Related
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READ WARNING AT FOOT OF MSG
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Hi,
Does anyone else have this phone? I took the gamble after reading a lot of reviews about the g-Smart range, mostly negative, and upgraded to this from the MDA Pro/HTC Uni.
I have had only two glitches with it todate, and neither serious, was wondering if anyone else had this handset and what their views are.
If anyone has got the handset, and from the London/Essex/Kent areas of the UK if they can post the settings that they have for the TV tuners, it would be GREATLY appricated.
Also does anyone know of any themes or add-ons designed for this device?
All in all, I'm glad I ordered the 128Mb version from Thai instead of getting the 64Mb version available to the UK, if anyone is thinking about this phone, I truely recommend it!
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WARNING - WARNING - WARNING - WARNING - WARNING - WARNING
PLEASE ENSURE THAT IF YOU ALTER THE ROM IMAGE OF YOUR GIGABYTE HANDSET THAT YOU USE THE CORRECT VERSION FOR YOUR DEVICE. IE. UPDATING THE G-SMART I (64M VERSION) WITH A ROM IMAGE FOR THE G-SMART I128 *WILL* BRICK YOUR PHONE.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
WARNING - WARNING - WARNING - WARNING - WARNING - WARNING
I am also looking for the same..can u post more info as how is the speed, Visibility and especially the TV TUner..and if possible post some screen shorts..
yes more info and pics plz,wot are the pros and cons?
jaceuk said:
yes more info and pics plz,wot are the pros and cons?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Screen shots I can work on, but not able to get them at the mo as Mrs has the camera, but as soon as she's back, no problem...
These are compatible with PAL and NTSC, but not the french system SECAM (or something like that). The picture quality varies from area to area, I've had not that good picture at home in Kent area, but in London it's blinding, then visited someone else in Kent and great aswell.... if you can get a portable TV working, you'll get this working! You don't have to use the aerial thing if you're not keen, the headphones have an aerial built into them aswell...
If you are interested please DONT bid on any of the ones on eBay for ~100, they are ALL cons, if you look at the feedback, they are all from (0) feedbackers, no-longer members, and is a scam to get your dosh.
The only seller I've found that I would recommend is the one that I got it from in Thailand called Gadget-Gear, if you do a search for that name you will see he has stock of the 64Mb and 128Mb version.
The 128Mb version is the one to go for, it is expensive about US$830 including postage, but when you think of the prices of new HTC devices... not that much...
The 64Mb is available to purchase from www.expansys.co.uk, but I wouldn't get this version, as there's a lot less RAM and the glitches aren't fixed.
With the 128Mb version you get the aerial, a spare battery, desktop battery charger, and case all bundled with it, these are bits that are optional extras with the 64Mb one.
There are several great features that this phone has that my HTC uni doesn't, following are the pro's/con's compared to that, but all in all I think it's a GREAT phone.
PRO - Answer phone facility - which allows screening, you can hear the messages live as they are leaving it. Messages are stored on the phone, saving network costs.
PRO - Size & Weight - small handheld, and light.
PRO - Mapping of the hardware buttons - with the Uni you could map the Record button to do something different if you held it... with the G-Smart you can do this with all eight main buttons.
PRO - You get the super high capacity battery as well as the standard one, so you can choose slim phone, or long lasting power.
PRO - Phone recording - when set up, press the camera button during the call, and the call will be recorded and saved to the phone. Handy to prove what was said - (but remember to notify the person first,,, may be illegal otherwise... blah blah)
PRO - Background effects - out on the beer with mates? Told the Mrs that your at work... activate the overdub and she'll here the sounds of the office, the street, the station, airport etc in the background of the call...
PRO - 2.1 megapixel camera.
PRO - Pocket Ghost is preinstalled and great to backup/restore!
CON - no hardware keyboard,, but get TenGo Thumb... and who cares?!
CON - Mini-SD and none provided, but you can pick up a 1Gb one like I did from eBay for under a tenner including postage... great stuff.
All in all as I say, I've had one real problem, but it was my own fault, put a tweak that wasn't compatible on the phone, and crashed it, but hard reset and hey presto!
I've heard the customer service isn't that good from GB but I've not needed to use it, I tend to rely on forums like these to speak to real experts anyway... but the problem I had I got in touch with Gadget-Gear as first thought it was down to the phone and he was incredibly helpful.
As far as the phone, the build quality, the case and extras supplied...Gigabyte, you've done a great job.
Here are some pictures of my pride and joy...
I've put it next to a Sony Ericsson Z520i, so you can judge size etc, don't have any other phone at the mo.
hdubli said:
I am also looking for the same..can u post more info as how is the speed, Visibility and especially the TV TUner..and if possible post some screen shorts..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Speed. fantastic, no issues with it at all, runs a lot smoother than my Uni ever did, got LOT more free space!, lot more memory for applications to run.
Visibility, the screen is a lot more sharper than my uni, and my mates O2 Mini, can't think of the HTC model of that one...
