Related
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?
Yesterday (30 rd) Paul Ghent from HTC Europe run a conference in Madrid at the Movistar's MovilForum and by the end of the presentation I asked him directly if the HTC Shift could be used to answer a phone call.
Answer... NO WAY.
Due to the size of the Shift they consider not useful the voice over GSM. Anyway the model that will be available in Spain (mid-Feb) will have GSM/GPRS/UMTS/HSDPA for data. So you need to insert a SIM card on it. But NO VOICE.
They mention that the Shift will be delivered in a special price by Movistar... I assume SIM-locked.
Has no GPS and comes with Vista. The information about Shift running WM5 (or WM6) is not true. Maybe the problem is the stand-by mode the Shift has called SnapVUE which is very similar to the Today screens used by HTC in the Touch series PDAs... but is not WM5 as far as HTC said in the Madrid's meeting.
More info... in spanish I must say at www.todoumpc.com
A video with Paul Ghent speech in english will be uploaded in a few days at www.todoumpc.com including my question about the voice capabilities.
wrong choices by HTC
mahjong said:
Yesterday (30 rd) Paul Ghent from HTC Europe run a conference in Madrid at the Movistar's MovilForum and by the end of the presentation I asked him directly if the HTC Shift could be used to answer a phone call.
Answer... NO WAY.
Due to the size of the Shift they consider not useful the voice over GSM. Anyway the model that will be available in Spain (mid-Feb) will have GSM/GPRS/UMTS/HSDPA for data. So you need to insert a SIM card on it. But NO VOICE.
They mention that the Shift will be delivered in a special price by Movistar... I assume SIM-locked.
Has no GPS and comes with Vista. The information about Shift running WM5 (or WM6) is not true. Maybe the problem is the stand-by mode the Shift has called SnapVUE which is very similar to the Today screens used by HTC in the Touch series PDAs... but is not WM5 as far as HTC said in the Madrid's meeting.
More info... in spanish I must say at www.todoumpc.com
A video with Paul Ghent speech in english will be uploaded in a few days at www.todoumpc.com including my question about the voice capabilities.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well .. well .. first .. SnapVue IS running upon WM6.. and the prototypes show how it was possible to install a cab received by mail.
They are so wrong ... with a good headset ... phone capability would have been perfect .. grrrrr. They should have never tried to find reason why phone ability would have been wrong ... ! Someone is using a phone ONLY for SMS and never get of make call ? I don't believe there are more than 1% doing this ....
And no GPS? On the website it is specified as a Stand-Alone GPS... what's wrong with their own information?
....... let's hope we will find a workaround for the voice.. the ALL IN ONE device .. should have been the shift !
Why are they not thinking the right way.... the shift could have been a 3 features device... 3 times better that any other device :
- phone/gsm
- pda/pocket pc
- laptop/desktop
.... all these 3 features for about 1200$ ... beside this the iPhone is just a 600$ remote control ......
Koala is right.
I guess we will just have to wait untill it comes out and see what "the guys" can do about the rom
I´m pretty convinced by now that the shift won´t have anything we like so much about it out of the box...
I´ll have to wait and see. (and, damn it´s hard!)
greetz,
Pfeffa-rah
Pfeffa-rah said:
Koala is right.
I guess we will just have to wait untill it comes out and see what "the guys" can do about the rom
I´m pretty convinced by now that the shift won´t have anything we like so much about it out of the box...
I´ll have to wait and see. (and, damn it´s hard!)
greetz,
Pfeffa-rah
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sure it is :/...it's been more than a year that I'm waiting for the shift... and I spent EVERY DAY .. trying to find "news" on it ... grrr... I want to try it again .. guess how it was when I had those 2 shifts just in front of me... playing with one ... it was... SO TERRIBLE !!! nobody can know this feeling before having the time to test one !
koala996 said:
Well .. well .. first .. SnapVue IS running upon WM6.. and the prototypes show how it was possible to install a cab received by mail.
They are so wrong ... with a good headset ... phone capability would have been perfect .. grrrrr. They should have never tried to find reason why phone ability would have been wrong ... ! Someone is using a phone ONLY for SMS and never get of make call ? I don't believe there are more than 1% doing this ....
And no GPS? On the website it is specified as a Stand-Alone GPS... what's wrong with their own information?
....... let's hope we will find a workaround for the voice.. the ALL IN ONE device .. should have been the shift !
Why are they not thinking the right way.... the shift could have been a 3 features device... 3 times better that any other device :
- phone/gsm
- pda/pocket pc
- laptop/desktop
.... all these 3 features for about 1200$ ... beside this the iPhone is just a 600$ remote control ......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you crazy?? The shift has no bearing on the iphone and to compare them is ludicrous. To use the shift as a phone would be fine as a novelty but impractical for the long haul owing to its huge size and very limited battery life. I'm sure the developers will come up with a way of getting voice to work, but if anyone would seriously consider using the shift as their main handset then they clearly either don't leave the house much or don't get many calls.there are many cheap, sim-only data tarifs available which people use with hsdpa umpcs and notebooks and no-one ever complains that these devices cannot receive calls. People's expectations of this device are confused. This is htc's first foray into the full windows umpc market and THAT is what the shift is - a umpc. It was never meant to be anything other than a umpc and is perhaps only presumed so because of the proprietary snapvue application and because htc are known for their pocket pc phones. The fact that some misleading facts were touted initially did not help htc's cause either. Buying a shift will not be the bargain you make out, since you will still need a second handset to get by unless you have a constant connection to the national grid and always have a bag on you.
Men... I'm telling what Paul Ghent from HTC Europe told... I assumed was the truth. If I and all the attendents were cheated... should I sorry? don't think so. That is what I was told.
mahjong said:
Men... I'm telling what Paul Ghent from HTC Europe told... I assumed was the truth. If I and all the attendents were cheated... should I sorry? don't think so. That is what I was told.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm really not sure about "no WM6" .. I think that they mean "no FULL WM6" .. but they prefered telling "no WM6" because it's not the WM6 people used to know
I haven't told anything against you, but just wanted to explain things.
about GPS.. it's totally unclear .. because they said "GPS" and now they say "NO GPS".. so it's hard to know the real true about it.
when they say "NO" something ... they mean "there won't be this by default" .. but that doesn't mean that this is not possible to have it . If they have 3G+ .. they will have phone built-in .. but the things is that it should have voice... and voice should be built-in, but disabled by HTC.
leoni1980 said:
Are you crazy?? The shift has no bearing on the iphone and to compare them is ludicrous. To use the shift as a phone would be fine as a novelty but impractical for the long haul owing to its huge size and very limited battery life. I'm sure the developers will come up with a way of getting voice to work, but if anyone would seriously consider using the shift as their main handset then they clearly either don't leave the house much or don't get many calls.there are many cheap, sim-only data tarifs available which people use with hsdpa umpcs and notebooks and no-one ever complains that these devices cannot receive calls. People's expectations of this device are confused. This is htc's first foray into the full windows umpc market and THAT is what the shift is - a umpc. It was never meant to be anything other than a umpc and is perhaps only presumed so because of the proprietary snapvue application and because htc are known for their pocket pc phones. The fact that some misleading facts were touted initially did not help htc's cause either. Buying a shift will not be the bargain you make out, since you will still need a second handset to get by unless you have a constant connection to the national grid and always have a bag on you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are like many people thinking that the shift have to be against ears to phone ? You are wrong... with PDA and the Shift you can just use a headset... and keep the Shift in your pocket .. so no matter about the size ! And about battery life you are wrong ... when you shut down Vista you still have SnapVue (WM6) and if you can get a call it will be through WM6.. so it won't be 2hours but about 10 days (see the HTC site for that). It is enough time awake for a phone.
The shift is small enough to put in a "good" pocket ... and yes I will have it all the time with me .. and you DON'T need to have a bag on you all the time.
