Alas Poor XDA, I Knew Ye Well...

[Jason Dunn]

I tell 'ya people, some days you just don't want to be a Pocket PC around me. :roll: For those keeping score, my first XDA was badly damaged when I dropped it on the floor of my dentist's office just before getting a root canal (insult before injury it would seem). I was going to Mobius 2002 the next week, so I sadly brought along my busted little buddy, and Beth Goza graciously let me it swap it in for a new one (all Mobius 2002 attendees received an XDA, among other things, for attending). I once again knew true joy in my life as I had a working XDA - and once it was upgraded to 128 MB of RAM by the gurus at <a href="http://www.ppctechs.com">PPC Techs</a>, I had the perfect Pocket PC for my needs.<br /><br />Yesterday, Ashley and I went over to my parent's house for a family brunch, and the XDA was in my front pocket. I usually wear loose-fitting jeans, so carrying Pocket PCs in my pocket is never difficult. I bent over to untie my shoes, and heard a slight "crunch". It didn't really register that a crunching sound coming from my pocket wasn't a good thing. Later on while eating brunch I heard my XDA chime, so being the dutiful Pocket PC owner I am, I took it out to look at what appointment it was reminding me of. This is while I was chewing my food, and when I look at the screen and saw this:<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/xda-cracked.jpg" /><br /><br />...I began to choke on my food while simultaneously thinking "This would be a great headline - 'Pocket PC User Dies From Shock of Seeing Cracked Screen'". I managed to recover without needing the heimlich maneuver, but my XDA is still badly cracked. I supposed the good news is that the LCD seems ok - the touch screen is the part that is badly cracked. The pieces were all kept intact by the <a href="http://www.pocketpctechs.com/ws.asp">superb PPC Techs screen protector.</a><br /><br />So what is it with me and XDAs? I've never managed to destroy any other Pocket PC I've owned even <i>once</i>, but this, the crown jewel of my collection, gets maimed twice? I've emailed PPC Techs to see if they can repair it for me, and I'm hoping they can - I can't bear to be without my XDA (since it's now my cell phone as well on the <a href="http://www.fido.ca">Fido network</a>, and I've cancelled my normal cell phone contract).

[Janak Parekh]

Time to get a real case for that XDA, Jason. I stress-tested my Compaq hard cover for this very reason.

Sorry to see it die again. :cry:

--janak

[mrotto]

Tight pants, PDA in your front pocket, cute girl walked bye? Thank goodness you had protection!

[bdegroodt]

Bright side=At least the price on the units and their parts keeps coming down as each catastrophe occurs. I concur with Janak. Time for a case!

[Daniel]

Yep, it's case time Jason. Either that or you make sure you go to events where they're giving new XDAs away every time you break one! :P

Sorry to hear that you broke it though, I would be so pissed off it that happened to me! :cry:

Daniel

[heov]

wait a minute, are you telling me the first layer of the XDA screen is glass? I thought they stopped doing that... On my iPaq and jornada, there is a thing plastic piece, prone to scratches, above the glass... thus, if the glass cracked, it wouldn't fall off even if you did not have the screen cover...

I would be interested to know if there is a plastic sheet above the actually glass digitizer...

UPDATE:
You being a big PPC man, i imagined you had a closet full of PDAs, including an extra XDA... one for you car, one for you living room, etc :)

[sweetpete]

eek ... sorry to see that happen Jason :cry:

let me know if you'd like to borrow my old Nokia 7190 to use as a phone in the interim. i can ship it to you in Calgary and you can use it until you get the XDA back.
you'll be without GPRS, but at least you won't be without a phone. i'd lend you my t68, but then i'd be without internet access.

[R K]

Hmm... So Jason doesn't carry his XDA in a case?
I never risked carrying any Pocket PC around without a case, but one day I heard a story and it really confirmed my cautions.

Supposedly, a student used to carry his bare iPAQ around in a pocket. Then one day, he just bumped his leg into a desk while walking by it and the whole screen cracked.
I'm sure our legs have some nice muscle and/or fat to protect us from any minor bumps, but a Pocket PC without a case isn't so lucky.

