More Details on the HTC Magician/Compact MDA/Qtek S100

[Pat Logsdon]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mobinaute.com%2Fmobinaute%2Farticle_comm.php%3Fid%3D20041014204115&langpair=fr%7Cen&hl=en&safe=active&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=%2Flanguage_tools' target='_blank'>http://translate.google.com/transla...Flanguage_tools</a><br /><br /></div><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/logsdon_20041015_magician.jpg" /> <br /><br />Mobinaut has obtained some detailed information on the upcoming HTC Magician. Rather than quoting the Google translation, I'll list the most interesting features:<br /><br />• 416 MHz PXA270 Processor<br />• Option of 64 or 128 MB RAM and 64MB ROM<br />• Triband GSM (900/1800/1900 OR 850/1800/1900)<br />• GPRS Class 10<br />• Support for AMR/<b>AAC</b>/WAV/WMA/MP3/MPEG4 codecs<br />• SD/MMC Slot<br />• 1.3 MP Camera<br />• Bluetooth 1.2 Stack<br />• Mini USB Port<br />• Bundled with an IR Keyboard<br />• "Integrated Customer MMS"<br />• Java J2ME Virtual Machine<br />• Fax software<br />• 150 Gram Weight (including battery)<br />• Available in France toward the end of November<br />• Estimated Price of 500 EUR (approx $625 US)<br /><br />There are some nice specs sprinkled into that tasty little device. AAC support? Will we finally be able to listen to iTunes tracks? Maybe? Mini USB port, bundled IR keyboard? This is all good stuff. The screen is still 2.8 inches, but maybe the extra goodies are enough to overlook that? What do you think?

[zohaer21]

hi
2.8 inch NON VGA screen... i think with all the extra goodies in this pack will still not make up for that less than adequate screen real estate!
just my 2 cents..

[Mark Johnson]

The screen is still 2.8 inches, but maybe the extra goodies are enough to overlook that? What do you think?

The size (2.8") would not be such a problem if it had VGA sharpness. With QVGA though, 2.8" is a concern for me.

[tourdewolf]

Unless this thing is dirt cheap it is going to have a hard time surviving in the comming months. When I look at it I think "might as well buy a treo"

.02

[Fishie]

What stuff are you guys smoking?

The treo sold/sells just fine with a screen that is way less then half this resolution and this thing WILL be cheaper then the current Treo, the Treo 650 will have a higher resolution yes but who knows when it comes out and at what price.

Lotsa PPCs are selling quite well at the same resolution as this one on a bgger screen so the screen will still look better and denser then the majority of other systems out there.

[Mark Johnson]

What stuff are you guys smoking?

Now don't hold back Fishie, tell us what you really think. :wink:


Lotsa PPCs are selling quite well at the same resolution as this one...

I'm thinking of this summer's IDC report that handheld sales were down 2% this year. Sales really are not doing all that well. There's a sense of both "seen that already" and (more importantly) "own that already." The early handheld "generation leaps" (from simple audio error beeps to rich mp3 playback, from mono screens to high-color) were what made people "come back to the table" every year. We're way overdue for an upgrade from QVGA. Not to be argumentative, but I would say:

Lotsa PPCs are being ignored this year because they are the same resolution as what people already have.

I know I've been completely underwhelmed by all the QVGA units I've seen this summer. Just my two cents...

[jimski]

[quote="Pat Logsdon This is all good stuff. The screen is still 2.8 inches, but maybe the extra goodies are enough to overlook that? What do you think?[/quote]

Ah, the "is it a small PPC or a big phone :roll: debate continues".

IMHO, just treat yourself to a 4700 or X50v :wink: and pickup a nice (but small) Bluetooth enabled phone. Best of both Worlds!

[Fishie]

Down in the US up in Europe I might add.

Regardles, this is a sweet little machine and at 500€ is about 400€ cheaper then the XDA2 is over here.

[Jonathan1]

Separated at birth? You be the judge:

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/logsdon_20041015_magician.jpg http://www.auction-air.com/auction_2004_mar/images/ipod_orig_w148.jpg

:) Definitely has the Apple genes.

