HP iPAQ 214 review
04/03/08 02:49:30 pm by Matt - 1283 words
Categories: Mobile/Computing, Reviews, Games/Gadgets/Gizmos |
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With the vast array of mobile phones on today’s market equipped with Windows Mobile, or other PDA software, can HP’s latest standalone PDA device compete? Will people really want to carry around several devices for contacts, calendars and calls?
Introduction
HP’s latest iPAQ, the 214, at first glance seems a step back to the original iPAQ days. A PDA Device running Windows Mobile 6 Classic, with all of the standard features you would expect from this operating system – Except, no SIM card or telephone support. HP have integrated full wireless and Bluetooth support into the device so the old days of connecting wires to your desktop may at least be over.
HP have stated to us that continued interest in this style of perhaps, traditional PDA’s are attracting new market areas where mobile phone connectivity is not required, such as the health marketplace covering hospital usage for example.
What’s in the box?
Once again, HP’s market brand is clearly in evidence with the box and packaging. You can see our full unboxing video HERE. User Guides and Software are first to come out of the box, revealing the pretty sizeable iPAQ 214 Enterprise Handheld. A pretty hefty 2,200AH battery should keep the device running for a while. A standard charger with multiple country options hooks up to the non-standard charging lead. The USB Sync cable included also has a connector for the charger so the device will not charge from USB alone.
Hidden right at the bottom of the box is the retro style carry case.
HP iPAQ 214 Specification:
General
A rather simplistic set of buttons and connectors adorns the very smart and well built HP 214.
To the top right of the device we have the power button.
The large screen 4 inch diagonal screen dominates the front of the case leading us down to the typical control keys
Shortcut keys either side of the main navigation control provide quick and simple access to common features such as Calander, E-Mail and Windows Shortcuts. The navigation pad allows standard control of the PDA and features.
The bottom of the phone provides the propriety charging and docking connector, as well as a mini USB for PC synchronisation. I never managed to get the device to charge from the USB connector alone and had to use the supplied docking cable and mains charger.
Many people however will be really pleased to see the full size standard 3.5mm headphone socket.
The top of the case hides a dual SD/CF socket allowing great expansion with devices or memory cards.
Interestingly, HP have also accommodated a small light sensor right next to the power switch which will automatically adjust the screen brightness depending on ambient light conditions.
On the left of the device is a solitary voice recording button.
The right side is home to nothing more than a reset button.
Highlights and Lowlights
Highlights
Lowlights
Review
The HP iPAQ 214 is a pretty sizeable PDA device with a massive 4 inch 640x480 resolution screen. It has certainly been manufactured extremely well and the looks and quality are superb – Very much a high end PDA device.
After unboxing the unit and charging for a while I played around with the customary interface and the stylus. I’m not convinced by the feel of the screen though. Whilst it undertakes stylus control very well, it feels like a thick bit of plastic and almost feels like it moves under the point of the stylus. (And yes…. I had taken off the protective cover!!). Many of today’s touch screens have a much nicer look and feel.
Hooking the device up to my WiFi connections was a breeze – HP certainly make connectivity a joy with all of their devices. Browsing the internet really has the device coming into its own though. The exceptionally sharp 640x480 display allows so much more of a web site to be visible and navigation becomes so simple. Looking at images, maps and text were great. Even better, the screen is more than bright enough to be viewed clearly outside.
What you also notice, certainly compared to many PDA Phones, is the speed of the device. I’m running my HTC Touch overclocked at 260, rather than 201mHz and it still seems mighty, mighty slow compared to the HP 214. The slowest of slow applications run so well making the device a dream to use.
As this is classed as an Enterprise device I thought I’d better test some of these features so I enabled Bluetooth on my laptop and ran through the HP configuration settings to hook the PDA to my laptop. As mentioned previously, HP are the King of connectivity on many of their devices. I was able to sync to my laptop within minutes and have my calendar and e-mails synchronising across the Bluetooth connection.
This is where I had to step back a little though. Bluetooth or wireless for synchronisation? It’s great when I’m sat in the office but on the road to be without synchronised mail unless I stop off at Starbucks just seems a little backward, especially for an “Enterprise” classified device.
If you want to view maps or anything when you are out and about you need to make sure you download them first or else you are going to have to use the Bluetooth connection on your mobile in order to access the internet.
The device has been fun to use though, with no real issues or major complaints. The button placement is great and, apart from my dislike of the feel of the screen, stylus control is precise and responsive. The really handy navigation buttons save stylus time, and some extra neat features like holding the buttons down for a few seconds will launch other shortcuts is well thought out and very useful.
Conclusion
I have to admit, I wasn’t overly looking forward to reviewing this device, the idea of a standalone PDA seemed very old school especially when my HTC Touch does all of this and has phone calls as well! I was however very impressed with the HP iPAQ 214.
I can also understand the market place HP are trying to attract, people may want to be able to go out and not be bombarded with e-mails such as your normal Windows Mobile or CrackBerry. There may be places such as hospitals where phones are not allowed, but simple access to internet via WiFi may be.
However, for an Enterprise device I just can’t help feel this has a restricted market sector.
If you are looking for a top of the range PDA and happy to carry your normal phone with you, this device is simply the best I have seen on the market. However, I for one will stick with my Windows Mobile device, which, although smaller and harder to view web pages, does everything I need in one nice small package.
