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Hello,
I am considering buying a WM smartphone and I am tossing between these two.
I would appreciate an honest opinion regarding these devices (which cost a lot here), especially by people who worked with both of them.
I could have gone with MTeoR, but the lack of WiFi bothers me
On the other hand, is Tornado considered old(?) now that MTeoR is out (and probably not supported anymore)?
Many thanks in advance.
I've had them both (still have actually :lol: ), and to be honest, I can't decide which one to sell.
The Tornado is a great phone, and with the most recent firmware, quite bug free, and almost all software works without a hitch. I personally don't really use the wireless but GPRS works well. The only problem with the Tornado is that it's, IMHO, looking a little dated, and is also a bit plastic-y.
The Mteor is a great phone- it's one of those phones that you pick up and think "this feels nice" (bear in mind I'm someone who bought a Nokia 8800). Mostly it works really well, but there are a few teething issues- TomTom does not work perfectly, sometimes calls go thru to voicemail when there's a good signal, the battery life can be quite poor and I find the jogdial a bit irritating (when the phone rings, rocking the jog dial silences the call, so sometime I only get short rings when the phone is in my pocket). However, I like the quality of the phone (all metal construction, no squeeks, I think it looks good).
So overall, the Tornado- good, works well, genuine quad band (and I travel to the US a lot), wifi may be a bonus, lots of users (and hence support), but does not feel like a quality luxury phone. The Mteor- 3G is nice for data (but no vid calling), a bit buggy, but feels like a luxury, professional phone.
To be honest, I'll probably keep the Mteor- it plays music with better quality than the Tornado, plays my videos well, and Tomtom works well enough (just goes silent every so often).
Hope this helps you make your decision
Hi technogeek,
thanks for your report!
I also have a Qtek 8300 (which is a Tornado).
The main reasons why I did not consider switching to the Breeze were:
1. No WLAN (actually I use WLAN on 2 occasions: When I'm at home and relaxing or reading a newspaper or watching TV and something comes to my mind which I MUST google. Then I grasp the phone, which is connected to my Access Point and simply google what I want. Without the need to boot a PC or leaving the sofa or paying for GPRS and much faster. And when I am on a meeting at work for just the same purpose.) Going back from a WLAN phone (Tornado) to a non-WLAN phone is strange. I just wonder why HTC did that.
2. No Video Phone:
I am not using this on a daily basis that's true. But sometimes I lacked it (and it works great on a Nokia 6680 for instance). The Breeze isn't really cheap, one can well expect it to have VT. Actually the Dopod has!
3. Only 1.3mpx cam as has the Tornado. Well I have a good digital camera, but I only have the phone with me permanently, so I'd like some device capable of making usable snapshot or flipchart reports. Making a foto of a flipchart with 1.3mpx and adding it to a meeting minutes is ridiculous.
These are only 3 reasons, which were obvious, without having had the Breeze ever in my hands.
On all photos the device looks cute and I really regret that it lacks these features.
+++
The Tornado is however very reliable as a phone: With the AKU2 firmware I never experienced lockups and the speaker sound quality is loud and good during phone calls (it is low and poor on a HTC TyTN e.g.) and the screen resolution is excellent.
Can you confirm that the Breeze has an equal screen and sound quality than the Tornado ?
Best regards
ghl10000
P.S.
@technogeek:
Have you got the AKU2 firmware on the Tornado and maybe a non-WWE version of the Tornado?
I'd like to use Splashblog, the only photoblogger software for MS Smartphones, but the network connection does not work. Have you ever tried it yourself ?
thetechnogeek said:
I've had them both (still have actually :lol: ), and to be honest, I can't decide which one to sell.
The Tornado is a great phone, and with the most recent firmware, quite bug free, and almost all software works without a hitch. I personally don't really use the wireless but GPRS works well. The only problem with the Tornado is that it's, IMHO, looking a little dated, and is also a bit plastic-y.
The Mteor is a great phone- it's one of those phones that you pick up and think "this feels nice" (bear in mind I'm someone who bought a Nokia 8800). Mostly it works really well, but there are a few teething issues- TomTom does not work perfectly, sometimes calls go thru to voicemail when there's a good signal, the battery life can be quite poor and I find the jogdial a bit irritating (when the phone rings, rocking the jog dial silences the call, so sometime I only get short rings when the phone is in my pocket). However, I like the quality of the phone (all metal construction, no squeeks, I think it looks good).
So overall, the Tornado- good, works well, genuine quad band (and I travel to the US a lot), wifi may be a bonus, lots of users (and hence support), but does not feel like a quality luxury phone. The Mteor- 3G is nice for data (but no vid calling), a bit buggy, but feels like a luxury, professional phone.
To be honest, I'll probably keep the Mteor- it plays music with better quality than the Tornado, plays my videos well, and Tomtom works well enough (just goes silent every so often).
Hope this helps you make your decision
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Click to collapse
Ok here is my dilema. I am due to renew my T-Mobile contract at the beginning of October. My current phone is the HTC Wizard and I have been looking at the N95 as it has a lot of nice features. However I have recently been told about the kaiser and that its about to be released on T-Mobile in September. Can anyone give me any suggestions what I should do or if anyone knows how much it is likely to cost on TMobile UK?
Thanks
I like Windows Mobile, so my choise is Kaiser
I tried Symbian before, but I dont really like it. Especially application wise.
N95 seems to support only Nokias own GPS soft.
Well, I've got an N95, having just switched to Vodafone and been given one for free. It's my fist S60 phone since the Siemens SX1, and I have to say it's really rather nice. Has become my first choice over the Hermes until my Kaiser is delivered...
