Database Users

A few questions regarding the Prophet...

Hi everyone - just stumbled onto this forum in search of a few answers that I can't seem to find anywhere else (at least not all in one place...), but I'm guessing most of the people here should make short work of my questions.
I've just ordered an O2 XDA Neo, which should be here within the next three days or so - and I've got a few questions as to which software and accessories etc. I'll be needing. I'm a complete n00b when it comes to Windows Mobile, so a few of the questions may seem a bit obvious or stupid... sorry in advance!
1. Windows Mobile 5.0 vs. 6.0 - how big is the difference? What's the big advantage of 6.0? Is upgrading worth the trouble? Are the ROMs available on this forum legal?
2. I'd like a halfway decent video player - what would you guys recommend? What formats should I be aiming for? 320x240 is pretty obvious (does the Prophet do full screen without problems? i.e. rotated 90 degrees so that it fills the whole screen, etc.?). Is the proc fast enough to decode DivX/Xvid in that resolution? Or should I consider encoding in MPG format?
3. I want to use regular headphones (3.5mm jack, TRS) with the Prophet, so obviously I need an adaptor - does anyone know what the pin layout on the Prophet's 2.5mm jack is? Is a regular 2.5mm TRS => 3.5mm TRS converter enough? Or does it need to switch the layout around or something?
4. I've read that it isn't possible to switch off internet access via GPRS (which I'd actually like to do, since I'll only be using Internet while I'm in reach of a WLAN) - is this true? Any workarounds? The costs for GPRS here in Germany are outrageous, so I'd like to prevent any costly accidents ...
5. What's a decent music player for the Prophet? Preferably something with good playlists and ReplayGain...
6. How's the battery life? Is it worth getting a second battery (or two) and a charging station so that I can always carry a charged spare around with me?
7. Are there any decent instant messengers like GAIM for Windows Mobile? I'd like something that can do ICQ and MSN at the same time, if possible...
Well, that's it for now, but I'll probably think of some more later - thanks in advance!

bemymonkey said:
Hi everyone - just stumbled onto this forum in search of a few answers that I can't seem to find anywhere else (at least not all in one place...), but I'm guessing most of the people here should make short work of my questions.
I've just ordered an O2 XDA Neo, which should be here within the next three days or so - and I've got a few questions as to which software and accessories etc. I'll be needing. I'm a complete n00b when it comes to Windows Mobile, so a few of the questions may seem a bit obvious or stupid... sorry in advance!
1. Windows Mobile 5.0 vs. 6.0 - how big is the difference? What's the big advantage of 6.0? Is upgrading worth the trouble? Are the ROMs available on this forum legal?
2. I'd like a halfway decent video player - what would you guys recommend? What formats should I be aiming for? 320x240 is pretty obvious (does the Prophet do full screen without problems? i.e. rotated 90 degrees so that it fills the whole screen, etc.?). Is the proc fast enough to decode DivX/Xvid in that resolution? Or should I consider encoding in MPG format?
3. I want to use regular headphones (3.5mm jack, TRS) with the Prophet, so obviously I need an adaptor - does anyone know what the pin layout on the Prophet's 2.5mm jack is? Is a regular 2.5mm TRS => 3.5mm TRS converter enough? Or does it need to switch the layout around or something?
4. I've read that it isn't possible to switch off internet access via GPRS (which I'd actually like to do, since I'll only be using Internet while I'm in reach of a WLAN) - is this true? Any workarounds? The costs for GPRS here in Germany are outrageous, so I'd like to prevent any costly accidents ...
5. What's a decent music player for the Prophet? Preferably something with good playlists and ReplayGain...
6. How's the battery life? Is it worth getting a second battery (or two) and a charging station so that I can always carry a charged spare around with me?
7. Are there any decent instant messengers like GAIM for Windows Mobile? I'd like something that can do ICQ and MSN at the same time, if possible...
Well, that's it for now, but I'll probably think of some more later - thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
here are some anwsers I can bring you regarding to my experience with prophet.I own one for one year now.
1° > I used official prophet rom for more than 8 month (WM5 powered) and I deciced to upgrade to WM6 here.I swear you I'll never downgrade to wm5 again, this is really slow compared to cooked wm6 roms from here (especially Cross 4000x ones).
There is no BIG difference comparing wm5 and wm6, but wm6 is quite less buggy. (that does not mean that wm6 is not )
2° for video playing I highly recommend you the use of TCPMP (fast, stable, it can read many formats, even youtube videos with a plugin), no prb for full screen video ,just need to be around 240x320 sized. If you find your prophet is a little bit to slow, Proc can be overclocked with "battery status plugin" that you can find on this forum .Allows you to speed up around 247Mhz (180Mhz is ogirinal speed).
3°) i use a very regular converter i bought 5€ on the net. no problem with it.
4° never heard of this gprs problem ,I do connect to WLAN only, so I just desactivated ALL gprs connection .
5° TCPMP supports MP3 format too, but some of WM6 roms (like 4.0.0.0.5b) uses a plugin on today screen that allows you to play mp3 playlists easily.
6° As many pocket Pc's , battery life is quite short, consider that 3 days are the maximum you can reach, with normal use .
I do charge mine every 2 days. (good to know that you charge it on your pc via usb port too) The last roms cooked here do not drain too much. I highly recommend you the use of 4.0.0.0.5b cross (only with tuouchflo).
Wifi is highly greedy !
You also can find some 1800mA, 2500mA or even 3000mA batteries on the net, just search for google or ebay.Not tested this.
7°) There is an official msn messenger on wm5 and windows live messenger on wm6, didn't tried other !
hope that I could help you !
sorry for my frenglish.

