ViewSonic V36 Pocket PC

I recently bought the Viewsonic V36 as a Christmas gift. Although this is easily the least expensive PDA at this processor/memory level (Intel 300MHz XScale processor, 64MB RAM, 32MB ROM), it performs extremely well and is very well designed. I originally intended to purchase the HP IPAQ 1945 which has very similar specs to the V36 but was sold on the Viewsonic with the $100 lower price tag (the actual cost is $299 less a $100 mail-in rebate; the HP is $299 with no rebate). The HP 1945 has integrated Bluetooth which the V36 lacks but the V36 has a nice integrated 300KP camera which is not available on the HP (the camera works quite nicely in well-lit conditions and can take both still and moving images). (Note: If you need WiFi capability, there is an optional 802.11b SDIO card available for the V36 for $129 that plugs into the sole SD card expansion port.) Also, the V36 will accept a standard headphone plug for listening to MP3s while the HP requires an adapter for its miniplug. The 3.5" screen is clear and bright and identical in quality to the HP. All other hardware/software specs for the HP 1945 and V36 are identical (well, okay the HP is a half inch shorter and half an ounce lighter but that's not really worth the hundred bucks price difference to me).

Setup of the unit is a breeze (you'll barely need the included manual) and synchronizing the unit with a PC is fast and effortless. Everything you need to get up and running is included in the box (USB adapter cable, power cable, companion CD with MS ActiveSync and MS Outlook 2002, and a carry case). I highly recommend the Viewsonic V36 PDA.

with a retail price of about $300. and a $100 rebate how could you go wrong?! i have had a pda for as long as i can remember and they just keep getting better. i went from having the original palm pilot to a handspring visor to a jornada 525 pocket pc and now this. in comparison to my old jornada, the v36 is faster, thinner, lighter and has more built-in memory. other features i like are the removeable battery pack (so you can carry a spare) and the stylus has a removeable twist off end piece to reveal a pointed end for those inevitable resets, so no more searching for a paper clip or pen to reset. the camera feature is nice but with today's camera technology in cell phones it could be better. some cell phone camera's have a small flash which would help the viewsonic alot and a better resolution would be nice too (1.0 megapixel would do). once in awhile i used my jornada as an mp3 player and it sucked the battery life out of the pda, maybe a good 2-3 hours before the battery need recharging. the viewsonic battery life does fair better at about 3-4 hours at full power. which bring me to another nice feature, the viewsonic has a "tunable" power setting (full, medium or low). unfortunately, i havent tested battery life at the time of this review at the low setting.

another complaint i have is that i can not use all my compact flash accessories (modem, wireless and expansion memory) from my jornada on the viewsonic (uses mmc/sd type cards), but i can live with it.

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The ViewSonic was a gift. This is my first pocket PC and though there are many more expensive models out there I can't imagine what they would do better. The camera works. It's a little clumsy, but the pictures are fine. I've a digital camera, so the camera is no big deal. Being a writer what mattered to me was the ability to download things I was working on to rework and edit when I was not at my regular computer. This it does beautifully. I can listen to audiobooks. I just bought one that's difficult to read, but easy to listen to. I can do my writing anywhere. I'm not the most orgazized person in the world (which is why this was a gift from my wife) and now I have all my tasks and dates I need to keep track of neatly stored. I also have easy access to any research or notes. It does everything I would want a pocket PC to do. Doing all you want it to do is the best you can get from any product. Oh, and the price is great too.

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Based on the rebates and price drops for this product, it was high on my consideration list. That is, until I picked one up.

The device is VERY plastic-feeling and flimsy. It does not feel solid at all, unlike the Palm Tungsten models or HP models. Many of the store models were banged up and very scratched. My current Palm has been banging around in my purse for two years and has no big scratches. Also of note, the salesperson told me that a high percentage of them were coming back defective. It also only comes with PocketPC 2002, most of the new applications won't work on this device.

The screen is slightly smaller than most PDAs on the market now. It was hard to read in some brighter areas of the store, so I can imagine it would be horrible outside.

It has great features for this price range, including the built in camera. But the resolution leaves MUCH to be desired. The sound is so-so on it without the headphones on, you can't put it up high or it sounds muffled. I was not able to test it with headphones on, so I can't tell you much about volume, etc.

If this is your first PDA, it's a good starting point. I wouldn't expect it to last more than a year or two of moderate use, it just doesn't seem built solidly enough. Keep in mind, that you do get what you pay for with this model. If you're looking to get a pocketpc for just contact management, go with a lower-end model and save some money. If multimedia is your thing skip this and get an ipaq or Clie.

There are many sales and rebates going on now at different sites. Palm Zire 71 for the multimedia capabilities it offers, has some great rebates. Also, windows is offering many on its PocketPC devices. After all, you want a PDA that you can use effectively, not one you worry about breaking or banging up, right?

**edit to add that several months later my two friends that bought this model were both so disapointed at performance that they went and bought different brands/different models!**

If my review was helpful to you please vote for it. If you have any questions you can shoot me an IM at "WinterGetsMe" Thanks!

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Don't you love reviews? One guy says he's had problems with his V36. I don't doubt. However, I experienced the same symptoms he described after I loaded software that did not support Pocket PC 2003. Another one says it's too light. Too light? For a Pocket PC? Personally, I think that's impossible. The point is, for the money the V36 is tough to beat. The camera is nice if you need to take a snapshot of a whiteboard or something. Not great. But what you get is a fully functioning, good quality PDA that easily holds it's own for a lot less than the HP's and Tungsten. That's what I was looking for. That is exactly what I got. I'm happy.

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Scrabble SCR-228 Players Dictionary

(The 5 star rating is based on the assumption that you're a Scrabble player; this product wouldn't be very useful to non-players.)

