HI all,
The users of this forum seem to be at the cutting edge of technology.
We embrace Windows Mobile in all it's shapes, forms & glory.
What I'm asking you, is what do you prefer ?
And why ?
It's almost a survey, but not quite.
I'm not asking many specific questions, there's no a) b) or c), no right or wrong.
What I want to know is why you use the device that you use ?
What are you perceptions of the PPC operating system Vs the SP operating system.
I understand that each of these devices meet certain requirements for certain people, but I'd like a view, a global view on where we, as users/engineers/developers, see the direction of PPC & SP heading.
I'll start off:
I prefer Smartphones.
I receive alot of email, but do not have to respond to all of it immediately.
I spend a fair bit of time away from my desk.I don't do alot of web browsing, so screen real estate is not so much of an issue.
So a qwerty keyboard is not essential to me.
The smartphone Operating system is what suits me best, as I prefer a small form factor and would rather not use a stylus.
The smartphone I'm currently using is an imate SP5, MotorolaQ.
I have in the past used:- SP2, SP3, XDAII, JAM, PDA2K, JASJAR, KJAM, JAMin, Motorola MPX/MPX220. ( and some others that I can not remember )
I have used many devices, as you can see.
To me, the SP5 is a standout device.
It does exactly what I want.
So, please, spare some time and tell me why you like what you like.
Thanks.
Nice to have someone with the same curiosity as me
Take a look at this
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=55256&highlight=
Anyway, I'll have my say.
I prefer the PDA phone. If you were to get the smaller version (e.g. Magician, Wizard sized) phone, it doesn't make much of a difference in terms of size and weight as to compared to smart phone.
For PDA phone, the screen may be big, but the size is not the most important thing that I had in mind, rather it is the touch-screen that is what most attract me.
However, smart phone are within the area of my consideration as I've been with normal keypad entry phone for quite a long period of time that I seems to have better input speed on a keypad than of any other method (including virtual keypad).
However again, as most of the PDA applications (of which may not be useful to me) are design with touch screen in mind, I'm quite reluctant to use a non-touch screen version of the WM5 as to avoid incompatibility. Unless there is a system of consideration of non-touch screen (e.g. Symbian), then I may consider a smart phone.
Anyway, there are some application that you may not be using but good to have around, which only a touch screen can give you. Example, the scratch pad or note pad where you can scribble things on it, draw stuff as like a map to a location or a very very ultra quick note, which you cannot done without.
Anyway, I think the PDA makers should make best of both world (HTC is slow on this matter) like those you get from Asus, and the newly O2 stealth. For me, it would be better if you were to give me a keypad and a touchscreen rather than a qwerty and a touchscreen.
My view. Hope others will join in.
Well my opinion is similar to hanmin's.
At my work place I get to play with all kinds of WM based devices so I had a chance to try out SP5 an other smartphones.
Just scrolling through the endless menus using the keys gives me the feeling of luck of control and leaves me very annoyed (not to mention my thumbs haven't had this much workout since I last used my trusty old GameGear console - first color handheld from Sega). It is so much nicer to be able to just click on what you want.
Also the apps for Smartphone version always seem more constricted then their PPC counterparts. I like the robustness even at the cost of stability (some times).
Still, while I wouldn't give up my Jamin for anything less the a TyTN or better yet the soon to come ASUS 535 that will have it all (WIFI, BT, GPS)
I think Smartphones have their specific market.
Namely, people who don't want to carry a complex gadget, but need just a little more then a simple cell phone.
Although I think that as soon as some company incorporates push mail into a 'dumb' phone (just the outlook push, non of the other WM5 stuff) the Smartphones will loose their market share. Question is will MS let this happen...
Well that's right.
It's no so much a matter of "What features do I want?"
It's more, for me anyway, "What features do i need?"
I guess a stylus comes in handy in some instances.
But more often than not, I'm just answering calls, reading emails, responding quickly to those emails or sending sms.
And I love be able to just put the thing in my pocket, without the feeling of having a brick in there.
I really don't like the belt holsters.
Having said all of this, I've just started using one of these
http://www.1gadgets.com/images/products/pda/hpipaqhw6965.jpg
...and I'm quite liking it.
Because !
I can use it and not have to get out the stylus if I don't want to
It's much improved from the previous ipaqs, in that it has the soft keys now on the front, which make things 100% accessible ( along with qwerty keyboard ) with out the need for getting the stick out !
It also has a built in GPS receiver, so I'd say this devies has everything
HP 6965?
That thing is almost the size of the Universal, talking about a brick.
But to each his own.
One thing I forgot to mention: I think Asus have the right formula with the P525. It's a full PPC but with a phone pad (basic candy-bar form factor) and only slightly bigger than SP5. I found that with proper T9 there is no need what so ever for a full QWERTY keyboard, even for those who don't like using the stylus.
Hi guys,
Well for me,i had a compact(magician)which was small for a pda but big for a phone,
it suited my needs but when i changes depts at work and found myself away mon-fri living in hotels,
the compact went wrong so i used the chance to risk a chnage, i then went to an exec suited me perfectly,alhto' a bit put off due to size iw as able to use as a mini laptop,for email web browesing and moslty msn messngers so a large screen and keyboard were perfect and i learned to live with and love the exec and also pop in my pocket when done unlike a laptop
so for me depends on your needs, for me at the mo wel think il get the flipphone htc next,then use that as a phone.sms,email and keep the exec for weekends away and when i need a mp3.broweser wtc wtc just chuck it in a bag and go
so id like best of both worlds tbh
Today's pocket-pc phones have reached a size that doesn't make them significantly more cumbersome than smartphones (in my opinion). Following from that fact, I have to say I prefer the full-blown functionality of the PPC phone in my pocket.
Simple!
levenum said:
HP 6965?
That thing is almost the size of the Universal, talking about a brick.
But to each his own.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Using it because my SP5 is in for repair.
It got stuck in headset mode.
Did a hard reset, even reflashed the ROM !
Still started up in headsetmode, couldn't use the phone without earplugs.
Warranty job
Well, first of to say, good taste, being you were a user of the MPX series like me .
Well for me, I prefer the PPC. The smartphone cannot do enough for me. The PPC is powerful, touchscreen, HUGE screen, more customizable. And there is more software for it. Plus I need the hardware keyboard most PPC include now.
I suggest you use the Motorola MPX300 if you want a "SMALL" pocket pc. If was great for me when I use it, but I gave it away at work.
I started with the XDA2i, loved it (except the occasional freeze) as it had the functinality I needed.
I use the Sync feature to keep on top of my calendar and contacts while also bein able to check the web and download e-mail at the same time. The large screen allowed a good use of Tom Tom Navigator which is vital for me as I tend to work all over the country.
I recently upgraded to XDA Mini and find the actual qwerty keypad a much better way of using the system than the stylus. All in all, with the Windows Mobile package I'm more likely to be able to link with my Windows PC (especially with the transfer of Word/excel docs and the use of Outlook) than the potential issues of cross o/s synchronization. I love the XDA Mini. as it suits me perfectly and saves me carrying 2 devices (shame I can't get a cradle for the XDA to sit on the bike with TomTom)
I started off using an mpx200, then the mpx220 and they were good, lightweight, stylish, and packing windows mobile which was great for checking emails and running low level apps.
Like alot of users I then upgraded to the XDA Mini and havent looked back, the larger screen, the capacity for more features, for better applications and also whilst I dont use the features as often, the ability to turn a pocket pc into a media centre of sorts is appealing.
