How Much Memory is in that ViewSonic V35?

[Ed Hansberry]

The new ViewSonic V35 Pocket PC one of the new sub $300 Pocket PCs, and one of the more powerful according to its specifications. <a href="http://www.viewsonic.com/products/pocket_pc_pocketpcv35.htm">The ViewSonic V35 web page</a> says, and I quote, "Includes a whopping 32MB ROM and 64MB SDRAM so you can store more e-mail, photos and music." Well, 64MB to ViewSonic and 64MB to me seems to mean two different things. :?<br /><br />This device is shipping and some of our readers have one. Brandon Hill sent me this photo of the device.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/hansberry/2002/20021204-v35memory.jpg" /><br /><br />There is apparently only 36.45MB of RAM available to the user. Could this device have the NAND ROM like the HP iPAQ h1910 where a section of RAM is blocked off to load the core OS into RAM? (See <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/articles.php?id=5227">this article for the difference between NAND ROM and NOR ROM</a>.) That would be fine if ViewSonic disclosed that it had 64MB of RAM, 36MB available to the user like HP does with the h1910. For many people, this isn't a big deal, 36MB is plenty. It does make a HUGE difference though for power users, as many of you are. Regardless of whether you need 64MB or not, you should know what you are buying. We are trying to get clarification from ViewSonic on this issue. In the mean time, assume your V35 on order will come with 36.45MB of RAM for you to use. If you can live with that for $299, buy the device, otherwise cancel your order.<br /><br />Perhaps a <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3084">review of this rant</a> is in order for the ViewSonic PR team. :evil: A $299 36MB 16bit color 300MHz Pocket PC is a good deal, especially given the ViewSonic's size. Deceiving the public is not cool though. I don't care if it has 1GB of RAM in it. If I can only use 36, it is a 36MB device. It is that simple. Just be honest about your specs.

[Boxster S]

Hey, I'm the one that sent in the pic :)

[No hard feelings about the 512MB SD thing earlier Ed;)]

If NE1 else needs any more pics or info, let me know. My camera is ready and I'm willing to talk.

I have sent emails to every section of Viewsonic customer support and sales division. I have sent emails out to all the major PocketPC websites to get their feedback.

I've been talking with Julie Strietelmeier of The-Gadgeteer and she said that she also heard of the "issue"

I also talked to Lisa from PDA Buyers Guide and Viewsonic told her (when she inquirered about the 36.45MB memory issue) on her preproduction model that it would be resolved with production models. I GUESS NOT :(

I am highly ticked off about this b/c all Viewsonic had to do was INFORM us. I probably still would have bought it.

[szamot]

It looks as if though the consumer is either gouged like as in the Dell vs. Compaq, Toshiba etc or lied to as in Palm, ViewSonic etc. I think the time is ripe to express our views in a poll.

[fmcpherson]

Well, there is precedent established about this sort of thing where HP was sued by suggesting one can connect a Jornada to the Internet without pointing out that you need to buy a modem. Viewsonic ought to expect to be contacted by the Justice department or whatever Federal agency regulates product packaging and advertising.

[jizmo]

If NE1 else needs any more pics or info, let me know. My camera is ready and I'm willing to talk.

Please do, as many pics as you can give us and information also. :x-mas:

Have you got a site up somewhere with any files?

/jizmo

[Boxster S]

Here are more pics after I have installed all of my apps and stuff on my PDA. There IS a useable portion of the ROM, and I put it to use ;)

And actually, NO WHERE on the box does it list that the device has 64MB of RAM. But their press releases and their website says 64MB of memory.

http://www4.ncsu.edu/~bahill2/P1000228.JPG
http://www4.ncsu.edu/~bahill2/P1000229.JPG
http://www4.ncsu.edu/~bahill2/P1000230.JPG
http://www4.ncsu.edu/~bahill2/P1000231.JPG

[Ed Hansberry]

Boxter - get a screen capture utility. :wink:

[alan williams]

This does not bode well. :(

[shawnc]

AAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHH! :twisted: This is horse__! I'm not a power-user and 32.4 (or whatever it is) is probably more than enough RAM for me since I will be using a SD card to store large files, mp3's, etc.

The point is lying and deception. I don't see this as an honest mistake. I think Viewsonic intentionally mislead it's consumers, and if the link attached in an earlier posting is any indication, they are not the first PDA maker to do business in this manner. This may be the classic case of cutting my nose to spite my face, but I just don't like doing business with company's that operate this way (regardless of quality of product).

