Artemis Processor - P3300, MDA Compact III General

Hey all,
I have a Blue Angel at the moment, 400MHz ARM processor.
How does the orbit processor 200MHz OMAP compare? I know the pseeds are different but so is the architecture...do they work out about the same or not?
I'm thinking baout buying an Orbit but just wanted to know what performance was like on these compared to an older model such as the Blue Angel.
Thanks!

the_scotsman said:
Hey all,
I have a Blue Angel at the moment, 400MHz ARM processor.
How does the orbit processor 200MHz OMAP compare? I know the pseeds are different but so is the architecture...do they work out about the same or not?
I'm thinking baout buying an Orbit but just wanted to know what performance was like on these compared to an older model such as the Blue Angel.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Orbit 2 has a 400MHz processor

Yea I know but I didnt say orbit 2...
I wanted to know is there much different between the 2 processor I mentioned.

Not very different
I got a chance to play with HTC Tytan II and it seemed slower than artemis.

I have both a Blue Angel and Artemis, the only time you notice the difference is when you load up the Artemis with too many applications running at the same time, I think this is more to do with the available memory though.
The Artemis lacks memory whereby the Blue Angel had quite some to go at. Artemis is a great device as was the BA in its day, although I do still like the larger screen size of the BA when using it in the car.
Artemis is fine though with applications running so long as you close the applications when finished with them, install applications to the memory card to preserve the onboard memory and I doubt you would notice the difference between the BA and Artemis in use - Mike

Thanks Mike, that's the kind of comparison I was looking for!
The larger screens of the XDA pda's are ghreat but they're just a little too big and bulky now for carrying around in my pocket...looking for somehting a little smaller now...Orbit looks the goods...I dont need a slide out keyboard, I never use the one on the BA...

Artemis Processor,
Try following website and does all the specification comparison between different modles,
http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=pdacomparer

wow, great site, thanks!

