40 replies to this topic

[jbourdon]

Thanks motin. That is very good information.
Which sources?
How can I see my ROM number. Ok found it.
I have 104. but I have installed lots of 3rd parts that work. only some won't work. the one that require app unlocking

I have had the phone for a week, and really like it.

only thing, sometimes I had the phone switch off on its own for no reason (even with key locked)
was it a bug, or something?

Edited by jbourdon, 12 December 2006 - 11:23 AM.

[motin]

jbourdon, on Dec 12 2006, 11:13, said:

Thanks motin. That is very good information.
Which sources?
How can I see my ROM number. Ok found it.
I have 104. but I have installed lots of 3rd parts that work. only some won't work. the one that require app unlocking

I have had the phone for a week, and really like it.

only thing, sometimes I had the phone switch off on its own for no reason (even with key locked)
was it a bug, or something?

i can only say to you that i love the phone too the only that makes me sad is

very slow sms writting
very slow cpu
and the 3rd party application that can be installed

[roma0803]

Hmm.. seems I have a first issue. After some time, maybe 30 maybe 60 or more minutes, my GPRS connection drops. I see that because I have no IP address anymore (in GPRS Monitor). I can not connect to the Internet and Push Mail stopped working. The little 'G' is still shown as if the connection is still alive. I also can not make an outgoing call anymore. The window with the call progress shows a long time telling me a call is being build up, but I get no connection.
The weird thing is that I can be called. As soon as that happens, the GPRS connection gets reastablished and I can make outgoing calls again. After 30+ minutes of doing nothing, same issue repeats itself.

I did a hard reset but the issue is still there. Appears to me as a radio issue. After a little over 3 weeks of use..... :-(

[SecureGSM]

I Have got this phone and after some hours of using this phone I have came to conclusion:

do not touch this device with barge pole.

GSM reception is terrible. device is slow as ... I have almost 20 different HTC phones and PDAphones presently and can compare directly usability, performance, signal quality, etc of similar HTC devices.

spl is good looking phone but nothing what you expect in terms of quality.  

[17-APG]

SecureGSM, on Dec 30 2006, 11:56, said:

I Have got this phone and after some hours of using this phone I have came to conclusion:

do not touch this device with barge pole.

GSM reception is terrible. device is slow as ... I have almost 20 different HTC phones and PDAphones presently and can compare directly usability, performance, signal quality, etc of similar HTC devices.

spl is good looking phone but nothing what you expect in terms of quality.  

yOU are right; a great looking device with little under the skin. C'mon I mate; lets see an upgrade to this to give us the functionality that we need.....

[SecureGSM]

Is there a ROM update for I-Mate SPL available yet?

[17-APG]

SecureGSM, on Jan 9 2007, 05:02, said:

Is there a ROM update for I-Mate SPL available yet?

Not that I am aware of.... I can't even get logged on to the imate suppor forum section of their website. It comes up page not found. I use new version of IE. ANyone elso found this????

[JSp4rr0W]

Hello People!

Any good news about application unlock? i'm going crazy...  

[17-APG]

JSp4rr0W, on Jan 24 2007, 12:58, said:

Hello People!

Any good news about application unlock? i'm going crazy...  

Nothing so far here in this area anyway. Seems not too  many people have the SPL cause there is little going on here. Or else it is such a fantastic phone! NOT.

[roma0803]

JSp4rr0W, on Jan 24 2007, 13:58, said:

Hello People!

Any good news about application unlock? i'm going crazy...  

Yes, find yourself a version of "SurrealNetworksAppUnlock" (Google). Install te cab file on your phone and it's unlocked. You can than use any registry editor to modify the values as with a HTC device.

[Midnight Cowboy]

I haven't started using the phone yet, but as a test I've left it on to see how long the battery lasts. So far its up to 5 days with one bar left on the battery indicator. The phone is very nice to use if a little slow.

[zabirp]

I've had mine for a day now, impressed with the looks and size. Disgusted with how slow it is and the response times between my actions and for the phone to do it. Sometimes even things like going through the start menu seems like a massive task for the phone. Texting both with T9 and multitap seems to take a while. Getting used to the different keypad. I want to like the phone, but at the moment I don't have much to go off other than it's looks.  <_<

[roma0803]

After many, many problems with 3 SPL's, radio issues, I finally received a good working version from my provider. Newest software version (not ROM) and it's way, way faster compared to the previous 3 phones. My first reaction was that it was about as fast as my "old" Tornado. So I don't now what i-mate did, but they sure managed to make the old 730 processor quite a bit faster. So that took away one of the biggest downsides of the phone.
I'm sure my provider (Rabo Mobiel The Netherlands) is one of the first ones, if not the only one, that got the updated version since their range of SPL's had all the issues. It even still shows a code in the upper left corner when booting. It would be good if i-mate offered this update to the rest of the world.

After the continues dissapointment I'm really starting to like my SPL now.

[17-APG]

roma0803, on Apr 10 2007, 20:50, said:

After many, many problems with 3 SPL's, radio issues, I finally received a good working version from my provider. Newest software version (not ROM) and it's way, way faster compared to the previous 3 phones. My first reaction was that it was about as fast as my "old" Tornado. So I don't now what i-mate did, but they sure managed to make the old 730 processor quite a bit faster. So that took away one of the biggest downsides of the phone.
I'm sure my provider (Rabo Mobiel The Netherlands) is one of the first ones, if not the only one, that got the updated version since their range of SPL's had all the issues. It even still shows a code in the upper left corner when booting. It would be good if i-mate offered this update to the rest of the world.

