Related
Everywhere is announced the HD is great because of its multimedia functions.
For myself I have NO USE for multimedia (except taking good pictures for my work). What I need is:
a) a big screen for reading email, html email and so on
b) a big screen for my pocket office excel sheets (the more row/column I can see the better)
c) a touch keyboard not too small
d) a slim and compact device (I think that this eliminates devices with phisical keyboard)
e) a device that fits comfortably in your pocket: doesn't weight "a lot"
f) the best quality possible for pictures, the ideal would be that it can take pictures of documents and that later you are able to actually read them, looking at the picture taken
g) gps included
h) EXCELLENT battery consumption: so that with a "normal" use you can EASILY arrive at night without the need of having chargers all over (car/house/office)
In your opinion is the Touch HD good for the purpose? Maybe something else on the market is better?
Thanks for any comment.
P.S. so far I had Qtek 1010, 2020, Universal (in my opinion the WORST phone I had because of its bulky size and short battery life), Tytn, Cruise.
It's absolutely definitely the best thing you can buy for business if you don't need a qwerty keyboard.
As you mentioned before it has a big screen for web, email and office and it's still slim and light enough to fit in your pocket.
Windows Mobile is the only OS to choose for business (besides Blackberry) and the HD has the second best camera in a Windows Mobile phone which is absolutely sufficient for taking pictures of documents.
There's no better device (if you don't need a querty keyboard).
Hi claudioita,
I have exactly the same needs, and I am still unsure whether to go for the Xperia X1 or the Touch HD. I like the big display and the thinner device, but I think that TouchFlo will be quite annoying after a while (I prefer to see the time/date and my next appointments when I look at my device, not windscreen wipers ...). The X1 seems to be more flexible in installing other panels. On the other hand, it is not so flat ...
Well, at least here in Germany both devices are not available at the moment, so I think we have to wait and see if we can get hands on them once they appear in the stores around.
Eriol
You can disable TouchFlo if you don't linke it but I think it's the best interface IMHO even better than the iPhone.
Eriol said:
Hi claudioita,
I have exactly the same needs, and I am still unsure whether to go for the Xperia X1 or the Touch HD. I like the big display and the thinner device, but I think that TouchFlo will be quite annoying after a while (I prefer to see the time/date and my next appointments when I look at my device, not windscreen wipers ...). The X1 seems to be more flexible in installing other panels. On the other hand, it is not so flat ...
Well, at least here in Germany both devices are not available at the moment, so I think we have to wait and see if we can get hands on them once they appear in the stores around.
Eriol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"I prefer to see the time/date and my next appointments when I look at my device"
The Touchflo Homescreen shows exactly that. and if you scroll down to switch to the advanced home screen, the clock becomes smaller and the list bigger, so you will see even more appointments. Alsom the screen on the X1 is smaller and as far as i have seen, you will have to use the stylus quite often In that case, the Touch HD is much better. The bigger Screen is also good when working on excel sheets and more. Also, the X1 is said to be a bit laggy sometimes when switching to landscape mode and back. I really recommend that you watch some videos about the interface.
oh and: there is a new "customize tab" feature on the HD. so you may be able to delete tabs and rearrange them
its a good phone but its based on the same hardware as the Diamond, so do a bit of guess work and some math and its power consumption can only be worse than the diamond, so unless battery is proportionaly larger its going to suck. I dont believe its going to have a larger battery than say around 1350 so to put it simply it'll last about 2 hours less than the touch Pro...
dazza9075 said:
its a good phone but its based on the same hardware as the Diamond, so do a bit of guess work and some math and its power consumption can only be worse than the diamond, so unless battery is proportionaly larger its going to suck. I dont believe its going to have a larger battery than say around 1350 so to put it simply it'll last about 2 hours less than the touch Pro...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep.
Exactly what I think. 3.8inch with that resolution ..... I won't buy it first. Will wait 1 or 2 months and check review on power consumption
Why not use a fold -up keyboard instead. You can leave in your briefcase and only take out when needed. This combination will ensure portability- thin and lightweight. Unlike the Uni which I also use.
Otherwise we should wait for the HTC Omni - if it will ever be launched!
Calli
calli said:
Why not use a fold -up keyboard instead. You can leave in your briefcase and only take out when needed. This combination will ensure portability- thin and lightweight. Unlike the Uni which I also use.
Otherwise we should wait for the HTC Omni - if it will ever be launched!
Calli
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your comments wiil be greatly appreciated
Calli
I have a bluetooth keyboard with my current PDA and will pass this onto the HD when it arrives. It is (for me) ideal, the phone is that bit smaller and I have almost full full-size keyboard when I need too.
claudioita said:
Yep.
Exactly what I think. 3.8inch with that resolution ..... I won't buy it first. Will wait 1 or 2 months and check review on power consumption
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am wondering the same since i heard of this device. But, i will definitly get this phone. I often heard that the diamond had a very bad battery life, but on the other hand, i have got an LG Viewty at the moment. This phone is said to have a very very bad battery. people even said it only lasts around 2 days without doing that much. many people wrote a bad review about this on amazon.
strangely, i use the viewty on a daily basis, for checking mails and writing sms or doing calls. so i even use hsdpa at least 2 or three times a day. and i can get a battery life of around a week!
But ofcourse, if i keep running on hsdpa the whole day, by browsing the net for hours for example i get have to plug it in the next day.
i really think that many people just use their mobilephones without ever thinking how much battery life is trained away, when they use gps, wlan and more the whole day. i am pretty sure that, with a normal usage, i can at least get a week or more out of the HD, as it has a better battery and higher standby and usage time as my viewty has got now.
btw, as you mentioned bluetooth keyboards.
are there any good devices out there? can you recommend some?
i am planning to use my Dinovo Mini for my Touch HD (i know it works) but maybe there are better keyboards out there
Business usability of soft keyboard
Hi,
I follow the discussions on a "Touch HD pro" version, but I am convinced that this would not be a good deal: The Touch HD's size is acceptable because it is really flat. A Touch HD pro would be at least as thick as an Xperia X1 or Touch pro. Thus, the whole device would be heavy and - for many users, I am sure - too big in all dimensions.
