24 Hour review - Touch Pro, Fuze General

Coming from my TYTNII yesterday
Based in part on answering other comments and my own observations......
Criteria - it has to earn a living - it has to be a miniature office on the move 24 x 7 x 365. TYTNII worn out after 14 months - replacement needed.
WARM - yes - a lot of electronics packed in a small package to make space for the large (relatively) 1340mAh battery.
Battery life - less than my TYTNII but not dangerously so in a 07:30 - 18:00 business day, lot of Direct Push, long calls, Bluetooth all day, WiFi OFF, Screen brightness higher than default, 4Gb SD card in standard power management, 10 minute top offs in the car when driving. Finished at 30% instead of my more normal 40%.
Stylus - nice magnetic "snick" as it is sucked into the holder. You would have to work hard to lose it. "Soft" feel top - nice.
JETCET printer configuration tool - Wow! If you are Canon or HP there seems to be a good range of drivers. It WORKS too if you know how to set up printing on a network.
Screen - STUNNING with the higher resolution. Looks Cleartype without the cleartype turned on (which only makes it better).
Bluetoothed to the car (BMW I-Drive setup) with no problems and the address book synched to car FASTER than TYTNII. Sound quality slightly poorer than TYTNII but still very acceptable and streets ahead of the old i-Mate K-JAM.
Touchflo - very nice, very cute, very hard on my big stubby fingers and disabled. Probably helps the battery life. I would prefer HTC Home but available CABS don't work on the screen resolution (well they work but look too small!). Anyone working on one?
MS Voice Command - I'm working the threads and registry hacks on this. There is an error on install which I'm trying to figure. (edit) - Just discovered it is non fatal. VC works fine to make calls - I don't care about the rest. Used the extracted 1.6.19209 CAB you can find on RapidShare (end edit). Hah! For the first time EVER with VC when I asked "What is the time" it told me the time - instead of the date!!!!
Only one assignable button folks. Button 1 (HOLD). Rest are presumably used to create the various actions on the zoom and shrink touches on the buttons and cannot be made available.
YouTube - well get hooked to WiFi first!! It will do it over Edge but only really in Low Quality mode. HQ mode (if availble) is a matching 640x480 and looks super.
Ripped 320x240 pixel DVD's in WMV rescale to the screen and look great.
Teeter game - addictive!
It is small, slightly heavy and smacks of quality. Build Quality is good. A good "heft" in the hand and good in the landscape belt clip (T-Mobile accessory for the Wing). Already got a lot of questions from those who noticed - "New Phone?" followed by "Nice" .
Overall - The extra horsepower and RAM, turn off the "fluff" and this is what the TYTNII didn't QUITE manage.
Build 19965.1.2.3
ROM 1.90.401.1 WWE
ROM Date 8/1/08 (US)
Radio 1.02.25.19
Protocol 52.33.25.17U
Keeper.....

Related

10 reasons to buy the I780

1.Speed : phone is lightning fast with 624mhz CPU, nothing beats it, even while multi tasking it doesnt lag. movies play very smooth and audio/video are in sync.
2.Stable : with latest firmware phone is very stable, no freezing or lagging or running low on memory, no need to reboot it daily, this baby just keeps going at full speed.
3.Design : what a great design, samsung did a really good job at designing this phone, from the keyboard to the shortcut keys, the mouse / D-pad, even the menu's and custom layout inside windows. this phone is very user friendly, or atleast more than any other PPC device i have seen.
4.Connectivity : Signal strenght is great, it shines above the tytn 2 with signal quality, Hsdpa is fast and you will quickly get full speed downloading.
5.Customisable : with its odd 320x320 screen you'd expect to have lot of problems with 3rd party applications, yet there are hundreds of programs around that lets you customise almost anything on this device, which makes it one of the most flexible devices on the market.
6.Slim and light : phone is really light in weight and with its slim design fits easily in your pocket, yet it has a 624mhz cpu, 256 rom, 128 ram, 3g/Hsdpa, 2mp camera etc ... makes this device ultra portable with state of the art features.
