Hi R013,

Thank you for your kind words. I dont know if we are befitting but we try our best

Regarding your question, i would suggest that you buy the Everx E900 if you want good value for money and longevity of the life of the device. The E900 will be getting a WM5.0 upgrade in due course and hence you wont be left behind. The JAM will also be upgrade to WM5.0 but only by methods of hacking and the likes. From Imate, you will never see an upgrade, not now not ever.

As you know, i have reviewed the E900 and found it a fantastic device. The only shortcoming as far as i am concerned is the lack of keyboard. Otherwise, this device is the best in its cateogory. You will not have any regrets purchasing it. Everex provides great support, i know that as i have personally met them. There are plenty of accessories on its way, so you dont need to feel left out.

I hope i have been of some help.

Regards,
Docc.

Both of them are almost the same, however i-mate support is quite good in terms of updates. I cannot judge E-Ten (Everex) because I haven't tried them

Just wanted to summarize MAJOR pros and cons between the two:

BlackJam:

SD RAM 128MB
Smaller in hight, width, length
General design

E-TEN M500 (Everex 900):

Flash ROM 128MB
20% better battery
Quad band
Flash light with camera
Cradle included in box

I the price of both, however my choice will be the BlackJam ( more powerful device 416MHz Intel processor + 128MB SDRAM)

Cheers!

Actually, if you see the benchmarks results in my review, it shows that the E900 wins hands down over all the other devices in 99% of the tests It uses a Samsung SC2440 processor, which is robust and battery efficient

Docc.

And on the debate goes...

I was just reading the Everex/Eten posts and folks have put down faults on both devices (e.g. Hard resets every week on the Jam, USB synch problems with the Everex, etc... there’s plenty of pros too, as you well know.)

I guess it’ll ultimately come down to taking a gamble (for me, personally) because the grand total for my purchase is anywhere from Dirhams 3000 to 4000 (including the memory card and everything else) no matter which device I buy because there’s a difference of only Dhs 200 or so on the PPCs themselves.

Guys, I appreciate all the comments and the help, I really do. Unfortunately, I’ll have to wait a while longer to see how GITEX will affect prices and OS options.

Patience is a virtue, is it not?!

Who knew buying one's first PPC (and making sure it is absolutely the right one) would be so nerve-racking?!

You are going to see and hear good and bad experiences about all devices, but like i say, dont knock it till you try it. Why dont you go down to Plug-Ins and have a play with all the devices. Whicheva you think you are the most comfortable with, pick that one up. You already know the internals of the device reading various reviews, now why not some hands-on experience?

Docc.

quote:

Originally posted by RO13:
Btw, I was hoping you'd answer the question I had posted earlier today: "If you were forced to pick ONE of these two PPCs (Black Jam or Everex E900), which would it be and why?"

Please bear in mind that I've read the reviews, I just wanted your personal preference between the two PPCs mentioned.

Look forward to your reply.

Thank you.

I cannot give you accurate opinions on both of these devices because I never used any of them, so my information is just on paper, but you can get a better advice from real life “hands-on” experience from both Saad & Docc since they have tried both of them.

However, I personally feel more inclined towards the Everex as I have enjoyed reading Docc’s review too and there is a good future for upgrading to the latest WM 5 also the price is attractive compared to JAM. But I like the form factor of JAM it is very stylish! I still believe the option to find an official upgrade from the supplier is enough to make me decide in this case. But it is all up to you! If you are new to Pocket PCs you could get frustrated easily in the beginning but you will enjoy mobility!

Thank you all for the fabulous feedback on this particular post. Having logged onto this site for the first time this morning, I found these forums very helpful.

Much like the author, I too am in a quandary as to which of these two models is the better purchase for a first-time Pocket PC user. Obviously, running on WM 5.0 would be a distinct advantage. Thus far, Everex seem to be the only ones who’ve officially stated that they will be upgrading the E900 in due course. When exactly, is unclear.

I, for one, look forward to purchasing a PPC that runs on WM 5.0. One great feature is PowerPoint Mobile, which enables users to view presentations. Amending the presentation is not possible, though. Perhaps the 2006/2007 release will give us this feature.

RO 13,
I fully understand your frustration. I’ve been experiencing much of the same. As Docc mentioned, have a look at each instrument personally. Use them for a while at the store and get a feel for how the device works. See the difference between both versions of Windows.

If that doesn’t work, come back here and discuss it with the Editors and other experienced users. It’s not an easy choice especially when you’re putting a lot of cash into the purchase. Hang in there; you’re not alone.

Regards,

JT

Actually office applications are available for WM2003 also. There is a suite of applications called Clearvue Suite. Consists of powerpoint, word, excel, pdf etc. Very good application IMO.

Docc.

Hi JT and welcome to Pocket PC Dubai

Thank you for your comments I really appreciate it…

I personally recommend for first time users before owning a converged device (Pocket PC Phone) to experience Windows Pocket PC first. Because the Phone implementation on the Pocket PC differs from one Network operator/OEM to another but the core operating system is Windows Mobile, even if it was Phone Edition still I believe they are two separate things. OEM’s would normally add lots of components and tools to make a Pocket PC a Phone. In the past I owned a Pocket PC without a built-in phone and I was using a Sony Ericsson T68 . With this combination I had a reliable Pocket PC (iPAQ h5450) and a reliable Phone. Mainly because the Phone part was purely for communication and easy operations since the phone come with a keypad which gives you a good tactile feedback, you can simply make a phone call while you are driving without even looking at the screen and the battery life was excellent. The Pocket PC was sufficient for other powerful operations such as reading e-books, dictionaries, Wireless LAN, internet and email, large screen advantage, presentation, entertainment, etc… There are many (many) things you can do with your Pocket PC, endless opportunities!

Having a Phone integrated into a Pocket PC is not always a good deal unless you know your way around (and that’s not a problem these days since you have a community to support you! ) sometimes when the Phone part is not reliable the end user would blame this on the Pocket PC implementation. I was going to recommend trying with a second hand Pocket PC but in the Middle East the stand-alone Pocket PC is not very popular, you will find a lot of i-Mate devices in the region.

I don’t want to confuse you but I just wanted to make one point: A Pocket PC Phone is primarily a PDA and secondly a Phone.

Pocket PC Phones came a long way and the new devices come with cutting edge features. If you are getting yourself a new device then get ready for a whole new lifestyle, you will never go back to your old phone again!

Thank you for that, Mohd. Sorry I didn't reply sooner, I was out of town for a couple of days.

I totally agree about the PPC changing one's lifestyle; I seriously doubt I'd ever buy a regular mobile again.

Mohd / Docc, in your opinion, would I be missing out on a lot by purchasing a PPC that uses WM 2003SE and not WM 5.0? This is a bit of a concern because people are making such a big deal about it. What are your thoughts?

JT