Database Develop

Is there a better PDA phone than this?

I've had an O2 XDAIIi version of this PDA phone since it was released, and very nice it is too. However, it's starting to get a bit tatty, but I believe this model is no longer available. My question is; what's the best replacement for it?
Basically, I'd want something that does exactly the same, but with WM5, VGA and a better camera. I don't want the bulk of a keyword, so I'm not interested in the O2 Exec.
Is there anything out there that meets this criteria? The stumbling block seems to be VGA, as not many devices seem to use this.
Anyone know of such a beast?
Lee

you may struggle there mate, least I haven't seen one yet. if you want a practically sized phone then you may have to opt for a lower-resolution screen (particularly since the exec is the only vga wm5 handset I know of) this it was exactly the choice I made when I sold my exec to get a vario II. As it happens I don't really notice the difference any more: as with any phone you have to weigh up its pros and cons.
Ask yourself what you actually use your phone for, and how important having a vga screen really is for your needs. You may end up just sticking with what you've got!
You could also look on ebay - you MAY find and xda ii in mint condition there.
The stumbling block isn't just the VGA screen either Lee - unfortunately cameras on xdas ALL suck! the 2mp camera on my vario 2 is equally as rubbish as the 1.3 mp cam on my exec, my vario 1 and my mda compact. they're just no good. I wish I could take the camera out of a sonyericsson and whack it in the case of my vario!
The day a perfect phone comes out I'm sure we'll all rush out and buy it, other than that the only alternative would be to get one of the new sonyericssons - they have better screens and the latest ones have stunning cameras....but they use (ahem) symbian.
Hope this is of some use.

you may struggle there mate, least I haven't seen one yet. if you want a practically sized phone then you may have to opt for a lower-resolution screen (particularly since the exec is the only vga wm5 handset I know of) this it was exactly the choice I made when I sold my exec to get a vario II. As it happens I don't really notice the difference any more: as with any phone you have to weigh up its pros and cons.
Ask yourself what you actually use your phone for, and how important having a vga screen really is for your needs. You may end up just sticking with what you've got!
You could also look on ebay - you MAY find and xda ii in mint condition there.
The stumbling block isn't just the VGA screen either Lee - unfortunately cameras on xdas ALL suck! the 2mp camera on my vario 2 is equally as rubbish as the 1.3 mp cam on my exec, my vario 1 and my mda compact. they're just no good. I wish I could take the camera out of a sonyericsson and whack it in the case of my vario!
The day a perfect phone comes out I'm sure we'll all rush out and buy it, other than that the only alternative would be to get one of the new sonyericssons - they have better screens and the latest ones have stunning cameras....but they use (ahem) symbian.
Hope this is of some use.

Thanks...
Thanks the the feedback, that was kinda what I expected. It seems that HTC keep bringing out new models with various permutations of features, but never all the features that you want in one machine!
VGA would be nice for web-browsing, which is very frustrating at 320x240. Oh well, jusy have to wait until someone releases that dream machine!
Lee.

just further to the previous point I made, I thought I ought to point out that I have found web browsing on the vario II to be absolutely superb - I do all of my posts on xda developers using it, its nippy, connects phenominally quick, and the scroll-wheel is an absolute joy to use. it might seem a simple thing, but it makes browsing so much more comfy - I hardly need to get the stylus out!
I'm sat on a train right now from birmingham to derby and I haven't lost my signal once - on my exec I was constantly losing signal; and despite the exec having a better screen it is far easier to flick through web pages with the varios scroller, and pages even load up quicker.
Despite its smaller screen I would HIGHLY recommend it.
(sadly the camera is still poo, so it's not all good news!)

