Hello!
Maybe someone have some arguments or idea which option is better.
One option is PDA with Phone module like HTC products. I don't mean Smartphones
Other one is to have separate Mobile Phone with Bluetooth and PDA where each device have related features.
There are advantages and disadvantages for each of options.
For example if you have "all in 1" device. It (at least my) sometimes hangs and software phone doesn't start but it dosen't mean that radio part doesn't work. At end you can totally loose some incoming call or SMS but caller/sender will think that you have received it. I can't say that I have lost many calls but it happens. Other disadvantage is that usually for "all in 1" devices features is low to average.
Other option is with 2 devices. There is some disadvantages too. First of all you have to carry two devices, you have to take care for both devices, follow battery charge. You have to find where to put both of them in some pocket or on belt. Other thing is that Bluetooth have to be switched on in both devices for all the time or much longer time. Probably it is not good idea.
I'll be happy to read some comments
Well as one who has both regular PDA and Phone PDA (see my sig) I can say this:
Depending on your use of the PDA part you may not loose any calls, but you have to be careful what you run on it. I do agree though that the phone part is less stable then on regular cell phone.
As for "low to average features" here I have to disagree. My Jamin is not and never was "top of the line" device yet it has WIFI G, BT 2.0 and 2MP camera. Granted the processor is a bit slow but it does the job without guzzling down the battery. Plus the device is very compact overall (an important feature for cell phone replacement in my opinion)
If you look at newer devices HTC has finally got the point with HERMES and put in a 400MHz processor. O2 now has some non HTC phones with 520 MHz processor and new generation of ARM base CPU that go as high as 1.2 GHz is just around the corner.
All in all if you need the functionality of the PDA for your business affairs or online stuff (not just navigation, music and games) I think a combine device beats having a regular phone plus PDA almost in every respect.
As for smartphones (actual smartphones with win mobile but no touch screen) they are the compromise. They sacrifice some of the power of the PDA to give you a fully stable phone module just like a regular cellphone.
But in the end to each his own so the choice of Phone PDA / smartphone / PDA + regular phone is an individual thing.
I've been using the setup with one pda and one cell for a couple of years until I changed it when buying the wizard a couple of months ago. And today I wouldn't want to go back to carrying two devices. The pdaphones have come a long way and I don't feel that they're a compromise any longer. Sure, the wizard doesn't have the 3d acceleration etc like some of the pdaonly devices yet for me it's quite enough.
And they way companies through out phones today(half-done) they just as easily hang and you miss calls and text's.
I'm sticking with the pdaphone
OK Thanks guys
I assume from replies that it is better if in one device is all features and of course it sounds logical.
About features. I was looking around to find some PDA phone with not much features together. Or better say didn't find with features I have in "must" list. And I think it is nothing mega.
Ah yes currently I have wizard which seems starts to show up some I suppose aging "features".
I'm rather business user, main applications is e-mail, calendar and office applications. Of course not only business apps.
Main feature I really need in new device is VGA screen because with my current qVGA screen is tricky to look at spreadsheet or some word document.
Other is faster CPU than Wizard has, sometimes that slowness it is really annoying.
And at least a bit larger user available internal flash/ram.
If in it would be GPS module it would be ideal, but ir isn't required.
G - WiFi.
QWERTY - not required but good to have.
Currently in market there is no much devices with such features. All devices I like is with note "early 2007". I'm not sure my current device will last so long. And of course no info about prices
Actually, aside from GPS, HTC Universal answares to just about everything on that list. It's not a new device, but it is 3G and VGA plus it has the biggest screen of all phones to date 3.5'
Some upcoming VGA models will have a 2.8' screen which means true VGA (what you get when you cancel out pixel doubling with something like OzVGA) will be practically useless as you will need a microscope to read the text.
Check out the upcoming O2 Flame, I'm definitly saving myself for that one
OK my employer made decision without my assistance
After in some urgent situation I was unreachable due to my wizard hang I just got phone. As employer pays for my bills (lucky me) I have no choice.
Now I'm happy or "happy" Nokia 6230i owner.
Let's see after some time
Thanks for answers!
Related
Well I've just ordered a new battery for my battered Wallaby, as the current one is failing fast. Critical battery warnings in less than 20hours from a full charge.
This is still just a stop-gap measure though. The poor thing just doesn't do what I want it to.
I'm a tinkerer, not a phone obsessive though, so I don't know what else is out there. I have a list of some essential and optional features I'd like in my next purchase, and if anyone knows a phone that fits the bill, I'd be very greatfull to know about it.
