Universal Or P990?? - JASJAR, XDA Exec, MDA Pro General

I have had a Universal for a while now and there are ups and downs. I like the fact that i can upgrade the firmware and customize it the way i want, but the device is big and i have broken the screen once before. I have been eyeing the sony ericcson P990 for a while and i was wondering if anyone can add their input if i should get the P990 and sell my universal while the price is high since there is a new universal coming out soon.
Thanks.

It all depends what You expect from Your mobile. If all You want is a handy tool for communication I would go for an cell phone like motorola ez or similar. If You expect more like having additional calendar or PIM I would still stick to ordinary cell phone.
Universal or p990 is much more than communicating device. cut to the point because You know what UNI is ;-)
I am quite familiar with whole family of Symbian UIQ phones since p800 and motorola A925. I always considered them as much superior to pocketPC in terms of stability and potential of freeware soft. Till Ive bought WM2003 almost a year ago (now I have universal too). Overall usability and software ergonomy is much better in pocketPC than in symbian (its MY personal opinion). theres thousands small issues which make pocket pc better that symbian just like IE You cannot record conversations in symbian out of box - in pocketpc you can make notes along with recording. Theres much more things like this. Another question is constant problem with backing up data from symbian devices - I found several ways but none of them is comparable to activesync (even whatever bad things You can say about its instability etc). In terms of soft theres huge disproportion in obtaining freeware soft for both platforms - Youll wont find such great games like pocketHeroes, UFO on symbian.
I could tell much more but reasumming: as for size p990 is smaller but not so small afterall - I would tell both UNI and P990 are in the same class (comparing to small samsung or motorola). As for battery operation time. Hmm, in papers P990 should run much longer but in reality theres almost no difference between those devices (my friend have P900)
Sorry for my unconsistent reply but I just wanted to give You some points for consideration.
I would definitely stay with Uni - BTW I love to watch movies on it. Futurama looks great on UNI.
Regards,
Piotr

Hard to decide. The p990 is much better to be uaed as a phone than the Universal. However, the latter has much better software support.
If I were you, I'd wait for either the Omni or would go for the TyTN.

I would definately go for uni .

Thanks
Thanks, i appreciate your inputs. I think i will stay with the UNI, but i would like to give the P990 a try. My main reason is for somthing powerful and that can stay in pocket or belt clip without pulling me down. The universal has a much nicer interface than the symbian, buti will see, might have to try the P990.
Thanks again.

i prefer universal

So all these show that with many drawbacks r uni still has a upper hand above many pda's.

Related

Are we all crazy?

Yep, I'm seriously thinking of selling my JAM on Ebay now so I can still get close to what I paid for it. I have spent far too long messing with this device to get it to do what it's suppossed to do. And I've spent far too much money purchasing software that should have been included with the JAM in the first place. (even the bloody 6315 came with a battery monitor)
I also think that this is not a problem with simply the Imate JAM.... it's a problem with all MS based PPC's. I'm more pissed off with the fact that Imate cannot provide adequate customer support for their devices. I think that similar to my 6315 (Which sucks as well) that there is not going to be a forthcoming patch or ROM that is actually going to make everything work. 1.3 mega pixel camera, my ***! The camera on the JAM can't take a decent picture to save it's life. The GPRS on the new ROM is useless. And in general, the JAM device is too quiet, unstable, and is made by a company who doesn't give a toss about its customers or it's products. (They don't even read their own forums to help out their customers).
I, like a lot of people, recently signed up for hosted MS exchange server to get push e-mail on the JAM. Well, it's nice when the GPRS works. What the hell is the point of having Push e-mail if the phone has to be reset to get a connection?
