Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Need help choosing Telecom PDA/Smartphone

mrcamel

13 posts

Geek

#22055 14-May-2008 22:29

Hi all

I am an ex 6275i and current M1 user and now have the chance to secure myself a pda/smartphone for work purposes.

Iv kind of boiled it down to 3 models based on loose feedback:

- BB 8830
- Okta Touch
- HTC Titan
- Okta Boss

Sorry but i could never consider owning a brick like the new Samsung, and im told the Treos are crap.

Id like to know the Pros/Cons of each apart from the obvious ones (i.e bb has no camera, bb/boss are not touchscreen)

checking work emails and calender appointments is important (use outlook at work)
Voice quality is important
MP3 ability is important
3.5mm jack would be useful but not deal killer
wifi would be useful/cool but not deal killer
playing movies would be cool but not fussed

Thanks muchly

Oh and if it matters i can choose anyone i want for free and need to do it fairly soon (so waiting for wcdma is not an option, and nor is choosing a voda)

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#131029 14-May-2008 23:12

BB, Nice phone, good battery life, good speech quality, GSM roaming Worldmode, but uses blackberry propietry data and email client and data costs are not cheap if you want to go for gold.

Touch, Awesome unit, WM6 with push email, Good battery life, ok speech quality, solid email perfomance and plenty of ram/rom, but the text entry is all on screen so great for reading emails but a bit clunky to reply.

Titan Superb slide out keyboard, ok battery life, ok speech, wifi, reasonable amount of memory but not WM6 so push email won't wor... yet, a bit clunky and plasticky

Boss reasonably usable slide out keyboard, great navigator keyboard, WM6 push email, ok battery life, Not enough memory if you are a heavy user though and reports of instability (see geekzone) and a bit heavy and thick due to the keyboard and the battery cover is flimsy.

I'd decide on what my primary use would be then decide from there, I use a Nokia 6275 for phone related stuff and Okta Touch for reading and replaying to emails (replying is a last resort)

Consider the samsung, Battery life could be better and voice quality seems a but dull but it's a cheap, slim, well performing smartphone with a rather usable keyboard.

The samsung does come with a much better extended battery in the box but it makes it a bit chunkier.

mrcamel

13 posts

Geek

#131057 15-May-2008 16:12

Thats some great feedback, cheers!

Both the phone and the ongoing call plan and data plan costs will be free for me so price is not an issue AT ALL.

Im sorry but id be way too ashamed bringing out that Samsung in public- not an option!!!

I was told that 'push email' can chew up a lot of battery and simply setting the phone to manually check for updates every 10 or so mins is effectively the same ?

Note that i intend to use the phone i choose as my ONLY phone - so a replacement for the 6275 and M1. Which is why iv asked about MP3 quality.

From what your saying, the BB doesnt seem to have any flaws (as i dont have problem with data costs) apart from no camera and no wifi.
Anyone tried mp3 on this? whats the quality like? and what type of video files can it play if any?

Primary use is :ph calls/txt messaging/checking emails/listening to music

Hmmm what to do....

guyz

232 posts

Master Geek

#131089 15-May-2008 18:23

HTC TItAN I run sanyo M! and picked up the Titan month ago andis leap years ahead of my Ipaq Pda.. mobile broadband is wickedly fast .

adventdesigns

115 posts

Master Geek

#131177 16-May-2008 09:25

I have an Okta Boss, its a great phone, I chose it over the Touch as a pure touch device would drive me insane as there is no feedback that you get from pressing a button, I wanted a phone with pda abilities and the Boss looks and acts the most like a phone, and most people wouldn't be able to tell otherwise. The slide out keyboard is amazing, I can type emails and txt's at lightening speeds after a bit of practice (30+ wpm).

Push mail does kill the battery life, but it will at least last the entire day with it on, I noticed little difference with the 5-10min gaps as it seemed to leave the data connection open any way.

I don't think im missing out on much by not having a touch screen either, the phone is very easy to navigate and I would consider it faster to navigate than my previous PDA because of the button feed back, unlike a pure touch device you can use the buttons to navigate without really looking at what your doing, this comes in handy when you are repeating the same tasks as it becomes simple mussle memory to open an app.

I think the titan would be a great device as it has both a keyboard and touch, but I would miss the navigation and keypad on the front of the phone.

rb85

115 posts

Master Geek

#132968 24-May-2008 11:22

I would agree with Advent above on the Okta Boss.

Great little phone, camera, email, traditional keypad (great if you text - even a little) and a QWERTY keypad.
All the quirks go with it too! LOL

If you dont want to put up with those quirks and you dont require over the air Exchange Server Sync then go the BlackBerry!!! Other than not having a camera its a great phone and you will never (or very very rarely) need to reset the device. Also the best battery life on a PDA and lots of 3rd party apps, skins, themes available online!

rb85

115 posts

Master Geek

#132969 24-May-2008 11:25

May I add that with the BlackBerry syncing OTA with Microsoft Exchange Server it is possible but requires further investment.

nzbnw

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Spark NZ

#132985 24-May-2008 12:29

rb85: May I add that with the BlackBerry syncing OTA with Microsoft Exchange Server it is possible but requires further investment.

