Database Users

Just got my Exec

Hmm I'm not sure if this is just my experience or not but I have never had a contract mobile before ..
Always suspected they were a bit of a con/rip off/customer service black hole.
So anyway, I finally decided I need a personal organizer/pda for work and since my employer gets a 50% discount on o2 I figured why not splurge.
Ordered my XDA Exec yesterday on 400 mins cross network tarrif (£15 p/m) and the handset was £149.
It arrived 48 hours later!
Only it came by DHL in an obviously re-sealed box. The unit was inside, no cellaphane in sight. The battery was charged already and despite the courier listing a simcard in the box inventory there wasnt one in there anywhere.
I am pretty deflated by this rather awful service so far .. is this normal?
Anyway I figured, this does not prevent me from firing it up and playing around on the WIFI networks at work.
I have played with this thing for a good 6 hrs today at work and here's my first impressions...
1. Asthetically its lovely but the buttons are easy to press while getting it out of the leather wallet. Camera is always on when I open it up .. grr.
2. My screen has a yellow tint to it. Is this normal? Seems kind of like a crap TFT panel used to look on earlier laptop units.
3. Anything network related seems to frequently cause the unit to hang. Checking my mail .. downloading 500 mails from IMAP took 15 mins and eventually crashed it.
MSM seems to crash a lot.
IE on this thing is quite simply poor. This may be biased by the fact I am a firefox developer .. but it is clunky, slow to respond, PHP sends it into a catatonic state and secure websites just plain confuse the thing.
Lots of crashing. No flash support??
Not impressed.
4. Software. Like, where is it? WM5 has next to nothing useful thats free. I don't believe in shareware at all .. where's the OS stuff? Where's the PDA port of this and that? Very dissapointed that all the stuff I found was win 2003 se only and that was that.
This alone renders the thing a waste of time .. sadly ..
5. Keypad is just useable but I hate the feel. Keys are flat and the rebound is so firm you frequently have to go back and press it down harder to get the right chracter to appear. Its hard work tbh.
Oh and the most annoying 'bug' of all ..
When the thing turns the backlight off to power save, it doesnt seem to come back on at the same level it was at before going into standby.
It comes on so dark you have to tilt it to the light to get through the menus to turn it up.
Annoying .. but fixable I'm sure ..
Anyway, some thoughts.
Generally I think this has potential but it clearly hasnt got enough memory to run smoothly .. 49mb of useable memory? Pah! It reminds me of the kind of things you see on ebay where someone is selling a p4 laptop with 64 mb of ram installed. Waste of time.
The cpu is either crap or scaled so far back to save power it crawls. Jury is out on that for now ..
Summarizing, I DO like this .. but the lack of good free software and the diddy memory and seemingly bloated and clunky wm5 + bugs ruins it totally.
I will probably be trading this in for an XDA IIi next week.
That is if O2 sort me out. As it is, I am frankly disgusted with their approach to new customers! "Lets send em a refurb and see if they notice ..". I even told the guy I was a customer relations rep for a large corp. Like I know how it works .. bah.
That said, am getting 50% discount over Mr. Public. So can't complain TOO loudly ..

- Deleted -

This is the most useful review I have read. Thankyou.
TBH, its windows. It's gonna be buggy. I think they just send these out untested, safe in the knowledge that:
a) Buzz or Mamaich will inevitably patch, repair or find awkward ways around 90% of the bugs.
b) The average XDA user is a nerd and will probably follow those instructions/patches and *happily* put up with the buggy features.
c) Joe public isn't clever enough to operate a PDA properly. The average person is too stupid to realise that their PDA crashes itself. They think they're making it crash and are too proud to ask for help/consult the internet. They want a PDA 'cos all their work buddies have them and it makes them look important, using it for little more than checking emails occasionally.
d) Microsoft/HTC know that the kind of person who buys these PDA/phones is the kind of person who will always want the newest gadget, and so will forget about the bugs/issues as soon as the new XDA is released (with its own host of problems). Why bother fixing it when in a few months it will be old news and people will have something new to complain about.
PS, 02 gave me a refurb XDA2s when the insurance replacement they sent me was faulty. It works fine which only around 25% do so I'd rther put up with a refurb than complain and have a 75% chance of the brand new one they send me being faulty.

