology leader, rather than a futile effort to compete in low margin markets against companies like Dell who do that sort of thing much, much better.

[PhilH]

I've got a 4705 and I LOVE it. i don't have WiFi or Bluetooth issues and the lack of RAM hasn't really affected me. I soft reset once or twice a day, which I've got used to.

However...

I still regard the lack of ROM updates from HP a little worrying. The current ROM is by no means perfect and the lack of updates indicates to me poor support.

If nothing else, as someone who paid £400 for it, it would've been nice for HP to allow me to upgrade to Media Player 10.

I visit the HP support site around once a week, and the whole time there is just a single keyboard driver update. the longer this goes on the more abandoned as a customer I feel.

That said, I still love my 4705.

[cuteseal]

I wish that this thread had been posted a month earlier.

I had a 4150 and a Jornada 545 before that. The 4150 was a near perfect device - an absolute thing of beauty and elegance. No more however - I sold it and bought myself a H6365 (Australian version).

PDA-wise, the unit's not bad. The wifi and bluetooth doesn't seem to connect as seamlessly and easily as the 4150, although once it does, it stays connected and I have no problems in freezing etc. like other people. It's a little slower and bulkier, but battery life is better. Apart from that, I notice no difference to my 4150.

Phone-wise, it's good too, providing I don't use handsfree. Clear reception, and works as you would expect it to work. However, with my Logitech Mobile Freedom Bluetooth headset, everyone complains that they can't hear me, although I can hear them perfectly. I hear reports of others on the forums having the same problems, so most likely it's not the headset.


I'm pretty appalled that HP haven't released any firmware updates or fixes yet, and seem to be ignoring their customers. As people have pointed out - this is not a $50 organiser you pick up from the supermarket -- it's a thousand (Aussie) dollar business tool for Pete's sake. It's ridiculous when I've got clients hanging up on me because they can't hear anything out my end. I'm now back to holding the brick up to my ear...


Anyway, I'm ebaying it as soon as the iPaq messenger is released... oh crap... what am I thinking?

[PR.]

£5 says the 4700 will not see a ROM update until WM2005 comes out.

[je44]

I was a loyal Ipaq user untill the 5500, I had the gsm/gprs expansion pack and was realy looking forard to the real 6XXX series. in my opinion the PDA line was flushed down the toilet after the merger, sometimes I wonder where the ipaqs would be today if that had not happened. The way I picture it is all the best HTC stuff plus a little (pinchs myself) oh yeah they suck now.

[PhilH]

£5 says the 4700 will not see a ROM update until WM2005 comes out.

How much would you put on the 4700 not even getting a WM2005 upgrade and being forced to buy new hardware to get the new OS?

[the Sender]

I was attracted by the looks of the 6340 and trusted upon its reliability based on previous 5550 experience (several updates en excellent customer service)

Would I have looked further I would have noticed pretty soon that basic functionality is not stabile. Who would expected that?

Yess, now I am disappointed with HP.

I wonder though: When our new vacuumcleaner does not work properly we go back, throw it on the counter and yell: take your responsibility seller! and....he/she does!

We, gadgeteers.....accept to be left alone bêta testers and claim we have fun struggling and soft-resetting 700 dollar gear again and again.

The real problem is : us

:twisted:

[Paladin27]

I've been a Compaq/HP owner for a long time, 3835, 3955, 5555 and now a 6315. But I have to say, this is probably going to be my last HP PocketPC. Since I bought it last October, I have had to constantly adjust my cell phone/pda work patterns to accomodate the 6315 quirks.

-It's really frustrating doing a soft reset everytime I want to make a phone call. I had a Plantronics M3000 Bluetooth headset when I first got the 6315 and it worked great with my old Sony Ericsson T610. But, whenever bluetooth was on it would lock up the PDA pretty much everytime I used it. I bought a Bluesppon AX hoping for a little better experience... nope. It's all the crappy Widcomm stack.

