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I’ve done it, I’ve just ordered a T-Mobile MDA Vario!

I’ve done it, I’ve just ordered a T-Mobile MDA Vario, it should be here tomorrow, I cant wait!!!
I’m new to this forum and new to the world of Windows Mobile Devices, however I am far from a novice with SmartPhones.
I have been a big fan of SonyEricsson for many years and am currently looking for a new phone, but lately have lost my feel for SE and have discovered then marvel that is the Wizard!!! Wow, I’m so much going to have one of them!!!
I’ve been reading through this forum and well what can I say, what a fantastic resource, well done!
But what I really want to know is: software? I know the MDA Vario is T-Mobile branded, but what restrictions do they impose on you?
I’m a great believer that hardware developers know what they are doing and Phone Network Operators should leave the software well alone. I have read about unlocking the phone and moving Cab files etc, but what I would really want is to flash it with its “pure” software, is this possible and easy to do and how do I then set up my MMS and GPRS setting?
And am I correct in understanding what I’ve read, that, an out the box MDA Vario wont run ActiveSync?
Thanks in advance
Nick

Nick, an excellent choice of name, and an excellent choice of device
The units ROMs all seem to be largely the same, it's the extended ROM which is different.
T-Mobile's extended ROM installs a load of customisations such as wallpapers, GPRS settings, etc... Nothing seems to hinder you particularly badly , however if you don't want it, hard reset then do a soft reset before it installs the customisations. You then have a virgin machine
The only lock is a simlock, which means that you have to use a T-Mobile SIM with the device. Lokiwiz, a free unlocker, gets around this nicely with thanks to Machinagod, and all those whose work he improved
Oh, and activesync works fine with it, providing you haven't got any weird firewalls running

Welcome to the world of windows mobile
I have had my Vario for about a week and a half now.
If you used the P910 like I did, you will miss the jog wheel utility desperately. A brilliant device that was only let down by the lack of symbian (UIQ) development (it's harder to program.
I used to have a compaq 2210 and ran Pocketinformant. I've just reloaded it on my unit. It's brilliant, you give up a lot for the jog wheel but you welcome back the world of 'drag and drop' and 'double tap'.
If you use a PIM then Pocketinformant cannot be beaten.
Incidently make sure you load activesync 4.1 on your pc, providing you set your catergories in your outlook master list to the same as your device, syncing is superb.
good luck :lol:

I've just switched to Vodafone with an expansys contrct deal after four years with T-Mobile. They (T-Mobile) told me six weeks ago, they'd no idea what a Vario was, and had no information that they were going to get them even though Germany had announced them to the press. Expansys had the 9100 on Voda so off I went. The Vodafone "data" bundle which is SMS or MMS or GPRS out of the same pot is better for me than T-Mobile who would only offer web'n'walk *and* a separate SMS/MMS bundle :-(
Vodafone have been fine, but the SMS voicemail alerts that don't activate the little "tape" message waiting icon really annoys me... ;-)
Dox..

I have also gone from a P900 to XDA mini. Its a bit of a transition and can agree - the wheel on the P900 was a luxury I do miss but there are alot moe benefits
Now - just need to try and work out if I can change the whole ROM from the O2 one
Scott

Thanks for all the info fellas, cant wait for it to be delivered…
Excuse my ignorance, but, the ROM, is that the basic OS and the extender ROM is just the individual network customizations?
I will almost certainly, as a matter of principle, do the SIM unlock, but what is the purpose of the CID unlock?
And, if I do the Hard reset Soft reset trick how will I set up my GPRS and MMS?
Sorry about all the questions, but I’m very inquisitive.
Hopefully this will also be helping fellow novices.
Thanks again everyone.

You can enter the settings manually, which if you have them in front of you is fairly simple. If you need to know what they are (I've entered Vodafone's so often for people at work I can do them in my sleep, but don't know the T-Mobile ones), google is your friend. To simplify the whole thing, Raphael over at BeyondTheTech has the cab file with the settings in here for you to download and install as normal.
If you're not going to let the rest of the extended ROM install, put this on a memory card in case you want to run it again after a hard reset..
Dox.

