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PDAs

Postal workers discussion forum. Discuss the day to day life in a Blue Shirt.
MGB
Posts: 107
Joined: 21 Jan 2012, 20:21
Gender: Male

PDAs

Post by MGB »

Came across this while looking for a PDA for myself, and thought some of you lot might fancy a read. At least I know which one to avoid :dance:
http://www.intermec.com/public-files/ca ... ail-A4.pdf

Some of the highlights:
ever-more effective services :nana

innovative platform for future growth :nana

The foundation of the transformation is Intermec’s CN3 mobile computer, [innovatively integrating solutions from companies that include Blackbay, ALK Technologies, Vodafone, BT/Cisco and CSC. The CN3 is known within Royal Mail as the Postal Digital Assistant (PDA) and allows real-time barcode scanning and communications throughout the company’s network. Satellite navigation and voice/text communications] provide a :funneh world class and industry leading operational tool :left: for 35,000 of the company’s delivery drivers

The solution, using Intermec’s CN3 portable
computer, is already delivering :funneh improved
service and efficiency :left: and enabled Royal
Mail to compete even more effectively for
new business.
The business has been transformed to
better serve the needs of all customers,
including home delivery customer.

:funneh Clear
benefits to workers :left: saw the introduction of
the PDA fully supported by employees at
Royal Mail, and one driver said, “ :funneh It’s the
best thing that’s happened in my job :left: for
a long time


dvbuk55
EX ROYAL MAIL
Posts: 16650
Joined: 02 Jun 2007, 19:17
Gender: Male

Re: PDAs

Post by dvbuk55 »

Well I must admit I didn't exactly read it all but I didn't see crock of s**t anywhere :nervous
fishtank
Posts: 19732
Joined: 28 Sep 2007, 17:22
Gender: Male

Re: PDAs

Post by fishtank »

To be honest the majority of the issues with the CN3 are software or battery related.
As for the hardware,my two issues are it's too big and heavy to sit in my pocket and locking the keypad should be a simple slide switch.
good times, bad times you know I've had my share
knackeredneedadayoff
Posts: 342
Joined: 05 Nov 2009, 18:19
Gender: Male

Re: PDAs

Post by knackeredneedadayoff »

They are sh*te the things either run out of battery or the craddles have broken or they freeze up ,crash,go to some other page you dont need,they are too heavy,rm look at mobile phones ,they have the same tech and a quarter of the size of the brick.
dvbuk55
EX ROYAL MAIL
Posts: 16650
Joined: 02 Jun 2007, 19:17
Gender: Male

Re: PDAs

Post by dvbuk55 »

fishtank wrote:To be honest the majority of the issues with the CN3 are software or battery related.
As for the hardware,my two issues are it's too big and heavy to sit in my pocket and locking the keypad should be a simple slide switch.
Well I have to maintain 75 of these and it really is a ball ache, straps breaking - totally too fragile for the use of mounting on the arm, batteries too are a pain and it's sometimes difficult to tell if it IS the battery or a faulty machine. I had to replace 5 today because I was off last week and nobody reported any faults until I got back - 2 out of the 5 replacements required a call to the IT Helpdesk - anyone who has to do this knows what a pain in the ass that is, one because they hadn't inserted the site ID and the other because it arrived with a screen failure. Of course they don't mention that the bloody thing is faulty before they come to pick the sodding thing up just before they go out!
5plusbonusball
Posts: 1136
Joined: 12 Jan 2012, 20:50
Gender: Male
Location: up north of watford

Re: PDAs

Post by 5plusbonusball »

Anyone know how to get the telephone page off when the little cross is not there? Usually have to do a full reset , ball ache or what, especially when the customer is at the door waiting :arrrghhh
Why are lino's paid full-time ??
cyorke1987
Posts: 11
Joined: 11 May 2012, 18:46
Gender: Male

Re: PDAs

Post by cyorke1987 »

