The videos are easy to follow, narrated by Robby Stanley himself. However, if you absolutely cannot figure out the procedure, you can send your Palm handheld in to Gethightech, and they'll fix it themselves for fifteen bucks. Not a bad deal.

Where did these guys come from?
Robby Stanley started out working full-time in IT at such companies as Apple and Hewlett-Packard. Stanley started Gethightech after fishing a broken Palm handheld out of an ill-tempered boss's wastebasket. He popped the unit open, discovered they're rather simple inside, and began collecting spare parts from eBay and flea markets. The company has been selling computers and Palm handheld parts and accessories over the Internet since 1999, first using eBay as a sales outlet. In February 2000, Gethightech Inc. was created specifically to specialize in selling PDA Parts and accessories and to provide quality service.

It's a small company, which is how they keep their prices low. Theirs is the first business to offer used Palm OS parts. The company has established excellent relationships with individuals and suppliers that provide them with most of the used PDA and Palm OS based units. Stanley says they still scour eBay, buying up broken Palm handhelds to strip them of the still-functional bits. I can relate to this. I used to drive an old 1980 Nissan Maxima that was mostly comprised of used parts bought on the cheap from a local junkyard.

What about the warranty?
My first question for Stanley was, "What about the warranty?" I mean, if you pop open your Palm handheld, doesn't that automatically void the warranty? He admitted this is true, but unless you purchase an additional service plan, if you crack your PDA's screen, it's out of warranty anyway. Plus, warranties don't last nearly as long as most people manage to keep their handhelds running. Just to be safe, though, Gethightech does post a number of disclaimers regarding warranties. In all the time they've been in business, they've never had any problems from customers with regard to warranty issues.

Popular with cost-cutting enterprises
Since the economic downturn, Stanley said, a lot of companies have been trying to cut costs by bringing items from the Palm OS handheld graveyard back to life. In the old days, when a handheld broke, most companies would toss it into the closet and replace it. Now, however, they're digging out those old handhelds and putting in bulk orders to Gethightech to get them up and running again.

Besides spare parts, Gethightech also sells Palm handheld accessories, such as cables, cases, and keyboards. If you wish, you can even buy a single stylus. Most sellers only offer packs of three or more. They sell Gethightech branded accessories as well as reselling items from other leading manufacturers.

Whether you're outfitting an entire company or just trying to repair your own old-but-trusted PDA, Gethightech can provide you with the parts you need. Their free videos will walk you through everything you need to know to perform the open-case surgery. So if you have a repair question, don't ask me. Ask the folks at Gethightech.com.

Product availability and resources For more information on Gethightech.com, visit http://www.gethightech.com. For more information on Palm handhelds, visit http://www.palm.com. Easy, flexible article reprints ZATZ now offers a quick, easy, flexible and inexpensive way to use article reprints in your marketing and promotion efforts. You can now get article reprints for a one-time fee of only $200. For details, visit http://mediakit.zatz.com/reprints.

For more than 20 years, David Gewirtz, the author of Where Have All The Emails Gone? and The Flexible Enterprise has analyzed current, historical, and emerging issues relating to technology, competitiveness, and policy. David is the Editor-in-Chief of the ZATZ magazines, is the Cyberterrorism Advisor for the International Association for Counterterrorism and Security Professionals, and can be reached via email at david@zatz.com.