Hi all!
I own 1 wizard and I am very happy. Mow my operator made me a proposal to upgrade to the Universal for 150 Euros.
Do you think I must move to the universal or saty with my wizard?
Thank you in advance.
If your wizard is the o2 one, i'd be willing to swap my universal for your wizard for free...
Wow! seams you are not so happy with your Universal. My wizard is a T-Mobile.
I'd stay with the Wizard... the only thing that slightly tempted me to get a Universal was the VGA screen. Other than that it runs the same software as a Wizard, it's been reported time and again that it's slower than the Wizard, it's physically a good bit larger (and the Wizard isn't all that small to begin with, especially in terms of thickness), the hinge mechanism for the screen goes slack so badly that people have had 'repairs' (tightening) twice already.. keep in mind that the Universal wasn't launched that long ago, etc.
Also, the Wizard just looks pretty sexy
ZeBox: I'm almost convinced...
Well, if you really want to be convinced, go to a store that carries the Universal - just be prepared to be lured into temptation by that VGA screen But if you ignore that bit, *shrug*, Wizard all the way
I had a Universal from t-mobile, 3 infact, all the hindges went slack and clicked so they were returned and I left them for orange. Same thing again, clicks, loose so ive ditched that too.
I admit the VGA screen was a luxury, but it felt quite heavy in the pocket and stabbed me in the leg a few times sitting down. It was also quite slow, especially on somthing as simple as making a call.
Ive ended up with the Wizzard, and im very happy with it. Its the closest HTC have come to making a pda device that looks like a phone and its quite fast considering its technically slower than the Universal.
I dont think you'll be happy with a universal once the glory of the first few weeks has passed. The wizzard certainly is a fine little device and im glad I got one in the end.
Thank you guys for your opinions. Now I am convinced. I'll stay with my wizzard (t-mobile with QTEK rom) wich satisfy all my communication and organisation needs.
Thanks again.
I'm not sure I agree. My universal is faster than my old wizard, the keyboard makes a huge difference and it's no bigger than my wizard was with a cover, which you needed to protect the screen, but don't need with the Universal. Also it's more stable I used to have to soft reset my wiz all the time plus my buletooth headset works properly with it whereas it didn't with my wiz after the last ROM upgrade. And it doesn't wipe/corrup SD cards (yet). Also 3G is abig advantage in so far as I travel alot and now I don't need to pay to login to wifi hotspots, at airports for example, anymore.
Remember neither device is really a very good phone, the battery life isn't up to it and the size is prohibitive.
Well that's my opinion anyway!
simple trade off, size vs function
I had a Magician & loved it but then the Universal appeared I "had to get it", today I sold it to a workmate and bought a Wizard (T-mobile) thats a weight off my mind, and my pocket, I could not carry the Universal around with me easily, I found myself dressing in the morning to accommodate my phone (how F****d up is that?). the Wizard is more like a phone GTi and the Universat is like a 7 year old PC, as I normally carry a PSP and a Laptop for work I found the Universal slow, fragile and oversized ( the VGA left me cold, it is not really VGA, well not useable VGA, fonts are too small and none of the apps suit it. I know that there are some amazing people in this forum working hard but its kinda hard to polish a turd.
If you want a laptop, buy one, if you want a phone, buy one but do not expect one to do the others work for it.
I should have learned my lesson when I bought a Sony NZ90 (another huge bulky "PC replacement") but I think that for 99% of the techno-savvy world a phone is a phone & a computer is a computer.
rant over, sorry to the Universal owners out there
I have both and for me it's pretty obvious its all about intended use.
Wizard: small, low power CPU (although this is not so apparnt, it feels pretty quick most of the time), qvga. EDGE (at best, no EDGE here in the UK so 2G speeds only!). Fits in your pocket no problem. usable keyboard. Perfect 'everyday' PDA phone
Universal: Faster CPU (but ****ty ROMs and power schemes negate this benfit to a large extent). VGA screen is LOVELY! (but no hardware 2D or 3D acceleration means playing games or videos is a bit shakey). Really good Keyboard. Funky swiveling screen (double edged sword as the hinges seem to be a weakness). Big and really rather heavy. UMTS! Only fits in your pocket if your wearing combats! Perfect 'mini laptop' (I've composed large docs and loooong emails on mine!). Perfect PDA that happens to be a phone as well (if you see what i mean).