Essential:
Quad band
802.11b/g
No moving parts (solid unit, no hinges or sliding parts)
Skype capable
Removable storage
Decent run time
Optional:
Runs Linux
Waterproof/durable Belt-mountable housing
Standard USB type charging/link socket
Decent and fast stills camera function (2Mp+?)
Are there any phones that fit the bill? The HTC Prophet sounds ideal, but while the wiki says it's Quad band, adverts for 2nd hand ones (and even the opinion of a user I met on the street) seem mixed as to wether it's quad or tri-band.
maybe
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=HTC_Trinity
or
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=HTC_Artemis
You might also want to consider the HTC Touch -- it is quad-band, as seen by a number of users at HowardForums.
As a matter of fact every HTC phone here with wifi meets your expectations.
Wizard, Hermes, and whatever the Wing is don't
"Skype capable"
could give the lower cpu's a run for their money
CAN THE SHIFT STILL MAKE A SPLASH IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION?
To a lot of the community it must seem that the highpoint of the HTC Shifts anticipation was the Hugo Ortega review of the device back in August [Additional Video Link]. The community seemed to Match Hugo’s enthusiasm for the device at the time, and understandably; the device has the potential to take the UMPC and pocketPC platform a great leap forward and all, since its first revelation for sub $2000. But since that high note and as more details have trickled out about the Shift the enthusiasm from both communities (UMPC and Pocket PC) seems to have diminished in proportional response [Comments here offer a glimpse to some of the broad criticisms now circulating].
The HTC Shift isn’t the first device to have specification changes or features taken out along the production path. First to go has been the 1.2Ghz Processor, followed by Windows Mobile 6 (at least a full version), next was voice capabilities (its quite possible these were never going to be available but given the cellular functionality of the device one wonders), then went the hope for at least a 1024x600 resolution screen and lastly the most recent revelation is that we can expect only 2hours of Vista battery life [New specs link – thanks to Kaz covering first hand GITEX2007].
Now the above paragraph might make it seem that the HTC shift has been butchered from its original splendour, so lets take a look at these change and its general specs. This isnt a review of the device, I haven’t been blessed to try the device, its just my interpretations of where the Shift is at now as it prepares to ship, combined with my UMPC experience but mainly as a long time Windows Mobile user and HTC enthusiast.
Processor: so we’ve gone from 1.2Ghz Via Chip down to the Intel A110 Stealy 800Mhz. It’s not all bad news, it’s the same processor used by popular UMPCs such as the Samsung Q1 Ultra, and is increasingly be used by other UMPCs such as the Kojinsha and Fujitsu. Most users have reported things run smoothly on these platforms, including Vista so unless you’re planning on using your UMPC as a video encoder one might suspect its going to do the usual run of the mill UMPC stuff just fine with 800Mhz. Despite a slow boot up time (possibly an anomaly, possibly could be corrected with tweaks) the multi-tasking from the Ortega video appeared quite smooth and responsive.
Windows Mobile (WM): When it was originally reported that WM would ship on the device I was confused as to what could possibly be the advantages of such an approach. Samsung had already proven you could build a dialler and phone functionality into the OS so why waste time putting WM on there.
After seeing the video review it made perfect sense. Use WM to do the things you don’t need vista for or that WM can do due to its longer battery life. This seemed to make sense. Why boot up Vista with its limited lifespan when I could get plenty more WiFi, Media playing, Powerpointing, Emailing done right there in Windows Mobile. Leaving Vista for the higher end tasks such as work, proper editing, more in-depth outlook management, data management, and maybe even a game or two?
Unfortunately the latest news from GITEX 2007, and Kaz’s adventures there, seems to point to WM being nothing more than ‘an advanced BIOS with a modem (HSDPA) for push-email support’. I think this is a big mistake as crippling WM in such a way limits its potential to being just a weak sideshow feature to Vista. Whilst being able to access the weather information and get my emails from HSDPA is nice, I believe my vision of WM above would make more sense.
However, if its one thing WM communities have shown though is never say die when it comes to changing our devices to suit. Short of HTC limiting the WM partition or WM RAM, a sense of optimism for a cooked full version of WM might not be out of the question.
Voice Capabilities: HTC seem to have always taken the view that voice capabilities for this device do not exist. It seems to be a foregone conclusion, and whilst any feature is welcome, I question if anyone would truly replace their phone with this device had it the voice capabilities. Despite this its range of connectivity options and HSDPA is a leg above most UMPCs on the market.
