I'm so glad this thread is back. It's one of my favorites and should be required reading for anyone who wants to learn the potential of this device.
yeah its a great thread, a good change of pace from the problems and what not ... i accidentally found it while looking for an old thread about freeware games..
After looking for some time for webcam programs that i didn't have to buy...I came across the simplest & cheapest solution....ORB.
In addition to streaming photos, audio & videos for free, www.orb.com streams your webcams also. Easy to do, install orb, plug in webcam. Look under TV in orb. Watch webcam from any web-enabled device....cool huh?
After geeking out in new and interesting ways with my i730 in the last week (thanks to SuperDave and WM5):
My truck has a nice spot on the dash near the GPS where my phone sits very comfortably on its side without sliding around. The stereo in my truck has an auxiliary line in, so I plugged my i730 audio out into my car stereo, fired up SlingPlayer Mobile (works great over EVDO), flipped to landscape mode and set it on my dash. Presto, 200 channels of cable on the road, with surprisingly good sound through the truck's speakers. With the i730 plugged into the charger, no battery woes. I can watch the news or check the traffic cameras (local cable channel for this) on the way to work...
I know, not recommended to be watching TV while in motion, but still, a pretty high geek factor for a phone...
__________________
Samsung i730 + WM5 + SlingPlayer Mobile = Zero Productivity (thanks SuperDave!)
Using Orb do you have to plug the feed from the cam into the PC, as my webcams have their own server on them. Sounds really cool though, I'm going to download next weekend.
Yeah..I've had to be careful driving also...i use a vent mount & had tivo'd 'prison break' at home...i went to dvr.orb.com & watched it on the way home late one night...
On the webcam...I'd assume it has to be into the machine orb's on. i've read reviews of people getting sound thru logitec cams w/mic's but i don't get audio...
Amazingly enough, the phone is functional without using the QWERTY keyboard. I don't know about you guys but this is my phone usage:
60% Phone Usage w/ Voice Dial
15% Read New Emails
20% Simple Navigation on IE to read news/pdaphonehome.com/slashdot...
5% Anything else requiring QWERTY (replying to emails, typing in a contact name,etc)
So the landscape QWERTY won't bother me too much if I don't like it, I'm just glad to see that maybe the phone will be functional without needing to use it.
lets hope they improved the SPEED DIAL functionality in the i760! I do miss my motorola speed dial of 41# etc.
__________________
Detroit, MI
Samsung SCH-i760
Verizon Wireless
Amazingly enough, the phone is functional without using the QWERTY keyboard. I don't know about you guys but this is my phone usage:
60% Phone Usage w/ Voice Dial
15% Read New Emails
20% Simple Navigation on IE to read news/pdaphonehome.com/slashdot...
5% Anything else requiring QWERTY (replying to emails, typing in a contact name,etc)
So the landscape QWERTY won't bother me too much if I don't like it, I'm just glad to see that maybe the phone will be functional without needing to use it.
Regarding usage, and the landscape keyboard, I figured I'd respond with my disapointment of this and my usage as well:
15% Phone Calls (Sorry I left that out at first) 10% Database Management (SmartOffice & Contact)
15% email, txt messaging and verichat (AIM, MSN)
10% Internet browsing
15% Watching my Slingbox (TV) or downloaded movies/shows while my wife shops
10% controlling other computers with Logmein
10% Using the GPS in my plane with ControlVision software, or in the car with iGuidance
15% listening to music through bluetooth headset
Much of what I do requires typing, and I'm often on the go; driving, flying or walking..all of which require me to use one hand. I hope you guys come out with a WM6 upgrade for "My Precious" (what many people call my phone when they're poking fun) as I do not believe I will be upgrading to ANY landscape keyboard design. Even my wife returned the vx6700 after only a week saying she hated the keyboard.
I was really hoping for the first version of the i760 that we saw with the same portrait style as the i730 with the video camera on the front. That would have been fun
Last edited by drdeathnl3 : 03-18-2007 at 10:54 PM.
Reason: Left out Phone Usage
Regarding usage, and the landscape keyboard, I figured I'd respond with my disapointment of this and my usage as well:
20% email, txt messaging and verichat (AIM, MSN)
15% Internet browsing
20% Watching my Slingbox (TV) or downloaded movies/shows while my wife shops
15% controlling other computers with Logmein
15% Using the GPS in my plane with ControlVision software, or in the car with iGuidance
15% listening to music through bluetooth headset
That totals up to 100%.... of which 0% applies to what I think most of us think of as either conventional 'Phone' (voice communication) or 'PDA' (information management) usage!
