Related
I am considering upgrading from XDA II to IIs and since the price is steep because it's new, can i have some suggestion from previous Himalaya owners who upgraded to Blue Angel? Is it worthwhile to upgrade or should i wait?
Pros and Cons would be good.
Thanks in advance
Cheers!
lazzy said:
I am considering upgrading from XDA II to IIs and since the price is steep because it's new, can i have some suggestion from previous Himalaya owners who upgraded to Blue Angel? Is it worthwhile to upgrade or should i wait?
Pros and Cons would be good.
Thanks in advance
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Shame you cant buy it here in the UK as a new contract moving your number with you as I only paid £49.99 here http://www.scancom.co.uk/customer/product.php?productid=17024
And although we were only XDA I owners I do think its well worth the upgrade so much better I find than an XDA I
if you need :
1. WIFI
2. Keyboard
3. a BLACK PDA PHONE
Then upgrade to IIs.
I won't upgrade to IIs because
1. It's even heavier than II
2. The larger capacity battery don't help much
3. WM2003SE not really as great as you think
4. I don't need WIFI.
5. Why upgrade to a device with the SAME CPU, SAME AMOUNT OF RAM, SAME SIZE, SAME SCREEN ?
I will upgrade to HTC Magician / XDA II Mini / Qtek S100 / T-Mobile MDA Compact / Dopod 818 / Imate Jam / whatever you like ..
killercheung said:
if you need :
1. WIFI
2. Keyboard
3. a BLACK PDA PHONE
Then upgrade to IIs.
I won't upgrade to IIs because
1. It's even heavier than II
2. The larger capacity battery don't help much
3. WM2003SE not really as great as you think
4. I don't need WIFI.
5. Why upgrade to a device with the SAME CPU, SAME AMOUNT OF RAM, SAME SIZE, SAME SCREEN ?
I will upgrade to HTC Magician / XDA II Mini / Qtek S100 / T-Mobile MDA Compact / Dopod 818 / Imate Jam / whatever you like ..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) Don't really need WiFi now cause Macau doesn't have WiFi spots at all.
2) Keyboard will help me a lot in replying my e-mails and once Blackberry is available.
3) Not too concern with the color.
I know the rest is the same but i believe the internal RAM now is 96MB instead of 64mb in XDA II?
Nope
Hi,
Just sold my new MDAIII (same HTC Blue Angel as XDAIIs), and will continue to use MDAII. This is why:
1. The screen on MDAII is dreadful (yellowish, lower contrast, tiny viewing angle, must be used at full brightness (I use MDAII at lowest level) to achieve barely acceptable picture which nullifies the advantage of the higher capacity battery)
2. Wifi will not connect to Wifi networks with hidden SSID (SANDISK sd wifi on MDAII does this without problem (using newest socket driver)- which incidentally also has marginally longer range).
3. Keyboard is much slower to use than on-screen one, not to mention SPB full screen keyboard
4. BT radio has about 20% shorter range than on MDAII (using BTGPS for network access)
5. Needs very frequent resets. Particularily when connecting to different wifi APs and when switching between BT Network access and wifi access(BluetoothGPS works much better on the MDAII)
Given that the industrious contibutors to this site have provided us with screen rotation functionality (SRS) (as well as BT network access), the MDAII is still my choice by a long shot.
BTW 1.7 rom upgrade also offers FAX support.
The only thing that I miss is the "single column" IE browsing mode, but I'm hoping that someone will solve that too.
Cheers,
Martin
Should have read: The screen on MDAIII is dreadful
Im a little shock with what people are saying here.
I have a Imate PDA2K and I must say it is perfect! I had a P800 before and the things the P800 didnt have was:
Wifi
Keyboard
and these two things make a big difference for me. I have wifi at home and checking email on that is just perfect. Download attachments without worries of GPRS prices. The Keyboard means I can ride a bike and type and email at the same time with one hand where you could not do that on a PDA without a keyboard.
Screen I thought is perfect, well on mine is.
BT works fine for me.
