Should I buy XDA IIs or IIi, help! - General Questions and Answers

Hi there,
I have only owned SPV E100/E200 before so would appreciate advice as now moving onto Pocket PC phone.
On O2's website, they have got both the XDA IIs and IIi for £99 on price plans ranging from £20-£45, I'm going to get one, not sure which one!
My primary use for the phone will be:
Pocket PC usage,
TOM TOM,
Wireless LAN.
I know the IIi is newer and has a better digital camera, but the IIs's slide out keyboard looks so cool! But is it practical? or just unneeded? I haven't had a Pocket PC before so please fill me in!
Which has a better screen? or is more lighter? or just the one you would go for? Please tell me, and why! I have to make my choice soon and I'm letting out a sweat, opinoin's will be greatly appreciated! Many thanks,
For once, price is not a factor, making a choice has become so hard!

There’s a lot of topic like this in the forum already.. Do a search for "IIs IIi" (without the quotes and select search for all terms) and you'll find it all.

That depends whether you want the slide-out thumb keyboard or not.
The IIs has the keyboard, the IIi does not. The keyboard adds bulk to the unit and is according to people I know with them it's a bit of a waste of time. I'd go for the IIi.

Got an Xda 2i yesterday for £99, am very impressed with it. Even though it showed a fault I had with my wireless router and that cast me another £60, but it has connected wirelessly without any problems, it has paired with a BT headset without any problems and battery life is acceptable (will no doubt get better after a couple of charges). Am so far glad I got it, can now say bye bye to my ipaq and nokia phone :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

If you want keyboard and unoffical WM5, go for XDAIIs. If you don't, go for XDAIIi.
Bottom line: I love XDAIIs's built-in keyboard...

Using IIs for 6 months...
Using IIs for 6 months. Love it... but do not really get a whole lot of use out of the keyboard due to poor shift vs. function key layout. If the IIi has a better camera, I would go for that. A WME 2005 unofficial for IIi will probably work sooner or later. Happy Using!
Steve

When making the same decision I was advised by the manager in my local O2 shop to go for the IIi as the IIs was somewhat unreliable, especially with respect to the slider.
The better camera isn't a particularly big draw for me, quality is patchy at best.
I did manage to score a tenner discount on the IIi without any argument from the shop manager, so well worth asking if you decide to go for one

Related

XDA IIs or XDA IIi

I'm about to upgrade from my XDA to either the IIs or IIi.
I was immediately going to plump for the IIs because of the keyboard, plus looks etc. however the IIi has a better camera, faster processor, plus there is a WM2005 rom for it.
however more reading give me negatives for both.
IIs sometimes subject to poor build quality on the keyboard slide so it's sometimes more loose than it should be.
the LCD screen can whine and whistle after a month (possibly a bad batch?)
bluetooth a bit tempramental
Tom tom doesn't work properly because of the built in qwerty keyboard.
IIi it's ugly.
SD cards having problems being read/wiped/destroyed
same low sound caller can't hear me problem as IIs
but I hear rumours there may be an amended version of the IIs making it 3G compatible, which might also include a better camera.
so do I wait for this, or what?
both benefits. the IIs looks better, it's a nice colour plus the keyboard is a plus, but the IIi being able to use WM2005, better camera and processor is attractive, shame the unit isn't. I was looking to upgrade look as well as functionality when I upgrade from my hard working XDA.
anyone care to come in on one side or the other or play devils advocate and put arguments to help me decide?
all advice appreciated.
anyone had both who might be able to offer advice.
anyone had an orange IIs and an O2 IIs. is the screen whine more prone on O2 rather than orange for example?
IIi has a better camera, faster processor, plus there is a WM2005 rom for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there is?
I was under the distinct impression it had been done and was available via the wiki. if that's not correct then that's a minus point for the IIi because having 2005 is obviously a big step over 2003SE
I was under the distinct impression it had been done and was available via the wiki. if that's not correct then that's a minus point for the IIi because having 2005 is obviously a big step over 2003SE
the only mw2005 i know of is for himalaya of cause alpine/andes (IIi) look like himalaya but appearances are skindeep
You can't get WM2005 for the IIi.
The IIs keyboard is shockingly bad, keeps coming loose, so it makes it really annoying and unless you have small fingers it is also useless. So personally I would go for the IIi.