This is an electronic version of the Official Scrabble Player's Dictionary 4th Edition (OSPD4), with some features that make it much more valuable than the print edition. It's more compact, and it is a lot faster to look up a disputed word than flipping through the book. It also has a few games to help sharpen your word skills and a "build" function that lets you enter your rack and get a list of all the words that can be formed from those letters, highest-scoring to lowest-scoring.

But what really makes this more valuable than the print version is a neat undocumented feature. As you may know, the OSPD4 says on the cover "Endorsed by the National Scrabble Association for recreational and school use." That's right, the "Official Scrabble Player's Dictionary" is not really official. For club and tournament play they use the "Official Tournament and Club Word List" (OTCWL or OWL2). This is because as of OSPD3 a lot of "offensive" words (cuss words, ethnic slurs) were removed from the dictionary. These words are still permitted in tournament play. You won't find this in the instructions, but you can turn the SRC-228 into an OWL2 dictionary by doing the following: at the "Ready" prompt, type in **otcwl and press "Enter." The "Ready" prompt will be replaced with "Search OTCW List" and you will now be able to check a lot of new words. It will only give a definition for the OSPD4 words, but it will say "Correct Word" for the OWL2 words. These words will also show up on your "Build" list. Besides the naughty words, OWL2 also adds a lot of words that are trademarks such as "Kleenex" and "Aqualung." This feature will stay in effect until you change the batteries or disable it. **otcwl acts as a toggle, so if don't want the kids to have access to these words, just enter it again and it reverts to OSPD4.

Note that like the printed version, the electronic version only contains words up to 8 letters in length (with the exception of inflected forms of those words). So a correct word like "submariner" would not be found in it. You'll need an extra dictionary if someone plays a bigger word. (This doesn't happen that often.)

Scrabble SCR-228 Players Dictionary

Franklin used to make a electronic Scrabble dictionary (based on the third edition of the official printed dictionary) that was the size of a credit card, easy to use and read, and could "travel" with little hassle due to its size. No more. They still make the model SCR-226 which is identical in appearance to the SCR-228 but also is based on the OLDER edition. Search the boxes in vain for the small print that explains the differences between 226 and 228. The SCR-228 is updated to the fourth edition. It's still easy to use, but the much larger letters, ironically, are a bit harder to read due to the huge display. Works fine, but why not continue to make a smaller, cheaper, just-as-good version?

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You can tell this model from the 226 by a slightly different color pattern and perhaps a little bit more readable screen.

But the big difference in this machine is that tho it has given us qi and za to use, it has taken away a lot of the old staples. What it has taken out is all the words that you would look up as a kid that were "naughty" and all the terms that were in the old dictionaries that had "offensive term" behind it.

But overall, it is an improvement in programability from the first credit card dictionary tho I have to say I miss the size and feel of the old ones.

Al

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This is pretty awesome. It has several functions and if you're either an avid player or encouraging growth of vocabulary in another (like your kid) it's well worth the price.

One of the more impressive features is that it can tell you possible plays provided what's on the board and the letters you have. Really good way to learn new words.

Technology rocks.

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To begin with, it should be realized that this is not a general purpose dictionary; it's specifically designed for Scrabble players. That's why all the definitions of each word are not given.

As noted in Steve Keeley's very helpful review, it can be converted to the Official Word List -the unexpurgated one -and it can be used to find all possible official words in any rack. The word games that are included are fun to play, too.

There is a useful feature that's not in the printed instructions, but appears by pressing the HELP button when defining words. To scroll to the right to see the entire definition, it's not necessary to hold down the right arrow; just press ENTER again and the scrolling is done automatically.

The four AAA batteries that are required are not included, so it's a good idea to have them ready, as well as a small Phillips screwdriver, which you'll need to take the cover off the battery compartment. There's no need to put the screw back on when you replace the cover; it will be secure enough without it. In fact, once you get the cover off -which can be a struggle -you might want to put it back by pressing it down just enough to hear a click; it will save you a lot of trouble later. Once you get that done you'll be free to enjoy this device without any further difficulties.

Peel off the horizontal strip with the word CHAMPION on it; now the display is unobstructed. But don't try to remove the square piece of plastic

that covers the entire device -its function is to protect against wear and smudges.

To conclude: I highly recommend the Franklin 228 for Scrabble® players.

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IRISPen Executive 6

I am a doctoral student in the humanities and I got this scanner because as I research, I like to copy passages on various topics into my computer for quick searching ability. This pen scanner has increased the speed with which I copy notes. There is a learning curve with this product. It takes a little time to get used to the feel of a scan that will turn out perfectly copied text. Also, I've found that if you take a few seconds to calibrate your pen before a copying session, it greatly improves the accuracy. I am a fairly fast typer 40 wpm, and I have typed out a passage, and corrected my errors, and then scanned the same passage and corrected the errors. I found that the pen was almost twice as fast. The software is aesthetically lacking and not completely intuitive, but it gets the job done.

While this product is not perfect in every way, it improves upon the other alternatives to digitize passages of text from books and reports.

I've used this product with both Mac and PC (XP). It has scanned text easily into Pages, and Word for me.

Customer service was a little difficult to contact, but eventually I was able to contact them, and they sent me the Mac version of the software free of charge via an e mail attachment. I don't really use the scanner for foreign languages, handwritten notes, etc so I can't really comment on those features.

I am an academic and thought this product would be great for rapid scanning of book passages. Unfortunately, as is the case with earlier models both of Iris and other brands, about half of what I scanned was not correctly entered. I tried numerous positions and numerous books and numerous languages (English, French, German) but the same problem kept occurring. The bottom line: It is quicker and cheaper to type.

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About 30 minutes after opening the box I was able to scan with my pen and get very good accuracy. I have no idea what the other reviewers are doing, but mine worked well after less than 5 minutes of practice. I use my pen to copy a paragraph or two from books in order to discuss the author's viewpoint in MSN groups. I found that the speed of the scan is important in getting accurate results. Scanning at the speed I would normally read the text gives a result that needs very little cleanup using a spellchecker. I am not the greatest typist, and this product will ensure that I probably never will get much better.

