Database Users

HTC Shift vs. HTC Athena

I am still trying to decide what i should buy. HTC Shift, HTC Omni and HTC Kaiser will be announced in Q3 just like HTC X7501. I am still waiting as my friend WU told me to do. I will wait till Summer July or September where more juicy stuff will come and therefore I decided not to buy HTC Athena.
One is a UMPC and the other is a Pocket PC. Compare both in all ways, from price, technical spec's and style.
I find the Shift to be much better than the Athena. What do you all think?

I have the Ameo now, and by the time the novelty of that has worn off, the Shift will be out.
And of course, I'll have to have one of them as well.....

nuclear said:
I am still trying to decide what i should buy. HTC Shift, HTC Omni and HTC Kaiser will be announced in Q3 just like HTC X7501. I am still waiting as my friend WU told me to do. I will wait till Summer July or September where more juicy stuff will come and therefore I decided not to buy HTC Athena.
One is a UMPC and the other is a Pocket PC. Compare both in all ways, from price, technical spec's and style.
I find the Shift to be much better than the Athena. What do you all think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will never buy the HTC Shift, and none of the UMPC. You see, i think PPC and UMPC are completely different product. I don't like UMPC, you can't turn it on in one sec, even you put it in stand by, it will still take a while. And also, none of the UMPC can last for whole day, i do not want to charge my device every so often.
I want my device to be 24hr connect to Internet to check mail, that you can't do with UMPC.
So i still prefer Athena, and don't forget this, i can use my U1000 to do remote control to my home pc.
If you compare Athena with other PPC, yes other PPC might have better spec when it comes out, but i find it quite hard to go to any smaller screen size then Athena. So again, it's all depends on personal needs and use, personally, i find Athena meets my needs

I agree with Wu. Why would need some slow device, I have it at home. When I am mobile I want something that would last for whole day, would be with me when I need it to check my emails, use it to go on MSN or Yahoo messenger, would have big screen and wont take ages to respond in some action (for instance Symbian phones).

schoofter said:
...wont take ages to respond in some action (for instance Symbian phones).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait till you see E90 in action it will blow Athena apart

I don't like XP/Vista in my phone. Slow startup and wake up from hibernation is a huge problem. Another con is since it is essentially a XP/Vista machine, it uses the ordinally desktop application which comes with all none-essentially adds-on and this blown up the size they needs. 40G storage will depleted in no time.
Battery staying power is another huge issue for UMPC.
Granted E90 is quite good but Symbian apps. is more on multi-media centric, so professional softwares are quite limit and hard to come by.

raven2000 said:
Wait till you see E90 in action it will blow Athena apart
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am sure E90 would be a interesting device but after my N73 I doubt I would like any other Nokia. It is all sparkly and nice on paper and when you read it on Net it is super duper but when you start to use it then it gets on your nerves. Nokia maps is so nice on first look but would be with maps of other countries? I don't think they would ever make map for my country so no use of it and you can't use any other app for GPS because it is made just for Nokia.

schoofter said:
and wont take ages to respond in some action (for instance Symbian phones).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welllll, that's some really controversial statement
All the Symbian devices I've ever used performed WAYS faster, than their CE/WM competitors, though the specs were usually much lower.

E90 ????
raven2000 said:
Wait till you see E90 in action it will blow Athena apart
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know with you all, but for me what is nokia E90 caps so beat Athena. I don't have them both, but
1. Do E90 will be supported by many software developer?
2. Do it will doing many "assistan" thing?
For me it's not a "smart phone" at all... it's just a phone...
Once again it's personal opinion, i doubt if someone already use PPC/Palm will move to NOKIA thing...
But everyone have their opinion..

cornelius said:
I don't know with you all, but for me what is nokia E90 caps so beat Athena. I don't have them both, but
1. Do E90 will be supported by many software developer?
2. Do it will doing many "assistan" thing?
For me it's not a "smart phone" at all... it's just a phone...
Once again it's personal opinion, i doubt if someone already use PPC/Palm will move to NOKIA thing...
But everyone have their opinion..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i totally agree with you, i think E90 can only be call a phone, looks at the number of third party software that PPC has, yes it might be faster on E90. But slow is just usual for Windows device, for example, Windows is slower then Mac, but does that mean everyone will run and get Mac? No, because windows has much more application.

