Database Users

Upgrading to Wm2005 - Opinions

The title is ambiguous enough that it can techically be argued that it belongs in the upgrading forum (since it's about upgrading) or the WM2005 forum, since it's about WM2005, and this forum, since it's asking an opinion petaining to the Himalaya. so if anyone feels it should be relocated, argue it out, or move it if you have the power.
OK, so basically, I currently run my Himalaya with 2003SE, running TomTom 5, and MMS/SMS with all the other default features in use such as calendar, bla bla...
However, WM2005 does look rather attractive and so I was wondering if it was worth upgrading to it, and if there's any special considerations I need to bear in mind, or if anyone has an opinion why I should avoid it, or indeed embrace it, then I'd be interested in what you have to say.

I would also like to know what improvements WM 2005 brings. And if it doesnt work can I bring back WM 2003 SE by hard resetting my device ?

I installed it, nothing like firsthand experience.
you can revert back by flashing 2003(SE) back to the PDA.
personally, I think it's certainly worth trying, just set yourself up with a RAMdisk, or you really waste space

Try it, I love WM2005, it runs smooth as hell on my device! Everything works flawlessly.

i have this cd where i placed all the programs and apps that i use or would like to have on my xda. anytime i'm forced to do a hard reset i simply reinstall them. the only app that doesn't work with my upgrade to wm2005 is animated today...then again i did write to the developer and they said they're working on getting an update for wm2005 compatibility. so the only thing you might encounter is an app that doesn't work right with wm2005 since it was originally designed to run with older rom versions (like se). and it's been 3 or 4 months since i did my wm2005 upgrade; haven't done a hard reset yet as everything is stable.
other than that i think wm2005 rocks. buzz, xda2jojo, toenailed, and toflock are among those who did an incredible job in bringing wm2005 to the xda2.

From Symbina UIQ to Wizard

any one here switched to wizard from a Symbian device like Sony Ericsson P800, P900 ,P910 ? I would like to know how you feel with the new Wizard
any CONs and PROs to the Symbian device? Thanks for sharing

rookery, I don't have the wizard, (I've got Magician and Universal), but I used a p900 for a year:
I think the p900 is ergonomically a better designed phone, particularly with the keypad. The 5 way rocker switch is a work of genius and I spent weeks getting anywhere near that level of usability out of my phone's hardware buttons.
Sony stuff works better out of the box as a phone, whereas Microsoft's stuff is better as a PDA then a phone, although the Sony is worse as a PDA then a phone. However, the p900 is a good enough PDA, particularly for contacts and PIM stuff.
Lack of Outlook categories on the p900 PIM was horrifying.
I miss popontop, although I use bigkeys as a fairly good stand in (not an issue on the wizard)
Tracker was and is great; Wisbar desktop advance is only just beginning to get close to the same functionality.
My two pence's worth :wink:
V

HI vijay555, thanks for sharing,
Yes Tracker is Great, the only think missed is Chinese support.
I have my P800 for nearly three years, I am happy with my P800 in the first two yesr, but the way it sync with outlook, less memory, without Wi-Fi makes me consider to switch to PPC.
I have QuickOffice Installed, I am happy with it too, wonder if the Word and Excel Mobile work better or not,
with 64MB Ram, did your Universal respond smoothly with multi application running in the background, say with E-mail, Calendar, Contacts and Notes running, is it slowly when switching between them ?
and did you move you SMS to your Magician successfully ?
Thanks

Let's see:
SMS from Magician. I don't think I moved them across, from memory I don't think SMSi are stored on the SIM with the newer phones (because of the 10 sms limit). But if you're moving to pocketpc, search for an app by a guy called ToeNailed to do this.
Yes, I liked the p900, and think it's form factor is still great. It's nicely landscape: I gave mine to my missus to use, and I'm quite surprised how much brighter the Magician's screen is (particularly with my program VJLumos, which no one seems to use!) but i never noticed it at the time.
I used to use smartplayer and that was fine, although I have to say that SD card compatibility is a very big issue for me. Mini SDs are still not cheap or big enough I think, so full SD was important to keep a whole film on. Most of the time I'm only using 200mb of files, + 700mb film on occassions. The magician's screen was fine for this, and the universal's bigger screen is even better.
I'm not sure how the wizard is for film playback because it has a slower processor, although reports say that it's fine.
Wireless syncing: that's great, although be aware that WM5 doesn't allow wireless syncing. If I need to, I bluetooth sync (the bluetooth adaptor is around £6 on ebay) which is convenient. A wifi+keyboard (universal) is very nice and usable for browsing the net from bed (I can also do that with bluetooth syncing, but through the wifi router I don't need the main pc to be on, as for bluetooth)
From memory, quick office is better than the pocketpc equivalents. WM5's pocket office stuff is quite good, but frankly if you're doing word processing, get TextMaker for a true mini-Word, full compatibility. It's hefty but works well (not sure if it's WM5)
I've not encountered any speed issues on my Universal, although I never installed anything from the extended ROM and always use SmallMenuPlus. I've not installed too much, for me it's just a test system and not my main phone. However, you may know the MS OSs don't close tasks, just minimize them, so it's a good habit to close apps properly using a task manager like small menu every time you're finished. As I say, I've never had speed issues, it's fast enough. I'd kill for a graphic accelerator though! (Quake III!)
I've been quite cruel to the Universal, it is big, but not enormous, and for what it packs in it's great. But the wizard is a great compromise on size. I'd have bought one, but I really wanted full SD. The Magician is still my baby, and that stay in my pocket.
The universal's VGA screen is great at full VGA, but will make me blind:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
so I'd like to specify a VGA screen on any future system, but then the Magician/Wizard form factor makes a VGA screen unnecessary I think. It's already too small on the Universal's bigger screen.
Tracker is still great. I'm working on something similar to use on my PPC one day.
Programming for the operating system is very important to me, and I've been getting into this over the last month or two on the PPC, and I never considered it on the p900, so that's a big plus for me.
V

