Another use for a PSPC: An alarm clock, any other ideas?

I was trying to free up some space on my bedside table which among other things had both an alarm clock and my Compaq Aero 2100 PSPC in its cradle which I leave there to jot down ideas I may have at night. I realized I could replace the alarm clock and Compaq Aero 2100 with a PSPC I could use as an alarm clock and get rid of the actual alarm clock (I can't use the Compaq Aero 2100 because the cradle seals the speaker holes shut when its in the cradle making sounds hard to hear).

I decided to use the Philips Nino 300 for an alarm clock because I needed a PSPC for which I had a cradle, had a foward facing speaker, and was grayscale so I could leave the screen on without it emitting light. I could have used the Casio E-15 but I really like it and it's extremely rare (I've been trying to find a 2nd without success). I like how Windows CE lets me set 5 different alarms and enable them individually. I also like that I can use whatever sound files I want as the alarms, I'm going to add nature sounds like my alarm clock it replaced used to have.

I was using my Nino 300 as my digital recipe book but now use my previously unused Casio E-11 for my recipes and now my Compaq Aero 2100 is unused.

I now use these PSPCs:

-Casio E-11 - Digital recipe book
-Casio E-15 - Grayscale gaming device
-Casio E-100 - Organizer
-Casio E-105 - Color gaming device
-Philips Nino 300 - Alarm clock & bed side note taker

This leaves me with these unused but working PSPCs, any ideas for uses for these:

-Compaq Aero 2100
-Philips Nino 500

I'm already impressed I found actual uses for 5 different PSPCs, I'm sure I can find uses for the remaining 2.

Thanks


Edited by aab 2012-09-15 6:45 AM

Turn one into an automobile diary...something to record your gasoline and travel info on and leave it in the car's glovebox...throw an ebook reader, a couple of games on it and use it while your wife is in the store shopping...

Great idea actually

Firstly I noticed Windows CE doesn't like long wav sounds as alarms. It takes a huge amount of free RAM for it to even be able to play a 20 or 30 second wav file, but secondly it seems to only play the first 5-10 seconds and ignores the repeat feature. I've installed "AlarMe" which is better but freezes the entire device for the time the sound plays, so with a long sound it freezes for a while. I'll keep looking for alarm programs, or maybe even write my own if I can figure out how (I already know some programming languages).

About leaving one in the car, I'd have to remember to charge it every few days especially since I only have color devices left, plus with our cold winters it would probably be frozen dead for the winter. I already always leave with my Windows Phone 7 but it's such a PITA to even take a note on these that I always just try to remember, so a PSPC in the car would make a user friendly way to jot down notes. I'd have to use the Compaq Aero 2100 for this as it's the only of my 2 unused ones that can be read in the sun.

I'll think about using the Aero in the car but would prefer an indoor use so I don't have to worry about charging it all the time.


Edited by aab 2012-09-15 10:55 PM

There are tons of car chargers out there that have the right tip and voltage for the Aero, so it wouldn't be a problem to charge it while driving.

Ya...the cold does slow things down a little in the middle of winter, even here in Michigan...but not too bad depending on the unit, it only seems to take less than 30 seconds for them to warm up to work, even in sub-zero weather. I don't think I'd want to use one with a LION battery, I like the AAA type units for a car.