HTC P3300 Artemis (Initial Thoughts)

[Skippy]

T-Mobile (UK) are selling the HTC Artemis branded as the T-Mobile MDA Compact III with prices from £0 to £100 depending on your monthly spend.

The main gotcha is that WiFi is missing or disabled and it doesn't sound like anyone has figured out how to re-enable it (yet).
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Gone fishing!

[mikealder]

[mikealder]

OK, I mentioned an update after I had used the Artemis for a few weeks rather than just the eight hours where this thread started here goes:

On Board GPS. The sensitivity of this inbuilt receiver is more than adequate; the inclusion of an external GPS aerial is somewhat a mystery. I have tried it but it makes no difference for my installation, the Artemis has been tried in a number of different cars and has worked fine each time. For those of you with an Athermic windscreen it might find a use, but I doubt it will be needed. The external aerial is supplied with a very generous length of feeder cable (5 meters in length), even the largest cars won’t find this too short, hiding the excess cable might prove interesting though.
The Artemis is also equipped with “GPS Quick Fix”, this software is dependent upon an Internet connection and is used to download 72 hours of ephemeris data. As the chipset knows which satellites and where they should be, the time to fix a position is very fast (typically under 5 seconds). You can set the software to automatically download the tiny file it needs when docked to a PC with Internet connectivity. If away from home either use WiFi or the inbuilt GPRS to connect to the HTC web site and get the update – all at the click of a single button, easy to use and shows off one of the small benefits of a PDA based device with a built in phone.

Built in camera. With a resolution of 2MegaPixel per picture it can take reasonable photographs, you get zoom capability (software derived rather than a true optical zoom, no zoom is permitted when shooting at full 2MB picture size). In low light conditions the device can struggle, but in daylight it’s not too bad. At the end of the day the inbuilt camera will only ever be used for the odd snap shot, for photography I prefer to use a proper camera. In addition to just the basic point and shoot mode there are options for video, MMS video, contacts picture, sports mode and burst. Other functionality within the camera modes include white balance controls, self-timer and meter mode, quite an array of functionality sadly let down by the lens and/ or CCD. A word of caution when using the camera at any resolution, make sure the pictures are stored to the memory card and not the device or your precious memory will disappear very quickly.

FM Radio. The unit is equipped with a radio receiver, which is tuneable across the full FM band 87.5 to 108.5MHz in 0.1MHz increments. It is simple to operate a single press of the scan button sweeps the entire band and stores the available frequencies in the presets. Signal strength, volume level (adjustable on screen), frequency and RDS station name (when transmitted) is displayed. There is also a sleep timer to turn off the radio after a pre-selected time period (30, 60 or 90 mins). The audio output can be routed to the internal speaker or the supplied earphones; the earphones must be connected irrespective of speaker choice as they provide the aerial. The earphones plug in to the mini USB port on the bottom of the device, this arrangement makes using your own headphones difficult, unless you source an extra adaptor which is not yet available, but is soon to be released although I am not too confident the radio will work when connected via the adaptor – time will tell. This method of connection also prevents charging the device while using the radio. I have a small issue with this as when out walking I usually power my device(s) from another external source to keep the batteries topped up, with the Artemis I can listen to the radio OR charge the battery.

Bluetooth. Supports A2DP (stereo audio output), so it is possible to route the audio output to the car if your vehicle is equipped with the correct hardware, or at home/ office you could use A2DP compliant headphones. In use the sound quality using the A2DP is very good, although the volume is a bit on the low side necessitating turning up the volume on the car head unit to a far higher than normal level. This low sound level forces you to adopt a high volume on the car stereo and could result in excessive high frequency noise (hiss) from the speakers depending upon the quality of the installation; in my case the sound quality is excellent, very impressive to be honest. The physical separation between the devices or range that the A2DP works is about 5 meters for guaranteed audio, going up to 10 meters if there are no obstructions between the Artemis and receiver, this is very good allowing you to walk around at home using headphones with very few signal drops. For some strange reason you cannot port the radio audio over the A2DP connection, a minor niggle in practice though – lets face it if the car has A2DP connectivity it will also have an FM receiver of its own. At home I would like to be able to listen to the radio using a quality headset rather than the budget devices supplied. You can also use the Bluetooth connection to your computer employing the Artemis as a modem for Internet usage via GPRS, handy at times but with the growth in WiFi availability this is not something I intend to use too often.

