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View Full Version : BenQ Italy Announces the P50


Darius Wey
04-18-2005, 03:00 AM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.benq.it/news/index.cfm?year=2005&id=945' target='_blank'>http://www.benq.it/news/index.cfm?year=2005&id=945</a><br /><br /></div><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/wey-20050418-BenQP50.jpg" /><br /><br />BenQ Italy have just announced the P50 on their website. The original announcement is in Italian, but here's a <a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.benq.it%2Fnews%2Findex.cfm%3Fyear%3D2005%26id%3D945&langpair=it%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=%2Flanguage_tools">Google translation</a> if you need it. The specifications of this quad-band device are as follows: 2.83" LCD, 64MB ROM, 64MB RAM, integrated Bluetooth, WLAN, IrDA, a 1.3MP camera (with a flash and digital zoom functionality), and finally, a QWERTY keyboard. The 122mm(H) x 60mm(W) x 20mm(D) device weighs in at 170g. Now it's just a matter of waiting for this announcement to be fed to the other BenQ websites. ;)

ricksfiona
04-18-2005, 03:32 AM
This looks like the Jam with a keyboard.

Vincent M Ferrari
04-18-2005, 04:57 AM
Man do I want this thing.

I wanted it after seeing it at the CES.

I'm almost lusting after it.

I am buying it the day it becomes available in the US.

I will own this by any means necessary.

alabij
04-18-2005, 04:57 AM
Whats up with all this hardware keyboards. I hate them. I bet if we took a poll most people would be against them. Of course it could just be my fingers. The blackberry has the largest built in keyboard yet I still see people struggling to use it.

Back on point.
It's a cool PDA without the keyboard

Pdaholic
04-18-2005, 05:31 AM
Whats up with all this hardware keyboards. I hate them. I bet if we took a poll most people would be against them. Of course it could just be my fingers. The blackberry has the largest built in keyboard yet I still see people struggling to use it.

Back on point.
It's a cool PDA without the keyboard

Too bad you don't like keyboards. Personally, I like them and will never go back. You have numerous options for keyboard-less PDAs. Up until the last few months, PPC users had one option only for a keyboarded pda-the 4355. I for one like the fact that we now have more options, and I see the recent surge in keyboard-based PPC's further evidence of growth in the PPC world. So, I say don't be a hater, and embrace the growth of PPC's!

Pinnacle
04-18-2005, 05:34 AM
Whats up with all this hardware keyboards. I hate them. I bet if we took a poll most people would be against them. Of course it could just be my fingers. The blackberry has the largest built in keyboard yet I still see people struggling to use it.

Back on point.
It's a cool PDA without the keyboard
Wow, really?!

The keyboard built-in is the big selling point with this device. If all those Blackberry users really struggle with their keyboard, there must be millions of very unhappy users. :wink:

I think wireless devices with built-in keyboards will only become more and more popular...gotta take a completely opposite view than you on that.

Darius Wey
04-18-2005, 05:51 AM
Wow, really?!

I can see both sides of the argument here. On one end, you have users who opt for size (i.e. portability) over convenience of input (i.e. keyboard), and on the other end, you have the opposite situation.

Personally, I prefer portability, and I would have loved to see the P50 with a slide-out keyboard, rather than have it bulking out like it is now. But there's always a reason behind everything, and time will tell whether the hype generated over the P50 is a measure of its success.

Pinnacle
04-18-2005, 06:23 AM
Wow, really?!

I can see both sides of the argument here. On one end, you have users who opt for size (i.e. portability) over convenience of input (i.e. keyboard), and on the other end, you have the opposite situation.

Personally, I prefer portability, and I would have loved to see the P50 with a slide-out keyboard, rather than have it bulking out like it is now. But there's always a reason behind everything, and time will tell whether the hype generated over the P50 is a measure of its success.
I completely agree on the slide-out option in relation to a built-in keyboard. But the above poster was making a judgement on all hardware keyboards, which had nothing to do with portability; it sounded like more of a question of ease of use with a keyboard built into a device. That's what prompted my response with a "Wow."

