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Microsoft Portrait is one of the best VoIP / chatter app for the Pocket PC. Also, it’s the only Pocket PC application to offer video phoning capabilities. I’ve often elaborated on (see for example this) its excellent capabilities and compared them to the alternates (for example, 4Talk or Gphone).
Up to now (as of version 2.3), the biggest problem with MS Portrait was the absolutely lacking support of built-in cameras (old versions only supported external, CF- and SD-based cameras as can be seen in here and here). Fortunately, the excellent folks at Microsoft have listened to for example my complaints and have come out with a beta version that already supports some (but not all – more on this later) built-in cameras.
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(This is the app showing the HTC Wizard in action, showing what the Universal is sending it; a Universal screenshot HERE while in active video phone connection with this Wizard)
It’s available HERE and is a free download.
Compatibility and co-existence with version 2.3
Upon testing interoperability between the old and new versions, I haven’t encountered any audio or video compatibility issues between them. Both video phoning and (even full-duplex) audio transmission worked OK between 2.3 and 3.0 clients.
Also, you can install both versions on the same (WM5) device (if you prefer having 2.3 on your device too); they can co-exist without any problems.
Audio – it is full duplex capable by default!
As far as the audio is concerned, there is a cryptic new “LH 48” audio codec listed in the selectable audio codec list. I don’t know what it’s referring to – I’m pretty much into audio codecs but, frankly, haven’t ever heard of this codec. Version 2.3 didn’t support it. Note that it haven’t worked when I’ve tested it as can also be seen in here – as with Mobile Voice 2.4, which has been removed from PPC2k2 (see this for more info on this) but is still (erroneously) listed in both versions: in both 2.3 running on PPC2k2+ and 3.0. MS should, finally, remove this item from there - it's only causing confusion for anyone not having read my Bible of Pocket PC Sound Recording.
Please note that while there is no Half / Full Duplex switching capabilities any more in the setup (as opposed to 2.3 as can be seen in here), 3.0 DOES support full duplex audio and it’s the non-overridable default. This is certainly good news for newbies / beginners that didn’t really know what to do when, for example, the warning dialog visible in the previous 2.3 screenshot was shown. With the full duplex by default approach, the new version is much easier to configure than before and, in this respect, 4Talk is not better any more.
Please note that, as usual, unless you use it on an, in addition to VoIP-optimized PPC’s like the Pocket Loox 720, PPC PE device (with a dedicated, low-volume, already acoustic feedback-free hardware), you may want to stick to using wired / Bluetooth headsets to make use this mode. Also remember to switch the “Select preferred manner for audio recording” drop-down list in the Audio tab to “Click to talk” mode; then, the two parties only need to click “Talk” once and, after that, both can simultaneously speak.
Caveats, problems
First, it’s WM5 only. Unfortunately, it seems Microsoft Research has forgotten previous operating systems at least as far as free tools / apps are concerned, as was the case with the also excellent Windows Mobile Network Analyzer PowerToy. That is, if you have a WM2003SE Pocket PC with a built-in camera (for example, the Pocket Loox 720), you won’t be able to use it.
Second and, given that the vast majority of current camera-enabled PPC devices run WM5, the more important is that it only supports backside cameras – not ones in the front (ones that are meant for video calls). While on Pocket PC’s with one camera only (for example the Wizard) this isn’t a problem, on more recent devices (and the HTC Universal) with two cameras, this is a real pain in the back.
On these two-camera devices, you can in no way activate the front camera. For example, on the Universal, the camera selector drop-down menu only has one item as can be seen in here (a Wizard screenshot is here; note that the Wizard only has one camera).
Finally, sometimes it’s very hard to activate the application after minimizing it – sometimes, when you try to switch back to it, only the program name or “ActiveMovie Window” is displayed on the taskbar. This can be a pain in the back because, in these cases, you will need to kill Portrait.
Lol:
I've still got one of those in my drawer at home!
Good post Menneisyys, Portrait is a great app.
V
imho then the whole video call thing is stil a bit ½baked on windows mobile
what i want is live messenger with the same video support as on pc
what i want is skype with video support as on pc
a normal dialer with normal umts video call support
i know that all require faster interface then gprs
and the last one require umts
I tried installing, it basically made my system slow to a crawl. Uninstalled it..
Running an XV6700
Download link is dead,
Can someone post the file on the FTP server of XDA-Developers?
Best Regards Tom
rlith said:
I tried installing, it basically made my system slow to a crawl. Uninstalled it..
Running an XV6700
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, when you enable video phoning, it can really slow down the device
vijay555 said:
Lol:
I've still got one of those in my drawer at home!
Good post Menneisyys, Portrait is a great app.
V
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
doh! i still got one, a really dead one! everytime i see any pic of ipaq i go sad as mine is dead and noone knows what happened to it :/ eh, it's so cruel, life...
My feedback for microsoft portrait 3.0 (beta)
I tryied on a TYTN. Sorry to say but this version is more in a alpha than a beta phase!
- Powerconsumption is extreme
- Portrait uses the inbuilt back camera (2 mpixel maybe this is too much for UMTS network) and that is why the bright mode display starts (as usual when Cameraprogramm starts on the TYTN) wich is draining the battery. If the front camera would be selectable this would not happen (for example as “ATEKSOFT webcam” program can do). Msportrait is only interesting for users who own a Videophone (2nd camera and UMTS speed) so I do not understand why the frontcam can not be selected.
- I can not see a video on the PC althoug I tried different settings of bandwidth and framerates. With GPRS-monitor I checked and the average speed of TYTNS´s networkconnection was about 350 Mbit/s (so I guess its not because of low bandwidth)
- Sometimes after switch on/off portrait only a static picture is transferred to the PC (but no video)
- Audio is not realy full duplex. PC is receiving the audio signal only if I keep pressing on the audiobutton of the TYTN (as in the old version 2.3). Basicaly the audiosignal from the PC can be heared on the TYTN gapless, but sometimes audio transmission stops and works only after I press the audio button on the TYTN again.
- TYTN receives color video from PC very well (128 kbit/s). But there is a strange bug on the screen. The TYTN Video picture is visible in the background at the same time as the received video from PC (like overlaying). The green mask of the MSportrait menue is not transparent but everywhere else the TYTN´s camera picture is shining trough. (for example at the top taskbar)
- After cancel portrait the last taken picture of TYTN´s camera keeps staying in the background. This goes away only after a softreset. I tried to make a screenshot but on the screenshot the wrong background image was not visible!?
- Portrait is not really reducing the speed of my TYTN (allthough other users mentioned)
I hope MS research will work it out because if this programm works then it’s a real “MUST HAVE” application.
andreasfuntastic said:
- Audio is not realy full duplex. PC is receiving the audio signal only if I keep pressing on the audiobutton of the TYTN (as in the old version 2.3). Basicaly the audiosignal from the PC can be heared on the TYTN gapless, but sometimes audio transmission stops and works only after I press the audio button on the TYTN again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you read my review? I've explained how thts can be helped - switch to "Click to talk" mode.
andreasfuntastic said:
- Portrait uses the inbuilt back camera (2 mpixel maybe this is too much for UMTS network)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It uses a far smaller video size - around 160*100, as can also be seen in the video setting menu.
(Of course, the app, in its current form, is pretty useless if you'd like to use the front camera.)
Sorry read your article too quick.
It is right, if i select "click to talk" instead of "press to talk" audio is real full duplex -- great.
I also use a videosize of 160x120, but the video on the PC is not a real video but only static pictures which refresh aprox. every 4 sec. On the TYTN the video can be seen continous.
has anyone tried this with any generic sip server ?
I am looking for some sip application which would work with my company SIP server.
I am using SJPhone but that does not support video. (only audio)
Is it possible to video/audio/text chat with another person on a PC and MSN Messenger? can it interact with MSN Messenger?
Menneisyys said:
Microsoft Portrait is one of the best VoIP / chatter app for the Pocket PC. Also, it’s the only Pocket PC application to offer video phoning capabilities. I’ve often elaborated on (see for example this) its excellent capabilities and compared them to the alternates (for example, 4Talk or Gphone).
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
Will this work 'as is on an XDAorbit?'
Thanks
Ann
Menneisyys said:
First, it’s WM5 only.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess that's because WM5 is the first version of the OS with the camera API.