Much of a muchness!
buy what you need
I know the rest is the same but i believe the internal RAM now is 96MB instead of 64mb in XDA II
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
xdaII have 128
xdaI's came first in a 32MB later a 64MB version
not sure if xdaIIs only have 96MB but i'm pretty sure it have 128 like the xdaII[/quote]
I've had an MDAIII for a few weeks now and I can honestly say that I prefer my XDAII - The XDAII was a giant leap from the XDA. The MDAIII is a very small step, has many bugs and a yellow screen - wifi and bluetooth don't work properly and the keyboard is nowhere near as good as my original Nokia communicator. I got my MDAIII for FREE - I would definately not be happy if I paid a lot of money for it. My advice to anyone thinking of 'upgrading' would be to wait for whatever replaces this model. Hopefully the next generation of these phones will be 3G and have faster processors and really get the benefit of being truly portable wireless machines.
That exactly reasons why I am not going XDA 3. Plus, I think design is just ugly. I am looking forward to see Magician in person
I know it's a mtter of personal taste, but I think that the look of the MDAIII is not as 'sexy' as the XDAII.
Rudegar said:
I know the rest is the same but i believe the internal RAM now is 96MB instead of 64mb in XDA II
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
xdaII have 128
xdaI's came first in a 32MB later a 64MB version
not sure if xdaIIs only have 96MB but i'm pretty sure it have 128 like the xdaII
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
[/quote]
It's the ROM , not the RAM!
XDA II and IIs got 128M RAM.
However XDA IIs has more ROM then XDA II.
You'll have arround 15m ususable ROM STORAGE for XDA II, and 40m for XDA IIs.
With a XDA IIs, If you set 64m ram for storage , you'll have totally 100m for storage (64M Ram + 40M Rom).
The total rom size for XDA II is 64M, XDA IIs is 96M.
Spend time looking through the various issues posted here that are specific to the BlueAngel.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=13057&highlight=
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=12693&highlight=
Poor screen, random soft resets...for me, problems with the microphone while phoning force me to recommend another device. It was something not mentioned in any of the hardware reviews I read (1 such being http://www.infosyncworld.com/reviews/n/5530.html), begging the question do these guys actually use the device before writing their remarks?
Personally I am going to wait for the XDA IIi due out early next year. Faster processor, better camera are a couple of things that are worth waiting for. However, I won't know until its out and some feedback (such as this here) is available .
I'm definitely in the UPGRADE camp, running my II side by side with the matt black wonder that is the IIs. BT & WiFi (I used sandisk sd on II) work so much better on the IIs & BT finally works properly with car kits.
The screens on the ones we have are fine & the software is far more intuitive.
the IIi will simply be the IIs functionality in a II case, yawn! I can't get my head around the idea that the II is better looking either, mine looks as old fashioned to me now as the Xda did when the II came out.
just swapped to using the keyboard and not its biggest fan so can't recommend it for that (couldn't get shift to work, I might actually have read the manual) so back to stylus/soft keyboard.
The IIs is also a bit heavier but I'm prepared to get my trouser pockets reinforced! I honestly wouldn't be happy going back to the II
was able to try out the xda3 for a month; hated it and switched back to my xda2...whew good thing i didn't sell her. for my reasons; same as mentioned by the dudes in this thread with emphasis on the useless keyboard...among other things (no offense to those who did get an xda3)
for the xda2s; definitely i won't get this unit. i was in hong kong last week and i was able to play around it with it. sure wm se is great but other than that i didn't see much improvements as compared to the present xda2...which didn't really justify the price it came with (6980 HKD). i'd rather wait for the xda2i (which is rumored to have a faster processor and a 1.3 mp camera). or even better; i'd wait for the xda4 since it's rumored to come out next year around june / july...or end of the year.
cheers
As i noticed the Xda IIi doesn't have keyboard, which i need the most. What i need the most is Keyboard and Wifi what i don't need is the camera (stupid thing for me) and processor doesn't matter.
