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Hey guys,
I've got quite a problem: I've got an Magician now, and i'm thinking of buying an Universal. Will I be sorry for it, or be the happiest person on the planet?
The reason I want an Universal, is that the things I use my Magician for, MSN, internet, sending sms and sometimes a short call, is not really what it's meant for. Right now I'm using an SPECTEC SDIO, what means I can hardy download anything. Cause of the Qwerty keyboard, build-in WiFi and larger screen, I think that an Universal is the better choise. Am I thinking right, or are there better options to think of?
Thank you in advance..!
I went from a magician to the universal. The pros are the screen, combined with opera finally you have real internet and dont get me started on logmein . The keyboard is real handy too, this also has a downside, its so handy that all my text messages are two texts long cause the keyboard invites you to type more. A real downside is the size and weight. You cannot put the universal in your pocket (at least I cant). Also the battery life is not that good. I always carry an external accu on penlites for emergencies.
It really depends how you will use it, if you're gonna use it as a phone, stick with the magician, if you're gonna use it as a mini laptop, buy it asap.
And change provider to T-mobile because they offer unlimited data-plan for EUR 9,50 ;-) Because of the unlimited data and UMTS I hardly use WiFi, too much hassle, too much battery drain and too little speed gain compared to UMTS.
You might want to hold off just a bit, I believe the HTC TyTN (Or Hermes) is coming your way in just a few weeks. Do a google search on it if you're not familiar with it, on paper it's almost the perfect phone.
If all else fails, or if you really like the Universal's platform (Clamshell, swivel screen tablet) it's one wicked phone My favorite phone so far. :lol:
That Hermes has the same look as the Wizard, and that's exactly what I'm not looking for. I use my magician to type long pieces of text, and I think the keys are way to small to do that. And ain't it so, that it has an 2.8" screen?
And Kassad, I think T-Mobile Web 'n Walk (Pocket Internet Totaal) is way to slow. With my Magician the internet speed at home stops at 300 kilibyte per second, and I'm still anoyed when I try downloading an MP3file with my phone. (I know, 1meg a second makes people spoiled.. :wink: )
I think when I'm back from vacation I've sold my Magician and the money is there to get my Universal.. (You all don't know one thing about me.. I'm 13.. )
I think universal has everything on it, the keypd is really makes me more typin, and ofcourse UMTS is more benefitial for downloading data quicker.
Battery drain is not a problem if you use it wisely, well weight is a bit prob but it is alright for me :wink:
Michel92 said:
That Hermes has the same look as the Wizard, and that's exactly what I'm not looking for. I use my magician to type long pieces of text, and I think the keys are way to small to do that. And ain't it so, that it has an 2.8" screen?
And Kassad, I think T-Mobile Web 'n Walk (Pocket Internet Totaal) is way to slow. With my Magician the internet speed at home stops at 300 kilibyte per second, and I'm still anoyed when I try downloading an MP3file with my phone. (I know, 1meg a second makes people spoiled.. :wink: )
I think when I'm back from vacation I've sold my Magician and the money is there to get my Universal.. (You all don't know one thing about me.. I'm 13.. )
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Web'n'Walk works at 320 Kb/s for me, so I'm quite happy with the speed. And when I need it, I can connect to an WiFi accespoint and get a working 1,6 Mb/s
Sorry guyss.. I was about 10000 kilometers away.. Had a great holiday.. Butt.. Haven't got any phone at the moment.. So I used an old Samsung.. But forgot it was not a Tri-band phonee.. But.. Now I've got the money for an Universal.. Almost.. Spended wayyyy to much in Sri Lanka.. So I bought an few Nokia Chargers there..*Really cheap....* So I can sell them heree.. So0w I can add that to my Universal savings.. Also have to sell an Spectec wifi-card.. So it ain't going to be a problem.. Now I've got to find one I like..
I have magician too,and I'm going to buy Universal.Can anybody specificates the duration of the battery in the different situation(phone,navigator,pda)?And which is the range of the wi-fi connection?
nobody can help me?
zanfo said:
I have magician too,and I'm going to buy Universal.Can anybody specificates the duration of the battery in the different situation(phone,navigator,pda)?And which is the range of the wi-fi connection?
