Database Users

HTC Prophet - My first impressions!

Just got mine today and some of you have asked me to comment about it when I recieve it.
I got the black version and the look is in my opinion slightly more professional than the Magician's. Size and feel are exactly the same.
The first HUGE improvement over the Magician is the OS! Yes WM5 is awesome!
One handed-operation:
As many have said before me, one-handed operation is very very easy. Also thanks to the Start and OK buttons. From my little experience so far, the extra hardware buttons on a WM5 device are a MUST! A further improvement towards one-handed operation is that in WM5, tabs, volume bubbles, etc. are all NAVIGABLE with the D-pad.
Key Lock:
Device locking can be done from the today screen using the D-Pad, pretty much like a normal phone. The touch screen is also disabled when the keys are locked!
Camera:
The camera quality is awesome. I found the refresh rate before taking the picture a bit slow when set to 2 MP but I can live with that, especially after looking at the results! (Sample pic attached)
Memory:
For the time being I decided to install all the customisations in the extended rom. This left me with 41.95MB of (permanent) storage and 25.6 MB of Program memory.
Battery:
I can't say a lot about this so far, but looking at the battery settings it was nice not seeing a Backup Battery level (not required for WM5!). A battery level is now included on the Today screen without installing any plug-ins.
Photo Contacts:
This program, usually included in all HTC devices, is not included. I don't know why yet, but presumably WM5 can store pictures against a contact so no 3rd party program was required.
File Explorer:
Now supports a "Back" feature, not included in previous versions. Thought I should mention cause I could never understand why it wasn't always there. Btw, navigating in file explorer without a stylus is now possible.
Performance:
For the time being I cannot say much, but loading as many programs as possible DID NOT slow the device at all! I did not find opening applications slower than the Magician. If it's milliseconds slower I won't notice it ... sorry!
Comm Manager:
A program called Comm Manager (not sure if it's standard Windows or HTC yet) allows you to control all wireless activity, i.e. BT, WIFI and ActiveSync.
Headset:
The quality of the headset is improved, built quality as well as sound quality
It's too early to comment on call quality, GSM signal quality, etc. but I promise I will keep you posted
BY THE WAY, DEAR ADMINISTRATORS, WHEN CAN WE HAVE AN HTC PROPHET FORUM SECTION PLEASE? THIS DEVICE IS BEING DISCUSSED IN ALL THE OTHER BIG FORUMS, WHY NOT HERE AS WELL?

Hi there mate can i ask where u got it from ive been after 1 for a while but being in the uk its pretty difficult to get hold of 1
Thanks

I think he ordered it direct from Expansys

Yes, from expansys.

Some uppdates
After some hours of use I'm in love with WM5 already. M$ have finally put more phone in their OS.
With regards to performance I cannot notice any difference from the Magician at all. As I'm posting this I have the following programs running:
Wifi switched on
Pocket MSN
MSN Messenger
Text Messages
Windows Media Player playing
TCPMP
Internet Explorer
Activesync
This has no performance impact whatsoever.
I think you should try the device yourself to really know if the OMAP performance is OK. People's opinions can be misleading at times!
Built:
As I said in my previous post, the built quality is similar to the Magician. Buttons have a better feel though. They feel more robust.
Audio:
Audio quality is a major improvement I think, during calls and while listening to music. It has more bass, no more tinny audio
So far it's perfect. Feel free to ask any questions

Some uppdates
After some hours of use I'm in love with WM5 already. M$ have finally put more phone in their OS.
With regards to performance I cannot notice any difference from the Magician at all. As I'm posting this I have the following programs running:
Wifi switched on
Pocket MSN
MSN Messenger
Text Messages
Windows Media Player playing
TCPMP
Internet Explorer
Activesync
This has no performance impact whatsoever.
I think you should try the device yourself to really know if the OMAP performance is OK. People's opinions can be misleading at times!
Built:
As I said in my previous post, the built quality is similar to the Magician. Buttons have a better feel though. They feel more robust.
Audio:
Audio quality is a major improvement I think, during calls and while listening to music. It has more bass, no more tinny audio
So far it's perfect. Feel free to ask any questions

Well..will kindly ask you to give an update in a week's time. I think you've got a lot of Magician users here excited :-D

Would love to know how you find video playback using TCPMP, video streaming as well as playing DVDs....take your time....

I will try a DIVx with TCPMP later on today. With the applications I mentioned above all running, I had no problem playing AVI files, but these were only like 10MB each. No frame skips, no nothing!
I'll let you know how it goes with a 160MB DIVx later ...

you're the man!! :lol:

Some more updates, not the DIVx yet
I wanted to say this earlier, but wanted to be sure before I post it here. I noticed that the screen is slightly brighter than the Magician's and is also much better when used in sunlight.
I think HTC do listen to their customers after all. With the Magician we complained a lot about the tinny sound, quality of the headset headphones, no WiFi, bad camera, etc. ... and guess what? The sound is awesome, the headset quality is very very good, WiFi is included (and g not b) and the camera is probably the best PDA camera as of now. Until I recieved it I was thinking that it cannot be much of an improvement over the Magician but I'm starting to change my mind now

congr. on your new toy..
I would love to know more about video capturing.. is the same as on the magician or is it changed > better worse?!! :?
cheers

