Database Users

Should i buy Athena??

At the moment i have the universal, and uses it primarily for navigation and reading e books. have normal SEk810i for phoning.
i have been waiting for the omni, but date keeps pushing and no official responses has been made whether it comes or not.
And now i have found me a very nice offer that i can afford
Its the HTC Advantage X7500 and not the 7501.
How simple will the upgrade be to wm6 ?
and what other differences is there beside the fmradio (which doesn't matter to me)?
should i go for this or should i wait ?
One last note, the size of the athena doesnt scare me, i like big screen when reading and using navi.

I bought one 7500 couple of months before. The upgrade to WM6 was easy, but... I wouldn't buy it again - the microdrive makes me very big problems (it stops working in unpredictable times - not realiable) and also the GPS chipset inside is not SirfStarIII, be careful, if you need it for detailed measurements... :-(((

the athenais an amazing device look at the thread in the upgrading section called 'athena & WM6 getting rid...' and have you considered the shift it is bigger but a huge screen gps and phone 30GB vista and everything you could everneed (apart from a great battery life if using Vista) it is a bit more money and not released till 21st of december in uk not sure about ret of world also a higher screen resolution

spzero said:
the athenais an amazing device look at the thread in the upgrading section called 'athena & WM6 getting rid...' and have you considered the shift it is bigger but a huge screen gps and phone 30GB vista and everything you could everneed (apart from a great battery life if using Vista) it is a bit more money and not released till 21st of december in uk not sure about ret of world also a higher screen resolution
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why does everyone keep saying the shift does large screen GPS, None of the GPS solutions for Vista are as good as tomtom and the like for PPC and none of the pictures of the shift show it using the full wide screen when in PPC mode, this means that the 4:3 image in a 7" wide screen is barely over the 5" screen of the athena anyway.

Shift would simply be to big for my tastes. need something that can fit in my pocket easily due to my job. and the battery life discourages me also.
so today i went in with both legs and bought a brand spanking new athena.
i had won one on an auction, but after winning i got email from the seller saying sorry but it has broken and he has to cancel auction. ( still thinks he was pissed not getting the doe he was expecting )
so now i have gotten it today. have hardSpl'd it and flashed the pk3 rom. and i have that warm feeling inside again
i have to say that with mobipocket installed it is just perfect for reading, and when it comes to navigation, i have the full tomtom6 and so far no problems with the gps reception. and if the problem should arise i have my tomtom bluetooth antenna to be fired up in case..
so for now i will enjoy my new toy and hope it will last me a good while (wife will go mad if i want a new one for at least the next year ...)
what i have seen so far has been all good, hope it lasts

charon72 said:
Shift would simply be to big for my tastes. need something that can fit in my pocket easily due to my job. and the battery life discourages me also.
so today i went in with both legs and bought a brand spanking new athena.
i had won one on an auction, but after winning i got email from the seller saying sorry but it has broken and he has to cancel auction. ( still thinks he was pissed not getting the doe he was expecting )
so now i have gotten it today. have hardSpl'd it and flashed the pk3 rom. and i have that warm feeling inside again
i have to say that with mobipocket installed it is just perfect for reading, and when it comes to navigation, i have the full tomtom6 and so far no problems with the gps reception. and if the problem should arise i have my tomtom bluetooth antenna to be fired up in case..
so for now i will enjoy my new toy and hope it will last me a good while (wife will go mad if i want a new one for at least the next year ...)
what i have seen so far has been all good, hope it lasts
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
welcome to the club

spzero said:
the athenais an amazing device look at the thread in the upgrading section called 'athena & WM6 getting rid...' and have you considered the shift it is bigger but a huge screen gps and phone 30GB vista and everything you could everneed (apart from a great battery life if using Vista) it is a bit more money and not released till 21st of december in uk not sure about ret of world also a higher screen resolution
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IMHO, the Shift cannot be compared to a Windows Mobile device.
I carry a Windows notebook computer as well as a Windows Mobile device.
Now, that I have an Advantage, I find myself using the notebook computer far less often. The long boot-up time of the PC, and the easy synch of my data along with nearly-instant "on" of the Advantage, make my Advantage my first choice nearly all of my away-from-office time.

charon72 said:
Shift would simply be to big for my tastes. need something that can fit in my pocket easily due to my job. and the battery life discourages me also.
so today i went in with both legs and bought a brand spanking new athena.
i had won one on an auction, but after winning i got email from the seller saying sorry but it has broken and he has to cancel auction. ( still thinks he was pissed not getting the doe he was expecting )
so now i have gotten it today. have hardSpl'd it and flashed the pk3 rom. and i have that warm feeling inside again
i have to say that with mobipocket installed it is just perfect for reading, and when it comes to navigation, i have the full tomtom6 and so far no problems with the gps reception. and if the problem should arise i have my tomtom bluetooth antenna to be fired up in case..
so for now i will enjoy my new toy and hope it will last me a good while (wife will go mad if i want a new one for at least the next year ...)
what i have seen so far has been all good, hope it lasts
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I congratulate you for making this wise decision. SHIFT is TWICE the area of Athena and three times the weight. It also is quite useless on the road because it has completely unacceptable battery life. Even if it has GPS, proper camera, MP3 player on the WM side, and voice call, it's not going to be worthwhile. Even if you don't mind lugging this phone along, you can't really use it worry free because anytime it's going to run out of power. Do you want Vista that badly? That's the real question. Even if you really really need portable VISTA, it is wiser to have ASUS eee PC, with an Athena.
In my mind there are two types of portability. The "body portability" and the "briefcase/backpack portabiliity". In first type of portability allows you to either put the device in your normal size pocket or a normal size belt pouch. The second category allows you to bring it along for holiday and travel, but you would not really need it to be carried on your body. Phone/GPS/MP3/Internet Browser/Camera/Radio should be converged into one device of "body portability". More serious work related and very infrequently used device such as VISTA could accept a "briefcase portabilty" as those applications typically requires much bigger screen and keyboard. These two types of device should not converge.
The real issue with SHIFT is not weather it can have phone, full WM6. It is the weight, size and battery life. Athena is the one to go for.

