Develop Bugs

Universal vs Blue Angel

Hello everyone,
I want to sell my BA for a Universal. Mainly, because it's the camera, and CPU speed are better.... and there's native WM5.0. But I'm confused if it's worth it at the moment since there hasn't been much experimenting with it, and many software are incompatible with WM5.
So, I need your advice. Anyone tried it? What do you recommend? Talk as much as you can
I'm going to buy it from i-mate. Is it the same color as that of O2? I love the black. Is the infrared any better from Blue Angel (wider range)? Camera quality? Any plugins for Pocket IE available? Bluetooth driver good? What abut stability and battery life?
Thanks a lot!
Rudez

Univerisal iself is a great device, software a bit uggy just now but a updated rom will fix all the bugs. Universal or Blue angel??? no thought needed..get the universal

I want the universal -.-

I played with a MDA Pro over the last week. There's a lot of cool features, but I'm sticking with my BA for now. It's a very nice gadget indeed, but WM5 has just way too many bugs for primetime.

Ever held a Universal? They are friggin huge! About 25mm taller and wider.
I think the BA form factor/construction is perfect, I just want one with EDGE or HSPDA and WM5 native and I'm content!

The Universal isn't that much larger. And it's surprisingly light. Felt lighter than my old SX-56.

hey man,
i suggest that u stick to your BA...
by far it has proved to be the boss of all PDAs...
the universal is nice and edgy... but for its price (here in UAE it costs 4,300.00 DHS ~ 1,178.00 $) its waaaaaay too much
ok it has a bigger screen, vga display and several other feats but at this price u can get urself a decent laptop which contains much more feats and much better...
i was seconds away from buying the universal but then, thanks to u guys, my BA became a super machine... and when i need bigger screen or better performance i have my laptop in the hood of the car
this is just my opinion.

Thanks a lot!
I'm sticking to my BA afterall

I upgraded my BA for a Universal two weeks ago and I absolutely love it. Sure, the BA is a bit more stable and there is a lot more software available for it, but in a few months time the Universal will be equally stable - think back to when the BA came out is was the buggiest piece of crap to date, but after updates and fixes from the mamaichs and buzzs of the world it became a great device. Maybe upgrade in a few months when the price will be lower and it is more stable.
Fin

I struggle to imagine anything less stable than the BA. Even after the patches, which do improve the reliability 90%, I would not rely on this phone for anything important.
What are the main problems with the Universal, and how often does it require a soft reset?

I switched to the Universal a week ago and I wouldn't go back.
So far, the only problems are occasional slow down (very occasional), less battery power (it runs down a lot faster) and the orkward place they put the mini usb port - it a git to dock and it make proper car kits a no-go.
I think I've reset it 3 times in the last week, and the blue angel was on 1 or more a day. Its much more stable, everything works (theres still the odd time when something just fails, but thats windows for you) and the keyboard is second only to the Psion 5.

Still Using Harrier/Blue Angel Because You Prefer It?

I'm testing the waters a bit to see what the HTC enthusiast community thinks of the Blue Angel and Harrier in comparison to HTC's current product line.
While the Wizard and TyTN are fine products, they clearly are not the Blue Angel's design. The display has been downsized to 2.8 inches, and the Omni's handheld use is significantly diminished.
So, please vote in the poll. We'll try to let decision makers at HTC know if you want the Blue Angel brought into the 3G era.

I think there should be a 3G Blue Angel but they should still be progress in the development of more devices similar to the Tytn as the Tytn is proving one of the most popular devices I have seen and I feel is opening up mobile computing to people who thought about getting a connected PPC but didn't like the bulk of the units which had the features to make them useful.

Personally I stick with my BA because of how large the screen is and IMO the only phone that is worth switching too is the TyTn.
I also like how much thinner it is than any of the current HTC phones with a keyboard.
Meh... just my $.02

for Me its the screen, could do without the keyboard as i never use it.