symbian and wm5.0 is two diffrent os types. wm5.0 gives ya alot more then those stupid symbian phones doesn't have

q-biq: WM5 is good, Wm2003SE was good enough for what it was, and UIQ has it's good bits.
If you're thrown at the operating system for whatever reason, you'll make the most of it. There's a hell of a lot of things that aren't intuitive on the PPC, but likewise on UIQ.
PPCs have the benefit of hefty CPUs, basically because they have a fairly bloated OS, but the benefits of the OS from a programming point of view is that you can go coding from windows to PPC quite easily.
But there are benefits to UIQ, and certainly to the design of the p900. But I would still certainly go for the MS phones over the p900 if I had to choose again. The Hermione looks cute though, but there is definately a difference between phone+pda and pda+phone.
V

vijay555 said:
The Hermione looks cute though, but there is definately a difference between phone+pda and pda+phone.
V
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have watch some demo video of the P990i, well the interface just basically slow, and I have tried the UIQ3 Emu and found that I like the UIQ2.1 more,so I will go for a PPC Phone like Wizard or something better with the same size. I just wondering the CPU of Wizard is powerful enought and the NEW WM5.0 is stable enought to replace my life with my P800, Mpeg4 playing, Word and Excel Editing, Web browsing, taking Email with attachment always with me, and all day battery life.
and i heard that P990i will work with Activesync, hope it is true.
http://www.fs-newmobile.com/images/...on_p990i_01.avi
http://www.fs-newmobile.com/images/...on_p990i_02.avi
http://www.fs-newmobile.com/images/...on_p990i_03.avi
http://www.fs-newmobile.com/images/...on_p990i_04.avi
http://www.fs-newmobile.com/images/...on_p990i_05.avi
http://www.fs-newmobile.com/images/...on_p990i_06.avi
http://www.fs-newmobile.com/images/...on_p990i_07.avi
http://www.fs-newmobile.com/images/...on_p990i_08.avi
http://www.fs-newmobile.com/images/...on_p990i_09.avi
http://www.fs-newmobile.com/images/...on_p990i_10.avi
http://www.fs-newmobile.com/images/...on_p990i_11.avi
http://www.fs-newmobile.com/images/...on_p990i_12.avi
http://www.fs-newmobile.com/images/...on_p990i_13.avi
http://www.fs-newmobile.com/images/...on_p990i_14.avi
www.newmobile.nl/Image_Viewer.php?Toem_nr=10417

Rookery,
I have been following up with Hermione for about a month now. The slow interface that you mwntioned about is cause it is a alpha test device. They haven't even gotten into the beta development stage. Wait a min, I think they are into that now, if SE wnats to keep their promise of launching their device by Q1 of 2006.
I started of with the Imate JAM, my first ever PDA device. But looking at Hermione, I am thinking of moving to that, probably will. Whats enticing me into buying it is cause of the ability to have one handed usage. I miss that very much on the JAM.
I know there are lots of softwares out there that makes you do one handed usage, especially Vijay's Dialer and SMS. But still I would like to be able pres the button's and actually feel them, while having an option of touch screen
Also I think the symbian devices have a lot more out of the box. Like now with UIQ3 you get an interface like what you would get if you were to install SPB Pocket Plus. Also there's a voice dialer. You wouls say,why not be happy with the 3rd party apps that you can install, well that eats into your internal memory or storage card space. But when you have apps built in out of the box, you have the internal memory for other use.
MS does a lot of things, but they take ages to get things right. And moreover they use us as test dummies!! Hwne you think about it, you pay a lot of money to get a fully functional device, not one where you have to spend more on apps to get it functioning to how you would like it.
But like I said one handed usage is one thats going to make me buy the Hermione and the other is the accessories available. Thats one thing I found lagging in the Imate. Accessories are made by other companies, while SE has their own.
Ah well, to everyone, their love..
Regards,
James

Really hope that the UIQ3 will release on Q1 2006 with smoothly interface, while there will be new Wizard with 3G called "saw it before in the forum but forgot"?
but the P990 using the same CPU as P800,900 and 910, I don't think that CPU is powerful enought for the new interface.
Did you remember you will have a faster P900 or 910 when you use a empty theme(UI falllback to P800's)? I think the same case will on P990 or even worst, by only using theme will slow down the phone, i don't know why not Sony consider to upgrade the CPU. :?
I have waited almost a year for a device which better to my P800 in every way, well, i still cannot find it. :roll:
haha, if someone can make the UIQ run on the Wizard hardware, it would be nice. :lol:

UIQ is alright, but it's the hardware and software combination that make the px00 work well. The rocker switch, and optionally the keypad are a good combination. I imagine at some point sony will move to a landscape keyboard like the wizard anyway to compete with blackberry.
The cpu was an issue. I used sman, installed the default p800 theme and then used Tracker all the time. Like that it was nice and fast. But loading more than a few apps always took you too close to the edge on the p900. p910 is better, but they all need more ram and a faster cpu.
However, I can now use my magician perfectly well with one hand. I miss the 5 way switch, and managed to emulate it fairly well with buttonmax and the record and camera button with the volume slider on the magician, but now I just use SmallMenu plus assigned to one hardware button, and ProgramMenu assigned to another. That way, I can launch most apps etc with one hand and the direction pad very easily.
But, the px00s are a different technology; they are fine as phones, but don't have the cpu to do stuff like watching highres videos in native formats. First, Memory stick is too expensive, and second, the conversion of the high res/bitrate video to a smaller size is just not worth the effort. You might get away with it, but not without dropping some frames.
So, it depends what you want. If interface is the problem, I'd still get an MS based phone and work on the interface. Complaining about out of the box experience is a little short sighted: the whole point of the MS phones (as far as I'm concerned) is that the out of the box phone is minimal, and I can doctor it to my heart's content. Not everyone will do that, but shame on them
I use my ToggleToday and VJDialer on my Today screen all the time. I can dial and see appointments etc no problem. SmallMenu means I can do full task management and launching without ever touching the start menu or program menu. It's less intuitive then the rocker on px00, but that will always be the case until someone sticks a 5 way rocker into an HTC phone. And that's not going to happen, so we have to live with it.
I'm planning/working on a considerable number of new UI developments going forward, so for me I'll get the phone working how I want it to, one way or the other. But again, not everyone wants to do that, but for them, Wisbar Advance Desktop should meet most needs.
The Sony's cpu etc will be a limitation going forward because they make it a phone first. Hermione might be faster, and needs to be really (I find all symbian stuff too slow), and it'll be nice hardware, but if it's the same cpu,
Whether WM5 is stable enough? That's a relative question. I've never had WM5 crash or hang or go slow, but although I hack mine up a lot etc, I haven't overloaded it with o2 interface etc. It works as expected, or better. But then, my Magician has always been sound as well, only hangs when I do something dodgy. It's not like the old days with the SPV, where bugs made some things entirely unusable. The OS is now stable and developed enough to "work": whether that is enough is down to preference and your propensity to tinker.
Phew. That took some typing!
Oh, and I never used my p900 with the keypad. Although hardware keys and feedback are nice, it made it too chunky. Personal taste though.
V

