Database Users

HTC HD (WM) Overwelming

Hey everyone,
Let me start off by saying that this is not a promo or hate post for the iPhone.
I was always a WM user, had a Trinity for a few years and loved it. I went to the iPhone and I must admit it is much better than the WM in many ways. Months later I heard about the HD, I have it now but after using the iPhone I feel such a diconnect with WM. I used the HD with a few various ROMs but went back to the iPhone due to the superior integartion of software and hardware, everything just seems to work so much better. Now my HD is just collecting dust. I know that the HD is a much superior device in hardware (except for the touch screen-I am not talking about resolution). There are a bunch of little things that annoy me about the HD and I know it is just software realated. For instance, I can't even go on the Facebook site with Opera Mobile, looking at pictures just does not work properly. Youtube video are not as smooth or high quality partly due to lack of 3G, I am in Canada. I know this can't be changed but still a bit of a bother. The camera is 5mp but I can't even take pictures of my 1 year old son without blurring due to the shutter speed. I read many threads and hacks but it is just overwelming. Can you guys make a few suggestions as I really like the HD and want to use it instead of the iPhone. How can I get faster browsing on EDGE? I don't care about streaming Youtube but is there at least an option to download Youtube videos in HiDef to watch at a later time? I don't want to ramble on and I hope you understand what I am asking, any help is appreciated.
Yes, I do like and I don't mind tweaking my phone.

If you really like the IPhone's simplicity check this out: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=473116&highlight=finger+friendly
to download youtube vids look at this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=427702
for facebook just set your browser to iphone.facebook.com (isntead of m.facebook.com).
Other browsers are faster than Opera but I have a 3G Touch Pro and an Edge Touch HD and the speed difference actually isn't that much - just a few seconds no a full page. You can try to use Iris Browser (it is based on webkit so it looks iPhony) or NetFront or SkyFire (fastest but not high resolution yet).

Also have a look at Opera Mini not Mobile that comes installed on our THD. This browser is fast.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=469469&highlight=opera
I recommend Opera Mini v4.2.13216 if you don't want to do any tweaking.

Concerning the camera: I recently compared it to the iPhone camera under daylight conditions and the HD camera really is about 10 times better. The pictures are very sharp, there's no grain and you can zoom in 4 times and still see details.
The iPhone pictures were blurres, zooming in was useless and they were grainy even in brigt daylight.
I suggest you disable the shutter sound and set the picture quality to 'super-fine'. I took photos with the HD while skiing, which makes it impossible to hold the phone still and the pictures were perfect nevertheless.
Concerning Facebook, try using another browser like Iris, Internet Explorer or Skyfire (which is not yet released but will definitely be able to display any website, including video).
Next, I have to say that my HD recently annoyed me a lot and I already thought of getting an iPhone (again).
I tried to replace all the Windows Mobile applications with finger-friendly alternatives and was quite successful (see the video bugsykoosh posted earlier).
However, Winterface caused crashes and could not make me happy at all (in fact, I was even more annoyed by the crashes and the lack of beutiful animations like the ones on the iPhone).
Then I made a WAD2 skin using bluemetalaxe's realize iconset and the iPhone-like launch animations. Now, everything runs smooth again. No crashes anymore, an interface that's completely customizable and beautiful and launching applications is fun
I then installed FingerMenu and replaced all the horrible green with a nice blue and now I love my HD again!
OK, that's my story... please excuse my any bad grammar in my story as I'm not English

i looked up bluemetalaxe threads and i ended up with huge sets of icons and i have no idea how to assigne them or how they would look like on my hd :S can you please post screens for your hd and how it looks like now and direct us to the thread with the instructions to follow ? please.. this sounds so interesting to my and i am actually bored with the touchflow style and capabilities :\

There is nothing wrong with wanting the iPhone if you don't need to switch in spare battery during the day, do not require GPS, and do not keep important excel, power point, and word document on your device.
iPhone is an extremely attractive product. The user interface, smoothness of operation is way ahead of winmo devices'.
However, if your need could only be met by HD, like in my case, you would have to sadly give up the extremly sexy user experience.
To mimic that interface, if you really really like iPhone's UI, I recommend using Vito's Winterface. It is as close as you could get to program launching and navigation. Without complication.
Then, start replacing and looking for finger friendly software to replace the older ones that you had collected. For example, replace the standard contact application with Inesoft Phone 4, may be also use its fovourites (althernatively you can use Winterface's). Use Vito's SMS Chat to replace the SMS. Opera browser is good, but check out Opera mini (It's fast, and scrolling is just as good as Safari's). Use ThumbCal for Calendar for example. Use Google Map with Street View to beat iPhone's standard google map. Use Vito Audio NOtes Touch for voice and call recording. Have you tried Web Video Downloader? It lets you watch not just youtube but every other type of flash websites too, with better video quality downloaded or watched instantly. Try out Panaromic Calc Pro for calculator
GPS applications is the area that winmo devices really shines over iPhone. I have TomTOm7, Garman, Mapking, and iGO8 on my devices. In Australia, I use only TomTom but I use others while travelling overseas.
DOn't forget SoftMaker for desktop class functionality in word processing, spreadsheet and presentation. Or use it just to open attachments without losing any formatting.
The day before yesterday, I was using TF3D, customized with wallpaper on every tab and applications changed with SSMaPa. Today, mine desktop is based on Winterface. Tommorrow? May be SPB Mobile Shell again. This is so much fun playing with all types of software. It makes my toy brand new again each day. Yes, it can be a little laggy at times with tons of software installed. It may also freeze my device once in a while. But, I get to play, and the device serves my need.