Downloading the program from the enclosed CD was effortless, and I have not changed from the factory settings. IRISPen definitely gets a thumbs up from me. My wife says it looks like magic, and she is correct. As usual.

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I bought this originally to get some UPC information into my MacBook laptop without having to type. The first night I had this on my computer, I couldn't get it to work no matter how much I calibrated it. However, after finding out that I had to hold the pen still on a piece of paper while calibrating, it worked almost flawlessly afterwards.

In my classes, I can use it easily to quote essays with very good accuracy. For left handed use, they set it so I swipe the pen from the right side of the page to the left, which is much a much smoother motion. The only drawback happens when I get to the end of a line where the pen becomes creative. If the formatting n the paper that I quote off of puts a dash at the end of a line, the pen will try to make the partial word into a word in it's built in dictionary.

All in all, a GREAT value, and I am very pleased with this product.

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I am writing my dissertation and I was lamenting to my Chair how difficult it was to do the Lit Review portion as typing quotes and passages from books and texts was both mechanically and visually difficult (holding the book down, typing, finding my place back in the material etc.). He then suggested a pen scanner. He uses the ectaco pen. It is well-reviewed on this site. I was going to get that but it only works for PCs. I have a Mac. So I found all these scanners that supposedly works for the Mac, including this one. I wanted one real fast so the ones that were not sold directly by Amazon were out of consideration (I wanted overnight shipping which costs $3.99 with my prime account). The reviews daunted me as this product only got 3 or so stars. I gritted my teeth and went for it, thinking I could always return it. I got the product and wow! It works! The only thing it didn't do was automatically italicize a selection that was italicized in the original. I am known for reading instructions. So my advise to all the naysayers: RTFM. Now, in my real job as a school administrator, this has already become indispensable in the 24 hours that I got it. We are going through our accreditation and much of our data are on print and not digitized, it was a pain retyping the things I already did. I went through the next materials with the scanner . .. IT EVEN DOES TABLES! The amount of time it saves me is phenomenal. The text reading feature was cute. I can already see all the educational uses I can put this through. I am certainly going to have my teachers use this with their students. I got this from Amazon for $40 less than the others. Certainly a budget and time savings. Thank you IRIS!

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rooCASE Samsung GALAXY Tab 7.0 Plus: Executive Portfolio Leather Case

First of all, it is as advertised. What stands out? Two fantastic features: VERY solid and sturdy. Both the case and the separate sleeve for the tablet. Zipped up in the case it can fall far down to a very hard fall and be totally fine. Second Feature the velcro works great and makes it very versatile and adjustable as far as standing it up goes. I also like the little slets etc. on the facing flap. Great product.

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SanDisk 1 GB Memory Stick Pro Duo (SDMSPD-1024-A11) - Bulk Package

Despite what the other review says i have had no problems transfering data using my built in card reader in my Sony Vaio. Good price, comes with the Standard Memory Stick adapter. Works great with PSP.

I've owned my psp for about 6 months now and I was getting tired of only playing games and using the web browser. I wanted to try and copy a DVD movie onto my psp. In order to do so you need at at least a 512 mb card if not more. I purchased this 1 GB San Disk version at first skeptickle thinking that I may have wanted to get the sony kind. After purchasing this and getting movies on it very easily, I found out that Sony pays San Disk to make Sony's "Brand" memorysticks and also that all San Disks memorysticks and duos had much higher ratings! So, If you are deciding on which brand to buy, I reccomend going with San Disk!

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This is just the thing you need to get the most out of your PSP. I already have quite a few videos and mp3's on my 1GB PSP memory stick pro duo and their is still room for more! It's worth every penny. The 512MB is around 80 bucks, so fo just 40 more dollars save some cash and get twice the size. You won't regret it.

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After reading the reviews I dove in and bought the Sandisk 1 GIG card for my PSP. The memory stick works like a champ, I will be buying another and then I'll wait for the larger capacity sticks to come down in price some before I get one of themSony is touting 4 and 8 Gig cards coming soon. Each will probably cost as much or more than the PSP. But the price on this 1 gig card is excellent.

So, if your looking for some more storage for your PSP, look no furthur than this Sandisk card. It's speedy and will work without issues on the PSP.

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Well the only reason I got this, was to use it with my PSP and it works great.

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Rugged Quad-Lock Belt Clip

This clip CAN"T be damaged...I've inadvertly tried MANY times! It doesn't come with the little button to attach to your phone...so buy the one that is needed for it or you will have to make one like I did. A normal plastic button won't work with it and even if you ground it down to fit, it would be the weak link and break anyways. If you like your phone on your belt and you break them all the time...buy this one. IT WILL OUTLAST YOUR BELT!

I have a very nice Rugged brand pouch for my cell phone but the clip broke. Nice to know that the money I spent on the pouch is still useable. Heavy duty, rugged steel clip. Good thinking.

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JAVOedge Pioneer Book Case for the Barnes & NobleNook Color / Nook Tablet (Olive) - Latest Generati

I must say it is everything I wanted and more. I truly love this product. It fits nicely too, so it doesn't want to slid out. There is a little pouch in the inside for my bus pass so I have the two things I need in the morning to make public transportation worth while.

The only small down fall is some sort of cover for the screen, but here on Amazon I can find something that I can put on and leave on not matter what cover I use. I will be buying more in many colors to match my moods.

Thank you for being you.

This would be an exemplary case for the nook except for several items, which may seem nit-picky, but to me, truly detract from what could have been a beautiful beautiful case.

Don't get me wrong, I do like this case quite a bitthe smooth exterior, magnetic clasps and a firm grip on the Nook when inserted, this case does deserve more attention than it's currently getting.