We are not complaining about HTC, but we are just saying "the shift has 3G+ .. so it is not interesting REMOVING features that are already supported". There is no confused idea about the shift being able to be a phone, the only thing that is confused is "GPS" ... on the site of HTC it is written "Standalone GPS" ... and everywhere now HTC tell that the Shift has NO GPS inside. That's why this feature is confused.
And for the handset ... plz ... stop thinking that we will bring the Shift to our ears ... you don't know anything about headset ?
leoni1980 said:
Are you crazy?? The shift has no bearing on the iphone and to compare them is ludicrous.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there is no comparison between a 600$ iPhone that is not doing anything right (it's not a phone, it's not a pda... it's nothing :/) and the Shift .... that is an UMPC with 3G (oh the iPhone doesn't have 3G ... what a shame !)
what I meant was just : "for 1200$ you have something really good" .. and "for 600$ you have nothing good"
it's just a point of view....
yes i've heard of headsets, i had an athena! But with the best will in the world you still have to carry the weight of the device somewhere. Irrespective of whether you have clown's pockets. Anyone who is willing to use a 1200 dollar umpc as a phone at all times strikes me as the type who doesn't get much sex, nor wear appropriate formal attire. The shift is supposedly a business device. Businessmen wear suits. Show me a suit whose pockets will comfortably accommodate a shift and i'll show you ten geeks desperately clamouring for convergence at the expense of convenience.
leoni1980 said:
yes i've heard of headsets, i had an athena! But with the best will in the world you still have to carry the weight of the device somewhere. Irrespective of whether you have clown's pockets. Anyone who is willing to use a 1200 dollar umpc as a phone at all times strikes me as the type who doesn't get much sex, nor wear appropriate formal attire. The shift is supposedly a business device. Businessmen wear suits. Show me a suit whose pockets will comfortably accommodate a shift and i'll show you ten geeks desperately clamouring for convergence at the expense of convenience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't find the exact model .. but it is a Quechua suit.. and here is a link of another suit looking like mine :
http://www.decathlon.be/FR/images/assets/asset_9110492.jpg
You can notice that the two pockets in front are really big ... I used to put so many things in my pocket... I can say that the shift will easily enter the pocket and stay quite there
leoni1980 said:
i'll show you ten geeks desperately clamouring for convergence at the expense of convenience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Heh, that I want to see (or maybe I don't?) <grin> Nice turn of a phrase, Leoni!
leoni1980 said:
yes i've heard of headsets, i had an athena! But with the best will in the world you still have to carry the weight of the device somewhere. Irrespective of whether you have clown's pockets. Anyone who is willing to use a 1200 dollar umpc as a phone at all times strikes me as the type who doesn't get much sex, nor wear appropriate formal attire. The shift is supposedly a business device. Businessmen wear suits. Show me a suit whose pockets will comfortably accommodate a shift and i'll show you ten geeks desperately clamouring for convergence at the expense of convenience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have to agree. its strange enough having a athena in my pocket. the best solution for shift is in ur backpack, or briefcase and have the style-i for calls if u really want to do that. i have my hermes still for those times i wear a suit and dont have a pocket for my athena.
the shift i dont think would fit in too many of my jeans or pants. the athena is hard enough as is. luckly its almost as thin as a razr since i dont use the keyboard at all so i manange pretty well with it. i just use speaker or bt.
lol love the last sentence. i dont think theres too many suits that fit the athena eather
Gentlemen, please excuse me for coming into the discussion on this old topic:
I got to disagree that there are'nt many suits that can fit Athena. I don't even need a suit. A normal pocket is what I do often. See how Athena is so portable for me in this picture.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=361112
I also think it is stretching it to the limit by comparing Athena with Shift in terms of portability. Fact is, Athena's volume is 30.9% of shift's and Athena's weight is 43.75% that of SHIFT's.
To carry a shift is like having THREE Athena in your pocket. There is no way I can carry a shift in my pocket like what I'm doing in the above photos.
But I agree with Leoni that this is not a practical size to have a phone built in. It is travel friendly, but not 'body portable'. A phone must be 'body portable', not just easy to carry around in a bag and to leave in the hotel room. You would want to carry it to the toilet, to lunch, to have a walk, to cycle... I am doing that with Athena now. 24/7 it never leaves my body, and I don't feel any weight or inconveniece for doing it. That's why Athena's size is the most ideal as a MOBILE convergent device, and SHIFT can never take that role, due to its extreme size for mobility. Batttery life, and instant on capabiltiy are the other factors. I don't quite buy the argument that as long as we stay in the snapvue environment we can have 10 days battery life, so it's not an issue. The thing is, why bother lugging this hugh thing around if you're not going to use the full IS? Just to see the weather, check the address book, and update the appointment? If that's the case, this is a poor choice. Surely you want to use the Vista. The only problem is, once you use it for one hour, you have very little left for GPS, Phone, Camera, MP3, and the other things (assume that HTC is silly enough to include these into SHIFT).
UMPC is a difficult product to define, and HTC is obviously having problems here. Make the screen too small, people who expects full OS will be disappointed. Make it too big, you don't have the option of having a practical phone.
For me, it makes more sense to have an Athena, and whenever I need Vista, just use remote desktop to operate your office/home computer. Athena can not do everything one might want to do on a full Vista desktop, but neither can SHIFT. I know because I have had lots of previous expereince using very tiny subnotebooks running full desktop OS.
Just my 2 cents worth.
eaglesteve said:
Gentlemen, please excuse me for coming into the discussion on this old topic:
I got to disagree that there are'nt many suits that can fit Athena. I don't even need a suit. A normal pocket is what I do often. See how Athena is so portable for me in this picture.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=361112
I also think it is stretching it to the limit by comparing Athena with Shift in terms of portability. Fact is, Athena's volume is 30.9% of shift's and Athena's weight is 43.75% that of SHIFT's.
To carry a shift is like having THREE Athena in your pocket. There is no way I can carry a shift in my pocket like what I'm doing in the above photos.
But I agree with Leoni that this is not a practical size to have a phone built in. It is travel friendly, but not 'body portable'. A phone must be 'body portable', not just easy to carry around in a bag and to leave in the hotel room. You would want to carry it to the toilet, to lunch, to have a walk, to cycle... I am doing that with Athena now. 24/7 it never leaves my body, and I don't feel any weight or inconveniece for doing it. That's why Athena's size is the most ideal as a MOBILE convergent device, and SHIFT can never take that role, due to its extreme size for mobility. Batttery life, and instant on capabiltiy are the other factors. I don't quite buy the argument that as long as we stay in the snapvue environment we can have 10 days battery life, so it's not an issue. The thing is, why bother lugging this hugh thing around if you're not going to use the full IS? Just to see the weather, check the address book, and update the appointment? If that's the case, this is a poor choice. Surely you want to use the Vista. The only problem is, once you use it for one hour, you have very little left for GPS, Phone, Camera, MP3, and the other things (assume that HTC is silly enough to include these into SHIFT).
UMPC is a difficult product to define, and HTC is obviously having problems here. Make the screen too small, people who expects full OS will be disappointed. Make it too big, you don't have the option of having a practical phone.
For me, it makes more sense to have an Athena, and whenever I need Vista, just use remote desktop to operate your office/home computer. Athena can not do everything one might want to do on a full Vista desktop, but neither can SHIFT. I know because I have had lots of previous expereince using very tiny subnotebooks running full desktop OS.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's a good point of view, but maybe I can explain with a scenario how I will use the HTC SHIFT.
1°) during the night .. the shift is in full WM6 mode (I don't care about SnapVue I know it will be uninstall as soon as I will have the shift) .. in this mode .. nothing will be done (just sleeping)
2°) when waking up .. I can start Windows Vista when dressing up and use it (with WIFI) while taking my breakfast
3°) I can put the shift in sleep mode (not hibernate) if I'm going to move somewhere and put the Shift in my coat (no bag needed)
4°) When being where I wanted to go.. I just have to look for power and put the shift back from sleep ... in that way I will be able to use the shift EVERYWHERE....