eaglesteve said:
I congratulate you for making this wise decision. SHIFT is TWICE the area of Athena and three times the weight. It also is quite useless on the road because it has completely unacceptable battery life. Even if it has GPS, proper camera, MP3 player on the WM side, and voice call, it's not going to be worthwhile. Even if you don't mind lugging this phone along, you can't really use it worry free because anytime it's going to run out of power. Do you want Vista that badly? That's the real question. Even if you really really need portable VISTA, it is wiser to have ASUS eee PC, with an Athena.
In my mind there are two types of portability. The "body portability" and the "briefcase/backpack portabiliity". In first type of portability allows you to either put the device in your normal size pocket or a normal size belt pouch. The second category allows you to bring it along for holiday and travel, but you would not really need it to be carried on your body. Phone/GPS/MP3/Internet Browser/Camera/Radio should be converged into one device of "body portability". More serious work related and very infrequently used device such as VISTA could accept a "briefcase portabilty" as those applications typically requires much bigger screen and keyboard. These two types of device should not converge.
The real issue with SHIFT is not weather it can have phone, full WM6. It is the weight, size and battery life. Athena is the one to go for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HERE HERE.
Very well put Eaglesteve.
I have, and will always have issues with the size of the Athena - as a phone I struggle to get along with it, and continually go back to my Hermes. The past few days with the Touch Dual ROM however I have warmed to it and think if you don't mind vociferous phone conversations or connecting bluetooth earphones it's actually a very good bit of kit.
I never use the keyboard as it adds bulk and isn't as nice to use as Fingertouch, I would LOVE a Linux hack but don't see one happening soon and I think web browsing is not as smooth and reliable as it should be, but you can't have everything I suppose.
If you enjoyed your Universal then I have no doubt you will be a happy member of the Athena club, and the Shift?!?! I wouldn't touch it with someone else's bargepole owing to 3 critical - and no doubt predictable - factors:
1 - It's too small to be a laptop replacement; too big to be a cellphone replacement.
2 - Owing to its expense and niche market, development will be VERY restricted.
3 - battery life is grimly short.
As previously stated, buy an EEE if you want a bit extra to go with your Athena - the cost of this AND the Athena is less than a Shift alone, with twice the battery juice.

leoni1980 said:
HERE HERE.
Very well put Eaglesteve.
I have, and will always have issues with the size of the Athena - as a phone I struggle to get along with it, and continually go back to my Hermes. The past few days with the Touch Dual ROM however I have warmed to it and think if you don't mind vociferous phone conversations or connecting bluetooth earphones it's actually a very good bit of kit.
I never use the keyboard as it adds bulk and isn't as nice to use as Fingertouch, I would LOVE a Linux hack but don't see one happening soon and I think web browsing is not as smooth and reliable as it should be, but you can't have everything I suppose.
If you enjoyed your Universal then I have no doubt you will be a happy member of the Athena club, and the Shift?!?! I wouldn't touch it with someone else's bargepole owing to 3 critical - and no doubt predictable - factors:
1 - It's too small to be a laptop replacement; too big to be a cellphone replacement.
2 - Owing to its expense and niche market, development will be VERY restricted.
3 - battery life is grimly short.
As previously stated, buy an EEE if you want a bit extra to go with your Athena - the cost of this AND the Athena is less than a Shift alone, with twice the battery juice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whether or not you find Athena's size to be a problem depends on how to use it. For me, I completely dislike the hardware keyboard. It's no where near as fast and accurate as Tengo software keyboard, so I don't have the burden of carrying it and the leather case.
Next, if you try carrying it with the pockets of your shirt or trousers, you will find it too bulky and heavy. The right way to carry this is to use a proper belt pouch. I have a self made one. I carry my Athena 24/7, even at home. The only time it comes off my body is when I shower and sleep. In my belt pouch I am completely unaware of its presence. I will not be able to do the same with SHIFT.

hardware keyboard is interesting but daft, unresponsive and a burden when it comes to answering calls. the universal's design is better in a sense (and it doesn't wipe hard drives), although once the keyboard is removed the Athena feels a lot nicer.
i have never used Tengo. is it better than fingertouch?

leoni1980 said:
hardware keyboard is interesting but daft, unresponsive and a burden when it comes to answering calls. the universal's design is better in a sense (and it doesn't wipe hard drives), although once the keyboard is removed the Athena feels a lot nicer.
i have never used Tengo. is it better than fingertouch?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
much much better
many more options

leoni1980 said:
hardware keyboard is interesting but daft, unresponsive and a burden when it comes to answering calls. the universal's design is better in a sense (and it doesn't wipe hard drives), although once the keyboard is removed the Athena feels a lot nicer.
i have never used Tengo. is it better than fingertouch?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
much much much much better. bigger hitting area, more accuracy, takes up less real estate, more comprehensive and complete in functionality than Finger Touch . I've posted a comparision somewhere under the thread called "Finger touch, much better than tengo".

To add to the idea of using an Athena along with an Asus, you don't even have to link them with USB for the Asus to get network access. Get the (beta) wmWifiRouter and your Athena turns into a portable wifi hotspot. Then your Asus, and anyone else travelling with you with a laptop, gets internet on the go.

techntrek said:
To add to the idea of using an Athena along with an Asus, you don't even have to link them with USB for the Asus to get network access. Get the (beta) wmWifiRouter and your Athena turns into a portable wifi hotspot. Then your Asus, and anyone else travelling with you with a laptop, gets internet on the go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey, thats what i do, and it works a treat. for anyone who cant be bothered to search ive attached it. just go to start, settings, connections, wifi, add new. give the new connection whatever name you like and make sure you tick 'ad hoc'. then just run wmwifirouter. simple.

And because of this program there is less of a need to hack the ee to add internal bluetooth like some have lately. I cant think of any reason, actually.

Wow, i am really amazed to how this thread has boomed since last night
My main reason for never even considering the shift is size and battery life.
and every night when i go work i bring my laptop anyway.
The job i do is nightguard for a mentally handicapped man in his thirties. this involves long hours sitting in a chair watching him doing weird stuff and sleeping on the couch. so i need a device to keep me company in the chair
and it has to be something i can flick shut at seconds notice in case he gets a seizure (bad spelling i know) or freaks out. and for theese reasons SHift would be very impractical.
i like the look of shift and would like to have it just for playing around with it, but i also know i would tire of it really fast, so i dont see a reason to waste my money on a shiny new toy i wont use(have plenty of those)
The athena is now 2 days old and bringing it to work now for the third night and so far it has fulfilled all my expectations and even more.
combined with mobipocket it is absolutely fabulous to read on, and i am even considering leaving the laptop at home
So far i am very happy to have made the transition from the universal.
And on a side note...
Now my mom can discard her old Moto A1000 cause i am giving her the universal instead

leoni1980 said:
I would LOVE a Linux hack but don't see one happening soon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is a 'Linux hack' ?

eaglesteve said:
I carry my Athena 24/7, even at home. The only time it comes off my body is when I shower and sleep. In my belt pouch I am completely unaware of its presence. I will not be able to do the same with SHIFT.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you wear it when you have sex?

spacecat said:
Do you wear it when you have sex?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought everyone has sex with his Athena. No?

