Customer Reviews

Hewlett-Packard iPAQ 310 Bluetooth 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

First, to the guy who wrote the review stating there is no "text to speech", it is included! You just have to go to the languages and choose a version with a "TTS" option...

This is is very nice device. If you have looked on the web at videos of the IGo version 8 software, then you know exactly what you are getting. The unit acquires satellites very quickly from a cold start (less than 10 seconds). Routing and recalculating is good. Certainly on par with the two leaders in the GPS market (Garmin and Tom Tom). The screen is magnificent! The graphics are the best I've seen on a GPS device, although I wish I could modify the screen colors. You see terrain, texture, overpasses, bridges, etc. in 3D! The buildings and attractions are quite interesting, too. I can't wait to visit a 3D rendered city that's included in the map. (I browsed Atlanta and NYC). There are a few icons on some screens that are not accessible yet because HP has not yet opened their new Ipaq website for updates. I cannot add any contacts, etc., from Outlook yet. I'm sure the website will open soon as it is already up, just no way to access anything. Overall, a good device and one I would definitely recommend. Here are a few more features:

Navigation - HP UI built on latest iGO8 engine from NavNgo-Text to Speech, Loquendo engine
Maps - TeleAtlas2007.07 full US and Canada with 3D terrain, landmarks, 2D buildings
Points of Interest - Extended Info USA database, over 12 million
Planning - IPAQ web services to tailor and integrate your travel
Screen - High Definition 4.3"WVGA (800 x 480) 3X -5X higher resolution
Processor - Centrality (SiRF) Titan dual core 600 MHz with 3D graphics
GPS - Centrality 40 channel with Autonomy TTFF acceleration
Memory - 128MB fast DDR memory with 2GB flash storage
Entertainment - Music player with MP3 and DRM, High Def Video player, photo viewer, games (Gameboxclassics, Flux Challenge)
Productivity - Contacts manager with Outlook sync, dial and navto contacts, calculator, world clock
Bluetooth - 2.0 EDR with phone hands free and A2DP stereo headset capable
Connectivity - miniUSB2.0 for high speed data sync with your PC
Digital Terrain Data - Realistic display shows elevation of roads and surrounding landscape
3D City Data - 60+ North America cities
3D Landmarks - North America, NY, 1,400 by end of 2007
3D Icons - North America, 500

UPDATE: Go to GPSPASSION.COM to find the many enhancements made to this device. The possibilities are endless!

Well first off, I'd like to say this is a really great GPS and I'm extremely satisfied with it. It may not be for everyone - like anything, you should do your research first. However, I was irritated to read many of the negative reviews here that appear to be due to lack of knowledge or just plain laziness from not reading the manual, etc. I also feel these posters find something that doesn't fit their needs and immediately give it one star. Ok, so it wasn't for you, it doesn't mean the device itself is lacking! Anyway, I felt I needed to write a thorough review to try and identify the true potential of this device.

I upgraded to this item when Amazon had a Friday sale at a ridiculous price. I paid the same that I paid for my previous GPS - A Via Michelin X930, which fails in comparison to the IPAQ 310. While that GPS was a great companion on the road, it was my first system and I found myself wanting some of the bells and whistles that come with higher level models once I had gotten used to how to use GPS navigation.

First off, I trust HP - even though they are new to the scene of GPS - and feel they have built a very solid product. Calling it a 'travel companion' is very accurate, as it does so much more than navigation.