TBH, I have both and I use the wizard every day and the universal at weekends...
Related
how do you guy's live with the chunky size of the unit and is the build quality as bad as some reports ?
thank you
i am on my 4th mda
1st: crashed a lot and keyboard not quite set right into the frame - wireless manager button sticks up slightly
2nd: metal top plate offset and scratching my ear
3rd: loud creaky hinge with loud clicks
4th: camera fault - big white dot on photo's
on my 1st exec i have a misaligned keyboard as with mda 1, and minor camera pixel dropouts
i think build quality is pretty awful, and will keep* my exec and get the mda swapped out for a vario or something.
* might take it back and see if I can get a fully functional device from them, after all I paid 99 pounds for it :lol:
I had one MDA Pro and now I have an XDA Exe and both were/are excellent, great quality devices.
About the size - I had all the previous XDAs so I got used to the big phones already. I'm not using any bluetooth headsets, and I always carry it in my jeans back pocket , no problems at all for me.
I am on my first and only Jas Jar - the thing is brilliant- no problems at all. As for size, I always use mine with a BT headset and voice command when making or recieving a call, so no problem there either.
I am on my 3rd Jasjar. First was taken away by my boss. 2nd had an Arabic/English keyboard and did not like it. Now on 3rd unit for over 2 months. All had excellent build quality. No complaints from me whatsoever.
Kind Regards
Mine seems fine so far. Havent noticed any problems and im usually one for spotting things. Was worried about dead pixels but both my wizard and uni are clear as a bell.
i find the entire flimsy plastic body of the MDA Pro to be quite a weak design. I put my first one in my pocket, jumped in the car, drove for an hour, took it out and the phone had been bent in my pocket slightly. No apparent external damage but the screen had a beautiful crack right through the middle.
At one of their shops they accused me of damaging the device myself, but fortunately the insurance paid out, even though I had to pay an excess. I have never had any problems with my XDA2 or my MDA3 and for this to happen within 5 days of actually getting the phone, I am not very confident it will last 18 months.
Furthermore I keep discovering pieces of software are not included - Messenger (which is a shame as always good for long journeys on a train) and most of all - Calculator - I can't believe it, not even the old basic one.
I think you should look once again :wink:
There is a calculator in PROGRAMS
and the MSN Messenger is in POCKET MSN, first position from the top
lloydalikes said:
i find the entire flimsy plastic body of the MDA Pro to be quite a weak design. I put my first one in my pocket, jumped in the car, drove for an hour, took it out and the phone had been bent in my pocket slightly. No apparent external damage but the screen had a beautiful crack right through the middle.
At one of their shops they accused me of damaging the device myself, but fortunately the insurance paid out, even though I had to pay an excess. I have never had any problems with my XDA2 or my MDA3 and for this to happen within 5 days of actually getting the phone, I am not very confident it will last 18 months.
Furthermore I keep discovering pieces of software are not included - Messenger (which is a shame as always good for long journeys on a train) and most of all - Calculator - I can't believe it, not even the old basic one.
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No offense but why would you drive for an hour with an MDA Pro in your pocket. Surely glove box, dashboard, passenger seat or a passenger holding it for you would have been preferable.
To be fair you cant blame the design for that. If youve had it in your pocket and obviously bent it in some way, then the screen being damaged isnt beyond reason.
Its no good buying one of these devices and then expecting it to fit in a shirt pocket like it isnt there. Its a big phone, end of !
As ive said before, the design seems ok to me and its everything I have expected it to be so far. Maybe in months to come I might find one or two shortcomings but not so far.
Maybe my opinion will sound odd to most of you, but I really find Wizard much more "bulky" looking than the Universal. This thing is so thick!!! Even if overall in size the Universal is bigger, it's got excellent proportions and it just "looks the bollocks!!" as my friend said :wink: Of course I'm talking about the XDA Exec which for me looks way better than M5000 or MDA Pro...
rottie said:
Of course I'm talking about the XDA Exec which for me looks way better than M5000 or MDA Pro...
