Database Users

Should i buy Athena??

At the moment i have the universal, and uses it primarily for navigation and reading e books. have normal SEk810i for phoning.
i have been waiting for the omni, but date keeps pushing and no official responses has been made whether it comes or not.
And now i have found me a very nice offer that i can afford
Its the HTC Advantage X7500 and not the 7501.
How simple will the upgrade be to wm6 ?
and what other differences is there beside the fmradio (which doesn't matter to me)?
should i go for this or should i wait ?
One last note, the size of the athena doesnt scare me, i like big screen when reading and using navi.

I bought one 7500 couple of months before. The upgrade to WM6 was easy, but... I wouldn't buy it again - the microdrive makes me very big problems (it stops working in unpredictable times - not realiable) and also the GPS chipset inside is not SirfStarIII, be careful, if you need it for detailed measurements... :-(((

the athenais an amazing device look at the thread in the upgrading section called 'athena & WM6 getting rid...' and have you considered the shift it is bigger but a huge screen gps and phone 30GB vista and everything you could everneed (apart from a great battery life if using Vista) it is a bit more money and not released till 21st of december in uk not sure about ret of world also a higher screen resolution

spzero said:
the athenais an amazing device look at the thread in the upgrading section called 'athena & WM6 getting rid...' and have you considered the shift it is bigger but a huge screen gps and phone 30GB vista and everything you could everneed (apart from a great battery life if using Vista) it is a bit more money and not released till 21st of december in uk not sure about ret of world also a higher screen resolution
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why does everyone keep saying the shift does large screen GPS, None of the GPS solutions for Vista are as good as tomtom and the like for PPC and none of the pictures of the shift show it using the full wide screen when in PPC mode, this means that the 4:3 image in a 7" wide screen is barely over the 5" screen of the athena anyway.

Shift would simply be to big for my tastes. need something that can fit in my pocket easily due to my job. and the battery life discourages me also.
so today i went in with both legs and bought a brand spanking new athena.
i had won one on an auction, but after winning i got email from the seller saying sorry but it has broken and he has to cancel auction. ( still thinks he was pissed not getting the doe he was expecting )
so now i have gotten it today. have hardSpl'd it and flashed the pk3 rom. and i have that warm feeling inside again
i have to say that with mobipocket installed it is just perfect for reading, and when it comes to navigation, i have the full tomtom6 and so far no problems with the gps reception. and if the problem should arise i have my tomtom bluetooth antenna to be fired up in case..
so for now i will enjoy my new toy and hope it will last me a good while (wife will go mad if i want a new one for at least the next year ...)
what i have seen so far has been all good, hope it lasts

charon72 said:
Shift would simply be to big for my tastes. need something that can fit in my pocket easily due to my job. and the battery life discourages me also.
so today i went in with both legs and bought a brand spanking new athena.
i had won one on an auction, but after winning i got email from the seller saying sorry but it has broken and he has to cancel auction. ( still thinks he was pissed not getting the doe he was expecting )
so now i have gotten it today. have hardSpl'd it and flashed the pk3 rom. and i have that warm feeling inside again
i have to say that with mobipocket installed it is just perfect for reading, and when it comes to navigation, i have the full tomtom6 and so far no problems with the gps reception. and if the problem should arise i have my tomtom bluetooth antenna to be fired up in case..
so for now i will enjoy my new toy and hope it will last me a good while (wife will go mad if i want a new one for at least the next year ...)
what i have seen so far has been all good, hope it lasts
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
welcome to the club

spzero said:
the athenais an amazing device look at the thread in the upgrading section called 'athena & WM6 getting rid...' and have you considered the shift it is bigger but a huge screen gps and phone 30GB vista and everything you could everneed (apart from a great battery life if using Vista) it is a bit more money and not released till 21st of december in uk not sure about ret of world also a higher screen resolution
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IMHO, the Shift cannot be compared to a Windows Mobile device.
I carry a Windows notebook computer as well as a Windows Mobile device.
Now, that I have an Advantage, I find myself using the notebook computer far less often. The long boot-up time of the PC, and the easy synch of my data along with nearly-instant "on" of the Advantage, make my Advantage my first choice nearly all of my away-from-office time.

charon72 said:
Shift would simply be to big for my tastes. need something that can fit in my pocket easily due to my job. and the battery life discourages me also.
so today i went in with both legs and bought a brand spanking new athena.
i had won one on an auction, but after winning i got email from the seller saying sorry but it has broken and he has to cancel auction. ( still thinks he was pissed not getting the doe he was expecting )
so now i have gotten it today. have hardSpl'd it and flashed the pk3 rom. and i have that warm feeling inside again
i have to say that with mobipocket installed it is just perfect for reading, and when it comes to navigation, i have the full tomtom6 and so far no problems with the gps reception. and if the problem should arise i have my tomtom bluetooth antenna to be fired up in case..
so for now i will enjoy my new toy and hope it will last me a good while (wife will go mad if i want a new one for at least the next year ...)
what i have seen so far has been all good, hope it lasts
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I congratulate you for making this wise decision. SHIFT is TWICE the area of Athena and three times the weight. It also is quite useless on the road because it has completely unacceptable battery life. Even if it has GPS, proper camera, MP3 player on the WM side, and voice call, it's not going to be worthwhile. Even if you don't mind lugging this phone along, you can't really use it worry free because anytime it's going to run out of power. Do you want Vista that badly? That's the real question. Even if you really really need portable VISTA, it is wiser to have ASUS eee PC, with an Athena.
In my mind there are two types of portability. The "body portability" and the "briefcase/backpack portabiliity". In first type of portability allows you to either put the device in your normal size pocket or a normal size belt pouch. The second category allows you to bring it along for holiday and travel, but you would not really need it to be carried on your body. Phone/GPS/MP3/Internet Browser/Camera/Radio should be converged into one device of "body portability". More serious work related and very infrequently used device such as VISTA could accept a "briefcase portabilty" as those applications typically requires much bigger screen and keyboard. These two types of device should not converge.
The real issue with SHIFT is not weather it can have phone, full WM6. It is the weight, size and battery life. Athena is the one to go for.

