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< Esato Forum Index > Sony Ericsson / Sony > Symbian phones > P800 users - Do you feel let down by the P800? Bookmark topic

Sign me up for option 1.m , then again when i first got the phone, i think i was in option 5, but after getting around the interface - its a good phone (for the moment that is... ) .
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Posted: 2003-04-08 01:49:00
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If you want a PDA and absolutely positively need it to be 100% stable, then why do you buy brand new technology? You don't see big businesses jumping on the band wagon the moment a new Windows is out either, do you? Always wait 6-12 months, or at least till the first major update (service pack) has been released.

A week ago you told about your backup problems (http://www.esato.com/board/viewtopic.php?topic=24010&forum=35&6) and I think we all were very sympathetic. A few wrote you back, including me, telling how to deal with this problem. A solution was given, that seems to work for the rest of us. And even if that for some reason wouldn't solve your problem, it is ALWAYS possible to manually restore your phonebook from the latest backup. You would have gotten instructions on that, if all else failed... But you didn't even bother to reply to us trying to help you, instead you just started a new thread, complaining about your lost contacts! How serious is that? Sorry, but my sympathy is gone...

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Posted: 2003-04-08 10:40:00
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Hiya, definately option 1 *me hugs p800*. A good tip for backing up your contacts at least is to send it via email to another address and its there for you to download should you need it! -Eva This message was posted from a P800
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Posted: 2003-04-08 11:12:00
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"....And even if that for some reason wouldn't solve your problem, it is ALWAYS possible to manually restore your phonebook from the latest backup. You would have gotten instructions on that, if all else failed... But you didn't even bother to reply to us trying to help you, instead you just started a new thread, complaining about your lost contacts! How serious is that? Sorry, but my sympathy is gone... "

Stefan

I did reply, and I also had some very useful information via the private messages (thank you again psikey).

You are wrong on the above point. It is not ALWAYS possible to restore the phonebook from the latest backup - that is precisely the point I have been making. And last night I proved it by master resetting my phone again, and attempting to resore data from a friend's new P800 backup to mine. He was more than a little agitated when it didn't work!

This is my second P800 in 3 days (I didn't include that bit of info in my last post - sorry) and in 2 hours I am getting my third.

Sony Ericsson Switzerland have had two techs looking at this problem and were apologetic but unable to restore any of my data. I gave them all the links to Esato and copied them everything I have posted here because I want this product to be successful - I have made two posts on a subject that does matter to me because I would LOVE the P800 to be a success.

This morning I dictated some notes on the train - beamed them to my laptop in the office and mailed them to my PA to get into a format we can use in a presentation tomorrow - how handy is that?????

At the meantime I am back to a P800 as a phone / dictation machine and a Revo for contact info.

I want to carry one device but maybe you are right - the P800 needs time to stabilise.

I have owned Psion 3, 3a, 3c, 5, 5mx, Revo and Revoplus and have successfully troubleshooted backup problems with these devices in the past. I made a brief foray into PocketPC land but didn't like the interface and found the early Compaqs had very poor battery life.

For my sins (before my business career) I used to be a Vax VMS System manager many years ago. The people who trained me (a geophysical exploration company) had very rigid procedures in terms of backups, logical deduction for troublesome data restoration etc.

I apply those techniques in keeping my Dell 8250 (home) and Compaq Evo N410c (business laptop) fully backed up. I also regularly (-ish, once every 4 weeks) restore the Compaq to a spare PC in the office to check on the integrity of the data.

I will persevere to become a "1" on the satisfacition scale of P800 ownership, despite any sympathies I have lost on this board.

The whole P800 issue is a complete nothing when put into the context of the world events that are unfolding around us. However life for us does go on, and any issues that another user may have with a device that seems so central to YOUR lives would, in my opinion, seem worth knowing about.

I apologise to any other of you who feel that I have taken up unneccessary bandwith, but it is the very raison'd'etre of boards like ESATO to spread knowledge of user satisfaction / dissatisfaction

Sorry once again.

Mike



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Posted: 2003-04-08 12:23:00
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No, you are wrong! It IS always possible to restore the contacts from the latest backup. Why ask a question, if you don't want to hear the answer?

For those of you in the same situation, who actually want their contacts back, here is what to do...