I wonder why all the videos we can see do not show the progress of a software keyboard in Toch HD. They all mention that "there is a software keyboard", but -well - we expect tghis, don't we? But: How usable is it?
I writing this because I am still unsure about Xperia X1, Touch HD (and may be Touch Pro). I really need a good argument for the keyboard question because I will need it quite regularly for emails. On the other hand, the Touch HD beats the Xperia in many other aspects ...
What do you guys think or know about the software keyboard?
Eriol
Eriol said:
Hi,
I follow the discussions on a "Touch HD pro" version, but I am convinced that this would not be a good deal: The Touch HD's size is acceptable because it is really flat. A Touch HD pro would be at least as thick as an Xperia X1 or Touch pro. Thus, the whole device would be heavy and - for many users, I am sure - too big in all dimensions.
I wonder why all the videos we can see do not show the progress of a software keyboard in Toch HD. They all mention that "there is a software keyboard", but -well - we expect tghis, don't we? But: How usable is it?
I writing this because I am still unsure about Xperia X1, Touch HD (and may be Touch Pro). I really need a good argument for the keyboard question because I will need it quite regularly for emails. On the other hand, the Touch HD beats the Xperia in many other aspects ...
What do you guys think or know about the software keyboard?
Eriol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
at the moment no one has the HD so noone can comment on this. biut irecommend that you go to youtube and look at some tests there. you can see how the keyboard looks and compare it to the diamond videos
Raziel1 said:
at the moment no one has the HD so noone can comment on this. biut irecommend that you go to youtube and look at some tests there. you can see how the keyboard looks and compare it to the diamond videos
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this answer, well, I watched every and all videos about the HD on Youttube and other sites and in all avaliable languages (...). But I did not see any video that shows the soft keyboard in use (and esp. in landscape mode). All reviews I have seen stress the multimedia contents and the TouchFlo3D. For day-to-day business use, the keyboard is quite important, though. And I expect that there can be a quite useful soft keyboard implementation with such a big screen.
(BTW: Reading this forum, there are a lot of comments that make me think that the one or other must have seen the HD before posting comments! Some know many details that they can only know after having hands on the Touch HD!)
Eriol
Eriol said:
Thanks for this answer, well, I watched every and all videos about the HD on Youttube and other sites and in all avaliable languages (...). But I did not see any video that shows the soft keyboard in use (and esp. in landscape mode). All reviews I have seen stress the multimedia contents and the TouchFlo3D. For day-to-day business use, the keyboard is quite important, though. And I expect that there can be a quite useful soft keyboard implementation with such a big screen.
(BTW: Reading this forum, there are a lot of comments that make me think that the one or other must have seen the HD before posting comments! Some know many details that they can only know after having hands on the Touch HD!)
Eriol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i don't think so. all the details are out there since weeks. full hardware specs and all the features. there are many videos which show the keyboard and explain it a bit. but as it is the same as on the diamond or touch pro, theres no real change. i hope that you know that you can't use the keyboard in landscape mode. only if you install Gsen or Gyrator or how it's called.
Raziel1 said:
... i hope that you know that you can't use the keyboard in landscape mode. only if you install Gsen or Gyrator or how it's called.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Heck, no - I did not know that. I have a HTC Wizard at the moment running on WM6 and I surely can use the software keyboard in landscape mode with it (this also worked with WM5)! (Even though I do not use it because the Wizard has a hardware kbrd in landscape mode ...)
Why did they change this???
Eriol
Eriol said:
Heck, no - I did not know that. I have a HTC Wizard at the moment running on WM6 and I surely can use the software keyboard in landscape mode with it (this also worked with WM5)! (Even though I do not use it because the Wizard has a hardware kbrd in landscape mode ...)
Why did they change this???
Eriol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that was also in the diamond or pro. switching to landscape mode by using the g-sensor is only possible in opera and when viewing pictures. it should be possible to do it manually in windows, so what i ment was switching by using the sensor in touchflo3d. the good news is, that there are apps out like Gsen which activate full rotation in any app and window
Raziel1 said:
that was also in the diamond or pro. switching to landscape mode by using the g-sensor is only possible in opera and when viewing pictures. it should be possible to do it manually in windows, so what i ment was switching by using the sensor in touchflo3d. the good news is, that there are apps out like Gsen which activate full rotation in any app and window
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, understand ... so, installing Gsen and probably using a bluetooth keyboard if neccessary will make this device a good business solution (lack of TV-Out is not an issues to me as my experience is that in case of a presentation there will always be someone with a notebook around).
Eriol
Some specs show that there is a TV out. Far more impressive doing a presentation using your PDA though. I realy think that a software and a protable Stowaway keyboard is the way to go.
Calli
Got my Xperia on Friday. I am amazed, it is easily the best hardware on Winmo. I have a Touch Pro also and have had every other previous decent windows mobile phone you can shake a stick at.
First thoughts.
It is great to get away from Touchflo as I didnt really like that but I am sorry, SE your panels are sh/*e up to now and are not fit for purpose. Unlike some commentators I think the concept is great but it is so buggy it is unbelievable. On certain panels once you open them you got a desktop that has delays of 30 seconds to a minute when you click on items. How can something like that leave the factory.
However, if you steer clear of the panels (or at least a couple of them) the hardware is truly amazing and really sleek. Way better than the sloppy touch pro. It feels like it is made of metal (it is of course), the screen is fantastic.
The keyboard is not as good as the one on the touch pro but it is only slightly different and I am quickly adjusting to it.
I have to say that I am delighted with it (bar the panels) but I reckon there is more to come once they release some updates (or someone else does a rom for it).
Has anyone else got problems with the panels like this?
My two worst ones are the silver home screen which goes really slow and the multimedia one that freezes altogether.
stuartforrest said:
Got my Xperia on Friday. I am amazed, it is easily the best hardware on Winmo. I have a Touch Pro also and have had every other previous decent windows mobile phone you can shake a stick at.
First thoughts.