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Totally agree with that comment! Just swapped from an MDA Pro to an XDA Exec and it actually seems smaller. I guess what they say about black being more slimming is true
rottie said:
Maybe my opinion will sound odd to most of you, but I really find Wizard much more "bulky" looking than the Universal. This thing is so thick!!! Even if overall in size the Universal is bigger, it's got excellent proportions and it just "looks the bollocks!!" as my friend said :wink: Of course I'm talking about the XDA Exec which for me looks way better than M5000 or MDA Pro...
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Couldn't agree more, I think the Wizard looks FAR bulkier, yet because it's a bit smaller and traditionally-XDA style, people say THAT's the smaller of that and the Exec.
The Wizard is a good phone, admittedly. However, a lot of excess plastic if you ask me.
And black is the ONLY colour for the Universal! hehe
Ant
I have the Universal and the wife has the Wizard, I am costantly amazed at what both devices are capable of. When using my Universal in the car it sits on the dash with the four rubber feet, screen open and on display, works and looks fantastic. I love the larger screen on the Universal and also like the 3g support. As for size I prefer the Wizard, It just feels more comfy to hold and use like a phone, I still feel weird holding the Universal to my ear, I don't use a BT headset yet, keep trying to find a surgery that can give me a bluetooth implant behind my ear :shock: I actually find myself using the keyboard on my Universal less and less now, and opting to leave it screen out and use the onscreen keyboard. The twist is nice but I am sure its is already getting slack. I guess my ideal device would be a hybrid of the two, wishfull thinking and totally over the top but, same size as the wizard, same screen as the universal and with 3g but the screen, imagine opening a wizard with the base being thicker than the screen and as you slide it open the screen tilts up and can rotate so its perpendicular to the keyboard so it looks like the universal, keep going and it ends up facing the keyboard and would close back down screen facing in, no need to twist the screen about a single swivel anymore.
I may even knock up a short avi so you can see it in action.
Regards
I am on the whole , pretty happy with my Exec
The only thing that bothers me is that it seems (only very slightly) slower than my old Magician !
I have had to learn how to answer calls on it (i.e if it rings while it is closed then LEAVE IT CLOSED TO ANSWER IT ! ) Which leads me to my only real gripe - No way of seeing who is calling with the clamshell closed
As for the size thing - anyone who buys one of these knows exactly what they are buying into - I personally have no problem with big phones wouldn't want the Exec any smaller
I've probably said it too many times... I love my phone! in spite and despite of...
When you love something that much, you get to love every bit of it.. bulky size and all. I still look sheepish when answering a call with a brick in my ear but I glow when all my officemates jot their notes on a paper while I just type it on my dopod900.
I still go berserk when the ringtone suddenly changes to another despite my change in the registry but I think I can live with going to settings and all..
So there, Im gonna borrow McDonald's slogan and say "Im Lovin' It!"
I do not see any problem with the size and build of the Uni.
I have the first XDA for 3 years or so, and now I use both the Uni and the XDA. Because I have been using the XDA so long, I do not have any problem with the Uni. They are both relatively about the same size and weight and same usage. Nobody laughes at me when I hold the big phone next to my ear, because I have done that for years with my XDA.
I laugh at myself when I noticed how funny its when having a bug (BT headset) in my ear now.
Overall I really like the Uni though it still cannot replace my XDA fully in certain environment where I do not want to take the risk of having the Uni handles the job. But in office and home, Uni is perfect.
Software wise, when the XDA came out, the software loaded were really buggy, it took years before finally everything became really stable, so with that matter of fact, I could accept Uni at its right now with hope it will be close to 100% perfect in the near future.
jasjar with no build or quality problems, and I love everything except the name. (I'm still planning to get around to using that sugar cube.)
I'm pretty impressed by the overal feel of my Qtek. The plastic feels very strong, it doesn't look or feel like a cheap plactic box. The rotating hinge works flawlessly, but when I put my screen in laptop modus, there is a very minimal play. But I guess this is normal? Can anyone confirm!?
Iwan to switch to the T Mobile MDA VArio II, T-mbile offer no cost calls to Europe and the USA on a business 1 Tarrif. It's killer...