7.Video calling : that actualy work right out of the box, i couldnt belive my eyes when i tried it and my brother popped up on the screen.... need i say more ?
8.Support : everywhere on the net you find I780 threads where people are very helpfull, this phone has great support and alot of followers.
9.battery : 2 Batteries !! when was it the last time you purchase a phone and get two batteries ? Satisfactory battery consumption (even with Bluetooth & 3G always on the drain rate is quite conservative)
10. User friendliness : for a PPC this phone is very user friendly, granted that it may take some a little longer to navigate around than others, compared to other ppc's this one is a walk in the park at finding what you want. samsung did a stunning job at making this phone ideal for both beginner and power user.

48 Hour Review added to 24 hour review

48 Hour Review additional thoughts
==========================
OK the 5 row keyboard is REALLY worth it. Was doing a comparision of a lot of HTC product in a side by side with a few clients on Fri. The 5 row keyboard was the most wanted feature by all those who type seriously for meeting notes etc. The ability to produce numbers with out having to ALT - won this hands down for a few who ordered there and then.
Backlighting on keyboard - good and pretty even considering it looks like a point source is used to produce it. Numbers 5/6 are slightly brighter - the rest - evenly illuminated.
Battery life - I wish to clarify/confess to using the SaveBattery HTC Juno cab in creating the battery life figures I quoted earlier in the 24 hour review. I never even waited to find out how I did before.
I've been tweaking today with - Advanced_Configuration_Tool_v3.1.cab. Useful fine tuning tool.
Biggest annoyance - backlight going out 5 secs into a call. Real pain if you need to enter keys after call connects. There is a regitry tweak in the tweaks thread I'm going to try.
Original 24 Hour Review Below
======================
Coming from my TYTNII yesterday
Based in part on answering other comments and my own observations......
Criteria - it has to earn a living - it has to be a miniature office on the move 24 x 7 x 365. TYTNII worn out after 14 months - replacement needed.
WARM - yes - a lot of electronics packed in a small package to make space for the large (relatively) 1340mAh battery.
Battery life - less than my TYTNII but not dangerously so in a 07:30 - 18:00 business day, lot of Direct Push, long calls, Bluetooth all day, WiFi OFF, Screen brightness higher than default, 4Gb SD card in standard power management, 10 minute top offs in the car when driving. Finished at 30% instead of my more normal 40%.
Stylus - nice magnetic "snick" as it is sucked into the holder. You would have to work hard to lose it. "Soft" feel top - nice.
JETCET printer configuration tool - Wow! If you are Canon or HP there seems to be a good range of drivers. It WORKS too if you know how to set up printing on a network.
Screen - STUNNING with the higher resolution. Looks Cleartype without the cleartype turned on (which only makes it better).
Bluetoothed to the car (BMW I-Drive setup) with no problems and the address book synched to car FASTER than TYTNII. Sound quality slightly poorer than TYTNII but still very acceptable and streets ahead of the old i-Mate K-JAM.
Touchflo - very nice, very cute, very hard on my big stubby fingers and disabled. Probably helps the battery life. I would prefer HTC Home but available CABS don't work on the screen resolution (well they work but look too small!). Anyone working on one?
MS Voice Command - I'm working the threads and registry hacks on this. There is an error on install which I'm trying to figure. (edit) - Just discovered it is non fatal. VC works fine to make calls - I don't care about the rest. Used the extracted 1.6.19209 CAB you can find on RapidShare (end edit). Hah! For the first time EVER with VC when I asked "What is the time" it told me the time - instead of the date!!!!
Only one assignable button folks. Button 1 (HOLD). Rest are presumably used to create the various actions on the zoom and shrink touches on the buttons and cannot be made available.
YouTube - well get hooked to WiFi first!! It will do it over Edge but only really in Low Quality mode. HQ mode (if availble) is a matching 640x480 and looks super.
Ripped 320x240 pixel DVD's in WMV rescale to the screen and look great.
Teeter game - addictive!