I'm using Roadsync for MS Exchange and Route66 for GPS navigation with no problems at all (I've also seen TomTom running perfectly on an N95, so don't worry about the compatibility of GPS software). The only thing I'm really missing is the QWERTY keyboard for the many e-mails I knock out every day. Basically, it's not a phone to go for if you'll be writing lots of text, but apart from that it's hard to fault.
The main advantage of the N95 over my other current phone (the Hermes) is the way that S60 deals with data connections. No need for manual switching between Vodafone's Wap and Web connections in order to use either Vodafone Live! or "anything else" because it's all handled automatically with two simultaneous connections if needed. Something that Windows Mobile certainly can't do as far as I'm aware... And WiFi connections are handled more sensibly (in my opinion) under S60, too.
All that said, S60 isn't as configurable as Windows Mobile, and although S60 may have better games, I'm more interested in productivity from my device, so I'm still eagerly awaiting my Kaiser, at which point my N95 will become my weekend phone....
no competition
im due an upgrade in two weeks. i tried the n95 for two weeks an i believe it to be the most over-rated handset ive seen since the razr.
granted, gps is a nice feature for a phone to have, but everything else is laggy and slow. the camera is average - certainly not as good as the k series from sony ericsson - just try taking a snapshot on a nokia and try not to get irittated by its slowness! video is excellent i have to say but marred by an inability to have the flash on constantly during filming. also the gallery is painfully slow to refresh thumbnails. battery life is terrible for a phone and the menu navigation system is dreadfully long-winded and ill thought out.
i would definitely wait for the kaiser as it has so much more to offer.
I'm struggling to think - Qwerty keyboard aside - of anything more that the Kaiser will actually offer?
Anyway, in reply I'd have to say that GPS is perfectly adequate, but the built in software is pretty dodgy. Remains to be seen whether the Kaiser does any better but I'm assuming it will be pretty similar in practise.
Yep, the camera is definitely slower than my old K800i, but significantly better than any PPC phone I've ever owned or seen. Video is pretty good, but I don't really use video so that's not a big deal for me, and at least the N95 has a flash - I definitely can't see the Kaiser being any better for video or stills.
Generally, I find the phone no more laggy than my Hermes (even after it's WM6 speedup) especially when multitasking. The gallery certainly seems to be no worse than "Pictures and Videos" on my Hermes when it comes to speed, but I only have about 75 pics / videos on the N95 at the moment compared to a couple of hundred on my Hermes.
Battery life isn't good, but I'm getting the same sort of time between charges with my N95 as I do with my Hermes (which is not a long time - about 24 hours).
I didn't particularly like the S60 menus either. The first thing I did was create folders and subfolders all over the place and rearrange virtually every single icon in the phone. After getting used to it though, I find it better in many ways than Windows Mobile - you can at least shift program icons around and have them in any order you want rather than just alphabetical (Probably why there are no pieces of "Launcher" software made for S60 - there's no need for them when it's basically built in to the OS).
I would like to point out that the "Active Standby" screen (or Today screen as we WM users would call it) is utterly useless on the N95. You can't put anything on it except for a row of 6 program shortcuts and a couple of other rows which are all but identical to the default WM setup (Next Appointment & Messages received). Massive mistake by Nokia not allowing custom plugins as I believe they have on their E-Series smartphones.
Anyway, it's all personal preference and you have to go with what suits you better. Kaiser is definitely my number one choice because I use my devices for business and messaging more than games and pictures. However, after a good few years away from Symbian phones I'm very glad that this Nokia fell into my lap - I'd never have thought of paying for one and I've been very pleasantly surprised by the *lack* of limitations that I've found compared to my WM devices.
The qwerty keyboard is quite a 'deal-breaker' really, compared to the squat t9 keypad of the n95. The fact that the difference in size is not all that great sways it for me, and you can tilt the Kaiser too! I certainly believe that the Kaiser is more of 'what computers have become' than the flimsily-built and rather frustrating Nokia N95. I just wish the Kaiser had a VGA screen, then it would be PERFECT.
If the Kaiser has the same camera as the Ameo then it will take superior black and white pictures to the N95 (in my opinion anyway) with greater depth and clarity. The shutter lag on the 3mp HTC cams might be an issue but the response time on the Nokia's camera application is so poor that they're kind of on a level really. Also 5mp vs 3mp is rather an insignificant comparison considering most of us will rarely blow our pictures up above 7" by 4".
I will concede that the N95 camera is better at night.
There are a ton more applications for windows mobile including a huge array of GPS applications (an advanced windows live search, tomtom, copilot etc), a free media player -TCPMP- which can play most video types and an integrated Remote Desktop which is superb.
It's touch screen so it feels more 'hands on'. This really shows itself when you're browsing the net. Despite the cute pointer on the N95's browser it still feels a little rigid and limited.
Hot-swappable sim slot - suprisingly handy if you're stuck on contract with someone other than t-mobile and want to take advantage of T-Mobile's quid a day PAYG internet service without taking your phone apart.
As regards the menu system - well I don't know which wm6 ROM you were using but mine on my TyTn was like **** off a shovel. INFINITELY faster than nokia's sllloooooowwww and overly-snazzy gallery facility, and snappier in menus. Since the Kaiser is so much higher spec we can expect lightning fast menu transitions.
My Nokia was on T-Mobile, though I also tested a friend's on Orange. After installing a number of applications we both found that the N95 would restart after heavy use with more than a few applications running in the background.
So there we have my reasons for choosing the Kaiser over an N95.
Oh and another, shallower reason for owning the Kaiser.....
It's all shiny and lovely.
