Compaq H3835 iPAQ Color Pocket PC

If you still have a 3800 and plan on using it, you're probably aware that certain aspects stop working, namely the battery or the stylus won't stay attached despite the fact it still clicks when placed into the stylus silo.

The easiest way to address the famous dropping stylus is taking a piece of electrical tape and wrapping around the top portion of the stylus about 1/2 inch below the top point of the stylus that typically fits between your thumb and index finger while writing. Keep wrapping layers of tape until the stylus fits snug again. Be advised that over time you'll have to add more tape, read on and look at my user submitted photos to find out why.

We aren't going to describe how to remove the motherboard or replace the screen, it isn't impossible but we didn't have to repair these components and refrained from fully disassembling the iPaq just for curiosity.

Disassembly:
Required Tools:
Torx screw driver (Home Depot Husky P/N HD-74502U is perfect for this)
Smaller flat head screw driver, typically used for computer and electronics Home Depot Husky P/N HD-74501U is perfect for this)
Needle Nose Pliers (Comp USA P/N 87609-NmP is perfect for this, if you can still find a pair)
Can of compressed air
Rubbing Alcohol
Q-Tips
Phillips screw driver with small bit if removing the circuit /mother board.
Nylon electrical tape

1. On the back of the iPaq are six visible torx head screws, four at the principal corners and two others at the southern points by the reset button and data / charger conduit. REMOVE ONLY THE FOUR AT THE CORNERS and ignore the bottom two, the two bottom screws are only necessary if you're removing the entire circuit board to access the screen.

2. Lay the iPaq face down on a clean surface.
Use your flat head driver here to gain some leverage in the side seam, this iPaq isn't tightly fastened when compared to opening a BlackBerry and hardly tight when compared to an iPod. CAREFULLY, AND WE STRESS ... CAREFULLY SEPARATE THE BACK FROM THE FRONT HALF BECAUSE THE BATTERY CONNECTOR IS A DELICATE RIBBON CABLE THAT ISN'T EASILY REPLACED !!!

3. REFRAIN FROM USING YOUR COMPRESSED AIR UNTIL YOU'VE DISCONNECTED THE BATTERY !!!

Open the back panel towards the head phone jack like opening a book and using the longitudinal side of the headphone jack as the hinge. With your needle nose pliers, unplug the ribbon cable from the battery / back panel , USE THE PLIERS TO PULL STRAIGHT UP AND REFRAIN FROM ROCKING IT OUT SIDE BY SIDE,, ROCKING IT OUT CAN DAMAGE THE CONNECTOR.

4. This is a good opportunity to use your compressed air and blast out any dust and scum, NEVER SHAKE A CAN OF AIR BEFORE USAGE OR HOLD THE CAN AT AN ANGLE GREATER THAN 45 DEGREES BECAUSE YOU CAN SPRAY MOISTURE INSTEAD OF AIR. If you've already sprayed moisture onto the mother board your chance of damage will be much less if you disconnected the battery. You can wait for the moisture to dry out and is often white in appearance until it fully evaporates. If you can't wait, then take a Q-tip and discharge any static before you dry off any moisture marks.

5. Take your Q-Tips and dip in the rubbing alcohol to clean off any plastic components such as the stylus silo, you may notice what seems like black flecks of contamination inside the iPaq. These flecks are the result of rubber / polymer foam deterioration and is why the stylus won't stay put. The stylus silo functions with two major components, a spring ejector at the very bottom which is used to "eject" or pop the stylus up when you press it, and a friction block rubber foam polymer on the back panel that holds the battery. Over time this friction block will break down from wear of removing and inserting the stylus, it breaks down even quicker if you stored the iPaq in a glove box during the summer months. There are two of these blocks on the back panel and the other one acts as a contact buffer to protect the power connector on the motherboard. DON'T ATTEMPT TO STEAL THE PROTECTOR BUFFER because it is thicker and you'll have difficulty trying to glue a flat block of rubber into a semi circle silo. You can use your compressed air to blast out as much of the loose rubber here and if you're a real neat freak, you can use a Q-Tip with the alcohol to remove all the rubber flecks. Chances are the rubber flecks have semi melted to the back panel from whatever summer heat that broke it down in the first place and trying to clean it will only satisfy your obsessive compulsive disorder.

If you're replacing the battery, use your flat head screw driver to pry the battery pack from the back panel, the battery pack is glued and can be gently pried off by starting at the corners, then when all four corners are pried, start the mid points between each corners, again rotating as you go along. IF YOU STILL CAN'T REMOVE THE BATTERY, then pry again this time at the mid points between the corners and the first loosened mid points, continue this process until you've remove the battery pack.

Attach your new battery pack to the back panel, ensure the connector is facing outward and on the bottom (duh). If your replacement battery pack didn't come with a double sided adhesive strip, don't fret because you can simply use a piece of cellophane tape rolled back onto itself make a quick double sided tape while reassembling the 3800, this will be adequate because the battery won't move after the 3800 is put back together.

Reconnect the battery connector, this can be easily accomplished with your thumb and ensure you press straight down while supporting the back panel and battery on a solid surface or by holding the back securely in the palm of your other hand.

An iPaq is tighter than a ducks butt when assembled and nothing will come loose inside even an unfastened battery pack as long you can keep it positioned during the reassembly.