GPS, WiFI, BT and Camera All in One Phone

:!: Sorry for the shameless attempt to get you here with a dreamy subject but it's relevant to the topic - honestly. :!:
I'm after a PDAPhone with built in everything. But looks so far like I'm going to have to compromise and get an external GPS receiver, however was just hoping someone might have a little gem that I couldn't find anywhere else in the forums.
I have owned and loved the O2 XDA range ever since my first XDA years ago and have since lugged around an XDAII. I damaged my II recently and have a nice cheque for £550 burning a hole in my pocket courtesy of the insurance company. This means that for the first time ever I don't need to go to a subsidised model. My initial thought was that I'd stump up a few extra quid and get a JamJar :lol: from expansys but now I'm a bit more mature I decided to check out the options first.
So far I've found (Ignoring Naming Variations):
Prices quoted are from expansys - they could be cheaper elsewhere. Pls let me know if you find any (UK Only though)
:arrow: iPAQ hw6515 - Looks a bit crap, small screen and no wi-fi listed but DOES have GPS & 1.3Mp Cam - Anyone know of any Square Aware issues with programs?
:idea: http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=120563
:idea: £439.95
:arrow: i-mate JAM - Small and sexy but no Wi-Fi and no GPS but would stop people asking if I've got a brick taped to my head. + 1.3Mp, COuld afford external GPS with this one.
:idea: http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=I-MATE_JAM
:idea: £359.95
:arrow:Qtek 9090- Has everything But GPS but would leave enough money for a BT GPS - No camera spec but I think it's 0.3Mp like the XDAIIs - Could be upgraded to WM5, My Mate has one and the Thumb Keyboard is easy to use whilst walking - If I use my head not my geekometer this is my favourite.
:idea: http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=QTEK_9090
:idea: £414.95
:arrow: i-mate JASJAR - Dogs balls but still no GPS and not much more than the 9090 + v Expensive & Getting Bigger - 1.3Mp Cam I think. (I have no 3G service anywhere near me so that's not a bonus) I really like the 3.5mm Jack - Overall a severe number of geek points! NO CRADLE Still needs GPS Seperate, not sure how useable while walking the keyboard will be. I really want one.
:idea: http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=119353
:idea: £669.95
:arrow: i-mate K-JAM - WiFi, BT etc, Smaller and lighter than Universal, WM5, 1.3Mp. I like the keyboard. Maybe my new best choice. JUST leaves enough money to think about an external GPS. Thanks JamiJam
:idea: http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=125518
:idea: £504.95
My criteria to consider are as follows, argue with them and persuade me otherwise with reasons if you so wish:
Phone + PDA Essential (Tri Band+)
Camera - Prefer 1+Mp
BT - Must Have
Wi-Fi - Optional but Preferred a lot
3G - Not required
Keyboard - Like to Have (It's awkward using handwriting when travelling)
GPS - Very Nice to Have I Drive a lot and would like to use TT in the future.
OS - Not Bothered, these can be changed
I have 1 Month to decide before I burst and spray money all over the place so I'd really appreciate any comments you might have.
Don't go off on any obscure tangents though please, post them in a new topic and link to it if you wish.
Wizard...
(aka K-Jam, aka Qtek 9100)
Not sure when it will be out but Orange are going to release the Wizard and call it the SPV M600. If you can wait then you'll have it subsidised. :wink:
hmmmmm
Ok, so far the Wizard is my favourite now. I'd completely forgotten about that. What's the keyboard like though? I'm not too fussed about the size (the one on the XDA III is smaller and still useable)? It's more the key action I'm bothered about.
Does it have those rubbish 'rubbery' 'spectrum' style keys? It looks like it does.
I'm still yearning for a Universal cos none of my mates will have one but my head is still saying I don't need it and one of the others will do everything I want.
AFAIK HTC has some kind of arrangement with compaq - HTC will not make a phone with GPS as it competes with a model HTC makes for compaq that does have GPS or something like that (the hw6515 maybe ?)
I have a Blue Angel (O2 XDA IIs) and it does all of this.
http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=I-MATE_III
WM5 now available and working fine on it.
It has a keyboard too, it's those blister things (more like a ZX81 than a spectrum) but it is useable, although the keyboard layout is a bit ****e.
What with the newer models coming out you should be able to pick one up cheapish.
I run mine with a Globalsat Bt-338 Bluetooth GPS and Tomtom 5
oh, and FYI, this PDA holder from halfords holds the BA perfectly and can be mounted to your dash. It obscures no ports.
(The pic is upside down BTW)
http://www.halfords.com/opd_product_details.asp?id=16600&type=0&cat=397
The keyboard on the wizard is excellent, in my humble opinion!
It also snaps in and out in a way that makes you feel it won't break down easily.
Finally, it automatically turns the phone's display into landscape mode, which is very handy.
Wizard or BA
