Arne looks at the Loox Part 2

[Jason Dunn]

<a href="http://www.ppcw.net/stories.php?story=02/08/13/6744215">http://www.ppcw.net/stories.php?story=02/08/13/6744215</a><br /><br />Arne has spent some time with the Fujitsu-Siemens Pocket Loox lately, and his review reflects his thoughts and findings. Worth a read if you're considering the Loox!<br /><br />"The Pocket Loox makes its work pretty well and it includes everything you need to start using your device from the scratch. I like it, that Fujitsu Siemens adds so much additional 3rd party software and they don't take any Freeware/Shareware versions only not you will get a real valuable software pack with your device. From the performance site I was a little bit irritated or maybe not. Even if no StrongARM Pocket PC can compares with the Loox in the benchmark tests, in reality I didn't found the speed. Well, unfortunately this is something I've seen already before with the Compaq iPAQ H3970. It seems that the XScale CPU can not deploy its power on today's Windows CE 3.0 platform - unfortunately. However, it's not slower than StrongARM Pocket PCs and finally that's the most important. Also I think, in the long-run we will see XScale optimized versions of Windows CE as well as of today's 3rd party applications. On the other hand, the stand-by time is great and makes the Pocket Loox more than useful for day in day out usage!"

[kennyg]

English as second language dude?

I like it, that Fujitsu Siemens adds so much additional 3rd party software and they don't take any Freeware/Shareware versions only not you will get a real valuable software pack with your device.
Even if no StrongARM Pocket PC can compares with the Loox in the benchmark tests, in reality I didn't found the speed.

:D

[Jason Dunn]

English as second language dude?

Yes, he's from Germany. How's your written German? :splat:

He may not have perfect written English, but he knows his Pocket PCs, and that's the important part here. :D

[Duncan]

kennyg,

You know at 'First Loox' we have members from all over Europe and the world. For many of them English is not their first language - but they make a better stab at English than I can do at any of their primary languages. The simple rule of thumb in an international community (such as the Pocket PC community) is - can I understand the meaning and is the content worthwhile? Arne Hess passes those tests very well indeed and a good deal better than many native English speakers running websites...

[TBone]

Actually, since the Loox won't be release here in the US, it's a pretty safe assumption that many reviewers speak English as a second language anyway.

I've been pretty impressed with the people I've met online from other countries that speak English. My Spanish is pretty good, but it would never compare to Arne, or Shapeshifter, and I know my Chinese doesn't even come close. Say what you like, there's at least a couple of very sharp multilingual commentators on the PocketPC scene. &lt;grin>

[possmann]

I keep emailing Fujitsupc in hopes that they will be annoyed enough to finally sell this here in the US!

[kennyg]

Poking fun people, relax...

:D

I read his site regularly and I think I finally understand the shareware reference after reading it 4 times.

[TBone]

Está bien, no te preocupes. &lt;sonrisa>

[don dre]

I only dream of the day I won't shell out extra cash for some sluts, I mean slots. I'm sure that tranlsates into every language. A man needs built in sluts, strike that, slots as much as he needs built in Wifi. To the day when PPC's actually make their iPaq Pioneer ancestors look really slow and outdated. So far, so little. This one seems to have the most promise. Are there any others worth my rent money?

[Anthony]

Fujitsu should have brought back Poqet ;)

They may be a century old (ok, maybe a decade-ish) but I still want one, bad!

[st63z]

kennyg tidak sopan, harus minta maaf! ;)

[scrinch]

Kenapa kami bicara banyak bahasa?
Porque hablamos en tantas lenguas?

Shouldn't we all be practicing our Mandarin?

Okay, now that we've (almost) got a CF CDMA card (YISO) to satisfy my wireless itch, where is a dual slot, x-scale, 12-hour battery PPC to slip it into? Oh yeah...available in the US, too. :?:

[TBone]

Mandarin? Okay. 可是你们不说汉语，是不是？ "keshi nimen bu shou hanyu, shi bu shi?"

[TBone]

Wow, it actually supports hanzi. I'm impressed.

[st63z]

Argh, I'm the only one here who doesn't know Mandarin!!

But hey, I know Canadian (and that's the hardest language of all).

