I've been telling my roommate to wait for the i760 instead of the 700wx. I'm starting to wonder if I need to reverse course. This delay stuff is for the birds!
I ended up getting a used 700wx to hold me over until the i760 comes out. I am extremely happy I did! I don't think I could handle these delays any longer if I didn't have a somewhat decent PDA phone in hand Just something to think about.
I bought a 700wx for my girlfriend and she absolutely loves it. She's never had an i730 so she doesn't know anything about the goodness of 240x320 resolution. My roommate will be a power user so I really want to get him the larger screen.
I agree with aaustin. I gave up a few months back, after being one of the first to get a 730 (within the first week) and riding the wave of excitement through the WM5 leaks and upgrades. But do you realize that we've (you guys) have been waiting on the i760 for almost a year! That's just crazy. I finally gave up a few months back and jumped to AT&T and the 8525 (now running WM6). At least in my area, I haven't noticed a drop in service, and infact I get better service because I could not get data service at all when I traveled into Oklahoma with verizon. Now I can even teather (easily) with my AT&T phone (without extra charges) when I need to do something in OK.
It was a tough decision to leave the Sammy family, but I really have not had any regrets, other than the conversations here. The 8525 forum is pretty dead so I spend most of my "research time" over at xda-developers.
Life goes on. If Verizon doesn't keep up, they will lose even more customers.
Why, thank you for missing me, Mr. Thrizzle! It's nice to be missed! I have been in and out, lurking some, reading, and running all over. I was on vacation, and have been doing quite a bit of travel in my ministry, as we are once again planting another new church.
That being said, I have to say something else here, totally unrelated to my absence. Although I have been using Pocket PC's since before convergence, and have had three phone edition Pocket PC's, and have now been, with all of you, eagerly anticipating the arrival of the i760... I am contemplating very strongly jumping to another phone... and - don't tar and feather me - but, I have looked strongly at, and visited the at&t store as well as the Apple store - and played with their iPhone, and talked and talked and explored, etc etc. I am about 90% convinced to picking up the iPhone.
I hope this isn't too off-topic, but as I see others saying similar things here, let me share my mind's logic and thoughts...
1. I have been using the i730 for close to two years now, and although I have been generally happy with it, there are things that have always been an issue. And we all know what they are. You can't own the i730 without becoming intimately familiar with the soft-reset. As well as doing hard resets. With all the best of tweakings we can do - and I have followed Michael's set up guide, and all his tools to the "t" - I have still had to do a number of hard resets from time to time, and soft resets even more frequently. I am sure that most of these are made necessary due to the software I have installed, especially the things that we need to use to make the phone do what it should have had from the beginning, meaning memory management and phone notification, etc. These are things the phone should be able to do natively, but it doesn't. And adding software to do it means increased instability. I'm surely not an expert with the i730, but I am certainly above average. Our resident expert, MRailing, himself does a hard reset on a routine basis just to keep his phone working smoothly. We all have just lived with that. And, I'm sorry, it really shouldn't have to be that way. I would love to recommend my phone to my friends and associates, but I can't do that in good conscience, because I know what the maintenance requirements are with it.
2. I had to do a hard reset - again - about three weeks or so ago. I have only re-installed the minimum items I need to work with. Even with that said, I have been getting regular lock-ups, often when I have been cradled for a while. I will leave my office, grab the i730, and not realize until hours later when I have not received any calls that the phone is actually quite dead and frozen. Poke it in the eye again to wake it up, and then wonder what calls I missed. I can't afford that. If one of my parishioners is calling me, they need to get me. I travel a lot. And my phone is my connection that allows me to do that while still being totally assessable to my people.
3. I am sure it's due to the life of the phone, but my battery life is now abysmal. Some days, depending on use, I only get a half a day out of the battery before I need to charge. So, as a result, instead of my phone serving me, I end up serving it. That's just not right.
