Questions about Jornada 680E

I am considering purchasing a 680E but have a few questions.

1. has anyone gotten a gps cf or pcmcia card to work?

2. does hpc support usb? if so has anyone tried istalling a pcmcia usb card? (not sure why I would want this but could be fun and handy.)

3. are there any inherrent problems with the Jornada 680E?

4. can you have a pcmcia and a cf card in it at the same time or does the cf slide into a pcmcia adapter?

5. does anyone know of any more sites possibly dedicated to the 680E?

6. is it possible to upgrade the os to say windows mobile or a newer version windows ce?

Thanks,

Loose Canon.

Edited by Loose Canon 2005-02-09 12:32 AM

Well I found the answer to a couple of my questions...

4. it is possible to have both a cf and pcmcia card installed at the same time.

6. it is possible to upgrade the OS, but its very difficult as you must replace the ROM with one purchased from an aftermarket company other than HP.

I am still researching, but would appreciate any help anyone else could provide.

Thanks

I am not sure why you felt in love with a 680, why not rather buy a newer, more powerful version. Check out Jornada 720 or 728. Why upgrading Jornada 680 if you can have an upgraded version (720) already?

I say that one of the "inherent" problems is lack of a modern up-to-date WEB browser. But this is a problem of all of the H/PCs. Anything else is just fine or can be workarounded. Just read carefully the forums before you decide for a Wi-Fi card, LAN card etc.

Make a list of your special wishes (software you need to run...). Check if this is available.

Jornada has a USB port which can be only used when cradled. As far as I understand it is not a master and it can be used for synchronization only.

To be honest my main reason for concidering it is cost...

I fell for the hype with palms about 5 years ago when I bought a Sony Clie. The first hand held that came not only with a color screen but a high resolution screen to boot... then Sony pulled the plug on producing the add-ons that got me to buy it to begin with... no networking, and only produced a few modems (they can be found on ebay but ussually sell for more than they were new). So it quickly became a lame hand held game system and I swore I would never fall for hand held hype again...

So when I found tigerdirect was selling this for just a little over $130 (with second day delivery, and a 128mb CF card) and it supports 802.11b, pop email, supports office documents and has a built in qerty keyboard. Now if I can get it setup with gps and streets It'd be perfect!

Thanks

First, check this: http://www.hpcfactor.com/reviews/hardware/hp/jornada680/
Very nicely done review of the 680. The 680e is exactly the same, minus the modem.

1. Sorry, haven't really tried. Although I plan to get some wireless to it. I highly suggest to take a look at HPCFactor's hardware guide, http://www.hpcfactor.com/hcl/
Search for a specific device, or a type. Click "Notes" below each device to get the drivers and description.

2. USB, I belive, is spotty. More than likely no. You may find drivers for the controller card, but then you will also need drivers for each USB device. Unfortunetly, driver support for Windows CE is not that great.

3. There are no major problems with the 680. The biggest problem is the CF slot. It's kinda hard to access, and I've seen 680s with the latch holding the slot broken off. Take care, and all will be well. Also, the record and playback buttons may stop working after a restore. Get this patch: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareDownloadIndex?dlc=en&lc=en&os=84&product=59950&dest_page=product&cc=us&softwareitem=hh136mu
Lots of early 680s shipped without the 64k color driver. Not sure how, but hp shipped it with only 256 colors. Get this patch: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareDownloadIndex?dlc=en&lc=en&os=84&product=59950&dest_page=product&cc=us&softwareitem=hh135en
Mine has been used heavily, and the touchscreen acts up. I have to recalibrate the stylus more than I would like to. However, I've seen and used about 6 other of these babys, and mine is the only one that sucks. Heh, oh well.
Oh, and the speaker sucks, like, badly. You can put Windows Media Player on it, but the quality of the music it produces leaves much to be desired. To be fair, I don't think it was meant to play much Eminem.

4. You can have both at the same time. However, the CF card should be a CompactFlash card, and not something like a wireless adapter. Techincally, they will run together happy as can be, but the bottom door would have to be open, and that's a major pain. See the above review to get an idea of what I'm talking about.

5. Besides the ones I've already given you, check these:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareList?dlc=en&lc=en&product=59950&cc=us&dest_page=product&os=84
http://www.tefs.de/jornada/index_en.html (Mostly in german, broken links on some of the software, but the pics describing tear-down and the Patches section rocks.)
http://store.yahoo.com/laptopsforless/f1262-80001.html (Check here for a new battery, if needed.)

6. There are no known upgrades to the 680. However, you can switch the RAM/ROM module with the one from the 690. The 690 is identical to the 680, but with 32MB of RAM. The OS cannot be upgraded. (Well, Snappy! is doing a project on getting NetBSD running on his MP790, and there are ports to the SH3 platform. May work, if you're interested. I have another friend working on a DOS emmulator in the hopes of getting Windows 3.1 to work on his Handheld. Classes got in the way, so it may take awhile.)
You may also want to take a look at these:
Windows CE Plus! Pack 3.0: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=6a499bcb-46dc-48f2-bb68-484415df7b21&DisplayLang=en
PowerToys 3.0: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=8b0788f7-bedc-4e3e-9c08-78b176152f44&DisplayLang=en
HPCFactor Downloads: http://www.hpcfactor.com/downloads/

Hope this helps. Please ask if you have any more questions.

