Database Users

Blackstone or Raphael? Thoughts...

The time has come to relegate my trusty Hermes to the nearest bin. This means - upgrade time.
Now, unlike some of you, I do not have the luxury of trying out both of these to make up my mind. So, I'd like to hear some thoughts on those of you who has had to give up their Touch Pro keyboards for the more clumsy Touch HD on-screen text input.
Getting the Touch HD is a no brainer in every way, except one. I can't imagine giving up my sliding keyboard. Yes, I'm currently leaning towards getting the Touch Pro.
Thoughts? rants & raves? and shuttefu%^&up about iphones please.

As an owner of both I say get the HD. I loved my Raphael so dont get me wrong. I do a decent amount of typing and the HD keyboard seems very responsive. If you are doing a ton of typing there is really no substitute for a hard keyboard but the HD isnt far off. Out of the box the HD runs much better than the raphael did but there are plenty of custom ROMs out there that solve this for the raphael so not really an issue. One plus abotu the raphael is that there are tons of customizations but youc an expet that from the HD cookers out there in the coming weeks.
Again, i say get the HD. Its hard ot beat the screen on it and typing is actually pretty easy. I like the power button and volume buttons more on the HD as well. you dont accidently press them the way you will on the raphael. The other buttons on the HD are really nice as well because they do not actually press like the raphael does. It gives a little vibrate when you press them which is a suprisingly great feature. Oh yeah, don forget about the 5mp camera. It takes wonderful pics as long as you are in decent light.
Lastly, everyone that has seen my HD is blown away. When they saw my raphael they mostly said "thats nice, a little too think for me but nice"

mallman said:
As an owner of both I say get the HD. I loved my Raphael so dont get me wrong. I do a decent amount of typing and the HD keyboard seems very responsive. If you are doing a ton of typing there is really no substitute for a hard keyboard but the HD isnt far off. Out of the box the HD runs much better than the raphael did but there are plenty of custom ROMs out there that solve this for the raphael so not really an issue. One plus abotu the raphael is that there are tons of customizations but youc an expet that from the HD cookers out there in the coming weeks.
Again, i say get the HD. Its hard ot beat the screen on it and typing is actually pretty easy. I like the power button and volume buttons more on the HD as well. you dont accidently press them the way you will on the raphael. The other buttons on the HD are really nice as well because they do not actually press like the raphael does. It gives a little vibrate when you press them which is a suprisingly great feature. Oh yeah, don forget about the 5mp camera. It takes wonderful pics as long as you are in decent light.
Lastly, everyone that has seen my HD is blown away. When they saw my raphael they mostly said "thats nice, a little too think for me but nice"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WOW the most usefull review of all
thx again, and when my back account allow it , I might buy HD

I've still have my Touch Pro. I opted to buy the Touch HD for one big reason...Screen size bigger than the iPhone on a WM device! I'm tired of dealing with the limited space of a 2.8" screen. I've always been a fan of hardware keyboards, but the Touch HD has a nice virtual keyboard and with a program like gyrator 2 or gsen you can rotate your HD into landscape and stretch out the virtual keyboard for more room.
Also the GPS performance is better on the Touch HD.....the Touch Pro and Diamonds performance is crappy..its lags way too much and takes longer to get a fix. Now the AT&T Fuze may have this solved, but unless you have AT&T and live in the US its not really an option.
I think for any one who has been lusting over the idea of having an iPhone, but would never give up Windows Mobile can now rest at ease.
Just my two cents.

I have also used both, and I can say , on any given day , I would take HD.
HD screen is the best thing and the keyboard is also very good on it.Once , the custom roms comes from the likes of senior people like Dutty , Panosha and others, I am sure the HD will fly like a rocket.
Go for HD. I sold my rapheal already.

utvol06 said:
I've still have my Touch Pro. I opted to buy the Touch HD for one big reason...Screen size bigger than the iPhone on a WM device! I'm tired of dealing with the limited space of a 2.8" screen. I've always been a fan of hardware keyboards, but the Touch HD has a nice virtual keyboard and with a program like gyrator 2 or gsen you can rotate your HD into landscape and stretch out the virtual keyboard for more room.
Also the GPS performance is better on the Touch HD.....the Touch Pro and Diamonds performance is crappy..its lags way too much and takes longer to get a fix. Now the AT&T Fuze may have this solved, but unless you have AT&T and live in the US its not really an option.
I think for any one who has been lusting over the idea of having an iPhone, but would never give up Windows Mobile can now rest at ease.
Just my two cents.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now that you have the HD could you compare the GPS performance with Touch Pro?
Give us numbers.... How many seconds to get a fix and the GPS "lag".

speed200 said:
Now that you have the HD could you compare the GPS performance with Touch Pro?
Give us numbers.... How many seconds to get a fix and the GPS "lag".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll report after testing this afternoon.

utvol06 said:
I'll report after testing this afternoon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, all of us will be awaiting for it.
Best regards.

In the last 3 months, I have owned a Diamond, Raphael and an HD. The Diamond came first and was lovely to use but the screen was too small to type effectively. So I bought a Raphael - which i used for work but it was just too thick - it ruins the cut of a suit!
Then along came the HD. The screen is just beautiful. Crucially, it is also large enough to type effectively. Don't get me wrong, it is not as effective as typing on a keyboard (such as on the Raphael) but unless you're doing a lot of typing, that doesn't matter. I still do a reasonable amount of email and the screen keyboard on the HD is large enough to cope.
The HD also runs more responsively than the Diamond or Raph. It doesn't suffer the Raph's GPS lag (I never had lag on the Diamond). And did I mention that screen???!!!
Disappointments with the HD? Not many yet. The camera is unquestionably way too slow and nowhere near as good as, eg, the N95 (which my wife has). The lack of D-Pad takes a bit of getting used to but all it really means is getting used to a different way of working as we're all so used to the DPad. I haven't yet found any software where it causes a major problem.
My final answer? Both my Raph and my Diamond are on ebay right now.

dito
yeah, my tilt and fuze have both sold on Ebay, I like my Touch HD. I am looking forward to using a different onscreen keyboard than the one provided in the stock ROM. I don't like that they wasted space by putting directional buttons on the right hand side. There is one available on a particular ROM downloaded from this site, but i suspect there will be more WVGA keyboards. I used to have a 6600 which had like a 3" screen or something, a wee bit larger than the tilt and that was a really nice phone actually, it just lacked the new juicier hardware. The Touch HD really brings out the sexy in HTC. No overweight short, fat, ugly phone, its tall and sleek and slim and sexy, lol! Just another thought: The Touch Pro can be had for about $500 without a contract and even FREE with a contract if you pull the right strings! However, the Touch HD is nearly $800 and there is no ifs ands or buts about it. You gotta pay for the best and its not really supported by AT&T or the retailers that sell it here in the US and is only barely supported by HTC in US. And, the insurance companies dont know much about it. All this makes for a riskier investment especially considering that some peoples HD vibrate breaks and they have to send it back . (moment of silence please). Yeah its a little scary for me right now. I think I might have it under control! If I were you and I had wee bit of money, I would go for the HD, its what the really cool people have, lol
Just a few thoughts,
Levi

I had a very cherished Tytn II (kaiser) before the recent HD.
I was really excited about the huge screen and higher resolution but the lack of a hard keyboard really put me off. Another huge aspect that put me off was the fract that straight out of the box you cant rotate to landscape mode. I've had my tytn ii in landscape mode permenantly for ever a year now and thats how I like it. The optical layout is very similar to wide screen TVs and monitors. Any how, I found a way to keep it in landscapde mode (look for my thread called landscape view +solved+.
I tried typing in full qwerty and compact qwerty mode in portrait screen but it just wasnt the same (or even close) to a large keyboard. So I resorted to trying to type in landscapde mode using full qwerty and it was just as good as the tytn ii keyboard. Snailslug's wonderful app called touch response made it even better. His app added little vibration feedback (haptic I believe is the term) to touching the screen. So using the virtual keyboard is much more predictable if you can imagine.