Many of the reviewers seem to not know how to read a manual or edit the settings before you set up a new electronics product - and I don't mean a really thick book, I just mean the basic scan of key items, etc. Also, it seems they are too quick to give a 1 or 2 star rating without really playing with the device. I mean, this is definitely not a beginners GPS, you do have to sit down and configure some options. First off, this item DOES have TTS support, you just have to make sure the voice you choose under settings has 'TTS' next to it - simple. Second, the re-routing issue people seem to have a problem with is most likely due to them not having 'auto re-routing' selected - again, under settings. Finally, the issue of the system being slow when showing 3D buildings is partially true, but common sense resolves it. I mean if you are in a huge city and have the setting on high, yeah it slows down, but why in the world would you want that many buildings on your map!?! They are a really nice and flashy feature, but there really is no need to have it on the high setting since with that many buildings it would make the map too cluttered. The 'close' setting works just fine for me, and I'm in Houston (4th biggest city in the US). Many of the most recognizable buildings are pretty detailed (like the Williams tower here in Houston). I like how the terrain is also in 3D (which I didn't realize until I went to Austin since Houston is so flat!), and the highway overpasses, bridges, etc. are also 'raised' on the map. Those complaining who live in smaller towns and cities, and therefore are not in 3D, are just nit-picky. It clearly says that it's limited to specific areas (namely the largest cities, of course - not sure how many though). Like I said, this product may not be for everyone. If you want 3D buildings and you live in a smaller city, then wait to see if a product comes out later that appeals to you. Anyway, if most of these reviewers just went into the settings area when they first turned it on and played around a bit, they would find the answers to nearly all of the problems addressed!

I have been very happy with this product so far. The size and weight are perfect, and I like the design a lot. It feels very sturdy and well made. The power button could be located in a better position, but I haven't really had many issues with accidentally pushing it like others had mentioned. However, I haven't really carried it around a lot in it's case, but I'm not really sure how you would press it unless you sat on it it or put pressure on the whole unit - and why would you do that?!

The screen is incredible! It is extremely crisp and clear, and I haven't had many issues viewing it in sunlight - less problems than my Via Michelin. I'm just really psyched about the screen, it is by far the best I have seen on ANY GPS today. It really shines when you put it in 'full screen' mode when navigating. The bars at the top and bottom show info you can live without if you have TTS on, so that is how I use it and it really looks good!

Videos have to be converted to a specific format in order to play, so I haven't used that function yet or really played around with it. Music plays fine and you can select it to play then go and select your navigation (plus settings on how you want the music interrupted, etc.) The device has 2GB built in and has an SD slot for additional cards. One thing I really like is that if you have it plugged in to the outlet in your car, the device will automatically turn on when you turn on the engine. Therefore, if you have music set to 'always play in the background', then it automatically comes on too. I really like that. For those wondering, the music pauses when the GPS speaks, so it can get a bit annoying when you are close to your destination due to the pauses (ie - 'turn right on ... in 500 ft' every 100 ft). I didn't find it overly frustrating though. Pictures are organized well and look great on the screen. I like the file system for music and pictures. It is pretty easy to use and similar to a computer's explorer. The games are a really neat little feature - quite a few of them are a real blast to play, with nice graphics to boot. They are played with the stylus that is cleverly and stealthily stored on the top of the device. My favorites are the 3D racing game (although controls can be a bit hard) and Jewel Master. This device is small and light enough to just carry with you on trips (the protective case is really nice and I was surprised to see it included!) so it's good for bored times at the airport etc. The contacts feature is really cool! I love how you can use the addresses to directly navigate and/or call a contact at the touch of a button. It would be nice if you could sync your phone, but you can sync if you have Outlook (which I don't) so I just entered the people I call/see the most into the GPS.

Ok, so now onto a couple of negatives. The speaker is not too great, which others have touched on. It is a bit quiet on it's own, but not terrible. The male voices especially tend to make it vibrate at high volume. At home it sounds pretty loud, but in the car it could be louder due to road noise, etc. However, it has an audio out jack so you can connect it to your AUX in your car. That is how I use it. I have my mp3's, bluetooth and navigation going through my car stereo and it's great to have all this in one device rather than the two or three I had before. Bluetooth with my Motorola V3t worked flawlessly and I'm glad I can finally talk on the phone through my cars speakers just like a dealer-installed option!