I'm happy with my Vario 2 (Hermes) as it does 3G (which is brill ) and has a hardware keyboard (yesssssss), but compared to my Alpine the screen is a lot smaller. That's a disappointment, but I knew it was going to be smaller. The fact that it runs WM5 kinda makes up for it though, and the fact that my Alpine can't actually connect to my Alcatel Speedtouch DSL router is ridiculous! (It's not the first time that problem's happened, seems to be a real problem with either the radio hardware or the firmware... I dunno. The Hermes connects fine to everything).
As it stands, I'm gonna keep my Alpine and use it for GPS navigation (when I get a new car, thanks to the woman who drove into me and wrote my car off I don't have one at the moment), and I might just end up using it as my day-to-day PDA, especially as my Hermes at the moment refuses to ActiveSync with my PC. Windows reinstall coming this weekend, we'll see how that goes.
The camera on my Hermes is WAYYYYY better than on my Alpine though (it's not as good as on the K750i/K800i/Cybershot models by SonyEricsson, those cameras blow everything else out of the water!) but I've taken a few pics and put them on my moblog (http://moblog.christopherwoods.co.uk if you want to compare image quality, I think they're just fine considering the camera size), and combined with the 3G (and unlimited 3G / GPRS access on my T-Mobile tariff) it's great for moblogging and websurfing to kill time / procrastinate, but my Alpine is slimmer and has a larger screen... The Alpine was allllllllmost perfect, I was almost ready to keep it as my phone for another year, but there were just enough things not quite up to par with it to make me go out and get a new device.
I do love the extra hardware buttons on the Hermes, and the scroll wheel is pretty cool. Don't use it as much as I should do, the same with the soft keys - I always end up tapping the screen when I can just push the button! Force of habit, can't teach an old dog new tricks.

I think the screen size is definitely important, but from experience i would NEVER buy another phone with a VGA screen - at least not until they start making much better batteries.
The biggest killer of batteries is those big pretty screens, and if a handset is gonna cut it as a phone and a practical browsing device/organiser it needs to hold out in the power department, since we're not always next to a power point, and we haven't always got our mains adaptor with us!
I don't really notice the screen difference on my Vario II now, and the battery lasts ages.
Be nice if i could get a spare battery with a cradle on ebay though, always good to have backup, however i haven't seen one yet.

Roll on charge-via-GPRS (use the power in the radio waves and convert it into electrical energy.... mmm... batteryless devices... drool)

Are you going to upgrade to Sony XPERIA X1?

A simple enough poll.
Are you going to upgrade from your Kaiser to the Sony X1?
Personally I love my Kaiser, it is by far the best phone I've ever had. My only problem is the screen resolution.... Now bring along the Sony Xperia X1 and have it pretty much functionally the same as the kaiser and the larger screen resolution and you have an awesome phone.
What right now could beat the X1, the TyTN III, but it's not anounced and unlikley to be this year.
So personally I can't wait for the X1.

Definitely not, though my kaiser is not perfect, i dont think a X1 would be. i've been using Sony's laptop, cell phones, mp3,etc in the past, but everytime there are some unacceptable designs fault like easily broken buttons and leakage on machine body. They just put their efforts on design, without testing carefully the components!

it would be better to ask this question when the device is in the wild and people have had a change to review it,
it could be a lemon for all we know

andaroo said:
it would be better to ask this question when the device is in the wild and people have had a change to review it,
it could be a lemon for all we know
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's true, but and a real but, if it is pretty much the same as the Kaiser, with the higher resolution, slighly faster processor and graphics drivers (which I doubt really HTC want to fix for the kaiser) then this will be a killer phone.

Can we have another option please? Something along the lines of:
No, I'm not touching another device made by HTC, no matter who they're working with.

I like to try new gadget. So, for me, definitely I'm going to upgrade to Sony Xperia X1. If it's not going to be that good, I'll be back to my Tytn II.

It's really too soon to say, it looks good from this distance, but until there are real world reports on performance etc it's not possible to judge. I'd like it to be a killer device that I could upgrade to with confidence, but my previous experience of both SE and HTC tells me to wait.
It's still possible that this phone will only be a minor improvement on the Kaiser, and the Kaiser itself may still be improved in the meantime (through the work going on here, if not at HTC).

If I didn't have the Kaiser I would buy the X1 no doubt about that - but for my use there just isn't enough new stuff under the cover to make me go away from the Kaiser...