Sending this on the exec ..
I kinda figured o2 would be light on customer consideration. Hehe.
The phone I got appears to be alright now tbh. I have hard reset to corporate and it is light years smoother. In fact it hasn't crashed once in the last 4 hours!
Performance is fine now too. Still not as fast as you'dd like but it certainly feels more responsive.
I AM A DUMB ASS. The sim was in the box, it had been tossed in loose and was wedged between the user manual compartment lid and the inner structure of that fruity pandora's box.
I'm VERY impressed with the battery life so far.. Talking hours. Neato.
Of course the complete lack of developer interest/support in this version of winblows means i'll still not be keeping it unfortunately. Only Microsoft would release a next gen pda os and NOT include binary compatibility either natively or virtually.
So far haven't found a good free irc client that works. All either pay-for-fun or 2003se only. Bummer.
I have now decided the keyboard is useless. That + the wm5 software absentism means I might either trade for a 2003 xda or buy an IPAQ. Since they seem to have a vast quantity of stuff available: Including a LINUX distro.
With regards the keyboard.. Why the f00 they didn't consider half the number of keys correctly aligned and reasonably proportioned ... who knows. Maybe its like you say, this technology is just blingware and nobody seriously expected people to sit down and type a post like this one. Which, incidentally I am doing with the stylus!
Anyway my hand/neck/wrists hurt already.
Must decist for now.

gubbs said:
Hmm I'm not sure if this is just my experience or not but
3. Anything network related seems to frequently cause the unit to hang. Checking my mail .. downloading 500 mails from IMAP took 15 mins and eventually crashed it.
That said, am getting 50% discount over Mr. Public. So can't complain TOO loudly ..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
500 mails.. Wow!
Huib

My JJ crahes when downloading POP email, usually when I am using 3G.
I have to say the ergonmics of the JJ/Exec are mixed. But for me the keyboard is fantastic; typed for 2 x 30 minutes on the train.

for it is great
I have had mine three weeks and it is excellent.
The screen is clear and all functions work great.
I did not load the standard settings as this gives all the o2 stuff that slows it down.
Loaded spb pockect plus which gives as many features as i need.
i believe you have a returned unit.
I have purchased three phones from o2, the XDA, XDA11s and now the Exec and i have always had everything boxed and sealed the battery is normally partialy charged which is standard these days.
Your comments are the same as a friend of mine who ordered the T mobile option and his arrived like yours i told him to return it that day.
He contacted T mobile and his replacement arrived today boxed correctly and perfectly happy with it.
You have a 14 day return policy which some people seem to find a good way of ordering the phone playing around with it and then sending it back under the policy. This then will go back out to a new purchaser as O2 believe it is just a return as the customer did not find it to be what they wanted.
My advice would be return it now, tell o2 you are not happy as the box was resealed they will send yoiu a replacement probable overnight.
clive

How on earth did you get that Tarrif??
'Ordered my XDA Exec yesterday on 400 mins cross network tarrif (£15 p/m) and the handset was £149.'
I have not seen this anywhere and iot sounds great?

Hmm ok, well I'll get on to o2 in a few mins. Have a cup of tea first - has been a long morning.
Reg. the tarrif it's o2 200 + free double minutes for six months.
It would normally be £30 a month but my employer staff contracts afford a (generous) 50% discount.
The handset is marked the same on the public o2 website ... £149? I don't think I got any reductions on that.
BTW I am typing this on the keyboard today and would like to admit as long as the surface you have it on is very level and very firm (ie not your knee or briefcase lid) then its not so bad.
I also need to google and find out what spb pocket plus is ..
Also you know, I am a pda n00b. I'm sure a lot of what I have said is entirely because I haven't sufficient experience with this technology. I don't pretend to be giving anything more than as-is impressions.

Ok. Spoke to a nice lady at O2 - I think we had chemistry or something - cos she called me 'hun' and arranged for a replacement (new) handset straight away and bunged me £10 off my first bill.
Sweet.
I took it to my manager at work today who I know owns an XDAii and who is a SUPER Geek (tm). He informed me I am not using the keyboard right .. you have to hold it in your hands and type using your thumbs.
Doing this, with autocomplete by tapping the screen with a thumbnail produces some pretty impressive and speedy typing.
I also compared the screen to the one on his XDAii and frankly, it is noticeably smoother. Also in comparrisson the unit weighs in it's case practically the SAME amount as an XDAii (in real world tests not on paper I'm sure). It also found more networks on wifi, quicker than his XDAii and he has announced he wants one. Which would suggest, from a long term XDAii user, that these are a step up from that model. Well either that or he's viciously insecure, competative and fickle. I did say manager didn't I?
All in all, its OK. I seem to get it very grimey tho. Must get some wipes.
I'll be posting a proper, intelligent, considered, non-reflex review on here next week when I get it up and running. I'll also be taking the pictures with the camera and what not ..

