madd74
08-27-2006, 01:42 AM
Okay, I thought I would throw in my experiences with this phone, and a little background. Maybe help some think about things.
First off, note that I am a computer science major. After dealing with this phone, I feel like I should give my diplomia back :D THe phone I owned before (still have) was an Audiovox 5600. This is a Windows Mobile 2003 2nd Ed, ver 4.21.1088 smartphone, powered by Cingular. This is also my second "smart" phone that I have owned, the Audiovox for over a year.
I will start with a few apps that I have installed.
-Kevtris (freeware, not yet played)
-CE Zebra (freeware, hard as hell, hehe)
-Tropical Nights (freeware, more addictive than heroin, caffeine, nicotine, and sex combined)
-Binary Clock (freeware, entertainment for geeks)
-Chess (freeware, not yet played)
-Omega Battery Pack Pro (shareware, interesting in buying, attempting to figure out some 'bugs')
I also downloaded a free regeditor I read about around the forums, PHM Registory Editor. Have not had time to install it. I also downloaded JeyoMobileExtender.2.0.zip and have not had time to install that either. It is shareware program that manages TXT messaging on your mobile. I am a packrat, when I get a TXT, I keep it, and I was looking for a way to move TXT from my old phone to the new. I figured that I could go to /windows/messaging and simply copy files. Man, I was wrong, what is making this so difficult? Bring me to:
TXT Messaging:
One of the biggest ways of communication is TXT messaging. One of the biggest pushes for my toys is TXT. To compare the two, well, the PPC has a nice notification. I can actually see the message, and read a part of it, as the notification, and choose to mark it read, delete it, or go to the inbox and read it all. The smartphone gives notification, and I can click the softkey to go to the message. Both offer the ability to use the "home" screen to select TXT. The PPC is better organized. The TXT is set up with folders similar to Outlook (and Express). You can TRULY manage folders, by making new, moving TXT, and the like. I say truly because the smartphone has a manage button, however, it really does not do very much, except let you hide and unhide folders.
Email:
I really have not used my phones for email much. I have a laptop I carry around with me, and find using my Outlook on that much better. The PPC has a nice setup if you use MSN (my ISP is Qwest backed by MSN). I find that signing in to messanger and hotmail very nice from the PPC. The smartphone, well, did not do much with email, so really do not have much to comment about it.
Web:
The web I did use, more so on the PPC than the smartphone. Both use pocket IE. The biggest advantage of the PPC is the wifi access, that allows me to browse a lot faster. Plus, the keyboard makes typing nice. The larger screen and landscape mode make surfing the web nice. History and saving to favorites very nice compared to the smartphone, but once again, a lot deals with the built in keyboard, and of course, the PPC's touch screen. File downloads on the PPC go to the my documents, making snagging things from the net easy.
Bluetooth:
I hear a lot of things regarding bluetooth. I use a logitech handset, forget the model number, and it worked great with my smartphone. I have not had any known problems with the PPC. The voice dialing works great on the new, as it did the old. The really nice thing I like, is even with the phone off, and not able to be used without pushing power, I can click on the button on the set and it will "wake" the phone up. It took a while to get it right, as you have to say it after the beep. The PPC allows 2 second recordings not only for contacts, but also applications. I have not yet set up applications, however I do have some contacts. Setting up contacts was VERY simple with this phone. One problem I am noticing, is getting the PC and the PPC to transfer files via BT. On the smartphone, I would click on a file, select BEAM, and then it would first try the IR port, while it was looking for a BT pair. I could select that, and then send the file via BT. The PPC I am not as fortunate. I currently am not able to send files, nor recieve them via BT. I use a cheap USB BT for my laptop. I also have a Clie UX50 that I plan to pair, as well as attempt file xfer with it. I paired up the smartphone and PPC and all I got was "pend". When I use the same beam and use IR, the files send and recieve just fine. There is more I learned on BT ports that I had forgot about, however they do not seem to be helping (assigning a port for in and out). I will check into this more to see if something simple is overlooked. Also, if I get another device to talk to another, I will post more about it. So overall, the BT makes me sad that the PPC is not sending or recieving. At LEAST the headset works fine!
Phone:
Well, you do not buy these devices to just use as PDA's! I have extensive phone use on the smartphone, not so much on the PPC. I will say, the call log, thus far, much better on the PCC. Also, the keyboard use of the PPC works well with the phone part. I also do not mind tapping. The use of the contacts makes dialing massively easy. I can do it from the phone, or go to the contacts, and get the option to make calls, send txt (it recognizes mobile numbers as TXT a lot better than the smartphone did). The smartphone allowed splash screens. Setting up pictures for the PPC is much easier. Both were the same for custom ringtones. I use .MID and .WAV for the PPC. I find that there is "studdering" with the PPC, as the files seemed to play more clean on the smartphone.
