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Hermes.... Universal... or M.A.G.I.C.???

Hi guys,
I currently have the Xda IIs version of Blue Angel, running on the TuMa 1.3, but it seems like time for a change. I'm currently considering 3 options: HTC Universal, HTC Hermes, and Advance TC M.A.G.I.C. (I know it's not HTC, but...)
Details on M.A.G.I.C. can be found at:
http://www.advancetc.com/MAGIC_technical_specs.jpg
Thanks!

For me, it's gonna be Hermes. I had a Qtek 9000 (Universal) for a week to play around with, very nice features and the screen is very good, but it is far too large for me. I come from a Magician, so the Vario was the best option for me now in terms of size. I am very happy with it, so Hermes (with same form factor) is definitely the successor to my Wizard. Same goes for M.A.G.I.C. far too large for me, although the specs are astonishing. And since this phone is the first ever made by that company, expect lots and lots of flaws, poor support etc etc.
Have you seen the thread on the other HTC devices due to come out this year? Some include GPS, others the same specs as Wizard but much thinner etc etc. if they all make it to market here, it's gonna be a hard choice, but for now I am aiming at the Hermes.
If size is not an issue for you and neither is money, I would go for the Universal any time. it is available now, there is good support from this community, the specs are very good and ROM updates are frequent.

Eh...you forgot the winner - Atom! :wink:

Ha ha, sorry for that. But for me a keyboard is very usefull. Willing to give it up for a GPS, but Atom does not satisfy my needs, sorry!
Ideal devices all depend upon personal preferences, so Atom is no option for me. But if you don't need a keyboard, Atom is definitely a good option!

I don't think you should count on getting that M.A.G.I.C. any time soon! We really have no idea if it is good or not, and it wont be out for months.

M. A. G. I. C., but .......
read this
http://www.theedgedaily.com/cms/con...e.Article_10065320-cb73c03a-b113c700-479d86e0
bloggy.

Koksie, my previous PPC was a BA with hardware keyboard. I have found that I type a lot faster with PhonePad and T9 on the Atom (HTC version, ripped from a Wizard ROM) then I ever did with that BA keyboard!

I find that I use the hardware keyboard more than I could ever have imagined when I had my Compact! On the Compact, I hardly send sms messages, because of my hesitation in using the phone pad or the on-screen keyboard. I just couldn't type fast enough to be convienent! With my Wizard, I just slide it open and type away! Well, every one has his favourite input method, that much is clear! Well, if you don't need a keyboard, better go for Atom or Prophet, since they combine a small form factor with great specs. Or wait for the trinity, which also look very good.

Any VGA screen PDA phone available? (other than Universal)

Hi,
Does anyone know whether there is any PDA phone with a VGA screen available now or soon-ish, other than the Universal? (from HTC or other companies.)
I kind of like the Universal, but I think it is a bit too big for my liking.
I looked at the HTC roadmap, but sadly the roadmap doesn't really say what screen is used in the up-coming devices.
So anything available now/soon from HTC, Palm, HP, etc?
Thanks.

Dunno about availability, but here goes:
http://www.windowsfordevices.com/news/NS3737841146.html

to be perfectly honest I don't think that's much of an improvement in size over the universal. Its not as wide since it doesn't need the hinge, but its just as long and thick as the universal. Added to that is the fact that you will need to use a case for it to transport because of the lack of screen protection and it will feel much more bulky, nice looking phone though.

HTC vs. Sharp/Willcom W-Zero3

http://www.firstloox.org/VGAppc.htm
(Other than this page, I couldn't find any reference to this product being manufactured by HTC [More's the pity....])
OK, so they run on different platforms....
I, for one, would love to see HTC start offering something with VGA, based more on the Wizard's form factor. Something to maybe cross the features of the Universal with the TyTN....
Both are great devices, but i love eye-candy with my functionality....

blazoner said:
http://www.firstloox.org/VGAppc.htm
(Other than this page, I couldn't find any reference to this product being manufactured by HTC [More's the pity....])
OK, so they run on different platforms....
I, for one, would love to see HTC start offering something with VGA, based more on the Wizard's form factor. Something to maybe cross the features of the Universal with the TyTN....
Both are great devices, but i love eye-candy with my functionality....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Z3 is Japan-only - even on the phone level. That is, it can't be used with GSM / other non-Japanese networks.
HTC will manufacture the VGA Omni, but it's said to have a 3.6" screen, as opposed to the 2.8" Wizard / TyTN / other QVGA devices.
That is, if you want a 2.8" VGA device, check out the new Gigabyte device - it's REALLY cool.

as i said,
"OK, so they run on different platforms...."
But there needs to be a NON-clamshell device with a VGA screen. Clamshell cases and rotating screens are stylish, but also inherently BREAKABLE! More so than the Wizard/TyTN style sliding keyboard. Also, the sliding keyboard design allows for better one-handed use. (Not to mention all those gripes about no external display on the Universal.... )
I'm not knocking the clamshell devices, but the form-factor of the Wizard-style device is alot more useful for me.
Gimme a VGA Wizard!
(And judging from the reported initial demand for the W-Zero3, I'm not the only one with this opinion)

S740 Announced

S740 was announced today. Will update post with more info, I am on my Vox right now.

