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Its that new phone time again. Recommendations for Orbit/Armatis replacement?

I've been buying HTC devices every year since the very first XDA came out. Normally its a simple affair, just ring up O2 and order the next model out but there's so many to choose from now and this year I'm just spoiled for choice.
I'm currently using an Orbit which I really love, it has just about everything I need. About the only improvements I would make is 3G, VGA, more memory, faster processor. So whats available? There seem so many to choose from these days.
I know the iphone is a pile of crap but you must admit it looks good. Don't HTC do a similar style i.e. all screen and fewer buttons?

Anyone got any opinions?
Top of the pops at the moment is the Athena but I think it may be too big for my pocket. Is there anything with a similar spec only smaller yet?

How about Orbit II ?
Has everything you want, except VGA display...
400Mhz CPU, 128MB RAM, UMTS/HSDPA, 3MP camera....
Olioaglio

Yep the Orbit 2 will be my next phone.
The iPhone is very very tempting, and regardless of what hardcore WM fans say, its a very fast, fluid interface and is generally what the public want to see from a touch phone, as proved by its massive sales figures,
Buuuuuuuut the orbit 2 has built in GPS, decent 400mhz proccessor, 3G, flush screen, 3MP auto focusing camera, with video, a second smaller camera on the front for video calls, loads of ram. Go for the Orbit 2 for the time been, get the iphone version 2 in a few years as its probly gunna take over the world lol.

I assume we're talking about the Polaris or Touch Cruise?
Didn't realize it was also referred to as the Orbit 2. Does that mean it will be released by O2 in the UK? Any idea when? (I know the Cruise has been put back to mid Jan)
Anyway I've decided to get a second hand Athena for now (no new contract). I've always wanted VGA and TV out. If I can't get on with the size then I'll get the Orbit2 or Cruise when it arrives.

Yeah its the o2's version of the polaris is called the Orbit 2.
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/11/09/o2_xda_orbit_2/ for some screenshots and info. Alot of sites are saying its going to get released 1st quarter of 2008, many are saying January.

Is money is no object there is always this phone.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...224-1010&CMP=EMC-TIGEREMAIL&SRCCODE=WEM1526BY

What's after Artemis/P3300
Hello, I had the same dilemma, I have this phone for a whole year, I never had a phone for so long, but there is nothing really better out there to replace it with.
I thing the best thing if you don't need keyboard is the Cruise, and I guess I'll have to wait for it.
I think it's a good choice because it has all what this phone has plus 3G and flush screen.
The fact that it does not have VGA does not bother me, because VGA at this tiny screen does look better, but you can't really use it in the VGA resolution it's just too small for the eyes. All the other VGA phones just emulate a 320x240 screen, so it looks much nicer, but not more than that.
I tried a whole bunch of phones, I had the iPhone for almost a month, and it is really great, it is fast, smooth, beautiful and great at what it does, but it does not do much, if you are used to use a lot of the functions of the pocket pc you realize that the iphone almost worthless.
I also had the E-Ten x800 lately, I used it for about an hour and got rid of it, it is painfully slow, I couldn't get it to play a movie normally, it does not make sense, it has 520mhz cpu and it is still extremely slow, also I didin't like the way it looks at all. The VGA screen is good but there is no major difference, and I didin't try 3G in it.
I also have the Gigabyte Gsmart i350 right now, it's nice and small, very fast and has VGA screen, it also has GPS, I really like it but the lack of 3G is a real setback, it does not even have edge, only GPRS wich makes it really slow internet browsing.
One more important thing is the company that makes the phones, there is no such good quality as HTC, the build, the feel, and quality of calls, it beats every onther company out there.
Also this site makes me get only HTC phones, there is no such a site with so much support and options for your phone, with so many great people working and helping each other!!!!!
The bottom line is that the Cruise seems to be the best combination of all the features that are out there, VGA would make it a killer of a phone, but after playing with some VGA phones I don't think it makes such a big difference, also a lot of the apps out there don't support VGA screen, I think in a couple of months there will be a much better support for it.
I hope that my little thoughts and mini reviews will help you with your decision.