4. So, I have been waiting for the i760. Much of what I hear and understand is that it really only has a few advantages over what the i730 is - a different form factor, and WM6. The form factor appears to be a bit smaller - I compare it with the Blackjack, and that is a great size. But I think the i760 will be significantly thicker that that. And, other than HTML email, I don't know that there is really anything that WM6 is going to offer that WM5 doesn't already have. And - most importantly - I REALLY don't want to commit to a new phone if it means that I will continue to have problems with resetting, and adding on software and tweaking things to do what the phone should just do out of the box.
5. I have looked at and played with the iPhone. It is a thing of beauty - the form factor is tremendous. No one argues with that. It's drawbacks, though, are it being on at&t, the many things that it can't do that the Windows Mobile platform can do, and current lack of any 3rd party software. But, here is the thing that is grabbing me. Around here, at least, it seems that at&t's network is about equal to vzw. When I think of what the iPhone CAN do, there really isn't a lot that I need it to do that WM can do. And, what the iPhone can do, it does superbly. And, as far as third party software, much of the stuff we all put on our WM phones isn't needed on the iPhone, because it comes with it, or is unnecessary.
6. I'm not crazy about the price of the iPhone, compared to what we anticipate the cost of the i760, but truth is, when considering the monthly price of at&t compared to vzw, in about 6 months the cost difference is made up, and then its less expensive after that.
I could say more, because this is surely not something that I am considering on a whim. But, I don't want to further hijack this thread.
My decision is not totally made up yet, so, please - tell me why I shouldn't do this. PM me, or start a different thread to do so.
I am not considering this solely because of the delay by VZW, but it is indirectly because of it. The longer I have waited, the more that I have had time to fully consider what the best option may be. And where I am at right now, I guess I am more looking for reasons that I should wait longer for something only marginally different than what I currently have, as opposed to getting something now that will end my servitude to my aging i730.
I really don't see what the differnce is to the Kaiser to the xv6700 to the Wing. Tey are are the same phone - Sammy at least keeps it fresh - even though the inards aren't quite so.
why do people keep saying that. they are not the same device. Kaiser has more memory, GPS, two cameras, better cameras (i don't really care about cameras, but still...), access to faster data networks (HSDPA, HSUPA), scroll wheel, usb 2.0 and tilt screen - all in a package about the same size. come on, give props where they are due.
back on topic, we're still in rumorville, but the i760 is coming in august (maybe), the Kaiser just passed fcc muster, which could be a sign of impending release in GSM land (never followed GSM too closely). there is no way the i760 competes with the Kaiser. VZW's data network, at least on the east coast, does not have a clear decisive advantage over AT&T. and to top it off, the low sales of the iphone, and everyone's anger over the EDGE network, could prompt apple to release a new 3G version in November, much earlier than expected, according to one report. it'll be a very interesting fall, to say the least.
so i say, let's start a roll call. it's crunch time, or close to it. who is staying with Big Red for the i760 and who's jumping ship to Big Blue for the Kaiser or iPhone?
I am not considering this solely because of the delay by VZW, but it is indirectly because of it. The longer I have waited, the more that I have had time to fully consider what the best option may be. And where I am at right now, I guess I am more looking for reasons that I should wait longer for something only marginally different than what I currently have, as opposed to getting something now that will end my servitude to my aging i730.
Help me out here, folks!
If we need to go elswhere to discuss this, just let me know as well. But I wanted to respond a bit to Tim.
All of our experiences differ. For me, with LOTS of tweaks and customization, I haven't had to hard reset in 10 months or so. My last soft reset was about 3 weeks ago. While I would hope for none of either, it really hasn't been so bad. And what I get in return is a pretty robust, full-feature phone/computer. (Now I don't travel with my computer, just my phone!)
That said, like you Tim, I have spent a long time looking at (and drooling over) the iPhone. But for me, here is the bottom line. For the iPhone, one really has to be connected to get anything done (that no 3rd party app rule), and then - as best as I can tell - it is a "work around" to allow (for example) someone to edit a document or spreadsheet.
I am a Mac-nut, through and through. And it kills me the the iPhone isn't as good as the i730 (and I anticipate the i760 to be) in basic office functions. I take notes at meetings on my phone; I edit documents/write articles on airplanes; I keep track of all my travel expenses on a spreadsheet; and I listen to music and watch videos in all types of locations. The iPhone can only to the last in this list.
