Customer Reviews

HP iPAQ 5555 Pocket PC

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I replaced my Sony Clie with this machine for few different reasons. I wanted a longer battery life, better software, better screen, more memory, expandability and better accessory compatibility. And I got all that in Ipaq 5555. Battery lasts a long time and put many devices to shame. It is also user replaceable which allows you not only to use extended packs but if for any reason your power pack fails you can replace it on your own without sending your device for lengthy warranty service. So far PocketPC operating system has been stable to me and very easy and intuitive to use. Most of the software I got for it provides easy and painless installation. Erasing files and keeping everything organized is also very easy. For some reason Palm devices always have very little memory. 5555 comes with whooping 128 megs and with right memory card your options are unlimited. For example I use it with 256 SD card. There are a lot of after market accessories available for IPAQ made either by HP or by third party manufacturer. You have to watch out for HP accessories because some of them are not directly compatible with 5000 series. They have an external battery charger that states compatibility with 5555 yet it is not, but it is compatible with expansion pack (one that includes battery).

Bluetooth and wireless LAN work fine and allow you to almost always be connected. Unit is very solid with it's aluminum housing and case that is supplied with it besides being a really good deal protects the Ipaq the right way. My biggest complain is that 5555 is on the bigger side. It is a big PDA and coming from the smaller machine it is a slight disadvantage. I also have to rave about the screen. It is super bright, with excellent contrast and color definition. I kind of dislike the finger print security and perceive it as useless although cool conversation starter feature.

So how do I use my Ipaq? I work both as a web developer and EMT. Ipaq holds my medical and drug reference books for street work, basic software for web developing, few games, mp3s and tons of email, contacts, notes, pdfs, docs and excel files. I use it on the street to jog down info, cross reference medications and to keep records. I use it in the office for everyday routine stuff. On the train or when I get bored I play some games. It is a good machine and with few extra accessories (car charger, memory card and keyboard) it will last you forever (or at least until 6666 is out).

If price was a factor, this might be a 3-star review. I'm reviewing it assuming price is not an issue and you are willing to pay for the model.

Positives:

* Comes with Pocket PC 2003 (Windows Mobile 2003), which has worked out some of the bugs of PPC2002, so I understand. Seems a pretty stable OS.
* 128 MB is just the best (for now!). This is great if you love to install tons of stuff on the unit.
* With the 48MB of ROM and the OS, there is about 17MB left over for Ipaq file store. Another bonus in space.
* Wifi is nearly perfect. Picks up access points without a hitch. Only minor problem might be that it's "too" excited sometimes and forgets that a certain access point is no longer around, so you have to manually remove it from the list.
* Internet apps pretty good: Pocket IE, Messenger, W Media
* Also easily used 3rd party software to browse my network and play tunes off another computer.
* Syncs over wifi. This is so great!
* Easy syncing with outlook, of course. Syncs IE favorites, too.
* Unit ships with a higher capacity battery than the others (1250 vs. 900 mAh)
* Fingerprint reader is faster than entering a PIN or a password. Also many security possibilities (i.e. fingerprint OR pin, fingerprint AND pin, etc.)
* Voice recorder is handy.

Negatives:

* Price / Value ratio is fairly high. It seems that you could have a comparable unit with the 2215, a wireless card and some extra ram for about $100 cheaper.
* The microphone/headphone jack is not flush with the bottom of the unit, but inset (see angle pic). Some of my headphone jacks sleeves are too fat to push the plug in all the way. This is a big design flaw.
* With all the stuff it's got, it is on the heavier side of the PDA weight spectrum.
* Big processor and battery means it gets very warm!
* It'd be nice if printing over a network was a possibility. Can't seem to be able to do this.
* IE is somewhat boiled down. No easy way to save a picture on a webpage like the desktop version of IE.
* Charging with USB is possible, however the unit seems to wake up and want to sync even though I set syncing to manual. Doesn't go back asleep and won't USB charge while on.

