So my phone (SPV m500) was nicked and even though Orange could see who has my phone (IMEI + SIM network tracking) they won't tell me anything or do a thing about it and the police even though they were happy to take my report, "don't really get involved with stolen phone enquiries"..WTF?
I have looked at the Vario on T-Mob, XDA mini S on O2, SPV M600 on Orange and want some advice from seasoned users as to which phone and company comes up trumps.
I need built in wifi, a decent-ish camera, very very small amount of internet useage, the ability to stream audio to a headset (mono if poss) and cos I only make a small number of outbound calls, a very cheap 12 month package. Any ideas?
Re: New Phone - Help me decide: Prophet, Magician, wizard, T
phatphat said:
So my phone (SPV m500) was nicked and even though Orange could see who has my phone (IMEI + SIM network tracking) they won't tell me anything or do a thing about it and the police even though they were happy to take my report, "don't really get involved with stolen phone enquiries"..WTF?
I have looked at the Vario on T-Mob, XDA mini S on O2, SPV M600 on Orange and want some advice from seasoned users as to which phone and company comes up trumps.
I need built in wifi, a decent-ish camera, very very small amount of internet useage, the ability to stream audio to a headset (mono if poss) and cos I only make a small number of outbound calls, a very cheap 12 month package. Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm partial to the TyTN/Hermes/Vario II, but it ain't out yet, so have got a monthly contract that I can cancel at anytime in the meantime.
If you wanna stream audio, for good quality, stereo or mono, make sure the device does A2DP.
If you'll be using data, the £7.50 for relatively unlimted data bundle on Tmobile is hard to beat.
Thanks for that
The only problem is I need it now, and I just got back from visiting the carphone warehouse, O2 shop and T-mobile shop and all of them had no clue about the Hermes/TyTn/VarioII and looked at me like I had just questioned their parentage!
Is the vario/XDA mini S a good choice as it's available on a £20 per month contract (all I really need) for £49?
The SPV M600 (prophet) is always out of stock and much more expensive to buy and you have to have it on a expensive tarif.
Which one is better/worse?
phatphat said:
Is the vario/XDA mini S a good choice as it's available on a £20 per month contract (all I really need) for £49?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not a bad deal, but again, make sure you get unlimited data - maikes such a device much more usable. Having to curtail my own data usage with O2 by disabling push email, turning off images on browsing etc, is a PITA.
Good point(s), but is the 02 XDA mini s a better handset than the Orange SPV m600?
New Phone
phatphat,
I just received my new Atom, and I frickin love it!!!!!!! I went from a Magician to the Atom and what a difference. Way better sound than on the Magician, both through the earpiece and on the built in speaker phone. A little smaller phone physically, and WM2005 rocks. My phone came pre installed with the newest Rom so no issues there either. I have read some negative stuff about the Atom, so I was a little concerned. That all dissapeared when I used it for the first couple of days. I never thought that a phone could ever top the excitement I first fealt when I used my Magician for the first time, but the Atom topped it......by far!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Todd
New Phone
phatphat,
I just received my new Atom, and I frickin love it!!!!!!! I went from a Magician to the Atom and what a difference. Way better sound than on the Magician, both through the earpiece and on the built in speaker phone. A little smaller phone physically, and WM2005 rocks. My phone came pre installed with the newest Rom so no issues there either. I have read some negative stuff about the Atom, so I was a little concerned. That all dissapeared when I used it for the first couple of days. I never thought that a phone could ever top the excitement I first fealt when I used my Magician for the first time, but the Atom topped it......by far!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Todd
I know what you mean about the first time you get a magician, (which was also the first PPC phone I had).!
I am considering the Prophet, but I'm not hearing great things about O2 even though thay have some cheap deals for tarifs/handsets, and orange want £179 for an m600.
I see the spec are quite similar in terms of functions (BT, WM5, Wifi etc) but Is the prophet/atom much better than the Wizard(XDA mini s / vario)?
and what are the technical differences between the Atom and prohet? (i know they are based on the same HTC reference but are there any differences in features/performance?)