eaglesteve said:
I congratulate you for making this wise decision. SHIFT is TWICE the area of Athena and three times the weight. It also is quite useless on the road because it has completely unacceptable battery life. Even if it has GPS, proper camera, MP3 player on the WM side, and voice call, it's not going to be worthwhile. Even if you don't mind lugging this phone along, you can't really use it worry free because anytime it's going to run out of power. Do you want Vista that badly? That's the real question. Even if you really really need portable VISTA, it is wiser to have ASUS eee PC, with an Athena.
In my mind there are two types of portability. The "body portability" and the "briefcase/backpack portabiliity". In first type of portability allows you to either put the device in your normal size pocket or a normal size belt pouch. The second category allows you to bring it along for holiday and travel, but you would not really need it to be carried on your body. Phone/GPS/MP3/Internet Browser/Camera/Radio should be converged into one device of "body portability". More serious work related and very infrequently used device such as VISTA could accept a "briefcase portabilty" as those applications typically requires much bigger screen and keyboard. These two types of device should not converge.
The real issue with SHIFT is not weather it can have phone, full WM6. It is the weight, size and battery life. Athena is the one to go for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HERE HERE.
Very well put Eaglesteve.
I have, and will always have issues with the size of the Athena - as a phone I struggle to get along with it, and continually go back to my Hermes. The past few days with the Touch Dual ROM however I have warmed to it and think if you don't mind vociferous phone conversations or connecting bluetooth earphones it's actually a very good bit of kit.
I never use the keyboard as it adds bulk and isn't as nice to use as Fingertouch, I would LOVE a Linux hack but don't see one happening soon and I think web browsing is not as smooth and reliable as it should be, but you can't have everything I suppose.
If you enjoyed your Universal then I have no doubt you will be a happy member of the Athena club, and the Shift?!?! I wouldn't touch it with someone else's bargepole owing to 3 critical - and no doubt predictable - factors:
1 - It's too small to be a laptop replacement; too big to be a cellphone replacement.
2 - Owing to its expense and niche market, development will be VERY restricted.
3 - battery life is grimly short.
As previously stated, buy an EEE if you want a bit extra to go with your Athena - the cost of this AND the Athena is less than a Shift alone, with twice the battery juice.

leoni1980 said:
HERE HERE.
Very well put Eaglesteve.
I have, and will always have issues with the size of the Athena - as a phone I struggle to get along with it, and continually go back to my Hermes. The past few days with the Touch Dual ROM however I have warmed to it and think if you don't mind vociferous phone conversations or connecting bluetooth earphones it's actually a very good bit of kit.
I never use the keyboard as it adds bulk and isn't as nice to use as Fingertouch, I would LOVE a Linux hack but don't see one happening soon and I think web browsing is not as smooth and reliable as it should be, but you can't have everything I suppose.
If you enjoyed your Universal then I have no doubt you will be a happy member of the Athena club, and the Shift?!?! I wouldn't touch it with someone else's bargepole owing to 3 critical - and no doubt predictable - factors:
1 - It's too small to be a laptop replacement; too big to be a cellphone replacement.
2 - Owing to its expense and niche market, development will be VERY restricted.
3 - battery life is grimly short.
As previously stated, buy an EEE if you want a bit extra to go with your Athena - the cost of this AND the Athena is less than a Shift alone, with twice the battery juice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whether or not you find Athena's size to be a problem depends on how to use it. For me, I completely dislike the hardware keyboard. It's no where near as fast and accurate as Tengo software keyboard, so I don't have the burden of carrying it and the leather case.
Next, if you try carrying it with the pockets of your shirt or trousers, you will find it too bulky and heavy. The right way to carry this is to use a proper belt pouch. I have a self made one. I carry my Athena 24/7, even at home. The only time it comes off my body is when I shower and sleep. In my belt pouch I am completely unaware of its presence. I will not be able to do the same with SHIFT.

hardware keyboard is interesting but daft, unresponsive and a burden when it comes to answering calls. the universal's design is better in a sense (and it doesn't wipe hard drives), although once the keyboard is removed the Athena feels a lot nicer.
i have never used Tengo. is it better than fingertouch?

leoni1980 said:
hardware keyboard is interesting but daft, unresponsive and a burden when it comes to answering calls. the universal's design is better in a sense (and it doesn't wipe hard drives), although once the keyboard is removed the Athena feels a lot nicer.
i have never used Tengo. is it better than fingertouch?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
much much better
many more options

leoni1980 said:
hardware keyboard is interesting but daft, unresponsive and a burden when it comes to answering calls. the universal's design is better in a sense (and it doesn't wipe hard drives), although once the keyboard is removed the Athena feels a lot nicer.
i have never used Tengo. is it better than fingertouch?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
much much much much better. bigger hitting area, more accuracy, takes up less real estate, more comprehensive and complete in functionality than Finger Touch . I've posted a comparision somewhere under the thread called "Finger touch, much better than tengo".

To add to the idea of using an Athena along with an Asus, you don't even have to link them with USB for the Asus to get network access. Get the (beta) wmWifiRouter and your Athena turns into a portable wifi hotspot. Then your Asus, and anyone else travelling with you with a laptop, gets internet on the go.

techntrek said:
To add to the idea of using an Athena along with an Asus, you don't even have to link them with USB for the Asus to get network access. Get the (beta) wmWifiRouter and your Athena turns into a portable wifi hotspot. Then your Asus, and anyone else travelling with you with a laptop, gets internet on the go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey, thats what i do, and it works a treat. for anyone who cant be bothered to search ive attached it. just go to start, settings, connections, wifi, add new. give the new connection whatever name you like and make sure you tick 'ad hoc'. then just run wmwifirouter. simple.

And because of this program there is less of a need to hack the ee to add internal bluetooth like some have lately. I cant think of any reason, actually.

Wow, i am really amazed to how this thread has boomed since last night
My main reason for never even considering the shift is size and battery life.
and every night when i go work i bring my laptop anyway.
The job i do is nightguard for a mentally handicapped man in his thirties. this involves long hours sitting in a chair watching him doing weird stuff and sleeping on the couch. so i need a device to keep me company in the chair
and it has to be something i can flick shut at seconds notice in case he gets a seizure (bad spelling i know) or freaks out. and for theese reasons SHift would be very impractical.
i like the look of shift and would like to have it just for playing around with it, but i also know i would tire of it really fast, so i dont see a reason to waste my money on a shiny new toy i wont use(have plenty of those)
The athena is now 2 days old and bringing it to work now for the third night and so far it has fulfilled all my expectations and even more.
combined with mobipocket it is absolutely fabulous to read on, and i am even considering leaving the laptop at home
So far i am very happy to have made the transition from the universal.
And on a side note...
Now my mom can discard her old Moto A1000 cause i am giving her the universal instead

leoni1980 said:
I would LOVE a Linux hack but don't see one happening soon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is a 'Linux hack' ?

eaglesteve said:
I carry my Athena 24/7, even at home. The only time it comes off my body is when I shower and sleep. In my belt pouch I am completely unaware of its presence. I will not be able to do the same with SHIFT.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you wear it when you have sex?

spacecat said:
Do you wear it when you have sex?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought everyone has sex with his Athena. No?

Time to move on perhaps?

