Should I buy an Athena or have I missed the boat?

[DannyBoy]

I've been buying HTC devices every year since the very first XDA came out. It seems to get harder each year to choose a device as more choice becomes available. I don't think the Athena was out last year (or only just out and a bit out of my price range) so it wasn't really a consideration.

Anyway I went for an Orbit/Armatis which I've really enjoyed, it has just about everything I need. Perhaps the only improvements I would make is 3G, VGA, more memory, faster processor and I do like the sound of the tv-out. So sounds like the Athena is still on the cards.

I'm just a bit worried I've missed the boat. What I mean is, is it a bit outdated now? Will they bring out a smaller/lighter version soon?

Other questions you could answer for me are as follows..

How have you all coped with the size?

For those of you using them as phone (rather than a umpc) how have they stood upto being in your pocket (without the case/keyboard)

I've heard they're not too good playing Divx movies (700mb variety). Is this true. Will the Roms available here correct this?

Any more advice great fully received.

Many thanks

DannyBoy

[spzero]

Now is good many peoploe are looking for something new Umpc's, Asus eee or shift type things and a few going on ebay mine will be gone soon i expect but its a great device if ur using as a phone a lot get a good BT headset like LG Style-i

[Digital.Diablo]

Id recommend it, as long as you wanted a mini-pc, rather than a phone. The internet features, harddisk, screen, and connectivity options really tick all the boxes, and the enhanced roms really improve the product.

If you want to use it as a phone, be prepared to use a BT headset or the wired option, or the speakerphone. I can't fault it on sound quality, but if you're a pub regular, you'll feel like a bit of a tit having it on your belt or in your pocket. Either that, or face swapping your sim out to another more portable phone. Luckily I've got a work mobile as well, so I can take that out with me.

The TV out is pretty good as is the VGA, provided you're not putting it on too large a screen (only 640x480 res). But is ok on my work monitor, watching last nights telly programme that I missed, or a film. One thing to be wary of, is that you MUST run the movies off the Microdrive (or memory). If you try and play it off a USB keyfob, its just too slow to support it. MP3's are ok (although can take a fair few seconds to load).

All in all, it comes down to if you want a mini-pc, or a phone with PDA functionality.

[shortyboy]

the size took quite a bit of getting used to but once u get the feel of its awsome w/the 5" touch screen.i use my jabra bt8010 and its probably the best bluetooth stereo headset for the athena coz its got a caller ID and vibrate.i usually keep the athena in a pouch or in my pocket.i dont use the case since it makes it fatter and kind of akward to hold.playing divx,xvid,flv..etc videos are great on the athena.there are specific settings to be made in TCPMP and once they are set ur good to go.ive never had any problems playing videos after making the settings.just make sure u go look for a demo or someone with on and test it out for a while and try to get a feel for it.hope this helps

[eaglesteve]

If you're mainly looking for a phone, I suggest you look elsewhere. But if you want internet on the move, this is just about the only device in the market currently. The smaller screens may be VGA, but the're too small to run REALVGA program. REALVGA is one of the greatest improvements to WM6's useability. If I have access to a notebook, I would of course prefer to use that to surf internet. But on the road, do I want to carry a ASUS eee with me just to surf internet or would I prefer to just carry an Athena? The answer is clearly Athena. But please don't expect the speed and functionality of a full web browser like some do.

Besides the large VGA screen, the presence of harddisk AND MicroSDHC is also brings about benefits that no other devices AFAIK can offer. By installing all your programs in the Microdrive, you give yourself the ability to swap the MicroSDHC (currently 8GB each max) in and out. I place all my musics, pictures, and videos on MicroSDHC. This means I have UNLIMITED storage capacity. Currently I have close to 80 applications on my microdrive, and uses less than 10% of microdrive's capacity.

GPS works great on screen of this size, although it looks good enough on smaller screen.

Another application of mine that works great on this 5 inch screen is Meta Trader 4, which displays chart of shares, currencies, commodities. The ability to know what's happening to your investments anywhere anytime is just fantastic.

