Hi all,
For some reason the search function is not working for me (xp/firefox 1.5) as it always returns null searches.
Anyway, apologies if this has been discussed already in detail...
I'm almost ready to go ahead and buy the Advantage having researched numerous reviews online.
Everyone is in agreement its a marvellous device, let down by one main aspect... the keyboard.
Many report that the keys have very limited tactile feedback and one reviewer commented that the keyboard felt very rubbery like the old spectrum keyboard, making it sluggish for typing on.
I would see this as being a pretty major drawback, effectively slowing productively on a regular basis.
I currently use a Nokia E61 for work, and, while it has a small thumboard, tactility is excellent and with some practice, its responsive and fast.
While the larger keyboard is welcome on the Advantage I would really like to hear users opinions and thoughts, good bad or indifferent, about the keyboard in daily use.
Thanks!
i think the keyboard is much better than reviewed all the time. it has no definite pressure point but still you only have to touch it a little bit so you don't really need the pressure point anyway. i haven't typed anything wrong yet. quite impressive.
but still i think that the athena itself has a far too deep (and bad) when the keyboard is attached, if you wanna type in bed f.e. it's hard to see the screen right and good.
so keyboard is really good, but angle between keyboard and display isn't good for use with both hands, in bed etc. (just on a high table).
sry, don't really know how to say it in english.
I'm still prefer the keyboard of Universal's.....and it turns out I carried the U1000 without the Keyboard 90% of time.
BR
Tommy
I too prefer the Universal keyboard compared to Advantage keyboard. Not only for the typing (little "click" with Universal, nothing with Advantage), but for the number of keys as well. In fact in Universal keyboard the number 1 to 0 are typed directly, instead in Advantage you need the function key before.
On Universal there are more symbols that availlable directly from the keyboard (with or without the function key).
But, considering all, I can give to my Advantage keyboard a rate of 6.5 (in a range from 1 to 10) and to Universal keyboard a rate of 8.
Can we all look into the possibility of using a bluetooth keyboard..I think it will b a very useful companion with Athena
Cheers guys. I'll probably end up using my Think Outside BT keyboard which has served me well over the past couple of years. It seems a waste to use it though when you have a magnetic keyboard which also doubles as a screen protector.. and its another thing to carry and have spare batteries for.. I hope they introduce a more tactile feedback into future revisions..
I don't think I'd mind the fact that the number keys are not on the top row. Its an inconvenience but means more room for qwerty (and I'm used to it from the E61 layout).
Speaking of room..
Advantage looks just a little too cramped for 2 handed typing effectively so are you guys holding it like a thumbboard or huntin'/peckin' with two fingers while it lays flat on a desk..?
it's very, very tough to hold it like thumbboard (as I said before) , so most of the time I use it while it lays flat on a desk (which should be high enough to see the whole screen while typing because of the bad angle).
I really dislike the keyboard, since it has absolutely no tactile feedback. It's very odd to type, and I make many errors. It was even nicer, and faster using the keyboard that came with my Cingular 8525, and I dislike Thumbboards. It does make a good stand when watching media, though!
I don't mind the keyboard for occasional use - you certainly wouldn't want to type an essay on it, but a quick e-mail, txt or even a forum post doesn't stress too much. Its easier than the soft keyboard on the screen anyway.
The bits that I don't like, are:- the telephone dial button is in the wrong place (top left) - I'll quite often start dialing someone, just because ive caught the button by accident as I'm holding the device up.
And sometimes it can get the caps lock stuck on, and I cant work out a consistent way of turning it off (usually a press of the dot, then the caps key does it, but not always).
Other than that, not too bad.
They keyboard sucks. The key spacing is all wrong. I continualy hit the wrong letter. For a good touch typist this is torture.
The lack of numbers it pathetic too. The universal fitted a considerably better keyboard into it.
The good thing? There is nothing to stop people making replacement keyboards!
I want a keyboard that works better as a screen protector, because if I dont use that stupid leather wallet, everytime I put it in my pocket, the keyboard slips off and scratches the screen itself.
Now, I look like something out of the 1980's with a huge leather filo-fax thing.
A good keyboard would be complete case, with flip up screen protector (or slide up) and a kb that flips around from the back (the contacts are wired such that its always connected when not totally flat on the back) meaning you can have it at any angle.