HTC Shift will be out in Spain by mid-Feb or early March

Yesterday (30 rd) Paul Ghent from HTC Europe run a conference in Madrid at the Movistar's MovilForum and by the end of the presentation I asked him directly if the HTC Shift could be used to answer a phone call.
Answer... NO WAY.
Due to the size of the Shift they consider not useful the voice over GSM. Anyway the model that will be available in Spain (mid-Feb) will have GSM/GPRS/UMTS/HSDPA for data. So you need to insert a SIM card on it. But NO VOICE.
They mention that the Shift will be delivered in a special price by Movistar... I assume SIM-locked.
Has no GPS and comes with Vista. The information about Shift running WM5 (or WM6) is not true. Maybe the problem is the stand-by mode the Shift has called SnapVUE which is very similar to the Today screens used by HTC in the Touch series PDAs... but is not WM5 as far as HTC said in the Madrid's meeting.
More info... in spanish I must say at www.todoumpc.com
A video with Paul Ghent speech in english will be uploaded in a few days at www.todoumpc.com including my question about the voice capabilities.

wrong choices by HTC
mahjong said:
Yesterday (30 rd) Paul Ghent from HTC Europe run a conference in Madrid at the Movistar's MovilForum and by the end of the presentation I asked him directly if the HTC Shift could be used to answer a phone call.
Answer... NO WAY.
Due to the size of the Shift they consider not useful the voice over GSM. Anyway the model that will be available in Spain (mid-Feb) will have GSM/GPRS/UMTS/HSDPA for data. So you need to insert a SIM card on it. But NO VOICE.
They mention that the Shift will be delivered in a special price by Movistar... I assume SIM-locked.
Has no GPS and comes with Vista. The information about Shift running WM5 (or WM6) is not true. Maybe the problem is the stand-by mode the Shift has called SnapVUE which is very similar to the Today screens used by HTC in the Touch series PDAs... but is not WM5 as far as HTC said in the Madrid's meeting.
More info... in spanish I must say at www.todoumpc.com
A video with Paul Ghent speech in english will be uploaded in a few days at www.todoumpc.com including my question about the voice capabilities.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well .. well .. first .. SnapVue IS running upon WM6.. and the prototypes show how it was possible to install a cab received by mail.
They are so wrong ... with a good headset ... phone capability would have been perfect .. grrrrr. They should have never tried to find reason why phone ability would have been wrong ... ! Someone is using a phone ONLY for SMS and never get of make call ? I don't believe there are more than 1% doing this ....
And no GPS? On the website it is specified as a Stand-Alone GPS... what's wrong with their own information?
....... let's hope we will find a workaround for the voice.. the ALL IN ONE device .. should have been the shift !
Why are they not thinking the right way.... the shift could have been a 3 features device... 3 times better that any other device :
- phone/gsm
- pda/pocket pc
- laptop/desktop
.... all these 3 features for about 1200$ ... beside this the iPhone is just a 600$ remote control ......

Koala is right.
I guess we will just have to wait untill it comes out and see what "the guys" can do about the rom
I´m pretty convinced by now that the shift won´t have anything we like so much about it out of the box...
I´ll have to wait and see. (and, damn it´s hard!)
greetz,
Pfeffa-rah

Pfeffa-rah said:
Koala is right.
I guess we will just have to wait untill it comes out and see what "the guys" can do about the rom
I´m pretty convinced by now that the shift won´t have anything we like so much about it out of the box...
I´ll have to wait and see. (and, damn it´s hard!)
greetz,
Pfeffa-rah
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sure it is :/...it's been more than a year that I'm waiting for the shift... and I spent EVERY DAY .. trying to find "news" on it ... grrr... I want to try it again .. guess how it was when I had those 2 shifts just in front of me... playing with one ... it was... SO TERRIBLE !!! nobody can know this feeling before having the time to test one !

koala996 said:
Well .. well .. first .. SnapVue IS running upon WM6.. and the prototypes show how it was possible to install a cab received by mail.
They are so wrong ... with a good headset ... phone capability would have been perfect .. grrrrr. They should have never tried to find reason why phone ability would have been wrong ... ! Someone is using a phone ONLY for SMS and never get of make call ? I don't believe there are more than 1% doing this ....
And no GPS? On the website it is specified as a Stand-Alone GPS... what's wrong with their own information?
....... let's hope we will find a workaround for the voice.. the ALL IN ONE device .. should have been the shift !
Why are they not thinking the right way.... the shift could have been a 3 features device... 3 times better that any other device :
- phone/gsm
- pda/pocket pc
- laptop/desktop
.... all these 3 features for about 1200$ ... beside this the iPhone is just a 600$ remote control ......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you crazy?? The shift has no bearing on the iphone and to compare them is ludicrous. To use the shift as a phone would be fine as a novelty but impractical for the long haul owing to its huge size and very limited battery life. I'm sure the developers will come up with a way of getting voice to work, but if anyone would seriously consider using the shift as their main handset then they clearly either don't leave the house much or don't get many calls.there are many cheap, sim-only data tarifs available which people use with hsdpa umpcs and notebooks and no-one ever complains that these devices cannot receive calls. People's expectations of this device are confused. This is htc's first foray into the full windows umpc market and THAT is what the shift is - a umpc. It was never meant to be anything other than a umpc and is perhaps only presumed so because of the proprietary snapvue application and because htc are known for their pocket pc phones. The fact that some misleading facts were touted initially did not help htc's cause either. Buying a shift will not be the bargain you make out, since you will still need a second handset to get by unless you have a constant connection to the national grid and always have a bag on you.

Men... I'm telling what Paul Ghent from HTC Europe told... I assumed was the truth. If I and all the attendents were cheated... should I sorry? don't think so. That is what I was told.

mahjong said:
Men... I'm telling what Paul Ghent from HTC Europe told... I assumed was the truth. If I and all the attendents were cheated... should I sorry? don't think so. That is what I was told.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm really not sure about "no WM6" .. I think that they mean "no FULL WM6" .. but they prefered telling "no WM6" because it's not the WM6 people used to know
I haven't told anything against you, but just wanted to explain things.
about GPS.. it's totally unclear .. because they said "GPS" and now they say "NO GPS".. so it's hard to know the real true about it.
when they say "NO" something ... they mean "there won't be this by default" .. but that doesn't mean that this is not possible to have it . If they have 3G+ .. they will have phone built-in .. but the things is that it should have voice... and voice should be built-in, but disabled by HTC.

leoni1980 said:
Are you crazy?? The shift has no bearing on the iphone and to compare them is ludicrous. To use the shift as a phone would be fine as a novelty but impractical for the long haul owing to its huge size and very limited battery life. I'm sure the developers will come up with a way of getting voice to work, but if anyone would seriously consider using the shift as their main handset then they clearly either don't leave the house much or don't get many calls.there are many cheap, sim-only data tarifs available which people use with hsdpa umpcs and notebooks and no-one ever complains that these devices cannot receive calls. People's expectations of this device are confused. This is htc's first foray into the full windows umpc market and THAT is what the shift is - a umpc. It was never meant to be anything other than a umpc and is perhaps only presumed so because of the proprietary snapvue application and because htc are known for their pocket pc phones. The fact that some misleading facts were touted initially did not help htc's cause either. Buying a shift will not be the bargain you make out, since you will still need a second handset to get by unless you have a constant connection to the national grid and always have a bag on you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are like many people thinking that the shift have to be against ears to phone ? You are wrong... with PDA and the Shift you can just use a headset... and keep the Shift in your pocket .. so no matter about the size ! And about battery life you are wrong ... when you shut down Vista you still have SnapVue (WM6) and if you can get a call it will be through WM6.. so it won't be 2hours but about 10 days (see the HTC site for that). It is enough time awake for a phone.
The shift is small enough to put in a "good" pocket ... and yes I will have it all the time with me .. and you DON'T need to have a bag on you all the time.
We are not complaining about HTC, but we are just saying "the shift has 3G+ .. so it is not interesting REMOVING features that are already supported". There is no confused idea about the shift being able to be a phone, the only thing that is confused is "GPS" ... on the site of HTC it is written "Standalone GPS" ... and everywhere now HTC tell that the Shift has NO GPS inside. That's why this feature is confused.
And for the handset ... plz ... stop thinking that we will bring the Shift to our ears ... you don't know anything about headset ?

