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Article 5/26/00

Love At First Sight; one week with my Jornada 548

By: Jeremy M. Weisser

Well I returned home last Friday and waiting at the door was a package. This was not just any ordinary package, I had been waiting for this box for weeks and now it stood in front of me, pleading to be opened.

You see the box contained my HP Jornada 548 Pocket PC.

Now that I have been using the device for almost a week I feel it necessary to write down some of my initial thoughts about my brand new toy.

The first word that came out of my mouth upon opening the box and taking out the unit was WOW! I had seen pictures of it and even played around with a 545 at CompUSA but this was different. I actually had it in my hands.

Compared to the previous generation Jornada 430 (which I own as well) the 548 is like heaven. The unit's design is exactly what I, if given the chance, would have planned. It is both sleeker and lighter than the 430 and it doesn't look lie a BRICK. Some owners of the 430 don't mind the unit's appearance but I for one do.

The 548 comfortably fits into any pant pocket and the unit is easy to hold thanks to the rubber grips at the units sides. On top of that, the device is sexy. Even though it's a little a bulkier than a Palm V it has the same kind of appeal. It is clothed in a sleek metallic case with a removable flip cover

There have been many people who have questioned HP's use of the pop sickle like stylus and its placement but I for one am very pleased with the design although it did take some time to get use to. The placing of the stylus on the removable cover seems very logical, as it is the first thing you see upon opening the unit. Usually when I purchase a new PDA, I show it off to my peers and they are never find the stylus however this is not the case with the Jornada.

HP has stuck with the CSTN screen of the previous generation and I have no issues with the screen except for the fact that it can only handle 12 bit color. I really don't know how this got by the engineering department at HP but it is very disappointing. I don't view pictures on my device so it isn't so much of a problem per say for me but I understand why other Jornada owners are outraged.

One thing I did notice about the screen is that it is much easier to read outdoors in part due to the new removable cover. I was able to clearly see and write on my unit sitting outside in central park with the screen set for outdoor use.

Now onto by far the biggest improvement of all, the OS.

I love Windows CE but I hated my 430s performance. I hated having to restart at least once a day and having to wait for what seemed to be centuries for applications to pop up. Most of the problems I had with Windows CE 2.11 have been addressed in version 3. I definitely noticed a speed increase on my new device despite the fact that the internal hardware is almost identical to that of the 430. Applications load almost instantaneously and I have not yet reset my device. The only problem I have had is with Microsoft Reader software. Certain times when I have started the software it will take a minute or so to load while at other times it will load much faster. One new feature which I appreciate is the ability to listen to MP3 via Windows Media Player with other applications open.

I am also pleased with the quantity and quality of the software that shipped the Jornada. HP has definitely covered all grounds including apps like Image Expert picture viewing software and AOL Mail.

I love the integrated AvantGo and Pocket Office applications, having Microsoft Excel with me is very useful

Overall I am very satisfied with my purchase and I am enthusiastic about the future of the Pocket PC.

Click Here To View Pictures of Budsī Jornada