Three stars - not because it is a mediocre product, exactly, but because HP screwed up one important aspect of the design: the screen is WAY TOO FRAGILE. This is the second one I have owned. The first has a broken screen and HP won't support it. It's understandable, in a way - they have to assume you mishandled the silly thing because, how can you prove otherwise?

I'm here to tell you unequivocally that it is delicate. It is possible to break it while exercising reasonable care. I didn't drop it, I didn't hit it, I kept it in the little protective sleeve that comes with it.

Didn't do any good. I stuck it in my pants pocket, had it there about 15 minutes. Took it out to use it - broken screen. This, while it was IN THE PROTECTIVE SLEEVE. The lesson? Buy the armor case...it's well worth the investment to keep your iPAQ from turning into an expensive paperweight.

Aside from its fragility, I love it. It has become an essential accessory in my life for time management. I work at a busy company, and this thing syncs with my to-do list, calendar, documents, etc. to keep me on track. The Wi-Fi is outstanding - I can connect to the office network while on campus and never have to worry about not being able to access my stuff, or having to carry around a full laptop to do so.

It's bigger and more user-friendly than a smart phone, and as such does not tie me to a service provider. It has plenty of memory expansion capability and some really useful features, like voice recording and bluetooth. I only wish it had a built-in camera. For that, I use my cell phone. Can't have everything, I guess.

But, buyer beware: get the armor case!

Very handy for taking notes and has useful spreadsheets; has Word and Excel. Handy for scheduling meetings & appointments. Internet capabilities extremely limited. No hardcopy manual which I'd gladly pay for. I bought refurb unit to save over $100; new unit too expensive. Device fragile, hard to grasp, slippery. Hard to open back. No camera. Main advantage is no cell phone and no monthly bill; otherwise don't buy it if you want good internet capabilities. Most of the issues are with the poor quality of the software. Search function finds documents with specific word in title if in main folder but doesn't support levels of folders. No local support at Fry's Electronics. Sync software with Vista very poor. Won't download large photos even with both 2GB CF and 2GB SD cards installed; messages are "file is too large". I am a photographer. Potentially a good device but this product is below average.

It is a shame that anyone would rate this product less than 5 stars. Really, I don't know what some users are looking for. This product is much more than adequate. I got one just a few days ago. I loved it so much I have decided to purchase 3 more for my friends and colleagues as Christmas present. They are that good.
My job requires that I have almost instant access to volumes of information, and this pocket PC has not disappointed. I have installed my most commonly used books without any problems. Instead of carrying numerous pocket books, I carry only this small and slick handheld without losing anything.
Moreover, the clarity of the music remains incredible. The battery life is more than adequate. I just finished a 5-day assignment with the PPC after only one charge. The storage space is relatively small, so I bought a 16G expansion SD card for less than $25. And, unlike Dell's buggy and annoyingly slow Axim II, this baby is much faster.
Indeed, what is not to like? At less than $400, you have a true digital assistant that promises to last a long time.
As far as I am concerned, this product deserves 5 stars and more.

HP iPAQ 210 Enterprise Handheld

HP hit a homerun! The IPAQ 210 is an outstanding handheld laddened with enough features to serve admirably as a laptop replacement. Its brilliant screen displays photographs, Adobe pdf attachments and spreadsheets with ease and is large enough to accommodate your favorite movie. Typical PDA functions - calendar, contacts, notes, voice recordings etc. are a snap with Windows Mobile 6.1. WiFi and Bluetooth are easy to use and well integrated. This little trooper runs for hours on a single charge. If you are serious about using the IPAQ as a laptop replacement, you will need to purchase the Bluetooth keyboard accessory. Excellence is expensive, but the IPAQ 210 well worth it -- think of it for less than $500 bucks you can stop lugging that laptop!

Pros: Outstanding PDA and Microsoft Office Mobile, Gorgeous Screen, Laptop Replacement

Cons: Weak Speaker, Bluetooth Bonding for external keyboard can be finicky

All in all I'm pleased with the product. It has the best "video/screen" resolution I've seen, battery life is pretty good when you aren't running a boatload of wireless connections, and synching with Exchange is improved over my Palm T|X. All in all the online experience (browsing, mail, synching) is superior to Palm.

Nits and irritants:

1. When connected via USB, I cannot seem to find a way to configure the device to not come on every few minutes (maybe with every change in schedule/mail/contacts, etc.) and it is almost impossible to survive without saving your password as a result. You can't just turn it off it seems, it will pop back on within minutes. Half the time my goal is not to have it sync, simply to let it charge, so this is a major annoyance. If there's a better way, it isn't obvious and that leads to irritant number 2.
2. Documentation, especially configuration assistance is abysmal. What's new about that anymore? The art of good technical writing simply seems lost on us as a society anymore.
3. On occasion you have to wait on some update in the device to finish, just like on PCs. One of the main reasons I spent more on this than I would have on a micro-PC is I wanted instant on for schedule purposes and a usable web interface. It's truly annoying to be delayed. Easiest way to avoid delays seems to be to leave the wireless off as might be expected. The concept of throttling down background tasks seems less advanced.
4. Like a lot of folks I dislike the "up" position on the directional rocker - too small for my fat fingers to use accurately.
5. Text recognition is far inferior to early Palm Graffiti in my estimation. I could really input almost as fast as I could stroke characters on early Palm. None of the input methods on this device are as trustworthy, accurate, or fast, in fact I tend to hunt and peck the keyboard.
6. Oh yeah, really stupid thing - you can adjust the backlight down to 0, that is can't see a thing. Pretty hard to find the slider to adjust it back once you do if you happen to take your stylus off the screen. I don't know what they were thinking.
7. App interface is a bit vertical, that is seems to stack a little too much. Don't like all the drill downs, Palm was quite a bit simpler, and for general purpose more usable in my mind. It can be difficult to figure out why something is "grayed" out or why some button isn't working on iPAQ, and drilling down often requires too many levels in book. Hides/Obfuscates functionality meaninglessly.


Value/Cost: Give the price of micro PCs, 2*s.
Interface/Visuals: 4*s. Font scalability is remarkable.

Browsing: 4*s. Nice to be able to see a whole page when you need to. Not all pages reproduce accurately tho.

Wireless: 3*s: Somehow it's just more difficult to configure correctly than it should be.

Synching: 3*s: Especially bad with the auto turn on/alert features. No amount of work seems to get that configured in a likable way. Otherwise pretty good. Blame ActiveSync and the Device here.

Apps: Powerpoint I like, does what I'd want it to in this format. Word seems to not manage graphical content well at all. Haven't tried Excel much or the Media Tools yet.

Palm vs. iPAQ? For usability, simple schedule/contact management I prefer my Palm T|X, cept it's dead. For Web/Browsing and Exchange Integration the iPAQ get's my vote. For input, the old Palm Graffiti with all its proprietary quirks remains the most functional in my estimation.