[farnold]

C'mon, let's stop emptying our buckets over kennyg's head. Doesn't this review have more to discuss than that? At least for me, the review shows some very promissing results for the PocketLoox, like the battery results at http://www.ppcw.net/stories.php?story=02/08/12/0666884

For you guys in the States. Expansys sell in both North America and Europe and the have the LOOX as well (possmann, I know you ordered there already, didn't you :) ) So, after all, there is hope for you 8)

Just in case someone likes to question my English capabilities... I'm actually German. Haben Sie das verstanden, meine Herren? :D

[TBone]

I'm not making fun of kennyg, I'm just showing off. &lt;grin> Anyway, if I go for cell service during the next couple years that's really good news about the Loox. I don't think right now that the 02 sounds like the PDA for me, but everything I've heard about the Fujitsu has been really positive.

[farnold]

It looox like the Loox is closer to you guys in the States than it is to me here in the best country of the world :)

I just saw a posting of cholcumb at http://www.firstloox.org/Forum/viewtopic.php?p=3063#3063


I've been trying to catch up on the Boards today, and from what I've read so far the Loox was shipped to UK yesterday. Expansys UK will be sending them to the US store Friday morning and should be in the US Monday. This is the best news I've heard in a while since I have one on order there. I cann't remember off hand which board or which thread I read this on cause I went through almost all today. I do rember one of the people who reported it though, it was FS Reseller.

Power converter - If the power on the Loox is as good as they say then you could just get the Car adapter and charge it that way. I spend an Hour and half to AND from work every day so I have plenty of time to charge the Loox. Plus I always have my PDA plugged in because I always have the GPS in it. (i like my toys ). When I called Expansys the other day though, they told me that they are swapping the power cords when they get them in with US versions. Can some one make sure they get the same answer I did?

Are these the right Dates??? - I hope so, if what I read today is true (and from the number of post and replies it looks like it may actually be) then I should have my Loox by Tuesday, Wednesday the Latest


OK, there is a fair amount of optimism, but it seems to be more a question of days than of weeks or months...

@TBone
It never too good for a steak to look too yummy :D
My prime motivation to get a Loox is neither the benchmarks nor the features, but exactely the quality of FSC devices, services and support I could appreciate for a long time in Germany.

[wangsanegara]

st63z...

...orang indo juga toh?? :)

A.W

[Julio]

Hi,

I just saw the post that mentioned the "YISO"... 8O

Okay, now that we've (almost) got a CF CDMA card (YISO) to satisfy my wireless itch, where is a dual slot, x-scale, 12-hour battery PPC to slip it into? Oh yeah...available in the US, too.

Now I am very curious - who makes the YISO and when/where will it be available? :?:

Hmmmmm.....the LOOX and the YISO would seem to make a tempting combination - without forcing me to change carriers when the GSM/GPRS module comes out! :P

My apologies if this has been discussed many times before...

Julio

PS - in the spirit of this thread....aqui tambien se habla espanol! buenas noches, amigos!

[Jonathan1]

Bonding a device isn't just a finger snip which I've expected.

In my tests the Loox lost the Bluetooth connection to the Ericsson 3 times, something I've never seen before.


Dang :( Not good. I'm hoping the second issue can be resolved via software updates.

So what is the final word in availability in the US? I've heard so many different, and conflicting things that its getting seriously confusing.
It won't be available in the US.
It will be in the US.
It won't be in the US.
It will be but under just the Fujitsu name.
It will be but it will ship late.
It will be but only to global customers and everyone else can piss on an electrical cord.
What is the final outcome? Am I going to be able to find one of these suckers this fall? Or am I going to have to import.

[Jonathon Watkins]

Well from the 'final' wrap-up on this subject at www.firstloox.org the final word was that "the Loox will be available to 'Select Global Accounts", whatever that means. It was taken by most people that it meant that the LOOX would be avaibile in the US, though perhaps not in your local electronics store.

Dabs in the UK currently show 1-3 days till delivery of mine in the UK, which is nice. :P

[st63z]

I just saw the post that mentioned the "YISO"...

Pocket PC Passion front page, or:
http://www.pocketpcpassion.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=79331

I don't think the CF is listed on Sprint's site yet, though.