Its not just the iphones UI which is better, its the quality of its apps. Developers make more efort with the iphone. Just compare shazam on WM to shazam on iphone, and also lastfm, facebook etc.
Commercial developement for WM has stopepd, everyone develops for iphone now.

darthbane2k said:
Its not just the iphones UI which is better, its the quality of its apps. Developers make more efort with the iphone. Just compare shazam on WM to shazam on iphone, and also lastfm, facebook etc.
Commercial developement for WM has stopepd, everyone develops for iphone now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not to mention a iPhone app is 2-3 USD/EUR, while WM apps are like 20 USD.
SO WTF !!!?!? why should we pay more, how more supperior is WM apps against iphone. with NOTHING, in fact, i have 4-5 apps for HD that actually use the HD capabilities (screen res and accelerometer) while, ALL applications on iPhone look better, work better and are cheaper.
There is a commercial product i looked at last days (can't remember, something like a chat program), WM version was 19,99 USD, while iPhone was 3.9 USD .. so again WTF ?!
THAT is why iPhone gains so much momentum. (and because of the capacitive screen )

Fare the well, Athena

I love my new iPhone 3GS.
I'll check when and if WM7 is available on the Athena.
In the meantime, I don't think I'll miss you.

You will. You'll be back.
For starters, the advanced 3G speeds that the S has the hardware for, still isn't supported by AT&T. Engadget showed a side-by-side between the 3G and the 3GS and there was no speed difference.
You'll also miss that 5" screen.

If Athena 5 " screen won't make u come back , wait and see the Thoth , u will be back for it sooner or later , he he he

Hi
Today I have a x7500, it´s my second x7500. I also have a Samsung Omnia. I thought that the Omnia should replace my Omnia but it haven´t, and it´s because of the screen. But noq I am thinking of buying a new decive but I can´t make up my mind of wich I should buy. This are the devices I am thinking abou.
X7510
HTC Touch HD
HTC Touch HD pro2
Or an Iphone
I travel alot so I need a rather big screen to watch movies, and read Ebooks.
Anyone out there who can give me an advice?
Regards
Hans

I wouldn't spend money moving to an X7510. The only benefit is the 16gb solid-state storage, but you can get more than that with the mini-SD slot on your 7500 now.
You would also loose the joystick, which I find to be essential since I don't carry the keyboard anymore.

Oh yea? With the < 3 hour battery life? No multi-tasking? Don't like referencing any information on your iPhone while making a call? You like being locked dead into that calling screen? You don't like multi-tasking... ever? Never ever wanna do things like surfing the web while on IM+, sending and recieving youtube links to your buddies via AIM, GoogleIM, MSN messenger with a word pad or notepad docunent open to take notes? You're all that happy with iTunes? Don't like being able to read/write, UL/DL, or stream your files wirelessly from your network shares? Prefer not being able to watch virtually any movie format, listen to virtually any audio format without conversion? Would rather not be allowed share your phones internet connection with your laptop via usb, bt or wifi?
Well just wait a couple of month until fennec aka firefox mobile comes out with full flash 10 support and custom plug-ins.
The market is just beginning to catch up with the Athena, the original iPad/Dell Mini 5/Kindle killer.

