TamsPPC – the PocketPC Blog

A big thank-you goes to Hutchison Austria for doing what HTC could not: they provided us with a loaner of their version HTC Touch 3G at their own expense!
HTC’s Touch 3G is considered the spiritual successor to the original Touch – which is an iconic Windows Mobile product which has imho shaped the mobile market in a fashion similar to Compaq’s first iPaq. But how big is the 3G?

Our first size comparison candidate is the Palm Treo 680:

The device can in fact be considered similar to the extremely small hp ipaq rx4240:

Nokia’s N96 is a bit smaller, but a lot thicker:

The E75 is larger, but thinner:

Sony Ericsson’s XPERIA X1 is a bit bigger:

Apple’s first-generation iPod touch is a completely different cattle of fish:

RIM’s BlackBerries tend to have similar sizes:

Finally, a comparison shot against another classic handset:

In the end, I have to openly admit that I am in love with the form factor of the Touch 3G. It fits snugly into the user’s hands and is a total pleasure to use; and furthermore appears much smaller than it is.

Can build quality stack up? Tune in soon for further info…

A big thank-you goes to Hutchison Austria for providing us with a loaner of their version HTC Touch 3G!

HTC’s Touch 3G can be considered the successor to the original (and insanely successful) HTC Touch: while devices like the Touch Diamond used the Touch brand, they had very little in common with the original model. But can the 3G stack up?

Hutchison has traditionally been very discreet when it came to branding their high-end smartphones. This rule has also been observed with the very small box of the Touch 3G – it is free of any visible branding:

Opening the box unveils a single crate containing all the stuff:

The device itself comes packed up in a small plastic bag, and can not be accessed from the top:

Charging is accomplished via a wallwart, which has a standard USB port. The data cable then is plugged into the wallwart:

Some versions seem to ship with a headset:

Finally, a few shots of the accompanying paperwork:

In the end, there is nothing to dislike about the Touch 3G’s packaging (except maybe for the lack of wallwarts – but what do you expect for this amount of $$$).

Stay tuned for further info – this review continues soon!

Proporta’s screen protectors have become a staple food of the mobile industry over the last years, protecting thousands of screens (including the one of my trusty Treo 680). The recent rebranding also hit the screen protectors…are they still cool?

Large white envelopes have signaled the arrival of Proporta-branded goods in the past (shipping via UK)…these can be delivered to letter boxes and generally work well.

The blister saw a minor redesign, putting the installation instructions on the flip side instead of onto an extra piece of paper:

Its contents are the same as always – but they were completely rebadged with sentences stating their purpose in a tongue-in-cheek fashion:

Applying the screen protector is as easy or difficult as ever. Fortunately, the foils can be removed a few times…which makes putting them in place easier.

Writing on the screen has a paper-like touch…

In the end, the Advanced Screen Protector remain at their high level they had over the last 5 years – they are sturdy and minimize reflections. Unfortunately for them, screen technology and screen protectors have evolved in this time. The X1’s pixel pitch is so small that the display is very close to your eyes…and this is where the slight grain gets annoying (especially with small fonts).

Most PocketPC’s will work perfectly well with Proporta’s current screen protectors. People who want to get the absolute most of their XPERIAs screen must make a judgment call between protection and low reflectivity(which can be had here) and low grain(which must be sought elsewhere)….

HTC’s CEO was extremely untalkative when it came to carrier partners and network configurations for the upcoming Touch Pro 2 – which is understandable, as the Touch Pro still has a few US markets to satisfy.

Nevertheless, the folks at the Boy Genius Report have uncovered very interesting screenshots from the inventory system of a Canadian carrier – the most interesting quote is below:

…
While nothing is confirmed, we have to think we’re looking at EV-DO Rev. A for both handsets along with dual-band GSM as the World Edition moniker implies
…

As of now, no further information is available – stay tuned!

Compaq led the screen technology front: its color devices always had very good screens, the 3600 saw the debut of so-called reflective displays which worked well indoors and outdoors. Unfortunately, the company stopped innovating after the hx4700 flopped…which is why the Data Messenger is one of the very few PocketPC devices which still have a QVGA screen. But can it stack up?

