HTC Touch + GPS + VGA + more = HTC Polaris? |
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 Aug 7 2007, 15:55
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#21
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 The Main Man  Group: Admin Team Posts: 20,496 Joined: 6th November 2002 From: Norwich, UK Member No.: 1 Device(s): HTC Advantage  |
Just found this... this is EXACTLY what i'm talking about:
http://forums.imate.com/ I wouldn't dream of letting something like that represent my company. P -------------------- Paul O'Brien - Microsoft MVP, Mobile Devices, MoDaCo.network Founder. Check out my Blog! £10 off a £20 spend at eXpansys - click for details |
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Aug 7 2007, 16:01
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#22
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The Main Man Group: Admin Team Posts: 20,496 Joined: 6th November 2002 From: Norwich, UK Member No.: 1 Device(s): HTC Advantage |
Just noticed that http://www.clubimate.com/ultimate/ now says 'coming early 2008' at various points.
P -------------------- Paul O'Brien - Microsoft MVP, Mobile Devices, MoDaCo.network Founder. Check out my Blog! £10 off a £20 spend at eXpansys - click for details |
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Aug 7 2007, 18:07
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#23
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Regular  Group: Posters Posts: 62 Joined: 1st August 2005 Member No.: 142,102 |
If it is true that Polaris has 3.5" VGA Screen, I will choose it over the Kaiser
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Aug 8 2007, 00:22
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#24
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 Hardcore Group: Posters Posts: 1,972 Joined: 10th July 2006 From: US, Washington, Everett Member No.: 197,656 Device(s): AT&T Tilt (Kaiser)!!! |
QUOTE(kapot @ Aug 7 2007, 10:07)  If it is true that Polaris has 3.5" VGA Screen, I will choose it over the Kaiser i wouldnt, thats a bit too big to fit in my pocket. id rather have a small screen (2.8 inches at the most) with a big resolution. -------------------- try my wmp skins for smartphone! | and my newest Pocket PC compatible skin!
Crystal Liquid Explosion MoDaCo Skin_____________Titanium Media PlayerNEW emerald chrome wmp11 skin______________________ Nokia 3395---Nokia 6010---Nokia 6230---Nokia 3220---Motorola V300---Motorola V360---T-mobile SDA---AT&T Tilt! |
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Aug 8 2007, 07:48
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#25
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Newbie  Group: Posters Posts: 36 Joined: 19th February 2005 Member No.: 111,824 Device(s): MDA Compact |
.....and now this:
http://www.4winmobile.com/forums/4wm-news/...html#post137553 Looks like the exciting devices (7150 & 9150) aren't coming after all, or at least not until 2008. Interesting you don't like the 6150 and 8150. I don't think they're that bad, a bit retro. As for specs I'd pay for VGA and video out over GPS and a 3MP camera any day of the week. You can't get bluetooth VGA screens for your PDA......... |
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Aug 8 2007, 07:50
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#26
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Newbie Group: Posters Posts: 36 Joined: 19th February 2005 Member No.: 111,824 Device(s): MDA Compact |
Oops, didn't realise it gone onto 2 pages..... sorry.
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Aug 8 2007, 09:21
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#27
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Diehard  Group: Posters Posts: 409 Joined: 18th August 2004 Member No.: 53,335 |
QUOTE(Syphon Filter @ Aug 7 2007, 14:34) Completely agree. Device innovation was dead in the water until HTC started making phones and PDA phones. I dont feel that ETen are doing anything special, Toshiba G900? Nothing special about that other than the high res screen, which physically large. Half of i-mate products are HTC. Mio are pretty average. Even that HP device has equivalents...HTC Xcalibur? or its replacement? HTC have done great things and make functional devices whilst maintaining some level of aesthetics too. I've already said they innovated with the Magician and Wizard (and Universal), but what since then? Just rehashed versions of the same old thing, with minor changes to the casing or tweaks to the internal chipsets. Your comparisons don't stack up. "That HP device equivalent to the "Xcalibur"? What's that? If you mean the Excalibur, that's Smartphone, not a PPC. No Touch screen, no GPS, no 400MHz CPU. i-mate don't use HTC anymore. The Ultimate range offers VGA and any form factor you like - not just HTCs "Is that with slider or without, Sir?". (shame no GPS options though). OK, they're not everyone's idea of style, and some won't make it to market, but at least they're trying to offer something different. As for who else is "innovating", Toshiba G900? first with 2.8" 800x480 screen and fingerprint reader. Mio A701? - first PPC phone with integrated GPS Eten X500? - thinnest PPC - and built in GPS Eten M700? - first