rx1950 - First Looks

By Jack Cook, posted Tuesday, Sep. 27th, 2005
Reader Comments: 27

I've have had a variety of iPAQs and some just remain favorites not necessarily because of the power they had (or didn't have) but because of the style, comfort and ease of use. For a basic PDA, my 1940 was (and still is) a favorite. I liked its size, weight and the overall feel of the device---it was a great complement to my other devices especially if I was going somewhere and I didn’t want to have any extra bulk to carry.

When HP came out with their previous line, it had a whole new design---a new look---a new feel. I liked it, I liked it a lot but I still loved the design of the 1940 so I just never retired it. Well, it might be time to retire that baby because there is a "new kid" is on the block and it promises to command every bit of respect that the 1940 had plus a whole lot more!

I should point out that those of you that are familiar with the 4155 that the overall look between the two is very similar but I think they are step brothers---close, but no cigar! The 4155 is not an entry level PDA and the 1950 is. HP was smart however because they knew they had a very popular design with that series so they have "converged" the families so to speak and have come up with one terrific new starting entry PDA.

The 1950 is a true cousin of the 1940! Although it is sporting a similar look as the 4155, it has similarities to the 1940 so you know it was from the same family. A metallic grey front and a rich dark black back, this iPAQ looks good.

The power ON/OFF is located top center of the device but the 1950 has two LEDs on either side; the right LED is for charging ( a 4-mode alarm notification: LED off = not charging and no notifications, Amber flash = charging, Green flash = one or more notification events have occurred, Amber solid = charging complete and the left LED to indicate that Wi-Fi is onor off (that’s right…WI-Fi!). That impressed me right away…Wi-Fi was a feature that was missing from the 1940!

The screens are the same size and the buttons are a replica of the 4100 series (personally, I thought the buttons on the 1940 were cooler). The four buttons do pretty much the same thing that we have been used to: Calendar, Contacts, Messaging but the fourth button has a different assignment. With the addition of Wi-Fi, the fourth button now allows you to turn Wi-Fi on/off easily---I like that.

The top of the device has the SD slot, stylus and earphone jack while the bottom of the device has the cradle connector and the infrared (Why it is located on the bottom is beyond my understanding. I guess the design team never uses their iPAQs as remote controls for their media centers).

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Hi, my father bougth an rx1955 in USA, we are from latin america. the thing is that i want to know if the rx1955 is working well and my question is Does it have to run Windows on the first time you power it? Because he turned it on and the screen turned on too but it didn't show anything at all. I would really apreciatte your responses. Thanks

Posted by RjSa, Saturday, Dec. 10th, 2005

Hey Jack,
Just returned the HP ipaq 1950 after putting it through its paces for just over a week. I think overall, its a great device: battery life, features, design ease of use...and what a great screen! Unfortunately, for a person who likes to multi-task, the rx1950's 32Mb of RAM (of which, I've only ever had 13Mb to access - what's up with that?!) was a bit anaemic...if I was surfing the web and having more than one person chatting to me on msn messenger, the rx 1950 would start stalling (though not crashing, to its credit). And I think Dave had this issue with his Jasjar, but there seems to be a memory leak issue with WM 5.0 - closing all programs never returned all the memory that was available after a soft reset (the only way to get those precious little Mb's back). Anyhoo, great device, that's been let down by the OS I think.
Oh, and Merry Christmas to you guys from sunny Australia!

Posted by nate115, Saturday, Dec. 10th, 2005

I would have to say they look the same. I never had a 4100 series so I am just basing that observation on looking at pictures. That it why I referenced that they were "step brothers". Same name (Exteriors)but the insides were different. (Probably a poor way top describe it but that is what struck me as I was writing it initially).

Posted by Jack Cook, Friday, Sep. 30th, 2005

Nice review. Although I've got to say: if there's an external difference to the 4150 I'd like to see it. From your photos it's identical (after holding my 4150 up next to the screen). I'd like to see it the battery is compatible, looks the same.