The Screen: After Hugo’s review there were mixed interpretations of what native resolutions the device supported. This has been cleared up quite succinctly. The device will ship with 800x480. When questioned about using a lower resolution spec’d screen Middle East Operations Manager for HTC Kevin Chen had this to say:
‘The answer is simple. The screen is only 7" and since power consumption has to be low, HTC decided on the low resolution screen.’ [Source – Kaz’s Interview]
That answer actually makes the device sound sub-par, and whilst higher resolutions are always a nice treat there is something to be said along the lines of screen size. Releasing a device this late in 2007 with such a screen when the standard has clearly moved to 1024 is slightly disappointing but on the whole doesn’t diminish the device too much. As the CEO said it’s a 7” screen, 800x480 isn’t going to look shocking on that size device. People not use to an UMPC with a higher resolution are unlikely to be greatly phased, and (fingers crossed) the interoperated mode which upscales the screen to 1024x600 looked good on Hugos review. There is the distinct possibility that HTC may have got this right where other UMPC manufactures have persistently failed users.
HDD: The device now ships with a 40G drive and a 60G option, quite reasonable for the UMPC, but it has increasingly come under fire for not having SSD or at least the option. Whilst I agree the option would be nice, this is HTCs first foray into this market, especially in such a hybrid manner. I think it is understandable they haven’t opted for the SSD option due to simply not knowing how the device will go and what its profit margin will be in the end. SSD also runs against the prime criteria of this device, which from HTC seems to have been an extremely competitive price point. Whilst the exact price has not been confirmed, the places taking pre-orders are placing their bets on $1400-1600. SSD on average means an instant increase in price of $400-500 which would erode away any price edge HTC have over the competition with this device.
Battery Life: Despite being able to see alternatives or the upside of most of the specs and changes with the Shift I really can’t say I or anyone is impressed with 2 hours. Unless that is 2 hours with everything on and everything running non stop that one is left wonder where our 3hr standard went? Hugo reported 3Hrs in his review, and 3hrs is the least the community has come to expect from an UMPC. I’m not sure how HTC can reconcile this issue unless its 2 hours of maximum usability (ie everything on, everything being used for those whole 120mins). I would suspect it highly likely an XP version could be put on the device by the user (as it will not ship with XP) but whether this would increase the 2 Hrs significantly is unknown.
HTCs website for the shift says: “Why should I compromise?” and that’s an excellent question HTC, why should we compromise our UMPC experience with 2hours of battery life? I suspect you cannot win an UMPC argument armed with 2hours of battery life, and with that in mind I would ask them to answer that question for themselves. If the market has to answer it for HTC on this issue I wouldn’t be expecting a favourable outcome.[/b]
On the whole I think the majority of the Shifts specs are in line with current trends and what we might expect given the shifts criteria and this being HTCs first foray into such a market. But like most users the limited WM6 functionality diminishes my productivity hopes for the device, but I personally hold great hopes for the community to correct this. The battery issue is going to be a wait and see. One would highly suspect after 3 days with the device Hugo got a good idea of the battery life and if its turns out its 2hrs of maximum, full use than perhaps there’s hope, but just two hours in general falls too far short of the UMPC standard. In which case the Shifts splash is likely to be a painful bellyflop.
If this issue was however corrected or turns out to be the maximum usage or just a simple mistake than I see the shift being able to fulfil its role as an UMPC successfully. The device has unanimously been accredited the status of a sleek sexy, solid, well built device. The form factor, the potential of two operating systems and cpus make this a lethal device to the competition. The cellular options even without voice connect the device all the more.
HTC are playing a risky game delivering a device with these specs this late into 2007 where similar spec’d device have been out for some months now. As long as HTC can do something with the Battery life I feel confident the shift will still make a positive splash. Will it revolutionise the industry as first expected? Probably not. But it’s likely to still shake things up, in form factor, its connectivity options combined with the price point. The dual operating systems could also prove to be a big hit with the industry if they can function in a productive manner beyond the “limited version” were hearing about.
I had not been keeping up to date with the shift. If it is correct that there is no voice phone functionality then this device no longer has any potential for me. I was hoping to keep it around (big pocket, bag etc) and just use my bt headset to answer the calls. There is no way i will be carrying two devices on a regular basis, so if the shift can't call - I can't have it I still have hope because HTC have not removed the GSM from the description. Most people would take that to mean phone functionality.
All the other details are of less importance for how I intended to use it.
