Database Users

HD or Xperia - Buying advice

I am a current Tytn II owner contemplating the purchase of one of the afforementioned two devices and would appreciate the (un)biased advice of fellow owners/debaters/interested parties in my decision.
My reasons for buying is to rid myself of carrying around 2 devices (iPod classic & mobile phone - the unachievable one-does-all device), and, of course, the upgrade from my current hand-held.
Reasons for going for those two (and not the HTC Touch Pro) are resolution and 3.5 jack. I currently live in Hong Kong so the whole 3G in the US problem doesn't bother me.
My list of requirements:
1. Ability to play music / watch movies (*kick* the iPod).
2. Ability to comfortable access my email and, at times, be able to write lengthy responses.
3. Ability to comfortable scour the web on the move in my ongoing search for happiness (or something to resolve immediate boredom).
Sadly, I have yet to test any of those devices since I've only seen non-operational example sets at carriers' shops.
Xperia:
* PRO - Keyboard
* PRO - Directional Pad
* PRO - More memory
* PRO - More battery capacity
* CON - Engadget Mobile's review speaks of a finicky joystick/direction pad - Has anyone else observed this?
* CON - No accelerometer - Is this really a serious hindrance to user experience?
* CON - Keyboard's top letters are flush against the panel - so when typing on the R/T/etc., you hit the panel.
* CON - Smaller screen - How does this affect browsing?
HD
* PRO - Larger screen
* CON - No Keyboard - I've read mixed reviews on the performance of the on-screen keyboard. Can anyone that's tried it speak of its capabilities?
* CON - No Directional Pad - I've read that's resolve-able by use of key-mapping software. However, I must say I'm kind of used to the directional pad on my Tytn II. Thoughts?
Unanswered questions:
1. Battery performance X1 vs HD, including Video playing?
2. Video performance X1 vs HD?
3. GPS performance on the X1? I've read about "lags" in the HD, is this limited to Google Maps or a problem with the device? How does X1 compare?
4. Why did you choose one over the other?
5. ROM development - I am somewhat concerned that homebrew is going to be limited on the X1 (not a direct HTC device)?
Thanks!

HD Screen Resolution - Scaling questions?!

Hi Folks,
I know there are several threads here around apps that either don't scale or just die the death on the HD, and I'm watching the list closely...
But I just wanted to know generally what happens with the HD in terms of scaling? Does it attempt to scale QVGA and VGA apps to fit the screen, or does it run them 1:1, or does it vary by app?
Clearly there are several lower res apps that work fine on the device so I wondered how it was handled but I've not seen a explanation of scaling on the device and why its an issue for some apps and not others?
I'm torn between a Raphael and a Blackstone for my next handset - I'm almost at the point of convincing myself I can live without my Kaiser's keyboard...
But given the high number of random apps I've got clogging up my Kaiser, I'm worried that incompatibility with that huge screen might be the one reason to make me steer clear of the Touch HD....much as I like the idea of all that real estate.
Thanks for any info, and apologies if I've missed a thread that gives this info already.

No thoughts then!?
I have to say I think I'm swinging back towards the Raphael now just to err on the side of caution with presumably a higher number of compatible apps!
I'd have settled for a diamond but need more storage!

I guess there are lots of people who don't know the answer to your questions. I'm one of them.
However, it might help if you clarify which apps you're particularly interested in. The scaling/resizing seems to be application-specific, rather than something that the HD manages. A badly-written app might not scale or expand whereas an application that was written to take account of any reasonable screen resolution would look fine.
As an example even Total Commander, which must have been written months (if not years) ago, looks fine on my HD because it expands to fill the full screen. Yet TomTom is much more sensitive to the screen resolution and many versions refuse to start up at all. (That's not to imply that TomTom is badly written, BTW.)
There are only a handful of threads in these forums about apps that don't work, so I guess that most are fine. But it'd help if you were specific about which ones of yours would be deal-breakers if they didn't scale.

Thanks for the response, my list of apps is pretty random but among others I've collected over the last couple of years and use are:
- a few astronomy apps (Asto Navigator, Astromist, PocketStars)...
- SPB Mobile Shell/diary (presume they'll be fine?!)
- Games (Age of Empires, Orions)
- Slingplayer Mobile
- Memory Map (overland GPS navigation on OS maps)
- WebCamera Plus
- I've already read a lot of the SatNav woes here and elsewhere so I'm comfortable that will be resolved anyway!
Cheers for any further thoughts or experience!

You can bet your left nut that if current apps aren't compatible then they will be soon, with both the HD and the Xperia having this resolution and becoming more and more popular. Do the websites for those apps report any kind of compatibility issues with specific devices?
If you're desperate then an email to those apps' developers might yield some answers.

owenand said:
or does it vary by app?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, thats the way it works.
Most applications run just fine, you have more place and this place is filled with content. Other applications won't run, because they are hardcoded on (Q)VGA resolutions. One solution is the WVGA fix, so you will loose a few pixels and "simulating" a VGA screen, another solution is to play with the configurations of the applications.
However I haven't found a program that doesn't run on my HD so far, and I have already installed a lot of them.

