Interesting device imo:
http://samsung.letstalk.com/product/product.htm?prId=35487
Running WinMo 6.1
It is not a phone , so in my opinion we have far better alternatives here on the board..
Please note, this device is not a phone and does not come with voice capability.
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Phen0m said:
Interesting device imo:
http://samsung.letstalk.com/product/product.htm?prId=35487
Running WinMo 6.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if that was voice capable i would be all over it.
it has a microphone built in, so it could has the potential to be used as a phone as well. All that it needs is an app that would allow you to use voip
I've been lurking these boards for a long while (HP iPAQ hx4700 power user usually looking for cooked WM6.1 ROMs), but now I'm compelled to chime in for once.
We need more devices like this. NOT a traditional phone (we have way too many of those now), WiMAX if you want to subscribe to use it, large WVGA screen, only 450 US$ unsubsidized where most unlocked phones of this caliber are 600 US$ or more and with smaller screens...I could go on. (And having Windows Mobile 6.1 instead of 6.5 doesn't worry me at all because of these here forums.)
My hx4700 is getting long in the tooth; 64 MB of RAM does not cut it anymore, and it just can't run WM6.1 all that well, let alone WM6.5. This is the replacement device I've been looking for, so long as I can make sure that I can use it in portrait orientation. (All of the images I've seen of it are in landscape.)
I do not have a smartphone; I'm not even allowed to have one, or at least have one and use the phone bits. Why should I be forced to pay the premium for a phone modem I'll never use, and also suffer from the other disadvantages of the smartphone trend, like devices that have midget-sized screens to accomodate what would be considered an acceptable phone size? It wasn't until a few years ago that Windows Mobile smartphones in general could even stand on par with the HP iPAQ hx4700, or the Dell Axim X50v/X51v, or other such devices, and they were still way more expensive! (The HTC Universal was more the exception than the rule in terms of specs, but HTC has consistently failed to bring back that design...)
Show me a Windows Mobile smartphone with this basic size, form factor, and large WVGA screen, similar internal specs, and only a 450 US$ or less price tag WITHOUT SUBSIDY/CONTRACT, and maybe then I'll change my mind.
^^ Fragger, i have the Mondi & i absolutely love it! I'll go into detail or answer questions if you have any.. but this device would be a great to any winmo users lineup..Large screen/res, great keyboard, dedicated D-Pad, HDMI-out, GPS etc etc..
Also, its nearly the same size as an iphone, with a larger screen and physical keyboard:
4.8 x 3.03 x 0.63 5.8oz
4.5 x 2.4 x 0.48 4.8oz
Only downside so far is not having a community, as i would love to get WinMo 6.5 on this thing.
You have one now? Great! Now brace yourself for the questions...
-How's battery life? One of the things I like about my current hx4700 is that it's very long-lived, even on the stock battery.
-It does go into portrait mode like every other WM device, right? If so, can you set it up to be more like the HTC slider phones in the sense that closed keyboard = portrait, open keyboard = landscape?
-Built-in GPS, huh? Guess I may not need my Bluetooth GPS receiver (MTK-based, 5 Hz refresh rate, solar-charged), then. How's the initial acquisition time, accuracy, reception, and general latency? (I remember hearing a lot of complaints about lag on the integrated GPS on HTC Touch Pros. Different device, but I'd still hope that I wouldn't have that issue.)
-The format support sounds pretty robust out of the box, which is especially great since it has HDMI-out. Are you content with just Samsung's media player, or have you felt the need to break out TCPMP for certain files?
-Going along the lines of HDMI-out, I take it that it can output at least 720p over it with an H.264/AVC-encoded file and not have any dropped frames?
-The "great keyboard" bit sounds like it has good tactile feedback and a good layout, which is reassuring. Is there anything I may not catch about it at first glance? (For instance, while I doubt it has this feature, I really would like it if I could capitalize letters just by holding the key down instead of hitting Shift first. Never seen that trick implemented outside of the Palm Tungsten|C, and it really cuts down on the redundant keystrokes.)
-Does the build quality feel good throughout the device? Solid feel, no loose parts? Tight slider mechanism? That sort of thing?
-How does the digitizer feel? It's obviously resistive, but some resistive digitizers feel harder or softer than others.
-How could Samsung give out a specs list and NOT mention how much RAM (program memory) it has? Since you have it, you could probably give me an accurate figure. (I'm expecting at least 128 MB by now, but the more, the merrier-especially if it matches or exceeds the 288 MB on the HTC Touch Pro!)
-Can I get the normal Today screen in case I want to use PocketBreeze and/or iLauncher like I do on my hx4700? (The latter, I may be able to do without if Samsung customized it right, but I have to have PocketBreeze for easy PIM access.)
As for the lack of community, give it some time. The device just released, and even in spite of the general disinterest due to it NOT being a phone (actually one of the more compelling reasons for a few of us), I'm sure that someone with the skills has one and is working on how to flash a custom ROM onto it so we can enjoy some WM6.5. (I mean, the hx4700 and the Dell Axim X50v/X51v are still getting lots of attention in the Upgrades, Modifying, and Unlocking forum despite not being phones! Who's to say that the Mondi can't get that kind of love once someone opens the door?)
Some this stuff i will have to answer when i get off, but:
-How's battery life?
Thus far seems very good thus far & charges fast via usb or wall. I haven't done a full drain yet, but seems to be roughly 5 hours or so(this is watching video via orb)
-It does go into portrait mode like every other WM device, right? If so, can you set it up to be more like the HTC slider phones in the sense that closed keyboard = portrait, open keyboard = landscape?
Theres an option to auto-rotate in opera(accelerometer built-in), but i cant find an actual button that locks it in to portrait/landscape. The screen also doesnt auto rotate when u move it.
-The format support sounds pretty robust out of the box, which is especially great since it has HDMI-out. Are you content with just Samsung's media player, or have you felt the need to break out TCPMP for certain files?