By the way, I am sorry to hear about your XDA being broken Jason.

[Chris Spera]

I thought I saw some cases for XDA's from Targus the other day... you might want to check those out. It was a belt case that had the unit laying on its side. It had a snap closure, allowing you to pop it open when you got a call... Looking for a link...


BTW, Leonard should be able to get you a new screen; but it depends on what kind and size of touch screen you'll need. I know he has them for iPAQ's...

Give him a call and let him know what happened.


Kind Regards,


Christopher Spera

[nineline506]

the first time i broke my screen i almost had a heartattack the second time i was just like "meh?" luckly i had buy two screens the first time i did it!!

[Jason Dunn]

Wait a second....they make CASES for these things??? :lol: :lol:

I have several XDA cases, but I really dislike using them for the most part because they make the XDA bulky. The Handheld Planet case I have is the best because it's fairly thin, but it's just not as nice as carrying one naked.

And to the person who thinks I have a few XDAs lying around, I wish! Would you believe that the Dell unit I'm borrowing is the first Xscale Pocket PC I've had a chance to check out? I've never even seen an HP 5455. The truth is, the major OEMs all but ignore Pocket PC Thoughts, even though it's one of the top sites in this industry. I think it's a fear/loathing thing. :lol:

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

Ouch. I recently had my 3835 go through a 6 weeks of repair (HP kept botching up something)... when I finally received it back (with a brand new touchscreen and new battery), I was excited...

Until it was stolen from me at Frankfurt airport a few days later.

THAT was frustrating but I think I would be more frustrated at your situation.

--Luckily for me, HP decided to send me a 3870 for free, even knowing that my previous unit was stolen (they felt bad about the six weeks of service I had to endure).

[Will T Smith]

I was an avid Compaq Aero user when the iPaq stuff starting popping up. I avidly anticipated it's release and checked the CompUSA site for it. The day it appeared I went down on my lunch our to get one. I got the last one in stock.

Boy did I baby that thing. Always kept it in the provided slip case. Everyone was interested in it and I protected it jealously. 10 days later I was at a bridge party and took it out of my cargo pocket to show it off to yet another person. As I withdrew it, a gasp of horror!!!!!! The screen was cracked. I had no idea why. Probably just an odd bump or one of Compaq's legendary quality problems.

Oh the horror. I feel your pain. Fortunately for you, it could be replaced. CompUSA had no more at the time and I had to trade my service policy for a Jornada 545( EXCELLENT device, but unusable outdoors).

I've had about 5 PDAs crack on me (one from being left in the car during a cold night). But neither of my Jornadas (545 & 568) have broken. Built in screen cover, go figure.

[T-Will]

Jason, what kind of case/cover were you using at the time of the incident?

[yawanag]

I have several XDA cases, but I really dislike using them for the most part because they make the XDA bulky.

Have you tried the E*B case? I can't anything slimmer that that. I have a belt clip and even at that it fits neatly in all my pockets. Before I got the case I used a camera case from Taget. It had a shoulder strap (maybe that's what you needed :lol: )

Anyway, my deepest sympathy 'cause when anything happens to my PDA it's like somebody in my house died. ME!!!

[Mr. Anonymous]

I swear by my Vaja case for my XDA. I ordered the one with a slim cover and no belt clip. Fits in the front pants of my pockets and makes the XDA easier to grip as well.

[Jhokur2k]

but it's just not as nice as carrying one naked.


If you were doing that you wouldn't have a pocket to worry about :lol: ad nauseum about stylus jokes at will 8O :lol:

[griph]

I swear by my Vaja case for my XDA. I ordered the one with a slim cover and no belt clip. Fits in the front pants of my pockets and makes the XDA easier to grip as well.
I bit the bullet and went for the iVolution sans belt clip - brilliant and Fully protects the screen even when I have it in my jeans front pocket (no it's not a canoe!). Having learnt the hard way with a broken PalmV several years ago I quickly came to the conclusion that a little extra bulk is MUCH better than a busted PDA.
I am really sorry to hear of your bad luck Jason but puleease use a case!

[sponge]

Boy, this sounds like a "use protection" conversation more and more by the message :P

[Jason Dunn]

Jason, what kind of case/cover were you using at the time of the incident?

