What's the smallest phone you can install plecodict on?

Plecodict is an indispensible tool for living in China - many thanks for the programme.

One question though:

What's the smallest phone you can install plecodict on?

I have a TMobile MDA but it's like a brick - are there any smaller phones it can be installed on? I don't like the Treo's either - also too big and chunky.

Would be ideal if there was a proper small phone that it could be installed on. With a good camera and mp 3 player. And a scribe for handwriting input.

. . . . . and while I'm dreaming, I would like a pony for christmas :)
 

gato

状元
The Samsung i718 with Windows Mobile 5.0 is probably as small as a smartphone gets. It weighs only 109g compared with 150g for the Treo 680. However, it doesn't have a keypad. You have to dial using the touchscreen pad and enter text using either the onscreen virtual keyboard or write with the stylus. The onscreen keyboard is too small for regular use, so you generally have to write with the stylus, which makes it impossible for entering text message on the run.

http://www.samsung.com/he/products/mobi ... ifications
Samsung i718
Intel® PXA 27x 412MHz
108.8 x 58 x 13.5 mm
109g
2.79” 65K TFT QVGA (320x240)
2.0 megapixel with Auto Focus (1600x1200 resolution)
 

Buzzey

Member
Check out http://www.pdadb.net and you can see all the pda cell phones you could imagine. I think you can also search for the lightest or smallest dimensions. Any windows pda phone (with a touch screen) will run Pleco.
 

LiAnCrow

秀才
HTC Touch

Check out the new HTC Touch http://www.htctouch.com. It's currently only avaiable in Europe but probably can be found in your local shady cellphone store. If you are in 北京I would try 中关村and ask for the HTC P3450, not sure if they go by the English version. Just looked on Taobao.com and it is listed for 4250RMB. I was originally looking at a Dopod 818PRO for 2700RMB but then this phone came out so I'm waiting for its price to come down.
 
Was looking at the HTC touch the other day - looks OK, but I'm currently using a QTek 9100 from HTC and I'm tempted to go for a more mainstream mobine phone like the samsung i718.

My current HTC device just seems a little buggy and it's starting to malfunction.

I wonder if anyone here has used Pleco on the Samsung i718?

Also, does Pleco work on Windows Mobile 6?
 

gato

状元
I wonder if anyone here has used Pleco on the Samsung i718?
Tried it at the store. It doesn't have a keypad. Seems that you have to use the stylus for text messaging, which makes it a bit inconvenient.
 
gato said:
I wonder if anyone here has used Pleco on the Samsung i718?
Tried it at the store. It doesn't have a keypad. Seems that you have to use the stylus for text messaging, which makes it a bit inconvenient.

Yeah, I had a look in the shop as well and noted the same problem. Actually, being forced to use the scribe would probably increase my writing standards instead of using pinyin all the time.

Did the phone you looked at have English windows or Chinese windows? My local store only has the Chinese version which I don't want to buy.

If it was the English HK version, I wonder if it had an option to input Chinese characters with pinyin or if this would need to be installed by the user? Thanks
 

gato

状元
I saw the Chinese version. I doubt you can find an English version here in China. This phone is specially made for the Chinese market. Few people in other markets want to use a stylus-only phone.
 
To the OP, I have a similar problem to yours. I'm working in China and use English and Chinese everyday. My Chinese is less than perfect so Plecodict is essential to me. I've also been on a quest to find the smallest/most usable device for Plecodict.

Right now I have a Treo 680 and an HTC Touch. The 680 is the smallest possible Palm OS / Phone solution. It's slightly smaller and lighter than the 7xx series as well. The HTC Touch is, AFAIK, the smallest of type of Palm OS or Windows mobile device. I've only just purchased the HTC Touch but I'll weigh in with some useful hints for the HTC Touch well as some initial comparisons between the two devices.

The Touch is probably cheapest in Hong Kong. It's as low as 3600 HKD without too much looking, so about 460 USD. In HK, they sell it as an English version with CE Star bundled for Chinese input and display, or they sell it in a localized Chinese version. I do not have any experience with the localized version but I hear that: HK trad. Chinese ver is Wifi enabled and has no problems with displaying English. I do not know whether the interface itself can be converted to English, but I imagine it can be. It should be capable of displaying simplified as well.

The Chinese market touch is the same as the HK version but defaults to simplified instead of trad. chinese. However, supposedly its firmware does not have wifi enabled. You should be able to overcome this limitation through a firmware upgrade. I have flashed my own firmware (to free up storage memory) and it was successful though a little complicated. If you flash your phone with modified firmware, it may invalidate your warranty.

So, if you buy the Chinese version of the HTC Touch, you should be able to flash it into an English version with wifi enabled. As for input and displaying Chinese, I found CE Star a bit too much of a bear and have switched to a Chinese font with accompanying hack to enable it for displaying Chinese and ZT4A as my input. So far, I find it a better combination than using CE Star.

As for whether I prefer the Treo or the HTC Touch, the biggest disadvantage of the Touch is the lack of a keyboard. Having used Treos since the 600 model six years ago, I have become spoiled. I find I am considerably quicker and more efficient with a keyboard available simply because I can input faster. However, the form factor of the Touch cannot be beat. It is extremely comfortable to hold, fairly comfortable to use and much less of an issue in my pockets than the 680 is. It's lighter than the 680 and almost half the thickness, which is a big plus. I've been trying out many different input softwares for the Touch to try and replicate the Treo 680 experience or at least come close to the speed but it hasn't been all that successful. Also, I find the touchscreen on the Touch isn't quite as sensitive as that of the Treo.

I'll update at some point with a proper review and comparison.
 

gato

状元
As for whether I prefer the Treo or the HTC Touch, the biggest disadvantage of the Touch is the lack of a keyboard

Has anyone tried this input method for Windows Mobile? It's T9-like input for Chinese and English.
http://www.pdabase.com/download/SoftVie ... oftID=5036
得意十键输入法 V1.0
20065151636617080.gif
 
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