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OLDER NEWS...

  • 6/19/98 - Philips has started a Velo web ring, and I'm the first site to join (surprise!). So far I'm also the only one to join...hmm. I know there are a few other Velo sites out there...

    In other news my Velo 500 is performing like a champ - I love it. Still haven't written a detailed review of it. Keeping up with my MVP responsibilities in the newsgroup is difficult, since it averages 70-100 messages a day. Quite the challenge!

    I've also been trying out bSquare's bTrack, and it's quite the program! You can download a 30 day demo from http://www.bsquare.com - the software is ideal for consultants and anyone else who needs to keep track of time and mileage, etc.

  • 6/14/98 - Philips has given me a Velo 500, much to my surprise and delight! I'm too bogged down to add a new section to my site right now, but hopefully within a few weeks I'll have more spare time.

    Right off the bat, I'll say that it is SWEET. Very slick. Since a lack of RAM was my biggest issue with the Velo 1 running CE 2.0, I was looking forward to the Velo 500. I wasn't disappointed: it has 15 megs of RAM free upon boot up, and after loading it down with nearly every piece of software I own, I still have about 11 megs free, a far cry from the 1 meg I was struggling with on the Velo 1.

    There were some complaints that it's not as "snappy" as the Velo 1, but I'd have to disagree. It's every bit as fast, and quite a bit faster at certain operations under CE 2.0: the Voice Memo is a perfect example. On the Velo 1 with CE 2.0, it would take nearly a full second to initialize, but on the 500 it beings recording immediately.

    More Velo 500 commentary to follow as soon as I get some spare time...

    I've also added a brief list of the software I have on my Velo 500, with reviews and links to follow later.

  • 5/31/98 - I've had one user tell me that since Philips has run out of Executive Styli (?), they are considering giving people a coupon for the Velo store. I don't imagine the coupon would be worth very much, but it's better than nothing!

    In other news, Philips might be sending me a Velo 500. I've played around with them in the store, and I think it's a definitely evolutionary improvement over the Velo 1. And considering I'm starting to dislike my Velo 1 because of the dead screen issues, this is probably a good thing. The Velo 500 also has an incredible amount of memory free - with CE 2.0, the Velo 500 is only using @ 140K of program memory at boot. The Velo 1 with CE 2.0 at boot uses 3104K with nothing running but two Powertoys...

    Once I get the Velo 500, I'll likely do an in-depth review and comparison against other 2nd Generation units. The 620LX voice recorder, even on it's highest quality setting, is HORRIBLE. I can't believe HP let that pass! Details like that make a difference on something you use daily.
  • 5/17/98 - I've begun the process of transferring all questions to a master list for easier browsing. I'm also considering transferring all questions to individual pages making the search engine more accurate. This would, however, make browsing through entire pages impossible. Thoughts on this? If someone out there has FrontPage 98 and would like to give me a hand, I'd appreciate it. It's basically just a lot of cutting and pasting. I also added a few new questions: one concerning Infrared access, another concerning dial-up modem speeds while accessing RAS. I've seen some fantastic suggestions on the WISHLIST page, so keep it up! I know Philips is reading them! In other sad news, I've re-seated the DRAM for the 6th time, and I'm still getting dead-screen problems. I'm very close to giving up on my Velo 1. This is just plain stupid!
  • 5/13/98 - If you're looking for CE upgrades and patches for all CE 2.0 machines, look here. CE 1.0 users should go to this page instead. I've added some information about networking with your Velo to the hardware communications page. Philips is working on the new CE 2.0 TrueFSS software for flash miniature cards, but no word so far on when it will be ready. I feel this is a major blunder on their part.
  • 5/12/98 - Some ugly news about the Velo 500 and flash minuature cards: they don't work. The TrueFSS software needed for use with flash miniature cards (of all brands) doesn't work with CE 2.0. A new owner of a Velo 500 tried using his 8 meg Sharp flash card, and even with the Philips TrueFSS software, it wouldn't work. Tsk tsk Philips! Not wise. I've got a query in to find out why, or if there's a fix.