I too like to have a fiddle (I had an original O2 XDA and this site was fantastic for upgrading to later version OS) but so far I can't see any compelling reason not to use the T-Mobile UK custo ROM as shipped.
The only addition I've made is MS Voice with the associated Reg change to allow use with BT headset.
Obviously if there is a superior ROM out there please let us know what is recommended?
Thanks

Nick, check out the wiki which has loads of info about roms, extended roms, radio roms and all that good stuff. Not a huge amount is specific to the Wizard yet, but the information applies all the same.
Has it arrived yet, or are you sitting by the front door like an eager puppy waiting for the postman or newspaper boy (or girl, thank you Stan)

Unfortunately I’m at work today and they would only deliver to my home address
AND they need a signature, so first thing tomorrow morning I’ll be stud outside my local Postal Depot waiting for it to open…..
Oh I hate waiting!!!

Welcome to Vario-ness !
Not coming from a previous PPC platform, you won't suffer the same way i did, by installing all the apps i used on my MDA Compadt some of which may not have been compatable with WM5. That ended up with me having a poor view on the Vario.
Fear not though, i've since seen the error of my ways, thanks to the fine folks on this forum...

I have an XDA II, and would like to update if there is a significant improvement.
I have read from the t-mobile site that the Vario does not have vibrate or voice dialling. Is this true, can Fonix be installed?
The most vital things I use are the outlook contacts, calender, isilo reader and avant go. I guess all standard apps that work on windows mobile 2003 work on 5 right?
How big is the screen?
Thanks for any help.

Well, that just goes to show that T-Mobile don't have a clue, really, doesn't it? I thought you must be mistaken, but sure enough it says that it doesn't support voice dial, and doesn't vibrate either.
It does. On both counts. The vibrate is a lot better than the xda2s in that it almost dislocates a hip when it goes off, and voice dialing works very well. With a quick registry hack, voice dialing works with bluetooth headsets too
Some have found the vario sluggish in comparison to the xda 2; i find it to be comparable to the blue angel (2s) that I had running wm2005 - bear in mind you're reading/writing all files from flash rather than RAM, and that explains the performance.
The screen is 2.8 inches diagonal.

Have any of you got vibrate working on M3000 (Orange)?
I have an M3000 from Orange Switzerland, and cannot get my vibrate to work at all.

Not to get 'off topic' but T-Mobile Czech republic were about to sell me a MDA Vario and at the last moment I noticed a sticker on the box saying it doesn't support character recognizer or transcriber .. anyone know if this FOR ME huge negative can be reversed so I can handwrite sms as MDA II let me .. (perfect solution for me)

kgary said:
Not to get 'off topic' but T-Mobile Czech republic were about to sell me a MDA Vario and at the last moment I noticed a sticker on the box saying it doesn't support character recognizer or transcriber .. anyone know if this FOR ME huge negative can be reversed so I can handwrite sms as MDA II let me .. (perfect solution for me)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both work fine for me on a UK MDA Vario, I don't know why the czech would be different. I must say however that I rarely use them because the slide out keyboard is SO sweet.
On a side note, my brother just picked up the same phone on O2 and personally I like the O2 customisations a lot better than the T-mobile ones. Especially the multiple today screen functionality.
Is it possible to install O2 extended rom and keep t-mobile comms settings? I've only just started to look into this so does anyone with any experience with this have any tips?
Thanks

PTT for WM5?