Am I going crazy here? I just want a device that is and does what it's meant to! -That's why it's so annoying, I can watch StarWars on my phone, but I can't check my e-mail or correctly type in a PIN code without errors......now that's ****ed up!!
I'm sure that there are people out there who are expriencing an amazing relationship with their PPC's -But am I wrong in thinking that we're all getting screwed by devices that are inherently flawed? If I bought a car, stereo, or TV that had this many problems I would have taken it back on the first day. Are we all being too accepting of our BETA projects. I'm getting tired of being the guinnee pig for these phone manufacturers who try to put their product on the market as fast as they can without fully testing them and then fail to provide adequate support for the fools who purchased them.
In my case, the JAM definitely meets my expectations and also exceeds them in many ways. To start with, it's been running stable since I installed the Qtek ROM ver 1.11 a couple of months ago. It never hangs and rarely requires a soft reset. I sometimes soft reset just to clear some memory.
It's a full featured PDA in the size of a mobile phone, which is exactly what I was after. The quality of the camera may not be that good, but 1.3 Megapixel is about the size of the picture not the quality. I had a Sony Ericsson P900 before the JAM and the quality of the camera was much worse.
From the software side of things, there's a lot of FREEWARE software available, including battetry monitors. The software available for the competition (i.e. Symbian), is far more limited!
In my opinion, the JAM was a good buy and as yet I don't think there's a replacement for it (convergence devices in a reasonable size!). I used to change my mobile phone every 4 to 6 months. But this time, I think I'll only replace the JAM with JAM2
Basically, you're right. I wouldn't sell the device though, because it delivers the most features from all mobile phones. You can have decent navigation, great games (TombRaider etc.), watch music, have a good music player and great other applications. It's like a PC and it's basically what i expected: You can watch movies but it doesn't ring reliably every morning. My PC does the same stuff, the same kind of problem - it's not mobile phone - just a small PC with a phone application.
I assure you that you won't find a phone with that amount of features that currently runs more stable than MS Phone Edition device. If you want stability - choose one of the old Nokias. They are stable, reliable, good phones - and extremely boring. If you want all features in your pocket - take the Magician. There just is no device with the best of both worlds! Get used to it.
By the way - the full featured (and not upgradeable) phones sold today are even worse with regards to their reliability and stability.
IMO hp dropped the ball with their h63xx, wanting to have the device out asap caused alot of troubles and angry customers.
--
Used to have the GPRS problem (Qtek 1.11WWE ROM) it's now gone (using i-mate 1.11WWE). The camera is still lousy (way worse than the Nokia's 1.3MP cameras) I think this is a hardware issue also (maybe they used cheaper sensors on it?).
--
as for i-mate's support it is one of the worst I've had the displeasure of going thru (or not going thru for that matter). I'm very thankful for communites that really fill the gap (i.e. this one!!!)
--
I'm happy with my JAM been using a PPC for almost 3 years I've accepted it's short comings as well as it's value... remember the i-mate JAM is a PocketPC first and a phone second. Sure there is alot of room for improvement in the platform especially the UI (it could be simpler and more one-handed friendly; MS says WM5.0 will address this but I think we'd have to wait for 6.0 or 7.0 to really have a refined OS). maybe it is time for you to explore another communication device. maybe a symbian s60 device which is a decent smartphone (used to own a Nokia 7610 and it was a pretty decent phone). i understand ur frustration and the best way to show it is with ur wallet. i'm sure you won't be buying an i-mate next time... hope u find a device that will suite ur needs. goodluck!
After The Upgrade
After the upgrade the camera is less grainy in flourescent situations, but more clear and sharp on outdoor shoots. I'm not going to sell this baby, looks are superb and hardware response is excellent just keep in mind to get a ultra fast SD card like what I did with my Sd which is a Kingston 512MB no delays no hangs and no need to soft reset.

