Hewlett Packard Jornada 525 Color Pocket PC

• Compatible with the essential Microsoft programs you use the most--Outlook, Word, Excel
• Capture your thoughts with the built-in voice recorder
• Integrated MP3 player and e-book reader
• Expandable via CompactFlash cards
• What's in the box: Jornada 525, Carrying pouch, Stylus, AC Adapter, Serial cable, Quick Start Guide, UserÆs Guide, Microsoft ActiveSync CD-ROM

For almost three years I had exclusively used a Jornada 820 (Windows CE handheld with built-in modem and keyboard) as a portable device. And while I still love to take the 820 along on trips, there was one drawback: It was always just a little too big and heavy for my purse. This is why I recently bought a Jornada 525 Pocket PC.

The main reason for deciding on a 525 was its price, but I was also pleasantly surprised by its great functionality and design. The device fits well into my hand and exudes a sense of quality no thin plastic body but substantial metal with rubber coating on the sides for a better grip. It looks pretty cool.

Of course there are a few compromises compared to higher-priced Pocket PCs: The 525 does not come with a cover, although one is available separately; the stylus cannot be stored in the device itself, although there is a slot for it in the included protective glove. Also, this Jornada has only a 256 color display, and no USB interface, however, a serial cable is included for synchronization. Another thing that's missing is a docking station, but again this can be purchased as an accessory. The 525 has only 16 MB memory, and not the fastest processor (SH3, 133 Mhz).

But all these things do not bother me too much. I synchronize via infrared anyway (which you CAN do with this device), and I have already purchased a cover the silver-colored one looks quite good with it! Sure, the 16 MB memory is not great, but luckily the 525 has a Compact Flash Card slot. With prices for these cards plummeting, I put in a 128 MB CF card and I'm loaded for bear.

If you are like me and I would dare say like most of the Pocket PC users you will probably use such a device mainly for storing contacts and appointments, for playing Solitaire or read an eBook while waiting at the doctor's office, or for listening to MP3 files when the wait gets REALLY long. Also for storing other information like credit card numbers, passwords and PINs, and for keeping track of projects, orders, etc. With the optional camera module, one can even take pictures and view them.

All these things work on the Jornada 525, and work well. I would urge anyone who is in the market for a Pocket PC to really think about what he/she wants to do with it, and not blindly go for ads that make you want to spend hundreds of dollars more for a little more speed, contrast, and built-in memory. The fact is that all these devices have a very short shelf life, and what is top-of-the-line today, will very likely be gone by this time next year. Unless you are one of those rare power users who really live and breathe this technology, I believe the Jornada 525 will more than meet your needs.

The reason I didn't give 5 stars is that in my experience its battery life is not the best I've learned to never stray too far from an electrical outlet. But again: This also depends on what kind of applications you are running, and how many at the same time... Nothing to gripe too much about.

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I have been using the Jornada 525 for about week, and I am very satisfied with the quality of this product. The unit has a nice solid feel, and there are rubber grips on each side to make it easier to hold. The leather case that is included works well, and has a sleeve inside for holding the stylus.

The 12-bit (that's 4096 colors) 240x320 display is surprisingly detailed and sharp compared to other similarly priced products. The Jornada is also equipped with a built-in speaker and a stereo headphone jack. The "up to 8 hours of battery life" for the rechargable battery usually turn out to be around 5-6 hours on low power use settings. The screen responds very well to touch, but I would recommend buying screen protectors to prevent scratching.

There are thousands of third party applications and games out there to load onto the Jornada as well. Installing programs is very easyyou just have to download the installation file, sync the Jornada to your PC, and run the installation file. The program will take a minute or two to transfer depending on the size.

Here are a few of the things I like/don't like about the Jornada:

GOOD:

Performance vs. price (compare to Palm IIIc, Handspring Visor Platinum, other Windows CE handhelds)

Sharp, colorful, well lit display (fully adjustable brightness/contrast)

Fast. Very few delays while opening programs or navigating menus.

Included items: A/C adapter, serial sync cable, carrying case

Easy to use. Windows CE should be simple to pick up for anyone familiar with windows 9x/NT.

Shortcut buttons. You can access your calendar, daily tasks, etc. with one touch of a button instead of navigating menus.

BAD:

Short battery life compared to less powerful handhelds.

The included stylus is very light. (Most people prefer heavier, more solid ones)

The rubber pieces on the sides of the device (the smaller ones near the top) are too easy to peel open (they are not intended to be opened) They push easily back into place, though.

The cover to the expansion slot is a little flimsy.

Windows CE bugs. I have encountered a couple bugs, but all I had to do was reset the OS with the red button on the back of the unit to put things back to normal. This does not erase your data.

I would recommend the Jornada to anyone who wants a powerful handheld computer for keeping notes and appointments as well as playing games, viewing pictures, working on word/excel documents, and listening to music. For people who just want to keep calendar dates and simple notes, I would suggest buying a less powerful handheld with a longer battery life.

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I moved over a Visor Prism last week and even though I still love my Visor I am very satisfied with the HP 525. It has a very nice sleek metal design and it feels solid in my hand. I have to tell you that I spent around 3 long nights figuring out the last detail of the software and the "infamous" windows CE. Maybe not that easy to handle compared to the Plam OS but the more I got into the new system, the more I liked it. Running at 133mhz it handles the programs well when you are not using multitask. The 256 colors do nicely on the programs but this is not a multimedia device specially if you want to play a video or to watch high resolution pictures. The MP3 player sounds great with my headphones and with a built in compact flash you have no problem with the space. I have to tell you that I wasn't sure about buying a Pocket Pc since I have been with palm devices for the last 3 years but I wanted more features out of the box for less money this time. What I don't like about it?? Well, it doesn't have a metal cover, you can't hold your stylus inside the device, it only has 16mb, it doesn't use USB to Sync, no cradle and short battery life. Putting aside all the limitations, the HP 525 is a nice machine with an elegant design. If you are moving from a Palm handheld this could be a very good and affordable option for you.

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Nothing can beat the price to function ratio of this machine. I got a Visor Edge and bought this one for $220 (It's a long story). And my friend kept asking me why this color one is even cheaper than the B/W Edge? If you are looking for an MP3 player and/or a PDA for cheap this is what you should get. The MP3 playback is awsome. Music quality is great with earphone jack and it has no problem playing Music as good as 128bit/sec. You can easily get a 64mb CF card for less than $40, or 128mb on Amazon for $60, which bring the total down to less than $300 for an MP3 player + COLOR PDA.

There are a few downside of this PDA, though. The color is 256, which means that you won't be able to see great pictures that you took from your digital camera on it. And there is only serial cable connection for it. I will suggest you buy a USB card reader if you are actually using it as an MP3 player.

A few tricks you might want to know. You need to create a folder called "My Documents" in your card so that mediaplayer can find your music. And, to save energy, the screen toggle function in the option can be set so that you can turn screen off while listening to music.

In all I think this is worth at least 4 starts.

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It's not the fastest, it's not the lightest, it doesn't have the best screen, it doesn't even have USB sync... But, for about half the price of those "best" units, Jornada 525 does everything well that's expected of any PocketPC. I bought Viking 128MB CF expension card (here @ Amazon) to store all files (so I can allocate more memory to run programs) and still have enough room left over for over an hour of MP3 music to enjoy with pair of good headphones. With only a serial connection and slower processor than the competition, this unit is for those of us who are patient and will use it mainly as a secondary portable device to compliment our primary portable notebook computers. All in all, I am completely satisfied and it's all I expected and more.