5°) Same as 3°) when going back home
6°) I can use it in the same way the shift was when leaving it to sleep mode .. and go on working on the same thing without worrying about finding another computer, using SVN, sending me mails with what I'm working .. etc...
7°) When going to bed, I shut down (not hibernate) or hibernate (if I'm really busy) and stay in SnapVue mode.
I haven't talk about GPS, Camera, Phone .. etc ... those features will just be extras ... and these extras can be seen like that :
"i don't want to put a SIM CARD in the Shift if I don't have phone ability ... why have a sim card if you can't get calls ?"
"i don't want GPS if it is on vista ... but I do want GPS if it is in WM6 because of using it when travelling"
"i don't need a camera if the Shift has no phone built-in, because I will have my HTC TOUCH with 2MP Camera (better than the 1.3MP of the Shift webcam) and I use it as my phone"
So ... maybe we will be able to put Phone and GPS to a FULL WM6 working SHIFT.. but it will just be EXTRAS.
I'm not worrying about travelling with the shift in my coat (I know the size of the shift and I know that my pockets are easily bigger than the shift). The weight of the shift is not so bad .. compare to laptops !
And about the resolution and the screen size ... I have use the shift in 800*480 or 1024*600 (haven't look the resolution used) and the 7" screen is enough to use .. I was really impressed when using it ! But when I will be at home I will plug the Shift to VGA monitor and use the best resolution possible (don't know but maybe better than 1024*600 on an external monitor).
You can say what you want, but the scenario I have writen is NOT possible with Athena and with the Touch .. because simply.. having Windows Vista on really portable computer ... is only for UMPC... and the only UMPC running two O.S. at the same time is the SHIFT... that's why the shift for me is :
The BEST laptop for mobility
The BEST desktop for mobility
The BEST device for productivity (everywhere you go you can work)
The BEST innovation (2 O.S. at the SAME time)
.. here's my feelings
koala996 said:
it's a good point of view, but maybe I can explain with a scenario how I will use the HTC SHIFT.
1°) during the night .. the shift is in full WM6 mode (I don't care about SnapVue I know it will be uninstall as soon as I will have the shift) .. in this mode .. nothing will be done (just sleeping)
2°) when waking up .. I can start Windows Vista when dressing up and use it (with WIFI) while taking my breakfast
3°) I can put the shift in sleep mode (not hibernate) if I'm going to move somewhere and put the Shift in my coat (no bag needed)
4°) When being where I wanted to go.. I just have to look for power and put the shift back from sleep ... in that way I will be able to use the shift EVERYWHERE....
5°) Same as 3°) when going back home
6°) I can use it in the same way the shift was when leaving it to sleep mode .. and go on working on the same thing without worrying about finding another computer, using SVN, sending me mails with what I'm working .. etc...
7°) When going to bed, I shut down (not hibernate) or hibernate (if I'm really busy) and stay in SnapVue mode.
I haven't talk about GPS, Camera, Phone .. etc ... those features will just be extras ... and these extras can be seen like that :
"i don't want to put a SIM CARD in the Shift if I don't have phone ability ... why have a sim card if you can't get calls ?"
"i don't want GPS if it is on vista ... but I do want GPS if it is in WM6 because of using it when travelling"
"i don't need a camera if the Shift has no phone built-in, because I will have my HTC TOUCH with 2MP Camera (better than the 1.3MP of the Shift webcam) and I use it as my phone"
So ... maybe we will be able to put Phone and GPS to a FULL WM6 working SHIFT.. but it will just be EXTRAS.
I'm not worrying about travelling with the shift in my coat (I know the size of the shift and I know that my pockets are easily bigger than the shift). The weight of the shift is not so bad .. compare to laptops !
And about the resolution and the screen size ... I have use the shift in 800*480 or 1024*600 (haven't look the resolution used) and the 7" screen is enough to use .. I was really impressed when using it ! But when I will be at home I will plug the Shift to VGA monitor and use the best resolution possible (don't know but maybe better than 1024*600 on an external monitor).
You can say what you want, but the scenario I have writen is NOT possible with Athena and with the Touch .. because simply.. having Windows Vista on really portable computer ... is only for UMPC... and the only UMPC running two O.S. at the same time is the SHIFT... that's why the shift for me is :
The BEST laptop for mobility
The BEST desktop for mobility
The BEST device for productivity (everywhere you go you can work)
The BEST innovation (2 O.S. at the SAME time)
.. here's my feelings
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Koala,
HTC would be extremely pleased to see customers like yourself who have such a deep passion for SHIFT. carrying such a big devices all the time with all the associated chargers, always on the lookout for power point.... I personally would like to hear a post review from you after say half a year of use, if it would last that long.
Cheers.
eaglesteve said:
Hi Koala,
HTC would be extremely pleased to see customers like yourself who have such a deep passion for SHIFT. carrying such a big devices all the time with all the associated chargers, always on the lookout for power point.... I personally would like to hear a post review from you after say half a year of use, if it would last that long.
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello steve,
I have already had the Shift in my hands, so I know about the weight and I haven't found that it would be a matter .. but when I will have it , I will have better idea about having it all day long on me. There is only one charger needed and I suppose that it is not too big to put in a pocket.. on the pic I have, it is a simple cable .. nothing big (it's like having a phone charger).
I will put a review here as soon as I will have it.. but it won't be that soon .. because it will be for my job as researcher the next year (September 2008).
Koala
As a matter of fact when I asked Paul Ghent (HTC Europe) about answering phone calls in the Shift I show him my athena in my jacket and he said: "Should be a high quality jacket if you what to keep this (taking the shift in his hand) like that". That is true... Shift is to big to carry with it without any bag or something.
The biggest UMPC I can handle is OQO 2 which is half a centimeter bigger than the Athena.
I just looked at the HTC website, discovered the new widescreen touch phones, and was taken aback, that the Athena is no longer listed with the HTC products.
So is this the end of the Athena?
R, Michael
Links? When I go to htc.com I don't see the Athena under current "Products", but that's been true for a while. I do see it listed under "Support". I also don't see any new widescreen phones anywhere...
techntrek said:
Links? When I go to htc.com I don't see the Athena under current "Products", but that's been true for a while. I do see it listed under "Support". I also don't see any new widescreen phones anywhere...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not a regular with the HTC website, so forgive me, if didn't find out earlier, that HTC dropped the Athena line altogether. And I haven't seen it mentioned on this forum as well.
"New" widescreen phones means (for the same reason) "new to ME", but probably "water under the bridge" for the better informed.
No, you misread, I wasn't jumping on you. I'm curious what widescreen phones you are talking about and wanted a link to see. The thread that appeared here about the Athena getting dropped from HTC's product line didn't get much activity so it dropped off the front page quickly, so you could have easily missed it.
i looked on the htc Europe page and there they still have the athena
The HTC web site (worldwide) lists two widescreen devices:
Touch HD
MAX 4G
but no X7500/X7501/X7510.
European and german web sites list the Touch HD as the only widescreen device, but still list the X7510.
North-american site lists no widescreen device at all and no more Advantages.
R, Michael
The thing that surprises me is that this niche seems to be emptying. There are the smaller devices with touch interface (iPhone and knock-offs) that are booming, and then the netbooks are booming. But nothing in between. I'm not sure what my next move will be. I've had my x7500 for over 18 months, which is an eternity. But I can't convince myself that there is anything new that I would be happier with. What I really want is a faster, sleeker, lighter x7500 with a 60GB solid state drive. Wouldn't other people want that??
I've had mine 15 months and plan on using it for several more years. Definitely nothing on the market right now that is an obvious replacement for the Athena and I don't think there will be for a while.