geeurweird said:
Oh yea? With the < 3 hour battery life? No multi-tasking? Don't like referencing any information on your iPhone while making a call? You like being locked dead into that calling screen? You don't like multi-tasking... ever? Never ever wanna do things like surfing the web while on IM+, sending and recieving youtube links to your buddies via AIM, GoogleIM, MSN messenger with a word pad or notepad docunent open to take notes? You're all that happy with iTunes? Don't like being able to read/write, UL/DL, or stream your files wirelessly from your network shares? Prefer not being able to watch virtually any movie format, listen to virtually any audio format without conversion? Would rather not be allowed share your phones internet connection with your laptop via usb, bt or wifi?
Well just wait a couple of month until fennec aka firefox mobile comes out with full flash 10 support and custom plug-ins.
The market is just beginning to catch up with the Athena, the original iPad/Dell Mini 5/Kindle killer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As a very long time reader (and from time to time poster), and owner of a first hand x7501 model (still do), I beg to debunk your post about the iPhone and also the WM devices.
Because I also have owned an iPhone 3G for a year and 9 months now, so I really can compare both. Have you ever owned both?
"< 3 hour battery life?"
I don't think so. I have used my 3G a lot, every single day, it's great. I know the 3GS has lower battery life, but it depends on how and what you use it for. A gross statement saying "< 3 hour battery life" is no proof. On the other hand, I have owned my x7501 for longer than my 3G, and I found the battery life on the x7501 not good if the cellular part is turned on to 3G, despite having a rather large battery. You are really not convincing me, who own both.
"Multi-tasking?"
I have done it on my iPhone 3G and so have many. The 3GS is even better as it has twice the RAM. All you need is jailbreak it, and install Backgrounder. If you install Kirikae, you can swap the tasks even easier. My 3G is not as good as RAM is a bit limited. However, multi-tasking on iPhone OS is better experience than on WM (inc. Athena) b/c WM has a bit of lag when doing any actions, and iPhone OS responds a bit better.
"Referencing info while on a call?"
You can do it. And that doesn't even require a jailbreak. I bet you have never owned an iPhone or you would know about it. I really hope you walk the walk, and not just talk the talk. Just hit the Home button, and you are on the Home screen again. Apple made their own apps multitask capable natively, don't you know that?
"Locked dead into a calling screen?"
Ok, during a Call, either incoming or outgoing, there is a brief moment that that screen has to be on top, but that takes as much time till the call is either received / answered or dropped (forwarded etc). I forgot if it is such on WM, I have to test it again (I have no SIM in mine right now). But it is not "locked dead" as you put it, it is merely during the time it takes to ring. You can revert back to whatever you need, after the call is received / answered. Not sure what a big deal this is. And I don't even know if WM has completely not affected by this as you implied.
"surfing the web while on IM+?"
Do you know that IM+ on iPhone has Push and thus I don't even need to have IM+ on while surfing on the web? And if I do, I can also launch IM+ as long as I have enough RAM. Does IM+ on WM have Push?
"Sending and receiving YouTube links via AIM, GoogleIM, MSN...?"
iPhone has copy and paste, and various apps also can do links sending also (but mostly email) directly. iPhone can do AIM via either AIM native app (free), or other IM apps inc IM+, which also can do GoogleIM, and MSN. Only there can be more features about MSN (now call Live actually, where have you been?) on WM than on others, but that is not a fair comparison as it's Microsoft camp. Most links can be launched directly. IM+ has their own web browser or you can launch into Mobile Safari at your own choice. Can you choose browser via an IM app directly on WM?
"With wordpad opened to take notes?"
There are various note taking apps avail on iPhone. It is Pocket Word, not the "wordpad" as in Windows. They have very different features. Not sure how to compare here, but since Pocket Word doesn't come with most WM devices, I think it is not a good comparison. But regardless, you implied that iPhone can't do it, and it is wrong.
"All that happy with iTunes?"
Which one? The one on the desktop? True, I'm not totally happy with it, nor am I totally happy with ActiveSync either. You think ActiveSync is perfect? At least iTunes is easier to use for lay people. I'll give iTunes credit on that. If you are talking about the one on iPhone, I personally don't use it much, but few people complain about it. At least if you want to knock it, please give specific and comparsion notes. Not just a sound bite knock. Does the WM Media Player handle Podcast (or similar feed) easily?
"Don't like being able to read/write, UL/DL, or stream your files wirelessly from your network shares?"
Really? There are apps to do it, some easier, some harder, but tons to choose from. I notice that both platforms can do it, but some can be done easily on iPhone (but you need the other side to have the right stuff). For WM, I can't see how easily it can be done natively, may be I miss something here. Which native app can stream directly without extra help via WM? Help me out. You are making a broad call here, but I will say that all you said can be done via the iPhone, but it depends, b/c you put it too broad.
"Prefer not being able to watch virtually any movie format, listen to virtually any audio format without conversion?"
What do you mean virtually any format? can you play HD stuff on it? What about MPEG4 which chokes most WM devices except the latest stuff (and not Athena)? What about MKV? What about H.264? "Virtually any movie formats"? What an exaggeration! You are so biased that you are willing to exaggerate and lie. I think most desktop formats cannot be played on the Athena smoothly without re-encoding. iPhone has some limitations, can do less codecs, but not too bad. There are some third party apps that can help. Some apps are not that great, I admit (but they are jailbreak apps, so not really official stuff). Regardless, you are really out here. Similar for audio format without conversion. Can it play a ripped DVD-Audio, or HDCD? What do you mean by virtually any?
"Would rather not be allowed share your phones internet connection with your laptop via usb, bt or wifi?"
Let me tell you this. Without jailbreaking, I can already share my iPhone's internet connect via BT and USB natively. No big deal. With jailbreaking, I can share it with WiFi also. Athena can only do USB and BT natively, while many WM might not even have ICS included. Both platforms can use PDAnet. I have tried and used various versions of WMWiFiRouter, various versions very buggy and have routing bugs and stability issue. I have tried PDAnet and MyWi on iPhone and found both have some bugs, but so far usable, while later versions quite usable, but MyWi has a bug but doesn't affect normal use (only after quitting it). How many of this methods have you tried and compared? Would rather not be allowed? You know nothing about the iPhone it seems because iPhone Tethering has been big news out there, even non iPhone owners read about it.
"Well just wait a couple of month until fennec aka firefox mobile comes out with full flash 10 support and custom plug-ins."
It is a few months now. Where is Firefox / Fennec? Firefox has an alpha build for WM, and announced no more development, similarly for Windows Phone 7. But you seem to read into the future and was so sure of not only current things but (then) future events.
I'm no Apple fan boy, I own more Windows devices and Windows Mobile devices than Apple devices. Even today, I own Toshiba e830, e805, MWg 503g, and x7501. I have owned even more in the past. I have been on xda-developers for a very long time now, but most of the time I do not see as a gross exaggeration or untruth about any comparions either within platform or across platforms. I like my Athena and I was going to sell it and can't decide. But I use my iPhone daily and not my Athena, even though collectively I have a lot more experience on WM than iPhone OS.
"Oh, yea?"
Oh, yea? You are totally debunked, dude. Find some facts first!