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i think the battery is quite good, disagreeing with the complaints on it. even so, i bought a second battery, very cheap and came with its own external batt charger woo hoo. but i bought it only because i'm a battery maniac
you can also get loads of extended batteries for cheap, 3000, 3200, 3800, 4400, 4800 mAh.. the 3000 and 3200 ones are quite cheap and readily available.
if you just use it as a phone, with the 1620 mAh default battery, and have the brightness at 10% (i always have it at 10% because it is bright enough even at that level! seriously 100% brightness burns my eyes ok outdoors i sometimes crank it up to 40%), then i *think* you can use it for two or three days or if you make too many calls it will still probably last 1 day easily. i dunno, i never make calls, just write a lot of sms's.
if you use it as a pda, at the same brightness, and you read ebooks, at 10% it will last 8 hours easily (with phone turned on most of the time). normal pda usage (with some wifi and umts), 4-5 hours; umts (continuous), 3-4 hours; wifi (continuous) 3. these are estimates from my experience.
oh and dunno about navigation. i don't use it for that.
finally, wifi range is average, it is ok in most situations.
did this help?
There are a lot of things to like and a lot of things to dislike about the Universal. The ones that I dont like are:
Battery Life... used to be around 7/8 hours when I first bought it 7 months ago, now its down to 3 hours. But I do make a fair number of calls on it. Even then, the battery life is horrible. 3 hours is a joke and the battery now crashes at 60%.
Bulk: Its a bulky phone, not easy to fit in your pocket, not easy to carry around. Remember, size matters ;-)
Slow: Load a few today programmes and its slow. Compared to my earlier XDA II, its about 60% as fast. On the XDA, everthing was instantaneous, here I have to wait for an application to open. Probably due to the miniscule memory in the phone.
Reception: Signal strength is not on par with most phones but that is true of the XDA too so guess its a HTC issue. Nokia with the same sim card will show full signal and with the Universal, its at least one bar less all the time.
Just few pet peeves........
If I were to do it all over again, I have to confess that I wouldn't buy the Universal.
Cheers, Vikas.
well, buy a new battery, very cheap on ebay & dont use crappy today plugins, i don't and my universal is fast. i do have a today plugin but it is simple and doesn't consume any resources.
maybe this could help..
but the universal is primarily for those who appreciate this form factor. IMO i love the form factor
I decided: It'll be an Wizard.. Think the Universal maybe really is to big for me, I tried one in a phone shop, but didn't manage to get it into my pocket. Than I would always have to carry a bag with me, which won't be any of a problem going to school.. But that's not the only thing in life.. :roll: A wizard can't be any problem, because it is not that much bigger than the magician I had. Now I'm looking for an wizard.. 150euros.. Offers, someone....? Only in the Netherlands, taxes are way to high from foreign countries.
vikasmal said:
Battery Life... used to be around 7/8 hours when I first bought it 7 months ago, now its down to 3 hours. But I do make a fair number of calls on it. Even then, the battery life is horrible. 3 hours is a joke and the battery now crashes at 60%
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I guess you have not used the battery properly or you have done something that has caused the battery to malfunction
Bulk: Its a bulky phone, not easy to fit in your pocket, not easy to carry around. Remember, size matters ;-)
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Yes, it is bulky but then, does any other phone offers you VGA display ?? Nope. You want big screen, keyboard too,then, why yammer about the size :evil:
Slow: Load a few today programmes and its slow. Compared to my earlier XDA II, its about 60% as fast. On the XDA, everthing was instantaneous, here I have to wait for an application to open. Probably due to the miniscule memory in the phone.
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Mine is very fast. It depends how you have set up your pocket pc. If you use awful apps like spb P+ which make you PPC crawl and use their memory hungry plugins then why r u complaining about the speed bro
.
Reception: Signal strength is not on par with most phones but that is true of the XDA too so guess its a HTC issue. Nokia with the same sim card will show full signal and with the Universal, its at least one bar less all the time.
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Are you using the latest radio ROM ?? I too live in new delhi and the signal is great !!
hi kdskamal,
i was wondering what you use in the place of today plugins like P+.. i find it quite hard to replace and have been living with the speed of my Universal.. but i'd love to hear alternatives..
howe said:
hi kdskamal,
i was wondering what you use in the place of today plugins like P+.. i find it quite hard to replace and have been living with the speed of my Universal.. but i'd love to hear alternatives..