The Kaiser is great, but if I could do it again or had the bux to spare, I'd go with a Polaris.
I hardly ever use the Kaiser keyboard and the fm radio on the Polaris sounds like an interesting addition. Other than that, the feature sets (between Kaiser & Polaris) are identical.
See pdadb for comparison info.

Eten X800 and M800

Hi people...
i was wondering if any one in here own any of those phones and had any experience with them... I know they are not HTC but i would like to hear someone opinion about it, performance and know problems since they are a bit recent... Any help?.... Thanks...

bandit2xx said:
Hi people...
i was wondering if any one in here own any of those phones and had any experience with them... I know they are not HTC but i would like to hear someone opinion about it, performance and know problems since they are a bit recent... Any help?.... Thanks...
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Click to collapse
I have the x800. It is a good phone as long as you make sure you keep it clean. It only has, like many other phones, 64mb of RAM. I love the screen and with the wm6.1 ROM that has been created it is a very smooth phone.
Some say that he camera is bad but I have had no problems with it. There is also complaints about the 3G not working to its full potential. I cannot confirm this as I do not use the internet on my phone.
It is a sleek and quick phone. It is very light and has a beautiful screen.

Unless Eten learns to build 128 MB in their high end phones I am not even going to consider those

do most of the commonly used apps work ok with the vga screen such as opera mini, tom tom etc is use theese mainly

I have been using this phone for 3 months now and what can I say, it's a superb phone.
Screen is real nice and sharp, though the white is a bit weak versus a x500, but just slightly.
It's fast enough too, not as fast as qVGA but the buildup is pretty fast and you hardly ever see noticable delays.
The 3G /Hdspa speeds have no problems in Europe, it's just the States because of theit cell towers, the hardware used there isn't 100% compactible, more phones suffor from that and yes I got a source but not at hand.
The camera is real bad, real hard to make decent pics with it but if you shoot at the highest resolution and crop them afterwards you still have a very decent pic, I use it for blogging and stuff.
The ram is another story, 64 mb is really the only major downside, you can set the pagepool to 4mb which solves all problems, but with the currenst firmware there's still some memory leaks, like windows live, navigation, oxios only recovers about half.
Probably it gets fixed in the next official rom as 6.1 has better control over the memory.
Another probably slight downside only few care about are cover/housing cracks, on the back near the middle there are a few, I solved it with a bit of paper between the batery cover and the battery.
About all programs do work well, ironically most of the htc apps don't run or don't run well.
Another thing not all today plugins seem to be vga compatible but the most popular ones are.
Future wise it's ok too, you got the vga screen, hdspa, about everything that can be put into a phone (I'm not taking a mobile tv receiver from the v900 into acount), even wlan which htc recently disabled in most of their pda's, the only thing you don't have is dedicated 3D hardware, but it's just a question of do you need that and when do we see usefull apps for it, personally I don't think for quite some time.
The last downside is probably the e-ten support, no they release patches equally fast, maybe faster than HTC, roms too, but ig you send the phone to them communication can be a bit of a problem, they got to work on that.
There are few custom roms but lately as e-ten grew more and more populair more people are working on it and even wm6.1 has been ported already.
Overall if you ask me this phone is better than htc currently has to offer, they have no candybar pda with a high resolution screen, just the athena and universal which aren't real competitors.
I would personally recommend e-ten to anyone that's fed up with htc, been using pda's for about 10 years now and the last year I've had a x500 and now an e-ten x800, and I don't regret switching over, no htc for me for the next year/twi years at least.

i agree
I perfectly agree with iruja, the eten pda are great. I have a X500+ with vga screen and i love it, and with the sirf star III receiver it's a perfect navigator (not assisted-gps like htc kaiser), it's more sensible and quickly to connet than my car navigator (more).
Mark

well im torn between an x800 and a touch cruise, is the 64mb ram really all that bad, my tytn has 64mb and runs fine

beermonster65 said:
well im torn between an x800 and a touch cruise, is the 64mb ram really all that bad, my tytn has 64mb and runs fine
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I don't have any problems with the 64 meg of RAM. I have tried 4 different versions of GPS software out there and all of them work fine. I just make sure I recover my memory every now and then.
I think the memory issue people have is kind of funny. If you use a M$ product then get used to it. Yes there seems to be memory leaks with the Eten ROMs so far but I am using the wm6.1 ROM that was cooked and it seem to be better.
I think the X800 is a great phone and PDA.