I was using a Blue Angel (Harrier) on the Verizon EVDO network. It is a terrific device. I can watch videos real time. The larger screen is also awesome and much easier on tired eyes.
I finally put my Blue Angel aside and have been using primarliy a Wizard.
Even with all the Tweaks and overclocking, the Wizard is relatively slow. However, the Wizard has been much more reliable and is a much better phone.
I'm just about ready to order a TyTN because it seems the bugs are getting worked out. I'd rather have a Blue Angle sized unit with all the new Windows Mobile Features.
It looks like all the future HTC phones are small screened. The HTC Herald looks like a verizon/sprint EVDO (possibly Rev.A) phone. Looks great but still no Blue Angel.
I'd like to have a TyTN type phone for everyday, and then an "Arch Angel" phone with a large screen to travel with. It should have a fast processor, accept Standard SD cards.

I think you almost need two devices depending what you are doing. A 3G Blue angel with the same screen or possibly a VGA one for some tasks and a Tytn for most of the time. I have a Tytn on order but I will still use my IIs a lot because of the screen.

I love my BA. I had executive, then, IIi(alpine)..now back to my BA
Its a complete device(for those who dont want GPS)

Ditto. Screen (so many new devices have such small screens). Keyboard. Large RAM memory (yes I know WM5, but persistant storage read/write is slower). Still the best device.
Although, there's always something missing (GPS/FM Radio/a huge internal memory/Some devices even have TV!/direct USB access without an adater/EDGE/3G/etc.).

Love the BA form factor
I've gone thorough half a dozen phones in the past couple months trying to find an ideal unit for me. Seems everyone these days want the cute little phones that you could swallow if you got it too close to your mouth. Whats the point ? If its just for making and receiving calls fine, but if it's meant provide visual display and input (emails and surfing) than why wouldn't you want it big bright and loud ? Within reason of course..but some of these newer phones with all the great features are too small to make them easy to use. In my case it has to be Quad band as I need the 850 for CellularOne in my area.
I had a Blackberry 7100 which was great for push mail and work stuff but not so hot for display or web stuff. I just bought and then sold a very nice Hermes (Softpoint/Jasjam) device which was probably the best phone I have seen for coverage and features. It flat out worked great. I just could not see me using that needle size stylus on the 2.8 inch screen for very long. The display was nice but just too small enjoy using for me. It might work as a heads up display, but for my main device it need to be bigger. I mean... do you really want to run GPS map apps on this while your driving ? Or shop on eBay while squinting at that little thing. It looked MUCH bigger in the Ads
I've run a Symbian based Nokia e61 (still do) and find it one of my favorites for ease of use without a touch screen. It's not a touch screen but you would never notice with the neat smart key layouts and center joystick control. The display is not huge but the layout works great for web use and the browser is very quick. The problem with this phone is it seems to have a weaker over all RF module and I constantly loose my GPRS lock when going through fades and the only way to get packet (GPRS) back is to power cycle it. Maybe it's just my phone thats bad but the dealer won't exchange it as this point and I really doubt their "repair" shop would even find the problem.
I just bought, powered up and re-boxed an Ipaq 6945/15 device. Worked good signal wise and packet data stuff/Wifi devices were good. The phone just has a overall cheap feel to it. The keyboard is a joke (compared to my e61) and the joystick and side buttons are hard to use. Would it be that much more expensive to put a rubber tip on the joystick ? The 240 x240 display was weak and grainy as well. It has about 15 minutes on it and will listed for sell at a auction site near you soon ! I am waiting for my first BA device I just purchased off the web (O2XDAiis) and hope it's what I'm looking for. The 2003se software will new for me and it will probaly go to some version of WM5 soon after I get it. I'm hoping the screen is bright and pretty and I can actually use the "touch" screen with my finger instead of digging for a matchstick while cruising at 70 miles an hour. I like heft too, it signals quality to me. I searched long and wide for a 3.5 inch display, quad band phone and found Nothing but the older BA at this point. I'd love a new device to come out with WM5, 3.5 to 4 inch display, bright screen and the latest interfaces. I'd buy one RIGHT NOW.
Guy

BA all the way...big screen..nice keyboard..

