How To Buy Cellphones – Part 2
Gadget Magazine
Cell phone comparison, cell phones, Gadget, gadget blog, gadgets, michael wong, Nokia, Nokia N65, Odyessey, shopping, unlocked phones 66 Comments
By Michael Wong
- If you haven’t already, please read part 1 of this series, you’ll find it here:
So after two months of indecision, I finally bought my new phone yesterday – Chinavasion’s CVDQ-M56, AKA the WiFi Odyssey.
I know what some of you are thinking. “Sure Michael, you’re just trying to promote your company’s products!!!!”
That’s not strictly true.
Up to a week ago, it was down to the Odyssey and the Nokia N95.
In my first blog post I wrote about how I love sliders. I still do.
But here’s the problem. Despite the N95 being so old (it’s almost 4 years old), it’s still selling for roughly $350 US here.
The Odyssey sells for $120 US.
However, like I said in my first blog the price isn’t everything.
So, to sum up the phone I am looking for has:
- Quad Band
- Wi-Fi
- Dual SIM
- Touchscreen
- A Media Player
- A Candybar form factor (or design)
And let’s not forget it also looks cool or 1337
The N95 doesn’t have dual SIM. I’ve slowly grown tired of switching SIM cards all the time as I travel back and forth between Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
The Odyssey M56 has a larger touch screen than the N95 (3 inches vs 2.78 inches”) and I love my Odyssey because it’s sexy.
There I said it, I’m a man with a sexy phone.
Now, for the record, the iPhone is not sexy.
It’s too wide. It feels like I’m holding a piece of toast or a Poptart in my hand.
Yummy to eat, but sucky to hold. It’s far too wide.
But the Odyssey – it’s what I’d call the Goldilocks shape.
It’s not too wide, it’s not to thin, It’s just right.
It has a black and chrome color scheme. It has smooth lines. It is glossy and has rounded corners.
It’s seductive.
Another thing that I look for in a phone is the feel.
The Odyssey has the right weight. It feels solid in your hands, but it’s not too heavy.
In contrast, when you put the N95 in your pocket it feels like it’s going to pull your pants down!
The M56 has three nicely sized buttons on the front.
All three are large enough to be pressed comfortably, they feel solid, and that’s important.
It’s like the difference between a crappy keyboard and the kind that makes you want to write Hamlet or Othello.
And then there’s the details.
I love my Odyssey because of the little things.
One of the little things is that I can use a 2.5 mm headphone jack or the micro USB jack when I’m listening to MP3s.
This is important because as a rule earphones with micro USB connectors suck!
I love the fact that the M56 Odyssey has it’s own answering machine.
Yeah, a built-in answering machine! Now I don’t have to pay eight dollars a month for a virtual service.
The call comes through and if I don’t answer it, my prerecorded MP3 file begins to play.
“Hi, it’s Michael, SPEAK!”
I can specify the length of the message my caller can leave and my voicemail inbox only gets full when my 4GB microSD card is full. (The Odyssey comes with a free 2GB micro SD card, but I’m a strong believer in more is more.)
I love the accelerator function on my Odyssey. I love the ability to add java apps (yes I know you can do this on the N95, but still, the M56 is so much cheaper).
I’ve been able to update my phone with Gizmo5 which is a damn good VOIP platform in its own right. And through its OPENSKY alliance I also get access to Skype.
I’ve been able to install all sorts of java games and here’s a great one – I recently downloaded Twim for Java which is a Twitter client. Twim isn’t as powerful as Tweetdeck for example, but then again it gets my tweets out there.
I love the fact that I can download ebooks from places like gutenberg.org or bartleby.com and read them on the Odyssey.
It lets me control the font size, line or page scrolling, and even has a feature when the text scrolls on its own at a speed I choose.
I’m pretty happy with my Odyssey phone but I’m usually a happy person.
Because I believe in two vital ingredients for happiness:
- Concentrate on what you have and not on what you don’t.
- Manage your expectations
The Odyssey is a great quad band world phone with dual SIM and dual standby, WIFI, TV and radio, a digital still and video camera, an MP3/MP4 player and PDA functionality.
I get two lithium-ion batteries and a free 2GB microSD card thrown in. All at almost a third of what an equivalent Nokia would cost.
Sure the user manual is written in bad English, but that forced me to get to know my phone intimately.
So that’s what I think of the Odyssey, now it’s your time to chime in. If you own this awesome phone leave a comment below to let us know what you think.
