pdaPhoneHome.com Compares The i700 And The XDA

[Janak Parekh]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://pdaphonehome.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2097' target='_blank'>http://pdaphonehome.com/phpBB2/view...opic.php?t=2097</a><br /><br /></div>Mike Collins has written an excellent comparative review describing, in detail, the differences between an i700 and an XDA. If you're interested in getting a Pocket PC Phone in the US, and don't know which would be best for you, I highly suggest checking it out.

[Robert Levy]

Correction: He says that there are not yet any accessories for the i700. Samsung is selling several on their website (http://www.samsungusa.com/cgi-bin/nabc/prod/hhcommerce/telecommunications/redirect_acc.jsp?product=SPH-I700). A cool thing to point out here is that the i700 has the same connector as the upcomming i600 Smartphone and accessories for the two will be interchangeable. At TechEd Samsung demonstrated their flexible keyboard which worked great on both the i700 PPCPE and i600 SP.

[Janak Parekh]

csc, thanks for the feedback. Part of the reason he said that is because at the time of writing of the article, accessories were hard to come by. We were going to post on it earlier, but Mike was having some trouble with the hosting provider, which seem to be all fixed up. :)

--janak

[mccollin]

Thanks for the feedback... I'll make sure to update the review. I also updated the info on unlimited data and the ROM updates. Accessories is a moving target, and it is heavily weighted in favor of the XDA for now. Over time that will change.

Sorry for the delay in making it available... we went through a hosting roller coaster over the last month. After having many, many problems with the hosting company we had been with for the past 6 months, we moved to a new shared host about 3 weeks ago. It was great... performance was awesome and availability was solid. After 10 days, the company shut the site down with no warning because our traffic was determined to be too high by them (but well within the limits of the plan I had paid for) and consuming too high a percentage of the server. I moved to a dedicated host and now things are finally solid. In the middle of that, the review was done. :clap:

[nosmohtac]

Great review Mike.

Very thorough.

I am not yet convinced to move to an all in one, but I was curious about something with PPCPE. Does this OS run any of the pocket pc programs, or does every application need to be written especially for PPCPE?

[Jason Dunn]

Does this OS run any of the pocket pc programs, or does every application need to be written especially for PPCPE?

PPCPE will run any Pocket PC program, no modifications neccesary - it's a normal Pocket PC, just with a features super-set sitting on top of the plain OS.

[nosmohtac]

Thanks Jason

That's what I had thought.

Not to get off the topic here, but I don't see the concern about MS possibly focusing more on the PE end. Even though I am not ready to move to an all in one device, I certainly hope they become more widely available, causing developers and OEM's to keep pumping out more great things.

Like Mike has shown in detail in his review, there are good things about both of these devices, and IMO they can only get better in the next attempt.

[Birdman]

If you are a heavy PDA user (and by that I mean you rely on your PDA for all types of info. while out of the office including AvantGo news, MP3 playing, ebook reading as well as all phone numbers and appointments) and a light to moderate cel phone user, the all-in-one is fantastic!

I work at my desk for pretty much the entire day so my cel phone usage is generally restricted to calling home on the way home to say I am on the way home (!!), calling my voice messages at work before I get into the office and on weekends, and calling from the supermarket to see what else we need to buy. :oops:

Under that scenario, the phone features of the XDA are perfect for me. The speakerphone option works very well in the car, and the only time I use the headphones is when a call comes in and I am in the middle of listening to music. While it is clearly not "small", I find the form factor to be very comfortable and the overall package is MUCH smaller than even the smallest cel phone when combined with even the smallest PDA.

When I put my phone on Rogers, here in Toronto, they had a promotion that you get a free small Motorolla phone if you sign up for a 2 year plan. I bought a SIM Card for $25, signed up to a very reasonable 2 year voice plan, did a month-month data plan (I can move up or down in the data plan) and I got a free Motorolla C333. It is a nice little phone with decent features and when I don't want to carry the XDA, (wedding, etc.) I take the SIM card out of the XDA and pop it into the Motorolla. I am very pleased with the whole set-up (although using a T-Mobile branded XDA on the Rogers network does not result in the most reliable and fastest data access speeds, but for checking email etc. through the Rogers Wireless Desktop, it works fine.)