It seems the Shift is more of an UMPC than any hybrid in its current form. The cellular connections are all still there and the device can even recieve SMS based on the pics weve seen from GITEX however, voice capacities appear to have been removed/restricted.
Given the crippled version of WM included it seems HTC envision this as more of a UMPC than anything to do with a PocketPC which might entail phone functions.
That device was flawed from the beginning, 1) no call support on the windows mobile, 2) UMPC.
"After seeing the video review it made perfect sense. Use WM to do the things you don’t need vista for or that WM can do due to its longer battery life. This seemed to make sense. "
Brain dead, there's no sync between that windows mobile and vista(unless you use exchange which requires an internet connection*), and you'll have to carry a phone with you, so, why use the Shift to do what you can do on your really portable windows mobile phone?
*although broadly available it is a potential show stopper.
Get a 12" convertible tablet and a WM phone [period]
that's exactly what I have right now, but I just hate carrying two devices and even more I hate the time it takes to boot then connect through the phone. I just want to push on and use.
OdeeanRDeathshead said:
that's exactly what I have right now, but I just hate carrying two devices and even more I hate the time it takes to boot then connect through the phone. I just want to push on and use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, If you see Hugo's video you know you'll take even more time to be up and ready with the Shift, even when resuming from hibernation like showed on the video, that thing isn't exactly an instant-on experience.
With a vista TPC you can resume from hibernation and connect through your WM device(in case you don't use a usb modem) much faster.
I also have that configuration I mentioned, tho it isn't a 12"(14"er), usb HSDPA modem - frees the WM device to do other things like moving away from the TPC w'out cutting its connection to the interwebs, and it also saves the battery of the WM device - and Trinity.
"I just hate carrying two devices"
It is really just the difference between the Shift's 7" and your 12" tablet since the WM device's weight and size is really irrelevant IMO.
The reason I say it makes sense to utilise the WM portion is because we don't all carry around 7" devices loaded with WM. Now the Advantage was fun to browse the web on and do everything else I listed, but the advantage is limited to being a WM device. The Shift has Vista to pick up where WM limitations kick in, or vice versa WM to kick in where UMPC battery life limits Vista.
I cannot help but feel people are expecting this device to be a notebook or tablet pc when its clearly an UMPC.
Apoc you list being an UMPC as its second flaw, its not a flaw its simply a fact of what the device is. Obviously if you want a bigger screen and a bigger device you'll carry around a tablet. However, there are those of us who want a small alternative to the tablet and this is it.
"Apoc you list being an UMPC as its second flaw, its not a flaw its simply a fact of what the device is."
Yeah, you're right.
resume/hibernate is not what I want. All my stuff is on truecrypt volumes and resuming breaks it. I would need to dismount each volume then mount it again after resume. I wanted a device that is always on but not necessarily doing anything. The way ppc wakes up when you push the on button or when a call comes in.
Anyway, the dream is over. I think the next best option is to find a small 3g card that will fit in my tablet with not much overhang. Telstra sell one but it is not on the correct band for my three account. Three's dongle looks like a mouse hanging out on its wire - not good.
You are right about the weight and size. What matters is the time. I use the devices at random times for short periods (20 minutes or less), If I have to spend 5 minutes getting ready then I could not be bothered to begin.
Another solution would be if the wm device could act as a modem even when off, the modem is not part of the windows hardware any way so it should be able to work. Unfortunately it does not. When I push the off button on the ppc my connection will last for about 30 seconds then disappears.
Hi,
Ive decided to go with Wm over UIQ3/S60 due to more software.
Ive never had a ppc, but i expect to do some tinkering in terms of software and maybe custom rom's
Turns out that choosing the os was the easy part.
Im now faced with hardware dilemmas. Sorry if this is long, but i dont want to throw away 400$ or more on a phone that may not meet my expectations
1. The devices i looked at range from 200mhz omap to about 500mhz from various chip makers. How noticeable is the cpu speed if a phone has the same ram?
2. Next is Ram, how important is it to have 128 megs??
3. last is Rom, how useful is this- cant u just dump progs to the expandable memory card. performance wise how diff are progs installed on the rom verses the expandable memory?
phones i am considering are gsm: htc touch, touch cruise, SE x1, asus p527/p750, lg ks20, glofiish x650/x600, toshiba g810, gsmart i3xx?, samsung i780. How crippling is the htc driver problem?
a) i kinda want my phone to have some metal on the case- will it get less scratches?
b) how useful are phones with just direction and 2 buttons-send/end call? how useful is a 9# keypad in real buttons? seems redundant with soft key option
c) Am i better off with the cheaper options to get used to wm rather the go for a more luxury option?
