Hewlett Packard IPAQ h1910 Pocket PC

I'm a Palm user and always have been (6 years). I've owned the III, V and Vx. I loved my Vx but wanted a new PDA, so I went in the market and tried the Tungsten, Ipaq 5450 and 1910. The nice return policies most vendors give you is perfect for research. Most will offer you 14 days for a full refund, no questions. I'd like to warn readers that as a new Pocket PC user, this is written from that perspective. The review will include comments on the OS as well as the device...

First, the basic specs.
Proc: 200MHz Xscale 250
Mem: 64 RAM, (46 useable)
Screen: 3.8" diagonal (like all other Ipaqs), 240x320, (PocketPC 2002 fixed resolution) Transreflective display
I/O: pen/touch, audio recorder microphone, IR, 2.5mm headset jack (Warning: 3.5mm is standard!), speaker
Battery: 900 mAH (small for an Ipaq, but sufficient)
Expansion: 1 SD slot (takes MMC as well, not SDIO)
OS: PocketPC 2002
Dimensions: 4.46"x2.75"x.5"
Weight 4.23 oz.

What's in the box:
The Ipaq 1910 (duh)
slim battery
USB sync cable
AC adapter (plugs into the USB sync cable)
2.5mm earbuds
CD with ActiveSync 3.5 (just install 3.6 from MS website) and Pocket Outlook

What's NOT in the box that you'd like to have:
NO CRADLE
NO SPARE STYLI
NO CASE/COVER

OK, here we go.

My initial fear was a slower GUI. Palm is so quick, and the units are so snappy and responsive. The reason is that the OS is primitive. The Ipaq has a _slight_ lag. It's noticeable to a Palm user who's used to having super fast response. Imagine the difference between .1 seconds and .3 seconds.

I found the GUI to be fairly simple. The Today screen which is the default features the date, "owner" information, any appointments you have that day, and messages in your inbox (you can customize the number of days this holds), and the number of tasks you have, but not what the tasks are. Clicking on any of these will open the actual event / task.

True to form, Microsoft has their Start Menu which will act just like it does in Windows. You can change the Today Screen just like you can change a Windows Desktop. There is software available on MS site that will let you set your backgrounds, font colors, etc. I enjoy this feature, simply because it shakes up the monotony.

Opening a program, such as Contacts or Calender, will reveal a fairly straightforward interface. To close the app, you have to click the X button in the upper right (how predictible). It is important to note that you haven't actually closed the app. It's still running, but you can't see it. In order to close it for real, you have to open the PocketPC equivalent of Task Manager by selecting Start->Settings->System->Memory->Running Programs. Starting to see how the GUI slows you down? MS's inveterate desire to maintain this GUI has overshadowed a basic underlying truth that what works for a desktop PC doesn't necessarily work for a handheld. I find this interface stupid, and definitely miss the Palm's way of doing it. To be fair, I've noticed no slowdown from leaving everything open. I imagine this is the road to instability and those famous WinCE / Pocket PC crashes.

Data entry... Well, I used Jot for my Palm Vx and never had any trouble. There isn't any Jot available for OS 5 on the Palm, but I hear 5.2 will include "Graffiti 2" which will be effectively the same thing. Until then, you're all S.O.L. Windows has decent block printing recognition, but I've found myself frustrated whenever I had to write anything. I'm personally going to stick to using the PDA as data retrieval... I don't recommend data entry at all. That said, MS offers a word completer which has made the few times I've had to do this far less painful. The way you "right click" is by tapping and holding the screen. A neat little effect circles will encircle (yes, I know, I could have written that better) your stylus point. Then the familiar menu of Cut Copy and Paste pops up.

As an MP3 player, the device works great. You need to get an SD card (I'm using a Lexar 256 MB), and just transfer your music there. Windows Media Player will ask you where to find the files, and away you go. The sound is great, and I was impressed. The earbuds they include aren't very good, but they'll tide you over until you get a 3.5mm to 2.5mm converter from Radio Shack so you can use your favorite headphones.

That sums up what I use my PDA for. Contacts, Calendar, Task list, Email (only to read on the go, not to respond to), and MP3.

I wanted complete synchronization with MS Outlook, and finally I have it. Pocketmac supposedly has software to let you do the same to Entourage on the Mac side, but I've been unsuccessful getting this to work. I'll update once tech support walks me through this. That was my biggest gripe as a user of the Palm. At least one half is taken care of, but seeing as how Entourage is a MS product, MS should probably prepare some sort of sync in the future.

This is a no frills unit, for someone who's demands are as basic as mine. You don't get anything else for your $300, which makes many people complain. To them, I say, "get a different unit." I like the small form factor, and when you factor this into the cost, it's right in line with the competition. Insofar as speed of processor, the 5450 sports a 400 MHz processor. Not noticeably faster. In fact, I dont' remember any speed increase at all using it.

The unit is still very new and they haven't released accessories to market. Another gripe is that the unit doesn't even come with a cradle. You have to buy all sorts of things to make the unit functional. I bought 2 cradles (at $50 each) and 2 power cords (at $27 each) to make mine work at home and in the office. Don't think the cradle will charge by itself, you actually do have to buy a separate power cord, so be warned.

There are also no cases out there. Well, I haven't found them, at any rate.

I thought all of this was a boon to me, because it let me pick and choose everything I want. It's a detriment for a novice who thinks they have everything they need out of the box, but if they do their homework and read this lengthy review, they'll learn these things ahead of time.

Why didn't I take the 5450 (price was not a problem)? The WiFi wasn't impressive. It was slow, and not useful. I'm not going to browse the web in Bryant Park on my Ipaq. I don't have a Bluetooth ANYTHING, so that's not really a priority of mine. It's still a fledgeling technology, anyway. So... why pay for a heavier unit that wasn't going to do anything more for me than the little one could? Even the screen is the same.

Why didn't I choose the Tungsten? This was not as easy. Small, light, good form, familiar GUI... all of this was hard to walk away from. I have to say I loved it. I think that Docs to Go on the Palm is better than MS's own Pocket Word and Excel. That said, the promise of synchronization to Entourage from Pocketmac made me skew to the Ipaq. And, a further plus is the Ipaq is $100 cheaper, although the lowest prices on the net has the Tungsten at $325 and the Ipaq at $295. I gave the Tungsten to my mother, who's in love with it.

Gripes? Sure. The IR port is on the side, not the top. That's awkward and no fun. I haven't been able to beam contacts to a Palm user, but they can beam to me. Argh. With Palm still having 55% of the market out there, this is NOT a good thing. The headphone jack is 2.5mm. 3.5mm is the standard, so you need a converter to use your favorite headphones.

I hope this helps. To sum up, the 1910 is a simple, but impressive device. Want games, movies, and all that jazz? Get another Ipaq or get a laptop. It's a size/weight to rival the Palm V series or M500 series, and you Outlook Synchronization. This is what I've been waiting for.