Database Users

xda2 torch accessory

hey mates,
was in hong kong for a business meeting and naturally i passed by the ever-reliable pda shops for accessories. and true enough; i was able to get the xda2 backpack and a couple of flash cards. but what's even better is this little handy accessory i picked up called the pda-torch. not only does it act as a small flashlight; it also acts as a "flash" for the xda's camera. the bulb emits a rather strong white light which enhances the resolution when taking pictures in not-so-well lighted places. tried it already and objects taken in part-dark places come up quite well.
the torch swivels around via the rotating connector. the connector can be separated; thus the torch can be easily removed or clamped on. it doesn't fall of or anything; you have to pull it off with a little effort.
cheers
robson

another pic for the xda2 torch
another pic with the torch light on.
cheers
robson

This is stunning!
But, when taking a picture, does it really 'flash', or does it act like a 'camera lamp'?

hey mate,
to turn on the light you twist the end and it clicks into position; keeping the torch on. twisting it further makes it "flash"...but you would have to get into the rhythm of timing your finger to press on the camera the same time when you need the flash. sort of like...and a 1 and a 2 and 3 "click"...oops no flash with that...so i'll try again.... what i do is keep the lamp on when taking pics. it's rather bright but it doesn't really blind someone who's on the receiving end...sort of like looking directly into a fluorescent bulb. and the beam is wide enough to illuminate quite a lot; the parcel says something like a "hallogen" bulb used. it runs on it's own set of batteries so that takes care of any issues about sucking out the xda's juice.
cheers
robson

Hmm, runs on own batteries, need to time your button press with flash... this isn't an XDA accessory, this is a torch with a clip.
Now, a real camera flash accessory would be trully useful - the XDA's (and most other camera phones) camera quality in low lighting is dreadful. A little XDA powered flash add on that sticks in the expansion port and links to the camera application to provide a true flash would be neat.

hey mate,
i agree; the torch is not specifically designed for the xda2...however the parcel did say that aside from being used as a torch it can also be used as an aid for pda-cameras. the pic showed the torch attached to an ipaq with the flash card camera accessory.
i DID hear from this chap in hong kong that there is a plan to come up with an sd-card type of "flash-bulb" accessory for the xda2...sort of like the xda1's camera accessory which goes into the sd-slot (but a flash this time). that's something to cheer about i should say
robson

Is it available online or do I need to visit Hong Kong?

don't think it's available yet, mate....but then again once it comes out it should be availble in most, if not all, internet-based shops like expansy. you live in malaysia so it's still within asia. i'm like 3 hours away (thailand) but i do make frequent trips...keep you posted then on the availability

Universal-2 Wishlist

Hi
I have now had my Universal for almost a year. It will soon be time to upgrade. Seems to be no sign of a Universal-2 - perhaps HTC will not bother, I have no idea how popular they were.
The Tytn comes the closest, but has a very small keyboard with no dedicated number keys, its only QVGA and it does not have a full sized SD-Slot.
I like the form factor of my universal, and can handle another phone of the same size/weight. I would prefer it to be narrower across-ways at the expense, perhaps of being a little longer. Here's my wishlist:
- 800x480 widescreen display
- External display (b/w fine) showing time, name of caller etc etc
- Retain full sized SD slot
- GPS built in
- HSDPA
- More sturdy hinge design
- Better battery life
- More sturdy (click-in-click out) stylus hole (like Psion Series 5 please)
- Hardware 'OK' button
- Jog dial like Tytn, and loose the daft hardware volume control
- Have the backlight button do something useful instead (turn on camera LED for use as a torch for instance
- Instant ring from standby when someone calls
- Access to SIM card without having to remove battery, or dual sim holder and option within OS to switch sims.
- White LCD backlight rather than flourescent aka Sony T3XP (better batt life)
- Modern, efficient Samsung processor
- More memory - ideally 256MB to save installing to SD card
- 802.11G wifi or even WiMax if delayed that long!
- 6MPix camera with digital zoom controlled by jog dial giving 2Mpix image at 3x zoom.
- Ditch the aerial holes on the spine - nothing was ever made available that used them.
- Light up the pickup/hangup buttons on the spine when unit closed and call recieved.
- Appear as flash disk when connected to PC without activesync running
- Retain full sized headphone socket
- Sould not require 6 months of firmware updates before it becomes usable
- Drop stereo speakers on front & IrDA if nessesary to house stuff above in compact package
Anyone else got things to add?!
Nigel

Possible Omni-alternative

Seeing as the Omni doesn't seem to be coming out anytime soon...maybe this could be a worthwhile alternative:
http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/08/e-tens-glofiish-m800-a-better-x800-with-qwerty/
QWERTY Keyboard, VGA screen, built-in GPS, HSDPA...looks like all the vitals bits are there.

