CeBIT 2003 - HP iPAQ h1915
By Little Sun | Editor-in-chief
Date: 03/17/2003

The sleek iPAQ 1915 was officially introduced in the CeBIT 2003. 200 Mhz XScale CPU, PPC 2002 OS, Transreflective Display, SD-Slot (not I/O capable), rechargable & replacable battery.

It runs a 200 MHz Intel XScale PXA250 processor. It has 64 MB of RAM, of which 46 MB is available to the user. It has 16 MB of ROM. The h1915 is almost identical to the h1910, except that this one has SDIO support. Despite rumors to the contrary, it doesn't include Bluetooth wireless networking.





It runs Pocket PC 2002. Like the h1910, this is probably the Standard Edition, which doesn't have all the features of the Premium Edition. It has a 240 by 320 pixel, transflective screen that can display 16-bit color. This LCD is 3.75 inches when measured diagonally. The h1915 is 4.5 by 2.75 by 5.5 inches and weighs 4.25 ounces. It uses a removable, 900 mAh Lithium-ion battery.

The big change in this model compared with its predecessor is its support for SDIO. By default, SD slots can handle memory cards. There is also a standard, called SDIO, that has been created to allow these slots to handle other types of cards. This includes wireless networking cards, digital cameras, presentation tools, and more.

SDIO support was almost inconsequential, as very few SDIO peripherals were on the market. But several companies have recently announced plans to release SDIO wireless networking cards, which has greatly increased public interest in the standard.

The h1910 is incredibly thin and light, thinner and lighter than anyone thought a Pocket PC could be. While not quite as thin and light as the legendary Palm V handheld, it is noticeably thinner and lighter (4.3 ounces versus 5.6 ounces) than Palm's new Tungsten T.

On top, you'll find the Secure Digital slot, stylus, microphone, and the stereo headphone jack. The slot accepts both SD and MultiMediaCard (MMC) memory cards, but since it is not SDIO it won't handle some of the other interesting peripheral cards, including digital camera cards and Bluetooth cards. The stylus is very lightweight and thin, a bit too thin and light for our liking, while the microphone does a respectable job for recording voice notes.

The stereo headphone jack is another one of those compromises. It's not the standard 3.5mm size, but rather its 2.5mm little brother. HP includes a set of earbuds with the h1910 but anyone who's had a Pocket PC knows that you'll want the best headphones you can get to ensure the best sound. This stereo jack limits that ability.

On the side, you'll find the infrared port and the Record button, as well as a lanyard loop for those of you who like to add a strap to your PDA. We'd prefer the infrared port on the top, but it's hard to be picky when HP's done such a remarkable job squeezing everything into such a small space.

The h1910's buttons follow the curve of its shell. The five-way directional pad in the middle is reminiscent of the Tungsten T's, except smaller, and it contains the monophonic speaker.

Overall, we give the HP iPAQ h1910 Pocket PC an EXCELLENT rating based on form.

Function

Speed. As we mentioned earlier, the iPAQ h1910 isn't the fastest horse in the race. Powered by Intel's PXA250 XScale application processor running at 200MHz, it sacrifices over-the-top speed for battery life. We think that's an excellent choice, especially in light of XScale's stumbles regarding the real-world speed of its 300MHz and 400MHz processors.

Memory. Here's where it gets sticky. The iPAQ h1910 comes with only 16MB of NAND Flash ROM, enough to hold the Professional Edition but not enough to hold the Premium Edition of Pocket PC 2002 (which includes MSN Messenger, Terminal Services Client, Windows Media Player and Reader). NAND Flash memory is different from the more typical NOR Flash memory found on most Pocket PCs in that it does not allow programs to be executed in place (XIP). Instead, they must be copied to RAM and executed from there. Therefore, 16MB of RAM must be reserved for this, 16MB of RAM that you can't use to hold your contacts and calendar entries. So, if you look at the system information screen that displays your memory, you'll notice that the h1910 has only 46.74MB available. And if you decide to load Windows Media Player, Reader, and all of those other apps that come with Pocket PC 2002 Premium Edition from the CD, you'll be down to about 36MB. Yes, it's a far cry from 64MB, but you can always purchase a Secure Digital memory card to store things on.



Multimedia. As with all iPAQs, the h1910 is a master of multimedia, with one hitch -- the 2.5mm stereo headphone jack. But don't worry, HP includes stereo earbuds with the h1910, since it might be difficult to find headphones that use a 2.5mm connector.

Screen. When you think iPAQ, you think beautiful display, and the h1910 is no exception. Its 3.5", 65,000 colors TFT LCD is outstanding both indoors and outdoors, thanks to its transflective technology. Easily one of the best screens on a PDA we've ever seen.

Communications. This is where the iPAQ h1910 finds itself seriously lacking. There's no built-in wireless support -- no 802.11b, no Bluetooth. And since the SD slot doesn't support SDIO, there's no chance of adding it on. So, it appears that using infrared to connect to an IR-enabled cellphone is the only means for connecting wirelessly to the world, unless HP comes up with something.

Expansion. Still, the biggest shortcoming of the h1910 is not its toned-down processor, its lack of RAM, or its less-than-standard stereo adapter. The biggest shortcoming is its lack of expansion options. Yes, gone is support for the iPAQ Expansion Packs, or sleeves, as they were commonly known. While we weren't alone in our love-hate relationship with the sleeve concept, and fully understand that it needed to be left behind eventually, it seems that without SDIO your options are extremely limited.

Power. The h1910 is powered by a 900mAH rechargeable -- and replaceable -- lithium ion battery. Again, while this may seem like a small battery, it's simply another tradeoff. HP chose a battery that would meet both its size and weight and battery life goals.

Applications. To keep the price of the unit down (and to avoid taking up ALL of your RAM), HP includes a very small set of applications with the h1910.