I havent used samsungs media player only Kinoma thus far, but the video and audio output is very good imo(im not an audiophile however), the other device i own along these lines is the Nokia N810, and the sound on here is far superior.
-The "great keyboard" bit sounds like it has good tactile feedback and a good layout, which is reassuring. Is there anything I may not catch about it at first glance? (For instance, while I doubt it has this feature, I really would like it if I could capitalize letters just by holding the key down instead of hitting Shift first. Never seen that trick implemented outside of the Palm Tungsten|C, and it really cuts down on the redundant keystrokes.)
The tactile feedback is very good as well.. there is a slider that lets you control the strength.. however you cant just turn it on for the keyboard, its either on or off. The key's(hardware kb) cannot be capped by holding it down as theyre double mapped to symbols as well. There is a dedicated caps key though(on the hardware keyboard)
-Does the build quality feel good throughout the device? Solid feel, no loose parts? Tight slider mechanism? That sort of thing?
Build quality is superb, feels like a high quality smartphone.. good weight, smooth, no squeaks etc.
-How does the digitizer feel? It's obviously resistive, but some resistive digitizers feel harder or softer than others.
The screen feels similar to an HTC device.. soft, but not TOO soft, its also pretty accurate.
-How could Samsung give out a specs list and NOT mention how much RAM (program memory) it has? Since you have it, you could probably give me an accurate figure. (I'm expecting at least 128 MB by now, but the more, the merrier-especially if it matches or exceeds the 288 MB on the HTC Touch Pro!)
256 mem/4GB storage + MicroSD slot
-Can I get the normal Today screen in case I want to use PocketBreeze and/or iLauncher like I do on my hx4700?
Yes, set the Today screen to Windows default or Windows 6.1. There is also a dedicated "Home" key on the screen bezel that shoots you right to your desktop.
Anything i haven't answered above, i will when i get home later! There is also a blog on the front page of Pocketables.com that may answer so of these questions and more.
And yeah i'm hoping we can get a community of some capacity going on this device.. WM 6.5 on this hardware will be outstanding.
Oh, speaking of buttons, which ones can you rebind? And of those that can be rebound, how many let you press-and-hold for a different function? (For example, all of my hx4700's face buttons have a press function and a held function. Rotation is one of the held functions.)
As for no capping with a press-and-hold on the thumbboard because of symbols, that's no excuse because the Tungsten|C's thumbboard also has symbol mapping on all the letter keys, which had to be used with a shift/Fn button-that is, unless Samsung set it so that held keypresses trigger the symbols rather than capitalize letters. (Most thumbboards I've seen on pocket devices just repeat a letter when you hold the key down. I don't see much point in that.)
256 MB of RAM? That's enough for WM6.5 and then some! I could easily have a Web browser with a few tabs, media player, SoftMaker Office, and who knows what else going on at the same time with that much...
Normally, I'd complain about the microSDHC slot pretty hard, but the 4 GB of internal storage helps offset that and my largest full-size SD card is only 2 GB. (I only have one microSD card, and it's just 1 GB. Wouldn't really add anything significant.) In short, I could easily cram most of my music and videos on the internal flash alone. (What I don't like, though, is that they only have 90 MB or so set aside for apps. I'd like to see that doubled, perhaps even tripled so that I can have more apps installed there simultaneously, even if it does infringe on the rest of the storage mapped like a memory card. (Also, you can pass off the bulk of internal storage as a USB drive out of the box, right? No ActiveSync/WMDC needed?)
All in all, though, I'm beyond sold at this point. I just need 450 US$. (It'll probably be at least a month before I can afford it, though, and that's if I succeed in selling the hx4700 and all of its accessories for around 200 US$ or more.)
Oh, speaking of buttons, which ones can you rebind? And of those that can be rebound, how many let you press-and-hold for a different function?
Camera(short/long press)
IE explorer button(short/long)
Message(short/long)
Thats by default. I use an app called AEbutton plus that lets me remap everykey to my liking
And so far its a been a good purposeful purchase.. Office looks great on the screen, and kinetic scrolling is enabled throughout the entire o/s somehow(i dont remember 6.1 having kinetic scrolling in explorer etc. on my phones.)
Kinetic scrolling is also present in the Alkor RC 2.2 WM6.1 ROM for the hx4700. I don't know exactly where it came from, but it seems to be standard fare on new Windows Mobile devices. (I just wish I could disable it only in Resco Explorer 2007 and leave it on everywhere else, because it makes multi-selection difficult.)
Oh, almost forgot about the camera, since I'm not used to having one of those on a pocket computer. How's the quality, both for stills and video recordings? Is the camera button double-detent like on dedicated cameras (push it lightly for autofocus, push it down all the way to actually shoot)? Not common on devices like this, but I'm pretty sure one of the HTC phones (Kaiser/Tilt?) had just that.
I can just see myself with one of these right now. Does just about everything fairly well, can come with me where the TC1100 (Tablet PC) can't, and when Clearwire expands the Atlanta coverage to the point where I'm covered at home, I may end up with a VoIP phone and mobile information terminal down the road whenever I can afford the subscription, not to mention the possibilities with WMWifiRouter.
Finally, you said Kinoma. Free version, or pay version? Never experimented with the WM versions, but I did buy Kinoma Player 4 EX for the aforementioned Tungsten|C so that I could stream video over Wi-Fi with it. (It would be nice if they offered a discount for platform switches like that...)
orb3000 said:
this forum is for HTC devices only.
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the thing looks good, but it's huge.
It's truly smaller than you think.. as i said.. it's not much bigger than an iphone:
http://www.pocketables.net/2009/07/samsung-mondi-size-comparisons.html
Phen0m said:
It's truly smaller than you think.. as i said.. it's not much bigger than an iphone:
http://www.pocketables.net/2009/07/samsung-mondi-size-comparisons.html
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your right, not as bad as i had assumed. don't think it will fit in my pocket though.
wonder what it looks like next to the Tp2.