Menneisyys said:
Second and, given that the vast majority of current camera-enabled PPC devices run WM5, the more important is that it only supports backside cameras – not ones in the front (ones that are meant for video calls).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't tried it myself, but I read somewhere on these forums that the camera API on the TyTn only enumerated the backside camera. Perhaps this is also true of the Universal? Maybe HTC need to improve their drivers.
andreasfuntastic said:
If the front camera would be selectable this would not happen (for example as “ATEKSOFT webcam” program can do).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Coolcamera/Webcamplus are very device specific. Ateksoft has had to write their own drivers for each device, I believe, which is why some images are rotated, they don't have control over the flash on all devices, etc. They have to manually add support for each new device that comes out.
Menneisyys said:
(Of course, the app, in its current form, is pretty useless if you'd like to use the front camera.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A low-tech workaround is to use a small mirror to see the incoming video. Nasty...
Anyone that has read the Windows Mobile Audio Recording Bible knows Audio Recorder by Resco, one of the best audio recorder solutions for Windows Mobile.
Resco has just released a public beta of the brand new version of the application. It’s available here and certainly worth checking out if you like Resco Audio Recorder and want something better.
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You can read the official “what’s news” list at the above-linked page. Here, I “only” elaborate on MY real-world, unbiased benchmarks and pros/cons list. I give special attention to providing a side-by-side comparison to PMRecorder, the best, free automated call recorder solution for Windows Mobile.
This also means you’ll want to read the PMRecorder article, the Windows Mobile Audio Recording Bible and, with the MP3 playback CPU usage benchmarks, the Windows Mobile Multimedia Players’ CPU usage Bible to fully understand this review; I don’t explain everything from the basics here. Also note that the pros/cons list only discusses the changes between the previous and the current version.
CPU usage benchmarks
MP3 playback and equalizer (again, please see THIS for more info):
At my test Dell Axim x51v A12 running at 208 MHz, in background: ~11% CPU cycles
In foreground: ~23%, with (from the app) switched off screen too!
Equalizer: ~42.5% (also in background; meaning four times higher CPU usage! Really bad!)
Recording:
“HQ” MP3: ~100%, default LQ 11 kHz (but 56 kbps!) MP3: ~50% on the 273 MHz HTC Wizard
Speex (32 kHz q3 18 kbps): 71% on the 273 and 85% on the 236 MHz HTC Wizard; at 195 MHz, useless. Add the in-call overhead to this and you'll understand why there's some small stuttering when auto-recording calls with slower PPC’s (even at 273 MHz with the HTC Wizard, which is originally equipped with a 195 MHz TI OMAP CPU) with quality speech codecs like this. (Haven't tested this at even higher CPU frequencies.)
Universal, 520 MHz: 39%
PPC2k2, 206 MHz StrongARM iPAQ 3660 running at 236 MHz: default 8k/q1/14kbps OGG ok (but NOT at 206 MHz); 18 kbps Speex not even then (let alone the standard 206 MHz!)
The changes
There are a lot of them; I've listed most of them in the pros/cons lists. In addition to them, for example the file conversion / export (Tools / Save As) could be mentioned, which has been restructured; now, instead of being presented the traditional format setting screen (two or, depending on the output format (whether it allows for quality settings), three drop-down lists) and, after clicking Export, the traditional file save dialog where you can supply the filename and path. Now, this has completely been changed (1 2 3).
Note that this is just one of the subtle changes - there are a LOT of them. See the lists below.
The good
Phone call recording capabilities with time/date and caller name/number in the filename; at a much better quality/size ratio (when you use Speex) than the two predefined modes (low-quality GSM and storage-hungry PCM) of PMRecorder (note my CPU use-, foreground operation- and location-specific suffix-related remarks in the Cons section though!)
The date / time settings in the filename can be much more thoroughly set than in previous version, where only date and time could be set and you couldn’t separately specify year / month / day / hour / minute (still no seconds); also supports creating folders based on the date. For example, the screenshot above shows recording with the “%Y-%M-%D-%h-%m-“ filename setting (note that 001 (002 etc.) is auto-added to files started to be recorded in the same minute as a previous one. This is for avoiding overwriting files.).
Support for ancient Pocket PC 2002 OS; what is more, unlike with the previous version, it also supports Speex and OGG on it! (Not that a 206 MHz StrongARM iPAQ would be able to record into these formats without problems; with Speex, not even at 236 MHz.)
Clock counter doesn’t seem to stop at 9:99:99 (that is, at 10 hours) – this may be handy with extremely long recordings. (Previous versions were also able to record even longer recordings, but their counter stopped at 10 hours)
Dynamic CPU load checking upon recording to see whether the recording will have in any kind of stuttering. This is much more dynamically adaptable to the current CPU load (because of other processes) than the old, static approach, where you could to make static tests upon selecting the target format.
Now, unlike ALL the alternatives (except for the built-in Notes), it allows for one-button recording. And it's astonishingly quick at it! The time needed to start recording after shortly (it's sufficient) pressing the assigned hardware button (it only needs to be done from inside Resco, not in the system-level Settings/Button applet!) can be as low as 2 seconds with the simplest WAV and RAF outputs. With more dedicate outputs, it's slightly higher; with, for speech, the most recommended Speex it's 2.5 seconds and with the otherwise, in the current "quality" level (see the cons section!) not at all recommended MP3 output, 3.8s. All measured on a Dell Axim x51v (A12 ROM), where it only takes the built-in Notes 0.9s to indeed start recording. Let me point out that some of the alternatives need even three times more time to start recording (see for example Audacity Personal DVR (Digital Voice Recorder), which needs seven seconds for this on exactly the same machine!).
Note that you MUST assign a recording-related hardware button for one-button recording to work. Otherwise, the “Recording / Use record button to launch Audio Recorder and start recording” in Options can't be checked. To do this, go to the Buttons tab and assign any button. Then, you will already be able to enable one-button recording by checking in the above-mentioned checkbox.
I also recommend checking in the two upper checkboxes in the Recording tab so that you can hear when the recording starts and, when you use a button to stop it, stops. Especially the former will really help in knowing when you can start speaking. This is because Resco needs some time to load and start recording. With the additional, discrete beep at the beginning of the recording is certainly welcome - it helps a lot in your knowing when you can start speaking.
Unlike with PMRecorder, post-processing isn’t needed to convert recordings to a standard format – they’re already standardized, with only the filename having date- and caller/called-related info
As with previous versions, low CPU usage when playing back MP3’s (but NOT when using the equalizer!)
Equalizer with presets
More streamlined (simpler and more logical) Options dialogs
The file context menus are a direct replica of those of Resco File Explorer; in addition to standard stuff like Copy / Move to, they even contain Send To. This means it’s much easier to do file copying / sending stuff from inside the new version than from previous ones.
There is another brand new addition, a sleep timer (Tools / Sleep), should you plan to use the app as a player (which is highly preferred as its CPU usage, while playing back MP3, is very low).
As opposed to PMRecorder, Resco doesn’t need to be explicitly started because it registers itself in the system. This has several consequences:
it has about an order less memory consumption (not that PMRecorder’s 500k would be THAT high) – about 50k
even better, the operating system doesn’t shut down the task when it deems to be necessary. This is a BIG advantage over PMRecorder!
you don’t need to make sure Resco is started by, say, putting a link to \Windows\Startup; also, you don’t need minimize the task upon booting. And, of course, it won’t be visible in the active task list either.
The bad
Still uselessly low-quality MP3 codec (can’t be compared to that of NoteM or ViTO’s SoundExplorer); furthermore, it’s taking 100% CPU time even at 624 MHz (as opposed to previous versions) at better(?) quality settings (44 kHz/48 and 96 kbps). It’s acceptable with the standard low-quality setting, though, but, even then, using NoteM or SoundExplorer is far more preferable.
