Guest hairlessheart Posted January 28, 2006 Report Share Posted January 28, 2006 Hi For the last year or so, I've been using an SPV C500 with an HP Ipaq and now feel the time is right to get an all-in-one unit. I've done a fair amount of research and have narrowed the field down to the XDA Mini S and the XDA Exec. I'm really struggling, though, to decide which of the two to get. I've listed below the pros and cons of each, as I see them, and would be interested to hear your comments on my assumptions. XDA Mini S Pros Price - only costs £49 on a £19 12 month contract. Size - very neat design. WIFI - supports 802.11b/g Cons Takes Mini SD card - not a 'con' as such, but I've built up a collection of a few 1 gig SD cards for use in my Ipaq, which I'd not be able to use in it. Processor - 200 Mhz hasn't really set the heather on fire in any of the reviews I've read. This area is crucial for me, as one of the main uses of the device will be to play full screen video during my 2 hour daily commute. I can't have it dropping frames. XDA Exec Pros Price - slightly dearer than the Mini S at £149, but still on a £19 12 month contract. Screen - beautiful display. Takes SD cards. 3G Design - like the flip and rotate screen. Cons Size - perhaps slightly large use hold to the ear and use in the conventional manner? Weight - a bit too big to fit comfortably into the shirt pocket? Processor? - have read that when playing full screen videos in 640 x 480, frames can be dropped, although it was felt that this was perhaps due to the quality of the audio being set too high. WIFI - doesn't support 802.11g That's all I can think of at the moment. The gadget-freak in me would love the Exec, but I think the size of it is perhaps putting me off. On the other hand, I can't help but feel that at only 200 Mhz, the Mini S won't cut the mustard. Any comments? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Confucious Posted January 29, 2006 Report Share Posted January 29, 2006 The Universal is quite large but it does everything. BUT to make full use of it you need 3G and if you are concerned about price you could find your data charges getting rather steep. I have unlimited for the first 3 months on Orange and find myself using 60 - 70 Mb / month and if it continued to be free I'm sure this would go up. 3G makes the Universal a joy to use, I have the internet in my pocket - just what I've always wanted. The keyboard is a pleasure as well but if you're not going to make use of data then maybe the mini would be a better option - but check the screen size (I believe it's smaller) I love my universal but it is big (you can always use a BT headset if you want) The choice is yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hairlessheart Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 The Universal is quite large but it does everything. BUT to make full use of it you need 3G and if you are concerned about price you could find your data charges getting rather steep. I have unlimited for the first 3 months on Orange and find myself using 60 - 70 Mb / month and if it continued to be free I'm sure this would go up. 3G makes the Universal a joy to use, I have the internet in my pocket - just what I've always wanted. The keyboard is a pleasure as well but if you're not going to make use of data then maybe the mini would be a better option - but check the screen size (I believe it's smaller) I love my universal but it is big (you can always use a BT headset if you want) The choice is yours. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thanks Confucious I can't see me using much data to begin with, as I don't think o2 do any reasonably proced bundles. The screen on the mini is smaller, which doesn't bother me too much, but it's weedy processor does. What are your experiences of playing video on the exec. In theory, it should cope very well with it's 520 Mhz processor. Its size does make me think that I'd need to keep hold of my C500 to use when I'm going out and about in town in the evening though, as I'm guaranteed to drop / lose it. I wonder if it's possible to get an extra SIM with the same number, so I wouldn't have to swap it back and forth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JohnMcL7 Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 Doesn't sound like the Mini is suitable for you, I've been impressed with the responsiveness of the Mini compared to my X50V but so far I've not had much luck with video playback. I didn't expect it to be able to match the X50V at all but dropping the resolution and framerate doesn't seem to help much. I've only had the Mini a couple of weeks so I perhaps need to experiment more with settings. I was also toying with the Exec as I like the VGA screen on my X50V but I just found it way too large to be practical for me day to day, even the Mini is quite bulky for holding up to your ear. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Genieuk Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 I've had to make the same decision and in the end went for the Exec. Apart from being a bit on the chunky side for making phone calls, it's the dogs bo**ox. It can play video without problem (apart from problems sometimes when streamed over WiFi). In fact I now use it to play movies and music whilst commuting to work and have no problems. I bought TomTom Navigator for it and can use sat nav in the car which is great on the high res screen. It's keyboard has come in use quite a lot when writing text messages and browsing the net. The screen res is good enough to do decent internet browsing, which can be done with a WiFi connection and GPRS (and presumably 3G) I've had it now over a week and am thoroughly enjoying it. I don't make many phone calls so thats why not too worried about the size, but if you're on the phone quite a bit than maybe the Mini S would be a better option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hairlessheart Posted January 31, 2006 Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 Think I'm going to go for the Exec. Although it is a bit on the chunky side when making calls, I really don't think the mini S has the 'oomph'. I too will be wanting to use TomTom Navigator, so I'm glad to hear you're running it. Any issues getting it installed? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Genieuk Posted January 31, 2006 Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 Yes, there were plenty of issues installing TTN5 on the Exec (spent hours reading up). I had to install it manually by extracting the cab files and running them on the phone manually due to incompatibility with ActiveSync 4.1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest xerxes Posted February 19, 2006 Report Share Posted February 19, 2006 Thanks Confucious I can't see me using much data to begin with, as I don't think o2 do any reasonably proced bundles... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I picked up an Exec last week with 75MB per month for £21 per month which I think is a pretty good deal. I am having trouble with Tomtom though. I have Navigator 5 which actually installed from my SD card first time. The problem is that Tomtom won't give me an activation code for my UK map. I had to speak to their support because I had already used Nav on 2 other pdas and their website wouldn't issue a 3rd code. When I spoke to support they said they couldn't issue a code because Navigator is not officially supported on the XDA Exec. So, I have sw and gps legitimately, the sw is installed and seems to work (including the 5.27 upgrade from the Tomtom website) but I cannot use it because Tomtom the company won't allow me to! Can anyone suggest a way around this? xerxes (PS. Posted from my Exec. This keyboard is GREAT!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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