Customer Reviews

Compaq iPAQ 3955 Color Pocket PC

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

While most of the reviewers have done a great job of examining the various technical advantages of this amazing little device, I'd like to take a moment just to describe the incomparable beauty of the operating system itself. Long gone are the days when the Pocket PC Operating System was home to a handful of difficult-to-use, technical software hash-togethers; today, a Pocket PC can do everything and anything. Microsoft's original marketing ploy for the device - "Can your Palm do this?" (answer: not unless its holding a Pocket PC) - rings truer than ever. Some of the things you can do with a Pocket PC:

1) Using a connection to the internet (purchase a Secure Digital wi-fi card and stick it into the iPaq) you can transfer money and check your bank balance, if you bank support online banking. Do it anywhere in the house, or even at Starbucks, using their wi-fi hotspots.
2) You can watch your DVD movies on the airplane on the iPaq using Pocket TV; checkout [the website] for idiot-proof instructions on how to transfer those movies you downloaded...(legal movies, of course ;) into your Pocket PC in no time flat.
3) Play Super Nintendo and Original Nintendo - as well as Gameboy games - on your Pocket PC. Of course, ROMS are generally illegal. So in reality, you cannot do this. But if you were so inclined, various emulators - all of them, except for the SNES, are full speed (and larger than original screen size, in the Gameboy emulator's case) - are readily available on the internet. Checkout pocketgamer.org for info on Pocket PC gaming.
4) Use it as a remote control. If you've misplaced the sound system remote again, simply use the iPaq sitting in your pocket.
5) Look at (and edit) your digital camera pictures. If your digital camera uses secure digital cards, it is simply a matter of sliding the card into your iPaq. Otherwise, purchase the extra-slim Silver Slider Expansion Pack for the iPaq (about $50) and then you can insert compact flash cards (a more popular digital camera format) into the iPaq.
6) Get the latest headlines and news briefs from the Internet every morning using Microsoft Plus Sync'n Go (available in MS Plus!: Digital Media Edition, available to purchase and download over the Internet) and watch MSNBC at work or in the bus. No commercials, no advertisement, such a quick rundown of the day's news. Simply dock your Pocket PC in the morning, and you're all set.
7) Play Quake - the original, fully 3D version - on your Pocket PC. Fully legal to play the demo version on the optimized Pocket Quake engine, available to download for free at pocketmatrix.com
8) Play Tomb Raider, Simcity 2000, and, within months, the complete version of Worms World Party on your device. All are available to purchase and download from trusted online retailers like handango.com
9) Replace all your glove compartment maps with MS Pocket Streets, available for free from MS to download over the Internet. Maps are fully zoomable; streets appear just like on a real map, or just click on any street to identify it. If you are really into, purchase Pocket Copilot, a black plastic sleeve with an antenna that slides onto your iPaq and makes it a full-color, ultra-professional GPS system with audio instructions ("Next intersection, turn right"). Even comes with a suction cup holder so you can attach the GPSed iPaq to your car dashboard.
10) Experience e-Books the way they were meant to be experienced. Countless classics, from Kurt Vonnegut to George Orwell, are available...And anything published in the 1920's and earlier (Hemmingway, anyone?) is copyright-free; in other words, go to goggle and type in the book's title and "Microsoft Reader ebook" along with free, and you're bound to find something. Otherwise, check [online] to find out if your favorite book is available to purchase for MS Reader, Palm Reader, or Adobe Reader (all compatible with Pocket PC, even the second one!)
11) Edit documents with on the fly spell-checking (i.e. underlines mistakes in red as you type) along with synonyms, pictures, headers, tables, etc. using Textmaker, a third party app that is as fully functional as Word in every single way.
12) Forget the dictionary; 8 megabytes or less is enough for virtually any of the various dictionary (and translator) products available for Pocket PC.
13) Play the shareware versions (or full, if you own the originals) of Hexen, Heretic, and Doom, all for free. Open source engines for all three games are available, and easily accessible, on the Internet. Take a peak at pocketgamer.org to find out more.
14) Using Thunderhawk, a third party Internet Browser, you can view websites in 100% full "virtual" resolution. When you type in a site address, the website first goes through Thunderhawk's servers and is transformed into a virtual page that then appears on your Pocket PC. Everything...appears just as it does on your PC, with support for all cookies and proprietary standards. Palm cannot match that - it is 100% real web browsing.