While playing back, animation (which doubles CPU usage) can’t be disabled and it’s active even when you use the built-in screen off; it’s only when you send the app in the background that it stops working (and consuming CPU cycles)
File association doesn’t work
Speex playback is still buggy: overlaps the first ~28 minutes to the rest and, therefore, needs another player (Foobar2000, for example) to correctly play back longer clips
The current build doesn't play RAF files (not that they'd be THAT important)
The current build can't convert OGG files to anything else
Usingg the equalizer results in four-fold CPU usage and is, therefore, not recommended (try using hardware-level equalizers - see my earlier articles); the developer promises it'll look into the problem
Still no AVRCP support; developer promises it for both later versions of the app and Resco Radio
When there’re home/mobile etc. suffixes in a number (for example, /H for home, /M for mobile etc) as can be seen in here (see the /H at the end of the (for the most part hidden) number), Resco won’t be able to create a file. Of course, this isn’t a problem when there are no such suffixes in the incoming/outgoing number OR you have a contact name for the number (and the contact name doesn’t contain characters like these, I suppose). BTW, as can also be seen in the example screenshot (see the two call recordings in the recording list), private incoming calls aren’t named, as one would expect (and as is the case with PMRecorder). The developer promises a fix.
Resco is brought to the foreground upon recording calls. While you can switch back to Phone to be able to, say, use the keypad, this may be a nuisance. (Note that the red phone button (hang up a call) certainly works when Resco is actively in the foreground.) The developer promises a fix.
Doesn’t support the PDAudio card any more, it seems (not that the PDAudio would be THAT common, particularly now that it's, to my knowledge, discontinued).
Verdict
The best (if you don't take the bad MP3 coder into account) have been made even better. Highly recommended, particularly if you don't need the equalizer / MP3 recording / RAF playback and want a really decent phone conversation recorder. It blows PMRecorder, the, so far, best phone call autorecorder application out of water easily, particularly because you can be absolutely sure all the time it will record your calls without having to manually make sure it will.
Article updated.
I’ve reviewed ViTO SoundExplorer, the big brother (and, to some degree, a predecessor) of VITO Technology’s new title in the Windows Mobile Audio Recording Bible, the definite resource of EVERYTHING audio recording-related. In the meantime, ViTO has also come out a specialized version of SoundExplorer, targeting the folks that would prefer making quick voice notes (or, for that matter, record any kind of audio at high quality) and / or record phone calls.
While most Windows Mobile-based Pocket PC Phone Edition (in the new, WM6 parlance, “Windows Mobile Professional”; from now on, I refer to them as “PPC PE” devices) models aren’t capable of making quality phone call recordings, some (not very common) PPC PE models have no problems at recording.
With the “little brother”, the MS Smartphone (WM6 Standard) platform, the situation is far better about the half of the current models allow for recording phone calls, even the pretty new, cheap and recommended HTC Oxygen (aka Orange SPV C100, HTC S310). Unfortunately, some other models, for example, the otherwise HIGHLY recommended HTC Vox (aka HTC S710, Orange SPV E650) do NOT support call recording. (Just ignore if somebody states the opposite – unfortunately, many people just don’t know what they speak about when talking about call recording quality. My measurements are VERY reliable as I do all of them on MY devices and, therefore, my info isn’t based on hearsay.)
Please see the article Windows Mobile device manufacturers & Microsoft, we DO need phone recording capabilities!, paying special attention to following the links; particularly the PPCT one – it explains EVERYTHING about all these questions.
Other call recording apps
Up until recently, the only really useful call recorder application had been the free PMRecorder. While having its share of problems (the need for using a third-party tool to convert its output to be playable with any other tool; the need to manually start it before automatic call recording and the fact that it runs as a process, which can easily result in its purging from memory; the lack of sophisticated audio codecs like MP3 or Speex), it’s an excellent and reliable tool really worth checking out; particularly if you’re into free and/or Smartphone-compliant apps.
Then came the beta versions of the forthcoming Resco Audio Recorder 4, which, while keeping (and, Speex-wise, even enhancing) its really great codecs, added call (auto)recording support. It’s a really excellent app well worth giving a try. Its three major problems are only the following:
no Smartphone-compliance as of yet (YES, I’ve tried even on my WM6 QVGA HTC Vox)
its MP3 encoder is really bad and should never be used
the Speex encoder (the best encoder for voice storage, memory usage / quality-wise) uses a lot of CPU time. This means you MUST overclock your slower (for example, 195/200 MHz TI OMAP-based) devices so that it can work OK. And, even at running your TI OMAP device at 273 MHz, you will encounter occassional stuttering when playing back the recording.
Finally arrived VITO AudioNotes 1.3, which, while keeping its excellent MP3 encoder (it’s capable of making really QUALITY recordings even at 64 kbps, unlike Resco Audio Recorder, which is unable to make quality recordings at any bit speed), added the necessary framework (autostart, storing caller / callee ID / number, the date etc) needed for call recording.
Getting, using
Get it from HERE. Note that the PPC (PE) and the Smartphone versions are exactly the same and are interchangeable. Install, start.
To enable call recording, go to Menu / Recording and tick in “Calls autorecord”. If you have a PPC PE / Smartphone not supporting direct call recording, you may also want to tick in “Speakerphone” in here. Then, your handheld will automatically enable the speakerphone upon all calls so that the built-in mike of your handheld will have an easier time picking up the voice of the other party. (Of course, it won’t at all work with (wired / Bluetooth) headset-based configurations. Then, nothing of the other party will be heard on the recording. Also, you will still have a hard time hearing the other party made on a recording on a noisy street.)
Finally, in the same “Recording” submenu, you will want to configure where your files should be stored at in “Record to”. It uses the built-in storage by default.
You may also want to review the recording format in the “Recording format” menu here; however, I don’t think you’d want to change to some other format from the really high-quality and memory-efficient “MP3 Medium quality” (64 kbps, 44 KHz).
After this, all your calls will be auto-recorded in the target directory (\My Documents\My Audio Notes), the files containing both the caller/callee ID / number (and if it’s not available – for example, it’s an incoming call from a hidden number -, “Record”) and the exact starting date / time of the call as in the following screenshot:
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This is VITO’s app running on a VGA PPC PE device. Note that I’ve also made screenshots showing it running on Smartphones:
A standard 176*220 MS Smartphone (WM6 Standard) screenshot; the same on a QVGA WM6 Smartphone (HTC Vox) in Portrait mode and in Landscape.
Compared to the alternative call recorder apps,
The latest version of VITO AudioNotes is indeed highly recommended, particularly
if you have a Smartphone (and not a Pocket PC PE, where you could also consider Resco’s app)
want quality MP3 recording capabilities (PMRecorder doesn’t support non-standard audio encoders at all and Resco’s MP3 support is VERY bad)
you have a Pocket PC PE with a slower CPU (for example, the TI OMAP) and you can’t / don’t want to overclock it, meaning you won’t be able to use the Speex encoder of Resco’s app
want to be sure recording will always work (which is an issue with PMRecorder which, again, runs as a process and is, therefore, prone to operating system-level process shutdown in case of memory / process shortage)
want to make advantage of the auto-speakerphone functionality (you don’t want to rely on activating it yourself manually)
I’ve also created a comparison / feature chart summarizing most of the points I’ve elaborated on above.
Note that I do NOT include LivePVR by LLC Softtrends and mVoice 5.5 by MotionApps in this review. The former title is definitely inferior to all the three titles and I still haven’t checked out the latest, 5.5 version of the latter. I wasn’t particularly happy with the earlier version (version 5) of the latter and, as with LivePVR, I recommend it NOT to be taken seriously by anyone wanting to record her or his phone calls. With version 5.5, the situation may have changed. However, as version 5.5 still doesn’t offer the much more memory usage effective MP3 / Speex codecs, I still wouldn’t consider it a really decent alternative to the apps of Resco / VITO.
Also note that, in this review, I’ve elaborated mostly on the call recording capabilities of the app. That is, I haven’t tested features like one-button quick recording, protection against unintentional screen activation (something Resco 4 REALLY excels at) and the like. The REAL tests were done on the HTC S310/Oxygen (an excellent budget Smartphone, highly recommended ), HTC S710/Vox (a brand new high-res (QVGA) WM6 Smartphone; it’s really cool except for the inability to record calls flawlessly), HTC Universal and HTC Wizard (the latter two being PPC PE devices; of course, neither of them allow for flawless call recording).
