HP iPAQ hx4700 Windows Mobile 5 Upgrade: The 2006 Update Explained

For a couple of years in the mid-2000s, the HP iPAQ hx4700 was the Pocket PC enthusiasts pointed to when they wanted to show off what a handheld could do: a crisp 4-inch VGA screen, a fast processor for its class, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth built in, room for two expansion cards at once. What it didn't have, for over a year after launch, was Windows Mobile 5 — a version of Microsoft's handheld OS that changed the underlying storage model in a way that mattered to anyone who'd ever lost data to a dead battery. HP shipped that upgrade in March 2006, and its arrival was newsworthy enough that outside blogs were still writing about it the day it appeared.

What Was the HP iPAQ hx4700?

Launched in late 2004, the iPAQ hx4700 sat near the top of HP's Pocket PC lineup, aimed at mobile professionals, road warriors, and the kind of PDA enthusiast who tracked processor speeds and expansion slots the way some people track camera specs. It ran Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition out of the box and built its reputation on a combination of screen quality, expansion flexibility, and raw speed that few rivals matched at the time.

The Hardware That Made It Stand Out

Under the hood sat an Intel PXA270 XScale processor clocked at 624MHz — fast for a handheld in 2004, with enough headroom that the hx4700 didn't feel sluggish running typical multimedia and productivity software. HP wrapped that processor in a magnesium-alloy body, added integrated 802.11b Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and gave it something genuinely rare for the category: both a CompactFlash Type II slot and an SD/SDIO slot, letting you run a CF card and an SD card at once. The battery was also user-replaceable, which mattered more than it sounds — many contemporary handhelds sealed batteries in, and a dead cell effectively meant a dead device.

A Screen Built for Reading

The hx4700's signature feature was its display: a 4-inch transflective TFT screen running at VGA resolution, 640x480, in a market where plenty of competitors were still shipping quarter-VGA screens. That extra resolution translated directly into more comfortable long-form reading, and it's a big part of why the device found a following among people who used their Pocket PC primarily as an ebook reader rather than a phone companion or business tool. A New Zealand blogger writing on stateless.geek.nz put it plainly in a March 2006 post — their hx4700 was, by that point, mostly an ebook reader, and any replacement device would need to match that role.

The Original OS: Windows Mobile 2003 SE

Out of the box, the hx4700 ran Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition, Microsoft's handheld OS built around Pocket Outlook, Pocket Internet Explorer, Pocket Word, and Pocket Excel, synchronized to a desktop PC through ActiveSync. Underneath those familiar apps sat an architectural detail that most users never thought about until it bit them: WM2003SE stored the OS, installed programs, and user data largely in volatile RAM. That RAM needed continuous power from the battery to hold its contents. Let the battery run all the way down, and you could lose everything — installed apps, settings, files — not just drain the charge.

Why Windows Mobile 5 Was a Big Deal

Windows Mobile 5, which Microsoft introduced in 2005, moved the OS image and a meaningful portion of installed apps and user data onto persistent flash storage rather than volatile RAM — the single biggest reason this upgrade mattered. Under WM2003SE, a battery that ran completely flat could wipe the device: installed apps, settings, files, all gone, not just the charge. WM5 fixed that. You'd still need to recharge before using it again, but your programs and files were far more likely to still be there when you did. Alongside that change, WM5 brought an updated Office Mobile suite and Outlook Mobile improvements — but the storage architecture shift was the headline, and it's the piece contemporary coverage kept coming back to.

The Release Timeline

HP announced its broader Windows Mobile 5 upgrade program for select iPAQ handhelds in May 2005, initially targeting a summer release window. The hx4700 wasn't among the first models to get its update, though — coverage from around February 2006 described HP still working toward releasing the hx4700's WM5 upgrade, with expectations pointing toward spring. The wait ended in March 2006, confirmed by a March 22, 2006 post on the blog stateless.geek.nz, which announced the hx4700 WM5 update was \"finally available\" and linked directly to Mobility Today's coverage of the hx4700 Windows Mobile 5.0 upgrade.

What HP Actually Sold

HP's offering was a paid, downloadable ROM upgrade rather than a free patch, delivered as a Windows Mobile 5.0 Premium Edition update built specifically for the hx4700. Pricing around the time was commonly cited at roughly $39.99, though HP's own historical product pages have since been retired, so exact archived pricing and the precise retail product number are harder to confirm today with full certainty — treat that figure as a period-appropriate estimate rather than an exact receipt.

Why You Paid for an OS Upgrade Back Then

It's worth pausing on how different this was from smartphone OS updates today, which are free and pushed over the air. In the Pocket PC era, a major Windows Mobile revision often arrived as a separate purchase, delivered manually through a downloadable ROM image and a PC-based update utility. That wasn't unique to HP — it reflected how Microsoft licensed Windows Mobile to device makers, who in turn passed upgrade costs on to customers rather than treating them as an included service.

