Database Users

Picking out a Hermes. Do most of you use 8525's?

I'm kicking around the idea of buying a Hermes, it's a sweet phone and it seems to have fallen a bit in price since I last looked at it. When searching for the different branded versions on eBay, I noticed that I could pick up a Cingular-branded Hermes (8525) a good deal cheaper than the rest of them. Are there any major shortcomings to the 8525 over other versions of the Hermes outside of the missing front camera? Using an American GSM provider, would I even miss the front camera?
I'm on T-Mobile, but if I grabbed a Cingular Hermes I'd obviously just go ahead and unlock it and use it with my service. Honestly, I think it would be pretty sweet to get the T-Mo UK branded Hermes (MDA Vario II) and carry that around instead. Then my friends would be like "whoa dog why does my T-Mobile store not have this phone how did you score it!!!" and I would be like "hell nah homies this **** is elite". But alas, it's not worth paying $600+ for a T-Mo Europe branded one when I can get the Cingular-branded one for well under 500.
Do you guys who have used multiple Hermes' have any preference? Would I likely be just as well off with an 8525 (given that I plan to flash it) as an HTC branded "TyTN" or other HERM200 version of the phone?
Thanks!

I got the 8525... If your not going to use the video calling, why pay more?
Ron

lokmeup said:
I got the 8525... If your not going to use the video calling, why pay more?
Ron
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's just it, though -- I'm wondering if it's even possible to use video calling in the United States. Is it?
More importantly, are there any replacement shells or cover-ups available for the 8525 such that one could make it appear not to be a Cingular device? I know I'm weird, but if I buy a Hermes for use with T-Mobile USA, I think it looks silly to have Cingular branding on the ****.
Thanks so much!

kalibar said:
That's just it, though -- I'm wondering if it's even possible to use video calling in the United States. Is it?
More importantly, are there any replacement shells or cover-ups available for the 8525 such that one could make it appear not to be a Cingular device? I know I'm weird, but if I buy a Hermes for use with T-Mobile USA, I think it looks silly to have Cingular branding on the ****.
Thanks so much!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought a Vodafone 1605 on Ebay and used it with T-mobile and now Cingular....I don't mind the brand name on the phone cos I know it's all the same inside

The Vario II pricing is coming down in the UK ... just got given one for £50 on a renewal which is roughly 60% less than I was quoted about six weeks ago.
(typing as I wait for a full resync on my shiny new wm6 black to complete )
You might be able to snap one up off eBay UK on the cheap if your timing is good ...

kalibar said:
I know I'm weird, but if I buy a Hermes for use with T-Mobile USA, I think it looks silly to have Cingular branding on the ****.
Thanks so much!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am pretty sure a little alcohol and rubbing would remove the branding.... if your really desperate you could use a little nail polish remover...

I think you can buy "shells" for these phones on ebay. I don't know if they are interchangeable, aka using a Vario II shell on a Cingular 8525, but I would assume they would as long as the button configuration is similar.

chachi said:
The Vario II pricing is coming down in the UK ... just got given one for £50 on a renewal which is roughly 60% less than I was quoted about six weeks ago.
(typing as I wait for a full resync on my shiny new wm6 black to complete )
You might be able to snap one up off eBay UK on the cheap if your timing is good ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's actually a really good idea; I could only find about two total MDA Vario II's on ebay.com (which makes perfect sense), but when I went to ebay.co.uk there were ****loads. Unfortunately, it seems that most sellers only offer to ship within the UK so I'd have to find one ahead of time that would be okay with shipping to the States.
That brings my next question though. What's the deal with QWERTY vs. QWERTZ keyboards? The MDA Vario II seems to be the latter, and I've typed on a QWERTY all my life and really have no intention of switching. Is it possible to not only map the buttons to QWERTY on a Vario II, but to physically switch the keys?
Man, what a pain this is all turning out to be. I guess I should probably just score a Cingular-branded Hermes and be done with it.

T-mobile MDA vario or Cingular 8125???

1-) I've been using T-mobile MDA vario for 4 months. I love it. Now, I want to buy the same phone for my sister. However, I am not sure which one to buy. Cingular 8125 or T-Mobile Mda vario. As far as I know they are pretty much the same phones, however, there might be some littlie difference that I don't know. If anyone know what the differences are please help me to choose. (differences not including the appearences of the phones)
2-) I am also not sure why Mda costs a little bit more than the 8125.(compared prices at ebay) I would appreciate if someone could explain me this point too.

there are only one or two differences.
1 the rom (which you can change anyway)
2 the serial number, and g3 or g4. it seems that as htc were building the wizards, they changed bits as they went. for example, 4gb mini sd cards work only after the serial number ht605... and g4s are more difficult to flash a rom to.

