Some questions to all you seasoned mobile warriors

[jketzetera]

So far I have been a lurker in this forum reading lots of posts regarding the Universal. I have not bitten the bullet yet (i.e. ordered one) but I am tempted to do so. Before making my final decision I would appreciate some input from Universal users.

I am a heavy e-mail user and would use the Universal with a flat fee 3G subscription. My inbox is currently 1 GB and I was planning to get a large SD card and download all my e-mail to the device.

How well does Outlook function on the Universal when you have large inboxes?

How long does it take to browse and search among e-mails, seconds or minutes?

How long does it take to open attachments of normal size (i.e. 300 kB)?

Are the pocket versions of Office usable on the Universal i.e. is it feasible to browse spreadsheets and view word-files or does screen size / CPU speed or other factors prevent the Universal from being effectively used as a micro-laptop?

Can one browse regular webpages (not wappages) successfully with the available browsers or does screen size / CPU speed / lack of plug-in support etc. prevent the Universal from being practically used for regular web browsing?

Finally, is it possible to play XVID rips with "regular" size (i.e. a movie is either 700MB or 2x700MB) without dropping frames on the Universal?

I realize that my questions (and possible answers) are subjective to a large extent. However, it is your subjective opinion on the usability of the Universal that I want!

[EyeOfTheStorm]

So far I have been a lurker in this forum reading lots of posts regarding the Universal. I have not bitten the bullet yet (i.e. ordered one) but I am tempted to do so. Before making my final decision I would appreciate some input from Universal users.

I am a heavy e-mail user and would use the Universal with a flat fee 3G subscription. My inbox is currently 1 GB and I was planning to get a large SD card and download all my e-mail to the device.

How well does Outlook function on the Universal when you have large inboxes?

How long does it take to browse and search among e-mails, seconds or minutes?

How long does it take to open attachments of normal size (i.e. 300 kB)?

Are the pocket versions of Office usable on the Universal i.e. is it feasible to browse spreadsheets and view word-files or does screen size / CPU speed or other factors prevent the Universal from being effectively used as a micro-laptop?

Can one browse regular webpages (not wappages) successfully with the available browsers or does screen size / CPU speed / lack of plug-in support etc. prevent the Universal from being practically used for regular web browsing?

Finally, is it possible to play XVID rips with "regular" size (i.e. a movie is either 700MB or 2x700MB) without dropping frames on the Universal?

I realize that my questions (and possible answers) are subjective to a large extent. However, it is your subjective opinion on the usability of the Universal that I want!

Is think, you should better bye a laptop

[jketzetera]

I already have an ultra-portable laptop, which I sit infront 10hrs / day. I thought that the Universal would make a nice compliment to my laptop for the remaining 14hrs ;-).

[graybo]

I have around 1300 emails in my inbox and can scroll up and down very quickly on my Universal. Pocket Outlook doesn't seem to have any search facilities though. I have Push Email configured (using the very latest o2 ROM) from Exchange 2003 and it works very well. I don't bother with attachments though so I can't comment on them.

[matt1971]

I have around 1300 emails in my inbox and can scroll up and down very quickly on my Universal. Pocket Outlook doesn't seem to have any search facilities though. I have Push Email configured (using the very latest o2 ROM) from Exchange 2003 and it works very well. I don't bother with attachments though so I can't comment on them.

There is a search facility on all PPC that allows you to search through contacts, calender and messaging etc.

You can store attachments on a storage card, although the body of emails stays on the phone.

Word Mobile is OK but doesnt allow images - you just get a big X
Excel Mobile is good and allows some chart integration - doesnt offer all of the functionality that Excel XP does.

IE is good especially displayed in full screen and landscape at the smallest font size at the default view (instead of one column or desktop) Pages can sometimes take a while to appear due to the cpu chugging along - but is alot better than IE on say WM2003SE


Matt

[jketzetera]

Thanks for the input. Can you confirm the search facility on the Universal and give some details on it?

[matt1971]

Thanks for the input. Can you confirm the search facility on the Universal and give some details on it?

By choosing search, you are presented with the following options:

All Data
Calender
Contacts
Excel Mobile
Help
Larger than 64kb
Messaging
Notes
Outlook Mobile
Tasks
Word Mobile

.....You just enter what it is you want to find and it will find it.

A program like Total Commander (Which is freeware and a replacement for File Explorer) contains options to find files and works better for file searching and allows for searching within files.

Basically - even if WM5 doesnt do something - there will be another app sometimes free that will enhance functionality.


Matt

[beachmeat]

To answer on the Xvid issue: never tried that but I am very sure you need to rip it down to a smaller (pixel- and file-) size to view it without choking.