Database Users

How to get a cheap Universal

Hi,
First off: thanks to this forum and it's users! I am now a happy owner of a Blue Angel AND a Universal.
I thought it would be nice to share with you guy's these facts:
1) The Universal costs in Portugal 799 Euro in stores and providers tend to ask 849 Euro for it.
2) You may start to find some discounts. Currently they are sold a http:\\www.fnac.pt for just 649 Euro. Obviously the end of commercialization is arraving for this great phone...
3) The cheapest way to get one is through eBay: I got one for 255 Euro + shipping (280 Euro total).
How to do it and why it's so cheap:
1) In Germany, many Universal's are sold by T-Online, branded as MDA Pro.
2) People seem to get them cheap there with a 1-2 year contract.
3) After 6-12 month they want to get rid of it because it is probably TO BIG for them (being a BA user, I will have to get used to this oversized phone, as well - it is really big and clumsy to handle).
4) Because it is normally SIM-Locked (unlocking it at T-Online costs 99 Euro) and because it is branded, it's value is not so high for normal users (I am a freak, so I would pay it's weight in gold, if I had any gold...).
5) There are lot's of them being sold on http://www.ebay.de.
How to do it:
1) Take your time and start observing current auctions.
2) Make a search for all MDA Pro's on the german eBay.
3) Ask each seller if they would ship to your country and if the phone is really in mint condition.
4) If they don't answer fast, remove them from your list.
5) If they have negative feedback (more than 1%), remove them from your list.
6) If they have strange remarks on positive feedback (i.e. difficult contact), remove them from your list.
7) From the remaining, select the ones that offer phones in mint condition without accessories like SDCards (they are cheaper new and will make noobs lose their heads when bidding).
8) Monitor the remaining ones and bid only in the last minute!!! Keep two pages open: one to monitor current bid, one with your bid ready to go.
9) You should not spend more than 300 Euro - if you monitor auctions of these devices, you will see many being sold for less than 300 Euro.
BEAR IN MIND THAT THERE IS OBVIOUSLY ALWAYS A RISK WHEN PURCHASING STUFF LIKE THIS AT EBAY!
What to do next:
1) Use the great SIM Unlock tool available from Buzz.
2) Flash WM6 in WWE.
3) Patch the registry so that it matches the german keyboard. The german keyboard is perfectly OK, the only annoyance is the swapped "Z" and "Y".
4) If this is not acceptable, you can by an english keyboard at eBay as well. It will cost you some 25 Euro, though. Also, you will need to dismantle the whole phone for this replacement.
It is always better to get a second hand Universal from a friend you trust, but if you live in Portugal or other periferic country, it might not be easy to find someone willing to sell his Universal for such a low price.
Hope this helps someone.
Cheers,
vma

Ops - wrong forum! Could a Mod or Admin please move this to the Universal - Universal section?
Thanks,
Vitor

Don't these machines then have the wrong (german) keyboard?

doodle you should read
nice guide vma, also nice to see someone else puls the same tricks as i do on ebay with 2 pages open.. bidding with only 3 seconds left ftw

bidsniper ftw, it bids with 0.5 seconds to go

Does this mean shipping is worldwide?
Versand nach: Weltweit

panzer said:
Does this mean shipping is worldwide?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It means the seller will ship to anywhere in the world

For those who can't understand german, here is a nice link for you:
http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/trurl_pagecontent?lp=de_en&trurl=http://www.ebay.de/
Thanks go to Babelfish, Altavista and of course to Douglas Adams.
Regarding eBay-Tools: I have tried them, but are not very fond of them:
1) Most cost money.
2) You need to give an (unknown) software your eBay-passwords
3) I don't feel confortable having a software bidding for me
The thing is: if you loose in the last minute, then just wait for the next auction. never buy completly out of impulse. Take your time to find the right product being auctioned. Settle the price you are really wanting to pay at maximum. Bid in the last 1-2 minutes with your maximum price. That has always worked for me.
Cheers,
vma

