Alternatives to HX4700?

andyfr · 11-09-06, 09:23 AM

Hi

I currently have an iPaq 2210 but feel it's time to upgrade. The HX4700, although it's discontinued, looks to be the one to go for. I know it's still possible to get hold of them...just, but are there any others (apart from Dell as I've heard bad reports about them) which offer the same screen resolution as the HX4700?

I have heard so many great reports about this model and it's fantastic screen so why did HP not replace it with one as good?

DavesPPC · 11-10-06, 02:35 AM

The h22xx is one of the best PPCs out there in many ways, but I can understand your need to upgrade. I did the same thing recently, but will keep my 2215 :)
The 4700 is a great device for sure, and while I wish I could've afforded one I just went with the x50v (in a trade offer) and is quite the upgrade from the 2215!
I can't really recommend a model other than the 4700 or a x50v/x51v unless you want to go with a converged device (I didn't).
What are you looking to upgrade? What are your needs (that the 2200 didn't cover) ?

David

andyfr · 11-10-06, 03:46 AM

Hi David

My 2210 gets used for many things, much more that I first thought, and at those it's fine. It's also used occasionally for TomTom Navigator and that is not as smooth as it could be which is probably the speed of the processor.

It would be really good to be able to rotate the screen into landscape mode for using Excel and have the higher resolution screen, they are the main reasons for looking to change.

Andy.

psionandy · 11-10-06, 04:23 AM

I'd cast a vote for the axim... otherwise a loox?

(or you could go all penguiny and go for a nokia 770)

DavesPPC · 11-10-06, 04:34 AM

Originally Posted by andyfr

Hi David

My 2210 gets used for many things, much more that I first thought, and at those it's fine. It's also used occasionally for TomTom Navigator and that is not as smooth as it could be which is probably the speed of the processor.

It would be really good to be able to rotate the screen into landscape mode for using Excel and have the higher resolution screen, they are the main reasons for looking to change.

Andy.

The Axim x50v has a 624mhz processor I believe, and is MUCH faster in all aspects compared to the iPaq 2200 series.
Faster, that is....if using WM2003 and NOT WM5 upgrade :)

andyfr · 11-10-06, 04:52 AM

Are the Axims okay then? I had heard that users were experiencing problems with them.

andyfr · 11-10-06, 04:55 AM

Originally Posted by psionandy

I'd cast a vote for the axim... otherwise a loox?

(or you could go all penguiny and go for a nokia 770)

I hadn't seen the Nokia 770, it doesn't look too bad. Oh, just had a look and it probably wouldn't be any good as I need Word, Excel and TomTom.

psionandy · 11-10-06, 04:59 AM

Well some users do have problems... but no more (and no more serious) than the ipaq users...

(Apart from Dell's botched wm5 upgrade for the X50 series.. the X51 series is native wm5 and doesn't have those issues)

And the Dell complete care warranty (optional) is certainly the best that you can get in the uk...

the 770 is very interesting... I think you're going to need some linux skills to get to grips with it, and it is a different form factor... but if anyone has a spare i'd love to test drive it...

andyfr · 11-10-06, 05:03 AM

Maybe the X51 would be worth considering then.

yildi · 11-10-06, 08:58 AM

My brother has a 51v and he is quite happy with it. My preference to 4700 was motivated by the superior battery life and the size of the screen, of course. But I remain in WM2003SE...

Murat

RaTBaG · 11-10-06, 10:32 AM

When my CarePaq expires for my hx4700, and the iPAQ dies for the fnal time, I am going to move away from PPC's altogether. I am going to use my Sony Ericsson M600 for an on the move PIM (i tend to use this as view only for calander etc and the contact numbers to dial from). For anything else I propose to buy a OQO (the soon to be released version) or a Flybook V33i (or newer) which are super mini-PC's.
I think the format of a stand alone PDA is nearly dead and the performance of the converged phone/ppc isn't upto much.
The only problem is the cash required to by these things!

:)

imported_jb2001 · 11-10-06, 07:49 PM

Originally Posted by yildi

My brother has a 51v and he is quite happy with it. My preference to 4700 was motivated by the superior battery life and the size of the screen, of course. But I remain in WM2003SE...

Murat

i'd say there are a couple of options, the x51v is from what i've read a excellent native wm05 VGA device, i would tend to agree that the x50 wm05 upgrade and the hx4700 wm05 upgrade are dogs and not the way forward if buying from scratch, however if you have your heart set on a hx4700 then believe me you'll get an excellent pda as long as you remain with the wm03se operating system, i've lost track of how many times i've installed wm05 on my hx4700 only to find marginal improvements in performance and stability, some people find the newest rom release very good and usable, but between you and me and anybody else that reads this post, it's not a patch on wm03se.

Anyway back on topic, have you considered the new Fujitsu Siemens Loox N560
http://www.4winmobile.com/fujitsu-siemens-loox-n560-review-vt2602.html
http://www.fujitsu-siemens.com/products/mobile/handhelds/pocket_loox_n_series.html
(appologise if the links don't work, i'm writing this on my hx4700 )

I'm extremely tempted by this device as an upgrade to my hx4700. It has a VGA screen, wm05, Intel PXA270 624 MHz processor, 54mb wifi (802.11g), built in SiRF Star IIIChip gps, Host USB so you can plug in usb keyboard etc, fairly decent battery as mentioned in the above review, plus one or two other features that are appealing but not deal breakers ie audio out on the desktop cradle, plus the optional headset with audio controls.

There are as usual a couple of sticking point though that have stopped ME buying one, I would sugest these are minor issues, but just my general opinion

1- No cf slot for my 4gb card - A MUST
2- No VGA out feature as in the x51v
3- its only bluetooth 1.2 and not ver 2
4- smaller screen than the hx4700 (3.5" I think, compared to the massive 4" on the hx4700 )
5- I think it looks fairly dull and boring and not a patch on my hx4700

Anyway as I said i'm still considering buying one myself. Hope my rant has helped and not mudded the water.

Cheers JB

andyfr · 11-13-06, 09:25 AM

Thanks for the responses guys, you have certainly given me sonmthing to think about. Just out of interest what do people think of the XDA Exec and others? I like the fact that it has a reasonable sized keyboard.

Andy.

psionandy · 11-13-06, 11:25 AM

I looked at it... but it's too big to be a phone..

The XDA Mini, or the HTC Tytn, are small enough to be workable as phones, and still have a keyboard....(and T-mobile have some very nice data tariffs...)