iPAQ 3970 Review Part II
By Tony Williams, Copyright 2002
 Version 1.00  Revised 7/15/2002

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Now I am not going to get into all the step by steps of doing things in the 3900 series. These are just my reviews and opinions.

1st Item:

Pocket PC 2002 OS: Same as the 3700 and 3800, no changes. Not optimize for the XScale processor. Slow as dead snail
T. Diddy Rating: 1 star

2nd Item: Transflective active-matrix screens

Very impressive. The screen is, how can I say it. It is AWESOME. I am really impress with the screen quality. The colors that are shown are richer and sharper. I thought the 3800 screen was nice, but this 3900 screen is not but WHOA NELLY.. It is even nice with the Concept Kitchen screen protector.
T. Diddy Rating: 5 stars

3rd Item:

Speed: Shall I skip this one or tell you how much of a joke it is. Ok you win.. It is true that XScale processor is no fast than the StrongARM 206mhz using the same PPC 2002 OS. I have found that it is actually slower and some applications take longer to respond, experience a lot of lockups and hangs and also that sometimes clicking on the an icon or start menu may take a while to respond. This actually is pathetic on both Microsoft and Intel's part. The XScale runs excellent if you do not install anything.
T. Diddy Rating: 2 stars

4th Item:

Sound: Ah let's just say that I like the features of being able to adjust the BASS and tremble when listening to music via my Sony headphones. Playing music thru the iPAQ speaker is not all that impressive and you really can't hear the bass or treble. Makes a great MP3 or WMA player.
T. Diddy Rating: 3 stars

5th Item:

Nevo Remote: I am very impress with this application and the signal strength of the IR. Setting up the application was fairly easy. Has support of over hundreds of IR devices, but is not very detail when it comes individuals remotes. The remote control feature of the iPAQ 3970 using the Nevo software is very powerful and has a excellent range. Basically each item has the basic remote functions and none of the advance features of our very easy to lose remotes. I tested the application in 2 stores Best Buy and Circuit City with their TV's. The application supported every TV they had and of course they could not figure out who was turning off and on the tv's and changing channels. The signal strength was quite powerful. @ home every IR device I had worked with Nevo (everything I have is Sony).
T. Diddy Rating: 5 stars

6th Item: (from Part 1 Review)

Bluetooth: Now that the notebook and iPAQ were chatting, I disconnected and tried to used Bluetooth. Both PC and iPAQ found each other and I created a partnership between the two, but then I could not get them to sync. I spend about an hour trying and retrying till I came up with the idea to read the freakin manual (most of your solutions are right there, I just do not like reading manuals) and after following the instructions boom everything worked, including the active syncing. The iPAQ had no problem connecting with my Sony - Ericsson t68i Bluetooth phone. I do have install the GSM applications installed (Running Voice GSM, mPhone 2.1, and Sunnysoft GSM Manager), but have not had the chance yet to test them. I am suppose to be able to use the iPAQ to dial the handset and allow me to talk to someone using my Bluetooth headset.
T. Diddy Rating: 5 stars

7th Item:

Automatic Active Sync using Bluetooth: I thought when I come into range of my notebook (running 3Com/HP Bluetooth pc card). My iPAQ would automatically sync. Not. So far I would have to automatically on the iPAQ start ActiveSync each time I am in range.
T. Diddy Rating: 0 stars

8th Item:
Video: I had a lot of issues with this.

Windows Media Player: Same videos that I play on my 3760 series, will not play on the 3970.
T. Diddy Rating: 1 star

Pocket TV Mpeg Player: Mpegs play fine, some are just a little jerky. Plays fine on the 3760.
T. Diddy Rating: 3 stars

Real One Player: Same videos that I play on my 3760, will not play on the 3970.
T. Diddy Rating: 1 star

9th Item:
Music: All my WMA files played just fine
T. Diddy Rating: 5 stars

10th Item:

Price: Over priced @ $750, I think I should have went an bought my favorite handheld - The Jornada 760 (Previous owned the 720) or just got me a J720 again.
T. Diddy Rating: 1 star

11th Item:

Games: Zio Soft Tiger Woods Golf and Zio Soft Pocket Gambler - Excellent in play and the colors -- oh my..
T. Diddy Rating: 5 stars

T. Diddy Overall Rating for the iPAQ 3970: 3 Stars :) :) :)

iPAQ 3970 Review Part I