TV, as I've said, it's as good as the signal you have available, I've had crystal clear pictures in UK with PAL-i though. :-D
This is where I got mine from...
Great seller...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-GIGABYTE-...ryZ64355QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
There's a favorable review of this phone on a Thai website http://www.mrpalm.com/getcontent3.php?tid=389 My wife, who happens to be Thai, translated it for me & it echoes most of what jmdrizen says.
I'm looking to buy either the O2 Atom Exec or Gigabyte g-smart i128 mainly because I want a smaller pda phone. Not too fussed about a hardware keyboard as I'd rarely use it. Also camera quality isn't important for me either.
I want the phone to be fast because I use it primarily for GPS, Skype, watching the odd video & a bit of internet surfing.
jmdrizen I have a few question if poss
1/ Mr Palm says that the screen is a bit 'yellow' is it really bad?
2/ He also says that the speaker is very loud & clear, best of all the pda phones he's tried so far. I notice that speaker is on the back of the phone so when its on a table with the screen naturally facing up is the sound muffled & low or is it still loud enough to be heard acroos the room?
3/ Have you tried it with GPS or Skype - how does it handle these programs.
4/ How long did it take to arrive & did you get stung by customs. My wife is going to Thailand @ Xmas time but I can't wait that long..
Thanks
zen123 said:
jmdrizen I have a few question if poss
1/ Mr Palm says that the screen is a bit 'yellow' is it really bad?
2/ He also says that the speaker is very loud & clear, best of all the pda phones he's tried so far. I notice that speaker is on the back of the phone so when its on a table with the screen naturally facing up is the sound muffled & low or is it still loud enough to be heard acroos the room?
3/ Have you tried it with GPS or Skype - how does it handle these programs.
4/ How long did it take to arrive & did you get stung by customs. My wife is going to Thailand @ Xmas time but I can't wait that long..
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To answer those:
1) Not noticed this, if anything I think the screen is sharper and clearer, I've compared it to the HTC Uni, O2 Mini, and Sony Ericsson W800i, and myself and my colleagues rate the Gigabyte g-Smart i128 as the better screen. Once every now and again - and extremly rarely - the screen shows a few dots like you get when your TV signal loses for a second, but that's it, and it is VERY rare.
2) The speaker is great, it is louder than that of the HTC Uni, but then that doesn't take much! You're right that it's on the back, but the camera lens sticks out about 1-2mm which means the speaker won't be flat on the table if you lay it flat, I've not noticed any problems with the audio, loud, crisp and clear. Great for when I'm in the car and got the TomTom going...
3) I use TomTom Navigator 5.21, which runs like a dream, fast, and pairs with the TomTom Bluetooth without any errors or problems, first time and everytime.
I've not used Skype much, don't know anyone with a Skype contact, but this comes preloaded with SkypePLUS which has extra settings and features to the normal Skype.
4) I had a slight snag with the delivery, Gadget-Gear stated it would take 7-14 days from Thailand to UK, which is acceptable, he posted it with Thailand Post, and gave a tracking number, about 5 days into it I got impatient, and emailed him discovering that for some reason it was posted back, but Gadget-Gear was already on the case, and posted it FedEx Express to me, all in all it was in my hand 7 days after I paid for it. Fantastic - I have nothing but praise for Gadget-Gear, the manual is in Thai, but you can download a copy of this, which I can't post at the moment, but will try again later... but the phone is English OS ROM, and he chucked in a UK adapter aswell.
I ended up purchasing a UK plug and Car adaptor, which are available from expansys.
Hope this helps!!
Oh and more importantly, I forgot... call quality - FANTASTIC! Clear and loud.
ALSO, another great thing about this phone is the Bluetooth Headset software, once the headset is paired, it will use that as the speaker if you like, so you can have TomTom or whatever audio you have going threw your headset. It has Voice Commander, not the cut down Voice Dialer, so is a lot better for voice commands.
zen123 said:
There's a favorable review of this phone on a Thai website http://www.mrpalm.com/getcontent3.php?tid=389 My wife, who happens to be Thai, translated it for me & it echoes most of what jmdrizen says.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also, Zen, the phone they're reviewing in that site is the g-Smart i, I've got the g-Smart i128. It's even better than the site says, as it's got a few glitches sorted out, and the RAM helps,
Memory Details of mine are:
Storage: Total 117.29Mb, In Use 62.67Mb, Free 54.62Mb
Program: Total 50.32Mb, In Use 37.81Mb, Free 12.51Mb,
Don't let the only 12.5 free program memory fool you though, it runs a lot faster than my Uni did with double that! And this doesn't have the 520 processor either!
Thanks for the reply.
As I said I'm also looking at the O2 Atom Exec, heard good things about that as well. I was an early adopter & bought the original O2 Atom but that was a piece of [email protected] so I'm a bit skeptical about the new version.
The only thing I'm not too keen on re the i128 is the covers for the power outlet & non standard headphone socket.
I'm using the company Mio A701 at the moment & seriously miss the built in wifi of my lost HTC Wizard, although the built in GPS is great. There's too many deficiencies with the phone part of the Mio to make it a keeper.
