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Hello all,
Some of these things may have been covered but for the life of me I can't find them in the forum, so if I'm barking up a tree thats already been p**sed on, I appologise.
Basically I am looking to buy either an IIs or IIi (or similar MDA III etc) but I would like know if the same sort of problems that happen on the IIs happen on the IIi also. The problems with the IIs are detailed on many a topic (such as http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=23880&highlight=month+review) but here are the mains ones I can see.
- The keyboard is flimsy (falls out own accord etc)
- Bluetooth is unstable
- Sound cuts out on calls sometimes
- Restarts itself
- WiFi is unstable and picks up little signal
- Corrupts SD cards
- After some months the screen will 'whistle' (on some devices)
- The device does not hang up properly sometimes
- A version of WM2k5 doesn't look set to be available for this device
(Also it has older generation processor)
These problems do not seem to be experienced by all, and many seem to be fixed by a selection of ROM updates and quirky software settings. Do these same issues exist with the IIi (the keyboard one doesn't obviously)? I was going to get the IIs (the better battery life and keyboard looked useful) but the sheer quantity of problems people have put on the Blue Angel board has pushed me towards getting the Andes model. Is this a fair thought about the device or will I find just as many issues on the IIi as the IIs? I will be giving the device some fairly hefty PDA type use (Documents and Spreadsheets etc) so I would prefer to get a model that it not so buggy as the IIs appears to be. It seems it might be all software issues but could they be caused by hardware problems also?
Any thoughts on this issue would be greatfully appreciated as I don't want to make a purchase I later regret a lot.
Thanks a lot.
Tom
P.S Keep up the good work on this site - its a mine of useful information.
Without owning a IIi, I can tell you that:
- You *won't* get the keyboard problem
- AFAIK, the Bluetooth stack is the same, so any problems there are replicated over.
- The wifi signal strength stems from not having an external anntenna ala PalmOne Treos, so you'll have the same problem with the IIi.
HTH
Chris
I worried about this one for a while , but I went for the IIs as there seemed to be a lot more ROMs available to customise and sort out stupid problems like bluetooth and gprs not reconnecting. The imate 1.40 ROM for Blue Angel is really stable in my opinion and it works with the customisation CABs for o2 UK from the original extended rom. I havent soft reset my device for over a week now and everything seems to be really stable. The only possible advantage with the IIi is the camera, but reports of that say that the quality is just as crap as the IIs camera. Forget the slightly faster processor, if you really need that little bit more, just overclock a IIs, they will run at 520 MHZ very comfortably!
HTH
Fin
Thanks - This is useful stuff. The IIs might be back in the game. Will overclocking it cause the battery life shorten significantly? Also would the Bluetooth problems mean that using a portable bluetooth keyboard (such as the Stowaway one) would be impossible as it would cut out or is this just on high data transfer rates such as those needed by a headset?
Thanks again.
Tom
hi
i have both 2s and 2i...
as far as wifi goes.. the signal on 2i is way stronger than 2s
bt is 1.2 with support for listening to system sounds and MUSIC on 2i
i dont have any keyboard,sound cutting on calls etc problems you have written.. except that 2i didnt hang up properly with the old rom ..now that i upgraded to the lastest o2 rom on 2i that problem has gone.. the voice (caller and me and vice versa) is crisp adn clear on both the devices
cheers
Strange about the wifi, they must have put a boosted antenna in there, or perhaps changed the enclosure material...
Chris
Cheers for the help. I have decided to go for the IIi (well the Qtek 2020i version of it). It is cheaper than the IIs and the better Wifi signal will definitely be more useful as I will be using the device in libraries and other places where I will not be able to guarantee signal strength. It looks slightly more future proof with WM2K5 Roms looking like they will be available for it more readily. Its not that I will need the extra features of WM2K5 but it looks like I will be using the device a lot and so it will be good to get the benefits of future development. Guess i'll have to get a spare battery to compensate for it short battery life. Cheers again.
Tom
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.
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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!
Hi guys,
I'm tossing up between Nokia N95 (more stable, keypad, easier to use as a phone, 5mp camera with dvd quality video and 30fps) and the Xda Orbit (slightly bigger screen, better gps receiver).
Mainly the orbit annoys me as I could use a headphones jack (n95 has one) and I would have liked a good camera/flash/video. However I use sat nav a lot and it's better at that.
As a current XDA Exec owner I am FED UP of constant bugs, crashes, having to reboot, missing calls because the phone is too slow waking up, poor phone radio, wifi/bluetooth freezing up, having to hack everything to try and get it more reliable, having to have a huge fat battery to get it to last more than a day.
Is the Orbit any more reliable????
Finally I use 3g and power a laptop for data, the Orbit is backwards and can't do 3g! Will Edge still be fast enough to power the laptop for internet general surfing/downloading of small items/email?
If anyone has any other phone for me to consider along these lines please let me know as I don't want to be unhappy with a bag of features that is software engineered by a monkey (my current XDA Exec). I need pda/big screen smartphone with camera/satnav/wifi.