-The 6315 has a slow processor (Which gives us the only really outstanding feature on the 6315, the great battery life), and because of that I had to stop using most of the Today plugins I really enjoy otherwise I was soft reseting 10 times a day.

-The phone reception is horrible. Even worse than my SE T610 which I didn't think was possible. I can't receive calls in my office, I can't receive calls at various intersections around town, I can't receive calls on large chunks of the highway. Jeez

-The d-pad is horribly over-sensitive, it's impossible to read a book unless you don't mind it switching the page everytime you press up or down.

-Because it's a PDA Phone, you can't assign enough buttons for most PDA games, especially ROM emulators which I used to LOVE. Not that it really matters because the sluggish processor can't play PocketNester ROMS worth a crap anyway.

-The plugin keyboard breaks the serial port emulation so my GPS won't work with this PDA.

-There are a lot of little anoyances that I could deal with if they didn't all add up to one giant frustrating device that feels like nobody actually used this thing during the beta period as a phone or as a pda.

-The camera sucks, it has horrible quality, and why no video support... come on HP.
The worst is that HP and Tmobile don't really seem to care. After months of inaction from them regarding the horrible bluetooth implementation. It finally took a smart user to extract the Widcomm drivers from an XDA that solves most of the locking issues. Hey HP, THERE'S AN EASY FIX FOR THE BLUETOOTH THAT YOU COULD RELEASE TOMORROW AND STOP HALF THE SUPPORT CALLS ABOUT THE 6315!

I'm eyeing the O2 XDA IIs as a replacement unless I can force myself to hold off for the XDA IV. Either way, I won't be purchasing another HP. :(

[PR.]

£5 says the 4700 will not see a ROM update until WM2005 comes out.

How much would you put on the 4700 not even getting a WM2005 upgrade and being forced to buy new hardware to get the new OS?


Not much, people seem to have short memories, the 3xxx ipaqs got a generational upgrade from PPC2000 to PPC2002, the 5xxx ipaqs got a generational upgrade from PPC2002 to WM2003. The only upgrade that has been missed is the WM2003se which has some good reasons why it was not offered such as the lack of VGA and ROM size limits, not to mention WM2003se is merely an interim release from MS so that hardware manufacturers could release their VGA devices now rather than wait for the delayed WM2005.

The 4700 on the other hand appears to have all the features that WM2005 requires according to early leaked information, such as lots of flash memory in comparison to RAM.

[superfaron]

I used the 6315 for 5 months as my pda and ONLY phone (no land line for me!) and finally had enough. I did constant soft resets, and I tried 5 different bluetooth headsets with no luck. When a vertical line appeared on my screen that would not go away even with a hard reset I called T-mobile for a replacement. When I got the replacement, I never even opened it. I sold it on ebay as brand new.

Then I tried the 4705 for a couple of weeks (and I dusted off the old t68i). 64 mb of ram is inadequate and very frustrating with a vga device such as the 4705. I returned it before the grace period was over.

For the past month I have been using the first ppc to make me as happy as the 2215 did a couple of years ago: the LOOX 720! I bought it from Expansys USA (for $100 less than a 4705) and I must say that it is awesome! I love having 128 mb of ram, and the screen is just as amazing as the 4705. For me the LOOX 720 and a small bluetooth phone have become a close to perfect solution (so far...)

[bigkingfun]

HP's support in general, not just for Pocket PCs, has been gradually deteriorating over the last couple of years. Up until recently I worked in a computer shop that handled HP servicing. The turnaround times for sending equipment to HP for repair, which is necessary on almost all their equipment now - no more local repairs, is horrendous.

We had instances of notebooks taking upwards of a month to get turned around and back to us. In some cases they weren't fixed properly or something new was wrong when they came back.

I've always been a supporter of HP products, but their customer service has become so poor that I would be very hesitant to consider another one of their products no matter how great its features.

I don't know if this has any bearing on the way Carly has been running the company, but they're going to make some major changes quickly if they want to stay on top.

