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hi all, im sure theres plenty of these but hey
I am using an O2 XDA Exec, as the 1st PDA i have ever had, im very pleased with it, i use it for quick surfing the net, viewing emails and sending the out, and when im ever flying, always slip the odd film on for its really nice display
Im using the beautiful windows vista theme
and overall, i couldnt want better
How bout you?
exec, but just because i have to. it is the only pda with 3g that i like
ppc-6700, my first windows mobile phone... i always had Palm based phones... treo 300 treo 650, i hated the way the Palm OS worked, so i bought a 6700, worth every penny.
I'm using the Xda Orbit, a beautiful balance of style, function and compactness that i am presently using to post to this threat whilst listening to slay radio via wifi... can't ask much more than that!
My only gripe is the lack of a hard keyboard which makes it painful to type on, but in this size class you can't have everything.
I thought the exec was a little flimsy and chunky, but now the Orbit has rekindled my love for PDAs and I find myself wanting a bigger screen and hard keyboard so I can really use it for browsing/posting/msn... are bluetooth keyboards any good?
Before this I had a Tapwave Zodiac, and before that a Compaq Aero 15xx, something with WM6, a VGA screen and a full keyboard would be heaven- too bad the Hpc form factor was ditched!
So what if I don't use an XDA?
OK as briefly as I can:
I currently use an FSC LOOX 720 - for the last 2 years at least (I lost count). Yes it is NOT a phone. I don't even have a 3G phone, I still use my old SE T610 (great phone btw).
I am in technology, I have owned quite a few PDA before that one and I have used almost all known brands and models.
So why with LOOX 720 still?
Because since I got it, I haven't found a SINGLE PDA able to make me part with 720. The single competitor at the time was Dell X50v/51v which I still think was a great PDA but my priorities on what I thought was better for me made me choose my 720 over it and never thought I made the wrong choice. HP 4700 (or ANY HP for that matter - and I have owned HP devices, but never again) was not even close those two guys.
Anyway, since my next PDA should be at least what 720 is AND be a phone and most probably a GPS (I am a heavy GPS user AND hate BT GPS*) - if I had to switch I should be able to have LESS devices with me all the time (now I have with me ALL the time, my PDA, my phone and my CF GPS). So my choices were limited (erm... none).
When Universal was about to be released, I was almost in love with it. It seemed to be close enough. Then it got released and I... erm... used a friend as a guinea-pig. Then I tested and used it thoroughly. It was NEVER NEVER close to what I thought it would be (in fact sorry, but I believe it sucks). OK, this was partly to the initial implementation of WM5 on that device, maybe it is better now on that front, but I am not looking back.
Not to make this post much longer, not many devices made me think. Some I liked but they had RECTANGLE 240x240 (!!!!!!!!!!) screen which is WAY to much to give up; I mean see a map in 480x640 (300Kp) and see a map in 240x240 (57Kp!), plus of course that MOST things I like do not work at all in 240x240.
Only recently HTC made me think again.
First came Hermes. Nice, not bad. I would need a BT GPS though and I was not sure the things I gain were more than the things I loose (like VGA).
Then I was reading about Trinity. There were plans for GPS in it. Then it came WITHOUT GPS. So my thoughts were "why get a Hermes without keyboard?" and back at Hermes (but not too hot in my mind).
Then came the plans (not by HTC) for XDA Flame (btw shouldn't Flame be in this board? IT WILL BE an XDA won't it?). I am still in love with this device. If it had GPS, I would have already arranged an import somehow and prepay it (please please give us the surprise we want).
Then came the beta of Trinity WITH GPS! Now Trinity is again in my mind. In a different place than Flame (the ULTIMATE PDA in my mind).
So my plan? I will give the GPS testing another month if it indeed is ok (and maybe more GPS enabled ROMs are released), I will jump boat and have a single device in my pocket. Trinity.
But Flame (as I love PocketPC platform), is not out of the picture. Since Trinity will take 720 out of my pocket and stay in my house (I will still use it, when you use VGA you never go back), Flame MAY take the place of my 720 in that position.
* ...about GPS and BT GPS. I have BT GPS and CF GPS (and stand alone GPS); in fact more than one of those. I have seen myself using the CF GPS 100 times out of 100. Even though it sticks to the top of my PDA (when I attach it), I prefer it MUCH than having to hold (or take care to stick somewhere) one more device, take care of the power of one more device etc. To me it worked MUCH better with the CF, when on foot, when on the car and when on my motorcycle. In fact on my motorcycle I don't even need something to hold the PDA in place, because my Piel Frama wraps nicely around the handlebar and puts it in a nice position for the GPS to work and me see the screen.
My main device is an SPV M5000 (HTC Universal) upgraded with WM6 which is the first device to meet my needs.
Prev had a XDA2i but found the lack of keyboard & WM5 upgrade really frustrating as one of the reasons that I wanted a PDA was for mobile e-mail.
Exec is close to ideal with Bluetooth stereo; 3G connection; reasonable keyboard and VGA screen.
With the beta versions of crossbow available the VGA screen is coming into its own thanks to Hi Res mode in PIE and the excellent Remote Desktop Mobile.
Music, Video, mobile messaging and remote server management. I've finally got a device that can meet my needs and it even works as a phone
Dopod 838 pro. Because:
Pros....
- Its loud, and I work in a noisy environment and can't always here ringing.
- 3g lets me use data plans that are cheaper than gprs and the speed is fast.
- The screen has a good range of brightness control.
- HTC are more reliable than the competition IMO. This device has not crashed on me yet.
- On contract it was cheap and my old contract was finished anyway.
- It came with a lot of software (that I had to remove to free memory).
- The wifi works with no problems.
Cons....
- Micro SD really sucks.
- USB jack, and it is over the stylus hole making it awkward to use.