I thought I would put my .02 cents in on this topic since I had a BA for 2 years and just recently got a Cingular 8525.
I did a pro's and con's list to help me make it very clear which phone I wanted and why. I'll just share the list with you...
Pros FOR the 8525 over the BA:
- Edge speeds are about 5x faster than regular GSM (120-150kbs)
- 3G speeds are about 30x faster (800-850kbs)
- Universal USB charger
- 2mp camera is much higher quality
- Camera application is much more advanced
- Native WM5 OS. No hacking or slowdowns from non-supported upgrades
- Jog Dial (this is a big one... Can't be without it now)
- MUCH improved bluetooth reception for handsfree
- Wifi type g and b (noticeably faster)
- Free push email w/ web2mail (simply amazing, no more disappearing gmail!!!)
- Smaller form factor... nicer fit in my hand than BA
- BT headset can start VoiceCommand. No need to touch the phone anymore.
- No soft reset to make the WiFi work start up
- PTT will be supported in the future and might be nice to have.
- Multiple sounds play without garbling (ie. VoiceCommand announcement and ringtone)
- Sharper more vibrant screen (the clarity and overall quality difference is significant)
- MUCH louder speakerphone and ring volume
- I like the navigation pad a bit better than the BA and it seems much more responsive.
Cons of the 8525 compared to the BA:
- Micro SD format max's out at 2GB (at the moment)
- No standard headphone jack
- Battery drain is higher due to 3g and push email
- The main buttons are a bit cramped around the navigation pad, but you get used to it, just like anything.
On the con side... Micro SD cards (typically) come with a standard SD card enclosure so you can use it with standard flash card readers or even put them into standard SD card devices like phones or the BA even. This is a nice thing in case you want to transfer information from one device to the other. Mini SD seems to be the real loser format out of the three in my opinion.
The headphone jack isn't really an issue for me so far. Yeah it would be nice to listen to the tunes with whatever headphones I choose, but I'm thinking a dedicated music player would be better anyway since I'm already running my battery into the ground as it is, but that doesn't change that my options are certainly limited. I'm sure someone will come up with an adapter solution soon. I've already seen some, but they are still getting better.
Battery drain is a big one... Other than disabling 3g and turning off direct push... I don't see a way to save battery. I just turn the back light down as low as it can go and use vjlumosiii (handy little app) mapped to a button to get max brightness when I need it.
Overall... I have to say that the 8525 is going to be a device that I will use for the next 2 years or so with MUCH fondness. I loved my BA and after having it all tricked out was still better than many peoples phones.
That's just my opinion on these 2 devices. I like them both... but the 8525 is going to be my work horse no doubt about it.
Mark

Apple Ipod.. The next gen BA ?
http://www.apple.com/iphone/
Looks like my next BA replacement. It's everything a new BA should be if they upgrade it... Now I just need to see one on eBay and someone to provide unlocker for it ..

GapBoyT said:
Personally I stick with my BA because of how large the screen is and IMO the only phone that is worth switching too is the TyTn.
I also like how much thinner it is than any of the current HTC phones with a keyboard.
Meh... just my $.02
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah but it's only 240x320.. maybe if they released a new vga version with a good camera/ wifi g/i/e, native WM5, id be down, the BA just too big!
Gvotuc said:
http://www.apple.com/iphone/
Looks like my next BA replacement. It's everything a new BA should be if they upgrade it... Now I just need to see one on eBay and someone to provide unlocker for it ..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
baaaaaad idea man.. why do you think apple is getting sued by cisco.. they don't think things through! Hence the intel macs killing the g5's in benchmarks on OSX, APPLE Should stick to software!! (And ive got cingular!)