However, I have to focus on the negative sides in this case, as they are a strong counterargument (to me at least) towards the higher price of this case.

The "Binding" of this cover is too loose and flappy. It's even evident in the photosyou can see wrinkling and bulging in any photo that features the side. Even the main photo shows the binding isn't straight, and this is exactly how it shows on my case. Holding it doesn't give me much satisfaction, it actually nags at the back of my mind as "cheap!" Don't get me wrong, I'm aware that this is to allow the user to fully fold the cover behind itself easily, however I've dealt with enough cases that were able to do this without the cheap feeling.

Border bezel is off. While not too evident on the photos, the framing of my screen is more rhombus than rectangular. The corners of the inner bezel are very visible on the upper left and lower right portions of the cover. The cover border on the right is warping upwards, allowing me to see more of the nook's bezel more easily. The stitching is so concise that you cannot adjust the tablet to better fit this. Looks slightly sloppy, but once you actually are using the tablet, you won't remember these details. This is more of an aesthetic ding on their part (and this plays more into the price itself)

Fitting of the tablet might be... TOO flush.

The slot you insert the tablet into is open, as it is held in via tight friction. This means there is no guard to prevent it from hitting the ground if the case falls upside-down. Since the tablet fits in just flush, that means if you drop it wrong, case or no case, your tablet will still suffer drop damage. The chances are slim, but Murphy's Law is always there, so be careful.

Like the other reviewer, I really like this case. But for the price I did hesitate for a while, and even though I enjoy the protection it offers, I'll still always be a little irked at the small things that impede upon its perfection.

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So far I love this case. It does fit the nook tablet well. I do find the tablets slips a little if I hold the case with the opening down, but in general this has not been a problem. I don't think it is so loose that the device will slip out if I drop it. The magnet closing is nice as it keeps the cover closed while in my purse.

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I love this cover...it looks and feel high quality and gorgeous. Protects my nook and screen. Could not beat the price!

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Looked for a specific type of Nook cover and this is perfect. No latches to deal with rich looking cover and it feels good in my hands. I would order thw=e exact same one if anything happened to this one.

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iHome Rechargeable Portable Mini Speaker with 3.5mm Headphone/Audio Jack, Black and Red

got the speaker the other day, worked fine, nice sound. did everything i wanted it to do. watched a whole movie and was on factory change and didn't need to charge it. So far very happy with it. i like the look of it. my music sounds great on it, watched a movie and listen to a whole album on it and didn't need to charge it. like i said, so far it's been great. i will update if things change. all in all its a great little speaker.

Bought the iK63 from the iHome website when I got my kindle fire. I had expected to create a portable home theater setup to stream movies while visiting my Mom's house with the ability to have some nice sounds with it. The Kindle Fire looks amazing streaming movies but the Fire's speakers are just so-so.

When I got the iK63 I immediately plugged it in to watch MI:3; the speaker sounded great, but 20min in it faded from the factory charge on the battery. To recharge the Li battery, it came with a micro-B to USB that plugs into the back of the speaker. Hmmm...that meant not plugging it in to use the battery of the Fire. I used the Fire's USB to AC adapter to recharge it, but that meant not charging my Fire. I really wish iHome would have packaged a AC adapter that had 2 usb ports for charging the speaker and the fire at the same time. It is also only 1 speaker and when you plug it in, the Fire's speakers turn off; making it a mono setup. The instructions suggest getting a 2nd speaker and you can daisy chain them to go back to a stereo setup; but I said, hell with that. Not gonna pay $60+ for stereo speakers that I will have to recharge each speaker individually, along with my fire. In defense of the product, the speaker did sound much better than the onboard speaker of the Fire. It just did not fulfill my wants and was too much of a hassle to deal with.

Back to using my Sennheiser HD 202 II Professional Headphones (Black).

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I bought this when on Gold Box sale, it's a bit pricey at the regular price. However, the build quality is good and this little speaker delivers.

Now your expectations must be realistic. It is a single speaker (mono) in a very small size. It is very lightweight and portable. It looks nice. It has an audio out which is rare. So some nice touches, especially at this price. (Note you can chain two speakers for "simulated" stereo, but a single speaker is mono. Not a big deal for casual listening, but something to be aware of, especially as the specs in the product description are not clear on this.)

So how does it sound? Well, surprisingly good for its size and being a single speaker. These new small drivers are now showing up in lots of systems like this and they deliver pretty amazing sound for their size. In this case the amp has been "tweaked" for added bass response. Overall, it sounds good for casual, personal listening at normal volume levels. At very high volumes (and it can get surprisingly loud) it sounds a bit harsh to me, but at normal levels, fine. The bass response is adequate for music and the vocals (mid-range) and highs are there. This won't challenge your good stereo/audio system, but it will be pleasant for use with your Kindle Fire, ipod, mp3 player or other portable device (it will work with anything that has a 3.5mm headphone/audio output). So thumbs up for its intended purpose.

It comes with a special combined micro USB and audio cable for charging the internal battery and hooking up to the audio out of your device. I would have preferred a separate audio in jack and separate USB for charging, but that's a minor nit pick. (It would allow greater flexibility in use and most people aren't going to use the audio out provided anyway, so there's room for it. But again, not a big deal.) It has nice rubber feet on the bottom, a blue/red LED light on front for charging and power status, and an on/off switch in back.

I tried this out with my laptop/notebook and it worked very well. It's actually even better, as there the combined USB cable and audio cable makes more sense. However, you can also get stereo speakers for around the same price for laptops and their large size is not as much of an issue for this purpose. Still, this very compact lightweight speaker is an attractive option if you're really traveling light.

This is a solid, good value in a very light weight portable speaker. Perfect for it's intended purpose. It will be great for movies/video, audio books and music on the go.

-----------------------------------------------------

(Tip: Plug this in and charge the battery for 4 hours or so before use (or even overnight) to get maximum time from the internal battery in later use.)