With a device that has a phone built-in, or any wireless for that matter, I can't understand the notion of someone prefering fingers-on-the-screen (or stylus use) virtual keyboards over hard keys. I'm not putting that preference down, though...to each their own. I just like to use phones one-handed, including convergent devices, and a hardware keyboard is my preference over on-screen input.

yslee
04-18-2005, 06:47 AM
No keyboard, no sale! =D

This device has come too late for me though. I ended up buying a new Treo at a very good price. =P

Dave Conger
04-18-2005, 07:05 AM
In English:
http://www.benq.us/News/index.cfm?year=2005&amp;id=936

...basically the same thing, but dated 1/6/2005...execpt the US press release says "Available in February 2005, the BenQ P50 PDA Phone comes with an estimated street price of $800.00." Rockin.

MS Mobiles
04-18-2005, 08:00 AM
...basically the same thing, but dated 1/6/2005...execpt the US press release says "Available in February 2005, the BenQ P50 PDA Phone comes with an estimated street price of $800.00." Rockin.

No, it's not the same! The Italian release says "BenQ launches BenQ P50" not that "BenQ will launch BenQ P50"... so Italian release should mean that one can actually buy this phone in Italy!

Other than that: I agree that it comes with huge delay - I have seen this phone during CeBIT 2004 in March 2004 - over 1 year ago! This phone should have EDGE and UMTS/WCDMA (3G) to be up to date now. Also 802.11b in year 2005 is a bit outdated (it should be 802.11g).

I am also not sure whether the keyboard is backlit and without backlit keyboard it is not much worth...

IpaqMan2
04-18-2005, 10:37 AM
Have you guys ever heard of Good Technology? Well I work very close with the Company (hmm just how close though ??? :-) ), Anyway, let me just put it to you this way.. Of all the customer who go with Good, the Thumboard or keyboard devices is a HUGE deciding factor when the choose a device. There's less of a learning curve than there is with a stylus for new users. Most people who use Blackberrys and or Good, only really use them to respond to emails and other corperate information and using a stylus get's really old very fast. It's not like the people who come to this website and are power users, many people who's company's buy converged devices prefer a built in keyboard, which for one reason or another is why Treo's have so much success in the business world - that and the fact that you really can operate the Treo with one hand and never need to pull out the stylus.

So in short I think seeing more PPCs with Thumboard is a good thing. I meanwhy complain just because there is a model out with it, it's not like there will stop making non-keyboard PPCs.

moaske
04-18-2005, 11:13 AM
I can support the idea of a keyboardless PDA as well though. I have a iMate Jam since 2 months, and i can say i really like to write text messages with my stylus. It's just so much faster than using T9 on a numeric keyboard.
And when i need to make a lot of text entry like meeting notes, i whip out my Bluetooth keyboard and start typing away.
For me the portabilty-issue outweighs the hardware keyboard.
I'm also perfectly able to control and use my Jam with one hand. Yes, there are fingerprints on the screen, but i really don't mind that. The PPC OS has been designed back then to be able to use your fingers.
And of course Voicecommand makes life a lot easier 8)

KevinK
04-18-2005, 02:04 PM
What's with the hardware keyboards? Without this, I wouldn't have bought my excellent Treo 650 5 months ago. MS and licensees have been way behind the ball on this one. I will only buy with hardware keyboars for now on - the experience is light years beyond just having a PDA. ANd connected is the only way to go. I have a beautiful x50v that my wife now uses for bubblets because it doesn't have cellular. built in.

alabij
04-18-2005, 04:04 PM
I can support the idea of a keyboardless PDA as well though. I have a iMate Jam since 2 months, and i can say i really like to write text messages with my stylus. It's just so much faster than using T9 on a numeric keyboard.
And when i need to make a lot of text entry like meeting notes, i whip out my Bluetooth keyboard and start typing away.
For me the portabilty-issue outweighs the hardware keyboard.
I'm also perfectly able to control and use my Jam with one hand. Yes, there are fingerprints on the screen, but i really don't mind that. The PPC OS has been designed back then to be able to use your fingers.
And of course Voicecommand makes life a lot easier 8)

You hit the nail on the head. I personally am more comfortable with the stylus. And with voicecommand(with more improvements) the sky will be the limit.