The software is decent. I find the menu system easy to follow and there are not a zillion sub-menus to get lost in. It is easy to navigate to where you want to go. There are a few quirks and bugs, but I figure this was only released in November, and HP are pretty good about updates, so most of the little issues that I have run into (like some funky graphics) will probably be fixed later. They are not big enough to cause major issues though. So far I haven't had any crashes that others have apparently experienced, so I can't really comment on stability just yet.

Battery life is also decent. I have a little 'cubby' in my car that lets me just put it there so I can glance at it (but I mostly use the TTS) but it's also in easy reach for entering details. Anyway, for me the charge lasts a week or so with use solely when I'm the car (with music set to 'always on' and backlight at roughly 50%) before the handy 'battery getting low' message appears. I really like this feature since usually you have a little battery icon going low or turning red. This is a full-out message that you have to press 'OK' to get rid of. If you continue to leave it, it eventually has a message telling you it will shut down in 10 secs. I would say the battery lasts about 3+ hours if you had it on continuously. I heard with Bluetooth on it drains the battery faster. The device completely charges in about 2.5 to 3 hours.

So, onto the navigation features:

The device is extremely quick at gaining a satellite signal. I switched it on in my apartment and it literally picked up and fixated on my position in a couple of seconds! My Via Michelin takes about 2 or so minutes. The scroll wheel on the side is a great addition. You can zoom in and out with it or press it in to bring up a shortcut menu. Entering addresses is pretty simple. I had no problems with routing or re-routing, and it is extremely quick at both. I really think the C|Net reviewer had auto-rerouting turned off, since she rated that so low. You would think a reviewer like that would have things set up correctly before testing! The POI index is amazing! It has 12 million POI's according to the literature, and it really does seem that way - more than I could ever want. It made me realize how little my Via Michelin had, although they were definitely adequate for my use. The maps are TeleAtlas and I heard they were not as good as NavTeq, which I have in the Via Michelin. However, I haven't really noticed any notable differences between the two so far.

One feature I really like is the IPAQ website. This allows you to register your travel companion and create routes to download to your device. This is REALLY useful for long trips since you can take advantage of the keyboard and computer screen which makes it much easier to find and enter POI's, multiple stops, etc. The website was not up and running until a few weeks ago, so that is one reason for some negative pointers here and in other reviews. It is working fine now and I think it will be a great resource for updating, etc. My Via Michelin has nothing like this, and with this new device being through HP, I know I will have access to support.

Overall, I feel this is a really good GPS system that has gotten some bad rap due to user ignorance, laziness and too early release for reviewing since the website was not even up yet for the major reviewers. For the price I paid it was an incredible value, but I would say even at near the list price I feel it would be worth the money considering the features compared to other GPS devices that are in competition. Don't let the negative reviews sway you if you are seriously considering getting this device, you really need to test it for yourself and decide if it's for you. I feel I discover really incredible products this way and the IPAQ 310 travel companion follows this tradition.

Pros:
Nice big wide bright screen
Looks great
Great features (Bluetooth, Text to Speech, 3D Maps, Elevation, Games)
Menus are actually not bad and not convoluted.
Removable battery
Audio out, USB, and Antenna connectors are all in one spot (right)
One button
Rubberized back side
Includes stylus
Scroll wheel + clicky
Comes with a leather case

Cons:
Froze repeatedly. Freeze upon freeze.
Stutters a lot when Text to Speech was working
The street name on top does not show the whole name and always scrolls
Rerouting and recalculations were bad at best (slow & inaccurate)
Processing was slow. Showed my position one block away after a reroute.
3D landmarks are very sparse. Maybe 1% of many large cities.
3D landmarks are inaccurate and not as seen as most photos.
Power button easily hit unintentionally: Short press=on Long press=off
Map refreshes vary slowly because of 3D
Voice constantly speaks.
Rerouting is persistent to stick to original route despite settings.
Audio output=low
Proprietary USB charging (can't use other 5v USB chargers)
No camera warnings
No speed warnings
Does not tell you if destination is on the left or right of you.

