Post by Nic Hostetler on Dec 3, 2005 7:40:43 GMT -5
HP iPAQ 4355 Pocket PC
Gadgeteer Hands On Review by Joe Kearney
January 19, 2004
Product Requirements:
Device:
Windows PC 98, 2000, ME, XP or later
Surfing on the road is a kind of mixed experience. On one hand it's amazing to be able to do a Google search while going 65 mph down the highway. But on the other hand, the mobile internet experience is severely lacking compared to the desktop. I recently started using a Nokia 3650 phone with T-Mobile’s unlimited data plan, and have been enjoying using email and even doing some simple web surfing with the phone. While this works, the phones screen is rather small for anything but the most basic tasks. I decided I needed a new PDA to use as a browsing/email device while I was on the road.
My requirements were pretty simple: Bluetooth and a built-in keyboard. Sounds easy, right? Wrong! That particular combination of features is pretty rare on PDAs at the moment. First off, there are very few devices with a keyboard built in. Pocket PCs don’t have keyboards built in, so that made the decision easier. On the Palm OS side, the Palm Tungsten C and Sony CLIÉs come to mind. But what about Bluetooth? Scratch the Tungsten...for some reason they decided to build WiFi into the Tungsten C. The CLIÉs offered more possibilities; they sell a lot of models with built in keyboards.
I looked first at the Sony Bluetooth enabled CLIÉ NZ-90, UX-40, and UX-50. CLIÉs are special, because they offer a huge variety of features in each product. Some you need, some you don’t. The NZ series is LARGE, and the beautiful 480x320 screen doesn’t work well in landscape mode if you’re using the keyboard (try it!). The UX series is very cool, but the tiny screen coupled with the fact that to charge it on the road you have to carry the entire cradle with you turned me off.
This left me with the Sony CLIÉ TG-50. This was perfect! Built in Bluetooth, a backlit built in keyboard, and all in a small package with a great looking price tag.
Oh, but what’s this?
Sitting right on the shelf next to the TG-50 at CompUSA was HP’s brand new iPAQ 4355. For some reason, I had completely missed any mention of this PDA on the web. Upon closer inspection, I saw that the 4355 had both Bluetooth and WiFi built in. It also appeared to be very compact, even more so than the TG-50 sitting next to it. And low-and-behold, the bottom 1/3rd of the 4355 had a built in thumb keyboard. A Pocket PC with a keyboard! In a frenzy of gear lust, I bought it right there on the spot.
With such a small form factor and a full compliment of features on board, could this be the perfect traveling companion for me? The heck with that…this might be the ultimate PPC! Read on to find out!
(Let me add here, I’m a dual platform user. Actually, I’ve got a Zaurus also, so lets make that multi platform user. I say this only to explain the senseless lack of concern over my choice of platform above.)
Hardware Specifications
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® Mobile 2003 Premium for Pocket PC
Processor: 400 MHz Intel® XScale technology-based processor
Memory: 64 MB SDRAM, (55 MB main memory)
Display: 16-bit Transflective TFT color (65,536 colors) 240 x 320 pixel 3.5 in (96 mm) diagonal
Expansion: SD slot: SD, SDIO, and MMC support
Infrared port: IrDA SIR
Integrated Bluetooth™ (v1.1)
Battery: Rechargeable 1560 mAh Lithium-Ion user swappable battery
AC Power: AC Input: 100~240 Vac, 50/60 Hz; AC Input current: 0.2 AC max Output Voltage: 5Vdc (typical); Output Current: 2A (typical)
Dimensions: (L x W x H) 5.4 x 2.9 x 0.6 in (138.7 x 74.6 x 14.5 mm)
Weight: 5.8 oz (165 g)
What's In The Box
HP iPAQ Pocket PC 4355
USB Desktop cradle/charger
AC Adapter, battery, and charger adapter
Slip case
Getting started poster
HP iPAQ Pocket PC Companion CD
Cant wait to rip into this box!
The 4355 is impressive in that HP managed to add a keyboard to a Pocket PC, but not add much to the width or thickness of the device. It still comes off feeling rather small. To put the length in better perspective; it’s the same length as an iPAQ 5555. It’s a bit smaller all around than a Sharp Zaurus 5500. It’s less than a half inch longer than the CLIÉ TG-50. The 4355 weighs in at a very respectable 5.8 oz. It definitely is not a bulky feeling device.
