Bluetooth 4400 review

[forumhound]

Well, I couldn't wait. I've ordered the 4400 + 3970 + 256meg sd card from C & A electronics (4400 was £239.00).



I hope the review doesn't make me regret my purchase.. although I suppose I can always spend even more money on navigator 2 if I don't like the software.. I shall post my experiences here.. Just got to tell the wife about my new purchase (oh dear)..




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Forumhound

[forumhound]

oops.... it was £339.00 .. my mistake
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Forumhound

[forumhound]

Well, recieved the 4400 on Tues + the ipaq 3970 today (weds). I was rather astonished that I could only track 5 satellites from my back garden, but then I am rather new to this. I took the ipaq for a drive this evening. I like the voice commands and moving map display, very clear.



When I first turned on the 4400 (in the garden) it took 6 minutes to bring up 3 yellow segments, then finally 5 green ones. Is this normal...???



Thanks
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Forumhound

[forumhound]

Hi



This seems odd to me.. I have the 4400 sitting at the (open) study window. It obtains a lock on 3-5 satellites. Then it shows "no gps data", then the lock returns gradually (yellow blobs building up to green), then it shows "no gps data" and so on... Yet the reciever isn't being moved or obstructed.. is this normal behaviour.. thanks




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Forumhound

[forumhound]

Well, I've upgraded the ipaq to the 2003 operating system. It appears that the bluetooth drivers were flakey, it now all works ok.
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Forumhound

[onbashi]

pocket pc 2003 is supposed to be full of bugs, so I wont take the chance upgrading mine yet, how are you getting on with 2003 and did it cost you to upgrade?
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In The Land Of The Blind The One Eyed Man Is King!

[Dave]

Apart from the legacy software bug where depending on how older software was written and compiled for previous Pocket PC's, it may lock up the Pocket PC under WM2003, the only other bug I've witnessed is the reminder notes sometimes not powering up the Pocket PC to remind you of tasks or calendar appointments. This seems to be when they are set via Outlook and not via the Pocket PC. If you edit them on the Pocket PC and resync, it seems to cure the problem for me.



These are the only WM2003 bugs I've come across.

[gracar]

I am a little confused because according to the HP upgrade website (address below) the upgrade will be available to order in August and will ship in September for 3900 series and ship in October for 3800 series. I suspect it was the Bluetooth Manager that was upgraded and not the entire operating system. If I am wrong (and anything's possible) I'd love to know where the upgrade came from.



http://h41111.www4.hp.com/ppc2003upgrade/uk/eng/upgrade.html
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Graham

[DavidW]

Graham,



I'm confused as to where you've found a reference to an upgrade.



You have understood the public upgrade process correctly for paid upgrades to Pocket PC 2003 for iPAQ users. However, it is possible that those entitled to the 'free' upgrade will receive the upgrade earlier than those who are not entitled and have to buy the full price upgrade.



In addition, it seems that various reviewers and similar have advance (and possibly therefore beta) copies of the Pocket PC 2003 upgrade for 3900 and 5450 series iPAQ hardware.





Pocket PC 2003 includes its own Bluetooth stack - and a whole host of internal changes. It's based on the latest version of Windows CE, Windows CE 4.2, rather than the Windows CE 3.0 that sits underneat Pocket PC 2000 and Pocket PC 2002.



It's easy to get a pretty good idea of how Pocket PC 2003 will operate on upgraded iPAQs by looking at a new device shipping with Pocket PC 2003, such as an iPAQ 5550, iPAQ 2210 or a recent Dell Axim X5.





Does that help any?







David

[gracar]

David,



I got my information from the Microsoft Pocket PC site which contains a whole page devoted to the upgrades and when they will be avilable in various countries. I guess what I was really saying is that if there is a source I'd like to know where to look. The link I posted was one that Microsoft directed me to and covers the UK dates for iPAQ upgrades
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Graham

[DavidW]

I've not found anyone offering the ability to order the paid for upgrades yet. I expect this will change soon.







David

[forumhound]

Hi



Having just purchased my IPaq, I'm entitled to a free upgrade. It works fine, no problems here (yet). The Navman is very impressive now that I've sorted out the bluetooth problem. I've also purchased TomTom Navigator2, which I already prefer to the Navman software.








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Forumhound

[forumhound]

As a follow up to this.. I have now used the 4400 on numerous occaisions. So far it works as I would expect. Fast tracking of Sats..I stick it under the windscreen and it obtains a fix almost instantly. Routing works great. Re-Calculating is fast (so far only tested on short journeys.. even my wife is impressed with my new toy (I used to always get the blame when we got lost.. even though she would usually be map reading)..




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Forumhound

[Nick]

Hi,



I have been following this link as I have purchased a 2210 and will soon be getting a 4400. How long does your ipaq battery last when you are using it with your bluetooth gps receiver? Everyone keeps telling me that bluetooth uses up a lot of the ipaq battery power.



Many thanks



Nick

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