It is great to get away from Touchflo as I didnt really like that but I am sorry, SE your panels are sh/*e up to now and are not fit for purpose. Unlike some commentators I think the concept is great but it is so buggy it is unbelievable. On certain panels once you open them you got a desktop that has delays of 30 seconds to a minute when you click on items. How can something like that leave the factory.
However, if you steer clear of the panels (or at least a couple of them) the hardware is truly amazing and really sleek. Way better than the sloppy touch pro. It feels like it is made of metal (it is of course), the screen is fantastic.
The keyboard is not as good as the one on the touch pro but it is only slightly different and I am quickly adjusting to it.
I have to say that I am delighted with it (bar the panels) but I reckon there is more to come once they release some updates (or someone else does a rom for it).
Has anyone else got problems with the panels like this?
My two worst ones are the silver home screen which goes really slow and the multimedia one that freezes altogether.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The multimedia panel works nice for me without hickups, but Sony Ericsson Panel 1 and 2 are slow and unusable. But I don´t use the panels often, the phone is so nice even without the panel concept
Hi stuartforrest.
I ve one question for you. . Most of the Touch Pro users (included me) suffer of GPS lag (Not time to fix but arrow 3 or 4 seconds behind you). Could you tell us your experience with Xperia and GPS lag issue?
Thanks
Dani
danielherrero said:
Hi stuartforrest.
I ve one question for you. . Most of the Touch Pro users (included me) suffer of GPS lag (Not time to fix but arrow 3 or 4 seconds behind you). Could you tell us your experience with Xperia and GPS lag issue?
Thanks
Dani
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is already discussed here.
Please do not comment on the GPS in this thread otherwise the information gets lost.
Sorry. As you can see I asked in that thread too and only one answer and the owner hadnt a touch Pro so he couldnt compare. I wanted to know the opinion of a user who owned both phones. I dont really think my question is out of topic
why do you think the keyboard is better on the touch pro?
looks like the xperia would be easier to use with the spacing between keys which should them easier to miss. though it is lacking the extra row. do you find the loss of that row worth the added benefit of smaller size and better accuracy?
i have no idea since i have neither of the phones yet.
I suggest trying the Spb Mobile Shell panel.
I like it.
Working to get a proper install of TCPMP with decent plugins to play all media.
Currently flac, wmv, 3gp and avi, all play decently.
mp4 on the other hand does not.
Luckily the built-in WMP plays mp4 just fine.
I have been using my Xperia X1 for over two weeks now and I have to agree with stuartforrest, the panel function sucks. It is a really useless function.
easycure1974 said:
The multimedia panel works nice for me without hickups, but Sony Ericsson Panel 1 and 2 are slow and unusable. But I don´t use the panels often, the phone is so nice even without the panel concept
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, try this...
Say you want to listen to some music, start the multimedia panel and start playing the music that you want. Then why not look up the artist on google, lets go to the google panel. Press the X panel button, what the .... the music stops. So with the panels you can only do one thing at the time.
It is much more practical to use Spb Mobile Shell, I only miss a quick way to turn WLAN on and off.
Why do people call this phone Sony xperia X1 on this forum when the real name is Sony Ericsson Xperia X1? I would say that the "Ericsson part" has the biggest influence on design and development so I would rather call it Ericsson Xperia X1 then Sony Xperia X1.
SCtud said:
why do you think the keyboard is better on the touch pro?
looks like the xperia would be easier to use with the spacing between keys which should them easier to miss. though it is lacking the extra row. do you find the loss of that row worth the added benefit of smaller size and better accuracy?
i have no idea since i have neither of the phones yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll try to explain..
The keyboard on Xperia is not good. The buttons are small and difficult to feel and when pressed the respons is bad. So typing is difficult, but I'm getting better on it every day..
My pevious phone was the Hermes whitch has a much better keyboard with larger keys.
Press the X panel button, what the .... the music stops. So with the panels you can only do one thing at the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I noticed that too since the previews, that sucks so badly; but the important question is, will it also stop if you're using 3rd party music player like coreplayer? if so then it IS BEYOND HORRIBLE!
are you able to turn off the panels? like you can shut off touchflo? i'd rather use my mobile without easier, i think...
eric b
According to SE is it not possible to turn panels off.
No it is prefectly viable to use all third party software. In fact I would say it is much easier to do this than on the Touch Pro or Diamond where you have to get inot hacking touch flo 3d to launch a different calendar app etc.
The SE Xperia X1 is easily the best piece of hardware ever on WinMo. Why HTC didnt make their own device as good as they made this third party one I dont know.
The keyboard is not as brilliant as the T/Pro but it is still damn good and you do get more used to it.
I just need to learn how to reprogam the utterly sh*+e panels button to launch SPB mobile shell and I will be happy.
Many many moons ago I initiated a thread telling all of the impending sale of my Ameo, and my reasons for doing so. Since then I have owned umpteen handsets including a Toshiba Portege G900, Nokia E90, Tytn ii, HTC Touch Diamond and finally (to my own surprise) an Iphone 3G.
I recall an overbearing distaste for the Iphone and its supposed lack of a software scene, however it seems that times have changed: the iPhone, for all its flaws now has a huge modding scene and an almost limitless array of applications to cover all of Apple's oversights. For what it's worth the iPhone is the most enjoyable handset I have ever used.
Now here's the thing.
I've been offered a very good price for my Iphone and have recently acquired an INCREDIBLY cheap HTC ADVANTAGE. From the quick look at these forums I've had there seem to have been some great developments and I WANT to fall back in love with the Advantage (though I accept that the device is in itself a completely different handset!)
I suppose on a deeper level I want to know if windows mobile can offer me the solutions that I have on my Iphone and enjoy every day. Obviously each device has HARDWARE differences that can never be changed - the Advantage will never have multitouch just as the iPhone will never have a VGA display; but considering the HUGE software library Windows Mobile supposedly offers can it provide solutions to the following tasks....
Google Contacts OTA sync - with Gsync I can synchronize my contacts every day and ensure I never lose a number. This also updates my contact photos stored on Google's servers. I don't use Outlook, never have never will and want a simple over the air solution.
Podcasts. With Mobilecast on the iPhone I can search for an download podcasts which download in the background and update as and when new shows arrive. It supports both video and audio podcasts.
