Ipaq HX4700 or Ipaq 214?

[rgrebby]

Hi, im kinda new to PDA's and new to this forum. Im wondering which model to get.

Basically im a photographer and need something to do the following items:
organise my life
download pictures from my camera via CF or SD, in both raw and jpg
View jpg and raw image files on the go
Have a large enough screen and space to make things look good.

Both of the above PDA's both seem to do the job but I dont know which is better. The HX4700 looks like a few years old but still has the same cpu speed as the new 214. Is the new version any faster? Is there any point in getting the newer version and paying £60 more for it?


Thanks in advance

[Martin Laverty]

The 4700 was discontinued over a year ago so I would definately go the 214.

It will view JPG but you would need specific software for raw data.

[Dean29]

HX4700 will not take the new SCHC Cards, so you are limited to the size of card (2Mb) on a SC type only. I am considering upgrading to the 214.

[privard]

Originally Posted by Dean29

HX4700 will not take the new SCHC Cards, so you are limited to the size of card (2Mb) on a SC type only.

Wow, four bits of information, four factual errors. Someone who doesn't even know what the different types of memory cards are called hasn't even looked at the specs of one of the models in question feels qualified to offer advice--amazing. There's no such thing as SCHC or SC cards. Dean means SDHC and SD--that'd be a minor mistake if the rest of the info wasn't just as wrong. In the SD slot, the max is 4 GB (not 2 GB) for the hx4700--yes, regular SD cards do come in 4 GB size and yes the hx4700 can use them without any problem and without needing any modification. Plus, Dean says you're limited to "SC" type only, which is also untrue--right next to the SD card slot there's a CF slot that'll take any size CF card. The current max is 32 GB, and 64 GB will be coming out at some point. So in the hx4700 you're currently limited to 36 GB SD+CF (maybe 68 GB next year), not 2 GB SD only (the 214 is even better at a total current capacity of 64 GB, but 36 GB isn't so scrawny).

And what difference does it make if it's discontinued? The hx4700 is a rock--you can get one refurbished to like-new condition for 40% the price of a 210 series (210/211/212/214--they're all the same PDA), and even a plain-old used one will probably serve you for many years--unless you drop it, there's not much to go wrong with these things (except ones that are defective to start with, but those would have died pretty soon after leaving the factory--when you get one that's a couple of years old you don't have to worry about that). The touchscreens of the 210 series are less sensitive than the 4700 series, too--in the new ones, sometimes there's a delay between when you touch and the system showing that, and you always have to press more firmly. The main thrust of the advances in the OS between WM2003SE and WM6 have been in integrating the SmartPhone features. If you get a PDA like the 214 that doesn't have a cell phone built in, the new OS doesn't offer any significant advantage (memory handling is a bit better, but just remember to install any huge programs and keep databases and most documents on a memory card rather than the main memory in the hx4700--all of which is pretty simple to do--and you'll get the same performance and reliability out of the 4700 that you would from the 210 series.

The one thing you'd need the 210 series for is if you need to connect to a high-security corporate network, say in a finance or defense company. If that's not you, why pay 2.5 times more for a PDA that's no better (slightly better in some ways, slightly worse in others, but mostly a draw).