Vodaphone v1620: Seriously Slick Styling Says Source

[Jon Westfall]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.geekzone.co.nz/content.asp?ContentId=4401' target='_blank'>http://www.geekzone.co.nz/content.a...?ContentId=4401</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Vodafone is rolling out its push email, a service providing real-time, secure and remote access to email, contacts and calendar direct to a range of business-focused mobile devices. As part of its announcement of this new service, the company is also introducing the Vodafone v1620 Pocket PC Phone Edition. The v1620 is an enhanced version of the HTC Blue Angel, with a fast Intel Xscale CPU at 520MHz, 128MB RAM, QVGA (320x240 pixels) TFT touchscreen." </i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/westfall-20050422-voda.jpg" /><br /> <br />Vodaphone is releasing their branded version of the HTC Blue Angel, dubbed the ultra roll-off-the-tongue name of the V1620. While this particular model of PPC-PE is not new to us, the styling on this branded version is pretty nice (Seriously Slick according to my confidential source). Perhaps the day isn't far away where we'll love what these devices can do, as well as how good they look in our palms (or maybe that last line should read "how good they look instead of Palm's")

[MitchellO]

8O 8O 8O 8O 8O

WOW!!! That really does look good! I think it looks better than the standard Blue Angels available.

I think they are making up for the crappy look of the VPA Compact vs. iMate JAM/XDA II Mini, with there Vodafone v1620 vs. XDA IIs/iMate PDA2k

[Kowalski]

if only this device had VGA resolution, wouldnt be the BEST device ever?

[MitchellO]

AMEN!!!! 0X 0X

[atpcz]

we've got one of them here at work. although its not called the V1620. the only downside i have about it is the d-pad - theres too much roll in it and you can see the insides!.

with regards to their push email service - oh please! here in the UK, vodafone and o2 don't work with AUTD activesync. if you phone up vodafone and ask them if they support it, they havn't a clue, then ask you if you'd like a blackberry device... o2 said they don't support it and that i should get in contact with microsoft and ask them about it...

so at the moment i'm stuck with either manual or every 5/10/15 minute syncs.

[HexiumVII]

blue angels aren't that great

[freitasm]

we've got one of them here at work. although its not called the V1620. the only downside i have about it is the d-pad - theres too much roll in it and you can see the insides!.

with regards to their push email service - oh please! here in the UK, vodafone and o2 don't work with AUTD activesync. if you phone up vodafone and ask them if they support it, they havn't a clue, then ask you if you'd like a blackberry device... o2 said they don't support it and that i should get in contact with microsoft and ask them about it...

so at the moment i'm stuck with either manual or every 5/10/15 minute syncs.

Vodafone is not supporting AUTD because they're implementing their own service based on Visto (http://www.geekzone.co.nz/content.asp?contentid=4400). The service is available for Windows Mobile (Motorola MPx220, v6120) and Symbian (P910i and 6630i).

[freitasm]

with regards to their push email service - oh please! here in the UK, vodafone and o2 don't work with AUTD activesync. if you phone up vodafone and ask them if they support it, they havn't a clue, then ask you if you'd like a blackberry device... o2 said they don't support it and that i should get in contact with microsoft and ask them about it...

As for not supporting AUTD... All Vodafone operators have a service that provides e-mail to SMS gateway. I am using this on Vodafone NZ, and another MVP followed one of our guides and is using it in Germany.

Call Vodafone and don't ask for AUTD - simply ask for an e-mail to SMS gateway service. They may charge for each message sent though, depending on country.

[adamz]

I wonder if this new version of Blue Angel has Windows Media Player 10. Maybe they switched it to the latest Microsoft Bluetooth stack instead of Widcomm too.

[R K]

"The v1620 is an enhanced version of the HTC Blue Angel, with a fast Intel Xscale CPU at 520MHz, 128MB RAM, QVGA (320x240 pixels) TFT touchscreen."

Was I the only one who noticed that this is not the standard HTC Blue Angel?
It has a 520MHz XScale CPU but it's not the equivalent to the Xda IIi right? It looks like an Xda IIi + Xda IIs hybrid.

[MitchellO]

Yeah I noticed that. Its a pretty neat device. Just lacking VGA.......

[Raphael Salgado]

I wonder if this new version of Blue Angel has Windows Media Player 10.

The latest "leaked" image for GSM Blue Angel devices includes Windows Media Player 10. I've got it on my PDA2k thanks to the active community at www.xda-developers.com. I wouldn't see why this version wouldn't have it or wouldn't get it soon if it didn't out-of-the-box.

[whydidnt]

blue angels aren't that great

Thank you for that informative comment! :bangin:

This is indeed the best looking Blue Angel device I've seen. I also like the upgraded processor. I wonder if there is an impact on the battey life, though. That's one of the achilles heels of this device.

[jickbahtech]

I dont think the new processor will impact battery life to badly. My 2750 (624Mhz) gets better life than the old 5450 (Underclocked to 300MHz) my wife uses, and it has the same sized battery.

Really...You guys are liking this design...I don't dislike it, but it's not really turning me on. It is really sleek, but I kinda like the edges on the current blue angel, (Pardon the geek-ery) kinda looks like a Stak Trek spaceship.

[denethor]

... Just lacking VGA.......
Also EDGE

[ricksfiona]

If this had VGA, I would seriously consider purchasing it. 624MHz and I think I would have to take out a loan....

[beq]

I wonder if this new version of Blue Angel has Windows Media Player 10.

The latest "leaked" image for GSM Blue Angel devices includes Windows Media Player 10. I've got it on my PDA2k thanks to the active community at www.xda-developers.com. I wouldn't see why this version wouldn't have it or wouldn't get it soon if it didn't out-of-the-box.

Ohh, please do share more about how to get WMP10 on our PDA2k?? I just posted in another thread (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=39502) about how it turns out the Pocket PC (with WMP9) is apparently not always supported by music services even if they claim to support Windows Media DRM devices in general. Now I'm hoping WMP10 is the required ingridient for this support...


Edit: http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=20339

On second thought perhaps I'll just wait for i-mate to release their official ROM upgrade, heh :D

[beq]

BTW faster CPU is all good, but what I'm finding with my PDA2k &amp; JAM (my first Phone Edition devices) is that phone devices apparently have very limited processes so you can't run or boot start too many applications, unfortunately? :( Mentioned here (http://www.pocketmax.net/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=37)...

And in using some of the PDA2k features everything slows down considerably sometimes, which I guess is a symptom of the same problem (for example my older iPAQ 2210 is snappier even with slower CPU).

[Stephen Beesley]

Finally a Pocket PC Phone that I like the styling of - but it would have to have VGA to tempt me...

[dbrahms]

if you're not sporting Verizon's EVDO service, then you might as well move on. These devices all look the same, the Audiovox 6600, the Sprint PPC 6601, the PDA2K etc. They're all the same HTC guts pretty much...with a few exceptions. But, it's all about the network. The EVDO network is sooooo fast. I can stream a 200kbps full movie from my home pc to my PPC without a single pause or rebuffering. This was the main reason I switched from GPRS.

EVDO and Orb is a great match !

[R K]

(for example my older iPAQ 2210 is snappier even with slower CPU).
The iPAQ H2210 has a slower CPU?

But, it's all about the network. The EVDO network is sooooo fast. I can stream a 200kbps full movie from my home pc to my PPC without a single pause or rebuffering. This was the main reason I switched from GPRS.
If you have WiFi and you're not on the road so much, then carrier speed is not such a big deal. Besides, EVDO is pretty expensive at $40-$80 a month, especially compared to the GSM/GPRS/EDGE price of $20 a month.