But
I love the Universal, though I find it BIG....would you switch??
Is the screen less good on the Tytn than the Univ.??
Yes I would.... Infact I did
Vario II is smaller n sweeter.
It fits in my pocket without weighing me down.
Keyboard although not as good as universal is great!
Screen well its small but no universal...
calls, wow I actually get to pick them up rather than waiting for the universal to realise I had pressed the green buton
GO FOR IT!!!
well.... I still have my trusty and big Dopod 900 !!!
It's one of a kind...
also got o2 trion... as regular..
My uni supposed to be my backup .. but my trion is on repair for screen alignmnet..
I prefer the clamshell design, even though it definitely is bigger. So, I prefer to wait for the second version of the Universal.
I would have shifted for its smaller size and almost the same functions as the Uni except the VGA screen. But with the current screen allignment issue would never even think of. With so many units being returned to HTC for repairs I am sure they would not be destroying / discard them. Rather most likely the faulty units will be repaired refurbished and recycled to the market as new units. I would not like to spend my hard earned cash on a refurbished repaired unit.
I think the allignment issue has destroyed an otherwise excellent phone.
Regards
I actually....
Well in my opinion, Nothings beats the Universal. Best keyboard, 3.6" VGA screen and NORMAL SD card slot. Weight and size doesnt bother me at all. Rather I think it is great coz I get stares when taking out my Universal(s). It truly is the epitome of class and technology. I have 2 Universals and 1 TyTn. TyTn definitely needs improvements in the ROM department to address bugs and issues. I love the TyTn's Bluetooth and macro lens though!!!
I changed from my old faithful universal to current tytn. The good thing abt the tytn is being light and small.. Handsome good looks too. But og course the tytn is pretty advanced in features than the universal other than VGA screen but having a VGA screen slows down the universal and hurts it badly, now the tytn performs anything in a breeze in stock settings with a number of programs installed.. No regrets at all since but miss the universal unique design..
I did the switch as well and I am not looing back. The Universal is a great device, but the lack of Quad Band GSM and Tri Band UMTS made me switch. I do miss the the Big VGA screen.
The TyTN is faster, longer battery, smaller, easy to carry, good camera, much better reception compare to the Universal, and Tri Band UMTS. Surfing the web has never been so sweet in the US with a Pocket PC.
I am sure the next version of the Unviersal will have all this plus more and I am certain most of us (including myself) will jump on the it then. I believe that might be a good 18 months away and I could not way that long.
Does anyone have any news as to any clamshell device that can replace our Universal?
What happened to the IMate Ultimate 7150 or the HTC OMNI?
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Hope you are enjoying your Fujitsu U810
imate 7150 was cancelled long ago. Also, I m not sure about this news but I guess Omni too is cancelled.
On the brigther side, if you are interested in VGA, Athena II will be lauching this year. It has been confirmed by HTC
how big is it?the athena 2?
kdskamal said:
Hope you are enjoying your Fujitsu U810
imate 7150 was cancelled long ago. Also, I m not sure about this news but I guess Omni too is cancelled.
On the brigther side, if you are interested in VGA, Athena II will be lauching this year. It has been confirmed by HTC
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Thanks for the response. Sad to hear that. I'll do some searching about the Athena II.
YES, I am enjoying my Fujitsu U810. I even ordered the 2 cell battery to make it even smaller. The 4 cell battery is just too big and ugly as it sticks out on the back.
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Im hoping to replace my uni too.... it's been 3 years now... I'm thinking of the HTC Advantage. What do you think? It's not your typical clamshell but I think it's the nearest to our uni, right?
I was very close to purchasing the advantage from compusa (cc declined - ouch!). I'm glad I didn't.
Spec/feature wise the advantage is amazing. The screen is huge and operating it is a breeze. I just don't think htc got their market right. It's just too big and difficult to carry around. I would think that the max size for a device like this is to fit in your front pants pocket - GOOD LUCK! I'd think women might be the only market for this device as they can fit it in their purse (but what woman that actually wants a device like this owns a purse? ).
