Hot Deal on IPAQ 3850 for those that qualify...

[GelflingTurndark]

I have been looking around for a good deal on this item, and use Pricegrabber, I was still not able to find any really good deals. It seems that there are a lack of Buy.com coupons that give $50 off or some percentage off large ticket prices.

BUT WAIT! This is what I found!

Call 1-800-88-TEACH. This is Compaq's Educational Discount Line. I told them I was affiliated with Penn State (which I am) and asked if I bought the 3850, would I qualify for any discount. They said yes. They offered me a price of $536.00 for the unit. That was a petter price than I could find anywhere on the net. Next best price was about 550, but there was still a large shipping cost to be added to that price.

I asked how much for shipping. They said free. I asked if there was tax. They said, "No, we have Penn State's exempt ID number on file." I said...cool. Here's my credit card number.

Incidently, they also offered me the PC sleeve (single) for 130 and the Double for 172. Yoiu may be able to do better on Ebay.com for these, but I wanted to make sure I got one that was new and working.

This educational discount is available to all those that are affiliated with any educational institution. I am not advocating that you lie to them, but will admit that they did no checking to confirm my affiliation with Penn State.

Hope this helps some.

-Gelfling

 

[Vegito]

good deal but still expensive... man i wish they can sell these for like 299 or 399 hehehe....

 

[mpguy]

i don't know all the details but this might be a good link to look at a limited opportunity for education sites that haven't already participated in a discount/volume purchase deal at compaq for ipaq stuff:

compaq deal

education pricing site which will redirect you to your state

 

[Sanjoelo]

As an alternative, cdw.com will sell the 3835 (identical unit) for around $525 if you speak to a sales rep. No free shipping, though.

These units will begin to drop in price over the course of the year, so I myself am waiting for that. Being as new as they are, Compaq hasn't started the marketing push (with rebates, etc). I have a hard time paying full price for these at rollout... would rather stay a generation behind and get 'em for a song. That's just me, though.

The 3800's are very nice, though.

-JB

 

[GetReal]

Look around if you want a 3800 series. I ened up getting a 3835 lsst month for around $400 after the $100 MSN Holiday rebate from MP3superstore.com. I seriously doubt that you will see any Compaq rebates on the 3800 series anytime this year as the product line is not even officially launched until this week at CES with the introduction of the Bluetooth enabled 3870. Compaq only offers rebates on obsoleted product. as new product becomes available and there is currently no plans for Compaq to continue the iPaq PDA line ()ie 3900 or 4000 series).

BTW - eCost was also selling the Compaq single PC card sleeve with the built-in extra battery for $60 and the Compaq CF sleeve for $35.00. These are compatiable with all the iPaq series and none of the 3800 series includes either of these so don't forget to add the cost of expansion into your 3800 comparison.

 

[EDiT]

<< I seriously doubt that you will see any Compaq rebates on the 3800 series anytime this year as the product line is not even officially launched until this week at CES with the introduction of the Bluetooth enabled 3870. Compaq only offers rebates on obsoleted product. as new product becomes available and there is currently no plans for Compaq to continue the iPaq PDA line ()ie 3900 or 4000 series). >>



Is that pretty accurate info on the 3870? I've had an order in for one for over 2 months, and Compaq keeps pushing the release date back. Now the web site has said available for several weeks, but none of my vendors have even seen one of the 3870s yet.

 

[GetReal]

<<

<< I seriously doubt that you will see any Compaq rebates on the 3800 series anytime this year as the product line is not even officially launched until this week at CES with the introduction of the Bluetooth enabled 3870. Compaq only offers rebates on obsoleted product. as new product becomes available and there is currently no plans for Compaq to continue the iPaq PDA line ()ie 3900 or 4000 series). >>



Is that pretty accurate info on the 3870? I've had an order in for one for over 2 months, and Compaq keeps pushing the release date back. Now the web site has said available for several weeks, but none of my vendors have even seen one of the 3870s yet. >>




Actually the official release date is tommorrow at CES! I do not know about supplies through their dirtribution channels, bu it is uually very fast. I am at CES now and attended CES this just for the release so that I could purchase at their show price of $499.99 which includes both the single card PCMCIA sleeve and the Bluetooth amp pack. You are allowed only one 3870 promo package per person/per CES ticket stub or CES vendor tag. We evaled the 3800 series which included a couple of 3870s last month and other than the annoying two inch antenna on the top right, the 3870 units are awesome. The 3800 series fixes most of the quirks found in the earlier iPAQ series.

 

[vetteguy]

<<
Actually the official release date is tommorrow at CES! I do not know about supplies through their dirtribution channels, bu it is uually very fast. I am at CES now and attended CES this just for the release so that I could purchase at their show price of $499.99 which includes both the single card PCMCIA sleeve and the Bluetooth amp pack. You are allowed only one 3870 promo package per person/per CES ticket stub or CES vendor tag. We evaled the 3800 series which included a couple of 3870s last month and other than the annoying two inch antenna on the top right, the 3870 units are awesome. The 3800 series fixes most of the quirks found in the earlier iPAQ series. >>


Whoa!!! "annoying two inch antenna on the top right"?!?! Where did that come from? All the pictures of the 3870 have showed it to be identical to the 3850, except it had built-in Bluetooth. Are you saying the actual production 3870 has a protruding antenna on the naked unit itself?

 

[GelflingTurndark]

BTW - eCost was also selling the Compaq single PC card sleeve with the built-in extra battery for $60 and the Compaq CF sleeve for $35.00. These are compatiable with all the iPaq series and none of the 3800 series includes either of these so don't forget to add the cost of expansion into your 3800 comparison.[/i] >>



I tried to order one of these PC cards from ecost.com about 4-5 days ago and they were Out of Stock. Told me they might be in in 3-4 weeks and to try back. Then I look on the site and found the item in stock, with a different number and marked as ~$150.00. Just FYI. If you can find the item in stock there (or PC Mall which is the same store but with a different name), please let me know.

 

[jonnyfin]

<< Hot Deal on IPAQ 3850 for those that qualify... >>



not to flame ya or anything, but $500+ for this thing isn't hot at all! now, a 3635 for $150 after rebate and now we're talking...

 

[Chronos123]

No, the 3870 does NOT have a 2" antenna sticking out of its side- must have been some hw for a vertical market? It has the same physical appearance as the 3835/3850. I got my 3835 from CompUSA by trading up my problematic 3635 w/ the 1 year technical warranty program. Yee haw!

 

[EDiT]

<<

<< Hot Deal on IPAQ 3850 for those that qualify... >>



not to flame ya or anything, but $500+ for this thing isn't hot at all! now, a 3635 for $150 after rebate and now we're talking... >>



Does the 3635 have a 64k color screen? Nope. I'll stick with a 38XX, thank you.

 

[GetReal]

<< No, the 3870 does NOT have a 2" antenna sticking out of its side- must have been some hw for a vertical market? It has the same physical appearance as the 3835/3850. I got my 3835 from CompUSA by trading up my problematic 3635 w/ the 1 year technical warranty program. Yee haw! >>



The 3870 does have the antenna on the TOP! It is part of the Bluetooth sleeve. The 3835 and 3850 do not have the anttenna and are not the same unit as the 3870. The 3835/3850 are not Bluetooth capable unless you purchase the $300 Bluetooth expansion sleeve which is included with the 3870. We evealuated two retal boxed 3870s for two weeks so I think I know the difference and what it looks like.

 

[jonnyfin]

hope that 64k color is worth $400 on that 3x4 screen, i ain't that nerdy

 

[vetteguy]

<<

<< No, the 3870 does NOT have a 2" antenna sticking out of its side- must have been some hw for a vertical market? It has the same physical appearance as the 3835/3850. I got my 3835 from CompUSA by trading up my problematic 3635 w/ the 1 year technical warranty program. Yee haw! >>



The 3870 does have the antenna on the TOP! It is part of the Bluetooth sleeve. The 3835 and 3850 do not have the anttenna and are not the same unit as the 3870. The 3835/3850 are not Bluetooth capable unless you purchase the $300 Bluetooth expansion sleeve which is included with the 3870. We evealuated two retal boxed 3870s for two weeks so I think I know the difference and what it looks like. >>



Umm...then this is totally 100% opposite of what every site for Pocket PC's has been reporting for the past 4 months. I know there is a Bluetooth sleeve, but the idea of the 3870 was that is has INTEGRATED Bluetooth (it even says that on the Compaq specs site). If you have a unit that has a Bluetooth sleeve then it can't be a 3870, instead they must have given you a 3835/3850 with the sleeve. Otherwise, why advertise an entirely different model that claims integrated Bluetooth? I'd love to see a picture with the model number somewhere.

 

[Burnt]

I have a 3835, it's cool and handy

 

[GetReal]

<< hope that 64k color is worth $400 on that 3x4 screen, i ain't that nerdy >>



Actually IMO, the colors on the 3600 series look better than the 3800 series with most current applications. The 3600 series LCD is brighter than the 3800. With the 3800 series, Compaq reduced the max backlight level to avoid image burn-in problems that plagued the 3600 series. If you are currently using 3600 series at max brightness, the 3800 will be a disappointment. The main reason that we will be purchasing the 3800 series is the fact that it allows the simultaneouse use of multiple buttons which is a limitation of earlier iPAQ series. We run custom database apps on the iPAQ that access or legal files and this feature will help a lot.

 

[EDiT]

<< hope that 64k color is worth $400 on that 3x4 screen, i ain't that nerdy >>



Improvements in the 3835:
64k color screen instead of 4k
SD slot for expansion
64MB ram instead of 32
32 rom instead of 16
enhanced battery with longer run time
Countless unannounced bugfixes(since it is a 2nd generation device)


Yeah...a Celeron 600 system may cost me less than an AMD XP2000+ system with a GF3, but which would I pick? Not the crappy one.

 

[GetReal]

<<

<<

<< No, the 3870 does NOT have a 2" antenna sticking out of its side- must have been some hw for a vertical market? It has the same physical appearance as the 3835/3850. I got my 3835 from CompUSA by trading up my problematic 3635 w/ the 1 year technical warranty program. Yee haw! >>



The 3870 does have the antenna on the TOP! It is part of the Bluetooth sleeve. The 3835 and 3850 do not have the anttenna and are not the same unit as the 3870. The 3835/3850 are not Bluetooth capable unless you purchase the $300 Bluetooth expansion sleeve which is included with the 3870. We evealuated two retal boxed 3870s for two weeks so I think I know the difference and what it looks like. >>



Umm...then this is totally 100% opposite of what every site for Pocket PC's has been reporting for the past 4 months. I know there is a Bluetooth sleeve, but the idea of the 3870 was that is has INTEGRATED Bluetooth (it even says that on the Compaq specs site). If you have a unit that has a Bluetooth sleeve then it can't be a 3870, instead they must have given you a 3835/3850 with the sleeve. Otherwise, why advertise an entirely different model that claims integrated Bluetooth? I'd love to see a picture with the model number somewhere. >>




The picture on Compaq website is INCORRECT and is the generic 3800 series picture. If you look at the options section you will see the final production version of the 3870/3875. Bluetooth IS "intergated", but not inside tha actual iPAQ unit. Compaq nNEVER reported that the Bluetooth functionality was inside the actual unit. By "integrated" compaq is referring to the fact that the OS anready has Bluetooth drivers installed in ROM and BlueTooth is preconfigured . The Bluetooth "integration" is a half sleeve (NOT the BlueTooth/CF Sleeve option for the 3835/3850) and is REQUIRED for Bluetooth operatioons. If you remove the sleeve and goto the asset viewer it will sho that Bluetooth is DIABLED. As I said earlier we tested two of these so I know what it looks like and I played with one of the demo units on the floor of CES yesterday. I will have mine tomorrow so I can verify that it is the same as our eval models and the CES demo units

 

[Slugbait]

Another cool thing the 3800 can do that the 3600 cannot: Terminal Services.

If you have the wireless capabilities (modem/LAN), you can access your desktop remotely. That's why I returned for refund the CompUSA 3670 deal that was posted here...I'm waiting for this one feature, and I don't wanna pay for two units. Otherwise, I had the 3635 (work related) for almost a year, and I'm having withdrawal symptoms now...I absolutely LOVE these things...

 

[GetReal]

<< Another cool thing the 3800 can do that the 3600 cannot: Terminal Services.

If you have the wireless capabilities (modem/LAN), you can access your desktop remotely. That's why I returned for refund the CompUSA 3670 deal that was posted here...I'm waiting for this one feature, and I don't wanna pay for two units. Otherwise, I had the 3635 (work related) for almost a year, and I'm having withdrawal symptoms now...I absolutely LOVE these things... >>



Terminal Services is available on any iPAQ that can run PocketPC 2002 and is not specific to the H3800 series. They only requirement is that you have o have availabe storage space to install it. By default, Terminal services, MS Reader, MediaPlay are not installed on PocketPC that only have 16MB ROM. However, you can install any of these options from the PocketPC 2002 CD-ROM if you have available memory or a storage expansion pack

 

[mdetz]

Don't you guys think that the price will come down on these in the next few months? Seems like everyone (toshiba, CASIO(!), HP, etc) is coming out with PPC's w/ SA 206 mhz processors. Compaq is finally gonna have some real competition!

 

[vetteguy]

I have looked at the Compaq website, and the only unit I see that has an antenna sticking out is the GSM/GPRS sleeve. Could you provide me with a link to the picture of the 3870/3875 that you are referring to?

 

[jonnyfin]

edit,

i'm not saying that my 3635 is better than your 38xx. obviously the newer model is better, but since this is the hot deals forum I don't think this particular deal is hot! i haven't had any problems with my 3635, the color looks great, it hasn't crashed since I upgraded to the pocketpc 2002...etc. The $400 difference is definitely not worth it for me, shoot, I couldn't afford it anyways.... i've only had mine for a month, so when the 38xx's start coming down in price later this year then I may trade up.

to be honest with ya i only play chess, strip poker, and pac man on the thing anyways!

 

[EDiT]

<< i'm not saying that my 3635 is better than your 38xx. obviously the newer model is better, but since this is the hot deals forum I don't think this particular deal is hot! i haven't had any problems with my 3635, the color looks great, it hasn't crashed since I upgraded to the pocketpc 2002...etc. The $400 difference is definitely not worth it for me, shoot, I couldn't afford it anyways.... >>



That's why I was correcting your statements. This model has features which are very important to some people. Therefore, any posts involving saving a good deal of money on this model are Hot to those of us who want one.

If someone found a good deal on a Lexus, would you post in the thread that you just got a Geo Metro for much less?


Anyway...Back to on topic, Thanks for the great post. I'd think about it if I didn't have a 3870 on the way.