MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - HP IPAQ 210/211 4" VGA

ColdSun · 06-11-2008, 01:22 AM

Well, I know some of you might be interested in what I think of my 4700 so far.

The screen is beautiful. Compared to my Ebookwise-1150 it is so much more clear. The screen itself isn't too small - I was a little concerned with that. The battery life is actually pretty darn good, although not as good as an 1150 of course, it lasts me days without a recharge, depending on how much I read. I can plug it right into the base and it charges right up pretty quickly.

There are some advantages of its size. I feel much more comfortable carrying it around with me to the movies and stuff. The leather case I received with it is very nice. At the same time, the size took a little getting used to while reading in bed. It is a little more difficult to hold and turn pages than with my 1150.

I have to confirm issues with the touchpad thingy though. I've slipped and lost my page quite a few times and it can be very annoying because the direction pad is so touchy. I did the same as the fellow above mentioned and mapped the next/previous buttons to other buttons than the direction pad because I often found myself skipping pages just by pressing for a second too lock and not having any tactile feedback. The other buttons eliminate this problem quite well. They click when you press them and I've yet to go to more than one page at a time like with the direction pad.

I've got Windows Mobile 6 on the unit and it seems to be working just fine. I can surf the web quite easily as well as read books. As you can imagine, turning the wireless feature on drains the battery faster.

So far I do like this much more than my ebookwise-1150. I would still LOVE to have an LCD device with backlight about the size of my 1150 with newer technology, wireless, etc. This seems to be the closest I will get until manufacturers realize that e-Ink isn't the ONLY technology out there for us readers.

There is only 1 huge problem that I have that has annoyed me greatly. For some reason, when I slide it in the leather case, or pick the unit up by a certain spot, the battery lock switch moves over to the unlock position and basically "soft boots" the unit. I don't lose my place in the book, but I have to restart Mobipocket because the OS on the device has rebooted due to the battery disconnect. There is a backup battery that keeps the memory in the device (which is why I don't lose any settings or my current place in books), but if I one day hit the switch by accident and it does this without me knowing it, I could come back to a completely drained backup battery with certain settings lost (all my books are on my CF card).

I've also got 2 memory cards in it. A 2GB SD card and an 8GB CF card. Both of them were very affordable. I've heard you can put as much as a 16GB CF card in, and a 4GB SD card (NOT SDHC - it will NOT take SDHC - be sure you know that if you get one of these and want an SD card. Most on the market 4GB and above are SDHC, so you have to look around for non-HC versions).

I'll keep you updated as I do more with it. Just so you know, I have the ebookwise 1150, the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet, a DT-375 Web Tablet and a Tungsten-E Palm. I would never have replaced my Nokia N770 if they hadn't completely dropped support and development on the device like 1 month after I bought it. The last OS update was 2006, and they have released 2 newer versions of the internet tablet. There are major differences so you can't just upgrade to the newer software the N800 or N810 use without using a hacked version that is severely lacking features. Anyhow, I'll never buy a Nokia product again.

06-11-2008, 01:22 AM	#11
ColdSun Developer/Device Reviews Posts: 591 Karma: 22183 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Phoenix, AZ Device: Sony Xperia Tablet Z, Kindle Paperwhite 2, Lenovo Yoga 8, IPad 3	The 4700 So Far Well, I know some of you might be interested in what I think of my 4700 so far. The screen is beautiful. Compared to my Ebookwise-1150 it is so much more clear. The screen itself isn't too small - I was a little concerned with that. The battery life is actually pretty darn good, although not as good as an 1150 of course, it lasts me days without a recharge, depending on how much I read. I can plug it right into the base and it charges right up pretty quickly. There are some advantages of its size. I feel much more comfortable carrying it around with me to the movies and stuff. The leather case I received with it is very nice. At the same time, the size took a little getting used to while reading in bed. It is a little more difficult to hold and turn pages than with my 1150. I have to confirm issues with the touchpad thingy though. I've slipped and lost my page quite a few times and it can be very annoying because the direction pad is so touchy. I did the same as the fellow above mentioned and mapped the next/previous buttons to other buttons than the direction pad because I often found myself skipping pages just by pressing for a second too lock and not having any tactile feedback. The other buttons eliminate this problem quite well. They click when you press them and I've yet to go to more than one page at a time like with the direction pad. I've got Windows Mobile 6 on the unit and it seems to be working just fine. I can surf the web quite easily as well as read books. As you can imagine, turning the wireless feature on drains the battery faster. So far I do like this much more than my ebookwise-1150. I would still LOVE to have an LCD device with backlight about the size of my 1150 with newer technology, wireless, etc. This seems to be the closest I will get until manufacturers realize that e-Ink isn't the ONLY technology out there for us readers. There is only 1 huge problem that I have that has annoyed me greatly. For some reason, when I slide it in the leather case, or pick the unit up by a certain spot, the battery lock switch moves over to the unlock position and basically "soft boots" the unit. I don't lose my place in the book, but I have to restart Mobipocket because the OS on the device has rebooted due to the battery disconnect. There is a backup battery that keeps the memory in the device (which is why I don't lose any settings or my current place in books), but if I one day hit the switch by accident and it does this without me knowing it, I could come back to a completely drained backup battery with certain settings lost (all my books are on my CF card). I've also got 2 memory cards in it. A 2GB SD card and an 8GB CF card. Both of them were very affordable. I've heard you can put as much as a 16GB CF card in, and a 4GB SD card (NOT SDHC - it will NOT take SDHC - be sure you know that if you get one of these and want an SD card. Most on the market 4GB and above are SDHC, so you have to look around for non-HC versions). I'll keep you updated as I do more with it. Just so you know, I have the ebookwise 1150, the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet, a DT-375 Web Tablet and a Tungsten-E Palm. I would never have replaced my Nokia N770 if they hadn't completely dropped support and development on the device like 1 month after I bought it. The last OS update was 2006, and they have released 2 newer versions of the internet tablet. There are major differences so you can't just upgrade to the newer software the N800 or N810 use without using a hacked version that is severely lacking features. Anyhow, I'll never buy a Nokia product again.