This is the second part of my review of the HP ipAQ rx5720 Travel Companion. The iPAQ 5720 is a combined PDA and TomTom satellite navigation system.
Last week I reviewed the PDA side of things. This week I am reviewing the UK version of the TomTom6 satellite navigation system that comes built into the PDA.
TomTom Setup
Setup of the satellite navigation system was straightforward. You simply select the TomTom application from the main menu and then wait for the iPAQ to establish a GPS signal. Establishing a GPS signal will take a few minutes the first time it is used, and you need to make sure you are standing outside and clear of any tall buildings, etc. Once a GPS signal has been established, you will find that subsequent times you switch on the iPAQ and select TomTom, that the GPS signal is established much quicker.
TomTom Maps
The TomTom comes with full maps covering the UK and Ireland. I found the TomTom application menus easy to navigate. The maps are surprisingly good for a device with a small screen. The maps are clear and easy to read. It supports full postcode entry to plan your route. You can also plan your route by entering a city and street name, or if you just want to navigate to the centre of a town or city you can do that too.
I also like the way it displays how many miles of your journey are remaining and an estimated time to reach your destination.
TomTom Navigation
I planned several routes around my local town and it calculated accurate routes, choosing exactly the same routes I would have chosen myself. Voice directions are clear and easy to understand. The voice volume adjusts depending on what speed you are travelling, so the noise from your vehicle won’t prevent you from hearing the directions.
You have the usual features you expect on a satellite navigation system, such as being able to plan the journey using the fastest or shortest routes. You can also instruct the TomTom to avoid certain roads if required.
I like the way it give directions not just for the current step in your journey but also the next step ahead. Let’s say you’re approaching a roundabout, before you get to the roundabout it will tell you what exit to take and then also tell you what to do after you exit the roundabout. For example, take the 3rd exit on the roundabout and then after 100 yards turn left. I like the way it provides forward planning like this.
I also deliberately took a few wrong turns. At first it warns you to turn around, but if you carry on driving then it will automatically recalculate a new route for you. This worked perfectly every time I tried it.
TomTom Other Features
You also have the option to forward plan your routes. You could for example, plan a journey for the following day. Once the route is calculated you can then preview the route, either as text instructions or by browsing a map showing the route. You can also browse the planned route as a video which simulates the journey as if you were driving in your car. You can speed up and slow down this video if there is a particular section of the journey you want to see in more detail.
The TomTom also supports itinerary planning. If you need to visit several places, then you can setup each destination in an itinerary. Once you’ve reached the first destination, you can then mark it complete, and then it will plan the route for the next destination in the itinerary. This can be quite useful, especially if you want to break up a long journey into smaller pieces.
It also supports navigation to any of your contacts in your address book. Simply select the contact in your address book and it will plan the journey. In addition you can also make use of the Buddy Finder feature. This allows you to invite friends as TomTom buddies. You can then see your buddies on the map and navigate to each other.
I found browsing the maps very easy to use. You can zoom into individual street level if required. The maps also show points of interest (POI) such as petrol stations and hotels. If you click on a POI then it will display the phone number for the petrol station, hotel, etc.
The TomTom also supports journeys you want to do by foot or by cycling.
TomTom Summary
Overall I think this is a great satellite navigation system. Full postcode entry makes this system simple to use, it provides easy to read maps and gives clear directions that are easy to understand. It also provides features like points of interest, itinerary planning and TomTom buddies for more advanced users.
Overall Summary of HP iPAQ rx5720
Overall I think the TomTom satellite navigation is the best aspect of this device. It was very impressive and performed very well on each journey I planned.
The PDA side of things are pretty good, especially the calendar features. I also like the easy integration with Microsoft Outlook enabling you to synchronize your emails and calendar appointments. I found using applications like Microsoft Word and Excel too fiddly on such a small screen, and the lack of wireless may put off some people too. Apart from that limitation it is a nice device. If you really want wireless capabilities then you can purchase a wireless SDIO card separately for around £20.
If you’re looking for a great satellite navigation system, and want a built-in calendar and contacts list, then keep it on your shortlist.
Where to buy
Buy the HP iPAQ 5720 from Amazon.
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12 responses so far ↓
1 Sanjoy // Jul 19, 2007 at 5:50 pm
Hi,
Thankyou very much for an very good review of the product. The only hope is the Lemon digital have it in stock.
I ahd no idea that I could get wireless connectivity with a SDIO card.
2 Dean // Jul 19, 2007 at 6:00 pm
Glad you liked the review. Any further questions let me know.
3 Michael Richardson // Aug 17, 2007 at 10:35 pm
Great report, thanks, as per your suggestion went out and got myself a sdio card but am having trouble getting the settings right to connect to the internet, am thinking you should do a report on putting in the settings
4 Dean // Aug 18, 2007 at 2:33 pm
That is an area I didn’t delve into, but the whole topic of SDIO cards is something I would like to try and look into further. What particular problems are you running into?
5 Jeremy // Nov 29, 2007 at 1:43 pm
Hi Dean, excellent review.. I just noticed someone had a problem with the wireless? did you manage to ever find out anymore about that?
6 Dean // Nov 29, 2007 at 3:10 pm
Hi Jeremy. We never managed to get to the bottom of the wireless issues seen by one of my readers.
Although we did discover that the instructions he was using to setup wireless were based on Windows Mobile 2003 whereas the iPAQ uses Windows Mobile 5.0. That is us just clutching at straws though. Don’t know if the wireless setup is different between the two versions.
If you do decide to buy the iPAQ I would be interested to know if you have any success with the wireless.
7 Jeremy // Nov 29, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Cool, I just purchased one. so will likely go with the wireless option at some point. Will certainly comment any problems, fixes or otherwise that arise here for you. cheers
8 Jeremy // Feb 20, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Hi again,
I did recently purchase this Ipaq and am completely happy with it. Very good piece of hardware for what I need but the wireless issue does put it behind the next gen stuff coming up right now.. I puchased an SDIO wlan card but so far no luck with it at all.. HP site has no help in installing or using one and there is nothing on the net in general. Without a doubt it needs more indepth instructions as there seems to be too many working settings that need figuring out.
9 mrs c plant // Nov 5, 2008 at 9:34 pm
would be interested if anyone has had any luck with the sdio card for the ipaq. i also purchased the card and dont seem to be having any luck connecting to the interest. any information on settings would be appreciated.
chris
10 Jeremy // Nov 5, 2008 at 11:02 pm
After a LOT of fiddling around I did manage to get the wireless working. It is a little temperamental though. Sometimes It simply will not catch a signal even if it should. But I have found simple having it on and THEN plugging it in does after a few seconds eventually work to find a signal. But then you need to fiddle with the settings in the options to get it working. I wish I had noted down what I did but cannot remember. What I do know is that you do need the KEY to the wireless signal first and you will have to put that into the settings to allow the signal to work. But it DOES work. If the wirless signal has no security then it will find the signal and should work without a KEY but as I say it can be tricky.
11 Mike Lovell // Feb 17, 2009 at 12:31 pm
Dean
Is it possible for this iPAQ to use other region maps (ie. Europe or USA) with the built in Tom Tom? Any advice on how I can do this will be most welcome.
Regards and thanks
Mike
12 Jeremy // Feb 17, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Yes. The Tom Tom is exactly the same software and system as a tom tom device.. so there is an option to add additonal maps once you have signed up and registered etc. you need to purchase those seperate but you can get all that info online.
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