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Handhelds Hardware

HP iPAQ hx2750 Pocket PC Review 132

Posted by timothy from the but-can-it-run-linux dept.
Lisa Gade writes "The hx2000 line replaces the successful but aging iPAQ 2215 as HP's mid-sized Pocket PC with dual slots and lots of power. We at pdabuyersguide.com take an in-depth look at the top-of-the-line hx2750, which is the fastest Pocket PC to date. It has a 624MHz processor, 128 megs of RAM, dual slots, WiFi, Bluetooth and a biometric fingerprint scanner for security. Sporting a new ergonomic design, the device comes with a transparent flip cover everyone is sure to love. If you have a need for speed and a fat wallet, this might be the PDA for you (if you can live with Windows rather than Linux)!" Speaking of Windows on small devices, there's coverage -- with screenshots -- originally from neowin.com, but now removed from that site, of the upcoming Windows Mobile 2005 at mobileread.com and also at davesipaq.com.
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HP iPAQ hx2750 Pocket PC Review More

HP iPAQ hx2750 Pocket PC Review

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  • Phone capability (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Janitha ( 817744 )
    Some phone capability and this is all I need in my pocket. Rather than sticking in a CF card.

    • Re:Phone capability (Score:3, Insightful)

      by UWC ( 664779 )
      It does have both CF and SDIO slots, so sticking in a CF phone card isn't out of the question and wouldn't leave you without other expansion venues (though I guess it would prevent scavenging the 2GB CF card from that Creative MuVo player).

      I was disappointed to find that this one is 320x240. There's apparently a comparable 4700 model with VGA, but it only has 64MB of RAM.

      • I was disappointed to find that this one is 320x240. There's apparently a comparable 4700 model with VGA, but it only has 64MB of RAM.

        And it costs $650. I really wanted the hx4700 but couldn't rationalize it, not when I could get (and got today in the mail) the Dell Axim x50v for $375 after a 25% coupon. The Axim only has 64 MB of RAM too, but big deal- it has 128 MB of ROM and SD and CF slots. Slots I don't need for BT or wifi, since they're both built-in.

    • Re:Phone capability (Score:3, Interesting)

      by slagdogg ( 549983 )
      It has Bluetooth capability, which allows it to dial a Bluetooth-capable phone handset. If you want more integration, Audiovox makes a very slick Pocket PC phone (no WiFi, but you can browse the Internet via mMode). AT&T Wireless used to sell it, not sure what it's fate is with the Cingular merger. I used it a bit for some testing and it's great. It convinced me to purchase the Dell Axim X50v (a budget version of the item reviewed here), which I'm primarily using for home control (WiFi-enabled remote c

  • HP (Score:2, Insightful)

    by GweiLeong ( 846704 )
    Since HP & Compaq went together... hmmm I'm going to have to say pass, sorry.

  • iPAQ Support (Score:5, Informative)

    by TheScream ( 147369 ) on Wednesday January 05, 2005 @04:50PM (#11268020)
    Personally, I'd have to think twice before buying another HP device. Since Compaq was bought, their support has gone down the toilet IMHO. (Except for their oh-so-valuable corporate customers)
    • Are you kidding? The corporate customers are the ones I hear shouting the loudest that their support has gone downhill. Trying to get Intel server support from HPaq, even in the largest customers, has been an exercise in futility compared to how it was before HP came in. Only the absolutely ridiculous or idiot-proof solution problems are fixed through normal channels. Anything else requires threats from a CIO. I've never heard anything good about support post-HP. "For sales, press 1. For support, pre

      • Re:iPAQ Support (Score:3, Insightful)

        by dJCL ( 183345 )
        I worked consumer support at Compaq when HP moved in... boy was that entertaining! Everything is billable, even when it's covered by the warranty!

        And then they laid us off, and did not even replace us with people in India. If you increase the hold time, people just hang up and solve it elsewhere...
    • I've had one Toshiba PPC and now a HP iPAQ. No problems with support, tho I'm in Japan so maybe its just the polite Japan way. Didn't like how Toshiba dumped its users in the 2003upgrade area tho.

      Its not like theres much choice in the PPC world...

    • Re:iPAQ Support (Score:2, Informative)

      by outlaw69 ( 209617 )
      I am a corporate named account...and their support STILL SUCKS!!!!!!
      bought 24x7x4 hour hardware support on all my servers and have had to wait up to 5 DAYS for parts....ON A 4 HOUR CONTRACT!!!!

