Which PPC Phone Edition to buy?

[Guest Scarfman007]

Hi guys,

Just a quick intro note as I've come over all nostalgic. I used to come to this forum (same account, I think) way back when the SPV first came out. I owe a lot to that phone - probably my choice of career. Good to see Midnight and co. still about (is Kumite out yet?). I got distracted by Symbian for a couple of years, but I'm wanting to re-join the fold...

Basically I don't know the PPC arena as well as you guys, and I was hoping for some advice on a good development device that I can use for future projects. Wish-list includes (in no particular order):

1. Must be able to run .NET CF version 2. The platform should preferably by Windows Mobile 5.0.
   
2. Fast (400Mhz+) CPU. Lots of RAM is a bonus.
   
3. A 640 * 480 screen would be nice, although I gather these are not common yet?
   
4. Connectivity is a must - Bluetooth 1.2, GPRS. Either 3G or WiFi would be great.
   
5. Built-in GPS would be nice, but not necessary.
   
6. Small form-factor.
   

My boss will be paying, but even so I'd feel guilty asking for something that costs £700. Not to mention the fact that customers are less likely to have such a costly device.

Cheers guys,

Scarfman007

[Guest Pondrew]

Unfortunately none of the HTC manufactuered Pocket PC Phones currently available meet all your requirements.

The only VGA Pocket PC Phone I know of is the HTC Universal (which is badged as the XDA Exec, MDA Pro, SPV M5000, etc).

The only WM5 Pocket PC Phone with a small form factor is the new HTC Wizard but that is running a 200mhz TI Omap processor and only has 64meg ram (although don't think that's a problem with the new memory arrangement on WM5).

Those are the only two Pocket PC Phones I know of over here in Europe that run WM5. I don't know of any currently available PPC Phones with built in GPS.

For specs, pics, dimensions, etc see the chart here

[Guest TigerNet]

Those are the only two Pocket PC Phones I know of over here in Europe that run WM5. I don't know of any currently available PPC Phones with built in GPS.

...HP6515 has built in GPS...

Cheers

Nick

[Guest Pondrew]

...HP6515 has built in GPS...

Cheers

Nick

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Cool. Know nothing about that device. Is it VGA?

[Guest TigerNet]

...specs here...

http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=120563

Cheers

Nick

[Guest Pondrew]

Of course, there have been threads about that here. Must familiarise myself more with the non-HTC Pocket PC Phones ;)

Oh, don't like the sound of the 240x240 resolution on the HP6515. Surely that'll cause compatibility problems (or should I say display problems)?

[Guest gilesjuk]

These are about the nicest PPC phones IMHO:

http://www.discountgpsdirect.co.uk/a701-bu...rder-p-447.html

http://www.threegmobile.net/savvy/index.ph...m-gallery/#more

[Guest Pondrew]

I would miss a hardware keyboard myself.

[Guest Scarfman007]

Thanks for the replies guys,

I couldn't work with the HP6515 I'm afraid. No WLAN and no-standard screen res make it bad for developing my application(s).

The HTC Wizard looks great, except for demoing/developing I'd rather have something 400Mhz+ ;).

MIO A701 looks perfect (it would be with a WiFi SDIO card), but it's not out yet. Any idea when?

O2 Atom looks great also, but alas not out either :?: .

Are there any other PPC with WM5?

This is a bit distressing, can't understand why the Wizard has WM5, but a slow CPU...

Thanks for the help so far guys,

Scarfman007

[Guest Pondrew]

That's the funny thing. There are apparently benchmark results out there showing the Wizard as outperforming the old HTC Magician platform with its 416mhz.

I think it's like Intel versus AMD in desktops, each design of chip has it's advantages and disadvantages. Apparently the TI OMAP in the Wizard IS very capable despite the low bus speed.

[Guest Scarfman007]

Where did you see the benchmark?

The only detailed analysis that I've found is at mobile-review, where the CPU performs pretty badly compared to other faster ones.

Scarfman007

[Guest Pondrew]

Very strange. There's a benchmark table here but it claims to be from the same site www.mobile-review.com :?:

[Guest Scarfman007]

I think they lie!

Still considering options, will need to make a purchase soon, and it looks like it could be a compromise for the time being...

Scarfman007

[Guest afhstingray]

if the universal is too big or expensive, i think the wizard is your only option!

but i have to say the universal's VGA screen and specs would make for a rather impressive demonstration!

[Guest Scarfman007]

I just looked at the Universal - it does look very impressive! Great demo device, however you could buy a laptop for that much.

I'll see if I can convince my boss, otherwise I'll probably go for the Wizard and try to code less lazily :).

Scarfman007

[Guest afhstingray]

i dont suppose you guys are buying one on contract? cos the price with a contract is fairly reasonable

anyways you can design your products to work with VGA if you're using a universal i guess.

oh and 280*280 may be "rare" at the moment, but more and more devices are appearing with this resolution....

i know several companies which have deployed the ipaqs (but these companies are US based though..)

and i predict that the new windows mobile treo with 280*280 will be a hit in the corporate world as well, since the "bosses" are familliar with treos, and the it depts are comfortable with windows mobile!!