I want one and i want one NOW!
wait.......tmobile is getting the kaiser? US tombile? if this is true than my day has just been made
AT&T is getting the US Kaiser.......not tmob
d
I like how customizable Windows Mobile is. I got my Hermes last year and in these short 10 months, my phone has transformed so much, from the original WM5, then to the Elf LSVW WM6, then to the various Black ROMs. I feel that my phone isn't 10 months old. It is very new and current. Same thing can't be said about Symbian phones or others.
So my next phone decision is easy. It would be a Windows Mobile phone. Only need to think about which one. For now, Kaiser would be the best out there.
Qwerty is most definitely a deal breaker for me too. That's why the Kaiser is going to be my main phone.
I've never taken a single black and white photo in my life, so I couldn't possibly comment on that specific aspect, but if you think that the Athena's camera is better than the N95, then I won't argue... My opinion is different, but there you go.
Yes, a hot-swappable sim slot may well come in handy. I have no use for it personally, but I can appreciate that someone might.
Apart from that, everything else falls into the category of S60 vs WM. It's a very old arguement. I'm very definitely in the Windows camp because of the tasks I use my devices for, but S60 will be a better choice for others.
The N95 shows how far S60 has come, but it was never designed to compete with WM PPC Phones - that's what S80 and UIQ have been trying to do (badly). I'm very happy with the N95, but for me it'll never replace a PPC phone.
Probably a better comparison with the WM6 Kaiser would be the S60 Nokia E90. The Kaiser still comes out on top for me, but again - it depends what features you want / need, doesn't it?
sub69 said:
Probably a better comparison with the WM6 Kaiser would be the S60 Nokia E90. The Kaiser still comes out on top for me, but again - it depends what features you want / need, doesn't it?
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Click to collapse
I would definitely pick the E90 before the Kaiser, with the display being the deciding feature.
I have been a total MS man too, for the past few years. Never thought I should own a S60 device, but the N95 made me change my mind. I have previously owned the original SPV, the HTC Typhoon, the HTC Magician and the Mio A701.
A few months back I found it was the right time to get rid of the A701 but couldn't find any MS device I really wanted. Especially the camera on the MS phones I have tried have always been so bad, that they couldn't be used for anything but MMS. So I took a closer look at the Nokia N95...
After about a month of considering, I finally bought the N95, making it my first Nokia in 5 years. I must say I am very impressed by the hardware. The camera is so good, that I no longer bring my Sony digicam on normal road trips aso, but only for those special occasions.
One very important thing before testing the Nokia N95 is to make sure it is running the latest firmware, called 12.0.0.013. If you run the old v11, you are really not testing the N95 but just an old beta product, which should never have been in stores.
The TV out feature is absolutely brilliant. I have used it while on vacation to stream live tv feeds of Tour de France from the N95 straight into a small 20" tv, which was very nice. But when using it to show video clips and pictures to friends and family on their own tv, the N95 really shines with this high quality tv output. You can even use it for movies, with Dolby Pro-Logic sound through any surround amp.
The same cable you use for TV out can also be used to plug you N95 into a standard amplifier, allowing for very nice quality playback of your MP3s. Or how about plugging it into the LCD's on the backseat of your car, so the kids can follow the route of the GPS program?
The TV/audio out is a very simple, yet effective feature. I think this is the thing I would miss the most, if I decide to replace the N95 with the Kaiser.
I don't do a lot of typing on my mobile device, so I personally don't need the qwerty keyboard, although it would be nice to have. Actually the T9 of the N95 suits me fine, because it enables me to write short messages while on the go. Absolutely impossible on the A701 that only had the onscreen keyboard, and using a qwerty on the street is a bit too nerdy, even for me
Running GPS on the N95 is fine, after upgrading to the latest firmware. Before it took forever to get a fix, but after A-GPS has been introduced in the latest ROM, a fix is available in 10 seconds. TomTom of course haven't heard of the N95, once again proving they are the slowest software manufacturer on the planet. But you can run Google maps, Route 66, Navigon, Copilot and Nokias own Maps, to name but a few.
The built in Real Player run most formats, but of course you can also install TCPMP which has been available since feb06. The commercial version The Core Player is in the final beta stages right now. Papyrus, the calendar app known from MS Smartphones, also runs on N95, for those of you who are hooked on the Pocket Informant style.
Regarding speed I think the N95 is at least comparable to the Mio A701's WM5 on the Intel 520MHz cpu. Besides, it has a graphics cpu (gpu), making it almost unbeatable in 3D speed. Sweet, considering the 3D style of several upcoming GPS proggies. I have no idea why some would call it slow, unless they have been running the old firmware. Boot time is 30 seconds, or about 50% the time of my A701.
Here are some of my personal pro's and con's of the N95:
Pro:
1. TV-out
2. Very easy to switch between connections (HSDPA, WLAN, BT, IrDA, the N95 have them all)
3. Extremely nice camera for a phone, albeit a bit slow
4. Standard 3.5mm ear plug connector
5. Built in radio (can be used for TMC)
6. A-GPS extremely fast
7. Small(ish) size
Con:
1. TomTom still doesn't run on internal GPS antenna
2. Amount of 3. party applications very low, compared to PPC. Example: No app to configure the hardware keys (huge con)
3. Symbian forums are of a lower quality than those of PPCs. Kids arguing and name calling aso. Not many user developed apps or deep insight from a S60 forum
4. Battery life is 2-3 days if used as a standard phone. Use it 1-2 hours during the day with the screen on = don't expect it to last until bed time
5. Low on memory. Expect less than 20MBs of RAM at boot time. How can Nokia do this in the year 2007?
6. Today screen plugins are not allowed by Nokia (why?). You get date/time, a list of MRU's, your calendar and a wifi scanner. That's it!