64mb is fine, because of the vga resolution it uses some more, but still it's sufficient.
It seems the leaks are mainly the core, and a few programs.
It has been worse, the first rom was a disaster, but the 402 version is pretty stable, and has a lot less memory leaks.
I wouldn't worry about them to much, but if you're a hardcore user you may encounter them sometime, but remember, the worst thing that could happen to you is just a softreset, that's all, which I haven't needed in 3 months due to memory problems.

I second that
iruja said:
I have been using this phone for 3 months now and what can I say, it's a superb phone.
Screen is real nice and sharp, though the white is a bit weak versus a x500, but just slightly.
It's fast enough too, not as fast as qVGA but the buildup is pretty fast and you hardly ever see noticable delays.
The 3G /Hdspa speeds have no problems in Europe, it's just the States because of theit cell towers, the hardware used there isn't 100% compactible, more phones suffor from that and yes I got a source but not at hand.
The camera is real bad, real hard to make decent pics with it but if you shoot at the highest resolution and crop them afterwards you still have a very decent pic, I use it for blogging and stuff.
The ram is another story, 64 mb is really the only major downside, you can set the pagepool to 4mb which solves all problems, but with the currenst firmware there's still some memory leaks, like windows live, navigation, oxios only recovers about half.
Probably it gets fixed in the next official rom as 6.1 has better control over the memory.
Another probably slight downside only few care about are cover/housing cracks, on the back near the middle there are a few, I solved it with a bit of paper between the batery cover and the battery.
About all programs do work well, ironically most of the htc apps don't run or don't run well.
Another thing not all today plugins seem to be vga compatible but the most popular ones are.
Future wise it's ok too, you got the vga screen, hdspa, about everything that can be put into a phone (I'm not taking a mobile tv receiver from the v900 into acount), even wlan which htc recently disabled in most of their pda's, the only thing you don't have is dedicated 3D hardware, but it's just a question of do you need that and when do we see usefull apps for it, personally I don't think for quite some time.
The last downside is probably the e-ten support, no they release patches equally fast, maybe faster than HTC, roms too, but ig you send the phone to them communication can be a bit of a problem, they got to work on that.
There are few custom roms but lately as e-ten grew more and more populair more people are working on it and even wm6.1 has been ported already.
Overall if you ask me this phone is better than htc currently has to offer, they have no candybar pda with a high resolution screen, just the athena and universal which aren't real competitors.
I would personally recommend e-ten to anyone that's fed up with htc, been using pda's for about 10 years now and the last year I've had a x500 and now an e-ten x800, and I don't regret switching over, no htc for me for the next year/twi years at least.
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Considering Orbit 2...a few questions

I currently have a Blue Angel and I'm considering upgrading to an Orbit 2.
How would the performance compare between the 2? They're both 400MHz, but I just wondered how the Qualcomm is compared to the XScale?
Apart from the video driver issue, are there any other problems with it? I'd mainly be usig it for a phone, and running Tomtom.
Thanks!

Seriously... Don't bother!

LOL...it's that bad?
Can you explain why?

You will miss your qwerty. I don't know your Blue Angel, But my TC (i think all PocketPCs) has a delay when somebody calls you. Your phone will ring/vibrate after the one who calls you hears the first ring. So if somebody just gives you a call with one ring (bip) you won't hear it! Is it the same in your case, or mine is special? Maybe somebody else with TC can confirm/infirm this...

