Is it worth to upgrade from II to IIs? Comments please. - MDA III, XDA III, PDA2k, 9090 General

I am considering upgrading from XDA II to IIs and since the price is steep because it's new, can i have some suggestion from previous Himalaya owners who upgraded to Blue Angel? Is it worthwhile to upgrade or should i wait?
Pros and Cons would be good.
Thanks in advance
Cheers!

lazzy said:
I am considering upgrading from XDA II to IIs and since the price is steep because it's new, can i have some suggestion from previous Himalaya owners who upgraded to Blue Angel? Is it worthwhile to upgrade or should i wait?
Pros and Cons would be good.
Thanks in advance
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Shame you cant buy it here in the UK as a new contract moving your number with you as I only paid £49.99 here http://www.scancom.co.uk/customer/product.php?productid=17024
And although we were only XDA I owners I do think its well worth the upgrade so much better I find than an XDA I

if you need :
1. WIFI
2. Keyboard
3. a BLACK PDA PHONE
Then upgrade to IIs.
I won't upgrade to IIs because
1. It's even heavier than II
2. The larger capacity battery don't help much
3. WM2003SE not really as great as you think
4. I don't need WIFI.
5. Why upgrade to a device with the SAME CPU, SAME AMOUNT OF RAM, SAME SIZE, SAME SCREEN ?
I will upgrade to HTC Magician / XDA II Mini / Qtek S100 / T-Mobile MDA Compact / Dopod 818 / Imate Jam / whatever you like ..

killercheung said:
if you need :
1. WIFI
2. Keyboard
3. a BLACK PDA PHONE
Then upgrade to IIs.
I won't upgrade to IIs because
1. It's even heavier than II
2. The larger capacity battery don't help much
3. WM2003SE not really as great as you think
4. I don't need WIFI.
5. Why upgrade to a device with the SAME CPU, SAME AMOUNT OF RAM, SAME SIZE, SAME SCREEN ?
I will upgrade to HTC Magician / XDA II Mini / Qtek S100 / T-Mobile MDA Compact / Dopod 818 / Imate Jam / whatever you like ..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) Don't really need WiFi now cause Macau doesn't have WiFi spots at all.
2) Keyboard will help me a lot in replying my e-mails and once Blackberry is available.
3) Not too concern with the color.
I know the rest is the same but i believe the internal RAM now is 96MB instead of 64mb in XDA II?

Nope
Hi,
Just sold my new MDAIII (same HTC Blue Angel as XDAIIs), and will continue to use MDAII. This is why:
1. The screen on MDAII is dreadful (yellowish, lower contrast, tiny viewing angle, must be used at full brightness (I use MDAII at lowest level) to achieve barely acceptable picture which nullifies the advantage of the higher capacity battery)
2. Wifi will not connect to Wifi networks with hidden SSID (SANDISK sd wifi on MDAII does this without problem (using newest socket driver)- which incidentally also has marginally longer range).
3. Keyboard is much slower to use than on-screen one, not to mention SPB full screen keyboard
4. BT radio has about 20% shorter range than on MDAII (using BTGPS for network access)
5. Needs very frequent resets. Particularily when connecting to different wifi APs and when switching between BT Network access and wifi access(BluetoothGPS works much better on the MDAII)
Given that the industrious contibutors to this site have provided us with screen rotation functionality (SRS) (as well as BT network access), the MDAII is still my choice by a long shot.
BTW 1.7 rom upgrade also offers FAX support.
The only thing that I miss is the "single column" IE browsing mode, but I'm hoping that someone will solve that too.
Cheers,
Martin

Should have read: The screen on MDAIII is dreadful

Im a little shock with what people are saying here.
I have a Imate PDA2K and I must say it is perfect! I had a P800 before and the things the P800 didnt have was:
Wifi
Keyboard
and these two things make a big difference for me. I have wifi at home and checking email on that is just perfect. Download attachments without worries of GPRS prices. The Keyboard means I can ride a bike and type and email at the same time with one hand where you could not do that on a PDA without a keyboard.
Screen I thought is perfect, well on mine is.
BT works fine for me.
Much of a muchness!
buy what you need