You can test the successful battery replacement by turning the 3800 on before the reassembly, be careful not to touch the motherboard when doing so with your skin or anything metal.

Replace the screws and don't overtighten, a good rule of thumb is tighten an electronic fastening screw just as tight as you would a tube of toothpaste, overtightening metal onto plastic will just strip the plastic threads or you'll just end up breaking torque and your screw driver will strip the screw after it breaks out and you'll have a much harder time removing that screw in the future.

Tightening screws is like driving in snow, the objective is traction and avoid spinning out !

It took a while to receive the used iPAQ 3835 via mail. Although any packing materials that should have been used to protect the contents was missing from the roomy package, the PDA survived the trip. For a used PDA, the system works quite well and made the recipient a happy camper on his birthday. The device continues to work well as expected.

A nice upgrade to the 1550 Aero PDA, but the battery has very short life, and the unit has no internal memory save battery - so it loses *everything* if the battery runs dowmn.

This is a major design flaw to me. If you are on the road and the battery runs down, you cannot just plug into the charger when you arrive, you have to have a computer with a full backup to restore all data. And even then you lose all new data.

A major issue, especially since my battery only lasted 4-5 days fully charged...

I bought this product January last year and just throw it to the garbage bin yesterday.
It worked on me for two months before it continuously crashed.
It is also very difficult to listen to Windows media. I feel as if even though windows media is there, it really wasn't suppose to be there, because it's very difficult to get it to work.
I got this thing for 349$ at Best Buy and it's really lame.
Plus, all my phone directories in the internal drives are deleted when the battery is gone.
At first I tried to input all the data again only to be deleted on the next battery depletion.
I hope the faulty is only from machine to machine and not a systematic one, because if it does I feel sorry for all the users.
I don't know if other PDAs are better than this, but I think I am through with PDAs.

After about 6 months of having a refurbished Handspring Treo 90 (check out that review of mine too) I decided to try something new. I desperately wanted to an iPAQ which has windows built into it. How cool can you get by practically having a computer built right into your hands? Most of the ones that had just come out were much too expensive, and the newest one was a cell phone which didn't get too good of reviews on Amazon, not to mention, I already have a cell phone. Then I saw the Compaq iPAQ 3835, which immediately kicked my PDA lust up a notch.

After recieving it, it appeared to be exactly like the image. Looked large and was large. I'd say the Compaq iPAQ 3835 should be classified as a brick, but for people with big hands, it's probably the perfect fit. As for it's physical features, it may seem as if it's a little bulky, but is in fact pretty thin in width. The black hump at the top has a relocated speaker and SD card slot, unlike the older model 3650, which has the speaker at the bottom, but has no SD card slot. There are two slashes at the top that include one that flashes amber when charging, and the other flashes if you have bluetooth, but that's for the 3975 version. I wonder why I can't get it for the 3835.

Applications such as Word Perfect and Excel would seem a little strange for something you have to use a writing recognition with, but it's actually really easy with the iPAQ because you have a choice between a keyboard, and the handwriting recognition. I despise graffiti because of it's rediculous characters (mainly why I got the Treo 90 which has a built in keyboard) so I prefer the keyboard, but you still have to be constantly tapping at the screen with the stylus, but is so problem. This new stylus, which has a sort of hourglass shape goes into it's silo with no problem. When you want it to come out, you simply push on it, and it pops out. Now that's pretty cool.

Other applications you're used to like the Calender, Notes, To do list (aka Tasks), Calculator, and Today, all have the feel of you using it as a computer. Of course it's windows, but it doesn't feel cheesy using it at all. If you plan to pay for internet, you'll probably get your money's worth there, but don't plan on using it 24/7, because the battery life isn't awesome, but it's not bad either. That's the only flaw. You're getting your money's worth with the Compaq anyway. I'll recommend it to anyone on the go for long periods at a time. You're going to need it. I know I do.

I looked online for hours to find an affordable PDA that would allow me to do everything I wanted. I'm a full time college student and I find I can take notes, set up appointments and have my schedule on demand. I have my tasks organized and get more accomplished. I can also pull up phone numbers and email addresses of friends, teachers, and even restaurants when my friends and I order out. Plus I can play games while waiting for my next class to start. It also synchronizes perfectly with my desktop computer's version of Microsoft Outlook. I can download maps to my PDA for trips with step-by-step driving directions. The PDA is light and I can carry it in my purse all the time without it weighing me down. The unit has held up great for the year and few months I've had it. I know that newer systems have come out since I bought this back in November of 2002, but if you find a new or used version of this PDA I wouldn't hesitate to buy it. I also bought, and would recommend, a zippered holder that is waterproof (I spill things on my nightstand a lot.) It also helps protect the unit if you drop it. The only other thing you might want is to buy the memory expansion card. It's only about $35 and it triples your memory. You'll find that you can fill up your memory a lot faster than you think. (I buy too many e-books from Amazon!) I really think this is a good PDA for a student or anyone else and I take mine with me everywhere.

I have owned Several Palm Based PDs and one Palm Smart Phone. This is by far the best of the bunch. I never thought I could use a PDA as a palm comuter, but this product does it hands down. I am an oustside sales person and really need to have access to my Act Database and need to be able to access several XL files. Not only does this product provide me the access and editing tools it also allows me to print via IR to a protable printer in my car. Now my lap top stays in the trunk and my PDA travels with me. BIG Thumbs up.