Yup, yup.
Still using my 6600 and love it!
The screen size and the full size SD card is what kept me from going to a 6700.

i've got the BA PH20B on 02 (2yrs now) i use it alot with tomtom, i was thinking of the HTC 3300 its got built in GPS, 2.8'' TFT-LCD 240 X 320 with 65,536 colours, but only a 201mhz chip so gotta look into it more. and i found out you can get it with out the navigation software. save a few pennies there.

Will HTC ever make another like the BA?

You know Something with WM6 and a slide down key pad like the BA.
The wizard's screen is just too small for my use, and I'm no fam of the Wizard/Hermes rotate required keyboard.
You think we should get a petition together or something.

Although the screen size was nice and big... I gotta say, I put up with alot of reboots and freezes with my old BA. As a matter of fact, it took me upgrading to my new Hermes to realize that (almost daily) reboots were NOT normal.
I'll sacrifice screen size for dependability any day.
lol.

Weird, my QTek 9090 hardly ever crashes. I think a lot has to do with the ROM's being used by the different carriers.
I too would *love* to see a new device like the BA. I don't like the smaller 2.8" screens at all and I also don't like their lesser sensitivity, making them harder to use with the tip of your finger (as opposed to using the stylus).

...or like right now I'm using the back end of plastic spoon while I'm on lunch ^_^

Hmmm, the I-Mate Scully looks kinda yummy. No real info yet because all info available is leaked info.

I used to have the BA but I had to change over to the Hermes because the reliability of the BA was so bad and it's battery ran down so quickly and that was with a brand new genuine battery so I always had to carry a extra battery with me but now with the Hermes I have none of those problems and I wouldn't be with out it. I am pleased I changed and even though I still have my BA I would never go back to it.

I'm also surprised as to why there is no other device with large screen and slide out keyboard since the BlueAngel.
I love the big screen and would actually like VGA screen.
if they can squeeze in a GPS, usb host, faster processor but keep sd card I would be very happy.
The Sharp W-ZERO is interesting:
http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/13/sharp-w-zero3-mini-review/
so is the Sharp EM-ONE
http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/19/sharps-em-one-a-dual-sliding-pocketpc-with-HSDPA-and-WiFi/
but they are not really phones (the W-ZERO needs a special sim and the EM-ONE has HSDPA but no voice)

Big screen, Good memory, Massive 8gb internal storage, 802.11wireless. BT 2.0 with A2DP. Hsdpa . will this do for a start?
Welcome to the HTC Athena ( T-mobile Ameo )

Maybe the HTC P6550 - Sedna, no keyboard but fully loaded.

Have to reset BA maybe once in a week, battery life is great, also have spare one but never needed it... Battery is much more durable than the one in 2020 and 1010.
You guys should check roms in your BAs about those crashing.

BA is just a great Device ...
Its the best Device ever made my battery lasts for like 4 hours + ( turned on ) ... AND while its off ... more than a week and guess whut with no recharge , the battery Life is great its Fast , good , reliable ... BA is JUsT a Perfect Device .. ( I Tried more than 20 Devices ... thay all suck ... ) BA mine is an I-mate PDA2K ... is the Greatest EVER ! ... Lets hope they find a good recipy for a better device which will never Take PLACE !

Which currrent device could replace the BA?

What about the current followers?
Toshiba TG01 / K01, Touch Pro 2? Samsung Omnia Pro? Acer Tempo M900
I still can't find a suitable BA-substitution.
portrait orientated keyboard? docking station with battery charging option? Big 3:4 screen to make easier office working?
Not to mention the sd-card-slot ...
But, if make compromises, all mentioned devices have no really improvements (like a much faster processor) or they seems to be not reliable enough (Toshiba).
What do you think? Which device would you make to throw away your BA?

never throw your BA
TouchPro i would get!

never throw your BA
TouchPro i would get!