chtan said:
I don't like XP/Vista in my phone. Slow startup and wake up from hibernation is a huge problem. Another con is since it is essentially a XP/Vista machine, it uses the ordinally desktop application which comes with all none-essentially adds-on and this blown up the size they needs. 40G storage will depleted in no time.
Battery staying power is another huge issue for UMPC.
Granted E90 is quite good but Symbian apps. is more on multi-media centric, so professional softwares are quite limit and hard to come by.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I always with 2 devices with me, 1 PDA and 1 Phone..
Before Dopod 900 / Nokia E60
Now Dopod u1000 / Nokia E60
Get the smallest and most powerful phone around for normal phone call.
Nokia E series (edit/view word/powerpt/excel.. wifi, Really good webbrowser + another Opera), PDA (Contact/Schedule/Todo can make it by 1 hand..)
WM5/6 for web/email/entertain and relax ur eyes

its very interesting..
im thinking of either the E90 or the HTC Advantage! the advantage will be out earlier and the prices of both will not differ by much. at the end of the day, the desicion of buying one rather than the other relies on what do you really want from a phone/pda.
maybe someone can help me:
my interest after all is to:
-have a device good with making calls and good for using to sync with your PC. both have the abilities but one rather probably has a better phone functionality than providing a pda/sync functions.
-as for multimedie, i have my digital camera which will never be replaced but to have a 3 mp is not too bad to take pix of some urgent things
-as a music player im not too picky as long as i get some sound
-storage wise, Advantage has plenty of those and it beats E90 easily.
-emails and so forth are important ot me. however, i would liek to upload email from my organization server which can be done through B.berry connect i suppose only. i believe both phones have the capability of doing such a thing, right? but i think the wm5/6 has a better email capability in geenral than symbians, right?
-i would get some softwares to add to my phone ans it seems windows based phones have far more titles (professional ones atleast).
-battery life: i think the E90 wins here..not sure.
-GPS capabilities: not sure which set has a better nad a more reliable one. it seems like nokia has introduced maps which can be downloaded on individual basis which is a nice idea depending on the country you are travelling to.
-multimedia again---watching movies..hmmm..it could be interesting if you are in your car as a passenger for a while..i guess it is easier to watch it on an advantage due to bigger screen..and the hard drive will assist in having bigger files on board. what do you think? but how many movies can you watch with the battery before it runs out of juice?
interesting comparisons and it is difficult for me to decide really as both devices cost lots of money and i dont want to make a desicion then regret. perhaps a user fo both devices can shed more light.
Cheers!

you said: but one rather probably has a better phone functionality than providing a pda/sync functions.
so E90 will be able to do phone thing than Athena becaus lack of earpiece on athena and vibrate notification...

just get yourself a bt headset(Jabra BT8010 is recommended) and everything will be fine, or may be excellent?

Thickness with Keyboard

The specs say it is .6 inches or 16 mm thick. Is that with or without the keyboard... what about in the leather wallet?

bandersnatch said:
The specs say it is .6 inches or 16 mm thick. Is that with or without the keyboard... what about in the leather wallet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 16 mm specs is without keyboard, 20 mm with keyboard, 27 mm ~ 31 mm (aproximately because the leather wallet form is not uniform).
Regards!

Thanks
Thanks much. Seems pretty big. I wonder if it will fit in my shirt pocket...

Not unless you're on the 'large' side. I can only just get it in the big pockets on my combat style trousers. 'Tis a beast for sure!

not going to be the phone for me.
I hate to say it. I've been lusting after this thing since I heard it might be coming to tmo usa. But if it is as big as I think it is, I wouldn't be able to carry it on my person. That 5 inch screen is probably going to be too much of a good thing for me. I would have happily settled for 4.

thinking on the same lines
bandersnatch said:
I hate to say it. I've been lusting after this thing since I heard it might be coming to tmo usa. But if it is as big as I think it is, I wouldn't be able to carry it on my person. That 5 inch screen is probably going to be too much of a good thing for me. I would have happily settled for 4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I feel the same way, when i first saw this device (heard the announcements about availability on T-Mobile in the UK) i was well excited and pleased, but then i did a thourough study regarding the size, including measuring my old diary which strangely seems to be about the size of the ameo in its case. I gave it some deep thought like "Gavin do you seriously think you can carry that around?, and the fact that you need a headset", hmmm will wait to hear about how others are getting along, especially after a few more weeks or months down the line. Ameo/ Athena users would like to hear more about:
1) You and your device on a daily basis, where do you carry it, and how do you use it? on a table/ lap/ other?
2) How is the keyboard getting along, or maybe you are using some other input methods?
3) What about calls are you using a wired headset or bluetooth stereo?
Just general impressions from owners over the last 3 weeks ( i know its not been long, sorry)

The Weight...
It is also 375 grams. The wizard is 150 grams. It weighs 250% MORE than a wizard....