    I'm about ready to toss my Velo 1 out the window! I'd say 20% of my screen taps are "dead taps" and I have to hit power on/off quickly to get the unit to respond again. I entered in 50 new tasks yesterday, and it was a very frustrating experience. If I could, I'd ditch CE 2.0 and go back to CE 1.0. I love CE 2.0, especially the CE Services, but since the 8 meg DRAM card is causing me so much grief (regardless of how many times I reset the damn thing), I wouldn't be able to run CE 2.0 with 4 megs of RAM if I took it out. I suppose my best option is a Velo 500, but I'm not quite ready to plunk down $600 for one.

    My SOFTWARE page is still in the works. I have two reviews of software on my Velo 1, but the process has become stalled now that I'm so busy again. I'll aim for completion within two weeks. If you want to see what I whipped up one night this weekend, look here. It was a 2 am labour of love.
  • 5/6/98 - Philips has announced a 1 year extended warranty on defective hinges. That's VERY nice of them to do - they listened to their customers problems, and hammered out a plan to deal with them. In a nutshell, you pay to ship the unit back to them, they fix the hinge, they pay for the shipping back to you. Not a bad deal at all, but I loathe being without my Velo for a week...

    In other news, I actually got ANOTHER executive stylus in the mail the other day. I think it was the one I was originally registered for. At least Philips has a sense of humour - the package says "And they laughed when you sent in your registration card."
  • 4/27/98 - In the CE 2.0 Powertoys, you'll find a nice little app called TODAY. However, when you click on the appointment, it should launch the Calendar app. It doesn't. I've looked through the registry for some way of pointing at the proper location, but there's nothing there. Looks like the CE team programmed it for the "Default" position, and the Velo CE 2.0 doesn't place the apps in the right place. No known solution to this problem...
  • 4/27/98 - CE 2.0 and CE Services 2.1 has been giving me some serious grief. Read about it here.
  • 4/18/98 - Mobile Planet is selling the 16 meg DRAM chips and a "32 meg Velo 500" here. The 16 meg DRAM is $299.95 - pricey, but very useful *if* the HPC can actually address is. The only other option for storage would be a V-Module with a PCMCIA storage card (Viking, etc.). I've got emails into both Philips and my CE contacts.
  • 4/17/98 - I've had a user tell me he's running a 16 meg DRAM card on his Velo 500. That's a lot of RAM! No idea where he got it from, but Philips claims CE 2.0 can only address 16 megs max storage RAM. Thus, anything more than a 4 meg DRAM would be a waste. Hopefully my CE contacts will answer and I'll have some solutions...

    A few more odds and ends added to the CE 2.0 page.

    I've also been told that Philips people are definitely reading the WISHLIST page, so keep 'em coming!
  • 4/14/98 - CE Services 2.1 is out! Get it from Philips here. Among other things, it appears to fix the problems with IE 4.01 and DUN, time zone changes, etc.

    I've also spoken to a Velo tech and have a few more answers in relation to CE 2.0....

    And if you have a Velo 1 or Velo 500 and use VGA out with PowerPoint, get this patch.
  • 4/7/98 - I received a note from an Intel employee, and he confirmed that the Intel flash cards will work (3.3 v) in the Velo series. They have 4, 8, and 16 meg cards, and a 32 meg card is forthcoming. No word on pricing, but if you have a Velo 500 and need some storage space, a 16 meg card would do the trick. Until Philips releases something larger than an 8 meg DRAM, flash is the only way to expand things further. Now if programmers would just allow for databases to be created on the flash card (some do, some don't). The catch is the software - I'm going to ask Philips about the TrueFSS software when I call. If I could distribute it from here, it would make things easier for everyone (but I doubt they'll let me do that). We'll see! I'm going to try and get the "software picks" done this weekend on a little vacation.
  • 4/6/98 - There's a good review of the Velo 500 located here. I've also added Turkey and the Netherlands to the countries that the US Velo 1 works in. I've poking my head into the Talkback page on the Velo site, and it's great to see some more positive discussion (although there's still a lot of complaining). The biggest problem is just the setup - I'm sitting here with a 500k/s cable modem, waiting for the CGI to finish executing (it's been 60 seconds so far). Web-based discussion groups are simply too SLOW, and too prone to locking up.