Well, I personally had a Nokia 6600 - it's a classic already, though its's not one of the deviced mentioned above :wink:
A couple of days ago I switched to XDA Mini S from O2 Germany (a.k.a. HTC Wizard). For me that was as huge as moving from 6100 to 6600 step. I'm going pro with the pen, though it's much easier to use the "phone" functions with buttons. Yeah, not just once I've seen P800/P900 and I can say Windows is muuuuch better (apart from the fact that I've been using Windows for 10 years now ).
Yeah, Symbian is nice, good support but Microsoft just rock for the UI. And all the extras that these small "guys" provide - I haven't seen a Symbian device that powerful yet. And Nokia's 9 series - just too big to fit in my pocket
So, you've got a thumb up for the WM5. And I think it's just starting to get better

Hi,
I recently switched from my 2 year old P900 to the HTC Wizard (mda Vario).
It is surely a big difference to handle with the new Phone. But within 2-3 days i learned how to find out the new functions. Before i bought the phone i expected to miss the Keypad from the P900. But i don´t. The Qwertz Keypad is a great thing. What i definetely miss is the clear overview of all programms in a row from the p900. But i don´t care, windows mobile is like Windows Xp and thats why it is easy to find out the functions out of the Menu. :wink: I´m also active in the biggest German Sony-Ericsson Board: www.se-community.com since 2003. The Board with first SE Previews next to mobile-review. But the Wizards beats the P900!
You should change!

hi there, wonder where you got that home screen on the picture you posted on your reply. i am reffering where you have a few pictures/ weather info/ and all the small icons for the different programs. help much appreciated.
cheers
ragu

Who you talking to rags_999?
V

hi vijay,
it was you i was adressing regarding the picture of the screen you posted in one of your earlier replies in the same subject. i am reffering to the one with the weather info/ pictures/ and lots of other shortcut icons on the today screen. which software is this.
cheers
ragu

this is the today screen i am reffering to. could u please tell me the software you used.
cheers

hi vijay 555. wonder where you got this today skin from. please let me know
cheers

hi vijay 555. wonder where you got this today skin from. please let me know
cheers

Hey Rags, I get the message!
Have a read about my plugin, VJEphemeris, here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=32486&start=7
It's a continuous work in progress/testbed for me, so it's not really for release.
The rest of my setup from top to bottom:
ToggleToday to remove startbar and newbar (updated soon)
My phonealarm skin available here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=27331&highlight=vjephemeris
AlarmToday (has been resource hacked to suit my theme, but not shown on that screenshot)
Weather panel
VJTodaySpacer (not released yet, coming soon)
VJEphemeris, including VJQOTD, VJAudioNotes, a today launcher, clock and some other stuff.
V

hi vijay, thanks for that. what about the weather panel. where do you get that
cheers

*****NOOB WITH A JAMin***%#$%#$%$#%$#%$#%$#%$#%#

Hi guys,
Recently i have just purchased a brand new I-MATE jamin...i have been using it for over a week and have noticed a few things...
In the instructions manual it makes reference to some additional programs such as "skype" , "smart dialer" and "clearVUE pdf reader"....however when i recieved my phone, it did not come with these applications....any suggestions?
Also i have noticed that the included battery only lasts for MAX of 1 and a half days of normal usage...i dont use WIFI or BLUETOOTH often...just mainly use it as a phone..also the screen brightness is adjusted to the 2nd lowest scale...is the battery use normal ??? Also is it safe to buy one of those after market batteries from ebay as use it as a secondary battery????
Also i have read from various sources that the ROM of the jamin can be upgraded, although i have no idea how to do so..can anyone point me in the right direction? At the moment the specs of my JAMin are:
Rom version: 2.13.9.23 WWE
ROM date: 2/23/06
Radio version: 1_02.20.21
Protocol version: 4.1.13.9
IPL: 2.13.0001
SPL: 2.13.0001
I have no clue as to what the numbers mean except for the ROM...can anyone please tell me what the other numbers such as IPL and SPL mean? Also can anyone suggest any ROMs??
Sorry for so many questions...i am truly a noob with a JAMin...
thanks guys