I struggled over whether to go with the V35 or the Dell. It looks like I made the wrong decision. I've been hearing that the Dell is only a thick as my naked ipaq 3650 (far from the "brick" I've heard it described as). If that is the case, I will probably order the Dell and return the V35 (if Amazon EVER sends it).

I was pretty excited about the V35. THIS REALLY BITES!

[mookie123]

Me thinks V35 is only worth $199 or less now. :?

[Boxster S]

Boxter - get a screen capture utility. :wink:

Hehe, I have one, I just never use it :)

[jmulder]

It looks as if though the consumer is either gouged like as in the Dell vs. Compaq, Toshiba etc or lied to as in Palm, ViewSonic etc. I think the time is ripe to express our views in a poll.

Whoa! Wait a minute! Is Dell gouging customers? Did I miss something?

-Jim

[heov]

Boxter - get a screen capture utility. :wink:

actually, i think it was better that he didn't at first because people cynical people might thought he faked it. But yeah, now that you've rolled out with the evidence, screen capture may save some bandwidth;)

[Boxster S]

Boxter - get a screen capture utility. :wink:

actually, i think it was better that he didn't at first because people cynical people might thought he faked it. But yeah, now that you've rolled out with the evidence, screen capture may save some bandwidth;)

Well, the pictures are being hosted off my campus account, they (NC State) can afford it :D

[revolution.cx]

Unfortunately the Compaq 19xx doesn't have SDIO so the Viewsonic is still ahead in this race.

SD slots are so tiny why can't we have 2 ?!?!?!

[JonnoB]

SD slots are so tiny why can't we have 2 ?!?!?!

I have always wondered the same thing. One of the reasons I gave up on the iPaq was because I couldn't stand to use a sleave just to have memory and IO expansion. SD cards are so small and there are bound to be lots of SDIO peripherals, it would be make sense to just have two SDIO slots, or at least on that was IO capable and the other to host memory.

[Jonathan1]

Hmmm shades of Palm run through Viewsonic. I wish these companies wouldn't spit in my face and call it rain. Stop saying you have x specs when in reality you don't!!

The hunt continutes for a new PDA.

[pelucidor]

This is unbelievable! At least HP had the balls to clearly state the crappy memory architecture of the H1910 and be lambasted by myself and others.

But Viewsonic never stated this anywhere - effectively misleading people. Viewsonic will be in for quite a backlash if I'm not mistaken...

On paper the Viewsonic is still ahead of the 1910 (SDIO support, slightly faster, probably better battery life for V35 versus prettier looks and removable battery for 1910) but their lack of disclosure has left a bad taste for me. Viewsonic is off my shopping list.

[Boxster S]

I've been flipping through the V35's manual (actually quite thick and informative).

Only once does it mention memory, and that's in the back of the manual where it says that it has 64MB RAM and a 32MB ROM.

NOT ONCE do they mention that only 36.45MB of RAM is all that's available.

[jizmo]

I can't get over how good the screen looks like. Evenly lit and vivid. 8O

But still, no removeable battery and this issue with the memory. This is really not good PR from the behalf of Viewsonic.

But it seems like this is the way Viewsonic is. They've given us absolutely no info, nothing. They don't promote their PPC in public conferences, and don't lend the devices to PPC sites to test and review.

If the device was very cheap and had superior features over other PPC's, people might still want to purchase it. But if Viewsonic's policy is to screw the users with false specs and no info at all, I wonder who still want's to purchase anything from them. I mean, I'm afraid to think what other "features" they've decided not to mention? :roll:

If iPAQ 1910 would just come out with a optional 300mhz or 400mhz processor, there wouldn't just be market for Viewsonic. It's smaller, it's screen is same quality and it has a removable battery.

And, yes, HP told the right specs about the device and probably will start shipping the devices when they have promised.

/jizmo

[Seraph1024]

Guys....

What does the box says? What about VS site? If they say 64 than they SHOULD do something about it. If 64 came out of the rumourville, then that's a whole new issue.

[vicott]

hey guys, do not worry too much abt this 36MB problem. i had the opportunity to lay my hands on a V35 in SITEX (Singapore). I saw with my own eyes that it has 64MB of RAM! I believe this unit that has 36MB only is simply a pre-production unit. I certainly believe what i saw. I was playing around with the V35 during the fair, & i was pretty impressed by the unit. It really has a beautiful screen & does not appear to be slow(maybe that's because very few programs are loaded in it). I manage to beam over a very dark theme & it looks great on the V35. The contrast & brightness looks really good.

[mookie123]

This Viewsonic gadget is getting weirder and weirder by the minute. (first they are late, than the SD/IO thing, now the case of missing memory)

woot???......