And if you don’t check out the Odyssey now. It doesn’t matter if you buy it to resell, buy it for a friend or buy it for yourself.
You won’t regret it.
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Hmm… That’s great that you listed all the positives in this glowing review, but a few of us would like to know the negatives of the phone also.
I dont have this phone but I have the Voyager, and I jut ordered the Thunder. Both of these phones are virtually the same with this phone minus that the Voyager doesnt include the headphone port 3.5mm variety.
So basically, I actually really like my phone the (Voyager) it is actually pretty good once I got it set up, the only downsides I had was the phone wasnt as configurable as I liked. I couldnt set the messages ringtone to my personal music, I couldnt change my wallpaper to a personal picture, and also I couldnt figure out a way for the phone to alert me with a intermittent beep if I missed a call or message. These are all I suppose minor issues with the phone’s OS.
So basically, since I have the Thunder on my way I would like to know does the phone use the same OS as the Voyager/Oddessey? If, so have these issues been resolved?
Also, do you plan on making Android OS based phones? Thanks, if this is posted and questions are answered?
@Ru U
I understand your position, but what company brags about the negatives. Nokia in reference to Iran controversy? Apple over exploding batteries? Having said that, I wish the Odyssey had a real keyboard like the Blackberry or Nokia E71. But then again, the price would be much more…also many people wish these smartphones have higher battery times…battery life can be extended by turning off Bluetooth and WIFI. Google it, these two issues significantly drain battery times not just for these phones, but all name brands phones. Another thing I wish for with the Odyssey phone is sync/contact software. My workaround is to use a SIM card reader/writer.
Yes, same firmware and chipset. Also headphone port is 2.5mm not 3.5mm
Click on FILE, find your MP3, it will give you the option to use as ringtone. As for wallpaper? Same thing, FILE, find your jpeg and set it as wallpaper. As for missed messages or call, hmm, while no beep it should display a message that you’ve missed a call or message. Alternatively, set up the in-phone answering machine to take care of missed messages. Or give people your phone email ie cellphone#@cellphoneprovider.com
Yes, same OS. It is a Chinese made OS.
I expect in a couple of weeks, you’ll see an Android phone on our pages. Hint, hint. I am very excited. I am actively testing it and it won’t be released until we can be sure it is problem-free.
Can you answer these questions for me regarding the odyssey, is it easy to write a text message without the use of the stylus?
If you flip the phone over does it give you a landscape view of the QWERTY ketyboard?
Also is the font size nice and clear? I bought a nokia phone “made in china” and the font was so small it started hurting me eyes?
Hi Sean,
It is possible to write a text message without a stylus however a person with bigger fingers may need to use a stylus. Unfortunately, flipping the phone on it’s side won’t provide you with a bigger keyboard. According to Michael, the product expert who tested the Odyssey and bought it for himself, he enjoys the font used in the odyssey and he is a person who wears glasses.
Thanks Gareth, I’ve decided to buy the Thunder Quadband, it has the similar features to the odyssey, but slightly smaller. I hope it works out ok…
Thanks again, Sean for your honesty. Really, that’s all I ask for, I wish the main site was like this.
Also, I am excited about an Android based phone. I’ve seen the General Mobile DSTL1 and its specs are good, but I know that Chinavasion and its manufacturers can do better.
Also, for anyone else reading the Thunder is great, better design, same OS as Voyager, but better looks.
Speaking of which do you know the name of the OS that’s on the Thunder/Voyager as I would like to see if I can change things around. Thanks again.
I would like to know what cellular services you all have with these dual/quad cell phones?
Do you still get the same quality of service with a GSM phone?
Thanks
Tell me please, Odyssey could play AVI files?
Hi Aleksey,
I’m sorry but this unit will only play 3GP, MP4 and FLV files.
Hi Jacqueline,
GSM phones refers to the type of network it runs on. Dual band phones are phones that will operate on two GSM bands (usually either 900MHz and 1800MHz or 850 MHz and 1900 MHz ) Quad band phones are phones that operate on all four GSM bands.
The performance of said phone depends somewhat on the general performance of the network.
Which country are you based in perhaps other commentors could give you feedback on what network they are with and what they are like.
Gostaria de saber como posso instalar jogos neste celular.