[Jonathan1]

AAC support? Will we finally be able to listen to iTunes tracks? Maybe?


Nope. Unless there was some super sec negotiations with Apple there isn't anyone out there who has a license to use Apple's Fairplay DRM tech. So AAC yes. Fairplay AAC...prob not. :?

[surur]

I believe this is a similar size to the t610. It is really small. If I was buying a pocketpc phone for my wife, this would be it.

The XDA2 has been very big in europe. This has it beat on many fronts (faster, smaller (by miles), lighter, better bluetooth and camera). It will expand the market to the mainstream.

As fishie said, this is going to be all the rage in europe. Pity it has no wifi, but its otherwise a very decent unit that stacks up very well to non-smartphones and even better to large and clunky smartphones.

Surur

[cslaughtermd]

c'mon guys! I know it's QVGA and has a small screen - that's because it's REALLY SMALL! This is like a 2/3 sized version of an XDA II with a better camera! I don't know if it will be my next device, I love my XDA II for now (still waiting for the next PPC Phone edition update), but this thing is groundbreaking for features/size combo in a ppc.

[jasondearyou]

I think this is a good divice, and it's really nice to have it unlocked.

Does anyone knows if this device will be unlocked or will it come with a carrier.


Also an off question, the H63XX is sold in Europe and I was wondering if it is unlocked in europe or is there anyway that it could be unlocked to be used anywhere?

[Marcel_Proust]

AAC support? Will we finally be able to listen to iTunes tracks? Maybe?


Nope. Unless there was some super sec negotiations with Apple there isn't anyone out there who has a license to use Apple's Fairplay DRM tech. So AAC yes. Fairplay AAC...prob not. :?

all Pocket PCs can already listen to AAC, and with a little tweaking, even their iTunes tracks. Try the player at www.40thfloor.com
This player also has the best audio playback of mp3 available on the pocket pc.

[Fishie]

I think this is a good divice, and it's really nice to have it unlocked.

Does anyone knows if this device will be unlocked or will it come with a carrier.


Also an off question, the H63XX is sold in Europe and I was wondering if it is unlocked in europe or is there anyway that it could be unlocked to be used anywhere?



Depends where you are at, in Holland and the UK for instance phones come locked.

In Belgium however it is illegal to lock a phone to a carier so if you buy from Belgium you are guaranted an unlocked machine.

[k_kirk]

c'mon guys! I know it's QVGA and has a small screen - that's because it's REALLY SMALL! This is like a 2/3 sized version of an XDA II with a better camera! I don't know if it will be my next device, I love my XDA II for now (still waiting for the next PPC Phone edition update), but this thing is groundbreaking for features/size combo in a ppc.

I agree with you. As a current XDA2 owner I do not feel the urge to jump on to this new version. I think the market for this unit is the people who like the XDA functionality but don't like the size. These people stick to their Nokias, Motos, Ericssons etc. With this new version O2 is sure to make a big hit.

I am dead sure 6-9 months after this one is released there will be similar physical format units with WiFi builtin and possibly VGA option. By then my XDA2 will be 2 years old and presto! Another one bites the dust.

For now, more power to HTC...

[jonathanchoo]

Separated at birth? You be the judge:

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/logsdon_20041015_magician.jpg http://www.auction-air.com/auction_2004_mar/images/ipod_orig_w148.jpg

:) Definitely has the Apple genes.

In what way is this similar to the overrated iPod?

[beq]

Just curious why all the outbursts about no VGA? I thought no current PPC Phone Edition will have VGA -- this is the major current trade-off, either buy yourself a plain VGA PPC plus a separate cellphone, or buy a PPC Phone Edition with QVGA. I mean, the MDA III won't have VGA either, neither will MPx, etc.

What's worrying is the specs list triband GSM whereas I could've sworn PPCT's previous news articles mentioned it was quadband just like the MDA III? I'd like to get this for a family member who's globetrotting to other continents...

[jonathanchoo]

Depends where you are at, in Holland and the UK for instance phones come locked.

In Belgium however it is illegal to lock a phone to a carier so if you buy from Belgium you are guaranted an unlocked machine.