I've had HTC/XDA's for the past 7 years, starting with the basic XDA through to the XDA2, XDA2s, XDA Exec and currently the XDA Hermes...but they just ain't that cool anymore - I used to enjoy using them, they were original and the OS was swish but now they're slow, cumbersome and just not that funky nor impressive - its a rickety old OS with nothing to get excited about.
Until Microsoft do something interesting with PocketPC I don't think I'll returning for a while, however I'd just like some opinions on the phones to which I'm considering a move to...
My likes...
- Touchscreen ideally (Nokia loses here)
- Navigation capabilities (either built in or addon)
- Good quality camera, quick to fireup/use (unlike PocketPC!!)
- Proper Keyboard (nice but not necessary)
- Ability to use POP3 email practically without hard work
Based on the majority of the above, I am considering these phones...
- Samsung F700 (beautiful looking, nice interface)
- Apple IPhone
- Nokia N95 8Gb
Have I missed anything worth considering, if so what are you recommendations?
Currently with Vodafone and have been offered the F700/N95 for free, 500 minutes, Stop the Clock (free after 3 minutes for an hour), 250 txt's for £30 p/m.
I am put off PocketPC so with the greatest of respect, don't bother replying if its an anti-anything-else style response.
Appreciate your views/opinions, particularly from anyone actually using/with experience of any of the above phones.

I had my hands on the N95 and its awesome. The iPhone is the iPhone, awesome os and navigation, but ultimately i see a bunch of chicks with them so no. Samsung looks promising but will probably be way too expensive straight off unless carrier subsidised. N95 wins, it has GPS, a snappy os, great music player, and tons of software available. Good luck in your choice!

Thanks for your reply mate, the N95 does look appealing but what about the keyboard? Is it genuinely usable on a day-to-day basis? Heard comments that its too small?
Cheers, Ash

I know the iPhone is the rage for alot of folks........but even so...Apple will try to make it grow and advance without end.
Example is the release of the developer package.........I think the iPhone, atleast with the coming introduction of then next version, would be my next choice...........for the resale if nothing else.
My little Hermes has held it's value pretty well too!
Good Luck and stay in touch.

chipsxj said:
I know the iPhone is the rage for alot of folks........but even so...Apple will try to make it grow and advance without end.
Example is the release of the developer package.........I think the iPhone, atleast with the coming introduction of then next version, would be my next choice...........for the resale if nothing else.
My little Hermes has held it's value pretty well too!
Good Luck and stay in touch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I agree with your sentiments, the IPhone 2 I believe it worth waiting for, I don't think I'd invest my pennies in the current release, its just not heavily featured enough, although the firmware upgrades are coming out thick and fast!! Its now got a GPS like technology!! Very impressive!
...but I'm not interested in making my Hermes act like something far superior, I'm just bored of its tired, slow and clunky interface - need something refreshing that allows me to enjoy using my phone, and enabling me to use it properly without having to wait for it to wakeup from standby, wait for the camera to get its act together etc!
Thanks for your comments. Anyone any experience with the Samsung? It looks smart! Has good spec too!

ashleyhall said:
Its now got a GPS like technology!! Very impressive!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you consider a "GPS like technology" - the same thing GoogleMaps does?

to be honest,
You are looking for the
"Sony Ericsson p1i"
http://www.smarthome.com/96001.html
It meets all of your specifications, except it has a suretype keyboard. It has 2 letters to a key, instead of a normal keyboard, or a normal keypad with 3 letters to a key. It's actually the best keyboard to have once one gets used to it.
Key features:
Touch screen
WiFi
Smartphone capability
Not sure on GPS/location.
awesome 3.2 megapixel camera.
I think you'll like it.

vr24 said:
What do you consider a "GPS like technology" - the same thing GoogleMaps does?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, similar in the sense that it doesn't use a traditional GPS utilising Satellites, instead it uses GSM triangulation, still its an impressive addon for a firmware update. Lets face it, when did the last Hermes firmware update (from an official provider, not cooked ROMs) enhance our functionality to that extent!!
Sirgatory said:
to be honest,
You are looking for the
"Sony Ericsson p1i"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the pointer, does look nice but I'm a little put off Sony's after seeing/playing for a while with the P900 and P910 - very large, clunky and easily broken phones with a rather unimpressive slow interface - have things improved since then?

not sure if that's the case any more but many sonyE owners complain about as poor charging connectors as htc had pre extMiniUsb
also suspct sonyE only support their own odd flashCard std.
hope the iphone2 got microSd

Rudegar said:
not sure if that's the case any more but many sonyE owners complain about as poor charging connectors as htc had pre extMiniUsb
also suspct sonyE only support their own odd flashCard std.
hope the iphone2 got microSd
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just watched a video showing the SonyE's interface, looks just like the old P900, slow and not very jumpy to respond.
Think I'll keep looking, what other nice phones are out there right now?
Cheers, Ash

The only one out of your list I would consider is the iPhone.
Some people are sentimental about the devices they use, they deveop a love for it and whenever something clearly better comes out they make a whole lot of excuses defending their old device. While I've loved my Hermes very much, I'm not sentimental, I'm progressive. Within financial reason, I will go with whatever the current-day best device/platform is.
The iPhone has in no way been that, not so far. Unti l I can have EVERY little excellent WM app I use, or an equally good iealternative on the iPhone platform, the iPhone is a waste of money for me. Everything else of course is brilliant, but the No. 1 thing that turns me on phones is the abilty to have multilingual dictionaries on it, an audio recorder, an advanced metronome app (yes, musician here!), access to network mapped drives, a GOOD calendar app (iPhone's is not good enough for me, try Agenda One), ebooks and pocket bible, a scientific calendar (to some people that would be VERY useful), TCPMP (enough said), and ALL the tweaking to my heart's content.
The release of the SDK is what excites (and at the same time worries) me. I'm just wondering how Mr. "closed" and "controlling my devices" Steve Jobs is going to handle the freedom with iPhone that's about to be unleashed.
I'm also interested in what Microsoft is going to do for WM7 in reaction. Are they just going to bloat it up with vista-like "wow"-ness (thereby slowing it to a grinding halt) or are they going to actually make it a powerful platform and compete with the desktop-class iPhone platform. The browser situation STILL sucks after all these years.
And how about Google's android? Will there be a following for that, enough to bring out great apps? If so, AND if it can be employed on my Hermes, I'll stick it out to try that.
So what I love about WM6, is not actually the OS itself. I hate the OS. But all these wonderful developers have made my WM phone what it is, and outweighed its anoying slowness.
Also one single feature which would stop me from going to iPhone, is input. I LOVE TouchPal, try the free edition or professional trial, it's AMAZING. FAR superior to that horrible iPhone keyboard. And the great thing is, it's NOT complicated, only took me half-an-hour to learn. They've done some incredible innovation there. So, will Apple allow third-party developers to make their own keyboards for iPhone? +, will there be a way to sync to my outlook?
I'll wait and see...
Edit: oh yeah, there's also MicroSD. 12GB just got announced, and the SDHC spec can go up to 32GB. That's value being reinvested into my Hermes. There's all these little things that are BIG things in my daily phone experience, and they must all be ticked in the checklist before considering moving.

