[General Topics] Menneisyys:
After my thorough and, for example, PPCT frontpaged elaboration on the current i-mate lineup, let me speak about my experiences with the new, highly anticipated models either announced or showcased at MWC (or just recently released): the Samsung SGH-i780, the HP iPAQ 21x, the new Toshiba models, the E-Ten V900, The Gigabyte MS808 etc. (And, I’ll quickly mention the T-Mobile-only (!), high-end, VGA MDA Compact IV too.)

Samsung SGH-i780

First, I REALLY recommend Mobile-Review’s two-part review of this VERY nice device. In here, I generally don’t repeat what has already been explained there (except for a quick summary); I only elaborate on what I don’t agree with in the review and deem it necessary to add.

This is a pretty promising and high-spec’ed, still, very light (120g – somewhat more than the 112g, original [and, capability-wise, much-much inferior] HTC Touch, the same as the Nokia N95 and the T-Mobile MDA Touch Plus (HTC Nike 200); somewhat less than the HTC Touch Cruise P3650 (HTC Polaris 100) and MUCH less than the Kaiser) Pocket PC with a BlackBerry-alike thumbboard, a square 320*320 (yes, you've read it right: NOT those awful, incompatible-with-most-titles 240*240 screens!) screen, the latest-and-(almost the) greatest Marvel Xscale PXA310 CPU (as opposed to the old Intel Xscale PXA270 series still used in most current and forthcoming, Xscale-based devices – see for example the i-mate 6150 / 8150) and an optical touchpad (as opposed to traditional D-pads).

(From top left to right: the HTC Universal (i-mate JasJar), HTC s310 / Oxygen (SPV C100), the SGH-i780 (from bottom left to right): T-Mobile Shadow (HTC Kii 100), Samsung SGH-i640, BlackBerry 8800 and Nokia N95)

(From left to right: the HTC Universal (i-mate JasJar) with an extended battery, HTC s310 / Oxygen (SPV C100), T-Mobile Shadow, Samsung SGH-i640, BlackBerry 8800, Nokia N95 and the the SGH-i780)

(The same as before at the bottom; on the top, the new Benq, the HP iPAQ 610 (more on it later) and the HTC s730)

I've played a lot with the latter (the touchpad) at Barcelona and, frankly, didn’t quite like it. Of course, I need to admit I’ve already been spoiled by the touchpad of the HP iPAQ hx4700, which I hated. Frankly, I’ve found the “optical touchpad” of the Samsung a bit worse:

it’s definitely smaller than that of the iPAQ. It should have been made much bigger, even on the expense of the neighboring, huge buttons.

I’ve found it harder to operate. With the hx4700, you can both just touch the touchpad and press it hard: both will work. With the Samsung, only light touching works.

The fact that, unlike with the iPAQ, it can be pressed down (“Action”), is a plus, however, when compared to the hx4700.

All in all, if I REALLY need to use something being able to position quicker, I would still prefer to see something like the trackball in recent BlackBerry models (everything newer than the 8700). It has its own problems (for example, it needs to be cleaned now and then – fortunately, it’s comparatively easy on the BlackBerry), but is a FAR faster, FAR more precise and FAR more gaming / e-book reading-friendly pointing method than such a small touchpad. I know this as I’m also a BlackBerry 8800 user (as has also been mentioned HERE). Windows Mobile manufacturers, are you listening? It’s better to forget this touchpad thing altogether (again, remember the hx4700’s fate!) and use trackballs instead.

I didn’t have the chance to run third-party, non-320*320-aware native (NON-Java MIDlet) games on the handset. The Mobile-Review state most third-party games have major flaws, which is what I expected, based on the WVGA Toshiba G900 game compatibility reports in the dedicated XDA-Devs thread (see for example THIS, THIS and, most importantly, THIS). I think, on the other hand, Java MIDlet-based games capable of auto-resizing themselves (there’re several of them; see my MIDlet Bible) will run without problems. Of course, controlling them will be another issue – as long as the numeric buttons don’t work on the keyboard (haven’t tested this myself), don’t expect miracles as the optical joystick is just not suited for gaming. Just like on the hx4700, of course.

Note that, as is also reported in THIS XDA-Devs thread, there may be other issues as well – not only with games or full-screen apps.

Other, related threads of interest:

HoFo

MoDaCo

PPCT – in this thread, I mostly elaborate on my opinions on the touchpad.

GPS

Unfortunately, being situated in a hotel, I couldn’t test the GPS performance. It’s based on the Qualcomm MSM6260 gpsOne chipset, which is, according to for example THIS article, is somewhat newer than the MSM6275 gpsOne chipset used in, for example, the HTC Trinity / P3600. Still, I’m not entirely sure it has comparable sensitivity to the (newer) Qualcomm MSM7200/7500 gpsOne GPS used in, say, the HTC Kaiser / AT&T Tilt, which, in turn, is still a bit weaker than the currently best consumer chipset, the SiRFstar III. The Mobile-Review article states they haven’t really been able to make it work and/or had very long wake-up times – which is pretty much similar to the not very good GPS real-world performance of the Trinity. Other folks, on the other hand, have reported success with Google Maps / iGo / TomTom 6.030 in different user forums.

Battery life

The device, as with most other Samsung models, comes with a spare battery; based on this, the specs, Samsungs’ past battery life and the 1000 (that is, very-very weak – yes, you have to pay for the device’s only weighing 120 grams, while still having excellent specs) mAh battery, you will most probably have pretty bad battery life – I haven’t managed to test this myself either. Also see for example THIS for more info on this.

There’re some additional videos HERE.

Toshiba

(the G910 compared to a HTC Universal)