Jornada 548 Redux, 12.15.02
Written: Dec 15 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: - In expensive
- Well designed and built
- Wide range of available software
Cons: - Not the newest OS
- Screen hard to read outdoors
The Bottom Line: You get adequate memory, processor speed and screen color depth in a rugged, well-designed package. Plus, you'll save a TON of money, even compared to the newer low cost Dells.
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| treynolds's Full Review: Hewlett Packard Jornada 548 Pocket PC |
I received an HP Jornada 548 as a replacement for my wife's defective 525. (Mistake on the part of HP or serendipity?) Since she is getting a Treo 90 for Christmas and never really used the 525 anyway, the 548 has fallen to me.
I have been relying on my HandEra 330 since getting my full refund from HP for my succession of dusty Jornada 565's. While the HandEra is great for PIM, I have greatly missed Microsoft Reader and being able to read ebooks on a *white* screen. Once you've tasted color, it's tough to go back. I have also missed the ability to play MP3's, especially since I now have over 8GB worth encoded.
Even though I have seriously considered the Dell Axim as a way to get back into PPC, I just couldn't justify the cost when I thought that the 548 might get me about 80% or more of what I wanted from a PPC. I also couldn't see that the XScale models really offered much more if anything than the StrongArm 206 I'd used for 9 months. This plus the fact that there seem to be many new models on the horizon, and would an Axim now mean I'd kick myself later?
As for size and weight, the 548 is certainly much heavier than the current PPC's on the market, weighing in at a little over 9 oz. But that weight comes in an elegant, well-balanced package that size-wise fits my rather large size hands well. I appreciate the all-metal construction when most PDA's these days are made of plastic or a combination of metal and plastic.
THINGS I LIKE:
1. The 548 includes the excellent HP cover, something the Dell and many others lack. I REALLY like the hinged METAL cover and I've even grown to like the peculiar 520/540 series stylus. It's comfortable to hold and stays where I put it: it can't roll around. Heck, I might even spring for the sterling silver version from www.styluscentral.com.
2. It has a LED button that can be used to turn off the screen, like the 560 series. While one could do this on the 520 series using the Task button, using the LED switch means that I can map other apps to the quick-start buttons.
3. The screen is as bright and clear as I could want. The 4096 color LCD means that the colors aren't dithered and are more true. This is better for photos. The screen is barely readable outdoors, unlike the 560 series and many newer trans-reflective screen PDA's, but then I rarely use my Jornada out-of-doors. Most of the time I run the screen at a "special" setting of about 25% brightness, sometimes I'll bump it up to the "indoor" 50% brightness setting. "Low power" minimal bright is more than adequate for reading in bed at night.
4. Battery life, while not as long as newer models (I never could get more than 8-9 hours of the advertised 14 out of the 565), is more than adequate for my needs. I loaded a battery monitor applet and managed to get 4.1 hours of varied use down to a 25% level, about 1/2 of that playing MP3's with the screen off. Most of the time, I'm not that far from an outlet. I have chargers both at home and the office. The battery charges quickly, coming up to 100% from 25% in about an hour. If I wanted, I could easily make a battery extender with spare NiMH AA's I have for my digicams.
5. The 32MB of RAM, while not the 64 that are standard these days, gives me more than adequate capability. I load critical apps in RAM, non-critical on a 256MB CF card I have installed. Remember, most of my use is listening to MP3's and reading Ebooks. YMMV.
6. The speed of the SH3 processor is again, adequate. I don't need to wait that long for most things to load, except for Reader, and that's because I have about 80 very large books in my library. Consequently, I try to keep Reader always running so it doesn't have to recompile the library every time I want to use it.
7. The Targus Stowaway keyboard I bought for my 565 works great, as do the extra AC adapters.
THINGS I DON'T LIKE:
1. WMP is basic but not the best, especially as there's no way to adjust the EQ. I'm demo'ing withMP3 and it looks very good so far. I'll probably splurge for the $15 fee.
2. The abillity to skin the Today screen. Well okay, so I can use Facelift or Pocket Blinds, but Facelift caused my screen to go weird. I'll try Pocket Blinds and see if it's better.
3. I REALLY, REALLY miss having the central, mutli-directional button that my 565 had. I use the scroll wheel on the side, but it would be nice to have the other option as well, since in some positions using the scroll wheel is awkward.
None of these are deal-breakers, but of course I didn't have to *buy* this thing anyway...so it's not that big of a issue.
Now, a lot of this is probably old-hat to you people who are still using the 548, but I thought it would be helpful for those who might be considering it for the first time, either as a hand-me-down, a discounted purchase or an Ebay purchase. If you are new to PDA's or considering coming to PPC's from the Palm side of things, I would heartily recommend the Jornada 548.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 200.00
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Epinions.com ID:
treynolds
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Reviews written: 6
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