Database Users

Which one is better? O2 XDA Exec or I-Mate Jasjar?

Hi I live in the United Staes. I am now presented with an opportunity to be able to buy the O2 Exec. So basically I have 2 choices, the Imate Jasjar which is available here, thus with warranty coverage, or the O2 XDA Exec which I really want for its color. I don't really know if there is a hardware difference. I want to buy the O2 Exec from one of the members here. He was kind enough to offer the responsibility to send it to O2 if there is a problem with it later.
Does the I-Mate Jasjar have the corporate settings too?
So if you guys were me, what would you guys go for?
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

Having owned both a JJ and Exec I would, at this point, recommend the Exec because:
- in Corporate mode it is quicker and has more storage space
- it does not appear to have the SMS notification bug
And like you I prefer the all black colour of the XDA.
Also in the UK you can get an unlocked Exec for less than £300 while a JJ can be £540/£640 (contract/SIM free).

The hardware is identical, and the corporate settings on the Exec closely resemble the Jasjar install when you skip the customization after a hard reset. In all honesty, I ended up buying the Exec, it looks way cooler, it also has BLUE keyboard backlight instead of red, which makes it much much better visible at night.

@Jah. Could you kindly elaborate what the SMS notification bug is. I am asking this because for me on the JJ ocasionally when a new SMS arrives it causes my phone to freeze. Just wondering if this is what you are referring to as the bug.
Kind Regards

jah said:
Also in the UK you can get an unlocked Exec for less than £300 while a JJ can be £540/£640 (contract/SIM free).
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Unfortunate for me that I don't know anyone in the UK. I'll be buying the Unopened Box O2 Exec for £500.

That is what I paid as well, and not too bad in comparison with Jasjar and Qtek 9000 prices.

Wiz said:
That is what I paid as well, and not too bad in comparison with Jasjar and Qtek 9000 prices.
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Did you bought it direct from O2 or from one of the members here?
Any tips as to check the validity of the sale?
I already asked the seller to send me pictures of the SEALED box. Is there actually a seal or it is just in a box?

@srmz
Yes, that is it. Search here there a whole thread on the SMS problem

@cktlcmd
This is probably something you already considered and checked, but I thought I'd bring it up just in case. My main concern would be the question of whether it's locked or unlocked. For £500 I would imagine it should be unlocked. Which carrier will you be using?

iM SELLIN A XDA EXEC FOR ONLY £500
WITH ALL THE PAPER WORK TO MAKE WARRENTY VALID
CONTACT ME FOR MORE INFO

kelford said:
@cktlcmd
This is probably something you already considered and checked, but I thought I'd bring it up just in case. My main concern would be the question of whether it's locked or unlocked. For £500 I would imagine it should be unlocked. Which carrier will you be using?
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From what I know, all O2 Exec are unlocked. I will be using Cingulair in New Jersey. Do you also have a universal? If yes, how is the reception? Any comments? Thanks for responding.

cktlcmd said:
Do you also have a universal? If yes, how is the reception? Any comments? Thanks for responding.
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Yes, I have a Jasjar and use T-Mobile. I'm not a big user on the voice side of things and haven't had any problems with reception, but my limited use of that aspect might not make me the best source for an opinion.
I do use the data connection often (which is why I like T-Mobile's $19.99 unlimited data) and haven't had any problem getting a signal that way.
Ultimately I'm really happy with it because it's just the device I've been wanting. I use it for just about everything.

OK, I just bought the BRAND NEW, UNOPENED, O2 XDA Exec. I can't wait for it to be on my hands. Any tips as to a good screen protector, and where to buy it from? A link would be really appreciated.

Would you mind sharing where & how much for the unit? I am interested in getting one to be used in CA on T-Mo. Thanks.

sclui56 said:
Would you mind sharing where & how much for the unit? I am interested in getting one to be used in CA on T-Mo. Thanks.
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I bought it from one of the members here for 550 UK including shipping and handling via FEDEX to New Jersey.
Basically, I just waited and watch this site for most of my free time. I just grabbed it when it presented itself. :wink:

Thanks for the info, I think I'll wait till next week & get the Qtek version locally, just don;t care the colour of the iMate version.....

cktlcmd said:
Any tips as to a good screen protector, and where to buy it from? A link would be really appreciated.
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Click to collapse
I bought my screen protectors from PPC Techs at http://www.pocketpctechs.com/main~unit~iMATE_JASJAR-496~area~home.htm
Their WriteSHIELDS come in two flavors, the C2 (Crystal Clear) and the AG (Anti Glare.) I've used both and found they are both very good. I have a crystal one on my old Dell and have never had to change it. To me, the crystal one is so clear that you really don't know it's there. That said, I have the anti glare one for my Universal, primarily because of the phone aspect. The anti glare version (which also stands up to usage very well) is also good with keeping fingerprints to a minimum so it works better when you have it up to your face too. PPC Techs offers a package where you can get one of each and that's actually what I bought for the Universal, I'm just using the AG currently.
sclui56 said:
Would you mind sharing where & how much for the unit?
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Click to collapse
I bought my Jasjar from Convergent Technology at http://www.convergentech.com/
Their price looks to be $1079.99, down from $1199.99 when I bought it. The color (colour )was never an issue for me, so I went with a company I had already worked with to give me a bit more confidence that any issues I might have (which I haven't, fortunately) would be worked out with a minimum of headaches.