Yea, mine sort of have that sort of dealy.
I don't use my QWERTY keyboard anyway so that's not a problem.

the_scotsman said:
LOL...it's that bad?
Can you explain why?
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Just everything about it...
The build quality is terrible. Feels like a new hobbyist threw it together in 5 mins.
It seriously underperforms compared to my Old SE P990i and older XDA's
The modifications o2 have made to the software are rubbish.
I'm miffed I didn't hold out for the SE X1i

^ In your opinion, yes its not perfect, the screen is less than ideal but the build quality is great I think. Much better than my old SE P series phone which used to creak whenever squeezed etc and the flush screen is better than orbit 1
But I would hold out for the Diamond

I want the built in GPS, and the Diamond prices ae too much for what it is...
Any other decent HTCs with built in GPS?

the_scotsman said:
I currently have a Blue Angel and I'm considering upgrading to an Orbit 2.
How would the performance compare between the 2? They're both 400MHz, but I just wondered how the Qualcomm is compared to the XScale?
Apart from the video driver issue, are there any other problems with it? I'd mainly be usig it for a phone, and running Tomtom.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've just switched from a Hermes/Tytn to the Orbit2. HardSPL'd it and installed the WM6.1 that's been floating about here and installed TomTom.
Losing the keyboard is a bit annoying (on screen is usable, but nowhere near as good) - but I realized I very rarely typed anything and smaller sized massively outweighs it.
GPS works very well - especially as Quick GPS which really does work.
Downsides:
Lost keyboard.
Upsides:
GPS - now just not having to lug around and charge my BT GPS module, but now much faster and lets me do all manner of stuff (geo-tag photos with a reg tweak), GPS trackers allowing me to see where I've been in google maps blah blah.
Much better camera - not so much the 2M -> 3M change - but AUTOFOCUS.
SMALLER - now it's not a small phone, but it's not an f'in brick like the last one.
No real difference noticed between the processors. Latest 6.1 I put on my Hermes made it lovely and snappy - and performs exactly the same on the Polaris. Only reservation I've got with the polaris is the screen res (i.e. same old rubbish). Not entirely convinced Hi-res WM is much better though after playign with colleagues PDAs - I've got an ipod touch and THAT is what i'd want somehow wedged into my phone..
In summary, if you want a phone now, I'd definitely get the XDA. If you can wait maybe see how Diamond and 3G iPhone stack up.
#edit - and build quality on my XDA (at least) is perfect. Nice solid feeling thing, love the slightly rubberized case.

Thanks very much for your opinion...I think I might just go with the Orbit 2 after all...a VGA screen would be nice, but I'm happy enough to have the standard one...and it's a little smaller than my BLue Angel so that's always a benefit.

Seriously this is an outstanding device. Software is software and any issues can 99% of the time be sorted with it and normally are, especially when you browse around these forums. Also bare in mind that all these devices now use windows mobile so I don't understand why someone would fault the Orbit 2 over another windows mobile device because of the software it comes with.....anyway the hardware itself is exceptional, I've posted a mini review if you look through my post history and there's plenty of in-depth reviews out there.
Losing the keyboard is a good thing in my opinion. A keyboard isn't necessary, its just as easy (if not easier) to use the software input (my personal preference is a T9 style pad that learns words and is very quick to use with just one hand like a normal phone) and obviously you save on weight and bulk.
The Orbit 2 looks great, is extremely responsive and comfortable to use and in my opinion is the best windows mobile device availible at this time.
Quick edit! - regarding the SW, the rom that the O2 Orbit 2 comes with is actually fine anyway, i've never encountered any issues with it - it would be nice to have the threaded SMS that 6.1 has but aside from that its fine and works great. Cheers!

SOunds like you're pretty damn happy with it then
So the 200MHz processor isn't an issue? Still responds well? Thing like TOmtom run well?