Related
Hi,
I purchased an Imate Jam in the US a year ago (J&R) and I see all those ROM upgrades, should I upgrade? and what benefits would I gain from it? If should I upgrade which one would you recommend, I would also like Big Storage I guess?
Everything works great but here are some things that I'd like to see improved and maybe a ROM upgrade might help those.
- Pressing phone can be a bit sluggish when pressing the phone key, I;ve disable the search in the phone.
- Voice all not that clear on both ends
- and well more storage.
Imate Jam bought in US
T-mobile US
ROM 1.03.00 WWE
Radio 1.01.00
ExtRom 1.03.143 WWE
Thanks in advance!
Upgrades for iMate JAM
Hi MacPel,
I've got an imate with the 64mb onboard storage as well. I bought mine from Mad Monkey Boy's Gadgets. I'd buy an upgrade from him in an instant--great service. I use ATT Wireless, which despite the merger with Cingular, remains ATT SIM only - no exchange between 'em. The thing is the coolest phone or pda of anyone I know-they've never even heard of imate, HTC, or O2 out here-I'm the only gadget freak in my business, I guess. Even my Palm and Treo friends thinks it's cool. I use it more for listening to podcasts now than anything else - even the phone! I have no trouble with call clarity but I wish the stupid speaker was easier to hear. I've used it overseas for phone, internet, games, ebooks, mp3's, and it was all great. Storage hasn't been a problem for me because I just use 1-2 GB sd cards and interchange them. I don't need any other mp3, TV or movie player so I don't have to send Apple my money. A bonus.
~Anyway, I'm wishing my JAM could upgrade to process A2DP audio. I don't understand it but I know I can't get stereo bluetooth streaming audio without it. I'm pursuing a thread here that might have a patch.
~I wish we could upgrade to Windows Mobile 2005 eventually...
~Onboard wifi would be nice but I've got a SanDisk wifi card that works great.
~A standard-sized headphone jack would be great for more choices of phones without using an adapter. But if we all go bluetooth it won't matter.
~I want a good-looking sturdy, flat, easy to access, stays-firmly-attached-to-the-belt case that has at least 3-4 slots for sd cards. Most are too bulky, especially when I'm wearing a dress (no belt) and have to use a lanyard at work.
~And finally, trade-in value toward the next device. Ha-dream on.
Frankly, I've looked at the Jammin and the new TREO 700W but they don't have enough to make me spend another $500-800 when I love what I've got.
just upgrade. i got my colleagues to buy the imate JAM, and the first time it hard reset (she dropped it) i just did the upgrade.
it was easy as she hadnt really customised anything, doesnt know what a registry edit is.
i personally would always upgrade the rom, there was a reason for it, usually better radio, better sound, better bluetooth etc etc
be very conscious of any "cooked roms" and the issues therein, great fun, be prepared for a few resets
if your not techncially minded, just use the released roms
I am eagerly anticipating our first ROM update for my phone, it was promised on the 23rd, moved to the 25th, both have come and gone, and someone has hinted at the 27th, so still i wait, but will be doing it the first day its released.
i am a gadget geek and want the latest. i never was until I got the xdaII, now I have the universal, and check these forums everyday for new stuff to do to it...
in short, do the ROM update, its fun, but throw in to that obsessive, timeconsuming, and frustrating...
Sorry to intervene in this American thread ;-)
@shankls,
Have you tried this thread 'O2 MINI NEW BLUETOOTH STOCK.'
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=33532&highlight=magician+stock+bt
@all
Upgrading is easy as you follow the insructions in the wiki & give you better reception, performance & battery life-span. Just be prepared and backup settings, PIM info, ext-rom cabs :!: & other things you want to keep. No bad thing to make a copy of your whole device the first time, you never new what you got untill...
Through this forum I have an imap-client, TCPMP for video, Mortplayer for audio, BIG Storager, A2DP, PocketZenPhone & many other apps, yes I check everyday .
When you upgrade the 1.13WWE rom from TMO is very recent & useful, just be prepared to change gprs AP & sms & mms settings as they differ for each telco & every country.