Oh yes please!!!!!
I will definitely check it out closer to launching but from what I have seen up to now I don't see any reason that I would not take it. I use to be a SE fan before I got into ppc's. I was looking for OS freedom, that is why I started with WM devices. I liked my Wizard and after almost 2 weeks can't find fault with my new Kaiser. Deep down I'm still a SE fan though.
Can't wait for launch date :

Not sure...I really like the larger screen and the buttons on the X1 as they are spaced out.
It also seems to be lighter/thinner which would be a plus.
But hopefully when the release WM7.0, it will make the Kaiser UI much more friendly and interactive.
None of this is confirmed and this is just a mockup, but it looks really sharp: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Microsoft-Windows-Mobile-7-0-Preview-or-Simple-Mockup-75751.shtml
For the most part though I really like my Kaiser

vip3r69 said:
I will definitely check it out closer to launching but from what I have seen up to now I don't see any reason that I would not take it. I use to be a SE fan before I got into ppc's. I was looking for OS freedom, that is why I started with WM devices. I liked my Wizard and after almost 2 weeks can't find fault with my new Kaiser. Deep down I'm still a SE fan though.
Can't wait for launch date :
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I heard that the actual release date will be in 2009 Feb

You all know that this is Sony Ericsson right?? I will get it when I have the money and the time
Also no that was a typo.

its made by HTC
apparently

belon_cfy said:
I heard that the actual release date will be in 2009 Feb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SE have confirmed that was just a mistake on their website, the release date stands at H2 - meaning anytime between July and December this year.

i just went on the sony website and watched their commercial. Its the crappiest commercial to advertise the phone. Its 6 seconds of the phone in action, and the rest is flying paper airplane.
I cant decide whether I want it or not. if it has all the things kaiser does, then yeah, but otherwise most likely not.

In theory it has all that the Kaiser has, plus a higher resolution screen. The really killer difference though is the size and weight - it really is a LOT smaller, and a lot more pocketable, while still retaining that full qwerty etc.

Boinng said:
In theory it has all that the Kaiser has, plus a higher resolution screen. The really killer difference though is the size and weight - it really is a LOT smaller, and a lot more pocketable, while still retaining that full qwerty etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The most important feature is the keyboard. Sure that's why we all have the Kaiser right...
Size is important, but too small and you can't type. You'd end up with a Treo/ Blackberry/ Samsung type keypad and I can't stand those buttons, way too small.
In saying that though, the thickness is really important, it would be great if it was a lot thinner, but again if you go too thin you get into that area that samsung have been pushing. Have you tried out their D900 phone, just way too thin, pain in the a*s to press those keys.
Also weight. Kaiser is definatly the heaviest phone i've used, but I don't find it that bad. I thought it was going to be way to heavy, my old eTen m600 a lot lighter, but really I don't mind it at all.
A bit lighter, a bit smaller, a lot thinner, with the bigger screen, the better keyboard layout and we have a winner.
I can't wait to see the phones out in 2010!

As a long standing HTC user I have been happy with the MDA Vario III overall but the display problems and poor quality camera (slow screen refresh etc) have been a BIG disapointment. The poor response from HTC has been even worse and what appears to be a complete lack of customer service has really
put me off them!
I am certainly looking forward to checking out the XPERIA X1 in the flesh..
Sony have generally delivered a good solid handset in the past and the battery life and camera are often excellent too. As long as they get the whole package to come together and the initial feedback is good I will consider letting my Vario III go.
The only issue for me will be that I am currently only 5 months into a contract with T-Mobile so I will need to get a SIM free or go for a second contract. Oh the price we pay for technological advances!
Zippyioa

Rather than listen to the hype, I'd need to see it and test drive it.
It's gotta be head and shoulders above what the Kaiser has to offer, because I'm not the type of guy to upgrade just to have the latest.
Good thing my last HTC device was a Blue Angel and not a Wizard or Hermes, or I'd still be using it

personally i dont really care HOW much of an upgrade it is from TytnII to X1...of course it'd be nice if all the problems of the tytnii be fixed in the x1 but i just like to try new phones...so i will try out the x1...if i dont like it..worst case is go back to the tytnii...so no lost

Daimond vs Kaiser...comments please?

People,
Posted here as I think a lot of the Kaiser community has "upgraded" to the new Diamond.....as I am thinking of doing!
Looking for comments from real users of both devices as to pros and cons of the Diamond over the Kaiser....would you do it again if given the option??
Thanks in advance......

well, i am one of the comunity used Kaiser for long time, never let me down, perfect keyboard.. and now here is Diamond... ) if i compare the both devices, Diamond is the KING now in my eyes, only thing i really missing is the keyboard, but now you don't be afraid put the diamond in to the pocket, because is perfect thin.. and the weight is absolutely perfect, i can't even feel the diamond in my pocket )) the processor is ok, fast, TFL3d is nice, for TOMTOM perfect VGA display, well be honest, if you want new, modern device, with better VGA display, better processor, thin and light devices although without the keyboard, go for it.. that's my opinion.and if u want using this device for SatNav, few documents the 4GIG of storage is enough... ( tomtom, maps UK+IRL and Western europe, few documents, few cabs and still i have about 2GIG free )
sorry for my english

Thanks for the reply...sounds like your pretty happy with the investment.....is the speed genuinely better than the Kaiser?