Slider PPC with GPS Eten X500+? - first PPC phone with GPS and VGA Eten X800? - first 3G PPC with GPS and VGA HP Hw6915 - first PPC with thumboard, GPS and WiFi Palm Treo 750 - first PPC with thumboard and "phone like" form factor Samsung Blackjack? - smallest 3G Qwertybar Smartphone Nokia N95? First mainstream phone with built in GPS, WiFi and 5MP camera Nokia E90? First communicator with dual full function screens What new innovations have HTC come up with? A trackball, TouchFlo and a tilting keyboard? HTC are now the safe, conservative option in WM devices, spinning out tried and tested designs to extract maximum profit without re-tooling. Nothing wrong with that, but that's not innovation. They've forgotton how to push the boundaries and offer the WOW factor that excites the market pushes the market forward. Hell, they've even gone backwards and released an XDAII look-alike from their old parts bin. If you see someone in the street using an HTC these days, can you tell at a glance what model it is? Can you even do that from a catalogue thumbnail? The Polaris is perfect demonstration of this. If it had VGA, like the early leaked spec suggested, it would have been the dream device. But now it looks like it's just a souped up Artemis, with boring old QVGA, in the same old case, with TouchFlo stuck on top. I hope I'm wrong, but on the evidence we've seen so far, I doubt it. |
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Aug 8 2007, 09:54
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#28
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Diehard Group: Posters Posts: 409 Joined: 18th August 2004 Member No.: 53,335 |
QUOTE(Paul (MVP) @ Aug 7 2007, 16:55) Just found this... this is EXACTLY what i'm talking about: http://forums.imate.com/ I wouldn't dream of letting something like that represent my company. P Evidence of more cost-cutting? Perhaps they're doing it on the cheap with a student placement as administrator? I wonder why it's not part of the clubimate site? Still, at least they have an "official" support forum (well, two in fact). (Hello, HTC?) The culling of the product line doesn't look good especially as they were the most "interesting" devices. Guess that's a symptom of their current financial woes. Maybe because of them being the most expensive to produce, so the accountants have made them concentrate on the "mainstream" devices? This post has been edited by Metoo: Aug 8 2007, 09:55 |
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Aug 8 2007, 10:16
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#29
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The Main Man Group: Admin Team Posts: 20,496 Joined: 6th November 2002 From: Norwich, UK Member No.: 1 Device(s): HTC Advantage |
HTC devices do build on established successful designs, and it makes perfect sense. I really liked the Hermes, I loved the Trinity, now the Kaiser is the perfect blend of the two, and all derived from the Magician really.
Let's look at some of their products tho. Off the top of my head (so forgive me if any are incorrect)... Himalaya - first Pocket PC Phone Edition? BlueAngel - first vertical sliding qwerty PPCPE? First PPC camera? Blue Angel EVDO - first EVDO PPCPE? (definitely first EVDO vertical slider!) Magician - first 2.8" screen? Typhoon - amazing revolution in Smartphone form factor Hurricane - first music orientated SP? Tornado - first QVGA SP? First WiFi SP? Wizard - first horizontal QWERTY slider PPCPE? Prophet - first WiFi equipped 2.8" PPC? Breeze - first 3G SP? Universal - first 3G VGA? First decent size KB? First dual cams? Hermes - first 3G PPCPE? Trinity - first 3G PPCPE with GPS? Athena - whole bunch of firsts? Elf - first TouchFlo UI, first hardened screen, tiny form factor? First real sexy PPC? Artemis - first trackball + wheel? Excalibur - first SP QWERTY? Real sexy form factor? First Joggr? Vox - first QWERTY slider SP? Atlas - first WM6 equipped horizontal slider? Titan - first WM6 equipped CDMA slider with real sex form factor and good specs? Kaiser - First tilt? First device to really pack in the features with little compromise? Some of those might not be right, but as I say, it's all off the top of my head, so cut me some slack. A number of the phones you listed above had considerable flaws, and a number of them were actually also made by HTC (iPaq, Treo...). I've not listed some other phones like StrTrk (slimmest flip), Monet (first DAB-IP mobile TV) too. With regards to the future, there are still more innovations coming such as the wings (first integrated GPS SP). I'll be the first to admit that HTC aren't perfect, but I thank them for their innovation, commitment to the platform and for producing devices that I want to own! P -------------------- Paul O'Brien - Microsoft MVP, Mobile Devices, MoDaCo.network Founder. Check out my Blog! £10 off a £20 spend at eXpansys - click for details |
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Aug 8 2007, 10:16
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#30
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The Main Man Group: Admin Team Posts: 20,496 Joined: 6th November 2002 From: Norwich, UK Member No.: 1 Device(s): HTC Advantage |
Hmmm, that post rambled a bit
