Customer Reviews
I have used my 5555 for a year 
2004-08-23
To get absolute use out of this machine I would recommend the SanDisk 1 gig memory (inserts in top of 5555 easily .. about 300 bucks), Pocket map navigator (absolutely wonderful about 350 bucks) Sierra wireless aircard 750 (so you can use it as a cell)and Microsoft voice recognition (works great) so you can select and play your tunes. This is a brilliantly designed machine.. more usability just keeps popping out of it every day. One fair warning.. it's hell to learn to run correctly. The documentation is terrible but tech support has been patient during my dozen or so phone calls for help. I have dropped this machine and it still works so it is durable. The 5555 makes all other PDA's look like junk once you are on top of it. Forget the expense.. just buy it, fight it and make it work to do the things you want it to do. Oh, and download the software so you can watch movies on it too (another 50 bucks). You can put about 8 movies on the san disk. Don't waste money with the double expansion pack, get the single, it will still fit in your shirt pocket and do all the above.
Earlier Review about Battery Replacement is Incorrect 2004-08-18
An earlier review (August, 2003) contained the following incorrect information:
"The problem that has plagued HP since the 3000 series started is the battery. It isn't replaceable by any part that you can get your hands on, and it has a shelf life of about 1.5 years."
In fact, the iPAQ 5555 battery IS replaceable and many people recommend that users carry a spare battery if they expect to use the PDA heavily.
Disappointed 
2004-07-18
Great while it works. Mine died after 9 months of casual use. I'm not looking forward to dealing with warranty repairs.
This is a great Pocket PC if you can afford it. 2004-06-16
I really like this Ipaq. I've had a 3835,3955,2215 and now this. This Ipaq really rocks.The integrated wifi and bluetooth makes surfing the net very easy. Even with the zippy 2215, I had trouble getting wifi due to a very obstinate wifi sd card. There's something to be said for having integrated wifi. Not just that but the 128 mb really makes a difference. I no longer find myself checking the memory setting to see which program needs to go on sd storage. Speed is nice and the color display is beautiful. Battery life could be better and of course it would be nice to have a compact flash but I'm pretty happy with the product.
Always by my side. 2004-06-04
EDIT Start -
I would like to comment on reviewers who claim that the technical support is junk along with the device's reliability. May I point out that it is Microsoft's operating system, which is to be expected as no operating system is perfect. The iPAQ's hardware has nothing to do with how many times a reset is needed, since it has not only more ram, but a faster processor than most other pda's currently on the market. As for the technical support, I have had two iPAQ's and always received the same friendly and careless help needed to fix my problems straight away. Here's a recent example of how HP's support works.
1. Problem occurs.
2. Call to HP, they check warranty (lasts a year).
3. They send you an empty box, shipping and parts replacement, 100% free.
4. Ship it out next day.
5. Repair begins and ends in under an hour.
6. You receive an email confirming depature and repair success.
7. You receive the iPAQ back, only having it leave your side for less than 3 days.
If that's not service, then I don't know what is. I believe that many people are rude, arrogant, and are ignorant to their mistakes. I told the support technicians that I had dropped it and they said no problem, and replaced the screen, usb host connector, and battery all free of charge. Hope this helps your buying decision.
EDIT Finish -
In comparison to newer-age pda's including the Toshiba e805, the Asus MyPal, and the new Dell Axim, I hope you will regard my post only within HP and Compaq's products. This particular iPAQ is a giant leap from my Compaq iPAQ 3835, gone are the days of cradle synchronizing and wired connections. With Bluetooth and wi-fi I can synchronize and receiving data virtually anywhere.
A few reasons to avoid buying this:
- it is not a good first pda, as some features require proficient computer knowledge
- it is not worth buying unless you plan on using all features, including the finger print scan, otherwise go with the cheaper 4100 series iPAQs.
A few reasons to avoid buying another:
- is an 'upgradable' iPAQ, which means all previous software, cords/connections, sleeves (jackets), styli, and cases will work with this iPAQ.
- has wi-fi and bluetooth built in, along with 128megs sd ram, and 48 megs rom, gives you extra storage space.
- speedy processor and an sdio slot.
I believe this is the current best option for anyone wanting a powerful handheld machine. With the largest array of expansion abilities and wireless capabilities, it is the smartest choice you can make.
Piece of junk at a very high price 
2006-06-24
My company paid for one of these units for me. I hadn't really used PDAs before but knew of some friends who used them and liked them.
To make a long story short, I barely used this unit. I bought TomTom GPS software to install on this unit and took it w/ me to England on my honeymoon (live in USA). It worked pretty well until the last day when the unit stopped working. I popped the battery out and back in again and all software was gone. It had re-instated a clean install of the operating system. Even though the GPS was on a storage card, the GPS software was gone and my Pocket PC was wiped clean.
About 6 months later, I re-installed everything for my wife's aunt and she used the unit when they visited Whales. They liked using it as well, but once again, on the last day, the same thing happened to them.
