you can disable the Haptic-vibration by going to Start->Settings->Sounds & Notifications->Vibration tab and remove the checkmark. i've had one for a 4 days and it's working well for me, additional thickness and all. it's replacing my TreoPro which i sent back (for a refund) when all 4 of the radios died (bluetooth, GPS, phone and wifi).
Interesting looking device - and my favorite AT&T Rep is certainly Geeked about it! (He sent a text msg earlier today urging that I check it out....)
Have been fence-sitting for a while now: don't NEED a new phone (or pda for that matter: Axim keeps rolling along), but can understand the appeal of an All-in-one device. But nothing thus far has stood up & yelled "Buy Me!"
Addition of Touch Screen and Wi-fi add greatly to appeal, along with that Freakin' Large Battery for good talk time - per AT&T specs. (And web surfing??? That's nearly 2x the Axim battery....)
Pricing is same as Tilt, and both are $100 less than Fuze - but that has bigger screen...
Decisions, Decsions! (Where's the spell checker when you need it! )
Last edited by Reid Kistler; 10-24-2008 at 12:48 AM..
The only complaint I have so far is that the Epix has that weird tactile feedback that makes the device vibrate when you touch it with your finger or the stylus. I haven't yet found a way to turn this off.
I think I read somewhere (I've been doin a LOT of reading today) that the setting for that is hidden in the "sounds & notifications" settings.
My Dash and Wing both broke within the last couple of weeks. I got a Shadow for the short term, since they're only $50 right now. I've been with T-Mobile for 7 years (as long as I've had a cell phone), but I only have a few weeks left on my contract. I think I may have finally found a phone that will cause me to jump ship (I don't buy unsubsidized phones). The G1 was tempting, but it didn't thrill me the way I thought it might. For one thing, I'm a little weary of the rotating and two-handed typing that side-slider models require. The Epix could be the perfect combination of form, performance, and features that I've ever seen, at least as far as my preferences go. I just heard about it yesterday on this site, and I'm getting slightly obsessed...
We Just Happened to stop for food in the vicinity of "our" AT&T store this evening, so naturally we dropped in - simply to look around, of course....
A few superficial observations based upon a BRIEF time with an Epix:
Feels comfortable enough in hand - not as narrow as the Pearl, but better than most other keyboard units (but then Pearl lacks full QWERTY keyboard). Did not think it was "too thick" at all, although wonder about holding any "candybar" up to ear & having mic that far away (have carried flip phones for the extra length, screen protection - and avoiding Unwanted Calls....)
Screen appears to be ever-so-SLIGHTLY larger than Blackjack II. Was expecting "exactly" same size for some reason.
Display is good - on par with my Axim (X30, Mid), although Square of course; did not seem to "pop" as much as that on the Tilt, but that could easily be due to different brightness settings / background themes. (Epix had what appears to be the standard AT&T/Win Mobile background - quite a dull bluish color - while Tilt had a Bright Green background.)
The Stylus telescopes when you remove it, and seems comfortable enough - would have to use it heavily for a spell to know that for certain, and doubt that would happen:
1) Square screen format loses too much data space once you call up a SIP keyboard. This was also a problem with early Palm/Visors, although helped slightly by using Handwriting Recognition area instead of SIP keyboard. (Fitaly made a neat overlay that allowed you to use the handwriting area.)
2) Epix does, of course, have a (small) QWERTY keyboard (which takes the place of the Handwriting Recognition area!)
3) The vibration feedback is strange. Hard to say whether that would be a keeper.
The Optical Mouse works surprisingly well, and is a Very Quick way to manuever around the screen to make menu selections. Found it much more responsive & accurate than bristle-mouse on Pearl (or, at least, much easier to control with little practice).
The body - and screen - of the Epix are clearly Finger Grease Magnets: the phone sampled is currently the Personal Phone of the store manager and was covered with finger print streaks. This doesn't affect functionality, but certainly is an aesthetic downer....
Will have to check again - but do not think there is a Standard Earphone jack on the phone. It comes with an adapter dongle for headphones, and think that is your only option for wired: a bit of a kludge. Not a bother if you always use bluetooth, but a pain if you like wired gear... (Although someone is bound to sell earphones that plug right in - sooner or later...)
PDA functions seem nice & responsive; usage should be fairly easy for anyone familiar with Windows Mobile. Again, the optical mouse is very helpful in allowing you to keep stylus hidden in its slot and still get around quickly.
Although Expect / HOPE that it exists, did not stumble upon a way to 'instantly' turn the Epix into A Phone: easy enough to open to WM Home Page and THEN access phone, but there should be (and Probably Is??) a means to Go Directly To Phone Mode.....
That's about it, based upon 20 minutes or so of handling / comparing with other units in the store - and hampered by fact that unit IS "in service," so did not want to do anything that would mess up the owner's data!
Overall impression then was quite favorable - tend to agree with spacehippie2k's assessment of "form, performance, and features" - but am still stuck on base question: Would I rather have a PHONE that Can Function Reasonably Well as a PDA (Example: Epix), OR a PDA than Can Function Reasonably Well as a PHONE (Example: TILT....)???
For now will wait for the Fuze & do a head-to-head comparison. Favorite AT&T Rep was trained on the Fuze today, and they expect to have units in stock "any day now, and probably no longer than 7 - 10 days."
Apparently AT&T is even tight-lipped to their own people!!!
