Customer Reviews
hp doesn't back 4700 
2006-04-07
We have had so many problems with this product and with HP. We are very careful with it, however, even in its protective case, if you happen to drop it on carpet, it ruins it. Takes another 1-2 months to get it back right from HP and they do not give you any credit for doing this. We were 30 days OOw and they would not work with us at all. We're having the same trouble again, 2 months later, and will never buy another HP - take our advise and find something you don't have to baby and another company who will stand behind their products!
Warranty Not Honored!!! 2006-03-27
Beware dealing with HP. They do not honor warranties. Claim that a damaged motherboard is not covered under the warranty (the seals were intact...how could a damaged mobo NOT be covered?)
When problems first started showing up I tried their online tech help. They "lost" my initial complaint AND the record of the chat session (which I kept a copy of, but they don't want to see it) My whole experience with HP is that they don't offer customer support, they offer lip service. Every contact with them is a session of frustration and futility. The tech didn't understand anything and I had to repeat things 3 times before he started to listen. Either that or he didn't understand english...a very real possibility.
Horrible, rude, IGNORANT tech support.
I sent the unit back, but they want almost $300 to repair it. For that kind of money, I'll go and buy a dell or a palm. To hell with HP and their terrible after-sale support.
This is my second bad experience with HP PDAs and their tech support/repairs. I will NEVER deal with HP again, and I warn you of buying their pretty little units. They're not particularly well built as they apparently can't stand up to standard shipping and then you're stuck with a $500 paperweight. HP is one company that deserves to go under.
PS... the touch pad is pretty useless, and the protective cover starts to fall off after a few months. The screen is beautiful, and very clear for tiny calendar print. The handwriting recognition seems to work better on this one than on my old 5555. Would rather have a biometric scan than the touchpad, tho.
One annoying MS idiosyncrasy: the PDA version of word/excel documents saved on a SD can't be read by my desktop. There's no translation program!
Just the absolute best PDA out there 
2005-07-31
I researched and researched PDAs for months before I finally settled on this one and I am happy I made the choice to buy this one. It is by far the best PDA to buy right now. I have had it for about 3 months and I can honestly say I use it for everything from playing music (which sounds as good as my IPOD) to keeping notes, storing files, looking at pictures, ect. I also like the fact that I can jump on the internet real fast while I'm waiting at Starbucks or the bookstore and not have to lug out a big laptop, cords, cables, ect.
I have been using this so much that I think I'm quietly moving away from using my notebook computer because this is just so much more convenient.
Both bluetooth and wireless has been a breeze and I've gotten better reception with this unit than with my PC.
And the ability to buy extra storage is awesome!
But let's get to the bad. The biggest one has to be price! Let's be honest at $400 a pop this is as expensive as buying another computer and (unless your last name is Trump) this isn't an impulse buy. So you really are going to have to justify this one to yourself or your spouse or both that this is something you really need.
The other bad is this is not an IPOD, or a flash drive or a voice recorder. The good thing about my IPOD is that I can just press a button to go to the next sound. This is just like a mini computer and you have to go to the different programs to get different things done and as convenient as it is having one thing do so much nothing is automatically done with the push of a button but with the push of a few buttons you can do almost anything.
Other than that this is a perfect and great little unit. If you are in the market for a PDA buy this one. Don't get stuck with one that doesn't do everything you want it to do. Spend the extra duckets and enjoy your machine. It's expensive but worth the money.
To be honest... 
2004-12-17
this is probably not worth the money, now that I have used it a while. and I got it for a good deal at the time too, bought at amazon, referred by www.whosave.com. so here it is:
the good:
for a huge display, it's light and thin too.
fast processing inside, if you ever need it.
lots of connectivity options, bluetooth wifi irda, CF slot
the bad:
very pricey, but it is top of the line...
bad touchpad, need to adjust it for different uses
the screen has trouble with some color which causes glare when playing video.
the battery life may be an issue, when i use frequently, I need to charge every 2~3 days.
In the end, I feel that this is too expensive for what it does
LOVE my ipaq 2007-03-29
I cannot comment on the hp customer service. I have not had to deal with them at all. HOWEVER, i really love my ipaq 4700 series. I had one that was stolen a few months after purchase (it was a refurb, but everything worked perfectly) along with the computer i lost the foldable keyboard, and 5 memory cards for my camera. GRRRR. So we tried to purchase another from HP and were told they no longer make them. There were no refirbs OR regular models left. The reason given was people complained about a 'short' battery life. (of 3 hours or more!) I had to get a 'new' one used on ebay.
This product does have a very large (by PDA standards) screen. That is the #1 reason why we chose this (my dad has an identical one). It is basically a tiny laptop computer, capable of doing nearly everything a laptop can do. Therefore I do not expect the battery to last for days while running things like Word and PowerPoint!!!