I read there's a Gigabyte i300 on the way which has gps & wifi so I might even wait for that.
Anyways thanks for the reply & enjoy your new toy.
Very useful information...I just want to know the display font visibility as compared to say Magician or Prohet or Atom...do we need to stress too much our eyes...
zen123 said:
The only thing I'm not too keen on re the i128 is the covers for the power outlet & non standard headphone socket.
I read there's a Gigabyte i300 on the way which has gps & wifi so I might even wait for that.quote]
The non-standard headphone sockets not really an issue, as the i128 also comes with a converter to take your 2.5 connections
Where's the review on the i300?
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hdubli said:
Very useful information...I just want to know the display font visibility as compared to say Magician or Prohet or Atom...do we need to stress too much our eyes...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've not got one of those three devices to compare, but it the screen is sharper than the Uni, you can have cleartype, but I prefer it without.
jmdrizen said:
The non-standard headphone sockets not really an issue, as the i128 also comes with a converter to take your 2.5 connections
Where's the review on the i300?
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now that's cool. You are slowly twisting my arm.
The i300 isn't released yet.
Some more questions
1/ does the i128 have stereo over bluetooth
2/ can it be set up so that when the device goes to standby the screen is locked & can be woken by any of the buttons. When woken the screen remains locked. My Mio can do this but not the Wizard .
3/ I have TTN5 aswell what's the signal acquisition times? Is there any lag? What cradle do you use? I have a Brodit pro clip but they don't make a cradle for it yet.
I was thinking how cool it would be have the tv function on when stuck in a traffic jam it'd make time pass quicker.
zen123 said:
Some more questions
1/ does the i128 have stereo over bluetooth
2/ can it be set up so that when the device goes to standby the screen is locked & can be woken by any of the buttons. When woken the screen remains locked. My Mio can do this but not the Wizard .
3/ I have TTN5 aswell what's the signal acquisition times? Is there any lag? What cradle do you use? I have a Brodit pro clip but they don't make a cradle for it yet.
I was thinking how cool it would be have the tv function on when stuck in a traffic jam it'd make time pass quicker.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1/ I'm not too sure about this, I've read that it does from a review, but haven't got a stereo bluetooth handset to test it. Does have the latest ROM features that everyone was after with the Uni, so *think* it does.
2/ I have mine set up to go into standby with PsShutXP, by launching it by pressing and holding the Call History button, you can have it so any button wakes, but I have it so only the power button does to avoid unwanted re-activation. It is also set up to lock on resume from standby, and initial activation, so yes.
3/ It connects to my genuine TomTom MkII bluetooth in seconds, as soon as the device has a signal, my phone's received it, no noticable lag.
The only thing I'm after for it is a propper car holder, and case, the case that comes with it is a great pouch, but I want something that I can access all the ports, and use without having to take it out. If you or anyone knows of anything... that'll be great!
Gigabyte g-Smart i300
Found the details about the i300, it does look a great phone, but doesn't have the TV, only the FM Radio.
Think I'd rather have the TV feature than the GPS, as TomTom MkII is fine for me!
jmdrizen
Hi how you getting on with the g-smart?
I just got a Orange SPV M3100. Great phone but wayy too buggy. I just sent it back to Orange & canceled the contract (14 day return). I'm still very interested in the G-smart.
My main concern is reliability. I don't want something thats unstable.
B prepared for 192 MB ROM Version..it will b there in a month's time...
Anyone know UK TV Frequencies???
hdubli said:
B prepared for 192 MB ROM Version..it will b there in a month's time...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 192Mb version doesn't have the same features though I don't think.
And I'm more than happy with the phone, there were two small glitches, but think it was due to imcompatibility with third party software, as I've removed it, and they havent occured since.
The only thing that I'm after, I don't know if any one in the UK can help is the TV frequencies for the main five channels? The scan scans from 1-453, but this takes a while, you can scan small regions for the five channels, can anyone point me in the direction of where to find a narrower range for BBC1/2, ITV, C4 and C5?
Before i bought my o2 Orbit 2 = HTC Cruise, I only just picked up the information about a similar product (the Kaiser/TYTN II) over this page as well as the references of the good quality of my old and nice Qtek 8310 and certainly the information offered from HTC's site. But in the act, all the information didn't help me to make a good business.
On this theme i will only describe the 2 things witch really disappoint me of my new device.
- The Loudspeaker, i think that the first component to fulfill a multimedia environment is a good sound, without it, is a multimedia device nothing to speak of.
The Orbit 2/HTC Cruise has a very poor sound, after a compare test between some others standard phones like Sony Ericsson K770i and Nokia 6120 classic and the 6500 classic, the results were disappointing. The tone supplied from my device was bad and noisy compared with the tone of the other devices in particularly by high volume (not max.)
