Batteries, batteries ==================== I am not a big fan of devices with build-in batteries. Of course, build-in battery can have custom shape so the device may be flat like most of modern phones are. But when battery live ends then is is usually hard to replace it. Not only the equivalent replacement might be unavailable at all but it is often uneasy to access the battery. Some modern devices (in not mos of them) are not designed to be opened at all and batteries are often soldered in or at least glued to the other parts. If the device uses something more standard (like the AA or the AAA batteries) then these batteries can be replaced when needed and one can use re-chargeable ones. Using re-chargeable batteries is a bit more environment-friendly, I think. Also, the re-chargeable batteries are improving in time. So an old Palm or a PSION (or even the old Soviet Elektronika MK-90) today has much better battery life that it had when it has new. Of course there are exceptions - some devices actively dislike re-chargeable AA batteries (the Apple Newton, for example). For example, I use Palm IIIs. So I have few sets of Eneloop AAA batteries which I am changing on a regular basis. One of them I use daily as a offline WWW reader (via the Plucker) so I use the blue Eneloops here (they should survive 3000 charge cycles) and I am changing them weekly. The second one serves as an outdoor password storage (this I need once in 2 weeks), a shopping list (I dislike shopping) and as a basis for the PalmPix camera (I am able to take 3-5 pictures per week, usually during Saturday walk) so I use the white Eneloops here and they have to be changed every three or four weeks. The Psion Series 3a requires to replace the batteries (a pair of AA ones) once in 3-4 months as I am use it very infrequently (usually when I am on mood to write OPL code). My soviet monster, the Elektronika MK-90 can live three months on its four AAA as I use it no more than once in four weeks and only for few tens on minutes per session. Thus I use white Eneloops for them. My HP 730 digital camera can make no more 50 pictures on pair of blue Eneloops. And after of week in standby mode any batteries have to be replaced. But modern devices usually use build-in ones. Thus my wife's Palm TX is using its original battery which cannot be easily replaced (it is soldered in) thus she must charge it after a few hours of use (thus daily or every two days of use). My Sony Clie PEGA-UX50/U battery behaves no better - under normal use it falls to about 68% and then it discharges normally. So I assume tha use it continuously for more than 2 hours is not save (you know, it is not easy to charge it outside its impractical dock). So no train trips with this Clie... Thus I prefer to use the Palm IIIxe, a Garmin eTrex Touch GPS and the HP 730 camera for outside use. The GPS and the camera can share the same AA batteries (by the way, the GPS can work for good few hours on batteries which are declared empty by the camera) and the Palm uses smaller AAAs. And if I ever resolve the problem of the Czech support on my PSION 3a then I might consider to use it instead of the GPD Pocket and the Gemini PDA for note-taking.