I've encoded a 320x240, 360Kbps, 235MB avi movie and played with TCPMP without any problems whatsoever. I then made a call to the Prophet and did not have any issues either.
I then switched on Wifi (known for its CPU power consumption) and continued to watch the film without any interruptions. I then loaded the following programs and could still watch the film without any problems:
Activesync
Windows Media (just loaded a playlist but this still consumes memory)
File Explorer
Pictures & Videos
MSN Messenger (signed in)
TCPMP (of course!)
Pocket MSN
So I guess the performance has passed my test. I could never be watching a film, watching pictures, chatting on MSN and browsing in File Explorer at the same time!
I think the only real performance problem people have had with this processor was Skype. I'm not a Skype user so I will not try it, but if you ask me, I think the problem with Skype is code optimisation. Newer releases of Skype will run flawlesly on the OMAP processor as well. Mind you, some people on PPCSG forums are using Skype on the Prophet already!
Anyway, if you have any more questions, please just ask.

I've uninstalled Cyberon Voice Commander that comes shipped with the Dopod and installed Microsoft voice command. Cyberon is barely usable and the speech recognition is horrible.

hi kta, that's good to hear...well apparently quite a few members from the PPCSG (PPPC Singapore) forum are experiencing issues running avi divx movies on their Dopod 818 Pro, using tcpmp.

http://www.ppcsg.com/index.php?showtopic=68322
maybe it could be to do with the encoding...maybe they tried a high encoding rate?

I went back to a Magician after having a Vario, bored of the slowness of WM5 and the weak processor. Can't see how this Prophet pulls any tricks out of the bag.

O2mini_noob said:
http://www.ppcsg.com/index.php?showtopic=68322
maybe it could be to do with the encoding...maybe they tried a high encoding rate?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure someone was experiencing problems with avi file encoded over 500kbps. Pocket Divx did not allow me to go this high. Anything over 300kbps is probably too much size wise anyway.

monkeyphonix said:
I went back to a Magician after having a Vario, bored of the slowness of WM5 and the weak processor. Can't see how this Prophet pulls any tricks out of the bag.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the MDA Vario implementation of WM5 is inferior to the HTC Prophet's. This is evident from posts on PPCSG from owners of both devices. To start with, the HTC Prophet does not have anti virus installed. There could be many reasons why the Vario is slower as the device is slightly different as well. No keyboard drivers, different camera, different screen, etc. The slow down in a ROM could be caused by many things, a bad device driver implementation for example. But surely the next Vario ROM will be improved.
WM5 is not the culprit. Users of the HTC Prophet and the E-Ten M600 are not complaining, on the other hand Atom users (read 416Mhz Xscale) are complaining. This shows how much difference a ROM implementation can make.

duke911 said:
congr. on your new toy..
I would love to know more about video capturing.. is the same as on the magician or is it changed > better worse?!! :?
cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In VERY good light conditions video capturing is OK. Nothing more than the Magician. In dark light condtions the refresh rate is horrible, nothing worse than the Magician but nothing better either.

Looking to get a universal, some questions here!

I am seriously considering getting a universal to replace my pda (dell axim x51v) and cell phone (moto v551).
I got some questions to clear up before pulling the trigger
1) between the different variants, is there any difference other than software? Which one is supposed to be the best one? the worst one?
2) How does the universal handle video playback using the latest ROM, because according to an early review, the universal performed quite poorly.
3) Any universal user out there who also own(ed) an x51V, how does the universal behave compared to x51v generally?
Thanks a lot.

1) I've only ever used the O2 ROM, as I really like their visual style.
2) I can play XviD 640x360 (16:9) and 640x480 (4:3) both fullscreen with no resizing and they only stutter on lots of fast-changing detail e.g. fire, ripples, heat haze etc. 98% of the time, it's VERY watchable The other 2% last less than 5 seconds roughly on the types of video I watch. WMVs are not really watchable, MPEG1 / 2 are perfect, MPEG4 I don't have much experience with, but the clips I record with the Universal's built-in camera play fine.
3) I've never had another PPC
4) Get the true VGA hack if you get one!

1) i have used the O2 ROM, dopod ROM, Lt. Cmdr. Ivan's AKU3 ROM [beta 8 was the last ROM I used I think it's now on beta 15], JW's AKU3 imate ROM currently using JW's ROM [1.90.96] it's pretty stable and fast.
2) I barely use it for Video, I use it mainly for music. But when I played WMVs [all my WMVs are 320 x 240 as I encoded them all to this resolution when I still had QVGA devices not too forward thinking I know...] it did the job pretty well. Note I usually soft reset before and after watching a movie so that I get the most RAM I can.
3) Sorry never owned a DELL PPC.

Thanks for the input, guys.
Another quick question, how does the universal work as a phone? I know it's a pda phone and I shouldn't expect it to be as good as a regular phone.
But how is the usability of the universal as a phone? Missed calls problem or any other known problems?

renhui said:
Thanks for the input, guys.
Another quick question, how does the universal work as a phone? I know it's a pda phone and I shouldn't expect it to be as good as a regular phone.
But how is the usability of the universal as a phone? Missed calls problem or any other known problems?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My MDA Pro is usable as a phone since I got a bleutooth headset. Before that it wasnt a great phone. It is since I got a Siemens-Benq HHB-130, just love that headset.