(Notice that only 2 out of 6 points are hardware related)
Overall I am very happy about the N95. Weird... I never thought I would say that about a Nokia, or a S60 model Not sure I wanna swap it for the Kaiser, because I would miss the camera and the TV out very much indeed. No third device is of any interest to me.
Conclusion:
If you are torn between N95 and Kaiser, I would say it depends on your daily needs.
A. Input style is a huge difference, so if you type much, the choice is simple.
B. How many apps do you run each day? Low number = not much reason to go for the more advanced Windows Mobile OS.
C. How much does your usage differ from the average user? If much, then you may not be able to find what you are looking for on the S60 platform.
I have always considered S60 a 'functionally challenged' version of the PPC's and I still do, but if you don't use the extra options of the PPC, the N95 may be the better option.
I have a Hermes personally, but my best friend owns an N95 and I have a Test Kaiser to play with right now and it's a pretty great phone. It feels more phone-like than the Hermes and it is definately slimmer and the keyboard tilt is a nice feature. As future ROMs become available for it as far as the biotouch or TouchFLO interface, I think the Kaiser will be a serious iPhone competitor. If you love a no-hastle multimedia interface, go for the Nokia. If you like expandability and touchscreen and rely on Exchange for mail, I'd go with the HTC.
I think I agree with everything HBK has said. Although there is a patch to allow TomTom to run with the N95's internal GPS.
I never used the old firmware, because as soon as I received my N95, I altered the product code with Nemesis and reflashed it with the latest Nokia unbranded firmware (mainly to get rid of all the garish operator themes).
I think that the first thing everyone does with a new smartphone should be to update the firmware, but maybe that is why some N95's are running slowly?
My brother-in-law works for Nokia and has had a prototype N95 since late last year. (At the time I have to admit to being totally uninterested when he showed me his new toy. I dismissed it as "just another nasty Nokia"). He's never reflashed the thing, and hates it because it's so slow and nothing works. I've tried to tell him to update it, but never has.
As HBK says, it depends what you want your device for. I think gooshy needs to think about whether he'd rather have a keyboard and the best productivity software, or a phone with better games software and a better camera?
Unfortunately there isn't a N95 patch for TT. A fraudster with a company named gpsmidlands (beware!) did his best to make us believe such a patch exsisted, but no. He got busted two days ago by some clever guys. It was only a scam to attract attention to his site. He used a bunch of nicks to promote his views and even after being busted, the mods have done nothing to stop him. I believe he has close to 10 nicks right now...
You can read the thread here http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/forum/showthread.php?t=62954. That will also show you the quality of this site, compared to what is available for the S60 series. After reading that thread, you will agree with item #3 on my 'con' list, I am quite sure
The N95 runs Exchange mail quite nice too.
I've got a Hermes and N95, which I bought for my fiancee when she dropped her SE W850i into a bucket of water
It's sleek and nice, and if I needed a phone rather than a "real thing" I would sell my Vario II and buy another one for me. But even when I tried TT6 with a Bluetooth receiver it wasn't that smooth as on Vario II. The battery drainage is also a problem. The only thing that I perceive as better is that in my area it keeps 3G signal better than Hermes, and it's got far better camera (pic are really good outside, but when you take them inside eg. museum with limited light, it's no match for a normal camera).
I think they are both good phones but I would go for the phone with Windows Mobile at the end of the day because I like that there is more software available and the fact that there are a lot of developers tweaking and improving the operating systems for the rest of us (which is much appreciated )
The N95 looks prettier and is more compact, plus has a great camera but the touch screen, keyboard and operating system of the Kaiser wins everytime for me.
I guess it very much depends what you need and expect from your phone, for a lot of people a standard compact phone that just does texts, makes calls and looks pretty is all they need so something like the Razr or SE's would be fine, and for others they need a full mini office which is where the Kaiser is in its element.
One more vote for Kaiser!!!
I have N95 (since April 07) and Kaiser (for 2 days) and to be honest I still can't decide
Hi,
I want to get an idea how reliable the Kaiser is? I'm considering moving from a Blackberry. Does it crash/lock up?
Once a day?
Once a week?
Monthly?
Never?
How good is it in daily use for quickly making calls, adding entries to the calendar and sending/reading emails?
Thanks for any help.
D
With the right rom and enough patience you'll be satisfied my young padawan.
It's not the most reliable phone on the market but it's still bleeding-edge which for me personally covers up its flaws.
Can 't decide for you though.
I use mine everyday. Just make sure you have a car charger/ desktop chargers at work if you use the data and GPS on the regular.
SH4YD33 said:
I use mine everyday. Just make sure you have a car charger/ desktop chargers at work if you use the data and GPS on the regular.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am using Dutty's #7 RTM ROM with Blackberry connect (150+ messages/day) and I never had to reboot the device. I migrated over from a BB8300 Curve and this is just as reliable.
you know the saying about Death, the Kaiser, and taxes ?
I actually migrated from a Blackberry Curve, here are some of the items that may be an issue:
- I get a lockup about every couple of days. However I use all kinds of programs and Blackberry connect, so who knows what is causing the problems. A soft-reset fixes all.
- It's HUGE, I mean REALLY thick. You can toss a curve in your pocket and pretty much forget about it, not this thing. You'll be using your jacket pockets more or a belt pouch. Forget jean pockets, you'll look like you have a 'woody' all the time.
- One handed typing is impossible, forget chatting when you only have one hand free. Really big downside here.
