Guest vii_voo Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 Had a MDA Compact IV for almost 2 weeks, Considering returning it due to short battery life (charging it almost every or other day) and wait for the Vario IV (Touch Pro), hoping for bettery battery life. My previous phone was a Vario II. Any opinions as to whether I should return it and wait for Vario IV? Concerned about it's extra weight and thickness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chrisms_cotland Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 Had a MDA Compact IV for almost 2 weeks, Considering returning it due to short battery life (charging it almost every or other day) and wait for the Vario IV (Touch Pro), hoping for bettery battery life. My previous phone was a Vario II. Any opinions as to whether I should return it and wait for Vario IV? Concerned about it's extra weight and thickness. One of the retention reps at T-Mobile told me that the vario IV is on their "coming soon" list but no set date yet, but still thats a step up from their usual "we've never heard of the Vario IV" so hopefully be out soon, I personally am waiting for the Touch Pro, tried an Orange branded Diamond and didn't like it, not too keen on the iPhon feel its quite limited in terms of media formats, like the look of the Ameo 16GB though, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest deadphill Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 When I upgraded the other half's phone to the C4, they did say that the V4 was going to be cheaper to upgrade to than the V3 was, and that there was going to be plenty of stock. He said mid to late august to me which sounds mighty fast, considering that the HTC branded versions generally come out a month before the OEM versions. Personally for me, a keyboard is a must now. My V3 is in for repair at the moment and I am having to use a C3 and using a stylus is a pain in the backside to type. It certainly is worlds apart on the diamond but as yet, I'm still to see anyone come up with anything better than a slide out keyboard. Add that in with the fact I can have much more storage, tv out and still have all the other functions the diamond has and you have one heck of a device. For me function comes first, then design. Both have made compromises, you have to choose which best suits your needs. Thats why the missus has a C4, and Im waiting patiently for my V4. Cheers Phill key: V3=Vario 3 C3=MDA Compact 3 V4=Vario 4 C4=MDA Compact 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest deadphill Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 Well I am sort of doing exactly what you are doing. I have a Vario 3 and the missus had a compact 3. She now has a compact 4, and although I am already due an upgrade, I am happy to wait until the Vario 4 comes out. For me its function over prettyness. But its all about preference. If you like small and yet still functional, keep it, however if your happy with your vario 2 then I am sure you will be fine with a slightly bulker phone. Cheers Phill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest vii_voo Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 Well I am sort of doing exactly what you are doing. I have a Vario 3 and the missus had a compact 3. She now has a compact 4, and although I am already due an upgrade, I am happy to wait until the Vario 4 comes out. For me its function over prettyness. But its all about preference. If you like small and yet still functional, keep it, however if your happy with your vario 2 then I am sure you will be fine with a slightly bulker phone. Cheers Phill I got fed up carrying bulky Vario II, so went for C4. But V4 is still smaller than V2, more worried about weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest vii_voo Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 I got fed up carrying bulky Vario II, so went for C4. But V4 is still smaller than V2, more worried about weight. Popped into T-Mobile store at lunchtime and 2 HTC reps were in there. Told me Vario IV expected in Sept, unfortunately they didn't have one on them. Also, said main battery drain on Compact IV is the 3.5G even when not being used. Showed me how to drop down to 2G/GPRS to save battery, which defeats the point of having the phone. Also, said battery life has improved with each successive ROM update. However, I don't expect T-Mobile will have a ROM update for a few months though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ljames28 Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 With the 3G, you can just get a better Com Manager off XDA Devs with a button to turn off 3g quickly. It may "defeat the point of having the phone" but this is the same with every 3g phone, 3g uses more power than 2g, it's the same with the iPhone also. You cant have your cake and eat it :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chrisms_cotland Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 Popped into T-Mobile store at lunchtime and 2 HTC reps were in there. Told me Vario IV expected in Sept, unfortunately they didn't have one on them. Also, said main battery drain on Compact IV is the 3.5G even when not being used. Showed me how to drop down to 2G/GPRS to save battery, which defeats the point of having the phone. Also, said battery life has improved with each successive ROM update. However, I don't expect T-Mobile will have a ROM update for a few months though. Thats a shame not sure I can wait until Sept, was hoping for August, which is what I've been told by a few T-Mobile staff, ah well if not might just try and get a V3 on 12 month deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest vii_voo Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 Thats a shame not sure I can wait until Sept, was hoping for August, which is what I've been told by a few T-Mobile staff, ah well if not might just try and get a V3 on 12 month deal. Wait for the V4, it'll be smaller. You don't want to be carrying around a V3. Had a V2 for 2 years got fed up of carrying the thing on a belt clip, too bulky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Confucious Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 You could wait for the V5... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chrisms_cotland Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 Wait for the V4, it'll be smaller. You don't want to be carrying around a V3. Had a V2 for 2 years got fed up of carrying the thing on a belt clip, too bulky. Yeah I might wait, not sure I really need the keyboard but I had a shot of an Orange HTC Diamond and wasn't impressed or I would have ordered a Compact IV by now, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest vii_voo Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 Yeah I might wait, not sure I really need the keyboard but I had a shot of an Orange HTC Diamond and wasn't impressed or I would have ordered a Compact IV by now, What didn't impress you? My only grip is the battery life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest deadphill Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 Whoops, I think I opened this thread in two tabs and didnt realise I have answered this twice! Ah well! I dont think the 3g to 2g is such a big gripe, though it would be nice to have it controlled by software, ie defaults to 2g, and software only goes onto 3g when needed. Still pressing a button on and off isnt such a drag is it? Cheers Phill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chrisms_cotland Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 What didn't impress you? My only grip is the battery life. Seemed very slow and just "cheap" but the different design of the Compact IV looks better and no Diamond back, not too pleased about not being able to add more memory though as really I wanted something for video and music as well as the email and internet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest deadphill Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 By the sound of it, from what you say you like/dislike, I suggest you send it back and try and be patient and get the Vario 4. For the sake of a month, could you not use another older PPC you have lying around somewhere? Its something I learned a long time ago, being patient has its rewards. Every incarnation of new device from HTC always improves, and for me at least, I would hate not having the latest best featured phone all because I couldn't be patient. I bet ROM development starts slowing quite a lot just as soon as the Vario 4 comes out. You watch. All of course, as always IMHO. Cheers Phill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Neil5459 Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 I dont think the 3g to 2g is such a big gripe, though it would be nice to have it controlled by software, ie defaults to 2g, and software only goes onto 3g when needed. Still pressing a button on and off isnt such a drag is it? Phill I completely agree :D I think 3G is being made too much of, as it's only really relevant when streaming content or downloading large files. With 3G off, Edge/GPRS is almost as quick for simple web browsing, and just as quick for IM or email syncing, especially if using Push or a schedule. I keep mine on 2G until I need 3G speeds, and it helps the battery duration by around 30-40% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest deadphill Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 Well I have to be honest, Im probably a little bit better than most when it comes to charging my phone. I know that at most times I will be either a) at work, in which case I will charge the phone while its synced or otherwise or :D Ill be using it as sat nav and will have the car charger on. If I don't use it, I will have it switched on in 2g mode. I still get all my emails, and if I want to do anything web based, I switch it over to 3g. Works fine for me, but are there not those nice little devices that charge your phone/ipod etc, solar or just charged up anyway? One other thing, like I believe was mentioned before, my battery life did suck when I first had the V3. Since WM 6.1 and the fact there have been better ROMs made, the life is now pretty good. I know we shouldn't have to wait for it, but in my opinion, there is no other device you can do the sort of stuff with that you can with windows mobile, even if not all the time its the prettiest looking. So vii_voo, what cha gonna do then? Cheeers Phill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lyfe Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 I know this is a repeat post from another thread, but its relivant here if people are waiting to buy the Vario IV. For anyone interested, the Vario IV (AKA Touch Pro) is AVAILABLE now in the UK. Tuesday there was an internal T-mobile memo indicating release yesterday. I checked back with them and T-mobile UK had 15 in stock (which I will admit to grabbing all of... sorry), but today they shipped the remainer of my order without any stock issues, so there are Vario IVs up for grabs, but likely in limited numbers for at least August. I've got the first ones this morning, but not had much time to look at them yet. I did put in a 8Gb microSD and it reconised without a hiccup. I'm LANing over the weekend, but will try to find some time to have a proper look. I'm paying £275+vat per device, but I get them at cost, so retail may be a fair bit more... if anyone want to negoicate, thats what T-mob will be paying, but dont tell them that you heard that from me. First look shows that I will be moving from my trusty Ameo over to one of these. I'll be interested if they have improved the BT stack significantly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chrisms_cotland Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 I know this is a repeat post from another thread, but its relivant here if people are waiting to buy the Vario IV. For anyone interested, the Vario IV (AKA Touch Pro) is AVAILABLE now in the UK. Tuesday there was an internal T-mobile memo indicating release yesterday. I checked back with them and T-mobile UK had 15 in stock (which I will admit to grabbing all of... sorry), but today they shipped the remainer of my order without any stock issues, so there are Vario IVs up for grabs, but likely in limited numbers for at least August. I've got the first ones this morning, but not had much time to look at them yet. I did put in a 8Gb microSD and it reconised without a hiccup. I'm LANing over the weekend, but will try to find some time to have a proper look. I'm paying £275+vat per device, but I get them at cost, so retail may be a fair bit more... if anyone want to negoicate, thats what T-mob will be paying, but dont tell them that you heard that from me. First look shows that I will be moving from my trusty Ameo over to one of these. I'll be interested if they have improved the BT stack significantly. Haha very funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest deadphill Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 Right ok, whatever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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