- The camera program, i actually believe that the hardware camera is a good component but the control program (Camera for Pocket ver 5.04) is pretty slow and address the camera with a short time delay, only enough by turning the phone quickly from right and left and vice versa to see the slow reaction time of the application. I did the same with the other phones (Nokia, Sony-E) and the results were better, but i must say that the picture quality of the Orbit was in general quite better.
Well, actually I really like my device, but I didn't exceed my expectations at all. I hope you did.
HTC should work better to improve their devices.
Due some people are still thinking to buy an O2 Orbit 2, i just can say, Hands off..!!!! the problems are not only what i wrote above, but some more applications of the phone.
- The Internet Explorer, it crashes the fully functionality of the phone, only a new start removing the battery helps.
- the WLMessenger, it opens only when the O2 is disable by the Network connections. Always cause minor problems.
yes i am mate!
bye
I'm quite happy here with it. Although I'm waiting for the new version of Coreplayer which (supposedly) should be working much faster on the Kaiser and probably Polaris as well (well, the video playback should be much faster, not the program itself ).
As for the sound, well... What is to be expected from a speaker on a phone? When I want better sound I a. plug better speakers on it or b. listen through headphones.
But I'm used to HTC phones now and think the sound isn't too bad compared to the s100, s200, p3300 and Touch I've owned. But then again, I never used the speaker much at all!
What about the camera application....???
I have update this theme to aware some newbies about buying this phone.
Only a freak can say that for 500 Euros is happy with it...!!
Just consider other options.....
Greetings
Metanol
Go for it... the rest will follow
Hi,
I am happy with my Orbit2. I can play my videofiles, navigate and do anything MacGyver would or could do with it. The Camera is a pain in the a.., but that´s already known and so would be fixed some day. But like the speakers a camera in a mobile phone couldn´t be a serious soultion comparing to - let´s say - a Canon or Nikon DSLR.
So I´m satisfied at all.
sl bb
qtek_metanol said:
- The Loudspeaker, i think that the first component to fulfill a multimedia environment is a good sound, without it, is a multimedia device nothing to speak of.
The Orbit 2/HTC Cruise has a very poor sound, after a compare test between some others standard phones like Sony Ericsson K770i and Nokia 6120 classic and the 6500 classic, the results were disappointing. The tone supplied from my device was bad and noisy compared with the tone of the other devices in particularly by high volume (not max.)
- The camera program, i actually believe that the hardware camera is a good component but the control program (Camera for Pocket ver 5.04) is pretty slow and address the camera with a short time delay, only enough by turning the phone quickly from right and left and vice versa to see the slow reaction time of the application. I did the same with the other phones (Nokia, Sony-E) and the results were better, but i must say that the picture quality of the Orbit was in general quite better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. I think that I you need a multimedia phone, with good camera and decent MP3 player...the Cruise is not for you . And with French Rom it's worse. Sound is very low through headset.
- The Internet Explorer, it crashes the fully functionality of the phone, only a new start removing the battery helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use Opera and I never have this kind of problems.
- the WLMessenger, it opens only when the O2 is disable by the Network connections. Always cause minor problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HTC is not guilty. It looks like an Orbit 2 limitation.
Well, actually I really like my device...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So do I
HTC should work better to improve their devices
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. For me, the biggest issue is sound through headset. It's unacceptable.
@+
Given the driver issues and mixed reviews on the forum(speed, camera, scrolling) I was wondering if we could get a sense of overall satisfaction with the device. Would you buy one again, even if there is never a fix for the driver issues?
I would, but definitely not for this kind of money!!
the device is worth every little penny.
It would help if you guys mention what device you came from. It helps to understand what you have been used to in order to gauge your current opinion. For example, if you came directly from a dog-slow KJAM (not OC'ed) and say the TC is fast, then that's good to know.
By far best pocket pc device. Most complete with great form factor. I have owned the following:
Siemens SX56
Siemens SX66
Audiovox p4400
eten G500
xda atom
imate jasjar
htc tytn
htc p3300
htc p3600
htc kaiser
Knowing the driver issue and HTC's stance about it - I would not. Too much money at stake!
By far best pocket pc device. Most complete with great form factor and best phone module. I have owned the following:
SP : typhoon , tornado , startrek , excalibur , cavalier.
pocketpc : magician , wizard , universal , prophet , hermes , trinity , artemis , cheetah , herald , kaiser , niki , and for last polaris.
and non HTC , eten m600 x500 x800 , hp 6815 , asus p525 , and a few of SE and nokia smartphone.
the best pocketpc phone, I'd buy it again a hundred times!!!
i switched back to a P3600/Trinity.
if i would't consider to play games via nes/snes/gba emulators, i probably wouldn't sell the polaris...
next device will be the eten v900 or samsung i900 (vga+dvb-t VS 5mpx-cam+8gb internal memory) ... difficult decision..
bjrmd said:
Given the driver issues and mixed reviews on the forum(speed, camera, scrolling) I was wondering if we could get a sense of overall satisfaction with the device. Would you buy one again, even if there is never a fix for the driver issues?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I need another PDA, Yes.
