Comparing with Universal/ Jasjar

[manu407]

Shall we compare Athena with HTC Universal? The hardware features, quality, built in software, speed, everything?

[Bader]

Let's try:


- Athena is absolutely uncomfortable as a phone
- Athena is a little bit :-) larger and heavier
- Athena is more expensive
+ Athena's screen is much bigger
+ Athena nave embedded GPS
+ Athena have HDD
+ Athena have VGA-out
+ Athena have VueFLO (but is't really useless feature)
+ Athena have 3 mpix AF camera


more?

[mackaby007]

When people have the Advantage/Ameo etc, it will be more appropriate to make comparisons that one can agree or disagree with.

[Bader]

Just FYI - some live photos of Athena
http://foto.ixbt.com/?id=album:4006

[mackaby007]

Just FYI - some live photos of Athena
http://foto.ixbt.com/?id=album:4006

Thanks a million for those brilliant high res photos Bader! :)

It's nice to get a real world perspective of size on the X7500 against other devices and equipment. If you don't mind, I'm going to post a link to the site you listed here, everyone who doesn't have one yet and is interested will appreciate these pics. Thanks again.

BTW I will be posting here:

http://www.4winmobile.com/next-vt4467.html?postdays=0&postorder=asc&&start=80

and here:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=286884&page=13

[Bader]

Here you are! :-)
Gallery updated

PS You've put mistake in my nick on 4winmobile :-)

[mackaby007]

Here you are! :-)
Gallery updated

Thanks Bader. :)

Any chance of a first impressions review? Or feedback on performance with 3rd party apps compared to other devices...like Universal? I know, I know...you were probably going to do that before I opened my big mouth last week. :(

Anyway thanks again for your contributions, they are appreciated. :)

[mackaby007]

Actually Bader...there is one very important question I would love to be answered...if your willing of course.

Can/have you tested the USB host capabilities of the X7500? I mean can you hook up a full sized keyboard and or mouse, or even a external hard-drive?

This would be huge plus for me personally, but I think others would like to know too. Cheers.

[Bader]

Unfortunately, I don't have Universal now, but in any case I'll put here are some feedbacks:

Performance is good enougt, f.e. "windows" folder is to be opened in one second

700 Mb movie is loaded in 3 minutes via USB (2.0?)

Original DivX movies can be watching wo recoding with at least 80% efficiency (parhabs depends on embedded ATI Imageon chip, now I'm tryin' to tune it :-))

GPS works worse than in Artemis - probably cause of metall body

Battery is really good - about two days while books reading, movies watching, push-mail recieving etc.

Camera - ghm... SonyEricsson's one is better :-)

No vibracall! :-)

What else? Please ask :-)

[Bader]

About USB-host - unfortunately, I don't have the the cable to try this function (I've got the device in test package). VGA-out works well.

[victoradjei]

About USB-host - unfortunately, I don't have the the cable to try this function (I've got the device in test package). VGA-out works well.

The normal htc USB cable should do. Connect the mini to your Athena, and the regular usb end to your drive eg. pocket drive, card reader etc. :cool:

[hx4700spain]

gps worse than the one of p3300? 1º slower to take satellite? 2º fixes less satellite?

[mackaby007]

Unfortunately, I don't have Universal now, but in any case I'll put here are some feedbacks:

Performance is good enougt, f.e. "windows" folder is to be opened in one second

700 Mb movie is loaded in 3 minutes via USB (2.0?)

Original DivX movies can be watching wo recoding with at least 80% efficiency (parhabs depends on embedded ATI Imageon chip, now I'm tryin' to tune it :-))

GPS works worse than in Artemis - probably cause of metall body

Battery is really good - about two days while books reading, movies watching, push-mail recieving etc.

Camera - ghm... SonyEricsson's one is better :-)

No vibracall! :-)

What else? Please ask :-)

Great stuff Bader, thanks for the feedback. So GPS is worse than Artemis? Is it acceptable though? Or do you experience weak signal and drop outs, in comparison?

You say Divx plays at about 80% without the need for recoding? That's not bad depending on bitrate. (I'll PM you about this). Are we talking like torrent movie encoding quality here? DVD rips? I hope so, because then there is a lot of room for improvement.

Didn't expect much from the camera anyway.

