Home :: PDAs & Handhelds :: Pocket PC OS  

Accessories
Linux OS
Palm OS
Pocket PC OS

Smart Watches
HP iPAQ 1945 Pocket PC

HP iPAQ 1945 Pocket PC

List Price:
Your Price:
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 3 4 .. 7 >>

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The iPAQ 1945 - A Pocket PC Approaching Perfection
Review: The iPAQ 1945, also sold as the iPAQ 1940, is the first in a line of planned successors to the iPAQ 1910. HP has addressed many of the concerns that 1910 users had, namely that the 1910 was too slow and lacked hardware expansion options. The 1945 is powered by a new 266MHz processor from Samsung which rivals, and sometimes surpasses, the usable speed of many XScale chips from Intel. Other features of the iPAQ 1945 include 64MB of RAM (56MB of which are user accessible), a crisp, bright transflective color screen, onboard Bluetooth wireless, and a Secure Digital slot which can use SD flash memory cards and SDIO peripherals such as 802.11b WLAN cards.

Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC replaced Pocket PC 2002 as the most current Pocket PC OS in June 2003 and comes installed on the 1945. While the version of Windows Mobile 2003 pre-installed on the iPAQ lacks a few minor applications (such as Microsoft Reader), each can be downloaded for free. Because HP left the choice to the end-user, the iPAQ File Store - unused space on the ROM - has over 13MB free for software, files, etc.

As I mentioned before, the Samsung processor keeps the 1945 moving along very well. Having recently used an iPAQ 5450 (400Mhz PXA250 XScale), a Toshiba e755 (400MHz PXA255 XScale) and a Toshiba e355 (300MHz PXA255 XScale), I can say that, from a casual use point-of-view, the iPAQ 1945 surpasses the speed of the iPAQ 5450 and Toshiba e355 and feels basically on level with the Toshiba e755. One of the touted benefits of the Samsung processor is long battery life, and while I didn't get the eight hours that HP suggested I might, I got almost seven hours use out of the 1945 with the backlight on its lowest setting before I had to recharge; a very good result.

There is only one real drawback to the iPAQ 1945, as I see it, and it's relatively minor and completely fixable: the 1945 ships with only a USB Sync cable, not a cradle. While some might actually prefer this, I miss not having a cradle to rest the iPAQ in while it's not in use. The good news here is that there is a cradle available (the same cradle that works with the iPAQ 1910), and you can purchase if you want it.

All-in-all, the iPAQ 1945 is an amazing addition to the Pocket PC family. If you like small, light PDAs with oomph, the 1945 might be right up your alley.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best PPC for most people
Review: I felt compelled to write a review of this great device after reading a terribly uniformed review from someone that doesn't even own the device.

The good!

Size - The smallest on the market. Fits nicely in your pocket without feeling like you're carrying a brick, unlike so many other PPCs.

Speed - Many benchmarks rate this unit faster than the 2215, which uses a 400mhz Intel processor. Audio, video playback is smooth as can be. It is plenty fast.

Bluetooth - Bluetooth(bt) allows this device to be every bit as capable and expandable as the larger and more expensive devices. Bluetooth applications include:
Link to bt GPS for real-time driving and mapping directions
Link to bt cell phone for mobile remote dial up
Link to PC for wireless sycing, printing, and browsing.

Expandable - SD, WiFi, and even a combo card with WiFi and 256MG will be available.

Screen - The best screen on the market (except for the 1910)

Battery - Battery performance is adequate. You can by an additional battery for pretty cheap if needed.

Cons!

Non-standard headphone jack - It comes with an adapter that works very well, but it is still a much bigger inconvenience than I expected.

Screen - The screen puts a yellow tint on stark white when you tilt the unit away from you. I barely notice it, and don't think this is a big issue, but I've read where others are put off by it. The screen is still one of the best on the market.

No docking station - Not a big issue for me, especially with the Bluetooth.

In summary:
With the exception of commercial grade infrared (the 1945 has IR, just not commercial grade) which would allow it to be used as a universal remote, there is nothing this PPC can't do that the bigger and more expensive devices do. It is the best PPC on the market in my opinion.