Thanks, helpful opinions and info. Ordered mine from O2 on Friday, just watiting for it to arrive
M.

I've had mine about 2 weeks now and at first I wasn't that impressed. It was mainly that speed that annoyed me, but that's sorted now.
I did a basic install and removed all the O2 crap, well, I tried but it failed on the remove, so I deleted the relevant program from the startup and it's all good now. I went back to the Windows default theme as well.
I've got Resco File Explorer, MagicButton running and GSPocketMagic++, though all the features for GSPocketMagic++ are turned off (just having it installed makes it quicker, which is odd).
Screen flips are now down to under 2 seconds, which I think is reasonable. It now responds instantly to screen taps, whereas before it would have a delay of a second or so.
I installed spb pocketplus for a while but found it really slowed my system down. I think it was the battery monitor on the today screen that did it. It's now uninstalled and the thing flies.
All I need to do now is get some kind of navigation sorted and I'm fully happy. I think it's way better than my old XDA2.

So, which install should I do then, basic or corporate?
Thanks
M.

lol gubbs @ your thoughts and experiences.
The sad truth is that many of us get so much pleasure out of just owning a machine like the Exec that we're prepared to overlook its flaws, of which there are (to be honest) many. I love mine, but you're right: there's sod-all software available yet that is 100% compatible (and I mean properly compatible, not just "well, we think it works but it might slow your machine down a bit: try it and let us know how you get on"), and WM5 is horribly crippled by a lack of feature-rich functionality.
There is a halo effect on the Exec caused by its position at the cutting edge of Windows-based phone/PDA models. We think we have the best machines available.
IMHO there are three groups of Exec users:
- technologically ignorant users who use it exactly as O2 intended. Will be either happy or ambivalent about it
- geeks who love to tweak. (I'm in this group.) We, with this website, will work on the damn thing until we're happy with it, and this is part of the satisfaction and pleasure of ownership. Are already happy with their Exec because it's the best money can buy, and we overlook its little faults.
- newcomers who've previously owned a Palm/Treo/whatever. Will generally be disappointed with the Exec because it's different from what they're used to and will seem slow/crippled/buggy. Might become happy in time, but more likely to return unit and swear they'll never touch Windows Mobile again.
gubbs, I'd guess you were in the third group when you first posted here, but now you're moving towards the second group. I reckon you'll be a-tweakin' and a-moddin' with the rest of 'em within weeks! Then (and only then) will you love your Exec.

I agree.
After spending 10 months with the XDA 2s I couldn't go back to a "normal" phone. I've had PDAs since before they were called PDAs - this was my first one - http://tinyurl.com/cyhjo
Yes, I have to reboot it most days, and yes it does some odd stuff, but in general it's been an amazing device.
It's in for repair (lose keyboard) and I'm using an old Nokia 6600 while I wait for my Exec to arrive. I've only been without of for 3 days and it's been like losing my right arm!
M.

the truth is out there

Here goes, my first ever post on any forum. So please bare with me on the following. I'm laid in bed next to my lovely wife and it hits me, why do we mess with all this tech! More rhetorical, than a question. More to the point my wife asks "if it's not broken why fix it?"
It leads me to add to the already hyped wm5. I believe there is a reason behind the so called 'lack of upgrade' for the mda compact. And I may make a believer out of you all.
If you know anything about computers, you will understand about CPU's. My desktop computer is meant to be an amd duron 1600mhz, but I can clock it at 2100mhz. They call this overclocking (sorry, I'm teaching you how to suck eggs). In reality it's what we call a broken spec CPU. The chip probably started off as an amd athon 2000xp. But failed the tests, so not to waste the capital gain. They remove some cache and a couple of IC controllers and hey presto - they made 50 quid at something they should have thrown away. Or should they? This theory is a long standing myth that dates back to the late 90's with broken server chips being rebaged by Intel as mmx 200mhz. It was even stated in a PC mag that celerons were broken versions of p3's. AGAIN certain features were removed to make it cheap. But this is just a myth! Getting back to the mda issue. I think that htc designed many models that are robust... But they decided to try out a spec with the latest (at the time) software. It has to be cost effective and at least meet a minimum quality. And don't forget deadlines. So times ticking away and you get a cut down version of what should have been created. This would explain the lack of support for wm5 as it would be too flaky to use. If at all.
I've for the past 12 months, tried to use bluetooth, make the camera work, have a decent conversation without having to reset or reinstall the crummy software.
This is my forth mda compact. I have no faith in ms, htc or t-mobile, that brings me back to what my wife said.
My answer is they never worked when we got them. But its fun trying to fix or understand them!
HTC went in at the bottom for this and the early adopters of this tech pay the price - but that's business.
I'm ready to through this away cos this is refusing like the little b'tard child it is, to do as it's told.
Question for you all, no need to reply. Have you reset your mda compact more times than the total amount you have ever reset all the home computers you have had or used in your lifetime?
If so welcome to my world.
P.s this is a fantastic site.

