HP iPAQ hw6510 / hw6515
Average Ratings
Wishful thinking
Great as a PDA but not so great as a phone.
I finally migrated from AT&T, not by choice, and was told my reception would be much improved. Well I went from 5 bars in my house down to 1. So there the first strike against it. Bought a bluetooth wireless headset, which was recommended, but it doesn't recognize it. The sound on the earpeice is not very clear. The display cover seems to be in the way when I try listen to conversation. And the major phone problem is this is NOT a one handed device. It takes full attention with both hands to make a call.
As a PDA it's great and easy to use. The keyboard is a bit small so I end up using my stylus on the display, which is no problem.The display screen is easy on the eyes and is large. I have no problems to note with the PDA part of the phone.
Overall I wish I liked the phone part more, but being a Realtor and my phone is my business, this one is going to have to go back.
AT&T needs more Ipaq phones.
It's way old school; but good; overall.
Pros.
Good reception.
Livable camera/video.
Two memory card slots (SD and Mini SD)
Good sound.
Easy e-mail set up.
Sturdy.
Cons:
Low, low memory.
No pre-installed Pocket MSN.
Xpress Mail wouldn't allow my e-mail addresses.
I'm waiting for HP to give at&t a new Pocket PC phone. Question is: will it be as good as this one?
Very Poor software quality
I have read everyones reviews and see that this phone / PDA has shared issues. This unit reboots, make calls on it's own, locks up all the time requiring a reboot, and is not capable of multitasking. Hit the send button and your signal reduces. There are some very good features but are killed with the major problem issues. I did flash the ROm with HP's upgrade ROM flash which did absolutely nothing different for the phone except give it a new version number. All the same issues continue and some where out there on the web I read that the ROM upgrade hard codes a virus on the phone which causes the phone to slowly but surely worsen, then you have to flash the ROM again to start over only to have the same issues progressively return. Me and this phone have a love / hate relationship. One day this phone will be used to to hold my fishing bait at the bottom of the river! Good luck to all those who have this phone and anyone who is suckered into buying it on Ebay. I was lucky or unlucky, as a friend of mine works for Cingular and gave it to me... now I know why he was so kind. Plans to buy a HTC 8125 or newer (unlocked) as I have IMMIX Wireless and have to use unlocked phones.
Great Phone, some cons
I got my phone and its worked pretty good. sometimes it shuts itslef off when the battery goes dead. ive had problems with sd cards and such. i bought a 2gb sandisk sd card and it said to format the memory after a few days use, so i formated it and it only said 128 mb. hmm i said, but other than that good phone, but does anyone know how big the sd card slot holds? if you do, email me at mikebythecomputer@hotmail.com
Outdated and BLOWS!
I've had this POS for about a year now. I paid about $400.00 for it NEW on EBay. During this time I have had to put up with "SIMLOCK" in which a box comes up and ask's for a "simlock code" that it wont allow you to enter! (reboot fixes this temporarily). There does not appear to be a cause for this, and HP was NO HELP!
And for the last few months it just started randomly SHUTTING OFF! I finally figured out that the back cover of the phone (which covers the battery) wasn't closing quite all the way. I had to really press hard to get it to "seal" properly.
That worked for awhile, but then the shut off's continued. My next trick was to put folded pieces of scrap paper INSIDE between the battery and the cover as the battery was "loose" and the proper connection was not being made. This has worked for the most part.
It is "renewal time" as my Cingular contract is almost up and I will now shop for a TREO 680.
Overall, the Window's OS hasn't been too bad, web surfing is rather slow on Cingular's EDGE system. I'm not crazy about "Outlook" but am getting used to it. (I like Palm's OS better)
Not Bad! / Not Great!
One of the better PDA phones. I've been using this phone/PDA for about a year now.
Pros
-Rugged - Dropped numerous times.
-PDA features
-Stability - Much better than my Treo 600/650. I don't have to reboot it daily.
-Internet Explorer - Better than the Treo
-Call Quality - Good Call quality.
