Pocket Loox comes with Phone Edition

[marlof]

<a href="http://www.fujitsu-siemens.com/rl/products/handhelds/pocketloox_flash.html">http://www.fujitsu-siemens.com/rl/products/handhelds/pocketloox_flash.html</a><br /><br />The Fujitsu Siemens Pocket Loox does not cease to amaze. After the initial excitement over the XScale processor, now there's something new. According to the flash presentation The Pocket Loox will run the Pocket PC 2002 Phone Edition software, turning your Loox into a Jornada 928 WDA or O2 XDA/Wallaby competitor when you add the optional GPRS module. Source: <a href="http://www.ppcw.net/stories.php?story=02/04/09/7706335">Arne Hess' PPCW.NET</a>

[van_mierlo]

Any word on this one coming to the states

[entropy1980]

everyone i've talked to has said yes in June (altough I think it will be a little later)

[willkess71]

Well I think Expansys will ship to the US... At least that is what it told me when I put my Pre-Order in. The Phone edition software will make it all the more appealing! :D It is a good thing we have a Global Economy now!

[troisieme]

i'm ready to buy. when is it available in the us?

[timothyt]

Barring some major screw up (like making the screen backlight too dim or dust issues) I think I've found the replacement for my 3870 8O

Does anyone know if the XScale power consumption of 1/3-2/3 that's quoted is compared to a StrongARM running at 206MHz or a theoretical comparison between a StrongARM and an XScale running at the same speed?

[Joff]

Very impressive. It looks like they got everything right. That will be the first PDA to do so. It even has bluetooth integrated (like the latest Compaq). Wireless connectivity becomes more of a reality now. At least Fujitsu-Siemens have the guts to release such a device as opposed to some of their competitors who are still undecided (i.e. O2 XDA).

Did you notice that it said a 400MHz Xscale processor in the flash presentation. I thought it was gonna be a 350MHz?

[takotchi]

I would not be at all surprised if this thing has at least one major quality issue. Dust is most likely. I get so sick and tired of every single Pocket PC being hyped to death, then every single one is built terribly. All of the current ones have dust in various amounts; some people claim Toshiba or Compaq doesn't; they do. HP's and Casio's latest seem to be the worst of the bunch.

On top of dust, they each have their own little problems. Compaq has an issue with GAPI (which seems to have died down) and the screen, Casio had the backlight problems, HP, I'm not sure about, but the dust on the screens I have seen is terrible enough.

Microsoft should never, ever have required these terrible screens. They all have dust issues, and the color is far, far inferior to the older HAST Casio screens, even compared to the 65k color reflective screens.

Don't get me wrong, I'm excited about this device and like it very much, but I'm sure it'll have the same old PocketPC problems, which is why I'll stick with my old EM-500. Rant over. :?

[Jason Dunn]

Microsoft should never, ever have required these terrible screens. They all have dust issues, and the color is far, far inferior to the older HAST Casio screens, even compared to the 65k color reflective screens.


I've never seen any indication that the reflective TFT screens were part of the hardware requirements. More likely the OEMs wanted to clone Compaq's success as closely as possible, and that meant switching to reflective TFT. I agree, the screen on the EM-500 is glorious....the reflective screens are all pale and sad looking. :cry:

[entropy1980]

ahhh but transflective (Loox will have it) s a better reflective screen, it's not nearly as washed out, at least that's what I have read....?! :)

[Daniel]

This thing rocks! :)

I'm just not too sure if the GPRS module will change the dimensions of the device and how much. Does anyone have any details?

Daniel

[Dave Conger]

I see everyone saying how great they think this device is and how many of your want to purchase it....but what about the future products from Compaq, HP, Casio, Toshiba, and others? Granted we know nothing about any products from these companies yet, but as takotchi said, there likely will be some issue with the first batch of Looxs. I am not trying to say this device might not be worth the price or be a great product, but I personally am a littly wary of purchasing the first PDA from Fujitsu Siemens before I see the next generation iPAQ or Toshiba.

[Shapeshifter]

I'm still waiting for a response to my email regarding the Flash ROM. As I said before, I was told that it doesn't have Flash ROM on the CeBIT, while Jason argues that Flash ROM is a requirement for PPC 2002 devices. BTW: is it also a requirement for PPC 2002 PHONE EDITION devices? We'll know more once i got a mail from Siemens-Fujitsu.
-Shape

[Janak Parekh]

I've never seen any indication that the reflective TFT screens were part of the hardware requirements. More likely the OEMs wanted to clone Compaq's success as closely as possible, and that meant switching to reflective TFT. I agree, the screen on the EM-500 is glorious....the reflective screens are all pale and sad looking. :cry:

Don't worry, transflective screens are on their way to PDA's. Will allow both sunlight and nice indoor operation. I have a transflective screen on my Ericsson T68 and it rocks.

--bdj

[Jason Dunn]

I was told that it doesn't have Flash ROM on the CeBIT, while Jason argues that Flash ROM is a requirement for PPC 2002 devices.


Trust me on this one. :D