I appreciate your logic,BUT
Mine works fine! i have the TMobile MDA here in the US, it really does a good job. I overclocked it to 252, reg tweaks, bluetooth with my Jabra BT250, wifi on G, and I love it. Best phone ever (did 1.13 radio rom upgrade)
Sorry you are having such troubles that are having you type while you laying next to a beautiful bird!!! Throw that thing out and get busy!!!
Good Luck. :twisted:

cheers mate. i'll try n wake her up.
nah to honest i love the phone. I've been in and out of the computer industry for the past 12 years. i'm getting behind. but i still manage to spot issues or problems.
They replaced it 4 times cos i found the problems.I insisted it was software but t-mobile was just starting out with this breed of smartphones.
my main point is no matter what the product, it never lives up to the dream, but it's good to learn how to fix or purge ideas to make something better than what it was original.
I'm just frustrated...
by the way i find it funny that when you show the phone off and tell the crowd it's got windows they ask does it crash

x7500 or iphone???

hey people plz dont hate my question!
i have now iphone very nice and i like it
i work in a digidal shop
few hours ago came to me person and saw my iphone and show me his x7500
and told me if i want to change one for one
i dont know what to do can you help me?
my problem is that i dont like blutooth head set
so how can i speak with it
and the second where can i put it ?
in my pocket?????
wait for your replay
thxxxx peolpe

This is an apples and oranges comparison.
The x7500 is a handheld computer and the iPhone is a mobile phone.
You have to have big pockets if you want to put the x7500 in one of them, and using it as a handset is kinda like Maxwell Smart with his shoe phone. But with a bluetooth headset, you have a much more capable communications device than your iPhone. Just to mention a few improvements, the x7500 has a keyboard, 3G internet, a2dp stereo bluetooth, and the ability to add much more memory using a miniSD card.
If you want a phone to put in your pocket, keep the iPhone. If you want a PDA that is nearly a laptop and has excellent communications capabilities, the x7500 is hard to beat.
Besides, you can probably sell the x7500 and buy 2 iPhones. Your friend made you an offer that is hard to refuse.

THXXXXXXX MY FRIEND FOR THE NICE REPLAY
I HAD BEFOR THE IPHONE THE JASJAM SO I KNOW ALMOST EVERY THING ABOUT
HTC POCKT I EVEN WAS COOCKING MY OWN STUFF LONG TIME AGO FOR MY JASJAM SO I CAN MAKE MUCH MORE WITH THE X-7500
BUT I DONT KNOW WHERE TO PUT THE PDA LOLLLL
I DONT LIKE TO GO WITH WALLET
MAYBE IN MY POCKET MMMMMM DONT KNOW DAMN
ILL THINK ABOUT IT FEW MORE HOURES BUT IF ILL GONNA BAY IT
ILL HELP YOU GUYS IN THE FORUM TO MAKE THE BEST OUT OF IT
THXXXXXXX

writing everything in CAPITAL letters is rude and seen as shouting :S

sorry bro didnt notice im in the middle of work

X7500, iPhone or carrot - tough choice but they are three very different things.

if i want to go out with friends how can i carry the x-7500?
i need a phone with me !
and dont tell me its not phone i need one for every thing

bubu23 said:
if i want to go out with friends how can i carry the x-7500?
i need a phone with me !
and dont tell me its not phone i need one for every thing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, you don't need one device for each gadget. No separete phone, separate GPS, separate MP3, separate video player... One device would do it all.
This review covers not just the issue of using Athena as a phone but also many other aspects also.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=365794
You should change it with your friend before he realises his foolishness.