Hi, Kassad, is it the bulky factor or the not-so-good sound quality of the internal speaker and mic that stops you from using it without a bluetooth headset? I've got a bluetooth headset, but I am not sure if I want to use it everytime I want to make a phone call or have a call come in.
BTW, how is the picture quality of the 1.3MP camera? How well does it capture video stuff? I will be interested in using it to take some short videos from time to time.
Thanks a lot.

on BT Headsets and Camera Functions
For me call quality is great but the bulk makes it akward to use at times. I wouldn't want to be fumbling with my Uni whilst walking, with a headset you just press the MFB and your talking... of course I get the: "hey did you earse my number???" everytime I ask who's on the line [as I don't see who's calling]. or the oddest thing I've gotten was: "Are you a handicap, a deaf-mute?" [not too many people with headsets here I suppose hahaha. By using a headset your hands are free to do other things as well.
--
As for the camera I barely use it as it's doesn't have the best of qualities. I wouldn't leave my Digicam if I wanted nice photos or a basic video clip. Maybe for spur of the moments snaps or vids in the morning [with good lighting] the camera is bearable.
--
Anyway apart from the bulk and the poor camera [I don't think theres any PPC with a nice camera, doesn't make it right but I guess it's a fact of life for the meantime] the Uni is a great device

renhui said:
Hi, Kassad, is it the bulky factor or the not-so-good sound quality of the internal speaker and mic that stops you from using it without a bluetooth headset? I've got a bluetooth headset, but I am not sure if I want to use it everytime I want to make a phone call or have a call come in.
BTW, how is the picture quality of the 1.3MP camera? How well does it capture video stuff? I will be interested in using it to take some short videos from time to time.
Thanks a lot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its the bulky factor, the sound quality is ok. With the headset much better tho.
Quality of the camera is only acceptable in full daylight when you're outside, any other situation, forget the camera.
But as an internet connected very small laptop its superb! I use it as my business device and love it.

I normally will not buy a phone that is 1 year old or more in the market, mobile phone technology moves very fast, you must get the latest!
Why not wait for HTC Omni or some other devices like O2 Flame?
Some will be out early next year.
Camera is ok, its 1.3MP but it has a extrapolated 2MP mode. But cannot beat the 3, 4 or 5 or event more MP digi cameras.
Night pics are ok if you have a stable hand and holding your breathe, the flash light is quite useless.
Video is also ok, in *.mp4 files. Full screen playback can be possible using TCPMP player.
Ringtone or stereo audio from the phone speakers ok. Phone Mic & Phone earpiece ok.
Bluetooth headsets with caller id or caller number type can be used.
Bluetooth stereo headsets can be supported with a registry hack available on this forum if you are not using the qtek rom.
My other PPC is iPAQ as in my signature.

Looking for opinion (battery, usability,..) before buying one…

Hi guys!
Great forum you are running here. I have been a regular reader for some time now and learned a lot. I solved a few problems as well. So let me stress the reason writing this post. I currently own a TyTN, with which I am more then happy. Due to my job and private requirements the TyTN is lacking some features and I intend to swoop it for the Advantage. Before doing so I would like to know few, for me essential, things.
1.) how long does your battery last (going from full charge 100% to 0%), let’s say with the amount of conversation per day lasts 10-20min, few SMSes, some gaming…. I have seen some posts »long time« ago, when the Advantage was releases, but now you have more experience…
2.) how strong are the magnets holding together the KB and the device? In another words how easily can the devise fell off? I saw on the BBC World, last Thursday in the evening, on the show called “Click” that the device has detached from the KB very quickly when trying to operate it with finger. Any thoughts? Your experience?
Thanks for your answers! Would very much appreciate your comments!
Uros, Slovenia

So far I'm very satisfied with the battery considering the screen big size. Compared to my previous Hermes, I feel not much difference. And the magnets are very strong. Relating to the "Click" show, I think it's just a matter of how you hold your phone. I always type using my thumbs, the rest fingers supporting both the keyboard and the main unit.

I had the HTC TYTN and Uni before i bought this. i can tell you will be satisfied. it is a great device.

I get a good 1 day of very heavy usage, possibly 36 hours if I were to push it to very low battery. I prefer to charge it during the night though, so I have a fresh charge in the morning. That way I have absolutely no worries that I will run out during the day.
I have my LCD brightness on the 3 step from the lowest, and I do not use WiFi at all (I use Edge for data, maybe 2 hours a day). I also talk about 1-2 hours daily. Plenty of emails, SMS, and other typing is done. The screen is probably turned on 5 hours a day in total.
You can easily pick up and use the keyboard if you use both hands (very safe when using the leather case, less so without). 1 hand typing is possible, but it's not very comfortable.
I suggest you get a bluetooth headset with a very strong battery though, I find that the Dopod bluetooth headset isn't very long lasting and I run out at the end of the day (sometimes in mid conversation )

wired connection to the internet, but not via USB-ActiveSync or WiFi
Thanks guys. My made my decision very easy...
One additional thing though: can the device connect to the internet via usual Ethernet outlet (not via USB&ActiveSync or Wifi). Which adapters are required to do so? At home I do not have a wireless router so I am wondering if this is possible…
Thanks again