Overall for me at the moment the main reason behind my recent purchase of a TyTN was due to the keyboard. The jasjar was more machine then I needed once I had left my previous job, but going to a 6828 I missed the keyboard, and thats then where the TyTN stepped in.
In any case I think these devices will become more converged themselves in the future and the line between smartphone and pocket pc will diminish, in one part because of the pocket pcs becoming more functional yet lighter and cheaper and also in particular with the next version of Windows Mobile which is meant to unify the two platforms.
my view
Well the world is surely moving towards a large screen vga display device which fits snugly in ones pocket ,I use a o2 XDA IIs and the range it offers in usablity is terrific.just dont go by the weight in grams and so on ,see if a device can do all your work and still comfortably slip into your shirt pocket well ,this form factor will be the future of all phone at some point of time.I would say a 4 to 4.5 ich screen with all the essential keys built around the phone and many are soft keys on the screen like the phone dialer.so what is today a smartphone will morph into a shirtpocket PC one day.Just imagine such a device with an intel duo processor running at 3 ghz and all the apps.on a note book,well this will be the future pocket PC phone one day very soon!!
Mukund
India
I am all for pocket pc's as opposed to Smartphones. I started out with a small PPC6700 and then decided that all the features of an Xda Exec would better fit my lifestyle. I was mainly attracted towards it because of the full qwerty keyboard (none of that tiny crap where you cant press the buttons properly) and the VGA screen.
Now I am working where I need to have a second line so at first I thought I would get a smartphone to complete the pair but after better analyzing the situation there is no way I can go without a touchscreen anymore. Im thinking a Exec and Artemis combo
Related
Hi guys,
I was a long xda owner, got almost all xda models from the first til magician and find it really addictive. But I was wondering since wm2005 won't come out for my magician, not the official one at least so i decided to switch to smartphones. But i really have some humps in this matter. well these are the questions i sum up for u guys kind enough to answer and thanks in advance:
1. What are the main advantage of pocketpc phone over smartphone (beside the touch screen) word and excel (since i never use them anyways)
2. whats the best smartphone to date (i live in asia btw) and its gotta be windows mobile 5 oh and with camera at least 1.3mp and i dont really care if its qvga or anything, just want it small size oh, and if possible not silver please (my mini gets easily corroted since i live in bangkok or jakarta - both are high humid places)
3. Is this a wise decision? my main reason of switching was mainly because of the size (even mini is too big and heavy for me) and now most of the time i never use the stylus and use my finger instead to navigate, or sometimes the buttons.. i really need a one-handed operational device.
thanks for your input guys, i will decide based on your comments. thanks again
::adit
1. more cpu juice and more ram and more applications i guess
2. check out Tornado forum it seem to have much of youre requirements
3. different people different needs different tastes different answers to this question
hey rudegar, thanks for your opinion, yeah i'm looking at tornado right now, but unfortunately its not yet available here in asia, well bangkok... and well different opinions, thats why i created this thread, to know what u think of it, like whats ur opinion if u are given 2 devices, one pocket pc and one smartphone, they both are equally priced the main difference is size or touch screen. For the application, yes I believe that pocket pc has much more apps than smartphones but have anyone ever used them all, I mean productive apps, most pocketpc users uses almost the applications that smartphones also has? well except for games but right now my opinion smartphone has more advantage to its brother, pocket pc. Do I hear other voices? can I be proven wrong about this? thanks you guys...
::adit
I am waiting for the Tornado too. It isn't out anywhere yet and no set release date but people say next month.
well i would get a pocketpc phone over a smartphone because the only cellphone i ever had which were not a pocketpc was a really really really old motorola which dident even have t9
and some programs i know i cant get for smartphones like the hp48 emulator which i love very much so i dont have to carry around my old hp48 as well
so basicly a touchscreen is important for me and
a big screen is also nice
but i dont really know much about the tonado apart from it's spcs which look pretty sweet
I think the difference is that the XDA range are Primarily Pocket PC's with phone functions tagged on, and in many cases, not too well. Whereas a Smartphone is primarily a phone with Pocket PC features.
I think the difference is that the XDA range are Primarily Pocket PC's with phone functions tagged on, and in many cases, not too well. Whereas a Smartphone is primarily a phone with Pocket PC features.
Hi cruisin-thru,
Yes, I believe everyone knows that at the moment, but with microsoft renaming both to be "windows mobile" so i think they're getting to a point where theres no difference between both except for the touch screen (usability) and not the OS or application (functionality). Well as we all know, it quite far from it, but at this moment, u can find most of ppc apps in the smartphone, or similar to it with same functions. Oh btw, i checked out HTC tornado.. its a nice piece of hardware but I didn't like the model for the 'm' or normal version thanks guys...
::adit
The Tornado can also run Pocket PC apps if im correct, but they won't work
perfectly cause of the absence of a touchscreen.
I have to say this, I own a MDA Compact (Qtek S100 ) for almost 6
months now.... and since I bought a W800i to just use as cameraphone, I
haven't touched my MDA Compact. It felt like a huge relieve to finally use
a REAL phone again. I can't explain it, it's just a feeling. Everything feels so
much stable and logical. With the MDA Compact I have a continous feeling
that it could crash any second although that has NEVER happened before. I
had a S60 smartphone before this PPC, but if I ever buy another
smartphone, it'll be something like the Tornado. I made the mistake to be
obsessed by specs and forget about quality. Yeaah, the Wizard will have
WIFI, 2.0MP camera, MP3 player, etc. But this doesn't mean it will work
perfectly or deliver great quality. The W800i's camera is truely amazing,
the MP3 playback kills my MDA Compact's, etc.
Btw does someone know if the smartphone version of WM5.0 again has this
horrible thing that apps don't close and have to be closed by using the
taskmanager?
if the other smartphone versions work that way i would say yes
ms dident announce any changes of such nature with 2005
that i know off anyway
It makes sense to keep the program active for fast switching and is great when multitasking, however it makes no sense when you take into account the memory constraints. It would be nice if the option to exit or minimise to background was an option.
I'm getting ready to buy my first PPC phone and wanted some advice from people who have used these devices.
I've owned a cell phone for about 3 years now (a basic one). I'm a heavy computer user (mainly PCs with Windows or on rare occasions Linux). I love to tinker and build my own PCs.
What interests me the most about a PPC phone is making my life easier. I buy the computers for our school (I teach 5th grade). I'd like to get a phone that can keep my Google Calendar and Gmail on it plus browse the web from time to time. I'd also like to be able to do other stuff on it, like watch video clips, listen to MP3s, and take the occasional picture. Games might be fun too when I'm waiting around. I don't have much use for GPS at this point (though I admit it would be fun to play with sometimes). I like the idea of getting after-market applications and games to make the PPC phone more productive/enjoyable. Being able to have control over how it handles phone calls is another plus. Size isn't too important to me. I'm more interested in functionality and smart design. I like the idea of a big screen and a QWERTY keyboard.
I've thought about Palm OS. It seems very smartly designed, but I don't like that it can't multitask. I will use my device for a variety of tasks at the same time (like I'm doing with my PC at the moment. I don't know much about the other OSes beyond the Windows flavors.
Right now I'm leaning toward getting a Treo 750 when Cingular comes out with it or a Cingular 8525 (HTC Hermes). From what I've read it appears that the Treo is one of the best designs (easier to use and more functional). The 8525 has better hardware specs and a bigger screen. So, I'm not sure which way to go.
I'd love to hear some of people's opinions and advice. At this point I'm not even sure what things I need to focus on.
Thank you in advance for your input.
I'm getting the Hermes next month when my contract upgrade is due.