.VIBE said:
The time has come to relegate my trusty Hermes to the nearest bin. This means - upgrade time.
Now, unlike some of you, I do not have the luxury of trying out both of these to make up my mind. So, I'd like to hear some thoughts on those of you who has had to give up their Touch Pro keyboards for the more clumsy Touch HD on-screen text input.
Getting the Touch HD is a no brainer in every way, except one. I can't imagine giving up my sliding keyboard. Yes, I'm currently leaning towards getting the Touch Pro.
Thoughts? rants & raves? and shuttefu%^&up about iphones please.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tested both and I can say, being a Universal Super keyboard user, that HD is almost perfect but the lack of physical keyboard stop me to buy it, a Physical Kb will never be beaten for any fantastic on screen virtual Kb.
So if I had to decide for any of those being the only options I would choose Touch Pro because the Kb, even with that fantastic super screen of the HD.
Or dreaming a little bit I would wait for the upcoming HD touch Pro....
Iphone? Never in my life!!

I've had both on hand: Touch PRO and HD. And now i am really satisfied with HD compared to what I've been with Raphael. I've been considered so much before change from Raph to HD. I'd been with Raph for a month and swapped with many ROMs and radios (only Raphael radio) before making a decision to switch to HD... Beyond all of Raphael's pros is its crappy BATTERY LIFE
It only lasts for a day with full charge on my usage (compared to the same usage with HD). The GPS is so bad, could not fix as fast as my Polaris.
I have to say I'm really disappointed with Raph as I thought it could be another king replaced for the Kaiser...
Go to HD then you will have no regret and waste !

as a TyTN owner.. i thought of getting a raphael.. but looking at them.. they dont have many differences.. ok the vga screen.. the looks etc.. overall though its the exact same device pumped up..
besides.. im a more of a techie gadget guy.. the raphael doesnt come close to the HD from my point of view.. the raphael is a more bussiness man type of device rather the HD is the more
show off device.. get the HD you wont regret it!
cheers!

I too have upgraded from a Kaiser to the Touch HD.
Bit of a no-brainer for me as I found I hardly ever used the slide-out keyboard on the Kaiser. The basic WM keyboard has always been a fast method of entering text for me, particularly with the help of predicitve text and gesture recognition.
Spb Keyboard is meeting my needs for basic text entry on the HD. If I need to do a serious amount of text entry the stylus comes out and I use the standard WM keyboard again. With practise I think this is a pretty fast and accurate way of entering text.
Just in case it hasn't sunk in (!), the screen on the HD is FANTASTIC! Web browsing is excellent. The extra screen space and resolution is also fantastic in Pocket Informant agenda view. And mobile shell is great on the bigger screen.
As someone's said above, lack of D-pad is an issue to start with but only because you have to re-learn how to use your favourite programmes. After a while it's fine.
Setting up haptic feedback is a good thing.
I'm really looking forward to seeing what WinMo developers will do next year to tweak their software for the HD. It's good at the moment but could be more finger-friendly in places. Eg I know the next version of Pocket Informant will be more finger-friendly. Hopefully other developers will head in this direction too.

What about US 3G on ATT...
blacksage said:
...its not really supported by AT&T or the retailers that sell it here in the US and is only barely supported by HTC in US....
Just a few thoughts,
Levi
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
According to the service manual (http://mikechannon.net/PDF%20Manuals/HTC_Blackstone_Service_Manual.pdf) the US ATT 850 and 1900 HSDPA/UMTS bands are supported.
The original specs showed no support for these bands -- but now????
Are you getting 3G speeds in the US???

Help!!! Should I move on from HTC Touch Cruise to X1???

I have a huge dilema guys. I've been lusting over the X1 ever since it was released in December. However, I have an HTC Touch Cruise... Its clearly not a very outdated device. Have any of you upgraded from a 400mhz Touch series phone or newer, and if so do you feel you got your money's worth?
So what are your thoughts? Could the X1 keep you satisfied for over a year? (FYI, I feel the Touch Pro 2 is ugly and bulky and I'm not at all down with HTC's new pattern of devices w/o DPADs or camera keys or functional landscape)
The only phones I see pulling me away from the X1 are a GSM Palm Pre with North American 3G (not likely to be released any time soon), Sony X2 (no inidication as to when one will come out), or the "3rd Gen" iPhone w/Skype, A2DP, and 3D nav w/voice (hell will prob freeze over before it can do any of those).

sonus said:
I have a huge dilema guys. I've been lusting over the X1 ever since it was released in December. However, I have an HTC Touch Cruise... Its clearly not a very outdated device. Have any of you upgraded from a 400mhz Touch series phone or newer, and if so do you feel you got your money's worth?
So what are your thoughts? Could the X1 keep you satisfied for over a year? (FYI, I feel the Touch Pro 2 is ugly and bulky and I'm not at all down with HTC's new pattern of devices w/o DPADs or camera keys or functional landscape)
The only phones I see pulling me away from the X1 are a GSM Palm Pre with North American 3G (not likely to be released any time soon), Sony X2, or the 4th Gen iPhone w/Skype, A2DP, and 3D nav w/voice (hell will prob freeze over before it can do any of those).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
4th gen iPhone? Wheres the 3rd gen iphone.
I havn't ever used an actual HTC device other than the TyTn II (which is horrible) but if you like HTC, then Xperia is a pretty nice one.
Palm Pre looks like it's gonna do sweet things, but again, never used a palm, so it's the same as when I thought my iPhone would do sweet things, which is subsequently didn't.
It depends what you want, as far as phones go, it's probably the most dissappointing one (other than the iPhone, that's rock bottom) that I'v owned, especially havnt owned almost every Nokia N series device.
That being said, it's the WinMo that's the make or break, and you can't expect it to behave like a Sony Ericsson, because it really isnt.
So, if you like WinMo and can live with it, the SE Xperia is a nice place to be, and the community here is great for it.
Maybe in time the pace will pick up and we'll start finding more made for this resolution and landscape additions, but that's assuming it doesn't get steamrolled first.

If you're comfortable viewing in smallll screen go for Xperia, else take Touch HD or the upcoming Diamond II. I gues when Diamond 2 is widely available, Touch HD could have a drop in prices.
Regards,
Carty..