When I originally bought this PDA it had such great reviews and I though it would be a good replacement/upgrade for my old Palm (that never gave me any trouble by the way). I have had it for over 6 months now and I have been so unhappy with its performance. The battery life is horrible!! I travel a lot and need something that I don't need to charge twice a day. I don't play games or read books on it, so I don't use up the battery life that way. The worst thing is that unlike Palms you lose everything if your battery runs out!!!! Who ever heard of that. If you keep backing up to your computer you can restore it, but you really have to be on the ball with that, because if you don't too bad it's gone! I will admit it is a nice looking machine that has some nice features, but I just bought a new Palm because I need something I can rely on.

I got this almost one year ago after my black and white Handspring was stolen.
I have two problems with it. Some time it stop working all of the sudden, and I have the press reset button. It works fine after that and you will not loose any data by doing that. The other problem I have is synchronizing with MS Outlook. I had to update the software which you can get from Microsoft website, three times until it start working fine.

Other than that I love and the colors are clear and crisp. Battery last for a very long time if you don't keep it on all the time. You will get a warning if the battery is low and will shut down automatically so you won't loose data.

The title says it all. This machine does everything I had hoped for with a very intuitive user interface and so far has worked perfectly (been using it about 3 months). What more can one ask for? One feature of this particular model is the ability to add a Secure Memory card in a recepticle located on the top of the iPAC. You don't need an extra "slip on" accessory to add memory with this model. I listen to mp3s that I download a great deal of the time so the extra memory (I use 256MB cards) is a necessity, as the internal memory will only hold half a dozen songs. With a 256MB memory card you can have much more than a CD's worth of tunes right in the iPAC, add a good set of ear phones and you've got great sound along with everything else the iPAC offers. I usually take two or three loaded memory cards with me so I have a huge variety of tunes to fit any mood.

Never having used a PDA before, I don't know how the Note Pad function compares, but the one on this model works wonderfully in all three modes ... audio recorder, typed notes using the soft keyboard, and I use the hand writen notes all the time to jot down a quick reminder, like highway exit numbers when going to places I've never been ... its very easy to grab the iPAC, push the Notes button, having already selected the note with the exit number or other directions, and read the large print while driving.

I know that there are newer models which probably work just as will but don't think they have the memory expansion capability built into the naked unit (I could be wrong about that). The ability to have all the expanded memory you want in the naked iPAC is worth choosing this model, all else being equal.

The iPaq series has been a fine platform for those looking for a nice PDA. The expansion sleeve approach taken by Compaq (now HP) makes it possible to carry the add-ons you want and ignore them when you don't. Techno-types who want more than an overblown PIM with MP3-playback will appreciate the ease with which Linux moves onto the iPaq -- alas, the SD slot can only be operated with slow MMC cards due to nondisclosure licensing terms (security through obscurity rides again...or still). Linux on PDAs is advancing as rapidly as its PC version has done and if you've thought about playing with it, the iPaq's a great machine. (Oh, and you can also restore PocketPC if Linux is not for you.)

This is a good workhorse, and has a an excellent spear if you are playing books on tape or such things. THe case it comes with protects it well. However, the battery life was too short for my tastes and it tens to turn itself on and chem up the batterirs in my backpack. I would proably look for a unti with better battery life

Owned an Aero 1550, upgraded, Great little machine, wished it had built-in flash card slot. I highly recommend it. It does all I expected and more. The price was great also...

I got this for christmas and so far i think that it is great. It has pocket word and excel. I also like the user interface.

this is my First PDA of any kind, and was overwhelmed when i received it for Christmas. First of all let me tell you that the wealth of programs included is prbably worth the iPAQ itself in retail value. Although some of the programs are trials, most of the programs are full versions. There is so much more to this PDA than a glorified organizer, it keeps track of your appointments, tasks, and can even download your e-mail from the USB/Serial cable. With the addition of a CF sleeve and a wireless modem you can be surfing the net! With programs like Internet Explorer, and MSN Messenger it was obviously meant to have contact with the internet. It also makes an excelent MP3 player, or even for MPEG's or even DVD's. if you plan on having any amount of MP3's getting some kind of SD card, i have a 64 meg one now and it holds 14 meg songs on it. Since i have recieved my iPAQ i have also found a mass of downloadable programs, (mostly freeware). If you decide to go with this you will not be dissapointed, from its great screen to ease of use this is a cant miss.

Look, I did hours and hours of research. I could write a publishable paper on the various features of PDAs so let me assure you if you're considering this product it is a pretty safe bet compared to it's peers. That also includes hours of reading consumer reviews. If you are looking for a product with Microsoft Office software, then this is the one you MUST buy. Dell has serious customer service issues and the Toshibas just didn't rank as high on quality and reliability. Spend the extra $$ and get the Ipaq. You will pat yourself on the back later.