- I actually do not like or want (any) hard keyboard.
- The picture viewer in my XDA mini is much better.
- I like big screens.
- too many buttons.
This device gives me freedom to entertain myself wherever I am. Today I listened to some music, read a document, listened to two podcasts, checked out XDA developers and boingboing, used the phone. In fact I used the phone at the same time as being online which was not possible with some other devices I have had.
I currently have two devices...
Apache (PPC-6700)
This is my main phone and MP3 player, like the keyboard great for texting seems a lot faster now that I don't as much crap on it...lol
Dell Axim X51v
Only just got this last month and love it, it is now my main PDA for all Diary and Contacts, Finance, eBooks, Internet, Skype, Photo's....
I have had the following PDA's... HP iPaq RZ1710 / HTC Harrier (PPC-6600) had two of these (long story)
Cheers
Jace
SX66 (Blue Angel), because:
* 3.5+" screen -- I don't like small-screen phones. Size is just as important as resolution.
* 128 MB RAM
* 400 MHz CPU
* Most phone cameras are mediocre anyway, and my workplace bans cameras (but it's not strictly enforced -- if you don't use your cameraphone it's okay).
* Didn't like Universal because it was too thick and heavy (it's two pieces really), and OS/hardware was too slow (even with JJ ROM).
Looking forward to the Flame (non-HTC?) and/or Athena as possible replacements.
I like the Flame because it has large screen, VGA out, 3G, EDGE, and has the same portrait orientation. I don't mind the lack of QWERTY because I use either soft keyboard, or Stowaway BT keyboard. I rarely use my SX66's QWERTY.
Athena has more storage and even larger screen, and may take the place of a laptop, but doesn't have the "rounded" portrait shape I like in the BA, Magician, etc.
Wizard.
- I'm poor. the cheapest I can find in UK ebay (other than Charmer)
- my dad wanted a PDA phone, so I upgrade (no point having two identical phones) and give him the Charmer
- Wifi is good, under utilized, but good.
- I'm a ex-Palm user, I don't need keyboard, but not bad having one.
- normal non-smart phone PIM is not good enough for me
- I don't like massively sized phone
I get a lot of grief from my coworkers for using a Prophet.
Why? Because in our line of work we get to see and play with many toys.
Still I love the little bugger.
BT 2.0 (A2DP patch), WiFi G, 2MP camera, no bigger than regular phone, what else could you ask for?
So the processor is a 200MHz OMAP but it does the job.
I find that built in keyboard just adds unnecessary bulk. If anything ASUS got the right idea with P525 - PPC with phone pad.
In fact if that device had 3G + GPS it would be the ultimate phone in my opinion.
wizard
It was the best and cheapest ppc phone available when I bought it. No 3g where I live (or i'd got a uni) and it's my first ppc so I didn't know any better
Hermes - it's brilliant and I use the keyboard quite a bit.
Previous was Prophet (still have it) and before that I had a Magician.
The Hermes has been the best so far for me.
Well I have had about 5 other PPCs and the Hermes is the best I have ever used. It has a great keyboard and because in Australia about 97% of people have UMTS and you normally you get 1.5Mbs – 2Mbs download speeds you can have 100 e-mails come in and it only takes about 30 seconds.
I am a SPV M3100 (Tytn 1) owner at the moment running Schap's 4.30 Full ROM and the handset runs very well.
On Monday I am out of contract and can either upgrade to the Tytn2 with Orange free of charge or move to T-Mobile and their version for practically nothing (Orange or T-Mobile will be dependent on Orange offering me a decent data package instead of 30Mb for £8).
My main question is really, is it worth upgrading from a Tytn1 to a Tytn2?
On paper it seems to (camera/rom & ram/gps/tilt screen/thinner), but I been scanning through some articles and posts and lots of driver problems have been mentioned? Whats going on with this?
I saw an iPhone the other night and was very impressed with the interface but it lacks 3G/HSDPA and the camera is 2MP and doesnt do video and and and, not to mention having to shell out £269 and an 18 monther on the contract.
Whats the HTC Touch Cruise like and do any UK networks sell it yet?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts...
Will shortly be in same position so am interested in any responses.
I don't see Orange coming up with a decent data plan so I expect to have to leave them for Vodafone/O2 (Tmobile have a reception blackspot just about over my house)
Will probably upgrade so that I can reduce the time to the next upgrade if you see what I mean -not sure I see anything out there in the V near future to make the Kaiser obsolete.
Re Iphone - yeah looked at it but I need the hardware keyboard and have become a bit of a flashaholic etc.
That and I will get the Kaiser free. Don't like the excessive Apple control over everything.
I am with Orange and pretty annoyed myself... I think I'd be leaving too
Well O2 and Vodafone's dataplans are as bad as Orange's. (Voda unlimited = 120mb cap).
Orange did have a Orange World Unlimited package for £8 a month which gave you a gig of use a month which would be enough for me.
Can't really help in regards to whether it's worth the upgrade, as I've never used a TyTN I before, however, in regards to video driver issues, this seems to be hit and miss.
My TyTN II has never had any problems playing video's or games, and for the record, to play my video files I use Kingdia Video Converter to convert to avi, then use Ashampoo Movie Shrink and burn to compress file to QVGA (small file size, great quality). I then use TCPMP with the FLV 0.4.2 plugin to play them.
Not sure if it's because mine is UK bought with Original HTC ROM, but I don't mind as long as it works
Question really is....what do you want / need your phone to do?
I came to the Kaiser (o2 Stellar) from the HTC Universal (o2 XDA Exec) a month ago. I do miss the bigger screen and keyboard of the Uni. Apart from that the Kaiser is better in every way. So much nicer not having to soft reset every other day cos I'm running out of RAM (I have yet to soft reset the Kaiser for any other reason than installing software). So much nicer not having to juggle where I install stuff, it just all goes onto the device in the huge memory available (no sarcasm, after getting by on 30MB, suddenly having nearly 100MB to play with is huge!)
