2008-12-04 10:40:12

Hi all.

I got my new HTC S740 yesterday, and wow, what an awesome phone! It have 256 internal memory, 256 mb ram and a cpu on 528 mhz. Mobile speak runs pretty fast on it, and it's the quickest smartphone I ever have seen. It have an internal gps, fm radio, mp3 player, a nice accessible rss reader, Google maps and many other cool features. Oh, I forgot to describe the phone. It have a normal pretty big numpad keyboard on the front, and it's zised like a normal mobile phone. It's not like a PDA with a qwerty keyboard. The cool thing with this phone is that you can slide the whole front to the right, and there you have a fully qwerty keyboard. How cool is that? I really love that phone. It's awesome. Damn it's awesome.
I don't know if you can get this phone in the US, but if it's possible, I highly recommend you to visit a phone shop, and check this phone out! You'll be amazed!
If you want more speks on this phone, just let me know. I look forward to try a demo of Mobile geo, configure the rss reader so I can log on to my wireless router at the morning before I take away, download the news and read them on the go, and I especially look forward to browse the web with this fast responce.

The reason for I didn't wrote HTC S 740 in the subject is because I also want to hear your experiences with your smartphones. There are many kind of smartphones I can't get here in Denmark, but I want to know more about the different smartphones and PDA's. What are your experiences, what do you recommend and what do you find cool?

Best regards SLJ.
Feel free to contact me privately if you have something in mind. If you do so, then please send me a mail instead of using the private message on the forum, since I don't check those very often.
Facebook: https://facebook.com/sorenjensen1988
Twitter: https://twitter.com/soerenjensen

2008-12-04 12:15:35

For one reason or another, I don't want to have any type of the much-feared Windows operating system running on my mobile devices. I really don't know why, it just doesn't sound okay to me.
That's one of the reasons why I choose for those phones that are certainly available in your region SLJ, the Scandinavian ones. I love S60 3rd Edition!
I want a feature-packed phone, so I got the Nokia N82 Black. With 128 MB of RAM, 130 MB of internal memory, a 2 GB MicroSD-card in the phone already, and a powerful 333 MHz dual CPU, it just does what it needs to do. Nuance TALKS&ZOOMS Premium runs on it like a jewel!
There are just two concerns that I have about this phone, and it's possible successors...
First of all, recent phones and firmware versions are no longer hackable. This means that you can't install unsigned applications, which basically keeps you from using many cool toys.
Secondly, Symbian S60 5th Edition includes touchscreen support. And I really hope this feature won't ruin the whole operating system for us, blind users.
But apart from that, I love my N82, and I've never seen a phone beating it. Yes, I'll stay with Nokia as long as possible!

2008-12-04 13:05:31

That first phone described does indeed sound impressive. Myself I've just got an E65, it has a smart appearance (important if I ever find work) and does what I require of it.

That issue about not being able to install unsigned software sounds worrying, especially since Talks wasn't across the board signed last I checked. I think it might have been the synth installs that weren't signed I don't recall. If anything like that restricts development of the access software I'm realy going to scream.

cx2
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To live by honour and to honour life, these are our greatest strengths and our best hopes.

2008-12-04 13:07:00

I have a nokia 6120 and it also works nicely. I got it for an exchange. Me and my dad exchanged our phones, So instead of my n70 now I have the 6120. talks works wonderfully, Etc. the only drawback is that the screen saver kicks in after 90 seconds And It can't be increased, there fore if I'll be having a gps on it which I'll do on christmas I'll probably keep hearing "screen saver." it already is crazy in the music player, But I can mute talks there. I won't mute talks in a gps program like loadstone though.