Thanks for the positive commentary - looked at WVGA fix and it seems very encouraging!
Do you know whether it has any significant impact on application performance or is it very skinny?
Also I note that SlingMedia have updated Slingplayer with 800x480 support so that's another tick on the list!

owenand said:
Do you know whether it has any significant impact on application performance or is it very skinny?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think that its significant. Even iGO8 runs with the WVGA fix.

Thinking of Getting HTC Snap

Hi All,
Sorry for opening a thread.
I wish to find out more from the users over here what do they think of this phone.
Is it recommended for user like me who needs a phone to do lots of emailing.
My previous WM phones are Touch aka Elf and TyTN II aka Kaiser. My current phone is iPhone.
Do i need to flash the ROM to make it faster and lighter??
Thanks in advance...

Unfortunately I do not recommend the Snap anymore. It is just my personal opinion, and I am sure there are many happy users out there.
But I went trough two sets with the same keyboard problem (see my other thread about sticky keys) and many users are reporting the same issue.
I think the screen is too small, and the trackball implementation leaves a lot to be desired. (No proper acceleration, e.g. like on blackberry)
The way Windows leaves the top title bar and bottom menu bar always on the screen further reduces the available real estate for applications.
Yes, Exchange support is great, like any other Windows phone. But if you got used to the huge screen of the iphone you will find the Snap disappointing.
I also have a Blackberry curve, and it's unbeatable for plain messaging.
I cannot not notice the huge Android wave that is about to hit the world, for example the Moto Cliq is going to be a great device (and the inexpensive HTC Tattoo) so my advice is to stay tuned and hold off buying for a couple months.
just my 2c

How would you change HD2 ?

Maybe HTC is reading this forum, so I start a thread for your changes and wishes for HD2. My changes are (wishes for HD3):
- Oled display
- display with capacitive sensors AND press sensitivity , for gloves, finger nails, stylus
- More battery power or less power consumption
- Hardware GPU support for ALL applications !!!
- TV - Out with adapter
- Hardware Buttons in better quality AND going inside (like iphone , Grr) , so you don´t press always any button if you just take the phone in your hand
- Maybe better CPU power or dualcore. I don´t need it right now, but 1 year is a long time and I want to avoid that htc use the same CPU for another 5 years as in the past
- Camera with 720 p video and better lenses.
- stronger WiFi connections
And my manila wishes are:
- manila style Task manger / switcher
- manila style task management tool instead of MS office old thing.
- manila style notes
- manila style counter and stopwatch, like it is in Android right now.
- manila style Email client !!
- better album application, with easy folders access.
- much better mp3 player ! : I want rate my music (and sync, of course), intelligent playlists for my own ( 4 stars, for example), I want to search for music with keyboard and switch fast though it with letters on the right side to jump to S for example. The last two wishes are already there, in the contact manager !! I want the same for music and video ! Better caching of thumbnails, there should be no reload every time I scroll. (same as contacts, there IS no reload !! right now )
- video player with folders and DETAILED view: I want an image AND the name of the movie ! Most time you can´t see what file it is, because it is just a small image . Rateing and playlists, too. And of course keyboard search and Jump to letter, just the same interface for contacts, music, videos, Footprints, weather cities with same slight modifications for each area.
- manila style google maps application with smooth !! multitouch.
- Opera 10 with multitouch, of course.
And : SAVE AND SNYC with ALL Manila and System settings with my desktop or in a file at least !!!!!
Imagine, you do a Rom Update or Hard Reset, just load this settings file and ALL your favorites and "make it mine" settings are back, without hours of tweaking again, your email is set up again, you weathers, your ringtone, ALL of it ! What a dream.......

edit - deleted until HansZimmer version 3 is released with a better humour chip.

I don´t understand your message. Do you think HTC is not going further anymore ? I don´t think so and just want to tell what for me as customer is important for the next device. And as far as I know htc is building the devices for us customers, so I let them know which areas are important for me. If you don´t have anything to tell about this subject, please let you opinion on another place. thank you.

How would I change HD2? I'd have it fulfill all the promises on the box and the specs: SMS without anguish, all notifications working as advertised, OS that worked out of the box and not needing constant hotfixes, a battery that doesn't have you constantly scoping out the next available wall plug...
Shall I go on?

Yes, please. This is the why I started this thread

Hardware: Nothing. I'd say it's perfect for now. No doubt it will be improved with faster processor, more memory, wimax in the future, but that's how it goes, and for its time it's just perfect.
Software: A "bigger" Sense. As in continue what has been done now, and "finish" putting that excellent layer over the old WM to hide it completely. But I'm pretty sure that's what WM7 will be. And don't forget to store a whole lot of settings in the registry so that we cant continue to tweak them to our own liking
Also, unified software and hardware specs to ensure inter-device compatibility, so we dont have software that works on some devices but not others, or miss support for hardware capabilities anymore, and a marketplace that goes with it. Also part of it as it seems.

longer battery, more than 3 alarms
that's it

imagine an HD2 with the same buttons on both side of the screen but the middle buttons are dpads/trackpads/touch screen maybe even track balls!