Ultra Mobile 3GP Video Converter is a powerful 3GP converter which can convert almost all popular video formats to 3GP/3G2/MP4 video clips and play them in mobile phone or other software 3GP player.No other program can convert so many video formats.
http://mobile-video-converter.com/
To convert PMRecorder recorded calls into wav, use either one of these two softwares which work as good as the other one
This links does not work
http://www.vitotechnology.com/en/products/audionotes.html
can anyone post this software here ?
how high is the memory usage your talking with PMRecorder?
found this: **** link removed by Menneisyys - sorry guys, it contained a cracked EXE file - please do NOT link in pirated warez! *****
not working without speakerphone on Dash
Also, not saving caller name in the filename.. basically crap for Dash owners
Andrewcheese said:
how high is the memory usage your talking with PMRecorder?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
About 500 kbytes when running in the background.
jsp_m said:
not working without speakerphone on Dash
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, few Smartphone (and even fewer Pocket PC) models support two-way call recording.
EDIT: at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=1454677 , there is a forum emmeber that reported success with the Dash - let's keep an eye on his further reports.
EDIT2: bad news: the Dash has turned out NOT to support reording calls either
Wonderfull! Menneisyys, you are a real saver!
I tested it once on my Vox and it seems like Vito is working perfect.
Edit: VITO records only my voice not the caller's one
Grand Central
Another option us using Google's Grand Central to record phone calls. Of course that means getting a phone number from them....
you have to use speakerphone mode for your voice + caller's
I uploaded vito
http://rapidshare.com/files/65411617/1193256266_vito_audionotes_v132.rar.html
Is there any list of smartphone models capable for phone recording?
Hey Menneisyys, thank you for the GREAT REVIEW! Such an overview was missing. Here are 2 more free recording apps:
Keep Recordin' 1.0 by AXYZ Mobile
RJV Sound Recorder 1.2 by Rey Vegafria
But I'm not sure whether both can record phone calls, I think they are just good for audio notes.
Search for ICR... It'll solve the issue with only be able to record your own voice.
Just tested with my Samsung i780
Vito Audio Notes
Activated Calls Auto record
Saved files to Storage Card
Works!!
benq e72 call recording problem
friends, I'm using BenQ E72. But do not call for audio recordings. When interviewed, but the program opens a file at 10 kb in size is so. I've used programs vito, Resco, pm, keep recording. Do you have help. BenQ E72 users are also able to register call you
Save through the web, not locally
Easiest and quickest way to record any phone call is through CallTrunk. Cloud-based, keeps the call saved and available forever, free for the first 25 minutes. Contact me at [email protected] com for more information.
Now, let’s see what new i-mate devices there are.
First and foremost: much as you may already have read it in my first MWC report, but it’s still worth repeating: i-mate is NOT returning to HTC but keeps on bringing out their own handsets, as opposed to the previous rumors. This is, in my opinion, VERY good news, considering that HTC’s current product lineup is pretty much unimaginative and straight boring (read: no VGA, no multimedia, no gaming).
(i-mate’s booth at MWC)
Now, let’s take a closer look at the four new devices they’ve brought out: the Xscale-based, high-end 8150 and the 6150 (the latter, having a VGA screen, also being high-end) and the Qualcomm-based, high-end 9502 and the lower-spec’ed (QVGA) 8502.
Dale Coffing and the VGA output demo
Windows Mobile (Pocket PC / WindowsCE) longtimers surely remember Dale Coffing and his PocketPCPassion, which, back in 2000...2002, was one of the most lively Pocket PC discussion board. During MWC, he mostly ran a demo of the built-in digital (as opposed to analogue) XGA (1024*768) output capabilities of the i-mate 8150 / 6150, thanks to the GoForce 5500 graphics chip inside. Dale has indeed been really energetic – he kept attracting a lot of people to watch his show.
(in his demo, he presented logging into a Vista laptop via the, in the 6150/8150, built-in Remote Desktop Client [see the Remote Desktop Control Bible for more info on it], displaying the remote desktop on an external screen and controlling it via a Bluetooth (ThinkOutside) keyboard and mouse)
He has emphasized these two models are the first phones with a built-in XGA output. He’s right – for example, HTC (unlike i-mate) didn’t really bother enabling the (analogue, VGA) TV output on the Kaiser (aka AT&T Tilt), even though the Qualcomm chipset does support it (more on the (vast) differences of the analogue VGA and the digital XGA output later). The two other phones with the GoForce 5500 built-in, the O2 XDA Flame and the Toshiba Portégé G900, didn’t have XGA output either. (The Flame only supports VGA-resolution, analogue TV output but not XGA digital. In this respect, it’s way worse than i-mate’s new 6150 and 8150).
Of course, you can still make other models display their contents on an external screen - for example, via Spectec’s new SDV-842 microSD card, which will also be elaborated on in Dale Daniels' article Can a Smartphone Replace a Laptop? in the forthcoming (April 2008) Smartphone & Pocket PC Magazine article (also see THIS for a generic overview of all similar solutions). But that’s an external, additional solution, with all its problems:
the SDV-842 isn’t particularly cheap (albeit still much cheaper than the old and no longer supported iGo Pitch Duo -Presentation Device): at Expansys-USA, it costs some $125
it doesn’t contain built-in memory, which may become a major pain in the back, particularly if you only have a device with 128M ROM.
it can’t be used with the (now, very few and low-end) phones that have their memory card under the battery (for example, the HTC Oxygen / s310).
storage card-based solutions are inherently more fragile than solutions based on built-in sockets
These problems aren’t present with the, so far, only Windows Mobile-based solution, the Dell Axim x50v / x51v, also having these.
And, of course, if you don’t mind it lacking a phone (because, for example, you use a Bluetooth external phone instead), you can still use the Dell Axim x50v / x51v as an excellent, digital XGA output without having to pay for anything else. I’ve elaborated on the Axim VGA output cables HERE.
Now, let’s take a closer look at the four models: the 9502, 8502, 8150 and the 6150. These are all pretty much different. While three of them have VGA screens, the underlying hardware is vastly different, making it very hard to choose the right model. I’ve exported (with a lot of manual work) PDAdb.net’s databases into one chart so that you can avoid having to compare these devices in pairs only at PDAdb.net. Incidentally, I really wish the excellent PDAdb.net folks added the ability to compare more than two devices at the same time.
The chart is HERE - DO check it out!
It’s really hard to select the right device. All of them have some disadvantages, while still boasting some really unique advantages.
Let’s start with the 9502, which is, unless you don’t need the built-in thumb board and/or absolutely need the XGA output and/or the FM radio, the, in my opinion, best of the bunch (apart from the major slider and screen design problems, which I'll elaborate later on): the 9502.
The 9502
First and foremost, let me elaborate on the (compared to all the other models except the non-high-end 8502) unique feature of this phone: the built-in thumbboard and my personal experience.
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As you can see in the following comparative screenshot (comparing the 9502 to the HTC Universal / i-mate JasJar), the thumbboard (just like the device itself) is way smaller – I’d say the button pitch is about the half than that of the Universal.
This, unfortunately, means it’s far harder to type on the i-mate. While it’s still impossible to touch-type on the Universal, its thumbboard is, otherwise, excellent and allows for moderately fast text input. Not so with the 9502: with it, the buttons are unpleasantly small.
Compared to the BlackBerry 8800 (which I frequently use for entering e-mails and quick forum posts), I’d say the thumbboard on the 8800 can be used faster and more reliably than on the 9502. (Interestingly, while most BlackBerry fans state it’s the 8800 series that has the worst thumbboard of all BB models, I still find its keyboard speed good).
Another comparative screenshot, now, with the Nokia N95:
As you can see, it’s (only) slightly larger than the Nokia. (Unfortunately, it weighs a LOT more: 200 gramms as opposed to 120).
Let’s go further. The device is based on the 400 MHz Qualcomm MSM7200 chipset. It could be a little bit faster – some of the almost-already (they’re supposed to be released in March) devices like the Toshi G910 and G920 are both clocked at 528 MHz; so is the Sony-Ericsson XPERIA X1; of course, the latter will only be released later), but it’s still OK. I, unfortunately, haven’t had the chance of testing its video / multimedia / gaming / 3D performance so I cannot report on whether it has much better performance than the Kaiser / AT&T Tilt (remember the driver problems with the Kaiser and all the other Qualcomm-based, HTC-manufactured models?). At least, when navigating the OS screens and Internet Explorer Mobile, it was pretty fast – unlike with the Kaiser (without applying the very important, unofficial, IEM speedup CAB available HERE, that is). This also means it has GPS capabilities (not as excellent as with a dedicated SIRFStar III chipset, but still pretty good) and, unlike with the Kaiser, analogue TV output at VGA (640*480) resolution.