YouTube downloader - allows the download of high quality YouTube videos to keep and supports multiple simultaneous downloads.
Email with properly formatted HTML support. I recall the Windows Mobile html email client displaying weirdly formatted and ugly messages, shifted to one side/ I will happily pay for a replacement email client if it is as beautiful and useable as the Iphone's.
Browser - the iPhone's browser is far from perfect, but I'm able to happily type out a new thread on Safari right now. I recall many problems with the Touch Diamond's Opera browser - most irritatingly the cursor moving back in the paragraph you're typing for no reason. Have most of the flaws with Opera Mobile been resolved? Is it now better than the iphone's Safari browser?
That's pretty much my list. They might seem pretty banal but they make me enjoy my iPhone, and if I can get the Advantage to do all those things then I'll probably sell up. I'm not worried about the size of the Advantage.
Hi Leoni,
Good to hear from you again after such a long period of absence.
I still give the same advice: define your requirements first, and be comprehensive in doing so.
- Do you need navigation software? If yes, iPhone is out, Athena is in.
- Do you want hugh screen and not mind the size? If yes, Athena has a tick.
- Do you do word, excel, and power point, or at least often receive attachment of such and want to read them on the device? If yes, iPhone is out, Athena is in.
- Could you tolerate weak signal strength? If no, iPhone is out.
- Do you have the habit of using handwriting recognition, or write Chinese/Japanese/Korean characters? If yes, iPhone is out.
- Do you want to use the GPS for traking, or prolonged use without access to power source? If yes, iPhone is out, as you can't swap in spare battery.
- Do you a extremely fussy person in wanting really really smooth video playback? If yes, consider iPhone. However, if you'r willing to wait, Coreplayer is going to address this issue very very shortly and poor video playout is likely to be history.
- Do you placed lots of value in internet browsing wihtout having to zoom in and out? If yes, nothing beats Athena. But Opera Mobile would never be as smooth as Safari. As to your questions on typing using Opera, it depends on which version you use. You need to try out all of them to see the difference.
- Are you a fashion conscious person who want to be "cool". If so, iPhone is a cool looking phone, but so is HTC Touch HD (Which I have just bought).
- Do you do presentation as required by your work? If yes, HTC Touch HD is out, and Athena is in, because HD does not have TV-out. Although iPhone has TV out, it does not have presentation software, so iPhone is also out.
- Do you want FM radio? If so, consider Touch HD.
- Do you want good camera (say 10MP camera) and video recording? If so, consider Samsung SBH B600.
You get the idea... You need to know what your requirements are, then gather information to see if your target phones meet your need.
Yes, a lot has changed for the better in Athena since you last left it, but there are still many areas which are unchanged. You could post all your specific question after you've considered your requirements, and we'll be very happy to answer your questions. You have already posted some of those question, but it's a good idea to think more comprehensively to make sure you cover all aspects of your needs.
I may not be able to answer some of the questions as your needs are different from mine, but I'm sure others would respond to your questions.
Cheers.
Hi Eaglesteve - I had a feeling you'd be in here - good to hear from you.
My circumstances are that I already have an iPhone and have an Advantage coming in the post today. I'm not after turning the Advantage into an iPhone, simply wondering if there are one or two bits of software which would sell the idea of keeping the Advantage to me.
I'm surprised you'd go for the Touch HD Eaglesteve as its screen is quite a bit smaller than that of the Advantage. The device does interest me, although its price is more than the combined costs of my iPhone and Advantage! I wonder if I'd just be better off keeping two devices once again. What are your feelings on the HD versus the Advantage? How does the overall responsiveness and also audio and video performance compare with the Advantage?
Regards
Check this out: http://www.goosync.com/
F2a said:
Check this out: http://www.goosync.com/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi thanks for that. Unfortunately you have to pay, and 20 quid seems a rip-off considering I'd only be syncing my contacts. The solution I have for Iphone cost me £1 or something like that.
I'm seriously thinking of just throwing my Advantage straight onto Ebay. Windows Mobile doesn't seem to have the scope of free software it once had. I don't think the idea of free (or very cheap) Google contacts sync software is that ridiculous an idea - certainly it's enough of an issue for more than one iPhone developer to come up with free or cheap solutions. I bought the Advantage because it was cheap and i thought it would be something fun to play around with but I seem to have made a poor decision.
If every little solution costs me £20 then I'm going to be severely out of pocket by the end of the week!
It don't sync with google but....
Sync = www.dashwire.com is the best over the air sync up I've used. Photos, videos, contacts, photocontacts, emails and txt for free! Also snap2face (free) facebook app can sync up with your facebook contacts images too.
Rss video and audio = Beyondpod 3.0 (free) brilliant software. Use this in conjunction with Mort's Player and the Mypod skin (free). You won't look back with a 16GB SDMicro (w/adapter) in your advantage.
Browser = Netfront or even better Skyfire if you can get it. Netfront has so many different configs that you should be happy with one or two.
Email = I get by with outlook as any major media mails I get tend to need my home pc!
I don't download youtube vids but do use vTap as the wikipedia side of it is cool.
I tried to replace my Athena with an iphone and failed by a long way. I'll be using this Ameo for a couple of years I think. (Unless the 4g HTC Max kicks ass)
The one thing I would recommend is putting MichyPrima's 5.1 rom it as it is so damn rock solid and just works so good. All the sensors work with the new 'G' software knocking about and I have only hard reset once to clear out a couple of programs.
Long live the X7500. Best comms device I have owned, by a mile.
leoni1980 said:
Hi Eaglesteve - I had a feeling you'd be in here - good to hear from you.
My circumstances are that I already have an iPhone and have an Advantage coming in the post today. I'm not after turning the Advantage into an iPhone, simply wondering if there are one or two bits of software which would sell the idea of keeping the Advantage to me.
I'm surprised you'd go for the Touch HD Eaglesteve as its screen is quite a bit smaller than that of the Advantage. The device does interest me, although its price is more than the combined costs of my iPhone and Advantage! I wonder if I'd just be better off keeping two devices once again. What are your feelings on the HD versus the Advantage? How does the overall responsiveness and also audio and video performance compare with the Advantage?
Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As for software for Athena, you should always have FtouchSL, Wktask and the like. But I'd strongly recommend SPB Mobile Shell as one of the most transforming software IMO. Not only it is finger friendly, it will also enhance the camera function, puts all the Opera mobile history and favoutries on the launch menu, but also give you lots of useful tools. Don't forget the latest Resco File Explorer and Registry editor. Of course Opera Mobile is a must, but you need to experiement with the various version to find out which is suits you. I find surfing with Opera mobile on Athena to be way way better than using Safari on iPhone, primarily due to the large screen and not having to zoom in and out. Try out FL3 and directly play youtube using Opera 9.5, something which was impossible the last time you had your Athena. When using Opera Mobile, go to the configuration to make minimum overview zoom 85 percent to allow you ability to activate links in zoom out mode if you so wish.
Don't forget youtubeplayer 1.0.0.10 which allows you to either play directly or download youtube videos.
I can't remember if I had already posted this info in my previous entry, so please excuse me if there's any duplication.
Regarding my using the Touch HD, it's the closest replacement available in the market today. I'm not sure if I could get used to the near 4 inch (3.8 precisely) screen or not, but would give it a try. I think 4.5 inch would be real nice, but let's see..
It has many things that I thought an Athena replacement should have: smoother rounder form factor, embedded ear piece, more dated 7.2mb/s download speed, FM radio, better camera (hopefully), and no keybaord (always much prefer without hardware keyboard).
I'm still waiting for my unit to arrive when I make this post. It is too soon for me to comment on performance, etc. I'd want to make sure that if I make a review it is going to be honest, truthful, and helpful.
I never let cost to influence my decision too much. I just want to the best available, if you know what I mean. Actually while considering HD, Mackaby influenced me to give iPhone a serious consideration, which I did. iPhone would have cost me nothing with a plan, but as you already know, it was a frustration and disappointment for me, so I chosed the HD, which cost me AUD1225, which is much cheaper than my Athena, that cost me about AUD1600.
I'd still keep my Athena, in case I could'nt get use to the small size in HD. Won't know until I try it. Unfortunately nobody in Sydney is selling HD, so the only way to try is to buy.
Enough rumbling. Will let you get back to your Athena. Welcome back, my friend.
Lioni,
Forgot to mention podcast. I've never used this myself, but there should be two ways of doing this in winmo devices. You could do it in Opera mobile
In the address bar, enter the URL address of the web page that contains the RTSP link to the desired *.3gp, *.mp4, or *.sdp file, then click on the RTSP links.
Another way is to to use the Streamin Media program. The media is sent in a continuous stream to winmo devices and is played as it arrives, along with the audio. You could play 3GP, MPEG-4, and SDP files. To use this program, go to start/program and start the streaming media program (I think most of MiChy's ROM has it, if I'm not mistaken), then click connect. On the next screen, enter the URL for the website, then tap connect. You can play/pause, rewind, fast forward, etc.
Hope this helps and hope it satisfies your need.
Cheers.
Regarding Opera mobile versus Safari, my opinion is that Safari is still better in terms of being fluid and smooth. Opera tends to be jerky and unsteady in comparision. However, speedwise, there is probably no difference. Safari tends to require some waiting for the blurred webpage to turn clear before you could take control of it (during this time, it is temporarily frozen). Opera also has this pause. I would rate Safari the better browser overall. However, Opera on Athena clearly triumph over Safari on iPhone in my honest opinion, because of the big screen.
I'm currently using my athena again, as my x1 developed a serious flaw yesterday. It jumped under the wheels of a lorry!
Awaiting replacement device from Vodafone as their insurance department is a bad joke.
Anyway, I'd got used to the comparitively tiny screen of the X1, but having gone back to the athena there's a couple of observations.
Both Screens are fantastic, the X1 is noticeably sharper (small screen hires), but using the athena again I can't see how I can cope with the X1 when I eventually get the replacement. It's like using realvga on a screen half the size of the athena, yet I have been coping with it, it's amazing how much you adapt really quickly.
There's a massive speed difference, the x1 does things nearly instantly, all that memory does it I suppose, it's like running an XP machine on 256mb then sticking 1gb of memory inside instead.
Gps is near instantaneous, screen rendering is the same,opening applications don't bring up the spinning wheel of doom, the athena crawls along in comparison yet it didn't feel that slow when I was using it before. It's all relative I suppose (it's not really that slow, maybe 1/4 of a second or so).
But having said that I love the athena, I mentioned before that I don't find it too big to use as a phone, and the screen is amazing. It's a pity we can't squeeze a newer motherboard in there ;-)
When I get my replacement X1 through I'm not certain what to do, I'm very tempted to sell it and get a touch HD, the form factor certainly works better. But then I could keep using it and have the Athena as a wifi tablet for websurfing.
As for browsing speed (noticeably this forum), I find Netfront on simple browsing to be the fastest there is especially across gprs, not very pretty but who cares about the backgrounds when the info is so important!
to throw a spanner in the works, I had a decent play with the blackberry storm while waiting for Vf customer service and their insurance & repairs dept to sort out my x1. The hardware is the best I've seen, not sure how long the funky screen would last, but the form factor is great and build quality looks good, but the OS doesn't look amazing, and I'm not sure how much you can get access to change stuff, plus there's no wifi !
how stupid is that?
Sorry to hear about your SEXXI mishap.
Are you using MiChy's ROM? His ROM should be noticeably faster.
The screen size is the thing that I would miss most about Athena. No doubt about that. A larger screen with the same resolution would off course appear to be less sharp. I hope just like you I could adapt to the tiny 3.8 inch screen in HD.
You should be able to get almost instant GPS signal with Athena. There is a thread that I started on this on how to get that result.
Talking about speed, Asus has just released a 800 mhz winmo phone. This is the fastest on a winmo phone. But sadly it has only 2.8 inch VGA screen, which I would never be able to live with.
yep im running michys latest, and with gps ive never been able to get less than a 35second fix, usually its much more like 5 mins, despite all the tweaks
Beyondpod 3 looks to be EXACTLY what I'm looking for - well done Arctic Matt!
