SmartQ 5?

[HotDog-Cart]

Hey guys. Have any of you ever heard of one of these things? (I think Palmertech, has one?)

http://mp4nation.net/catalog/index.php? ... cts_id=313" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

All the info is in that link.

Are they pretty good? Are they worth $164? (Thats the price on this website.)

Is there a cheaper website for these that ships to Canada? (Note: This mp4nation site, ships for free.)

I'm looking for a Pocket PC for my last year of high school, and for college, and I don't want to spend a fortune. I'd prefer a pocket PC that does NOT have a keyboard. I prefer touch screen technology, and I can plug a keyboard into this if I want to.

This thing looks like it'd do the job.

Opinions? (And yes, I know. For about $60 more, I could get the 7 inch version. But, I'm on a budget and the 4.3 inch version is fine for me.)

[palmertech]

I have one. Two, actually. One of them I got from PlaySmart, (http://www.playsmartsg.biz" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) which is one of THE BEST tech sellers I have ever met, BAR NONE. The buys who run the place are great, do not mind chatting and troubleshooting for hours, and are glad to talk to people who know what they are talking about regarding all manner of upcoming/unreleased gadgets. In fact, I knew about and had pictures of the SmartQ 5 almost two months before the first public announcement was released. They do want $200 shipped, but with a 1:1 swap policy, no questions asked, it is worth it. If your chinese crap dies anywhere else, you are out of luck. At playsmart, you are set for life.

The other, I got for free from MP4nation by promising the admin some help with it, the admin there is really a great guy. Not as customer friendly as the other site, and I had a LOT of trouble a while back getting a SmartQ T5 II fixed by them (Though that was partly ChronoTriggerFan's fault, where the hell is he, the bastard, my posts on his podcast blog get deleted), it took several months to get fixed. Plus, he will NOT support you if you screw up the player installing alternative OSs.

Not a problem, you say? Good luck, this thing has a port of Mer, Android, WinCE 6, and a custom Ubuntu based linux install. So many options! A really, really great device, I painted the one from MP4nation white with Krylon fusion, I might post some pics in a few days.

That said, for college, get a used EEE 701 for the same price. Far better for taking notes, and cheaper.

The cheapest place to get them is dealextreme, $151. Good luck, they are backordered. In fact, so is MP4nation, though they will not say it. It will be a while before the next shipment comes in from SmartQ, they are doing so well selling to the local chinese market, they see no need to make more for the USA market, as they are harder to support, anyways.

[HotDog-Cart]

The thing is, I don't really want a netbook/eeepc. I've never really liked those things. My good freind has one, and it seems so dull to me.

That one website you posted, the playsmart one or whatever it is. Its all in Singapore Dollars. , Its listed at 299.90 SGD there, which is like $222 canadian. Plus shipping. Too expensive, to fit into my back to school budget.

Palmer, I doubt it but... Would you be in the market to sell one of yours?



I've heard of a lot of SmartQ owners getting theirs from allpmp.com. Site looks pretty scammy, but I've heard only good news about it from various forums.


EDIT: I'm in the process of speaking to my parents about a payment method and seeing if they'd help pay for it.

[vskid]

What do you currently have as far as laptops/pocket pcs? What do you want a device of this kind to do? I had an N800, which is fairly similar (the SmartQ 5 is quite a bit faster from what palmer has told me). It was a good device, but it just didn't cut it. Depending on what you already have and what you need, your best option may be a netbook (mod it into a tablet with a touchscreen and install Win7 on it, if that'll help).

[palmertech]

Look, I own 5 or 6 different mobile internet devices, and have owned others in the past. I have had UMPCs, netbooks, laptops, the works. Vskid is right, tell me what you are looking to actually do with the device, and I will tell you the best solution. The SmartQ is not the only awesome MID out there.

One of mine is not for sale, I need to keep it. The other I might sell, it has some battery issues I need to work out (Tried a larger battery mod, need to re-calibrate the charge meter somehow... damned linux).

[HotDog-Cart]

Does it still stay charged for a good ammount of time? (Whats the problem? Does it just show "no charge" in the battery meter? Or does it drain fast?)

I just like how this thing looks. I'm stuck on it, and theres no way to get me off of it. Unless you suggest one thats EXTREMLY better for the price and not a netbook.

[palmertech]

Suit yourself, though believe me, the charm of these devices might start to wear off.

It basically just thinks that the battery is always almost dead, even fully charged, so I will have to fiddle with it. It works fine when plugged in, but the battery issue really needs to be fixed.

And, it is painted white. Exclusive FTW!

[HotDog-Cart]

Oh, I see what you mean. So when you put the battery in and its fully charged, it sees it as nearly dead? Meaning, it turns off shortly after because it thinks its dead?

Have you tried the battery out of the other one?

[palmertech]

Oh, I see what you mean. So when you put the battery in and its fully charged, it sees it as nearly dead? Meaning, it turns off shortly after because it thinks its dead?

Have you tried the battery out of the other one?

Yeah, exactly.

And it is not a battery issue, it is the lame battery life meter they are using, I just nee to figure out how to reset it, but I am having a hard time.

[HotDog-Cart]

Thats gotta suck. Stupid battery bars.

Offtopic: I'm getting a GP2X Wiz in 1-2 days. I'll do a write up on it, if anyone want me to. (Or a youtube video.)

[palmertech]

If I get it working, would you be interested in buying? Comes in original box, all accessories, pretty much brand new (I would ship it with the original firmware, I have no interest in having one of the buggy OS port betas out there on it when I sell it).

It is also painted white with Krylon Fusion!

[HotDog-Cart]

Possibly. I'm not sure. My parents are willing to buy me one of these from the website you told me about. (They think that a good warranty will be worth it. It their money, )

Palmer, you're not on AIM why not?

[wallydawg]

Boo GP2X Wiz, yay Dingoo!

Palmer, how is typing on the SmartQ, can you effectively thumb type with it? (kind of like you would on a cell-phone or something)

[palmertech]

Possibly. I'm not sure. My parents are willing to buy me one of these from the website you told me about. (They think that a good warranty will be worth it. It their money, )

Palmer, you're not on AIM why not?

Good, good! I really love the support there, your money is definitely well spent. Not on AIM for a lot of reasons, busy, and unreliable intertubes while Verizon upgrades our area.

@Wallydawg: The touch screen is nice, much better than most touch screen cell phones. Better for typing than the iphone, since it actually needs a slight press, and it is WAY bigger screen than any cell phone. I suck at thumb typing, but my friends say it is very comfortable. Since it has such a short bezel, and the panel is flush with the service, typing works very well.

[HotDog-Cart]

Thats the question I was about to ask. Thats pretty awesome that its good for thumb typing and bigger than any cell phone. That works perfectly for me. I'm looking forward to this as I'm a big thumb typer.

Also, I'm getting the GP2X for cheap, as I'm doing a review for it for a company. I'll put it up in the youtube thread when I'm done. No worries!