Just my $.02

[mccollin]

Its going to be different for everyone, but I use the XDA as my primary phone and I'm never in the office. The thing about a one device philosophy is that it WILL change the way you use your PDA. Most people do not normally carry their PDA with them ALL the time. I never did. Perhaps the folks here on PPCT maybe do more than most, but most people aren't going to have a PDA in their pocket night and day. If you go to a converged device, you will. You will have your PDA all the time, and that will change the way you use it in a very positive way. You CAN depend on it being there. I actually don't carry a wallet now. I keep my license and credit cards in my XDA case, and just keep cash in my pocket in a money clip.

As for the integration, these devices do have a few quirks that aren't perfect, but they are very usable for a heavy phone user like myself. I just upgraded the ROM to get always-on GPRS, and that is quite nice as well. Still learning how to effectively use it.

[Jason Lee]

oohh.. hurry up sprint! i neeeed an i700! :lol:

[scottmag]

Wow, Mike, that's a pretty comprehensive comparison. Nice job. I personally didn't know what the i700 was so I will give you my feedback. When I first saw the article title I thought you were comparing the Palm i705 which doesn't merit comparison to much of anything. From the first picture it looked like a PocketPC Phone Edition, but I had to get to the third page to read, "Even though the XDA and i700 both are based on Pocket PC 2002 Phone Edition, there are some differences between the platform software on the two devices. First off, for today anyways, the XDA is GSM/GPRS and the i700 is CDMA."

As a hardware comparison this is great. What I would really like to see is such a comprehensive comparison of platforms. PPCPE vs. MS Smartphone. Both of them vs. PalmOS smartphones. Maybe I am strange, but I want to evaluate the entire package and not just choose the OS first and pick the best hardware wrapped around it. A PocketPC may well be the best PDA, but perhaps a PalmOS phone could be the best combo device. Or maybe the Sidekick is. I think there are too many usage variables between a phone and the classic PDA form to think that adding the abilities of one onto the form of the other is the best idea.

....
most people aren't going to have a PDA in their pocket night and day. If you go to a converged device, you will. You will have your PDA all the time, and that will change the way you use it in a very positive way.

I believe you there. But the size of a device like the XDA is a show-stopper for me. I carry a phone all the time and just cannot see myself with that giant device in place of the phone I have now. I want the functionality - at times I have desperately needed it - but I have to find a compromise on the size. And that probably means something like the MS Smartphone or the upcoming Treo 600.

I would look through your site for such comparisons, but you follow the typical convention of most PDA sites and segregate the discussions too finely by device type. There's nowhere to look for comparisons across platforms.

Scott

[scottmag]

PPCPE will run any Pocket PC program, no modifications neccesary - it's a normal Pocket PC, just with a features super-set sitting on top of the plain OS.

Pardon my ignorance on this one, but how well integrated is the phone feature set? I seem to remember at first that it was awkwardly bolted on and didn't integrate well. Then it was dramatically improved. At this point are all applications phone-enabled? That is, can you do things like dial a phone number that appears within the text of a document or an email message? Or fax from any program?

Scott

[Janak Parekh]

As a hardware comparison this is great. What I would really like to see is such a comprehensive comparison of platforms.
Agreed. However, it gets rapidly complicated. If you are comparing PPCPE, Symbian, Smartphone, Danger (Sidekick), and PalmOS, which way do you compare it? Mind you, I'd love to see it done, but just figuring out how to set up the comparison to the level of detail Mike gets in his article is really tricky.

And that probably means something like the MS Smartphone or the upcoming Treo 600.
Indeed, both of them are quite small. I've played with a Smartphone and seen a Treo, and their formfactor is very similar. Note that the Treo is a touchscreen and a Smartphone isn't, though.