So it's up to each one of you, buy what you need. You can't say something bad when you don't need them. That's why O2 releases 2 models IIs and IIi, is for me and for you ...
i just sold my xda ii and got a xda iis last week
personally i feel that iis is stable than ii as i experienced "blank screen"+"hard reset" many times with ii, but i haven't got this problem so far with iis for almost a week now (installed same software).
i really feel wifi is good and battery consumption is much lower than what i expected when using wifi, minimum it is much better than the sony ux50 pda.
don't xda 2 s. suck's
after using xda2,
i found xda 2s,
verry bad like the screen its i think 50% dull than the xda2, I mean when u tilt the phone side way or up and down u can see the colour change from yellow to white, this never use to happen in xda2 and the colour quality is also bad am curseing my self why did I upgrade???T
he jabra bluetooth which worked fine with xda2 dosen't work well with 2s lot of hissing,
i am really unhappy with the screen quality,
so guy's and gal's stick to xda2 and pray that xda3 will have a crisp and clear screen and the bluetooth will work fine,
hi, All
This is my XDA II NOW :
1.72.181 + blackberry + O2 Asia Style
SRS + SwitchSR program (the latest version)
AppSuiteXDAII
IIWPO
cooked with some Extended ROM XDA IIs (Thank's to **applecom)
WMP 10 Skin :wink:
a lot of program installed !!
I think my device is still the best PDA phone and no need to change with XDA IIs
cheers !!
Hi folks,
I'm considering switching from the PDA2K to the JAM - has anybody else done this ?? If so, what are your impressions?
I've been a user of the XDAII for 18 months now and switched to the PDA2K in November. Even though the new model has a keyboard/Wi-Fi etc.. I find the device unreliable and awkward to work with.
cheers
Russ
rscott,
I am in almost exactly the same situation as you. I used a XDA II for about 10 months and then switched to the PDA2K. I really do like it, but I think the processor should have been upgraded to the latest generation even if the speed wasn't boosted up. Mine pauses quite a bit between switching apps, but it has been quite reliable.
I am actually evaluating an imate JAM right now for Geek.com and am really loving the size and speed of the device. WiFi isn't that important to me because I have other devices with it and can always add it with a card if I need it. I only use WiFi at home so it is more of a convenience. I think I would miss the memory capacity, but Pocket PC Techs does offer a 128MB upgrade so that is an alternative.
I do use the thumb keyboard for much of my text entry though and think I would miss that functionality. I may just hold out for the MDA IV with faster processor and improved camera that will undoubtedly be coming sometime this year and maybe with the Windows Mobile 2005 (Magneto) operating system.
Yes, I find my PDA2K seems very slow at times. Switching applications the screen redraw reminds me of the early WinCE devices. Considering this machine is practically the same spec as my XDAII I would've thought there would be little difference in performance.
My unit also seems unresponsive and sometimes just seems to sit there 'thinking' after I have done something. Quite often I give up waiting and perform a soft-reset.
When I first saw the PDA2K it was the keyboard that made me part with my cash. However, I find that I rarely use it. Maybe I have become so used to using the on-screen keyboard I forget to use it.
As for Wi-Fi, the only place I can use it is at home. Maybe it is a feature I'll use more in the future but for now I don't really use it as much as I thought I would.
It is for these reasons why I am considering the Jam. I think I can live without the keyboard and Wi-Fi, but will gain a device that is much smaller and can fit in a pocket.
So, I am very interested to hear the results of your evaluation!
cheers
Russ.
To solve your speed problems...
How about using XCPUScalar? I'm using it, overclocking my XDAII with 530mhz. Everything is nice and smooth.
I also upgraded my XDAII to WindowsSE, so except the form factor, I don't see any advantages in the JAM at this moment. I would run out of space on the JAM, so I will be sticking with my good old new XDAII.
I will be evaluating the scene and the new models to come out...
Well, I finally gave in and bought a Jam from Expansys which should be here tomorrow
The missus works from home and sends/receives a lot of email. At the moment she is trialling my old XDA II to see if that would help her keep up to date when out of the 'office'. So now she can have the PDA2K as the keyboard will be great for all the typing etc..
I'll have the Jam, and 'borrow' then PDA2K when I need a fix of that ;-)
Just got to get rid of the XDAII now.
cheers
Russ.
Strange. I don't have slowdown problems at all. Maybe u guys should learn installing a decent operating system with ur softwares, and keep tryin usin wm2003se compatible softwares. Ur waiting for magneto? Firstly i would advise a step by step how to configure our mobile device training.
