HP packages the iPaq rx5900 with a nice set of accessories, including a vehicle mount (windshield and dash), a USB cable, a power adapter, a car charger, a protective case, and reference material.
Features
For HP, the GPS capabilities and the travel tools are the main focus of the HP iPaq rx5900 Travel Companion. The handheld is equipped with a SiRFstarIII GPS receiver and comes loaded with maps of North America and TomTom Navigator 6 software. As such, from a GPS standpoint, the rx5900 has a similar feel and look to TomTom's stand-alone products. It supports text- and voice-guided driving directions (no text-to-speech functionality), automatic route recalculation, and a points-of-interest database. To get started, you enter your destination by address, city center, or intersection, then instruct the device to calculate directions based on a number of criteria, such as the quickest or shortest route, by avoiding toll roads, the required arrival time, and more. There's also an option to plan a walking route, which is great since the rx5900 is so portable. If at any time you want to avoid a part of your route, you can tap the Find Alternative icon, and the system will plot a new course. You can view maps in 2D or 3D mode. A status bar at the bottom of the screen displays useful information, such as the next instruction, remaining distance, and estimated time of arrival. There are also two icons in the upper right and left corners that let you zoom in and out of maps. You can add real-time traffic information, safety camera alerts, and other advanced nav features via TomTom's subscription-based Plus services.
In addition to the navigation functions, the iPaq rx5900 includes a copy of WorldMate 2006 Standard Edition to help with your trip planning. The app provides you with some handy tools, such as current times around the world, international dialing codes, a packing list, and converters for currency, clothing size, and measurement. If you have a long flight ahead of you or you just need to relax, you can keep yourself entertained by listening to your favorite tunes or watching video clips with Windows Media Player 10 Mobile. The player supports popular formats including WMA, MP3, and WMV. Plus, Windows Media Rights Management 10 gives you access to audio and video content from subscription services, such as MSN Music, Musicmatch, Napster to Go, and Wal-Mart Music Downloads. You can also view photos, and there's a nifty app called HP Photosmart Mobile to help you create slide shows, share images via e-mail, and record voice notes with pictures. The handheld also comes with two preloaded games (Bubble Breaker and Solitaire).
For the road warrior, you can stay productive on the road, thanks to Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC Edition, which includes the full Microsoft Office Mobile Suite. In addition to mobile versions of Word, Excel, Internet Explorer, and Outlook, the machine has a handy PowerPoint viewer; we were successfully able to open and view all three of the document types on the rx5900. As far as memory, the unit has 64MB of SDRAM for running apps and a whopping 2GB of flash ROM. In addition, you have access to the SD expansion slot for more storage capacity. Though there's no cellular wireless, the HP iPaq rx5900 Travel Companion is well connected with integrated Bluetooth 2.0 and Wi-Fi (802.11b/g), so you can connect to a variety of Bluetooth-enabled devices and make VoIP calls.
Performance
Performance was a bit of a mixed bag. As a GPS device, the HP iPaq rx5900 Travel Companion had a hard time acquiring a satellite fix from a cold start. It took the unit about five minutes to finally lock onto our position, which was frustrating. On the upside, subsequent starts were much faster, and the rx5900 did a good job of tracking our position. Directions were also accurate, as were route recalculations.
The iPaq rx5900 handled its PDA and entertainment duties well. As we mentioned before, we had no problems transferring or opening Office documents. The device also detected our test Wi-Fi access point immediately, and we were able to connect to the Web without a problem with relatively quick download times. Music and video playback were excellent with clear sound and fairly good picture quality. However, if you're listening to your tunes via the built-in speakers, take care not to place the device with the speaker side down. We also plugged in a pair of Shure E3 earbuds, and sound was even better. We did, however, notice a slight lag in performance when we had numerous apps open.
Clearly, battery life is a key factor for a mobile device like the rx5900. In CNET Labs performance tests, where we looped a video clip with all wireless radios off and backlight set to midlevel, the HP iPaq rx5900 1,700 mAh lithium-ion battery lasted for 4 hours of constant use, falling behind the Asus MyPal A636, the Garmin Nuvi 350, and the
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Where to buy
HP iPaq rx5900 Travel Companion:
$399.99
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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$399.99 | See Site |
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