Your Axim Drop Stories.... - Page 4

01-19-04, 10:40 PM

I had my Axim in a rhino skin aluminum case and I was driving in the desert using my Ax for maps. I had missed a turn and had to turn around. Well I usually put the Ax in the passenger chair but for some reason I put it on the dash. I was making my turn and to top the cake I was not used to driving a stick shift vehicle so I did the bunny hop thind and slug the car around hard. That sent my Ax flying out the window and went down a 30 ft ledge to finally find the botton right onto a cactus.

The Ax survived the fall!!!!!!! The case took a beating but it did what it was designed to do. Now I wear a special vest with pockets big enugh to hold the Ax and I have tethered the Ax to me.

I will never send my little buddy to jump school again without a parachute ;)

baldheadjim · 01-27-04, 10:21 PM

While loading groceries, I put the Axim X5 on top of my Ford Ranger. Of course I got in the truck and drove about a quarter mile before the kids said I left it on the roof. Since it was still in the Dell Leather case it kind of stuck there. That is until I stopped and the momentum carried it about twenty yards. Surprisingly, it survived without a scratch. That case took a whooping.

karlrees · 02-03-04, 01:41 PM

Well, this wasn't really a fall--I've dropped my Axim tons of times without any problems. But there's a fall involved. I have a bad habit of sticking my axim in my coat pocket, and apparently it fell out as I was getting into my car a couple of weeks ago. And, of course, as I backed out of my driveway, I ran over it. I found it a few hours later. The case was covered with snow and there was a big tire mark on it.

No, my Axim did not survive. The screen cracked. But surprisingly, everything else about it was fine. The screen even worked and was readable, and I could navigate around with my buttons. It just wouldn't detect my stylus. Oh, and all of my CF accessories in the case still worked as well. But reluctantly I had to face up to the fact that my Axim was suddenly mostly useless.

Anyways, the story has a semi-happy ending, if you don't mind the loss of $200. For $200 Dell sent me a replacement Axim X5 overnight, which was a way better alternative than to take my luck on ebay. (Ironically, the screen malfunctioned on that Axim--their fault this time--and I got another replacement). So there's a moral to that story somewhere. Just thought I'd share it.

Aximer469 · 02-03-04, 02:58 PM

I've dropped mine a couple times off a 2 foot high table and everytime I do it I completely freak out. I've heard the x5's are more durable but my good x3i is alive and kickin.

wilkindw · 02-09-04, 05:16 PM

I am a Klutz with ADHD. Handheld electronic tremble at my approach because what could be more terrifying that a person was is:

clumsy

constantly distracted and leaving his stuff anywhere

constantly taking risk

and forgetful... did I already say that

I have to salute the valiant soldier that was my first Axim. Today I have to ship it back to Dell for the light has gone from its eyes (screen)

I work in tech support and my Axim was outstanding. It's case is pitted and the silver paint is worn though but day after day it continued to make my life easier. Drops, it had many, some of the more memorial ones include:

The Drop Kick: knocked off a four foot counter onto ceramic tile only to be punted across the room and into the wall as I lunged to try and save it.

Several "Fly and be Free": these would occur when I would listen to mp3 while cleaning up downed trees with a chain saw. My arm or a tree limb, etc. would catch the headphone wire and the resulting yank would free my Axim from its case and sendit flying to crash down on the abundance of Granite, no wings or parachute.

The How Dense is ...: involved using my Axim as a flashlight and predictably stubbing a toe or tripping causing the only light to make a rather graceful arc before abuptly hitting the ground.

I will not mourn its passing but revell in its life. I had gotten a bit carelees with it lately and I had taken to carrying it in the back pocket of my jeans (bare) Once again the predictable happened I slipped on ice and came down hard. 240lbs on concrete, it didn't have a chance.

Good news though. I had the two year bells and whisles Dell warranty and even in Canada I got one the next day. I was a bit leary of the exchange policy because of some of the items I read but the new unit was spanky. It looked new to me, it was a 255 replacing my 250, and it had PC 2002 loaded. Also, my old Axim though its screen was crushed still operated in the cradle and I was able to get a full back up off it.

Now that's quality..
P.S. I love the size of the X5. Big mitts and stubby finger aren't good with them there dainty little PDAs:D

Scratch2k · 02-12-04, 03:39 AM

My first drop story consists of me taking the Ax out of the safety of it's Rhinoskin aluminium and slipping as I took it out, dropped to the floor, bounced off the hard plastic anti static matt, ejected the stylus at about 40km/h (which ended up across the room) landed on the carpet and turned itself on, as if to say "I'm alive, I'm alive!!".

Phew.

02-12-04, 03:49 AM

Dropped mine once and had to hit it firmly on the right side to reset the contacts for the digitizer screen. then i bought a Body Glove case for it and now it can literally be thrown across the room in to the lap of a friend to play 'Dope Wars'. God i LOVE NEOPRENE

ajabbari · 02-12-04, 04:31 AM

Wow, some of your Axims have been through a lot :)

I've been very, very careful with my Axim X5 and only dropped it twice, once on carpet without the case (which was not an issue), and once with the case (the Dell provided case) 5 feet onto concrete. The time it fell onto concrete it landed on it's side, and made a rather loud noise doing so (the SD card also popped out). As I bent over to pick it up I was pretty much certain I would be in the market for a new PPC thinking that there is no way the LCD would have survived. Well on initial inspection it turned out to be fine, without a scratch on it. It was when I got home and tried to use the stylus that I all of a sudden realized the stylus was stuck. After pulling on it pretty hard I managed to get it out of its slot, but it would always get stuck while trying to put it in or pull it out. For the next week I was certain that the fall must have broken or deformed some element in the Axim, and that element was now putting pressure on the stylus while it was in its hole. I then received a pack of styli that I had ordered because the tip of my original stylus was getting a bit rough after a year's worth of use. The new stylus fit perfectly.

It seems that the force of the impact had been severe enough to tweak and deform the original stylus while it was in the Axim (you could only tell the difference if you placed the styli side-by-side), yet the Axim itself managed to survive undamaged. Up to that experience I was always a little bit skeptical of how rugged the Axim would be (frankly, at its price I wasn't expecting much in this department); I ended up being pleasantly surprised.

02-12-04, 04:38 AM

Speaking of Protection does anyone ere want to buy my rhino skin??? It is for an X5 i usedit for like 2 weeks and couldn't stand the door (would have liked it betterif it opened the other way)
I know i should post this in the classified but seeing that we are on the subject...

Scratch2k · 02-12-04, 07:37 AM

Titanium or Aluminium? I'd be interested if it's the titanium...

cuja77 · 03-20-04, 08:51 PM

just about cried today,because I thought my ax's life was over. It fell from my computer desk and landed face up when I picked it up only part of it was in my hand. my battery,stylus, and sd card formed a pile that made my eyes water.to my fortune it all went together and worked like new.