I plan to keep the phone for about 3 years.
also how useful is the wifi versus data plan( i am in Ontario Canada)?
i plan to use it to call long distance in Canada via Voip, as i am around wifi hot spots often.
Thank you to all who give me some input.
I'll chime in where I can:
2. Very important. I find that 64 is not enough and 128 is too much. If they made 96MB RAM it would be perfect. But noone does that I know of. Better to have too much than too little. Battery life will suffer a little (less power used for less memory).
3. It's pretty important. I have 256 MB ROM and after everything I only have 128 free. If you only had 128 to begin with, who knows how much you'd be left with? Some apps need to be installed in ROM and not Storage Card. Get 256 if you can.
b) I never really use any buttons other than on/off and talk/end. I have a hardware button setup for the today screen, which helps me because I use it alot.
Hope that helps!
That clears it up thank you wildcard.
Ths could eliminate some phones from my list.
Could anyone clear up processor speed for me, does it really make a diff given enough ram?
Also out of the phones I mentioned, is there a clear choice that satisfy me- ignoring the phones not yet released( x1, g810)?
Is there an gsm htc touch clone from o2 or whoever that mimics the CDMA version ( 400mhz, 128 ram)?
Don't take this as entirely factual but:
-64mb RAM is good, but I could have used 128mb. Battery life is affected, but I don't know how much.
-CPU probably has some effect, but 400mhz is standard and fine. 200mhz is probably much slower.
-There is no 400mhz/128MB RAM Touch clone for GSM
-Apps run faster from ROM. With only system utilities on my device and with the ROM made spring clean, I could not have more than 32 out of 49MB of free RAM left. 64 is really small, 128 is a minimum if you don't want to count on your card or keep extra fonts/voice commands/media.
-You MUST have Wi-Fi. What kind of sane Canadian would rely on data... probably a filthy rich one! Rogers is about to bring affordable unlimited data soon tho, but they say it will be for "a selected list of phones" which will probably exclude the very phones that need it IMO. iPhone whores...
-If you're not sure about Windows Mobile, try an emulator (found on microsoft website using google) for developers and surf around. It's far from what you can actually do with your device but it helps you see what it's all about.
You might want to try PalmOS if Wi-Fi and web browsing is not a necessity. I changed to WM and would never switch back, but some did the opposite and loved it.
Suggestion:
-TyTN / TyTN II have plenty of buttons+hardware keyboard, great for playing video game ROMs and games in general, but makes the device much thicker. You will love having lots of hardware buttons (one for flashlight, another for calendar then another for...)
-HTC Touch. It must be slower, but if you remove web browsing, heavy customization and the like, it will be a nice pocketable device. It's so damn cute compared to my fat TyTN (which I love). It only lacks more buttons and some power under the hood.
Thanks again.
Rogers has some sort of Rogers Vision Plan that includes data for 7$ still dont know much about it, its all new. I'd rather not pay anything extra LOL.
www.tryphone.com has a preview of palm os, but that doesnt interest me.
I couldnt figure out the windows mobile simulation from microsoft, but i did use a htc briefly in a store.
Anyways from whats been posted:
Avoid 200 mhz
Avoid anything less then 128 ram
Avoid anything less then 256 rom
This basically leaves HTC, Samsung, toshiba, Hp 610 and upcoming expensive X1.
---
From what i understand Rom flashing is basically reinstalling WM and bundling less progs with it? Am I correct?
Could any one point me into the direction of more info on ROM flashing?
How hard is it to make a custom Rom from scratch in case I go with a non HTC phone i.e. Samsung/ Eten / Asus .. i gather the other communities dont have it as rich as this one.
Avoid LG KS20 !
Hello andrey08,
There is one thing I can tell : do not buy a LG KS20 !. It is plagued by totally flawed display drivers : many GAPI apps do not work, and most DirectDraw ones do not.
Moreover, LG stripped from the ROM QTV support, so you will not have hardware accelerated video playing.
There is also a problem with the microphone while phoning, which stops functionning while switching between GSM and 3G bands.
Finally, their customer support is even worst than HTC's since they always pretend not being aware of these problems and do not plan to release a new ROM to correct anything when asked (since there is no problem according to them...).
I'm the poor owner of this piece of crap, and can not even resell it since it would be scam (you can't not even rely on it to phone !).
