Product Requirements:
Device:
Compaq iPAQ 3650

Isn't there a saying that "you can never be too rich or too thin?" Well, I'd like to also add that you can never have too much RAM! The standard 32MB iPAQ is fine as long as you don't want to carry a bunch of MP3s with you, or install the multitudes of shareware available. Once you run out of room, you might start thinking about getting a CF sleeve. That's a great accessory, but what if you want your iPAQ to remain skinny? One solution is the Silver Slider CF Sleeve modification, and the other is the Times2 Tech iPAQ 64MB upgrade. Times2Tech will take your iPAQ and upgrade its 32MB of RAM to 64MB of RAM. This will give you plenty of space for several MP3s, or plenty of applications.

Times2 Tech is a small company that has been in business since 1995. Mack Baggette, his wife and 3 other workers make up the company. In the beginning  they did speed and memory upgrades for the HP200LX palmtops. Since their start, they have done over 5,000 of the HP200LX upgrades. Now they have to expanded their memory upgrade service to include the iPAQ and other Pocket PCs. 

When Judie and I first heard about the upgrade, we both immediately wanted it. It wasn't like either of us 'needed' it. I already had a CF sleeve and a 128MB CF card and Judie had the PC Card sleeve and a 2G DataPak. But that didn't matter to us, we wanted 64MB iPAQs! Considering that this would give us the option of being able to go out sans our respective sleeves on occasion, the upgrade just sounded so attractive.

Julie's Upgrade Notes:
I packed up Judie's and my iPAQs and shipped them off to Times2 Tech. I started going thru withdraw symptoms less than 20mins after I taped up the box. :-)

Luckily the wait was very short. Mack received the PDAs on a Monday and they were back in my hands by Thursday of the same week! Now that's service! Mack hopes to keep up with a 2-3 day turn around. He even accepts overseas and Canadian orders as long as they are accompanied with the original sales receipt for customs.

As soon as I got mine back, I tried to power it on but it was dead. So, I waited till I got home and stuck it in the cradle. But the charger LED wouldn't light up indicating it was charging. I was about ready to freak out till I realized that the hard reset switch was off. So, I flipped it on and the iPAQ turned on! I really felt like an idiot at the time... 

The first thing I did was go to the memory settings to see the effect of the upgrade. Lo and behold, my iPAQ was now 64MB!

The next thing I did was check my unit over really good. I was worried about screen and body scratches. Luckily, my iPAQ was in the same condition as it was when it left me. I did find something though.... my iPAQ now has 2 new pieces of dust under the display. I had always had only one dust particle but now I have 3. They are all very tiny and not especially noticeable, but they are there. 

Then I tried to restore my backup from compact flash. For some reason it would get to the very end and would give me an error. I was never able to restore and had to re-install all my programs from scratch. I don't know if this had anything at all to do with the upgrade though.

After using my upgraded unit for over a week, I've not noticed any problems at all with stability or battery drain. I can't tell that there is any difference with battery life. 

I'm VERY happy with the upgrade and workmanship from Times2 Tech. Mack answered all my emails in a very timely manner and did a great job! It's nice to be able to install more applications directly on the iPAQ so that I can use my CF sleeve for my CF modem.

Judie's Upgrade Notes:
What Julie didn't mention was that we had to wait almost a whole extra week before we were able to send in our iPAQs for the upgrade. 

Thankfully, my 4G07 3650 model's stylus latch broke. I say thankfully, because I was able to send it in for warranty work one last time. Since doing the 64MB upgrade does void your Compaq warranty, I was a little afraid to take the plunge, however - since I was nearing the end of my warranty year, I didn't have that many misgivings - I wanted 64MB!!

Since I knew this was my last-warranty work, I asked the tech at Compaq if he could please make sure that they installed the "new" catch, because the one I had had a history of breaking (it had done so once before). Well, to my astonishment, the day after I sent my 3650 to Compaq, a new non-model numbered 4G14(!!) showed up. I almost fell over, because I don't even have a Care-paq! (Kudos to Compaq - a great experience, by the way)

Well - not only did this new unit have the fixed latch, it also had zero dust, and the new ROM upgrade (v1.69) already installed. I figured I was totally safe for sending it in for the RAM upgrade...now or never, right?

So I sent it Julie, and in the meantime, I waited....

When the modified iPAQ came back - I couldn't even tell that it had been cracked! I realize that these guys are professionals, but I was still impressed that there were no scratches, scrapes, nor new particles of dust on my iPAQzilla. They truly treated my baby with respect! :0)

There was that "AHHHHH" moment when I first went to the asset viewer, and saw the System RAM size reading 64MB. There was an "OOOOOOOOH" second while I looked at the memory slider. 

It seemed as if my iPAQ was a bit zippier, and I did not notice any difference in battery life. I actually have found myself carrying the naked iPAQ around, which is something I never did before!

But, in the back of my mind I was a little bummed... as I no longer had my old iPAQ - I also no longer had my old ROM chip - which had been one of those 32MBs Compaq had stuffed in some of the early iPAQs, when there was a chip shortage. 

What difference does that make, you might ask. Well, as we all know, Compaq decided to come out with the v1.77 ROM upgrade this past week. I have read on some of the popular Pocket PC boards that people with the ROM chip I used to have were actually showing 32MB ROM after they did the ROM upgrade! The greedy memory-monster in me wanted to be able to say that I had a 96MB iPAQ!!! But, since I realized that I wasn't going to be one of those lucky folks, I decided to wait til a more "major" upgrade to install v1.77. My fear was that I might be one of the unlucky ones that performed this upgrade - only to be rewarded with either the "Parrot of Death", or the "Blue Screen of Death". With no Compaq warranty, I would be up the creek without a paddle.

I waited all of two days...

Today, I decided, "What the heck?" and decided to go for it! Julie and I were in the middle of a chat session while I was doing it, and so she got to be present while I had my HEART ATTACK as the screen turned blue, and got hung on the upgrade!!!! All I could think of was how hosed I was! Remembering that our good buddy Dale Coffing had posted copious help-notes for the upgrade, I was thrilled to see that he had a possible fix for the dead screen, too! Believe it or not - his suggestion worked!

So now, not only do I have the fabulously upgraded Times2Tech 64MB iPAQ, I have the most current ROM upgrade, also! Ya'll should razz Julie just a little...she actually has one of those 32MB ROM chips in her iPAQ, but she is afraid to do the ROM upgrade because her active-sync connection is a bit buggy...

One thing I would like you to think about is this: If you have an iPAQ that is near the end of it's one-year warranty, if you don't have a Care-paq, and if you don't want to invest an additional $650+ in a new iPAQ with nothing changed but the memory size (knowing that there may be a 4.0 version out either later this year or in 2002) this is a great option. 

Mack and the folks at Times2Tech are professional, courteous, and treated my iPAQ like it is something special. I suppose for the amount of money that I have invested in it, it certainly deserved to be! Considering the 90 day warranty on their upgrade, I am confident that if things go buggy they will stand behind their work.

Price: $149 + return shipping (90 day warranty)

Pros:
Professional, excellent workmanship
Benefits of an iPAQ 3670 without paying for a brand new iPAQ!
More memory for storing programs, e-books, or Mp3s

Cons:
Voids your Compaq warranty