Review: IBM Workpad z50 (Flashback)

Seen those before what yolder?

I just bought a MP 790. I wanted a z50 but I wanted the 790 more. But that price is great!

i see, well i went ahead and bought that $99 one, i couldnt stand it any longer...i needed that memory im actully just going to sell my other one

Edited by tenjeangosi 2005-08-25 7:19 PM

I just bought one barely used, in the box. I need the cable to sync it to my pc though.

You may want to ask specific questions about your z50 in some of the other forums:

The hpcBay is a good place to inquire about items for sale.
The Handheld PC Professional forum folks may be able to help provide alternatives to the standard cable.
Finally, The Hardware support forum is a good open area to ask your questions.

A quick answer:

A z50 serial cable may be hard to come buy. (They will, on occasion, show up on eBay.)

I started off with a fairly inexpensive usb IRDA adapter. This allowed me to sync using an infrared connection. (again ebay is a good source.)

I've enjoyed my z50. Good luck with yours!

David Grissom

Can you do the initial sync with infrared instead of the serial cable? I bought a Z50 bare without anything. Was able to buy an adapter for $27 which was more than what I paid for the Z50 itself. Let me know if its possible to do the initial sync without the sync cable.

appreciate if you could email me a response at anodizedblue@hotmail.com

thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yes. you can! read the support section please

The Flashback review indicates the Z50 cannot accept Type III PCMCIA cards, because the slot is too small.

A correction: The slot is actually configured to the Type I/Type II size by a removable panel. If you pull on it, it will come off (by design, not by breaking it), revealing that the slot is actually Type III height. I used a Type III PCMCIA hard drive (a Callunacard) in my Z50 for years, until Compact Flash prices came down to where CF was a more practical alternative.

The Type III drive did cut the battery life to about half the rated lifespan, but I also used the extended battery, so I got about 8 hours in real usage, not the 16 hours you would usually get with the extended battery. Still, not at all bad.

IIRC, you can also run Unix on the 48 MB Z50. It has become VERY hard to find the proprietary 32 MB upgrade, though.

This had the potential to be a real winner, with just a few minor tweaks by IBM (screen size being the biggest, IMHO). Still, a pretty danged nice machine.

I used this for a LONG time as my main internet browsing machine. I had a free, ad supported internet service (Tritium, IIRC) that used Java to send pop-up ads. Pocket IE did not support Java, so I got connected, but no ads popped up to annoy me. Those were the days....