YOU NEED TO DO A LITTLE MORE READING AND A LITTLE LESS ASKING
just kidding.... welcome to the forum... No n00b bashing from me...
coz then I'd have to bash myself too
1. You can download skype from the skype website - try it if you have friends that use skype.
I haven't bothered as it takes a lot of CPU, and I think it can only use the headset or the speaker on the back of the phone.
You can download clearvue pdf reader, but I prefer adobe reader lite...
smartdial AFAIK is just what happens when you are typing a number to call, and the phone picks out matching contacts before you finish typing.
2. yeah, battery is lame. Go and live next door to a mobile phone transmitter, that will help
Seriously a lot of people get a spare battery, you could try underclocking the phone using "batterystatus", but then you will lose speed.
Make sure you have the power setting to turn off when not used (it still receives calls)
3. yes you can upgrade wm6 is shiny and new but there are bugs reported in pretty much every WM6 ROM so far.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=310452
I'm using TNT professional right now, it's pretty nice.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=330289
ipl=initial program loader
spl=secondary program loader
this is the bootloader, this runs before Windows loads up.
Sometimes if there is a problem upgrading you can fix it by writing a new ROM in bootloader mode
from the wiki
(http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=HTC_Prophet)
[one of the] ways to enter the bootloader on the Prophet:
Hold down the camera button and reset the device. (Boot Loader Mode is: Press Camera + Soft Reset, then release soft reset and keep pressing camera button till appear the Boot Loader.)
This will start the bootloader, and red/green/blue colour bands will be displayed on the device.
Once the colour bands are displayed you can connect to the device via USB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

triplejay said:
YOU NEED TO DO A LITTLE MORE READING AND A LITTLE LESS ASKING
just kidding.... welcome to the forum... No n00b bashing from me...
coz then I'd have to bash myself too
1. You can download skype from the skype website - try it if you have friends that use skype.
I haven't bothered as it takes a lot of CPU, and I think it can only use the headset or the speaker on the back of the phone.
You can download clearvue pdf reader, but I prefer adobe reader lite...
smartdial AFAIK is just what happens when you are typing a number to call, and the phone picks out matching contacts before you finish typing.
2. yeah, battery is lame. Go and live next door to a mobile phone transmitter, that will help
Seriously a lot of people get a spare battery, you could try underclocking the phone using "batterystatus", but then you will lose speed.
Make sure you have the power setting to turn off when not used (it still receives calls)
3. yes you can upgrade wm6 is shiny and new but there are bugs reported in pretty much every WM6 ROM so far.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=310452
I'm using TNT professional right now, it's pretty nice.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=330289
ipl=initial program loader
spl=secondary program loader
this is the bootloader, this runs before Windows loads up.
Sometimes if there is a problem upgrading you can fix it by writing a new ROM in bootloader mode
from the wiki
(http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=HTC_Prophet)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THanks for the reply triplejay,
As far as i know, my JAMin doesn't come with smartdialer at all!!! When i dial numbers, it doesnt match any of them before i finish typing!! Could this be due to the version of my ROM??
Also with regards to ROMs, is it better to upgrade to a newer ORIGINAL ROM (ie. a ROM date is made by I-MATE) or should I upgrade to one of the "aftermarket ROMs found on this website?

JAMinGUY said:
As far as i know, my JAMin doesn't come with smartdialer at all!!! When i dial numbers, it doesnt match any of them before i finish typing!! Could this be due to the version of my ROM??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
could be, not too sure about smartdial to be honest
JAMinGUY said:
Also with regards to ROMs, is it better to upgrade to a newer ORIGINAL ROM (ie. a ROM date is made by I-MATE) or should I upgrade to one of the "aftermarket ROMs found on this website?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, if you depend on your phone for work or anything, I'd suggest sticking with an official ROM for now. If you don't mind the odd bug*, then join the "aftermarket" club!
*e.g. bluetooth stereo headsets work with good quality on the newest ROMS, however every time I reset the phone I have to re-pair the headset with it.
Internet works well, good integration of Windows Live, however, sometimes after a reset I have to re-confirm the internet settings for it to work.
Those are the only two I've experienced with this ROM (TNT)
You might want to wait a bit, newer ROMS are coming I think, maybe without these bugs...
I attach an example of my today screen on WM6

Hi triple jay,
Your today screen looks totally different to mine...mine is still the original WM 5.0 screen...just wondering, did you make your today screen look like that by just installing the TNT ROM? Or do you have any other programs installed such as WISBAR..
Also after a week of use, i have noticed the BACK SPEAKER of my JAMin to distort occassionally when playing ringtones (set on the HIGHEST sound level)...is my speaker faulty???
Thanks for your help mate

Hi,
1. The lack of application could be due to lack of customization on your unit and it is just a generic wm5 rom. I would suggest a hard reset (not soft but hard reset) , then press the green send button to erase all the data on your handset. Then wait around 3 seconds after the reboot has finished and customization will commence.
2. The speaker most certainly sounds like it has problems, quite common and it will probably fail. They are cheap to purchase off ebay however installation is quite a bit of work.

Hi, regarding my today screen; no Wisbar, I just have Batterystatus installed, http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=270751,
that's the bottom line u can see there
the rest came with the TNT ROM
The bit above batterystatus where it says "sync" is windows live,
then above that is the htc homeplug (part of the ROM) with custom icons (not made by me)!
Reading the forums, I think quite a lot of people have had troubles with the speaker...
but I just checked mine and it seems to distort a bit on the very loudest setting too, at least with MP3s.
Like grimmy said, installation of a new one is quite a bit of work though so prob. not worth it unless it dies completely....

Hi triplejay,
I have decided not to tamper around with my ROM just yet until i am familiar with the various available ROMs.
I have instead decided to install some today screen plugins such as wisbar,spb pocket plus etc etc . Do you have any suggestions of TODAY screen plugins that don't slow my JAMin down? I have heard that SPB slows the JAMin down and also has some program compatibility issues.
Thanks