Ameo usability problem and solution!
I thought I'd give my opinion on the Ameo after a week of usage.
My primary intention when upgrading to the Ameo was to sell me Vario 2 and use the Ameo as an all-in-one device for emailing, calling, texting, surfing and multimedia. Unfortunately the phone aspect leaves a lot to be desired in my opinion:
In fact I found the device to be pretty much unusable as a phone.
For one, simply holding the handset to my ear feels embarassing, ridiculous and not at all comfortable. Separating the device from the keyboard and carrying the main device alone is also impractical as it leaves me without a keyboard should the need to text arise (it also leaves the phone more prone to scratching).
If a call comes through I have to pull the magnetic keyboard off, turn the volume down and hope no-one is standing near enough to overhear my conversation!
THE AMEO JUST FEELS WRONG AS A PHONE!
Using a bluetooth headset is a solution of types, but it means I don't know who's calling without unpacking the device and checking. It also leaves the added disadvantage of having TWO batteries liable to drain with heavy usage of the phone. The wired earpiece is a battery-free alternative which is fine if you happen to be sat in a cafe with your earphones plugged in, but hardly practical!
Everything else about the device I love:
The keyboard, despite opinions to the contrary, feels very responsive to me. It has a beautiful soft, high-quality feel to it. It doesn't feel 'clacky'. I was originally going to use my freedom bluetooth keyboard but I actually prefer the Ameo one - it just takes a bit of getting used to.
Battery life is astonishing in my opinion: I spent all day on it yesterday using WiFi and it didn't run out of juice till the evening. I would say battery life is as good if not BETTER than the Hermes.
The screen is superb for Satnav and web browsing, particularly with Mrtruevga installed - it feels almost like surfing on a laptop. My only gripe in this respect would be that Opera in particular (put PIE to some degree) is a little sluggish loading pages given the quality of the Ameo's hardware.
After getting used to the Ameo's features I decided that I definitely want to keep it, but don't want to use it as a phone as I SIMPLY COULDN'T LIVE WITH IT FOR THIS PURPOSE. My solution was this:
Sell my Vario ii,
Buy a Samsung z560 on Ebay (78quid!)
setup bluetooth DUN on AMEO with z560 (very easy)
I now have a pocketable phone with a decent auto-focus camera and mp3 capabilites for when I'm out and about, and a permanent BT connection to my Ameo for when i need to surf, email and use messenger. The Ameo connects automatically when in range which is rather useful, and battery life with both devices is great in my opinion (the fact that the z560 comes with two batteries is doubly helpful).
So all-in-all i'm very happy with my setup now. If anyone has any other ideas on how to make the Ameo into a practical telephone then I'd be very interested to hear them!

leoni1980 said:
Using a bluetooth headset is a solution of types, but it means I don't know who's calling without unpacking the device and checking. It also leaves the added disadvantage of having TWO batteries liable to drain with heavy usage of the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been using my Dopod U1000 pairing with i.Tech Clip D bluetooth headset for the whole month and have no problem at all identifying incoming calls. Very handy I believe.

Ameo usability problem and solution!
I thought I'd give my opinion on the Ameo after a week of usage.
My primary intention when upgrading to the Ameo was to sell me Vario 2 and use the Ameo as an all-in-one device for emailing, calling, texting, surfing and multimedia. Unfortunately the phone aspect leaves a lot to be desired in my opinion:
In fact I found the device to be pretty much unusable as a phone.
For one, simply holding the handset to my ear feels embarassing, ridiculous and not at all comfortable. Separating the device from the keyboard and carrying the main device alone is also impractical as it leaves me without a keyboard should the need to text arise (it also leaves the phone more prone to scratching).
If a call comes through I have to pull the magnetic keyboard off, turn the volume down and hope no-one is standing near enough to overhear my conversation!
THE AMEO JUST FEELS WRONG AS A PHONE!
Using a bluetooth headset is a solution of types, but it means I don't know who's calling without unpacking the device and checking. It also leaves the added disadvantage of having TWO batteries liable to drain with heavy usage of the phone. The wired earpiece is a battery-free alternative which is fine if you happen to be sat in a cafe with your earphones plugged in, but hardly practical!
Everything else about the device I love:
The keyboard, despite opinions to the contrary, feels very responsive to me. It has a beautiful soft, high-quality feel to it. It doesn't feel 'clacky'. I was originally going to use my freedom bluetooth keyboard but I actually prefer the Ameo one - it just takes a bit of getting used to.
Battery life is astonishing in my opinion: I spent all day on it yesterday using WiFi and it didn't run out of juice till the evening. I would say battery life is as good if not BETTER than the Hermes.
The screen is superb for Satnav and web browsing, particularly with Mrtruevga installed - it feels almost like surfing on a laptop. My only gripe in this respect would be that Opera in particular (put PIE to some degree) is a little sluggish loading pages given the quality of the Ameo's hardware.
After getting used to the Ameo's features I decided that I definitely want to keep it, but don't want to use it as a phone as I SIMPLY COULDN'T LIVE WITH IT FOR THIS PURPOSE. My solution was this:
Sell my Vario ii,
Buy a Samsung z560 on Ebay (78quid!)
setup bluetooth DUN on AMEO with z560 (very easy)
I now have a pocketable phone with a decent auto-focus camera and mp3 capabilites for when I'm out and about, and a permanent BT connection to my Ameo for when i need to surf, email and use messenger. The Ameo connects automatically when in range which is rather useful, and battery life with both devices is great in my opinion (the fact that the z560 comes with two batteries is doubly helpful).
So all-in-all i'm very happy with my setup now. If anyone has any other ideas on how to make the Ameo into a practical telephone then I'd be very interested to hear them!