-It does go into portrait mode like every other WM device, right? If so, can you set it up to be more like the HTC slider phones in the sense that closed keyboard = portrait, open keyboard = landscape?
Found a simple program that rotates the screen instantly
-Built-in GPS, huh? How's the initial acquisition time, accuracy, reception, and general latency?
It's very average.. in the route 66 program the locks are pretty swift, on googlemaps, livesearch(bing) they're very slow. I'm about to try igo and iguidance.
How's the quality, both for stills and video recordings? Is the camera button double-detent like on dedicated cameras (push it lightly for autofocus, push it down all the way to actually shoot)?
The camera is either exactly like the Touch Pro's or slightly below that.. it's not great by any stretch and has no flash unfortunately. The upside is that there are two of them on board for skypeing, videoconferencing, webcam shows etc.
Finally, you said Kinoma. Free version, or pay version? (It would be nice if they offered a discount for platform switches like that...)
Pay version via trialpay: http://kinoma.com/play/
Whatever trial you signup for, just cancel it before the trial period ends.
The only thing that Samsung Mondi's got going for me is the large screen and that it's capable of fitting in the pant pocket.
so its not a phone, but it has a mic? :/
sightpress said:
so its not a phone, but it has a mic? :/
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No traditional radio onboard, but it can be usable as a VOIP phone.
And I'm thankful that there isn't a traditional phone radio onboard to jack the price up with something that I don't need. (If it did have the phone radio, it would cost 600+ US$ unsubsidized easily, not 450 US$.) VoIP is the future anyway, especially when WiMAX coverage starts spreading out.
Another question: how does it handle apps that aren't made for the extra width (generally 320x240 or 640x480)? They just run letterboxed, right? (Anything based on the standard Windows Mobile UI would just have extra dead space, I know that much.)
I still haven't been fortunate enough to use one, and I'm still well short of affording one, but I'll scrounge up the cash somehow. (I just need to find a willing buyer for my old Tungsten|C and my hx4700. Won't get me there all the way, but it'll help a lot.)
Mondi
I got the Mondi after looking for something like it for two years. I needed the largest possible pocketable screen plus hardware keyboard for a couple applications I run and resistive stylus for Chinese handwriting input. Mondi fit most of my needs perfectly and I've found I even do most of my voice calling using Mondi+voip. The only thing I hesitated on before buying and still don't have an answer for is how much of the XDA stuff I'll be able to take advantage of given this is a WM Classic device and Samsung Touchwiz-2 instead of HTC. Does anyone know whether I'll be able to use any of the WM 6.5 stuff from XDA or does having "Classic" put me out of luck?
BTW, I paid $359 for mine which is around what an iPaq 211 goes for.
Related
HI all,
The users of this forum seem to be at the cutting edge of technology.
We embrace Windows Mobile in all it's shapes, forms & glory.
What I'm asking you, is what do you prefer ?
And why ?
It's almost a survey, but not quite.
I'm not asking many specific questions, there's no a) b) or c), no right or wrong.
What I want to know is why you use the device that you use ?
What are you perceptions of the PPC operating system Vs the SP operating system.
I understand that each of these devices meet certain requirements for certain people, but I'd like a view, a global view on where we, as users/engineers/developers, see the direction of PPC & SP heading.
I'll start off:
I prefer Smartphones.
I receive alot of email, but do not have to respond to all of it immediately.
I spend a fair bit of time away from my desk.I don't do alot of web browsing, so screen real estate is not so much of an issue.
So a qwerty keyboard is not essential to me.
The smartphone Operating system is what suits me best, as I prefer a small form factor and would rather not use a stylus.
The smartphone I'm currently using is an imate SP5, MotorolaQ.
I have in the past used:- SP2, SP3, XDAII, JAM, PDA2K, JASJAR, KJAM, JAMin, Motorola MPX/MPX220. ( and some others that I can not remember )
I have used many devices, as you can see.
To me, the SP5 is a standout device.
It does exactly what I want.
So, please, spare some time and tell me why you like what you like.
Thanks.
Nice to have someone with the same curiosity as me
Take a look at this
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=55256&highlight=
Anyway, I'll have my say.
I prefer the PDA phone. If you were to get the smaller version (e.g. Magician, Wizard sized) phone, it doesn't make much of a difference in terms of size and weight as to compared to smart phone.
For PDA phone, the screen may be big, but the size is not the most important thing that I had in mind, rather it is the touch-screen that is what most attract me.
However, smart phone are within the area of my consideration as I've been with normal keypad entry phone for quite a long period of time that I seems to have better input speed on a keypad than of any other method (including virtual keypad).
However again, as most of the PDA applications (of which may not be useful to me) are design with touch screen in mind, I'm quite reluctant to use a non-touch screen version of the WM5 as to avoid incompatibility. Unless there is a system of consideration of non-touch screen (e.g. Symbian), then I may consider a smart phone.
Anyway, there are some application that you may not be using but good to have around, which only a touch screen can give you. Example, the scratch pad or note pad where you can scribble things on it, draw stuff as like a map to a location or a very very ultra quick note, which you cannot done without.
Anyway, I think the PDA makers should make best of both world (HTC is slow on this matter) like those you get from Asus, and the newly O2 stealth. For me, it would be better if you were to give me a keypad and a touchscreen rather than a qwerty and a touchscreen.
My view. Hope others will join in.
Well my opinion is similar to hanmin's.
At my work place I get to play with all kinds of WM based devices so I had a chance to try out SP5 an other smartphones.
Just scrolling through the endless menus using the keys gives me the feeling of luck of control and leaves me very annoyed (not to mention my thumbs haven't had this much workout since I last used my trusty old GameGear console - first color handheld from Sega). It is so much nicer to be able to just click on what you want.