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As far as quality goes, this little honey works exactly as advertised which is why I'm giving it five stars. However, when it comes to portability, I find earphones or ear buds much more convenient. When it comes to better sound, a Kindle Fire can be hooked up to any sound system with RCA input jacks using a 1/8" stereo plug to 2 RCA plug cable like this one, which I find much more convenient than constantly having to recharge the speaker. Frankly, if you don't have a problem with headphones or ear buds, you have a sound system with RCA input jacks, and you don't do a lot of travelling, then you may not have much use for this product. Verdict: This powered mini-speaker is a real humdinger, but it doesn't really fit my needs, so I decided I wanted my money back. Your mileage may vary.

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I use this speaker with my kindle when working on my Massage Therapy Clients. It works great the sound is very clear from such a small speaker.

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Acer Aspire V3-551-8469 15.6-Inch Laptop (Midnight Black)

"Long and dark, shiny and black ... open up your engines, let `em roar, tearin' up the highway like a big old dinosaur!" said Springsteen about Cadillac Ranch, and the same could be said of this four hundred dollar laptop from Acer. I got it as a desktop replacement to run Windows 8 as well as indie PC games, and I think it's going to work out fine.

It's a big, heavy, shiny black plastic thing, portable but not light. Hinges and latch move well. The screen is bright and sharp, with adequate but not great viewing angles. I wouldn't mind watching a movie on this screen, but it would be difficult to share it with someone else given these viewing angles. I suppose you could consider this a privacy feature. The chiclet style keyboard has full size keys with good tactile feedback and an intelligent layout. The full-size number keys are particularly welcome. I wish it were backlit but that's something for a higher-end machine. Functions such as media playback, volume control, and brightness control require two hands -one to press the function key on the left side, and another to press the desired action. Not optimal but fair enough considering the price.

There's a webcam with microphone and a "Dolby Home Theater" speaker grille up front, both of which work as expected. The large trackpad is off center with the screen but lines up nicely with the keyboard, and is responsive to touch. The trackpad buttons are easy to hit with your thumbs. Up front is an SD card slot, which SHOT THE COVER ACROSS THE ROOM when I tapped it to eject it. Be careful with your photos when loading them onto this machine!

Ports on the left side of the machine: Power (where it should be, near the recessed power button), gigabit ethernet, a large exhaust vent, a full size VGA port, HDMI out, USB 3.0, microphone, and headphone jacks. Ports on the right side: Kensington security slot (I wonder about its usefulness given the plasticy feel of the machine), a pop-out DVD tray, and two USB 2.0 slots, unfortunately right where a right-handed person would want to use a plug-in mouse.

Wifi-N is superfast, the 500GB hard drive speed is a bit pokey but acceptable, system boot speed is quick, and graphics performance is wonderful for the price. A8 Vision from AMD is considered the budget gamer card of choice, and it does not disappoint. I threw every 3D game from my Steam collection at it, and the only title that required me to turn down the graphical detail was Star Wars: The Old Republic, and then only down halfway while running at full resolution.

The system ships with Windows 8, which is a mixed bag -check the reviews elsewhere for that. It's as schizophrenic as they say, but it's probably going to get better with software updates. The Acer suite of pre-installed software is innocuous and easy to remove.

Verdict? If you want an inexpensive laptop that can play games and run Windows 8, this is certainly worth a look.

UPDATE: I've added some new hardware to this machine. It's no longer a four hundred dollar laptop, but know this: the machine can take 16GB of 1600MHz DDR3 RAM (despite the manufacturer saying it maxes out at 8GB), which bumps the Windows memory rating up to 7. Add a solid state hard drive and the storage i/o rating goes up to 8. Both upgrades, especially the SSD, really make this machine /sing/.

UPDATE #2: The Wifi driver is inexplicably set to power down by default, which explains the unreliability some people have reported. Solving this problem requires you to simply uncheck the box in the wireless network interface Properties pane.

I've spent a few days with this laptop and I absolutely love it. Though it has shortcomings, the outstanding price/performance far outweighs them. I could throw a slew of benchmarks at you that I've done on this laptop, however, that would do little to represent real world performance. I'll try and keep this as short as I can.

Right off the bat I should say that I upgraded to 8 GB of RAM. There are two RAM slots and you can throw up to two 8gb SODIMMs in this thing for a total of 16gb if you'd like. Although, I would recommend just 8gb. If you want to optimize your graphics performance (which uses the system RAM) spend a little extra and get memory clocked at 1600mhz. I always recommend G.Skill memory products and after installing 8gb of it into this laptop, (for gaming) I jumped an entire preset up in most games, sometimes two presets. I mention this right away because I want to make it clear that upgrading the RAM in this machine will make it shine.

The included HDD is 5400rpm. It's passable, but will slow down loading for larger programs where a lot of data is involved like Photoshop, video editing software, and games. I wouldn't necessarily recommend an upgrade to an SSD unless you want to put up the cash for a high capacity drive. I'd stay away from 7200 rpm HDDs unless you want to cut your battery by 20% or if battery capacity isn't important to you.

Speaking of battery life, It's alright. It's average for it's class, getting around 4 hours on a full charge more if you conserve with no audio, video, or heavy use. Less if you are doing any gaming while not plugged in. Keep screen brightness down for best results.

The keyboard is fine. It's comfortable to type on and the trackpad is well positioned and sized. My only gripe with input devices is the keyboard not being backlit. The numberpad is a nice touch also.

The screen, while average resolution, is pretty nice. Color reproduction isn't very good (for all you artists), however text is very readable and the display generally looks great in most lighting conditions. The viewing angles are just okay, but some may consider that a positive for privacy.

The speakers are above average for laptops in this class, however nothing amazing. The sound is clear and gets fairly loud. However, as is a problem with most laptops, bass is almost non-existent.

Enough ports to get the job done, and USB 3.0 is a nice touch, albeit a little anemic at a single port.