leoni1980
very simply- buy a bluetooth headset and keep the brick in your pocket.
I use an I-tech d clip as I don't like something stuck on my ear.
With microsoft voice command you have nearly 100% accuracy dialing from contacts and the d clip has call number display. the only drawback of the d clip is no vibrate alert.
regards

CPA said:
leoni1980
very simply- buy a bluetooth headset and keep the brick in your pocket.
I use an I-tech d clip as I don't like something stuck on my ear.
With microsoft voice command you have nearly 100% accuracy dialing from contacts and the d clip has call number display. the only drawback of the d clip is no vibrate alert.
regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got the BlueAnt V12 headset, which has a vibrating feature AND an LCD display to display incoming calls (number only) and status (nice). This is working very well for me. It also has a very good range. I left my phone in the car and came into the house... and it was still connected. I have been keeping it in my shirt pocket or, if sans pocket like today, on the included lanyard, which is fine if you don't mind the fashion statement. Using voice dial, the BlueAnt is essentially a mini-phone.
Also the speakerphone feature on the phone itself is also very usable, best I've seen. Signal strength has been better than any phone to date. All in all, as a phone, I would give it a solid rating... if you can get past not having being able to hold it up to your ear.

As an alternative bluetooth headset besides i.Tech Clip D, try Jabra BT8010 that is also able to show contact names when using with Jetware.

cayotte said:
As an alternative bluetooth headset besides i.Tech Clip D, try Jabra BT8010 that is also able to show contact names when using with Jetware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think these are all good ideas but i still prefer my solution.
Yesterday for example I was able to take my pup for a walk in my shorts and tee shirt with my samsung sat merrily and comfortably in my pocket. The idea of having my Ameo swinging round my neck by a Lanyard with a Bluetooth device on my ear is slightly frightening - particularly given the delicate nature of the microdrive and the possibility of being both mugged and garotted at the same time.
I don't need an Ameo when I'm going to the shops or popping out into town, but its there for me whenever i need it - ready to connect just as easily to my phone as it would to a bluetooth headset. The only disadvantage I can see is that a Bluetooth 1.2 connection does not have the same bandwidth as a direct HSDPA connection through the device itself. However in practise I have found there to be great difference in browsing speed using Wifi, HSDPA through the Ameo itself or HSDPA through a BT DUN connection.
The benefits, I think, clearly outweigh the drawbacks.
Any thoughts?

Well to me i just find it slightly impractical to to carry two devices around... for example when u want to use gprs on the ameo do you switch the sim card?
just seems a bit much to do to avoid having to use a bluetooth headset

I don't think it's any more impractical than carrying a bluetooth headset around. i would say it's more convenient really as the ameo is very cumbersome to have on one's person at all times .
For GPRS I never use the Ameo's built in transmitter- as I said I just have a bluetooth connection to my other phone which gives me very fast browsing speeds in itself, but where available i also use WiFi.
I see no need to use my Ameo as a phone outright - as it stands I have all the browsing and multimedia capabilities I need wherever I need them with my Ameo, coupled with the convenience of a 'normal' phone for making and receiving calls and texting on the move.
All this with no Sim-swapping in sight!

can't the dog carry the Ameo?????
he may need it for the weather forecast.

CPA said:
can't the dog carry the Ameo?????
he may need it for the weather forecast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha very good. I'll have to take a look on Pucci for a doggy Ameo travel case. Seems like a must-have.
Seriously though I love my Ameo: it's got serious wow factor as a portable browsing device, emailer and music/video player and the build quality is SUPERB. (I really like the keyboard too despite the lack of backlight). However i can't help but feel that all that 'wow' factor is immediately negated once someone calls you and you are forced to fumble for your bluetooth headset (or unfasten wallet, take keyboard off, turn volume down and hold monolythic metal brick against head). Any avoidance of using the device as a phone without losing any other key features is in my opinion a wise move, especially if it lessens the chance of my Ameo being seen/stolen, or getting knocked about.

seriously
the d-clip can sit in your ear on a walk and no-one will notice it.
the mic clips on your neckline
to answer the call you put your finger to your ear and push the button on the earplug, very simple, no fumbling.
every pooch needs http://www.pielframa.net/prodi.asp?id=1798
they can then bragg about the crocodile hunt.
Regards

CPA said:
seriously
the d-clip can sit in your ear on a walk and no-one will notice it.
the mic clips on your neckline
to answer the call you put your finger to your ear and push the button on the earplug, very simple, no fumbling.
every pooch needs http://www.pielframa.net/prodi.asp?id=1798
they can then bragg about the crocodile hunt.
Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thiis a lot more practical than using the built-in speakerphone! theres still the major drawback of having to carry the handset with you at all times though. whilst this is fine if you have a jacket or combats with big pockets its still never goong to be practical in a lot of instances; for example if you wanted to go out of an afternoon and sit in a beergarden with your mates. i just dont feel comfortable having such a big expensive item on me. as i imagine most people got their ameos on upgrade i wonder how many of them have kept their old phone for more practical communication when big pockets arent available.

