iPAQ h2210/h2215 Review

Hi,

I recently received my new iPAQ h2215 Pocket PC. I bought it for 2 reasons.
I wanted to test Glide Navigator II with the new "Windows Mobile 2003"
operating system, and I wanted to check out the connector to see if it is
the same as the one found on existing iPAQs. The iPAQ h2210 is identical to
the h2215.

The good news is that it works great with Glide Navigator II. We did not
need to make any changes to GN II to accomodate changes in the new "Windows
Mobile 2003" operating system.

The communication/power port on the bottom of the h2215 is identical to the
one found on iPAQ models 3800, 3900, 5100, 5400 & 5500. I tested it using a
GPS-NAV and a Goddard I38C-1 cable with Glide Navigator II.

Pros
The h2215 is very small and thin. It also has both a CF card slot and an SD
card slot on the top of the unit. That is very nice. I tested it with a CF
card GPS and it worked great with GN II. It also has a BlueTooth radio and
will work with either of the BlueTooth GPS units I sell from Transplant and
TeleType (I haven't tested that yet but it should work fine). The screen
uses the same technology as the 3900 and is extremely bright while indoors.
Outdoors it is not great, but as good or better than any other Pocket PC.
The 2215 also features a fast 400 MHz processor.

Cons
The screen is as bright as the h3900, but not as large. It is 15% smaller
(3.5" vs. 3.8"). That doesn't sound bad, but the larger screens on the
other units will be easier to see in flight. The h2215 does not accomodate
an iPAQ expansion pack so it won't fit into any of the existing cradles from
TEKK. It fits pretty nicely in the RAM-HOL-PD1 cradle and should fit nicely
in the new RAM-HOL-PD2 cradle (I should receive one of the new PD2 units in
a few days). The downside of the RAM cradles is that they don't offer an
integral cable so the iPAQ cable connector will stick out the bottom of the
mount and may be damaged by your leg in flight.

I haven't yet tested the life of the internal standard sized battery. It is
a 900 mAh battery. It's nice that the battery is removable - so you can
swap in another battery if the first one runs out. But that is not very
practical in flight. My guess is that it will power the Pocket PC and a CF
Card GPS or a BlueTooth Radio connection to a BlueTooth GPS for about 2
hours.

Summary
At $389.95 I think this is a very nice Pocket PC. I still prefer the h3950
or h5150 due to their larger screens and support for iPAQ expansion packs
and TEKK cradles. However, for pilots who don't need a data connection to
an IGC approved logger, the h2215 might work very nicely with a CF Card GPS
or BlueTooth GPS - if the battery will hold out.

I have updated my Pocket PC comparison table at
http://www.cumulus-soaring.com/ppc.htm

I don't make money selling Pocket PCs, but I do sell Glide Navigator II,
Flight Analysis, and VL to IGC Pocket PC soaring software programs.

Good Soaring,

Paul Remde
Cumulus Soaring Supplies
http://www.cumulus-soaring.com