The official Virgin Mobile Lobster 700 'Ask Paul' thread!

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

In the next day or so, I will be posting my review of the Virgin Mobile Lobster 700 Smartphone. :(

In advance of this, this thread is an opportunity for you to ask me anything all all about the device, and i'll try and answer it!

This is a new idea, and i'm going to try and do this for every new device I get... so bear with me :rolleyes:

Enjoy! :)

P

Edit: The review is now online here! Head on over for additional content and photos!

[Guest Dr_StrangeTrick]

Hi Paul, just a couple of questions.

First of all can the device be used abroad and still pickup TV/Radio ?

Secondly (I cant remember the device name so bear with me) HTC also have another device but with a landscape display and offering all the functions of the Lobster 700. If I got one of these devices instead could I use it to hook into the Virgin package??

Thanks Paul.

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

First of all can the device be used abroad and still pickup TV/Radio ?

I believe NOT, but i'm not 100% certain on this one i'm afraid.

Secondly (I cant remember the device name so bear with me) HTC also have another device but with a landscape display and offering all the functions of the Lobster 700. If I got one of these devices instead could I use it to hook into the Virgin package??

The device you are thinking of is the Modeo device (http://www.modeo.com/what.asp), known as the HTC Forseer. This device WON'T be usable with the Virgin Mobile service, which is a shame, as it's quite a sexy device in the flesh (widescreen, thin etc.)

Thanks Paul.

Welcome :rolleyes:

P

[Guest nedge2k]

Just to add to that, the 700 is DAB-IP and the Forseer is DVB-H - two totally different TV broadcasting standards.

[Guest simonster]

Hi Paul,

Have they taken any of the usual stuff away, MSN Messenger for example? Does the bulge make the handset odd to hold, or does it fit well? Do the headphones have to be plugged in to work as an arial? Does it fit into a standard cradle to use in the car or does the shape make it tricky?

Cheers

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

Hi Paul,

Hi :rolleyes:

Have they taken any of the usual stuff away, MSN Messenger for example?

MSN Messenger present and correct :(

Does the bulge make the handset odd to hold, or does it fit well?

It feels nice in the hand actually, not uncomfortable to hold at all.

Do the headphones have to be plugged in to work as an arial?

Yes.

Does it fit into a standard cradle to use in the car or does the shape make it tricky?

You might have issues with a standard cradle I suppose, all though it's a 'shallow curve' as it were, so you could be OK. I imagine Brodit will ship a dedicated mount for it, which is always your best bet anyway!

P

[Guest peekie]

If it has digital services then it will pick up 1 channel in holland ned2 which broadcasts in the clear like bbc do, its a shame there is no smart card addon or is there ? as this will be the only way to get the pay channels and top up tv in the uk, must say i find it a bit ugly but then we said that about alot of phones in the past and fell for them,

my question paul is what standard does the tv use ? digital or anologe ? seeing as the switch off begins this year in the uk in wales i hope its digital or the phone will have a short life,

hows the sound on it is it stereo or mono sound and most important how is the screen quality is it a real watchable screen or does it suffer like the old lcd mini tvs ?

[Guest 4N1L]

Paul,

Can you switch the display sideways to watch tv in widescreen?

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

my question paul is what standard does the tv use ? digital or anologe ? seeing as the switch off begins this year in the uk in wales i hope its digital or the phone will have a short life,

Neither, it's DAB for TV, so you can only get the channels they provide. The radio however is real DAB.

hows the sound on it is it stereo or mono sound and most important how is the screen quality is it a real watchable screen or does it suffer like the old lcd mini tvs ?

Not sure yet on the sound, i'll have to listen in some more.

Screen quality is 'OK'... but then you'll find out more about that in my review :rolleyes:

P

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

Can you switch the display sideways to watch tv in widescreen?

So far as I can find thus far... NO!

:(

How stupid is that?!?!?

:rolleyes:

P

[Guest nickcornaglia]

How is the battery life while using the TV?