Carrying it around has not been an issue for me. I have a home made belt pouch with velcro flap. I carry the device without keyboard, as a software keyboard called Tengo is far better than the hardware keyboard anyway.

I don't have any issue using the phone even without bluetooth headset, but others prefer to use it with one. Someone just posted a wristwatch styled headset which should complement this device perfectly. Google "bluevision watch" and you will be able to read more about this.

I don't have any issue with playing videos. It looks excellent from my perspective (always smooth and clear), although some think that it is crap, something I could never never understand. I don't compare that with my home theatre system's quality.

Next comes the camera. Its quality under bright daylight is excellent, but in indoor situation it is a bit lacking.

MP3 plays very very well on this device. Battery life is reasonably long. Depending on the use, about a quarter of people polled in another thread run it down in less than one day, a quarter in one day, a quarter in two days.. something like that.

In summary, this is the best convergent device in the market with the most ideal size imaginable. HTC SHIFT has got the size completely wrong IMHO. It is too big to be carried around 24/7 whereas Athea is not.

I've been a very very satisfied owner for about 9 months now. If I lost it today, my next phone is still going to be Athena, of course, unless they come up with a skinnier and lighter version, with FM radio, TV tuner, and infra, without reducing the size of the screen.

[DannyBoy]

Thankyou for giving such detailed opinions guys. It is much appreciated.

I think i'll get one but probably second hand rather than start a new contract.

Looking forward to playing with the Rom's in here. they look great.

[spacecat]

The athena is a cracking device, but for me it was a case of it falling between two devices and not doing either as well as they could be done.

too small to be a laptop and too big to be fone

so i have gone down the separate small fone and small laptop route.

i found after a while the phone function just became a pain in the bum and i actually wanted XP and not WM6 functionality

[apd]

The athena is a cracking device, but for me it was a case of it falling between two devices and not doing either as well as they could be done.

too small to be a laptop and too big to be fone

so i have gone down the separate small fone and small laptop route.

i found after a while the phone function just became a pain in the bum and i actually wanted XP and not WM6 functionality

And I'm the opposite - I want a machine for instant email access and web access with GPS etc which I can carry. I ahve a computer at work and at home.

The truth is, I'm afraid, you're going to have to make up your own mind! It is a big device but very usable (especially with a bluetooth headset). Everyone has their own opinion of it / uses for it but they may not match yours.

[spacecat]

if you use the GPS function in a car its a no brainer, as its nearly as a cheap as a decent satnav and can do a lot more.

otherwise ..like he said

[eaglesteve]

if you use the GPS function in a car its a no brainer, as its nearly as a cheap as a decent satnav and can do a lot more.

otherwise ..like he said

GPS in a car does not meet my need. Only a mobile one allows me to find direction after parking my car. You don't have to drive to enjoy the benefits. I use it to find points of interest such as restaurants . I use it while walking downtown to get to unfamiliar places rather than carrying a heavy streets directory.

Only a mobile one lets me play golf with a golf GPS software, telling me how far I'm from water hazards, from green, from trees, etc.

Only mobile GPS allows me to bring it overseas.

Also, after trying out a few 'dedicated' GPS, they are just inferior to mobile ones in terms of functionality.

Sure you can tell me that there are dedicated mobile GPS around which can satisfy my needs. But how many devices do you want to carry? For me, I want to take with me only one convergent device. I don't want a dedicated phone, another dedicated GPS, another dedicated web surfing subnotebook, another dedicated mp3 player, another camera, another video recorder. I'm sure there are people who fervently wants the best equipment dedicated to every single task, but that's their choice. I'm very happy to have made the Athena choice and sticking with it until a better convergent device comes along.

[spacecat]

GPS in a car does not meet my need. Only a mobile one allows me to find direction after parking my car. You don't have to drive to enjoy the benefits. I use it to find points of interest such as restaurants . I use it while walking downtown to get to unfamiliar places rather than carrying a heavy streets directory.

Only a mobile one lets me play golf with a golf GPS software, telling me how far I'm from water hazards, from green, from trees, etc.