No Vibra call? Glad I ordered me a vibrating Bluetooth Plantronics 640 now. :)

"700 Mb movie is loaded in 3 minutes via USB (2.0?)". Is this via active sync straight to the device? If so, that's not bad.

I like the windows folder opening time. But is that on a fresh machine or with loads of 3rd party apps?

How about surfing in high res mode? Is this supported in the ROM version you have? And if so, how is the speed of page rendering compared to your experience of other PPC devices?

Thanks again for taking the time and effort to answer these questions Bader. Pls check your PM.

[Arya]

What is your model? Advantage, ameo or U1000?
How is the building quality?

[Bader]

2 victoradjei
I're wrong - USBhost is based on another slot than sync/charge USB. It is good seen on this picture - http://foto.ixbt.com/?id=photo:57887
Left one is VGAout/USBhost with proprietary connector.

2 hx4700spain
I'ts only my opinion, based on expirience - it seem to me, that Artemis finds sattelites faster, and sesitivity is a little bit better. Unfortunately, i cannot compare and measure, cause Artemis was sold 4 month ago :-)
I any case - Athena's GPS wokrs much better than any 12channel device.

mackaby007
About movies - yes, sure, i mean DVD-rips on maximum quality settings. If set low details - so performance comes to 200% :-)

About loading speed - yes, 3 minutes via AS or WM5torage - no any difference

"Windows" opening time - it on real used device with about 20 thirdparty apps installed.

RealVGA is not supported in current ROM :-(
But there are Opera installed (in ExtROM), and it's posible to scale up and down - looks like real VGA. Rendering speed is about 2 times faster than on my Herald.

PS I'll answer PM in few minutes.

2 Arya
HTC X-7500
Looks very durable, can be used as selfdefence weapon :D
Seriosly - building quality is perfect.

[hx4700spain]

please photos made by the athena
how long in minutes to take satellite?

[Bader]

http://foto.ixbt.com/?id=camera:703

Warm start - about 2 minutes

[P996]

I just got the T-Mobile Ameo today, the branded version of the HTC X7500.
With the exception of the silver casing (instead of black as on the X7500), the Ameo is the same.

Here are the first impressions:

1. build quality excellent, display quality very good (but not at par with the Sony Vaio UX "micro"-laptop for example), speed is very good too, the programs just "fly".

2. GSM/GPRS reception is pretty good, I didn't have the chance to try out UMTS/HSDPA yet since I'm living outside the city and we get only Vodafone UMTS over here

3. you can't use the unit like a normal cell phone, you need to use a headset or the built-in speaker phone. This is pretty annoying, making the Ameo actually more a kind of a internet working machine, not a cell phone. If you're planning to use this baby for everything, including "classic" cell phone operation, forget about it

4. if you think that the new magnetic keypad is interesting, wait until you actually see the WHOLE "system" working incl. the leather protection casing.
You can't actually use the magnetic keypad without the leather casing since the Ameo itself may "fall down" sooner or later, causing a lot of damage to the unit if it falls down from a higher height. Use the leather casing, it provides the necessary "grip", so the Ameo doesn't move at all to the back.
It is a pretty interesting and well thought through combo, you have to see it for yourself to understand how it works. The pictures you may have seen on the internet, showing a woman holding the Ameo in her hand, attached to the magnetic keypad are actually CRAP. The Ameo has no support in the back and if this woman would move her hand a bit, the Ameo would fall down. I don't understand why T-Mobile doesn't advertise in pictures the whole "system" with the leather casing, so people understand how it is working and how WELL it is working.

5. inserting the SIM card was kind of a pain in the a.., it wasn't too easy and you can't swap SIM cards on a regular basis, this would be too annoying.

6. the new Opera browser is a treat, it works great compared to the also supplied Internet Explorer. The Opera 8.6x browser was a good choice for the Ameo.

7. the built-in 3 MP camera is easy too use, it uses an autofokus which works pretty well and it even has a flash. Picture quality is pretty good when there is enough light but the object has to stay steady if you want to get a good picture. Video quality pretty much sucks, if the object moves, you just get a blurr, nothing else. That said, the specs of the camera are more impressive on paper than in reality but it is pretty "usable".

8. since the keypad system uses a strong magnet, you have to be careful where you transport/keep your unit in the leather casing. If your credits cards, etc. are close to it, you may have them corrupted.