It is small, slightly heavy and smacks of quality. Build Quality is good. A good "heft" in the hand and good in the landscape belt clip (T-Mobile accessory for the Wing). Already got a lot of questions from those who noticed - "New Phone?" followed by "Nice" .
Overall - The extra horsepower and RAM, turn off the "fluff" and this is what the TYTNII didn't QUITE manage.
Build 19965.1.2.3
ROM 1.90.401.1 WWE
ROM Date 8/1/08 (US)
Radio 1.02.25.19
Protocol 52.33.25.17U
Keeper.....
Thanks for the review!
graemesmith said:
Keeper.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the review! i have a question.. the TyTN II is too big for me to slide out the keyboard and with one thumb reach the other side of the key board.. basically one handed typing.. how does the Touch Pro fit?
thanks!
Great review and I see you are in the US so I do have a question. How does the GPS work? Does the GPS updater work properly and does the A-GPS help with obtaining a lock? Just wondering how fast the unlocked version connects in the US right out of the box or if it requires tweaks to make it lock faster. Also, how long does it take to load a youtube on edge. I already know it degrades the quality like the iphone but I would still like to know how fast does it take and if it can stream on edge even with the lower quality. Thanks.
Jedidiah said:
thanks for the review! i have a question.. the TyTN II is too big for me to slide out the keyboard and with one thumb reach the other side of the key board.. basically one handed typing.. how does the Touch Pro fit?
thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well the form factor is smaller than TYTNII so my big (ex)sailor hands can push it open and single thumb type OK. Sitting in palm of hand, fingers curled around screen edge and keyboard nearest you. 5 row keyboard makes for smaller keys though - it is a good feel but I wouldn't want to do a lot of single thumb typing - but you can. Guess it depends on your hands!! But you are going to LOVE the 5 row keyboard - no messing around to get numbers anymore. This is already a HUGE plus for entering IP addressing etc.
Raspster said:
Great review and I see you are in the US so I do have a question. How does the GPS work? Does the GPS updater work properly and does the A-GPS help with obtaining a lock? Just wondering how fast the unlocked version connects in the US right out of the box or if it requires tweaks to make it lock faster. Also, how long does it take to load a youtube on edge. I already know it degrades the quality like the iphone but I would still like to know how fast does it take and if it can stream on edge even with the lower quality. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GPS - Yep this is the UK/EU unit through Expansys/Mobileplanet. GPS lock time in my part of the world (USA New England) is 30 secs after running HTC QuickkGPS to get satelitte updates. Comparable to TYTNII and tested with GoogleMaps "Use GPS" feature.
YouTube - Well - first understand that a lot of YouTube videos are available in Standard Quality and High Quality. I'm not 100% sure - but standard looks like HEAVILY compressed 320x240 or REALLY heavily compressed 640 x 480. High Quality is pretty much low compressed 640 x 480.
The player in the phone has an option to autoselect or force High Quality streaming.
In High Quality on Edge it takes about 5 mins to get a 10 min video (from the few I have tested). There is a clear "loading" icon that is a circle running around with a % indicator in the middle. When enough of the video is in - it gets to 100% and will start playing. 100% does NOT mean the whole video - just enough buffered to get going. If you view ahead of available data then it stops playing and starts buffering again. Just like on a PC with slow Internet. There is no permanent cache to replay a video from. Close and reopen and you have to start again - but that is just like YouTube on a PC - I'm sure it is designed to stop you "acquiring" videos! While I am sure someone out of sheer intellectual interest will figure a workaround. It is WAY easier on a PC with capture tools and a ton of horsepower.
Let's put it this way - YouTube in a neat extra. Go back to MY personal criteria stated at the start of my original review and it is not really important!
But that Teeter game....... Now there is a real time waster. I suspect as much as BubbleBreaker........

iPhone vs Diamond/WM6.1

Got a company iPhone 3G yesterday and it's an intersting experience how different the devices and their OSes are. Think that's nothing new for the most but I like to share my impressions ...