I have to say I'm still impressed with the Wizard. Just made a scale model out of card (how sad is that) and it's tiny!
I like the BA but if the keyboard doesn't let the Wizard down I think it'll be my PDA of choice. The one thing I really didn't like about the Jam was its lack of Wi-Fi and that's solved in the K-Jam.
I assume the screen's readable, I like to think that I'll have good eyesight for a couple of years yet so I don't think the size will be an issue.
iPaq HW6515
I have tried without success to get details of the built-in GPS. The one authoritative source to whom I spoke was scathing about its performance. So whatever you do choose, I do not recommend the iPaq.
On a separate note I saw my first Jasjar close up today. It is lighter than you might think, but heavier than is reasonable for prolonged use as a phone. A bluetooth earpiece was being used that included a display for caller ID. As a data device it is pretty impressive.
I too run a GlobalSat BT-338 GPS, in my case with Mapopolis.
if you are going GPS, make sure it is SIRFstar III chipset (the current latest-and-greatest), especially if you live in a city as they are really good at "urban canyon" reception.
I have seen new BT-338s on ebay for £65 "buy it now" recently
plus another thing to think about...
a seperate BT GPS unit has various advantages:
1) Battery
It won't drain your PPC battery when operating, except the charge needed to communicate via BT.
2) Upgrading
If a new improved GPS unit comes out and you have an onboard GPS unit, you are carrying useless baggage and can't sell the old one.
Also bear in mind there will likely be new features added to GPS units.
one example: digital compass. At the moment, if you stand still and rotate, a GPS unit has no clue which way you are facing until you move. A GPS does already transmit heading AFAIK - it works out which way you are facing by assiming you are looking in the direction of travel. Integration of a digital compass therefore would probably require no changes to the protocol. This does exist ( see http://www.xemics.com/internet/solutions/compass.jsp?productID=108 )
3) Switching.
BT GPS units work on laptopss too you know
4) Safety. I use my GPS for a sport called mountain boarding. Same kinda deal as downhill mountain biking, I trace a route I have done using GPS software. I ride with my XDA in a reinforced case with foam in, but find the GPS reception suffers, so I keep the BT GPS unit in my bag and the XDA in the case.
Seeing as the XDA is MUCH more valuable than the GPS this makes sense.
5) Reception versus viewing position.
Sometimes the position with best reception is not the same as the position you can see the screen of your PPC best.
????
Good point.
Ok, more questions on the K-Jam
Camera: Says 1.3/2 Is this 1.3 with software to 'frig' it to 2?
Keyboard: Is the expansys keyboard silver ( http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=125518 ) or black ( http://www.expansys.com/zoompic.asp?type=item&code=125518 )
Silver ones look plastic whereas black ones look rubbery. Which have you got JamiJam? Is it from Expansys?
Processor: 200Mhz? Is that right? Seems quite a drop. Do you have any problems with media playback? I remember my XDA I used to have a problem playing big avi files.
Ta Very Much
Camera is 1.3MP, and it is ****.
Yes, it's better than the Magician, but it's still pretty bad. I wouldn't buy the Wizard hoping to use the camera for anything useful. In my opinion this is the #1 point on which HTC is lacking. They've worked on everything else, now they need to start putting decent cameras in these devices.
I have the silver keyboard and I bought my Wizard in a store. I believe that if you order from expansys you'll get a silver one.
Processor is 200MHz (different CPU architecture) but it seems to be on par with the Magician in practice, maybe 10% slower. So yes, you should be able to watch full screen movies, once you find a bit-rate/resolution/format that works for you. Not sure which XDA you had, but I would expect similar ballpark performance.
Hope this helps.
Ta
The 'performance lacking' XDA was the original XDA I and I'll take your word for it that performance is ok. I don't use it for anything too hot and my XDA II never had a problem with films.
To be honest, every camera phone I've had from the XDA Range was ****ty quality (Very grainy) but I spend a fair bit of time on site collecting info on wagons and stuff for my job and it's always handy to be able to snap a quick video or pic of something. The only reason I want a higher res is so that when some tit with a Sony Ericson goes on about his 2Mp camera I don't loose too many 'top trumps' points. I never print the pics and my main contract doesn't support GPRS so I don't often send MMS. You'd be surprised how easily you can still get by with just plain old WAP.
Good news on the silver buttons. I prefer them. Has anyone bought one from Expansys who can verify?
Sweetness & Joy
Just thought I'd post my decision for those of you who like seing things through to a conclusion.
