I’ve reviewed the device, I’ve posted the pictures, now YOU get to keep the E-TEN X800, courtesy of Gear Diary and E-TEN!!  The device is in MINT condition, AND I’ve got all of the accessories that came with it. The ear buds have NEVER been used (so no worries, there). I hope you won’t mind if the device is just a little bit used.  I’ve taken EXCELLENT care of it; and anyone that looks at it will think you’ve been the original owner from the beginning.

Now, I know you’re wondering, how do I win this awesome toy?  Well, that’s pretty easy.  Polish up your writing skills and tell me all about your most interesting and humorous (lack of) GPS story. How lost have you gotten?  How did GPS keep you from getting lost, or rescued you from being lost?  Was the experience positive or negative? Did it make you laugh, or cry; or both?

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One of the things that I like the best about this job is the chance to look at and use some of the latest, greatest gadgets on the market today. I like writing for Gear Diary the best because of the diverse amount of products we get to look at. Recently, as many of you know, I’ve had the opportunity to take a look at a couple of new devices from E-TEN.  The E-TEN X800 is the top of the line model of the X series devices. Let’s take a quick look and see how the X800 stacks up.

Please note, that due to the recent site loss that Gear Diary had, I’m reprinting some of the previous posts related to this device as part of this review.

I’ve owned a number of different E-TEN devices, the M500, the G500, the M700, and now the X800 (and soon to be X650).  I was really concerned about this particular device, as the build quality of the previous three devices left a little to be desired. In fact, my daughter has been using the M700 for the past three months or so, and the device had some serious problems now. It is constantly getting stuck in boot loader mode, and getting it to turn on normally is a hit or miss exercise.

However, that’s another story for another time. Let’s take a look at E-TEN’s new slim, VGA powerhouse, the X800!!

The Unboxing

The box is WAY smaller than it looks here.  It’s really VERY tiny.

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Many of you by now will recognize the name HTC as the abbreviation for the Taiwanese based company High Tech Computer. They are the world’s largest manufacturer of Pocket PC and Smartphone OS based PDAs, and as such they are responsible for many of the more recognizable devices which are rebranded by companies including Hewlett Packard, i-mate, Audiovox, and Dopod - to name a few.

The device we’ll be looking at today is known by several names including the O2 XDA Trion, the MDA Vario II, Orange SPV M3100, and the Dopod 838Pro. This review will specifically cover the HTC Hermes branded as the Dopod 838Pro; while some of its included software may differ from other branded versions, the general hardware specifications should be about the same.

Similar to the HTC Apache / Sprint PPC-6700 which I reviewed last year, the Hermes features a compact touch-screen PDA form factor with a left-sliding keyboard which only appears when needed. The Hermes is intended to function not only as the user’s mobile phone, but also as a fully functional PDA, an email and text messaging center, and a compact means to wirelessly surf the internet.

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The HTC Excalibur, AKA T-Mobile Dash has been announced today; Engadget already has a review. 

Photo from Engadget

Pricing will be set at $199.99 with a two-year contract, $249.99 with a one year contract, and $349 with no contract - quite reasonable!

If any of you pick one up - be sure to post your impressions.

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**This contest closed on October 20th, 2006 - Kismet was the lucky winner!** 

I should have the review for the HTC Hermes / Dopod 838Pro ready on October 20th, if all goes according to plan.

Even if I decide that it is “all that and a bag of chips”, I have decided that it would make a very nice first give-away for Gear Diary. It comes with the original box, all the original packaging goodies, and a custom Mobius edition Vaja pouch - which I’ll also need to review, come to think of it. ;-) 

Pretty slick, huh?!

Provided that you don’t have an objection to winning a very gently “pre-owned” Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC Phone, you are very welcome to take a chance to win. If you live outside of the United States you are still welcome to enter…and I’ll even pay for shipping. It may be the slowest method possible depending on where you live, but I don’t want to exclude anyone.

So how do you enter? Simple…just register right here. If you’ve already registered, then you are already entered. I am not going to make you jump through any crazy hoops or have you write a post about why you should win over the next guy. I’m simply giving away the PDA Phone and case to one lucky reader.

Added later: Poo! I was just told by a friend with a law degree that I might get in trouble if this little contest was construed as a game of chance…so just to be safe - if you would like to win the pair, post a short comment telling me “hi”. That will be your entry!

So sign up, leave me a message, and shortly after I post my reviews I will decide upon a winner.

Also added later: So there is no confusion…if you have never posted here before, don’t fret if your first post doesn’t immediately appear. I have to approve all first postings to guard against spam. Yes, I am already receiving it! So check back later and you should see your post, okay? Okay!

Added MUCH later: If you are in the US, this phone will work on either Cingular or T-mobile. It’s quad-band, so it should work well anywhere with GSM/GPRS coverage; it will not work with Sprint or Verizon, as they are CDMA based.

Added Much MUCH later: If this is won by someone living outside the US, you will be responsible for all customs, fees, duties or other taxes.

I’ve been using the HTC Universal (branded as an i-mate JasJar) for almost a year. This in itself has been a bit out of the norm, because many of the PDAs I’ve owned haven’t lasted near as long.

Let’s go tripping down memory lane, shall we?

The first pen-based (or stylus entry) Personal Digital Assistant that I remember buying was the Casio Zoomer, sometime in 1993. Beyond the contacts, calendar and Pocket Quicken that came loaded on the device, there was also a version of Pyramid that I could literally waste hours playing. The resulting scratches and scribbles on the screen would eventually help shape my firm belief in the value of screen protectors.

I bought my first Pilot from the Franklin catalog; Franklin as in the day planner company! This was in late 1996, and I can’t even remember what the cost of a brand new Pilot was, but a little known fact was that if you looked in the paper insert in the middle of their catalog - Franklin also sold refurbs. I wasn’t sure if I would like the blocky little monochrome device, so I reasoned that buying a slightly used one would be prudent. Up until then I had been using various keyboard-input clamshell devices, including my longtime favorite the HP-95LX and several of its upgraded future generations.

Once I got that first Pilot, I was hooked. I mastered Graffiti very quickly, and used to amuse family and friends with the way that I would obsessively jot everything down in the device.

Remember the days before rechargeable batteries? I can remember always keeping a supply in my desk drawer and in my bag. It was completely wasteful, really; when my battery bar hit a certain level I would change the batteries. I was so afraid of losing my data that I got quite proficient at changing the batteries quickly. Even so, I still managed to lose my data a few times because I took an extra second or two too long to complete the process…thank goodness for Palm Desktop and hot-sync’d data!

Ah, those were the good old days.

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