...In other words, calling a Pocket PC an organizer is an understatement like no other. This is a PC, with all the advantages of portability, that fits in your pocket. Amazing little gadget - if you like technology, you will adore the iPaq.

I've been dying to get a palmtop for the last year to replace my old bulky HP Jourdana. I convinced myself that I would not get one until I could get the perfect package, phone and pocket pc integrated together with high-speed wireless internet, MP3 capability, infrared remote control, all of it. I waited and waited. Unfortunately the first generation of phone/PDAs is out and they all .... I want pocket PC not palm, so I checked out the Verizon Thera, and I actually physically laughed at the Verizon guy when he was showing it to me. For over [$$$] you get a PDA that can be a speakerphone, or you can carry a headset. The screen is awful. Their "high speed" wireless internet is [$$$] a month and no one can seem to get it to go faster than 14.4K. So I decided I definately was not waiting for the next set to come out. I got this Ipaq and kept my cell phone.

I don't like the palms, primarily becuase the graffiti pad is built into the screen; on a pocket pc you can choose between keyboard or a graffiti type recognition system or have the option to use the FULL screen. My girlfriend wanted one so I bought her a color palm m130(she mostly wanted the removable faceplates) and that one is really nice. Palms are definately the better option if you want an organizer, you would like some cool games and programs, and you want to pay less than [$$$} for one. She loves it, but I wanted more.

This Ipaq has the BEST screen. They made it thinner so there is not that annoying gap between the actual screen and where the stylus touches the pad. Makes it easier to use. The audio is very good; use one of those cassette adapters for a car cd player, plug it into this and you have awesome skip free digital quality music to pump. The screen is nice and big and VERY bright. I have the brightness turned about halfway down, and it is still plenty bright enough in all environments. The Battery life is the best of any pocket PC, one of the main advantages to having a palm. This can go all weekend without a charge and I use it constantly. Turning the screen brightness down really helps.

The feature I love the MOST is the consumer infrared port. It RULES. I have a lot of electronics, all the audio goes through a 5.1 reciever, and the video mostly goes directly to my TV (to take advantage of s-video and colorstream). Comcast has a motorola cable box that it is IMPOSSIBLE to get to work with regular universal remotes. This Ipaq can control EVERYTHING. It actually learns the infrared signal from any remote you have, and then you program it yourself to a device, room, and person. You can program MACROS too. I walk in the door, and with one touch this thing turns on my reciever, vcr, cable box, dvd player, and TV, sets the TV to the correct input mode, sets the reciever to the correct input and sound mode, and brings up the cable guide for me, PLUS turns on my air conditioner, sets it on high cool, and turns on my ceiling fan. With another touch it switches both the reciever and TV to DVD mode, changes to digital sound, turns down the brigtness of my TV and I'm ready to watch a movie, with ONE TOUCH. I also have a macro that turns everything off with one touch. My buddes are SO jealous of my home theater now hehe.

The writing recognition is WAY better than Graffiti. It can work with whole sentenes at a time instead of individual letters. It lets me go way faster, and actually makes a decent substitute for jotting notes down on paper. You have to try it to believe it. It's the 'transcriber' option, not the letter recognition. It recognizes printing, cursive, or a mixture of both; and you write across the whole screen instead of a little pad like Palm.

All in all I love this thing and I don't regret buying it at all. It is expensive, so if you are looking to save some money, go to maybe a Toshiba or a Palm. My stragegy is to own this for a year or so, by that time hopefully someone will create a viable phone/PDA hybrid, and then sell this one to buy the hybrid. Either that or just keep it as my universal remote control haha.

Here's what I DON'T like about it. Mostly the physical shape of the thing. My gf's palm is more contoured to the hand and lighter, it is much easier to hold. The main thing is that on hers, you detach the faceplate and fit a screen protector right there; if you want a screen protector for this Ipaq you have to get a special bulky case and increase the weight and size. I'm finding that hard to live with. My gf's palm also has a built in black plastic screen cover (cover, not stick on-protector like I was talking about) that flips UP. That is important because you hold it on one side with your hand. This comes with a really ... plastic case that opens to the side, and it is very inconvenient. I'm going to shop for cases, but with the palm you don't need one at all.