Hi Ogre, thanks a lot! That's helped me a lot already...
However... any hints as to the legitimacy of the Windows Mobile 6.0 ROMs available here? How buggy are they exactly?
And another question - how does the Prophet handle Skype and other VoIP apps? Is it fast enough?

I own my Prophet for over a year.
I never upgraded to WM6 cause I was too chicken but I am considering it now that I here the versions stabilized.
Now as for "legitimacy" of the ROMs: HTC never did and never said they were planning an official WM6 ROM for the Prophet so you will not find a "legal" ROM anywhere.
That said you should know this:
If you by your phone form a cell company on a contract any modification even opening the ext. ROM (which is just a registry hack) will void warranty unless you put everything back as it was (which could be a problem on a malfunctioning phone).
What this means is - even if HTC ever does release an official ROM update for your phone you can not use it without voiding warranty and will have to depend on O2 to make their own version (which will not happen until HTC provides them with one).
As for Skype:
It seems to work ok for me (don't use it much) but only when I overclock to 260.
Otherwise the sound is crappy and the program hangs every now and then.

Hi, same thing here, one year owner, I'll try to complete the two other posts which are already good answers.
bemymonkey said:
I've read that it isn't possible to switch off internet access via GPRS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you don't set any GPRS connection up, where could it connect to ?
bemymonkey said:
What's a decent music player for the Prophet? Preferably something with good playlists and ReplayGain...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd highly recommand Mortplayer, but you could find it a little slow, so.... GS Player is a good (and still free) alternative.
bemymonkey said:
How's the battery life? Is it worth getting a second battery (or two) and a charging station so that I can always carry a charged spare around with me?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's always too low
I charge mine every night in day to day use, cause it wouldn't handle a second day of normal use (mp3 listening with BT headset, appts & tasks editing, some phone calls and sms typing/sending, and a bit of internet browing / emails)
I use the best battery available, 1800mh/a, check ebay for it around 20€ (I got a free charger with it). Higher batteries are bigger and need an extra cover.
bemymonkey said:
Are there any decent instant messengers like GAIM for Windows Mobile? I'd like something that can do ICQ and MSN at the same time, if possible...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was using IM+ which did a good job, but just discovered the soft I was looking for since ages
Fring, it can do ICQ, MSN, google talk, Skype (!) and SIP at the same time !!!
It's free, still need development but is already VERY efficient.
++
niko

Hey everyone... thanks for the replies ... you've helped out a lot.
Downloading Fring right now (still waiting for that damned sms )...
Anyone else's SD card REALLY slow? I don't really have any other SD cards or even devices which use them, but my Kingston card is extremely slow - about 5 minutes to transfer 25MB via the cable... is my card incompatible with the phone? Or is that pretty much normal?

