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I'm planning to get a unit next week. I've been checking out the forum for quite some time, it seems that there are a lot of complains. Are there any satisfied user of xda IIs? How's the construction of the keyboard? Is it very fragile?
My opinions may not be as valid as those who have used the IIs for longer time as I have been using it for just a week now, but as far... I'm very pleased with the IIs, sure it has software stability issues but not until the point it's unmanageable by myself.
The thumb board and the slide up screen area is not as fragile as people think it is (most likely they never use it for a long period of time). Just yesterday, I write an article using the thumb board, while playing MP3 and some sms chatting with my wife on the IIs, not as smooth as I wanted to, but it gets the job done without problem
Wi-Fi connection is great... Although the range could be better, I connect via Wi-Fi at the office to transfer my work to the server and browse the internet with it. Bluetooth is also fine.
What do you want more? It's my first ever device which made my laptop and computer almost obsolete.
That my friend... Coming out of an ex hardcore Palm OS user 8)
Regards,
Miki
I am not pleased at all. I think the XDA IIs is the biggest heap of junk known to mankind. Don't slide it down more than five times otherwise it will just drop all the time and never stay in its original place. What a pyle!!! I would get the XDA IIi or wait for the XDA VI
After using Xda IIs for more than 1 month, I find this device to be much much better compared to my previous Xda II, especially in term of battery life and stability (actually stability depends on the softwares you've installed and your knowledge of balancing different kind of programs). About the thumb board, honestly, i don't mind since i seldom use it.
If you are a previous user of Xda I or Xda II, you'll aprreciate Xda IIs as much as I do.
cayotte said:
(actually stability depends on the softwares you've installed and your knowledge of balancing different kind of programs)
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I wouldn't say that stability is left to the user alone, my 2nd day with the IIs reaffirms me that Microsoft needs a competitor so it can deliver better product... While playing around, my IIs restarts itself when I click on the start button. Well, so much for the legendary Microsoft stability. This also happens when I try an earlier built rom IIs and II Mini (the restarting itself issue) but the final built rom seems more stable.
Mikee4fun said:
Don't slide it down more than five times otherwise it will just drop all the time and never stay in its original place.
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I work as an IT journalist, and before I bought the IIs I personally reviewed it and subjected the most horrific things people can do to an electronic device. One of the torture test I applied to the IIs is playing the slider like a yo-yo toy. While holding the screen portion I tuck the IIs down and it opens under its own weight. I even slid open and close the device indefinitely for 10 minutes (my colleague helps). It's a bit lefty loosy, but still manage to hold on none the less. What we have is the prototype from HTC, it's grey like the MDA III, but has O2 marking on the top left. Probably our test subject is the "reviewer edition" with extra strong build, but I have faith.
What I like more about the IIs is the 4 extra hard button. After seeing the rumoured Windows Mobile 2005 has function like the Smartphone edition (context sensitive button), a WM 2005 compatible option is good to have. That 4 extra button seems to correspond well to the WM2005 (but probably I'll be buying another PDA Phone when the new OS is available down the line).
Sorry for the long post... My occupation forces me to
The XDAIIs is a great little device. Like all "bleeding edge" technology, it suffers from the occasional hicup, though nothing that affects me in normal day to day useage and I've had mine for three months.
Build quality appears to be fine. I'm sure there are some dodgy units out there, but then, I'm sure the odd Rolls Royce comes off the production line with less than perfect build quality. If you do buy an XDAIIs and get one that doesn't seem quite right, take it back and swap it for another. It's very simple and far better for your blood pressure than allowing yourself to get all frustrated and annoyed and trying to put everyone else off getting one!