Related

Question about flashing a Kaiser

Word on the street is the Kaiser will appear on September 3, 2007 via AT&T and be known as the 8925. See http://crunchgear.com/2007/08/09/breaking-att-tilt-price-and-launch-date-leaked/
So, question: Have any of our insider cooks gotten their hands on a Kaiser? And, if so, what's the process like for flashing one? As painless as the 8525, or a chore like the 8125?
While we're talkin' about it, what is the technological spec differences between the Kaiser and Hermes? Other than a fancy flip feature, I cannot see a spec which leads me to believe it's any better than the Hermes.
Thanks,
J
why don't you go read up in the kiaser section of Xda! this is the hermes part. the specs blow the 8525 away go do some research.
I did read up on it prior to the post. But, thanks for the words of wisdom.
Having read up on it, my thoughts are: you are easier to impress than I. As a slower CPU and larger RAM doesn't equal something blowing away something else. In light of that, I thought there was perhaps I was missing.
J
IronManDS said:
I did read up on it prior to the post. But, thanks for the words of wisdom.
Having read up on it, my thoughts are: you are easier to impress than I. As a slower CPU and larger RAM doesn't equal something blowing away something else. In light of that, I thought there was perhaps I was missing.
J
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wow u really need to learn how to read more before posting. the cpu on the kaiser is a qualcomm 400mhz dual core cpu as far as i know. our hermes have a 400mhz since core. difference is that the kaiser has 1 core to handle phone functions and another to handle programs making it superior to the hermes. go on modaco and read what paul has to say. when u add hsupa, 7.2mbps hsdpa, 256 rom, 128 ram, tilt screen, improved scroll wheel, slides other way, touchflo, gps, 3mp with a good night mode and good sensor, better keyboard, lights for function and caps above keyboard, and do all this in a thinner package then u know u got a good upgrade to the kaiser. by the way, roms will be just as easy to cook as on hermes. all u need is to get a kaiser to olipro to do cid and simunlock and hardspl and get a cook like me a kaiser and ull have great roms. i seen the roms and have dumped them so i know.
Thanks for the detailed reply. That's exactly what I was looking for!
As for the CPU, the wiki here states that it's a 384MHz, not 400. But, most other things I've seen say 400. I didn't know it was dual core, so appreciate that info!
And, with the specs as you detailed them, I'm now excited and thinking about an upgrade! But, the wiki's details are not so stimulating
Also, I would imagine you're right re: flashing, as the Kaiser is quite similar to the Hermes. I was just having horrible thoughts of flashing my kid's 8125 and hoping that I wouldn't be buying myself a headache if I purchase the Kaiser.
Thanks again!
J
woa!! its dual core... really awesome too bad the resolution stay the same as hermes if only it was better, like 640x480 or maybe more like toshiba portege G900 having a 800x480 resolution screen...
I can say it`s an awesome device !
IronManDS said:
Thanks for the detailed reply. That's exactly what I was looking for!
As for the CPU, the wiki here states that it's a 384MHz, not 400. But, most other things I've seen say 400. I didn't know it was dual core, so appreciate that info!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I can recall, the Samsung chips outperform Intel chips by a good margin -- when the 300Mhz Samsung was introduced a few years ago it held it's own with the then industry standard Intel PXA 25x clocked at 400Mhz. A 200 Mhz TI OMAP conserves power better than an intel clocked to the same frequency. In that sense, comparing the clock frequencies isn't all that revealing.
Who knows how the Qualcomm chips perform compare to the Samsungs? For all we know a dual Core Qualcomm could be worse that the 400 Mhz Samsung in the Tytn. It's unlikely, but not unprecedented that WinCE PDA specs stagnate or get worse from one generation to another. When HP took over Compaq a few of the iPaq lines ended up with slower processors.
Personally, I'd wait to see some benchmarks on the Kaiser before I buy.
rob.ocelot said:
From what I can recall, the Samsung chips outperform Intel chips by a good margin -- when the 300Mhz Samsung was introduced a few years ago it held it's own with the then industry standard Intel PXA 25x clocked at 400Mhz. A 200 Mhz TI OMAP conserves power better than an intel clocked to the same frequency. In that sense, comparing the clock frequencies isn't all that revealing.
Who knows how the Qualcomm chips perform compare to the Samsungs? For all we know a dual Core Qualcomm could be worse that the 400 Mhz Samsung in the Tytn. It's unlikely, but not unprecedented that WinCE PDA specs stagnate or get worse from one generation to another. When HP took over Compaq a few of the iPaq lines ended up with slower processors.
Personally, I'd wait to see some benchmarks on the Kaiser before I buy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've seen some benchmarks and they all SMOKE the Hermes.
http://www.cdmatech.com/download_library/pdf/msm7200_chipset.pdf
thats the spec sheet for the processor. according to it there is a 400mhz application processor and 274mhz microprocessor. also shows hsdpa up to 7.2mbps and hsupa up to 5.76mbps. will be a nice phone with a awesome processor.
but again back to the threat subject - will it be a problem to change the radio rom on the Kaiser ?
I'm not sure if this is still relevant, but a thread at the beginning of June suggested that new handsets with 3G chips from Qualcomm were banned from the USA while a trade dispute was being settled. Has this dispute been settled yet? If not then you guys in the USA may not be seeing your Kaisers for quite some time.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=310885
The P4550 (aka Kaiser....AKA AT&T 8925 TILT)
Is being released September 3rd only at AT&T.
AGAIN 8925 TILT WILL BE RELEASED SEPT 3rd.
I work for AT&T Wireless....this what I was told.
herg62123 said:
The P4550 (aka Kaiser....AKA AT&T 8925 TILT)
Is being released September 3rd only at AT&T.
AGAIN 8925 TILT WILL BE RELEASED SEPT 3rd.
I work for AT&T Wireless....this what I was told.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not anymore. It's now been moved back to September 17th so they can get rid of some of the excess 8525's. I heard this directly from an HTC AT&T rep.