Hinge the KB at the bottom corners and screen protector at the top corner. It could be a complete life saver.
ok the keyboard in Athena is completely useless. Universal one is much better. I made so much typing error because I had to press hard on the keyboard. It is not responsive enough. Whenever I wanted to type fast, I kept on missing a character such as the A character. Even my Fitaly soft keyboard is 3x better.
It is annoying having to carry keyboard all the time because you need that to keep U1000 in the leather casing closed nicely together. but that is about it.
I too agree that the keyboard is next to useless. I've been using it purely as a way to hold up the unit at home, so that it looks like a PC instead of the screen lying flat. I still much prefer to use the enlarged on-screen keyboard. For more specialised typing such as word documetn, I have my Full Screen Kyboard activated hardware button that was once used for starting the browser. In that way, I can alway call up the Full Screen Keyboard anytime I need.
I don't actually carry my keyboard around. I've designed and made a belt pouch myself (yes, using my old notebook carrying case's materials) which can either take both the unit and keyboard or just the keyboard. In either case, I don't put the leather case into my pouch. It works very well for me.
At home, I would like to look for either a BT or USB keyboard.
Hmmm....
But for me athena keyboard still useful even not as good as universal one. But i still can feel it...
Actually I kinda like it.
Its better than I expected it to be. Rarely misses a key when I'm typing. I'm coming at this from keyboardless pdas though so can't compare with other smartphones (except Nokia 9300 which was ok but I actually think this is better.)
Its certainly handy having it there and it makes the pda sturdy when you want it sat up just to see the screen while playing music, watching movies etc.
I think all the above comments on the keyboard, the some good, and the some bad, are valid.
That being said, I do not think it's a deal breaker to not get the Athena. In addition, it can't be a deal breaker, as there are no alternatives. Yes, if all other things were remaining equal, and there was another device identical, except for a better keyboard, I'd obviously opt for it, even at a higher cost.
But, I LOVE the Athena. It is the portable computing device (plus GPS) that I've been hoping for. And I use in in CONJUNCTION with another phone (a Blackberry Pearl, for now). Comparing it to TyTN or the like, are too different. It runs faster than handheld pocket PCs, seems more stable, and quite frankly, when you mix too much usage at one time, like a phone, GPS, and PocketPC, is too much for any device. This is a PC with 3g data first, then maybe a GPS, and THEN a phone.
I have no complaints. I use it a good 3-4 hours a day instead of my laptop. It's good for emails and simple word/excel editing. Makes me able to sneak about without anyone noticing.
It could have had a little more tactile feedback, but the lack of it makes it dead quiet instead, which in my opinion is a wonderful thing.
I'm sure someone will make use of the extra space between keys... ie moving the main keys closer together and adding a numeric keypad somewhere in there. I wouldn't mind.
Perhaps make them round, and with a groove in the middle of each key so when the keys are tightly put together you still have high accuracy speed typing.
I'm used to the Wizard and Hermes, and they both have keyboards that give a little more response than Athenas keyboard. However, I see that this also is a good idea if you want to use the keyboard when you are en a meeting or in a lecture, or whereever you are where you have to be quiet.
anyone has tried Thinkoutside bluetooth keyboard with U1000 yet?
No, but I have tried the Freedom Keyboard (www.freedomkeyboard.com), and it works perfectly.
It's a little smaller than a normal qwerty-keyboard so it takes a little to get used to it, but I think it is rather good.
The Stowaway Travel Mouse also works perfectly.
If we are gonna go for Bluetooth keyboards, try the Apple PRO full qwerty kb. Its nice. I used it on my Nokia770, and my XDAII easily.
Not tried on the Athena, but no reason it shouldnt work. Great for using when you are at home/office for typing. Just dont expect to carry it around.
Hi all..
I recently bought a cheap carkit for in my car.
I use it in horizontally mode, this because i found it easier to use..
And my navigation is horizontally..
I don't want to use any hardware buttons. because there all in use.
Is it possible to use magnets? I know that u can rotate the screen, but
i'm wondering if it could harm your phone.. Any ideas?
I use one for the same purpose in my car. Works great, and there have been no ill effects thus far. I've probably had my car kit magnet setup for 4-5 months. In my mind, if you want to be as careful as possible do some research on how long it takes to demagnetize something, as the greatest risk is that you demagnetize the built-in magnet used for keyboard prompted keyboard switching. Also, but sure to use the smallest magnet you can find.
Use a button mapper, like AEButton plus to map a "double-click" rotate command to one of the hardware keys. No need of that barbaric magnet stuff lol.