Our first competitor is Palm’s Treo 680. The iPaq manages to take the lead with a comfortable margin:

HP’s baby iPaq was one of the very few recent devices from HP which had an excellent screen – it ties with the Data Messenger:

Sony Ericsson’s XPERIA X1 has a screen with an insane resolution…and manages to get out in front of the Data Messenger when it comes to color saturation:

Nokia’s N96 is next. As Nokia seems to use a different color temperature, comparing its screen against non-Nokia devices is somewhat difficult:

Finally, a little shootout against the Voice Messenger. The data messenger comes out in front:

Cutting a long story short: I feel that TFT development has now reached a point where large screen quality differences like the one seen in the Treo 680 review are history. All devices in this test have an excellent screen; the minimal differences seen in screen chromatographies are irrelevant for everyday users…

HP can be credited with bringing keyboards to the PocketPC: many (if not most) of their smartphone devices either had integrated keyboards or could be expanded with clip-on ones. The Data Messenger marks HP’s entry into slide-out keyboard devices…but can it stack up?

The device’s front is dominated by the large touchscreen and a variety of buttons: while the calling buttons are physical, all others are “capacitive” and don’t handle particularly well. The five-way is optical except for the center button…and isn’t too responsive either:

Sliding the device open reveals the keyboard, which is decently lit. Unfortunately, the layout is horrible – no Start button, keys in weird places, etc:

The speaker is at the back of the box:

SIM card, MicroSD slot and battery (1140mAH) can be accessed by removing the back cover:

Typing on the Data Messenger is extremely uncomfortable. Keys can not be distinguished haptically, have poor pressure points, are flat and way to close to one another. I found myself frequently hitting wrong buttons even after a nice bit of practice…even though the XPERIA X1’s keyboard is far from perfect, it is significantly better:

The top of the box contains a Treoesque silencer switch:

The stylus silo is at the bottom of the device:

I haven’t seen a good stylus for quite some time – the Data Messenger’s double-telescopic one is not too good either (next to the toothpick found on the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1):

Camera button, MicroUSB port and 2.5” headphone jack are on the right side of the device. Don’t ask me what HP’s designers were drinking when thez decided to put the headphone jack under a flap lid though:

HP has shown an annoying tendency to play around with the keyboards of their handsets – while many of their concepts turn out to be revolutionary, HP’s incarnation usually suffers from usability problems. This time, however, HPs decision is nothing short of bone-headed…the Data Messenger’s keyboard is among the worst on the market. As such a box gets bought for data input, the horrible keyboard eliminates the device’s reason-d-etre…

Tune in soon for a look at the device’s display, camera and software package!

HP’s iPaq Data Messenger is a device with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard…this traditionally leads to largish devices. Is the Data Messenger fat? Read on to find out!

Our first contender is Palm’s rather fat Treo 680. The iPaq is about as large:

Nokia’s N96 is a slider device too, but is smaller:

Sony Ericsson’s XPERIA X1 can be considered a marvel of technology due to its slimness – it beats the Data Messenger by a margin:

The XPressMusic 5800 is very long, but also very slim:

Compared to Compaqs famous ipaq 37xx-series, the Data Messenger looks small:

HP’s baby iPaq is smaller though:

..as is Apple’s 1G iPod touch:

Finally, a few shots next to its closest sibling (the HP Voice Messenger):

Cutting a long story short: the Data Messenger is definitely not a small device. However, it also isn’t excessively large…people currently using a device like HTCs classic slide-out devices should have no issues with its size…

Landscape-QWERTY devices were initially one of HPs biggest sellers: the Jornada 720 still sees quite some use today. Unfortunately, Microsoft abandoned the handheld PC platform…which led to HP giving up on the form factor. Fortunately, HTC released a few very successful PocketPCs with slide-out keyboard…which has motivated HP to release the Data Messenger.

Long-term HP customers will note that the boxen have been redesigned yet again – they now come in a blue, more “peaceful” color scheme:

Opening the box unveils a paper stating “Welcome”:

Unfortunately, removing this paper and the flip lid below still doesn’t allow you to grab your device: it is covered in a PVC bag:

The rest of the box consists of a MicroUSB cable, wall-wart (now with separate cable) and headset:

HP furthermore stuffed loads of printed paper into the box:

In the end, HP’s latest-generation box definitely isn’t state of the art anymore when it comes to unboxing. But: all necessary things are on board (except for a memory card) – if this is the device’s only problem, it could become a top seller.

