HP iPAQ 111 Classic Handheld (FA979AA#ABA) (110 Series)

I just got this PDA for my son, so I'll let him do the review...Hello, Chris here. Well, I can say one thing, Amazon's shipping is pretty fast when something is in stock. We got it Tuesday, after ordering it Sunday. If only all the accessories came at the same time, but it's ok.To the device itself..I've seen review videos before, detailing the unboxing of a handheld device, thinking, why? Well, now I know why. It's a wonderful thing to see a pretty "cool" and handy box design. The box interior, as has been seen in various reviews online, has some detail about the iPaq itself, and the handheld is well-protected from damage. Everything is organized, and I didn't notice anything in the box that didn't seem atleast necessary.Setting up the iPaq was a breeze, in fact, all I did personally was just update my PC's Adobe Acrobat Reader, and install the last freeware version of TCPMP (a media player) to the iPaq. For those of you that may be interested, yes, TCPMP v7.2 does indeed work with Windows Mobile 6. Everything else on this iPaq is "stock", from the factory, atleast for now.Afew things I'd like to mention.. There is a kind of glitch common to alot of iPaqs, in that ActiveSync will turn the device on quite often, trying to connect to the PC, whether there's a cable or not. This can drain the battery "a little bit" (between 3% and 5% over 24 hours, I've heard). There is a fix for this if you search online, but it's very simple. I noticed the "glitch" within afew minutes of having the iPaq out of the box, but I was prepared, and the fix worked. Also, as I'm sure many will make note of, the power button is in an "awkward" place, very close to the voice recorder button. If you hold the iPaq just right, or keep it in a clamshell case of some kind, this probably won't be a problem, but I've already accidentally recorded myself, while trying to put the iPaq in it's included slip-case. If you remember where the record button is, however, it likely won't be a significant problem.I know this is quick for a proper review, posting it the following morning from receiving the device in the mail, but if anything changes, I'll update it, promise.Wi-fi connection is very strong. Lastnight just sitting in my bedroom messing with it, I was able to connect to a neighbor's WLAN hub, and access the internet. I haven't been able to check out the bluetooth capability, as I don't have anything that uses it at the moment. I don't foresee myself getting a bluetooth keyboard in the near future, or headphones. The jack-in headphones I have work GREAT with the 3.5mm jack on the iPaq. Audio quality is fine. If you use the speaker, the only way you'll get good output is in a mausoleum with no other noises. This device's speaker was probably an afterthought, but that's ok, as headphones are perfectly good. A speaker system that connects to the 3.5mm jack should work also. I have a small battery-powered one that is for mp3 players, and the iPaq connects with it nicely.I converted a music video for play with Windows Media on the iPaq. It played ok. Windows Media on a mobile device is adequate, but I personally look for other players whenever possible, especially for larger video and audio files. The iPaq's included PDF and TXT programs work fine. HP's Photosmart Mobile does a great job of viewing images, but that's expected. The device is alittle more compact than I thought, but I like it. Now that I have installed the familiar and more functional TCPMP software, I have no real complaints. Battery life is good. The device responds to my input. I can do tasks without waiting for the device to "catch up" with me. It connects via a standard mini-USB connector, however, there are some non-HP connectors that WILL NOT work with the iPaq. Please be aware of that. Some "professional" reviewers on various websites have made a point of mentioning that the iPaq won't connect with their non-HP cable, and I think personally that's rather juvenile. Reasonably, you can't expect a company to be responsible if another company's plug won't fit in their socket, right? Just use common sense, do alittle research online, and there's nothing at all I can complain about with this iPaq. I love it. Even though I've had it less than 24 hours. LOL!**Update** Sunday, 04/27/2008----------While I mentioned that there was a problem with the power and record buttons being very close together, I'd like to say this afternoon I fiddled with the buttons settings, and sure enough, there is a way to shut the record button off. So, there are as of now no complaints whatsoever that I have with this PDA.I've been using this iPaq for afew months now, and it's still just as good today as the day I unboxed it. I loaded up my first feature-length movie onto SD memory the other night, and it played in WMP *FLAWLESSLY*, no visible jerking or hanging. I would also like to note, that I have not had to perform a single reset on this device yet, soft or hard, and I use it daily. I keep very little on the ROM, but I just thought I'd mention that positive from my experience. Not bad for a handheld, as I've heard many stories about people having to reset their device every once in awhile.So, in short, I still love this PDA, and fully recommend it!

This iPaq 111 Classic is so great you can only use it for a week and after that when you try to turn it on it never gets past the windows mobile screen! Such a great product to just sit on your desk and do nothing because it doesn't even work! And hp support? Ha! There is no such thing!

