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

[cdn_in_bj]

I'd guess people just want a Chinese version rather than an English one. Given that any seller of grey import phones (actually given that it's actually illegal in China, they're just smuggled phones, lets be blunt about it) will install CE-STAR or whatever for free I doubt that's the reason for the RMB 600 difference.

Interesting... I'm fine with the English version then.

[Shadowdh]

Cdn... just to let you know there are some big diffs between the WM6.1 and WM2003... the one that strikes me the most is stability... my old PDA had WM2003 and used to crash on average at least once a month, I used it heavily and it was a pain when it did as I had to redo everything... my new (well not so new now) HTC TyTNII/Kaiser/MDA Vario III (take your pick on the name, they are all the same) is WM6.1 and it has never crashed once... the only time I have had to reset it or redo everything is when I have added new software that requires reset or when I have flashed a new ROM... It seems pretty quick on my phone too...

[roddy]

Zol.com.cn is now showing RMB4,390 for the Diamond, with lowest prices at RMB4,300. That makes 4,700 up here a little harder to take, but the fact that it's currently 434 quid (expansys, don't think anyone else has them, and still HK import) in the UK might cancel that out.

[Shadowdh]

Since my UK mobile phone contract is about to come up for renewal I was going to look into getting another TyTN II but now might look to see if I cant get a hold of something else in the HTC line... hmmm possibilities...

[cdn_in_bj]

Cdn... just to let you know there are some big diffs between the WM6.1 and WM2003... the one that strikes me the most is stability...

Thanks Shadowdh, that's good to know! My PDA only has 64MB RAM so I'm hoping the 196MB in the Touch Diamond will be a noticeable improvement (and not get swallowed up by the new OS!).

[roddy]

Went along this morning but it turned out he didn't actually have any stock.

Was quoted Y4650 for the English version. However, it was also mentioned that the Chinese support for it is still a beta version. There are problems with, ie, SMS - which is probably a deal breaker for anyone in China. This would explain why the Taiwanese one is more popular. I said Zol is showing Y4300 but he maintained that you'd be missing things from the box, etc.

Needed to go along for a new earphone adapter anyway, and got a free change of screen protector, so wasn't a complete wasted journey. The guy's an advanced listening course all of his own though - very fast talker, poor articulation and lots of gadget vocabulary to keep up with. He was impressed with my sub-300Y bluetooth keyboard though.

Incidentally, I've ordered one of these to keep my phone and (with extra tip) nano charged up on the road. Not sure how often it'll get used, but looked like it might come in handy, so . . .Not convinced that it won't make my phone explode, but (if my calculations are correct) if it works then a set of four high-capacity AA batteries will give you up to ten charges. Sure it won't work that well, but we'll see.

[cdn_in_bj]

Was quoted Y4650 for the English version. However, it was also mentioned that the Chinese support for it is still a beta version. There are problems with, ie, SMS - which is probably a deal breaker for anyone in China. This would explain why the Taiwanese one is more popular. I said Zol is showing Y4300 but he maintained that you'd be missing things from the box, etc.

Thanks for reporting back - so maybe it pays to wait. I'll probably still go have a look at it this weekend.

[Shadowdh]

Hey Roddy,

Would I be correct in assuming that the battery charger you linked would also work for the TyTN II...? I cant see why not but then my tech skills are certainly not l33t... in fact consider me a bit of a dinosaur trying to use a computer... ("I have these tiny arms and a big head and to be honest I really dont think you have thought this through"... to quote the Robinsons *tm*)

*edit* although this looks appealing... http://www.easydevices.co.uk/pp/HTC_Accessories/HTC_Touch_Dual/HTC_TOUCH_DUAL_EXTERNAL_EMERGENCY_CHARGER.html

[cdn_in_bj]

Would I be correct in assuming that the battery charger you linked would also work for the TyTN II...?

As long as your TyTN II charges over USB, then I don't see why it wouldn't... In fact, this should work with other devices too. Hey Roddy, how much did you pay for yours?

[roddy]

How much did I pay for my what?

I can't remember how much the battery charger was, but it'll be on the link. USD20 I think, although I had to pay international shipping. It uses AA batteries, rather than being a rechargeable battery itself.

I'm going to need to look into chargers with USB slots on, like the one the Diamond has.

[Janne]

So... I'm also looking at getting something new. I'm not that bothered by size, so I was kind of into the HP Ipaq 210. Then again, the Touch Diamond looks pretty good, alhough battery life seem kind of weak. Plus I don't know if it's too small. Then there's a Ipaq 110 as well, which is smaller, but with less resolution. Anyone been considering these? As I recall from the thread, you were kind of hesitant between these two as well Roddy?

I know one is a mobile phone and one isn't. The mobile function isn't a big issue for me though.

[cdn_in_bj]

I still haven't gone to look at the Touch Diamond. I see that the price has dropped yet again to Y4380. I'll probably wait a bit to give them time to work out any issues with Chinese support on the English version devices.