& yes I still love my magician, it's my mp3/video-player, web/mail-browser, game-console (no arcade :-(), PDA etc.
Cheers, M
from 64MB to 128MB ram 4 mda compact
i heard u can get a ram upgrade for the jam is this tru and where do i get it? price?
The JAM/S100 still has a faster processor than the new Orange M600 / S200 / Jamin.
I've had my S100 for a year now and my contract is nearly up, I am tempted to upgrade to the M600 but not sure it will really be worth it?
Are there any apps that can give my existing S100 the same functionality as M600/S200 ?
Most wanted features would be:
1. Outlook Photo sync and display when calling (I've tried some software but you have to assign photos seperate from outlook)
2. Sync Media files (Movies etc) like WM10 does
3. Push email (maybe mail2web works with WM2003 ?)
Other nice features that the M600/S200 has that would be worth a possible upgrade are:
USB2 (much faster media transfer - or is there STILL active sync bug?)
Quad band (I don't really go away except on hols when i leave it at home!)
2mp camera, (I have a seperate digital camera)
Wifi. I have wifi at home but cannot think of a reason to use it , I can just put it in the cradle!
Any one out there upgraded from S100 to S200 ? who would like to comment on speed / improvements etc ?
Thanks
OK So no replies then ?
I've decided to take the plunge and get the Orange M600.
I got it as a free upgrade and also managed to increase my inclusive mins
from 180 (Family plan) to 200 Xnet + 100 landline + 100 texts (Non family plan) for the same monthly price (£25)
Nice.
Lets hope the M600 does not dissapoint.
I have a Wizard (QTek 9100, MDA Vario) now and a Magician (S100, MDA Compact) before. The Wizard is as fast as the Magician, only the reboot needs some more time 'cause WM5. I have no problems with ActiveSync and Wifi nor anything else. I don't want a new WM2003/WM5 flame thread, but i think WM5 has many improvements. I loved the Metal case of my Magician, the Wizard is thiker and feels not so "stable", but it is also a good device. But the Prophet (S200) has the same size as the Magician.
Ok after long deliberation I have canceled my order for the M600.
I was waiting for Orange to have stock, during that time I have had a chance to play with my girlfriends new Pink Charmer (Mda 2 on T-mobile) and was dissapointed by the general reaction time and that it didnt play my movies as well as the S100 !) - I belive this phone has the same processor as the M600.
SO I have switched to Easymobile as they were doing a deal for £21 airtime for £1, its like a pay-as-you-go contract and I will probably PORT over to T-mobile when the next best MDA comes out (S300 anyone ?)..
Until then I have bought a 4gb MMC card for my S100.. ;-)
Did the 4 GB Card work?
The next MDA will be the Vario II (HTC Hermes), and he has a 300 Mhz Procesor.
Yup memory card worked fine..
it was a
Adata 4GB 200x Turbo MMC 4.0 from Ebay cost about 70 pounds.
I dont think its the actual phone which is slow but the ROM, a friend of mine has a MDA Compact II which I've played around with, which i thought was a bit slow compared to my M600 flashed with Imate Rom. Plus the MDA doesnt have the softkeys as the key config is still adapted to the old WM2003 style.
I also used to have a Magician and I can say that I am extremely happy with the upgrade and dont see any difference in reaction speed (apart from video playback, just need to reencode the video to 320x240). Plus the feel of the casing on the M600 is so much nicer, has kinda a rubber fell to it, giving a better non-split grip.
My feeling on the matter is that, yes, WM5 would be pretty hot, partly because it's more mature and handles a lot of things better, but mostly because it would finally allow proper A2DP outside of windows media player (most of my music is AAC, hence the frustration).
The wifi would only be a big boon to me because I like to use my handset for Skype, and swapping out cards is a pain. However, the different (though, perhaps not actually slower, in real-world terms?) CPU does not run any version of Skype that currently exists (they're working on it, I gather), so that wouldn't really help.
I like the look of the Hermes (Wizard + BT 2.0 + Xscale + 2Mpx cam) as my next handset, though I'm severely tempted by SE's W950i (4Gb internal memory, QVGA touch-screen, thin~).
