General Exec questions

[budo*85]

Hi all,

I currently own a SPV C500 which is coming to the end of it's life due to the fact the my contract ends v.soon.

Basically how does the Exec fair compared to the SPV, i know it's ALOT more powerful but is it as stable.

After reading alot of threads on here i noticed there seems to be quite a negative vibe around this phone, due to it's unstablity. Is it really that bad? and when i get it (some time next week) will i have to upgrade anything or will it be fine out the box?

edit> oh and can the O2 users get a pdf file reader on it, as i have read somewhere it doesn't have it while the M5000 does :?

thanks all! regards,

[apple_power]

What can I say,

1-Size is big and bulky in contast.
2-Screen is gorgeous
3-Takes a while for screen to flip or rotate.
4-I have had no real dramas with mine
5- If youw nat the pfr reader I can send you that.
6-o2 users get a task manager
7-battery life is nota sgood as your smartphone
8-Takes better pictures
9-Faster
10-Great keyboard
11-How much will you use it?
What are your uses?
I use mine as a basic phone, pim and email device and mp3 pakyer does job great out of the box. I did buy a belt case though.

[budo*85]

What can I say,

11-How much will you use it?
What are your uses?
I use mine as a basic phone, pim and email device and mp3 pakyer does job great out of the box. I did buy a belt case though.

how much will i use it? roughly 4 hours a day, inc phone calls, music etc.

What uses? Phone (obvioulsy) MP3 player (inc videos) check mail sometimes, recording my lectures for that week (using calendar) plus meetings, use tasks for various stuff. Use word and Excel. Camera when I'm out, games! (I'm still 20 lol)

I'm sure other things which i will find out when i get it.

[adesonic]

Must say that I love mine, just be careful what you install (some apps not good for WM5.0 and slow it down). I have had no dramas with mine either although some people have so its not been a universally (scuse pun) good experience for all.

You should also get a BT headset for phone use and install MS voice command + the registry hacks that make it useable from the headset with MSVC.

Beyond that, very nice, very tasteful, love all that............

[SiliconS]

There's a bit of a negative vibe from certain disgruntled users who've been having problems (caused by 3rd-party software?) but there's a thread in this forum in which people are giving their Universal marks out of ten. The vast majority give it 8/10 or better.

It's a great machine but you have to treat it with care when choosing 3rd-party software to install. Not all developers have released truly compatible versions yet, despite what some of them are claiming...

[jah]

T..

It's a great machine but you have to treat it with care when choosing 3rd-party software to install. Not all developers have released truly compatible versions yet, despite what some of them are claiming...

Sorry friend, not really true. There are people who have found call problems, BT reception problems, missed calls and some M$ does not always work on the Universal. My experience is that the more features you use the more difficulties you find. I don't regard the problems I have had with the "suspend" feature a problem with third-party s/w.

[SiliconS]

T..

It's a great machine but you have to treat it with care when choosing 3rd-party software to install. Not all developers have released truly compatible versions yet, despite what some of them are claiming...
Sorry friend, not really true. There are people who have found call problems, BT reception problems, missed calls and some M$ does not always work on the Universal. My experience is that the more features you use the more difficulties you find. I don't regard the problems I have had with the "suspend" feature a problem with third-party s/w.
I'll say it again...
There's a bit of a negative vibe from certain disgruntled users who've been having problems (caused by 3rd-party software?) but there's a thread in this forum in which people are giving their Universal marks out of ten. The vast majority give it 8/10 or better.
Still seems to me that many people have problems because of the software they've installed on their machines. The out-of-the-box Exec is a great, stable machine once the O2 Active stuff is removed. Incompatible 3rd-party software slows the whole machine down, leading to missed calls, slow answering, slow orientation changes, unreliable alarms etc etc. I had these same problems too, at the beginning after I'd installed the trial versions of all the 3rd-party software I wanted. So I removed all the third-party software again (PocketBreeze, PocketPlus, PocketWeather, PocketInformant etc.) and now my Exec is fantastic. I can't remember the last time I did a soft reset and I NEVER force-close any applications. It just works.

I obviously don't know your situation, jah, or which software you're running on your various Universals, but the fact that most people rate their Universal 8/10 or better says more to me than the loudly-shouted problems of unlucky people who have machines like yours.

[apple_power]

I would personally say go for it. I initially thought mine was huge, but once you start to use it you soon forget the size. I have had no issues except for my sheer stupidity. I was born with that so used to that now :oops:


No honestly from what ytou say, you can quite well get away using the exec as it is out of the box. My brother uses the 02 stuff with his and has not noted ant slow down, mine is now a generic version. I love the screen so hard to go back and use my wizard after using my exec.

[jah]

SiliconS,

if I use "suspend" I miss calls and I have not changed my third-party app installation. And you need third-party apps especially as the PIM in WM5 is very poor. MS Reader - a M$ WM5 app does not work properly with the SD card stored eBooks if you use "suspend". I am not shouting about problems I am being realistic ( I have used Palm OS and Symbian and I also report my issues with those devices). People report problems and in many cases they have removed third-party apps to eliminate the source of problems. Many users have their Execs freeze when SMS arrives (and these users have no third-party apps running) and I my Exec freeze when downloading emails over GPRS/UMTS (as my JJ did). What I have noticed, even though it seems odd, is that my Exec is less stable after I installed the latest ROM from the O2 site. The ROM that came with my Exec seemed more stable.

[budo*85]

Few more question ppl (thanks for the previous replies)

Well i finally bought it yesterday! chuffed to bits....(so far)

few niggles though:

1) How do you set profiles? and does it have an "automatic"profile, which changes from "normal" to "discreet" when a meeting is taking place on your calendar?

2) On the "home" screen can you change the font colour from white to black or any other colour?

3) How do you change your bluetooth name?

4) How do check the "call history" when the O2 install type is on "basic"

5) To which folder do you place mp3s or WAVs so that they can be played back as notifications?

6) How do you change skins on WMP? I've downloaded the skins, but which folder do you put it in to enable it?



cheers,

[budo*85]

bump... can anyone help? ^^

thanks

[Moandal]

SiliconS,

What I have noticed, even though it seems odd, is that my Exec is less stable after I installed the latest ROM from the O2 site. The ROM that came with my Exec seemed more stable.

I'm puzzled by this statement - the ROM on the O2 site is the original ROM that all units are shipped with. There is no update yet, although they're working on one.

[alese]

1) How do you set profiles? and does it have an "automatic"profile, which changes from "normal" to "discreet" when a meeting is taking place on your calendar?
2) On the "home" screen can you change the font colour from white to black or any other colour?
3) How do you change your bluetooth name?
4) How do check the "call history" when the O2 install type is on "basic"
5) To which folder do you place mp3s or WAVs so that they can be played back as notifications?
6) How do you change skins on WMP? I've downloaded the skins, but which folder do you put it in to enable it?


What I know:
1. There is a program PocketZenPhone with this functionality - search the forums. There are also some other sollutions but I don't remember the names
2. You can change the "Theme" of today screen and whole machine, including font colour. Search for Today Themes on the forum
3. This is connected to DeviceID name that you can set in About applet in Settings/System.
4. Can't help you here - don't have O2 branded machine, but in general you have a Call History Button on main Phone Application screen
5. I haven't tried on WM5 machine, but on WM2003 machines you coud not use MP3 by default (there is a hack though). Anyhow you put the files in the Windows\Rings folder.
6. Sorry never did this - but if you do a google search I'm sure there are some instructions out there