WiFi Sensitivity is better than any other PDA I have ever used, even my laptop when mains powered, is out performed by the Artemis. Its ability to acquire networks, connect and more importantly maintain connection over considerable distance is nothing short of amazing. Both 801.11b and 801.11g standards are supported, so high-speed Internet surfing is a definite possibility where the infrastructure allows.

HTC RollR is the name given to the combined mouse style roller ball and wheel located where a thumb pad would normally reside. Some people will love this; others will undoubtedly hate it, although its fair to say this does take some getting used to. If you use the PDA predominantly for gaming then you really need to try this out first before purchase, having tried some car “skills” games the steering was back to front, great fun until you realise that using the HTC Rollr ball instead of the wheel alleviates the reversed controls. With practice its capabilities are very versatile when compared to “normal” devices.
Some programs have taken the new HTC Rollr technology and integrated its use better than others. TomTom Navigator 6 (which is pre-installed) makes good use of the HTC Rollr devices. In navigation view the outer wheel controls the zoom level, the inner ball controls the volume, pressing the ball enters the menu. In the menu screens you can rapidly move around the icons using either the inner ball or outer wheel, this includes transgressing to other menu pages without pressing the “Next page” arrow. This Next page arrow is basically a redundant left over in the menu, I might try a custom menu to see what happens if the next page icon is left off the menu structure when I get chance.
Whilst on the subject of TomTom Navigator they have also simplified the GPS set-up, you can still use a Bluetooth GPS with the Artemis should you desire, but there is little point the inbuilt device does an admirable job. To set-up GPS within the application you are presented with a new screen in GPS set-up “Built in GPS Receiver” once this is selected there is no messing with COM ports or Baud rates – simple to use for once!
TMC availability for the TomTom navigator package is only via GPRS, the inbuilt FM radio cannot be used to supply RDS TMC data, this would have been great if it were possible, sadly not the case. Why mention the TMC and radio at this point, well certain pre-release “interpretations” of the Artemis capability claimed the FM radio could be used for TMC – IT CANNOT. I am not going to detail TomTom Navigator 6 as part of this write up but thought the inclusion of the Artemis functionality is something worth while mentioning.

I have also tried Route 66 with the Artemis, it works fine but the HTC RollR wheel doesn’t scroll through each menu option it simply descends vertically before jumping to the next page. In use you have to combine tapping the screen or a combination of the HTC RollR wheel/ ball – yes it is usable but it doesn’t benefit from the capability of the hardware, TomTom score a big plus point for this.

Memory Map the topographical map supplier has also been tried/ used on the device; again no support for the HTC RollR technology exists, the software works but leaves the mouse and wheel next to useless. But the application performs just as well as it would on any other PDA that isn’t equipped with HTC RollR.
At the end of the day if the software application isn’t designed to accommodate the innovative features the Artemis posses then it is not surprising you can’t use the hardware to its full potential. If on the other hand more hardware suppliers start to include the HTC RollR technology, more software vendors might make use of the added functionality, once you get used to the HTC RollR it is very easy to fly around anything on the screen, internet surfing without needing the stylus is a true possibility.

Battery Life, The quoted figures of Talk Time 5 hours and Standby Time of 200 hours are not very realistic unless you only use the device as a phone. As with every other PDA/ PDA phone I have owned the unit is best kept charged. It is no problem to dock the unit and charge it up each night. With the car navigation running the unit should be charging from the vehicle, if not the battery will deplete very quickly. Take the Artemis out of this situation and go walking you can expect over five hours use from a fully charged battery, this is with both the GPS and screen backlight powered throughout, Bluetooth and WiFi off. For those serious walks I would recommend an external charger/ battery pack, nothing new here though – every PDA I have needs extra power for a 20 mile hike, or should I walk faster!

Supplied Software, TomTom Navigator 6 is pre-installed along with the usual Pocket PC versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint. In addition the device is loaded with:
PDF Viewer
FM Radio
Midlet Manager
Notes
Pocket MSN
Quick GPS
Voice Speed Dial
ZIP

Supplied on CD is the excellent SPB GPRS monitor, vital for keeping check of that costly mobile Internet, unless you have an unlimited download tariff. The surprise was finding Sprite Back-up on the CD, considering the Artemis uses WM2005 with its inherent persistent storage the inclusion of a decent back-up package is somewhat unusual, but very welcome. Even WM2005 can go haywire – load a rouge application and mess up the device Sprite can recover the PDA in minutes well worth installing, configuring and using.

