Pocket PC Windows Mobil 5.8 vs A1200

[bjablonka]

Has anyone else switched from a WM 5 to the Linux OS of the A1200? Which one do you prefer?

Thanks

Bernd

[h0n33y]

wm 5.....

reason:
MORE AND MORE APPS

[bjablonka]

I agree - I like the looks of the A1200 but the software is just not on the same level as WM 5. Also, there are still too many problems with the phone. I think I will put it back on Ebay - what a shame after using it for only a couple of days.

[mondo]

Well, I thought this in a previous review...

Ok, you asked for it. Choosing a mobile device should be based on what you need it for. I’m a business user, a senior IT manager. I’ve had an i-Mate Jam, an i-Mate K-Jam and before that Palm devices. Now I own a Motorola Ming. Is it better than say the K-Jam or the JAMin? I’ll explain and compare the K-Jam at the same time.

Design: Ming wins. What can you say, a see through screen which you can run a number of functions on without having to open it. Silence calls coming in, read and reply (with pre-set messages) to text messages similarly. Elegant user interface, minimalist design. People get excited about it. The flip part protects the touch screen. The phone speaker produces excellent voice quality (even adding a bit of bass to the speakers voice which is no bad thing).

Form Factor: A win to Ming. Its smaller, slimmer, lighter. The K-Jam is big, end of story. It doesn’t sit comfortably in the pocket and if you want to protect that screen – you need to use the case – and then it’s even bigger. The JAMin is better – although without the keyboard. Still the same length and width as the K-Jam but not as thick. Ming wins either way – a better pocket fit. It’s discrete.

Operating systems: A draw. i-Mate devices are windows mobile 5 based and that has it’s advantages and disadvantages. It’s slow, it doesn’t close applications properly. It jams/freezes inexplicably. At the end of the day the K-Jam is a small PC and needs to be “managed” as such. Soft-resets become normal for some reason. Not turning on and having to soft reset can become a way of life. WME 5 produces slow performance compared to Linux. But the WME 5 applications - Excel, Word, powerpoint viewer are great IF you use them. The ability to rotate the screen is nice if you are a serious mobile user to want to use it for Office type apps. And if you are you should use a notebook/laptop anyway. I have wi-fi at home and really the user experience surfing the web with these devices is not something you want to do all the time. It’s usually slow and the screen needs formatting to the content. The Ming has a viewer which is adequate for viewing but you can’t edit. Activesync is a beautiful thing. Ming’s Phone Tools – they’re Ok to sync with Outlook but there are problems (duplicating recurring appointments and it’s slow).

Applications: K-Jam wins. Apps are richer in the Microsoft world – Linux apps are few and far between in quality business apps. You may care about that BUT you may not even use them whether you are a K-Jam user or a Ming user. The Ming is faster to run, is a true phone which has never failed to work (unlike the K-Jam – how many calls do you lose when the thing hangs or has to be reset?) With Microsoft comes the complexity of trying to be too many things to too many people. It becomes complex to manage – diary add-ins, apps which can interfere with others, multi-tasking etc. MSN is totally in Chinese, not that helpful to me.

Gaming: K-Jam wins. More games, more game writers. If you’re a business user you should typically not use them much but they are nice to have when there is a spare moment. I’ve found the J2ME space a bit empty of games for the non-keyboard based Ming, having said that the ones I’ve found that do run with the touch-screen work well and I’m pleased with them. The K-Jam screen is bigger and has more buttons to use. Of course it’s big with that as well.

Other functions: Ming wins. Ming has an FM radio which works well. The business card scanner (the camera in Macro mode with OCR software) is quite impressive. MP3’s play fine if you really want to listen to something. K-Jam screen rotates and has a slide out keyboard. While I like the keyboard in reality I never used it much. Texting on the Ming requires the soft-keyboard or handwriting recognition. Not much difference really to the K-Jam. Voice commands work Ok on the Ming. It doesn’t seem to “hear” my pronunciation too well all the time, but what it can do is quite impressive. Overall the Ming is a package with a bit of variety. Both K-Jam and Ming charge via the USB cable – so while you sync you can charge the phone as well. The trans-flash card is tucked away under the battery – do if you carry more cards around with MP3’s on this probably won’t suit you. Perhaps get an iPod. Bluetooth? Works fine with a Supertooth II.

Using the Ming: I’ve adapted to it pretty quickly from the K-Jam. The reliability of the phone and speed/performance is a dream and as you know us business users like that sort of thing. Navigation is logical. Screen is bright and clear. Not so good in direct sunlight compared to the K-Jam. Certainly very fashionable.

3G? Nope. My personal opinion is for a business user there are totally no current compelling reasons for the content, applications and performance offered for it or for the price. Sorry everyone. I never need to “video phone” business colleagues. We use video conferencing facilities, we don’t need to squeeze around a weenie camera. Web performance – might help, but the user experience is compromised by the screen anyway. Keep searching for the killer app you 3G folk – I’d suggest a couple of years for you yet. Not to write it off though, younger folk find the video on demand and video phone cool. Aren’t those 3G phones big at the moment? Quite like the Samsung SGH-Z510 – finally got it a 3G phone down to a decent size. Useful for some perhaps. I’m happy with the capability provided by GPRS for the moment. Ask me again in a year or two.

Problems? Sure there are. All devices have something wrong somewhere. The syncing with Outlook and recurring appointments is one. The battery life is a problem – it always says it’s 100% except when it’s charging and then it tells you the truth. Fixes are definitely required for these things. Good thing it comes with two batteries (and two stylus’s for that matter). Finger prints on the screen? Yep, I get over it by wiping it on my shirt occasionally, it’s tough I know but I’m over it. I’d chose these issues over having to baby-sit the K-Jam all the time. Ok, I’m a bit of a power user and probably push these devices a bit.

Closing thoughts. Is there a right choice here? As I said it depends on what you want from a device. As a business user the priorities for me are 1) reliability of it’s core function – mobile communications – rock solid phone operation. 2) form factor – big doesn’t do it for me. Ming is not tiny, but being Mototola Razr sized but thicker is fine by me. Unlike the K-Jam, I don’t leave the Ming on the desk. 3) Applications which are useful – marginal with the Ming but meets the bar in terms of enough to get by – haven’t found myself wanting more but possibly concerned about Linux based apps being around to do it. At the end of the day I’m happy and the K-Jam is going south. The i-Mate JAMin would be a close second but for that platform stability…

[dicin]

Mondo,

That was a nice preview. I also have had the SP3i, SP5m, JAM and the P900. They are all good phones however the size size size. The A1200 works great, it is stable and comfortable.

[mondo]

Mondo,

That was a nice preview. I also have had the SP3i, SP5m, JAM and the P900. They are all good phones however the size size size. The A1200 works great, it is stable and comfortable.

Dicin

Thanks. Yep, the stability is a wonderful thing. Being my first Motorola phone and first linux phone it's not too bad so far.

[bjablonka]

Thank you for your great review, I fully agree for the most part. You are correct, it depends what the needs for the users are. What I am missing on the A1200 are outside lights which inform you that you have messages and a good notepad program which allows you to do handwritten notes without having to go through the OCR program. I also have not found some decent games for the long hours in the air. Other than that it is a great phone.