Another thing I don't like is that to get wireless internet or add more memory than the one slot, you need those bulky sleeves. However, since I kept my phone I use the internet on that and I will not need any of those sleeves unless I choose to go ahead and get a GPS add on (which I am going to do) In that case, the GPS will just stay in the car.

ALl in all, this thing is the best buy if you are willing to spend the money to have the BEST palmtop pc. I could not be more happy with it.

I was a bit hesitant about spending another [price] on yet another iPAQ. Not that I disliked my previous two (I've owned the 3600 and the 3800 series), but ten seconds after I turned the unit on (3955) I was glad I did! The iPAQ 3955 works so well I have renewed confidence in the "New HP" as Compaq has merged with HP. I must admit I was a bit skeptical when the merger was announce about the future of the iPAQ, but this first model since the merger has dispelled any concerns I previously held (Although the unit and all materials are still branded COMPAQ). The Consumer IP port is exceptional, it easily relaced my Phillips Pronto 2000 Universal remote, (with color to boot!) I've even downloaded a Voice activated Universal remote version for even easier use! The remote function alone is worth about [price]! The most striking feature is definately the display. Wow! When I compared the 3800 and the 3900 on each screen with identical files, I was amazed! The colors are vivid, crisp, great contrast, depth of color and is truely superior. Videos look amazing and sound incredible due in part to the Bass and Treble controls. The speaker is clear and for MP3's the headphone jack makes the unit sound unmatched. The iPAQ's popularity makes the availability of software vast, although there is currently limited software that takes advantage of the new processor speed (twice that of the earlier models). Be warned: Nexian is still having compatability issues with the 3900 series, so your Digital Camera expansion pack won't work yet. Nexian hopes to have this fixed soon. All other accessories are compatible from the 3800 series to the 3900 series, and most all others for the 3600 series work as well (Except for cradles and other cables.) The unit has performed well to date with none of the quirks or bugs from the 3800 series. (LED issues, static with speaker, unit auto-turning on/off, unit requiring frequent soft resets, color resolution, contrast settings, etc.) As a previous owner of the iPAQ 3635, iPAQ 3835, and now the iPAQ 3955 (all purchased from Amazon.com), I can recommend the new iPAQ 3955 with overwhelming support! P.S. I was able to sell my previous units at about 80% of their original price on Amazon Marketplace, so again the investment in the iPAQ is well worth it, the depreciation is low since demand is high! I would highly recommend all you 3600 and 3800 users out there to trade up and sell your older units to those just beginning to get their feet wet with PDA's. The older units are fantastic for High School or College students, make great gifts for graduation, and the newer units (3900 series) are essential for PDA junkies/technophiles who demand cutting edge technology!

Although I'm totally new to the Pocket PC arena, I've carried a trusty Palm device (a III and then a Vx) for several years. I was starting to get a bit bored with the Palm OS. Although it is implemented well, it seems to (lately) lack a bit of innovation and imagination. Despite that, there are literally millions of happy Palm users out there. And that means that there will continue to be quite a bit of developer support for the Palm, at least for the next year or so.

But while developer support used to be Palm's trump card, the tables seem to be turning. Just a couple of short years ago, developer support of the Windows CE OS was pitiful. It wasn't even in the same ballpark with Palm. But what a difference a couple of years make....there are now thousands of third party applications available for Windows CE/Pocket PC devices.

Now to the point....the iPaq 3955. Prior to purchasing the 3955, I decided I would go with the Toshiba e335, primarily because it is less expensive. But after getting it home and spending a couple of days with the Toshiba, I found it to be just a bit lacking. The display, while not bad, was a bit fuzzy and muted. The unit itself seemed a tad flimsy. And, although I really didn't have a basis of comparison, it seemed a little sluggish in the performance department. So after reading countless user reviews, I decided to return the Toshiba and take the more costly plunge into iPaq land.

