Pocket PC: HP iPAQ rx1710

This page contains
information on the Hewlett Packard iPAQ rx1710 Pocket PC device.

 

The
entry-level model in HP’s brand new lineup, the HP iPAQ rz1710 is truly
a no-frills Pocket PC. At around 120g (4.2oz) it’s as lightweight and
as tiny as its diminutive h1940 predecessor, but with a new, altogether
squarer, styling. Although similar to the h1940 in most respects, with
SD-only expansion slot and no Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, the 1710 comes with
a pedestrian 200MHz Samsung processor and only 27MB total memory. With
the usual Pocket PC scheme of allocating half to program execution and
half to storage space, that’s a default of less than 14MB for each-decidedly
lightweight by modern standards, and the smallest RAM complement seen
on any Pocket PC we can remember.

While certainly adequate for basic PIM functions, this handheld isn’t
suited for anyone who plans to add a lot of third party software. Although
most applications can be stored on an add-on SD card or the 10MB of flash
storage space provided on the iPAQ 1710, the inevitable assortment of
support files that get written to the internal Windows directory alone
will gradually eat into the paltry sub-14MB storage space. If you elect
to assign more space to file storage and less to execution memory, or
allow the operating system to adjust the figure itself, you’ll find yourself
unable to keep several applications running at once, and certain memory-hungry
programs (most notably games) may refuse to open at all.

This is all more of an observation than a criticism, as a huge proportion
of PDA users never expand beyond the basic built-in software, and for
them the rz1710’s internal memory will be quite adequate. But, if you’re
someone who adds quite a bit of software to your PDA, you’ll be far better
off buying a Pocket PC with at least 50-64MB of memory.

In common with all the new Pocket PCs released over the past few months,
the iPAQ rz1710 runs the latest ‘Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition’ version
of the operating system, which adds a landscape screen mode plus a few
other minor changes.

As a budget Pocket PC the HP iPAQ rx1710 certainly has a place, but only
for those with the most basic PIM requirements.

Details on the rx1710

• OS:
  Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition
• Expansion:
  SD slot
• Display:
  240×320 pixel touchscreen
• Memory:
  27MB memory
• Navigation:
  Touch screen, four-way navigator
• Battery
  life: Removable, rechargeable.
• Processor:
  200MHz Samsung
• Connectivity:
  Infrared and USB

 

Availability: No longer available

 

Frequently-asked
questions:

Something you want to know about the 1710? Ask in our forum

Looking for software?	Check out www.handango.com for one of the widest ranges of Pocket PC software out there. If they don’t have what you need, try www.pocketgear.com.
I need help connecting	We offer some pages of help on this, as follows: Connecting to Email and the Internet Connecting with Bluetooth Connecting via Mobiles with GPRS Connecting with Wi-Fi Using WAP
Activesync problems	For problems with ActiveSync, see our page dedicated to Microsoft’s PC synchronisation solution, Activesync
ARM, MIPS or SH3 ?	If you come across Pocket PC software asking you to pick one of these three options, the one to go for is almost certainly ARM. These options represent earlier days of Pocket PC development, where an application had to be compiled for a specific processor. Just about all of the Pocket PC 2002 / 2003 devices are ‘ARM’ (including IPAQ and Loox). Early Casio Cassiopeia were MIPS and the early HP Jornadas were SH3. If you see software making this distinction, it indicates the software may have been complied a few years ago, and therefore may not run on the latest machines. If in doubt, check with the software author
How can I transfer data from another PDA?	Moving data from one PDA to another, or trying to convert a non-standard file into Pocket PC format can be troublesome. As it’s such a common question, we’ve created a dedicated conversion page. If the information on this page isn’t useful, or we’re missing a format, please let us know.