Cheers
Guest...this would be very interesting...where can we find that sort of training?...I have the I-mate JAM and on the original ROM there are some applications I will never us...so I want to uninstall them...:roll:
regards,
Primoz
My PDA2K definitely experiences slowdown, and this is with no other software installed !
The only thing I have done is upgrade to the latest official ROM. So there must be something inherent in the device that is causing this.
cheers
Russ.
I have been using my XDAIIs for about one month. I find that its performance is similar to XDAII (upgraded to 2nd Edition) as anticipated.
However, (this is only my personal experience), I do not install much software in my device by only chinese platform software, handmenu, tweak 2.41, batterymon (a battery indicator on the tray bar) and pocket informant leaving about 93mb on my main memory. Other software such as pocket genius dictionary and games are installed in storage card. I do not use any other software for today plug in too.
I am using Pocket Hack Master 3.04 lowering to 298MHZ with 133 and 133 memory speed.
I also do not adjust the memory allocation between program and storage (let the device to decide - usually half and half)
The result is that my XDAIIs is very stable, sceen run speedy (even faster than 400MHZ without PHM 3.04.....
In the past, I adjust PHM to 472, 199 and 236 (max speed I think), it is fast too but not as good as those mentioned above in terms of stability and battery life, also always hangs too....
I also noted that every device needs time to learn (After soft reset), so try to open those application and close it (I meant actually close, not just click X), it seems the device will memorise it... I noted that after doing this exercise, the total memory available will drop to about 81-88Mb....At this state, this is the most stable state of my device....
Hi guys,
I used PDA2K for 2 months, but then I decided to buy JAM as soon has been available.
The form factor is absoultely prevalent (it was not so evident from the photo on web) !! I use it everyday on work, and it stays in my pocket like a phone; completely different.
I used rarely the keyboard on PDA2K, so I didn't suffer for this; same for Wi-FI.
I think JAM is the real convergent device.
The only "minus" is the sensibility of the touch screen (on Jam is less sensible, so it is more difficult to tap with finger).
Hai ragione italos :wink: U R rigtht...the touch screen should be a little bit more sensitiv...I have got a SE P900 before and it was much more sensitive than on the JAM. How about the LED indicator?...I have noticeted when I have a new SMS in "sleep mode" it is always green and not yellow (red) as it should be!...
regards,
Primoz
no doubt that anybody who holds the PDA2K and the Jam (or XDA2 mini - as i have) will go for the jam. I can tell you that in my last company event event where I had my mini - 3 PDA2K deceided to replace + I already bought two units to new users.
the PDA2k is simply too big and slow - wifi? most of us I guess are XDA2 owners (as I am) so we have the wifi card and if not then 70US and you ahve it.
Furthermore the camera is much better and the form factor? well it's already been said....
One important thing that I 've noticed is teh battery life - much longer than the XDA2 - I guess because of teh small screen.
Udi
I heard that apart from the size of sceen saves some power for the mini, smaller memory size of mini does contribute to its longer operations time.
I have some quetion to ask.. since i'm going to purhcase this phone very soon.
1. How is the sound quality.. Ring volume.. good?, Loud?
2. Is their any lack or slow or bug errors ... in opening standard programs..
3. How is the GPS works? is this work well and fast?
4. Any other problems for this Artemis lately??
Thank you very much for your answer..
The reason is PPC, when is first launch always has some problem.. with normally can be fix by the next firmward, so i just want to make sure that this work well... (Not like ATOM when is first launched)
firstime911 said:
I have some quetion to ask.. since i'm going to purhcase this phone very soon.
1. How is the sound quality.. Ring volume.. good?, Loud?
2. Is their any lack or slow or bug errors ... in opening standard programs..
3. How is the GPS works? is this work well and fast?
4. Any other problems for this Artemis lately??
Thank you very much for your answer..
The reason is PPC, when is first launch always has some problem.. with normally can be fix by the next firmward, so i just want to make sure that this work well... (Not like ATOM when is first launched)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Sound quality: I would give it a 3.5 out of 5. Reception is very good. Ring volume: excellent! Too loud for my taste in fact. I NEVER use the maximum setting because it is, well, too loud!!