I'd love an Athena with a SSD, and a 16:9 aspect ratio screen instead of the 4:3 we have now. It would make it a bit longer but a bit narrower (top to bottom), more like a traditional "candybar" phone. Would give more total screen space but would make it easier to hold like a phone. Obviously that would also require adding a private earpiece. Throw in a vibrate ringer and I'd be there.
wgary said:
The thing that surprises me is that this niche seems to be emptying. There are the smaller devices with touch interface (iPhone and knock-offs) that are booming, and then the netbooks are booming. But nothing in between. I'm not sure what my next move will be. I've had my x7500 for over 18 months, which is an eternity. But I can't convince myself that there is anything new that I would be happier with. What I really want is a faster, sleeker, lighter x7500 with a 60GB solid state drive. Wouldn't other people want that??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude you hit it right on the nail. Or atleast something with an upgradeable memory along with Micro SDHC slot built in, and onboard USB host (no attachments).
hmm
the athena is dieing no one cooks roms for it last was ap5 i think , i love my x7501 ,but the kaiser has more cooks i havent flashed sence ap4 release and i know some one could cook up something better,can a kaiser rom run on a x7501?
Dude where u been?
hey flexedrubi
Mitchy Prima has released many ROMS far above the calibre of the AP ROMS.
I am sure the last one was less than a month ago....
I dont know how u missed it....It is WIZ BANG PA_TANG! (very good)
So go flash it.......
We are indeed a small crowd with our devices and I dont know if anything will come along, I think we are a single generation which were before our time.
In the future we will have XP....sorry VISTA (hssss) or even windows 7 machines - (which are pushing touch screen tech further than Win mobile) the same size and with the same capacity/functionality as our Advantages.
Asus EE pc's come with Sim Card slots now and all you need to use them as phones.
The HTC advantage with the stock Mobile 5 ROM was a pretty awfull device to use as a primary phone we were pioneers with patience lol
Mitchys ROMS have elevated it to heights but its still not really ready to compete with other OS's in terms of simple phone, music, and camera usage
I have been using a combo of N95 8GB (for music, camera and calls) and an x7500 for data for a while now. There is nothing I can see that can beat this combo....
The X7500 is the ONLY PPC in my opinion that I can use for work
Wifi to connect to office (or VPN)
USB host for keyboard and mouse
VGA out for monitor
RDP for TS to access everything I need
I have never used or seen another PPC that could take its place!
I just bought a Sumsung Omnia, I flashed up to newest decent custom firmware (far better than Tmobile stock ROM which was quite bad!) and I loaded up loads of tunes and movies etc, put all my usefull apps on it and expected it to take over from my old combo...
Impossible!
It just cant do it!
I think that Windows 7 (not mobile) or what ever its being called is being designed to plug in to all hardware....
yarod - so what about the Omnia didn't make it good enough to take over from your current combo?
Athena lives?
Just got this from an rss. Looks like Athena lives! Look at this article http://wmpoweruser.com/?p=2357 and you'll see the "Athena 2" apparently code named "Thoth."
Woo hoo!
Wow!
This is indeed good news!
mfschneider said:
This is indeed good news!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope they come out with a T mobile USA 3G version. If not i'm running to AT&T end of my contract before I purchase this handy looking Thoth.
Very good to see that they are continuing development with the Athena line, but it doesn't look much different than the 7510. Still lacks the buttons they took away with the 7510, so right there its a no-go for me.
This is good news
CHECK OUT THIS LINK ALSO
http://www.neowin.net/news/main/09/01/12/htcs-full-2009-line-up-leaked
techntrek said:
yarod - so what about the Omnia didn't make it good enough to take over from your current combo?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Techntrek
- The omnia was great......BUT comparing to my N95 8GB.........and the Ameo as combo.....
Main things that annoyed me........
unable to use headphones and charge at same time with out of box solution
Also no 3.5 jack without the adapter
FM radio didnt list radio station name ....RDS or something?
Battery (even with newest ROM) doesnt last as long as Nokia (screen is much bigger so maybe that is whats causing it....)
GPS doesnt work as well I only got a FIX Once with my Omnia.......Ameo seems to fix much more reliably as does N95.
Screen is too small to use Remote desktop properly after using ameo - interestingly in this case the only remote app I have for Nokia is logmein which is rubbish
No USB host and I dont want to waste money on Bluetooth combo (top dollar) as I just got a MX3200 set.
The phone application is not as reliable at all.....same with all windows mobile devices, the dialler and phone app on the N95 is integrated into the OS in a much more pleasent fashion - no hangs no issues even if I am running Multiple Applications (web, MMS, video, FM radio etc) the phone app kicks in and out faster and more efficiently with never a crash....
There was no in line remote solution (next/last track, volume, change radio station....
But the omnia could record FM radio!! That was kick ass!
Interesting. Well, here's to many more useful years with our Athenas!
techntrek said:
Very good to see that they are continuing development with the Athena line, but it doesn't look much different than the 7510. Still lacks the buttons they took away with the 7510, so right there its a no-go for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think they are going to bring back the buttons anymore because they are pushing for the touch capacitive screens with integrated touch 3d. We might even loose whatever button is present on the X7510 as it is.
hey guys, im asking your opinion..im going to buy a new phone this february, i look that x2 looks nice...but i saw that many people disappointed with this phone because they said it always freeze, lag, low battery life...is that true?? please help me, if this phone good, tell me...im gonna buy this phone next month...if this phone is not good, then tell me why? what can i do to make this phone good? or u can suggest me better phone(must have 8mp camera, long lasting battery, wi-fi provided, great speaker for music, touchscreen, side slider qwerty keyboard, large resolution and screen)...
well, it depends on what do you expect from a phone. but mainly, no it isnt a good phone.
if your looking for a good phone buy HD2 (the second hand HD2 is around 80€ more then a second hand X2 but its worth every cent).
its a year old model with still good hardware. you can instal on it MW6.5.X or android... In my oppinion there is no better phone for a XDA forum entusiast.
but let me say another comparison from my own experience (since i had both X2 and HD2) X2 in my country costs like 200€ from second hand and it freezes. battery life is nothing to bragg abouth. bad touch experience its like slavery.
on the other hand HD2 cost from 280 up and its emense freedom. It works great, feels great. touch experience is great. hardware is strong. MW6.5.x, froyo, obuntu, wp7... freedom.
X2 does look good but the software is a joke and not a funny one.
if you have like to much money then get x2 just to see an example how can a solid phone on paper go disturbingly wrong in real life.
have a nice day.
A lot of people have opinions like the ones expressed by gbajzelj ... and I would like to express one of liking the X2 ...
I have had it since 4/2010. I am very hapy with the phone -- but I like the WinMo 6.5.3 interface with its flexibility -- and not having restrictions on the app use.
Regarding the phone -- I use the standard WinMo frame, disabled slideview, run overclock (with a clock speed of 1024), run Garmin XT, use Clean RAM, Lookout, have bluetooth always on, sync with IMAP email every 30 minutes and I am in HSPDA network coverage.
I get 2 days of battery usage, the last freeze was at least a week ago, and I don't remember when the one before that was. It doesn't play video very well ... but I am not sure if it is the video or not -- they are downloaded ones from UTube that were converted to mp3 format. Movies that I took with the phone itself work fine.
There are times when the phone will stutter and take time to respond -- usually when it is not getting a responce from the web (like PCs do when the network connection is hosed) ... If I wait for no more then 15 seconds, it responds, and then I do a Ram Clean and the X2 is back to normal ... it have been a week since that happened ... and it could be that I have learned not to do certain things -- but they do not appear to be related to a specific set of things that I do ...
The bottom line is that I am very happy with the phone ... and the times that it fails is no more bothersome then when Win XP failed or locked up on a desktop. I really like the keyboard for text entry and the office programs to run excel spreadsheets and storing of data in Word documents.
But as gbajzelj has said, other phones also run WinMo 6.5.3 and will also serve you well ... but I am a long term SE customer, and I have not been disappointed with the X2.
As a side note ... I looked at the new Dell phone (running Android -- I think) at a store, and its responce -- sliding screens / opening programs -- did not seem to be any faster then my X2 ...
