Perform surgery on your Palm and drastically increase battery life!

ignatz · 07-20-2004, 01:37 PM

I hadn't been to the Brighthand Palm forums in a long time, so I recently went to peruse. Lo and behold, there is an incredible (and incredibly long) thread on upgrading your Tungsten battery and squeezing a lot more life out of it. A lot is made of the complexity, but if you have any basic soldering and electronics skills, it sounds simple. I am planning to replace my T|E battery (stock at 850 mAh) with a more powerful one (1200 mAh) and will try to document the procedure for the benefit of all. If you have ever cursed your battery length and you've got a steady hand and a brave heart, this is a thread for you!

(BTW, PDAparts.com has a page with instructions for dismantling a wide variety of PDA's. Recommended if you've never been inside yours before!)

ignatz · 07-20-2004, 10:17 PM

As an afterthought, I would like to stress to those who are interested in this: by undertaking an operation of this sort, you void the hell out any warranty you may have, extended or otherwise! Make sure you've thought it through.

That said, if anyone is interested in this, I'm eager to help. I'm hoping to have my battery by the weekend, and if the listed sizes are accurate, it should be a fairly simple operation, and the end result should be at least a 50% increase in battery life.

Bob Russell · 07-20-2004, 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ignatz

I am planning to replace my T|E battery (stock at 850 mAh) with a more powerful one (1200 mAh) and will try to document the procedure for the benefit of all.

I saw that thread too, and found it very interesting... from a distance!!!! Can't wait to see how it turns out for you. More "power" to you! (Sorry for the bad pun.)

Francesco · 08-10-2004, 06:59 PM

Ignatz, I found this thread just now, as I'm searching mobileread.com for comments about the Tungsten T3. I'm about to buy one, but many people say its battery life is too short.
So, please tell me about the patient's life before and after the surgery.

ignatz · 08-10-2004, 10:20 PM

Ah! I forgot to post back. For me it was disappointing, because the battery that I bought for the T|E was larger than advertised and would not fit into the space of the old battery. I'm on the lookout for something smaller. However, if you head toward the last several pages of the very long thread over at Brighthand, you will see that some have been completely successful with modifying the T|3. You need to be able to solder, or have a friend who can. You also need to be confident dealing with small electronics. Sounds like a good investment to me. However, if I was going to buy now, I would buy a Clie TH55. From all I hear, the battery life on that thing is out of this world. It's still a bit more than the T|3, but it may be worth it.

Francesco · 08-11-2004, 01:52 PM

I'm not sure about the TH55. My concerns about it are a) some of the buttons, including the jog dial, are on the back, and b) the processor seems too slow (or is it?).
Today I'll try to play with both, the T|T3 and the TH55.
And I'll post a new thread asking for references about the TH55.
You see? I'm trying to make a responsible decision here!

ignatz · 08-11-2004, 02:16 PM

I suppose it depends a lot on what you do with your Palm. As an avid reader, I really like the idea of the jog button in the rear. Currently I have to tap the bottom of the screen or push the down button on the d-pad to go to the next page. But if I do an experiment and hold my Palm naturally in one hand, I find that my thumb is on one side, my last three fingers on the other, and my index finger is at the top back! And it doesn't matter which hand you hold it with.

Now admittedly I am inflamed with lust for this device, but have not actually handled one in operation. But between the battery life, larger screen real estate, and the ergonomics, which I think would work well, I continue my admiration unabated.

Francesco · 08-11-2004, 06:01 PM

It also depends on how you hold your Palm. I'm an avid reader, too. But I'm obsessed with landscape mode. Now, if you hold your Palm in that position, the buttons on the TH55 would be either too close or too distant to your f... nay... I guess, at the end, the thing is we're both inflamed with lust for different devices. Worst of all, in a platonic way.

ignatz · 08-11-2004, 10:05 PM

Ah! I hadn't considered landscape mode, having never used it. Hmmm... I really need to get my hands on a TH55 and see if I like it or not.