I'd like to see a higher spec version. I love the form factor but it's got no blue-tooth, slow processor and not enough memory.

As to why the IR port is on the bottom: same place as on the 4150. Also it's really well placed for a cheep IR keyboard.

Posted by baralong, Tuesday, Sep. 27th, 2005

Guys lets please stick to the subject of the review... Thx

Posted by David Ciccone, Tuesday, Sep. 27th, 2005

I really don't want to try and utilize a single device for a number of reasons. On the phone side, I use my cellphone a TON (easily over 4000 minutes a month). For this I want an easy to use phone with great battery life. I have a Motorola V710 which can last just about all day even with a bluetooth headset.

On the Pocket PC side. I also use my Ipaq a good bit. With that I would go nuts trying to do both things at the same time on one device.

That is not to say I wouldn't mind having an ipaq with full time internet access. But I would not use it as a voice device.

Dan

Posted by derath, Monday, Sep. 26th, 2005

Oops spelling ... that's fence.

Posted by JNGold, Monday, Sep. 26th, 2005

s4,

I am kind on the fense about the 1 or 2 device thing. On the one hand, it's easy to get caught up in the rah-rah of converged devices. However, for myself, there are times when I don't need a PDA and don't want the bulk of one with me. That's the primary reason I bought a Razr. The Treo form factor is getting real close to a factor that can be consider a "non-issue" when it comes to convienience. Even a pda like the k-jam is close to being .71 inches thick which to me can be cumbersome at times.

Posted by JNGold, Monday, Sep. 26th, 2005

I dont understand who would buy a stand alone (non-phone) PDA these days. Once I had my palm based phone and then blackberrry phone, I dumped the pocket pc years ago. As soon as the 6300 come out, I came back to Pocket PC. Who would want to carry around a second device?

Posted by s4czech, Monday, Sep. 26th, 2005

Um, can some please tell me where I posted that the 1950 is a bad pda?

From I read on CNET (which I take with an extremely small grain of salt), it will give the low-end Axim competition. That to me says they can match evenly. I would recommend the Axim for the larger screen, BT instead of wifi, and more available RAM.

Posted by JNGold, Monday, Sep. 26th, 2005

JNGold...Did you read Bonnie Cha's review!

Posted by Jack Cook, Monday, Sep. 26th, 2005

Posted by derath
"I also do not see any problem with giving a device such as this a positive review. As a device it can be good, even though it may not be what everyone wants."

I agree Dan!

Posted by Jack Cook, Monday, Sep. 26th, 2005

Posted by JNGold
"If you guys want to be "fair and balanced" the playing field should be fair and not based on bias toward one vendor or another."

Jerry, I admit my bias towards iPAQ. I am a BELIEVER in HP products which is why I am volunteering my time, effort and energy on this site. I like helping folks on their iPAQs.

Occasionally I see and get to use non-HP products...if they are good I write about them. If the new Palm comes my way, I will most likely write about it...it looks to be potentially an extraordinary device.

Eventually we will doing more "stuff" on other devices...will it be on all of them..NOT A CHANCE. Some don't make the grade for my time...personal opinion.

Posted by Jack Cook, Monday, Sep. 26th, 2005

To be fair, I believe that Dave's comments (in the podcast if I remember) about Dell's lineup is not so much that they make non converged devices. But the fact that they are ONLY coming out with Non converged devices. I believe that there is a market for a simple PDA device, but HP ALSO has a lineup for converged devices as well, whereas you simply cannot fill this need with a Dell device.

I also do not see any problem with giving a device such as this a positive review. As a device it can be good, even though it may not be what everyone wants.

Dan

Posted by derath, Monday, Sep. 26th, 2005

Posted by JNGold
"And the rx1700 was an example of a "lexus" type product? "

You certainly can read into what I said the way you want. The reference, and I am sure you understood, was toward the iPAQ vs Dell.

The 1700 is a "low end" model and yet it performed very well. I used it, it worked and worked well. Did you use it?
It was not for "power users" but rather entry level users which is what the 1950 is.