The iPhone has an impressive build quality, feels very good and solid in your hands. The cold real glass touch screen paired with the chrome border and the smooth back are nicely put together. But it's a little too big, not thick, it's just rather a bigger phone. For surfing the web it's better to be big but for daily use the small dimension of the diamond appear to be more slick.
Safari is incredible in terms of speed and responsiveness. There are definetely moments where Safari isn't reactive but compared Opera it's another league. I am wondering that Opera who is doing browser development on embedded devices for years isn't able to build something similar. Just the time of the first connection and request is MUCH MUCH shorter than on Opera (both tested on 3G). I don' know if this issue is Opera's or WM's IP stack's or the radio ROM's fault. Site rendering, zooming, clicking on links is SO MUCH better than with Opera. I think that's clearly Opera's fault. The non-capacitive touch screen of the Diamond CAN BE reactive, look at TouchFLO on udK's latest BETA. Anyway and the larger screen is more comfortable despite its much lower resolution. But that's again a trade-off when it comes to transportation.
Just saying that the Diamond can be reactive with the right ROMs it's still awesome how much more reactive the iPhone's GUI is: Just swipe the main menu to the left or right a few times (screens are following your finger instantly) and you see what can be done with the right hard and software setup of a mobile device.
Great: the auto completion of recipients. The iPhone looks in your contacts and at the company server for matching namea the same time. SO SO FAST and stylish!
And now I'll make it short: what I am missing
- A2DP: all my devices at home are A2DP devices (3 devices) and it's damn convinient just to enter a room and within seconds you have music, a stylish remote and flexibility. My Diamond is my central music source, all the newest music on it (as my previos WM6 device). Second source is the notebook with my full collection also connected via A2DP with all the devices. Sorry but an iPod connector is so 80ies in times of A2DP
- A2DP tweaking - independently of the question if the iPhone ever will have A2DP I'll enjoy to be able to tweak the sound quality of a WM device to its max. Don't think that an iPhone will ever provide the flexibility when I look at the OSX A2DP stack (more a beta)
- Disc drive mode for syncing media - sorry but I don't want to manage iTunes or anybody to sync or handle my music and other media. Connect the diamond and you get asked if you want an ActiveSync device, a disc drive or an Internet sharing device, that's a PERFECT usability. Choose the disc drive option and go with high USB2.0 transfer speed.
- No calendar events with invitations, YOU CAN NOT invite participants?! Did I missed something? Crucial point, probably something for their next update
- E-Mails are not read/unread marked or do I have to change the settings?
- Smartdial, such a great feature on WM6, still ten times faster calling somebody with the Diamond
Still the GUI is amazing (loving OSX's font rendering) and I am happy that Apple raised the bar for mobile devices' OSes and hope that competitiors come with similar responsiveness & style but I doubt that. Apple showed the direction where mobile devices will go: replacing desktops/notebooks for many use cases.
Finally, the iPhone feels like a dinner in an high-class restaurant. You get four courses of finest french cuisine in a styled environment and pay 400 bucks for two persons. You are entirely impressed but still hungry because of small portions on big plates. So the next time you just get a Big Mac, french fries and a Coke when you are hungry, no style but you get what you asked for. That's Windows.
mttcee said:
Finally, the iPhone feels like a dinner in an high-class restaurant. You get four courses of finest french cuisine in a styled environment and pay 400 bucks for two persons. You are entirely impressed but still hungry because of small portions on big plates. So the next time you just get a Big Mac, french fries and a Coke when you are hungry, no style but you get what you asked for. That's Windows.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
fantastic description
mttcee said:
... the next time you just get a Big Mac, french fries and a Coke when you are hungry, no style but you get what you asked for. That's Windows.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nah,
not so fantastic description!
People forget too fast how much you can do with Windows Mobile! Installing or programming real offline application for exsample - or customization! The iPhone on the other hand: cut off your internet / 3G and you have most likely an useless (but yet expensive) toy with cool animated menus ... - ... however, still useless!