If I need a pocketable video player or play games, I'd buy a PSP.
If I need a good picture quality, I'd buy a digital camera.
That mean's the answer is Yes I am happy and I will buy again if I need to! but never on the same price!
definately would buy it again, it does combine most features one needs in a PDA/Phone
(which dont include.... Camera and Video player) if one needs to watch a video on the go a laptop is still the best bet... who wants to watch mini video?
they should have left the secondary camera out all together (or installed a flash)
some of us work, so the usefullness of watching video in perfect quality is not a high prio.
this gadget:
gets you where you are going (GPS)
has all necessary ability to handle day to day work tasks (Office Mobile)
can make calls (phone)
and has the benefits of all of the 3rd party apps out there for it (anything else you need)
Totally agree with ‘xrrkrrkx’, I’ve had all sorts of PDAs from the Psion and Casio days, through Ipaq onto K-Jam, the T-Mob’s MDA’s...
The Polaris is a useful tool first and a toy second for me so some video lag (which hardly bothers me anyway) is acceptable due to all the other top features + its form factor make this a must for me and I’d pay up again to get one.
Having come over from the Kaiser thread it's incredible to for me to see all the negative comments about the Polaris which basically has the same (if not better) performance as the Kaiser, but without the weight! For me it's the best all round device I've ever used and I think my Kaiser will be up for sale....
Remember that in almost any forum for hardware,
most posters do only write when they are unhappy about something.
Almost no one write any message just because they are happy with there phone.
Try count the negative weight of messages against sold phones.
I came from HTC 4350 to this one, its the best phone I ever owned,
and so I said about 4350 also. But it is !!
Before HTC I used all kinds of Nokia.
I use Push mail from work to the phone, 15 mails each day that I read,
I'll give IT support over the phone to 1500 people, 10-15 each day.
I use blue tooth over my car stereo back and forth to work,
else I'll use my Blue tooth headset 8 hours a day.
Sometimes I even use tomtom when going to another of our departments.
I never switch off the phone completely, but recharge it once every
second day or even sometimes only every third day.
I simply do not understand those who are unhappy with battery lifetime.
But I do never see any video on it, why would I do that?
Well, this is no doubt the best phone I ever had. I'll buy it again.
Having come from the Dopod U1000 (Athena) to the Cruise is a positive, mainly due to they size. The fact that the Cruise can do everything that the Athena could do is impressive, considering it is less than half the size and weight and is more useful as a primary phone. I still miss the VGA display and often carry the Athena with me on travel to use as an internet tablet and yes, as an A/V player. The 5" VGA is so much easier on my tires eyes and not having to scroll so much on web pages makes it a no brainer. On the other hand, I bought one of the very first U1000's out at double the price of the Cruise. Both have their place but the Cruise gets my daily use. You can see other devices in my Signature line, not including numerous PDA's prior to the Cell phone era.
I used a MIO A201, which doesn't have a phone, radio or WIFI.
I am impressed with the TC (Polaris).
One of the issues I have is the speed of the MicroSD memory card (8GB class 4) which is slower than my SD memory card (2GB 150x) on my MIO A201 which slows down Tomtom, but this is a memory card issue and not a TC issue.
Great device
I switched from regular phones to the Charmer and was already very happy with it, now it was time to improve my "lifestyle" and get a all in one unit. It was hard to decide if I shall get a Kaiser or a Polaris. Finally the small size and less weight made my decision for the Polaris.
After nearly 2 weeks I just can say it is a great unit, it works without problems (beside the usual WM bugs), I can't complain about battery life as at home I have a pretty weak reception (but better than the Charmer) - I live in a "ray safe" appartement..... As I use it really a lot and always have to play around with it (especially in boring meetings), I have to charge it every day or second day during week, at weekend where I use it less I don't have to charge it.
The speech and connection quality of the radio improved, the GPS has a good reception and works fine.
Some complain about the price: it maybe high but try to get a Nokia N95 cheaper without operator contract, it has more or less the same price as the polaris.
So in summary: a high price unit but worth it!
Sure I would
Before :
SPV C500, SPV C600, Wizard, Trinity, TyTN, Artemis, Kaiser, and now Polaris.
I don't regret it. My top 3 is :
1- Polaris/Kaiser (it rocks !)
2- Artemis, it rocked as well.
I would absolutely buy TC again.
Although I understand the complaint that many people have with the video driver issue, for me, it does not distract too much from the device, as I do not use it as a primary video device.
The times that I do watch videos or clips etc.., I find the video good enough for my needs (but not excellent). I think that if one is buying a device ONLY as a phone and multimedia device, it is really quite difficult to presently beat the iPhone.
Over the years I have used PPC/WM devices, I find the TC excellent as a pda ( I cannot say 100% excellent because of the afforementioned video driver issue).
The phone portion is also really good - the best voice clarity and signal that I have had.
Previously:
PDAS: Compaq iPaq 3650
HP iPaq 5450
phones: various samsung and motorolas
PDA/Phones: Samsung SCH-i730 (which was really good in its day for PPC2003SE, but really sucked with WM5)
That's just my 2cents for what its worth.
