Rating: 
Summary: Excellent new Design and Pocket PC 2002 is superb
Review: Coming up from a previous version of the iPaq, this one is ever so slightly larger (can still use the old wallet if upgrading).
The best features of the iPaq 3835 are it's new crystal clear display (the 65,000 colours helps a lot in this department) and Microsofts Pocket PC 2002 is such a step up from the previous Windows CE operating system.
As ever connecting to a PC and syncronizing files is extremely easy with the supplied software and hardware (cradle has an option of USB or seriel although USB is far quicker). The supplied software includes a full version of Outlook 2002 for the PC.
The iPaq also comes with a natty little hinged case to protect it.
Bad points about it are there are very few peripherals on the market for the 3800 series at present and also there is no software currently available to take account of the new 65K colours. These no doubt will come soon.
I had looked at buying the new Jornada before getting this one but am very glad I waited on the iPaq.Overall excellent design and quality. Highly Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Absolute Best PDA On The Market!
Review: Where to begin...... This PDA has more options than a swiss army knife. I particularly enjoy the close operating system with windows, which are both very alike. You can easily place applications right into folders, just like windows! The only bad comments that I can think of are, I can't find a place to download Pocket Access, all the software costs about [$$$] ( even for games like monopoly ), and it often locks up on me, probably my fault anyway. Overall if you are looking for a pda and are having difficultly choosing and don't want to end up making a bad mistake, then quickly order the Compaq iPaq 3835, which by the way has a much better name than: Palm, Toshiba, or ViewSonic. Plus the unpararlled color display, wide screen, almost infinte program list, mp3 enabled, and ability to do whatever you want makes me rate this product a 5 ***** 5 star program!!!
Rating:
Summary: I've Had This For Over A Year And I Still Love It!!!
Review: I looked online for hours to find an affordable PDA that would allow me to do everything I wanted. I'm a full time college student and I find I can take notes, set up appointments and have my schedule on demand. I have my tasks organized and get more accomplished. I can also pull up phone numbers and email addresses of friends, teachers, and even restaurants when my friends and I order out. Plus I can play games while waiting for my next class to start. It also synchronizes perfectly with my desktop computer's version of Microsoft Outlook. I can download maps to my PDA for trips with step-by-step driving directions. The PDA is light and I can carry it in my purse all the time without it weighing me down. The unit has held up great for the year and few months I've had it. I know that newer systems have come out since I bought this back in November of 2002, but if you find a new or used version of this PDA I wouldn't hesitate to buy it. I also bought, and would recommend, a zippered holder that is waterproof (I spill things on my nightstand a lot.) It also helps protect the unit if you drop it. The only other thing you might want is to buy the memory expansion card. It's only about $35 and it triples your memory. You'll find that you can fill up your memory a lot faster than you think. (I buy too many e-books from Amazon!) I really think this is a good PDA for a student or anyone else and I take mine with me everywhere.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Power-Packed PPC
Review: I have used a Visor, a Cassiopeia, and a Jornada Handheld...and while each of those devices had its charm, I love my iPAQ and am not turning back. Pros:
-Color depth makes for a much more readable screen.
-Can see the screen inside AND outside, I always had problems with this on the other devices
-Pocket PC 2002 while glitchy in a few places, is easier to use and much more intuitive than Windows CE. (For example, there is a sound control available at all times. You don't have to dig into settings to turn the sound up or down quickly.)
-Sound is much sharper and can get louder than the Cassiopeia (a big issue for me since I listen to audio books through Audible.com)
-Sleek design and sensible button placement.
-Themes are easily modifiable. I love being able to use a picture from a favorite trip, or of my husband, as my background. Seems minor, and it is...but I like it.
-Lots of memory! Great for those of us who download books and MP3s. (Legal MP3s made from my own CDs, of course.)
-iTask makes it easy to close one or all of the running tasks. A few cons:
-Stylus got stuck inside the device, but purchasing an inexpensive zipper cover with a stylus holder took care of this.
-Freezes every now and again. I'm assuming that future releases of the Pocket PC will deal with this issue.