Let me a bit elaborate on the latter. Why I’ve emphasized this analogue vs. digital and VGA (640*480) vs. XGA (1024*768) stuff? It’s pretty simple. The two new i-mate devices based on the Qualcomm chipset “only” offer analogue and simple VGA-resolution output, while the two other devices, which are based on the Intel Xscale 270 + Nvidia GoForce 5500 combo, offer digital XGA-resolution output. You can rightfully guess, based on the resolution alone, that plain VGA output is much worse than XGA – unless you plan to play back movies, where VGA resolution is more than sufficient. (Actually, the current Windows Mobile hardware couldn’t even decode higher-resolution video – except for, maybe, the PXA320-based models if and only if they receive third party support from, say, CorePlayer, but 1. there are (and will be) very few of these models 2. it’s still not known what features of the PXA310/320 CorePlayer (will) support(s)).
But the resolution itself is just one side of the coin! The other, even more important difference is whether the output is digital or analogue. If the former (digital), the picture is crystal-clear without any problems. If the latter (analog), then, there will be visible artifacts on the output, which will be particularly visible on high-quality (non-CRT / non-TV-set) displays. Let me present a shot showing this:
(in this setup, the 9502 – more specifically, the TV output signal of its Qualcomm MSM7200 – was the source)
Pay special attention to the letters e, a and s. They are pretty hard to make out, aren’t they? Yes, the vertical resolution is pretty bad. Also, make sure you check out the boundaries of the uppermost, red banner. The red color heavily "blends" in the white background at the rightmost edge; as does the white background at the leftmost one. (The same effect is pretty much visible with the blue-backgrounded banner and inside the red banner with the white-red letter boundaries.) Not because the resolution is just VGA – the same text looks crystal clear on the built-in VGA screen of the 9502 but because of the analogue TV signal’s “blending” and washing consecutive rows / columns together. Now, compare this for example the XGA rendering quality of a digital video output – for example, with the shot above showing Dale Coffing - or the one below, showing the Programs in XGA resolution, via a digital output. WAY different, isn't it?
(note that, in this case, I've used a 1600*1200 image with JPEG quality=90 so that you can see there indeed isn't color blending with the digital output)
This inherent problem with the analog TV output isn’t a problem when playing back multimedia stuff (movies, for example – let me stress again that I haven’t tested playing back videos on external displays to see whether it’s quick enough [old CF/SD-based cards weren’t]), “only” when you plan to make, say, presentations. In the latter cases, you must go for digital VGA output – with as high resolution as possible.
The lack of the digital, XGA-resolution output in the 9502 (and, similarly, the, otherwise, much lower-spec’ed 8502) may be problematic in this respect. In this regard, the 6150 / 8150 are way better.
Major design problems with the 9502
Finally, something MUST be pointed out. In my opinion, the design of the sliding mechanism is VERY bad because it's only a not that large portion of the entire surface that is sliding. This is, among other things, that makes the thumbboard so tiny.
I-mate should have designed a handheld with a sliging mechanism similar to ANY other "sliders" out there. HTC (see most of their sliders: Wizard, TyTN, Kaiser, s710, s730 etc.), Nokia (N95-1 and, particularly on the N95 8GB / N96, where the slider is under the upper plate, as opposed to the N95-1), Sony-Ericsson (XPERIA X1), Toshiba (G900) etc. did manage to implement sliders that don't heavily reduce the dialpad / keyboard size; i-mate should have done the same.
Also, taking the overall size of the device into account (which isn't much smaller than the HTC Universal, which does have a 3,6" screen!), I'm not really satisfied with the screen size either. There are huge margins between the screens and the device edges. With a more clever design, they may even have managed to "stuff in" even a 3"...3.2" screen, which is way more usable on a VGA device, particularly if you're forced to look at small characters - either in true (native) VGA mode or in a program / environment that simply doesn't make it possible to enlarge the characters (for example, the Jbed MIDlet Manager + Opera Mini 4 combo.)
The 8502
Ironically, I find the 8502 much better-designed than the 9502 - except for the lack of VGA, of course. It's, as with all the other two (non-9502) devices, a non-slider device with a BlackBerry-like thumbboard on the front.
(8502)
(the 8502 and the 9502 next to each other)
The lack of the VGA screen, however, means I (an über-geek that does want VGA screens) is a dealbreaker for me. But, probably, not for you (and you may find the 8502 the best) - check out the following section on this question.
VGA vs. QVGA on a 2.8" screen?
While opinions certainly differ on whether VGA is needed in 2.8" screens, I think if you (still) have a 100% eyesight, you'll want to prefer VGA to QVGA. However, you might want to thoroughly read THIS on this subject. Note that probably the best browser today (particularly for people with a slow / non-unlimited connection), Opera Mini 4, will only be readable under the, otherwise, pretty much inferior TAO Intent MIDlet Manager on a VGA device (because you can turn up the character size to any value in there with a hack); with Esmertec Jbed or other MIDlet managers, the characters will be hopelessly small on a 2.8" VGA device, even with the extra large setting. Also, you must be aware of the fact that many games will exhibit slower operation. Not all of them, though - for example, MoreGames Entertainment's great games (Orions, Nanobotz, Enslave) run equally fast on a VGA device than on a QVGA one. Examples are, in general, the not very well written titles from for example Beijing Huike Technology (see reviews any my VGA speed-related comments HERE).
These two devices (the 9502 nd the 8502) also lack the FM radio, which is built-in in both the 6150 and the 8150. Another bad piece of news for (wired) music freaks is their audio output socket size: 2.5 mm, as opposed to the standard 3.5mm jack on the 6150 and the 8150. Finally, both of these devices lack infrared. While many consider infrared a “dead” technology, I certainly disagree. It can come very handy in some situations, particularly when you try to communicate (exchange, for example, contacts) with a lower-end dumbphone not having Bluetooth. Also, the CIR (Consumer Infrared) module in the 6150 and the 8150 can come very handy at remote controlling for example audiovisual devices from far away. I still use my almost five-year-old (and it’s still going strong, except for the loudspeaker’s being burnt down – a typical problem with many iPAQ’s – and a brand new battery) HP iPAQ h2210 as my primary quick note / voice recorder device I always carry with me and countless are the occasions I found its CIR capabilities VERY handy (for example, in the McDonalds, to (secretly) turn up / down the volume of the TV). I’m very sorry for these features not having been included in the Qualcomm-based 8502/9502.
The 6150 / 8150
(6150)
(8150)
(the two next to each other)
Speaking of the 6150 and the 8150, they too have major disadvantages compared to the Qualcomm-based ones (9502 / 8502). First, they don’t have any built-in GPS. Second, they are built on the already-outdated Intel Xscale PXA270 architecture. What is more, it’s only clocked at 520 MHz, as opposed to the maximal 624 MHz; this is definitely very bad news for multimedia and emulation fans. The Qualcomm MSM7200 in the 9502 / 8502 is way more up-to-date, battery-friendly and capable. If I were the i-mate folks, I would have gone straight for the far superior PXA3x0 series. And, of course, neither of them contains a thumbboard. Many won’t see this as a problem, however, as the built-in thumbboard in the 9502 will be too small for most people. Again, unlike the one on the Universal – or even the Kaiser. Finally,
their batteries are slightly smaller than those of the Qualcomm-based models
neither of them support HSUPA, which may be a definite disadvantage if you would upload a lot from your handheld (used it as, say, a HSPA modem). Of course, they do support the downlink HSDPA - that is, if you don't want to upload (much) and/or you don't have access to a HSUPA-capable network, this problem won't be a real one.
their scrollwheels are somewhat less functional than those of the 8502 / 9502.
The 8150 has a numeric keyboard (dialpad) on the front, while the 6150 doesn’t have anything. I would have preferred a slide-out dialpad on the 8150 to keep the size down just like on the Nokia N81/N95/N96 or the HTC Nike 200, but, based on the 6150 (which is pretty much reminiscent of the HP Jornada 52x/54x when it comes to the active percentage of the screen and the controllers on the front of the device), it seems the engineers at Arima (the ODM manufacturing i-mate's devices) just couldn’t make the non-visible electronics smaller; hence the big, unused area on the front.
