Upgrading a J690 to 720 w/ mainboard possible?

Firstoff hello, as a first post I wanted to jump in and say hi first I'm an HPC newbie but a longtime PDA user. I've been using PDA's since my first Palm IIIxe. I've worked my way through the gammit of Palms, PocketPC's, Palm phones, PocketPC phones and now back to a Palm phone again (Treo 650).

I just bought a Jornada 690 off eBay (so recently it hasn't arrived yet) and the more I read about the Jornada's here the more I'm wondering if the 720 wasn't a better option. I'm planning on using it for some remote working (email, spreadsheets, word and a few other office related tasks) at home and on the road. I'd also would desire to be able to watch converted movies, remote desktop, run wifi at home, bluetooth and most specifically run GPS mapping programs. Speicifically something marine based for use on my boat. I see OziCE supports the 690 but I would prefer a vector based marine program over a raster one but I'll take what I can get. I need the bluetooth capability mainly since my current GPS module is bluetooth for use on my Treo. If I could get something like my TomTom 5 on my Treo working I'd use it in the car too for routing.

I was wondering though if it's possible to upgrade the internals of the 690 to make it a 720? I'm mainly looking at the ARM compatability and ROM software level for reasons to upgrade. Are the cases essentially the same for both units? Has anyone attempted this before?

Steve

I personally haven't heard of anyone trying this before. I can imagine that there would be several obstacles in doing so, but that's never stopped this community from trying things before. Good luck, and be sure to post with results.

Good Luck-I had a J690 for over 5 years-didn't know the J720's or J728's existed until it died and had to look for a replacement. The cases are different- the mainboards are different-the PCMCIA card slots are substantially different-I don't think it is worth the time or effort to make a J720 from a J680-690. I tried fixing my J690 with a new mainboard for the J690-and then bought a J720 instead. In my opinion there is a substantial performance difference between the J680-690's & the J720-728 series.
Good luck running the programs you intend to run on a J680-690-I certainly wouldn't have the patience. I'm sorry but if it were me I would have bought a J720 & knowing what I know now-a J728 is my Jornada of choice-that's why I sold my J720's last month.

Thanks, I'm going to have to think this one over, I can see on eBay you could get the main board and 720 case shipped to me for about $25.00, using my keyboard, screen, buttons etc. it almost sounds do-able. Anyone have a broken 720 they wantto sell cheap?

Steve

turbosteve, regarding your usage plans, you should buy a 720, the 680 will not fit the bill

Thanks, I kinda had a feeling that would be the case Well I'll tinker with it until I can sell it and get a 720/728.

Steve

I believe the J680/690 has been on eBay from aroung 50 USD to around 100 USD now..

Yeah seems about right, I got mine for $80 with all the original stuff plus an extra battery, extra A/C adapter and an extra stylus. I'll use it for a short stint (going on vacation end of this week so I won't have time to resell and buy a new one yet). So starting next week look for a (hopefully) nice unit for sale at a decent price and someone pounding the pavement for a nice 720.

Steve