Is my SPV E200 dead?

I hope everyone in the US had a pleasant Thanksgiving holiday. I ate quite a bit and had a great time talking with family and friends over the last few days.

My Orange SPV E200 died this weekend and it may be dead for good. I was playing games on it and then put it in my bag without turning it off. Then it was dead on Saturday afternoon so I put it on the charger and all I saw as a flashing red light. It remained like this for hours and would not turn on when I removed it from the charger. I even took the battery off and left it off overnight to try again with the same results. The only thing I could find on the Modaco Smartphone forums is that the battery may be hosed. I am attending Mobius 2004 later this week and hope someone there has a battery I can try out to see if the device is indeed hosed. If so, I can't believe that letting your phone die without turning it off would fry the battery. Anyone have any ideas about this problem?

My Tungsten T3 is now loaded to the hilt and operating wonderfully. The battery life really is quite poor running WiFi, but the display sure is nice on this device. I have almost completed my review of the T5 and will be returning it to palmOne next week.

Speaking of this week's Mobius 2004 event, I will be providing details on Wednesday or Thursday so keep an eye out for some news.

Signed up for another year of T-Mobile

I just received a letter in the mail offering me a credit of $50 if I called and signed up for another year of T-Mobile service. I didn't realize my original contract that was extended due to adding my wife last year was up next week and for a couple seconds I thought about switching to another carrier. But the $5 unlimited data plan is what I use 95% of the time so the decision to stay with T-Mobile was actually very easy and now I get a $50 credit to use on Christmas gifts too.

I have been very happy with T-Mobile's data plan and their cellular service has been great for me everywhere but in my house. I get good coverage when I am about a mile from my house and it has always worked great when I travel for business so now I am locked in until November 23rd, 2005.

Church issue resolved, setting up the Axentra Net-Box

My life has been full of trials lately and another one was just overcome this week when our church body decided that the merger we tried with another church for the last 6 months just is not going to work out. I am actually very excited about our future and I learned a TON through this process so that we can do it right this time.

I received an Axentra Net-Box home server to review this week and think the idea is a great one. It includes a WiFi router and all the software and hardware for you do quite a bit without really knowing anything about servers. For example you can run a server, back up your system, and access files remotely. So far I have found the box fan to be very loud and the WiFi router has a weaker range than my old SMC Barricade 802.11b router. I am going to try to play with more advanced features here the next few days, but think I could probably create one of these Linux based boxes myself with a quieter fan and better specs.

My T3 with the WiFi card is great, but the battery life isn't so I may be looking at one of the T3 external power options soon. I am also playing with the X50v some more and trying to get a chance to really check out Windows Media Player 10 and Player 10 Mobile.

Keep on eye on PDAGeek since I just submitted 6 more reviews recently and have trimmed my backlog down to about 15 items to review.

T3 is screaming now, cranking through the review backlog

I received my Tungsten T3 from Overstock.com and have started loading it up with all my applications. The unit was one of the cheapest blemished ones they had and I picked it up for only $230 with a coupon I found online. I have to admit it is in MINT condition and you can't even tell it is not brand new so I don't know how it was classified as blemished, but that is ok with me:) The speed of the T3 is very refreshing and makes me realize why so many people still like Palm Powered devices. I ordered a JAVOEdge bundle (leather case, screen protector, sync/charge cable) to make sure my unit stays in mint condition. I was also able to extend the loan of the Tungsten T5 so I can do some side-by-side comparisons and make a better judgement about which is best.

I also started out by loading JackSprat and JackFlash on the T3 to clean out almost 9MB of ROM so I could put the updated Documents to Go, MessagEase keyboard, TealMover, and other essential apps into ROM while getting rid of misc. items. It is so refreshing to have available RAM on the T3, unlike with the UX devices.

I am cranking out reviews and just received a H-70 Net-Box to review. I need to catch up a bit more and then plan on setting up the Net-Box this weekend. I am interested to see how much network setup I can figure out with this unit that is designed to make it easy for the home or small business owner.

UX devices out the door, T3 back and Axim rocks

I decided to get rid of my CLIE UX devices since I never use them and when I do I keep bumping into the memory limitation. I was going to save them for my daughters, but since Sony is now longer selling or supporting them I decided to forget that idea. My daughters have their Palm m100 devices and don't use them too much now so when they get a bit older I'll just pass along a Windows Mobile device to them.

I donated my UX40 and WiFi Memory Stick package to a US Army soldier who plans to use it with his medical team. I may have sold my UX50 package, but haven't received a reply from the potential buyer yet. I may also still have one EB40 extended battery available too.

I purchased a Tungsten T3 from Overstock.com and a palmOne SD WiFi card from my buddy, Ted, and will use the T3 as my Palm Powered device. I am evaluating the T5, but think the T3 is a better unit and decided to go with it. I thought about going back to a Tapwave Zodiac2, but the limited web browser, lack of email client, and other software issues swayed me to stick with the very robust and rock solid T3. Now I have to go pick up another Sena Cases case for the device along with a JAVOScreen screen protector and JAVOSync sync/charge cable.