Speaking of the 8150 vs. 9502 comparison (I consider this the two devices to eventually pick from – if there won’t be better models out there, that is), if you’re a frequent Opera Mobile or Mini user (currently, the two best browsers out there), you might want to go for the 8150 instead of the 9502. The reason for this is very simple: as has already been explained in several of my articles (see for example THIS), if you do learn the dialpad shortcuts of these browsers, they become quicker and easier to operate than Internet Explorer or anything else.
If weight is a concern, then, you need to be aware of the 9502’s weighing 200 grams. It’s considerably lighter than, say, the HTC Universal (the “real” VGA Windows Mobile phone up to now, weighing 285 grams - I don't count in the Toshiba G900 and the O2 XDA Flame in here because they're really-really buggy [click the links for bug reports and what people think of these models]) but is still one of the (if not THE) heaviest model of the current (!) crop of PDA phones – even the VGA ones. In this regard, the 8150 is way better: it only weighs 152 grams – that is, almost 50 grams less than the 9502. BTW, in this regard, the non-VGA 8502 is the best, “only” weighing 140 grams.
As can be seen in the following shot of the 9502,
it’s certain i-mate has gone for Aplix (Jblend) instead of Esmertec (Jbed) as far as MIDlets (like Opera Mini, the Gmail MIDlet or tons of sometimes really high-quality (like Simcity Societies) games are concerned) with the 9502. I am not particularly happy of this decision as, in general, I consider Jbed superior to Jblend. Fortunately, this can be easily fixed (if you’d also like to prefer Jbed if you’re a, say, heavy Opera Mini user or gamer) by just installing Jbed on the device. See the MIDlet Bible and my Opera Mini 4 tutorials HERE and HERE for more info. It's worth pointng out that the Xscale-based 6150 and 8150 are, on the other hand, Esmertec-based, as can also be seen in the following shot (notice the blue "e" "Java" icon.)
This is in favor of the 8150 (6150), unless you don't refuse to install Jbed on your device (or you don't plan to use Opera Mini at all - it'd be a bad decision because Opera Mini rocks, particularly if you master the dialpad shortcuts!).
Camera-wise, none of the new models excel. None of them has any decent lens (the heart of a decent camera - (mostly) NOT the amount of Mpixels the cameras have) or a Xenon flash. That is, don't expect anything comparable to the Nokia N95(-1) or, even better, the N82. I REALLY think Windows Mobile manufacturers should pay more attention to including quality (back) cameras in their models. Nokia's N95-1 is almost a year old and still, none of the new WinMo models can approach its image quality, let alone the mechanical lens protection. This is certainly an area where i-mate (too) should pay more attention to. Along with the other areas Nokia's entertainment-specific phones have always been strong at; for example, stereo, loud and quality speakers with built-in stereo widening (see my dedicated article HERE). Not "plain" SRS but something like the one in the N95 - at least when it comes to stereo widening of the built-in stereo speakers.
Finally, let me quickly elaborate on the question of the 3D hardware acceleration. It’s (still) not known whether the Qualcomm-based models (8502 / 9502) support it or not. The Xscale-based ones (6150 / 8150) (almost) surely do. This support, however, means the latter devices are only compatible with very few games / emulators out there (currently, only with Call of Duty 2 and GeoRallyEX). That is, most programs (again, mostly games and emulators) written for the earlier and much more widely supported Intel 2700G 2D / 3D accelerator (used in the Dell Axim x50v / x51v) will NOT make use the GoForce 5500 accelerator in the 6150 or 8150 – they are simply incompatible. See the current GoForce 5500 compatibility list HERE – as you can see, very few current titles support the chip. (Note that Kokak, the author of DoomGLES / HereticGLES, does promise support for the 5500 in his future DoomGLES / HereticGLES versions.) Also note that, while the Qualcomm is supported (to some degree) by the industry-leader video player CorePlayer, the GoForce 5500 isn’t and, as it seems, won’t be, at least not in the near future. (See THIS for more info on this question.) This mean you probably won't get flawless VGA playback on originally high-resolution videos, unlike with, say, the above-mentioned Axims.
Verdict
I need to admit: I have mixed feelings about i-mate’s new devices. I’m not sure whether I would at all exchange my more than two years old HTC Universal for a 9502 or an 8150 because the Universal is in no way THAT outdated (particularly if you take its EXCELLENT thumbboard into account - if you're a frequent texter and/or e-mail writer, you will just not want to get rid of the Universal, unless you use an external Bluetooth keyboard like that of iGo) and the new i-mate lineup isn't that revolutionary or considerably better than the old Universal. I think I’ll just wait for the newer and, without doubt, more exciting and, even more importantly, in most respects, more capable devices (most importantly, the E-Ten V900, the Gigabyte GSmart MS808 and the Sony-Ericsson XPERIA X1) to arrive. Also, I would keep an eye on the new Samsung SGH-i780, which isn’t a bad device unless you plan to play games (see THIS for more info on the gaming-friendliness of its touchpad) and/or need a VGA screen.
That is, I can't say I'm entirely satisfied with any of these new i-mate devices. This is why I wouldn't switch to either the 8150 or the 9502 from my current setup (Universal for heavy WinMo & touchscreen & VGA & heavy Web browsing / text entering tasks; N95 for everything multimedia, GPS and camera; HTC s310/Oxygen MS Smartphone for pure phoning (and nothing else) and the BlackBerry 8800 for IM / push mail / casual Web browsing). (BTW, just a quick note. Some of you have asked me how come a Windows Mobile fan, MS MVP etc. like me uses BB for push mail / IM. The answer is simple: I must have a BB subscription because I need to be up-to-date with Blackberry-related questions too. For example, I've just offered Microsoft a hands-on, week-long course for enterprise clients on why the Microsoft platform is better for enterprise usage than that of the BlackBerry. [I'm an experienced lecturer; I've led several hands-on, 40+-hour, mostly Java programming courses as a contractor for Sun.] This is why I need to use the BB very actively - to keep me updated about BB, the news, new products, new OS versions etc so that I know what the BB is capable of, even third-party app-wise.)
If you NOW shop for a device because you don’t have any WinMo device already or the one you have is heavily outdated and don’t want to go for HTC’s current devices (because of, for example, the generic lack of VGA screens and/or multimedia / gaming-friendliness on all their Qualcomm-based models), i-mate’s devices may be worth checking out. However, make sure you thoroughly compare the feature sets of each phone to see which fits you the best. Again, there is no clear winner: all of i-mate's phones have lacking functionalities and there simply isn’t “best” of them. You’ll have a very hard time choosing from the 9502 and the 8150 if you want to look for the highest-end models. Hope my pretty thorough comparison of the (dis)advantages of both models will help you a lot in deciding which model to go for.
What next in my MWC Report Series?
(Un)fortunately, I still have a lot to write / report about. I'll post a very thorough report on the new HP iPAQ 210, the already-mentioned Samsung SGH-i780 etc. Also, I plan to post some other, smaller tidbits too. Expect my next, huge MWC article later this week.
UPDATE (02/27/2008):
HowardForums forum member nextel1996 has pointed out PDAdb.net is able to compare more than two devices at the same time; their chart is HERE. You may visit it instead of mine because it'll be kept up-to-date, should be there any changes, as opposed to mine, which I won't update now that PDAdb.net offers a dynamically updated chart.
You might want to check out HowardForums forum member maevro's post HERE. Maevro is an authorized reseller and he reports on his experiences with i-mate.
I've expanded (and partially rewritten) the article; for example, I added the "Major design problems with the 9502" and the "VGA vs. QVGA on a 2.8" screen?" sections.
PPCT frontpage
UPDATE (02/27/2008):
HowardForums forum member nextel1996 has pointed out PDAdb.net is able to compare more than two devices at the same time; their chart is HERE. You may visit it instead of mine because it'll be kept up-to-date, should be there any changes, as opposed to mine, which I won't update now that PDAdb.net offers a dynamically updated chart.