Nothing - it's hard to use a case in your pockets unless you're wearing cargo pants. :-)

[rbrome]

EXACT same thing happened to me with my XDA:

http://pscp.net/img/misc/cracked_up.jpg

I had my XDA in my front pocket with my digital camera (stupid, I know) and same thing - I leaned forward and... crunch. :cry:

Mine was also from Mobius - was that a cursed batch? :?

Now THIS guy had his PPCPE fall out of his pocket while getting out of a cab. The cab then proceeded to run over it while pulling away:

http://www.stewartcomputer.com/sx56

But because it was Siemens-branded, he was able to send it to Siemens to have it repaired. They sent it back two weeks later with a new LCD, main board, and case. Cost: $215.

[Fzara]

Sorry to hear about your XDA Jason. Thankfully I've never had that happen, YET (knock on wood).

Ouch. Is the PDA even worth that much money for repair?
That Taxi cab really killed it. I feel bad for the guy who broke it, then sent it in for repair, and then paid a load of cash.

[Chris Hendriks]

Sorry to hear about the screen.

Bad news - the touchscreen is a thin flexible membrane.

Unfortunately, it appears that you broke the LCM glass that is underneath the touchscreen component. In which case, you need to replace the entire display module.

Cases - I have been looking at this one - what do you think?

Krussell Universal Horizontic PDA Case
http://www.executivepda.com/HTML/Products/pdaaccessories/cases/executive.htm
Available in two different sizes Universal fits most PDA's and handheld PC's on the market today.
Handmade in finest cattle leather
Fits most Palmtops on the market today, Compaq iPAQ series, Casio Cassiopeia series, HP Jornada series etc

Might have to take a notch out for the antenna though ... I like the horizontal arrangement and the cut out at the bottom so that you can easily remove your device.

(the case that is 3rd from the bottom of the page)

[rbrome]

PS: I agree completely with Jason: A case means I can't just slip it into my pocket. If I can't do that, it loses the whole convenience factor. If it's not convenient, it's not nearly as useful to me.

I still want to get mine repaired, but... they've really got to make these things more durable.

[Mobile Bob]

Sorry to hear that, Jason. I've experienced some XDA misfortune of my own.

Mine apparently fell out of the pocket of my jacket while rushing to get off of a plane at O'Hare in Chicago. I was returning to Michigan from Arizona with my eight year old daughter, and our flight was 40 minutes late getting into Chicago. That left only 20 minutes to get to another terminal to catch my connecting flight back home, so we were running. Didn't notice it was missing until after checking in at the gate for the next flight.

I loved that XDA, but I still have the e740/T68i combo. I'm planning to replace the XDA, but I think I will wait until the next generation comes out (whenever that may be).

Hope you can get yours fixed.

[midtoad]

That sick feeling when you realize how much the world can change in a millisecond.!

Way back in 1996, I used to carry my Palm 1000 in my front pocket too - until the day I leaned over a counter edge and heard that sickening crack.

Since then i never carry my PDA unprotected. But these days I prefer not to use a case. Instead I usually use a waist pouch, into which also go my cell phone, wallet and a few micro-tools. Having the case in front of you, near the family jewels, means you are likely to expend a considerable effort to protect that general area.

One tip: don't wear a waist pouch if you are cross-country skiing since, if you fall, it will be generally be forward... :(

Stewart in Calgary

[wangsanegara]

I also dislike almost all the available cover in the market. So, I always carry my XDA naked.

Like most people I always walk forward, so I never put the XDA in my front pocket to reduce the possibility I'm bumping into table, chairs, etc that may also hit the XDA. I always carry my PDA in my back Pocket. But don't forget to take out the XDA before you sit down... :wink: :wink: :wink:

Andreas

[ExtremeSIMS]

I went back to Pocket PC as a result of cracking the screen on my Sharp Zaurus. I had no idea it was cracked until I heard the alarm go off.

I bought a Toshiba e740 from Best Buy, and despite the sales person saying that the screen is covered, I read the contract and screens are explicitly NOT covered.

