Out of the loop

[Guest kelv23]

Having been out of the smartphone scene for a while (last post here Nov 2004!) Im in need of a little catching up to say the least. Im going back to the UK soon and having a better network than here in Thailand my smartphone needs/cravings seem to be resurfacing.

Whats the latest and greatest opinions on phones to go for or more importantly ,to avoid?

Thanks and hi to anyone who was here when SPVs were new......

Edited June 8, 2006 by kelv23

[Guest Pondrew]

Yep, I remember you Kelv23. And those were heady days when the SPV E200 (HTC Voyager), with its one day battery life (1.5 if you tweaked the settings!), was king :)

A few folks (myself included) have since moved onto Pocket PC Phones given that HTC have been churning out a wide variety with different features for a while now.

A desirable PPC model with wifi/3g/keyboard/small form factor is coming out shortly. T-Mobile were alleged to be calling it the MDA Vario II after the popular Vario model (HTC Wizard) while I-mate have recently been suggested to be bringing it out as the Jasjam.

The Smartphone platform is still progressing too. The SPV C600 (HTC Faradey) came out on Orange a little time ago but was not that well received due to lack of wifi. Everything else about it seems good though (battery life these days tends to be a minimum of 2days with use) and it has a small form factor like it's hugely succesful predecessor the SPV C500 (HTC Typhoon).

Probably the most desirable Smartphone available today though is the I-mate SP5 or the music version the SP5m (both variations of the HTC Tornado). This as it features wifi.

Finally, you'll read about a couple of new models expected in the next couple of months. One, the first clamshell style Smartphone from HTC, is called the HTC STRTrk (probably due to copyright issues - it was originally HTC Star Trek!). It's reasonably well featured but no wifi. The other model is a first for the Smartphone platform being a 3G handset called the HTC Breeze. So far it's been suggested to be coming on Orange as the SPV C700 and on T-Mobile (likely as the SDA III although this is far from confirmed). Unfortunately this doesn't have wifi either which has upset a few folks!

Also the fact that none of the devices are sporting anything more then 2megapixel cameras is causing some upset but, given my MDA Compact II with it's 1.3megapixel camera is the best camera phone device I've ever had, I don't see the problem.

Phew, hope this helps and welcome back dude! :)

[Guest kelv23]

Nice to see some of the old guard are around ! If my 16mb cranial memory card serves me right thats the same avatar from back then !

Im thinking of going with the C600 to ease me back into the swing of things, get regedit going and turn it into a smouldering ball of goop and circuits, then I might dip my toe into a PPC if the cash allows and the wife isnt told.

Just looking over a few topics and it seem theres stuff like anti virus thats finally made its way to phones. I think I should be up and running in the next few weeks so I can ditch the Nokia 3310 and do some mobile tweaking again !!

[Guest Pondrew]

Don't worry about Antivirus software for the time being as although you're right that the software is now there, the viri aren't! At least, there seem to be VERY few Pocket PC viri and NO Smartphone viri at all.

Yep, same avatar :) Keep it even though haven't had a beard for a while. Funnily enough the full size version (it was drawn by a caricature artist at a work do years ago!) is hanging on my wall at home!

I'd definately recommend getting into Pocket PC Phones, they're not ridiculously expensive as they used to be and the platform is more versatile... having said that Microsoft continues to try and remove the distinction between the two and the differences are decreasing.

Finally, in case you haven't had a chance to re-familarise yourself with the wireless device market back in the UK, T-Mobile have been making great inroads into Orange and O2s domination of the Smartphone and Pocket PC Phone markets respectively. More so since they bought out their Web N Walk data tariffs/add ons. Neither Orange nor O2 show any signs of trying to compete... :)

[Guest blewer]

Kelv23

I'm in the same situation. Been away for a while but just bought myself an M600

It's good to see how this forum has grown over the years

Great to be back

Adam

[Guest kelv23]

Yeah its good to be back and know that MoDaCo is more established. It was the forerunner when I was last here but Im sure things like the subscriptions and being able to buy hardware/software thru here were a very positive step forward. Paul and co have done a great job in building the MoDaCo site/brand, Im just waiting for the 1st MoDaCo branded phone ,now that would be an achievement.....

