Develop Bugs

My 6 month impressions/review - long

I am very unhappy with the latest (1.40) ROM update and this has finally pushed me to this post. I thought I would provide some general thoughts/comments after about 6 months of use. I keep hoping and praying that each ROM release will actually fix some of the devices more serious issues but it never seems to happen. Certain things actually get worse through the updates.
Overall the level of integration and the sheer amount of things our device accomplishes is staggering. However, the reliability and robustness is terrible, about as good as an "alpha" release, but certainly not a production device. You may argue that I should be happy with what I have and I guess I am because I keep carrying my PDA2K. I love not having to carry so many devices but almost always feel like I have the worst of each. My "relationship" with my device is absolutely love/hate.
As background I use my device as a phone, camera, video camera, mp3 player, movie watching, internet, e-mail, gps/navigation, games, Metro subway maps, weather, pdf reading and of course all the std. windows goodies like Excel, Calendar, Contacts, etc. However, the device performs most all of these functions poorly. As a small bit of background I am not a programmer nor hardcore techie but do consider myself a power user and am comfortable with registry editing, ROM upgrading and most features/functions of all of the standard software. I do also install a fair amount of 3rd party applications. I do not see how you can get by without doing this. I use the device for work as a sales professional and also for personal use.
The phone is much less robust and reliable than almost all cell phones I have previously owned, just buggy in general, often not functioning despite a good signal and often will not connect nor hang up properly. The camera is plain terrible, nowhere even close to a decent 1MP camera, good only for a small caller ID photo taken in perfect lighting conditions. Networking in general is almost unusable: Bluetooth during navigation always disconnects when a call comes in, WiFi will almost never start with out a soft reset, and sometimes the same with GPRS. General system stability/robustness: terrible! With a device such as this it should not be possible to have spontaneous hard resets where you loose ALL data. I have them fairly often (without Sprite, I would truly throw my device away). I have also had spontaneous loss of SD card data. MS Voice Command is fantastic, except the first use of every day always requires the name to be repeated twice. The built in e-mail software is really poor, the invisible items that show up in various mail folders which require a complete cleaning out of all mailboxes to fix is beyond annoying. The long 20 second or so delay when opening the Calendar to show days with appointments really causes me delays at the most inopportune times. I suppose I could go on and on but I will wrap up this summary/gripe session
Again, the level of raw capability, variety of useful programs and integration is truly amazing. The speed when operating well is fine. However I am often nearly crippled by hard resets, poor phone, WiFi, GPRS and Bluetooth, usability and robustness and the need for soft resets. I guess this is the price one pays for being on the cutting edge, but again I can not help but feel this device is nowhere close to the reliability and performance any reasonable user would expect. From spending a lot of time on this board and other similar ones I expect to hear some quite similar echoes of my thoughts.
I do eagerly look forward to some similar comments (or different), fixes, general experiences or suggestions from the community.

Well put, some of the issues I have, some not.
Lets have a look at the hardware.
Well the case is metal which is great as it can take some punishment however the Keyboard, well.....
My Keyboard has a life of its own, I have the device in my hand and talk on the phone and it drops down. I pull the device out of my pocket and it comes out first screen then keyboard. I never use the keyboard as me fingers are to big so given a choice I would not have it.
If you hold the screen in one hand and the back plate in the other you can turrn the whole thing a good 3mm as its so loose. You can even lift the screen up away form the Keyboard at the bottom of the device and stick a piece of carboard into as a form of a break to stop it dropping.
Sound of calls is bad, tiny and to low.
Yup its a love/hate relationship and I love to hate the thing.
I too look forwared to a device that has camera which is useful (I still carry around a small 5 meg sony).
The only thing I feel that is realy good about owning a BA is this board, if I had not come here I would still have a german CE and be reseting the bugger every day.

love it
Probably, I am cheap and easily pleased.
I bought my IIs almost the same time with yours. I too have updated my ROM to 1.40 (stockROM 1.4Asia). Only the barest software I need are installed to maintain stability: KBattery, psShutXp, AgileMobile, Skype, VCard, Pcoket TV, GSPlayer, and Avantgo. For games, I only installed Smartfall, Chess, and BF Mines - not much of a gamer. IIs is too expensive for me to destroy its button playing games.
I love it very much except for some performance hiccups like restarting by itself. However, this only happens when I am using skype or agilemobile for sometime. Hard Reset rarely happens. in six months, I only remember it to happen to me once and I could not remember what I did then.
I love it because I could check my email whereever I am either thru WIFI or GPRS. In fact, I use to check my email thru XDAIIs rather than waiting for my PC to start in the morning before leaving the house. With so many "leaking" free WIFI around, no phone should be without.
I f---kng HATE the keyboard. A week after I bought mine it was already broken. Yes, it will open on its own. It was repaired though free of charge by Brightpoint Philippines. Now, I barely open it because constructionwise, it is so flimsy and I know will easily be broken again. Now, I know why they remove the keyboard in the IIi.
Will buy it again. YES, It is so neat and convenient that I could do emailing, IM and chat on the go. Of course, it is a great electronic photo album to show my family pictures to friends with MP3 background playing.
Before this phone, I was using NOKIA 9210 Communicator. It was a great phone during its time. WHAT I WOULD REALLY WANT NOW IS A NOKIA COMMUNICATOR 9500 RUNNING WM Ver.5. DREAMING....

