It's for when you want to be away from Starbucks and such...

Even my W810i has EDGE.

izzit this ppc really nice?
may think want to get it

Hello, fellow forummers. I'm back after a very hectic & emotionally mixed week. Didn't even've a decent time to go online. But besides that, I'd been thoroughly planning my next move on the P525. I'd made my decision & last Fri., the world witnessed yet another birth of a P525 owner. Yes, my friends. Wait for it, wait for it...

TERRASMARK HAS FINALLY OWNED A P525!!!

Yes, ladies & gents. After 3 months, 3 weeks & 5 days since starting this thread, your neighbourhood threadstarter has finally bought a P525! YAHOO!!! I'm sorry I didn't tell y'all bout' it immediately as I was too tired & busy with some unfinished matters, & of course, too engrossed with my P525.

It has been a bitter sweet journey to this very moment, my friends. After letting go of my Dallab DP900 in Apr., my quest for a new PDA phone took me to countless mobile device stores & websites. The temptations ranged from the E-TEN M600, Dopod 818Pro & HP iPAQ rw6828 before I finally settled for the ASUS P525 & subsequently shared my findings to y'all.

Ironically, the 1st time I laid my eyes on the P525 from an online news covering the CeBIT 2006 in Hannover, Germany back in Mar., I was actually turned on by its 1st impression: its built-in alpha-numeric keypad, but at the same time, turned off by the unconventional placement of its joystick, & believe it / not, I ticked the P525 off my list! That was the time when details of its full spec.s were still vague. But as time passed, its spec. details were slowly unveiled & part of its features that'd made me give it a 2nd look was its processor (818Pro's weakness), powerful camera with macro mode (M600 & rw6828's weakness), WM5, wi-fi, Bluetooth, & decisively, a built-in alpha-numeric keypad! (The biggest plus pt.) The P525's the best PDA phone that satisfies almost all my req.s. The only thing I could've asked for more's the memory card expansion slot. Wished it's SD, not miniSD.

My journey to PDA phone rebirth (whoa... exaggerating... ) started with a trip to K.L. for my final meal of my long wait for the P525 before heading to Low Yat Plaza, Bkt. Bintang. Yes, folks. From forum feedback, I decided to get the P525 from there instead of from my pre-order as I'd found out that 1 of the stores in the plaza offers a better deal. More details bout that later.

As I entered the plaza, I saw standing ad banners of the P525 at stores selling them. Immediately, my excitement lvl. jumped a few notches. Then, I executed my next phase of scouring store by store for the best offer.

It was P525 galore as most mobile phone / device speciality stores carry the P525. I got varied offers from them. The general price of the P525 + Jabra BT150 BT headset + 1GB miniSD card was RM 2588 & the price couldn't change much as it's a brand new device & its a controlled item. There was a store which offered RM 2550 if you pay by cash. The miniSDs offered ranged from Pendrive to Kingston to Silicon Power.

Regarding claims by earlier buyers, a totally brandless miniSD's supposed to be bundled with the P525, but the 1st batch of miniSDs received by Phone Star Communications, the P525's official M'sian distributor, were faulty. Hence, the dealers decided to offer other miniSDs so as to not lose customers.

There were even stores which tried to take advantage of customers by not offering the BT headset, miniSD / both which're supposed to be bundled together with the P525. Instead, they offered a "special add-on price" on top of the RM 2588 for the BT headset & miniSD. Be careful, potential P525 buyers.

After completing the offer-scouring phase, I zeroed in on the store which offered the best offer & it was The Brilliant Gadget Sdn. Bhd. It's a small store located on the ground floor & it's actually easy to miss as it doesn't look as grand & attention-grabbing as other stores. It doesn't even've a big "THE BRILLIANT" signboard on it. Instead, it's predominantly white & has a moderately large Palm logo, store no. & a small statement that says "Dimiliki oleh The Brilliant Gadget Sdn. Bhd." (Owned by The Brilliant Gadget Sdn. Bhd.) as its signboard.

FYI, The Brilliant & PDA Expert, another PDA / PDA phone speciality store, had formed a partnership / merged to improve their sales & better serve their customers. So basically, any stores that carry their name provides the same offer all round'.

The reason I chose this store over the others was its after sales lifetime software support. What that means' that they offer to install any software of your choice (depending on availability though) into your device for free on the spot, anytime, any branch, for as long as you've the device (like, duh... ) & receipt (double duh... ). On purchase, they'll bundle selected software to be pre-installed into your device + any other software you would like to've.