The lack of camera key on the Touch Pro is not a big deal, the middle action key is touch sensitive, so to zoom in you just lightly touch the action key and press to take picture. Not as "fun" as pressing real shutter key, but it works nice, So I reckon future devices from HTC would be equipped with similar system, especially for Touch Pro 2.
For a year the Xperia will surely holds, and with strong support from the community, it would probably last longer... Especially if Winmo 7 is hacked into it. The screen is not so terribly small, it's in fact to me a perfect balance between screen size and phone size... The HD/G01/iPhone is just too big for me.
The previews for Palm Pre unveils its promising future, beautiful interface combined with WebOS seemingly easy to develop apps, and developed by a company with strong history of great devices... It's simply going to be great. But... how about teething issues of new device, and worst, new OS? Surely there will be some rough roads for early adopters.
The X1 as it is, is a great device, compact yet stylish enough to reflect serious intentions from its owner.
Do note however, you choose Xperia because it's Windows Mobile. Judging from your signature... It's not quite the cup of tea you prefer. So, iPhone or Pre is your best bet... And heavier on Pre because it has iPhone like interface, WinMo functionality and awesome keyboard. I even have a slight crush on the Pre, but my X1 + Outlook combo is still top notch until the Pre came out and all of those would be bugs ironed out.

I had a Cruise and now an X1.
There is a HUGE difference.
The screen is awesome, the software is better, as the performance.
Also GPS is better.
I'm very satisfied with X1.

sonus said:
However, I have an HTC Touch Cruise... Its clearly not a very outdated device. Have any of you upgraded from a 400mhz Touch series phone or newer, and if so do you feel you got your money's worth?
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did exactly that - I still have the Polaris (P3650), a trusted backup device
The X1 has - obviously - much higher screen resolution, more Storage/RAM and a faster CPU. All of these things count.
There are also a number of excellent cooked ROM's here to make it zing.
I see from your post you want N America 3G, so presumably you are looking at the X1a.
The drawback I've seen is that the battery overheats when on wifi or GPS for longer periods (>1 hour, say) while charging from either the wall outlet or a car charger
If you are unlikely to exceed these parameters, then the X1a will work well for you.
Nonetheless, keep the Polaris as a backup for a while

Thanks all! Its good to hear some real world experience from X1 owners as well as ex Touch Cruise guys. I didn't get a feel for how many of you felt the X1 was a device that could stand the test of time and let you continue upgrade free for a decent amount of time... But I guess that's just about the individual person's characteristics as it is about the X1.
Ohh, and I didn't mean to give the impression that I'm anti winmo. At this point in the game, I can't switch from it, as its the only mobile OS that does everything I need. Its just too bad that it lacks speed and touch friendliness (hence the sig).
And if anyone's listening, one more question:
How do you guys like the panel UI? I'm one to try and make things work. I like HTC Home and the Cube. TF3D...not so much b/c it requires concentration and precision while using and could never really be used in a car (IE making a phone call over handsfree or starting up a Navigation app).

Darth Sith said:
I had a Cruise and now an X1.
Also GPS is better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did a test of GPS with both devices (Polaris and X1) with interesting results.
Both devices were exactly side-by-side on a ute tray in the field at the same time. Same GPS survey program running on both of them:
P3650 6 satellites HDOP 1.5m
X1 9 satellites HDOP 0.9m
Radio ROM in the P3650 (Polaris) is 1.64.08.21
Radio ROM in the X1 is 1.10.25.18
The 50% difference in satellites found and 35% difference in horizontal DOP is down to the improvement in GPS in the appropriate Qualcomm CPU's and maybe the radio ROM's for each device. The X1 is way better here.

sonus said:
Thanks all! Its good to hear some real world experience from X1 owners as well as ex Touch Cruise guys. I didn't get a feel for how many of you felt the X1 was a device that could stand the test of time and let you continue upgrade free for a decent amount of time... But I guess that's just about the individual person's characteristics as it is about the X1.
Ohh, and I didn't mean to give the impression that I'm anti winmo. At this point in the game, I can't switch from it, as its the only mobile OS that does everything I need. Its just too bad that it lacks speed and touch friendliness (hence the sig).
And if anyone's listening, one more question:
How do you guys like the panel UI? I'm one to try and make things work. I like HTC Home and the Cube. TF3D...not so much b/c it requires concentration and precision while using and could never really be used in a car (IE making a phone call over handsfree or starting up a Navigation app).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, my perspective for you on that last question, as a person that has never used winmo and has become very big on finger touch interfaces.
The Panels help this a lot here because for me, some of the most important features of my phone are texting, music, wifi and bluetooth (file sharing, web browsing)
So, without touching the stylus I can pretty much achieve all of these.
So, I start on the Today Screen, nothing I need there really. But I like to have my IM program there.
I want some music I hit the panel key, press the MediaXperience panel with my thumb and then navigate that with the optical pad (which I have set to minimum sensitivity cause it really is sensitive!)
I'm done listening to music I want to browse the web or send/receive by bluetooth I hit the panel key, press on the SE panel (the one with the big clock) I can toggle wifi/bluetooth on/off there. I can see if I have any messages or calls. Excellent.
If I need to file browse I have Resco Explorer installed in Touch Optimised mode, and I slide out the keyboard or use Finger Keyboard 2 to choose commands from the menus.
HTC Enlarged start menu for easy finger pressing if i need to do anything there.
Microsoft Voice Command if I want to do some things like find out what my appointments are for today/tomorrow.
Phone calls are easy and don't require the stylus, I generally call teh same 4 or 5 people so I dont use the contacts much andi nstead just scroll thorug hthe recent calls with the optical pad.
If I need to call a specific contact I will slide out the keyboard or use the voice command. Even with my phone book full of "colourful" names it works fine.
Messages etc are simple, I normally don't send messages first, I'm only every replying to them, so I just hit reply, slide out the keyboard and type away.
I think that' about it, I can't think of anything else I normally do with it. Most of the time i spend now with the device (other than the important stuff) is customising it and trying to make it sync my email as well as my iphone doe over wifi while it's sleeping.

Would you buy X1 now?

hey guys,
I have a quandary between some phones that X1 is included (also TD2 and iphone 3g)
I want to ask you guys, X1 owners, if you were me, would you buy the X1 now? or get TD2 or go away with the iphone 3g?
what would you do in my situation?

combo1234 said:
hey guys,
I have a quandary between some phones that X1 is included (also TD2 and iphone 3g)
I want to ask you guys, X1 owners, if you were me, would you buy the X1 now? or get TD2 or go away with the iphone 3g?
what would you do in my situation?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My advice , Go with iPhone
if you are into games & playing with your phone all day long i recomend the iPhone , However i would wait until the iPhone 3GS comes out .
HTC TD2 is nice & more usefull in many ways but not for teenagers i find it a bit boring to be honest even though its a TF3D
Xperia , If i could go back in time i would've bought something else ! its a nice phone & all but its more like " oh-so-fancy oh-so-useless!
i have the Xperia & im facing lots of problems.
im not saying you wont face any problems with the HTC or the iPhone but it sure is going to be much less , especially the keyboard problem most of the Xperia users are facing
AFTER ALL thats what > I < think, & if you are willing to pay +700$ on a phone then wait for more comments.
Goodluck​

I would buy this.
Just because my device is very useful and well working machine,
with top display and great hardware&form factor.
It's also small and handy, and has a great feel too.

It depends on whether you need the 3,5 Jack for your headphones. If yes, go for Xperia. If no, go for Touch Pro 2. Forget Touch Diamond and iPhone.

