Customer Reviews

HP iPAQ hx2495b Pocket PC (FA674B#ABA)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Okay, so I bought a brand spanking new hx2495b. One of the first things I did was install a SD card. Then the problems started. Fairly frequent soft boots required to get the thing to turn on. Battery dead (0%) from full charge over night. Not too often, but a couple of times in the 2 weeks I had it.

Emailed hp support about the problem (I did forget to mension I had a SD card installed) and they, of course, recommended doing a ROM update. Okay, I just got a brand new unit, why should it need a ROM update all ready? I go and locate the update, down load it and go to install it. Sure enough the update they wanted me to install was the exact same version all ready in the silly thing! Like that is going to do any good, duh?

Then I notice one of the things the ROM update was suppost to fix is a lock up and battery drain problem when an SD card is installed. Humm, maybe they haven't really fixed that. So, I pull my SD card and whad ya know, all the problems went away!

Well, I really don't need the SD card, so I can live with that, but I'd wish they had said something about it! Even though I forgot about the SD card being in there, they should have realized the problem when I said the battery went dead over night! I can't be the only one to have this problem. Guess they don't want to admit there is still a flaw in the programming. A year after it was suppost to be fixed!

So, I'd recommend if you don't need an SD card, don't put one in. If you do need it, pull it out when your not using it.

One other thing to keep in mind is when you turn the PDA off, it doesn't really turn off. The display goes out, but a lot of stuff is still running inside. This is so it will come back exactly where you left off when you turn it back on. That's nice, but if you don't have it on a charger, it will drain the battery in 3-4 days just sitting around. Maybe not a big deal to most people, but I want to use the thing to keep a trail journal while hiking the Appalachian Trail, and I could go a week between towns and AC power. Guess I'll have to lug a solar charger along too if I want to use it.

Other than the problem with the SD card and not really turning off when its off, its a great little gizzmo. Solidly built and otherwise works great.

Oh, one other thing you might want to know. The instructions aren't clear about this. Activesync likes to turn it's self on all the time. The way to stop this is to set it to manual sync only. Unfortunetly, the button to access this command is not available if you have it set for USB sync. To set it to manual sync only, you have to set up a server connection first.

Start activesync (if it isn't already running!)
Menu > add server source
enter a dummy server address like 1.1.1.1
enter some other dummy info into the next blocks it wants you to fill in
then go back to menu and click on schedule.
Now select manual sync in two places.
Go back and delete the server connection.

Now active sync will only come on when you want it too.

I have had mine for a few weeks now. Pretty much I like it for all the reasons stated in other reviews. Syncing was easy with WXP Home, WIFI connection is two tap simple, lots of extra software written that works with WM5. I'm using subscription medical software. I'm not having the power management issues even with a 1GB SD expansion card in place. Its the goofey OS thats the problem (Microshaft/soft).

#1. The Today screen, (Desktop), sometimes leaves out some of the device status icons. To fix it, tap START, SETTINGS, TODAY and uncheck any item to display. Exit and it will be removed. Then go back in and recheck the box and it (and the missing display status icons) will reappear. #2. For whatever reason, sometimes the device will not turn on. Fret not, you have done nothing wrong. Stick the stylus into the soft reset hole...and BLINK...the screen comes back on and the device reboots itself. #3. Navigating the device is partly intuitive and partly not. There are still some screens I've seen only once. I have no idea how I got there and no idea how to get back. #4. Internet Explorer, Its a MEMORY and STORAGE hog. You can clear the storage caches of IE by doing OPTIONS and deleting the history and files. But the only way to clean out the memory cache is to do a soft reboot. The more you use IE, the more you'll notice the available system memory continually deminishes. I do a soft reboot weekly now to keep the system free of as many temp files as possible.

But overall I like it. I'm used to fiddling with tech stuff so it doesn't really bother me. I use it at work daily and all the included and extra software works great!!

No doubt HP (Compaq?) did a good job translating market needs into a specification. The problem happened when they went into production.

This PDA has most of what "mobile professionals" need. Power, speed, connectivity....HP however, missed the boat on the quality dimension.

My machine keeps turning on & off throughout the day and night until it runs out of juice. By the time I need it, the battey is almost dead.

Synchronizing is another problem, Activesync 4.2 is much more unstable and limited than previous versions, thus loosing recently modified information or "forcing you" to create duplicate files in order to retain your changes. Before you know it, you have 3-4 documents for the same file. This isn't synchronizing anymore, this is...duplicating.

Overall the product has more pros than cons, however these quality glitches does detract from the good job made by R&D.

This product isn't the HP quality product we became accustomed to, when in college !


--Manny Rosillo

I had an entry level iPaq - the 1910 - for a couple of years. Had lots of trouble with it (some of which I believe were created by an aftermarket synch/charging cable). It finally died, and I replaced it with a Palm TX which I quickly returned. Windows compatible - yes /work efficiently - no.