2. Nothing significant regarding bugs. Speed is more than acceptable. I still cannot believe that it's using "only" a 200MHz CPU. It simply doesn't show. I guess this is due to excellent implementation on their part (AKU and all). Also it is VERY easy to overclock and get significant improvement (if you so desire...) but I haven't found this to be necessary.
3. The best GPS implementation I have ever seen. State of the art in my book.
4. I was looking to get Nokia N95 but I'm glad I didn't. HTC has hit the jackpot with this one I think.
I agree I hardly notice the difference between my shiny new XDA Orbit and my 2 yo XDA IIs, apart from not having to carry around a brick!
This was my biggest concern, top marks to HTC!
I have to say this thing blows the Exec out of the water. I got crashes when messaging, freezes while looking at pics, and a whole host of other little niggles with my Exec. The O2 XDA Orbit which I picked up yesterday has been an absolute beauty. It's a lovely size, really light, and the controls are very easy to use. The only thing I'm slightly concerned about is my battery has gone from 56% down to 6% in about 10min, which is a little bad but aparently is just my battery so changing that tonight.
Ad
Excellent
I have had the MDA compact III for a week now and I think its great, if you want a brick then its not for you... ok it could have done with 3g and wifi (I have had it confirmed through a friend who works for HTC that the wifi Chip (hardware) was removed on the MDA) but at the end of the day who turns on there wifi? I havent on any other device...
All in all you choose the device for your needs, I had a M3100 and got rid of that for this... my main needs are tomtom, e-mail and phone in the smallest form factor I can get.... this device does it!....I have two and my partner has one also ... got them from the t-mobile shop £20 for each phone then £15 a month and 6.99 for the Web and Walk .... Bargain!.
Mouse - I prefer the roller on the M3100 but I do like the inovation and have played a bit with it but I do like it.
It's awesome. I have the the HTC with Wifi, but also without Wifi it's an excellent device
All the points that you ask have a 5 stars for me, compared with my old HTC Himalaya
Nothing is perfect anyway, a cradle available is my desire
I am also seriously considering getting this phone. My only concern is reception and voice quality. Anyone who has used HTC Magician please compare phone function of these two phones?
Also, does this have a2dp?
Exelent
raven2000 said:
I am also seriously considering getting this phone. My only concern is reception and voice quality. Anyone who has used HTC Magician please compare phone function of these two phones?
Also, does this have a2dp?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Reception is good gps faar out and voice quality better than the magician (s100)
Good Device (still trying to get rid of the t-mobile ****) using mda compact III with wifi. by the way the device supports RDS (many people where asking this on the forum so here's your anwser
When is the free unlock available and htc roms (tmobile roms are fully branded and hardreset softreset doesn't affect this much....
Just about perfect...
This phone is the best I have owned. I upgraded from a PDA2k and see no appreciable lag between that device's 400mhz and the 200 in this little beauty - other than Voice Command taking just a little longer to beep after button press. It plays video like a champ (although converted to divx) - but who uses non-converted video anyway? Too much space on the mem card!
My only desire is that the memory card would be easier to get to. Sending large files to the card via Usb or Bluetooth takes forever. I hate the fact that I have a card reader built right into my laptop and I can't make use of this functionality with my PDA without taking out the battery and lifting the sim card holder. I guess since it uses MicroSD and those cards are easily damaged, HTC figured that hiding it away would protect us from ourselves!!! Hey, deeper in the device means less dust, right!? Just get a 2 gig and forget about it.
I have noticed that the battery is a little weak; I had an extended battery on my 2k and it lasted forever - but talk about bricks!!! I see that they are making an extended for the Artemis too, but I am hesitant to bulk up such a remarkably perfect form factor.
