different between xplore m28 and m98

[ladivito]

i'm going to take a xplore phone ~ but dunno wat the different between this 2 phone ~ not much info can get !!!
anyone please suggest ~ and any good/bad experience ?

thanks

[nazley]

A little "GOOGLING" and here's what i got.


Xplore M28



Xplore M28 Features
# 2.2" 260,000 colors TFT LCD Display
# Video recording & playing function
# MP3 player & Voice recorder
# Digital camera with zoom & multi-shot function
# Email support POP3, SMTP with attachment
# Email attachment view and edit function
# Chinese & English handwriting recognition input
# External SD/MMC memory card expansion slot
# 40 polyphonic ringtones support MIDI & MP3 format
# Support GPRS, xHTML, WAP2.0, MMS, SMS
# Built-in exciting Palm games
# English to Chinese and Chinese to English dictionary
# Data transmission through IrDA
# Synchronize your data to your PC

Xplore M28 Specification
# OS : Palm OS 5.4
# Main Processor : Arm9
# 32MB built-in memory
# Camera: CIF (352 x 288)
# Battery life: Talk time up to: 3.5 hrs; Stand by time: 170 hrs
# weight: :132g (including battery and stylus)
# Unit Size: :106mm x 50.8mm x 23.5mm, 130.5mm x 50.8mm x 23.5mm (Slide up)


Xplore M98


*image from www.engadget.com*
read moge about this phoe at engadget:
http://cellphones.engadget.com/entry/1234000580035840/


Features
# GSM 900/ 1800/ 1900MHz
# Palm OS® 5.4 Garnet
# Display:      External – 260K Color, TFT 96 x 96 pixels resolution

# Internal – 260K Color, TFT 176 x 220 pixels resolution Toggle between Phone mode and PDA mode by one touch only
# Full screen writing input, support both Chinese and English
# Video caller ID
# SMS Alarm
# 1.3 mega pixels camera, with digital zoom and multi-shot function
# Video viewing and recording function
# MP3 playing and recording function
# 40 poly ringtone support MIDI and MP3 format
# Email support (POP3, SMTP) with viewing and editing attachment function

# (in conjunction with application software) Support GPRS Class 10/ xHTML, WAP2.0, MMS, SMS
# External TransFlash memory card expansion slot
# Infrared and USB connectivity
# Exciting Palm game

* Subject to local network service and usage conditions


Accessories
# Traveler charger
# Stylus
# Handfree headset
# USB PC synchronize cable



Specification
# CPU: Arm 9
# Talk time up to: 2 hrs
# Stand by time: 100 hrs
# Dimension: 95.5 x 46.8 x 25.5 mm
# Weight: 109g

[gymxo]

I'm Xplore M28 user as well as previous user of G18... and currently also own a XDA Mini..
For >2 years I'm using Xplore palm phone.. compared with previous experience with nokia/philip/erricson.. those old phone... Xplore is never a good choice of "PHONE" I mean phone function cause those dinosaurs age phone will never HUNG! 

WIth M28 I got a lot of fun exploring it and tried all kind of software.. and it give me a lot of pain and frastration.... due with system hung as well as numerous of hard resets... till date I still encounter miss call / miss SMS, but a lot lesser as I stop testing new software..
currently, I used my Xplore M28 as Phone (Of course), ToDoList, Address Book, DateBook, MP3 Player (PocketTunes), Drama Series/Movie (TCPMP player), HandyShop(Shopping List), Isilo (EBook Reader include Maps, and lots of books), DocToGo (For office Docs), TideTools (For fishing trips), WorldMatePro (for world time / currency / wheather forecast), Avango ( for news reading), photo viewing, Zdic (Voice enable Dictionery), MobileDB (Keeptrack of my 8500++ members' details and contacts), 10~12 Games, and some others weird programme. Currently still looking for a infra-red software like Novili which work in xplore G18 but not works any more with M28, cause it is really cool to control the TV/VCR/Air Cond. via your phone.. ahhahaha 

I would like to say, if you are looking for a phone, don't buy explore.. it is never a stable phone (Base on my own experiences) But if you are ex-user of palm, and like to have more.. and don't mind your phone will hung once a while as well as numerious sleepless nights (You will learn...) It is a very good phone to play with...

As of XDA mini, I would like to say.. it is much more stable or should say solid stable...

[kona]

Hey qymxo,

how's things? what happened to the original forum we used to share our oppinions?

anyway, i couldn't agree more about getting a xplore phone, really sucks bad time......

i've not had any 'hang' problem for a while now but when i use the GSPDA clock for alarm every morning. EVERYTIME it sets off, it affects the GSM. Shows the network is ok but I can't receive/make calls nor sms unless I resets the GSM. I tried setting the hard reset without backing up from flash and almost everything, the problem still comes back.

U have a XDA2 as well, right? How's the sound or in general compare to M28? Someone offered me an exchange for M28 with XDA2, used of course.....looking forward to your comment..TQ.

[drtamil]

the old forum is still there at http://old.palmx.org/forum/

[gymxo]

Hi, Kona
Welcome back!! As mentioned. old forum still there till... hehehehe..

Mine M28.. so far so good.. I'm using the alarm clock everyday too.. but never hung!! Do you got any other 3rd party software that using clock functions.. like bugsme, stop watch.. etc...
May be if you like to post all the software that installed to your M28 here.. as well as current RAM usage.. may be I could help..

My only problem now is the echo... never solve till date.. but I can bear with it.. as long as there are no more those problem (Which I used to have) like yours.. which shown network OK, but you are actualy out of contact... VERY DANGEROUS FOR ME.. as I'm the IT Manager.. Imagine if the system down and I'm out of contact.. hahaha.. sure kena sack later..

