iPAQ Data Messenger, to buy or not?

Johpoke · 10-14-09, 12:53 PM

I'm in need of a new phone... My Sony Ericsson k700i is getting a bit tired... And a while back I had a iPAQ rx3715, but its screen died. Since I miss using the iPAQ, and need a new phone, I was thinking about going for a iPAQ/phone combo

. I then found the hp iPAQ Data Messenger for a mere 226GBP/360USD/242EUR (brand new). Some review-searching reveals that the battery life and keyboard may be a problem. Are the users forgetting to use power saving features (some state the battery life is 8 hours even with WiFi and Bluetooth off)? And is they keyboard as bad as people say? Or they just not learning it right? Anyone here have some first hand experience with it?

A general question about Windows Mobile based phones: Do you always leave the OS on in the background, with the LCD screen off? Or do you turn off the OS, and some other process wakes windows for an incoming call/sms? Ive used PDAs and phones, but never used a Smartphone...

I'm also looking at the iPAQ Voice Messenger, which I can buy for 134GBP, but I like the stylus type touch screen of the Data Messenger (which opens many doors for software).

Also, the Data Messenger can run the same programs I used back in the day right? (software that runs on WM2003 etc)

Thanks!

Julie · 10-14-09, 11:09 PM

I have both the IPAQ Voice Messenger (VM) and the IPAQ Data Messenger (DM). The VM is my first non-touchscreen device and there are some significant differences. The non-touchscreen version of windows mobile (wm standard) seems to be more stable (not so many resets), but it does not provide access to as many settings. Many applications that are designed to run on windows mobile touchscreen devices (wm professional) are not compatible with wm standard, and there is not as much software available that runs on a wm standard device (in particular, GPS software options is not so plentiful). You'll need to search for the smartphone or windows mobile standard software versions.

After using both devices for a while (I trade off between them), I consider the VM to be a "lite" version of the DM. Of the two, I like the VM the best. It is smaller, feels great in the hand, and, now that I've gotten used to not using a stylus with it, I have gotten pretty proficient using the keys to get around the menus. Nonetheless, If you send a lot of email, text messages, or use something like twitter, you probably won't like having to use the keyboard to do this on the VM (the biggest drawback for me). The VM seems faster than the DM and the battery life of the VM is better than the DM.

The DM is a pretty nice device too, but the touchscreen has a different touch to it when I compare it to my other IPAQs (I have 7 different IPAQs). the screen is harder and I have to tap with a heavier hand. This is not a big deal and if I didn't still use my older IPAQs I'd probably not even notice the difference after a while. The battery life of the DM is not great, but I can get a full day's worth of use out of both the VM or the DM without having to recharge during the day. I don't have a problem with the keyboard at all. Every keyboard has a different touch, but once you get used to it it's really not a big deal.

Both devices have GPS (a BIG energy drain on all windows mobile devices), WIFI, and Bluetooth. I often use a bluetooth headset with them and don't notice much battery drainage when I am connected to the bluetooth headset, but, similar to GPS, wifi is a pretty big energy drain. So if you are heavy user of GPS or WIFI, you really need to use an adapter in your car and plan to recharge the device during the day. Another big drain of the newer 3G phones is 3G. The phone is always active if cellular wireless is turned on and 3G consumes more battery power than GPRS/Edge. 3G coverage can be spotty at times, and that can cause the wireless radio to consume alot of battery energy switching back and forth between 3G, GPRS, and Edge. If you aren't a heavy user of data services on the IPAQs, there is no reason to even use 3G and you can turn it off and use GPRS/Edge - that will save battery life.

I spend a lot of time on HP's IPAQ forum (maybe you've seen me there posting as Prof Julie). There are a couple of threads on the forum that are really negative about these devices, but I can honestly say that I do not have a significant problem with either device. I don't know the history of the folks who are complaining about the devices, but I can tell you that you will need to reset your expectations in regards to speed and battery life. Switching over from a rx3715 to a windows mobile cellphone, you will find that the battery life is not nearly so great as it was on your older pocket pc. I still use an hx2415 and performance is about the same (although I don't feel as RAM constrained on the newer devices and don't usually have to perform soft resets on them).

With windows mobile cellphones, the device is always on standby mode if you have the Phone radio turned on. When you turn the device off, it will wakeup whenever someone calls or when a text message is received. You should also plan to subscribe to your cellular operator's data plan. There are some functions that will cause the device to automatically connect to the data plan (you can do some things to stop this from happening, but to be on the safe side, you should evaluate how you plan to use the device and subscribe to an appropriate data plan).

My first windows mobile phone was an IPAQ hw6925 (wm professional). When I first got the device, I also signed up for a small data plan - I am most often close to wifi and thought I wouldn't use a data plan. After a while I upgraded to an unlimited data plan (even though I am pretty close to wifi) because I found it extremely convenient to connect via my data plan. Using Google Maps while in a moving car makes a data plan a requirement.

If you decide to get the Data Messenger, you will be moving from a windows mobile 2003se device (the ipaq rx3715) to a windows mobile 6.1 device. Some of the software you used on the rx3715 will probably work on the DM, but you may need to upgrade some of the software to a WM5.0 or WM6.1 version (there were some significant changes that occurred in the OS when the OS changed from windows mobile 2003se to WM5.0 - the changes in the OS from WM5.0 to WM6.1 are mostly incremental and so most WM5.0 software will work on a WM6.1 device). If need be, you might be able to upgrade your existing winmo software free or for a nominal fee. Check the developer websites of your respective software to find out what your options are.