After the continues dissapointment I'm really starting to like my SPL now.

I sent mine back laste last year for that very reason. The signal strength was not near as good as my SP5 nor the speed. It was just too slow and a real hinderance. I would really like to know if I ordered a brand new one now , say, the blue one that i-mate have just released, would the new updates be sorted??

Anyone know??????

[ewel]

Pros:
So far I think the SPL is a great phone. It looks very good (better than in photos), has the right size, feels good and it has the perfect set of quick-buttons for camera, music and internet.
Cons:
The big minus so far is that it is a bit slow but once the usual programmes run that becomes less of a problem. The usb on the side also for the headphones is silly and the battery cover is the most difficult to open ever. In terms of capability wifi and 3G would have been nice. WM5 lacks some basic functionality that is normal in Nokia's etc., such as exchanging v-cards.

The only thing that is not going well for me with the SPL is being unable to connect to the internet. I am almost sure it is a matter of settings, but to be sure I would be interested to hear what happened for others when the radio failed, and how I can recognise that failure.

UPDATE: I now managed to connect to the internet, but it seems the connection is still intermittent so I am still interested to hear what the signs of a failing radio are!

Edited by ewel, 13 August 2007 - 08:59 PM.

[slimgym]

I agree with you, it's a great phone, looks good and is the right size. I originally went smartphone because I wanted Tomtom so bought a Nokia 6260 (Symbian). It worked fine but was very sllooow (much slower than the SPL!). Then bought an SPV C500, SP5m and finally SPL. The processor is fairly slow but it's perfectly acceptable in operation. It's a bit disconcerting when the display lights up about 15 seconds before the text message tone comes on!

The ARM overclocker cuts down the dropped TCPMP frames but watching vids while the phone swaps cells or gets a text causes the video to freeze which never happened on the SP5m.

I agree the USB socket is a bit flakey but it's great the phones is dustproof and sort of water resistant as a result. The SP5m suffered dodgy joystick due to dust under it after a fairly short period of time. Whilst I did occasionally use wifi with the SP5m it's not as essential as I thought it'd be. The small screen size means you only want to do essential stuff anyhow, though I did use Skype from a free hotel wifi which saved me a fortune. I use bluetooth to sync emails and calendar, have used the web on it but then if you're on bluetooth you've got a proper PC and screen nearby!

I used the modaco CAB to setup the O2 GPRS settings on this and the other phones no problems at all. I believe the SPL also has an in-built app to setup these things as part of the software installed post firmware-update.

My downsides (in addition to processor speed though it's not tooo painful in normal use)
Battery life - my office has poor reception and it chews 2 bars during a 12 hour shift so needs charging every night
Volume on headphones - very low, lower than SP5m, no reason for this, the speaker is very loud
Sometimes doesn't switch profiles to headset, requires a reboot to cure

Like all the smartphones I've had, this is the best one yet

[17-APG]

roma0803, on Apr 10 2007, 21:50, said:

After many, many problems with 3 SPL's, radio issues, I finally received a good working version from my provider. Newest software version (not ROM) and it's way, way faster compared to the previous 3 phones. My first reaction was that it was about as fast as my "old" Tornado. So I don't now what i-mate did, but they sure managed to make the old 730 processor quite a bit faster. So that took away one of the biggest downsides of the phone.
I'm sure my provider (Rabo Mobiel The Netherlands) is one of the first ones, if not the only one, that got the updated version since their range of SPL's had all the issues. It even still shows a code in the upper left corner when booting. It would be good if i-mate offered this update to the rest of the world.

After the continues dissapointment I'm really starting to like my SPL now.

How are you finding the SPL now? Are you happy with it? I had heard that iMate were going to release WM6 with the new coloured versions. I want to change mt SP5 now and am thinking of the SPL or maybe waiting for the new version of the HTC S710, the S730/Volans/Wings.

[ewel]

17-APG, on Aug 13 2007, 16:16, said:

How are you finding the SPL now? Are you happy with it? I had heard that iMate were going to release WM6 with the new coloured versions. I want to change mt SP5 now and am thinking of the SPL or maybe waiting for the new version of the HTC S710, the S730/Volans/Wings.

If they helped roma0803 to a new phone or updated software it should be ok.. my SPL is about a month old from the same bank and so far has had no trouble (but I have only started using gprs today). My about section says I have ROM updates 5.1.342.15096 and if I read it right the i-mate firmware is 2.03.

I think there's little or no chance of getting a WM6 upgrade for the SPL from i-mate, they are in trouble and are making too many losses to invest in old customers. But WM5 works just fine I think.

[slimgym]

The firmware is right under the "Software Version:" in Start>Settings>More>About

TF_WM5_SPL_i_mate_VER_01.08_S0612202012(10.74)

is version 1.08

[ewel]

slimgym, on Aug 13 2007, 23:42, said:

The firmware is right under the "Software Version:" in Start>Settings>More>About

TF_WM5_SPL_i_mate_VER_01.08_S0612202012(10.74)

is version 1.08

Ok, thanks, then I was right about 2.03 which must be about the latest, at least from Rabobank in the Netherlands.