    Trying to browse through the 20-40 messages a day would just be too painful. I hit the Windows CE newsgroups 4-6 times a day, and read everything, because it's FAST. I'd love to help the people on the Velo site,  because a lot of the questions they have are answered here, but I don't have the time to wait for the web server to spit up the next message. Clicking on a message, waiting for it to load, and then going back to the index takes about 30 seconds in total. That might not seem like a lot, but when you compare it to the 2 seconds it takes per newsgroup message, you can see that it adds up. The best I can do is keep posting the FAQ address and hoping people graduate from the browser-based discussion to the "real" world of newsgroup discussions. I hope Philips moves the discussion to a real newsgroup...

    On another note, Philips has offered me a good deal on a Velo 500, so I'll hopefully be getting one soon. I'm very interested to see if they've fixed the dead screen problem, but I'm leery of spending $500 to find out....  :-(
  • 4/5/98 - After doing a cold reset on my Velo 1 with CE 2.0, and building it back up manually, I've noticed a few more things...
  • 4/4/98 - Stragely enough, my Velo is better behaved today - I could actually use it. I've added some other notes about CE 2.0.
  • 4/3/98 - I received my CE 2.0 upgrade kit today, and I've realized that some of the information I have on the site is just plain wrong. Procedures that people told me worked simply do not. Look for more details later tonight or tomorrow. Check out the CE 2.0 page for all the details...
  • 3/26/98 - I've updated the Windows CE 2.0 page with some information everyone who has the CE 2.0 ROM should see...
  • 3/25/98 - A kind user who just received a Velo 500 from Mobile Planet has sent me the CE 2.0 Readme file that came with his Velo 500. LOTS of info here folks, on a wide variety of issues. It's a long read, and a 60 second download at 28.8, but if you wanted info on CE 2.0, here it is! Thanks Bob! I'm also planning on administering a massive HPC survey, so watch for more details. Heck, there might even be a prize!
  • 3/21/98 - Mobile Planet claims to have the Velo 500, 16 meg models in stock, for a price of $599! You can buy one here. The 24 meg models are $749.95, but aren't available yet.
  • 3/19/98 - Well, here's some bad news. Contrary to what I've been told and what we all thought, the $149 for CE 2.0 and 8 megs DRAM is incorrect. It's actually $199 for both of them. That's still $50 off the price of the DRAM, but unless you don't already have a 4 meg DRAM installed (8 megs total), I can't recommend buying it. I don't know why the information has changed, and when I called the service line, the rep was quite defensive. I'm guessing they've been getting a lot of calls about this. I'm not mad at paying the $99 for the upgrade - nothing is free. But the additional price jump makes the offer of the 8 meg DRAM far less appealing. Now Velo users are still sitting here waiting for the CE 2.0 ROM, months after other HPC users have been using it, and the consolation prize of cheap DRAM isn't very appealing any more. And, worse, it looks like it will be a few weeks until there is an order form for CE 2.0 (for those of us who have to pay for it). There's a rumour that Philips is waiting for CE Services 2.1 from Microsoft so they can add it to the CD. Personally, I don't care! I can put up with a few bugs in CE Services 2.0 and download 2.1 off the web! Oh well....
  • 3/12/98 - Still no ordering form on the Philips web site for the CE 2.0 ROM. If they really are shipping now, I guess they're serving the newer customers before the rest of the original buyers. Hmm. Not all that nice I'd say! Also, a nice review of the Velo 500 (beta version) from Windows Magazine can be found here. In a nutshell? 20% faster than any other machine, 15 hours of battery life, and still sleek - but no colour. You can decide if that's important -  allthough I'll admit I like the look of the colour screen, the colour units are too darn big and don't last long enough on a charge. I'll wait for technology to advance a bit more before I move to colour. I've also decided against adding a Velo 500 page until there's more info or I get my hands on it. The official Velo 500 FAQ is found here. They've done a good job! Lastly, an ex-Velo 1 owner (I would assume) has created a page called "Reasons NOT to buy a handheld PC from Philips" - it's an interesting read, and he's pretty accurate. But there's one key element he didn't incorporate: logic.

    Although I'll freely admit that I've had 100+ people contact me about various Velo 1 problems, what does that mean in isolation? Of the thousands of Velo's out there, perhaps 5% are screwy? What's the defect rate on other HPCs? Without knowing all the facts, it's really difficult to make sweeping statements like this. When someone is mad about something, they'll tell ten other people. If they're mad and they know how to use the Internet, they'll tell 10,000 other people, so it's very easy to get the impression that these people represent a high % of the Velo users than they really do. I'll be the first to admit that the Velo 1 had definite problems, mostly stemming from the hinge. Yet there are many people who have told me they are still on Velo #1 after nearly a year. But they don't make as much noise as the people who feel they've been slighted...
  • 3/7/98 - Someone asked for a photo of the Executive Stylus - voila! On the HARDWARE page. I should also add that I haven't really included any information about the "Internet Antenna". Honestly, I don't think it's very useful. It's not a true POP3/Internet connection, which means you can only use it in the manner that they decide is best. I've also fixed some table problems on the site, creating an overflow onto the sidebar in 640x480. This site looks best at 800x600/16 bit (or higher), but I want everyone to be able to view it. I've noticed that Netscape chokes on the Javascript I have to indicate the last update, which seems odd since Javascript is their baby. I like the script, so I won't change it, but if any Javascript wizards out there know how to fix it with Netscape, let me know. I've also updated the VELO HINGE EXPOSE with some new info from my mystery source - read it here.
  • 3/7/98 - The CE 2.0 ROMS and 8 meg DRAMS are shipping now, and Philips expects to have them all delivered in the next three weeks. European customers will have to wait until the end of March until they start receiving them (from a different office I believe).
  • 3/6/98 - Added a new question about transferring Zarius contacts to the Software page, added the Philippines to the countries that the Velo 1 modem works in. I've also been told I'm part of the Velo 500 and Nino beta program, so that will hopefully give this page THE best information on these units (although I'm not planning on covering the Nino in great detail - Blake's page does a far better job of that.) Granted, this is all assuming I can actually talk about the unit. It all depends on how strict the NDA is (non-disclosure agreement).
  • 3/1/98 - Well, I certainly got a lot of feedback! Thanks for all the kind words. The only problem (other than a few corrections) was the fact that I reported the price of the HP 620LX to be $599. I've had about six email requests for more information today, so here's the scoop: someone posted a price drop in the Windows CE newsgroup, and I took it as fact. Sadly, there's no reason to believe that the price of the HP 620LX is $599. Sorry for getting your hopes up! Besides, we're all supposed to love our Velo 1's so much we'd never change, right? ;-)
  • 3/1/98 - The new site is up! Please give me feedback - I want to grow it further in the future, especially with the upcoming release of CE 2.0 on ROM and the Velo 500. I'm going to continue to try and stay in contact with Philips and make this site THE place for Velo information. Nearly every area has changed, so please have a look through the site. I also want to stress that I am not Philips technical support, and the information here has never been sanctioned by them. Free advice is worth what you paid for it, but I hope to give you a good deal! The best place for peer information is the Microsoft newsgroups (under LINKS.) I want to thank everyone who encouraged me and was patient while the site was undergoing it's change to 2.0. And I want to give a big "thhpppt" to everyone who attacked me for not having it done - I'm a volunteer, what do you expect? If someone wants to PAY me to do this, I'll gladly drop a client and spend more time on this. Please let me know!
  • 3/1/98 - Here's something better than Jerry Springer! The explosive Velo hinge issue is ripped open by a dedicated but anonymous Velo 1 user - to read ALL about it (the blunt truth) here's the "expose" I'm hosting on my site for the first time ANYWHERE (but I didn't write it).
  • 2/28/98 - A review of the Velo 500 from Windows magazine. Not bad, but not too many specifics (how the hinge feels, etc. - which is what I'm worried about)

  • 2/27/98 - Finally, the CE 2.0 + DRAM has been confirmed, but it's not exactly what people think. For those users who get the CE 2.0 ROM for free, Philips is giving you the ROM and an 8 meg DRAM chip - for FREE. Good deal for you, and worth the wait I'd say. For the rest of us, still a decent deal. We pay the $99 for the CE 2.0 ROM (as we've known for some time), or for $149 we get the CE 2.0 ROM and the 8 meg DRAM card. If you don't have the memory upgraded on your Velo, this is a GREAT deal (considering the 8 meg DRAM card goes for about $179)

  • 2/25/98 - I've read several people say that the reason the CE 2.0 is slow to come out is because they're having a problem with DRAM cards resetting, or that MS had to release a patch for them to integrate CE 2.0 on the Velo 1 because of the software modem. No reason from Philips, but they are going to make up for the delay...

  • 2/24/98 - The Velo 500 will ship "sometime the end of March". The 16 meg unit will be $640 US, and the 24 meg unit (a 16 meg unit with an 8 meg DRAM card installed) will be $750 US

  • 2/24/98 - The CE 2.0 ROM is supposed to be at Philips, in their shipping department, on March 1st, ready for distribution. At that time, it will go on sale over the web (for those, like me, who don't get it for free)

  • 2/23/98 - There's a rumour that I might get this pages finished BEFORE the CE 2.0 ROM chip ships. We'll see!

  • 2/23/98 - There was a rumour floating around about the CE 2.0 ROM chip including a free 8 meg DRAM card because it's been delayed so long. Upon contacting Philips, this proved to be FALSE.

  • 2/2/98 - If you do get the CE 2.0 ROM chip, make sure to uninstall the Velo Accelerator. If you don't, I've been told the results can be nasty! The one thing I'm personally unsure about is exactly how to uninstall the Software Accelerator...

  • 1/20/98 - No, I haven't given up on my web site. The NEW site will happen soon, but two things are stopping me. Philips slowness in releasing the CE 2.0 ROM upgrade, and a lack of time. I know that once CE 2.0 is out, there will be a lot of upgrade issues, and I want to have a good handle on those. Also, I've decided to leave the NINO to others (I've already seen a NINO site) - I'll focus on the Velo 1 and Velo 500 (when it arrives). Version 2.0 of this FAQ will coincide with the release of CE 2.0 on ROM - nice huh??
  • 12/10/97 - What is the difference between Pocket Streets that came with Velo and Pocket Streets 2.5? Look in the SOFTWARE ISSUES.
  • 12/10/97 - An interesting message I got about a CE 1.0 issue. Relatively minor, but it's interesting how quickly he picked up on it! Bob Porro tells me that he was "...was playing around with the Microsoft Pocket Excel Amortize sample spreadsheet and found a coding error in the payment calculation. It turns out that the PMT subroutine has the argument (Int_rate/12) as the first variable which gives you an incorrect payment if you assume making other than 12 payments per year. The correct argument should be (Int_rate/Num_Pmts). I wonder how many people are scratching their heads wondering what's going on with their payment estimates at the local car dealership :-)."
  • 11/17/97 - The dreaded "hinge problem" finally has some deep insight! A user who is obviously very skilled in this area posted a great message to the CE newsgroup. It's been updated into the "expose" area.
  • 11/17/97 - Philips has launched a new Velo site - and it looks great! They've reorganized the information, and added a great new contest. Check out the new site at http://velo.philips.com
  • 11/17/97 - The Velo 500 is on it's way...in Q1 '98. Yes, that's a bit disappointing. The new unit is priced very competitively, however, and offers the features we've been looking for - except the colour. For all the specs, go to the site below:
  • 11/9/97 - The Velo 500 has been listed in sketchy form from a PC WORLD article - 16 shades of grey for display, 1/2 VGA resolution like the HP, 8 or 16 meg models, 28.8 software modem, CE 2.0 (of course), and it will retail for $600-$700. Availability is unknown at this time, and those are all the details I have. I'll try to dig up some more soon!
  • 10/25/97 - It was time to do a slew of corrections here. I've had many people give me suggestions and error corrections. They're all added now - but don't expect to see any BIG changes until the new site goes up. I'm going to add a section on what countries the Velo modem works in when the site is re-done. Look for it!
  • 10/25/97 - Want to connect your HPC to your Mac? Believe it or not, I've had one person ask me how. Here's a link on how to get the job done.
  • 10/21/97 - Yikes! It's been a month since this site has been updated, and I do apologize for that. My life has been insane! Here's a few quick things I've learned (sorry I can't go into more depth right now): the new Velo is the "Velo 500", and will be announced in November. 8 meg VELO owners do get the free CE 2.0 upgrade for new users. Philips expects to ship the CE 2.0 ROMs in December. The November Comdex should be a hotbed of 2nd generation HPC pre-production models. Velo 1 prices have dropped through the floor: $399 for the base model, $449 for the deluxe 4 meg machine, and $549 for the 8 meg unit. The executive styli are in the hands of some people, but not everyone.
