The Mobile Phone Thread - Queries, decisions, discussions all here.

[unknown]

pingmepal
Eten M600 is available IN india @ 29k nice pda phone !

[Steeroid]

I bought the Eten in DXB for the equivalent of Rs.27,000 with a free 1GB SD Card.

The screen is a lot better than any other PDA-Phone that I've used so far and its also a lot more responsive than other HTC phones. To test the speed, we got a friend's Jamin logged on to the office wifi network first, then started up Skype on the Jamin, AFTER WHICH I switched on WiFi on the Eten and started Skype. The Eten was online in about 8 seconds while the Jamin was still in the process of starting up Skype (we couldnt even see the application on the screen, just the cursor).

I repeat, Eten rocks. I upgraded to the latest ROM yesterday and wonder of wonders Skype can now be switched between the rear and front speakers - you no longer have to hold the phone in reverse (screen facing outwards) while Skype-ing and this is something HTC havent managed as yet. They're also expected to release yet another ROM version soon with MS AKU (Push Email) support...goodbye Blackberry too!

There are some issues with Bluetooth and WiFi Activesync, though. I'm still trying to figure these out. Meanwhile I'm still making free calls happily on Skype - WiFi connectivity on this one is so good that I really dont miss 3G. With a couple of free War Games applications like WiFiFoFum and/or Hitchhiker its easy to find a network and log on!

@ Satish - screen's good enough to play Monopoly, Scrabble, Battleship, Arkaball (arkanoid clone), and then some more. For more details on games, ask Duboy. I dont read e-books since I spend too much time in front of the PC anyway.

PS: Eten comes with 'Scenarios' the first (?) implementation of Phone "Profiles" (General/Outdoor/Meeting/Indoor etc) on a PocketPC Phoneand a dandy Call-Filter....reach home and put your boss's number of blacklist and it will block all his calls and SMSs !!!!!!

PPS: Voice Command works well on Eten, EVEN OVER BLUETOOTH!

PPPS: Eten comes with GPS Support..you just need to pair with a standard GPS device over bluetooth and Bingo you're on satnav.

[SLK]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Phoneand a dandy Call-Filter....reach home and put your boss's number of blacklist and it will block all his calls and SMSs !!!!!!

How good is the call filter?... Does the caller even gets a single ring through?

I have smartfilter on my O2 mini... it doesn't block SMSs.. but does reject the calls by the time the caller hears half a ring.
BUT it has negative effect.... people ask me.. why did you reject our call.
Then I explain ... I never got a call... b'coz if you heard half a ring... how can I reject a call on a PDA so soon?... (take it out of case etc..etc...)

[khanak]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Finally got hold of an Eten M600, and I'm luvin it! Free calls on Skype thanks to WiFi at home and office - BEAT THAT!

Compared a whole host of Win Mobile 5 devices (except the O2 Atom which is not available here) and decided on the Eten because it had the best speed and seemed a lot more stable than the others. The imate Jamin was probably the next in line in terms of stability, but it didnt have the speed of the M600 or the processing capacity to handle Skype over WiFi.

So far, so good. Will update if there are any issues and post a review sometime - this is my first non-HTC Pocket PC device in recent times and I would really like it if somebody puts one across HTC's bow because they're becoming pricey and very selective in the features offered on their different models. It seems to be their marketing strategy NOT to give everything to the customer at one shot and instead keep releasing 'new' products that are basically the same old products regurgitated with features and hardware that should've been there in the first place.

If this works, I'm betting on Eten.

how much did u get for ur Imate.... Jam right?

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by khanak

how much did u get for ur Imate.... Jam right?

I havent sold it....still to decide what to do with it. And the Motorola A1000 too. Need to get rid of one or both and am yet to make up my mind.

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

I havent sold it....still to decide what to do with it. And the Motorola A1000 too. Need to get rid of one or both and am yet to make up my mind.

A1000 ; tell me when you make up your mind

[unknown]

Steeroid
Can u tell me hows the sound quality from loudspeaker when listening to mp3 & is this true that jamin doesn't have a speakerphone ?

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by unknown

Steeroid
Can u tell me hows the sound quality from loudspeaker when listening to mp3 & is this true that jamin doesn't have a speakerphone ?

