A touch-screen and slide-out QWERTY keyboard, GPS, HSDPA 3.6Mbit web surfing, wi-fi, 3MP camera… Don’t tell us you’re not interested in the MDA Vario III (aka the HTC Kaiser). If you are, you’ll be pleased to hear that it’s launching on T-Mobile tomorrow, 28th September, and will come for free if you sign-up to the operator’s Flext 50 tariff.
The Vario III is listed on T-Mobile’s coming soon pages, but expect it to flip over into ‘out now’ in the morning. If you’re looking to jump on the HSDPA bandwagon, and don’t mind Windows Mobile, this could be great way to start.
Well, I got mine delivered last Friday, and have been playing with it over the weekend. I have been unable to get the software to load onto my PC or onto my partner’s PC, so no syncing or installation of programmes available yet…
I am not a techie person - I just want them to work, easily, without a load of hassle. I haven’t been able to figure out the GPS either… will it work “out of the box”, or do I have to do other installations to make it work?
Other than that, a nice tidy little phone with lots of features that I really wanted.
It’d be pretty poor if the GPS didn’t just work ‘out of the box’, given that it’s a big feature of the Vario III.
What’s the issue with the PC installer? Is it not even installing the application(s) on your PC, or is it doing that but not recognising the Vario?
My far more geeky partner worked out that the software wasn’t installing on my PC because of a DLL conflict. He sorted that, and got the Sync software installed on my PC. I plan on trying to get the phone and my PC connected tonight and trying to download a programme onto the phone.
The GPS… What I hoped it would do would be to give me maps and directions between one point an another. There is a programme on the phone called QuickGPS which simply locates where the phone is, but that’s not much use to me, because I know where the phone is. It is where (me and) the phone wants to be that is the important thing.
I’ve seen the images of CoPilot, and thought I would get access to maps like that. Was I just imagining that this is what it would mean?
Really want this phone (loving the features)! So close to getting it from T-mobile, but i rang vodafone and they release there version on the 4th so might just see what they have to offer (any comments?).
Kinda worrying about the size (a bit of a jump from my sony eric w800i)!
So far I have found the Vario 111 excellent. POP e-mail and setting up as a modem for my laptop has been a seemless excercise. Very impressed. Have version 5 of CoPilot but uable to load maps from PC to Vario 111 via a usb cable. Any thoughts?
mivona, any chance your techy boyfriend can explain this as I cannot get conneted through active sync although my computer sees the connection as being open?
I’ve had my Vario III since Xmas Eve and I’ve been impressed so far. Loaded the basic applications that came on the CD with it but will be looking for a few more when I get a decent amount of free-time.
Just wanted to make a comment with regards to the software being loaded onto a PC. I upgraded from the Vario I which had all of my contacts on it and such. Tried syncing it with the new laptop which has Windows Vista on it but I needed to install and set-up outlook which I didn’t have on here. I browsed the CD and it wouldn’t allow ActiveSync to be installed on Vista, instead it installed Windows Mobile Center. So I used my dad’s laptop which has Win XP on it, same CD, installed ActiveSync on there and downloaded contact from Vario I > Laptop > Vario III.. perhaps this is the same as why the above poster can’t get their software sorted on the laptop?
great tool, the battery is very poor, i cant get 24 hours on standby and when using e-mail the life is 3 hours or less, is theis normal or is my one stuffed?
I initially had the same problem installing on Vista. There are two things you have o live with.
Firstly there is no other option but to install windows mobile on this platform. Activesync doesn’t work. Secondly, each time you wish to sync the phone you have to disable the firewall (I use AVG). Then the no syncing issues just disappear.