Initially, the (only) staff there (with a tone as if I wasn't a serious customer ) offered the P525 + Transcend 1GB miniSD card & no BT headset for RM 2588. Knowing bout' the supposed bundled BT headset, I went like, "No Bluetooth headset? Are you sure?" He replied, "Yes, sure." "Sure?" "Sure." "...Really sure?" Then, he pause for like, 1 1/2 sec.s & said he'll check 1st. He walked to the phone & called someone regarding the BT headset. Half a min. later, he returned & corrected himself by saying the BT headset does come with the P525. (Yes! )

Pretending to not know bout' the P525, I asked him if it was OK for me to test the device. He said yes & took out a P525 from the display case & handed it to me. While I was medling with the P525, another staff came in, carrying the Jabra BT headset with him. I suppose he was the person whom was called earlier regarding the BT headset. He was much friendlier than the 1st 1.

After I was satisfied, I finally made up my mind & purchase the P525. With an evident smile on their faces, the friendly staff acknowledged me & took out a brand new set, the miniSD & (unexpectedly) a Grab screen protector for the Dopod 818Pro & applied it on the touch-screen (it fitted perfectly! I thought I'd to get a screen protector on my own. This came as a pleasant surprise ), inserted the miniSD into the slot & set it up for me to check. Once done checking, he asked me to wait for bout' half an hour for them to install the bundled software. So, I walked round' the plaza while waiting anxiously for my P525.

After half an hour, I went back to The Brilliant & did a final check to see if the set was complete. Satisfied, I finallized the purchase, filled the warranty card for them to be sent to Phone Star & left Low Yat Plaza with a big sigh of relief. My patience has finally paid off.

MISSION: ACCOMPLISHED

Purchase:-
1) ASUS P525 set (1 year warranty)
2) Jabra BT150 BT headset (1 year warranty)
3) Transcend (80X) 1GB miniSD card (lifetime warranty)
4) Grab screen protector for Dopod 818Pro (applied on the spot)
5) Selected pre-installed software (installed on the spot)
6) Lifetime software support
Price: RM 2588

As I've yet to explore the P525 to its fullest, I can only give y'all a preview of this wonderful device (from my POV, of course).
1) Performance: Straight out of the box, the P525 was fast & responsive. But after pre-installing the software, there's a noticeable lag when getting round' WM5, but it wasn't too much to hinder normal usage. Still speedy.
2) Size: From photos on the net, I though the P525's big. But I was surprised to find out that it was actually smaller than I thought. Even the size of the box surprised me! It looks big due to its width, but it's just a deceptive optical illusion. Its actual dimension (116.8 x 59 x 19mm) & holding it'll give a clear indication of its size. Its nice to hold & grip's firm due to its width & concaved sides.
3) Alpha-numeric keypad & joystick: The keypads're quite small for my thumbs as I needed to actually see what I'm pressing so as to not accidentally press the wrong button / the joystick, but one can get used to it. It could've been worse if it had a QWERTY thumbboard as the buttons would be even smaller! And of couse, the keypad backlight lights up when a button's pressed / the joystick's moved / pressed. The joystick has a rubberred top so as to not slip / provide a firm feel when it's displaced.

Haven't tested the GSM, BT, BT headset, wi-fi, camera, mic, sound & video quality, etc. yet. I'll take me a while to provide a full review, but y'all are free to drop me queries regarding the P525 & I'll attend to them when I've the time. So, please be patient & don't wait for my review before making your decision. Do go to stores carrying the P525 to help you make up your mind.

BTW, for those who've doubts regarding the P525 having screen alignment, 3G SIM card, Bluetooth prob.s, etc., rest assure as ASUSTeK has fixed all the prob.s encountered before its M'sian release. But know this, fellow forummers: It's normal for a new electronic device, especially a PDA phone, to be prone to bugs & any probable prob.s that might occur during its usage. Thus, as the 1st batch of customers, it's the price to pay to own the P525 at the earliest. But those who decided to wait, how long can you wait? Besides, ROM updates're provided from time to time at ASUSTeK's website & its warranty'll put your worries to rest. Therefore, the decision's entirely in your hands.

Now, I thank y'all for the wonderous support you've provided to make this thread a success. I'd never thought it would come this far if it wasn't for YOU!!! Long live this thread & may the P525 achieve legendary stat. as did the O2 Xda II mini. A thunderous applause for everyone!

With that, ladies & gents, I hereby declare the Official LYN's ASUS P525 Club open by being the 1st entry in the official ASUS P525 User List.

ASUS P525 (PPC PHONE. OFFICIAL LYN CLUB)

ASUS P525 User List:-
1) Terrasmark


Photo courtesy of ASUSTeK Computer inc.

