Most stable device you've ever owned?

[Pdaholic]

It's been several weeks now with my Jasjar and WM5.0, and I'm starting to rethink what things are important to me in a PDA. With the big memory leak in WM5.0 and the inherent instability that insues, I'm realizing that system stability is more important to me than having a new and "improved" operating system.

I have had way too many devices over the years (it's a true illness I have), and I just left the most stable PDA I've ever had for the Jajar--went from an Ipaq 4350. Once I got my favorite programs on it, I truly NEVER had to reset the thing. I knew it would always work for me when I needed it to, and I really miss that feeling with my Jasjar.

I actually had almost decided to put the Jasjar down and "downgrade" to a BenQ P50 (WM2003, like my 4350); I bid on one from eBay, lost the bid, then rethought the situation after reading about how people are getting poor performance from the P50. So now I'm going to try and stick with the Jasjar for the time being. I'm hoping WM5.X will fix the memory leak issues, but I'm not holding my breath.

I am curious, what's the most stable PDA/operating system you guys have used?

[foebea]

That would definately be the ipaq 2215. still using it and very happy with it. I wish I could mod it further and add fucntionality, for example pay ppctechs to upgrade it to vga screen and maybe hide a wifi card somewhere in there. Someday I will upgrade, but I learned my lesson with the first ppc i bought and will definately wait until it has been out a year so i can see the user reviews before laying down half a grand on my new best friend.

[Pdaholic]

What happened with your first ppc? I'm beginning to think HP, despite some of their hardware decisions, may be makers of the most stable PPCs.

[Mark Kenepp]

Like foebea, I am still using my 2215 and I am very happy with it. I would have to say that my MC218 running EPOC r5 was probably a more stable device, however. Though I do have little problem with my 2215.

[foebea]

What happened with your first ppc? I'm beginning to think HP, despite some of their hardware decisions, may be makers of the most stable PPCs.


I got it a few months before i got the 2215. it was the 5550, based on the larger form factor using older cases and such. the fingerprint scanner was not so reliable and was left to gather dust as it were, it was just plain laggy. the only thing i had to compare it to was my dads old 3300 series, and it was a bit faster.

after about 6 months or so I just got fed up with the problems, had hard reset itself a few times and many programs (especially video) ran slowly. I took it back to compusa and asked to exchange it for a different one (gotta love thier TAP insurance thing) they gave me full refund including cost of TAP and I grabbed the 2215, smaller but basically the same featureset minus the fingerprint scanner - and 200 bucks cheaper. I was amazed at the difference, it was litterally about 8 times faster than the 'better' flagship model i had just returned. I also picked up a dvd burner, 100 blank dvds and three cases of bawls with the store credit left over and still had 5 bucks in returned cash for lunch.

I am extremely happy i did that, as the 5550 by now would have spent over a year gathering dust whereas i still use the 2215 daily.

edit: if anyone who is thinking about getting a 2215 reads this - there was another factor that raised the lifespan of my 2215, the replacement metal side thingies you can buy online. Not only is this the only ppc with easily moddable pieces, it requires it. after a few months of regular use, most people report the cheap rubber/plastic sides that come with it from HP start to separate and fall apart. the replacements screw in place and add to the cool factor of the device. i got red to match my today sceen wallpaper. Woo Yay!

[Patrick Y.]

I still love my x50v WITH SE. Never really want to upgrade after hearing about the software incompatibility and bugs. With SE, it's very fast and reliable.

[Stephen Beesley]

Most stable Pocket PC - would have to have been my Jornadas. Both the original 545 with PPC 2000 and the 568 with PPC 2002.

I tend to load lots (and I do mean lots 8O ) of stuff onto my PDAs and even with every thing I could cram onto it my Jornada 568 never gave me problems. Overall - I think PPC 2002 was a more stable OS than WM 2003 (which I have had on a couple of Toshibas).

I am about to take delivery of an Axim x50v with WM5 so I will soon see how that goes...

Now if you broaden out th what was the most stabe PDA of any type, then for me it was definately my Apple Newton Message Pad 2000 - never had to reset that thing unless I wanted to. One of the things I loved most about the Newtons was that they used persistent memory (as WM5 is finally implementing for the Pocket PC). In particular they had a trick that when you used the built in notes app or the word processing app it would automatically save your work pretty much with every bit you input. So that even in the rare case of an unexpected soft reset you would often open your document back up to find that you had not lost more than a word or two if that. Very handy!

[Pdaholic]

Foebea: Funny you should mention the 5550. I have one which I, too, have had tucked away for several months. My 4350 has the same OS but everything runs slower. Anyway, I just pulled out my 5550 today and installed an NES emulator. It's only saving grace was the excellent d-pad for gaming. The NES emu runs really well on it. I really want a pda that is good for games, has a good keyboard, camera, and WiFi, but I haven't found that combo yet.

