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HP iPAQ 514 mobile phone review

HP iPAQ 514 Display

Hewlett Packard had to make concessions to be able to offer this price. One of these concessions is the monitor; the HP iPAQ 514 smartphone has been equipped with a 2-inch monitor with a resolution of 176×220 pixels and 64,000 colours. If you are not used to a high resolution monitor this small sized one will not bother you. But if you are a frequent visitor of internet pages you’ll soon find out that you have to scroll not only vertically but also horizontally through the web pages.

HP iPAQ Buttons

1.3 megapixel digital camera

HP iPAQ 514 Menu

The menu of the HP iPAQ 514 is neatly organized and easy to use. Everybody will be able to scroll through the menu fast. Also people used to Windows Mobile devices will easily find their way through the menu of the iPAQ 514. In the menu we find Mobile Office among other things, with Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook Mobile. Besides that the menu has been equipped with a Windows Media Player mobile function. The main functions can be activated directly via the start screen. For example Email, Wi-Fi, profiles, calendar and SMS.

HP iPAQ 514 MP3 player

Windows Media Player Mobile

The HP iPAQ 514 voice messenger uses the Windows Media Player Mobile for playing music. The HP iPAQ 514 comes with a mono headset. The headset is connected via a 2.5 mm mini jack plug. Most headsets however use a 3.5 mm mini jack plug. So if you’re planning to connect a normal stereo headset to the cell phone, you’ll have to purchase an adapter. The headset has to be connected to one side of the iPAQ 514 this makes the cell phone bulky on the side and therefore difficult to carry around in the pocket of your trousers.

HP smartphone digital camera

HP Photosmart camera

The HP iPAQ 514 features an incorporated 1.3 Megapixel Photosmart camera with a maximum resolution of 1280×1024 pixels. The camera does not offer auto focus or flash. When looking at other devices we see at least a two Megapixel camera incorporated, but the price of these devices is considerably higher than that of the HP iPAQ 514 voice messenger. It may be clear that HP economized on the camera. Next to the camera lens a self-portrait mirror has been placed.

HP iPAQ 514 Shutter lag

HP Burst mode

The 1.3 Megapixel digital camera suffers from a severe shutter lag. Besides that it takes around one to two seconds before a picture is written onto the memory card. This makes spontaneous shooting impossible also due to the low resolution. You constantly have to be aware of the shutter release lag. Focussing prior to taking the picture is therefore a must. Besides that you can set the camera to burst mode to take sequential pictures. The burst mode ensures capturing fast objects in spite of the shutter release lag. In that case the resolution is lowered to 0.3 Megapixels …

HP Camera settings

HP iPAQ 514 Settings

Besides burst mode, the HP iPAQ 514 voice messenger features a number of photo settings. You can adjust the brightness; this makes your picture lighter or darker. White balance can also be adjusted. It can be set to auto, sunny, cloudy, night, fluorescent and incandescent. The auto white balance drops a stitch here and there in relation to colour reproduction. When the colour of a picture is not true to nature, you have to adjust the white balance and the colour will become correct.

microSD memory card

H
ewlett Packard offers the possibility for enhanced memory capacity of the HP iPAQ 514 with a microSD memory card. A choice from different capacities and speeds cards is offered. We chose the SanDisk 2GB microSD memory card for its stability and its speed. The 2GB microSD Memory Kit is also a good option. Besides a microSD memory card the Memory Kit offers a twosome of adapters to enable using the microSD card as miniSD as well as SD card. Just insert the microSD card effortlessly in the adapter after which it functions as miniSD or as SD card. There are more than one possibilities to transfer files from the microSD memory card to the computer. A good choice would be the SanDisk MobileMate SD + 5 in 1 card reader that is extremely small and therefore easy to carry with you.

HP iPAQ Software

HP iPAQ 514 USB & Bluetooth

The Hewlett Packard iPAQ 514 can be connected to a PC through USB and Bluetooth. The HP iPAQ 514 will be recognized by Microsoft Active Sync straight away. When the handset is connected to the computer and Active Sync has been activated, the email settings of the pc will be synchronized with the cell phone. You don’t have to change your email settings manually. An additional advantage is that Microsoft Active Sync enables synchronizing emails received on the cell phone as well as on the PC. When you connect the phone to the pc via USB or Bluetooth, the received mails will automatically be transferred from the phone to the PC and vice versa. This ensures that the emails you need are available on the cell phone and on the PC at all times. It will save you time, something that is very welcome in the busy life of a business man.

HP iPAQ 514 File transfer

HP iPAQ 514 USB connection

Transferring files with the HP iPAQ 514 voice messenger takes a considerable amount of time. The Bluetooth 1.2 connection is not the fastest one. Transferring 100MB takes more than eight minutes. We have seen other devices with a high speed Bluetooth function that were able to do this a lot faster. There are devices transferring 100MB in less than four minutes. The USB connection however, is a lot faster. The same amount of data can be transferred through the USB in a little over four minutes.

HP smartphone navigation

HP iPAQ 514 Voice messenger

HP iPAQ phone battery

The HP iPAQ 514 has been equipped with an 1100 mAh battery. When the cell phone is connected to the charger the monitor will light up and show how much charging the battery still needs. The monitor lighting up in broad daylight is not a problem; it is even convenient. In the night however, the entire room is lit by the HP iPAQ 514, something you don’t always want. When the phone plays music continuously the battery lasts for approximately eight hours. The specifications claim a standby time of 160 hours and a talk-time of 6.5 hours. This is about what I experienced. The battery capacity is sufficient to last for a full working day without having to recharge it.

HP iPAQ 514

Windows Media Player

Settings menu

Library menu

File manager

HP iPAQ Test conclusion

A
lthough HP had to compromise with equipping the HP iPAQ 514; we can say that it is a business mobile phone with enhanced functions. The price of the device is just as attractive as its functionalities. Despite its many functions and the attractive price tag, we think some points need improvement. HP would do a great job as to equip the device with 3G for the business man who is always on the road. HP compromised in installing Wi-Fi but since you cannot always use a Wi-Fi connection; 3G would be the solution. The camera is of low quality and integrating a digital camera with at least two Megapixels would already improve the image quality. A monitor a tad bigger in size and the included higher resolution would also help. You’d have to scroll less when viewing web pages. Although the HP 514 has been made of plastic, it has a solid feel. In short, HP haven’t started a revolution in the mobile business world but more on the pricing level of such a device. The HP iPAQ is recommendable for users wanting to receive email and read attachments while travelling, but not requiring a large monitor, a fast 3G and a high resolution camera.