Database Users

New XDAIIi user a little disheartened

Hi, this is my first post to these forums, although I did spend a couple of hours browsing after finding them last night.
Having played with my wife's month old Mio168/TomTom5 and loved it, I decided that when my CPW/o2 contract was up I'd go for a pda/phone rather than the SE K750i I had previously been planning on.
I did just a little research and went for the XDAIIi over the MDAIII (don't like T-Mobile's pricing!) and XDAIIs (no wi-fi, slower and unnecessary keyboard).
I initially thought I had a great unit but things haven't been as smooth as I expected.
http://www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk supplied me with a Holux combined GPS receiver/cradle, Kingston 512MB SD card and screen protector at very reasonable prices and with swift delivery.
First thing I noticed was that whenever the phone utility was brought on-screen, it showed me that my last caller was the very first person I had phoned on it. After any call, the same info would pop back to the display, too.
Another little thing that surprised me was the SIM code entry. I have set an 8 digit code. When I enter the first number it appears on the display as an asterisk but when I hit the second, the first two numbers appear (the asterisk changes to the digit). Is this normal or a quirk of having '08' as the first two digits of my code?
TomTom5 installed fine but kept randomly freezing (whenever a call or txt msg came in it was certain to happen) so I contacted o2 Customer Support who told me to take it back to be checked out.
Three days after installing the card (and before I had taken the unit for its o2 'inspection') the SD card suddenly 'disappeared'. Actually, it's shot; it isn't recognised by my XDAIIi, my work supervisor's XDAIIi, my wife's Mio168 or my computer's USB card reader. I researched this a little and found it a fairly common occurence but the only recommendation seems to be to format it. HELLO? How does one format something that no equipment recognises? Fools!
Actually, while googling the SD card problem I found people recommending the removal of o2 Active to cure TomTom lockups. o2 Tech-Supp were very helpful with this - instructing me how to hard reset and install 'corporate' using the 0506 password. This appears to have cured almost all TomTom problems although I need more than the old 128MB MM card I currently have for storage!
This also fixed the 'last call' bug I'd been experiencing.
Having found this marvellous forum, I set about finding info for the XDAIIi and promptly discovered that the wikki bears little specifically for it. I would update it but don't know enough yet!
I did read a post last night that pointed out to a user that the cradle charges the battery from just the USB port, and not requiring the AC supply so I decided to check it out. Sure enough, the battery is shown as 'charging' but after leaving it overnight, I find that the charge has actually dropped to 87% (still says 'charging', too) from the 95% I left it on.
Perhaps I have a faulty cradle.
It also seems a little odd to me that I can use mp3s for ringtones but can only use wav files for the alarm!
Is there a way to stop the wi-fi 'do you want to connect' popup appearing when TomTom is running other than disabling wi-fi before running it? It's a right pain having TT freeze until I get rid ot the popup.
One other little thing - anyone know how I can ensure that GPRS isn't going to be used for web surfing? I don't want it to be activated accidentally and certainly don't want to go surfing on it for an hour thinking I'm using wi-fi!
Don't get me wrong - overall I'm still happy with the XDAIIi (look -> ) but there's just a few doubts as to whether I went the right way creeping in.

Hi there, im pretty much a "new" user of the XDA 2i aswell but have learnt alot from using this forum.
I have almost the same setup as you now as far as the "corporate" install, TomTom5 etc etc .... but i have updated the ROM on mine to the latest Imate version, which you can find in one of these forums , its called PDA 2K ROM streight from I-MATE or something along them lines.
I would recommend that you update also as it fixed a few problems was having with lockups, but make sure to do alot of research before you attempt it cos you dont want to knacker it up
Anyway .... my cradle charges fine just using the USB (no AC adapter)
Passord thing .... this has came up before , it for some reason displays the digits when the numbers 08 are first , i seem to remember it being something to do with emergancy calling features, although i didnt think that they started with "08" but there ya go
GPRS ... will only activate when you cannot get a Wireless signal, the hirachy is WiFi then GPRS, but to be on the safe side i removed all the setting configurations for the GPRS so it can never connect, i never use it anyway.
Im not sure about the "Do you want to connect" popup you get when running TomTom as it doesnt happen to me , perhaps you have wireless enabled all the time, id tun it off to save your batteries anyway.
well .... i think ive covered a few of the things your asking as good as i can, best of luck with it

Thanks for the reply, Danny.
I haven't had any TomTom problems since 'going corporate' so I'll wait and see how it goes before trying another ROM - taking warranty into consideration too.
Mind you, I haven't received any calls or texts while running TT either so all may not be as it seems.
Hmm. I'm plugged into a 4-port USB hub that came with an external power supply I don't use, so I wonder if that makes a difference. I'll have to pull out the base unit and plug the cradle in there to check charging on that.
I've double checked that I have no settings for GPRS so unless o2 'push' them to me I should be OK.
Yes, I do have wi-fi on all the time and the battery still lasts all the work day with a little usage when time permits. My cradle/GPS receiver charges the pda when it's in there on the way to/from work, so I don't really have to worry about that.
I'd just like to not be bothered by the connection dialogue box rather than have to turn off wi-fi for navigation purposes... have you seen how many networks are open out there? Not just the city centre ones, there are loads of not-very-secure company and household networks that can be connected to and utilised. Free broadband internet - almost makes you want to get a laptop!

the computer to which the cradle is connected via USB must be turned ON, or else there will be no current passing through the cable. Thus, no charging the PDA. The Ipods have the same "handycap". You can always use the AC power adapter...

