Does it worth changing to a Sigmarion III?

Hello, I have a Jornada 720 (upgraded to 728) and wondering if it worth changing to a Sigmarion3? I am interested in the Sig3 for the 800x480res, IE5.5 and USB port (to read memory key), but a little concern about the language pack.

Also I saw that it has only a CF and all my cards that I bought for the J720 won't be useful (WIFI, NET, 6in1 Memory reader, ..etc) an need to but new ones..

Someone from Japan are selling them for 350$US on Ebay + 20$ to ship to Canada.... is it a good price?

Anything that I need to know that might changed my mind? I need that device to work on and not just play!

Thanks,

DarkShadow

Edited by DarkShadow 2006-11-05 12:41 PM

I considered getting one of these but decided against it for a couple of reasons:

Battery life is not the best (compared to J72x for example); getting accessories or repairs, if necessary, could be difficult; and see this photo for a view of the keyboard. If you touch type, the layout of the punctuation might be a bit vexing (e.g. push enter when you wanted quotation marks). That was why I decided an ABB Jornada 728 was better for me - but your needs may differ.

There are obviously also a lot of benefits which I assume you are already aware of, i.e. higher res TFT screen, USB, CE.NET 4.1, etc. In addition to the seller you mention, every now and again another shows up on eBay. One sold for $271 just recently. There are CF to PCMCIA adapters available (that one is just an example), though as you can see that can be a bit clumsy...

Edited by isotherm 2006-11-05 1:59 PM

Keyboard layout looks fine to me. What was that picture of, a museum exhibit?

The keyboard is the thing that holds me back, too. I ended up doing the same as Isotherm and getting an ABB J728. I would really like a higher-rez screen that was visible in daylight, but the keyboard is more important for me right now.

thanks isotherm, keyboard is not a problem for me, I don't type much, but the CF -> PCMCIA look very big.. i would have to purchase all the cards again I guess..

what about the % of japan translate in english? is it good?

Edited by DarkShadow 2006-11-05 4:44 PM

95% translated

I just found my J728 and I should be receiving a new Sigmarion III in a few days.. I'll report back with my opinion whe I get it

BTW, I think there might be a PCMCIA->CF adapter but it would probably stick out of the Sig III quite a bit...

Sproing: that's great! did you buy it from loloc-pro on Ebay?

Edited by DarkShadow 2006-11-05 7:46 PM

Perhaps if you only ever look at the desktop.
The existing patch doesn't translate the start menu, time zones, themes, half of the built in programs, and it makes things like the favorites list stop working properly.
Fortunatly I'm working to fix all of that.

how are you going to translate the special built in apps?

anyway i've never used them, except the mobilecustom app, and the backup app.

(the PIM is already english)

cmonex - PIMs on the Sig3 in English? I ran the 0409C patch, but still my calendar and contacts are in Japanese? Do I need to run another patch too?

There's a "trial version" of the english PIM software floating around the parts of the internet that arn't concerned with software licenses. If you install this on the Sig, you'll have english PIMs. I'm working to create MUIs for the existing ones though, which will be totally legal and smaller.

Bonjour DarkShadow !

I possess a J710 and a sig3, so here's my point of view :

*J710 :
- pro : there's a lot of software for hpc2000. Pocket office included. Os natively in Western languages. Pleasant design, very reliable. Fantastic battery life. Pleasant keyboard. Parts are easy to find. PCMCIA. Cheap on these days.
-cons : Not so fast CPU. Lower Res. No TFT screen.

*Sig :
- pro: Pleasant (but different) keyboard. 400 Mhz CPU (fine for emulation apps!). Very beautiful TFT screen. ATI imageon (fine for 480*320 divx fullscreen with no lag!) More recent OS with PIE 5.5. USB port. slender and sexy !
- cons: Not so much apps for ce.net. Need to hack a little bit to install cabs. No pocket office included, only wordpad and picsel browser (but you can purchase textmaker. Native japanese OS. Barely decent battery life (vs j710).

So J710 is fine for office and PIM apps, sig is more multimedia oriented. I love these two beasties, but i think in the future i might keep only sig3, because i'm in awe in front of it when it plays my favorite movies.

Finnpp

I've got both... I've sold the 728 recently.

I can't find any problem with the Sig3 keyboard, especially once you're used to its foibles, just as the location of the : . The screen, keyboard, processing power and did I mention the screen overcome the battery life. I do have a spare battery tho, and would advise that you'll want one of those if you're used to J720 life!

Jax, I am so looking forward to your MUIs . One thing I'm not sure you can achieve through MUI is the sorting of contacts, but best of luck.

Pocket Office is not included? No Excel, Access or Word? I mostly use ftxBrowser and NPOP on my j720, does the IE5.5 is translated in english?

Thanks,
DarkShadow