CPA said:
can't the dog carry the Ameo?????
he may need it for the weather forecast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
... i'll buy my dog (a big bernese-mountain-dog) next week an Ameo !
... what's about the quality (sound & volume) of Ameo's hands-free? - is it usable in the car?
- is it good enough to take calls when "Flocki" (the dog) is carrying the Ameo?

mapre64 said:
... i'll buy my dog (a big bernese-mountain-dog) next week an Ameo !
... what's about the quality (sound & volume) of Ameo's hands-free? - is it usable in the car?
- is it good enough to take calls when "Flocki" (the dog) is carrying the Ameo?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, absoultely (although his / her fur is kept out the way of the mic).
I fidn that the Ameo comes into its own in partnership with a Jabra BT8010 - a fantatsic little device.

Poll: Which Cupcake feature are you most waiting for?

Latest Feature List:
1. Settings Page changes (different locales,text inputs).
2.view running, 3rd party apps (task manager without termination)
3. New windows opening/closing animation effect
4. Notepad
5. Global clock
6. extra settings (auto-rotate and such)
7. On screen keyboard
8. Shadow effects on buttons
9. Stereo Bluetooth
10. Video Camera

video ftw!

Video was something I always wondered why they did not put in. We can upload photos to picasa, you would think they would have done the same for youtube from the start.

A2DP is very important for me, but I kind of wonder how it will affect the battery life... I might just resort to the already-recommended switching off of 3G and GPS connectivity until needed, but they really are convenient to both have at any given time.
I might have to do what I did with my Uni and get a huge, ugly extended battery...

on screen keyboard

I can't wait for the a2dp profile. I love my sony BT stereo headset, the sound quality is amazing. Hopefully the range is good. I remember on my kaiser at first the range was about 10 feet, I tweaked those a2dp settings for months before I got anywhere near the advertised 30 foot range. I guess my second most awaited feature is gonna be the extension of the option menu. I looooove options. Thats the one thing I miss most about windows mobile, was the ability to change each and every option you could ever imagine. Hopefully android sways away from the "user friendliness" that apple fanboys are always bragging about. Screw user friendliness, I want my cupcake option menu to be 47 feet long, with a bunch of options that I have no idea what they do , and sub-options on those ones, and so fourth. That way I can LEARN more. User friendliness is another way of saying "No brains required! even a 3 year old can use it!!" Screw that. Just sayin'.

Once you have used it, it is hard to go back so I say stereo bluetooth for sure. This leash is driving me nuts...lol. After that I would say a native virtual keypad would be nice.

I really need the stereo bluetooth! I keep having to put the sim card back in my old trinity for workouts so i can use my stereo bluetooth headphones (no pockets in my shorts to put the phone when working out).....
I wouldn't say no to any of the other stuff though

They're adding a notepad? Any word on whether or not it will sync automatically with Google's notebook (it has a section for "Mobile notes")?

The camera in this thing is so pathetic, I don't think a video camera is going to be of much use to us. I'll go with the stereo bluetooth as well.

aad4321 said:
Its like Christmas but better!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
your telling me.....

A few questions rtegarding Acre F1

I wonder if ppl are still using their F1/S200?
I'm currently stuck on my Samsung Omnia SGH-i900 because it's the only device that does 2 things that i need.
1) Torchbutton: to use the LED-flash as a LED-lamp. Currently mapped to the taskswitch-button.
2) Vito audio Notes touch can records phone-calls (automagically) even when the call is through a bluetooth headset.
I wonder can the F1 do the same?
Is there a program to use the LED-flash as a lamp
and does vito audio notes touch work to record calls? Perhaps someone can try this out for me (there's a demo to download on Vito's website or PM me)
I also wonder how's the camera? And are the latest ROM's any improvement on call quality (I hear it's not very good on the acer)?
Just a few questions. I ask this because the HTC Desire (which i wanted first) has no incall-recording whatsoever). Froyo-ROM's have a function to use the LED as a lamp though. And I tried an Omnia II (GT-i8000) and Vito Audio notes touch doesn't record calls (or wm notes for that matter). The only other alternative is to go for a Nokia Symbian device X6 or 5800 but that's a step backwards imho.
thanks in advance for the answers

Hi,
I try Torch button (v2.2) recently but it doesn't work on F1 with the actual driver on Arto's ROM. I get an Error Message : "Couldn't detect a supported device, exiting...". I'm interested if someone success to make it work, (also by use the flashlight to signal messages when phone is placed on the side of the screen, I know there is an HTC app to do this, but doesn't work on my phone).
I havn't test any call recorder.
The camera is not so good (disapointing for a 5M pixels), but for a phone it stay 'correct'.
Hope this helps

hey, the user stephano released a little program to use your led as flashlight.
I cant say much to vito audio recorder app,never used it, and dont have time to test it atm.
Regarding the camera, you re going two or ten steps back concerning quality if you compare acer neotouch vs samsung omnia. Acers camera quality is poo comparing it to the omnia. i owned a omnia before the neotouch and believe me i was very disappointed about the lack of features and very bad picture quality unless the light conditions are perfect.
On the other hand, the neotouch is indredibly fast, it has a hotswitch microsd slot, an audio jack. and a wvga resolution That were the things i ve missed on the i900
If you can stand the bad camera quality, the neotouch might be worth a try
Concerning the call quality, it's actually pretty good. It doesnt have a second mic to supress the background noise but i encounter the call quality as quite decent

the camera sux. no matter what rom u are using.
video camera sux too...

riotman said:
hey, the user stephano released a little program to use your led as flashlight.
I cant say much to vito audio recorder app,never used it, and dont have time to test it atm.
Regarding the camera, you re going two or ten steps back concerning quality if you compare acer neotouch vs samsung omnia. Acers camera quality is poo comparing it to the omnia. i owned a omnia before the neotouch and believe me i was very disappointed about the lack of features and very bad picture quality unless the light conditions are perfect.
On the other hand, the neotouch is indredibly fast, it has a hotswitch microsd slot, an audio jack. and a wvga resolution That were the things i ve missed on the i900
If you can stand the bad camera quality, the neotouch might be worth a try
Concerning the call quality, it's actually pretty good. It doesnt have a second mic to supress the background noise but i encounter the call quality as quite decent
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also coming from I900 OMNIA...Totally agree!