After much ponderation and constructing various cardboard models I have decided on the HTC Wizard, purchased from expansys (i-Mate K-Jam). There's a delay on delivery at the moment (3 Days!!!! I can't wait) but once it arrives I'll post back with my oppinions.
I've also heard that my mate is buying the JasJar so I'll be able to make a comparison and post it back.
***************************
:!: Come on Friday! :!:
***************************
D'oh! Just a note not say the expansys delivery has been put back but they've dropped the price too.
***************************
:!: Come on Some-Day! :!:
***************************
Just been looking at some larger photos of the buttons
http://forum.xda-developers.com/files/keyboard-flash.jpg
I take back my spectrum comments, they look pretty good.
Hurrah!
Ok! I've got my Wizard at last. I ended up buying the Qtek 9100 rather than the K-Jam. Looks like I'll miss out on Club i-Mate. :-(
Thought I'd post my views on the phone here just to give closure to anyone reading this thread.
The screen is very sharp. Everything obviously is smaller because the pixels are closer together but the overall effect is a very good screen. The guy in our office with really bad eyesight liked it and he's normally a miserable git when it comes to gadgets.
I take back my comments about the keyboard, it looks fantastic, the action is really great and you can use it to type replies to text messages on the move, which is something I've always struggled with before using the Transcriber. People are also really impressed when the screen rotates thru' to landscape.
I've used it for playing some music and although the speakers built in are tinny as you'd expect, the headphones are really good. I don't know if they'd be the same for the i-Mate but they fit comfortably in my ears and have a very good sound compared to the old XDA & XDA II headphones (Not that that would be hard)!
I miss having a cradle. It was nice to be able to display your phone on your desk while it was charging. Just using a USB cable makes it all feel a bit less sexy as an experience but then you can't have everything I suppose.
The coolest thing I found was the Stylus. It's about 50mm long when it first comes out of the phone. Then you give it a little pull and it extends to... hold on let me get a ruler... 85mm. It's not as comfy to use as the XDA/XDA II styli but since i haven't used it for writing much it doesn't matter. The keyboard is so easy to pull out and use that I've only really used the stylus to point at stuff so that my fingers don't get the screen dirty. The softkeys in WM 2005 also mean that you rarely need to touch the screen.
It's a bit chunkier than I expected but still not big. It's only marginally bigger than my girlfriends Nokia 6230 and compared to an older XDA model it feels like it's tiny!
Voice recognition button on the side works really well so far. I've got about 10 contacts programmed in and it seems to be picking them up ok, even in the car.
Overall, i'm yet to find much of a fault with it. I'll try to get some piccies of bits posted sometime next week.
Feel free to ask any questions.
JASJAR II
When the damn thing releases.....of course
I really wouldnt auction my spare kidney and buy it, and then suffer with a RAM deficit! My xda 2 currently running on wm5, has 128megs ram and 32megs rom....compared to 43megs ram & rom of jasjar........one word.......RIDICULOUS!
i cant believe seeing a 7MB RAM free on a device, and i dont ever want to see it! HTC/ IMATE/ Whoever claim they put in less RAM for extended battery life....bucket of crap! I really dont care for those couple extra hours that i'd probably get, and i dont mind carrying a spare battery or a charger wherever i go....
Its a handicap which is BIG! Besides this, the Jasjar is divinely irresistable, and i cant stop oggling at it :shock:
So, i guess i'll wait for a JJ II to come out with same form factor, and somemore ram which would make the device practical....
HTC do you hear me??????
San
weeel
:shock:
RAM isn't everything. I have been using the device for a day now (Non-stop), often running WMP10, Outlook, PIE etc also playing Tomb Raider. I haven't noticed any diference between this and my XDA II which had I think 64Mb and a 400 odd MHz processor. The odd app is a trifle slow to load up but nothing more major than that.
If the battery life sacrifice is true, then it's not for this little puppy. All this usage (with wi-fi on but not actually using a wi-fi network) and the battery didn't drop below 60% yesterday (Using lightly whilst at work and heavily in the evening. I even synced using bluetooth).
Memory has crept down to 1Mb program mem free at times but I assume windows is just doing its thing because this comes back up after a while and I don't notice any drop in performance.
Re: Hurrah!
eayuwna said:
I miss having a cradle. It was nice to be able to display your phone on your desk while it was charging. Just using a USB cable makes it all feel a bit less sexy as an experience but then you can't have everything I suppose.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This site: http://www.mobilefun.co.uk/product/5735.htm claims that this desktop charger/cradle is compatible with the K-Jam so if that's true then it should be OK for your QTek. 8)