I know the rest is the same but i believe the internal RAM now is 96MB instead of 64mb in XDA II
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
xdaII have 128
xdaI's came first in a 32MB later a 64MB version
not sure if xdaIIs only have 96MB but i'm pretty sure it have 128 like the xdaII[/quote]

I've had an MDAIII for a few weeks now and I can honestly say that I prefer my XDAII - The XDAII was a giant leap from the XDA. The MDAIII is a very small step, has many bugs and a yellow screen - wifi and bluetooth don't work properly and the keyboard is nowhere near as good as my original Nokia communicator. I got my MDAIII for FREE - I would definately not be happy if I paid a lot of money for it. My advice to anyone thinking of 'upgrading' would be to wait for whatever replaces this model. Hopefully the next generation of these phones will be 3G and have faster processors and really get the benefit of being truly portable wireless machines.

That exactly reasons why I am not going XDA 3. Plus, I think design is just ugly. I am looking forward to see Magician in person

I know it's a mtter of personal taste, but I think that the look of the MDAIII is not as 'sexy' as the XDAII.

Rudegar said:
I know the rest is the same but i believe the internal RAM now is 96MB instead of 64mb in XDA II
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
xdaII have 128
xdaI's came first in a 32MB later a 64MB version
not sure if xdaIIs only have 96MB but i'm pretty sure it have 128 like the xdaII
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
[/quote]
It's the ROM , not the RAM!
XDA II and IIs got 128M RAM.
However XDA IIs has more ROM then XDA II.
You'll have arround 15m ususable ROM STORAGE for XDA II, and 40m for XDA IIs.
With a XDA IIs, If you set 64m ram for storage , you'll have totally 100m for storage (64M Ram + 40M Rom).
The total rom size for XDA II is 64M, XDA IIs is 96M.

Spend time looking through the various issues posted here that are specific to the BlueAngel.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=13057&highlight=
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=12693&highlight=
Poor screen, random soft resets...for me, problems with the microphone while phoning force me to recommend another device. It was something not mentioned in any of the hardware reviews I read (1 such being http://www.infosyncworld.com/reviews/n/5530.html), begging the question do these guys actually use the device before writing their remarks?

Personally I am going to wait for the XDA IIi due out early next year. Faster processor, better camera are a couple of things that are worth waiting for. However, I won't know until its out and some feedback (such as this here) is available .

I'm definitely in the UPGRADE camp, running my II side by side with the matt black wonder that is the IIs. BT & WiFi (I used sandisk sd on II) work so much better on the IIs & BT finally works properly with car kits.
The screens on the ones we have are fine & the software is far more intuitive.
the IIi will simply be the IIs functionality in a II case, yawn! I can't get my head around the idea that the II is better looking either, mine looks as old fashioned to me now as the Xda did when the II came out.
just swapped to using the keyboard and not its biggest fan so can't recommend it for that (couldn't get shift to work, I might actually have read the manual) so back to stylus/soft keyboard.
The IIs is also a bit heavier but I'm prepared to get my trouser pockets reinforced! I honestly wouldn't be happy going back to the II

was able to try out the xda3 for a month; hated it and switched back to my xda2...whew good thing i didn't sell her. for my reasons; same as mentioned by the dudes in this thread with emphasis on the useless keyboard...among other things (no offense to those who did get an xda3)
for the xda2s; definitely i won't get this unit. i was in hong kong last week and i was able to play around it with it. sure wm se is great but other than that i didn't see much improvements as compared to the present xda2...which didn't really justify the price it came with (6980 HKD). i'd rather wait for the xda2i (which is rumored to have a faster processor and a 1.3 mp camera). or even better; i'd wait for the xda4 since it's rumored to come out next year around june / july...or end of the year.
cheers