What's great about this little gizmo is that you can download all of your Microsoft files in a heartbeat. It is a high quality computer. You can spend a little more and get higher meg and such but now you're just buying a whole new system aren't you? If you want a high quality PDA then this is the one you should buy. It has every feature imaginable (or obtainable) boasts of a high battery life and the graffiti feature is brilliant. If you've read something about a vulnerable screen, don't worry. Ipaq now boasts of a hinged case to protect the screen. This looks awesome and is awesome. So far, I have been really pleased.

I've used Palm Vx before. decided to try new color PDA.

very good hand writing recognition. nothing feels refereshing as writing a whole sentence and it gets every word perfect in it's place as if it was typed. I'm glad I didn't have to train myself with funky chracters as I did in palm.

however, there are some glitches and lot of room for future improvements.

audio drop out 1 out of 3 times when it's powered on from cradle. requires constant power cycle to bring audio back. not enough fine volume control on main audio.(btw: media player has more refined volume control in it). speaking of media player, I couldn't really run mp3 on the background and do my work. music would constantly break up. I didn't see that happening on caseo e740.
as someone already mentioned earlier, connector design on cradle is extremely flimsy. it doesn't slide in smoothly and I hear crunchy noise everytime it sits. it does worry me. make me wonder how long it will last.
there is 'explorer' that installs as bonus with 'startap' software in the cd. which I think is much better file handler than factory installed 'file explorer' and also it resembles much similar with the original file explorer.
I wish there is an option to close application without having to close it again from memory or the task menu.(I wonder whatever happen to that good old minimize/maximize buttons)
Via Voice was pretty cool to show off as it did recognize quite accurately. however, in practicality, who want to press button and talk to pda and wait? (hoping it understood it o.kay or get embarassing reply "please speak clearly") instead just tapping? very limited commands by the way. can't use it on word processors yet.
startap software converts interface similar to palm. however, if you want to add theme or change background to something decent, other than ugly interface that comes as standard, it requires you to pay xtra. adding icons and removing it from desktop isn't exactly simple as it is on desktop computers neither. some previous experience in managing file tree is mandatory if you want to arrange icons the way you exactly want it to appear. if you aren't techy person or don't have anyone who could help you with, perhaps palms is the way to go. if you are like to tweak things around, personalize apprerance and experiment with new softwares from internet download, this is a gadget that will keep you happy.

other things I would like to mention.

pocket pc internet explorer is very limited browser. First, my bank doesn't support it because of security issue. sometimes, only limited images show on the screen and it requires soft reset to straighthen the browser. I haven't got it to work to listen real audio or windows media stream audio yet. (have been trying very hard recently along with trying to get access from audible).
right and left move button is too stiff to play games(not as slick as pressing up or down).
activesync only syncronize with outlook. it does not support outlook express(my favorite simple emailer) setting up pop e-mail on pda was nice, wish it had an option to use single inbox for multiple pop account instead of having separate inbox, deleted messages, and etc for each account. I didn't like clicking send/receive' to check new email from each account. (it's pda after all, not a shared machine)
I'm still waiting for SD bluetooth card to come out for IPAQ, as it's already out for palm. it would be lovely add-on without having to carry extra sleeve.

Where to begin......

This PDA has more options than a swiss army knife. I particularly enjoy the close operating system with windows, which are both very alike. You can easily place applications right into folders, just like windows!

The only bad comments that I can think of are, I can't find a place to download Pocket Access, all the software costs about [$$$] ( even for games like monopoly ), and it often locks up on me, probably my fault anyway.

Overall if you are looking for a pda and are having difficultly choosing and don't want to end up making a bad mistake, then quickly order the Compaq iPaq 3835, which by the way has a much better name than: Palm, Toshiba, or ViewSonic. Plus the unpararlled color display, wide screen, almost infinte program list, mp3 enabled, and ability to do whatever you want makes me rate this product a 5 ***** 5 star program!!!

This is an excellent, reliable PDA, with lots of features for use at home and at work. The more you use it the more new features you find. It is a good idea, however, to get a battery pack as the built-in battery runs down pretty quickly if you go on a trip and do not have a power cord. ...

I would have to say that this thing is great when it works the only problome I ever had with it is if you put the pocket pc on the cradle to charge it turn it on and turn it off take it out of the cradle ant it wouldnot turn back on untill I reset it.

After seriously considering the Toshiba e740, I decided on the iPAQ 3835 because of the iPAQS proven track record and for a larger choice of 3rd party add-ons. I have had it for a month and so far no problems!

I wish it had built-in 802.11b and CF slot, but I decided I would rather have a robust Pocket PC (as opposed to what I have seen in some of the e740 reviews).

I also recently purchased the Pocket CoPilot 3.0 Jacket Edition and am shocked at the abundance of functionality and preciseness of this technology. Incidentally, here is no Jacket Edition available for the Toshiba!

