The iPAQ 910c device has a mini-USB port that charges it and also used for the wired headset they send with the unit. There is no standard 3.5mm audio jack on board.
I searched the interwebs for any kind of adapter that would allow me to use my regular headphones to listen to music. I’m trying to not to carry two devices with me, so if I can get rid the headphone requirement, that’s a step in the right direction in leaving my iPod/iPhone at home.
The only site I came across that has an adapter that says it works with the device is http://www.repairhppda.com/. I haven’t ordered it yet, but plan to shortly if I can’t find anything else.
I also tried dissecting the wired headset that I got with it and didn’t have much luck in putting a female 3.5mm audio jack on one end of it. Not sure why not, but the phone doesn’t even recognize it when it’s plugged in.
Here are some pictures of the wired headset, dissected…
For my car mount, I had previously purchased a dashboard mount setup from http://www.proclipusa.com that you choose custom for your car and device. I simply unscrewed my iPhone holder and ordered the iPAQ 900 series holder from them. Should be here in a few days. Very happy with ProClip USA.
That’s all for now…
About a month ago, the company I work for announced that it was changing remote worker policies and part of the policy changes included standard phone plan, phone hardware enforcements. The policies are strict and if the company was to continue to pay for the device/service, I (along with the rest of the company) had to comply.
If you don’t know already, I work for HP, so it makes sense that they ask that employees use HP hardware as a mobile device. The only viable mobile device available at the time I ordered was the HP iPAQ 910c.
The device itself is pretty nice looking, looks similar to a blackberry or other qwerty keyboard device on the market and with the blue shifted keys on the keyboard, I think it looks nice.
Since I was one of the people who stood in line for 12 hours to get an iPhone when they first came out, you can imagine that I have become very attached and used to it. I held off on the upgrade to the new 3G iPhone (since there isn’t 3G service at my house, hard to justify), so I’d been using the original iPhone since day 1. My iPhone has been good to me, turned me on to the joys of ‘hacking’ it, installing third party apps and using some pretty nice twitter applications, such as Twinkle. I feel it opened me up the community of other iPhone users, and it was a nice community to reside in.
When the iPAQ arrived I popped my iPhone SIM into it and tried it out. Like any device, it will take some getting used to. It does everything it is supposed to do for me. Setting up my Exchange PUSH mail/calendar/contacts was a breeze, setting up all my other little customizations was also easy. The biggest physical change is the stylus. The device has a touch screen, albeit very small compared to the gorgeous iPhone screen. I had gotten used to the finger touchable screen of the iPhone and now, back to using a stylus, felt like a Handspring I had years ago. There are some aspects of the screen that are finger touchable, some parts of the phone app and the home screen. It’s a good thing I don’t have sausage fingers though.
I’m new to the Windows Mobile OS world, so I’m still looking for some great applications to make this device awesome. ceTwit, MS Communicator Mobile, Google Maps, Skyfire and The Weather Channel widget are some applications I’ve installed and used. Looking for a better Twitter app and perhaps a better web browser. I’ve heard Opera for Windows Mobile is the best, so I’ll be checking that out soon.
Without my iPhone, I haven’t been watching video podcasts as much, twittering as much or listening to music as much. Since I spend 90% of my day either in the car or in front of a desk, I came to rely on it as my avenue into the other parts of my life.
Things the iPAQ does that the iPhone did not do for me… Real GPS, not the ‘fake GPS’ on the iPhone. Expandable memory in the form of micro SD. Replaceable battery. Navigation antenna port. Video capturing. 3MP camera with flash. 3G (my original iPhone wasn’t 3G). While in Milwaukee, I get super fast data service.
I’ve been using the iPAQ 910c for about 3 weeks now and it is still holding strong in functionality and usability. It’s name is the Business Communications Messenger and I agree that it does just that. As for the other, media related things I’m into, I might have to keep my iPhone or iPod in my bag.
Links:
http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/hp-ipaq-910c-business/4505-6452_7-33064927.html
http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/12784_na/12784_na.html