Live Photos of the rx4000

[Nurhisham Hussein]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://forum.mypdacafe.com/viewtopic.php?p=125251#125251' target='_blank'>http://forum.mypdacafe.com/viewtopi...p=125251#125251</a><br /><br /></div>Following the sneak peeks we've gotten over the last week of the Treo 750 and the O2 Mars, the same source has come up with some decent live photos of HP's new rx4000. More interestingly, it now appears it's going to be <i>two</i> devices, not one. It's hard to tell if the larger version is VGA, but the screen size is definitely in the more traditional PDA size, plus it has a D-pad and two function buttons on the front. Even better, the screenshot also shows a GPS icon on the today screen - can we wish? This is also the version that will have 1GB internal flash storage. Otherwise, the featues will be identical - WM5.0, Bluetooth 2.0, Wifi b/g, jog dial, and SD slot.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/hisham-20060906-rx4000.jpg" /><br /><br />While the MyPDACafe post terms the larger machine as the rx5000, a couple of sites are calling it the rx4540. Whichever it is, it's certainly more interesting than the smaller rx4000!<br /><br /><b>Update:</b> An <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/06/hps-ipaq-rx4000-gets-a-big-brother-the-rx5915/">engadget article</a> has more details. In short, there will be at least two versions of the rx5000, one with 1GB ROM and the other 2GB ROM. Other goodies include a SiRF Star III GPS chip :), 3.5-inch QVGA touchscreen, standard 3.5mm headphone jack and a 400MHz Samsung processor.

[DustyLBottoms]

Is that a dedicated app. close button I see?

[Brad Adrian]

Is that a dedicated app. close button I see?
Huh. That does look like a little "X in a box," doesn't it? Of course, if it is, there's no telling what the button will actually DO.

Looking at the image of the larger device more closely, it does seem like the resolution is much better than that of the smaller one, well beyond what results from a slightly larger screen. I HOPE these manufacturers are getting the point about how great VGA screens are.

[jimmie geddes]

I wonder if that button is like the "ok" button on the 700w/x? I'd want more buttons on my device personally.

[alese]

Maybe it's just wishfull thinking but it does look like the larger device also has better resolution screen. The bigger device is also labeled Travel Companion, so I guess GPS is a realistic possibility.
But... on the other hand, having 1Gb in bigger device and (I guess) lower amount in smaller one still brings out the biggest gripe with this device, lack of built in storage which makes it not as usable as media device.

The smaller one should have 1Gb storage minimum and maybe a model with even more, and the bigger one should have something like 4Gb (preferably flash not microdrive).

[ZodiacfreaK]

It has a scroll wheel and four to five more buttons on the side...

[stevelam]

One of the posters at MyPDACafe said that its was QVGA, a shame I was starting to like the look of that.

[griph]

The smaller one should have 1Gb storage minimum and maybe a model with even more, and the bigger one should have something like 4Gb (preferably flash not microdrive).
Agreed - or perhaps even 2GB smaller one and 4GB larger one - would make a BIG difference in the sale-ability of these devices.

[PPCRules]

I didn't get around to make this comment on the previous postings on these devices, but this is the sort of thing I love to see and have been waiting for someone to do: take PPC/WM and extend it into consumer-oriented specialty areas. I had thought high performance gaming versions was a natural, but noone has tried that yet. There have been GPS units, but these have been PDAs with GPS tacked on, not a usable GPS device that happens to use WM. But I think a specialized media player like this could also become a success.

The way I look at it, anyone who buys one of these for a specialized purpose is supporting the platform that we know and love, and help fund the development of future devices. Also, any specialized device that has WM will become, after the sale, a potential customer for WM software for other purposes, encouraging the development of more and BETTER PPC/WM applications, which benefits all of us, specialty device and general purpose "PDA" owners alike.