Nothing to wait for...?

Isn't that weird that there is still nothing better on the market than Exec?
And nothing is even announced to come!
Or maybe I missed a news about a PDA/Phone with better specs than Exec.
I love gadgets and am a bit confused when I have nothing to wait for :wink: .
And I'm going to Japan and Hong Kong in a month and was thinking to buy something there.
rottie said:
Isn't that weird that there is still nothing better on the market than Exec?
And nothing is even announced to come!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't mind - I've got until December before I change my Exec - so glad I took out a 1 year contract rather than an 18month one.
Keep a look out for the SE p990i..... should interesting :roll:
BR
agent003 said:
Keep a look out for the SE p990i..... should interesting :roll:
BR
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Impressive specs, but the tiny keyboard isstoo small. Should sell well enough though - Wifi and 3G? Damn nice. Might face some competition from the XDA IQ (Orion).
The non-flush keyboard flap is awful too. http://gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_p990-pictures-1318.php
Nice looking from the camera facing side though!
And that plastic thingy supposed to be better than my Exec? :lol:
rottie said:
And that plastic thingy supposed to be better than my Exec? :lol:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i'll second that
I sometimes wonder if they are so shunted for creativity & innovation! The same old crap revamped over and over again, and people still keep buying it! Unbelievable!!!
The OS is so lame, it makes me wonder how people can even use it! The applications you get for the SEs are so "compromised" and pathetic, that i really wouldnt even dream of having one of those in my gadget kitty!
again, my honest opinion....no flame war intended, but i would enjoy a breakout nonetheless
Cheers,
San
I have ordered my P990, its a phone PDA not a PDA phone. Looking forward to having a reasonable amount of user memory (>64Mb) and great MP3 playback and photos. Also I suspect I'll get two days life from the battery unlike....Also I don't expect to need to reset it every two days...Its amazing what the naff OS from Symbian can do (e.g. real-time processing)
Edit: also looking forward to having caller ID on my JabraBT800 and stereo BT playback
jah said:
I have ordered my P990, its a phone PDA not a PDA phone. Looking forward to having a reasonable amount of user memory (>64Mb) and great MP3 playback and photos. Also I suspect I'll get two days life from the battery unlike....Also I don't expect to need to reset it every two days...Its amazing what the naff OS from Symbian can do (e.g. real-time processing)
Edit: also looking forward to having caller ID on my JabraBT800 and stereo BT playback
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am going to take a serious look at the P990. I had a P800 which I didn't like much (it promised far more than it delivered), but the P990 seems leaps and bounds ahead. I then moved on to a Treo which was OK but underpowered both hardware and OS-wise. I then got a JAM and now an O2 Exec - but don't think much of Windows at all - although I couldn't survive without TomTom! I don't think any PDA has come anywhere near the quality of the Psion 5. What went wrong...?
"Looking forward to having a reasonable amount of user memory"
I've a bucket load of stuff on my XDA, never ran out of memory. Ever.
"and great MP3 playback"
Hey, me too!
"and photos."
Check. 640x480 pics look glorious. What res you running in, and on what size screen?
"Also I suspect I'll get two days life from the battery"
I get a day, but I charge every evening, so it's not a problem.
"Also I don't expect to need to reset it every two days"
Windows Mobile 5.0 is reliable. Obviously Beta software etc occasionally needs a reset, but in practice, the thing is reliable.
"Its amazing what the naff OS from Symbian can do (e.g. real-time processing)"
Sorry, what? My XDA doesn't process in real time? Really? How does it multitask?
"also looking forward to having caller ID on my JabraBT800"
Caller I'D works well through my headset via Voice Command, no need to take the headset off to look at the number.
"and stereo BT playback"
Hey, me too!
@Belfast Bikes, real-time processing means Symbian does everying there no need for two OSs unlike WM5 devices. I was trying to point out that the P990 is more a phone then PDA; some people need a rock solid phone over a PDA. On memory, I do need to reset because of low RAM and I prefer to install my apps on the main memory as I do when I use all my other devices. The Universal's 27MB user memory is very low for a USD1000 device in 2006!
@page3, totally agree about the Psion 5 - fast, easy to use and rock solid (I think I had to reset my 5MX about twice in 12 months). The Psion 5 design is from 1997! Here we are 9 years later and we have to suffer slow devices that are unreliable!
jah said:
@Belfast Bikes, real-time processing means Symbian does everying there no need for two OSs unlike WM5 devices.
On memory, I do need to reset because of low RAM and I prefer to install my apps on the main memory as I do when I use all my other devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never reset due to low memory,ever. I use gspocketmagic to actually close the apps I don't need, perhaps that helps?
As for needing two operating systems, I have no idea what you're talking about.
@Belfast Biker
re: Real-time OS
Look at these links:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/02/13/microsoft_single_core_phone_os/
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/12/30/singlechip_rtos_phones/
All *current* PocketPC/WM phones require two OSes. One runs the phone radio and the other runs the rest of the PDA. They have to be working together in order to give you a usable device. Once these are integrated in a RTOS, we should be able to do more with less. This should result in more efficiency, less weight and smaller motherboards. Technically, it should also reduce the price, although that, of course, will likely never happen!
SE990 UIQ ...
Hi folks,
I own a SE P910 as well. It is pretty similar to the 990 apart from WiFi and 3G and the screen size - the 910s screen is larger ;-)
Well, compared to PPC/Phone Ed these show a different attitude.
PPC/PE are sort of PPC with the possibility to call and the SE 9XX are phones with a PDA.
Compared to my Universal the 910 definately is NOT slow once apps are loaded and you can leave a whole lot running berfore you'll notice any slow-down. I have several apps on that thingy and I have to admit there definately is light and shade - just as everywhere, in the PPC world as well.
Concerning the keyboard you are right - this is tiny with the 9xx but text recognition (scribbling on the screen similar to Transcriber) is more accurate by far.
Phone operation (there are some people left that really use their phones to phone ;-) ) is a whole lot better: quality of sound, scroll through options by a 5-way wheel switch, options in general are better and usable compared to PPCs.
And something striking is that these devices don't have a Reset-switch - they really don't need it ....
It just depends on what you want so please don't damn a device just because it is different
Have fun!
Andreas