Check out the Toshiba protection plan (http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/tais/pc/pc_prodDetail.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@2117744698.1042514334@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccfadchejjllmgcgfkceghdgngdgli.0&comm=ST&plin=Extended%20Warranty&pfam=PDA&poid=239257&Adoid=267148). It covers "even a broken display screen" and also has next day service! Very nice. Also $159, though.

[vincentsiaw]

seeing this thing happen it's not relaxing, does anyone know where to get a metal casing for xda, oh ya and does it make it really bulky then ?

[seanturner]

Reminds me of when my friend's girlfriend got pissed at him... She put on high heels, took his Palm 3c out on to the patio and stomped the screen out, and then threw it in the pool...

[Jhokur2k]

Reminds me of when my friend's girlfriend got pissed at him... She put on high heels, took his Palm 3c out on to the patio and stomped the screen out, and then threw it in the pool...

*Remembers to always be nice to his girl*

[Abba Zabba]

Sorry to hear about the busted XDA screen Jason :oops: .

I remeber when I was a kid I always had a PDA or some sort. I remember I broke the screen on one and had my parents send it in to get fixed. It cost more to fix the screen than the original price. But I was happy :lol: .

Anyone else been using PDA like devices since their childhood?

[Kirk Stephens]

I feel your pain Jason

[Andy Sjostrom]

I wear this EVERY day:

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3253

... but for guys like Jason, maybe this is the only option:

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3674

:lol:

Yes, I feel your pain too, Jason. Too bad. :cry:

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

Ouch. Is the PDA even worth that much money for repair?
That Taxi cab really killed it. I feel bad for the guy who broke it, then sent it in for repair, and then paid a load of cash.
Well, in the case of the Siemens, I believe those devices are only available in Europe.

If you've seen the general prices of PDAs in Europe, you'd fully understand that paying $215 for repair is likely the best option.

I saw an old Casio E-125 here in Germany recently in a retail store. Asking price? 499 Euros (NOTE: 1:1 xchg rate between dollars and Euros)!!! 8O 8O

[Janak Parekh]

Reminds me of when my friend's girlfriend got pissed at him... She put on high heels, took his Palm 3c out on to the patio and stomped the screen out, and then threw it in the pool...
Oof. Oooooof. I'd have been crying in those days. 8O

--janak

[Pam]

Oh no! Poor you. I would feel awful if that happened to me - though maybe I could use it as an excuse to buy a newer model! :way to go: I am still using my trusty iPAQ 3630 and after over 2 years it still does the job mmm...

[kfluet]

No matter how careful you are, these things happen.

My first PocketPC was a Aero 1530 (upgraded to PocketPC). I dropped it. The screen working a couple days later. But I was able to get a replacement under warranty. I vowed to be much more careful. Used a case. Kept it in a pocket or whatever at all times so it wouldn't slip out of the stack of books/papers I carry around at work. Still, it fell off a desk a couple months later and the screen stopped working. Found a replacement again....

When I found it too slow, I upgraded to an iPAQ. A couple months later on a trip to California, getting ready for bed I tossed it on my side of the bed. My girlfriend got into bed and pulled the blankets up, covering my iPAQ. I climbed into bed and managed by sheer luck to put the palm of my hand, and considerable weight, right on the (now hidden) screen. CRUNCH! Broken glass and bleeding black LCD ooze. Back to the Aero 1530...

Now I have a 3970. Just two days ago, my girlfriend got a little too excited playing Rayman Ultimate and pressed too hard on the upper part of the control pad too many times. So now my new pride and joy needs to go in for repair.

These things are just too damned fragile.

[rbrome]

Well, in the case of the Siemens, I believe those devices are only available in Europe...

Actually, the Siemens is only available in the U.S., from AT&T Wireless.

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

Well, in the case of the Siemens, I believe those devices are only available in Europe...

Actually, the Siemens is only available in the U.S., from AT&T Wireless.
Huh. You know I've spent the majority of my past two years out of the country and never really took notice of the brands of phone making their way into the US. I currently spend so much time in Germany now and I see Siemens everywhere here... So I guess my brain started to associate Siemens as an exclusively European brand. :oops: