Database Users

Is this true?

I heard from my local distributor for universal (jasjar) that the jj has a lot of problems, and is not quality tested to expected standards....
Apparently, there are too many complaints and problems regarding the hardware integrity of the device. Out of every 50 devices, there are roughly 6-8 devices which are defective and need replacement...
the problems were mainly with the display...the display used to "flicker", there were lots of issues with the hinge, there were sections of the display which were corrupted....
I'm not too sure if this info is accurate, or he's just crapping to me, cuz i'm buying it from outside (and not from him!)
Is this true? I'm kind of worried, as i'm buying it in from the US (qtek 9000) and theres no way i could get support here locally...
thanks!
San

Generally not true in my personal use. I've had no issues at all. I only use it at VGA and do some degree of hacking on it, but have found only slight flicker issues (but unlikely to be seen in normal use).
It's big(ger than a magican), it generally seems slightly slower than WM2003 when working at VGA (but fine at QVGA), but it's well featured, has a good keyboard, good connectivity, has some curious ergonomic oversights, has only few noticeable bugs that are intrinsic as opposed to externally correctable, works well, and if you're ok with the size, will no doubt please you if set up correctly.
It's nice to develop on.
Versus the wizard, it has VGA, but VGA at VGA res is hard on the eyes, so is more of a luxury than good for day to day use. So there's not that much between them.
But it will generally please you!
V

vijay555 said:
Generally not true in my personal use. I've had no issues at all. I only use it at VGA and do some degree of hacking on it, but have found only slight flicker issues (but unlikely to be seen in normal use).
It's big(ger than a magican), it generally seems slightly slower than WM2003 when working at VGA (but fine at QVGA), but it's well featured, has a good keyboard, good connectivity, has some curious ergonomic oversights, has only few noticeable bugs that are intrinsic as opposed to externally correctable, works well, and if you're ok with the size, will no doubt please you if set up correctly.
It's nice to develop on.
Versus the wizard, it has VGA, but VGA at VGA res is hard on the eyes, so is more of a luxury than good for day to day use. So there's not that much between them.
But it will generally please you!
V
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply vj!
I'm more than eager and obsessed with the universal! For me, size really doesnt matter...in fact, i love ppcs which are bigger!
My only worry is, about the build quality of the device...
I just hope something doesnt fall apart, as i really cant afford to get assistance for fixing it here
I'll have to wait for my next trip to the united states, until then....it's an expensive paper weight!
fingers crossed,
San

I've never had any concern about the build quality, think it's very well built personally.
Just don't stress the hinge in the wrong direction, and be gentle. But knowing how much it costs, I'm sure you will!
Get a screen cover (before it arrives! I use a brando, but recommend exim and others I guess) and use the enormous case that comes with it.
V

vijay555 said:
I've never had any concern about the build quality, think it's very well built personally.
Just don't stress the hinge in the wrong direction, and be gentle. But knowing how much it costs, I'm sure you will!
Get a screen cover (before it arrives! I use a brando, but recommend exim and others I guess) and use the enormous case that comes with it.
V
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the tip m8
I've bought an eXpansys screen protector along with the device...
I guess it should do for now...will look at buying a brando once this wears away...
another 1 hour, and it would be 7 days to go
San

I don't believe that stuff about bad build quality. I'm happy with mine, and my impression from this board is that most folks are busy trying to tweak and push and see how far they can go with these great little machines. Hardware problems seem to represent a definite minority of the topics here. That's my impression anyway.