A 332MB Download, in 2006 Terms

The stateless.geek.nz post specifically flagged the download as \"a massive 332Mb.\" That's a useful reminder of how different broadband felt twenty years ago — a file that size is unremarkable today, but on a typical 2006 home connection it represented a real time commitment worth commenting on.

Could You Go Back to WM2003SE?

This is one area where the historical record gets thinner. Period discussion on enthusiast Pocket PC forums indicates that at least some users were able to revert their hx4700 back to Windows Mobile 2003 SE after upgrading, and one user account mentioned needing to work with a software vendor to re-authorize a license after downgrading. Whether HP's official upgrade package itself bundled a straightforward, sanctioned revert tool, versus users piecing a downgrade together through other means, isn't something this article can state with full confidence — treat an easy, official rollback path as unconfirmed rather than guaranteed.

The Upgrade Process and Why Backups Mattered

At a high level, and purely as historical context rather than a how-to for today, the process involved connecting the hx4700 to a PC, running HP's update utility, and letting it install the new ROM image — a process that required a charged battery, a stable cradle connection, and patience for a fairly involved installation. Afterward, users typically had to reconfigure settings, reinstall third-party apps, and re-establish ActiveSync partnerships. Because the update effectively replaced the OS image, backing up beforehand wasn't optional advice — it was the only real protection against losing installed apps, data, and settings if anything went wrong mid-process. None of this is actionable guidance for flashing a hx4700 today; ROM flashing on decades-old hardware carries real risk of bricking a device, and anyone attempting it now should work from current, device-specific documentation rather than a general retrospective.

ActiveSync and Re-Pairing After the Upgrade

ActiveSync handled synchronization between the hx4700 and a desktop PC — contacts, calendar, email, files. Because a ROM-level OS upgrade could change how the device identified itself to a PC, users often needed to re-establish their ActiveSync partnership afterward rather than assume the old pairing would carry over — a small detail, but exactly the kind of friction that made these upgrades feel like a genuine project rather than a background download.

What Changed in Office Mobile

Windows Mobile 5's Premium Edition brought an updated Office Mobile suite alongside the storage change, plus improvements to Outlook Mobile specifically. This article won't invent a feature-by-feature changelog for Office Mobile on the hx4700 — the accurate statement is that Office and Outlook Mobile were meaningfully refreshed as part of the WM5 release generally, and the hx4700's Premium Edition build inherited those changes.

Performance: What Contemporary Users Reported

Moving to persistent storage wasn't a pure upgrade with no tradeoffs, and period discussion among hx4700 owners reflected that. Forum threads from the time describe a mixed picture: some users reported less-frequent filesystem compaction than under earlier ROM revisions, which helped; others described occasional stretches of sluggishness, certain older games no longer running as they had under WM2003SE, and at least one user frustrated enough to describe the device as usable only part of the time right after updating. None of that is a universal verdict — configurations and installed software varied — but it's a fair summary of the complaints that showed up at the time.

The Follow-Up ROM Updates

HP didn't stop at the initial March 2006 release. A subsequent ROM update, version 2.01, followed later that year — contemporary driver archives date it to around July 2006. That update addressed situations where certain CompactFlash and I/O cards weren't being recognized properly, alongside general performance improvements. It's worth being clear this was a separate, later release from the original WM5 upgrade, not part of the March 2006 rollout — and it's the version worth tracking down if you're chasing the most stable ROM for a hx4700 today.

Driver and Accessory Compatibility

An OS-level upgrade like this could also touch how well existing accessories worked — Bluetooth keyboards, GPS receivers, and CompactFlash or SDIO peripherals depending on drivers or firmware assumptions baked into WM2003SE. The 2.01 ROM's fix for CF and I/O card recognition is direct evidence that accessory compatibility was a genuine, live concern after the WM5 rollout, not a hypothetical one.

Battery Life, Then and Now

This article won't invent specific battery-life figures for the hx4700 under either OS — reliable runtime comparisons from 2006 can't be responsibly reconstructed at this distance. What's safe to say: any original hx4700 battery still around today is roughly two decades old, well past any lithium-ion cell's useful life, and shouldn't be treated as representative of how the device performed when new.

WM5 vs WM2003SE on the hx4700

A Blogger's UMPC Question

That same stateless.geek.nz post captures something bigger than one device update: the author was openly weighing whether to replace their hx4700 with an Ultra-Mobile PC, precisely because their main use for the Pocket PC was reading ebooks, and a UMPC seemed like it might serve that role just as well while offering more general-purpose computing power. It's a small snapshot of a transitional moment in mobile computing — Pocket PCs, early UMPCs, and the smartphones that would eventually absorb both categories were all competing for the same pocket at roughly the same time.

The hx4700 vs Early Smartphones

The hx4700, for all its capability, had no integrated cellular radio — it was a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth handheld, not a phone. Contemporary smartphones generally couldn't match its VGA display or dual expansion slots, but they offered a built-in cellular connection the hx4700 didn't. That tradeoff — a bigger, sharper, more expandable screen versus integrated telephony — is a big part of why devices like the hx4700 appealed to people who wanted a dedicated reading and productivity device rather than an all-in-one phone.