Well I Like "enough to recommend to you" The QTEK 9100, since i got mine and thanks to this forum, i can tinker till the cows come home., I've flashed it, unlocked it, downloaded and experimented with its ROM and external ram, upgraded the phone skin, completely made it into a totally different beast from when it was shipped from vodafone...
I can connect without cost using wifi (54G) to: internet, msn,skype, pocket news reader (spb insight), and internet radio.
I can sychronise with active sync, my documents, calender,contacts and others, I can setup many email accounts for downloading to the device
watching films, jurrassic park is 113megs at QVGA resolution, and can be viewed full screen too, the keyboard ejects out the side of the device and lights up in dark. comes with office suite, and windows mobile 5 devices today are very good, you can use gprs too the whole package is the best device i've previously owned the following devices.
nokia N91, HDD corrupted after 4 days, crashed more times than Barry Sheen!
Nokia 6630 good phone but boring...it was symbian os
HP Jornado 928 (ppc 2003) crashed a lot, eats battries like hell
Nokia 6600 good phone bit basic really
Nokia 9310i good phone, good screen, poorly made
Nokia 9110i well made, black and white screen, liked it then
and the Qtek 9100 has satisfied all my demands and given me great freedom
TOM TOM 6.010 runs flawlessy for 7 hours continuosly without a charge and there was still 10% battery left, what other device will do that for you eh!!!!
The device is not perfect but out of all the other stuff out there, it's the best i have owned yet.
whoster69, I have similar needs to you and I have gone for the Palm treo 750v. After using it for 3 days I can say I have not needed to use stylus even once this is how good one handed usage of this phone is. This is the only WM device that has been designed for being a phone. Wizard and Hermes seem as if phone functionality was added as an after thought.
Battery doesn't seem to be as bad as some people said it is (still haven't needed to recharge yet), coming from Wizard and Magician screen took some getting used to but now its ok.
One of the reasons I didn't get Hermes was of the sliding keyboard. I used to loathe Wizard keyboard as everytime I needed to type something I would have to slide the keyboard and wait for the OS to adjust itself. I am very happy with Palm keypad. Although the keys are smaller but the shape and tacitle feedback means they are very practical.
Hey there guys,
New to this great Comunity, still new to Windows Mobile.
I'm a tech geek alright, and I love having all the newest tech gadgets around. I've wanted to get a WM phone so many times throughout the last few years but they were always behind in lots of aspects compared to the Symbian ones. Then HTC released its TyTNII with its holy specs, great design and somewhat compact size. This was my phone! Yeah, right! Then I found out about this huge issue with the video performance and followed it for about three monts waiting for a solution either from HTC or XDA. And OK - HTC had some problems with Qualcomm support for its stolen from Broadcomm chipsets whatever. So they released Diamond (and announced Raphael) with a new chipset and "3D GPU" which "processor enhances the user interface". And then again it needs tweaks to make it - not better, but just usable. Then all the other bugs and flaws users say about in this forum.
Can't HTC build a quality device that just works out of the box?! Then leave it to us mostly to customize it and somehow improve its usability!? Man, everyday I read about newer and bigger bugs and flaws. May be most of them will be overcomed thanks to this comunity, but were is HTC with its support for its high-priced devices!?
And again I'm about to leave the idea of having WM phone.
I've looked around for any other brands and models but found none more appealing. What do you think? What's the best WM device I can get in the next few months?
Any opinions are much appreciated.
To be honest, I've grown quite tired of Windows Mobile. I used to like it more, but it seems like I spent way too much time getting things to work. Also, the interface is very user UN-friendly, which makes doing simple tasks like calling someone too time consuming. Then there is the random freeze ups like the one I had today, which caused me to miss 5 calls and no warning lights or anything.
I like the cusomizabilty, but sometimes, I just want something that works right out of the box. Also, performance wise, all of the HTC/WM phones I've used are sluggish. (My mogul, friend's 6700, another friend's Kaiser/TyTnII). The redraw time when you flip out the keyboard is rediculous, specially if you have a few plugins.
Overall, I may give one more WM phone a try, if I am impressed by it at the store. But I doubt it. I just don't see Microsoft doing any innovations since they hold the crown as far as market share goes in the U.S. Maybe when an Android phones comes out...
partyhardy said:
To be honest, I've grown quite tired of Windows Mobile. I used to like it more, but it seems like I spent way too much time getting things to work. Also, the interface is very user UN-friendly, which makes doing simple tasks like calling someone too time consuming. Then there is the random freeze ups like the one I had today, which caused me to miss 5 calls and no warning lights or anything.
I like the cusomizabilty, but sometimes, I just want something that works right out of the box. Also, performance wise, all of the HTC/WM phones I've used are sluggish. (My mogul, friend's 6700, another friend's Kaiser/TyTnII). The redraw time when you flip out the keyboard is rediculous, specially if you have a few plugins.
Overall, I may give one more WM phone a try, if I am impressed by it at the store. But I doubt it. I just don't see Microsoft doing any innovations since they hold the crown as far as market share goes in the U.S. Maybe when an Android phones comes out...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Give blackberry a chance They've never failed me. Infact, I had my HTC Touch Dual for about a month before switching back. lol.
calling someone is too complicated?
1.) hit the green button
2.) start tapping away or choose speed dial
3.) hit the green button
its similar to what other phones want from you in order to know who you want to call. If thats too complicated, you may also try voice commander?
that beeing said, I am very happy with my new i-mate 9502, but I also considered the samsung i780 and it looks like people who bought it are very happy with it, especially with the form factor and performance.
edit: key for me with winMo devices are things like hardware keys, to reach functions quickly, using a good launcher/today setup like pocketplus +
phoneweaver + todayagenda, etc. and a nice hardware keyboard.
partyhardy said:
simple tasks like calling someone too time consuming. Then there is the random freeze ups like the one I had today, which caused me to miss 5 calls and no warning lights or anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Calling is simple, one button... de ding "call simon mobile" etc.
The no error message and not getting calls though is an issue i dislike.
I want a "nippy" device we need better hardware to run the software and better software optimisation for the hardware.
i just bought htc touch enhanced couple of days ago, and for the price it's great. Now with the Diamond coming out, htc touch is getting cheaper, but it's great to use nontheless.
Installed some stuff on it, not enough to make it sluggish but enough to make it a pure pleasure to use and i would definitely recommend it.
Prekrasen telefon za tzenata si.
partyhardy said:
To be honest, I've grown quite tired of Windows Mobile. I used to like it more, but it seems like I spent way too much time getting things to work. Also, the interface is very user UN-friendly, which makes doing simple tasks like calling someone too time consuming. Then there is the random freeze ups like the one I had today, which caused me to miss 5 calls and no warning lights or anything.
I like the cusomizabilty, but sometimes, I just want something that works right out of the box. Also, performance wise, all of the HTC/WM phones I've used are sluggish. (My mogul, friend's 6700, another friend's Kaiser/TyTnII). The redraw time when you flip out the keyboard is rediculous, specially if you have a few plugins.
