HP iPAQ 114 Classic Handheld
By Justin Hartman
Having owned one of the original HP iPAQ PDA’s in the past I was particularly interested to see what the HP iPAQ 114 Classic Handheld could offer. One of the noticeable differences between early first-generation HP PDA’s and this stylish-looking 114 Classic is the weight. My original HP iPAQ was very heavy and was a real burden to carry around with me but the iPAQ 114 Classic weighs a little over 114g which is highly impressive.
The iPAQ 114 Classic is a very attractive PDA and features a plastic, chrome plated front panel with a smooth, slip resistant backing making it a stylish companion to your cellphone. The device features a 3.5-inch transflective TFT RGB color 240×320 pixel touch screen outputting 65,000 colours in 16-bit mode and it’s small enough to carry in your pocket yet big enough to work with great ease.
Connect with ease
The 114 Classic has integrated 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi with WPA2 security as well as Bluetooth v2.0 with EDR allowing you to connect when you want to keep in touch with the people who matter. I must say I found the Wi-Fi particularly useful when lazing about on the couch as I could pop off emails in a snap and go online whenever I needed.
Productivity at your fingertips
The PDA features Windows Mobile 6.0 Classic and features all the necessary productivity applications that you’d expect on a Windows device such as Office Mobile (with Word, Excel and PowerPoint), Office Outlook Mobile, Internet Explorer Mobile and Windows Media Player 10. The only bug-bearer here is that email only synchronises if you have Microsoft Outlook 2000 or later on your PC and it is not compatible with Outlook Express at all.
The iPAQ 114 Classic comes with a mini-USB connector for synchronization and charging so you can always keep those important meetings, documents and email in sync for when you’re not at your desk.
It does Multimedia too
Any good businessman needs to balance work and life with digital entertainment. With the HP iPAQ 114 Classic you can listen to music and watch videos with Windows Media Player Mobile. Added to this you can also view, share, and manage your photos with HP Photosmart Mobile and play pre-installed games or download your favourites from the Internet.
Power and Storage
The Marvell 624Mhz processor gives satisfactory response time and coupled with the 64MB SDRAM for running applications I found very little lag when opening up the various applications. There is a standard 256MB Flash ROM drive which gives you around 190MB to store additional applications and documents on the device but it has an added SD card slot so you can upgrade your storage at any time.
There is a removable/rechargeable 1200 mAh Lithium-Ion battery and between the battery life improvements in Windows Mobile 6.0 and the power saving properties of the new Marvell processor, battery life on the iPAQ is outstanding. By playing high-end video on it to test the longevity, the iPAQ 114 Classic finally died just past the four hour mark. Standby time on the device is just as good and I’ve had our review unit on standby for more than a week now.
What’s in the box
HP iPAQ 114 Classic Handheld
1200 mAh Lithium-ion battery
AC Charger
Mini-USB Cable
Stylus
Attractive Leather Case
Setup Assistant, Software and Documentation
By Justin Hartman
Having owned one of the original HP iPAQ PDA’s in the past I was particularly interested to see what the HP iPAQ 114 Classic Handheld could offer. One of the noticeable differences between early first-generation HP PDA’s and this stylish-looking 114 Classic is the weight. My original HP iPAQ was very heavy and was a real burden to carry around with me but the iPAQ 114 Classic weighs a little over 114g which is highly impressive.
The iPAQ 114 Classic is a very attractive PDA and features a plastic, chrome plated front panel with a smooth, slip resistant backing making it a stylish companion to your cellphone. The device features a 3.5-inch transflective TFT RGB color 240×320 pixel touch screen outputting 65,000 colours in 16-bit mode and it’s small enough to carry in your pocket yet big enough to work with great ease.
Connect with ease
The 114 Classic has integrated 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi with WPA2 security as well as Bluetooth v2.0 with EDR allowing you to connect when you want to keep in touch with the people who matter. I must say I found the Wi-Fi particularly useful when lazing about on the couch as I could pop off emails in a snap and go online whenever I needed.
Productivity at your fingertips
The PDA features Windows Mobile 6.0 Classic and features all the necessary productivity applications that you’d expect on a Windows device such as Office Mobile (with Word, Excel and PowerPoint), Office Outlook Mobile, Internet Explorer Mobile and Windows Media Player 10. The only bug-bearer here is that email only synchronises if you have Microsoft Outlook 2000 or later on your PC and it is not compatible with Outlook Express at all.
The iPAQ 114 Classic comes with a mini-USB connector for synchronization and charging so you can always keep those important meetings, documents and email in sync for when you’re not at your desk.
It does Multimedia too
Any good businessman needs to balance work and life with digital entertainment. With the HP iPAQ 114 Classic you can listen to music and watch videos with Windows Media Player Mobile. Added to this you can also view, share, and manage your photos with HP Photosmart Mobile and play pre-installed games or download your favourites from the Internet.
Power and Storage
The Marvell 624Mhz processor gives satisfactory response time and coupled with the 64MB SDRAM for running applications I found very little lag when opening up the various applications. There is a standard 256MB Flash ROM drive which gives you around 190MB to store additional applications and documents on the device but it has an added SD card slot so you can upgrade your storage at any time.
There is a removable/rechargeable 1200 mAh Lithium-Ion battery and between the battery life improvements in Windows Mobile 6.0 and the power saving properties of the new Marvell processor, battery life on the iPAQ is outstanding. By playing high-end video on it to test the longevity, the iPAQ 114 Classic finally died just past the four hour mark. Standby time on the device is just as good and I’ve had our review unit on standby for more than a week now.
What’s in the box
HP iPAQ 114 Classic Handheld
1200 mAh Lithium-ion battery
AC Charger
Mini-USB Cable
Stylus
Attractive Leather Case
Setup Assistant, Software and Documentation
Conclusion
The HP iPAQ 114 Classic Handheld is a great device and the new processor and Windows Mobile 6.0 improves overall performance on an often sluggish operating system. I can really see the value in businessmen owning and using this device as it not only syncs important data between the PDA and PC but it also provides all the right productivity tools so you can work while being mobile. That said I think it does lack phone functionalities and it’s not my personal choice when it comes to a multimedia device. Cellphones have advanced greatly over the last couple years and I really feel the iPAQ 114 Classic would be a winner if it had cellphone functionality. If multimedia is your thing then I’d rather buy an 8GB iPod Touch. Comparatively the PDA and iPod Touch are about the same price but the Touch has a better output and is made for multimedia.
The HP iPAQ 114 Classic Handheld is a great device and the new processor and Windows Mobile 6.0 improves overall performance on an often sluggish operating system. I can really see the value in businessmen owning and using this device as it not only syncs important data between the PDA and PC but it also provides all the right productivity tools so you can work while being mobile. That said I think it does lack phone functionalities and it’s not my personal choice when it comes to a multimedia device. Cellphones have advanced greatly over the last couple years and I really feel the iPAQ 114 Classic would be a winner if it had cellphone functionality. If multimedia is your thing then I’d rather buy an 8GB iPod Touch. Comparatively the PDA and iPod Touch are about the same price but the Touch has a better output and is made for multimedia.
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