Before I updated my ROM I used to use SPB mobile shell, and SPB pocket plus.
There's no denying they take up a lot of space on your device though,
Speed wise, any slowdown seemed negligable, but then I had overclocked from day 1 so that prob. helped.
I haven't tried the latest wisbar, but the older versions I did try seemed quite good. Might try the new version out actually.
There are some freeware alternatives;
claunch is an older one
http://home.pacific.net.sg/~welic/claunch.html
https://sourceforge.net/projects/claunch/
rltoday is pretty cool
http://rotlaus-software.de/
lots of good user made skins on their site
http://rotlaus-software.de/forum/viewforum.php?id=5
I listen to a lot of music so the other thing I used to use was a plug-in that showed media player on the today screen,
e.g. the one at the bottom of this post or the newer HTC one http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=1318018&postcount=14

triplejay said:
Before I updated my ROM I used to use SPB mobile shell, and SPB pocket plus.
There's no denying they take up a lot of space on your device though,
Speed wise, any slowdown seemed negligable, but then I had overclocked from day 1 so that prob. helped.
I haven't tried the latest wisbar, but the older versions I did try seemed quite good. Might try the new version out actually.
There are some freeware alternatives;
claunch is an older one
http://home.pacific.net.sg/~welic/claunch.html
https://sourceforge.net/projects/claunch/
rltoday is pretty cool
http://rotlaus-software.de/
lots of good user made skins on their site
http://rotlaus-software.de/forum/viewforum.php?id=5
I listen to a lot of music so the other thing I used to use was a plug-in that showed media player on the today screen,
e.g. the one at the bottom of this post or the newer HTC one http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=1318018&postcount=14
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi triplejay,
In regards to using SPB mobile shell, and SPB pocket plus, did you install these programs into your JAMin's phone storage memory or on the SD card? I have heard that installing programs into the phone's SD card causes the programs to run slower because the phone needs time to access the programs..and also how did these programs affect your memory?? used up alot of memory ?? Also would I still be able to set my own today backgrounds using these programs or can i only use the themes designed for these programs???
thanks for your help, your posts have been a lot of help to a newbie like myself

JAMinGUY said:
Hi triplejay,
In regards to using SPB mobile shell, and SPB pocket plus, did you install these programs into your JAMin's phone storage memory or on the SD card? I have heard that installing programs into the phone's SD card causes the programs to run slower because the phone needs time to access the programs..and also how did these programs affect your memory?? used up alot of memory ?? Also would I still be able to set my own today backgrounds using these programs or can i only use the themes designed for these programs???
thanks for your help, your posts have been a lot of help to a newbie like myself
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no problem
I don't think SPB mobile shell gives the option to install to SD card, it's possible with Pocket Plus but not recommended, even by SPB.
I remember reading the following on the SPB site,
and after that always installing stuff that involves the today screen or system to main storage...
We strongly recommend that you not install Spb Pocket Plus to a storage card because storage card drivers can be loaded with up to a 5 second delay after system restart and important files will not be available for loading. One other reason is that Spb Pocket Plus is a system utility and some of its components run in the background. If you remove the storage card Spb Pocket Plus will not be able to load its resources.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...so the space they take up, is on the device and yes it is a fair amount of memory, maybe a fifth of available memory or something... (not sure)
you should be able to use your own pic for the background with all these I think,
the SPB extended themes for example, will set new system colours etc, with a matching background that you can change as normal.

Hi triplejay,
I have downloaded the trial versions of both SPB pocket plus and mobile shell and will install tonight and let you know how it goes...
Although i still have a couple of questions...
Backup programs such as SKTOOLS or sprite backup...should these be installed into the phone's SD card or the phone's memory ?? Also where should i install games????
Also does anyone know the date of the newest official ROM for the imate JAMin?? I have searched the imate site to no avail...
thanks guys

hey, JAMinGUY,
about the latest imate ROM, I wouldn't know, but looking at this blog post from menneisyys;
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/in..._finding_identifying_the&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
and then checking ftp://ftp.clubimate.com/
leads me to believe that the newest available is :
ftp://ftp.clubimate.com/JAMin_WWE_213923_2139123_022021_ship.zip
Could be wrong, just seems to make sense...
I would say definitely put games on the SD card, I've got my backup program (SPB backup) installed on SD too...
the only thing that I would be unsure of is SKtools, but it doesn't seem to run at startup, or run in the background,
so i would say it's probably OK to install to card as well.
...Unless if you did something like ran it off the card, then used it to format the card your running it off. That probably wouldn't be good, lol.

hey guys,
i have been using SPB POCKET PLUS AND SPB MOBILE SHELL (both installed in system memory) for a week now and have noticed some things....
the phone seems slower to respond to screen taps...and also when i lock the phone, sometimes i can't unlock it...i need to soft reset it....
triplejay, do u know of any programs similar to SPB POCKET PLUS that dont have these freezing issues???
cheers mate

JAMinGUY said:
hey guys,
triplejay, do u know of any programs similar to SPB POCKET PLUS that dont have these freezing issues???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
unfortunately not really ...
if u haven't already tried rltoday though, that could be worth a go.
Resco explorer comes with a today plugin, but it's a bit gay, just a few icons, but resco explorer itself is quite good, try the demo if u havent already....
and a couple of threads below this one you will find the htc homeplug (for wm5), personally that homeplug together with batterystatus have filled all my own shortcut related needs....