Wow! I think you've defined an entirely different segment of converged devices! You're describing something more akin to a web-enabled straight pocket PC, or perhaps some high-end variation of the various 'communicators', rather than a PDAPhone.
I can see why you'd be frustrated... because I don't think that anyone is designing devices for users like you. That's not a criticism or put-down... I'm just observing that your needs as you define them are way out on the extreme limb of the bell curve. Good luck!
How many other folks here at the forum are 'out there' in terms of your needs?
That totals up to 100%.... of which 0% applies to what I think most of us think of as either conventional 'Phone' (voice communication) or 'PDA' (information management) usage!
Wow! I think you've defined an entirely different segment of converged devices! You're describing something more akin to a web-enabled straight pocket PC, or perhaps some high-end variation of the various 'communicators', rather than a PDAPhone.
I can see why you'd be frustrated... because I don't think that anyone is designing devices for users like you. That's not a criticism or put-down... I'm just observing that your needs as you define them are way out on the extreme limb of the bell curve. Good luck!
How many other folks here at the forum are 'out there' in terms of your needs?
I Think the usage described, while certainly outside the mainstream, is fairly typical of users on enthusiast forums like this one. My usage is pretty similar. I'd say talking on the phone is about 10% or less of what I do with my I730. I also believe this type of usage will become more & more mainstream as consumers are educated as to what is possible. My mind always goes back to the original ROKR ads that showed a phone with a built in mp3 player. The music paused as a call came in & restarted as the call ended. I had friends that remarked how cool this was as if it was an innovation. I told them my last two phones had the same feature, could also download mp3's directly, didn't have a 100 song limit, could be used as a gps system, could access the full internet, could be tethered to a laptop to allow it to access the internet from anywhere, watch videos, access my home computer remotely, etc, etc. Most people don't have a clue what these things are capable of. When they become educated, they will become adopters.
I Think the usage described, while certainly outside the mainstream, is fairly typical of users on enthusiast forums like this one. My usage is pretty similar. I'd say talking on the phone is about 10% or less of what I do with my I730.
If it is true that there are lots of folks ("enthusiasts") out there with similar usage patterns, I guess I still think that you need an entirely different sort of device. Are you frequenting a forum that's in large part about converged phone-PDA devices (though that's certainly not the only thing discussed here) because there's nothing better out there?
While it may sound like I'm being argumentative, that's certainly not my intent. I consider myself to be a gadget freak, and am an 'early adopter' (whenever I can afford to be!), and I tend to be very finicky. In fact, the primary reason I haven't opted for any of the earlier devices (including any of the earlier smartphones or pocket PC phones) was that they didn't quite match my needs or expectations.
But you guys are describing usage patterns far beyond anything that I've experienced, and the recent discussion has turned out to be a true education for me. I'm really interested in learning more about how folks use their devices. Of course, that's all I need: Even more to be finicky about!
If it is true that there are lots of folks ("enthusiasts") out there with similar usage patterns, I guess I still think that you need an entirely different sort of device. Are you frequenting a forum that's in large part about converged phone-PDA devices (though that's certainly not the only thing discussed here) because there's nothing better out there?
While it may sound like I'm being argumentative, that's certainly not my intent. I consider myself to be a gadget freak, and am an 'early adopter' (whenever I can afford to be!), and I tend to be very finicky. In fact, the primary reason I haven't opted for any of the earlier devices (including any of the earlier smartphones or pocket PC phones) was that they didn't quite match my needs or expectations.
But you guys are describing usage patterns far beyond anything that I've experienced, and the recent discussion has turned out to be a true education for me. I'm really interested in learning more about how folks use their devices. Of course, that's all I need: Even more to be finicky about!
Well, as this has gone far OT, let me refer you to this thread. It's a favorite. Feel free to continue this discussion there, I love it when this thread comes back.
Regarding usage, and the landscape keyboard, I figured I'd respond with my disapointment of this and my usage as well:
20% email, txt messaging and verichat (AIM, MSN)
15% Internet browsing
20% Watching my Slingbox (TV) or downloaded movies/shows while my wife shops
15% controlling other computers with Logmein
15% Using the GPS in my plane with ControlVision software, or in the car with iGuidance
15% listening to music through bluetooth headset
Much of what I do requires typing, and I'm often on the go; driving, flying or walking..all of which require me to use one hand. I hope you guys come out with a WM6 upgrade for "My Precious" (what many people call my phone when they're poking fun) as I do not believe I will be upgrading to ANY landscape keyboard design. Even my wife returned the vx6700 after only a week saying she hated the keyboard.