I think that Windows Mobile based phones probably won't be really ready for the prime time for another generation or so
bobgorila said:
CPU does not run any version of Skype that currently exists (they're working on it, I gather), so that wouldn't really help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Skype works fine one my Prophet! voice calls too.
I guess they sorted it without telling me? Man, they're mean.
Also, I just remembered: the Muse!
Re: OK So NO Mobile 5 for my JAM/S100 BUT is it worth upgrad
gregory_marsh said:
Most wanted features would be:
1. Outlook Photo sync and display when calling (I've tried some software but you have to assign photos seperate from outlook)
2. Sync Media files (Movies etc) like WM10 does
3. Push email (maybe mail2web works with WM2003 ?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For push-mail I use VGSMail. It's an imap client. So you need an imap mail account, it doesn't work with pop accounts. http://www.vgsmail.com/ppc/
Regards, M
I upgraded my Magician to a Prophet (free upgrade and £130 on eBay for the Magician) and yes it's a little slower but not so much. In the Prophet forum there's a thread about overclocking the Prophet whick makes a huge improvement when running Skype and TomTom.
OK - due to a change of jobs and the time coming to upgrade anyway, I am looking to get a PDA phone. Previously been a nokia user.
Was looking at the Jamin, but then along came the Hermes.....
New place is all Terminal Server based so not sure if i will be able to sync with Outlook. May still want to use calendar on phone independently.
As far as I can see, the pros and cons are as follows :
Jamin - thinner - more likley to fit in pocket whereas Hermes will be a bit bigger.
Hermes has keyboard however - and jog wheel - useful especially if I use the calendar without syncing and have to enter data. (suppose i could sync with my home pc calendar and enter that way tho.) How much do people really use the keyboard on it? odd friends with them tend to say not much. But not having a keypad still concerns me.
Hermes is faster/newer, but uses micro SD cards and mini USB for headphones. Jamin uses SD and 2.5mm jack. Jamin can be overclocked a bit (seemingly with no great impact on stability) but should make it reasonable.
Both have wifi, both vibrate I assume and both can have MP3 ringtones.
I am currently on orange and their current plans suck quite honestly. Obviously T mobile have web n walk or whatever, but I still remember the days of one to no-one and have concerns - A phone with poor reception is useless to me. (mind you not sure the Jamin is available on other networks?) How much data would I really use anyway whilst out and about.
Hmmmm. Its all a bit too much and most of the shops near me don't have examples I can go in and pick up to see what they are like to even hold.
Any advice or things I have missed would be greatly appreciated.
I currently use M500, unlocked to use with T-Mobile Web'n'Walk.
I upgraded to M600 (again, unlocked it to use with T-Mobile), but it wasn't even capable of scrolling through pdf documents, so I've just got rid of it.
So, if there was a choice between M600 and M3100, I'd go for the M3100 due to the extra processor speed, even though I've never been keen on the extra thickness caused by having the thumb-board.
Another major reason for preferring the M3100 is that the M3100 has 3g and is capable of 3.5g, the best the M600 is capable of is Edge.
If I do get the M3100, I will of course unlock it and use it on T-Mobile web'n'Walk.
Incidentally, I was a loyal Orange customer for nearly 10 years, but I refuse to pay their data charges. I have had no issues with T-Mobile coverage, but then I am in London, so woulldn't really expect any problems.
Regards
Well I love my Jamin which I had for almost 3 month now. (Used regular Motorola for phone and iPaq for PDA before that).
I have a long commute on a bus each day, and it makes it pass quite fast, listening to MP3 and surfing the web at the same time.
For all my daily uses I never had a speed problem, and I never overclocked it. Although I don't use navigational software and Skype.
Yes, the full SD is a plus, but if I had the choice now I would probably choose the Hermes because of the 3G and the faster processor.
Mainly I would have suffered the microSD because the device is newer overall, but I like gadgets.
As for the keyboard, I used my PDAs for over year and a half for various stuff and never felt the need for it. Unless you intend to type word documents or very long emails, the virtual keyboard will do just fine.
Personally I would prefer a phone pad like on ASUS 525 (not out yet, unfortunately).