Major points:

PERFORMANCE:I can't recommend this. I have three other devices. The Garmin Nuvi 350, Mio C310x, and a built-in by Bose. I would have to say, when compared to these three, these three work much better. This device froze so many times when I was driving that I think it might be defective. Other than that, it freezes in other places too like if you search for movies or music if you do not have an SD card inserted. In general, the device is slow to respond. Load time after a hard reset is slow and starting the navigation software is slow too. Acquiring a signal is somewhat quick, half a minute quicker than other handhelds, but not as quick as the built-in Bose.

THE 3D: The 3D maps are much different that what you see in the pictures on Amazon or their website. For example, the Transamerica Building in San Francisco does not look like what you see in the photo, it is some rectangular tall structure. Although it might be insignificant, I believe it is false advertising. Not getting what they show. Yet, it is different and new compared to other devices, but this is not good enough.

VOICE & RECALCULATION: Text to Speech is very rough. 80% of the time it mispronounces and I can't even guess what it is saying. San Jose sounds like "San Jos Eh" and Junípero Serra sounds like "Jnprlsra" or something like that. Insignificant, yes but if I did not know the area, I would be frustrated. Rerouting is terrible. With the other three devices running at the same time, all except the iPAQ insisted to stick to the original route. I tried changing the settings, yet it still did the same thing. It was not until 3 blocks later, it gave up, but was lagging, miscalculating my position, pin pointing me a block back, even after I had made a right turn. There was one instance I was heading to work. It was about a mile away. I went straight after exiting the highway instead of taking a right and a left to a parallel street. The iPAQ then insisted EVERY block for the next MILE to take the next right then left to take the street parallel to the one I was on. It was really not necessary since I did so right before the destination. It really should have known to give up and reroute me correctly.

ACCURACY: I was driving on Highway 280 at night. For about 2 miles, it kept telling me to take left and right turns for no reason. It sounded like it thought I was on local streets instead of the highway. On the map, it showed me off and on the highway, so I think it was not sure where exactly where I was. Going through short tunnels and even some large overpasses, iPAQ would loose GPS signal. It would clearly say "GPS SIGNAL LOST".

Bottom Line:
If you don't need the 3D, wait for HP to fix the software or look for another device. Bluetooth, Text-to-speech, and more accurate maps are available in other devices for more or less, without the hassles.
This navigation device is a buck fifty from perfect. It has a long way to go. Software needs fixing mainly. My device froze repeatedly for some reason. Maybe it was an isolated case. Everything else is just annoyances to me, but was still usable if the device was not frozen or rebooted itself. I like many things like the scroll wheel and the wide screen. The 3D landmarks were a nice touch, but it was marginal at best. Buildings are not even close and does not 3D the whole city. The map refreshes very slowly and easily over-pans when you are viewing the map. I can go on and on but this thing freezes too much so I ditched it.

This iPAQ uses a modified iGO 8 software. More devices will be released that uses this software, one of which will be Mio in the C620 in the near future.

There is a reason why Garmin is one of the leaders in GPS market for the US: it is designed with users in mind. This HP unit has some nice features such as a beautiful screen, relatively fast processor, nice graphic if you live in a major metropolitan such as here in Boston, and a list of POIs that is not too shabby. However, there are three major flaws in my view:
(1) Navigation: route recalculation is so illogical one has to believe the algorithm used is fundamentally flawed.
(2) Sound: What sound? one has to put the unit literally next to your ear to hear anything. Turning up the volume seems to aggravate the tiny speaker as it blares with statics. This is joke if HP engineers have a sense of humor.
(3) Power management: The unit powers on with the slightest touch of the power button. While the manual states that holding down for 2 sec to turn on, a single touch will power it on. As such, do not consider this unit if you intend to keep it in its carrying case to carrying it around, since the slightest squeeze of the case turns it on. The solutions are to set power save to the max and/or take the battery out, else you'll run out of power within a few hours. I called HP tech support and they suggested that I should "tape over" the button!!!

There are some nice features as this GPS unit has its roots traced to the iPAQ handhelds. But clearly, this product is an incomplete and flawed one. HP appears to have rushed this product to production before it is field tested.