This is my first Pocket PC, and my first PDA for that matter. This thing is really awesome! I was worried about the synchronization function of this unit since the Consumer Reports stated that it was below average in this area. Boy were they wrong. The synch feature is the BEST feature of the unit! I use it everyday between work and home to synchronize every Outlook updated item, my favorite internet sites, as well as any other file I wish to synchronize. The Avantgo feature is really handy too, even if you do not have a bluetooth card (which I don't) installed. Every time I plug the unit into its cradle, it automatically synchronizes with my favorite websites in about 15 seconds, and I have a MINIMUM of a weekends worth of up-to-date reading information ranging from news, weather, sports, or whatever. I take this thing everywhere, and am amazed that I survived without one. I especially like the fact that I can load excel spreadsheet files in and out of this thing (even synchronize them!) without any sort of silly conversion. The handwriting feature is surprisingly very good, with number mode recognition being its strong suit. The ViaVoice feature is surprisingly accurate. I will admit, however, that I took the ViaVoice feature off since I don't really see a need at this point to have voice activated commands. Battery life is decent, with half backlight on it will generally last for 4 hours with only a 128MB SD card add-on. Finally (and this is perhaps its best feature), the 3835 is "instant on". No waiting to boot, this thing is instantly on when you hit the button. It is also "instantly off" without going through a shut down menu. It is everything a mobile computer should be without all the hassles and weight of a laptop. All in all, I love this little thing!

This is a great extension of my PC. I find myself creating documents with Pocket Word to download later on when I sync with my home PC. Ton of free tools on the CD, lot more on the web. I download a lot from AvantGo! and read them during the day. If you thinking of getting a new Palm check out the iPAQ. You get a lot more for the money and if you run an older version of Outlook the iPAQ upgrades it to Outlook 2002!

Have had it for a couple of weeks. Very happy. Works great and very easy to use. The 64 Meg of memory makes a real difference. Nice bright screen. Would recommend without hesitation.

I have been a PDA user for over 10 years and the extra storage provided with a secure digital card makes it wonderful to store more than one can read on a desert island for a month! I had a B&W IPA 3135 and a color IPAQ 3635, all which were great but lacked sufficient memory. After installing of all of my programs and games, I still have lots of storage space. The brighter screen and all, as well as some features like IPAQ store (storing some essentials in ROM) make it a great little machine for those who want a lot of things at their fingertips.

For the last 3 years, I used my Palm V and loved it. Eventually running out of memory, I decided to upgrade. At first I looked at the Palm m515, but I was introduced to the Pocket PC by a colleague. I immediately fell in love with the Compaq iPAQ. I ended up with the iPAQ 3835 as it had all the features I wanted for the right price. The display is unmatched by Palm for color and clarity. The windows based OS is very easy to navigate through. Although the battery needs charging more regular than my Palm, I have not found any inconvience with this. I highly recommend this product.

I just bought three iPaq's for my company to replace a fleet of aging laptops (people only used them for Word anyway) and I am actually fairly impressed with the 3835. It is much more affordable than the 3900 series without giving up too many features.

The display is bright and easy to read and Pocket PC's have resisted the Palm urge to shrink the size of the screen. Battery life is above average from some of the other color units I've seen and unlike the Visor Prism, you get an AC adapter right off the bat. Like most of the current PDA's, the 3835 has a SD slot built in for extra storage. This comes in handy almost immediately, as the install CD contains a few megs of ebooks but you will need to buy a bulky sleeve to get a CF slot for expansion purposes. The expanision sleeves makes finding a good carrying case difficult. FYI, the Toshiba e740 comes with a SD and a CF slot built in for almost the same price, so you may want to look in that direction too.

Buying a portable keyboard for the 3800 series is a real pain. Apparently, Compaq changed the bottom connector from the 3700 series and the Targus stowaway keyboard (best one for any PDA) only works with the addition of an small adapter piece that is just begging to be lost. Compaq's own brand of keyboard and the iConcepts one are not nearly as comfortable to use, but do not require the adapter piece.

If you upgrading from a Palm, beware. There is no real easy way to get all of your data out of the Palm Desktop and into Outlook. Contacts move over okay if you are careful with Outlook's import function, but the calendar doesn't move easily at all. Also, if you have never used the Pocket PC OS before, be prepared for some things to be a little less accessible than they used to be.

I just recently purchased a Compaq iPaq H3835 Pocket PC, and I must say that Compaq put a lot into this product. I enjoy the color screen, expansion slot, speaker, and most of all the operating system (Microsoft Pocket PC 2002). I would recommend this product to anyone who's looking for a good-looking, execellent priced, updateable and unspeakable handheld PC. If I had to choose which is the best, a Palm handheld or a Pocket PC, I would have to choose the Pocket PC!
The best thing about the Compaq iPaq H3835 Pocket PC is the battery. There's no need to buy another battery or a 4-Pack of batteries. The Lithium-Polymer rechargable battery is really convenience!
My best advice to people who are shopping around for a handheld is BUY, BUY, BUY! Just looking at it makes you want to own one! So, go out and buy a Compaq iPaq H3835 Pocket PC today!

I purchased the Ipaq 3835 December of 2001, and i had owned a Palm Vx already... I fully expected a large number of differences between the two, so far i've been disappointed. There are a few advantages to the Ipaq and to Windows CE over Palm; seamless syncing with Outlook, a portable internet explorer that beats Palm's, the fact that with a portable version of Microsoft Money, i can keep my checkbook on my Ipaq; but with those exceptions, i'm doing the same things i was doing on the Palm. The ipaq does have some limitations too, the battery goes fairly fast, especially with the 16 bit color display. Windows CE, like all it's relative OS's, is a memory hog and i find i have to reset my unit more than i ever had to with my Palm. And at the price, it's difficult to rationalize the Ipaq over the Palm. I've spent the last few months thinking about it, if my Ipaq ever died, i'd more than likely get a replacement Palm.

iPAQ is the one for those who want expansion options. No others come close. The options are extensive. They range from a cellular phone case, a GPS jacket, to all kinds of wireless solutions, and connectivity packs. The iPAQ's screen has to be the best lit, most brilliant and easily viewable of the entire pocket PC selection.