xdafile said:
I love my new iPhone 3GS.
I'll check when and if WM7 is available on the Athena.
In the meantime, I don't think I'll miss you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is Windows Phone 7, there will be no WM7 if you mean Windows Mobile 7. And I doubt if Windows Phone 7 can be ported easily to the Athena is there is very little we know about WP7, but WP7 is a very different beast, from inside to the outside, unlike WM / CE.
I also love my iPhone 3G, and I still can't decide if I should sell my Athena or not. But I use my iPhone daily, and my Athena is left around, only got to be played with from time to time.

fortissimo said:
As a very long time reader (and from time to time poster), and owner of a first hand x7501 model (still do), I beg to debunk your post about the iPhone and also the WM devices.
Because I also have owned an iPhone 3G for a year and 9 months now, so I really can compare both. Have you ever owned both?
"< 3 hour battery life?"
I don't think so. I have used my 3G a lot, every single day, it's great. I know the 3GS has lower battery life, but it depends on how and what you use it for. A gross statement saying "< 3 hour battery life" is no proof. On the other hand, I have owned my x7501 for longer than my 3G, and I found the battery life on the x7501 not good if the cellular part is turned on to 3G, despite having a rather large battery. You are really not convincing me, who own both.
"Multi-tasking?"
I have done it on my iPhone 3G and so have many. The 3GS is even better as it has twice the RAM. All you need is jailbreak it, and install Backgrounder. If you install Kirikae, you can swap the tasks even easier. My 3G is not as good as RAM is a bit limited. However, multi-tasking on iPhone OS is better experience than on WM (inc. Athena) b/c WM has a bit of lag when doing any actions, and iPhone OS responds a bit better.
"Referencing info while on a call?"
You can do it. And that doesn't even require a jailbreak. I bet you have never owned an iPhone or you would know about it. I really hope you walk the walk, and not just talk the talk. Just hit the Home button, and you are on the Home screen again. Apple made their own apps multitask capable natively, don't you know that?
"Locked dead into a calling screen?"
Ok, during a Call, either incoming or outgoing, there is a brief moment that that screen has to be on top, but that takes as much time till the call is either received / answered or dropped (forwarded etc). I forgot if it is such on WM, I have to test it again (I have no SIM in mine right now). But it is not "locked dead" as you put it, it is merely during the time it takes to ring. You can revert back to whatever you need, after the call is received / answered. Not sure what a big deal this is. And I don't even know if WM has completely not affected by this as you implied.
"surfing the web while on IM+?"
Do you know that IM+ on iPhone has Push and thus I don't even need to have IM+ on while surfing on the web? And if I do, I can also launch IM+ as long as I have enough RAM. Does IM+ on WM have Push?
"Sending and receiving YouTube links via AIM, GoogleIM, MSN...?"
iPhone has copy and paste, and various apps also can do links sending also (but mostly email) directly. iPhone can do AIM via either AIM native app (free), or other IM apps inc IM+, which also can do GoogleIM, and MSN. Only there can be more features about MSN (now call Live actually, where have you been?) on WM than on others, but that is not a fair comparison as it's Microsoft camp. Most links can be launched directly. IM+ has their own web browser or you can launch into Mobile Safari at your own choice. Can you choose browser via an IM app directly on WM?
"With wordpad opened to take notes?"
There are various note taking apps avail on iPhone. It is Pocket Word, not the "wordpad" as in Windows. They have very different features. Not sure how to compare here, but since Pocket Word doesn't come with most WM devices, I think it is not a good comparison. But regardless, you implied that iPhone can't do it, and it is wrong.
"All that happy with iTunes?"
Which one? The one on the desktop? True, I'm not totally happy with it, nor am I totally happy with ActiveSync either. You think ActiveSync is perfect? At least iTunes is easier to use for lay people. I'll give iTunes credit on that. If you are talking about the one on iPhone, I personally don't use it much, but few people complain about it. At least if you want to knock it, please give specific and comparsion notes. Not just a sound bite knock. Does the WM Media Player handle Podcast (or similar feed) easily?
"Don't like being able to read/write, UL/DL, or stream your files wirelessly from your network shares?"
Really? There are apps to do it, some easier, some harder, but tons to choose from. I notice that both platforms can do it, but some can be done easily on iPhone (but you need the other side to have the right stuff). For WM, I can't see how easily it can be done natively, may be I miss something here. Which native app can stream directly without extra help via WM? Help me out. You are making a broad call here, but I will say that all you said can be done via the iPhone, but it depends, b/c you put it too broad.
"Prefer not being able to watch virtually any movie format, listen to virtually any audio format without conversion?"
What do you mean virtually any format? can you play HD stuff on it? What about MPEG4 which chokes most WM devices except the latest stuff (and not Athena)? What about MKV? What about H.264? "Virtually any movie formats"? What an exaggeration! You are so biased that you are willing to exaggerate and lie. I think most desktop formats cannot be played on the Athena smoothly without re-encoding. iPhone has some limitations, can do less codecs, but not too bad. There are some third party apps that can help. Some apps are not that great, I admit (but they are jailbreak apps, so not really official stuff). Regardless, you are really out here. Similar for audio format without conversion. Can it play a ripped DVD-Audio, or HDCD? What do you mean by virtually any?
"Would rather not be allowed share your phones internet connection with your laptop via usb, bt or wifi?"
Let me tell you this. Without jailbreaking, I can already share my iPhone's internet connect via BT and USB natively. No big deal. With jailbreaking, I can share it with WiFi also. Athena can only do USB and BT natively, while many WM might not even have ICS included. Both platforms can use PDAnet. I have tried and used various versions of WMWiFiRouter, various versions very buggy and have routing bugs and stability issue. I have tried PDAnet and MyWi on iPhone and found both have some bugs, but so far usable, while later versions quite usable, but MyWi has a bug but doesn't affect normal use (only after quitting it). How many of this methods have you tried and compared? Would rather not be allowed? You know nothing about the iPhone it seems because iPhone Tethering has been big news out there, even non iPhone owners read about it.
"Well just wait a couple of month until fennec aka firefox mobile comes out with full flash 10 support and custom plug-ins."
It is a few months now. Where is Firefox / Fennec? Firefox has an alpha build for WM, and announced no more development, similarly for Windows Phone 7. But you seem to read into the future and was so sure of not only current things but (then) future events.
I'm no Apple fan boy, I own more Windows devices and Windows Mobile devices than Apple devices. Even today, I own Toshiba e830, e805, MWg 503g, and x7501. I have owned even more in the past. I have been on xda-developers for a very long time now, but most of the time I do not see as a gross exaggeration or untruth about any comparions either within platform or across platforms. I like my Athena and I was going to sell it and can't decide. But I use my iPhone daily and not my Athena, even though collectively I have a lot more experience on WM than iPhone OS.
"Oh, yea?"
Oh, yea? You are totally debunked, dude. Find some facts first!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. I also own both devices because x7500 has big screen and iphone is a PHONE not portable office but can also do a lot of things.

sebastjan_b said:
I agree. I also own both devices because x7500 has big screen and iphone is a PHONE not portable office but can also do a lot of things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wasn't thinking of getting rid of the Athena until I bought my MID, a BenQ S6, which is a similar form factor device (but very different outside and inside), and I just have to justify having both. The MID is fairly inexpensive, while the Athena was expensive and I'll loose quite a bit if I sell it. But the biggest thing is that there is no longer any killer app that I cannot replace them on the MID (runs XP), and the iPhone together. One would not be able to replace the WM completely, but a combo of XP and iPhone OS, then they can do it together. That's why I can't actively use the Athena these days.

Thinking about buying the G1

Hi I'm thinking about buying this phone, but I noticed it doesn't run on Windows Mobile, is the Android software rich as the WM? I mean, I usually like the small games, Skyfire browser and applications that allow me to silent incoming calls.
Also I've noticed that reviews keep saying it's not comfortable when holding it, could you guys please comment? thanks!
Oh I would also like to ask about it's compatibility , I've had a HTC s620 which broke rather fast, problem was unknown, so this time I need to be really carefull

Are you aware of linux, my friend. This is a different operating system that runs different but somewhat simialiar.
Well android is linux based with a java front end
Is the software as rich as wm, well it depends on what you are looking for.
For most yes, but not all wm has had years in the market and some big companiesmaking software for it, android is still a baby but gets better on a daily basis
Back to os the os, linux is open source while windows and mac are closed source
What this means is that every one has access to the program codes and can modify or advance the os or software, which is why linux moves so fast and advances so quickly.
As for comfort and hardware, I personally at first didn't like it but it did not take long to get used to, now I prefer it

