Database Users

Looking to get a universal, some questions here!

I am seriously considering getting a universal to replace my pda (dell axim x51v) and cell phone (moto v551).
I got some questions to clear up before pulling the trigger
1) between the different variants, is there any difference other than software? Which one is supposed to be the best one? the worst one?
2) How does the universal handle video playback using the latest ROM, because according to an early review, the universal performed quite poorly.
3) Any universal user out there who also own(ed) an x51V, how does the universal behave compared to x51v generally?
Thanks a lot.

1) I've only ever used the O2 ROM, as I really like their visual style.
2) I can play XviD 640x360 (16:9) and 640x480 (4:3) both fullscreen with no resizing and they only stutter on lots of fast-changing detail e.g. fire, ripples, heat haze etc. 98% of the time, it's VERY watchable The other 2% last less than 5 seconds roughly on the types of video I watch. WMVs are not really watchable, MPEG1 / 2 are perfect, MPEG4 I don't have much experience with, but the clips I record with the Universal's built-in camera play fine.
3) I've never had another PPC
4) Get the true VGA hack if you get one!

1) i have used the O2 ROM, dopod ROM, Lt. Cmdr. Ivan's AKU3 ROM [beta 8 was the last ROM I used I think it's now on beta 15], JW's AKU3 imate ROM currently using JW's ROM [1.90.96] it's pretty stable and fast.
2) I barely use it for Video, I use it mainly for music. But when I played WMVs [all my WMVs are 320 x 240 as I encoded them all to this resolution when I still had QVGA devices not too forward thinking I know...] it did the job pretty well. Note I usually soft reset before and after watching a movie so that I get the most RAM I can.
3) Sorry never owned a DELL PPC.

Thanks for the input, guys.
Another quick question, how does the universal work as a phone? I know it's a pda phone and I shouldn't expect it to be as good as a regular phone.
But how is the usability of the universal as a phone? Missed calls problem or any other known problems?

renhui said:
Thanks for the input, guys.
Another quick question, how does the universal work as a phone? I know it's a pda phone and I shouldn't expect it to be as good as a regular phone.
But how is the usability of the universal as a phone? Missed calls problem or any other known problems?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My MDA Pro is usable as a phone since I got a bleutooth headset. Before that it wasnt a great phone. It is since I got a Siemens-Benq HHB-130, just love that headset.

Hi, Kassad, is it the bulky factor or the not-so-good sound quality of the internal speaker and mic that stops you from using it without a bluetooth headset? I've got a bluetooth headset, but I am not sure if I want to use it everytime I want to make a phone call or have a call come in.
BTW, how is the picture quality of the 1.3MP camera? How well does it capture video stuff? I will be interested in using it to take some short videos from time to time.
Thanks a lot.

on BT Headsets and Camera Functions
For me call quality is great but the bulk makes it akward to use at times. I wouldn't want to be fumbling with my Uni whilst walking, with a headset you just press the MFB and your talking... of course I get the: "hey did you earse my number???" everytime I ask who's on the line [as I don't see who's calling]. or the oddest thing I've gotten was: "Are you a handicap, a deaf-mute?" [not too many people with headsets here I suppose hahaha. By using a headset your hands are free to do other things as well.
--
As for the camera I barely use it as it's doesn't have the best of qualities. I wouldn't leave my Digicam if I wanted nice photos or a basic video clip. Maybe for spur of the moments snaps or vids in the morning [with good lighting] the camera is bearable.
--
Anyway apart from the bulk and the poor camera [I don't think theres any PPC with a nice camera, doesn't make it right but I guess it's a fact of life for the meantime] the Uni is a great device

renhui said:
Hi, Kassad, is it the bulky factor or the not-so-good sound quality of the internal speaker and mic that stops you from using it without a bluetooth headset? I've got a bluetooth headset, but I am not sure if I want to use it everytime I want to make a phone call or have a call come in.
BTW, how is the picture quality of the 1.3MP camera? How well does it capture video stuff? I will be interested in using it to take some short videos from time to time.
Thanks a lot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its the bulky factor, the sound quality is ok. With the headset much better tho.
Quality of the camera is only acceptable in full daylight when you're outside, any other situation, forget the camera.
But as an internet connected very small laptop its superb! I use it as my business device and love it.

I normally will not buy a phone that is 1 year old or more in the market, mobile phone technology moves very fast, you must get the latest!
Why not wait for HTC Omni or some other devices like O2 Flame?
Some will be out early next year.
Camera is ok, its 1.3MP but it has a extrapolated 2MP mode. But cannot beat the 3, 4 or 5 or event more MP digi cameras.
Night pics are ok if you have a stable hand and holding your breathe, the flash light is quite useless.
Video is also ok, in *.mp4 files. Full screen playback can be possible using TCPMP player.
Ringtone or stereo audio from the phone speakers ok. Phone Mic & Phone earpiece ok.
Bluetooth headsets with caller id or caller number type can be used.
Bluetooth stereo headsets can be supported with a registry hack available on this forum if you are not using the qtek rom.
My other PPC is iPAQ as in my signature.