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well, depends on what features you use from spb+. i just need a taskmanager which has a better close button than spb (spb is so stupid) and one that doesn't slow the device down so much.. so i found magicbuttons which is free and consumes very little resources. and it even puts icons of the running programs on the "taskbar".
i also needed a battery meter: magicbuttons takes care of this with the help of uptime.
if you need a PIE plugin, there are alternatives again, but i don't use PIE so i can only quote their names, multiie, pieplus, ftxpbrowser (latter is free). but opera is much better
that's all i can say for now, but let us know what other features you need.
finally I buy the universal!I immaginate it less heavy,but it's ok.
Today I use it for 2 hours as navigator,2 short calls,and the battery is at 32%(total time used 3 hours).Is it normal?
Does anybody know which is the latest italian rom?I have 1.13
zanfo said:
finally I buy the universal!I immaginate it less heavy,but it's ok.
Today I use it for 2 hours as navigator,2 short calls,and the battery is at 32%(total time used 3 hours).Is it normal?
Does anybody know which is the latest italian rom?I have 1.13
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try decreasing the brightness! as i said i have mine on 10% of brightness (backlight). this will surely help. and 10% is always enough. 40% is more comfortable outdoors on a sunny day but 10% is still very good even then as this is a transflective screen, not transmissive. 8)
anyway your usage means 4 hours of battery life, it is not bad.
(oh and don't try 0% it means backlight off, unusable)
I already follow your suggest!
How many free ram have you after hard reset?And which rom do you use?
I thing I have to buy a bigger battery!
howe said:
hi kdskamal,
i was wondering what you use in the place of today plugins like P+.. i find it quite hard to replace and have been living with the speed of my Universal.. but i'd love to hear alternatives..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For today plugins, you can try iLauncher from sbsh.net
http://www.sbsh.net/products/ilauncher/
something extra:I use handy switcher for task switching. I have assigned my video call button to this app. It can also close the apps without touching the stylus. On top of that, it just occupies 60kb.
Hello XDA-DEV .
I needed some opinions about this phone. I checked all the reviews that were online , I have been studying about this phone for sometime now. Let me tell you about me and then I will ask for your opinions. I currently am using a HTC TYTN and it’s a ok device. I have a O2 XDA EXEC that I bought 6 months ago and I love the device but poor signal were I live ( MA, USA ) I mean I have owned many HTC devices ( TREO 750, HTC Apache , HTC TYTN , HTC Wizard , HTC Universal , Blue Angel and DASH and many other devices like BB 8800 and 8700g and 8100 and TREO 650 and 600 , but WM is the way for me) I still have all these phones. My questions is that I love the screen and performance of the O2 XDA EXEC but the signal is very bad. I mean day and night between that and TYTN. I have tried pretty much any ROM that ever came out cooked or shipped with all the radio ROMs out there still nothing. So my questions is that how is Advantage, I am buying one this week but before I spend my money on it I want to see if it is worth the money.
Form all the people that have Advantage or AMEO or U1000 could you give me some opinions also size wise is it a lot bigger than Universal or NO?
Also if anyone lives on NE area in USA how is your experience with this device.
Again I appreciated all the effort that this community has done and all I can say is thank you.
My personal opinion is that it does feel quite a lot bigger than the Universal, but it is totally worth it! TBH, neither fits in your jeans pocket so once you get to Universal size then it doesn't matter if a device is a bit bigger if it is packing what the Athena is packing. Can't help you when it comes to signal, although I personally have had no problems at all.
Thank You. Honestly i dont think the size is really a problem. do you use this as a phone also. how is the day to day phone call operation. is it a pain or no.
I use mine as a normal phone, when cycling it's on wired headset, rest of the time I hold it to my ear..
'tis big, but hey so what
I went from the TyTn to the Athena. I loved the size of the TyTN with the exception of the screen size. Screen size just didn't feel right. I was a bit apprehensive before going to the Athena but don't regret it one bit. I was also discouraged when I found out that you couldn't hold it up to the ear like a regular phone but now that I've been using it for a while, I love it and much better. Phone is MUCH more stable than the TyTn, faster, etc. If I had to choose it would only be between the Universal and Athena. Are you experiencing the screen alignment issue with your TyTN?