Happy now
But what's about the battery?

The Kaiser has the better battery life, the keyboard (which I don't miss to be honest) and the sd card slot (which I also don't miss as I only ever had 1 4 Gb card anyway!),
Diamond is more useable I don't get the stylus out much), easier to carry and IMHO looks much bettter.

Look into my signature... Diamond Touch Pro is still missing to have a 3 in a row. The Diamond touch will not belong in ther list for long
I don't use my TYTN II currently, but hell, how many times I told myself if the TytnII could be put in the Diamond Boddy...
Guess it explains enough. My Diamond will not to be kept for a long time , despite the 750 US $ investment.

HTC Diamond or N95 8GB? HELP!!

Hey guys.
At the moment I've got a HTC Elf. Its an ok phone but i want to go onto a price plan with a network and get a brand new phone along with it. So im now torn between the Diamond and the N95, both great smartphones but I need help! Which one is "better"? Im not too bothered about size (within reason) its more about the features and reliability that im looking for.
Also im moving to Australia in around 12 months time with my girlfriend so preferably I would want one that will work on the networks out there and is fairly easily SIM unlocked.
Any ideas??
All comments appreciated!
Thanks!

HTC Diamond of course .I had the N95 8Gb and didn't impress me much.Look at the specs and you'll see why is better the diamond.If you wait 1 month you can buy yourself the perfect phone ,Htc Pro.
Unlocking for the Diamond is free and you can do it in your home.

i too have had an n95(not 8gb). in reality the n95 camera is better then the diamond..... but i wouldnt count diamonds camera out.... it is just as goood as the n95's 5mpx... mpx doesnt always matter

howzatcookie said:
Hey guys.
At the moment I've got a HTC Elf. Its an ok phone but i want to go onto a price plan with a network and get a brand new phone along with it. So im now torn between the Diamond and the N95, both great smartphones but I need help! Which one is "better"? Im not too bothered about size (within reason) its more about the features and reliability that im looking for.
Also im moving to Australia in around 12 months time with my girlfriend so preferably I would want one that will work on the networks out there and is fairly easily SIM unlocked.
Any ideas??
All comments appreciated!
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Difficult decision: regarding photo/video quality, the N95 8GB beats the HTC Diamond EASILY, no comparison possible since the N95 8GB plays in a different league.
Then, the differences start: if you have lots of WM programs you still want to use, go for the HTC Diamond. Otherwise, the N95 8GB also allows installing third party programs, unfortunately most of these(commercial) programs are IMEI "locked", so if you exchange your N95 8GB phone with a different Symbian phone, you usually can't immediately use these programs anymore with the new device.
Video playback capability is also much better with the N95 8GB, the Diamond still has issues I'm afraid.
The decision isn't easy but if you're using the phone mainly for your enjoyment and entertainment, I guess the N95 8GB is the better choice in my opinion.
The Diamond has a better support for exchange servers, etc.

I have just switched from the N95 to the HTC Diamond and don't regret it.
Previously I used the XDAII and XDA Exec when they were released and loved the Windows Mobile experiance and big touch screens. I then switched to Nokia for a bit and tried the N73 then the N95 and I have decided I really don't like the Symbian OS and really missed the Windows Mobile software and apps.
Browsing on the HTC Diamond is a dream! The resolution of the screen means web pages look ace and easy to read. It is easy to zoom in and out with the scroll wheel and navigating the pages with a flick of a finger seems so natural.
The ONLY thing I miss about my N95 is that the Diamond doesn't have audio controls on the headset so you have to change the tracks manually on the phone. Although there is software that with the press of a button you can tell the phone to skip to the next track so I just need to get back into that again.
The only downside I have to the Diamond so far is the lack of expandable memory slot. A 4GB memory stick was enough on my N95 but with so much you can do with Windows Mobile phones it isn't enough for me on the Diamond. I will learn to live with it though.
My only other option before I got the Diamond was the Samsung I900 but although it has a bigger screen, it's lower resolution and the I900 doesn't have a scroll wheel so navigating web pages won't feel as enjoyable and easy. THe plus with the I900 though is 8GB or 16GB internal memory AND an expansion slot.
Sorry for the waffle - Final verdict for me is Diamond all the way. Especially with a community like this available.
Trem

I came from N95 8 gig to diamond. mate go fot it.

