Customer Reviews

Hewlett Packard Jornada 568 Pocket PC

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The original HP Jornada Pocket PC's were easily outclassed by Compaq and Casio's models, but HP's engineers have redeemed themselves- and surpassed the competition- with the new Pocket PC 2002 versions: the Jornada 565 and 568. (The only difference between the two is RAM, with the 568 having 64Mb to the 565's 32Mb.)

These new models have the superior display and speed of the competitors products, but easily top the Compaq with built-in CF card expansion and replaceable, rechargable batteries that have longer life spans than the iPAQ. The included flip-up cover is also a plus and makes the Jornada the lightest weight and slimmest Pocket PC available with both screen protection and CF expansion built-in.

HP also thoughtfully provided a way for users to store up to 8Mb of data or programs in the secure FlashROM, assuring the security of vital material.

Besides the Microsoft Pocket PC software suite, HP's bundled software includes Code Wallet Pro and the versitile OmniSolve calculator as well as HP's own image viewer. This viewer is the best I've tried on any Pocket PC. My favorite bundled program though has to be Mobile Conversay. This easy-to-use program allows you to talk to your Jornada and receive spoken responses. Mobile Conversay will read your calendar to you, tell you the date and time, check your battery life, start and stop programs and more.

The Jornada 565/568 are easily the top of the new crop of Pocket PC's.

Although the new iPaqs are sure to generate a lot of hype, HP is hoping they can gather a much larger share of the Pocket PC market with the new Jornada 560 family.

Size:
The Jornada 560 is about the same size as the 540 and 520, slightly less wide but the same height. The BIG change is in the weight - my old Jornada 548 weighed 9.1 ounces, and the 565/567 weighs 3 ounces less at 6.1 ounces. It doesn't sound like much, but this device doesn't try to pull my Dockers down like the old one did! The difference in size is obviously due to the new 3.5" display, which seems to make the screen a bit sharper than its larger competitor, the iPaq.

I love the screen cover on the Jornada 560 series - you don't need to have a separate carrying case for the device! With my iPaq, I needed a carrying case to protect the screen. With the Jornada, I can close the cover and jam it into my pocket without worrying about scratching the display. HP devices always feel like they're well built, and the Jornada 560 is no exception.

The Jornada feels very good in the hand. I like the rubberized sides of the device, as I feel like I always have a good grip on it. When I was taking my iPaq with me to work every day on the light rail, I was always feeling like I was going to have it slip out of my hand onto the floor. It was also wider and wasn't as easy to hold. With the CF sleeve on it (hey, I always have to have my eBooks and music!) the iPaq was also much thicker and heavier.

Functionality:
The 560 series uses a new display that's smaller than that used in the previous generation of Pocket PCs, measuring up at 3.5 inches diagonally instead of 3.8 inches. This reflective TFT display is also much clearer and well defined due to a .216 dot pitch - the older displays had a .24 dot pitch. With Microsoft ClearType and the Jornada display, everything's easy to read. Outside, this display is even sharper than the iPaq's.

I've gone for many days using the device with backlight a lot, and still have had battery power to spare. The 560 has a replaceable lithium polymer battery pack, so you can have several charged packs on hand. There's a backup battery stored in a tiny slot on the side of the device, so if your battery DOES happen to croak, you won't lose all your data.

HP will soon be shipping an extended life battery pack that will be a bit thicker, but doubles the estimated battery life to 28 hours! In January of 2002, HP should ship a battery pack with a built-in MMC memory slot. This means that you could pop an MMC card into the battery pack to store data and still have a wide-open CF slot.

There's one nice feature in the 560 called "HP Safe Store". It's an 8 MB ROM area that allows users to install applications, store documents and make emergency backups of their data. If the battery dies and the Jornada RAM is erased, this data remains intact! I've installed critical apps into this area, saving my system memory and CF card space for more important data.

Expandability:
IPaq users love to point out that HP Jornada Pocket PCs don't support Compact Flash Type II cards - only Type I. This limits the Jornada, since you can't use the IBM Microdrive for mass storage, or use some of the 802.11b wireless cards that have hit the market. However, Socket Communications' 802.11b card DOES work in the Type I slot of the Jornada 560 series.
If you're considering an iPaq so you can have extra expandability, don't - HP will provide more expansion options soon! In December 2001, you can buy a PC Card Adapter, an extended battery pack with SD/MMC slot and a mini-thumb pocket keyboard. These expansion options will clip into the battery compartment or will use a sleeve (like the iPaq).

Value:
HP provides a lot for the price. The Jornada 568 is very compact, there is a wonderfully clear color display, you have the HP Safe Store ROM, and removable lithium polymer battery packs so I feel that the Jornada 560 series is well worth the cost. I've had people gasp at the price of most Pocket PCs, but when I show them that this device is really a contender to replace a laptop PC they seem to think that it is a bargain.