Camera, its a PDA not a SonyEricsson. I was hoping for better pics with a 3MP camera on board but it's no replacement for a real camera. It will do if you have nothing else, and I doubt you'd be disappointed with the results as I suspect the Tytn I camera is no better than the Uni's.
I suppose I do miss the flash on the camera, mainly cos it was a handy torch. I did miss the IR port, but got off my butt and set-up the BT on my PC and now use that instead for file transfers when I don't want to plug the sync lead in.
I have used the Kaiser with a SonyEricsson HBH-100 BT handsfree, it works fine. I also use a SonyEricsson MBR-100 BT thingy to connect to my car stereo and home audio system. Likewise this works perfectly. Finally I have a Nokia 610 car-kit and it connects to that via BTSAP, no problems. All of it straight out of the box, no patches, updates or hot-fixes. BT driver issues? Not in my experience. Only thing that doesn't work with the phone is my older HBH-10 headset. It is about 10yrs old, and is probably just too old to be compatible.
Video? I converted loads of videos years ago to wmv files to use with a HP Ipaq 5450. They play just fine, little jumpy, but this is due to the compression (25mb for 45 mins of video) rather than the device itself, they are jumpy on my laptop too.
Audio? Built in loudspeaker is poor. But what do you expect from something that small that was designed (I guess) for voice, not music. MP3's play well, and when connected to headphones or an external sound system, its great! I bet the type of people that can hear the difference (and care about it) between 192kbs and 320kbs encoding will argue the toss...
GPS. IMHO, no problems. Used it with several apps, gets a fix quickly, holds onto the signal well and is accurate enough. Bench testing against my Garmin standalone GPS (Kaiser plonked on the dash, Garmin with an external roof mounted antenna) both get a good signal and the tracklogs more or less match, good enough for sat-nav anyway (yes the Garmin is more accurate and gets stronger reception but it does have that powered, amplified roof antenna to help it remember! The Kaiser has never failed to get a fix)
WiFi and other data (GPRS, 3G, HSDPA etc) works well. I have the Opera Mini browser as well as PIE. No problems surfing the net, checking email, using MSN or Skype.
Just have a look at the threads in this forum, how many are from newbies asking for help, or moaning something doesn't work when they haven't tried to fix it, or just plain don't know what they are doing?! I'm not saying the Kaiser doesn't have issues for some people, but seriously, if you can get the Kaiser for little or nothing, just upgrade already and if it's really not to your liking stick it on Ebay and make a few hundred! I have a collection of old phones and PDA's so I don't have to use the Kaiser. If it sucked, I would have gone back to my Uni in a heartbeat. The only time I don't use it now is if I'm going out and want a phone with me I don't mind loosing or breaking.
Hope that helps?
It depends what you want out of a phone. My comparisons are between my Vodafone 1605 (unlocked Hermes) and my HTC TyTN II (unlocked Kaiser).
Camera: Useable but crap. Needs one of the cooked roms and cab update to get any real use from it.
Camera Flash: Missing on Kaiser. I used to use this a lot as a torch when taking instrument reaings outside in the dark.
Wifi: My Kaiser is better.
GPS: TomTom is brilliant and sold the Kaiser to me.
Video: Mine seems ok but I'm not a heavy user. Many people seem to have driver problems so I assume they use video more than me - also, I don't use streaming video so I can't comment - this may also be where all the video driver problems are.
Tilting Screen: A bit of a gimmick for normal use, but ok for watching a movie on a plane.
Speed: With Dutty's ROMs my Kaiser feels faster but this may just be imagined.
Memory: I'm a heavy user of space. I have 51 add on programs including converters, dictionaries and translators etc. Kaiser definately better.
All in all I'm glad I upgraded to the Kaisr, but despite that I haven't got the heart to get rid of my Hermes yet...
I will seriously miss the flash, especially with the camera.
And my Hermes does everything I need it to do right now, but things like more ROM/RAM, better camera (in MP), etc would be nice. But I dont fancy wasting an upgrade. (UK people will know what I mean by that).
My vodafone 1605 is a TyTN 1 and I upgraded to a TyTN 2. In most areas I don't think that there is much improvement with the new phone.
If you're happy with the TyTN 1 I wouldn't bother yet unless GPS becomes a real necessity, of unless you're a gadget freak who needs the latest and greatest. Maybe you should wait a while and then when you become less happy with your TyTN look at upgrading then - it won't be too long before the Kaiser comes down in price or there are newer versions available.
Well money isn't really a factor. In the UK we can upgrade our phone at the end of the contract term, normally for free. If I don't upgrade then I will just be wasting an opportunity.
That is my thought exactly. I think it will be a year at least before anything fantasticaly better comes out so then allowing time for initial bugs to be worked out, I think I will upgrade to the Kaiser so when contract ends in 18 months it should be about time for the next big thing.
Incidentally, I do have the 1gb Orange data bundle but it expires sson and cannotbe renewed.
120mb or 200 on O2 should do me quite well - 30mb however is just too little.
I upgraded from the Hermes to the Kaiser. Never looked back since.
Apart from the ****e Orange data packages. Currently using unlimited off-peak for £5 a month. Not ideal, but I work office hours anyways.....
Been There Done That
Had been with Orange for a while but was a very devout Nokia "Smartphones" Fanboy.
Had a free upgrade due and already had 2 of Nokia top phones at the time and instead of wasting the upgrade I upgraded to the SPV M3100 (Tytn I) just over a year ago. And boy was it something different. The hardware keyboard was a massive god sent. And just the sheer functionality of the phone coupled with the wide amount of apps you could install on it, plus the so much more useful roms I upgraded to courtesy of everyones fave developer forum. Really started becoming a massive tool and made my commuting time into Central London from the outskirts really productive and enjoyable.
Last week was due the annual upgrade and having checked out the features of the new Tytn II online, dived in without a second thought. After the initial transitional period and all the rom installations and getting the settings to suit my own individual needs. I can safely say that the beloved M3100 is been on a window sill gathering dust. Installed Duttys Dual Touch Rom II, a few apps, a few games, set up Windows Live and my own work emails and now just waiting on the 8GB Micro SDHC card i order and i should be all set.
Play Dvdrips and TVRips on TCMP with no lag and Dutty's rom doesnt seem to slow down too much, so havent reallly felt the affects of the missing graphics drivers. Just feels so natural now. I can safely say that if someone created a better Internet Browser solution right now I would definitely stop using the laptop for casual use. At the moment using a combination of Picsel, Opera, and IE and none seem to be doing a complete job. Picsel is awesomely fast and useable but its still in early development and doesnt support complete web solutions.
As for Orange, their data packages have never been the best but i usually use the net heavy apps like Windows Live Messenger, Youtube streaming and Net browsing in the Office or at home where theres a Wifi connection. But to be honest none of the other Network Providers have great deals and i've been with all at one point or another T-Mobile Web n Walk is good but they've started blocking certain ports that limit what you can do or so i have heard. The off peak data package (if you work 9-5) doesnt seem too bad.
But hopefully they'll come out with better packages soon.
Hi, interested you have skype working on your Xda Stellar - I can't seem to get this working? I downloaded the windows mobile version of skype and get a "this is not a valid pocket pc application" message and it fails to install.... Do you have any ideas?? Thanks
I am with vodafone and in a position to upgrade to which will be my first HTC phone. I was looking at kaiser but am thinking of hanging on for a couple of months for the HTC touch pro.
Kaiser audio quality
Hi,
I just upgraded from Hermes to Kaiser, and I'm comparing the two units at the moment.
I noticed that audio quality of Hermes is better, especially when listening to mp3s.
Does anyone agree?
I'd try and get a HTC Touch Pro if possible, just make sure it's the Pro and not the Diamond as you'll get the better (larger) battery and not have to give up the keyboard. The feature list of the Touch Pro is much better then the Kaiser.
The Kaiser is after all just an "update" that only new features are a slightly larger storage (not much of an issue with an SD-Card though) and built in GPS (but an externall bluetooth GPS gives you more battery.) On the downside of the Kaiser you have to convert videos to play just on your device where as with the Hermes I could use the same vids for my PC - which is basicly a downgrade.
Hi all,
Today is the time to depart the formums as an existing Kaiser owner and help out only as a once windows owned device person
I've not contributed THAT much - atleast not using this name but I had another and was forced to change it due to a "run in" with a moderator on here who got kicked out soon after - this was a while ago though so it's been an interesting ride.
So not much of a story - Been a windows device owner since the first Ipaq in B&w screen and slowly moved onto the windows phones as soon as they came out (starting with the XDA). While my main job revolves around business intelligence, I still have a "side job" in repairing phones/electronics and the company I do this for gives me 15% on products hence changing my phone everytime a new one comes out!
I stop at the kaiser purely for a handful of reasons. While the bluetooth issue was somewhat sorted by reg changes, it still was not enough and it was heavily impacting my main job in where consultants require to be mobile on the phone wherever I go. In the car, it became dangerous at high-speeds where I was having to undock the phone and hold it - something now illegal here.
The other reason was purely down to the whole HTC Suit going on and rumours (not one to listen mind you) about HTC stopping production on the kaiser until this blows over.
I thought, while the price is high, get rid of it, migrate to something else and see what the future holds!
What did I get?
Well, last sunday, I was given two N95's to fix, one hardware, one software. The software was easy enough, hardware was interesting as it was my first N95 to rip open to its bare bone (liquid damaged).
Once I got it working, I started to play around with it and before handing it back to the customer, I have to ensure EVERYTHING works - minimum 48 hour testing.
I instantly decided I would want this IF I did not have the Kaiser...a few days later, I had a call in the car and again, could barely hear the person... I decided to use the customer's N95 and it was perfect.
I decided then to buy one and get rid of the Kaiser.
Thats pretty much it! I now have a N95 Nokia in Black (8GB version), loaded what I would use on the kaiser and so far, not had to pick up the kaiser once in 2 days.
Differences?
The biggest is the touch screen... I sometimes get frustrated I cant just select text and have to use keys to do it...something I'll get used to.
The other biggest is the keyboard. I used to be a typical txt'r on the nokia phones when I was a kid and thought it would be fine now - WRONG!
I would say it took me 3 times longer to txt then it would have on the kaiser!
Other than that, phyically, the screen is the same size (2.6") but much sharper and clearer on the N95 (I think the N95 has a much better resolution). And then theres the weight, while size doesnt make that much of a comparison, the weight is very noticable.
Software:
Ok, again biggest is windows vs symbian but speed-wise, no difference at all. It's a bit "noddy" in symbian to have everything in icons almost to spoonfeed even those who know the system but I can live with it.
Bluetooth is excellent, satnav is also good though it cannot handle TomTom unless used with an external reciever (something apparently waiting to be fixed)
Alarms work and is not limited to 3 like Windows. Small things like SMS on rejecting a call, having a delivery reports folder for SMS and so on is default on the N95, something windows still cant seem to grasp (despite numerous requests).
At the same time, you dont have the luxury of the proper Office, you have to go quite deep into symbian to change a theme, windows you dont, then theres the wonderful scrollwheel, something missing in the N95.
Overall, they both are excellent, what windows missed out, symbian got and viceversa. For me, I require bluetooth to work properly and not sound like I'm listening through a glasswindow. As long as this is the case, and GPS/satnav works... I'm happy. The n95 has a lot more features - one of the biggest being the accelometer which is like a motion detector - I can make my phone go landscape simply by moving the phone that way or I could navigate through menus simply by moving the phone in the direction I want to go in.
It's a gimmic but still, its there and its for the consumer to use .. or not to.
Hope this isnt too long and boring you but I didnt want to be like the typical leaver on the forum to say kaiser is crap, nokia is better because on the whole, I still would prefer the windows one if they fixed the issues, but now also if they made it ligher and more ergonomic (not that it already is!)
Based on the closing paragraph above, don't bother replying if all you're going to say kaiser is the best blah blah blah, though constructive comments are also welcome.
WIll pop in now and again and I think I have a few donations to make too!
(I could type the above on the kaiser, but I'll be damned if I have to type that on a normal N95 keypad...another user for the kaiser keyboard )
Yeah. Sorry to say, mine's hitting the road as well, but I'm not a smartphone kind of guy, i need a full-blown mobile office. so I got an E90 instead. Guess Nokia's getting the better side of things, eh?
Im the same mate ! Ive gone back to the Treo 750 and if not anything else , backto a rock solid phone thats works well all the time.
Just carried out HSPDA update on it and the speeds on net is fine . Email collection is spot on .
And on going back ive realised that i should never have jumped from it in the first place .
Still a HTC handset , but one thats working 100% for me
Can't comment on Symbian - never tried it. I used to use Palm OS and switched to PPC a few years ago.
Had a Dell X50v with VGA screen. Going to the Tilt/Kaiser was a step way down on screen resolution, but many steps up in other ways (like it fits better in my pocket and I don't have to carry a separate phone anymore, GPS, HSPDPA, nice keyboard, up to 32 gb memory card, lots of custom roms, ect...).
If I could do it over I would stick with the Tilt. Treo 750 lacks too many features (screen size, screen resolution, keyboard, GPS and doesn't sit nicely on a table for reading, 2GB max storage card). I want a Pocket PC 1st and a phone 2nd. But I'm not a business user. I could care less about talking in the car. Proven dangerous anyway, even when hands free, and those bluetooth headsets make you look like a cyborg.
I just came to the Kaiser from the S620. The Kaiser is really lacking in usability while "on the go". It was much easier to navigate the S620 I could respond to a text message with barley a glance at the phone. The S620 was also faster for most common tasks like making a phone call replying to an email etc... I find that I really like the kaiser as a data device and am very happy with it in that capacity. Surfing the web with opera mini is great much better experience than O-Mini on the S620 The keyboard is nice if you are using it with 2 hands the extra flexibility of WM6 on the PPC vs WM on the SmartPhone is also nice.
I can appreciate why you are peeved with the kaiser, I would be too if I was trying to use it as an all features phone.
However I do not, and I always view windows devices as a PDA with a phone built in, or as an add on in the software. Therefore it will never out perform or match a well specified Nokia mobile phone for example.
My solution is this:
Run the Kaiser as a device, for email internet and controlling your diary, schedule and files etc. Run it on a data only tariff, for example for £15 a month at the moment with vodafone uk you can get 1GB a month.
Then run a well equipped Nokia mobile phone as your phone, you get great call quality, good handsfree support when in the car as well as being able to leave the Kaiser at home if you do not want emails etc.
I do this, I run a Kaiser on data only, it does my gmail via imap as well as outlook email and internet plus in control my diary on it.
I then run an Nokia E65 which does my phone, test messaging etc etc etc. I also run my gmail via the Symbian onboard email client which means if I am out I can check headers and download an email if I need to read it.
I think for the small extra monthly outlay the kaiser is a fantastic device for what its designed for and I am not going to blether on about that.
Food for thought.
Tom
Tom Williams said:
My solution is this:
Run the Kaiser as a device, for email internet and controlling your diary, schedule and files etc. Run it on a data only tariff, for example for £15 a month at the moment with vodafone uk you can get 1GB a month.
Then run a well equipped Nokia mobile phone as your phone, you get great call quality, good handsfree support when in the car as well as being able to leave the Kaiser at home if you do not want emails etc.
I do this, I run a Kaiser on data only, it does my gmail via imap as well as outlook email and internet plus in control my diary on it.
I then run an Nokia E65 which does my phone, test messaging etc etc etc. I also run my gmail via the Symbian onboard email client which means if I am out I can check headers and download an email if I need to read it.
Tom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or you could just get a laptop with a built-in 3g card from whatever provider you want. I heard they have pretty nice qwerty keyboards on those. If that's too expensive, there's always an EEE PC + USB card, especially since those cards are usually free if you sign a contract.
Then you could drop the smartphone and just get your choice of free crappy samsung/motorola flip phone for phone and text.
The point of these devices is convergence. To re-split them is to go backwards in time.
Hmm.. if HTC doesn't fix this soon, I'll get the Meizu M8 (IF it will be released that is..).
Finally a sleek WM phone, 16 million colors baby!
akash_84 said:
Hi all,
Other than that, phyically, the screen is the same size (2.6") but much sharper and clearer on the N95 (I think the N95 has a much better resolution). And then theres the weight, while size doesnt make that much of a comparison, the weight is very noticable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I appreciate your story, but just a little note - the N95 has the same 320x240 screen resolution as the Kaiser, and the Kaiser is 2.8 inches of course (same as the latest N95 of course)
I wish the kaiser had a better camera, and proper graphics acceleration, (and that accelerometer seems more and more useful each day) but mostly I appreciate the N95 is more of a phone than the Kaiser.
After years of WM however I find other phones (and especially the N95) completely unintuitive, and cant really see myself switching away from the rich ecosystem soon.
