Join CNET.com.au: Receive free newsletters, post to forums and win prizes. Sign up now!

Dopod 838 Pro User reviews

By Andrew Lim, CNET.co.uk on 20/09/2006

More Dopod reviews , RRP: TBA

The good:

  • Range of connectivity options including 3G and HSDPA
  • Slide-out QWERTY keypad
  • Scroll wheel
  • Support for Bluetooth stereo (A2DP)

The bad:

  • Chunky size
  • Heavy
  • microSD expansion slot

The bottomline:

An extremely well-equipped Pocket PC PDA-phone, Dopod has made sure that the 3G-enabled 838 Pro balances features with power so it doesn't leave you hanging when you need to access applications like Skype. Due to its size and weight, however, you'll need a bag if you're going to carry it around.

Buying choices:

Editors' rating:

8.2/10

Users' rating:

6.7/10

Tags:

838 | 838pro | dopod | pda | smartphone

naikmahesh
31/03/2007, 04:09 AM

rating
8
/10

Good Phone, simple to use and the camera full screen is excellent

Cons: Small memory built in memory if you install more applications.

Difficult to see LCD screen in day light

Activesync software is a pain to install on some desktop computers [search Goggle to verify or for more review]. Also, it is a lousy sync software.

Report offensive comment

teddykhil
29/03/2007, 11:45 PM

rating
8
/10

First PDA/Phone I've used, great with plenty of features. Mainly using for college course and will make things so much easier to transfer notes to laptop when hope, Bloody great work

Pros: Plenty of features, not bad to get used to newer features that are not on normal phones. Glad I updated to PDA

Cons: Screen hard to see in bright sunlight, had it only 3 weeks and speaker packed up, they can hear me but I can't hear them, can't be that bad.

Report offensive comment

aba778
25/03/2007, 07:14 PM

rating
8
/10

Nice unit. Good quality. Got every function
except GPS.

Pros: Small size packed with so many functions.

Cons: Always need to calibrate the screen for stylus work right. voice deal not work very well . Bed quality on stock carry bag that let me lost the unit.

Report offensive comment

venu
23/03/2007, 06:42 PM

rating
7
/10

Currently using Palm TREO 600; can I transfer the datas to Dopod 838Pro, if so, how.

Report offensive comment

rexale
18/03/2007, 01:09 PM

rating
9
/10

hope you could give some free dopod phones for prizes or anything..

Report offensive comment

australiasteve
15/03/2007, 01:57 AM

rating
8
/10

This is a fabulous phone with a few faults. It downloaded and manages my 5,600 Outlook Contacts which is my first priority. Excellent 3G cover with the web and email. As a phone it's tricky to use but that doesn't worry me. Excellent included software. Very good battery life. Only owned it a week and hope reliability stays high. Love the form factor and qwerty keyboard. Camera useful. I'm used to Windows PDA structure so everything is easy to use. Love the screen size but can't see a thing in bright sunlight - a fatal and obvious flaw. I like working with a stylus compared to my old Nokia 9500 but both phones are easy to adapt to. Symbian couldn't handle my Contacts properly...very disappointing but Windows rocks. Mostly stable but funny things happen and disappear at times.. WM5 reminds me of Windows 98 in terms of evolution. Bluetooth is brilliant.

Pros: Form factor, Windows Mobile software even if it is slightly unstable, good battery life, solid build, many fabulous useable features.

Cons: Silly screen can't be seen in daylight.. surely they could have worked it out before release.

Report offensive comment

fawad
07/03/2007, 02:28 PM

rating
9
/10

Excellent phone. So far it never froze on me.

Pros: Reception is good. Worked with everything I installed. GPS with TomTom rocks.

Cons: A bit bulky. Had to reset twice due to some third party applications.

Report offensive comment

zoe
03/03/2007, 04:05 PM

rating
6
/10

my dopod 838 just survived falling out of the car :) well done

Report offensive comment

Dozee
01/03/2007, 09:46 PM

rating
10
/10

My old phoone died and I decided I needed a bit more versatility, got the 838 pro about a week ago, not difficult to learn to use, just like all new toys. Went bush for a week and still got good reception. I have never had a pda before, god how did I manage.

Pros: Good all in 1 device.

Cons: None sofar.

Report offensive comment

eddie
26/02/2007, 12:13 PM

rating
6
/10

dopod pro 838 pro not charger, why??
I've had it for 3 months not problem, then suddenly not charging

Report offensive comment

  • Leave a comment

All fields marked with * are required

What do you think

Rate this product:

Need help? Read our guidelines for what each number rating represents.

Your e-mail will not be displayed

You must read and type the 6 chars within 0..9 and A..F

You must read and type the 6 chars.

  • News

  • Features

  • Oi!

  • Must read

  • Whaddyareckon?: Functionality vs. popularity

  • iPhone: Google Talk, new security threats

  • Optus 3G iPhone pricing announced

  • Apple considering slider-style iPhone?

  • Telstra unveils T[Life] Melbourne

  • Nokia acquires Symbian, sets up Symbian Foundation

  • HTC Touch Diamond lands Down Under

  • Asus' Lamborghini phone takes design award

  • Vodafone: No 'dollar-a-day' broadband for Aussies

More news »

Find the right mobile phone

Brand
  • Multiple options can be selected

    • BlackBerry 8707g

      BlackBerry 8707g

      The BlackBerry 8707g is reasonably zippy and easy-to-use, but lacks many common smartphone features like Wi-Fi and microSD memory expansion.

    • Palm Centro

      Palm Centro

      Not the flashiest phone around, but its jaw-dropping price, ease of use and vast software ecosystem, make it a good choice for first time smartphone buyers and Palm OS aficionados alike.

    • i-mate JAMA 201

      i-mate JAMA 201

      The JAMA 201 smartphone looks the part of a smartphone, but it's not good enough to be the real deal.

    • HTC Touch Pro

      HTC Touch Pro

      With the tech-savvy still drooling over the Touch Diamond, HTC has followed up with the announcement of the Touch Pro. The obvious difference is a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, though under the hood HTC has tweaked a few key specs.

    • BlackBerry Pearl 8110

      BlackBerry Pearl 8110

      The 8110 isn't so much an updated model as it's virtually identical to the previously released Pearl 8120, excluding the fact that the 8110 includes a GPS chipset, but is without Wi-Fi.

    More reviews »

    Membership benefits

    Create a personalised homepage

    Create a personalised homepage

    Choose your interests from our 16 categories and only see articles relevant to you. Sign up for a free CNET.com.au membership now!