First Impressions: Dopod 838 Pro
CNET Asia said "you'll need a bag if you're going to carry it around." An exaggeration. The Dopod 838 Pro may be bigger than the Treo 680 I used to take pictures for this post ([sarcrasm]see the VGA camera in all its cutting-edge glory![/sarcasm]). But the Windows Mobile PDA Phone still fits into pockets…lose ones though.
You really feel you're using the best Pocket PC out there. The build quality is superb, with no loose seams, solidly moving parts, and clean flowing lines. And the two built-in cameras give more clues about the gadget's capabilities. But the Dopod 838 Pro's power becomes really clear once you realize that for a Windows Mobile device, everything's pretty responsive.
The sliding keyboard is spacious enough for even the biggest thumbs. And the screen even automatically switches to the proper orientation depending on the keyboard's position (portrait for close, landscape for out). Nitpickers will probably wish though that that the keys were less flat.
Hopefully, more time can be spent with the Dopod 838 Pro. A few minutes of playing around isn't enough to see if features like built-in HSDPA and a powerful 400 Mhz processor are worth spending Php 49,500.00 (almost $1000!). The high price is thanks to all those tariffs.
By the way, the Dopod 838 Pro is a rebranded HTC TyTN, just like the Cingular 8525 and the XDA Trion.
