How do You Keep From Losing Your Pocket PC?

[Jason Dunn]

A reader emailed last week telling us that he had recently lost his second Pocket PC in six months. That brings up a very interesting topic: how do you avoid losing your Pocket PC? Do you have any technological solution to the problem, or do you have a system that helps you? Myself, I tend to do the "pocket check" - whenever I get up from anyplace, I pat my pockets to ensure that I have my wallet, keys, Smartphone, and Pocket PC (though I don't always carry each of those with me). Of course, it helps having a helpful wife with a good memory because I invariably ask "Umm - did I give you my Pocket PC to put in your purse?" :lol:

[jsloan]

There is an interesting product available from trackitback.com. For $3 a label you can stick these on any of your valuable equipment, register it on their website and optionally add a reward value. When somebody finds the unit the sticker lists their web site and a 1-800 number, a tracking number and a note that a reward is available. Trackitback will arrange to pick the unit up anywhere in the Western world and ship it back at your cost. They claim a return rate of 88%.

[dangerwit]

PodZilla. :)

[ppcinfo]

Because of the potential of losing my Pocket PC, I always do the following:

1) I keep all confidential data encrypted.
2) I activate the 4-digit password screen lock on the device.
3) I have a line of text that says, "Reward if returned to..." in the "Notes" field of the display screen, which includes my name and cell phone number.

As of yet, I haven't lost my Pocket PC device, and hopefully I never will!

ppcinfo

[OSUKid7]

I also do the pocket check, and try to keep my devices and wallet in the same pockets. It definitely feels strange when I forget my wallet or cell phone.

[stainlesssteele]

... I have dropped it recently. And, in my haste to check if it still worked (worked fine) and to pick up the pieces (cover, stylus, etc. - 4700) ---- I didn't notice that the SD card was ejected.

I went back an hour later and the floor had been cleaned. So, I'm out an SD card ...



Jim

[gt24]

Piel Frama case with belt clip. My device is always clipped onto me unless I am sitting or using my device. The weight reminds me that my device is safe and the device remains visible (while also being open for headphones so I can play MP3s). When it is not clipped on, the device is kept within my sight at most times (if not all times) so that I will never forget it. At home, I just ensure that it is on my computer desk (docked in cradle most of the time) so that if I forget it, it is still safe.

My system has worked very well so far. Perhaps it is just me though...

[gavinfabl]

4 digit password.
All sensitive data encrypted.
In case (Brando) with &/or without belt clip
Note of who to return to if lost + mobile no.
Proporta Freedom Keepsafe (sets an alarm off if device go more than 3 ft away from my body)

And its surgical attached by wire to my body as well:-))

[foebea]

Easy. I used an entire tube of superglue to attach the 2215 to my hand. No worries at all.

[karen]

I've never lost my PPC, but I used to be a complete idiot about losing things. I once left may daytimer (pre pda days) in a rental car. Someone called saying they found it, but needed an extrodinary amount of money 'for shipping and handling' to return it. I told them they just won a free daytimer and to call me if they didn't need it anymore.

I travel a lot, so I'm always in the position of leaving something behind. I've learned over the years to do the following:

- Every time I leave my office or house, I have a personal items count. This is the number of things that I could leave behind somewhere or things I could set down. This becomes my 'magic number for the day'. So, for instance, my purse, my coat, my briefcase, etc. Every time I get up from sitting down, finish using a payphone, board the plane, etc, I do the physical inventory count. Seems simple, but it has made a big difference. No need to remember WHAT I'm carrying as much as HOW MUCH.

- Every time I get up from sitting, get off the plane, get up from a meeting, use a payphone, leave a business, etc, I look behind from about 3 steps away to see if I left anything sitting there.

These two things made a huge difference in my losing things. Simple, and they work.

