Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

iMe · Jan 11, 2002, 03:34 PM

hi

i am about to buy a PDA (running Palm OS) and i was wondering if anyone experienced any good or bad things when you dropped any of them. Which of the models did you drop? did it survive? is there a known "strongest candidate"??

cheers

iMe

scaught · Jan 11, 2002, 03:37 PM

none of them are particularly immune to drops. heres a big list of dead palms! (quite an amusing link. pictures and stories of dead palms.) http://www.palminfocenter.com/graveyard/

mikithecrackhead · Jan 11, 2002, 04:17 PM

I have sucessfully killed 3 handspring visor deluxes. Last time I was at Best Buy Someone (purposely) broke the screen on Palm V , Palm m505, and an iPaq, the Kyocera phone, and Visor Prism were non working units So I guess they where spared. I beleive the Palm m100 and Palm 105 and Palm m125 have plastic more durable screens.

Staples and CompUSA offer an extended warranty that covers the screen. I am not sure about Curcuit City or any other places. but , Bottom line is they do break. My visor did not survive a 3ft drop, my other drops were much bigger.

AIOg3guy · Jan 11, 2002, 04:48 PM

I have personally dropped my Palm VIIx on concrete several times without major damage. In one instance, the Palm flew out of its leather case and landed directly on the corner of the Palm. Luckily, only a small chip out of the plastic resulted.

I used to have a Palm m100 (until it was stolen,) and that survived several major falls without damage.

I have heard bad things about Handspring though. They seem less likely to survive drops than any other palm handheld.

Good luck with Pocket PC's if your thinking about them. They tend to be a bit more complex (outside and in) so they are more likely to 'die' from a fall than anything Palm/Sony/Handspring makes.

-AIOg3guy

Originally posted by iMe:
<STRONG>hi

i am about to buy a PDA (running Palm OS) and i was wondering if anyone experienced any good or bad things when you dropped any of them. Which of the models did you drop? did it survive? is there a known "strongest candidate"??

cheers

iMe</STRONG>

mikithecrackhead · Jan 11, 2002, 10:34 PM

There is this Bumper case that is suppose to protect PDA's from bumps, and drops and stuff. Fellowes makes it and I believe they cost about $20. I know they make them for most PDAs, Palms and Handspring.

Hi I'm Ben · Jan 12, 2002, 02:27 AM

CompUSA has a one time replacement warranty...

circuit city won't cover breakage by the way.
Circuit City's CSP is god awful DO NOT BUY IT.

Personal experience, i worked there at one time. It's all done through GE And usually once something brakes the store isn't to helpful about getting your item fixed.

Jansar · Jan 12, 2002, 03:06 AM

I've dropped my iPod on a couple occasions...onto pavement! Nevertheless, the machine still works excellently, however scratches are still imprinted on the back..

mikithecrackhead · Jan 12, 2002, 10:47 AM

I've dropped my iPod on a couple occasions...onto pavement! Nevertheless,

WHAT YOU DOING TO YOUR IPOD! I'll give your iPod nice home, i'll free you of the abuse, I promise I won't treat you like a handspring visor

KellyHogan · Jan 12, 2002, 11:53 AM

I've killed a Palm Pilot (original) and Palm Pilot Pro. My Cassiopeia 115 still works perfectly after several drops. I don't use it much though.

Jansar · Jan 12, 2002, 05:29 PM

You know, a couple people have replied to my messages about my faulty equipment (that's not my fault), telling me to give them my stuff. The first was my Cube that I couldn't find a replacement card for, and second was my iPod that dropped onto the ground a couple of times.

I don't respond nicely to those kinds of messages. I would much rather sell it on eBay or give it to a friend than just give it away to someone I don't know.

Michael T. Doyle · Jan 13, 2002, 12:48 AM

The Palm m500 and m505 have plastic screens too. I've dropped my m505 before from chest height onto a carpeted floor with no damage but I wouldn't trust it on concrete. The 505 is also all metal so the case won't shatter from an impact, regardless. I've had Handsprings before (Deluxe and Prism) and they seemed more fragile, especially Prism.

Jansar · Jan 13, 2002, 02:21 AM

Originally posted by Jansar:
<STRONG>You know, a couple people have replied to my messages about my faulty equipment (that's not my fault), telling me to give them my stuff. The first was my Cube that I couldn't find a replacement card for, and second was my iPod that dropped onto the ground a couple of times.

I don't respond nicely to those kinds of messages. I would much rather sell it on eBay or give it to a friend than just give it away to someone I don't know.</STRONG>

Excuse me for saying that. I was having a bad day. I'm really sorry.

Jan 14, 2002, 03:28 AM

I've dropped my Newton 2100 from 5 ft., only broke the swinging door(YMMV).

cough.cough · Jan 14, 2002, 06:02 AM

I dropped my m505 from about 3ft (in its leather case, mind you) and nary a scratch on it. YMM also V...

Jan 15, 2002, 02:19 AM

BTW, the Newt. was/is 'naked'.

ehunt · Jan 15, 2002, 04:24 AM

I droppped my Visor a few times, had some problems...and Staples/Business Depot has a good program...within the one year they simply replace....buy their extended warranty for a minimal price and they repair it...and eventually if you send it again they replace it. I've had two new ones under the warranty!

Jansar · Jan 15, 2002, 09:53 AM

Five feet is a long way to fall. But, if your PDA seems to be well-protected, that's a good thing. The only time I take out my iPod now is when I'm sitting down. I don't keep it in my pocket anymore, but carry it around in a mesh camera bag.

osiris · Jan 15, 2002, 11:41 AM

I've tossed my Visor Prism a few times onto a wooden desk - and dropped it a couple of times on a wood floor. It takes a licking... but I think it would shatter to a zillion peices on concrete!