[vicott]

oooppss, this 36MB V35 is not a pre-production unit, but a purchased unit?? this is getting mysterious :?: what is ViewSonic doing? :roll:

[Boxster S]

Guys....

What does the box says? What about VS site? If they say 64 than they SHOULD do something about it. If 64 came out of the rumourville, then that's a whole new issue.

The 64MB is not mentioned on the box.

32MB ROM/64MB RAM is mentioned in the manual and on the website:

Includes a whopping 32MB ROM and 64MB SDRAM so you can store more e-mail, photos and music.

http://viewsonic.com/products/pocket_pc_pocketpcv35.htm


oooppss, this 36MB V35 is not a pre-production unit, but a purchased unit?? this is getting mysterious what is ViewSonic doing?

This is a brand new unit that I received today from Amazon.com

[PocketRocker]

Just cancelled my order for the Viewsonic V35. I need all 64 megs of RAM. I couldn't put more RAM in the SD slot as I was going to put a Bluetooth card in it.

I was also growing increasingly frustrated about the delays in shipment. My order went in Nov 6 to Amazon and it stated it would ship on Nov 14. That has stretched until today's expected ship date was Dec 13-14. I would'nt have been surprised if it continued to slip. But as I said, I cancelled it.

I'll probably purchase a Toshiba e740 or e335 instead. They're a little more money, a little larger, and don't have quite as good a screen. But they have their own pluses, too. They'll do the job.

My thanks to the group for alerting me to the memory problem with the Viewsonic. It saved me a lot of frustration and the hassle of returning it. :werenotworthy:

[Lord_Nemo]

I talked to a Viewsonic tech today about this...after three "hold ons", he did verify that was the case on the shipping models, as Boxter S has indicated with his. I've also sent an email about this to their sales contact to see if they will reply...

[Boxster S]

I talked to a Viewsonic tech today about this...after three "hold ons", he did verify that was the case on the shipping models, as Boxter S has indicated with his. I've also sent an email about this to their sales contact to see if they will reply...

I sent emails to all four Viewsonic addresses yesterday:

[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

I STILL haven't heard anything back from them

[Kirkaiya]

This is truly getting wierd. First things first:

For those whose "Estimated Shipping Date" seems to move off into the horizon, I had the same issue (My estimated delivery date was Dec 12-13). When I changed my Shipping Type to "2nd day" (which cost $11.96 or something) instead of the "Free shipping", my estimated delivery date went to Dec 4th (it took a few hours to change on the website), with a shipping date of Nov 30th.

Well, Nov 30th rolled around, it wasn't showing "shipping", so I emailed Amazon - the guy said there was some "glitch" with my order, and he manually set a new shipping date, and changed my shipping method to 1-day (at no cost), and then knocked $5 off the shipping charge.

So - at this point I was in for $299, plus $6.96 shipping, estimated ship on Dec 3rd to arrive Dec 4th.

So, today, it's STILL showing "not yet shipped", so I called Amazon on their 800 number (cool voice-recognition at 800-555-1212 directoy, by the way), and talked to an actual human. He said (deja vu') that there was some "glitch" in the system, and that he would send an e-note to the Warehouse to tell them to pack and ship it. He said it should ship tomorrow.

Moral of the story is: If I hadn't emailed, called and been a nuisance, I'm sure my order would still be in limbo, so if yours is, email amazon at [email protected] (include your 17-digit order #), and tell them that your order is stuck in limbo.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
About this whole RAM issue - I'm very very very very disappointed in Viewsonic. And just WHAT is going on?? A version of the device in Singapore *did* have 64 MB free according to someone there, who physically saw the V35 there.

I just don't get it??? Was this a last-minute decision- i mean, &lt;sarcasm> were they not going to make their delivery deadline of Nov 1st &lt;/sarcasm> , and so had to go with the pre-production ROM arrangment, or was this planned all along?

I wonder if the V35s that will be delivered in February or March will be the same, or if Viewsonic is going to go to the full 64 MB?

And... does the Chinese version of the PPC2002 O/S take up more space than the english version? (i think i read this somewhere). If so, is it possible that the RAM hit would be too great for the unit in Singapore, and so they used the more expensive NOR ROM on Chinese-language units since the OS would leave too little RAM if loaded there? And if all this is true (a lot of big ifs), then would it be possible to buy the Chinese version, and load the english PPC2k2 OS onto it?

Sigh.... I'll probably keep mine, but I'll think twice about buying Viewsonic products in the future, or at least, I won't be an early adopter of their stuff.

