When HP premiered the iPAQ h1910 earlier this year, I was impressed with its stylish appearance and compact design, but disappointed that it could not be used to communicate wirelessly. The promise of mobile devices is "information at your fingertips," and without wireless connectivity it's not possible to keep that promise. I waited patiently for HP to introduce a compact device that would.
The HP iPAQ h2200 Pocket PC
Fortunately, George Bold from HP had briefed me on the iPAQ h2200 long before the device was available. George described a small, stylish device that was obviously engineered with the mobile but connected businessperson in mind. He promised to send me one as soon as possible--I couldn't wait to get my hands on it! When it finally arrived, I tore open the box in eager anticipation.
Compact and light
At 4.54 x 3.0 x 0.61 inches this unit is just slightly thicker than its smaller sibling the h1910. This arguably makes it the smallest wirelessly enabled Pocket PC on the market today. It can easily be slipped into a shirt or suit pocket. I've often heard people complain of the "brick-like" characteristics of an iPAQ with an Expansion Pack. That complaint certainly doesn't apply to the h2200. It is sleek, stylish, lightweight, and easy to carry with you.
The rubber handgrips on the sides are a welcome change from the earlier iPAQ models. They make it easy to pull the unit out of the supplied nylon slip case or a shirt pocket, and give you a sure grip when you are working. The "voice record" button from previous iPAQ versions has been removed altogether and I must say that it's about time! I don't know how many times I've accidentally pushed that button while trying to extract my h3800 series iPAQ from its case and started recording a voice memo. If you like to create voice memos on the fly, you might not think this is an improvement. I think that the button on earlier iPAQs was poorly placed and really didn't need to be there. Now it isn't. Of course, if you really do want a button for voice memos, you can change any of the four front buttons on the h2200 to be your new voice record button.
Plenty of power and expansion capability
HP has equipped the h2200 with top-of-the-line components to make it a true player in the high-end Pocket PC market, without the high-end price tag. It comes with an Intel PXA255 400 MHz XScale processor, 64 MB of SDRAM (56 MB user-accessible), and 32 MB of ROM.
The built-in memory should be more than sufficient for the needs of the average user. However, hardcore users can add additional storage memory via the h2200's Secure Digital (SD) and Compact Flash (CF) expansion slots.
The SD slot accepts the same storage cards used on many digital cameras. For example, I used it to swap photos from my digital camera to the h2200. Then I used the built-in iPAQ Image Viewer application to show off photos of my kids. The SD slot on the h2200 conforms to SDIO specifications, which means that it can also be used to add digital cameras, GPS receivers, radios, and other SDIO devices to your h2200.
The h2200's Type II CF slot accepts file storage, Wi-Fi, GPS, digital camera, and other CF cards. I use a CF Wi-Fi card to wirelessly access my office LAN. I also use it to check my e-mail while I'm having a cup of coffee at my local Starbucks, which is equipped with a T-Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot. Finally, I use a Pretec 3 GB CF storage card (www.pretec.com) to carry around all of my GPS maps, which I display using PowerLOC's Destinator navigation software (www.powerloc.com). Because the h2200 has built-in Bluetooth capability, I'm able to use the Socket Communications Bluetooth GPS to receive position information (www.socketcom.com).
Built-in Bluetooth capability indispensable
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