Junner2003 said:
The iPhone on the other hand: cut off your internet / 3G and you have most likely an useless (but yet expensive) toy with cool animated menus ... - ... however, still useless!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pssst, The Cold War is over,
you can come out of your nuclear bunker.

Hands On Review: Acer Tempo X960

(Mods, if this is seen as advertising or spam, please accept my apologies and remove the thread. It's not really though, promise! I just thought people might be interested in my review of a new PPC not made by HTC )
**************************************************************
Hi all, welcome to this, my hands on review of the new Acer Tempo X960 Smart Device! I've been fortunate enough to be given a review sample of this latest device from Acer, one of their first since their purchase of ETEN corp, and I can tell you, the Acer styling is getting right in there.
First off all, lets take a look as some pics of this gorgeous device.
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As you can see, a sexy looking device that's slim, light and extremely comfortable in the hand and has no irritating bevel around the edge of the screen to get in the way of using it.
Device Specification
Right, Let's get the technical stuff over with.
Operating System:
Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional (Crossbow)
Processor:
Samsung S3C 6410 533 MHz Processor with one DRAM
Memory:
256 MB Flash ROM, 128 MB SDRAM
Display:
2.8", 640 x 480 (VGA), 65,536 colors, TFT-LCD
Dimensions(L x W x H):
106.4(L) x 59 (W) x 13.7(14.8 ) (H) mm
Weight:
131.5g
Communications:
HSDPA 7.2 / HSUPA 2.0 / UMTS (2100 / 1900 / 850 MHz)
Quad-Band GSM:850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
GPRS class 11 / EDGE class 11
Bluetooth® v2.0 class 2 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate),
WiFi IEEE802.11b/g Certificated
GPS:
Embedded SiRF Star III chipset, TMC function supported*,
(*Subjected to changes by region)
Camera:
Built-in 3.2 mega pixels Auto-Focus CMOS camera, up to 2048 x 1536 resolution
0.3 mega pixels Fixed-Focus CMOS camera for Video Telephony usage
Light sensor (L-Sensor):
Sensing the brightness of environment to adjust panel luminance
Expansibility:
MicroSD card slot
Interface/Audio:
Built-in microphone and speaker, hands-free mode supported
Interface/Data:
USB Sync
Ergonomic Design:
Touch screen for stylus or fingertip, power button, 2 quick application buttons (GPS/Home), send/end button, record button, volume control,
Battery:
Lithium Polymer rechargeable with 1,530 mAh capacity
Talk time: 3G: 4h depend on usage / 2G: 5h depend on usage
Standby: 150h depends on usage
Pocket PC usage: 10~15 hour
GPS usage: 2.5~5 hour
* Highly dependent on usage rate/behaviour
Software (pre-loaded*):
Windows [email protected] 6.1 Professional
1. Microsoft® Office Outlook Mobile (Calendar, Contacts, Tasks and Inbox)
2. Microsoft® Office Word Mobile / Microsoft® Office Excel Mobile / Microsoft® Office PowerPoint Mobile.
3. MSN® Messenger / Microsoft® Transcriber / Windows Media® Player 10.
4. Picture / Notes / Internet Explorer Mobile / ActiveSync / Calculator / Game (Solitaire, Bubble Breaker).
5. Microsoft Reader* (* region/territories dependent)
Acer Exclusive Applications:
User interface: Acer Shell v2.0
Phone Tools: Phone settings, SIM toolkit, Speed dial, Communication manager, CSD type, Connection wizard, SMS sender, SIM manager, MMS composer
Multimedia Tools: Pictures & Videos, Camera /Camcorder, Album, Streaming player, Media player
Utilities: Backup utility, Default Settings, Application recovery, Memory Optimization
(*Subjected to changes by region)
A very well specified device that places it squarely in the upper bracket of modern Pocket PC devices, the Tempo X960 sports a highly capable processor with integral 3D capabilities and a custom shell application from Acer to simplify your daily use. Let's take a closer look at it, shall we?