By the way - I concur that the wifi is solid and the GPS is fantastic (and well managed by the OS). I can walk around INSIDE my house and not loose my fix!! As far as Rollr is concerned, it takes some getting used to, but after a while I now don't think I could live without it! Read on:
If anyone wants to try a great configuration, try this: Use Double Launcher 2.11 and you go from having 6 hardware buttons and 2 softkeys to having 16 functions available via button! DL doesn't see the start menu button or the OK button on the Artemis, but it will give you 4 options on each of the other four keys. I had Vito Buttonmapper on my 2k, but it didn't seem to function well on the Artemis. DL is much nicer on this device. Then I used the registry hack by travegliaesogno posted here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=281487&page=2&highlight=mousemode to get the mouse mode to turn on using a button rather than the HTC icon on the Today screen. I used 40c2 (as this is the startmenu key which I never use for that function). The best thing is that the hack survives soft reset! Now I can get the mouse to appear within applications when I need it and make it disappear when I don't without having to minimize and go to the Today screen to activate/deactivate it!!! The mouse takes a little practice, and I wouldn't be surprised if the ROM updates for this device will make it run even more smoothly as time goes on.
I was really considering the Trinity when it became more and more likely that it would eventually have GPS, but now that I know the Artemis is as zippy as it is and my new love affair with Rollr, I'm glad I took the plunge with this lovely gadget! High marks, HTC!!!
Oh yeah,
raven2000 said:
I am also seriously considering getting this phone. My only concern is reception and voice quality. Anyone who has used HTC Magician please compare phone function of these two phones?
Also, does this have a2dp?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Voice quality is excellent - no "sweet spot". Sounds good everywhere on your ear. Reception has been fantastic on Cingular in Virginia, USA. Sorry, can't comment on A2DP since I don't have bluetooth earphones yet. Okay, I'm done.
psargent, thanks for your mini-review, it was very helpful and removed my doubts about the device.
Thank you very much
Thank you very much for your coment on this Artemis..
So.. should say that this is the most perfect phone HTC ever build..
one more question, is this phone capable of 2g microsd?
Anyway i'll buy it.. wait until it release in THailand...
Yep, its a fine phone/pda. Ringer is loud, im glad to say, nice ringtones too, none of the normal crap tunes they put on all the phones these days. Tomtom seems slow to get the sats up but once it gets going its great. Its amazing what you can get on a 1gb card. I have 2 full length films and tomtom with space to spare. Unreal picture quality too. Well happy
I have the 2gig sandisk card from www.mobymemory.com and it works fine.
2 Gig Sandisk ULTRA also works well
jstubbings said:
...WiFi chip was removed on the MDA, but at the end of the day who turns on their wifi? I havent on any other device...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I cant believe you just said that LMAO.
consono said:
I still cannot believe that it's using "only" a 200MHz CPU. It simply doesn't show. I guess this is due to excellent implementation on their part (AKU and all)....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I havn't looked at this in detail but dont forget you can only compare the clock speeds of CPU's with similar architecture. Intel XScale chips usually have sky high CPU clocks (500MHz) but their architecture means a different CPU at 200MHz could potentially have more number crunching ability. One thing is for sure though more MHz = more battery juice.
Checkout the current crop of PC CPU's, Pentium 4's have clocked upto 3.8GHz but the new Core 2 Duo's running at 2.6GHz are way more powerful because of their architecture.
Its good to know that HTC's 3300 at 200MHz matches older 400MHz designs though so thanks for your input, I had been reading lots of posts about "BUT ONLY 200MHz - WHY!!?" etc etc I thought they were talking boll**ks now I know they were.
Network lock
Does anybody know if the O2 Orbit is actually locked to O2. I'm so tempted to go and get one right now, phone shop is only 10 minutes away, but i need to put a Vodafone sim in it.
Thanks for your help.
Paul
mine wasn't locked at all. orange sim worked with no probs...
FANTASTIC!!!!!! I'm off to get one right now ;-)
Got one tues without copilot but can't get gps to work, if you get one can you let me now if yours works vlad69uk? 02 say it only works with copilot!
Just let you know my comparison of the two units after 5 days with the Xda Cosmo after having the Trion for the last 4 months. My Girlfriend brought me the Excalibur as a pre Christmas gift 8)
After 4 months my Trion main speaker stopped working and I have currently sent it back to get it replaced. All in all I was quite happy with the Trion except for a few quirks.
1. Media Player was buggy with the storage card
2. Never got WM5orage working properly (either had to stopo all my programs running on the storage card which included removing items from the Today screen).