This post has been edited by Terrasmark: Sep 17 2006, 09:13 PM

i wonder asus p525 screen quality izzit as su*k as dopod 818 pro? wish that asus p525 got a perfect screen quality like atom exec

what is special about atom exec's screen? sorry, not familiar with it.

it has 256K colour.. although the OS only support up to 65K color

Price from my friend shop in kota bharu kelantan rm2500 c/w mc n bt.

Got it on last Saturday.. bought it at Digital Gadget at Lowyat plaza ground floor .. package :

ASUS P525 box + Jabra BT150 BT headset + 1GB kingston miniSD + screen protector = RM2588 (u can pay by credit card without any extra charges)

Do not have any problem with my set yet... only the battery bcos i was using it non-stop for 2 days + with bluetooth headset on + GPS receiver on .. is it normal for PDA battery ?

This post has been edited by Cyberman2: Sep 11 2006, 09:57 AM

congrats terrasmark!

finally you got your hands on the p525!

P525 is indeed better than 6828 from my 3 months experience with P525.
But if u all can wait a bit more and willing to spend a wee bit more, then by do all means, plz save ur money fir BenQ's P51.
It's the best PDA phones me ever tested so far.

Hi Terrasmark, congrats on getting the P525...i'm surprised it took so long to reach M'sia though, already saw it in HK during June. I've got a couple of questions i'd like to know from a "real" user of the phone, just like to find out more about this phone, cause i've had BAAADDDDDDDDD experience with Windows Mobile gadgets...

1. How's the numerical keypad??? Does it have T9 for SMS/email/any sort of text input? Barring the PDA functions aside, how well does the numerical keypads work as a PHONE? Let's say I'm a moderate SMS user, so how's the SMS system on the keypad, especially with the T9 on?

2. How long does the battery life hold out on average usage? Do we need to charge it daily? Or can it hold out longer than that?

3. Finally, how's the overall usage of the phone? Any of the renowned Windows Mobile problems occured yet?

If u have time to reply my questions, thanks in advance. If u're too busy to be bothered about such things, I understand too. Hope u enjoy ur new PDA phone .

Hi all,
thx for your sharing about your opinions and experience..
I'm interested in buying one too..
Meantime, from the datasheets, WiFi capabilities is 11kBps vs Dopod 838 54kBps..
so do n feel the differences or feel any inefficiencies during surfing?
If you dun mind to share your experience..thx

Hi aeiou228,

Can you tell me which shop in KB selling P525 at RM2500 with Mini SD and Jabra BT. Thanks.

ok here's my turn for some questions.

Is the phone friendly for one hand operation? i spend a olt of time driving on the road.
i need to know if i could (operate in 1 hand, without tapping on the touch screen)
1. go into contact and make a call through the key pad without much hassle
2. go into message, open and reply like normal phone
3. navigate the menu/options via the joystick and button

those pda phones w/o keypad like atom, 6828 or 818pro are impossible to operate with 1 hand without loosing concerntration while driving......

appreciate if you could elaborate on the operation of the 3 questions above. thanks in advance.

Ryan

1. go into contact and make a call through the key pad without much hassle
>>> just use voice command. there is no need to touch the screen or the keypad. just say "find so and so" or "call so and so" or "dial 012xxxxxxx"

2. go into message, open and reply like normal phone
>>> same as above - use voice command and it will read out loud all your messages. to write sms, just use the keypad like normal phones

3. navigate the menu/options via the joystick and button
>>> yes

and if you have a bluetooth headset, your p525 can be in the pouch, it can still do all that. voice command needs no voice training

This post has been edited by DigitalKL: Sep 13 2006, 12:42 PM

Thanks for the input.... but i'm wondering how efficient the voice command is especially at not so quiet environment.... frankly speaking, i have not so good experience with voice command thingy.

besides voice command, my questions remain for "ONE HAND OPERATION"
care to elaborate?

Muahahah...soon I will join the elite club of being a P525 owner.

Hopefully will get mine in a weeks time...

This is my answer

This post has been edited by Cyberman2: Sep 13 2006, 05:03 PM

[quote=NXaqua,Sep 12 2006, 09:23 PM]Hi aeiou228,

Can you tell me which shop in KB selling P525 at RM2500 with Mini SD and Jabra BT. Thanks.


Kelmaju Trading.

RM2500 is my price. Dunno abt u.

MC and BT is while stock last.

This post has been edited by aeiou228: Sep 15 2006, 01:43 PM

found another bug -

its surpose to give me words suggestions during input with T9 or keyboard but it doesnt. I already selected it in Options to suggest words but nothing happens.

can someone confirm this for me? is it just mine or?

thanks

This post has been edited by DigitalKL: Sep 13 2006, 10:09 PM