Also the apps for Smartphone version always seem more constricted then their PPC counterparts. I like the robustness even at the cost of stability (some times).
Still, while I wouldn't give up my Jamin for anything less the a TyTN or better yet the soon to come ASUS 535 that will have it all (WIFI, BT, GPS)
I think Smartphones have their specific market.
Namely, people who don't want to carry a complex gadget, but need just a little more then a simple cell phone.
Although I think that as soon as some company incorporates push mail into a 'dumb' phone (just the outlook push, non of the other WM5 stuff) the Smartphones will loose their market share. Question is will MS let this happen...
Well that's right.
It's no so much a matter of "What features do I want?"
It's more, for me anyway, "What features do i need?"
I guess a stylus comes in handy in some instances.
But more often than not, I'm just answering calls, reading emails, responding quickly to those emails or sending sms.
And I love be able to just put the thing in my pocket, without the feeling of having a brick in there.
I really don't like the belt holsters.
Having said all of this, I've just started using one of these
http://www.1gadgets.com/images/products/pda/hpipaqhw6965.jpg
...and I'm quite liking it.
Because !
I can use it and not have to get out the stylus if I don't want to
It's much improved from the previous ipaqs, in that it has the soft keys now on the front, which make things 100% accessible ( along with qwerty keyboard ) with out the need for getting the stick out !
It also has a built in GPS receiver, so I'd say this devies has everything
HP 6965?
That thing is almost the size of the Universal, talking about a brick.
But to each his own.
One thing I forgot to mention: I think Asus have the right formula with the P525. It's a full PPC but with a phone pad (basic candy-bar form factor) and only slightly bigger than SP5. I found that with proper T9 there is no need what so ever for a full QWERTY keyboard, even for those who don't like using the stylus.
Hi guys,
Well for me,i had a compact(magician)which was small for a pda but big for a phone,
it suited my needs but when i changes depts at work and found myself away mon-fri living in hotels,
the compact went wrong so i used the chance to risk a chnage, i then went to an exec suited me perfectly,alhto' a bit put off due to size iw as able to use as a mini laptop,for email web browesing and moslty msn messngers so a large screen and keyboard were perfect and i learned to live with and love the exec and also pop in my pocket when done unlike a laptop
so for me depends on your needs, for me at the mo wel think il get the flipphone htc next,then use that as a phone.sms,email and keep the exec for weekends away and when i need a mp3.broweser wtc wtc just chuck it in a bag and go
so id like best of both worlds tbh
Today's pocket-pc phones have reached a size that doesn't make them significantly more cumbersome than smartphones (in my opinion). Following from that fact, I have to say I prefer the full-blown functionality of the PPC phone in my pocket.
Simple!
levenum said:
HP 6965?
That thing is almost the size of the Universal, talking about a brick.
But to each his own.
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Click to collapse
Using it because my SP5 is in for repair.
It got stuck in headset mode.
Did a hard reset, even reflashed the ROM !
Still started up in headsetmode, couldn't use the phone without earplugs.
Warranty job
Well, first of to say, good taste, being you were a user of the MPX series like me .
Well for me, I prefer the PPC. The smartphone cannot do enough for me. The PPC is powerful, touchscreen, HUGE screen, more customizable. And there is more software for it. Plus I need the hardware keyboard most PPC include now.
I suggest you use the Motorola MPX300 if you want a "SMALL" pocket pc. If was great for me when I use it, but I gave it away at work.
I started with the XDA2i, loved it (except the occasional freeze) as it had the functinality I needed.
I use the Sync feature to keep on top of my calendar and contacts while also bein able to check the web and download e-mail at the same time. The large screen allowed a good use of Tom Tom Navigator which is vital for me as I tend to work all over the country.
I recently upgraded to XDA Mini and find the actual qwerty keypad a much better way of using the system than the stylus. All in all, with the Windows Mobile package I'm more likely to be able to link with my Windows PC (especially with the transfer of Word/excel docs and the use of Outlook) than the potential issues of cross o/s synchronization. I love the XDA Mini. as it suits me perfectly and saves me carrying 2 devices (shame I can't get a cradle for the XDA to sit on the bike with TomTom)
I started off using an mpx200, then the mpx220 and they were good, lightweight, stylish, and packing windows mobile which was great for checking emails and running low level apps.
Like alot of users I then upgraded to the XDA Mini and havent looked back, the larger screen, the capacity for more features, for better applications and also whilst I dont use the features as often, the ability to turn a pocket pc into a media centre of sorts is appealing.
Overall for me at the moment the main reason behind my recent purchase of a TyTN was due to the keyboard. The jasjar was more machine then I needed once I had left my previous job, but going to a 6828 I missed the keyboard, and thats then where the TyTN stepped in.
In any case I think these devices will become more converged themselves in the future and the line between smartphone and pocket pc will diminish, in one part because of the pocket pcs becoming more functional yet lighter and cheaper and also in particular with the next version of Windows Mobile which is meant to unify the two platforms.
my view
Well the world is surely moving towards a large screen vga display device which fits snugly in ones pocket ,I use a o2 XDA IIs and the range it offers in usablity is terrific.just dont go by the weight in grams and so on ,see if a device can do all your work and still comfortably slip into your shirt pocket well ,this form factor will be the future of all phone at some point of time.I would say a 4 to 4.5 ich screen with all the essential keys built around the phone and many are soft keys on the screen like the phone dialer.so what is today a smartphone will morph into a shirtpocket PC one day.Just imagine such a device with an intel duo processor running at 3 ghz and all the apps.on a note book,well this will be the future pocket PC phone one day very soon!!
Mukund
India
I am all for pocket pc's as opposed to Smartphones. I started out with a small PPC6700 and then decided that all the features of an Xda Exec would better fit my lifestyle. I was mainly attracted towards it because of the full qwerty keyboard (none of that tiny crap where you cant press the buttons properly) and the VGA screen.
