Database Info

Should i buy into the XDAII or not ?

HI
Looking for some input from users of the XDAII.
I have been reading these forums for a while now and i see lots and LOTS of problems with the XDAII. Specifically it seems to be flaky as a phone ...go figure.....
So what i am wondering is if you had your time over would you buy into the XDAII again or give it a miss based on your user experience?
Primarily i need GPS navigation around U.K (as an Aussie who has only been here a few months i find the road signs and directions on signs confusing to say the least...lets not even get into some of the stupid junctions and the way they are set up...). The phone part is nice and is of course why i am considering it over an Ipaq. However whats the point of an XDAII if the phone is flaky ? i need reliable comms on the road not excuses ..or lost data on the SD card...or blue tooth problems etc etc....
Having said all that i still really want one but i am just worried about all the niggly problems i will in all likely hood have to deal with and frankly who needs more s*** in their life then the boss/wife/kids/lover/s already give us ;-) ( i'm talking about you guys there not me , i only flirt with my computer )
So i am stuck right now between the XDAII or an Ipaq........perhaps the Ipaq and my trusty 6310i is the way to go......but the idea of a phone wrapped into the pda is SO so appealing......
ah , decisions decisions.....
anyone got any words of wisdom ?
Thanks for your input
Regards
Mark

I'll always choose XDA II hands-down over Ipaq and 6310i. Bluetooth for the in the latest ROM update is fixed. I've had my XDA for 3 months now and I have no regrets...Well, maybe when XDA III comes out probably

I was pondering this same question just yesterday, wondering whether I was happy with my XDA2 when I see so many people in these forums with problems.
The truth is that it's still a superb machine. These forums will always be full of the users who have problems and questions - that's why this forum exists. The phone isn't flaky at all, IMHO. I've never had a problem, and everything works as well as I would expect, including my (original, never-upgraded) ROM and Bluetooth stuff.
But then I've never tried GPS, and this seems to be the cause of a lot of problems for people.
A small vocal minority of people will never be happy with their XDA2 because it isn't perfect in their definition. The posts of those people might give the impression that the XDA2 is fundamentally flawed, which IMHO it isn't at all. It's not perfect, but then nobody who complains has ever proposed an alternative that is.
All devices have their faults and weaknesses. The XDA2 has far fewer than anything else I've ever used. Go for it!

also people without issues dont really write that many thread
looking for asnwers as to why they dont have issues and what they
are to do to change that

Integrated Wi-Fi and blue tooth on the 6300 and it'll most likely be cheaper for U.S. customers who don't want a plan, it's an easy decision for me.

Hi
yeah i'm on the fence with this one. When i read a problem post i decide to give it a miss. then i read someone who say they have such joy with this unit and i think yeah i'm going for it.
i do this evryday. result ...a monh later i dont have anything !!!
so i reckon a lot of you are right, its probaly screwy software that messes up the phone.
I'm going for it !!!
Now watch all my frantic posts ...Help BT not working, my phone talks to me after midnight , ...my XDAII has a crush on me and wont stop stalking me etc
Thanks for the opininons
Best Regards and you'll be hearing from me soon heheheehe
Mark

Well, good luck! If I had a choice, I wouldn't go with O2 again. While the XDA2 may be good, I have been distinctly unimpressed with O2, having come from Orange.
If you can (and I'm not sure when Orange are to release their M1000) go for a non-O2 XDA2, or get an unlocked one.
Let us know how you get on.

i just gotten my 2020 after being without my xda1 since it were stolen i'm happy with it
though i think that people should know that a xda1 and 2 are much closer to the pc world then cellphone world
also i feel that palm is more of a PDA and pocketpc's are more well
pc's which fit the pocket
this mean that the user have to be more active making it spin
and also that the user have more power to mess up the device

sublimatica said:
A small vocal minority of people will never be happy with their XDA2 because it isn't perfect in their definition. The posts of those people might give the impression that the XDA2 is fundamentally flawed, which IMHO it isn't at all. It's not perfect, but then nobody who complains has ever proposed an alternative that is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
very well said. i think the issue with the XDA2 is either people are too tech-oriented and want to make the XDA2 do amazing things (which it can, but of course we cant claim that it was designed to do EVERYTHING) or the noobs who tinker with it and end up messing up, then blaming the manufacturers, software, etc. etc.
But if you're a normal user. . . out of the box, the XDAII in GENERAL is a sublime piece of hardware.

