- A sleek Pocket PC with the optimal combination of features, performance, and expandability
- Compact Flash and Secure Digital slots for flexibility and convenience in storage and expansion
- Integrated Bluetooth for wireless communication with other Bluetooth devices
- Removable/rechargeable Lithium-lon battery for on the go power
- HP iPAQ Pocket PC, USB Desktop cradle/charger, AC Adapter, Slip case, battery, getting started poster; charger adapter; HP iPAQ Pocket PC Companion CD
I also bought a foldable keyboard so add that to the price. I am a graduate student and I bought the Ipaq knowing it had a recording function. This is very handy for me in interview situations. I like being able to display PDFs, PowerPoints (not very usable but a nice 'toy' this since the slides are so small), word documents, EXCEL, etc. The addition of the keyboard actually allows me to create files and I really like the size of the Ipaq even with keyboard compared to a laptop.
Of course it is not all work. I had an audible.com subscription for a couple of years and can play my library on this. If you have never tried audible with a pocketpc...it is a worthwhile experience. I am an avid reader but I have found that there are times when listening to a book is just the thing. With 1GB it is not an Ipod but it gets the job done for me and the sound is very good with MP3s. Add avantgo, ebook reader, and ahem, Pocket Everquest and it is a pocket entertainment center.
It is also extemely verstile. To get an idea of what a pocket PC can do for you visit a website that had downloads of applications. I found a very nice scientific calculator with graphing functions that would be at least $70 or more dollars for $12 as a download today. I am also trying out something called pocket earth that is very interesting.
Why 4 stars? I didn't really need bluetooth and there are other products out there a bit less exsepsenive if you don't need that. But HP customer service is A1. If you ask an email question they usually reply within 24 hours although for my old Jornada it use to be within in an hour. The unit comes with a CD-ROM with multiple utlities that you will find useful. In addition to price (and it is a very fair price btw overall) I feel the battery life could be better. Granted size played into that but you will find yourself recharging quite often. In a way that is a backhanded good thing though, it means you are finding uses for it, even if they are frivolous. So if you are willing to spend the money for the unit AND the money for a memory card big enough to serve your needs AND the money for a keyboard if you plan on actually creating documents with the Ipaq and it still seems worth it, enjoy your new pocket computer and your new toy. I am.
Buy HP iPAQ 2215 Pocket PC Now
I owned Palm Vx for 3 years and finally found a decent color PDA that is sleek withhout sacrificing any features:PROS
Sleek
Great navigation button for game lovers (even sony CLIE's aren't close)
Integrated bluetooth
Good display and good speed
HP support was good when I had problem setting up AvantGo
Even though HP doesn't mention bundled software, they did infact bundle quite good collection of software which I think is around [money amount]worth.
The synchronization software that comes with Palm is useless. You have to buy additional software and configure it to really get all the contact information mapped to the Outlook contact fields. If you are going to synchonize with Outlook, think no other than Pocket PC based PDA.
CONS
Notes support in Pocket PC sucks. PDA device vendors should start bundling HPC Notes software along with this until Microsoft decideds to make it better. Can't even filter notes by categories.
Carry case should be flip-open type. You have to take the PDA out before using it.
CONCLUSION
Even if money is no constraint, I would still go for this model.
I still can't understand why it takes Sony so long to come up with a good mix of features that is sleek. Inspite of being a big Sony fan, I wouldn't pay $800 for Sony PEG-UX50.
Add value to your PDA by buying Pocket Informant or Agenda Fusion.
I gave 4 star instead of 5 because:
I want it to be as sleek as iPAQ h1910 with iPAQ h2215 feature set
Software like HPC Notes is not bundled
Read Best Reviews of HP iPAQ 2215 Pocket PC Here
If you are like me, you just want a good reason to buy the Pocket PC you are now looking at. BUY IT!Why? Because the OS software and Sync software loads and operates flawlessly. HP answered every complaint ever made about PDA's from its competitors and its own PDA products. This machine tops them all. It was my last machine to review after three days of intense research. When I went to buy the second best, this unit had just hit the rack. After working with it and despite the fact there were no reviews out by other users, I took a chance because it looked and worked absolutely perfect. In the electronics department, this was one the smartest moves I ever made.