[dbrahms]

Not to defend anyone or any company, I do want to point out something about phone devices. Phone devices have a much greater wait for updates because operators do not like changing software on their networks. They require 3-6 months of testing PER UPDATE in many cases. So it may not be HP's fault.


these device issues should have NOTHING to do with network changes by the carrier. Bluetooth and operating system issues are device issues, not network issues.

personally, i'm dumping the 6315 and going with Verizon's new Harrier - or BlueAngel when it comes out. Verizon's new high speed data network is so damn fast. I streamed a 200kbps video clip from it and it didnt chocke once. WiFi is almost not needed for most purposes.

[DarkHelmet]

£5 says the 4700 will not see a ROM update until WM2005 comes out.

Don't hold your breath... HP views it's iPAQ customers as early adopters, loaded with cash and short on logic.

A ROM update is not a profit creator for HP - if anything, it is a nuisance for them.

Just understanding that reality will go a long way toward helping you achieve some serenity in your life.

[MA]

First my appreciation and I imagine, all other unsatisfied users of the 63xx for this post. It’s regrettable for the reputation of a worldwide company like HP that until now they gave no feedback or hope that these problems will be fixed in the near future.

Second I would like to ask you to take the next step in this subject: I suppose you have some major contacts at HP's IPAQ unit. Please, in the name of all of us, can you demand some feedback from HP regarding this subject? My apologies if I'm not being fair to all of the Pocket PC sites but if I remember correctly, not one during the reviews raised the yellow flag about the problems with this device... and there are problems that affect ALL 63xx like the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi security. So please help us!

The 63xx is being sold worldwide, thousands of people have bought this device, its price wasn't cheap at all and HP IS OBLIDGED to honor its responsibilities: HP please fix the major problems with the 63xx now!!!!

[the Sender]

....and there it is!!!! (coincidence?)

check out the hp site for a rom update wich claimes to fix known issues

I'm going to do so now and check bacl later.

[MA]

....and there it is!!!! (coincidence?)

check out the hp site for a rom update wich claimes to fix known issues

I'm going to do so now and check bacl later.

YES! YES! FINALLY!

Let's see.

[dsp11]

will the 6365 update work on the 6315. t-mobile and hp will not answer that question.

[Jon Westfall]

will the 6365 update work on the 6315. t-mobile and hp will not answer that question.

I'm going to wait until T-Mobile releases an update. Since I use the T-mobile built in MyEmailTriggers feature, I doubt this will be in the 6365 software ROM. I can only hope T-Mo releases it soon!

[digital843]

Well, I guess I have been doubly blessed. First, bec ause almost nothing works for me I have had really good luck with the 6215 after some initial problems. And also because HP seems to think "customer service" is something you order in a Thai restaurant. Wrote Carly personally three times over the last few years. Now she's gone I will have to break in someone new, :D

[Warwick]

I take it that means there is an update? Does it fix the problems?

[digital843]

Warwick - There was an update for the 6315 from HP.

[jrodus]

I have always liked hp products because of their durability (calculators, printers, plotters &amp; faxes).

I carried this over to pdas and bought the Jornada when it came out;

I bought an Ipaq 3600 as soon as it became available and gave the HP to one of my employees... the Ipaq was so much better.I was chagrinned to see HP buy out Compaq (wish it had been the other way around).

Later bought an Axim X5 amd was happy with it but decided to buy an HP 4700 because of it higher memory. I liked it and decided to also buy an HP 6315. If HP doesnt support these products, I will dump them and never buy and HP again. If Dell could come up with a pocket pc-phone with some good ram and rom, I would buy it immediately.

[ocorpuz]

"At this time we have no information on when or if a ROM update to upgrade the Bluetooth Stack will be available. "

Since HP has released a ROM update for H6340 and H6365 users, it is T-Mobile and not HP that has given H6315 owners the shaft.

