Best new PDA?

[MadBison]

Hello

I have a hx4700 that I need to replace. I am after these features:

1) VGA screen (Preferrably largest possible)
2) At least 128mb RAM
3) Windows Mobile 5.0
4) SD Card slot
5) Wifi
6) Preferrably without any major known issues (The hx4700 was crap from the start!!!)

A phone in there would be a bonus, as with Bluetooth.

I had a look at the iMate JasJar, and I do like it, but I guess it is a little on the heavy/large size. I can deal with that, but the bigger disappointment is that it only has a 3.6 inch screen. That is a fair trade down from the 4 inch hx4700. Does anyone know how long the JasJar has been out, and if it is due for replacement?

It would have been nice to be able to buy from HP, as I have tonnes of chargers and connectors I will now have to replace. But they have nothing

Any help truly appreciated.
Thanks
David

[Nurhisham Hussein]

I am after these features:

1) VGA screen (Preferrably largest possible)
2) At least 128mb RAM
3) Windows Mobile 5.0
4) SD Card slot
5) Wifi
6) Preferrably without any major known issues (The hx4700 was crap from the start!!!)

A phone in there would be a bonus, as with Bluetooth.


(2) and (3) appear to be mutually exclusive. In fact I can't recall any WM5 devices with more than 64MB RAM. Also, apart from the various flavours of the Universal, VGA and phone appears to be mutually exclusive as well (unless you live in Japan :) ). Worse, phone and SD slot looks like they're heading the same way.


I had a look at the iMate JasJar, and I do like it, but I guess it is a little on the heavy/large size. I can deal with that, but the bigger disappointment is that it only has a 3.6 inch screen. That is a fair trade down from the 4 inch hx4700.

None of the WM5 VGA devices so far have screens any larger than 3.6in (Fujitsu-Siemens, Acer, Sharp).


Does anyone know how long the JasJar has been out, and if it is due for replacement?

Early 2007 I think.

[doughboy]

Although it does not meet all of your requirements, take a look at the Dell Axim X51V or a used X50V. Others include the Acer N311 and a Pocket Loox.

[Menneisyys]

The HP iPAQ hx4700 with the new, groundbreaking tweaks I'll publish in 1-2 days (still testing them to be absolutely sure) is a VERY good alternative to the new devices - except for, maybe, the N560.

EDIT: Now I see you've called the hx4700 crappy. Why did you dislike it?

[MadBison]

Thanks for the replies.

I am now looking with interest at the new Pocket LOOX N567. It loox like a nice unit :-) But it will not be for sale in Australia for a couple of months.

Menneisyys: Where will I find these groundbreaking tweaks when you post them? I am intrigued now.

The reason it is crappy:

1) From day one, it would not renew its IP lease with my wireless AP. Every three days, I had to reboot my AP. This was fixed by an HP update that took a snappy 12.5 months for them to develop!

2) It has been plagued by frequent hangs. It is a pleasant surprise when I pick the unit up and press the on button, and it turns on. More often than not, I have to turn it on by doing a soft reset. Not really a usefull tool.

3) As a more recent (lat 5 months) addition, the hx4700 will freeze while being used. I use it every morning and afternoon for 30 minutes each way while walking to work, listening to tech podcast MP3s. I then take notes on these podcasts into ListPro. I can get between 3 seconds and 30 minutes before the unit freezes. Whatever I had typed in to the listpro note since last closing the not has been lost. My position in the MP3 is lost. I now have to soft reset, find the spot after the last note save, and continue till the next hang. Recently, I found a way to not loose the data. I remove the SD card from the SD slot, place it in my CF to SD adapter, place that in hte SD slot, and immediatley, the PDA wakes up, and resumes form the point it froze. I can then copy the text out of the listpro note, place it in a word doc, save that to the SD card or iPaq file store, then soft reset the device, and..... Returning the SD card ro the SD slot does work for a short while, but usually not long, it is better to soft reset.

4) And even more annoying, if that is possible, is that for about 6 months now, the hx4700 decides that I do not want what is on my SD card. I turn on the hx4700, and it reports an empty SD card. I then try it in my laptop, and indeed it is empty. I then use a HDD recovery tool from www.runtime.org to restore all the files to the laptop, format the SD card, put the data back on, and return to normal duties. This weekend was the first time a file was corrupted during this process. It was the single file on the SD card that I care about most. Luckily, I had just completed my weekly SD card backup, and I am 99.9% sure I did not add anything to the file since the backup.

The interesting thing is, that the last 3 behaviours still persist after a recent hard reset, and simply loading on BetaPlayer, and Listpro. Nothing else. I could try it with no software, after a hard reset, by using Win MediaPlayer, and Word, but this is rediculous. I have lost MUCH more time to this PDA than I have gained by its help. It is time it went in the bin.

Sorry for the long post.

Thanks
David

[Nurhisham Hussein]

I am now looking with interest at the new Pocket LOOX N567. It loox like a nice unit :-) But it will not be for sale in Australia for a couple of months.

?! I wasn't aware that Fujitsu Siemens had any plans at all to market their devices outside of Europe. Anybody interested in their devices in our part of the world has had to import them.


Menneisyys: Where will I find these groundbreaking tweaks when you post them? I am intrigued now.


They're actually posted in this forum:

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=48816

Alternatively check his blog:

http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3

[MadBison]

Hmm, I did not knkow that. I have it on good authority from my gadget supplier that they should be able to supply them soon, within 2 months.

What is happening to the PDA? HP have severely cut down, and others are limiting their markes.

I will check out the hx4700 blog. Thanks

David

[MadBison]

I should say that I am running the latest patch of the wm2003se OS, and have never installed the wm5 OS. I was hoping that would be the answer to my problems when it came out, but I heard so many problems with it, that I gave it a miss. I did not see the point in paying for another turd from HP.

Thanks heaps Menneisyys, you have given me a new hope. Maybe this thing will actually work as advertised after owning it for 21 months!

I feel that I should be getting the wm5 update for free from HP, and paying you for your efforts in making it work...

Thanks
David

[Menneisyys]

Thanks heaps Menneisyys, you have given me a new hope. Maybe this thing will actually work as advertised after owning it for 21 months!

A lot more will be coming. I've been testing the new tweaks hard for a week and found some new, groundbreaking settings that further reduce the filesys.exe problems and speed up the device.

[Nurhisham Hussein]

Hmm, I did not knkow that. I have it on good authority from my gadget supplier that they should be able to supply them soon, within 2 months.

Then I'd be concerned about warranty - sounds like he's bringing it in on his own (like Expansys).

[Ilium Software]

The interesting thing is, that the last 3 behaviours still persist after a recent hard reset, and simply loading on BetaPlayer, and Listpro. Nothing else. I could try it with no software, after a hard reset, by using Win MediaPlayer, and Word, but this is rediculous. I have lost MUCH more time to this PDA than I have gained by its help. It is time it went in the bin.


Hey David,

Definitely keep us updated. The problem you are describing isn't something we've had any other ListPro users run into so I don't think that is where the problem is, but if there is anything we can do to help certainly let us know. We're happy to assist.

Hope you find a solution!

Marc Tassin
Ilium Software
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[email protected]
+1 (734) 973-9388
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http://www.iliumsoft.com