Compaq C-Series 2010c Handheld PC

by HP

Product Details

Product Manual [1.10mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 3.9 x 7.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00000JFEZ
• Item model number: 314550-002
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #317,924 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 4, 1973

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

From the worldwide PC leader comes an unprecedented business tool -- the Compaq C-Series. As powerful as it is compact, the C-Series takes the important features of a desktop PC, adds the fastest internal modem possible, and streamlines it all into an invaluable business tool. It features 20 MB RAM and a 256-color screen that's easy on the eyes. The C-Series is also upgradable to 32 MB RAM using EDO memory or the available PC Card Slot for memory upgrades. Access e-mails, surf the Internet, edit documents, view presentations...it's all instantly seamless!

What's in the box

• 2010c Handheld PC
• AC Adapter
• Stylus (housed in the handheld PC)
• Auto-sync cable
• Batteries (two AA alkaline or one rechargeable NiMH, depending on your C-Series model)
• Modem cable (available with some models)
• CD-ROM discs
• Documentation

Product Description

C-SERIES 2010C HANDHELD PC

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

102 of 104 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A dissapointing saga, October 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Compaq C-Series 2010c Handheld PC (Office Product)

I had my company purchase a 2010c for me a little over a year ago. I was pretty excited since it was color. I was migrating from the first generation Compaq WinCE device (made by Casio) which I loved. I wanted more than anything to reduce my need to carry a laptop for most things. Because of my previous experience with Compaq and their good reputation, I expected an equally good experience. However, things began going wrong fairly rapidly.

The first problem was with The battery life. Their life started out at nearly 4 hours continuous use, which I expected because it was a color machine. However, because of the way the cradle was designed, the NiMH batteries were being constantly charged. When NiMH batteries are treated this way they develop memory effect which seriously reduces their life. By the time I quit using the machine (after 9 months) the batteries would only support about 30 minutes of continuous use.

The next problem happened after I upgraded the 2010c to the latest release of Windows CE, Handheld PC Pro. When you have appointments in your schedule, you usually set them up with a reminder. If the machine was off when an alert happened, it would wake up, turn the screen on and wait for you to acknowledge the alert. After a few minutes it was supposed to turn itself off. On the surface it appeared to, but I learned the hard way that it did not. Although the screen was black, taking it into a dark room revealed that it was actually glowing (on). The machine, sitting in my briefcase overnight, would stay on until it completely drained the batteries and the backup battery! This resulted in my complete loss of data three separate times. There was one instance where I could not use it when I was at a client site because of this phenomena. So I had to turn off reminders to keep this from occurring. So much for a useful PDA...

Then the hinge on the case broke, and it will longer boot up except on rare occasions when Jupiter is aligned with Venus. The keyboard was bad, web surfing with the web browser extremely slow, syncing with the PC slow, and the office apps were severely limited in functionality. Little by little this experience trained me that I needed my laptop and that what I really needed was a better organizer. The unfortunate part was that others in my company liked the 2010c when I had first got it and subsequently bought them. At one time, there were five of us "WinCE" guys in the building. Today, none of them are in use. They all encountered the exact same problems.

I tried a monochrome WinCE Palm-size PC next. It ended up mechanically failing. After 3 WinCE machines and being a WinCE zealot, I felt guilty buying a Palm V. What I ended up realizing was that there were several factors that were important to me: battery life, size, capabilities, wide universe of available apps, and good backlight. The Palm excelled in all of those.

BTW, my wife's Casio monochrome WinCE device has been flawless and we both like it very much. IMHO, Casio makes a much higher quality device. For the price of the 2010c, I was highly disappointed.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Nice display, but the case is poorly engineered, July 23, 1999

By 

Tod Masters <[e-mail]> (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Compaq C-Series 2010c Handheld PC (Office Product)

The display is excellent - it's a good size and the backlighting makes it legible in most conditions (although having the backlight on really chews up the battery power). However, there appears to be a design flaw in the case. I purchased my 2010c in September 1998, and within 2 months, the plastic hinge on the left-hand side fractured, making the unit unusable. I returned the unit to the Compaq service facility, who replaced it free of charge. In May this year, the hinge on the second unit fractured in exactly the same place. I'm going to ask Compaq to replace it again, but the warranty will expire in September, so if the third one breaks, I'm out of luck. This is a high-end product with a high-end price tag: this kind of failure just shouldn't happen.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good stuff, comparing with many new handhelds, August 8, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Compaq C-Series 2010c Handheld PC (Office Product)

I have a Pocket PC with a keyboard and I suffered to enter my data. Finally with this old fashion (new of 1998) I can type and do all my stuff as if I was with my desktop.
It is portable, it weights a liite more and is larger that the new thin Pockets PC but if you like to type your work it is a good intermediate solution between a Pocket PC and a Notebook