614c latest ROM experiences and details WITH DOWNLOAD LINK

Hello everyone.
This is my first post. Actually, I added this as a reply on a thread but it's so long and covers so many areas I thought I'd create a new thread from it, if that is ok.
Here are some answers to people's questions on various threads about the 614c ROM images, and my comments particularly on the various ROMs out there.
Here's a link to the latest WM6.1 ROM from a Russian gentleman yevg001 who creates them.
Here's a link to the latest hp official WM6.0 ROM.
1) Yes, you can flash to yevg001 israpda WM6.1 ROMs and then back to the hp WM6.0 ROM from the hp website as often as you like. Flashing from an SD card (not SDHC) has worked reliably several times on my three 614c phones, and flashing using the hp software also works fine (it's much slower because it loads the ROM down a USB cable).
2) The big difference between the yevg001 ROM and the hp ROM is that the hp ROM contains an update to the device firmware, to v0.88 (the latest version). This is of interest if you still have firmware v0.77 (the previous and originally released version). The yevg001 ROMs do not affect your firmware version.
3) If you apply the hp ROM, you cannot get back to v0.77 firmware - I don't think the hp installer will downgrade you, even if you have an old hp ROM image.
4) Why might you want to downgrade to v0.77 device firmware? Because v0.88, while better in numerous ways, has one critical defect: it does not properly support call waiting. When a second call is received (and you hear the beeps in your ear), the active call is affected in that the person you are talking to cannot hear you - and usually hangs up because he/she things you have lost the line. It's very annoying. Other than this, the firmware is better and more stable, due to various minor bug fixes. Fewer missed calls, fewer crashes.
5) Ok, putting aside device firmware and thinking of software... the latest yevg001 ROM is based on hp software image 1.01.04, the latest image at time of writing. yevg001 has also added a few little software applets into the image, but you don't need to use any of these. Obviously, you cannot uninstall them as they are in the ROM, but they also therefore don't take up any usable space.
6) The touchFLO interface is optional. You can easily deactivate it. It looks quite pretty but I have to say I don't like it, so I've deactivated it just by unchecking it in Today settings.
7) The yevg001 WM 6.1 build (I'm using his v1.6) is very good. I have only noticed one major problem with it. The phone is faster than ever before (and I've tried a lot of ROMs). It is quite stable - a couple of crashes but not noticeably more than the hp ROM. The WM6.1 ROM is entirely in English (with the exception that Yevgeny has added in Russian T9 support - not much use without Russian character set). English T9 works as normal.
8) I have also noticed improved battery life. With the latest hp 1.01.04 WM6.0 ROM, I usually get through four fully charged batteries in 24 hours. With the yevg001 v1.6 WM 6.1 ROM, I only get through three. Yes, I'm quite a heavy user but this is a good improvement.
9) The major problem I mentioned in point 7, which won't affect everyone, is that yevg001's ROM does not allow concurrent voice and data usage on a 3G or HSDPA network. How bad is that? Not all 3G phones support this and it is one of the best features of the 614c... My guess is that yevg001 does not even realise this because there is no (or nearly no) 3G in Russia - at least there wasn't last time I was in Moscow in April/May. Basically, if you have any data connection active at the time you place or receive a call, the phone just abruptly drops the data connection. It re-establishes it fine after your call, but no concurrent usage. **If any Russian forum user is reading this, please could you post to yevg001 and ask him if he can address this?**
10) Other experiences based on my regular usage:
a) Bluetooth works fine, neither better nor worse than the standard HP build. I use several BT headsets for calls and also listen to music using A2DP. The A2DP connection seems more stable under WM6.1. In general on the 614c the BT sound level is too low, it does seems a bit lower still with the yevg001 ROM but it was a problem already.
b) Wi-fi works fine, no problems at all with b or g networks.
c) The PIE browser seems to have been slightly improved under WM6.1.
d) The threaded SMS is fantastic! And better than the iphone too because it allows you to delete and to forward individual messages within the thread. The email client seems to be unchanged.
e) I use tomtom navigator 6.3 (western europe) a lot. It works well.
f) Getting a GPS fix can take more than five minutes from cold. If you've used it before on the same day, it's usually less than a minute. I have always found that the 614c is slower to get a fix than the old 6915 which I believe many 614c users upgraded from.
g) Google Maps also works really well, with GPS, and using HSDPA the 614c is fast enough to keep up with your position on a zoomed-in satellite photo while travelling in a car at 30mph (no I wasn't driving!).
h) The media player is ok, I do wish it would read the album artwork out of the mp3 metadata, but that's a slightly off topic observation.
i) The camera is shockingly slow. I use it rarely. The autofocus works quite well.
j) I've had no problems with lots of 8GB SDHC cards.
k) Battery life battery life battery life. The Achilles heel of the 614c. See point 8 above.
m) Activesync seems to work more quickly and more reliably under the WM6.1 ROM than previously.
n) Voice Commander is rubbish. Why do they bother? It takes ages to start up, only works from American accents, is generally slow and intrusive (over other open windows) and is unreliable. MS Voice Command was much better.
Hope all this is interesting! Let me know what you think and if you've got any questions I'll do my best to answer them.
Cheers,
hipppo
p.s. Update as of 22 December:
In case you are looking to download the very latest ROM from the Russian expert yevg001, here it is:
http://rapidshare.com/files/174859341/614c_WM6.1_20270_v1.4_rev1.1.rar.html
The password is "israpda.com" (without the quotes).
Yevgeny only created this ROM in the last couple of days and I believe it is based on the latest hp build - he says it is his newest and most stable WM6.1 ROM yet.
I haven't tried it yet.
Merry Christmas
hipppo

Cool, I use also the yevg001's ROM , It work very well. Does someone try his extended battery ? His look unchange? or it look like the Axim X30 with his extended battery?

My experience.
I do agree with the comments. I might add another issue - some of the programs based on netCF don't work - they report errors. I installed netCF3.5 but the problem still persists.

Hi,
I just wanted to thank you for this very detailed post.
It answered a lot of my questions!
Have HP categorically said they won't be releasing an official 6.1 ROM?
Thanks,
Adam

In my Ipaq 614C the word-completion features does not with on-screen keyboard. It's normally cauby by XT9? XT9 work well with the physical keyboard.

vgbvn said:
Cool, I use also the yevg001's ROM , It work very well. Does someone try his extended battery ? His look unchange? or it look like the Axim X30 with his extended battery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i ve bought the extended battery from HP and i have to say that it reallly enhance the use of the 614c ! i haven't really measured but i would say it last 2-3 times later than with the actual battery, using this 6.1 rom. the only drawback is that the phone is now bigger...

In my opinion, it's better to buy another standart battery and charger for it. I used to own a samsung i600 with two batteries - normal and extended and i had a separate charger for the battery. The only problem was, that i had to change the battery cover everytime i change the battery, which is not ery convenient. I think they sell a charger for about 5-6$ so you just charge the other battery and put it in your pocket. If you want to, you can buy two batteries. The ipaq is bulky enough with the normal battery.