 P -------------------- Paul O'Brien - Microsoft MVP, Mobile Devices, MoDaCo.network Founder. Check out my Blog! £10 off a £20 spend at eXpansys - click for details |
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Aug 8 2007, 10:24
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#31
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Addict  Group: MoDaCo Ad Free Posts: 739 Joined: 19th November 2003 From: London - UK Member No.: 21,445 Device(s): HTC TyTN II |
QUOTE(Metoo @ Aug 8 2007, 10:21) I've already said they innovated with the Magician and Wizard (and Universal), but what since then? Just rehashed versions of the same old thing, with minor changes to the casing or tweaks to the internal chipsets. Your comparisons don't stack up. "That HP device equivalent to the "Xcalibur"? What's that? If you mean the Excalibur, that's Smartphone, not a PPC. No Touch screen, no GPS, no 400MHz CPU. i-mate don't use HTC anymore. The Ultimate range offers VGA and any form factor you like - not just HTCs "Is that with slider or without, Sir?". (shame no GPS options though). OK, they're not everyone's idea of style, and some won't make it to market, but at least they're trying to offer something different. As for who else is "innovating", Toshiba G900? first with 2.8" 800x480 screen and fingerprint reader. Mio A701? - first PPC phone with integrated GPS Eten X500? - thinnest PPC - and built in GPS Eten M700? - first Slider PPC with GPS Eten X500+? - first PPC phone with GPS and VGA Eten X800? - first 3G PPC with GPS and VGA HP Hw6915 - first PPC with thumboard, GPS and WiFi Palm Treo 750 - first PPC with thumboard and "phone like" form factor Samsung Blackjack? - smallest 3G Qwertybar Smartphone Nokia N95? First mainstream phone with built in GPS, WiFi and 5MP camera Nokia E90? First communicator with dual full function screens What new innovations have HTC come up with? A trackball, TouchFlo and a tilting keyboard? HTC are now the safe, conservative option in WM devices, spinning out tried and tested designs to extract maximum profit without re-tooling. Nothing wrong with that, but that's not innovation. They've forgotton how to push the boundaries and offer the WOW factor that excites the market pushes the market forward. Hell, they've even gone backwards and released an XDAII look-alike from their old parts bin. If you see someone in the street using an HTC these days, can you tell at a glance what model it is? Can you even do that from a catalogue thumbnail? The Polaris is perfect demonstration of this. If it had VGA, like the early leaked spec suggested, it would have been the dream device. But now it looks like it's just a souped up Artemis, with boring old QVGA, in the same old case, with TouchFlo stuck on top. I hope I'm wrong, but on the evidence we've seen so far, I doubt it. If you say so. I dont think any of other devices have done anything particularly special. Fingerprint reader on the G900, why do I want one of those? What does it permit me to do? That level of security for a phone, I just dont see the point. Ok you can launch apps with it, again...why would you do that? What's wrong with the menu and buttons? I dont deny that having a high res screen would be nice...infact it would be great...but on such small screens its not the end of the world. Also, conveniently, you fail to note that the HTC devices that offer 3G and HSDPA connections as opposed to GPRS/EDGE.... I have serveral friends with some of the latest Nokia devices and again they are not all that great...the software builds are buggy as hell a lot of the time also the build quality can sometimes leave a bit to be desired. Also, with regards to aesthetics, do any of the other manufacturers make a device that is spectacular? And another thing, being the first to do something in any industry doesnt mean you're good at it or that you have done it well. It's swings and roundabouts, but to say that HTC are not innovating or bringing anything new to the table just doesnt seem fair. Whilst it may technically be a fact I think HTC achieves things in (IMO) a better way. They are very good at what they do and like i said, not being the first to do something isnt always a bad thing. I think the first HTC device I had was an Orange SPV E200, since then...I've never looked back and have now worked my way from that through a C500, MDA Vario, HTC TyTN and soon I will be getting either a Kaiser/TyTN II or maybe a Polaris... Personally, I think HTC paved the way when they first started putting devices out. Back then things were stagnating big time. HTC came along and woke people up. So yeah, maybe they are taking a breather and just refining things a bit. But I wouldnt count them out of anything just yet. Paul is right, they totally changed the way people look at phones/PDAs. |
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Aug 8 2007, 11:58
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#32
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Diehard Group: Posters Posts: 409 Joined: 18th August 2004 Member No.: 53,335 |
Fair enough. I guess we're never going to agree on what makes an innovator as opposed to a developer. I never denied HTC brought major innovation up and until the Universal.
