HP iPaq rx5900 Travel Companion

9 out of 10 - Spectacular
My first day of "playing" with my new toy. Only the GPS has been tried and rated.
User information for the HP iPAQ rx5915 Travel Companion is hard to come by this soon after release, so I ...
User information for the HP iPAQ rx5915 Travel Companion is hard to come by this soon after release, so I thought I'd add my two cents worth after only a single day of ownership.

I bought the rx5915 Travel Companion at Micro Center late on Sunday, November 26, and spent quite-a-few hours playing with it yesterday (November 27). This is the third GPS navigator I've owned, and my latest unit is four years old and dated. I was interested in the rx5915 first for its GPS features, with the numerous other Pocket PC features being secondary. I don't have WiFi at home, nor do I own Blue Tooth accessories at this point, so I can't comment in depth on those features, or on the entertainment or business features. I often stay in a motel which offers free Internet access, so I'll check out WiFi in a few weeks. These comments will deal mostly with the GPS navigator, which is powered by the latest TomTom Navigator 6 software.

Before making my decision, I researched various GPS navigators on the Internet. I also read the full reviews of the Travel Companion by PC Magazine and Brighthand, as well as posts on several blogs. Let me first comment on problems with the Travel Companion raised in these sources.

Two reviewers commented that the software on their "preproduction units" was "buggy," but they further commented that this was common with preproduction units and that the bugs would hopefully be worked out before release.
If the software in my rx5915 is "buggy," I haven't yet encountered those bugs.

One "buggy" problem, mentioned by the reviewers, was apparently an occasional crash, requiring a soft boot. I've used the GPS, with the WiFi on and constantly detecting access points as I drove, and haven't had a single crash. Maybe I'll identify bugs with more use, but so far everything works great.

Complaints were also logged about the single toggle button used to navigate around the screen, in lieu of using the stylus or your finger on the touch screen. The reviewers wished for a separate center button - one which was separate from the left-right, up-down, toggle functions, for clicking on "OK." I haven't found the unified navigator button to be a big problem. It takes a slight amount of manual dexterity, but nothing a normal man's finger can't handle. In fact, I can push down on the entire button to execute an action, rather than having to center my fingernail on a tiny center button, and this can be viewed as an advantage. The single button might be a problem for big fingers, and I've had a few instances of accidentally pressing the wrong action, but not many. On the other hand, I was prepared for problems and took care to prevent them by pressing each edge of the button to navigate in a desired direction.

One blogger commented that the screen was "squishy" (whatever that means) and that the case gathered fingerprints. I find neither of these concerns to be valid. On my unit the screen responds instantly to the slightest tap of the stylus or fingernail (my fingernails are short) and not one fingerprint can be found on the case after hours of handling.

Now for the GPS navigator, the primary feature for which I bought the iPAQ Travel Companion.

As I mentioned, this is the third GPS navigator that I've owned. The other two have been Garmins, and the latest is four years old and dated. My old unit requires you to connect to your computer and download maps for the area you plan to visit, plus it does not have voice prompts, but beeps to call your attention to the screen for instructions. Clearly, almost any up-to-date GPS would be superior to this and I considered several.

The various models of the Garmin Nuvi are receiving raves by the reviewers for ease of use. These are dedicated GPS navigators and don't offer the other advantages of a Pocket PC, including Internet access for e-mail and Web surfing. I don't have hands-on experience with the Garmin Nuvi, and my comments are based on my reading about the unit on the Internet.

The Garmin Nuvi has at least one important feature which is lacking in the TomTom Navigator 6 software used by the iPAQ rx5915 Travel Companion - a text-to-speech function. The text-to-speech function allows the Nuvi to announce streets by name. For example, the Nuvi might announce "In 1 point 4 miles, turn left on Broad Avenue," whereas the Travel Companion might say "In 1 point 4 miles, turn left." With the Travel Companion you would then glance at the screen to see the name of the street being referenced. Of course, both units will give multiple voice prompts before an action, including a prompt immediately before the required action - "Turn left."

On the other hand, the Garmin Nuvi lacks one feature that virtually all other GPS navigators, of which I'm aware, include, and that feature is important to me. The Nuvi doesn't give the latitude and longitude for waypoints, nor does it allow waypoints to be input by latitude and longitude. When questioned about the lack of this ability, Garmin explained that the Nuvi wasn't designed for "off-road" use, but was intended only for use in automobiles. I intend to use my rx5915 Travel Companion primarily for navigating in a car too, but the ability to get GPS fixes on a location in terms of latitude and longitude is a feature that I've used often in the past.

For example, the ability to get a "fix" (waypoint) in degrees of latitude and longitude, allows you to find that waypoint on any other mapping software, including Microsoft's Streets and Trips and my Topo mapping software, or to input it into any other GPS navigator (except the Nuvi), or to archive it in standardized form for future reference. The ability to output standardized data that can be used with other mapping software is important to me. I often remove my GPS navigator from my car and take fixes on locations for use on other software, such as Streets and Trips and my Topo mapping software, and record that data for future use.

One use I've made of this ability in the past has been to get the longitude and latitude of many family gravesites. I plotted these points on Microsoft Streets and Trips for printing, plus posted the GPS fixes as degrees of latitude and longitude in my family e-mail discussion group. I can now take those old GPS fixes from my e-mail and insert them into my rx5915 Travel Companion, plus I've archived them for future generations of family researchers. The Nuvi waypoints couldn't be transferred in this manner.

The stating of a location in terms of degrees of latitude and longitude is a standard that has been used, in one form or another, for hundreds of years. The lack of this feature in the Garmin Nuvi was fatal to my decision to buy. If the Nuvi had included this ability, as almost all GPS navigators do, I would have bought one.

Later models of the Nuvi might include this ability, but I haven't read any comments to that effect.

Now, back to the GPS navigator on the iPAQ rx5915 Travel Companion.

First the bad news: Several reviewers commented on the length of time the Travel Companion requires to acquire satellites upon first being booted up. This complaint is valid. The Travel Companion takes longer to acquire satellites than any GPS receiver that I've owned. I haven't timed how long it takes, but reviewers have stated that it takes about five minutes, and that sounds about right. The GPS chip is one of the most sensitive GPS receivers in consumer use, so I'm surprised at this.

The GPS antenna on the Travel Companion is internal, and the manual states that it's located inside the unit in the upper left corner, exactly where I tend to rest my left thumb. However, my thumb isn't the problem. For whatever reasons, the Travel Companion initially takes a long time to acquire satellites.

Once acquired, however, the GPS locks on firmly. In my single day of use, I didn't have a problem with losing satellites. On the other hand, I haven't navigated in Manhattan with its skyscraper canyons, or in heavy woods. The unit has a jack for inputting an external antenna if needed, but I'm satisfied to use it as is. It works great once satellites are acquired. For me, the advantage of having a hidden internal GPS antenna, as opposed to an external projecting "plate," is worth the extra hassle of waiting for the satellites. However, if you were carrying the unit on an airplane and saw some point of interest, you couldn't then decide to boot up the Travel Companion and find where and what the point of interest is. When traveling at 550 mph you would need to have it on and ready.

The screen isn't as easy to view in bright sunlight as I would like it to be. On the other hand, I had no problem viewing it when mounted on my windshield in the shade of the roof of my car. I have been unable to find a way to intentionally turn the backlight off, when viewing the GPS screen, to see whether the screen is easier to view without it.

The other news is good.

First, you can output GPS "fixes" (waypoints) in standard latitude and longitude form to transfer to other software and GPS units, and to archive for future use. You can also input old waypoints from standard latitude and longitude data.

I decided to first test the unit at home by having it calculate a route from Fairfax County, Virginia, to Rockingham, North Carolina, my home town. I've been driving this 354 mile distance for 40 years and am familiar with six different routes from past experience.

The unit calculated a route that was very close to my favorite and most frequently driven route. I normally take I-95 to Petersburg, VA; then I-85 to a point where I exit onto US 1, 45 miles north of Raleigh. I then take US 1 all the way to Rockingham, being certain to take the I-540 beltline around Raleigh.

The first route calculated by the unit, took me past my exit point from I-85 to US 1, on to Durham, then back to the beltline in Raleigh. This route is 7 miles further than my preferred route, but would keep you on the Interstate longer.

There are several ways to review a route. You can have it play back as if you were driving, like a mini-movie, or you can view scenes of each prompt, or view a full map of the route, or you can see text directions. I went to the text directions and, using my stylus, clicked on the word "Durham," then clicked to delete Durham from my route. The unit recalculated the route and, to my surprise, it was identical to the route that I've taken for years. Every lane change, turn, and every other instruction, was identical to what I would have decided to take, and in fact have taken for 40 years (except that the I-540 beltline around Raleigh wasn't available 40 years ago).

There is one caveat. The most convenient way to get on I-95, from my home, is to first get first get on the HOV lanes, then exit onto the normal lanes whenever possible. The GPS route directed me to do this. However, whether you can use the HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lanes depends upon the time of day and the number of people in your car. The lanes are open only to the north, toward Washington, DC, in the morning -- and south, toward North Carolina, in the evening. At least half of the time the HOV lanes south would be blocked. Moreover, during rush hours you must have three or more people in your car to legally drive in the HOV lanes, or risk getting a ticket. So, even if these lanes are open and available, you might not be able to legally use them without risking a stiff fine.

If the user attempted to drive this route to enter the HOV lanes, and found them blocked, then he would pass them and the unit would calculate a different route. However, if he found the HOV lanes open, and he followed these instructions during rush hours (from 3:30 to 6 PM), he might get a ticket --- unless he had at least two passengers or was caught by a GPS savvy police officer with a lot of compassion.

You can change the route in a number of ways. You could avoid the HOV lanes by choosing to avoid this part of the route, just as I did for Durham, but the user would need to know that there's a reason to avoid the HOV lanes. I tried this, and it took me on the route I would take when the HOV lanes are not available, and onto the normal legal lanes.

Clicking on either "change original route" or "calculate alternate route" will cause the unit to automatically calculate a different route. The first alternate took me off the Interstates at Stafford, Virginia, and onto US 1. I would do this only if traffic or an accident on I-95 warranted it. The automatically calculated alternate route still didn't navigate around the HOV lanes.

I would like to emphasize that the HOV route is the best route, and would be my first choice when it's legally available. Also, a person who was following the Travel Companion route would, presumably, still read road signs, and the road signs would warn you not to take the HOV lanes unless you had three or more people in your car. The user would then pass the entrance to the HOV lanes and the unit would calculate the correct route onto normal lanes.

I calculated a route from my home to a friend's address in Vienna, Virginia, about 19 miles from my home, and the route was exactly the one that I normally take to her house. Exactly.

I decided to drive from my home a distance of 6.6 miles to Denny's Restaurant. (Really folks, Denny's has improved in recent years and now offers good value.) I found the Denny's in the point of interests section under "Restaurants," and clicked it as my destination. I decided to blindly drive the route calculated by the Travel Companion and compare it with how I would drive myself.

First, the closest route to Denny's would be through Fort Belvoir. Before September 11, 2001, this is the route I would have taken. However, Fort Belvoir has been closed to public traffic in recent years and you now have to drive around it. The rx5915 Travel Companion apparently knew this and calculated a route around Fort Belvoir.

The overall route was really better than the one I would have chosen, and, in fact, have driven for many years. However, on one short segment I normally I would have continued for 1/4 of a mile to a four lane street and turned left onto another four lane street. The unit told me to turn left onto a two lane street and continue for about half-a-mile to intersect with the second four lane street. In other words, the Travel Companion took me over the two lane hypotenuse of a right triangle, which was a somewhat shorter route, rather than my normal route over the two four lane legs of the triangle. Sometimes I take the Travel Companion route on my own, just for a change of pace.

The surprise was as follows: After Fort Belvoir closed to public traffic; I explored residential neighborhoods around the periphery of the fort in an attempt to find the shortest route around it to US 1 near Mt Vernon (and Denny's). I explored both with Microsoft's Streets and Trips, and by driving. I found that one-way streets, or blocked streets, prevented a really short route. One street seemed to pass through when viewed on the Streets and Trips map, but in practice had a block mid-way.

So, here I am blindly following the Travel Companion route, when suddenly it directed me to turn right onto a street that I was certain would be an error. It turned out to be a previously unknown short cut to US 1. The short cut wasn't huge, probably saving less than a mile, but it avoided traffic around two shopping centers and made for an easier right turn onto US 1.

I was delighted with the accuracy and voice prompts of the Travel Companion. The voice prompts would advise me well in advance that I needed to turn left (or right), or exit, or whatever, then would tell me to turn left (or right, or exit) just as I approached the turn. The accuracy was better than I'm accustomed to. When the Travel Companion told me to turn, I would be right at the turn. When the Travel Companion told me I was at my destination, my destination would be directly at the side of the street.

It would also often tell me which lane I needed to get into to execute the next maneuver. For example, it might say, "Turn left, and then stay on the left lane." In all cases, the next upcoming maneuver would need to be executed from the lane advised.

When I left Denny's, I was inclined to turn left onto US 1, but the unit directed me to the right. I then noticed that a barely visible concrete median in the center of the street would keep me from turning left. After turning right onto US 1, the Travel companion directed me to turn right at the first street, then directed me around the block to an intersection with US 1 where I could turn left. I was impressed. On the other hand, if it knew about concrete medians, why didn't it know about HOV lanes?

The text-to-speech feature of the Garmin Nuvi might be nice, but I found it unnecessary. Just turn when the Travel Companion tells you to, and if you need to know the name of the street, take a quick glance at the screen. In fact, you could navigate with this unit without even looking at the screen, although you might feel a little less secure.

I drove around for awhile and tested the ability of the Travel Companion to recalculate routes when you miss a turn. It was incredibly fast, almost instantaneous, in calculating a new route. If you weren't constantly watching the screen, you would miss the recalculation. My old unit took so long to recalculate that often you would already have passed the recalculated turn and the unit would start over (especially in a city with short blocks). I would have to slow my car to a crawl to allow it time to recalculate so I could follow the next turn rather than have the unit constantly recalculating as I missed the newly calculated turns. I should mention, however, that the routes that I tested yesterday were under ten miles. I don't know how long it would take to recalculate a 400 mile route if you missed a turn.

Near the end of my driving test, I turned on the WiFi and tested the ability of the Travel Companion to detect WiFi access points as I drove around under the direction the GPS navigator. It detected so many WiFi access points that it started to annoy me. Each time that one or more WiFi access points was detected, a notice would pop up over the GPS map and tell you the names of the access points, and whether they were encrypted or unsecured. A couple of times I parked and tried to connect to the unsecured points, but found that I needed a password.

At home I learned that three of my neighbors have WiFi access points that can be accessed from my house. Two were unsecured but required a password.

Of course the iPAQ rx5915 Travel Companion lacks some features that I wish it had. For example, it has a number of navigation options, including a bicycle option and a walking option, but it has no off-road option as my previous two GPS navigators did. The walking option will likely be the closest option to an off-road option. You can choose to have an arrow displayed on the map screen which shows the direction to your destination, but that's not quite the same if the unit constantly calculates new street routes while working off road. An off road option would also be handy when traveling in an airplane or boat. I'll have to explore the walking feature in more detail later.

As it stands, when traveling by air, or off road, you might turn the route calculation and navigation off and merely use the unit to constantly show your current position on the map. I've done this while driving to keep me apprised of upcoming streets at night when street signs are hard to see. However, I haven't yet tried it off road. Whether there will be problems when using it off road, in his this manner, remains to be seen.

The battery charge lasted for about four hours of constant GPS use. I would like more for handheld use. I used the cigarette lighter socket while driving.

Overall I'm well pleased with the Travel Companion and have no buyer's remorse at all after the first day. However, I reserve the right to change my mind as I learn more.

By-the-way, I'm a 64 year-old retired mechanical engineer. I retired eight years ago.

Mike Read more
by LongWindedMike (see profile) - November 28, 2006

25 out of 25 users found this user opinion helpful.
7 comments posted to this opinion

3 out of 10 - Poor
Average GPS combined with a Lousy Pocket PC
I waited six months of heavy use before submitting this review so I feel justified in ripping HP on this ...
I waited six months of heavy use before submitting this review so I feel justified in ripping HP on this one (and I have always loved HP Pocket PCs in the past).

This device is nothing more than a mediocre GPS with a few barely reliable Pocket PC features. The GPS issues are well documented in other posts. The Windows features are what makes this device a joke. Firmware and software are both a mess. Get used to both soft and HARD resets. Active Sync reeks havoc with every version of Outlook. The touchscreen is the least sensitive one I have ever owned. The device is SLOW to execute every command. Almost all of the buttons are insensitive as well. I thought I was getting the best of both worlds @ $550.00 but got neither. As a devoted HP fan all I can say is STAY AWAY!!! Read more
by larsaraya (see profile) - July 11, 2007

11 out of 12 users found this user opinion helpful.
2 comments posted to this opinion

8 out of 10 - Excellent
Extensive Research Done Before I bought
After doing alot of research of PDA's that has WIFI Capabilities with bluetooth as a plus and a unit ...
After doing alot of research of PDA's that has WIFI Capabilities with bluetooth as a plus and a unit in which I did not need a 2 year contract with a cell phone company. I did research on the internet along with going to Office Depot, Comp-usa, Staples, Best-Buy, Sams, Cost-Co and finally Circuit City. I found it to be tough to find PDA's at any of these store's unless it was a $99 unit which really didn't do much more than a mp3 player does. I wasn't sure if PDA's were slowly being taken off the market or if people were just looking for just supped up mp3 players. I found that the there were 4 good units that seemed to be comparable to each other which were the following. The (Sony Milo) Great wifi but felt like a kids toy the plus for this was the quarkey key board that slid from underneith the product but for the price $350.00 I wanted to see what else was out there. The Palm T/X diffently placed 2nd in my book but one I could never find a working unit the only one's I ever had a chance to buy were open box and that didn't sit well although the review's were high and it was competitive was this Ipaq. Then I ran into the RX5900 which had the longest lasting battery power lasting 6 1/2 hours when in GPS mode which takes up more power than just using the pda. The unit comes with so much just to start off with Its a PDA with a Gps built in or Vise versa it comes with Tom Tom software intergrated with Windows Mobile 5.0 which synch's though your computer be it Blue Tooth, WI-Fi 802.11 b/g or the included usb cable's. The unit has the capabilities of playing Video, Music and all the goodies in Window 5.0 which is being pushed by a Samsung 400 Mhz processor. Remember this is a PDA/GPS and it has a 400mhz processor with a SD slot for additional software or added memmory. The only downside is It is pricey currently $479.00 at Circuit city but it is a new product and time will bring the unit's price down. Their is an optional keyboard you can get from HP. Their is just so much more to I can wright about this unit but then I'd feel like an employee for HP so I say check it out. For you techie's out their who want a laptop for your laptop here it is. This pretty much has everything a notebook does just a little longer to learn TO PAY WITH IT. ITS THE ONLY GPS/LAPTOP/MP3/VIDEO PLAYER I'VE EVER FOUND. Good Luck in your search.
Eric Mastro Clearwater, Fl Read more
by EROCK699 (see profile) - May 4, 2007

11 out of 12 users found this user opinion helpful.

10 out of 10 - Perfect
Very cool...love it !
This is a fast machine, and the GPS is awesome and fast, it had everything we've looked up so ...
This is a fast machine, and the GPS is awesome and fast, it had everything we've looked up so far.
I can't get the media center to find the MP3's I put in the "MY MUSIC" folder yet, I may need to study a little more on that.
Also, I bought a 2 Gig SanDisk to put in it and I couldn't get it to work properly, I think it may have been the SD card, going to replace it with another and see.
Over all it's awesome. The damn thing has 2 Gig of storage on it anyway, even if I haven't figured out the SD card yet. Read more
by Readybaron (see profile) - November 3, 2006

3 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.

8 out of 10 - Excellent
This is an example of why PDAs still exist
This is everything it is said to be. You get the excellent Tom Tom UI along with turn by turn ...
This is everything it is said to be. You get the excellent Tom Tom UI along with turn by turn instructions and a full Windows Mobile 5 PDA. You also get lots of cables and an excellent car mount. I did find the PDA to be a bit sluggish on some tasks, but the SIRF III aquires a satelite quickly.

I had some issues connecting via bluetooth to my phone (Samsung Blackjack) because the bluetooth 2.0 stack on the Ipaq and the AKu3 smartphone addition of WM5 do not use DUN any more instead they are looking for a "pan" and the ipaq does not like that...but I imagine it will work with most bluetooth phones.

Overall the PDA is laid out very well, with shortcut menus etc. The worldmate software with its weather, packing lists etc. is actually very cool and it truly makes this thing a "travel companion" Read more
by robanga (see profile) - March 26, 2007

2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.

9 out of 10 - Spectacular
Great Gadget
I have had this unit for a little over two weeks and I am absolutely in love with it. Despite ...
I have had this unit for a little over two weeks and I am absolutely in love with it. Despite other reports the screen is not squishy. The screen is bright and can bee seen even in direct sunlight. Gps is fast and accurate but it does take about one minute to initally connect from a cold boot. If I can figure out the sd card issue it wouldbe perfect. I currently can not get the unit to recognize a 1gb Kingston sd card. Read more
by Surcy (see profile) - December 3, 2006

2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.

4 out of 10 - Mediocre
HP IPaq freezes like hell
After along research, i bought this piece of electronic. However after 5 days while i was working got stuck and ...
After along research, i bought this piece of electronic. However after 5 days while i was working got stuck and tried everything from reset to took out the batteries, but there was no sign of the windows screen anymore. i went to futureshop and got a replacement, however this one also freezes and you need to reboot it.
sometimes while you are using other program and you want to turn on GPS, it does not start, unless you press the rest button.
It has very poor connection with pc, if you want to synchronize or you want to transfer your data to your computer, unless you rest it, it does not connect to your pc.
TomTom GPS is also weak, it is not Garmin, with very useful button and categories. For example if you are looking something in Toronto, you have to enter the municipalities' name, while in Garmin it recognizes GTA and small municipalities.
If you want to synchronize your contact list with your outlook, you should backup your list of contacts, it erases all the data in your outlook and replaces with the one you have on your ipaq.
the battery life is really short, and it is so poor, even you connect to your pc or car charges, it does not charge it rapidly and gives you warning of low battery.
It does not have a camera, and does not work with your phone either. It can be used to dial a number, however you have to pick up your cell phone and continues the conversation from there. so do not expect it to be used for calling and receiving phone calls.

Over all it is really poor quality and it is really expensive, i would not recommend this PDA to anyone.
Cheers Read more
by sfroogh (see profile) - September 10, 2007

1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

8 out of 10 - Excellent
Nice device
This is a great product, I'm hoping the next version will have a hi-res screen for better web browsing ...
This is a great product, I'm hoping the next version will have a hi-res screen for better web browsing and an integrated digital camera with optical zoom to make this product range a truly ideal travel companion. Read more
by scl77 (see profile) - March 26, 2007

1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

4 out of 10 - Mediocre
End of Life Product
I have had an HP rx5915 for over a year. It is good, but...The OS is Windows Mobile 5, ...
I have had an HP rx5915 for over a year. It is good, but...The OS is Windows Mobile 5, with no updates from HP. The TomTom GPS software is Navigator 6. TomTom has not released a new map for over a year, and it appears that the Navigator product line will be killed with no new updates. This is an end of life product if you buy one now. (April 2008) Read more
by kdilorenzo (see profile) - April 28, 2008

5 out of 10 - Average
Great collection of features but performance not great
I have an old iPAQ which I have used for years, dropped, squashed etc. and it is still going strong....
I have an old iPAQ which I have used for years, dropped, squashed etc. and it is still going strong.
This new device is very flimsy in comparison - I think they have sacrificed quality for lightness.
The touch screen is not as accurate as my old device and has cost me dear in repairs after it dropped off the windscreen. Read more
by happyplatt (see profile) - March 28, 2008