Cortez, thanks. I don't know how that slipped by me.
After using the Epix for more than 24 hours, I'm pretty happy with it. I had a problem with it turning on for some reason, which was starting to drive me nuts. I tried all kinds of things, and I think I've got it to not turning on randomly. One of the few things I've noticed that my previous BlackJack II could do that the Epix can't do is simultaneously talk on the phone and connect to the internet. I have a Celio Redfly, which makes that easier. I was worried that my Redfly wouldn't work with the Epix, but it does very well.
__________________
Current devices: iPhone 3G. Previous devices: Samsung Epix and 1st gen 32GB iPod Touch BlackJack II, iPaq 6945, iPaq hx4705, Dell Axim x30 high, iPaq 3765.
I think I read somewhere (I've been doin a LOT of reading today) that the setting for that is hidden in the "sounds & notifications" settings.
My Dash and Wing both broke within the last couple of weeks. I got a Shadow for the short term, since they're only $50 right now. I've been with T-Mobile for 7 years (as long as I've had a cell phone), but I only have a few weeks left on my contract. I think I may have finally found a phone that will cause me to jump ship (I don't buy unsubsidized phones). The G1 was tempting, but it didn't thrill me the way I thought it might. For one thing, I'm a little weary of the rotating and two-handed typing that side-slider models require. The Epix could be the perfect combination of form, performance, and features that I've ever seen, at least as far as my preferences go. I just heard about it yesterday on this site, and I'm getting slightly obsessed...
I'm also on T-Mobile, long out o f contract, and getting fed up with their lack of bringing out new WM devices (although there are lots of rumors, nothing confirmed). Really undecided what to do.
You should really make sure you know exactly how much you will be paying monthly on ATT, and what that would include, before making a change. I don't think it's a good idea to make a carrier change just based on phone selection, unless everything else is equal. Yes, an unsubsidized phone costs more. Look at it this way though. If you pay $200 less for the subsidized phone than an unsubsidized one, but pay $30 more per month in fees, how many months will it take for you to have paid more, than the difference in price of the unsubsidized phone? Much less than the two years you contracted for! So, if your monthly package is a much better deal on T-Mobile, it might be smarter economically to pay more for the unlocked phone, and save more in monthly fees.
Of course if fees, service quality, etc., are all equal, then it could make sense to change carriers for phone selection. Otherwise, I don't think it does. (Which probably accounts for why so many of us stay with T-Mobile, despite having by far the worst phone selection of all the carriers-in general, they have had the best rates, while having good call quality, customer service, etc.)
There is a new problem, however, in using unlocked phones with T-Mobile. Finally T-Mobile is rolling out 3G, years after other carriers. However, they are using a different band, than ATT or anyone else. So, if you use an ATT phone now on T-Mobile, even if it is an ATT phone with 3G--you can use it for voice on T-Mobile, and for Internet with EDGE connection, but not for any 3G connection on T-Mo. That sucks!
Kind of undecided what to do myself. Just sticking it out with my slow clunky MDA, hoping that T-Mo will come out soon with a cool phone like this Epix, with T-Mo 3G. (That sounds really cool, although I would prefer thinner like BJ I and II._ Treo Pro and HP 910 look cool too.
By the way, you say that Shadow "is only $50 right now". Yes, but isn't that with a two year contract extension? If you bought one, aren't you under contract now for two more years? (By the way, do you know that you can pay $50 more, $100 after rebate, to get a one year contract instead. I sure wouldn't commit to two years with an old non-3G phone like the Shadow!
There is a new problem, however, in using unlocked phones with T-Mobile. Finally T-Mobile is rolling out 3G, years after other carriers. However, they are using a different band, than ATT or anyone else. So, if you use an ATT phone now on T-Mobile, even if it is an ATT phone with 3G--you can use it for voice on T-Mobile, and for Internet with EDGE connection, but not for any 3G connection on T-Mo. That sucks!
*snip*
By the way, you say that Shadow "is only $50 right now". Yes, but isn't that with a two year contract extension? If you bought one, aren't you under contract now for two more years? (By the way, do you know that you can pay $50 more, $100 after rebate, to get a one year contract instead. I sure wouldn't commit to two years with an old non-3G phone like the Shadow!
I hadn't checked this thread for a little while, so sorry I didn't respond quickly.
Thanks for the info, me. Yes, I did have to re-new for 2 years to get the $50 price on the Shadow. I ended up taking it back and reverting to my original contract status within the 14-day grace period. The Shadow was an OK, not great, phone. But until I know for sure where I end up, I don't want to be hemmed in.
You make good points about un-subsidized phones versus increased monthly cost. I've been looking at AT&T (Fuze and Epix) and Verizon (Blackberry Storm) because of their phone selection, but they would cost an additional $20 and $40 per month respectively on top of what I currently pay with T-Mobile for comparable voice/data/messaging plans. Over a 2-year contract, that could easily nullify the savings I would get on a subsidized phone. So I am re-thinking my position on that front. I'll just need to make sure I do all the math before deciding.
Regarding using an unlocked Epix with T-Mobile 3G, I called T-Mobile, and even though I'm not in a 3G area (yet), I was told that they use one of the bands that the Epix supports (I forget if it's WCDMA 1900 or 2100), so I'm pretty sure that if I am in a T-Mobile 3G area, I should be able to connect using an unlocked Epix. Can anyone confirm or deny that?
)
Linear Mode