No comment:

* Haven't been able to test bluetooth for lack of other devices carrying this technology.
* Haven't used SD slot yet.
* Haven't used the ipaq expansion pack, but this apparently allows it do do oh so much more! :)

-- Buzz

I would love the ipaqs if I could ever count on them to work. The 5555 is the third ipaq I have owned in the past three years (The company I work for gets them at a great discount, and I don't have to pay for them, which is why I keep getting them)

First off, there are many things to love about this pda. The fingerprint recognition is really cool. It works perfectly for me, and I don't have to worry about remembering a password or having it stolen. The integrated bluetooth and 802.11b is an excellent add-on, and hasn't added to the bulk of the device at all. There is a large amount of built-in memory, the display looks beautiful, the battery is swappable, and there are a lot of nice applications built in.

What disappoints me with every ipaq is the low reliability. It is so poor that I would never personally spend my own money on one of these devices. I typically have to hit the reset button on my ipaq several times per day, becuase under heavy use the thing will freqently slow down or completely freeze up. You can't blame third party apps for these faults, since I am commonly using the standard features of my ipaq when these faults occur.

My first two ipaqs died within about a year of purchase. The first one had a battery go bad, and since it was built into the device I could not swap it myself. The second one just stopped working. I could turn it on, but it basically just gave me a blue screen of death and nothing more.

I love what the ipaqs offer, I just wish HP could get their act together and make them work as they're supposed to.

For me, this machine is nearly flawless. It's backward compatible with most accessories that were made for any iPaq from the 3600 series or later, which is great for me since I have a lot of old accessories lying around (From my old iPaq 3670) that I like to use.

Using the built in media player, I can play most file formats for video and audio. Using MorphGear, I can play many old video games, even from the SNES, which was too intensive to play on older models, without any glitches and a nice framerate.

I've only used the Bluetooth for syncing, but that seems to work fine. The 5555 fixes a problem that the 5455 had, in which it would run out of memory trying to run both the Bluetooth and 802.11b drivers at the same time, if the machine had been on for a while, and wouldn't be able to load the 802.11b module.

There are only two things that bother me about the 5555. The first, isn't really a big deal. It didn't come with the Nevo software that the 5455 had, and so can't be used as a universal remote. The second is a big deal. If you don't charge the batery soon enough, your iPaq will basically be restored to factory defaults when you do charge it up and use it. The only things you won't lose are files in the iPaq File Store, and on storage cards. Very inconvenient.

When I was first looking around for a new PDA, I looked at the HP 5555, and was turned off because of the price. But after much reasearch I decied to go ahead and buy it. Let me tell you I dont regret my purchase one bit. I have never had any problems with it thus far (had it for about a month). I love the fingerprint secuity, and all the built in goodies. The wireless internet is wonderful, I can connect to the internet at home, work, or even Starbucks. Its great for anyone who needs a powerful handheld. For me it has been a blessing at work, I can keep track of all my contacts, and sync it with my e-mail at work. I would recommend this Pocket PC, to anyone who needs a powerful handheld.

I too came over from the palm. I always liked the many palm apps, but in reality the more I look the more I find that are useless, but no one removed them from the sites.
I wanted wireless to connect to net at home, maybe work. Since I recently got the nokia 3650 phone for free I didn't really need a phone, but needed the pda and some internet access.
I have not tried to use it with the bluetooth on the nokia, but I am amazed at the out of the box wireless net.
Just powered up and connected right away with no problems and I was so dreading getting things connected. I had gone with the ipaq that had BT but no wifi. I bought a card with it and it just didn't work, or I just could not get it up and running. The 5555 is worth it, no problems, it connected out of the box and it looks and feels great. Color amazing and it runs games like a pro.
I'm pleased.