If you don't mind loosing several hours in upgrading firmware, installing some fixes and avoiding to install almost all the Sony Ericsson buggy software, the phone will work fine. There are several post explaining how to do it, but doing this means that you won't have panels or slideview and some others SE's addings, but the phone will be faster than before (this doesn't mean that it will become in a fast phone) and what is most important, stable whit a decent battery life.
Despite of this, don't get cheated by its theoretical features: 8.2 mpx camera is not what is was supposed to be, it's not bad, but my old Nokia N73 takes better photos, smaller, but better, which is a shame. The video recording is painful. The response of the screen is not good, neither bad, but not good. The amount of RAM, 256 mb (about 100 mb free), could not be enough in some cases. Some features like the LED notifications, the light sensor or the backlight management don't work properly.
In conclusion, X2 isn't a bad phone (if you don't mind spending several hours in tuning it), but its paper features are very far of what they were supposed to be.
Greetings.
gbajzelj
then how could i make x2 be a great phone?? how to make it not lag anymore?
RJH57108
you convience me 2 buy it now..anyway, u disable the slideview, then how u use the phone in side-ways? are there hotkeys to turn the screen to slide view?
robuash
does it really take time to update it? what worst case can happen during update? is it true that update it to MR2 make it fast?
or u guys can suggest me other phone..i would like to have a phone that i can store many music, 8mpx camera, touch and sideslider, support games, great loudspeaker, wifi, no lag, great battery(atleast 2 or 3 days minimum for heavy and moderate usage)
MR2 makes the phone more usable and a bit faster, avoiding to install SE's **** adds another bit of speed and stability, but after all, the phone won't become in a snapdragon, it will be acceptable as best.
Upgrading firmware supposes the same risk than in other phones, if you run out of battery or you computer turns off, your phone will become in an expensive brick.
I don't know any other phone with this specs, the are great phones, much better than X2, but in my opinion always have a weak point, or the camera is rubbish, or don't have qwerty keyboard, or the battery is insufficient, etc... For me, no one is absolutely complete, so i can't suggest you anyone.
Hope this info helps, greetings.
thnks..well, last question, how much time did it take to update it?
esad (SE Xperia X2) said:
RJH57108
you convience me 2 buy it now..anyway, u disable the slideview, then how u use the phone in side-ways? are there hotkeys to turn the screen to slide view?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Slideview is a panel that runs on the X2 -- there are panels installed on the phone, and Slideview seems to be started even though you use a different panel ...
Slideview has nothing to do the the screen rotation that is automatically switched when the keyboard is slide out -- there are also auto-rotate fixes for the x2 that will allow programs to rotate to the lanscape mode with just turning the phone (most of the -- don't rotate problems -- seemed to be related to games) ...
For playing music (I actually use it to play audio books) -- I use Mort's MortPlayer -- which seems to work well, and with an ADP2 bluetooth headset, they are easy to listen to ...
Good luck with your decision ...
@ RJH57108
(originaly plans to pm but then again the answers may help)
Does the notification bug (the one where alarms e.g. sms notifactions like sounds and vibrate wont work after a while of use) happen to your phone? Had me always resorting to soft reset so that I would know wheter I have sms or not..
Could use some help tuning this phone...
Might as well search for a overclocking program too..
Current using the 'free up ram' feature of sktools..how does it par with ramclean?
If its ok, I would like to pattern tuning my phone from yours..
I don't have the problems with the notifications ... I get them (both sound and vibration -- also when I have a bluetooth headset in use -- an A2DP capable one) even after days of having the phone on ...
I find that RamClean seems to work better without any problems -- I used to use the SKTools one, but it would occasionally freeze the phone ... the RamClean does not have problems ... I use the Level 3 clean with a scheduled clean every 3 hours ...
Will probably reset my phone this weekends if I'm not too busy...
Might as well try the 'start-from-clean-wm6.5' step..
Hope that fixes the notification bug too..
Good luck to me.
As for the overclocking, are you using the method in this thread?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=767538&highlight=overclock
That is the right thread ... using nueOverClockTest and Msm7kCpuSpeed ...
esad (SE Xperia X2) said:
hey guys, im asking your opinion..im going to buy a new phone this february, i look that x2 looks nice...but i saw that many people disappointed with this phone because they said it always freeze, lag, low battery life...is that true?? please help me, if this phone good, tell me...im gonna buy this phone next month...if this phone is not good, then tell me why? what can i do to make this phone good? or u can suggest me better phone(must have 8mp camera, long lasting battery, wi-fi provided, great speaker for music, touchscreen, side slider qwerty keyboard, large resolution and screen)...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not had battery problems with X2; I've used it since Aug 2010. I always have bluetooth on, and connected to my BT watch, BT car stereo, or BT home phone. I have LOTS of stuff installed, and a 32gb SD card. I've been known to run certain apps for 2-3 hrs straight with screen on and still have some juice left over.
In all, I enjoy the phone for it's sleek design and excellent flush screen more than I did the X1 (I bought the X1 the month it debuted, and still have it). The keyboard is absolutely untouchable. That alone is something that makes any kind of bugs something you say, "I'll have to search for a fix for that," rather than, "I better get a new phone".
If SE ever really focused on fixing the firmware one more time, or present an Android option ...the X2 would stomp all over similar devices.
But, there are indeed many core issues with this phone that you have to surmount, even after upgrade to MR2 firmware:
1) Fix for the SD Card corruption-bug
2) Fix for the display backlight timeout not being controllable.
3) Fix for forcing the screen to go off, but not the device to 'sleep' (this helps with certain BT & wiFi connections & software)
4) Add software to select programs for auto-rotate w/G-sensor
5) Add Opera
6) Add Advanced Config to tweak system
7) It's better if you overclock it.
8) Add SK Tools for system maintenance
9) Add JetWare bluetooth extension in order to transfer contacts to car stereo (I had to do this with X2; didn't have to with X1)
Items 1-7 are all freeware, although some may be hard to find.
That being said, this is Windows Mobile...so not a real big surprise that you'll have some issues. If you want real 'freedom' with your OS, ...this is what you'll need to work through. If you want trouble-free but vanilla computing, get an iPhone.
The comments above by gbajzelj & robuash are extremely valid, on the opposing ends of view....
esad (SE Xperia X2) said:
gbajzelj
then how could i make x2 be a great phone?? how to make it not lag anymore?
RJH57108
you convience me 2 buy it now..anyway, u disable the slideview, then how u use the phone in side-ways? are there hotkeys to turn the screen to slide view?
robuash
does it really take time to update it? what worst case can happen during update? is it true that update it to MR2 make it fast?
or u guys can suggest me other phone..i would like to have a phone that i can store many music, 8mpx camera, touch and sideslider, support games, great loudspeaker, wifi, no lag, great battery(atleast 2 or 3 days minimum for heavy and moderate usage)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A note on SlideView: this is essentially an extension of their media panel from the X1. While being a frustrating and buggy piece of software as people say, ...it's slick as Hell. I mean, I don't want to delete it (or the whole panel interface). It's why I bought the phone. I just think it's ridiculous when people say, "Fix your X2 by deleting SlideView and all Panels". --Oh, Thanks for that.
Just understand: you do need to buy a standalone photo viewer (Resco is great), and if you can't learn to love Windows Media Player, then expect to buy something like Pocket Player. SlideView is great for a handful of files, but not if you want to spend a lot of time with it. By that time, it will generally have cataloged some file it didn't like and crashed.
SlideView is launched if you press the hardware panel button once; panels are called by pressing the same button twice in quick succession. This could be better. Especially if your phone happens to be bogging-down at the time, ...you might not get the desired result on the first try.
A note on MR2: The firmware includes the "Saturn" black/gold theme from SE, which totally changes the look of your WM6.5.3 interface. It is slick, and it smartly increases fonts in correct areas, while making WM look modern. MR2 however, does not make the X2 magically 'fast'.