Same as what VJ said
becareful on the hinge. My frd twist his the wrong way couple of times, and now makes this strange noise like its going to snap

My first Jasjar had 1 dead pixel and was swopped out for a new one. No problems since...

sav_za said:
My first Jasjar had 1 dead pixel and was swopped out for a new one. No problems since...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oooh la la! I hope i dont find a dead pixel on mine
holy crap there are 640x480 of them.....more to worry about!!
(i'm usually a little anxious and i normally sit right at the very edge of my chair kind-of-a-person!)
62keys, lots of hardware buttons, 640x480 pixels, swivel display, rom, i should stop....(takes a breath)....(tells himself....its gonna be fine relax).....(only 6 days more to go....).....
6 days more.....i cant waitttttttttt!!!
(sorry for the spam guys!)
cheers!
San

No Problems
I had hve my JJ since end of october and I do not have any problems.
I-Mate is a guarantie for the old i-mate users.
Go ahead, buy it in a aproval authoritation dealer and don't worry. Tell us watherver.

tynt with integrated gps

I cant beleive the trinity will not have a keyboard. This still leaves on my quest to find the perfect device. Instead of waiting for HTC i decided to do some looking around. I found this gps receiver. http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/holux-gr240.php . I was wondering if it would be possible to input this inside the tytns casing. Its been a while since my electrical courses but i think the logic would handle the power issue if we got rid of the battery and just piggybacked it off the tytns board.It even has a slider switch so it would be easy to input it somehwere out of the housing. has anyone ever opened up a tytn and seen if theres any space to fit the gps anteena and the baord. any comments?

benfica88 said:
I cant beleive the trinity will not have a keyboard. This still leaves on my quest to find the perfect device. Instead of waiting for HTC i decided to do some looking around. I found this gps receiver. http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/holux-gr240.php . I was wondering if it would be possible to input this inside the tytns casing. Its been a while since my electrical courses but i think the logic would handle the power issue if we got rid of the battery and just piggybacked it off the tytns board.It even has a slider switch so it would be easy to input it somehwere out of the housing. has anyone ever opened up a tytn and seen if theres any space to fit the gps anteena and the baord. any comments?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi, not opend my tytn yet...
but i dont think theres any space free...
not so much like the platine and the cabels and the antenne needs...
maybe when there is an big accupack available like von the vpa compact 2 with a bigger accucover then you have space...

I was looking at the 8525, it's rumored to have the front camera removed, maybe some space opened up there...

Guys, come on!
Some of the best new GPS receivers are TINY!
I've got a GlobalSat BT359, and you could velcro attach it to the back of your TyTN. It wouldn't look any bigger than a phone with an extended battery. BTW, I didn't choose the BT359 for size (rather for performance). I'll bet you can find smaller still...

goestoeleven said:
Guys, come on!
Some of the best new GPS receivers are TINY!
I've got a GlobalSat BT359, and you could velcro attach it to the back of your TyTN. It wouldn't look any bigger than a phone with an extended battery. BTW, I didn't choose the BT359 for size (rather for performance). I'll bet you can find smaller still...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ya, but I don't want to velcro it there. I want my phone to still fit in my leather holster. If we can get it onto the board you also don't have to worry about charging to devices as the gps will piggyback power off of the tytn.

Good luck with that!

goestoeleven said:
Good luck with that!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've done a lot harder projects than this!

Well, in case anyone is still paying attention to this, ive gotten one step closer to maybe getting this to work. I ordered a gpslim 240 and checked out it guts. Ive succesfully got it to run off a k-jam battery. My concerns were the voltage being 3.7 to 3.3 on the gps. Everything works out fine and the logic on the board seems to handle evrything else. The only problem so far is stuffing it into the case. i opened up my k-jam case and there seems to be some room in there,but im waiting for the 8525 to test. I tried to get it in my buddys 6700 but there is no room in there at all. Hopefully the tytn is more like the k-jam and some space is availble. Hopefully all said and done with removing the stock gps battery and stuffing it into the tytn board, there will be only one device to carry and charge.