  • Trolling for hits (Score:2, Funny)

    by grub ( 11606 )

    Lisa Gade writes [...] We at pdabuyersguide.com [...] (if you can live with Windows rather than Linux)!"

    Interesting, Lisa. Nowhere in your article do I see the word "Linux" but you throw it into your synopsis. Was that for the benefit slashdot to make you cool?
  • Wifi and VPN issues have plagued every pocket PC I've used so far (2 IPAQs and a Theora). The article states that Wifi performance was good but, I am skeptical.

    • Re:Wifi and VPN issues? (Score:4, Interesting)

      by RevAaron ( 125240 ) <revaaron AT hotmail DOT com> on Wednesday January 05, 2005 @05:14PM (#11268415) Homepage
      The Dell Axim X50v I just got has a VPN client, though I've not yet used it. It does has built-in wifi. To date, I've not had any issues with wifi on any WinCE or PPC device I've owned, including this Dell with its built-in wifi, a Orinoco WaveLAN card in a few devices (iPAQ 3650, Jornada 720), Compaq WL100 wifi card in an iPAQ 3650 and an Ambicom Wifi card on a Dell Axim X5 Basic and Sigmarion 3. Performance was quite good- using NetFront on the older devices or IE on WM2003 (when it finally improved) or vanilla WinCE 3.0 (where it doesn't suck) I get load times a little faster than on a desktop machine of comparable power running Firefox or IE.

      I did have a ton of issues with a Linksys WCF12- nay, 3 of those cards- with a Linux-based Zaurus C760, but that was the fault of the cards, which are straight shite.
      • I like the way the Axim looks, and price is ok I guess, but I just hate WinCE. It's mostly personal preference - I grew up on PalmOS, but I just can't learn to love Wince
        • I like the way the Axim looks, and price is ok I guess, but I just hate WinCE. It's mostly personal preference - I grew up on PalmOS, but I just can't learn to love Wince

          To each his own. I like some aspects of POS, but when it comes down to it, I can't use it. I have a Clie NX70V (which has recently started to suck, only turning on at random intervals) and liked Palm OS, as long as I didn't ask much of it. It works great for reading ebooks and having my schedule, but not much else. Though Picsel Viewer
      • I have a 2215 with the linksys wcf12 card.

        seems to work fine. what's your beef with it?

        the drivers, maybe? drivers on wince are mostly crap anyway. in terms of stability and maturity, wince is where windows 3.11 was, sorta..

        • Nope, it wasn't the drivers. If you ever have the chance to hop onto #zaurus on irc.freenode.net you'll find a lot of folks with similar experience. The card works great- for a while. And then it stops. The primary place I was using this card was on a Linux-based Zaurus C760. Drivers suck worse on Linux PDAs than on CE, but there were drivers and they worked. On my first card, it stopped working after a month. At the time, I had not only a Zaurus but a Dell Axim X5 Basic to test with and got the exact s

  • Why does /. insist on posting articles that are simply promotions of useless web sites? Are the editors getting kickbacks from the submitters?

    Yeah, In know. OT. And, it will be modded down. But, they are still insteresting questions.

    • Good Question (Score:2, Insightful)

      by TrollBridge ( 550878 )
      And why does the submission read like an advertisement? Oh wait, that's because it IS an advertisement.

      • Re:Good Question (Score:3, Funny)

        by nizo ( 81281 ) *
        If you have a need for speed and a fat wallet, this might be the PDA for you.

        Yep, the phrase "fat wallet" always makes me instantly want to buy something. Which is probably why my wallet is so fat: all those reciepts for crap I don't need. :-)


    • Similar but different.

      Roland P. gets ad revenue. Lisa G. may only be an employee but having a popular story makes you a star in the boss' eye. A guy named Richard Shirk did the same thing for his online rag suck.com years ago as he trolled usenet.
      • Lisa G. may only be an employee

        I don't think she is "just an employee". I went to the "about" section of her site and I get the impression that the site is hers. (Sorry, I will not link to her site, since we already have a slew of links in the article. I don't want to drive any more traffic there.)

    • "Why does /. insist on posting articles that are simply promotions of useless web sites?"

      Useless to you is not useless to all. I don't really care if it's an ad or not so far as it's interesting.