The Diamond is simply in a different league altogether.

I have them both. Use the Diamond for fun, experimenting and the N95 8GB for when I need a stable device, which can do almost everything and do itquite well. To me the 8GB is the best device, but it's a bit too large.
I am planning on getting rid of one of them within the next few weeks, but right now I am not sure which...

sbcdk said:
I have them both. Use the Diamond for fun, experimenting and the N95 8GB for when I need a stable device, which can do almost everything and do itquite well. To me the 8GB is the best device, but it's a bit too large.
I am planning on getting rid of one of them within the next few weeks, but right now I am not sure which...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I mean thats what its boiled down to for me at the moment. I love the sleekness of the Diamond and the new TouchFlo 3D stuff with the accelerometer.
However, I followed the Diamond closely ever since it was announced and to be honest I've heard such a range of comments about it and some of the bad stuff said about it gets me worried to some degree. For example I've read alot about the interface being "sluggish" and "un-responsive" and to be honest that ruins the touchscreen feature for me. Although many people say that the reason for the slow speed on some devices is because the people using them are not using them correctly.
As for the N95....I havn't really heard a bad note about it apart from the obvious complaint of its chunkiness and the fact that there isn't a cover for the camera. I also found out that the N95 does actually have a built in accelerometer that was apparently hidden by Nokia. So, to be honest my hand is slowly creeping over to the N95 at the moment for the following reasons:
- 5mp camera (that I've been told is alot more reliable and has more effects)
- 8GB of storage (probably alot more than I will use, but atleast its there if i do need it)
- Quad Band (to be honest I think you only need a Tri Band phone to work in Australia, but its likely I will be doing more travelling)
- Slide out Keypad (I dont dislike the touch keypad on my elf, but I guess I would be able to type quicker with more feedback)
- Chunk (I'll be honest, I'm a clumsy Oaf when it comes to holding anything electrical and small, and I have a bad feeling that perhaps Me and that glossy, shiny finish on the Diamond might not get on well)
- Nokia (frome experience with Nokias you can generally get signal anywhere....however I have yet to find an area where my elf doesnt have signal)
I dont want anyone to think that im casting out the idea of buying the Diamond....trust me im not!
Ahhh God this is gonna take me a while to figure out!
Thanks for your comments so far though guys! (sorry for the long reply here!)

If you want to use phone also for music/radio, then N95 is for you. Diamond as mp3 player is abysmal ( sound quality sucks really hard ), but on other tasks it is better ( except camera ).

8GB of storage really isn't too much, 4GB is too little. I don't trust one single GPS app 100% so I always keep a backup program ready (TT7 + iGO8). 2 x map of europe = most of the 4GB storage is gone. Add a bit of music and that's it.
The 8GB storage on the N95 is nice, but sloooow. Such a relief to be working on the Diamond now, it is much faster.
MP3 on the Diamond has another problem: standby time. It drains the battery almost as fast as movie playback on the N95 8GB. Listen to one hour of music and the battery is almost guaranteed to be dead before you go to bed. HTC really need to take this seriously and do some ROM tweaking to save power, just as Nokia did on the N95.
But the size of the Diamond... If they were the same size, the choice would be easy for me - dump the Diamond. But this is where the Diamond really stands out. Just slide it into your pocket and forget it. No way you can do that with a N95 8GB.
The N95 (8GB) has been on the market for 18 months or so. So many updates, so much better a device now than when it first appeared. The Diamond is still only about one month old. Much can happen during the next few months, especially when it is backed up by a site as great as this. Xda developer is as good a 'feature' as any

I totally know where your all coming from. I guess its so hard to choose between the two because they are so different.
If all the functionality and features of the N95 could be squeezed into the Diamond with TouchFlo 3D over the top, I think we'd have the perfect phone that could shove the iPhone's head up its own ass where it belongs. (no offence to anyone with an iPhone).
However this isn't the case, so I guess were stuck for the moment. I really wanted to make this decision this weekend so I can buy my phone next week, im not sure thats gonna happen now .
I shall Ponder!!

