Electronics : HP iPAQ 514 (UK)

Rating: - Nice Windows Mobile phone with a few problems
I've had this phone for almost a year now and I think it's time to write a review. Alltogether, I'm pleased with it, but it has several issues that might be a deal-breaker for you. First, because of the small screen, there are a number of 3rd-party programs that don't run on this phone, for example Skype for Windows Mobile (Fring is a nice replacement, though). There's no reasonable VPN support, and one has very little control over when the phone builds up a GPRS connection (this happens without asking you for a confirmation whenever one of your applications tries to connect to the internet). The voice recognition doesn't work that well (takes forever to start up), and it's not Microsoft's own voice recognition program. I've had some random 100% discharges as mentioned by one other reviewer, but it doesn't happen that often. The phone also switches itself off, randomly, every now and then (not often enough for me to ditch the phone). I've some problems when I use headphones, since, when there's some pressure on the jack, the phone acts as if some buttons have been pressed. So lock the phone if you listen to MP3s ;-) Furthermore, I didn't manage to get VoIP working, since there's a bug that results in me not hearing the caller (I've found other people on the internet reporting the same bug, but there's no fix). Furthermore, HP doesn't and won't provide software updates for that phone (WM 6.1, for instance). On the good side: This is probably one of the cheapest Windows Mobile phones available on the market, and also one of the smaller ones.

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Rating: - HP iPAQ 514 Pocket PC a waste of money
phone looks good but if i was you i would think twice wasting your money
phone does not take o2 sim card the web does not work internet does not work so all in all a big waste of money

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Rating: - solid and cute
I like this phone. It is colourful and well built. No creaks when you squeeze it. Incredibly versatile for the size; you really do get used to those small foutery buttons. One criticism, the red hanging up button doubles as an off switch, so it is easy to inadvertently switch it off when closing a call.
Come on, who thought of that?
Maybe there is too much on it. Am I ever going to use Word or Power point on a phone?!
The voice reply to email is handier than I'd expected it to be but sometimes just lodges the file in the drafts folder and refuses to send. Maybe I'm overlooking something obvious.

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Rating: - Something different that really works
It's been a while since I bought a SIM-free phone, but I certainly don't regret getting this one. Although plastic, it feels solid and well made. The Windows 6 operating system takes a little getting used to for those more familiar with Symbian ones on Nokias etc., but it's logical and I haven't found any problems that I can't deal with so far. Don't be misled by the size and resolution of the screen and the fact it's only a 1.3mp camera. For a mobile phone they're fine. If you want better photos, you must surely have a camera? I read one professional review where the guy said he liked the phone he had to test so much that he went out and bought one for himself. I know exactly what he meant. I wouldn't be without mine now. I haven't used all the functions yet, but am looking forward to doing so and have no doubt they will work. Some people have criticised the built-in Voice Commander and I can see their point, but trying your best mid-Atlantic accent seems to help. It still responds better to simple commands like 'Call Fred' than, say, 'Call Cameron Diaz', but then she's not on my contacts list. Unfortunately. :) You'll need a MicroSD card if you want to store much music, but Amazon cover that as a package deal. The supplied headphones are no better than you'd expect, but you can also get some Sennheiser ones from Amazon with the all important 2.5mm jack and they should do the trick. Finally, the battery life is great. How many phones can you say that about nowadays?

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Rating: - Don't buy it for VOIP - or as a reliable phone
I've had these since summer '07. HP seem to ignore all the problems.

I've got -

- unusable volume for VOIP
- appalling battery life
- random 100% discharges
- Problems seeing/connecting to WPA-PSK and WPA2-PSK networks
- irritating start-up jingle

Overall, a huge waste of money - and more importantly time. This is Beta hardware at best.