I did the same thig as vma and recently got a UNI next to a BA. eBay is a good place to shop for these phones. But instead to look just for MDA Pro, it's also good to look for the other aliases of the UNI. Like the SPV M5000. Less people will know that this is the same phone and the price is likely (hopefully) a bit less then for a MDA Pro. (at least that worked for me when I bough my BA).
vma said:
....
4) If this is not acceptable, you can by an english keyboard at eBay as well. It will cost you some 25 Euro, though. Also, you will need to dismantle the whole phone for this replacement.
....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The german keyboard layout is quite annoying to me. So I would like to opt for the english keyboard, but haven't been able to find it on ebay yet. You have any links to it?? The problem for me is not with the Z and they Y, but with the special character, eg those above the numbers. So, I rather keep the keyboard layout in english, just like the keyboard of my PC. But the 25 euro would be well worth it.
While replacing the keyboard, it's probably also a good oportunity to fix the little plastic thingie that is preventing the pen from falling out. At least that was a small operation I have done on several BAs in the past and plan to do this soon on my UNI as well, since the pen keeps dropping out.
Talking about pens: On ebay, you'll also be able to find a few shops that sell pens for the UNI. One of the shops in Hong Kong sells you a set of 3 for less than 7 euros including shipping. (just search for "Qtek 9000 stylus" and you'll find several shops)

Look here for example: item # 300098533646
This seems to be a black one, but I have seen many silver ones as well. Beware that they come from Hong Kong!
I don't know how much customs charge for something like this.
Cheers,
vma

Thread moved as requested.

not a reallygood idea since the German keyboard is in QWERTZ!!

Read what I wrote! I mentioned that fact.
Also, you can configure WWE through a registry hack to this keymap, so the only annoyance is that the Z and Y key's are swapped. But they will correspond to the labels on the keyboard.
Also, you can purchase a keyboard at eBay and replace the german one.
Cheers,
vma

i got my pro from t-mobile for sale...,so who ever is interestet please pm me for this..

Why does the Kaiser get so much attention?

Since I bought my Polaris, a decision between Polaris vs Kaiser based on form factor more than anything and the fact that I didnt think the keyboard was that necessary, I've noticed that the Kaiser seems to be more highly regarded than the Polaris,
Maybe its me, but isnt the Polaris similar specs to the Kaiser???
I also dont understand why the 3D issue seems to be addressed on the Kaiser but not the Polaris - is there different hardware involved?

The Kaiser was here before the Polaris, so this issue was here bevor the Polaris.
But i can't understand why a such thick and ugly device can have so many buyers.

Borizli said:
The Kaiser was here before the Polaris, so this issue was here bevor the Polaris.
But i can't understand why a such thick and ugly device can have so many buyers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the keypad is what a lot is users want.

Its cheap with contract, my friend got it for $60 bucks, its well featured for a phone, and keyboard is great for text-ers, plus this phone use commonly along with the wing and blackberrys as a buissness phone. While the polaris is to me niche market phone since its marketing aspect is a eye pleasing form factor and gps. Plus intially at launch it was around $700 USD so it didnt garner much attention compared to the tilt which was subsidized through AT&T and other carriers.

See I was reading this thread: Polaris vs Kaiser
and granted it was in the Polaris forum (!) so it probably had more polaris owners, but the general consensus seems to be its a matter of choice (keyboard vs smaller form factor) but most users seem to agree the Polaris was a better choice mostly i think because of its touchflo performance which I've read in a number of threads, that its a bit of an after-thought on the kaiser and poorly implemented.
But then there's the issue of the 3D drivers which seem to work on the Kaiser but not on the Polaris...