So...while I, too, wish that the hardware was even more spectacular (for me that would mean, higher megapixel camera, irDA, faster processor, longer battery, VERTICAL slide, and even slimmer than the i760 is purported to be), I find that the functionality of the i730 (and i760) will be higher than that of the iPhone for me. I want to be able to do what I want REGARDLESS of being connected or not. To HAVE to rely on connectivity for things other than data and phone seems to limit its usefulness.
Again, this is just my own take...and not meant to flame/challenge anyone. I am tired of waiting and am thrilled that we have only a month left. And once the device comes out, then we can decide if it has been worth the wait or not.
Thanks for letting me opine!
P.S. Oh, and at least for the moment, I don't think one can sync one's calendar, tasks, or contacts OTA to one's own computer or through a 3rd party server/service. For me that is a deal breaker. My assistant is constantly updating my calendar and I get it on the go. Without that ability, at the moment, I would be lost. (my guess is that Apple will change that, but as best as I understand, it is not a functionality rught now).
so i say, let's start a roll call. it's crunch time, or close to it. who is staying with Big Red for the i760 and who's jumping ship to Big Blue for the Kaiser or iPhone?
KAISER!! <--my vote.
I'm good with my 6700 right now. I can wait. I'm goin' down with the ship!
When considering the iPhone, remember that it only runs EDGE. That means SLOW networking. As a i730 user, you may be used to internet browsing, streaming music/video, email, and the like. If that is true, the interface alone will not satisfy you enough to not regret the day you bought iPhone.
If you want to see a great phone, wait until September when AT&T introduces the Kaiser. If you cannot wait, the 8525 (aka Hermes, TyTN) is really great. It already has WM6 and runs AT&T fastest network protocol.
Because I no longer wished to wait for VZW to get its act together, I almost went to Sprint today to get the 6800 today. I spoke to some friends on Sprint and they scared me off. So, since I choose to have one GSM and one CDMA phone, I will wait for the i760 for VZW. I will continue to use my TyTN on Cingular as my primary phone until September when I get the Kaiser.
The wait for the i760 is killing me. Since I was able to upgrade the TyTN to WM6, I am very happy with that device for now. In the meantime, I am looking forward to the day when VZW learns a little big more about how to be humble and to put the needs of the customers before its own needs. Since I do not anticipate that happening, the i760 probably be the last VZW device I get.
__________________
Samsung Omnia- WM6.1 - VZW
HTC TyTN II - WM6.1 - on the new at&t - and loving it! "Fact veracity is not based on the validity of the source, but on the last thing posted."
As a i730 user, you may be used to internet browsing, streaming music/video, email, and the like. If that is true, the interface alone will not satisfy you enough to not regret the day you bought iPhone.
But Pocket IE is so slow at rendering pages, download speed has little impact. Of course large file Downloads are faster.
I was sitting at lunch with a friend that is on AT&T. He wants an iPhone badly. He called his son, and his phone dropped the call twice. I handed him my Verizon i730. Later we were sitting there listening to an oldies song that they were playing. I asked him what that was, (because I'm not that old ) He knew, and I did a quick internet search, downloaded a YouTube video, and sure enough, that was it. Talk about instant PDA phone envy. I suspect he will stick with AT&T and maybe even get an iPhone, no matter what
The thing is, while I have had the i730 for two years now, I still amaze people with the capabilities. And I recently found an application that was making it unstable and corrected that. So I'm happy enough for now, and can wait a while on a new PDA like the i760. But I don't want to take too many steps backwards, like losing the IR port and no longer using SD memory cards.
I also have the 730 since it came out. I still have those issues everyone else has. But as far a IE rendering pages, I am using the Netfront 3.4 technical review and it screams. On the TyTN and WM6, I do not need Netfront as IE seems to work very nicely. I am getting very impatient about not having the i760. The good news is, the rumors are all starting to agree with each other. I realize that means nothing, but it makes me feel a bit more comfortable inside.
As for the dropped calls on AT&T, regardless of what they say, most of my longer calls get dropped. This does not happen on VZW. I think AT&T thinks that is a feature.