No. I'd rather an iPhone, for it's apps.

combo1234 said:
hey guys,
I have a quandary between some phones that X1 is included (also TD2 and iphone 3g)
I want to ask you guys, X1 owners, if you were me, would you buy the X1 now? or get TD2 or go away with the iphone 3g?
what would you do in my situation?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are an American no, it is 300-500 dollars more expensive brand new than the X1i.
Touch Pro2 International (600 dollars) vs Xperia X1 International (500 dollars) vs Xperia X1 American (900 dollars [you pay 50 dollars tax WTF])
I would say go for Touch Pro2 ... it is easier to type, and set up appointments and all of the business functionalities are more convenient than the X1. However the X1 is a better multimedia device, aside from the speakers being much less loud than the TP2. The X1 has a very simply and very good and gorgeous mp3 player and an MP3 jack and flash LED, and it is what is keeping me from selling it.
BTW... Touch Diamond 2 is a worst choice than the Xperia and I would even rather get an iPhone 3GS over a Touch Diamond.
But don't get Touch Diamond if for business and convenience functionality...iPhone OS does not support automated applications, scheduled applications, or background applications.
THIS IS THE EFFING REASON WHY IPHONE ONLY PLAYS GAMES.
I AM TIRED OF PEOPLE REFERRING THEIR GAMES TO "APPS",
WHEN IN REALITY THEY ARE CALLED MINI-GAMES.
SHAME. ARROGANT BASTARDS.

I have no idea what EXTRA business functionalities TP 2 gives
over X1? Actually TF3D interface is a business usage's contradiction.
And X1 is the only device in the above group having any real and good navigating solutions.
Sometimes it's a REAL pain to NOT to have any scrollwheel or Dpad.
Like in OperaMini in the txt filed, when text exceeds the screen size,
there's no way to navigate through it without keyboard out....

doministry said:
I have no idea what EXTRA business functionalities TP 2 gives
over X1? Actually TF3D interface is a business usage's contradiction.
And X1 is the only device in the above group having any real and good navigating solutions.
Sometimes it's a REAL pain to NOT to have any scrollwheel or Dpad.
Like in OperaMini in the txt filed, when text exceeds the screen size,
there's no way to navigate through it without keyboard out....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sigh...
1) I never said TF3D in my post. I never said TF3D was a business interface. I use SPB Diary, and it is amazing if you reserve 90% of the X1 screen to that program.
2) Real good navigation buttons, are you kidding me? Optical Joystick is not very good for scrolling the text cursor for editing documents and the D-Pad is terrible. Besides, the purpose of having a keyboard D-pad instead of the screen is to utilize the full potential of the keyboard.
Think about it. Try writing a document on Microsoft Word on the X1 and the Touch Pro2.
You will learn that you start using the phone in landscape more than in portrait. Why? Because the Touch Pro2 keyboard is very functional: easier to press, FN and CTRL indicators, wider buttons, numbers are separated and not hidden, arrow keys that work better the optical joystick as a D-pad.
Try using the Touch Pro2 for awhile and see if you'd rather spend most of your time in landscape mode, and if you do then you will understand why TP2 has a better button and key design.
I realize that with the X1, 50% of my time I would use the stylus as a text cursor and the optical joystick as a text cursor, and I get frustrated. I'd rather have a real D-pad with a good keyboard for extremely fast typing.

poetryrocksalot said:
Sigh...
1) I never said TF3D in my post. I never said TF3D was a business interface. I use SPB Diary, and it is amazing if you reserve 90% of the X1 screen to that program.
2) Real good navigation buttons, are you kidding me? Optical Joystick is not very good for scrolling the text cursor for editing documents and the D-Pad is terrible. Besides, the purpose of having a keyboard D-pad instead of the screen is to utilize the full potential of the keyboard.
Think about it. Try writing a document on Microsoft Word on the X1 and the Touch Pro2.
You will learn that you start using the phone in landscape more than in portrait. Why? Because the Touch Pro2 keyboard is very functional: easier to press, FN and CTRL indicators, wider buttons, numbers are separated and not hidden, arrow keys that work better the optical joystick as a D-pad.
Try using the Touch Pro2 for awhile and see if you'd rather spend most of your time in landscape mode, and if you do then you will understand why TP2 has a better button and key design.
I realize that with the X1, 50% of my time I would use the stylus as a text cursor and the optical joystick as a text cursor, and I get frustrated. I'd rather have a real D-pad with a good keyboard for extremely fast typing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well if you like the TP 2 keyboard better that's perfectly fine, it's a preference thing.
I'm grateful that SE didn't put the numbers in A LINE since writing numbers in this mode is pain. I love the current design.
As for Dpad you omitted the portrait mode which I also use very often,
so in this mode lack of navigation is A CRAP for me on premium device..
So I personally choose X1 hands down over HTC, also because of camera and media interface.
Regarding my mentioning TF3D - I just didn't get precisely what you wrote about input/business, you just wrote about input (not that HTC is more business than SE).

doministry said:
Well if you like the TP 2 keyboard better that's perfectly fine, it's a preference thing.
I'm grateful that SE didn't put the numbers in A LINE since writing numbers in this mode is pain. I love the current design.
As for Dpad you omitted the portrait mode which I also use very often,
so in this mode lack of navigation is A CRAP for me on premium device..
So I personally choose X1 hands down over HTC, also because of camera and media interface.
Regarding my mentioning TF3D - I just didn't get precisely what you wrote about input/business, you just wrote about input (not that HTC is more business than SE).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I wouldn't mind a D-Pad on the front, but I would only want if they include these on the front AND the back also:
Windows Key
Ok Key

The guy wrote TD2, not TP2.
So please keep this on topic.

hatlo0or said:
My advice , Go with iPhone
if you are into games & playing with your phone all day long i recomend the iPhone , However i would wait until the iPhone 3GS comes out .
HTC TD2 is nice & more usefull in many ways but not for teenagers i find it a bit boring to be honest even though its a TF3D
Xperia , If i could go back in time i would've bought something else ! its a nice phone & all but its more like " oh-so-fancy oh-so-useless!
i have the Xperia & im facing lots of problems.
im not saying you wont face any problems with the HTC or the iPhone but it sure is going to be much less , especially the keyboard problem most of the Xperia users are facing
AFTER ALL thats what > I < think, & if you are willing to pay +700$ on a phone then wait for more comments.
Goodluck​
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apple troll go whoring somewhere else.
OP
If you want the best device on the market - YES !!!!!!

dogans said:
The guy wrote TD2, not TP2.
So please keep this on topic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm trying to convince him that TD2 isn't worth it. I'd say get the X1 or the alternative: TP2

wait for the Samsung B7610 OmniaPRO

I won't buy a TP2 because its like 150$ more than the phones (iphone ,xperia and TD2) and it has almost the same features of X1 and I prefer the X1.
I can see that you're not recommending me the TD2 ,unlike the reviews that really like it and the people that has it,also I heard less problems of it than xperia.
also I see that only some recommend the iphone ,maybe because its not WM and can't be comutize like it?
I need a stable phone ( I dont want to another year of nightmare [k850]) with the features that I have in my K850 and better web experience and better app like GPS,IM, VOIP and more..
so would you buy the X1? or take the TD2/ iphone 3g?