Only mobile GPS allows me to bring it overseas.

Also, after trying out a few 'dedicated' GPS, they are just inferior to mobile ones in terms of functionality.

Sure you can tell me that there are dedicated mobile GPS around which can satisfy my needs. But how many devices do you want to carry? For me, I want to take with me only one convergent device. I don't want a dedicated phone, another dedicated GPS, another dedicated web surfing subnotebook, another dedicated mp3 player, another camera, another video recorder. I'm sure there are people who fervently wants the best equipment dedicated to every single task, but that's their choice. I'm very happy to have made the Athena choice and sticking with it until a better convergent device comes along.

? im referrering to the GPS system in the Athena

[DannyBoy]

Let's not forget I've had it built into a device literally half the size of the Athena for a year so its not really a selling point for the Athena. ;)

[runningerin]

Have you seen this? ...7501!

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3153290&Sku=H224-1010

[keithwwalker]

As an ex Clie pda user, I have ditched the little keyboard and use the WM6 version of graffiti text input, and have never looked back at the keyboard again. With the supplied leather case, it improves portability so much it can fit into the back of my jeans pocket.

Haven't loaded gps, but will in the coming year.

A must is the Jabra bt8010 for stereo bluetooth, and phone use, so you don't have to pull out the athena everytime. Otherwise you are using the speaker phone to talk to people, not the best.

I would have to say, if you want the screen size, the Athena is hard to beat when you look at the spec sheet. Most UMPC's don't have a cell phone built in. Most cell phones don't have a big screen that give you pda functionality.

I would say the only other alternatives is the HTC Touch, if you can live with the smaller screen size.

My only gripes on the Athena:

Video performance @30fps is BAD

Occasional A2DP stereo bluetooth skips, A2DP is so good I would never use an iPhone or iPod or any phone without it again!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If they come out with an Athena2, this is what I would like to see:
Solid State Hard Disc of at least 32GB
Solid video performance
Drop the keyboard - it scared away a lot of people with the gimmicky magnet attachment and small useless size.

To sum up, if you like the large screen of the PDA's (480x320), and love pda functionality, then you will like the Athena. It lets me carry only one device.

DON'T FORGET THAT THE CES SHOW IS ONLY A MONTH AWAY, there could be a new device that manages to top the Athena there, lets hope it is the Athena 2!

[eaglesteve]

As an ex Clie pda user, I have ditched the little keyboard and use the WM6 version of graffiti text input, and have never looked back at the keyboard again. With the supplied leather case, it improves portability so much it can fit into the back of my jeans pocket.

Haven't loaded gps, but will in the coming year.

A must is the Jabra bt8010 for stereo bluetooth, and phone use, so you don't have to pull out the athena everytime. Otherwise you are using the speaker phone to talk to people, not the best.

I would have to say, if you want the screen size, the Athena is hard to beat when you look at the spec sheet. Most UMPC's don't have a cell phone built in. Most cell phones don't have a big screen that give you pda functionality.

I would say the only other alternatives is the HTC Touch, if you can live with the smaller screen size.

My only gripes on the Athena:

Video performance @30fps is BAD

Occasional A2DP stereo bluetooth skips, A2DP is so good I would never use an iPhone or iPod or any phone without it again!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If they come out with an Athena2, this is what I would like to see:
Solid State Hard Disc of at least 32GB
Solid video performance
Drop the keyboard - it scared away a lot of people with the gimmicky magnet attachment and small useless size.

To sum up, if you like the large screen of the PDA's (480x320), and love pda functionality, then you will like the Athena. It lets me carry only one device.

DON'T FORGET THAT THE CES SHOW IS ONLY A MONTH AWAY, there could be a new device that manages to top the Athena there, lets hope it is the Athena 2!


I agree with your wishlist. I'd add to that TV tuner, FM radio, infra. Would also be nice to shed some weight and thickness.

I hope there is an Athena 2 soon. This is a wonderful size for a convergent device.