I sent t-mobile suppot an email question asking two specfic things 1) why they sold a Plantronics M2500 BT headset as a H6315 accessory when Plantronics says none of their BT headsets are compatible withe the H6315 (with .1400 BT stack) and 2) When are they going to release a ROM update to update the H6315 (as an update is available from HP for the H6340 and H6365 already and HP says it is tmobile's repsonsibility to release it for the H6315).

In response, the first idiot from Tmobile sent me an email with general BT instructions on how to pair a BT device with the Ipaq and a link to the old XIP update.

I then reponsed to stop insulting me with these cut and paste answers and answer my questions.

Here is the reply I got.

Dear,
Thank you for taking the time to contact T-Mobile.
We apologize for any inconvenience or confusion that this may have caused.

We understand that you have some concerns regarding the Bluetooth functions of your device.

T-Mobile customers and users of the iPAQ have reported success using the following Bluetooth headsets with the 6315 device:

Plantronics M2500 and M3500
Bluetrek G2
Parrot DriveBlue
Jabra BT250
Motorola HS810

Keep in mind that these are not HP manufactured devices and all devices are subject to the limitations of the manufacturer of the specific headset. At this time the M2500 has been shown to work with the 6315. At this time we have no information on when or if a ROM update to upgrade the Bluetooth Stack will be available.

If we can be of any further assistance please let us know.

Thank you for choosing T-Mobile
Sincerely,
Nicholas
T-Mobile USA, Inc.
Data Services


-------------

HP has done the right thing and provided a Fix for those not using the T-mobile branded device. Per agreemetn, T-Mobile is the primary contact for support on the H6315). T-mobile has been utterly horrendous, each time I contacted T-mobile for help, they blamed everything wrong with the device on HP. Now that HP has stepped up to the plate and posted a ROM upate for the H6340 and H6365, T-Mobile denies any knowledge of an Update. Yes HP released a really bad device and made the mistake in handing over T-mobile the responsiblity of supporting users on the device. But T-Mobile is the bigger problem for owners of the H6315 because they not only won't commit to releasing an update, they deny any knowledge of it even existing!!!

[sttapley03]

Just wanted to add my two cents to all the slamming here...
I have used my 6315 extensively every day for over six months.

Yes, this converged device has some issues but there is not another device on the market that can match its capabilities, including HTC.

Yes, you have to want to use it in order to know how it works.

Yes, HP has been SILENT.

However, the device has helped me become more productive and is an excellent step in the evolution of personal electronics. Can't wait for my next one.

T

[aristoBrat]

But T-Mobile is the bigger problem for owners of the H6315 because they not only won't commit to releasing an update, they deny any knowledge of it even existing!!!
I really, really doubt that the first-level folks at T-Mobile (that respond to emails like what you've sent in) have any idea of what the T-Mobile engineers are working on, so I'm not sure why you're surprised that they have no info about a ROM update that's undoubtably still being customized and tested.

If HP released it this week for general download to unbranded 6300's, I really doubt T-Mobile's had it much longer. And since T-Mobile IS responsible for device support (which makes a deal of sense as they've customized the heck out of the stock HP ROM -- if I was HP, I wouldn't want anything to do with supporting their units), I'm sure they're going to want to test it for a decent amount of time before they release it -- so I wouldn't expect it for awhile.

[the Sender]

....and there it is!!!! (coincidence?)

check out the hp site for a rom update wich claimes to fix known issues

I'm going to do so now and check back later.

just checking back:

On my 6340 I find following improvements:

echo cancellation works great!
battery life has improved (how is that possible, but it did. maybe because of a resetted battery chip but it really lasts longer (I use batt pack pro))

and last but not least: no unwanted softresets ever since the upgrade :D


and this restores my confidence in HP and puts the 63xx back in the top gear list!