HTC Shift vs. HTC Athena

I am still trying to decide what i should buy. HTC Shift, HTC Omni and HTC Kaiser will be announced in Q3 just like HTC X7501. I am still waiting as my friend WU told me to do. I will wait till Summer July or September where more juicy stuff will come and therefore I decided not to buy HTC Athena.
One is a UMPC and the other is a Pocket PC. Compare both in all ways, from price, technical spec's and style.
I find the Shift to be much better than the Athena. What do you all think?
I have the Ameo now, and by the time the novelty of that has worn off, the Shift will be out.
And of course, I'll have to have one of them as well.....
nuclear said:
I am still trying to decide what i should buy. HTC Shift, HTC Omni and HTC Kaiser will be announced in Q3 just like HTC X7501. I am still waiting as my friend WU told me to do. I will wait till Summer July or September where more juicy stuff will come and therefore I decided not to buy HTC Athena.
One is a UMPC and the other is a Pocket PC. Compare both in all ways, from price, technical spec's and style.
I find the Shift to be much better than the Athena. What do you all think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will never buy the HTC Shift, and none of the UMPC. You see, i think PPC and UMPC are completely different product. I don't like UMPC, you can't turn it on in one sec, even you put it in stand by, it will still take a while. And also, none of the UMPC can last for whole day, i do not want to charge my device every so often.
I want my device to be 24hr connect to Internet to check mail, that you can't do with UMPC.
So i still prefer Athena, and don't forget this, i can use my U1000 to do remote control to my home pc.
If you compare Athena with other PPC, yes other PPC might have better spec when it comes out, but i find it quite hard to go to any smaller screen size then Athena. So again, it's all depends on personal needs and use, personally, i find Athena meets my needs
I agree with Wu. Why would need some slow device, I have it at home. When I am mobile I want something that would last for whole day, would be with me when I need it to check my emails, use it to go on MSN or Yahoo messenger, would have big screen and wont take ages to respond in some action (for instance Symbian phones).
schoofter said:
...wont take ages to respond in some action (for instance Symbian phones).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait till you see E90 in action it will blow Athena apart
I don't like XP/Vista in my phone. Slow startup and wake up from hibernation is a huge problem. Another con is since it is essentially a XP/Vista machine, it uses the ordinally desktop application which comes with all none-essentially adds-on and this blown up the size they needs. 40G storage will depleted in no time.
Battery staying power is another huge issue for UMPC.
Granted E90 is quite good but Symbian apps. is more on multi-media centric, so professional softwares are quite limit and hard to come by.
raven2000 said:
Wait till you see E90 in action it will blow Athena apart
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am sure E90 would be a interesting device but after my N73 I doubt I would like any other Nokia. It is all sparkly and nice on paper and when you read it on Net it is super duper but when you start to use it then it gets on your nerves. Nokia maps is so nice on first look but would be with maps of other countries? I don't think they would ever make map for my country so no use of it and you can't use any other app for GPS because it is made just for Nokia.
schoofter said:
and wont take ages to respond in some action (for instance Symbian phones).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welllll, that's some really controversial statement
All the Symbian devices I've ever used performed WAYS faster, than their CE/WM competitors, though the specs were usually much lower.
E90 ????
raven2000 said:
Wait till you see E90 in action it will blow Athena apart
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know with you all, but for me what is nokia E90 caps so beat Athena. I don't have them both, but
1. Do E90 will be supported by many software developer?
2. Do it will doing many "assistan" thing?
For me it's not a "smart phone" at all... it's just a phone...
Once again it's personal opinion, i doubt if someone already use PPC/Palm will move to NOKIA thing...
But everyone have their opinion..
cornelius said:
I don't know with you all, but for me what is nokia E90 caps so beat Athena. I don't have them both, but
1. Do E90 will be supported by many software developer?
2. Do it will doing many "assistan" thing?
For me it's not a "smart phone" at all... it's just a phone...
Once again it's personal opinion, i doubt if someone already use PPC/Palm will move to NOKIA thing...
But everyone have their opinion..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i totally agree with you, i think E90 can only be call a phone, looks at the number of third party software that PPC has, yes it might be faster on E90. But slow is just usual for Windows device, for example, Windows is slower then Mac, but does that mean everyone will run and get Mac? No, because windows has much more application.
chtan said:
I don't like XP/Vista in my phone. Slow startup and wake up from hibernation is a huge problem. Another con is since it is essentially a XP/Vista machine, it uses the ordinally desktop application which comes with all none-essentially adds-on and this blown up the size they needs. 40G storage will depleted in no time.
Battery staying power is another huge issue for UMPC.
Granted E90 is quite good but Symbian apps. is more on multi-media centric, so professional softwares are quite limit and hard to come by.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I always with 2 devices with me, 1 PDA and 1 Phone..
Before Dopod 900 / Nokia E60
Now Dopod u1000 / Nokia E60
Get the smallest and most powerful phone around for normal phone call.
Nokia E series (edit/view word/powerpt/excel.. wifi, Really good webbrowser + another Opera), PDA (Contact/Schedule/Todo can make it by 1 hand..)
WM5/6 for web/email/entertain and relax ur eyes
its very interesting..
im thinking of either the E90 or the HTC Advantage! the advantage will be out earlier and the prices of both will not differ by much. at the end of the day, the desicion of buying one rather than the other relies on what do you really want from a phone/pda.
maybe someone can help me:
my interest after all is to:
-have a device good with making calls and good for using to sync with your PC. both have the abilities but one rather probably has a better phone functionality than providing a pda/sync functions.
-as for multimedie, i have my digital camera which will never be replaced but to have a 3 mp is not too bad to take pix of some urgent things
-as a music player im not too picky as long as i get some sound
-storage wise, Advantage has plenty of those and it beats E90 easily.
-emails and so forth are important ot me. however, i would liek to upload email from my organization server which can be done through B.berry connect i suppose only. i believe both phones have the capability of doing such a thing, right? but i think the wm5/6 has a better email capability in geenral than symbians, right?
-i would get some softwares to add to my phone ans it seems windows based phones have far more titles (professional ones atleast).
-battery life: i think the E90 wins here..not sure.
-GPS capabilities: not sure which set has a better nad a more reliable one. it seems like nokia has introduced maps which can be downloaded on individual basis which is a nice idea depending on the country you are travelling to.
-multimedia again---watching movies..hmmm..it could be interesting if you are in your car as a passenger for a while..i guess it is easier to watch it on an advantage due to bigger screen..and the hard drive will assist in having bigger files on board. what do you think? but how many movies can you watch with the battery before it runs out of juice?
interesting comparisons and it is difficult for me to decide really as both devices cost lots of money and i dont want to make a desicion then regret. perhaps a user fo both devices can shed more light.
Cheers!
you said: but one rather probably has a better phone functionality than providing a pda/sync functions.
so E90 will be able to do phone thing than Athena becaus lack of earpiece on athena and vibrate notification...
just get yourself a bt headset(Jabra BT8010 is recommended) and everything will be fine, or may be excellent?

