What to do with old Palm & Handspring PDAs?
December 17, 2022 6:30 PM   Subscribe

I have a number of PDAs from years past. They all power up and run, and all are in good-to-great condition. It seems a shame to recycle them. What can I do with them?

The inventory is
  1. A Palm Treo 650 (for the Cingular network)
  2. A Palm Tungsten C
  3. A Palm Tungsten T3
  4. Two Handspring Visors
plus chargers, styluses, and in some cases the original boxes and manuals.

I checked eBay but the going prices are not worth the time it would take to package them and sell them there. I'd be happy to send them to a computer/electronics museum – are there any that would take them? (I'm in the US, in California.) Or should I keep them for another 20 years and hope they'll have some collectors' value then?
posted by StrawberryPie to Technology (5 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: I'm sure a retro computing nerd will happily take them. List them on Facebook marketplace and I bet they don't last a day, if you live in a reasonably populated area.
posted by COD at 7:55 PM on December 17, 2022 [2 favorites]


There's a museum of computer technology in the South Bay I went to years ago. No idea if they'd take them or already have them, but I seem to recall that PDA's were in there.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:00 PM on December 17, 2022


Best answer: If they're still readily available on eBay for cheap I don't see a museum being even slightly interested. These were mass-produced devices and while they're not as prevalent these days, they're not rare, either. It's possible they might become interesting/rare later on and become worth more (see also what's going on with old Commodore machines), but there's no real guarantee of that either. You might be able to get rid of them via a local freecycle group or something.

If you do decide to save them, make sure you remove the batteries; they have a tendency to leak and damage electronics over time.
posted by Aleyn at 9:42 PM on December 17, 2022 [4 favorites]


I would eBay them. It doesn't sound like you want to make any money from them, and eBay (or similar) is going to be the best way to find someone that actually wants a particular device. Put each one up for auction for $1 plus postage and packing.

Yes, it's a bit of a hassle but if you don't want to throw them away, that's the price to pay for finding a home for things that are languishing in the Trough of No Value. I've lost count of the amount of stuff I've ebayed this way.
posted by fabius at 8:48 AM on December 18, 2022


My friend and I might be the retro-tech weirdos you are looking for! If you'd like to MeMail me a fair price + shipping, we'd be happy to take them off your hands!
posted by MuChao at 9:34 AM on December 18, 2022 [1 favorite]


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