Yes, forgetting the neotouch even has a camera is probably the best way to approach things, it has impressive speed and a great resistive screen, good call quality, great wifi reception, and an incredibly worthless camera

Acer F1 incall-recording
OK. According to http://pocketnow.com/review/acer-neotouch-s200-f1
The neotouch has native incall-recoring. Can anyone confirm this? And has anyone tried Vito's audionotes touch or Resco's audio recoring with incall-recording enabled? There's a demo on either website to try before you buy. I already bought it and would like to (keep) using it.
I asked if I could try it in a shop nearby but the gent wouldn't let me do it :-(
I already bought and returned a Samsung Omnia II because it didn't work (neither did iGo navigation but that's a different matter).
I have found Stefano's torchlight program so I presume this is solved. He kindly sent it to me and referenced me to his (italia) website. (Thanks Stefano).
So my options are this:
1) look for a second hand i900 (which I know everything I have works on)
2) Get a cheap Nokia C6 (i have an 2-way incall-recorder program for it and a program that can use the flash as led. I tried them on an X6 and 5230 so I think they'l work on this one too.
3) get this Acer F1 (which cost about the same as the Nokia C6). I have the software that I need, I'm unsure if they'll work. It seems to have a worse camera than the above models.
4) Get a second hand HTC HD2. These cost second hand about the same as a new Acer F1. There's a patch that allow 2-way incallrecording and I've a torchlight program.
5) Get a SE featurephone with LED lamp. They can use it as a torch and SE-phones have 2-way callrecording build in (just as Nokia featurephones).
6) forget all this and get an HTC Desire android phone (froyo has a torchlight app build in). There's no call-recording possible on the desire for now.
What shold I do?
The reason I can't keep using my Omnia 1 is because the metal frame (topside around the digitiser) is cracking open. I fear that soon the screen will break in two. Then it'll be over. But since I'm reluctant to spend yet another +400 euro's on a phone and then discovering things don't work as intended (as with the Omnia2). I ask this.
Anyway thanks in advance if anyone test these apps out. You can also PM me and I can sent you the program to test it for me?

epdm2be said:
And has anyone tried Vito's audionotes touch or Resco's audio recoring with incall-recording enabled? There's a demo on either website to try before you buy. I already bought it and would like to (keep) using it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, i have Vito´s Audiotones and the incall-recording is very functioning, in both ways and also over the loudspeakers. You can also map one of the three Acer Hardkeys for starting the incall-recording with Vito´s Audiotones.

Took the plunge
OK fella's
After my bluetooth headset wouldn't function on my omnia anymore I sped up my decisions. I finally took the plunge and went for the Acer F1. It's about the same price as a Nokia C6 and (from the intel gathered here 2way call-recording works on the F1).
My first impressions so far.
It looks nice. I haven't removed the stickers (yet) as I might return it if it doesn't work as wanted. The screen is very nice (for an TFT) and responds very well. Much better than the Omnia 1 (which is famous for its awfull screen). The device is notably snappy even with a screen resolution 4x times as high as on the Omnia. Other good things. It uses mini-usb to charge (though not every mini-usb cable can be used as I have discovered) and a separate audio-jack (unlike the omnia). So you can both charge and use the headphones, great. The FM radio seems to work without headphones plugged it?! The first time that I have seen this. The Acer dialer has NATIVE call recording. This is also the first I've seen on WM especially in such a userfriendly and logical way... right on the call-screen
Then there's the bad things.
The sound although good in quality, is very quiet compared to my Omnia. I admit that I tweaked that Omnia with some inbuild program. If ppl want to fiddle with that little program, I've included it as attachment. I strongly doubt it'll be of any use but it does seem to start-up. The camera is notoriously bad as everyone in here as already mentioned (compared to the omnia). Speakerphone is too low to be of any use. This unfortunately defies the use of that one program that I require (audio notes) to record calls since you can't properly hear them afterwards. Although the headphone-jack is on the right place (on mid-top) it's also too quiet to be of any use :-(.
Other things that I discovered when installing and using some software. I've installed SPB Mobile Shell (tried both 3.5.4 and 3.5.5) but whenever exit the camera-software, SPB MS returns in "change layout" mode (with the last widget, used before opening the cam-software, ready for removal or changing). I tried with both the cam-software in rom (3.003c) and Xakep TURBO camera to no avail. Very annoying. At one point I couldn't remove "Getting started" from today screen (WM Standard). But eventually I did manage to remove it (though I still have no idea what I prior did to make it happen. Again I tought this was due to SPB Mobile shell but since I could eventually remove it (while MS was running) it must have been something else. As of now, (after fooling around with Coreplayer, SPB Mobile shell, Vito's audio notes touch, a few games and utilities) whenver I use WM Standard today screen and try to open a picture (which gets neatly displayed on the pictures bar) it gives an error (file-associations seem to be ****ed up along the way). Again a minor hassle (like the "getting started" that wouldn't go away) but a hassle nonetheless :-(
Apart from the lousy camera (which i expected) and the low audio volume (which I didn't expect) this devices fares quite well. It definitly needs some kind of invisible shield (or other protection) for exterior protection as the shiny cover easily gets dirty. I haven't yet decided whether I'll keep it. If the audio was better then I could have used it as a small PMP but because of the low volume (even with headphones)... The speed and great screen considering its price are its main strenghts.
Included is the Omnia's Soundtester-program that Omnians use to tweak their handsets audio volume (by quite a bit I might say). I compared my omnia (before sending in for repair) to the Acer and the Omnia is not only much louder. The inbuild speaker produced better quality as well while playing this loud. I boosted volume with Coreplayer on mediafiles but it never matches the Omnia without distoring the sound. headphone output on the omnia is allmost on par as on my ancient iPod 60GB (this thing kills your ears definitly!) while the acer is no-more than whispering compared to both. Oddly enough call-quality wasn't so bad at all. Call-volume was reasonable (even in populated environments).
Thanks for the ppl who helped me out with regards to incall recording (the prime reason for sticking with WM) and to Steff (with info on his Torch program).
regards,
EPDM2BE