Surur
meorah said:
The point of these devices is convergence. To re-split them is to go backwards in time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Couldnt have said THAT better myself.
who in their right mind would carry loads devices for music, taking pictures, sat nav, a mobile, a pmp, thats just stupid
I'm sorry that the Kaiser didn't work out for you, but each person is an individual, and what works best for me, may not be good for you. That's why we have hundreds of models of phones available. Personally I love my Kaiser, and I think its far better than my old PDA phone, the HP iPAQ hw6515. The RF reception is just as good as a good regular handset, not like the iPAQ which was only good in urban areas where you were surrounded by plenty of towers. I used to keep a Motorola A845 and a V551 in my truck and when in rural areas I'd have to take my SIM out of the iPAQ and put it into another phone to be able to make a clear call. I haven't had to switch my SIM card once since I bought my Tilt.
Sorry this hasn't worked out for you, and I wish you luck in finding the perfect device for your needs.
-Jay
That was an interesting read. It's a shame that the kaiser isn't all everyone wants it to be. I like my kaiser, sometimes I love it other times I find it incredibly frustrating. For example when sitting in my living room playing around with it, it's great.
But I was out and about over the weekend, standing on a very cold football touchline texting the results to my wife. The kaiser was running like a dog. Sloooowwww to update while entering contacts into the search as you type 'To:' field. Then the text failed to send (despite a full signal). I really started to think about other options such as the N95 or SE P1i - you know, devices that just WORK!
But last night I was traveling on a coach to the Wales v Normay match and decided to play with my google maps and built in GPS on the Kaiser and I fell in love with it again. I arrived at the game and shot some images on the camera and blogged to through Shozu. It all worked well. I then turned to Opera Mini to check the England v Switzerland scores and the thing froze on me. SR later and I couldn't get a data connection on T-Mobile despite my sons' N73 having a full signal and gprs connection. (also on T-Mobile)
I know I am going to have a love/hate relationship with this phone, but hey! Thats Windows Mobile.
Now....... how much is that P1i on Expansys....Hmmm £284
Haven't bitten the bullet yet but seriously considering E-Ten X650. Won't satisfy those wanting a fast data connection or a keyboard, but it does have an FM Radio and VGA screen. My biggesst concern is smaller RAM. Anyway, I am looking to get something a bit smaller with better video and it seems like it will fit the bill. Before the driver thing came up, I was thinking of going to the Touch Cruise, as I don't use the keyboard all that much but I since have vowed to never again buy an HTC device. I think the lack of drivers may have been excusable if handled properly, but the disrespect they have shown their customers and this community is in my opinion deplorable.
Now if we could just get E-Ten devices into this forum. Maybe they would appreciate the awesome support this community provides.
I have to say, I'm surprised that the E-Ten devices don't get much credit around here. I've never used one (maybe that's why I'm surprised!) but on paper it seems like devices like the M800 have the Kaiser pretty much licked. I mean, not only do they appear to have the drivers and performance, but VGA too? Okay, they don't look quite so nice, and maybe the button arrangements aren't so good, but surely they're Kaiser killers apart from that?
I kind of got my Tytn II by accident, and stumbled into the world of Windows Mobile, and on the whole I'm happy with it - but if I was putting serious research into it now I'd definitely have to take a serious look at e-ten.
I left, then came back at the refurb price.
I love the phone, but not worth $400....I'll take $150 tho
Note: for anyone considering E-ten. don't get it. First and foremost, build quality sucks. and it's... I don't even want to go there.
Hey im thinking of leaving the kaiser 2 can any one sugest a few devices that might make a good replacment? checked out the P1i metioned above really im thinking iphone after they give it 3g but will it have hsdpa? xda had to unlock it on the kaiser didnt they?
there may be hope yet:
http://msmobiles.com/news.php/7085.html
I put my Tilt on the shelf for now and picked up a Blackjack II. It works for now, but I still visit the forums hoping for a fix. I am kicking myself for selling the 8525. That thing was really running great with the latest cooked ROM's.
Dave
very interesting comments, I was half expecting immature comments about my own thoughts on why I was leaving windows/kaiser but these were very good constructive comments
So I've been using the N95 for almost a week now.
I've still not had to use the Kaiser once though I have kept it at arms reach just incase.
The only time I used it was for TomTom until I get my Garmin software for the N95.
What do I think so far?
Well after a week of intensive use... I do really prefer it to the Kaiser. Yes I still miss the keyboard which still takes 3 times longer to type an SMS compared to an N95 and I miss the touch-screen time2time but aside from that, I've got used to it and it does everything I need to.
For those who considered the Ericsson P series... I used to be a P series fan a while back having owned a P800, P900, and a P910. I was not however impressed with the P1 at all and found it more of a chore to use than anything.
But each to their own- I've just gone of the UIQ symbian software yet I still like the Nokia s60 symbian software.
If anyone wants more information about the N95, Kaiser or any other phone that exists - do let me know and I can try and answer them.
I work part-time as ahobby in a phone repair place so I get a chance to mess around with a lot of the units!
I am about to buy a Orange locked HTC TyTN II of ebay I will unlock it and use it on on O2
I hope.
Apart from this driver issue I have been reading about
do you think they are a good pda phone for the money
I use to have a xda mini s uintil I dropped some wieghts on it at the gym and loved that phone as texting was so easy (been using k800i since then and hate texting)
apart as a backup I wont need tomtom on the phone but would not mind listing to music and watching films playing the odd game.
would you say go for this phone or no go for another model
Thanks for any advice
It's a good phone.
Still one of the most popular on here.
I'm very happy with mine and wouldn't change it. (except maybe for a Raphael, if someone would give me one)
Ta
Dave
Tetra said:
I am about to buy a Orange locked HTC TyTN II of ebay I will unlock it and use it on on O2
I hope.
Apart from this driver issue I have been reading about
do you think they are a good pda phone for the money
I use to have a xda mini s uintil I dropped some wieghts on it at the gym and loved that phone as texting was so easy (been using k800i since then and hate texting)
apart as a backup I wont need tomtom on the phone but would not mind listing to music and watching films playing the odd game.
would you say go for this phone or no go for another model
Thanks for any advice
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You seem like you want an entertainment device more than a pocket pc. There are many other phones out there that are more suited to music, videos and games.
Don't get me wrong, I love my kaiser for my lifestyle. But my wife also loves her iPhone for her music, videos and games
denco7 said:
You seem like you wany an entertainment device more than a pocket pc. There are many other phones out there that are more suited to music, videos and games.
Don't get me wrong, I love my kaiser for my lifestyle. But my wife also loves her iPhone for her music, videos and games
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats probably the closest you'll get to an impartial answer asking a question on a forum dedicated to the device
I've had mine since they were first released. Whilst I love my phone I'm happy to acknowledge theres issues with them, however any true geek will work around those issues, (and moan about them to other geeks)
My reason for using a windows mobile device is because of the applications. very few phones have anywhere close to the level of applications that WM devices have.
Things you probably want to consider are "Do I want a keyboard?" "Do I need GPS?" "how big are my pockets?"
My partner loved my TYTN2, but always told me she'd never get one, as it was like carrying a brick. The day she saw a Touch Dual she needed to have one.
its smaller, runs as fast, just doesnt have the bonus extras of Wifi and GPS.
The keyboard is more of a standard phone keypad, but it still had the on screen keypad for texting.
its all down to which features you want.
Ok thanks for all the replies I have been and collected it and it looks good and I think I will be happy when I have got rid of the orange rom of it,(thinks thats what you call it)
the shapes not much differant to the xda mini s I use to have
one thing concerns me though he been using a external bluetooth for gps and he said he cant configure the internal gps to work with tomtom could the gps be not be working in the phone or could it be settings
Tetra said:
Ok thanks for all the replies I have been and collected it and it looks good and I think I will be happy when I have got rid of the orange rom of it,(thinks thats what you call it)
the shapes not much differant to the xda mini s I use to have
one thing concerns me though he been using a external bluetooth for gps and he said he cant configure the internal gps to work with tomtom could the gps be not be working in the phone or could it be settings
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have TomTom 6 working on my phone off the internal GPS no problems.
If you pay for GPS software that is compatable (check with the vendor) with your device then it must work, or you can just get your money back
Some ROMs are incompatable with some GPS software's but you just avoid those
Ta
Dave
There are enough of these in the wild here in the US of A, is it possible for you to take a look at someone elses over where you are?
I find that the system gets really slow at times and that is my main complaint. I hate being able to out type this thing.
DaveShaw said:
I have TomTom 6 working on my phone off the internal GPS no problems.
If you pay for GPS software that is compatable (check with the vendor) with your device then it must work, or you can just get your money back
Some ROMs are incompatable with some GPS software's but you just avoid those
Ta
Dave
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your replie
This has tomtom 6 on it what the settings I need to check to see if i can get it to work by the built in gps or is there a way on the phone to test it.
It came on the phone so why wouldn't it work with the phone?
Not sure but why use an external bluetooth Gps unit with it
I guess to save the phones power. All gps programs that I know of can use the internal gps.
Tetra said:
Ok thanks for all the replies I have been and collected it and it looks good and I think I will be happy when I have got rid of the orange rom of it,(thinks thats what you call it)
the shapes not much differant to the xda mini s I use to have
one thing concerns me though he been using a external bluetooth for gps and he said he cant configure the internal gps to work with tomtom could the gps be not be working in the phone or could it be settings
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am in the States - I travel all over the USA and use my TOMTOM Navigator 6 all the time - it DOES require that I have it plugged in as the battery life is only about an hour or two with the GPS turned on.
BUT - while the VERY first lock on GPS takes a while there are tricks that make it lock faster and the ROM is a big part of this. The ROM in my signature locks in about 30 seconds.
HTH
Bill
I stopped using tomtom because the screen stayed on all the time, and that will burn down some power too. I use google maps, and I just don't see how people use windows live, I don't even see anything about maps.
XDA Mini S to Kaiser
This was the very same route that I went down so I can probably share some experiences.
My XDA Mini was from O2 but when my contract came up last October, they only had the 'Orbit' so I went over to Orange. I still don't think O2 have the Kaiser in it's true HTC Tytn II form, so you are going down the prefered route if you want to stay with O2.
The XDA Mini was great but very slow on download because it didn't have the advantage of 3G / HSDPA.
The XDA Mini keyboard is very similar in layout to the Kaiser but the Kaiser 'feels' better engineered, the slide is smoother and not as loose, and the tilt screen is useful when using it on a table for typing.
The XDA Mini uses Mini-SD as opposed to Micro-SD, so I had a few memory cards left over (I'm using them on a digital camera, so not wasted).
I used Tomtom on the XDA-Mini with bluetooth but if you didn't get a lock, you were not sure if it was a BT issue or a GPS issue, also I had to reset both a couple of times as the 'pointer' was running parallel to the roads about 200 yrds away and kept trying to re-route. Also, TT needed tweaking for the correct COMs port.
The Kaiser has never been a problem and the GPS lock is quicker, with TT and iGO .. and I've not had to go looking in the footwell of the car when the GPS unit slid off the dash whilst doing an unexpected tight turn !
Also, if I wanted to use the navigational system while walking I had to juggle the GPS receiver as well as holding the phone, which is a big plus.
Apart from unlocking the XDA Mini via this forum, I didn't bother messing with the ROM's, but the Kaiser seems to have so many more opportunies to expand and getting rid of the Orange 'bloat ware' was a benefit.
