I've used a dopod 818pro for about 8 months. and would like to share my positive and negative experiences using the device.
the specs are (as taken from their web site):
Dopod 818Pro Specifications
Basics
l Smart model: Microsoft Windows Mobile Version 5.0
l Style: PDA Form Factor
l Frequency: GSM Quad Frequency (850/900/1800/1900)/EDGE EGPRS Class B
l Size: 108 x 58 x
l Weight:
l Standby time: 150-250 hours
l Talk time: 3.5~5 hours
l
l Color: Black/Silver/Pink/Blue/Lavender
Processor/Chipset
l CPU: TI OMAP850
Memory
l ROM:128MB
l RAM:64MB
Interface/messages
l Messages: SMS; MMS
l Recording: Unlimited (up to memory's capacity)
l Voice control: Yes
l Hands free: Yes
Communications
l Data transfer: GPRS/Wi-Fi
l IR: Yes
l Bluetooth: Yes
l WiFi wireless LAN: Yes, 802.11b/g
l USB: Yes
Screen
l Colors: 65536 colors TFT screen
l Size: 2.8 inch
l Resolution: 320×240 pixels
Multimedia
l Original ring tones: MP3/AAC/AMR/WAV/WMA
l JAVA: Yes
l Multimedia player: Windows Media Player 10
Camera
l CMOS resolution: 2.0 mega pixel with macro
l Focus: Yes
l Recording: Yes
l Preview Mirror :Yes
l Memory slot: MMC/SDIO interface
Others
l Handwritten recognition: Yes
l Browsing Office documents: Yes
Now, specs aside, how about user experience?
I've used used the device for 8 months, throughout this 8 months, it's been in the service center twice. once for broken rear speaker, and the the second one was... what do you know the same problem, the rear speaker plus vibrate. Apparently the flaw with the rear speaker plagues this model everywhere, lots of users complains about it on almost every forum I visit. Apart from those flaws, I had little to complain on the device performance, overall it was satisfactory. Well, maybe I can complain about the after sales, their after sales are terrible, well at least where I life it is. each time, service takes a really long time to complete.
Aside from all that gripes, it was a great PDA-phone none the less.
Performance:
There are pros and cons when it comes to OMAP processor from Texas instrument. What it lacks in raw processing power, it makes up in longer battery live. the one thing that most PDA phone lacking is long battery live, and it's OMAP processor provided just that.
But is it really much slower than most new PDA that comes with 400-500Mhz something processor from intel and samsung?
From experience I would say, not by that much. it was slower with it's 200Mhz processor, what most people don't know is that OMAP processor is actually a dual core processor. the 200Mhz is dedicated to running application, while the other core works on the rest of processes, such as managing the phone, saving pictures from the camera, etc. On the other hand, other processor uses the same processor to do everything. one thing I notice is that my 6828 takes a lot longger when snaping a picture wit it's 2MP camera, while 818pro with it's dedicated processor took almost no time at all.
The downside is not all application is optimized to run on an OMAP processor, therefore not taking advantage the full potential of the proc.
If you use your PDA-Phone more as a phone then you would really appreciate the significantly longer battery life, battery live is superb.
Camera:
excellent 2megapixel camera. the best one I've seen so far on a pocket PC. Not as good as many of high end mobile phones though. under sunlight, picture was excellent, it was almost not usable under poor light condition though.
Build:
Sturdy build, good looking, 5 colors to choose from, the screen is not sensitive enough for my taste. Watch out with the area where you put your stylus in, paint job is not that good, as its worn off after a few months of use.
Conclusion:
I really recommend this PDA, only if it wasn't plague with bad parts that breaks easily. I would still use it if their after sales were any good, and parts that got replace is actually better than the defect factory standard. beside, how hard is it to provide a good speaker for it? Have you ever heard a blown mobile phone speakers? you can blast it all the way and it wouldn't break and it's much louder too, speaker phone mode is actually usable. Is it so hard to put a similar speaker on a PDA, which usually cost twice as much as a regular mobile phone.
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