Possible to get off the crack "berry"?

[mats888]

Hi, I have been a business user of the Blackberry for the last few years in Shanghai. I tend to tap out perhaps 15 or so email messages daily on the small keyboard and use it as my China cell phone. I like that it synchs instantly with our company's Outlook exchange server. I would now like to get a Pleco-able device and have 2 thoughts:
i) get a cheap PDA for Pleco only and carry around the Blackberry AND that PDA, or
ii) replace the Blackberry with a PDA-Phone that would also be able to run Pleco.

Looking for advice on either option please.

For option ii)
Must haves:
- QWERTY keyboard for thumb input
- Windows based, instant synch with Outlook (email, calendar etc)
- Clear, good size screen for characters
- Touchscreen
- Pleco friendly
- Menus in English, but must be able to handle Chinese characters in all business applications
- Must be able to fit in pocket
- Good, clear phone
- Stable OS

Nice to have:
- wifi
- fast

Research so far:
- Dopod C858 (Xujiahui Bestbuy RMB4699, Taobao RMB2629).

Would really appreciate any thoughts. If HTC TyTN II is the go, then where is the best pace to buy? Or is there something else just around the cnr?
Cheers,
Mats

 

[ipsi]

Given that you use your Blackberry for business (or I assume so, anyway?), I'd probably recommend a separate PDA just for Pleco, mostly for stability reasons. Going from a BB to WinMob *will* result in more frustration, as it's just less stable. And if you rely on the BB for business, I'd recommend sticking with that for now.

In terms of what, a Palm T|X might not be a bad idea, depending on how much it costs. I'm sure other people will have ideas too. If a T|X is too much, see if you can hunt down a Tungsten E2.

 

[renovator]

I have been using the new HTC touch diamond for a few weeks now both for Pleco and Business use and find it awesome. I think you would find all the features you would like on this smartphone. I was going to wait until Pleco was available for the Iphone and go that way but am really thrilled that I got this instead.

 

[ipsi]

I'm sure there are some people hiding over here that would like to know your thoughts on the Touch Diamond.

 

[mats888]

Thanks Ipsi and Renovator. Renovator, re the Diamond Touch, I see that it has no hardware keypad (only the onscreen version). How do you find using that? (speed, accuracy).

Btw, there is a great review of the Diamond Touch @
http://www.jrin.net/category/reviews/phones

Anyone know a good shop/contact in Shanghai (hopefully Xujiahui) to check out the Touch and TyTN II? What prices in China too pls?

 

[renovator]

I love my HTC touch diamond. Biggest problem is keeping the drool off of it when I let anyone else play with it. It is very fast and accurate. I have CE-Star installed to use as a soft keypad. What I really like about it is that I still have a stylus which I do think will be an advantage over the I-Phone. The stylus is a little small, but I made a beautiful long stylus by cutting off the tip of one of those Tibet horn ear picks found at vendors on floor by People's Square subway station. Polished the end after cutting and it is very comfortable to use Pleco for hours on end without hurting hands.

Mostly I write on the Pleco application so keyboard is not that important but CE Star works fine for Chinese character SMS etc.

The screen is tempered glass which is a really nice feature not often shown to people so even with a piece of plactic for protecting the screen it is very nice to use.

I have used this phone in the US, France, Switzerland and next week in China and it has performed well everywhere.

 

[ldolse]

The Touch Pro is imminent, this is basically the touch diamond with a sliding keyboard. The other QWERTY in that class would be the Sony/Ericcson Xperia, also imminent.

 

[renovator]

I bought the HTC touch Diamond because I did not use the keyboard enough to make it worthwhile to carry around the extra weight. I can tap almost as fast on soft keypad with proper stylus as I can on miniature keypad.