More Microdrive questions

[Robb Bates]

I'm debating buying a Microdrive. I know that there reliability record is not the best. But one thing that concerns me is their standby current requirements. One spec says 18mA standby. Does anyone have an MD that they leave in their device ALL the time. Does it eat battery power?

Also, I've heard nasty things about Magicstor MDs. Should I avoid them? I guess Hitachi is probably the way to go.

And what about size. Are the 1GB more reliable than the 4GB?

Robb

[townsendtribe]

I have a 1GB IBM Microdrive that I leave in my system. Mostly I use it for music and videos so it isn't being accessed every time I go to my programs. Battery life doesn't seem too affected by it.

As for the stability, it is in it's third pocket pc and seems to be outliving them all ;-)

James

[PDANEWBIE]

I would avoid Magicstor like the plague... See my post about the problems I having - No local 1-800 tech support help, noone responding to my emails from 3 different email accounts, no answer on the international call to taiwan, and the fact that it has died only a few months (if that since I bought it).

Mine was in the slot all the time until now when it has been removed and is about to be crushed due to frustration with this company.

My PDA averaged about 4 hours constant use with it in. I'll have to see what it averages with it out. I am what I consider a power user who is on it a good deal of the day.