Manufacturer: Hewlett Packard Model#: H36.50 Weight: .39lbs Height: .62"     Width: 3.28" Length: 5.11" Average Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars	Retail Price: $499.99 Online Sale Price:
Features: 240 x 320 TFT LCD screen displays more than 4,000 colors 32 MB RAM and 16 MB ROM Includes Pocket Excel, Word, Internet Explorer, and Outlook, plus desktop version of Outlook 2000 Plays Audible.com spoken-word content; optional expansion packs can add a variety of functions What's in the box: iPaQ 3650, Two Styli, Vinyl slipcase, AC adapter, Docking cradle, Rechargeable Lithium Polymer battery, iPaQ Expansion Pack system, User Manual

User Submitted Compaq iPAQ 3650 Color Pocket PC Reviews (cont...)

I bought the ipaq 3630 pocket pc as it seemed the handhelds were 'going out of style' so to speak, & I wouldn't have as wide of choices of 3rd party software or updates available to my existing applications (if you can't beat them, join them).

I think the ipaq is the best of the pocket pc pdas available. Its very fast, the OS is much more stable. The handwriting recognition is very good & you really don't need the extra HW recognition pgm that comes with it 'Transcriber', as Transcriber is slower too. The battery lasts about 6 hours. (1-2 hours less than the standard Jornada battery). The best settings on the ipaq to save your battery are: turn device off if not used for 1 min + turn off backlight if device is not used for 10 sec. I am using the ipaq with a IBM 1 gig microdrive - this allows for many reference DBs (I have about 9 of them) to be carried with me. The screen is very readable. I have not had a problem with the stylus getting stuck (as I remember to put it back in, in the correct orientation). The MP3 player or making home movies & sound (with digital camera pictures & recorded songs)are fun, but I really don't use that feature much (it uses up your battery fast), & I need this machine for work.

I guess the biggest drawback to the ipaq is what is in common to all pocket pcs & palm devices, the small screen & limited word processing conversions. I have M'soft word documents that are quite long & in a outline form. They are essentially unreadable on a pocket pc even in landscape mode or even converting them to eBooks format with M'soft reader. Reformatting the hidden codes in these MS Word documents even on your desktop to fit a small screen is not a job for the faint of heart. Pocket Word is very limited. I also bought a keyboard for the ipaq, but the keyboard doesn't support 'ctrl B' for bolding, etc. Pocket Excel works great tho.

Syncing with my desktop has been fine, no problems there. With the HP, I could do editing, change excel, get on the Internet etc & really not worry about getting things onto the desktop. With a Pocket PC or Palm, its best to do all your work on the desktop, then sync with the PDA.

I don't bother accessing the Internet from the ipaq so I don't need a modem. If you want to use a modem tho, then you can't use a CF card or the IBM microdrive, as an expansion sleeve only allows a modem OR a card.

The HP Jornada 690 (or now 720), lets you do EVERYTHING but it has a larger footprint & costs more. However I kind of miss it, but it was bigger & I am not sure software developers will support it as enthusiastically as the Pocket PCs which are more consumer oriented.

As for a Palm, if you want anything more than a calender or contacts, forget it. I bought one of these too & returned it the same day. The Palm can only have 1 to max 3 applications open at a time, then it runs out of memory. I have had 9 programs open at once on the iPaq or the HP & never run out of memory & the machine doesn't come to a halt either.

Date: 2001-01-11
Great toy but check sync for business use
Great high end toy with great screen. If you want to read your work email on your pocket pc, dont bother unless you use MS outlook at work. Bought it yesterday, and tried to sync with my Eudora email at work. NO third party software is available to sync Eudora on the desktop with outlook on the pocket pc. Eudora has no plans to support anything other than Palm OS. Microsoft has no plans to support sync with anything other than outlook. Palm OS cant read attachements(excel,word,etc), so decide between 2 evils before you buy.

Date: 2001-01-11
Great toy but check sync for business use
Great high end toy with great screen. If you want to read your work email on your pocket pc, dont bother unless you use MS outlook at work. Bought it yesterday, and tried to sync with my Eudora email at work. NO third party software is available to sync Eudora on the desktop with outlook on the pocket pc. Eudora has no plans to support anything other than Palm OS. Microsoft has no plans to support sync with anything other than outlook. Palm OS cant read attachements(excel,word,etc), so decide between 2 evils before you buy.

Date: 2001-01-09
Availability
I have noticed that Staples.com seems to have immediate access to these. I have not called to confirm, but the website says ~1 day delivery.

Date: 2001-01-09
Availability
I have noticed that Staples.com seems to have immediate access to these. I have not called to confirm, but the website says ~1 day delivery.