Palm III & cradle

[paws]

Got it for free.

I'm actually very impressed with it, especially Graffiti. I'm a huge fan of my Newton MessagePad 2100, but in many respects the Palm seems more useful. Battery life doesn't seem too exhillerating, though.

I'm not yet sure what to do with it. The date and address book is a lot nicer to use than the stuff on my mobile, but I'm not sure I like the risk of losing everything to dead batteries...

(Also, it almost qualifies as a 68k!)

 

[benjgvps]

Old Palms are great, I used to have an m100, good battery life and screen. I now have a Treo 90.

 

[paws]

It's a neat little platform, nicely designed software.

Also, I've been looking around - anyone have the Palm OS SDK3.5?

 

[gobabushka]

dude, just find a 3.5 rom, and use a flash utility

 

[paws]

Not the OS - the SDK, software development kit.

 

[techfury90]

You can use later SDKs just fine as long as you aren't calling functions that aren't in 3.5.

 

[kreats]

I still use a iiixe today. Mainly as an ebook reader due to the great battery life and as the inverted green backlight works very well in the dark (easy on the eyes).

~30 day battery life and you can keep multiple sets of rechargeable AAA when you are away. Features you can't get at any price on modern PDAs.

Plenty of apps/games around - I use these frequently.

weasel - ebook reader

pdesk - todo organiser (has pc companion software)

shoplist - nice shopping list

rogue - fun game

scrabble is good too

 

[macgreg]

Not the OS - the SDK, software development kit.

I think I have it (and a Palm programming book) but it is at home.

I'll have a look when I get back on Thursday. From memory it is the one that allows you to develop with CodeWarrior (does this sound right?).

 

[Bunsen]

Ohh now that would be handy ...

Great score there paws. I have a IIIxe myself; with a serial cradle and a Belkin folding keyboard.

I can't say I'm as enthused about the screen as kreats though. I find the contrast pretty poor, and I was thinking about upgrading to an m-series for that reason.

I need to stick to the models that have serial docks/cables available for them though - so I can use them with MIDI equipment.

Are you planning to do some coding for your new Palm?

 

[paws]

Are you planning to do some coding for your new Palm?

I don't have anything particular in mind, but I would never pass on an opportunity to fail learning another API..!

 

[kreats]

I'm only talking about when it's dark (great for reading in bed for instance) - in daylight it's a bit hard to read without full illumination.

Think the m125 was the last with seperate AAA batteries, but it has smaller (plasticy) screen.

 

[paws]

Not the OS - the SDK, software development kit.

I think I have it (and a Palm programming book) but it is at home.

I'll have a look when I get back on Thursday. From memory it is the one that allows you to develop with CodeWarrior (does this sound right?).

If it works with Mac Codewarrior, that would be swell! I was really just looking for something to use with PRC-tools, but Codewarrior is much nicer.

 

[Bunsen]

Re screens: I've heard the colour IIIc is much nicer, whilst retaining the screen size and other features of the IIIxe. I haven't so far managed to snag one at the bargain price for which I scored my IIIxe though.

 

[kreats]

the iiic is just awful in daylight - think gameboy advance

the m500 is closest to the original ones whilst having an external memory card - but these days a palm centro would probably be the way to go (if only it had 3g).

 

[Bunsen]

Need serial

 

[30pin]

I like the Palm lllc screen. But it is not very readable in sunlight and under some indoor lights. But it lasts me a month between charges. Mostly notes and phone numbers. I have the folding keyboard, that is a delight to use. I have tried a few of them, but this one just keeps on going. There are lots of free programs available for older palms for the time it takes to download them.

 

[paws]

... and now it's dead I've been using it loads, for notes about everything. I was almost looking at using it for a calendar, as it's nicer than the one in my phone.

But now it won't turn on. I've tried everything - hard reset, cold reset, battery exchange... it's gone. Sob!

 

[kreats]

try reseating the LCD ribbon cable - that often goes.

 

[wally]

So now you can go inside for a look! First push up the docking door and look to see that there is no metal debris shorting out the docking contacts. Verify the battery contacts are clean on both ends of the battery bay. Then remove the four self tapping screws, pull the stylus part way out of the case and use it as a lever to pry open the case halves. When you have it open check the battery contacts, which are soldered into the board, for bad solder joints.

Next look at the supercap, the round thing in the shrinkwrap sleeving. Sometimes they leak, and a conductive crust forms over the narrow insulation ring area, shorting it out. Clean off the crust with a wet swab, dry, and see if it wil boot.

Open up that flex PC connector by pulling the latch to the side, lift out the flex PC cable and check the contacts under magnification, clean if necessary, reassemble and retest.

Don't disassemble further unless all of this fails, it is easy to drop the LCD and wreck it so before popping out the main board get a plush towel or something as a soft landing zone for further exploratory surgery. When you snap out that first PC board things get loose in a hurry. [8D]