Is there such a thing? Cuz i might subscribe to the PTT service with cingular.

you are in luck
cingular does have ptt service it is not surrently available on pdas but is available on lg, samsung and sonyericsson phone the service it 9.99 for one line and 19.99 for family plans it is unlimited service and works great there is a 5-10 sec delay for the initial connection but after that it is as fast if not faster then nextel. you can also convert a ptt conversation to a phone call as well as being able to see everyones status and if they are available or not.
i hope this helps you out
if you have anymore questions feel free to ask

Or you could just use the speakerphone and NOT pay cingular for having a speakerphone :? :? :?
I will never understand why PTT is popular. It's a freaking speakerphone that makes you push the button to talk. Durrrrr....

well in aust its cheaper to use that like only 1 dollar per day and you can get up to 5 people to connect and use ptt. shame it wont work on wm5 so far. thou im sure it would b easy to make a software for this.

if it was out there i would have found it by now.. i am very interested in seeing if i can get this to work.. but cant come up with anything.. will probably have to wait till the 8525 is released, its suppose to have PTT

Agile messenger's website says that the program will add ptt to a phone, but I'm still trying to figure out how they think so. I think it has to do with the messenger service and the voice messages.

GreenLantern said:
Agile messenger's website says that the program will add ptt to a phone, but I'm still trying to figure out how they think so. I think it has to do with the messenger service and the voice messages.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i think agile messenger allows you to PTT to other users of a messenger service like yahoo, etc... not to other phones.. unless they were also using agile..

Three way and speaker would be better than PTT, but on the other hand I would like to have the function for a just in case thing.

weezy said:
Three way and speaker would be better than PTT, but on the other hand I would like to have the function for a just in case thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i actually would like it better.. i hate talking on the phone, i do it for 8 hours a day at work.. i am all data most of the time anyway.. pretty much if you cant be text then i have nothing to say but in the rare event i need my phone i would rather do it over ptt so i dont feel like i am locked into a phone call

Cingular 8525 (aka HTC Hermes) comes with PTT button and a PTT application which is not ready yet in the pre-production ROMs. I guess cingular will put the app in the ExtROM, so just wait until it comes out

I need more hardware buttons on the wizard

Palm -> MDA -> Palm

I'm literally at the end of my fuse here. :doh: I really wanted to give the MDA a chance, but I'm sitting next to a pile of old fashioned index cards that have served as my PIM since I got my MDA. Here's my rant:
1. MDA is SLOW. When I want to call someone, the default software's call list takes forever to pull someone's name up. While I'm driving, this makes me 10x more likely to have an accident just waiting for the thing to pull up. I overclocked my MDA with Smartskey and did a simple registry change that speeds things up, but it's still SLOW. When you type a letter for a contact's name, it should pull up, even my 6 year old Palm Vx is quicker.
2. I tried Pocket Informant, and it's damn complicated and slow too. I would consider myself a pretty tech savvy guy, but I stil prefer Palm's Agendus, simple but does the job.
3. I hate Outlook! I'm not a corporate slave, but an entrepreneur that doesn't want to get tied to some ugly, generic Microsoft product that spreads viruses. I want my Palm Desktop back!
4. Internet with T-mobile is SLOW!!! I got this phone because I wanted to use google outdoors, then I'd have the world in my hands. I thought that EDGE would have bearable speeds, but it's worse than AOL 33.6k dial-up. I live in the Los Angeles area where EDGE is supposed to be active, but it just seems like a waste of $30/month.
So I've thought about this a lot, and was wondering your opinions...
I think I want to go back to the Palm. Windows Mobile sucks!! I thought WM5.0 would be the latest and greatest, but it's the same old Microsoft s**t.
I would really like to get the Treo 700p, but I have 9 more months of my T-mobile contract. I wish I could get out and try Verizon's EVDO.
Thanks for listening,
Hanguo Laohu

At a guess I'd say you're using the stock T-mobile rom then.

Stock MDA rom
You are correct. Does the newer ROM make that much difference? I mean, if my 6 year old Palm Vx can instantly go from contacts to calendar, I was assuming that the MDA could do the same.
HL

The new ROM is much stabler and quicker than its predecessor.

I owned a treo 650 for several months then I moved to the wizard. the wizard is hands down the better pda/phone than the treo.
if you have such hatred towards the wizard, then go back to the treo, no one is stopping you.