Obrigado
Hi Amadeu,
The Odyssey will run a large number of java apps and games so any games you install will have to be in java. A java file has the suffix .jar, can be found on a number of sites on the internet (like .exe files) and don’t always work like they’re supposed to (like .exe files).
According to Michael, our resident Odyssey expert the process of installing a Java game/ap on your phone is as follows:
1) Transfer the .Jar file from your computer to your cell phone with a micro SD card.
2) Use the file browser on your phone to find the .jar file in question and select it.
3) If it is indeed the real deal, and it’s friendly with your phone’s OS your phone will ask you if you want to run it. Tell your phone yes you do indeed want to run it.
The next time you want to play the Java game you have just installed go along to the java menu on your phone and it will be there.
Hi Michael and others! Great posts (both of them). I also bought a chinavasion phone 6 months ago, and I’m satisfied with it. If I may, here are my pros, cons and things it would also be great to have. It would be really great if the cons would improve and new stuff could be integrated…
Some of my thoughts I’ve also sent to chinavasion, unfortunately no answer yet (though products are improving in sensible time intervals)
Pros:
- price (solid pro)
- dual sim
- generally lots of features (although by that time there were no WiFi phones on chinavasion)
Cons: (let me focus on these; if all of them were to be improved, you’d probably want to marry this phone instead of the new HTC – which does rock, indeed
)
- the connectors on the phone for the USB cable and audio earpieces are non-standard. this is a major problem as there is no way to get replacements here in Europe (now I’ve learned my lesson and will order several spare parts with my future orders). By looking into the connector I’ve seen that it most likely uses the same protocol as the MiniUSB. I really suggest changing it by passing to a common protocol
- the baterry life is a problem. You have to charge it up every day, even if you don’t use anything except phone calls. Yes, it is a problem for all phones, but for these it seems to be a larger problem than for others.
- the SAR value is never mentioned anywhere. I suspect it’s huge (3-5) while the limit is around 1 in Europe. Increase in SAR is undesrstandable if you are using dual sim open, but it’s not funny to have headaches every day you spend more than 1 hour on your phone… There’s got to be something that can be done about this…
- there is no true complete way to connect the phone to the computer. yes, you can choose from webcam, mass storage, etc but what I would advise is a software that can perform several operations like synchronizations, access to the phone software, etc (see Nokia communication centre)
- some parts of the software are faulty. just a small example I remember: when trying to connect through bluetooth FTP to another device and copy a picture (or any file), there is a bug in the software that you can only save it to the internal memory, which is very small. If you try to save it to the SD card it just gives an error and fails; sometimes the whole phone resets itself, for example after saving some changed properties of the camera (like resolution) when trying to take a picture it just resets (for no reason). changes are saved and after that you can work with it, but the reset is stupid
- not enough space for custom ringtones, wallpapers, etc (not in the sense of storage, but in the sense of modifiable list of such ringtones, etc). you have 25 songs for ringtones out of which 20 are fixed (and they are some lousy midi sounds) while only 5 can be selected as mp3’s (which is not enough, at least for me). normal phones have deletable initial ringtones or at least several more customizable space; some wallpapers and other customizations seem to restore themselves to the original with apparently no real reason
- FM radio works only with earpieces on. this restriction is not necessary (mp3 playing is allowed on speakers, why shouldn’t FM radio be also?)
- camera resolution: you probably know better than I do. No one needs 5MP on a phone, but 640×480 is a shame. All manufacturers have at least 2MP on phones that are even slimmer than these… If this is solved, then also video recording will improve.
- keyboards are awful. there’s got to be a way to make larger keyboards on landscape views. and there’s another thing: when switching from “abc” writing to “123″ you do it in one click. but when trying to switch back, it takes a lot of steps, you have to go though all the sequence of available keyboards based on languages: de-DE-fr-FR-es-ES-pt-PT-en which is not very nice. The software should support the saving of a default (preferred) language and allow switches only among en-EN-123 if “en” is the preferred one.
Things that would make it ROCK:
- DVB-T digital television instead of analog. Not only that analog is disappearing, but a DVB-T receiver is now of the size of a very small memory stick
- somewhat more CPU and/or RAM, but not necessarily a lot more
- a true platform for supporting develop-able applications (J2ME / Symbian / Win Mobile etc)
- more protocols for 3G / Data. I hate large bills also, but sometimes it just saves your ass… these phones don’t seem to know HSDPA, some of them not even 3G.
