Mr_Gadget
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Posts: 2711
Location: Where else but Melbourne?
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| 26 Mar 2008 2:44 PM |
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Yesterday closed another chapter in my gadget adventures.
The iMate JasJam has been replaced by a new iMate Ultimate 8502. I've done a whole write up on my website but here's a summary:
First Impressions:
Likes
- Clear sharp screen
- Thinness and lightness (compared to my Jasjam)
- Performance is responsive
- Little Joystick
- Tiny QWERTY keyboard is actually decent to use
- No crashes yet
- Not-cheap looking holster case
- Secure stylus that doesn’t slip out easily
- Side volume control buttons
Dislikes
- No GPS software packaged in
- Can’t find the reset hole
- Default Voice Dialling software is so eighties
- Want an extra button so I can assign Microsoft Voice Command to it
- Camera quality (need to take more photos)
Read about it in full here.
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Arnold Aranez
Mr.Gadget - Australia
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mtb
Mean and Nasty Site Admin
Posts: 6075
Location: In Ubuntu laptop heaven, running Wine... with not an M$ distro. in sight.
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| 26 Mar 2008 3:29 PM |
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Ah, the new toy... Good luck with it Arnold, I hope it lives up to your expectations.
Still wouldn't persuade me though - the days of Windows Mobile in my household are long gone, never to return; actually Microsoft as a whole is disappearing from my home - Google + Ubuntu/Linux + OpenOffice does about 90% of it all now. |
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Mike
Look here for my articles and hardware & software that I recommend.
The Doomsday Clock - It's five minutes to midnight - think about it... do something about it!
Psion II CM -> Psion II XP -> Psion II LZ -> Psion 3 -> Psion 5 -> O2 Xda II -> O2 Xda IIi -> Psion 5 -> O2 Xda II + Nokia 3310 -> Dell Inspiron 9400 running Ubuntu + Nokia 6234 (no more Windows Mobile for me!)
My new device is Linux based and it doesn't include a camera, a phone or an MS operating system! Oh, and I also have a Topfield PVRt, a TomTom ONE and a Wii - all of which also use nice, stable Linux... luxury! |
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Mr_Gadget
Moderator
Posts: 2711
Location: Where else but Melbourne?
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| 26 Mar 2008 4:07 PM |
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Yo MTB!
Sometimes familiarity stifles ones ability to see beyond the horizon - in my case, I am stubbornly fascinated in seeing Windows Mobile develop into a fully effective functional PDA OS. Despite its many failings in the past it has come a long since yourself, Matt, Dave, Kevin and myself were equipped with the XDA II.
I think the 8502 provides a brilliant balance of weight, size, performance, stability, phone and organiser functionality.
In terms of computer operating systems, if there is a lighter, faster, non-Microsoft setup that allows me to synch my PDA with Microsoft setups, I will definitely be investigating that this year.
Peace. |
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Arnold Aranez
Mr.Gadget - Australia
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mtb
Mean and Nasty Site Admin
Posts: 6075
Location: In Ubuntu laptop heaven, running Wine... with not an M$ distro. in sight.
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| 27 Mar 2008 3:15 PM |
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For someone in your situation (fairly mobile, sales, multiple customers, etc.) I can understand the need for all the functionality of this device.
I, being office based on the other hand, have found that Google Apps, combined with (MAPI) GMail and Calendar, RememberTheMilk and a number of other small web tools, can provide me with almost all the PIM requirements I used to use on my PDA. I've found that I can actually do without much of the functionality the PDA used to provide - perhaps the period of device unreliability forced me to use the brain more!?!
To be strictly honest, I do still use my XDA to run one particular application - TimeTTracker (my time keeping application) - but this is due to familiarity and because I have yet to setup a Google spreadsheet for holding my timesheet data, once that's done I can leave the XDA in the drawer.
There are a number of Linux based devices slated to come out this year I believe. One area which even the non-MS phones still stick with is the sync'ing with Outlook. I'm hoping that the Linux devices will spawn a more generic sync'ing approach which will allow PIM data to sync. with non-MS platforms and PIM software. That's the only thing I use Outlook for (in a VMWare box), as a conduit to sync. my contacts to/from Google with my phone, and mainly just for convenience - I like to keep them all in sync. across the various platforms.