Xda mini are solid in phone functions as compared to M28. but it had it own set of problems too.. 1stly, the speaker.. very soft which could lead to miss call too.. tried to use mp3 ringtone.. and coverted several type of mp3 setting.. still couldn't get a good desent tone. which is either soft or loud but crack sound.

But if really put them together, I would say they are the same, only that XDA got bluetooth which M28 could never have.. and of course XDA could have WIFI if you addon with the WIFI SD card.. as well as I tried the bluetooth GPS with mapkings on XDA minis.. works cool! but yet the voice are soft while instruct me to turn left or right.. tried connect the audio to a FM transmitter.. but the FM transmiter produced cracky sound too on my car radio...

Unless you really hate the hanging problem of your phone, and you have done your homeworks on which PPC software that could replace your palm software (Depends on your ussage).. don't exchange it. (and I can assure you too, the one who want to exchange xda mins with your M28 (and if he is not a palm regular user) he sure will be angry and regrated to exchange with you.)

So in term of hardware.. Mini won! but in term of software.. do your homework then decide...

but if someone do offer exchange for treo 650... quick quick take it!!

* Just install Novili V3.22.. yet to try.. I pray hard it could works!!!

[kona]

Aiyoh, no wonder I got demoted to one star only.javascript:void(0);
Cry

Anyway, thanks for your valuable info, appreciate it. A friend told me almost the same thing. So, I've got another offer but I need to top up some for a Sony Ericsson P910i. So, let's see how. Thanks again....and Dr. Tamil for the hyperlink to the old forum site.

[nick]

My wife was using M28. Of course, this phone is a desaster. keep hanging and lots of hard resets. So she got a Nokia as replacement phone, she gave this M28 to me.

Quite lucky since I have been using Palm since Palm Pilot/US Robotics era, I managed to solve some issues regarding hard reset,system hang and short battery life problems.

Now I am using m28 with no problem.
M28 is a desaster for an amateur user

- Turn off auto backup will solve lots of headache.

[gymxo]

Hi, Nick

Welcome to M28 User Group! At least we got more users to exchange experience..

There are a lot of users did claimed the auto-backup hanging thier phone while it run... I'm lucky, my set able to run the auto-backup everynight at 11pm without fail..

I'm always ensure my set have ~4MB RAM free space + I'm increase my ROM space by deleting all those GAME application from my SYS Data lib.

It hardly dissapointed me now a day, unless I'm testing on new software..

* by the way, the Novili V3.22 still can't work on M28...

[gymxo]

Just test a new freeware from http://migr.go1.icpcn.com/ptlyrics/index.htm

ptlyrics able to display .lrc file, cool! I could have the lyrics displayed while playing a song.. 

This software need Ptunes or areoplayer inorder to work.

*this software still under development, not very user friendly and could only play one song at a time...

[nick]

Can someone explain to me about M28 memory types and its backup battery functions because it is quite confusing even for an Palm user who never use this Xplore Palm Smartphones.
- How big is the flash ROM. I realized that if you make a backup, you can save it inside phone Flash ROM.
- How to free more space on ROM? I mean the safest way to do it? Any application for this?
- How to keep this smartphone rock stable and longer battery life?
- Its speaker is too soft and I can't hear very well outdoor while talking to someone
- What is the latest ROM and how much Alpha Tech charges for firmware update?

I believe if you do some homework on your M28, it gonna be a great smartphohe
- User interface is extremely user friendly
- Browsing the Palm menus and applications is blazing fast.....i like it
- I need a full web browser for M28. can anybody name a few types to me so that i can test which one works best for me? Is there Opera for M28?

[ebernie]

There's Opera for Java which you can try (you need to get a java runtime env for the m28 first). There's also xiino, blazer and webpro which are native POS apps that you can try.

[nick]

There's Opera for Java which you can try (you need to get a java runtime env for the m28 first). There's also xiino, blazer and webpro which are native POS apps that you can try.

Where to get Java runtime for M28? I am using opera Mini on my Motorola A1000. It works great....and blazing fast too

[ebernie]

I'm not sure where to get it for the m28, or even if there's one available. I do know that Palm/PalmOne PDAs have a runtime available. But it's been quite some time since I last installed, now I can't remember where to download. Somewhere in Palm's website.

[gymxo]

Hi Nick,

Try my best.. if I could help...

Can someone explain to me about M28 memory types and its backup battery functions because it is quite confusing even for an Palm user who never use this Xplore Palm Smartphones.
- How big is the flash ROM. I realized that if you make a backup, you can save it inside phone Flash ROM.
16MB of ROM, all your backup data are there- which is normaly 6~11MB. balance for some M28 system file..

- How to free more space on ROM? I mean the safest way to do it? Any application for this?
I do it manualy.. by the press up button and softreset method.. to delete the pre-install game in ROM for prevention auto-reinstallation after hardreset and it do free up 3~4MB og ROM.. but I don't see how can I made use of this extra ROM space..

- How to keep this smartphone rock stable and longer battery life?
Just don't install any 3rd party software.. if you can.. hahaha... I'm still try to achieve.. but..

- Its speaker is too soft and I can't hear very well outdoor while talking to someone
You means speaker phone mode?

- What is the latest ROM and how much Alpha Tech charges for firmware update?
So far I'm at V1.3..

I believe if you do some homework on your M28, it gonna be a great smartphohe
- User interface is extremely user friendly
- Browsing the Palm menus and applications is blazing fast.....i like it
- I need a full web browser for M28. can anybody name a few types to me so that i can test which one works best for me? Is there Opera for M28?
I tried Blazer, webpro.. quite good.. but I hardly surf with it.... unless got WIFI for M28.. hehehe