ViewSonic V35 Pocket PC Handheld

I myself have the HP iPaq 1910, which I'm very happy with. I recently bought a V35 for my cousin's birthday, and also got a chance to play with it extensively. So my comments are more of a comparison with the 1910.

The V35 is about the same thickness as the 1910, but slight longer and wider. While specs say that it's also slightly heavier than the 1910, you can't really tell the difference, since both are very lightweight. Because the 1910 has more of a metallic feel while the V35 feels more plasticky (which is not to say the latter feels cheap!), there's an illusion that the V35 is actually lighter than the 1910. The bottomline is, the V35 feels very good in the hand, and its non-shiny, non-slippery surface makes it much easier to hold than the 1910.

Both the V35 and 1910 have 3.5" diagonal transflexive screens, and both are bright and beautiful. I think the 1910's screen sports richer colors, whereas the V35's is very slightly washed out, but still much better than the display on my old Audiovox Maestro (made by Toshiba). Like the 1910, the V35's touch screen is very responsive, and the backlighting is perfectly even.

While both models accommodate SD memory cards, the V35 has the added advantage of being SDIO compatible, although, admittedly, there aren't many (or any) SDIO devices here in the States right now. Part of V35's system memory is accessible as "flash storage," but the 1910 still has a bit more useable memory onboard.

My most positive impression of the V35 is it's well built and feels good in the hand, vs. 1910's slippery, easy-to-break feel. The battery life is also longer than the 1910; my estimate is 3.5 hours on average (playing MP3 files from a Lexar 256MB SD card with screen turned off) vs. 2-2.5 hours for the 1910. The V35 also comes with a docking cradle and a slip case, both of which are missing in the 1910 kit.

On the downside the V35's battery is not user-replaceable. (The 1910's is, and it has a back-up battery to conserve data in case of a completely dead main battery.) Given that the typical LiIon battery has a recycle life of about 500 times, if you charge the V35 once a day, the battery will die out in about 18 months. Of course, in reality the battery probably won't completely die by then, but its capacity/useable time will definitely be shortened considerably. (Just ask any Palm V user who bought the Palm more than 2 years ago.)

If I had to pick my Pocket PC again, I'd have a very hard time deciding between the iPaq 1910 and the V35. If you don't have to have the smallest and sleekist Pocket PC, I highly recommend the V35 for its longer battery life, included cradle and case, and SDIO-capable expansion.

In the end, though, you may just grab whatever is cheaper. :)

I could go on and on about what the Viewsonic V35 does, but I feel it is more important that I compare it to other pocket PC's in it's price range. I did a lot of research before I bought my Viewsonic V35, and I ended up basically up between the Dell Axim X5 300Mhz. The Dell turned out to be slightly cheaper, but it did not come with a cradle nor did it come with a leather case. You would eventually have to get at least the leather case, or your screen won't look too good after a while. After buying all the stuff for the Dell that would come with the Viewsonic, the Dell would be more expensive. Basically, I only considered models with a transflective screen since anything else looks foggy and milky. So that left me with the Dell Axim X5, the HP 1910, and one of those overpriced toshiba's. When I looked at the HP 1910, it had a slightly better looking screen than the viewsonic, but the viewsonic was a close second. I got to play with the Dell at one of their kiosks and their screen was okay, but not as good as the Viewsonic's. I read the reviews for the HP 1910 (really a compaq) and many customers complained about stability problems and the unit turning on by itself and draining it's own batteries. This unreliability is consistent with compaq products. So I immediately ruled out the 1910.

Since all of these pda's are running windows, there isn't too much difference except in stability and portabilty. The Dell Axim is by far the bulkiest pda I have ever seen which is another reason I ruled that out. Even with free shipping I received the V35 in only a mere 3 days. I was impressed with it's size and stability, as expected. I have not had problems with the V35 so far and I've had it for over a month. If I played MP3's continuously, it lasts just over 3 hours, which doesn't sound too good, but keep in mind this is better than most other PDA's. In all other activities, such as writing notes and scheduling things on my calendar, a whole day of this didn't come close to running low on battery, so I assume games and music eat up a lot of your battery, otherwise it is great. The directional pad is great for games (not so on the Dell), and there is a plethora of games available for free on the web. I use my pocket PC both at work and at school and the pocket pc always comes in handy. I have used Palm OS 5 for a few years and can tell you that it looks EXACTLY THE SAME as it always has. Palm hasn't bothered to be innovative at all and has rehashed the same nonfunctional operating system 6 times. To be honest, Palm OS hasn't changed much in the past 4 years and is not as flexible as a pocket PC. I couldn't find a reason to stick with Palm anymore. I had no problems synching the V35 to my PC, it was fast and took about a minute. Overall, the V35 is a reliable, cost effective, and has a beautiful screen. Viewsonic has had a good reputation for its other products, and so far lives up to it's name.

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I bought the iPaq H1910 before I had this unit. The 1910 had a great screen but I just didn't like the feel of it for daily use and the buttons weren't very easy to push for navigating or gaming. Finally I just felt it wasn't the right one for me so I returned it for the Viewsonic V35. Boy did I make the right move! This unit is so much nicer to hold and use and the screen holds it's own against any other Pocket PC. The applications work great, battery lasts a long time and this thing is quick. It has no problems playing movie trailers, mp3's or anything else I throw at it. Plus it comes with a cradle (something the iPac h1910 did not)! Overall it's definetly the best Pocket PC for the money. Thumbs up to Viewsonic for an excellent product.

Read Best Reviews of ViewSonic V35 Pocket PC Handheld Here

Summery If you are looking to enter the Pocket PC world, the ViewSonic V35 is the best low cost entry point.

It came down to the iPAQ 1910 and the ViewSonic V35 and I went with the ViewSonic. It had all the features I required and you can't bet the price. You will give up some RAM and a shorten battery life to the competition. But to me these where minor tradeoffs for great performance (larger processor), great screen, small size, light weight and it comes with a cradle (the iPAQ 1910 does not).

I had the device for over a week and my only complaint how the device fits into the cradle. It's a little shaky and not as good a fit as my old Palm VIIx. You just have to be extra carefully when docking.

There is not doubt in my mind that Pocket PC is the way to go. It is much more friendly than Palm and it has the interface and functionality that you are already familiar with your PC.

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I switched from a Palm V. What a difference! No eyestrain anymore. The screen is bright, the colors help with reading calendars, contact information and e-mail. With an add-in 256 MB SD card there is plenty of storage for music and documents. It fits nicely into a shirt pocket, even with the semi-hard case, and is light enough not to notice. It has been running very stably and so far seems surprisingly sturdy. I suspect that the HP iPAQ Pocket PC h1910 is similar but the specs show a lot shorter battery life. The Toshiba e310/e335 is also similar but a bit larger and the screen did not look as bright. The Dell Axim X5 is heavier and larger but can accomodate a CF type II card in addition to an SD card. Regardless of your choice, I suggest getting one of several utilities that are available to keep track of memory and battery charge on the Today page.