So you guys say that the keyboard is a piece of s**t?
I'm asking because I'm going to buy BA or Nokias 9500. And if the keyboard sucks a** i'm not gonna buy BA, because I need the keyboard because I do lot of work in MSN and in IRC. So the phone must be capable to these specific applications. I know that Nokia 9500 is...

When I was still using my old trusty Nokia 9210, I sent literally hundreds of text messages per day. I love its built in keyboard. It was a breeze typing text in that old phone. I could even schedule sending text messages - what a neat feature.
The tiny keyboard of IIs is hard to use. Even painful to the fingers after long use. Now I sent few text messages because it is very hard to do so with the tiny keyboard (II's rehabilatated me, I am NOT text addict anymore). The tiny soft keyboard using the stylus is just as difficult to use.
If you will do lots of typing, I recommend you buy one of those external keyboards. Although, personally, I hate carrying extras like that. I dont want to look like Inspector Gadget carrrying with me that external keyboard. My Bluetooth suffered same fate. I dont carry it anymore. Too troublesome carrying two gadgets.
I use my IIs mainly as a communicating device (which should be) so the killer applications for me are:
Agile Mobile for IM like ICQ, MSN, AOL and yes YAHOO.
Skype for VOIP (yes, it works for me just dont expect quality calls. It's free who am I to complain)
AgileMobile will run on both Nokia 9500 and IIs BUT the SKYPE will not.
That is the deal breaker for me why I decided to go for the XDA path. Every one and then, I still do glancing look at that Nokia 9500 though.
If you will go for the XDA path and cannot wait anymore, get the IIi. The keyboard really sucks. Hard to use and easy to get loose.
If you go for Nokia path, please lend it to me sometime (hehehehe)

xcalibur said:
The tiny keyboard of IIs is hard to use. Even painful to the fingers after long use. Now I sent few text messages because it is very hard to do so with the tiny keyboard (II's rehabilatated me, I am NOT text addict anymore). The tiny soft keyboard using the stylus is just as difficult to use.
If you will do lots of typing, I recommend you buy one of those external keyboards. Although, personally, I hate carrying extras like that. I dont want to look like Inspector Gadget carrrying with me that external keyboard. My Bluetooth suffered same fate. I dont carry it anymore. Too troublesome carrying two gadgets.
I use my IIs mainly as a communicating device (which should be) so the killer applications for me are:
Agile Mobile for IM like ICQ, MSN, AOL and yes YAHOO.
Skype for VOIP (yes, it works for me just dont expect quality calls. It's free who am I to complain)
AgileMobile will run on both Nokia 9500 and IIs BUT the SKYPE will not.
That is the deal breaker for me why I decided to go for the XDA path. Every one and then, I still do glancing look at that Nokia 9500 though.
If you will go for the XDA path and cannot wait anymore, get the IIi. The keyboard really sucks. Hard to use and easy to get loose.
If you go for Nokia path, please lend it to me sometime (hehehehe)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that's the thing...those are the programs I would also use plus I need an IRC client (Nokia has s2putty which is great), so this is going to be a real hard decision.
It seems in a operating system level, Windows/qtek9090 kicks Symbian80/Nokia9500 ass, because Nokia has a pretty slow processor and Symbian80 is a little bit greedy, but so is windows.
Nokias online time should be better than Qteks so that's important fact (going to use Wlan a lot). Nokia also has much better keyboard if I have read reviews right.
But...Qtek/WM2k3 has a lot more apps if I'm right and it's hardware is better than Nokias.
But the bigges issues are still on the fact that how does the device handle Instant Messaging and IRC environments. In IRC i'm in a few VERY active channels so would like to know how well does the BA handle IRC messaging, viewing etc....
Is the keyboard slider going to loose very easily? I have read that in some models it's big issue? Or is this only problem with branded phones(i mean like T-mo etc)? Qtek 9090 is the only one which they sell here in Finland.
xcalibur, yeah sure i'll borrow you the 9500, if you come to visit Finland someday =)
The above fact is the only thing keeping me away from ordering BA...

I don't want to keep on ranting against IIs.
Yes, the keyboard will easily get loose. We have here two units and it is the same. I talked to the Brightpoint service people, they say almost all IIs they repaired is about the loose keyboard.
And yaiks, I noticed now that my IIs keyboard is misaligned by a millimeter or two. I cant stop looking at it now. I hate it.
Consider also after sales service of XDA there in Finland. These things do break down. I am sure Nokia will have superb service there in Finland as they have already excellent service here in Philippines. In fairness, Brightpoint too has good service here though their location is not so good.

