Geekzone: technology news, blogs, forums
Guest
Welcome Guest.
You haven't logged in yet. If you don't have an account you can register now.


matt45

311 posts

Ultimate Geek


#34185 20-May-2009 17:47
Send private message

Hi all,

So i sold my 1st gen iphone a while back (which i liked) because i wanted to get rid of it before the next wave of handsets came out and it decreased in value more.
I am now looking for a new smartphone, so far my intension is to wait for the new iphone to come out and then probably get that. but i am open to other options, was wondering if there is anything in the world of WinMo that would suit my needs, i have looked at a few handsets like the SE xperia x1 but i really dont know much about the winmo OS and apps available for it.

The Features it must have:
WIFI
850/2100 (for "xt")
email
ability to plugin into car stereo via usb for audio playback (my iphone did this with standard usb cable and was able to charge and control via headunit)

The Features i would like to have but dont have to:
Push email
Push IM (msn) .. i know this one is a long shot.
maps
gps

i have been on gsmarena etc but specs can only tell you so much.

Any help is greatly appreciated
Thanks in Advance!


Create new topic
freitasm
BDFL - Memuneh
79250 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator
ID Verified
Trusted
Geekzone
Lifetime subscriber

  #216431 20-May-2009 19:27
Send private message

I am currently using the Acer F900 and I love it. Wait until the end of the month.





Please support Geekzone by subscribing, or using one of our referral links: Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies | Hatch | GoodSyncBackblaze backup




Fraktul
836 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

  #216457 20-May-2009 20:28
Send private message

I know its a Symbian handset but I have been using my Samsung I8910 for the last week, have been very happy with it so far. Excellent battery life from a smartphone and arguably the best specs out there for a symbian handset currently if you dont mind the loss of an actual keypad.

matt45

311 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #216467 20-May-2009 21:12
Send private message

hmm i like the look of that samsung more than the acer UI, divx support is a bonus! are you able to play divx vids without downscaling them? (ie. could i just transfer a 350mb tv epp onto it and watch it?) does it come with maps for the a-gps or are they easily downloaded? also can i ask how much you paid?



Fraktul
836 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

  #216473 20-May-2009 21:35
Send private message

The screen is a 720x480 resolution so should fit on fine for most files, otherwise it will automatically adjust the output and you can manually select the aspect ratio. I watch docos on it quite a bit when im not reading/working on the tube.



Yes it came with maps supplied by Orange UK or you can download googlemaps if this is suitable for your requirements.



£95 on 18 month term, £35 a month for unlimited txts and 600 any network/time mins. All of which work pay for however ;)

Non-contract costs have not been announced but it is expect to be £500-600 AFAIK.



matt45

311 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #216490 20-May-2009 22:30
Send private message

only downside is there doesnt seem to be a 850/2100 version :(

Fraktul
836 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

  #216498 20-May-2009 23:07
Send private message

Supports:
2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network HSDPA/HSUPA 900 / 1900 / 2100

Regs
4066 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Snowflake

  #216515 21-May-2009 01:43
Send private message

i believe that all the winmo 5 or greater smartphones/pdas are capable of push email and push IM (msn). some dont ship with MSN installed though and it ends up being an extra cost to install/subscribe. instead of msn you can install fring for free and get all of msn, aol, twitter etc etc running on the phone

many phones come with GPS embedded these days - if they dont then you can always connect them to an external unit.

not all come with wifi. a pda with no wifi is a bad option these days. wifi is a must around the home/office and when you're travelling and want to keep 3g data bills to a minimum.

my *old* palm treo 750v has no wifi or gps but it does have push email/msn and can also handle the XT frequencies as well as vodafone freqs (excluding wcdma 900 though)




 
 
 

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.
atothek
16 posts

Geek


  #219225 29-May-2009 11:28
Send private message

I am keen on importing a samsung i8910 from the UK. I'm not familiar with any of the phone jargon and technologies. Can anyone tell me if this will work on the XT network (or Vodafone) and if so will there be any features that I won't be able to use?

qraider
374 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #219257 29-May-2009 12:36
Send private message

2G Network     GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network     HSDPA 900 / 1900 / 2100

Looks like it'll work on voda but not xt.




Current Phone:
- Android: Samsung SM-G900F Galaxy S5 (XT)
- Win Phone 8: Samsung ATIV S (XT)

Current Tablet:

 

- Acer Iconia 7" Android Tablet

 

Twitter: qraider


atothek
16 posts

Geek


  #219312 29-May-2009 14:24
Send private message

bummer, was hoping to get it on an XT plan upgraded from my existing plan which still has another year to run. Will it work with all the features on vodafone? GPS, data, voice/video calls?

Fraktul
836 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

  #219623 30-May-2009 00:30
Send private message

As long as it is an unlocked version should be fine.

NZtechfreak
4649 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #219643 30-May-2009 03:12
Send private message

Is yours unlocked Fraktul? I'm looking to get the i8910 ASAP, but availability of non-Orange branded handsets is limited...

Incidentally I have the Xperia, its a fine handset as long as photography isn't particularly important, and you are able to tweak the phone to your use - XDA developers has many options for this.