I use it as a PDA (for both work and personal use), as an MP3 player, as an eBook reader for novels, enclyclopeadia and dictionary, I watch the odd funny video clip I've downloaded off the internet, I use it for exchange rates, in-car GPS navigation, Bluetooth headset, spreadsheets, quite a lot of e-mail and I use it with my wifi connection at home and in airports, bars, hotels etc. Plus, I play the odd game on it, I have the weather forecast for several cities, I read the news on it and get regular stock market updates. I keep my wedding photo's on it and have quite a few photo's from my honeymoon (in Finland!) which I enjoy looking at in the odd sentimental moment. Oh, and I use it as a phone as well; though not often - I'm just not a "Mobile phone" kind of person. Which is another reason I love it. I can have a mobile phone with me all the time, without having to carry a mobile phone with me all the time - if that makes sense?
And with all that useage, I occasionaly get a message saying bluetooth couldn't start due to insufficient memory (probably once a week), so I reboot it (it is windows, after all!). I've noticed maybe three or four times that, when switching from landscape to portrait, the screen doesn't quite re-draw itself correctly, so I do it again, and it fixes itself.
And there are probably one or two other things that require me to reboot it, but they happen so infrequently, I really can't remember what they are.
But all in all, it's a cracking little device that does what it's meant to with little fuss. Treat it with respect and care (i.e. don't put dodgy cracked or warez software on it, don't fill up the memory so it has non left to work with, back up often just-in-case) and it'll serve you well.
Wow! xda IIs is not bad at all quite excited to have one soon, hope the soon to be released rom would make the device even better
What Bassey said....
..except for the stuff about his honeymoon in Finland.
Mines has been a bit glitchy but the positives far outway the negatives. The biggest complement I can give it is that I use it all the time intuituvely. Since its always to hand it always gets used.
Dont forget, forum users are far more inclined to moan about stuff than praise it, especially when the need a solution to something.
yeah, thats true how about posting some positive experience about xda IIs, otherwise it will seem a horror movie just to use the device. :lol: I could just imagine owning a device with problems in all aspect.
IMO, if you are into tinkering firmware, beta testing, love using window 3.1(in terms of reboot couple times a day and re-install once very few weeks), etc., you can't go wrong with the IIs. Sorry, I am a bit negative with my IIs. :?
Yatlee, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but as there are people on here that are using their IIs quite heavily and without any problems then it would seem that you may have a dodgy unit. Have you tried to return it to where you got it for an exchange or refund?
Im happy with my XDA Iis. Ive had it since november and it is my main phone, with the original rom and bt patch 3500 i had no major problems. Soft resets were mainly due to 3rd party software and I only hard reset to remove software which would not uninstall properly. It has always been stable for me and the new rom has no ill effects so far. I use it for wifi browsing at home, (though ive had the unit lockup on me but this has reduced dramatically with a new router) and use bt with no problems with a Sony Ericsson HBH-200 headset and AVL bluetooth gps. Also no problems with the keyboard getting loose
I've had mine since the end of December.
The only thing that I dislike about the IIs is the damned BT. Quite frequently, approx 25% of the time, the other party can not hear me when I am using a BT headset. Then I'll have to turn off the BT headset and talk directly with the phone. A soft reset fixes things but only for a while.
No voice dialing is a pain too, but I guess I'll live with it. I've tried Vitotech Voicedialer but I didn't like it. Having to turn on the device, then run a program just to do voice dialing is lame. I might as well dial the number myself if I have to do so many button presses on the device.
Other things such as no profiles and no individual ringtones out of the box are mere annoyances. These are easily fixed with additional software.
My unit is fairly stable. I rarely have lockups but this could be because I ALWAYS soft reset it in the morning before I leave for work. I do this to make sure the BT will work on at least the 1st or 2nd call. :lol:
The keyboard is decent. I would prefer a more solid tactile feedback but it's good enough for occasional use. The slider is still tight on mine, but I use it maybe only once a day.
Phone reception is good. It's at least as good as my old SE68i. The wifi works well too. It's a good little device.
Bassey said:
Yatlee, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but as there are people on here that are using their IIs quite heavily and without any problems then it would seem that you may have a dodgy unit. Have you tried to return it to where you got it for an exchange or refund?