Now here's a stupid question....
I've relied on my iPhone and 'sync in a blink' (a Google OTA contacts sync application) to back up my phone contacts. Now I know that I can back up all my contacts to my Windows Address Book with Itunes, but does anyone know how to put my contacts from my Windows Address Book OR my online Google Contacts onto my Athena (just as a one-off)? I feel stupid even asking this but in the past I've always relied on having my contacts on the SIM card but a few weeks ago I got a new sim and threw the old one away. I don't use Outlook or anything like that, wondered if perhaps I could just do it with Activesync.
Thanks in advance.
leoni1980 said:
does anyone know how to put my contacts from my Windows Address Book OR my online Google Contacts onto my Athena (just as a one-off)?
Thanks in advance.
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I have an account in Live.com, when I setup Windows Live in my X7510, there is an option to use another email account. I am not sure though if it can use Google (GMail), but to make the story short, upon setup, it will ask you if you want to syncronize your email and contacts to your device.
If Windows Live won't work with GMail, how about creating an account in Live.com. They might have an option to copy your contacts from GMail to Live.com then use Windows Live from your device to syncronize.
Just some thoughts...
fards said:
yep im running michys latest, and with gps ive never been able to get less than a 35second fix, usually its much more like 5 mins, despite all the tweaks
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Which GPS Navigation do you use???
cktlcmd said:
Which GPS Navigation do you use???
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memory-map
eaglesteve said:
- Do you a extremely fussy person in wanting really really smooth video playback? If yes, consider iPhone. However, if you'r willing to wait, Coreplayer is going to address this issue very very shortly and poor video playout is likely to be history.
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what's the core news?
Don't forget to....
leoni1980 said:
Beyondpod 3 looks to be EXACTLY what I'm looking for - well done Arctic Matt!
Now here's a stupid question....
I've relied on my iPhone and 'sync in a blink' (a Google OTA contacts sync application) to back up my phone contacts. Now I know that I can back up all my contacts to my Windows Address Book with Itunes, but does anyone know how to put my contacts from my Windows Address Book OR my online Google Contacts onto my Athena (just as a one-off)? I feel stupid even asking this but in the past I've always relied on having my contacts on the SIM card but a few weeks ago I got a new sim and threw the old one away. I don't use Outlook or anything like that, wondered if perhaps I could just do it with Activesync.
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go into the advanced settings of Beyondpod 3 and access Beyond Scheduler! You can automate so much stuff on your Athena without having to program in Mort Script. Via this software my x7500 goes into flight mode at 11pm, wakes up at 6am, connects to my home wifi, downloads all my podcasts, downloads all my emails, syncs with dashwire, switches on realplayer and wakes me up to live BBC radio (I live in Norway - NRK would send me back to sleep.).
Oh and
Once you have all you contacts on your phone I really think you should give Dashwire a go. It is rather spiffing.
Hello
I have been a happy HTC Touch (regular not HD) user for 12 months, doing extensive customisation on my phone. Recently, mainly because my Touch was really slow (only 64Ko of memory, still slow even after replacing with a faster ROM), I bought an iPhone 3G.
After a few months of use, there are pros and cons of course. Now that the HD is out, I am wondering if I should switch back to the HTC Touch HD.
So here are my first conclusions, but of course since I don't have a Touch HD, I cannot answer many of the points.
Please use this thread to complete a really detailed comparison between the iPhone and the Touch HD, not what you can find on standard sites comparing basic features.
General response time: big disappointment as this was my main driver. The iPhone (I have 4 pages of apps installed, so what, I should not use the phone fully???) is really slow. Calendar or contact can sometimes takes up to 5 seconds to open: UNACCEPTABLE. Inside the apps sometimes it is slow as well. Hope the Touch HD is better than the Touch
Calendar: Iphone standard Calendar is much easier to use with a finger than default WM version. However I was using ThumbCal and it was fine with finger even on small HTC Touch screen. Not sure if HTC Touch HD enlarges standard WM calendar (everything is larger) or simply packs more info on a signle page? Also I don't like the fact in iPhone that tasks are not managed by Calendar, annoying!
Contacts: iPhone is much better than default WM or HTC Touch features (one again mainly because easier to use without a stylus). However replacement app such as PocketCm does a better job on WM than on the iPhone: Easier scroll through contact on main page by showing the first letter that will be displaid if releasing the finger. SMS are visible from the contact directly, no need to open SMS app like on the iPhone. Much better group and filter management also: ability to filter contacts by groups (ok also on iPhone, but management of groups creates constraints in Outlook), by city, by company... no equivalent on iPhone.
Phone: better on iPhone: the screen locks itself while speaking, to prevent pressing keys, this is good, don't think it's available on Touch HD? Bigger keys on dialer. Better display format of phone numbers on dialer (grouping of digits). Good pad showing up when on the phone to have the need options on iPhone (speaker phone, contacts, calendar...). And finally Visual Voice mail is useful!
Internet browsing: hard to compare, as I could not really use opera mini on the Touch. I must say Safari does the job quite well, allowing you to access most sites, without flash of course. Does Opera allow to see flash sites? Safari sometimes crashes, but still acceptable. Speed depends on quality of connection. One great thing is integration with iPhone programs: for instance you look on Google for a store. You find it with phone number displaid on Google search page. CLicking on the phone number allows you to call it directly. If you make the call, in call history it will diplay correctly the name of the store to be entered directly in contacts! Fantastic, probably not available in WM and Opera?
Mail: hard to compare as I was not using it on Touch. But the iPhone feature is excellent. I use Yahoo mail. Configuration was very simple, and mails are pre formatted to the iPhone scrren, making it easy to use. Does Touch HD reformat properly mails?
Other programs in general: I would say most progams are more mature on WM, but harder to use since designed to use with a stylus. Not sure once again if the Touch HD enlarges same surface on the screen or simply packs more info in one page, still requiring use of stylus.