The Orbit 2 has a 400MHz CPU, it was the original Orbit that had 200 -it also has twice the amount of memory. TomTom was perfectly useable on the original Orbit but it noticeably runs smoother on the Orbit 2 - The Orbit 2 is a lot better at managing multiple tasks at the same time.
I was in two minds before upgrading becasue I had the original Orbit and wasn't sure if I'd get my money's worth. I was going to send it back if I wasn't happy with it. I'm more than happy with it though as you can tell! its a great device. You've always got that 14 day cooling period with O2 anyway so you may as well give it a go for yourself.

doh...you're right...I was thinking of the original Orbit.
No 14 day cooling off for me..I'm in Australia so the only way to get at a decent price is eBay.
I think I've been convinced to get the Orbit 2...just a pity it doesn't have VGA...and the diamond will probably be a fair amount more than the Orbit 2

Actually a the Diamond will be cheaper then the Polaris/Orbit2... But my oppinion is that the VGA is too much on a 2.8" screen...

The Orbit 2 is a damn good toy... after tuning the cache and graphic settings..speed was even better than before..
also gps works great...a lot of stuff in a small little case...

I am also happy with my orbit 2, copilot in mo is better then tomtom i have both installed.
I like golive's interface and extra settings plus the website for tracking is a good feature.
The Software available is none stop from here and other sources, unlike the iphone i had that you could only load decentish software if you hacked it..
a couple of minor gripes, the screen is a little shiny for sunny day use and the camera could be alot better.
apart from that i am very happy with it, let hops the diamond touch flo 3d becomes available then that will make this device look great.
the hsdpa speed is great when in the right areas, 50k download speed from my laptop...
the gps seems acurate enough, fast on a warm start as well.
its performance could be a little better but overall its very good.
I would install opera mini as i have found this much better then ie and opera mobile for day to day use.
as for the missing keyboard, try touchpal or the diamond keyboards, also make sure you adjust the sensivity of the screen do a search on here, i think the keyboard is great been software as you can load loads of different types and type quicker with the stylus on some over a flip out keyboard.
the flip out keyboard types can be a little thicker as well you cannot replace or remap keys like a software keyboard so there are plus's and minus's to both concepts...
if you type alot then get a bluetooth keyboard, or a laptop.....
i don't think you will b unhappy with your purchase...

Actually imho any HTC device when just introduced will very rarely be upto my expectation and initially i am always dissapointed,for the first few days,its just a matter of customizing(a heart felt thanks to this forum for teaching us how too) to our personal choice and then i just can't seem to live without them.When i took the Cruise i returned it the next day,very dissapointed with the handset,nothing it could do(and in the factory state it could'nt domuch)was enough,I thought that my Kaiser was far better,then after going through the Cruise forum went and picked it up again,customized it and now wonder how did I ever think negatively abbout this handset,I just love it the feel of it in my hand and also the perfomance,ended up keeping both the Kaiser and Cruise without regrets.

ETEN Glofiish X800 vs TyTNII?

Hello guys...
After some technical problems with my Kaiser (now in service), and after realizing that I don't really use the hardware keyboard all that much (a major criterion when I chose Kaiser), I was thinking of trading it for the ETEN Glofiish X800. I'm tempted by the 500MHz processor and the brilliant VGA screen, however are there any opinions on how well it fares in other issues? GPS, overall speed etc?
Thanks in advance,
t

if you don't want a keyboard anymore, you should maybe also consider the HTC Touch Diamond...very small and light, nice vga screen, gps, 4GB internal memory, etc.

Hmmm you could be right, I didn't think of that. Its processor is running @ 400MHz instead of 500, though, and a full €100/$160 more than the X800, so I'm not sure how it compares. One big plus is the wealth of custom ROMs lying around - haven't seen anything for the ETEN device...
Thanks for the advice

btw, don't forget to consider the iPhone 3G too...maybe not so interessting if you have a lot of windows mobile specific applications...but for normal use like mail, phone, calendar, etc it can be interessting.
anyway, before buying any new device, I can advice everyone to wait like a month or two, untill the iPhone 3G gets available everywhere. I hope the prices of many other windows mobile devices will drop after the 3G introduction.
the diamond and 3g are very comparable device, still the diamond costs 500euro and the 3g will be something like 300euro (without contract) in Belgium. so i expect htc will have to drop theire prices to concurrent with apple.