Conclusion:
My overall feelings about the HP Jornada 560 Series Pocket PC can be summed up as follows:
· It's extremely easy to carry in all situations and very well built
· It has very few flaws, other than the speaker pop that will most likely be fixed with a ROM patch

· The added applications are very useful and even a bit fun!
· The 206 MHz StrongARM CPU, the new Pocket PC 2002 OS, and the sharp reflective TFT display make for a fast and very usable Pocket PC

Ever since my first HP calculator back in the late 1970s, I've had a love affair with HP devices. They are always a little bit pricey, but are very well built. The Jornada 560 series is no exception to this long history, and I think that it'll be able to make some serious inroads to the current domination of the Pocket PC market by the Compaq iPaq. I do wish that HP would lower the price about $100 - that would seal the fate of the iPaq. If you don't have any Type II Compact Flash cards and want a fast, expandable, and very pocketable PDA, the Jornada 560 is the way to go.

I bought my HP Jornada 568 on February 1, and waited more than two months in order to write a review not guided by the emotion of having such an wonderful invention the firsts days, but by the funcionality of the device. And I must tell that it is extremely useful.
The display is excellent, as with everything on this pocket PC. It works very fast even when almost every application is open; the design is so slim and light that is a pleasure to carry your Jornada everywhere; I think that is one of the most elegant designs in the market also.
The sound, with headphones, is excellent for music, even when it is obvious that listening through the tiny built-in speaker is not the best way to get the best sound quality.
The navigation through the internet is very good, but you must be aware that the effect in some pages is like if you were passing a magnifying glass over a book's page, because most of the internet pages do not exactly "fit to screen" (this also happens with large Excel files or complex Word documents), but even with that detail that is not inherent to the Jornada but to all Pocket PC's, is very useful and clear, because you can increase the size of the text in the page in order to a comfortable reading.
If you also plan to receive e-mail in your Pocket PC, the new operative system allows to receive HTML direct from the Internet, because it converts it to text format automatically, and that was a mayor flaw of the preceding OS.
The Word and Excel documents can be edited or created with easiness, given the multiple input choices the OS has to offer.
I highly recommend a Compact Flash Card of at least 128MB. This is not only for file storage, but to install the programs of your Jornada within the Storage Card and leting almost all the RAM for the applications preinstalled so you can get your device to run extra fast. The only flaw with this is that if you are using a CompactModem or CompactLAN in order to connect to the Internet, the programs that are installed in the CF card will not be available at the moment of navigation because the expansion slot will be already in use.
If you never had owned a Pocket PC, another recomendation is the Pocket PC Handbook, by Dan Hanttula. It is more than worth the price.
Overall, if you are planning to buy a Pocket PC and are not sure about which one to chose, do not hesitate anymore and pick the HP Jornada 568. You will be more than pleased and surely will write a review from your Pocket PC.
Accesories I own and recomend: Targus Stowaway Keyboard, Targus PDA/Keyboard Combo Case (Leather) (only if you use the keyboard very often), Viking CF card 128MB, Pretec's CompactModem and CompactLan (the Support Service from Pretec is superb) and the Pocket PC Handbook, by Hanttula.

I love my Jornada 568! HP did just about everything right when designing the 560 series. I especially appreciate the flip-top, which protects your screen from scratches from car keys, pens, and other sharp objects in your pocket or purse. And HP's customer service was, for me, wonderful. (I don't hear many compliments for Compac's customer support crew. Read some the comments for the iPaq.)

Unfortunately, with the HP-Compac merger, the powers running the show decided to discontinue the HP line of PDAs after this year. What a loss.

My two minor gripes with the 568: compact flash slot doesn't support Type II (but you can easily remedy that by buying the CF Pocket 560 expansion sleeve), and I had the screen dust problem with my original 568 (production problem where dust gets behind the screen; annoying with dark backgrounds when the dust "lights up" like tiny stars on the screen). HP sent me a replacement 568, no questions asked. No problems with the newer unit.

Bottom line: If you're looking to buy a Pocket PC 2002 PDA, buy the Jornada 568 -- while you still can!

This device will end the iPaq's top spot for Pocket PC's. This is smaller, and feels great in your hand..Nice rubberized grips around the edges. Protective cover makes it a breeze to pop into your shirt pocket or trousers. Removable/swappable battery allows for extended life away from your cradle. I can go on and on. Having owned the ipaq and Palm devices, I can say this is surely the best device on the market HP did it right.

Being the techno-nerd that I am I purchased a Jornada 568 as soon as they became available in the fall of 2001. I owned a HP Jornada 548 and had no true business justification for the upgrade but my credit card wouldn't stay in my wallet. This being said I am glad that I made the plunge.

There are many positive sides to this unit and the new Pocket PC operating system over its predecessor. First, the screen is far clearer and brighter then previous HP displays. The screen is crisp and easy to read in sunlight. The screen is very comparable to the Ipaq screen. The removable battery pack is a big time bonus. I can purchase a spare or buy an extended pack which has a built in smart media slot. WOW! The top load compact flash slot is once again another advantage over the Ipaq. With the type I compact flash support built in there is no need for ungainly sleeves. Even better, and the reason I went with the HP, is that the Jornada 540 series accessories for the most part work with the 560 series. The keyboard, camera, modem and many other devices work great on the 560 and in many cases the drivers are built into the new unit. As far as the new operating system goes it is fun and some features are a plus but it is not a major upgrade. The build in transcriber is nice and spell check and word count is nice in MS Word but not revolutionary.