Yonatanl2 said:
Hi I'm thinking about buying this phone, but I noticed it doesn't run on Windows Mobile, is the Android software rich as the WM? I mean, I usually like the small games, Skyfire browser and applications that allow me to silent incoming calls.
Also I've noticed that reviews keep saying it's not comfortable when holding it, could you guys please comment? thanks!
Oh I would also like to ask about it's compatibility , I've had a HTC s620 which broke rather fast, problem was unknown, so this time I need to be really carefull
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well.. android definitely is more fun to play with and have than windows mobile. but wm is such a powerhouse dude... if u want a WM device then get the touch pro 2.
as far as skyfire go.. there is no skyfire for android. there might be plans for a port of skyfire tho. i really miss skyfire, and also vtap only searches for youtube on android. vtap for WM searches a good handful of other video streaming sites.
adobe plans to release flash 10 for android as early as october,but i really doubt flash content will be displayed as well as skyfire.

I've had my G1 for about 2 months now. I absolutely love it.
I have large hands, able to palm a basketball, and I could not find
a comfortable phone. They are getting smaller....
The only issue I ever had with use and comfort was with the the
on-screen keyboard. I had trouble using the keys on the edge of the screen.
I paid a tiny, reasonable fee for an app call 'Better Keyboard' and that solved it all.
The apps/games available for free and purchase is wide with variety.
I discover new things everyday.
This community was recently discovered as well, and a nice inclusion with ownership.
I'm not real savvy outside of a windows desktop, but I was able to root
the phone and enjoy advanced features thanks to this community.
There's my 2 pennies.

well sir i love the g1 i dont find it that award to hold. but they seem to break a lot i have one broken buy my cat and another the microphone went out on randomly. but ti think stuff like this is true with any cell phone oh and one more thing the screen gets kind of floppy after a bit of use.
but you can bet the os its much more user friendly than wm and if ur in the us and have t mobile wait a month till the cliq comes out its has the same os basically with a few tweaks and it looks like it might hold up a bit better but yeah thats my 2 cents .

jmon777 said:
well sir i love the g1 i dont find it that award to hold. but they seem to break a lot i have one broken buy my cat and another the microphone went out on randomly. but ti think stuff like this is true with any cell phone oh and one more thing the screen gets kind of floppy after a bit of use.
but you can bet the os its much more user friendly than wm and if ur in the us and have t mobile wait a month till the cliq comes out its has the same os basically with a few tweaks and it looks like it might hold up a bit better but yeah thats my 2 cents .
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Click to collapse
yeah, the cliq seems built similar to that new samsung rogue phone for verizon, pretty nice interface, good for the phone's design. especially designed it seems for people like me, like a 14-year-old, maybe for 12-16, although it's in a way more for adults cuz it's got a bigger keyboard than the G1. But in Android as long as you have auto-rotate you have the bigger touch landscape keyboard... i would suggest getting the mytouch, although it seems a slight harder to root, because it has double the RAM of the G1, and that means alot faster apps opening, overall response. But if you want the physical keyboard go for the G1, it's a lot better than the cupcake touch keyboard if you ask me...

What browser do you use?

I'm a current tmo touch pro2 user, and am thinking about upgrading to HD2. However I'm not so convinced about this after watching the HD2 browser vs Iphone browser:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmDmH8lEQJE
It looks like for a phone with this advanced hardware specs and still doesn't perform as well in internet browsing then it's not worth the money for upgrade. Right now I rely heavily on opera mini 5 on touch pro2 but I want to know the opinions from the current HD2 owners.
What browser do you use? And why do you prefer this one?

I am a former iPhone owner and I have an HD2 now. I love it and I would never go back. Mobile Safari is better than Opera 9.7, but the better screen resolution and screen size make the whole internet browsing experience much better on the HD2.

Opera Mobile 10 all the way. Runs fast, looks good. No pinch to zoom; sure, but I never used 9.7 so don't miss it.

Seems like Opera Mobile 10 runs better on HD2 due to the better hardware. I've heard so many complaining about Opera Mobile 10 runs slow and eats too much memory on Touch Pro2 so that's why I stick to Opera Mini 5.
I don't want to stick to Opera Mini 5 as it's kinda made for "dummy phones" and doesn't really show the real potential of the WM device.
By the way, how many of you find the lack of hardware keyboard a problem?

I just installed Opera 10 on my HD2 and I have to say that I was very disappointed. Websites do not render well, much worse than on Opera 9.7. Am I missing something here? I have Opera Turbo disabled, Zoom is by 100% and Mobile version is off..
Try going to www.engadget.com or even www.ppcgeeks.com
Compare Opera 9.7 to Opera 10...big difference and much better on Opera 9.7

Been using Opera 10 last few days, runs like a dream & has built in flash support. Best WM browser I've used so far.

I tried skyfire, but when I learnt that the page is actually rendered on their server, and not on my device, and when they failed to answer a simple question about my credentials when I sign into a secured site,
I stopped using it.
(failed to answer meaning - no one from skyfire team even bothered to reply the question)
So the bottom line -
I would not recommend using this software, as it might actually be spyware.