Not sure if this has already been addressed? I am looking for a App or some sort of control on my tablet, so that when I am watching videos it locks out the screen. My daughter is almost 1 year old, and likes to watch Mickey Mouse on my tablet. The issue is, she likes to hold my tablet, and ends up turning off Mickey. I wanted to be able to disable the touch screen, or have a certain area to activate the touch screen again. Not sure if there is a app like this? Thanks for any help!
criminal666 said:
Not sure if this has already been addressed? I am looking for a App or some sort of control on my tablet, so that when I am watching videos it locks out the screen. My daughter is almost 1 year old, and likes to watch Mickey Mouse on my tablet. The issue is, she likes to hold my tablet, and ends up turning off Mickey. I wanted to be able to disable the touch screen, or have a certain area to activate the touch screen again. Not sure if there is a app like this? Thanks for any help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This one work great.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.argotronic.touchblocker
Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk 2
I'm pretty sure mx player has an option on screen that allows you to lock it down while playing, I also find it to be a very nice, straight forward player that runs all my files nicely.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mxtech.videoplayer.ad
More than that I've been searching for an app that turns off the display completely while hooked up over hdmi. That plus Ps3 controller = replacing the wii in my bedroom. Ha
Is this real life?
I noticed the Android radio section is kinda small so thought I would provide some feedback with the various ones I've used. I've had two Panlelo and two Atoto radios.
The Panlelo radios I used were basically trash. Well the first one was ok, but it had a long boot. And started up with some strange bluetooth and gps error messages. I did like it at the time and it wasn't until I purchased Atoto that I realized what I was missig.. Being the first Android radio I used I had nothing to compare it to. I bought a different Panlelo for my wife because she wanted a volume knob. That's the only thing nice about it. The SD card slot was broken, the touch was terrible especially at the top and bottom. it wouldn't auto connect to my hotspot, it wouldn't remember my car launcher pro as the default launcher. Was just bad. I had also purchased a camera from them and the power trigger wire had a break in it somewhere. I've come to learn Panlelo does not make quality products. Oh yeah the first Panlelo had the side buttons stop working after a few months! And I always had obd2 connection issues.
The two Atoto radios I've had are amazing! The A6 premium I used for a year and then moved it to my wife's car. It has held up amazing and everything is layed out so much better than Pablelo. I never have issues with it. The obd2 always connects. I recently got the A6 pro with gestures and it's even better, though it's also more expensive. Aside from the gestures, the built in amp is noticeabley better. I can crank it much louder before distorting. It will actually support 2 ohm speakers although the kickers I use are 4 ohm with pretty high sensitivity (I think around 90) so they get pretty loud without an extra amp. The screen is also more vivid, better blacks, viewing angles and brighter. The resolution is the same as the first A6 but It definitely looks better. I don't use the provided screen protectors, and they don't seem necessary. The other A6 has no scratches after a year.
The gestures are pretty cool, although I've found the only two that work without problems are rotating your fingers/hand clockwise and counter clockwise. I never get false positives and it always registers when I use it. I first used it for volume up and down, but I've since used them as shortcuts for navigation and front camera. I changed the navigation app to torque so it pulls torque up instead. And front camera, I use for parking my big f250. Volume controls, home button and next are all configured on my steering wheel.
I used to use to wave your hand (defualt for that is mute) but I found it was triggering just driving around. Im hoping an update will make this more reliable. The other ones, hand forward and hand backward from sensor also trigger false. Umm besides that the layout is really good, with home, back and recents on the bottom left close to driver. (Another thing Panlelo got wrong by putting these on the top right)
Hotspot auto connects. Ohhh yeah and one thing I recently discovered! You can share Google maps navigation via Bluetooth. I'm still trying to think of a more seem less integration (wish it had NFC). But Bluetooth works well. Basically start your navigation from your phone, hit the share button, choose Bluetooth > Bluetooth2> accept the file transfer from Atoto it will then show where it was downloaded but just open maps and it will be there. It's actually pretty easy and works better than trying to type an address in. Especially when a lot of times someone has already texted you the address to your phone.
I'm still hoping for an easier way, I wish I could just out the phone close to the radio and beam it over. Or if there was a good way to get texts on the radio... I know there are Android messaging apps that sync, but I prefer the stock messaging app. Anyway, that's my experiences with Android radios. I like to use carlauncher pro.
Edit: added a couple more pics, one to show the parking camera
I can't make up my mind
Thanks for the right up. I may order the Pro unit minus the gesture feature. What brand of cables did you use on the install?