quote:

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, that's a great question. The sales guy at PlugIns was pretty curt and I couldn't really speak to him much because of the crowd.

Well, since we have our resident experts on PPC Dubai(Mohd, Docc & Saad), hopefully they'll let us know.

What do you say gentlemen?

quote:

...all Windows Mobile phones not powered by Windows Mobile 5.0 will be phased out and replaced with those powered by 5.0! Conclusion: users should not buy phones powered by Windows Mobile 2003 - in this way distributors and operators will be forced to either bring ROM upgrades to 5.0 or to bring new models with 5.0 faster.

I just got this from an article on msmobiles.com

Also, some of the answers to our questions RO 13, were answered in a write up on the E900/M500; attached below. Thanks for that Docc!

quote:

Windows Mobile 5.0, the new, more powerful software platform includes updated Microsoft Office programs:

Word Mobile
now let's users insert photos and edit their print fonts and a greatly improved format retention capability provides enhanced support for viewing embedded tables, lists and images in Word documents.

Excel Mobile
now includes editor support mechanisms that provide much better built-in text applications, stronger support for diagrams, plus a zoom function and full screen mode.

PowerPoint Mobile
is a new function that allows users to review their PowerPoint files and practice their presentations while in their office or on the road. This new program runs smoothly, displays pictures and basic graphics and downloads large files quickly and efficiently.

Also:

New functions enhance the synchronization between the M500 and a PC.

Users can customize their contact lists by attaching photos and assigning personal melodies to separate contacts.

Windows Media Player 10 Mobile allows users to enjoy a larger variety of entertainment options and a more powerful integrated multimedia experience.

Pocket MSN features home screen plug-ins for one-click access to improved email and messenger functions.

'Persistent Memory Storage' retains information even if the unit's battery runs down.

The English version of the upgrade will be available by Christmas, 2005 followed by other language versions as they become available. Users can purchase the CD and complete the easy-to-install upgrade themselves.

WM 5.0 Sounds fantastic... so does the E900/M500. Apparently, it has won awards for being such a great device.

Hope this helps you make the right purchase.

Regards,

JT.

Guys, I just want to say something overhere

JAM 64mb (2003,2nd Ed.)
Black JAM 128MB (2003,2nd Ed.)
E-TEN 500 (2003,2nd Ed.) or WM5 upgrade)
K-JAM (WM5)

All of them are great devices. For sure they all score of 9 out of 10 or more. So what is the difference of which one is 9.2 or 9.3 or 9.4

They are all Gr8 devices. Sometimes more advance users disagree on which one is the best, top device. But for sure we will agree that they are all above 9 out of 10.
So the fractions are not that important, because in all cases after 6-12 months a new device will come to market and beat the hell out of all the four of them

The K-JAM has 2 major advantages that I am sure each user will use at lease one. Keyboard + the only built in G Wifi. K-JAM is the only PDA that support G Wi-Fi and franky speaking I even did not see any SDIO wifi card that support G Wi-Fi. No Current PDA or even PDAs coming soon has that we know about has the b/g Wi-Fi. Moreover it is a very small PDA,,,so pick which over you want and you will 100% feel bad after 6-12 months when new boomers will hit the market. Welcome to the world of PPCs

Actually deciding which one is the best device is left to “self preference”. You know which one is the best for “you” and what do “you” want to have in your device.

For example I normally load my device with too many software applications I might not use them all everyday but I want to utilize my device to the maximum. So to me I need a device with good internal memory at least a 64 MB or 128 MB is better because some applications need to be installed on main memory but most of them can be installed on storage card. I also like to access the Internet from any WiFi hotspot I believe it is a must have and it is very useful, these days even at home you find many people are migrating to Wireless LAN and Wireless Internet sharing. I will need a builtin WiFi so I will be using my device to access the internet to: a) update my weather forecast, b) update currency exchange rates, c) get latest news with news feeds, d) Update Avantgo e) brows many sites, f) send/receive emails, g) connect and chat with fiends with a the superb fast WiFi connection, h) etc… etc…

Also Bluetooth is a standard option on every device. I use it is to pair with a Bluetooth Headset which is very useful. You can also use your device as a modem and connect via Bluetooth it to your notebook and access the internet via GPRS or 3G.