I replaced that with the iPaq hx2495 and love it. I would have given it 5 stars rather than 4, but I would need to have the unit function w/o problems for another few months before giving it the fifth star.

I have it synched w/2 computers and had no problems loading or using the software. ActivSynch 4.5 seems to be working w/o flaw. The connections seem a little better built than my old 1910, and I have been able to use the wifi to access Internet Explorer and email w/o a problem either.

Right now, I am very happy with this, but then it cost me $350.00, so it should make me happy! I'd spend that again just to have something that works this efficiently and is powered by Microsoft rather than just Microsoft "compatible". Spend the extra bucks - it's worth it.

Lots of features, lots of function, great display. BUT bulky and heavy compared to a Palm VX. Frequently requires a soft reset after charging. The charging cradle should have a socket for a spare stylus, since getting at the stylus while charging is inconvenient.

It is hard to determine which accessories fit a particular model of IPAQ.

The removable battery is a great feature, as are the slots for CF and SD cards.

Unfortunately, for the core functions it is slower and less convenient that my old, long-in-the tooth, Palm VX.

I've enjoyed many things about this product, including the fast wireless connections, multiple input methods and the bright, clear screen. However, the bugginess of Windows Mobile XP is extremely frustrating and power management issues are annoying.

With Mobile XP applications don't really close when you close them, they are just minimized and still using resources. In order to truly close them you must go through a few clicks to the equivalent of Task Manager and close the applications. Also, with some applications I've had problems with an application getting lost in the background and it won't come to the foreground. The only solution is to reset the iPAQ, which usually means losing what hasn't been saved.

From a power management perspective, I've had two problems. First, an after market battery I purchased doesn't interface properly with the battery monitoring in the iPAQ and it never shows full charge. It starts reporting that the charge is low even though it will continue working for a long time. The more annoying problem is that the iPAQ keeps turning itself on. I'll turn it off, leaving sitting on my desk, and it turns itself on, consuming battery life. I haven't done much research into solving this problem, but will have to soon. I didn't buy this thing so I would have to spend hours researching problems.

The power button is also very vulnerable to being accidentally pushed. I bought a nice leather case for carrying my iPAQ around and found that when I put it in a duffle or on my hip it was getting pushed. I can't always testify as to when the button was pushed or when the iPAQ was turning itself on, but I wish HP would have designed the power button to be a little better protected.

Other than the bugs listed above, this is a very cool product. The wireless setup is simple, lots of good software comes with it and there is a ton of software available out there. Interfacing with your desktop/laptop PC via USB or Bluetooth is also very simple. Another warning ... although a mobile version of Excel is provided, do not expect it to work with complex spreadsheets developed using the big boy version of Excel. Lots of formatting and some formulas won't work on the mobile version. It is great, however, for your everyday spreadsheet apps.

My iPAQ might be appearing on eBay soon.

I thought this was a great unit until I inserted the SD card and it never was the same.
Check the hp forum. In spite of the workarounds once you insert the card your nifty little PDA is junk.
The battery life was great for months - I was pleasantly surprised. It was a wonderful unit. After deciding it would be useful tool and began loading schedules and plugged the card in, things got ugly. At this time my battery discharge rate is about 1% per 5-7 minutes. None of the workarounds or service pack fixes does squat to alleviate the problem. I'm really upset because hp will not touch it - I just got past the warranty a couple of months ago and now I have to pay to fix their junk.
Caution - do not use any SD cards in this PDA.

Okay so there's a memory stick/battery issue problem... when u put in a memory card to these devices eventually the battery goes dead after like a few days.... i called up hp and their aware of this, they have a bios patch that still wont fix the problem for everyone... to fix the problem i got them on the phone and theirs a set up via battery saving issue and after u mess with the settings it wont have any more issues.... They were very help full and called me back a week later to see how the issue turned out. I would give it 5 stars if it wasn't for this whole thing, but besides this battery issue it's a great product.

I bought the product for my wife who is an elementary teacher. I wanted to give her a gift that would cut down her at home grading. Now she can walk around the room entering grades in real-time using the HP and included Micro Soft Software. The Excel format from the HP seamlessly uploads to her grading software. I bought her a SD card that aids in the transfer of information to and from the HP. No funky Synchronization issues to deal with. I have used a Palm and never found it to be better than a simple back up.

Now all she needs to do is upload the grades into the system. Parents can see their child's progress and more importantly, no entering grades at home.

Happy wife, Happy life.

I have had my 2495b for about 6 months and it is fantastic. I started using PDAs 15 or so years ago, with the Sharp products (Wizard, Zaurus). Later I went to earlier versions of the iPAQ, and now this model. It has speed, bluetooth, WIFI, and outstanding software. I have downloaded high end aviation software and it works great. The only small complaint I would have at all is that I tried the HP full security feature and it slows the unit down too much. But I have not found a real need to use that feature, anyway.