03-15-2006, 08:00 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 349
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Updated HTC Hermes Spotted at CeBIT
PPCT Reader Marco has provided us some interesting tidbits on his blog regarding the upcoming HTC Hermes Pocket PC Phone that he spotted at the CeBIT convention. The device that many have grown to long for and drool over (now supposedly called the Hermes 100) has been updated to include two additional hardware buttons and a refined directional pad, as shown in the image below:
More buttons can never be a bad thing, in my opinion. Unfortunately, he also noted that the release date has slipped to "late summer" 2006, as opposed to the initial reports of a May to June release. Check out his blog (translator may be required) for more pictures and info regarding this anticipated device.
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03-15-2006, 08:22 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 450
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:drool:
:drool:
Yes! Finally! My next Pocket PC! Wizard's only flaw is the missing Start and OK hardware keys, but thanks to HTC, the next (almost) perfect Phone Edition device has arrived for me....
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03-15-2006, 08:28 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 181
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So, this will realistically be released around October or November...fine with me. I'm still REALLY enjoying the Qtek 9100 I got at that time last year.
Does this new device look like it will include Edge? All the Fast wireless networking mightx be nice over in the EU but it won't work here.
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03-15-2006, 08:29 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 312
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Yes, the 6+1 buttons version is indeed the one we will see launched (see my photos of an unwired prototype here which wasn't shown public: http://www.theunwired.net/?itemid=2945).
At least, that's what T-Mobile confirmed me on the first day already. Timing changes on depending with whom you talk... :?
__________________
Cheers ~ Arne, MS MVP - Mobile Devices
Editor in Chief the::unwired - where mobility meets wireless
http://www.theunwired.net |
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03-15-2006, 08:42 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 181
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by KTamas
:drool:
:drool:
Yes! Finally! My next Pocket PC! Wizard's only flaw is the missing Start and OK hardware keys, but thanks to HTC, the next (almost) perfect Phone Edition device has arrived for me....
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You know, you can re-map the softkeys of your Wizard to act as Start and OK. There is a free program called Smartskey on the forums at xda-developers.com that will do this for you. You tap them as normal to perform the task that they are normally assigned to do, or hold for a second to open the Start menu or OK/Close.
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03-15-2006, 08:42 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 193
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Scroll Wheel!
Holy crap - it has a scroll wheel? Awesome! That's a such a key feature. It makes the Q light years more usable, so I'm glad to see it in more devices.
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03-15-2006, 08:51 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 450
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Silver5
Quote:
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Originally Posted by KTamas
:drool:
:drool:
Yes! Finally! My next Pocket PC! Wizard's only flaw is the missing Start and OK hardware keys, but thanks to HTC, the next (almost) perfect Phone Edition device has arrived for me....
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You know, you can re-map the softkeys of your Wizard to act as Start and OK. There is a free program called Smartskey on the forums at xda-developers.com that will do this for you. You tap them as normal to perform the task that they are normally assigned to do, or hold for a second to open the Start menu or OK/Close. |
That'd make things even worse I guess :roll: I mean, for WM5 and one-handed operation, four hardware buttons are required: Start, OK/Close, Left softkey, Right softkey. That's the failure of the Wizard at the hardware keys, and the extra two buttons on Hermes corrects this.
Edit: I should read more carefully :roll: The "one button acts as two" layout is not perfect, but it is indeed a solution. But I guess I'll wait for the Hermes instead of getting a Wizard.
(Yes, the HTC Apache has a really nice button layout with all the keys, but that's just ain't gonna work in Europe)
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03-15-2006, 09:02 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 67
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T-mobile's version of the Hermes is better, yes. However, other things remain really bad: the keyboard. With Hermes HTC took a bad decision to include this kind of qwerty keyboard. Not only all the buttons are glued to each other, but the keyboard doesn't even use the full surface anymore, making it even more difficult to hit the keys correctly. The HTC Prophet's qwerty keyboard design was much better.
I have ranted about this and more on my blog today: http://slashdot.org/~Eugenia+Loli/journal/131390
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03-15-2006, 09:15 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 181
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The HTC Prophet does NOT have a keyboard at all. I don't think I'd mind the keyboard too much. It would just be something to get accustomed to.
Does anyone know whether the device is Edge capable?
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03-15-2006, 09:16 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 450
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Eugenia
T-mobile's version of the Hermes is better, yes. However, other things remain really bad: the keyboard. With Hermes HTC took a bad decision to include this kind of qwerty keyboard. Not only all the buttons are glued to each other, but the keyboard doesn't even use the full surface anymore, making it even more difficult to hit the keys correctly. The HTC Prophet's qwerty keyboard design was much better.
I have ranted about this and more on my blog today: http://slashdot.org/~Eugenia+Loli/journal/131390 |
You are confusing HTC Prophet and HTC Wizard (aka Prodigy). Prophet and Wizard has pretty much the same hardware spec, but the Prophet has the form factor of the Magician (and 6 hw buttons below the screen) and no keyboard, while the Wizard has the slide-out keyboard and 4 hw buttons below the screen.
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Linear Mode
