Are smartphones (WM standard) a dying breed?

[Guest simon211175]

I had a Qtek 8500. I loved it. I "upgraded" to an HTC Touch. I hated it. The biggest thing I hate is the unresponsiveness. I never had trouble with smartphones, but all I hear about touchscreen devices is the lack of speed.

I want a smartphone. I'm not too keen on having one with a qwerty keyboard - the keys look too small and the devices too big.

I'm also not overly keen to have a device the size and shape of an actual brick (no names...Asus M930).

The only new device I can see on the horizon is the Samsung i200 - which IMO doesn't look that appealing.

Are smartphones dying out or does anybody know of a new batch hiding in a dark corner somewhere?

[Guest chucky.egg]

The Touch may have twisted your views of PPCs (Windows Mobile Pro devices, call them what you will).

Even overclocked, with the 4Mb page pool and numerous other "tweaks" it still isn't "fast". The trouble with speed is you get used to it, and it starts feeling slow. The worst situation is delay in answering calls - it's barely acceptable IMO.

But you're right - Windows Mobile Standard devices are dying out. It's been going on a while, but is speeding up.

The I200 is basic, but very very thin

The S710 was nice (has a keyboard) but felt bulky and wasnt fast either

The I600 (QWERTY, blackberry style) was very nice, but poor battery life

I can't think of any really good examples that are currently available.

[Guest simon211175]

My friend is getting the Omnia when released, so at least I'll be able to compare the speed with his.

I even found myself looking at latest Nokias the other day - I was so ashamed.

[Guest Dark Horse]

I even found myself looking at latest Nokias the other day - I was so ashamed.

Agree completely, after having had a PPC (HTC Wizard) dumped on me by work for several weeks trial, it was a relief to give the thing back (they decided on Blackberry in the end and it's not difficult to see why). The whole touch screen UI doesn't do it for me, it's too slow and fiddly whilst the extra bulk of a PPC is about as welcome as McBottle's tax rises.

I think the finger of blame should also be pointed at Microsoft though, not least through the stupid naming convention and technology platform that blurs the lines between moby's with bolted on PDA functionality and PDA's with bolted on telephony. It'll be a sad day if the Windows Smartphone does eventually expire, to all intent and purposes, I think this is what Microsoft would ideally want and seems to be pushing it that way even though there is a definite gap in the market for small, functional, smartphones with basic PDA functionality that can be used one-handed. If and when that does happen though, I'll be the first to jump ship to the Nokia's, SE's and iPhone's for a replacement rather than go down the PPC route.

[Guest chucky.egg]

Yep, I've just got a Tytn II coming now, but was looking at Blackberrys and Nokias very seriously over the last few days

The thing is I kept switching back and forth between Professional and Standard (as they are now). In reality the problem is that neither of them is a compelling answer to my needs.

Standard interface is too limited/dated/low-res, battery life too poor (IME, YMMV)

Professional is awkward to use without stylus, and is too slow when using phone functions

At the time the best phones I've had were things like the C500 and the Blackjack (just like Dark Horse I expect), but all the recent models leave me cold for one reason or another.

I've checked out the competition (Nokia E51, Blackberry 8800 and 8310, iPhone's not for me) and they all have draw-backs too, so for now I'll stay put with Professional.

[Guest Dark Horse]

The thing is I kept switching back and forth between Professional and Standard (as they are now). In reality the problem is that neither of them is a compelling answer to my needs.

Standard interface is too limited/dated/low-res, battery life too poor (IME, YMMV)

Professional is awkward to use without stylus, and is too slow when using phone functions

At the time the best phones I've had were things like the C500 and the Blackjack (just like Dark Horse I expect), but all the recent models leave me cold for one reason or another.

I've checked out the competition (Nokia E51, Blackberry 8800 and 8310, iPhone's not for me) and they all have draw-backs too, so for now I'll stay put with Professional.