Windows 8 is okay. I'm sure that it will only get better with time, but I've encountered many bugs with the OS so far that have almost made me switch to 7. After getting them fixed though, I'm pleased with how the OS works. The learning curve can be steep if you're used to 7 and not prone to picking things up quickly. Microsoft took 8 out of the oven before it was done, but it's really close to being a great operating system.

A quick note on upgrading. Everything is easily accessible via a removable hatch under the unit towards the front. Good call, Acer.

The processor, while not as powerful per core as a lowly Sandy Bridge Core i3, is actually quite speedy with four cores and "turbo core". I've had no bottlenecks with everyday use and gaming. The only situation where the AMD silicon has let me down is multimedia editing. Photo and video editing is clearly this CPUs shortcoming. While not terrible, the i3 outclasses it by at least 10% under full load. The Intel architecture is simply better and more efficient. Don't let this hold you back from purchasing this if you're on the cusp however. I, myself, am a photographer and use have used this in the field on numerous occasions to great effect.

As I said right off the bat, the graphics performance can be greatly improved with an upgrade to the RAM, as the integrated solution uses the onboard RAM as VRAM. For you gamers on a budget, this is a great buy! But, you should manage your expectations. This is a laptop. The hardware is specifically designed to work with a 1366x786 res screen. If you plan on hooking this up to a 1080p display, remember you might need to back off on the post processing a bit. While I don't have specific benchmarks as I couldn't get my license of FRAPS to play nice with Windows 8, here are a few games and basic presets this machine is capable of with the specified RAM upgrade: Fallout 3 High (Barely Playable on Ultra) , SW:TOR Medium , Skyrim High , Borderlands 2 Medium , Saint Row/Third High , Portal 2 MAX.

I hope this review was helpful. I highly recommend this laptop for almost anyone. With or without a few hardware upgrades, it is worth every bit of the price tag and more.

Buy Acer Aspire V3-551-8469 15.6-Inch Laptop (Midnight Black) Now

I have an older Acer laptop, and it's served me well for about the past 5 years. My wife was finally up for having one of her own. We wanted state-of-the-art, but didn't have an exorbitant budget.

I was hesitant about Windows 8, but she loves it! We're learning through trial and error what programs work with Windows 8 (LibreOffice won't install, yet OpenOffice will).

Still, a real good laptop.

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I owned 2 Acer Aspires previously. The last one was fully loaded and more then I ever needed, picked it up for around $500. Well it officially was laid to rest last night but the hard drive was still good. I went to Compusa and found this Acer. Another great deal on a BEAST of a computer. I paid $450 ($50 mail in rebate) so $400 after rebate. I have been playing on it for a good 2 hours and love, love, love how fast this system is. I am a big movie downloader and with a 500gig HD this puppy takes whatever I throw at it with ease. Again I am a dedicated Acer customer, its my 3rd laptop in many years and again......great product! Good work Acer!!!

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I bought this because of the AMD a8 and the 7 series GPU and was for some light gaming and i must say this laptop didnt disappoint..its sturdy and the USB 3 was fast..Its really lighter than my other asus k53e core i7 2630qm,6gb,640...Acer rocks...I"ll say this was my best bang for my buck... I'm buying 2 others for my friends..5 stars

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Nook Color (Wifi Only , Wifi + 3G) (Latest Generation) Black Snug Fit Hardshell Carrying Case + Van

Great case but is originally made for the Nook not the NookColor. So the NookColor does not fit very well and falls out easily. Fast Shipment though!!

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Acer Aspire V3-771G-6851 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black)

Hello,

This is a really good laptop for the price. When I first buy this i thought it would be too big, cause it's 17.3. But I was wrong It's Perfect! And it's not heavy.

It also heave a really good ventilation system, Keeps it really cool.

Beside that I can play almost every game in Market with good settings. I can play Dota 2 everything on maximum with 0 lag, it did not tested other games yet tough.

But, for 700 bucks it's a really good deal! RECOMEND.

So far so good, ive been testing it for a few days and runs everything smoothly, nice temps, its also quiet....

im able to play borderlands 2 at 720p everything maxed out at 40-60 fps, i havent tested BF3 yet but i figured it shouldnt have any problems, in conclusion the 640m is a very capable gpu backed up by an incredible ivy i5 processor

the build quality seems quite solid, usb 3.0 ports are pretty much appreciated..

on another hand the screen doesnt have a good view angle so it could be a pain if you dont watch it right in front

bottom line, very good laptop for the price, if you dont need a huge gaming laptop but still want to play some decent games get this one!

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Just as the title implies. I bought this laptop about 2 weeks after black Friday for $600 along with a copy of Far Cry 3. The game runs excellent. I run it on "medium" settings flawlessly and it still looks really good. The game automatically put my settings on medium but I wanted to see how it played on higher settings. I tried playing on both high and ultra settings which surprisingly worked pretty well. The FPS was pretty playable even on ultra however the computer would run a little hot so I keep it on a very playable tweaked medium setting (tweaked as in I set a few of the settings to high). Still looks/plays great. If your into games a little older like Skyrim, you will be pleased to know this computer can handle Skyrim pretty well on high settings. I haven't played Skyrim to much on this laptop so I don't know if having a large battle raging around you may slow it down or not but I'm sure if it does you can tweak the options a bit to make it run great again.

So overall I am very pleased with how this computer runs games. Its got a great i5 3rd generation processor, decent webcam, a little heavy but that's to be expected of a 17 incher. The battery isn't all that great, but I'm sure most people will keep this guy plugged in, especially considering how large this computer is. The touchpad is just ok, a little wonky. But just as with the battery, I am sure most people will use a USB mouse so it is a non-issue. Windows 8 is meh. Its not bad but I prefer windows 7. Desktop mode does a decent job of simulating windows of olde but adding a mod to include a start button may be needed for those of us who were perfectly fine with windows 7 or even XP. (I still try to forget about Vista) However this is software, not hardware so it doesn't really change my rating, besides W8 is completely workable, just a little ugly, for me anyway. Also, if I were a little less impressed by the guts of this computer I would have knocked a star for the purely aesthetic problem of a super finger-print friendly paint job. Seriously. Finger prints LOVE this big guy. Otherwise for the price (and I did a LOT of browsing and comparing) this is an excellent computer for budget minded gamers.