I'll keep this review short. I use high end Magellan and Garmin models on a daily basis in my work. Both systems are adequate and both have their flaws. After alot of use Magellans tend to freeze up alot and have some areas where their maps are a bit inaccurate. Garmin, while not as user friendly as Magellen has more accurate maps but more easily loses it's link. Both will usually get you where your going.

I took a chance and bought my wife an HP GPS for Christmas, and I have to say I am blown away! In the areas I have used it, the maps are FAR more accurate than either Magellan or Garmin. The HP is able to connect and find it's position from inside a house, while Magellan and Garmin tend to lose their connection by just going under a bridge. It's POI index is far more complete than either of the previously mentioned systems. It also depicts the map in a topographically correct manner, terrain is correct right down to hills and ditches, something which might not be necessary but is cool none the less.

It's has minor flaws, which include a less than crystal clear speaker. It's screen depicts alot of info along the edges of the map, which might be a burden for those with less than 20/20 vision (though the map and route are crystal clear). The other flaw is support, if you have a problem or question, dont bother searching the HP site, there is no mention of this product anywhere on-line. I had an issue with a broken cradle, which HP replaced for free, but it took alot of fruitless searching on-line before I gave up and decided to talk with a customer service rep. So make sure you keep the product box and info, cause if you have a problem your gonna need it.

All in all, this is the BEST GPS I have used. It has features that you will only find in much more expensive models and has extremely accurate maps. When it comes down to it, the accuracy of the maps is what counts the most, and this GPS will not let you down.

I debated for a very long time before purchasing the HP Ipaq 310. My usual habit of shopping around for anything I buy requires me to read every review I can find on the web....Need to know the features, need to get the best price...etc. Gotta admit, this process is sometimes excessive to the point of frustration. I've owned and used about 6 GPS units in the last 5 years or so...they included Navman, Magellan, Lowrance, Garmin; that averages about 1 GPS per year. However, in reality, I had been using Garmin 350 for the last 2 years...everything else were fairly brief. Garmin 350 was simply a breeze to use; it does the GPS' primary purpose very well and is the easiest to use GPS out of the box I've had. The HP Ipaq 310 is NOT easy to use straight out of the box. I fully expected this after reading all of the reviews here in amazon, and cnet, and more exotic sites like [...]; Now, I usually would consider myself somewhat of a techy kind of guy (I've always been the one friends and family would consult for electronics advice) and I rarely have to read instruction manual on most of anything I buy in order to operate them. I received the Ipaq 310 from amazon...got in my car, turned the thing on; then for the next 20 minutes could not make it take me to a destination! I was fully humiliated in front of my girlfriend. So, the thing is not very intuitive straight out of the box. It took me a good 1 or 2 hours of "alone time" at home to figure everything out (and I still didn't read the manual). The marked difference between the 310 and all of my previous GPS in navigation is what made the initial learning so difficult. You enter an address and fully expect the unit to just take you there as with all of the other GPS I had before...not the 310; you would have to perform anothe step of assigning the address as either "destination" or "starting point." And repeating entries because you're not sure if the unit registered your destination correctly are simply added onto the route. You would have to go to another menu to edit the route and delete previous addresses. Really, it makes perfect sense now after I've learned the HP interface. And it really DOES provide some really good features that the other GPS lack. Essentially, the 310 allows you to do that route planning thing you do using Yahoo Maps or Mapquest; you can find out the distance/travel time between any two points on the map. Most of other systems only allow you to calculate route from your current GPS position to your entered destination. This is a really useful feature that some newer higher end GPS are starting to offer (e.g. Garmin 700 series). The 310 had quite a few hardware and software issues that are well documented in various user forums, most notably the sound quality and lockups and crashes. But, here's where HP is coming through with some very nice product updates. There had been at least 1 major update and 1 minor update since the product release. Earlier users also experienced unreasonably difficult process with the automatic update. That had improved by the time I did my update; it took less than 1 hour. The sound volume improved to adequate level. However Susan Text-to-speech still sounds annoying and not as clear as I would've liked. Rerouting seems to have improved. The crashes are VERY infrequent now. I think my review of the 310 turned out a bit more negative than I really feel about the unit; All and all, I was so very close to returning this thing back to amazon; but after the update AND after I learn how to use the interface, I find myself liking it quite a bit now. The screen is bright and sharp. I also like the fact that the battery is user replaceable. My Garmin 350 is basically a permanent wired unit now that the battery won't hold charge anymore. Still haven't played much with the video playback, MP3 stuff. But what's very encouraging is that HP is releasing updates...indeed this unit has tons of potential and it's getting better with each update.

