Dopod 838 Pro Confusion

[jmyers765]

Hi guyz,
Hi have reciently purchased a Dopod838 Pro and am waiting for it to arrive :D Reciently I have been looking around the net and have found several things confusing about this model of phone, especially when trying to get the correct firmware for this model of pda. I want to post this thread to try and clear some of the confusion for people out there like myself as there are still a few things that are unclear to me.

First thing I have found confusing is: The model phone itself.
I have looked around on the internet and as far as I can tell, the i-mate jasjam,
HTC TyTN, and Dopod 838 pro are the same physical device, with the same specs and internal components, manufactured by HTC and rebadged and packaged(?). The difference between these models is the software package it comes installed with. Is this true?

Secondly I find the operating system names confusing when looking for software, as this is my first pda style phone.
My device has Windows Mobile 5.0 installed, which seems simple enough. But when looking for software sometimes you are offered Windows mobile 5 (WM5), Pocket PC, or Windows CE. Which are compatible? Which software will work on my phone? Obviously if the site says WM5 I’m all good, but often it will specify one of the others. I am aware Palm is totally different, but thought WM5 was built on Windows CE? I have also read “Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC” as the os name which adds to the confusion as well.

Thirdly I believe my device is considered a PDA, a SmartPhone and a Pocket PC, is this how it is? Some sites have listings stating only smartphones ,pocket pcs, or pda’s like this site, and it leaves me wondering which downloads are suitable and what is the Dopod 838 Pro is actually considered to be.
Thanks in advanced to any wisdom given :)

[AnswerDude]

1> Yes, you are correct, they're all made by HTC. Some cellular companies also have their own version of this model.

2> Windows CE is the core os, Windows Mobile or Pocketpc (which is older name, MS changed from ppc to WM a few years ago) is product (or entire package including applications such as Pocket Outlook, Excel, etc..) name. Look for PocketPC or WM 2002, 2003, 2003SE and 5.0.

3> Windows Mobile (or older term PocketPC) phone edition. Smartphone is completely different product and software for Smartphone will not work on your pda and vice versa.

[jmyers765]

The Dopod 838 Pro is not a smartphone? This is why its confusing, watch the first 1.5 minutes of this video where the phone is refered to as a 'Smart Phone'.
http://www.htcwizardweb.net/node/838

[voyager]

I went through a similar problem of trying to figure out what all the mumbo jumbo means. It seems it is all defined by the OS the phone uses.. Microsoft has renamed the OS into different categories..i.e. any phone that uses Windows Mobile 6 is now called a "smartphone".. and WM6 has 2 versions..Standard and Professional. I recently bought a HTC S710 which came with the Standard version...

Here's general link to the Windows mobile site..hope it helps

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/articles/default.mspx

[AnswerDude]

No, it is not, it is WM Phone edition. See for more explanation
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/help/OSversions.mspx
Softwares for WM Smartphone will not work on your device.

[voyager]

Thanks for the link to the page.
I was not referring to the Dupod phone, rather the HTC S710 and WM6. I any case I did read somewhere (will find the link and post..think it was at cnet) that it is the OS that has been reclassified)