Now I am working where I need to have a second line so at first I thought I would get a smartphone to complete the pair but after better analyzing the situation there is no way I can go without a touchscreen anymore. Im thinking a Exec and Artemis combo
Hi,
Ive decided to go with Wm over UIQ3/S60 due to more software.
Ive never had a ppc, but i expect to do some tinkering in terms of software and maybe custom rom's
Turns out that choosing the os was the easy part.
Im now faced with hardware dilemmas. Sorry if this is long, but i dont want to throw away 400$ or more on a phone that may not meet my expectations
1. The devices i looked at range from 200mhz omap to about 500mhz from various chip makers. How noticeable is the cpu speed if a phone has the same ram?
2. Next is Ram, how important is it to have 128 megs??
3. last is Rom, how useful is this- cant u just dump progs to the expandable memory card. performance wise how diff are progs installed on the rom verses the expandable memory?
phones i am considering are gsm: htc touch, touch cruise, SE x1, asus p527/p750, lg ks20, glofiish x650/x600, toshiba g810, gsmart i3xx?, samsung i780. How crippling is the htc driver problem?
a) i kinda want my phone to have some metal on the case- will it get less scratches?
b) how useful are phones with just direction and 2 buttons-send/end call? how useful is a 9# keypad in real buttons? seems redundant with soft key option
c) Am i better off with the cheaper options to get used to wm rather the go for a more luxury option?
I plan to keep the phone for about 3 years.
also how useful is the wifi versus data plan( i am in Ontario Canada)?
i plan to use it to call long distance in Canada via Voip, as i am around wifi hot spots often.
Thank you to all who give me some input.
I'll chime in where I can:
2. Very important. I find that 64 is not enough and 128 is too much. If they made 96MB RAM it would be perfect. But noone does that I know of. Better to have too much than too little. Battery life will suffer a little (less power used for less memory).
3. It's pretty important. I have 256 MB ROM and after everything I only have 128 free. If you only had 128 to begin with, who knows how much you'd be left with? Some apps need to be installed in ROM and not Storage Card. Get 256 if you can.
b) I never really use any buttons other than on/off and talk/end. I have a hardware button setup for the today screen, which helps me because I use it alot.
Hope that helps!
That clears it up thank you wildcard.
Ths could eliminate some phones from my list.
Could anyone clear up processor speed for me, does it really make a diff given enough ram?
Also out of the phones I mentioned, is there a clear choice that satisfy me- ignoring the phones not yet released( x1, g810)?
Is there an gsm htc touch clone from o2 or whoever that mimics the CDMA version ( 400mhz, 128 ram)?
Don't take this as entirely factual but:
-64mb RAM is good, but I could have used 128mb. Battery life is affected, but I don't know how much.
-CPU probably has some effect, but 400mhz is standard and fine. 200mhz is probably much slower.
-There is no 400mhz/128MB RAM Touch clone for GSM
-Apps run faster from ROM. With only system utilities on my device and with the ROM made spring clean, I could not have more than 32 out of 49MB of free RAM left. 64 is really small, 128 is a minimum if you don't want to count on your card or keep extra fonts/voice commands/media.
-You MUST have Wi-Fi. What kind of sane Canadian would rely on data... probably a filthy rich one! Rogers is about to bring affordable unlimited data soon tho, but they say it will be for "a selected list of phones" which will probably exclude the very phones that need it IMO. iPhone whores...
-If you're not sure about Windows Mobile, try an emulator (found on microsoft website using google) for developers and surf around. It's far from what you can actually do with your device but it helps you see what it's all about.
You might want to try PalmOS if Wi-Fi and web browsing is not a necessity. I changed to WM and would never switch back, but some did the opposite and loved it.
Suggestion:
-TyTN / TyTN II have plenty of buttons+hardware keyboard, great for playing video game ROMs and games in general, but makes the device much thicker. You will love having lots of hardware buttons (one for flashlight, another for calendar then another for...)
-HTC Touch. It must be slower, but if you remove web browsing, heavy customization and the like, it will be a nice pocketable device. It's so damn cute compared to my fat TyTN (which I love). It only lacks more buttons and some power under the hood.
Thanks again.
Rogers has some sort of Rogers Vision Plan that includes data for 7$ still dont know much about it, its all new. I'd rather not pay anything extra LOL.
www.tryphone.com has a preview of palm os, but that doesnt interest me.
I couldnt figure out the windows mobile simulation from microsoft, but i did use a htc briefly in a store.
Anyways from whats been posted:
Avoid 200 mhz
Avoid anything less then 128 ram
Avoid anything less then 256 rom
This basically leaves HTC, Samsung, toshiba, Hp 610 and upcoming expensive X1.
---
From what i understand Rom flashing is basically reinstalling WM and bundling less progs with it? Am I correct?
Could any one point me into the direction of more info on ROM flashing?
How hard is it to make a custom Rom from scratch in case I go with a non HTC phone i.e. Samsung/ Eten / Asus .. i gather the other communities dont have it as rich as this one.
Avoid LG KS20 !
Hello andrey08,
There is one thing I can tell : do not buy a LG KS20 !. It is plagued by totally flawed display drivers : many GAPI apps do not work, and most DirectDraw ones do not.
Moreover, LG stripped from the ROM QTV support, so you will not have hardware accelerated video playing.
There is also a problem with the microphone while phoning, which stops functionning while switching between GSM and 3G bands.
Finally, their customer support is even worst than HTC's since they always pretend not being aware of these problems and do not plan to release a new ROM to correct anything when asked (since there is no problem according to them...).
I'm the poor owner of this piece of crap, and can not even resell it since it would be scam (you can't not even rely on it to phone !).
You can search the internet to confirm what I say : european forums are full of messages of angry customers. Our problem is that we can not have class actions in europe as in the US, and it is not an easy task to individually sue vodaphone or LG.