I didn't think that I would use the Cover Pack that comes with this model, but I was wrong. It is a literal "screen saver". There is even a relatively pricy Rugged Case available that is water and dust resistant. This one also comes with two stylus pens, a USB cradle, a power adapter and some manuals.

I was told by Compaq that there are no differences between this model, the iPAQ 3835, and the iPAQ 3850, other than the name. Both have the same specs.

This seemed to be the best 3800 series model to get if you don't need Bluetooth wireless. This device is a bit less than the 3870 and the only difference that I found was the 3870 has Bluetooth built in. Bluetooth was supposed to take off as a standard way for devices like printers and PDA's to communicate without cables, but I seldom ever see it. If I'm going to network anything wirelessly, I'll use the common infrared, or the 802.11 standard technologies.

Compaq, unfortunately, doesn't currently make a model that has 802.11 wireless technology built in. I suppose they want to keep the different option packs selling. The only Pocket PC that has 802.11 built in, that I'm aware of, is the Toshiba e740.

I like the cradles look, but I don't particularly like the way this iPAQ mounts the cradle. It needs a stronger guide or something.

To save a dime, I picked up a refurbished unit, and it had some random program crashes out of the box which was surprising. Compaq's handheld support was outstanding though, and I got a replacement with no problems.

Overall, I think that the iPAQ is the PDA that is most serious about integrating as many functions as possible, which is my idea of what these handhelds should be about - an all-in-one solution.

With a GPS attachment, you can integrate aerial photography, satellite imagery, maps and ArcView software. Capturing waypoints (and metadata) provides instant polygons and spatial analysis. This has direct application to all aspects of geography: real estate, farming, land planning, watersheds, hydrology - anything that is spatial and temporal. Using an IPAQ all observations are georeferenced and reproducible. IPAQs have high professional credibility and quality for K-12, university, engineering, resource management and other applications. What a great tool! What Apple's Newton started, Compaq's IPAQ makes it genuine and is a strong hint of better things to come.

Technical support is a complete failure.

I owned the IPAQ 3835 for about 4 months. One day when I put it in the cradle, it just totally stopped performing, black screen, couldn't access anything. I sent it back and am told that the pins are bent...The unit does not get hard use, I am the only user. I don't jam it into the cradle. These things have to be sturdy enough to go in and out of a cradle constantly. If the pins bend that easily, what's the point of paying to get it fixed? Got a total run around at HP/Compaq. Not a known problem etc. I have also had problems with the back light as has been mentioned by many others. This is not a prime time product. I feel as though I wasted hundreds of dollars. Think hard before buying this item.

I've used the iPaq 3635, 3765, and now, the 3835. I am quite an iPaq loyalist, and I love their new outing with the product line.

The screen, for a obsessive compulsive like myself, allows for much greater color contrast, and minimizes on the grain when viewing digital images.

I also love their decision to stick with the same form factor as the previous models; it works with previous expansion sleeves, and it still reigns as the BEST handheld. This is the first handheld that I can just hold in my hand, and it feels awesome to hold.

I love their addition of the SD card slot on the top, but I feel somewhat cheated (here's where it lost a star). There are considerably smaller machines that offer the same as Compaq does with this device. I would have expected maybe an integrated CF slot? Integrated Wi-Fi? Although the more expensive model offers bluetooth, I'm sure alot more people would like to see a built in Wi-Fi chipset.

To end on a good note, I've found that the new battery they have used adds a significant amount of battery life. In fact, I have found that my iPaq charges faster, and discharges about 20%-25% slower. Great job, guys. I also like the new software they have built in, allowing for something like 14 different backlight settings, and a percentage viewer for remaining battery life.

I strongly reccomend the iPaq as your next purchase, but with the impending release of Xscale based systems, you might want to save your money for the new HP iPaqs.

I received this PDA as a graduation present. It hasn't failed to amuse or organize my life. The only real complaint that I have is that sometimes things are slow when running multiple apps. Also, the sync feature isn't exactly flawless. These problems are inherent with anything this compact and powerful. All in all though, buy it, it won't disappoint. I carry my resume, emails, excel files, pictures, mp3's, etc and it works great once you learn to optimize certain programs for speed. The dashboard program is way too slow to be functional for my purposes. People can't hardly believe the capabilites of this little thing. It's faster than about 50% of the computers here at work.

Don't buy this unit ! or any other 3800 series iPAQ's for that matter, they all have the same problem with the backlight often not coming on. I was told by technical support at Compaq, that the engineers are working on the problem, it is common to all 3800 Series iPAQ's, and that they have not come up with a solution as of 5/20/02. As a temporary solution I was told to reset the unit twice whenever the backlight doesn't come on. Unfortunately sometime that doesn't even solve the problem. Imagine buying a new TV, and turning it on, and not knowing whether or not you were going to see a picture after turning it on ? ? ? This kind of engineering bug is just unacceptable. I'm sorry, but I can't understand how this product got on the market in the first place ! I've opted for a refund...