I know what you mean about moving on. My Wizard is barely living (no SIM card most of the time, still an OK PDA), and I really miss using a touchscreen phone now. I would have bought a Kaiser, but after seeing all of the issues it has, no way. I think the iPhone still looks good, even though Jobs wants to lock everything down...but then again, that didn't stop me here, why would it stop me now?

frenchglen said:
While I've loved my Hermes very much, I'm not sentimental, I'm progressive. Within financial reason, I will go with whatever the current-day best device/platform is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very well put, I'm fully agreeing with you on that and I am pleased that the 'Anti-Anything-Other-Than-Hermes' police haven't yet bothered to respond.
The TouchPal system looks excellent but I simply can't imagine it running at the pace that it does via the video's I've watched on my own Hermes - The IPhone I'm tempted by but not until its next reincarnation, which judging by the speed at which Apple plough up new devices, I don't think I'll be waiting long.
Another phone I'm now considering is..
http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2007/...-crowd-preps-m4650-windows-mobile-touchphone/
...although at the moment I know very little about it.
I guess I'll keep looking!

Just to update you all - went into several stores to play with various new Mobile Phones, tried the Samsung F700 - VERY disappointed, tried the Nokia N95 - HORRIBLE piece of cheap tack. Finally, got informed of the new Vodafone 1615 (KAISER) - what a GREAT bit of kit, yes its another WM machine, the natural progression from the 1605 (Hermes) but its actually nice.
Doesn't seem any faster BUT it has lots more RAM, built in GPS (YAY no more Bluetooth GPS!) and a nice tilting screen!!
Got an amazing tariff agreed and expecting delivery of the new handset tomorrow!!!!
Will keep you updated on my progress with it!
Cheers, Ash

Just a quick comment on the N95, I've read (don't have a link to hand currently, sorry) that a lot of users are having problems with the onboard GPS. aparently the chip/antenna is situated on the back/bottom of the handset which, for obvious reasons, affects the ability to get a fix on your position...

Universal to an iPhone?

Hello fellas and ladies!
My brother got an iPhone a few weeks ago and of course I have been testing it and comparing it to my first love (universal), which is still up for sale if anyone is interested !!!
I would like to mention the following (based on my comparison with my Uni) and ask you a question!
Pros:
3G/wifi internet is faster on the iPhone
- On Uni I have tried with Opera 9.5 and IE
Games are so much more advanced and flawless especially with the accelerometer!
Battery with heavy use on the iPhone lasts a little over a day! The Uni lasts much less with heavy use!! The battery on the Uni is terrible...
Cons:
No SD slot
Battery is not easily accessible
I hate iTunes
practically no cracked/patched soft/games <----- Huge downfall!!
At the moment I can't think of much else.
I can't wait for Omni any longer, they've been promising it for over a year and nothing yet.
So my question is: Would you consider switching from the Uni to the iPhone, and why?

serjay said:
Hello fellas and ladies!
My brother got an iPhone a few weeks ago and of course I have been testing it and comparing it to my first love (universal), which is still up for sale if anyone is interested !!!
I would like to mention the following (based on my comparison with my Uni) and ask you a question!
Pros:
3G/wifi internet is faster on the iPhone
- On Uni I have tried with Opera 9.5 and IE
Games are so much more advanced and flawless especially with the accelerometer!
Battery with heavy use on the iPhone lasts a little over a day! The Uni lasts much less with heavy use!! The battery on the Uni is terrible...
Cons:
No SD slot
Battery is not easily accessible
I hate iTunes
practically no cracked/patched soft/games <----- Huge downfall!!
At the moment I can't think of much else.
I can't wait for Omni any longer, they've been promising it for over a year and nothing yet.
So my question is: Would you consider switching from the Uni to the iPhone, and why?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never!! never!!
I just have too much reasons to not buying an Iphone never in my life......
Read here to find out more: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=314455

orb3000 said:
Never!! never!!
I just have too much reasons to not buying an Iphone never in my life......
Read here to find out more: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=314455
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have respectfully read and agreed with most points in that thread!
However! my main reason for getting the iPhone would be internet access and battery life. Yes! I said it! battery life! my Uni will not last 5 hours internet browsing + video + music + games + work (word, notepad, calc, txt, mail, camera and so on) And I don't want to get an extended battery as its bulky as it is.
As much as we all want to hate the iPhone (me included!), we can't deny its internet browsing speeds both on WiFi and 3G (which is at the moment my main interest) Also GPS, accelerometer (fun!) and the crisp LCD! + more of which I can't think of right now.
I also have a problem with my Uni losing signal quiet often, and I get complaints that I'm unreachable!!! and I have tried many ROMs and Radios to fix this.
I don't know if its the hype of the iPhone or my frustration with the Uni that I'm considering it.
I guess, I just want a phone that works and capable of browsing 3G speeds...
But I will miss all the necessities that PPC offers!
Why can't someone on this forum flash the iPhone with WM6.1???!!!! Now that would be sweet!
I don't know what to do, I'm in dire need of battery life + 3G speed + 3.5 LCD (and above) + compact and accelerometer lol
Any thoughts?

I had an Iphone and sold it....as a gadget is nice specially for its multimedia features, but as a convergence device falls short in many ways..I wouldn't even consider trade it back for my HtC tilt much less for the Uni.

Could you buy/check in your country Samsung i900 Omnia? Much more features than iPhone, everybody speaks very good about it, and in Italy even cheaper than iPhone.
If I had to choose between Omnia and iPhone no doubt for Omnia, but I still have my Universal and it still works so good (even better with all the ROMS here )

asolano895 said:
I had an Iphone and sold it....as a gadget is nice specially for its multimedia features, but as a convergence device falls short in many ways..I wouldn't even consider trade it back for my HtC tilt much less for the Uni.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I completely agree with you and I'm not even thinking of it as a replacement of my beloved Uni no matter how many times my Uni losses signal. I've even considered carrying them both in my two pockets, and yes I am joking!! but the thought did cross my mind!
But wouldn't you confirm that the battery life is better, 3G/WiFi is faster, and undoubtedly we'll see some development as far as hacks and manipulations with the ROM... I'm really hoping that someone can flash it with WM6.1 now that would be an awesome phone!
dagosjt said:
Could you buy/check in your country Samsung i900 Omnia? Much more features than iPhone, everybody speaks very good about it, and in Italy even cheaper than iPhone.
If I had to choose between Omnia and iPhone no doubt for Omnia, but I still have my Universal and it still works so good (even better with all the ROMS here )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We do have the i900 up here, but I don't want to downgrade to a smaller screen if anything I'd like a larger one. Aside from the screen size it's a very impressive phone!
I don't understand why manufacturers do this moronic.... THING!!!! its absolutely frustrating why would you compete (i900) with the iPhone which has a 3.5" lcd with a 3.2"!!!!???? if only i900 had a larger screen I wouldn't even turn my head in iPhone's direction....... uuuuhhhhggggghhhhhhh

Why not get a touch diamond or touch pro? I have gone from the XDA Exec (Universal) to the diamond and am happy.
The on screen keyboard is tricky at first but my diamond flies and gets over a day so far when using GPS / Wifi etc. I would have gone for the pro as I am very used to the unis keyboard but in the end I couldn't justify the £150+ on top of what I got my Diamond for to go with the Pro just for the keyboard, card slot and extra memory. Try one out you might be surpised how nice they are and what they offer

AndyChecker said:
Why not get a touch diamond or touch pro? I have gone from the XDA Exec (Universal) to the diamond and am happy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wish it was that easy, but I can't seem to settle with a smaller screen size than the one I have now.. I simply can't.
I appreciate your recomendation but the screen size is stopping me from moving past this obsession with the iPhone! Also, the speed of the 3G/WiFi as I mentioned above is what pushing me to get the iPhone...
All the people I know who own an iPhone not only are they happy with it but with every passing day they enjoy it even more.