[mclaughlinc]

We posted about a software solution that can help with this see http://www.mobileminds.com/pocket_pcs/pocket_pc_software/cool_pocket_pc_software/

[whydidnt]

I'm a pocket-check kind of guy. I left my PPCPE device on a plane at Logan International about 4 years ago. Thankfully I recovered it, but since then I have religiously verified that all of my devices are where they belong - either in my pocket or laptop bag, before leaving anywhere. For me it only took one very scary instance (my life is on that device!!) to convince me to slow down by 10 seconds and verify everything is in place.

[Kowalski]

i always use same pockets for same inventory, and have two configurations one is for jeans, one for suits.
i have a quick sequence for pocket checking
i first check my wallet with my right hand and with the left my pda
then in the second move i check my keys with right and my mobile phone with left.
i have done this for years and it became automatical. everytime i get up from any desk or chair, i repeat the same

[johncruise]

beltclip of course :-)

That's another reason (beside having a good grip) why I like my Pocket PC a little bit bigger than the those claiming as small as those new ones. Of course, each of us has his/her own preference.

[Don Tolson]

During the day, it's with me or in its cradle. Otherwise, it's one of two places -- in the front pocket of my tablet carry case from LL Bean, or on the high-boy in our bedroom.

If I can't find it there, the next question is "Hon, have you finished playing that game on my organizer???" :lol:

[n1ck]

Pocket check - left inside jacket = wallet, right inside jacket = PDA, left belt clip = phone and right belt clip = ID card/Entacard on reel.

[Paragon]

I remember a few years ago someone at Brighthand mentioned that he always kept one half of a $50.00 bill in his PPC case with a note that if they returned it to him they would receive the other half. :idea:

Ok, horror story about a lost Pocket PC. A few weeks ago I was in Toronto for a few days. I had been out to dinner, and when I got back to my hotel I took off my pullover jacket and threw it over a chair. I then remembered that my JAM was in the pocket. I checked and it wasn't there. I figured it must have flown out of the pocket when I pulled the jacket over my head. I then proceeded to completely trash my room looking for it, figuring it slipped in behind a piece of furniture, or fell in a garbage can, or something like that, but NO it wasn't in my room. I then determined it must have fallen out in my car. I raced outside into blowing snow and freezing rain. The upside to the bad weather was that I only needed to spread my arms and let the wind blow me across the parking lot, where unable to stop in time I did a face plant on the hood of my car, which was covered in an inch of slush and snow, which my cotton shirt was quickly able to wick up. I then trashed my car looking for my beloved JAM. Again to no avail. It was nowhere to be seen. To my horror I realized that the only place it could be was in the parking lot of the restaurant I had been to. I could just imagine my poor JAM laying there in the middle of the parking lot, all alone, wet, freezing cold, its last electo-pulses becoming weaker and weaker. Oh the humanity! I then raced back to the restaurant, enetered the parking lot bouncing of parked cars to guide me to where I had parked, keeping my headlights point along the path I had walked back to my car. It was not to be found anywhere in the lot. I had used it to check email just as I was leaving the restaurant so I knew I had covered everywhere since that time. I decided to get out and walk the path I had taked. As I opened the door I looked down...and there was my JAM. It had falled out of my pocket into the pocket of my car door.

At this point I went back to my room, and changed into dry cloths and attempted to put my room back in order. I then began to reflect on what I had just done.....If it had been one of my kids I likely would have sat back, opened a beer and waited for them to reappear.....

Dave

[Lex]

I'm on my 5th PDA and haven't lost one yet. Belt clip cases have probably saved me.

[jerboa]

Like many here, it's a small dance ritual - pat down belt to confirm presence of iPAQ and cellphone. Then, reach into front pockets to confirm presence of house keys and car keys. Pat backpocket to check presence of wallet.

If any of these fail, panic sets in and nothing matters until missing items are located....

[Phronetix]

I like the half 50$ bill idea!

I wonder if this would have helped me when we lost our minolta digicam last year.