Profile Management: my biggest problem with iPhone: Apple does not allow to create a progam that will switch automatically several profile parameters. What is this? A profile is a set of parameter such as screen brightness, ring tone/vibrate, blue tooth on/off, wifi off, 3G on/off, GPS on/off... With Phoneweaver I was able to create as many profiles as needed and change at the touch of a finger. In iPhone, a real nightmare. Let's say you want to activate 3G and GPS: it takes at least 15 clicks... just for these 2 options. UNACCEPTABLE.
SpringBoard: this is the ability to use icons on the today screen: much better on the iPhone by default, but once again with additional program in WM such as iLauncher I was able to get a better result by creating categories which is not really possible in iPhone (I tried Categories, way too slow! and Stacks is odd to use).
GPS: well without TOmTOm I don't see the use of the GPS in the iPhone...
This is a first shot, please give some input!
Olivier
How is this a comparison if you don't even have the Touch HD? It is just your opinions of the iPhone 3G.......on a Touch HD forum of all places.
You can not compare the htc touch with the iphone 3G
the iphone 3G is a newer model which was released 1 year after the htc touch
Also the HD has all the phone features you are saying are better on the iphone and unavailable on the HD. You can either autolock phone when you make a call or use the light sensor on the earpiece. And you get the pad type thing.
i suggest you actually use the HD before posting a comparison in here.
I dont think this guy has used a windows mobile device at all, let alone the Touch HD. he sounds like an apple fan who has just 'heard a bunch of stuff' about Windows Mobile.
Most of it is unfounded.. I mean, how are iPhone contacts better than the Touch HDs? Which is VERY finger friendly.
Calm down with the fanboi defensive stuff guys.
I've had both (sold the Iphone).
Touch HD pro: great form factor, fabulous screen, the resolution makes it so much more usable for bigger webpages. The tweakability of WM too.
Touch HD cons: lots of little irritating things - it's a shoddy unfinished product in a lot of ways. GPS popping offline, wifi problems, those damn freezes, the incompleteness of T3D, the need to tweak all sorts of things that should already have been done (eg opera tweak so you don't need to zoom before clicking). Youtube app doesn't work at all on mine. No BBC iplayer (not HTC's fault of course, but still an issue for consumers). Lots of other small things that should never have happened with a finished product, let alone one costing more than most laptops.
Now that looks like a lot of cons relative to the pros, but the thing is the hardware is just a baseline, a starting point. The excellence of the screen allows it to be whatever product you want - none of the failings are critical for me, and by tweaking/customizing I've fixed/bypassed most of them.
Basically, the Touch HD is a better product than the Iphone, but let down by software quality control.
arfster said:
Calm down with the fanboi defensive stuff guys.
I've had both (sold the Iphone).
Touch HD pro: great form factor, fabulous screen, the resolution makes it so much more usable for bigger webpages. The tweakability of WM too.
Touch HD cons: lots of little irritating things - it's a shoddy unfinished product in a lot of ways. GPS popping offline, wifi problems, those damn freezes, the incompleteness of T3D, the need to tweak all sorts of things that should already have been done (eg opera tweak so you don't need to zoom before clicking). Youtube app doesn't work at all on mine. No BBC iplayer (not HTC's fault of course, but still an issue for consumers). Lots of other small things that should never have happened with a finished product, let alone one costing more than most laptops.
Now that looks like a lot of cons relative to the pros, but the thing is the hardware is just a baseline, a starting point. The excellence of the screen allows it to be whatever product you want - none of the failings are critical for me, and by tweaking/customizing I've fixed/bypassed most of them.
Basically, the Touch HD is a better product than the Iphone, but let down by software quality control.
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Click to collapse
Agree, although the Opera thing is not a bug, it's a feature We are spoiled with the HD screen which allows you to actually read huge pages without zooming. On other devices, you hardly can, let alone click a link in any accurate fashion, so you will want to be able to zoom first without accidentally clicking some link in the process... Everyone has their opinion about this of course but this is the reason behind it.
nin2thevoid said:
Agree, although the Opera thing is not a bug, it's a feature We are spoiled with the HD screen which allows you to actually read huge pages without zooming. On other devices, you hardly can, let alone click a link in any accurate fashion, so you will want to be able to zoom first without accidentally clicking some link in the process...
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Click to collapse
Hrrm, don't see why. What's the benefit of zooming first? You can still do it if you want.
Looks to me like HTC just installed Opera and didn't bother testing/tweaking it.
arfster said:
Hrrm, don't see why. What's the benefit of zooming first? You can still do it if you want.
Looks to me like HTC just installed Opera and didn't bother testing/tweaking it.
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Apparently the meaning of this is that one click in zoom out mode means hovering the mouse to that area. Some websites depends heavily on mouse and hover menus, and without this these sites would be unusable.
I have only 1 thing to say...I had Iphone and HTC X7500....Sold both of them and bought Touch HD...I am really happy with it
Why do people insist on compare a toy with professional devices with all features need and many more ? OMG and even comparing devices you don't have with toys, iPhoney is just a toy with many limitations, there's absolutely no way to compare it with the HD, for those who like to use the expression "iPhone killer" you can stop that, that device was already killed by past HTC devices and others. Stop creating Threads like this one.
Best regards
PJMDS said:
Why do people insist on compare a toy with professional devices with all features need and many more ? OMG and even comparing devices you don't have with toys, iPhoney is just a toy with many limitations, there's absolutely no way to compare it with the HD, for those who like to use the expression "iPhone killer" you can stop that, that device was already killed by past HTC devices and others. Stop creating Threads like this one.
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Click to collapse
Sorry, but that's just silly. Of course you can compare them - as cameras, as music players, as web browsers, as video players etc etc. Same as any other multimedia phone. Personally my take is that the Iphone still has the best interface going, and benefits from a mass captive market that others don't have. It took until the touch hd before I actually bought a replacement - none of the other potential "iphone killers" were was good as even the original device (including previous HTC products).
What is with all the fanboi rubbish for and against the iphone? It's a device. If you like it you buy, if not you don't. People seem to take to "supporting" their favourite product like a football team.
There are just a few basic things in my opinion that make the HD far superior to the iPhone.
1. iPhone has no copy and paste...how stupid is that?
2. iphone has no working GPS software with built-in maps and voice navigation...huge omission.