Before this, I didn't know what to buy: Pocket PC or Palm. How glad I am that I chose the IPAQ H2215. I am a minister of the gospel and loaded this thing with Bible software, a mini-word processor heavy weight programs and they work like a dream. It is not a toy or a gadget it is a wonderful tool!
The battery is replaceable and operates a good 5-6 hours in heavy use. The cradle connection is solid; there is no doubt that you are charging the unit. There is a place on the charger for a second battery, as the battery can be replaced by the user. Also, there is an adapter to permit you to charge on the road, without the cradle. Nothing extra to buy.
It uses both CF (compact flash) and SD Card, has blue tooth installed and the screen is marvelous. The processor is lightning fast. The unit fits in your shirt or pants pocket easy enough. If you work a lot away from the office or home desk top, this is the unit you want.
Buy it!
Want HP iPAQ 2215 Pocket PC Discount?
I waited a long time for the new models to come out and ordered the 2215 as soon as it was available. It was worth it.First off, let me say that the software upgrade from 2002 to 2003 is barely noticeable, except for a few connectivity features, one of which I've found very helpful. This version has a good Bluetooth Manager that makes connecting to a Bluetooth cell phone (such as a Sony/Ericsson T68) easy. With this feature, the cell phone can be used as a modem with a dialup internet service (e.g. MSN or Earthlink) for net access from anywhere with free nights and weekends, and in addition to the included email software and Internet Explorer just about all the net software you could want is available for PocketPC AIM, ICQ, IRC, SSH.... If you want Wifi you'll need a CompactFlash addon card.
Pocket Word and Excel are useful but don't expect to write a book on it without an addon keyboard. The iPaq picture viewer with slideshow and thumbnails is a nice touch, works very well with the CompactFlash card from my digital camera.
As far as the hardware, you get 400MHz, 64MB, 2 kinds of expansion slots, Bluetooth and a very nice screen in a package that's an inch shorter and a fair bit sleeker than older iPaqs definitely pocketable. The battery life is a good 8 hours (less if you're doing battery-draining things like running the screen at full brightness or playing Age of Empires). 64MB sounds like a lot but you'll use that up pretty quickly if you start installing software or downloading e-books fortunately a Secure Digital expansion card works seamlessly and doesn't add to the size or weight of the device.
One complaint the rubber grips on the sides are not attached as securely as I would have expected, and they are coming off. I fixed this with superglue.
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Addendum, one year after purchasing:
The rubber grips came off completely, and I ended up calling HP about a week before the warranty ran out. They sent me new ones, no charge, and replacing them is very easy. I'm pretty sure they came off because the slip cover they include rubs against them, so I still recommend this PDA highly but advise you to get a different case for it.
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I've been using Palm and Pocket PC / Windows CE devices for almost seven years now. Palm Pro, Palm IIIx, Visor, Visor Edge, several Clies, Nino, iPaq 3600, iPaq 3800, Jornada, Cassiopeia, Maestro, Razor Zayo...I'm hardly a newcomer here. That said, every device had some sort of flaw. PalmOS was too limited to be a decent value, while Pocket PC / CE devices were too heavy to keep in my pocket. Finally, HP got it right.
The h2215 is the perfect balance between a powerful OS, powerful hardware, and a device you can truly keep in your pocket. The expansion options are absolutely wonderful -you've got CF I/II and an SD slot that supports SDIO, so you'll always be able to have extra memory, without sacrificing wireless connectivity.
While Pocket PC 2003 isn't much different than 2002 in terms of cosmetics, it's a huge leap forward in terms of stability and ease of use. Connecting to wireless networks is a snap, and I've yet to have anything cause me to do a reset.
The h2215 is light, and easy to hold. The rubberized grips are absolutely perfect -just light enough to keep the unit firmly in your hand, but not as uncomfortable as the grips on the side of the Dell Axim.
The best part (at least for me) is that old iPaq accessories work on the h2215. I was able to pull the sync cable I bought for my old 3800-series out of the closet, and plug it right in to the 2215 without any problems.
This is truly the best PDA I've ever carried. At this price, it's a steal.
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