Twitter: @nztechfreak
Blogs: HeadphoNZ.org


Fraktul
836 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

  #219685 30-May-2009 09:48
Send private message

NZtechfreak: Is yours unlocked Fraktul? I'm looking to get the i8910 ASAP, but availability of non-Orange branded handsets is limited...



Incidentally I have the Xperia, its a fine handset as long as photography isn't particularly important, and you are able to tweak the phone to your use - XDA developers has many options for this.


Nope its not unfortunately but work pay for my plan (£40 quid for 600 any time, any network mins and unlimited txts & phone insurance) so I wasnt going to shell £550 for a handset to have the privilege of it being unlocked - I can always get it unlocked at end of contract or by someone with the right equipment here I guess.

I was planning to do a bit of a write up but have been lazy/busy with work.

Short run down of my experiences so far, will post something a bit fuller after I get back from Brighton this weekend.

Hardware:
Good solid feel to the handset, it feels bigger in the hand than the N95 due to the width and height but is smaller in the pocket due as it is thinner. Not really that much of a fingerprint magnet despite what reviews say. Build quality seems very good.

Screen:
Kick arse, major drawcard for the phone obviously - good res for browsing, nice dot pinch for screen size, amazing contrast. What more to you need?? Oh that’s right, being able to read it out doors, I cannot emphasise enough that if you spend a lot of time in direct sunlight and want readability from your handset screen that this is not the handset for you. You can *just* make out basic contrast in direct sunlight, forget colour.

If you know how amoled works this won’t come as a surprise. If you don’t then read up on it.

GPS/Compass:
Not much to say, works well, quick position fix - similar or slight better time to N95. Compass is handy since that was one of the big pains with maps on the N95...you knew where you were but not what direction you were facing. Coming up from the tube at a new station when you are in a hurry this was a pain.

Camera/Video:
You have probably seen pics and videos off the net so you can be your own judge. Pretty much as good as it gets in a handset at the moment! Takes maybe a second from picture being taken to display for review which can be a pain

Sound:
Good speaker sound for a handset, decent output level but you need to have realistic expectations too - not going to replace your home theatre system any time soon :) People have been whining about the voice and video sound sampling rate, have not used enough to make an indepth comment and I believe this can be resolved in a future firmware update anyhow.

UI:
Found touchwiz to be a bit lame, then again I dont like widgets as I'm a bit of a minimilist *shrug*. Quite responsive, more some then the N95. Extra RAM is nice for having multiple applications open.

WiFi:
Range is a bit so so, then again my apartment has concrete walls, think they might have rebar in them too...can get through 1 wall ok...2 is ok for browsing but skype breaks up a bit.

Touchscreen:
Pretty good once you get used to it - handwriting recognition is not that great though. Not much of a suprise considering you are not using a stylus, could get a capacative stylus if you fancy. Fullscreen keyboard is pretty decent but if you have fat fingers then forget it - the key real estate on the screen is quite small so you need normal sized fingers and be pretty accurate.

Browser:
Very nice, much improvement from the N95 browser. Greater res, zooming, very smooth to move round heavy pages, flash works well.

Video playback:
Great, can skip to where you want within mpeg4 or h.264 content instantly. Very smooth, have not had any jitter or slowdown even with H.264 content.

That said I have had some issues with some H.264 encoding of music vids not working. Probably a specific encoding option I used but have not had time to sus it out yet.

Usability whilst drunk:
I think every review should include this, being able to use your mobile when drunk is pretty importent! :D

Decent, forget fullscreen keyboard or handwriting for txt entry though. Alpha numeric keyboard is your drunk booty call friend. Viability of phone after being dropped...unsure, time will tell but I would say not as good as the trusty old N95.

Enjoy.

Create new topic





News and reviews »

Air New Zealand Starts AI adoption with OpenAI
Posted 24-Jul-2025 16:00


eero Pro 7 Review
Posted 23-Jul-2025 12:07


BeeStation Plus Review
Posted 21-Jul-2025 14:21


eero Unveils New Wi-Fi 7 Products in New Zealand
Posted 21-Jul-2025 00:01


WiZ Introduces HDMI Sync Box and other Light Devices
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:32


RedShield Enhances DDoS and Bot Attack Protection
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:26


Seagate Ships 30TB Drives
Posted 17-Jul-2025 11:24


Oclean AirPump A10 Water Flosser Review
Posted 13-Jul-2025 11:05


Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: Raising the Bar for Smartphones
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Brings New Edge-To-Edge FlexWindow
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Epson Launches New AM-C550Z WorkForce Enterprise printer
Posted 9-Jul-2025 18:22


Samsung Releases Smart Monitor M9
Posted 9-Jul-2025 17:46


Nearly Half of Older Kiwis Still Write their Passwords on Paper
Posted 9-Jul-2025 08:42


D-Link 4G+ Cat6 Wi-Fi 6 DWR-933M Mobile Hotspot Review
Posted 1-Jul-2025 11:34


Oppo A5 Series Launches With New Levels of Durability
Posted 30-Jun-2025 10:15









Geekzone Live »

Try automatic live updates from Geekzone directly in your browser, without refreshing the page, with Geekzone Live now.



Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.