- integrated compass and GPS
Hope you will answer, I’m curious on how things evolve with the new products at Chinavasion. I suspect that soon you will be able to build products that will compete with expensive brands at all categories. And that’s what I like about you, guys.
Thanks and all the best
I like the ‘pinch’ gesture on the iPhone for zooming into/out of a webpage – can the Odyssey do this? Thanks.
Hi Sean,
I’m sorry to say that the Odyssey doesn’t have this function.
Va benissimo tutto cio che avete scritto,ma che me ne faccio di un telefonino il quale la batteria dopo al massimo 30 ore e´scarica ?
Hi Magurano,
Bluetooth and WiFi functions are a massive drain on battery resources (as is GPS if a phone has it) switch these of and you should see a dramatic increase in the life of the battery.
@Diesel
Wow, thanks for the wonderful and thorough and objective phone review.
>>Good point. We’re seeing this a lot with the major manufacturers here in China. Basically China has pretty well mandated compliance to the eventual one connector initiative set for (2012 I think?). MicroUSB will be the connector of choice for future phones. Europe? Yes I’m sorry about this. Basically Nokia’s dominant position there, along with Philips, LG, Siemens, Sony Ericsson, (am I missing any?) will probably delay Europe’s adopting one common connector type.
>>To be fair, this is a problem for all phones which operate what we like to call in the phone industry the holy trinity of battery drainers, namely WIFI, GPS, and BLUETOOTH. For much improved battery performance, please turn them all off if you’re not using them. NOTE: Odyssey does not have GPS, but I would love it if someone could tell me a way to get GPS on the phone.
>>Yes SARs is a problem. Too many people die from this flu. Oh you mean SAR not SARS. Sorry to make light of the situation. It costs a lot of money to perform SAR tests which would be passed back to the consumer. Still, yes I would like to know and yes I think it might be high. Bluetooth headset anyone?
>>That’s not fair. That’s comparing a USD125 phone with a USD500 phone. Having said that, I have found a way to sync my contacts. I use a SIM card reader. I also hack the Vcard files so I can update my tasks on my computer and transfer them to the phone. But yes I know what you’re speaking of. It would be nice to sync the calendar. Hmm I wonder if I can do it with Bluetooth…I’ll be back with my findings.
>>Hmm that’s not good. If it continues, please send us a ticket. My thinking is that the phone was never meant for peer to peer Bluetooth transfer even though, Bluetooth does indeed do that. How odd.
>>I understand. I love my music. I use MISSY ELLIOT “Get Your Freak On!” as my ringtone.
>>Earpieces are for listening and antenna purposes.
>>Hmm? Toggling back and forth, same buttons. It shouldn’t take those extra steps. Send a product question ticket to support with the subject line ‘Attn Michael’ you’re still have problems. Basically when you’re numbering, there’s a ABC button and when you’re lettering, there’s a 123 button. Maybe I’m misunderstanding…
Things that would make it ROCK:
- DVB-T digital television instead of analog. Not only that analog is disappearing, but a DVB-T receiver is now of the size of a very small memory stick
>>That is possible but it would add more to the price then our people thought customers were willing to pay.
>>I agree.
>>Aw we have a phone like that, it’s selling for close to USD300. But I understand, more power would be nice. FYI, this phone is our best selling phone ever because I think we reach the sweet price point on this. Essentially, everyone loves China phones because they’re inexpensive and feature laden. When the price creeps up, we start treading onto Nokia territory.
>>In the months ahead my friend. It will be a sweet 2010 for Chinavasion phone fans.
Hope you will answer, I’m curious on how things evolve with the new products at Chinavasion. I suspect that soon you will be able to build products that will compete with expensive brands at all categories. And that’s what I like about you, guys.
>>Thank you for supporting Chinavasion.
Hi,
I previously bought a song a168 and didn’t have predictive text t9 with the phone, does the odyssey have t9 predictive text so that if u manually put in a word or write with the stylus does it predict the rest of the word?? it was a downpoint on the other phone and made messaging a labor intensive process!
Hi aaron,
Predictive text is available on this phone.
To operate it select smart ABC from the phone’s SMS option settings.
I was also wondering about battery life and microphone durability. On the prior phone the microphone was soft and was the first thing to die. How long does the battery typically last when using both sims. What is the difference between the odyssey and thunder?
Regards once again,
Aaron
Hi Michael,
I’d also like to know what the differences are between the Odyssey and the Thunder. I have similar criteria to yours when looking for phones – which do you like better, the Odyssey or Thunder?
