Reviews
Hewlett
Packard iPAQ hx2750
Yet another batch of new iPAQs, this one geared towards
business and security
Sure HP released
a bunch of terrific new iPAQs this past summer. We saw the rz1700
and rx3000 lines of "Mobile Media Companions," the h6300 Pocket
PC Phone, and the magnificent hx4700 with its awesome 4-inch VGA
display. That's all nice and good, but what has HP done for us
lately?
Well, that
would be yet another new line of iPAQs, the hx2000 Series. And
yes, it is a whole series. Three new models, to be precise. At
a time where the number of Pocket PC OEMs selling to the US market
has shrunk to just a few and new models have been at a premium,
Hewlett Packard has thus released no less than four new iPAQ lines
with eight new models in the past few months. And that doesn't
even include counting the slightly different business and consumer
models that HP has in some of the lines.
Truth
be told, it is becoming quite a challenge to figure out what sort
of hierarchy HP had in mind with all those new models. The split
into business-oriented Pocket PCs and consumer-oriented "Mobile
Media Companions" helps, but mail order companies are already
calling the 1700 and 3000 Series models "Pocket PCs" anyway, and
pricing overlaps quite a bit. The Mobile Media Companions list
from $279 for a basic rz1710 to $499 for a top-of-the-line rx3715
whereas the new 2000 Series models go from $379 to $549. So the
question "which iPAQ should I get?" will undoubtedly be on many
a potential customer's mind. And to confuse things a bit further,
the "old" iPAQ h2210—a really nice machine in its own right and
still available as of this writing—is also a 2000 Series model,
even though it clearly stems from a different era of the iPAQ
dynasty.
All that said,
let's take a look at the latest batch of new iPAQs. It includes
three models, the loss-leader hx2110 ($379), the mid-range hx2410
($449), and the high-end hx2750 ($549). The hx2110 and hx2410
look identical whereas the hx2750 has an integrated fingerprint
reader sitting above its navigation disc.
In terms of
design, anyone used to the once unique and consistent "iPAQ" style
will find that HP abandoned that with the new 2000 line, as it
already abandoned it with the 3000 and 4700 Series. So better
get used to it: iPAQs now come in many different shapes and looks.
At first sight,
it's a bit hard to get excited over the new models. They don't
look very elegant in pictures. The housing seems too large for
the 3.5-inch display, and all four sides are slightly rounded
as if the designers weren't quite sure whether the device should
be angular or curvy. The result is a shape that looks kind of
portly.
In person,
the impression is much better. The hx2750 which HP sent us looks
businesslike with its several shades of anthrazite, fits nicely
into your hand with its rubberlike sides, and feels very, very
solid. I also immediately liked the elegant smoked plastic lid
that snaps onto the top of the device. Its design is just like
that of the old HP Jornada Pocket PC, so perhaps there's still
a bit of DNA from the old Jornada group that was folded when HP
acquired Compaq coursing through this iPAQ's veins. The only problem
is that the placement of the lid makes it difficult to reach the
stylus and pull it out of its garage.
I am not terribly
fond of the button and control placement and design. The 5-way
navigation disk is very small, and the customary four application
buttons are represented by very oddly shaped strips of real estate
along the bottom of the device. Sort of like some of the oddly
shaped keys on late model cellphones where form seems to take
precedence over function. The sides contain just one control,
a record button recessed into the rubbery left side of the device.
We used to complain that Pocket PC record buttons were too easily
triggered, which led to the unintentional recording of lengthy
periods of meaningless jibberish. The 2000 Series' recording button
certainly won't do that. If anything, you have to press so hard
that you have to do a visual check to see if the recorder is actually
activated.
Even though
these new devices look sort of large and almost a bit ungainly,
they are actually quite small and handy. With a footprint of 4.7
x 3 inches and a thickness of 0.65 inches they make older Pocket
PC designs look huge. I used to think my beloved old Casio MP500
was petite, but next to the hx2750 it looks like a brick. Yet,
somehow times and our perceptions and expectations have changed,
and the 5.8 ounce 2000 Series looks and feels a bit large and
heavy.
My mixed reaction
continues with the display. Even though most PDA displays have
shrunk to 3.5 inches diagonal these days (a trend reversed by
the new generation of VGA display devices), it doesn't mean I
have to like it. A 3.8-inch screen would nicely fit into the large
frontal area of the 2000 Series. The LCD itself is not bad—none
of the current PDA displays are—but it's hard to get excited over
the old 240x320 resolution once one has seen what VGA looks like
on a Pocket PC. Likewise, while many Tablet PCs now have both
vertical and horizontal viewing angles approaching 180 degrees,
that's clearly not the case here. Angle the display just a few
degrees this way or that, and the screen may become nearly illegible.