Karbono said:
the computer to which the cradle is connected via USB must be turned ON, or else there will be no current passing through the cable. Thus, no charging the PDA. The Ipods have the same "handycap". You can always use the AC power adapter...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Quite true, but my charging test was performed while the computer was on and defragmenting my 5 partitions.
Actually, my Soltek motherboard has 'hot' USB ports at the rear that still supply a little 'juice' when the power is off - my USB hub, BT dongle and Intellimouse 4 stay alight when the main machine is off, although I've not bothered to check exactly how much voltage is supplied.

A few questions

Hi all. Sorry for posting this, but the forum search feature hates me so much.
Ok, I hope to get an 02 Exec as a replacement for my damaged XDA2s. Here's a few questions:
1. How long does the battery last assuming I make about 5 minutes coice calls and about average PDA use a day? The Blue Angel was appauling, is it any better?
2. My friend went to buy an Exec from the 02 shop, and 6 out of 8 units they had in the shop had dead pixels on the screens!! Is this a common problem?
3. Can you use the in built self facing camera as a webcam on pocket MSN?
4. Now there is a proper USB slot, can you use the Exec as a webcam for MSN/AIM on your home computer? I know you couldn't with previous models as the data transfer through the cable wasn't quick enough or something.
5. How does bluetooth file send work? Is there a manager like on the Blue Angel with 'browse files on a remote device' option, or is it like on the Himalaya where it is just 'beam' and searches for BT and IR devices at the same time?
6. Is it reliable as a phone?
Cheers - Mike

I have had the imate jas jar for a month now, my experience as follows:-
1. How long does the battery last assuming I make about 5 minutes coice calls and about average PDA use a day? The Blue Angel was appauling, is it any better?
I Get around 2 days out of mine with the sort of usage you describe.
2. My friend went to buy an Exec from the 02 shop, and 6 out of 8 units they had in the shop had dead pixels on the screens!! Is this a common problem?
I have no dead pixels
3. Can you use the in built self facing camera as a webcam on pocket MSN?
Some seem to have got some sort of webcam working but not on MSN (I think)
4. Now there is a proper USB slot, can you use the Exec as a webcam for MSN/AIM on your home computer? I know you couldn't with previous models as the data transfer through the cable wasn't quick enough or something.
See above
5. How does bluetooth file send work? Is there a manager like on the Blue Angel with 'browse files on a remote device' option, or is it like on the Himalaya where it is just 'beam' and searches for BT and IR devices at the same time?
The latter
6. Is it reliable as a phone
No problems in this area at all for me

I get about 1 to 1.5 days usage. This is my typical usage:
- 2.5 hours of ebooks, and PIM (I use a lowish setting for the backlight)
- 20 minutes of surfing on 3G/GPRS
- 10 minutes of email
- 10/15 minutes of calls
No real use of WiFi at the moment.
After the above usage my battery is usually around 28%. If I don't do too much ebook reading my battery is usually around 45% by the end of the day. I will be buying a spare battery as I am conservative in my use of the JJ as I am worried I wont have enough juice for the whole day.
No problems with dead pixles. H/w has been reliable.

Cheers guys. I hiope to get one soon.

Garmin Mobile 20 GPS and TyTN

This is more of an informative/warning post to those who are considering purchasing the Garmin Mobile 20 GPS unit.
I've been a big Garmin fan since I owned an iQue3600, which was a Palm PDA that contained a GPS antenna and software. It worked quite well, but I recently migrated to a Cingular 8525 to get the convergence device.
The Mobile 20, unfortunately, suffers from the problems described in this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=277742&page=1
Essentially, the Mobile 20 advertises the fact that it can charge your cell phone while using the GPS function, using it's passthrough cable. While I know that it will charge with a T-Mobile SDA (a Windows Smartphone), it does not charge the TyTN/Hermes, even though the Cingular 8525 is listed as a compatible phone. (Note that the GPS software does run on a TyTN, and runs well.)
The trick of connecting pins 4 and 5 on the mini-USB end of the cable does not work, I tried that today. So, sadly, the only solution at the moment is to not use the Mobile 20 to charge the phone, but use a second charger.
I am hoping that Garmin can fix this issue, but I am not holding my breath. In the meantime, I am content enough to use a secondary car charger.
-- Joe

Ameo for £230? Or best offer?

