HarryCallahan Posted April 21, 2009 at 02:57 PM Report Share Posted April 21, 2009 at 02:57 PM I'm considering making a purchase, maybe a HTC Touch Diamond, or something similar. That one doesn't have a keyboard and I like the look of it, and size. Other models with keyboard are generally larger and cost more. So, do you need the keyboard? Or is it highly advantageous? I've never used a compact PDA before so really have no idea. Using a dictionary I guess you will be frequently entering keys, are there downsides when using a touch screen for that? I see the Palms provide need keyboard units, though they come at increased size and less bang for your buck specs wise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadowdh Posted April 21, 2009 at 03:10 PM Report Share Posted April 21, 2009 at 03:10 PM I dont think you do need a keyboard for Pleco... but I sure find it useful when writing texts and emails... and for editing stuff in word... (I have an X1)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flameproof Posted April 22, 2009 at 05:06 AM Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 at 05:06 AM (edited) I have the HTC Touch Diamond + Pleco. Pleco works fine with it, when it works. The Diamond is really slow and often I encounter errors. Like, screen does not respond, digitizer suddenly 3mm off target (impossible to write characters then!) and a few more. I reset it about once a day. The "flow" things sounds good, but in practice it's hard to operate by hand. Scrolling is impossible, you will either start the first touch application, or scroll a mile over target. I also didn't figure out how to filter the phone entries, now I have all 1000 contacts in my phone list. Sometimes when you receive a call it cuts off immediately (I guess due to the G Sensor). I still have ROM 1.93 , I wonder if a ROM update will fix some of those errors. Have you checked the new Diamond 2 ? I dont think you do need a keyboard for Pleco... You don't. The soft keyboard works perfectly and you can switch it on and off as you like. I think, even with a hardware keyboard you need the input pen anyway to jump between Pleco's many functions - or learn to be a keyboard wizard. added: one more minor annoyance: the rear cover is not flat. Hence, when you use it at home and it sits on your table it will wobble. You can only write are type the Diamond with 2 hands. Edited April 22, 2009 at 06:00 AM by flameproof Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted April 22, 2009 at 05:29 AM Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 at 05:29 AM I use Pleco with the HTC Touch. As long as you don't lose the stylus you'll be fine. And if anyone happens to find a stylus outside 民大 in Beijing . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ange9s Posted April 22, 2009 at 10:48 PM Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 at 10:48 PM I find a hard keyboard essential for inputting pinyin in pleco, it's a lot faster than a stylus, and I have problems using my thumbs to input with onscreen keyboards. Maybe I just need the tactile feedback. I use the HTC Touch Pro, and my experience with touch flow was similar to Flameproof's until I flashed it with a custom ROM, now it's really fast. The screen is also really nice. I can read smaller characters more easily than I could with the larger screen of my previous phone. I don't want to hijack, but has anyone found a Chinese IME for Windows Mobile, other than Ce-star or Monster Chinese? It would be really cool to find something for pinyin input that operated similar to Sogou. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flameproof Posted April 23, 2009 at 01:17 AM Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 at 01:17 AM (edited) I find a hard keyboard essential for inputting pinyin in pleco, it's a lot faster than a stylus, and I have problems using my thumbs to input with onscreen keyboards. The soft keyboard in combination with a stylus works perfectly for me. Onscreen finger input is impossible, at least for my fingers. until I flashed it with a custom ROM From where to where did you flash? I use the original 1.93 and it sux big time. I have a problem now getting a new ROM since my Diamond was originally a HK Chinese one and it got flashed to English when the sold it, to get an English ROM I need an English S/N which I don't have on hand. I don't want to hijack, but has anyone found a Chinese IME for Windows Mobile, other than Ce-star or Monster Chinese? I have English Windows on it and use ZT-A4 from www.a4user.com . It's for Pinyin input and those 5-key handwriting input (is that wubi?). I don't use it though since I use only Pleco on the Diamond and when I am in China I use my Nokia6300, were I can switch between different methods while writing a SMS. PS: one more issue with my Diamond: the data sync worked only in the beginning. Now it always breaks up the connection. That's tried with different PCs, USB ports and cables. file transfer as file storage still works fine. Might be related to my ROM too. Edited April 23, 2009 at 04:23 AM by flameproof Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
character Posted April 23, 2009 at 01:48 AM Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 at 01:48 AM Whether or not the keyboard is useful to you with Pleco probably depends entirely on how well you can use such a small keyboard. Personally the one on my phone (8125) is just too small for me (large hands) so the stylus is much faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadowdh Posted April 23, 2009 at 06:59 AM Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 at 06:59 AM Ange9s... there are a few different options out there, if you go to Pleco they have a thread dedicated to getting Chinese up and running on you mobile with all the links and instructions too... there might be something similar here but I cannot remember if this is the case... Flameproof... you might have a dud phone mate. with that many problems I would have either taken it back and got them to sort it out or fixed them with the help of xda developers... best mobile phone (HTC based anyway) resource on the net... period! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryCallahan Posted April 23, 2009 at 12:55 PM Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 at 12:55 PM Thanks for all replies, very helpful. Overall it sounds like the stylus is in fact the best way to go, I really just wanted to know that it didn't actually suck for some reason. The Diamond2 appears to be out, it's got better specs of course but it's over 4000 cny on taobao, the Diamond can be had for around 2000 and it still seems to have specs which are quite impressive. The 2 only has a 528 MHz processor still so shouldn't be much quicker if at all, but have to admire the screen on it "3.2-inch TFT-LCD touch-sensitive screen with 480 X 800 WVGA resolution" http://www.htc.com/asia/product/touchdiamond2/specification.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ange9s Posted April 23, 2009 at 04:44 PM Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 at 04:44 PM Thanks for the IME suggestions, I'll try those. xda developers is awesome, you can also check ppcgeeks.com. They'll have plenty of roms and kitchens you can use to make your own, along with instructions on how to unlock and flash it. Just be sure to research carefully so you can get the right one. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flameproof Posted April 24, 2009 at 08:39 AM Report Share Posted April 24, 2009 at 08:39 AM Just a side note: Will a Diamond ROM change also change the Pleco registration code? Or is the code hardware locked and will stay the same? I talk about the code number you have to enter to unlock Pleco from demo mode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadowdh Posted April 24, 2009 at 08:46 AM Report Share Posted April 24, 2009 at 08:46 AM I flashed different ROMs on my htc Kaiser and my SE X1 and at all times I didnt have to change my key to unlock Pleco... I did have to reinstall everything but the keys stayed the same for all my apps... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ange9s Posted April 24, 2009 at 05:54 PM Report Share Posted April 24, 2009 at 05:54 PM You can reflash all you want, Pleco will just load back in. Make sure and backup your flash cards. I just changed from CE-Star to PlumSIP, which works a lot better on this device. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flameproof Posted April 27, 2009 at 01:50 AM Report Share Posted April 27, 2009 at 01:50 AM (edited) I did it! Yesterday I flashed my HTC Diamond Touch from 1.93 to 2.03.831.2 WWE Since Sync usually does not work and had to try a few different cables and parts. Finally it worked with a direct M/B port and a very short (20cm) USB cable. No big change so far. Operation seems a bit faster. Finger scrolling works noticeable better. So far did not notice any bugs. Even Sync works again! For potential ROM updaters and Pleco users: The internal storage memory will not get touched by the ROM flash. Pleco was still there and could still be started as full version via file explorer. Update 2009-5-5: now 1 week later and still no problem to report...... Edited May 5, 2009 at 04:43 AM by flameproof Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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