im done with PDA's

Had enough,
sure i shall miss the stuff you can do but tbh for me most avg phones are closing in fast,on ability and im sick to death of crashes,bugs,reinstall's
it jusy aint worth the headache,im off to find a decent Phone

well the more normal "smart" phones catch up
the more advanced their software will be and
the more issues they will get
:s
we're doomed if we do and doomed if we dont

yer your right just phone and msn n email will do me these days

If I would put the energy that I put into my PDA (to get it work properly to keep in touch with my mates), into the relationsships with my friends, they would like me more than now... Most of them don't care if I call then via VoIP or Skype if at least I DO call...

I had a few of things that bugged me about having a PDA ,but i compromised them in the belief that ,they it will be far more worthwhile to have one and live with the issues
but the faults list grows and the good point just arent enough

TBH I don't know what the fuss is about. I have an XDA mini which is fabulous. Never crashed in 6 months and I'm running Tom Tom aswell. The only problem is that it's not working properly now, but that's since it got soaked in my pocket riding from Newcastle to Edinburgh on the bike in the rain. It's still going and it handles everything I do and more without question. I'm sticking with my PDA phone to save me carrying two things around with me (I need all the stuff when I'm running a business).

I have had my last 3 HTC devices from a friend who has bought them, had problems, and bought the next one that comes along thinking things will get better.
I never have these unreliability issues he always has, and they are the exact same devices he has had.
I put it down to the type of person, and knowledge of the device.
Sure, you shouldn't need to be a technical person just to use a PDA, but it obviously makes a difference.
Maybe you just need to stick to a Palm or Blackberry

Jace - I'm interested to know which device you used.
I used the xda2s and the xda exec and got really fed up with both.
I'm not remotely technical and just wanted a good phone that does email and few other bits when needed.
Got the xda mini in July this year and have never looked back. It is a pure phone that does the few extra things I need without issue.
If possible I suggest you try it as you may be surprisingly pleased with it.
HPJ

In a way, I could understand where the original poster is coming from. But don't get me wrong I love windows mobile devices, but if your like most people, we just want things to work. So when things don't work, your either the type that'll find ways to make it work, or the type that'll just find another device. We have to be honest, those of us that come in and out of these forums on a daily basis with hacks and solutions and those of us looking for hacks and solutions for our windows powered devices are among the few that'll actually take the time out to do so. If you think about it, It can literally take up to 3 months are more to actually get the device operating exactly the way you wanted it. Mabey that's just a little too long for the average person.
I too have felt like the OP, contemplating over and over again, after the countless amount of resets, whether or not I should just go get a fancy nokia n series or something, but I have grown found of my wizard, and its kinda of fun hacking away at its OS to see it become highly operational, kinda like the way M$ should of made it out the box. Just my two cents.

Here is a story about a friend of mine (no point posting my opinion as part of the reason I love my Jamin is the fact that I can tweak it and make little apps for it - so I don't care even if it does require reset on occasion).
Any way this friend has a company phone (a simple Nokia) and he gets a lot of calls on it (part of the job). Trouble is this phone doesn't have BT so my friend complained that at the end of the day his ear heart.
The thing is, this particular friend always told me that Phone edition Pocket PC devices are too unstable, too big and generally useless as phones.
One they he got a MIO a701. At first he told me he was just using it for the BT so he can speak through the hands-free.
Now he just won't give it up. Even when his headset broke he still refused to go back to the regular phone.
Once while on a lunch break 2 minutes walk outside the office, he wanted to log in to his account on our server but for some reason the device couldn't connect (faulty GPRS settings). He begged me to use my Jamin.
I wouldn't let him, arguing that his work station was just an elevator ride away.
Eventually he broke, and admitted that he just couldn't give up the convenience.