Ok guys so...I had a think about this and while doing some other shopping today I popped into my local T-Mobile shop and got myself a brand new N95 8GB on a £30 price plan.
Now I know some of you...if not all...may be slightly confused with my decision; Why go for a chunky Nokia thats been out for 18 months over a sleek, sexy, new HTC Diamond?
Well to be honest, I did alot of research (in place of Work that I really should have been doing!) and I went around and got some brief hands on use of both handsets, asked friends who have either phone and just found out as much info as I could.
When I got hold of the Diamond for the second time, I was still impressed. It is a fantastic device, end of! But my hand felt empty....a strange use of words but thats how I felt...I couldnt get a half decent grip on the phone either, probably because of its sexy gloss finish.
When I held the N95 8GB (also for the second time) I was overwhelmed, first by its size, and then by just how much it can do. My hand was full, but comfortably. The weight and really stable slider reassured me as I played around with the different stuff available. After playing around for about 20 minutes the sales advisor showed me the quick program menu and told me about the "blue light" at the corner of each program icon that tells you that the program was running....every program had this light (because I used everyone) I was amazed to say the least especially after owning the Elf where you only have to open internet explorer for the phone to begin twitching.
I have to admit that I miss the touch screen a little bit...just being able to physically touch the icon you want is quite satisfying, but (from my experience) slow. On the N95 I fly through different menus in seconds.
Im sorry to be a slight dissapointment to anyone who was certain that I must get the Diamond, but I decided that speed and reliability is what I really want over style and functionality.
I know you guys know your stuff and I will have no shame in reporting any problems I have with the N95 so you can all give a huge "told you so", however I really doubt that situation will ever happen, this phone does basically everything....and does it well!

Ok guys so...I had a think about this and while doing some other shopping today I popped into my local T-Mobile shop and got myself a brand new N95 8GB on a £30 price plan.
Now I know some of you...if not all...may be slightly confused with my decision; Why go for a chunky Nokia thats been out for 18 months over a sleek, sexy, new HTC Diamond?
Well to be honest, I did alot of research (in place of Work that I really should have been doing!) and I went around and got some brief hands on use of both handsets, asked friends who have either phone and just found out as much info as I could.
When I got hold of the Diamond for the second time, I was still impressed. It is a fantastic device, end of! But my hand felt empty....a strange use of words but thats how I felt...I couldnt get a half decent grip on the phone either, probably because of its sexy gloss finish.
When I held the N95 8GB (also for the second time) I was overwhelmed, first by its size, and then by just how much it can do. My hand was full, but comfortably. The weight and really stable slider reassured me as I played around with the different stuff available. After playing around for about 20 minutes the sales advisor showed me the quick program menu and told me about the "blue light" at the corner of each program icon that tells you that the program was running....every program had this light (because I used everyone) I was amazed to say the least especially after owning the Elf where you only have to open internet explorer for the phone to begin twitching.
I have to admit that I miss the touch screen a little bit...just being able to physically touch the icon you want is quite satisfying, but (from my experience) slow. On the N95 I fly through different menus in seconds.
Im sorry to be a slight dissapointment to anyone who was certain that I must get the Diamond, but I decided that speed and reliability is what I really want over style and functionality.
I know you guys know your stuff and I will have no shame in reporting any problems I have with the N95 so you can all give a huge "told you so", however I really doubt that situation will ever happen, this phone does basically everything....and does it well!

I used to own a N95 as well.
I waited for it for months and months before it got released to get it.
for a month or two I worked overtime to be able to buy it as fast as possible.
Finally I had it.
AND I LOVED IT!
I felt the same as you. TONS of stuff it could do, the camera was soooo good. etc etc.
But the reality cought up on me 6 months later and the damn speakers began to get a distorted sound. I had it in for the same problem twice within the next 6 months, and on the third time they switched it ( even though I wanted my money back ) to a new device with a fresh warranty period.
It ran like a charm.
Two months after I got it....same problem. Speakers.
So I went down and started a war against the store I bought it from cause they didn't wanna pay me back.
But I won. Got my money and ran fast to the store on the otherside of the road to buy me an Diamond. And I do NOT regret it. Remember, I LOVED my B95. But even if the camera was a bit better and it played music a TAD better I still don't regret it.
I wanna give you a tip though. If you work or run around in areas with alot of dirt in the air. Like a workshop, put the damn thing in a plastic bag that you can seal, or you will most likely experience the same thing I have.
The hole in the "filter" infron of the side speakers are just to large and that allowes the speaker ( magnet ) to draw particles towards it.
But as far as I am concerned, I will probably never get a Nokia phone again.
Ever since they started with smartphones it has gone down hill imo. Even though N95 and N95 8gig sold pretty well.
Good luck with you new phone though. And Grats.
/Akezzon

