Korean Job Discussion Forums

[PokerZero]

Hi All

It looks like I am going to buy an I-station this weekend. I've read the threads that were posted about them earlier this year and at the end of last year and they seem to be ideal for what I need. I do have a couple of questions that I hope someone may be able to help me with though?

What are the main differences between the v43 and the t43? I think I am fancying a 60GB t43 with no DMB or navigation but would a v43 be better value (even with the smaller hard disk)?
I assume I can set the player to English but are there any potential problems lurking because of my lack of Korean?
Has anyone had any serious reliability issues, especially owners who have had a player for a while. I am heading back to England in September and although I hope to come back to Korea again early next year there is still a big window there for things to go wrong without being able to get the unit serviced.

Cheers.
PZ

[Mashimaro]

I had one problem with the battery but the service center in shinchon was very good.

60 gig vs. 30 gig? I find I pretty much fill up my 30 gig, I suppose it depends on the price difference and what an extra 30 gig is worth to you. I suppose 30 gig is getting a bit small by the latest standards.

I think the v43 is a very good product but like I've said before I usually prefer to play video games on the commutes these days.

[Thunndarr]

There is also a newer model called the Netforce (if I understand what I've read correctly.) Among other things, it has much better screen than previous models, with a resolution of 800*480 compared to 480*272 for older models. Of course, being newer, it is on the expensive side, and I'm not sure exactly what other features it offers. Still, it may be worth checking into.

Edit: Just checked, I think it also goes by S43, but I'm not sure.

[PokerZero]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I have had a look at the s43 and it does look cool but I am not sure how much use I would get out of the wireless connection. It would be nice to have while I'm here but when I get back to England I will be stuck in a rural community and I doubt there will be any chance of it working.

And I will buy a couple of spare batteries before I leave Korea just in case I do have any problems in that regard.

Cheers
PZ

[ThePoet]

OK, I just tentatively bought the Netforce. I told the salesman I was bringing it back Monday if I couldn't get the English language pack for it. Here is what he told me and showed me:

Netforce can be changed to English menus through the Language icon (he showed me where that was, and showed me what was there). He said I needed to download the English Language pack for it to get the English language to work on it. He directed me to a website called www.windowsce.com and told me I could find it there...I looked and looked and have not found it.

The Korean language pack that is in the Language setting is titled "Microsoft Korean IME97"

Does anyone know where there would be something like a "Microsoft English IME97"?

Its a swift and cool machine, but I need the English menus and such on it.

Thanks

Poet

[eamo]

If the Netforce needs a software plug-in to show an English menu then it would be the first model from i-Station to do so.

I presumed, like the V43, it could be switched to English in the 'settings' and 'language' menu. No plug-in needed.

[rocklee]

Eamo, the Netforce uses Windows CE. A little different to the V43 which uses a derivative of Linux.

The Poet, I've never heard of a patch that could change the OS's language (menus etc). You can get a patch that will allow you to type in korean/chinese/japanese.

BTW, how is the netforce? You're really are a gadget-holic!

[eamo]

[rocklee]

Windows CE is the portable version of Windows 2000. It is a viable platform to use for hardware-on-the-go devices as it takes little processing power and disk space. It is definitely functional compared to Windows Mobile, however if you wish to play PSP type games or 3D stuff then you probably won't find enough support for those.

Having used CE since the Sharp HHPC days, development for CE has been wayward at best. With UMPC and full featured OS like XP already running devices like VEGA, I'm not sure how far CE will go.

[ThePoet]

OK, is there any way I can burn a new English O/S version into the firmware?

Rocklee, its sweet...but no use to me if it cannot display English. I would go with the Linux/Qtopia version, but the salesman told me those ones cannot access the internet (WIFI or Router). and I want it ALLLLLLL!!!!

Poet

[rocklee]

ThePoet,

I checked out the Netforce yesterday, it is quite big for a PMP, while the screen is nice and big for movies it was hard to navigate if you weren't using a stylus. Your best bet is to contact Cowon/iAudio for technical support. They showcased the Netforce internationally (probably at CES) so I presumed they were running English on it.

Have you tried Blufin?

[ThePoet]

Here's an update....

I took the netforce back to the store today to return it...if I couldn't have it alll and English too, then I didn't want it.

I get to the store and the Korean salesman says "you leave here...two days, it come back....korean englishee changee...ok?"

So...I am thinking that they are sending to to Digital Cube who will do an internal switch to English (maybe that burning of the eeprom I asked about before). So I will keep you posted. For less than 500 won, if it does everything including Internet and PDA functions such as reading spreadsheets and word documents I'll be reall happy...and you can bet I'll be recommending it.

Now I just need to find a huge cache of games that will run on WinCE!

Poet

[OneWayTraffic]

I got a Vega from Raon Digital. Didn't buy it; got it for free by doing some proofreading/ consulting for them.

It's great as far as media players go, but the dedicated ones may have a better battery life, as Windows XP and x86 chips, even embedded ones aren't naturally designed to be as power efficient as some of the best RISC chips. Since it's a system that can do it all, there's some tradeoff.

Tell you what though. It rocks for what niche it's in. Win XP, Planescape Torment, Open Office, Internet Explorer, Baldur's Gate and movie viewing.

If you can afford the extra, it's worth it. Just don't expect it to replace a Laptop, as even an Ultra portable gives considerably more functionality as a PC.

[buylow sellhigh]

I just got a Netforce as a gift from my company. Please keep us updated on whether you are successful on changing the the menu to english.

Another question, will i be able to easily play movies downloaded from bittorrent, or do they need to be converted to a different encoding?

[eamo]