[Guest Dr Who]

Can you use the TV service with no SIM inserted? Quite interested to see if the phone can be used with a different operator SIM. I am assuming not since it is a subscription service offered by Virgin but I guess this can only be using an encoded stream and they issue a 'key' with the subscription?

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

How is the battery life while using the TV?

Too early to say at this stage.

P

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

Can you use the TV service with no SIM inserted? Quite interested to see if the phone can be used with a different operator SIM. I am assuming not since it is a subscription service offered by Virgin but I guess this can only be using an encoded stream and they issue a 'key' with the subscription?

You can watch TV with no / a different SIM... but the first time you watch a channel, the device connects to the Virgin website to download a licence - I guess when this expires you're going to have to put your Virgin SIM back in to get a new licence (I don't know how long this licence lasts - probably 1 month max).

P

[Guest awarner (MVP)]

Can you switch the display sideways to watch tv in widescreen?

So far as I can find thus far... NO!

:(

How stupid is that?!?!?

:rolleyes:

That's why I prefer the Forseer, but that's only being released in the US to begin with :)

[Guest WILBUR]

How is the battery life while using the TV?

I found that from a full charge i could watch just over 3 hours of TV before the battery warning indicator came on.

[Guest 4N1L]

So far as I can find thus far... NO!

:(

How stupid is that?!?!?

:rolleyes:

P

This is indeed rubbish! In your opinion, is this something that a firmware update could resolve?

[Guest Dr Who]

If it is the DEVICE that goes onto the web maybe all it does is check that you have a Virgin contract rather than requiring the SIM. If that is the case you might think that is possibly not the most secure security model for them to use.............

[Guest looeee]

the Virgin website says that "Watching TV is free for 90 days on Pay As You Go. BBC One is available until at least October 2007 and it's always free."

so does that mean you can watch BBC only on a non-virgin sim?

what's the tv reception like? do you have to be still?

can you walk around listening to DAB radio without losing signal?

do people stare and wonder what the hell you have in your hand?

Who made the TV reception software? virgin? or HTC?

does it feel well-written? is it stable?

do you see it as a main or 'weekend' phone?

[Guest mfvx5jb1]

Will you get chance to test it on the train or bus?

This is where it would come into it's own for me but as I struggle to get a decent GPRS signal on some trains I don't hold out much hope but perhaps DAB is more reliable

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

This is indeed rubbish! In your opinion, is this something that a firmware update could resolve?

Theoretically yes... whether it will, who knows.

Whether a bigger picture would make the compression artefacts even worse tho is a valid question...

P

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

If it is the DEVICE that goes onto the web maybe all it does is check that you have a Virgin contract rather than requiring the SIM. If that is the case you might think that is possibly not the most secure security model for them to use.............

It's not that simple unfortunately!

P

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

the Virgin website says that "Watching TV is free for 90 days on Pay As You Go. BBC One is available until at least October 2007 and it's always free."

so does that mean you can watch BBC only on a non-virgin sim?

Not necessarily... the first time I tried to watch BBC1 it still went online to acquire a licence, although of course that licence is 'free'.

what's the tv reception like? do you have to be still?

can you walk around listening to DAB radio without losing signal?

TV reception is OK outdoors, quite poor indoors in my experience.

Can you walk around without losing signal? Depends where you walk :rolleyes:

do people stare and wonder what the hell you have in your hand?

People stare at me and wonder anyway, so no change there :(

Who made the TV reception software? virgin? or HTC?does it feel well-written? is it stable?

HTC AFAIK. Yes, it seems stable.

do you see it as a main or 'weekend' phone?

You'll have to read my review for the answer to that. Remember, on Virgin it's the only Windows Mobile option, so would become the main option. Of course, the lack of a decent data tariff on Virgin will blight it somewhat...

P

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

Will you get chance to test it on the train or bus?

This is where it would come into it's own for me but as I struggle to get a decent GPRS signal on some trains I don't hold out much hope but perhaps DAB is more reliable

I should get a change to test it on the train.

P

[Guest preetkk]

Are these phone unlockable yet so I can put my t-mobile sim card in when I need to

As I have a spv c550 (as my 2nd phone) which is a windows device and I unlcoked myself