kelford, thanks for the info, the vendor you used is fairly pricey, e.g. their price on the K-Jam is nealry $150 over what MMB charges! I had to do a double take to make sure they are not posting C$

sclui56 said:
...the vendor you used is fairly pricey...
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sclui56, that very well could be. at the time i was looking to buy though, every vendor i found (except ebay) had the JJs for $1,200 so there didn't seem much of a choice at the time. that was when it was first out though, (some sites still listed pre-order status when this vendor had them in stock) and prices hadn't started falling yet. obviously their prices drop much slower than everyone else's! they must have less gravity or something.
in any event, there were two reasons i bought from them. 1) all of my previous PDA purchases had been direct through Dell so this one was a little different and being such a high ticket item there was a real trust concern. going with someone i knew was important. 2) (and probably even more importantly) i wanted it now!!! so yes, i could have waited and saved some money, but now i've had all this time to play with the JJ!

kelford said:
I bought my screen protectors from PPC Techs at http://www.pocketpctechs.com/main~unit~iMATE_JASJAR-496~area~home.htm
Their WriteSHIELDS come in two flavors, the C2 (Crystal Clear) and the AG (Anti Glare.) I've used both and found they are both very good. I have a crystal one on my old Dell and have never had to change it. To me, the crystal one is so clear that you really don't know it's there. That said, I have the anti glare one for my Universal, primarily because of the phone aspect. The anti glare version (which also stands up to usage very well) is also good with keeping fingerprints to a minimum so it works better when you have it up to your face too. PPC Techs offers a package where you can get one of each and that's actually what I bought for the Universal, I'm just using the AG currently.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the tip Kelford.

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?
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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.
....
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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..

Selling a Hermes - Advise only (not a pitch)

Hi guys,
Just wondering if I can get some advise.
I just bought a Tytn II and am now going to sell my T-Mobile Vario II. I was wondering what sort of price I should be looking for one now-a-days.
It's got the original box, but no warranty. I can put my hands-free kit in from my Tytn II as I really don't need it.
I've got the original charger and a USB sync/charge cable are easy to add.
I can also throw in my Tytn II's case. I don't need that either.
It's in near pristine condition. I got it in about April after sending my first one back to T-Mobile for repair. They replaced it instead. However, on the corner is a small, but very obvious scuff which I plan on showing when selling it.
Just wondering if anyone can advise me on what sort of price you would expect to pay for this phone if you was buying it so I can get a rough idea of what to expect.
I'll be putting the Official T-Mobile Windows Mobile 6 on the device and it is unlocked.

i reckon £130, but saying that the official wm6 and unlocked aswell wouldcrank it up if u put it on ebay. dont seel for less than 130 though.

Thanks for your reply.
That kind of price is actually quite a bit above what I was thinking. I was looking at more about £70. Especially considering the scuff on the corner is quite visible with the device being grey and red.
It's not damage which will effect the device in any way shape or form, but it is clearly visible. That's it's only downside.

I'd look at the prices on ebay... On Aussie ebay most Hermes sell for around $200Aud. This is my observation for about 2 months... Watch how they sell on ebay for a week then decide how to go about this.
Most people tend to bid in the last few hours and I've seen a Jasjam go from $55 to almost $300Aud in the course of 20 mins.
I don't know how it is on UK ebay but my advice is watch and learn.
Cheers...

ultramag69 said:
I'd look at the prices on ebay... On Aussie ebay most Hermes sell for around $200Aud. This is my observation for about 2 months... Watch how they sell on ebay for a week then decide how to go about this.
Most people tend to bid in the last few hours and I've seen a Jasjam go from $55 to almost $300Aud in the course of 20 mins.
I don't know how it is on UK ebay but my advice is watch and learn.
Cheers...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good advice.
I'd say as well (having sold a couple of phones on ebay) decent descriptions and pictures add more than you would expect to the price, so spend a bit of time writing some decent text and describing the functions in detail.
May as well watch http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200242138578 - it's a similarly replaced Vario II so should give you an idea of what it will go for, once it completes.
Good luck!
Geoff

i only paid a £100 for mine 12 months ago and that was virtually new, a midwife had got it on contract and then found it far too complicated to use. £130+ to me is way off the mark. I have tried to buy a few on ebay and they generally sell from £70-£100 depending on the condition , accessories included etc.
PM me with a price as a friend wants one , if you dont want to use ebay. Or if you do pm me the link
EDIT:http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200242138578 Someone is taking the piss on the bidding with that one its at a £155 with two days to go, i think someone is pulling his leg.
average price for one if these is about a £100
http://www.gumtree.com/london/69/26751569.html <---£100
http://www.gumtree.com/london/69/26751569.html <---£110
http://www.gumtree.com/london/25/25809225.html <---£100
http://www.gumtree.com/london/23/26155423.html <---£75

