Last updated - May 19, 2002

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REX 6000 Known Issues

A summary of issues that affect use of the REX 6000

Speculation on the REX 6000 technical architecture

What are the known issues with the REX 6000? <back to top>

Issues are listed below. In addition Here's an initial "wish-list" of upgrades/changes desired for the REX 6000. Please take a look and comment if you have any additions.

1. The Intellisync for REX software that comes with the REX 6000 is rudimentary - Intellisync for REX only supports Outlook 97/98/2000 and Intellisync Mobile Desktop (PIM provided with the REX 6000). See the Sync Options pages on our web site for creative ways to use Yahoo Intellisync and TrueSync Plus, and potentially other PDA sync software to expand your sync options.
   
   
2. Editing recurring appointments can be dangerous. From Bill:
   
   "After doing some more experimenting with recurring events, I have basically concluded that it is wise to AVOID making changes that affect single instances of the event; making such changes on either the REX or in Outlook do not always get synced properly to the other device. Although I haven't kept good enough notes to figure out exactly where things go wrong, a typical result is that any "exception" event in Outlook is fanned in the REX so that it is no longer part of the recurring event. Safest way to go is to delete the recurring events entirely, sync, then re-enter the info in Outlook and sync again. Intellisync/Xircom still have a long way to go to get this thing to work predictably and accurately."
   
   Amiram's recent research on the REX seems to confirm that issues remain w/the 1.01 software and recurring events. Here is an initial summary of his findings.
   
   
3. Recurring tasks get converted into dozens of individual tasks on the REX during sync. We've had two reports of this, so it does seem like a real problem. From Bill:
   
   "It's not very pretty to look at an almost endless list of identical looking items on the Task screen, especially if they appear at the top of the list and you have some other (non-recurring) tasks way down at the bottom on about screen #39. One way to ensure that your non-recurring ones appear at the top of the list is to give them a higher priority value than your recurring tasks."
   
   
4. If you set an alarm on a recurring task in Outlook and sync it to the REX, the alarm for the task is set one day early on the REX. From Bill:
   
   "In Outlook I set up a recurring task for every Wednesday, and set an alarm for 9:00pm. After syncing, a bunch of individual tasks show up on the REX as due on Wednesdays, but they all have the alarm set to go off on Tuesdays!! (It's still not clear to me when exactly on Tuesday they go off, and whether you can change this.) One more thing for Xircom to fix in Version 1.02.
   
   In addition - in Outlook you can set task alarms for any time you want, day or night. On the REX you only have a choice of whether to set the alarm for the day of the task, the day before, etc."
   
   
5. The REX 6000 does not support calendar events that last longer than one day. For example, if you enter an event in your calendar that runs from Thursday at 1:00 PM till Friday at 2:00 PM, it will sync to the REX as an even that runs from 1:00 PM to 11:55 PM on Thursday. Nothing will be entered on the REX on Friday.
   
   All day events (where you check the "all day event" check box) that span more than one day do sync properly.
   
   
6. Slow operation - the REX 6000 is slower overall than the REX 5000, and much slower in some areas. Moving from day to day can take 1 to 2 seconds. When you select "New" to create a new calendar event, it takes 3 seconds for the create screen to show. Cancelling an action (like modifying an appointment or memo) can take several seconds.
   
   The Intellisync 1.01 update has left a number of users feeling like their REX is moving a bit faster on some operations. Moving between days, moving between calendar views, etc., seem to occur slightly faster. Nothing ground-shaking, but a possible improvement.
   
   
7. Adding data on the REX directly is very memory-inefficient, and will use up REX memory quickly. From one user:
   
   "After about 10 contact entries I checked the memory usage and found that it was at a whopping 22%. I realize that the OS takes up some memory space but after entering about 50 contacts I'm up to neerly 40%."
   
   The "good news" is that every time you run the Intellisyn for REX sync software it "defrags" the memory on the REX so that things are stored more efficiently. (You can also defrag your REX using REX Tools.) Your memory usage level will shrink dramatically after defragging. Most people won't enter a ton of data directly on the REX, but it's still a bug and would be an issue for those who plan to use the Rex as a standalone device (i.e., without syncing to a PIM application).
   