Edit: Also, bluetooth on Athena works better than on TyTN.
from what i've heard so far this device is great. i have been waiting for it to come here and i will get me one 2maro. i cant wait till get it in my hands. i love the features. i was gonna get iphone but i phone has nothing on this.
i wanna say thank you for your opinions. it mean alot.
ltxda said:
I went from the TyTn to the Athena. I loved the size of the TyTN with the exception of the screen size. Screen size just didn't feel right. I was a bit apprehensive before going to the Athena but don't regret it one bit. I was also discouraged when I found out that you couldn't hold it up to the ear like a regular phone but now that I've been using it for a while, I love it and much better. Phone is MUCH more stable than the TyTn, faster, etc. If I had to choose it would only be between the Universal and Athena. Are you experiencing the screen alignment issue with your TyTN?
Edit: Also, bluetooth on Athena works better than on TyTN.
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no. but everytime i put this phone to my ear , it seams to hit something in the screen casue i keep hearing keytone. but i never had this problem with Uni, witch has bigger screen.
TYTN is ok but it is slow. i mean it freezes on me all the time. it takes 4ever for it to load.
fatouraee said:
no. but everytime i put this phone to my ear , it seams to hit something in the screen casue i keep hearing keytone. but i never had this problem with Uni, witch has bigger screen.
TYTN is ok but it is slow. i mean it freezes on me all the time. it takes 4ever for it to load.
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Yes, you're right...it does freeze a lot and is slooooooooooow. You need to get an Athena. You won't regret it. I have the www.jawbone.com as my bluetooth headset and works great. Also, not sure if it was a hardware or software issue but they keyboard on the TyTN sucks!
fatouraee said:
Thank You. Honestly i dont think the size is really a problem. do you use this as a phone also. how is the day to day phone call operation. is it a pain or no.
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I use it as my only phone. Most the time it is paired with my Jabra BT8010 which makes it much more useable as a phone. However I hold it up on speaker phone if my Jabra is off and that works fine too. Enjoy your new toy!
ltxda said:
Yes, you're right...it does freeze a lot and is slooooooooooow. You need to get an Athena. You won't regret it. I have the www.jawbone.com as my bluetooth headset and works great. Also, not sure if it was a hardware or software issue but they keyboard on the TyTN sucks!
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yup. he i saw your post recently and i bought a jawbone headset. the thing is amazing. how do you like the phone. i know u r in us and have tmobile service , how is it working for you so far.
fatouraee said:
yup. he i saw your post recently and i bought a jawbone headset. the thing is amazing. how do you like the phone. i know u r in us and have tmobile service , how is it working for you so far.
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It's working perfectly. I bought three units. So me and two buddies, all using TMobile in the US are very happy with the phone. I just don't trust the MicroDrive yet but don't really worry about it because I use a 4GB miniSDHC card to install my apps to. I'm in love with this phone and so are my two buddies. The built in GPS, which the TyTN doesn't have is a great great thing. I've purchased pretty much every high end phone HTC has made and this one is by far the best. The Universal comes in second place in my opinion. Reception on the Athena is better than the Universal and TyTN in my area. I gave my Universal to my fiancee so she uses it all the time. A great device and better than the TyTN.
ltxda said:
It's working perfectly. The built in GPS, which the TyTN doesn't have is a great great thing. I've purchased pretty much every high end phone HTC has made and this one is by far the best. The Universal comes in second place in my opinion.
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Thank,I have owned lots of pda phone - last time i had a regular phone was 5years ago. i started with hitachi g1000 from sprint back in the day.i own a business so it makes my life alot easier. Hey what software do you use for gps. i heard it doesnt come with maps . what do you use?
fatouraee said:
Thank,I have owned lots of pda phone - last time i had a regular phone was 5years ago. i started with hitachi g1000 from sprint back in the day.i own a business so it makes my life alot easier. Hey what software do you use for gps. i heard it doesnt come with maps . what do you use?
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I also own a business and this phone helps me stay organized. Also, being in a technology business, my customers almost expect me to have the latest and greatest. I don't disappoint. ;-)
I'm using TomTom. You do get one free map but what I did was just went out and purchased the full product for $150 from www.tomtom.com. It comes with the entire US and Cananda. I also like the Plus service. I have my state map, the regional map for this area and also the entire US map loaded. I keep the state map active. The entire US map doesn't contain all of the POI by default. I downloaded the POI that were not included in the default install so I'm up to speed. I use the local maps because they help with performance according to TomTom support. Just less data to deal with I guess.