Files:
I use a miniSD, which happens to work with both phones. The file management with the PPC is obviously nicer due to the touch screen. However, the way the PPC handles things is really nice in that it is very much a windows explorer look and feel, and moving things around is a lot nicer (and I hear there are 3rd party programs that make things nicer). It is also nice how the system remembers your folders between card and phone, making moving around nice. I realize a lot of this is simply the WM4 vs WM5. Still, this is what I have for my PPC :)
Other:
Another thing that really gets me, is the fact that there is no profile for incoming calls to switch between (normal, inside, silent). My smartphone had this. In fact, it would auto go to a headset profile (which was kind of annoying that when the headset was on could not change to any other) when I turned it on, and go to the old profile when it was turned off. The PPC has nothing at all regarding any profile, so when I am at work, I have to simply turn it "vibrate" or sound all off. Yes, there is a slider on the side that you can click, and access it that way. However, really miss the profiles!
Wrapup:
Overall, I enjoy this phone more than my old one. Yeah, the touch screen helps a lot. There are a few things I miss about the old one, and wanted to give a quick pro and con for anyone looking for the PPC-6700
Con:
-MMS (picture txt) not currently working, and more dependant on carrier than phone
-feel if dropped phone would shatter into millions of pieces (dropped other twice no problem)
-bluetooth file xfer to computer and another phone nwkg properly
-sound events do not allow .MID out of the box (unsure if something else), something my old allowed
-no user profile for sound
-battery life about 2 hr
Pro:
-very nice design
-fold out keyboard extremely nice
-charge with any USB cable
-nice file management
-great interaction with BT headset
-Nintendo is right, touching IS good!
-card on top of phone, do not have to take battery out to access and change
-contact list with Outlook great
-contact interation to send email, txt, phone, wonderfully done
-TXT really fun with this phone
-call log info very nice
(PLEASE NOTE: I do not deny that some of the trouble that I experience could be pilot error [id10T code, aka, user error]. Also, I realize I have only had this phone for less than a week, and may figure things out later in the end. In doing anything obviously wrong, or third party simple solutions, feel free to post and send corrections to anything I have noted.)
First off, note that I am a computer science major. After dealing with this phone, I feel like I should give my diplomia back :D THe phone I owned before (still have) was an Audiovox 5600. This is a Windows Mobile 2003 2nd Ed, ver 4.21.1088 smartphone, powered by Cingular. This is also my second "smart" phone that I have owned, the Audiovox for over a year.
I will start with a few apps that I have installed.
-Kevtris (freeware, not yet played)
-CE Zebra (freeware, hard as hell, hehe)
-Tropical Nights (freeware, more addictive than heroin, caffeine, nicotine, and sex combined)
-Binary Clock (freeware, entertainment for geeks)
-Chess (freeware, not yet played)
-Omega Battery Pack Pro (shareware, interesting in buying, attempting to figure out some 'bugs')
I also downloaded a free regeditor I read about around the forums, PHM Registory Editor. Have not had time to install it. I also downloaded JeyoMobileExtender.2.0.zip and have not had time to install that either. It is shareware program that manages TXT messaging on your mobile. I am a packrat, when I get a TXT, I keep it, and I was looking for a way to move TXT from my old phone to the new. I figured that I could go to /windows/messaging and simply copy files. Man, I was wrong, what is making this so difficult? Bring me to:
TXT Messaging:
One of the biggest ways of communication is TXT messaging. One of the biggest pushes for my toys is TXT. To compare the two, well, the PPC has a nice notification. I can actually see the message, and read a part of it, as the notification, and choose to mark it read, delete it, or go to the inbox and read it all. The smartphone gives notification, and I can click the softkey to go to the message. Both offer the ability to use the "home" screen to select TXT. The PPC is better organized. The TXT is set up with folders similar to Outlook (and Express). You can TRULY manage folders, by making new, moving TXT, and the like. I say truly because the smartphone has a manage button, however, it really does not do very much, except let you hide and unhide folders.
Email:
I really have not used my phones for email much. I have a laptop I carry around with me, and find using my Outlook on that much better. The PPC has a nice setup if you use MSN (my ISP is Qwest backed by MSN). I find that signing in to messanger and hotmail very nice from the PPC. The smartphone, well, did not do much with email, so really do not have much to comment about it.