I hope to get Evolution on Linux sync'ing with Google sometime soon (it's currently a manual import/export just now) so I can use the laptop as my off-line repository. If I can then get the phone sync'ed with Evolution and/or Google directly, I'll be happy as a pig in sh^H^H^H muck. |
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Mike
Look here for my articles and hardware & software that I recommend.
The Doomsday Clock - It's five minutes to midnight - think about it... do something about it!
Psion II CM -> Psion II XP -> Psion II LZ -> Psion 3 -> Psion 5 -> O2 Xda II -> O2 Xda IIi -> Psion 5 -> O2 Xda II + Nokia 3310 -> Dell Inspiron 9400 running Ubuntu + Nokia 6234 (no more Windows Mobile for me!)
My new device is Linux based and it doesn't include a camera, a phone or an MS operating system! Oh, and I also have a Topfield PVRt, a TomTom ONE and a Wii - all of which also use nice, stable Linux... luxury! |
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Mr_Gadget
Moderator
Posts: 2711
Location: Where else but Melbourne?
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| 27 Mar 2008 9:50 PM |
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Posted By mtb on 27 Mar 2008 3:15 PM
One area which even the non-MS phones still stick with is the sync'ing with Outlook. I'm hoping that the Linux devices will spawn a more generic sync'ing approach which will allow PIM data to sync.
Exactly what I'm looking for...
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Arnold Aranez
Mr.Gadget - Australia
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palah
Posts: 58
Location:
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| 28 Mar 2008 1:18 PM |
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Hi Arnold,
played with a 8502 today ...
personally, would not buy as found
1. screen smaller than prefer
2. box like shape
3. keys very close together although the ends being tapered help
++++ feature set & weight as was very easy to carry
will get hands on a 9502 next week but at 200g it would need to be very special
sold the treo 750 on ebay last weekend  so will make do with an XDA Orbit (129g GPS 2.8 screen) i just received from the UK to tie over until one off my short list is avail - Atom V, Zinc II or Xperia X1.. the N96 may be a contender as well... but good to hear you are happy with the 8502 and see you have gone to the dark side - 'WP' 
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Mr_Gadget
Moderator
Posts: 2711
Location: Where else but Melbourne?
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| 28 Mar 2008 10:16 PM |
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Haha thanks Palah, but what dark side do you speak of?
If you mean getting an iMate I already had an iMate Jasjam before my 8502  |
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Arnold Aranez
Mr.Gadget - Australia
Free Shipping to Active Mtekk Users Only! (15 posts or more)
Currently have an Telstra iPhone 3G!
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palah
Posts: 58
Location:
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| 28 Mar 2008 11:26 PM |
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Posted By Mr_Gadget on 28 Mar 2008 10:16 PM Haha thanks Palah, but what dark side do you speak of? whirlpool buddy... whirlpool... where you get an answer very quickly If you mean getting an iMate I already had an iMate Jasjam before my 8502
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Mr_Gadget
Moderator
Posts: 2711
Location: Where else but Melbourne?
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| 30 Mar 2008 8:48 PM |
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Haha, yes I have also been sneaking around on the Whirlpool forums. But my heart is here  |
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Arnold Aranez
Mr.Gadget - Australia
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Currently have an Telstra iPhone 3G!
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Styff
Posts: 845
Location:
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| 02 Apr 2008 8:46 PM |
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So, it's been 9 - 10 days now Arnold, give us an update on your impressions and thoughts of your 8502. Interface speed, stability, etc etc.
I went into the Telstra shop the other day and despite the 9502 being "launched" over a month ago now all he had was a demo unit and no real stock yet.
Must say it was pretty, but it was a small screen and keyboard (compared to my HTC Blueangel)... It'd want to be pretty quick and pretty for me to change up.
Did you hear that iMate will be providing a 6.1 update in the near future too. So maybe sometime in 2010 it should be released. |
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kevinnugent wrote
Styff. The staunchest IIs supporter on Mtekk |
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Mr_Gadget
Moderator
Posts: 2711
Location: Where else but Melbourne?