If size is important, you can't do better than the 1945. If a very compact size (and money) isn't important to you I suggest the 2215.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great PDA. Love It!!!
Review: I currently own a Pallm V and decided I wanted to benefit from the richer functionality and interface of the Pocket PC. I did a lot of research and settled on the 1945.

Pluses
-Great form factor. Smaller and lighter than my Pallm V.
-Great screen, i.e. brightness, contrast, color, sharpness, etc. I don't really notice the yellowish tint that other reviews (here and on other sites) have mentioned.
-Great price. I purchased one that was refurbished by HP from a company called Pallmking, which is one of the vendors listed under 'buy new/used'. I paid $218+$8 for expedited shipping. I ordered it on a Friday and received on the following Wednesday.
-Very fast. Many of the reviews I read stated this as well and attribute it to the 266mhz processor.

Cons
-No screen protector. The ones I found in the store are twice as much as compared to other PDA's (i.e. $20 for 12 as compared to $10 for most other PDA's)
-Documentation is terrible and is basically useless.
-Blue tooth difficult to setup.
-Only one expansion slot and it is SD. There seems to be fewer devices for SD and they seem more expensive as compared to CF.
-Very limited selection of 801.11b wireless cards for SD. Only could find two (Socket Comm and ScanDisk) and they were $100+ and did not get very good reviews.

I also looked hard at the HP 1935, but it was slower (203mhz) and didn't have Bluetooth.

Bluetooth was a bear to get working, but now that I have it has been really cool. I use for it wireless web browsing, activesync, and file transfers. Some sights to help you with this are:

http://www.pc-counselor.com/How_to/bluetooth_network.htm - For setting up the wireless web browsing (this was very painful to setup)

http://www.bluetoothnews.com/features/ActiveSync.htm - For setting up activesync.

http://www.bluetooth.com/ - Official bluetooth site

I purchased a Hawking USB bluetooth device for $31 from Amazon and it has worked great (just make sure you download the most current driver). I get a good wireless connection through-out my house.

Some good general PocketPC sites are:

http://www.brighthand.com/
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/resources/downloads/pocketpc/default.mspx - Has several good downloads.

Overall I am extremely happy and satisfied with the 1945!!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Run, don't walk, from this clunker
Review: Bought an IPAQ 1945 six months ago, nothing but trouble. Now on my second cycle of problems, already having serviced the unit once. Device will reset itself, losing all of the data you have on it, without warning. HP support is horrendous, off-shore call center in India with lots of canned answers, not insight, and difficulty with English. Buy another PDA, this one is trouble, unless you don't really need all those phone numbers and appointments, in which case you wonder why you are wasting your money on a PDA.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: hp1945 poor performance/hp poor customer support
Review: This is the poorest performing handheld I have ever owned.(I have had 3- 2 palm 1 sony)> I have owned it for 6 months it has been repaired 4 times. It continually hard resets, then it will just lock up. Buyer beware!!!!!. HP ( the company) If there customer service gets any worse they are DOOMed!!! POOR...POOR...POOR You cant get any worse. The right hand does not know what the left is doing. There solution to every problem is to have your product shipped to them. The catch is you never know if they fix it or what they fixed. They send no information back to you and when you call to find out what they did you get the run around and noboby know anything. Then 2 days later you unit doesnt work again......Guess what Mr so n so you need to send your unit in for repairs....you get the picture. Buyer beware!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: IPAQ-GREAT PRODUCT!!!!!
Review: I bought the IPAQ h1945 a few days ago and it has been great! No problems except for a program froze up, and it was the program's fault and not the IPAQ's. As far as the yellow tint issue, it is so suttle unless you try to see it or unless you have it on a 45 degree amgle. If you are really worried about the color/tint, go to Bestbuy or similar and actually give it a try. I almost bought a Dell Axim X5 but they were not avail at any store for a test drive, a big downside, buying blind online. I am so happy with the IPAQ's small design, it is great. Its awesome for music. It cam play MP3 and WMA and can be upgraded free to play MPEG movies by installing free pocket tv for pocket pc. This thing has a better speaker than my dad's laptop! Also. people who gripe about the headphone adapter probably haven't bought this thing, its only lile 3 inches long, so unless you have wireless headphones (cool) you shouldn't be worried. Battery life is great! No worries! Great file storage space. Also, you can get tons of free games for it at windowsmobile.com and download.com. Great investment! Cool!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Very good PDA, few drawbacks
Review: I purchased this PDA about a week ago. I am extremely satisfied with it.