The real reson it's so much more popular is because of AT&T in the United States.
Being that AT&T is the largest mobile provider in the United States they have pushed the AT&T Tilt aka Kaiser. The AT&T Tilt (Kaiser) has been very affordable per say in the United States, which is why it's so popular with US customers.
Around the world the Kaiser is sold by every major mobile provider. Also making it more popular.
The only way for me to buy a Polaris in the United States is to buy one without a contract which would be far more expensive then buying a Kaiser with a contract.
So the reason it's so popular is because of how much supply and availability there is and the price with a contract from a mobile provider.

Well I suppose thats a pretty clear answer - so thank you alltheway
So ARE there any spec differences between the two (minus keyboard of course) and if not why wont the htc class action 3D drivers work? I read on the kaiser forum that the Polaris is missing a .dll file but surely that should not be too much of a problem? or am I thinking too simplistically?

HTC said in an official report that the slow 3d performance is more than just a missing DLL file, which I personally think is bogus, because all they have to do is bridge the gap between MS's Direct3D/OpenGL and the hardware. They claim they'd have to do more software development than its worth, so they're not pressing forward in that area, but they are releasing 3D performance fixes now, and one ROM cook, udK, is baking that solution into his next ROM release for the Polaris.

So officially there is a solution out there for the Polaris?

Expansys selling Shifts for £499...

Just had an email from them... half price apparently!
http://www.expansys.com/d.aspx?i=177867&partner=uknews
Limited numbers of course and we're only allowed 2 each...!!!

I've not followed any Shift discussion fora few months, but am interested to see what people here think...
Does £500 represent good value for this thing, given all the advances you guys seem to have made?
Ferg.

Well I was impressed, as that's now only a bit more than I paid for a second hand (though not used) Italian Shift I bought on Ebay... but £499 for something that you have to do so much to do make it usable is a bit of laugh really. I can't believe Expansys was selling ANY at £949
I bought one as I love HTC and have had their devices for years now and wanted an UMPC so I could always carry my work with me (paid employment type work as well as university degree coursework which includes some programming and maths software that needs a full PC). Before I went for the Shift, I thought I'd try some with a smaller form factor as the screen size seemed excessive for my needs, but I was wrong! I tried the OQO 01+ (WAY TOO SMALL and rubbish keyboard) and also a Vaio U390 (very expensive and very pretty but again keyboard too small for me and was surprisingly awkward and uncomfortable to use). Then I bought a Shift and have been fiddling to make it as good as possible ever since!
Am really hoping for SD access from WinMo side, the phone wouldn't be useful for me but just having a decent amount of memory in WinMo would mean I can use the Windows side less for email and calendar type functions and actually make good use of the GPS with my TomTom software.
Having said that I have a car mount and cigarette lighter charger so it's only when I'm on the train that I have power problems (when I don't need SatNav anyway!) so actually I don't even need the SD access, but it'd be nice
So yes, it has lots going for it, so long as you don't mind reinstalling both operating systems provided on it and not wanting to ever be too far from mains power!

WHAT !! according to google thats $1095.55613 Australian!
Here I paid $712.03 AUD (324.312884 GPB) - yes it was new (http://www.google.com.au/search?cli...3+aud+in+gbp&sourceid=opera&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8)

Where on earth did you buy a new HTC Shift for $700 AUD? Back of a truck bargain was it

thats how much they are from cell-com - but i have since looked elsewhere and the going price seems to be around $850 - $950 AUD

Try $1300 AUD...standard price....

FOOFTR said:
Try $1300 AUD...standard price....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.expansys.com.au/p.aspx?i=157607
2 second search on google 924.99 aud

and there are a few places doing them for 895 aud
http://www.pressdigital.com.au/mobile-tablet-ultra-mobile/shift-umpc-clearance-sale-p-5288.html
http://www.calculatorking.com.au/product_info.php?products_id=1216

It seems both of those sellers only ship to Australian addresses. =/
It is a great price and I wish I could ship it from there to the US, sadly this does not seem to be an option.

I want to buy the shift (the ROM which enables phone is very close now..).
The price of the australian expansys is just great.I couldn't believe it!
But I live in Europe.
i) is shipping from au possible / does it cost much?
ii) will toll taxes be huge?
iii) can the "australian" shift work in eu? I mean GSM or anything other.