We were at the Calgary Zoo, leaving from the parking lot. After getting the two young kids into their carseats, I simply got in and drove off. I'd totally forgotten that I'd left the camera in its case on the roof of our jetta. About 25 minutes later we were accelerating on the highway out of the city when I noticed something fly off the car in the rearview mirror. It's a new car and I was worried I'd lost a piece of roofrack, or antenna. We stopped but I gave only a cursory search... not really knowing what I was looking for until later when we couldn't find the camera.

Two or three further searches yielded nothing.

There is a happy ending. We were able to then upgrade to our Canon EOS digital SLR! :clap:

A very costly lapse in vigilance.

The worst part was the fact that we even went through a Tim Hortons drive-thru and nobody told us about the camera case on our roof (it was right above the driver's seat too!) :mecry:

[Chris Spera]

I haven't lost one outside of the house yet... I've been blessed. However, I tend to do that pocket pat as well. If I don't feel the appropriate "lump" (wallet, keys, phone/ PPC-PE) the whole world stops until daddy can find what he's looking for...

[ctmagnus]

I always do The Pat. Except one time, when I left my beloved in the house I was housesitting at the time. And I always look to make sure I haven't left anything behind, much like Karen does. Her count thing sounds like a good idea, though, as I usually wander around thinking "items x, y, z in this pocket; a, b, c, d in that pocket; e, f, g, h, i in that other pocket" and it takes up way too much brain power.

[dunneldeen]

Just like my wallet, I can always tell when it isn't in my pocket. When I leave somewhere (like home, work, etc) I check my pockets and my bag to make sure that my wallet, keys, PPC, etc are there.

[MitchellO]

... the SD card was ejected.

I went back an hour later and the floor had been cleaned. So, I'm out an SD card ...



Jim

I did this recently. I was swapping cards though, and my card shot out. It skidded across the floor, and under the seats in front of me and 1m to the left. Fortunately nobody was sitting there yet, and after 15mins of srambling around I found it wedged under the carpet. It was a 1Gb SD!!

I just use the pocket-pat method. Because I only carry one device (my Mini PPC Phone), it is one less to keep track of!!

[chuck.kahn]

http://photos5.flickr.com/6056085_5b2a0654d4_m.jpg

I lost my first iPAQ hurrying out of a white taxicab trying to get to a theatre in time. (No time for "the pat.") I was in such a hurry leaving that I hadn't sheathed it in it's leather case, so it had no grip and thus slid effortlessly from my pocket.

I put the 4-digit password on my second iPAQ. But that got annoying after a while because I often had to reset it every time my camera software froze up and I didn't want to "lose the moment" typing in the password before I could re-frame the picture.

My third iPAQ came with a belt clip case, which seems like the best idea ever. But this iPAQ doesn't work with the old camera. And the reset time takes longer than #2. So I'll get iPAQ#2 repaired, return #3 and belt clip to the store (lose a 15% restocking fee) and get one of those Piel Frama Belt Clips for #2.

[ironguy]

For some reason, I've never lost much of anything in my life. My brother was the one always losing his coat, or leaving a shoe somewhere.

HOWEVER, now that I'm approaching the BIG 50, I find myself misplacing (not losing) stuff. To alleviate any potential loss of something valuable, I develop a process and follow it (learned this in ISO training at work). For instance, when I get home and am not going out any more, I take everything out of my pockets (inculding PPC) and put it on my dresser. That's where it stays until needed. When I'm done using anything, I put it back. I end up putting things away I might need in a bit, but at least I don't lose them or have to hunt all over the house for them (and why is the tape measure in the girls' room?).

[ricksfiona]

i always use same pockets for same inventory, and have two configurations one is for jeans, one for suits....

i have done this for years and it became automatical. everytime i get up from any desk or chair, i repeat the same

I do a similar routine with my work case... Everything needs to be in it's proper pocket...

I've also brainwashed myself that if I every forget my PDA, I have to shoot myself... Needless to say, I never forget my PDA.

