So which Pocket PC Phone should I keep?

[Guest Pondrew]

So, I've been trying to make up my mind for a long time which of my two Pocket PC Phones to sell on and which to keep.

Do I keep my much loved MDA III (HTC Blue Angel) with it's larger screen, pullout thumb-board, wifi and more powerful processor or do I move on and go with the smaller form factor, superb camera, and newer operating system of the MDA Compact II (HTC Charmer)?

I've long felt if an offical WM5 upgrade for the Blue Angel was released it would be an easy choice and the MDA III would continue to be my device of choice. But unlikely an HTC Blue Angel will ever receive a WM5 update and as I don't touch unofficial roms (in case someone forgot the rule on discussion of illegal software) this makes the decision really difficult.

I'm likely to list one of the devices on Ebay in the near future but first thought I'd see what you guys think. So, what do I do?

[Guest awarner [MVP]]

Sell them both and get a VGA device ;)

Sell now and buy a vga when one comes out that you like :D

[Guest Pondrew]

Not something I've given serious consideration as I want to keep my finger in(!)

Main problem with that idea is that there doesn't seem to be any VGA HTC devices on the horizon AT ALL!

[Guest Disco Stu]

Surely we should be asking you for this kind of advice ?! :?: :D ;)

I'd wait though. We seem to be in a period of flux and, unless you want in on the attendant frustrations, you should wait and see how things progress.

WM05 & AS4 is giving me headaches with the C600. :D

[Guest Pondrew]

Surprised to see the Blue Angel hasn't got any votes yet. Personally I'm thinking of sticking with the trustworthy old MDA III given it's performance edge and larger screen, not mention wifi and hardware keyboard (really miss the keyboard on the MDA Compact II).

@Disco Stu, Glad to say the MDA Compact II has only failed to sync once and that was easily resolved by rebooting. So Activesync 4.x isn't a problem.

My advice to myself? :D

Keep the Blue Angel and wait for a more worthy replacement? :twisted:

On the other hand, the Charmer's form factor and camera are far superior so keep that. :shock:

D'oh! ;)

[Guest Peppermint Hippo]

I'd keep the Charmer as i prefer my phones smaller. But as you like the keyboard then the decision seems to have already been made......

[Guest afhstingray]

keep the charmer, sell the blue angel before its resale value drops any further. wm5 is so nice to use on those small form factor devices

[Guest brykins]

I'd keep the Charmer - I am getting used to mine now - very few lockups now I have thing set up correctly and the processor seems fine when actually running applications.

I think the speed thing is a "perceived" slowness due to applications taking longer to load because they are loading from slower ROM into RAM. It gives the impression of slowness when it's not *that* bad.

Of course, there's the size of the thing to consider - the Charmer is such a pocketable little beauty. And the OS - I think that in six months time or so, most new software may well be WM5 only and a lot of updates to existing software may well go that way too.

[Guest Pondrew]

But the MDA III has larger screen. Since having it I've got use to using my fingers instead of the stylus but with the small screen on the MDA Compact II this is much more difficult.

That and the keyboard, and the fact it's been superbly reliable make the MDA III very difficult to let go of... ;)

[Guest fluffcat1]

Surprised to see the Blue Angel hasn't got any votes yet. Personally I'm thinking of sticking with the trustworthy old MDA III given it's performance edge and larger screen, not mention wifi and hardware keyboard (really miss the keyboard on the MDA Compact II).

My advice to myself?  ;)

Keep the Blue Angel and wait for a more worthy replacement?  :twisted:

I vote for the BA being a massive fan myself. I love the keyboard and my qtek 9100 just doesn't compare for me :-(

sell the blue angel before its resale value drops any further. wm5 is so nice to use on those small form factor devices

A very good point, but from my own experience of selling BA's on ebay, if you're willing to sell abroad you will get some silly high money for it from US or Canadian buyers, yet this carries a massive set of risks also. You could always sell it now, regret it and buy a cheap one off me later :D

Richard

[Guest brykins]

But the MDA III has larger screen. Since having it I've got use to using my fingers instead of the stylus but with the small screen on the MDA Compact II this is much more difficult.

That and the keyboard, and the fact it's been superbly reliable make the MDA III very difficult to let go of...  ;)

This is one that can be debated for ever....in fact I have an on-going debate in my own head about going back to a Smartphone (SP5) or staying with the Compact II. However - in your case, the keyboard for me wouldn't be a problem as I have found that on my Wizard, the keyboard wasn't that useful and even when I gave up my Treo I never really missed a keyboard.

Hate using my fingers on the screen for fear of dirt and grease, so stylus is fine for me. And the smaller screen of the Compact II means a higher DPI so I find the screen is a lot nicer to look at than larger QVGA screens.

[Guest hunyango_uk]

mda vario is not far away w/ the specs of mda compact ii, it's got a keyboard. but i've seen the superb and excellent sample pictures taken by charmer w/c you should consider too. ;)

Edited January 15, 2006 by hunyango_uk

[Guest afhstingray]

if you really like the keyboard then you should sell both and get a wizard.

personally when i had my mda III my pet peeve was the low DPI screen. Previously (as u can see in my sig) i was using a clie NX70. before the nx70 was launched i was about to cross over to the PPC world, but held back because the res was irresistable hehe

320x240 is nice on the small form factor devices however.

couldnt really stand it on the mda III.

as for using the finger on the screen, if u just let your nail grow a little its easy to use it on the small screen. and when you are holding it in one hand, and using your thumb to select stuff, its easier to reach the top parts of the screen if its small.

[Guest Pondrew]

Think I'm gonna go with the majority and keep the Compact II although STILL think the MDA III would be the better choice if only it would get an official upgrade to WM5 ;)

[Guest brykins]

Think I'm gonna go with the majority and keep the Compact II although STILL think the MDA III would be the better choice if only it would get an official upgrade to WM5  ;)

Now we'll ALL feel guilty when you regret the decision next month....if you're like me, you're always regretting decisions, but that's just because I don't like change and getting used to new things and ways of doing things.

[Guest Pondrew]

Well, the decision is made :|

Ebay link in this thread here