And, I think robuash is talking about the type of fixes I listed above. You will need to spend time tweaking. As a matter of fact, after running since about Sept, ...it's about time for a reload from scratch to clean things up. When I have 8hrs to spare, I'll get around to it. (Maybe I'll take a day off from work sometime.)
Lastly, I think someone above mentioned memory. As opposed to the X1, internal memory is very limited on the X2. You have to be real creative how you install stuff, and install absolutely everything you possibly can on the SD card instead of the system. (This is also where SK Tools comes in handy, because it lets you 'move' programs between Card and System & back, even for some programs that don't give you a choice at install time.)
Also, once you dip below 20mb program memory in the phone, it tends to get real buggy. I'm just above that right now, but I've got LOADS of programs installed (creatively, on the SD card).
I too, been thinking about getting the X2 for a long time. But theyre still quite expensive (In my opinion). I've always loved sony ericsson phones. I had the X1 awhile ago, my first WinMo phone, paid $250 for it, I only buy full qwerty phones, but at the time, i was all crazy about the whole android thing and the X1's keyboard was already giving me issues (space bar and some letters registering twice) so i got really dissapointed and sold it.
Then finally got myself the motorola milestone which i loved, but after tweaking my X1 so much, i sort of got bored with android, but it was still a GREAT phone so i decided to keep it until a couple of months ago mainly because, unfortunately, the milestone i bought (from amazon) was not compatible with my carrier's 3G frequencies so i had to use EDGE all the time, slow as hell. So i sold it and and decided to go with the HTC fuze so i could try winmo again, paid $100 for one(used) and cool and stuff but it still didnt look as good as the milestone or the X1 (thick phone and the screen sucked compared to the X1 and milestone) so i looked up the X1 on ebay and bought one used for $100 too lol.
So now i have the X1 AGAIN and love it more than ever BUT, theres the keyboard and flex cable issue >< , plus, the keyboard isnt as comfortable as the fuze's. Anyways, it just seems like the X2 would be perfect for me at this time since it would basically be a X1 without the issues i just mentioned. The only problem is that they seem to cost $250/$350 on ebay. For that price i could get used phones with way better specs.
Also, im not sure about X2's current android development.
shure X2 can be made farely OK (but not GOOD) phone with a little work and help from our friends from XDA.
but just to reming you. this device when came out costed around 500€ ($600). at lunch (in january 2010) it had old CPU (qualcom msms 7200 came out in 2007, alot devices from 2008 had it) it also had only 265 MB RAM wich was already then to little.
it was slow and buggy at lunch and it still is now (last update in may 2010 i think thats only 4 months after release and that is liie saying your costumers F YOU).
for a phone that costed 500€ at lunch i can assume its high end phone. and some people assumed that and pay for this phone when it came out.
i have to point out that i got it for free in february 2010 and i still have a feeling of being cheeted. for that kind of money it shoud look great (that it does), feal good (typing on the qwerty is nice, but the touch is a joke, even x1 had better touch response but x1 screen was not secured as good as x2 is) and also it shoud WORK good, wich if we buy a phone that is assumed high end it should but x2 doesnt.
what kind of high end phone corupts data on SD card (jeah there is a SDFIX but some data deffinitly got lost before it was made. and that does not sounds like a high end phone) what kind of phone takes almost 1/2 hour to setup (after a hard reset) and then works so slowly that you have to hard reset every week (shure you can hardreset, and interupt the costumizatin to have clean WM6.5.3 and then install some staff by yourself to make it usable)?
if a costumer buys a product (and again 500€ for mobile phone means it should be a mean machine, a multimedia monster, not that it says [email protected] video then even on the QVGA the framerate is not totaly 30fps) that product should work without ours deletting the SE stuff hardreseting it, SD problem fixes, notification problem fixes, LED problem fixes, baterry problem fixes, killing a task in taskmanager freezes... the phone should work great out of the box for gods sake! are you that dumb! IF YOU PAY FOR SOMETHIONG YOU SHOULD GET WHAT YOU PAYED!
just a little comparison i have a X2, had HD2 (had to sell couse i urgently needed money (am deffinatly buying HD2 again), and again the X2 is such a ****ty phone nobody wants to buy so i had to sell HD2), and my friend has htc tattoo.
X2 costs almost like HD2 (x2 €500, hd2 €550 maybe €600 and im talking new phones at thair releases) x2 has the display resolution like HD2, has a very nice query that is great to type. but it has a cpu slover then tattoo (and those who sees 528MHz and think the cpus are the same, THEY ARE NOT. 7225 is newer then 7200 the 7225 it might not be alot faster but it isa little faster) and has the same amouth on RAM as tattoo (256MB). and at my mobile operator with contract X2 costed 300€ and tattoo costed 60€, tatoo at elast has android (donut is realy old now but back then it was fine). im a fan of WM 6.5.x but still on X2 some things, that work on others 6.5.X devices, doesnt work.
in short (not realy):
-price is high end,
-qwerty above average,
-touch is low end (its better with the stylus but average max)
i so miss the touchpad with up, down, left, and right butons from my X1.
-cpu/ram is the low end of smartfhones (already was low at relese in Jan 2010 if i tell you that tattoo came out in Sep 2009 and tattoo is a low range of samrthones)
-it has a high end display resolution (but combination of slow hardware and big display resolution isnt the best)
- it has stability problems (stability wise the phone isnt finished yet. it more feels like a beta tester unit) the SD gets corupted, killing tasks in task manager has a chance your device will freeze and the are then strange happenigh when making a call or reciving a call (not always but sometimes, at least 2x a week) and then people who you are calling or who is calling you is asking "hey man whats wron with your fency phone? is it broken already". and you know that its not broke its the software wich is not good.
the best part of SE programing is definitly the Phone program it runs great. its well finger optimized and the contact list is so fluid, has nice tabs and so on.
to say in one sentence. mediocre phone with good qwerty, slow hardware and a hefty price tag.
at the moment am using it just for mailing, and surfing the web on my wifi. for calling im using my 6 year old nokia 1600 at least nothing goes wrong with that one and the battery runs for 10-12 days.
sorry for bad english.
im not 100% sure yet but after reading this whole thread im thinking of just fixing my xperia X1 (ribbon cable issue) and sticking with it rather than buying the X2
well X1 is more fun then X2 for shure. 6.5.3 is more finger friendly but the touch respond is not good with fingers (if X2 had capacitve display this would be a totaly diferent song). plus 6.1 that is on x1 is more functional. more stuff works as it should. alot of programers did not rewrite their apps for 6.5, 6.5.X so some apps have some truble here and there. spb shell (used 3.5.3, 3.5.5 runs to slow) in landscape on my X2 with 6.5.3 has some problems with hight and width. its not a big problem but its notiseble.
plus X1 has SE panel1 and 2 that i love. and the biggest plus in my opinion alot of roms to flash.
if i had a chance to swap X2 back for X1 i would. oh and if you get your X1 repared. and if you get sick of panels, spb shell, android, ubuntu... give a try to spb pocket plus wich i adored on my x1 its a nice small plugin for todayscreen. you have icons on the today screen, and nice tabs (7 max i think) and it looks realy nice. uses nice icons for everithing.
X2 might be OK to get if you get one totaly functionl and with no demage to the body for less then X1 will cost to get repared. but i dont think that is possible.
wish you luck.
sorry for bad english.
I see, thanks for your answer. Well, what about the X2 camera? i keep reading mixed reviews, some people say its garbage, others say its as good as the cybershot branded phones. How good is the camera in comparison with the X1?
And also the keyboard, thats the main reason i'd buy the X2, the camera would be a plus, IF its any good. But i guess those reasons alone arent enough for for me to spend $250 right now. I'd just save a bit more and buy a moto milestone or something.
XtriFe said:
I see, thanks for your answer. Well, what about the X2 camera? i keep reading mixed reviews, some people say its garbage, others say its as good as the cybershot branded phones. How good is the camera in comparison with the X1?