I am happy to report that the iPaq 3955 is the absolute hands-down winner. There's no comparison. To me, the iPaq is the clear winner in practically every major comparison category: battery life, expandability options, screen clarity and brightness, performance (speed), and overall ergonomic design.

In terms of performance (speed), I realize that it is not really a fair comparison because the Toshiba e335 uses a 300 MHz processor, whereas the iPaq 3955 is equipped with 400 MHz. To me, there was a noticeable difference in performance. Applications launched more quickly and large Word documents, for example, took less time to load.

After looking at the Toshiba's screen for a few days, the iPaq's screen is simply stunning. Very bright and crisp. You should have no problem reading even the smallest of fonts on this unit.

Also, the overall ergonomic design of the iPaq is quite good, especially in comparison to the Toshiba. Where the Toshiba felt a little light and flimsy, the iPaq feels solidly constructed. I'm not sure if it's casing is made of metal, but it feels like it, while the Toshiba seems to be made mostly of plastic.

I don't mean to be bashing the Toshiba. For the money, the Toshiba is certainly worth considering. But if you can afford to spend a bit more, the iPaq 3955 takes the prize.

Well, for those wondering between a 3800 and a 3900... get the 3900. If for nothing else, battery life. Granted, my comparison is from the 3600 series, my first, but all I have heard is this thing even blows the 38xx in terms of battery life. I know that I found the battery life *PITIFUL* for the 3600... I couldn't even use it all i wanted to in one day without it warning me it was running out. This thing I have on for like 3 days and it's still got like 73% battery life left (or more if I have used it less).

The accuracy of where you tap the screen also does seem to be better.

And it synchronizes with the computer better, or rather less problems getting the two to recognize they are connected (I've only once had the problem with this one, after I disconnected it while it was trying to connect, and I've actually done that a few times and it has no problems, just one time too many this time). The 3600 I had all the time would have problems recognizing it was attached.

Also, this one seems a whole lot more durable too (durability is very good in a handheld device). Haven't given it too many major falls but it has had some falls and it still works fine. The other one had a foot fall out of my purse (I didn't notice it was open) and stopped working (at which point I never bothered to get the 3600 working again... battery life itself made it kinda pointless except as a toy. This one's battery life is so good I've come to really rely on it).

Another really nice feature is the fact that you can set the battery conservation time. That means you can set it to turn off and stay off til it is recharged anywhere from a 24 hour safe period (meaning that for 24 hours after it hits that point it won't lose your data) to like three days or something like that. This way you can squeeze more power out of the battery if you want to use it longer (but know you are going to be able to get to a recharger relatively soon), or make sure there is plenty of time left to get to a recharger but have less time to use it. It's a very important feature when you realize that once the battery runs out of charge your data goes kaput (and the fact that the min they allow you to run still keeps your data for 24 hours is nice, and that still gives you a whole lot of usage time out of the PDA).

One of the few bad things I can think about it is it doesn't seem that much faster than the 3600 that I can remember. But personally give me same speed and much better battery life over faster and "bad" battery life.

A large minus to the 3900 (and any Ipaq so far) is the fact you still cannot replace the battery without sending it to Compaq (well, I know that will change, they have kits now you can buy to replace the battery in the 36xx, even one that has a much longer battery life battery). But the point is having a battery that you supposedly have to get Compaq to replace when it dies is a *large* minus. I mean come on, you pay 600 dollars for it, and they treat it like something that is disposable once the battery dies. This is something I thought Compaq should be slapped for when I got the 3600 and I am very disappointed they are still doing it this way.

Oh, and I'm not sure if the 3800 had one, but the 36 series didn't, and I'm glad Compaq finally got the sense to put in some sort of "floppy drive" so to speak (the SD slot). Would have rather had flash but better than nothing. I once heard some one say that the whole point of not having a slot was so that you could pick whether you wanted it to be thick or not.. but the ones that had it integrated didn't seem all that thicker and having a sleeve on the ipaq did make it *much* thicker. Nice to have an integrated removable data slot (and hardly noticeably thicker).

I am very statisfied with my new iPAQ 3955. I would give it five stars but...