T
Well, I have had my TC now for about a week and I absolutely love it. It is everything I expected it to be and I think I was needlessly worrying about performance. Of course, the TC will be that much better with the proper graphics drivers, but the way it is now has surpassed my expectations. It is actually the first WM phone in a long time that I think is "fun" to use.
Check out my review here: http://mobilitytoday.com/articles/htc_touchcruise_impressions.html
Hello all:
I've been trying to do my homework dilligently to decide whether I buy a x7510 or not. To me, the lack of vibrate is a showstopper.
However, in one review posted on pocketpcthoughts.com, I read that the vibrate function is enabled when the keyboard is attached.
Is this accurate or not?
What does "keyborad is attached" mean exactly; does it mean "attached" as in "covering the screen", or "attached as in "typing mode"?
Thanks all for any hints here.
That review/opinion is not correct.
The X7510 does not have a phone vibrate function- these are generally built into the battery pack or on the motherboard.
The keyboard 'vibrate' feature refers to the 'haptic feedback' enabled on the X7510's hardware keyboard, which gives a small vibration and sound 'pulse' when any key is pressed, as the keys have no physical travel.
Thank you very much for the clarification !
It's still a good device!
Yes, I am sure it is a great device.
I am somewhat concerned though since I've used vibrate functions forever, and if I were to go with the X7510, I'd like to use it as a phone as well (with BT headset, something I've used for what it seems forever as well .
I have read about some workarounds (like recording a vibrating phone and use it as a ringtone), so I am still thinking about it. But the review at pocketpcthoughts threw me off a bit; I am glad you clarified.
My problem is that I am absolutely against ringing phones; they are so disruptive :-(
Do you use it as a phone? Do you have another workaround?
Thanks again...
IMHO
The xda universal is still the best pda on the market. I would never recommend purchasing this device (x7510). The phone features is 'average' at best.
Just me 2 cents
orinoco said:
Do you use it as a phone? Do you have another workaround?
Thanks again...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The short answer is no- I don't use it as a phone unless in emergencies. I use mine mainly as a reference, research and media device, and my Diamond as my primary phone.
When I do use it as a phone, I use it with a BT headset. My Plantronics earpiece does have a 'beep' or 'vibrate' function so I simply have the ringer sound on the X7510 muted.
@youmeus: Granted, the XDA Exec/ HTC Universal was good in its day, but is very long in the tooth now. The processor and memory are both low and the GPS and 3G performance was pretty poor.
OK, it wasn't such a brick as a phone, but you do look a bit of a wally holding it to your ear, so it still really needs a BT headset. I used mine for a few months before changing to a Wizard/ XDA MiniS.
It's all in the eye of the beholder though
What do you need from the CD?
There's nothing on there that can't be downloaded from Microsoft .
to orinoco :- use the phone recorded vibrating buzz sound as advised by steve eagle post , it works pretty good , you can hear it for sure but u will feel the sound a bit if u are touching your device - only a bit though , dont expect the same as ordinary phone vibration .
to neilm :- yes u r right - it's a damn great device
to youmeus :- u r dead wrong , no way in this world this device will lose to your xda universal , x7510 of athena family is the king of pda , period ...
and please go back to your universal forum
thanks for reading , cheers to all athena owners - jimmunsw
My View
Hi Guys
I have a Universal and an Ameo (Athena) and using them both I would have to say that the ONLY place the Universal wins, is as a phone and its great keyboard. Dont get me wrong, the universal as a 4-5 year old phone is superb and some of the uni roms are as good as stock. It will do most of what you ask, but it lacks up to date hardware. The Athena as a laptop type replacement is exactly what it was made for, the phone is like a secondary item. HOWEVER if you use a styleI as a blue tooth addon the problem is gone If you switch the sound off then the styleI has a very quiet discreet ring. you answer the phone as you would a normal phone and the Athena stays in its case. I still look a bit of a prat using the Uni as a phone coz it is BIG, the Athena is only 15mm wider thats all. I only have both now coz the Uni is only making small bucks now, and you know how it is when its sitting on the shelf looking at you saying use me
Jay
Hi Jay- good to see you over here
I agree with your comments- the Ameo with BT headset is a good combination . Will you be getting an Ameo 16GB/X7510 then?
NeilM said:
Hi Jay- good to see you over here
I agree with your comments- the Ameo with BT headset is a good combination . Will you be getting an Ameo 16GB/X7510 then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its all about cost against what extra enhancements you get, so yes I would love to but the cost at the moment is a put off. apart from the extra 8gb, what would you say is better than the Ameo?
P.S dont tell the X7500 guys, I may get banned, talking to the X7510 lot and admitting to owning a Uni
Regards
Jay
responderman said:
P.S dont tell the X7500 guys, I may get banned, talking to the X7510 lot and admitting to owning a Uni
Regards
Jay
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We all have our little secrets
TBH if I hadn't got an X7510 (XDA Flint) free from O2, I would probably not consider upgrading from the X7500 apart from the fact that it's newer and less battered
The extra 8GB is nice but not essential for me, and there is always the miniSD for expansion.