bandersnatch said:
It is also 375 grams. The wizard is 150 grams. It weighs 250% MORE than a wizard....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where to begin after 2 weeks of owning an Ameo....happy. Yes very happy!
I would never have contemplated doing the things I do with the Ameo that I probably couls have done with previous devices owned (JasJar, Hermes, Prophet, Wizard, Xda Mini and Xda IIi....and others).
The Ameo can do what all these devices put together couldn't do.
TV out is quite a treat and allows everything to be displayed on virtually any other type of display that supports S-Video, Composite or VGA.
The USB host functionality allows a FULL PC USB keyboard or mouse (with pointer) to be used.....and it works extremely well!
Remote Desktop (WM6 version) is a joy to use on the Ameo...a smaller screen just would't be up to the Job. Whilst I'm having problems connecting to my own PC, I am easily and quickly connecting to my wife's XP Pro PC via RDP. It is truly astounding and responsive. You literally see and operate the XP PC as you would through your native monitor hooked up to your desktop PC.
Movie Playback when the occasion calls for it is pure eye candy if your using a DVD Rip. Sheer quality!
The speakers are no sound system but prove to be worthy of being best-in class from my experience of PPC devices to date. It is loud and NOT tinny or hollow.
WM5 is no faster than any other 520Mhz device I have used....but that will change when we can upgrade to WM6.
WMLive (from WM6) works seemlessly and beautifully and you even get a Message tone and visual notification of incoming Instant messages or Voice clips...if on-line at the time of incoming message. It's fast and works very well for me.
Wisbar Advance 2 completely changes the look and feel of the device and this is where standard VGA as opposed to ozVGA comes into its own for me, as the font size is just right for me and the cascading start menu etc works well with this size screen.
The Screen. Yes the screen is amazing.....and if screen real estate is tht important to some...you instantly have a choice of a host of resolutions if using RDP to XP/Vista and there are tweaks such as ozVGA and others if you really need it in the WM O/S.
The keyboard....NOT impressed in the slightest! I much prefer the keyboard on the Universal. With that I can type up a book if need be in comparison to the non-tactile feedback of the keyboard buttons on the Athena....but it's not a major issue for me as I am usually at a desk where this problem is much alleviated by a steady base on which to place the Ameo. Full size USB keyboard and mouse come into their element here with the standard non-supplied 4-1 cable.
The Ameo is a great GPS device with a screen large and clear enough to rival the biggest dedicated in-built GPS systems in top-spec luxury or performance cars. I'm not complaining.
Dual TV screen for GPS, Movies or internet surfing using HSDPA whilst travelling a few hundred miles with the kids is great. The possibilities are staggering.
I won't go on.....because the Ameo has much more to offer IMHO. I was considering a Sony UX UMPC, now I've got the Ameo, forget it. I've got me direct access to a powerhouse desktop PC where I can edit videos download torrents and other large files directly to my home or office PC whilst retaining the enhanced Mobile telephony functions of this baby via a tiny BT earpiece.
Call quality is excellent and I'm able to receive calls whilst on wi-fi or GPRS/3G/HSDPA...but this is sometimes temperamental. The new HTC Shift will be the new king, but for me, I'll be sticking with the barely pocketable Ameo.
Yes it's larger than any other device called a Pocket PC, but then this is far more than the sum of its or any other devices parts.
Did I mention that the on-board 3megapixel camera was the best I have come across in any PPC? and that it far surpassed my expectations? Well it has, enough so that I no longer need to carry another camera around at any time.
Long live the Athena....you could do worse....but I doubt you'll do better for quite some time. It just comes down to what you're comfortable with.
For your information....I carry mine without Leather casing or keyboard happily in my front or rear jeans pocket or inside suit pocket....but it actually fits with everything together aswell, but then it is a tight squeeze.
Hope my long boring post helps some of you to stick to your original decision and get one...you won't regret it...but if not..why not try one for a week and return it to your supplier if your not happy with it.

Very good and informative post. Thanks for sharing your opinion.

eagle 1 said:
Very good and informative post. Thanks for sharing your opinion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the positive feedback.
@ All....Additionally thanks to Eagle1 I can now connect to all PC's in my office/home from my Ameo via wi-fi!! Great stuff....HSDPA - Home network is next on the Agenda.
This device is become more and more like a UMPC, but without the ability to play movies or games....but that can be done natively through WM5 and a PSP if one is that way enclined.

Well, looks really like a cool device, was waiting for a VGA, GPS, fast processor, WM6 with keyboard for a loooong time...
but first what i did was look for the size of Qtek 9000, which had all that, but could not have it (had it for testing for 2 weeks), since it was too heavy and big for a device that i carry with me all the time...
If it was only a little lighter and smaller.... the HP 4700 screen was more then big enough for PDAs, think it was 4", and bigger device then that (also fatter) just does not get me. But the features are perfect, they just need to squeeze it into 4"vga, 250g max. and then ill be running into the store looking for it.. untill then whoever buys it, hope you enjoy it, it looks really like the best pda out now..

But here is somthing that catches my eye...
http://www.gsmarena.com/i_mate_ultimate_7150-1882.php
is this a HTC product? and if, anyone knows their version of this phone?
a VGA 3.5 + keyboard , secondary display outside so you dont have to open the pda if getting a call ...
now thats a heart breaker for me

As far as I know, it's not a HTC product...

