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| Home >> Handheld & PDA Reviews: HP iPAQ RX3115 Pocket PC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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User Submitted HP iPAQ RX3115 Pocket PC Reviews (cont...)Date: 2004-11-05 Great PDA for less I had a Cassiopeia for about 2 years and this HP blows my Cassiopeia away. I installed all the software in about ½ hour. The wireless works fine to look at web pages and use AOL Instant Messenger (must purchase the program). The screen is bright and the battery lasts all day. I bought this one specifically for the wireless, it uses a SD card instead of compact flash, and you can set the screen up to be sideways. The sideways screen is easier for writing notes and reading AVANTGO web pages. The scheduler is great. I use it to hold over 100 business contacts and keep my schedule. For an extra $150, you can get this same model, but with a camera. I highly recommend this PDA. Date: 2004-11-04 Good for a first iPaq I've been using PalmOS based handhelds for years, but after checking out the functionality of other iPaqs and PocketPCs, I decided to try out this entry level device. Overall, it's a vast improvement over anything I've ever used that runs PalmOS. The software is better, it doesn't sweat at wifi applications, and it integrates well with pretty much everything. The only negative points I can bring up are that the buttons are horrible. I bought my iPaq partially with the intent of playing some games. The buttons are no good for games. The onboard memory also is too small. I've installed software on a memory card that I bought as well, but if I switch out memory cards or if I need to use another device in the card slot, then those programs are gone. Also the case that HP gives you is worthless, they should have one that folds over rather than just a leather slot to shove it into. All things considered, this is a great low end Pocket PC with wifi and bluetooth, which were the main things I wanted. If you are on a budget this is a great device for you. Date: 2004-10-29 Good, but HP could have done better The Cassiopeia E-125 Pocket PC 2000 died 2 weeks ago and I picked up this entry level rx model to replace it. So how does it compare? Construction: small, light, and cheaply built. The Casio was a bit of a brick in your hand but it was solid metal cover and great construction. The HP unit is small and light by comparison but of cheap plastic construction. There is no door covering on either the SD slot or the USB slot like on the Casio. HP what were you thinking. Pocket PC --- pocket lint. Why no covers? Pocket PC -- nice touch if a pocket clip were part of the case, which it ain't. Buttons are extremely small. Use care to remove PC from case otherwise you will hit the audio recorder button. Display: The Casio has no equal. The HP display is adequate. It is extremely thin and you can see waviness of the surface. It actually flexs slightly with hard pen taps. It suffers from the usual HP yellow fade at oblique viewing angles. The Casio display was solid like writing on plate glass and I think it had better contrast and color saturation. The HP display is about 1/16 inch smaller in each dimension. Memory: HP advertises 55 Mb available user storage. Out of the box it showed 47 Mb available. Are they including the 4Mb of flash ROM in their number? I dunno. Bundled software appears to be installed (in ROM?) but does not appear in installed program list (Add/Remove Programs). Software: I found the bundled software to be useless. There are freeware that provide better functionality. The installation disk popped up an error message immediately and skipped over the installation of Active Sync and Outlook 2002. HP tech support had no clue. Fortunately, I already had Active Sync installed from my Casio (you can download it from the MS site if you have to) and I don't use Outlook on my desktop. I didn't need the install disk. Wifi: I like it. I found the setup to be nonintuitive (the help file on the install disc is a 95% repetition of the small booklet guide) yet it worked flawlessly using the hotspot at my local public library. Haven't tackled home networking yet. Speed: No barnburner here at 300MHz, but adequate. Seems about 50% faster on apps than my 150 MHz Casio. OS: Windows Mobile 2003 SE offers messaging/internet but nothing else new over Windows CE 2000. Same old brain dead File Explorer, etc. But I will not rant, this is a review of the rx3115. Overall: A good value in today's pocket pc market. HP had an opportunity to make an improvement over their current line but it seems this line is for the streaming media folks (the media manual is about 3 times the size of the basic users guide, that should tell you something). Cheaply built, I hope it lasts as long as my Casio (don't even think of dropping it). The current price ($30 less than I paid one week ago) together with the free offer of 128 Mb SD card is very attractive. Hope this review helps. Date: 2004-10-26 works for me I'm running the rx3115 over a home Linksys 802.11 network and love it. I use it mostly for music streaming, which is exactly what I wanted although I plan to start using it for work. I hook this device up to external speakers or headphones in whatever room I'm in, or through my home amp, and it gives very good streaming. I had no problem whatsoever connecting to a wifi network and would tend to believe that any networking issue is with the router setup, not with this device. The only limits are those imposed by the MS OS and/or music streaming providers that don't have software that runs on PocketPcs or PDAs generally. But there's enough streaming music out there to keep me happy. Check out shoutcast.com (free), although I don't think its format is supported by Windows Media Player on the PocketPC. (If you like alternative music, go to public radio station kcrw.org but stream it through shoutcast.) I've downloaded and run Pocket Player by Conduits, which does support Shoutcast. (30-day free trial on Pocket Player). My Targus folding keyboard doesn't appear to have support for the MS OS on this PDA. I downloaded the drivers, and the keyboard seemed to work, but the interface that enables the keyboard froze up or just acted strange. I wish there was a little more memory in this unit, but I have streamed music for hours through it, and did some browsing as well and didn't encounter problems. I've had a few weird issues. At one point the device stopped making sounds, the beep that comes with a program change. The sound continued to stream through the headphones. But I did a soft reboot and the sound was restored. At another point, a few of the commands on the virtual keyboard didn't respond. Same solution. I don't have a lot of experience with PDAs but with that said, this device exceeds my expectations inasmuch as it does what I was hoping it would do. Date: 2004-10-22 Better than I thought When i first looket at the hp rx 3115 ipaq i thought it was just another cool tech device. However, when i turned it on the first day i was amazed. The name pocket pc really great for this device, because that is what it really is. I am in college and i have to type papers at least once every week. I go to the library and turn on my 3115 and type with my wireless keyboard. I have tons of music on my SD card, so while i am typing i can listen to my music. At my university there is a wireless network and with the touch of a botton i am connected to the network, i can surf the internet. the 3115's picture is clear, if you were not mistaken you would think you are looking at a high end flat pannel computer screen. I highley encorage you to buy the hp rx3115 if you are in the market, it is worth the buy.
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