So, does the Cingular always comes in G4 and the T-mobile MDA alway comes in G3?

no, sorry, I was very unclear, what I meant to say was that those are the only differences between any wizards. and it would just be random luck what you get, though if you assume that g4 are a later serial number, maybe they all are g4 by now.
the only difference you can know in advance is the rom.
you could try asking to boot up the phone before you buy it to check for g3/g4 if you're buying in a shop.
I would just buy the cheapest (or get a hermes)

bbobeckyj said:
no, sorry, I was very unclear, what I meant to say was that those are the only differences between any wizards. and it would just be random luck what you get, though if you assume that g4 are a later serial number, maybe they all are g4 by now.
the only difference you can know in advance is the rom.
you could try asking to boot up the phone before you buy it to check for g3/g4 if you're buying in a shop.
I would just buy the cheapest (or get a hermes)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. I'll keep my fingers crossed for the G3

Which Hermes should I buy??

Hi everyone,
I recently bought the Cingular service (8525 too) to compare to Verizon/Sprint - and needless to sayt stuck with it. Especially after applying the 3DES rom and trinity 1.35 radio - it rocks! BUT then I started reading more and more of the wiki and got to thinking.
Which is the best model to own? I still have 2 weeks to take this model back and buy another Hermes. I really want the front facing vga cam - and if an antenna mod comes out for GPS - I would like to be equiped with the best chance of getting the mod.
Can I get some opinions? Oh, side note - I travel europe1-2 months a year, if I do stay with the Cingular phone I have now - since it is mod'ed do I need to do anything different?
thanks

All the Hermes/TyTN models are more or less identical internally, apart from minor operator-specific hardware differences. Your's being a Cingular 8525 so I assume that it is missing the front camera. Most other models come with the camera. Apart from that, only the housing differs. More on this in the wiki.
You should not ask which Hermes model to choose but instead "Hermes or some other model, such as the i-mate Ultimate 7150" . . .

As Abubasim says, the models are all almost identical except the fromt camera. If you want a camera change the phone (if it won't cost you) otherwise no reason to change it.
As for using it overseas, I have the Vodafone VPA1605. I travel Europe, Americas and Asia. I use radio 1.38.00.10 and have no problems anywhere with it.
feareddevil said:
Hi everyone,
I recently bought the Cingular service (8525 too) to compare to Verizon/Sprint - and needless to sayt stuck with it. Especially after applying the 3DES rom and trinity 1.35 radio - it rocks! BUT then I started reading more and more of the wiki and got to thinking.
Which is the best model to own? I still have 2 weeks to take this model back and buy another Hermes. I really want the front facing vga cam - and if an antenna mod comes out for GPS - I would like to be equiped with the best chance of getting the mod.
Can I get some opinions? Oh, side note - I travel europe1-2 months a year, if I do stay with the Cingular phone I have now - since it is mod'ed do I need to do anything different?
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

thanks - Yes my main reason for changing would be for the ability to have a front facing camera and GPS capabilities. While I have read the GPS FAQ (being antenna crippled) - I believe the GPS in the unit is just fine and when paired with the UMTS data (which can provide up to 50m accuracy) - it will be a fully functioning GPS (capable of locking) - even without the antenna.
Unless anyone suggests another phone that already has the same great features + GPS operating, I will move to the TyTN

Just bought me a qtek 9000

Just won an auction for a qtek 9000 with tomtom 5.21 and a tomtom BT antenna..
Paid the ridiculous sum of 265 $ for it all with posting..
did i get ripped of ?
It is to serve purely as a navigation in my car, as i have a hermes as primary phone.
And hence comes my question.
Will there be any need for me to update to WM6 ?
and if not which Wm5 rom is the most stable ?
Hope this is ok to ask and hope i dont start a flame war (distinct possibility in the hermes forum if u aint careful)
Charon

No upgrade needed...
As said above if you're just using the device for navigating in your car you probably don't need to upgrade - it might be a bit slow though... As for the price they regularly go for about $280 here in the UK so I think the price you paid is about average. Oh and I think once you see that 640x480 screen you might just change your mind about using it as just a navigation aid! I think most people here are using Helmi 3.5.1 if I'm not mistaken - don't use it myself as I've got WM6 installed on mine.

You Paid How Much?!
YOU PAID HOW MUCH?!
To my knowledge you got a really really really good deal. I've never paid less than $650 (USD) for any version of the Universal. Where did you auction, Ebay? If anyone has these device for: x< $650 I strongly advise you to sell it on Ebay where I constantly see these things top out at $800.
To answer your origionaly question you got a really good deal and no need to upgrade to WM6. I agree with the previous post that after using the Uni you might find your hermes to be inadequate. If you were to upgrade to WM6 the most stable ROM that I've tested would have to be the Latest Darkforce ROM (the bug for me was with playing Mpeg-4 encoded video files). Ivan's new ROM and Midget's is pretty stable I only have a few issues with email accounts that I posted about. Let me know how it goes with your new endeavor.

