Which phone do I go for?

[Guest BicketyBam]

OK, first of all hi to everyone. Just found these forums and it looks like a great community.

I'm in the market for a Windows Mobile / PPC smartphone. I really want something with the form factor of a phone rather than a PDA.

My ideal device is a Motorola Mpx, but they won't be around for at least a few months. The next down the line is an SPV E200 - but I have a few concerns:

1) What is the true battery life for the phone? I won't be making many voice calls - it will be mainly used to receive SMS and as a GPRS device with a custom app.

2) As far as I can see it has no stylus. Presumably it is touch screen. How easy will it be to navigate a full blown PPC app without a stylus?

3) Character input: I haven't really used a mobile in anger for about 4 years. I'm dire at doing that multiple button click thing to get alpha characters entered. I know there is a rollup keyboard available, but that kinda defeats the object of the form factor. The problem is I may be entering quite a lot of non numeric characters and was wondering what peoples experience of the predictive text is like for filling in fields etc.

One last note - is there any firm date on the C500? I'll probably want to get everything sorted in the next few weeks (business requirement). I'd prefer the smaller lighter C500 but if it's a few months off then it isn't a contender.

Cheers.

[Guest Disco Stu]

Welcome to the site mate :P

Just to get you started on the E200 ; there is no stylus, nor is there touch-screen functionality. The Windows Smartphone is designed to be used with just one hand, so all menu options will be accessible via the various keys. This is possibly what we love most about these devices, and what distinguishes them from PPC ones.

Battery life ain't great so we're used to keeping the phone in its dock or attached to a charging cable when not on the move. Voice calls & SMS don't eat up the juice but GPRS usage will. You probably won't get more than 24 hours if you use GPRS much in the day, but I'm not an expert on this.

PPC software generally won't function on a Smartphone, in fact it usually won't install properly and will mean manual deletion of the failed installation files. The good news though is that a lot of apps & games come in Smartphone & PPC versions.

There is a menu of non-alpha numeric characters for use in all situations. T9 is fine for most but slang & cuss-words need a work-around !

I think the C500 will be out within a month or so but,

depending on contract, you could probably get an MPx200 or E200 for free as an introduction to the format.

[Guest BicketyBam]

Cheers for the info.

I can recompile my app with the Smartphone SDK, but it's begining to dawn on me that I may have to sweat it out and wait for the Mpx. It may be less hassle for me in the long run.

I find the QVGA format a bit of a squash as it is so I'm starting to think I would have to totally redesign the interface. I'm pretty snowed under as it is...

...hmmm, b@gger. :twisted:

Maybe I should just get a cheapo BT GPRS phone and connect my IPAQ through it until the Mpx hits the shelves...

[Guest Disco Stu]

Yes, but as I said, you can get cheap Smartphones now as well, with Bluetooth & GPRS :P

[Guest BicketyBam]

It's not the cost of the phone but taking out a price plan to get them cheap.

If I take out a price plan for a year with Orange then when the Mpx comes along I'm gonna be stuffed unless I pay out for another price plan to get it at a reasonable price.

It seems most of the carriers will tie you in for 12 months. I can understand this but it makes "upgrading" a PITA.

Unless you can tell me different :?: Like I said not really been near a mobile (or a price plan) for a while :P

[Guest Disco Stu]

Sorry, no you're right :P

[Guest pwest13]

Go for the Mio 8390 !!!

Perfect if only it had bluetooth.

Westy