vB Easy Archive - Hands On P800 Review!!

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Hands On P800 Review!!
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Posted by: shill79

I am a graduate student at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Bengalboy (a.k.a. Mark) is a lawyer in Tuscaloosa, so naturally I had to go by and take a look at the P800. Mark and I had been in contact before (in fact I too am also a Bengal cat owner thanks to Mark) so I called him up and went to his office where I got to behold the P800. Mark indicated that I could post a small review if I wanted to. So here goes...

Initial thoughts (Remember these thoughts are based on only about 15-20 minutes of hands-on usage of the P800):

Since Mark's P800 was only a preproduction unit he only had the unit, nylon case that houses it (the case is nothing to get too excited about, it's basically a nylon sack), and a charger and cradle (I didn't see the cradle or charger, but apparently he has them). Mark had yet to receive the computer sync software and had the manual in PDF format.

Size: The P800 is definitely bigger than the t68, but smaller than the T-Mobile PPC Phone. The phone sits well in your hand and is light enough to easily use for extended periods of time (for those of you out there with those tiny phones).

Stylus: The stylus is interesting. It is basically a flat semi-clear plastic stick. It does not fit into a stylus hole (as with Palms and Pocket PC's) but clips onto the side of the phone. There is a small bump (sorry couldn't think of a better word) that holds the stylus in place. I would be concerned that the stylus would be easily lost so I would definitely want get an extra one or two. The stylus tip is very fine (almost like a mechanical pencil) and is easy to use.

RF: Mark mentioned that the P800 has significantly BETTER RF than his t68i. Reception appeared to be quite good and at least comparable to the T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition.

Screen: The screen is absolutely gorgeous! The screen is crisp and appears to show colors quite well. I compared the screen with the screen on my T-Mobile PPC Phone and they appeared quite similar. Photographs looked VERY GOOD on the P800. The photo phonebook is quite impressive. Being able to snap a quick pic of a contact and easily place the photo into phonebook is quite cool and useful. If you'll be moving from a t68 to this phone, you'll be very pleased.

Text Entry: I only used the onscreen keyboard (Very similar to the onscreen keyboard on Pocket PC). Jotter (the onscreen handwriting recognition) is available but I didnt try it. The keyboard is a little small onscreen and requires accurate tapping.

Bluetooth: I wish my Pocket PC Phone Edition had Bluetooth. The P800 does, but I didnt get a chance to use it.

Camera: I'm not too familar with other phone/camera combos (my wife has the SE T300 and MCA-25), but the P800 seems to be a remarkable combination. The camera unit is quite nice and allows alot of flexibility. The camera produces great images up to 640X480. The camera itself is almost worth the investment in the phone on its own. The photo of me for Mark's photo phonebook is attached below.

Internet: Internet access via T-Mobile GPRS appears to be quite GOOD. The speed is remarkable! Even with pages with quite a few images. Definitely faster than the t68 or the PPC phone. Email moves quite fast too. Pages are rendered well and appear to be formatted much more accurately than on Pocket Internet Explorer.

Overall: This in one INCREDIBLE device! I'm still quite fond of my Pocket PC Phone, but the sheer amount of features crammed in such a small phone makes me instantly jealous of P800 owners. Although this is only a pre-production unit, the menu system moved at lightning speed and the software appeared to be pretty flawless. When Symbian software becomes more available, this may well be a killer device. I just hope that they offer other colors for the casing (the light blue is kinda not my style).

That's all I've got. I really didn't have too much time to play with the device so I don't have anything else to say at this time. By the way, I hate to disappoint some of those who seem to have a thing against Bengalboy, but Mark is a VERY nice man.

Posted by: Kadooky

bengalboy u are a good person.

Posted by: mebiuspower

Yea there's a lot of **** in this board.

Moderator Note: Ahh, cool it. Now play nicely.

Posted by: DJ Teknosys

Quote:

Originally posted by mebiuspower
Yea there's a lot of homo in this board.

Wow...the flames come quick

Posted by: cmc0

is that picture you posted of you or bengalboy?

Posted by: shill79

That's me... But I think there's a pic of Bengal on the boards here somewhere....

Posted by: [MDS]

he is indeed a nice person....

Posted by: alpha tag

ooo good rf? now i wonder how it sounds?

Posted by: Goldskin

did you get the command-line running? always good fun on Symbian devices.

also... the flex/"creak" test!

Posted by: shill79

I can comment a bit generally about the "creak/flex". There might be a bit of room for concern there. The battery seemed to be a bit loose (I had a similar problem with my R520m). The phone itself was overally pretty solid, but I don't know about the quality of the casing over the long run. We'll just have to see if this becomes an issue.

Posted by: arivee

Lemme say it again, thanks man.

That review was water for the thirsty...and its not from some hack, paid to hype up a storm.

So holding it, using it - would you buy one to replace a both PDA and a phone?

Posted by: JakiChan

Does anyone know much about the sync software? Is it just for PC?

Given what I've seen so far, one thing that would be REALLY cool is if Apple provides similar sync option for the P800 via BT. Being able to use the phone with Jaguar's AddressBook, iCal, and other pieces of software would be sweet. (Having Apple support for PPCs would be nice too. Also, having iSync talk to Entourage would be nice. But I digress...)

Posted by: helzbane

Finally.... a glimpse into the P800.....

been waiting so long for this....great job shill79..... thanks Mark!!! Glad the info came out past all the flames.....

Posted by: shill79

To Arivee: There's no question that I would jump at the P800 to replace separate PDA and phone unit. After moving from a Palm m515/t68m combination to the Pocket PC Phone Edition, I can't see myself going back. Will I get the P800 to replace my T-Mobile PPC PE? I'm not sure. I'm very pleased with my current phone. If I was coming from a separate PDA/Phone set-up right now, I would jump on the P800 for sure.

Posted by: MrSavoy

Shill, thanks for the nice review. Glad to see you liked it. I am sure Mark is having a blast with his.

Posted by: DJ Teknosys

Quote:

Originally posted by MrSavoy
Shill, thanks for the nice review. Glad to see you liked it. I am sure Mark is having a blast with his.

Yeah, he's having so much fun with it, he's selling it! http://www.howardforums.com/showthr...&threadid=69898

Posted by: MrSavoy

I really don't see why he would sell it so fast. That probably means one of two things. 1. He can get another 1 for much less and wants to recoup some money on this one before its too late. Or 2. he isn't that impressed with the phone and doesn't feel it's worth what he paid. Could be?

Posted by: shill79

Mr. Savoy - I would think it's probably the first "wants to recoup $"

I'm pretty sure he's impressed with the phone, I know I was...

Posted by: jchris3201

Or simply - The thrill is gone and it's time to free up the capital to get the next gadget.

Posted by: breezyjr

If it's anything like the "triband V70" he's just testing the market. His reserve is probably VERY high. but wants to see how much people are willing to pay.
But, if someone happens to meet the reserve he'll sell. Although, I'll bet he'll kick himself for awhile......

later,
breezyjr