HPJ
I have owned a MDA Compact,which was ok but when i up dated the ROM from the TMobile site it fried the unit,
I then got an Exec,i have found that ok for my needs,(being phone,email,msn,web browsing)
but i agree with the above comments for some one not so minded tech wise,then maybe an incorrect choice of device for me
Basically an out the box unit ,is ok,just ok
but to make it decent takes some effort to get the best from the device
Ok they cant make the device suit everyone out the box,i undertsand that
however freezing up and soft resets a plenty,they are just too unstable for me
beofre my job required me to be away for long periods and the Exec fitted my needs ,now i think ill just be happy with less abilitys and more stability
The smartphones and nokias are gaining ground fast,for my needs maye they are better
The upside for me is the way you can alter and personalise the devices
but to be used day in day out as also my main phone there are far to unstable
In my case i had a compact which went tits up after a simple ROM update,
then an Exec which would freeeze and be a bit moody but then when the shutdown.battery problem started ouccruing(got new battery now)i just said to myself
you know what aint worth the hassle
dodgy pics a cheap nokia can match and beng a brick etc etc
maybe id be more suited to a smartphone or just a humble phone but me and HTC Pda just dont work out

I suppose at this point in timei dont have the time to mess around too much with the units
So my ideal maybe my Exec for away from home times and other certain situs but day to day maybe a an all singing all dancing mobile

ntornics said:
its kinda of fun hacking away at its OS to see it become highly operational,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You hit the nail on the head. You find it fun, and actually know how to get into the OS and mess around with it. There are plenty out there like me who haven't the faintest clue. We want our xda's to work out the box, and thats all. We come on this forum to 'take' information: get interesting apps, ask silly questions etc. I've very rarely ever actually contributed as such.
And then, when something doesn't work, we either continue to bang our heads against a wall trying to get a fix (from you guys, not from ourselves), or we move on.
Getting my xda mini s was my last attempt, and I am glad to say that it has never crashed; is never slow on answering a call; does not look like it belongs in a laptop case; and email works perfectly. The only thing I would like would be a today screen like I see so many screen shots of on here, but I haven't a clue and it would probably slow the thing down anyway :wink:
These devices are so young anyway it's no surprise they have problems. Can't wait to see what's gonna be around in 5 years time.....

good point mate

ive just read the hermes prob thread & ive had the exec battery problem
nothing is flawless in life,but it dont help that they release these products with faults
your mayor phone makers dont release units with big issues
i think id seen the light when having the exec battery problem came along and while a new battery arrived,i used a nokia 3250 it was such a nice change to have a device that preformed its functions
i just think we accpet a lot in PDA's that maybe we wouldnt put up with in a PC,Car or phone
we think its a trade of for there many functions for some problems but were do you draw the line
how many soft resets do we do?freezes?
anyone reading this do you feel ive just picked the wrong devices?,if so what do you think may have been with hindsight a better option?

Can't wait to see what's gonna be around in 5 years time.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what today hang around for 5years time?
apart from social deseases ?

Hermes or Universal?

Hello All,
Which is the best between these 2 machines? What are the main differences? Please help....
I have a choice of these 2 PDA's and have no idea which to choose....
Many thanks.
Jimmy

One vote for Universal

407,592 votes for the Hermes
So far from my experience with both the Hermes has been the easiest to work with in terms of size and suitability for use as a primary phone.
EDIT:: Check the wiki pages for the main differences.....take into account the sizes however.

It all depends on whether you really need the VGA screen. If you don't, go for the Hermes.

Well I couldnt let the Universal go... I picked one up off Ebay for £45.
It was an old couple who had received it as an upgrade and didnt want it... It is in perfect condition, and has a 2GB SD Card.....
I have just got to learn how to use it now...
I have posted this somewhere else on this forum, but can anyone tell me about the GPRS? I need to ensure that I don't use this feature on the phone, otherwise I will get a massive bill....... Wifi is free and is almost everywhere so I can use this. Can the GPRS be turned off, or does it need this to work at all.... If it cannot be turned off, how do I make sure that I dont use it, and only wifi or the normal GSM...
Once again.. Many thanks... And I am a total beginner to PDA's and the likes.. So be gentle..