As i noticed the Xda IIi doesn't have keyboard, which i need the most. What i need the most is Keyboard and Wifi what i don't need is the camera (stupid thing for me) and processor doesn't matter.
So it's up to each one of you, buy what you need. You can't say something bad when you don't need them. That's why O2 releases 2 models IIs and IIi, is for me and for you ...

i just sold my xda ii and got a xda iis last week
personally i feel that iis is stable than ii as i experienced "blank screen"+"hard reset" many times with ii, but i haven't got this problem so far with iis for almost a week now (installed same software).
i really feel wifi is good and battery consumption is much lower than what i expected when using wifi, minimum it is much better than the sony ux50 pda.

don't xda 2 s. suck's
after using xda2,
i found xda 2s,
verry bad like the screen its i think 50% dull than the xda2, I mean when u tilt the phone side way or up and down u can see the colour change from yellow to white, this never use to happen in xda2 and the colour quality is also bad am curseing my self why did I upgrade???T
he jabra bluetooth which worked fine with xda2 dosen't work well with 2s lot of hissing,
i am really unhappy with the screen quality,
so guy's and gal's stick to xda2 and pray that xda3 will have a crisp and clear screen and the bluetooth will work fine,

hi, All
This is my XDA II NOW :
1.72.181 + blackberry + O2 Asia Style
SRS + SwitchSR program (the latest version)
AppSuiteXDAII
IIWPO
cooked with some Extended ROM XDA IIs (Thank's to **applecom)
WMP 10 Skin :wink:
a lot of program installed !!
I think my device is still the best PDA phone and no need to change with XDA IIs
cheers !!

Related

Considering changing from a PDA2K to the JAM

Hi folks,
I'm considering switching from the PDA2K to the JAM - has anybody else done this ?? If so, what are your impressions?
I've been a user of the XDAII for 18 months now and switched to the PDA2K in November. Even though the new model has a keyboard/Wi-Fi etc.. I find the device unreliable and awkward to work with.
cheers
Russ
rscott,
I am in almost exactly the same situation as you. I used a XDA II for about 10 months and then switched to the PDA2K. I really do like it, but I think the processor should have been upgraded to the latest generation even if the speed wasn't boosted up. Mine pauses quite a bit between switching apps, but it has been quite reliable.
I am actually evaluating an imate JAM right now for Geek.com and am really loving the size and speed of the device. WiFi isn't that important to me because I have other devices with it and can always add it with a card if I need it. I only use WiFi at home so it is more of a convenience. I think I would miss the memory capacity, but Pocket PC Techs does offer a 128MB upgrade so that is an alternative.
I do use the thumb keyboard for much of my text entry though and think I would miss that functionality. I may just hold out for the MDA IV with faster processor and improved camera that will undoubtedly be coming sometime this year and maybe with the Windows Mobile 2005 (Magneto) operating system.
Yes, I find my PDA2K seems very slow at times. Switching applications the screen redraw reminds me of the early WinCE devices. Considering this machine is practically the same spec as my XDAII I would've thought there would be little difference in performance.
My unit also seems unresponsive and sometimes just seems to sit there 'thinking' after I have done something. Quite often I give up waiting and perform a soft-reset.
When I first saw the PDA2K it was the keyboard that made me part with my cash. However, I find that I rarely use it. Maybe I have become so used to using the on-screen keyboard I forget to use it.
As for Wi-Fi, the only place I can use it is at home. Maybe it is a feature I'll use more in the future but for now I don't really use it as much as I thought I would.
It is for these reasons why I am considering the Jam. I think I can live without the keyboard and Wi-Fi, but will gain a device that is much smaller and can fit in a pocket.
So, I am very interested to hear the results of your evaluation!
cheers
Russ.
To solve your speed problems...
How about using XCPUScalar? I'm using it, overclocking my XDAII with 530mhz. Everything is nice and smooth.
I also upgraded my XDAII to WindowsSE, so except the form factor, I don't see any advantages in the JAM at this moment. I would run out of space on the JAM, so I will be sticking with my good old new XDAII.
I will be evaluating the scene and the new models to come out...
Well, I finally gave in and bought a Jam from Expansys which should be here tomorrow
The missus works from home and sends/receives a lot of email. At the moment she is trialling my old XDA II to see if that would help her keep up to date when out of the 'office'. So now she can have the PDA2K as the keyboard will be great for all the typing etc..
I'll have the Jam, and 'borrow' then PDA2K when I need a fix of that ;-)
Just got to get rid of the XDAII now.
cheers
Russ.
Strange. I don't have slowdown problems at all. Maybe u guys should learn installing a decent operating system with ur softwares, and keep tryin usin wm2003se compatible softwares. Ur waiting for magneto? Firstly i would advise a step by step how to configure our mobile device training.
Cheers
Guest...this would be very interesting...where can we find that sort of training?...I have the I-mate JAM and on the original ROM there are some applications I will never us...so I want to uninstall them...:roll:
regards,
Primoz
My PDA2K definitely experiences slowdown, and this is with no other software installed !
The only thing I have done is upgrade to the latest official ROM. So there must be something inherent in the device that is causing this.
cheers
Russ.
I have been using my XDAIIs for about one month. I find that its performance is similar to XDAII (upgraded to 2nd Edition) as anticipated.
However, (this is only my personal experience), I do not install much software in my device by only chinese platform software, handmenu, tweak 2.41, batterymon (a battery indicator on the tray bar) and pocket informant leaving about 93mb on my main memory. Other software such as pocket genius dictionary and games are installed in storage card. I do not use any other software for today plug in too.
I am using Pocket Hack Master 3.04 lowering to 298MHZ with 133 and 133 memory speed.
I also do not adjust the memory allocation between program and storage (let the device to decide - usually half and half)
The result is that my XDAIIs is very stable, sceen run speedy (even faster than 400MHZ without PHM 3.04.....
In the past, I adjust PHM to 472, 199 and 236 (max speed I think), it is fast too but not as good as those mentioned above in terms of stability and battery life, also always hangs too....
I also noted that every device needs time to learn (After soft reset), so try to open those application and close it (I meant actually close, not just click X), it seems the device will memorise it... I noted that after doing this exercise, the total memory available will drop to about 81-88Mb....At this state, this is the most stable state of my device....
Hi guys,
I used PDA2K for 2 months, but then I decided to buy JAM as soon has been available.
The form factor is absoultely prevalent (it was not so evident from the photo on web) !! I use it everyday on work, and it stays in my pocket like a phone; completely different.
I used rarely the keyboard on PDA2K, so I didn't suffer for this; same for Wi-FI.
I think JAM is the real convergent device.
The only "minus" is the sensibility of the touch screen (on Jam is less sensible, so it is more difficult to tap with finger).
Hai ragione italos :wink: U R rigtht...the touch screen should be a little bit more sensitiv...I have got a SE P900 before and it was much more sensitive than on the JAM. How about the LED indicator?...I have noticeted when I have a new SMS in "sleep mode" it is always green and not yellow (red) as it should be!...
regards,
Primoz
no doubt that anybody who holds the PDA2K and the Jam (or XDA2 mini - as i have) will go for the jam. I can tell you that in my last company event event where I had my mini - 3 PDA2K deceided to replace + I already bought two units to new users.
the PDA2k is simply too big and slow - wifi? most of us I guess are XDA2 owners (as I am) so we have the wifi card and if not then 70US and you ahve it.
Furthermore the camera is much better and the form factor? well it's already been said....
One important thing that I 've noticed is teh battery life - much longer than the XDA2 - I guess because of teh small screen.
Udi
I heard that apart from the size of sceen saves some power for the mini, smaller memory size of mini does contribute to its longer operations time.

Problems of the XDA IIs on the IIi also?

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

HTC Magician to Blue Angel; upgrade or downgrade?

I'm a Magician (MDA Compact) user, and I want more powerfull Phone/PPC machine (more RAM and bigger display); MDA III (Blue Angel) is my next primary objective. But I'm not sure am I doing step forward, or step backward? I've read many negative opinions (and many positive) on this forum about Blue Angel software and hardware issues, so I'm confused - To be, or not to be? :lol: :lol: (HTC Universal is 2 big, 2 fat, and 2 expensive 4 me) :!:
Im in the same boat..... My phone network have sent me a new BA to replace my old jam but Im still unsure whether to send it back or not ..... the main hangup Ive got with the BA is its size after having a jam everything looks/feels big........ on a plus its builtin wifi is great and I like the keyboard so maybe i'l keep it? or just save some more money and go for a k-jam?
ratcom said:
Im in the same boat..... My phone network have sent me a new BA to replace my old jam but Im still unsure whether to send it back or not ..... the main hangup Ive got with the BA is its size after having a jam everything looks/feels big........ on a plus its builtin wifi is great and I like the keyboard so maybe i'l keep it? or just save some more money and go for a k-jam?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If U are gamer (like me), you'll definitely be dissapointemnt with K-Jam 200 Mhz Processor, lack of buttons and small display. I like BIG display on BA, and buttons on the TOP of display... In landscape mode is very hard to play games using side (camera) button to control fire, acceleration etc... I like extra buttons! :lol: :lol:
I have been happy with my BA. At first I thought it was only going to be a temporary solution until I could get a Wizard (e.g. K-JAM), but from what I've read, it sounds like WM 5.0 and other issues of the Wizard make it not worth spending $700 on a Wizard right now. (I'm talking about usability issues, such as the Wizard's buttons not working quite as expected -- I'm not saying they don't work, just that they are not as intuitive as the BA.)
The only advantage of the Wizard over the BA for my needs is EDGE support and a bigger keyboard (I primarily use my BA to connect to home and work through ssh). Nothing else is a significant advantage of the Wizard over the BA. Disadvantages include a smaller SD slot (I'm using a 2 GB SD card right now), less compatibilty with existing applications, no cradles or extended (3550 mAh) battery packs available yet (though that will change), a less mature OS, etc.
Someone said the screen size of the Wizard is smaller than the BA, but I think they are the same resolution (320x240) and size.
The advantages of the BA are that you have a full line of accessories already available for it, such as extended battery packs and cradles, and it can run just about any PPC software today, including games (not true of Wizard). You can add 2 GB SD cards (4 GB if you want to spend the same amount on RAM as on a Wizard).
The BA also costs about $250 less than the Wizard if you shop wisely for it -- I've seen new BAs for as low as $489 US with no contracts.
BA -v- Magician
I have BOTH BA on my Orange personal contract & Magician on my Orange Business contract.
The only benefit, to me, of the BA is WiFi; other than that: Its HEAVY, poor keyboard, flimsy construction. In operation the screen sizedoes not matter - I run TomTom on both & prefer the Magician.
The Magician has VASTLY superior battery life (due to smaller screen & no WiFi?) and a micro USB connection.
The BA will be eBayed as soon as my contract expires!

Sold the BA and bought a Wizard, I am happy now!

I am so happy.
I sold my BA for a Wizard, no echo, great BT and more stabil.
As an early adaptor, the concept of the BA was great but technical not perfect. I am glad to see the Wizard has improved compare to the BA.
It's smaller and the screen is smaller, but the keyboard is better.
Regards,
Max
Me too, much happier now!
Wizard vs BA
Can you comment on,
Radio, less dropped calls?
Robust, is it still mostly plastic?
Same for me. The Wizard is what the BA should have been.
It actually works as a phone !!! (you receive calls, people can here you, you don't get half the signal compared to other phones, etc...)
The WIFI and BT are also working fine, and WM5 is definetly better if you want to use it one handed.
i agree to all of you regarding the difference. ive got the blue angel and wizard and im still using them both. the wizard is more stable and reliable but not a good choice for synchronization, still got a problem on synchronizing. i hope they can solve this. ive tried everything based on the forum discussions as well. but wizard is mostly handy especially when i go out in the pub.
i still use the blue angel because it has a big screen. very useful for work and for teaching. the os is more stable and more compatible (comparing from w5 and w2003se) to other third party applications. and considering the discussions of others why they upgraded then decided to downgrade it.
there were lots of issues and stuffs really thats almost endless when you read the forum. so its up to you weigh the advantages and disadvantages.
screen is a big deal for me but the stability and battery life and memory to keep from missing as well. thats why i like them both. :lol:
OOOHHH how I envy you guys who got the Wizard :roll: !!! A little more praise on the wizard and im gonna get on myself :lol:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?p=229154#229154
Theres a review by... me!
Later; Lew
I just did the same (and sold my BA on this forum).
I advise you all to do it (or better, wait for the P990).
Wizard:
+Works as a phone 100% of the time
+No 'silent' calls
+Bluetooth/wifi work
+OS is much faster (especially with overclock)
+Small enough to carry around and use withoout looking a tit
+Again, it works... I cant stress this enough.
+I have only had to soft reset once in a week, and that was my own fault for putting dodgy apps on.
+WM5
+Camera is exceptional, I'd say better than a Samsung D600 camera, and it has a light on it (although its a bit weak, but hey!)
-Can't change keyboard repeat rate (although theres prolly a registry hack)
-Wireless G is by hack only for UK customers, and then it screws it up
-Media player ANY button turns the screen on. A bit annoying when trying to skip track in your pocket.
-Struggles to play hi bitrate vids, but the smaller screen means you dont notice lower bitrate AND overclocking helps alot
-MSN on WM5 has alot less featrures, meaning annoying notifications interrupting me telling me my contacts are signing in literally every 5 seconds.
-WM5 insists on Activesync 4, which syncs over TCPIP and kicks me off my wireless network for a few seconds whenever I sync, interupting any downloads
-Activesync 4 hads no backup/restore facility, although 3rd part software manages
BA:
+Better Bluetooth management (although it rarely works
+Easier to dial on without needing a stylus eg. in the car
+Plays Media Better
-****E phone
-Impractical
+Uses SD cards, which I'm sure most of us have heaps of, and are a bit cheaper than mini SD
basically, buy the Wizard. It's worth it. You can use it without having to arse about with ROMS all day. All I did was change the (already unlocked/unhidden) Ext. ROM.
after this thread, no ones gonna buy my BA in this forum.. :lol:
lol, i just wrote a reccomendation to do this as well. Count me on the list within the next few months.
Hm. 200 MHz CPU just doesn't cut the mustard for me.
I'm very happy with my BA - I don't understand what anyone could mean by poor quality this and that. All the functions of my phone/pda are working as I might have expected them to. (The camera does suck, but I expected it to, but there have been many reports that the 1.3 megapixel cam of the Wizard just isn't so, and sucks as well.) I can only imagine that people are dropping or manhandling their BAs to be so fed up with them. I have had NO problems AT ALL with my BA once upgrading to 1.40 ROM and 1.15 radio.
BA has standard SD/IO slot. Does the Wizard's mini-SD slot double as IO? I find that almost as important as the 400 MHz CPU.
I actually like/use the BA keyboard. I like its higher resolution screen. I do find its buttons useful when coupled with 3rd-party software to customize them.
Windows Mobile 5.0 is as good as useless as far as I'm concerned. For one thing, it won't run executables or .cab files unless they are signed. (You can't install your own root certificate for security purposes, for example.) Far more software I find essential is compatible with Blue Angel, as it's got WM 2003SE Phone Edition in it.
If I had hastily bought the Wizard, I'd be here trying to make a swap with a Blue Angel owner, but I carefully considered the Blue Angel and the Wizard before making my purchase, chose the BA, and have been very happy to have made the right choice for me.
for those of us with the BA.. before you jump ship I suggest you wait just a bit more for the new AKU2.3 ROM to be been fine tuned as I think then you will see the advantages the Wizard guys speak of will no longer be the case
sub_rosa25 said:
Hm. 200 MHz CPU just doesn't cut the mustard for me.
I'm very happy with my BA - I don't understand what anyone could mean by poor quality this and that. All the functions of my phone/pda are working as I might have expected them to. (The camera does suck, but I expected it to, but there have been many reports that the 1.3 megapixel cam of the Wizard just isn't so, and sucks as well.) I can only imagine that people are dropping or manhandling their BAs to be so fed up with them. I have had NO problems AT ALL with my BA once upgrading to 1.40 ROM and 1.15 radio.
BA has standard SD/IO slot. Does the Wizard's mini-SD slot double as IO? I find that almost as important as the 400 MHz CPU.
I actually like/use the BA keyboard. I like its higher resolution screen. I do find its buttons useful when coupled with 3rd-party software to customize them.
Windows Mobile 5.0 is as good as useless as far as I'm concerned. For one thing, it won't run executables or .cab files unless they are signed. (You can't install your own root certificate for security purposes, for example.) Far more software I find essential is compatible with Blue Angel, as it's got WM 2003SE Phone Edition in it.
If I had hastily bought the Wizard, I'd be here trying to make a swap with a Blue Angel owner, but I carefully considered the Blue Angel and the Wizard before making my purchase, chose the BA, and have been very happy to have made the right choice for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
a. you forget that it's dual core 200 mhz and not only does it easily outperform the BA but also withstands higher overclocking.
and b. I'm writing this from the wm5 perspective. I've been running the BA on wm3 for a few weeks now and it runs fantastic! But i've come to realize that if i want all the features of wm5, i'm going to have to sacrifice speed unless i upgrade my hardware.
Dual core means nothing in this cell phone. One core is for the PDA, one is for the phone. Your effective speed is still gonna be 200mhz. So if your planning on doing something CPU extensive (eg emulation), your gonna have a rough time. I can play SNES games at almost full speed on my BA and FF7 at about 75% speed. Can a Wizard do that?
I find the Blue Angel (IIs) to unreliable and I am changing to the Tytn (Jasjam).
caloy said:
i agree to all of you regarding the difference. ive got the blue angel and wizard and im still using them both. the wizard is more stable and reliable but not a good choice for synchronization, still got a problem on synchronizing. i hope they can solve this. ive tried everything based on the forum discussions as well. but wizard is mostly handy especially when i go out in the pub.
i still use the blue angel because it has a big screen. very useful for work and for teaching. the os is more stable and more compatible (comparing from w5 and w2003se) to other third party applications. and considering the discussions of others why they upgraded then decided to downgrade it.
there were lots of issues and stuffs really thats almost endless when you read the forum. so its up to you weigh the advantages and disadvantages.
screen is a big deal for me but the stability and battery life and memory to keep from missing as well. thats why i like them both. :lol:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't really agree. First of all, BA is much faster compare to slaggy Wizard. However as it is mentioned the size is smaller and a better keyboard. That make a good choice. For signal / radio wise, I would say "it depends on your network provider". I didn't have any signal drop while using my BA. For Wizard, so far no complaint but the speed is really slow which you have to bear with it if you really want to have it.
Sorry but prefer Blue Angel
I might be in a minority here, but 15 months ago parted with my Blue Angel and got a Wizard. At first I loved its size, then found I struggled reading e-books on it, or anything which required a larger screen. Also it was FAR slower (200mhz) and appliances took a lot longer to open up (reboot takes twice as long). Tried overclocking it which did work, but to be honest people moaned I sounded Tinnie on the Wizard, something they never did on the Blue Angel. Other things I found hard to put up with the wizard was the smaller memory allocated and the finish was poor - varnish started flaking after bout 6months, even though I kept it in a case (I have an XDAII which is far older, has seen far more use and has lasted far better! Also WM5 can be very fussy about which programs can be downloaded to device. I know it has its faults, but I look upon the Angel as a PDA with a phone attached (which I mainly use for Internet & email), whereas the Wizard feels like a Phone first and a PDA second. Suppose it depends what you value most and how conscious you are in putting a brick to your ear. Personally I am too old to give a toss what people think, it suits me fine.
Needless to say I got rid of the Wizard and have got a Blue Angel Back and am now Happy again.
The only thing I miss on the Wizard is the keyboard which I must admit was far superior to the Angel.
Still each to their own, but I prefer Blue Angel with all its faults!
kwaknok said:
I might be in a minority here, but 15 months ago parted with my Blue Angel and got a Wizard. At first I loved its size, then found I struggled reading e-books on it, or anything which required a larger screen. Also it was FAR slower (200mhz) and appliances took a lot longer to open up (reboot takes twice as long). Tried overclocking it which did work, but to be honest people moaned I sounded Tinnie on the Wizard, something they never did on the Blue Angel. Other things I found hard to put up with the wizard was the smaller memory allocated and the finish was poor - varnish started flaking after bout 6months, even though I kept it in a case (I have an XDAII which is far older, has seen far more use and has lasted far better! Also WM5 can be very fussy about which programs can be downloaded to device. I know it has its faults, but I look upon the Angel as a PDA with a phone attached (which I mainly use for Internet & email), whereas the Wizard feels like a Phone first and a PDA second. Suppose it depends what you value most and how conscious you are in putting a brick to your ear. Personally I am too old to give a toss what people think, it suits me fine.
Needless to say I got rid of the Wizard and have got a Blue Angel Back and am now Happy again.
The only thing I miss on the Wizard is the keyboard which I must admit was far superior to the Angel.
Still each to their own, but I prefer Blue Angel with all its faults!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes...i love my Qtek 9090 too... Wizzard (qtek 9100) is smaller...its true....but i dont want a small and slow PDA with phone....i want a powerfull PDA with phone.
I dont have any problem with phone (radio 1.15 and 1.12). Bluetooth is working well to. I have 2 Qtek 9090, one is runnins W2003SE and other is running WM6 (helmis_c version). Wireless is working well too (battery goes down fast, but works great).
I Love keyboard of Qtek 9090. For me, is beter than Qtek 9100. Its beatifull (all blue) and the position (on vertical) is better than horizontal keyboard.
I write fast on this keyboard.
WM2005 of Qtek 9100...I dont like WM5 is slower than W2003SE and not good like 2006. With my Qtek 9090 i can use 3 operating systems: WM2003SE, WM5 and WM6. I can select.
I have brought my 2 Qtek 9090 1 month ago, becouse a friend of my have 1 (brought on 2005) and i really love that PDA. The new Qtek/HTC phones, i dont like. Most of them have a slower 200mhz CPU with a small RAM 64MB. Higher models have CPUs like 400 or 416Mhz with 128Mb but with a small screen and with no keyboard on vertical. (And these models Like HTC TYTN II price are so high)-
Its too nice when a ppl says "let me see my video on your pocket, in this screen is great!"
And its too nice see a movie on my Qtek 9090....with this screen size.
And the quality of material used on Qtek 9090 (metal) is better than plastic.
PPL whos say "I bought a qtek 9100 and sell the 9090...im so happy...yupi"..
No comments....U have trade a Ferrari for a fiat uno.
Qtek 9090 are one of most powered phone, with 4 years, is better than much models from HTC at now.
Think about it ppl...
Sorry my bad english ppl...
dont worry guys...
i think the subject of this thread was posted at the dawn of WM6 supremacy... the thread maker/poster might have suffered enough with wm5 or wm2003... just kidding.
and since WM6 is alive and making our BA kick b*tt! We can truly appreciate our BA more and more each day...
Second that SiverSamurai!
I started with the wizard and graduated UP to the BA. It's twice the phone, larger screen, thinner profile than the wizard. Twice the memory and storage, not to mention the 400mhz processor! If you don't believe it, navigate with file explorer to the windows folder and open it. Maybe tonight you can view what you wanted to look at in Windows, and I had my wizard overclocked to 247mhz. I keep it now, only as a back-up and I don't care to ever use it again. I have had no problems at all with the BA since I got it, and I have put it through the wringer to see how it would perform. I give it an A+ and the Wiz about a C.

How is your Artemis??

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!

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