Remember to take pictures while you are doing all this!
It will make me cringe to see a tytn pulled apart like this but I see want to see it

yup,plan on taking lots.just need cingular release the 8525 already! i would feel more comfortable doing this with insurance.

you are joking about the insurance aren't you? there is no way an insurance company would ever pay out if you broke your phone whilst trying to mod it. Unless of course you're thinking of "losing" the phone should it break.

herman3101 said:
you are joking about the insurance aren't you? there is no way an insurance company would ever pay out if you broke your phone whilst trying to mod it. Unless of course you're thinking of "losing" the phone should it break.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
exactly... ive never had insurance before, but apperently this is one of the best benefits of the program that im mising out on.

8525 Camera
The 8525 has the front camera covered up by the faceplate -- the camera itself is still there, just hidden. They also disable it in their ROM...
(At least that's the case when it comes to the 8525 I saw last week -- we stuck a pocketknife blade under the adhesive metallic faceplate and peeled it up a little)
So.. you're not gaining any extra space under there for a GPS receiver.

benfica88 said:
exactly... ive never had insurance before, but apperently this is one of the best benefits of the program that im mising out on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, Cingular doesn't offer insurance on PDA phones. You'd have to go with a third party company like SafeWare or your homeowners/renters insurance.

Wow, this would be very cool indeed!
I guess with the 8525, if the front camera is disabled anyway, you could just remove it yourself and free up some space for the gps unit. I own a vario II with the front cam enabled, but if i could replace it for a GPS i'll readily do it.
Good luck & keep us posted!

Breaking news on GPS capabilities: The TyTN is verified to have a Qualcomm MSM6275 radio chip. Here's a quote from Dr. Sanjay K. Jha, executive vice president and president of QUALCOMM CDMA Technologies with regards to the MSM6275:
...This integrated solution also includes support for QUALCOMM's gpsOne(R) position location technology....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is gpsOne? Here:
http://www.cdmatech.com/products/gpsone.jsp
Now for the kicker. The MSM6275 is one of the most advanced GPS enabled radio chips that Qualcomm makes. It has fast satellite acquisition, standalone mode and enhanced navigation support built in. Here's the datasheet describing this:
http://www.cdmatech.com/products/gpsone.jsp
The relevant table is on the last page.

jmat said:
The 8525 has the front camera covered up by the faceplate -- the camera itself is still there, just hidden. They also disable it in their ROM...
(At least that's the case when it comes to the 8525 I saw last week -- we stuck a pocketknife blade under the adhesive metallic faceplate and peeled it up a little)
So.. you're not gaining any extra space under there for a GPS receiver.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hmm...do you think this could only be pre-production models? I could always remove the camera, seems it would be a while before its widespread over here
Unfortunately, Cingular doesn't offer insurance on PDA phones. You'd have to go with a third party company like SafeWare or your homeowners/renters insurance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Crap, ill juts have to be more careful!
And in terms of the qualcomm chip, from what ive seen there no antenna in the tytn. So is this traditonal gps,agps, or something new?

@benfica88: see the latest comments in this thread, it is being discussed / researched over here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=279151

HTC Universal vs TyTn???Would you switch??

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.

Buying an 8525 from Craigslist for $100

This seems like a fair price to me. Is it? What hardware issues should I be looking for, common wear/tear's etc?
Thanks guys! This will be a nice (slightly heavier) upgrade from my Blackjack2 and 2125.