And BTW, I really like this 1950. It's a neat little device! Windows Mobile 5 is very cool and it WORKS on this low end LEXUS!

Posted by Jack Cook, Monday, Sep. 26th, 2005

jerry I reviewed the jasjar because it was a converged device. Dell has shown no interest in having us review their products. I am done with this...

Posted by David Ciccone, Monday, Sep. 26th, 2005

But you reviewed the JasJar? Last time I checked, that's not an iPaq. Nor is a Palm Treo. :) :) :)

Posted by JNGold, Monday, Sep. 26th, 2005

Last time I checked the site was named Daves iPAQ... I can't speak in behalf of Dells products.

Posted by David Ciccone, Monday, Sep. 26th, 2005

Dave,

So the same consideration should be given to the Axim, no? As a matter of fact, I would recommend a low end Axim over a 1950 anyday for the fact that BT is built in and has twice the memory and storage capabilites (important for people who may want to play multimedia files).

If you guys want to be "fair and balanced" (tongue -in-cheek) the playing field should be fair and no t based on bias toward one vendor or another.

Posted by JNGold, Monday, Sep. 26th, 2005

And the rx1700 was an example of a "lexus" type product?

Posted by JNGold, Monday, Sep. 26th, 2005

I would like to clarify (which I thought I did) that I personally do not get excited on non-converged devices BUT I have a job here to review products and give my honest opinion for those considering non converged devices. Remember, all of us are not power users.

Posted by David Ciccone, Monday, Sep. 26th, 2005

There is a distinct difference between a Lexus and a Chevy....

I think there is a distinct difference between an HP and a Dell.

For a first time user and/or an experienced user that wants a supplemental device for those additional tasks, this device fits the bill! I've been pretty impressed with its overall performance. Certainly not a power device but one that does a great job for what it was designed to do.

Style, form and functionality...it seems to have what it takes!

Posted by Jack Cook, Monday, Sep. 26th, 2005

Don't get me wrong, Dave and Jack's reviews are overall great.

Like JNGold pointed out though, I am just making the point that if its good for the goose it should be good for the gander. I can see why someone might think that you guys are biased in your reviews and statements. You were basically blasting the Dell for it's lack of convergence, but now are praising the iPAQ for the same lack of covergence.

In neither review did Dave or Jack state as a CON "Lacks convergence". I think this is the thing people are talking about regarding the bias of reviews and statements.

Again, don't get me wrong, Jack's and Dave's reviews are hands down among the most insightful, accurate and thorough reviews around. It's just that when this kind of stuff is happening, it takes a little bit away from that.

Personally, all regular PDAs are passe. That's an individual thing though as Elrendhel and Dave pointed out.

Posted by Physboy, Monday, Sep. 26th, 2005

I think Physboy was trying to point out that the Axim line dollar-for-dollar represents the best "bang for the buck" but was refuted because it's "just a pda". The Axim low-end is a real nice device for beginners (with more memory, dual slots, built-in BT, etc) for not that much more than the 1950.

Posted by JNGold, Monday, Sep. 26th, 2005

Excellent review Jack!! I'm sorry to hear they placed the IR at the bottom of the device, and that they omitted the Bluetooth, but the rest of it is totally cool!

Physboy,

Not everyone needs a PDA that is also a phone and camera and gps unit and has wireless wifi and has bluetooth and can play Multimedia.

Sometimes they just need the PDA that also caters to the Multimedia crowd, and those are the users that Jack is providing this review to.

Posted by , Monday, Sep. 26th, 2005

Well its important to our user base who is just getting into Windows Mobile devices..

Posted by David Ciccone, Monday, Sep. 26th, 2005

As Dave stated about the Dell Axim when that was announced, "kinda boring.... Non converged devices are getting to be useless in the tech world...." and as Steve stated in the same thread "I would agree with Dave that it is boaring only only for the fact that I really don't have a use for a regular PDA.", I am going to have to agree and submit that this also applies here.

Posted by Physboy, Monday, Sep. 26th, 2005

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