3. iPhone doesn't multitask, you have to close an app to start another...OMG!
If these points don't convince someone that they should get the HD over the iPhone then that's fine, different strokes for different folks. The iPhone is iCandy...period.
concerning web browsing, iphone is much better than the touch hd.
Even though its screen is a bit smaller, the pages load much faster and the scrolling is way smoother.
The keypad is also much better on the iphone, at least for me. When pressing a key, you see above your finger whiwh key you pressed.
Not mentionning the audio part for which the hd doesn't come close to the iphone.
I guess you're wondering what i'm doing here and why i haven't sold my hd yet ? The hd is the best wm based device i've ever had. Being able to install whatever you want and to tweak at will is great.
Now, if a good gps software is someday released for iphone, i may reconsider and leave the touch hd unless it's been improved for web browsing notably in the meantime
...
well, on the other hand some pages in Safari doesn´t work correctly and I don´t understand what you mean the audio part - the quality of 3,5 jack output are comparable (according to independent tests - see gsmarena for example)...iphone´s jack output is just good, not outstanding quality.
catinthehat said:
i suggest you actually use the HD before posting a comparison in here.
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Second that....
totally useless post, if u actually not even own a HD
hannawald said:
well, on the other hand some pages in Safari doesn´t work correctly and I don´t understand what you mean the audio part - the quality of 3,5 jack output are comparable (according to independent tests - see gsmarena for example)...iphone´s jack output is just good, not outstanding quality.
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Click to collapse
True. Forgot to mention it's the software side i was talking about : i find it easier to navigate all my music on the iphone. Htc tried to mimic this interface but it doesn't match the original
This is of course subjective, but at least it comes from a guy who has both devices in his pocket =)
well all i have to say on the subject is this....
David Balfour said:
well all i have to say on the subject is this....
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hehehe you missed the battery....
Hi guys,
SO glad tat I was able to find up this forum...I have a SE walkman series phone for the past 4 yrs and feel its time to change to some touch screen mobile. I have zilch knowledge abt smartphones and wat ever i know r based frm my 2 days of browsing this forum.
My issues are
1)Basically am not appl freak and want my phone to stand out from others..Does mini fit the bill..?that is I want a phone with touchscreen,decent cam, very good multimedia playback capacity,something sleek...and thats how I zeroed in on HTC Mini..
but after reading this forum., got 2 know tat not much appl's r developed for Mini becos of the screen size..(Is tat right..?)..
SO, after some point of time, after launch of Win 7 mob, will the case be like HTC Mini left alone..? I am investing close to 480$(Indian money) and want to find out that does HTC mini really have some shortcomings applications wise or is it enough for a normal user..?there r no smartphones among my friends...
2) we do not still have 3G networks here in India, but expected in 1-2 yrs..IS MINI WORTH SPENDING TAT AMOUNT (480$=24000 Indian rupees) wihtout 3G? Or can I go for low-end models like Nokia 5800 or HTC touch.. and jump the 3G ship wen it comes later?
Again, i am asking too many questions, but pls guide me...
THANKS..........
HD mini, regarding my point of view, a very nice device with a lot of preinstalled very nice apps.
The resolution is effectively a bit strange in Windows mobile environment, but it was the same and even worst when I purchased my Diamond with VGA screen.
Regarding applications, most of them work. Some qvga ones do not fit on the screen, it remains two black bands on top and bottom of the screen because of aspect ratio. But the applications, even a lot of high graphic games run well (secret of Da Vinci, return to mysterious island,...), even emulators such ScummVM.
I found a lot of chess games (majestic, Kasparov,..) they run really fine. I nevertheless had some difficult to find a good Sudoku, “Panoramic ultimate Sudoku” works very fine but it do not have problem solving mode.
In brief, screen resolution is not really an issue, but if you want to play some specific games such Play station emulator or other resource consuming games. In this case, HD2 should be a better choice.
You could also consider other OS such Android. For me there are not an option, because I live in a small town without 3G and downloading and syncing via phone line costs an arm and a leg. With winmo, I can natively upload all the things trough my PC, and it is just fine.
Each customer has different taste, that's why there are hundred of million of different phones out there. But from my personal point of view and for my needs, the Mini is just perfect for me.
Any other smartphone looks like a damn brick next to it, so yeah, it does stand out from others.
About the apps, I was worried about them, but for some reason all the apps I need work without a single problem in the Mini. iGo 8, MSS Converter, ClearTemp, Opera Mobile 10, Skype, Dictionary, TCPMP, Shazam Music, BSB Tweaks, JWMD IconChanger, PocketRAR, Midomi...
Personally I don't give a sh!t about Windows Phone 7, since it's gonna be more "phone like", while WM 6.5 is like having a small Pentium III in your pocket and that's why I like it.
Thanks a lot moscard and NitroNitrous. Positive comments do matter a lot for me..since its a one-time big "investment" for me.
I know its upto me to decide but just want to be well informed and do not want to be over excited.....also wat do you guys think abt the multimedia handling of the phone..does the processor seem dragged in case of heavy multimedia usage..? I would want to listen mp3's, check out tracks in radio and video songs..tat's it......
I do not think so, regarding my old Diamond, the HD mini is way ahead in performance. It is very responsive for all the daily tasks including photo, video, music, multi-media and so on. I use a Bluetooth headset and it connects almost immediately against the 10s used by my old Diamond.
Internet and remote desktop that I use often are simply wow. Do not worry about that. Some leaks, but nothing dramatic: Led flashing is less visible than on Diamond, there is no native voice tag for contacts, there is no native close or ok button especially for office applications. Nevertheless it is a lot nicer with real glass screen and crisp colours.
Another thing that annoying me a little bit regarding HD2, there is no electronic compass. This would be really usefull in hiking using navigators or google map.
I watch a movie almost every night in DVD quality and it handles it with no problem. Besides, with TCPMP player it can reproduce almost any video format. As for the music you just need a proper player like PocketPlayer 4, which is the one I use. It has everything you can ask for a music player. I have around 300 songs in the playlist and scrolling the list with the finger is always smooth.
There are some bad points also, but nothing new for someone who has used WM before and is not hard to get used to them.