Nobody can deny that HP makes Pocket
PCs for just about every user there could be. With their iPAQ collection
that went from h36xx, h38xx and h39xx series to h54xx, h55xx, h19xx,
h22xx, h41xx and h43xx series, including a massive list of accessories,
made HP consistently the most aggressive Pocket PC OEM out there.
I received iPAQ h4150 in December 25, 2003. It was Thursday, which
is a weekend in the UAE, I received a sweet phone call from TNT
to deliver this “small wonder” (as I like to call
it) to me. I would like to thank HP and their wonderful team
of professionals specially Mr. Vishnu Taimni for sending this
unit for review.
The iPAQ h4150 is already available
in Dubai for a retail price of AED 1740 UAE Dirhams which equals
$473 US Dollars. Let us start with this review and see if this
device at this price is the ideal Pocket PC for you.
iPAQ h4150 Overview
This device has the same form factor
as the h19xx series, if you were amazed by the h19xx form factor
and lightweight, you will be even more impressed with this device
because it comes with both Bluetooth and Wifi both built in. Including
32 MB ROM (with 2.85 MB accessible File Storage), 64 MB RAM (56.7
MB accessible for the user), 400MHz PXA255 Intel Processor, SDIO
slot, removable battery and more great features which equals and
even surpasses bulkier PDAs of similar category. Simply, there's a lot to like about
the iPAQ h4150.
This Pocket PC doesn’t come
with a CF slot. For those customers who already have a technology
investment in CF cards and accessories, then the CF slot might
be a requirement for them. I believe SDIO is for customers starting
from a clean state. I don’t want to sacrifice the size of
the h4150 with the addition of a CF slot. Since the most popular
accessories are wireless add-ons such as Bluetooth and Wifi, here
you get them both built-in, you might only need a memory card,
or some other goodies which can be swappable when needed.
What’s in the box?
The packaging is excellent, it
is very well presented and serves to show exactly what you are
buying, a wonderful Windows Mobile 2003 Pocket PC.
HP iPAQ h4150 Pocket PC
USB desktop cradle/charger
with additional slot for charging a second battery
Extended
3600 mAh removable battery (Update Feb 22, 2004: Recently HP updated
their compatibility list, there was an error on their site.
This battery is not compatible with iPAQ h4150)
In addition to the built in programs that came with
Windows Mobile 2003 such as Windows Media Player 9.0, Pocket Word,
Pocket Excel and Pocket Explorer. The following applications
are available in the companion CD some of them are free and others
are trial versions for you to try them:
The size of this device is almost
perfect; this is an ideal design for a mobile device. This device
is very compact and lightweight which makes it very easy and comfortable
to carry and hold it in my hand. I loved the small form factor.
The Design
The device is made of strong plastic
combining light and dark silver. As I mentioned before it is almost
of the same form factor as the h19xx series. The h4150 dimensions
are 4.47 by 2.78 by 0.5 inches (length x width x height), the iPAQ
1940 is 4.46 x 2.75 x 0.5 inches. The 4150 weigh 4.67 oz
while the iPAQ 1940 is 4.37 oz.
On the top of the front panel
of the device you will find the ON/OFF button centered between
two LEDs the one on the right is Power and notification indicator
blinks amber and green, and the left LED is Bluetooth and WLAN
Indicator blinks blue and green.
On the bottom of the front panel
you will find an almost squared 5 way navigation button in the
middle. Inbox and iTask buttons are user configurable and located
on the right. The calendar and contacts buttons also user configurable
and located on the left of the D-Pad. I like this button layout.
The buttons are spaced and arranged almost perfectly with a good
tactile feedback.
The screen is very bright and
it is a trademark of hp’s quality displays. The resolution
is a Pocket PC standard 240 x 320 pixel, 65 k colors. I am really
impressed with this display the colors are vivid and the contrast
is great. One thing though I noticed is the yellow hue when you
view the device on an angle. You will notice from the following
pictures the different between iPAQ h5450 and h4150.
On the top of the device you will
find a standard 3.5 mm stereo headphones jack, a microphone pinhole,
an SD I/O expansion slot, and a stylus shaft. It is worth to mention
that I am glad that it comes with a hidden Wifi antenna, but I
hope that won't effect the signal strength of the device when I
test wireless features later.
On the left side, there is a sound
record button also can be configured, and there is a small hole
for soft reset.
On the right side there is no more
than a safety latch securing the battery compartment from accidental
opening.
On the bottom side there is a 22-pin
connector. Another plus for hp that they made it compatible with
the h38xx, h39xx, h22xx, h54xx and h55xx series. I am really glad
that hp thought about that in order to make most of the accessories
compatible with the h41xx series. From the pictures below you will
see the infrared port located also on the bottom of the device
on the left side corner. This is awkward it you want to use this
device as a remote controller.
Finally on the back you will find
the removable battery compartment and on top of it the Windows
logo and that’s about it. I don’t want to be very picky,
but I see that it would be better to slightly increase the height
of the top screw holes to serve as a foot on the back for balancing
the device.
On page 2 I will talk about extra
features loaded with this device, including a performance comparison
with different devices
