HP hx4700 first impression & a rant

Played around with a new Hewlett-Packard iPAQ hx4700 and came out with mix feelings about it. It was too big for one especially when compared to my h4150. The case material was fine. The touch pad was quite annoying and I found myself unable to rest on it without incidentally triggering on a program.

The screen was both amazing and disappointing. As a VGA screen, the amount of pixels on the screen is plain awesome especially for viewing images. However the screen itself was dark and was not bright enough (although I set the brightness to maximum). The screen was also very reflective as though there is a glass over it much like those on newer Sony VAIO laptops. Very annoying.

The price was £450, the same price as the h4150 when it début. I got my h4150 for £230 after six months on the market. Hopefully by next March, it would come down below £300 and then maybe I would consider it - but right now the screen has too much problems to justify the price tag (the h4150 also has problems with the screen namely the yellow tint and washed out colours).

Where did I see it? Dixons Brent Cross. Was served by a mid aged lady. When it became clear that I was not going to purchase it, she yanked the device out of my hand said thank you and walked away. Typical Dixons staff attitude. Obviously she thought I would purchase the product after only 1 minute of fondling.

Anyway I should have known having had run ins with their ignorant management and untrained staffs for years. (They tried to sell me a Palm Tungsten T as a T3 - because the price tag said it was a T3 - how low can you get?) I should make it clear that not all Dixons staff are idiots. They just probably get a minimal training in how to trick and deceit customers out of their money. That is the Dixons Stores Group secret mantra.

Micro Anvika also sells the hx4700 for £450. Their staffs are extremely friendly, knows what they are talking about, are willing to show you a product even if you are not going to buy it and generally very ethusiat about technology as a whole. They do not chase sales and more importantly they are very polite to their future customers. If you want to buy a hx4700 today from a high street store - make sure you go to Micro Anvika and not Dixons (or one of those shoddy Tottenham Court Road stores).