Stephen: My only PPC 2002 PDA was an iPaq 3850. It crashed only so often, and usually out of nowhere. I bought it while upgrading from a Palm OS based PDA, so I wasn't too shocked about operating system instability :wink: I will say that you are likely not going to like your Axim with WM5. What are you thinking, man??? Have you not read the reviews of people who have "upgraded" or those who have bought a PDA with WM5 installed? Hopefully you can downgrade back to WM2003. I'm so disappointed with WM5, if you can't tell. :devilboy: Anyhow, good luck.

[Stephen Beesley]

Stephen: My only PPC 2002 PDA was an iPaq 3850. It crashed only so often, and usually out of nowhere. I bought it while upgrading from a Palm OS based PDA, so I wasn't too shocked about operating system instability :wink:

I had only good experiences with PPC 2002 on both my Jornada and, more recently, on a Casio e200. But I guess it would have varied from device to device depending on drivers and other stuff.


I will say that you are likely not going to like your Axim with WM5. What are you thinking, man??? Have you not read the reviews of people who have "upgraded" or those who have bought a PDA with WM5 installed? Hopefully you can downgrade back to WM2003. I'm so disappointed with WM5, if you can't tell. :devilboy: Anyhow, good luck.

The Axim I am getting was originally a WM2003SE device and comes with the upgrade CD so I am guessing that I will be able to downgrade if I do not like!

Speaking of Palm OS (as you were :wink:) I almost did not buy the Axim. I was very tempted by an ebay auction for a Sony UX50 which was going for only AUD$370 as a buy it now. I really love the form factor of these devices (although not quite as much as I like the Japanes Zuarus clamshells...). I wish a WM OEM would come up with something like this - okay I know there is the Universal, but cost, availability and size all go against it for me.

[Pdaholic]

Speaking of Palm OS (as you were :wink:) I almost did not buy the Axim. I was very tempted by an ebay auction for a Sony UX50 which was going for only AUD$370 as a buy it now. I really love the form factor of these devices (although not quite as much as I like the Japanes Zuarus clamshells...). I wish a WM OEM would come up with something like this - okay I know there is the Universal, but cost, availability and size all go against it for me.

Should I mention that I also have a UX50? Yeah, I said before, I have a disorder. The UX50 was nearly my perfect PDA. I, too, loved the size and clamshell. Guess what my problem was? Stability! This was absolutely the most bizarre PDA I've ever owned. It would suddenly crash and not restart with a soft reset or hard reset--YOU HAD TO PULL THE BATTERY! Or you could wait a week for the battery to drain completely and recharge it. Do a search on 1src.com for "sudden UX death syndrome" and you'll get a bunch of posts. I loved everything about the UX, but I couldn't stand having to unscrew the casing and pulling the battery to get it working again (happened about 6 times in 3 months of use before I gave up). Hence my purchase of the Jasjar, the size of which I have gotten used to.

[Stephen Beesley]

Should I mention that I also have a UX50? Yeah, I said before, I have a disorder. The UX50 was nearly my perfect PDA. I, too, loved the size and clamshell. Guess what my problem was? Stability! This was absolutely the most bizarre PDA I've ever owned. It would suddenly crash and not restart with a soft reset or hard reset--YOU HAD TO PULL THE BATTERY! Or you could wait a week for the battery to drain completely and recharge it. Do a search on 1src.com for "sudden UX death syndrome" and you'll get a bunch of posts. I loved everything about the UX, but I couldn't stand having to unscrew the casing and pulling the battery to get it working again (happened about 6 times in 3 months of use before I gave up). Hence my purchase of the Jasjar, the size of which I have gotten used to.

Well that makes me feel a bit better about not buying the Clie. I was very very very tempted, but I definately could not be dealing with that sort of problem :( .

Still the design really does tempt me. I think one of these days I am going to have pick up one or maybe one of the Zaurus line just to give it a try!

[JD Silver]

I've had an HTC Apache (Telus version) for a few weeks and it actually seems pretty stable. It runs WM5, and I've had no real stability issues. The only 'memory leaks' I've noticed so far are the usual stuff left behind by IE, but I've moved that cache to the storage card anyway. There has been occasional build up of notifications that I'm still trying to figure out, but that could be MS Voice Command. It even handles phone calls very nicely while I've been on the Internet using WiFi. All in all, this device is more stable than my Audiovox PPC6600 running WM2003SE. Another benefit of WM5 on a PDA/Phone device is the softkeys; I hardly ever need to use the stylus when using the device as a phone, and the physical keyboard is a dream!

