HP iPaq's

[granth39]

Any good or bad reports using the HP iPaq's? Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Things are so much better now with the iPAQ's. Activesync is MUCH improved, the new 2003 OS is great, and the productivity I'm gaining with my iPAQ and GTD is incredible.

[alsa]

I prefer the Palm platform but to each - his/her own

The new Palms/Clies have caught up with the technical specs of Ipaqs and there are A LOT more software choices available. Plus the resolution on the new Palms/Clies (2001-2003 models) is better - 320x320 pixels or even 320x480 on a couple of newer ones compared to 240x320 on the IPaqs and Toshibas. Here's an image of one of the newer Palms http://www.notestation.com/tungstent32.gif

The competition might heat up soon again as I hear some PocketPC models will feature 480x640 resolution in the near future.

[Anonymous]

I have tried HP Ipaq for a while, and Palm before. I think Palm is much faster and easier to use for GTD.

[granth39]

Thanks for your insight to the Palm / iPaq. I like the new Palm T3 but did not purchase it because of the lack of WiFi. Have you heard when this feature might be available? I know they have it on other models but I do not like their configuration. Many thanks. Granth39

[Anonymous]

I would encourage you not to ignore the iPAQ becasue a few people don 't use them. They're powerful handheld computers that work extremely well with GTD.

[ScottL]

PC World wrote: "There's a clear consensus in our survey of handheld owners: Respondents with PDAs that run the Palm operating system had a better time than those running PocketPC-based PDAs. The three companies at the top of the reliability class, Handspring, Palm, and Sony, all use the Palm OS. Meanwhile, companies including HP, Dell, and Toshiba--all of whose PDAs run the PocketPC operating system--lag behind this group."

http://www.palminfocenter.com/view_story.asp?ID=6378

[alsa]

Just a quick reminder to those who might not be aware. Handspring is now part of PalmOne.

[Anonymous]

Here's the entire article - it's not as slanted as what is suggested by the quote above

PDAs
There's a clear consensus in our survey of handheld owners: Respondents with PDAs that run the Palm operating system had a better time than those running PocketPC-based PDAs. The three companies at the top of the reliability class, Handspring, Palm, and Sony, all use the Palm OS. Meanwhile, companies including HP, Dell, and Toshiba--all of whose PDAs run the PocketPC operating system--lag behind this group. Like owners of other peripherals covered in this survey, handheld owners weren't rushing to their PDA's manufacturers for help. Indeed, they usually didn't need it, thanks to sturdy hardware.
Nevertheless, Dell customers reported a higher percentage of problems when they first started using their devices than owners of other PDAs, along with a higher number of problems per year. Dell's Axim product line is young, however--less than a year old at the time of our survey--and some users' initial problems were due to syncing-software snags.
"The majority of PDA problems out of the box are software-related," says IDC's Randy Giusto. "Synchronization is usually one of the top problems for users." The good news? Syncing software is not rocket science. "Syncing generally improves with every revision of the sync software," Giusto says.
Despite Dell's setbacks, a whopping 82 percent of respondents claimed high overall satisfaction with the reliability of the vendor's PDAs, putting Dell at the top in this category.
When troubles do arise, according to our survey results, Compaq, Handspring, and Palm (the only PDA manufacturers that drew enough responses to permit us to calculate a service score) leave customers satisfied with the resolution of their problems.
Kathleen Fuller, a human resources manager at an investment firm in Minneapolis, ran into a stubborn syncing problem with her Handspring Visor Edge handheld when it first arrived two years ago. After looking around the company's Web site for answers without success, she submitted a query to the site electronically. Within a day or two, "tech support e-mailed me some steps to take, and I had no trouble after that," she recalls. Since then, Fuller has submitted a handful of questions about her PDA's features electronically, and she has always received a quick response.
PDA users say that Handspring provides the fullest online support, but it's clear that all companies could do better. Palm is already looking at ways to improve its site. It recently analyzed users' search terms and rewrote the site's language to generate more-accurate search results more quickly, reports Dan Gilbert, Palm's senior director of global customer service and logistics. Of course, Palm and Handspring owners are watching to see how the upcoming merger of the two PDA giants affects service. Gilbert says that the combined company will employ separate sets of experts to support the different product lines.

[Anonymous]

I've used both the Palms and IPAQs for GTD and have found the IPAQ so much simpler to use. Of course it takes a little work on both systems to get organized, but I recently upgraded to the HP5550 and love it. Since I work on PC's the IPAQ is so much easier to manage and the files are easier to navigate. If you have the funds available go for the IPAQ.