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This laptop was a steal considering i bought it for only $650. Looked every to find this latop for a lower price but it could not be achieved. Newegg had it for $750 and acer had it for $ 720. It play modern games with no problems. At first i hated windows 8 but i know love it. It just takes time to get use to.

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While I did have 1-day shipping, the laptop came well packaged and in perfect condition. I first opened the box to see a VERY large and shiny new laptop and began to mess with it. Turned it on, typed in my preferences, and got going in about 5 minutes. There was not a whole lot of bloatware; it was gone fairly quickly. Over the next few hours, I learned about all of the wonderful features that I did not pay attention to when I bought it.

Pros:

*Large screen; 1600x900 resolution

*Bright colors

*Great Processor, Nice RAM, good Graphics card

*plays all of my games on highest graphics with no problems (LoL, GW2, D3, minecraft)

*Runs quiet

*Dolby Home Theater; the sound bar sounds almost like surround sound. The sound is simply amazing.

*HD camera / Mic

*Windows 8 is AMAZING

*Fantastic internet connection

*Dual Hard drive support

Cons:

*Kind of slow Hard drive; this is okay because there is support to put in an SSD (only costs around $100)

*ultra finger print magnet

*Being a gaming Laptop, you are going to have a low battery life and there is really nothing you can do about this no matter which gaming laptop you get, even being low end as this one is. However, this is okay because you will have it plugged in all of the time anyway since the laptop can run in high performance when it is plugged in.

*Being a glossy type screen, the colors are brighter, but it is very glary outside. This is also not a big deal because you will need it plugged in most of the time anyway.

Final Thoughts:

I love to play games, but I needed a laptop over a desktop and I needed it to be cheap. $700 for a low end gaming laptop is an amazing price (This would be a good price for even a desktop). Other laptops with the same stats should go for $900-$1000, but Acer is a great company with an amazingly low price. With all of the extra features, this is, BY FAR, the best laptop you could possibly buy for only $700. I would suggest this to anyone looking for a gaming laptop on a budget.

********EDIT******IMPORANT*****

So I come home today and my power jack is cracked and it got pushed in, completely trashed; I have to find a way to fix it myself. I call acer and ask them if it's covered in the warranty and they told me that it would cost $199 to fix a power jack that is pushed back. I'm not going to buy anything from this company again, I am genuinely disappointed in Acer for this. The laptop is made of cheap plastic and it's only a matter of time before everyone has the same complaints as me. Don't buy this laptop.

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Stylus for Treo 650, Metal

I've brought this stylus from Eforcity, shipment was quick and it fits my pda perfectly, I'd highly recommend this and Eforcity to everyone.

The item arrived, as I was opening the cellophane packaging the top snapped off. I tried to Superglue it back on but there is not enough surface to make a good-lasting contact. Since it was not an expensive item in the first place I have not pursued any replacement or refund. Apparently a freak accident, as others have rated satifactory purchases.

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This is a great stylus and was a worthy replacement to the old original one.

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Palm 3332WW Treo 755p Standard Battery

I'm so glad Palm finally has a battery available for the 755p. I would have bought one when I got my Treo, but neither Palm nor Sprint had them available (this was back in June of 2007). I don't trust most 3rd party batteries, and was happy to see that Amazon had this one at a good price! I've been using this one for several months now, with no complaints.

If I'm using my Treo a lot, traveling, etc., it is really handy to have a spare battery that I can pop in, rather than finding an outlet and waiting for it to charge.

I decided to order an additional battery for my Treo 755. I received it in just 2 days from the order date. I was pleased with that. The battery works as expected. It is nice to have two batteries just in case. My old one was not holding the charge as it once did.

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Not much to say, its a stock battery. Decent price, good performance, and nice to have a spare battery in my bag for those long flights or conference call days.

It works particularly well with the Palm Treo cradle, since the cradle has a panel in the back that can charge a spare battery at the same time it charges the Treo.

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Had to buy this as my original battery died within a few weeks of buying the palm 755p. I have been using this second battery for nearly 2 and 1/2 years and the battery usually lasts several days before it needs recharging.

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The 755 doesn't hold a very long charge so a second battery is a must.

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Gomadic Intelligent Compact AC Home Wall Charger for the HP iPAQ hx4700 / hx 4700 - High output pow

Bought this charger because the PDA which I bought from someone on e-bay came with the wrong charger. The PDA didn't charge and the seller refused to send me the correct charger. Saw this one on amazon purchased it and couldn't been happier. The charge was sent out fast and it works perfectly. Truly recommend this product.

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GTMax Black Universal Neoprene Sleeve Case + Premium Leather Carrying Cover Case Folio with Built-i

Great product and quick delivery! Love all the items and you cant beat the price anywhere. The key board I on the small size but it does the job.

I thought this would be specifically for a Vizio Tablet and the keyboard would be larger. It was for my 91 year old mother and the keyboard was unacceptable.

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All producto are fine. Except blutooth keyboard, it needs buy an app from Google Play. In other hand all accesories fit all my expectation with my 7" tablet.

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Got this foe my mom and here tablet it work great! Not to mention all the other things it comes with. Great buy

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I bought a Pandigital tablet. I wanted this stuff to work with it and more protection. The neoprene case works well...nothing else fits it. I will find someone here to give the rest of the stuff to, I hope!