That looks amazing, the only annoyances for me are 2.5mm instead of 3.5mm headphone socket, and no number keys on the keyboard without pressing the FN button. The use of MicroSD is also annoying, why oh why have manufacturers abandoned normal size SD - these cards always have the highest capacity because they can fit 2 NAND flash chips in 1 package.
We have been really spoiled by our Uni's But this is the ONLY model that may tempt me, I need a VGA screen and keyboard on my phone for remote desktop use. But it seems to be a very obscure manufacturer "E-Ten", so don't think there will be such an active community of hackers/developers like we have with the Uni?

List your 'small' things that make this phone great.

Well it's not even out for sale yet but we've all seen plenty of reviews & videos giving us a taster of what's in store when we get our hands on one. Of course we're all well aware of the headlining specs - 20.7mpx, waterproofing, small form factor etc. but what about the lesser known bullet points, the small things that may have escaped attention or been quickly glossed over but still contribute to making this a great device. If you have any, share em here. Here's my three -
F2.0 camera aperture - great, nice & big
Dust proof - yes, not just dust resistant like other phones, this is fully dust proof.
Smart window case available - I'll be having one of these. Smart window with smart orientation, awake on opening, and phone still fits in the charging dock when folded back.

For me it came down to the battery life and a quality camera. Everything else is just icing on the cake.

I like how the percentage is inside the battery icon. It saves notification space. I like how they removed the consumer logos from the back of the phone and hid it inside the phone. It looks cleaner.

I'm also liking the 'smart connect' app it comes with. I plug in my headphones, it's set's the volume, opens Google play, starts playing, when I unplug headphones volume gets reset.
It's also got configurable settings for charger dock, headset and normal charger.

The stamina and ultra stamina modes - I wish those and the FM Radio could be ported to AOSP too.

Small thing but coming from exynos devices it's a blessing:
Whenever you hit the power button or double tap, the screen is on_instantly_ no lag or anything. considering how often you wake up your phone that is kinda important!

Atoto A6 pro with gestures compared to Panlelo

I noticed the Android radio section is kinda small so thought I would provide some feedback with the various ones I've used. I've had two Panlelo and two Atoto radios.
The Panlelo radios I used were basically trash. Well the first one was ok, but it had a long boot. And started up with some strange bluetooth and gps error messages. I did like it at the time and it wasn't until I purchased Atoto that I realized what I was missig.. Being the first Android radio I used I had nothing to compare it to. I bought a different Panlelo for my wife because she wanted a volume knob. That's the only thing nice about it. The SD card slot was broken, the touch was terrible especially at the top and bottom. it wouldn't auto connect to my hotspot, it wouldn't remember my car launcher pro as the default launcher. Was just bad. I had also purchased a camera from them and the power trigger wire had a break in it somewhere. I've come to learn Panlelo does not make quality products. Oh yeah the first Panlelo had the side buttons stop working after a few months! And I always had obd2 connection issues.
The two Atoto radios I've had are amazing! The A6 premium I used for a year and then moved it to my wife's car. It has held up amazing and everything is layed out so much better than Pablelo. I never have issues with it. The obd2 always connects. I recently got the A6 pro with gestures and it's even better, though it's also more expensive. Aside from the gestures, the built in amp is noticeabley better. I can crank it much louder before distorting. It will actually support 2 ohm speakers although the kickers I use are 4 ohm with pretty high sensitivity (I think around 90) so they get pretty loud without an extra amp. The screen is also more vivid, better blacks, viewing angles and brighter. The resolution is the same as the first A6 but It definitely looks better. I don't use the provided screen protectors, and they don't seem necessary. The other A6 has no scratches after a year.
The gestures are pretty cool, although I've found the only two that work without problems are rotating your fingers/hand clockwise and counter clockwise. I never get false positives and it always registers when I use it. I first used it for volume up and down, but I've since used them as shortcuts for navigation and front camera. I changed the navigation app to torque so it pulls torque up instead. And front camera, I use for parking my big f250. Volume controls, home button and next are all configured on my steering wheel.
I used to use to wave your hand (defualt for that is mute) but I found it was triggering just driving around. Im hoping an update will make this more reliable. The other ones, hand forward and hand backward from sensor also trigger false. Umm besides that the layout is really good, with home, back and recents on the bottom left close to driver. (Another thing Panlelo got wrong by putting these on the top right)
Hotspot auto connects. Ohhh yeah and one thing I recently discovered! You can share Google maps navigation via Bluetooth. I'm still trying to think of a more seem less integration (wish it had NFC). But Bluetooth works well. Basically start your navigation from your phone, hit the share button, choose Bluetooth > Bluetooth2> accept the file transfer from Atoto it will then show where it was downloaded but just open maps and it will be there. It's actually pretty easy and works better than trying to type an address in. Especially when a lot of times someone has already texted you the address to your phone.
I'm still hoping for an easier way, I wish I could just out the phone close to the radio and beam it over. Or if there was a good way to get texts on the radio... I know there are Android messaging apps that sync, but I prefer the stock messaging app. Anyway, that's my experiences with Android radios. I like to use carlauncher pro.
Edit: added a couple more pics, one to show the parking camera

I can't make up my mind
Thanks for the right up. I may order the Pro unit minus the gesture feature. What brand of cables did you use on the install?