One of the most impressive things about the HP ipaq rx4240 is the inclusion of both WLAN and Bluetooth transmitters. This is a sub-300€ machine after all, so dual wireless is not standard!
HP’s software department created a nifty tool called ipaq wireless that provides you with an overview of the radio statuses(german OS - sorry) on the Today page. Clicking any of the toggles allows you to turn the radios on or off:
Furthermore, the tool provides you easy access to the various protocol stacks and also provides customized screens for choosing WLAN’s and bluetooth connection partners:
While the ipaq doesn’t seem to have a ‘turnoff keep alive’ function that keeps the link active(Skype adds sth like that though) even when the screen turns off(like the Treo 680 has for Bluetooth), it automatically attempts to reconnect to any access points it was ganged up with beforehand.
Bluetooth range is excellent - the ipaq beats the Palm TX hands-down and is on-par with the Palm Treo 680. When Wifi is concerned, the Palm TX seems to be a bit more sensitive and has a slightly higher range - but both machines are very long-ranged and work well.
Overall, HP’s implementation of a dual-radio handheld is very well-done. Both radios can be used at the same time, have high ranges and easy-to-use software stacks. Congratulations…no negative points here!