Shift Pricing
Apoparis,
The www.pressdigital.com.au units are genuine HTC Australia stock - and as a local HTC dealer, are not allowed to be exported (at least there's no warranty if they're exported!).. But if you're REALLY keen can get one picked up via Fedex or TNT from one of the local pickup points (eg Press Digital allow collection from Pymble) - Then you're onto a winner.
Given HTC internationally are clearing the line, the "good deals" should be available from all the HTC dealers - BUT there's virtually none left anywhere.
Have fun!
Chuck

About buying Universal

Hello,
Im thinking about buying Universal, but i have some questions about it.
1.Where to buy it, i would like to get it in good shape/now, not some old cheese.
2.Has it any defects or easy brokening parts.? Warranty after buying via. internet is a pain.
3. I read somewere that there are some fake models avabile?
Is it real talk or some WomensInSaunaToldMe story?

Your best bet would either be eBay or the Marketplace. I think the latter is a better choice because you'll probably find it much cheaper with details.

Just looked, at the ebay.
I could get for 350$ from there.
Now i need some info abot the fake thing.
And one question more:
Is this mobile still sustainable (this may be wrong word ) or is there a hope for support in XDA nexr 2-3 years?
But yeah, Wallaby is much older

Do not hessitate on buying an Universal!
Is one of the best devices ever!!
Thanks to the Chefs and Devs here you´ll have Universal for a long time!
Have a look here to see another buy options
http://forum.xda-developers.com/search.php?searchid=25385196

jaank said:
Just looked, at the ebay.
I could get for 350$ from there.
Now i need some info abot the fake thing.
And one question more:
Is this mobile still sustainable (this may be wrong word ) or is there a hope for support in XDA nexr 2-3 years?
But yeah, Wallaby is much older
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haven't heard of this "fake" business you speak of but i'm pretty sure eBay is safe. I'm also sure you can get one for much cheaper than that.

kareem9nba said:
I'm also sure you can get one for much cheaper than that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cheaper than the Ebay?
Where?I think 350usd for that kinda High-End device is pretty cheap.
All im worried about is, that maybe it doesn't fit into my pants pockets, because im only 12 and my pocket's arent very big.
edit: Orb3000 could you please fix the link. I like'd to read it.

Enter here and do a search with the word "Universal"
You´ll see many options:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=476

price and size
jaank said:
Cheaper than the Ebay?
Where?I think 350usd for that kinda High-End device is pretty cheap.
All im worried about is, that maybe it doesn't fit into my pants pockets, because im only 12 and my pocket's arent very big.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi jaank.
On Ebay in the UK, Universals are selling for £100-£130. that is 1840-2390 Krooni (you live in Estonia, right?) You could probably get a better deal on this site in Marketplace.
If you are worried about the size for your pocket. A Uni is 130mm X 78mm X 23mm. Maximum. make up a cardboard one and try it out. that was what I did before I bought my Athena.
A Uni is pretty tough but so is school.(at least mine was) you need to be careful. You already have a Wizard so you know that. Best of luck. let us know how you get on.

Oh, cool answer
But, has Universal some weak spots?
Like the screen turning system or so?Im thinking about some other mobile, at the weekend.
Im in Middle schoool , so im pretty peaceful and im pretty peaceful at all, but im sportly active and so having second phone is pretty good idea I think.
And the point for buying Uni IS school.
Im a boy, so i sit at the back and our school has wifi.
And as you all know (I hope) is school pretty booring.
Thank you for the help, and sorry for my English.I started learning English in third grade and Im going to Six't grade so I'm not really experienced about english.
Thank you, and i love PayPal.
EDIT: Where did you see NEW uni for 2000eek. I talked to my parrents and it's have to be new
EDIT2:About future Is there some roms wiht the latest Manila as in the Touch Pro/Hd

SorryForDouble
Looking for the Cheapest NEW uni.
My old mobile battery is diening so needed fast.

