Monday, September 2, 2002
My experiences with the hp Jornada 928 wda
Posted by marlof in "ARTICLE" @ 11:00 AM
I've been using the hp Jornada 928 wda for some weeks now. In that time I've grown very fond of using a Pocket PC 2002 Phone Edition device. As we've talked about the Phone Edition quite a bit, I will not touch the operating system in itself here. In stead, I'll concentrate on the flaws and strong points of this particular device. <!>
flaws
Battery life
There should be a way to add more battery life to this device without the need of replacing batteries. Other than with the battery solution in the 56* series, there's no way to exchange the standard battery with an extended battery for power users. All you can do, is get a few spares of the replaceable battery. If you can find those that is...
Arne Hess from PPCW.net received a message from HP regarding the battery life of the hp Jornada 928 wda. He was told that because of the active flip, many users don't shut the device off, but just close the lid. That does turn off the screen, but keeps the device itself running until it automatically suspends after the set period of time. HP strongly advices to press the power button before closing the lid, in order to maximize the battery life of the hp Jornada 928 wda. Although it sounds logical, I have some problems with this advice:
• This would mean that any active GPRS connection will have to be killed. Pressing the button during a GPRS connection brings up the screen that says supsension will terminate the connection session, and if you don't want to do that, you should just turn the screen off.
• I guess what hp is saying that if you want to keep your GPRS connection alive (one of the big advantages of GPRS), your battery life will suffer. I'm sorry, but I got this device to use it as a connected device, not to have it suspended and disconnected all the time.
Phone usage
Using this as a phone (using the earpiece or speakerphone) has you fiddling with volume settings too much to make it a pleasant experience; one has to use the headset most of the times.
Reprogramming buttons
The up / down buttons to the side can't be programmed to do anything else than volume control. Looking at the previous flaw, that might be useful, but I miss using those for turning pages when reading ebooks.
Flaws others reported, but that didn't bother me:
• I have no problem with the screen quality. The screen is not watery to my eyes (perhaps I'm in sync with this).
• I am not bothered by a darker spot in the top left corner. At first I didn't even notice it, but now I can see it if I hold the 928 at a certain angle. Some say that's interference by the GSM radio, but if you change the angle you'll see the spot grow. It looks to my atechnical eyes as if something in the top left corner inside the unit is throwing a shade over the screen, blocking the sidelight at that point. If I hold my 928 at a regular angle, I don't see it at all.
Strong points
Active Flip
This toggles both the screen and the speakerphone functionality, and keeps your screen clear from smudges and scraches. I would not mind if this would become a standard solution in all Pocket PC Phone Edition, as it is simply brilliant.
Dual screen
I just love the small phone screen on top of the device. It enables you with the flip closed to see the incoming callers ID, and then decide whether or not you should take that call.
CF slot
Just plug in your Bluetooth or WiFi card, and you're a happy camper.
HP connectors
The standard Jornada connectors means there's tons of accessories to be had, like GPS devices, Stowaway keyboard, car chargers etc. The 928 has a running start with many of the HP tailored accessories out there.
Exchangeable batteries
Especially I think battery life is lacking, it's a good thing that you can replace one of the two batteries. All hp has to do is to make sure that some online store is going to carry those. So far I've not been able to find them.
Standard headphone socket
The 928 is equipped with a 3.5mm headphone socket. This makes it easy to replace the standard stereo headset with your favorite stereo headphones. Downside is that you can't use standard headsets, that usually use the 2.5mm socket as provided in the XDA. I still have to find a plug for this.
Memory
Other than the XDA / T-Mobile / MDA, the hp Jornada 928 wda comes with 64 MB of memory. As I'm always loading more programs into my device along the way, I know I'll need all the memory I can get.
hp dialer SIP
hp has provided a Software Input Panel that you can pop up in any program, and use as an interface to the phone and SMS bits. This is a very simple, easy-to-use and effective tool.
On hold, voicemail
Of course you can always use the voicemail of your telco, but this device has some cool additional features. If you receive an incoming call that you want to take, but to put on hold, you can press and hold the green button on the top. This will play a customisable "be right with you" message to the caller from the device. If you don't take the call, you can select a built in voice mail program to record a message. This means you don't have to dial into the voicemail of your provider, but can simply listen to the recorded messages on your device.
Conclusion
This device has turned me into a bigger fan of the Pocket PC 2002 Phone Edition that I already was. As I'm not a phone, but a data person, a connected PDA that can be used as a phone suits me better than a phone with PDA capabilities. I love the form factor, and the hardware and software solutions hp has chosen. The main flaw that keeps me from naming this device a super device is its battery life. Right now, using my device sometimes has me worried about the effect on battery life. That should not be necessary. My point is that any device should be able to get you through a "from the moment you get up until the moment you get back into bed" period of time. If it is able to get you through more than one day is not that important to me, as I charge my device at night. Having to worry about battery life during the day takes the fun away of using the device 'though. May be my opinion will change when I'll be able to use this with replaceable batteries, but so far I've not been able to locate those, as I'm not based in the UK.