leoni1980 said:
Are you crazy?? The shift has no bearing on the iphone and to compare them is ludicrous.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there is no comparison between a 600$ iPhone that is not doing anything right (it's not a phone, it's not a pda... it's nothing :/) and the Shift .... that is an UMPC with 3G (oh the iPhone doesn't have 3G ... what a shame !)
what I meant was just : "for 1200$ you have something really good" .. and "for 600$ you have nothing good"
it's just a point of view....

yes i've heard of headsets, i had an athena! But with the best will in the world you still have to carry the weight of the device somewhere. Irrespective of whether you have clown's pockets. Anyone who is willing to use a 1200 dollar umpc as a phone at all times strikes me as the type who doesn't get much sex, nor wear appropriate formal attire. The shift is supposedly a business device. Businessmen wear suits. Show me a suit whose pockets will comfortably accommodate a shift and i'll show you ten geeks desperately clamouring for convergence at the expense of convenience.

leoni1980 said:
yes i've heard of headsets, i had an athena! But with the best will in the world you still have to carry the weight of the device somewhere. Irrespective of whether you have clown's pockets. Anyone who is willing to use a 1200 dollar umpc as a phone at all times strikes me as the type who doesn't get much sex, nor wear appropriate formal attire. The shift is supposedly a business device. Businessmen wear suits. Show me a suit whose pockets will comfortably accommodate a shift and i'll show you ten geeks desperately clamouring for convergence at the expense of convenience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't find the exact model .. but it is a Quechua suit.. and here is a link of another suit looking like mine :
http://www.decathlon.be/FR/images/assets/asset_9110492.jpg
You can notice that the two pockets in front are really big ... I used to put so many things in my pocket... I can say that the shift will easily enter the pocket and stay quite there

leoni1980 said:
i'll show you ten geeks desperately clamouring for convergence at the expense of convenience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Heh, that I want to see (or maybe I don't?) <grin> Nice turn of a phrase, Leoni!

leoni1980 said:
yes i've heard of headsets, i had an athena! But with the best will in the world you still have to carry the weight of the device somewhere. Irrespective of whether you have clown's pockets. Anyone who is willing to use a 1200 dollar umpc as a phone at all times strikes me as the type who doesn't get much sex, nor wear appropriate formal attire. The shift is supposedly a business device. Businessmen wear suits. Show me a suit whose pockets will comfortably accommodate a shift and i'll show you ten geeks desperately clamouring for convergence at the expense of convenience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have to agree. its strange enough having a athena in my pocket. the best solution for shift is in ur backpack, or briefcase and have the style-i for calls if u really want to do that. i have my hermes still for those times i wear a suit and dont have a pocket for my athena.
the shift i dont think would fit in too many of my jeans or pants. the athena is hard enough as is. luckly its almost as thin as a razr since i dont use the keyboard at all so i manange pretty well with it. i just use speaker or bt.
lol love the last sentence. i dont think theres too many suits that fit the athena eather

Gentlemen, please excuse me for coming into the discussion on this old topic:
I got to disagree that there are'nt many suits that can fit Athena. I don't even need a suit. A normal pocket is what I do often. See how Athena is so portable for me in this picture.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=361112
I also think it is stretching it to the limit by comparing Athena with Shift in terms of portability. Fact is, Athena's volume is 30.9% of shift's and Athena's weight is 43.75% that of SHIFT's.
To carry a shift is like having THREE Athena in your pocket. There is no way I can carry a shift in my pocket like what I'm doing in the above photos.
But I agree with Leoni that this is not a practical size to have a phone built in. It is travel friendly, but not 'body portable'. A phone must be 'body portable', not just easy to carry around in a bag and to leave in the hotel room. You would want to carry it to the toilet, to lunch, to have a walk, to cycle... I am doing that with Athena now. 24/7 it never leaves my body, and I don't feel any weight or inconveniece for doing it. That's why Athena's size is the most ideal as a MOBILE convergent device, and SHIFT can never take that role, due to its extreme size for mobility. Batttery life, and instant on capabiltiy are the other factors. I don't quite buy the argument that as long as we stay in the snapvue environment we can have 10 days battery life, so it's not an issue. The thing is, why bother lugging this hugh thing around if you're not going to use the full IS? Just to see the weather, check the address book, and update the appointment? If that's the case, this is a poor choice. Surely you want to use the Vista. The only problem is, once you use it for one hour, you have very little left for GPS, Phone, Camera, MP3, and the other things (assume that HTC is silly enough to include these into SHIFT).
UMPC is a difficult product to define, and HTC is obviously having problems here. Make the screen too small, people who expects full OS will be disappointed. Make it too big, you don't have the option of having a practical phone.
For me, it makes more sense to have an Athena, and whenever I need Vista, just use remote desktop to operate your office/home computer. Athena can not do everything one might want to do on a full Vista desktop, but neither can SHIFT. I know because I have had lots of previous expereince using very tiny subnotebooks running full desktop OS.
Just my 2 cents worth.