Well that's just another opinion for you.
Still not decided
Cheers guys, although I am still in a quandry.
I guess the remaining key questions are:
How much of a hassle is the lack of a normal headphone socket on the Hermes?
Given that I have finally concluded that I can live without a keyboard is the jog wheel on the Hermes worth the extra thickness - I have heard it is great for quick and easy use.
How much would I notice the slower speed (not bothered re Skype) - I have heard that people who have not had pda phones before notice the speed the most.
Any experiences advice welcomed again.
Cheers
C
How much would I really use the data part whilst out and about (as wifi at home) - could get a good deal with say vodafone if you exclude the data element. Am still worried about T mobiel coverage - I live in Kent and work would take me round the country once or twice a month - reception then would be useful.
Just seen main tytn thread about possible new Orange data oackage - may answer one of my questions.....
OK - the unlimited GPRS off peak only bundle is not what I was looking for.(Orange- you really don;t have a clue about this data stuff...)
Am still in a quandry, have been watching the tytn threads as well. Cost is also an issue at the mo, and looking at the other threads the device cost may be a bit steep for me.
Seems to be quite a few suspect handsets around with dodgy keys and screens that lose alignment. Byt the time the device comes out on Tmobile and Orange (imminent I know) and then gets out of stock and back in etc it will be months before I got one anyway. I am now thinking it would be better to get a Jamin on Orange and just not really use the data during the day too much. Just sign up for 12 months and look again next year.
Would be able to use existing and cheaper SD cards. 2.5mm jack is good. T mobile reception for the data still worries me as I would be travelling a bit. Hopefully most of the bugs are now ironed out of the
Jamin, and it is thinner.
Any other hints/advice would be appreciated.
I have a contract Mobile thats just run out I have to keep contract so have to upgrade (gotta get anything you can for free right). Ive currently got a nicely customised Orange SPV M700 Running WM6 and about 32gb worth of memory cards (mostly 4gb SDHC, cheers for the patch ). Ive tried many Im not limited by network as I always get a complete new contract as you get better offers, and all work about the same. I have tried the iPhone and quite frankly its VV disapointing, got some really nice features, nice and thin but TBH I think I get better sound out of my M700, which I have hooked up to my amp for my morning alarm, however I love the browser its 1000 times easier than anything for WM phones, and the switch for switching between landscape and portrait is good (although my brothers sometimes crashes when doing it???), but overall it just cant be advanced and just doesnt have the support it needs. Ive also had a play with the Athena (well T-Mobile Ameo) and it seems slightly better than the M700 but its huge not something I can just carry round in my pocket.
So basically I have 2 choices just buy a phone that is selling well on ebay and make some money back, or upgrade my M700 to something else but what???.
Also Im tempted to just change my M700 for the white versioon and sell the black version I have just for a change cause I've yet to see any good replacement housings for the M700.
Upgrading Orange SPV M700
I can't suggest what the best phone is to upgrade to as I have recently taken out a contract on an Orange white M700 having had a M500 for 18 months and I am very happy with the phone. I did see a T-mobile windows phone with a slide out keyboard which looked quite nice, but I don't know the specs. By the way where did you get WM6 from as I have still got WM5 and I understand WM6 is a lot better?
Take a look through the Trinity section of this site, I know the phone your talking about its the TytnII I am tempted by it but it looks a bit fat for my liking...
Hi Guys & Gals.
First, a thanks for the website. It's a good read, and I've got some useful info off it. Don't know enough in this field to contribute though.
I've got a generic "which phone" question for you all.
I currently have an Orange SPV C600 (HTC Tornado), upgraded to WM 6.1. I use it mostly for phone calls, e-book reading with Mobipocket (probably 95% of the time I actually use the thing for), and sat-nav using TomTom 5 and an external Holux GPSlim 236 (which I've had to re-solder the BT module, due to the dodgy batch of receivers).
The phone is now showing its age (I bought it 2nd hand almost 3.5 years ago). It won't always start TomTom (only about 20% of time will it start properly) , it'll randomly flatten itself overnight, hangs mysteriously etc.