Ergonomic Design
The Tempo X960 sports Acers new styling of a slick black casing with a glossy transflective touch screen flush with the casing. It's constructed of a sturdy plastic with a chromium plated rim and a rubberised back to prevent slipping on things like car dashboards and feels extremely comfortable and light in the hand.
The screen is far enough placed up in the device that swiping with your thumb is very comfortable and reaching the 4 hardware bottons and D-pad on the front is also extremely easy on the hand.
The buttons here are your typical Call and Hang up on either side, the D-Pad in the centre, and also a GPS and Home key. More on those later.
Also located on the front is the VGA front camera, primarily intended for 3G video calls, a light sensor for automatic brightness adjustment, and a raised slit for the ear piece. Hiding either side of this slit are the standard status LED's you expect on all Pocket PC's. Power, WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS.
Connectors
Starting with the left side, from top to bottom we have a place to fit a lanyard, a +/- volume rocker, a reset hole and the Record button.
On the bottom there is a single mini-USB connector which is the standard these days for Pocket PC charging and synching. This port also doubles as a headphone connector.
On the right side, from top to bottom, we have the power button, Micro-SD card slot, camera button and the bay for the included telescoping stylus.
All of these buttons and slots are flush with the chromed trim which is nice, though I found the SD card slot a little tricky to remove with my fingernail, Mind you, I have chunky fingers so that's probably at least partly the cause. It's not like we'll be opening this regularly anyway, you'll see why a little later.
On the top edge we have the letters GPS.
Behind these hides the antenna for the highly capable SiRF III GPS chipset built in to this device.
On the back we have the main 3.2 megapixel camera with an LED flash and a micro mirror for those self portraits.
Also here are two small speaker grilles, though there is only one speaker actually in the device. Finally, we battery cover which is easy to remove, yet feels of good sturdy construction. This hides the 1530mAh battery and the SIM slot.
Right, that's the hardware covered, so let's switch this puppy on, shall we?
Software
Right, first of all, let's get one thing straight, Acer like black. If there's one thing you're going to see a lot of in Acer's phones, it's black. From the slick outer casing, to the software on the device. Lots and lots of black. I happen to like black, so this suits me right down to the ground.
So... After that admittedly dull boot logo, you are then presented with the regular green Windows Mobile 6.1 startup screen. This hangs around for a short while, before you're presented with this:
This is Acer's all new singing and dancing Acer Shell 2.0. Don't ask me where 1.0 went, I've never seen it and I have no idea if it exists. Who cares anyway? We now have Acer Shell 2.0, and I happen to quite like it.
Anyway, it basically simulates an actual desktop, complete with window showing you the weather outside (by the way, this bit is animated! If it's raining, you'll get rain on your window ), and from what I can tell, appears to be flash based. You can move objects around on the desk, you have three "panes" to help you do this, and on pane 3 there's even a shelf to put stuff too. You can also take objects off the desk if you should wish.
Here's a closer look showing all 3 "panes" of the desk. accessed with a left/right swipe of the finger.
BTW, if you're wondering why these pics are different to the bigger one above, it's because some shots are promo shots from Acer, and some are from the device in my hand. These ones are from my device.
Tapping on any of these objects will open them up to custom applets such as contacts, email, weather forecasts, quick launch, bookmarks, and a rather nifty music player.
As well as the Acer Shell, there are also some other programs preinstalled, these include Google Maps, the new Internet Explorer 6 Mobile (which I have to say, is a massive improvement over PIE and even handles YouTube straight out of the box).
There is also the standard ETEN suit of applications, now rebadged to Acer, that many are used to on the previous Glofiish range of phones such as the GPS Viewer, Application Recovery, Backup, Memory Optimization, Task Manager, Profiles and so on, as well as the usual Windows Mobile stuff such as Office Mobile, MSN Messenger, Live Search.
Two new things of note. We now have a Notification Manager, which can notify you of new updates, and even download for Over The Air updating. Very useful, though I'd be careful of your data charges there. Also, we have what is quite possibly THE most important addition to Windows Mobile ever, and I thank Acer from the bottom of my heart for adding it; card reader mode.