I had an hp RX3715 iPAQ that lasted nearly five years, so I'll compare to that one. I've used all the built-in features, especially the Calendar with its reminder feature. Using Word was my second-most used program. I also bought other software such as a dictionary.A battery charge on the new iPAQ 111 doesn't last nearly as long and it takes a lot longer to recharge the battery.It doesn't have infrared communication ability and one of the great features of my old iPAQ was its spectacular "universal remote" capability.The volume isn't nearly as loud on the new iPAQ. Putting it on its highest setting is about the same as medium on the old unit.The new iPAQ's screen is much brighter than the old one. Nice for being in the sunlight, but it uses up the battery much faster. I set it to a dim setting because I'm usually indoors. When I'm outside, it takes too many screen taps to access the brightness settings, which is nearly impossible when I'm in the sun and can't see the screen, so I still have to find shade (my hand isn't enough.) They should've made one-button access to the brightness control.The buttons on the bottom of the unit are larger, but they don't have solid space around them like my old one did. Thus I frequently hit them with my hand while I'm writing on the screen, throwing me into some other function and losing the words I'd just written on the screen.I am happy the new iPAQ has a commonly available USB cable. I like that the SD slot and power button are no longer on the top. Dirt could easily get into my first iPAQ and one of the things that gave me trouble with it was an erratic power button. Unless you frequently remove the SD card, I suggest you put tape over it to keep dust and water out.The new iPAQ apparently has a feature to allow it to connect via Bluetooth to my cell phone so that I can access the Internet when I'm not in a hotspot. I'll like this, but I haven't tried it yet, so I can't comment further on that.The new iPAQ is about half the size of my old one, with the same RAM, memory and screen resolution. The old one also had a camera, but my cell phone had a better camera, so it wasn't really worth the extra $200 (but it was a lot easier to transfer photos and videos to my desktop.)-------------------------------------I'm having terrible trouble getting my new iPAQ to sync with my desktop, via ActiveSync. It takes 45 minutes to synchronize whereas my old iPAQ would easily sync in five. Then when the iPAQ is attached via the USB cable, the desktop extremely slows down with ALL software. AND it stays that way even after I disconnect the iPAQ--I have to reboot the desktop. Thus, I recharge the battery with the separate charger instead of the USB cable--resulting in backing up my iPAQ data less often. I can put the iPAQ's SD card into my computer to back that data manually, but... I put an 8 Gb SD card into this new iPAQ, but it seems my hp m7070n desktop can't read SD cards larger than 2Gb--but that might be a problem with my Windows XP.-------------------------------------My second iPAQ has the newer Windows Mobile 6.0 version, and as so often with "latest and greatest" from Microsoft, it's primarily different for the sake of different--I have to learn how the heck to find things that aren't any better than the previous version. Many of the changes are for the worse. For example, when Calendar gives a reminder, I have very few "Snooze" options. I'd GREATLY hoped the handwriting recognition would've improved in five years, but it didn't.I feel many of the "improvements" on Windows Mobile 6.0 was an attempt to compete with iPods and other music devices, and it still isn't as good as them.-------------------------------------I bought an hp foldable keyboard to go with my new iPAQ 111. I bought it directly from hp and they told me they no longer had the tri-fold model that had been available. (I didn't buy that tri-fold when it was available, but wish I had. LATER, I discovered some retailers still have that smaller model.) The new keyboard is Bluetooth only and with the way my new iPAQ eats up battery charges, and Bluetooth needs power, I have to keep the unit plugged in. The older keyboard allows the user to run via a cable. The new keyboard has a slide-out stand to hold the iPAQ, but it's so flimsy I'm sure it'll soon break. Plus, the bottom of this stand is rounded and my iPAQ slips off--they should've given it a lip to actually hold the iPAQ. The keyboard also has something to lock it in open position so we can lay it on our lap without it collapsing down between our legs. Again, this is so flimsy that it bends and folds anyway.-------------------------------------I had a metal case from RhinoSkin for my PREVIOUS hp RX3715 iPAQ, but they don't have one for the model 111, so I got one from BoxWave and I'm NOT happy with it. First, it has a clear plastic face that provides limited protection. I'd accidentally stepped on my old RhinoSkin case, dented the face slightly, but it saved my iPAQ. The BoxWave case wouldn't stand up to that. Second, the clear face lets me read the screen, but I have to open the case to do any screen-touch anyway, so it's impractical. Third, I don't like letting other people read what's popped up on my screen when I get a Calendar reminder when the iPAQ is on my belt.The new case makes it difficult to reach the power button when the front cover is closed and impossible when the cover is open. It also has useless access holes in the faceplate. The holes apparently allow me to touch various buttons, but again, I have to open the cover anyway to then use the device, so these holes only weaken the case and allow more dirt to get in. It even has a hole just to see the "hp" logo on the iPAQ.The belt clip isn't as good as the RhinoSkin's. I had the same type on a cell phone I lost because the clip doesn't easily lock into place.Unless RhinoSkin provides a case for the iPAQ 111 soon, I plan to epoxy a metal plate over the clear plastic on the BoxWave case to make it stronger.All considered, I liked my previous hp RX3715 iPAQ much better.