Thanks,
Barry
Also, does either phone support flash websites like YouTube?
is chinainvasion going to get some phone like the GOOGLE G1 Android Touchscreen with a qwerty keyboard. i seen one of them but that one doesnt look very appealing.
Cheers
Hello Chinavasion,
I’ve got a few questions regarding the Odyssey and the Thunder mobile phone.
I’m also wondering the differences between the Odyssey and the Thunder.
Is it really true that the Odyssey has a 1200mAh Rechargeable Battery? The Thunder has a 2800mAh Rechargeable Battery, which is a big difference. Also looking through the approximately playing time each device has, it’s remarkably almost the same.
Does the Odyssey support the Dutch language, like the Thunder does? I’m asking this, because they are using the same OS, but it’s not mentioned in the specifications for the Odyssey.
Is the stylus component part of the Thunder phone (thus is the stylus integrated into the phone), like the stylus is for the Odyssey?
Is the Thunder faster than the Odyssey regarding to processor capability? I’m asking this, because the Thunder has a more powerfull battery than the Odyssey, but got the same battery lifetime when using.
Thanks in advance.
Kind regards,
Casper
for me this phone is very good and it price is very very good.
wonderful display, very large and bright, have a lot of function.
but….
it isn’t possible remove the factory built in wallpaper and midi files ;
isn’t possible add to an incoming call a picture off the caller (jpg or similar)
the virtual keyboard is too small for the use without the stylus and is not possible use it in landscape mode.
is not possible to display the name of the gsm operator (for example wind or vodafone) but only the signal strengh.
for same application (the automatic answer for example) a shortcut is not possible and the activation and deactivaction is too long .
an upgrade of the firmware is possible?
best regards, ilario
Hello Michael, and thanks for your reply!
I won’t submit tickets as it doesn’t really matter now. I’m just happy to tell you what I’ve found while testing the phone. But I think some additional info I have can help.
About the thing in switching keyboards. It’s like I said. when in abc you have options for capitals ABC and back, but the first time you enter 123 your option abc actually turns into the list of languages I said about.
Also, I forgot to mention. With my phone I specifically bought two SIM-card readers from you as I thought this would forever solve the issue of entering the mobile phone configurations, just as you supposed. Now I’m an IT guy also and it doesn’t take me much to see that SIM cards actually communicate in a legacy COM-port style with a 9600/57600 BAUD rate just as old cables with RS232 did. Everything fine up to here. Now problems:
) )
- the driver provided is actually the same driver as for a transitional RS232-to-USB connector, manufactured by the company called Prolific from Taiwan, the only guys who seemed to give a damn about legacy connections. And it actually works, you can plug RS232 through USB and give legacy commands, just like you can stick your SIM card in the reader and plug it in a USB. Don’t be too happy that soon: it works only once every 10 tries, and all the other 9 it crashes your computer. (If you want a guaranteed windows bluescreen crash just do this. Crash is even more severe if behind a USB hub, also
- upon entering on the SIM using the software provided by you, everything is fine except you can only see the messages and nothing else (I refer to metadata, like timestamps, centre number, etc)
This is basically what I was referring to when saying that there is no “real” connectivity. One can just want to “download” the sms messages but with full content, including metadata (file with .vmg excension). I was able to do that with a Nokia using the same COM connection through USB (no need to remove SIM from phone) and the same driver from Prolific, but with a different software. I guess the key is in that software (yours is called SIM Editor 9.0) and it could be improved. And what I was saying, it would be nice to do this over the USB cable without having to remove the SIM.
And I mean what I say: the difference is in the software. You were mentioning that this difference is reflected in the prices. Nokia’s software is just a small crap shit. Let me believe that in the 21th Century when software is mostly for free, the price differences can only be made by hardware stuff. So I think improving that software will solve everything without having to increase prices.
About GPS: it also communicates over COM connections, with a typical BAUD rate of 4800 or 9600. This is easy to do. You just need a receiver and I’m sure they are nowadays very small and a way to integrate the COM connection to your microprocessor.
I’m looking forward to the new products, especially in mobile phones!
Keep in touch!
Hi Ilaro,
We are glad you like the Odyssey.
In regards to your questions:
No it isn’t possible to remove the built in wallpaper or midi files this model also does not have a function to set images for people. Although some of our newer phones do have that option.