3. Screen alignment problem.
I got the Hermes originally as it looked like a device which I didn't have to use the stylus much to access most of the functionality and in 90% of cases I got by with just using the jog wheel and a couple of presses with my thumb (I had the very first xda device and was turned off by the need to use the stylus to do simple things such as dialing and looking up contacts )
I had noticed due to the operating system PPC vs smartphone the PPC needed much more processing power and hence battery life was preety much limited due to the power from the CPU 400mhz vs 200mhz ( maybe of the extra functionality needed for the touchscreen ).
Differences in the devices
1. Xda Excalibur is more responsive even with the slower CPU. Contacts work instantly on typing on the keyboard. On the hermes there is always a delay in searching for contacts.
2. Excalibur supports multiple languages in its rom and therefore there no need to reflash the rom with the rom with your appropriate language.
3. A2DP works flawlessly on Excalibur being aku 3.2. No need to install cab files to get it working and no sound quality issues and no need to get somone to write a bt stack driver to get around the microsoft one.
4. Programs in general for smartphone seem to be running better than on Pocket PC. Tomtom 6 Navigator doesn't run on the Cosmo but Tomtom 5 work just fine and performance actually seems better on the smartphone even with the lower CPU. Same is notice with other PPC vs Smartphone progams I have eg Skype and Fizz Traveller
5. Cosmo has 128 MB flash ram which is really useful as I was always trying to install everything on the SD card with the Trion to get as much memory possible for standard stuff such as emails, ringtones etc. Yes I know you can tweak the Hermes to get ringtones from the SD card but it just a hassle changing the registry settings.
6. For some reason Windows Live Beta works on the Cosmo. It stopped working on the Hermes about a month ago and never worked since. The smartphone version looks really nice as well and functions much better as I have noticed with all smartphone vs ppc programs.
7. WLAN works much better on the Cosmo compared to the Hermes eg handling of connection settings when WLAN is turned on. On the Hermes I always had to go through the process of changing my connection settings every time I switched by WLAN on an off.
8. Battery life on cosmo is much better. 3.5-4 days use compared to 1.5-2 days use on Trion. Probably because of CPU (I also changed the Hermes to GPRS only to try and save battery life due to UMTS draining the battery)
9. Not to sing all praises for the Excalibur. The only drawback I have found so far for my purposes is the Microsoft Office editing functionality is not possible on the smartphone.
10. 2MP camera vs 1.3 MP camera but I really cannot see much advantage in the quality as the 2MP wasnt that great to start with. Yes the Hermes has a led light but I doesn't really help with indoor photos. The 1.3 MP camera seems to be better quality than other 1.3 MP cameras before and for emails, web photos and MMS quality seems fine for my purposes as I wont ever print out photos from a camera handy.
11. Lack to UMTS/HSDPA on Excalibur. Loose the speed but you'll gain heaps on battery life.
12. Microsoft Media Player works with the SD card. No disappearing songs 8)
13. Price. The excalibur is less than 1/6 the price of the Trion on contract. My Girlfriend brought the Cosmo on contact for 60 Euro. I got the Trion for 320 Euro on the same contact.
14. and I think this is the killer. The excalibur have looks to die for. The Hermes is thick and although many people would say it is solidly built after using the Excalibur it makes the Hermes look like a oversized flimsy machine. The Excalibur is thin and compact with a large screen. Fits in your shirt pocket or even slide it into your jeans!!! HTC have outdone themselves with the build quality I haven't seen any phone build as solid including the razr. I fells like the device is made out of titanium or magnesium with a soft feel rubber all along the back of the device and for the keys as well, ( I cat't stop touching the device it feels sooo.. good ). My Girlfriend who is really fashion concious absolutely loves the look of the device. Photos on the net do not do it justice you have to see it in real to appreciate it's looks for me one look and it was love at first sight. (I first got a look at it from a female collegue who got the phone)
It took me a day to get used to the smaller keyboard and maybe bigger thumbs might have some problems but with rubber keys feel beautiful and make each key feel distinct during typing. The excalibur really is a one hand device even with the d pad and keys only. The touch slider is just a added bonus with flexibility.