Transferring files via ActiveSync is slow. Also your device only has USB 1.1
If you want to transfer large files to your SD I recommend you get a USB 2 card reader - some sites sell them as cheap as 3$.
Alternatively try WM5STORAGE it improves a little on AS speed.

Hmmm, looks like I'll be getting a cardreader... why is this crap so expensive?
Thanks for all your help, everyone!

bemymonkey said:
Hmmm, looks like I'll be getting a cardreader... why is this crap so expensive?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
??? I can get one for 5€..

I Learned It : )
Thank;s

Extrem System Slowdown Using A2DP

Hi
I am Using Schaps WinMob6 with an Motorola S9 over A2DP, as soon as I start streaming the system slows down so bad that it is almost impossible to use!
Is this normal? Anyone using A2DP experiencing the same Problem? What can I do to fix this?
Grüsse,
Chris

i have experienced the same thing no matter when ROM I use. theres not a lot of settings to change so they just sit in a drawer now collecting dust.

i have experienced the same thing no matter what ROM I use. theres not a lot of settings to change so they just sit in a drawer now collecting dust.

I'm experiencing this as well with Schaps ROM. If someone got it to work without problem, please let us know.

Hmm, I don't remember this problem when I was using Schaps ROM... what app are you using to stream. I pretty much solely used Coreplayer 1.1.1 for everything though.
Definitely not having this problem with K's rom which I'm testing now. It works sweet.

If I remember correctly I tried with both WMP and PP with the same result.

I believe A2DP takes a fair amount of CPU power - first the application needs to decode the mp3, then feeds it into the virtual sound device - bluetooth stereo - whose drivers then transcode the sound into something that can fit into Bluetooth's bandwidth. The transcoding has to be done in real-time so it probably has a high priority for CPU time. I don't think I've ever used a ROM where A2DP wouldn't slow down the device, and this includes an Axim x50v @ 624 MHz.

Hi Guys,
I have the feeling that things have gotten a bit better after installing Total Commander!?
Does this make sense?
Using TCPMP with You Tub plugin ( Vids Run great unless A2DP / )
Grüsse,
Chris

kltye said:
I believe A2DP takes a fair amount of CPU power - first the application needs to decode the mp3, then feeds it into the virtual sound device - bluetooth stereo - whose drivers then transcode the sound into something that can fit into Bluetooth's bandwidth. The transcoding has to be done in real-time so it probably has a high priority for CPU time. I don't think I've ever used a ROM where A2DP wouldn't slow down the device, and this includes an Axim x50v @ 624 MHz.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It IS processor-intensive, particularly on Samsung CPU's, where it can easily eat 50% CPU time. This is why there's so bad a slowdown.
Read my related articles, they're all cross-posted to the Wiki here - I've elaborated a LOT on all these subjects.

mortplayer seems best for me, but yes there's always slowdown, the tcpmp thing; its the only program with which you can watch videos cleanly without skipping/slowdown via a2dp.

Darn
I just upgradet from a Magician in the hope that the Samsung would have more Power, but / On my Magician ther ist almost no Slowdown using A2DP.
Are there any aps where I can OC my Samsung?
Sadly My tcpmp skips vids using A2DP . I guess I will only be using my S9 when Joging or Biking.
Grüsse,
Chris

I'm having these probs on my 8525. No clue how to fix it. Theres a lot of storage and program memmory left on the darn phone. It used to work perfect, but suddenly had problems. The music stutters a lot with both wmp and tcpmp. I'm using the iphono minis with A2DP. These issues never existed with WM5 as far as I know, though the quality was of course lower. Perhaps the processes that up the quality of the [email protected] stream are causing a trade of in CPU/memory consumption. Maybe that means lowering the quality (maybe via a registry tweak) somewhat will alleviate the problem?