I think the uni is fine for my needs, but there's only 4 things that I'd really like out of it:
- Better battery life. This shouldn't be difficult with updates in battery tech from the last 3 years. It's not very reasonable to expect people to carry around extra 1800mah batteries when they're just going out for a 9-5er.
- Soft key buttons + shortcut keys in tablet view. It's just too inconvenient using tablet mode without these keys, hence the fact that I don't ever use this mode on the uni.
- Larger memory. Preferably a microdrive included. What were they thinking only including 64mb of space for us? This is very limiting.
- A way of operating when closed. That imate had it right: putting a display on the outer clamshell. I can imagine looking at that screen and accepting a call on my bt headset without having to open the clamshell up.
http://www.mikenchell.com/handheldpcs/
I dont think this does phone duties though, but it is cool.
http://www.mobilecowboys.nl/mobilerumours/3423
this appears to be a less functional clone of the Universal. Seems kinda bakkerds huh?
axebox, i own a purse (a lot, actually). Im still thinking hard before getting the advantage. Ive been reading the reviews and the comments from the athena thread and seems like it's not a perfect device as well. The speaker's a bit buggy too. I dont really mind the size as long as it meets my needs. I like the screen because I read a lot of ebooks. Im doing that now with my dopod900 and I dropped it a couple of times because I fell asleep while reading. haha. Plus it's using micro sd (not as affordable as sd). And then the magnetic case. I currently use the piel frama case and I use it as a wallet too, i have all my credit cards and other important cards too, plus some cash. Yup, my case is really bulky, especially since I have the thick battery. I managed to stretch the leather to fit the thick battery in. Anyway, Im happy with my dopod now but Im just thinking, if there's anything out there that's gonna be better, faster and maybe even smaller (but not really a priority feature), then I'll get it.
AllanonMage, I'll stick to my dopod.
Not quite what you meant I'm sure but I'm still lusting over it:
http://www.europe.htc.com/en/products/htcshift.html
toshiba g920 seems quite good replacement...negatives will be, probably:
battery life (ahhh...I will really miss 3200+4800mah!)
graphic performance, with wvga you can't expect too much...
smaller display
no rom fun/cooking, superslow updates and patch,no xda support (sigh)
I'm still undecided, though, and even samsung i780 is a pretty good device...but I fear the 320x320 resol., after being accustomed to 640x480....
I got this gadget when it first came out. I really love chunky smartphones that let you do real work on them - that's why I like the x75xx as well.
Now that credit crunch is here, and there's less to spread around, sometimes a gadget resurrected is as good as a new one. So I got my Jasjar out of its wraps and first (second) impressions are really very good. For one thing, compared with WM6, it is really very fast. What I really like is the battery life. Putting a 3G SIM in the thing is a revelation. The SIM kills my x7500, or the TyTN II, but the Jasjar seems to plough through. Plus the massive extra big batteries you can get (I have got a 3800mAh one) mean that you can use the thing during the day for all sorts of extras, namely, music on the go. That is a real plus.
There are problems of course - the lack of memory is real minus, but installing as much as I can on storage card means I can get more out of it, and using Memmaid and shutting down apps when I don't need them wrings a little more performance out it.
Which brings me to what I wanted to say: the tweak for letting it recognise SDHC cards over 2GB - the reason I migrated away from it in the first place - means I have an 8gig card in it now, with as many ebooks and songs as I could realistically want away from the office. So a big thank you to the regulars of this forum who go to the trouble of developing and publishing these things. I am really grateful. I think this is one gadget that deserves to be resurrected, with a new version, the design with the rotating screeen to tablet is just superb.
So - not a complaint, not a problem, just thanks to the regulars.
rjstep3
I have to agree with you.
When I got my Exec (a £160 grab off eBay with a 4GB SIM card and all the accessories bundled) I must admit, I was skeptical. That screen, too flimsy. That layout, too buggy. That OS, too slow... But with some playing about it now runs a charm, a really nice phone to use. The only downside is having to hold what seems like a chunk of Lego next to your face when you want to take a call, and I can never remember which button is which on the spine to answer/hang up calls. So I always end up hanging up on someone before I've even answered it!!!
Right now though, it's a lovely phone. That flimsy screen can be tightened, that layout can be modified, and that OS has been upgraded to Tomal's latest.
