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-- VDx Reliability/Durability (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=1432)

Hi. I'm a student new to the PDA scene and I'm on the verge of buying a VDx. I love everything about the product and the lack of Flash ROM does not bother me. Only thing I'm concerned abotu is that I've always been hearing about reliability/durability problems concerning the VDx...

How easy IS it to crack/chip the colored casings? I've heard that the graphite is a bit sturdier. I have no intentions of dropping it on concrete, but I'd like something I can carry along with me or in my bag that will last me a few years without chipping or cracking. I'm very meticulous with what I own and I can't stand cracks and such =)

Has Handspring addressed these issues, or is it true that Visors are overly delicate and crack/break way to easily?

i have gone through 3 visors in 2 weeks, all related to the screen being scratched, first time some guy scratched it at school, second time the screen came scratched, third time (what im on now) i was smart enough to buy screen protectors, the visor is real sturdy as a case, but i stress the fact that you should buy screen protectors if not your going to be hitting yourself in the head when you get your first scratch and you cant return it

Great! It's good that you're a student as well since you probably put your Visor to the same amount/type of use that I'll be doing if I get one.

Thanks for the tip regarding the screen protector. Which one do you recommend? Where can I get them from?

Thanks in advance

I have a Blue VDx that I just got a week ago today. I love it! I tend to be a clumsy person but I haven't had any problems yet (knock on wood). I bought some screen protectors off of ebay. They aren't here yet. But here's a homepage by a guy named Dale Coffing who goes into detail on how to do them yourself. As a student, you might find this to be a better way:http://www.iolnm.net/dcoffing/Casio/ScreenProtector/ScreenProtector.htm

There is also another site that tells you where not to go to get them. I can't seem to find the URL right now. Do a search on the message board for screen protectors. I didn't do that before I bought mine off of ebay and found out that the ones I bought, I shouldn't have. Definitely do your homework first. There are plenty of resources, I've found out since then, on the internet for us "palm-device geeks". Good luck!

I just found that sight about boycotted screen protectors:http://www.girlandgeek.com/boycott/

basically... I am a student who like you is planning on getting a visor. However... my dad got one for his birthday and so I have been lucky enough to experience what they are hands on before buying one. I have a few reccomendations for anyone planning on using them as a student.

1. Writewrites are neceseties... without them you will scratch your screen to hell. My dad put them on his the day he got it and we don't have a single scratch almost a month and a half later.
2. Get some sort of case. If you plan on using it a lot under harsh class room conditions you may want to get a ti slider from rhino (or whatever it is called) if you can afford it. You might also want to consider the rhodiana belt clipp case. It may look kinda "geeky" but it is good protection and makes the visor readily available.
3. Get a stylus besides the one that comes with it. I hear the panache is good.
4. If you plan on using it for school get 4.0 a piece of software that calculates your grades, keep track of homework, tells you your schedule, and much more...

Well thank you everyone, I appreciate the help, especially the recommendations from r4.

So there really isn't much of a problem with the case cracking too easily? I was under the impression that the Visor wouldn't be able to handle the stress of my life as a student. Of course, I'm not going to be throwing it around or anything, but I'd assume it can take being put in my backpack while I'm walking around campus and such...

Again, thank you all for your help!

if you are gonna be putting it in your backpack and only using it during classes (or just not that frequently) then you might wanna get the outerbox case. If you check out the reviews section here there is a review of it... I don't own one but have heard they can be run over by a car with the visor remaining intact so that should probably survive school
any other questions? feel free to ask

For sure! I'm still a newbie, but i'm coming onto this site to read reviews, etc. and I'm slowly building a mental note of programs and accessories that are must have for my PDA.

I'm probably going to get the Visor. Thing is, I live in Canada and they don't sell em here yet! Time to contact some of my US relatives...

Thanks again r4bid, your help is greatly appreciated!

Visor robustness is an interesting question. I've personally had a Visor or Palm for about three years now, and I've never actually broken one, but other people at work have... so I dunno. Maybe I'm unusually careful with the things.

