HP iPAQ hx2495 Pocket PC

• 3.5" TFT Active Maxtrix screen with 16-bit color
• Bluetooth and IEEE 802.11b data link protocols
• Includes touch-screen, five-way navigation button and stylus input sources
• Operates on Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 Premium Edition
• One-year warranty

the hx2495 is the same underlying product as the hx2490. the ..90 and the ..95 are different in that the 90 is for the business market and the 95 is the consumer market.

the bluetooth widcomm software is pleasant to use. I recommend over the updated WM5 microsoft built-in version that comes with the OS.

this PDA is favorably comparable to the dell axim x50 or dell x50v, but with some models of those having no built-in wi-fi or a full VGA display (vs. the QVGA display on this iPAQ).

I decided for myself that the QVGA display was good enough for me and it is a really excellent display on the hx2495! i plan on using this PDA for GPS car navigation (already own a bluetooth GPS receiver). Media support (videos, MP3s) is excellent. The wifi makes it easy to update software and web surf. The wi-fi was absolutely required for some other applications I use, and so it was good to have it built-in. I would also rate the battery life to be fair to good.

the overall performance is snappy especially on media playing.

the bluetooth and wifi in a small lightweight form, with slightly rugged looks, great performance, windows mobile 5, and a low price make this PDA an excellent value.

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This is my first PDA/ Handheld/ Portable Entertainment Device purchased to replace my 14 year old paper daytimer. I choose this unit after much research. My choices narrowed down to the Dell Axim v51 & this. I choose the iPAQ because of the voice recorder and mostly because of the removable battery. Not only does this allow you to replace it should the battery wear out or malfunction but I purchased a larger battery for travel.

I am very pleased with product after several months. After an initial problem with getting it to sync, I discovered the problem was with the firewall & virus programs installed on my PC. I had to uninstall the firewall & virus & uninstall AutoSync 4.1. The units synchronized, then I reinstalled the virus program, upgraded to 4.1 & switched to Windows firewall. Now, its fun, fun, fun. I have a 1 GB card. I listen to music while I play games, watch videos, get my birthday cards out on time, make voice reminders while driving and more.

I only need to recharge the battery every other day. I have loaded at least 7 other programs and it still works great. I use an aluminum, neoprene lined case for protection in my purse.

Everyday I find more uses for it. I also recommend iPAQ for Dummies also sold on Amazon. Although the book doesn't address Windows Mobile 5, there are still additional hints I found very useful.

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Just thought I'd add this bit for people who suffer the battery drain problem. This happens when you have an SD card inserted and a working Activesynch connection. It has something to do with constantly monitoring the card's output.

Anyway, HP now have a ROM update that fixes this problem, although they should make more of point in telling people!

It's a simple matter of downloading the ROM update and applying it to your Ipaq. Make sure you have the correct Ipaq though, coz there is a 'b' version which has a different ROM update!

Hope this helps people.

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This review is of the hx2495b which I believe has more built in flash memory than the earlier model. I will describe my impressions based upon my previous experience with other pda's (as this is the first Windows Mobile device I have owned) and also based upon the fears I had prior to receiving my new iPAQ.

1. I have owned several Palm OS devices and 1 Linux based device. Overall, I think the Palm OS is the most integrated of all as far as its contacts, calendar, and ToDo list. The calendar on the Windows Mobile device seems somewhat poorly organized, but I am getting used to how it functions.

2. It is also a little harder to navigate a Windows Mobile device using only hard buttons, but this iPAQ allows you to map hardware buttons for various functions so I can do most simple tasks without taking out my stylus.

3. Windows Mobile does not shut down programs when you "X" out of them. Normally this is not an issue with 56Mb of memory...but when running a memory intensive program (usually when surfing for me) I find that I need to manually free up some memory by going into the task manager and shutting down previously opened programs. This is a quirk that is a little annoying but something I can easily live with. There are many free and non-free utilities which can change this behavior.

4. The built in WiFi for this device seems rock solid. I get a better connection than I did with my Linux based Zaurus pda. I would prefer a slightly richer WiFi interface when setting up a connection, but then I am used to working with a laptop where I have more options available. I am sure there are some utilities you can install to beef up the interface.

5. Many of the functions on a Windows Mobile device are accessed by holding down the stylus on the screen (i.e. instead of just a tap). This is the equivalent of a right click in the desktop world and the functionality seems to be logically laid out.

6. Windows Mobile supports both portrait and landscape modes and you can map this functionality to a hard key.

7. My previous pda had a VGA display. I was worried about the loss of resolution when switching to the QVGA display of this device. However, I am now pretty much convinced that a VGA display is nearly a waste with screen sizes this small as I don't even notice a difference for most functionality.

8. There are a crap ton of free applications that exist for Windows Mobile. I was blown away. I thought the Linux world dominated the market for freeware, but I guess that Microsoft is on so many devices that there is a lot of software written for them.

9. I think the battery drain issue must have been fixed for this model. I have not loaded any updates to the OS, I have an SD card installed, and my battery life is excellent. I can easily read for over 4 hours on this device before recharging (I keep my backlight at 1/2 power when in doors).

10. This version of Windows Mobile has persistent memory storage so if you lose all the power in your pda your applications will still remain. All the applications I have installed so far have given me the option of storing them on my SD card...although I haven't even come close to filling up the built in storage.

11. My desktop machine has WinXP and Microsoft Office. Synchronization is painless. I'm sure it is not so painless with a Linux or Mac OS.

12. The suite of applications that comes with the iPAQ impressed me. It already has a built in terminal services client to remotely connect to a Windows machine (this is fairly impractical given the screen size but is good for shear geek factor). Excel and Word are included but I haven't played with them much. Out of the box you are ready to play mp3's and wmv's on the built in media player.

Overall, this is the best pda I have owned. There are some quirks with the OS (every OS has some), but this iPAQ delivers a lot of power for such a small device. I am a very happy owner.

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To put everyone's mind at ease, BATTERY DRAIN PROBLEM HAS BEEN FIXED (you simply have to do a few steps to fix it). BATTERY LIFE IS EXCELLENT once you complete the fix(I can go several days on standby and still have well over 80% battery power left).

The unit is suberb for typical PDA functions and a GREAT feature is not losing your data if you happen to drain the battery (resident memory). Works great as an MP3 player too (I just bought a 2 GB card for about $50; uses SD and CF cards).

I sync at work and at home...to me a PDA isn't too useful (other than music, books, etc.) unless you really put all your organizational info on it (contacts, appointments, notes, shopping lists, etc.).