My keyboard experience
I have had no problems with my keyboard. I like it, use it and it has not developed any problem with the keys themselves nor the sliding mechanism. Perhaps you guys talking all about Nokia vs HTC could move that topic to a separate thread?

Keyboard's great! However, other than for impressing your friends this phone is horribly unreliable. Also, windows is not as polished as Symbian. You will find yourself installing so many 3rd party apps (which make an already unstable handset even less stable) just to perform basic phone functions.

In my opinion, XDA IIs is truely an ingenius device. However, Ias much as I hate to agree with most of you, I share the same sentiments of hating/loving it.
I really dislike the part whereby I receive/dial a call and no sound comes out of it. Also when my IIs hang the moment I exit from Bejeweled 2. I dont use a bluetooth headset, so the bluetooth bit doesnt affect me so much. I also detest the so very prominent gap between my keyboard and screen.
However, on the other hand, my IIs had helped me in so much many other ways, so much so its advantages exceeds its disadvantages. Despite the small keyboard, it had been extremely useful, and having compared with the onscreen keyboard and Transcriber, I personally found that it is so much faster and efficient to key text with the keyboard. Despite haing mid-sized fingers, with good practice, keying in text can be so much of a breeze. I especially liked its soft touch and blue iluminous glow.
Also, the calander feature of Microsoft CE is great. With appropriate 3rd party software, and its extremely ease/stability to sync with Outlook, my contacts and appointments are always at my fingertips. Tho the ringer is quite soft, I have no problems with it as I have always been using traditional ringing ringtones, which are much louder than fanciful mp3 music. Besides, I can see that O2 is doing its fair share by providing support thru O2 connect as well as the after sales service. O2 plus beta had been a great software. I had used it to replace phone alarm and pocket plus. I especially liked it phone profile feature and the part whereby my IIs vibrate upon receipt of call response. I no longer have to hold my device against my ears waiting for the other party to pick up the call.
Another comment is that the screen is clear and even using 10% backlight, I can view the screen to great details, even under sunlight conditions. The extra 4 hardware buttons for today, messaging, IE and OK had been great and it had aid me in single-handed operations with my device.
Overall, all I can say is, its been a great device. You choose to hate / like it. Cheers. Just my two cents worth...

I also came to the XDA series from the Nokia Communicators and have always been looking for a communicator with MS OS.
Can't wait for the Universal

a wonderful use of keyboard! + comments abt XDA IIs overall
hi all,
i have a very very good argument in favour of the keyboard on XDA iis and a big -ve for the absence of it in XDA IIi:
i live in india where the roads at times tend to be a bit bumpy. on such roads keying in with a stylus becomes frustrating! (those who have tried it will know). it is on these roads that u appreciate the inbuilt key board the max.
2ndly, by the grace of GOD, till date i have had NO SOUND issues with my XDA IIs.... so no probs about that..
with 1.40 update i have seen that wifi wont connect usually without a soft reset but thats not very bugging! also there is some camera application brightness control bug and thats also ignorable.
But overall i think that XDA IIs is overall a very good buy... better than XDA IIi and Mini.... NOKIA is ****ty in front of this and looks more of a brick!
i suggest you all not to load any 3rd party apps for password lock and dialler except smart dialling included in mini rom. and must haves are pocket plus, pocket informant,pocket music, skype, phonealarm, alarmtoday and 1-calc. dont forget norton anti-virus and sprite backup as the very very very imp. 1st loads.
All the best to XDA lovers... LONG LIVE XDA IIs... Doom to Nokia!

At one point I used to carry an iPAQ 3870, a mobile phone and a collapsible keyboard. With my suit on, some people thought I was a bodyguard due to my swollen breast pockets. I also also had a Navigator 3000 GPS sleeve and the WiFi CF card.
The iPAQ made me love the Pocket PC. However carrying two or more devices was cumbersome.
I then discovered the Blackberry. Look mum, no wires. Over the air synchronization using the GPRS network was great. The keyboard is also excellent. No GPS and a lack of good application was a minus. Furthermore any interesting application would be pricey.
… but I still missed the Pocket PC.
Then came the Blackberry Connect embedded in the Blue Angel. That is the best of both worlds. My dream was to have a Pocket PC with push email and WiFi with an embedded keyboard.
The cherry on the cake came with Skype. I use desktop Skype a lot and I love it. As I am an international self-employed consultant, my cellphone bills amount to at least £300.00 ($550.00) a month. Skype on the BA will save me money but I need to find a good noise cancellation headset. So what if the sound quality is not that good, my customers would expect that from a roaming mobile phone anyway.
As for the camera, at its current resolution it is a gimmick. I would rather have a lighter BA with no camera. My 5.1 Mega Pixel camera will have to stay.
I agree with everyone that says the keyboard has a bad build. The MDA III and the XDA IIs I have seen at the T-Mobile and O2 shops had the keyboard sliding out on its own as soon as I picked up the device. I had already arrived to the conclusion that the keyboard will break down even before reading this thread.
I know that I will miss the stability of the Blackberry software but the advantages I get from the BA far outweigh the disadvantages.
I don’t thing anyone of us on this board will ever find a device that is perfect in every aspect. This is technology.
I will be moving from the Blackberry to the BA XDA IIs this weekend and I am sure that most if not all on this board will encourage me.

i agree with you
hey,
i agree with you fully... no technology can be perfect... but still XDA IIs is the best bet!
just a doubt: how did u manage to get a BA with blackberry connect? any software for that available for asian users too?

Re: i agree with you
studdocs said:
just a doubt: how did u manage to get a BA with blackberry connect? any software for that available for asian users too?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The T-Mobile MDA III supports Blackberry Connects. The XDA IIs should support it soon. I will be using the XDA IIs but I am hopping to use the MDA III software.

hoping 4 the best!
i am just hoping that XDA IIs supports it soon!
the earlier the better!

You have two choices...
1. Purchase an old used XDAII and upgrade it to WM5.0. Very stable and flawless communications and Bluetooth.
2. Wait for the new WM5.0 devices this summer.
(my 2 cents)

I fully agree with the love/ hate, as per others - I to have experianced neumerous resets, lock ups no sound etc. after two weeks I returned it to the shop and swapped my XDAIIs for another one (it was clearly faulty) - loaded it up with exactly the same applications as the previous one and since then I have only experianced the no sound issue twice in the last month, my unit runs on the "stock" O2 firmware loaded in using Corporate mode. I love the flexibility of the device and my ipaq-4700 is now rarley used as the XDA does everything I need of it with the addition of the phone functionality - great idea and concept, but I still feel it is nowhere near the level of maturity that it should be - Mike

Hi guys,
could you guys tell me where can I download for the latest firmware for my O2 XDA IIs that are going around currently? and is it true that updating firmware will results data losts ? thank you

A hard reset will allways result in data loss, but if you back it all up onto the SD card you should be able to return the unit to the same condition - note I say "should" its probably wise to re-install the lot from scratch to gain the true performance, as yet I have not tried the 1.140 ROM but I am tempted - you don't state whice service provider you are with - try their web site for a download to see if you are upto date - my philosopy is that the service provider should provide a functional device, in pratice the HTC unit is a bit hit and miss - but if you load up anything other than official firmware then taking it back and complaining is out of the window - I am on my second handset from O2 and this apears to work OK - at least it does for the demands I make of it, this includes running bespoke "home" created software scripted using Labview and it performs quite well - mike

WOuld you buy a Blue ANgel again?

Hi
My PDA2K is falling apart (I have dropped it a couple of times which has not helped.
I need to replace it and I am wondering with what.
I could simply go for another PDA2K but really never want to buy from i-mate ever again so am looking at [email protected]'s XDAIIs and IIi or the T-Mobile MDAIII.
Which is the best or would you steer totally clear of this phone because of all its problems?
Robin

I've got an O2 XDA2s & a work colleague has the T-Mobile MDAIII. Persoanlly I'd use either agin depsite their known issues. I like having an all-in-one device & am happy to compromise to get it

I would definitely buy another XDA IIs, if mine died. The grey colour of the O2 device simply oozes more class than the silver handsets.
Quality has been good (except for the hard reset issue when removing the battery - which is easily solved by keeping the power cord in when changing the sim card). I would be tempted to hang on for the universal though....... NICE!

i simply cannot afford to buy a brand new one if mine died, id have to wait til i can upgrade again, but if i could, then i would buy another as i have already got my bro to get one of these, and also he is a driving instructor, so its useful for his appointments and stuff.
if i was close to my upgrade date tho, i would just wait and get the next xda
joey.

Personally, no. I've realised I don't need the organisation or programs of a PDA. I bought it for Skype, but that doesn't work. The build quailty is not amazing.
I'll be going back to standard Sony Ericssons next contract period.
Chris

I'm very disappointed with all PDA's.
As a long time user AND enthusiast, I'm completely dissatisfied with everyone available. Moving to the BA from a HP, I expected better innovation from the leading producer of WM based PDA's, especially after seeing what HP was producing with the 6500's. Now I just realized that HTC is producing the 6500 for HP...!?!
Why wont someone produce a quality device with a hires (vga) screen, good memory (128 RAM, not to mention the availability of multi GB micro drives), reliable phone (GSM), fast data (GPRS/EDGE), un-crippled Bluetooth (audio/voice), and a small form factor (Treo). It has to be possible. I paid $850 for the BA (unlocked), and it's ridiculously unstable, and can't do what my $50 cell phone can do.
Bitter, Bitter, Bitter...

I hear you man. Sometimes I wonder if I should have got a different Pocket PC so Skype would actually work.
All of them are crippled/broken/manufactured badly in some way. The BA has its fair share of problems, but the important thing is that they're no more than any other PDA (apart from maybe the keyboard).
Chris

Some guy at work has te iPaq hybrid pda/phone. Quite swanky. I recently have this descision on my plate. Keep my new XDA2s or swap for the slower, but better made and more stable SE P910.
I'm waiting for Nokia N91.

I will surely buy another Blue Angel. Wish they could makde the keyboard more stronger and add WM 2005 in it .
I am pretty happy with the stuff .

NO!
his hardware its really crap...

Robster said:
Hi
My PDA2K is falling apart (I have dropped it a couple of times which has not helped.
I need to replace it and I am wondering with what.
I could simply go for another PDA2K but really never want to buy from i-mate ever again so am looking at [email protected]'s XDAIIs and IIi or the T-Mobile MDAIII.
Which is the best or would you steer totally clear of this phone because of all its problems?
Robin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is your phone covered by your house insurance.....was it you that dropped it? I would be suspicious and claim for a new one if you get my drift!

I would definetaly buy another one! It has had it's issues, but they all do to one extent or another. I use mine for my work all the time, and it has been the best unit that I have owned to date.
Later.......

i will never buy xda lls.
i hope i can change my xda lls to xda lli now.
but i have no money

Absolutely NOT. Sick of the instability, the poor support, the resetting 3 times a day and everything else that goes with it.

Never again!
I like the idea of an all in-one-device but...
1) phone is unstable
2) bluetooth is unstable
3) pda is unstable requiring resets
4) no UMTS
5) no "good" camera (0.3 MP ? come on! 5MP cam phones are out already)
6) no EDGE support
7) low memory
8) don't use keyboard as often as I thought
it is an OK device, but could use a lot of improvement.
I live the universal and I would give it a try if it were quadband

Until 3 days ago I would have said no. My 02 XDA2s was horribly unstable in all the ways described above.
I then had to try and find a replacement all-in-one. All I found that does everything this does that I need is the XDA2i (which from reading the forum sounds just as bad) and the Nokia N91 (out this Christmas at the earliest - I needed a handset NOW!)
I will take the keyboard of the XDA2s over the camera of the 2i anyday (all XDA cameras are limited by the crappy lenses anyway, no matter hoe good resolution they make them). The keyboard's really useful when doing things like entering passwords with greater accuracy or chatting on MSN.
I then flashed my ROM and radio to the latest availible and I have not had to reset yet in over 24 hours!
I was resetting my other XDA2s with 02 ROM 5 times a day!
Flash your ROM!! It makes this thing work to an acceptable level! Media Player 10 is great too, although the buttons are disabled which makes toggling the screen difficult. Album art and media centre synching make it worth it

Nope, I would not buy another BA. Next time I want to upgrade to get the HTC Wizard. Smaller phone with built in wi-fi and WM5.
With the BA:
I have never used the slide out keyboard
I am fed up with wi-fi choosing whether or not it wants to turn on
I am fed up getting the driver low memory message on BT
I am fed up with the phone locking up up so I can't call out and others can't call me without doing a soft reset or turn on/off BT every time.

Some of you are missing the point here! Let's compare to units that are already available, not things that have not arrived yet! With the right rom combination,this is an acceptable unit! Edge is new and very limited right now,and was not available when these came out.Stability issues can be resolved by cooking your own rom! Using reasons like that,as well as "I don't use this,or that feature", is not really the point,is it!
Just my 6 cents worth..... Later....... 8)

ill still buy ba or the upcoming one
this is the best i've ever had...i started from xda1 then xda2 now xda2s...that's why i love this site...and thanks t'all the people Here...lm working at night, n use my wifi w/o problems...use my verichat for chatting or agile, surf net...play my old school super nintendo (thousand selection)...use resco to ftp my website n upload/dowload mp3's ,files etc....listen my new remix mp3's w 2gigs while im in the gym ...ayt....

With the current selection of phones/pdas in the market today, I would still buy the same IIs I have....thats considering I can still aford one

HELP! Dash or MDA? Pocket Office on Dash? (for editing capabilities) Hack or Download

I've talked to everyone when considering choosing between the MDA and the newer Dash?
Is it possible to get a free version of Pocket Office to put on the Dash so I can have the editing option for Microsoft Documents?
MDA or Dash? Which is more versitile, faster, and good for work & networking on the fly?
Does the MDA have WiFi like the Dash? for free wifi connections.
After too many T-Mobile reps, HTC reps, and other users...I'm exhausted with beating around the bush form the simple, and exact answers I'm looking for. You advice and expertise would truly be appreciated. Help! Thanks.
Ryan

Choose the Dash
I have both. While I have only had teh Dash about a week, I have had no problems with it - no resets or freezes. With my MDA, I was constantly resetting it. The Dash doe stake some getting used to and you will have to buy a spreadsheet program, but I would choose it over the MDA in a flash. The Dash appears to be faster than the MDA as well. The only compliants that I have regarding the Dash is that there is no version of Voice Command for it nor is there a good RN caclulator.

there is no pocket office for smartphone os
more specifically there is no equivalent of pocket word at this time

JwY said:
there is no pocket office for smartphone os
more specifically there is no equivalent of pocket word at this time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This saddens me. Pocket office was very handy. Hopefully something will come about soon.

Really what I look for in comparison is speed, Wi-Fi, BlueTooth. etc. features. Both have the same features, but the difference is the advancement in the individual features. MDA has WiFi 802.11b where the Dash has 802.11b/g meaning the fastest you'll be able to transmit data over WiFi on the MDA is 22mbts The MDA supports BlueTooth version 1.2 and the Dash is BT 2.0. The MDA has a faster processor running at 400Mhz where the Dash runs at 200Mhz.
The applications that come pre-installed on the devices vary. Search the web for Open Source office like applications out there I'm sure you can find something for the Dash. I haven't tried it yet but with my Wi-Fi connection I have a google spreadsheet online application, kinda like an online office of Excel.

Thank you for the feedback.
I have been leaning towards the MDA, but didn't want to take a step back in technology advantage, given that I'll have this phone for a while and I'll want to get the most from the device. OR Should I go with DASH in hope of getting an app to edit documents? Is there anytihng coming out soon, or where should i go to find out where to get it? Can I use either device with google's new word and excel editting, without being connected to a free wifi?
Are both devices able to use Skype?
The MDA glitches and complaints do worry me about dependability. Do you believe the MDA is stable, and is the HTC Hermes able to be used with T-Mobile?
The phone I have (Nokia 3660) just died (only shows Nokia when booting up, in a continuous loop). Therefore i have just lost 600 numbers which weren't sync to the new laptop i had ot buy because my old one was stolen 2 months ago. If you have any advice on retreaving these numbers let me know.
Also, do you recommend getting the MDA from T-Mobile for $250 or from eBay? or other cell phone sites you recommend for purchases?
Ryan

sp4rky said:
This saddens me. Pocket office was very handy. Hopefully something will come about soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same here. someone should at least make a third party app for it instead of only viewers.
the dash makes a better phone and the mda makes a better pda. that's the biggest difference to me.

RazrV3 said:
Really what I look for in comparison is speed, Wi-Fi, BlueTooth. etc. features. Both have the same features, but the difference is the advancement in the individual features. MDA has WiFi 802.11b where the Dash has 802.11b/g meaning the fastest you'll be able to transmit data over WiFi on the MDA is 22mbts The MDA supports BlueTooth version 1.2 and the Dash is BT 2.0. The MDA has a faster processor running at 400Mhz where the Dash runs at 200Mhz.
The applications that come pre-installed on the devices vary. Search the web for Open Source office like applications out there I'm sure you can find something for the Dash. I haven't tried it yet but with my Wi-Fi connection I have a google spreadsheet online application, kinda like an online office of Excel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The MDA uses the same processor as the Dash, TI omap 850 200mhz

I had or tested almost ANY HTC device sold in Europe since HTC was a startup company.
EXCALIBUR is the best device I ever seen! Obviously new devices are better than older, but still I believe on BLUE ANGEL concept, (good device at that time, revolutionary)
You feel it in your hand soft, good design, reliable since the first release, stable bluetooth 2.0, last WM5 release, lot of fix and improvement.
Good display, form factor, keyboard and battery life (in a normal day, even using bluetooth, have always with you an USB cable, just in case...)
I don't need glasses to read at, due to resolution and backlight (don't laught too much, experience and close eyesight are reversed functions) one hand usage in 90% of conditions.
The microSD is well stored INSIDE the battery case, avoiding dust and accidental un-insertion.
Problems? screen protector NEEDED, no case in the package (I am using an IPOD sock), poor (compared to pocket PC) software avaliability, Smartphone notes is a MUST have (to insert small notes or align with PC notes) for a device with keyboard!
TORNADO POWER CONTROL is a battery saver, little overclok for a 200 MHz processor (228) and good downclock to save battery (116)

I installed a freeware program from vieka.com called Wordpad 2.9, works great. PTAB covers Excel....

I love my Dash. It's fast and easy to use. I love the one handed operation once I enabled the full jogger.
*BUT*
When I travel, I take my K-Jam and I don't need my laptop. I can do everything with it. I can't say the same about the Dash since it doesn't have mobile office.
On my last vacation, I didn't take my laptop because I didn't plan on working. When I got there, I found out I had to write 2 proposals within 24 hours. Quite simply, I would have been screwed without my K-Jam.
BUT
For an everyday device at work, I now prefer my Dash as I edit word and excel files between 0 and 1 times a year normally.
Dash rocks (and is hella-fast too). Once HTC releases a newer FW for it, I can get the T-Mobile crap off of it.
-Mc

link to download office
Hi i need a link to download ms office for WM5. please help

Hi,
there's no download for Office for WM5, it is part of the PPC-ROMs (Office Mobile). For WM5 Smartphones you can use Clearvue Suite from Westtek (only viewer).
Greetings Newchurch

dash is view docs only...AFAIK
I have had an mda for about six months and liked it, HTC and this communuity so much I bought a dash for my wife instead of an SDA, I like the dash it is a smartfone, and should be called that, it is leaps and bounds above the older smartphone os' but Its a far cry from WM5 and MS is trying to trick less wary buyers into thinking that the 2 very different operating systems are the same, and they are not...
I haven't seen any way to edit office stuff on the dash, but I have yet to get as involved in it as I am my wiz, so I may be wrong.
If you wanna replace your laptop with somthing smaller the MDA is the way to go.
If you want "just a phone" with tons of flexability go for the dash.
they are both great devices, but very different despite a similar GUI.
bhang

The OS's are teh same on both phones. Its just a different interface. Anyone who tells you otherwise is misinformed. If they were different OS's then why are there instructions at HoFo on running PPC apps on smartphone?
I have both devices, and like them both. I like the small size and form factor of the Gash, but the larger Screen and the PPC UI make it easier for me to get around, but I'm gettingused to teh dash too. The MDA is more customizeable (more options for home screen, as well as a lot of ROM's here to try.) But teh dash seems more stable to me (prolly due to all teh fiddling I've done on teh MDA tho)
Also Documents to go has announced they are making a SP version. That will let you edit Office apps when it comes out. There might be a demo or somethgn now, I don't remember.

@bittermormon, you're right, a preview is now available for the smartphone
http://www.dataviz.com/products/documentstogo/winmobile/index.html

Question - Would you buy the o2 Orbit AGAIN?

Hi
I seem to see a lot of issues witht he Orbit/HTC Artemis.
I was about to buy one so wondered 'if you were buying again TODAY would you buy this phone or another?'
Cheers.
Robin

Why not?
You are sking about Orbit/Artemis, but I believe the guys with the O2 version are the most affected by the bugs The P3300 etc. have shiped ROMs available so it is easy to restore when in trouble. The lesson here should be not to start messing around with your device if you are not in possession of the original ROM.
I have been very happy with my device and would buy again, only I am waiting for the HTC Advantage. When we start tweaking that too we will have the wailing and gnashing of teeth if people do not take precautions

Once I managed to get the P3300 Rom on my Orbit it's been a much better device.
Previously I had a I-Mate K-Jam (Wizard) and the main downside I had with it was the size of thing when it was in my pocket. I don't even notice the orbit meaning that it can now be my all the time phone instead of just my weekday phone. Previously at weekends I found myself changing the Sim Card to a smaller phone when I didn't care about having the extra features.
But if I was buying now I'd wait and see what happens with the WM6 upgrade (if it comes along).

I would buy again - not had any problems with my standard Orbit
No problems with the storage card. TomTom working well

This may be a bit off topic but it is just to erritterate what "victoradjei" said... I remember when the Magician was quite new and users who started tweaking intensively encounterred a lot of problems and I was at first very scared to buy it. I eventually bought one and waited until hacks/tweaks were reliable. As of today my Magician works well.

I would buy it again, too.
The CPU is a bit slow, but I knew it before.
Everythings works for me.

I have the P3300 and I didn't mess around with the ROM or use any tweaking programs.
It does what I want it to do - so I see no point trying to turn it into a super computer.
Bottom line is I am happy with my choice - then again, my last phone was a Nokia 6100 and that was pretty high tech for me at the time also.

I didn't buy mine (part of my job entails maintaining over 1500 O2 UK smartphones so I get to play with a few of them), but the Orbit is easily the best iteration I have used so far.
The best as in form factor and it-is-a-phone-after-all usability/battery life, responsiveness and reception quality (no 3G or keyboard are not concerns for me).
So to OP, definitely (until the next FOTM arrives)

Definately yes - THE only thing that will tempt me away is apples iphone..... Which I hope someone will make a BT GPS unit to work with it.
On the orbit The only really annoying thing I find (having now hacked the Stereo BT to work, and tweaked Today interface) ... is the camera is cr*p ....it only works outdoors, no macro, autofocus - beaten by ANY sony E !!!

I must admit it is the iPhone I am waiting for but I need a phone in the meantime..
Robin

The only issue I see is that with mSD cards going garbage.
Apart from that, I never had any problems (and if you do ... well ... it is Windows agter all !!!).
I would definitely buy another P3300, especially if there will be an updated version with mSD fix, a faster CPU and some more built-in storage. WM6 would be cool.

Robster said:
I must admit it is the iPhone I am waiting for but I need a phone in the meantime..
Robin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
why ?
Its bulky, no 3G, can't load 3rd part applications, no GPS, only 8gb for music (I need at least 30gb otherwise I need to pick each day what I put on), suspisious battery life.

colonel said:
why ?
Its bulky, no 3G, can't load 3rd part applications, no GPS, only 8gb for music (I need at least 30gb otherwise I need to pick each day what I put on), suspisious battery life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not to get off of the subject, but my wife gave me the Creative Labs NOMAD Jukebox Zen (USB 2.0) one year for X-Mas.
Since then, I have taken out the 20gb laptop drive in there and replaced it with a 60gb drive
It seems like the since the iPod came along - having very limited storage space that cannot be upgraded without tossing out the old one and buying a new one - it set a trend in the rest of the market.
I look around the shops once in a while and see how mp3 players went from 60gb off the shelf now only hold a few gigs at the most for the same price.
Now this brings up the question:
Is the iPhone going to drive the technology backwards like the iPod did for the mp3 players making end user lose out in the end?

This could run and run
Although the iPhone can't do anything my Orbit can't, I am very impressed with the form factor and user interface of the iPhone - if it works as slickly as the demos suggest.
Similarly, my Nomad JB3 40Gb does a lot of things that my early iPod Photo 60Gb simply can't do - but the NJB is just such a crude device to operate in comparison to the iPod.
At the end of the day they are only products to be marketed, and for the majority of consumers the i*** interface and form factor are an easy sell.

allenf said:
This could run and run
Although the iPhone can't do anything my Orbit can't, I am very impressed with the form factor and user interface of the iPhone - if it works as slickly as the demos suggest.
Similarly, my Nomad JB3 40Gb does a lot of things that my early iPod Photo 60Gb simply can't do - but the NJB is just such a crude device to operate in comparison to the iPod.
At the end of the day they are only products to be marketed, and for the majority of consumers the i*** interface and form factor are an easy sell.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is my favourite type of discussion. off-topic of course ....
my counter-argument to you is why the macbook is a tiny minority. Sure its slickly marketed, looks cute and has a nice interface (although - kill me - i kind of like vista . Buts it has no pcmcia card (so my 3G card can't be used), is heavy (5lbs vs, say 4lbs for a toshiba U205) and ir overpriced. most people are more intelligent then the marketers, which is why some fish are snagged (i.e. the macbook sells at all) but most people who want a cool small laptop still go for a samsung or sony. and most sensible people get the £400 15" basic .....

Now we are WAY OFF TOPIC.........
I am intrigued by Colonels comments, I bet he has never used a Mac for real?
Many people are forced to use a PC for work but I know many people who have been PC users for years and finally tried a Mac for home use and would not go back to a PC again.
But back to my original question. )
Robin

Looking to upgrade from Excalibur

Hello,
I'm looking for ideas on my next phone. I have had my T-Mobile Dash now for about 3 years and I have a couple of main complaints with it that I can't seem to live with anymore and am looking to upgrade. I love the fact that this phone is so customizable (I'm currently running ookba's 3VOlution rom and it has been a much more enjoyable experience over the default rom that it came loaded with, thats for sure!) so I would like to have a phone that is a Windows Mobile based phone for that reason unless there is something better that anyone can recommend.
The main things that I am looking for are a bigger screen so that I can read .pdf files on it easily, more speed for say loading .pdf's and multi-tasking, and I want the ability to use the Remote Desktop Viewer with the ability to scroll quickly across the screen on the PC that I have remoted into on my wireless LAN and possibly from the internet using 3G or anything faster that may currently exist. I need the phone to be supported by T-Mobile.
Any ideas?
Edit: Also want to be able to watch movies on the phone in Divx/avi.

qqa92 said:
Hello,
I'm looking for ideas on my next phone. I have had my T-Mobile Dash now for about 3 years and I have a couple of main complaints with it that I can't seem to live with anymore and am looking to upgrade. I love the fact that this phone is so customizable (I'm currently running ookba's 3VOlution rom and it has been a much more enjoyable experience over the default rom that it came loaded with, thats for sure!) so I would like to have a phone that is a Windows Mobile based phone for that reason unless there is something better that anyone can recommend.
The main things that I am looking for are a bigger screen so that I can read .pdf files on it easily, more speed for say loading .pdf's and multi-tasking, and I want the ability to use the Remote Desktop Viewer with the ability to scroll quickly across the screen on the PC that I have remoted into on my wireless LAN and possibly from the internet using 3G or anything faster that may currently exist. I need the phone to be supported by T-Mobile.
Any ideas?
Edit: Also want to be able to watch movies on the phone in Divx/avi.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey there buddy i would recommand a Dash 3G or in my opinion id get a Ozone sick as Sphone! best looking hTC sp in my opinon.

From what you said you want multi-tasking, easy pdf viewing, i'd put a smartphone out of the equation, first because a vertical screen going to be easier, now also rez to which smartphones tend to be QVGA so VGA will also make alot of difference as more viewing area, then multi tasking and being able to close programs easier again PPC... Being able to use a stylus to type along with a hardware keyboard a nice snappy interface instead of having to click here then here then here to do anything...
CorePlayer on any phone will do what you want regards movies will still want to convert to rez and drop audio quality so as to make it easier for the device
I use VNC but have Remote Desktop Viewer and works well.
So what devices would i recommend? All depends on money
If your after a dirt cheap then Kaiser only QVGA but a bloody good device for £
If got a bit more money to spend then Raphael VGA
What you have to bare in mind at the moment is that HTC will be bringing out new devices soon:
[EXCLUSIVE] HTC Portfolio 2010 (Q1-Q2)
So do you hold out again all depends on cash.
Regards T-Mo you will have to check out the bands and buy the model with them....
Hope that helps.

Hmm, ok, thanks. Good food for thought guys. Gonna start poking around at some stores so I can hold a few of these in my hands and see if one stands out. Thanks again.