The speed issue is another question. WM5 is definitely slower, due to the non volatile memory. On the other hand, I yanked the battery out for fun and it was nice to observe no data loss. Programming WM5 is much nicer, particularly if you add .NETCF 2.0 to the equation. I haven't encountered the White Screen of Death (WSOD) that some users of the Sprint version have mentioned.

Right now the jury is still out on WM5, but once the updated games start to be coded with Direct 3D Mobile, and truly take advantage of any graphics coprocessor, then we will begin to see some of the advantages.

Now, if only I had full confidence in my device as an alarm clock... :roll:

[Ripper014]

My most stable Pocket PC was probably my Casio e125... and other than the known issues with the OS... my Hp2210 and Toshiba e830 run just fine too.

[pocketpcadmirer]

My most stable ppc has been my o2 mini(the one I have now)

Sunny

[Steven Cedrone]

My most stable Pocket PC was the Jornada 548. It is still in use by my kids, it's still mint (built like a tank!), and it is still running the software I bought for them and installed years ago. I am still amazed!!! :)

[surfer]

My HTC MAGICIAN. Because it has not given me any trouble and it does not give me the need to uppgrade the ROM.

[ctmagnus]

Contrary to some posts in this thread, my iPaq 5550. It just works, period. I would have gone for a 2210 at the time I bought it but built-in Wifi is absolutely beautiful.

[Teemu2]

I am still using my 4150 and it works perfectly.

[Pdaholic]

Seems that HP produces the most stable of the PDAs!!!

If only HP could make a PDA without crippling some feature; I mean, c'mon, the 6515 with no WiFi and a tiny box screen?

[dh]

My Zaurus C860 is by far the most stable device I've owned. I've used it everyday for about two years and have only had to reboot it twice - one of those was when I installed a new OS.

The POS and PPC devices I used prior to the Z all had a lot of stability problems, as do the Symbol and HHP Windows based products I have to contend with to make a living.

Despite this, I expect to be back in the Windows camp next year when I finally go for a Treo - the WM version of course!

Contrary to some posts in this thread, my iPaq 5550. It just works, period.
I would rate the 5550 as one of the top handheld devices ever. I still think it's a shame HP stopped developing that part of their line.

[whydidnt]

What's funny is I was going to say my UX50 is the most stable PDA I've ever used. I never had the "death syndrome" issue mentioned earlier. To be honest however, it's also the one PDA that I loaded the fewest programs and did the "least" with. However, as a PIM device, and for taking notes, it truly was fantastic. Also worked well for watching movies and listening to MP3's despite the small screen.

The most stable PPC I ever used was probably my PDA2K, but I only used it for a few months, as it was too large for me to comfortably carry as a phone, and VGA was coming.... :)

At the bottom of the list is my current i730. AWESOME formfactor, but there is a definite issue with the SD card causing it to reset randomly. I'm still holding out hope for a ROM upgrade to fix what ails it! :oops:

[Steve Jordan]

My most stable was the TI Avigo, running... whatever TI put in there (I guess they called it AvigoOS). If it had been better supported by the developer community, I might still be using it today. Of course, the BW screen was a drag...

[genoist_gps]

My current device is an i730. I love the form factor and the convergency of the device. For the most part it is very stable when using it. The problem that I keep running into is when I leave it on the charger overnight. When I do that it is always non-responsive in the morning when I wake up. A soft reset always fixes it, but it is annoying. The way I get around it is by charging my batteries separately and swapping batteries out every morning. I only put the device on the cradle when I need to sync it or install a program.

[jnev]

my x50v (running wm2003se) is pretty damn stable. i'm posting from it now via wifi :mrgreen:

[pocketpcadmirer]

Whoa !! you saved me..i was going to buy a new(yeah..unpacked) on my trip top malaysia. But after looking at death syndrome..i thank you

Sunny

[Myrddin]

I am still using my 4150 and it works perfectly.
Agreed. My 4150 was the most solid and stable handheld I ever had. Brilliant little gadget. Shame I sold it to a friend who promptly broke it :(

[Duddy]

I would have to say my Axim X50 that I bought a year ago and still own. It is the first Pocket PC I have had that I didn't sell within 3 months. I guess it's doing something right. :D

[lesterm]

I can honestly say I cant remember the last time my hx4700 crashed or done something nasty. Coming from the PalmOS world, I was led to believe that the PPC was very unstable (Jeff K!!).

So, not wishing to turn the original question into 'what device have you got', my most stable device I've owned by a long shot is my hx.

[baker]

My 4155. Every now and then I see the VGA screens and think I want to try it. Then, I remember that the 4155 does what I need when I need it.

[euromed]

the i-mate k-jam, excellent value for money.