My next purchase is going to be a low profile stereo bluetooth headset so I can listen to audio while lying down, etc. Going to be asking for opinions on this shortly.
ltxda said:
I also own a business and this phone helps me stay organized. Also, being in a technology business, my customers almost expect me to have the latest and greatest. I don't disappoint. ;-)
I'm using TomTom. You do get one free map but what I did was just went out and purchased the full product for $150 from www.tomtom.com. It comes with the entire US and Cananda. I also like the Plus service. I have my state map, the regional map for this area and also the entire US map loaded. I keep the state map active. The entire US map doesn't contain all of the POI by default. I downloaded the POI that were not included in the default install so I'm up to speed. I use the local maps because they help with performance according to TomTom support. Just less data to deal with I guess.
My next purchase is going to be a low profile stereo bluetooth headset so I can listen to audio while lying down, etc. Going to be asking for opinions on this shortly.
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How is the speed in navigation mode. is it similar tp the one in the car or slower.
fatouraee said:
How is the speed in navigation mode. is it similar tp the one in the car or slower.
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Not sure. I've only had GPS for my PPC Phones. Never had the GPS devices. I know that in the past, the PocketPC GPS software was easier to customize, etc. Not sure with the newer GPS products.
ltxda said:
It's working perfectly. I bought three units. So me and two buddies, all using TMobile in the US are very happy with the phone. I just don't trust the MicroDrive yet but don't really worry about it because I use a 4GB miniSDHC card to install my apps to. I'm in love with this phone and so are my two buddies. The built in GPS, which the TyTN doesn't have is a great great thing. I've purchased pretty much every high end phone HTC has made and this one is by far the best. The Universal comes in second place in my opinion. Reception on the Athena is better than the Universal and TyTN in my area. I gave my Universal to my fiancee so she uses it all the time. A great device and better than the TyTN.
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Hm... I install many app to microdrive and some file on it, but backup regulary. No prob at all!!! Even on test using SKtools, the speed of microdrive far better than SD card almost 3-4x faster!!!
cornelius said:
Hm... I install many app to microdrive and some file on it, but backup regulary. No prob at all!!! Even on test using SKtools, the speed of microdrive far better than SD card almost 3-4x faster!!!
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Yes, but it also drain a bit more memory....maybe when I update to WM6, i will give Micro Drive another try
is the problem with the micro drive solved. i know some poeple had problems specially with ameo. also how is the quality of video on this device.
fatouraee said:
is the problem with the micro drive solved. i know some poeple had problems specially with ameo. also how is the quality of video on this device.
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the Micro Drive issue is due to the ROM, so it's a software issue, now all the device seems to be running ok, but personally, i still don't trust the Micro Drive that much, the quality of video plays really well on the DOPOD U1000, you do need to make sure you set up your core player or TCPMP correctly, after that it plays the video smoothly.
cornelius said:
Hm... I install many app to microdrive and some file on it, but backup regulary. No prob at all!!! Even on test using SKtools, the speed of microdrive far better than SD card almost 3-4x faster!!!
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Yes performance is quicker and so is the battery drain. I've just had a couple of files come up corrupt on the Microdrive so I know there is still some problem there that wasn't solved. Hopefully in the next ROM though. For now I'm keeping only movies and MP3's and audio books, etc on the Microdrive but nothing that isn't backed up.
Hi Ppl,
I new here and new to PDA as well. After see everything in the market...
I have really liked the Atom Life.....But There seem to be quite few bad reviews about the Phone......So is worth getting the phone......
@tazzak m8 firstly hi and lemme say one thing that i surely feel what you are going through right now that is exactly what i felt in august (at the time of my buying the LIFE)
you know since then i have actually wondered and awed at why the LIFe got such reviews .... since my buying this phone which had come with the WM6 official ROM installed (though i have upgraded it twice officially since then) i have had no problems NO PROBLEMS what so ever...
though i surely have a few qualms that guys at O2 could have had an icing to the cake with a 128MB RAM (though this is not any slower) and the other complain is that all hardware vendors should do something bout the Batteries as these PPCs are huge power hogs due to their large screens it seems but then even with my Nokias i charge them daily (with regular use)
in the end i must say that my choice has never been a regret for me !
welcome to the world of Windows Mobile ;-)
How are the Speakers on it OK?