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My unit is in the repair center after encountering the misterious "I can't hear the other party and vice versa". I love IIs when it's working. Hard reset and reinstall allow the unit to work again, but only temporary. I avoid most of the third party software except for the much have one (such as voice command, my email client, etc.) Plenty of memory left (80+MB).
XDA support is quite disappointing. Maybe microsoft is the company to blame, but every problem they basically point the finger back to Microsoft. I can imagine may be few years down the road, they will get every right and solid (just like how long it takes microsoft to come up with window 2000/XP; some may aruge it's still not perfect).
I am seriously thinking about getting the mobile phone and PDA separate if my problem persist. I can go on, but I stop now. Sorry about the ranting.
I am a pedestrian, so usually I am a little closer to buildings than is optimal for most GPS receivers. I also have very different needs as a person who doesn't drive in terms of GPS software. Telling me to get on to C-470 for two miles, for example, isn't really very helpful at all.
However telling me what's within an eighth or a quarter mile of my current position would be extremely useful.
Given these somewhat unique conditions (an American without a car!? :shock, does anyone have a good recommendation? I'll be using this on my Wizard, but I'm posting in the more general accessories forum because I'm pretty sure nothing about what I am asking has much to do with my Wizard per se.
I wonder if I could do a little bit of tweaking to get a little serial Bluetooth thing working with my old Magellan SporTrak here. It's a bit bulky, but it tracks three sats inside my apartment, which is quite a feat. That's probably a project suited more for one of the xda-devs hard hat zones.
Thoughts on any of the above welcome! Can't say I've ever played with GPS on a PDA before. Just a bit using my Magellan as a standalone device.
Well, if you're going to be close to or inside buildings you'll want a solution based on the Sirf III chipset, as it has superior performance with weak signals. Sirf III units include the Globalsat BT-338 and the Holux GPSlim 236 -- they're basically identical, but the Globalsat has a larger battery so it'll last longer on a charge.
For software, I'd recommend Route 66 Navigate 7; it has the most recent maps and has a pedestrian mode. www.buygpsnow.com and www.semsons.com are probably the two best US outlets for buying these items -- they both offer bundles that can save you a few bucks.
Is Route66 really much better than eg TomTom? As I said, I have thus far only played with my Magellan. I used a free tool to load some map data on to it and have pretty much just used the device as-is so far. I guess TomTom just has better marketting with those ridiculous commercials, but I have no idea how the packages compare. The pedestrian mode is a big deal--I guess the other question yet to be answered is how nicely does it play with Mobile Speak Pocket, since I usually can't read most fonts on any device you'd be willing to hold up to your ear without it.
The reason I bought a Wizard is because, while it is reasonable to use as a PDA, it is not unreasonable to use also as a phone. Using it also as a GPS would be awesome (though I guess I won't be wardri--er, warwalking?--with it based on some of the comments I've read on WiFi bugs..)
TomTom can also do pedestrian routes.
The TomTom product is waaaay better than those ridiculous commercials would suggest.
Car
What is the best out there for someone who is just going to be in a car. I just got a mda and was looking at getting bluetooth gps. I was not quite sure which is the best around, I had looked at tomtom 5.
For drivers, TomTom and Route 66 both look very nice. Turns out though my best bet is probably Wayfinder, just in terms of likelyhood of getting something that I can use. I'm going to hold off on that purchase for awhile until I hear that it actually is working well for people with MSP.
I think I like Route 66 better if I could actually use it.
TomTom 6 is coming soon in October so you'll probably want to hold off if you are considering TomTom.
I personally use and like iGuidance V3 a lot ~
GPS receiver wise I think any SiRF III unit is good.
I go walking a lot in Derbyshire where I live, and use Memory Map. Don't know about the US, but here I use the Ordnance Survey maps which are detailed to 1:25,000 scale fantastic for walking with.
I hook my MDA compact up to a Copilot bluetooth GPS unit, which is also used for Tomtom 6 when I am driving.