You can search the internet to confirm what I say : european forums are full of messages of angry customers. Our problem is that we can not have class actions in europe as in the US, and it is not an easy task to individually sue vodaphone or LG.
Lastly, concerning HTC recent products : if you read this forum, you will find that recent MSM7xxx HTC products are plagued by a very slow display. Compatibility and applications support seems OK though.
what about screen type
i know VGA is 4 times the display ability of QVGA, however whatsthe draw back of VGA
do all programs run on both VGA/Qvga screens??
whats the issue with video play back??
andrey08 said:
what about screen type
i know VGA is 4 times the display ability of QVGA, however whatsthe draw back of VGA
do all programs run on both VGA/Qvga screens??
whats the issue with video play back??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would go for a VGA phone every time, but the advantages are relatively subtle.
Most QVGA programs will work on VGA, either because they are natively supported, or they use pixel-doubling.
You won't notice much of a difference for most of the built-in programs apart from smoother fonts and cleaner icons. This can be hacked using something like realVGA, but I find the icons get too small for practical benefit, although YMMV.
VGA, however, definitely comes into its own when you are web-browsing or using the remote desktop client, because the increased resolution means that you can get a near-desktop experience.
The disadvantage is that VGA displays theoretically sap more battery, although I haven't found this to be a problem in practice. Video playback is also more dependent on what hardware you have on the device and whether there is any acceleration.
ZSX said:
I would go for a VGA phone every time, but the advantages are relatively subtle.
Most QVGA programs will work on VGA, either because they are natively supported, or they use pixel-doubling.
You won't notice much of a difference for most of the built-in programs apart from smoother fonts and cleaner icons. This can be hacked using something like realVGA, but I find the icons get too small for practical benefit, although YMMV.
VGA, however, definitely comes into its own when you are web-browsing or using the remote desktop client, because the increased resolution means that you can get a near-desktop experience.
The disadvantage is that VGA displays theoretically sap more battery, although I haven't found this to be a problem in practice. Video playback is also more dependent on what hardware you have on the device and whether there is any acceleration.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also make sure you read my (W)VGA-related articles & reviews - from MWC, I've posted a LOT on the brand new / forthcoming VGA devices (for example, the i-mate 9502, the x7510 etc)
andrey08 said:
Hi,
Ive decided to go with Wm over UIQ3/S60 due to more software.
Ive never had a ppc, but i expect to do some tinkering in terms of software and maybe custom rom's
Turns out that choosing the os was the easy part.
Im now faced with hardware dilemmas. Sorry if this is long, but i dont want to throw away 400$ or more on a phone that may not meet my expectations
1. The devices i looked at range from 200mhz omap to about 500mhz from various chip makers. How noticeable is the cpu speed if a phone has the same ram?
2. Next is Ram, how important is it to have 128 megs??
3. last is Rom, how useful is this- cant u just dump progs to the expandable memory card. performance wise how diff are progs installed on the rom verses the expandable memory?
phones i am considering are gsm: htc touch, touch cruise, SE x1, asus p527/p750, lg ks20, glofiish x650/x600, toshiba g810, gsmart i3xx?, samsung i780. How crippling is the htc driver problem?
a) i kinda want my phone to have some metal on the case- will it get less scratches?
b) how useful are phones with just direction and 2 buttons-send/end call? how useful is a 9# keypad in real buttons? seems redundant with soft key option
c) Am i better off with the cheaper options to get used to wm rather the go for a more luxury option?
I plan to keep the phone for about 3 years.
also how useful is the wifi versus data plan( i am in Ontario Canada)?
i plan to use it to call long distance in Canada via Voip, as i am around wifi hot spots often.
Thank you to all who give me some input.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I heartily recommend the MWC-based handset reviews I've posted in the last week into this very forum (i-mate, HP, Samsung etc)
Thanks i'll chekc it out.
im considering either an Eten x650 or MWg Atom V
reviews and such look good for both
So this year I've decided to spoil myself and buy a new toys, something I haven't done in a longggggg while
Anyways, I'm very seriously thinking of getting Windows Mobile smartphone because it seems to me that the technology is at such a level that they're now actually becoming computers you can carry in your pocket (pocket pc!). I travel a lot and I have to bring a lot of equipement with me so I'm looking to combine several devices into one to save weight and space.
I've been doing my homework in the last 2 weeks and I think I have it narrowed down to 2 devices: the HTC Fuze and the Samsung Omnia. There are other interesting devices on the market unfortunatly I do have a limited budget and these 2 are at the upper limit, hence why the Xperia isn't mentionned.
