Imate SP2 vs PDA2K

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Herbium

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Topic # 5171 5-Oct-2005 08:55

I currently have an Imate SP2 which I have grown to hate. The 4 key is bust, making it very hard to phone or text, the screen is all scratched up, the buttons are too small for my fat fingers and I find that the hardware is just too fragile. Having said that, i do like the integration with outlook and wireless sync with our server.

I have an opportunity to get a PDA2K. Im attracted by the bigger screen, slide out keyboard, 802.11b etc.

Are there any niggles i shoudl be aware of? Is there a better device for the same sort of $. My strong preference is for a windows mobile device.

Cheers

chiefie

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Reply # 21037 5-Oct-2005 09:17

hey there. i'm also a SP2 user here..

i used to use Ipaq 3850 and it was great but shame it doesn't have Bluetooth and later been superceed by so many other new Ipaq model, so it is now sitting in the drawer and may be taken out to use it as my sidewindow...

anyway.. my partner has HP 6315 and which is great! shame it has external thumboard other than that, it has phone, wifi and bt... :-)

I'm looking/waiting for Imate JasJar, which might serve what you after.

I like the tight integration of Outlook with the phone contact (mobile outlook)... and won't trade any other conduit for this tight integration (although Nokia new's PC Suite 6.6 has good mapping of all the contact fields... so might give that a look or someone can give me a demo before i jump back on to Nokia's bandwagon! LOL)

Anyhow, PDA2k is kinda "old" especially WM5 devices are here (very soon)... My advice is wait for Imate JasJar, and sure it a bit bulkier but you are getting more than just a phone.. it's your whole mobile office. :-)

check it out!

p/s: FYI, i have outgrown my SP2 and need to move back onto PDA-Phone devices again... :-) Also, I used to have problem with keypad "9" and took it back to Vodafone after the 1st week and told them the keypad has a ghost... and they replaced another one to me. Oh on the fragile issue.... i actually am quite surprise how durable it is.. i dropped it ungodly so many times. but one day, i dropped it, i chipped the bottom right corner where the headset plug is. but i just cellotape it up and all good :-)

the screen is still clear and good. a bit of very fine scratches but that's normal... no bad scratches that you can't see anything... and i put my sp2 in the same pocket as my keys.. :-)

Overall, SP2 is great! good for those who want tight integration with Outlook and ease of use with phone and wma/mp3 on the go with all good round features... I'd get SP3i if JasJar isn't out... or SP4 if there's 3G version of that! heheh...

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tonyhughes

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Reply # 21038 5-Oct-2005 09:17

Waiting for a WM5 device seems to be the consensus at the moment. Search Geekzone for 'jasjar' and 'wizard' among others...

I have a Harrier (Telecom EVDO version of the PDA2K), and I like it, but I will like the new Apache even better.

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jhc123

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Reply # 21113 6-Oct-2005 12:44

Hmm, I have a PDA2k and like it ...but it does have some quirks depending on what you're after. Quick summary- the PDA2k is a very good PDA, an OK phone (mediocre without the new rom updates) and a functional but not great Camera and MP3 player. I use it simply because I'd rather carry one medium sized device than three or four smaller ones.

As the others have suggested you might want to wait a bit for the WM5 devices to hit the markets fully. Even if you decide on a PDA2k, their prices should drop a lot once the next models are released.

As for the KeyBoard- If you find your fingers too fat for an SP2, the keyboard on the PDA2k will be worse- it's tiny and i do find I use the softkeyboard just as much as the slide out one. Where i like the slide-out one is for two-thumb emailing/texting while on the bus etc as I find the transcriber and softkeys are harder to use when on-the-move.

The Wireless support is great- probably the best feature of the phone. I have Wireless ADSL at home, so all my emails/RSS/weather feeds syncing etc while around home is "free" over my existing Xtra plan. This certainly keeps the GPRS data charges down. On the downside it does chew through the already busy batteries some more.

Phone quality was pretty crappy with the early ROMs. The 1.40 rom has been out for a while which fixes some problems and there's now a hotfix for that which fixes the occasional uni-directional phone call issues. Both can be found on the clubimate site and I strongly recommend applying them if they are not already on.

The other advantage of the 1.40 rom is you get Media Player 10- the sound quality, headphones and volume control granularity doesn't really make it a great MP3 player, but it is usable while you're waiting for the screen on your Ipod Nano to be fixed.

Physically, it's coping but I still treat it a bit more cautiously than a normal phone and occasionally get annoyed with its bulk. Still a bit dubious about that slide out connector's strength too.

John

Herbium

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Reply # 21125 6-Oct-2005 15:05

I have elected to wait for the WM5 devices to be released and then see what happens. The Jasjam does look good, especially as it will be a 3G device. I dont really have any use for realtime video etc but it does look cool. Also noticed the KJam on the Imate site. Interesting, but again until I can get touchy-feely with one, I'll wait.

As an aside, I understand that the Harrier is the same as the PDA2K. If so, then why the price difference?

jhc123

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Reply # 21126 6-Oct-2005 15:16

Harrier has EVDO (3g) connectivity only. This means it will have faster access when on a cellular data connection around most of the major centers. Down side is you don't have the built-in wireless card, so although it's faster you pay big $ for the data charges.

PDA2K is GSM with GPRS for data. Not as fast as EVDO on the go, but the Wireless connectivity more than makes up for it- especially if you tend to do most of your "roaming" in or near wireless hotspots, or have woreless at home.
GSM also roams far better overseas. It just works without having to change all the numbers, change phones or whatever.

I had the option of either phone and chose the PDA2K with built in wireless as it saves me lots on the long-term data charges. I'm prepared to live with the slightly slower roaming data just for this. Roaming to Aussie is also a breeze with Vodafone.

Regards
John

Herbium

64 posts

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Reply # 21129 6-Oct-2005 15:24

Thanks for that. I have wireless ADSL at home and at work so I guess the PDA2K would be the one for me (if I wasnt going to wait)

freitasm

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Reply # 21130 6-Oct-2005 15:32

Herbium: As an aside, I understand that the Harrier is the same as the PDA2K. If so, then why the price difference?

Remember that PDA2k (HTC Blue Angel) has built-in Wi-Fi (as explained before), and the Harrier (HTC Harrier) does not.

Also the Harrier is a CDMA device, which means the manufacturer has probably to pay royalties to Qualcomm for the CDMA module.

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