I'm not saying hw keyboards are bad. I just don't like the space they take up on my device. Make it slide-out or detachable just don't shove it in my face.

I keep hearing Treo Treo Treo. In all earnest the Treo is the only true success story of a hw keyboard. It is clear and well designed.

Consider the IPAQ 6315(which I have). Keyboard sucks. In fact its more of a burden than convenience.

By the way I wrote all this with my stylus.

Guttrhead
04-18-2005, 05:35 PM
What's with the hardware keyboards? Without this, I wouldn't have bought my excellent Treo 650 5 months ago. MS and licensees have been way behind the ball on this one. I will only buy with hardware keyboars for now on - the experience is light years beyond just having a PDA. ANd connected is the only way to go. I have a beautiful x50v that my wife now uses for bubblets because it doesn't have cellular. built in.

The HTC Blue Angel is a MS PPC phone with a hardware keyboard that was out 5 months ago, with more built-in connectivity options than the treo or any phone at the time.

Dave Conger
04-18-2005, 06:37 PM
...basically the same thing,

No, it's not the same! The Italian release says "BenQ launches BenQ P50" not that "BenQ will launch BenQ P50"

Ok...two words are different :wink:. I would call that "basically" the same. I didn't say they were exactly the same. The Italian release "should" mean that it is coming, but if it is coming why is there no expected release date or price.

bbarker
04-19-2005, 08:38 AM
BenQ Italy have just announced the P50 on their website.
This site is the greatest. But one minor nit has bugged me for quite a while: noun-verb disagreement. That sentence should be, "BenQ Italy has just announced...." :)

Darius Wey
04-19-2005, 09:04 AM
BenQ Italy have just announced the P50 on their website.
This site is the greatest. But one minor nit has bugged me for quite a while: noun-verb disagreement. That sentence should be, "BenQ Italy has just announced...." :)

You're not the first to say that, so I can understand why you're getting bugged.

I've discussed this with a couple of my colleagues before, and here's the deal on the whole thing. As you know, the editors of this site come from all sorts of regions. I'm from Australia. Jonathon is from the UK. A lot of the others are from America. Now when you read this site, you may come across one disparity between the way my posts and Jonathon's posts are written, and the posts of those who are based in America. What's that, you ask? The use of a plural verb after a singular noun is very common (and I do stress that point) in Australian/British English, and very rare and possibly grammatically incorrect in American English. It's just a fact of life that you'll have to learn to understand, because often is the case that the folk in Australia and the UK treat a company as a "group", rather than something singular. And bear in mind that this isn't the only difference between the two: I spell "colour" with a "u", you spell it without a "u". I spell "realise" with an "s", while you spell it with a "z".

So to cut a long story short, it's hard for me to keep on top of this whole "singular noun-plural verb" and have others constantly pointing and saying that it is wrong, when in actuality, it's just a common part of the English language in our region. You have to understand that the world extends beyond the US, and this site is no exception. I hope you can relate to this. :)

Jason Lee
04-19-2005, 04:49 PM
I's hates people who try an fix my words. :P

;)

bbarker
04-19-2005, 05:18 PM
So to cut a long story short, it's hard for me to keep on top of this whole "singular noun-plural verb" and have others constantly pointing and saying that it is wrong, when in actuality, it's just a common part of the English language in our region. You have to understand that the world extends beyond the US, and this site is no exception. I hope you can relate to this. :)
Thank you for explaining this. I thought it was an odd style convention you had all agreed to follow. I didn't know it was common usage in most English-speaking countries. Knowing that, I'll now be able to smile and enjoy it as I do the s/z and o/ou differences. :D

Darius Wey
04-19-2005, 05:21 PM
Thank you for explaining this. I thought it was an odd style convention you had all agreed to follow. I didn't know it was common usage in most English-speaking countries. Knowing that, I'll now be able to smile and enjoy it as I do the s/z and o/ou differences. :D

:lol:

Not a problem. Hope you enjoy the diversity that's on offer. :D