May be N95 and Daimond might come close in some features. But what makes daimond to rock is the interface. Its much better than what N95 has to provide. and Ofcourse N95 does not have touch screen. and Daimonds hardware is of cutting edge technology and specs

howzatcookie said:
Yeah, I mean thats what its boiled down to for me at the moment. I love the sleekness of the Diamond and the new TouchFlo 3D stuff with the accelerometer.
However, I followed the Diamond closely ever since it was announced and to be honest I've heard such a range of comments about it and some of the bad stuff said about it gets me worried to some degree. For example I've read alot about the interface being "sluggish" and "un-responsive" and to be honest that ruins the touchscreen feature for me. Although many people say that the reason for the slow speed on some devices is because the people using them are not using them correctly.
As for the N95....I havn't really heard a bad note about it apart from the obvious complaint of its chunkiness and the fact that there isn't a cover for the camera. I also found out that the N95 does actually have a built in accelerometer that was apparently hidden by Nokia. So, to be honest my hand is slowly creeping over to the N95 at the moment for the following reasons:
- 5mp camera (that I've been told is alot more reliable and has more effects)
- 8GB of storage (probably alot more than I will use, but atleast its there if i do need it)
- Quad Band (to be honest I think you only need a Tri Band phone to work in Australia, but its likely I will be doing more travelling)
- Slide out Keypad (I dont dislike the touch keypad on my elf, but I guess I would be able to type quicker with more feedback)
- Chunk (I'll be honest, I'm a clumsy Oaf when it comes to holding anything electrical and small, and I have a bad feeling that perhaps Me and that glossy, shiny finish on the Diamond might not get on well)
- Nokia (frome experience with Nokias you can generally get signal anywhere....however I have yet to find an area where my elf doesnt have signal)
I dont want anyone to think that im casting out the idea of buying the Diamond....trust me im not!
Ahhh God this is gonna take me a while to figure out!
Thanks for your comments so far though guys! (sorry for the long reply here!)
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After the latest ROM update, i find my Diamond blazing fast, not unresponsive like when i first bought it
Also the diamond is now quad band, Htc magically pulled out the 850mhz band in the phone.
In case you didnt knew, the diamond also has a Tv-out! avaible with a special cable that is soon to come
My stephfather just went from N95 to the new iphone 3g, i told him to check out the diamond touch, but he didnt even take a look at it, guess who will be laughing when he gets the iphone^^
i had it for about a day and sold it on

teemupii said:
If you want to use phone also for music/radio, then N95 is for you. Diamond as mp3 player is abysmal ( sound quality sucks really hard ), but on other tasks it is better ( except camera ).
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Agreed. Also add the phone - it's, in general, better (and allows for call recording, which is, as usual, missing from the Diamond.)
That is, if you
- need a phone with call recording,
- need multimedia playback, particularly via the built-in speakers,
- CAMERA (which the Diamond really sucks at)
- need LOTS of storage (another no-go for the Diamond)
go for the N95.
(I'd advise againts the 8GB version. Get the "simple" N95 instead.)

Hi Guys,
Let me join in too. Yes, you might have guessed by now. I am also an ex-N95 user. The N95 is one of those phones that I will have a hard time forgetting. As a matter of fact, I sold my N95 to buy the Diamond. I did regret about it in the earlier days when I first got the Diamond. Common problems like system lags, bugs, hang ups, etc made me wanna sell off my Diamond buy back my N95. But flashing the Diamond to new ROMS (cooked of course), the performance of the Diamond improved 100% ! I am beginning to fall in love with my Diamond again.
Regarding howzatcookie's decision to buy the N95 8GB, I know you will regret. Not because you missed out on the Diamond. It's because you are missing out on a better phone, N96, which is due out worldwide in a couple of months time !