-Performance
Very good. It plays Family Guy Divx's without a glitch. All the programs open fast, and the windows media player is very good.

-Storage
The 64 (theoretical) megabytes are more than enough to install as many programs as you want, although if you want to watch movies or listen to mp3's, you might want to think about getting a 128 or 256 secure digital card.

-Screen
Very bright with nice colors. If you look at it from below, there is a yellow tint. This bothers some people, but I personally like the yellow.

-Battery
A big plus with this PDA is the removable battery. That way, you can always replace it with another. The PDA has a built-in NMH battery, so that you will not lose any data when swapping batteries. Replacement batteries can be found for about $30. Battery life is very long, about 2 1/2 hours of watching a movie.

Pros:
Fast processor
Enough memory
Good screen
Very small

Removable battery
Lots of buttons

Cons:
non-standard audio plug (adapter included)
No scroll button on side

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: DONT BUY THIS HUNK OF #$%@
Review: I've had my ipaq 1945 for about 3 mounths, the first day i used it, the screen chiped, and today, for the first time, I dropped my ipaq and the screen broke into a million shards of glass. HP now wantes to charge me $200!!!! to fix the sreeen. DONT BUY FROM IPAQ!! Unless you wanna throw $300 down the drain.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Solid PDA, Horrible Offshore (India) Support
Review: If were only the H1945 being reviewed and not the HP support center in India I would give the unit 5 stars. Overall the H1945 is an excellent PDA for the price; it's small enough to be quite portable, fast enough to keep up with the higher-end unit thanks to the Samsung processor, and it won't break the bank.

I've tested the H5555 (HP's flagship PDA) and it is a very nice unit if you've got a need (and budget)for a $600+ PDA, personally I don't have that kind of money to invest in a PDA. The H1945 does nearly everything the H5555 will do (Less the built in WiFi) for less than half the price. I personally would rather carry the H1945 as it is also about half the size and weight. I still can't believe how fast this thing is, the 266Mhz Samsung processor really performs, perhaps as good or better than some of the 400Mhz Intel units.

The only real knock on this unit is the HP support (which is in India); I've contacted them twice, 1 phone call and 1 online support attempt to resolve a question about my warranty period for the H1945. Both times were very frustrating and I was left without a clear answer and additional work or effort for me. The person on the phone had such a heavy accent I couldn't understand them and I'm normally really good with accents, this one was bad. The next attempt was with the online support, it ended up with the tech support person trying to tell me the warranty starts when the unit is manufactured, not when you purchase it so I would only have a 10 month warranty rather than the full one year warranty since my device was manufactured two months ago. This guy really believed what he was saying even though it is so obviously wrong, it ended up with me having to fax my info to HP in order to ensure I had a full warranty. According to two different people at HP (India) you must buy a unit made on the same day you purchase it to receive the full 12 month warranty, have you ever heard such nonsense? I'm sure glad this same logic doesn't apply to the rest of the world.

Pros: Very effective unit for the price.
Cons: Completely incompetent offshore support personnel, don't bother.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Very good product in its classs
Review: Purchased HP ipaq1945 from Local Office Depot morethan 6 months ago for $260. I am very much impressed with the performance and light weight.

I have never found the Yellow Tint problem on my PDA till now. I am not sure what exactly this problem is. Anyways things are working fine as expected.

In this 6 months i just rebooted the PDA only once. Windows 2003 OS is working very good, a bit surprise to seee as at last this another form of Windows.

Great One !!!!!!!!


<< 1 2 3 4 .. 7 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates