PC Card or CF

[pschultz]

I am thinking about getting an expansion pack for my iPaq 3835. I can't decide though, pc card or cf. What are your thoughts?

[Jason Dunn]

With the expansion plus packs now offering a battery in the CF sleeve, I'd say go with that one, unless you truly need a PCMCIA slot.

[Grey]

The PCMCIA + pack will do everthing that the CF + pack will do, but for one thing, it will not operate without the battery, (unless you have it connected to external power). I don't see that as a problem, that battery is thin, so if you think you might need the PCMCIA slot I go for it. Also there are a lot less reports of the PCMCIA + pack causing problems, unlike the CF+ pack.

Grey

[Howard66]

I'm confused! Both are available with a battery, and both can be converted to the other. Do you know which one is bigger? Which combinations would be slower? Is the CF problem ocurring on the 3955, or just 38xx and lower?

Let's assume I go for the PC Card to avoid problems -- is that larger? Does that take up more space with the CF attached (compared to a CF sleeve with a CF? Will it be slower for the CF card?

I am really interested in having a "jukebox", and see that the toshiba 2gb pc card can be bought for $90. I can easily see using large CF card most of the time, and the PC card when required. However, I don't want to sacrifice space or speed, since there is a CF to PC Card adapter!

PS: This is my first post, and I don't even have the IPAQ yet!

[don dre]

Mem Plug makes a dual CF expansion sleeve that looks quite thin since the second CF slot is on the side. Aditionally, the cover from coverpaq fits the sleeve. Nice. More options this way although the toshiba pc card offers the best value. My roommate has the pc card expansion pack and it is big. Also as an option, you might want to consider the TDK bluepaq which is a very thin CF plus bluetooth sleeve if BT is something you may be interested in.

[mscdex]

i have the original pcmcia sleeve, works great for me. but i would recommend getting a pcmcia silver slider sleeve. these are thin and offer the same functionality (but i am not sure if they include a battery or not).
The reason i bought a pcmcia sleeve is because pcmcia cards are cheaper than cf cards as a whole. for example, you can easily get a cheap 10mbps network pcmcia card and a 56k modem pcmcia card for a _LOT_ less than buying a cf network card and a cf 56k modem card. Using pcmcia means, you could also use the same cards that you use in your pda, in your laptop or desktop. i've had good results with varoid pcmcia cards compatbility-wise. every pcmcia card i found around the house worked in my sleeve.

[Brad Adrian]

Mem Plug makes a dual CF expansion sleeve that looks quite thin since the second CF slot is on the side...
That is a nice sleeve, but remember, it has no internal battery, as most of the others in this discussion do.