I was really hoping for the first version of the i760 that we saw with the same portrait style as the i730 with the video camera on the front. That would have been fun
Ditto on the usage minus the Slingbox and Logmein which I hope to get sometime.
The subject of usage is very much worthy of discussion. Constructive to explore this inquiry in depth.
Here's a shot at my usage distribution:
0% camera (rez inadequate!)
1% phone services (carry a second device, >5k voice mins/mo)
1.5% texting
2% audio/video services (no time!)
2% soft-resetting, reconfiguring, redialing #777 due to spotty VZW EvDO penetration in NYC and elsewhere
2.5% file & S/W mgmt/maint/tests, utilities, pings, tracerts, RF tests, speed tests, etc.
6% real-time data apps, incl. portfolio management
10% math calcs, spreadsheets
10% email
10% reading articles, docs
25% notes, doc composition
30% Web browsing & d/l docs (many Web nav workarounds required)
Total ix30 usage: ~4-5 hrs/day
Total data usage: ~1GB/mo (unlim plan)
Incidentally, 99% of my 414 posts here were mobile.
Just to comment that, other than phone service for most users, there's really no "normal curve" of usage by category. WM in general--and the ix30 platform in particular--allows vast mobile empowerment and flexibility.
I pulled these out, as requested, and made it it's own thread...
My usage varies from day to day, but 50% of the usage is phone at least, but if I was to break it down:
- 50% phone usage - over 1500 minutes peak/500+ nights&weekends/500+ mobile to mobile
- 20% e-mail/txt messaging/web browsing/tethering, lumping this in one, as some days are more for one than others. TXT messaging is important because I get notifications of voicemails from TXT messages since I use CallWave, so I guess you could consider this data usage.
- 5% Contact lookup. I use this a lot for addresses, directions, and contact information
- 10% Calendar usage. This is my main calendar and appointment scheduler.
- 5% Multimedia - Lumping Slingbox, videos, and music in to one.
- 5% Games - When I have down time, or time on the throne, Solitaire and Bejewelled come in handy
- 5% Random Programs/showing off to others - Google Maps, PDF Documents, Word/Excel, etc.
Mine is my primary contact device for my customers and my main way of time/contact management. I am in the process of setting up my own Exchange server at home and to push e-mail to the device and hopefully start to change some of my habits. I don't see phone usage slowing down much, and will still maintain at least 50% of the usage, but I see my data usage increasing when I get the Exchange Server setup, and I am looking in to using some type of RSS reader, like Newsbreak or pRSSReader. I am starting to spend a lot more time away from my home again, something that happens when the IRL race season starts due to having one of the race teams as a client, and I am going to try and do a little more with my device and the $45/month I am paying for data.
Thank goodness for my Parrot 3200ls, as with it I can talk during the hours of driving. I am "talking" on the phone at least 2-5 hours/day during the week, and the majority of that is from driving.
I use this as an Outlook extension and phone. I have three iPods (80GB/Gen5.5 for personal, 60GB/Gen5 connected in my Jeep, and my Gen2 Shuffle for working out & bike rides), so multimedia is done on a separate device so that I can keep the battery life up on my i730.
__________________
-Michael
Need help setting up your i730/i830 or other WM2003/WM5 Phone, as well as the other hacks I have done, check out the MRailing Guides and Links
Since the previous information from the i760 thread really is ways and types of using the i730, I moved them here so that the discussion can continue.
__________________
-Michael
Need help setting up your i730/i830 or other WM2003/WM5 Phone, as well as the other hacks I have done, check out the MRailing Guides and Links
That totals up to 100%.... of which 0% applies to what I think most of us think of as either conventional 'Phone' (voice communication) or 'PDA' (information management) usage!
Wow! I think you've defined an entirely different segment of converged devices! You're describing something more akin to a web-enabled straight pocket PC, or perhaps some high-end variation of the various 'communicators', rather than a PDAPhone.
I can see why you'd be frustrated... because I don't think that anyone is designing devices for users like you. That's not a criticism or put-down... I'm just observing that your needs as you define them are way out on the extreme limb of the bell curve. Good luck!
How many other folks here at the forum are 'out there' in terms of your needs?
Just as a followup, you are correct, I left out phone usage. I have since corrected it to include phone usage. Thank you.
Cable TV in my truck!
Login
Panel