The iPhone is far from being a good phone for buisiness use. You have limitations with e-mails, you don't synchronise easily with Outlook, the contacts are not accessed as easily as on WM6 and that is a very important aspect, if you have many contacts in your list.
The iPhone will make you scroll much more through the list, which is time consuming.
I tried the browsing, but the lack of keyboard is frustrating. The browser might be quite good, but it is not THAT much better.
iTunes is too annoying for me - I don't want to synchronize my musics, I just want to copy my mp3 songs. I HATE iTunes and would NEVER buy an iPod unless they change that.
Then you get a completly locked device, no memory expansion, no SDK, no freeware,...
I know - there now is a free SDK, but it is limited (cannot access all funtions) and developers have to pay to publish it, which means there won't be freeware.
All in all, I would say, the iPhone looks good, is a nice gadget and suits a normal user fine.
I however like to have something more powerfull: great screen, keyboard, lots of software and emulators. Hell, on the Universal you can even run DOS!
Cheers,
vma

vma said:
The iPhone is far from being a good phone for buisiness use. You have limitations with e-mails, you don't synchronise easily with Outlook, the contacts are not accessed as easily as on WM6 and that is a very important aspect, if you have many contacts in your list.
The iPhone will make you scroll much more through the list, which is time consuming.
I tried the browsing, but the lack of keyboard is frustrating. The browser might be quite good, but it is not THAT much better.
iTunes is too annoying for me - I don't want to synchronize my musics, I just want to copy my mp3 songs. I HATE iTunes and would NEVER buy an iPod unless they change that.
Then you get a completly locked device, no memory expansion, no SDK, no freeware,...
I know - there now is a free SDK, but it is limited (cannot access all funtions) and developers have to pay to publish it, which means there won't be freeware.
All in all, I would say, the iPhone looks good, is a nice gadget and suits a normal user fine.
I however like to have something more powerfull: great screen, keyboard, lots of software and emulators. Hell, on the Universal you can even run DOS!
Cheers,
vma
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Completly agree mate, well said!
In that case I would prefer to try HTC G1 with the new Android, but Iphone never!
Cheers

vma said:
...I HATE iTunes and would NEVER buy an iPod unless they change that.
Then you get a completly locked device, no memory expansion, no SDK, no freeware,...
I know - there now is a free SDK, but it is limited (cannot access all funtions) and developers have to pay to publish it, which means there won't be freeware.
...lots of software and emulators. Hell, on the Universal you can even run DOS!
Cheers,
vma
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These are the reasons as to why I still haven't committed to an iPhone.
It would be very hard to go from a Uni to something so "LOCKED" and "ONE DIMENSIONAL" But I do need a fast internet browsing device and a better battery life without the bulk, and not to mention the ability to receive calls in a home's basement which my Uni is not capable of doing.
Perhaps I'll wait until the G1 comes out as orb3000 said but than again I've seen it and its hideous!
I don't know... I just need a phone that works with fast browsing abilities, but then again I'll miss all the things that the Uni and WM represent!!

Honestly try a touch pro or diamond for a few hours - get one and send it back if not happy? I think you will be surprised

AndyChecker said:
Honestly try a touch pro or diamond for a few hours - get one and send it back if not happy? I think you will be surprised
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe I'll go back to the mall and play with the diamond again... but I need someone to come with me so that I can be held away from the iPhone!! any volunteers?

vma said:
the contacts are not accessed as easily as on WM6 and that is a very important aspect, if you have many contacts in your list.[/QOUTE]
ahhh...Not true, with the latest firmware you can search through your contacts like in WM6
[QOUTE]
The iPhone will make you scroll much more through the list, which is time consuming.[/QOUTE]
Again, this is not true; for alphabetically arranged stuff in a list you can use the Alphabet row on the Right hand side to quickly scroll, otherwise IMHO scrolling is a lot easier with the new Multi-touch vs taking out the stylus and using it to scroll.
[QOUTE] tried the browsing, but the lack of keyboard is frustrating. The browser might be quite good, but it is not THAT much better.[/QOUTE]
Again, safari is miles ahead of internet explorer, using NF or opera reduces the margin by a fair margin, but guess what, all the sites that have been "optimized" for the iphone really fit seamlessly with the entire UI, and that is what makes safari a joy to use. Actually if you have an iphone (or can beg, borrow or steal one) try going to web sites like google, yahoo, amazon, facebook and see the difference yourself
[QOUTE]iTunes is too annoying for me - I don't want to synchronize my musics, I just want to copy my mp3 songs. I HATE iTunes and would NEVER buy an iPod unless they change that.[/QOUTE]
with the new itunes and the 2.0.x firmware , you can drag and drop your music into your iphone.
if you don't want to sync your PIM to outlook, you can forgo itunes completely and use a "FREE" winamp plugin"
going a bit off topic i simply HATE active-sync.(i may be a bit biased here as i owned a palm pilot and simply loved the simplicity and stability of Hot-sync
[QOUTE]Then you get a completly locked device, no memory expansion, no SDK, no freeware,...[/QOUTE]
Again, when we got our devices (UNI in our case) did we not have to worry about CID unlock, SIM unlock ???
How is jailbreaking and unlocking the iphone any different than what we did??
As far as an memory expansion slot is concerned, HTC is coming out with more and more devices without expansion slot, so why just blame apple??
[QOUTE]I know - there now is a free SDK, but it is limited (cannot access all funtions) and developers have to pay to publish it, which means there won't be freeware.[/QOUTE]
1)Yes, the SDK is free but is limited
2)Search for open toolchain to know how to get complete access
3)since you don't use iphone/itunes you have NO CLUE about the amount of free ware available through itunes. And did i mention that most of the software on the installer app and CYDIA is FREE.
talking bout "limited access", did the CORE player guys ever get access to the nVidia graphic accelerator in some HTC's??
[QOUTE]All in all, I would say, the iPhone looks good, is a nice gadget and suits a normal user fine.[/QOUTE]
very true
[QOUTE]I however like to have something more powerfull: great screen, keyboard, lots of software and emulators. Hell, on the Universal you can even run DOS![/QOUTE]
1)Uni's screen is CRAP. on a mildly sunny day, at max brightness the screen is completely washed out and unreadable.Yes it does have a VGA screen but the color reproduction, contrast is really really bad.
the iphone's screen on the other hand is FANTASTIC. with the sun beating down hard, the thing is still very readable!!! not to mention the contrast,brightness and colour reproduction is very good.
BTW when will HTC realise that it is time to R.I.P for the 65k screens???
2)leaving the 3g stuff apart, the iphone is way more powerful than are UNI (which is to be expected as the UNI is almost 3 years old)
3)if you can run DOS on the UNI, i can run UNIX bash on the iphone
4)there are loads of free QUALITY softwares and emulators available for the iphone (free and paid)
P.S- i made the switch from my uni to the iphone last year in oct. and have not regretted the decision even once.
heck its been more than 3 months since i last charged my UNI
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Thank you fallenczar for the quality information as you are a previous Uni owner, thus you can create a relation between the two and provide a none biased opinion.
Thank you!

