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 - HP iPAQ rx5915 To Skype OR NOT to Skype across EU?Well, I bought this after much review and rumination over past experiences. FIRST NEED: Navigation which WORKS and is P.O.R.T.A.B.L.E!!! I tried the installed TomTom just this past weekend in my car; and in MY HP unit, which I purchased in December 2007, it not only WORKED but it saved me a great deal of money both in GAS & Time. I set-up the four locations I wanted to visit and EYE-balled their locations from above and was thus able to verify by BIRDS-eye-VIEW the BEST way to connect the DOTS...And the TomTom worked w/o any problem what-so-ever! Wow! Yes I could have stopped and purchased a MAP or gotten one free from AAA...But and since this FEATURE was #1 in my book of requirements, it was neat to Braille it and to discover HOW IT WORKS for myself! Which is what I always do before I read the manual? Very intuitive! Hopefully TomTom will work when I am biking across the USA (The Southern Tier) (2008); then thru Auckland (2009) and then across Ireland (2010). I reconfigured the car window connector to fit on my cross country bike since I will NOT be using my car on any of these trips; and the GPS satellites spotted me like a hawk...Hopefully, it will continue to do so for the next three years or more. I really hate it when something you really NEED and love is stolen OR dies...THOSE are the ONLY two ways I and anything I buy part company. SECOND NEXT: Internet connection to my e-mails while in my beach hammock. After trying out the HP methodology I discovered that once again GEEKS do NOT always get it right after the first couple of tries and when under the GUN to FINISH the software so we can get the product out the door! So, moving away from HP software loaded, I downloaded a nifty MUST HAVE App called: Yahoo to GO! Why? Because connecting thru HP's portal, the information I was receiving when connected to Yahoo didn't agree with the FACT that I was viewing it through a PDA and NOT a PC portal. This little nifty software package offered FREE thru Yahoo needs to be downloaded to the DEVICE...Why? When you desire to get rid of its footprint from your system, you can simply click on it thru a dropdown menu and ask the PDA system to delete everything about it from the system. If you store it in the OTHER place you will take time to DELETE it, let alone FIND it ALL. So, we have the 2-items I wanted...Need I HOPE for more? Yep! Yep! Yep! That's what Ducky said! NEXT item NEEDED: A Basically FREE WORLD phone! Here we come to a bit of embarrassment on the part of HP or perhaps SKYPE...I've gotten nothing but DEAD ENDS with HP...they are as BAD as ORACLE Corporation. But let's NOT get off on THAT sidebar! Since the device I read about on [...] was the OLDER version of this iPAQ (hx2495) and they both had Windows Mobile 5.0, I presumed that Skype would WORK. NOT! So, hopefully in the next 30-days and iff Skype returns my e-mail request we may have found a workaround for this temporary glitch. My PDA gives me an ERROR message in that it states that: "The App I am downloading is NOT PocketPC (MS) approved." Which according to Skype...it is. So, without ANY HELP what-so-ever from HP I am waiting Skype's reply. Oh; and I should say that MSN also had a little DOWNLOAD that allows their servers to also detect that I was being connected through a PDA and NOT a PC and also treated me with R.E.S.P.E.C.T! (Great SONG and it's on my MicroSD chip along with 758 of my all-time GREATEST HITS!) SDHC is another subject that could concern me in the future with respect to this PDA, but for now, I am rating this 5-STAR and for me the future is 4-years out. Final NEEDS? THERE IS SO MUCH MORE HERE AND THAT I LOOK FORWARD TO DISCOVER WHILE ON MY UPCOMING BIKE TRIPS. Rating:  - Very good value for moneyThis is essentially a GPS with really good and fully functional PDA features. First off the navigation came ready to use out of the box. Directions are accurate and I have used it in 5 states. The volume is pretty loud and really helpful. Car mount is really a breeze to set up. Only thing missing is text to speech but after using it, I believe it is really not a big deal considering the big arrow which shows which road to turn into. Cold start does take a long time even after having downloaded the patches but is really not a hindrance. Friend of mine has a Garmin Nuvi unit which also almost takes the same amount of time. Could have had bluetooth feature for talking which I think would have been really helpful. I bought the unit for my wife and she liked the PDA features as it readily synced with her outlook and in a matter of seconds copied her calender onto the unit.The wireless internet is functional and unlike some of other reviews, mine works perfect and signal strength remains very strong. I have never had an issue with it ever after using it for 2 months now. Have not loaded any music since I have an iPod which works for me. I think it is a good buy. Rating: - Great Ipaq - If you can live with some quirksI was looking for a GPS unit after I borrowed a Garmin GPS while on Vacation. I found it a very useful tool for driving around. I noticed this unit on sale