[Guest kelv23]

I know this gets asked loads of times but whats the flavour of the month with the PPc's then?

I may just jump straight in and buy a PPC as it looks like Im going to need something a bit more businessy (is that a word?) now Im building an empire. I get loads of ideas that just get lost in the beer/braincell equation that I should be putting down somewhere.

[Guest Pondrew]

I'd say the Pocket PC Phone of the moment is the HTC Prophet as it's got a 2meg camera, wifi and is nicely compact and stylish looking. Only down side being no hardware keyboard.

The Prophet is sold at present as the i-mate Jamin and by Orange as the SPV M600 (although they're having their usual stock problems... :) ). Allegedly it may reach O2 in the UK as the XDA Neo as O2 Germany is already selling it. T-Mobile have a very similar model but without the wifi and with just a 1.3meg camera called the MDA Compact II (HTC Charmer).

If you can't live without a keyboard but want a smaller size then the current recommendation would be the HTC Wizard (i-mate k-jam/O2 XDA Mini S/T-Mobile MDA Vario/Qtek 9100) with the same spec as the Prophet but only a 1.3meg camera. Or wait for the successor which will be out in the next couple of months and include wifi called the HTC Hermes (T-Mobile MDA Vario II/i-mate Jasjam).

Finally, if you want all the bells and whistles a Pocket PC Phone can deliver and don't mind carrying a large device then the HTC Universal (Orange SPV M5000/T-Mobile MDA Pro/O2 XDA Exec/i-mate Jasjar/Qtek 9000) is the answer. It's 3G with a fast processor, a VGA screen, wifi, and a mini-laptop form factor.

Me, I'm waiting for a smaller form factor Pocket PC Phone with a VGA screen but there's no sign of one coming from HTC :)

[Guest xda_gangsta]

if you are looking for a smartphone, I would consider the Motorola Q (as long as u have an unlimited data plan). Also, the C600 doesn't look bad either. Of course though, you probably need WiFi so in that case u should get the SP5m unless u can get unlimted data...

On the other hand a pocket pc phone is nice too, in that case I would get that super small one from i-mate the JAMIn... but I'm not realy a fan of ppc phones because there is no keypad and thats really important, I dont wanna take out the stylus each time and I dont wanna damage the device by using my fingers. I would just get the SP5m since it has wifi, u may also consider wating for the HTC Oxygen which MIGHT be good but even that doesn't seem good enough (and its not even out yet), no wifi and only 200 MHz processor etc, same as the C500

[Guest kelv23]

After doing a wee bit of research and a fair bit of drooling over what Im missing out on I think the M600 may be my choice. Now the big question, how much are they going for on average?

Im only planning to be back in the UK for 3- 6 months so a contract isnt really of much use, so its looking like PAYG. Hopefully I can source an unwanted upgrade as I did with my MPX200 (120 quid brand new !), but failing that Im gonna have to get one from somewhere else. As Im looking for a Mac laptop as well there are 2 things to consider

1. Is there any software that can sync a PPC with a Mac?

2. Macs tend to be expensive and I might not be able to afford the 2

[Guest Pondrew]

if you are looking for a smartphone, I would consider the Motorola Q (as long as u have an unlimited data plan).

The Q isn't a GSM device and so wouldn't work in the UK.

@Kelv23, no experience with Macs I'm afraid.

[Guest awarner (MVP)]

With a MAC you also need to buy third party software to be able to sync your Smartphone, as Activesync will not work.

[Guest TomaHawk]

if your looking at new macs.

you could just duel boot windows or use parreles which allows windows to be natively run in osx this would allow you to use active sync and office and save syncing headaches with apple