Greg.
So that's it then, no one knows of any other similar phones and no one knows if the orbit is reliable/less buggy than the exec????
The statement of N95 being more stable may not be true. I have friends with experience with N series phone with Symbian, said to experience unstability problems (e.g. as compared with those 'dumb' phones).
As for the in-stability issues of Orbit, the problem may be the fact that, people with Orbit will tend to 'mess' with it more than the N95 (less 'mess-able'). I'm pretty sure that if you were to not mess with the phone, like my dad is (he is using a Charmer), the phone is very nice indeed. It would be nice if you can check out other forum on users experience on N95, and consider the 'stuff' they didn't do to it to make it.. unstable.
Personally, I like stuff that I can mess with
Hi, i would like to change my wizard.
I found that the processor (ti omap 850 200mhz) lacks speed, and the 400mhz seems good.
Can someone tell me if the difference is important?
i also have a problem with the wizard that im not sure if the hermes solve it. I have a Bluetooth GPS and a Motorola a2dp headset.
When i use both at the same time, the headset stops working, and starts skipping audio. I guess this is because the wizard has Bluetooth 1.2. But Hermes has 2.0, so with bigger bandwidth, i guess this might work.
This working is top priority in my case.
Please excuse my english, im spanish.
Pd: im seeing that there are several versions of hermes, one with a secondary VGA camera, and the other without it. Is that the only difference?
Pd2: on wizard there are G3/G4 models. I have a G4, so flashing is complicated. Something similar happends on Hermes?.
Ok, yes the proccessor is MUCH faster on the hermes (i switched from a wizard to a hermes and it is noticeable).
Can't tell you much about the bluetooth problems your having other than there are tweaks around to improbe a2dp but i don't know about both at the same time. I don't have a bluetooth headset but i do use my bluetooth gps reciever a lot and never ran into trouble.
The different versions of the hermes are the HERM100/200/300. The one without the front facing vga camera is the one sold under cingular/att in the US because video calling is not supported by their network (not yet atleast). So the only differences in the models are the looks, the processor and everything else is the same.
As for flashing, i think only the softbank models had issues with flashing earlier on but i think those are all cleared out. So no need to worry about G3/G4 models as u did with the wizard.
Hope that answers your questions, but one more thing to say; If your willing to hold off for a month and a bit until you get a new device i suggest waiting for the HTC Kaiser which is rumored to be released in September.
fone_fanatic said:
Ok, yes the proccessor is MUCH faster on the hermes (i switched from a wizard to a hermes and it is noticeable).
Can't tell you much about the bluetooth problems your having other than there are tweaks around to improbe a2dp but i don't know about both at the same time. I don't have a bluetooth headset but i do use my bluetooth gps reciever a lot and never ran into trouble.
The different versions of the hermes are the HERM100/200/300. The one without the front facing vga camera is the one sold under cingular/att in the US because video calling is not supported by their network (not yet atleast). So the only differences in the models are the looks, the processor and everything else is the same.
As for flashing, i think only the softbank models had issues with flashing earlier on but i think those are all cleared out. So no need to worry about G3/G4 models as u did with the wizard.
Hope that answers your questions, but one more thing to say; If your willing to hold off for a month and a bit until you get a new device i suggest waiting for the HTC Kaiser which is rumored to be released in September.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, that pretty much gives me an idea about hermes.
The thing is that i live in argentina, and i have a change to bring a hermes (bought on eBay) in the next couple of weeks.
Which will be the advantages of Kaiser comparing it to Hermes?
i've notice that some HTC phones are coming without the 850 gsm band, which is used in here.
i still hope someone reads this and confirms about the GPS + headset functionality.
which navigation software is the best for touch hd using the in built gps and not an external reciever ?
any help will be much appriciated
i have tried a few, best i can suggest is garmin xt, it works very well, although there is some lag, not much more than a specifc GPS unit.
well i'm using tomtom7 and never had a problem with it...never lost signal, no as bad lag as in garmin xt which i did use before... i've tried also iGO8 and is very nice and stable as well (similar lag as in garmin xt - acceptable), but my choice, so far best one, is tomtom7.
I think it´s a little bit difficult to say whats the best Navigation Software. The best way is always to try and find out.
I use the NDrive Software. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=492800&highlight=ndrive it´s very fast. Just needs 5 seconds to find 8-9 satelites and its very precise. I never would change to another software anymore, but this is just me...
Tomtom 7 gets my vote. With traffic update in UK and automatic rerouting, speed cameras and my nearest Tesco it does everything I need!
My vote goes to Navigon Mobile Navigator 7! I even bought it!
Copilot 8 Gets my vote, good value for money only being £25.99
Small issue with WM6.5 and the auto lock but I'm sure that will get fixed.
Opionated questions are always going to get mixed results due to everyone having different opinions. This is why they are frowned upon in XDA and generally closed. Best advice I can offer you is check up on each, read reviews and see what other users have to say on each, then make your own educated decision before you purchase one. Each have their own pros & cons
Thread closed