Time to move on perhaps?

I've had HTC/XDA's for the past 7 years, starting with the basic XDA through to the XDA2, XDA2s, XDA Exec and currently the XDA Hermes...but they just ain't that cool anymore - I used to enjoy using them, they were original and the OS was swish but now they're slow, cumbersome and just not that funky nor impressive - its a rickety old OS with nothing to get excited about.
Until Microsoft do something interesting with PocketPC I don't think I'll returning for a while, however I'd just like some opinions on the phones to which I'm considering a move to...
My likes...
- Touchscreen ideally (Nokia loses here)
- Navigation capabilities (either built in or addon)
- Good quality camera, quick to fireup/use (unlike PocketPC!!)
- Proper Keyboard (nice but not necessary)
- Ability to use POP3 email practically without hard work
Based on the majority of the above, I am considering these phones...
- Samsung F700 (beautiful looking, nice interface)
- Apple IPhone
- Nokia N95 8Gb
Have I missed anything worth considering, if so what are you recommendations?
Currently with Vodafone and have been offered the F700/N95 for free, 500 minutes, Stop the Clock (free after 3 minutes for an hour), 250 txt's for £30 p/m.
I am put off PocketPC so with the greatest of respect, don't bother replying if its an anti-anything-else style response.
Appreciate your views/opinions, particularly from anyone actually using/with experience of any of the above phones.
I had my hands on the N95 and its awesome. The iPhone is the iPhone, awesome os and navigation, but ultimately i see a bunch of chicks with them so no. Samsung looks promising but will probably be way too expensive straight off unless carrier subsidised. N95 wins, it has GPS, a snappy os, great music player, and tons of software available. Good luck in your choice!
Thanks for your reply mate, the N95 does look appealing but what about the keyboard? Is it genuinely usable on a day-to-day basis? Heard comments that its too small?
Cheers, Ash
I know the iPhone is the rage for alot of folks........but even so...Apple will try to make it grow and advance without end.
Example is the release of the developer package.........I think the iPhone, atleast with the coming introduction of then next version, would be my next choice...........for the resale if nothing else.
My little Hermes has held it's value pretty well too!
Good Luck and stay in touch.
chipsxj said:
I know the iPhone is the rage for alot of folks........but even so...Apple will try to make it grow and advance without end.
Example is the release of the developer package.........I think the iPhone, atleast with the coming introduction of then next version, would be my next choice...........for the resale if nothing else.
My little Hermes has held it's value pretty well too!
Good Luck and stay in touch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I agree with your sentiments, the IPhone 2 I believe it worth waiting for, I don't think I'd invest my pennies in the current release, its just not heavily featured enough, although the firmware upgrades are coming out thick and fast!! Its now got a GPS like technology!! Very impressive!
...but I'm not interested in making my Hermes act like something far superior, I'm just bored of its tired, slow and clunky interface - need something refreshing that allows me to enjoy using my phone, and enabling me to use it properly without having to wait for it to wakeup from standby, wait for the camera to get its act together etc!
Thanks for your comments. Anyone any experience with the Samsung? It looks smart! Has good spec too!
ashleyhall said:
Its now got a GPS like technology!! Very impressive!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you consider a "GPS like technology" - the same thing GoogleMaps does?
to be honest,
You are looking for the
"Sony Ericsson p1i"
http://www.smarthome.com/96001.html
It meets all of your specifications, except it has a suretype keyboard. It has 2 letters to a key, instead of a normal keyboard, or a normal keypad with 3 letters to a key. It's actually the best keyboard to have once one gets used to it.
Key features:
Touch screen
WiFi
Smartphone capability
Not sure on GPS/location.
awesome 3.2 megapixel camera.
I think you'll like it.
vr24 said:
What do you consider a "GPS like technology" - the same thing GoogleMaps does?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, similar in the sense that it doesn't use a traditional GPS utilising Satellites, instead it uses GSM triangulation, still its an impressive addon for a firmware update. Lets face it, when did the last Hermes firmware update (from an official provider, not cooked ROMs) enhance our functionality to that extent!!
Sirgatory said:
to be honest,
You are looking for the
"Sony Ericsson p1i"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the pointer, does look nice but I'm a little put off Sony's after seeing/playing for a while with the P900 and P910 - very large, clunky and easily broken phones with a rather unimpressive slow interface - have things improved since then?
not sure if that's the case any more but many sonyE owners complain about as poor charging connectors as htc had pre extMiniUsb
also suspct sonyE only support their own odd flashCard std.
hope the iphone2 got microSd
Rudegar said:
not sure if that's the case any more but many sonyE owners complain about as poor charging connectors as htc had pre extMiniUsb