Very Happy to know that i got myself a good deal (I love good deals)
I bought it on a danish auction site called mobilauction.dk
it had been on for 10 days with no bidders and 5 min before auction ended i bid the minimum bid 1500 dkr = 265,5$
Normally they sell for 3-4000 Dkr here in denmark used 530-710$
That is what i have seen after digging around since i won the auction.
The main reason i got the hermes as primary is because i use it as modem for my laptop with hsdpa.
Thinking of selling it and getting a Moto Z8 when it arrives.
Have already ordered a Brodit carholder for my universal so i can sit nicely in my car.
If the quality of the calls is good i might use it as primary.
Getting a pioneer 9800BT installed on friday so it might be a nice carphone
And if i decide to use it as primary then i for sure must start flashing, will get serious withdrawel symptome if i dont flash weekly, bad habit from the hermes forum....
So for now i got a new toy to play with until the athena's come down in human prices :8

Are Universal's still worth buying?

I have the chance to by a universal for $140 or a htc/at&t fuze for $178. Did i make the right choice going with the cooler and cheeper device, even though it lacks the 3.2mp camera, fm radio, gps, g-class wifi, and smaller/slower ram and rom size?

Welcome to forums
Of course it´s worth every cent!!
Universal is one of the best devices ever build by HTC, and to this date still on the top ones!
Go for it!!!

I don't have a UNI but have most of the other HTC devices. How does the data work on AT&T's network? Can it do Edge speeds or just GPRS? I don't think it has the proper radios to do Edge in US.
Thanks.

There are some American models of this great device, and I´m sure you can get it!

The Universal is indeed a great device. Not only does it work as a phone with everything one needs, it also is a great Windows Mobile device.
What I appreaciate is:
- VGA screen
- full usable keyboard
- pretty fast processor
- size compatible with back-pocket of my jeans, yet big enough to actually use the VGA resultion
What I miss:
- only 64MB RAM, too little for WM6.5 builds (or at least to use them properly)
- no GPS
- no High Speed Internet connection
- camera pretty poor and outdated
I got myself a T-Online Ameo very cheap and while this device features all the missing items, regarding the Universal, it has a major flaw: it does not fit in most of trouser's pocket! This means I keep it at home most of the days...
Newer devices may have equal features, better processors, RAM, etc., but they cost around 500-600 Euro, at least 4 times the price of a second hand Universal!
However, you should definitly checkout the new Windows Mobile models from Acer, like the M900. It costs £189 at Expansys and has some impressive specs.
Cheers,
vma

vma said:
What I miss:
- only 64MB RAM, too little for WM6.5 builds (or at least to use them properly)
- no GPS
- no High Speed Internet connection
- camera pretty poor and outdated
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
- You can upgrade it to 128MB
- You can use Bluethoot GPS
- 3G is quite quick
- Yes, camera is pretty poot

blackSVK said:
- You can upgrade it to 128MB
- You can use Bluethoot GPS
- 3G is quite quick
- Yes, camera is pretty poot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
- I can't upgrade it. I would have to send my Universal to a professional lab, plus I would have to find the right chips. Not exactly something I could do myself, though I am quite familiar with soldering tiny things.
- I use BT GPS, when using my Universal, but it is not nearly as nice as having an integraded GPS module like on my Athena.
- The Athena features a noticable faster internet experience.
Not starting any discussion, just wanted it to be noticed, specially the memory upgrade. If you see how much it will cost you and then add the value or cost of the Universal, you probably might as well swap for a more recent device, unless you happen to get the memory upgrade done by someone you know for little money.
Cheers,
vma

orb3000 said:
There are some American models of this great device, and I´m sure you can get it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't ever remember it offered in the U.S.? What was it called?

Maybe you are right and I got confused with this providers thinking there were from USA:
Dopod 900 / Qtek 9000 / SFR v1640 / Vodafone v1640 / Vodafone VPA IV / T-Mobile MDA Pro / i-mate JASJAR / O2 Xda Exec / Orange SPV M5000 / Grundig GR980 / E-Plus PDA IV

orb3000 said:
Welcome to forums
Of course it´s worth every cent!!
Universal is one of the best devices ever build by HTC, and to this date still on the top ones!
Go for it!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
soooooooooo im guessing I won for picking up one with a 8gb mem card for 40 GBP on ebay?
Honestly, I dont think I do much to the universal, I also picked up a kaiser at the same time and that will be my main modding device, I just liked the larger keyboard on the universail...it really looks like something I could write short docs on the move with.

Great choice!
Enjoy your Uni!
Have a read on the Wiki

i just purchased a brand new spv m5000 for 150 im waiting for it to come in the mail. ive downloaded roms and software for it. im going to use it as a backup and a showoff phone. no one knows what it is so i can probably resale for more than what i paid for it.

I say for the price Unis go for these days, depreciating as any device would, and considering what it can do - it's a great device to purchase or upgrade to.

rambo6 said:
I don't have a UNI but have most of the other HTC devices. How does the data work on AT&T's network? Can it do Edge speeds or just GPRS? I don't think it has the proper radios to do Edge in US.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've used the HTC Universal on AT&T's network and it was just dreadful. Poor reception and only GPRS. AT&T simply doesn't support the frequencies used by the phone and the one that is supported isn't on many towers.

Yesterday my Uni died...
Camera is dead and I cannot reactive the sound in all speakers
But now it's time for a new cell phone. Qtek 9000...black is beautiful
Until there is no comparable device I will use the Uni