I dont listen to mp3s on the loudspeaker - I use stereo bluetooth instead (Iteq Blueband). I dont think its a great idea to listen to MP3s on the loudspeaker of any phone - the sound quality will be awful. The Eten's loudspeaker is just about sufficient to hear what the other person is saying in a telephone conversation - I wouldnt bet on it for any other application.

Jamin has a speakerphone - on the reverse like all other pocketpcs.

[navin]

Steeroid seems like the Eten is better than the Atom. Wish I had waited for your research.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by navin

Steeroid seems like the Eten is better than the Atom. Wish I had waited for your research.

Atom offers 802.11 b & g if I'm not mistaken...Eten gives you 802.11 b.

Atom also gives you the FM Radio which is absent from the Eten - this was not a priority for me anyway.

Atom is also smaller than the Eten (which is quite compact by itself!).

I've seen and used the Atom, but I couldnt get one for a side-by-side comparison here since its not sold in the Middle East.

That said, Eten's OS is much more stable (it has its share of minor bugs) and they are quite prompt in releasing new updates - they have released about 5 ROM updates to the market since they brought out the product, as compared to O2s sluggish response.

BUT - The Eten is at least $150 - $175 cheaper than the Atom or the iMate (depending on where you buy it from).....................you cant beat the device for value for money, performance or stability.

[satish_appasani]

steeroid
How is the sound quality on Eten? I read on www.etuen-users.net that there are lots of troubles with the sound clarity. Either you can't hear clearly or others can't hear you properly....

[Neel]

Had a basic query about WiFi phones?
What is the role of the cellPhone Service provider for WiFi?

I have a wireless router at home, will i be able to access the net using such phone immaterial of the service provider?

[unknown]

I dont think its a great idea to listen to MP3s on the loudspeaker of any phone - the sound quality will be awful.

Hey i've asked bcoz i'm going to choose mp3 as a ringtone so sound quality is more imprtant to me

[devarshi84]

Originally Posted by unknown

Hey i've asked bcoz i'm going to choose mp3 as a ringtone so sound quality is more imprtant to me

Look for a motorola phone with stereo speakers that has haptics feature.
You will love it. some of the phones with stereo speakers and haptics are

1. Motorola e398
2. motorola E680i.

what haptics does is give a vibe kinda effect when bass frequencies are played. This is useful as small speakers are usually not good at playing low frequencies and vibe helps it in sounding more bassy.


played with eten m600 for a day last week. Is a good phone and very capable. The unit I had though creaked. Black looks excellent to me but some of my colleagues said it looks bland. Screen is as bright as a windows smartphone can be. Couldnt check the wi-fi. The closes competitor I had to check with was the hp ipaq 6313. M600 just blazed past.

It's is a good phone to have. Eten is still a growing company and newer models will be even greater. the next in the pipeline from eten is the g500 with gps which is same a m500 but with gps and many issues fixed.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by satish_appasani

steeroid
How is the sound quality on Eten? I read on www.etuen-users.net that there are lots of troubles with the sound clarity. Either you can't hear clearly or others can't hear you properly....

Earlier ROM versions had issues with sound clarity, however Eten has issued a series of ROM upgrades with the latest one being released today (am about to upgrade and find out). I have no issues with sound quality while on phone.

Originally Posted by Neel

Had a basic query about WiFi phones?
What is the role of the cellPhone Service provider for WiFi?

I have a wireless router at home, will i be able to access the net using such phone immaterial of the service provider?

WiFi, GSM and Bluetooth are independent radio networks. While GSM is dependent on Service Provider, WiFi and Bluetooth have nothing to do with your GSM service provider. The Eten M600 also allows simultaneous use of all three devices so you could technically be browsing the internet @ home using WiFi AND listening to MP3s over Bluetooth AND STILL receive a call over your GSM.

To answer your question - yes you can acces the net using the wireless network at home immaterial of your service provider. You can do what I do - use Skype to make calls whenever wireless is available thereby denying your GSM service provider of their inflated revenues.

Originally Posted by unknown

Hey i've asked bcoz i'm going to choose mp3 as a ringtone so sound quality is more imprtant to me

I use mp3s, wav and midi files as ringtones and I have no issues with the sound quality. It could be a bit louder but I use Vibrate AND Ring, so it doesnt really make a difference.

The Eten G500 GPS PocketPC is available in stores - it doesnt come with WiFi, else I may have bought it.