You might want to check out HowardForums forum member maevro's post HERE. Maevro is an authorized reseller and he reports on his experiences with i-mate.
I've expanded (and partially rewritten) the article; for example, I added the "Major design problems with the 9502" and the "VGA vs. QVGA on a 2.8" screen?" sections.
PPCT frontpage
Guys, anothe rupdate. As I don't know how many updates I'll stil have, I found it better to link to the original article so that I can avoid slicing up the article again and again into postable chunks:
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&p=2504&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
Let’s take a look at how one of the competing operating systems, Symbian, fares. As you may recall, I use the Nokia N95 as my main phone because of the
• (comparatively) high-quality camera (no Windows Mobile or BlackBerries phone can match it, let alone the, in this respect, even worse iPhone 3G),
• call recording (no such thing on most WinMo phones and all BlackBerries/iPhone models),
• native support for HE-AACv2, the best audio format (no such thing on Windows Mobile without severe problems and drawbacks) and A2DP (nothing like this on the iPhone) and
• the quality stereo speakers especially well suited to listening to music – in a wonderfully wide(ned) stereo.
Fortunately, the Symbian folks have come out with some very nice, new products certainly worth taking a look at if you need a phone (even a secondary one – just like with me, who I prefer gaming / browsing the Web on my iPhone 3G and doing the e-mail stuff on my BlackBerry 8800). In these areas, Symbian certainly excels and well worth considering if you’re fed up with for example the mediocre camera quality HTC’s handsets have. (Speaking of HTC and Windows Mobile, they have just announced they aren’t even trying to replace digital cameras. No comment…)
Note that I only discuss the latest handhelds, not for example the new, announced games for the platform. You might want to take a look at All About Symbian and Symbian-Freak for more info on this. In this article, I mostly speak about my experience with the new handsets, along with my own shots of them.
Nokia
(Nokia’s booth)
N97 – the forthcoming flagship model
The model gathering the most interest at Nokia’s booth was the recently announced N97. I had the chance of playing with it a bit.
While it could indeed be better (for example, 3D acceleration and/or stereo speakers and/or DVB-T/H), I pretty much liked what I saw. Being a pre-production unit, the device I played with wasn’t the fastest.
Unfortunately, it seems the Web browser is (almost?) the same as in Nokia’s previous models. Nokia S60 Web was indeed great about two and a half-three years ago, when the first E-series devices with it (and, later, the N95) were released, but now, it seems to be heavily outdated. My biggest grief was the lack of dynamic text reflowing (something the latest Opera Mobile builds are capable of at any zoom level) when zooming in. The Nokia rep at the booth tried to come up with a pretty bad explanation of trying to stick to the desktop view. This, to a certain degree, is understandable on a (comparatively) high-resolution screen the N97 has; nevertheless, I still lack the ability of Opera Mobile of full text reflowing at any, arbitrary zoom level.
The camera seems to be the same as in the N95 (with a sliding lens cover), which is good news, particularly given that most other handsets (except for some models like Samsung’s Omnia HD and Nokia’s own N86) still have much inferior ones.
Gamers will definitely like the fact that Nokia will also make the N97 N-Gage-compliant – at least this is what I’ve been told by the rep. I’ve found the D-pad next to the QWERTY keyboard pretty gaming-friendly. Note that, as the D-pad is only accessible with the N97 open, you can kiss portrait-mode, one-handed gaming a good-bye. Hope the control methods the games implement will take advantage of the larger keyboard keys (like the space key) located far away from the D-pad to let for controlling games easily, without cramped hands.
Too bad the device doesn’t have 3D hardware acceleration.
The sliding (hinge) mechanism seemed to be sufficiently stable. No wobbling. The two (closed and open) states are both stable and the spring-loaded mechanism greatly helps in the transition between them – that is,
1. don’t expect anything like the HTC Wizard’s spring-less mechanism requiring the same force to switch during the entire transition
2. when closed, it seemed to be much more stable. When operating in single-handled mode, the fingers don’t accidentally cause the upper part of the bezel to wobble and sometimes even start opening the QWERTY – unlike with, say, the HTC Vox (s710), where this problem is so acute that a lot of people prefer keeping their handset always in their left hand in order to avoid this problem.
(Compared to the iPhone when opened. As can be seen, it’s a bit – but not much! – longer than the iPhone. Note that I’ve left my iPhone in its case, which added a bit to its (apparent) length and width. It was a bit thicker too – pretty understandable for a slider.)
As far as S60 5th ed (the operating system running on the N97) is concerned, it does have some shortcomings needing some rework. For example, in the mailer application, the only way to quickly scroll the messages is using the vertical scrollbar in the middle of the screen: you can’t just scroll the list of messages in the iPhone way of scrolling.
Not being a 3D (and, for that matter, 2D) accelerated phone means there were no cool transitions either. As both the other, just announced devices (the E75 and the N86) both have some kind of quick fade in/out application switching transitions (don’t expect anything like on the iPhone, though), I think the same will also be implemented when the N97 finally hits the shelves (around this June).
Finally, it’s pretty hard to say what people the N97 really targets. It’s much more a business model than any of the previous N-series handsets. Gamers and lovers of multimedia, on the other hand, won’t be fully satisfied because of the lack of the 3D acceleration and stereo speakers; two things that made the N95 a must buy (and the latter also makes the Samsung Omnia HD a very tempting device).
Nokia E75
The just-launched E75 is a QWERTY slider as opposed to all the previous, popular E-series devices (note that the E63 and the E71 are still current models; that is, Nokia hasn’t given up on the highly successful Blackberry-alike QWERTY line). Some shots:
This is one of Nokia’s models that are compatible with their DVB-H Bluetooth transcoder, which was showcased this year too.
The DVB-H Bluetooth transcoder
As with last year, no one could provide me any information on exactly which models the transcoder is and will be compatible with. I assume it’s only the (outdated and slow) N71 (as was last year) and the E75 – and nothing else. There are no plans of making it compatible with DVB-T either. Sure I know Nokia is probably the biggest driving force behind DVB-H and (also) providing DVB-T would result in decreasing the pressure on both traditional broadcasting companies and mobile phone operators to implement DVB-H as everyone would just stick with DVB-T, even with the traditional disadvantages of it (considerably lower battery life). However, now that DVB-H is still supported in very few countries (even in Finland, the home country of Nokia, only about 40% of the total population is covered, while the coverage of DVB-T is 100%) and there doesn’t seem to be a breakthrough in the near future, I do think Nokia could also come out with a DVB-T transmitter to please existing customers and to draw new ones to the platform. Why, you may ask? Don’t forget no such transcoders exist for Windows Mobile and it has only been recently that PacketVideo announced the same for the iPhone. And, the case is the same of the DVB-H equivalent in the U.S. and some other countries, MediaFLO – it’s only Qualcomm that offers a chipset (and a reference design) compatible with real smartphone OS’es (I don’t talk about feature phones, the ones that currently are only compatible with MediaFLO). Nevertheless, according to the Qualcomm reps I’ve talked to at MWC, there still isn’t any real manufacturer using the MediaFLO chipset to build a transcoder usable with the iPhone, Windows Mobile or any other smartphone OS. This means you’ll need to wait for at least half a year for such things to become existing. Until then, you will need to rely on traditional, IP-based (non-broadcast) transmissions, which can be pretty pricey if you don’t have an unlimited data plan and, of course, don’t cover all the DVB-T/H (Europe etc.), MediaFLO / ATSC (U.S.) etc. broadcasts available at your area. After all, some TV companies are pretty reluctant to provide a live Internet stream of their programs (they prefer broadcasting them instead); and, if they do, you still need an extensive data plan to watch them. If your operating system is compatible, that is – WMV, the most widely used format used for Internet streaming, isn’t at all supported in most popular Symbian E/N-series devices (I only know of the “flop” N96 as capable of playing them) and, before of PacketVideo’s announcement, on the iPhone.
This (the lack of DVB-T and much wider device support) is certainly bad news; I really hope Nokia acts very soon and.
New A2DP headphones
The Nokia folks have also come out with a new pair of A2DP in-ear headphones, the BH-214. I haven’t tested its audio quality and compatibility (my very thorough tests – see THIS – require at least a day of testing – this was simply impossible at MWC) – I’ll try to do this as soon as possible.