In some ways the X7510 is a retrograde step- the lack of a joystick is a total PITA as there is no way to manually navigate some programs without executing a screen click.
The keyboard is a big improvement, but TouchPal is so good that I very rarely use the physical keyboard. The X7500 ROMs by Michy et all are every bit as good as the X7510 ROMs- no surprise I suppose as the hardware is identical in most respects.
I'd second all the good reviews of the XDA Shift (HTC Advantage X7510 with an O2 case). I've had two, yes count them, two XDA Execs (HTC universal with O2 case) because I couldn't find a device which was as universally adaptable as the Exec for several years. (did you see what I did there?)
With the addition of an external bluetooth GPS receiver and a bluetooth headset I had everything I needed. A decent size screen, hardware QWERTY keyboard (which is a must for me as I'm a writer, in fact my last novel was written almost exclusively on the Execs) Sat Nav (via tomtom nav 6) games, phone, browser, media player, and all-round super gadget in a clam shell with tablet mode swivel screen! Then my second Exec broke (from extreme over-use) and I had no option of a replacement as O2 no longer stocked them :-(
Then I discovered the Flint...
It has all of the benefits of the Exec but with more memory, bigger screen, built in GPS, and funky magnetics to boot! Admittedly it has no vibrate function, and O2 de-activate the G-sensor in their ROM (both of which I'm certain are functions that can be re-activated with cooked ROMS -at least I'm sure I've read on this here forum of such things being achieved- am I right?), but the benefits really outweigh these small issues for me.
So as a user who sang the praises of the XDA Exec for several years, I can say that the XDA Flint is a superb progression and excellent replacement device, well worth the £50/month contract to get it free (which includes unlimited data and texts, and 950 mins! -no, I don't work for O2).
(HTC and O2-you can pay me later
Hi Thintin- glad you like your Flint.
The G-sensor thing with O2 is odd. Some examples have a working hardware even with the O2 ROM though it needs G-Sen or similar to activate it. But some examples need a new, cooked ROM to get the G-sensor working and a small number seem to have it physically removed.
As one of a small group of pre-release testers for O2 we had a number of discussions about this- O2's line was that they requested NO G sensor in the hardware build, but HTC only did that with a small number. My 1st one definitely didn't have it, not did it have a working sub display. A replacement had both working with the O2 ROM, though a colleague never got subdisplay working, and another colleague never got the Gsensor working.
O2's Flint ROM is actually pretty good. It's very basic, but all the better for that. However, Michy's Lite WM6.1 is so much better
NeilM said:
...O2's Flint ROM is actually pretty good. It's very basic, but all the better for that. However, Michy's Lite WM6.1 is so much better
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm hoping my device falls into the category of having the g-sensor, my sub-display works fine (I'm assuming this is the display that can be seen through the keyboard's letterbox shaped portal when the device is closed?). Glad to hear that Mitchy's lite ROM is better than the O2 one because I'm planning on flashing it soon.
Great vibrate ringtone
This works like a charm...
Hi all,
I don't know if it's the rigth forum section to write... but...
I had an HTC Wizard (QTek9100) with WM5.0... I use it to call (I synchronize my contact using gmail), write some SMS (very useful the qwert keyboard), play some game, and as navigator by TomTom sw and external GPS.
I would like to change it... and I'm interested (for the price also) to two different HTC phone: Diamond and Tattoo (HTC Click).
The price is about the same (diamond is slightly cheaper).
I think that Diamond is very good (above all for VGA display, but resistive), but I read that it has some battery problem.
Tattoo has more ram, no problem about battery, no limit about storage expansion, but a little resistive display (240x320 I think is the smallest resolution for a Android device).
Android make me curious, but I would like above all a device reliable for my standard operation (so the battery is important also)...
I would like to use it to navigate, but I hasn't a flat mobile connection yet (in my country our company are very slow to follow the people needs )... I hope to get a mobile flat in the next month.
I'm also a sw developer... so in the free time I would like to write some program for my phone... but... the free time is very scarce...
But...
What do you think abou my needs?
Is a good idea to buy a diamond, or a Tatto is better?
Thanks
Both are good devices and will cater for your needs, but my only question is why not go for a newer, more advanced device? (Obviously I realize cost is an issue)
Yes... you're right... I'm searching for a cheaper solution...
I'm worried for what I read about the diamond battery... and I think that Android can be interesting... but the Android display make me unhappy...
get a kaiser if you want cheap and good. they can be had for quite cheap. i will sell you mine for $110 plus shipping. but only if you are located in the usa.
josefcrist said:
get a kaiser if you want cheap and good. they can be had for quite cheap. i will sell you mine for $110 plus shipping. but only if you are located in the usa.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry... I'm in Italy.
If you are comming from a hardware keyboard device, you´ll find better going into same line...