also suspct sonyE only support their own odd flashCard std.
hope the iphone2 got microSd
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just watched a video showing the SonyE's interface, looks just like the old P900, slow and not very jumpy to respond.
Think I'll keep looking, what other nice phones are out there right now?
Cheers, Ash
The only one out of your list I would consider is the iPhone.
Some people are sentimental about the devices they use, they deveop a love for it and whenever something clearly better comes out they make a whole lot of excuses defending their old device. While I've loved my Hermes very much, I'm not sentimental, I'm progressive. Within financial reason, I will go with whatever the current-day best device/platform is.
The iPhone has in no way been that, not so far. Unti l I can have EVERY little excellent WM app I use, or an equally good iealternative on the iPhone platform, the iPhone is a waste of money for me. Everything else of course is brilliant, but the No. 1 thing that turns me on phones is the abilty to have multilingual dictionaries on it, an audio recorder, an advanced metronome app (yes, musician here!), access to network mapped drives, a GOOD calendar app (iPhone's is not good enough for me, try Agenda One), ebooks and pocket bible, a scientific calendar (to some people that would be VERY useful), TCPMP (enough said), and ALL the tweaking to my heart's content.
The release of the SDK is what excites (and at the same time worries) me. I'm just wondering how Mr. "closed" and "controlling my devices" Steve Jobs is going to handle the freedom with iPhone that's about to be unleashed.
I'm also interested in what Microsoft is going to do for WM7 in reaction. Are they just going to bloat it up with vista-like "wow"-ness (thereby slowing it to a grinding halt) or are they going to actually make it a powerful platform and compete with the desktop-class iPhone platform. The browser situation STILL sucks after all these years.
And how about Google's android? Will there be a following for that, enough to bring out great apps? If so, AND if it can be employed on my Hermes, I'll stick it out to try that.
So what I love about WM6, is not actually the OS itself. I hate the OS. But all these wonderful developers have made my WM phone what it is, and outweighed its anoying slowness.
Also one single feature which would stop me from going to iPhone, is input. I LOVE TouchPal, try the free edition or professional trial, it's AMAZING. FAR superior to that horrible iPhone keyboard. And the great thing is, it's NOT complicated, only took me half-an-hour to learn. They've done some incredible innovation there. So, will Apple allow third-party developers to make their own keyboards for iPhone? +, will there be a way to sync to my outlook?
I'll wait and see...
Edit: oh yeah, there's also MicroSD. 12GB just got announced, and the SDHC spec can go up to 32GB. That's value being reinvested into my Hermes. There's all these little things that are BIG things in my daily phone experience, and they must all be ticked in the checklist before considering moving.
I know what you mean about moving on. My Wizard is barely living (no SIM card most of the time, still an OK PDA), and I really miss using a touchscreen phone now. I would have bought a Kaiser, but after seeing all of the issues it has, no way. I think the iPhone still looks good, even though Jobs wants to lock everything down...but then again, that didn't stop me here, why would it stop me now?
frenchglen said:
While I've loved my Hermes very much, I'm not sentimental, I'm progressive. Within financial reason, I will go with whatever the current-day best device/platform is.
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Click to collapse
Very well put, I'm fully agreeing with you on that and I am pleased that the 'Anti-Anything-Other-Than-Hermes' police haven't yet bothered to respond.
The TouchPal system looks excellent but I simply can't imagine it running at the pace that it does via the video's I've watched on my own Hermes - The IPhone I'm tempted by but not until its next reincarnation, which judging by the speed at which Apple plough up new devices, I don't think I'll be waiting long.
Another phone I'm now considering is..
http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2007/...-crowd-preps-m4650-windows-mobile-touchphone/
...although at the moment I know very little about it.
I guess I'll keep looking!
Just to update you all - went into several stores to play with various new Mobile Phones, tried the Samsung F700 - VERY disappointed, tried the Nokia N95 - HORRIBLE piece of cheap tack. Finally, got informed of the new Vodafone 1615 (KAISER) - what a GREAT bit of kit, yes its another WM machine, the natural progression from the 1605 (Hermes) but its actually nice.
Doesn't seem any faster BUT it has lots more RAM, built in GPS (YAY no more Bluetooth GPS!) and a nice tilting screen!!
Got an amazing tariff agreed and expecting delivery of the new handset tomorrow!!!!
Will keep you updated on my progress with it!
Cheers, Ash
Just a quick comment on the N95, I've read (don't have a link to hand currently, sorry) that a lot of users are having problems with the onboard GPS. aparently the chip/antenna is situated on the back/bottom of the handset which, for obvious reasons, affects the ability to get a fix on your position...