HP said that "there aren't any devices made by HP with WM6.1 at the moment so they will have to make tests if the ipaq 610 is compatable with wm 6.1 and then think of releasing update". IMHO this means something like "We are not going to release wm 6.1 update if you want an official wm 6.1 phone go buy something else" . Of course it's compatable with wm 6.1 and it's working much better with it, but they have to pay $$$ to Microsoft so they can use wm 6.1 and they probably won't do that. The truth is, that the ipaq is cheaper then most of the other devices with similar hardware. I don't think that of they release an udate it will be better than the russian rom. The battery drains because you have a very, very fast CPU. I tested it with XcpuScalar and it plays 320x240 MP4 video with decent quality when clocked at 104MHZ. Now you can imagine the excessive power of the CPU, which is utilized at maximum only when playing QUAKE 2 or some playstation emulator, or when using SKYPE.

thanks for the infos but i can't register there to download a rom.what can we do for this?i don't speak russian

Latest Russian ROM
Hello everyone,
In case you are looking to download the very latest ROM from the Russian expert yevg001, here it is:
http://rapidshare.com/files/174859341/614c_WM6.1_20270_v1.4_rev1.1.rar.html
Yevgeny only created this ROM in the last couple of days and I believe it is based on the latest hp build - he says it is his newest and most stable WM6.1 ROM yet.
I haven't tried it yet.

axlastro said:
In my opinion, it's better to buy another standart battery and charger for it. I used to own a samsung i600 with two batteries - normal and extended and i had a separate charger for the battery. The only problem was, that i had to change the battery cover everytime i change the battery, which is not ery convenient. I think they sell a charger for about 5-6$ so you just charge the other battery and put it in your pocket. If you want to, you can buy two batteries. The ipaq is bulky enough with the normal battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i think that i' ll buy this cradle from Brando:
http://shop.brando.com.hk/prod_detail.php?prod_id=02686
it 'll enables me to charge the high capacity battery and the normal battery...

I installed the last ROM update from this thread..
until now, i still haven't found any bugs.. does anyone have found a bugs in this ROM?

I am still using the previous ROM, not the latest one that my link above goes to.
In the previous ROM, the most frustrating bug is the inability to do voice and data at the same time. Initiating or receiving a call immediately terminates the data connection. This is very frustrating - the best thing about 3G is being able to sync emails and so on while talking on the phone, particularly when using the 614c as a high-speed modem for your laptop.
Sadly, no more of this for me... the benefits of the Russian WM6.1 ROM outweigh this (albeit quite big) disadvantage.

Hi all
I installed the last ROM (20757) update from this thread and i dont see any news progams inside :
has also added a few little software applets into the image, but you don't need to use any of these.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found only basics HP and Microsoft programs on this rom.
Thanks

mire93600 said:
Hi all
I installed the last ROM (20757) update from this thread and i dont see any news progams inside :
I found only basics HP and Microsoft programs on this rom.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the beauty of your iPAQ,
you can tweak it in any way you like.
mine after I installed new ROM >> very stable (recomended)
miroslav.turek said:
Yevg001 has his iPAQ back from service and prepared new ROM:
OS 5.2.20757 (Build 20757.1.4.0) Ver 1.5
http://rapidshare.com/files/163730994/614c_wm61_20757.rar
Password: israpda.com
ROM was tested only one day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tweak with usefull application:
** TouchFLO2D/Manilla2D Skins
with a little bit change assigning voice commander button into <scroll right> function
herg62123 said:
ALL DEVICES (VERSION 19b) WITH YOUTUBE ON INTERNET WIDGET
RAPIDSHARE.........................MEGAUPLOAD​
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
>>> it's a zip file, Install application #09 only **09 Manila2D_0.11.all.devices**
then install Manilla 2D Customizer by mpenguin14 to configure it:
mpenguin14 said:
Manilla 2D Customizer (M2DC)
LATEST DOWNLOAD HERE (January 30 v0.28.233)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
then find the skin >> here
WARNING >> not all skins works well.. if you find not working skin, you can always try others.
and many others usefull and stable application:
Opera9.5.2392_WWE, AudioManager_2.0_1819.2129, and others (Install application inside Manila2D_0.11.all.devices** zip file)
Resco file & Registry Explorer 2008
usefull app from lots of http://www.dotfred.net/
(recommended) SH4Ys Pim Backup 2.8.CAB >> Backup tool Messages, Contacts, Logs, Tasks, appointment >> download here
AND MANY OTHERS APPLICATION !!!!!
(credits to all developer)

Move outlook message to storage card
found an article very useful for heavy e-mail user (like me) >> here so you can download large attachment file.
here it is:
Using a registry editor, create or edit the following entries:
HKLM\\System\Inbox\Settings\PropertyPath with value \Storage Card\Messaging
HKLM\\System\Inbox\Settings\AttachPath with value \Storage Card\Messaging\Attachments
Then move the entire Messaging folder under \Windows to \Storage Card and do a soft reset.
do carefully, i'm a newbie
One caveat is that you need to disable the "Messaging" Today plugin before your soft reset. If you don't do this, a second "\Storage Card" folder will be created in your ROM and your real Storage Card will be renamed "\Storage Card2", which isn't very useful is it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
to edit registry >> use PHM Registry Editor to your Pocket PC to edit the registry...
to disable the Messaging Plugin, click on Start, Settings, Today, Items and untick the Messaging option...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
anw, I'm using resco explorer to edit registry

hipppo said:
I am still using the previous ROM, not the latest one that my link above goes to.
In the previous ROM, the most frustrating bug is the inability to do voice and data at the same time. Initiating or receiving a call immediately terminates the data connection. This is very frustrating - the best thing about 3G is being able to sync emails and so on while talking on the phone, particularly when using the 614c as a high-speed modem for your laptop.
Sadly, no more of this for me... the benefits of the Russian WM6.1 ROM outweigh this (albeit quite big) disadvantage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Hipppo,
do you have any news about a newer ROM that does not have this problem ?
after using it a while did you find any other problem related to theses cooked rom ?
are thoses new ROMs comming with NetCF3.5 or older ?