__________________
Samsung Omnia- WM6.1 - VZW
HTC TyTN II - WM6.1 - on the new at&t - and loving it! "Fact veracity is not based on the validity of the source, but on the last thing posted."
After monitoring this thread ever since May........... I'm officially done!
I've been with Verizon for a long time now, and they've always been above par (reception wise), but in NO WAY "perfect" as many in this thread "might" claim. I've had my share of dropped calls and when it's bad you can't even dial out - as it "attempts" to dial with a "blank" response (meaning the minutes are being charged, but no response...... just emptiness ). Compared to other cellular companies, reception is only "slightly" better if not the same these days.. As other companies are getting better in my the area (Southern California) I don't see any reason to stay loyal to "the network". On top of that, I've heard from my AT&T rep, 3G is expanding and by next month (August) they'll be well equip to support my domain with it.
Adding insult to injury, the i760 hasn't even arrived and it's already out of date. By the time this dinosaur gets here, it'll be stuck in the stone age!!
I've been comparing the i760 to the HTC Kaiser since the most appealing upcoming VZW phone is the i760, but by a long shot it (i760) loses horribly. The list is simply toooooo long to list, but in short: Kaiser has faster benchmark processing, double it's ROM & RAM, GPS, tilting screen, thinner, 3MP camera w/ auto focus, USB 2.0, etc... Adding to that AT&T voice+data plans are also cheaper & better than VZW's.
So, for me there's just far too many negatives to get stuck with VZW & the i760 for just slightly better "network" coverage. PEACE!
Like everyone else I have been waiting for the i760 and in my case nursing my 700W along. I skipped the i730 and have been generally satisfied with the Treo except for the screen real estate.
To tide me over until the Sammy arrives, I bought an unlocked HTC 7501 from CompUSA running WM6 Pro and activated it on ATT since we get 3G here. 5" screen, emoze push sync, built in GPS, WiFi, full bluetooth profiles, qwerty keyboard, touchscreen, et al. Except for the size - somewhat clunky, it really gets the job done.
Back on topic - I called my wdts tier 3 contact in Albuquerque today and he said that they now have the faqs and knowledge base available for the i760 on their system for tech support. A good sign.
I ended up getting a used 700wx to hold me over until the i760 comes out. I am extremely happy I did! I don't think I could handle these delays any longer if I didn't have a somewhat decent PDA phone in hand Just something to think about.
I bought a 700wx as well. I have had it for one week and the ONLY thing I dont like is the small screen. I have been watching the battery life very closely. Today I unplugged it from charger at 6 am I have received about 16 emails, sent 3 emails (with pics), made approx 2 hours worth of phone calls, received 4 text messages, sent one MMS, and taken 34 pictures. Right now at 10:40 pm I have 42 % battery. I am using a seidio 2400 battery.
That being said, I will probably still buy the 760. I am addicted to gadgets I am only worried about the send/end buttons location. Looks easy to accidentally press.
so i say, let's start a roll call. it's crunch time, or close to it. who is staying with Big Red for the i760 and who's jumping ship to Big Blue for the Kaiser or iPhone?
I've been with VZW for 16 years (started with Cellular One here), I've had the i600 and the i730 from day one and I've followed every post in this thread from day one. It's just too little too late (and it's not even here). I'll be switching to AT&T to get the Kaiser for me and the iPhone for the Mrs. So long big Red.
[quote=DIAR;644334]why do people keep saying that. they are not the same device. Kaiser has more memory, GPS, two cameras, better cameras (i don't really care about cameras, but still...), access to faster data networks (HSDPA, HSUPA), scroll wheel, usb 2.0 and tilt screen - all in a package about the same size. come on, give props where they are due.
QUOTE]
Take a look at each of them - they look identical - and all have the same features. There's not a bit of innovation in any of those handsets. Sure, some can cram and extra megapixel here and there but who cares! I'm hoping my i760 with the front keypad/numberpad/wheel will really ease one handed dialing and blow those other handsets away.
who is staying with Big Red for the i760 and who's jumping ship to Big Blue for the Kaiser or iPhone?