And also the keyboard, thats the main reason i'd buy the X2, the camera would be a plus, IF its any good. But i guess those reasons alone arent enough for for me to spend $250 right now. I'd just save a bit more and buy a moto milestone or something.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I realize this is a month later, but if you (or someone) is wondering about the camera, you should know:
The X2 camera, while indeed being 8.1 mpxl ... only manages "2 mxpl" when in 16x9 mode. At least, this is how the menus describe it. On the X1, there was no distinction about a lower amount of mpxl's in-use when in 16x9 mode.
In reality, I'm not sure if this is truly a surprising bit of 'reversal' (where the older model is actually superior, albeit with a lower 'spec'), or if they just didn't 'publicize' the lower mxpl in the 16x9 mode on X1. --It does tend to put a 'bummer face' on you when you see that in the X2 camera menu.
Now, that being said ... I'd say that (however you shoot) the X2 camera is superior to the X1 in one very major way: lower compression. Although I took many a fine shot on my X1 ... the compression was pretty bad (especially on a city scene, etc. with a lot of varying detail & colors). The X2 shots have a more 'normal' look.
On the downside, the X2 seems to be more 'focus-finnicky', no matter what you do. You really need arms of steel to take a perfect shot on the X2 (and that was not the case on the X1, especially when using the 'motion mode' in the presets).
On the upside, I think the X2 produces better color balance in most lighting situations. I often take pictures of whiteboards at work after meetings. With the X1, I always needed to run pictures through varying levels of color-correction before sending-out, etc. I still do with X2, but to a lesser extent. Something with the contrast-balance is better so that lined text (like you have from board markers) maintains its quality. --This may again be another example in favor of X2 because of lesser-compression, actually.
So, it's a trade-off:
X2 'feels' like a much better camera (overall)
X1 is a little more solid/reliable, but less-potent & 'feels' more like a cellphone camera.
(There we go again. Yep, X2 is a sleek, upgraded phone, ...but with its share of quibbles.)
maybe this website may help you to make a choice..
http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_xperia_x2-review-443.php
Bye bye guys here in s200 forum.Tomorrow i will buy htc hd2 to use android and wp7.I will buy it used in my city for 280€ and sell s200 for at least 200€.I love my s200 but sadly windows mobile has too restriction compared to android,and i can t wait for the project that maybe will never come true on our phone.I wish i gave help with my disassembly tutorial and some other threads,and i thank you all for the great support you gave me
Thank you for your support,and good luck with your HD2. It was my previous phone (with android boot option) and it's one of the best smartphone I ever owned. Now, I jump to Android with a Samsung Galaxy S, and it's a great piece if technology. Android is also a nice OS even if I found it's a bit too intrusive in my private live and data...
Android in our S200...Great idea, but I can't see it growing very fast...
3 days with android on hd2 and i can t go back,android is a perfect os,you can do everything you want and more,without system hangs...3 days of intensive gaming surfing testing and never had to reboot.I really wished to use my acer s200 like this,cause i love this phone
good for u..
right now im content with wm on my s200..i wont be getting a new phone until q4 this year when my contract expires..
im not even sure i can sell my s200... dunno who the hell will buy it..
ill probably get a blackberry or some fone with a qwerty kb cos im just sick of touch screen fones.
Shame, I'm like you too. I have a tg01 but we have android but it is still in alpha. The development appears to have stopped. I think I will have to upgarde to a hd2 even though I like my phone
olyloh6696, android generaly it s the better os for phones,once you try it you can t go back.Every day you find a new feature that give you a better use of the phone.You have milion of applications,you can customize everything,and everything run incredibly stable and fast.
hd2+android = perfect phone for every use
Once you try you can t go back,
Axel85 said:
olyloh6696, android generaly it s the better os for phones,once you try it you can t go back.Every day you find a new feature that give you a better use of the phone.You have milion of applications,you can customize everything,and everything run incredibly stable and fast.
hd2+android = perfect phone for every use
Once you try you can t go back,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly my point. After I got the tab o decided iwant android. I am buying a hd2 and going to dual boot windows phone 7 and android on it. I have made a thread on it whether to get the HTC hd2
Sent from my Orange San Francisco using XDA App
i took a year using the acer s200, in that time i had the oportunity to compared to others phones; iphone, hd2, also wondows mobile 7 phones, andriod phones, sincerily the acer is the best, why? because 1.it,s have the pure version of Windows Mobile 6.5 . make it very fast, more fast than the hd2 2. W.M. 6.5 allow you used it like modem, wifi router, hard disk, and more others apps otherwise the f...ing iphone, if you don't hack it, is trash. 3. Android is a copy and paste of the windows mobile O.S., and you know that., 4. Windows Mobile 7 sucks definitely, no modem, no wifi router, no today screen set up, no free use, NADA. think about it..........
eb53750 said:
i took a year using the acer s200, in that time i had the oportunity to compared to others phones; iphone, hd2, also wondows mobile 7 phones, andriod phones, sincerily the acer is the best, why? because 1.it,s have the pure version of Windows Mobile 6.5 . make it very fast, more fast than the hd2 2. W.M. 6.5 allow you used it like modem, wifi router, hard disk, and more others apps otherwise the f...ing iphone, if you don't hack it, is trash. 3. Android is a copy and paste of the windows mobile O.S., and you know that., 4. Windows Mobile 7 sucks definitely, no modem, no wifi router, no today screen set up, no free use, NADA. think about it..........
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1 i agree it s the faster one,better than hd2 in windows mobile
2 i agree
3 i disagree,seems like you never tried android,it s an innovative system,you can do everything, it s faster than any other os
4 i agree,seems like microsoft is going back 5 years
On 3 : You are right on speed, I had one in my hands for 20 minutes and I could experience that. but this was not hacked, and my friend could not get the maximum utility, same story as the iphone ........
Yesterday, after a full day of struggle to get my S200 functioning properly, I just gave up.
The story so far...
A few days ago my vibration didn't function anymore for no apparent reason. I had not installed any software nor did I do any registry-tampering. By the time I got the vibration back working (after a couple of factory resets) I couldn't get the damn thing to work with activesync. I tried everything, other usb-cables, other ports, re-installing activesync, you name it. Bluetooth did see the PC though activesync didn't get on with the BT-connection. In the end I managed to break Wifi and that's when I got so fed up that i smashed the whole thing.
It was good while it lasted but it's clear that Acer's quality is still hopeless. I'll miss the functionality of WM because I could access my windows shares from Windows Mobile (without ridicoulus things like DLNA). Also that acer phone was the last WM-phone that could record phonecalls out-of-the-box as far as I remember (the other one is the Samsung Omnia SGH-i900).
Therefore this will be my last post in the forum. The Acer S200 users are a dying breed. At least i can tell you that the bezel around the screen is indeed of metal
Since my finances are cut short I've reverted to a Nokia C7. Small, cheap, good looking and also has the ability to record phonecalls (which is important for me). Alhough I tested this on an N8, I believe the C7 is mostly the same. I tried the EDOF-camera and i must say: the pictures are much better (the videorecording is amazing on this thing).
So bye bye folks. I was a fun time here.
To Brainmaster: This means that I won't have the change to try out your custom ROMS and all that comes with it. Sorry mate.
dear epdm2be , a modern phone like Acer s200 or other big touch screen phone its not ment to last more than 2,3 years, not mention that if accidenatally falls on ground a few times. So, after a few falls, u cant ask to work properly.
eb53750 said:
i took a year using the acer s200, in that time i had the oportunity to compared to others phones; iphone, hd2, also wondows mobile 7 phones, andriod phones, sincerily the acer is the best, why? because 1.it,s have the pure version of Windows Mobile 6.5 . make it very fast, more fast than the hd2 2. W.M. 6.5 allow you used it like modem, wifi router, hard disk, and more others apps otherwise the f...ing iphone, if you don't hack it, is trash. 3. Android is a copy and paste of the windows mobile O.S., and you know that., 4. Windows Mobile 7 sucks definitely, no modem, no wifi router, no today screen set up, no free use, NADA. think about it..........