In summary, the XDA Mini was a fabulous, plastic feeling, lightweight PDA and Phone. The Kaiser is a well engineered, phone with a miniature laptop built in.
If you enjoyed the XDA Mini, the Kaiser will blow your socks off ... when you've got rid of the Orange stuff and added a few cabs
so here is the deal.
I am on my third tilt from AT&T. The first phone the receptions sucked they said it was fine... I do everything to try and fix, ROMs, radio etc... etc... finally i got an external antenna, it was passable. My son then started working and Best Buy mobile and said this phone is not normal push it... so I did.
Short story they sent me another phone (warranty). This phone seemed a little better receptions etc... so I reconnect to all the corporate stuff (email etc.) and add just a few utilities to manage
- Kaiser Tweaks
- SKTools
- HTC plugin
Seems ok couple months pass and I notice same poor reception... eventually the only solution is to leave the connector for the external attenna on the phone to improve reception. this sucks as I walk around with extra wire on the phone but hey it works...
just two days ago I again tire of this and do battle with AT&T and they send me another replacement... lo and behold the reception is better (two bars in my house, one in basement.. I am happy right... yup.
So i go through the process of reconfig... setup..install and since my office is in the basement reconnect external attenna (to get 4 bars).
Guess what by the next morning phone is performing exactly like the others.
This leaves me with two possible logical assumptions
1. Somehow the use of an external antenna is impacting the phone (changing sensitivity, radio, etc.)
2. the install of Kaiser, or SK or other utilities (again nothing dramatic) is making a registry change which impacts peformance.
Additional info
After poor performance I hard reset - no impact
On Windows Mobile 6.1 Build 5.2.19214
ROM 3.57.502.2
Radio 1.65.21.18
Prot 25.88.40.05H
Thoughts?
I beleive you are right.. I have read numberous posts that after you plug something into the external cell antenna port, you will never get" good" reception again.. That is why it is covered on the batterydoor (nor like the gps one)... Just thought you might want to know...
testify said:
so here is the deal.
I am on my third tilt from AT&T. The first phone the receptions sucked they said it was fine... I do everything to try and fix, ROMs, radio etc... etc... finally i got an external antenna, it was passable. My son then started working and Best Buy mobile and said this phone is not normal push it... so I did.
Short story they sent me another phone (warranty). This phone seemed a little better receptions etc... so I reconnect to all the corporate stuff (email etc.) and add just a few utilities to manage
- Kaiser Tweaks
- SKTools
- HTC plugin
Seems ok couple months pass and I notice same poor reception... eventually the only solution is to leave the connector for the external attenna on the phone to improve reception. this sucks as I walk around with extra wire on the phone but hey it works...
just two days ago I again tire of this and do battle with AT&T and they send me another replacement... lo and behold the reception is better (two bars in my house, one in basement.. I am happy right... yup.
So i go through the process of reconfig... setup..install and since my office is in the basement reconnect external attenna (to get 4 bars).
Guess what by the next morning phone is performing exactly like the others.
This leaves me with two possible logical assumptions
1. Somehow the use of an external antenna is impacting the phone (changing sensitivity, radio, etc.)
2. the install of Kaiser, or SK or other utilities (again nothing dramatic) is making a registry change which impacts peformance.
Additional info
After poor performance I hard reset - no impact
On Windows Mobile 6.1 Build 5.2.19214
ROM 3.57.502.2
Radio 1.65.21.18
Prot 25.88.40.05H
Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no acknowledgement
that has been my thinking which is why I was posting here to see if there was any knowledge or experience.. I pushed this issue with ATT support but surprisingingly they said not only was there not an issue but should not be an issue with using and external antenna. I would have thought they might try to use it as a warranty issue...
The antenna is useful both for office (basement) and travel as it really improves sustaining connections on long drives (data/voice).
I would think that if the issue was out there it would surface.
I too have had on/off reception on the Kaiser. It has to be a hardware issue because the true reception is grand. I have moments in time versus location where it will refuse to call out, receive calls or send/rec text messages. Then 5-20+ minutes go by and I find I missed calls, txt's, etc. I would reboot it, reset it, etc and it will always do it. I can use any other phone on the same provider and always have a perfect signal in the same location. Kaiser will even display a full signal in the bar and still nothing. Yesterday for example (I live in Las Vegas), I drove from one end of town to the other. The entire trip, the phone would not work. It drove me nuts because I was trying to call someone who was trying hard to get into touch with me. It started causing panic in the other person because they couldn't reach me and I couldn't call them. It is just a repetitive headache.
I have had the phone for about a year now (maybe a little longer). Just like you, in the beginning it worked great! Then over time it seems to get worse and worse. I *don't* use an external antenna so I think the phone goes to crap no matter what. Maybe its a resource issue. Over time the performance of reception has gotten worse, but of course over time I have done more and more to the phone. The phone seems just about fine in speed for everything else (at least it performs how I'd expect it to)....but maybe the phone/messaging software side of things sees something else on the backend that I don't.
I have WM 6.0, and was thinking 6.1 might fix it, but based on your review I will save myself the headache of upgrading at one of the stores since it won't change a thing. I am horribly displeased with this phone.
Tilt Antenna connectors
I thought I was smart, but got the two external antena connectors confused because when I upgraded from 8525 to Tilt, the CELLULAR adapter for the 8525 is the same as the GPS adapter for Tilt, and the HTC cell connector for tilt is different from that of the 8525. Not only no standardation, but no instructions to keep one from wandering down the obvious but wrong path. Spent more than a year trying to figure out why Yagi antenna, which performed well with the 8525, didn't work on the Tilt. Didn't hurt the GPS unit though which is a miracle. Does anyone know the specs on the TILT Cell antenna connector???