And FWIW, it looks like Sprint's PCS Vision has the lowest prices for the bigger data buckets (almost mandatory for PDA/laptop use), compared to the GPRS buckets in the U.S. Too bad I just contracted further w/ ATTWS -- let's hope the GPRS carriers lower their pricing to match! I could always get PCS Vision for data only w/o voice minutes, but then where's the fun if I can't use my T68i as a BT modem? ;) At least I'm getting the first 2 months mMode free (3 months w/ Sprint).
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=305220#post305220

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P.S. I was also just playing around w/ the languages (I wasn't insulting or anything)...

P.S.S. wangsanegara.. no comments, my lips are sealed, I'll never tell (putting on best poker face) :)

[Jonathon Watkins]

OK – you’re not going to want to hear this guys. I have got a problem with the LOOX. :cry: I bought it from Dabs and it arrived on Thursday. I charged it up and was setting it up when I noticed that something was wrong. The bottom right hand side of the screen flickers. It’s more noticeable the brighter the screen is set, i.e. brighter = worse. It looks like several horizontal lines jumping up and down in the bottom two fifths of the screen and it is obvious and distracting. I asked a friend to look at the screen and he saw it as well, so it’s not my eyes that are going funny. :shock:

I wondered if I might have a dodgy machine, so as I was in London I decided to go into Tottenham Court Road to check (as it has several dozen large electronics shops and you can buy almost anything there).

We tried two different LOOX’s in two different branches of Micro Anvica (the only shops that seemed to have them in stock) and both of the screens were worse than mine! One had the same jumping lines down the bottom left half of the screen and the second one had jumping lines down the whole of the left hand side of the screen.

The second LOOX was compared side by side with a Compaq IPAQ 3950, which I had not seem before. Big mistake! The IPAQ screen was Gorgeous – as everyone has been saying. :evil: Suddenly I understand about the ‘clear, crisp, deep colours’ of the IPAQ and ‘Milky screens’ of other PDAs that have been mentioned in reviews of the 39xx series.

BOTHER, BOTHER, BOTHER! :x It would have been bad enough seeing that every LOOX I have seen has the same problem to varying degrees. However, having seen a backlit transflexive screen I think I really want one. I will not ever get an IPAQ though (I need a built in CF slot and do not trust the Compaq design quality). SO……. If I send the LOOX back for a replacement, the chances are that I will get a replacement that is worse that the one I have now. I have not called Fujitsu Siemens yet about this issue, as I have only just gotten back in. I do however remember the sagas that the early IPAQ and HP Jornada 56x users had with dust etc. when they first came out. Some people had to go through 5 or 6 different devices till they got one that didn’t have problems. So it would probably mean lots of problems with repeated returns etc. I don’t want that kind of hassle. :roll:

The flickering really is a show stopper for me. I can’t just ignore it as it distract from the whole experience. The human eye is naturally drawn to movement and my eyes keep going to the bottom left hand side of the screen. It really is nasty. Hey, other than that I really like the LOOX – great weight, great size, great shape, great software etc. BUT……. knowing now what a backlit transflexive screen looks like as well means that I won’t be totally happy with my LOOX. OK – once the screen issue is fixed it will be 95% of what I am looking for in a PDA. However if I wait just a little bit longer……………….. I could get a PDA with a backlit transflexive screen.

Great – so now what do I do? Should the LOOX stay or go? Returning it is no problem as here in the UK we have the distance selling initiative, which states that any distance purchase (mail order or internet) can be returned for a full refund within 7 days of purchase – no reason needed.

So I can call FS, get the ball rolling on a replacement, hope it is OK and then tell myself I don’t really want a backlit transflexive screen after all. Or I can return the LOOX and wait till a better PDA comes along.

Decisions, decisions……

[TBone]

It actually might not be that bad. The Maestro sometimes has this problem, but there's a resistor you can adjust in about five minutes that will fix it. Something similar might be possible for the LOOX.

[Jonathon Watkins]

OK - if the screen is easily fixed then that's great. I still like the LOOX – a lot. However – I have seen the light (literally of the IPAQ 39xx backlit transflective screens). I will never buy an IPAQ as they current stand. However – I need to decide if I can be happy with a correctly functioning LOOX – or if I need to wait for my ‘idea’ PDA with a backlit transflective screen. (Oh and 640x480 resolution and a 4 inch screen while you are at it). :roll:

I know – the perfect PDA will never come along – but as I already mentioned – the LOOX is 95% of what I want – is it enough? I need to think about it.