Overall, I may give one more WM phone a try, if I am impressed by it at the store. But I doubt it. I just don't see Microsoft doing any innovations since they hold the crown as far as market share goes in the U.S. Maybe when an Android phones comes out...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But why cusomizabilty has to be at the expense of stability? Is it imposible to have a device that is performing great out of the box and has the potential to get improved usability by applications and custom tweaks? That would be the device for me. Don't get me wrong. I'm no mass user, I would consider myself as a techie business user and as such I need a device that I can rely on from the moment I buy it. I don't have the comfort to spend a small fortune and experiment weeks, even months with tweaking it just to make it work properly. I've always thought of WM as of business devices but I guess I was wrong.
demonizator said:
But why cusomizabilty has to be at the expense of stability? Is it imposible to have a device that is performing great out of the box and has the potential to get improved usability by applications and custom tweaks? That would be the device for me. Don't get me wrong. I'm no mass user, I would consider myself as a techie business user and as such I need a device that I can rely on from the moment I buy it. I don't have the comfort to spend a small fortune and experiment weeks, even months with tweaking it just to make it work properly. I've always thought of WM as of business devices but I guess I was wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Note that the people that use this site are not those that are going to say "my device is great" and then go away... The kind of people here are either those not satisfied, or those that want a little bit more from the hard ware and are not representative of all the device users.
The Diamond is an immensely powerfully device, and even with the UI stacked on top, it ticks away far more reliably than the iPhone (which for me just locked up a lot). If you don't like the UI, disable it and you'll have one of the most powerful WM devices there is...
WM devices don't need tweaking, but this site is devoted to tweaking them. I ran my Prophet perfectly happily on the stock WM5 ROM for over a year, before discovering this site to get it unlocked when the contract ended. I didn't need to tweak it or flash countless ROMs, but I wanted to...
I really hope you're right. I'm gonna wait a little bit more and get the Touch Pro version. It's just all these flaws I read about that stopped me from buying WM the past few years. But I guess I have to give up something to gain something more.
Maybe you want to take a look to the new Samsung. It seems as it's going to be a good device.
http://www.pdadb.net/index.php?m=specs&id=1039
WM6 for the money?
I bought a Dash on ebay and upgraded it to WM6 for $150.00.
I have a Mogul now, but the Dash was way easier to use.
In terms of bang-for-the-buck I think the Samsung i780 takes the cake. It is the most specced out phone in that price category. And if you buy one today it will have the newer firmware so it shouldn't have any real issues.
Oh and calling people on a WiMo phone is far easier than any other phone. Voice Command baby. It's the reason I can't leave the WiMo platform even if there are other great choices like the iPhone, Blackberry or even the all-but-dead Palm Treos. And if you DON'T like using Voice Command come on it's very easy to call someone as mentioned. In fact, back when Nokia had crap for menus and directional pads to get to your contacts WiMo phones had touchscreens that made it really easy in comparison. Today the touchscreen is still easier to use than the various jog dials, joysticks or what not that conventional phones have.
+1 for the i780. It is by far the quickest and most responsive PPC I have ever used, and the form factor is perfect. No rotating screens to wait for, all the keyboard shortcuts you could want, terrific build quality, good battery life, bargain price, and none of the HTC Flo-bloat that turns their machines from reasonable PPCs into lagging, crash-happy iPhone wannabes.
I gotta add a +2 for the I780 as well.
I was holding out for a touch pro myself, in fact i cut out a picture of it and put it on my wall at the office. Iv'e owned quite a few HTC models over the last while as well as a I600, and i gotta say the I600 altho it had less functionality far outshined all but my tytn 2, altho the tytn 2 could not match the I600 im picture quality with the camera.
Last week i was in vodacom shop and saw the I780 demo model, picked it up and played with it for a while and i must say it has been a long time since a phone made me go "wow" , i was totaly amazed at the speed of the thing, the look and feel of it is great, samsung put alot of work into making the menu's just right for any user from beginner to power user. I made up my mind right there and then and bought one on my credit card, that was 7 days ago.
my experience so far :
Proprioty connector sux since i have a bunch of standard usb cables lying around, but still its not a train smash since you get usb cable, car charger, spare battery as well as a seperate portable battery charger as well with the phone.
Speed is AWSOME, 624mhz of power you will definitely notice, i have not found a single movie clip that has once lagged or was out of sinc with video/audio. this phone is really FAST, even when multi tasking it doesnt slow down. i have 2 friends who own tytn 2 and both commented on the speed, they both think i tweaked it to make it faster, they refuse to believe its the stock speed. ofcourse i did not tweak it.
Plenty of memory, i have 152mb free memory space on the phone and i have around 20 apps installed. the phone can also technicaly take up to 32gb cards i have read, altho most users use 1gb-8gb.
GPS is great, i had a bit of problem setting it up as i didnt bother reading the manual etc, but once i figured it out it worked like a charm, it pin pointed me in seconds. google maps work great as well. Garmin XT which comes with the phone is in my opinion far better than tomtom could ever be so i am very happy with samsung's choice of gps software.
Touch pad mouse was what put me off buying the phone in the first place, but after 6 days i find myself using it more than anything else, it was weird to use the first few days but it is second nature now and the phone just wouldnt be the same without it.
the keypad looks really tiny and i have biggish fingers. I dont know why, maybe its because they are beveled quite a bit or something, but i find it very easy and comfortable to use, do yourself a favour and try it on a demo model, you will see what i mean. the phone has a bunch of shortcut keys that sit in all the right spots, thumbs up to samsung for doing a good job there. one thing i would have liked was a jog dial for easy up and down scrolling in opera, I downloaded a app that changes volume up/down to scroll up/down and my problem was solved.
Screen is nice and bright, even in sunlight i dont have a problem. 320x320 at 128dpi is not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. 95% of software out there works flawless at this resolution, since the release of the phone software developers have all been upgrading to support it. its mainly only HTC home that is a problem, but spb mobile which has more funtions works perfect so i am not bothered. I have installed all 20 of my favorite apps and all work nicely so im happy. there are some games that might be an issue tho, but its mostly old titles, every new game being released supports this resolution.
3G. Wireless, HSDPA etc : with my tytn 2 i had 1 bar to my router from the living room, with this phone i have almost full signal, i was really surprised with that. in the bathroom i used to get gprs only with the tytn 2, with this phone i get 3G+. anyway, that is how i have compared it to my old phone and found this one to have far better signal quality.
overall i love the phone, i am convinced i made the right choice. i would have loved a flash to be included with the phone, but other than that i just cant find any flaws.
I cant really comment on battery life as i am still playing with everything alot and using more battery life than i would on avarage, but currently battery lasts me almost 2 full days and trust me, i put it under alot of stress plus you get a second battery with the phone for free. but i estimate 3 to 4 days if you dont put to much strain on it.
O also forgot to mention, video calling worked out of the box much to my surprise. phone came with the E1 rom installed.
Software currently on phone and working perfectly :
Skype
SmS Chat ( threaded sms app )
google maps
Opera
core player
real player
Esmertec Jbed
Advabced config Tools
Adobe reader
Fun contact
Keyswop
Pocket IRC
Pocket Rar
PqzII
Safemode 2
Garmin XT
SPB Mobile shell
WKTaskL
Samsung today plugin
Astraware Casino
Tetris
Machines of war
Flash player
Total commander
Call firewall.
And no i did not install realvga, i am using the default 128dpi resolution i got the phone with.
Anyway, hope this helps with your descision. what you really need to do it test the phone yourself, i warn you tho, once you pick it up you wont want to put it down
In my country the HTC Tytn 2 is selling for R8900, and its already an dated model.
the I780 is selling for R5200 which is ALOT cheaper and this phone blows smoke in the tytn 2's face. so in my opinion this is by far the best bang for buck out there.
Its kinda like buying a 9600gt when everyone else is buying the 8600gts .... just love seeying their faces when they realise they just pissed away a chunk of cash on the wrong thing
If all else fails read this : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=411053
The best windows mobile device for it's money is undoubtely the HTC Shift, for a mere 1000 dollars you'll get a run-down WindowsMobile OS, but also Vista. So you'll have a hybrid for the price of just a good laptop.