although none of the newer devices looks similar to the blueangel, they all have their respective advantages in their fields. it starts with the display resolution, all newer devices are better in that field, though not all the displays are necessarily bigger. i don't know, the portrait keyboard is not really something i need in a device, maybe it is because some keys of mine haven't worked since the day i bought it, but even if they did, i don't like the ba's keyboard, i really appreciate the universal's one, i can type almost as fast as on my pc there.
but i gotta admit, in one point, the ba really kicks ass:
the docking station, no lame usb cable, but a proper stand, you can charge the device and a second battery, and let's not forget, the headset port on top (though it is not 3.5mm *aaargh*) you can charge and have handsfree calls at the same time.
that's one reason, why htc will go back to the 3.5mm headset port, they said, you can simply connect the device to any speaker system, fm transmitters... and still charge at the same time. people were sick of carrying an adaptor from mini-usb or extusb to 3.5mm in their pockets, just in case they wanted to play loud music or use good headphones.
i do not fully agree on the sd card slot, while they are certainly the cheapest memory cards (3x 2gb for 10eur unbeatable), the 2gb limit is not exactly future ready. the most important thing is, that the card is interchangable without taking out the battery and stuff like that (yes, i am talking about you, NOKIA, damn you!1).
but talking about memory i would really say, the BA itself has an expiration date. how long do you think, fast proper roms will fit 32mb, external apps are growing bigger every day, 60mb is also not the killer, and installing to an sd card is also not really an option because it's slow and since there is no sdhc support, how far are you gonna get, i don't want to install my apps on every card i have.
don't get me wrong, i love the ba, and i don't think your post was to say, it would last forever.
i agree with you, there is no real successor to the ba featuring all its features, but really thinking about it, you must agree, you would give up some minor features for all the new stuff.
and i personally love gadgets, nonsense additons to devices, that i could perfectly live without, but i want them. there would be: accelerometer, proximity sensor, light sensor, noise sensor, multi-touch...
when it was up to me, the devices would also get a barcode- and fingerprint sensor, voice recognition and x-ray
just my 2 cents
hope some of this was interesting to my fellow BA enthusiasts and supporters of this community.
have a nice weekend everybody
Chef_Tony

It's clear to me that sometimes I must change my device. In my case (I still use the BA with WM2003, have 4GB SD installed and another BA to replace faulty device parts) the main problem is the slow Internet connection.
I'd like to have a device where I can check some information in the Internet in seconds, not in minutes.
Finally the question for me is to find the right moment, when HTC's devices are fast enough, Toshiba's work properly a.s.o. Will there be better BA successors in future? HTCs with 1 GHz? Toshibas with inside pens?
When this future will start?

I think my question is close enough to this thread, so I ask it here:
I'm also looking for an alternative to my MDA III (Blue Angel).
In general, I'm quite fond of the device. What I like about my MDA III and want to have in a future device are these things:
+ Windows Mobile hackability
+ sufficient RAM
+ realtively fast CPU
+ fingerfriendlyness (MDA III is because of its screen size)
+ reasonable battery life (I have a clunky extended battery)
But I want another device, because I see some drawbacks in the Blue Angel and want to have this:
+ less clunkyness (even without the extended battery the BA is huge)
+ landscape keyboard
+ built-in GPS
+ 3G ability
+ even more battery life (I always want more of that)
I got me an e-ten Glofiish M800, which has almost everything on paper. But the RAM (64MB) is much too small for a VGA device and the build quality is really bad. I can't even make decent phonecalls because the speaker is truly awful.
So, is there something the experts can reccomend? What about hte TYTN II, does it have a decent battery?
Regards,
Dirk

pdahunter said:
I'd like to have a device where I can check some information in the Internet in seconds, not in minutes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which browser do you use? For just getting some information Opera Mini (a Java application) is the browser of choice. It reduces the size of images and rearranges the website's content. With GPRS it is already fast, I never had to wait minutes.
Regards,
Dirk

I'm afraid the main problem is the connection speed.
I don't like operas user interface very much (I have V8.65) - no direct click to favorites/bookmarks, many other functions take more clicks than in IE. So IE became my favorite broswer.
Should I upgrade opera?

pdahunter said:
I'm afraid the main problem is the connection speed.
I don't like operas user interface very much (I have V8.65) - no direct click to favorites/bookmarks, many other functions take more clicks than in IE. So IE became my favorite broswer.
Should I upgrade opera?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a misunderstanding, I'm not talking about Opera for Mobiles but Opera Mini, a Java app.
Grüße,
Dirk

It seems I should give Opera Mini a chance ...