So far the Fuze seems more interesting because for almost the same price I get multi-touch, a real keyboard and a VGA screen however I'm wondering if it truly fits my needs.
Essentially I want something that:
-will act like a beefed up PDA almost computer like level(hence WinMo)
-be usable when a travel therefore needs quadband GSM and ideally triband 3G. I don't intent to use 3G data just yet because it's too expensive in Canada but I see that criteria as futureproofing such an expensive purchase incase GSM is one day shutdown for voice.
-has a good enough screen that I can use it as a ebook reader (been doing that with my Ipaq RX3115 for about 5 years now)
-handle a bit of multimedia, mainly mp3 but a bit of video wouldn't hurt.
And this brings me to a question: does the Fuze always come with the 3.5mm adapter? I'm in Canada so I'd most likely be being an imported ATT phone
Also, what about the warranty? Am I SOL since it's imported or could I get warranty support straight from HTC?
-act as a GPS WITHOUT a data connection. Reading on this it seem possible to use TomTom with the device in a reasonnable fashion; I don't mind waiting 2-3 minutes for the GPS to lock but 15-20 mins would be more annoying...
Basically as much fonctionnality as possible in one device.
I also understand that there are MANY roms available for this device; considering that I'm not currently a power user (but might eventually become one) can I expect acceptable performance with the stock rom? I don't mind loading up new apps, I've been doing that on my venerable old Ipaq for a while but I'd rather start slow with this.
Also, can I expect reasonnable speed running programs off the SD card? This is one major advantage of the Omnia since it has 16gb onboard storage.
What about Wifi performance? I assume it's going to be on par with my Ipaq, i.e. not as good as my laptop but still usable is the access point isn't too far away.
And finally, how long can I except the battery to last? I won't be making call all day, probably more in the lines of listening to music and sending email via wifi. Probably a bit of ebook reading as well.
Basically the Fuze seems like the idea device except for a few issues I've been reading about here which I'm trying to determine how major they are.
Anyways, comments appreciated
Cheers!
Pat
Anyone?
Pat
Welcome to the forum
I can recommend you to enter here, select the compeonents you want on a device and check the options
http://www.pdadb.net/index.php?m=pdachooser
Good luck,
Pat007 said:
So this year I've decided to spoil myself and buy a new toys, something I haven't done in a longggggg while
Anyways, I'm very seriously thinking of getting Windows Mobile smartphone because it seems to me that the technology is at such a level that they're now actually becoming computers you can carry in your pocket (pocket pc!). I travel a lot and I have to bring a lot of equipement with me so I'm looking to combine several devices into one to save weight and space.
I've been doing my homework in the last 2 weeks and I think I have it narrowed down to 2 devices: the HTC Fuze and the Samsung Omnia. There are other interesting devices on the market unfortunatly I do have a limited budget and these 2 are at the upper limit, hence why the Xperia isn't mentionned.
So far the Fuze seems more interesting because for almost the same price I get multi-touch, a real keyboard and a VGA screen however I'm wondering if it truly fits my needs.
Essentially I want something that:
-will act like a beefed up PDA almost computer like level(hence WinMo)
-be usable when a travel therefore needs quadband GSM and ideally triband 3G. I don't intent to use 3G data just yet because it's too expensive in Canada but I see that criteria as futureproofing such an expensive purchase incase GSM is one day shutdown for voice.
-has a good enough screen that I can use it as a ebook reader (been doing that with my Ipaq RX3115 for about 5 years now)
-handle a bit of multimedia, mainly mp3 but a bit of video wouldn't hurt.
And this brings me to a question: does the Fuze always come with the 3.5mm adapter? I'm in Canada so I'd most likely be being an imported ATT phone
Also, what about the warranty? Am I SOL since it's imported or could I get warranty support straight from HTC?
-act as a GPS WITHOUT a data connection. Reading on this it seem possible to use TomTom with the device in a reasonnable fashion; I don't mind waiting 2-3 minutes for the GPS to lock but 15-20 mins would be more annoying...
Basically as much fonctionnality as possible in one device.
I also understand that there are MANY roms available for this device; considering that I'm not currently a power user (but might eventually become one) can I expect acceptable performance with the stock rom? I don't mind loading up new apps, I've been doing that on my venerable old Ipaq for a while but I'd rather start slow with this.
Also, can I expect reasonnable speed running programs off the SD card? This is one major advantage of the Omnia since it has 16gb onboard storage.