Ok folks,what´s your reason to stick with this wm?

About to sell mine X1 after four weeks,6500 sek and this device really sucks..
It´s not all about wm itself but the device..
It´s buggy,not very advanced in features and dead slow for a start..
Reception,camera and end user experiance is a joke compared to a rather basic nokia these day..
Like the size and looks though but that´s it..
My nokia e90 is far more advanced then this and that device is 18 months old..
So what is it,please tell me?
GASP....BLASPHEMER **points at Micke401**!!!!
Its all personal opinion really. For me, coming from the LG Viewty its like going into the future. I made the official decision to sacrafice the 5MP camera for a QWERTY keyboard. There are also more 3rd party apps than you could download in a life time!
i understand you somehow, i have the device for 2 days and by now i have nothing but trouble with it.
I already have a hardware defect and alot of software/stability issues with WM.
the screensize and resolution is cool, other than that i dont really see why this has been hyped so much all the time...it does the basic stuff but once you try some third party software all you get is alot of problems.
After all the camera is average, video playback is average, no emulator works right, browsing is average, panels are crap slow, most of the third party software i have tested (TouchFlo3d, Slide2Unlock, Batty) cause freezes and other weird behavior...
well maybe its just my phone but in the last 2 days i rebooted the device (which takes AGES) for about 30-40 times and did 2 hard resets.
Another thing I love about this phone is this forum! All of the problems ive had (not many i must say) Have all been sorted out on here. No other phone ive had has had this much end user dedication!
Isn't that fair if you install beta/ known for not working / software for other hardare (e.g. Touch HD) stuff (TouchFlo3d, Slide2Unlock) on the machine and you complaints about it's stability?
For me, nokia (e.g. N95) is great for it's multimedia capacity (excellent camera and stereo speaker). But even it's built-in GPS software crash the phone so often and it's just a piece of ****. Not to mention that they can't provide any touchsceen device until the up coming 5800
Nokia isnt any better...
its just that on my Ipod touch everything just works...but i know that the iphone/ipod all have the same hardware and OS, so its quite easy to get stability going and Apple is reviewing all apps before release.
toxical said:
Nokia isnt any better...
its just that on my Ipod touch everything just works...but i know that the iphone/ipod all have the same hardware and OS, so its quite easy to get stability going and Apple is reviewing all apps before release.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's true. But it also limit and put a big burden on what developers can do "officially". Based on the Apple's SDK, multi-tasking and real-time navigation are not going to happen to 3rd party software and that's suck. And many other killer apps (Skype, Internet sharing) on other platform won't be happen as well. (Well, at least "officially).
WM is no where perfect but it gets most of our jobs done.
The fresh out of the box windows mobile device is a HORRIBLE experience. There's no ifs and or buts. Even the HTC devices with touch-flow are nowhere near the user friendliness of an iphone.
The difference between this and the ultra user-friendly iphone devices is that you can customize it to do whatever you want - which takes a ridiculous amount of patience and research to get to that point.
I can't use the iphone any longer because the e-mail system is horrid and everything is locked. The iphone will destroy the xperia in terms of multimedia capabilities. All depends on what you need in a device.
my experience is exactly the opposite:
i was a bit disappointed because of the slow panels but after installing the "sbp mobile shell" this issue was fixed. i dont use the panels anymore because my personal "usage-profile" fits perfectly with the features of the "spb mobile shell".
additionally i installed following tools to complete the things i need:
- skype
- divxplayer
- gpstoday
- mobipoket
- flash_lite (for flash-sites in opera)
- blackstone keyboard (replaces the popup keyboard)
- blackstone volume control (replacec the volume control)
- total commander (to establish a LAN to my workstation)
- SRS WOW HD for better Sound
- advanced config tool to tweak some options
i have done a few softresets after installing some tools. i have never done a hardreset and my phone works _really_ stable.
the only issue i had was with google maps and gps because of a missconfiguration of my connection settings (my fault).
so far the x1 is the best smartphone i ever had (after nokias and older se-smartphones).
also: this forum helps alot !
- quadword
dunno man... i've had the x1 for a few days and i swear i've had the thing get stuck on me at least 10 times a day.. pressed the reset button under the battery cover god knows how many times.. i dont blame se for this its just windows mobile thats messed up imho.. i've moved back to the iphone for my primary phone i just use the x1 for typing while im driving..
SCtud said:
The fresh out of the box windows mobile device is a HORRIBLE experience. There's no ifs and or buts.
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Click to collapse
I disagree, ive had winmmo devices (with or without phone capabilities) since windows ce first came out, and ive always found its to be a worthwile o/s. Granted the Iphone interface is amazing especially with its dual touch capability. But i wouldnt (IMO) say the winmo experiance is horrible
I'll take WinMo over multitouch any day.
WinMo gives me all the basic things i need BUT it can actually handle real games like Warcraft 2, Age of Empires, Syberia and so on (sure they're old, but they're my favorite) compared to the acclerometer arcade games of the iPhone...
Windows Mobile is meant for configurability, the sweetness of doing anything you like with your device and tons of 3rd party programs(probably the most than any other mobile platform).
Saying that X1 is crap, is like saying HTC Diamon, Touch Pro and Touch HD are crap too. This is quite silly of course because they have almost the same hardware and OS, and those HTC devices (at least the 2) have done a great job for many users.