Thanks Brain Recall, I am glad to see someone else remembers about these things still... Anyway mine should be delivered today or tomorrow so I have already started downloading utilities and software (some of which I am not sure will run).

MS Streets 2005 (came free when I bought it for my laptop, anyone know if it works?)
MS Active Sync 3.8 (latest version)
MS Plus
MS Powertoys
MS IE 128bit upgrade
Senao 2511 wince driver (I already had this Senao 802.11b high powered nic)
German English Dictionary (I am in the US Army and will be moving to Germany in the next few weeks.)
MobiPocket Reader 4.3 for WinCE (not sure if this works or not but looked cool)
Hand Map and Hand Map Pro for HCP Pro (another one I am not sure about)
ICQ for WinCE (heard mixed info if this works or not for the 680)
Imov Instant Messenger (not sure if this one works either)

Basically I am looking to use it for simple web browsing, pop3 email access, and instant messaging while at work via a wireless network, oh and working on simple word docs and excel spread sheets with out having to lug around my laptop... I would also like to get GPS to work so I can find my way around germany with out getting lost, haha. If anyone has any favorite software other tips or tricks I would love to hear about them...

Thanks, Loose Canon

one more quick question...

What is the actual version of the OS once you install the service pack? is it still 2.11 or 2.12 or is it full blown 3.0 or 3.01 I have gotten mixed information on this and really wish I could clear it up...

Thanks

The 680 already has Service Pack 1 installed.

The OS version is tricky to understand. The core operating system is Windows CE 2.11. Microsoft modified 2.11 for the HandheldPC and called it Handheld PC Professional 3.0. (Windows CE 3.0 is the core to Handheld 2000.) It's all confuzzled, but software designed for CE 2.11 on the SH3 should work without problem.

Pocket Word and Pocket Excel should work well for you, although, they both do not offer all the functionality of the desktop versions. Your millage may vary, depending on what you're creating and editing. (Outline mode in Word works EXTREMELY well for taking notes during class.)

I won't be able to help you with the online experience, but perhaps others can.

Also, you may enjoy this: http://www.scottlu.com/Content/PocketChessPocketPC.html
Scroll down for the HPC version.

Brain Recall, I just have to ask, other than the networking stuff is there much else you dont know about these beasts... Thanks alot dude!

lol, well, lets just say that sometimes I can go overboard on my research. Sadly, I have moved away from my 680, favoring my NEC MobilePro 790 for daily tasks.

I am very new to the whole win ce stuff... like I said earlier I have only owned a sony clie which ran palm os. what are the advantages to the NEC 790 over the HP 680?

Well, there are some advantages and disadvantages.

Hardware: The 790 is big, especially compared to the 680. The keyboard is about 96% full size, which makes it a lot nicer for me to type with. The screen is also scaled up, which makes it easier to read. The 790 comes with 32MB of RAM, 16MB of integrated flash RAM, all running with a 168MHz NEC MIPS processor. It's noticeably faster than the 680. It also has a headphone jack, but it's a combo jack designed to work with a microphone headset. I made an adapter that works pretty well. There's an actual switch for the LCD so the handheld can resume when I close the lid and resume when I open it. A latch on the lid is kinda nice too.

Software: The 790 runs Handheld 2000, which is a slightly newer version of OS. There's no noticeable differences, except for Pocket Internet Explore got a version upgrade (4.0 from 3.0). It does natively come with Media Player and Primer (a PDF viewer), but I miss hp Quick Notes and hp Backup from the 680 (The 790 comes with bSquare's Backup Plus, which I hate.)

Honestly, I would probably prefer to use the 680 (due to its smaller size), if it wasn't for its failing touchscreen. Maybe someday I'll pick up a replacment LCD.

hey Brainy! Care to share the electrical config for the combo jack?

Hello All. I'm new here. Got the site from HP Tech. Just ordered a Jornada 680E from TigerDirect. Plus I ordered a 256mb SanDisk CF for the extra storage. Does anyone know if there is a Modem/Lan card combo that works with this unit?
Thanks all.
Chris

Please, ESCAPEMAX, always search forums first before you ask a question so common like that. On a forum like this it is only logical to guess that that question has already been asked 20 or so times before, maybe even more. If you had checked the site, you would have found the link to the HCL, www.hpcfactor.com/hcl . It is tiring for all users to constantly answer the same question. This is now my 2ND post for new users. IF you are a new user, CHECK the site first, then SEARCH the forums.

-So who else likes if-then mathematical explanations? (Yes I know that it isn't correct...at least I don't think 3 subjects can be in it...wow I do ramble on)