<Insert passage from "The Book Of Chrome" here>

2008-12-04 15:45:22

Have you ever tried any smartphones running Mobile Speak? Yeah. The newer Nokia phones are great, but I find the smartphones better. The new Windows Mobile 6.1 have a lot of great features.
The smartphone version of Mobile speak have a lot of more features than the Symbian phones.
If you want a phone with many features, I highly recommend a smartphone. Check it out. Touch the phones in a shop, read about the features and read some reviews. Then you'll see what I mean.
I'm not saying that Nokia phones are bad, but personly I think the smartphones are better. But smartphones are only for advanced users who want more than just a phone.

Best regards SLJ.
Feel free to contact me privately if you have something in mind. If you do so, then please send me a mail instead of using the private message on the forum, since I don't check those very often.
Facebook: https://facebook.com/sorenjensen1988
Twitter: https://twitter.com/soerenjensen

2008-12-04 16:59:17

Well, I see no need for a windows based phone since, well, I'm waiting for a pacmate omni which also runs wm. but, I do have a pocket PC. it is cool indeed, if only I could get my bloototh keyboard to work with mobile speak... it doesn't work, it's an hp bluetooth keyboard. It connects fine. it just refuses to navigate, type etc.

<Insert passage from "The Book Of Chrome" here>

2008-12-04 17:23:42

I would advise people consider a netbook over a Pac Mate. My Triple E 901 from Asus is a lot more useful than my Pac Mate, far less expensive and even actually smaller.

As to the phones, I find symbion adequate for my phone. If I want more I bring my netbook along. I might have considered a full pocket PC with phone built in, but I got the impression those lacked much battery life.

cx2
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To live by honour and to honour life, these are our greatest strengths and our best hopes.

2008-12-04 23:19:21

everything about these smart phones and other portible things are very cool, except for the price

Connor

2008-12-05 01:01:32

I have to agree with you Connor. Cx, along as your netbook does what you need. When I got my PM, they didn't have any kind of netbook out. at least not with my requirements. then again, that was in 2003.  I kind of like having my display and unit of choice connected together in away that doesn't require any cables, like a ship in a dock. The PM and the netbook is aimed at two different markets. SLJ, along as a phone does what all phones do and does it well, that is placing calls, then that's just fine with me. Of corse the caller ID is quite nice on my n6620. I'm not really looking for a PDA/phone mix, although, I would use one if someone else will pay the monthly bill for me no matter the price. If that was the case, I would try out any feature I could, like web browsing, downloading large files, and or anything else, sort-of.

All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king.
DropBox Referral

2008-12-05 12:39:35

I don't want a pacmate when I can buy a much cheeper smartphone which have more features and runs more stable. why have a pacmate and a phone when you can get all the features in one device?
Yeah. You can use a bluetooth keyboard with ms. I haven't tried it, but I know a lot of people who are using it.
As for the price, I don't know what a smartphone custs in dollars. But check out the price for the HTC S 740. It's not expensive here in denmark. It's cheeper than the Nokia phones.

I don't need a pacmate or any other kind of notetakers when I can get all the features in one device for a much cheeper price...

Oh by the way, regarding the battery life on my new HTC S 740. Yesterday, I was on my wireless network for more than 10 hours, and the battery is currently on 20%. I was surfing and doing a lot of other things on my phone. So I'll say the battery life is really great.

Best regards SLJ.
Feel free to contact me privately if you have something in mind. If you do so, then please send me a mail instead of using the private message on the forum, since I don't check those very often.
Facebook: https://facebook.com/sorenjensen1988
Twitter: https://twitter.com/soerenjensen

2008-12-05 13:26:17

Actually, the S60 phones are classified as smartphones. And sure enough, they are smartphones. They can do almost anything that a Windows Mobile phone could do.
Also, I do run Mobile Speak on my N82. I've got both installed, and they are about equal in speed. You really don't feel much difference. And it's pretty cool to just connect your braille display, an Optelec ALVA BC640, to your smartphone and have fun with it.
And about those TALKS speech synthesizers... You can install them, when you change your installation restrictions, it's not a matter of being unsigned. You can find more about this on the TALKS website.
Oh, and now that I'm rambling anyway... In many GPS-programs, you can disable the phone's screensaver.