X1 is good for its big screen (resolution), hardware keyboard and the standard connectors (audio and USB jack which current HTC devices lack), the rest of the features are already present on other mobile devices, nothing really new.
Summing it up, comparing the iPhone OS and Windows Mobile is like OSX vs Windows. Some users like the shiny clean interface, while others like to get the job done and be able to control their hardware with tons of programs. Some people don't like to mess with the device but others are dying to do so.
I vote xperia!
My first winmo device was a cassiopia. And I've had just about everythin in between. I won a gen1 iPhone in some dev conference and played with it for awhile before giving it to my brother in law. It was horrible to type on and locked up frequently without any additional software. IMHO it's a toy.
The panels are software. They're not quite right yet but I don't find them to be slow on my device. (Without any other large running applications in the background).
If I don't use the panels at all, I can load TF3D and Blackstone cabs and device works very well. Of course if you even hit the panel button it will crash, but if you don't it works fine.
There are some software issues to be worked out but when hasn't that happened with the first production rom on a WM phone?
Except for the annoying bluetooth turning off and the email signature (patchable) issue I think this is the best device I've had. Far better that the TYTNII. (IMHO)
This site is also a major reason...
well thank you for all the input in this matter.. guess it's all about taste and what to expect from a high end device like this.
I am very unhappy with this one going back to my E90 but thats me,more feautures better camera and even flash right out the box suites me fine.
No struggle no hassle just simple and plain usage and everything works..
Any bid is a good bit when i comes to this crap so if in sweden feel free to make an offer..
Micke401 said:
well thank you for all the input in this matter.. guess it's all about taste and what to expect from a high end device like this.
I am very unhappy with this one going back to my E90 but thats me,more feautures better camera and even flash right out the box suites me fine.
No struggle no hassle just simple and plain usage and everything works..
Any bid is a good bit when i comes to this crap so if in sweden feel free to make an offer..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I enjoyed my E90 (before I had my iPhone 2G which I am now tired of hence my silver X1). The E90's camera is better? I haven't really used the X1 camera yet. Would love to see some comparison shots X1 vs E90.
Okay, another X1 owner here.
I've had the device for 2 days now and what can I say:
THE BAD
- it is slow
- WLAN sucks, the range is very very very very weak.
- No Cisco VPN, only IPSEC+LT2P and PPTP, but a lot of companies use IPSEC+something else from Cisco, which doesn't work on the X1. On the iPhone it does.
- Generally limited connection options to WLAN, I still can't connect to our campus network, but all the iPhone people have no problem.
- panels are crap, the placeholders aren't even updated, they're all in English although I have German (the panel itself is then German)
- Basic WM concepts: for example: Error boxes have a close button (tiny), but can be dragged around (whole box). Why, I ask, why? Who would want to move an error box, instead of closing it???
- Recessed screen.
- Small icons on the top.
- Media player sucks, no gapless playback, no EQ, etc.
THE GOOD
- Amazing touchscreen. Very very precise, and I can do everything with my finger.
- Amazing speed on WM core applications (file manager etc)
- WM basic PDA capabilities: Tasks/Calendar/Mail all work very well.
- SPB Mobile Shell
- Keyboard is usable I think.
- Camera is good, but a tad slow.
- Active sync is okay.
- Office Mobile!!
- PDF Viewer <--- very good
- Sound quality over headphones is good, radio is very fast.
SUMMARY
Panels and WLAN suck. Everything else is okay or good. The X1 is an okay purchase, but waaaay too expensive in comparison with an iPhone.
RECOMMENDATION
- DON'T get it for your girlfriend/wife/grandma. It's utterly complicated to find out how something works, everything is not intuitive.
- GET it if you want to spend A LOT of money on a device which is worse than for example an iPhone in most areas, but has a few missing features you really need (for me it's tasks, screen res and video)
please stop, stop complaining about a thing that you have purchased only because of marketing or shopping compulsion. Next time read (internet, reviews, forums) and think ("is that the thing that I need?") before buying a 600+ euros device that you don't know what really is.
Once again: noob, stay away from windows mobile, use symbian, s40 or iphone, but don't pretend to be a pro with winmobile and then ***** because you can't use it in the way you suppose to
guap said:
please stop, stop complaining about a thing that you have purchased only because of marketing or shopping compulsion. Next time read (internet, reviews, forums) and think ("is that the thing that I need?") before buying a 600+ euros device that you don't know what really is.
Once again: noob, stay away from windows mobile, use symbian, s40 or iphone, but don't pretend to be a pro with winmobile and then ***** because you can't use it in the way you suppose to
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I second that.
guap said:
please stop, stop complaining about a thing that you have purchased only because of marketing or shopping compulsion. Next time read (internet, reviews, forums) and think ("is that the thing that I need?") before buying a 600+ euros device that you don't know what really is.
Once again: noob, stay away from windows mobile, use symbian, s40 or iphone, but don't pretend to be a pro with winmobile and then ***** because you can't use it in the way you suppose to
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have in fact a touch dual and i think even this device surpasses this one.. AND i read the reviews belive me and this was a lot of money down the drain..
I expected at least the feautures my 18 month nokia have in a slick format with a touchscreen but no,it`s so far behind that it is rediculus.. No good for me i want more,i do not want to search this otherwise exellent forum for things that already is done in my E90.
I was just curious about what other think about it,if it suits you thats fine but for me it`s simply no good..

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