Or get a Nokia E90

I have both and I wouldn't want to be without either, but if it was only one device I could have it would have to be the iPhone.
No way does the 7500 replace a phone. Okay, you could use a BT headset or similar, but would you want to carry it around on a night out? No way.
iPhone gives me great net access when on the go, but more serious work and play I carry the 7500 too when necessary.

uczmeg said:
I have both and I wouldn't want to be without either, but if it was only one device I could have it would have to be the iPhone.
No way does the 7500 replace a phone. Okay, you could use a BT headset or similar, but would you want to carry it around on a night out? No way.
iPhone gives me great net access when on the go, but more serious work and play I carry the 7500 too when necessary.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i use 7500 for phone call without BT, not a problem.
I carry it with me at all times.
OK, I hear that you use both, but it is just one of the choices and not as if there is no choice.
For most who want only one device,I think iPhone can't use spare battery, can't surfwith HSDPA speed, does'nt do GPS(therefore can't possibly be the ONLY device you have to carry), can't have the same breath of third party softwares, desktop class word processing/spreadsheet/presentation on big screen, ......

eaglesteve said:
For most who want only one device,I think iPhone can't use spare battery, can't surfwith HSDPA speed, does'nt do GPS(therefore can't possibly be the ONLY device you have to carry), can't have the same breath of third party softwares, desktop class word processing/spreadsheet/presentation on big screen, ......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At the end of the day a person can only base it on their needs as everyone's is different.
I'd do the trade just because the 7500 is worth way more than the iPhone, especially with a new model due out in a few weeks. (although I guess you could say the same about the 7500 now the 7510 is appearing, but whether that is better is a whole different thread).
Unrelated, but if I could only have once device then I guess it would be the Kaiser. Just because of size and carrying a phone to the pub thing. But I find that too much of a compromise and would rather carry two devices when necessary.
The perfect do everything device is close, but not quite here yet. (At least for me.)

uczmeg said:
At the end of the day a person can only base it on their needs as everyone's is different.
I'd do the trade just because the 7500 is worth way more than the iPhone, especially with a new model due out in a few weeks. (although I guess you could say the same about the 7500 now the 7510 is appearing, but whether that is better is a whole different thread).
Unrelated, but if I could only have once device then I guess it would be the Kaiser. Just because of size and carrying a phone to the pub thing. But I find that too much of a compromise and would rather carry two devices when necessary.
The perfect do everything device is close, but not quite here yet. (At least for me.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kaiser is QVGA and the screen size is too tiny for spreadsheet, word pro, etc. I still think that Athena is the best single device that does it all today. Definitely worth swapping with the first generation iPhone.

Buy a Hugo Boss dress pants, x7500 will fit snuggly and nicely, people won't even notice.
aonanodad said:
This is an apples and oranges comparison.
The x7500 is a handheld computer and the iPhone is a mobile phone.
You have to have big pockets if you want to put the x7500 in one of them, and using it as a handset is kinda like Maxwell Smart with his shoe phone. But with a bluetooth headset, you have a much more capable communications device than your iPhone. Just to mention a few improvements, the x7500 has a keyboard, 3G internet, a2dp stereo bluetooth, and the ability to add much more memory using a miniSD card.
If you want a phone to put in your pocket, keep the iPhone. If you want a PDA that is nearly a laptop and has excellent communications capabilities, the x7500 is hard to beat.
Besides, you can probably sell the x7500 and buy 2 iPhones. Your friend made you an offer that is hard to refuse.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I am a proud owner of HTC Advantage X7500 and Iphone, but not looking at X7510 due to lack of processor and RAM upgrade, the RAM is still 128MB. And I like my front facing VGA camera, and my mini-joystick.
I prefer to flash my Advantage than my Iphone in the public, coz its rare! And even there is 2 Advantage sitting side by side, they are goin to look very different! Very Customised!! My Iphone just look standard and identical with my colleague's one, the 'Head-turning' effect of iphone is starting to lack nowadays.
And I do most of the time put the X7500 in my pocket.
But If anyone want pocketibility and most, if not all the advantages that the 'Advantage' have, take a look at HTC touch PRO, the one look like HTC diomond but with an added keyboard..... and these things here got 256RAM!!Its blazing!
I wish that we can upgrade the Advantage's RAM!! Coz no other function or upgrade can ever replace my desire for a nice 5inch screen on my advantage, and make me change my device!
But Iphone help me get more attention from chicks. And chick dont really dig the X7500. My girlsfen hates the X7500!! LOL
(I use my Advantage to my advantage as Excel and word document composer, powerpoint presenter(TV-out), Appointment Scheduler, HSDPA internet access, Remote desktop access, MP3/movie Player, incar GPS navigator, game console, Podcast/news reader,namecard scanner/recogniser,Ebook reader, Dictionaries(8 of them),USB hard-drive, Advance Scientific callculator replacement,camera, and so much more...like making call,set task,emails and sms.)