superultra said:
This seems like a fair price to me. Is it? What hardware issues should I be looking for, common wear/tear's etc?
Thanks guys! This will be a nice (slightly heavier) upgrade from my Blackjack2 and 2125.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's quite a list of things to look out for. Be aware that there are quite a few being dumped on the net because of pretty serious issues. Having said that, there are good ones around.
You should not buy one that:
1
has ever had a white screen or fading screen problem
2
Shows a "No GSM" error
3
has a screen alignment issue (even a minor one)
4
has a slide out keyboard so loose that holding it up to your ear makes it slide out a little (this fault is fixable - but not entirely straightforward)
5
switches completely off from time to time (may be a minor battery contacts fault, but can be cracked solder joints on the battery connector.)
6
has ever suffered from applications closing for no reason or the start menu opening for no reason. (can be a sign of alignment issues or contamination under the screen bezel)
7
ever had charging problems or other issues with the USB socket. This can be replaced but the cost is probably not worth it unless it's DIY
8
a loose stylus is a hassle. Some are so loose they just fall out. I have instructions to fix this but easier to avoid the issue.
Im sure other folk can think of a few other things.
It may be worth buying one that is cheap if the rear speaker or front speaker is not working. The rear speaker is of just a loose connector and is just under the rear casing. The front earpiece speaker can be faulty due to loose spring connector (fixable, but a major dismantle - it can be replaced if necessary with a relatively cheap motorola alternative)
Mike
PS I am not up on current prices. Just the other day someone got one at $120 which was not thought to be a bargain. However with the Hermes, I'd rather pay a few more dollars for one that works ok rather than one that has one of those white screen or alignment problems.

That is a great answer. Thanks very much Mike. I'll post here how it turns out.

thats where i found mine, turned out great. this may not seem like the obvious , but one of the main reasons i like craigslist purchases is that they are usually meet face to face affairs. people that are going to scam you by selling you junk are less likely to do so face to face, at least thats been my experience. I think thats price is fair if its in halfway decent shape.

go for it, not a bad price if specs check out like Mike said...

Picked it up, checked for all issues and asked some questions. Seller was mostly tech-illiterate but I dropped her down to $80.
Thanks so much for the advice all. I'll off to upgrade this puppy!

Excellent! Happy Flashing

Wow, so just got my X1a Xperia

So I just received my X1a Xperia in North America from expansys.ca
I have to say it's not what I thought it was going to be for $1,000 dollars.
As soon as I got it, noticed the battery and the charger were removed from their bags.
The actual LCD (viewable LCD display) is slanted on the one side... (The gap between the straight peice of plastc horizontally and the viewable section of the screen is greater on the right side than the left... Kinda miffed about this, it's small but Im neurotic and notice these things...)
The back cover of the phone (not the battery cover) was higher and sharp, and not level wiht the battery covery. After closer inspection, I pushed on it, and it snapped into place (it wasn't fully snapped on during manufactoring I guess).
The Camera button doesn't feel secure, and the optic pad for scrolling is very loose and I'm wondering if it is going to fall off...
THANKFULLY the unit has no cracks, hahaha. Kinda also miffed about the sliding. I'm getting scared how easy it is to pull and have the top seperate from the bottom....
Anyone else have any of these issues? For 1,000 bucks I was expecting a bit more. I thought it may have been a re-pack from expansys, but the factory screen protect was on waiting to be pealed off, and when I started the phone it started the initial WM config stuff.
Is there any way to find out how long the phone has been powered on?

why are you buy an X1a for 1 Grand? That's ridiculous.

why not return it, and get it from buy.com for $720 i think you can even get it at sonystyle.com for $799.
I got my x1a from buy.com and had no problems.

Well
Well, it is possible to check in the registry how many power cycles the phone has had. However, this is only accurate if the firmware has not been reflashed since. I think (but not sure) that even a hard reset will reset this effectively rendering this method practically useless. I have noticed it when looking through with SkTools.
The fact the screen protector is on means nothing about the phone being factory, the screen or covering could easily have been replaced if it's a reconditioned.
This sounds nothing like the real build quality of the Xperia. I'm a perfectionist myself and would notice these problems. My touchpad/scrollpad is perfectly secure, the slide is tight, screen is perfectly aligned, and I mean perfectly. The camera button should have no more than half a millimetre play from front to back when looking at the screen, and none in any other direction, even with a lot of use that is the current condition of mine.
Sounds to me like your phone has been rebuilt or you've been very very unlucky.
That being said, expect the keyboard to become a problem after a couple of weeks, but otherwise it's an amazing phone.

Too bad.
I bought mine 3 weeks ago for less than $550 brand new @ Finland.
Optic pad seems loose on my xperia too.