Hi all,
JUst looking at moving over to a smaller device for a while. I have another Ameo coming soon and I was wondering if anyone would be interested in purchasing my current model.
Its got some small scratches on the front (not the screen) where the keyboard has rubbed the paint away, 1 on the left above the keyboard and 2 on the right, one above the front facing camera and 1 under the vueflow button (usual) and the charger died yesterday so I have been charging VIA USB.
Apart from that it is a:
T-mobile Ameo. CID unlocked running AP4.00.
It has Igo and TomTom on it both with Euro maps.....the errrr unregistered versions....
I got most of the bits that came in the box apart from the charger.
Comes with the 4-1 Cable for USB host TV out etc.
A TINY little USB hub for it and a mini Trust Wireless mouse.
A 512 Mini SD card
Headset
Spare Stylus
That little Bag thingy (which I found very usefull)
and I still the have t-mobile box with all the bits and docs
PM me if there is interest.
I would accept trade in if anyone has a decent laptop for sale. (I would pay up to a few hundred more for a trade up to a decent Core2 Duo or T64 with dedicated Nvidia or Ati graphics......)

message Sent

That's a great price!

mini-usb dead,please help

Hi
I have a serious problem. While my athena was being charged with my car charger I saw smoke in the charger. I disconnected it from the athena but probably too late. Now the mini usb is totally dead: I cannot charge it or connect to the pc and the light around the joystick doesn't light up when I insert the cable into the mini usb. Now there's 20% of the battery left so soon I'll have to do sth about it.
My question is can it be fixed without sending it to the service? They keep it a horribly long time in my country.
I'd really appreciate any help,please

You can charge the battery with the Athena cradle, they are cheap in ebay and come with a battery so when the Athena battery is nearly empty you just swap with the one in the cradle.
To connect with the computer you can use a bluetooth dongle, it will work with activesinc files transfer etc
otherwise the only solution for the USB connector is send it for service and depending of the damage it may be either a easy patch or a new board if there is tracks damage
Good luck

Thanx for aome advice PBL1. I suspected that I can't fix it without having it sent to the service. I guess I'll wait and see what they do (it's still under guarantee) before I decide to buy the docking station as it is rather expensive for Polish conditions. On the other hand I've been thinking of buying it for some time already, perhaps it's high time I did it.
I just don't know how they will react to the Michy Prima ROM cause I have no means of flashing back to the factory one. Thanx again for the advice

I can tell you that the total cost to my docking station was £30 if I remember correctly, that included the postage and the battery, given the price of the battery alone, it was worthwhile because I consider essential to have a fully charged extra battery if I am somewhere without possibility to charge.
I believe You may downgrade the room by the miniSD card method, do a search around here, there several threads about upgrading the rom with that method, it is worth to consider since some body posted that he sent the athena for servicing with SPL 3.5 and HTC flashed the original rom without considering that it was the wrong SPL, basically they sent back the item to the customer with a black screen.
However if you have SPL3.5 and want to use the downgrader to go back to SPL1.2 or to the original SPL perhaps you may check with cmonex that it is possible with out risks.
If you are in SPL1.2 I don't think you should have any problem.
regards

Yes you're abolutely right about a spare battery and the docking station. I have already decided (have been thinking all day today) to buy both as constant charging is a bit annoying. As for downgrading I'll really have to search for a mini sd solution cause the htc service in Poland might not be really user friendly. BTW could you possibly send me a link to a place with docking stations at this price? In Poland it costs more or less $100 and on ebay you may find cheaper ones but with one usb slot not two.

There you got
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HTC-X7500-Adv...39:1|66:2|65:12|240:1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
Note: these do not include battery, at the time I got it they offered the extra battery in the package ( it was a wile ago), if I remember correctly the cheapest battery at the time seemed to run at £24 today it looks that you can find them must cheaper.
Note 2: since you USB connection is dead you can use the cradle for extra battery charge, VGA and USB host (external memory storage devices such as drives,card readers) I didn't try external keyboards mouses and such but they should work.
but you cannot use the USB for communication with your computer (activesink, USB to PC....) because the cradle use the normal micro USB for those, for those you can use Bluetooth as explained early but of course that is not good for rom flashing

I wouldn't suggest using that car charger anymore. If its under warranty, you'll definitely want to reflash the original ROM. Whatever you do, don't try to flash a ROM or downgrade your SPL using a bluetooth dongle

Hi
I have just received the cradle plus an extra battery, there asre still some cheep offers on ebay.
Now, as Weaselcossey says I have to flash the oryginal ROM via mini SD card. J've been searching this place but couldn' find an easy step by step instruction, expecially how to extract the .nbh file from the exe file thet the oryginal ROM is in. Does any one lnow some links?

I never done myself but perhaps you could try this?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=312394

I'm going to try it out just now. But anyway it's kind of hard for me to part with my athena. That's why I've been waiting with giving it to the service, especially now wwith 2 batteries and the cradle. By the way there's also a nice mains charger on Ebay which Iwill probably buy soon: http://cgi.ebay.pl/O502-Desktop-battery-charger-for-HTC-Advantage-X7500_W0QQitemZ260138961370QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item260138961370&_trkparms=72%3A1399%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14