After writing this I have noticed that this is more of a sales pitch for the excalibur than a comparison of the two devices but I have found my perfect device which does everything I need without any problems ( performance, bugs and quirks ). If you dont need the UMTS speed I must say Excalibur is the way to go. If you really need UMTS and 2MP camera then wait for the Calivier ( the UMTS /2 MP / 300Mhz version of the excalibur, rumoured to release in Spring next year ).
For me the excalibur seems to have a quite launch compared to the expectations of the Hermes maybe because on paper the Hermes looks better in terms of specifications but for usability it's excalibur all the way.
Now what to do with my Trion when it gets back?
it seems like you're really happy with the excalibur. i've moved from ppc to smartphone as well. overall i like the aspects you pointed out and i agree that the not having office editors built-in (and no word application) is too bad. the only real other thing i miss from ppc is the huge selection of software as what's available to the landscape qvga is much more limited. sell the hermes
I have both, HERMES (H) and EXCALIBUR (E), side by side and I add some comments.
Home screen:
- easy to have plugins in H home screen, a panic in E because smartphone homescreen XML mechanism
Usage
- no way to use H easily with one hand, easy with E
- generally faster E, the time you need to grab the device with left hand, take the stylus out, elongate... you've done 3 things with E
Boring Meeting
- Lot of things to play with H, less with E
Data transmission
- Forgot E if you aren't in an EDGE area or your provider doesn't support it(vodafone Italy in rome?) GPRS is to sloooooow
Summer
- H is a brick, no pocket were to put it, in a bag on your neck? Don't call CSI, they will never understand why those strange signs E is perfect
- No way to use H in a waterproof bag, E works perfectly
OS
Obvioulsly E AKU 3.0 (not 3.2 my HTC is 3.0) is better than H 2.3!
Is better a nice, fresh girl or an experienced, plastic surgeon addicted women? I want both!
sergiopi said:
Is better a nice, fresh girl or an experienced, plastic surgeon addicted women? I want both!
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Hahahahahaha! Sergio, you are the man. Absolutely right!
Just sold my s620.
Am deciding between s630, asus m530w and hp 914
what do you guys think of the s630 ?
Hello,
i have the S620, think to buy an S630 ... (UMTS) .. but i want Windows Mobile 6.1 and i have no found this os for the s630
The asus are nice, but the same as the s620/s630: no gps
The ipaq 914 are my very big favorit, but i think it takes 6-8 month .. hp has problems and i don't think the ipaq 914 comes in 2 month (HP wrotes that to me)
cheers
I was interested in the HP 614, but put off by the depth and the serious bug it has with 3G.
The HP 914 looks nice but very over priced. Maybe I will wait. I don't really need to have GPS, but in some ways would prefer it over 3G which seems to just be a battery drain.
Eten make some lovely devices with GPS, e.g. the x600. unfortunately none have a non-sliding/folding keyboard which I don't like.
I have 'upgraded' from S620 to the S630 and my advice is............don't do it. The only advantage with the S630 is 3G connectivity.....but other than that I have found it to be extremely unstable (reboot once a day), not as well designed as the S620 and currently very poorly supported (not even shown on the HTC website).
lhickin said:
I have 'upgraded' from S620 to the S630 and my advice is............don't do it. The only advantage with the S630 is 3G connectivity.....but other than that I have found it to be extremely unstable (reboot once a day), not as well designed as the S620 and currently very poorly supported (not even shown on the HTC website).
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thx
I might wait for a few firmware versions
what do you think about the weight and size compared to the s620 ?
actually, after thinking about it, I have decided to buy a new s620
Good choice on the S620
HTC seem to have all but abandoned the S630 - there are no updates for it and its not even listed on their website anymore....
Dopod have a couple of newer ROM's for the C730 (same as S630) but until I can find a way to unlock and SuperCID my S630 - I'm stuck on the crappy HTC ROM.
I'm very pleased with the s630, it has been rock solid with not one crash in my first week. I have moved from a treo 750 and prefer the non-touchscreen win mob variant. I've not had any memory issues either, often running 8/9 apps with no apparant slow down. Wifi connects easily, the device is well made and solid feeling. I've turned off 3g and run it on GSM only which helps battery life considerably, I rarely need 3g when out and about, preferring instead to do data downloading via wifi where available. I think it is a great device.