i beg to disagree... im a girl but i dig the x7510... in fact, im dying to have one... i'm begging my husband to get me one before the year ends and he just couldnt understand my fascination with it. He'd rather get me an iphone or just a tytn plus a umpc. But I put my foot down, it's the x7510 or i'll be very upset

cuteangelika said:
i beg to disagree... im a girl but i dig the x7510... in fact, im dying to have one... i'm begging my husband to get me one before the year ends and he just couldnt understand my fascination with it. He'd rather get me an iphone or just a tytn plus a umpc. But I put my foot down, it's the x7510 or i'll be very upset
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Way to go girl...lol

My solution has been to get a cheap cellphone off eBay (Cingular 3125) when I just need a phone. But mostly take the Advantage, except in rare instances (sports event and the like).
I find that with BT headset and my MBW-150 watch (which tells me who a caller is, as well as the sender and the subject line for a new message) I only dig out my Advantage when needed. But when I need it it's there... near-laptop capabilities right at my hand.
For now, I will stay with the Advantage. The iphone lacks (a) MS Office compatibility, (b) customization, (c) push e-mail, and (d) customization. However, given the release of a SDK for iPhone, that will probably change soon. I assume that an Office clone will come out, push e-mail has been announced through "MobileMe", and other options to make the device more personal will no doubt increase as well. I give the iPhone 6-12 months until the drool factor will overtake me... unless HTC comes up with a real successor to the Advantage better than the 7510.

I've always wanted an Apple product....

But I've never bought one! Every time Apple come out with a new product I want to rush out and get one. Then, I don't. This has happened for the iPod, Apple TV, iPhone, new iPod, Mac, etc. There is always some limitation that is a deal breaker (and the high prices). With the iPhone, it is locked to AT&T or O2 or whoever. Take it overseas and your going to be paying incredible roaming fees. You can buy an unlocked 3GS in Europe (Italy) but it costs around $1100 (that is US dollars) and you probably won't find one without a contract. It won't play xvid/divx etc. The Apple TV looks awesome. Ahh, but you're locked in to iTunes and supported formats are not that great. The iPod Touch - wow, that looks fantastic. But I keep having to pay for upgrades? And it's not a phone? It just goes on an on.
So I went out and bought the HTC Hero. I absolutely love this thing. I'm not saying it is perfect, but there are only a few faults so far. Once I turned off that silly clock on the home screen it became quite snappy. The browser is amazing. Bookmarks are easy to access, though I wish you could do it with a finger swipe. Or at least cycle through open pages that way. Integration with Google accounts (maps, gmail, contacts) is fantastic. The maps work great with both GPS and just the cell tower information. Using Google street view and sky is really cool. The device knows its orientation at all times. Enable compass mode in street view and when you face North, the phone will show you that view. Turn in a circle, it will follow. I bet Google will eventually do turn by turn and 3D navigation. Why not? They'll make loads of money on it. The PDF reader is actually very useful. Since the Hero did not come with a manual, I downloaded the manual (all 220 pages) and actually skimmed it very easily with the PDF reader! That was amazing. Come to find out, the manual was actually on the included SD card, but there was no file manager to access it (but there is an app!) Now maybe this phone is so awesome because I'm getting ~4mbps throughput (yes, throughput) with my HSDPA connection....but it works pretty good on Edge too. The Wifi antenna is reasonable for the size of the phone, though my laptop usually gets a stronger signal. The ability to switch from the Sense UI to the normal Adroid environment sweet. I don't know why they have to still call it Touch Flo though. That is just confusing (but I can deal with it!). Start up time (boot) for the Hero is abysmal. I have not timed it but probably on the order of 1 minute. Hope you don't need to call the hospital or something. Have no idea how the iPhone compares. My solution, just leave the phone on.
The day after I bought the phone I set it next to my friends iPhone. I thought, ohh no! His screen is much bigger. This is going to be a train wreck. After a week, I much prefer the Hero size screen. It is so much easier using with one hand. I can type and browse fairly easily with one hand. Plus, when you actually use the Hero as a phone (to your ear) you don't look like you're talking into a small TV. It fits in my pocket much better than the iPhone. Still looking for a really good case that protects and is small. I do wish the "back" button was on the other side of the phone as it is a bit awkward. I guess the designer was a lefty. I can deal with that. The build quality is quite nice, though the back panel is quite flimsy. I hope they sell replacements because it is going to break sometime.
HTC Hero, what I always really wanted my Dell Axim X51v to be.

clobber said:
..... I do wish the "back" button was on the other side of the phone as it is a bit awkward. I guess the designer was a lefty. I can deal with that....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
... bought mine couple a days ago, when breaking my Diamond.
just to say: I love the "hero". and as Im "lefty" I love it even more...
Now just waiting for decent outlook calendar syncing program (funambol) for android to be ready and good offline navigation option, as usually I need navigation when out in foreign country and roaming fees are quite high then.
P.S. I will never go back to WM... never ...