serjay said:
Thank you fallenczar for the quality information as you are a previous Uni owner, thus you can create a relation between the two and provide a none biased opinion.
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not a problem at all.
however bear in mind that your choice should be decided on what you intend to do with your phone.
if you REPLY to lot of emails/ need PUSH-email/edit documents / then stay away from the iphone.
if on the otherhand , you only read emails (or only occasionally reply) and want a good, simple and stable phone with excellent multimedia functions, go for the iphone.
on a side note, i felt that my UNI was never a good "phone", i always had problems with signal strength, people complained that my voice was to 'muffled' or choppy.
after switching over to the iphone, i have not experienced these problems, now it very well may be that my cell service provider has upgraded there equipment or installed a new tower in my vicinity, but i have reason to think otherwise

Never get rid of my Uni
Yes, I'll never get rid of it! It's a great device!
I laugh at those who carry around their laptops and cellphones. I have it in my pocket... Running WM, linux or Dos - trying to run Android, what would you want more...

hey guys just got my iPhone...
Would like to point out that so far I'm not impressed but I am loving the fast internet speeds. YouTube quality is absolutely horible; I am very disapointed with its quality very choppy but is still watchable.
I'm enjoying the fact that I can post using my phone, hoever entering text is very difficult and uncomfortable but I'm sure I can get used to it.
I will try to compare it to the Uni and report back

serjay said:
hey guys just got my iPhone...
Would like to point out that so far I'm not impressed but I am loving the fast internet speeds. YouTube quality is absolutely horible; I am very disapointed with its quality very choppy but is still watchable.
I'm enjoying the fact that I can post using my phone, hoever entering text is very difficult and uncomfortable but I'm sure I can get used to it.
I will try to compare it to the Uni and report back
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
choppy video...
how fast is your internet speed???

Sorry I haven't been home enough to make a comparison to my Uni...
What I found out is that the streaming video quality of the iPhone is as much pixelsted as on any other device, so I take back what I said above.
The 3G speeds are well beyond what I expected and a significantly faster than on my Uni.
I am very pleased with it right now and I can't wait to jailbreak it. I wish we had a section for the iPhone on this forum...
I'm posting using the iPhone, and the texting i'm getting used to so no issues with that!
Overall very pleased!
P.S. I've yet to try out the games..

Ok folks,what´s your reason to stick with this wm?

About to sell mine X1 after four weeks,6500 sek and this device really sucks..
It´s not all about wm itself but the device..
It´s buggy,not very advanced in features and dead slow for a start..
Reception,camera and end user experiance is a joke compared to a rather basic nokia these day..
Like the size and looks though but that´s it..
My nokia e90 is far more advanced then this and that device is 18 months old..
So what is it,please tell me?

GASP....BLASPHEMER **points at Micke401**!!!!
Its all personal opinion really. For me, coming from the LG Viewty its like going into the future. I made the official decision to sacrafice the 5MP camera for a QWERTY keyboard. There are also more 3rd party apps than you could download in a life time!

i understand you somehow, i have the device for 2 days and by now i have nothing but trouble with it.
I already have a hardware defect and alot of software/stability issues with WM.
the screensize and resolution is cool, other than that i dont really see why this has been hyped so much all the time...it does the basic stuff but once you try some third party software all you get is alot of problems.
After all the camera is average, video playback is average, no emulator works right, browsing is average, panels are crap slow, most of the third party software i have tested (TouchFlo3d, Slide2Unlock, Batty) cause freezes and other weird behavior...
well maybe its just my phone but in the last 2 days i rebooted the device (which takes AGES) for about 30-40 times and did 2 hard resets.

Another thing I love about this phone is this forum! All of the problems ive had (not many i must say) Have all been sorted out on here. No other phone ive had has had this much end user dedication!

Isn't that fair if you install beta/ known for not working / software for other hardare (e.g. Touch HD) stuff (TouchFlo3d, Slide2Unlock) on the machine and you complaints about it's stability?
For me, nokia (e.g. N95) is great for it's multimedia capacity (excellent camera and stereo speaker). But even it's built-in GPS software crash the phone so often and it's just a piece of ****. Not to mention that they can't provide any touchsceen device until the up coming 5800

Nokia isnt any better...
its just that on my Ipod touch everything just works...but i know that the iphone/ipod all have the same hardware and OS, so its quite easy to get stability going and Apple is reviewing all apps before release.

toxical said:
Nokia isnt any better...
its just that on my Ipod touch everything just works...but i know that the iphone/ipod all have the same hardware and OS, so its quite easy to get stability going and Apple is reviewing all apps before release.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's true. But it also limit and put a big burden on what developers can do "officially". Based on the Apple's SDK, multi-tasking and real-time navigation are not going to happen to 3rd party software and that's suck. And many other killer apps (Skype, Internet sharing) on other platform won't be happen as well. (Well, at least "officially).
WM is no where perfect but it gets most of our jobs done.

The fresh out of the box windows mobile device is a HORRIBLE experience. There's no ifs and or buts. Even the HTC devices with touch-flow are nowhere near the user friendliness of an iphone.
The difference between this and the ultra user-friendly iphone devices is that you can customize it to do whatever you want - which takes a ridiculous amount of patience and research to get to that point.
I can't use the iphone any longer because the e-mail system is horrid and everything is locked. The iphone will destroy the xperia in terms of multimedia capabilities. All depends on what you need in a device.

my experience is exactly the opposite:
i was a bit disappointed because of the slow panels but after installing the "sbp mobile shell" this issue was fixed. i dont use the panels anymore because my personal "usage-profile" fits perfectly with the features of the "spb mobile shell".
additionally i installed following tools to complete the things i need:
- skype
- divxplayer
- gpstoday
- mobipoket
- flash_lite (for flash-sites in opera)
- blackstone keyboard (replaces the popup keyboard)
- blackstone volume control (replacec the volume control)
- total commander (to establish a LAN to my workstation)
- SRS WOW HD for better Sound
- advanced config tool to tweak some options
i have done a few softresets after installing some tools. i have never done a hardreset and my phone works _really_ stable.
the only issue i had was with google maps and gps because of a missconfiguration of my connection settings (my fault).
so far the x1 is the best smartphone i ever had (after nokias and older se-smartphones).
also: this forum helps alot !
- quadword

dunno man... i've had the x1 for a few days and i swear i've had the thing get stuck on me at least 10 times a day.. pressed the reset button under the battery cover god knows how many times.. i dont blame se for this its just windows mobile thats messed up imho.. i've moved back to the iphone for my primary phone i just use the x1 for typing while im driving..

