SO I wanna buy an NEC Mobilepro 900C

Hey, Wow pocketdvd great in depth responce, I really appreciate it, its fantastically helpful. This forum is really very good, I always get great assistance from all you guys

Ok, i'm settled I think on the 900C and not a 900 with the upgrade. NOW I just have to work a few months over the summer to try and buy one lol. I actually finally got around to measuring out the size of the unit.... and yeah you're all right, it is pretty big compared to the 720 (which I am on now ) and it is actually a LITTLE bit bigger than I had thought, but it's not so big as to put me off... It's still within the size catagory I am happy with. I just have a huge problem, I'm really excited about it, but i am not going to be in a position to look for one for another 2 month or so lol
I'll prolly post a few more times just for the fun

.....IB a n e

Thanks,

When I got my mp900, I started a small review about it, from my perspective as a developper and as a PPC/Palm/Handspring user.

My very first impression about the unit was "DAMN, this thing is HUGE". I was on MSN with C:AMIE (who convinced me into making my program HPC compatible) when I opened the thing up. I had my Ipaq next to me that day, and it just dwarfed compared to the NEC.
I havent seen a J720 in real-life before, but looking at some pics that compare different HPC's, even the j720 is dwarfed by it.
However, the biggest plus it has, is the almost full size keyboard.
Most of my development stuff is done on a IBM Thinkpad t20 laptop, and the keyboard of the NEC is a little bit smaller.
To give you a better idea of the size (besides the description "brick-size" is that the NEC is about the same height closed as my thinkpad closed, and the nec is about the same size as the keyboard of my laptop. (covering up all the keys)

I was hoping it would be able to replace my PPC as a portable multimedia device, but unfortunately it doesnt fit nicely into a pocket.

I would recommend looking for a good price for it though, and personaly, I found that the $400 I paid for it (same as for the 2210 2 years ago) is a fair price. I wouldnt go much higher than that though.

Yeah 400 dollars sounds pretty damn good! If I had money ready though, and there was one available I may break that (not too much though )
I love the keyboard, and am geuniely (perhaps too much so) excited at the usb compatibility! as I said before, I have no work horse business requirment for it. I will use it (practically) to type essays and the like for uni, but aside from that, it's my lil toy which I'l use for mp3, general playing around (interent at home) and watching movies everyonce in a while. I'm comeing to terms with the size, and while the jornada I don't think would be dwarfed beside it, it is longer and deeper lol but it's the same thickness (3CM) NOW! I gota get finished me exams, so I can get a job o pay for this beast! I'll have to sell my beloved 720 to help pay for it!! (if neones interested lol ) not for a while yet neway! wanna make the change over time as quick as possible!
I just love talking about it !!!!

.....IB a n e

Oh, BTW Does anyone know for sure if BETA PLAYER works on Wince 4.2???

....IB a n e

HEY!!! ok so, I have actually bought one on Ebay! feeling pretty happy, though I prolly won't get it for a week or so ANYWAY! I am ultra excited, and now thinking about the practicalities. I have some further questions about this machine.

1)Does anyone know for sure if BETA PLAYER works on Wince 4.2???

2) will pretty much any usb pendrive work? anyone have specific brands that HAVE worked, just for reference

3) if I wanted to connect a mouse/keyboard, can I go to ebay and buy a USB --> ps2 splitter. it uses one usb port and splits into 2 ps2 porsts for keyboard and a mouse... would this work>?? (woulod save my buying a whiole new usb mouse and keyboard)

4) if I had a dvd drive connected to the 900c, could I actually watch a dvd?

5) its american , so I am guesing I need to have a stepdown transformer to charge it? (got one already for a floppy drive

6) with the vga cable, to plug it into a full size moniter, is that ONLY for a powerpoint presentation, or does it display lwhat you're doing all the time?

um... think thats it for now! If anyone would be gracious enough to shed any light on these questions, I'd very much appreciate it. I can't wait to recieve my unit!!!

......IB a n e

1)Does anyone know for sure if BETA PLAYER works on Wince 4.2???