Uni's can be bought cheap at the German eBay. Current prices are at about 100 Euro, I saw auctions finishing at 90 Euro. This is madness, for such a great device.
You need to search for "MDA PRO", as this is the name given by the German phone operator.
I actually own two of them, so that is a good sign on how much I like this phone!
Drawbacks: whilst driving, my phone holder does not allow the Universal to be placed such that the keyboard is accessible. This means, I can't type while driving (one shouldn't do that anyway). Also, Internet Explorer will render quite small fonts.
When I am driving, I do prefer the form factor of my VDA GPS (like a Motorola Q9).
Other than that, this phone is simply great.
No known issues.
You should consider:
- new battery
- screen protector
- proper car holder
Cheers,
vma

i got mine about a month ago. i got it off ebay germany, i paid 88eur for the universal g3, plus a 3200mah battery, a tomtom mkii sirf3 gps receiver and a docking station.
that was about the best 90eur i ever spent, although i didn't get a stylus, a case or a handsfree, which i thought, was standard accessories, the gps alone is priced at 75eur in germany

VMA:
- new battery- IDK, I'm scared about weight.
- screen protector- Shure
- proper car holder- Dont have a car so not needed.
If you buying MDA Pro than you can still flash it?
EDIT: Is MDA pro software in germany?

Hi,
With new battery I meant the fact that most MDA PRO's sold nowadays at eBay are over two years old, so you should not expect to much from the shipped battery. You certainly will need to purchase a new one soon to get a full day of heavy usage out of your device.
I agree that the extra capacity batteries increase the size and weight of the Universal beyond reasonable lilmits (for me at least), so I would stick with the normal sized batteries.
Basically I wanted to alert you that you should not spend *ALL* your money on the Universal - save some for an extra battery...
The German MDA PRO will in most cases come with a German falvour of WM5 and with a SIM lock.
You can, however, unlock the SIM by following the procedure of the Unlocker (search forum) and you can certainly flash a different ROM. I personally like Tomal's modified WM6.1 ROM's a lot.
The only remaining issues you will have with the German version of the Universal:
- MDA / T-Mobile logo on the inside, T-Mobile logo on the outside
- German keyboard: essentially you will have the "Y" and "Z" keys swapped - and no, you can't physically exchange the keys, because they have different size
I can live perfectly well with both issues and they don't affect the usability or the value of the device at all.
Cheers,
vma

Now it's about Ebay safety.
How to chose seller?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Brand-New-O2-XD...trkparms=65:12|66:2|39:1|72:1205|293:1|294:50
What do you think about that?

Check on marketplace first!
I saw yesterday a great Uni selling from a trustable member

There is always a risk involved in any internet related purchase...
At eBay you should look for:
- sellers with more than a minimu of 5 feedbacks
- sellers with 100% rating - in case of 99.x% rating, check what was the cause of the negative feedback (sometime's it is not the sellers fault)
- check what other products the seller has been selling
- pictures of the real device, not just standard marketing images
- ask the seller a question and see how long it takes him to respond - avoid sellers who dont respond
- avoid sellers accepting Western Union or similar payment forms
- don't relay totally on PayPAL - it is not that secure
- check shipping costs
- check taxes - specially in case of imports from other economic areas
If nothing is strange so far, nothing fishy, then you can take the risk.
Regarding the Marketplace here at XDA-DEVELOPERS: I have never purchased anything, but would do so from respected members. Check how long they are registered and how many postings they have. No crook would be wasting time with hundreds of posts over years just to sell you a broken Universal...
However, in case things go wrong and if you bought something from someone on the other side of the world, there is nothing much you can do.
That is the price you pay, for getting the device with a discount of aproximatly 50%.
Cheers,
vma

OK - sellers with more than a minimu of 5 feedbacks
OK - sellers with 100% rating - in case of 99.x% rating, check what was the cause of the negative feedback (sometime's it is not the sellers fault)
OK - check what other products the seller has been selling
OK - pictures of the real device, not just standard marketing images
OK - ask the seller a question and see how long it takes him to respond - avoid sellers who dont respond
OK - avoid sellers accepting Western Union or similar payment forms
OK - don't relay totally on PayPAL - it is not that secure
OK - check shipping costs
OK - check taxes - specially in case of imports from other economic areas
So look's pretty good.
I was just asking your opinion .What do you think about him.
Gonna order soon.