I hope for You all T-mobilers that they will come up with this solution soon

[ocorpuz]

But T-Mobile is the bigger problem for owners of the H6315 because they not only won't commit to releasing an update, they deny any knowledge of it even existing!!!
I really, really doubt that the first-level folks at T-Mobile (that respond to emails like what you've sent in) have any idea of what the T-Mobile engineers are working on, so I'm not sure why you're surprised that they have no info about a ROM update that's undoubtably still being customized and tested.

If HP released it this week for general download to unbranded 6300's, I really doubt T-Mobile's had it much longer. And since T-Mobile IS responsible for device support (which makes a deal of sense as they've customized the heck out of the stock HP ROM -- if I was HP, I wouldn't want anything to do with supporting their units), I'm sure they're going to want to test it for a decent amount of time before they release it -- so I wouldn't expect it for awhile.

First... my email requested that the matter be elevated and a reply come from a tier-3 level technician... and for a company that flaunts their JD Powers customer service awards, they need to train their people to know whats going on in the company and give truthful, honest answers.

Second, the folks on the pdaphonehome.com forums in a matter of days have been able to "enhance" the H6365 ROM update so it works on a H6315 and get all the "customized to heck" T-mobile ROM functionality working except email triggers / Push. And that will likely be fixed soon.

It seems to me that T-Mobile will be releasing the ROM update for the H6315 just as soon as the smart folks on pdaphonehome.com are able to make all the fixes for them and provide a download.

[GSMfan]

Dear HP Customer,

Thank you for contacting HP eServices.

This is with reference to your e-mail regarding the ROM upgrade on your iPAQ h6300 series.

We would like to inform you that HP has not yet released a ROM Update for the iPAQ h6315. A ROM Update is model specific and the ROM Update for one model is not compatible with another model of the iPAQ. Please note that the one that you are trying to install is compatible only with the iPAQ h6365.

According to your serial number (TWG43800WB), the current 90-day Software Support Warranty on your unit has expired.

However, there are other options available:

1. Technical support by telephone can be provided at a cost of $34.95 per incident. Call 800-HPINVENT (800-474-6836), choose options 2 (enter a 10 digit phone number).You will be routed to a technical support engineer who will take the required billing information and then be able to provide Software Support to you. Note: If you are a first time caller, your phone number won?t be registered in the database. Enter your phone number twice and then wait for the routing center to put you through to a technician with Technical Support.

2. You can check the warranty of your HP product at the following site if you prefer to use the self-help tools that HP has provided to assist you:

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/WarrantySingleLookup.jsp

The warranty verification tool calculation is based on the manufacture date. If your sales invoice [also called Proof of Purchase or POP] indicates a different warranty expiration date that is presently current, please call 800-HPINVENT (800-474-6836), choose options 2 (enter a 10 digit phone number).You will be routed to a technical support engineer who will have the warranty updated. The process will take 3-5 business days before the new warranty start and end dates are reflected in our system.

3. To order support software that came in the box, contact the HP Order Center. Phone Number: 1-800-952-7689 Option #1 or 1-800-841-2761 Option #2.

To download software and drivers select your computer family from the list at this link:

http://h18000.www1.hp.com/support/files/

4. HP offers an extensive FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page that contains the answers to many commonly asked questions:

http://web14.compaq.com/falco/

5. You can also visit the following web links to search for answers to common support questions that have been posted, browse the questions and answers to find those that are similar to the problem you are having, or post a new question if no match can be found.

PocketPC Mag. - http://www.pocketpcmag.com/_top/bestsites.asp

Top 100 WinCE Sites - http://topsites.cearchives.com/index.html

CEWindows.Net FAQs - http://www.cewindows.net/faqs.htm

iPAQsoft.net - http://www.ipaqsoft.net

Regards,

HP eServices

[firtol88]

They chose their course, the damage is done. Once they got their money they wanted nothing more to do with it.

I will be speciyiing Dell PCs from now on not HP, you always get the ****** you give. I personally think I can account for a loss of 5000-6000 PCs :lol:

* to those defending it, I have yet to see one consistently work as a phone. It generally fails to wake up and can not switch towers without dropping calls.

Edited for language