07-20-2004, 01:37 PM	#1
ignatz mechanoholic Posts: 582 Karma: 1000217 Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Sarasota, FL Device: Nook STR/iPhone 4S/EVO 4G	Perform surgery on your Palm and drastically increase battery life! I hadn't been to the Brighthand Palm forums in a long time, so I recently went to peruse. Lo and behold, there is an incredible (and incredibly long) thread on upgrading your Tungsten battery and squeezing a lot more life out of it. A lot is made of the complexity, but if you have any basic soldering and electronics skills, it sounds simple. I am planning to replace my T\|E battery (stock at 850 mAh) with a more powerful one (1200 mAh) and will try to document the procedure for the benefit of all. If you have ever cursed your battery length and you've got a steady hand and a brave heart, this is a thread for you! (BTW, PDAparts.com has a page with instructions for dismantling a wide variety of PDA's. Recommended if you've never been inside yours before!)

08-10-2004, 06:59 PM	#4
Francesco Aficionado Posts: 391 Karma: 710 Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Denver, CO, USA Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Touch	Is the patient recovering? Ignatz, I found this thread just now, as I'm searching mobileread.com for comments about the Tungsten T3. I'm about to buy one, but many people say its battery life is too short. So, please tell me about the patient's life before and after the surgery.

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07-20-2004, 10:17 PM	#2
ignatz mechanoholic Posts: 582 Karma: 1000217 Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Sarasota, FL Device: Nook STR/iPhone 4S/EVO 4G	As an afterthought, I would like to stress to those who are interested in this: by undertaking an operation of this sort, you void the hell out any warranty you may have, extended or otherwise! Make sure you've thought it through. That said, if anyone is interested in this, I'm eager to help. I'm hoping to have my battery by the weekend, and if the listed sizes are accurate, it should be a fairly simple operation, and the end result should be at least a 50% increase in battery life.

08-10-2004, 10:20 PM	#5
ignatz mechanoholic Posts: 582 Karma: 1000217 Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Sarasota, FL Device: Nook STR/iPhone 4S/EVO 4G	Ah! I forgot to post back. For me it was disappointing, because the battery that I bought for the T\|E was larger than advertised and would not fit into the space of the old battery. I'm on the lookout for something smaller. However, if you head toward the last several pages of the very long thread over at Brighthand, you will see that some have been completely successful with modifying the T\|3. You need to be able to solder, or have a friend who can. You also need to be confident dealing with small electronics. Sounds like a good investment to me. However, if I was going to buy now, I would buy a Clie TH55. From all I hear, the battery life on that thing is out of this world. It's still a bit more than the T\|3, but it may be worth it.

08-11-2004, 01:52 PM	#6
Francesco Aficionado Posts: 391 Karma: 710 Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Denver, CO, USA Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Touch	I'm not sure about the TH55. My concerns about it are a) some of the buttons, including the jog dial, are on the back, and b) the processor seems too slow (or is it?). Today I'll try to play with both, the T\|T3 and the TH55. And I'll post a new thread asking for references about the TH55. You see? I'm trying to make a responsible decision here!

08-11-2004, 02:16 PM	#7
ignatz mechanoholic Posts: 582 Karma: 1000217 Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Sarasota, FL Device: Nook STR/iPhone 4S/EVO 4G	I suppose it depends a lot on what you do with your Palm. As an avid reader, I really like the idea of the jog button in the rear. Currently I have to tap the bottom of the screen or push the down button on the d-pad to go to the next page. But if I do an experiment and hold my Palm naturally in one hand, I find that my thumb is on one side, my last three fingers on the other, and my index finger is at the top back! And it doesn't matter which hand you hold it with. Now admittedly I am inflamed with lust for this device, but have not actually handled one in operation. But between the battery life, larger screen real estate, and the ergonomics, which I think would work well, I continue my admiration unabated.

08-11-2004, 06:01 PM	#8
Francesco Aficionado Posts: 391 Karma: 710 Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Denver, CO, USA Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Touch	It also depends on how you hold your Palm. I'm an avid reader, too. But I'm obsessed with landscape mode. Now, if you hold your Palm in that position, the buttons on the TH55 would be either too close or too distant to your f... nay... I guess, at the end, the thing is we're both inflamed with lust for different devices. Worst of all, in a platonic way.

08-11-2004, 10:05 PM	#9
ignatz mechanoholic Posts: 582 Karma: 1000217 Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Sarasota, FL Device: Nook STR/iPhone 4S/EVO 4G	Ah! I hadn't considered landscape mode, having never used it. Hmmm... I really need to get my hands on a TH55 and see if I like it or not.

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