- Keyboard is very wide, cannot fly around like you can thumb typing on a blackberry full keyboard device. Takes some getting used to but I still can't type as fast as on a BB device. May change with practice.
- BlackBerry client is a pain in the ass, it forces you to change your APN to blackberry thereby disconnecting you from your carriers normal connection. Hence when you want to login to Windows Live or other items, it may suspent the blackberry connection or you will be forced to manually suspend the blackberry services. Otherwise it works pretty good. I suspect there may be a way around a bit of this but simply haven't had the time to research.
- Camera is totally useless. As you will read, there is a 3D driver issue with this phone. The curve camera was perfect and allowed for quick shots without any issues. This camera is incredibly slow and prone to blurring. Suspect this may get fixed with the 3D driver. If your taking still shots of a item that is NOT moving, you'll be ok however.
- Apps are slower to start than on a BB but you get used to it.
- Battery life is terrible, get a car charger and plug it in constantly to keep it up.
- Garmin Mobile XT is awesome and not subscription based like Garmin for the Blackberry. Tomtom is also good, I just prefer Garmin.
- Screen is good, nice and bright, no complaints here.
- Web browser is better than any BB device but certainly nothing like an iPhone/iPod touch, that browser rules.
It's a different phone entirely from a BB so if your used to Microsoft headaches and their way of doing things, you'll be fine. If your a ex S60 symbian guy (like I am) or just expect a phone to "work", you might be disappointed. I nearly took it back 3 times during the first week I had it but I'm getting more used to it now.
You'll also find things are heavily stylus based which can be a pain when your one-handed. The touch-Flo iPhone features are useless, too slow and just not as intuitive as the iPhone/iPod touch. That may also be something that can be tweaked but haven't gotten around to it (besides, it should just "work", like an iPhone/iPod touch does).
However the ability to run all that software out there and things like Remote Desktop and a really nice built-in GPS does have it's benefits.
One thing I wish is that someone would release an on-screen keyboard that works similar to the iPhone/iPod Touch so we don't always have to open the slider which would allow one-handed typing.
All in all, I'm gonna keep it, you just have to start reading alot and getting into boards like these to solve all the issues that you may find.
Cheers
Many thanks for the replies guys. Any more takers?
Thanks
D
After about 6 weeks of ownership, I've found my AT&T Tilt to be very reliable. One reboot only during that time, after an odd laptop tethering experience. I'm not running much third party stuff, no registry edits, etc. I have installed Google Maps and OperaMini with good results. Battery life is shorter than my old "dumb" phone, but I expected that. I have no problem with this being my primary cell phone. I prefer Verizon's network, but mostly because AT&T's 3G seems a little less pervasive. No problems with phone service.
I am using Dutty final 7b touch flo. I is amazing. I have not had to reset since I put it on and 7 before that same thing. The only reseting for me has been new roms. lol
I tried Q 1. It was not for me. It was a good rom but I like all the extras in Dutty. PPL were claiming faster speeds, I have found that Duttys is faster for me on my device.
I love the BT voice dial through my Jawbone headset.
HTC Home is great.
I run my own mail server (Kerio) and the push with activesync is 100%
I would say I use the camera the least.
I do not put many programs on.
Pocket informant
TomTom full
MS voice dial
World mate - a must for travelers. The pro version with the real time flights is amazing.
and the dutty programs
Hope this helps. I would say this is by far the best phone I have ever used.
Had a hermes (Tytn) Wizard (Mini S), Magician (Jam), Blue Angel, Treo 600. 650 750v,
This is by far the best for me. I love it. I have also had the least amount of issues with this one. So far I have had 1. The newest MS bt voice command will not go through the headset. I have to use the previous.
O well 99.999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999% perfect.
I'm running a Orange branded Kaiser but with orange stuff removed and HTC stuff added. I use it every day for e-mails, Calls, Web & TomTom Nav. The only time I soft reset is after installing somink or regedit.
Most reliable Windows Mobile device i have used so far and would defo recommend it!
For quick typing i would recommend "TouchPal" for one handed quick use!
MM
PS I also use it for a wireless iTunes remote with Apple Airport Express!
im on my 2nd tilt so far, love the phone but the build seams a bit flimsy, the first one the usb connector broke off and the one i have now the send button is sticking on, could just be my stupid luck, and i have had zero problems exchanging the phone, running it in stock form other than kaiser tweak and opera mini, tomtom 6. very stable even around all the magnetic interference from my welders and plasma cutters,
Slightly off topic (sorry) but what the hell do you do tjenus?!
And yes i run Kaiser Tweak , great Tool!
MM
i run a fab shop in Vancouver wa. and a offroad shop in Kelso wa. we have some welders that put out more than a 1000 amps at full load, and plasma machines that can cut 6" plate steel clean in half, my main job is at the fab shop in vancouver, we rebuilt pneumatic trailers and tanker trailers, update them to air ride and antilock with stability control, its a lot cheaper than buying new one, we mostly haul food grade material in bulk, 40 to 65 thousand pounds at a time, for the last couple of years we have hauled 80% of the bulk flower on the west coast, the shop in Kelso is my personal adventure for fun and stress relief, i do a lot of v8 swaps and solid axle swaps on Toyota and Chevys with ifs front suspensions, a lot of fuel injection and propane conversions, and build some tube frame buggys now and then, im a rookie when it comes to modification to my pda or cell phone so i lurk around here for some good advice, a lot of thing we put on the rigs now a day can be adjusted through a pda or laptop, so i find myself carrying them more than ever, but coming from a non tech background i find myself a little disappointed on my knowledge of how to adjust my phone to suet my needs so hear i am, buy the way thanks to everyone this is a great board
I've had mine for about 3 weeks and absolutely love it. By far, it is the best PPC, as well as the best HTC device I have ever owned starting off with the Wizard.The Touchflo still has a ways to go, especially after using the iphone for awhile, but I don't use it or miss it on this phone. I've had no crashes and have been using the original HTC ROM. I use a lot of third party apps and really enjoy the additional ram and the additional storage space on the device. The build quality on my phone is excellent and it has no squeaks or looseness whatsoever. It's a little heavy, and carrying it in your pocket does give you the appearance of being "hung"...but I'm used to that
I am a SPV M3100 (Tytn 1) owner at the moment running Schap's 4.30 Full ROM and the handset runs very well.