Yes, it does work, however you have to install the GAPI driver first. Also, there is a small quirk in the software. I have it also with the Resco Picture Viewer. There is evidently some code in the software that keep the screen active so it will not darken. After the video start, if you touch the touchscreen anywhere, it will go dark during the duration of the touch. Everything still runs okay, just it goes dark during the touch of anything on the digitizer. I have to go to the control panel, open the backlight control and then click okay to make the screen go back to normal after viewing the video.

2) will pretty much any usb pendrive work? anyone have specific brands that HAVE worked, just for reference

All of them that I have tried...GeekSquad, PNY, Sandisk, they all work fine.

3) if I wanted to connect a mouse/keyboard, can I go to ebay and buy a USB --> ps2 splitter. it uses one usb port and splits into 2 ps2 porsts for keyboard and a mouse... would this work>?? (woulod save my buying a whiole new usb mouse and keyboard)

Good question...I don't know. I know that I can have a USB keyboard and mouse hooked up the same time through a 4 port hub...but don't know about the USB-->PS2 convertor

4) if I had a dvd drive connected to the 900c, could I actually watch a dvd?

Yes you can, but it is terrible as the picture is not formatted for the smaller screen. So it gets very jerky trying to process all the video and audio data.

5) its american , so I am guesing I need to have a stepdown transformer to charge it? (got one already for a floppy drive

Okay, if you say so.

6) with the vga cable, to plug it into a full size moniter, is that ONLY for a powerpoint presentation, or does it display lwhat you're doing all the time?

Works with any monitor, though you are still limited to 640 x 240 pixels unless you are using special software like Conduits Pocket Slides, which will allow 800 x 600 screen display for those PowerPoint presentations.

Rich

Edited by Rich Hawley 2005-05-31 4:52 PM

FYI

I have the usb to ps2 keyboard/mouse adapter and it does NOT work with the 900 C



At least you won't have to try it and find out it doesn't.

ok, thats great! thanks to both of you for your reply. Just what I needed

...........IB a n e

OH one more thing guys. IT appears that I will probably still have my Jornada 720 for a small while after I recieve the 900C. With this in mind, I am thinking of writing a comparative review of the two. Nothing fancy, or overly technical... but just looking at the two units and their performance, looks, usabiity etc... Still a few weeks before I get it, but if anyone has any points that you'd like me to cover, let me know here

.........IB a n e

IBane, it would be really cool if you wrote one! i'm looking forward to it
i'm interested in the differences between IE 4 on the 720 and IE 6 on the 900C. and usability in general (including working programs on ce.net).

Sounds like a plan! Will make for an enlightening read. I for one look forward to it.

Only thing I can't figure out is Bane starts this post back on May 3rd, talks about researching the device, is especially adamant about working and saving for a couple of months and planning his purchase.

Three weeks later it is in the mail on the way to his house....yow! He got the fever bad, didn't he.....

Rich

Ahhaaa! Rich! How right you are!.

well, I ended up getting a full time job in construction this summer (just general labouring) and it's paying decently. so my first 2 weeks pay picked out a unit for me on ebay. Was more than I was recommended by a member in this thread, but I hadn't seen a 900C on ebay for ages for a decent price, and I was will in to pay a ok amount for it... and yeah! I have the fever Baaaaaad!!!! I'm tearing at my skin having to wait the 2 weeks for it to arrive!! and I'm a lil sorry to see my jornada 720 go (I have a mate who is interested but I told him i'm keepin it for a while after I get the NEC to compare the two lol)
I'm not adept at reviews really, but I shall endevour to do what I can! I WILL play around with it for about 2 days straight! (no joke, I usually sit up all night with a new "toy" . I'm excited

.............B a n e

Greetings fellow HPC users. Well yesterday evening I received my NEC Mobilepro 900C in the post. (and there is a tag on the parcel saying that I am going to have to pay something like €100 tax :S) a Anyway, I know I have promised you all a comparative review between the two machines... but my heart just isn't in it anymore. I am currently typing this on the 900C, which does indeed have a fantastic keyboard, and a nice sized screen to view everything on... but thats about where it stops I am afraid.
As of yet I have not tried any sort of USB peripherals on the unit, as I don't have a usb pen drive, and my mouse and keyboard are PS2, No , I am talking about the basics of the device, the way you set up your HPC to 'feel at home', and quite frankly, I feel like a tourist on a bus that just keeps breaking down!
Ok, the unit is fantastic looking, and yes, it DOES dwarf the J720, but I knew this and was willing to accept it. My unit is in excellent condition for second hand! Needless to say, I was excited. So I connected to the pc, and synced my contacts and started installing programs I have on my J720. Only a couple worked...