   
8. The USB cradle does not have an "eject" button to remove the REX easily and without putting undue force on the REX. A workaround - Insert the Rex into the cradle until the indicator light just changes from amber to green. (Device can travel another 1/16" before it is "locked" in.) Don't fully insert the Rex into the socket. It should make good contact for synching and it is much easier to pull out of the cradle once synching is completed.
   
   
9. Battery life is more limited than expected. Xircom claims 6 months a more reasonable estimate (and one that the DataSlim2 site predicts) is 2 months for average users. At this point the longest reported battery life has been three months, but the 60 day range is more common. We really don't know what the upper limit is, but that obviously will depend greatly on daily use levels. Some users have reported batteries gone to "poor" in as short time as 10 days, but those seem to be extreme cases with heavy use levels that involve a lot of reading of content (web and text documents) on the REX.
   
   
10. The interface on the REX is inconsistent. In some cases you can navigate entirely by stylus (e.g., the Web section) in others you have to use a combination of sylus and keypad input to move between screens. The system does not provide consistent visual confirmation of stylus taps. In too many cases (selecting the next or previous day of the week in the daily calendar view, tapping "New" to set up a new event, or "Done" when finishing modifying or creating items, etc.) there is no visual feedback at all from the tap.
    
    Mossman from REX Rumor Central suggests a work-around until Xircom fixes the user-interface:
    
    "Someone (back an archive or so) mentioned they wished there were some input confirmation, given the slow response. There is! You can check Controls-Sound-Clicks which provides a pretty muted click for each pen tap. I find it unobtrusive and very helpful to know that my calendar 'forward' tap was received."
    
    
11. Xircom provides inconsistent support for REX users (there have been both good and bad moments, to be fair), and does not communicate effectively with their customers on what they are doing to resolve some of these problems. Xircom was purchased by Intel in early 2001, so things could get better, or worse, depending on how things go.
    
    If the 1.01 release is any indication, Xircom is going to be very careful on future software releases, and err on the side of caution. Much of the "bad press" that the REX 6000 received came from what may have been a rushed release to hit the holiday shopping season. Hopefull Xircom will continue to release solid updates like the 1.01 Intellisync release. However, that may mean that new releases of software will be slow to arrive.
    
    
12. If you are a former REX 3 or REX Pro/5000 user, there is no easy way to upgrade to the REX 5000 if you are not using Outlook as your PIM. See our Sync Options pages for some info on getting data moved between TrueSync Desktop and your REX.
    
    
13. The REX 6000 has a new "day view" that displays only the pending calendar events and tasks for the current day. For example, If it is 2:00 PM, only events starting on or after 2:00 PM and pending tasks will display. The day view is accessed from the main menu - clicking on the date in the top-left of the main menu displays the day view screen.
    
    This is a nice feature, but . . . if there are more items (tasks and events) pending on that day than fit on the screen, the extra items fall off, and there is no scroll function to see them. The screen has seven lines, so only up to a total of 7 events and tasks will display.
    
    
14. If you modify only the title of a memo and sync back to Outlook, the change in title does not transfer to Outlook.
    
    Work-around: You have to make a change to both the title of the note and the contents of the note for the title change to sync back to Outlook. So if you can add a space or other tiny change to the contents of the note on the REX and then sync, the title change will appear properly. Not as it should be, but makes it work. (From Grumsey.)
    
    
15. The PIN protection on the REX can be circumvented depending on your PIN time-out setting. If you need your data on the REX to be secure, you need to make sure you set the PIN time-out to "Always." With any other time-out setting you can get to the data on the REX without a PIN. See the General Questions section in our REX FAQ for more details.
    
    You can use Encrypt Memo if you need security on the REX for memos: http://xtide.ldeo.columbia.edu/~krahmann/rex/rex.html

Speculation on the REX 6000 technical architecture <back to top>

Amiram believes the genesis of many issues with the REX 6000 is rooted in its technical architecture.

See his very interesting discussion here.

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