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Info on the New iPAQ H3800
Jason Dunn sent us to a link on his site about the new
new iPaq which is due out relatively soon. Aesthetic changes, more memory, and I assume Linux will run on it as well or better then the
existing models.
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No, trust me, you really *do* want 64MB ram and 32MB flash. By the time you put Linux in a 16MB flash, you only have 2MB left for applications.
And the 5 button joypad is needed to play gsoko.
-russ
Don't piss off The Angry Economist
Point 1: Bluetooth IS wireless connectivity.
Point 2: The new iPaq has bluetooth.
RTFA.
http://twitter.com/onion2k
Presumably, QNX will run on these as well? I guess if you can install Linux, QNX will go on as well. Hopefully the QNX install process with be easier than the Linux one.
Personally, I'm finding the 32MB RAM in my 3630 adequate for my needs; I'm not using it to lug around dozens of images or large documents, after all! Remember, even new-ish Palms only have around 8MB, although I imagine that Palm apps must be smaller.
As for the joystick, I only use it for qtris :)
Wired has an article on what Palm might be up to with Be. Interesting in light of this story.
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Each position in the list is off by one, add one to the list item to get the proper number in the image.
Not exactly true (at least if what I've heard is correct)
9 -Compaq-Readying-New.html
http://www.wincecity.com/articles/2001/9/2001-9-1
"The other device will join the H3800 line of handhelds. In addition to 64 MB of RAM this high end device will feature a Secure-Digital slot and an active matrix screen that supports 65,536 colors. One feature of the high end device that really intrigues me is that this device is expected to feature voice-command and voice-control software. The possibility of using speech to control a PDA will be a great addition."
The 12-bit color is a slight turn-off, but the form factor of the ipaq has always killed the casiopeia, plus the ROM on the ipaq is upgradable (probably the biggest selling point for me as I have 2 pretty much obsolite CE 2.x devices).
Battery capacity in the new iPaq is higher (1400 mAh compaired to I believe 900 in the older iPaqs.)
Also, I saw over on Brighthand.coms fourms that someone offers a battery replacement service for the iPaq. One was with a 2100mAh battery.
Honestly though, on my iPaq 3630, the battery life has been fine. It sits in it's cradle and charges while I sync it. Wasn't a huge deal when I traveled either. Brought the AC adaptor (instead of extra batteries), and just plugged it in when I got the battery warning after about 3-5 days. I was doing the same for my cell phone, so whats the difference?
Most digital cameras, and MP3 players don't use a standard USB connector on the device side either, due to it not being small enough. It's always a standard USB plug on the other side though, so it's not a big issue. The iPaq has that one connector on the bottom that gets split out into power and USB, or power and Serial depending on what cradle you use. (Or you can hack the USB cradle to have all three).
Erm, the StrongARM is not x86. It is ARM, an extremely nice and powerful RISC ISA. Typically graphics performance will depend on what graphics chip is used in a device, and how much 2D accelleration it has. I bet that a 206MHz StrongARM (old technology now as well) can crush a 133MHz embedded MIPs processor any day of the week...
The more pertinent question is: when will the iPaq and other devices start to use the even faster and lower power XScale processors that are ARM compatible?
I am working in a Project which uses loads of iPaqs, thats why Compaq invited me and my project collegues to their stand at the Swiss Orbit-Expo on Thuesday to get a demo of the new iPaq. (They told us that there are only 3 of those iPaqs in europe, and I guess they had to, since this was a VIP event :)
;)
Here is what I found:
First off the new design is really cute, and the integrated card slot is also very practical, which brings me to the first negative point. Why did they introduce a new card format? (I mean besides the cash, and probably license fees they will get)
The screen hasn't improved much as far as I could see, but as you may know, the screen was already very sharp and very bright, actually one of the best screens on PDAs over all.
The new MS OS running on that iPaq was all smooth and anti-aliased, kept in the typical XP style, which itself is of course kept really close to the OS X aqua GUI
I had the impression that the overall system speed has also somewhat improved.
What they didn't fix is the fact that the iPaq still does a factory reset when power goes out. Just like a Palm, but my Palm runs over 5 weeks before he does so. And also the iPaq doesn't turn the screen of, say 10 minutes in advance, which would save the RAM contents for some days I guess. OTOH they did include 32 MB of ROM, which makes is possible to install more apps in the ROM.
The GPRS-Tri-Band jacket which is also brand new, looks like a really nice thing to have if you travel a lot, it gives you "gsm connectivity in virtually any gsm networks on this planet" according to compaq. I think this is pretty much the case, except for some African Networks. Only the price was relatively high, it costs about 550 $ (850.- SFr).
You use it on the back side, there are integrated mics and speakers on there. This makes sense if you don't need to know how your ears look when pressed upon a glass surface. And of course you would hit buttons on the touchscreen while phoning.
They also made a little but vital change to the pen, its now completly round so can put it in either way, unlike with the current models where putting the pen in the wrong way can result in a pen stuck in an iPaq.
Oh, yeah, almost forgot, they have really good coffee and croisants at their stand.
If you want Linux on a PDA, why not buy a Linux PDA? The Agenda VR is a decent, very compact Linux PDA, and there are several others. And HP has announced a Jornada based on Linux.
oh yeah and xscale is strongarm. It just has better power consumption, more instructions, but yes you were right there not ready yet. i've heard q1 2002 from intels press releases and such. damn man read shit before spouting your mouth off like an ass.
The XScale is lower *voltage, but that does not mean it is lower *power.
The XScale is SIMILAR internally to a strongarm but it is NOT a strongarm. It does NOT have integrated io & periopherals like a strongarm and it's companion io chipset has things in it that are INSANE for palm style devices, like a friggin PCI bus!
For pete's sake, man, the 80310 evaluation board runs at an ambient temperature of 60c, and rquires heatsinks if the temperature inside the case rises above 90c! A strongarm runs COLD. It needs fewer VOLTS but it's dissipating more WATTS of power as HEAT than the SA1110 even draws!
The SA1110 is perfect for palm-type devices because it has integrated USB, integrated serial, integrated LCD controller, integrated sound, integrated pcmcia, and a bunch of other bits & pieces that the XScale does NOT have. And neither does the IO companion chip. When you get all those components on a board together, it's going to need a LOT more juice than a little bubblegum stick of lithium polymer is going to put out.
You will probably see XScale cpus in hand held data terminals, mini-notebooks, and that ilk, but you're never going to see it in something like an ipaq. Get over the hype already. Even though there's a picture of a handheld in the marketing literature, it was designed for other applications.
This is just like television, only you can see much further.
Check out The Gismo, an addon for the iPaq which provides you with GSM, GPRS and WLAN (802.11b).
Oh, and did I mention it's developed by my company?
:wq!