I think the "Palm-thingy" fascination has died out, so noone goes looking for one of those anymore. "PocketPC" was kinda intimidating and "Windows Mobile" doesn't do much for anyone. But people (LOTS of people; not just the tech-geeks) will buy something that looks nice and does something for them. They don't care what makes it work, but many of them will discover after the sale that they can do other things with it, and these become consumers of other WM apps and supporters of the platform.

If Apple had an mobile operating system, they could sell all kinds of this stuff to their blind followers. All someone needs is a base system to run the specialty app, add some decent user interface design, and package it in some gimicky casing. Apple does quite well with the latter two.

[Paragon]

I'm glad to see they noticed what I was saying about the need for a bigger screen, and that they acted on it so quickly. ;)

Dave

[Nurhisham Hussein]

More details coming out now (fun isn't it?):

Link (http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/06/hps-ipaq-rx4000-gets-a-big-brother-the-rx5915/)

Quote:

...at least a couple rx5000 devices. The rx5000 types go with the "Travel Companion" moniker, since they include a SiRF Star III GPS receiver for a bit of navigation action. WiFi seems to be optional for the rx5000 units, but the rx5915 has it, along with a 3.5-inch QVGA touchscreen, 2GB of flash memory, 64MB RAM, Bluetooth 2.0, SDIO slot, standard 3.5mm headphone jack and a 400MHz Samsung processor....The Travel Companion iPAQs feature a traditional 9-way direction pad, along with 2 Windows Mobile buttons, but none of the rx4000's jog dial action. As for price, the rx5915 weighs in at a hefty, if almost reasonable, $600.

[szamot]

oh but this puppy has a big brother the rx5915

http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/06/hps-ipaq-rx4000-gets-a-big-brother-the-rx5915/

check it out - still far too much for far too little.

[Nurhisham Hussein]

:wink: That's where my link pointed to!

[Darius Wey]

I'm digging these rx devices more as the days go by. Lack of VGA aside, every other spec seems to satisfy what I'd like to see in a PDA. Heck, even good ol' SD support is there. Now to just wait for my local store to get the stock flowing so I can check them out.

[alese]

I just wish that 5000 devices would have (or at least one model) VGA screen.
I can understand that phone devices have qVGA, they have to be small and on 2.8" screen VGA would have questionable usefullness.
But if you have "standard" 3.5" PDA that is GPS/multimedia oriented, I would guess VGA should be at least an option.

I'm just guessing, but Dell probably sells much more x51v's than x51's.

And one more thing $600 would be much more reasonable with VGA...

[Nurhisham Hussein]

And one more thing $600 would be much more reasonable with VGA...

Absolutely agree - keep your fingers crossed, the engadget article mentions there will be at least two models in the rx5000 lineup.

[alese]

And one more thing $600 would be much more reasonable with VGA...

Absolutely agree - keep your fingers crossed, the engadget article mentions there will be at least two models in the rx5000 lineup.

Yes, knowing HP one is going to have 128Mb storage and the other 2Gb as the only difference. I'm beeing cynical I know, but I'm not getting my hopes up about VGA just yet.

[Nurhisham Hussein]

You misunderstood me - the rx4000 will have 128MB ROM, but there will be two additional models in the rx5000 lineup, one with 1GB ROM and the other 2GB ROM. Unfortunately, it looks all three will be QVGA.

[alese]

You misunderstood me - the rx4000 will have 128MB ROM, but there will be two additional models in the rx5000 lineup, one with 1GB ROM and the other 2GB ROM. Unfortunately, it looks all three will be QVGA.

I understood your point. It's just that I wanted to exaggerate. Like you say in above post, the only difference between both devices (at least it looks like that) is the ROM (1Gb vs. 2Gb).

It looks like HP has special ideas about how things should be. This is why we get "Media Companion" with 128Mb storage (half of it used allready of course) - for storing all your music to a device and "Travel Companion" with big but loRES screen - for easier displaying of all the detailed maps.
Smart.