I just don't buy the "HTC are great/everyone else is rubbish" line though. I've had just as many bugs and problems with HTC devices as any other brand. Reading the responses here you would think all HTC products were defect free. (Failing joysticks, peeling paint, loose keyboards, screens that won't calibrate?) Or that they actually came up with the concept of the Treo and the HP GPS Messenger. (Palm would love that) Or that their support was miles better than other OEMs. (How long to fix the StrTrk missing calls bug? How long before HTC had a direct support web site?) Or that any of their "additions" have been revolutionary or illuminating, rather than a measured reaction to keep up with what real innovators are doing? (e.g. Touch-Flo vs iPhone). Of course the Polaris could still turn out to live up to the excitement that the "GPS AND VGA"announcement sparked off (note the thread title). Except my gut feeling is that it won't, and will just be an Artemis with 3G and Touch-Flo. No doubt it'll please many, and sell by the truckload. But when you know it _could_ have had VGA (be it 3.5 or 2.8), and you cast your eye enviously over other devices that _are_ bringing hi-res to the pocket, I know the Touch-Flo shine would wear off very quickly. This post has been edited by Metoo: Aug 8 2007, 12:16 |
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Aug 8 2007, 13:18
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#33
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Addict Group: MoDaCo Ad Free Posts: 739 Joined: 19th November 2003 From: London - UK Member No.: 21,445 Device(s): HTC TyTN II |
No no no,
I dont deny that HTC have their own troubles trust me, I went through two TyTN units before getting an M3100 that worked, so I know first hand the problems that are around. |
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Aug 8 2007, 17:01
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#34
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Diehard Group: Posters Posts: 422 Joined: 3rd June 2003 From: Bournemouth Member No.: 7,299 Device(s): M5000 |
I have to say, if this has a VGA screen, it could be the device I have been waiting for for ages! I have been looking for my next step after my trusty Universal, and this could well be it (VGA screen dependant). I dont use the keyboard much on my Universal anymore, I could certainly live without it, and this beastie appears to tick every other box!
The size? However big it is, It can't be bigger than my Universal, expecially when you consider how fat the Universal is... 
-------------------- Motorola Tristar > Nokia 8210 > Nokia 8310 > SPV > SPV E100 (DMR) > C500 > M5000
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Aug 8 2007, 17:12
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#35
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 Diehard Group: Posters Posts: 449 Joined: 5th December 2002 Member No.: 756 Device(s): HTC TouchPro |
QUOTE(Paul (MVP) @ Aug 8 2007, 12:16) Let's look at some of their products tho. Off the top of my head (so forgive me if any are incorrect)... P Hey, haven't you forgot the most important: -SPV Canary / Tanager: first ever WM smartphone? ..Which lead to the opening of Modaco? Please correct if I'm mistaken. Talking of quality, I used dozens of HTC since 2002, with a single hardware problem: my Tanager's 3.5mm jack got loose. I got it fixed under guarantee. Never had a single incident other than that. -------------------- Sun is shining, weather is sweet.
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Aug 8 2007, 17:56
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#36
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 Newbie Group: Posters Posts: 31 Joined: 1st January 2007 From: Ukiah, California Member No.: 220,237 Device(s): HTC Advantage X7501 |
Doesn't the iPhone have a 3.5" display? If so, then this should be around the same size I would guess...
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Aug 8 2007, 19:09
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#37
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Diehard Group: Posters Posts: 409 Joined: 18th August 2004 Member No.: 53,335 |
QUOTE(whoster69 @ Aug 8 2007, 18:56) Doesn't the Iphone have a 3.5" display? If so, then this should be around the same size I would guess... Except the Iphone is all screen and no buttons or D-Pad. Forget the dream of 3.5" and VGA. Let's look at the clues so far:- Take a look at the XDA thread.
Stack that against one blog post? Doesn't seem likely to me. |
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Aug 8 2007, 19:11
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#38
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 Addict Group: Posters Posts: 845 Joined: 26th November 2002 Member No.: 140 Device(s): VARIO III |
QUOTE(Paul (MVP) @ Aug 8 2007, 11:16) HTC devices do build on established successful designs, and it makes perfect sense. I really liked the Hermes, I loved the Trinity, now the Kaiser is the perfect blend of the two, and all derived from the Magician really. ....snip... Universal - first 3G VGA? First decent size KB? First dual cams? ...snip... P Was there another PPC that had the mini laptop/PDA dual form factor before the universal? --------------------  |
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Aug 8 2007, 19:19
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#39
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Diehard Group: Posters Posts: 409 Joined: 18th August 2004 Member No.: 53,335 |
QUOTE(Shuflie @ Aug 8 2007, 20:11) Was there another PPC that had the mini laptop/PDA dual form factor before the universal? Plenty. HP Omnigo 100, Sony Clie UX50, Sharp Zaurus C series from just the ones I owned. Oh, you meant PPC? I guess the limitation there was the OS. Just shows the idea's not new, though. HTC Innovate? HP did it 12 years ago! http://cdecas.free.fr/computers/pocket/images/omnigo.jpg This post has been edited by Metoo: Aug 8 2007, 19:32 |
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Aug 8 2007, 19:33
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#40
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Newbie Group: Posters |