HTC Artemis (P3300) Unboxing

Admin · 10-23-06, 10:33 AM

Overpriced reseller, Expansys, shows youan unboxingof the HTC Artemis. The Artemis, renamed to the HTC P3300, sports a nifty track ball navigation system, it is a POCKET PC PHONE (yah!), and runs a 200mhz processor, and oh... its a GSM phone!!!
I had a chance to play with this phone a month or so ago and it feels really nice in hand. The 200mhz processor didn't seem too slow for regular use, but I am not too sure how it will perform with GPS.

Thanks to Pocket Now for the tip.

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RICOUK · 10-23-06, 12:25 PM

That video just makes me want it now, still got to wait a week for it to be released.

Chris, what did you think about the scroll sheel idea and the overall feel of the device? I know the expansys team say that it is a good build quality but another opinion on it would be good.

Thanks in advance.

Admin · 10-23-06, 02:18 PM

The trackball thing works, but it feels hx4700-like gimmicky. The overall feel of the device was great, but I didnt spend enough time to really feel comfortable giving a reccomendation.

RICOUK · 10-23-06, 02:27 PM

That's fair enough, The track ball doe seem gimmicky, but the scroll sheel bit seems very useful for handed use in menus, and general scrolling up and down as I always get annoyed witht he touch screen on PIE and scrolling. I just hope that it works for all scrolling.

If nothing else, I can see the trackball being a good thing to "play" with when bored!

mkennedy · 10-23-06, 04:17 PM

Originally Posted by RICOUK

That's fair enough, The track ball doe seem gimmicky, but the scroll sheel bit seems very useful for handed use in menus, and general scrolling up and down as I always get annoyed witht he touch screen on PIE and scrolling. I just hope that it works for all scrolling.

If nothing else, I can see the trackball being a good thing to "play" with when bored!

hi lads.
maybe somebody would be kind enough to help me with a number of queries i have about this device.

first what kind of headphone jack does it have: 2.5mm or 3.5mm or is it something different again. i can't seem to find this info anywhere.

what do you think of the micro-sd slot stuck under the sim card. why oh why??

this may be a dumb question but can i use whatever satnav app i want with the gps and not just be stuck with the pre-installed tomtom app.

and the TI omap processor: good to hear from the review that it's not too slow but will it really handle the gps effortlessly.

i'd appreciate if someone could address these queries as i think this may be the device for me...

thanks again.

RICOUK · 10-23-06, 04:26 PM

1. It has HTC's USB plug, you can buy an adapter to make it 3.5mm.
2. I like the idea, I don't take the sd card out of my rx3715, I wish it was out of the way.
3. Not sure whether you can use other software. I have heard mixed reports.
4. From my emails to TomTom it will, they say that they only allow their software to be used on devices that fully support all features.
5. Hopefully, not this weekend but next, I will have this device and I will be able to do a quick review and be able to answer questions on it. I am getting one anyway as I like the look of it and the FM radio. The GPS is an added bonus.

mkennedy · 10-23-06, 04:50 PM

thanks RICOUK for your prompt reply :)

i'd need to be sure about using other satnav software on this device before i get it as i only have mapopolis and tomtom don't have full coverage in ireland yet.

interesting to hear you say that you heard mixed reports about this satnav compatability: have some reports said that other satnav apps wouldn't work? where could i find more info on this do you know.

as for the usb headphones connection, are these usb headphones easy to source do you know( e.g if i was thinking about replacing the original headphones some time in the future).

i'd be very interested to hear your review of it when you get it (especially if you can use alternative satnav apps with it).

thanks.

RICOUK · 10-23-06, 05:23 PM

I have been emailing HTC over the past 2 months (I think they are sick of me now :)) with all of my queries. What I have learnt is that an adapter was in production for the USB to 3.5mm jack, the next day it was on Expansys.

I asked them about the quality of the headphones as this normally lets down a device with the package bundle, they simpled replied that they are adequate for the job, which could mean two things. The way that I am tempted is to get the bluetooth handsfree set, they are just normal headphones so you don't look stupid with a big bulky thing on your ear!! However, it says that headphones need to be plugged into the device for the FM radio to work, so that would mean the supplied headphones would need to be taken everywhere if you want to use the radio (they are used as the aerial). I am not sure if, using the adapter, normal headphones would work as an aerial, I don't see why not, Sony Walkman's use to use the headphones as the aerial!!!