Hello Albertorrent,
I have stopped using the yevg001 ROM mentioned in my first posting and I am now using his latest ROM which I think is called Build 20270.1.3.1 v1.4 rev1.2.
I have found this ROM to be stable, no problems. I recommend it.
It allows concurrent voice and data usage.
I am afraid my limited technical knowledge does not allow me to understand your question about NetCF3.5.
hipppo

Thanks,
I ordered my phone monday so I Might have it at the end of the week.
I'll try this new rom.
net CF is usefull to run some applications that has been developped whith it.
I just know that some application cannot install and run if there is not the latest CF (3.5) instaled
for exemple this one :
http://www.retrobits.net/ppc/ppc.shtml
you can find it here :
http://www.pocketpcfreeware.com/fr/index.php?soft=1187
thanks

just google it
albertorrent - i have the netcf3.5 as a separate Cab and i install in on the SD card. I haven't noticed any problem using it that way. I think it was somewhere on the forum but you can always google it. If you can't find it i can e-mail it to you. Right now i don't have it installed and I don't miss it much but some programs require it. At the moment I'm using the latest official 6.0 rom and i find the machine quite stable and fast with it. I had the 1.6 version of the russian 6.1 rom but for now i'm with 6.0

improving interface BA wm6 helmi

Let me first say, I'm pretty new to all this and i'm sorry for maybe asking stupid questions.
I have the German T-Mobile MDA III with Camera and I just recently updated it with one (I don't remember which, most wouldn't work) of helmi's wm6 releases.
My first questions are about the OS or this version:
After there seems to be no ram-disk anymore, and no possibility to decide, how much memory goes to programs and how much to storage, where's all the memory gone and how can anybody live with just 43mb storage, that's not enough for just my basic programs, because with office, tcpmp, spb pocketplus and spb online it's more than full and i hardly have space for emails, IE cache or rss cache, and even after uninstalling everything but tcpmp there's just free space of 11mb, is there a newer, maybe faster version out, with more storage space?
Another thing is: i installed helmi's htc home for wm5, the wm6 version wouldn't work (don't ask me why, i'm pretty new to all this) and i like it allthough spb mobile shell is pretty nice too, but not constantly on the today screen, are there other good "surfaces" i really like this touchflo cube, is there an easy-to-install version for blueangel?
my general point is, i want to update my system again, because the version i have is rather laggy (and slow, sometimes freezes, takes much space) on my device and i want some nice black surface, animated and finger-controlled, having photocontacts, an app-launcher and stuff like that.
Thanks in advance, and sorry again for my lousy english and my beeing a n00b.
Chef_Tony
T-Mobile MDAIII
operator T-Mobile D
CE OS 5.2.2000 (Build 20000.1.0.0.PV.HAT)

in addition
in addition i would like to know whether the bluetooth and wi-fi bugs have been cancelled out, because i can hardly have wireless transfers?
wi-fi always switches off a second after being switched on, but sometimes, when i get it to work, it wouldn't connect to wpa APs, just open and wep s,
and regarding bluetooth, in wm2003se i got used to being able to configure BT properly, choose my devices name and have constant connections and stuff, there's hardly anything you can do in the config and transfers of files wouldn't work either way, in or out, as i can't properly pair up with normal mobiles

Chef_Tony said:
Let me first say, I'm pretty new to all this and i'm sorry for maybe asking stupid questions.
I have the German T-Mobile MDA III with Camera and I just recently updated it with one (I don't remember which, most wouldn't work) of helmi's wm6 releases.
My first questions are about the OS or this version:
After there seems to be no ram-disk anymore, and no possibility to decide, how much memory goes to programs and how much to storage, where's all the memory gone and how can anybody live with just 43mb storage, that's not enough for just my basic programs, because with office, tcpmp, spb pocketplus and spb online it's more than full and i hardly have space for emails, IE cache or rss cache, and even after uninstalling everything but tcpmp there's just free space of 11mb, is there a newer, maybe faster version out, with more storage space?
Another thing is: i installed helmi's htc home for wm5, the wm6 version wouldn't work (don't ask me why, i'm pretty new to all this) and i like it allthough spb mobile shell is pretty nice too, but not constantly on the today screen, are there other good "surfaces" i really like this touchflo cube, is there an easy-to-install version for blueangel?
my general point is, i want to update my system again, because the version i have is rather laggy (and slow, sometimes freezes, takes much space) on my device and i want some nice black surface, animated and finger-controlled, having photocontacts, an app-launcher and stuff like that.
Thanks in advance, and sorry again for my lousy english and my beeing a n00b.
Chef_Tony
T-Mobile MDAIII
operator T-Mobile D
CE OS 5.2.2000 (Build 20000.1.0.0.PV.HAT)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 43 Mb of storage means that you did not unlock the Extended Rom in 2003 and/or you did not resize it. Go back to 2003SE and follow the instructions in the wiki on how to upgrade from 2003SE to the latest 2003SE release. Then, once you have unlocked and resized the ExtRom, you will have more storage for your BA and you can upgrade to either WM5 or WM6 (or 6.1)... your choice really.
As far as the memory slider, M$ got rid of that with the introduction of RamDisk (this is preset in the rom by the chef or you can change it by Hex editing your nbf before flashing) in WM5. Don't worry too much about it. If you flash your phone correctly, your storage should be as high as ~90 Mb.
Again, follow the instructions in the wiki (do not skip steps), and you should be ok.

thank you
thank you very much for the quick answer, but could you also give me the link to the latest fast working rom version, i tried downloading the sun_dream roms, but there is just an .nbf file and i don't know how to do that, is that uncompiled or anything, everything else i found already, and what do i have to do to resize the storage space in 2003se, as i may recall, i'm rather new to all this, and i can't flash from my computer, as for some strange reason, whenever i try flashing on vista, in the middle of it, the driver changes and the connection's gone, so i gotta do it from an xp machine, as this seems to be the easiest way to avoid the driver stupidity, vista brought

Just download any of xplode's roms and repalce the nbf with sun_dream's. For some reason, sun never puts the tools needed to upgrade with his roms. And you are right about Vista, it is a pain in the a*&. You are better off using an XP machine if you have access to it. Good luck!