Moskus said:
As far as I know, it's not a HTC product...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's not, iMate is no longer partner of HTC, this device is made by also a Taiwanese company, but not HTC.

papizdono said:
But here is somthing that catches my eye...
http://www.gsmarena.com/i_mate_ultimate_7150-1882.php
is this a HTC product? and if, anyone knows their version of this phone?
a VGA 3.5 + keyboard , secondary display outside so you dont have to open the pda if getting a call ...
now thats a heart breaker for me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I took a look at this, but was disappointed that it does not support SDHC, which means I can't have wikipedia and lots of MP3 music with me.
I understand that HTC is the one designing and manufacturing the i_mate (please check this out yourself from wikipedia under HTC). HTC in fact designs and manufactures just about everyone's PDA including Dell's, HP's, etc. but they just put in other's labels until recently when they starts to use their own HTC label.

eaglesteve said:
I took a look at this, but was disappointed that it does not support SDHC, which means I can't have wikipedia and lots of MP3 music with me.
I understand that HTC is the one designing and manufacturing the i_mate (please check this out yourself from wikipedia under HTC). HTC in fact designs and manufactures just about everyone's PDA including Dell's, HP's, etc. but they just put in other's labels until recently when they starts to use their own HTC label.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that is only true about 4 months ago, now HTC don't design and manufacture for iMate anymore, it's done by another taiwanese company (can't remember the name).

wu5262 said:
that is only true about 4 months ago, now HTC don't design and manufacture for iMate anymore, it's done by another taiwanese company (can't remember the name).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see... Thanks for the updated info, Wu.

I'm in Love - HTC Kaiser

http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2007/05/24/htc-kaiser-unboxing/
At last something I would consider as a Uni replacement
Mav

MUTINY!!!!
mavrik64 said:
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2007/05/24/htc-kaiser-unboxing/
At last something I would consider as a Uni replacement
Mav
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MUTINY!
The Universal is the undisputed windows mobile device champion of the world. It's only competitor goes by the name of I-Mate Ultimate 7150.
That's the Unis only competitor. So you can take that pathetic 2.8 inch screens to a different forum.
http://www.clubimate.com/ultimate/ult7150.htm

fnordelus said:
MUTINY!
The Universal is the undisputed windows mobile device champion of the world. It's only competitor goes by the name of I-Mate Ultimate 7150.
That's the Unis only competitor. So you can take that pathetic 2.8 inch screens to a different forum.
http://www.clubimate.com/ultimate/ult7150.htm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ooooooohhhhh!!!!!!
time for another change of underpants
Mav

No VGA
This would be truly awesome if only it had vga.
At the mo i have the universal with TOMTOM6 using a bluetooth receiver and i carry a 6mp camera with 3x optical zoom.
It's kinda a drag carrying 2/3 devices but I love the keyboard and screen of the uni
Another advantage of the uni is that the screen is protected by the lid when you have it closed which i like.

What will you say about E-TEN Glofiish X800, 'Double-Oh Seven'?
This is the only thing currently that probably could lure me away from the Universal...
Advantage is too heavy, others lack VGA or GPS...
The X800 does not have one thing you can think of, and that's Keyboard. Which I honestly to God do NOT need.

The lack of an SDHC interface on either device is enough for me to stick to my Universal.

My Universal hurts me when I look at other phones...

Balur said:
My Universal hurts me when I look at other phones...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine says I can look, but don't touch
Mav

nvatvani said:
The lack of an SDHC interface on either device is enough for me to stick to my Universal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you got a Second Edition Universal (or a Mars Special? )?
Because as far as I know, mine does NOT have SDHC interface, just plain SD, limited to 4GB capacity cards (up to 2GB without problems, with 4GB Camera App has problems).
It even buggered my (non-SDHC) 4GB card recently (one of WM6 editions did so), so now it's only 2GB and I've currently run out of options to restore its 4GB capacity...

fnordelus said:
It's only competitor goes by the name of I-Mate Ultimate 7150.
http://www.clubimate.com/ultimate/ult7150.htm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh my GOD that is a sweet looking device! I might worry a bit about the hinge though.

EastExpert said:
Have you got a Second Edition Universal (or a Mars Special? )?
Because as far as I know, mine does NOT have SDHC interface, just plain SD, limited to 4GB capacity cards (up to 2GB without problems, with 4GB Camera App has problems).
It even buggered my (non-SDHC) 4GB card recently (one of WM6 editions did so), so now it's only 2GB and I've currently run out of options to restore its 4GB capacity...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No ... I only have a 2GB SD card running as well on my Universal.
My point as to why the Kaiser is already redundant even before production is because the Kaiser is nothing more than a Universal+Navigator (or any other Bluetooth based GPS receiver).
The mini-SD interface on the Kaiser is the only key that made it redundant against the Universal.
Hence, the Kaiser is NOT an upgrade of the Universal, but instead a competitor. I would call it a "side-grade" as opposed to an "up-grade".