Another satisfied Hero customer here as well And I second the WM opinion, I had a XDA Exec for years - and although the hardware was good the OS just ruined it!

clobber said:
You can buy an unlocked 3GS in Europe (Italy) but it costs around $1100 (that is US dollars) and you probably won't find one without a contract. It won't play xvid/divx etc.
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Do you have an android divx player? Link please!

Kudos to the thread starter, I agree completely!
Hear hear(o)!

I had the iPhone 3g , good phone loved it , but I hated apple , their restriction have ruined it for me , I felt like if I was renting it and not actually owning the thing , but over all good phone .

You're right. I don't see a divx/xvid player yet.

clobber said:
You're right. I don't see a divx/xvid player yet.
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You had my hopes up.

guys ... what should i say ... i was WM usr for years ... and tested one interface after the other (wisbar advanced desktop, touch flo 2d manilla, and so on)
but this here (YES I GOT A HERO, TOO) is just awesome... will be a hard fight for microsoft to bring me back ... (maybee windows mobile 7 - we will see)
but this phone is the best i ever had my hands on ... and i'm workin for a big german provider, so i touched much phones
LOVING THE HERO

Who bought this?

How many people actually bought this, I heard from 3 or 4 verizon stores near me that they have yet to sell a kin. If you did purchase one is it your only phone or your main phone? Really curious considering the more obvious choices out there, even on verizon.

I'd want one, but they're not available in Europe. And it would be my second phone, since i've got a Nexus already. I REALLY want to toy with WP7.

I bought a Kin Two. This phone is awesome. I won't go through a whole review or anything about it but I can say that I'm loving it. It really is a simplistic phone. I came from an iPhone 3gs, to a Palm Pre, to a Droid Eris, finally to the Kin Two all in 5 months (believe me, you dont want to hear that story). In any case, coming from so many phones with so much functionality I'm really happy to get such a simple change. It may not do 40 bajillion things, but what it does, it does really well. Let me know if you have any actually question about the phone or the OS itself and I will be happy to expand on it.

I actually got one in the mail for free. I haven't activated it yet, but so far it's a pretty cool device judging from what I can do over WiFi. It lacks games, but I've heard they are coming. The music quality is comparable to a Zune (which has superb audio quality) when played over proper speakers/headphones (IE not the phone's external speakers). There's a good deal more I want to toy with, but I have to get it activated first.

You guys are really lucky, getting free phones and all that. I have to pay good money just to toy with these things...

NeoS2007 said:
You guys are really lucky, getting free phones and all that. I have to pay good money just to toy with these things...
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The reason I got it for free is that I am a member of projectkin.com, which helped MS shape the device. They had a drawing on the site for 5 people to win a KIN device. I happened to win.

Link9228 said:
The reason I got it for free is that I am a member of projectkin.com, which helped MS shape the device. They had a drawing on the site for 5 people to win a KIN device. I happened to win.
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Nice, congrats.
Ontopic: I wouldn't buy it, there is no development in the UI yet.

I for one would probably won't buy it either, but I definitely want to toy with it. So I might as well save up for it.

I just saw the Kin1 at my local Frys for $75 no contract. I came home and started looking to see if there are any hacks to get Android or WinMo on it. So far I found nothing so it looks like I won't be buying one.

gedster314 said:
I just saw the Kin1 at my local Frys for $75 no contract. I came home and started looking to see if there are any hacks to get Android or WinMo on it. So far I found nothing so it looks like I won't be buying one.
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Its sad right? I wish I was better at hacking phones!

I just
picked up the Kin Onem from Verizion $19.99. Been enjoying the heck out of it BUT Bluetooth has me scratching my head. From what I have been able to find out, the Kin will not transfer phone book and will not use Voice dial in car kits. HUH!! Whats to use of BT if not hands free.
There is a possibility that if the car kit has it's own phone book that will work. The phone works fine in my G8GT but no with my Garmin 1490T or Motorola T505. Both receive calls fine but you need to actually place a call from the phone for outgoing.
OH Well for $20 I'll live with it.