As far as we know it is not possible to remove the name of the operator without removing the signal bar.
There will be no firmware upgrades for this product.
@Diesel
About the thing in switching keyboards. It’s like I said. when in abc you have options for capitals ABC and back, but the first time you enter 123 your option abc actually turns into the list of languages I said about.
>>Oh I understand now. Sorry about this one. Mine does not. If you’re into voiding your warranty, gsmhosting.com is a great site for hacking your firmware. It helps if you have the tools though. In China, it’s easy for me to buy a spider or infinity box…
Also, I forgot to mention. With my phone I specifically bought two SIM-card readers from you as I thought this would forever solve the issue of entering the mobile phone configurations, just as you supposed. Now I’m an IT guy also and it doesn’t take me much to see that SIM cards actually communicate in a legacy COM-port style with a 9600/57600 BAUD rate just as old cables with RS232 did. Everything fine up to here. Now problems:
) )
- the driver provided is actually the same driver as for a transitional RS232-to-USB connector, manufactured by the company called Prolific from Taiwan, the only guys who seemed to give a damn about legacy connections. And it actually works, you can plug RS232 through USB and give legacy commands, just like you can stick your SIM card in the reader and plug it in a USB. Don’t be too happy that soon: it works only once every 10 tries, and all the other 9 it crashes your computer. (If you want a guaranteed windows bluescreen crash just do this. Crash is even more severe if behind a USB hub, also
- upon entering on the SIM using the software provided by you, everything is fine except you can only see the messages and nothing else (I refer to metadata, like timestamps, centre number, etc)
This is basically what I was referring to when saying that there is no “real” connectivity. One can just want to “download” the sms messages but with full content, including metadata (file with .vmg excension). I was able to do that with a Nokia using the same COM connection through USB (no need to remove SIM from phone) and the same driver from Prolific, but with a different software. I guess the key is in that software (yours is called SIM Editor 9.0) and it could be improved. And what I was saying, it would be nice to do this over the USB cable without having to remove the SIM.
And I mean what I say: the difference is in the software. You were mentioning that this difference is reflected in the prices. Nokia’s software is just a small crap shit. Let me believe that in the 21th Century when software is mostly for free, the price differences can only be made by hardware stuff. So I think improving that software will solve everything without having to increase prices.
>>Agreed. Oh sorry I meant hardware, not software. MY bad. BTW–this is the SIM reader I used. Pretty good for updating the contact list. I basically enter my contacts in Excel with name and number columns only and the sync is pretty good.
Don’t really download my SMS messages.
We use FETION in China which is a China Mobile SMS and chat program. I also use mynumber@139.com for email to SMS. This is also free. I forward all my gmails to this email and it shows up as a SMS. Helps when you have free to receive SMS package like I have though. Sorry to go off topic, but since we’re sharing hacks…
About GPS: it also communicates over COM connections, with a typical BAUD rate of 4800 or 9600. This is easy to do. You just need a receiver and I’m sure they are nowadays very small and a way to integrate the COM connection to your microprocessor.
>>GPS????? You managed to get GPS going? Or do you mean GPRS?
I’m looking forward to the new products, especially in mobile phones!
>>Everyone is going to be amazed with the new phones we’re coming out with. To use the slang, they’re going to be SICK! Expect an Android phone from us in the near future. A month or so. Also just tested and launched M79 codename “Amigo”. It’s like Odyssey but with a Nokia E71 qwerty keyboard. Next buy for me.
Hi, you mentioned you are testing an android phone? Any word on when it will be available ? I’m hoping to find a nice touch screen quad band with wifi that runs on android.
hi Gareth, thank for you for the very fast reply .Today my phone charger is expired ( why? i don’t knovw the reason) and i buy another usb charger. For the other question ì dont’want to remove the strengh bar, but i wan to to display the gsm operator’s name if possible.Another question: can i configure the GPRS for use with my gsm operator (wind italy) ? I think is not possible.Tank for your interest, regards, Ilario
Hello people of Chinavasion,
Could you please answer my questions at comment 10041 (18th November, 2009 at 3:35 am)?
Thanks in advance.
Kind regards,
Casper
Strange that I haven’t seen any questions or comments about the camera. In the specifications it says the camera can do 640 by 480, or smaller, but on the phone it says “8.0 MEGR” and the picture resolution goes up to 1600 by 1200. So what resolution is it really?