Johpoke · 10-15-09, 05:43 AM

Wow, thanks for such a long well written post

! It really cleared some things up. Some return questions:

On the DM, a full day's worth of use, how long is that? From 7am to 6pm? With how heavy use? (Long calls? Lots of WiFi/HSDPA surfing?) If you would not use it at all during the day (but still be ready for calls) how long standby time would it have? I would probably disable 3G as I have WiFi in the places I will need it most. I can just plug it in to any USB port and it will start charging right? (No need for ActiveSync?) (How is the VM's battery time?)

Just out of curiosity, can it be used as a modem to surf the net on a PC with Bluetooth? I'm hoping to avoid a data plan for it at the moment (but will probably need one in the future). Why will it try to go online by itself? (Can be disabled by giving it the wrong Internet access settings?)

I wonder why the touch screen is harder? Does it use the same type of touch screen as most other iPAQ's? (Where the surface you push with the stylus is a film which creates contact with a layer below)(You can see this by viewing the screen at a sharp angle, and then pushing the screen with the stylus very slowly, noticing a possible change in reflection) Do you have a screen protector on yours? Do you have it in a case? Or can it handle being loose in your pocket/hand bag?

I think that the VM looks nicer then the DM (since its smaller and such). But I really like the keyboard and touch screen as then its more of a "real" PDA. Do you consider the DM to be a good choice?

Thanks so much for your help

!

Julie · 10-18-09, 02:05 PM

[quote=Johpoke;1059470319]Wow, thanks for such a long well written post

! It really cleared some things up. Some return questions:

Originally Posted by Johpoke

On the DM, a full day's worth of use, how long is that? From 7am to 6pm? With how heavy use? (Long calls? Lots of WiFi/HSDPA surfing?) If you would not use it at all during the day (but still be ready for calls) how long standby time would it have? I would probably disable 3G as I have WiFi in the places I will need it most. I can just plug it in to any USB port and it will start charging right? (No need for ActiveSync?) (How is the VM's battery time?)

That might be about right. My days are not typical. I teach school twice a week and I get started around 6:30am and finish up around 4::00pm on those days. Those days are my heaviest days for battery use, since I am away from my office and don't usually have time to recharge the phone.

My use of the device varies. I don't usually make or receive a lot of calls, but I might be on one call for more than an hour at a time. I check email throughout the day and will respond to emails, so I do use wifi and a data connection alot (usually a data connection since wifi is not always very consistent).

Yes, you can plug the device into any USB port to recharge without the need of ActiveSync.

Originally Posted by Johpoke

Just out of curiosity, can it be used as a modem to surf the net on a PC with Bluetooth? I'm hoping to avoid a data plan for it at the moment (but will probably need one in the future). Why will it try to go online by itself? (Can be disabled by giving it the wrong Internet access settings?)

You can use either the VM or the DM as a modem to surt the net on a PC either with a bluetooth connection or a USB connection - the USB connection will be faster. You'd use the internet sharing option on the device to do it. It is easy to set up, works well and creates a stable connection. I use it to connect to connect my UMPC to the internet when I can't get a good wifi connection.

There are applications that just provoke an internet connect and there's is an assumption (in every windows mobile cellphone I've used and read about) that the device's primary means of internet connection is via a data connection. Sometimes, even when I am connected already via WIFI connection, I'll see a data connection be activated. It is something I have tracked down and tried to stop, but I have not been able to stop the occasional automatic data connection (I refuse to take the extreme measure of discontinuing data connectivity with my cellular provider). I subscribe to an unlimited data plan so this does not concern me too much, but I still get annoyed when I see it happening. Things that can provoke a data connection: seems whenever ActiveSync is running there might also be a data connection (even though I have all the automatic AS stuff turned off); turning on GPS always provokes AS running in the background and a related data connection (I think this helps get a fix on satellites). Othere software does the same thing.

There is a small utility that I have not installed on any of my winmo phones call NoData that you can get that should prevent this from happening.

Originally Posted by Johpoke

I wonder why the touch screen is harder? Does it use the same type of touch screen as most other iPAQ's? (Where the surface you push with the stylus is a film which creates contact with a layer below)(You can see this by viewing the screen at a sharp angle, and then pushing the screen with the stylus very slowly, noticing a possible change in reflection) Do you have a screen protector on yours? Do you have it in a case? Or can it handle being loose in your pocket/hand bag?

The touchscreen is different than the other IPAQ devices I have. When I tap my other IPAQ's touchscreens with my fingernail, there's a little give and it feels softer. When I tap the DM touchscreen, it feels harder. The DM screen doesn't feel like it has any give to it or that there is a layer below it. I don't usually use screen protectors on my devices (don't like them) and so I don't have one on the DM.

I don't like cases either even though I have some small "gloves" that I'll put a device in to protect it in my bag. I carry a purse, and nowadays, most of my purses have a small pocket for a cellphone and that's usually where I put it. I wouldn't toss any of my devices in a pocket or handbag (I broke the screen of the first IPAQ I ever had - an ipaq h1945 - when I put it in my briefcase, so I'm pretty careful with my devices). The DM does not feel fragile so I think it does pretty well without living in a case.

I think the DM is a pretty good choice. Have you looked at any other devices? HTC makes some pretty nice windows mobile devices too.

erezyad · 11-02-09, 09:19 AM

if u like the look of the data messenger i recommend u also look into htc Kaiser (tilt)
u will have front camera ... bigger battery... tilt of the screen ("like " laptop)
but 4 my the DM looks alot better then the Kaiser :)
(DM and tilt feel havy)
i dont think sliding hardware keyboard is so effective ,i have found myself using mainly software key unlike devices with front keyboard
(samsung i780 ipaq900 ipaq6900 palm750...)
so if u plan on working with mail alot u may also want 2 look into hardware keyboards
i think that if u like a device u will find ways that battery will last 4 your daily use
(using 2g,charging times,one more battery/bigger,pull mail every X min...)