HD2: How to spot a fake? [Closed]

Hi guys,
How would I know if my intended HD2 buy is not a fake?
Where do I need to look for and what?
Serial numbers?
etc.
-Im from Holland (the netherlands)
-Asking price is 350
-Its a private seller, no retailer and the guy is unknown (besides first name and phonenumber)
-It comes in the original box with all the accessories and warranties according to seller
-Guy sounds legit, when communicating
-I want his HD2, Im a HTC user since 2002 (1e was a Artemis: P3300, 2nd and current: Touch Pro with custom ROM)
-I have great knowledge about an HD2 from pictures/videos/youtube, specs, etc. but never held one in person
Therefore I ask owners or similair intended buyers who know specific things on their HTC to look for what makes it a legit HTC. Is it serials, is it logo's? Things that are really hard to copy to make a fake one.
Kind Regards.
Paul

From where you get it ^^?

paultje_007 said:
Hi guys,
How would I know if my intended HD2 buy is not a fake?
Where do I need to look for and what?
Serial numbers?
etc.
Kind Regards.
Paul
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there a specific model you want?
Where are you buying it from?
Can you touch it before you buy it?
How much are you planning to spend?
Have you seen HD2 videos on YouTube?
Do you know what it looks like?
Do you know the seller?
There are lots of questions you should think about before posting and asking us a very vague question.

Its hardly a vague question is it? Hopefully someone a bit more helpful will be able to offer more advice...

If you go to the HTC web site and look for a list of resellers in your country (you haven't said what country you are in) or go to the web site or store of an international mobile phone company I believe that you would only get a genuine phone. If you buy sight unseen from an auction site or a little known consumer electronics site in a country well known for being able to make fake consumer electronics then you are more likely to be sold a fake. How many people here have seen a fake HD2? I've personally never heard of anyone. Serial numbers can be duplicated, in fact they are sometimes shared in public fora for ROM download purposes so are not all quite as unique as they could be.

First post edited:
-Im from Holland (the netherlands)
-Asking price is 350
-Its a private seller, no retailer and the guy is unknown (besides first name and phonenumber)
-It comes in the original box with all the accessories and warranties according to seller
-Guy sounds legit, when communicating
-I want his HD2, Im a HTC user since 2002 (1e was a Artemis: P3300, 2nd and current: Touch Pro with custom ROM)
-I have great knowledge about an HD2 from pictures/videos/youtube, specs, etc. but never held one in person
Therefore I ask owners or similair intended buyers who know specific things on their HTC to look for what makes it a legit HTC. Is it serials, is it logo's? Things that are really hard to copy to make a fake one.

Only buy from a trusted reseller- Amazon or one listed by HTC. Here, from a senior member-I'd be hesitant of a noob (no offense to noobs).

get a surname, address and landline phone number, then look them up in directory enquiries. Call them at the landline number you get from directory enquiries.
Not perfect, but can be useful in spotting a dodgy seller.

It's bought! I'm a proud owner of a 3 month old legit Leo (HD2).
The guy was more like a tester like everyone here on XDA than some dodgy tracksuit fellow with a loose phone. (the box with all the paperwork was there, plus he had an extra battery and an 8GB MicroSD card, but he lost the earplug...)
So 350 E is I think not a rip off!
(normal = 492E for a new retailers one and 50E for a 2nd battery + 8GB card)
(3 months old, no wear & tear!, is 542 - 350 = 192 E savings)
I reckon good deal!
Topic closed.