There comes a time in the life of every committed gadget fan when they start to ponder their next purchase. These are usually precipitated by meeting soneone who happens to own/use a really neat piece of kit, one that you wouldn't mind having for yourself... and so the process begins. In this particular case, I was getting a lift with a colleague and he had an iPAQ based sattelie navigaton system which, I have to say, left me gobsmacked with it's turn-by-turn directions. Suffice to say, 45 minutes and a flawlessly guided journey across London later, I was convinced that such a device would be mine. Saving promptly began and some time later an order was placed with www.discountgps.co.uk for an HP iPAQ 5550.

The first thing on the list is the inclusion of a fingerprint scanner. Replacing the need for passwords this is probably the single neates bit of kit on the iPAQ itself. Spend a couple of minutes "enrolling" each of your index fingers and then, instead of having to remember another password to unlock your PDA, you simply swipe either one of the enrolled fingers. Simple and brilliant, with the only worry being that too many incorrect swipes and you end up formatting the iPAQ). The exact number of attempts is user specified and you always have the option of using a password as well/instead.

Next up is the amount of memory. At 128Mb, the 5550 is miles ahead of the competition when it comes to the amount of memory available. This is an interesting point as the iPAQs work on a principle known as "Execute In Place" (XIP), so programmes are run in the same type of memory that they are installed in, negating the need for hard-disk and memory as in a conventional desktop computer. Having 128Mb of storage space means that not only can you install more applications, you can also have more applications running at the same time. 128Mb is actually so much memory that I gave up trying to fill it either from stored or running programmes. With the ability to add SD memry cards of up to 512Mb, storage on the 5550 will never be a problem.

Speaking of ActiveSync, it's probably best to mention it at this stage. ActiveSync is the application that is used to install apps and synchronize mail between a host desktop and the iPAQ itself. It works well, allowing for synchronization between the iPAQ and up to two other machines (although only one host is allowed to sync mail information). It works well for syncing up notes and calendar appointments between home and the office. The installation of apps onto the iPAQ is easy-peasy thanks to ActiveSYnc. Just run the installer on the host PC with the iPAQ connected (either by BlueTooth, USB ore Serial) and ActiveSync will copy it across to the iPAQ and you are ready to go in no time.

So the device was wrapped up and sent back from whence it came. The chap on the support line intimated that problems with the 5550 were not at all uncommon and suggested that rather than get a replacement, I traded it in for the 4150. His recommendations were backed up by the number of reconditioned 5550s available for sale compared with the number of recon'd 4150s so I took his lead and my 4150 arrived only 2 days later. In summary it has less memory a marginally smaller screen no brightness auto-adjustment and no fingerprint scanner. Apart from that it's a far superior device for everyday use. Construction is far more solid, I have only had about 5 crashes in the space of two months compared with over 100 in two weeks and it is far easier to carry.