Touring the 4355
Sony CLIÉ SL10, Dell Axim X5, HP iPAQ 4355, an Sharp Zaurus SL5500
The 4355 shares many design elements with the keyboard-less 4155. The front of the unit is predominantly a flat silver color, while the keyboard area is a dark powdery grey, which matches the back. The chromed d-pad and applications buttons are surrounded by a nice looking chrome accent. Also given the chrome touch is the voice record button on the left hand side. The keyboard keys match the grey color of the upper case. The back has a sort of texturized feel to it, so it's slip resistant.
I find it interesting that some people on some of the more popular message boards and forums feel that the 4355 is unattractive. I suppose it might be more suited for a business or professional user in terms of appearance, since it doesn’t offer any sort of customization options like designer flip covers or user replaceable side panels. I personally think it’s a rather elegant looking PDA.
Mine!!
In honor of Julie’s creak test, I gave it my best. The unit doesn’t flex at all, but I did notice that the grey plastic on either side of the screen will bend slightly inward if you squeeze the 4355 from the sides (check my thumb and index finger above). It creaks a little, but I only noticed this when removing it from the bundled HP case, since it takes a bit of force to get it out.
On the top of the unit is the SDIO card slot, microphone, stylus silo, and headphone jack. The stylus belongs in the “metal toothpick” category, but still it's not bad as it sounds. It's slightly longer and fatter than your garden variety toothpick, and clicks firmly into the silo. HP scores an extra brownie point for including a second stylus in the box. Also worthy of mention is the standard 3.5mm stereo headphone jack. Yay!
Speaking of stereo, I plugged in some Koss Sporta Pros and had a listen. Sound quality is excellent using Media Player 9. I noticed no noise or hiss at the highest volume level. It isn’t the loudest PPC I’ve ever heard, but it’s strong enough to drive most headphones at pleasingly loud levels. Also worthy of mention is the built-in speaker, located under the keyboard. It lives up to the iPAQ legacy of loud, clear sounding speakers. It is more than adequate for alarms, listening to voice notes, etc. Concerning those voice notes, the 4355 records at a very high quality. I was able to use Microsoft’s Voice Command (not included) with no problems whatsoever.
The SDIO card slot will most often find use as a memory expansion. With built in Bluetooth and WiFi, your networking bases are covered nicely with the 4355. Users no longer have to swap out memory for networking…you can finally have it all! One feature I would have liked in this model would be the double memory slots found in the 2215. I think this is stretching it a bit considering the networking options are already built in, but it's nice to have a permanent memory card installed for apps while the other can be used for transferring files from your digital camera or pc. Oh well!
Around front, the 4355 has two LEDs flanking the power button. The one on the left will blink blue if Bluetooth is active and green if WiFi is active. It will alternate between blue and green if both are active at the same time. It will not, however, blink to show actual activity. The LED on the right blinks amber to indicate it's charging, and also blinks green for alarms, messages, and anything else the iPAQ wants you to know about. The infrared port and record button are on the left side of the unit, towards the top. On the bottom of the iPAQ lurks the docking port, and the reset button. The reset button is reachable with the tip of the stylus.
Battery & Screen
Around back, the included 1560mAh battery slips snugly into its compartment. 1560mAh - This iPAQ has some serious battery life! If that’s not enough for you, pick up the 3600mAh extended battery. You’ll add a noticeable bulge to the back of your iPAQ, but you’ll also be adding a lot of extra hours of battery time as well. The backup battery is built into the 4355 and is rechargeable, so you wont be making all those trips to Radio Shack for a replacement.
There have been a few reports of poorly fitting battery covers. I noticed that you have to pay attention when sliding on the battery cover making sure the tabs on the sides of the cover go where they're supposed to.
In my unscientific tests, I am able to average around 4-5 hours of moderate WiFi use with Bluetooth always on. I suspect I could get much longer run times by disabling Bluetooth and not using WiFi, but with battery life this good it's not worth the couple of stylus clicks to turn them off. I do shut off the WiFi when it's not needed, like when I’m away from home or in the car. When the unit is off, the battery retains power very well. I’ve thrown the 4355 in my briefcase only to come back to it a week later, fire it up, and notice the battery still close to 100%.
Screens were set to full brightness, un-retouched photos
Back to the stuff on the front; the screen is a Sony made 3.5 inch TFT display. The display is bright and clear, and nicely visible in sunlight. One thing worth mentioning is the Sony displays in the 4355 do not have the slightly yellow tint some 4155 owners are reporting seeing on their devices. I found the backlight settings to be slightly limited: No ambient light sensor, only 5 brightness levels (including off), and no separate brightness settings for battery or AC power. Those minor complaints aside, the display is as good as you’ll find on most any other Pocket PC. For a comparison I’ve taken a shot of the 4355 next to a Dell Axim X5, both devices on full blast brightness.