Here are more details from gsmarena, it looks nice:
HTC S740
Coming as a successor of the HTC S730 the S740 is a smartphone with a sliding-out four-row QWERTY keyboard. It boasts a 528 MHz Qualcomm MSM7225 processor and the greatly sounding 256MB RAM.
The display of the HTC S740 is a 2.4" QVGA one (no touchscreen, of course). All four GSM bands and two UMTS (900 and 2100 MHz) bands are supported by the new phone. There is also HSDPA support to make sure that the quickest network data transfers around are available.
Coming with a HTC Touch Diamond-like back, HTC S740 has a 3.2 megapixel fixed-focus snapper on board. Some of the other more important features are built-in GPS (with A-GPS support), Wi-Fi and the HTC ExtUSB slot which combines a mini-USB 2.0 and an audio jack.
The HTC S740 is going to be available across Europe from September, but there is no information regarding its pricing yet.

keyboard open on the other side

I just hope it'll ship with 6.1 with languages other than English, so we can use it!^^

nice one! thats the device i saw at work last week... but the prototype has no qwerty keyboard ... cant wait for it
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=418902

Hopefully they set the price right, it is either this, a Touch Pro or a Nokia E71 to be my next device.

I really want to know how to handle the 'cursor-key' in the middle of the device. On the pictures it looks odd to me.

What i don't like about this device
larger overall
20 grams heavier than S710 which is already very heavy
no autofocus

looks interesting but...nothing new on the sun...
OT: I have afriend wich has an Omnia i900 and with my big surprise I noticed it has WM 6.1 localized in my language...so I think out there lot of devices has WinMo 6.1 localized in different devices...but why don't Microsoft release the localized emulator images???? Damn!

HTC - stupidity without limits. This is right slogan for this company
When they will understand that qwerty keyboard for smartphone is like fifth leg for dog?
People who buy smartphone, expect some slim, lite device with some extra functionality provided by WM. Otherwise it's better to buy PDAPhone with full WM power and many different input options.
sick...

The price on HandTec.co.uk is showing £469.99 (£399.99 ex vat)
http://www.handtec.co.uk/product.php/1430/htc-s740

sorg said:
HTC - stupidity without limits. This is right slogan for this company
When they will understand that qwerty keyboard for smartphone is like fifth leg for dog?
People who buy smartphone, expect some slim, lite device with some extra functionality provided by WM. Otherwise it's better to buy PDAPhone with full WM power and many different input options.
sick...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Qwerty keyboard is something that is a "must" when you use it once and write an sms/e-mail on your phone. I won't buy a phone without qwerty in the future.

sorg said:
HTC - stupidity without limits. This is right slogan for this company
When they will understand that qwerty keyboard for smartphone is like fifth leg for dog?
People who buy smartphone, expect some slim, lite device with some extra functionality provided by WM. Otherwise it's better to buy PDAPhone with full WM power and many different input options.
sick...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are clearly not on the right forum for this kind of comments. It's clear that everyone who is on this discussion forum likes qwerty on their smartphone... since we all bought the S710.

matrix77 said:
Qwerty keyboard is something that is a "must" when you use it once and write an sms/e-mail on your phone. I won't buy a phone without qwerty in the future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A B S O L U T E L Y !! I must agree with you

sorg said:
HTC - stupidity without limits. This is right slogan for this company
When they will understand that qwerty keyboard for smartphone is like fifth leg for dog?
People who buy smartphone, expect some slim, lite device with some extra functionality provided by WM. Otherwise it's better to buy PDAPhone with full WM power and many different input options.
sick...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you should look for Nokia toys like smartphones with basic functions making, receiving calls and SMS. You would get such toy phones very slim, lite and offocourse extra functionality of few JAVA inbuilt games.
HTC S710 and next versions are beyond your limits because you are not even able to understand the concepts of these phones at all.