nvatvani said:
No ... I only have a 2GB SD card running as well on my Universal.
My point as to why the Kaiser is already redundant even before production is because the Kaiser is nothing more than a Universal+Navigator (or any other Bluetooth based GPS receiver).
The mini-SD interface on the Kaiser is the only key that made it redundant against the Universal.
Hence, the Kaiser is NOT an upgrade of the Universal, but instead a competitor. I would call it a "side-grade" as opposed to an "up-grade".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I re-read your first message. My bad, somehow thought you were saying that Universal does have SDHC Sorry!
Right, neither of Uni or Kaiser have it. But this honestly doesn't put me off too much, I don't do video on the devices.
One thing that Kaiser sorely misses: a VGA screen... Otherwise a near-perfect device... just 160 grams, GPS present, all latest connectivity present, v.good 2.8Mpix camera, unique design.
For those waiting for it, here I found that HTC have responded to somebody that they will release the Kaiser in late JULY, not October (October will be the time for HTC Shift).
So may be after all it's worth the wait for you and things are not so gloomy?
Kaiser's lack of VGA ruins the parade for me. This is why I'm looking towards a E-TEN Glofiish X800... also due in July.
In the whole flurry of devices coming each day - I'm yet to find a slick (Universal is the hefty 285 g...), well-connected, GPS-enabled device with a VGA screen...

EastExpert said:
I re-read your first message. My bad, somehow thought you were saying that Universal does have SDHC Sorry!
Right, neither of Uni or Kaiser have it. But this honestly doesn't put me off too much, I don't do video on the devices.
One thing that Kaiser sorely misses: a VGA screen... Otherwise a near-perfect device... just 160 grams, GPS present, all latest connectivity present, v.good 2.8Mpix camera, unique design.
For those waiting for it, here I found that HTC have responded to somebody that they will release the Kaiser in late JULY, not October (October will be the time for HTC Shift).
So may be after all it's worth the wait for you and things are not so gloomy?
Kaiser's lack of VGA ruins the parade for me. This is why I'm looking towards a E-TEN Glofiish X800... also due in July.
In the whole flurry of devices coming each day - I'm yet to find a slick (Universal is the hefty 285 g...), well-connected, GPS-enabled device with a VGA screen...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow ... that's quite a bit of "VGA" in one post.
Maybe you can try and explain to me why a VGA (640x480) resolution on a 3.6 inch screen device is actually practical.
I have used OzVGA on my Universal and then removed it just after 1 week because the high resolution demanded a higher precision touch-screen input from the stylus. You can forget about using your finger with OzVGA on VGA mode as opposed to the standard QVGA mode. I mean, in VGA mode I "lost" the ability to control scroll-bars, as well as cell/row selections from a table form or even when you want to do "hold down" selection (this is equivalent to the right-click in desktops) - using my finger ofcourse. Things were OK with the stylus.
With such a serious loss, the benefit of VGA is not actually worthy on the Universal because of its screen size.
If you are talking about the HTC Advantage, then VGA is really worthy because we are talking about a 5 inch screen here - and so the loss which the Universal suffers from is not applicable to the Advantage.

I agree, the only thing missing now is the VGA screen.
I am confused, is this device able to flip into laptop mode? From the other pictures, it seemed the keyboard pulls out from behind the screen, but then there is another picture showing the screen folded up on the keyboard.

Do you like the price?
http://www.popularelect.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=29&products_id=437
Mike

Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-itttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt! Ridiculous!

mikechannon said:
Do you like the price?
http://www.popularelect.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=29&products_id=437
Mike
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Amazing ..... that's just the kind of cash I can pull out of my asshole!

the price is gonna fall down in a few weeks.

That price is for a VERY NICE laptop. wheeeew!

nvatvani said:
Amazing ..... that's just the kind of cash I can pull out of my asshole!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it's that easy, can I have some <grin>
They must have the decimal point in the wrong place.
Mav

Who would swap their athena for a smaller device with the exact same specs?

I just sold my athena, and got a touch enhanced. Same rom and ram, 1/3rd processor speed and no 3g are the main differences to me.
But, I was wondering, who would swap their athena for a kaiser or touch cruise if those devices had vga, making them basically the same specs as the athena.
Edit:
It seems that people wouldnt want a vga screen on a device with a small width in inches. I think this is really funny, because all people did when both the kaiser's and Touch Cruise's specs were finalised, was say how if only it was vga. But now I thnk about it, with realvga on my athena [96dpi], it was basically 4 hermes screens glues together, in terms of size and res. So, the text was about the same size on today as ti was n my hermes. But imagine real vga on a 2.8 screen, it would be like having 4 3cm by 2 cm screens glued together. Tiny writing. So i think you're right about the vga.
Rory