1st one is free unless you want to use BES.

nzbnw

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Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.

freitasm

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#133006 24-May-2008 13:48

And remember there is a plan now that gives you free data when signing up with a Windows Mobile Okta Agent... Limited time offer. 12 months free data, fair usage apply - but quite generous I'd say.

lestag

100 posts

Master Geek

#134456 30-May-2008 15:59

I like the treo, quite a good user interface (keypad/buttons) I am betwixt between the treo and the touch.

The touch you can use as a blutooth modem with your laptop, the treo you can't.
It uses WM6 which works better than the treo's WM5 (for the VPN client I use)

Okta Touch gets my vote

i don't rate the others. BB is like a 40's GI joe overpriced, oversexed up, and over here :) I do like the voda BBs with built in GPS. Combine that with google maps and woo hoo! Unsure if telecom BB has GPS unit built in?

just my 2c

Ashen

32 posts

Geek

#134727 1-Jun-2008 10:39

Eeek! Making a choice on a good phone can be hard! Good luck.

My 2 cents worth here and it won't be the same for everyone... so pinch of salt needed (maybe a bag)

Okta Agent, made by Pantech and it showed - battery on two different phones didn't last long at all (less than day and no direct push enabled!?)... quality just wasn't there.

Okta Boss, replaced all 9 devices, each and everyone would hang sometimes 3-4 times in a morning, then nothing for weeks - see my post. Telecom agreed to replace them at no cost... you have to wonder why - it's a known issue.

BB 8830, if you don't mind the charges go for it. If you're synching back to Exchange you've got a bit of technical setup to do, but if your a good sys admin you should fly through it without any issues. Telecom can offer prereq. and help docs, but there is nothing in it that the Blackberry site and good preparation won't give you.

Samsung Global, don't discount it, I thought the same thing, Casio Calculator anyone? But I've started to use one and am pleasantly surprised - faster than the Okta Boss, good battery life, Worldmode.. qwerty keyboard use is "fast" - I didn't think it would be. Reception quite good, better than the Boss.

Okta Touch, fancy... looks good, but I would have thought a power user... someone who sends lots of emails a day would find it frustrating over BB and Samsung Global qwerty keyboards.

All of the WM6 devices can do music for you, there are a variety of good apps you can load that have a nicer interface than Windows Media Player.

Best thing is to go have a play with them... unfortunately real life experience is the only way you'll know if you've made a good choice.

Good luck!

mrcamel

13 posts

Geek

#134829 1-Jun-2008 22:57

Cheers for all the helpful feedback again

Even though im told teh Samsung has all the features, it still looks like a brick and a tiny screen. Had the screen been at least half the size of the phone itself i might have considered it.

Ruled the Boss out because of the freezing issue which iv now heard from other sources as well...

Although the Touch looks cool yea id tend to agree that id prob get annoyed about not having a keypad..

So iv basically narrowed it down to the Titan or the Blackberry. Again data charges shouldnt be an issue because works paying for the phone as well as monthly call+data rates....

But i really appreciate the wifi in the titan....

Looks like i might have to get a couple to play with for a few days.....

freitasm

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#134830 1-Jun-2008 23:07

I have the Samsung here and I am enjoying it. Quite speedy and the keyboard is nice. It could have a bigger screen, but not a big deal.

The biggest problem is the fact it is GSM 900/1800 MHz only - a bit useless in the USA where operators are deploying 850 MHz. I cn see why, since this is originally a Sprint model, which wouldn't be used for GSM roaming within the USA, but mainly in Europe.

It still can be used as a CDMA device over there though but this means no data roaming.

Lucky I have some HTC GSM devices around here...

PhoneChick

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#135172 3-Jun-2008 13:26

I have used all of the devices and I definately prefer the BB due to the awesome quality of voice clarity, battery life and navigation speeds.
I have MP3 music on my BB and it sounds great!
I liked the other devices but for you I would suggest the Titan due to the fact that it does everything that you need it to. Ok battery life isn't as good but at least you get two of them and it has Wifi, plays MP3, voice quality is above average but not supurb and you have multiple ways of entering text into the device for ease of use.

Lets us know what you decide to go for...

bernardgbailey

150 posts

Master Geek

#135682 5-Jun-2008 14:23

Hi guys,

I read the latest Telecom flier last night and no Samsung Ace in it. So I chelked on the web this monring and nothing on the Telecom site either just this message

Mobile

These words were not found: ace

So i guess they've either finished with the Ace or they have pulled it.

So is there any new pda phone with camera that does global roaming from Telecom Treo. Apart from a Treo 750 loan phone?

Chers
Bernard

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#135684 5-Jun-2008 14:29

Just go to their online store and look for Samsung Global.

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