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View Full Version : Bashing my head in


rookcnu
02-15-2006, 05:18 AM
I seem to be struggling (like everyone else) to find the perfect pocket pc phone. Specifically, I am looking at the HP Ipaq hw6925, the Cingular (HTC) 8125 and the Fujitsu-Siemens Pocket LOOX T830.

Also, two of these units (HP & FS) have not been released in the US, or may never be released here. Can someone like myself buy one of these things overseas or here in the states (unlocked) and then take it to my carrier (Cingular) and activate?

I have 150 USD gift cards burning a hole in my pocket from Cingular that I need to use by the end of the month. I like their 8125, but the processor speed scares me a bit and you cannot use Skype with such low processor. I also like the two way camera feature on the FS. The HP seems to be nice, but have heard bad things about the previous model (6515) and I do not know what to do, but need to do it in the next 14 days or I lose the gift cards.

Do you have any recommendations on the three I mentioned?

Thanks for any help you can give.

Janak Parekh
02-15-2006, 05:49 AM
How critical is Skype for you?

If it was up to me, I'd pick the 8125. The unit is very compact and has a very nice formfactor. The processor is a double-edged sword: a bit slower, but much better battery life. Anecdotal reports suggest that the speed is acceptable for most applications. Then of course, I have virtually zero interest in using Skype.

As for the T830, it's triband 900/1800/1900, and as such doesn't support the GSM 850 band used by Cingular in many areas of the US -- it's really optimized for Europe. Pictures from 3GSM also suggest it's large.

The HP sounds possible, but it's not available yet -- in fact, I don't know if it's available anywhere. Also, based on the mixed reception of recent HP units, I'd take a wait-and-see approach first.

Good luck deciding.

--janak

Jo_Q
02-15-2006, 12:37 PM
I have been trialling the following devices: 8 x HP 6515, 1 x I-Mate JAM, 6 x Qtek v1620, 2 x Treo 650 & 1 x Qtek (HTC) 9100 to find which work best with corporate middleware. Out of these, from an end user perspective, Qtek 9100 proved to be the superior products. From a technical perspective, the Treo 650 worked best, then next in line was the Qtek 9100 which resolved many of the issues experienced in the Windows 2003 SE devices.
The Qtek with its Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system appears far more stable. The Windows 2003 SE devices consistantly experienced "missing softkey board" issues after being rebooted. This would only be an issue for people setting up these devices with passwords.
The physical keyboards on the HP 6515 & Qtek v1620 caused Lock Shift & function key problems - not knowing what characters are actually being type when trying to enter in a password caused devices to be factory reset on so many occassions.
2 HP 6515s factory reset themselves for absolutely no reason.
I highly recommend the HTC 9100 as a personal preference and would encourage you to at least trial this device if you can.

martin_ayton
02-15-2006, 04:21 PM
The Windows 2003 SE devices consistantly experienced "missing softkey board" issues after being rebooted.

In my limited experience (Xda2s only, but two of those units) this issue goes away completely *if* you can be patient after a soft-reset. If you jump right in and tap the screen at the first opportunity after the reset, then the SIP won't appear and you'll be unable to enter your password (fortunately, the Xda2s has a thumbboard as well). If, however, you can sit on your hands for a few seconds until 'Start' appears at the top left of the screen, then the SIP keyboard will have loaded and be available.

Irritating, but not a killer for 2003SE devices IMO

Jo_Q
02-15-2006, 04:57 PM
I thought that initially as well for all of the devices (hence the vast range of products trialled, then turning to W Mobile 5.0). Unfortunately, no matter how long I waited after a reboot, on any W 2003 device, the soft keyboard was not available.
The only exception was on the I-Mate Jam where the soft keyboard icon was available immediately after a reboot, however you only had a max of 10 seconds to type your password in then the keyboard would disappear. As this device does not have a physical keyboard, I thought this "feature" was a nifty little trick to play on the testers.