2008-12-05 14:29:51

10 hours is quite good for a phone. When I got the PM I didn't have a phone, and I really don't how good talks and other screen reader was then. can't think what it was called. Do you have access to office mobile on the HTC S 740? One of the things I like to do on the road at times is finishing a paper or something. I'm going to have to check that phone out. my two year contract is up on my phone. Going to have to take a look at the net book too. maybe my laptop will just fall off the table.

All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king.
DropBox Referral

2008-12-06 08:20:21

After several exciting but short experiences with some new small PDA-type devices (pacmate, dell axim, pimped out nokia n91) I've decided that my laptop fulfills my portable technological needs just fine (that is it did until it recently started refusing to charge the battery). Right now I don't go far off of my tiny college campus os I can get away with not using my phone much. I have a Pantech Duo (C810 for those non-at&t) which runs windows mobile 6.0. It runs nice, though the interface could definitely use some polish - I still haven't figured out where the alarm clock is (google search after google search only tells me that the settings for the clock are deeply buried within the settings screen but neglecting to tell me precisely where they are) but it's a damn sight better than my n91 which ran off a harddrive and thus took quite a while to get anything done.  A data plan is too expensive for me, but I must say I do get a jealous twang when I think about how I could be using my device to read news on the go or any other kind of productive activity young upwardly-mobile people are supposed to engage in during their wasted hour on the train... but there's no train, and my campus is covered with a wireless connection, plus I'm fine just the way I am. Damn commercials... I never was good at making smart buying decisions with electronics (or anything else I'm interested in) unless they're prohibitively expensive.

James

2008-12-06 20:55:33

yeah! i have an old nokia N70. but it is enough for me. i don't use it only for reading the messages and navigating on the web.

“Get busy living or get busy dying.”
Stephen King

2008-12-07 00:01:11

Regarding signing, I'm not stupid thanks. I had to do that on my E65, but someone was saying some phones do not allow this.

Regarding netbooks and the PM, I know netbooks are a recent thing. I have a PM myself but plant o get rid of it now I have my netbook. If you have to pay for devices yourself then something like $400 I believe in the US is a lot better than the cost of a Pac Mate, plus you can use your preferred screen reader on it since it runs full windows XP along with full office not that pocket thing, and any other software you need. You also get noticably more space built in, and can still match the PM with use of CF cards if you use an SD card in the provided slot. Coupled with integrated wi fi and bluetooth I would recommend it for anyone who has to buy their own gear and is looking for a less expensive alternative to a notetaker, but wants as much felxibility as possible. You can even buy a version with a hard drive and completely blow away any notetaker out there in terms of space with a 120gb drive, though I preferred the ruggedness of the solid state drive myself. Braille displays might be a minor nuisance, but I can live fine without one in general. Even if I had one I would be quite happy to carry one separately for the differendce in functionality. Then again different people want different things.

It just feels to me like a rip off buying a PM for

cx2
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To live by honour and to honour life, these are our greatest strengths and our best hopes.

2008-12-07 17:49:30 (edited by pitermach 2008-12-07 17:51:17)

my laptop is a little bigger since it has a bigger display and the numeric keypad and careing it to scool on daily bases is faar to unconfortable. Plus, the pacmate has a little better battery life. and I can't cary my 40-cell display with me to scool, I'm a little used to it and pacmate has the display of the same size and is smaller. my mum already frequently caries her laptop so I can't take mine every day. it's just not for me as far as taking it to scool is consurmed. I take it with me as much as I can but "much" is not everyday. that's why I got a pacmate. plus, there's no way on turning back. It's a matter of waiting for it to arrive. and, actually I don't have any desktops in my house. yes, no desktop computers. And 3 people use my mum's laptop. my friend, my sister and my mum. my sister is waiting for a laptop her self now as well, and I use mine daily, for playing games, writing, browsing the web etc, while Ill use my pacmate when I'm at scool, or at home when I got a problem, which happens sometimes.
edit: If you're wondering, me and my mum are going to my scool together since, I'm learning there and my mum teaches religion.