I've used the HP iPAQ 310 over two weeks. I bought it because I wanted a GPS with bluetooth in order to sync with my cingular 8525. The sync worked in seconds and I was able to talk and receive calls at anytime with excellent sound (of course I had to lower the volume of my car)
If you are looking for a GPS that can be used right after you open the box, then this might not be what you're looking for. This GPS requires some quality time to understand all the steps, BUT once you understand how to operate it, then you'll find all the wonderful capabilities this GPS can do.
PROS:
1. Bluetooth with my cingular 8525 is automatic. You don't need to sync everytime you turn on the GPS. As soon as you turn on your car, the GPS stars looking for your phone. It takes few seconds and it's ready (you don't need to turn on your GPS)
2. It finds a new route fast if you missed an exit or street.
3. The GPS changes automatically into night mode at night.
4. Sound is clear and loud, so loud that I need to lower the volume. I use Amy v1.
5. Video is pristine clear, music and photo capabilities, but who needs pictures and music in your GPS???
6. 3D maps, colors, POI's are classified according to types, such as food. In a mood for bbq? then it searches only bbq's restaurants.
CONS:
1. Takes a little of time to find the right software to download to sync your outlook contacts. HP sends you directly to their webside without steps how to find it, but with some few clicks you get everything you need.
2. Took me sometime to understand the Content manager. It's not built to understand easily. I hope HP inproves it.
Conclusion,
It is a great GPS, worth the money (I paid $200...friday's sale yeah), but if you don't know how to operate or download software, then you might feel frustrated.
I do not understand why people complain so much about this GPS. I used a Tom Tom and I have to accept that in 5 minutes you can build your whole travel steps and ready to go (without manual), but it does not have the capabilities of the HP.
I will recommend this GPS, BUT get ready to spend some quality time to master it before you mount it in your car.

Perspective:
This is the 5th GPS software I've owned:
Pharos, Mapopolis, iGuidance (V1,2,3, and 4), Navigon, HP iPaq (iGo)
(plus Streets & Trips which I have used for navigation with a laptop while I was in Europe.) I classify myself as very tech/computer savvy.

After trying the Navigon 2100 vs. HP iPaq 310, I thought the Navigon was useful, but the HP iPaq just WOWs. If they were ice cream flavors, the Navigon would be vanilla, but the the iPaq would be the fancy sundae treat from Dairy Queen.

For a while there I was thinking of installing iGuidance4 on my iPaq 310, but now I don't see any reason to. After using it for a while, I've found I like the iPaq package a much better solution for my needs!

Overall, I've found the iPaq to be vastly superior to the Navigon in just about every aspect and well worth the extra cost.

I will add that some users have had lockups with their iPaqs which appear to be (bad) hardware related, with some people having their problems resolved when the units were replaced.

Also, HP has released a firmware update which is available when you install the Content Manager software to download and install the update on the iPaq. (It's not available as a direct web download. Must use Content Manager in order to get it.)

I've been using mine for a few weeks now and with all the tweaks and playing around with it, I've not had it lock up even once. I did create a cross country route from Chicago to Vancouver, Canada and the iPaq handled that just fine. The routing calculation took about 30s was reasonably fast compared to other GPSs. After that, it did bog down a little bit, I suspect because I was inside and the GPS position was shifting around causing recalculations every so often, but it never hung.

iPaq Pros:
----------
"Wow" Features: (thing that make me go, "dang! that's good")
GPS Software
- When configured for 2D display, as you get close to the turn, the software zooms in and switches to 3D mode with heading up. After the turn, the software zooms back out to 2D mode with North up. (That's exactly the way I'd like it to work.)
- parts of the map is 3D!! I'm not talking about the 3D buildings, but the terrain. I was driving over a very short bridge the other day, but the screen showed the bridge was curved and peaked at the top and not a flat bridge. Also I could see the hills in the background. At first, I thought maybe it was just "artificial" landscape, but as I drove around town, it seemed accurate, then when I zoomed out, I realized that, yes, it does (or at least appears to) have 3D or relief information. When in day mode, the map shows the terrain as a relief type map would.
- You can configure how close you want to be to the next turn before the software switches to 3D.
- 12Million POIs. Lot and lot of POIs and very well categorized too. POIs include phone numbers.
- Push in rotary knob on the side is a nice touch. To adjust 3D tilt of the map, just turn the knob. To adjust volume, push (click) the knob in first, then turn the knob. To adjust brightness, double click, then turn the knob. (Hold down knob for additional functions)
- I like how the POIs markers are transparent on the map.

Other Pros:
- GUI for finding POIs around a point on the map is very easy to use: Click on a point on the map, hit the location button, then POIs: Voila, a POI list around the point.
- POI map display had a "distance" setting for each of the categories and some of the subcategories. This lets the system determine how close to the route the POI must be before it shows up.
- for a 800x480 resolution screen updates are fast. (It's 5x the amount of information compared to screens that are 320x240)
- MANY choices for languages and accents. (not quite 100, but just for English alone, I counted 10 different selections of accents/genders/styles. Not all voices have text-to-spech though.)
- dynamic volume adjustment (based on speed) is customizable for min and max speed
- "economical" driving mode which appears to be "lowest fuel cost"
- different routing options based on car, bicycle, truck, bus or taxi
- trips can be planned on the PC, picking restaurants, hotels, etc, (requires online connection which uses google maps data) then downloaded to the GPS.
- Outlook contacts can be sync'd (uploaded) to the GPS (but this has a few quirks)
- Full screen mode which stretches the map so it goes into the menu and status bar areas, (like iGuidance).
- good sensitivity and fast time to fix (I can get a signal inside the house pretty easily)
- many software extras: music player, video player, games
- compatible with SDHC cards
- easy to install additional software and get ActiveSync working.
- Internal and external flash shows up as Mass Storage Media in windows
- Content manager makes it very easy to update software and select what software components (maps, voices, information) the user wants installed
- recalculations are very fast
- predictive text entry

Hardware
- 800x480 screen is FABULOUS and very bright
- decent speaker
- solid feel
- mount is easy to get GPS in and out of and feel secure
- has Bluetooth
- 600Mhz processor with DSP

iPaq Cons:
- can't click on POIs (to bring up details) in map mode, only in list mode can they be selected
- 3D map view zoom level cannot be changed, only tilt perspective can be changed. (Zoom level can be changed in 2D mode though.)
- day view is great, but night view is quite bland.
- Contact lookup could use more artificial intelligence. (state names need to be typed out in full and street NAMES cannot be abbreviated in any way while street TYPES can, but they must not have periods at the end of the abbreviation.)
- power button logic is poor: short press on, and long press off. It should be the other way around or at least require holding down the button to turn it on.
- Although I haven't see one of these yet for any GPS except the Michelin X970, It would be nice if there was a drop in powered dock to use in the car. I don't like having to plug in the power adapter into the side of the iPaq when I use the unit in the car.

As for some things that others have commented on, I do agree with some, but others may be misinformed or just completely wrong on some of the technical points.

