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Over the last 15 years I've had several Sharp, Psion, HP and Palm PDAs. None of them have been perfect, but the esentials for me remain 1) instant-on, 2) legible colour display, 3) reasonably-size attached keyboard -- the foldout ones just aren't reliable enough and require carrying a second piece plus spare keyboard batteries, 4) both Wi-Fi and dialup internet access for email, 5) desktop compatibility -- like it or not, if you use a PDA for work, people will email you Office documents, and 6) rich PIM and basic entertainment functionality that lets me leave as much other stuff at home as possible when I travel on business -- email access, daytimer, full-fledged business calculator, alarm clock, dictionary, paper files, project plans, personal notes, email log, MP3 player, games, personal reading material, etc. I want a single small device that can be used anywhere so that I can just "grab-and-go" without lugging around a laptop. My last few PDAs have been a Psion 5, Psion 7 (a mini-laptop design with a full-VGA colour display and 95% full-size keyboard) and a Palm TX. The Psion 7 was easily the most poweful and useful PDA I've ever used, but it needs a PC to convert Office files and the conversion software for complex spreadsheets and PowerPoint was poor. The Palm TX synchs beautifully, DocsToGo handles Office files well, and it has excellent WiFi support, but the tiny screen, flaky external keyboard and lack of dial-up support (dialup may be the last resort for email, but I still need it frequently when traveling) made it more a personal device than a dependable business tool. The Jornada 720 is sturdily built, has an interchangeable rechargeable batery pack so you can carry a spare battery if required, has a decent display that is bright and wide enough for easy reading, a keyboard that is surprisingly useable, and the best on-board Office compatibility for a clamshell PDA. I'm not a fan of Outlook, but it has good PIM funcitonality and has no learning curve if you use the PC version. Since the 720 was discontinued in 2001, you may have to save Office files in an older format before converting them, but the compatibility is pretty good and files are automatically converted by the ActiveSync synchronization as you copy them to your 720. Many file formats can be opened up with HP QuickView right on the 720, so using attachments is feasible. Outlook compatibility is excellent; it synchronizes contacts, calendar and task info. For commmunication the internal 56k modem works fine, and I've added a Wi-Fi card in the PCMCAI slot. There is a Pocket Outlook email issue; the client software in the J720 does not authenicate SMTP servers so it may not be able to send an email with your ISP. Some ISPs, noteably CompuServe Classic, can work without this. Webmail may also be an option for you. The J720 has IE4, which is the best PDA browser I've personally used, but of course some fancy web pages don't render well. Mobile versions of websites seem to work fine most of the time. The MP3 player is basic but works, and you can use a CompactFlash card to hold your files, email, podcasts and music. Hispeed CF cards for cameras don;t work; you need a 1X card but these are now available in capacities up to 4 GB. All in all, the Jornada 720 is still a useful PDA, and probably the best of the clamshell designs if you have requirements similar to mine. They're also inexpensive now and easily found available on ebay.Read full review
I will keep my review short. This Jornada is the best thing when it comes to students homework assignments. My daughter is in the 7th grade and my son is in the 5th grade and both of them have typed reports using these minature computers. Their teachers, after looking at what the Jornadas can do, gladly allowed them to use them in class. The teachers were impressed because the Jornadas use the Microsoft products packed into a computer that weighs in at 11oz. They slip right in their backpacks quite nicely and a full charge lasts all day at school. Once they are home they plug into the side a wifi card and off they go researching stuff on the internet for their project reports. To print their reports I use ActiveSync 3.1 (downloadable from Microsoft) to transfer their projects to our home computer and print them. I also plugged into the bottom a 256 compact flashcard and that is the virtual hard drive used to save all docs to. So, if I wanted, I can pop out the flash card and read it directly using my card reader on my home computer. Happy bidding on your Jornada.Read full review
There are sites online raving about this thing. Short comings are a little complicated loading software for non-geeks. One reason I bought this was for my European born wife to use as a spell checker. Works great for that, as it has a compact version of MS Word. It also has a good media player. You load your songs on a CF card. You can access individual songs to play back, as well as playing them all. I like the screen and the larger keyboard. It has a voice recorder and it works good for recording meetings. I haven't ran the battery down yet, and I have used it for over 6 hours at a stretch. It is like a mini laptop. WIFI works good in hotspots for email and etc. It is a little slow. Nice to play with.
I had always wanted to own one of these, but when they were new, the price was too high. I'm always carting around paper notebooks with information in them. Now that information is in a small, easy to carry package that I can copy onto the FLASH card for backup and transfer. The built in office functions are great. The only downside is that the tools are not compatible with the latest office suite. Nonetheless, I can save files from my PC in the older formats to overcome this issue. For me, the battery last about 3 days before it needs a charge. I wish they still made a device like this. I'm sorry, to me, "smart phones" just are not that useful for storing and retrieving information. I like having a keyboard and a reasonably big screen. The Jornada is just what I need.
Verified purchase: Yes
Before starting, I need to mention that I have smaller than average hands. Luckily for me, that doesn't mean I have stubby fingers. What does this have to with the Jornada? One of the top things that I (and everyone else) love about it--the built in keyboard. That and the instant on-off function of the Jornada is what separates it from those popular PDA's. Because of my nimble fingers, I am able to touch type and the same speed as on a regular computer (after a short adjustment period. The ? key is next to the space bar). Many people would automatically downgrade it a point or two because it is a 2/3 keyboard, but (from what I've heard) they are still able to type on it, just not the speed they could on a regular keyboard. But in all other respects this is absolutely perfect. The touchscreen is easy to use, the processor speed is a little slow, but what do you expect from something so tiny? The size is remarkable. When I first got it, the Jornada looked like a toy, only the comfortably solid feel made me rethink that. One of the best things is the internet access. It has a built in modem, but most people (including me) prefer wireless. The PC card slot allows a wide variety of wireless internet options. In addition to the freedom of the internet, that ability allows another benefit: easy information transfer. Depending on the speed of your internet, the Active Sync program which connects your Jornada to your PC could be relatively slow or fast. But when transfering a 3MB song, it'll take much longer than if you just sent it through email and downloaded it through your internet. It's a great machine and an incredibly useful tool. My mom (who never approves of things that I buy on the In-ter-net loved it so much that I had to buy her one. My best friend bought one as well (though for a little more than I bought mine). And that's my absolute last point. eBay is probably one of the best places to buy it. www.usedhandhelds.com is the offical unoffical site to buy a Jornada 720, but while a tad more trustworthy, After 3 Jornadas off eBay, I have only great things to say about them. If you want to buy direct, go to usedhandhelds, but if you want to save about $200 on the same machine (just read the fine print on all auctions), then eBay is the place to go. I've bought all my accessories off eBay as well. So when/if you decide to join us in the HPC world, make sure you check out HPCfactor.com. It's the place to go if you bought this remarkable HPC, or if you just want to find out more about it (and they know a LOT). Also keep in mind that the Jornada has countless programs and a very strong community that allows you to customize and update and expand your personal Jornada. So as long as you keep changing, your Jornada can too. Happy bidding!Read full review