[Lord_Nemo]

Boxster...maybe you could offer a few comments about what you DO like about the unit? Screen? Case? Cradle? Build? This is going to be my first Pocket PC (from Palm platform), so I'd like to think the memory issue is not a killer, but if it is an issue, I'll reconsider my order and go for an Axim or a Toshiba (even with the reset, reset, reset issues there).

KT

[Boxster S]

Boxster...maybe you could offer a few comments about what you DO like about the unit? Screen? Case? Cradle? Build? This is going to be my first Pocket PC (from Palm platform), so I'd like to think the memory issue is not a killer, but if it is an issue, I'll reconsider my order and go for an Axim or a Toshiba (even with the reset, reset, reset issues there).

KT

Besides the memory, this PDA rocks my boxers! :D

- Lightest PocketPC out there
- Screen is absolutely GORGEOUS (transreflective)
- Sound is loud, clear, and crisp
- Jog wheel is firm and moves nicely
- The PDA feels speedy in OS operations
- The stylus has a metal barrel with plastic ends...has a nice feel/weight to it.
- I was playing around with it for about 30 minutes reading Avantgo and playing some Dave Matthews Band MP3's with the screen at mid-brightness. When I finished, the battery bar was still right near 100%
- I played back some MPEGs and there was no jerkiness.
- I opened up Resco Picture Viewer to check out the the color saturation on my pics, EXCELLENT


The memory issue is the only thing holding this PDA back.

[Kirkaiya]

A phone number to reach viewsonic is 1-800-888-8583

Just FYI.

[dartman]

Anybody verify that the Dell Axim has the right amount of memory? Any other glitches yet from you early recipients?

I'm writing off the Viewsonic and I have an Axim in my Dell shopping cart (with a 15% discount to the Small Business customers). The discount ends on 12/6 and I can't decide whether to pull the trigger or not.

I might wait to see how people like the V1 Axim's first and then hold on for a later model with embedded BT and/or WiFi. I suppose it will be sometime in the spring or summer depending on competitive offerings.

As much as I would like a new toy, I don't really NEED it now. This is the new, conservative me, I suppose.

dart

[Paul]

NFS4 What I wanna know is: can you rip off the Viewsonic birds to get a smooth surface on the device? Does it leave sticky residue?

dartman Confirmation that the Axim X5 has 64MB of usable memory. I got the chance to test one out at a Dell Kiosk.

[Boxster S]

I just got off the phone with a tech support dude at Viewsonic. He knew EXACTLY what I was talking about and I made sure that HE knew that I KNEW what I was talking about.

He basically said that YES, the device does ship with 64MB of memory, but that 27MB of that is taken up by the OS when the device boots up. I told him that I understood this, but why would Viewsonic advertise the unit as being 64MB if you only can get 36MB. He then went back to the point that it was 64MB, bla bla bla...CIRCULAR LOGIC!

I then told him that it is blatant false advertisement b/c nowhere in the manual, the product, box, or the website does it say that the device will only have 36MB available to use. I also told him that if I were to go buy a 64MB iPAQ or a 64MB Dell that I would get the FULL 64MB.

He then said that he was sorry, and that he didn't know why Viewsonic marketed it that way, but there is NOTHING THAT THEY CAN DO BECAUSE THAT IS JUST THE WAY THE DEVICE IS.

At this point, there's really nothing else I could say (nor could he). I told him thanks for his time and hung up.

[Boxster S]

NFS4 What I wanna know is: can you rip off the Viewsonic birds to get a smooth surface on the device? Does it leave sticky residue?

dartman Confirmation that the Axim X5 has 64MB of usable memory. I got the chance to test one out at a Dell Kiosk.

The "birds" are embedded into the plastic. So it is like engraved out and the plastic "bird" section is glued into it. It looks as though you could stick an X-Acto knife in there and pop out the "birds" and fill it in. But it wouldn't look very pretty.

I really don't find the birds to be that annoying. I didn't even notice them until you said something.

[st63z]

Oh man, why.. why does Dell have to be so efficient :x

I'd placed an online order for the Axim LATE (using my 10% coupon), after the first batch was already sold out. They gave me a Dec. 16 ETA for the second batch, which was fine as it gave me time to re-consider the purchase.

Actually dragged myself to the mall earlier today to check out Dell's kiosk. The guy there grinned and said, "No extra $50 off for you! Shoulda come in earlier before they closed that loophole, hahaha." He did mention that "they're still letting me take $50 off for an order of 2 units, but uh.. don't quote me on that."

So I just got home and saw this thread, which clinches it for me. I was gonna cancel the order. That is, 'till someone at home yelled "Hey, there's a package for you downstairs." Saw the package, saw the Dell label, began cursing...