5plusbonusball wrote:Anyone know how to get the telephone page off when the little cross is not there? Usually have to do a full reset , ball ache or what, especially when the customer is at the door waiting :arrrghhh
Ususally when i press the hang up button it returns back to normal
wacko74
EX ROYAL MAIL
Posts: 1572
Joined: 04 Apr 2009, 20:35
Gender: Male

Re: PDAs

Post by wacko74 »

5plusbonusball wrote:Anyone know how to get the telephone page off when the little cross is not there? Usually have to do a full reset , ball ache or what, especially when the customer is at the door waiting :arrrghhh
The blue button next to the yellow on/off button on the top right of the keypad
Haitch P
Posts: 38
Joined: 26 May 2010, 17:20
Gender: Male

Re: PDAs

Post by Haitch P »

dvbuk55 wrote:Well I have to maintain 75 of these and it really is a ball ache, straps breaking - totally too fragile for the use of mounting on the arm, batteries too are a pain and it's sometimes difficult to tell if it IS the battery or a faulty machine. I had to replace 5 today because I was off last week and nobody reported any faults until I got back - 2 out of the 5 replacements required a call to the IT Helpdesk - anyone who has to do this knows what a pain in the ass that is, one because they hadn't inserted the site ID and the other because it arrived with a screen failure. Of course they don't mention that the bloody thing is faulty before they come to pick the sodding thing up just before they go out!
Yours actually get MAINTAINED :Applause A fairly large percentage of ours have no straps or even a stylus!
Nobody seems to take responsibility for getting them fixed. :arrrghhh
dvbuk55
EX ROYAL MAIL
Posts: 16650
Joined: 02 Jun 2007, 19:17
Gender: Male

Re: PDAs

Post by dvbuk55 »

Haitch P wrote:
dvbuk55 wrote:Well I have to maintain 75 of these and it really is a ball ache, straps breaking - totally too fragile for the use of mounting on the arm, batteries too are a pain and it's sometimes difficult to tell if it IS the battery or a faulty machine. I had to replace 5 today because I was off last week and nobody reported any faults until I got back - 2 out of the 5 replacements required a call to the IT Helpdesk - anyone who has to do this knows what a pain in the ass that is, one because they hadn't inserted the site ID and the other because it arrived with a screen failure. Of course they don't mention that the bloody thing is faulty before they come to pick the sodding thing up just before they go out!
Yours actually get MAINTAINED :Applause A fairly large percentage of ours have no straps or even a stylus!
Nobody seems to take responsibility for getting them fixed. :arrrghhh
I'd have a word with a manager, somebody should be making sure that there are straps because it is designed to be used in that manner, as for missing a stylus there's no excuse for that because they can be ordered and fitted in situ and in truth I don't know why they don't let us fit the straps - it causes some amusement when I ask if they want a strap on................in a serious manner of course. :Very Happy
thecyclingexpostie
EX ROYAL MAIL
Posts: 103
Joined: 15 Feb 2012, 13:51
Gender: Male

Re: PDAs

Post by thecyclingexpostie »

apparently they were all bought off parcelfarce at £1500 per pda :crazy:

you could have bought every postie an iphone with a bespoke rm app on it for far less than that, and it would be both a better solution and better value for money.

more might 'disappear' though…
Lateagainpostie
Posts: 393
Joined: 23 Oct 2010, 18:17
Gender: Male

Re: PDAs

Post by Lateagainpostie »

They are about 10yrs out of date, I tried to use the one for finding boxes on a collection, it was useless.

The battery life is crap as well, doesn't last 5 hrs.

As others have said, it's too heavy, and too big, it's virtually impossible to use it, hold the thing, hang onto a packet, and fill out a 739 at the same time.
If you love Man Utd, you'll love my forum Talkingreds
MGB
Posts: 107
Joined: 21 Jan 2012, 20:21
Gender: Male

Re: PDAs

Post by MGB »

I eventually opted for a Casio IT-600 with trigger grip, that baby is light as a feather and has a lanyard attached too. Sorry you guys are still stuck with that pile of garbage