Web:
The web I did use, more so on the PPC than the smartphone. Both use pocket IE. The biggest advantage of the PPC is the wifi access, that allows me to browse a lot faster. Plus, the keyboard makes typing nice. The larger screen and landscape mode make surfing the web nice. History and saving to favorites very nice compared to the smartphone, but once again, a lot deals with the built in keyboard, and of course, the PPC's touch screen. File downloads on the PPC go to the my documents, making snagging things from the net easy.
Bluetooth:
I hear a lot of things regarding bluetooth. I use a logitech handset, forget the model number, and it worked great with my smartphone. I have not had any known problems with the PPC. The voice dialing works great on the new, as it did the old. The really nice thing I like, is even with the phone off, and not able to be used without pushing power, I can click on the button on the set and it will "wake" the phone up. It took a while to get it right, as you have to say it after the beep. The PPC allows 2 second recordings not only for contacts, but also applications. I have not yet set up applications, however I do have some contacts. Setting up contacts was VERY simple with this phone. One problem I am noticing, is getting the PC and the PPC to transfer files via BT. On the smartphone, I would click on a file, select BEAM, and then it would first try the IR port, while it was looking for a BT pair. I could select that, and then send the file via BT. The PPC I am not as fortunate. I currently am not able to send files, nor recieve them via BT. I use a cheap USB BT for my laptop. I also have a Clie UX50 that I plan to pair, as well as attempt file xfer with it. I paired up the smartphone and PPC and all I got was "pend". When I use the same beam and use IR, the files send and recieve just fine. There is more I learned on BT ports that I had forgot about, however they do not seem to be helping (assigning a port for in and out). I will check into this more to see if something simple is overlooked. Also, if I get another device to talk to another, I will post more about it. So overall, the BT makes me sad that the PPC is not sending or recieving. At LEAST the headset works fine!
Phone:
Well, you do not buy these devices to just use as PDA's! I have extensive phone use on the smartphone, not so much on the PPC. I will say, the call log, thus far, much better on the PCC. Also, the keyboard use of the PPC works well with the phone part. I also do not mind tapping. The use of the contacts makes dialing massively easy. I can do it from the phone, or go to the contacts, and get the option to make calls, send txt (it recognizes mobile numbers as TXT a lot better than the smartphone did). The smartphone allowed splash screens. Setting up pictures for the PPC is much easier. Both were the same for custom ringtones. I use .MID and .WAV for the PPC. I find that there is "studdering" with the PPC, as the files seemed to play more clean on the smartphone.
Files:
I use a miniSD, which happens to work with both phones. The file management with the PPC is obviously nicer due to the touch screen. However, the way the PPC handles things is really nice in that it is very much a windows explorer look and feel, and moving things around is a lot nicer (and I hear there are 3rd party programs that make things nicer). It is also nice how the system remembers your folders between card and phone, making moving around nice. I realize a lot of this is simply the WM4 vs WM5. Still, this is what I have for my PPC :)
Other:
Another thing that really gets me, is the fact that there is no profile for incoming calls to switch between (normal, inside, silent). My smartphone had this. In fact, it would auto go to a headset profile (which was kind of annoying that when the headset was on could not change to any other) when I turned it on, and go to the old profile when it was turned off. The PPC has nothing at all regarding any profile, so when I am at work, I have to simply turn it "vibrate" or sound all off. Yes, there is a slider on the side that you can click, and access it that way. However, really miss the profiles!
Wrapup:
Overall, I enjoy this phone more than my old one. Yeah, the touch screen helps a lot. There are a few things I miss about the old one, and wanted to give a quick pro and con for anyone looking for the PPC-6700
Con:
-MMS (picture txt) not currently working, and more dependant on carrier than phone
-feel if dropped phone would shatter into millions of pieces (dropped other twice no problem)
-bluetooth file xfer to computer and another phone nwkg properly
-sound events do not allow .MID out of the box (unsure if something else), something my old allowed
-no user profile for sound
-battery life about 2 hr
Pro:
-very nice design
-fold out keyboard extremely nice
-charge with any USB cable
-nice file management
-great interaction with BT headset
-Nintendo is right, touching IS good!
-card on top of phone, do not have to take battery out to access and change
-contact list with Outlook great
-contact interation to send email, txt, phone, wonderfully done
-TXT really fun with this phone
-call log info very nice
(PLEASE NOTE: I do not deny that some of the trouble that I experience could be pilot error [id10T code, aka, user error]. Also, I realize I have only had this phone for less than a week, and may figure things out later in the end. In doing anything obviously wrong, or third party simple solutions, feel free to post and send corrections to anything I have noted.)