WM5 vs WM6 speed on blue angel

Just like the title means... i have a killer question
My little brother has a Cingular 8125, here are the aspects:
(WM5)
cpu : OMAP8590
speed : 195 mghz
ram: 64 MB
flash size: 128 MB
flash chip type: m-systems
bus: 16 bits
Storage size: 42 MB
mine are on a O2 xda iis (blue angel)
(WM6)
cpu: intel (r) PXA263
speed: 400 mghz
ram size 128 MB
flash size 32 MB
flash chip type: 28F128K3
bus: 32 bits
Storage size: 60 MB
both with 230 x 320 lcd screens with 65536 colors.
I just have moved (after reading A LOT!) to windows mobile 6.... i grab his pda just to compare, and he has A LOT of speed than mine
It's because of the rom that i had installed? (it's the one with the sticky on the threads on WM6 around the corner in here)
or because the WM edition itself
In advanced, thanxs, its a big big thing because if i am right, i had at least the double that he has, so, all of this is not right... right????
I think you will find that some of it is the rom. The blue Angel was originally as you know released with WM2003 if not WM2003SE
which was optimised by both the manufacture and the carrier of the network. These roms are made by very experienced rom cookers/developers but they are working withexisting material not rewriting code from scratch.
Also I've even noticed that my BA slowed down it's boot up time substantially from wm2003se now that it's running wm6. as well some things appear to take a bit longer. your relative's rom is likely to be the original unchanged rom and is optimised for the device it's loaded on. there are tweaks to help with the diffrence even then. but just like pc's the newer is not always faster on the same hardware.
The main problem with Blue Angel is it's very slow flash memory. Even it's own SD slot with today's cards is a lot faster. On WM2003/SE that wasn't a problem because of flash memory was used only for backup purposes while in WM5/6 the whole system runs from it.
BTW: I think there exist original WM5 ROM for Blue Angel which was made by HTC for one of the operators (who leaked it) and it is therefore optimised greatly.
That's odd, the bootup did takes sometime but the overall is certainly great even testing it with WM5. Is it just me or everyone else ? So far, I kinda like it, the loading speed from SD card somehow it's slowed down for some unknown reasons but overall it works great.
Maybe we should give Helmi & Xplode sometime to find a way to optimise the WM6, I believe they can do it, after all they are the genius who made and cooked the WM6 rom.
Couple things here. First, many think that the TI OMAP in Wizard is slower than the XScale in Blue Angel. It's not... that's simply the Megahertz Myth™
Note: The Megahertz Myth is a registered trademark of Apple.
Anyways, the Wizard is a faster, more modern device, that has been optimized for Windows Mobile 5.
The HTC drivers that were used for WM5/WM6 on Blue Angel are very poor quality... they were never meant to have the OS store files in ROM, rather than in RAM. In short, HTC never optimized the drivers Blue Angel for WM5/WM6, which is why it runs slower.
As experienced as helmi_c, xplode, and others are at this, HTC still holds the keys to their drivers, and the amount of modification anyone outside of HTC can do to them is limited.
HTC should free up BA drivers for editing.
If they discontinued BA and do not give support, then give the tools to the costumers so that we can finish their work.
BA as great hardware it only needs good drivers, because Windows Mobile is handeled great by xda-developers team!
i dont believe htc write most the drivers
most of them would be included in the oem stuff they get
like the screen or bluetooth chip and the likes
in which case they could get in trouble if they did
even if they had access to the sourcecode of the drivers
they might not
Of course Wizard is faster for most tasks. It is because of it's all-in-one design. But when comparing the CPUs RAW power, the Blue Angel is even stronger than contemporary devices like Hermes. This is however visible only when using heavy games or multitasking so it is not a major advantage for most of us. BTW: The OMAP CPU used in many devices today was not originaly made for WM5, it was first used on Smarthpone platform back in 2003 days. Even old Motorola MPx200 (Smartphone 2002) has OMAP with very similiar design to OMAP 850 in Wizard.
In WM5/WM6 for Blue Angel the slow flash memory is compensated by using more paging memory then in other devices. This is why the device seems to respond quickly but it is not perfect.
Personally, I would prefer having Wizard over Blue Angel because of it's more power efficient design. But it has poor ergonomics and one-handed navigation / text entry is impossible. Therefore I have chosen Blue Angel.
HTC releaing scources to their drivers? That is only a dream. And I think the license agreements with makers of parts do not allow this.
I bet if someone were to get friendly with a person working at HTC, We could get some BA stuff from them. It's not like they stand to lose a bunch of $ for it.