eaglesteve said:
Gentlemen, please excuse me for coming into the discussion on this old topic:
I got to disagree that there are'nt many suits that can fit Athena. I don't even need a suit. A normal pocket is what I do often. See how Athena is so portable for me in this picture.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=361112
I also think it is stretching it to the limit by comparing Athena with Shift in terms of portability. Fact is, Athena's volume is 30.9% of shift's and Athena's weight is 43.75% that of SHIFT's.
To carry a shift is like having THREE Athena in your pocket. There is no way I can carry a shift in my pocket like what I'm doing in the above photos.
But I agree with Leoni that this is not a practical size to have a phone built in. It is travel friendly, but not 'body portable'. A phone must be 'body portable', not just easy to carry around in a bag and to leave in the hotel room. You would want to carry it to the toilet, to lunch, to have a walk, to cycle... I am doing that with Athena now. 24/7 it never leaves my body, and I don't feel any weight or inconveniece for doing it. That's why Athena's size is the most ideal as a MOBILE convergent device, and SHIFT can never take that role, due to its extreme size for mobility. Batttery life, and instant on capabiltiy are the other factors. I don't quite buy the argument that as long as we stay in the snapvue environment we can have 10 days battery life, so it's not an issue. The thing is, why bother lugging this hugh thing around if you're not going to use the full IS? Just to see the weather, check the address book, and update the appointment? If that's the case, this is a poor choice. Surely you want to use the Vista. The only problem is, once you use it for one hour, you have very little left for GPS, Phone, Camera, MP3, and the other things (assume that HTC is silly enough to include these into SHIFT).
UMPC is a difficult product to define, and HTC is obviously having problems here. Make the screen too small, people who expects full OS will be disappointed. Make it too big, you don't have the option of having a practical phone.
For me, it makes more sense to have an Athena, and whenever I need Vista, just use remote desktop to operate your office/home computer. Athena can not do everything one might want to do on a full Vista desktop, but neither can SHIFT. I know because I have had lots of previous expereince using very tiny subnotebooks running full desktop OS.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's a good point of view, but maybe I can explain with a scenario how I will use the HTC SHIFT.
1°) during the night .. the shift is in full WM6 mode (I don't care about SnapVue I know it will be uninstall as soon as I will have the shift) .. in this mode .. nothing will be done (just sleeping)
2°) when waking up .. I can start Windows Vista when dressing up and use it (with WIFI) while taking my breakfast
3°) I can put the shift in sleep mode (not hibernate) if I'm going to move somewhere and put the Shift in my coat (no bag needed)
4°) When being where I wanted to go.. I just have to look for power and put the shift back from sleep ... in that way I will be able to use the shift EVERYWHERE....
5°) Same as 3°) when going back home
6°) I can use it in the same way the shift was when leaving it to sleep mode .. and go on working on the same thing without worrying about finding another computer, using SVN, sending me mails with what I'm working .. etc...
7°) When going to bed, I shut down (not hibernate) or hibernate (if I'm really busy) and stay in SnapVue mode.
I haven't talk about GPS, Camera, Phone .. etc ... those features will just be extras ... and these extras can be seen like that :
"i don't want to put a SIM CARD in the Shift if I don't have phone ability ... why have a sim card if you can't get calls ?"
"i don't want GPS if it is on vista ... but I do want GPS if it is in WM6 because of using it when travelling"
"i don't need a camera if the Shift has no phone built-in, because I will have my HTC TOUCH with 2MP Camera (better than the 1.3MP of the Shift webcam) and I use it as my phone"
So ... maybe we will be able to put Phone and GPS to a FULL WM6 working SHIFT.. but it will just be EXTRAS.
I'm not worrying about travelling with the shift in my coat (I know the size of the shift and I know that my pockets are easily bigger than the shift). The weight of the shift is not so bad .. compare to laptops !
And about the resolution and the screen size ... I have use the shift in 800*480 or 1024*600 (haven't look the resolution used) and the 7" screen is enough to use .. I was really impressed when using it ! But when I will be at home I will plug the Shift to VGA monitor and use the best resolution possible (don't know but maybe better than 1024*600 on an external monitor).
You can say what you want, but the scenario I have writen is NOT possible with Athena and with the Touch .. because simply.. having Windows Vista on really portable computer ... is only for UMPC... and the only UMPC running two O.S. at the same time is the SHIFT... that's why the shift for me is :
The BEST laptop for mobility
The BEST desktop for mobility
The BEST device for productivity (everywhere you go you can work)
The BEST innovation (2 O.S. at the SAME time)
.. here's my feelings

koala996 said:
it's a good point of view, but maybe I can explain with a scenario how I will use the HTC SHIFT.
1°) during the night .. the shift is in full WM6 mode (I don't care about SnapVue I know it will be uninstall as soon as I will have the shift) .. in this mode .. nothing will be done (just sleeping)
2°) when waking up .. I can start Windows Vista when dressing up and use it (with WIFI) while taking my breakfast
3°) I can put the shift in sleep mode (not hibernate) if I'm going to move somewhere and put the Shift in my coat (no bag needed)
4°) When being where I wanted to go.. I just have to look for power and put the shift back from sleep ... in that way I will be able to use the shift EVERYWHERE....
5°) Same as 3°) when going back home
6°) I can use it in the same way the shift was when leaving it to sleep mode .. and go on working on the same thing without worrying about finding another computer, using SVN, sending me mails with what I'm working .. etc...
7°) When going to bed, I shut down (not hibernate) or hibernate (if I'm really busy) and stay in SnapVue mode.
I haven't talk about GPS, Camera, Phone .. etc ... those features will just be extras ... and these extras can be seen like that :
"i don't want to put a SIM CARD in the Shift if I don't have phone ability ... why have a sim card if you can't get calls ?"
"i don't want GPS if it is on vista ... but I do want GPS if it is in WM6 because of using it when travelling"
"i don't need a camera if the Shift has no phone built-in, because I will have my HTC TOUCH with 2MP Camera (better than the 1.3MP of the Shift webcam) and I use it as my phone"
So ... maybe we will be able to put Phone and GPS to a FULL WM6 working SHIFT.. but it will just be EXTRAS.
I'm not worrying about travelling with the shift in my coat (I know the size of the shift and I know that my pockets are easily bigger than the shift). The weight of the shift is not so bad .. compare to laptops !
And about the resolution and the screen size ... I have use the shift in 800*480 or 1024*600 (haven't look the resolution used) and the 7" screen is enough to use .. I was really impressed when using it ! But when I will be at home I will plug the Shift to VGA monitor and use the best resolution possible (don't know but maybe better than 1024*600 on an external monitor).
You can say what you want, but the scenario I have writen is NOT possible with Athena and with the Touch .. because simply.. having Windows Vista on really portable computer ... is only for UMPC... and the only UMPC running two O.S. at the same time is the SHIFT... that's why the shift for me is :
The BEST laptop for mobility
The BEST desktop for mobility
The BEST device for productivity (everywhere you go you can work)
The BEST innovation (2 O.S. at the SAME time)
.. here's my feelings
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Koala,
HTC would be extremely pleased to see customers like yourself who have such a deep passion for SHIFT. carrying such a big devices all the time with all the associated chargers, always on the lookout for power point.... I personally would like to hear a post review from you after say half a year of use, if it would last that long.
Cheers.

eaglesteve said:
Hi Koala,
HTC would be extremely pleased to see customers like yourself who have such a deep passion for SHIFT. carrying such a big devices all the time with all the associated chargers, always on the lookout for power point.... I personally would like to hear a post review from you after say half a year of use, if it would last that long.
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello steve,
I have already had the Shift in my hands, so I know about the weight and I haven't found that it would be a matter .. but when I will have it , I will have better idea about having it all day long on me. There is only one charger needed and I suppose that it is not too big to put in a pocket.. on the pic I have, it is a simple cable .. nothing big (it's like having a phone charger).
I will put a review here as soon as I will have it.. but it won't be that soon .. because it will be for my job as researcher the next year (September 2008).
Koala

As a matter of fact when I asked Paul Ghent (HTC Europe) about answering phone calls in the Shift I show him my athena in my jacket and he said: "Should be a high quality jacket if you what to keep this (taking the shift in his hand) like that". That is true... Shift is to big to carry with it without any bag or something.
The biggest UMPC I can handle is OQO 2 which is half a centimeter bigger than the Athena.