I usually use the spaeker phone for calls most of the time......
just dont buy this devise
The speakerphone is OK, but the volume isn't high enough to use it as a car handsfree. If you're in a room without much noise you should be good. I am very satisfied with mine, but they do have their quirks. Like a crappy original battery. Get one of the cheap batteries available on eBay, it will actually work better than the original. The original has problems with restarts on incoming call if they are too low on power (which means everything below 50 %).
Mastiff said:
The speakerphone is OK, but the volume isn't high enough to use it as a car handsfree. If you're in a room without much noise you should be good. I am very satisfied with mine, but they do have their quirks. Like a crappy original battery. Get one of the cheap batteries available on eBay, it will actually work better than the original. The original has problems with restarts on incoming call if they are too low on power (which means everything below 50 %).
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Yup! agree should try it out before getting it. O2 Atom Life has its flaws
Like all PDA phones I've ever had. I actually started with an extremely primitive Motorola "smartphone" and have followed the development of more and more advanced models, along with straight PDA's from the PocketLoox and beyond, until they really converged. Not one of them has been without flaws, and strangely enough all forums I have been at seems to think that their phone brand is the only one with problems! (Like people with PocketLoox complaining about the bluetooth and that Ipaqs got a lot more updates. So I bouht an update. And found out that the reason it got more updates was that it had more problems, not just with bluetooth but other things as well!)
sounds like the phone gives a pain in the ass.
Just my opinion. been using O2 life for 4 mths now. Like most new phone/pda, I will start to install lots of stuff. Cause me lots of headache with auto off , drop call etc. Battery last less than 1 day. I have reformat and install only what I need. 1 whole month without any problem. The thing is, just install what you need and the world will be a beautiful place
I have a special way of doing this: I do a full setup of the Atom with all programs I use and all settings except contacts and appointments. Then I do a full backup with SPB Backup. In a month or so the unit wil start to mess with me (the first sign is usually that it won't charge in the cradle, connected to the PC, only in a regular charger). Then I do a hard reset and restore the backup. It takes 10 minutes to do this, and I have a virginal phone again. I have of course set camera and other things to save to the memory card. This way memory leaks and other annoyances can be stopped very fast!
Great phone - and other things
Like you, I read the negative reviews but there wasn't a device out there that somone didn'nt like. I bit the bullet and upgraded my XDA II Mini which was OK but I had some gripes with and bought my new Life. It's been a great device with absolutely no problems. It even works well as a speakerphone but my car is pretty quiet. Simple solution - run the phone through your stereo, either using an FM transmitter or plug it in and you'll have no problems hearing.
My phone is very stable but I do agree that the stock battery life is crappy.
Highly recommended.
Actually, Atom Life is an excelent device but it has its flaws. What made it a bad device is because of the support. Most problems faced by customers are not solved. Instead, customers are asked to hard reset as the solution.
O2 Asia is terrible. The new company, MGW seems to be no different. It has been about 4 months MGW existed but their web page remain unfinish. This is mainly because the CEO is the same person.
If I ever change my PDA, I'll go for HTC. Why? O2 Xda II mini which is O2 Asia bestselling device is made by HTC, or better known as Magician.
MWg is selling a newer version which comes with WM6 pre-installed. Does anyone have that version? Is it any better?
Mobileplanet / Expansys is selling it at 399 which makes it a great deal IMHO.
Adamantite said:
MWg is selling a newer version which comes with WM6 pre-installed. Does anyone have that version? Is it any better?
Mobileplanet / Expansys is selling it at 399 which makes it a great deal IMHO.
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I am selling this phone cheaper. I am using it and I really like Atom Life, especially since the 1900 3G works well with AT&T in the US.
Brand new to the forums thought i'd ask a few questions to start.
I'm finally able to upgrade my phone (3 year contract is up) and I'm looking at the magic or dream. No one at the Rogers here (Edmonton) seems to have a working phone to try so I've had to rely on video reviews but they are lacking and mainly focus on the prerelease hardware. So here are a few of my main questions if anyone has the time to help me out.
1. Are there any huge differences between the two phones besides the keyboard, 2X memory and weight. Do they run the same (speed and flow) can they both except the same apps/upgrades?
2. Will the bluetooth connect to my handsfree system in my car? I can't seem to find an answer. My old Sony W810i has zero issues with this.
3. Is the battery life really that bad? I can currently get 4 days of fairly constant use out of my W810i before needing a charge. I know it's not going to be the same but how often will it need recharging?