Some thing to clear about BlueAngel

I have planned to buy O2 XDA IIs from my frnd (2nd hand for sure)
Does it comes under the name, blueangel???
also please tell me pros and cons about this dmobile device
I already own O2 xda exec, typhoon and voyager
what about this one???
cud U, experienced users please guide me....am i gonna upgrade its rom to WM6 or not??
It's a great device, you won't make a mistake It has Intel PXA263 400mhz processor (This is the only thing i don't like in blueangel. It is not so fast. If you plan to play 3d games it is not very good for this. But you can easily overclock it with pocket master to 530mhz. With this frequency it handles everything without Snow Rally - there's a little lag and you can't play Playstation 1 games even if you overclock it to 590. I got 21-23fps in Tony Hawk Pro Skater with @530mhz and Frameskip - 2), 128 ram (This is great! With so much ram you don't need real close button.But there are no applications that wants more than 32 ram, so this is not a big advantage), Big screen and the best design for games(The screen is perfect. It wouldn't be bad if there was VGA screen but QVGA is not so bad either. In web browsing the qvga resolution is a big dissadvantage. You have to scrool a lot. But now there are browsers now that supports Zoom function.With it the browsing is good even on qvga device. When Opera 9.5 comes out it will rock And the design is great for games. It's like joystick when you handle it in landscape position and there are many buttons), 64mb Flash Storage(It's not much but you don't need more. There are SD Cards for that), SD/MMC expansion slot( The bad thing here is that it doesn't support SDHC, there are no drivers for that and there won't be in future ), CIF camera (It is really badd. The image quality is similar. If you try to record video it lags. I don't know why :/ It does it wven in the lowest quality), WiFi( No problems here), Bluetooth (No problems here either), IrDA( It can't be used as a remote controller because the irda range is around 3 meters)
And finally the PocketPC comes with WM2003. You can install WM6.1 but I recommend you to wait for explode's WM6.1. His roms are the best With the new windows the pocket becmoes really fast and stable. That's all, it's a great device
dark_prince said:
I have planned to buy O2 XDA IIs from my frnd (2nd hand for sure)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice choice. I recently picked up a hermes and while it is very nice, there are some things I miss from the Angel.
dark_prince said:
Does it comes under the name, blueangel???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't quite understand this question. If you are asking if it was sold under the name of Blue Angel, no. Blue Angel is the HTC internal name for the phone. It was never sold by HTC directly, but to the various cell carriers who rebadged it with their own plastics and ROM/applications.
dark_prince said:
also please tell me pros and cons about this dmobile device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pros:
Good CPU speed (the keiser runs at the same speed, 400 mhz)
The CPU has been around for a while, so 3rd party apps that are designed for the CPU work well.
Good physical size on the screen
Lots of storage and program memory when the extended ROM is resized/removed.
Cons:
Since it is an older platform, any MW version after 2003 is a hack. The drivers are generally ported from other phones and there are various bugs that will probably never be fixed due to a lack of hardware drivers. Everything does work, there are just various quirks.
Radio range (bluetooth, wifi, etc) are not the best. Heck, they often tend to be down right crappy.
Unless someone is able to write and release a SDHC driver for the card slot, it will never support SDHC cards, which will limit the phone to 4 gig cards. 2 gig is the official spec for SD, but there are a few 4 gig non-SDHC cards out there.
dark_prince said:
I already own O2 xda exec, typhoon and voyager
what about this one???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I still like mine and plan on passing it to my wife or using it for testing and development if she doesn't want it.
dark_prince said:
cud U, experienced users please guide me....am i gonna upgrade its rom to WM6 or not??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would. MW6 is a huge improvement over 2003 and 5. The latest ROM builds out there work very well, if not 99% perfectly, and are fast.
In my opinion, Hemli releasing wm6 for the angel breathed new life into the device.
Really, I wish HTC would revive the device, make an updated version of it. The form factor, while is a bit big for a phone, is great for usability as a PDA.
jdc said:
In my opinion, Hemli releasing wm6 for the angel breathed new life into the device.
Really, I wish HTC would revive the device, make an updated version of it. The form factor, while is a bit big for a phone, is great for usability as a PDA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I second that! Just ditched my Hermes for my old trusty Blue Angel, which blows the pants off it! I forgot how much I loved the 3.5 inch screen!
Rookie as well with the Blue Angel
I am getting started with the Blue angel as well (O2 Xda IIs)
I like it a lot this will probably become my best buddy during my travels
I got a couple of complementary questions about it.
I intend to use it for business purposes, mainly Internet through
Wifi and GPRS, pdf and offices documents.
I saw on this forum that you advise to change from WM 2003SE to Windows Mobile 6 (the last published by Microsoft)
-My question is: This PDA is already a bit old now, is it going to work smoothly wit the very last OS, which is designed for more recent PDAs (i.e which should be more efficient).
I mainly want to use it for Internet, wich browser do you recommend ?
Internet explorer? Opera Mobile? Opera Mini? other browser?
By the way what is the difference between Opera Mobile and Opera Mini
you should go with opera mobile, as it is better suited for pda's. opera mini is suited for java based mobile phones.
jdc said:
Really, I wish HTC would revive the device, make an updated version of it. The form factor, while is a bit big for a phone, is great for usability as a PDA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
man i wish they would do that, or release a device with the same glorious screen but with contemporary features, all in all the blu angel is still a killer device 4 years on.
Absolutely right. I had been using the subj for 4 years in nearly extremal conditions, uprading and downgrading firmware dozen times. But, unfortunately it died as hero. Really great gadget, legend of HTC platform challenging ages.
Hi
Well with WM 6.1 it does everything I need and thats for sure I have my pick of devices and always come back to this one - and the 11i which is just about as good
I cant think of a time I have been upset with what it does or doesn't do. I intend keep one for as long as it will run....
John P

