Pocket PC 2003 on e740

[atomicparkerman]

Will there be an update?

I emailed Toshiba, and this was the responce I got.

"Dear Customer,

Thank you for contacting Toshiba of Canada Limited, Notebook Computer Division with your inquiry.

At this time, we are currently investigating the 2003 ROM update for existing PDA customers. We will contact you once we have further information for your e740."

Any thoughts? I sure hope there will be an update...Having a 400mhz processor on an OS that isn't optimized for it is a great waste...

[Dave Beauvais]

Ultimately, nobody can say at this point whether or not any Pocket PC manufacturer will release a ROM update for their current models. Rumor has it that HP will have updates for at least their 3900 and 5400 series iPAQ, but I don't think anyone has actually seen that in writing anywhere official. :) Personally, I would be surprised if Toshiba didn't release a ROM update at some point in the future, but no one outside the company can say for sure yet.

--Dave

[jawage]

I hear pocket pc 2003 will come out june 26th

[Chris Spera]

I thought the date was June 23.

As far as updates from Toshiba, I'm not sure what will come out, or for which PPC's. Toshiba has been very stingy with updates for the e310, and it took a lot of whining from a lot of enthusiasts for them to release updates for EUU2 and EUU3.

As far as the 740/750 are concerned, I'd think that there would be an update; but I really don't know for certain. Toshiba is very, very silent when it comes to this stuff, and getting information from them on possible updates is like pulling teeth.

My recommendations would be to keep your eyes and ears peeled for someting; but don't be surprised if they leave the current devices behind...

Kind Regards,


Christopher Spera

[Keystone]

From the Brighthand forums I found that it's a real possibility for an upgrade for our e740s.

This is the latest from citanic's site. (http://www.pc-counselor.8m.com/e740.htm#contrast//url)

[beckp]

Any word if PPC2003 will be Xscale friendly and have drivers for the ATI graphics so my Today screen will remian constant.

[Chris Spera]

Yes. PPC 2003 is all about XScale. The OS has been tweaked for XScale and it should be faster than PPC 2002 and battery life should be better, even on 250 processors (tho it will be much better on the 255 processor).

Kind Regards,


Christopher Spera

[saxamoophone]

I read somewhere that Toshiba would be doing updates.

Hopefully that'll include my e335 that I bought last month (although it wouldn't surprise me if they just stuck with the 7XX series). :(

[saxamoophone]

Grrr.....so it's official

No e335 updates...frickin cheapies. It's bad enough that they are charging 50 dollars for a upgrade when microsoft itself only makes 5 bucks on it (who are the ones who did the far majority of the work), but when they refuse to support the consumers who JUST purchased one of their products, especially for an upgrade that is needed to take advantage of the processors true power, that's just really annoying.

Unless they get their act together, I'll be switching to another pocket PC provider in the future.

[cam87513]

As I posted in the news thread about this, I'd advise all e740 owners to not only phone the Toshiba reps, but to also use the webchat feature and email them. The only way we can make them give us an update is to show our anger (make sure you're not hateful with them, that gets us nowhere) about our devices not being supported.

[Enderet]

Brighthand is saying no upgrades for the e740 or 335 :|

[atomicparkerman]

hmmm....This all means I paid $800 for a machine that can't be upgraded even though it far outweighs the requirements for any upgrade?

Um...This doesn't make me very happy.

[cam87513]

You know what really pisses me off? Here's the response I got back from Toshiba's email support:

"The PCKETPC2003 OS is not campatible with the E740. There is no upgrade for it at this time.


MarkO"

Uh, bull. I told them just that to, and explained how it is compatible, and that even 1 1/2 year old HP devices are being upgraded. We'll see what they have to say now.

[jongaynor]

This is farking ridiculous. This is a $600 PDA thats less than a year old. Toshiba is showing it's true colors on this one and I sadly have to agree with the usually pro-toshiba citanic: DO NOT buy a toshiba product or reccomend them to anyone else. Killer hardware means nothing when the company is going to hang you out to dry on support.

I would even accept a pay-for-upgrade plan like Dell is doing for roughly $30.

The tech I spoke with on the phone today said to keep raising a stink about the lack of new ROM/upgrade and perhaps they'd be forced to release one. I say we get one of those free online petitions going demanding an upgrade, quoting citanic's earlier email from Toshiba tech support. Anyone for it?

[Tierran]

Stay tuned for that ;)

[jongaynor]

Im writing a petition as we speak - Ill post it here and at brighthand along with links, phone numbers, email addresses and postal addresses for Toshiba support and complaints. Can you reccomend any other popular forums or newsgroups that Toshiba users frequent? Thanks in advance for any help.

[cam87513]

One more thing guys, swamp them with phone calls and emails. They can ignore one person, but when their support office is swamped with emails and phone calls, they CAN'T ignore us. I don't know about most of you guys, but I'm not giving up without a fight. And they WILL be getting a call from me every day until this gets resolved.

[jongaynor]

I posted up a Toshiba Petition / Support thread here:

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=127079#127079

cam couldn't be more right. The support guy I spoke with today on the phone kinda hinted that the more we bitch, the more likely an update was. I did a chat later, and the kid seemed optimistic at first, then kinda buckled:

You have been connected to Peter I..
Peter I.: Welcome to Toshiba's PDA Support! How may I help you?

Jonathan Gaynor: Hey Peter - where is the e740 Windows Mobile upgrade?

Peter I.: we don't have any info on that at this time however that could change very soon. You will want to keep an eye on our web site for further updates.

Jonathan Gaynor: is an upgrade planned and just going to take some time? or does Toshiba not have any plans to provide an
upgrade, even if it would be a pay-forupgrade service?

Peter I.: I honestly don't know at this time for the 740

Peter I.: If I had more I'd give it to you.

Jonathan Gaynor: alright thank you for your time Peter

Jonathan Gaynor: Have a good day

Peter I.: you too

Thank you for using Toshiba PDA Support. You may now close this window.

[kevsteele]

Jon,

That's creepy: I too, talked to "Peter I." today, and got the exact answers you got:

"I honestly don't know at this time for the 740"

"If I had more I'd give it to you."

I asked different questions, but the replies look like they were canned.

Kevin

[Kati Compton]

A lot of customer support is scripted.

[kevsteele]

Some possibly good news! I emailed tech support, and got the following answer:

Toshiba is still testing Pocket PC 2003 with its product line. We have been told that when it is proven on a specific model that there is no compatiblity problems, you e740 will be approved for the upgrade. Suggest you check at the Toshiba Website periodically to see if it has been approved or through this email site. We do not have a planned release date.

MikeM
Toshiba PDA Support

There's some tap-dancing in the answer, but it's a more positive reply than I've seen recently.

Kevin