[claytonl]

To Kirkaiya:

Here in Singapore, most (if not all, I would say) PDAs in the stores are sold with English ROM. I've yet to see anyone usingn a PPC PDA with a Chinese ROM here.

[jornadaholic]

all of sudden the hp ipaq h1910 dont look soo bad any more

[Boxster S]

all of sudden the hp ipaq h1910 dont look soo bad any more

Well,

200MHz
No jog wheel
No SDIO
No standard size headphone jack


I think I'll keep my V35 ;)

[vincentsiaw]

hey now sudenly i understand what's the big difference between hp and viewsonic :P

[jizmo]

I also used to be confused between Viewsonic h1910 and iPAQ v35, but not any more! :D

/jizmo

[JasonY]

I took a trip on over to my local CompUSA to see if their V35 on display did in fact only have 36.45MB. Sadly, this was the case.

Another interesting thing that I noticed while at CompUSA was that the display case/kiosk had the same specs as the ViewSonic webpage: 64MB SDRAM, 32MB ROM. I showed the local sales agent the disparity in memory sizes, but he didn't seem to have much of a clue and nobody else that he asked knew anything. If ViewSonic did in fact pull a Palm, which, it seems very likely that they did, it looks like they've done so across the board.

JY

[Daniel]

Seriously, this is wrong, their promotional material should state that there is only 36MB of usable, this is just false advertising. BoxterS, you should return it and/or complain complain bitterly until something is done. I certainly wouldn't buy one. I'm waiting for the next iPAQs and other new generation of devices. It's just a shame that they messed up on what otherwise sounds like a great PPC.

Daniel

[Boxster S]

Seriously, this is wrong, their promotional material should state that there is only 36MB of usable, this is just false advertising. BoxterS, you should return it and/or complain complain bitterly until something is done. I certainly wouldn't buy one. I'm waiting for the next iPAQs and other new generation of devices. It's just a shame that they messed up on what otherwise sounds like a great PPC.

Daniel

I've got a 30 day return policy with Amazon.com. I'm going to see what Viewsonic's official response is before I jump the gun.

But I like this PDA too much to return it.

[hbcollins]

... that said "We are surrounded by insurmountable opportunities" (or something like that?)

If I were a tech at PPCTechs, I would be pretty enthusiastic about getting a 128MB re-fit for the V35 ready. I'm not sure how good a market for a 64-to-128 upgrade would be, but I'd bet my hat that there will be a hot market for a 36-to-128 upgrade. Or perhaps to avoid misrepresentation, I should say 128Mb minus the 28MB for the OS....

Another thought... what about the next PPC OS upgrade? I would guess it's going to carve out a larger chunk of usable memory, right?

[Take1]

I've got a 30 day return policy with Amazon.com. I'm going to see what Viewsonic's official response is before I jump the gun.

But I like this PDA too much to return it.

Probably the same old line: 'it does not affect the useability or perfomance of the device...' blah, blah, blah....

HP must be glad that someone else went cheapo on the mem chips -- Dell must be happy THEY didn't!

[jeasher]

It's interesting that Boxster likes the PDA too much to return it...

[Boxster S]

It's interesting that Boxster likes the PDA too much to return it...

Once you get past the memory issue, the PDA is downright awesome IMHO.

I don't like for one minute the fact that Viewsonic misled us all with their specs; that is just downright devious...that was the whole point of me sending all of this info to Ed so that he could inform you guys.

But I "personally" only end up using 5-7MB of my internal RAM anyway. I install 90% of my apps on my 256MB Sandisk SD card. Even when I had my 64MB Jornada 567 and Toshiba e550G, I was never using more than 7MB of storage memory. Like I said, my stuff is stored on a storage card.

And I "only" paid $284.05 - $5.00 Coupon - $25 Mail-in-Rebate (since I ordered it Nov 30th, I'm eligeable for the rebate) from Amazon.com for a grand total of $254.05.

[rave]

Looking further at the bright side, executing things from RAM may provide for snappier performance. At least it's PPC Premium, unlike the 1910 which has only PPC Professional. :)

[psyfactor]

Looking further at the bright side, executing things from RAM may provide for snappier performance. At least it's PPC Premium, unlike the 1910 which has only PPC Professional. :)

Just don't hard reset your device or else you'll end up reinstalling the OS :twisted:

[hbcollins]

Would you mind posting some of your thoughts as a customer review on Amazon's web site? I think it would be a good public service to help their customers be informed buyers. The single customer review listed on the V35 pre-dates its availability!