I would, but I can't stress enough how much I love the VGA screen. I have a TyTN as well and although the screen size is smaller, I can't stand the QVGA resolution

i imagine most would. I don't know why htc are so slow on the uptake with vga displays, they're hardly new technology. 800 by 480 would be better though

I would not swap my athena for anything but a higher spec upgrade. I would like something with the same size screen but true native vga resolution or above with more cpu and a gpu that can be used. For me the size is no problem and i love the keyboard. People stare at my athena all the time and i think it is funny. The only person that has commented negatively was the typical iphone user. But i shut him up when i told him my device specs My favorite thing to tell iphone users is can your phone do "copy and paste" then i just laugh at them. It seems that they might be fixing that in the next firmware release though. Anyway the athena is my first step into pda phones and i don't think i would be able to use anything else.

mcwtrekkie said:
I would, but I can't stress enough how much I love the VGA screen. I have a TyTN as well and although the screen size is smaller, I can't stand the QVGA resolution
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dido.
It is to note that I had a TyTN before the Athena, that had been given to me as a replacement for a Universal. And:
- that was the worst replacement I got ever. To me, screen was too small and low-res --> no usable Internet or word processing, however basic --> no need for the integrated keyboard, however good it may have been + no need for Wifi --> too thick and big, as well as too expensive for its practical use;
- the universal screen is 3,5" and VGA, and even if I am lucky to have excellent eyesight, I found it the bottom limit for readability.
So.... I'm not entirely sure one can really make full use of a VGA+ screen if it is not at the very least 4", and again, *at the very least*.
IMHO, of course.

Hell...I did it!!
What can I say....did I go off the Athena? Never, but my needs changed and I needed to be able to use my all-in-one device as a normal phone, without running into trouble when I forgot to charge my BT headset.
...So I ditched and got the Kaiser. Love the Kaiser even with its hardware driver issues, but I miss that large VGA display. There is nothing like it.
Having said that, that's all I miss. This thing is pocket friendly and with the exception of TV-Out (which I never really use) and the VGA screen, the Kaiser does it all.
Each to their own I guess. But I'll never have a bad word to say about the Athena....she'll always be my baby, lol. She's just too darn big to take out in public. ROFL.

Yeah i ditched too, after only 3 weeks, ive moved on to the tiny touch 256. I love my athena, and i dont want to send it off to its new home in italy, but i dont need it, and my mum's quite happy that i made 130 quid today. I think i will miss the massive screen, its area is about 3 times the touch's.
But i dont drive, so sont need gps, dont use tv out, and the touch at only 201 mhz wont make use of the hsdpa, and at school on both tytn and athena, i usually get 3g max, hardly ever hsdpa.
But theres my reasons for switching.
Oh yer, and because it couldnt make calls [check my sig]
x

No, I won't settle for a screen less than 4.5 inch big. realvga is useless for a 3.5 inch vga screen even at 128dpi.
I also hate having the integrated hardware keyboard. I'm a tablet person, loving Tengo very much.
I don't find Athen any less portable than say a Universal. I carry it without keyboard on my belt pouch, covered by my shirt so you don't even know or see me carry it.

well, before my athena i was using a mio a701 for like a year. it was quite a change because prior to that i was using an xda2i...which had a bigger screen. and switching over to the mio took some getting used to.
but now that i have a 5 inch screen it's so difficult to even think of switching back to a device with a smaller screen. i already upgraded the rom to ak 3.0 and it's the best ever. besides, the large screen is a good pacifier for my 3 year old when she want's to watch toons =)
cheers

why choose? I have both a touch, a tytn II and an Athena. My girlfriend uses the touch.. I use the Athena with a style-I in the car, as a gps, movie player or wherever i need to do work which involves browsing, excel and typing up large text bodies. Using style-i and Microsoft voice command I rarely take it out in public to make a call. The Athena is my best phone ever! The tytn II is a great side kick. Awesome keyboard for fast smses, putting in pim, even though the camera sucks, I still use it sometimes just to make a quick shot (hardly ever use the Athena camera as the quality just doesnt weigh up for the size) I even use the world card reader occasionally. Must say that I don't like browsing with the Tytn II, but it's still handy to have the chance to check some info etc in case my Athena is not close by.
in case of the Polaris, or an old universal for that matter, a 3,5 inch VGA screen is not big enough for my needs, (don't even think I would like a 4" screen) so if I had to choose, hypothetically speaking, I would still go for Athena

The large screen and internet anywhere (especially at 3G speeds) were the biggest reasons I bought it, so no, I wouldn't go back to a smaller screen even if most of the other specs on the other phone were better.