Shift hardware Design Drawings

Where would one start to try and get the "motherboard and system" technical design documentation ?
Surely, if there's no physical connection between WinMo architecture, and the SD card . bluetooth module / wifi radio , we are screwed
I want to check out Mobo design and especially the way this dual-architecture is built.
FCC did not help.

Do a search on this forum. There are pictures available of the Shift printed circuit boards. They might help you with your investigation. Good luck!

Excuses
First time I don't use the search button I get caught redhanded
Wouldn't even have imagined that it's already here. WIll search right now.
I must say that after three days with my device, I now know why I screamed "I want one" when I first saw it.
It's the WinMo part in the UMPC that makes this device a killer. No need for vista at times, but still online and kickin'.

lucid said:
First time I don't use the search button I get caught redhanded
Wouldn't even have imagined that it's already here. WIll search right now.
I must say that after three days with my device, I now know why I screamed "I want one" when I first saw it.
It's the WinMo part in the UMPC that makes this device a killer. No need for vista at times, but still online and kickin'.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I think the same. UMPC side is a good one but there are better devices with better CPU, screen, battery....But WM side makes me reduce the time using Vista at 50% and still Real time mail. And Opera mini 4.0 makes unnecessary use a Vista Internet Explorer in most cases....

danielherrero said:
Yes, I think the same. UMPC side is a good one but there are better devices with better CPU, screen, battery....But WM side makes me reduce the time using Vista at 50% and still Real time mail. And Opera mini 4.0 makes unnecessary use a Vista Internet Explorer in most cases....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep and when u need vista its always under reach. seems like a real nice laptop replacment. the wm side should becoming even more interesting soon.

Pawel062 said:
yep and when u need vista its always under reach. seems like a real nice laptop replacment. the wm side should becoming even more interesting soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
with the VGA port.. I think that it is also a good desktop replacement .. (maybe not the primary desktop.. that "should" be better in performances)
you can put it on a LCD, you can put bluetooth keyboard and mouse, etc....
I think that the shift will be sufficient for me 24h/24... no matter where am I.. and the fastest computer (released yet) will never be enough fast to make me change my mind about it .. because you fell so "FREE" to have a so small device that can do everything you want !
It needs GPS and PHONE and it will replace my Touch .. really really really nice device ! I think when we will have finished with it .. it will be THE PERFECT DEVICE (except for the slow CPU)

koala996 said:
with the VGA port.. I think that it is also a good desktop replacement .. (maybe not the primary desktop.. that "should" be better in performances)
you can put it on a LCD, you can put bluetooth keyboard and mouse, etc....
I think that the shift will be sufficient for me 24h/24... no matter where am I.. and the fastest computer (released yet) will never be enough fast to make me change my mind about it .. because you fell so "FREE" to have a so small device that can do everything you want !
It needs GPS and PHONE and it will replace my Touch .. really really really nice device ! I think when we will have finished with it .. it will be THE PERFECT DEVICE (except for the slow CPU)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep thats the point. htc might of not made it perfect on the day of release but that would be no fun for me and the developers. they come in here and know what we do so they made sure to give us some work to do when it came out.

Xperia ..a Premature release?

when i use Xperia ..i notice more n more basic stuff missing from it..which makes me think the phone cud have been developed better and more elaborative ..resulting in it being THE phone which made an impact in the market.
if they had double checked every feature of their on SE phones..maybe they wouldnt have missed out some important things..
like u cant record Calls via menu.....in today's world..even cheap budget phone have this feature
also, the Panels was a good concept but poorly applied ...IMO the X button is supposed to be as fast as center button of iPhone..otherwise it isnt practical enuff..also it doesnt give iphone UI any competition...which really made an impact in the market of touchscreen..
u know that before iphone..the Touchscreen was a cold market...almost becoming a dinosaur u know...it was such a pain to use touchscreen phones back then.
Also, they cud have included more than 9 Panels at once..i.e if u gesture your finger from right to left....it brings out a new 2nd page which has remaining Panels.
just having 9 panels means everytime u have to manually remove and select another panel before u can use it.
the Camera interface is also underdeveloped..as if they just did a rough sketch up and used it to push the release...it takes too much taps to change settings..just useless...the purpose of camera is to help capture moments..and with this interface ....it takes me more time than it wud take to use Film based Roll cameras.
they cud have really made it a multi touch...so we cud finally do more than just tap around...wud have made it easier to pan or zoom around.
Why hasnt anyone tried to copy atleast one good feature of iPhone other than re-doing same old touchscreen trick.
there any many other flaws i discovered which they cud have worked on and made it the ultimate phone which earned respect from everyone.
with some more hardwork and not being lazy in Product Development..they cud have done a break through in the touchscreen market..and not just an overpiced self-acclaimed premium phone.
i dont even think its a Niche phone..its just another wannabe touchscreen phone imo.

Thats basically the emotions I had when I wrote this rant-thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=475330

Sony has to make a Feedback channel...because they shud release updates for the phone..or they ll lose loyal customers.
Like they release updates for PSP..they shud too for X1.

This is not a Iphone comparable phone.
it is just a windows phone with some additional touchscreen options.
I've had the iphone and am happier with the X1.
the iphone is great in it's interface but too rigid for me.
the functions are nice but don't go deep enough for me.
every little thing I want to add will cost me 10 bucks and then I can't even make it look like I want.
not to speak about missing a copy-paste function which is just plain sad.
as the option to have a switched keyboard in all apps.
the iphone is a toy, this is a -more- serious phone. I don't mind it misses some of the smoothness of the iphone (sure, ofcourse I wish it had them) I'm just happy I can do everything I want with it.
It's smaller and more solid then the iphone in size and allot better then the last windows mobile phone I had (hermes)
It's the same as comparing a mac os with windows.
you can discuss it all you want.. it's just a matter of which you like best.
and as for the camera.. It's a f**ng phone.. I always have a sony T-200 with me. fast as hell and decent 8mp photo's

Nocturnal310 said:
because they shud release updates for the phone..or they ll lose loyal customers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have seen the thread full of offical new firmwares haven't you?

Who needs more than 9 panels? They're not meant to operate a different program. It sounds like you just want an updated version of the iPhone and that's not going to come from SE, they don't make paperweights.

imho it's ok
the issues i have once in awhile i had with all
the other wm devices i had

artesea said:
You have seen the thread full of offical new firmwares haven't you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no i havent then.
can u post me the link?
i am new here so dont kno the way around pretty well

all i am trying to say is the Xperia concept and X1 is awesome..u know..taking advantage of Winmo and adding their own way of navigating around.
but u kno..they didnt dedicate themselves too much and take it to another level which i know they cud have with some more time spent on development.
i understand its the 1st attempt by SE..but they cud have really captured the market and capitalise on it.
instead .. X1 has become one of the competitors..whereas ..it cud have been the market leader in WinMo market.
waht do u think?