Keyboard
For people who like a lot of buttons, this is the PPC for you. The 4355’s built in keyboard has 39 domed, backlit keys. The shape of the keys makes typing fairly easy for those comfortable with thumb keyboards. I have large hands and did not find typing on them to be a problem. The backlight is a deep blue color. I’m not sure about the rest of the world, but I have a problem seeing backlit blue things in the dark. Granted, it's much better to have the backlight than not, but I would have preferred a different color such as red or orange (as on the CLIÉ TG-50). You can toggle the backlight off if you so desire and also control the amount of time it stays on after the last key press. One nice touch is the software keyboard will go away (if it's popped up by an app) once you start typing.
HP did a fairly good job getting most of the special characters you need on the keyboard, with others requiring a shifted key of some sort. The shift, menu, and function keys are all semi-sticky, meaning you don’t have to hold them down to use them. This only applies to the next character typed, though. You cannot for instance lock function on for rapid keypad entry; you must hold it down or hit it once before each number.
The spacebar key used while holding function will select alternate versions of certain letters. Holding function and using the d-pad will let you highlight text, which you can then copy or paste using the menu button on the keyboard. The start key will drop down the start menu at any time, saving you having to dig out the stylus. The number keys are a darker color than the others to make picking them out easier, and they are arranged telephone-style, meaning 1 2 3 is at the top. I found this a bit awkward, expecting a computer keyboard style keypad (7 8 9 up top).
Overall I like this keyboard quite a bit, and it does help keep the stylus in the silo. Invariably there will be certain keys missing that people will want, but HP had some tough decisions to make here and I think the most important ones are represented. I suspect there may be ways to remap the key assignments, but the capability to do so is not built in. The best feature, in my opinion, is that the keyboard is always connected to the bottom of the iPAQ; you’ll never forget it and leave it behind. Once you mash out your first email on this unit, you’ll be sold, and all regrets about that $499 price tag will vanish…I hope!
Rounding out the front panel are the standard Pocket PC application buttons and the d-pad. The application buttons are configured for calendar, contacts, mail and iTask (see below). They can also be used while holding the function key, giving quick access to 4 more apps. You can reconfigure all 8 possible positions using the Button applet in the Settings menu.
Worth special mention is the d-pad. HP elected to make the pad smaller than usual, most likely in an effort keep the length of the device down. The pad is noticeably smaller than the one on the 4155, and folks with larger hands might find it a bit difficult to get used to. The tic-tac sized button in the center of the pad is fairly hard to press; I sometimes end up pressing the button along with a direction. One bit of good news is the pad seems to work as an 8-way pad in games. The bad news is I wasn’t able to hold down more than one button while gaming.
Under the hood
Turning now to the internals: The 4355 comes with the recently renamed Windows Mobile 2003 Premium for Pocket PC. With a 400Mhz XScale processor on board, things move pretty quickly. I didn’t run any comparative tests, but I must say the 4355 with Mobile 2003 seems faster all around than my Dell Axim X5 with the same processor. I'm sure this is because some facets of the OS have been tweaked and optimized for the newer CPU. Video doesn’t drop frames and MP3s keep right on playing as I surf the web or launch programs. Overall, this is the snappiest Pocket PC I've ever used.
64 Megs of memory is provided, with 57 of those available to the user. HP provides a file store of approximately 3 megs to store important documents and keep them safe even if the batteries completely die. 64 Megs is currently and has been the high end standard for Pocket PC’s for the last few years, but it sure would’ve been nice if they had shipped the 4355 with 128 Megs of memory like its older cousin the iPAQ 5500.
Networking and Software
The built in networking is very simple to set up thanks to Mobile 2003 and is extremely intuitive in use. HP bundles in an excellent little utility called iPAQ Wireless. This program lets you very easily toggle Bluetooth, WiFi, or both. I find this to work seamlessly every time I use it.
For example: You’re surfing the web using WiFi at home, and decide to go out to eat. You turn off WiFi and enable Bluetooth using the wireless utility, and shut off the iPAQ. Later on at the restaurant you want to surf for movie times. You fire up the iPAQ and click your bookmark to your favorite movie listings site in IE. Your iPAQ automatically connects to the web using your Bluetooth cell phone. Later on back at home, you quickly enable WiFi and disable Bluetooth, and instantly you’re back to full speed surfing.