I would look through your site for such comparisons, but you follow the typical convention of most PDA sites and segregate the discussions too finely by device type. There's nowhere to look for comparisons across platforms.
Well, you'll notice his site is called pdaPhoneHome. That's the focus. :D

--janak

[Janak Parekh]

Pardon my ignorance on this one, but how well integrated is the phone feature set? I seem to remember at first that it was awkwardly bolted on and didn't integrate well. Then it was dramatically improved. At this point are all applications phone-enabled? That is, can you do things like dial a phone number that appears within the text of a document or an email message? Or fax from any program?
Well, there were several "integrations". If you saw the initial work done by Sierra Wireless (the Audiovox Thera and similar), that was terrible. Pocket PC Phone Edition is quite a bit better. I don't think Word and Notes are phone-integrated, though, except for the cool feature whereby you can take a Note while on a phone call. I'm sure the next-gen Pocket PC Phone Edition will improve integration further.

--janak

[scottmag]

As a hardware comparison this is great. What I would really like to see is such a comprehensive comparison of platforms.
Agreed. However, it gets rapidly complicated. If you are comparing PPCPE, Symbian, Smartphone, Danger (Sidekick), and PalmOS, which way do you compare it? Mind you, I'd love to see it done, but just figuring out how to set up the comparison to the level of detail Mike gets in his article is really tricky.


Yeah, what I am looking for is a different beast altogether. I didn't say it would be easy ... just that I'd like to see someone like Mike do it. :D

What I want to see is a comparison of functionality. For example, if I am making a phone call can I still receive email or instant messages? If so, what happens - is there a notification? Is it intrusive? How can I deal with them - can I read them while still on the call? Or, what if I am composing a document or IM and someone calls me? Does the call come through? Do I have options to deal with it such as sending it directly to voicemail? Are my call logs tied to my contacts? Can the phone's behavior be controlled by my schedule (e.g., do not ring while I am in a scheduled meeting, etc.)?

I would choose a smartphone platform based on functionality first and then look at feature comparisons of similar models. If we are honest about it, both PocketPC and PalmOS devices can meet most or all of our PDA needs. They are both very powerful and capable. But integration with a phone brings up so many new usability issues that we need to look beyond what we think of the PDA platforms.


I don't think Word and Notes are phone-integrated, though, except for the cool feature whereby you can take a Note while on a phone call. I'm sure the next-gen Pocket PC Phone Edition will improve integration further.

I thought I read something about numbers prefixed with "tel:" can be addressed directly by the dialer. It would be nice if there was something like a contextual, or right-click, menu that allowed for phone-specific actions. For example you could highlight a number in any application and select "dial." Or send any text as an IM. That sort of thing.

Scott

[nosmohtac]

[quote="Janak Parekh"][quote=scottmag] For example, if I am making a phone call can I still receive email or instant messages? If so, what happens - is there a notification? Is it intrusive? How can I deal with them - can I read them while still on the call? Or, what if I am composing a document or IM and someone calls me? Does the call come through? Do I have options to deal with it such as sending it directly to voicemail? Are my call logs tied to my contacts? Can the phone's behavior be controlled by my schedule (e.g., do not ring while I am in a scheduled meeting, etc.)?

Scott

I agree with everything you said in this post Scott. I share the same opinion and would like the answer to all of your questions about the OS.

I am not positive, but as far as getting email or sms while on a call, I think that is only on GSM/GPRS networks, such as T-Mobile or Cingular. If I am not mistaken, this is because the service is split. You get your voice sevice over GSM, and simultaneously you can have a Data Connection over the GPRS system. I don't think you can have the same ability through a CDMA network, such as Sprint or Verizon.

If you need the ability to do both, it does have its drawback right now (as far as I understand). Networks such as Sprint and Verizon have Faster Data connections, right now, than are possible on GSM/GPRS networks.

When considering an all in one device, I would prefer the GSM/GPRS, in spite of the slower connection, but I don't have that option in my part of the country.

I am no expert on this subject by any means, and if any of my facts are incorrect, feel free to correct them, but let my opinions stand on their own.