1 of 5 customers found the following review helpful:
 ActiveSync Problems, 2003-08-06
I like my iPAQ 1910 very much and am considering the upgrade to the more powerful model. A major drawback for me is that ActiveSync will allow connections to only 2 (two!!) computers. I use my iPAQ with a PC at work, a PC at home, a laptop, and a PC at a 2nd home. It's a hassle each time that I change computers. With Palm, you just have their desktop on any computer and there are no problems. I can't imagine why Microsoft wanted to limit use to two computers. This limitation is something that you should consider before switching from a Palm to an iPAQ.
3 of 7 customers found the following review helpful:
Best looking PDA but its runs Windoze :(, 2003-08-06
All the features you want in a small package at an affordable price. It has BT, infrared, SDIO expansion slot, replaceable battery and all the usual feature set you can expect from a Pocket PC.The PDA is very sexy, has good screen and its slim. Low weight and average battery life for a PPC. But wait its not just looks that matter! The Windoze OS is a bad idea for handhelds, why do think MSFT keeps changing the OS name every time they release new bloatware? Comparing raw MHz/MB or advertized feature set is not a good idea with PDA's. (8MB on Palm OS does more than 64MB on bloated Windoze.) All the cool features look great for first few weeks and then the PPC gadget might stay in your drawer! Easy of use, reliability, battery life and intuitive software (like a Nokia) are more important than voice recording, mp3 playback and video. Check out the "Zen of Palm" if you aren't convinced that Palm OS is much better. If you desperately want a "PC in your Pocket" buy this iPaq, its much better than other PPC clones out there. If this was running Palm OS it would be the best selling PDA in market!
137 of 142 customers found the following review helpful:
 The iPAQ 1945 - A Pocket PC Approaching Perfection, 2003-07-26
The iPAQ 1945, also sold as the iPAQ 1940, is the first in a line of planned successors to the iPAQ 1910. HP has addressed many of the concerns that 1910 users had, namely that the 1910 was too slow and lacked hardware expansion options. The 1945 is powered by a new 266MHz processor from Samsung which rivals, and sometimes surpasses, the usable speed of many XScale chips from Intel. Other features of the iPAQ 1945 include 64MB of RAM (56MB of which are user accessible), a crisp, bright transflective color screen, onboard Bluetooth wireless, and a Secure Digital slot which can use SD flash memory cards and SDIO peripherals such as 802.11b WLAN cards. Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC replaced Pocket PC 2002 as the most current Pocket PC OS in June 2003 and comes installed on the 1945. While the version of Windows Mobile 2003 pre-installed on the iPAQ lacks a few minor applications (such as Microsoft Reader), each can be downloaded for free. Because HP left the choice to the end-user, the iPAQ File Store - unused space on the ROM - has over 13MB free for software, files, etc. As I mentioned before, the Samsung processor keeps the 1945 moving along very well. Having recently used an iPAQ 5450 (400Mhz PXA250 XScale), a Toshiba e755 (400MHz PXA255 XScale) and a Toshiba e355 (300MHz PXA255 XScale), I can say that, from a casual use point-of-view, the iPAQ 1945 surpasses the speed of the iPAQ 5450 and Toshiba e355 and feels basically on level with the Toshiba e755. One of the touted benefits of the Samsung processor is long battery life, and while I didn't get the eight hours that HP suggested I might, I got almost seven hours use out of the 1945 with the backlight on its lowest setting before I had to recharge; a very good result. There is only one real drawback to the iPAQ 1945, as I see it, and it's relatively minor and completely fixable: the 1945 ships with only a USB Sync cable, not a cradle. While some might actually prefer this, I miss not having a cradle to rest the iPAQ in while it's not in use. The good news here is that there is a cradle available (the same cradle that works with the iPAQ 1910), and you can purchase if you want it. All-in-all, the iPAQ 1945 is an amazing addition to the Pocket PC family. If you like small, light PDAs with oomph, the 1945 might be right up your alley.
36 of 67 customers found the following review helpful:
 More drawbacks than advantages, 2003-07-25
The iPaq 1945, with "Mobile Windows 2003," is an updated version of the landmark 1910 model. The 1910 model was significant in the history of Pocket PCs because it was small and stylish, a first in the PPC world. Unfortunately, the cool factor of the 1910 wore off pretty quickly; I initially loved my 1910 and gave it 5 stars. After two weeks I started getting frequent crashes, and the unit was very slippery and quite uncomfortable to hold, and HP didn't even both to include a case!
The 1945 introduced some new additions, but has one big huge drawback: it uses a Korean-made Sumsung CPU, which implements the ARM architecture at a low speed and also a low cost (to HP, that is). The CPU is reported to generate more heat than Intel offerings, and personally I don't trust a company that makes DVD players that don't last more than 6 months. Anyway, the 1945 is not even that cheap. A faster and better built Zire 71 with more features is cheaper, and since Palm can do videos and music these days, the incentive to get such a half-baked product like the 1945 is pretty small.Also, even though 64MB of RAM is included, you can still only access about 46MB of it. In my 1910 experience this is actually adequate, unless you want to install Microsoft Reader, Pocket Streets, Money, and other software. PPC software titles tend to be huge (think "bloatware"), so I think going forward if you are buying a PPC, be sure to get at least 64MB of *useable* RAM. Check out Toshiba's e750/e755 offering, which as 96MB of RAM, 32 of which is non-versatile, meaning the content stays on even when the battery completely dies. (The e75x also has wi-fi.) In terms of additions, the 1945 offers Bluetooth -- but nobody I know uses BT so most of you potential buyers would be paying for something you'll never use (kinda like the mic feature on all the PPCs I've owned...) -- and also SDIO compatibility, something sorely missing in the 1910. A few manufacturers including Toshiba, Sandisk, Lexar, etc. are coming out with SD wi-fi cards (finally), so at least the 1945 can potentially use them. BUT... wi-fi is a battery killer, and the 1945 uses a small-capacity battery. My prediction is on a full charge and at level 2 brightness (out of 5), if you have the wi-fi on, the 1945 won't last for more than 30 minutes. Also note that you cannot use a wi-fi card and SD memory expansion at the same time as the 1945 only has one slot. So a few extra bucks, you'd be much, much better off with a Toshiba e75x model, which has both SD and CompactFlash expansion slots (and built-in 802.11b wi-fi). While the 1945 is still stylish and kind of "cool," you must keep in mind that its slippery metal surface makes it hard to hold or take out of the case. The application buttons are also stiff. I test-drove a 1945 in a local computer store and was totally unimpressed since none of the complaints I had was addressed at all, including the small and awkward stylus. Even though I still use my 1910 as my primary PDA, I'm looking to replace it completely (maybe with a Palm, after all these years?), both as a result of disatisfaction with the hardware and some frustrations over the software (no "tap-and-write" calendar appointments, all-too-frequent problems with ActiveSync, constant soft resets, etc, etc.). So my finally thought is, get a Palm if you want something simple and reliable, and if you want a PPC, stay away from this underpowered, ergonomically incorrect 1945 and get a Toshiba e755 instead.
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Amazon Sales Rank:#17201