Customer Reviews

HP iPAQ RX3715 Pocket PC

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I bought this a couple of days ago at the store. Trust me, I did my running around trying to decide which PDA to buy. I was not really wanting to spend five hundred dollars on a thingamajig, but after trying it out, I loved it. I went to all of the big stores, and this was the one I kept on coming back to this one. Let me explain why I picked this one.

1. You get a decent amount of memory and it comes with one of those cards with a 100MBS on it...I put 2 albums worth of songs, and guess what--that's fine. I wanted the IPOD before this, and really, I don't need to have a thousand songs. I don't have a thousand songs worth listening to anyway! The sound quality is perfect. You can also buy portable speakers and it'll sound great.
2. It was easy to work with. I fully personalized mine with my photos and changed the theme. It's really like a beautiful tiny computer that's fast and easy to use.
3. If I was going to shell out the dough, I actually enjoy feeling the weight and quality. It looks and feels good in the hand. I did't want something that felt like a cheap calculator, other pda feel this way. BUT some prefer the lightness too. I don't.
4. The camera. Listen, I knew the camera wasn't all that. It's similar to most camera phones. There's no flash! But I like that there is a camera b/c if I'm in class and I don't feel like drawing a diagram, tada, I can take that picture! I'm not going to depend on this camera for my vacation pics. Duh. I have my nice 3MP camera for that. Its just great for those times that you wish you can take a quick snap. Especially living around New York. You see some crazy stuff at times that nobody believes you if you try to explain it. LOL
5. It's a voice recorder...did I say that I was a student??? I wish I had this a long time ago. This a great feature.
6. As for battery life, I've used this for two days w/o charging, the battery is still has ten more hours to go.
7. There's a cradle which connects you to your pc and it's internet connection.

500 dollars sounds like a lot, but you'll end up buying sd cards and cradles, which add up! Plus, this will be able to use longer that those models that are soon to go obsolete.

The only thing that I wish were better:
-I wish there was a better case included--It's an excercise each time to pull it off. But, come on...

Go for it...the other ones, you'll regret a few month from now when you see what features you're missing out on.

Seriously, I use my iPAQ to keep track of everything from my work schedule to my grocery lists.

The camera isn't tops, but what do you want from a 1.3MP cam with no optical zoom? If you're relying on this as your primary camera you really just don't get it. The cam is fine for quick shots and I've taken some photos that have turned out quite well.

I highly suggest downloading Theme Generator from Microsoft's website as the themes that come with it are, as with most stock desktop wallpapers, pretty boring. Or you can download some from www.pocketthemes.com - they have a wide variety.

The universal remote feature is pretty cool. I have both the living room and my office programmed in. It doesn't cover every make and model though. I haven't been able to access the DVD player in my office with it. But it is fun randomly turning off my unsuspecting friend's TV or stereo.

I highly recommend picking up a SD memory card, especially if you want to use the iPAQ as a music/video player. The full screen feature on WMP is nice and makes viewing videos a nicer experience. The speaker(s?) isn't terribly loud, but you don't have to strain to hear it unless you're in a noisy environment. The headphones sound much better.

The Today screen is customizable. I keep the date/time, my upcoming calendar events and tasks list on mine.

The web browser doesn't handle text wrapping well on some pages and having to scroll back and forth to read on pages where it doesn't reformat is annoying, but it is a 3.5" screen after all. It works fine for short web-surfing sessions.

Having Bluetooth is nice as well. Up until now, the built in Bluetooth in my Apple Powerbook was going unused. It won't work with iSync like Palm OS devices will but I can still sync my Address Book contacts and copy small files back and forth.

The cradle now has a permanent home in front of my LCD monitor on my desk so I can drop it in whenever I get home and update the synced files on my PC.

This was my PocketPC after being a Palm user for 3 generations. I think the reason most people have problems with lockup is that they don't actually "close" the application. Like a mini-PC, it can multitask, and having 4 or more apps open at a time can cause the device to freeze. However, once you figure out how to actually close and unload apps from memory (which, admittedly, isn't intuitive) my lockup programs are no more. I keep, at most, 3 apps in memory that I'm currently using.

What is nice is that a lot of the extras are included, that is, you're not buying "extra" things which should be included. You get a real cradle for syncing and charging. Windows Media Player plays mp3s (with playlists) and video out-of-the-box. Some other manufacturers will say their device does video, but you get trial software that is limited to 15 seconds and must buy other software to convert to a proprietary format. You get a real internet browser, POP and IMAP mail access, programmable remote control (that works!), and other full feature software.

Yes, the camera is poor (despite being a megapixel). A bit better than your average camera phone. Pictures in bright sunlight turn out acceptable. Video clips, however, are actually decent (maybe I have a lower expectation of quality?).

I have sloppy writing as well, but have had no problems once I configure the software as such. Once you tell it which ways you commonly write your letters, it does fine. It is a time-consuming process but is worth the effect. You can even tell it which way your writing slants (I'm left-handed, so I had low expectations). Now I can write in my half-print-half-cursive writing with high accuracy.