TyTN + Callstel Neck Comfort BT-Stereoheadset working partly

Hello XDA-Devs and Readers
I bought a cheap BT-Stereoheadset (39,90€) (Callstel "Neck Comfort").
It seems working, I even get no skipping with the original german Eplus-ROM (see my other threads for more info about the ROM). Unfortunately I found two more or less major probs:
The first and the biggest for me is, that the music sounds really bad, it comes in Stereo but it sounds in the higher frequencies like a <32kbit MP3, something like a noise in the connection. Its really annoying and hurts in the ears. The second prob I found is, that the calls come only on the left side. Even the cable-headset that came with the TyTN plays calls on both sides, good for noisy enviroment.
Is there any help or can I just return the headset to PEARL? As I said, skipping in the way I understand the word wasn't a problem. I even could let the phone lie in a other room and the music still played without any stops.
kind regards!

Nobody? No idea?

Should i regret buying the x1?????:

Should i regret buying the x1?????:
I bought the x1 few weeks ago … the problem is ;it wasn’t what I was expecting from sony Ericson ,the speakers are sooo low .. the device get very hot and sometimes it is unresponsive specially when I try to access the messages I have to restart it (soft restart)and now a crack appeared beside the volume button and the phone didn’t fall , I was treating it well ?
So guys should I regret the buy ?

The speakers on mine are very loud. I have noticed that it depends on the quality of what you are playing as to how loud the sound is. Some of the built in ringtones are loud, and some are not. All of my music and mp3s are loud. My phone also only gets hot when its connected to the computer. It should not get hot during normal operation. The phone will get faster and faster over time and crash less as well. If it is cracked and you haven't dropped it, it definitely needs to be returned.

mtaher said:
Should i regret buying the x1?????:
I bought the x1 few weeks ago … the problem is ;it wasn’t what I was expecting from sony Ericson ,the speakers are sooo low .. the device get very hot and sometimes it is unresponsive specially when I try to access the messages I have to restart it (soft restart)and now a crack appeared beside the volume button and the phone didn’t fall , I was treating it well ?
So guys should I regret the buy ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never really played music from mine without the case on, but even with my case on it's more than loud enough. My device only gets hot when it's charging for an extended period of time and I've always figured it's due to the case. My phone has only froze during a couple installs and occasionally hangs during messaging, but it sorts out in a couple seconds.
Now the crack is an issue, I'd call SE and see if they can help you. Hopefully they're willing to offer some help if it obviously wasn't dropped.

My device isnt slow - nor is the speaker quiet - nor cracked
u got latest ROM installed?

Well I regreted I did not read the specifications throughly before getting an X1.
I thought many of these things are very common in modern WM phones: In Call Recording & Accelerometers, etc. so that I thought X1 got them all, but turned out that X1 got none of them.
I am getting my hands off it and probably will fetch another phone instead.

I was given one free by my employer.
To be honest it sucks imo. It just isn't a congruent experience to use it.
it has the arbitrary few second lockups now and then, etc. The keyboard isn't really necessary and the screen is too small.
The pics, video recording and videophone ability is great but the HTC Touch HD has all of these plus the best screen on any phone in 2009.
Just geth the HD and not this.

In-call recording is in the notes application. Go to Menu->View Recording Toolbar.

Thanks WhyBe,
I don't know why this doesn't work for my X1.
I have tried to install the HD Dial Panel and related ICR; VITO, Resco, and even the SRS plug in but they all don't work. It makes me think that I have done something to my X1 (softwarewise) that stop it from functioning. Some days later I will flash another ROM to try.

Skiing with HD2

Hi, wanted to briefly comment on my largely positive HD2 & skiing experience.
Video
Worked fine right down to about -15c (-25 with wind chill), noticed some jerks in recording but cant say if it was cold related, Here is the HD2 video I made.
Bear in mind that some videos had gamma/brightness adjustments.
Camera
Yea, not too bad after the HTC camera patch, the last image at the end of the video is a (curve adjusted) photo taken with HD2. I was impressed with the camera under some conditions (medium-good light levels and little movement), still not in the same league as an N95 especially in low light conditions.
Music application
Worked OK, but its still pretty lame, making the experience quite frustrating:
1. no volume control on the headphone piece
2. long pauses while (large) playlist loads, why is this not cached???
3. Cant use your own headphones with remote (like Nokia) so had to use crappy HTC ones
4. Scrolling large lists in the cold! (I believe there is a scroll bar in 1.6x)
5. loads more niggles
General
No problems most of the time but a couple of times in extreme cold (-15) I found the keyboard became really erratic and once it even completely stopped responding. I also noticed that coming in from the extreme cold quite a lot of fog behind the screen, this cleared up after the phone warmed up with no ill effects.
All in all I was happy, BUT I was pretty pissed off to find, after running for the plane, a scratch on the screen, keys or coins the culprit.. just shows how wrong the unscratchable claims are!

Sorry to hear about the scratch on your screen. You should have listened to your head and bought a screen protector. It's not too late.....
WB

And you really should have tested the SatSki application, then you could also have tested the GPS functionality.
Had this application already running on my previous phone, excellent application for skieers and on the big HD2 screen it is really handy.