SCtud said:
The fresh out of the box windows mobile device is a HORRIBLE experience. There's no ifs and or buts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I disagree, ive had winmmo devices (with or without phone capabilities) since windows ce first came out, and ive always found its to be a worthwile o/s. Granted the Iphone interface is amazing especially with its dual touch capability. But i wouldnt (IMO) say the winmo experiance is horrible

I'll take WinMo over multitouch any day.
WinMo gives me all the basic things i need BUT it can actually handle real games like Warcraft 2, Age of Empires, Syberia and so on (sure they're old, but they're my favorite) compared to the acclerometer arcade games of the iPhone...

Windows Mobile is meant for configurability, the sweetness of doing anything you like with your device and tons of 3rd party programs(probably the most than any other mobile platform).
Saying that X1 is crap, is like saying HTC Diamon, Touch Pro and Touch HD are crap too. This is quite silly of course because they have almost the same hardware and OS, and those HTC devices (at least the 2) have done a great job for many users.
X1 is good for its big screen (resolution), hardware keyboard and the standard connectors (audio and USB jack which current HTC devices lack), the rest of the features are already present on other mobile devices, nothing really new.
Summing it up, comparing the iPhone OS and Windows Mobile is like OSX vs Windows. Some users like the shiny clean interface, while others like to get the job done and be able to control their hardware with tons of programs. Some people don't like to mess with the device but others are dying to do so.

I vote xperia!
My first winmo device was a cassiopia. And I've had just about everythin in between. I won a gen1 iPhone in some dev conference and played with it for awhile before giving it to my brother in law. It was horrible to type on and locked up frequently without any additional software. IMHO it's a toy.
The panels are software. They're not quite right yet but I don't find them to be slow on my device. (Without any other large running applications in the background).
If I don't use the panels at all, I can load TF3D and Blackstone cabs and device works very well. Of course if you even hit the panel button it will crash, but if you don't it works fine.
There are some software issues to be worked out but when hasn't that happened with the first production rom on a WM phone?
Except for the annoying bluetooth turning off and the email signature (patchable) issue I think this is the best device I've had. Far better that the TYTNII. (IMHO)
This site is also a major reason...

well thank you for all the input in this matter.. guess it's all about taste and what to expect from a high end device like this.
I am very unhappy with this one going back to my E90 but thats me,more feautures better camera and even flash right out the box suites me fine.
No struggle no hassle just simple and plain usage and everything works..
Any bid is a good bit when i comes to this crap so if in sweden feel free to make an offer..

Micke401 said:
well thank you for all the input in this matter.. guess it's all about taste and what to expect from a high end device like this.
I am very unhappy with this one going back to my E90 but thats me,more feautures better camera and even flash right out the box suites me fine.
No struggle no hassle just simple and plain usage and everything works..
Any bid is a good bit when i comes to this crap so if in sweden feel free to make an offer..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I enjoyed my E90 (before I had my iPhone 2G which I am now tired of hence my silver X1). The E90's camera is better? I haven't really used the X1 camera yet. Would love to see some comparison shots X1 vs E90.

Okay, another X1 owner here.
I've had the device for 2 days now and what can I say:
THE BAD
- it is slow
- WLAN sucks, the range is very very very very weak.
- No Cisco VPN, only IPSEC+LT2P and PPTP, but a lot of companies use IPSEC+something else from Cisco, which doesn't work on the X1. On the iPhone it does.
- Generally limited connection options to WLAN, I still can't connect to our campus network, but all the iPhone people have no problem.
- panels are crap, the placeholders aren't even updated, they're all in English although I have German (the panel itself is then German)
- Basic WM concepts: for example: Error boxes have a close button (tiny), but can be dragged around (whole box). Why, I ask, why? Who would want to move an error box, instead of closing it???
- Recessed screen.
- Small icons on the top.
- Media player sucks, no gapless playback, no EQ, etc.
THE GOOD
- Amazing touchscreen. Very very precise, and I can do everything with my finger.
- Amazing speed on WM core applications (file manager etc)
- WM basic PDA capabilities: Tasks/Calendar/Mail all work very well.
- SPB Mobile Shell
- Keyboard is usable I think.
- Camera is good, but a tad slow.
- Active sync is okay.
- Office Mobile!!
- PDF Viewer <--- very good
- Sound quality over headphones is good, radio is very fast.
SUMMARY
Panels and WLAN suck. Everything else is okay or good. The X1 is an okay purchase, but waaaay too expensive in comparison with an iPhone.
RECOMMENDATION
- DON'T get it for your girlfriend/wife/grandma. It's utterly complicated to find out how something works, everything is not intuitive.
- GET it if you want to spend A LOT of money on a device which is worse than for example an iPhone in most areas, but has a few missing features you really need (for me it's tasks, screen res and video)

please stop, stop complaining about a thing that you have purchased only because of marketing or shopping compulsion. Next time read (internet, reviews, forums) and think ("is that the thing that I need?") before buying a 600+ euros device that you don't know what really is.
Once again: noob, stay away from windows mobile, use symbian, s40 or iphone, but don't pretend to be a pro with winmobile and then ***** because you can't use it in the way you suppose to

guap said:
please stop, stop complaining about a thing that you have purchased only because of marketing or shopping compulsion. Next time read (internet, reviews, forums) and think ("is that the thing that I need?") before buying a 600+ euros device that you don't know what really is.
Once again: noob, stay away from windows mobile, use symbian, s40 or iphone, but don't pretend to be a pro with winmobile and then ***** because you can't use it in the way you suppose to
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I second that.

guap said:
please stop, stop complaining about a thing that you have purchased only because of marketing or shopping compulsion. Next time read (internet, reviews, forums) and think ("is that the thing that I need?") before buying a 600+ euros device that you don't know what really is.
Once again: noob, stay away from windows mobile, use symbian, s40 or iphone, but don't pretend to be a pro with winmobile and then ***** because you can't use it in the way you suppose to
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have in fact a touch dual and i think even this device surpasses this one.. AND i read the reviews belive me and this was a lot of money down the drain..
I expected at least the feautures my 18 month nokia have in a slick format with a touchscreen but no,it`s so far behind that it is rediculus.. No good for me i want more,i do not want to search this otherwise exellent forum for things that already is done in my E90.
I was just curious about what other think about it,if it suits you thats fine but for me it`s simply no good..

Disappointed

So, it's this. Htc magic is a very pleasant and nice mobile, except for construction quality. It is plastic and the buttons are small. The biggest disappointment must still be the lack of sending / receiving files via bluetooth.
I had the phone for 5 days before I decide to send it back to the operator. The only positive in the system is still android. htc device has failed completely. It provides a cheap impression when you use it.
I thought first that the screen would be of glass, the screen is a little difficult to use. It does not slide as much as you want.
As I said, I honestly thought that it would be of much better construction quality.
Wait for another phone, maybe samsung i7500. Android system is a very lovely os.