HTC Diamond rom for P3300 with 3D booklet & contact on the right ?

Hi,
just tested the "anja" Diamond 1.0 rom, but it's not 100% the same,the main thing I flashed for is the 3D booklet with contacts and HTC home down, but it wasn't in it.
Can anybody make a rom (or program) with the same screens as the Diamond (3d booklet on homepage with contacts on the right see enclosure)? Also the HTC Home tabs are completely down the screen and a direct photo button,...
Thanks,
Innovator
There will be one main problem.... the artemis chip is far away from beeing fast enough for this kind of gimicks
Innovator said:
Hi,
just tested the "anja" Diamond 1.0 rom, but it's not 100% the same,the main thing I flashed for is the 3D booklet with contacts and HTC home down, but it wasn't in it.
Can anybody make a rom (or program) with the same screens as the Diamond (3d booklet on homepage with contacts on the right see enclosure)? Also the HTC Home tabs are completely down the screen and a direct photo button,...
Thanks,
Innovator
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think many people here working on what you ask for. And if it would be so easy then you could already have it.
Totally agree with Daiphi!!
Qualcomm® MSM7201A™ 528 MHz VS Texas Instruments OMAP850 200 MHz
I think tah cocludes it all!
No reason for and artemis rom with bling-bling 3D effects and no speed what so ever!
3D booklet
I had the Qtek 2020i (520mhz) and the Eten G500 (400MHZ) but i really don't need the fast processor. For only GSM, GPS, WIFI the OMAP 200MZ is fast enough, i have no complaints about applications that run slow, and half processor = half battery consumption. Batterystatus can pimp up your P3300 to 260mhz, but i really don't need this.
I think if someone (maybe Tom Condon could make a fast rom without too many junk, this 3D booklet would run smooth, like the 3D cube.
I think maybe in 2-3 years the P3300 can get slower, due to gps-manufacturers that make better 3D Graphics, but by then the Diamond is dropped to €300 and we have this one allready
Hope to test Igo My Way 8 soon, cause TomTom Navigator's graphics are very basic...
Cheers,
Innovator
^ I've seen Igo 8 on my friend's artemis, and it runs pretty slow on the Artemis Touch 4.02 rom. Well, actually its the same as Tomtom, but when the buildings or any 3D objects on the map come into focus, it does start struggling..
randomgoon said:
^ I've seen Igo 8 on my friend's artemis, and it runs pretty slow on the Artemis Touch 4.02 rom. Well, actually its the same as Tomtom, but when the buildings or any 3D objects on the map come into focus, it does start struggling..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried igo 8 on my orbit - it works on o2 factory rom - but some cooked roms have not enough free ram. After 3 days still 22,7 MB free RAM (screenshots are incl. s. signature)
Innovator said:
I had the Qtek 2020i (520mhz) and the Eten G500 (400MHZ) but i really don't need the fast processor. For only GSM, GPS, WIFI the OMAP 200MZ is fast enough, i have no complaints about applications that run slow, and half processor = half battery consumption. Batterystatus can pimp up your P3300 to 260mhz, but i really don't need this.
I think if someone (maybe Tom Condon could make a fast rom without too many junk, this 3D booklet would run smooth, like the 3D cube.
I think maybe in 2-3 years the P3300 can get slower, due to gps-manufacturers that make better 3D Graphics, but by then the Diamond is dropped to €300 and we have this one allready
Hope to test Igo My Way 8 soon, cause TomTom Navigator's graphics are very basic...
Cheers,
Innovator
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
iGo8 works great on this device, I have it installed myself!
I have installed IGO8 on Artemis Touch 4.02 Full no Cube ROM
runs perfect and quick (with full details)
tested also with Anja Mossi Diamond style rom - and there is low free RAM for IGO8
Tested Igo8 today with Oop Black Beta Public Rom from Tom Condon (not condom), no delays, hope to see Tom's latest rom soon with some diamond influences, and booklet maybe instead of cube???
Also installed 'A-GPS' for the first time (quickgps also on rom, but A-gps should be good for 10 days or something).
So people saying IGO8 runs slow on their P3300 --> install a faster rom!!!
Some pre-cooked roms have so much junk that everythings goes slow.
Just take a basic rom (4.02 lite with no cube for example) and install your own stuff.
It's very difficult to cook a rom with tools that everyone uses... i prefer the lite stuff
But when the 3D Diamond interfacte would be included, i would not doubt to install this rom