Review by: John
[Post tag(s): smartphone blog, Pocket PC blog, Tracy & Matt, iPAQ, HP]
Permalink27 comments
Mine charges and synchronises happily using the mini USB port alone. There was no such cable with the unit, but I tried the one supplied with my Blackberry and it works perfectly, in fact I dont need to use the other connection at all.
I will probably buy the cradle when they bring it out, as it is more convenient if it is standing up, like my old (and still faithful) hx4700 does. I have upgraded because I want to be able to use a bluetooth keyboard with it, and my 4700 runs Windows Mobile 2003, which does not support this. Upgrading to Mobile 5 sounded dodgy as reported elsewhere on the web, so I have moved up, but will be keeping my old unit safe as a backup.
Speaking of which. I cannot find any backup facility for the 214. No mention anywhere in the literature and no indication of how to deal with this. Any ideas anyone?
2. Touch screen is tough, but loosens up after a few weeks(disadvantage due to length of your review)
3. I would challenge the case of not liking to hold for a long time. I am quite happy watching a 2 hour film on it. Also the backis rubberised, so its very ergonomic.
In terms of the market ? There are still lots of folk like me who want a powerful but tiny mobile phone which can be carried when wearing shorts and a t-shirt or running around town in a pocket. And would also like a big screen to surf when required. No phone can combine the two due to the size produced once you have a big screen. Convergence doesn't solve all problems and I love my Nokia E51 + Hp 214 combination.
rgds
I now have a SE W890i, and have just ordered an iPaq 214. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to working with a proper PDA and phone combination again, and having a proper full featured phone again in the SE is like a breath of fresh air.
The ONLY thing I'll miss from my TyTN will be the keyboard.
haven't succeeded in doing is browsing web-pages. If I am
in a wifi zone (e.g. cafe with free wifi), it connects no
problem but won't load any web-page that I try to go to -
would appreciate any suggestions.
Thank you for the great feature of the HP iPAQ 214.
I love a phone that can have a big touchscreen and no
keyboard sliding out of it.
However after coping done the features of HP iPAQ 214 to
show my friends. I come to the point of reading no phone
features. Iam sorry to say this, but what a waste of a
good model. I personally know that there is a population
that loves to have a large touchscreen phone. I have a PDA2K
Pocket PC and people have been asking me to sell it to
them. They donot care even if it is second hand.
The standard size 22xx IPAQ was too small for my hand. For me the larger 214 is solve this problem.
My opinion is "never mix the phone and the PDA function". If the "equipment" have PDA features phisically become mouch bigger size than the normal phone. For mother side the comfortable phone much smaller than the comfortable PDA.
214 has a big advantage as its display resolution 640x480. This resolution is very helpfull for the "computerless" home work (eg. text editing). And the landscape screen orientation! This function is requested by ours in 2004...
Zoe
Does anyone know if there is a gps unite at can be attached or linked to it?
Could anybody please confirm whether or not the IPAQ 214 will sync with MS Office 2007 ie. Outlook : - Diary, Contracts and Tasks etc?
Thanks Brian Harvey
It's fantastic for learning a new language. You can just press on the foreign word that you want translated, see its translation, then press back to the foreign story that you are studying from without losing your place.
Was previously using a Dell Axim x51.
Have to say this ipaq looks pretty ugly in comparison - very bland and very square; not aesthetically pleasing at all, unlike the Dell.
Can't see any desktop cradles available as yet, so it has to sit rather unprofessionally flat on my desk, facing away from me due to the direction of the power socket.
Screen is massive, which means the device itself is massive and will not fit into your pockets - not even your suit pocket.
The lack of gprs is quite an issue, and they could at least have fitted a camera.
Oh well.
I too like phone/pda seperate and it will be a while before anything approaches the ideal combination while maintaining performance, don't need a camera have one and a 3 megapixel in my 'phone.
I find it excellent for the job in hand and with the addition of the now cheap 8GB SD card gives me load of space for pictures and music.
It does occasionally drop it's connection so have to do a hard reset, this is USB levels I think that's why some people can't charge/synce through the moni usb, I have a powered usb hub, works ok.
Cradles are out but they use mini usb and some people
still can't sync/charge with them so beware.
Thanks for the review, I read it before purchasing.
Bye
http://reeed.ru/en.html
Can to whom it is useful.
when will they at last match the technology and usability of Loox 720 (more than four years old now!)?
greetz from the netherlands
for emile: CF and SD cards are not limited by machine, becouse the controller is not in the device but inside the card (that's why you can buy TV, GPS, WIFI and many others to that slots).
For the other friend that wanted to know about GPS...well it works PERFECTLY!!I purchased the Bluetooth GPS ROYALTEK RBT-2300 from www.semsons.com, they deliver in Europe, and I use many Astronomy related software for celestial coordinates AND Car navigation too, e.g. Destinator 7. IT IS AMAZING how these two little things cooperate (the 214 and the RBT-2300 GPS from Royaltek!)...and you wanna know an expert's advice? External GPS devices work BY FAR much better than the embedded ones! Trust me, you haven't experienced better SAT Navigation with a PDA than with the 214! The huge 4inch screen gives you amazing 3D or 2D views of the map AND most importantly, it recalculates routes BLAZINGLY FAST in the Destinator 7 software that i use...i wonder how much slower are the other devices with slower CPUs in that field...THIS IS A WINNER DEVICE...whether some people like it or not...
WAY TO GO HP!!
TASSOS
ATHENS GREECE
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