M500 - being used as a phone!

[Guest Webreaper]

Any chance somebody could post some pics of the M500 in use (shock horror) as a phone? I've read a lot of reviews saying that it's good as a PDA, but not so hot as a phone and that it's well-nigh impossible to use it one-handed? I was sure these sort of touch-screen phones can work with (even fat) fingers, can anyone show me a screenshot of the 'phone' part of the OS?

I'm going to be getting rid of the K700i I currently have and probably upgrading to an M500 at the end of March.

Are there any similar sized smartphones which are on the market that I should consider? I like the idea of an XDA-style PDA but more the form-factor of a phone, and with the ability to stick in an SDIO wifi card, so that at home (where I have no reception) I can still potentially use my phone to check my email without having to fire up my laptop.

[Guest Disco Stu]

Have a look at this thread for the screenshots I posted earlier !

http://www.modaco.com/index.php?showtopic=222862&hl=phonepad

With my fat fingers I can use the dialpad to dial and text. It takes a bit of getting used to but then so do the smaller keypads on the latest Smartphones. There is also a range of voice-dialling products if you want to avoid using your fingers altogether. MS Voice Command rocks in that respect 8)

One-handed use isn't too bad once you get the hardware buttons mapped to suit your personal needs and the D-Pad is fine for navigation. MS Voice Command will start anything in your Programs menu. It will also read out your appointments and a whole lot more.

There is a whole range of similar-sized devices now so I'd suggest checking Pondrew's excellent guides in the Pocket PC section here :)

[Guest Webreaper]

Thanks, that's really handy. Looks like it should be okay for me, as I don't have too chubby fingers. ;-)

One other thing I'm not sure about - the C600 looks like a good phone, and seems to have most of the features of the M500. Screen resolution looks to be the same (though physically smaller on the C600) but the downside being that there's no handwriting etc on the C600. One of my thoughts re: the M500 is that I'd be able to use it landscape with a wifi card for email, surfing etc. I presume I'd be able to do the same with a C600, just with slightly less of a flexible input mechanism?

Problem is I won't be able to get my hands on either phone physically before I upgrade, so I have to make the choice 'blind' - so any advice from somebody who's tried/used/owned both would be helpful. :-)

[Guest brykins]

One other thing I'm not sure about - the C600 looks like a good phone, and seems to have most of the features of the M500.

Boils down to this: the C600 is a PHONE with PDA functions added. M500 is a PDA with PHONE functions added. If you're going to use it more as a phone (and texting) then the C600 may be better suited to you. If you're going to use it more as a PDA then M500 will be better.

Not all software will work on both machines - anything that needs a touchscreen isn't going to be useable, even if it installs, on the C600. Prime examples - the M500 is a much better PDA with Pocket Informant, but this won't work on the C600. The C600 is a much better PDA with Papyrus installed, but although this will work on Windows Mobile 5 devices, the M500 is WM2003SE so it won't work. On WM5 devices it doesn't make any use of the touch screen.

So - they are very different animals and each is suited to a different use. Me - I have the MDAcII (much the same as the M500) for work use, as I use more PDA functions then, and the XDA SP (C500) for personal use as that more phone and texting.

[Guest Webreaper]

That's the whole point though, I don't want 2 devices. I currently use my K700i as a phone and for SMS, but also use it to check email (using WAPMail) and do a few other bits. Increasingly I think "I wish I could use Logmein/surf real pages (i.e., not just WAP) etc et). But I will still use the device as a phone.

Ah well, I have about 6 weeks until I get the upgrade option, so I'll just see what else crops up during that time. :-)