IPAQ Display

Herbert Kilian wrote:


Is there any new technology on the horizon that would address the
situation without costing a fortune?

First of all, you need transflective screens, that is, with a frontlight.
The Sharp Zaurus series have these screens, and it is said that the screen
of the SL6000 is *really* good. Personally, I use the SL5600 while flying,
and I did not have problems reading the screen in the air.
However, it does not run windows CE, but linux. Winpilot, SeeYou Mobile and
the likes will not run. Cumulus will though ;-)

André

Herbert Kilian wrote:


Is there any new technology on the horizon that would address the
situation without costing a fortune?

First of all, you need transflective screens, that is, with a frontlight.
The Sharp Zaurus series have these screens, and it is said that the screen
of the SL6000 is *really* good. Personally, I use the SL5600 while flying,
and I did not have problems reading the screen in the air.
However, it does not run windows CE, but linux. Winpilot, SeeYou Mobile
and
the likes will not run. Cumulus will though ;-)

André


If you want a decent display now, get a IPAQ 3850 or 3870 off eBay (both the
same - '70 has bluetooth) - I have tested the 3870 in direct sunlight while
airborne and running the SeeYou demo and it is better than my Zaurus SL5500
running Cumulus (This does not detract from the functionality of Cumulus,
just the Zaurus screen being somewhat worse than the IPAQ screen - Cumulus
is definitely worth a look). DO NOT get one of the later IPAQ's with
transreflective screens - these are backlit and like the Palm Tungsten T3
almost impossible to view in direct sunlight.

It appears there is an answer on the horizon in the shape of OLED (Organic
LED) technology which an active light emitting technology, but is low power
apparently, maybe next year will see some hardware appearing with this type
of screen.

Rgds,

Derrick Steed

Derrick Steed wrote in message news:...
If you want a decent display now, get a IPAQ 3850 or 3870 off eBay
(both the
same - '70 has bluetooth) - I have tested the 3870 in direct sunlight
while
airborne and running the SeeYou demo and it is better than my Zaurus
SL5500
running Cumulus
Derrick Steed


Anyone know for sure if all the 38XX series use the same screen?


Andy

Check the HP web site - the specs say the 38xx and earlier series use the
reflective screen - the screen technology changed when they moved to the
400MHz XScale processors in the 39xx series.

Rgds,

Derrick Steed

I've found that the biggest problem with the 3955 and ClearTouch is glare
from wearing a white or light colored shirt.

Doug


"Jamey Jacobs" wrote in message
om...
I've followed a few of these threads, and they generally concluded
that the iPAQ 3955 was the "least bad" of the options, especially with
the ClearTouch anti-glare screen. So I bought a 3955 and plan to
install it in the traditional articulated panel mount approach in my
new glider within the next month.

However, I have not heard of success / failure with a shade hood. Has
anyone tried this approach, or is the problem when the sun is coming
from over your shoulder (thus a hood would be ineffective)?

Thanks
Jamey

(Herbert Kilian) wrote in message
. com...
After years of denial, I finally have to admit to myself what I've
know for a long time: the visibility of my IPAQ screen in sunlight
really sucks! I've tried a couple of 'anti-glare' shields without much
success and ultimately removed them, btw.

Jamey Jacobs wrote:
I've followed a few of these threads, and they generally concluded
that the iPAQ 3955 was the "least bad" of the options, especially with
the ClearTouch anti-glare screen. So I bought a 3955 and plan to
install it in the traditional articulated panel mount approach in my
new glider within the next month.

However, I have not heard of success / failure with a shade hood. Has
anyone tried this approach, or is the problem when the sun is coming
from over your shoulder (thus a hood would be ineffective)?

I don't think a shade hood will help, based on my experience with a 3835
and a 2215 (same screen type as 3955, I'm told). The problem with the
2215 doesn't seem to be light washing out the screen, since full
sunlight on the screen makes it quite readable. The screen is hard to
read when there is sunlight, but it isn't directly on the screen,
perhaps because my pupils are contracted and the backlight isn't strong
enough. Under cloud, my pupils expand, and the backlight is adequate.

The 3835 screen is more visible in the glider cockpit in all situations
I've been in (don't know about night or cloud flying) than the 2215. I
prefer it, even though it's processor is as fast as the 2215.

--
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Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

Easy, Easy solution to Your Ipaq problems. Go and get a Compaq Aero 1500 series
PDA. They are still available.

PENN2P wrote:
Easy, Easy solution to Your Ipaq problems. Go and get a Compaq Aero 1500 series
PDA. They are still available.

It's easy, but I decided it's not a solution for running the newer
programs like Winpilot or SeeYou Mobile: the processor is slow, and the
gray level screen (instead of color) simply doesn't permit the programs
to display well the things I'd like to see. It is entirely adequate for
programs like Glide Navigator (formerly PocketNav), which I used and
liked for many years.

