Rating: 
Summary: MS & Compaq will get you stuck but it's a bang for the buck!
Review: Though first appearance outa the box is pretty pleasing, closer inspection reveals the finishing of the product to be tacky - the silver painted edges of the two halves that comprise the product are so uneven, for a product of this calibre. And all aint hunky dory once outa the box and switched on..be prepared for a few chills and thrills and spills. Information inadequacy is exactly Compaq's forte - the enclosed documentation SUCKs !! Toss the 'Getting started' CD into the trash bin and you aint gonna miss nothing - its just a frilled Flash or Dreamweaver version of the enclosed paper manual. For the first timer, getting the battery to the 'ON' position is a bit of an intuitive exercise. Once ON, you've got Windows to contend with. As pleasing as the user interface is, its not without its share of bugs. For instance, the Contact list that sports sets of three alphabet index tabs on the top, is completely buggy. For eg, consecutive tappings on the 'abc' set are supposed to step you through all contact names beginning with 'a', b' and 'c' but that doesnt happen - you step thru a 'Peter' as well !! The biggest nightmare was getting music files on to the CF. Scour the documentation end to end (Damn you, Compaq and MS), if need be with a magnifying glass but nowhere does it specify the files needing to be in WMA format - This is the SOLE format the IPAQ is 'privileged' to accept/playback. At first, I tried with a playlist of MP3s and the instant I hit the 'Copy' tab, a 'popular' and peeving 'The app caused an error in MSDE**.DLL. Windows Media Player will be terminated' message appeared - an encrypted message that screamed 'Die if thou dont possess WMA'. Knowing MS, it doesnt take long to figure out whats wrong. And the joke is that while Windows Media Player is the only app thru which you can transfer music to the PDA, version 7.01.00.3055 that existed on our Latitude didnt even have a recording option to convert MP3s to WMA - I had to enlist the services of MusicMatch Jukebox for this. At 96Kbps bit rate, about 45 mins of music was available on the 32MB CF - it took about 18 mins to get it onto the CF. Playback was crisp. The Strongarm processor is super fast and responsive -its amazing to behold such power in your palm. The screen appears dull and fooling around with the Contrast in the Settings doesnt help at all. All in all, its a bang for the buck albeit with a lot of creases needing to be ironed out !!
Rating: 
Summary: compaq p.c. user
Review: I purchased the original compaq last year but unfortunately lost it. I since have a visor but still felt the loss of my original compaq. I decided not to spend over $500 to replace the color one and was told by a friend that they have a monochrome version. It has everything that I am use to except the color is very difficult to see. The glare and the greyish tone make it not as user friendly as the visor or palm brands. Too bad! I truly wanted to give a rave review but if you can't see clearly what can you rave about?
Rating: 
Summary: beats the pants off of any Palm!
Review: I'm actually a Palm V user and fan, but Palm has nothing that can touch this deal. I love the iPaq for it's non-Palm features--MP3, MPEG file display, seemless and full-featured Outlook integration, and huge storage capacity (with the compactflash card.)Upgrade the BIOS when you get the unit--it makes it much faster!
Rating: 
Summary: Very disappointed
Review: I was a former Palm user and wanted to use the CE OS. I chose the Compaq based on ads and have been very dissapointed in the quality and reliability of the device and the support levels at Compaq. My first unit worked ok for about a month. It failed and wouldn't turn on and all data was lost. I sent it in to have the battery replaced and it was returned in non-working condition. They asked me to send it in again to be repaired and a frustrated call to their CS department produced a new unit along with the explanation that the first one was defective from the beginning. The unit would only operate for about an hour before losing battery power. The second unit will only operate for about an hour as well and after sitting in my briefcase over a week's vacation, it was totally dead and all data was lost again. The ActiveSync software is very erratic and took 3 installs to get it to recognize the device. It is out of warranty and Compaq's resolution is to have it sent in again for repair. I like the overall feel and looks of the device but I am either going back to a Palm or a different CE device. My wife has a different brand (Casio)and it has more software, brighter screen, about the same overall size and has over 8 hours of battery life. She has not had any quality or reliability problems.
Rating:
Summary: Best Monochrome PDA on the Market.
Review: With all the power and features of its color big brother the 3135 is an amazing PDA.... The only limitations it has are with some games and movie playback that requires color. However, for everthing else this PDA blows away any competition from Palm. You have all your email, schedule, contact, and note features (including voice recorded notes). You can work with both Word and Excel documents. You can listen to MP3s.... (Extra Compact Flash memory will be needed for this though) You also have great software included like Listpro, eWallet, and Peacemaker Pro that lets you trade info with any Palm devices. This is simply the best monochrome device ever made and a steal at the current price. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: The Best PDA Ever Made
Review: The iPAQ 3635 is the fastest PDAs in the market. It has a 206mhz intel ARM processor and 32mb of ram for storage and program use. The flash allows you to use compact flash cards from 128mb to 256mb. This would allow you store full length movies or you can compress ...your own. ... And of course, you can store mp3's. The interface is much easier to learn than Palm if you are familiar with Windows 95, 98 etc. It is a mean streamlined Windows OS that stresses simplicity to its core. All the programs you install will be launched expeditiously with its familiar 'Start' button or 1 of 4 reprogrammable hardware buttons! Or if you choose to use 'QStart' interface, the program icons are the first thing you see, and you just touch what icon you want and go. You may never need to lug a laptop with you again when you get a Targus folding keyboard that hooks up to the bottom of the unit. It is the size of a calculator! Or if you are pressed for space, the IPAQ has a virtual keyboard which is very usable and can be hidden or summoned by touching the keyboard icon at the bottom right of the screen. Transcriber and Character recognizer both recognize hand writing and is also used by IPAQ. The screen has much more viewing area than a Palm, so it is much more practical for word processing. And the iPAQ screen is simply the best in the market. The brightest colors even in the lowest setting. The Palm color screens are way too dark. A Tip: The 1st thing you do is charge the battery. (like any rechargeable) It must be charged over night before switching it on from the switch on the *BOTTOM* of the unit. Most would recommend 16hrs before switching it on with your stylus. You may double the usage of your battery this way and avoid having a damaged battery from the get go. And don't let it drain all the way out or else it will kill the battery and it will have to be replaced. **Remember when the unit is powered down it is NOT off entirely, but in sleep mode. It may drain out within days even when powered down. (which to many seems to be OFF, but is not). The best part of the iPAQ 3635 package is the software titles. The software titles that come with it are awesome: MS Money, Excel, Word, Zio Golf 2, etc. ... This is truly an awesome value.
Rating:
Summary: All you need to Know, if you're thinking of purchasing iPaq:
Review: iPaq is one of the best (if not the best) PDA's on the market. Starting with the screen, it might not have the 65,000 colours of the Casio device, but other factors outweigh this "minority", because even with a 4.096 colour device,your tasks can be done as productively as with Casio's screen. Once i received my one (6 months ago)i thought i had to go through the whole manual 10 times, until i would manage to use it. know what? i did not even read the manual once - and i used it as efficiently as if i had read the manual a hundred times! iPaq also has one of the best Styli (heavier than Palm's, so easier to hold and use) and also has one of the best systems for protecting your stylus by using the device itself - just press the button on the top of the device and it will pop out. With the 32MB of memory, believe me, a Flash Memory card will never be of use to you. Also, with the fastest processor on the Pocket PC market (206 Mhz) you can run more than 3-4 programs at the same time and not notice any significant differences in speed. Good quality sound when using the speaker, but much better when using earphones. Also, all that has been going around about battery life is not at all true! you must remember not use a backlight when indoors (or at leat use a small ampount of backlight, because when indoors the screen is as scrisp and bright as needed- no need for extensive backlight use), so by doing this you will save more than 3 times battery life. also, again as battery life is concerned, try to only run 2-3 applications at the same time, in order to save much more battery life. Buy the iPaq! It's a life saver! p.s. i would strongly reccomend this to STUDENTS, because i bought this device for my son (high-school student) and he has impressed me wioth his grades and productivity more than ever before!!!Florida
Rating:
Summary: PALM VISOR KILLER
Review: The the IPAQ should be known as the Palm and Visor Killer, because that is exactly how good it is! Whoever even thinks about buying a Palm or Visor needs to have their head examined. IPAQ is going to put these two companies out of business. Last quarter IPAQ sold more PDA's than Palm or Visor, this means something! The IPAQ allows you to play movies, record voice notes, view excel, and word documents, uncompressed jpegs, look at PDF files, read e-books, communicate and transfer files via IR port with other PDA's including the Palm, play solitaire and other games. The battery life on this thing is so good, that for a while I thought the battery indicator was bad, because it never went below 100%. For about the price of a palm m100 you can get much much much more. Buy it! You wont regret it!
Rating: 
Summary: Should Have Stuck With My Palm
Review: Yes, it's sexy looking. Yes, the screen is incredible. But if you like the simplicity of your Palm, you'd better think twice before you switch to a Pocket PC device. First of all, you MUST use Outlook. Unlike the Palm, where you can use the Palm Desktop, Outlook, ACT, etc., there are no options with this device Don't even think about synching this device with two desktops (work and home). I have logged four calls to Compaq about the issue, but they have not been able to fix the situation where email addresses entered at my work desktop cannot be read on my home desktop. They synch, but then the field is filled with a link to nothing. It's a mess! The other annoying thing is the Active Synch software. The editorial review above lists it as a Con, and they are right. It's gotten so bad that in two months, I have re-installed the software four times. I also have to remove the USB driver almost daily so that it reloads when I reboot. Who needs this aggravation? So, yes, my iPaq turns a lot of heads. People are always asking about it. And I love showing them my photos from my last vacation. But when they ask if I like it, I cannot honestly say I would recommend this PDA to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: BEST PROOF THAT PDA's HAVE EVOLVED
Review: Got 3135 for $... net cost...that dollar amount or ever $... is much proof of PDA EVOLUTION. I paid $400 for the first Palm in 1996...now this $...-ish price is feeling exactly like the low-cost of PCs these days...I never felt this way about the color iPAQ with it's more-than-Palm pricerange of $.... But this mono iPAQ shows what modern computing in last five years _should_ provide: MORE at LESS cost. And it converges many other devices for me in a more personal-size than when I carried all of these around with me in their separate forms: my Palm, my portable CD player, my audio book tape player, my dictation tape recorder...at a price LESS then those units, makes this the best BARGAIN. small note: the $200-ish price makes mass-storage to maximize potential, easier to get into...128mb card? nah I had money left over to get 340mb Microdrive, now I can take all the Audible books, Reader books, dictation, and all the music I want. added plus: mono screen makes microdrive last much longer!
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