[Lord_Nemo]

Well, after mulling it over and looking at all the specs again, it's still not a bad deal if you equate it to the basic Dell and not the 400 mhz model...Ok, you lose the CF, but gain SDIO instead of SD, lose the replaceable battery, but gain a screen which is said to be a bit brighter than the Dell, the processor and the memory is a wash (considering 32/32 for the Dell and 32/uh...36.45 for the V35.

If you tack on the cradle to the Dell which the V35 comes with, you have $220 after rebate versus about $260 on the V35...the clincher for me with the $40 difference is the thing is nearly 50% smaller than the X5...and yes, that's important if you live, sleep, and eat with the thing...(or nearly so!)

Hey, Boxster, does the V35 come with a protective case of any description?

[HOLLYWOOD_]

Just canceled my ViewSonic order. Don't want my business going to a dishonest company .....


At least it's PPC Premium, unlike the 1910 which has only PPC Professional.

Anyone know the difference between "Premium" and "Professional". I checked the demo unit out at CompUSA and did not see any new programs....

[Stik]

Well, there is precedent established about this sort of thing where HP was sued by suggesting one can connect a Jornada to the Internet without pointing out that you need to buy a modem. Viewsonic ought to expect to be contacted by the Justice department or whatever Federal agency regulates product packaging and advertising.

Yep, that catchphrase got HP and Microsoft into a little FTC bind. As an end result, both had their hands slapped. ( Lightly )
http://www.itworld.com/Man/2696/ITW_2-26-01_msftc/

If one feels that this is indeed deceptive advertising on the Viewsonic side, you can file your complaint with the Federal Trade Commission here...
http://www.ftc.gov/

[HOLLYWOOD_]

I found this answer from an MS-MVP -- http://www.cellnews.net/mpp/265108.html --

Just wording. There is only Pocket PC 2002 and Pocket PC 2002 Phone Edition. Other companies state their devices run PPC 2002 Premium or Professional, but it is all really the same.

Looks like another sneaky tactic by Viewsonic....

Anyone have info to the contrary???? :twisted:

[Boxster S]

I found this answer from an MS-MVP -- http://www.cellnews.net/mpp/265108.html --

Just wording. There is only Pocket PC 2002 and Pocket PC 2002 Phone Edition. Other companies state their devices run PPC 2002 Premium or Professional, but it is all really the same.

Looks like another sneaky tactic by Viewsonic....

Anyone have info to the contrary???? :twisted:

There ARE two different versions of PocketPC2002

The Premium verson has all of the apps built into ROM
The Professional version doesn't have Reader, Messenger, Media Player or Terminal Services built into ROM. They are seperate, installable options to install to RAM. Also, Professional version don't have Word spell checker. All Compaq iPAQ 3600's upgraded to PocketPC2002 are Professional.

So I don't know what the heck he is talking about.

[heydave]

I've been totally crushed after reading the posts here... the V35 seemed like my dream pda until the whole memory fiasco. I wanted to check it out myself, so I called Viewsonic.

I just got off the phone with a sales person at Viewsonic (800 888-8583), and he says that the units they're using there only use 4-6 megs of RAM for the OS and the rest can be accessed for programs and data... meaning that it has almost 60 megs of accessible RAM. I told him what I was reading on the web about the memory thing, and he thinks the people might have a pre-production unit, because he claims that the shipment to Amazon just went out yesterday.

And this is another strange thing. He claims that all the people in the sales department and elsewhere in Viewsonic that use the v35 have the same 58-60 megs of accessible RAM.

I don't know what to make of this anymore. Could Amazon sent Boxster by accident a pre-production unit? Or could Viewsonic have sent out by accident some pre-production unit with it's first shipment?

Now, I really don't know whether to cancel my Amazon order or not.

[hbcollins]

I think I must remain skeptical about what you were told heydave, because:

1. it is difficult to imagine "pre-production models" being released to distribution lines, while in-house staff get "production models"

2. the *sales* guy told you that only 4-6MB of RAM was being used for OS; if XIP ROM's were in the "production" units, only 1-2MB of RAM should be inaccessible, right? (Using the memory available in my Tosh e570 as a guide)

3. the best friend of a lie... is a cover-up!

Nevertheless, it would make sense to track unit serial numbers and see if younger products "get smarter".

[heydave]

I wanted to see if I could speed up my getting the v35 from Amazon, so I called customer service and had them try changing the shipping method. Then, the system booted me back to a mid-January shipping date!!! And what's worse, they couldn't change me back (it was supposed to ship Dec. 9-10). So, now I'm stuck with waiting long, long time.

