Review

Created: July, 2000

HP Jornada 548 Pocket PC handheld computer

By Simon Walker, Cyberwalker Media Syndicate

Hewlett Packard's latest entry in the hand-held market may make it difficult to remain faithful to Palm, the market leader.

At first sight, the HP Jornada 548 is a pleasure for the senses. The slim design of charcoal-brushed metal gives this handheld a cool, smooth granite feel. With a hard metallic cover and a rubber-edged chassis, the Jornada 548 gives the impression of being rugged.

Not too big or too small, the 548 sits comfortably in the hand. Like a hardcover book, this machine feels like an investment.

Navigation is well thought out. The stylus, smooth and flat, sits under the cover. More like a pen, it is larger than the stylus that comes with other personal digital assistants (PDAs) and is comfortable to use. Below the screen are four programmable hot buttons that will take you to the main screen, contacts, calendar and things to do. On the side, there is an action wheel that scrolls and selects. There is also a red record button for quick access to MP3 notes. This allows you to start recording your voice through the integrated microphone at the push of a button.

Not everything about the Jornada 548 is sunshine, however. The colour screen is not the best on the market. The colors could be brighter and the screen could be clearer. But the contrast and brightness is adjustable.

Early materials describing the 540 series incorrectly indicated that they display 16 bit color with a maximum of 65,536 colors. HP has corrected that information to clarify that the Jornada 400 and 500 series display 12 bit colour, or a maximum of 4,096 colors.

The Jornada 548 is based on the Microsoft Pocket PC operating system, which comes with MS Word, Excel and Money. These familiar programs make it easy to integrate this Pocket PC into your work life.

Dragging and dropping files in and out of the "My Pocket PC documents" on the Windows Desktop is mechanical and easy to do. Any file in "My Pocket PC Documents" will be next transferred the next time you perform an ActiveSync file swap.

The Windows Media player, which includes earphones and an integrated speaker, provides near-CD-quality sound without the possibility of skips or jumps. Music can be downloaded from the Web and no moving parts means no amount of shaking will interrupt play. It's very cool. But the 32 megabytes of memory (both RAM and storage) are quickly used up. Managing files can become an issue: storing more than half a dozen music files and a dozen long Word or Excel files can precipitate a low memory warning.

Enter the Type I CompactFlash card. It is a new storage standard that is fully transferable between a variety of CF devices and all Pocket PC products. Photos taken on an HP digital camera, for example, can be transfered to the Jornada 548 on the CF card and view immediately. No conversion is necessary. Both devices use JPEG file format for storing images, so the two work together seamlessly.

You can also transfer files using HP JetSend IR technology. This software can be downloaded from the HP Web site (http://www.hp.com) and allows HP cameras and Pocket PCs to exchange information wirelessly. Software is also available to allow this Windows Pocket-PC-based device to exchange information via IR with Palm handhelds.

The Jornada 548 also provides more than one way to synchronize with your computer. In addition to a cradle that will charge and sync up using a USB connection, you can also charge separately and synchronize using a serial port. All connections are included with the handheld.
This means that you can sit at your desk and use your Pocket PC and charge it at the same time. You can also use one synchronizing cable for your laptop and one for your desktop.

As with many Microsoft Pocket PC devices, getting the Jornada 548 to recognize handwriting recognition script is fussy and difficult to master. The virtual keyboard, which is large, well laid out and easy to use, is much more convenient. In addition, a feature that completes common words for you after you've typed just a few characters saves a lot of typing time.

Reviewer's rating: 4 / 5

Comments: The HP Jornada 548 is a beauty. It is compact but powerful and features such as automatic word completion and compatibility with CompactFlash card technology are really nice. The screen is not stellar and script recognition is fussy and hard to get used to, but this Pocket PC is a tempting little machine.

Specifications: 133 MHz processor, 32-bit Hitachi processor, 32 MB RAM (HP Jornada 548), 240 x 320 pixel LCD color display, MS ClearType display technology, pen-and-touch interface (stylus included). Also: on-screen keyboard, 4 user-configurable quick launch screen icons, 2 quick keys (Record and Scroll/Action), notification LED. Comes with a built-in lithium-ion rechargeable battery with 8 hours of battery life, IrDA infrared port, RS232 serial port, USB port, CompactFlash Type I card slot, AC input jack, stereo earphone jack, audio speaker and microphone, built-in voice recorder, compatible with digital audio player.
Includes handwriting recognition software.

More info: http://www.hp.com

Price: $599 US, $860 Canadian