I now want a newer phone. Money is tight though, so I can't justify spending large sums (e.g. >£80/$130) of money on a new phone, even on a contract (my mobile bill is typically £8 a month: £3 calls, £5 data).
I'm currently looking at...
SPV M700
SPV M3100 (Hermes?)
HTC TYTN II (Kaiser)
HTC Touch Diamond (1st version, only if going for silly money on ebay)
HTC Touch Pro (1st version, only if going for silly money on ebay)
Wish list...
GPS
3G
WiFi
Touch screen
Keyboard would be nice.
Better res than 240x320 would be nice
My thoughts on the list are...
M700
Can be quite expensive on ebay (can be cheap though). Fits all of the important stuff though. Not too old.
M3100
No GPS, but has keyboard. *Can* be bought fairly cheaply, because it's quite an old model now. I've borrowed an O2 XDA (which is AFAIK the Orange SPV M3000, which is a 3100 less the 3G and WiFi). Getting on a bit.
TYTN II
Has everything, but have read many bad reviews online about graphics performance (has this been fixed?) and battery life.
Allowing for the down sides, this (so far) is my favourite, in that it ticks all of the boxes.
I *think* I've even seen a video on Youtube of someone getting TouchFlo 3D working on it.
It's getting on a bit too, but Expansys still sell them new (oddly enough for more than a Touch Pro!)
Diamond
Gorgeous screen, No keyboard, no expansion, ticks all the other boxes. Main downside is the cost. Even a broken one went for £52 on ebay!
Touch Pro.
As Diamond, but including keyboard, got expansion, ticks all boxes. Even more expensive than Diamond.
Are there any other phones I should be looking at? Have I missed a point somewhere? Am I better of sticking with my ancient flaky phone and waiting for the Diamond II prices to push the Diamond prices down? I need help here!
Thanks.
Pete.
Welcome to forums
I think 1st you have to have clear what is your main use for a device, said that and taking your list, I would choose Touch Pro.
Also will depend on how much $ you want to spend
If you are looking for something much cheap include on your list Universal, it´s a great device!
Good luck,
if you already have an external gps you should get a wizard they are really cheep an pretty good. they are a lot more responsive than the specs would have you believe. also you can get a tytn II for pretty cheep these days and the battery life is really not that bad if the wizard had an internal gps and more ram i would pick it every time over the tytn II.
Hi.
Thanks for the feedback.
I'd discounted the Universal (SPV M5000), mainly for 2 reasons.
1) It's an old design (12 months older than the M3000, and about the same age as my current phone)
2) It's just too big. Even though it's got a good size screen, I need a pocket phone.
I'll be using the device mostly for reading e-books (it saves carrying around huge numbers of physical books!). I don't find the screen size of my current Tornado sized device a problem. The other thing I'll be using it for is sat-nav. Again, the screen size isn't an issue, because I mostly follow the voice navigation, not the screen. Finally, there's the normal phone stuff of voice calls and texts, occasional web browsing etc.
Ideally it'll be 3G. I'd really like it to have WiFi.
My budget is tight, about £80/$130
josefcrist: You've echoed my own thoughts. Do I keep my existing BT GPS receiver (which gets flaky when it's hot), and go for the Tytn, or do I spend a bit extra, and go for the Tytn II with built in GPS.
One thing that makes me nervous about the M3100 is the ease with which you can brick it. Upgrading my last phone was very easy, but the Hermes forums are full of people who've bricked their phones. I'm a constant fiddler, and if there's a chance of upgrading an OS, or cooking my own, I'll give it a go.
I've found that http://pdadb.net/ allows side-by-side comparisons of phones, so I can now compare my targets, and choose the most appropriate one (e.g. I now know there's been a change in processor from Tytn to Tytn II, both ARM based. The II has double the RAM and ROM.
This page compares my existing phone with the 3 main contenders in my list.
Does anyone here have a Tytn II? I've been using a Wizard (borrowed), and I find that even though the resolution's the same as my existing phone, the pixels have quite a gap between them, giving quite a pixellated appearance.
Many thanks,
Pete.