Limitations of the device, Load it up with too much running at once and you can notice it slow down, for example using Media Player outputting sound via the Bluetooth A2DP is fine, this even works at the same time as TomTom until a route re-calculation is triggered. This causes the sound to falter for a few seconds – a few more horses under the bonnet wouldn’t go amiss. Used normally this issue is not apparent, you do have the option (via user loaded software) to over-clock the processor – not something I have tried or am prepared to condone, think of the cost and useless warranty if/ when damaged.
Restricted audio connectivity, the USB connection for power input, data connection and audio output limits your choices, for those with Bluetooth A2DP compatible peripherals it is not a problem, if you don’t have these accessories their purchase could prove an additional incurred cost.
Swapping out the tiny TransFlash memory card is difficult and time consuming, the device will support a 2GB card so fit one and forget about it, although this does mean file transfer to/ from the card is via Active Sync – slower than a card reader.
Screen size could be an issue for some users, the onscreen keyboard being somewhat fiddly in operation.
Memory availability is lacking, I would have expected to see more RAM fitted, once the device has booted up out of the box you only have 26MB to play with – not very much for a modern device.

Most of the above have very valid and plausible reasoning behind them. A small screen keeps the overall size and weight down; at the same time it reduces battery drain due to the smaller backlight. Again size and weight can explain the absence of an inbuilt keyboard. If required use a Bluetooth equipped keyboard, this is another addition to the pocket, but a necessary one for the way I use the Artemis, (try typing this lot up on a small onscreen keyboard).
The fact the memory card is so difficult to remove is a blessing in disguise – drop one of these tiny TransFlash cards on a dark carpet and you can spend hours looking for it! How many Tytn devices do you see with the memory card slot taped over to prevent accidental card release and possible loss?
The method for audio output is a bizarre choice (although some other devices use the same method and connection), an adaptor cable to enable connection to headphones via either 3,5MM or 2,5MM stereo socket whilst allowing charging and FM aerial is needed, one such adaptor is due out soon but as for its full capability we will have to wait and see.

Conclusions
I like the weight and size, this is the first PDA Phone that doesn’t resemble a brick when in the shirt pocket! Battery life is more than acceptable so long as you only use the WiFi when required. In use the device simply works with very few resets required over the last four weeks I have been using it, on the other hand my HTC Blue Angel (XDAIIs) still requires a reset every couple of days so the Artemis is a more stable device when employed in the way I use it. Internet surfing via WiFi is great, over GPRS it is a little slow but still usable, whilst EDGE capability is on board I have yet to experience what it actually offers in terms of speed.
My main concern however is the small amount of available memory, if you load applications to the default locations the available memory disappears at an alarming rate. Careful use of the memory and where files are placed is a problem compared to other units, this is the only major drawback, had the device been equipped with 128MB or even 256MB of memory then it really would be the ultimate toy. - Mike

[MGTF]

Mike

Great mini review i'm very tempted by this device, now i just need to decide between this and the new Glofiish X500 thats about to be launched.

can i just ask how have you found it as a mobile phone ease of use texting etc.

Cheers

[mikealder]

As a phone its great the sound quality is very good as is the volume, when using it in speaker phone mode I have found it best to turn the sound down slightly as its too loud at the highest setting and makes the sound slightly distorted. Even turned down a little bit its still very easy to listen to.
Text messages are not something I use very often, but its fair to say the Artemis is as easy to use SMS as any other PDA based phone, the on screen keyboard is much easier than pressing the numbers multiple times (as happens with non PDA based dvices, what some people would consider normal phones) - Mike

[alix776]

i have to agree with mike i use text messages a lot and got the t-mobile version of this yesterday its agreat peice of kit the lack of wifi personally doesnt bother me at all but the lack of pockt msn is abit of a downer
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currently using aponia truck navigation on windows phone. Good bye IOS don't let the door hit you on the way out .

Oh the joys of being a courier.
device Lumia 950 xl

[rvw]

Well folks, i have at last got my hands on my P3300 (o2 Orbit), my O2 renewal came just at the right time!!

I phoned O2 and they said they would be pleased to send me an Orbit free if I took up a £40 mth, 12 mth contract, I asked if this included Co-Pilot and carkit etc, and was told it included Co-Pilot but no car charger or car kit, this was ok so i said send it.