I went from a Palm PDA (Palm OS) to a Compaq IPAQ 3835 because I think the color and features are superior than Palm, and they are in the 3835. HOWEVER, I really miss the Palm OS, it is the best around. Microsoft cannot get it right even in a Pocket PC. The first day I had the 3835 it locked up on me and I had to do a soft reset. Never happened with a Palm. Several soft resets later... Today I loaded Dashboard software from the disc that Compaq sends with the 3835 and everything went haywire. It was so locked up I had to do my first (and I am sure not last) HARD reset! I wish the US Government people would do away with Microsoft and Bill Gates. He belongs sweeping floors somewhere! Why doesn't Palm come out with an OS for computers?

The hardware and the OS combine to produce a very useful and feature rich product. I am also the proud owner of a Palm VX BUT the 3835 beats the ... out of Palm. The handwriting recognition options esp. the transcriber and it's awesome recognition of cursive are awesome (I used to have a kbd with my Palm and have no need for kbd with PocketPC because of this feature). The screen resoution, colors, look and feel are simply fantastic. I esp love the notes application as I can embed voice recordings with text.
Con: The bulky pcmcia adaptor and/or cf adaptor. But I have a simple workaround as I carry the Compex IRE201 wireless/ir access point. The combo is a winner and gets the uhs and aahs of everybody incl. Palm/Handpsring owners. Whatever the business practices of Microsoft and the business status of Compaq, this product is definitely a feather in their cap.
Worth the price!!

I recently purchased an IPAQ 3870 and have been very dissappointed by Compaq's inability to release a product that works as advertised.

One of the main reasons for buying this unit is because of the SD (Secure Digital) card expansion slot. I needed it to store data and to also take my MP3s on the road when I traveled. I called Compaq's Pre-Sales number and spoke to a representative. I told them what I needed this for and they assured me it would work as advertised.

After puchasing the unit and accesories (...), I immediately found problems with playing MP3's from the SD card. Part of the song would play, and it would then quit completely, or cycle through to the next song, only to exhibit the same problem. After speaking with a technical support rep. from the SD cards maker (Sandisk), they thought it could be a corrupted SD card. They sent me another one, only to find the problem still existed. After several emails to/from Compaq tech support, they told me it was a known issue and they are working on it, with no timeline given for a fix.

In my opinion, there is no excuse for releasing a product that has not been throughly tested to perform as advertised. Once again, the users have become the beta testers.

Now, because of the way it handles music files, I cannot and will not trust the SD expansion slot to store any critical data, for fear it will become corrupted. This is a serious flaw, and Compaq's "non-caring" attitude just worsens the case for purchasing a product like this.

I was testing this for my company and have recommended they either consider another product or wait until Compaq resolves these issues.

On the plus side, I will say as a basic PDA, it performs fine. It has a nice display, and thankfully, I did not get one with backlight problems, as some users have reported. The accessories work well, and it is nicely intergrated with Outlook. But these "bells and whistles" come at a premium price, and my old Handspring Visor functioned as a good PDA for this type of use (at only a fraction of the cost).

I am giving it only 2 stars because basically Compaq doesn't have their act together. The "pre-sales" answers are not reliable, because obviously, they are not communicating with their tech support staff and are unaware of problems. They are probably just reading information off the sales brochures.
For anyone considering purchasing a 3800 series, I would go to the Compaq support forum and look at the problems that other people have experienced and then wait for Compaq to resolve these issues.

In my company the choose palm as the supported PDA. This Compaq IPAQ is turning heads. I have show the CIO and the president already. They all love the design and the functionality. It is also cool when I play home movies of my kid on it. This is the coolest toy I have gotten in a long time. I know leave the laptop at the job. I use a cable and my StarTac phone to connect to the company mail server and have also been able to run Term Server client (it is small but do-able). For a couple of extra bucks you get so much more than a palm....Just hide the receipt from your significant other.
Hope this helped

Pros: multiple uses beyond what I expected in a handheld. Very clear and bright screen.

cons: major problem with the backlight going out. This required 3-5 soft resets per event and about 3 events per day. This problem is discussed and really not adequately addressed by Compaq. This is annoying in a product costing over 600 US dollars after expansion etc.

I love my new ipaq!!! I did a lot of research to make this decision and pricey purchase...I had a palm IIIxe and this is a big leap from that. I gave up palm because shortly after that purchase they discontinued the product with no warning or being able to purchase any accessories for it. I love the features of the 3835. I love the storage, memory, and the Microsoft Pocket PC 2000 software bundle. I love the ease of being able to sync with my computers at work and at home when it does sync. What I am not to keen on is Microsoft Active Sync v.3.5. Sometimes I am able to sync and sometimes I am not. This has happened at home and at work. Compaq technical support has basically called me the idiot and has not provided competent information or assistance. I work everyday in the technology field dealing with customers and their customer service [stinks]. If you can use this product and never have to deal with Compaq please consider it a blessing. I didn't care for having to download the manual for the Ipaq either. All in all if you get past those things it is a great product. A mini laptop. So I have to give the product a 5, but Compaq technical support a negative (-5).