Enjoy your Universal! It's been my first cellphone ever and even until today one of the most sophisticated handhelds ever produced in my view. It misses a few things like builtin GPS, HSDPA (normal 3G is quite ok though), a 3D chip (purely optional at least for me) and the RAM is a bit on the skimpy side. But there's still one of the best hardware keyboards I've seen and the VGA screen that always made me wonder how anybody can still use QVGA (and how HTC didn't make the switch a long time ago). So many things (from PDFs over ebooks to webpages) are totally unusable with QVGA and only performance reasons are speaking for this resolution.
Apart from that swivel format was and is probably not the best choice. In the beginning there were lots of programs that totally didn't get along with the inverted screen (or the landscape factor) and even now that that is fixed the hinge sure is one of the weak points of this device. And while I haven't managed to break mine so far it sure is not as sturdy anymore as it used to be. What's more is that the Uni definitely is one bulky device, but I actually never minded when people stared incredulously at me holding "the brick" to my ear ;-) With a 4.800 mAh battery attached it's beyond good and evil anyway...
I just realized how many weak points I mentioned and how I actually couldn't care less about them. The Universal always seemed a bit like a case study and an experiment and it might very well end up being a one of it's kind in HTCs lineup if the Omni proved indeed to be vaporware. But like all good things it just gets better and better (I'm pretty sure that it is the perfect candidate for an early Android release as well) as time passes and I can hardly imagine myself replacing the little bugger before it has lived through its third year. So once again, have fun starting out with one of the greatest and most prominent WM phones on the market!

magnets on leather cases

Hi,
My question is general, can those magnets on leather cases damage our precious devices? My device is a zinc, when it has not enter into suspend mode yet and i place it already in my leather(belt type) case, it does weird things, the calendar application launches, dialer windows is open, etc, etc. I'm worried that after some time my device will get bricked. Kindly advice...

flash based memory or electronics in general is not affected by magents
even real harddisks require a very strong magenet to affect it's data
it's an old myth
like people believe that draining their batt 100% before changing is good

Nothing to do with WinMo but BlackBerries use a magnet on the case to actually tell when the device has been holstered and so lock it. If it were harmful i don't see that RIM would do it that way.

The Touch Diamon & PRO and probably the HD all have the magnetic stylis.

Rudegar said:
flash based memory or electronics in general is not affected by magents
even real harddisks require a very strong magenet to affect it's data
it's an old myth
like people believe that draining their batt 100% before changing is good
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
great this prompts me to search if we already have a myth thread, that I might have missed.
thank you all, for your replies. pls do keep it coming...

Options for a custom ROM or 3rd party OS to degoogle rugged smartphone?

Hi everyone,
Like most people I've been aware of the news articles about Goggle and Apple tracking peoples activity on their smartphones for a long time (not to mention the other app companies), that combined with a lack of a real need for the capabilities of a smartphone means I've stuck with old fashioned "dumb" phones and until recently I've been content with them.
That changed during the long lockdowns, I became aware for the first time of some of the alternative privacy focused OS's that were out there. I also found some of the Chinese rugged phones and even after the the initial "ooh shiny" reaction faded I still liked the idea of them and as my current phone seems to be dieing I thought I'd look if any of these privacy OS's were compatible with any of the rugged smartphones. That turned into a real rabbit hole that I'm still trying to find my way out of.
Could any of the kind souls here take pity on a bewildered, bamboozled and quite frankly utterly and completely lost idiot and maybe suggest either a device compatible with any of these OS's or something that could be tinkered to work?
I don't feel I know enough on this subject to narrow down what I want in the OS other than I would like to run one or two google apps on it. I know this might defeat the point of degoogleing the phone but they are just apps for public transport in my area.
As for the hardware, as I haven't used a smartphone before I can't really say much about what I'm looking for. The only things I really want would be a a minimum of a 6 inch, decent enough CPU, ram ect that using it dosen't make me feel like I'm pulling out my hair and a camera that can take at least an OKish picture and a large battery.
I apologize if this post reads like I'm a choosy beggar, I really want to find a combination that works but I just seem to be getting myself more and more confused.
Many thanks for taking the time to read this post

The phone's Android version should be Android 8+ thus it's Project Treble enabled, means you are able to flash GSI ROMs.

That was one option I was looking into but some sources seemed to say it couldn't be done on Mediatek powered devices as the company doesn't release their drivers. If thats wrong it would certanly be an easy option.

You may look inside here:
Complete List of Lineage OS Supported Devices | KrispiTech 2023
Here you will find a list of every single Android smartphone and tablet that currently has official support for the popular custom ROM Lineage OS.
krispitech.com

Thanks for the suggestion and link jwoegerbauer, I'll have a look and see if theirs anything that fits.