HTC_Junglist said:
Been using Opera 10 last few days, runs like a dream & has built in flash support. Best WM browser I've used so far.
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Apart from flash, can you please enlighten me, what is so much better than Opera 9.7? I tested many websites I regularly visit and all of them rendered much worse than on Opera 9.7

2 reasons im not using opera 10:
My keyboard doesn't work with it (weird...)
and no pinch to zoom... Kills me!

petvas said:
Apart from flash, can you please enlighten me, what is so much better than Opera 9.7? I tested many websites I regularly visit and all of them rendered much worse than on Opera 9.7
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I find it looks better, layed out better, easier to use with my fat fingers and I think it seems slightly quicker to load pages too.
My main reason for using it is that it is allot easier to use for me with a non stylus device.
Has no pinch to zoom, but if you tap the screen it zooms anyway. And I could never get 9.7 to zoom how I wanted anyway, it always seemed to zoom back out slightly again anyway.

HTC_Junglist said:
I find it looks better, layed out better, easier to use with my fat fingers and I think it seems slightly quicker to load pages too.
My main reason for using it is that it is allot easier to use for me with a non stylus device.
Has no pinch to zoom, but if you tap the screen it zooms anyway. And I could never get 9.7 to zoom how I wanted anyway, it always seemed to zoom back out slightly again anyway.
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Yes but what about the layout of web sites? Opera 10 doesn't seem to render pages correctly..There are so many issues with it, I really hate it.

I don't know, I can't say I've noticed it not rendering pages properly here.
Not on the pages I've visited anyway.

using opera 9.5
too lazy to upgrade to 9.7 or even 10
works really fine.
ie is some crap no pinch-to-zoom..thats a no-go
DN41

Netfront Browser 4.00 concept version R002

I'm a former iPhone user too, and the browsing experience on the HD2 is far better than the iPhone. The screen is bigger and allows you to view more of the page at once, and the processor allows it to browse much more briskly. ie: The HD2 browses faster over 3G, than my iPhone does over WIFI. On the iPhone, I usually have to view mobile versions of pages. The HD2 is big and fast enough, to load full-pages, with full flash support (with Skyfire).
I primarily use Opera 10 as my main browser. Its super fast, has a nice interface, and renders pages really well. The only downside is that it lacks pinch to zoom, but I honestly don't ever need it. I hardly ever used pinch to zoom on my iPhone. Double tap to zoom is easier to use, and can be done with one hand.
If you can't live without Pinch to zoom, you can always use the Opera 9 browser that comes stock with the HD2. It isn't quite as fast as Opera 10...its probably just a little bit faster than the iPhone's Safari browser.
When I find myself wanting to view pages with flash, I use Skyfire, which have full flash support. Lack of flash support is the iPhone's biggest draw-back IMO, and Apple doesn't seem interested in ever bringing it to the iPhone....even the iPad (which is an oversized iPhone anyway) doesn't support it. You can also tweak Opera 9 with flash lite, which gives it limited flash support.
The HD2 wins in the browsing department IMO, if only because you have choices.

petvas said:
Yes but what about the layout of web sites? Opera 10 doesn't seem to render pages correctly..There are so many issues with it, I really hate it.
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I agree with HTC_Junglist - Opera 10 renders web pages fine for me. I can only guess that you're talking about the fact that it does not use text reflow, and has blocks of text set to fit the zoomed in display, rather than the full screen one. That's so that you can zoom in on a part of the page and actually get that part of the page, unlike previous version of Opera (that had text reflow). Also, the zoomed out view is for moving the page round, not for reading it. That's why it's only 1 touch to zoom in to read, and 1 touch to zoom out again. It's by design and if you get into it it's way better than any previous versions. I hated it at first, but after a few days I grew to love it and could now not revert back to the sluggish and fiddly 9.7.

mystik610 said:
I'm a former iPhone user too, and the browsing experience on the HD2 is far better than the iPhone. The screen is bigger and allows you to view more of the page at once, and the processor allows it to browse much more briskly. ie: The HD2 browses faster over 3G, than my iPhone does over WIFI. On the iPhone, I usually have to view mobile versions of pages. The HD2 is big and fast enough, to load full-pages, with full flash support (with Skyfire).
I primarily use Opera 10 as my main browser. Its super fast, has a nice interface, and renders pages really well. The only downside is that it lacks pinch to zoom, but I honestly don't ever need it. I hardly ever used pinch to zoom on my iPhone. Double tap to zoom is easier to use, and can be done with one hand.
If you can't live without Pinch to zoom, you can always use the Opera 9 browser that comes stock with the HD2. It isn't quite as fast as Opera 10...its probably just a little bit faster than the iPhone's Safari browser.
When I find myself wanting to view pages with flash, I use Skyfire, which have full flash support. Lack of flash support is the iPhone's biggest draw-back IMO, and Apple doesn't seem interested in ever bringing it to the iPhone....even the iPad (which is an oversized iPhone anyway) doesn't support it. You can also tweak Opera 9 with flash lite, which gives it limited flash support.
The HD2 wins in the browsing department IMO, if only because you have choices.
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Your post is completely in contrast from what the youtube video is suggesting... I'm glad I can get different opinions here. Thank you!