Do my battery worries keep me from using this device? No way. I have the luxury of a choice between using a hp Jornada 565, an iPAQ 3870 and this one. Every day, I go with this one. Using a Pocket PC 2002 Phone Edition simply is brilliant. Some points need to be finetuned in the future, both in OS, hardware and device specific software, but all in all, I love using this device on a day-to-day basis.
flaws
Battery life
There should be a way to add more battery life to this device without the need of replacing batteries. Other than with the battery solution in the 56* series, there's no way to exchange the standard battery with an extended battery for power users. All you can do, is get a few spares of the replaceable battery. If you can find those that is...
Arne Hess from PPCW.net received a message from HP regarding the battery life of the hp Jornada 928 wda. He was told that because of the active flip, many users don't shut the device off, but just close the lid. That does turn off the screen, but keeps the device itself running until it automatically suspends after the set period of time. HP strongly advices to press the power button before closing the lid, in order to maximize the battery life of the hp Jornada 928 wda. Although it sounds logical, I have some problems with this advice:
• This would mean that any active GPRS connection will have to be killed. Pressing the button during a GPRS connection brings up the screen that says supsension will terminate the connection session, and if you don't want to do that, you should just turn the screen off.
• I guess what hp is saying that if you want to keep your GPRS connection alive (one of the big advantages of GPRS), your battery life will suffer. I'm sorry, but I got this device to use it as a connected device, not to have it suspended and disconnected all the time.
Phone usage
Using this as a phone (using the earpiece or speakerphone) has you fiddling with volume settings too much to make it a pleasant experience; one has to use the headset most of the times.
Reprogramming buttons
The up / down buttons to the side can't be programmed to do anything else than volume control. Looking at the previous flaw, that might be useful, but I miss using those for turning pages when reading ebooks.
Flaws others reported, but that didn't bother me:
• I have no problem with the screen quality. The screen is not watery to my eyes (perhaps I'm in sync with this).
• I am not bothered by a darker spot in the top left corner. At first I didn't even notice it, but now I can see it if I hold the 928 at a certain angle. Some say that's interference by the GSM radio, but if you change the angle you'll see the spot grow. It looks to my atechnical eyes as if something in the top left corner inside the unit is throwing a shade over the screen, blocking the sidelight at that point. If I hold my 928 at a regular angle, I don't see it at all.
Strong points
Active Flip
This toggles both the screen and the speakerphone functionality, and keeps your screen clear from smudges and scraches. I would not mind if this would become a standard solution in all Pocket PC Phone Edition, as it is simply brilliant.
Dual screen
I just love the small phone screen on top of the device. It enables you with the flip closed to see the incoming callers ID, and then decide whether or not you should take that call.
CF slot
Just plug in your Bluetooth or WiFi card, and you're a happy camper.
HP connectors
The standard Jornada connectors means there's tons of accessories to be had, like GPS devices, Stowaway keyboard, car chargers etc. The 928 has a running start with many of the HP tailored accessories out there.
Exchangeable batteries
Especially I think battery life is lacking, it's a good thing that you can replace one of the two batteries. All hp has to do is to make sure that some online store is going to carry those. So far I've not been able to find them.
Standard headphone socket
The 928 is equipped with a 3.5mm headphone socket. This makes it easy to replace the standard stereo headset with your favorite stereo headphones. Downside is that you can't use standard headsets, that usually use the 2.5mm socket as provided in the XDA. I still have to find a plug for this.
Memory
Other than the XDA / T-Mobile / MDA, the hp Jornada 928 wda comes with 64 MB of memory. As I'm always loading more programs into my device along the way, I know I'll need all the memory I can get.
hp dialer SIP
hp has provided a Software Input Panel that you can pop up in any program, and use as an interface to the phone and SMS bits. This is a very simple, easy-to-use and effective tool.
On hold, voicemail
Of course you can always use the voicemail of your telco, but this device has some cool additional features. If you receive an incoming call that you want to take, but to put on hold, you can press and hold the green button on the top. This will play a customisable "be right with you" message to the caller from the device. If you don't take the call, you can select a built in voice mail program to record a message. This means you don't have to dial into the voicemail of your provider, but can simply listen to the recorded messages on your device.
Conclusion
This device has turned me into a bigger fan of the Pocket PC 2002 Phone Edition that I already was. As I'm not a phone, but a data person, a connected PDA that can be used as a phone suits me better than a phone with PDA capabilities. I love the form factor, and the hardware and software solutions hp has chosen. The main flaw that keeps me from naming this device a super device is its battery life. Right now, using my device sometimes has me worried about the effect on battery life. That should not be necessary. My point is that any device should be able to get you through a "from the moment you get up until the moment you get back into bed" period of time. If it is able to get you through more than one day is not that important to me, as I charge my device at night. Having to worry about battery life during the day takes the fun away of using the device 'though. May be my opinion will change when I'll be able to use this with replaceable batteries, but so far I've not been able to locate those, as I'm not based in the UK.
Do my battery worries keep me from using this device? No way. I have the luxury of a choice between using a hp Jornada 565, an iPAQ 3870 and this one. Every day, I go with this one. Using a Pocket PC 2002 Phone Edition simply is brilliant. Some points need to be finetuned in the future, both in OS, hardware and device specific software, but all in all, I love using this device on a day-to-day basis.