Axim x50v or x51 - which would you choose? (long post)

I'm not really sure where this belongs, so I'll put it here and ask for input and if a Mod decides it should be in another subforum, I've got no issues with it being moved. Also, this is a long post so, if you're so inclined to read it and you have some advice, I'd love to hear your opinions and thoughts.
I've been playing around with the x50v I got recently off Craig's List for $100: a nice little package deal, the x50v in immaculate condition with a screen protector, a "notebook" style leather flip case - not what I want however, the original 1100 mAh battery and cover as well as an extended 2200 mAh battery with extended cover, 2 cradles, 2 AC adapters, and a 1GB Patriot SD card + a 256MB SanDisk CF card.
It works great, I updated to the Dell WM5 A05 ROM then jumped directly to Lenny's L09 WM6.1 and I'm happy with it, but this is the second x50V I've owned in the past year and, well, I guess I'm sorta unhappy with the performance. I believe, based on reading a few thousand forum postings here and at Aximsite, Brighthand, and Lenny's HTCGeeks forum - and also everything I can find about the NOR memory issues with the x50(v) series Axims from Microsoft.
I know that the filesys.exe issue will always be there, that's a given, and based on how "slow" I think this thing is it just gives me reason to wonder what exactly is wrong. Here's my reasoning, based on experience:
I grabbed an HTC Wizard (AT&T/Cingular 8125) off Craig's List a few months back because the owner snapped the USB port off inside the unit. He had a wall-type charger for the battery, but obviously it couldn't be hooked up to a PC any longer through that USB port. I've contemplated sending it off to those PPC guys to repair the port but, it's like $100 or close to it and I really don't use the phone that much except as a cheap digital camera.
The reason I mention that Wizard is because I installed PointUI on it (www.pointui.com), a fairly cool but needs more development "touch" UI application. On the Wizard, the OS is WM5, untouched, I even reset the device recently and reinstalled the old PointUI I had (not the latest 1.5a version). The point I'm trying to make here is this:
PointUI on that Wizard is ridiculously fast and smooth as butter, almost like having an iPhone/iPod touch smoothness to it, really. It's that fast and smooth, at least to me. And the Wizard has no discrete graphics chip on it like the x50v does - the Intel 2700G GPU, basically.
So, here's my dilemma: when I install the older or even the latest versions of PointUI on the x50v (and yes I'm aware that it's not really designed for non-phones but it does work), it's slow. It's not fast, it's not smooth, and for a device with significantly more horsepower - running at 624 MHz full bore with the Intel 2700G working too, as compared to the Wizard running at a paltry 200 MHz or so with no video acceleration at all - I'm a bit disappointed in it.
Also, while I haven't tested it, I wonder if the issues are being caused by the slower NOR memory in the x50v. I have tried a few games like Enigmo which came with the x50v brand new and it seems to play pretty slowly as well on the x50v, even with the graphics acceleration working.
Blah blah blah... ok, here's my question:
I don't run at true VGA mode much, that's a given. I've installed a few apps that let me enable VGA mode on the device after a reset, but there just doesn't seem to be much out there taking advantage of it: 320x240 still is the order of business for the PocketPC universe, probably always will be unfortunately.