Needless to say this works very well. The combination of Mobile 2003 and HP’s iPAQ Wireless app is a winner. WiFi and Bluetooth can be left on together without any issues. I was able to sync via Bluetooth to my Mac while remaining online via WiFi. I also noticed that the 4355 has very good WiFi range. I get almost exactly the same signal at any distance as my Axim with Socket Compact Flash WiFi card installed. The Bluetooth range is even surprising; I was able to sync my iPAQ on the 2nd floor of my house (my Airport base station is in the basement).
HP includes a couple of other utilities for Mobile 2003. iTask, which is mapped by default to the 4th button on the front of the device, is used to close down running programs in an effort to make up for this glaring omission on Microsoft's part. Microsoft would rather we leave programs running at all times, but most would prefer to have the option to choose for themselves. You can also use iTask as an app switcher, and it also has a shortcut to the backlight control applet.
Also included is iPAQ Backup, a scaled down version of Sprite’s Pocket Backup Plus. What you won’t be able to do with it is backup your stuff to your PC or a network, and for users who keep a lot of programs installed on a memory card, this is a fairly serious limitation. Otherwise it does allow you to do some neat stuff like automatically backup when the battery drops below a threshold, and automate the backup of your PIM files (contacts, calendar events, notes).
Last but not least is iPAQ Image Zone, which is a basic image viewer with a few nifty extras. You can play slideshows with cool transitions and background music to impress your friends at the office. You can rotate pictures, and add text comments to them. With the built in keyboard, this is actually a handy feature if you like to do these sorts of things. Image Zone even supports external display adapters. All in all it's not the greatest image viewer, but it's nice for free and useful nonetheless.
On the disc are also a bunch of free utilities, such as Resco File Explorer 2003, ClearView Office, MARGI’s Presenter-to-Go, WorldMate, and F-Secure File Encryption. Resco File Explorer and WorldMate alone make it worth inserting the CD. Also on the disc is a PDF of the owners manual, in case you were looking for it. Shame on HP for not including a printed version of the ever so important manual.
Accessories
Last but not least are the included accessories. HP generously provides a backup stylus, which is a welcome addition to those of us who have a knack for dropping them behind the desk. The HP slip cover is not exactly a Vaja, but it's not meant to be. Think of it as something to hold your iPAQ until your case arrives. If you really must use it, it’s a tough little sleeve case, with a fairly nice HP logo across the top. The sides are open and exposed save for two pieces of elastic material holding everything together. The top is also fully exposed, but the case overhangs the edges of the 4355 a bit, so small drop and mishaps shouldn’t cause you too much grief. At the moment there are not many cases in production for the 4355, which is to be expected as it's such a new model. I have a case from HandHeldPlanet on order, and will follow up with a review down the road.
Photo Comments
The supplied power adapter plugs into the cradle for desktop power, but also comes with a tethered converter plug, which allows you to use it on the road. The 4355 has no power jack per-se, you have to use the sync/charging converter, which plugs right into the end of your power cord, to get any power into it. For the record, the adapter will charge the standard battery in about 90 minutes for a full charge.
The cradle is a mixed bag. It’s built not only to hold the 4355, but also to charge an additional battery, which is a very nice feature. HP also designed the cradle to hold the iPAQ with either the standard or the larger extended battery installed on it. As a result of all this, the 4355 is difficult to insert into the dock, and it ends up being supported only by the sync connector at the bottom of the cradle. It seems like a rather flimsy configuration once it's seated, and requires both hands to remove. I would have liked the 4355 to have more support while docked, and I'm not quite sure how this cradle will hold up over time.
Conclusions
I must admit, spending $499 on something the size of a wallet is a little daunting. PDA’s are the sort of thing for me that I'm always trying to find a use for. In this case, I determined beforehand what I wanted to do with a new device, and set out trying to find the one that was closest to what I had in mind. Fortunately for me, HP decided to release the 4355 just before I went shopping. In the end, I honestly think I couldn’t have made a better decision. I can use the 4355 anywhere I go, and it provides me with a very desktop-like experience.
For those of you who need a PDA with everything built in, this is the device for you. It's not the top of the HP food chain; although arguably if size and keyboards (and price) matter a lot to you, it might be. The HP 5xxx series are still technically higher end than the 4xxx series, but it seems that there may be a new sheriff in town. The 4355 represents a new direction in design for HP, who seem to be making strides in the advancement of the iPAQ series. Throw a 640x480 pixel screen into the mix and you would truly have a world-beater.
The 4355 is a trendsetter in the Pocket PC world, and at the moment offers the perfect combination of features for the mobile road warrior.
Price: $499 Check for lowest prices here.
Pros:
Built in keyboard
Both WiFi and Bluetooth built in
No stubby antennas
Small, compact design
Excellent battery performance
Cons:
Bad cradle design
Tiny d-pad
Function key not “sticky”
Screen Shots
Gadgeteer Hands On Review by Joe Kearney
January 19, 2004
Product Requirements:
Device:
Windows PC 98, 2000, ME, XP or later
Surfing on the road is a kind of mixed experience. On one hand it's amazing to be able to do a Google search while going 65 mph down the highway. But on the other hand, the mobile internet experience is severely lacking compared to the desktop. I recently started using a Nokia 3650 phone with T-Mobile’s unlimited data plan, and have been enjoying using email and even doing some simple web surfing with the phone. While this works, the phones screen is rather small for anything but the most basic tasks. I decided I needed a new PDA to use as a browsing/email device while I was on the road.
My requirements were pretty simple: Bluetooth and a built-in keyboard. Sounds easy, right? Wrong! That particular combination of features is pretty rare on PDAs at the moment. First off, there are very few devices with a keyboard built in. Pocket PCs don’t have keyboards built in, so that made the decision easier. On the Palm OS side, the Palm Tungsten C and Sony CLIÉs come to mind. But what about Bluetooth? Scratch the Tungsten...for some reason they decided to build WiFi into the Tungsten C. The CLIÉs offered more possibilities; they sell a lot of models with built in keyboards.
I looked first at the Sony Bluetooth enabled CLIÉ NZ-90, UX-40, and UX-50. CLIÉs are special, because they offer a huge variety of features in each product. Some you need, some you don’t. The NZ series is LARGE, and the beautiful 480x320 screen doesn’t work well in landscape mode if you’re using the keyboard (try it!). The UX series is very cool, but the tiny screen coupled with the fact that to charge it on the road you have to carry the entire cradle with you turned me off.
This left me with the Sony CLIÉ TG-50. This was perfect! Built in Bluetooth, a backlit built in keyboard, and all in a small package with a great looking price tag.
Oh, but what’s this?
Sitting right on the shelf next to the TG-50 at CompUSA was HP’s brand new iPAQ 4355. For some reason, I had completely missed any mention of this PDA on the web. Upon closer inspection, I saw that the 4355 had both Bluetooth and WiFi built in. It also appeared to be very compact, even more so than the TG-50 sitting next to it. And low-and-behold, the bottom 1/3rd of the 4355 had a built in thumb keyboard. A Pocket PC with a keyboard! In a frenzy of gear lust, I bought it right there on the spot.
With such a small form factor and a full compliment of features on board, could this be the perfect traveling companion for me? The heck with that…this might be the ultimate PPC! Read on to find out!
(Let me add here, I’m a dual platform user. Actually, I’ve got a Zaurus also, so lets make that multi platform user. I say this only to explain the senseless lack of concern over my choice of platform above.)
Hardware Specifications
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® Mobile 2003 Premium for Pocket PC
Processor: 400 MHz Intel® XScale technology-based processor
Memory: 64 MB SDRAM, (55 MB main memory)
Display: 16-bit Transflective TFT color (65,536 colors) 240 x 320 pixel 3.5 in (96 mm) diagonal
Expansion: SD slot: SD, SDIO, and MMC support
Infrared port: IrDA SIR
Integrated Bluetooth™ (v1.1)
Battery: Rechargeable 1560 mAh Lithium-Ion user swappable battery
AC Power: AC Input: 100~240 Vac, 50/60 Hz; AC Input current: 0.2 AC max Output Voltage: 5Vdc (typical); Output Current: 2A (typical)
Dimensions: (L x W x H) 5.4 x 2.9 x 0.6 in (138.7 x 74.6 x 14.5 mm)
Weight: 5.8 oz (165 g)
What's In The Box
HP iPAQ Pocket PC 4355
USB Desktop cradle/charger
AC Adapter, battery, and charger adapter
Slip case
Getting started poster
HP iPAQ Pocket PC Companion CD
Cant wait to rip into this box!
The 4355 is impressive in that HP managed to add a keyboard to a Pocket PC, but not add much to the width or thickness of the device. It still comes off feeling rather small. To put the length in better perspective; it’s the same length as an iPAQ 5555. It’s a bit smaller all around than a Sharp Zaurus 5500. It’s less than a half inch longer than the CLIÉ TG-50. The 4355 weighs in at a very respectable 5.8 oz. It definitely is not a bulky feeling device.
Touring the 4355
Sony CLIÉ SL10, Dell Axim X5, HP iPAQ 4355, an Sharp Zaurus SL5500
The 4355 shares many design elements with the keyboard-less 4155. The front of the unit is predominantly a flat silver color, while the keyboard area is a dark powdery grey, which matches the back. The chromed d-pad and applications buttons are surrounded by a nice looking chrome accent. Also given the chrome touch is the voice record button on the left hand side. The keyboard keys match the grey color of the upper case. The back has a sort of texturized feel to it, so it's slip resistant.