rorydaredkign said:
I just sold my athena, and got a touch enhanced. Same rom and ram, 1/3rd processor speed and no 3g are the main differences to me.
But, I was wondering, who would swap their athena for a kaiser or touch cruise if those devices had vga, making them basically the same specs as the athena.
Edit:
It seems that people wouldnt want a vga screen on a device with a small width in inches. I think this is really funny, because all people did when both the kaiser's and Touch Cruise's specs were finalised, was say how if only it was vga. But now I thnk about it, with realvga on my athena [96dpi], it was basically 4 hermes screens glues together, in terms of size and res. So, the text was about the same size on today as ti was n my hermes. But imagine real vga on a 2.8 screen, it would be like having 4 3cm by 2 cm screens glued together. Tiny writing. So i think you're right about the vga.
Rory
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Click to collapse
I have an Athena and love it. I also have a Kaiser (2), Universal, Hermes, Wizard and a couple of other phones. I could/would never switch. The Kaiser is not that impressive. Plus performance on the Kaiser sucks until the driver issue is resolved, etc. Kaisers are also dying left and right so reliability is not up to par. I was a little upset with my Athena due to a MicroDrive hardware issue but after hooking it up to my laptop using WMStorage and formatting the MD with Windows XP and running defrag/scandisk on it, I have not had any issues with it. Let's just see how long I have before experiencing another problem..if it ever happens again.

by the way, find these threads, trying to evaluate the quality of the Athena boring and unnecessary. I will stop posting on them I think...

[email protected] said:
by the way, find these threads, trying to evaluate the quality of the Athena boring and unnecessary. I will stop posting on them I think...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure what you're trying to tell everyone but ok. Take care.

ltxda said:
Not sure what you're trying to tell everyone but ok. Take care.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there are already many threads about what people think about the Athena. I think people keep it when they like and sell it if not.

[email protected] said:
there are already many threads about what people think about the Athena. I think people keep it when they like and sell it if not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gotcha. Crystal clear.

[email protected] said:
there are already many threads about what people think about the Athena. I think people keep it when they like and sell it if not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
absolutely a good point. Smaller devices with with equivalent specification but smaller vga screen already exist. If there are so many voting yes but don't actually do it in action, something doesn't make sense.

My name is telling you my answer
The big screen is THE reason.
I've installed realVGA and use the 96dpi resolution. My GOD! I can't believe what I'm seeing. For once, a real workable work horse can be carried around. My previous phones does not let me see enough. The only problem I have is the keyboard. It's too small, even if I chose the big key option. Is there a way to make the keyboard standard size?

athenalover get lost. learn something on xda-wiki instead.

[email protected] said:
athenalover get lost. learn something on xda-wiki instead.
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Click to collapse
Sorry, I'm still in the honeymoon period..I'd take my time, not in a hurry.
Joking. Your point taken. Thanks Martin.

Athena - End of Life?

I just looked at the HTC website, discovered the new widescreen touch phones, and was taken aback, that the Athena is no longer listed with the HTC products.
So is this the end of the Athena?
R, Michael

Links? When I go to htc.com I don't see the Athena under current "Products", but that's been true for a while. I do see it listed under "Support". I also don't see any new widescreen phones anywhere...

techntrek said:
Links? When I go to htc.com I don't see the Athena under current "Products", but that's been true for a while. I do see it listed under "Support". I also don't see any new widescreen phones anywhere...
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Click to collapse
I am not a regular with the HTC website, so forgive me, if didn't find out earlier, that HTC dropped the Athena line altogether. And I haven't seen it mentioned on this forum as well.
"New" widescreen phones means (for the same reason) "new to ME", but probably "water under the bridge" for the better informed.

No, you misread, I wasn't jumping on you. I'm curious what widescreen phones you are talking about and wanted a link to see. The thread that appeared here about the Athena getting dropped from HTC's product line didn't get much activity so it dropped off the front page quickly, so you could have easily missed it.

i looked on the htc Europe page and there they still have the athena

The HTC web site (worldwide) lists two widescreen devices:
Touch HD
MAX 4G
but no X7500/X7501/X7510.
European and german web sites list the Touch HD as the only widescreen device, but still list the X7510.
North-american site lists no widescreen device at all and no more Advantages.
R, Michael

The thing that surprises me is that this niche seems to be emptying. There are the smaller devices with touch interface (iPhone and knock-offs) that are booming, and then the netbooks are booming. But nothing in between. I'm not sure what my next move will be. I've had my x7500 for over 18 months, which is an eternity. But I can't convince myself that there is anything new that I would be happier with. What I really want is a faster, sleeker, lighter x7500 with a 60GB solid state drive. Wouldn't other people want that??