Yes, that's right! When you connect to your PC, you will now be asked if you want to go in to one of three modes:
* Activesync
* Card Reader
* Internet Sharing
The middle one is the important one. Card Reader. When in this mode, the SD card in your device will appear as a normal drive on your PC, and you can transfer files at FULL USB 2 transfer speeds! No more being limited by the horrible speed restrictions of ActiveSync! Finally, you can stop carrying that little card reader with you... Thank you SO MUCH, Acer!
In Use
Right, so... I've had this device in my hands for a couple of weeks now, and I've been using it as my daily phone since it arrived and I have to say, this is by far my most favourite Pocket PC to date.
It's comfy in my hand, it's light, it hardly makes an impression in my shirt pocket. It has a clear VGA screen and thanks to the 533mhz Samsung processor, it's pretty snappy to respond, lagging a little only when some memory pig of an application decided it was going to bully the rest of the device, and THAT only happened when I was randomly installing all sorts of stuff on it.
Typing on it suffers from the same problem ALL touch screen devices suffer from; that of having to use a software keyboard. The standard Microsoft one is the usual fair, needing the stylus to type, but Acer have given us a much easier to use "Easy Keyboard", not too dissimilar to Apple's one on the iPhone, and this one is easy enough to use with the finger.
The audio quality is excellent, both in normal and speakerphone modes, as well as video calls, and whilst it uses a USB connector for audio headsets, the ones it comes with are of good quality and are comfortable to wear.
TomTom 6 & 7 both work a charm on it with GPS fix being picked up in 15-20 seconds from cold in an open area.
Battery life I found to be pretty impressive too, with me going 3 days on average between charges. Not bad considering all the hardware packed into this neat little device, all demanding their share of the 1530mAh battery.
Overall Impression
I've used a lot of Pocket PC devices in my time, so I think I can honestly say that I'm not that easily impressed, but Acer have managed to impress me with the Tempo X960. Sure, it's not perfect, show me a device which IS, but it's very very GOOD at what it does.
For me, I think it's biggest plus points are its size and speed, coupled with comfort of use and quality of the audio. All the rest of the stuff is just bling on the core of what is a very well constructed phone.
I think I can sum up my overall feelings about the Tempo X960 thusly... If Acer want this review unit back, they're going to have to fight me for it! Or... they could just send me an invoice.
Thanks a lot
Exellent review!
Now I have it completly discarded
Looks like a nice phone.
unfortunately a 2.8 touchscreen and no HW keyboard doesn't quite work for me.
If you have small hands, or don't need to use it for email it seems like a good option.
Looks like a cool phone, ill do some more research, and maybe check ebay. -Thanks
orb3000 said:
Now I have it completly discarded
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mind if I ask why that is?
Great review. Could you be kind enough to dump the rom so we could ectract the acer software. That shell sounds like a joy to use.
addicus said:
Great review. Could you be kind enough to dump the rom so we could ectract the acer software. That shell sounds like a joy to use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, but I can't. If I do, I can kiss goodbye to ever getting review units from Acer again, and I'm not willing to take that chance.
FloatingFatMan said:
Mind if I ask why that is?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2 reasons:
1.- No physical keyboard!! (Is a must for me)
2.- No HTC build (That means no great support from this forum)
Cheers,
FloatingFatMan said:
Sorry, but I can't. If I do, I can kiss goodbye to ever getting review units from Acer again, and I'm not willing to take that chance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My apologies. It was rude of me to ask.
No worries. There's nothing wrong with trying, right?
Hi,
Thanks for the review. I am more taken with the M900. If you can get one from Acer can you review that for us? I know it is much bigger but I like its feature set better.
I saw a Russian preview of the M900 which seems to claim the the Qualcomm procs are faster than the Samsung one...I always thought it was the other way round!! Do you have any feelings about that from your review x960, and maybe you can run some benchmarks, even though the stats are often different from real life usage. Finally, do videos run smoothly on it?
Thanks,
Antony
Nicely written review. I do hope ACER will make a clamshell device.