[cdn_in_bj]

I still haven't pulled the trigger but am keeping an eye on the Touch Diamond. As I suspect might happen with this device, some negative reports have come in:

http://blogs.zdnet.com/mobile-gadgeteer/?p=1253

http://www.geardiary.com/2008/06/29/htc-touch-diamond-update/

However, the good news is that there's now a ROM update that supposedly fixes some of the performance and stability issues, and also adds support for the 850MHz band!

http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/07/25/diamond.gets.gsm.850.edge/

Also, on this page:

http://www.asia.htc.com/HTC_HKEN/

...in addition to the ROM update, there's also a "CE-Star upgrade kit Download (For HTC Touch Diamond English version only)". Roddy, is this what we've been waiting for?

[tianjinpete]

Just bought the Dopod S900 Touch Diamond here in Tianjin at a local China Mobile outlet ... Specs from dopod.com -- the price is real:

操作系统:Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional

CPU:528 MHz

内存:256MB ROM;192MB RAM;4GB NAND Flash

显示:2.8” 彩色 TFT LCD,带LED背光，分辨率为640x480的VGA触摸屏

GPS特性:内置GPS卫星导航模块

摄像头:320万像素CMOS成像传感器；带自动对焦功能

声音:内置扬声器，支持免提功能

接口:MiniUSB 蓝牙2.0

其他特性:FM广播；动作传感器；环境亮度传感器

电池:容量900mAh，锂电池

网络:GSM/GPRS/增强GPRS 900/1800/1900MHz

尺寸:51mm(W)× 102mm (L)×11.35mm(T)

市场零售价:5280元

How can I tell whether I need the ROM update that cdn-in-bj mentions? ... I'm already a little disappointed with the battery life, and the screen is smallish and cramps my hand (maybe being a lefty doesn't help?) ... I guess having MS Office suite is nice, and I hope to run Pleco on it, but I wonder what else this device can do? ... (No English interface on it, as far as I can tell)...

[roddy]

If you can load an English ROM onto it, you'll effectively get the English interface. However, this basically means wiping everything you currently have and getting a new set of apps, restoring settings, wiping contacts, etc. A halfway house is to install English version of applications if you can find them - the OS will still be Chinese, but the applications in English.

As for what it can do - it's basically a top of the range smart phone, and the question is more what you want to do with it. I use my HTC Touch for ebooks, podcasts, email, Internet, to-do lists and task management, Pleco, photoblogging, translation work and now and then I make a phone call or two.

As this is where the smartphone owners gather, and smartphone owners are more easily able to export their SMS from their phones, let me plug this topic quickly - contributors very very welcome.

Edited August 6, 2008 at 02:34 PM by roddy

[ipsi()]

I'm seriously considering picking up a Touch Pro at some point, ideally before the NZ$ tanks too much. If someone happens to spot one on the street, would they be able to post the price?

The Touch Pro is going for £524.99 on the ExpanSys website, no idea how much the NZ Version will sell for, so I'm wondering what it will cost in China, and if I should try and get one shipped here (probably a bad idea), or just wait for a few more months until I head there next year. In fact, waiting for a few months would probably be a good idea, until it gets below the $1,000 mark...

Also, tianjinpete, how responsive is the Diamond? If you disable TouchFlo 3D is it any better/worse? According to an email from HTC, TouchFlo is disabled like so: a.) Tap Start>Settings>Today>Item(tab)>TouchFlo 3D. b.) Manually select on the items that you want to view on the Today screen from the same list. Not sure if that disables it entirely or not, but worth a shot.

I've only had my 680 for about a year, but even so it's still getting a little tired... And having 3G and suchlike would be wonderful. That, and Palm OS is basically dead.

[tianjinpete]

The Diamond's performance overall has been excellent, although I've only had the phone for a few days and I'm aware that users have documented some issues with it ... I haven't tried disabling TouchFlo 3D, ipsi(), but thanks for the tip .. From what I can tell, TouchFlo adds little more than overhead, but maybe I'll think differently after I've used the phone a bit longer ... I wrote up a few of my impressions of Pleco running on the Dopod relative to the Tungsten T5, and posted them on a Pleco forum ... For me living in China, there was no easy path forward with a Palm device ...

[roddy]

I found disabling Touchflo to be helpful - not so much because of any performance issues, although there might have been some, as that it kept on scrolling off all over the place when I didn't want it to. . .

[Horse]

I'm looking to pick up a Dopod S1 this weekend to run Plecodict and Supermemo on and was wondering if this is this a good choice in terms of memory and inputting without a keyboard?

[Saturday]

I know that there are several other threads concerning this subject, but since the mobile phone market is moving so fast when it comes to releasing new phones I figuerd a new thread would be suiting! And since I forgot my phone in the cab yesterday, I'll need to buy a new one pretty fast.

So, my question here is:

Who here has a mobile phone with the plecodict installed, and how does it work? And furthermore, what phone would you recomend?

And... this thread is for acctual facts, phones that works and can't be bought today, not discussing future phones that'll be released etc. etc.