Most o2 phones are not locked. I had the T610, T630, K700i (sold), Siemens SX1 (returned), Nokia 6600 (returned) and Nokia 7610 (current) and all were factory unlocked.

Rumours was the o2 XDA II isn't locked as well.

[Dolphin]

I think those of you out there that are so quick to point out that this unit does not have a vga display and other features are forgetting one major point... this unit is about size and weight!!!

I don't think that anything else can compete with this unit for size and weight. If I'm wrong about this, someone please tell me what they think is better... because I want a small & light PPC Phone!

[azur]

I have actually held the imate JAM aka Compact MDA aka HTC Magician aka Qtek S100 aka spank-me-and-name-me-whatever-you-want !! :lol:

its really small!!.. sturdy and well built, I can see what the niche of this device will be.. its those nokia symbian/SE P900/treo users who want a PPC phone edition but are perplexed because of the size issue ..

nothing will do this device justice until u hold it

in the meantime u can view the following picture
http://x.msmobiles.com/portal/high-res-images/photokina2004/photokina-6-big.jpg

[surur]

in the meantime u can view the following picture
http://x.msmobiles.com/portal/high-res-images/photokina2004/photokina-6-big.jpg

That picture clearly illustrates the upcoming collision between smartphones and PPCPE devices, now that MS has allowed smaller and larger screens.

I vote for the PPCPE myself, but I wish MS would improve their phone interface to allow improved one handed use. Just because it has a touch screen does not mean you have to be forced to pull out your stylus to click the OK icon :(

Surur

[tourdewolf]

in the meantime u can view the following picture
http://x.msmobiles.com/portal/high-res-images/photokina2004/photokina-6-big.jpg

That picture clearly illustrates the upcoming collision between smartphones and PPCPE devices, now that MS has allowed smaller and larger screens.

I vote for the PPCPE myself, but I wish MS would improve their phone interface to allow improved one handed use. Just because it has a touch screen does not mean you have to be forced to pull out your stylus to click the OK icon :(

Surur


Amen! The keyboard is the ONLY reason I am still holding the treo 600. (and of course the lack of an extra 10 large to buy the mdaIII)

I wonder why we don't already have a small screen PPC with a thumb board. The benq looks promising but for some cosmic reason it seems that no one can get one of these to market. MPX is another example.

.02

[Mark Johnson]

c'mon guys! I know it's QVGA and has a small screen - that's because it's REALLY SMALL!

I think those of you out there that are so quick to point out that this unit does not have a vga display and other features are forgetting one major point... this unit is about size and weight!!!


Actually, I'm not *at all* saying they should have put a *larger* screen on the unit, I'm saying that the PPI sharpness of an X-inch QVGA resolution is pretty crummy next to an identical sized X-inch VGA screen. 2.8" is fine as to dimensions, but QVGA provides too few pixels to make good use of that small of a screen.

I, for one, have been really dissapointed that units like the hx4700 have 4" screens instead of 3.5" or 3" screens. I think the idea of shrinking PPC's, PhoneEdition units to smaller dimensions is right on. I completely AGREE (and have not missed the major point) that this unit is about size and weight.

My point is not even remotely "make it bigger and heavier to accomodate a larger VGA screen" but rather: "Nice start to this design, good work making it smaller, lighter and more pocketable, it's just too bad they skimped and stuck with QVGA."

I'm sure you guys have noticed all the recent releases about 2" and (impressively) UNDER 2" screens with VGA. So you know if within the last couple of months the LCD manufacturers are sampling sub-2" VGA, they've been shipping sub-3" for a long time. I'm just amazed at how little VGA is getting onto shipped devices, and I for one am voting with my $.

My real point is simply that device size *reduction* really creates a need for *increased* resolution.

[Fishie]

There are no VGA screens under 2 inch yet.
The big news at CEATEC Japan was the new smallest ever VGA screen by Casio which was still 2.2 inch large as opposed to the old record holder that was 2.6 inches.

Neither screen has been released yet and neither will go into production until sometime next year.

[Jonathan1]

AAC support? Will we finally be able to listen to iTunes tracks? Maybe?