combo1234 said:
I won't buy a TP2 because its like 150$ more than the phones (iphone ,xperia and TD2) and it has almost the same features of X1 and I prefer the X1.
I can see that you're not recommending me the TD2 ,unlike the reviews that really like it and the people that has it,also I heard less problems of it than xperia.
also I see that only some recommend the iphone ,maybe because its not WM and can't be comutize like it?
I need a stable phone ( I dont want to another year of nightmare [k850]) with the features that I have in my K850 and better web experience and better app like GPS,IM, VOIP and more..
so would you buy the X1? or take the TD2/ iphone 3g?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well you never explained your situation, you explained your dilemma only.
Well...anyways, which iPhone 3G are you getting? 3GS or 3G?
If you're getting 3GS then get the 3GS
If you're getting 3G then get the Diamond2 instead.
Xperia's keyboard isn't the best and Touch Diamond 2 isn't that much bigger than the X1 at all. Touch Diamond 2 is less buggy, but Xperia has had 2 firmware updates now and that fixed a lot of issues. I really don't see any pros of the Touch Diamond besides that it has a zoom bar, and accelerometer. Everything else can be installed on the Xperia and modded. So instead of Touch Diamond2 get the Xperia X1.
Anyways if I was me, here are my choices:
#1 Xperia X1 or Touch Pro2
#2 iPhone 3GS or Nokia N97 or Samsung Omnia HD [Samsung Omnia HD being the most preferred and the other being equals]
#3 Touch Diamond2

Answer your question
Yes, I would still buy an X1 now. Good business use phone with media functionality. As with all things, it comes down to your priorities.
For me, it was a higher screen resolution within a smaller form factor, a keyboard and 3.5mm headphone (to save on cables, adapters etc when travelling).
I considered the TP2 but didn't want the larger size and the lack of buttons on the front.
Panels / Touch Flo was much lower down in the ranks given you can just visit this site and get anything else you need / want. More than likely, depending on your type of use you'll end up mucking around, do a hard reset and then just add what you need.
If you want to play games first and foremost the X1 isn't the phone. It does them perfectly well, but other phones are more focussed on that.
Good luck, and at least you get a choice in the matter. Why not visit a shop where you can play with them all side by side. Even if you cannot get into the detail, you can at least find the form that you prefer, then search the net for the functionality.

In the end it is up to what you use your phone for. I mean, if you like watching soaps or other movies on your device watch out for a big screen and maybe 3.5mm jack. I don't like Xperia's screen but I love the keyboard. I can type very fast and neat on it.
For me it is also fast enough with it's processor. The camera is okay, well, it is actually more than okay. You got a LED light here as well.
Speaker is weak and so is vibration, but if you do not mind that all you can go for it.
I mean, if you have a good offer, why not?
Let us know what you decide for and if you are satisfied!

what about waiting for the X2 or Rachael?

Because they are not even annonced yet?
I guess the thread starter wants something NOW, otherwise he would not have opened a thread here. Acer builds good smartphones now as well.
There are so many other options: Acer Tempo M900 or like mentioned before Samsung B7610 (what is my favourite at the moment...but I have to stick to my Xperia anyway : ( )

Anyone upgraded to HD2/Leo from HD/Blackstone?

I currently have a touch HD/Blackstone and I love it to bits, but the prospect of having a capacitive multitouch screen and much faster responses when navigating round the phone/opening/running apps etc is starting to tempt me very strongly to the HD2/Leo.
Have any of you Leo owners upgraded from the Blackstone? If so, please can you let me know your thoughts on whether it was a good move, what the pros & cons are etc, and whether the new phone really is super fast and slick like the reviews I've read say it is.
If I get one I'd probably want to be running SPB shell on it, which from looking through here I assume it works, but will most apps for the blackstone also work on the Leo?
I know there's no stylus with the Leo for instance, but for fiddly stuff does the screen accept the use of a fingernail for 'precision' (ish!) stuff like checkboxes & small menus, or does it have to be skin contact or a real capacitive stylus etc?
Regardless of whether you upgraded from a Blackstone, are you very pleased with the way the phone works in terms of performance and 'slickness'?
Last questions are - what's the video performance like on the Leo, ie does it have all the problems the HD has in terms of poor out of the box performance with video playback?
And is the bluetooth stuff still hardcoded for the HTC music player (like the blackstone), or would I be able to properly use my sony bluetooth headset to control the likes of coreplayer?
Sorry for all the questions - I really want to upgrade to the Leo, but it will cost me a lot and I don't want to make a mistake.
Many thanks for any useful replies!
Jim

After having the Touch HD for 2 month I really loved it. Everything was running as I wanted it to be ... But then HTC announced the HD2 and I decided to switch to it after watching lots of videos in youtube an other sites. I would do it again ...
I don't have any problems using the OS without a stylus. In fact I wasn't using the stylus or my fingernails on my Touch HD either. I only needed to adapt to the higher screen responsiveness, but that was it.
HD2 pros compared to the Touch HD:
+ MUCH higher build quality. The Touch HD always felt somehow cheap, except it actually wasn't ...
+ Everything is just faster. I wasn't too thrilled with TouchFLO 3D on the Touch HD, as it slowed down the device too much. No problems on the HD2, although the new version of TouchFLO 3D (Sense ...) grew in so many aspects and is now pretty well integrated into the OS.
+ The bigger screen. Didn't thing its a big deal, but the screen-difference between the two devices is astonishing. Its much more fun to use multimediacontent on the HD2.
+ Pinch to Zoom.

I had a HD for nearly a year now and loved it - yes, TF3D ran slowly but it also was more "form than function" and I stopped using it in favour of simple SPB Diary with multiple tabs.
Now having a HD2 for over a month I do love the high speed and slick operation and I even stick with TF3D (or HTC Sense, whatever it's called).
But, there are apps from HD that don't run well on the screen as they expect the precision of a stylus. One example is SPB Finance that I used to record all my expenditures on an almost daily business. This just does not work with a big fat finger !
But, but others work great - CoPilot works really nicely. I tried Route66 on the HD2 as this was a fully legal working purchase on the HD but on the new HD2 it's not good. Nice surprise is the new CoPilot works really well and super fast. Even indoors near a window I can get enough satellites for a 3D fix and moving next to the window gets 7 or 8 sats. HD never achieved that.
My build quality on the HD was fine. On the HD2 you get a real solid feel from the metal battery cover where you naturally hold the device.
HD2 is super quick but the capacitive screen is a weakness. However, this is because most applications have not yet caught up. Many exist that are great with fingers like Resco explorer but others expect a stylus and are hard to use.
As a year long HD user I doubt very much that I won't move back after having got the HD2. My old HD is sitting in a box and I have not been tempted to get it out !

Thanks for the replies guys - I like what I hear!
I think the only thing that might delay me upgrading to an HD2 is the difference in value between selling HD and buying HD2 but we'll see....
Can you clarify a couple of things I'm still not sure about though?
Dave - you said you can't use certain apps from the HD because of the capacitive screen as you don't have a stylus with it (and can't use a normal one I believe), but is it possible to use these apps with a finger nail if you really need to?
I know it might be awkward or not very practical, but I want to know whether it's actually possible at all, ie if the screen will physically work like that, or if it's literally impossible to do?
Secondly (don't get me wrong here) whilst I don't want an iphone, is the responsiveness of the HD2 screen the same kind of thing? Local shops here don't have one I can try so I have to go by what others tell me, and I'd like it to work as smooth as the iphone screen, ie no actual pressure etc.
I know it's capacitive so it should be like that but I don't know if there are differences aside from that to how the screen responds. Hope that makes sense!
Last question - I believe the screen is glass on it? Is it toughened in any way? Presume the fact that it's glass will mean that it's much harder to scratch than the HD screen and also means a clearer, brighter display by not having a resistive layer?
Thanks for the replies - I appreciate the info!

