Compaq IPaq 3850 or 3835 opinions (1 Viewer)

[Jeff Peake]

I am in the market for my first PDA. I never thought I needed one, until I bought one for my brother in law for xmas. I couldnt stop playing with it, and now i am hooked.

I think I want one of the new ipaq's. It has to have the option for Microdrive storage.

I already have a 340MB microdrive for my digital camera. My plan is to buy the iPaq and the CompactFlash adapter, and use the microdrive for a nice MP3 jukebox. I may get an additional 1GB microdrive in the future...but I dont use my camera all that often, so relegating the 340MB drive to ipaq duty isnt that big of a deal.

I will be using the PDA daily for MP3's at work, tying in with office apps and email and archiving my Outlook mail.

Does anyone here have an opinion of the 3850 or 3835 (are these models identical???) They seem to be the best reviewed Pocket PC 2002 units (with Microdrive support)....

Thanks

Jeff Peake

 

[CameronJ]

Jeff,
While I don't own the 38xx series of Ipaqs, I do have a 36xx.
First things first, the 3835 and 3850 are the exact same unit, the exception being what comes in the box (I think). With the 36xx series, the 3635 came with the compact flash sleeve.
If you are going to be using a microdrive, be aware that your battery life will suffer (I've heard that it eats battery power pretty agressively). The solution is to purchase a PC card sleeve and a PC card CF adapter. The PC card sleeve includes a second battery. There may be CF sleeve with a second battery out now, but I'm not sure. Another solution is to get a CF storage card (as prices are ridiculously low now) which uses a lot less battery power. I think I got my 256mb card for $120 or so.
One of the best resources for PocketPC and IPAQ info is Link Removed
All that being said, I love my IPAQ. It's replaced a whole slew of items in my briefcase for flights (I fly every week). I use it for music (no more CD player) and reading (no more books). I also have a wireless modem that I can use to surf and check e-mail (and very slow speeds).
All that being said, the one drawback to PocketPC devices compared to Palm is battery life. If you don't mind charging every night (if you use it more than a couple of hours a day), you'll love the IPAQ.

 

[Jeff Peake]

Do the PC card adapters make the ipaq kind of big? They look fairly large, how clunky is it when an adapter is added>?????

I wouldnt mind buying some of the SD card memory, so I wouldnt need any expansion packs, but it looks like 128MB is the largest you can get on Compaq's website. Are there any larger SD memory cards? I would like at least 512MB....

JP

 

[CameronJ]

What I really like about the IPAQ and the expansion pack concept is that it allows me to customize the unit size and features to my daily needs.
While you are right about the expansion pack adding size and weight, it doesn't bother me as I keep that pack in my briefcase. If I'm running off to a meeting, lunch, etc. I can take the IPAQ out of the expansion pack and have the much smaller form factor. Basically, for situations where I don't need the extra storage or battery life, I have a nice small unit. While this solution won't work for everyone, it works great for me.
For storage options, check newegg they tend to have the cheapest prices on CF memory, so I'm guessing their prices on SD memory would be good as well.