On Monday I am out of contract and can either upgrade to the Tytn2 with Orange free of charge or move to T-Mobile and their version for practically nothing (Orange or T-Mobile will be dependent on Orange offering me a decent data package instead of 30Mb for £8).
My main question is really, is it worth upgrading from a Tytn1 to a Tytn2?
On paper it seems to (camera/rom & ram/gps/tilt screen/thinner), but I been scanning through some articles and posts and lots of driver problems have been mentioned? Whats going on with this?
I saw an iPhone the other night and was very impressed with the interface but it lacks 3G/HSDPA and the camera is 2MP and doesnt do video and and and, not to mention having to shell out £269 and an 18 monther on the contract.
Whats the HTC Touch Cruise like and do any UK networks sell it yet?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts...
Will shortly be in same position so am interested in any responses.
I don't see Orange coming up with a decent data plan so I expect to have to leave them for Vodafone/O2 (Tmobile have a reception blackspot just about over my house)
Will probably upgrade so that I can reduce the time to the next upgrade if you see what I mean -not sure I see anything out there in the V near future to make the Kaiser obsolete.
Re Iphone - yeah looked at it but I need the hardware keyboard and have become a bit of a flashaholic etc.
That and I will get the Kaiser free. Don't like the excessive Apple control over everything.
I am with Orange and pretty annoyed myself... I think I'd be leaving too
Well O2 and Vodafone's dataplans are as bad as Orange's. (Voda unlimited = 120mb cap).
Orange did have a Orange World Unlimited package for £8 a month which gave you a gig of use a month which would be enough for me.
Can't really help in regards to whether it's worth the upgrade, as I've never used a TyTN I before, however, in regards to video driver issues, this seems to be hit and miss.
My TyTN II has never had any problems playing video's or games, and for the record, to play my video files I use Kingdia Video Converter to convert to avi, then use Ashampoo Movie Shrink and burn to compress file to QVGA (small file size, great quality). I then use TCPMP with the FLV 0.4.2 plugin to play them.
Not sure if it's because mine is UK bought with Original HTC ROM, but I don't mind as long as it works
Question really is....what do you want / need your phone to do?
I came to the Kaiser (o2 Stellar) from the HTC Universal (o2 XDA Exec) a month ago. I do miss the bigger screen and keyboard of the Uni. Apart from that the Kaiser is better in every way. So much nicer not having to soft reset every other day cos I'm running out of RAM (I have yet to soft reset the Kaiser for any other reason than installing software). So much nicer not having to juggle where I install stuff, it just all goes onto the device in the huge memory available (no sarcasm, after getting by on 30MB, suddenly having nearly 100MB to play with is huge!)
Camera, its a PDA not a SonyEricsson. I was hoping for better pics with a 3MP camera on board but it's no replacement for a real camera. It will do if you have nothing else, and I doubt you'd be disappointed with the results as I suspect the Tytn I camera is no better than the Uni's.
I suppose I do miss the flash on the camera, mainly cos it was a handy torch. I did miss the IR port, but got off my butt and set-up the BT on my PC and now use that instead for file transfers when I don't want to plug the sync lead in.
I have used the Kaiser with a SonyEricsson HBH-100 BT handsfree, it works fine. I also use a SonyEricsson MBR-100 BT thingy to connect to my car stereo and home audio system. Likewise this works perfectly. Finally I have a Nokia 610 car-kit and it connects to that via BTSAP, no problems. All of it straight out of the box, no patches, updates or hot-fixes. BT driver issues? Not in my experience. Only thing that doesn't work with the phone is my older HBH-10 headset. It is about 10yrs old, and is probably just too old to be compatible.
Video? I converted loads of videos years ago to wmv files to use with a HP Ipaq 5450. They play just fine, little jumpy, but this is due to the compression (25mb for 45 mins of video) rather than the device itself, they are jumpy on my laptop too.
Audio? Built in loudspeaker is poor. But what do you expect from something that small that was designed (I guess) for voice, not music. MP3's play well, and when connected to headphones or an external sound system, its great! I bet the type of people that can hear the difference (and care about it) between 192kbs and 320kbs encoding will argue the toss...
GPS. IMHO, no problems. Used it with several apps, gets a fix quickly, holds onto the signal well and is accurate enough. Bench testing against my Garmin standalone GPS (Kaiser plonked on the dash, Garmin with an external roof mounted antenna) both get a good signal and the tracklogs more or less match, good enough for sat-nav anyway (yes the Garmin is more accurate and gets stronger reception but it does have that powered, amplified roof antenna to help it remember! The Kaiser has never failed to get a fix)
WiFi and other data (GPRS, 3G, HSDPA etc) works well. I have the Opera Mini browser as well as PIE. No problems surfing the net, checking email, using MSN or Skype.