[leoni1980]

Just a reiteration here, but it is about personal preference. I tried to get along with the athena with pks rom, and although it was noticeably better than before it still didn't quite do it for me. I had constant complaints about the quality of voice calls using the speaker phone, and although a bluetooth headset worked fine, for me it still wasn't as practical as i would've liked. I went back yesterday to an n95, and bought a nokia n800 for portable browsing and email (although the n95 is more than capable here anyway). The two combined cost me about the price of an athena, and for my personal needs they work together to give a superior experience. The n95s gps locks on much quicker than the athena's so is in many ways a more practical device to use for personal navigation - especially with google maps' integration of the internal gps. The browser on the n95 is also better than pocket internet explorer, but when required i have the unbeatable os2008 browser to hand with the n800. Nokia have also just released a firmware update for the n95 which makes everything snappy and enjoyable - how it should have been all along really! The only thing i really miss about the athena is texting on a big screen. For some reason i really enjoyed that. The wmwifirouter app was useful too, though that's not exclusive to the athena. I think among the current fold of handsets the only thing that sets the athena apart is the screen size. There is nothing else on the device that can't be seen elsewhere. It just didn't cut the mustard for me as i had to persevere too much and it was a little embarrassing to use, but as they say - each to their own. One final point i will make is that i DON'T THINK the athena is a good convergence device. It provides no more than a big screen. Video performance is often shoddy, browsing does not offer full internet, the camera is pretty crap and usb host is only really of use for hid and playing music\photos. Aside from the large screen, usb host and touchscreen the n95 8gb offers: better multimedia playback (multi codec with coreplayer), a far superior camera, with shockingly better video recording functionality, integrated gps which locks on quicker than the athena and a quicker browser which allows effortless access to all but flash sites (soon to be remedied. With flash lite 3.0).. If the athena is a convergance device then the n95 8gb is just as good, particularly given it's size. You can even use a bluetooth keyboard with it. P.s. I typed all this on an n95 and it was a piece of cake!.

[eaglesteve]

Just a reiteration here, but it is about personal preference. I tried to get along with the athena with pks rom, and although it was noticeably better than before it still didn't quite do it for me. I had constant complaints about the quality of voice calls using the speaker phone, and although a bluetooth headset worked fine, for me it still wasn't as practical as i would've liked. I went back yesterday to an n95, and bought a nokia n800 for portable browsing and email (although the n95 is more than capable here anyway). The two combined cost me about the price of an athena, and for my personal needs they work together to give a superior experience. The n95s gps locks on much quicker than the athena's so is in many ways a more practical device to use for personal navigation - especially with google maps' integration of the internal gps. The browser on the n95 is also better than pocket internet explorer, but when required i have the unbeatable os2008 browser to hand with the n800. Nokia have also just released a firmware update for the n95 which makes everything snappy and enjoyable - how it should have been all along really! The only thing i really miss about the athena is texting on a big screen. For some reason i really enjoyed that. The wmwifirouter app was useful too, though that's not exclusive to the athena. I think among the current fold of handsets the only thing that sets the athena apart is the screen size. There is nothing else on the device that can't be seen elsewhere. It just didn't cut the mustard for me as i had to persevere too much and it was a little embarrassing to use, but as they say - each to their own. One final point i will make is that i DON'T THINK the athena is a good convergence device. It provides no more than a big screen. Video performance is often shoddy, browsing does not offer full internet, the camera is pretty crap and usb host is only really of use for hid and playing music\photos. Aside from the large screen, usb host and touchscreen the n95 8gb offers: better multimedia playback (multi codec with coreplayer), a far superior camera, with shockingly better video recording functionality, integrated gps which locks on quicker than the athena and a quicker browser which allows effortless access to all but flash sites (soon to be remedied. With flash lite 3.0).. If the athena is a convergance device then the n95 8gb is just as good, particularly given it's size. You can even use a bluetooth keyboard with it. P.s. I typed all this on an n95 and it was a piece of cake!.