The PDA arrived promptly the next day (well done o2), I loved the size and weight and could not wait to get stuck in!,but there was no sign of Co-Pilot or an microsd card.! I phoned customer service and they said it was preloaded (which i doubted because of the onboard memory) so i fired it up.

After installing the software the Orbit came alive. The Wifi was brilliant it attached itself to my hub upstairs with no info from me!
The phone easy to use but i would prefer a seperate phone directory to my main contacts folder and i have a few hundred business contacts but only a few friends!!

Apart from a few niggles (nothings ever perfect, except me!) the Orbit is superb, like Mike says the screen is a little small (and i don't like the stylus coming from the bottom of the PDA) so i'm trying to grow my nail and sharpen it to a point.

Anyway back to O2, I phoned Retention and told them it definatley didnt have Co-Pilot installed, they said call into my nearest O2 shop and they will upload it for me! Rather than waste a journey i telephoned the O2 shop, they said there was no way they could do it, so i phoned back retention,,,,yawn.

To cut a long story short they could not do the satnav package and told me to send the Orbit back to them then go to the O2 shop and take out a £40+ contract to get the PDA and Co-pilot free!! What a pain.

Has anyone else signed up for this contract or will they tell me it doesn't exist once they have got me in the store?

Richard
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Richard Wood
Dorset (occasionally)

To fish or not to fish, there is no question.

[arfur]

I saw the free coppilot offer on their web site. I upgrade on 25/11/06 to an orbit with no copilot, so I rang the shop and asked if they were now doing the offer and they said no. I have just bought copilot so was a bit miffed seeing this offer.

I might try calling to see if I can get somethong from them.

[rvw]

Hi Arfur,

It seems like the launch was unplanned and unprofessional.
I went into my local O2 store a week before the Orbit was launched and they looked at me like an alien and knew nothing about it!

The telesales/upgrade/retention staff knew nothing about the PDA except the cost and plan.

The whole matter stinks although the deal seems quite good if it turns out to be real.

I will be breathing fire if they have messed me around!! With 5 phone calls, £5.50 registered post to send the first one back and a trip to my store with £2 car parking, i'm already not happy.

I'll keep you updated.

rvw
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Richard Wood
Dorset (occasionally)

To fish or not to fish, there is no question.

[MGTF]

Hi
I've been talking to a sales person in a O2 shop he said i could sign up for an Orbit as follows

Handset £49 inc Co pilot
Monthly contract of £35 which i could down grade to £25 after 6 months
the £25 tarrif would give me 250 free minutes and 100 free texts

for the first 6 months i would have free calls on a Sat Sun and Monday.

So total cost after a year would be £409 plus the free calls for the first 6 months..

Sounds pretty good

Shame they had no phones in stock and i'd like to have it written i could down grade after 6 months

[Skippy]

[rvw]

Any help please,

I've got my O2 Orbit working well, wi-fi, bluetooth etc but did not get Co-Pilot with my deal so I decided to put TT5 onto it.
I eventually got it to recognise the program, map etc but am unable to tie in the onboard GPS. I appreciate what Mike has said about Com4 9600 baud rate but I am confused with the other settings. As follows:

GPS settings
Choose the port that programmes will use to obtain GPS data
GPS Programme port....?
GPS Hardware Port...? 4 (I presume)
Baud rate 9600

Then I have to choose which GPS hardware to use for the built in GPS ie:

Tom Tom Wireless GPS
TT cable GPS
Other Bluetooth GPS
Other Cable NMEA GPS

i presumed it would be other cable NMEA?

Can anyone give me a pointer.

Thanks, Richard
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Richard Wood
Dorset (occasionally)

To fish or not to fish, there is no question.

[mikealder]

Richard, I have just got the settings from my device as follows:

GPS Applet:
Programs Tab = COM4
Hardware Tab = (None), Baud Rate 4800
Access Tab = Manage GPS Automatically (Recommended)

In TomTom Change Preferences/ Show GPS status
Select "Configure"
Other NMEA GPS receiver
Baud Rate 9600
COM4

Mike

[rvw]

[mikealder]

Have you tried each of the listed options, once correctly communicating with the GPS the yellow/ blue disk top right will spin.
Failing this what version of TTN have you installed, tap the sat strength meter from the nav screen to find it, if its less than 5,21 I would sugest updating the application. Version 5,21 is still available for download from the tomtom web site - Mike

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