$
Let me give you a different point of view:
- if you want to use the device more as computer then use HTC TD, else N95

Is Diamond a good upgrade

Hi Guys
I'm thinking of upgrading my Polaris to a Diamond and just wondering if you guys are still happy with the Diamond and do ya think an upgrade from my Polaris is worth while.
The Diamond spec and looks seem brilliant but the only thing am a bit concerned about is the small 4gb memory it has, is this a problem or do you just learn to live with it.
Thanks
Tim

I never had a polaris, but this phone is brilliant, best phone available. IMO obviously. 4gb is LOTS of space. i have an ipod touch for all my music and video needs.

I am qualified to answer this one.... (hey, even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while)
I've upgraded from an HTC P3600-> P3650->P3700. Each time the upgrade was better but I have to say when I upgraded to the Diamond, I love the phone but was sadly disappointed with it's speed.
Because of the processor, I thought I would get a faster phone.... it's terribly slow compared to the P3650.
In fact, I actually made a post this last Friday asking if there was any tweaking I could do to make it faster.
I ended up installing Duttythroy's new ROM and IT FLIES. All I can say is this phone now performs the way it should have from the factory.
I even did the #1 tweak on the top tweak list for the Diamond (a sticky) on top of his ROM and it seems even faster.
I hated clicking on the "people" tab and having to wait until my contact list would appear. I made that post Friday and if by tonight I hadn't been able to do something about it, I was going to put it on ebay and buy an iphone.
All I can say is I'm glad I installed the ROM. The memory usage is great, the 4g internal memory is plenty, the phone is slick and I really like it now.... by far the best phone I've owned.
You won't regret getting it.
Mark
PS. I sold my P3650 on ebay and got just shy of 500 bucks out of it.

I used the polaris for a short period and own quite a few WM smartphones over the last few years and I would definitely recommend the upgrade. Yes the tflo3d was somewhat sluggish before but now it's all changed. I am using bepes rom and it's as smooth as butter. The thing with diamond is, it keeps on getting better each day, thanks to xda dev and it's valuable contributers. As for the 4gb storage, I keep a lot of stuff in there (lots of apps, 100's of pics and mp3's and a few movies :s) and its only over half full.
Anyway find out all about the phone and decide if you want it or not. If possible try going to a store to test one out before you make up your mind. And oh yh, You will love the display, it's just too good.
Regards,
AF241

I don't even know what the Polaris is so can't say whether or not an upgrade is recommended but I came from the N95 and don't regret it a bit.
Some reasons to get a Diamond - High res screen perfect for browsing and films, a back button - very useful to backstep in any application, a Home button - Returns you to your Today screen instantly, a SCROLL WHEEL!!!! wow!!! zoom in and out of photos and web pages with ease and with reg files from here you can use it for your contacts and various other apps and the best thing about the Diamond... a great community here to help you with any issues and provide you with new apps/ROMS to try in the quest to find the best.

Yes... I've had my Diamond for 6 days now and it's the best Windows mobile phone I've had. Only downsides the good-looking but not customisable TF3D and the battery. However, with the extended one coming out (or out already?) it should be fine.
Go for it...

Thanks for the help guys I think am hooked now I just have to decide where to get one from.
T-Mobiles MDA Compact IV
O2 XDA Ignito (Out Soon)
Expansys HTC Diamond
Never bought a rebranded (MDA,XDA) PDA before so do you lose or gain anything with regards to hardware or software.
Software I’m not too bothered about as I’ll probably just upgrade my ROM from this forum anyway.
Thanks
Tim

Yes........

yes
you know it makes sence

Curious
I know that it's a bit off topic, but like the poster, I'm about to upgrade my phone.
And I've been using WM based devices for a looooong while, so I would like to keep using WM based phones.
Now apart from Diamond there are other phones out there with WM that came out recently.
Samsung Omnia i900
Toshiba Portege G810
Both use WM6.1 just like Diamond.
Now I don't know if there are any users here of the Samsung and Toshiba phones, but if there are...how would you compare Diamond with them?

Around threee months after the launch it still has many problems:
The interface is still slow.
The battery life is still poor.
The cover still collects fingerprints like a magnet.
The storage is still not upgradable.
... and it's still the BEST frikking phone on the market. If you're gonna upgrade, you really have no better choice.

Just a simple answer
Its the best upgrade