A better choice would be the 3100 series, with it's 15 level gray screen
and a faster processor. I examined one of those, but decided the 3800
series color display was much better for SeeYou Mobile (and probably
Winpilot, Strepla, and others that use color). A problem with the gray
level screen is contrast changes with temperature, leading to some
fussing with the contrast in flight and on the ground. I'm think the
3835 I have will be adequate (meaning - fast enough) until Ipaqs with
better screens are available. As a backup, I have a 2215, which is
useable in the cockpit but not as visible as the 3835. The 2215 will be
used for car and motorhome navigation in the meantime, for which it's
faster processor suits it well (and slots for CF and SD cards).

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Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

The Pocket-PC Windows environment has supported a four-fold higher
resolution at 640x480 pixels (and even landscape mode) for some
months now via `2003 Second Edition. HP have just produced a model
that takes advantage of these features, the HX4700 (aka HX4705).

Photos he
http://www.ipaqabilities.com/iaforum...opic.php?t=249

Specs he
http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/q...11982_div.HTML

Queries:
* will the display work better in sunlight???
* will the new touchpad suit in-flight use???
* what old cables and accessories can be utilised???
* when will Win-Pilot (etc) work on this device???

I am attracted to:
* the 4" display (other iPaqs are 3.5" or 3.8")
* the higher resolution (four fold is a big jump)
* landscape mode might suit some space limitations better
* speaker on the front (H5xxx have poor sound)
* CF and SD memory cards (as many cameras use CF cards)
* `2003 Second Edition software (bug fixes and easier WiFi)

Any ideas/comments??

Cheers,

Jim Kelly





"Eric Greenwell" wrote in message
...
PENN2P wrote:
Easy, Easy solution to Your Ipaq problems. Go and get a Compaq
Aero 1500 series
PDA. They are still available.

It's easy, but I decided it's not a solution for running the newer
programs like Winpilot or SeeYou Mobile: the processor is slow, and
the
gray level screen (instead of color) simply doesn't permit the
programs
to display well the things I'd like to see. It is entirely adequate
for
programs like Glide Navigator (formerly PocketNav), which I used and
liked for many years.

A better choice would be the 3100 series, with it's 15 level gray
screen
and a faster processor. I examined one of those, but decided the
3800
series color display was much better for SeeYou Mobile (and probably
Winpilot, Strepla, and others that use color). A problem with the
gray
level screen is contrast changes with temperature, leading to some
fussing with the contrast in flight and on the ground. I'm think the
3835 I have will be adequate (meaning - fast enough) until Ipaqs
with
better screens are available. As a backup, I have a 2215, which is
useable in the cockpit but not as visible as the 3835. The 2215 will
be
used for car and motorhome navigation in the meantime, for which
it's
faster processor suits it well (and slots for CF and SD cards).

--
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

Jim Kelly wrote:

The Pocket-PC Windows environment has supported a four-fold higher
resolution at 640x480 pixels (and even landscape mode) for some
months now via `2003 Second Edition. HP have just produced a model
that takes advantage of these features, the HX4700 (aka HX4705).

Photos he
http://www.ipaqabilities.com/iaforum...opic.php?t=249

Specs he
http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/q...11982_div.HTML

Queries:
* will the display work better in sunlight???

There is no substitute for putting on the glasses you use in the
cockpit, running the program you use, and holding the pda in your hand
outside in the sun. Turn slowly around, then step into the shade and
repeat. Currently, visibility is _King_, and this test will show you
what you need to know.

* will the new touchpad suit in-flight use???

Also can be tested with the program of your choice. SeeYou Mobile (and
probably the other ones), can be placed entirely on an SD or CF card,
popped into the pda at the store, and given a try.

* what old cables and accessories can be utilised???

Unimportant, considering the $600+ cost of the unit - $60 gets you the
right cable, if it needs a new one.

* when will Win-Pilot (etc) work on this device???

It might already, since it works with the Toshiba e800, which also has a
4" VGA screen. Ditto for SeeYou Mobile.


I am attracted to:
* the 4" display (other iPaqs are 3.5" or 3.8")

The text box sizes are adjustable (at least with SeeYou Mobile and I
assume, Winpilot and others), so you end up with the same physical sized
boxes on all screens, just so you can see them comfortably. What the
bigger screen gives you is a bigger map. It shows exactly the same
thing, just bigger. It is a little less crowded, because the labels are
relatively smaller (though physically the same size) compared to the
map. Comparing my 2215 (3.5" screen) to my 3835 (3.8" screen), the
effect is noticeable but not striking to me. Going from a 3.8" to a 4"
screen would be unnoticeable, I think.

* the higher resolution (four fold is a big jump)

I like the idea, but I can already see everything I want to see as
clearly as I need to. Unless you have excellent vision (so you can use
small fonts and keep the labels small) or study things like the terrain
closely in flight, I think there is no advantage for cockpit use. A
personal test is a must to determine any advantage - people's vision and
preferences vary a lot.

* speaker on the front (H5xxx have poor sound)
* CF and SD memory cards (as many cameras use CF cards)
* `2003 Second Edition software (bug fixes and easier WiFi)

These are minor points that might be interesting if you want to use it
outside the cockpit. Remember the 3 most important points: visibility,
visibility, visibility.

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Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA