Weekly Tip: Get a Grip! Re-Grip Your iPAQ

[Brad Isaac]

For an excellent Pocket PC, the iPAQ h2215 has a glaring problem. No, it is no longer the problem with alarms or battery drain. No, it is a physical issue with the outside of the unit. The side grips. Yes, unfortunately the h2215 comes with these factory installed side grips that are soft on the outside and "crunchy" on the inside. In other words, there is a hard side grip with a rubber grip cover that is glued or otherwise adhered to the outside of the grip. What this results in for some users is a less than ideal gripping situation.
Let me explain what happened to mine. My grips have been replaced 3 times - 4 if you include the grips that came with the unit. The first time, the little tabs that held the right side grip broke off. The second time, the bottom tab of the right side broke off. The third time, the rubber bubbled and peeled from the grips (both sides!) resulting in a huge headache. Candidly, I hated to put the iPAQ in my pocket for fear that it would lead to more wear on the grips.
Below is a blurry picture of how the rubber was peeling from the top. My apologies for the blurry pictures, I haven't learned the Macro feature on my camera yet.

I'll also mention that the grips were peeling from the bottom, but I put some glue on it and it held for awhile. There was also a big bubble in the middle of the grip. People who have experienced this will tell you that it's sort of like when a sole breaks loose from your shoe. You have this rubber just flapping around.
I had read a little bit about the PPCTechs side grips manufactured out of "Anodized aircraft quality aluminum". I had seen a few pictures and honestly, I wanted some the second I had caught wind about their existance. However, there was a slight issue about the cost. They run about $50 including shipping. That seemed like a lot just to fix an HP problem.
But after the 3rd time of the grip failure, I started adding up the "cost" of continuing status quo. There was the call to HP, or there was the 15 minute form to fill out using their online support. There was the wait for the delivery, there was the absolute certainty that it would happen again and again. Already I had invested over 3-4 hours between fumbling, replacing grips, tech support phone calls, tech support emails, gluing just to get by until the new grips arrived, etc.. You divide $50 by 4 and you get $12.50. My time is worth a whole lot more than $12.50 an hour. Each time after that where I call HP for replacement simply cuts into that dollar figure even more. That's why I decided to cut my losses and order the PPCTechs grips - which promises a permanent solution.
My order was delayed due to back order, however when they became available, I think the PPCTechs cut me a break and shipped them overnight - they came delivered in a Fed-Ex flat envelope:

Inside were 2 small baggies and instructions. Don't you just love blue?

You can see from the picture above, they describe how to remove the grips. At this point, I am a world expert at removing grips. I can do it in my sleep. Here's the iPAQ minus the crummy grips:

You use their little torx wrench to remove the existing screw from the iPAQ:

Put the new aluminum grip in where the old one was, and line up the screw holes.

Use the same torx wrench to screw in a longer screw holding the new grips in place:

And you are done!

Although this write-up is a tip and not a review, I still wanted to make a few comments about the product itself. One, the grips are very solid and make the iPAQ feel like it was forged out of one material, whereas the rubber grips didn't feel consistent. I feel like I can put my PPC in my pocket without worry that a grip is going to rip, or come off, get lost, etc. However, this comes at the cost of what feels like a little more weight. This isn't bothersome to me, however some people may have an issue with it.
As someone who is on the move all day, every day, I have to grap my iPAQ and pocket it and then run. Run to the car, run to a meeting, run home, etc. If you don't have a PPC affected by the problem, just imagine having a cellphone where you pick it up and the back battery cover falls off and you'll get the idea what a hassle the factory grips can be. So, after the PPCTECH grip install, I feel I have one less problem I have to deal with.