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Handspring Backup Springboard Module

I love my Visor. I keep "traditional" Palm information such as names and appointments, but I also keep books, reference materials, and databases. If I'm around my computer, I HotSync several times a day. Recently, though, I had to go on a business trip for a couple of months and would not have the ability to HotSync. I figured ... for some piece of mind was a good investment.

The backup process couldn't be easier. You pop the Springboard module into its bay, the Visor turns on and the Backup application appears. Tapping the backup button starts the backup operation, which lasts a couple of minutes. After that, you remove the module and store it in a safe place.

I have actually used both the backup and restore features. I was very impressed by the ability to restore every aspect of the Visor, from its ID, to its preferences. All the applications and data were copied exactly, which saved me considerable frustration after having to perform a hard-reset.

If you're constantly synching with your computer, you don't need the Backup module. If you are often away from your computer or if you use your Visor as a standalone PDA, the Backup module is not only crucial. This feature alone makes the Visor a worthwhile investment over a Palm.

Many people depend on the hotsync feature with their PC to save their data in case of a loss of battery or the old "Fatal Exception" error. Re-syncing with your PC only brings back your data ( phone numbers,appointments,etc) not all the programs you have loaded on the Visor. You probably didn't save the original file you downloaded, so know you have to go find them on the web again. This module saves everything so you don't have to worry. It's saved me lots of time.

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The Handspring Backup Springboard Module is a quick and easy way to keep your Visor's data safe. The module accommmodates all the data on a Visor Deluxe, and its simple one-step backup and restore processes are virtually fool-proof.

This module provides a second form of backup for users who synchronize their Visor handhelds to a PC or a Mac. For users who don't sync to a PC or Mac, this module is a must-have to keep your data safe.

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Yes there are programs that allow one to do a complete backup or restore of all data and programs on a palm device during a cradle or modem hotsync, but only the Handspring Visor with the Backup Module allows one to do it when one has no access to a computer or phone line. Nothing is more simple either, just pop in the module and tap the "Backup Now" icon that appears in the middle of the screen. The price is excellent too when one considers the ease of use and piece of mind that this module provides. I highly recommend this module for any Visor owner.

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The Backup Mod is a slice of heaven. I always worried about travelling with my PDA cause I couldn't "hot sync" with my PC and was worried about loosing collected data. This module removes those fears completely. I recently went to Switzerland and my Visor hung up on me and I had to do a Hard Reset. But check it...popped in the Backup Mod and WHAM....back to normal in a few minutes...something a Palm can't offer. This device truly redefines PDA mobility and provides a greater sense of redundancy. Just make sure you keep your eye the Backup Mod. If someone grabbed it they could restore all your data to their own device...my advice is to get "LockMe" to secure your PDA so when its restored a password is required.

A must have module for people who really do use & store data in their Visor and don't just use it as a conversation piece.

Kev

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Gomadic Precision Tip Capacitive Stylus for HP TouchPad with Integrated Ink Ballpoint Pen

This product is cheap but it's not gonna work like you might be thinking. The problem is you have to try at least two times to respond to do something. I'm gonna use the pen ball and after that I'm done with it. I do not wanna return it cuz of all that hassle associated with RMA. But I would say do not buy this product may be you better pay more and buy a good quality product.

This stylus does not work on the touchpad even though it says it does. I tried all the note taking apps and none works. I would not buy this if I were you.

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This stylus is lightweight and seems to work on "drawing" type apps on TouchPad. However, I was disappointed to find that it does not work with any of the TouchPad's native apps, including notes. I was picturing myself writing lots of handwritten notes in meetings, and being able to give up a paper notebook. Alas...this is not the case. It would be better if the product description specified that. I am testing a few 3rd-party apps from the App Catalog, but this product would be much improved if the manufacturer provided an app as well.

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on receiving my pen I had no problems using it with my touchpad or my iPhone

but when I came to use it too do hand writing it was less then I expected.

its like writing with a crayon not exactly what I had hoped for.

but after using it for some it for some time I managed to find it useful.

I like the pen on the other end and I have to remembers which end I am using so I don't scratch my touch pad screen.

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The stylus works very well, but you have to squish the tip quite a bit for it to mark on the tablet. The built in pen is handy. The stylus has let me take notes for class on my tablet.

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BoxWave Motorola XPRT KinderStylus - Fun, Easy to Use, Kid-Friendly Stylus for Smart Phones and Tab

I was shocked when I put this protector on my cell. I was inside a room with good ambient lighting (no glare), and the cell's screen almost jumped to life. Oh, this product isn't going to make the screen clear under the direct summer sun of South Central Texas, but that's an unfair expectation. It does help more than I expected, and the colors look sharper.

The protector itself is much sturdier than the one that comes with the phone. I assume that adds a level of protection, though I can't judge that imperially. I can say that I managed to damage the phone's original protector in two short weeks. This one has been on my phone for over a month with no visible problem.

Installation was much easier than the flimsier protector. Yes, I still had some trouble lining it up "just so." Once I did, though, it fell into place pretty cleanly. It took little effort with their provided tool to smooth out the bubbles, something I never managed with the phone's original product.

The product fit my phone's screen cleanly. Other products I've seen are notably smaller than the screen, leaving open edges that catch pointing devices, etc. This works much better.

Haven't used them yet, got them as spares for our new AT&T Tilt's. Should work ok.

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HQRP Battery for HP IPAQ Pocket PC HSTNH-M03B-SL, HSTNH-H03c-00 Replacement plus HQRP Universal Scr

• HQRP™ Replacement Battery plus HQRP LCD Screen Protector;
• Battery Voltage: 3.7 v; Capacity: 1600 mAh; Lithium-ion;
• These batteries have no memory effect so they can be recharged when needed without loss of capacity;
• 100% compatible with Original Battery and Charger device;
• 1 Year warranty!

The Battery worked very well but the screen protector had a tag on it that left residue on the protector, it was useless after trying to get the residue off.

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