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| 02 Apr 2008 11:46 PM |
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G'day Styff!
8502 is kicking along nicely. I am really enjoying not having to worry about maintaining my GPS receiver (hiding it, charging it, securing it on dash so it won't slip everywhere), stability, size, weight and performance. Running SPB Shell 2.0, SPB Pocket Plus and SPB Insight RSS feeds beautifully.
The buttons have taken some getting used to, but with much practise am now able to type messages without too many mistakes.
Was very disappointed about MS Voice Command not working properly for the first time with one of my pocketPCs but I think it was a blessing in disguise as it lead me to Cyberon Voice Commander which is better as it also reads SMS / Emails and even works well with the bluetooth headset that I am currently using (Plantronics Voyager 855).
I have got 2 people who mentioned issues with WiFi when applying the SDHC patch...still testing to confirm this... |
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Arnold Aranez
Mr.Gadget - Australia
Free Shipping to Active Mtekk Users Only! (15 posts or more)
Currently have an Telstra iPhone 3G!
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palah
Posts: 58
Location:
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| 03 Apr 2008 9:40 AM |
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Posted By Mr_Gadget on 02 Apr 2008 11:46 PM G'day Styff! 8502 is kicking along nicely. I am really enjoying not having to worry about maintaining my GPS receiver (hiding it, charging it, securing it on dash so it won't slip everywhere), stability, size, weight and performance. Running SPB Shell 2.0, SPB Pocket Plus and SPB Insight RSS feeds beautifully. The buttons have taken some getting used to, but with much practise am now able to type messages without too many mistakes. Was very disappointed about MS Voice Command not working properly for the first time with one of my pocketPCs but I think it was a blessing in disguise as it lead me to Cyberon Voice Commander which is better as it also reads SMS / Emails and even works well with the bluetooth headset that I am currently using (Plantronics Voyager 855). Off topic sort of  ... what happened to the Blueant Z9?
I have got 2 people who mentioned issues with WiFi when applying the SDHC patch...still testing to confirm this...
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Styff
Posts: 845
Location:
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| 03 Apr 2008 10:07 AM |
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Is the SDHD patch official or a hack?
Thanks for your update Arnold |
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kevinnugent wrote
Styff. The staunchest IIs supporter on Mtekk |
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bpratt
Posts: 138
Location: Logan Village, Qld.
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| 03 Apr 2008 9:26 PM |
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Posted By Mr_Gadget on 26 Mar 2008 2:44 PM
Yesterday closed another chapter in my gadget adventures.
The iMate JasJam has been replaced by a new iMate Ultimate 8502. I've done a whole write up on my website but here's a summary:
So what stopped you from going to a HTC TyTN II after the JasJam ?
I'm looking at upgrading to a TyTN II after my JasJam contract is out with tel$tra.
Although I still have a few questions on the TyTN II, such as do they take a 8Gb SDHC microsd cards ? .... and do they fit an existing JasJam cradle, both physically and electrically ??
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i-mate JasJam
Windows Mobile 6(tel$tra rom)
Radio: 1.54.30.10
SPL: 1.40.Olipro (HardSPL v6)
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Mr_Gadget
Moderator
Posts: 2711
Location: Where else but Melbourne?
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| 04 Apr 2008 12:14 AM |
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Posted By Styff on 03 Apr 2008 10:07 AM Is the SDHD patch official or a hack? Thanks for your update Arnold
Np mate 
It's a hack that looks to have been created for the HTC Apache. There are documented conflicts with WiFi and patch that don't look to be fixed anytime soon. Going to contact iMate to see what they have...
Posted By palah on 03 Apr 2008 9:40 AM Off topic sort of ... what happened to the Blueant Z9?
I still have it somewhere, however Plantronics sent me the 855 to review so I'm making the most of it for the next week or so! 
Posted By bpratt on 03 Apr 2008 9:26 PM Posted By Mr_Gadget on 26 Mar 2008 2:44 PM
Yesterday closed another chapter in my gadget adventures.