Hi Peter,
In most cases the specifications on the product page would be more accurate because that is what the product tester has checked and what they can confirm. However, if you have taken a photo and you think the resolution is actually higher please let us know so we can check it out for ourselves.
Man this particular blog post has ballooned/expanded with comments. Perhaps you guys should have a feedback forum?
Hi Michael. I am deciding which one to buy – the Odyssey or the Beatle? From what I’ve read – they are almost the same but I also read the Beatle can read AVI files while the Odyssey can’t. And the Beatle has more PDA tools.
I know you purchased the Odyssey, does that mean Odyssey’s better than the Beatle? Would you also recommend the Beatle?
Thanks in advance for your reply.
Nap Trono
Dear Casper,
Sorry for the delay in replying. Christmas season is upon us at Chinavasion and well, it’s a madhouse.
Regarding your questions, I spent a lot of time thinking about how I should word my response so that my meaning isn’t misconstrued, particularly in reference to your question about how is it that both the Odyssey and Thunder have similar usage times, yet one has a 1200mAh battery and the other a 2800mAh battery.
Here goes.
At Chinavasion, when we get a product in our hands, we test it thoroughly. Our product descriptions reflect our findings. This is in contrast to other wholesalers who simply copy the contents of the user manual, often not taking the time to verify whether the information is accurate or not.
In actual testing, we’ve found that both phones perform roughly the same. Then how does one account for the battery capacity differences? Is one underinflated? Is the other overinflated? And what is the correlation between mAh and actual usage time? These are questions for which answers are not readily available.
For our purposes, and our customers, it’s about actual testing and based on verified results independent of what the label on the battery says, we’ve found that both phones perform equally.
Furthermore, the Odyssey does not support Dutch while Thunder does. Though they use the same OS, it’s not as simple as that. Minor modifications to firmware are common even from one batch to the next of the same phone model.
Moving on to the stylus, The Thunder’s stylus is not integrated into the chassis of the phone, while for the Odyssey it is.
Lastly, about the processor, both use the MT6235 platform and are the same in terms of performance.
Hope that helps.
Hi Nap,
You’re right Odyssey plays the following video formats: 3GP, MP4, FLV, while the Beatle plays: 3GP, AVI.
According to Michael, the question to ask yourself here is, do you see yourself watching a lot of movies or shows on your phone? It’s a great feature to have and it’s great to brag about, but in practice Michael said he hardly watches any videos on my phone. Video on a 3 inch screen isn’t even close to fun!
As for PDA tools, Michael thinks the Odyssey and the Beetle are fairly comparable. He mainly lives and works out of his gmail account, and relies less on my phone for productivity. He mainly uses his sound recorder to vocally jot down ideas, but that’s about it. He does have Sun Tzu’s Art of War as a ebook text file loaded on his phone.
According to Michael I think in reference to these two phones, better is a subjective decision rather than an objective one. It’s about which one looks better. That seems like a shallow thing to say, but for Michael at least, design is important. He wants a phone he can look everyday.
The decision is really up to you but one thing that is worth mentioning is that the Odyssey is Chinavasion’s best selling phone.
Hi! Why can
t you put in the letters "Æ, Ø, Å" for your Scandinavian cusomers. Easy peasy isnt it? I have just ordered the Odyssey, and wonder how to write on Norwegian on it. I don`t need the T9, just the letters in the spesial letter menu.Tnx
Just got the phone yesterday and don’t have a SIM card. As far as WIFI goes it connects and can surf, but it cannot play a youtube video or music off of any web pages, most pages won’t load due to “insufficient memory”. Gizmo5 will not work either…Any input? Also I can’t save contacts into a microSD or transfer files to the MicroSD from my computer…is this all SIM card related? Thanks
Hi got the Odyssey today & am hoping that someone can tell me how to get Youtube to work,i.e how to get the vids to stream and play audio just like Eric’s dilemma.
Cheers Skoda..
Hi Skoda,
No you can’t watch youtube videos with the Odyssey, it is not compatable with flash videos.
Hi Gareth
I thaught youtube vids were FLV files & the ODD plays FLVs,is there really no way around this,maybe upgrading the mini Opera or Safari or something, before I top myself.
Cheers Skoda
Hi again,
does any know a phone maybe the Thunder? that can stream youtube video & audio.
Skoda
hi,
i want to know why the mobie cant play the video in the youtube?
It can use the software to support watch video in wifi?