It was necessary to do a return/replacement with the first unit I received due to a bad "frozen" pixel on the screen. With Amazon's excellent return/replacement policies this was a relatively painless process and the replacement unit was perfect with no problems whatsoever.

Out of curiosity while I was out Christmas shopping, I checked several iPAQ 3955 units on display at a local retailer and discovered that 2 of the 3 units on display had bad pixels. I also noted that several of the Amazon customer reviews indicate a pixel problem. Apparently, this is a problem with the 3900 series - otherwise it is an excellent product with a lot of great features at a fairly reasonable price.

Just be sure to check for bad pixels.

The Compaq iPAQ 3955 and 3975 are hands-down the greatest pocket PCs out there. I've learned a few things that might be helpful to other users, so rather than write another general review, I thought I would post a few suggestions on their use, especially for those that may be making the transition from the Palm platform to the iPAQ, (as I did).

The iPAQ saves individual Notes that you make in the sub-directory where you create them in the Notes app area. This results in them initially having a name such as "Work1, Work2, etc. (i.e., if you have a Note directory called Work). This is not very helpful so you have to rename them by doing a "tap and hold" on the file name, and giving it the new name. Otherwise you end of with lots of Notes with non-descript names with numbers at the end. Not too helpful.

For better power management, watch the screen brightness setting which you set from the Settings menu. You can also hit the "Q" button and pop up the Q menu and get to it from there. A lot of times you can reduce the backlight setting and save power and extend battery life. Otherwise running it at the highest intensity you'll only have about 3 hours. Also, in direct sunlight, where the iPAQ works great but the Palm and Casio units wash out totally, you can set it on "power save" mode

If you use the digital recorder function, be careful what you have the settings here. The iPAQ will record anywhere from 8,000 Hz, Mono, 2KB/sec, to 44,100 Hz, 16- bit, stereo, 172 KB/sec. You'll find that even the 22,050 Hz, stereo settings will cause even short notes to take up 300K of space. After a few of these you're out of memory and you'll wonder why. The default setting of 8-bit mono is okay so I just leave it there.

This setting is also hard to find and can be found under Settings\Personal\Input\Options.

I've found my iPAQ to be the best of the Pocket PCs out there. Hope these suggestions help.

I just purchased the 3955 and it is absolutely amazing. First of all, the screen just blew me away. The screen on my old 3835 just isn't in the same league. You may hear people complaining about the short battery life, but pay no attention to them; they have never owned a 3955 and are stereotyping all PDAs with fast processors and color screens. Thanks to the energy-conserving screen, the battery life is quite impressive and I have never even come close to completely discharging the battery. Just about the only complaint I have is that the 400 MHz XScale processor is a little bit slower than the 206 MHz StrongARM processor in the 3835, but the difference in the screen quality makes the 3955 better by far.

This is a great product! I researched for months and months, and finally decided to go with the 3900 series. While, if I were to do it again, I'd get the 3975, just becuase it's bluetooth enabled, but it'll be another year or so before bluetooth is used widely enough to justify the extra hundred bucks. No complaints with the iPAQ itself, execpt for the fact that I have a pixel out smack dab in the center of the screen. Amazon wouldn't take it back--because I live in Japan, and after I had my visiting friend hand deliver it to me, I couldn't get it back to America in time for Amazon to feel they had an obligation to help me out--other than by referring me to the manufacturer. So, I had it sent to a Compaq repair center and it was sent back to me with an explanation that my annoying pixel outage was within their accepted "industry standard" and they wouldn't repair it or replace my product. What a bunch of hay! What about my standards? I bought their product brand new for around $$$, and they don't care that it's defective and really annoys me? Bad customer service has likely cost Compaq a previously devoted customer.

The ipAQ H3955 is an excellent tool for managing multiple tasks. The color is sharp and the use of the equipment is easy. The negative side of this product also applies to other PDAs, battery life and loss of data if you allow the battery to die. The fact that I can use word, excel, and other programs easily on this PDA makes it easier for me. The expansion slot and memory cards are plentiful. A drawback is getting a manual with the PDA that explains its programs and how to use it. The manual that comes with the PDA is totally useless. They could have saved the time wasted putting it together and placing it in the box. I am still looking for a manual that can help shed light on some of the capabilities.