I purchased a Viewsonic V37 PocketPC two years ago for $100. It was a great PocketPC for me, the best I’ve ever had. However, I no longer had a use for it. So, I sold it on eBay for $114.50, making it a great technology item investment.

In fact, I can’t think of any other technology item that I’ve had for over a year and sold for more than I purchased it for (legitimately, i.e. not including free after rebate, etc.).

I wish I could say the same about my Sony Clie NR70V, which just sold for $71 also on eBay.

So apparently when you don’t turn on the Viewsonic V37 PocketPC for about a month, it goes dead and erases all information it has on it. It must be a flaw of the device, to not have a backup battery.

I lost a lot of vital information… but I guess that’s what I deserve for not using it. I don’t think I’ll use it anymore since school let out, so I’ll probably sell it pretty soon.

I bought a Viewsonic PocketPC mid to late last year and forgot to post anything about it.

I bought a Viewsonic V37 for $100 used on ars technica classifieds. It has the following for specifications:

• Intel XScale™ 400MHz processor
• Microsoft® Pocket PC 2003 Premium Edition*
• Includes 64MB ROM and 64MB SDRAM (36.45MB user accessible)
• Light: 4 ounces
• Long life lithium battery lasts up to 8 hours**
• SD/MMC Expansion slot

* It came with PocketPC 2002. Apparently Viewsonic had the update but was neither giving it out nor selling it anymore. I was able to locate it and have it archived. If anyone also needs it, comment on this post and leave your e-mail and I can get it to you.

** This has not been what I have experienced.

The pocketpc has been nearly flawless for me. It is the same speed and about half the weight and size of my previous PocketPC: Dell Axim X5. There are a couple of pros and cons of this PocketPC compared to some others I’ve had:

+ Small, light, sleek design.
+ Bright, crisp screen.
+ Fast, still one of the fastest on the market.
+ SD expansion slot is great for storage.
- Short battery life, especially for games.
- Very poor dial. Sticks, and plain doesn’t work sometimes.
- Some game incompatibility*.
- Synching issues**.
- Lack of general support***.

* I have tested MANY games on this PocketPC. Of all that I have tested, only about 3 have not worked. The main game that I am upset about is Worms World Party by JAMDAT. It simply does not open.

** Every once in awhile, the only computer I have my V37 linked up to will report the device as an unknown device. To fix, any of the following have worked for me in the past:

• Unplugging/Replugging
• Plugging into a different USB port
• Reseating the V37 in the synch cradle

*** This PocketPC is nowhere near as popular as Dell or HP PocketPCs, and I have found very little support overall for this brand. Viewsonic only made 2-3 PocketPC models; the V35-V37, all of which are out of production. Don’t even think about contacting Viewsonic for support, these are all out of warranty.

Overall, I would rate this PocketPC an 9/10. It is my 5th PocketPC, and it is by far the best.
Pictures

Edit 6/21:
Someone’s been looking for the v35 and v37 ROM upgrades, so I posted it for download with tracking:

Edit 2008-12-12:
Wordpress 2.7 broke my download script, so here’s the direct link.

WM2003_Viewsonic_v35.zip
WM2003_Viewsonic_v37.zip

I’m hoping to buy a PocketPC for school coming up. The reasoning? My Axim has had misalignment problems since at least March of this year. The final verdict was that if I replaced the digitizer for $60 that it MIGHT fix the problem. I think I’ll fix the digitizer then sell it at soon as I can. I hope I can get enough to buy a non Dell PocketPC by schooltime. I made a WTB (want to buy) post on Anandtech’s Forums. Hopefully someone comes through, we’ll see I guess.