HX4700 or IPAQ 210 ???

I am a past user of Jornadas and for the past few years have been using Clies, first the massive NZ90 and for the last three years, the TH55. Since the TH55 is getting a little long-in-the-tooth, I have been looking at VGA PDA's. I don't want to go "backwards" in resolution from the excellent 480x320 res of the TH55.

These days that means either the older HX4700 or the newer IPAQ210. I have read reviews of each ad nauseum, but have an "opportunity" to get a 4700 on eBay with a cooked 6.0 ROM. The $225 buy-it-now price is half the $449 of a new 210.

Seems like a good way to get my VGA-feet wet...

What do you people think?

Tony

 

There is a $50 HP rebate for the 210 before Jul31.
Probably means the 210 is on it's last legs.
Some posts suggest that the 240 will be coming out soon, it'll probably have WM7

Steve L.

 

I really doubt that HP will be coming out with an iPaq 240 any time in the near future. The 210 was launched with a claimed 3 year product lifespan, and even if you figured it would be replaced 2 years into that, we're still not close.

 

Howdy!

I spent a lot of time earlier this year considering the replacement of my "long in the tooth" 4705 with the brand-new 210. Reports of various issues with the first 210 units plus the price made me wait. Since I had decided to hang on to my 4705, it was time to repair it (I had lost the functions of the touchpad long before). I am now very pleased with my 4705, with a repaired touchpad, increased memory, and WM6.1. While not perfect, it is right for me.

On the other hand, it is a cooked ROM, so it has some accommodations (Bluetooth has some quirks, etc). It also has less memory without the upgrade, and it has the touchpad. The presence of a D-pad on the 210 was a tremendous driver for my interest, but in the end, it was not worth the cost.

Would I buy another 4705 for $225? With the 128MB memory upgrade I might, but that seems like a lot for a 4-year old used unit. Would I buy a 210 for $449, if I needed to buy a replacement? I am a firm PocketPC user, and I could not go back to QVGA, so my choices are limited. If you can wait, watching eBay for a better price is a good strategy.

 

Well, I ended up getting the 4700.

It came with the ROM cooked to 6.0 and 6.1 Office installed, plus an HP FA302A Micro Keyboard, cradle and cables for $225 plus $15 shipping.

I think the 4700 may well serve my needs nicely, but not this particular unit: it's going back for a refund.

I like the screen and the OS, very nice compared to the PocketPC2000 OS I used years ago with the Jornadas. The keyboard (once I found and installed the right driver) works well and would be an asset if I could spend enough time with it to be somewhat accurate. Within 10 minutes of turning the thing on it had sensed our wireless network and I was surfing effortlessly. A huge improvement to Netfront on the TH55.

However, this unit has locked up on me three times upon doing soft resets and the touch pad has stopped working twice. In addition, it came with a backup battery that no longer functions. I guess the later is not a problem as I understand that the cooked ROM now treats some of the RAM as persistent memory, but it would still be nice to have a functioning backup battery.

I have gone back to researching the 210 series, to see if it's really worth it to pony up the extra $225 or so. So far, I'm inclined to stay with the 4700 IF I can find one in pristine condition and update the ROM. I may have a line on one in Georgia. (I'm in Seattle.)

One thing I've found though is that the touch pad is totally lame. Even when it works it's difficult to use.

So, as of tonight, that's where I'm at.

 

if you are still interested in the hx4700, please consider buying mine. i have one with the stock 2003 operating system.

it hasn't ever given me any issues and it hasn't been dropped.

reason i don't need it anymore is i got a pocket pc phone now.

let me know. thanks

HP Ipaq Hx4700 4" touchscreen! includes TomTom6! - $185 (san jose west)
Reply to: sale-787897126@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-08-07, 11:05PM PDT


looking to sell my hx4700 pocket pc.

it was adult owned and never dropped. i used it mainly for listening to music mp3's, watching movies, surfing the internet and using it as a portable navigation system with tomtom6.

i will also include a leather case for the ipaq which can hold a couple of credit cards, and 2 sd cards. 2 extra stylus pens, 2 extra screen protectors, and battery back pro

http://www.mobiletechreview.com/iPAQ_hx4705.htm

 

That's a good deal and I hope you find a buyer. I already found another in Alabama and have had it sitting in its cradle for a week.

I've been trying to find out why I should consider upgrading to WM6.0 over 2003SE, but so far have not come up with many compelling reasons. WM2003SE is heads and tails above what I remember of PocketPC2000.

Tony

 

WM6.1 has actually been out for a while now.
And I'd recommend it over 2003. It's been ages since i used 2003, You'd have to google if you want all the specifics. but WM6.1 basically is to 2003 what Windows XP is to Windows 98.
Newer apps are designed for WM5+, so you might have some troubles using the older OS.
There's a cleaner GUI, things are easier and quicker to use.

Things are just run differently after 2003SE. There's 3d apis, persistent storage (never have to worry about losing your data if you dont recharge), etc..

 

The major benefit the 210 has over the 4700 is that you can run your battery to 0% without losing anything since everything is in flash.

I had the 4700 and it was great, but I really appreciate having an actual d-pad on the 210. I had to send my 4700 in 3 times before they sent me a new unit and even that one's d-pad stopped working as well. It's also a bit snappier than the 4700 and it's nice that you're left with a large amount of RAM and don't have to worry about splitting it with storage space like on WM03

 

Gyeswho, most of those advantages are possible on the HX4700 with WM5+

 

oh ok I didn't know it was possible for that. Well I think just the dpad alone is worth it. It's nice to have feedback when pushing something.

 

yeah a proper dpad is much easier to use, unless of course your touchscreen gets damaged, in which case the touchpad can save your ass.
the touchpad has really only come in handy when playing age of empires pocket pc edition. it's more like you're playing on a laptop.
if i didn't have a x50v aswell, i'd be more likely to simply buy a bluetooth dpad / keyboard or something for the hx4700, than shell out another $500 for the 210.

if you don't already have a hx4700 though, from memory the 210 has better specs and is still supported by hp.

 

yea I have the 4700 with a non working touchpad, but am about to sell it now that I bought a 210. The reason I bought the 210 was because HP had a student special where I got the device along with the HP bluetooth keyboard AND a 16gb Kingston CF card for $440! I found the touchpad to be useful (though annoying at times), while it was working, but having it crap out 3 times on one device and then crapping again on a brand new one HP exchanged really turned me off to the model.