[General Topics] Menneisyys:
1.5.2 Wi-Fi connection to the handset

To overcome the problem of missing Bluetooth EDR support in your otherwise HSDPA / EV-DO handset, you may also want to go for Wi-Fi-based solutions to connect the iPAQ to your high-speed handset operating as your modem. (See THIS for more info on the why’s and how’s. Also, if your handsets run Windows Mobile, check out the free and excellent ICSControl and WMWiFiRouter [which, in the meantime, has gone commercial; pre-0.91 versions are free] – along with the, currently, really-really beta version of Walking Hotspot, on which I elaborate below).

As it’s the Nokia N95 that I want to use as a high-speed modem for my iPAQ and not a non-complementer Windows Mobile phone (as I’ve already stated, the Nokia N95 is a perfect enhancer / complementer to the iPAQ: its main strength is multimedia (for example, built-in stereo speakers with volume and stereo widening simply unmatched by any Windows Mobile device), 3D gaming (it has 3D hardware acceleration) and camera, which is completely missing from the iPAQ; in addition, it’s small, light and really sleek, unlike, say, the comparatively large, heavy and multimedia-unfriendly Kaiser / Tilt), I’ve tried very hard to make the first beta of WalkingHotspot (on which I’ve already posted HERE) run.

Unfortunately, the trial, which was released two weeks ago and is discussed HERE and HERE, just didn’t work together with my Windows Mobile clients at all. The HP iPAQ 210 just doesn’t stay connected – only for 4-5 secs and, then, just disconnects. With the HTC s710 and the Dell Axim x51v, while they keep connected, the Symbian server doesn’t even notice it being connected – unlike with the 210, where it asks for the first time (but not later). (Wi-Fi p2p, on the other hand, works flawlessly between the HP iPAQ 210 and another PPC.)

Incidentally, I’ve also installed the Windows Mobile port of Walking Hotspot on my HTC Universal. It’s even more a beta than on Symbian: it doesn’t even support VGA screens. Seeing this, I couldn’t bother testing it on a QVGA device – will return to testing and reporting on it when a somewhat better version is released.

1.6 SDHC support; CF problems

It seems the hx4700 just can’t be made SDHC (SD High Capacity) compliant. The iPAQ 210 has no problems with this format.

Note that there is a CF II slot in the 210. It seems to have severe power drain problems (I haven’t tested this myself). An except from THIS thread:

"2. Why is my battery slowly losing power, around 2-3% per hour?

Most testing done by users of this forum point to the CF card being the culprit. Even though there is an option in the control panel to disable power to the CF card when the device is in standby mode, it doesn't seem to do anything.

There have been reports that different brands of cards behave differently. Please post your results and I will update this list (most of the list below was taken from other forum posts):

Transcend 16GB 133x: 1-2%/hour drain

Sandisk 16GB "Extreme III": 1-2%/hour drain

Adata 4GB 266X Turbo: 0.6%/hour (thanks GloryQuest)"

Finally, note that David Hettel has also stated even SD cards (more specifically, Class 6 SDHC cards; I couldn't test this as I only have Class 4 ones - a 4GB Kingston and a 8GB Sandisk) are handled far faster by the x51v than the iPAQ 210.

1.7 System metric tools (acbPowerMeter); over/underclocking; power consumption

I REALLY hoped for the ability to track the power usage with acbPowerMeter or acbTaskMan (see THIS for more info on these excellent tools), particularly because I wanted to see whether the new platform indeed delivers far lower power usage under heavy CPU load. (This has been a major problem in previous Xscale generations; see for example THIS for a comparison with other platforms like previous-generation Samsung CPU’s.) Unfortunately, it’s in no way possible to inquiry for the actual current flowing from the battery with the iPAQ.

Unfortunately, Dogfood’s excellent RegTweak (also see THIS) doesn’t display the CPU speed either (a useful feature to see how much CPU usage a particular app has at a given clock rate. Unfortunately, keeping the iPAQ on external power doesn’t mean its CPU will always run at 624 MHz – unlike with most? all? prev-gen PXA270-based devices). I, along with the developer of the app, have tried very hard to make it work – so far, in vain.

The same is true of Wizcode LLC’s (ex-Anton Tomov’s) well-known Pocket Hack Master. As of the current, 4.32 version, it has no PXA310 support at all.

Finally, XCPUScalar (as of version 3.03) is completely useless for underclocking: when underclocked to 104 MHz, XCPUScalar itself consumes a LOT of CPU time (8…40%, fluctuating). Too bad, as with earlier HP iPAQ models, there is no way to set the CPU frequency from inside, say, Settings / System / Power, unlike with, say, the Dell Axim x51v or the Pocket Loox 720.

1.8 Other tidbits worth knowing

1.8.1 Updates so far

So far, only a Wi-Fi driver update (currently: 1.10) has been released. Note that the installer doesn’t seem to work under Vista; I’ve uploaded the extracted CAB file HERE so that this won’t cause you problems. Just download and click the CAB file.

1.8.2 USB recharge, particularly "kick-in" issues

While the iPAQ comes with a charger with the traditional 5V/2A "cinch" iPAQ charger (meaning it’s fully compatible with older "cinch" chargers from HP, Compaq, Dell and Fujitsu-Siemens, to name a few), it also allows for recharging (and syncing) via the miniUSB port.

The latter is strictly for recharging and synchronization only. That is, it does NOT have USB host capabilities. For the latter, you’ll need to use the special FB112AA#AC3 cable (also see THIS and THIS). As is explained for example HERE, on today’s Pocket PC’s, you need at least a 2A charger to "kick in" the recharging of a completely depleted battery (which was the case with my unit arriving from a long-long international journey). The traditional 5V/2A iPAQ chargers (or the one coming with the iPAQ 210) will work; however, USB chargers won't (necessarily) be able to "kick in" charging or charge (more) depleted batteries at all. Not even stronger ones; for example, the one coming with most HTC handsets (like the Wizard; it comes with a 1A charger). It seems the iPAQ 210 just doesn't allow for high Amperages when recharged through its USB port and this can't be helped with powerful external USB AC chargers - as opposed to charging the device from the standard sync port, using the 2A AC charger delivered with the device.

Keep this in mind when, seemingly, your (depleted) battery wouldn’t take any charge and you try to recharge it with a USB AC charger or, even worse, with a desktop computer. (This is, actually, my experience. The 1A Wizard AC wall charger just wouldn’t want to "kick in" my depleted, 0% battery. I at once thought I was in the same situation than neillm HERE. Fortunately, I soon realized the bottleneck was the USB port and, after switching to recharging via the standard charger, everything started to work.) It's very important that you keep this in mind when you leave for a journey where your battery may completely be depleted - it's always the best to keep the original sync cable & iPAQ charger with you to avoid being completely unable to charge a deeply depleted battery than trust in USB rechargers.