All I got to do now, is get myself an O2 SIM which has 3G on it!! Still on PAYG, which I've been meaning to change for a while. Ah well - on the Christmas list!!!
Universal is the best device!
Even today with the new devices Uni still having one of the best screens, almost same processor than the actual ones, and a keyborad that no device can beat!
Long live to Uni! (Even if it´s big, but it felts more solid on your hand)
Very true. With its big size comes its power which is second to none. Other than memory I have no complaints with this big man. I use bluetooth headset all the time so no worries like holding it for long. My jasjar has gone through very rough handling. But still it keeps on and on. Seems like its immortal. Its been more than 3 yrs with and so many things like iphone have passed by, but nothing attracts me more than this. Some of the things which make it royal and rich are:
lavish night glow keyboard
solid metallic frame
cool brushed finish
tablet design with sturdy hinges
two perfectly placed cameras
I can spend all day writing on this micro laptop. In short, its a never ending love.
But I cant conclude without mentioning the contribution of the members of this site. Everytime I start getting a little bit bored with it, I come to this site and put on some noce softwares or flash it. My love with it becomes even more energized. Thanks guys for all your efforts.
Out of all the phones I've purchased, tried and sold...I sometimes wish I would of kept my O2 Exec.
Funny really. I keep threatening to sell my 'ol Exec.
I bought it from O2 when it was first launched and retired it 6 months ago in lieu of something a little smaller (Touch Dual Plus).
Every now and then I get it set to sell it, but I just can't bring myself to do so
I'm hoping Father Christmas will bring me a new Batt and SD card so I can resurrect it fully.
Long live the XDA Exec
Mav
whats ur take on the device?
is it really worth it? are u content?
I really like it. Yes its not a killer device in comparisson to some but its really functional and ticks all the boxes for me.
I'm very happy with my Snap. It is by a considerable margin the fastest WM device I have ever used and is not showing any sign of slowing down as I load it up with software. There are various different varieties around (Maple, Cedar etc) - personally I would say make sure you get one with a trackball. Whilst this takes a little getting used to, after a few days you will wonder how you ever managed with a D-pad. The keyboard is excellent and the device is very compact and pocketable - the flat full qwerty layout means it is very comfortable in a jacket or shirt pocket.
If you find the idea of an iPhone and/or large touch screen appealing then clearly the device is not for you. Personally I find the whole touch screen thing a pain - my Kaiser used to drive me nuts sometimes (despite being very extensively tweaked). The screen is obviously not that big and still QVGA, but if you are looking for a functional device on the WM platform that gets the job done this is the best device yet, IMHO.
JC6 said:
I'm very happy with my Snap. It is by a considerable margin the fastest WM device I have ever used and is not showing any sign of slowing down as I load it up with software. There are various different varieties around (Maple, Cedar etc) - personally I would say make sure you get one with a trackball. Whilst this takes a little getting used to, after a few days you will wonder how you ever managed with a D-pad. The keyboard is excellent and the device is very compact and pocketable - the flat full qwerty layout means it is very comfortable in a jacket or shirt pocket.
If you find the idea of an iPhone and/or large touch screen appealing then clearly the device is not for you. Personally I find the whole touch screen thing a pain - my Kaiser used to drive me nuts sometimes (despite being very extensively tweaked). The screen is obviously not that big and still QVGA, but if you are looking for a functional device on the WM platform that gets the job done this is the best device yet, IMHO.
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thank u so much for ur review!
well as far as getting a trackball, my service provider doesnt have that edition, so im stuck with a d-pad.
now as far as app wise..have u installed anything?
Very quick little device. I missthe touch screen I had but I'm getting used to it. microSD up to 16GB doesn't hurt either. Camera is very clear, good quality pic. Very simple device. Does what it's supposed to do and does it well. Since it was a free upgrade formy wife and I, it's even a sweeter deal. Kind of nice for usboth have access to email at all times. Theta huge batterymakes for very very good run time.
Love it!
I got rid of a Touch Pro and got this instead after my wife got one. (I *hated* the Touch Pro...what a slow, buggy, heated piece of crap). This little phone rocks!