Between the two programs I can get myself to any postcode or national grid reference in the UK
the only advantage I can see is its thinner and smaller and has an in built GPS Receiver, downside is it doesnt have a keyboard so regular email usage is pants, not sure if Blackberry software works on it yet and worst of all is it doesnt have 3G, how crap is that!!!!
tonyb15re said:
the only advantage I can see is its thinner and smaller and has an in built GPS Receiver, downside is it doesnt have a keyboard so regular email usage is pants, not sure if Blackberry software works on it yet and worst of all is it doesnt have 3G, how crap is that!!!!
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Who is asking you to change
tonyb15re said:
the only advantage I can see is its thinner and smaller and has an in built GPS Receiver, downside is it doesnt have a keyboard so regular email usage is pants, not sure if Blackberry software works on it yet and worst of all is it doesnt have 3G, how crap is that!!!!
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I agree with victoradjei - you seem to mention an awful lot of advantages of the Artemis before throwing them all away due to lack of 3G! Anyway, for someone who doesn't video call or can't afford a pricey data plan, it is a spectacular device. Different strokes for different folks, as they say. (By the way, using SPB Full Screen Keyboard cancels out the problem of no sliding QWERTY on the Artemis.)
Let's keep this forum clear of random bashing of people's devices and use it to help each other get the most out of the HTC device we have chosen for our own reasons.
psargent said:
I agree with victoradjei - you seem to mention an awful lot of advantages of the Artemis before throwing them all away due to lack of 3G! Anyway, for someone who doesn't video call or can't afford a pricey data plan, it is a spectacular device. Different strokes for different folks, as they say. (By the way, using SPB Full Screen Keyboard cancels out the problem of no sliding QWERTY on the Artemis.)
Let's keep this forum clear of random bashing of people's devices and use it to help each other get the most out of the HTC device we have chosen for our own reasons.
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Who said it was bashing, I just find it extraordinary that a manufacturer can build devices and leave out functionallity and technology. There are so many feature rich devices from HTC yet they cannot seam to pull one together that has all!!! The O2 Device looks good, it seems to have the right features but why no keyboard and no 3G, I have an SE phone that has 3G for god sake.. I have a data card from VF that gives me 1.8Mbs so a manufacturer brings out a neat little device that doesnt have a keyboard and no 3G, TBH its on par with the earlier HP devices that had phone capabiltiy but its in a smaller case and has a build in GPS...
P.S. I'm contemplating having one as my second toy...
P.P.S, this is more HTC bashing than the decive itself....
tonyb15re
The only thing u gain is Fm & Temping Gps inbuilt in i'm also thinking to which one to buy lol
Hi,
I currently own a Prophet (I-Mate Jamin model) which I bought around 12 months ago on an o2 contract. I'm happy with the device and haven't had any issues with it that I haven't been able to resolve myself (& by lurking on these forums) but as I mentioned, I've had it about 12 months now and I'm due an upgrade with o2.
I'm considering getting an XDA Orbit but the specs seem pretty much the same as my Prophet. I'm attracted to it becauase physically it looks nicer from what I can tell, but that's pretty much it.
Can any of you shed any light on what the main differences are between these devices and if it would actually be worth me upgrading to the Orbit?
WM6 is obviously a big factor in this, I don't know if it will ever be availible for the Prophet but it appears that there may be a chance it will be availible for the Orbit.
The only faults I have with my Prophet are the way it has the worlds worst vibrate feature (very noisy & long) & it's quite weighty and a bit bulky for my pocket. If these features are better on the Orbit then it would be a selling point for me.
Lastly, one thing that's importnat to me is the 'keypad' software that seems to be present on the Prophets roms. I'm used to this for one handed input, - is this availible on the XDA Orbit?
I realise this is all a bit drawn out but I'm hoping that there will be members hear that can relate to my issues and give me some advice!
If not, I might just stick with my Prophet for now and see what else comes out in the future, although I'm also slightly tempted to go the Symbian route and get a Nokia N95 which o2 also have an offer and it looks quite nice (but then I don't know a great deal about Symbian)
Any views??!
Thanks for any help!