EDIT Start -

I would like to comment on reviewers who claim that the technical support is junk along with the device's reliability. May I point out that it is Microsoft's operating system, which is to be expected as no operating system is perfect. The iPAQ's hardware has nothing to do with how many times a reset is needed, since it has not only more ram, but a faster processor than most other pda's currently on the market. As for the technical support, I have had two iPAQ's and always received the same friendly and careless help needed to fix my problems straight away. Here's a recent example of how HP's support works.

1. Problem occurs.
2. Call to HP, they check warranty (lasts a year).
3. They send you an empty box, shipping and parts replacement, 100% free.
4. Ship it out next day.
5. Repair begins and ends in under an hour.
6. You receive an email confirming depature and repair success.
7. You receive the iPAQ back, only having it leave your side for less than 3 days.

If that's not service, then I don't know what is. I believe that many people are rude, arrogant, and are ignorant to their mistakes. I told the support technicians that I had dropped it and they said no problem, and replaced the screen, usb host connector, and battery all free of charge. Hope this helps your buying decision.

EDIT Finish -

In comparison to newer-age pda's including the Toshiba e805, the Asus MyPal, and the new Dell Axim, I hope you will regard my post only within HP and Compaq's products. This particular iPAQ is a giant leap from my Compaq iPAQ 3835, gone are the days of cradle synchronizing and wired connections. With Bluetooth and wi-fi I can synchronize and receiving data virtually anywhere.

A few reasons to avoid buying this:
- it is not a good first pda, as some features require proficient computer knowledge
- it is not worth buying unless you plan on using all features, including the finger print scan, otherwise go with the cheaper 4100 series iPAQs.

A few reasons to avoid buying another:
- is an 'upgradable' iPAQ, which means all previous software, cords/connections, sleeves (jackets), styli, and cases will work with this iPAQ.
- has wi-fi and bluetooth built in, along with 128megs sd ram, and 48 megs rom, gives you extra storage space.
- speedy processor and an sdio slot.

I believe this is the current best option for anyone wanting a powerful handheld machine. With the largest array of expansion abilities and wireless capabilities, it is the smartest choice you can make.

Have had the 5555 for about 3 weeks now, and it's been very useful so far. Had a little trouble with the wireless settings turning themselves on, and running down the battery. Did a hard reset (after backing up, which was very easy), and everything is great now. Very quick response times, easy syncing to Outlook. Beautiful screen. I went "whole hog" and got a 256mb SD card, and popped for the CF Expansion Pack Plus, which includes a slim battery, and went for a 256mb CF card as well. I'm storing alot of documents, Excel spreadsheets, and presentations. Plus, I just like the "stuff"!! Would highly recommend the Universal USB sync cable as an accessory, if you are on the road alot, like me. I have'nt yet fully explored all of the capabilities of the machine, but, give me time.... Have fun!!

This must be the most frustrating device it has ever been my misfortune to own! With some regularity, and with no apparent reason, it resets itself to factory settings. I spend more time restoring and reinstalling than I actually spend productively.

At least 5-6 times per day, I have to do a soft reset because the thing locks up. Half the time it won't connect or sync either via USB or wireless.

I've had the iPAQ for a year now, and am just getting ready to do a complete reinstall. Once again, it reset itself. Two weeks ago, same thing. This is the last time, however, there is a hammer in the iPAQ's future. I mean it.

Afterthought: who ever heard of a device that can't be turned off? What numbskull designed a computer that loses everything if it loses power? Duh.

Calling it a PDA is a bit of an insult. The iPAQ 5555 is a hand held computer. With its Window format and very bright screen, it makes computing fun.

Some complain it was too heavy - not when you consider the fact that it is extremely fast and does many feats that a desktop or laptop does.

Set up is so quick that you are using the handheld almost immediately. It charges quite rapidly and found the WiFi in a matter of seconds.

Gripes? I would have given the iPAQ five stars but not having a hard copy of the manual included (it is on the CD ROM and put on your PC) isn't fair. Also, getting it into the docking cradle is a bit of a struggle. However, the fingerprint recognition works great and it really is an amazing piece of equipment.