Under The Hood: CPU And Battery Performance

Samsung's 300-Mhz S3C2442 processor is certainly no power house, but it does get the computing job done reasonably well. As the benchmarks below show, the CPU's computing power is more than adequate to run Microsoft Office applications or even video with Media Player. As we accumulate test data on other Windows handhelds, comparative data will be presented. While the CPU's price was not disclosed, it is likely cheaper compared to an Intel device and probably accounts for why HP is able to sell the iPAQ for £165.

With a video from CoastalBC.com running in a constant playback loop, the battery charge lasted for four hours and 25 minutes. However, using Internet Explorer with an active Web page open, the Messaging application and Excel loaded simultaneously in the background with the Wi-Fi component activated, battery life was only 2.5 hours. I suspect that Wi-Fi played a major role in reducing battery longevity.

Conclusions

The HP iPAQ rx1950 manages to do a lot with its limited CPU horsepower and memory. Despite the inevitable limitations inherent in mobile versions of PC Office applications that must adapt to the constraints of lower CPU power and limited memory, the device makes good use of its available resources. You can also play video or music files - although the iPAQ was certainly not geared for these applications. The device will largely surpass the needs of individuals or a firm seeking to outfit its mobile users with a relatively cheap and robust handheld PC for quick entry of data in Excel or Word files or uploading and downloading email when Wi-Fi connections are available. And again, given its price of £165, you definitely get your money's worth.