I find it interesting that some people on some of the more popular message boards and forums feel that the 4355 is unattractive. I suppose it might be more suited for a business or professional user in terms of appearance, since it doesn’t offer any sort of customization options like designer flip covers or user replaceable side panels. I personally think it’s a rather elegant looking PDA.
Mine!!
In honor of Julie’s creak test, I gave it my best. The unit doesn’t flex at all, but I did notice that the grey plastic on either side of the screen will bend slightly inward if you squeeze the 4355 from the sides (check my thumb and index finger above). It creaks a little, but I only noticed this when removing it from the bundled HP case, since it takes a bit of force to get it out.
On the top of the unit is the SDIO card slot, microphone, stylus silo, and headphone jack. The stylus belongs in the “metal toothpick” category, but still it's not bad as it sounds. It's slightly longer and fatter than your garden variety toothpick, and clicks firmly into the silo. HP scores an extra brownie point for including a second stylus in the box. Also worthy of mention is the standard 3.5mm stereo headphone jack. Yay!
Speaking of stereo, I plugged in some Koss Sporta Pros and had a listen. Sound quality is excellent using Media Player 9. I noticed no noise or hiss at the highest volume level. It isn’t the loudest PPC I’ve ever heard, but it’s strong enough to drive most headphones at pleasingly loud levels. Also worthy of mention is the built-in speaker, located under the keyboard. It lives up to the iPAQ legacy of loud, clear sounding speakers. It is more than adequate for alarms, listening to voice notes, etc. Concerning those voice notes, the 4355 records at a very high quality. I was able to use Microsoft’s Voice Command (not included) with no problems whatsoever.
The SDIO card slot will most often find use as a memory expansion. With built in Bluetooth and WiFi, your networking bases are covered nicely with the 4355. Users no longer have to swap out memory for networking…you can finally have it all! One feature I would have liked in this model would be the double memory slots found in the 2215. I think this is stretching it a bit considering the networking options are already built in, but it's nice to have a permanent memory card installed for apps while the other can be used for transferring files from your digital camera or pc. Oh well!
Around front, the 4355 has two LEDs flanking the power button. The one on the left will blink blue if Bluetooth is active and green if WiFi is active. It will alternate between blue and green if both are active at the same time. It will not, however, blink to show actual activity. The LED on the right blinks amber to indicate it's charging, and also blinks green for alarms, messages, and anything else the iPAQ wants you to know about. The infrared port and record button are on the left side of the unit, towards the top. On the bottom of the iPAQ lurks the docking port, and the reset button. The reset button is reachable with the tip of the stylus.
Battery & Screen
Around back, the included 1560mAh battery slips snugly into its compartment. 1560mAh - This iPAQ has some serious battery life! If that’s not enough for you, pick up the 3600mAh extended battery. You’ll add a noticeable bulge to the back of your iPAQ, but you’ll also be adding a lot of extra hours of battery time as well. The backup battery is built into the 4355 and is rechargeable, so you wont be making all those trips to Radio Shack for a replacement.
There have been a few reports of poorly fitting battery covers. I noticed that you have to pay attention when sliding on the battery cover making sure the tabs on the sides of the cover go where they're supposed to.
In my unscientific tests, I am able to average around 4-5 hours of moderate WiFi use with Bluetooth always on. I suspect I could get much longer run times by disabling Bluetooth and not using WiFi, but with battery life this good it's not worth the couple of stylus clicks to turn them off. I do shut off the WiFi when it's not needed, like when I’m away from home or in the car. When the unit is off, the battery retains power very well. I’ve thrown the 4355 in my briefcase only to come back to it a week later, fire it up, and notice the battery still close to 100%.
Screens were set to full brightness, un-retouched photos
Back to the stuff on the front; the screen is a Sony made 3.5 inch TFT display. The display is bright and clear, and nicely visible in sunlight. One thing worth mentioning is the Sony displays in the 4355 do not have the slightly yellow tint some 4155 owners are reporting seeing on their devices. I found the backlight settings to be slightly limited: No ambient light sensor, only 5 brightness levels (including off), and no separate brightness settings for battery or AC power. Those minor complaints aside, the display is as good as you’ll find on most any other Pocket PC. For a comparison I’ve taken a shot of the 4355 next to a Dell Axim X5, both devices on full blast brightness.