As for the price. The X1a are more pricey than the X1i due.
I needed the X1a to make sure HSDPA works in North America... I don't really care about the price anyways, I shopped around for an X1a and I trust (or atleast trusted Expansys).
I sent an e-mail off to Expansys to find out if it was B-stock or a repack, I'm waiting to hear from them.
I'm wondering if the battery and the charger were removed from their sealed plastic bags because they needed to test them in another device or something...
The only REAL big piss off is the screen... Even though it's a small issue, the blank gap between end of the display and the plastic peice where the buttons start, the right side is 1/16ths of an inch bigger on the right side, compared to the left side. I'm just wondering if a component of the screen is damaged or misaligned... I don't want it to start bending after a while.
I'm concerned about the warranty too as I'm in Canada. I have 15 days to send it back (at my own expense), I'm not to sure if Sony would warranty a product they don't sell in my country...

Start the return process right away. There's no reason for you to keep that phone with the condition you received it in.

Zhariak said:
THANKFULLY the unit has no cracks, hahaha.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, not YET. Mine got cracks at the stylus hole when I had it for 4 to 6 weeks. Good luck and you should really return it before it is too late =P

Ok, soo quick question...
Ive had 10+ windows mobile devices in my life. Everytime I turn them on for the first time (brand new), it ALWAYS asks you to align the touchscreen.....
The Xperia booted up and had confiuration questions, but what's odd is that it didn't ask me to align the touchscreen....
Does anyone know if the X1a prompted them to align the touchscreen when they first unboxed and powered it up?
Also, anyone know the registry key for turn on and offs?

Yes it should ask you to align the touch screen for the first time. Does the phone look like it's been used??? Just return it...I think Rogers is releasing the X1 for $299 w/ 3 year contract...no?
I bought my X1i for $400 brand new

1k?
rofl ... i paid 100€
u can get it here for 350€ new.
wanna buy mine? 800 Bucks

Wow, so I'm an idiot. It has been powered on...
I wasn't promtped for a touchscreen alignment, AND looking at Call history, 333 was dialed once a few days ago, and 222 has been dialed twice a few days ago. All calls lasted for 30 seconds to 2 minutes...
Anyone know what 333 or 222 could be?

By the way, I want to thank everyone for their help... These forums r0x0r! haha
Anyone know howto reset the phone (all my exchange information is entered), I'm returning it for a new unit...

Just press the two silver keys and simultaneously/after that the Key hidden by the stylus [easily pull out the stylus and put it into the hole in order to press the soft-reset button] ...
Or you turn on youzr device, go to Settings/System/Clear Storage ... enter '1234' and press 'OK'
Kind Regards N0r0

To hard reset:
Hold the two silver keys (under the screen) then press the power button slightly (no more than a second!).

Zhariak said:
As for the price. The X1a are more pricey than the X1i due.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True, but even at a US Sony Style store the price is $799 US, or $920 CAD. And it can be purchased at other stores new in box for less than that.
As for the warranty, for the X1, Sony will honor the warranty anywhere in the world if you can provide a valid receipt. I called before purchasing my X1i for here in the states.

What's with the hater congregation here? If you don't like it, go sell it and be done with it. No need to spam....

jhendra said:
Yes it should ask you to align the touch screen for the first time. Does the phone look like it's been used??? Just return it...I think Rogers is releasing the X1 for $299 w/ 3 year contract...no?
I bought my X1i for $400 brand new
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nice , mine was used for 360
1 grand is just a FRAUD

Well, that comment about Sony providing warranty service anywhere in the world with a valid receipt is awesome!
I remember once I had to get warranty work done on my Motorola MPX220, and they just wouldn't do it even though it was brand new, hahaha...
I ordered another one, and FedEx is picking up the problem one tomorrow morning.
Super stoked to have another "unboxing" haha. Return department at Expansys even said they would check the stock before shipping to make sure it doesn't have any damage to the box and stuff

sounds like you got ripped off bro