Lastly, concerning HTC recent products : if you read this forum, you will find that recent MSM7xxx HTC products are plagued by a very slow display. Compatibility and applications support seems OK though.
what about screen type
i know VGA is 4 times the display ability of QVGA, however whatsthe draw back of VGA
do all programs run on both VGA/Qvga screens??
whats the issue with video play back??
andrey08 said:
what about screen type
i know VGA is 4 times the display ability of QVGA, however whatsthe draw back of VGA
do all programs run on both VGA/Qvga screens??
whats the issue with video play back??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would go for a VGA phone every time, but the advantages are relatively subtle.
Most QVGA programs will work on VGA, either because they are natively supported, or they use pixel-doubling.
You won't notice much of a difference for most of the built-in programs apart from smoother fonts and cleaner icons. This can be hacked using something like realVGA, but I find the icons get too small for practical benefit, although YMMV.
VGA, however, definitely comes into its own when you are web-browsing or using the remote desktop client, because the increased resolution means that you can get a near-desktop experience.
The disadvantage is that VGA displays theoretically sap more battery, although I haven't found this to be a problem in practice. Video playback is also more dependent on what hardware you have on the device and whether there is any acceleration.
ZSX said:
I would go for a VGA phone every time, but the advantages are relatively subtle.
Most QVGA programs will work on VGA, either because they are natively supported, or they use pixel-doubling.
You won't notice much of a difference for most of the built-in programs apart from smoother fonts and cleaner icons. This can be hacked using something like realVGA, but I find the icons get too small for practical benefit, although YMMV.
VGA, however, definitely comes into its own when you are web-browsing or using the remote desktop client, because the increased resolution means that you can get a near-desktop experience.
The disadvantage is that VGA displays theoretically sap more battery, although I haven't found this to be a problem in practice. Video playback is also more dependent on what hardware you have on the device and whether there is any acceleration.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also make sure you read my (W)VGA-related articles & reviews - from MWC, I've posted a LOT on the brand new / forthcoming VGA devices (for example, the i-mate 9502, the x7510 etc)
andrey08 said:
Hi,
Ive decided to go with Wm over UIQ3/S60 due to more software.
Ive never had a ppc, but i expect to do some tinkering in terms of software and maybe custom rom's
Turns out that choosing the os was the easy part.
Im now faced with hardware dilemmas. Sorry if this is long, but i dont want to throw away 400$ or more on a phone that may not meet my expectations
1. The devices i looked at range from 200mhz omap to about 500mhz from various chip makers. How noticeable is the cpu speed if a phone has the same ram?
2. Next is Ram, how important is it to have 128 megs??
3. last is Rom, how useful is this- cant u just dump progs to the expandable memory card. performance wise how diff are progs installed on the rom verses the expandable memory?
phones i am considering are gsm: htc touch, touch cruise, SE x1, asus p527/p750, lg ks20, glofiish x650/x600, toshiba g810, gsmart i3xx?, samsung i780. How crippling is the htc driver problem?
a) i kinda want my phone to have some metal on the case- will it get less scratches?
b) how useful are phones with just direction and 2 buttons-send/end call? how useful is a 9# keypad in real buttons? seems redundant with soft key option
c) Am i better off with the cheaper options to get used to wm rather the go for a more luxury option?
I plan to keep the phone for about 3 years.
also how useful is the wifi versus data plan( i am in Ontario Canada)?
i plan to use it to call long distance in Canada via Voip, as i am around wifi hot spots often.
Thank you to all who give me some input.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I heartily recommend the MWC-based handset reviews I've posted in the last week into this very forum (i-mate, HP, Samsung etc)
Thanks i'll chekc it out.
im considering either an Eten x650 or MWg Atom V
reviews and such look good for both
Mine would be as follows:
Form Factor:
Similar to My Mogul that I have now. The Keyboard is perfect, the slide is perfect. The size is perfect (could maybe be a little thiner, but that might make the hinge less sturdy). The weight is just about right, but I could go for a little lighter. What I'd really like is for the screen to be moved up a little and to have a full numeric keypad on the front kinda like the HTC Wings (might have to make it a little longer, but I can deal with that). This would make one hand operation easier and would allow for one handed text messaging. Also, I'd like for the screen to be flush with the device (like the touch) and not recessed. This screen would also have to be no smaller than 2.8 inches, though I'd really like to see a 3.5 like the iPhone. Finally, I'd like a hardware switch for switching the phone to vibrate. Other than that, I love the form factor of my mogul.
Specs:
I'm not too specific on the specs. I just want it so that the device will always be almost immediately responsive (again like the iPhone). The delay on the UI is "Garbage!!" (I'm an Oklahoma State University alumni, so I got to quote Mike Gundy). Hopefully that will get resolved with HTC soon enough.
As for the rest, I'd want the norm of GPS, Wifi, 3G/4G internet, a long battery life like that of the iPhone, microSD (I had been pissed new formats on each new device, but they are so cheap now it's stupid to complain), a quality camera (mega-pixel is less important than quality), a VGA cam on the front for video conferencing (just would be fun), and finally and most importantly a VGA resolution screen!!! We are long overdo for something better than QVGA and it looks like this year will finally begin to bring it.
OS:
Windows Mobile 6.1 would be fine for starters, but what I really want to see is Android on there. However, once Google publicly releases the Code they'll be porting to every decently popular device out there, so I'm sure I'd be fine on that.
Anyway, that's what I want. I can't really think of a much better device. They've already gotten pretty good, but there is a little ways yet to go. The two things I want the most are that numeric keypad on the front and the VGA resolution screen.
Of all the devices I have ever held, the Touch felt the best in my hands. I haven't see a TC yet, but something about that touch.
My first "geekphone" was the motorola e680i, still one the best non wm phones out there. It had something every touchscreen phone should have, a hardware switch to lock the device. infinitely useful and brilliantly simple.
