"...I'm with you now."
$427 @ eBay
$462 (shipped)
Upon receiving my C1000 of course I've got tons of notes and questions...
DANG! that thing is light !!!
It feels a bit more cheap and plasticky than I was expecting. But that's ok I suppose so long as it actually holds together over time..
That said...
DANG! that thing is light !!!
I'm a fairly hale and hearty male, but even I can appreciate that lighter is better if you're going to be lugging something for miles on end (as I plan to do during my upcomming travel plans). If nothing else it will be just little less likely to drag my pants down over time...
The mono speaker is a nice touch (though mine will probably be disabled the majority of the time). As is the jog wheel and ok+cancel butons. I will miss the full PDA style 5500 layout for portrait usage (made navigating through MP3s while driving a snap), but you can't have everything. I think the switchable clamshell form factor is worth it.
The display is razor sharp (finally a screen that lives up to the company's name). I see what people mean about it almost being TOO sharp and TOO high in resolution. Fortunately I still have good visions (I hope this doesn't ruin it ) so I think it will hold me over until we are jacking all our electronics directly into our brains...
Oh yeah, just in case people were wondering. I have a D-Link DCF-660w card, a PQI 1gb CF card (the slower speed), and a PQI 512mb SD card (again, the slower speed) and they were all easily recognized. The wifi card was a slam dunk and I was on the internet in seconds. I also have a Targus 56k modem (like anyone cares) and a Socket 10/100 ethernet card that I will be trying in about 2 weeks when my life is no longer h3!! (I'm exceedingly busy of late and am in fact this very moment procrasting writing a public lecture that I am a bit nervous about giving... )
I haven't tried out MP3 playing yet (I just got a used Archos 20gb Jukebox FM recorder as well ($127 @ eBay) so for music I'm playing with that right at the moment). But the audio hardware seems sound (heehee), so unless the UI is patently terrible, it should be ok...
I'd heard video playback was abysmal on the C1000, but I find the clarity and smoothness of the embeded player quite acceptable (the ~225mb files I usually prepare for mobile usage aren't very hi-res to begin with...heck I should be reading a book instead anyway...) . But I was surprised to notice that the legends appear to be true and the new Z's DON'T support DivX out of the box.
Am I missing something ? Didn't even my old SL-5500 do that with the STOCK rom ? Did MPEG-4 in all it's incarnations suddenly go out of style ? Did Bill Gates pull it off and hypno-ray everyone into believeing WMV was the only way to go ?
I suppose this leads to my first question (though I know there are probably other threads that will reveal the answer...)
Question:--------> Could I possible get some reccomendations for a 'third party' movie player for a C-1000 running the stock rom that supports DivX files?
Oh yeah...the stock rom. As I mentioned, I got this unit off eBay (new). And as you might expect, while it has been converted to english, it was done with the minimum level conversion (I think they just changed the language/region code as you might when installing almost any Linux distro on a PC). So I'm seeing a lot of empty little boxes. I can navigate around well enough, but it's a little annoying. Plus, the Japanese dictionary (Jisho) is VERY difficult to use productively. I could go with Beiks I suppose...
It is my understanding that the Cacko roms are basicly just the stock rom, but more completely TRANSLATED (correct me if I'm wrong).
Question:--------> Is there a Cacko Rom available for the C1000 yet ?
The battery definitely seems to give more life than my old SL-5500 did (but mine might have been ready to give up the ghost when I bought it used for all I know). But it won't last forever, so I'd like to plug it in eventually. I got mine with only the standard japanese AC adapter which appears to be rated at 100v. Since I'd really hate to experience having a $427 (+shipping) firecracker I must ask...
Question:--------> Is it safe to use the stock Japanese AC adapter in the USA ?
Well, I can't procrastinate forever, so that will have to be it for now (more is sure to come though).
So if anyone has any information about the C-1000 (in general or specific to the questions asked) I would be greatful to receive it.
I'd also like to take this opurtunity to thank all the OE contributors out there. It's great to have support/exchanges from other like minded individuals such as you find in here. And more so than most forums I post on, everyone here seems to keep things civil and upbeat, even when opinions differ.
So many thanks to all the posters and to the gracious indiviuals who maintain this site !!!