You can just list the things you want to have according to priority in your own opinion. You always keep in your mind when there is a new operating system released for mobile devices such as WM 5 you should not consider buying a device with an old OS. Always get the new operating system and benefit from the added enhancements. Especially that WM 5 has persistent storage where you don’t worry about loosing your data, that’s a big advantage!

Hey

The super cool dudes above, just said it all, so there is nothing much for me to add here.

WM 5.0 is an obvious and rather much needed improvement over WM2003/SE. Its not just limited to the "persistent storage" function but also most of the bugs have been ironed out and a lot of nice user friendly touches have been added.

If you guys still havent purchased a device, dont buy one without WM 5.0. Its my honest and unadulterated opinion

Docc.

quote:

Originally posted by Mohd Al-Ashram:

quote:

Originally posted by Saad Al Haddad:
And as for the sales people in the market, IMO they all speak (Bull Shit) I don't trust anyone of them, because they even did not read the manual of the product that they are trying to sell you. They just want to sell. This is why you have to check the internet for everything that you want to buy before hitting the market.

I agree, mostly they don’t know anything about the product, many times I didn’t find answers to many questions so I turned around and left the place, easily lost my interest.

One of the best things to do before buying a product is reading reviews, well written reviews are very helpful to make a good decision which device to buy to fit your requirements.

PS. Since you have lots of fun with smilyes I have added two more to the collection

Thanks for the smilies Need more and more.

I want to install some smilies for my desktop PC. Sometimes I receive e-mails with unrecognized characters. Can you recommend a www site?

During the mean time, I will try to enjoy my

Saad,

One more!

I just collect them, some of them comes with the forum software.

First off, let me say that this post has been very helpful, and at the same time very confusing.

I'm in the same boat as RO13, and I'm looking to buy my first PPC. Personally, I like the black JAM for it's size, style, and technical specs. The only drawback I see is the WM2003. I've read sooooooo many posts about HARD RESETS that I'm already feeling the pain of it without ever owning a device.

I thought it would be logical to start small and buy a JAM now and upgrade later on to the K-JAM or JASJAR, but after reading about the weekly hard resets, I'm afraid to even go near anything that isn't WM5.0.

Maybe you guys can help me out on this topic. Did you really have to hard reset WM2003 devices all the time? Any ideas what causes it? Any specific programs that would cause the device to lock up?

Hi d-v-us,

Hard-resets are pretty nasty and happen at the most unexpected time. There is no logical explaination to it. It cannot be completely attributed to 3rd party applications. I have known people who's device's have hard-reset when they were completely clean!!!

I suggest you purchase a WM 5.0 device. You are going to end up spending almost 80% of the amount on its predecessors that you would on a new device. If you want something nice and simple to start with, go with the K-JAM.

Docc.

What is hard reset

I have been using 3 PPCs (iPAQ 3970+i-mate PPC+JAM) for about 4 years and never ever had even a single hard rest
Battery went down several times, until the device starts to shut down it's ports one by one.
As soon as I have my charger available, everythings goes up again.
Sometimes the battery goes down so much, that even the screen doesn't work. That is when the battery level goes less than 5%.

But one thing is for sure, I never ever had a hard reset. I believe most people who has this issue, simply forget to charge their PPCs otherwise can't believe it until it happens to me.

But even if it happens, all contacts, appointments, notes, or anyother important documents are syncronized with my desktop PC. So, even if it happens, simply hock it up again with your desktop PC and syncronize it Install any other programs to your PDA and that's it. I just want it to happen to me once so that I will