Just have a look at the threads in this forum, how many are from newbies asking for help, or moaning something doesn't work when they haven't tried to fix it, or just plain don't know what they are doing?! I'm not saying the Kaiser doesn't have issues for some people, but seriously, if you can get the Kaiser for little or nothing, just upgrade already and if it's really not to your liking stick it on Ebay and make a few hundred! I have a collection of old phones and PDA's so I don't have to use the Kaiser. If it sucked, I would have gone back to my Uni in a heartbeat. The only time I don't use it now is if I'm going out and want a phone with me I don't mind loosing or breaking.
Hope that helps?
It depends what you want out of a phone. My comparisons are between my Vodafone 1605 (unlocked Hermes) and my HTC TyTN II (unlocked Kaiser).
Camera: Useable but crap. Needs one of the cooked roms and cab update to get any real use from it.
Camera Flash: Missing on Kaiser. I used to use this a lot as a torch when taking instrument reaings outside in the dark.
Wifi: My Kaiser is better.
GPS: TomTom is brilliant and sold the Kaiser to me.
Video: Mine seems ok but I'm not a heavy user. Many people seem to have driver problems so I assume they use video more than me - also, I don't use streaming video so I can't comment - this may also be where all the video driver problems are.
Tilting Screen: A bit of a gimmick for normal use, but ok for watching a movie on a plane.
Speed: With Dutty's ROMs my Kaiser feels faster but this may just be imagined.
Memory: I'm a heavy user of space. I have 51 add on programs including converters, dictionaries and translators etc. Kaiser definately better.
All in all I'm glad I upgraded to the Kaisr, but despite that I haven't got the heart to get rid of my Hermes yet...
I will seriously miss the flash, especially with the camera.
And my Hermes does everything I need it to do right now, but things like more ROM/RAM, better camera (in MP), etc would be nice. But I dont fancy wasting an upgrade. (UK people will know what I mean by that).
My vodafone 1605 is a TyTN 1 and I upgraded to a TyTN 2. In most areas I don't think that there is much improvement with the new phone.
If you're happy with the TyTN 1 I wouldn't bother yet unless GPS becomes a real necessity, of unless you're a gadget freak who needs the latest and greatest. Maybe you should wait a while and then when you become less happy with your TyTN look at upgrading then - it won't be too long before the Kaiser comes down in price or there are newer versions available.
Well money isn't really a factor. In the UK we can upgrade our phone at the end of the contract term, normally for free. If I don't upgrade then I will just be wasting an opportunity.
That is my thought exactly. I think it will be a year at least before anything fantasticaly better comes out so then allowing time for initial bugs to be worked out, I think I will upgrade to the Kaiser so when contract ends in 18 months it should be about time for the next big thing.
Incidentally, I do have the 1gb Orange data bundle but it expires sson and cannotbe renewed.
120mb or 200 on O2 should do me quite well - 30mb however is just too little.
I upgraded from the Hermes to the Kaiser. Never looked back since.
Apart from the ****e Orange data packages. Currently using unlimited off-peak for £5 a month. Not ideal, but I work office hours anyways.....
Been There Done That
Had been with Orange for a while but was a very devout Nokia "Smartphones" Fanboy.
Had a free upgrade due and already had 2 of Nokia top phones at the time and instead of wasting the upgrade I upgraded to the SPV M3100 (Tytn I) just over a year ago. And boy was it something different. The hardware keyboard was a massive god sent. And just the sheer functionality of the phone coupled with the wide amount of apps you could install on it, plus the so much more useful roms I upgraded to courtesy of everyones fave developer forum. Really started becoming a massive tool and made my commuting time into Central London from the outskirts really productive and enjoyable.
Last week was due the annual upgrade and having checked out the features of the new Tytn II online, dived in without a second thought. After the initial transitional period and all the rom installations and getting the settings to suit my own individual needs. I can safely say that the beloved M3100 is been on a window sill gathering dust. Installed Duttys Dual Touch Rom II, a few apps, a few games, set up Windows Live and my own work emails and now just waiting on the 8GB Micro SDHC card i order and i should be all set.
Play Dvdrips and TVRips on TCMP with no lag and Dutty's rom doesnt seem to slow down too much, so havent reallly felt the affects of the missing graphics drivers. Just feels so natural now. I can safely say that if someone created a better Internet Browser solution right now I would definitely stop using the laptop for casual use. At the moment using a combination of Picsel, Opera, and IE and none seem to be doing a complete job. Picsel is awesomely fast and useable but its still in early development and doesnt support complete web solutions.
As for Orange, their data packages have never been the best but i usually use the net heavy apps like Windows Live Messenger, Youtube streaming and Net browsing in the Office or at home where theres a Wifi connection. But to be honest none of the other Network Providers have great deals and i've been with all at one point or another T-Mobile Web n Walk is good but they've started blocking certain ports that limit what you can do or so i have heard. The off peak data package (if you work 9-5) doesnt seem too bad.
But hopefully they'll come out with better packages soon.
Hi, interested you have skype working on your Xda Stellar - I can't seem to get this working? I downloaded the windows mobile version of skype and get a "this is not a valid pocket pc application" message and it fails to install.... Do you have any ideas?? Thanks
I am with vodafone and in a position to upgrade to which will be my first HTC phone. I was looking at kaiser but am thinking of hanging on for a couple of months for the HTC touch pro.
Kaiser audio quality
Hi,
I just upgraded from Hermes to Kaiser, and I'm comparing the two units at the moment.
I noticed that audio quality of Hermes is better, especially when listening to mp3s.
Does anyone agree?