Thanks for any help or links/info you guys can share.
Clinton
ClintonH said:
1. Are there any huge differences between the two phones besides the keyboard, 2X memory and weight. Do they run the same (speed and flow) can they both except the same apps/upgrades?
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The battery life of the Magic is better than the Dream. They both have the same applications. However there are many more upgrades and tweaks for the Dream at the moment because it has been released for so much longer. Quite some people complain about the build quality of the Dream from time to time; I myself agree that the build quality of the Dream could be better; it is not bad by all means - the Magic's build quality seems to be better (my opinion).
ClintonH said:
2. Will the bluetooth connect to my handsfree system in my car? I can't seem to find an answer. My old Sony W810i has zero issues with this.
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Both devices should work fine.
ClintonH said:
3. Is the battery life really that bad? I can currently get 4 days of fairly constant use out of my W810i before needing a charge. I know it's not going to be the same but how often will it need recharging?
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The Magic has better battery life, the Dream has a physical keyboard. I have a Magic and my brother has a Dream, they both last about two days on average use. The advantage of the Magic - especially if you don't mind missing the QWERTY keyboard - is that it is slimmer so you can add an extended battery without making your phone ridiculously thick.
Myself I don't need a physical keyboard, especially with Compact QWERTY and I also enjoy the slimness, better battery life of the Magic and the positioning of the trackball and menu button; the Dream's menu button seems more bothering for me to reach for because it is close to the screen (accidental taps) and that my hand has to go over the trackball (accidentally switch fields); the Magic's button is separate from anything else and has a lot of travel and sticks out much more.
I know that what I have written may be personal, but I'm sure you that is what you are looking for. Hope I was of some help.
Short answer can be answered with a question, want a keyboard or not?
Personally (Rogers customer here) I went for the Magic. Slim,super sexy and better battery. I've already adapted to the soft keyboard(former Blackberry user).
Able to connect to my BMW 128i no problem. I had an LG Viewty previously, was able to connect to the vehicle but unable to transfer contact information, Magic has no problem doing that now.
Battery life all depends on what you use. If you turn everything on, and I mean everything like bluetooth, GPS, wireless, wireless location, and GPS location, it will kill the battery, I've tried it. It lasts less than a day, but this is when I first got it, I was playing with it like crazy therefore using it more often than any other day. Still figuring out what I want on all the time vs. turning it on when I need it. For sure I'll be keeping bluetooth on to connect to my vehicle, and assuming you will too. But ya average usage, 1.5 to 2 days.
My phone history is no small list i've tried pretty much everything out there From N97, to Blackberry 9700... HD2 cought my eye because i originally had the HD, however it seems that i'm getting the itch to move on to possibly the N900 or E72
Anyways just wondering what your experiences have been like with your device, and what are your most cool applications?
I change phones quite often too. My last phone in fact was a N900. Great phone yet I felt it was a bit slow. So far I am loving the hd2 and don't have plans to switch for quite some time. With every phone there was always something that bothered me. I thought Windows mobile would be it but so far it has been great. My only past issue was with a touch diamond being a bit sluggish, this hd2 definitely does not have that problem.
I could possibly see a jump to the N900, but an E72 (used to own an E71)?! No way. Using symbian is like jumping through a time warp to the past.
i know im lil off topic but i feel you guys on never finding perfect phone before one i got now. I dont mean to push android on WM guys but other then lil lag sometimes its been best phone for me.
It's gonna take a real monster of a phone for me to even think about considering getting rid of my HD2.
I've never been as happy with a phone as I am with this, and I don't think I'll start having wandering eyes for a looooooooong time!
wait till Winmo 7 comes. I reckon it will be a real sweet OS
I also change phones quite often. I always loved my iphone 3GS, but the HD2 has kept my attention for a while now. It does everything my iphone used to do for me.
I think once Microsoft implements Xbox live games into winmo, we'll all be laughing!
I'll get bored when they have a dual core 1.5 GHz Snapdragon or Tegra 2 HD3 with WM7
DMAND said:
I'll get bored when they have a dual core 1.5 GHz Snapdragon or Tegra 2 HD3 with WM7
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And AT LEAST a 4.7" screen. lol - I wouldn't really want one that big, but I definitely don't want smaller!
johncmolyneux said:
And AT LEAST a 4.7" screen. lol - I wouldn't really want one that big, but I definitely don't want smaller!