1. Locate the backups on your harddrive. It is stored in "C:\Documents and Settings\*user name*\Application Data\Sony Ericsson\backups\*your P800 IMEI*", unless you have changed the path.
2. Open the latest archive using WinRar or a similar program.
3. Navigate through "backup\Internal\system\data".
4. Extract the file names Contacts.cdb. All of your contacts, even the pictures, are stored here. Put it somewhere safe on your harddrive.
5. Start the Backup/Restore program and prepare a full backup of the phone. This will give you enough time to complete the following task.
6. Allow the phone to Restart.
7. When the phone goes "Backup - Backup in progress", use Epocware's PC File Manager to navigate the P800 to "c:\system\data" and paste in the Contacts.cdb file you extracted earlier. This can only be done when the phone isn't operating, since the file is locked under normal circumstances. That's why you have to enter the Backup mode...
8. Wait for the backup to finish and restart your phone. All your contacts are back.

[ This Message was edited by: sbc_dk on 2003-04-08 14:51 ]
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Posted: 2003-04-08 13:30:00
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Mike,
I have owned most all of the Psion series PDAs, including the Revo plus. I bought and sold a series 5 because it was a giant beast! I was so disappointed with my Revo plus that I went back to my 3mx because of terrible battery life, and not changeable in the field. Don't get me wrong, I love my Psions

However, since I got my P800, I don't even pick up my Revo. For me size is important (reverse psychology , That's me. If I were someone that needed to make and edit Microsoft Office (or compatible) on a hand held, then that is a different story. You would be better off with another product. But you knew that before you bought it didn't you? As far as the problems that you are experiencing with the device, it might be because you had an early firmware version, and don't forget to update your PC suite too. Early adopter syndrom comes with the territory (you should know that too

I bought my P800 in Switzerland with the phone vers. R1D and Organiser vers. R1F01. So far I haven't had any major problems except for the normal pains of synchronizing any PDA with Outlook for the first few times till the databases are happy with each other. I have had sync problems in the beginning with every PDA, inc. all my Psions.

My final word is that when the P800 was released it was a dream come true for me. SMALL- Conectivity and organanizer all in one neat little package. If you want Microsoft Office, do yourself a favor and get a real computer like the Fujitsu P2120.

Check it out, 1.5 kilo and built in DVD player and CD burner....WOW.
http://www.laptopsinc.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=GC&Product_Code=FPCM20111-XPH&Category_Code=PS2

[ This Message was edited by: Matterhorn on 2003-04-08 14:19 ]
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Posted: 2003-04-08 15:17:00
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i gotta go for a 3

had my p800 a month and cant use the contacts at all... comes up with 'not enough memory' error, theres 4mb internal free!!!
now just recently cant even send a sms as comes up with.... you guessed it...... 'not enough memory'. i transfered all my sim numbers to the phone (about 50) and i think only 4 have pics attached to them.
as for restore.... no go. half way through backup it comes up with 'cant backup file....app something' , then on restore it just goes....'cant restore try again'....yeah like f**king try again SE... this time put out a product that works...... why dont they get SCE (ie ps2 people) to design the thing
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Posted: 2003-06-03 18:43:20
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Option 1 because:

The P800 is the first platform I have used that seems to properly converge all the component technologies with no messing about. I had an XDA for development before this, what a load of rubbish that was. Clearly a PDA with a phone bolted on the back by people who didn't seem to understand GSM.

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Posted: 2003-06-03 19:14:49
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@cheesescone, when I first got my P800... I had weird problems with the contact list & SMS not displaying the names of the senders... I decided from the very start to rid my SIM of ALL data.

Just try it, empty your SIM of ALL contacts, and SMS... leave it free... if you use 2 mobiles, just use the SIM as a 'transport'.

I feel safer having my contacts & messages backed up on my PC rather than on the SIM (I'm still using a 1st gen 3v SIM)

Since I emptied my SIM of contacts & SMS, I've never had any 'out of mem' problems... I figured out that SIM SMS might be the problem when I tried saving some of my SMS... seems that SIMs don't like concatenated messages and screw up the phone....that's the only time I ever got an "out of memory" warning.
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Posted: 2003-06-03 19:17:16
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2
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Posted: 2003-06-03 19:29:53
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