epdm2be said:
OK fella's
After my bluetooth headset wouldn't function on my omnia anymore I sped up my decisions. I finally took the plunge and went for the Acer F1. It's about the same price as a Nokia C6 and (from the intel gathered here 2way call-recording works on the F1).
My first impressions so far.
It looks nice. I haven't removed the stickers (yet) as I might return it if it doesn't work as wanted. The screen is very nice (for an TFT) and responds very well. Much better than the Omnia 1 (which is famous for its awfull screen). The device is notably snappy even with a screen resolution 4x times as high as on the Omnia. Other good things. It uses mini-usb to charge (though not every mini-usb cable can be used as I have discovered) and a separate audio-jack (unlike the omnia). So you can both charge and use the headphones, great. The FM radio seems to work without headphones plugged it?! The first time that I have seen this. The Acer dialer has NATIVE call recording. This is also the first I've seen on WM especially in such a userfriendly and logical way... right on the call-screen
Then there's the bad things.
The sound although good in quality, is very quiet compared to my Omnia. I admit that I tweaked that Omnia with some inbuild program. If ppl want to fiddle with that little program, I've included it as attachment. I strongly doubt it'll be of any use but it does seem to start-up. The camera is notoriously bad as everyone in here as already mentioned (compared to the omnia). Speakerphone is too low to be of any use. This unfortunately defies the use of that one program that I require (audio notes) to record calls since you can't properly hear them afterwards. Although the headphone-jack is on the right place (on mid-top) it's also too quiet to be of any use :-(.
Other things that I discovered when installing and using some software. I've installed SPB Mobile Shell (tried both 3.5.4 and 3.5.5) but whenever exit the camera-software, SPB MS returns in "change layout" mode (with the last widget, used before opening the cam-software, ready for removal or changing). I tried with both the cam-software in rom (3.003c) and Xakep TURBO camera to no avail. Very annoying. At one point I couldn't remove "Getting started" from today screen (WM Standard). But eventually I did manage to remove it (though I still have no idea what I prior did to make it happen. Again I tought this was due to SPB Mobile shell but since I could eventually remove it (while MS was running) it must have been something else. As of now, (after fooling around with Coreplayer, SPB Mobile shell, Vito's audio notes touch, a few games and utilities) whenver I use WM Standard today screen and try to open a picture (which gets neatly displayed on the pictures bar) it gives an error (file-associations seem to be ****ed up along the way). Again a minor hassle (like the "getting started" that wouldn't go away) but a hassle nonetheless :-(
Apart from the lousy camera (which i expected) and the low audio volume (which I didn't expect) this devices fares quite well. It definitly needs some kind of invisible shield (or other protection) for exterior protection as the shiny cover easily gets dirty. I haven't yet decided whether I'll keep it. If the audio was better then I could have used it as a small PMP but because of the low volume (even with headphones)... The speed and great screen considering its price are its main strenghts.
Included is the Omnia's Soundtester-program that Omnians use to tweak their handsets audio volume (by quite a bit I might say). I compared my omnia (before sending in for repair) to the Acer and the Omnia is not only much louder. The inbuild speaker produced better quality as well while playing this loud. I boosted volume with Coreplayer on mediafiles but it never matches the Omnia without distoring the sound. headphone output on the omnia is allmost on par as on my ancient iPod 60GB (this thing kills your ears definitly!) while the acer is no-more than whispering compared to both. Oddly enough call-quality wasn't so bad at all. Call-volume was reasonable (even in populated environments).
Thanks for the ppl who helped me out with regards to incall recording (the prime reason for sticking with WM) and to Steff (with info on his Torch program).
regards,
EPDM2BE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Install one of my ROM's - Manila or Clean, they have enhanced Audio with SRS WOW HD drivers. Your Sound will be much better, louder and over the headphones you will get better sound quality.