-I miss the modifiable launcher. I like to be able to categorize my programs and access them more easily. In short, it's a great little device. I'll be honest, the name "Compaq" doesn't exactly inspire me to fauning, but in this case it is earned. (I had a Compaq laptop that I returned after a week because they put so much garbage on it, and the DVD player froze on any DVD with a menu.) The iPAQ really shows some quality craftsmanship and I would recommend it to anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but some frustrating moments in store for Palm users
Review: I just bought three iPaq's for my company to replace a fleet of aging laptops (people only used them for Word anyway) and I am actually fairly impressed with the 3835. It is much more affordable than the 3900 series without giving up too many features. The display is bright and easy to read and Pocket PC's have resisted the Palm urge to shrink the size of the screen. Battery life is above average from some of the other color units I've seen and unlike the Visor Prism, you get an AC adapter right off the bat. Like most of the current PDA's, the 3835 has a SD slot built in for extra storage. This comes in handy almost immediately, as the install CD contains a few megs of ebooks but you will need to buy a bulky sleeve to get a CF slot for expansion purposes. The expanision sleeves makes finding a good carrying case difficult. FYI, the Toshiba e740 comes with a SD and a CF slot built in for almost the same price, so you may want to look in that direction too. Buying a portable keyboard for the 3800 series is a real pain. Apparently, Compaq changed the bottom connector from the 3700 series and the Targus stowaway keyboard (best one for any PDA) only works with the addition of an small adapter piece that is just begging to be lost. Compaq's own brand of keyboard and the iConcepts one are not nearly as comfortable to use, but do not require the adapter piece. If you upgrading from a Palm, beware. There is no real easy way to get all of your data out of the Palm Desktop and into Outlook. Contacts move over okay if you are careful with Outlook's import function, but the calendar doesn't move easily at all. Also, if you have never used the Pocket PC OS before, be prepared for some things to be a little less accessible than they used to be.
Rating:
Summary: Smoking Cigar Box
Review: My wife calls the Compaq iPaq 3835 Pocke PC, 'a cigar box.' Compared to the sleek and thin Palm V that I used for a couple years, she has a point. However, if you can live with a larger PDA, that still fits in a pocket, the iPaq 3835 spokes Palm. The fire inside this solution is its MS CE Software. Not only does in sync with my office software, (it continuously syncs in the cradle), but it really enables me to work on the road. Unlike my Palm, I can read Word and Excel attachments to emails. I can reply with one of three different writing packages that easily understand block scribles. There is always the mini-keyboard. The display is bigger, backlit and easy to read. Color helps, especially with graphs. Navigating through the many programs is simple and logical. The power options are efficient. Finally, it has the capability to be a digital book so you can download the latest best seller. It is also a MP3 player. So, you have to make one compromise on size - but it is well worth it to gain some very productive benefits. Sure, it's a cigar box - one that smokes its competitors.
Rating:
Summary: Best Business PDA Tool I have used
Review: I have owned Several Palm Based PDs and one Palm Smart Phone. This is by far the best of the bunch. I never thought I could use a PDA as a palm comuter, but this product does it hands down. I am an oustside sales person and really need to have access to my Act Database and need to be able to access several XL files. Not only does this product provide me the access and editing tools it also allows me to print via IR to a protable printer in my car. Now my lap top stays in the trunk and my PDA travels with me. BIG Thumbs up.
Rating: 
Summary: I'm going back to a Palm!!
Review: When I originally bought this PDA it had such great reviews and I though it would be a good replacement/upgrade for my old Palm (that never gave me any trouble by the way). I have had it for over 6 months now and I have been so unhappy with its performance. The battery life is horrible!! I travel a lot and need something that I don't need to charge twice a day. I don't play games or read books on it, so I don't use up the battery life that way. The worst thing is that unlike Palms you lose everything if your battery runs out!!!! Who ever heard of that. If you keep backing up to your computer you can restore it, but you really have to be on the ball with that, because if you don't too bad it's gone! I will admit it is a nice looking machine that has some nice features, but I just bought a new Palm because I need something I can rely on.
Rating:
Summary: Nice
Review: I got this almost one year ago after my black and white Handspring was stolen.
I have two problems with it. Some time it stop working all of the sudden, and I have the press reset button. It works fine after that and you will not loose any data by doing that. The other problem I have is synchronizing with MS Outlook. I had to update the software which you can get from Microsoft website, three times until it start working fine. Other than that I love and the colors are clear and crisp. Battery last for a very long time if you don't keep it on all the time. You will get a warning if the battery is low and will shut down automatically so you won't loose data.
Rating:
Summary: Does everything I want, and More!
Review: The title says it all. This machine does everything I had hoped for with a very intuitive user interface and so far has worked perfectly (been using it about 3 months). What more can one ask for? One feature of this particular model is the ability to add a Secure Memory card in a recepticle located on the top of the iPAC. You don't need an extra "slip on" accessory to add memory with this model. I listen to mp3s that I download a great deal of the time so the extra memory (I use 256MB cards) is a necessity, as the internal memory will only hold half a dozen songs. With a 256MB memory card you can have much more than a CD's worth of tunes right in the iPAC, add a good set of ear phones and you've got great sound along with everything else the iPAC offers. I usually take two or three loaded memory cards with me so I have a huge variety of tunes to fit any mood. Never having used a PDA before, I don't know how the Note Pad function compares, but the one on this model works wonderfully in all three modes ... audio recorder, typed notes using the soft keyboard, and I use the hand writen notes all the time to jot down a quick reminder, like highway exit numbers when going to places I've never been ... its very easy to grab the iPAC, push the Notes button, having already selected the note with the exit number or other directions, and read the large print while driving. I know that there are newer models which probably work just as will but don't think they have the memory expansion capability built into the naked unit (I could be wrong about that). The ability to have all the expanded memory you want in the naked iPAC is worth choosing this model, all else being equal.
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