Isn't is great ?
I think the HTC Touch PRO will blow the competition away, seriously!!!
I was a symbian freak for years untill I bought my current device, the HTC S710 "Vox". Before the Vox I went trough several Symbian S60 devices including Nokia 7610, 6630, N70 & N73.
At first I thougt wm was a complete mess... and the UI looked terrible imo... I was also a bit shocked that there was no copy/paste (at least in wm6 standard). In S60 there was a dedicated pencil key used for just copy/paste actions + other stuff..
Things have changed...
Now after using my Vox fox exactly one year there's no way I'd go back to only using symbian S60 again.
Even though I'm only using the non-touch version of wm I've noticed all the advantages of wm compared with symbian S60.
Let me list a few of them:
1. Messaging: Sending SMS & MMS with a S60 device is OK but nothing more, the whole messaging interface in a S60 3d edition device is inferior. It's hard to explain but it's just doesn't compare to what it feels like on a wm device. It's like using a 3310 with a color screen if you know what I mean. Oooold T9 (forget about xt9 with word prediction & etc), the whole interface looks like a joke, and the S60 MMS editor doesn't even have a 3'rd of every options you can find in a standard WM device these days.
2. Email: OMG, If you wanna check your mail on a S60 device you'll be seriously depressed. Reading emails on a S60 device is like reading a standard SMS. You can forget all about HTML email and everything looks incredibly boring. Yes there are some really good 3rd party apps like profimail but still they're no match for the built-in mobile outlook when it comes to displaying your emails.
3. Calendar: There's no comparision here, WM6 calendar thrumps the S60 one, nothing more to say!
4. Contacts: S60 is far far behind, there's so much easier and faster finding a contact in WM6, especially when you can search contacts quickly just by typing there first letters using xt9... And with Live messenger integrated (love it or hate it) with contacts it's a nice addition imo.
5. Office applications: OMG... This is overkill for S60!!! Even WM6 standard edition nowadays includes Office mobile which beatifully renders word, excell & powerpoint files. It's a shame it doesn't allow you to create new documents (on WM6 standard) but that can easily be fixed with a simple patch from modaco forums... S60 includes quickoffice, it's not a bad application at all but documents rendered in quickoffice doesn't even look nearly as good as they do in office mobile.
6. WIFI: No competition here at all... WM is superior in remembering hotspots and connectivity.
7. ActiveSync: Says it all doesn't it??? Nokia have PC Suite, it's a great app but it's no match if you're using outlook... It works ok but doesn't sync everything like activesync does so wm is the winner here as well....
8. Live Messenger: Probably not very important to a lot of people but for me it's very important. With WM6 I can use the native WM Live messenger client completely for free. There's no way to do that on Symbian because MS is charging for using it on other platforms
There's probably more I could add to the list but I must mention all my troubles with wm in the beginning have been solved, I'm using Vito Copy/Paste for the copy & paste issue & I've also added celetask to a hardware key so my phone actually works better in this apartment than I could ever wish four... Of course Symbian S60 also have advantages, like better cameras & video recording, more display colors & better gaming with the new N-gage platform etc... but in the end I think WM is a more advanced & better platform. I think WM is more appealing for geeks & techheads because you can tweak your device to infinity. And I'm still only talking about WM Standard, WM6 PRO is even more versatile.
S60 is fun for a while but in the end it gets boring as hell...
partyhardy said:
To be honest, I've grown quite tired of Windows Mobile. I used to like it more, but it seems like I spent way too much time getting things to work. Also, the interface is very user UN-friendly, which makes doing simple tasks like calling someone too time consuming. Then there is the random freeze ups like the one I had today, which caused me to miss 5 calls and no warning lights or anything.
I like the cusomizabilty, but sometimes, I just want something that works right out of the box. Also, performance wise, all of the HTC/WM phones I've used are sluggish. (My mogul, friend's 6700, another friend's Kaiser/TyTnII). The redraw time when you flip out the keyboard is rediculous, specially if you have a few plugins.
Overall, I may give one more WM phone a try, if I am impressed by it at the store. But I doubt it. I just don't see Microsoft doing any innovations since they hold the crown as far as market share goes in the U.S. Maybe when an Android phones comes out...
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Performance issue of WM are device specific. After being a HTC hardcore for many years, and after quite a number of frustating moments I decided to switch.....almost bought myself the new Nokia E71 and abandon WM altotgether BUT - I decided to give it one more try with WM and now it's with a Samsung. And that's how I ended with the i780.
With the i780 (DXHE1 Rom), it's like a rediscovery for me. After getting used to HTC sluggishness and sporadic freeze-ups, I was genuinely astounded by how nimble and steadfast this i780 is. I can recall until now I have not encountered any freeze-ups no matter how I abuse the programs running back to back. Yes some buggy program may screw up but the nice thing is it won't freeze the whole phone unlike HTC devices where a single program fails it will bring down the whole phone.
And for the price, the i780 is a steal. It has all the arsenal one could expect from HTC flagship models yet it cost way cheaper - that is a real deal to me.
If you are done with HTC, don't blame it on WM. Try different make, like i-Mate Arima build or Samsung or even Asus.
Interesting device imo:
http://samsung.letstalk.com/product/product.htm?prId=35487
Running WinMo 6.1
It is not a phone , so in my opinion we have far better alternatives here on the board..
Please note, this device is not a phone and does not come with voice capability.
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Phen0m said:
Interesting device imo:
http://samsung.letstalk.com/product/product.htm?prId=35487
Running WinMo 6.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if that was voice capable i would be all over it.
it has a microphone built in, so it could has the potential to be used as a phone as well. All that it needs is an app that would allow you to use voip
I've been lurking these boards for a long while (HP iPAQ hx4700 power user usually looking for cooked WM6.1 ROMs), but now I'm compelled to chime in for once.
We need more devices like this. NOT a traditional phone (we have way too many of those now), WiMAX if you want to subscribe to use it, large WVGA screen, only 450 US$ unsubsidized where most unlocked phones of this caliber are 600 US$ or more and with smaller screens...I could go on. (And having Windows Mobile 6.1 instead of 6.5 doesn't worry me at all because of these here forums.)
My hx4700 is getting long in the tooth; 64 MB of RAM does not cut it anymore, and it just can't run WM6.1 all that well, let alone WM6.5. This is the replacement device I've been looking for, so long as I can make sure that I can use it in portrait orientation. (All of the images I've seen of it are in landscape.)
I do not have a smartphone; I'm not even allowed to have one, or at least have one and use the phone bits. Why should I be forced to pay the premium for a phone modem I'll never use, and also suffer from the other disadvantages of the smartphone trend, like devices that have midget-sized screens to accomodate what would be considered an acceptable phone size? It wasn't until a few years ago that Windows Mobile smartphones in general could even stand on par with the HP iPAQ hx4700, or the Dell Axim X50v/X51v, or other such devices, and they were still way more expensive! (The HTC Universal was more the exception than the rule in terms of specs, but HTC has consistently failed to bring back that design...)
Show me a Windows Mobile smartphone with this basic size, form factor, and large WVGA screen, similar internal specs, and only a 450 US$ or less price tag WITHOUT SUBSIDY/CONTRACT, and maybe then I'll change my mind.
^^ Fragger, i have the Mondi & i absolutely love it! I'll go into detail or answer questions if you have any.. but this device would be a great to any winmo users lineup..Large screen/res, great keyboard, dedicated D-Pad, HDMI-out, GPS etc etc..