I've been using BA for about 4 years now! never disappointed me, its been amazing till now! however the weird look in ppl eyes start to annoy me so i decide to upgrade: so i got Touch PRO, and frankly i didn't feel it add much to my BA (may be a little bit)
bottom line: BA is one of the greatest device, and to replace it i would go for Touch PRO or PRO 2....but never through my BA
Cheers!

moh980 said:
bottom line: BA is one of the greatest device, and to replace it i would go for Touch PRO or PRO 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I thought so. I'll look for a Touch Pro when I get back the money I spent for the faulty E-ten. To0 bad that the Touch Pro still ist quite expensive.
Dirk

Last week I had a chance to compare BA and Touch Pro 2:
There are pros and contras for the Touch Pro 2.
Considering the contras the most important is the smaller screen (despite the 3.6"):
If I play games in portrait mode all signs and graphics are smaller than on a BA.
If I use the keyboard (E-Mail, Office) I have not enough place for lists and texts (landscape mode instead of portrait mode keyboard).
If I use the touch as navigation system the square of the screen is to small.
(moreover there is not car case yet with integrated power supply)
Hope sometimes HTC will build something like the TG01 with a keyboard.

I own a BA, have done for the last couple of years, currently running xplodes latest 6.5 rom and over all its a good pda... Yes, I class it as a PDA, due to its sheer size, I don't think I can ever comfortably use it as a phone... Yes, the screen is deffinitely bigger than most and that has its advantages, but I do think its getting old now and the way I see it, its probably getting a bit hard to adapt the latest software and roms to its 'aging' hardware...
I've just purchased a 2nd hand HTC TyTn II and to be honest, it really is fantastic, I really am very impressed with it, got it off eBay for £100 and the fact that it has a 3.0mp camera, built in GPS reciever, WiFi (like the BA), a 2.8" Screen and in my opinion, a much much better Qwerty keyboard pulling out the side giving much easier and bigger keys to press! I've currently got a Windows Mobile 6.5 rom on there and the battery life really does make the BA look like it should'nt have Windows Mobile 6.5 on it at all!
But hey, thats just my opinion, i'm not running the BA down at all, as its deffinitely one of my favorite devices and a device I'll keep forever! But I'm just giving my input to this thread and to reflect on what ive said above, for a good six months of the last year, I went back to using my SPV M500 rather than the BA just because it works better as a 'Phone'...
Cheers, Adz.

[Reviews] Oppo N3 Review Thread

Oppo N3 Review Thread​
Hey all
This thread is to collect the available reviews for the Oppo N3 into one place. Feel free to post reviews found on the web or when the device becomes available create your own:good: If anybody feels one should be added to the OP, please PM me. I'll kick off with a few i found on the net:highfive:​
Reviews/Previews
http://www.stuff.tv/oppo/oppo-n3/review
Stuff.tv Hands-on/Preview
http://www.cnet.com/uk/products/oppo-n3/
CNET - Hands-on​
Video Reviews/Previews
Android Authority - First Look​