You can think on Raphael or Rhodium (if $ is not a prob)
Let us know what you´ve got
orb3000 said:
If you are comming from a hardware keyboard device, you´ll find better going into same line...
You can think on Raphael or Rhodium (if $ is not a prob)
Let us know what you´ve got
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you're right about qwerty... but $ is a prob...
I found the phones I spoke about at the same good price... and I'd like to choose one or the other...
In conclusion...
I prefear the Diamond, but I'm scaried for the battery duration and the finger usability... above all for the battery... but android seems to be a nice idea...
I was just in the same situation as you, I wanted a keyboard & budget would allow me to look at the touch pro 2. But I found the build quality on the new HTcs simply very poor so went backwards & settled for the Raphael which can be found cheap.
If you can find a Raphael in your budget I would go for it over the diamond. The diamond is a nice sized device but the d-pad is not the best, battery life is not the best but a lot of the big complainers have issues due to custom rom problems.
I had the Kaiser before, nice device, good battery life & superb build quality.
Diamond or Raphael would be my choices bang for buck !.
Mister B said:
I was just in the same situation as you, I wanted a keyboard & budget would allow me to look at the touch pro 2. But I found the build quality on the new HTcs simply very poor so went backwards & settled for the Raphael which can be found cheap.
If you can find a Raphael in your budget I would go for it over the diamond. The diamond is a nice sized device but the d-pad is not the best, battery life is not the best but a lot of the big complainers have issues due to custom rom problems.
I had the Kaiser before, nice device, good battery life & superb build quality.
Diamond or Raphael would be my choices bang for buck !.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really thanks for your suggestions.
Speaking about new phones (in the showcase of some shop) I found a Raphael. It's a little bit larger than diamond... and more expensive: 300 € vs 200 (for Diamond or Click).
Do you really think that HTC quality is decreased? So you think that Click are only an expensive toy?
Do you think that using a better battery I can solve the problem without make the phone very large?
i had the rapheal, and i loved it while i was using it. it was a huge improvement over my wing i will say tho the battery life did kinda suck but it didnt bother me that much, a car charger helped me with that i wouldnt go for the diamond just because it doesnt have a querty keyboard. i cant stand touch screen keyboards, so thats y i would go for the rapheal. another great device to look into that u could find cheap on craigslist or something would b the touch pro 2. i have that phone now. its got way better battery life then the rapheal. the keyboard is better to, the rapheal buttons are really small and it could b agravating sometimes. the touch pro 2 has a nice large touch screen display, tf3d seems alot more responsive, theres alot of nice stable roms available, from having both phones i can tell u that the touch pro 2 is deffinitly a faster more stable device with good battery life, and if all else fails u can run andriod on it too if i were u the touch pro 2 is prob only gonna b alil bit more then the rapheal and i can tell u that the extra 50 bucks will be well worth it good luck wih ur find
phai said:
Yes, you're right about qwerty... but $ is a prob...
I found the phones I spoke about at the same good price... and I'd like to choose one or the other...
In conclusion...
I prefear the Diamond, but I'm scaried for the battery duration and the finger usability... above all for the battery... but android seems to be a nice idea...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Raphael then or Universal or G1 if you want to try young Android
Keep your eyes open for a used TP2 around xda market or on ebay.
t76sTaNg said:
i had the rapheal, and i loved it while i was using it. it was a huge improvement over my wing i will say tho the battery life did kinda suck but it didnt bother me that much, a car charger helped me with that i wouldnt go for the diamond just because it doesnt have a querty keyboard. i cant stand touch screen keyboards, so thats y i would go for the rapheal. another great device to look into that u could find cheap on craigslist or something would b the touch pro 2. i have that phone now. its got way better battery life then the rapheal. the keyboard is better to, the rapheal buttons are really small and it could b agravating sometimes. the touch pro 2 has a nice large touch screen display, tf3d seems alot more responsive, theres alot of nice stable roms available, from having both phones i can tell u that the touch pro 2 is deffinitly a faster more stable device with good battery life, and if all else fails u can run andriod on it too if i were u the touch pro 2 is prob only gonna b alil bit more then the rapheal and i can tell u that the extra 50 bucks will be well worth it good luck wih ur find
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you to.
However I bought the Diamond... I get in my hands Diamond and Click... and Click seems me a real toy.
Now I'm using the Diamond, but I'm not really satisfied: the UMTS signal is very low...
Try changing radio version, also check & update ROM if can.
You have a few options on battery upgrades from standard size with a little extra power to simply quite huge & twice the size of standard.
I think you will miss the keyboard.
Touch Pro 2 is more than 50bucks more than a Raphael ! the hardware is good but the build quality & style can be beat by ToyzRus !! Got 3 falling to bits in our office.
Good choice you made.
The diamond is an incredible device, and its quality is much better than the click.
Try the radio version found in my signature, it has good battery life and signals (such as umts and gps) are great. It's the most popular radio for the diamond.
For the keyboard, I suggest you download Fingerkeyboard, which is a very accurate keyboard. It works great on my diamond.