I inquired with customer service and learned about what I felt was an amazing situation. You have to constantly keep the unit charged. If it ever loses battery power, you lose everything on the unit. I can't believe something that costs about $500 with the advances in technology today could be manufactured to lose all data unless you keep it constantly charged. My cell phone battery gets completely discharged, but I don't lose all the cell phone numbers that I have programmed into it of friends and family. I don't know if all PDAs have this ridiculous feature of no permanent storage, but I just find this feature unbelievable! What the hell is the point of this unit?! At least I can't erase a day planner in paper form and I don't have to worry about dropping and breaking it either.
The last time I tried to use the unit, I went again through the long process of re-installing my GPS software. This time, however, the unit didn't seem to charge at all and didn't turn on at all. It basically seemed broken or perhaps the battery was fried. I called customer service and they could not offer any free customer service since it had been just over 1 year and the warranty was finished. I barely used the unit during the year and the unit cost over $500!!!!!!
I am amazed that what I thought was a reputable company, like HP, could manufacture such shoddy crap and not stand behind their products even though this unit seems to be very obviously defective and poorly designed. From what others have been saying about it, I guess I'm not alone. HP owes me a refund and an apology. I won't be buying from HP again any time soon or perhaps ever.
AMAZING! 2006-04-20
Okay now, here's the background:
I used to have a PalmIIIxe. Then my uncle came over and gave me his old iPAQ. He did that because "It had been sitting on my desk for like three months and I hadn't touched it." When he gave it to me it didn't work. I found the reset button and voila! He showed me how to charge it, and I could use it when it was on its charger. My uncle said that the battery must have died. Fortunately, 2 days later it was fully charged!!!!
Every aspect of it is great, the fingerprint scan is hard so I don't use that but I do use other things. Window's Media Player is GREAT! And the best part is that you can download a different media player that plays MP4s so that the movies you get on iTunes work on it too! You can have a setting so that full screen mode rotates the video to fit the ENTIRE screen! That is much bigger than the iPod video's screen.
I think it's great and a really cool thing to have.
HP Ipaq 5555 
2005-03-15
I have owned the Ipaq 5555 for a year. My review is far from positive. The unit has glitzy features but many disappointments. Battery life is not long enough for practical professional use. Handwriting recognition is about 90% at best and usually less. The unit has a slippery exterior that should be kept in a case; a poor engineering design , unless they want one to drop it.
What is most disappointing is the one year warrantee support from HP. I developed synching problems. HP support put me through a variety of time consuming phone support resets et al. Finally they agreed (reluctantly) to accept the unit for analysis. We sent it in. The J2 connector on the main board was cracked. Despite a lack of any signs or history of external abuse, they claimed the unit must have been dropped and sustained significant impact. They are not planning to honor the warrantee. I am the only one who uses this unit. HP does not honor their warrantee. I would not recommend purchasing this unit.
Other limitations are common to most PDAs. Slow compared to PCs, laptops, tablets. Poor screen size for internet.
For the price this is not worth it.
On the positive side the security features were valuable to me as a physician to protect confidential patient information. Otherwise it had little special to offer over units costing a fraction of the price.
Wireless internet was of little value due to the slowness of connecting and unreliability of auto connecting. Within my own home I could walk downstairs to use the PC to access and get internet info more expediently. The only time it helped was on the road, and that was limited. Email access from the PDA is not happening for me.
Many programs have to be purchased for PDA use that would be built in to most laptops and other PCs. Bluetooth devices are too pricey to be a good value.
I think PDAs are great for storing contact info and making notes, but should not be pushed into the realm of truer computing. They should be easily held and capable of sustaining 4 foot falls.
Again, I would specifically avoid the HP products because they are not honoring their warrantee, using flimsy evidence to shift the blame off their poor engineering of a handheld onto the user. Get a far less expensive Palm for basic contact and calendar use, a laptop or tablet for on the road computing and bypass these expensive and impractical Ipaqs.
waste of time 2004-12-10
Total and complete data failure (and will not restore even after a full backup) 6 X in the last four months. This is after warranty replacement of the unit (based upon the old "we don't know why it does that") -
Avoid this PPC until they make one that is suitable for everyday use.
Unreliable 2004-09-01
This must be the most frustrating device it has ever been my misfortune to own! With some regularity, and with no apparent reason, it resets itself to factory settings. I spend more time restoring and reinstalling than I actually spend productively.
At least 5-6 times per day, I have to do a soft reset because the thing locks up. Half the time it won't connect or sync either via USB or wireless.
I've had the iPAQ for a year now, and am just getting ready to do a complete reinstall. Once again, it reset itself. Two weeks ago, same thing. This is the last time, however, there is a hammer in the iPAQ's future. I mean it.
Afterthought: who ever heard of a device that can't be turned off? What numbskull designed a computer that loses everything if it loses power? Duh.