Ah no, not interested in iPhones! Not only do I need the Windows functionality indeed, but I have developed a certain anti-anti-establishment feeling against it, I just hate how 'hip' it has become
Still competition is good nonetheless. Now, I wonder, why on earth hasn't the TyTNII come down since its launch, at least in Greece? Still going for €800!

i too still prefer windows mobile because of some applications I couldn't live without...but after playing for a while with an iPhone I was really impressed with its responsiveness and stability. It couldn't nearly do as much as what I can do with my windows mobile device, but the things that the iPhone could do were working very well, very smooth. And that's something I can't say from my pocket pc. But anyway, I already got used to the many crashes and softreset that it now doesn't really bother me anymore

So have I, have used Windows for so long I'm all too used to it The firts major disadvantage of the iPhone would be the GPS functionality - what would I do without my iGo?
So, anyone with an idea about the ETEN vs HTC?

eten FTW! i just wished it had a BIGGER vga screen like the iphone! but the gps sirf III kills that iphone AGPS for sure! plus i hate mac stuff!
just wished our x800 had more internal RAM! 64 is not enuff!

I had an X800 before I got my Touch Cruise and I have to say, the only thing better than the TC is the VGA screen, other than that, it kept developing a Micro SD problem where the locking mechanism would break and the SD card wouldn't lock in place (I had one replacement unit, and an attempted repair, and it seems other people have had the same problem) It is also significantly slower than my TC (when you press a menu option in TomTom, you can see the menu layers change it is that slow!). Couple that with the recessed screen so it's almost impossible to press the x button without using the stylus, and I'm much happier with the touch cruise than the X800. I won't buy another E-Ten device as they seem to have very poor after sales service, and almost non-existent support for European users!

Could you suggest a device for me?

I have been using a TyTN/Hermes with WM6 for a year now. As my warranty is ending, I'm thinking about switching to another device and letting this one on eBay while it's in good condition.
I liked the TyTN but if I have to cope with a slide out keyboard I'd rather have no keyboard at all. I'd love to have a frontal keyboard for quickly typing stuff (something I loved on my Treo 650), but no keyboard is fine, too.
I do a lot of web browsing using Opera 8.65 and 9.5 and my TyTN is a bit slow so I'm looking for a device with more RAM than this one.
Here's some stuff I need:
-Wi-Fi
-Frontal keyboard or no keyboard (no sliding mechanism)
-128mb of RAM for Opera
And some stuff I'd like:
-GPS
-VGA
As for data speeds, I don't care. Same goes for bluetooth and battery life.
My current interests are the upcoming Treo Pro (probably too expensive) and the HTC Touch Enhanced but I don't really know what's on the market right now. The Treo 750 was perfect except it has no Wi-Fi and I don't pay for data right now.
I'd like something I could get for under 250$ on eBay, if possible.

i was gonna say the diamond till i saw the price range.... i would have to say that the htc touch is my recommendation, but no wifi in CDMA, and less memory with GSM but with wifi

Well, if you want a fast, I mean fast, device, get the Touch. Will do everything you need, except it has no WiFi and is QVGA. Judging by what you want, you'll have to cope with something your not looking for.

You might actually want to look at some smartphones. The s740 is HTC newest one, based on diamond design scheme, 256mb ram is totally monster (and maybe even overkill) and has dual keyboards.
no other smartphones from HTC seem to match your specifications, and the s740 definitely wont meet your price range. Actually, very few phones do, unless they're carrier-subsidized, which may be a better option than ebay.

if you have alot of money, id say get a samsung omnia

I like the touch for the price, but if I have to go for higher prices, I will ask for GPS, frontal keyboard and horribly fast hardware.
The Treo Pro might be just that, but it's not out yet...
EDIT: The Rogers HTC Touch has Wi-Fi, 256mb of ROM and 128mb of RAM, suits me pretty well and I'm still trying to get one on eBay. They are almost getting rare! There's the Asus Galaxy too but they are nowhere to be found.
EDIT2: If I can find the Touch, I'll go for it, but did anyone switch from a TyTN to a Touch Enhanced?
EDIT3: Little did I know about the existence of the Touch Cruise!