I READ ALL THE REVIEWS AVAILABLE AT THIS SITE FOR THIS PRODUCT PRIOR TO MY PURCHASE. THERE WERE ACTUALLY A FEW NEGATIVE REVIEWS!
I KNEW TWO FELLOW WORKERS WHO OWNED THE EARLIER MODELS, AND THEY NEVER COMPLAINED AND WERE NOTED FOR BUYING TECH EQUIPMENT WHICH IS THE BEST OF THE BEST.
THEY WERE RIGHT! THE 3835 IS A MARVEL AND EVERYONE SHOULD TAKE A LOOK AT THIS. THE SOFTWARE IS UNBELIEVABLE. I WISH MY DESKTOP COULD PERFORM LIKE THIS AND I HAVE A DELL DIMENSION 8100 WITH THE M/E SOFTWARE.

This is my first PDA, so I was blown away by the multitude of programs available in this small space. But, after installing some of the programs included on the Compaq iPAQ Pocket PC Companion CD, my unit locked up! I had to perform a hard reset and re-install the optional programs. Since DASHBOARD was the last optional program I installed, I suspected it of the dirty deed. Fortunately, three days worth of data entry wasn't wasted, since I had syncronized data with my desktop PC.
The solution to this lock-up problem can be found on the Compaq iPAQ support WEB site. There is a new version of DASHBOARD available and a new ROM update from Microsoft for Pocket PC 2002. This is all as of March 24, 2002, by the way. The DASHBOARD update specifically mentions the lock up problem. So, I am again happy with my H3835.
Another "By the Way" - if you are trying to log into MSN with your H3835, the USERNAME must be preceded by MSN/. It took me a full day before I found this hint on the Microsoft Pocket PC site.

I have used a Visor, a Cassiopeia, and a Jornada Handheld...and while each of those devices had its charm, I love my iPAQ and am not turning back.

Pros:
-Color depth makes for a much more readable screen.
-Can see the screen inside AND outside, I always had problems with this on the other devices
-Pocket PC 2002 while glitchy in a few places, is easier to use and much more intuitive than Windows CE. (For example, there is a sound control available at all times. You don't have to dig into settings to turn the sound up or down quickly.)
-Sound is much sharper and can get louder than the Cassiopeia (a big issue for me since I listen to audio books through Audible.com)
-Sleek design and sensible button placement.
-Themes are easily modifiable. I love being able to use a picture from a favorite trip, or of my husband, as my background. Seems minor, and it is...but I like it.
-Lots of memory! Great for those of us who download books and MP3s. (Legal MP3s made from my own CDs, of course.)
-iTask makes it easy to close one or all of the running tasks.

A few cons:
-Stylus got stuck inside the device, but purchasing an inexpensive zipper cover with a stylus holder took care of this.
-Freezes every now and again. I'm assuming that future releases of the Pocket PC will deal with this issue.
-I miss the modifiable launcher. I like to be able to categorize my programs and access them more easily.

In short, it's a great little device. I'll be honest, the name "Compaq" doesn't exactly inspire me to fauning, but in this case it is earned. (I had a Compaq laptop that I returned after a week because they put so much garbage on it, and the DVD player froze on any DVD with a menu.) The iPAQ really shows some quality craftsmanship and I would recommend it to anyone.

I have owned a palm and then a handspring and by far the IPAQ is far greater. Of course it is almost like having your computer with you all the time. Far more than an organizer. I hardly use my laptop anymore. THe Via Voice program it comes with is really cool. It comes with a lot of really nice software. I highly recommend the Ipaq.

Please don't listen to other reviewers who criticize this compaq iPaq 3835! They either work for a competitor, or just don't know what the hell they are doing. Yes, you may have to know a little about computer connectivity when first setting up this product but it's nothing that someone can't figure out. Buy this and you will have a world of information at hand!

*Completely compatible and pre-loaded with Outlook, Excel, Word, and Windows explorer.
*Plays MP3's
*Has a built in disc slot
*Tons of memory
*beautiful screen
*Fantastic case
*What else you do want?
*It's Perfect!

I have had this for almost two months now and i can say that this is the best PDA out there. I have had a palm III, a casio e-100, e-125 and now this and this one blows the others away. Pocket PC 2002 is the best operating system out there. everything is fast and works properly. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a Pocket PC who has the money, its worth every penny.

Make no mistake, this is no data organizer. My Ipaq is my third computer. I synch with my work and home computers, load, show and distribute PowerPoint presentations, create and edit Word, Excel AND MS Access files (where the bulk of my work is.) With the right software (and there are many out there, a lot even free!) and a little trial and error for the right fit, all this is pretty seemless and doesn't require any real "converting" back and forth to something else to make it all work, like the Palm OS. I also pop the Compact Flash cards right out of my digital camera into my Ipaq, do a little editing if needed and show off the photos in nice slide shows. Using a Socket Phone Card, I plug right into my Audiovox digital web enabled phone and surf the web (any web site - not clips) and get my email on Outlook anywhere I want. For long car trips, we watch full length videos (To Kill a Mockingbird and others are included in the extras CD from Microsoft). Note: The additional hotsynch cable, CF Expansion Sleeve, a few extra CF Cards (big ones for video and images, etc., storeage) Socket Phone Card and Car Charger ARE MUST HAVES. Oh yes, I can also organize contacts and calendar items like a Palm.