I think it's kind of pointless to put such a processor in this phone. There are rarely any apps for Standard that make use of such processing power! It'll only drain the battery. I think 400 MHz is perfect for a WM Standard phone. For the Touch Pro though it's a must have. And now there is only one reason that keeps me from buying a Touch Pro - it's price...
Anyway, htc put a page online: http://www.htc.com/www/product.aspx?id=57634
I think the messed up the standby times (under 3G more than GSM???)!

what if the processor is underclocked when no apps are running?

frauhottelmann said:
I think it's kind of pointless to put such a processor in this phone. There are rarely any apps for Standard that make use of such processing power! It'll only drain the battery. I think 400 MHz is perfect for a WM Standard phone. For the Touch Pro though it's a must have. And now there is only one reason that keeps me from buying a Touch Pro - it's price...
Anyway, htc put a page online: http://www.htc.com/www/product.aspx?id=57634
I think the messed up the standby times (under 3G more than GSM???)!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its qualcomm processor and OMAP is better as compared to Qualcomm so might be 528 MHz would work little better compared to OMAP 200 MHz

beautiful phone but its gonna be one fingerprint magnet

I am disappointed.
The only think HTC has been able to do is add an GPS (very usefull by the way!).
But NO INNOVATION... and even heavier!!
why they dont do a big touch screen on the front coverything everything (iphone style) then you can slide it on the side for a qwerty keyboard to appear (very usefull!) or you can slide it on the bottom for a numeric pad (very usefull!) to appear for use without sometime painfull touchscreen with one hand.
Would this be something nice? other innovation will be more than welcome... Engineer at HTC what are you doing? sleeping??

Wish list for a Universal 2

Since I got my first Universal (JasJar) some 2 years back, I have tried several other alternatives, including TyTN 2, HTC Touch Pro, and even Toshiba G910. I have always come back to the Universal. In fact, when I broke my JasJar, I replaced it with Vodafone V1640. I have come to conclude that the Uni is the closest to my ideal PDA/phone for a business user.
But I regret one or two things about the Universal, and I honestly wish we would have a Universal 2 to address these snags. My short wish list for Universal 2 are is follows:
1) Retain the present format - don't change the form factor; it is simply great as it is. Forget those who say it is too heavy or bulky - they don't know what they want. (If weight is your problem, then don't ask for a comfortable keyboard and a large screen as you have in the Uni.)
2) Give it 256MB RAM. This is by far the biggest issue with the current Uni with 64MB RAM. Often when I run something like TextMaker (SoftOffice), the device runs out of memory.
3) Make the stylus holder more secure. Either let it click into place or have a magnetic slot to secure it, like the HTC Touch Pro.
4) Make the SD card slot more secure - perhaps with a cover. As it is, it pops out rather easily.
5) Have a built-in GPS
Any further ideas for Universal 2?

We can fantasize all we want but we aint going to get it! There wont ever be a Uni 2 for sure....atleast i'm pretty convinced about it.
I just broke my uni a few weeks ago and couldnt help but buying another one...(was quite a struggle to find a seller!). I too love the form factor and ergonomics of the uni - simply brilliant.
Anyway, I guess I'll just wait up for a while until there is something like the TyTN 2 where you can tilt the display on the Touch pro and I might just buy one of them! Or the Touch HD Pro - if there will ever be one!
Cheers!
San
Anyway, for the "wishlist" I'd basically want a built in GPS, a better 3D accelerated graphics card, MORE RAM & storage, and an outside smaller display if possible!

Video out would be essential for me, & with that hardware run GFX.
Sadly I dont think there will be a Universal 2, although I wish they would. The line between laptop, PDA and mobile phone has blurred so much, all I really wish is that the mobile industry in general stops limiting the capabilitys of hand held devices (e.g. Iphone) with closed platforms, limiting hardware capabilities and add expansion ports.

Dear rsawoseyin,
You have a Grate Idea about Universal. I also love Universal very much.
If the Universal is made according to the Specs given by you and some other features, like Multitouch Display, Accelerometer, etc., like in iPhone, then it would become Deam Machine!!!!!!!!
So, you request the iMate or HTC to create such type of Universal.
Regards,
Shakeel Ahmed,
Datacom Engineer,
HUAWEI Technologies (Pvt.) Ltd.