I did, sorta ...
Seems like most are giving up on the KIN for valid reasons (volume of devices, Vz/Ms support, etc.). I specifically selected the KIN Two for another reason, so if your interested in some light reading ...
I have poor hearing. Hence I select my phone based on that. I currently use a Samsung Sch-a670 (circa 2004?). Its loud, has excellent coverage and I can text every once in a while. And quote a Vz service tech "Its bullet proof." I had one go through an entire wash cycle in my pants pocket and three days later, after it dried out it worked. After hitting it with worse than a "bullet", I bought the same phone on ebay for $12, works great.
So why the Kin Two. I read an article in the NY Times that said Vz will end the "New Every Two" plan. I really had no reason to upgrade but I figured I'd look as I had a freebie coming.
When I read about the Kin I got an idea. In the summer, I frequent the Beach with many friends. We all have a great time including lots of food, party and, of course tunes. My old mp3 player was failing (buttons from the sand). Problem was this was an old Sansa M260 that uses AAA batteries. Many days we are on the beach 12 hours. Most MP3 players will go dead in the middle of the day. With the M260, I just pop in another AAA.
So, the Kin has the sound of a Zune, a 8 mp camera and takes HD video. I figure with all the radios turned off (for good-Airplane mode), the battery would last a couple of days playing MP3s. So I loaded the Zune software, ratified the ID3 tags in my 4 G music collection and have a great new MP3 player. (Zune application expounded on id3 tag abnormalities in my music files not seen using copy and paste to the M260).
Some things I've found with the Zune ...
(1) It would always come up with the "activate" process, an annoying first step. There is a character sequence to bypass this (SHIFT+ALT+L) but you have to do this every startup. I turned the radio on, activated once (*228) then turned the radio off and reactivated my Samsung. Now the Kin starts up directly to the Home apps page.
(2) The battery was nearly discharged when I got the phone. Charged to 90% in a couple hours. Took two days of non-use to get to 100%. Now it gets to 100% fairly quickly. First time battery issue?
(3) For anyone not using the Zune software for mp3, picture, video library, it's a pretty nice application, does a nice job managing the media on the Kin Two - syncing is great. Cons: its large, its no roadrunner. But with any recent hardware, thos are non-issues. In perspective, I have and will never again load iTunes on my PC.
(4) WI-fi works and is easy to set up if you set-up your router. Make sure wi-fi is on (settings, wireless controls), select "other" enter your network name (SSID), select the encryption type used on your router and enter the encryption key. If your cable/FIOS/telephone guy set up your router, it may auto detect (no wireless security) or you may need to call customer service to get the wi-fi security settings.
I've rearranged the Home screen based on my planned usage. The only other thing I like to do is change the welcome/ending screens when I power the device. But i think that requires modding the firmware rather than a simple file download. From what I've gathered on these boards that ain't happening - the phone will fade away as quickly as it appeared (has once already). But I'll be happily dancing on the dunes for at least the year warranty.
Regards ...

Actually, I think this phone is selling rather decently as a feature phone. It shouldn't be surprising, because it easily out-guns Verizon's other feature phones in terms of hardware, it's the only one that has wi-fi (besides the one-m), it easily has a better camera, a larger touch screen, better processor, and more onboard storage than anything sold in their feature phone fleet. The main things that turn people off to this phone now are the stupid lack of common features like no forwarding messages, no timestamp on every message, no microSD card slot, the bluetooth doesn't work, no VZ Backup assistant or for that matter anyway to input your contacts any other way than manually. I have this phone, and for a feature phone, it absolutely owns, but it should do SO much more. It can't even view MS documents, I mean, seriously Microsoft? A document viewer shouldn't be too much to ask for. I agree, millstonemike, the built-in Zune is great. It's one of the redeeming features of this phone, in my opinion. I am never going back to my iPod or iTunes.

i just bought one for company testing... id love to see custom roms on it, especially with more feature filled bluetooth.

Just ordered a KIN TwoM
I have been using my Verizon Razr for just over 4 years now. I've been thinking about getting an Android smartphone, but in the end I just didn't want to pay $30 / month / line for the required data plan.
When I found that the Kin TwoM has web browsing via WiFi, and no data plan requirements, I was instantly sold.
I haven't gotten the phone yet, so can't comment much further. I really hope that more people will try this phone and that there will be some progress on developing the KIN platform.

Sent from my KIN
This Kin TWOm is pretty cool. I`m still getting used to it, but so far no complaints.
Regarding importing contacts, I took my old RAZR and my new Kin into a Verizon store and they transferred the contacts for me in about 10 minutes. Piece of cake.
Jon
-Sent from my Kin TWOm