On the negative side I would list two things. First HP did not make screen protectors available for this unit which means we have to purchase from a third party vendor. As much as people complained about the 540 series hard plastic protectors I liked them and wish they were available for the 560 series. The screen is smaller so the sheets don't work without trimming. Secondly, the price may not be unreasonable for what you get but it is pushing the envelope. The unit provides most laptop functions with the purchase of keyboard and networking accessories. On the other hand after you purchase everything you could have purchased a very nice laptop for the same price. The price of the unit is enough to make worry a bit about carrying it around.

Overall a great unit that I am pleased with and do not regret purchasing...

I can justify this purchase for business use because of its integration with Outlook etc., but it also works as a movie player, view for digital camera pictures, mp3 player and so on (plan on buying a large compact flash card). But one application turns this into a killer machine (and you would never guess):

MS Reader. I am a hardcore reader, and when palm readers and units like the Franklin reader came out, I thought the idea of giving up paper was not for me. When I ran Reader on the 568, it was GORGEOUS! The unit is easier to hold than a paperback (trying holding a book and turning pages with one hand), has an inbuilt booklight, can play mp3's while you read, and frankly the screen fonts on Reader are outstanding. I read up on it and it has something to do with the layout of color pixels on the LCD; and quite frankly iPaq's don't come close and Palm, Handspring's etc aren't even in the same ballpark.

... Most who read this undoubtably think I'm nuts reading books on this, but nuts to you. Also I've had no trouble finding books thanks to this and other eBook sites.

I had my first PDA, a Psion Series II, in March 1988. Like the early mobile telephones, the Series II was better known as `a brick with a battery'. I progressed through the Psion range with a Series 3, a Series 3a, and my Psion experience culminated in a Series 5.

With the demise of my Series 5, and the imminent demise of all Psion handheld computers, I was forced to widen my horizons. I considered the Palm m515 - nice screen, easy user interface, but ultimately limited in its potential. I considered the Compaq Ipaq range - nice screen, good interface, good expansion potential, but large, heavy, and unwieldy.

So to HP: I have to confess that I am already an HP fan having used HP printers since about 1981. I have owned HP printers since 1992 - I am now using a G85 (one of the first to be released in the UK) and I have owned a HP CD-RW 9210e since about 1998. I have found all my purchases to be reliable and economical to own.

However, in choosing a HP Jornada 568, the killer blow to the opposition was the ability to swap batteries. The main benefit of the old Psion range was that the computers ran on two `AA' batteries. As long as you carried a spare pair of batteries, you could access your information. Until the Jornada 56x appeared on the scene, with other PDAs if your batteries ran dry - tough! No names, no addresses, no telephone numbers, no agenda, no MP3 to while away hours spent in airport lounges!

Until the Jornada 56x I would not have considered buying a new handheld computer because they only ran on non-swappable rechargeable batteries. As far as I could see this was a recipe for disaster. Imagine being stranded in a foreign country without the correct mains adapter and a depleted battery and not being able to remember the telephone number of your contact who hasn't arrived to collect you. What are you going to do? Probably panic - unless you had the foresight to write the critical information down on paper, which rather defeats the idea of having a handheld computer!

As well as having swappable batteries, the Jornada 56x range runs the standard Pocket PC 2002 software and comes with a good range of additional software. The ability to save a system backup to the `HP Safe Store' is a particularly good idea. The quality of the design and construction is high and the built-in flip cover is appealing (I like clamshells - I have a Motorola V50!) The screen is bright and clear and the ambient light detector helps battery conservation. I have not experienced any of the problems with dust that have been mentioned by other owners, but I am alert to this possibility.

In summary: well done HP - the master stroke of swappable batteries has converted me and I can heartily recommend the Jornada Series 56x to anyone.

I had a Palm Vx but I absolutely love this product. I chose it over the Compaq as I didn't want to deal with expansion sleeves which add bulk to the product. This will do everything the Compaqs will do and it comes with a whole lot of software.

HP got it right with this one . . . the best of the new bunch!

I cannot understand the few comments I've heard about poor screen brightness. I compared the screen side-by-side with other makes / models and the Jornada's was by far the best. I use MS Reader and am halfway through a novel and have had no problems reading the screen for extended times.

Windows for Pocket PC 2002 is a very nice OS. Lots of functionality. Very smooth syncronization with Outlook (included). I like the Pocket versions of Word and Excel. Especially like the note function - I don't have to take paper into meetings any more.

If you use your Pocket PC at home and work (like me), you will probably want to buy a second cradle and power adapter. Battery life is good compared to other Pocket PCs, but not nearly as good as Palm units. I expect to be buying an extra standard or extended battery in coming weeks.

Although I still don't have a modem or ethernet card for mine, I like using AvantGo to get web clips during sync to my desktop. Very nice feature.

Overall very pleased. Better than a laptop / notebook computer (except for screen size).