CELL PHONES
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
» TV: Phones
LAPTOPS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
» TV: Laptops
CAMERAS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
» TV: Cameras
» infoSync TV » Review Center
» Special reports » Expert guides
» RSS & Alerts » Ask The Editors
Home / Review Center / /
Review: Pocket PC Techs XDA 128 MB upgradeBy Anthony Newman, Wednesday 2 April 2003
GALLERY
Enlarge
 
 
Fancy turbo-charging your Pocket PC Phone Edition? PPCTechs might have just what you’re looking for. Anthony Newman takes a look at their upgrade and likes what he sees.

Review summary of the :
Gallery »
Pros:
Cons:
%
POOR
Mediocre
Good
Very good
Excellent
Full review of the :
Pocket PC Techs have become well-known in technology circles for their tireless pursuit of ever-increasing memory for our beloved machines, and as such are the darlings of the power user. Who would have thought that an iPAQ could equal the RAM of some desktop machines, or that a phone could sport a spacious 128 MB? Clearly PPCTechs did, and they still remain at the forefront of their field as a result. Here we take their flagship Phone Edition product for a spin: the 128 MB RAM upgrade.

A quick 128 MB upgrade makes the XDA 4 times as spacious
The RAM upgrade is pretty exciting – so exciting, in fact, that we made it the subject of a recent editorial. The turnaround was faster than expected, with our machine back in our eager hands just a week after we sent it away – and this is with international shipping, too. For the power user, being without one’s machine is traumatic, and fearing for its safety even more so – thankfully, the XDA was returned exceedingly well packed, and there was no sign that the unit had even been opened for its ‘surgery’. The upgrade went as planned, and in addition to now having a native 64 MB of RAM, a new storage card was present offering a further 64 MB of space for file storage. A little program is now also installed on the unit, named the ‘T2T Disk utility’, which allows management of the RAM disk, including formatting, memory testing and so on. All of this is set up for the user by PPCTechs during testing, so one shouldn’t have to fiddle with anything at all.

Since the upgrade we have been using our unit as normal, and there has been no perceptible decline in battery life or speed. The XDA is just as sprightly as ever, only now it is not nearly as cramped. The downsides? The unit’s original warranty will be voided, obviously, but PPCTechs provide their own limited warranty as a replacement, so on balance it’s not too bad. The price tag is considerable, at least for the 128 MB version – but then again, it’s a unique service. Finally, according to some users’ experiences it is not recommended (or not possible) to restore from a pre-surgery backup – but reinstalling shouldn’t be a massive sacrifice, and on the bright side it forces one to have a spring clean, as it were.

During the upgrade process, PPCTechs also thoroughly clean the unit’s screen and apply one of their WriteSHIELD screen protectors in a dust-free environment – a nice little touch that really indicates the level of service on offer. Despite the precautions, there are a couple of tiny specks of dust under the WriteSHIELD, and a slight rainbow-oily imperfection near the top. Neither are noticeable in normal use. The protector itself has a slightly matte texture, offering some glare protection, and in our limited use so far has not collected any marks – the design is much hardier than some we have used.

Availability

Pocket PC Techs offer a range of memory upgrades for Pocket PC units. The 128 MB upgrade reviewed here costs $299 USD.

Conclusion

It should be obvious already, but we are thoroughly pleased with these product and the service we received from Pocket PC Techs. The memory upgrade resolves one of the perennial issues with this device, and then some, and can therefore be heartily recommended.

  • What's positive: Great service, more memory
  • What's negative: Costly; invalidates warranty; needs a clean reinstall
Overall:


Price and availability

The will start selling for TBA () in December 1969.

Best Phones
Name Score Price Carrier
C
Nokia N95 8GB NAM 85% $650Unlocked
Nokia N95 80% $530Unlocked
AT&T Tilt 77% $400AT&T
Nokia N78 76% $500Unlocked
Apple iPhone 75% $400AT&T
RIM BlackBerry Curve 8330 (Sprint) 74% $280Sprint
HTC Mogul 73% $400Sprint
RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8130 (Verizon Wireless) 73% $170Verizon Wireless
Helio Ocean 72% $200Helio
Samsung Instinct 72% $230Sprint
Click here to see full and advanced chart »
 
 
 
RECOMMENDED
3G BlackBerry Bold hands-on and video
 
Hot new all-touch phones
 
Bold vs. Xperia X1 vs. Glyde vs. Touch Pro
TOP STORIES
Top 10 candybar QWERTY smartphones
 
Top 10 all-touch phones
 
iPhone 3G review (AT&T Wireless)
Top 15 smartphones
 
Top 15 cell phones
 
Blackberry Bold vs. Nokia E71 vs. HP iPAQ 900
CELL PHONE RESOURCE CENTER
Best phones
 
Expert guides
 
Ask the Editors
» Top 15
QWERTY phones
 
All-touch phones
 
Touchscreen phones
Business phones
 
Multimedia phones
 
Concept phones
3+ inch screen phones
 
Wi-Fi phones
 
More...
» Search (New!)
Search by cell phone features
» Manual comparison (New!)
Select up to 4 cell phones side-by-side
» By release
May 2008, June 2008, Q3 2008
» Top 15 by carrier
Unlocked, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, Helio, Alltel
» Top 15 by user type
Average Joe, Business users, Calling addicts, Fashion conscious users, Globetrotters, High-res addicts, Internet addicts, Multimedia enthusiasts, Music aficionados, Outdoor enthusiasts, TV addicts, Video lovers, More...
» Top 15 by brand
Apple, HTC, LG, Motorola, Nokia, BlackBerry, Samsung, Sony Ericsson Other
» Top 15 by platform
Palm OS, Symbian S60, Symbian UIQ, Windows Mobile
» Top 15 by cell phone type
Business smartphones, Multimedia smartphones
Consumer QWERTY phones, Multimedia phones
Concept phones
NOW IN PHONES
iPhone Apps: Reviews of the 6 apps we really use
 
Palm Treo 800w review (Sprint)
 
Palm Treo 800w (Sprint) video review
 
What cell phones work where?
 
Top 10 candybar QWERTY smartphones
Top 10 all-touch phones
Four new phones are now shipping
iPhone 3G: The world is ready for smart mobile solutions
Next 25 stories
MUST READ
CELL PHONES
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
LAPTOPS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
CAMERAS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
MP3 players
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
INTERNET TABLETS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
GPS NAVIGATORS
HDTVs
CAMCORDERS
About us | How to advertise | Feedback | RSS Feeds | | Archive
Copyright 1999-2008 © infoSync World