Compaq iPAQ Pocket PC H3970 > Reviews (4)

The iPAQ 3970 may be seen by some as the "poor relation" to HP's flagship iPAQ 5450 with it's much touted fingerprint scanning security "feature". However, the 3970 stikes the perfect balance between cutting edge & bleeding edge. The 3970 is a mature prodcut and appears to be more reliable & robust than the 5450.

So what do I use my iPAQ for. One of my favourite features is GPS navigation (Pocket CoPilot via an add on sleeve). This is best explained by my recent trip to Wales from Bournemouth via Dorking (yes, not the most obvious route, but I was picking up my Mum & Dad). I already had My parents address & my brother's address, all I needed to add were the two golf courses & the National Botanical Gardens. The iPAQ with GPS is fully portable with a universal holder & charger. I was directed to Mum & Dad's (yes I know the route, but if ever a jam is detected the planner will give me the option to divert around - automatically), to Wales (M4 all the way!) but we were going to get caught up around Cardiff by significant delays due to the football playoffs. Half hour delays were detected as we came towards cardiff. I pressed the detour button & it informed me that the detour would add 6 miles & 11 minutes to the journey. So off we turned & rejoined the motorway the otherside of Cardiff. Excellent & no fishing around for maps. The GPS package is an add on & available from Clove Technology at the cheapest price I've seen.

Handwriting recognition is fantastic. Bluetooth connectivity excellent. Transreflective screen is a joy to look at in any lighting conditions. Your iPAQ is capable of WiFi connections, ethernet connections, running PCMCIA cards, acting as a phone & running full length presentations all via additional sleeves avaialble from HP.

Watch movies - yes, full length movies on Compact Flash Cards or IBM Micro Drives.

I play golf & intelligolf provides me full golf analysis & if I play a new course, I can either download the course from the extensive database, or add it myself before playing. I get ful statistics that help me analyse where I need to improve the most.

Personal Finances are managed on my iPAQ as is my car & home.

If you are willing to invest some time & money into a PDA then the Pocket PC has come of age in the iPAQ 3970. When Microsoft eventually get round to optimizing their code for the new processors in these HPs then they will positively zip along.