Sorry, I disagree that web browsing and emailing experience is even practical at all with N95. The device is just too tiny for such purposes. I went to the shop and asked the assistant to demo it. It is way way too slow for once. The screen shows a small portion of that Athena would have shown. The input with the keypad is completely unacceptable and unpleasant.

I hate to say this, while I understand your desire to find a better browser and email client on Athena, I don't think N95 is a better one.

[apd]

Sorry, I disagree that web browsing and emailing experience is even practical at all with N95. The device is just too tiny for such purposes. I went to the shop and asked the assistant to demo it. It is way way too slow for once. The screen shows a small portion of that Athena would have shown. The input with the keypad is completely unacceptable and unpleasant.

I hate to say this, while I understand your desire to find a better browser and email client on Athena, I don't think N95 is a better one.

I think that was too polite.

Leoni, you can't seriously be suggesting that a buggy S60 phone with a tiny screen and a gimmicky media player is even close to the Athena. My other half has an N95 and even she (a gadget hater!) thinks it is a dysfunctional version of the Iphone (now that is quite an insult, coming from her!). The only good think about it is the camera.

Leoni is right, it is about personal preference. But iof you want decent browsing, decent email, decent screen size, decent satnav, the N95 is most certainly not the way to go. Sorry.

[spacecat]

a viewty and an EEE pc thats the way to do it :)

[Midget_1990]

a viewty and an EEE pc thats the way to do it :)

my brother just got the viewty, nice camera but the rest sucks lol

[spacecat]

my brother just got the viewty, nice camera but the rest sucks lol

Divx player that pees on the Athena movie playback,

plays music like an ipod,

HSDPA connection and streaming that works much better than athena

works great as a modem for a laptop

compatible with Sky Sports mobile TV live footy for £5 a month

as you say superb camera

very nice browser for a phone its size

CAN actually put in your pocket

easy to use touch screen

IM REALLY HATING IT!

[leoni1980]

I think that was too polite.

Leoni, you can't seriously be suggesting that a buggy S60 phone with a tiny screen and a gimmicky media player is even close to the Athena. My other half has an N95 and even she (a gadget hater!) thinks it is a dysfunctional version of the Iphone (now that is quite an insult, coming from her!). The only good think about it is the camera.

Leoni is right, it is about personal preference. But iof you want decent browsing, decent email, decent screen size, decent satnav, the N95 is mostcertainly not the way to go. Sorry.




Politeness is not an issue here apd. I take on board Eaglesteve's comments and I respect them as he is a literate and valid member of XDA Developers: that is not to say that I agree with all his points. The recurring argument here is that it is down to PERSONAL CHOICE.

A few retorts first....

* 'Buggy s60'? APD, I don't know which version of Windows mobile you use but even the most avid of fans couldn't argue that it doesn't have bugs itself, Bugs which people on these forums are clever enough to iron out. Nokia have seemingly ironed out the N95's bugs on their own judging by the latest N95 firmware.

* 'dysfunctional version of the Iphone?' Are you SERIOUS?? How am I supposed to respect your opinion when you post ridiculous comments like that. Can you list one aspect of the Iphone that bears relation to the N95? I see nothing other than its ability to make calls.

*To cite the inbuilt Realplayer as 'gimicky' is rather ignorant of the facts: Realplayer is just about the most no-frills player out, but it does a superb job of streaming from Orb and plays back the N95's VGA movie files perfectly. The Athena is incapable of playing the N95's Mp4 video files back smoothly with either TCPMP or WMP. Which begs me to ask - what CAN the Athena's 'non-gimmicky' wmp actuallly do well?

I don't particularly like Realplayer, but it does what it needs to do. For all other filetypes Coreplayer for Symbian is superb.

I think that the size of the N95's screen is more than adequate for push email, and makes superb use of the given space with the browser. To my mind the browser is fast and perfectly capable of rendering every page I've tried (aside from certain flash and Java sites).
The Athena (in particular when using pie) struggled with many sites, and often rendered them in an incomprehensible manner.

