Tom's Hardware Guide Reviews the HP iPaq hx4700

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www20.tomshardware.com/mobile/20050218/index.html' target='_blank'>http://www20.tomshardware.com/mobil...0218/index.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"PDA makers are not being treated kindly of late. For one thing, sales figures have declined over the last couple of quarters. For another, the nosedive in prices for notebooks has led to some suppliers offloading their mobile PCs for less than $500. Pocket PCs are also faced with increased competition from smart phonesSimultaneous with this downward pressure on prices is an increase in demands from users. They want more processing power, more memory and storage, higher display resolutions and better standard equipment - all with as little a price rise as possible compared to the preceding generation of Windows pocket PCs. &lt;...> Given all of the above, it is a little strange that an industry giant like Hewlett Packard would have in its portfolio a business PDA selling for US$650. We set out to discover whether HP's iPAQ hx 4700 is really worth its salt."</i><br /><br /> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/ekkie_hx4700_toms_hw_guide.jpg" /> <br /><br />If you're still in the market for a VGA WM device and the HP iPaq hx4700 is one of the devices being considered, then you'll want to hop on over to <a href="http://www20.tomshardware.com/mobile/20050218/index.html">Tom's Hardware Guide</a> and check out his impressions. For what it's worth, the hx4700 is the device that I currently use and I absolutely love it! If you like your VGA screens large and in-charge (like me) and aren't afraid to shell out some extra cash for it, then this PDA, in my opinion, is a tough choice to beat!

[KH]

Good review. Great Pocket PC. It is my all time favorite. The screen is a quantum leap ahead of anything I've owned or even seen over the last few years. I look at the new models, and just can't give up that 4" VGA. The ability to read outdoors and infinitely tweak the backlight are part of the 'screen experience'. I sincerely hope this device is not a fluke so that my next 'replacement' device will have to be two steps back...

[Doug Raeburn]

The article states:

It should be noted, however, that there is not much application software that can handle the higher resolution at this time. For example, there is currently no navigation software that supports the higher resolution.

With the release of OnCourse Navigator, the statement about navigation software is no longer accurate. That software provides crystal clear, highly detailed maps on any VGA Pocket PC.

[saru83]

i think these VGA devices are COOL, but actually they are toooo big to me... i am an 'i-mate jam' owner.. :lol:

[BrotherDave]

I used to wait for small thin PDAs (the HP 1900 being the closest to my reqs) but now that I have a Smartphone (Audiovox SMT5600) my main use for my PDA is reading browsing and viewing media where I don’t want to lug a laptop around. For these scenarios I can tolerate having it tied to my coat/bag instead of my pocket. So it can get a little bigger and the experience would vastly improve w/ 4” VGA and qwerty. My audiovox is sufficient for emergencies (though someday it will be replaced w/ something qwerty like a smaller Vox or maybe a BenQ.)

I’m tempted by the 4700 but I’m waiting for a 4” inch VGA w/ qwerty + Wifi.

[gavinfabl]

i had the 4700 but sold it as it was too bulky in real use and now have an XDA IIs (imate pda2k)

[Doug Raeburn]

i think these VGA devices are COOL, but actually they are toooo big to me... i am an 'i-mate jam' owner.. :lol:

Size was one thing that kept me away from the 4700 (along with the limited RAM, but let's not start that debate again...). As attractive as the 4 inch screen is, the size of the 4700 is definitely pushing the boundaries of "pocketable", IMO. That's why I went with my Loox 720, which brought VGA and lots of RAM into a unit that's narrower and thinner (although slightly longer) than an iPAQ 2215. With a screen that's every bit as impressive as the 4700's, just a bit smaller (3.6 inches).

So if the "average" Pocket PC isn't too big for you, there are VGA alternatives to the 4700 that fall into that size range. The ASUS 730 also falls into this category.