Hi Lai Chun Pong,
The main reason is that this phones processing power is not strong enough to handle the video and the rendering of the website.
oh….i using Odyssey – WiFi Quadband Dual-SIM Cellphone w/ 3 Inch Touchscreen…….
how about Thunder – Quadband Dual SIM Wifi Touchscreen Worldphone?
this phone (Thunder) can watch video in the youtube or other video web?
Also,
i want to know the phone how to Clear Memory ?
because the problem always appear when using wifi go to Internet or play java games …….
I’m trying to use it as a webcam, but Windows 7 doesn’t detect a driver.
Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks
dear Tim…
windows 7 not stable yet.. that why doesn’t detect a driver…
hi. I recently purchased the odyssey phone, overall its a good phone, but it does have some annoying issues, besides what other people already said:
-most java apps and games simply dont work, or the virtual keypad is borked, doesnt even appear on screen thus making it impossible to play
-low earphone quality and volume, and volume controls on earphone dont work
-cant run java or play games at the same time im listening to music
-weak stylus pen
-custom wallpaper ramdomly resets to default
is there any way to fiddle around the OS?
besides those issues, i think its a good phone especially for the price and funcionalities, its my first touchscreen so I cant compare much.
Greetings from Portugal
Windows 7 is stable, Windows 7 actually comes with more drivers than XP or Vista preloaded. It may be something with either his device or he is just too lazy to look up for the drivers.
[...] he devoted hours to the product’s FAQ We’ve replicated it below He also put out a blog How To Buy Cellphones – Part 2 where many Odyssey owners shared their experiences and tips with the phone. There are 49 comments [...]
Hi,
I try to choose between Odyssey and Thunder …
Please let me know pros and cons of each…..
Also in the Thunder’s camera specifications the max resolution is 640×480 but many reviewers say the resolution is 1280×960..
Which is true?????????
Does this happen also in Odyssey’s case???
Can i write sms in Greek and also read greek web pages???
Thank you
Paris
hey all, really helpful comments section. Agree with earlier suggestion of having a feedback/Odyssey knowledge base forum. Just tried to change my wallpaper to a jpg file I successfully saved to the phone, but receive message ‘unsupported format’ any reason why?
hi i received the thunder phone , was wondering how do you take the predictive texting off?
Hi, I have a Odyssey – WiFi Quadband Dual-SIM Cellphone,
Can you explain me, how to switch to vibrate mode ?
Thank a lot
José
Just checked out the specks of the Robot Phone with Android OS, shame it will not work in America! When everything else is Quad why choose this possibly great phone to be on dual band? Are you getting future Android Os phone with better features?
Hi James,
The answer to that question is yes we will be getting quad band android phones in. Watch this space.
Hi Barry,
Michael prefers the Odyssey because of all of its additional features (two earphone slots, flash, front and back camera etc) but there’s a little bit of favoritism there. It very much is up to personal preference with those two phones.
In regards to flash at present the phones that will run flash is the El Portal but we are in the process of sourcing several new Android based OS phones which should be able to handle flash.
Hi,Can u tell me how to make wifi connect ?????????
Why is so impossible to connect to wifi spots???
Hi Andreas,
I’m sorry to hear about your situation
I have talked to our product specialists and they have provided these suggestions:
I hope that helps if you are still having difficulty could you please send us an email at support@chinavasion.com so we can resolve this issue?
Thank u Gareth for the reply.The problem with my router the mac filtering was setup so it wouldn`t allow the phone to log in.
Do i have to re-enter the password every time i connect to same wifi spot?Odyssey doesn`t remember it form previous time?
Please how can i unistall java applications in Odyssey?
Is it possible?
Hi, may i know if you ship to Ghana? If a single phone is $100.00 how much extra will it cost to send by courrier to Ghana? How many days will it take to reach Ghana
[...] them into the main folder. Then it was game on! For those who have read my previous blogs (How To Buy Cellphones – Part 2) , you’ll know that my heart belongs to the Odyssey WiFi phone. But after testing the LevelUP [...]
i bought my odyssey dec 2009 my ebuddy version1.2 and google maps v2.3.2 its already installed on my mobile since i bought my odyssey but since january it’s not working i dont know if i press something and suddenly didnt works..now i need to go opera mini before i can used my ebuddy but now im using lite ebuddy i want to download again the old one version 1.2 and the google maps how i can download again it again…