Funny, my first impression was that the Magic was the most solid feeling phone hardware I've ever used. It feels like a solid step up in all respects compared to the iPhone or other HTC devices I've owned.
Bluetooth file transfer is available on the market if you have a rooted phone (and paid apps in your country, I guess), though personally I've never heard of anybody actually using that feature on any phone.
The lack of bluetooth file transfer is a limitation of Android, by the way, not the Magic, so don't expect it to be included in the i7500 (or any other android device) either. That might change when Android 2.0 releases, but I don't expect that to happen any time soon.

I have a htc diamond that I use, the hardware of the diamond is much better than the magic ( I mean the construction quality ), it is more solid.
I know that bluetooth is a limitation of the android system.
Android is so much better than any other system, like the iphone. Iphone has a much better construction quality than the magic.
It is like too much plastic in the magic.
Many other manufacturers like samsung are able to give us an impression of high quality, although they are constructed of plastic.

I'd have to agree with foxman on the construction of the Magic. The first day I had my Magic the phone started squeaking on the side of the plactic. You may say that I'm a bit anal but it was the first day. I went to my carrier and exchanged luckily. I don't have that problem now but I can see it happening later in the future, after all it is only plastic. It is not like the 1st gen iPhone where it is made up metal. I think the squeaking of the phone may just be inevitable.

It would be interesting to hear how others perceive the quality of the device, read somewhere on the forum about a guy who had a crack in the battery cover..... it perhaps is a construction fault from htc.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=522701&highlight=cover

Weird. I i think its very very solid constructed. Mine doesnt squeek or anything. I've owned an HTC Touch Diamond too but have sold it after 7 months of use. I thought the Diamond was of poorer build quality than the Magic. The magnet that kept the stylus in place fell off after 2 weeks.
And because you read about a guy that had a crack in his phone doesnt mean its craply built. If you search for it i guess you will find someone with a crack in their phone of any brand if you really want to.
I would rather have a phone made of plastic that ways less than a phone that weighs more and have metalparts in its chassis.
I totally disagree with you on that topic. But i agree with the bluetooth thing. I was shocked when i found out that Android doesnt support Bluetooth send/receive. Its 2009!!! My phones have been able to do this for 10 years (almost)!!
I've used it heavily on all my previous phones. And all people i know use it very often. To send a contact for example, or if your girlfriend wants you to have something over the air etc. etc. etc.

I assume you guys complaining about bluetooth file transfer are in Europe? Here in the US (where android was designed, of course) there is virtually no demand for that feature at all. I'm a pretty advanced user and I honestly didn't even know that bluetooth had a file transfer profile. It must be a regional thing. Hopefully Google will fill in those gaps for you guys some time soon.

I completely agree with the chef. Having owned an iPhone (first generation), iPhone 3G, T-Mobile G1 (black / white) and now the Google Ion (HTC Magic/Sapphire) - it honestly feels better and more solid in my hand than any phone I own. After getting used to the size difference from the G1, I absolutely adore this phone. It is definitely a well built phone.
The Bluetooth file issue is seriously not a big deal. Most people just use USB.

oxeneers said:
The Bluetooth file issue is seriously not a big deal. Most people just use USB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not possible to use USB to exchange files between 2 devices: only if you have a computer (or special printers)

I've had a lot of phones with bluetooth transfer and I've used it for max 2-3 times, you don't need bluetooth...

I live in Sweden, here we use the bluetooth daily. Do I have a picture or song that I want to share with me I do it most easily via bluetooth.
I have never believed that a device like this miss this feature. Then I guess that Palm Pre also lacks this feature.
A friend the other day wanted to send a picture via bluetooth, he had an old nokia (which is no longer available for purchase) and I with a 700 dollars phone can not receive it, embarrassing.

My Magic squeeks as well when you push on the left side of the screen My former phones had worse build quality... Sony Ericsson W300, W580 and W910...
I use bluetooth a lot as well. It seems the americans aren't that interested in bluetooth but in Europe we use it a lot for sending ringtones, wallpapers, contacts, music, etc. Luckily there is blueX now for sending and recieving over bluetooth.

my magic used to squeak as well when you press on the right side but now after more than one month it's not sqeaking anymore

Just thought I'd chip in with my 2 cents.
I would have to disagree about the build quality of the Magic. Mine is a very solid phone and built to a high standard. HTC normally make decent hardware and have done their usual good job on the Magic.

Some impressions
I have my HTC Magic for 5 days now and I am getting very fond of it. I have worked with PDAs since WM 3 or 4 (and whatever came before it) and I feel very good with the Android OS.
I had no problems with BT so far, but I use BT only to connect to my handsfree installation in my car.
I agree nothing is perfect, but then WM is already at version 6.x, Android is only 1.5. In my professional live users would not even consider to install such a "young" product
What amazed me the most is the ease of programming for the Android and the Magic. The SDK is very well documented and it is easy to find examples and even good books. No need for an expensive IDE either, Eclipse can be used for free, and of course Java is better then C# (Just kidding, please don't start any mailwars on this)
I did some fair programming in the past for WM (see the "Diamond" forum for diamondBeer, etc), but it was always harder then what I did for the Android.
So today after a few hours work, I was already able to bring my first app to the Android Market, called "aMilk" which is the nice version of diamond beer.
I had no quality problems and the interface feels very good. The performance of the Magic is also very good. To make the diamondBeer act as fast as aMilk, I needed to use OpenGL and that was not as easy as it sounded.

chefgon said:
Funny, my first impression was that the Magic was the most solid feeling phone hardware I've ever used. It feels like a solid step up in all respects compared to the iPhone or other HTC devices I've owned.
Bluetooth file transfer is available on the market if you have a rooted phone (and paid apps in your country, I guess), though personally I've never heard of anybody actually using that feature on any phone.
The lack of bluetooth file transfer is a limitation of Android, by the way, not the Magic, so don't expect it to be included in the i7500 (or any other android device) either. That might change when Android 2.0 releases, but I don't expect that to happen any time soon.
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Do you remember the name of that app on the market?

I hate that its all plastic
scratches very easy and the paint will peel if you drop it and it gets dinged up..the iphone was very solid when i dropped it nothing happened

I admit the lack of bluetooth transfer annoyed me at first, but since we it has a hot-swappable sd card I get by just fine.

Decent build
Funny, I think the Magic has a very decent build. Screen is glass, frame is aluminium with face and back plate in thick plastic. I have definitely seen and felt much cheaper builds.

casper.bang said:
Funny, I think the Magic has a very decent build. Screen is glass, frame is aluminium with face and back plate in thick plastic. I have definitely seen and felt much cheaper builds.
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Are you sure that the screen is made of glass? I think that it is made of plastic ....
Hope someone with a secure source can confirm this