I'd recommend switching to a wired headset
I got the same issue with my A2DP headset. It's not an issue that can be fixed with tweaking. A2DP is simply CPU intensive (not memory intensive).
Lowering the bitrate would help, but not enough I'm afraid.

tweaks that help
Hey there,
I had a little trouble with helmi's wm6 (excellent rom) and the original wm5. The following link has some reg tweaks (http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=10668). It's still a little gappy, but much better. Also, the sound quality seems to be a lot better.

Bluetooth speeds

Hi,
The bluetooth transfer speed between my X1 and other phones is pathetic. I tried transferring between the X1 and a W810i. Earlier, I get only 20 kBps, whereas, with other phones and the W810i I get 40 kBps.
Can you please tell me whether others face similar problems, or i need to tweak some option here.

The other phones you've mentioned, are they WM devices?
because I think this is a WM problem and not the Xperia itself.

No, they are normal java based SE mobiles...
Do all WM based mobiles have suck slow speeds? nothing we can do?
How much does a HTC diamond or a touch pro get? Anyone?

Well may be something similar to what you guys are experiencing but I have a bluetooth stereo headset and the quality of the phone speed drops drastically when I am using bluetooth stereo. When I have the phone on watching a movie on core it loses frames alot.

I too experience MUCH longer sync times over Bluetooth than my old HTC Universal. I am not sure what's going on here, but I believe that a lot of these Xperia Bluetooth problems are caused by Sony Ericsson's proprietary Bluetooth stack. I had the problem of it randomly turning BT off, and I was able to fix that with a MortScript I wrote which can be found in this forum.
Kind of frustrating how long it takes to sync 3 e-mails (no attachments) via Bluetooth with my Vista laptop.
Hopefully SE releases a Bluetooth patch that optimizes speed and reliability...seems like it's needed quite bad...

Sound lag when listening to music

When playing music I often get small breaks during MP3 playback. Half a second of silence or something like that at random times about 5 minutes apart.
It does not matter what player software I use. This problem is also very common among the HTC Diamond users http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=412065 .
Do you have the same problem? I bet you do .

strange, ive been using my phone everyday as an mp3 player and i havent heard it skip even once.
Does it lag with every song, or are there specific songs where it lags. Are there any that absolutely never lag? Also what kind of headset do you use for listening?
edit> Also, what ROM are you using?

It is not really a skip, it is just a very short pause. You would not notice it in noisy environment. I tried 320bps, 192 bps, 128bps. Everything the same, lower bps are little bit better. It also helped if I set playback priority to higher (in MortPlayer or CorePlayer), but it did not solve it.
It seems like some higher priority process tries to do something and at that point sound lags.
It does not matter if I use headset or play on speaker.
I have this ROM:
ROM version: 1.40.401.2 (21259)
Radio: 0.27.30.09
Protocol version: 12.27.30.09W

strange very strange, i use my jade about 2h a day as mp3 player and i never have that kind of problem..
i generally use the default player... try with that a tell us it works...
ciao

I have the same problem.. But only when i'm using my bluetooth A2DP headset. Seems to get worse when i "move" my phone quickly, like when i'm running or riding a bike and the phone is in my pocket. I also experience random speedsups after the music skips, like the media player is trying to catch up or something..

I use a bluetooth headset too, and no problems, even when ive got several things running at the same time. Maybe its a ROM problem. I can imagine it being real annoying but its not something all of us have so i would just try to get it fixed or get a new one.
btw my ROM is version 1.40.401.2(21259)

Same problem here!

Please write to HTC about this problem. If they tell you they do not know about this problem, they would LIE, because I did tell them .
I found a way around this: Use Windows Media Player only for playing MP3 files. WMP is a pain, but it works.