<Insert passage from "The Book Of Chrome" here>

2008-12-08 10:42:05

Yeah. The HTC phones have preinstalled Office Mobile. It works very well.
I've never heard about a Pantech Duo phone. is it a PDA or is it a smartphone? And what does it looks like? Could you give me some more informations about it?
Regarding the battery life, I'll try to fully charge my phone and only use it for sms and calls until the battery runs out and see how many days it runs before it needs to be charged again.

Best regards SLJ.
Feel free to contact me privately if you have something in mind. If you do so, then please send me a mail instead of using the private message on the forum, since I don't check those very often.
Facebook: https://facebook.com/sorenjensen1988
Twitter: https://twitter.com/soerenjensen

2008-12-09 01:35:12

Hmmm. thought WM6 standard didn't have office mobile unless they included in 6.1 standard. I have to take a closer look at the HTC phones. the one listed here looks like it wouldn't work on atnt, wich is the network i'm on.

All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king.
DropBox Referral

2008-12-09 09:59:00 (edited by SLJ 2008-12-09 10:09:19)

My older HTC s 710 which runs Windows Mobile 6.0 standard does also have Office Mobile.
I'll check if the HTC phones supports the ATNT network.

I've found the specifikations on the phone. I don't think it supports the ATNT network. You can check out the speks at the following link:
http://www.htc.com/www/product/s740/specification.html
I don't know if you can get a special version in your country which supports the ATNT network.

Best regards SLJ.
Feel free to contact me privately if you have something in mind. If you do so, then please send me a mail instead of using the private message on the forum, since I don't check those very often.
Facebook: https://facebook.com/sorenjensen1988
Twitter: https://twitter.com/soerenjensen

2008-12-09 18:37:10

Pitermach:
The pac mate braille displays can actually be used with any PC that has a free USB port and runs Jaws. If I was going to buy a display I would seriously consider one of the PM ones, even if I didn't plan to use it with an actual PM.

As to smartphones, having wi fi on your phone is fun hee.

cx2
-----
To live by honour and to honour life, these are our greatest strengths and our best hopes.

2008-12-11 10:17:07

Hi all.

Yesterday, I tried the demo version of Mobile Geo. I haven't tried other gps programs like Wayfinder, so i don't know what software is best. But I'm amazed how many good informations it gives. It reads all the streets and all other things I passed by.
The software is pretty advanced. It took me a while to find out how the most basic things works, but I'm sure it's because it's the first time I ever have tried any gps software. The program have an awesome feature, where you can explore your currently distination virtually by navigating on the map with the arrow keys. I didn't had enough time to check out how it works yesterday, but I look forward to find out how it works. I'll give you some more information when I get more used to the program if you want to.

I have heard a lot of reviews of the different gps devices there are made for blind and visual impaired, but I've never heard about any software which has so many features than Mobile geo. I searched for a review of Wayfinder access yesterday, but I couldn't find it. There is a review of Wayfinder on BlindCoolTech, but the file is removed for some reason. I want to hear a demonstration of Wayfinder Access so I can compaire these two products.

Best regards SLJ.
Feel free to contact me privately if you have something in mind. If you do so, then please send me a mail instead of using the private message on the forum, since I don't check those very often.
Facebook: https://facebook.com/sorenjensen1988
Twitter: https://twitter.com/soerenjensen

2008-12-13 07:06:53

The pantech duo is a small smartphone with a slideout numpad and keyboard (one is layered on top of the othe other). Battery life is shorter toan my nokia (a couple of days at least) but like I said it works a lot better than my last one.

The PM display also works on the mac (with Leopard), but the cells and routing buttons are of poor quality. As long as you're not carrying it around you should be fine.

James