I imagine in a similar way to many people in these forums I had hit a brick wall on PDA functionality. I was was waiting for Kaiser to be THE all in one and just as I was about to buy one I discovered the shortcomings. So, having sold my TyTn and bluetooth, solar GPS receiver I brought an Athena. Wonderful piece of kit but in the end it had to go as it was just too bulky.
Having heard that the 9502 was imminent I brought an HP 9515 to see me through to it's realease.
Two weeks ago I placed a pre-order for the 9502 with Powerupmobile as stock was due on the 24th and to my surprise (and slightly disturbing swelling in my manhood) it arrived last Friday (18th April) so I have had a weekend to play.
Out of the box the overriding feeling was 'heavy'. TyTn was ABS plastic but this is (and I stand corrected) magnesium alloy encased. Personally I find that comforting...remember when B&O put lead weights in their remotes to make the quality more tactile?
Runinng WM6 which we are all familiar with there are no real surprises except to say that the 640x480 screen IS beautiful!
Down the left hand side you have JOG Wheel and 'OK' button (very blackberry and very friendly) as well as a shortcut button to the wireless comms. The charging/hardwire comms facility (mini USB) is also present this side rather than on the southern aspect.
Down The right hand side is a '+' and '-' rocker switch for volume etc, voice memo and camera activation buttons as well as a 2.5mm stereo jack.
The stainless steel telescopic pointer is housed to the top right whilst the power button is on the top, horizontal face of the unit.
The face of the unit has buttons for MESSAGING, INTERNET, START, OK, RECEIVER UP AND DOWN and a FOUR WAY THUMB PAD + SELECTOR BUTTON. To access the MicroSD HC slot you have to remove the rear battery case, but not the battery itself.
Right
Left Back
Top
Bottom
Screen up
Battery exposed
On arrival I loaded all my usual software and all has worked fine with one exception...it seems that after using TomTom6, quitting the application and letting the unit timeout, it will not reactivate on the standard power depress. I have had to soft reset. I will make I-Mate aware of this.
-------I have subsequently discovered that this is a one off and the unit is being swapped out- 22-04-08-----------
All comms functions are manually startable so you have to remember to enable the GPS radio prior to starting your satnav software.
In much the way as TyTn an Kaiser the screen can be pushed to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard (though the numerics are still FN dependant) and the keyboard is backlit depending on the ambient lighting conditions.
The screen behaves more like a Samsung phone inasmuch as it 'flicks' up and down.
The reason I didn't buy Kaiser was because of the video playback problems dirctly attributable to the drivers for the Qualcomm hardware. What is ironic with the 9502 is that it is Qualcomm based but at 320x240 video plays back just fine. Using TCPMP to watch Star Wars Episode III with TCPMP in 'Raw Frame buffer mode' the movie was totally watchable. I will test 640x480 when I get time.
The GPS is easy to set up (on COM9 at either 5,400 or 115,000 baud) with more channels (and therefore more accuracy) than any other PDA I have used with an inbuilt receiver. The cold start time is between 15 secs and one minute depending on the normal constraints. There is no 'Quick GPS' facility.
I haven't been able to test HSDPA yet but all the radio's seem to give good reception so there's no reason to assume that throughput will be anything other than expected.
So, Kaiser Killer? For me, yes without doubt but don't forget this luurvely piece of kit hast only just been released. It WILL get better.
Now, who makes it?
PS if anyone wants me to test it anyway or wants more info, let me know.
Amazing!
Wow! This is one nice phone. I've been disappointed in my touch dual for some time now (eventhough Its not been too long since I bought it!) and been looking for a replacement but none of the phones I've seen look as 'sleek'.
I may just look into this one more.
I see that this one also has the same qualcomm chipset. What is the video playback like?
Does it have bad lag like all the other htc qualcomm pdas (like the touch dual)?
Does it slow down when you keep the screen pressed?
One more thing....I cant see it from any pictures, but is the screen beveled or is it flush with the sides?
Awesome. I've been wanting one of those since they were announced. After this little review you posted, I might think about actually getting one. Thanks
That be a bezelled screen me lad.
Duplicate post.
Duplicate post
Using TCPMP to watch video there were initially problems with a huge amount of frame ripping. This was quickly resolved by switching to from DiractDraw to GDI codec and upping the buffer to 4mb. This was at 320x240. Will try reformatting to 640x480 asap but I don't hold out a lot of hope that watchability will be as good.
Don't know what you mean by 'keep the screen pressed'.
It is indeed a bevelled screen surround.
Why does every new device got to be the "Kaiser" killer?
Also, what is with the internet and email buttons being by the ear speaker at the top? Everytime I answer a call I'm going to open an email.
By way of an update to the issue with TomTom6, it turns out that my unit is faulty. At random it won't come out of standby. Completely unpredicatable and unrelated to TomTom, it transpires. PowerupMobile.com have organised a direct swapout so hopefully it's just a bit of bad luck. Bodes well for Powerup Mobile though. I was concerned that as they were nearly £100 cheaper than expansys the service might not be as good. Great response from their tech guy/guys too.
If you put your phone yo your head with that kind of sustained pressure your in for serious ear problems.
Kaiser killer cause it's less money, a better product out of the box (4 x the screen resolution) and it all works as it's supposed to (with the exception of mine which is, of course, a one off problem). HTC have long been repackaging the same hardware and charging more and more for it with little increase in functionality. I was a hardened HTC fan as my PDA record shows, but to tout a unit as the most powerful of it's type, hike the price and then turn out a unit which is effectively a TyTn with a GPS and a video problem isn't too customer focused...stockholder focused perhaps; to then refuse to sort a DRIVER problem....firmware no less...tends to put one off. In my humble opinion, if a 'Kaiser Killer' comes along and forces HTC to turn out better products at a more competetive price, I'll be back with them.