I read somewhere (this is when the device was first announced) that the TomTom software is somehow embedded into the OS, making it almost impossible to change. However, I have also heard that you can manually delete the files and install your own. As I have never used GPS before, I will stick with TomTom, they also have pretty much 100% coverage for England, this means that I am not willing to try and install alternative GPS software onto the device, especially not when it is brand new, sorry.

I would email HTC about it and your reason for the coverage and they may help you, but they obviously have an agreement with TomTom, so it may be bias (that's my opiniom). They reply very quickly, two days at the most which is very promising for tech support for the future.

I hope this helps, I will attempt to answer anymore question but I do only have access to the same information as you do, I have just been looking around for it since it was announced. After a week of playing around I will be in a better position to tell you more.

mkennedy · 10-23-06, 06:06 PM

Originally Posted by RICOUK

I have been emailing HTC over the past 2 months (I think they are sick of me now :)) with all of my queries. What I have learnt is that an adapter was in production for the USB to 3.5mm jack, the next day it was on Expansys.

I asked them about the quality of the headphones as this normally lets down a device with the package bundle, they simpled replied that they are adequate for the job, which could mean two things. The way that I am tempted is to get the bluetooth handsfree set, they are just normal headphones so you don't look stupid with a big bulky thing on your ear!! However, it says that headphones need to be plugged into the device for the FM radio to work, so that would mean the supplied headphones would need to be taken everywhere if you want to use the radio (they are used as the aerial). I am not sure if, using the adapter, normal headphones would work as an aerial, I don't see why not, Sony Walkman's use to use the headphones as the aerial!!!

I read somewhere (this is when the device was first announced) that the TomTom software is somehow embedded into the OS, making it almost impossible to change. However, I have also heard that you can manually delete the files and install your own. As I have never used GPS before, I will stick with TomTom, they also have pretty much 100% coverage for England, this means that I am not willing to try and install alternative GPS software onto the device, especially not when it is brand new, sorry.

I would email HTC about it and your reason for the coverage and they may help you, but they obviously have an agreement with TomTom, so it may be bias (that's my opiniom). They reply very quickly, two days at the most which is very promising for tech support for the future.

I hope this helps, I will attempt to answer anymore question but I do only have access to the same information as you do, I have just been looking around for it since it was announced. After a week of playing around I will be in a better position to tell you more.

thanks ricouk.
tbh i don't mind leaving tomtom on the device, just wondering if i can run another satnav app instead that's all tbh. presumably there shouldn't be a problem but i just want to be sure. i'll talk to htc i suppose.

as for the usb headphone connection issue i was hoping that usb headphones were available generally so i wouldn't have to rely on a fiddly adapter. i wouldn't be too concerned about them not having an antenna like the supplied radio headphones tbh. i could use the supplied ones for the radio and new better quality ones for listening to mp3s. i'll check around for the availability of usb headphones on the net i suppose.

thanks.

RICOUK · 10-23-06, 06:12 PM

No problems mkennedy. If you find any alternative USB headphones, let me know.

RICOUK · 10-24-06, 12:50 PM

Sorry for double post.

Well, I pre-ordered mine today, should be able to pick it up next weekend from home. I am also going to order a 2Gb microsd card for the programs to be installed onto and for the gps maps.

mkennedy · 10-24-06, 04:04 PM

Originally Posted by RICOUK

Sorry for double post.

Well, I pre-ordered mine today, should be able to pick it up next weekend from home. I am also going to order a 2Gb microsd card for the programs to be installed onto and for the gps maps.

where are you ordering the 2gb micro-sd card, RICOUK?
i don't think expansys do 2gb micro-sd yet, do they? but if they do then that's handy i suppose.

btw, i'll let you know if i ever do see a good pair of usb headphones (if they exist that is...).

RICOUK · 10-24-06, 04:21 PM

Not sure yet, no one seems to sell them and if they do, they are out of stock. But I have tracked down this site. I might give them a try. If anyone has had experience with them I would like to know. The site also has the P3300 as being compatible with the 2Gb microsd card, which is a good start.

mkennedy · 10-24-06, 06:39 PM

thanks Rich.
btw 2gb is the max. capacity that the artemis can handle afaik., isn't it?
i read somewhere that 4gb requires different formatting or something. could be wrong though.