Looking at getting a new phone-pda combo, any suggestions on the following?

[Shadowdh]

Hi there all, I am looking at getting new phone as my old one is dying a not to dignified death at the moment... I am looking at combining a phone with a pda so I dont have to carry so many toys... uhhh I mean important devices around... I am looking at the following...

http://www.gsmarena.com/asus_p750-2170.php

as it looks good, has all the features I am looking for (well I would prefer mini sd instead of micro but there you go) and can handle pleco too... I was just wondering though is there any thing else that would be as good and has the features that I can get in China... I have been looking at dopod too but am not sure about the brand, perhaps lenovo? any help would be much appreciated... cheers

[cdn_in_bj]

The first thing to decide on when looking at smartphones is what OS/applications you would like to run. You have the following to choose from: Windows Mobile/PocketPC, Palm, Symbian/Symbian UIQ, Apple OS X (iPhone), or Linux. Since you want to run Pleco, then you can choose from the first two. From there, you can start looking at hardware.

I believe that the Dopods are made by HTC. If you're willing to go the grey import route, you can also look at some rebranded HTC's with the O2 branding.

[Shadowdh]

oh thanks for the info Cdn... I will have a look at them too... sigh more research to do before I get my new toy... I mean important device...

[imron]

I know a bunch of people with Dopods + Pleco, and they rave about them.

[Shadowdh]

Thats good to know, thanks Imron...

[badr]

With palm lagging so far behind in features, I've been contemplating a switch to pocket pc/ WM6 more and more. However, I get the impression that there are some issues with WM6 when running pleco... not to mention the initial anti windows bias.

I'm hoping for new palm phones soon.... I love the OS, I just want more capable or modern machines versus the treo 680 that's been out over a year.

Now back to the topic at hand, that Asus is pretty darn sweet features wise... really nice..

[roddy]

Dopod and HTC are pretty much the same thing when it comes to smartphones - HTC used to make phones for Dopod, then bought the company.

I've been fussing about what new smartphone I want for ages now. I'm also very tempted by the new ipaq 210 (which isn't a phone) but it isn't out yet and all they're saying is 'coming in 2008', although it should be soonish. What I really really want is a VGA screen, but there aren't that many devices like that around. The O2 Flame is the current object of my desire. There's also the Dopod 900 (aka HTC Universal) but that has the swivel out keyboard which to be honest I don't want - or at least I don't want the extra weight / thickness.

Couple of queries to polish off my comprehensive thread hijack - is WM6 actually better than WM5, or is it like XP and Vista where you are better off with the older OS? And has anybody actually tried stuff like reading and using Plecodict on a 480*640, 3-ish inch screen?

[gato]

is WM6 actually better than WM5,

WM5 is very buggy, according to Mike Love. WM6 is basically a bug-fix release with few new features, I think.

[Shadowdh]

Hijack away Roddy... all info is good info... I have another question... are the htc and dopods number the same model wise... what I mean is would the htc x7501 be the same in the dopod...

Badr.. yeah man I thought the same... I might just make the extra effort and look that one up... I can only find the p526 around here at the moment...

[roddy]

No, they're not, the model names / numbers can be pretty confusing. The HTC Touch is the Dopod S1. The HTC Kaiser is the HTC TYTN2 is the Dopod P4550. And I could have those all wrong

The local Dalian site I've been price checking on has list price of 5980Y for the Asus P750, but only 待定 for it's own price, if that's any use.

The more I look at all this the more confused I get. Trouble is that I'm still not 100% convinced by the smartphones, and I reallly like my current PDA and phone set up, as I don't have to carry a PDA-sized device everywhere, but when I do I get Internet on it via the phone. But there aren't any PDAs I want to buy at the moment.

[Shadowdh]

Thanks for the info Roddy... I like the looks of the tytn II... I am pretty convinced that I need the pda phone combo thing... just need to convince the wife now...

*Edit* actually "need" is perhaps too strong a word, but it is pretty cool and if I can find the p750 then that will be fun... uhh I mean a serious piece of equipment that will be much used...

[roddy]

he HTC Touch is the Dopod S1. The HTC Kaiser is the HTC TYTN2 is the Dopod P4550. And I could have those all wrong

And the HTC Touch has Wifi, while the domestic S1 doesn't - got to watch out for these minor points

Currently straying towards the O2 Flame, it does look like a gorgeous bit of kit and I like the idea of the TV out. (Pleco on TV!). Chunky though, not sure I want to be carrying that with me everywhere. Am finding grey import S1's (I think this device is the S1 in Asia, and the HTC touch elsewhere, am I right) in Dalian for 3000+-, the Flame for 4200+-.

[gougou]

Ok, so I've been looking at plenty of phones, but I can't seem to find what I'm looking for. Is anybody aware of a PDA-like phone with a good camera? (I'm looking to replace my digital camera, so I would want good quality camera - I liked the N95 until I realized it didn't have a touchscreen).

[roddy]

Could try ZOL's Advanced mobile search and see what it comes up with. If you haven't already.

[gougou]

I did, yet the problem is finding a good camera with it. There's plenty of 3m (or higher) ones that shoot awful pictures.

[Shadowdh]

Sorry cant help with the camera thing as its not so important for me Gougou... but I have narrowed it down to 3 now... ASUS P750 which heads the list if I can find it I will grab it... HTC TYTN II is next, have seen these around but I need to do the price checking thing now... and finally the O2 XDA stellar... like this over the flame at the moment but also like the flame... so now to find out prices and stuff... man I just love shopping... not...

[badr]

Double check with Pleco's site wether or not it is compatible with the current version! I was on there today and read that there were issues with WM6.

In my case, I'm just gonna hold a little longer for the GSM centro and stick with palm. One was spotted this week at CES so it cannot be too far away.

[roddy]

Is the P750 out yet? Zol.com.cn is listing it as 即将上市 and the only overseas store I bothered to check says it isn't in stock till the 18th.

I'm pretty much settled on having a shot at using a smart phone as my main gadget for a few months and not carrying a PDA around. If it doesn't work out I'll sell it on when the Ipaq 210 comes out and get that and a smaller phone. Or something.

Have got a price of RMB3260 for a 水货 HTC Touch + 1GB card here in Dalian, which as far as I can see from my price checking is in the ball park. Taobao does have cheaper ones, but the cheapest are missing stuff like a case and earphones, and there's reference on the Pleco forums to people buying the same device in Shanghai not long ago for RMB3100, so it seems about right to me but if anyone has done any price checking lately which suggests otherwise do let me know, preferably before I lay out my hard-earned Maos*. I'm pretty much at the point where any extra money saved by spending more time on the whole process would be outweighed by the extra time spent on the whole money-saving process though. Apparently (according to the guy who sells phones, so pinch of salt if you wish) there's a shortage of the black Touches at the moment, hence they are selling slightly above the other colors.

Was sorely tempted by the Flame, and a couple of extra chunks of work lately meant I could easily have justified the extra cost but the smaller size swung it for the Touch.

Roddy

*Sorry about the length of that sentence.

[roddy]

Have now made my purchase. Liking it so far, but it's going to take a bit of getting used to and I anticipate spending the best part of the weekend getting it set up how I like it. Size is great, and flicking stuff around the screen is fun, but going to be a day or two before I have any more in-depth comments.

[Shadowdh]

I have read reports that the p750 is out at least in singapore... but havent seen it here only the smaller brother p525 which I have got a price of 4000-4500 for... but to be honest I am really liking the tytn II at the moment and have seen that (I think it was the II could have been the tytn though as I wasnt paying much attention at the time) for around 6000... but might wait for a couple of weeks to see what develops...