An update to an Orbit will be fairly easy for you as you will be used to the operation of the phone
You will also get
wi-fi - I use this all the time
GPS - either Co-Pilot or you can get TomTom (worth the upgrade on it's own in my opinion
WM6 next month (hopefully)
O2 will let you have it for free, you can sell your old one on ebay for £150ish
I don't think the N-95 is all it was cracked up to be. The GPS is not as good as the Orbit - either the hardware or the supplied software
What have you got to loose ?
Hays
Gah, screwed up...
Thanks hays, I appreciate that.
This might be a silly question but can you get the T9 'phonepad' on the Orbit, it's just I read in a review that it wasn't available & I use this constantly on my Prophet.
One of the other things about the N95 that's been attracting me is the camera quality, but I do feel more comfortable sticking with windows mobile if I'm honest, especially if I can upgrade for free.
Also my Prophet does have Wi-Fi, I use this a lot...The N95 also has it...
Thanks again,
yes the phone pad was posted on the forum and I use it all the time with my orbit.
I cant argue re the camera - the orbits is good in daylight - not so good in low light. Definately 1-0 to the N95 for that one
I've not seen tomtom running on a 95. I gather the supplied s/w is pretty lame. The GPS chip is not SIRF III, meaning it takes a few mins to lock on when you start up. Also needs a failrly good line of sight in your veh according to some
My orbit locks on in around 20 secs. It can even get a lock from the middle of my house
Hi hays, thanks again for the free help!
Sorry to keep up with the questions, but one last thing - GPS is new to me. Is this something that there are data charges for? I'm not sure how it works.
I've a Vodafone sim from my works phone that I was hoping to use in the Orbit but I'm not sure if I'll still be able to use GPS with it or how much it costs if I stick with my o2 sim.
I guess I should probably be proactive and Google this!
Thanks again,
(also, good news about the phone pad)
GPS = Global Positioning System. Free and used worldwide
GPS is free on the Orbit as it behaves exactly the same way as a regular in car GPS (unless you subscribe to live traffic updates which use GPRS - which is your phone's mobile data service)
The maps are stored on your storage card and therefore require no downloads. It does not matter which network or sim card you use as the orbit's GPS is stand alone
I believe the N95 uses GPRS to download the maps so that may be a factor to consider
I'm in America using a euro-purchased Vario II on T-Mobile's network. Been upgraded to Black 3.0 but thinking of re-flashing it to something better. Also want to try using GPS with this unit, though I know I need an antenna.
So, what GPS software is best for my situation, and would any particular ROM be best suited? Thanks.
Well there are a few out there. I've used 3 of them. Telenav, iNav, and TomTom6. Of the 3 tomtom is my fav by far.
I thought telenav was the best as far as voice translation goes because it says the street names aloud and does so pretty well and on time. But thats where it ends. Telenav almost never found my GPS receiver and it was the one they recommended. It updates maps as you drive via the web which is a bad idea for GPS. Hit a dead spot and you lose where to turn and get lost easily. I can't tell you how many times i wanted to throw my phone out of the window while driving with that crappy piece of software. Especially paying 10 bucks a month to have it not work.
iNav works much like tomtom but I found the voice to be rather lame and the interface poorly designed.
So on to tomtom6. Works like a charm everytime without a hitch. Simple easy and intuitive interface. Never has any issues finding my bluetooth receiver. Never. Color choice for maps for night/day driving along with other features like weather updates, traffic updates, camera locations. Map of the US and Canada takes up about 1gig. Leaves me with another gig for storage however if I moved up to a 6gig I'd still have 5 left. Couple complaints I've heard with tomtom is map load time. I didn't find this to be an issue whatsoever considering my dealings with telenav. I'd rather wait all of 30 seconds for a map to load if I know its not gunna screw up at all once its loaded. Plus you can plan trips ahead of time so load time becomes a moot point.
Thats about it. I think if you do some research you will agree with me but I know some people who post on here prefer iNav over tomtom. Hell some even like telenav. =)
thanks
I actually almost went for Telnav - I was wondering how that "update as you go" would work. Seems like the preloaded maps are more reliable. Now it's more understandable why T-Mobile doesn't offer it directly. I have tons of space left on my 2gig card so Tomtom might be the way to go.