  • 10/21/97 - Want to let Philips know how you feel in a public forum? Check out their TalkBack section! I've been a little disappointed with most of the posts I've seen so far, but the cries of pain from having to actually pay for the CE 2.0 upgrade seem to be dying down. The format is painful though - web browsing is a very slow way to go though 100 posts a day - it takes about 4 clicks from start to finish in posting a message and reading it. My involvement in that forum will be limited for this reason. I'm still heavily active in the MS-CE newsgroup. Look for me there.
  • 9/28/97 - Got my new Velo. It's working great!
  • 9/18/97 - After speaking with Steve, a Velo tech, I was granted an RMA for my "floppy" Velo. I'm pleased that they acknowledged this isn't normal behavior. I suppose the moral of this story is that when dealing with tech support, talk to more than one person if the first one doesn't meet your expectations. The only problem now is getting them to ship to Canada...but I'm hopeful I'll not have a day without my Velo!
  • 9/17/97 - A highly detailed explanation from an Intel Memory Components Division gives me the rundown on FLASH memory. Very interesting! I've left our original thoughts in there so you can see the difference between an hypothesizing and informed fact.
  • 9/17/97 - In a new PC World Online article, they've estimated that the JUPITER class CE devices (6" x 9", similar to a Liberetto) will be on the market by mid 1998. Also, the GRYPHON devices (also known as the "Pilot Killers") will be arriving about the same time. 2nd Generation HPC's will probably start showing up in the spring of 1998, so the first six months of 1998 will be revolutionary for the handheld industry! The full article is located here: Hot Trends in Portable PCs What can we expect from Philips? Well, you can be sure that with the tremendous success they've had with the Velo 1, they won't ignore the new form factors.
  • 9/17/97 - The hinge on my Velo went floppy on me (2.5" of free motion now with no tension), and I'm pretty grumpy about it. In my first conversation with a Philips technician, I was told this was a "normal loosening". Wouldn't you be irritated if your laptop screen flopped back and forth, and you had to fiddle with it before getting the proper viewing position? I think you would. This is the first time I've been disappointed with the Velo techs. I'll give them a chance to redeem themselves and let you know how it went.
  • 9/17/97 - The owner of a brand-new 8 meg Velo has been told by Philips that the free CE 2.0 upgrade only applies to the 4 meg models. What's this? Philips isn't offering to upgrade their flagship product? The most powerful HPC on the market doesn't get the free ROM upgrade that every other company is providing? I'm looking into this, because let's be honest, it's just not right.
  • 9/17/97 - The VELO 1 has won a place on the Windows Magazine WinList, beating out all other HPC's based on it's speed and innovation over the current HPC standard. Good work Philips!
  • 9/17/97 - Philips is offering a 4 meg DRAM miniature card for only $49 at the time of purchase on your new Velo 1. So you get the 4 meg upgrade for 25% of what I paid for it, a free CE 2.0 upgrade, and the best HPC on the market. Not bad at all! (except if you have an 8 meg Velo, see above)
  • 9/17/97 - 16 meg DRAM miniature cards have been announced by a 3rd party. Availability is unknown (it was a press release), but pricing was a little under $600. Hopefully they will be mainstream by November.
  • 9/8/97 - CE 2.0 is on the way. Current VELO users will be able to get the ROM chip for $99 + shipping, and anyone who buys the Velo between now and December 31st will receive a free upgrade chip when it becomes available.
  • 9/8/97 - I'm currently speaking directly to Philips on a number of issues, so don't be surprised if you see some great new product and accessory reviews here, as well as the hottest news on our favorite HPC!
  • 8/30/97 - The European VELO has been released: it has the normal built in modem (19.2), plus full GSM support.
  • 8/30/97 - Price on the 8 meg DRAM upgrade is $299.99
  • 8/30/97 - I'm now an MVP for Windows CE (and there was much rejoicing...)
  • 4/25/97 - I think this is when I bought my Velo 1. Exciting!
  • 2/2/97 - I launched this FAQ in it's 0.5 version around this time...