Anyway, I'll basically go along with everyone else and suggest 1) a case (even a light one will add protection), 2) a backup module (leave it somewhere safe away from the Visor in case your device is lost or stolen) and 3) a Stowaway keyboard for taking notes.

oh yeah... check out http://discussion.visorcentral.com/...TML/001803.html
for a thread about when I first got my dad his visor and all the questions... winchells response is full of important links tipps etc....

Regarding your original question - who knows? Durability is going to vary a lot from user to user (abuser?), but you have to remember that these are not the same as desktop computers or even laptops in terms of the environments they see.

I'm guessing that internal parts will fail on mine before the case fails in a way that really bothers me. I had a Palm Pro, upgraded to a III (this was back when going to 2M seemed like a huge amount of RAM). When it died after 2+ years, it still looked fine - however, it made these sizzling noises and wouldn't start. I suspect a broken contact of some kind.

I don't think this is unreasonable for a PDA...this is also why the upgradability of the OS doesn't mean much to me. I figure I will have gotten my money's worth in <1 year...that's <$1/day...and it should last long enough for me to develop lust for whatever cool new models are available in a couple of years.

I've had my OVD since early February; it survived the semester without any damage to the case and only a few screen small scratches in the Graffiti area. (It's also weathered a drop or three. ) I usually carry it in my pocket or backpack, using either the plastic screen cover or the slip case included with the deluxe. As far as screen protection and ease of writing go, I definitely recommend a stylus other than the plastic stick that ships with the Visor. The PDA Panache stylus is weighted well, has a cool orange tip, and has a reset pin under a screw top on the back (sure beats digging through your backpack looking for a paperclip when something freezes at a bad time).

r4bid, you said something about a program called 4.0...Where can you get it? I have a similar program called Due Yesterday, and I'm looking to see if there's any other programs that I can try. I appreciate your help.

(Never mind, I found it on PalmGear HQ.)

GTS461, I've dropped my Visor about 5 times and nothing's happened yet (once, my mom dropped more than a yard/meter down, unprotected, and nothing happened). Seems like a pretty solid machine to me.

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Welcome to W��.

[This message has been edited by WyattG11 (edited 06-14-2000).]

My VDx leads a fairly rough life. My preferred storage place throughout the day is in the back pocket of my jeans, which means it gets sat on quite frequently. It has survived quite a bit of torsional stress from this plus several fairly mild drops. I haven't had any issues with it except for the occasional "reset". Sometimes if I squish it in a particularly nasty way, It'll lock up on me and I'll have to reset it. I work in an industrial manufacturing facility and it has held up rather well for the last six months. The only damage I have noticed is I now have some screen "flex" at the top portion. I disassembled it and found out that they heat weld the top of the screen in place with two small plastic posts and these broke due to the constant twisting of the unit. Everything still works fine though, with maybe a little decrease in reconizing stylus strokes at the top portion of the screen.

My goodness, SpeedPhreak! Handspring should hire you to do testimonials about how rugged the Visor is.
"Takes a licking but keeps on ticking!"

Hey, I'm open for offers of paid testimonials!

I really hesitated about buying a PDA for a long time because I was unsure of how they would hold up to my neglect. So far so good though.

My Visor Deluxe is fine except for a couple of marks on the screen, hardly noticeable. However, my Graffiti area is pretty marked up. I don't mine, though. It gives it a nice, yes-I-actually-use-this-thing look.

quote:

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Originally posted by chrisfoster:
My Visor Deluxe is fine except for a couple of marks on the screen, hardly noticeable. However, my Graffiti area is pretty marked up. I don't mine, though. It gives it a nice, yes-I-actually-use-this-thing look.

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I hate to rain on this happy parade, but I just recently noticed a crack in my blue vdx casing. I am not sure how it happened, because I don't recall any falls, etc. which could have damaged the visor.

One good thing, though, is that while e-mailing Handspring on a different topic, I mentioned the cracks and they asked me to contact them with more info. I like companies that try to proactively solve my problems!!