when CompUSA was going out of business. It costs a bit more than just a plain GPS unit at normal price, but I got it at 40% off. I've owned the unit for over a year. I love the GPS function. I was able to get a lock while planning a trip inside my sister's house. My previous GPS receivers could not do that. The Tom Tom interface is very easy to use. A feature that isn't mentioned is that the Tom Tom GPS software also has the ability to look up popular destinations, such as restaurants, or gas stations. On a whim, I tested this and was able to find a McDonald's restaurant. I did find one error when I searched for Costco, and the unit led me to a Costco distribution center, instead of the customer Warehouse. I guess it was correct, but the name in the directory did not give enough information. Here are the quirks I've found. The unit does need to be reset occasionally. I've found this is the experience I have with most Pocket PC's. Sometimes I can go for long periods without resetting. The pocket PC processor is a 400mhz. It is adequate for most tasks, but I would like to have seen a slightly speedier processor. The battery life is not great. Most of the time, while in use, you will need the Car adapter for power. The wireless connection isn't great. Although I've seen this behavior with several of my Pocket PC's. On an unsecured wireless signal, they work pretty fast. Introduce WEP security, even low WEP, it slows down the response time significantly. Although the unit is equipped with a Mini-usb port, most will charge the unit while plugged into a PC. However generic USB cigarette lighter chargers may not work. A no-name brand that charges my other phone does not work on this unit. On the other hand, a T-mobile brand mini-usb charger does work for this unit. Overall I'm very happy with the purchase. It's hard to find an item that could replace all your gadgets. As a travel companion, it will get where you are going. The flexibilty as a pocket pc allows you to load up on games or e-books. I've run movies on this unit. Overall, a worthwhile purchase. Rating:  - Small, somewhat effectivePurchased HP rx9515 for storing books, information, etc, as well as GPS capabilities. I lost part of the icons on the desktop (for memory status, battery reserve, etc) the first week I had the unit. I have never been able to figure out how to retrieve them, short of re- installing Windows Mobile (disk not included), and all of the software I have already placed on the device. My unit tends to crash at least once a day, requiring a reset to get things back to normal. This may be due to a number of programs loaded on the optional SD card, although it is not even half full. The unit and screen are rather small for my taste, but might be perfect for others. Rating: - The way of the PDA, it's ok.After a year of use, I'd say this gadget does well enough for most needs and is still surprisingly ahead of the curve. The WiFi is ok, not great. It does a decent job finding hot-spots et al, but does loose signal at even moderate distances and sometimes requires a hard reset which is inconsequential except for the loss of time. For a network you use frequently it's less of a problem; say for at home or at the office. It works okay for VOIP using Skype, and has saved the day a few times but not as reliable as a cell phone. As a GPS, it works wonderfully, so I generally take it with me on business trips for that purpose with the added functionality of a PDA. After using this I cannot understand why anyone would want the small TV shaped GPS units. I have no use for bluetooth personally with this device. My first shock when I got it was how short the battery life is with all of the radio receivers running (WiFi, BT, GPS), in fact, the device can barely seem to charge w/ all three on. But after adjusting my needs to it's power needs, I only have to charge it every other day or less. This is a decent device that will either be over taken by tablet PCs or phones, which is too bad. It sync's well enough w/ Outlook on my PC, I don't know how it would far on Macs or Groupwise or other programs. This is my 3rd real PDA, after a Palm Tungsten3 and a Compaq Aero 2100, the 5914 does all the same things and more. The T3 was smaller, and the collapsible screen would be wonderful on this unit, but it had no wifi or GPS. This device is several generations improved over the old Aero. It does everything better in a smaller package. IMHO HP/compaq has always done a fine job w/ small business machines and handwriting recognition since their early tablets. Comparing this to a Palm, or ipod, this is more of a shrunken computer and will do more than some of my older desktops (pentium era), but requires you to think like a computer user, rather than a specific application hardware. To get online, you must, turn on WiFi, find network, connect, load a browser etc. The Palm's I've owned seemed to do as much w/ less and therefor made it farther on the same batter power. That said, not having to use Palm desktop is also refreshing, be aware though if switching from Palm to WMobile, they fight like dogs and data migration is terrible (at least for me).
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