Best PDA nowadays?

I tried the search button but couldn't find my answer.
My XDA II is having some "age issues" and I'm planning on replacing it.
But, what is the best choice nowadays? What is the best replacement for my XDAII? I'd like a similar one but with WM5, better camera maybe, WIFI, BT and a powerful but stable processor of course. I’m using Tomtom navigation on it as well.
Thanks for the advice.
Hard to say. I'd say, right now, either the Wizard or, if the price difference isn't a problem, the TyTN. I wouldn't myself get the Universal - I have both the Univ and Wizard and prefer the latter in everyday life.
Or, if you don't mind the need for manual import, the new VGA Gigabyte i128 (see http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=273825 ).
Finally, you can wait for the O2 Flame / HTC Omni, they're hopefully much better than the Universal
Thanks for the quick reply Menneisyys, I'm looking into it.
TYTN looks promising..
Hello,
I would say that the best choice at the moment is TyTN. I have one and I must say that this is it. I have had also Universal for some time so I've compared them and for me TyTN is better. Maybe the processor is 400MHz but from what I've heard Samsung has better architecture that Intel. For me it's enough, besides I must tell that Universal sometimes had some lags (probably the reason is VGA screen). You can compare technical details and besides VGA screen (and eventually the processor) TyTN has better tech specs. It's smaller, fits in your pocket without problems (Universal is really much bigger, i can send photo of these two lying to each other if you want) and i prefer the keaboard of TyTN as well. I must say that I'm very pleased with this device
i dont want the slide keyboad and the thickness it adds so imho
Trinity is what i would get
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=284452
id say wait a lil while
toemke said:
I tried the search button but couldn't find my answer.
My XDA II is having some "age issues" and I'm planning on replacing it.
But, what is the best choice nowadays? What is the best replacement for my XDAII? I'd like a similar one but with WM5, better camera maybe, WIFI, BT and a powerful but stable processor of course. I’m using Tomtom navigation on it as well.
Thanks for the advice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is hard to say what is the best pda it all depends on your usage and what qualities you prefer in pda. I would say HTC Artemis/HTC P3300/O2 XDA Orbit is one of the best. It has integrated GPS, pretty compact and very light for Pocket PC, decent screen, good phone functionality and good battery life.
that samsung is not a phone though it's more of a microlaptop
and i know as soon as i get a device with gps
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_positioning_system
will hit and blow gps out of the water
It is hard to say what is the best pda it all depends on your usage and what qualities you prefer in pda.
v.v good point well made
Hi Rudegar, long time no see.
Thanks to all of you for the inputs.
I think I narrowed it down to TYTN or Trinity.
Next stop is E-Bay...
Thanks again.
toemke said:
I tried the search button but couldn't find my answer.
My XDA II is having some "age issues" and I'm planning on replacing it.
But, what is the best choice nowadays? What is the best replacement for my XDAII? I'd like a similar one but with WM5, better camera maybe, WIFI, BT and a powerful but stable processor of course. I’m using Tomtom navigation on it as well.
Thanks for the advice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi have look at this.
http://www.4winmobile.com/viewtopic.php?p=42938
It provide a good over view, and some more links to see if there is any one else out there that can answers your question. After my current phones contract expires, end of Feb, I will get one. I can’t wait…
Now this is what I call a review! Looks like a great device.
Thanks treecare.
Rudegar said:
that samsung is not a phone though it's more of a microlaptop
and i know as soon as i get a device with gps
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_positioning_system
will hit and blow gps out of the water
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Galileo is still some way off becoming operational - I should worry about it just now.
If you want a one hand phone, you should definitely look into a P525 by ASUS. The benchmark tests are amazing. I'm getting mine in 2 days.
My Universal is over a year old and I still love it. I don't think that for me the TyTn is a replacement for the Universal. I simply love the large VGA screen and the keyboard, though this comes with a downside of large size. However during this time I never felt that it was too large not to be pocketable.
I will wait till a device comes out with a large VGA screen and a qwerty keyboard.
But as we all agree these are personal preferences. I do a lot of work on the Planmaker spreadsheet and a lot of browsing using Netfront and so a good screen is probably on the highest priority.
Regards
I use mine mostly as a phone, planning of agenda's, calculations, tomtom navigation, Aviation navigation and utilities, camera and some utilities from programs I installed on it.
My XDA II did just fine but I miss the WM5. Rotating screens and stuff and the fact that is starting to show some defects (sound disappearing, self soft reset...)
I want the same PDA but up to date..I think I got a pretty good idea of what I want now. TYTN, Trinity or XDA Orbit.

