Palm Treo/Blackberry/WM/smartphones: discuss

[editor]

I'd like far more than 8GB - and plug'n'sync with itunes. And a 3.5mm headphone socket.

And actually, battery life. That's a killer, so unless those silicon nanotube batteries come mass market, I think I'll keep my phone and music player seperate.

Piece o'piss to get a 3.5mm adapter for the Treo (that what I use with my Sony headphones), you can use the Missing Sync to sync iTunes playlists to your Treo (unless you're using protected music) and the battery life ain't bad for around town. Or you can use this program and get an iTunes-like interface.

You can pick up cheap spare/extended batteries too and then 680 supports 16GB SDHC cards.

I listen to a lot of music on the move but got fed up carrying a separate MP3 player and phone, so the Treo's served me fine, even on long
journeys.

 

[The Groke]

So I just got my HTC Touch Dual (I believe it is an "Orange Touch" in the UK)

Thus far I am very happy with it.

HTC seem to be on a roll at the moment - their devices are smart, robust and usually have impressive battery life.

The UI enhancements made to Windows Mobile 6 are all pretty impressive and the iPhone-like touch based gestures are surprisingly effective and useful.

Ok, so it has no WiFi, which is about the only thing lacking, but with G3 and HSDPA, not sure I need it anyway.

It is nice to have the option between the physical keyboard and the on-screen touch one. At the moment I am using a combination of the two, depending on what I am doing.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Sony Ericsson to do first Windows phone

Interesting move this on Sony's part. A company that normally uses Symbian moving to Windows Mobile to be more successful in North America.

Nice looking phone, excellent looking qwerty keyboard with good key spacing (unlike those Blackberry/Palm ones)!

The first product is a business-oriented phone with a QWERTY keyboard, but a family of devices is expected. Over time, Microsoft hopes Sony Ericsson will leverage its camera and music expertise to help build more consumer-oriented devices.

"They've really got some great consumer brands that we'd love to partner with and bring to Windows Mobile," Microsoft Vice President Pieter Knook said in an interview.

The company is expected to have more to say about Windows Mobile in general at its press conference Monday, but Microsoft isn't announcing any details on its future operating systems. There have been rumors aplenty about both a modest update to Windows Mobile 6 and a future version that would have much more touch-screen capabilities a la the iPhone.

I wonder if this is a full move to dump Symbian and if so what effect the increased market share of WM based smart phones will have on smaller players in the US market?

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Very nice specs too!

It's here, the XPERIA X1 QWERTY from Sony Ericsson. Yes, full QWERTY to make the most of that Windows Mobile 6 operating system. SE's new XPERIA brand will focus on multimedia and mobile web communication. The X1 then, brings a 3-inch wide VGA (800 x 480) touchscreen display, 3.2 megapixel camera (with photo light), A2DP Bluetooth, aGPS, WiFi, and microSD -- just 400MB on board. On the phone side you've got quad-band GSM/EDGE, and 900/1700/1900/2100MHz UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (or 850/1700/1900/2100MHz in what must be a US-bound model). Navigation is accomplished via touch, arc-sliding QWERTY, 4-way key and optical joystick.

Very nice indeed, decent camera, 3G, wifi, big screen, man it's got everything!

 

[editor]

So I just got my HTC Touch Dual (I believe it is an "Orange Touch" in the UK)

I had the one before that without the slide out screen (but with wi-fi). Review: http://www.urban75.org/tech/htc-touch-smartphone-review.html

The touch stuff was quite nice but it's really a wafer thin shell on top of dull old clunky Windows Mobile and nowhere near as nice as the iPhone interface (although the Touch Dual has a keyboard, even if it is a gnarly slide out affair).

But ignore my grumbling - if you're happy with it, that's all that matters!

 

[editor]

Nice looking phone, excellent looking qwerty keyboard with good key spacing (unlike those Blackberry/Palm ones)!

It looks nice, but I can't get down with that slidey-out business and WM6 is the pits!

You really need to try it out for yourself before judging how good the keyboard really is too, you know.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

It looks nice, but I can't get down with that slidey-out business and WM6 is the pits!

You really need to try it out for yourself before judging how good the keyboard really is too, you know.

I didn't say the keyboard worked well, I said it looked nice, the key spacing is a major factor, on the blackberry and palm I find them very fiddly to type with. I could type long emails/documents on my old XDA Mini S' slide out qwerty with no problem...but anyway those specs! It pisses all over Palms latest offerings, the iPhone and pretty much everything else! I've had no probs with WM in the past so not prejudice against WM6, can't wait to hear more about this phone!

 

[editor]

..but anyway those specs! It pisses all over Palms latest offerings, the iPhone and pretty much everything else! I've had no probs with WM in the past so not prejudice against WM6, can't wait to hear more about this phone!

But it's not just about specs - it's about the entire package. A 2 year old WM phone has better specs than an iPhone but I know what I'd prefer to use.

And I'm not "prejudiced" against WM: I spent a year with a (paid for) WM phone and had the HTC Touch for a couple of months too, but I preferred the simplicity and ease of use of the Palm. By miles.

 

[WWWeed]

Interesting move this on Sony's part. A company that normally uses Symbian moving to Windows Mobile to be more successful in North America.

Nice looking phone, excellent looking qwerty keyboard with good key spacing (unlike those Blackberry/Palm ones)!

I wonder if this is a full move to dump Symbian and if so what effect the increased market share of WM based smart phones will have on smaller players in the US market?

Very nice specs too!



Very nice indeed, decent camera, 3G, wifi, big screen, man it's got everything!

A major problem with current smart phones is that they are a trade-off between functionality and GUI prettyness.

hopefuly going by youtube video, sonyericsson are going to shake things up and hopefully change the smpartphone market for the better!

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Official site here.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

A major problem with current smart phones is that they are a trade-off between functionality and GUI prettyness.

hopefuly going by youtube video, sonyericsson are going to shake things up and hopefully change the smpartphone market for the better!

Yep, if it works as well as that they may have something very neat on there hands.

 

[Xanadu]

Interesting move this on Sony's part. A company that normally uses Symbian moving to Windows Mobile to be more successful in North America.

Nice looking phone, excellent looking qwerty keyboard with good key spacing (unlike those Blackberry/Palm ones)!

I wonder if this is a full move to dump Symbian and if so what effect the increased market share of WM based smart phones will have on smaller players in the US market?

I think I'm going to spunk my pants

 

[editor]

I think I'm going to spunk my pants

Steady on. And don't forget, once Sony's finished with the whizz bang stuff, the grim reality of WM will be lurking not far below the surface.

 

[WWWeed]

Steady on. And don't forget, once Sony's finished with the whizz bang stuff, the grim reality of WM will be lurking not far below the surface.

Fair enough out of the box, but once you've installed a cooked rom and pissed about with the registry to optimize it a bit (much like x86 windows) its not too bad and is almost reliable!!

I totality agree that for the average user WM is a nightmare. The end user should NEVER have to reflash there device with a 3rd party rom, and edit the registry to get a fully working device, which is why I would never recommended one to someone who isn't technically minded.

At the end of the day functionality is the most important to me, I don't mind having to fuck about making it work. Which is kinda why I have a WM-based device!

 

[Kid_Eternity]

What differences are there with WM6 compared to WM5?

 

[editor]

What differences are there with WM6 compared to WM5?

I failed to find any real significant improvements, to be honest.

http://www.laptopmag.com/Review/Windows-Mobile-6.htm

 

[editor]

Bugger. This thread has become so long I'd better split it up. Hang on. Hold your posts!

Thread continues here: http://www.urban75.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=239770