Also, its nearly the same size as an iphone, with a larger screen and physical keyboard:
4.8 x 3.03 x 0.63 5.8oz
4.5 x 2.4 x 0.48 4.8oz
Only downside so far is not having a community, as i would love to get WinMo 6.5 on this thing.
You have one now? Great! Now brace yourself for the questions...
-How's battery life? One of the things I like about my current hx4700 is that it's very long-lived, even on the stock battery.
-It does go into portrait mode like every other WM device, right? If so, can you set it up to be more like the HTC slider phones in the sense that closed keyboard = portrait, open keyboard = landscape?
-Built-in GPS, huh? Guess I may not need my Bluetooth GPS receiver (MTK-based, 5 Hz refresh rate, solar-charged), then. How's the initial acquisition time, accuracy, reception, and general latency? (I remember hearing a lot of complaints about lag on the integrated GPS on HTC Touch Pros. Different device, but I'd still hope that I wouldn't have that issue.)
-The format support sounds pretty robust out of the box, which is especially great since it has HDMI-out. Are you content with just Samsung's media player, or have you felt the need to break out TCPMP for certain files?
-Going along the lines of HDMI-out, I take it that it can output at least 720p over it with an H.264/AVC-encoded file and not have any dropped frames?
-The "great keyboard" bit sounds like it has good tactile feedback and a good layout, which is reassuring. Is there anything I may not catch about it at first glance? (For instance, while I doubt it has this feature, I really would like it if I could capitalize letters just by holding the key down instead of hitting Shift first. Never seen that trick implemented outside of the Palm Tungsten|C, and it really cuts down on the redundant keystrokes.)
-Does the build quality feel good throughout the device? Solid feel, no loose parts? Tight slider mechanism? That sort of thing?
-How does the digitizer feel? It's obviously resistive, but some resistive digitizers feel harder or softer than others.
-How could Samsung give out a specs list and NOT mention how much RAM (program memory) it has? Since you have it, you could probably give me an accurate figure. (I'm expecting at least 128 MB by now, but the more, the merrier-especially if it matches or exceeds the 288 MB on the HTC Touch Pro!)
-Can I get the normal Today screen in case I want to use PocketBreeze and/or iLauncher like I do on my hx4700? (The latter, I may be able to do without if Samsung customized it right, but I have to have PocketBreeze for easy PIM access.)
As for the lack of community, give it some time. The device just released, and even in spite of the general disinterest due to it NOT being a phone (actually one of the more compelling reasons for a few of us), I'm sure that someone with the skills has one and is working on how to flash a custom ROM onto it so we can enjoy some WM6.5. (I mean, the hx4700 and the Dell Axim X50v/X51v are still getting lots of attention in the Upgrades, Modifying, and Unlocking forum despite not being phones! Who's to say that the Mondi can't get that kind of love once someone opens the door?)
Some this stuff i will have to answer when i get off, but:
-How's battery life?
Thus far seems very good thus far & charges fast via usb or wall. I haven't done a full drain yet, but seems to be roughly 5 hours or so(this is watching video via orb)
-It does go into portrait mode like every other WM device, right? If so, can you set it up to be more like the HTC slider phones in the sense that closed keyboard = portrait, open keyboard = landscape?
Theres an option to auto-rotate in opera(accelerometer built-in), but i cant find an actual button that locks it in to portrait/landscape. The screen also doesnt auto rotate when u move it.
-The format support sounds pretty robust out of the box, which is especially great since it has HDMI-out. Are you content with just Samsung's media player, or have you felt the need to break out TCPMP for certain files?
I havent used samsungs media player only Kinoma thus far, but the video and audio output is very good imo(im not an audiophile however), the other device i own along these lines is the Nokia N810, and the sound on here is far superior.
-The "great keyboard" bit sounds like it has good tactile feedback and a good layout, which is reassuring. Is there anything I may not catch about it at first glance? (For instance, while I doubt it has this feature, I really would like it if I could capitalize letters just by holding the key down instead of hitting Shift first. Never seen that trick implemented outside of the Palm Tungsten|C, and it really cuts down on the redundant keystrokes.)
The tactile feedback is very good as well.. there is a slider that lets you control the strength.. however you cant just turn it on for the keyboard, its either on or off. The key's(hardware kb) cannot be capped by holding it down as theyre double mapped to symbols as well. There is a dedicated caps key though(on the hardware keyboard)
-Does the build quality feel good throughout the device? Solid feel, no loose parts? Tight slider mechanism? That sort of thing?
Build quality is superb, feels like a high quality smartphone.. good weight, smooth, no squeaks etc.
-How does the digitizer feel? It's obviously resistive, but some resistive digitizers feel harder or softer than others.
The screen feels similar to an HTC device.. soft, but not TOO soft, its also pretty accurate.
-How could Samsung give out a specs list and NOT mention how much RAM (program memory) it has? Since you have it, you could probably give me an accurate figure. (I'm expecting at least 128 MB by now, but the more, the merrier-especially if it matches or exceeds the 288 MB on the HTC Touch Pro!)
256 mem/4GB storage + MicroSD slot
-Can I get the normal Today screen in case I want to use PocketBreeze and/or iLauncher like I do on my hx4700?
Yes, set the Today screen to Windows default or Windows 6.1. There is also a dedicated "Home" key on the screen bezel that shoots you right to your desktop.
Anything i haven't answered above, i will when i get home later! There is also a blog on the front page of Pocketables.com that may answer so of these questions and more.
And yeah i'm hoping we can get a community of some capacity going on this device.. WM 6.5 on this hardware will be outstanding.
Oh, speaking of buttons, which ones can you rebind? And of those that can be rebound, how many let you press-and-hold for a different function? (For example, all of my hx4700's face buttons have a press function and a held function. Rotation is one of the held functions.)
As for no capping with a press-and-hold on the thumbboard because of symbols, that's no excuse because the Tungsten|C's thumbboard also has symbol mapping on all the letter keys, which had to be used with a shift/Fn button-that is, unless Samsung set it so that held keypresses trigger the symbols rather than capitalize letters. (Most thumbboards I've seen on pocket devices just repeat a letter when you hold the key down. I don't see much point in that.)
256 MB of RAM? That's enough for WM6.5 and then some! I could easily have a Web browser with a few tabs, media player, SoftMaker Office, and who knows what else going on at the same time with that much...
Normally, I'd complain about the microSDHC slot pretty hard, but the 4 GB of internal storage helps offset that and my largest full-size SD card is only 2 GB. (I only have one microSD card, and it's just 1 GB. Wouldn't really add anything significant.) In short, I could easily cram most of my music and videos on the internal flash alone. (What I don't like, though, is that they only have 90 MB or so set aside for apps. I'd like to see that doubled, perhaps even tripled so that I can have more apps installed there simultaneously, even if it does infringe on the rest of the storage mapped like a memory card. (Also, you can pass off the bulk of internal storage as a USB drive out of the box, right? No ActiveSync/WMDC needed?)
All in all, though, I'm beyond sold at this point. I just need 450 US$. (It'll probably be at least a month before I can afford it, though, and that's if I succeed in selling the hx4700 and all of its accessories for around 200 US$ or more.)
Oh, speaking of buttons, which ones can you rebind? And of those that can be rebound, how many let you press-and-hold for a different function?
Camera(short/long press)
IE explorer button(short/long)
Message(short/long)
Thats by default. I use an app called AEbutton plus that lets me remap everykey to my liking
And so far its a been a good purposeful purchase.. Office looks great on the screen, and kinetic scrolling is enabled throughout the entire o/s somehow(i dont remember 6.1 having kinetic scrolling in explorer etc. on my phones.)
