Jornada 680 or 720?

Hello all,

I am going to be purchasing either an HP Jornada 680 or a HP Jornada 720 for my final year of high school to keep my self better organized. I am having a hard time deciding whether spending the extra $30 on the 720 is completely worth it.

Currently, I have about $175 to spend on a Handheld PC. I am not looking to make this handheld a somewhat "desktop replacement." I will use it mostly for Pocket Word and Pocket Excel to take notes and work on projects during class, keep track of homework and grades, maybe use WiFi (I already own a card) at home if I'm in another room from my desktop.

I can get a HP Jornada 680 with the cradle, sync cable, stylus, power supply, charger, battery and original box for $143.95 (includes shipping) or an HP Jornada 720 for $173.00 (includes shipping) which includes cradle, 20mb CompactFlash, sync cable, and AC adapter.

From what I know, I believe the 720 is a 206MHz whereas the 680 is 133MHz.

Is the Jornada 720 better for me?

Edited by danjr 2006-03-04 5:20 PM

danjr

What exactly do you wish to do? Day to day Personal Information Management? Gaming? Music?
If you intend to use it for music as well as games, I'd recommend the 720 for a very good reason. The 680 has a different kind of processor, which will sound like nothing, if you look at the CPU speed, look a bit deeper and you'll see why. SH3 processor Vs ARM processor. The difference is that the SH3 will not run programs compiled for MIPS or ARM, the other competing procesors. That makes the SH3 processor virtually useless for modern PDA games. The ARM processor will be more compatible. Next, do you need an audio jack? If yes, then you'll need a 720 as the 680 doesn't have one. Do you have a serial port on your computer? Do you prefer to sync over USB to your desktop? If yes to the latter, then 720 is your only choice.
With WiFi though, make sure it has WINDOWS CE 2.11 or 3 drivers, if it has either, then either will work. Oh and make sure it is a 16 bit card (Those without a gold stripe on the end of the card) too, otherwise, it won't work at all.


I suggest you do a lot more research and draw your own conclusions, if you wish to sacrafice a few things. I have both (Well, a 718 and a 680e), so thats not a problem for me! The 720 will have a modem, so will the 680, but not the 680e.
HTHs

EDIT!!!
Also, you may want to look at others too, the Mobile Pro 780/790 is another choice I can recommend, only because of their touch typable keyboard. If you can live with CE2.11 for a while, go for a 780, until you can afford to upgrade it to CE3.
the MobilePro 800 comes to mind too, that has an addition of a USB port, ok, so it isn't small, it isn't as portable, it is about twice the size of a 780 and about 4 times that of a Jornada, but it has a USB port and a touch typable keyboard. It looks and feels like a laptop too, although I am still waiting to activate mine.
The 880 is simliar to the 800, but with a faster processor.
You may want to also try the Compaq Aero 8000, but it has a serial port, PS/2 Port (Yes, thats right, no USB), VGA port (useful for presentations), microphone and headphone port.
Jornada 820 is another one, comes with USB, VGA, Serial, but no headphone or microphone port.
Intermec 6651s come to mind, ask some users about them, as they have better experiences.

Watch out if you get a Mobile Pro though. They DO have a VGA port, but you need an adapter to be able to use a Projector or Monitor, rather like an Apple iBook/Powerbook, although the adapter won't work if you use an Apple adapter.

Edited by Wessex_nut 2006-03-04 5:47 PM

Thanks for the help, Wessex_nut!

I'm going to use it for PIM and Word Processing. I already have an MP3 player already and the only game I'd play would probably be Solitaire and maybe a few games along those lines. I have a serial port and USB so either one is fine. I doubt that I'd need an audio jack since I most likely wouldnt be playing music with it.

I've been looking at the NEC MobilePro 780, you said it is twice the size of a Jornada 720 [since the MobilePro was 2x larger than the NEC Mobile Pro and 4x larger than the Jornada]? - If possible, and if it isnt a hassle, can you post a side by side pic of your Jornada and your Mobile Pro?

Also, as far as form-factor, the form factor needs to be like Jornada or a MobilePro, not 'traditional' laptop style [ex. Compaq Aero]

Thanks alot!

Edited by danjr 2006-03-04 7:01 PM

If it's just $30 more, I'd absolutely go with the 720. If nothing else, the faster processing speed and greater selection of available applications for ARM and for H/PC 2000 will be of great benefit no matter what. (The difference between the two was far more than that when I was shopping for them last year, so I settled on the 680. My 680 went for $62 while 720s back then were going for $200+.) Also, if you decide to use the device for Web browsing, the version of Pocket Internet Explorer (4.0) in H/PC 2000 is much better than version 3.0 in H/PC Pro.

Don't get me wrong; I like what H/PC Pro can do, and the 680 is a great little device. But you're getting a whole lot more in the 720, and if it's just $30 more, there's just no comparison.

nec 780: yes it is twice the size of the j720/j680. izemize.fw.hu/hpc.php has some comparison pics! about j728 and nec 900c but thats the same in size.

anyway if you want to do word processing DO NOT buy a j680. buy a j720 or nec 790 or maybe even nec 780. but i don't recommend ce 2.11

if only 30$ is the difference you'd better go for the 720!!!

my personal & humble opinion

Well I'm shopping on eBay, and I'm going to be price-looking for the next few days, and I have plenty of time (September) until I need this, also with Origami coming out, prices of 728's will probably be coming down [if Origami sells for the supposed $500] as well as other HPC's.

Also, is a cradle (on Jornada or MobilePro) really needed, or is there some type of port on the actual device that would let me sync/charge it? Because I can get a Jornada or a Mobile Pro cheaper without one.

Also, are there any "hacks" to allow HPC 2000 to be installed on a 780?

EDIT: Now that I see how much bigger the MobilePro is, I will definitely be getting a Jornada. I want an HPC because its powerful and ultra-portable, an NEC MobilePro is portable, but a Jornada is MUCH more portable.

Edited by danjr 2006-03-04 7:24 PM

no hacks you need the physical rom chip for the nec 780

cradle isnt needed if you have a lan or wlan network or a card reader or if you're content with the speed of 115 kbps (serial cable)... mobilepro's dont even have a cradle

Well, I wouldn't go that far. I don't think the 680 is too bad for word processing. The keys are small, but even my big fingers appear to be able to handle them. I still use it happily to do small word processing tasks, like writing letters.

Gees, I went to eat dinner and missed a absolute steal on a Jornada 720. It came with a cradle and everything for $110

I forgot to include this: Is typing on the Jornada easy to do or get used to, considering the size of it compared to normal keyboards?

geez you didn't read my post. i recommended the j720 over the j680. so it isn't the keys i have had a problem with.

it is just that ce 2.11 is a little unstable and that the word processor on the j680 is certainly unstable. i wont ever write anything in it again.

Yes I did read your post. I'm simply asking is it easy to get used to the small keys.

No, she's talking to me. I did read that you don't recommend 2.11, and I should have commented on that as well. Again, for small word processing tasks, I haven't had any problems with H/PC Pro. I haven't found it to be unstable at all. But, again, the 720 is clearly a better choice here for just $30 more, cuz eventually everyone with an H/PC wants to do more than just word processing. As for the keys, I think you can get used to them before too long. I've just learned to tap them more gingerly to avoid hitting adjacent keys as well with my big fingers.

Edited by CE Geek 2006-03-05 5:37 AM

how small? even the j680 surely can handle 10 lines...

yes the keys are OK, i got used to them instantly




sorry, iwasn't saying that to you.

Edited by cmonex 2006-03-05 7:43 AM