Hewlett Packard Jornada 545 Color Pocket PC

by HP

Product Details

Product Manual [3.31mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 3.1 x 0.1 inches ; 9 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B00004SGD3
• Item model number: 545
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #201,511 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 4, 1999

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Windows PDAs have long fought an uphill battle. Users have flocked to the highly functional Palm Connected Organizers and tended to ignore the more powerful, more expensive, and bigger Windows PDAs. The release of the new HP Jornada 545, the first of the new Pocket PC devices to hit the market, may finally turn this around. The Jornada is still a bit bigger, about 5 ounces heavier, and about $100 more expensive than the Palm Vx. But it is sleek, robust, highly functional, and the color screen is beautifully sharp. The "wow" factor is definitely there.

The Pocket PC OS is also responsive and well thought out--a big improvement over WinCE. In addition to the suite of powerful pocket applications (Word, Excel, Internet Explorer, PIM, and scheduler), the Jornada can also serve as a digital voice recorder (to capture those spur-of-the-moment thoughts), an MP3 player, Audible content player, and even an e-books reader.

The standard 16 MB of memory is expandable using standard CompactFlash cards. The product ships with a synchronization cradle (which supports USB or conventional serial interfaces), an extra sync cable (so you don't have to take the cradle everywhere), an AC power adapter, and earbuds. A microphone and a small speaker are built in. For MP3 use, we recommend expanding your RAM to 64 MB with a CompactFlash card to provide an hour of near-CD quality music.

Most Windows users should be able to run through the setup Wizard and start using the Jornada and its applications without cracking the manual. Learning to use handwriting recognition, which is integrated into all the applications, requires mastering a few special stylus strokes, but you should be writing smoothly within half an hour. In comparison to Palm's Graffiti system, the Pocket PC system is fully on par.

In our tests, setting up a connection to a desktop PC for synchronization was simple. Within 20 minutes, we had installed the ActiveSync software, hooked up the supplied cradle to the AC adapter and a USB port on our PC, and established a connection. If you have an older PC or laptop, you can also synchronize using a slower serial connection. Synchronization is automatic and file transfer is simple using the Windows Explorer-like interface.

The only real caveat is that Pocket PC works best in a Windows-centric world. At launch, it appears that there is no support for synchronizing with non-Microsoft e-mail and scheduling applications. (With an optional modem or network-interface card, you can send and receive Internet POP mail directly via your ISP.)

The choice between Pocket PC and Palm comes still comes down to tradeoffs. Palms are still lighter, smaller, and cheaper, and they do the basics beautifully. The Jornada 545 is slightly bigger, 5 ounces heavier, $100 more expensive, but vastly more powerful and flexible. The choice all depends on what you expect your PDA to do. --Thomas Mace

Pros:

• Handsome, compact design
• Superb color screen
• Large application suite
• Easy setup and intuitive interface

Cons:

• No support for synchronization of non-Microsoft e-mail and scheduling applications
• 5 ounces heavier than Palm V

Amazon.com Product Description

The Hewlett-Packard Jornada 545 color pocket PC is the first PDA to fully embrace Microsoft's new Windows CE Pocket PC system. Synchronizing the HP Jornada 545 with your computer requires just the touch of a button. Slim enough to fit in your hand and light enough to carry in your pocket, the HP Jornada 545 can replace a bulky laptop computer and still keep a busy person on top of tasks and appointments. The HP Jornada 545 features 16 MB each of ROM and RAM and a 240 x 320 pixel color LCD screen. Its built-in software bundle includes Pocket PC versions of Microsoft staples such as Word, Internet Explorer, Excel, and Outlook. It allows users to store thousands of addresses and years of appointments, check e-mail, review Word or Excel documents, and surf the Web. It even enables users to listen to digital music and read electronic books.

The HP Jornada 545 offers a variety of user interfaces including an onscreen keyboard, four customizable keys, two quick keys, and handwriting recognition. Input and output connections include an RS232 serial port, a USB port, and an infrared port for fast transfer of data from one infrared-equipped device to another. Although the built-in memory is plenty to support most users, this pocket PC also offers a CompactFlash card slot for removable memory, making it easy to view digital images or listen to MP3s downloaded from other devices. Some of the audio highlights of the HP Jornada 545 include a speaker, voice recording capability, and a headphone jack.

The HP Jornada 545 features a stylish yet durable metal alloy case with a removable flip-up cover. It runs on a built-in lithium-ion battery with an approximately 8-hour life. In the box come the HP Jornada 545 Pocket PC, a USB synch cradle, a serial cable, a worldwide multivoltage AC adapter, a removable cover, one stylus pen, earbuds, and a user's guide to get you started. You also receive a CD-ROM with additional programs to further optimize the HP Jornada 545's features and CD-ROM with the full standard PC version of Microsoft Outlook 2000.

Hewlett-Packard backs the HP Jornada 545 with its one-year Customer Care warranty on parts and labor.

What's in the box

• Jornada 545
• Stylus
• AC adapter
• USB cradle
• Serial cable
• Removable cover
• Earbuds
• Quick Start Guide
• Jornada CD-ROM
• HP documentation pack
• HP Jornada Accessory Guide
• Microsoft ActiveSync CD-ROM and Getting Started with Microsoft ActiveSync booklet

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

136 of 143 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Palm OS is DEAD!, May 4, 2000

By 

[e-mail] (Beaverton, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hewlett Packard Jornada 545 Color Pocket PC (Office Product)

I have looked at Windows CE devices before and found them under powered, over priced, and inadequate in several respects. After months of scrutiny and research, I was finally ready to buy a Palm Pilot. At the last minute, I looked at the Jornada 545 and bought one on the spot.

Its handwriting recognition is like nothing else I've used. In a couple of hours I was entering data quickly--something I didn't think was possible considering the high marks the Palm OSs Graffiti earned, but never worked well for me.

The color screen is great. I bought the Pretec modem and was able to surf the web. In the morning I download all the new web pages I typically read and review them throughout the day when I have a little time.

I needed a PDA to keep in sync with email and my Internet site, but the Palm's "Web Clipping" technology just wasn't worth it. The Pocket Internet Explorer is great.

The Jornada 545 is also fast. It boots instantly, and the syncrhonization between my Microsoft Outlook is GREAT!

This elegant collaboration between HP and MS is a must have product!

81 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very very cool, April 20, 2000

By 

Mark Ashton (San Mateo, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hewlett Packard Jornada 545 Color Pocket PC (Office Product)

I'm a long-time Palm user - I've bought three different versions over the last three years. Overall I think the Palm's are ok but there always seemed to be something I wanted to do but couldn't. I managed to get a new Jornada 545 from a friend at HP and absolutely love it. It's simple to use and it does so much more than my Palm. The browser is very good given the constrained screen real-estate. The color is great. The media player is great. The only thing it lacks that I'd like is built-in wireless support. If I could connect to the web/email directly I'd probably use this instead of my laptop for many situations.

All in all I highly recommend the Jornada.

67 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HP Jornada 545 - The answer to quite a few prayers, May 1, 2000

By 

Ken Smith (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hewlett Packard Jornada 545 Color Pocket PC (Office Product)

Well I have found a product that is not only a gadget but actually works just the way I would have made it myself (if only I could). The HP545 is the best "thing" I have come across for many years. It has, at a stroke, replaced two items I habitually carry and another that I was going to buy. These are my organiser / Tape player / MP3 Player.

I habitually spend (too) many hours of my life stuck in hotel rooms and airplanes (down the far back and up the very front) and I love the concept of the "talking books" / audio cassette that are now available - it saves my eyes and helps me sleep. What I do not like is having to pay almost as much for postage as for the cassettes and waiting 4 weeks to get them. Then having to hump around all those cranky cassettes and the battery eating player.

Yesterday I changed my life. Using my HP545 and Audible.com I brought 5 new audio books, downloaded them on the internet and uploaded them to my 545 in the space of an hour. This cost me 25% of what it would in cassette format + postage. It would have been less than an hour too, but I was still fumbling the software a little. My goodness why could it not have always been this easy...

I now have in my 90MB FlashMemory card (buy it and plug it in) 8 printed books (lots supplied - classics but still I haven't read that many of them), 10 MP3 favorites and 25 hrs of audio book programming. And there is still space to spare.

Transfers to and from the PC are a snap and the USB connection is very fast. Don't even think of doing these file sizes on the serial though. No USB - think about another solution or you will grow old waiting for the files to move.

The included apps are just GOOD. OK the screen is fairly small but the 65K colours and crystal clarity help. Everything works and the cutdown versions of Outlook / Work etc are very functional.

I have saved the neatest for last. The script / handwriting recognition WORKS. Even my scruffy scrawl gets the job done and with a little practise at being neat with the pen and not trying to use the very bottom of the screen you can gallop along.

Well done HP and MS - A nice job well implemented.

Caveats : You need a decent sized memory card. Budget for 64MB and you will not be disappointed. For the numerically inclined an average "printed book" is 200K, audio books are 2MB per hour and high quality MP3 is 1MB a minute. These figures are deceptive though. I would never carry 25 hours of taped book around normally and it is so easy to move stuff in and out of the 545 that I am being a hog. Still what was that phrase about expanding to fill the space available....