I noticed you didn't mention Delorme Street Atlas 2008 or any of its previous editions. I was about to try that one but thought some research was in order.
Was it a pain in the ass to get the Tomtom working? Though I like my 8525, I'm always frustrated at what this unit is capable of and what I'm actually able to make it do.
Have a try to iGo ( http://www.i-go.com/en/ ), I found it far better than Tomtom (auto zoom in/out, auto 3D => 2D, ...)
iGO is for Europe only, though, right? And it looks like some of the products have been discontinued.
if u live in the us tomtom dnt even think twice about it
Gman007 said:
iGO is for Europe only, though, right? And it looks like some of the products have been discontinued.
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Not true... I use iGo 2006 in California. It is fast and map access is automatic and fast. Delay is the least compared with tomtom. Color options are more vivid and has day/night option auto-switch.
that brings us to another issue.... for the 8525 model you need a gps adapter. 8525 does not have a built in one. In my opinion, thats better, since all the devices that have built-in GPS receivers are weak and signal reception is minimized. In 8525 and while driving you can place the gps adapter anywhere you get the strongest signal. I use Holux 1200. I had a Nokia GPS adapter.. a piece of sh*T. The Holux is by far the best I used. You can get one on ebay real cheap.
As soon as Goggle-Nav gets its act together, the GPS they will produce will be the best. They are working on some kinks with MS DirectX-3D interphase. You can wait for it or enjoy iGo Nav right now.
one more vote for tomtom here. i don't know where i'd be without it, literally.
Not sure how you are using iGo in cali and where you managed to get your maps from. Their website offers nothing on the US not to mention it is advertised as "door to door navigation across europe". You sure you are even using iGo? lol
edit: Well I found some info about the US version. apparently its out in beta possibly final by now. From what I have read though the maps are not as good with iGO compared to tt6. I also read that some people don't trust iGO when it comes to navigating onto on/off ramps for the highways. Just cause a program looks cooler doesn't make it better especially when it comes to proper navigation.
I tried google navigator. There is a cooked rom somewhere that actually allows it to run even though it has a dx issue that prevents it from running on most roms. If the final version is anything like the version I tried. It will be worthless. Slowest application for GPS I've used yet. Sometimes a ton of graphical features are just a bad idea for a device with only 64megs of ram and poop graphics.
surrept said:
Not sure how you are using iGo in cali and where you managed to get your maps from. Their website offers nothing on the US not to mention it is advertised as "door to door navigation across europe". You sure you are even using iGo? lol
edit: Well I found some info about the US version. apparently its out in beta possibly final by now. From what I have read though the maps are not as good with iGO compared to tt6. I also read that some people don't trust iGO when it comes to navigating onto on/off ramps for the highways. Just cause a program looks cooler doesn't make it better especially when it comes to proper navigation.
I tried google navigator. There is a cooked rom somewhere that actually allows it to run even though it has a dx issue that prevents it from running on most roms. If the final version is anything like the version I tried. It will be worthless. Slowest application for GPS I've used yet. Sometimes a ton of graphical features are just a bad idea for a device with only 64megs of ram and poop graphics.
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I have been using iGO for the last two months. I have downloaded US maps, 8 of them alltogether. I also have maps for Europe and the Mid-East. I have no problem with it, as I did with TomTom, which in lots of incidents lost the GPS signal, doing the same rout as I do with IGO. It is now a matter of personal preferance.
asfoor said:
I have been using iGO for the last two months. I have downloaded US maps, 8 of them alltogether. I also have maps for Europe and the Mid-East. I have no problem with it, as I did with TomTom, which in lots of incidents lost the GPS signal, doing the same rout as I do with IGO. It is now a matter of personal preferance.
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Do you have a torrent for that? All I get is spam and trojans.
No warez here guy. Asking for stuff like that will flip people out.