I'd try and get a HTC Touch Pro if possible, just make sure it's the Pro and not the Diamond as you'll get the better (larger) battery and not have to give up the keyboard. The feature list of the Touch Pro is much better then the Kaiser.
The Kaiser is after all just an "update" that only new features are a slightly larger storage (not much of an issue with an SD-Card though) and built in GPS (but an externall bluetooth GPS gives you more battery.) On the downside of the Kaiser you have to convert videos to play just on your device where as with the Hermes I could use the same vids for my PC - which is basicly a downgrade.
I just purchased a Tilt last week. I did not know about all the issues with slowness and lack of video drivers till after I brought it home. After reading through this forum I have determined that I should probably take advantage of AT&T's 30 day return policy and return this phone.
The problem is I do not know what the alternative from AT&T is. My new employer is requiring that I have a PDA/smartphone that supports MS activesync. So that eliminates the iphone. What is the best alternative from AT&T? Treo? Moto Q?
Thanks for the help.
I have had my TyTN II for two months now.
I have NO issues with slowness or anything else. I play full feature movies, games and many apps and it is definitely much faster than my iMate KJam (Wizard).
My advice is keep it and enjoy it.
There are many posts here that don't slate the device.
Some people want live feeds from Mars etc.
I can honestly tell you that I am very very happy with mine, but then again I don't fix things that aren't broke.
It is the best business tool on the market at present IMHO, and I did lots of research before buying the TyTN II.
Yes please take advantage of the 30 day return policy by taking 30 days to get to know the phone.
madmos said:
I just purchased a Tilt last week. I did not know about all the issues with slowness and lack of video drivers till after I brought it home. After reading through this forum I have determined that I should probably take advantage of AT&T's 30 day return policy and return this phone.
The problem is I do not know what the alternative from AT&T is. My new employer is requiring that I have a PDA/smartphone that supports MS activesync. So that eliminates the iphone. What is the best alternative from AT&T? Treo? Moto Q?
Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My brother once told me of the phenomenon of being awakened to negativity of something while being completely ignorant of it before. in other words, from the way it sounds, you did not really notice all the "bad things" associated with the product until someone told you of them.
I sometimes fall into the same trap. I got my phone right around when it was released, and I was completely blown away by it. I've never really had a pda phone before and it was just amazing for me. I then read all the negative comments about it then got worried and wanted to blindly replace it for the "perfect device".
I know realize that it doesn't exist and most likely, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. play with the phone and if you are happy with it, keep it regardless of what other people say is wrong with it.
BTW, you most likely won't get helpful advise about what other phone to get on a fanboy forum about the product you want to get rid of...
just my 2 cents
Oh this is a good one. I'm sure you won't have any performance problems with this one.
http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-ph...y+Ericsson+Z310a+-+Jet+Black&q_sku=sku1020097
Integrated VGA Camera
Bluetooth® wireless capable
Unique external hidden display
Colored light effects for caller ID
Polyphonic MIDI and MP3 ringtones
Multimedia messaging - Send text, photos, and sounds
Instant messaging - AIM®, Yahoo!®, and MSN®
Day and evening themes change at preset times
Illuminated keypad with color light effects
Download ringtones, games, and graphics
Vibrating alert, calendar and calculator
High-speed EDGE capabilities
Internet and email capable
Tri-band world phone
Superb battery life
Preloaded games
Rated for Hearing Aids: M3
Thats the lick
It's all about gamez and ringerz
You will also read that some of us with the Tilt do not notice the issues you are speaking about. I don't feel that my Tilt's driver issues affect what I use it for. I don't watch movies all day long and play games with it, if I did I might change my tune...
No matter what, it's a step up from my 8525!
I looked through AT&T's VAST selection of PDA/smartphones and read the reviews there and elsewhere, and came to the conclusion that the Tilt would do what I needed. Mostly Office functions and what not. The Wifi was another major reason. I didn't get the phone for it's multimedia reasons.
IMO, stick with the Tilt, and if you want to watch movies, get a portable DVD player.
man I stream movies and watch them on the SD. It all works well enough for me. I just think the damn thing could run a bit smoother.
A lot of these posts are niggly things and not majors.
I see both sides and whilst this is slower than my Wizard for screen orientation flips, its got GPS built in. Big win immediately.
That alone wins for me, and ok, some things are slightly longer but let's face it, these are PDA's with phone functions, not phones with PDA functions (in which case look at s730 from HTC as an alternative).
Joe
ChumleyEX said:
Yes please take advantage of the 30 day return policy by taking 30 days to get to know the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This sounds like the best advice to me...
Don't flash a new rom or hard-spl (in case you want to return the phone - instead try as many programs, games, videos etc over the next week or 3 and see if the phone works ok for you - stress it a bit. If everything works ok and you want to keep the phone then you WILL get better performance from a cooked rom - if not then you've lost nothing except for a bit of time.
FWIW, I love my Kaiser - a few niggles but I know my way round them - I'm not going to change and will probably upgrade to Kaiser 2 or whatever in the future.
Here's the thing... there is no perfect phone on the market!
If you visit the forums for any phone on the market, you'll find things ranging from minor nits to severe bugs.
The best thing you can do is ask yourself if the issues of a particular phone are things you can deal with. Some are fixable with utility programs (tweaks) and some need new drivers. Some just plain won't ever be fixed in the lifetime of the phone.
What's a severe limitation to some, is not an issue to others. For me, the video driver issue isn't a problem, since I don't use my Tilt that way. But, for others, it's a show-stopper.
So, yes... do your research (preferably before buying the phone) and use your new phone for everything you can think of during the trial period. Ask yourself what your requirements for the phone are, and if you can live with whatever limitations/issues it comes with.