Would you be able to give ACER suggestions that WE NEED A CLAMSHELL DEVICE with a fast processor please?
All devices that are coming out are all either lacking a keyboard, or if they have one, it's just a reshelve version of the first one like the HTC Touch PRO 2.
This 2.8" screen is just too small now a days...an Acer with a bigger 3.5 or more screen could be nice for you!
GPS:
Embedded SiRF Star III chipset, TMC function supported*,
(*Subjected to changes by region)
damn i wish my Touch HD had this type of GPS reciever!
However in the end, it's Acer, and Acer quality control is the worse i have ever seen.
AntonyL said:
Hi,
Thanks for the review. I am more taken with the M900. If you can get one from Acer can you review that for us? I know it is much bigger but I like its feature set better.
I saw a Russian preview of the M900 which seems to claim the the Qualcomm procs are faster than the Samsung one...I always thought it was the other way round!! Do you have any feelings about that from your review x960, and maybe you can run some benchmarks, even though the stats are often different from real life usage. Finally, do videos run smoothly on it?
Thanks,
Antony
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Funny you should mention that. I have an M900 in my hands too and am writing a review of it. Will take a little while tho.
As for speed, I've never used a HTC Diamond so can't compare them, but these devices are WAY faster than my Kaiser. I'll be happy to benchmark them for you though.. Which benchmark program would you suggest?
Video run flawlessly, without having to recode them to lower resolutions, but like with all devices, it depends very much on the bitrate they're encoded at. For example, I've tried watching Cars and High School Musical 1 on both phones in CorePlayer. Cars played perfectly, HSM was a tiny bit jerky. Both were DiVX files at 720x480 resolution, but HSM was encoded at a much higher bitrate than cars. Don't have the files on the phone atm to say exactly what the bitrate was though.
Psygnosis84 said:
GPS:
However in the end, it's Acer, and Acer quality control is the worse i have ever seen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never experienced any build quality issues on any of my Acer stuff...
galaxys said:
This 2.8" screen is just too small now a days...an Acer with a bigger 3.5 or more screen could be nice for you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The M900 has a 3.8" screen and a hardware keyboard. Review "soon".
FloatingFatMan said:
Never experienced any build quality issues on any of my Acer stuff...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm more referring to their PC ventures, worse stuff ever made.
Hopefully they have a better team for their mobile division.

In the market for a new one: what phone would be best?

I've had my iPAQ 614c for a little over two years now, and while it has served me incredibly well, and I have no complaints (mostly thanks to this forum making 6.1 and 6.5 upgrades possible) it is really starting to show it's age - physically and technologically.
As such, I'm looking to get a new phone. I've come to the realization that I don't need the absolute best, 100% beast phone, but if that's what my needs dictate, that's cool too.
Must Haves
Great Camera - I would like a camera that takes great pictures, and possibly video, but mostly just great pictures. And I would PREFER it to be able to do so in dark situations (aka, a good flash).
Music Playback - I want it to have a good music playback experience. This means plenty of storage, great sound reproduction, and preferably a 3.5mm jack (not necessary though, I'll use an adapter if i have to.
Good Email - I'd like something that works nicely with email. I have everything (all 6 of my mail accounts) routing into my Gmail address, so whatever will work well with Gmail will be what counts.
Good Battery - I'd prefer it last at least a whole day, instead of the ~1/2 day I'm getting with my current phone. The more the better.
GPS - Of some sort.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Preferred but not necessary
Unlocked for AT&T - Still in a contract, would prefer not having to ETF (but will if necessary)
Physical Keyboard - I like physical keyboards, preferably just a numpad (non-qwerty) but if it's all touchscreen, I am perfectly fine with that.
Large, high resolution touchscreen - I really don't see a phone not coming with touchscreen under my previous requirements, but I can see it being QVGA like my current phone. Would REALLY like a VGA or better, and would like something greater than 3 inches, but if its not, that's fine.
I am open to any and all suggestions.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=5254582
Rhodium!!!
The htc TP2 would be good for you...

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