Unlike their previous PDA phone I own, which was made by HTC, this model was made by Quanta. With the exact same specs as O2 atom. And after several months of use, I can finally feel comfortable enough to praise and critic the 6828. I'm strictly pointing out the plus and minus of the phone.
Lets start with specs:
GSM network: tri-band 900mhz, 1800mhz, 1900mhz
Display: 2,7inch TFT, 250k colors
Processor: Intel PXA272 416 MHz processor
Memory: 64MB RAM, 128MB ROM with Mini SD expansion slot
Connectivity: GPRS, EDGE, Wi-Fi 802.11b, bouetooth v1.2, Infrared, miniUSB.
OS: Microsoft windows mobile 5
Battery: Li-Po 1530 mAh
Camera: 2MP, with LED Flash
Now, lets get to the "negatives" right away:
When I purchase my 6828, I install the latest ROM once I got home. So all my views are based on the latest ROM.
The first thing I really notice was that GSM signal reception was really bad, I thought my old Dopod receive signal poorly. To my surprise 6828 was even poorer at it. My $40 GSM phone could do better. My nokia would get a full signal strength in my living room, 6828 however would only get 2 bars, sometimes 3. I use a hard case from PDAir for my PDA, and at the same location, I get no signal most of the time. Unfortunately, bad reception reduces battery live significantly. The same goes for it's WI-FI reception, it's really poor picking up Wi-Fi signals. HP need to do better with their internal antenna.
Battery live is not as long as I hoped, but I guess it's just the trade off for a faster processor.
Screen is really washed out under sunlight, it's not usable under sunlight at all.
Their speakers are weak, can hardly be heard in a room with medium noise level, making the speaker phone function useless most of the time. I would've thought they would learn from the mistake that they made with 6365. But I was wrong, it hasn't been busted yet though, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
The 2MP camera is pretty much useless, can only be used outdoors with plenty of sunlight even then it was still grainy. Indoor pictures are dark, never been able to take a decent picture indoor. Dopod 818pro had a much better picture quality. Saving took forever, even to it's internal memory could take a while. Saving to a mini SD card could take up to a minute or even more.
After the first month of use, I noticed that the LED for the camera would light dimly and never really turn itself off. I post my problem in several forums, and I found out that I'm not the only one experiencing problem with the LED. So apparently it's a defect from the factory. I turned it in to an HP service center, and it was fixed by the fourth day, it still a disappointment though, to turn my device into the service center only after a month of use. I would expect much more from a brand as big as HP.
The next thing I notice is the navigational pad is coated in chrome like paint. And after a month of use, the paint on it got peeled off. Such a poor quality.
Just last week I had to purchase a new stylus, the tip has broken off, just the tip. I asked around, and apparently I'm not the only 6828 owner who has broken the tip of the stylus. It's pretty common case with 6828's stylus, mind you I've been using several different PDA before this is the first one that I actually break the stylus. Seems that the stylus is not sturdy enough. Had to wait for a week for my new stylus to arrive from HP.
Now for the "Positives":
This Is the most stable PDA phone I've ever used. It almost never freezes on me, so I guess it's extremely reliable that way.
Fast, at least compared to my previous PDAs it's much faster, battery live was sacrificed though. Making it less desirable as a phone.
Wow, so little positives I could actually think of for this PDA, However despite it's negatives, I guess I really like this phone, stability comes first, and most important of all Great after sales service. Especially after the nightmare I get from Dopod, which took a month to fix a busted speaker. It's really difficult to get a decent after sales out here, and HP provided just that, an excellent one too.
I would give it a 7 out of 10, despite it's negatives. It's not a dream PDA phone, there are better ones out there, but i just couldn't cope with another awful after sales.
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