What about Wifi performance? I assume it's going to be on par with my Ipaq, i.e. not as good as my laptop but still usable is the access point isn't too far away.
And finally, how long can I except the battery to last? I won't be making call all day, probably more in the lines of listening to music and sending email via wifi. Probably a bit of ebook reading as well.
Basically the Fuze seems like the idea device except for a few issues I've been reading about here which I'm trying to determine how major they are.
Anyways, comments appreciated
Cheers!
Pat
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the fuze is a great device however the Touch Pro 2 (the successor to the Fuze) should be out in a few months, it is superior to the Fuze in many meaningful ways, my suggestion would be to hold off on your purchase until the Touch Pro 2 comes out in the US (make sure you get the US version) it would suck to buy the fuze (which is a great device) and then 3 months later a superior device come out (at the same price)
aaronsmckee said:
the fuze is a great device however the Touch Pro 2 (the successor to the Fuze) should be out in a few months, it is superior to the Fuze in many meaningful ways, my suggestion would be to hold off on your purchase until the Touch Pro 2 comes out in the US (make sure you get the US version) it would suck to buy the fuze (which is a great device) and then 3 months later a superior device come out (at the same price)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I must be missing something because I looked up the Touch Pro on the website suggested earlier and pretty much the only difference I see with the Fuze is a bigger screen and a slightly different GPS chip. Am I missing anything?
Also, I'd like to have triband 3G (which the Fuze has) because I'm in Canada and judging from the Touch Pro launch it's probably going to take a while before there's a NA version of the Touch Pro 2.
One thing that really has me a litlle worried with buying an imported phone is the warranty because the store I'm looking to buying it from is on the other side of the country from me.
Does HTC provide international warranty support?
Thks!
Pat
A while back I bought a Samsung SCH-I760 off Ebay for $100. I chose it because, at the time, it was the best phone that could be activated on Verizon without a data plan. However, by the time I got around to activating it, Verizon changed the rule from all phones after October '08 to all smartphones period. Now I am stuck with a Wi-fi PDA instead of a phone as I can't justify paying for a data plan. I have become unsatisfied with my I760 because of its lack of GPS, low ram, and most of all, its lack of a rom cooking scene. I am now looking for a phone for $50-$100 with the following features in decreasing importance:
1. Wifi (necessary as I won't be activating the phone)
2. An active rom cooking scene
3. Hardware keyboard
4. GPS
5. VGA or WVGA screen
6. 128+ MB ram
7. Faster processor than 400 mhz
8. Bigger screen than 2.5 in
9. Multitouch lol can't think of much else
The phone doesn't need to be unlocked, as I wn't be activating it. However a GSM phone would be nice, as I might be able to eventually use a normal phone plan's sim card in it, but far from a dealbreaker. Probably my dream phone(in this pricerange at least) would be a Touch Pro/Fuze but I've seen those are more expensive than $100 here. I couldn't post this in the marketplace forum because of my low post count. I'll probably start doing stuff here now to get it up. I only signed up for downloads originally.
you must be kidding searching for HTC <100$ with these features, LOL.
more - say thx to HTC for killing other companies, ideas and devices that will never be.
Welcome to forums
have a look on marketplace, perhaps you can find something around your budget
Good luck,
Umm.......
You could prob get a used diamond / raphael quite cheap from forum marketplace, but for 50 - 100 $, i am unsure
soz
Badwolve1
I think diamond or fuze will be your best bet...but need to increase your budget slightly I guess
Get a used HTC Hermes Tytn (but not GPS on it). The more features the more the price
Thanks guys; that's pretty much what I was thinking. I'll just have to keep checking the marketplace for a deal on a fuze/touch pro. I saw that Tytn. It did look pretty interesting for the price. I really want to put WM 6.5 on it and to a lesser extent, android though. I saw the tytn II has some pretty active hacking; it has ports of both oses. What about that? A quick search of the forums didn't show many sales. How does that match up to the Fuze? From what I see it looks to be just generally less powerful. However, I've been reading about the performance problems on the touch pro. Is it really as bad as the sticky thread makes it sound? Have there been any advances in drivers for the gpu? Lastly, since I won't be activating this phone, does it require a data connection to start? I heard Android won't boot if it isn't connected; is that true for WM?
And Pupakota, if you didn't figure it out from the others, my list was in decreasing order of importance, aka not all the features. I don't think a single WM phone exists with all those features; HD2 is the only one with multitouch AFAIK.
Oh yeah, I would love to put a Leo rom on it.