1. Some people have said the iPaq can't show a complete route. This is completely wrong. It is very easy to show the complete route on the iPaq:
(a) view route graphically on map: Click on the [2d] screen soft menu.
Rotate the wheel to zoom out as far as you need in order to see the entire route. I routed Chicago to Vancouver. I could get the entire route on the screen. I supposed if you routed coast to coast, there is a possibility that you won't be able to see the entire map of the US on one screen, but you would see at least 3000-4000 miles. Then a click-and-drag can move the map over.
(b) view route in text: Click on Route->Details and scroll through the turn by turn directions.

2. Route calculations.
I've not seen any issues yet. No wacky routes, no driving off bridges, etc, but I did change the default routing method to Economy and that is all I have been using. I don't have any software that I think routes better. I think Streets & Trips and iGuidance are both comparable in routing to the iPaq.

3. Sound:
Yes, I've heard better sound from AIOs, but if you compare the iPaq to the Navigon 2100, the iPaq is just much better. If I compare my iPaq to my Dell Axim X50v, the iPaq sounds louder. If I compare my iPaq to my Dell Axim docked in the iTrex holder with external amplified speaker, the iTrex holder sounds much better. The speaker on the back of the iPaq isn't that big so it is a bit tinny but at least I can hear it over road noise whereas the Navigon was extremely tinny and I couldn't always hear it. Both Navigon and iPaq get crackly at full volume, but Navigon is much worse. I guess it's all relative on what you are comparing the sound to. In terms of voices sounding computer like, I disagree the iPaq is any different than other TTS systems I've heard. I do appreciate the configurability of languages/voices/accents. I think it's a lot better than the iGudiance "young lady (digitized), old hag (TTS)", which although comical is somewhat distracting. I do wish they would have put the speaker so it faces the front. HP and Navigon both put the speaker so it faces the rear of the screen.

This is a great GPS! I highly recommend it.

I have extensively used Garmin, Tom Tom, Magellen and Mio before buying this product. The Mio stood out of all, partly due to iGo6 used for UI and mapping. I had been a big fan ever since I bought it. Mio had some shortcomings, bluetooth, time taken to acquire signal etc, therefore I decided to give that to a friend and buy the ipaq. While this product betters the Mio on its shortcomings and is based on modified version of iGo6, I think HP didn't spend enough time in perfecting it. Otherwise this unit would have got full marks from me.

Plus:
-Excellent screen
-Bluetooth
-3d buildings (marketing feature, not that extensively used)
-Games
-Ability to play video
-Excellent mods to improve the unit
-Pro routing features
-Vivid screen resolution
-Extensive POI database
-Ability to speed alerts (More suited to EU)

Minus:
-Bluetooth doesn't syncs phonebook
-Slightly slow to respond
-UI could have been more intiutive
-Unit hangs while searching for POIs in navigation mode

I own other HP technology I'm quite happy with, but I am appalled by the quality of this product. Yes, it has a very nice high-res screen (not very useful IMHO). But the main functions of this device, namely- GPS and navigation, don't deserve even a single star. Route calculation is whacked and a straight line ride cross-town turned into a zigzag back and forth route for no apparent reason. What's worse is that after 20m the unit generated a very familiar Windows Application Error and I had to cycle the power. 10 minutes later the device hung on "Please wait" screen forever and could only be remedied by resetting the device. Driving at 80 miles/h and trying to fix it is not just a nuisance- it is a hazard. I realize the Mickeysoft OS has some blame to take here- it's not all HP, but overall this Ipaq GPS is terrible. I've had a garmin nuvi 350 unit for over a year, which I "upgraded" to the Ipaq 310. My garmin never hung once or needed to be reset. It did exactly what a GPS unit should do with no failures.

Other cons-
Ipaq 3D maps had only a handful of buildings in New York city, where I'd expect it to have at least most, if not all
The unit does not show a complete route with step by step turns- all you get is the very next turn, so you can't even tell what route it's chosing.
To make things worse, the unit doesn't show the whole route on the map even when zoomed all the way out. It's blind leading a blind !
Voices on the GPS are "computer" like, not human can be very irritating

This is truly a half-baked product and I'm returning it tomorrow.