I'll try again but I don't think finger nails work ...

I upgraded from the Blackstone and for me, it was definitely worth it.
First thing you notice is the amazing speed if the device. I just saw that I had TomTom (among a couple of other programs) running in the background for several days and I didn't even notice it.
The HD2 is really insanely fast. I sometimes take my old Blackstone in order to try new WM builds, but its slowness makes me sick after some minutes of using it.
Next big thing, for me, is the camera. The light sensitivity has been greatly improved and the flash works stunningly good for an LED flash.
It takes really great pictures for a smartphone, much much better than the HD, finally I have a phone that lets me capture the important moments
(btw. the 'red tint bug' is present but not noticeable on most pictures)
Third thing is the screen. It''s capacitive, that means you can NOT use your fingernail, and no stylus. But I really like the sensitivity, it's much more comfortable to use. And it feels a lot better, it's not the 'cheap' feel of the resistive panel's plastic layers anymore.
And this brings me to the fourth and last point: Build quality. I've never ever seen such a high build quality and high quality materials on a phone. It looks and feels just amazing, even the iPhone feels like a cheap toy in comparison.
Video playback is of course a lot better and it plays high quality video without stuttering.

Well actualy you can use stylus without problems, you just have to buy a special one (whitch buy the way also works on the iPhone)
http://cgi.ebay.com/2x-DAGi-Stylus-...wItemQQptZPDA_Accessories?hash=item414b467e4a
Like they other says there are applications who can be a bit of a hassel with using with the finger...
But I suspect you would love it... I could newer go back to my HD after being used to the buitiful racer the HD2 is, and i absolutely love the screen to.

Hi,
I've spent 1 week with the HD2 after a year on the HD. Mobile Shell 3.5 on both.
The main difference is speed. HD2 is soooo much faster. Didn't notice the HD was particularly slow whilst I was using it, but going back to it now is PAINFUL.
I struggled a bit initially with the capacitive screen, found it a bit hit and miss. In particular I found the HTC keyboard a nightmare, way too sensitive. Installing the .cab that decreases screen sensitivity has improved things greatly, and installing Spb Keyboard has also helped. It's improving with practice, there are still times when I do something and it doesn't register, but overall I'm starting to like it. There's a definite knack to it: much lighter touch, smoother motions. So there's a learning curve here + a need to tweak. And I'm sure the experience will continue to improve as third party software is adapted for it.
Mobile Shell has a few minor compatability issues but nothing to worry about (screen brightness control doesn't work, voicemail indicator widget doesn't work, a few other minor things). Spb are generally good at updating for significant new hardware releases, same thing happened with the HD when it was first released and they fixed everything quickly. I tried the Sense interface for a day or two to see if I could get used to it, it IS very pretty. But went back to Mobile Shell, I find it much more functional.
The HD2 build quality is excellent vs good for HD. And the additional screen size is a significant plus too. I was initially worried it would be a step too far in terms of the overall size of the device, but no. As soon as I laid eyes on the actual device + picked it up I knew it wouldn't be a problem.
Browsing in Opera is fantastic. Fast and the big screen helps. Still not comparable to a desktop browsing experience but very usable and way better than the HD due to the speed.
Overall it's a big step forward from the HD and highly recommended. Like I said, I find going back to the HD to dig out a few files I need to be surprisingly painful...

Cret said:
Secondly (don't get me wrong here) whilst I don't want an iphone, is the responsiveness of the HD2 screen the same kind of thing? Local shops here don't have one I can try so I have to go by what others tell me, and I'd like it to work as smooth as the iphone screen, ie no actual pressure etc.
I know it's capacitive so it should be like that but I don't know if there are differences aside from that to how the screen responds. Hope that makes sense!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tested the HD2 besides both, an 3G and 3GS, and really couldn't find any real difference in the screens responsiveness. You don't have to do any pressure on the HD2's screen ... I have to say, that I had a problem with the high sensitivity at first, but when playing around with an Nokia N900 last week, I noticed how fast I adapted to the capacitive screen of the HD2. The N900's screen was a pain in the ass (although its actually quite good for a resistive screen), because slight fingerswipes and tips didn't to anything ...
When browsing the forums you will notice, that most ppl here have/had a problem with the keyboard of the HD2. Besides the bugreporting here (I don't have any of these problems), I imagine that most of the problems with the keyboard just come from the unfamiliar sensitivity. By lifting the fingers a little higher when typing, I managed to type pretty accurate.
I don't have a Touch HD to compare side by side, but had the possibility to compare the HD2 to an iPhone 3G ... the 3G was very slow compared to the HD2 ... So wouldn't really go back to a last-gen phone ...

Had a Touch HD for a year until i bought my HD2 last month.
I Had Dutty's Leo rom running since he started releasing those, so I felt completely at home with my HD2 when i had it in my hand. (For those not knowing : Leo rom for Touch HD is just that. Winmo 6.5 running HTC Sense, just like the HD2)
A few things felt wonderfully different tho :
Screen is beautifull. The glas type used is almost impossible to scratch. I have my phone in my pocket unprotected. Even accedently slipped my keys in with it a few times. Not a mark on it! What is this screen made of ? Diamond ??
Speed. Wow! This phone is fast. I ran the weather demo simultaniously, side by side with the Touch HD. And the difference makes the Touch HD look like a joke. (it's not, but compared, its sloooow)
Pinch zoom. OMG now i know why Iphone has been the king of mobile browsing. HAS been! HD2 is now the new king! Opera + capacitive screen with multi touch AND a 1 ghz processor ? It is a match made in heaven. Mobile browsing is EASY and fun now. Thank god i have an internet sub on my simcard...
Camera. Remember how a big hazzel it was to take a pic with Touch HD ? I mean, the moment is GONE, before the camera is ready to take the picture!
With HD2 and a shortcut on the Sense start screen , it takes around 1 second(!!) from press on camera icon till your ready to take the picture!. The flash LED (Which can blind a man btw) makes it possible to shoot in the dark, FINALLY!
Well those things was EXACTLY why I upgraded, and I have not been dissapointed.
Some had a huge problem with the sensitive screen. Not me, I adapted quickly, and the keyboard I was used to from leo rom on the Touch HD, so i guess it's a matter of taste, or fat fingers .
Also
There are a LOT of the tweaks and programs for Dutty's leo rom that works great with the HD2, like BG4all etc.

rd2000 said:
The flash LED (Which can blind a man btw)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep, fortgot to mention the LEDs. I love them. Not to take pictures, but for everydays things. Really missed a LED on the Touch HD.