Good And uPDATE
So Nice i See Specification .But Cost Some High

Review Quick and Dirty
Bought it today after comparing it with Mate 7 and here is my quick and dirty review:
Plus
+ very impressed by the motorised camera
use of o click: can control manually in small increments, on screen or through the o click;
+ sound quality and volume;
+ extremely fast camera focusing and shot to shot speed;
+ finger print scanner is good once i've figured out how to use it (and this coming from a person whose corporate finger print scanner cannot read mine...)
+ despite the weight of 192 g, it feels solid instead of heavy
+ without using the VOOC charger, charging speed is snail like; with the VOOC, it is really fast
+ O click pairs quickly and works very well (as compared to the previous version)
+ ps. heard from some reviewers that the camera head is loose but mine feels satisfactory. Some also mentioned about the rattling from the loose volume button, but mine seems fine too. Heng ah.
+ despite the many complaints about the faux leather over the camera/ear piece, after using it, I think i like this choice as it makes long conversation where I place my ear tightly next to the ear piece more comfortable. In short, it looks like a misfit, but it feels good when used.
+ Oh i love the gesture functions esppppppppppppppppp the double tap to wake, 3 fingers to screenshot
Minus
- crazy location of ear phone jack (though, fortunately, I use wireless earphones, so it is irrelevant.)
- coming from Note 4, somehow this screen looks small, although both are 5.5 inches
- mass storage option is gone (previously oppo had it right?)
- auto brightness is too aggressively dim indoors
In all, i think it is an excellent phone. However, at this price point, I don't think it'll move many pieces.
As compared to Mate 7, I think where Mate 7 trumps N3 is its screen to fascia ratio since Mate 7 doesn't have a rotating camera and uses on screen keyboard. However, i found mate 7 to be a tad unwieldy and the speaker to be too 'thin'/too shrill.

Largely agree with the above.
The good:
The phone is overpriced. I pre-ordered from OppoStyle and got a free VOOC battery pack, 32GB SD Card, and an iLike case for it, so the price of £430 actually felt ok, but without those freebies I'd feel a little bit ripped off, and that offer is gone now.
The camera is fabulous, only taken one selfie with it so far which was after a 4 day long course and 140 mile drive home, no makeup and really tired, but still somehow made me look good: http://lum.uk/temp/IMG20150122211859.jpg
The shutter speed on the camera is really fast too, so great for taking cat photos. http://www.imgur.com/p5dwFqR.jpeg
Dual-SIM on a flagship phone is wonderful. Work have me using a Blackberry Curve with a data bar on it and only Blackberry services allowed, so I've never been able to shove my work SIM into an Android and still get email before. Words cannot express how much I hate that Blackberry but I can't even dial on it without either using a pen to poke the keys, or end upbreaking a nail.
Color OS is actually surprisingly nice. This is the first Android I've owned where I haven't felt the need to immediately rip out the entire OS and replace it with Cyanogen or AOKP (My previous androids were an HTC Desire Z and a Motorola Droid 4). I've still had to replace the launcher with Nova Launcher though.
VOOC charging is really clever. I read a bit about how it works, the phone basically has 3 batteries and charges them at 1.5A each, so it's not going to kill the battery too fast. I really don't mind that a standard charge is slow. I charge it overnight at 2.1A from a USB mains socket by my bed, so that'll be 0.7A per battery which is going to make it really nice to the batteries longevity.
Battery life is superb. Even during a day of heavy use, my second day of owning the phone, including much tinkering, gaming and also using a lot of data in the doctor's waiting room, it was only down to 40% by midnight.
The "Skyline" notification light is actually quite good in these days of LEDs that are far too bright, however whenever I see the name I always think of a Nissan, not a fancy LED.
An SD card slot on a high end phone released in 2015!
The downsides:
The dual-SIM layout is slightly odd. It takes a micro SIM as its primary and a nano SIM as the secondary. 4G is only available on the micro SIM, not the nano!. This strikes me as an odd decision as nano SIMs are more likely to be 4G capable, and to be the primary SIM for the phone, with the larger SIM being from a crappy company phone. Fortunately for me my girlfriend is very good with a craft knife and the Blackberry SIM is now a perfectly good nano SIM. I guess some folk would rather use up their works data allowance for everything and then stick in a personal nano SIM for calls.
The position of the power button is annoying. I keep grabbing it and locking my phone when I want to just hold the phone. I wonder if there's a way to make that button unlock only, not lock, as I can lock it by either closing the case or double tapping the home button.
Opening task manager by doing a long press on menu, rather than home, takes a little bit of getting used to.
The Oppo widgets only work on their own launcher. I had to install Google Calendar to get a working calendar widget, which then left me with two calendar entries in the app drawer.
There is still a little bit of bloat to be removed. Google Chrome should not be baked into a ROM as it's 80mb and is almost invariably out of date when the phone ships, plus I use Firefox anyway, also the above mentioned oppo calendar.
There's a hidden app with the name still in Chinese that had me nervous at first as I had no idea what it did. Turns out it's EngineeringMode.apk and is triggered by *#*#4636#*#* and has a few things to tinker with, but use with caution.
No kernel source code available, no fastboot files available. This is especially annoying given that the OTAs failed for me.
Most information about the phone, and about ColorOS is only available in Chinese.
Non-removable battery.
SD card can't be used at the same time as a second SIM. I wonder if careful shaving of both cards could get around this, but unwilling to try it as getting a card stuck in that slider would basically ruin the phone.
The SIM slider can be completely removed and if you lose it you have a £430 tiny overpriced tablet!
All in all I'm quite happy with my purchase. I'm not sure it'll do that well as the phone doesn't know what it wants to be. The dual-SIM thing is great for business people, but the selfie camera is obviously targeted at young women, yet the size is likely too big and they're competing with Samsung who actually have physical shops in the UK. They're also doing zero marketing. For me it is (almost) the perfect phone*, but I'm weird and have multiple often contradictory requirements. I love it but not sure I'd recommend it to anyone else.
* for it to be perfect it would have to have a 5-row QWERTY slider. This is my first non-QWERTY phone and I'm struggling with typing having come from a Droid 4. Guess I need to look for an external keyboard.

