William A. Stein's iPAQ page

I recently purchased an iPAQ 3765. If you have any comments or suggestions, send email to me at [email protected]. (Note: I don't know anything about Microsoft PPC 2002.)

Operating System

I deleted Microsoft PPC 2002 and installed Linux. I use the OPIE desktop environment.

PARI/GP Number Theory Calculator

Under Linux, it was easy to compile and install my favorite number theory calculator package PARI using the handhelds.org skiffcluster. Here are some PARI binaries, if you would also like to use it. To fix backspace I typically run PARI from the following script
#!/bin/bash
/usr/bin/bs
/usr/bin/gp-2.1.4
where /usr/bin/bs is
#!/bin/bash
stty erase ^?

Battery Life

The iPAQ 3760 technical spec sheet says that the battery life is "up to 10 hours, [using the] 950mAh Lithium Polymer rechargeable battery".

The Stylus

Within a day, I have already "broke" my iPAQ! Reportedly, the stylus on the old iPAQs could be inserted backwards, which would result in a stuck stylus. This problem has been "fixed" for the newer iPAQ 3765, in that it is impossible to put the stylus in backwards without physically breaking the iPAQ. Unfortunately, if you put the stylus in backwards even slightly it is extremely easy to scrunch the internal latch which holds the stylus in place. It is possible to unscrunch the latch using a small screw driver. After scrunching the latch twice, I've decided to be very careful when inserting the stylus in the case.
UPDATE: It broke again, and it seems that I can't fix it without maybe taking the iPAQ apart. Over Christmas my father added a leather and velcro flap to my iPAQ case that holds the pen in.

The Flash ROM

The iPAQ 3765 contains 64MB of RAM on which one can store programs, data, and so on. If the battery power is completely drained (which takes maybe one week with the power off), then this RAM will be erased. The 3765 also includes 32MB flash ROM, which is not erased even if the power is completely discharged. A little over 6 MB of this flash ROM can be used to store any file you want (e.g., a backup of your diary or an extra mp3 file). Thus one can really store over 70MB of data on the iPAQ.

"Mailing List"