But can it? Tune in soon to figure out more…

Samsung’s i780 has been in our labs for some time, and was tortured in every possible fashion – in case you missed one of the parts, feel free to catch up via the links below:
Samsung i780 review – unboxing
Samsung i780 review – size
Samsung i780 review – physical
Samsung i780 review – screen
Samsung i780 review – software

But: can the device make a person used to a Treo or similar QWERTY device happy? In short, the answer is no. The keys are too small, the screen is too small, the stylus is too weird and the OS is too sluggish and badly configured. Even though Samsung has implemented many sweet gimmicks and furthermore has accelerated the device quite a bit with recent firmware updates, the glaring hardware issues and the 312MhZ processor remain.

I have talked with a few i780 users who have had the device since day 1, and are dissatisfied – slowness, short battery life and tiny keys are complains I have heard over and over again.

In a market where QWERTY devices are available in droves, the i780 unfortunately can not stack up any more. Samsung’s list price of 400 Euros is laughable at best, the device woulg IMHO be fairly priced around 250 Euros at the most.

Nevertheless: these boys have potential. If Samsung takes the feedback provided by analysts and keeps it in mind when designing the i780’s successor, a true Treo killer could be born. But as it stands now, the device has no chance and can not be recommended under any circumstances…

The Samsung i780 contains quite a few interesting programs which are custom to it and other Samsung Mobile devices. The video below gives you the full scoop (7 minutes, work safe):

Note: it was made with a Samsung i780 running the stock ROM. Recent ROM updates have made the device a bit faster – the box I handled at the ITnT was a good 50% faster…

Proporta’s aluminum-leather cases have served me extremely well in the past. Unfortunately, the company recently underwent a re-branding process…can their stuff still stack up?

Large white envelopes have signaled the arrival of Proporta-branded goods in the past (shipping via UK)…these can be delivered to letter boxes and generally work well. The individual blisters were redesigned completely – they can now be folded open:

Proportas standard-issue belt clip still ships with every case (and goes straight to the trash at this reviewer’s):

Getting the phone into the case is easy. The device must be slid into the rails while closed; the clamps then grab the keyboard part of the machine:

Opening and closing the case works with minimal obtrusion…if the protective foils have been removed from the back of the screen assembly:

The XPERIA X1 remains pretty usable while in the case – typing is as comfortable as it gets on an x1:

A cutout in the back allows the camera to be used while the phone is in the case. As usual (for Proporta), all other important parts of the phone can be accessed from the outside even when the case is closed:

Finally, here is a bunch of shots showing the X1 in its case:

In the end, I have to say that Proporta’s solution to the XPERIA problem is about as unannoying as it gets. If you need a leather case, get this one…you will not regret your choice. The price of 30GBP may sound a bit steep, but is humane compared to what other manufacturers charge…

Samsung’s i780 has a very odd screen resolution of 320×320 – it was originally added to WM in order to help Palm recycle its PalmOS-based hardware designs. Nevertheless, Samsung used it first – lets see if the critter can stack up.

Our first contender is Palm’s now-classic Treo 680. Its screen is a lot better at some colors, while the i780 manages to take the lead with others:

HP’s ipaq rx4240 uses a transflective screen, and manages to dispatch the i780 with ease:

Nokia’s now-ancient N71 has a difficult stand against the i780:

Finally, here are two shots showing the impact of the higher resolution. Samsung chose to boost the font size for reasons I will never understand – this unfortunately kills much of the benefit….

Before we come to conclusions, lets keep in mind that this product is now almost two years old – display technology has evolved quite a bit since then. Nevertheless, the i780’s screen gets the job done…if its quality were the only eeker of the i780, the box could win a TamsPPC recommendation…which it unfortunately won’t.

Tune in soon to find out more…

I stumbled across this book at a Viennese store specializing in book blow-out sales. As I was planning an advertising campaign at that time, I purchased it…expecting to find all kinds of cool stuff. But could it stack up?

