T-mobile MDA Vario II - when??

IainB · 22 Aug 2006 at 22:13

Plexman said:
Now can anybody confirm if you can use HSDPA with normal web and walk. After reading on various foums some people are saying yes and some are saying you need web and walk pro.

Nope - only W&W Pro im afraid (will confirm 100% when im in work tomorrow)

There is a way around it....but general joe public wont be able to use it im afraid....have to love working in config

Pdog · 22 Aug 2006 at 22:20

Slightly off topic the little pen thing you get, is there anywhere in the phone that it can be placed? I can't seem to find a slot it fits in

AdWright · 22 Aug 2006 at 22:27

Are you sure that there's not already a stylus in the unit somewhere. I think that it comes with a spare stylus, which is probably the one you're holding

The_Dark_Side · 22 Aug 2006 at 23:46

AdWright said:
If nobody has gets their's first, I'll do a speedtest when I receive mine tomorrow

any chance you could stretch that to a full review?
tell a noob (me) that has never had a PDA before how the vario2 will change my life.

ps3ud0 · 23 Aug 2006 at 00:06

Pdog said:
Slightly off topic the little pen thing you get, is there anywhere in the phone that it can be placed? I can't seem to find a slot it fits in

ROFL I did the same thing - used the spare until a nice soul showed me where the other one is - look at the bottom corner near the usb connector - there should be a grey thing - just pull it out and theres your stylus

P.S. Guys is it me or the camera isnt that good - not getting good photos (badly out of focus and really slow shutter

) - didnt buy it for the camera, but expected it to take ok pics...

ps3ud0 :cool:

GuruJockStrap · 23 Aug 2006 at 00:11

For a 2MP camera its pretty poor. The 1.3MP on my 6630 takes better picture in my opinion. Maybe a firmware upgrade in the future might improve things?

DoubleCheese · 23 Aug 2006 at 00:14

Is it possible to use the phone with Pocket Skype over Wifi?

Energize · 23 Aug 2006 at 00:32

DoubleCheese said:
Is it possible to use the phone with Pocket Skype over Wifi?

Yes.

Energize · 23 Aug 2006 at 00:33

The_Dark_Side said:
what's the difference between web and walk normal and pro?

i didn't even know there were 2 levels.

You get a free data card with a pro 18month contract.

GuruJockStrap · 23 Aug 2006 at 00:34

DoubleCheese said:
Is it possible to use the phone with Pocket Skype over Wifi?

Taken from the Skype website:

The minimum requirements to run Skype for Pocket PC 2.0 are:
· OS: Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC or Pocket PC 2003
· Display: 320x240, 640x480 (portrait or landscape), 240x240, 480x480
· CPU: 312Mhz + (Optimized sound quality versions for Intel Xscale, 312Mhz and for 400MHz+), b
· Network: WiFi, 3G or EDGE

The Vario II meets the hardware requirements so should work fine, although using it under a Web N Walk would mean you breaching T-Mobiles terms and conditions.

DoubleCheese · 23 Aug 2006 at 00:43

Ahh...but over WiFi at home (or work...ssshhhh) so I don't have to be in front of the PC whenever anyone calls will be very, very handy.

Plexman · 23 Aug 2006 at 09:56

IainB said:
Nope - only W&W Pro im afraid (will confirm 100% when im in work tomorrow)

There is a way around it....but general joe public wont be able to use it im afraid....have to love working in config

Just ran a speed test and i'm getting around 800 kbps does this mean i'm using hsdpa?

AdWright · 23 Aug 2006 at 10:08

Plexman said:
Just ran a speed test and i'm getting around 800 kbps does this mean i'm using hsdpa?

Just ran mine using www.bandwidthplace.com/speedtest and it clocked 1.1megabits per second - 1MB file downloaded in 7.9seconds

GuruJockStrap · 23 Aug 2006 at 10:25

Clocked 947.9 Kilobits per second and 8.9 seconds to download that file.

Not sure if its running at 3G or HSDPA. Isn't 3G around 350 Kilobits per second?

riddlermarc · 23 Aug 2006 at 11:01

Slightly OT but my MDA Pro takes flipping ages to connect to the 'net via WnW, I just tried to fire up www.bandwidthplace.com/speedtest and it took nearly a minute to locate the site and now it's stuck on gradually d/l the page.. seems I am using 3G 'cause I have the U symbol showing. Surely it shouldn't be this slow, yet it pretty much always is :confused:

EDIT: just managed to run the speedtest and it's 93.4 kilobits per second

EDIT2: 56.7 and then 605.7 kbps! Crazy differences in test speeds!

AdWright · 23 Aug 2006 at 11:05

The delay in finding pages is apparently down to T-Mob's poor DNS servers. Try this

http://www.modaco.com/index.php?showtopic=244497&hl=vario+2

wam7 · 23 Aug 2006 at 11:08

3G is around 380kbps and HSDPA is in theory 1.8mbps though in practice people will get around 1.1mbps.

I have been told by an informed T-mobile guy that you don't need WnW Pro for HSDPA as a matter of fact he said you don't even need WnW. We will find out soon enough as if you guys on WnW are getting speeds of around 1mb (120 K/s) then you've got HSDPA!

AdWright · 23 Aug 2006 at 11:30

Right, I just ran the speedtest again, then connected to the phone via bluetooth and this program to get a screenshot.

Energize · 23 Aug 2006 at 11:51

wam7 said:
3G is around 380kbps and HSDPA is in theory 1.8mbps though in practice people will get around 1.1mbps.

Its possible to achieve up to 14.4 Mb/s.

GuruJockStrap · 23 Aug 2006 at 11:52

Must say I'm pretty impressed with the call quality.

Being a PDA phone I was braced with the prospect of it sounding worse than my 6630. If anything it sounds a lot better!

On another note, has anyone used the Opera browser instead of IE?