HP Jornada 540

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The HP Jornada has the following spec;

Processor - Hitachi SH3 133-Megahertz Processor
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This processor is the slowest in comparison to the new Compaq Ipaq’s and the Casio Cassiopeia processors. The Compaq Ipaq is fitted with the Intel Strong ARM 206 Mhz processor, and the Casio PDA is fitted with the MIPS 151Mhz processor. Despite this the HP Jornada tends to cope with anything ...
.../> Many Manufacturers e.g. Compaq, HP .. Have said their screens are 16 bit (65,256 colours) but had to release a statement admitting they are only 12 bit (4,096 colours). The screen is a way of inputting, either touching icons or using Microsoft’s Clear type / Character recognition software.

Other Built in stuff
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The Hp Jornada 540/545 range has 4 quick access menu buttons on the front, these ... more

Earlier on in 2002 I decided I needed a laptop computer, as I didn't have the facilities anywhere else to do coursework's, college assignments or access the Internet except from my house and my dads house. In my search for a laptop I only had £750 spending money so laptops available were either very low end models from Pcworld or used models that came without the warranty, that clumsy people like me rely on.

It was in Pcworld I noticed an alternative a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), the prices were quite high but in the palm of you hand you had Pocket Word, Pocket Excel, Media Player and most of the things you could do on a Computer could be done by these small devices. I instantly fell in love.

It was then I decided to buy a PDA instead of a laptop computer, the search began. On looking around I found three suitable models to me, the Sony Clie, Hewlett Packard Jornada and the Compaq Ipaq. After all my research I decided to buy the Compaq Ipaq, but the problem was that no shops were stocking them anymore.

My next idea was to look on Ebay.co.uk, where I found the Jornada 540 series selling as new for £90 so I jumped straight in and made a bid with only 25 minutes left till the auction closed. The last few minutes were hot, and the auction was ruthless, the final price was pushed right up to the final sum of £94.

The PDA arrived and it was now time to experience what these things could do.

Hardware
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The HP Jornada has the following spec;

Processor - Hitachi SH3 133-Megahertz Processor
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This processor is the slowest in comparison to the new Compaq Ipaq’s and the Casio Cassiopeia processors. The Compaq Ipaq is fitted with the Intel Strong ARM 206 Mhz processor, and the Casio PDA is fitted with the MIPS 151Mhz processor. Despite this the HP Jornada tends to cope with anything you can throw at it, it will sometimes take a lot of time to load but eventually it will do.

Memory/Storage – 16 MB of Ram/ 16 MB of Rom
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The internal ROM is used when the Windows CE operating system is installed, files in Rom cannot be deleted so you don’t have to worry about messing up your pda’s operating system. 16 MB of Ram is sufficient when doing a lot of Word documents and setting tasks, but for people like me who want games, music and movies need extra storage space. That is when the next part of the PDA comes in.

Compact Flash Expansion Port
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Compact flash memory and accessories are widely available around the country. You can pick up a 64Mb card for £25 and 128Mb card for £42 (current prices from www.Microdirect.co.uk). Not only can you insert memory but also modems, GPS (Global Positioning System) and network cards too. Adding one of these cards adds to the functionality of your PDA.

Screen - CSTN – 4096 colour
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Many Manufacturers e.g. Compaq, HP .. Have said their screens are 16 bit (65,256 colours) but had to release a statement admitting they are only 12 bit (4,096 colours). The screen is a way of inputting, either touching icons or using Microsoft’s Clear type / Character recognition software.

Other Built in stuff
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The Hp Jornada 540/545 range has 4 quick access menu buttons on the front, these buttons also act as game keys for playing games with. The four buttons open HP home, Notes, Calendar and To do list respectively.

Also on the front is the power button, pressing this button boots the system instantly, straight into the last application or file you had open.

Because battery life is an infinite problem with all PDA’s playing mp3’s with the screen on will burn your battery from full to none in less than 3-4 hours. The “screen off” button n the top of the PDA allows you to turn off the screen when listening to music, this can add back 2-3 hours of battery life. This button on top also indicates when the battery is charging.