Nope. Unless there was some super sec negotiations with Apple there isn't anyone out there who has a license to use Apple's Fairplay DRM tech. So AAC yes. Fairplay AAC...prob not. :?

all Pocket PCs can already listen to AAC, and with a little tweaking, even their iTunes tracks. Try the player at www.40thfloor.com
This player also has the best audio playback of mp3 available on the pocket pc.

re-Read my post. There isn't any player on the market that works with the DRM iTunes uses. This is why there is such flack over iTMS and the iPod. Its a whole solution that can't be replicated on any other players.
If this ISN'T the case please feel free to point me to a player on the PPC that can handle iTunes Music Store songs that have the Fairplay DRM.

[Jonathan1]

In what way is this similar to the overrated iPod?

Other then the very clean interface? Other then the very curvy device? Other then the single color device? Compare this to every other PDA on the market. Its a decided departure from the norm. Dude the thing looks iPod-ish even if you don’t want to admit it. There's no harm in that unless you are some rabid person who can't stand to even look at an Apple device without foaming at the mouth.

As for overrated. Huh. I guess aprox 60% of the music player market the purchasers of 3.7 million iPods don't agree with you. :roll:

[darrylb]

This will be a cool little device.

VGA means more four times as many pixels to power which impacts on battery requirements. PPCPE devices are bad enough for battery now - adding VGA would kill them completely.

VGA is good, but not great - and it wont be great for me until the apps I use are VGA compatible. Until then it deliveres limited value. Even then the value has to weigh up favourably against the extra price, size and battery overhead.

You ask any P800/P900 user if VGA is important to them. That is the market this device will go after and will do really well in.

Frankly, I think VGA is overrated for business use. It might be really nice for games (assuming the games are VGA aware), but they dont provide huge advantage for business yet. It may in the near future though.

Expect this device to capture a nice niche in the PDA market.

[Dolphin]

Just because it has a touch screen does not mean you have to be forced to pull out your stylus to click the OK icon :(

Surur

Very well Said!

[Mark Johnson]

There are no VGA screens under 2 inch yet.

You are correct sir! I had recalled (correctly) that VGA had gotten well under 3" but was mistaken in my belief that it had gotten under 2" yet.

The 2.2" VGA (368dpi) Casio (September 22, 2004):
http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=32517

The 2.6" VGA (300dpi) Samsung (August 10, 2004):
http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=31055

For my "unresearched statement penance" I did my homework and tracked down the above announcements on what the current smallest are. :wink:

Of course, following the links and looking at the photos of these units has left me more convinced than ever that I've got to have VGA and simply won't settle for QVGA anymore on any of my future PPC purchases. The pixel-density/sharpness of these VGA screens is awesome! It really points out how dramatically more usable an X-inch VGA screen is to an X-inch QVGA screen.


VGA means more four times as many pixels to power which impacts on battery requirements.

As far as battery life goes, that's an interesting issue. I'm a bit unclear on how much of a problem this would be. Clearly this can't be anything like 4x the pixels uses 4x the power, right? I mean isn't this a bit like taking a wall in your home and either putting 10 100-watt bulbs on it, or in the same space placing 100 10-watt bulbs? I realise the "switching equipment" adds a power-draw penalty, but the overall output lumens would be the same, so also the base wattage draw right? I'm not really clear on this, I'm not a EE, but it doesn't strike me that VGA automatically must mean dramatically increased power draw over QVGA.

[Fishie]

No problem

The Casio people at CEATEC started to get a bit woried about me since I stared at the screens for so long.

I like super high res as well and to that effect I have found a great friend in my Sigmarion3 since nonbe of the current PPCs appeal to me.

Still id think QVGA on a 2.8 inch screen looks quite nice.

[mashtim]

All I know is that if this thing is approximately the size of the SE T610, then I want one! This would be the perfect pocketable size for a PPCPE device! No new software, no learning curve, and I can still use Pocket Word or Excel in a pinch. When the WiFi version comes out in a few years, I'll probably get that one, too!

[emjay]

From the pictures it looks like it's more P900 sized than T610. Still small for a PPCPE, and I'm certainly considering it!