From HTC Support center !!!
Dear valued HTC customer, Thank you for contacting our Customer Support Center. We are dedicated to providing you with the best quality service and answering all of your questions and concerns. You recently wrote us about an issue that you have encountered with your Touch 3G. To clarify your issue, you stated that you are experiencing pauses when listening to music on the device. I recommend you synchronise the music on your device by using Windows Media Player 11 on your computer. Also, I recommend you test mp3-files on the device. If this has no effect, I recommend you perform a hard reset as this might be a software issue. A hard reset will delete all data on the device and reinstall Windows Mobile. We recommend you do backup of the data on the device before attempting a hard reset. If you have an encrypted memory card in your device, we advise you turn off encryption before doing a hard reset. To do a hard reset, go to Start - Settings - System tab - Clear storage. Here you will be asked to type 1234 in the box and press Yes. This will start the reinstallation process. If the above steps do not resolve your issue, we invite you to visit the support area on our Web site. Please go to: http://www.htc.com/www/support.aspx Or you can go to: http://www.htc.com/select_country.htm, select your country and then click on the Support tab. You can also call our call center if you have further questions. Thank you once again for your continued patronage. Best regards, Europe customer support team HTC Corp. Global Service Division

Hi
Is music stored on Micro SD card? If yes try storing on internal memory, if OK playing from onboard memory then suggest reformating card. I had performance issues with card when using apps that continually transfering data from card, would get "lag", but browsing card etc. was fine. Formatted as FAT32 in windows using USB card reader and then all OK.

Hey fenikso!
I'm sorry, but I never discovered a problem as per description. Not tested A2DP yet. I always store my music files on sd card, I think like the most of us. Runs perfectly.
I`ve formatted my sd card as the FAT ( not FAT32 ) system. Maybe your solution of the problem?
Keeping my fingers crossed for you!

Bump-ti-bump.
Still experiencing this problem. Haven't upgraded to the lastest official rom for the Jade, will try that and see how it goes. With a wired headset, the problem doesn't present itself, so i guess that rules out the micro-sd card inside the phone.

do have exactly the same problem, but reversed. while i was using bluetooth headset, never experienced audio lag. Then BT headset died, bought PortaPro, and here we are... contacted HTC support, told them about, they want me to do hard reset and stuff... when i pointed them to this forum, as this problem seems to be related to many new HTC models, and they did not contacted me since then.
So i listen to music with gaps...

i need help with my wireless-please help-I gave up

Hey guys
First i want to explain the problem, which is something that really bothers me alot. I have a wireless connection at home, which is in the living room, which is about 14 meters away from my office room in the house.
Now the problem is I noticed that whenever I want to listen to a streaming radio station the stream keeps disconnecting, like maybe 5 times/minute. It really bothers me, since I like to lsiten to the radio while I work, and this issue has been since I bought the deivce. I tried all the best streaming player, itunes, vlc, real player, winamp. All the players keep disconneting after few seconds. Sometimes I notice that the wireless connection is lost on the shift only while on my other computer in the living room it is not. Sometimes the wireless is on and the streaming keeps disconnecting. I did a driver update for the wireless but still the same problem.
I checked if I take one of my dell laptops to the office room, listeing to the radio stations is fine with not interruptions at all, so why is it that the shift has the interruption problem while listening to streaming radio, while other laptops do not have this problem.
Please please help
Thanks

First ensure that you are running on High Performance (so wireless is not going in powersave mode)
Then try to increase the buffer size on your player..
Let me know

i am on high performance,
Can I ask a silly question how can I increase the buffer size of for example itunes, or vlc, or window media player
thanks so much in advance

hykhleif said:
i am on high performance,
Can I ask a silly question how can I increase the buffer size of for example itunes, or vlc, or window media player
thanks so much in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you updated all VISA Drivers to latest verison from HTC Shift Support site ?
There are new drivers which are available on HTC SHIFT Website for VISTA,
Please update drivers (ALL of them, specially chipset driver and WIFI driver) and check if it resolves the issue.