I have taken this on trips to the middle east, UK, and all over the US. I have GPS software for it that has been wonderful, as well. It has been dropped more than once with no problems (though I wouldn't recommend that!!)
I can send emails (with pictures) from faraway places, write papers for classes, play solitaire, listen to music (though i tend to use an mp3 player for that so i don't waste ipaq battery time for insignificant functions), and find my way around a strange city all with one device. I can even keep in touch with my family through instant messages when halfway around the world! It is my alarm clock, sound recorder, and basically everything i could need on a trip rolled into one device. (i've even heard of people watching movies on these!)
For additions i recommend a memory card to store all your files on (if the machine goes completely flat battery, or is hard-reset, everything is lost from memory with Windows 2003) and definitely a plug in keyboard if you want to type alot. Bluetooth would work if you don't want to use it on a plane.
It's a great product and i'm sorry HP doesn't make it any more. I haven't seen any other product on the market that compares.
Troublesome....then self-destructs 2007-03-06
I had a Dell Axim which I sold on eBay to get the 4700. The Axim was well done and it simply worked. The 4700 has been too troublesome to use regularly. The WiFi software gets moody, PDF files don't always display (has no converter like the Axim does), the backup battery discharges in a couple of days even with the unit off, and doesn't have enough memory for some applications. I've had it about a year, and now it won't boot...just out of warranty. It just comes up with a white screen. I've tried everything, including firmware update using the boot loader. HP Tech support was no help. After paying about $600 for this thing which I haven't used much, now I need to spend a few hundred bucks on repair. It has a great screen though!?! I think I'll take the screen out and sell it on eBay.
I have had good luck with HP customer support 
2006-05-25
True my relationship has been with HP printers, but they were friendly, shipped me a replacement printer and fast. With computers -and this 4700 is one,- it likely pays to get an extended warranty,or perhaps a rider on one's home insurance policy that covers laptops and PDAs. If the warranty is expired then that ends the base for negotiation as I see it. What surprises me is that there is such a disparity in comments on this 4700 here which is the same as the 4705 except one is retail and one is from HP direct. There have been no such dire comments re early system board failure in the 40 comments at the other page to my recollection... I am keeping fingers crossed on my 4700 unit, and no way I will bump or drop it or let a stranger fondle it. These are not Fujitsu ruggedized units,they are pretty delicate items,especially the TFT screen. I am sorry to hear the bad luck stories and hope I do not become one.
Terribly Flimsy, NO support 
2006-04-20
I have had my 4705 for just over a year. The unit has been in a steel protective case since I removed it from the box. It has NEVER been dropped or misused in any way. I now have found that the SYSTEM BOARD needs to be replaced. I paid $650.00 for this thing 14 months ago and HP says to fix it is going to cost me $300.00. Are they kidding! I have had a palm for three years that had to have a battery replaced. Thats IT! a battery! HP tells me that I can not expect to get 14 months out of their SYSTEM BOARDS!! I spoke to several people in HP's corporate office and wrote a letter to Mark Hurd (HP's CEO) and was told by everyone in HP "this is corporate policy". I work in the electronics industry maintaining and repairing laptops, PC's, servers, and other LAN equipment, so I know how components fail. I have never heard of anybodys system board fail in 14 months without the manufacturer backing up their product. HP however says once again "this is corporate policy". Well HP I have a new policy that I will share with my company and everyone else "do not go near HP!"
HORRIBLE Product, as well as, Company 2006-04-11
Less than one year ago, I purchased a Hewlett Packard IPAQ HX 4700. Recently, the IPAQ would not turn on. I sent it to Hewlett Packard's diagnostic center, and, after two weeks, I received a call from the billing department stating that my motherboard was damaged due to misuse and I was to either pay fifty dollars to have the IPAQ shipped back to me or three hundred dollars to repair the IPAQ. The billing center was rude and the manager refused to speak with me. Ironically, the IPAQ has never left my office desk and there was no possible way I "misused" it. Upon having the IPAQ shipped back to me unfixed, the IPAQ arrived with a damaged screen. I immediately alerted HP of their "misuse". I wrote various letters to Mark Hurd, CEO, consumer complaints et cetera. I received, once again, another rude phone call from HP's consumer relations department in Texas. They stated that in order to determine the problem they had to take apart the IPAQ;thus making many serious indentations on the screen. The manager, Luis Dias, simply stated 'too bad' regarding their "misuse." He said the only resolution would be for me now to send it back into HP and I would have to replace the screen. I am absolutely furious with how I was treated at Hewlett Packard. Their customer service representatives are not only rude, but also, completely unknowledgeable about their job, as well as, their company. I am now stuck with a completely damaged seven hundred dollar machine and have lost hundreds of business contacts due to their product. I am at lost as to what to do. I can only assure Hewlett Packard that I will never buy another one of their products again.