I've downloaded Satski and will be trying it in Les Deux Alpes in a couple of weeks, will report how it goes.
I must admit I noticed the same thing about not being able to ajust the volume using the remote on the headset. That's a real pain.
Also intending to buy some new thin gloves for using the phone poss The North Face E-Tip or Blacks do their own version which I tried in store and they work ok (perfect for texting your mate at work while you're have a beer on the slope)

Headset
I use my HD2 when snowboarding with Jabra bt620s bluetooth headset. It works great and I can adjust the volume, skip songs and answer calls with buttoms on the headset. And its nice not to worry about wires.

kaospiloten said:
I use my HD2 when snowboarding with Jabra bt620s bluetooth headset. It works great and I can adjust the volume, skip songs and answer calls with buttoms on the headset. And its nice not to worry about wires.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I only ever have one earphone in - I like to be able to hear out of control boarders coming so that I can get out the way ;-)

Pete1909 said:
I only ever have one earphone in - I like to be able to hear out of control boarders coming so that I can get out the way ;-)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strange, I have the same problem with people on GAYSTICKS

kaospiloten said:
Strange, I have the same problem with people on GAYSTICKS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be fair I don't really have a problem with you guys being behind me...........because you can't keep up on your trays.
What I really need is a camera that can look out for groups of you sitting down just after the brow of a hill.

Pete1909 said:
To be fair I don't really have a problem with you guys being behind me...........because you can't keep up on your trays.
What I really need is a camera that can look out for groups of you sitting down just after the brow of a hill.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is a pic taken with my HD2 tonite at my local hill I am sitting down just after the brow of a hill with my dog watching my mates building a big jump

Try mapping your snowboarding as you go down the slopes, i'm gonna test the skiing mode this weekend. But there are some ski trips recorded with sportypal that I found, http://sportypal.com/Workouts/Details/124172

[Q] Acer A500 speaker issue?

I have been trying to find any info about this issue all over the internet but havent had any luck. I really want to know whether this a problem with my device or if its justthat speakers themselves arent that great and i have to live with it. My speakers mostly when playing music with vocals rattle, i dont know how to explain the sound but its as if the case its self is shaking because of the volume. I am sure people have had this type of issue with speakers on laptops, desktops and so on. Should i return it and get a new one or is this an issue with all iconia A500's? I hope iwas able to explainthe sound well enough.rattling, case shivering sort (f.
Any info is appreciated, thanks guys.

I have just tried with couple rock and modern jazz and some dance music. If the volume is at the highest volume there is distortion but it doesn't feel like really really bad, just as if you are over driving a small speaker.
One thing you can try is, put the same music tracks that feels like blown speakers to a usb disk and go to a store that has a display model of the A500 that you can play with. Take your A500 with you so you can test both at the same time in the same environment.

Thanks for the reply, its not so bad but it can also get really annoying as it is the most thing an ear catches. I don't want to return my device only to get a new one that has the same issue. I will take my Acer and a USB stick and try out the same music at the store, if the display device has the same issue then I'll just have to live with it, if not then I'll be getting an exchange.

One solution for track problems
I have the same problem on certain recordings, i have found the same distortions of those tracks on several devices. After a bunch of reading i came across a solution that at least worked for my tracks. They were recorded in MP3 mode. Mp3 is not changed by using equalizers. You can adjust the loudness of the sound or like jazz-rock-etc... But if they are recorded with to much base or awkward settings in equalizer, those setting are stuck while in mp3. I converted those tracks back to cd format (wav) adjusted equalizer setting more moderate, then saved those tracks back to mp3. My distortions (am type sound, sounds like speaker is broke, etc...) disappeared. There may be other reasons for these distortions but my problem tracks are good now.

Thing is its not just music saved on my device, its also any video whether online or on my iconia. Everything I play has that annoying shivering noise. For speakers that are supposed to better than most tablets, if they are all like this then even though this is my favorite tablet I might have to go a different way if I were to return it.

My speakers don't have this issue, I would suggest exchanging it.

Thanks lord voldemort...lol, I will be doing that in the morning

I noticed a bit of rattle after turning up the Dolby bass settings too high.
After a little fiddling I found the "sweet spot" and haven't experienced it again.

strider_mt2k said:
I noticed a bit of rattle after turning up the Dolby bass settings too high.
After a little fiddling I found the "sweet spot" and haven't experienced it again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so what's that sweet spot setting?

I've had the same problem with the speaker and gone to the service center to claim it. Acer service center said it was factory defect and repaired it. Although i still experience small problem with the sound, especially when i touch certain area near the speaker but so far...works just fine now.

So I went to Future shop to try out the Acer on display and its the same thing when the volume is turned up all the way so I just decided to keep mine.

fincan said:
One thing you can try is, put the same music tracks that feels like blown speakers to a usb disk and go to a store that has a display model of the A500 that you can play with. Take your A500 with you so you can test both at the same time in the same environment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i tried doing this tonight with the demo model Costco had on display. unfortunately i couldn't even get past the lockscreen. i wanted to see how well Metallica's 'Load' MP3 (VBR) album would sound.