I tried using Opera 10 with my favorite sites and it really doesn't work well for me. Try for example www.kicker.de

petvas said:
I tried using Opera 10 with my favorite sites and it really doesn't work well for me. Try for example www.kicker.de
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Looks fine to me. I take it you see something different?

petvas said:
I tried using Opera 10 with my favorite sites and it really doesn't work well for me. Try for example www.kicker.de
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Here is how it looks for me, this is one tap zoomed too.

Opera 10

Is there any specific reason why people don't include latest Opera 10 Mobile in their ROMs?
Thank you.

I'm about to switch back to 9.7. I think it's faster and smoother than O 10. A lot of people (myself included) don't like the "pinch to zoom" in O 10. Or lack thereof i should say. It's not "true" pinch to zoom. But primarily, I think 9.7 is smoother and faster and uses lest memory...(i think)

Frankly, because 9.7 is superior in most ways.

I prefer 9.7 over 10, It's faster.

It's strange, because I have never found that 9.7 was faster than 10 in anything.
The only thing that 10 does not have is "pinch to zoom," which I don't use often enough to miss, because it requires two fingers instead of one.
Can some of you 9.7 die hard fans please explain why (other than pinch to zoom) you feel that 10 has less desirable features? I just don't see it that way after comparing the two, I always find myself gravitating back to 10 as my default browser. I find that it renders faster, scrolls faster, etc. and that is all I need.

O 10
I can honestly say that Opera 10 was much slower than 9.7. That's what turned me off from it. Also I never had any use for Flash either so thats another reason for myself

The final version?
Did you use Opera Turbo in v.10?
I'm just really trying to wrap my mind around this, because no matter what sites I try, I cannot get 9.7 to outperform 10. It's always the opposite.

I preffer opera 9.7 because, no matter what you try, 10 won't draw the pages pixel-correct (you can notice it in slanted edges in pictures). In 9.7, all you have to do is go to opera:config, and under Adaptive Zoom, change Default Zoom to 100 and Virtual Screen Width to 1024 (this last one is because most pages online are created around a 1024 screen width, which opera uses for some reason to decide page layout, and this value is used when viewing the full page at default (non zoomed-in) zoom). When you double-tap, the default screen zoom is 100%, and images are drawn pixel perfect.
Opera mini 5 also draws pages correctly, and, were it not that it's not really a browser, is a better browser than 9.7 or 10 in terms of page layout. 10 just doesn't work... Guess I'll just wait for Fennec or (oh, please, please) Chrome for WinMo.

You do realize that development on Fennec for WinMo has halted, right? They are only developing for Android now.

i don't get what's the big deal about people not including it in their roms...
you can get it via opera's website anytime anyways...

For me 9.7 just feels more polished and renders pages better than 10. 10 always felt a little more sloppy than 9.7 but thats just me.

xtenpeben said:
i don't get what's the big deal about people not including it in their roms...
you can get it via opera's website anytime anyways...
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Cause most of us prefer 9.7 to 10! If you want 10 it is available in many flavors in cab form. Why is that so hard to understand.

I suppose it matters more for Euro users, because I cannot imagine being able to fill up the 1GB ROM on my TMOUS HD2. I have installed every app I use to the internal memory and I still have over 600MB left in the internal storage. With the Euro version, I got as low as 90MB, which is still not bad.
I never use 9.7, but I guess I don't mind having it cooked into the ROM. I still install 10 and make it my default browser, just because I like the UI and it feels more comfortable to me.

You know after a couple days flip flopping between the 2, 10 with turbo is very fast. I am consistantly getting pages loading quicker in 10. Cnn for instance loaded up much quicker for me images and all on 10.
Also the swipe scrolling is as smooth as webkit with very little checker boarding. My only gripe is how it looks at full page on certain swipes before zoom. Specifically, the way the page wraps a little tight on full page view.
To each their own I guess.

Opera 10 is crap, that's why it's not included, and I'm a huge opera fan (Windows). 9.7 is pretty good, not up to Android's webkit browser's level though.

Not using Opera 10 because of the zoom, not sure about the speed, but i do like the tabs with pictures on the Opera 10

What I don't like about Opera, is that it doesn't make the sites mobile. I mean with Iphone's safari and android browser, when you go to, say Gmail, it has a fancy mobile design. With opera - not.
How can this be turned on?

a5med said:
What I don't like about Opera, is that it doesn't make the sites mobile. I mean with Iphone's safari and android browser, when you go to, say Gmail, it has a fancy mobile design. With opera - not.
How can this be turned on?
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Settings > Display

Nope didn't help, still that ugly google and facebook and everything.

a5med said:
Nope didn't help, still that ugly google and facebook and everything.
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did it change at all? or it did change but it looks ugly?