I used to have a treo 600 and then the 650. I then moved to the MDA, and I have to agree that the MDA is much better. I also agree that you should upgrade to the latest rom before giving up on the mda.

I think from your feelings about Microsoft, and this device, you would be far better suited to a Mac as your main PC, and a Palm as your PDA, and enjoy the simplistic no frills use from them.

I'm not going to bash Palm or defend MS products, merely state my opinion..
Palm seems to work fine for many people. In my experience these are people who prefer an "out-of-the-box" solution. Open it, put batteries in and go. That's fine, I can't knock that.
WM appears to be a platform more suited to "tweakers" who like a customized solutions and don't mind the effort of assembling the pieces. I really believe that if you're only using the preinstalled apps in WM then you are on the wrong device.

Using a cellphone whilst driving
Please don't take this the wrong way, you could do everybody a favour and not use your phone will driving?
http://www.talewins.com/protectyourself/cellphones.htm
regards

I like you moved from a Treo 600 to the MDA and hated it at first. It's slow, kind of like running XP on a 386 and almost impossible to use one handed although you can. But since I sold the Treo (& I've been a palm man since the pilot days) I thought I'd tweak the MDA to see what it could do. Here's what I suggest,
1 - update to the new ROM, just do it that solves a host of issues
2- Overclock it, I don't know why they dont do this out of the box but it makes the thing run almost normally
3- Careful about what you install, if you think it runs slow now, try maxing out memory
4- Use a Bluetooth headset
5- Keep reading this forum, many great ideas & programmers
After the above I like it, maybe not better than the Treo but it's every bit as good just a little different. I actually like Activesync better than Palms, really why push a button, it should just do it.

hanguolaohu said:
1. MDA is SLOW. When I want to call someone, the default software's call list takes forever to pull someone's name up. While I'm driving, this makes me 10x more likely to have an accident just waiting for the thing to pull up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use MS Voice Command. I use it while driving and I never even have to play with my MDA. I just push the button on the side that I assigned to the MS Voice command program, then I say, Call So and So and work....or home...or cell. It repeats it back, you either say YES if it got it right or NO, if it was a NO, you just repeat it again. It's really a very easy way to make phone calls while you are driving.

update to the T-Mobile 2.26 (if you have MDA T-Mobile). Or install cleaned rom, then install OMAP Plus to overclock you device.
I would know if palm is better than WM5. Windows hands down, i've used all the treos stopping at the 650. Horrible compare to any XDA. And i have used all the palm devices such as nx90 uh series. all of them cuz i sell them. Not great

hanguolaohu said:
I would really like to get the Treo 700p, but I have 9 more months of my T-mobile contract. I wish I could get out and try Verizon's EVDO
Hanguo Laohu
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use a air card EVDO adapter for my laptop for Verizon's EVDO. You will not get half the speed on any PPC/Palm because of their processors. Your best using your laptop for EVDO.
On my phone I just use Wi-Fi.

With BlueTooth headset and MS Voice Command, I do not even have to touch my MDA to make a phone call. 8)