I got my HD2 a week ago, and I'm loving it, other than the rather short battery life (may be a temporary issue, some people do not have this issue).
It's definitely faster than the HD. Going through the Windows folder in File Explorer takes 2 seconds, rather than 6-8 seconds on the HD. Going through tabs in TouchFlo 3D (Sense) is fast, and tab contents are displayed lightning fast.
TomTom works great on the HD2, haven't tried CoPilot because they do not have maps that I could purchase for my region yet (which is funny, since I can download the map while trialling the software). TomTom is rather smooth on the HD2, the position cursor does not jerk forward when moving. With valid QuickGPS data, getting a GPS fix is faster than on the HD.
The speaker is a little worse than the HD in my opinion, although it's somewhat louder than the HD.
Moving from Resistive (HD) to the Capacitive screen in the HD2 may take some time to get used to it. Drawing/scribbling notes can be hard, so is selecting the directory/folder you want to go to in File Explorer. Maybe it's me, I have large fingers.
Reception compared to the HD, Nokia N82, N95 8GB.
The 3G network I'm on is rather bad in my room.
Nokia N82 and N95 8GB - 4 of 7 bars (estimated equivalent on the HD2 would be 3 of 4 bars)
HTC Touch HD - 1 of 4 bars
HTC Touch HD2 - 3 of 4 bars, sometimes full signal.
The signal bars on the HD2 tend to fluctuate at times, while holding the phone in landscape mode and browsing the internet, the signal may drop to no bars, disconnect from the network, then come back on with 1 or 2 bars.
Camera is great. Autofocus seems to be 'continuous', focusing when the camera is moved or after a few seconds. Shutter lag is much shorter than on the HD, but taking moving subjects may still result in a blurr (cranking up the ISO setting doesn't help much). Sharper than on the HD, and the automatic white balance is definitely better than on the HD under certain lighting conditions. LED Flash works OK for objects further than 30cm most of the time, using it for close ups may sometimes result in a bright, white mess.
I'm using the 1.43 ROM, so some of these issues may be fixed in the updated ROM. There are some issues in TouchFlo/Sense, but they are easily corrected by taking a trip down the Tips & Tricks Post in the Leo Forum.

tbela
I'd used Blackstone for some monthes, and overall I was satisfied. (I'd used Xanny Grid Leo rom)
I've a Leo for a week, and now I'm not simply satisfied but I'm happy with it. The speed, the huge screen and the build quality are fantastic. It's very rear, when I have to fight with small old-fashioned windows controls, but with some patience and practice it is also manageable. Nail-touching definitely doesn't work. Althogh, you can buy capacitive-compatible stylus on ebay.
Only disadvantage for me: fring doesn't work, but I hope it will be fixed soon. Temporarily I use Nimbuzz for chatting.
Overall I can highly recommend the upgrade. If you can do, DO IT!

Thanks very much for all the replies guys. The fact that most of you have written wuite a bit tells me you're very enthusiastic about the phone!
I want one for sure now. The only thing is the cost - I can't renew my contract and there are very few Leos on Ebay and around £500, but only maybe £250 sale proceeds from my HD, so it's quite a hit to take.
If I can get a few quid together to help ease the difference then I'll definitely get one.
Thanks for the comments

Same here, had the HD for about a year and liked it in many respects, the HD2 is a much nicer experience though and if you can afford it at some point I highly recommend to get it.

Well I've made my mind up to get one for sure. The only question really is when.
I'll have to buy an unlocked one on Ebay I think and there are very few on there at the moment because the phone is so new. This is obviously therefore keeping the prices really high.
I'm dying to say 'sod it' and get the credit card out but I know I ought to wait a month or two to see if they get a bit cheaper once more are being sold.
I've read reviews on it and most things I see say that this is basically the best piece of hardware on the market in terms of phones, but that it's "let down/ruined" etc by having winmo on it. I like winmo and have used it for years, so for me, that's a plus!
Having said that, I'd kill to see/have winmo7!

Yep. Those reviews are nonsense.
Powerful hardware like this needs a powerful OS, and WinMo really is by far the most powerful OS you can get.
It doesn't ruin anything. It's the perfect OS for a phone like this.
WinMo bashing is a current trend that you can't do anything against when sites like Gizmodo or Engadget spread the FUD. It's really sad.
I wouldn't want any other OS on the HD2.

maati said:
I wouldn't want any other OS on the HD2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Overall I agree, But Android 2.0 would be very interesting

Well I'm sure I'll be quite happy since it's exactly what I'm used to.
Last phones I've had have been Touch HD, Omnia, XDA Orbit etc - loved them all.
Can't WAIT to get the HD2 though. Especially now I've bought one this afternoon.

Cret said:
Well I'm sure I'll be quite happy since it's exactly what I'm used to.
Last phones I've had have been Touch HD, Omnia, XDA Orbit etc - loved them all.
Can't WAIT to get the HD2 though. Especially now I've bought one this afternoon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Congrats to get this lovely phone. I'd wager you will like it .

Why I am happy with my Xperia

After having read one too many "I hate my Xperia and wish I had an iPhone" thread I thought I'd make a thread for people to remember why they bought an Xperia.
Does it have it's issues? Absolutely, but it makes up for it (for me at least) in many other ways.
I originally bought the Xperia X1a because it was the ONLY 3G capable WVGA device available for AT&T bands (850Mhz and 1900Mhz). It has a nice feeling keyboard, it has a beautiful display, and it has a very nice hand-feel. Even when I pick it up now it just feels so good in the hand. In fact I haven't had one that felt so good to hold since my old SE W810i. I had the Hermes and Kaiser and both were clunky and unenjoyable to hold.
The Xperia keyboard has a very pleasant keyboard. Its clicks are well defined and the arc slider's spring assist makes it a real joy to slide out. Also my battery life has been superb. Even running 24/7 Push E-mail and a separate IMAP account I still get over 48 hours of power.
Also it came with SPB Mobile Shell for FREE. SPB is, arguably the best Windows Mobile Shell available and it was a sheer joy to use, and while the default SE Panels were rather unimpressive I love that I can switch from Titanium/Sense, to SPB, to PointUI, as well as the absolutely gorgeous Growing Panel with just two presses.
While the processor is unimpressive it has been consistently able to run AVC Video at WVGA resolutions (some ROMs worked better than others, actually).
Sony also added a pretty good Xt9 SIP keyboard (I prefer TouchPal anyway) and with custom ROMS bringing Titanium and Sense to my Xperia I wonder why I would get anything else.
Pros:
1) Very High Res screen (More than double the lowly iPhone)
2) Latest UIs (I got SPB MS 3 from Korean site )
3) Great hand-feel
4) Great 3G performance (if you are on U.S. AT&T Xperia X1a is the best, for now)
5) Long Battery life
For those of you who might say I am glossing over some of the downsides, well sure, but this is a why I am HAPPY with my Xperia thread. (I have found most of the complaints to either be largely due to user error, or what I would call "making mountains out of molehills", but that's just my opinion).
Anyone else feel like their much maligned X1 has been getting unfair treatment feel free to offer some positive feedback for the device that, hopefully, we all still love.
P.S. - I got this idea from flamingsamurai

I am loving this phone right now.
*Opera mini feels as fast as my LEO and 3gs.
*The ability to use panels is a good point too.
*HTC Kaiser and TP2 were nice but chunky phones for me (bricks).
*The screen is just about as wide as the iphones and the device is much smaller.
*The hardware keys come in really handy. The optical sensor is good for menus.
*The keyboard is nice with good width for keys.
*Its a beautifully constructed metallic device.
* I am using vakleryire firestorm leo with htc sense activated in the home menu and it feels like a compact leo.
*No accelerometer but I use left softkey remapped to rotate screen.
* Android and Ubuntu are in deep progress as far as I can see (3 OS in one!).
Many more too.
Swap with 1ghz, increased ram/rom and the 0.2 inch for the screen and you have one of the best devices out there!