Overall, it's a decent device and has lots of cool features that any tech-geek would like.

I bought mine on Dec 31st 2004. This pocket pc is a very useful gadget from HP. The still camera works great for a 1.2 mega pixel but good lighting is needed for optimal results. I've read the other user's reviews on this product and I think they expected too much from the 1.2 mega pixel camera. The built-in camera is meant for online or device viewing and not for quality picture printing.

I haven't got the chance to rip some DVDs yet but when I connected to the my wireless network, I watched movie trailers and I cannot believe the quality of the picture at 300kb stream rate. Connecting to my wireless network was a breeze as well. Today I installed a network printer to my Ipaq rx3715 and it worked great. All that is required to connect a network printer is the printer IP address and its name. No need to install any drivers for HP printers.

The media player has great quality stereo sound with headphones or external speakers. The bass and treble can be adjusted for personal preference...which is a good feature.

The PDA functionality is very good especially the transcribe feature which allows the user to handwrite on the screen and then it turns in type-written letters. This feature saves you the hassle of typing in the letters from a keyboard.

The battery life lasts 6-7 hours on the average use time including surfing the net with wi-fi. The battery charges fast with or without connecting to a USB port.

There are a lot more features I haven't had the chance to try yet, but in a nutshell this pocket pc is a great buy at $499 US.

I would give this iPaq five stars were it at least $50 cheaper. Seems to get in line with the competition it would have to be $100 cheaper. But price aside this is a wonderful PDA. I've had a range of PDAs from the first Palm Pilot, Apple Newtons, Philips Nino, Psion Series 5, Sony Clie, and more, and this is overall the best one yet. It's a very small and light package full of features. I love having wifi and bluetooth built-in and it works fine with our AT&T wifi at home and at a local coffee-shop. Battery life is amazing. I've easily watched two feature length movies without running out of battery, and I can easily go a few days of normal use without a recharge.

Is all good? Well, no... the case that comes with the iPaq is pretty much useless. You're going to have to spend more money on a decent case. I got a Krusell Multidapt case. The screen seems to scratch very easily but that's common among these devices and you need screen protectors anyway. The HP software is not the greatest and you're going to want to get some other software to do some things.

Overall, a very good PDA, albeit a bit pricey.

In the past I have used a Palm device and wasn't sure Pocket PC was for me - well, it is. After a few hours of checking out all of the features it's clear that this device can do a lot more than any Palm. Everything is customizable. The on screen keyboard is nice, the handwriting recognition is very good (even with my messy script). The camera is great for outdoor shots. My first day I encountered the lock-up mentioned previously but it's fixed easily - if you close applications through the settings icon. Hasn't locked up since. Memory set up allows you to switch items out of the main system memory which also will prevent lock ups. Great little device that does more than I expected. The universal remote feature is very useful, even if you lost your original remotes long ago. The wireless media capabilities are beyond my needs so can't comment. Highly recommend this device for those wanting a bit of everything. Hard cases (mandatory to protect the screen) are available online.

Just what I needed and yes it does lock up fairly often. But my real gripe is that this camera is almost useless. The light level is non-existent, and even well lit images are VERY dark. No combination of setting seems to overcome it (for the first week, I kept looking at the front lens wondering if a protective film was there). I do not have another unit to compare with, but this is bad. The WiFi works fine, and as a media player (the market niche for this unit) I have no complaints. Screen brightness is sufficient, and battery life is enough for a very long day. But oh that camera.

Excellent pda. Love the wifi feature that allows me to sync with my mainframe computer and other digital devices. The large IPAQ memory is a plus and the camera comes in handy when you need to take pictures unexpectedly. It does not freeze up like my previous generation pocket pc. Absolutely love it.

This is a smart device if you have the money for it.

the good:
'intelligent' remote - setting it up is a breeze.
user friendly
stylish and compact, you can keep in your pocket all day.

the bad:
baaddd camera, you won't want 2 record happy memory with this.
stream video is kinda of silly since the screen is small.
stream music is cool but only supports wmv!

bought from amazon, referred by http://www.whosave.com. Hope my review helps you.

When I bought my PocketPC I knew that i wanted more than a Palm Based System would offer. I have been pleased with it.
Pros
No software problems in 8+ months of use
Nice interface
Built-in Software met my basic needs
Pretty tough- I've dropped it at least ten times, and aside from the screen (where something fell on it) I haven't had any hardware problems.
Good memory, plus plenty of expansion with SD card
Small enough to fit unobtrusively in my pants or jacket pocket.
Cons
Camera quality is very mediocre if in anything but bright natural light.
I did break the screen, but it was my fault, and it was very expensive to fix. If I hadn't had it for only 5 months I would have bought a new one. The repair service was much faster than they told me. I was pleased with HP's service in that regard.

Overall a good Pocket PC.