to really see the difference between WM5 and Palm one should use the exchange activesync or the blackberry connect options on WM5 over the Palm ... i've configured so many palms but i would say WM5 is a much better OS than Palm when it comes to what it could possibly do.
When it comes to stability, both of them are the same. Out of 10 Palm Treo users, the one who decided on getting the Treo 700w was the only who hasn't really complained about anything.
if i were you, i would get a third party exchange hosting account which would cost around 12USD a month and see how different it is. With this service, you can have you email, contacts, calendar, and tasks (PIM) synchronized over the air to your mobile, laptop, desktop, pc or Mac ... no more bluetooth or usb activesyncing ....
choosing between GSM and CDMA is another issue ... if you choose CDMA over GSM then that means that you are stuck in the US, Japan (in some parts) and Korea and maybe another handful countries ... while if you decide on going GSM, you have the option of going to almost any country in the world since GSM is the global standard. ... even verizon's mother company, Vodafone is one of the biggest GSM service providers in the world (tell that to the government which made Vodafone use CDMA here in the US)
As far as the MDA, it has been known that the HTC Wizard (T-Mobile MDA Vario / MDA) is underpowered but having like a Universal or Blue Angel you would see the difference in performance.
Currently, i'm using a Qtek 8500 and it's quite snappy and it uses the same CPU as the T-Mobile MDA (Vario) ... it kinda slows down whenever i run PocketStreets 2006 (yes 2006!) with my GPS... i'll hold off until i could get the MDA Vario II or Cingular 8525 here locally stateside ... been buying all my gadgets in the UK just because the damn US is so behind in mobile technology ... he he he
Enjoy!

My searching sucks.. Anyway software Push To Talk??

I apologize if this has been tackled... but i searched and came up with nothing relevent... so point me in the right direction or just backhand me
I am a cingular customer and was curious if there is a software based push to talk that i can install on my 8125 that is compatible with their PTT service? I have read that agile messenger does PTT however i have used it in the past and it doesnt seem to work that well...

wait till the 8525 comes out, word is it may have PTT but I have yet to see any specs on it...just an unconfirmed rendering of it.

I'm interested in Cingular PTT for the mda/8125/kjam as well. I'm hoping once the 8525 comes out someone will be able to pull the PTT cab from it and us 8125 users will be able to use it.

roameo said:
I'm interested in Cingular PTT for the mda/8125/kjam as well. I'm hoping once the 8525 comes out someone will be able to pull the PTT cab from it and us 8125 users will be able to use it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not likely; the carrier will likely have to implement services on their network to support it as well. The Nextel solution is based on an entirely different RF radio design; PTT on either a CDMA or GSM network also has to be provisioned -- it's not just software on the two phones, or the call will be dropped.

Agile Messenger (free) has a Push-To-Talk feature, you have to dig a little to find it, but it's in there.

Agile Messenger (free) has a Push-To-Talk feature, you have to dig a little to find it, but it's in there.

I may be wrong but I have come to believe Cingular's PTT is software based after spending many months attempting to get PTT on a Treo 650. I've seen PTT on the officially supported handsets and it looks no different than the application that can be installed on Treos for the Orange network in Europe. I don't see why someone with that application and PTT on their account wouldn't be able to use it without a problem. Having that said, I never got to trying it so I'm not 100% sure but I do know it works differently than Nextel's and even Verizon's so it may not be hardware based at all.

well the nextel's use IDEN on their phones... the cingular PTT works over GSM.. and from what i have been able to tell from digging around that it uses regular data packets over gsm protocol like internet instead of normal phone call transmission... But then again i guess its all data transmission... sorry.. im not awake yet..

cingular ptt
for every ones info and hopefully helps in working toward ptt on the 8125
cingular's ptt service runs off the kodiak system and right now the companies that have it are LG samsung and sony ericsson with nokia working on the project currently

PTT or POC

Is there any soft that allows our trinity to use a Push To Talk or Push Over Cellphone system?
Thnx
J.·.

wish we had ptt here
orange started it,,,,but didn't really tell anyone
so nobody knew about it so nobody used it...orange then caneled it from there network...they make to much money on sms i think

There are 2 options:
1. GSM operator has PTT service, and you can try to use it having proper phone - but I have heard ONLY about few Nokia models.
2. There is a kind of software "like PTT" - you have a group, and send voice via GPRS. I saw it working - but it was very poor even on UMTS network. I don't remember name of the solution :-(
First solution is better - I have used it in Plus GSM network in Poland with Nokia phone - very nice service... but not so many operators have it...
regards.

PTT Option
I ran across this: http://www.tabletmedia.com/products.html
and really wanted to give it a try, but I never seem to have the time. It is pretty expensive too.
Has anyone tried this?
Tom