So, right now I've located an x51 (not an x51v which I really want but can't locate for a decent price, certainly not for $100 in a package like I just found with this x50v with a few cradles and chargers, maybe an extra battery or two, for about $100. It's not the x51v as I just noted, and right now I don't even know if it's the low-end x51 (416 MHz) or the mid-range model (520 MHz), I'll find that out if I choose to get it. Aside from the clock speed I think the low-end and mid-range models are identical - only the default clock speed (max) is what differentiates them; if I'm wrong and there are other differences between those two models, someone tell me, please, thanks.
The meat and potatoes: if you had the choice between the x50v with the slow and unavoidable NOR memory with the accompanying issues because of file compaction with filesys.exe that sometimes make the device so slow it almost makes you want to just reset it to start using it again, or...
The x51 which has no such issues, but also has no video acceleration but might not need it for simple movie/video playback, and most certainly can play audio files easily, and should theoretically run much faster than the x50/x50v because they're built with NOR memory and the x51 line uses NAND...
Which would you choose based on the following:
- the VGA screen in the x50v has 4x as many pixels so it's drawing 4x the power even when VGA mode isn't enabled - this is a fact because the LCD panel has 4x as many pixels. Just because I'm not running in VGA doesn't mean those extra pixels are "off" - they're always on, but it now requires 4 pixels to show what 320x240 would show on the x51 with just 1 pixel. It's weird but it's true, so theoretically the x51 should use less battery power. I can deal with 320x240, it's fine... movies still look fine to me on 320x240 screens.
- The slower clock speed at 416 or 520 MHz is fine also, movies don't really require that much CPU power to play with the encodings I've been finding and trying to make myself (limiting the bitrate to about 300 Kbps, 320x240 or whatever but 320 pixels wide max then the height is proportional based on the source content). Again, the slower clockspeed by default would mean longer battery life theoretically.
- Everything else between the x50v and the x51 are basically identical except for the Intel 2700G video chip. Same case, ports, CF/SD card slots, same Wi-Fi/Bluetooth hardware, etc, it's all the same save for the differences in clockspeed and the video, really.
So, which would you choose if you wanted the best performance with anything you're doing, without wondering if the device will suddenly just choke to a standstill while it's trying to process some information or store it in memory or whatever.
I'm leaning to the x51, actually. I still haven't had a chance to actually use an x51 or x51v, but if the performance of this lowly Wizard at 3x slower on average with no video acceleration at all is any sign, the x51/x51v should really be some damned fast devices.
Also, I just noted earlier today that MagLite is at work again and just released a test ROM for WM6.1 for the x50!!! Not the x50v, but the plain old x50 without the Intel 2700G, so this bodes very well that perhaps he or someone else could throw some stuff into their "kitchen sinks" and create a proper working WM6.1 ROM for the x51...
I'm pretty excited at the possibilities, and yes I'd still love to get an actual x51v or even an HP x4700 at this point with the 4" LCD, but at the moment the x50v I have is working, albeit slower than I'd like. With the factory WM2003SE on it it's very fast and snappy as expected, but put WM5 on it and performance plummets, and with WM6.1 it's even worse to some degree. I'm suspecting all of it is because of the slower NOR but I didn't think it was that slow - apparently is is because this little Wizard runs circles around my x50v... seems sad, really.
Thanks to anyone that reads all this and comments, I appreciate it.

Categories

Resources