Record Button
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With the built in microphone, pressing the record button allows you to record your own messages, or mess around recording your friend’s voices. The recordings are set to 1kbps recording quality, which sounds good through the in built speaker. If you want to listen to them in higher quality you can set it to higher quality recording.

Scroll Key/Jog Dial
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To scroll through icons, documents and files you can use the dial at the side to get around quicker, this can also be used to turn up volume in windows media.

Headphone Jack
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Your typical 3.5 mm earphone jack, for listening to stereo audio.

IR
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Infra Red Port with a maximum 115 Kilobits per second. The infra red can be used to print via infra red ports on printers, and allows for quick interface between other infrared devices e.g. Modems, other computers, other PDA’s, Mobile Phones etc ..

USB Sync Cradle
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A USB cradle is a lot faster than the parallel or serial cradles provided with some models. This allows for quick transfers of big files like MP3’s or applications.

Software
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The software included was:

Pocket Pc 2000 or Windows Ce.
MS Activesync 3.1

The HP Jornada is powered by the great pocket windows software and is loaded with the following software into the units ROM.

Pocket Word
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Pocket word is the same as the pc version and allows you to type up full documents on the on screen keyboard or use the character recognition. You can also buy an external fold out keyboard from many computer shops too. I am writing this op using my PDA, with the character recognition.

Pocket Excel
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If you need to use or create spreadsheets then pocket excel will be of great use to you. At the moment l am using excel to create a mileage and cost spreadsheet, for my dads youth club for days out.

Pocket media player
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There is also a version of media player included in windows pocket operating system. There is a new version now that lets you playback video. I will admit that playback is not satisfactory to some people’s tastes. But if you use a compact flash card the freed up program memory really speeds up playback. If you love listening to music you can buy a compact flash card, use windows media and store 30 or so songs to on the way to work or college. There is a headphone jack at the top of this model too, so it can act as a MP3 player.

Ms Activesync/ Backup
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With Ms Activesync you can add files, delete files, remove applications very easily. When connected a sound is played and you can then move around the PDA from your desktop as if it was a mini hard drive. To backup your entire valuable, precious data then use the Backup software included. It is very simple to use, and with the USB cradle data transfers very smoothly and speedily.

GAMES
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If you’re sat bored in the office, or listening how to set up a firewall on a local proxy network using a ring or star setup on the (man! College is boring). Then you, like me will want to play games on your PDA. Included with the Europe model was Solitaire and Ziosoft Golf simulator. Solitaire is the basic luck cards game. Golf on the other hand is a beautiful looking game for the PDA, as I have mentioned the SH3 processor sometimes struggles with the courses but it does take up spare time.

Other games available include ports of famous games like Sim City 2000, Quake 1, Quake 2, Hexen, Heretic, Doom and Tetris clones. Also there are many developers that are making PDA only releases.

If you already own a PDA try the following links:

http://www.pocketgamer.org/homeindex.php

for a flight sim or the PDA try:

http://web.jet.es/leobueno/leo_flight_sim.htm

or have a search at

http://www.zdnet.co.uk

What comes in the box
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PDA
USB Cradle
Charger
MS Activesync software
Earphones (some models)
Leather Case (special Europe Models)
Stylus
MS pocket pc or Windows CE software

Where can you get one? How much?
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One final point is that not many shops are stocking these models anymore instead they now sell the vastly improved 560 series. You can however find one at the following sites, either at auctions or refurbished. You will normally find one for around £100

http://listings.ebay.co.uk/aw/plistings/list/category3734/index.html

For further information please visit the following site:

http://www.hp.ca/products/static/h3136a_e/features-en.html

Conclusion
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If you require a Personal organiser that can also play music, games, video then you will be interested in owning one of these models. I would also recommend you to buy one if you need to edit word documents, read emails and work on the go.

I hope you enjoyed my opinion, if you think there is anything missing or require more information please don’t hesitate to leave a message.
 

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