I am still using the MDA III 90% of the time and really love using the device. On my last business trip I actually used my Axim X30 95% of the time since I have the Mugen Power 2000mAh battery and I could go all night with WiFi on, Bluetooth connected to the keyboard, and backlight at 60%. I actually use the X30 much more than the X50 due to the battery life issues and look forward to an extended battery for the X50.

Trip to Minnesota, truck is OK

I am currently in Ontario and have setup a WiFi network in my hotel room to submit Geek blurbs and do some work. I travel with a D-Link router since I travel with my devices and need a way to connect to the hotel ethernet port. I saw the northern lights in Minnesota yesterday and there was a bit of snow here today. We had a bit of trouble getting across the border since the Canadian immigration officer was concerned about us taking away work from Canadian workers. We have a couple more boats to inspect tomorrow and then will be heading home.

My truck is being fixed and everything will be fine with it. I will even end up getting rid of the scratches I had on the side of the bed and am only a bit concerned about the mechanical stuff, yet the repair facility is excellent so I have faith in them.

I just ordered a T3 from Overstock and am buying a SD WiFi card from my online buddy, Ted. I am probably going to sell one of my UX devices soon and may sell the EB40 batteries separately since they are going for a great price on ebay due to being so rare.

Dell Bluetooth keyboard, truck being repaired

I was having some serious issues with the Dell Bluetooth keyboard on
the X30H and X50v and was worried something serious was wrong. My Axim
X30H worked very well with the Bluetooth keyboard and then I installed
the 05 ROM update and the setup screen stated that my Bluetooth stack
is not compatible with the keyboard. I was also unable to get the
Bluetooth keyboard connected to the Axim X50v. What happened was that I
had loaded the keyboard driver into the flash ROM area of the devices
in an attempt to save RAM space and also ensure that the driver was
always there, even after a hard reset. However, the driver will not
work unless it is stored in RAM and once I reinstalled it into RAM I
did not have any issues using the keyboard. This type of behavior is
one reason that I am leery of the trend toward more ROM and less RAM
and one major reason I love the 128MB RAM in my MDA III.

Initial estimates put the damage on my truck at about $8,000 and since
it is worth $13,000 it will most likely be repaired. My only concern
now is the loss in trade-in value since that is where I was going with
the truck in the first place when I was hit. I am sure it will show up
in Carfax soon too and am going to call the insurance company today to
see if they offer some type of compensation for diminished value.

My girls are all feeling good and I am ok, but still have a very sore
neck and lower back. The pain is quite nagging, but 800mg Motrin does
help:)

Wait to buy the Dell Bluetooth keyboard with a X30 or X50 device

If you are considering a purchase of the Dell or Think Outside
Bluetooth keyboard then I offer a word of caution at this time. My Axim
X30H worked very well with the Bluetooth keyboard and then I installed
the 05 ROM update and now the setup screen states that my Bluetooth
stack is not compatible with the keyboard. I am also unable to get the
Bluetooth keyboard connected to the Axim X50v and understand Dell has
removed the keyboard from the accessories compatibility list for the
X50. This is something that Dell needs to get figured out ASAP and I am
going to contact my Dell representative to find out what the heck is
going on right now.

I should find out from the body shop what kind of estimate I am looking
at to fix my truck, but initial observations from the drunk driver's
insurance company is that it may be $10,000 to $12,000 in damage which
is about the worth of the truck. It really is a shame since the truck
was in mint condition. My girls are all feeling great and I am ok, but
still have a very sore neck and lower back.

Dell Bluetooth keyboard, truck being repaired

I was having some serious issues with the Dell Bluetooth keyboard on the X30H and X50v and was worried something serious was wrong. My Axim X30H worked very well with the Bluetooth keyboard and then I installed the 05 ROM update and the setup screen stated that my Bluetooth stack is not compatible with the keyboard. I was also unable to get the Bluetooth keyboard connected to the Axim X50v. What happened was that I had loaded the keyboard driver into the flash ROM area of the devices in an attempt to save RAM space and also ensure that the driver was always there, even after a hard reset. However, the driver will not work unless it is stored in RAM and once I reinstalled it into RAM I did not have any issues using the keyboard. This type of behavior is one reason that I am leery of the trend toward more ROM and less RAM and one major reason I love the 128MB RAM in my MDA III.

Initial estimates put the damage on my truck at about $8,000 and since it is worth $13,000 it will most likely be repaired. My only concern now is the loss in trade-in value since that is where I was going with the truck in the first place when I was hit. I am sure it will show up in Carfax soon too and am going to call the insurance company today to see if they offer some type of compensation for diminished value.

My girls are all feeling good and I am ok, but still have a very sore neck and lower back. The pain is quite nagging, but 800mg Motrin does help:)