Will the M700 be my 'grail' Pocket PC?

[Guest fenns]

Guys - I drop by and lurk this forum for it's solid advice and knowledge - thanks to those who have unknowingly helped me get more out of my C500, M500 and M600 over the last couple of years and especially gears :D

That said, I've become frustrated with slow download and processing speeds of my M600 and the need to buy a separate GPS reciver if I wanted to use TT Navigator and so on.

When I saw the early specs of the M700 I thought "excellent!" all my wishes have come true:

1. faster download (3G)

2. faster processor (samsung whatever it is)

3. built in GPS (thereby saving money and one less thing to lose in the car)

4. FM radio

5. scroll wheel thingy

I now find feature 4 is absent (why? does no one listen to radio anymore?) and it only comes in white. Call me old fashioned but white is for bread bins, wedding dresses and gym shoes - not technical devices ;)

I digress. I don't want to have to swap mini-SD cards if I want to use TT Navigator on a M700 so can I buy a 1 or 2GB card and safely load my legitimate copy of TT Navigator on to that ? I recall reading somewhere that copying the software from the original card supplied by TT to another is difficult/impossible. Anyone done this without issue?

Second question, the O2 xDA Orbit seems similar to the M700 and that DOES have a FM radio but is it otherwise the same as the M700? If it is then I'll have to wave 'bye bye' to Orange after 12 years plus.

Thanks in advance

(I'm off home now so forgive lack of any immediate reply)

Sven

[Guest mandt]

the XDA Orbit (HTC Artemis) is an inferior device, only 200Mhz processor, no 3G, and the WiFi is B only

also I'd suggest trying out the trackball on the front first, it aint for everyone...

the SPV M700 (HTC Trinity) is lookng awesome, reportedly they have even put messenger back in. for me the only thing it's missing is a keyboard. It's just a shame its on Orange ;)

[Guest Funster]

Before I upgraded to the M3100 the M600 was the best PPC phone I'd had. Once you've had 3G you can't go back. I have the M700 now and I'm trying to get used to not having a keyboard again. I must admit I'm finding it tough. The biggest problem I have with the M700 is the lack of hardware buttons. The M3100 had loads. With the M700 I managed to work out a solution that I'm reasonably happy with.

Speed of the device is greatly improved over the M600 as it has the Samsung 400Mhz processor, I'm sure you'll appreciate the performance improvement. Messenger is mentioned in this thread but I can't seem to find it (haven't really dug around that much).

I got the GPS working by editing the registry and downloaded & installed the Orange Sat Nav software. I can't seem to get along with it, after being a long tome Garmin user it really seems a bit clunky. I'll look into getting TT or Copilot.

Lastly, the white plastic, to me it does look lame. You'll be dissapointed after the M600 which had a quality feel, the M700 does not. The screen in my M700 isn't centred correctly in the housing, there's a noticible black bar down the right side and this bugs me. Also there's something about the LEDs which appear cheap. I think it's to do with the way they're mounted in the white plastic. Fussy, aren't I?

Give it a shot, you could always return it within 7 days.

Cheers

Funster

[Guest jimbouk]

I had the m600 and now have the m3100. I cannot for the life of me contemplate changing to an M700.

[Guest Funster]

I had the m600 and now have the m3100. I cannot for the life of me contemplate changing to an M700.

You're right, it is a bit of a backward step, I think I'll go back to the M3100. As it was a free upgrade I just had to see what it was about. I just recently SIM & CID unlocked the M3100 so I may try some different ROMs to see if there are some speed improvements. If anyone can recommend a specific ROM then please do.

Cheers

Funster

[Guest jimbouk]

The HTC AKU 3.3 is meant to be pretty good...

[Guest Samsonite]

forgive my thickness... isnt the M700 a 3100 without the keyboard?

all the spex seem to be the same ('cept for the GPS)

[Guest jimbouk]

Its pretty similar yes. Its the M600 with the faster chips (3g and 400mhz processor) basically.

[Guest sven777]

Listen guys - I really appreciate the "I've got one and here's how it is" feedback. I don't have the sort of time to check these things in depth as I used to so this info. is really useful. Didn't realise the Oribit would be a retrograde step and my first impressions of the m700 dummy in the Orange shop seem to be justified - cheap finish and somewhat rushed to market ;)

Why don't Orange sort themselves out? I used to be a proud Orange user but now i feel like a lemon to be frank :D That said, I'm now considering a revisit to the M3100

I'll wait for something in matt black which includes FM radio (assuming all the obvious necessities of mobile life are already there!)

Anyway, thanks again ....and good night :(

Sven

[Guest dan5001]

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!!!!

I've been an avid fan of Orange's SPV series of phones for many years now & have never understood other people's reluctance to buy them, especially when they cite the fact that "they look rubbish" as a reason! My last contract with Orange (who, like fenns, I've been with for years) is up & I was hoping to upgrade from my current C600 but having checked out the M700 (which has everything I could want from a device at the moment), for once, I find myself having to agree! It is the cheapest, plasticky (if that's even a word) looking device I've ever seen (apart from those toy phones 3 year old kids play with)!!! In white it looks awful! In black, slightly better but still not great (& Orange say they won't let me have one anyway because the black ones are for business customers only)!! This alone has put me off upgrading to this device & since Orange aren't currently supplying the C700 because they say it "failed" some of their tests, I find myself in the position of either having to get another C600 or leaving Orange (which I'm reluctant to do coz I've got a great deal with them).