1) I have an accurite travel 120 pcmcia floppy drive. I installed the driver on the unit and though it said it installed, no folder pops up when i insert my floppy disk. (And it should/does on the 720)

2) Lexionary, my dictionary program wouldn't open, gave me some sort of error about paths missing...

3) Pocket word count, from the MS PLUS! Pack, no longer works, as it's not Pocket word, but word pad.. in fact, there isn't even a spell checker. WTF!???.

4) I installed the drivers for my cisco 350 wireless card, and they appear to work, but if I try to access the setup bar to try to connect to my router (which is all new to me) the program crashes and I have to Reset- without fail!

5) I use windows media player on the pc to rip my cd's to wma so I can play then on my handheld. These all work fine on the 720, but the majority won't play on the 900c as is says something about acquiring licences. So many albums, some of which I have lost the original disk *shakes head in despair*

6) I had image viewer from the PLUS! Pack installed to and when I double clicked on a picture, it opened in image viewer fine. I installed ACDSEE viewer, and accidentally set it as my default viewer program (I happen to like image viewers panning ability) so using small tweak (which works! *oh yay*) I looked up JPG and set it as image viewer again. When I click on the pic file now, image viewer program opens, but then error! Saying UNABLE TO ACCESS IMAGE FILE. I have soft reset, i have UNINSTALLED ACDsee ... if I open the pic from INSIDE the program it is ok, but it is still not working right...

7) BETA PLAYER: I use it all the time on my J720. I'm a great lover of it and the video I have (skate clips, Parkour clips and some movies) tend to work decently on it. I was expecting the 900C's 400mHZ and write back cache to really improve on the playback.. and it actually does play better lol (finally a positive) but soon to be followed by another negative. No matter what I do, or what settings I change, I cannot stop this f**king thing from either dimming, or turning off it's display during a movie.. in fact after less than a minute into the clip! It's supremely frustrating, because you have to keep pressing a button to activate the backlight again... and i don't understand how this is stilling this, as I have unchecked the backlight off options in the control panel. And I also get the problem where the screen goes black with every touch of the stylus until i go to control panel and change the contrast in there... Frustrating!

8) ok where am I, OH yeah problem EIGHT within 15 hours of owning this thing. IMOV messenger or Ruksun messenger force don't work! I have no program to connect to MSN service.

OK so the few programs out of them all that worked when I installed them... TOTAL COMMANDER, RESINFO, and image viewer. (it DID work in the beginning) Beta player does work, but there are some very frustrating quirks about it.

All in all, I am no longer reviewing these two units, because it would probably hurt too much! I still have my 720 at least...It's too bad, cause I WANT to love this machine, I look at it and type on it and think to myself, it's great, and it's what I wanted. then I actually USE the thing, and I find that it lacks software compatibility (which I knew, you all told me this lol) I find it is not as functional as the 720, Pocket office IS indeed better!!
So, if anyone has any questions feel free to ask while I still have the unit and can experiment with it, but I think I will be putting it up for sale again... I know I have kinda shot myself in the foot here, but is anyone interested

......................IB a n e

As I have maintained for 4 years. CE4 is not the answer. People get caught up in the "ohhhh 4 must be better than 3" belief, and apply desktop logic to the CE world. Unfortunetly is doesn't work like that.

If only we could work out how to downgrade the 900c to HPC2000, at least you would be future proofed.

All isn't lost, but in order to start fixing these problems you will have to spend a lot of time, and a lot of effort on getting DLL hacks to work and finding ways to work around bugs. Something which Rich is by far one of the most knowledgable people on in the community when it comes to CE4, not just the MobilePro 900C.

I'm sorry that it isn't working out for you.