First of all: this book covers dynamic campaigns implemented with Flash. This means that the included images alone don’t tell the full story – you have to read the book and look at the included DVD on a PC in order to fully grasp a campaign.

Advertising OnLine divides its campaigns by their subject matter: the chapters cover Food&Beverage, Media, Service&Retailer, Technology&Games, Transport and Miscellaneous ads. Each ad campaign is given one to three pages worth of photos and a badly-written description text (which comes in three languages:). While some campaigns are straightforward or boring, some of the ideas really made me think. For example, did you ever think about using an IM bot as advertising tool?

Mobile computing freaks will be happy to hear that the book covers various advertising campaigns for phones: Nokia, Motorola and the now-defunct Siemens Mobile are all in the mix.

The aforementioned chapters are divided by interviews with various creatives: as the book was written in 2005, these serve more as amusing reading than as insight.

Like with most photo books, the paper quality is insanely high. The entire book is printed on semi-glossy paper, which makes the pictures look lovely. Unfortunately, the text is very unclear and full of grammatical errors…I often read all three (English, German, French) versions of the text in order to grasp its meaning.

In the end, people expecting to learn about making the most of a small ad space will be gravely disappointed with the book. It instead looks at what future technologies like ShockWave and Flash can achieve (or will be able to achieve in the future) compared to classic GIF banners. If you ever wondered why banner designers use flash, like picture books and have 26$ and some time to spare, hit this Amazon link…

Samsung’s i780 has the dubious honor of being the handset with the smallest key/body size ratio. This sounds extremely bad – but what does it mean in everyday use?

Looking at the front side of the device, one can immediately see the forward-facing camera, the multi-state light and the keys. The lamp at the top is a multi-color LED – it indicates wireless and charging status:

When looking at the keys and the 5way in more detail, one can see that the device has a few extra keys (the envelope one at the bottom) and that it lacks a real 5way nav. Both of these will be covered in a later part of the review – in the mean time, it suffices to say that they are there:

The keys themselves are horribly small: typing a longer text on them is an absolute pain compared to devices like Palm’s Treo or BlackBerry:

The back of the device is plain – 2MP camera, speaker and stylus silo:

Pulling the back off allows you to access the battery and the SIM tray:

As usual, the power button and a wrist strap lanyard can be found at the top of the device (Samsung loves these thingies):

A volume rocker can be found on the right side of the device:

The left side is crowded with a key, Samsung’s standard connector and a MicroSD slot. The latter two are covered by two lids…aah, it’s a Samsung after all (:)):

Finally, here’s a shootout showing the devices stylus next to a few others:

In the end, the Samsung i780 is a device without any glaring flaws. It can be used. Period. Unfortunately, development in the QWERTY candybar phone segment is now so far that usability is not enough: other manufacturers have gotten very close to perfection. The rinky-dink keys and the toothpick masqueraded as a stylus are relicts from ancient times…which have absolutely no space on a device being sold in 2008…

Experienced industry watchers see a Samsung i780 and think of the magic four-letter word Treo (usually followed by the number 600, classic IDEO design. As the i780 is a “Treo killer”, we need to look at its size – can it stack up?

Our first contender is a group of business smartphones. When put next to a Treo 680/750/755), one sees that the Samsung device is physically bigger, a lot slimmer and but has smaller keys (bugger):

The Treo 650 is similar in size and has bigger keys. However, it also is a lot thicker:

Next up is the BlackBerry Curve 8300:

Finally, here’s a bunch of shots showing the device next to a Nokia E63:

Our next group consists of a few PDAs, with the huge hp ipaq 3700 being the first:

Apple’s iPod is smaller and quite a bit sleeker:

The rx4240 is smaller in all aspects:

Finally, it’s time to pitch the device against three ordinary phones (Nokia N71,. Nokia N96 and QTek 8500):

Cutting a long story short: the Samsung i780 is not proportioned well. While being one of the bigger handsets in our test, it also gets the unhonourable award of having the smallest keys of the entire batch. But what does that mean in day-to-day use?

Tune in soon – part three is coming up shortly!