[Q] Streak Your thoughts to a new buyer

Hello all,
I am looking to buy My streak next month and I would like some personal impressions (pro's and con's) from actual users.
I have read the wiki and the FAQ's (great stuff)
I am currently using the Xperia x1 and I love it but its time to upgrade. (im also selling one as I have 2). I live in NYC and of course I have ATT.
I am all but sold, but some personal experience from the highly respected XDA community would be nice.
thank you.

I have a real love hate relationship with mine. I've had it since June, but will be selling it soon to get the upcoming HTC Deisre HD.
PRO
Super screen, quite repsonsive, really bright. HD youtube looks fantastic on it. Really snappy to use. Internet is a joy to use.
\
the CON is as a phone it sucks. It's just too big. It took a while to make up my mind, but if you use your phone to make calls a lot, it may be a little big. I've even dropped it a couple of times due to it's large size. Support seems weak as well.

I got it a couple weeks ago and love. In my opinion its the best android device for At&t so far. The aria is a mid-lower end and the captivate feels cheap so i settled for the streak
When you first get it you will be amazed at how big it is but after using it for a couple weeks it feels normal and other devices (evo and iphone) feel SO small in your hand. One handed use sometimes is a bit hard when on the home screen but theres ways to go around that.
Browsing is awesome, haven't had to many issues due to the lack flash. Games are amazing on the 5" screen, haven't done too much movie watching but do watch the occasional youtube video.
Don't have anything bad to say about it other than its aspect ratio is set to "long" (think widescreen tv) while most android devices out there are "not long" (regular 4:3) so some apps won't look right but i have been seeing updates in the market for added streak support.
One downside though would be the connector/charger which is a PDMI connection. The cable that comes with the device is a tad too short and a spare cable from dell is $19.99!
Overall i'm happy with it and would recommend it if its your cup of tea. Also its a really big attention grabber. You don't understand how many times girls have came up to me and asked what it was and how i just pulled it out of my pocket. Then there is those that hate that say its too big as they play with their little iPhag phone..

I also came from an x1 and streak has been great for me, I can only think of glowing comments.
The obvious question is the size, but really its not that noticeable over any other phone (actually I would argue its less noticeable than the x1). If you want an approximation of the size, put a casio calculator in your pocket, keeping in mind that the streak is significantly thinner than it.
Plus as fone_fantastic mentioned its a real head turner, and seriously not as ridiculous to use as a phone as it seems, its a great device, highly recommended.

Wow, thanx for the responses, keep em coming, I'm a pretty big guy 6'1 210, I dont think I would mind the size and that is what actually interests me most.
I'm happy to see some of you love it. unbelievably its not being demoed in any of my nearby att stores, so I havent had any hands on time with it. another draw to it is that I havent seen a single person with one (just like my X1), and I'm a waiter, I see tons of people and tons of phones...but no Streak's I like having the stand out device. just a bit worried about dell's first attempt at a phone
like I said keep em coming please.

strboy said:
Wow, thanx for the responses, keep em coming, I'm a pretty big guy 6'1 210, I dont think I would mind the size and that is what actually interests me most.
I'm happy to see some of you love it. unbelievably its not being demoed in any of my nearby att stores, so I havent had any hands on time with it. another draw to it is that I havent seen a single person with one (just like my X1), and I'm a waiter, I see tons of people and tons of phones...but no Streak's I like having the stand out device. just a bit worried about dell's first attempt at a phone
like I said keep em coming please.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol I'm a waiter too, its just as sea of blackberries and iphones. Wish I could just pull out the Streak and show off

Ha! we arent supposed to either, but I will sneak it in and show guests sometimes, (my x1 that is)...I don't get the wow factor I used to but....Streaks a coming.
and Yeah i see tons of Iphones all my co workers have Iphone 4's and BB torch's, I cant wait till I get my streak.

The Streak does everything I could wish and more, if there's one bad thing it's that it is a bit fragile. If you decide to get one make sure you also get a decent protective case.

I don't use mine as a phone (data only contract), but as a MID I think it is great.
The screen size (and quality) is perfect for browsing while remaining truly portable. It is my first Android device and thanks to that is endlessly customisable and has got me tinkering 'under the hood again' which is something I hadn't realised I'd missed.
Build quality wise it isn't bullet proof but given that you take care of it you shouldn't have any problems.

I have a love hate relationship with mine to. I love it totally:
Web browsing: what other smartphone can you visit and read a website with not having to zoom in a scroll left and right to read text on any site?
Ease of use: it's a Android!
Reliability: the HTC HD2 is at this time the closest competition IMO, used to have one but it was so unreliable with it's wifi i soon started to hate the sight of it!
Size: fits in any pocket i have, including trousers.
Don't watch TV, but wait until you veiw youtube on it or start view photo's you'll never wnat a small screen again.
What i hate about it is when others who complain about the size! they new the size before they bought it right, so they obviously worry far to much about what others think of them! that's not the streaks fault it's theirs. If i'm standing at some busy junction and i answer a call, if others start looking then i think they just want one to and they're eyeing it up to see what it is
The galaxy tab will be released next month, but portable it's not! look at the size of the bezel around the screen! that would look strange, holding a netbook up to your ear

I know it's a bit off topic but the Samsung Tab won't be getting voice on the US side.
now back on track
I love the streak, best parts are as said before, screen size, browsing experience (I use dolphin HD, skyfire and regular browser) each one i like for different things, I do browsing mostly on it.
cons. my streak won't charge but it's ok ( I paid half price), besides that, is that it doesn't have froyo which I don't mind at all, the other thing is that there are not many devs for this phone/tablet yet, but nothing to worry. Also the down side is the "PDMI" port, there aren't any third party chargers, cables, docks but I hope they'll come down eventually.
I'm skinny 5'10 and the streak doesn't feel all that big when against my head, no one even notice when I'm on the BIG phone talking to someone, I don't get any weird looks, but when I lay that "flipflop" on the table everyone looks at it and wants to have a go.
I've used the X1 and had several HTC's as you can see on my sig, one thing tho is that you might miss the physical keyboard, but you'll get around it, the screen is so big that the on-screen keyboard are not bad at all, I personally use "multi-touch keyboard" and that does the trick for me.
hope that helps.

Yeah, I think that this device is one of the best things I have ever bought.
the only down side will be in two years time.
Once my contract is up, I don't think I'll be able to go to anything smaller! 5" is the exact maximum size for it to be held comfortably (I definitely wouldn't get a Galaxy tab to use as a phone). But I cannot face going back to a smaller sized screen it ouwld feel like a step back.
And I'm wondering will there be a Streak II ? Or any other phone like it in 2 years time.
I can just envision my self wandering around with a forlorn look on my face muttering "I want 5 inches, I want 5 inches" (and probably get arrested when i walk past a school)

I'm in love with this phone device. The screen is awesome. Very responsive and big enough for me to type fairly accuratly on.
Talking on the phone feels normal. I didn't expect it to, but I've had only minor issues with calling. I have found myself sometimes hunting for the speaker but find that I can hear fine if I just hold the Streak a hair away from head. Basically my fat head was muffling the sound if I had the phone resting against it without having the speaker right over my ear.
I do wish that Dell would answer someone's post about the screen failures. I suspect there was a build quality issue with at least the early Streaks.
I also wish someone would get 2.2 working on a Streak so I can do remote desktop and have full exchange support, oh and Flash.