Retiring my XDA IIi - what next?

It has served me well for the last couple of years, but the time has come for a change.
I haven't been keeping track of all the new releases, so could I please ask for your recommendations for my next purchase?
- I am in the UK
- Would find a keyboard quite useful
- Not bothered about the camera
- Would be handy to be able to use it as an IR remote (without having to be a couple of feet away from the device for it to work!)
Thank you
me too.
it's been a good phone, but surely there's something better out there now...?
VGA, a keyboard and a less buggy OS would be nice.
but i want a phone - not something that's a work-out to lift to my ear.
failing that, i'll wait.
my II/IIi & I have been together for 3 yrs now. What's another?
Hi,
Some rambled jottings that may help...
My XDA 2i broke at Christmas.
I loved it.
Went in to the shop, and because I still had insurance they told me they would replace it free.
However I was told the XDA2i was no longer available, so they gave me a choice and sent me a free XDA EXEC.
After using this for a while, I went and got a (Artemis0) O2 Orbit. The Exec, even with ssome REALLy good features was not appropriate to my needs.
So, the XDA Orbit then....
Well. it's different.... and let me say first that it's fine - even 'really good'!!
So let me find a few niggles....
Its got a smaller feel (slightly slippery without case).
The latching mechanism of the card is a pain and may not last 3 years
But the fact it can do Navigation, wireless etc is a plus.
ActiveSynch 4.x is needed, and in my humble opinion is not so user friendly at 3.x.
My eyesights going now I'm in my late 50's and I think the screen size is just a bit too small. If you increase the text size, then things don't quite 'fit in', so it's not ideal.
However, I note the Athena 5 on the way and it sounds good .... is bigger - (too big?).
I also want 3G to get movies, and a plan that gives me really cheap internet.
... But in the meantime, I'm happy waiting with my Orbit until something better comes along.
Ann
The Orbit and HTC P3300 both have WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS on board, the T-Mobile variant (MDA-C-III) has no WiFi, if you don't need the WiFi the T-Mobile is by far the cheapest option for mobile internet access - Any of these devices are a nice unit and well worth considering, take a trip to your local store to check them out - Mike
No IR or keyboard though!