Keyboard
For people who like a lot of buttons, this is the PPC for you. The 4355’s built in keyboard has 39 domed, backlit keys. The shape of the keys makes typing fairly easy for those comfortable with thumb keyboards. I have large hands and did not find typing on them to be a problem. The backlight is a deep blue color. I’m not sure about the rest of the world, but I have a problem seeing backlit blue things in the dark. Granted, it's much better to have the backlight than not, but I would have preferred a different color such as red or orange (as on the CLIÉ TG-50). You can toggle the backlight off if you so desire and also control the amount of time it stays on after the last key press. One nice touch is the software keyboard will go away (if it's popped up by an app) once you start typing.
HP did a fairly good job getting most of the special characters you need on the keyboard, with others requiring a shifted key of some sort. The shift, menu, and function keys are all semi-sticky, meaning you don’t have to hold them down to use them. This only applies to the next character typed, though. You cannot for instance lock function on for rapid keypad entry; you must hold it down or hit it once before each number.
The spacebar key used while holding function will select alternate versions of certain letters. Holding function and using the d-pad will let you highlight text, which you can then copy or paste using the menu button on the keyboard. The start key will drop down the start menu at any time, saving you having to dig out the stylus. The number keys are a darker color than the others to make picking them out easier, and they are arranged telephone-style, meaning 1 2 3 is at the top. I found this a bit awkward, expecting a computer keyboard style keypad (7 8 9 up top).
Overall I like this keyboard quite a bit, and it does help keep the stylus in the silo. Invariably there will be certain keys missing that people will want, but HP had some tough decisions to make here and I think the most important ones are represented. I suspect there may be ways to remap the key assignments, but the capability to do so is not built in. The best feature, in my opinion, is that the keyboard is always connected to the bottom of the iPAQ; you’ll never forget it and leave it behind. Once you mash out your first email on this unit, you’ll be sold, and all regrets about that $499 price tag will vanish…I hope!
Rounding out the front panel are the standard Pocket PC application buttons and the d-pad. The application buttons are configured for calendar, contacts, mail and iTask (see below). They can also be used while holding the function key, giving quick access to 4 more apps. You can reconfigure all 8 possible positions using the Button applet in the Settings menu.
Worth special mention is the d-pad. HP elected to make the pad smaller than usual, most likely in an effort keep the length of the device down. The pad is noticeably smaller than the one on the 4155, and folks with larger hands might find it a bit difficult to get used to. The tic-tac sized button in the center of the pad is fairly hard to press; I sometimes end up pressing the button along with a direction. One bit of good news is the pad seems to work as an 8-way pad in games. The bad news is I wasn’t able to hold down more than one button while gaming.
Under the hood
Turning now to the internals: The 4355 comes with the recently renamed Windows Mobile 2003 Premium for Pocket PC. With a 400Mhz XScale processor on board, things move pretty quickly. I didn’t run any comparative tests, but I must say the 4355 with Mobile 2003 seems faster all around than my Dell Axim X5 with the same processor. I'm sure this is because some facets of the OS have been tweaked and optimized for the newer CPU. Video doesn’t drop frames and MP3s keep right on playing as I surf the web or launch programs. Overall, this is the snappiest Pocket PC I've ever used.
64 Megs of memory is provided, with 57 of those available to the user. HP provides a file store of approximately 3 megs to store important documents and keep them safe even if the batteries completely die. 64 Megs is currently and has been the high end standard for Pocket PC’s for the last few years, but it sure would’ve been nice if they had shipped the 4355 with 128 Megs of memory like its older cousin the iPAQ 5500.
Networking and Software
The built in networking is very simple to set up thanks to Mobile 2003 and is extremely intuitive in use. HP bundles in an excellent little utility called iPAQ Wireless. This program lets you very easily toggle Bluetooth, WiFi, or both. I find this to work seamlessly every time I use it.
For example: You’re surfing the web using WiFi at home, and decide to go out to eat. You turn off WiFi and enable Bluetooth using the wireless utility, and shut off the iPAQ. Later on at the restaurant you want to surf for movie times. You fire up the iPAQ and click your bookmark to your favorite movie listings site in IE. Your iPAQ automatically connects to the web using your Bluetooth cell phone. Later on back at home, you quickly enable WiFi and disable Bluetooth, and instantly you’re back to full speed surfing.
Needless to say this works very well. The combination of Mobile 2003 and HP’s iPAQ Wireless app is a winner. WiFi and Bluetooth can be left on together without any issues. I was able to sync via Bluetooth to my Mac while remaining online via WiFi. I also noticed that the 4355 has very good WiFi range. I get almost exactly the same signal at any distance as my Axim with Socket Compact Flash WiFi card installed. The Bluetooth range is even surprising; I was able to sync my iPAQ on the 2nd floor of my house (my Airport base station is in the basement).