To add 1 more con, there is no VPN support if you use windows vpn LP2T, but hopefully it'll get sorted on 2.2.

I was starting to panick somewhat after I ordered the Streak & agreed to sell my current HD2 to a friend soon as it arrives, and then came across some negative reviews and discovered many people were having problems on this forum with the firmware issues related to upgrade to Android 2.1 & the limitations of stock Android 1.6. (which version are u positive guys using?).
Now having read this thread, you guys have got me optimistic & excited again!
Can't wait for it arrive next week. Hopefully I will once again feel "...this is the best phone I have ever owned", just like I did when I got my HD2, and the HTC HD before that. I don't think I could bear the disappointment of feeling I have taken a step back in the eternal quest for the ultimate personal communication device which I embarked on about 15 years ago with the Nokia 2110, followed by a variety of iPaq (HTC-made) PDA's, Ipaq phones & various HTC-branded devices.
Thanks guys for sharing your impressions.

THJahar said:
Yeah, I think that this device is one of the best things I have ever bought.
the only down side will be in two years time.
Once my contract is up, I don't think I'll be able to go to anything smaller! 5" is the exact maximum size for it to be held comfortably (I definitely wouldn't get a Galaxy tab to use as a phone). But I cannot face going back to a smaller sized screen it ouwld feel like a step back.
And I'm wondering will there be a Streak II ? Or any other phone like it in 2 years time.
I can just envision my self wandering around with a forlorn look on my face muttering "I want 5 inches, I want 5 inches" (and probably get arrested when i walk past a school)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LMao...I'll look for you in the papers two years from now
SAman1 said:
I was starting to panick somewhat after I ordered the Streak & agreed to sell my current HD2 to a friend soon as it arrives, and then came across some negative reviews and discovered many people were having problems on this forum with the firmware issues related to upgrade to Android 2.1 & the limitations of stock Android 1.6. (which version are u positive guys using?).
Now having read this thread, you guys have got me optimistic & excited again!
Can't wait for it arrive next week. Hopefully I will once again feel "...this is the best phone I have ever owned", just like I did when I got my HD2, and the HTC HD before that. I don't think I could bear the disappointment of feeling I have taken a step back in the eternal quest for the ultimate personal communication device which I embarked on about 15 years ago with the Nokia 2110, followed by a variety of iPaq (HTC-made) PDA's, Ipaq phones & various HTC-branded devices.
Thanks guys for sharing your impressions.
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My sentiments exactly,
Question regarding the size, with my X1 I rarely ever hold it to my face I always use the Stereo headset that came with it, does the streak have on also (bundled) is it any good?

another ex-X1 user here. Love the streak and can't think of another device I could replace it with currently. In fact it's hard to leave it alone and the battery gets quite a hammering
Yes you get a stereo headset with the streak and it's not bad at all really. I don't use it myself (got some Ultimate Ears 'phones which sound incredible and I only use handsfree over BT in the car) but it should be fine...
I've kept the X1 for when i'm doing "rough stuff", like photographing 4x4 events - can just shove it in a pocket out of the way whereas the Streak would probably get damaged. For everything else though (especially in the car for satnav, music etc) it's one hell of a good device.
I really hope 2.2 makes it over cos that last little piece of the jigsaw - embedded flash in the browser - will make it a stunner. Keep an eye on the thread about USB hosting as well. If that can be actioned there are a lot of possibilities there too. For example I want to be able to download the occasional shot from my camera to check on the Streak's fairly well calibrated screen. I can also resize and send if necessary and POSSIBLY even back up the camera's memory card! (IF it works of course!!)
Everything works better than it did on the X1. BT streaming, web browsing, emulation (PSX for example), graphics, user interface (and i was using a custom WAD desktop on my X1), call quality, you name it
Up until I got the Streak I thought the X1 was the best phone I'd had but this is a whole other level!!

triondave said:
I really hope 2.2 makes it over cos that last little piece of the jigsaw - embedded flash in the browser - will make it a stunner. Keep an eye on the thread about USB hosting as well. If that can be actioned there are a lot of possibilities there too.
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I've been following that thread, with the hope that one could maybe use the USB port with a serial port adaptor to connect to Cisco routers and maybe run an Android equivalent to Windows Hyperterminal app to configure Cisco routers? I guess that's a bit far-fetched since no Android drivers would be available ...but as you mentioned, there are many other possibilities to this USB Host functionality which are likely to work.
Which version of Android are you currently running tho? Is it stock or modified?
Can you get a full 12hrs availability from the battery daily with say, 2 hrs voicecalls, & 2 hrs HSDPA internet plus a few sms's?
Also wondering if you know what the USB connector on the Streak is called? Can't see myself unplugging the cable back & forth between my bedroom, the car & the office every day. Should be easy to make up the USB host cable as well as a few spare charging cables while I'm at it if I can source the connector somewhere.

Hi - running stock O2 2.1 build 8105
I generally have to charge by about 3pm after starting at 7am BUT the screen is pretty much constantly on during that time and as far as I can see from my use the screen hammers the battery more than anything else (it's surprisingly good on wifi at home if the screen gets turned off regularly). At home it'll go all day with occasional use and usually MSN Talk running in the background.
Not entirely sure what you mean by what the USB connector is called. Do you mean the PDMI one that attaches to the phone? Well, I say PDMI but it's not 100% proved yet is it, as far as I can see from what I've read. It does seem almost certain that it is though. If you find a source let us all know!!

triondave said:
Hi - running stock O2 2.1 build 8105
I generally have to charge by about 3pm after starting at 7am BUT the screen is pretty much constantly on during that time and as far as I can see from my use the screen hammers the battery more than anything else (it's surprisingly good on wifi at home if the screen gets turned off regularly). At home it'll go all day with occasional use and usually MSN Talk running in the background.
Not entirely sure what you mean by what the USB connector is called. Do you mean the PDMI one that attaches to the phone? Well, I say PDMI but it's not 100% proved yet is it, as far as I can see from what I've read. It does seem almost certain that it is though. If you find a source let us all know!!
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So you use the Streak like a PC - screen on & in use almost continuously? Based on that it would probably be safe to say it would last me all day with less than 4 hrs screen on time (screen is mostly off during phonecalls I guess due to proximity sensor) & fairly typical/light mobilephone use. That's great to know, thanks.
Indeed, perhaps the name PDMI will help me find it somewhere in Asia, but probably best to have a closeup picture of it. As long as someone makes a connector that fits the slot and we can find out Dell's pinouts, should be ok. When my unit arrives next week I'll at least have the USB cable to check the connector for myself .
Anyways, my apologies to the OP for having gone a bit off topic there.
I'm convinced now I'll be happy with the Streak, despite some minor challenges no doubt. Besides, if it turned out to be perfect, how would we find a worthy upgrade in another year from now....