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree at all points.
I have the S200, is not strong made like Iphone but is not that expensive. I don't want to talk about what you folks already know.
Also i like the reaction of people when i show my Acer, " Acer??, what??, phone, i thought acer make laptops"
I had 2 HTC in my life, not HD2, some older models, Qtek and HTC Diamond, and both with dead pixels or other problems. So i decided to not continue with HTC, sorry, its not worked for me.
If you install the right software, u can make acer s200 a very good peace of hardware.
The latest achievement is my battery setting, for normal battery, which i gain almost a week of using, of course, without BT and WIFI enabled.
I will change the phone only if its lost or broke, wont change for the sake of change, to get another phone with other problems and almost same usage, not mention, the price and loss of money. Maybe a Galaxy S mini from Samsung is what i prefer right now, mostly for size. I loved the Galaxy S, but a friend of mine had one and accidentally droped from hand and the glass was broked. So, that much about big screen phones fidelity
Same for me. Yet my device is fully working. And as long as it does so, i will continue using it....
With the correct software it is simply wonderful, and the greatest advantage is still igo 8 for windows mobile...I couldnt find any navigation software on other Operating Systems that would come near this wonderful program...
the acer s200 isnt the purest fastest WinMo device!
The TG01 has the same specs, and its clean pure and light!
riotman said:
Same for me. Yet my device is fully working. And as long as it does so, i will continue using it....
With the correct software it is simply wonderful, and the greatest advantage is still igo 8 for windows mobile...I couldnt find any navigation software on other Operating Systems that would come near this wonderful program...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How about Igo 8 for Android? Or Navigon Mobile Select for Android?
brainmaster said:
How about Igo 8 for Android? Or Navigon Mobile Select for Android?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as far as i can remember navigon mobile select demands an online connection to use the navigation.
Igo for Android doesnt have that much features as igo 8 does. The day will come that i'll have to cope with igo for android but i definity prefer the feature rich igo 8...
Right now there is no need for me to change the os i got my calculator , calender my navigation software, swype and tetris . also important for me is a music player that doesnt use mp3 tags to sort the music but to use folder navigation. I think there are not too many players for android just like nitrogen which offer this feature.
Anyways, as soon as my neotouch doesnt work anymore, ill also switch to android
get a htc android phone. they have tomtom in them. they licensed it. but renamed it htc locations.
seriously. i didnt want to switch to android because of gps. but i have changed my mind.
even the galaxy has a good gps turn by turn app.
removed because of double post
RE:
aquagen said:
dear epdm2be , a modern phone like Acer s200 or other big touch screen phone its not ment to last more than 2,3 years, not mention that if accidenatally falls on ground a few times. So, after a few falls, u cant ask to work properly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all it didn't fall. Never had been fallen; as I keep it in a Krussel leather pouch AND had a Zagg invisible shield wrapped around the screen AND back too (socalled full body armor). I took both measures after reading how scratch-prone the back-cover was. It wasn't 3 years old either. It was "only" 7 or 8 months old.
As I wrote earlier, the short time that I used it I was very happy with it. Fast, didn't look too bad, nice navigation with iGo, could record phone calls (although not when made over bluetooth), Wake on LAN (for my PC and Mac), could access windows shares through the file-manager, heaps of software to be found. The list goes on.
Negative points. The camera sucked big time as was expected. Windows Mobile needs to reboot every 2 days as we all know and tollerate. This was also with my much more expensive Samsung Omnia (WM6.1) that I owned before the Acer and it's clearly a problem with the OS not being stable enough for prolonged use. Though in reality it didn't bother me to reboot my phone very other day.
If it just wasn't so fragile :-(
I mean, suddenly vibration went dead, bluetooth behaved weird and then WIFI just stopped at all. Comm-manager didn't see any wifi-chip at all ???
Nonetheless the devices aren't available anymore. The only (acer) WM device that I could get was the P300 which is a lower specified device. And I didn't know if that device could handle call-recording which the S200 can without any other software (the S200-dialer simply has a record function build-in). In fact, the store-keeper even offered me a discount because of my bad luck with my former phones, which I found very fair of him. So if you live in Belgium and want to know what shop it is, then PM me. I can wholeheartedly recommend them.
The other WM6.x device on sale in that shop was the ridiculously expensive HTC HD2 (where call-recording doesn't work or at least not without patching/hacking/too-much-hassle-anyway).
The only device with the same price AND with call-recording (that I knew off) in stock was the Nokia C7 (or it's cheaper brother C6-00 with the older Symbian). The C6-01 wasn't available in that store at that time so my choices were very limited.
I must say I've had it now for over a week and I'm pleasantly surprised. It feels much better made than the acer with higher quality materials (metal rim around a real glass screen, metal back, metal cam-module and the plastic looks of better quality too). The screen is even supposed to be "gorilla glass", whatever that means. It's call quality is much, much better as its reception. And it can even record calls over the blue-tooth headset (which my Samsung also could but the Acer could not). Not to mention the recorded calls seem all of good quality and audio-volume (whereby on the acer some calls were very good and others were too quiet)
It's inbuilt media player plays divx, xvid (even with subtitles) and flv's. On WM6.x I used the excellent Coreplayer to play amongst others xvid/divx but as we all know it can't handle subtitles. On the other hand, Coreplayer on WM6.x is able to play streamed files from my windows-xp-shares. The Nokia player can't access my windows xp shares over wifi or at least I haven't figured this out yet.
The web experience is certainly better on the Acer because of it's 800x480 screen. The Nokia C7 has a very good capacitive screen but with a lower pixel count (640x360) and you definitely notice this when web browsing. It's also smaller than the S200 (Acer S200=3.8" while C7=3.5"). It's not bad though but a bigger screen with higher pixel-count simply shows more things and so you have to scroll around a bit less. On the plus side Opera is still being further developped for Symbian (I use Opera 11 now) while unfortunately further development ceased for WM (last version for S200 is Opera 10) :-(
As for the screen clarity and colours. It's day and night. The Omnia had a very bad screen with bad touch-input. While the acer has a very good resistive screen with good visuals. But these amoled screens are really good and capacitive touch is so much more fun to use (especially considering the premium glass feel of actual glass). I can understand that ppl rave on about those super amoleds. But I was happy with S200's screen, it was good enough for me and definitely isn't bad (it's probably the best restive screen out there IMHO). I didn't buy this C7 for it's amoled screen.
Oh, didn't I mention audio quality is great. I mean it's loud and clear without any hacks or tricks. Navigation sounds terrific, playing movies sound very good. Audio-wise, a major step-up from the awfully low volume on the S200.
I played a bit with Nokia's navigation. But I can't comment much on it. At first sight it looks okay. It's not as beautiful as iGO but it definitely looks better than TomTom. It's easy to use and starts up incredibly quick. But I only used it today for real navigation. It does it's job very well and comes free with the phone which is definitely a bonus. There are other navigation apps but so far I've only used Nokia's maps. I doubt that I'll use something else because it's sufficient enough for me and starts up very quickly. As with iGO (which inserts contact-addresses into it's on-board POI-list) you can navigate to stored contacts (you do it from the address book itself).
Tell you what. I like this C7 now but it could very well be that in 6 months time I dislike it (especially when it should break down as quick as the Acer did). Nonetheless I do realize that this too is also "just" a 300 euro's phone and not an 800 euro's iPhone. Of course my problems remain even if this phone should break down within 1 or 2 years... I need in-call-recording which isn't to be found easily with smartphones :-( (strangely enough both Nokia's and Sony-ericsson feature-phones are able to record phone calls without a fuzz.)
Oh well. We'll just have to wait and see how this device hangs on. At least it didn't cost me an ARM and a leg (unlike the Samsung Omnia)
Hope this wasn't too boring.
Cheers
Hi all! I have ordered an s200. I hope it will be a good choice. I think it deserve the price.