[krypticide]

As for just simply forgetting something (rather than having it drop out of the pocket, etc.) the best way to not forget anything is simply to never let it leave your body at all. This applies to anything: wallet, PDA, bag, etc. If you need to pull it out, go ahead but don't ever let it not touch some part of your body.

I'll always keep my wallet in hand when paying for something. If I set my bag down and wait, say at the airport, I loop the strap through my leg or arm. If it's a piece of luggage, I might drape my leg over it.

[Camp]

I don't lose it. It cost me too much money.

[jimski]

Definitely the pocket pat thing. I will only wear a shirt with a front left pocket and that's where my PPC always resides. House keys and car keys only come out when being used and wallet is either in my pocket or my hand as I never put it down.

My bigger fear is losing the little cell phone on my belt clip. As the bulge in my mid-section has grown over the years (can't see over the bulge anymore) and as this thing is so light, I find myself tapping my waist dozens of time per day, just to make sure its still there (it has popped off a few times but I have never been more than a minute away). Sure wish the phone had a built-in transmitter with a receiver on my keychain that would tell me when they were more than 10 feet apart. Not that it costs much but the inconvenience would be unbearable.

[Greybard]

Great topic!

Though an old UserFriendly comic comes to mind about the geek Macarana...

:)

[jgalindo]

Insurance keeps me worry free.

8)

[bnycastro]

I also use the pat and assigned pockets system for my stuff

[DaveSadler]

For those of you who are encrypting your personal data, what solution(s) have you chosen?

I'm hoping to find something with the following features:
I can encrypt any (non-system) folder.
Any data read or written to those folders is de/encrypted on the fly
Ties in to the device's password, or prompts me for credentials only after the device has been locked by the Password settings timeout.

Has anyone seen this beast?

[stevehiner]

Like you I do a pocket check every time I leave somewhere or get out of the car. Having a specific pocket assigned to each item certainly helps. I probably check it a lot more often than I realize because checking has become habitual.

[jbachandouris]

No, I've never lost a PDA unless you count selling it on EBay only to find the buyer used a fraudulent credit card and I shipped the PDA to an 'unapproved' country so Paypal would not help me. I also do the pat down and it seems to work OK.


We should email this thread to Jenneth at Jenneth.info since she has lost 2 PDA's so far---both at a bar. Poor girl.

[MBurch]

Krusell Case strapped to my side all day. My Pocket PC is either in its cradle when I am at my desk, or strapped to my side otherwise. It rides in a special strap in my truck (usually play MP3's or Audible books) during drive time. You just have to everything in its place, and a place for everything!

[jcmoffitt]

I almost lost my first Ipaq. This was several years back but I was at CompUsa and I was standing at the counter paying my bill and had the darn thing right there in front of me. What do I do? I pick up the package I purchased, put the receipt in my wallet walk out and get in my car and drive all the way home (20 minutes) before I realized the mistake I had just made. I called CompUsa (Atlanta area) and the gentleman who had just helped me purchase an accessories for said PPC had spotted it and kept it under the counter for me. WHEW, talk about my heart skipping a couple of beats..

I have a habit of doing the pocket check routine several times per day. At the office it sits in my docking station and when I am mobile it usually stays in a pocket in my laptop bag where it is safe and sound. I have NEVER misplaced the laptop bag. YET... LOL...

Later

[hoffman]

I have never lost anything of value in my life. I have had things stolen but there is no way I could lose my Pocket PC. I always try to be totally aware
Regards Brian

[Steve Jordan]

I carry my PPC with me in my shirt pocket occasionally, but usually in a carry case of some kind, whether it be my briefcase, a PPC holster on my belt, or a small travel bag (which also fits my cellphone and sunglasses). Over the years, I've gotten myself used to putting the device back as soon as I'm through using it... I never "just set it down" somewhere. In fact, the only time I've forgotten it was when I left it at home by forgetting to transfer it from my travel bag to my briefcase, say.