I've had mine 15 months and plan on using it for several more years. Definitely nothing on the market right now that is an obvious replacement for the Athena and I don't think there will be for a while.
I'd love an Athena with a SSD, and a 16:9 aspect ratio screen instead of the 4:3 we have now. It would make it a bit longer but a bit narrower (top to bottom), more like a traditional "candybar" phone. Would give more total screen space but would make it easier to hold like a phone. Obviously that would also require adding a private earpiece. Throw in a vibrate ringer and I'd be there.

wgary said:
The thing that surprises me is that this niche seems to be emptying. There are the smaller devices with touch interface (iPhone and knock-offs) that are booming, and then the netbooks are booming. But nothing in between. I'm not sure what my next move will be. I've had my x7500 for over 18 months, which is an eternity. But I can't convince myself that there is anything new that I would be happier with. What I really want is a faster, sleeker, lighter x7500 with a 60GB solid state drive. Wouldn't other people want that??
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Click to collapse
Dude you hit it right on the nail. Or atleast something with an upgradeable memory along with Micro SDHC slot built in, and onboard USB host (no attachments).

hmm
the athena is dieing no one cooks roms for it last was ap5 i think , i love my x7501 ,but the kaiser has more cooks i havent flashed sence ap4 release and i know some one could cook up something better,can a kaiser rom run on a x7501?

Dude where u been?
hey flexedrubi
Mitchy Prima has released many ROMS far above the calibre of the AP ROMS.
I am sure the last one was less than a month ago....
I dont know how u missed it....It is WIZ BANG PA_TANG! (very good)
So go flash it.......
We are indeed a small crowd with our devices and I dont know if anything will come along, I think we are a single generation which were before our time.
In the future we will have XP....sorry VISTA (hssss) or even windows 7 machines - (which are pushing touch screen tech further than Win mobile) the same size and with the same capacity/functionality as our Advantages.
Asus EE pc's come with Sim Card slots now and all you need to use them as phones.
The HTC advantage with the stock Mobile 5 ROM was a pretty awfull device to use as a primary phone we were pioneers with patience lol
Mitchys ROMS have elevated it to heights but its still not really ready to compete with other OS's in terms of simple phone, music, and camera usage
I have been using a combo of N95 8GB (for music, camera and calls) and an x7500 for data for a while now. There is nothing I can see that can beat this combo....
The X7500 is the ONLY PPC in my opinion that I can use for work
Wifi to connect to office (or VPN)
USB host for keyboard and mouse
VGA out for monitor
RDP for TS to access everything I need
I have never used or seen another PPC that could take its place!
I just bought a Sumsung Omnia, I flashed up to newest decent custom firmware (far better than Tmobile stock ROM which was quite bad!) and I loaded up loads of tunes and movies etc, put all my usefull apps on it and expected it to take over from my old combo...
Impossible!
It just cant do it!
I think that Windows 7 (not mobile) or what ever its being called is being designed to plug in to all hardware....

yarod - so what about the Omnia didn't make it good enough to take over from your current combo?

Athena lives?
Just got this from an rss. Looks like Athena lives! Look at this article http://wmpoweruser.com/?p=2357 and you'll see the "Athena 2" apparently code named "Thoth."
Woo hoo!

Wow!
This is indeed good news!

mfschneider said:
This is indeed good news!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope they come out with a T mobile USA 3G version. If not i'm running to AT&T end of my contract before I purchase this handy looking Thoth.

Very good to see that they are continuing development with the Athena line, but it doesn't look much different than the 7510. Still lacks the buttons they took away with the 7510, so right there its a no-go for me.

This is good news
CHECK OUT THIS LINK ALSO
http://www.neowin.net/news/main/09/01/12/htcs-full-2009-line-up-leaked

techntrek said:
yarod - so what about the Omnia didn't make it good enough to take over from your current combo?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Techntrek
- The omnia was great......BUT comparing to my N95 8GB.........and the Ameo as combo.....
Main things that annoyed me........
unable to use headphones and charge at same time with out of box solution
Also no 3.5 jack without the adapter
FM radio didnt list radio station name ....RDS or something?
Battery (even with newest ROM) doesnt last as long as Nokia (screen is much bigger so maybe that is whats causing it....)
GPS doesnt work as well I only got a FIX Once with my Omnia.......Ameo seems to fix much more reliably as does N95.
Screen is too small to use Remote desktop properly after using ameo - interestingly in this case the only remote app I have for Nokia is logmein which is rubbish
No USB host and I dont want to waste money on Bluetooth combo (top dollar) as I just got a MX3200 set.
The phone application is not as reliable at all.....same with all windows mobile devices, the dialler and phone app on the N95 is integrated into the OS in a much more pleasent fashion - no hangs no issues even if I am running Multiple Applications (web, MMS, video, FM radio etc) the phone app kicks in and out faster and more efficiently with never a crash....
There was no in line remote solution (next/last track, volume, change radio station....
But the omnia could record FM radio!! That was kick ass!

Interesting. Well, here's to many more useful years with our Athenas!

techntrek said:
Very good to see that they are continuing development with the Athena line, but it doesn't look much different than the 7510. Still lacks the buttons they took away with the 7510, so right there its a no-go for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think they are going to bring back the buttons anymore because they are pushing for the touch capacitive screens with integrated touch 3d. We might even loose whatever button is present on the X7510 as it is.