Yes, the best moby's I've had are also the C500 followed by the Blackjack. The S710 is also a very good handset too, I could live with the performance as it really wasn't a problem opening and closing that keyboard. With regards to the competition, the Nokia E61i is tops along with the Blackberry Curve. Sony Ericsson's P1i has both a touchscreen and a qwerty keypad that's passable for serious texts all in a lovely small form factor.

The thing with the rival Symbian/Blackberry handsets is that the UI and intuitiveness is just so much better than Windows and they have the basics (phone and sms) nailed down pat. On the Nokia for example, you can change the size of the sms text and the degree of profile customisation is second to none. Contrast that with Windows that functionally, offers a richer interface at the expense of one that is far more cumbersome to use. Will be interesting to see what the new Google Android platform offers as an alternative.

[Guest chucky.egg]

I've recently got an E51 for the GF to try out, and liked it a lot (despite not having long to play with it before handing it over)

I've also just seen this Nokia E71, which looks very good

[Guest Dark Horse]

I've recently got an E51 for the GF to try out, and liked it a lot (despite not having long to play with it before handing it over)

I've also just seen this Nokia E71, which looks very good

That's a lovely looking handset but don't you think the keyboard looks too cramped? Reviewer thinks so too, it's like the Blackberry 8800 that has a horrid keypad.

[Guest Montala]

That's a lovely looking handset but don't you think the keyboard looks too cramped? Reviewer thinks so too, it's like the Blackberry 8800 that has a horrid keypad.

How about the forthcoming Blackberry 9000 Bold... it's certainly tempting me!

[Guest chucky.egg]

Yeah, the 8800 has a nasty keyboard IMO. It's too big anyway - the 83xx are better. The Bold does look nice

The other Standard devices that might be worth a look are the Palm Treo 500 and Palm Centro (that one might be Palm OS, not sure). Very small, blackberry factor. I considered them, but gave up on the idea of Standard.

AFAICT you can't sync calendar, contacts etc with Exchange over-the-air to a Blackberry (unless you buy a Blackberry service). My current Exchange host, laptop, WM device combination suits me very well for simplicity and cost.

I don't know. I really don't.

I've used WM for years, but in the last 12 months I've spent over £1,000 in search of my perfect device. Not including airtime subscriptions, I buy SIM-free. £1,000.

[Guest myblackjack2.com]

Does Microsoft keep an available list of all WM Standard Compatible Smartphones (non-touchscreen)?

I have to agree that non-touchscreen devices seem to be going the way of the dinosaur.. it just doesnt seem like there are that many floating around. Off the top of my head i can think of the Moto Q, Blackjack/2, Dash ..

If windows mobile devices are all going to touchscreen (WM Pro) i really hope they figure out how to slim the phone down. Every WM Pro phone ive seen with a hard QWERTY keyboard is a brick -- i cant imagine carrying those things around in my pocket.

Edited June 23, 2008 by myblackjack2.com

[Guest chucky.egg]

For a more comprehensive list of devices try www.pdadb.net

[Guest cesardavid]

I have a omnia I900 PDA: DXHH3/DZHH3 and PHONE:DXHH3 sometimes screen seems to be crazy and moves very fast through the icons without touching it. I need a help with this.thanks

[Guest SGH-i200]

I want a smartphone. I'm not too keen on having one with a qwerty keyboard - the keys look too small and the devices too big.

...the Samsung i200 - which IMO doesn't look that appealing.

I own one SGH-i200! It's a great phone but has no wlan. I think you would love it, too!

A similar disussion is going on here: The Perfect Smartphone, Is it out there?

Edited November 6, 2009 by SGH-i200

[Guest Kristain]

As from official launch, I saw Sony Ericsson Xperia X2. The new window mobile 6.5 phone has a sliding QWERTY keyboard and 8.1 megapixel camera.

I found it best,you can try it.

Thanks

Hanley Jonson

[Guest Limlin]

Yes, you can wait for SE X2. It seems good.