I agree with you,
I have had Jasjar and Vodafone V1640. Now I've a Toshiba G900, I'm happy with it and I've started to cook roms for it, then G900 is really important for me.
But I've loved my UNI, perfect size for me, perfect display, perfect keyboard...
To have it today with its features plus a lot ram, storage and GPS, it'll be really a dream. Yes, today we have many devices like Xperia, HD, Touch pro... BUT, apart storage, ram and gps, no one offers all the things the UNI has!
And, if I had to add a thing on a new UNI, I would put the host usb function. I have it on G900 and it can be really usefull!

rsawoseyin said:
Since I got my first Universal (JasJar) some 2 years back, I have tried several other alternatives, including TyTN 2, HTC Touch Pro, and even Toshiba G910. I have always come back to the Universal. In fact, when I broke my JasJar, I replaced it with Vodafone V1640. I have come to conclude that the Uni is the closest to my ideal PDA/phone for a business user.
But I regret one or two things about the Universal, and I honestly wish we would have a Universal 2 to address these snags. My short wish list for Universal 2 are is follows:
1) Retain the present format - don't change the form factor; it is simply great as it is. Forget those who say it is too heavy or bulky - they don't know what they want. (If weight is your problem, then don't ask for a comfortable keyboard and a large screen as you have in the Uni.)
2) Give it 256MB RAM. This is by far the biggest issue with the current Uni with 64MB RAM. Often when I run something like TextMaker (SoftOffice), the device runs out of memory.
3) Make the stylus holder more secure. Either let it click into place or have a magnetic slot to secure it, like the HTC Touch Pro.
4) Make the SD card slot more secure - perhaps with a cover. As it is, it pops out rather easily.
5) Have a built-in GPS
Any further ideas for Universal 2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You pretty much stated the main shortfalls of the Uni.
The only thing I can think of that you left out was EDGE compatibility....
I only been a Imate JasJar owner for 6 months however I love the device. I have a Wizard (T-Mobile MDA)...had it for almost 2 years but for work, I exclusively use my Uni. I send/receive A lot of emails at work and the Uni is perfect for that. Plus I like having an unique PDA.....I live in the US so many Americans never seen a Universal so most of my coworkers, friends, or people that happen to see me use the Uni look at it like WHAT IS THAT? lol.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=443421
I love the from factor "Micro laptop" but I have not seen anything for the future.....

davideuck said:
I agree with you,
I have had Jasjar and Vodafone V1640. Now I've a Toshiba G900, I'm happy with it and I've started to cook roms for it, then G900 is really important for me.
But I've loved my UNI, perfect size for me, perfect display, perfect keyboard...
To have it today with its features plus a lot ram, storage and GPS, it'll be really a dream. Yes, today we have many devices like Xperia, HD, Touch pro... BUT, apart storage, ram and gps, no one offers all the things the UNI has!
And, if I had to add a thing on a new UNI, I would put the host usb function. I have it on G900 and it can be really usefull!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to see you're a Uni user too.
Even tho we both have the G900 and love the 800x480, hackibility/cookibility wise the Uni is just so reliable.
It's very hard to make a perfect ROM for G900 due to the GF5500's lack of proper driver while the Uni is just a plain PXA27x device with drivers readily available.
IMO the perfect Uni2 should have the following:
-PXA32x 800Mhz+ (CorePlayer makes great use of the newer SIMD - WMMX2)
-800x480 WVGA 3.8"
-KB
-Slightly less than 20mm thick
-Same folding/twisting style
-aGPS (from MSM6281)
-Tri-band HSDPA 3.5G (from MSM6281)
-256MB+ RAM
-512MB ROM
-SDHC (or even two! )
Or that concept Touch HD Pro, but with PXA32x 800Mhz instead plus MSM6281 for aGPS+HSDPA. Qualcomm's QTv isn't powerful enough for WVGA H.264 playback.

Too bad HTC haven't made a replacement for the Uni. The closest contender is the Blackstone.
My Imate JasJar's camera doesn't work so I just bought a O2 exec in mint condition off ebay for an excellent price. The O2 should last for a another year...when the price of the Blackstone goes down a bit.... $700+ for a new Blackstone is a bit steep right now for me...lol

even tho i never seen it, on paper Touch Pro looks like ideal replacement.
Nevertheless, here's my wish list for Uni 2
GOOD CAMERA. (For ****'s sake HTC, if after all these years u still cant make a good one, LICENSE technology from sharp or sony!!!!)
fast CPU (900Mhz +)
and 2D drawing acceleration chip
GOBS of internal flash memory (storage), 8+ GB
dump SD card slot, in favour of USB 2.0 access to the internal 8.0GB+ flash
lots of RAM memory, ie 512MB+
ipod/touch pro UI
QUAD band
reduce weight/thickness
higher capacity battery
GPS that works with TOMTOM
scratch/shock resistant case

Actually, I think that HTC meant Touch Pro to be Universals successor. While it is better only in some respects, it is the only device with at least comparable keyboard. You may say that display is too small. But should not need to tap display too often when you have a good keaybord.