  • Axim X30 (Score:3, Informative)

    by cheztir ( 796924 ) on Wednesday January 05, 2005 @04:54PM (#11268098)
    Dell Axim X30 was the first PocketPC to go 624mhz, and then this HP. So technically it isn't the "fastest", for the axim had everything the Hp has at the same cpu speed, excluding the biometric scanner (which is awesome). I'd but one just for that.

    • RTFA (Score:2)

      by VE3ECM ( 818278 )
      Since when were two PC's with identical processors equal in performance???

      Read the article, and look at the benchmark numbers.

      Just because the Dell has the same X-scale 624 proc, doesn't mean it's just as fast by default.

    • Re:Axim X30 (Score:3, Informative)

      by joe52 ( 74496 )
      This isn't even the first HP iPaq with this processor. The 4700 series has been out for a few months and uses the same processor. I actually find HP's strategy with these two high-end models to be somewhat perplexing (it would make more sense if the 4700 series came with more RAM, though I guess that would make them even more expensive).

      The "fastest" claim is based on their benchmark results. If you want to see them just click through to the article and you'll find them in a nice little table.
      • Please remember that the VGA screen is four times the number of pixels as the QVGA or whatever that they have on a standard Pocket PC. Even with a graaphics processor to help, there is still a fair bit of extra work that a 4700 must do with all those extra pixels. Also, the lower RAM size of a 4700 means less buffering is possible.

        I have the 4700 and love it, but would also love the 128MB that comes with this model.

    • [...] excluding the biometric scanner (which is awesome). I'd buy one just for that.

      I'm don't do PDAs, but if I did, I don't see why I'd want to pay aything for a "biometric scanner" (which I think is some kind of fingerprint thingus). The only reliable way to keep my data safe if someone steals my PDA is . . . well, I don't know if there *is* any reliable way. Certainly the fingerprint scanners I've heard about don't sound like it.

      If you're concerned with data compromise, a nontrivial passphrase c

      • The only reliable way to keep my data safe if someone steals my PDA is . . . well, I don't know if there *is* any reliable way.

        A hardware based biometric security device that supplies the "public" key of an encrypted PDA is the best way to go. This way the PDA is a paperweight unless someone spoofs your fingerprint (Use your imagination).

        The only way to recover from a faulty fingerprint read or a lost password is to wipe the PDA clean, and reload it with data stored on the corporate server.

  • ROM decieving (Score:3, Insightful)

    by cgoody ( 832534 ) on Wednesday January 05, 2005 @05:01PM (#11268209)
    Im getting tired of companies listing the ROM as if that was the number accessable. Just like your hard drive(only worse) the number indicated is not completley accessable.

  • WTF? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by SmokeHalo ( 783772 ) on Wednesday January 05, 2005 @05:08PM (#11268318)
    Sporting a new ergonomic design, the device comes with a transparent flip cover everyone is sure to love.

    This statement is not news. It's an advertisement. Editors, please edit.
    • Yeah, the hx2750 looks pretty horrid to me in those pictures. I don't know what's wrong with HP, all their new iPaqs look hideous compared to the old ones, especially the beautiful h4150.

      Dell's X50V still looks to be the best handheld currently, it's got the 624Mhz CPU, a 3D accelerator and the casing looks pretty neat.
    • The advertisement forgot a key descriptor: FUGLY.

    • Re:WTF? (Score:3, Informative)

      by mrklin ( 608689 )
      That is only because you have not owned a PocketPC or otherwise you would have know that the friggin' transparent cover that cost 10 cents to make is on every iPaq owner's wish list!
  • Neowin also had info and screenshots of WM 2005 for Smartphone, but it was also removed. The info is still up at ConnectedMobiles [connectedmobiles.com]. Peace

  • PDAbuyersguide? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Lord_Dweomer ( 648696 ) on Wednesday January 05, 2005 @05:20PM (#11268510) Homepage
    So...we get a review from a site that makes money by advertising PDAs...and they submit a *gasp* review of a HOT NEW PDA!!!!!!!!!

    *cough*Slashvertisement*cough*

  • Thanks, but... (Score:2, Interesting)

    by mikers ( 137971 )
    I've already got a Zaurus [myzaurus.com].

    And you can replace it with an iPAQ when you pry it from my cold dead hands.

  • It's all about the cash... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by gandell ( 827178 ) on Wednesday January 05, 2005 @05:25PM (#11268583)
    I like what I've seen of this unit, but for $650, I'd expect a VGA screen.

    I'm thinking the Dell Axim X50v is a better buy. $450 right now at Dell, with VGA screen, dual wireless, dual memory (SD & CF), 624mhz, 64 RAM, 128 ROM, and 16mb vid memory a la Intel.
    Still, biometrics are awfully sweet...

  • What about the pocket test? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by peterdaly ( 123554 ) <{petedaly} {at} {ix.netcom.com}> on Wednesday January 05, 2005 @05:39PM (#11268819)
    I have a Palm T3 for a simple reason. It has a larger than norm palm screen, yet it fits confortably in my pocket.

    Even though the feature lists of these iPaqs keep calling my name, I am unable to get past the bulk factor. Last time I tried, I was not able to fit an iPaq into my pants pocket confortably.

    I wish more attention would be paid to this in the Windows Mobile world (or whatever they are call this year.) The features are great, but they are too damn big to be as portable as a wallet like my T3. I can't be the only one who thinks this.

    -Pete

  • Never mind the "extras", I'll take a sleeved IPAQ (Score:3, Insightful)

    by sethstorm ( 512897 ) on Wednesday January 05, 2005 @05:50PM (#11268992) Homepage
    The reason the IPAQs took off so well was the expandability - the sleeves meant you could put anything on to them, whether it was PCMCIA or dedicated GPRS. When they took those out, you might as well have a rebranded Axim - cheap in every wrong sense. When they bring PCMCIA back via sleeves, then we can start thinking of the hp series as of the line, not the current top-of-the line sleeved 5455 (and I wont have to go to Intrinsyc to spec a pcmcia dual slot into their models).

  • Not too pleased. (Score:3, Funny)

    by Isldeur ( 125133 ) on Wednesday January 05, 2005 @05:53PM (#11269040)
    Well I haven't been all that pleased recently with Compaq. My apartment is built on an ancient Indian Graveyard and so electrical equipment related or of my computer routinely dies. As I got finally sick of going through the motions of building a new system and as my time was very short, I picked up a Compaq Presario S6500NX. I know - a noob machine, but it had what I needed, a 3Ghz Athlon XP, and plenty of everything else for like 699 US.

    Everything has worked fine, but I have since (after 3 trips to the computer store) tried upgrading ye old GeForce3 Ti 200 to a 6600 GT AGP.

    Turns out the motherboard (which is this ASUS orphan board that ASUS won't even admit to making only for Compaq) has some dumbed down BIOS. So there's some BIOS setting somewhere I just can't get to (presumably) which prevents the BIOS from even booting when the new card is in. (I've tried various cards and powersupplies.

    My question is, what the heck is the point?? Why dumb something down like this? Most people couldn't even get *into* the BIOS. What are they hiding from me and why??
    • " My apartment is built on an ancient Indian Graveyard and so electrical equipment related or of my computer routinely dies."
      why? are you implying that Indian Ghosts are cutting your wires?
      is there some coralation between Indian Graveyards and electricity I am not aware of? If it was a non-Indian Graveyard?

    • Simple reason for the dumbing down really... It's for when they manage to fall into the hands of a more experienced user who could under normal circumstances enable that PC to become more useful via overclocking or other 'upgrade' type features (liek your issue), instead has to go back to a shop to buy another machien to do what they want or build their own...
  • In terms of raw number crunching, about what model Pentium cpu would this one be equal to?
    • No REAL comparison- ARM/XScale archetecture doesn't have a math co-processor to hand the number crunching off to like x86 does. Still, for integer math (the kind most likely to be done on these models- yes virgina, most financials deal in a specialized integer math divided by 100), I'd say it's about equivalent to a Pentium III 684 Mhz.
  • I just picked up the e830 for 549 Cdn. (50 USD?). It has been pretty good so far (meaning I haven't encountered any faults... yet) vga screen, dual slot, wifi and all the trimmings.

    Only reserve I have is Toshiba bailing out of the market.. What a bitch... Its the first pda i've ever bought. I'm so glad I'll never be able to buy compatible accessories! YES! I understand its bluetooth isn't compatible with many bluetooth devices! YES! I can't wait to burn more money on another! YES!
  • Seriously, once you've tried a thumboard you'll never go back to scribbling on your PDA.

    And no, clip-on keyboards do not suffice).