9. after installing my "usual" programs (Worldmate, AgendaOne, WiFi Companion, Subsembly Wallet and GPS Meter), the Ameo started to be kept in an incontinouus booting cycle (like a soft reset). I had to hard reset the unit and start all over again installing my programs, pretty annoying. So the firmware DEFINETELY isn't bug-free yet. :(

[hx4700spain]

more photo by athena please

[mackaby007]

mackaby007
About movies - yes, sure, i mean DVD-rips on maximum quality settings. If set low details - so performance comes to 200% :-)

About loading speed - yes, 3 minutes via AS or WM5torage - no any difference

"Windows" opening time - it on real used device with about 20 thirdparty apps installed.

RealVGA is not supported in current ROM :-(
But there are Opera installed (in ExtROM), and it's posible to scale up and down - looks like real VGA. Rendering speed is about 2 times faster than on my Herald.

PS I'll answer PM in few minutes.

Thanks Bader!! That's really good news, just what I was hoping to hear so far. C PM.

[mackaby007]

I just got the T-Mobile Ameo today, the branded version of the HTC X7500.
With the exception of the silver casing (instead of black as on the X7500), the Ameo is the same.

Here are the first impressions:

1. build quality excellent, display quality very good (but not at par with the Sony Vaio UX "micro"-laptop for example), speed is very good too, the programs just "fly".

2. GSM/GPRS reception is pretty good, I didn't have the chance to try out UMTS/HSDPA yet since I'm living outside the city and we get only Vodafone UMTS over here

3. you can't use the unit like a normal cell phone, you need to use a headset or the built-in speaker phone. This is pretty annoying, making the Ameo actually more a kind of a internet working machine, not a cell phone. If you're planning to use this baby for everything, including "classic" cell phone operation, forget about it

4. if you think that the new magnetic keypad is interesting, wait until you actually see the WHOLE "system" working incl. the leather protection casing.
You can't actually use the magnetic keypad without the leather casing since the Ameo itself may "fall down" sooner or later, causing a lot of damage to the unit if it falls down from a higher height. Use the leather casing, it provides the necessary "grip", so the Ameo doesn't move at all to the back.
It is a pretty interesting and well thought through combo, you have to see it for yourself to understand how it works. The pictures you may have seen on the internet, showing a woman holding the Ameo in her hand, attached to the magnetic keypad are actually CRAP. The Ameo has no support in the back and if this woman would move her hand a bit, the Ameo would fall down. I don't understand why T-Mobile doesn't advertise in pictures the whole "system" with the leather casing, so people understand how it is working and how WELL it is working.

5. inserting the SIM card was kind of a pain in the a.., it wasn't too easy and you can't swap SIM cards on a regular basis, this would be too annoying.

6. the new Opera browser is a treat, it works great compared to the also supplied Internet Explorer. The Opera 8.6x browser was a good choice for the Ameo.

7. the built-in 3 MP camera is easy too use, it uses an autofokus which works pretty well and it even has a flash. Picture quality is pretty good when there is enough light but the object has to stay steady if you want to get a good picture. Video quality pretty much sucks, if the object moves, you just get a blurr, nothing else. That said, the specs of the camera are more impressive on paper than in reality but it is pretty "usable".

8. since the keypad system uses a strong magnet, you have to be careful where you transport/keep your unit in the leather casing. If your credits cards, etc. are close to it, you may have them corrupted.

9. after installing my "usual" programs (Worldmate, AgendaOne, WiFi Companion, Subsembly Wallet and GPS Meter), the Ameo started to be kept in an incontinouus booting cycle (like a soft reset). I had to hard reset the unit and start all over again installing my programs, pretty annoying. So the firmware DEFINETELY isn't bug-free yet. :(

Hi P996.

Firstly congrats on your purchase. Thanks for your first impressions review. Just what the rest of us need during our agonizing wait. :)

Hope the following is not to personal, but in what part of the world do you live or more importantly, where did you get your Ameo from? I'm itching to know. :)

[mackaby007]

P996....your killing me. :) UK?

[Arya]

tanX Bader
how much you buy it? from where?
Do Playing video and GPS have a few problems?