HP includes a couple of other utilities for Mobile 2003. iTask, which is mapped by default to the 4th button on the front of the device, is used to close down running programs in an effort to make up for this glaring omission on Microsoft's part. Microsoft would rather we leave programs running at all times, but most would prefer to have the option to choose for themselves. You can also use iTask as an app switcher, and it also has a shortcut to the backlight control applet.
Also included is iPAQ Backup, a scaled down version of Sprite’s Pocket Backup Plus. What you won’t be able to do with it is backup your stuff to your PC or a network, and for users who keep a lot of programs installed on a memory card, this is a fairly serious limitation. Otherwise it does allow you to do some neat stuff like automatically backup when the battery drops below a threshold, and automate the backup of your PIM files (contacts, calendar events, notes).
Last but not least is iPAQ Image Zone, which is a basic image viewer with a few nifty extras. You can play slideshows with cool transitions and background music to impress your friends at the office. You can rotate pictures, and add text comments to them. With the built in keyboard, this is actually a handy feature if you like to do these sorts of things. Image Zone even supports external display adapters. All in all it's not the greatest image viewer, but it's nice for free and useful nonetheless.
On the disc are also a bunch of free utilities, such as Resco File Explorer 2003, ClearView Office, MARGI’s Presenter-to-Go, WorldMate, and F-Secure File Encryption. Resco File Explorer and WorldMate alone make it worth inserting the CD. Also on the disc is a PDF of the owners manual, in case you were looking for it. Shame on HP for not including a printed version of the ever so important manual.
Accessories
Last but not least are the included accessories. HP generously provides a backup stylus, which is a welcome addition to those of us who have a knack for dropping them behind the desk. The HP slip cover is not exactly a Vaja, but it's not meant to be. Think of it as something to hold your iPAQ until your case arrives. If you really must use it, it’s a tough little sleeve case, with a fairly nice HP logo across the top. The sides are open and exposed save for two pieces of elastic material holding everything together. The top is also fully exposed, but the case overhangs the edges of the 4355 a bit, so small drop and mishaps shouldn’t cause you too much grief. At the moment there are not many cases in production for the 4355, which is to be expected as it's such a new model. I have a case from HandHeldPlanet on order, and will follow up with a review down the road.
Photo Comments
The supplied power adapter plugs into the cradle for desktop power, but also comes with a tethered converter plug, which allows you to use it on the road. The 4355 has no power jack per-se, you have to use the sync/charging converter, which plugs right into the end of your power cord, to get any power into it. For the record, the adapter will charge the standard battery in about 90 minutes for a full charge.
The cradle is a mixed bag. It’s built not only to hold the 4355, but also to charge an additional battery, which is a very nice feature. HP also designed the cradle to hold the iPAQ with either the standard or the larger extended battery installed on it. As a result of all this, the 4355 is difficult to insert into the dock, and it ends up being supported only by the sync connector at the bottom of the cradle. It seems like a rather flimsy configuration once it's seated, and requires both hands to remove. I would have liked the 4355 to have more support while docked, and I'm not quite sure how this cradle will hold up over time.
Conclusions
I must admit, spending $499 on something the size of a wallet is a little daunting. PDA’s are the sort of thing for me that I'm always trying to find a use for. In this case, I determined beforehand what I wanted to do with a new device, and set out trying to find the one that was closest to what I had in mind. Fortunately for me, HP decided to release the 4355 just before I went shopping. In the end, I honestly think I couldn’t have made a better decision. I can use the 4355 anywhere I go, and it provides me with a very desktop-like experience.
For those of you who need a PDA with everything built in, this is the device for you. It's not the top of the HP food chain; although arguably if size and keyboards (and price) matter a lot to you, it might be. The HP 5xxx series are still technically higher end than the 4xxx series, but it seems that there may be a new sheriff in town. The 4355 represents a new direction in design for HP, who seem to be making strides in the advancement of the iPAQ series. Throw a 640x480 pixel screen into the mix and you would truly have a world-beater.
The 4355 is a trendsetter in the Pocket PC world, and at the moment offers the perfect combination of features for the mobile road warrior.
Price: $499 Check for lowest prices here.
Pros:
Built in keyboard
Both WiFi and Bluetooth built in
No stubby antennas
Small, compact design
Excellent battery performance
Cons:
Bad cradle design
Tiny d-pad
Function key not “sticky”
Screen Shots