I called Viewsonic after all this... again. And they said that Amazon is getting some units, but CompUSA more because they're a retail outlet and have been waiting a long time. They shipped to CompUSA yesterday they said. If anyone sees the v35 in their local CompUSA store, let us know!

I'm thinking I'm going to have to pay a little more and trying to find one at CompUSA... but the big question is how much accessible RAM will there be?

[dreed]

I was in BestBuy and tested the memory on a demo unit. 35.5MB. Why is Jason Dunn listing this as a "We recomend" on the front page of this site?

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00006RSK5/jasondunn-20

Hey! Read the forum!

[psyfactor]

I just wonder what occupies that 27MB of RAM? The device is advertised as having 32MB of ROM so technically, the OS would fit in that memory space. Beside, PPC2002 takes only 24MB as far as I remember. So to speak, if the OS eats 27MB of RAM then the device doesn't even has any ROM???? 8O

[Kirkaiya]

I just wonder what occupies that 27MB of RAM? The device is advertised as having 32MB of ROM so technically, the OS would fit in that memory space. Beside, PPC2002 takes only 24MB as far as I remember. So to speak, if the OS eats 27MB of RAM then the device doesn't even has any ROM???? 8O

Not to be overly rude... but... That question has been answered about 10 times (maybe 3 times just by Boxster), including at least once in this very thread.

At this point, you should already know that the Pocket PC 2002 Operating System is loaded into that 27 MB of RAM, from the ROM where they are "permanently" stored. The reason for this is (we all believe) the cheaper type of ROM used in the Viewsonic (and iPaq 1910) which doesn't allow programs to "run" directly from the ROM; hence, they must be loaded into RAM first, and run there.

I don't know how many times this needs to be explained, but from now on, I'm just gonna say, "Please read the entire thread".

Sorry for the flame!!!!!

[FredMurphy]

This thread's just made front page news on The Register (http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/28446.html). Wonder what ViewSonic will do next? Bad press is normally good for getting a company to do something about their mistakes.

[shawnc]

This thread's just made front page news on The Register (http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/28446.html). Wonder what ViewSonic will do next? Bad press is normally good for getting a company to do something about their mistakes.

FredMurphy,

Thanx for the links. I noticed that when Palm was presented with a similar situation they offered their customers the option of a cash refund or free software (valued @ 29.99). I wonder if Viewsonic will step up to the plate and make a similar offer?

Either way, it's nice to see PPC Thoughts getting positive pub :D !

[trapper]

Not to be overly rude... but... That question has been answered about 10 times (maybe 3 times just by Boxster), including at least once in this very thread.

There wasn't any reason to jump down the guys throat for asking a legitimate question. He wasking asking about the specific reasons the device uses the RAM not the fact that it was done. In fact, I don't believe the reason behind it was covered in this thread. Only that the OS code was transferred to RAM, something which is obvious. If true how could he possibly be expected to read every thread about this topic. Even if it was mentioned here it's a very long thread and one response could easily be missed. There wasn't any reason for responding in the way you did.

[sweetpete]

Trapper,

I'm not one to continue a flame, but Ed was quite clear in the initial front page post

There is apparently only 36.45MB of RAM available to the user. Could this device have the NAND ROM like the HP iPAQ h1910 where a section of RAM is blocked off to load the core OS into RAM? (See this article for the difference between NAND ROM and NOR ROM (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/articles.php?id=5227).)

and even included a link to the article that explains why.

Anyway, one thing I've noticed on forums is people don't usually read or pay attention and ask the same quesitons repeatedly. I think Capt Kirk was getting a little frustrated and letting loose a little. He did apologize at the end :oops:

[Kirkaiya]

I posted this news on the new font-page thread, about Viewsonic preparing to change their marketing materials, but here it is anyway (sorry for cross-post):

From the
Viewsonic Website V35 Page (http://www.viewsonic.com/products/pocket_pc_pocketpcv35.htm) :

Memory | Includes 32MB ROM and 64MB SDRAM (36.45MB user accessible) so you can store more e-mail, photos and music.

And to Trapper - if you'll go back and re-read this very thread, you'll find that this question was answered not just in general (Ed's intitial post), but on page 4, when Boxster S said:

I just got off the phone with a tech support dude at Viewsonic. {excerpted}

He basically said that YES, the device does ship with 64MB of memory, but that 27MB of that is taken up by the OS when the device boots up. I told him that I understood this, but why would Viewsonic advertise the unit as being 64MB if you only can get 36MB. {excerpted}

And, as sweetpete pointed out, Ed linked to an article explaining in detail exactly why the OS was taking up this space. I guess sweetpete was right, in that I was just getting a little frustrated seeing people having to explain the same thing multiple times, across multiple threads.