[Bader]

2 Arya
I've got it as test sample. Ofiicial sales in Russia starts on April.
About GPS and video - please see my previous messages

[Arya]

2 Arya
I've got it as test sample. Ofiicial sales in Russia starts on April.
About GPS and video - please see my previous messages

ok
tanX a lot

[Arya]

2 Arya
I've got it as test sample. Ofiicial sales in Russia starts on April.
About GPS and video - please see my previous messages

OK
I read your previous messages;-)
tanX for your info
I have some questions too:D
The magnetic keypad is not strong too unit?
can use it with a hand in walking? do it fall down?
in walking in street can use it? for example sending sms?:D:D
and other thing you say playing DivX is not good? is it slide slide?
how is quality if video recording? what is recording video size? 640*480? is it quality like Nokia N93 good? tha't camera is 3.2 MP!!!!
and last question:D :
with hard reset, memory will be format? micro drive formatted?
tanX and sorry for my long post

[jmdrizen]

Sorry to go over old ground, but I just wanted to check something,

Above it mentions "no vibracall".... is this the vibrating alert feature? As I was told by T-Mobile that it does have this... or did I get through to the cleaner answering the phone again :-/

Cheers!

[wu5262]

Sorry to go over old ground, but I just wanted to check something,

Above it mentions "no vibracall".... is this the vibrating alert feature? As I was told by T-Mobile that it does have this... or did I get through to the cleaner answering the phone again :-/

Cheers!

i can confirm no vibrating on Athena

[jmdrizen]

i can confirm no vibrating on Athena

Damn :-( A really minor feature for some but a requirement for me :-(

Does anyone know of any new devices in the pipeline that T-Mobile UK will be taking on?

I'd love to get the T600 by Gigabyte, but don't think I'll get a sniff of that in the UK :-(

[Arya]

Are you sure it hasn't vibration?
in GSMArena write it has!!!
http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_advantage_x7500-1887.php

[wu5262]

Are you sure it hasn't vibration?
in GSMArena write it has!!!
http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_advantage_x7500-1887.php

I am 100% sure, they probably just assume it has because it's so unusual for a phone to not have vibrate function.

[Arya]

I am 100% sure, they probably just assume it has because it's so unusual for a phone to not have vibrate function.

Ok,tanX
also Nokia N90 hasn't Vibration call!!!
and we must buy a vibration bluetooth headset or watch for silent place!!

[Arya]

2 Arya
I've got it as test sample. Ofiicial sales in Russia starts on April.
About GPS and video - please see my previous messages

OK
I read your previous messages;-)
tanX for your info
I have some questions too:D
The magnetic keypad is not strong too unit?
can use it with a hand in walking? do it fall down?
in walking in street can use it? for example sending sms?:D:D
and other thing you say playing DivX is not good? is it slide slide?
how is quality if video recording? what is recording video size? 640*480? is it quality like Nokia N93 good? tha't camera is 3.2 MP!!!!
and last question:D :
with hard reset, memory will be format? micro drive formatted?
tanX and sorry for my long post

[Bader]

2 Arya:

Hi!

Keypad attaches "semiautomatically" - just place close to body - it'll been attracted and stands still with click sound :-)
Writing messages on the move - why not? It's usable for purposes like that.
DivX movies are good, but but while are complicated fragments (with lot of fast moving details) on DVDrip movies - some frames losses may be. But in any case - watching is really comfortable.
Video cam - maximum resolution is 352x288; can tell only than Nokia's camcorder is better :-)
In case of hard reset all the MicroDrive stays.


Gallery updated: http://foto.ixbt.com/?id=album:4006

[Arya]

2 Arya:

Hi!

Keypad attaches "semiautomatically" - just place close to body - it'll been attracted and stands still with click sound :-)
Writing messages on the move - why not? It's usable for purposes like that.
DivX movies are good, but but while are complicated fragments (with lot of fast moving details) on DVDrip movies - some frames losses may be. But in any case - watching is really comfortable.
Video cam - maximum resolution is 352x288; can tell only than Nokia's camcorder is better :-)
In case of hard reset all the MicroDrive stays.


Gallery updated: http://foto.ixbt.com/?id=album:4006

tanX a lot bader
how is the video recording quality? how frame in secound?

[cornelius]

@ ARYA:
You like very interested to ATHENA, i keep on your post, and thanks for asking that. I get many info too...

[Arya]

@ ARYA:
You like very interested to ATHENA, i keep on your post, and thanks for asking that. I get many info too...

:D
I hope this forum be the best forum for HTC Athena:D:D
tanX