Compaq's new iPaq may be the PC for your pocket

Compaq's new iPaq 3600 PocketPC is a gorgeous piece of technology, sporting a 206MHz processor, a sleek Porsche-like case and striking color screen that does not wash out in bright sunlight. It can play music, show photographs, record voice notes and even do Web browsing with an optional wireless kit.

Sadly, it carries some of the PC's eccentricities. I had trouble installing hot-sync data sharing with a notebook computer. After two weeks of operation, the iPaq's "Today" screen locked up on me.

Worst of all, because of a curious design flaw, the iPaq at one point lost all of its data. Some of the data was backed up on the home computer, but unbacked entries were gone for good and I was without my appointments for the rest of the trip.

The iPaq's pecadilloes are in stark contrast to the worker-bee reliability of the Palm, which just seems to go and go. It's a Hollywood-like contrast of a beautiful but temperamental star vs. the solid character actor who always gets the job done.

This is a crucial shoppers' dilemma as we head into the holiday season. I cannot imagine a more stunning Christmas gift than a new iPaq. But if reliability, albeit drab, is the No. 1 criterion, the Palm is the safer bet.

The iPaq's setup should have been easier. After installing the PocketPC software on my notebook PC, I connected the iPaq via USB. The PC recognized a new plug 'n play device, but not the iPaq.

I had a similar problem a couple of weeks earlier with the Hewlett-Packard Jornada PocketPC. After months of synchronization with my desktop PC, the sharing operation suddenly quit. Half an hour on the phone with a Microsoft support technician finally restored the connection. The next time I booted up, however, the sync had disappeared again.

From the H-P experience I knew to go into the Windows system settings and delete "Unknown USB device." Subsequently the iPaq and PC magically started shaking hands.

Although it comes with 32MB of memory, the iPaq does not have enough on-board storage to accommodate a music playlist. With an optional plastic jacket, or sleeve, you can use a compact flash-memory card as a "hard disk." A 64MB card will give you an hour's worth of music.

As an MP3 player, the iPaq rocks. Using a compact version of Microsoft's Windows Media Player 7, it pumps out plenty of volume for headphone listening on a noisy street corner or in an airplane. The only interruptions come from bystanders or fellow passengers who want to know what that thing is and where they can get one.

Which is a bit of a problem. Availability of the iPaq is almost nil, although units are promised in time for holiday shopping.

I put a photo of our bichon frise, Maggie, on the iPaq as "wallpaper." Storage again is an issue, but you can get enough personal photos on the iPaq for a modest slide show.

Sharing with Outlook e-mail, contacts and calendaring went smoothly. Synchronization between the PC and iPaq is quite fast, the only possible hitch being an extended trip away where overlapping appointments have to be reconciled.

The "Today" screen lockup was an irritation, but went away after a "reboot" using the Compaq's well-recessed reset button. The meltdown was another matter.

The iPaq comes with an on-off switch in its base. This has to be flipped, by the way, to activate the device upon unpacking.

Disaster struck when the switch somehow got flipped back off while bouncing around in my backpack. I got a sick feeling as I tried to figure out what had happened, and eventually realized all was lost.

A tiny sliding metal door protects the on-off switch but does not stay shut. It is a regrettable Achilles heel to an otherwise powerful piece of equipment.

For all the glitches, I kept returning to the iPaq. Its pluses are magnificent enough to outweigh its minuses.

Cost is an issue: The unit runs $500, and the flash-card sleeve another $40. A 64MB card goes for around $150.

At the other end of the spectrum, a Palm m100 runs about $150 and covers all the daybook basics. But without the color display, music and photos of the iPaq, life seems pretty dull.

User Friendly appears Sundays in the Personal Technology section of The Seattle Times. Paul Andrews is a Seattle Times technology reporter. Send e-mail to: pandrews@seattletimes.com.