-Bluetooth - Actually works.
Cons
-Very low volume. Without a headset - too low to hear.
-Size - Not a fan of the size/weight.
Overall - Not a bad phone/PDA. One the ruggedness factor - It gets a 10 from me. Call quality is good, as long as your using a headset.
don't make the same mistake
I thought I had the cure all to doing business on the road, checking emails, logging on to the web etc. NOT! I purchased the phone in Feb of this year, I have had it exchanged 3x's due to service related issues...all repeated here in the forum. Dropped calls, low volume, involuntary shut off, low memory and slow speeds at best. One of it most basic functions as a cell phone is it's worst ability. I can go on for a while with complaints however I will spare everyone. I warn anyone considering this phone, beware! For those who have had success with it, either they are not using it or just plain luck that they got "the good one". I have had my fill, I am switching to the 8125....free of charge. From what I have read, that is what this phone was intended to be and more. Good Luck fellow PDA 'ers.
Bad Purchase
My comments on this device are based on two weeks of very frustrating experience. Just trying to get this thing to perform basic functions is an exercise in futility. Comments are divided into two core uses: PHONE and PDA
PHONE
Consistently has a weaker signal than my previous mobile phone (an old LG VX4700). With the LG phone I was with Verizon; the HP 6515 service is through Cingular; both in Houston, TX. Connection with Motorola Bluetooth headset seems to provide garbled sound. Speaker built into the HP 6515 unit cannot be adjusted up to adequate volume making it very difficult to hear callers. Does not have voice dialing, so hands-free usage is pointless. Does not seem to be able to interface with standard push-button phone response systems such as my office voicemail system. User interface is counter-intuitive and difficult to navigate. Will sometimes spontaneously reboot. Comes with a lousy holster that frequently jumps off my belt and onto the floor. A monkey could have developed a better holster. I just spent $30 online getting a better holster.
PDA
Windows user interface is horrible. Online help is even worse. Setting up a Bluetooth connection to my PC is convoluted and yields inconsistent results. Even after repeatedly setting up the PDA and PC as paired devices, the PDA loses the pairing definition several times per week and I have to start all over again.
Best feature: Solitaire.
Bottom Line: HP and Microsoft should be ashamed to be associated with this clunky, unreliable, and difficult device. I can't believe I am stuck with this thing for two years. Save your money.
DO NOT DO IT
The nicest thing about this phone is the built in games, to which they only give you 2.
I hate this phone. The previous review was dead on. As soon as you hit send the bars drop.
I love the plastic shield when I am on a call as it keeps my face away from the screen. BUT, when I try to make a call and the pop-up message appears telling me my data connection is not working I get irritated. The phone forces you to lift the plastic screen and press ok. This pop-up even appears often during dialing a phone number, forcing you to start all over again.
This phone makes me want to kill my TV everytime I see the "Fewest dropped calls" commercial.
HP what is up with the 6900 model. Are you taking long enough to get it tested and released?
Oh yeah that's right, if it is anything near as aweful as the 6500 you may as well discontinue it now.
Peace.
One trick pony
I have had this phone since it was released. The only reason I still have it is the gps navigation capability. I also like the SD card slot(poor location on phone) which they foolishly removed in favor of the more expensive mini-SD card on the new model. The ear piece speaker volume is very inadequate. The Treo has an extremely superior shape and design. The 6515 is to thin and too wide. In addition the buttons on the HP are small, rounded, and hard, which make typing much more difficult than the Treo. I have had to send the unit back for repairs twice. While I admit I am probably exceptionally hard on electronics I do not feel this phone even approaches the durability of a "phone". Battery life is adequate, but by no means spectacular. Cellular reception is poor compared to other phones. Oh, one good thing about this phone is that when you call HP you get to speak with there business technical support center based in Canada, so the technical support representatives can actually speak understandable English.
Conclusion - I would not recommend this phone to anyone who does not really want/require gps navigation. Otherwise, there are many superior alternatives.