Orbit now or wait

I am considering buying the o2 XDA orbit but there have been comments re the processor being a bit slow. However the alternatives ie.the argon seems to be larger and not readily available and I am not sure whether it is a direct replacement.
Does anyone know if there is an alternative on the way, bearing in mind that if I get the Orbit it will most probably be on an 18 month contract. Is it worth waiting or will the orbit be good enough for now.
Neil
I'm not sure if this will help at all but I've kind of been in the same situation and I guess it depends on what you want out of your device...
I've had the Jamin on o2 for the past 12 months and have been happy with it so I'm upgrading to the Orbit for at least another 12months as soon as possible.
I've looked at everything else available and the Orbit is the safest bet for now for what I want. (Small, good looking, easy to use, good feature set without any naff gimmicks).
WM6 should be out for it before long with any luck as well so it's certainly nowhere near outdated yet.
Also in all my internet scouring over the past couple of weeks, I've not came across any new devices in development that are due out any time soon or are similar to the Orbit. I would be interested, like you, to see if anyone else has though.
There was actually a 'non pocket-pc' device that caught my attention when I was looking at what's available at the moment, something I had to consider because of what it has to offer - The Nokia N95, which on paper looks great...but it would be a big change for me!, it's a bit bulky, some of the reviews haven't been that great & I really don't like the 'media centre' style gimmicks these phones seem to have because by personal preference, that's not really what I want my device for...
Orbit or wait
Hi
Thanks for that. The N95 was the alternative I was looking at having had the N80 for 12 months, however the outlook side and the direct push e-mail appeals as does the ability to download OS maps and use with the GPS looks handy on the bigger screen.
The Argon, the Trion and the Atom life are shown as alternatives which are brand new with faster processors and bigger memory but getting hold of one is something else.
Neil
Well it's getting hold of them and then there's the size & weight of them!
My ideal device would be something just like the Orbit but smaller & lighter still and with a better camera.
I'm still quite tempted by the N95,
Orbit or wait
I think it comes down to personal taste. I did not like the look and the feel of the N95 when I looked at it and preferred the bigger screen on the Orbit, also felt like a change from Nokia & Symbian OS.
Neil
I've been reading a lot of reviews on the N95 and I get the impression from the comments sections in the majority of them that there aren't many happy N95 users out there!
A lot seem to be unhappy about device restarts, the camera not being as good as they expected, battery life issues, sluggish OS, GPS connectivity problems & the actual handset not feeling very "solid" - I'm not just picking one or two comments either, - this seems to be the running theme,
In fact, it's difficult to find many positive comments on the N95, I get the feeling that first impressions are great but over time it's not all that it's being marketed as.
Orbit or wait
I think that it is most probably usual teething problems. I had the same issues with the N80 but most appear to have resolved themselves although it did take a few software updates.
I just find that although I use the camera a lot I prefer the photograhs taken by a camera so a 5 M camera is a waste to me.
And again I did not like the look and the feel.
Neil
xda argon (htc p6300 / panda) on the way
http://www.my-xda.com/argon_index.htm
Take a look here for a brief look video of the XDA Orbit.
bbobeckyj said:
xda argon (htc p6300 / panda) on the way
http://www.my-xda.com/argon_index.htm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi
I believe that the Argon is bigger than the orbit?
When will this become widely available?
Neil
argon
bbobeckyj said:
xda argon (htc p6300 / panda) on the way
http://www.my-xda.com/argon_index.htm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
According to customer service the argon is only on business tariffs and the best one the atom life is not going to be sold by o2 uk.
sucks
Neil
I agree with Tinnitus. Ive been an Exec user for the past 12 months on O2. My exec has bust just as my contract expires so Im in the market for a new phone on any network.
I prefer ActiveSync to the Nokia Synch tool, the hardware is reliable, easy to use and looks good.
(And the support on this forum is next to none).
Recommendation
I was in a similar situation where i had to decide to wait or go for the Orbit. I chose the latter and also purchased a 2 gig memory card to throw most things onto and free up most of the space, to be honest it works really well it doesnt seem slow and i have had no problems with any of the software. in fact when i came to reinstall the copilot i have to say that the after sales support for this product was exceptional and feel really glad that i went ahead. I did consider most other options even the ones they have in Germany but my Orbit and I are very happy, not sure if that will help any.
happy times
Orbit or wait
HI
Any thoughts re the Trion. I am considering this as an alternative purely because of the faster processor.
Has anybody any comments re playing movies via the media player??
Neil
Neil,
I tried playing a short AVI file (MJPG, 640x480 @30.00fps - 14552Kbps) and this was very choppy on the Trion.
See other post:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=306378
SG
Orbit or wait
Just to close of my section I have purchased the orbit and I am generally happy. I have not learnt all the features and push email only works with Exchange 2003, have checked properly, however seeing the amount of e-mails I get I would suggest that the phone would be permanently singing with the sound of e-mails arriving, so maybe not such a bad thing.
There are 1 or 2 hang ups which I will start in a new post which hopefully will sort these out.
Thanks for all your help.
Neil
There's a free utility called e-moze
http://www.emoze.com/
it can be worth a look if you are desperate for push e-mail, I use it at work.
Well, mines on it's way! Got it for £30 then £30 a month for 12 months on contract (should be able to drop that to 20 after 6 though with any luck), pretty much the same deal I had my Prophet on.
Prophet has just gone up on eBay.
Exciting times.

Categories

Resources