S1dd.comMy blog about everything not covered in my other blogs

The first impression of this phone is great. It looks great – thin, sleek touchscreen, very responsive one at that but its drawbacks far outweigh it’s advantages.

The first Delve that we got had a bad battery which fully discharged in about 5 hours. So we returned that and got a new one. Alltel forces you to get a smartphone plan with the Delve but they admit that it is not really a smartphone. It does have some smartphone features like a full browser, GPS etc. but it is extemely limited in what it can do. Also it doesn’t use a standard usb charger!!

Browser: The browser on the Delve is Obigo, which is nice because most websites work well on it – notable exceptions are Facebook (not the mobile facebook). There is no Flash but then Flash on mobile phones is rare. Obigo is decent but is nowhere near Opera on my HTC Touch Pro (another post about this fantastic browser).

Apps: It is not possible to install any apps on this phone except the ones that Alltel gives you (Alltel Nav, Nutsie etc.). The browser will allow you to download all kinds of files but you cannot browse for or open those files. The phone only lets you browse media files (images and music). You can’t even delete other types of downloaded files form the phone memory. Alltel tech support recommends restting the phone if the memory gets full. I even tried getting the Samsung software that connects to Samsung phones but the Delve is not supported.

GPS: Forum discussions claim that Alltel Nav is free with the Delve but I confirmed from our business rep, two store reps, one customer service rep and two advanced tech support reps at Alltel that it is only free for a month. Anyway as a Nav program Alltel Nav is nice – it speaks street names and checks traffic. But I was pissed off that I couldn’t install my own GPS app.

Ringtones: The phone plays mp3 files but you cannot use them as ringtones. You can convert low quality mono files to the file format of the ringtones of the Delve and copy them over but it was such a PITA (the software is nearly impossible to find and you need more software too to convert your files to low quality WAVs) that it is totally not worth the effort.

Camera: AFAIR the Delve has a 2MP camera. It has no flash.

Touch: The touchscreen itself is very responsive and was easy to use and everything was clearly laid out.

The main stuff:Call quality was good and battery life was also good on the replacement phone.

Summary:This phone would have been great if it wasn’t crippled and Samsung/Alltel would let you install stuff on it because the hardware is capable. But as such this is just a basic phone with a browser and some fancy touch stuff with which you can’t really do much. The phone is totally not worth it if you are considering a smartphone plan and I really cannot recommend this phone. Parchayi returned her Delve and replaced it with a Blackberry Curve 8830 which she is very happy with.

Just got off the phone with an Alltel Rep and The HTC Touch Diamond is launching next week on Alltel – there is even a page on the Alltel site for it. The rep hadn’t even heard of the Touch Pro. So I hung up and called again and the next rep who picked up hinted indirectly that they will have the Touch Pro and it is undergoing testing now but he couldn’t disclose when it releases or what the cost will be. For a change Alltel is going to get some latest phones! Hopefully they are priced decently. The plans are nice. 69.99 for 500 minutes, unlimited data. 40$ for the second line sharing the minutes, unlimited data. Plus if you are at the University of Virginia you get 15% off.

Here are more rumors

After I destroyed my phone in the washing machine last year, I’ve been using a really old very outdated phone, whose battery is now dying, and it is time to upgrade (contract over too). I’ve been salivating over the new HTC Touch models and I just confirmed with an Alltel representative that Alltel is actually getting the HTC Touch Pro. There is no official date yet but it is coming soon.

ASUS Eee PC 1000H 80G (10-inch Display, 1.6 GHz Intel ATOM Processor, 1 GB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive, XP Home, 6 Cell Battery) Fine Ebony – $449. It takes you to the product sold by TigerDirect but Amazon is selling it for $449 (see more buying options).

Zipzoom fly has it even cheaper only $409

Newegg also has it at $449, but Amazon has Free Super Saver Shipping on it

Netbooks – small cheap laptops – are all the craze now thanks to the spectacular success of the EEEPC. Everybody wants one of those cheap ultraportables. So here is a list of current and near future netbooks: – Watch for this post to be updated often with pictures, more details.

Asus EEEPC – EEPC is what started this whole trend and is available in various flavors the latest being the 901 and the 1000 which have an 8.9″ screen and 10″ screen respectively. There are various options including SSD drive/Hard Drive, Windows/Linux etc. The EEEPC 1000H with windows and an 80GB drive costs $549

MSI Wind – This is a 10″ netbook comparable to the EEEPC 1000. It was initially supposed to be $499 but now costs $549, the same as the EEEPC

Lenovo S10 – This one officially launches in October, is available in various colors and also has an express card slot which the other two above don’t have. More details soon when the product actually lauches. I plan to get myself one of these.

Dell E Slim – Dell announced a few months ago that it will lauch a few netbooks in August (nothing do far) including a 12″ in addition to the popular 10″ size

Acer Aspire One – Available in a really nice blue and in white, this has a few models with Windows/Linux, currently only with 8.9″ screens.

HP Mininote – Amongst the first of the major brands to launch a netbook, HP mininote is different from the current breed of netbooks because it doesn’t use Intels new Atom processor, Vista is an option, pricing starts at $499. However I wouldn’t buy one because Vista runs slowly, XP is an option but more expensive than Vista and it is more expensive for similar configurations than other comparable netbooks.

ECS G10IL – This one is designed to look glossy like a mac, pricing starts at $399 (not yet available), but keyboard is tiny.

Raon Digital Everun Note (not to be confused with the non-note Everun) – tiny netbook with a 7″ screen – really nice looking but has AMD Turion processor and only 2.5 hrs of battery life.

SYLVANIA g – 7″ inch screen currently, 8.9 and 10″ expected soon. All priced under $500

Hannspree – From TV maker, expected to start at $299 (!!) with 10″ screen, wifi and bluetooth.

Averatec netbook

Acer just lowered the bar on pricing on Ultraportables. The Aspire One starts at $379 for a linux version with an 8GB SSD, $399 for a Windows XP verrsion with a 120GB HDD both with a 3 Cell battery. A Linux version with SSD and a six cell battery is $449. A 6 cell battery costs about $119.

Now I’m torn on whether to wait for the 6 cell Wind or just get 3 Cell Acer + a six cell battery if I really need it in the future.

Feature wise, the wind has a larger 10″ screen compared to the Acer’s 8.9″ and the Wind has bluetooth. But considering that I haven’t used bluetooth on my laptop in ages now and I can get a cheap bluetooth USB key, is the 1″ difference in screen size worth the extra money? Also the Acer has 120GB of storage vs the 80GB on the Wind and the really cool blue color.

I think I’ll just pre-order the Aspire One too as soon as the blue is available at some known retailer and keep whichever comes first.

Update: Acer Aspire One in stock at Amazon – White Linux 3 Cell 512MB RAM, 8GB SSD
Update:Aspire One in stock at Newegg – White Linux 3 Cell 512MB RAM, 8GB SSD