so far battery life seems to be as good as my note 4.
very happy with the phone so far but knowing me, soon, i will revert to note 4 cos i like the pen.
the motorised camera is quite amazing.
my main gripe is i wish the finger print scanner were as big as the huawei one.
Comparing with Note 4
Note 4 over N3
- generally faster esp with file copying
- slimmer
- feels better in the hand
- a more sensible headphone jack
- better screen
- better auto brightness
- Spen!!!!
- GPS is better
- more RAM
N3 over Note 4
- faster camera
- more wow factor with the camera module
- much better mono speaker
- better finger print scanner
- colorOS is a more user friendly OS than touchwiz
- can be dual sim (not checked whether it is dual standby though)
- lower price point plus got freebies
- gestures are great!!
- fast charging is quite phenomenal
The placement of the monospeaker is particularly smart. It is at the bottom but more importantly, because of the skylight notification portion, the speaker is not the last part of the phone. This is important because for phones with bottom-mounted speakers, when i play games and hold the bottom, my palm covers the speaker. Additionally, when the phone is placed on the table, with the skylight bulge and the table flanking the speaker, there is a lot of resonance, making the speaker pretty loud!! At the same time, on speaker phone mode, i can cup my palm over the bottom to increase the volume. In all, this is the best implementation of bottom speaker.

what do you mean by "dual standby"? I have two SIMs in there, so I'll test it for you.

i suppose to find out whether both lines can be called through or whether only one can be used (despite there being two sims in the phone).
Lum_UK said:
what do you mean by "dual standby"? I have two SIMs in there, so I'll test it for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

both sims work at the same time
inertiaholic said:
i suppose to find out whether both lines can be called through or whether only one can be used (despite there being two sims in the phone).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can receive calls or texts on both sims at the same time....the sim settings are also great...you can set it to default reply so that if someone texts or calls you on sim1 the phone will default reply on sim1....also when you go to make a call or send a text there is an option for both sims you just press the one your using

Review by Music.Photo.Life.
I'm happy to share my review of the OPPO N3 here.
http://musicphotolife.blogspot.sg/2015/04/oppo-n3-swivel-camera-smartphone-review.html
Thanks for reading!