Should you upgrade your Pocket PC?  Third parties promise more memory, faster speed--but what about the warranty?

Engineers are tinkering ­- a sure sign that the Pocket PC has arrived. Great products, be they cars, stereos, or computers, have always tantalized creative engineers. These hardware hackers turbocharge engines, "superwoof" stereo systems, and add hard drive space to digital VCR products like the Philips Tivo.

Our company, Thaddeus Computing, has made a commercial venture of such tinkering. For years we have upgraded the speed and internal memory of the Hewlett-Packard DOS 200LX Palmtop PC (www.PalmtopPaper.com). Mack Baggette of Times2 Tech (www.times2tech.com) designed and built the HP 200LX upgrade boards, wrote software drivers, and trained our technicians. Although the HP 200LX ceased production in 1999, the upgrade option remains popular. Can Windows Powered Handheld and Pocket PCs be upgraded? Mack and other hardware aficionados have developed some solutions and are looking into others.

Upgrading an iPAQ

We sent Mack a standard 3600 series color 32 Mb iPAQ. It came back as a 64 Mb unit. The new 16 Mb iPAQ 3100 monochrome-screen version can be upgraded to 32 Mb. The 64 Mb upgrade requires the new ROM version 1.77 (www.compaq.com/support/files/16501.html) described on 'ROM Upgrade', which Mack can install when he adds the memory.

The upgrade process is straightforward. Mack removes the back of the unit, lifts out the motherboard, and removes a metal cover over the memory chips so that they can be replaced. Using a soldering iron, he then swaps the 216Mb SDRAM chips with 2 larger 32Mb SDRAM chips. In the future, as larger SDRAM chips become available at reasonable prices, larger upgrades may be possible. However, Mack doesn't anticipate larger memory upgrades in the immediate future.

Mack Baggette preparing to upgrade a 32MB iPAQ to 64MB.

As with any Pocket PC, the 64 Mb is split between program memory (the memory that applications run in) and storage memory. You always want between 8 Mb and 15 Mb for program memory. A greater amount is better if you have processor-intensive applications such as arcade games. 

Mack charges $149, and he can upgrade units shipped from outside the U.S. Currently, he has a waiting list. He also has competition ­ Portable Computer Enhancements (www.pce2000.com/index.html)  offers an iPAQ upgrade at similar pricing. 

Mack also offers iPAQ owners a "dust busting" option. A minority of iPAQ owners have experienced an annoying problem of dust appearing on the screen. Mack provides an iPAQ "Clean and Seal" service. He performs the operation by taking the iPAQ apart and removing most of the dust from under the screen. He then seals the screen to help prevent any further contamination. Check the Times2 Tech web site for pricing. Also, check out Dale Coffing's review of the process (www.dalecoffing.com/iPAQ/DustCleaning/ScreenDustCleaning.htm).

HP, Casio, and Palmax upgrades 

We also sent Mack the new 16 Mb HP Jornada 525 Pocket PC to upgrade. It came back transformed as 32 Mb. Mack can also upgrade 16 Mb HP 540s to 32 Mb, but cannot yet boost the series to 64 Mb. Mack is also looking into increasing the memory of the 32 Mb HP Jornada 720 Handheld PC. Check his site (www.times2tech.com) for latest information and pricing. 

Mack also is attempting to upgrade the Palmax @migo Pocket PC. As with Casio and HP devices, he is able to install 64 Meg of memory into the device. However, as of this writing, he has not written the driver to get the Pocket PC to recognize the additional memory.