Edited November 16, 2005 by afhstingray

[Guest Scarfman007]

Hi,

No, I don't think we'll be buying one on contract. Eventually we will be deploying to VGA devices bundled part of the solution, but that will be a year or more down the line and hopefully there will be some cheaper alternatives about by then :D.

Will go for the Universal - I'm looking forward to playing with it :). The easy switch of screen orientation is something I hope to take advantage of - in your opinions will this style of device proliferate, or die off by this time next year?

Thanks for the help guys,

Scarfman007

Edited November 18, 2005 by Scarfman007

[Guest afhstingray]

i dont think it will die off considering the demand and great reviews. wouldnt be a very good business decision to do so!

personally i loved this form factor on my nx70 and im happy to now have a pocketpc with similar design. the way technology always evolves is that things get smaller, so i think by this time next year we will probably see a universal replacement with an external caller ID and it'll probably be the same thickness as a blue angel (spv m2000)

i dont really like the slide out form factor of the m2000 or the wizard as it requires you to hold the device and thumb type. Its not very comfortable for putting on a table and "four finger typing", and the screen cant be angled.

if they sold this device in america i think it'd be a big hit over there. people in america seem to love keyboards and hate t9 lol....(the older generation anyway)

anyway recently there have been an explosion of these "flip tablet convertible" devices....sharp has one design, sony has another,samsung, motorola (mpx) even nokia has a variation on it...

i think the design which is least clumsy, and alltogether more ergonomic will be the "winning" design that becomes more or less standard in these convertible devices in future...until some more innovation happens that is.

[Guest mike-oh]

These are about the nicest PPC phones IMHO:

http://www.discountgpsdirect.co.uk/a701-bu...rder-p-447.html

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Drooooooooooooooooooool :D :)

[Guest afhstingray]

thats a good option for people who dont want wifi ( i cant see it in the feature list)

i really wonder why more people arnt integrating fm radios, since the o2 atom is attracting a lot of attention from mainstream users (read:those people who usually buy nokia)

...

[Guest Scarfman007]

Drool indeed!

It's a bit annoying how, at the moment, all individual features that one would need for the ideal PPC Phone are there and possible within a small form factor, but no-one ever seems to implement all of them.

In the case of the MIO A701 it has everything minus the WiFi, which you'd think would be standard on such a high-end device.

Scarfman007

[Guest Pondrew]

Not quite everything, I'm not ready to give up a hardware keyboard yet...

[Guest afhstingray]

dont you wish the keyboard on the MDAIII or wizard was a "flip" keyboard? When i had my MDAIII i was always annoyed that i had to pick it up to type things.

if all the features were integrated then you'd end up with an spvM5000 sized device or possibly even huger!!!

a lot op people state that the cons of those small PDAphones (mini, wizard, xda atom etc..) are that they dont have VGA screens. But whats the point of putting a VGA 2.6 inch screen? You couldnt run it in that resolution, imagine trying to read the text on web pages :S as it is i already have trouble on my m5000 with internet explorer set to "smallest".

i really wonder if any manufacturer will ever add VGA to a device with such a small screen.

i was looking at my m5000 today, and i realised there really is a lot of wasted space on the screen panel. They should have put a widescreen display on it, and Filled it up with dedicated phone functions, and perhaps configured that are to be used for the screen input panel. bigger screen would bring down battery life though, so maybe we;re going to have to wait.....

[Guest Pondrew]

That's the thing. I'd be delighted if I could upgrade to an HTC Blue Angel with a VGA screen. Admittedly it'd be nice if the rest of the hardware was on a par with the HTC Alpine or better (faster processor, etc).

I recently used the HTC Wizard and didn't like the reduced size of the screen so guess these new smaller form factor Pocket PCs aren't for me!

[Guest afhstingray]

i have to say though, the small form factor ppcs are great for pocketpc n00b's . for example two of my female friends went off to university, and they wanted a pocketpc (american uni;s are fantastically funded.....wifi everywhere and very it-oriented)

the magician was perfect for them, they loved it, but in the end we had to purchase the dell x50v because wifi wasnt built in. If the wizard/prophet/magician was available when they left in august, it would have been spot on.

i think a lot of "normal" consumers, as in non-executive business types who want a smartphone would shy away from the large formfactor devices like the universal and blue angel.

the small form factor devices are not only smaller then the sony ericson p900 series, they are about the same size as your average nokia s60 smartphone, but with a truckload of more functionality!!!

so many students i know who would normally never consider a phone other than your typical nokia/sony ericsson/samsung offerings are making the "cross" lol

in fact im kind of jealous of these small devices, wm5 seems designed for this variety almost specifically. too bad they dont meet my needs, i use the internet/office capibility way to much to survive with the small screen.

about a blue angel with vga, i doubt we'll see such a thing....im betting that a 624mhz xdaIIi formfactor device will appear with similar features to the universal, but with that faster processor, and perhaps 2mp cam, cos HTC dosent have a model to fill the keyboardless traditional xda-stlye market. This device will most certainly be slimmer than the universal i guess, so all those people who complained about its size, but want a VGA phone edition device will be attracted to it.