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I wouldn't mind an even bigger screen. They could do it with the hd2 by removing the border around the lcd. Imagine nothing but screen corner to corner.
in the end it's still a phone.. doesn't have wheels or boobs..
The experience of the HD2 in most cases spoils you, and you will find it difficult to use a phone with a smaller screen. Apart from the earpiece quality at the higher frequencies, i am completly happy with this phone having owned about 10 different phones including iphone.
bel_z_bub said:
in the end it's still a phone.. doesn't have wheels or boobs..
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But I heard that on WM7 it will preform BJ's .
I must say, the HD2 is one of the best phone I came across.
I've worked over 2 years as the buyer for a multimedia chain and got the oppertunity to test drive a whole lot of device.
Also I'm using a ppc over 7 years now and untill the HD2 there were only 2 devices who have the "professional"/fun factor that the HD2 has.
And that was the Magician and the Universal.
Now I don't argue about the N900 because he has a "full" linux on it and for the linux guru's this is a wonderfull device. But if you aren't that good or fond in Linux then there is nothing special on the N900, and he is idd quite slow in normal use.
The other problem is that several years ago people did not compare a ppc with a normal phone (nokia symbian and etc...) but the mainstream users now also want a pcc thus the discussing is started... (certainly no personal blame meant)
I have no intentions of getting rid of the HD2 until there is a Nvidia Tegra powered platform available running WinMo7 with a screen equal to or bigger than the HD2.
The extra screen size compared to other mobiles on the market today really does make all the difference. I see people considering exchanging their HD2 for the Nexus One, but personally I find the screen a real letdown after being used to my HTC.
The one thing that does bug me about it is the low capacity battery included but, touch wood, so far I've managed to keep it running 24/7 by charging thru the night and every now and again in the car. Not enough of a let down for me to start looking at other handsets anyhow.
emigrating said:
The one thing that does bug me about it is the low capacity battery included but, touch wood, so far I've managed to keep it running 24/7 by charging thru the night and every now and again in the car. Not enough of a let down for me to start looking at other handsets anyhow.
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That is a serious battery drain, do you work so much on your device?
Eg I use my device constantly, 15 sms/day, 1 a 2hours phone, 30min surfing wifi and or hspda and I can do over a day and a half with one battery charge
This topics makes me laugh (not being offensive).
But it's pretty difficult to get bored of it. Of course we could have much more action on it but i'm sure in time we will have that also.
I cant see myself getting bored of the HTC HD2 anytime soon. Still got lots to do to it. Custom Roms, writing my own apps etc. Once i have it perfect then I will be using it until my contract runs out and i can get the latest super phone for free
Seeing as I have just discovered 800x480 encoding of 720p videos using WinMenc makes amazingly clear videos, and the demo of Electopia showing OpenGL 2.0 capabilities, I don't see myself getting bored any time soon.
thomas_pieps said:
That is a serious battery drain, do you work so much on your device?
Eg I use my device constantly, 15 sms/day, 1 a 2hours phone, 30min surfing wifi and or hspda and I can do over a day and a half with one battery charge
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Yeah, I use it constantly for the web and MSN (wifi/hsdpa/3g) as well as calls/sms. I could probably tweak it to last longer by disabling wifi/bluetooth etc when not connected but haven't found a good app to automate this yet.
Of course, once I find a 'cheap' car-cradle with built-in micro-usb (ie. put the phone in the cradle and it automatically starts charging - rather than fiddle around with cables and whatnot) the batterylife won't be a problem no more.
karkid said:
My phone history is no small list i've tried pretty much everything out there From N97, to Blackberry 9700... HD2 cought my eye because i originally had the HD, however it seems that i'm getting the itch to move on to possibly the N900 or E72
Anyways just wondering what your experiences have been like with your device, and what are your most cool applications?
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No where near board with it but as you've most likely tried everything there is for the HD2 why don't you list your best top 10 apps that you've tried and then we'll compare notes
For me the HD2 is my very first PocketPC/Smartphone. For me this phone is very powerful that it'll do fine for the coming years, if the phone can last that long. My only reason for switching to another phone is when the specs are at least equal to the one of the HD2, MUCH improved battery life and support of both capacative and resistive touch with adequate software and UI support. You can't get better than that. I'm not a gamer, so more power and a higher frequency is not necessarily my wish.