Nokia N86
Nokia’s just-launched N86 sports an 8-Mpixel camera (along with some other goodies like an OLED screen). It’s, as with most (more) recent N8x/N9x-series phones, a dual slider. No matter how hard I tried, I wasn’t allowed to transfer the test shots I’ve taken to my notebook for a more thorough comparison with the image quality of the N95. I have been continuously referred to the “official” demo photos on Nokia’s pages. Of course, this wasn’t sufficient for me – I would have preferred some real comparisons to see whether for example the low-light performance has indeed been improved (as was explained by the Nokia rep I talked to).
Note that the Mobile-Review folks managed to loan a review device and did publish a preview the Mobile-Review review with several (MWC) photos of their own. In general, these are pretty good. There are only two images that shows severe problems because of the limited dynamic range: burnt-in highlights (click the images for the original):
However, some other shots of the same scenery don’t show the same burnt-in highlights:
Also worth checking out is the second image. It shows very strong sharpening (look at the wall in the top left corner or the contours of box’s wood strips / staves). The same kind of sharpening can also be visible in THIS (otherwise, excellent) shot. Here, also take a look at the contours of the upper part of the black shoe in the center right of the shot – they are equally bad. Unfortunately, Nokia’s image processing algorithm has always suffered from oversharpening, resulting in artifacts like this.
In addition, if you look at the image sizes (900…1000 kbyes), you’ll understand some comparatively heavy JPEG image compression is taking place. The situation is exactly the same on the Nokia N95, where the heavy JPEG compression makes the images a little blocky (particularly visible if you take shots of, say, newspaper pages). I really, repeat, REALLY hope Nokia starts to offer a way of setting the compression level –over-compressing JPEG’s can certainly result in considerably bad image quality. (Of course, it’s still way ahead of what Windows Mobile devices or the iPhone are capable of, but still – this could be fixed by a very simple, additional menu item for controlling the JPEG compression quality.)
Also note that, in addition to the over-sharpening, (at least some of) the images also show low-resolution, washed-out low-contrast textures; that is, image smudging. This is quite visible in how the wood strips / staves are reproduced; I bet the situation would be the same with low-contrast greenish areas like a bunch of leaves of a tree. If you take into account that (over)sharpening is needed to “fix” the issues introduced by image smudging, which, in turn, is applied to “remove” noise, then, you’ll understand why there are issues like this with the N86.
Samsung Omnia HD
One of the biggest announcement (and demo) of the show was that of the Samsung Omnia HD: a brand new, touchscreen- and S60 5th ed-based, heavily enhanced version of the former, WQVGA Windows Mobile device. It sports a high-resolution, 640*360 (that is, 16:9) AMOLED screen. It being based on OLED also means really vivid colors and much better viewing range than with traditional TFT.
(Samsung’s booth. Just like with the previous year, most people were not permitted to take photos of anything; hence the lack of anything except for this shot.)
This device is what the true successor of the Nokia N95 should have been: better camera (at least when it comes to video recording: 720p as opposed to the VGA-only N95; note that it “only” records at 24 fps and not 30), much better and higher-resolution screen etc., while keeping one of the greatest features of the N95: the stereo speakers. (Which, again, were dropped for the N97.) What is more, the Samsung rep stated the speakers use some kind of a stereo widening. I couldn’t listen to the stereo 3D space at MWC; I can only hope it indeed can match the quality of the N95. The Mobile-Review folks stated the speakers are very loud, which is very promising – I REALLY hope they can even outperform those of the N95.
Note that it’s not only the 24 fps recording speed that is a bit problematic with the new device, but also the battery life while recording videos: according to the Mobile-Review article, HD video recording chews through the battery in about half an hour (!!!), which is plain unacceptable (for comparison: the Nokia N95 is capable of recording video at VGA and 30fps for a lot more time – I’d say well above one hour. The Canon PowerShot SD950 IS, with enabled LCD and using the 1024*768 at 15 fps mode, can record for about 40-50 minutes. I really hope this will be fixed in the final, production version. Incidentally, the same review also states the battery only lasts about a day under casual use, which is, well, far from perfect. Again, this has been measured on a pre-production unit.
Also note that, while the lens is recessed, there is still no lens protector, which is definitely a minus.
According to the Samsung rep I talked to, the Omnia HD supports not only 720p (that is, 1280*720) video recording, but also playback. I’m not sure whether this also means H.264 playback. The rep stated the Omnia HD has a dedicated video decoder circuitry but was a bit unsure about H.264 720p playback. Frankly, I don’t believe it is capable of flawless, stuttering-free H.264 playback (that would be quite a feat, even when done in hardware); hope I turn out to be wrong.
Visitors to the Samsung booth, unlike with Nokia, weren’t allowed to take the Omnia HD into their hands. This, unfortunately, also means I wasn’t able to give its Web browser (which was stated to be something like Safari on the iPhone) a quick try to find out whether it’s any good. I really hope it’s considerably better than Nokia’s now-outdated S60 Web.
There will surely be no Omnia HD with Windows Mobile, which is definitely bad news for WinMo users. Nevertheless, Samsung will definitely come out with Windows Mobile handsets in the future. It’s still not known what they will be like. I really hope they come out with a matching model (OLED screen, stereo speakers with clever widening algorithms, 720p recording / hardware playback, high-quality camera, call recording just like on the Samsung Omia) so that Windows Mobile users can also have a real multimedia / camera / for people that do need call recording, phoning device – something HTC has always been refusing to deliver (and for which the Toshiba TG01 isn’t the best choice either – again, it has no stereo speakers, no 3.5mm jack, no hardware acceleration, no call recording and no high-quality camera).
Make sure you check out the Mobile-Review review HERE. It has tons of comparative shots (even against the iPod Touch / iPhone screen) showing how much better AMOLED screens render colors.
Sony-Ericsson Idou
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Sony-Ericsson’s Idou is also pretty promising. It’s a Wi-Fi, GPS-enabled phone with a 12 Mpixel camera, Xenon flash (also sporting a lens protector slider) and a (comparatively) high-resolution (640*360; that is, 16:9) screen. See THIS for the official video (the page didn’t work under Opera 10 & Windows 7 – had to use IE to play back the clip).
Other articles
Yet Another Demo Video The Nokia N97 In All Its Glory! (just the official demo from Nokia; nothing closer shown)
Sony Ericsson Idou!??? Highend Symbian Devices With 12.1 MP Cam?! (some additional pics of the Idou)
Productivity comes first: New Eseries devices optimized for efficiency (E55, E75)
Samsung Omnia HD [i8910]: Samsung Unveils Its First S60 Touch Device!
ZEISS CAMERA STORY: Lights... camera... mobile... Nokia N86
Official Samsung Press Release: OMNIAHD Dazzles with Its HD Brilliance
Nokia E75 Gets Unboxed, Handled And Explained (with some videos)
Samsung Omnia HD Gets Reviewed! Eldar's In-Depth Preview Available In English! - links to the mobile-review.com review.
MWC 2009: First Day Summary: Nokia Puts Enhanced Internet Experiences - And Efficiency At The Heart Of New Solutions (a compilation of other news sources)
LG Unveils KT770: Attractive WQVGA 5 MPX Symbian S60 Slider! (as this phone does not have any really outstanding features, I decided not to elaborate on it)
Capture Your Life In More Detail With The Nokia N86 8MP (only the press release)
Nokia N86 Hands On, Promo and Designer Interview Video (better than the previous article; still no comparative shots)
Nokia N86 Eldar's Hands On: Tons Of Live Shots, Camera and Video Samples! - links to the Mobile-Review review.
MWC 2009: Nokia Round-Up
Rafe on the Nokia N86 8MP
Samsung Omnia HD launches - note that the data sheet in this review states the HD has a 1500 mAh battery. The Mobile-Review folks stated they couldn’t determine its capacity.
MWC: The E75 finally official
(Note that the last three articles also have dedicated threads; they are worth checking out.)
UPDATE (02/23/2009 2:09AM CET): Symbian-Freak frontpage with some additional pics
UPDATE: 1. the N97 does have stereo speakers. This is certainly good news - hopefully, they can match those of the N95, let alone the Omnia HD.
2. I haven't emphasized the N97 doesn't have 720p video recording, "only" VGA.