This really should no longer be the case. Finally, Microsoft's
ClearType technology that is meant to render small text nicer
and more readable does just the opposite: text becomes murky and
gets a weird orange fringe. The "Second Edition" enhancements
that work wonders on the larger VGA displays are a lost cause
on the older 240x320 screens.
Things look
considerably brighter under the hood where HP made sure the new
devices were technologically up-to-date and then some.
There was
a time when older Palm-size and Pocket PCs were unbearably slow
compared to the speedy Palms. Not any more. All new 2000 Series
models use Intel's powerful and efficient new PXA270 processor.
Speed differentiates the models: 624, 520, and 312MHz. Our hx2750
was blindingly fast. Everything happens instantaneously or almost
instantaneously.
More good
news comes from the memory department. It's definitely nice to
click the "Memory" control panel and be greeted by a "Total main
memory: 126MB" message and then finding that you also have another
85MB of non-volatile iPAQ File Store memory. The two lesser models
have less flash memory, but even they offer 128MB of RAM and an
acceptable 20MB of File Store memory.
HP likewise
did a good job with the power packs. All new 2000 Series models
have replaceable batteries. The low-end hx2110 comes with a 920
mAh unit, the two other models have more powerful 1,440 mAh packs.
However, the low-end can- accommodate the 1,440 mAh battery, and
all three models can also handle a very long-lasting optional
2,880 mAh pack.
More good
news is that the two high-end models have both Bluetooth and 802.11b
WiFi. You can't even tell because unlike other WiFi-enabled devices,
the 2000 Series does not have an antenna sticking out. There's
just a single light dedicated to wireless. It blinks blue when
either Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, or both, are turned on. Since blue
is associated with Bluetooth, perhaps HP should have used a second
color for WiFi, or appropriated the second of the two little lights
for WiFi. As is, the second light flashes when the battery is
charging and blinks for alarms.
And yet more
good news: even with the generous allotment of RAM and File Store
memory, all three new units come with both a Compact Flash and
a Secure Digital slot. They sit on top of the device and apparently
don't add much to its thickness (0.65 inches). The only complaint
here: The CF Card slot has a plastic insert to occupy the slot
when you don't use a card. If you ever lose that piece, you'll
have a big opening that looks ugly and exposes the unit's innards
to the elements.
The 2000 Series
cradle (optional with the hx2110) is black, sleek and slender.
It's built to accommodate the larger optional battery packs, but
doesn't have a separate charging slot for a backup battery. HP
has standardized on the power connector, so you can use AC adapters
from other recent iPAQs. Vexingly, like all recent iPAQs, the
2000 Series does not have a separate power jack, which means you
need a charger adapter to plug the power cord into the cradle
connector if you don't charge it in the cradle.
On
the software side the 2000 Series is all business. It comes with
the standard complement of Pocket PC apps and a number of HP and
third party applications and utilities beefing up the unit's corporate
and security responsibilities. The iPAQ Wireless utility couldn't
be simpler and the same goes for the elegant Bluetooth Phone Manager.
We also really like the HP Asset Viewer and HP Profiles which
works a bit like profiles on cellphones.
Security is
where the 2000 Series really shines, and none more so than the
fingerprint reader-equipped hx2750. HP ProtectTools secured by
CREDANT Technologies has a wizard that guides you through a very
thorough security setup. You can lock the device in various ways,
choose between no less than ten unlocking method (pin, regular
and strong passwords, fingerprint, and combinations thereof),
pick encryption strength (Lite, Blowfish, Triple DES, and AES),
and use Enroll Certificates.
There is also
HP's excellent Mobile Printing and Image Zone, plus a number of
very friendly help features not found in other Pocket PCs.
All of this
makes the new 2000 Series iPAQs good, solid corporate citizens
and competent, albeit somewhat pricey and not very exciting, Pocket
PCs. They are very well built and equipped. Personally, I think
the hx4700 for just $100 more than the hx2750 is a much better
value, but the 2000 Series is smaller and handier. There's definitely
room for it, although we'd have wished for a bit more flash and
differentiation from other iPAQs.
^ Kirk Linsky
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