The iMate JasJam has been replaced by a new iMate Ultimate 8502. I've done a whole write up on my website but here's a summary:
So what stopped you from going to a HTC TyTN II after the JasJam ? I'm looking at upgrading to a TyTN II after my JasJam contract is out with tel$tra. Although
I still have a few questions on the TyTN II, such as do they take a 8Gb
SDHC microsd cards ? .... and do they fit an existing JasJam cradle,
both physically and electrically ??
Going to the HTC TyTN II wasn't a good enough upgrade for me. My focus was on reducing weight and bulk.
If you're an avid video watcher on the pocketPC I would hold off on the TyTN II and consider the 9502 or 8502.
Yes the TyTN II is SDHC compatible.
No I believe the shape of the TyTN II is different to the JasJam therefore won't be able to use the same cradle. However I do believe the TyTN II still has a mini-USB port. Someone with a TyTN II correct me if I am wrong please.
Hope that helps
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Arnold Aranez
Mr.Gadget - Australia
Free Shipping to Active Mtekk Users Only! (15 posts or more)
Currently have an Telstra iPhone 3G!
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klaw81
Posts: 113
Location: Toowoomba, Australia
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| 06 Apr 2008 9:50 PM |
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I had a quick play with an 8502 in a Brisbane Telstra shop today - in comparison to my Tytn II it is decidedly lighter & thinner, but substantially longer as well. Looks very sleek and business-like, and has an air of quality about it. I can see people with chunky fingers struggling with the very small QWERTY keyboard. Unfortunately the battery was dead so my observations were cut very short....apparently they will start showing up in more stores this week some time as stocks roll out.
Bpratt, I use my Tytn II on Telstra NextG and have found reception and general useability very good. I can also confirm the device is SDHC compatible. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the some Jasjam mounts work with the Tytn II (they have the same HTC miniUSB port in the same place so electronically they are fine) but the dimensions are sufficiently different that using a Jasjam mount is not recommended - you may end up putting a lot of pressure on the port and doing some damage to both the mount and device. Unfortunately I also have to agree with the criticisms of the Tytn II video capabilities - it really doesn't handle video well with the current drivers, although there are a lot of hackers out there having a go at changing that. |
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MissionMan
Posts: 7
Location:
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| 09 Apr 2008 12:30 PM |
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| BTW, the reset button is under the battery cover in case you haven't worked it out already |
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panfa1
Posts: 388
Location: Lower Mountains
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| 09 Apr 2008 3:59 PM |
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| Arnold - pardon me if I missed it but for the life of me I can't find mention of what GPS software you are using on this thing? |
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klaw81
Posts: 113
Location: Toowoomba, Australia
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| 09 Apr 2008 4:16 PM |
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| If I'm reading his blog right, he's using the much-lamented CoPilot 7 software. |
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Mr_Gadget
Moderator
Posts: 2711
Location: Where else but Melbourne?
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| 09 Apr 2008 9:37 PM |
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Posted By MissionMan on 09 Apr 2008 12:30 PM
BTW, the reset button is under the battery cover in case you haven't worked it out already
Yes, I found it hours after unboxing...didn't really have to use it so wasn't fussed at the start. Thank you anyway.
Posted By panfa1 on 09 Apr 2008 3:59 PM
Arnold - pardon me if I missed it but for the life of me I can't find mention of what GPS software you are using on this thing?
Posted By klaw81 on 09 Apr 2008 4:16 PM
If I'm reading his blog right, he's using the much-lamented CoPilot 7 software.
*walks head down with embarassment*
Haha, yes I must admit I am using Travroute's CoPilot 7 software and to be quite honest I really like it.
I know, I know it's missing TTS and customisation isn't the same as Version 6, but TTS isn't a huge issue for me and I never really had the time to customise my trips.
On the plus side, it's way faster than Version 6.0 in navigating options, entering destinations. Maps/interface huge improvements, especially 3D maps. Also love the fact that I don't have to download to my PDA or memory card everytime I want to go to another state as the info can all fit on my memory card now.
Did I mention that I like the splash screen with the red RX8?! Reminds me of when I owned one of these beauties 
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Arnold Aranez
Mr.Gadget - Australia
Free Shipping to Active Mtekk Users Only! (15 posts or more)
Currently have an Telstra iPhone 3G!
Connect with me on:
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