I like my X1 because it actually 'feels' like a communication device rather than an MP3 player with a call function. I honestly think the iphone looks and feels really dopey. I also have to agree that it feels great in the hands too. The way the keyboard springs open is just incredibly badass. The weight and the metal fascia just feel so classy. The panels are fun to change up every now and then, and I think it's just cool to have windows on such a tiny device. I thought my itouch felt like I had a little computer on me at all times, but the X1 is even more so. I feel a lot more organized on the X1 than I think I would with an iphone.
I had a hard time choosing between the X1 and iphone, but in the end, I couldn't justify paying the same price for a device (3G) with far less inferior hardware specs than the X1 just because of what it is. I generally hate apple products and didn't want to give in to their supremacy by getting and iphone. Sure apple's touchscreen is awesome, but I didn't feel I needed it for a phone; that's where my itouch comes in.
I found that apple's accelerometer annoying sometimes when I'm using it in weird angles, i.e. lying down in bed. I think I'm just glad to know that my X1 would be vastly superior in outer space than an iphone. You know, space-proof, just in case.
In the end I'm glad I made my decision to get the X1 and keep my itouch for my apple needs, rather than combining everything into one device. I'll use my itouch for video, music, and games; my X1 strictly for communication and productivity.
I actually love my X1 and think that it was the best phone I could get. After learning about the potential physical short comings, I'm going to do my best to baby this phone to make it live forever. If she dies, I'll revive her.

Sony eirccson is a pretty cool guy. eh is better than teh ifone and doesn't afraid of anything...

A message to the OP; when did you purchase your X1? Was it brand new. refurbished, or used?
Anyways, if the device was increased to the scale of having a 3.5 inch screen, I would definitely have kept my device.

Absolutely agree with everything said, especially about the X1 being space proof =D
Also people complain about WM, and I have no problem with it, its perfectly logical, and if you use a rom which you like, then it runs fine. Someday you'll be able to jump ship to android. Anyways I'll always love it, its fun to fiddle around with, rather than be a boring symbian phone, where you have no control.
And wheres the fun in having a phone everyone has?
Great thread Hannigan

I wouldn't call the phone cracking by itself user error. It's true, the phone does have good points, but it doesn't get the basics down.
If I have to keep the phone in a safe vault for it to not crack, what use is it?
I like the optical sensor and having the ability to choose between the optical sensor and physical clicks for directional input. However, I hate the feel of the keyboard.

Finally a thread where people actually enjoy the phone
What I like about the X1:
The Professional look and feel of the phone
Screen size and HD Res.
Modding capabilities and Hacks and the Different UI's you can put on it.
Camera front and Back and video recording
Optical mouse pad
Keyboard
Speed of phone, yes thats right I said Speed.
Wifi
GPS
HD games/PS1, sigh....... I miss Call of Duty 2 but I just couldn't go back to Sh!ty 6.1
And most of all The fact that their very little people that have heard of or seen this phone where i live. Actually I'm the only that owns one I don't know anybody with this phone in Auburn,NY .
@Rydock I'm glad to see your enjoying your X1 so far.

I'm still getting use to my X2 (just got it this week) but over all the more I get use to it the more I love it.
Single greatest reason why I love my X2 is .... Keyboard! =) (I hate typing on my ipod touch, nor do my fingers allow for a smooth scroll on the screen).
My only hope is the 2 up and coming firmwares fixes the little minor issues I have.

poetryrocksalot said:
A message to the OP; when did you purchase your X1? Was it brand new. refurbished, or used?
Anyways, if the device was increased to the scale of having a 3.5 inch screen, I would definitely have kept my device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought mine new on eBay from an Australian retailer selling a Telstra NextG model (it comes unlocked). Only U.S. sources I could find had significantly higher prices for the X1a. I received it in February or so I think? About 1 year old.
Why do you ask about age and status? I presume you had one and are on U.S. AT&T. Were you curious since it is so rare in U.S.?
P.S. - I would prefer a bigger, flush screen. Then again it is still the largest screened phone I have ever had. And for me the physical keyboard is a huge benefit (Had Hermes and Kaiser before so I like them side sliders).

My X1 is still my favourite phone, the modding capabilities are what does it for me.
I like the fact it's my phone, I've customised it to how I want it to work, I can't do that to any other phone I've owned.
The screen is great, it runs smoothly, i can get push email from multiple accounts no problem, I sync my contacts and calendar, vide oplayback is generally good, ther are a few files that is has problems with, but that's pretty rare.
Sound quality is great, shame abut the speaker, but I generally have it on silent and use a bluetooth headset or headphones.
It looks great, the build is solid, it's been dropped countless times now, ther are a few dents, cracks and scratches, but I expect that after the battering it's had over the last months!
I love having a QWERTY, but I wish it was more friendly for single hand use.
I've found myself using titanium over any panels, and things like the wifi router abilities, even torrents, mean i can do anything I want on it.
The X2 with a 1GHz processor would probably be my ideal phone! Just wish that looked more like the X1.

I'm happy to see that there are at least a few of us who are more than satisfied with the Xperia
It's always good to hear some positivity for a change. Thanks for the input, to all of you.

It's been a year since I last used my Xperia regularly. I would like to use it more, because I really enjoy the QWERTY keyboard (it has four rows and a dedicated @ button, etc) and it's a very versatile device. There are some great ROMs out for it now as well: Sense 2.5, Windows Mobile 6.5.3, X2 and what not.
But what keeps me from going back to it is the Xperia's tiny screen, in combination with the high resolution. WVGA is mainly used on 4, 3.7 and 3.5 inch displays, and not on merely 3 inches. In fact, is there even another 3" WVGA device in the world? It looks great, sure, but everything is so petite that it hurts my eyes
I think such a small display also puts a lid on the overall user experience. If the Xperia had a 3.5" display, or even 3.2", I would have used it *a lot* more. Because as pointed out in this thread, it does have plenty of strengths.

Hi all,
in fact I just BOUGHT an X1 afresh!
I'm using an HTC Touch HD with customized ROM as my primary device, and still think that's the best setup for me. The only things that bugged me were the width and the absolute lack of any tactile experience.
So I shopped around ...
In fact I actually ordered a Motorola Milestone: I wanted to see if I liked Android, the reviews are enthusiastic, and it has a hardware keyboard.
Guess what: I sent it back the day it was delivered. (but that's another story)
And so I went back to Windows Mobile.
My new X1 (and in fact it is brand new) has everything that I was looking for. It sits well in your hand, and I mean as a phone it feels just right. I'm quite happy with the keyboard, and I love the rich feel of the slider. And finally: Hardware buttons hooray!
Other than that it's got pretty much everything my Touch HD has, minus the G-sensor (and I can live with that).
So I use the HD for business (because it's lightweight and discreet to carry in a jacket) and for navigation (big screen!) and the X1 for leisure. Btw, the media panel is just amazing in terms of audio output!
All in all I've fully returned to WM thanks to the X1, and I don't see myself migrating to Android, WebOS, iPhone or Symbian any time soon. Windows Phone 7 Series (or whatever it's called) is downright scary in its restrictions, so I'm glad that 6.x will still be around for power users like us.
Bliss.
N.