Kinetic scrolling is also present in the Alkor RC 2.2 WM6.1 ROM for the hx4700. I don't know exactly where it came from, but it seems to be standard fare on new Windows Mobile devices. (I just wish I could disable it only in Resco Explorer 2007 and leave it on everywhere else, because it makes multi-selection difficult.)
Oh, almost forgot about the camera, since I'm not used to having one of those on a pocket computer. How's the quality, both for stills and video recordings? Is the camera button double-detent like on dedicated cameras (push it lightly for autofocus, push it down all the way to actually shoot)? Not common on devices like this, but I'm pretty sure one of the HTC phones (Kaiser/Tilt?) had just that.
I can just see myself with one of these right now. Does just about everything fairly well, can come with me where the TC1100 (Tablet PC) can't, and when Clearwire expands the Atlanta coverage to the point where I'm covered at home, I may end up with a VoIP phone and mobile information terminal down the road whenever I can afford the subscription, not to mention the possibilities with WMWifiRouter.
Finally, you said Kinoma. Free version, or pay version? Never experimented with the WM versions, but I did buy Kinoma Player 4 EX for the aforementioned Tungsten|C so that I could stream video over Wi-Fi with it. (It would be nice if they offered a discount for platform switches like that...)
orb3000 said:
this forum is for HTC devices only.
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the thing looks good, but it's huge.
It's truly smaller than you think.. as i said.. it's not much bigger than an iphone:
http://www.pocketables.net/2009/07/samsung-mondi-size-comparisons.html
Phen0m said:
It's truly smaller than you think.. as i said.. it's not much bigger than an iphone:
http://www.pocketables.net/2009/07/samsung-mondi-size-comparisons.html
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Click to collapse
your right, not as bad as i had assumed. don't think it will fit in my pocket though.
wonder what it looks like next to the Tp2.
-It does go into portrait mode like every other WM device, right? If so, can you set it up to be more like the HTC slider phones in the sense that closed keyboard = portrait, open keyboard = landscape?
Found a simple program that rotates the screen instantly
-Built-in GPS, huh? How's the initial acquisition time, accuracy, reception, and general latency?
It's very average.. in the route 66 program the locks are pretty swift, on googlemaps, livesearch(bing) they're very slow. I'm about to try igo and iguidance.
How's the quality, both for stills and video recordings? Is the camera button double-detent like on dedicated cameras (push it lightly for autofocus, push it down all the way to actually shoot)?
The camera is either exactly like the Touch Pro's or slightly below that.. it's not great by any stretch and has no flash unfortunately. The upside is that there are two of them on board for skypeing, videoconferencing, webcam shows etc.
Finally, you said Kinoma. Free version, or pay version? (It would be nice if they offered a discount for platform switches like that...)
Pay version via trialpay: http://kinoma.com/play/
Whatever trial you signup for, just cancel it before the trial period ends.
The only thing that Samsung Mondi's got going for me is the large screen and that it's capable of fitting in the pant pocket.
so its not a phone, but it has a mic? :/
sightpress said:
so its not a phone, but it has a mic? :/
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No traditional radio onboard, but it can be usable as a VOIP phone.
And I'm thankful that there isn't a traditional phone radio onboard to jack the price up with something that I don't need. (If it did have the phone radio, it would cost 600+ US$ unsubsidized easily, not 450 US$.) VoIP is the future anyway, especially when WiMAX coverage starts spreading out.
Another question: how does it handle apps that aren't made for the extra width (generally 320x240 or 640x480)? They just run letterboxed, right? (Anything based on the standard Windows Mobile UI would just have extra dead space, I know that much.)
I still haven't been fortunate enough to use one, and I'm still well short of affording one, but I'll scrounge up the cash somehow. (I just need to find a willing buyer for my old Tungsten|C and my hx4700. Won't get me there all the way, but it'll help a lot.)
Mondi
I got the Mondi after looking for something like it for two years. I needed the largest possible pocketable screen plus hardware keyboard for a couple applications I run and resistive stylus for Chinese handwriting input. Mondi fit most of my needs perfectly and I've found I even do most of my voice calling using Mondi+voip. The only thing I hesitated on before buying and still don't have an answer for is how much of the XDA stuff I'll be able to take advantage of given this is a WM Classic device and Samsung Touchwiz-2 instead of HTC. Does anyone know whether I'll be able to use any of the WM 6.5 stuff from XDA or does having "Classic" put me out of luck?
BTW, I paid $359 for mine which is around what an iPaq 211 goes for.
I was wondering what phone to get either the Touch pro or palm pre... I have a sero account right now but im willing to switch plans for the pre. I have a motorola q right now and its a pos lol always crashing and whatnot. Can anyone that have experience with both phones tell me which one is better? I used the pre at the sprint store and liked it and i have played a little with the TP but i found the touch screen doesn't seem to work very good is this something a custom rom would fix? I can get a Touch pro off ebay for the same price as the pre on a 2 year contract.
Welcome to forums
Go for touch pro 2
You´ll have as an extra added value the great support of this site, with pre you won´t
when does the tp2 come out? i've been trying to find a release date for it but havnt found anything so far.
It´s already on sale since 1st days of july
That will depend on what part of the world you live in, but you can always buy it online!!
Palm Pre or HTC TOUCH PRO (I/II)
I think it totally depends on the reasons for which you intend to use the prospective phone. For example, if you are primarily looking to use the phone for voice calls and internet service and that is all, the Pre becomes a very attrative option (notwithstanding allegations of design and manufacturing defects in relation to the device's housing, LCD, keyboard, and sliding mechanism. See ZDNET.com and conduct a search with this in mind.) Assuming those alleged issues are either non-issues or have been resolved, the Pre seems to be ideal for the non-power user. Beware however, I understand the Pre does NOT have Bluetooth capacity. This, it seems to me, could pose to be a deal-breaker for a number of users who rely heavily on Bluetooth headsets, REDFLY Mobile Companions, remote contact synchronization, and add-on QWERTY/Mice solutions.
As to the Htc Touch Pro line of devices and their varied analogs: There has been some allegations of slow performance notwithstanding the processor installed therein. In fact, I've tested the Diamond (I) and Pro(I) extensively and found the Pro(I) to be significantly zippier than the Diamond (I). But if you consider the impending release of devices such as the Toshiba TG01 and HTC THOTH (fouth in the Advantage line of devices) both of which are slated to sport 1GHz processors and greater than 4" displays. This is quite compelling when you consider the existing specs of the Pro(I) and Pro(II). Conversely, the Palm PRE is a tiny little package for what you get and all that it does to simplify how users interface with the phone. Toward that end, I recommend comparing the Palm Pre with the SAMSUNG S30. Also use caution when signing two-year agreements that fundamentaly change your rates, data access terms, and do so as a REQUIREMENT to getting the phone AT ALL within your upgrade eligibility.
SOLUTION: I recommend getting either a Toshiba TG01 or HTC THOTH if you are a "super-duper" power user. If you are a regular power user, get the HTC Touch PRO (II), (I), or something in the Diamond line of devices (in that order). THEN, go to palm's open source website, and download the background picture of the "Today Screen" for the Palm Pre. Open the cab file in the Pro's Picture/Video application. From the right menu option, choose the option to set that picture as your today screen, reducing the brightness according to taste. Then, go to your TouchFLO 3D settings and do the same. Presto! You have an HTC TOUCH PRO series device and all the beauty that can be found in any of the ROMs herein at your disposal. Be sure to donate accordingly. Plus you have it with the Pre "look and feel". Alternatively, you could (if relatively industrious) snag a copy of TealPoint's TealOS, and try running it's trial version on an old compatible Palm device if you have one collecting dust, just to see if you would indeed enjoy the interface, or get tired of it after a while. I do both of these options in re my Touch Pro (I) and Palm LifeDrive. My LifeDrive is the largest Palm Pre human-kind will never know. It's actually quite novel. I think of it as my "Jump-Drive-With-A-Touchscreen", As I also run ANDROID on both devices, I have a "dual-OS" for each--providing a measure of continuity between the two. Again, it's not overkill, because to me, the LD is just the mother of all jump-drives--nothing more.