Oh yeah, and it's a catchy title.
i´m also interested in this phone.
could you please upload some pics taken with the camera. best would be in dark light and with text.
thanks
Eurosportler said:
i´m also interested in this phone.
could you please upload some pics taken with the camera. best would be in dark light and with text.
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will do. Give me 24 hrs though. By 'with text' I assume you mean a text imprint overlaid direct?
yes, that is what i meant with "text"
thank you for the fast response.
Could you please tell us how responsive is this device compared to the kaiser lets say. I mean do you have any problems of it being slow? I am asking because VGA screen resolution is sometimes a burden for processors and there are some examples of "slow" VGA devices.
Do you have memory leaking problems? I have heard a lot about the considerably low 30mb free RAM after a reboot, but if it remains there after starting and closing programs, I don't believe it is an issue.
Finally, could try to make some benchmarks and post the result. Try to use SPB or sktools so that there are comparable results.
Sorry for the long request message, but I seriously thinking of buying this device, and it is good to know some things before I finally decide.
Thanks!
I hate to burst your bubble, guys but since the technical specs(incl. CPU) are pretty much the same as on the Kaiser(HTC TyTN II), don't you think that i-mate just put Kaiser technology into a different(yes, nicer) outfit?! Just my 2 cents worth...
@P996: yes but you are missing the VGA spec which is something "different" to what we have seen up until now. Moreover, if imate has actually managed to use the processor efficiently so to cope with the VGA resolution demands, that we are talking about something completely new, considering the size and offers (GPS, wi/fi, VGA, keyboard). I don't think there is something similar in the market now and all its offers are called new technology.
@edenc: sorry but I have on more question . I have also read some comments about battery life. Do you think it is ok, or it might be an issue? How does it compare again to the kaiser lets say?
Diamond killer???
lol
just read the thread.. sorry
Oh its completely a Kaiser Killer. Everything about it is better. All my mates who have a Kaiser want my 9502, but the video drivers are still shockingly bad (sorry to sound like a broken record). I never even considered a Kaiser - it seemed like a downgrade from the Hermes in terms of the features that I regularly use.
The 9502 can play perfect qvga video, but it looks rubbish on the VGA screen. Other than that (and no SDHC support) this is, in my opinion much better than anything that is currently on the market, and will be until the X1 comes out.
ya. cant wait for X1 with 3" 800x480 WVGA!
compare to that fake diamond at 2.8" VGA 640x480! haha
you may also want to repost your article to http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=351788
I'm a two year Kaiser user and have been happy with it generally. But the small screen and resolution, plus sluggish CPU is making me want to upgrade.
However HTC (and seemingly other manufacturers) seem to be shifting all UI interaction to the screen only (practically). I know I'm not the only one saddened by this, as d-pads and jog dials have their place and offer guaranteed responsiveness and precision which no screen tech can easily match. Unless you have fingers that look like stylii and a permanently steady hand.
Anyway, I'm just interested to hear if there are other people out there wishing for a Touch Pro 3 / Leo / Kaiser hybrid? Nice big screen, Snapdragon but a little d-pad squirrelled away at the bottom and jogger on the side. I wouldn't mind the phone being a bit longer to make it all fit.
Oh and I'm a business user and can appreciate that on a device like the Leo aimed more at the mass-market, the missing buttons aren't so important. But I think the Touch Pro line could do with them.
More than agree!
hardware keyboard is a must for me also, 2 lines of production I can see:
One for more multimedia non professional use like Leo and the second with more business capabilities like the keyboard
I´m sure TP3 will come out with larger screen, snapdragon and more surprises, but we have to wait at least 6 months for that.
just my opinion
Here some possible options:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=556749
i agree completely !
one of the things that i hate about mobile phone design is that everyone thinks that to make a better phone than the iphone you have to copy it rather than take the best ideas and improve on them.
i'm eagerly awaiting news of the touch pro 3 (rather than the touch hd2 / leo) because a hardware keyboard is important to me - i'm hoping that they'll include a scroll wheel and d-pad like my old kaiser in a form factor of my current xperia with a decent processor and the latest version of tf3d. they're all htc devices so it shouldn't be too hard ...
I agree, too. I still use my iPaq 210 daily not only because of the 4in screen, but for the dpad. It just doesn't feel like a pda without one. I would actually prefer phones to come wit jog dials on the side, but that's just a personal preference. How are we supposed to get anything done without them? I recently got a TD2, and while i like it, i don't think I will ever have it replace both my phone and PDA for lack of buttons. The main reason my BA was used so long was for all of its buttons.
I'm surprised to see people sticking up for jog dials -- I'd argue that the dial on my Kaiser is terrible, and WM doesn't handle 'em well anyways.
Dpads are nice, though. I'm particularly fond of the "stealth" pad on the Touch Pro.
At the same time, they're getting less and less useful. As more and more apps are designed to be finger-friendly, the usefulness of the dpad will decrease. I already find myself using it much less than I did, say, two years ago.
I agree that they are being used less in programs, but honestly how could you like the touch pro dpad? It is probably the worst i've ever used
typo said:
As more and more apps are designed to be finger-friendly, the usefulness of the dpad will decrease. I already find myself using it much less than I did, say, two years ago.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Finger friendliness is one thing, but buttons just can't be beaten in some cases. E.g. I use Profimail for email and when replying, I often need to position the text cursor (?) at the very top. If I do this with a finger it's very tricky to get it in the right place. Or positioning the cursor between the words for adding / removing characters etc. is easier with a D-pad. Or when walking and wanting to do things on the phone without giving the full concentration you'd need by focussing on and positioning your finger on the display.
I agree though the usefulness is decreasing but I just don't think it will ever decrease to the point the D-Pad should be removed, but HTC obviously do.
But people are concentrating on the benefits of faster cpus and forgetting the drawbacks of slower input.