Review : HP iPAQ h6315 PocketPC Phone
Posted by Chris Leckness on 01/16/05 in Mobilitysite Reviews, PocketPC
Author : Chris Leckness
Vendor : HP and T-Mobile
Price : $499 Bundled with a contract at T-Mobile / $599.99 from HP
Less is More?
I love gadgets, but it does get to be a burden to carry three gadgets when there is a gadget out there that eliminate the need to carry all three. I love my music, music is the key to sanity in the IT world, so I have to tunes with me. Now everyone (even my 11 year old daughter) has to have a cell phone right? Yes, a cell phone is a necessity to me. Last device, a PocketPC. Enter the HP iPAQ H63xx series. MP3s, a phone, and a PocketPC all wrapped into one attractive package. I had to get myself one of these. Being a webmaster of a couple sites, being connected is a plus. With GPRS, I can check on my sites anytime, anywhere.
What do you get?
- HP iPAQ h6315 Pocket PC Phone
- Desktop cradle/charger
- Battery
- Removable keyboard
- AC adapter
- Headset and carrying case
- Stylus
- Getting started guide
- HP iPAQ Pocket PC companion CD
- SIM card for wireless service
Specifications
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Integrated wireless |
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Operating system |
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Processor |
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Display |
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Camera |
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Memory |
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Dimensions |
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Weight |
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Indicators |
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Power |
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Expansion |
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Audio |
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Ergonomic design features |
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HP exclusive applications |
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Software
Software included on CD
- Microsoft® Outlook 2002
- Microsoft® ActiveSync® 3.7.1 (Desktop device synchronization)
- Microsoft Reader eBooks
- Westek ClearVue Suite
- HP Mobile Print Center
- Margi Presenter-to-go
- Pointsec File Encryption.
Trial Versions: Cadenza mNotes (30-Day trial), Extended Systems Mobile Groupware Client (30-Day trial).
Software included with product (on ROM)
- Pocket versions of Microsoft® software (Outlook, Word, Excel, and Internet Explorer for Pocket PC).
- Microsoft® Windows® MobileTM 2003 for Pocket PC - Phone Edition
- Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, Voice Recorder, Notes, Pocket Word, Pocket Excel, Pocket Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player 9 (MP3, audio and video streaming), Calculator, Solitaire, Jawbreaker, Inbox, Microsoft Reader (eBooks), File Explorer, Pictures, Terminal Services Client, VPN Client, Infrared Beaming, Clock, Align Screen, Memory, Volume control, ClearType Tuner.
- HP Exclusive Software
- iPAQ Wireless, HP Profiles, Bluetooth® Manager, iPAQ File Store, iPAQ Backup, HP Image Capture, HP Image Zone for Pocket PC, HP Image Transfer, Utilities: Self Test, iPAQ Audio, Power Status.
T-Mobile Added Apps
There are also a couple T-Mobile added applications that help make this a great unit.
Left - Today Screen w/ T-Mobile Plug In
Right - Status of Connection Icon
Left - Status of Phone Setting Icon
Right - Volume Controls
Left - The nifty communications screen, just tap an icon to enable or disable
Right - T-Mobile’s Built in IM Selection
Left - Call Log
Right - Dialer
Left - Programs
Right - iPAQ Backup
Left - Device Info
Right - Phone Band Settings
Left - Today Settings (Notice the T-Mobile Plug-in can be removed)
Right - External Keyboard Settings
Left and Right - Profile Settings for Phone Modes
Left - Memory Settings
Right - Communication Settings
Left - PIE w/ iPaqHQ.com
Right - Camera Photo Mode
The Design
Super! This units size is very similar to the HP iPAQ 2215 (pic 1 below). The side grips and the button layout look a lot like the 2215. It is not too big, unless you add the external keyboard. (pic 2 below) When the keyboard is installed, it covers the inbox, phone buttons, dpad, and the contacts buttons, but the phone buttons are duplicated on the keyboard. The h6315 cannot be placed on the cradle or charged at all with the keyboard attached. Unlike the rest of the "new iPAQs", the h6315 still holds on to the nice styling that the iPAQs are known for as well.
Pic 1 - 2215 vs. 6315
Pic 2 - 2215 vs. 6315
Pic 3 - The Dpad and buttons. Very well placed and easy to use.
Pic 4 - On the right hand side, you have the Camera button, The SD Slot, and volume
controls. The Camera Button and the volume controls are located ideally, but the
Sd Slot is placed in a bad position in my opinion. I have popped the SD Card out
numerous times with my natural grip of a Pocket PC. My middle finger rests naturally
right in the center of the SD Card.
Pic 5 - The Stylus. Cheap plastic with no spare like my other iPAQs!
Pic 6 - Top View
Pic 7 - The left side of the unit is home to the audio connector, record, and reset
buttons. The audio connector is a tip/ring/sleeve 3.5 mm stereo headphone jack with
microphone support built in. Plug in the included headset here.
Pic 8 - The removable 1800mah battery has a lock switch.
Pic 9 - The 640×480 pixel Camera (6315 model only)
Pic 10 - Simm card slot under the battery.
Features
You want features? You got features. Some great, some useless, but you got em’!
- T-Mobile Internet Ready (GPRS) - Super!
- Integrated Wi-Fi (802.11b) - Super!