As sven777 says, "Why don't Orange sort themselves out"? I really can't see the point of releasing a top notch device, that knocks the socks off any other one on the market (especially with the built in GPS receiver) & then making it look like crap!

I've got about 3 weeks to decide what to do before I miss another month without a new device but I'm stuck! The M3100 looks much better but I think it's just too big to carry around in my pocket all day but working where I do, looks are important & whilst I've had the odd compliment about my C500/600's, I'd be embarrassed to answer the M700 in anywhere other than a darkened room!!

Any ideas?

[Guest sven777]

I've found myself thinking about this and it can only be attributable to:

1. someone at Orange who's only experience is working in an unsophisticated foreign market, such as Kazakstan, that likes bright and plasticky packaging .....and don't start - I'm not being derogatory - bright and plasticky has it's place if that's your bag ;)

2. Their boss was off sick or has no understanding of the market place and is simply a 'professional manager'

3. it's a joke and Orange wait to see how long they can get away with it

4. (the most likely in my experience) the Orange bean counters said the cost of the improvements put up unit cost by 19p so savings had to be made and HTC said "well, we have these casings we supplied to V-Tech in the States (kids' electronic toy makers) which we can't get rid off ('cos they look shite) and we can supply those for...oh 2p per unit....and we'll do them in white (i.e. this means we don't even have to paint them for those idiot surrender monkeys) which is a very trendy colour don't you know Mr. Drip Dry accountant person. You mean you haven't heard of i-Pods? Oh yes! they are very popular with the young and coloured white so your Pocket PC device will fly off the shelves! Great news HTC sales person I'll take 'em all" :D

Ok I got a bit carried away there but only because i can see it all happening in some sad little orange 'executive suite' What other explanation is there for such a howling mistake? :(

sven

[Guest jimbouk]

I can believe that O were looking for a unique look for the device. I think they are trying to make theeir signature range more trendy and thus appeal to a bigger market than just us geeks.

IMHO they got it wrong though...

The M3100 is only a few mmm deeper than the m600/700 and is the best looking derivative of the hermes. I will alsoguarantee that if any of you go for the hermes/3100 you will find it very tough to change back to a device without a keyboard!

(Note that changing from a smartphone to a PPC is a culture shock in itself - for example not being able to T9 type one handed on a phone keypad - but the 3100 is the best of the bunch)

[Guest Funster]

I can believe that O were looking for a unique look for the device. I think they are trying to make theeir signature range more trendy and thus appeal to a bigger market than just us geeks.

IMHO they got it wrong though...

The M3100 is only a few mmm deeper than the m600/700 and is the best looking derivative of the hermes. I will alsoguarantee that if any of you go for the hermes/3100 you will find it very tough to change back to a device without a keyboard!

(Note that changing from a smartphone to a PPC is a culture shock in itself - for example not being able to T9 type one handed on a phone keypad - but the 3100 is the best of the bunch)

Pretty much spot on.

My M700 is going back tomorrow and being replaced with another M3100 as my original M3100 is looking a little tired.

[Guest mandt]

I can believe that O were looking for a unique look for the device. I think they are trying to make theeir signature range more trendy and thus appeal to a bigger market than just us geeks.

IMHO they got it wrong though...

The M3100 is only a few mmm deeper than the m600/700 and is the best looking derivative of the hermes. I will alsoguarantee that if any of you go for the hermes/3100 you will find it very tough to change back to a device without a keyboard!

(Note that changing from a smartphone to a PPC is a culture shock in itself - for example not being able to T9 type one handed on a phone keypad - but the 3100 is the best of the bunch)

I'd also totally agree with that, after having a keyboard for a while now I just couldn't manage without it, so it's gonna be the Kaiser for me (soon I hope)

[Guest dan5001]

The M3100 is only a few mmm deeper than the m600/700 and is the best looking derivative of the hermes. I will alsoguarantee that if any of you go for the hermes/3100 you will find it very tough to change back to a device without a keyboard!

(Note that changing from a smartphone to a PPC is a culture shock in itself - for example not being able to T9 type one handed on a phone keypad - but the 3100 is the best of the bunch)

I'm tempted by the 3100 but just feel that it might be too cumbersome to run about with as my job is very active & I wouldn't want to damage it by having it shake around in my pocket.

I should mention that I do have a HP 2210 PDA aswell as my C600, which is why I was hoping to be able to combine both products into one device (not least because there have been many occasions when I wished I had my Word/Excel files or my TomTom satnav & didn't because I didn't bring my PDA with me that particular day!). Although the m700 fits that bill, having handled it, I'm just not confident that it could stand up to the daily rigours of my work environment.

The 3100 on the other hand doesn't seem to have all of the same features i.e. a built in GPS receiver (that works) & it just looks like texting would be a nightmare coz u'd have to put the thing down on a level surface etc, rather than being able to hold it in one hand & type.

I have a magnificent contract with Orange which I'm very reluctant to give up but I think I might have to curb my enthusiasm & wait another 18months for the next generation of devices to appear on our shelves ;) :D :(