The Touch-Sensitive Navigation Pad

Instead of a conventional five-way directional pad, the hx4700 used a touch-sensitive navigation pad, letting users scroll with a swipe-like gesture rather than discrete directional clicks. It was a distinctive, somewhat divisive design choice, and one of the small details longtime owners still bring up when discussing what made the device feel different from its contemporaries.

Why the hx4700 Became a Cult Favorite

Between the screen, the PXA270 processor, dual CF-and-SD expansion, and a user-replaceable battery, the hx4700 checked boxes that mattered to a specific kind of enthusiast — and kept mattering long after HP moved on. It hit a genuinely useful combination of specs that later, more phone-focused Pocket PCs didn't fully replicate.

Later Unofficial ROMs, Briefly

Well after HP stopped supporting the hx4700, independent developers in the Pocket PC modding community built unofficial ROMs bringing later Windows Mobile versions — including builds based on 6, 6.1, and 6.5 — to the device. These were never official HP releases, and this article isn't providing instructions or download guidance for them here; they're mentioned only as context for how far the hx4700's community-driven software support extended beyond HP's own official upgrade path.

Using One Today

Running a hx4700 today means running into the limits of mid-2000s mobile software: Wi-Fi security standards it may not support well, a mobile browser that can't meaningfully render the modern web, and a version of ActiveSync with no real desktop counterpart on a current PC. Realistically, using one now is a collector or retro-computing exercise rather than a practical daily-driver decision — and that's fine.

Collecting Tips

If you're evaluating a used hx4700, check the battery for swelling or damage first, and never charge or power on a battery that looks puffed, warped, or otherwise compromised — a damaged lithium-ion cell is a genuine fire and injury risk, full stop. Beyond that, look for dead pixels or backlight bleed on the display, test the touchscreen and nav pad for responsiveness, confirm Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connect, and check both expansion slots for physical damage. Also worth checking: stylus fit, whether the original charger and cradle survive, and general casing condition.

FAQ

What operating system did the HP iPAQ hx4700 originally ship with?

Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition, Premium Edition, running on a 624MHz Intel PXA270 processor.

Could the hx4700 be upgraded to Windows Mobile 5?

Yes — HP released an official, paid ROM upgrade to Windows Mobile 5.0 Premium Edition for the hx4700.

When was the hx4700 Windows Mobile 5 upgrade released?

HP's broader upgrade program was announced in May 2005, but the hx4700-specific update wasn't released until March 2006, confirmed by contemporary blog coverage from that month.

How much did the upgrade cost?

Pricing around the time was commonly cited at roughly $39.99, though exact archived HP pricing is difficult to confirm with full certainty at this distance.

How large was the download?

A contemporary blog post from March 2006 described the download as roughly 332MB, a substantial size for typical home broadband at the time.

What did Windows Mobile 5 actually change?

Mainly the move from volatile RAM storage to persistent flash storage, so data and apps were far less likely to be lost if the battery ran flat. It also brought updated Office Mobile and Outlook Mobile.

Was Windows Mobile 5 better than Windows Mobile 2003 SE on the hx4700?

For data safety, yes. Performance-wise, period reports were mixed — some users noted improvements, others described occasional slowdowns and app compatibility issues.

What is persistent storage?

A storage model where OS and app data live on flash memory rather than volatile RAM, so the data survives even if the device loses power completely.

Did the Windows Mobile 5 update make the hx4700 slower?

Reports varied — some users saw slowdowns or app compatibility issues, others saw improvements. No single verdict applies universally.

Could you downgrade back to Windows Mobile 2003 SE after upgrading?

Some users reported successfully reverting per period forum discussion, but whether HP's official upgrade included a sanctioned rollback tool isn't fully confirmed.

Were there later ROM updates after the initial WM5 release?

Yes — a follow-up ROM, version 2.01, arrived later in 2006 and addressed CompactFlash and I/O card recognition issues plus general performance.

Did the hx4700 have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth?

Yes, both were built in — 802.11b Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

What was the hx4700's display resolution?

A 4-inch transflective TFT screen at VGA resolution, 640x480.

Can the hx4700 run Windows Mobile 6?

Not officially from HP. Independent developers later built unofficial community ROMs based on Windows Mobile 6, 6.1, and 6.5 for the device, separate from any official HP release.

Is the HP iPAQ hx4700 collectible today?

It has a following among Pocket PC and retro-mobile collectors, thanks largely to its screen, processor, dual expansion slots, and replaceable battery — though original batteries this old should be inspected for damage before use.

Two decades on, the hx4700's Windows Mobile 5 upgrade reads less like a routine software update and more like a snapshot of an entire era of handheld computing — paid OS upgrades delivered as ROM images, PC-tethered installs, and a persistent-storage change significant enough that outside blogs were still writing about its arrival the day it showed up. That March 2006 release didn't reinvent the hx4700, but it fixed one of the most consequential weaknesses in how the device handled its own data.