Hope this discussion helped and these examples provide you with useful ideas. Keep in mind, above all, give some real thought and reflection to exactly what kind of "user" you actually are, not what you want to be or would like to think of yourself as being. If the most you do on a daily basis is make calls and surf the net . . . I'd be dubious of making a substantial investment into ANY phone that provides "everything & the kitchen sink". Do not for that matter, be overly swayed by hardware-based QWERTY keyboards included thereon. Virtual keyboards are getting better and better these days--and if the keyboard is there, eating up some memory anyway, us might as well use it. I think you'll be surprised even with a hardware QWERTY, how much LESS you end up using it than anticipated.
Good luck to you,
LWBIIPLLC
LWBIIPLLC said:
Virtual keyboards are getting better and better these days--and if the keyboard is there, eating up some memory anyway, us might as well use it. I think you'll be surprised even with a hardware QWERTY, how much LESS you end up using it than anticipated.
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I must disagree with that statement
I have used/tested a lot of non hardware keyboard devices and to this date there is no better way to type on a device than with a hardware keyboard.
As stated above, all will depend on the use you´ll give to a device, but believe me, if you are thinking on typing a lot (SMS, email) I recommend you a hardware keyboard device.
Just my opinion based on my experience...
"Hard" vrs. "Soft" Keyboards & Choice of Device
I DON'T disagree with Orb in contending hard keyboards are "preferred" to soft keyboards in so far as this agrees with the USER'S customary use. I simply stated that hard keyboards are not the be-all-end-all and should not be the SOLE and DETERMINING factor when one chooses his or her device.
Clearly each pose difficulties. This is why we see so many of us installing a number of keyboard software applications on our devices. As within even the micro-analysis of software, we often find one modality to work better given the pressures of the task at hand. (eg. while the Touch Full Keyboard is outstanding in its large virtual keys, and so too are others such as TouchPal, Spb's Keyboard, etc. these don't allow for easy cut and past and copying; much less selective highlighting using the Ctrl key). Hence, as I do this kind of task a lot in my line of work, I end up using what I originally thought was THE most useless keyboard on my Touch Pro. Similarly, if you are a person who enters numbers quite a bit, I doubt you want to constantly want to select a specific number pad that then disappears upon entry of each number. Additionally, the applications you use are a large factor that effect how you enter information on your device. How many of us with full hard QWERTY keyboards choose to slide rather than to hit our front panel and dial by screen when dialing a number not in our contacts? But Orb is right . . . when texting and writing anything of any substance, you will quickly get frustrated with a software based keyboard. But expanding on Orb's astute observations, if it is indeed the case that you must frequently do a lot of data entry or pros writing, and you've assessed your "usage trends" accurately, then I agree and FURTHER recommend an extended keyboard via bluetooth, such as a Stowaway BT keyboarde or iTech Laser VKB/Celluon CL850 VKB, or a REDFLY Mobile Companion terminal. That said, none of this discussion even tinkers with the notion of use of a "transcriber" for handwritten text entry. Finally, one has to consider frankly, in the event such text entry is such a predominant task, whether one should be performing a task of that kind on a "phone" versus a more text-friendly device. Remember when we all got excited when it was alleged that we can work up PowerPoint presentations and Excel spreadsheets on our phones? And then they gave us a tiny virtual keyboard to do it. Did the prospect of performing such tasks get substancially more attractive WITH a hardware keyboard? Admitedly . . . yes. But did we have a measure of "let-down" when the task did not prove effortless even with the hardware QWERTY? I still contend I and others did get let down a bit. So now, the name of the game is: Adaptation.
In the world of technology, I contend Darwinianism does not apply. It is not a question of survival of the fittest. It is a quesiton of who and what devices can "adapt" to the changing needs of the consumer; indeed the specific needs of a specific user as a specific situation may so require. Or are there still those who would contend otherwise: that it is nevertheless feasible to bring an Elephant Gun to an Easter Egg Hunt? Unless the eggs are Dinosaur eggs. ; ) LWBIIPLLC
orb3000 said:
I must disagree with that statement
I have used/tested a lot of non hardware keyboard devices and to this date there is no better way to type on a device than with a hardware keyboard.
As stated above, all will depend on the use you´ll give to a device, but believe me, if you are thinking on typing a lot (SMS, email) I recommend you a hardware keyboard device.
Just my opinion based on my experience...
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Click to collapse
Very true
take a close look at pre keys. they are crap. as bad as the blackberrys.
forget both and go with tp2
it has the best keyboard ever
in us you can pick up now at tmobile if you dont mind the ****ty service.
i am waiting for verizon, but both sprint and Verizon will have it soon
cyberhern said:
Very true
take a close look at pre keys. they are crap. as bad as the blackberrys.
forget both and go with tp2
it has the best keyboard ever
in us you can pick up now at tmobile if you dont mind the ****ty service.
i am waiting for verizon, but both sprint and Verizon will have it soon
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Correction: The best keyboard ever is the one from Universal!!
orb3000 said:
Correction: The best keyboard ever is the one from Universal!!
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Then you should try the keyboard for the unlocked TP2.
Just registered here and was looking for a discussion similar to this. I am going to try to talk T-Mo USA into letting me upgrade next month as I just went through 2 BlackBerry 8120s in 14 months. I am liking the TP2 but they also have the Dash 3G.
A few questions:
1. What is the keyboard like? T-Mo doesn't have any dummy phones in stock so I can't try it out. I text/IM/email/social network all the time.
2. What Twitter and MySpace apps do you all recommend? I have already picked out what I want to use for IM (BeeJive for WM). I am also going to get the FaceBook WM app.
3. Any other things I need to be aware of before getting either one? Upgrade capability to WM 7?
4. Which device would actually fit my needs better due to the questions above?
EricaJ1073 said:
Just registered here and was looking for a discussion similar to this. I am going to try to talk T-Mo USA into letting me upgrade next month as I just went through 2 BlackBerry 8120s in 14 months. I am liking the TP2 but they also have the Dash 3G.
A few questions:
1. What is the keyboard like? T-Mo doesn't have any dummy phones in stock so I can't try it out. I text/IM/email/social network all the time.
2. What Twitter and MySpace apps do you all recommend? I have already picked out what I want to use for IM (BeeJive for WM). I am also going to get the FaceBook WM app.
3. Any other things I need to be aware of before getting either one? Upgrade capability to WM 7?
4. Which device would actually fit my needs better due to the questions above?
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Click to collapse
1. The keyboard is a very responsive and well spaced keys compared with the Touch Pro keyboard, with the freature of the tilting screen like the Kaiser. With the retro light became a very good keyboard to use everytime and every day.
2. Facebook App you already have it with the HTC equipment. It's preinstaled. If yoo have the Messenger, IM already also in the phone software.
3. WM7 will be for sure compatible, but not in official rom (with the Touch Pro2 and Diamond 2 you get the free update for the 6.5 in end september/october. WM7 problably only with cooked roms.
4. HTC Touch Pro2 for sure.