    Cheers,

    BillyBob

  • Pwned (Score:1)

    by hdd ( 772289 )
    "While gifted hackers can sometimes crack complex passwords, no one can fake your fingerprints because each one of us has a unique set of fingerprints."

    haha, don't they do it on Alias all the time?

  • ...and a biometric fingerprint scanner for security

    I am stunned! A fingerprint scanner. And they use it for security?!? How? [theregister.com]

    Come on. Seriously, how!?!

    • Re:Bimetric fingerprint security? (Score:5, Informative)

      by alienmole ( 15522 ) on Wednesday January 05, 2005 @08:11PM (#11270646)
      Note that the article you linked to was from 2002. The latest fingerprint scanners do liveness tests, making sure it's a living finger on the scanner, which defeats the "gummi bear" hack -- and incidentally, also defeats the old "chop off the finger" attack, although one hopes the would-be hacker (both literal and figurative!) is aware of that before he takes a machete to your finger.

      That's not to say that fingerprint scanners are the way to go, but this sort of FUD isn't going to stop their adoption - it's better to be able to articulate the real reasons they're a bad idea. Schneier does a good job of that, with one of the main points being that you can't change your biometrics if they're compromised.

      • No! (Score:2)

        by hughk ( 248126 )
        The scanners tested with the gummi-bear hack were all supposedly live sensing. They may have added some extra stuff to it now but after looking at the security, I can say that it is better than nothing for an integrated device like the IPAQ and most importantly, easier to use than a straight password (a pain on soft input panels).

        What makes me very unhappy is when there is a fingerpint sensor, a large network and an authenticating server. There are so many points where signals may be injected on most syst

      • While it's not so important for something like this, the problem I have with biometric security is that, while I can change a password, I can't change my fingerprints. If my password is compromised then I simply change it. If someone manages to copy my thumb print (or iris scan or whatever) then there's nothing I can do about it.
  • looking at the screenshots of the upcoming Windows Mobile 2005 I am just surprised about some of the GUI design choices. A background [davesipaq.com] that blends with the text and makes things unreadable. Top right button is interchangably "OK" or "X". Nobody in the design team notice these things? Not trained to notice them?
    • You are talking about the company that came up with the idea of clicking 'Start' to shut a machine down. With the way they are managed, each seems to interpret design rules differently, and neither HF or QA pick it up.

  • Dell Axim x50v (Score:2, Informative)

    by SuperJason ( 726019 )
    I have the Dell Axim x50v, and it is a sweet machine (as others have mentioned as well). I put up a simple review on my website, nothing too in depth: http://www.young-technologies.com/Reviews/Dell_Axi m_x50v_Pocket_PC_Review/ [young-technologies.com]

  • Someone has to say it! (Score:5, Informative)

    by WndrBr3d ( 219963 ) on Wednesday January 05, 2005 @07:43PM (#11270374) Homepage Journal
    That review is Poppycock!

    They compare it against a Dell Axim x30 624Mhz (based on the Intel PXA263 processor) and then a Dell Axim x50 (based on the Intel PXA270 processor), which has the very same processor as the HP PDA being reviewed.

    Whets wrong? The Dell Axim x50 v is the Dell PDA they -SHOULD- be comparing it against, as it has not only the same CPU (Intel PXA270), but THE SAME CLOCK SPEED!

    How can they call this a fair review and comparison when the PDAs they compare it against are spec'd below the HP in question.

    That's like comparing this 2.0Ghz Celeron against a 2.0Ghz P4 (as in comparing the PXA263 at 624mhz on the Axim x30, vs. the PXA270 at 624mhz in the HP). They're different chips! Of course the newer generation is going to be more refined and a better performer.

    I'm just very disappointed with hardware review sites these days as they seem very slated towards their sponsors or preferred hardware.
  • Come on, HP, do you seriously expect me to drop hundreds of dollars for something that looks this bad even compared to a _Dell_? It's a _personal_ computing device, aesthetics are of utmost importance. If I don't enjoy looking at this thing every day all day long, I'll just leave it at home and after a while list it on eBay.

  • the device supports 64 and 128 bit WEP encryption, 802.1x using PEAP, SmartCard or Certificates

    But does it support WPA?

  • Can you install apps on it without a Windows machine? I'm stuck with this older palmtop that is useless because I have a Mac and I'm not buying virtual PC just to install apps on it. (It was a gift.)

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