- Integrated Bluetooth® - Super!
- Microsoft Windows Mobile™ 2003 software for Pocket PC, Phone Edition - It’s ok, would rather see WM 2003 SE!!!
- Pocket Word and Pocket Excel, and viewers for PowerPoint and PDF files
- Integrated camera - Useless
- Email, Calendar, and Contacts with ActiveSync
- 3.5" Transreflective color display, 240×320 pixels, 64k color support with touch screen
- Snap on QWERTY keyboard - Super!
- SD/MMC expansion slot - Bad location.
- 64MB RAM (55MB user accessible memory) - Come on, where is the RAM? Give us more!
- Battery notification alerts
- Mute-function
- Phone - Super!
- Picture Messaging
- International Dialing
- Integrated attachment viewing
- Speakerphone - Weak volume, but the called persons had no complaints.
- Speed dial
- Voicemail
- Voice recorder
- Video Playback
- Vibrating alert - This is a must for a Cell Phone!
- Windows Media Player 9
Performance
As most of you already know by now, the iPAQ 6315 does not boast a screaming CPU, in fact it is almost too slow. I have to admit that the 6315 feels sluggish when running "PocketPC" applications and games, but when it comes to using the built in functions and the phone tools, it is hardly noticeable. I had to soft reset the unit more that average as well. (At least once daily) Overall, I was impressed with the performance though. The following benchmark results will show that this unit is well behind standalone PocketPC models in the performance areas.
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- Battery Life - This is a DEFINATE plus! Battery life was much better than I expected. The battery for the iPaq 6315 is a 1800 mAh Lithium Ion. My testing was real life usage for a good weeks timeframe. I charged the unit overnight each day and used the following configuration: Max Backlight, Phone/GPRS on, Bluetooth On, Wifi On. An average day consisted of 1-2 hours of talk time, 1 hour of WiFi connected browsing at home, 1-2 hours of GPRS Modem browsing (at work/school) and constant fiddling with programs and games. I really never put the phone down. I would leave for work at 7am, get off at 5pm, school from 6pm to 8:30pm and the 6315 normally hit the cradle at 10pm with better than 25% battery to spare. I know this is less scientific than a benchmark, but it is true life scenarios. (maybe more than average too) HP did not drop the ball on the battery life!
- WiFi - Range was average and like other devices using Windows Mobile 2003 or better, the set up was a snap! The 6315 switched from WiFi to GPRS easily as well.
- GPRS - This feature is the one feature that has made the biggest impact on me. What webmaster would not love to have access to their site/s anytime they need it? Yes, the connections were slow and at sometimes almost unbearable, but the speeds were as good as dial up. (sometimes seemed better) The connection was pre built into my unit and was easy to connect. I opened PIE and pointed to ipaqhq.com and after connecting automatically, the site loaded right up!
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Bluetooth - How can you test Bluetooth out on a PocketPC? Connect devices, of course! I was a tad disappointed though, I tried a couple Bluetooth Headsets with sub par results. This is more of a compatibility flaw with the devices rather than purely a 6315 problem though. The Jabra 250 and Motorola HS810 Bluetooth Headsets both worked, but they sporadic. When the partnerships were established, perfect. Once the headsets were turned off or went out of range, a soft reset was required to re-establish a connection. Transferring from the internal speaker/mic to the headset was never figured out. This is a big deal to me. Holding the phone up to the ear is fine, but awkward. Needless to say, I used the wired earbud that was included most of the time.
- T-Mobile - My experience with T-Mobile was super at the local level as far as customer service was concerned. Brandon, the local sales person in Northport, Alabama, was very helpful getting me set up and out the door. From there, the service was not as great. I called tech support to find a solution to one problem and instead of helpful solutions and suggestions, the tech proceeded to tell me how much better than Cingular their service was. This stemmed from the comment that I made stating that I never had this problem with voice calls on Cingular’s network. This problem was that the other end of my calls complained about hearing an echo of their own voice a second later throughout the call. This issue is still unresolved. I am ready to chalk it up to a bad carrier line at the tower I was working off of.(Most calls were made from the same location) So, overall, I was not impressed with T-Mobile at all.
Conclusion
If you want an all-in-one gadget and you are not concerned with "gaming", the h6315 is a real gem. Even though the unit has a sub par processor, all the other features far outweigh the sluggishness when dealing with some apps and games. I would also recommend researching the T-Mobile service in your area prior to jumping onboard. If the service is not great, there is no reason to spend all that money on a 168mhz PocketPC. If the service is good, you get a phone and a PocketPC with great built in communications.
PROS
- GSM/GPRS Quad Band Cellular, WiFi, IrDA, and Bluetooth in one device.
- Super battery life
- Nice form factor (The last of the "Good Designs")
- Thumb keyboard and Earbud Headset included
CONS
- Sub par CPU Performance
- 64MB RAM in such an expensive machine is disappointing
- Camera is useless at 640×480 Pixels
- Unexplained echo on far end when placing calls. (In all fairness, this could be a local T-Mobile issue)
- Locked into one carrier currently (not my preferred carrier either)
- Bugs (There are many small bugs that exist causing me to soft reset at least once a day. I am sure most can be fixed with updates though)
Written by Chris Leckness · Filed Under Mobilitysite Reviews, PocketPC
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