You're right -there are a lot of posts in this thread, but I think it's sort of bad netiquette to ask people to re-explain the same thing over and over, if it's only 1 click of the mouse away...

So anyway - I do apologize if my post came out a little bitter, but you'll notice that I DID give the explanation as well - if I had just said, "go look it up", then I think you'd have more of a point.

[Ed Hansberry]

I posted this news on the new font-page thread, about Viewsonic preparing to change their marketing materials, but here it is anyway (sorry for cross-post):

From the
Viewsonic Website V35 Page (http://www.viewsonic.com/products/pocket_pc_pocketpcv35.htm) :

Memory | Includes 32MB ROM and 64MB SDRAM (36.45MB user accessible) so you can store more e-mail, photos and music.
Cool! :way to go: That wasn't there this morning when I wrote the post, but I figured it would take them a day or so to get it updated. Two decimal places eh? Got it exact this time. :D

[pdagal]

Well, don't telll the folks at ViewSonic, but I accidentally dropped our review unit about 3 feet onto a linoleum floor. It survived just fine, but the birds popped out. No evidence of glue, just a little tackiness on the back of the birds. It looks like an acne crater w/o the birds though :?

NFS4 What I wanna know is: can you rip off the Viewsonic birds to get a smooth surface on the device? Does it leave sticky residue?

[Jason Dunn]

Why is Jason Dunn listing this as a "We recomend" on the front page of this site?

It's been changed - I had that up prior to realizing this of course... :oops:

[Jason Dunn]

I just got off the phone with a sales person at Viewsonic (800 888-8583), and he says that the units they're using there only use 4-6 megs of RAM for the OS and the rest can be accessed for programs and data... meaning that it has almost 60 megs of accessible RAM.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it's a fact that the amount of user accesible RAM is 36.45 MB. Viewsonic has updated their product spec page based on our recommendations, and they've changed the manual for the second print run. Never trust the sales guys - trust us. :wink:

[heydave]

Yeah, by now I realize that the RAM issue is settled... with only 36.45 MB accessible. Terrible, if you ask me. I'm thinking of still getting it though, only because the Dell Axim is so thick. I had a Sony 760c before and noticed that I wouldn't carry around sometimes cause it was a bulge in my pocket (esp with the case). And then it got stolen because I didn't have it on me.

Does anyone know why Amazon has a ship date in January for the Viewsonic? And does anyone know when Best Buy will get their units in?

[DeskDog]

I have a V35 on order from Amazon and stumbled onto this forum by accident. I appreciate all the great information and I share the general feeling that Viewsonic marketing has been less than forthright in their spin (but I don't think any of us should be surprised by that. Jason is right, never trust sales! :twisted: ).

I don't plan to cancel my V35 order though. I ordered before 11/30 so with a $25 rebate, free shipping, and a promo discount I had for Amazon, my cost out the door is $239. For me the size (or lack of size) is the main attraction of the V35. Having gone from a Compaq Aero to Journada to Ipaq 3765, it will be nice to have a PPC that won't feel like I have a brick in my pocket. If I could have waited for the 1910 I might have compared them, but my IPAQ is dead and times' a wastin'.

I'll be the first to admit that I am not a power user like many of you (someday I hope to have the knowledge you do :werenotworthy: - maybe this forum will help), but I am probably a pretty typical PPC user (office grunt, non-IT, pedaling as fast as I can, basic MS apps and audio uses). That probably explains why Amazon's ship date for new V35 orders is out into January - lots of folks like me who like the V35 anyway.

I am supposed to get my V35 in the next couple of days (I'll keep my fingers crossed). Even with the memory controversy, if it looks and performs like I expect it to, I will be a happy guy. :rock on dude!:

I will let you know how it goes. Thanks for a great forum!

[Jason Dunn]

Good to see that some of you are still keeping your orders for the V35 - I've gone from using a 32 MB Jornada 565 to using a 32 MB XDA, so the memory limitation isn't THAT bad - assuming that you install everything possible to the memory card and you never remove it. :D I think the V35 is a very nice little device, and quite competative with the Dell in terms of features vs. price.

[DeskDog]

Just thought that I should follow up on this thread. Turns out that Amazon tubed me until January 23rd on the v35. I just happened to see a HP1910 at Staples and played with it awhile. They had two in stock (even here in the middle of nowhere) so one now sits in my pocket. I love it. Cancelled the V35. Such is life...........