As regards data input on the N95: well again that's down to preference. I quite like predictive text input; I prefer the tactility of buttons to touchscreen input and find that I am able to click out sentences with t9 quite nimbly. Certainly quicker than I could on the Athena using either hardware OR software keyboards.


Please don't disrespect my opinion.
I enjoyed having my Athena and was sad to see it go, but i like my current setup and believe it works best for me.
Spacecat will testify that I can be quite negative at times, but I'm also quite reasonable. I wrote off the Viewty initially but took on board what he said about it and gave it another chance - now I actually like it and would own one were it not for a blacklisted phone episode at my local Cex store.


It doesn't harm to listen to other people's opinions. This is an Athena forum, not an Athena fan club.

[wildwillis]

[QUOTE=eaglesteve;1746247]Only a mobile one lets me play golf with a golf GPS software, telling me how far I'm from water hazards, from green, from trees, etc.

Not to go totally off topic (well I guess I am though), but which golf software are you using? I just started looking for one of these applications myself!

[eaglesteve]

[QUOTE=eaglesteve;1746247]Only a mobile one lets me play golf with a golf GPS software, telling me how far I'm from water hazards, from green, from trees, etc.

Not to go totally off topic (well I guess I am though), but which golf software are you using? I just started looking for one of these applications myself!

Mobile Golf Scorer is what I'm using. It's the best. (I always go for the best, which may not be free or cheap) :-)

Because of Athena's large screen, you'll be able to meaningfully utilise one of it's features, whereby you can have your score card on the left and google earth image of the course on the right side by side.

Try doing this with any other device in the market today, and you would realise what nothing can co compare to the lovely Athena.

[leoni1980]

[QUOTE=wildwillis;1750564]

Mobile Golf Scorer is what I'm using. It's the best. (I always go for the best, which may not be free or cheap) :-)

Because of Athena's large screen, you'll be able to meaningfully utilise one of it's features, whereby you can have your score card on the left and google earth image of the course on the right side by side.

Try doing this with any other device in the market today, and you would realise what nothing can co compare to the lovely Athena.

Can't really argue with that!

[spacecat]

[QUOTE=eaglesteve;1750590]

Can't really argue with that!

especially if your NOT a GOLFER! :)


why ruin a nice walk?

[DannyBoy]

Just like to thank all those who offered thier advice on this thread.

Finaly got my device on Saturday. It was a Tmob Ameo. Now unlocked on O2 with 1.50 radio and AP Dual ROM.

Been playing all weekend and so far I'm pretty impressed. Just gotta hope I can live with the size this week at work.

[leoni1980]

Just like to thank all those who offered thier advice on this thread.

Finaly got my device on Saturday. It was a Tmob Ameo. Now unlocked on O2 with 1.50 radio and AP Dual ROM.

Been playing all weekend and so far I'm pretty impressed. Just gotta hope I can live with the size this week at work.

Been playing with my N800 over xmas and new year and there's loads of cracking apps. I found a bit-torrent client, a gps 'what's near me' application and the best GPS mapping software I've seen on a portable device with Maemo mapper. There's even a programme to take snaps on the webcam and tell you exactly where you were when it was taken. It appealed to me....

There's an app to allow you to view contacts and send messages/make calls from your mobile through the N800, though it's not out of beta stage yet, a great little painting programme, an fm radio with regional data download function, online radio applet, full IM application, push Email.........................I can't get enough of the free software.

Nice that we're both loving our devices!

[eaglesteve]

Congratulations for your decision. IMHO, nothing can beat window mobile platform's vast array of third party software, thanks to its large user base, making it worthwhile for the developers.

Now with wm7 in the horizon, we have something even better to look forward to.

Read about wm7 here.

http://microsoft.blognewschannel.com/archives/2008/01/06/exclusive-windows-mobile-7-to-focus-on-touch-and-motion-gestures/

[Confucious]

[QUOTE=DannyBoy;1795035]Finaly got my device on Saturday. It was a Tmob Ameo. Now unlocked on O2 with 1.50 radio and AP Dual ROM.

QUOTE]

How can you afford the data on O2? You really need unlimited to make the most of it.