Thanks for the suggestions,
The item linked by Marsbar is going for a really high price.
To be honest, I think I'll put it on there for £70 with full pictures of it up and working then let it run for 7 days.
I just sold a Samsung Tocco on there (free upgrade from Orange) for £200 on a buy it now. That was done within hours. I think the Tytn could fetch quite a bit more than I anticipated.

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

HTC Topaz (Touch Diamond 2) - real or fake?

Hi. I'm from Moscow, Russia and I've got a problem with my future (i hope) HTC Topaz.
After analyzing our(Russian) market I've came to a conclusion that there are at least 2 types of this device:
1. From Taiwan, certified, with guarantee, with Russian windows mobile - i.e. official one - 497.2$
2. From China, NOT certified, there are NO guarantee, English windows, the only document which comes with this device is a cash-memo and user manual - that's all (as salesman told me). price - 396$
100$ difference is a big money in my case. English Windows is not a problem, 'cause there are lots of info on howto change firmware. as for the guarantee - all the stuff i bought earlier (notebooks, cameras) are working just fine, I've never been at the service center before - so i hope i won't need one in future.
The question is: how to determine that the device I'm going to buy (before actually buying it; I'll have nearly 10-20 min) is a real one and not a fake like e.g. "HTS tauch brilliant2" or "Pear iFone 5g", that inside it's absolutely identical to the certified one, that the hardware is the same and I'll be able to change firmware. One of the problems is i won't be able to insert Sim and make a call, test WiFi and etc, 'cause the phone is probably locked. Is there any way, any program that allows to display a list of hardware inside this PDA on its screen or on the screen of notebook. Or maybe there is a list of serial numbers somewhere and i can compare them to the one i'll see under the battery? Maybe someone has bought it for extremely low price and really satisfied with it?
Any ideas and opinions are appreciated!
Thnx!
Best regards, Rudbur.

$396 is fake diamond 2 - it is easy to figure out - just turn it on and you'll see for yourself. real greyimport diamond 2 costs now $500, but it will has no manufacturer warranty anyway, don't get yourself tricked... if you want warranty - buy legally imported PCT device.

Oh, fellow countryman! Thanks for the answer!
You probably know (price.ru) what stores i mean. So, let's assume this: I'm ordering two different HTCs: one for 400$ and one for 500$. I turn them on (simultaneously), and what should i expect when testing the fake one?
If there's no difference at all - same buttons, same size, same menu and etc (except language: russian and english), should i buy cheapest?
oh, and i heard or read somewhere that china shops offer real topaz for 333$. Or am i wrong?

The Chinese "copies" aren't actually the same at all.
The names are similar/identical, and they try to mimmick the physical appearance of a genuine device, but the software and internals are all different. Usually there a obvious differences like a lower resolution camera, room for dual SIM cards etc.
I've never seen one myself, but I would imagine once you switch it on you'll get default Windows Mobile with no HTC add-ons. I doubt they have gone to the trouble of faking an entire HTC ROM as well - but I might be wrong.

Hi,
I can testify here, as I have been living in China for a while, and buying phones from the grey market for a while too.
a few things to know:
Real fake chinese stuff will not even have HTC written on it. MTC or something like that. The plastic looks cheap, and it wouldn't even have winmo on it. I saw a "Nolia N95" the other day with the Sony Ericsson interface on it!
Then, in china, you got an official one for real cheap, but the brand is Dopodo, and they don't have wifi built-in. It's the real stuff, but for chinese market only.
At last, the grey market stuff, like mine which I paid the equivalent of 400USD has, I believe "fallen from the truck" in HK... So it got the HK Rom in it, ot Taiwanese, not so certain, as it was in CHS, and they use CHT in those regions.
So, briefly, chinese fake will be very, very easy to spot Hope that helps!

Thanks to you all, guys. I hope the shop I'm going to buy from will allow me to test these devices and save few bucks. I emailed them earlier, asking about guarantee, prices and so on, but they haven't answered yet.
kipue, your opinion is especially important, because you lived there, you know what's what. So I'll draw attention to the labels on it, camera, functioning of wifi, windows mobile menus and all.
After actually buying it I'll post a reply here.
Best regards, Rudbur.