I'm definitely sticking with Big Red. I switched from T-Mobile 2 years ago, and I still brag to my friends about how ever since I've actually been able to make phone calls. I've also got a Blackjack on AT&T, and that thing drops calls quicker than I can answer them sometimes. So it's either Verizon or Sprint, and I like Verizon.
Sure, they should have had a proper replacement for the i730 a while ago, but I've got time, and it'll come eventually. And I'm looking forward to GIN/VCast, because I'll probably use them from time to time as long as I've got them available to me, especially if that includes TiVo mobile.
Take a look at each of them - they look identical - and all have the same features. There's not a bit of innovation in any of those handsets. Sure, some can cram and extra megapixel here and there but who cares! I'm hoping my i760 with the front keypad/numberpad/wheel will really ease one handed dialing and blow those other handsets away.
That is the one thing that "had" me about the i760--I think the front face keypad is a phenomenal idea. I really hope that takes off--especially if it allows T9 input. Again though, it's just "too little, too late" for me.
The Kaiser is a infinately superior device by specifications, from everything I can tell, even if it "looks identical" to older models. The front keypaid definately differentiates and makes the i760 a "pretty" device, but it reminds me of the saying "beauty's only skin deep." In this case, the internals are starting to matter. The device Verizon is going to release next month(?) is going to have technology that has been over a year in making, and would have been cutting edge 9 months ago. In the computer world, a computer 9 months old has probably been supersceded at least once, if not twice, and the PDAPhone world isn't much different ... just some manufacturers (and providers) have a much much much slower release cycle then others.
I'm going to miss the keypad of my i730 when I finally retire it for something else, and the front-facing number pad on the i760 is a great idea, but it's just not enough.
I have looked at and played with the iPhone. It is a thing of beauty - the form factor is tremendous. No one argues with that. It's drawbacks, though, are it being on at&t, the many things that it can't do that the Windows Mobile platform can do, and current lack of any 3rd party software. But, here is the thing that is grabbing me. Around here, at least, it seems that at&t's network is about equal to vzw. When I think of what the iPhone CAN do, there really isn't a lot that I need it to do that WM can do. And, what the iPhone can do, it does superbly. And, as far as third party software, much of the stuff we all put on our WM phones isn't needed on the iPhone, because it comes with it, or is unnecessary.
I am right there with you on the iPhone, and as much as I WANT it, I know it's not for me right now, for the same reason I wouldn't buy a Nokia. I don't want to deal with a closed system. I want the availability of a lot of third-party applications that can do the things I want (like SlingPlayer, and TomTom.) The next reason I can't get it is the data connection. EDGE radio is crap. For 99% of people who don't know better, they will like it until the 3G iPhone comes out and they buy that, but for me, I would go bananas at dealing with those speeds again.
The iPhone is great because the interface is amazing. It's like the first time you show someone exposé on OS X. There is a definate "oooh" factor to the phone. It's smooth, it feels nice, it does what you expect when you expect it to. It's not at all painful to use (as some of the phones I've tried have .. including some of the WinMo phones.) It's an amazing phone overall, and the part I am excited about is that I hope it will drive technology.
To me, the iPhone is just a jaw-droppingly beautiful technology demonstrator, but it wouldn't suit my needs. I need something with high speed internet and an open system that runs the programs I want. When the next generation of iPhone comes out with high speed internet and a software development kit ... I'm going to buy it. I'll offer my first-born child for it. Until then, to me, it's like that bad girl in high school. You really really really want her, but you know that as soon as you have her, all the little faults are going to piss you off more then it's worth.
Just something to think about.
Later we were sitting there listening to an oldies song that they were playing. I asked him what that was, (because I'm not that old 
). Compared to other cellular companies, reception is only "slightly" better if not the same these days.. As other companies are getting better in my the area (Southern California) I don't see any reason to stay loyal to "the network". On top of that, I've heard from my AT&T rep, 3G is expanding and by next month (August) they'll be well equip to support my domain with it.
PEACE!
I am only worried about the send/end buttons location. Looks easy to accidentally press.
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