iPAQ Pocket PC

The

iPAQ is perhaps the best-known PDA running Windows for Pocket PC 2000. Compared

to the Palm Pilot and the Handspring Visor, it is a new entrant into the field.

The iPAQ Pocket PC, to give its full name, comes in two varieties, monochrome

and color. What we got for a quick two-day preview is the color one–the Pocket

PC 3630.

First the specs. As we said earlier, the iPAQ runs Wiindows for Pocket PC

2000, which is Microsoft’s update to Win CE. It has 32 MB of RAM and 16 MB of

Flash ROM. The touch-sensitive screen has a size of 240 pixels by 320 pixels,

and the system runs on a 206 MHz StrongARM processor. That makes the Pocket PC

more powerful than the Pentium-based desktop PCs from a few years back. Add the

full graphical user interface and multimedia, and you have a very versatile and

powerful gadget in your hands. The unit has rechargeable Lithium Polymer

batteries. But the charger shipped with an American style AC plug that did not

fit into Indian power sockets, so we had to scramble for an adapter. Hopefully,

that would be set right in the units that ship in the country. The iPAQ is

expandable through Jackets, or slip-on covers to its metallic casing, which will

also incorporate added functionality like modems.

Now, what all can the iPAQ do? It can do all the standard stuff that a PDA is

expected to do, like maintain addresses, schedules and to-do lists, and

synchronize (sync it, as the seasoned PDA user will say) data with a PC. It can

do some more. For example, it can record your voice and play music and other

multimedia files. It has Internet Explorer, Pocket Word, and Pocket Excel. Files

created in Pocket Word or Excel can be opened in the regular applications on a

PC and vice versa. So, the iPAQ Pocket PC is more of a PC than a PDA. And like

all PCs, it has a little reset button that lets you restart the gadget. For

input, it gives you a choice between using character recognition as you write

and a software keyboard on the screen. For connecting to the PC, the options are

serial port, USB, and infrared. The review unit shipped with a serial port

connector and not the USB one.

How is the iPAQ in usage. To a complete novice user, the iPAQ presents no

great challenges, although the character recognition, including the

sensitiveness of the screen to the stylus, does take a bit of getting used to.

Compared to the Palm, the unit is a little bulkier to hold and heavier in the

pocket, but again after some time you get used to it. The screen display is

extremely sharp, and you have five brightness settings to choose from. In all of

them, the text on the screen was easily readable. The iPAQ has a powerful

microphone that recorded at distances of five to six feet easily in our tests.

The playback is also clear and loud.

That brings us to that all-important thing–price. Internationally, the iPAQ

3630 is priced at $499. That, assuming 25 percent customs duty, works out to

about Rs 29,000. The retail price is currently Rs 34,500.

All said, a powerful gadget, particularly if you are looking for a minimal PC

in your pocket. One wishes that it would have cost a bit less, though!

Krishna Kumar