[General Topics] Menneisyys:
The new VGA Windows Mobile Pocket PC’s have resulted in a lot of speculations in the Windows Mobile world, particularly among users already having a previous-generation high-end unit like the HTC Universal, the Dell Axim x51v or (as far as even older models are concerned) the HP iPAQ hx4700 (which has recently received a really usable, WM5 AKU 3.5 upgrade, finally making the unit excel under WM5).

I, an owner of no less than four VGA devices of the WM2003SE and WM5 age (Fujitsu-Siemens Pocket Loox 720 running WM2003SE, HTC Universal running WM6 (thanks to the XDA-Dev hackers), HP iPAQ hx4700 running WM5 AKU 3.5 (again, another thanks to XDA-Dev hackers) and the Dell Axim x51v running WM5 AKU2.2 (but, thanks to several hackers, upgradable to AKU 3.5)), actively following the new (and announced) devices out there.

There are several of them. Here, I don’t provide you with the exact specification of each unit; I highly recommend THIS chart if you’re interested. Alternatively, you can find the “All VGA devices” of PDAdb.net HERE – it’s also a good read.

Note that it’s (version 6) the current version as of 07/24/2007. By the time you read it, there may have been new versions of the chart out. They will surely be linked from the top of the chart.

Also note that it doesn’t list the physical dimensions / weight of the devices. They are as follows:

I would like something that unites the advantages of all the above-mentioned units and, preferably, is tolerably fast (624 MHz XScale if possible) has a huge built-in storage and adds for example GPS, FM radio. The preferred functionality includes USB host, a high-quality screen (NOT the one found in the Dell Axim x51v, which is pretty much useless in Landscape mode, as opposed to the other three VGA models), a decent (!) camera (may be even better than that of the HTC Vox / s710) and 3D accelerator support.

In addition - now that Toshiba have fixed the bugs causing huge problems when trying to resume the device from suspended state - to the Toshiba G900, which seems to be pretty promising (apart from the smaller and, in sunlight, pretty much useless screen and the slower CPU) and the HTC Omni, which we still don’t know almost anything about (except for the info HERE), I’ve been paying special attention to the O2 XDA Flame, mostly because it’s having a GoForce 3D accelerator chip and doesn’t have a thummbboard. (As opposed to MS Smartphones, where they’re a must, I, in general, don’t like the Pocket PC thumbboards much and, generally, find on-screen keyboards as usable and fast as them. There are only few exceptions; for example, the Universal, which does have a decent thumbboard.) I’m not really interested in the HTC Advantage / Athena / x7500, which I find too big, too expensive and not very feature-packed for my needs (no 3D acceleration or really decent front-page buttons / controls (which also plagued the HTC Universal), for example).

This is why I’ve paid special attention to users reporting on the O2 XDA Flame. In this write-up, I collect what the Flame users have reported on the device so far. To cut a long story short, I don’t think I’ll order it (instead, I keep waiting for the HTC Omni, hopefully it’ll be something worth paying on) – read on to find out why. Hope the forthcoming WM6 upgrade (if and when it gets released) fixes these problems. If and only if it is indeed released, I may reconsider my opinions.

Note that the following list is “only” based on users’ reports, NOT my experience. This also means I can’t really comment on the screen quality, particularly in Landscape. Should the device have the same quality Sony screen as the HTC Universal, the PL720 and the hx4700 (and be compatible with all the 3D accelerated titles), I’d get it in no time. This is because I’m pretty much unable to play 3D games on my Dell Axim x51v because of the very bad polarization issues of its, sorry Dell Axim fans, sub-par screen. The Sony screen used in several previous-generation VGA devices, on the other hand, doesn’t have Landscape polarization issues and don’t cause any kind of a headache.

Pros

USB host works GREAT! It has been tested with many external hard disks (they need to be externally powered, of course – the Flame, as with all other Windows Mobile PDA’s, can’t power 2.5” HDD’s, let alone 3.5” ones), USB keys, USB keyboards etc. In this respect, it’s pretty much the same as the Pocket Loox 720’s (excellent) USB host support.

its screen is WAY better than that of the Toshi G900 (another very tempting, current VGA PPC phone) outdoors, particularly in sunlight

Huge (2G), flash-based (as opposed to the Microdrive in the HTC Advantage) ROM, of which about 1845 Mbytes is free

128M RAM, which is a god-send on a WM5+ device (even more than on models with previous operating systems), even if you take into account the 32-process limit of the operating system (which, unfortunately, still remained in WM6)

No thumbboard (of course, considering this an advantage or a disadvantage also depends on your specific needs), which results in being (while still somewhat “fatter” than both the HTC Advantage and the forthcoming HTC Omni) much leaner than, say, the HTC Universal or the HTC Wizard / TyTN (Hermes).