Audio Oblivion said:
imagine an HD2 with the same buttons on both side of the screen but the middle buttons are dpads/trackpads/touch screen maybe even track balls!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd love that! It'd be like the HP iPAQ hx4700 (4" VGA display PDA), which I LOVE. Buttons on sides and trackpad in the middle. Though I wouldn't want to make it bigger or make the screen smaller...

Stereo speakers. Such a beautiful device needs beefy sound to complete the package.
Bigger internal storage.
Sense should BE the default UI for Windows Mobile... forever. It is the most beautiful UI on any Phone OS to date!

HTC Should build their own proprietary OS just for their phones so that it is tailored to work the best in terms of speed and stability. And not some overlay on another OS. Love my HD2 tho!

The HTC HD2 is almost perfect! What changes I would like to see...hmmm...easy
1- Remove the camera protrusion in the rear.
2- TV-out
3- More internal memory
4- Video Call feature
5- Built-in VoIP SIP
What I would "want" them to do...
a- capablity to install Xeon QuadCore processor chip
b- Twin Hyper cooling fans for the processor
c- Night vision with heat/UV vision camera
d- Direct Blu-Ray quality video recording
e- Capablity to Plugin a USB external HDD
...think I've oozed out too much greed....I'll just stop now!

athar13 said:
The HTC HD2 is almost perfect! What changes I would like to see...hmmm...easy
1- Remove the camera protrusion in the rear.
2- TV-out
3- More internal memory
4- Video Call feature
5- Built-in VoIP SIP
What I would "want" them to do...
a- capablity to install Xeon QuadCore processor chip
b- Twin Hyper cooling fans for the processor
c- Night vision with heat/UV vision camera
d- Direct Blu-Ray quality video recording
e- Capablity to Plugin a USB external HDD
...think I've oozed out too much greed....I'll just stop now!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And don't forget this important aspect: purchase price!!
Putting the new HD3 on the market at $199 (€145, £127) would definitly be the best aspect of them all
And don't forget to give all accessories prices like: $27 for car charger, $ 25 for extended battery + cover etc..
Ah well... we'll have to keep dreaming, 'cause who knows what the 'evil' minds of HTC are up to next
Grtz,
Degake

santahtc,
yes, bring us good stereo speakers as my sharp 903 had.
and an always accessible SDhc card slot.
and a flat back, not that surfboard one!

I'd like the HD2 to have a more constructive forum on xda, where there's less trolls and flamers. Other than that, I can't fault it.

A touchscreen that enables typing would be nice. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=595655

See what I mean

johncmolyneux said:
See what I mean
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol I was expecting just that.
There is nothing wrong in pointing the good and the bad stuff.. I happen to be one who has those problems... Shouldn't I be looking for solutions?
Cheers mate! Peace!

Is it just me, or are people wanting a quad core laptop in a smartphone...
The reason I got the HD2 was to combine my phone, PDA and media player, and it does
My pockets are so light now.
One thing, I wish I could lock the screen during music/video playback I want to see the screen and not pause the playback accidentally

USB host
Video Out
Better battery performance
IrDa to control my TV

Archos 70b eReader

Anyone have this yet? Wondering how it compares to NookColor, etc. Note there are two versions of this...the 70b being the newer model with only the two hardware button.
Specs look decent for an e-book reader. Android 2.1, wifi etc.
Would love to see a review...anyone have feedback?
http://www.advancedmp3players.co.uk...hscreen__and_Android-based_eReader.12552.html

I plan on buying it. it looks decent
but there no bluetooth built it.
I wanted to know if a bluetooth usb key would work or not.

Bandage said:
Anyone have this yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got it in MediaMarkt for 139 euros (available online starting 119).
Model Nbr - A7EM
Firmware - 1.0.0
Kernel - 2.6.25 / [email protected] #98
Build - V 0.18.ECLAIR.eng.root.20101209.172546
First impression - pretty slow (comparing to SGS 2.2.1), bugs in original keyboard, pretty bad resistive touchscreen (seems like or a bit better than other Archos tablets) , "read" buttons are not working with all applications, very sensitive orientation sensor - switching all the time, standard Android orientation is horizontal - but the device made for vertical/portrait orientation. So too many software "features".
Also, very important for any user, they made pretty bad decision of making scroll bars very thin on such pretty large screen. Meaning that they could not be used for actual scrolling and it is almost impossible to scroll any screen.
Summary so far - NOT RECOMMENDED for a novice user, but, as I understand, pretty standard so could be "tuned" by an experienced person. Especially if 2.2 ROM could be ported to it.
PS: Could not find any extra information about device itself and how it could be rooted so far. Very limited info on official site, no firmware available, almost no postings on any sites except of 1-2 reviews.
If anybody has questions - please do it quickly. I'm planning to return this device back because it is pretty much failing it main purpose - it has no convenient ebook reader application, so, considering very limited supply in Archos app store - (Stanza is missing!), it is too much work to make this device useful.

(will keep posting with info) Good news:
User 'shinset' posted very interesting video on Youtube "archos 70B ereader" : www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOqbPI3aqDQ
Some modifications were done to the software (see next post).
Not just being cool, but the device looks much snappier and many standard programs could be installed (excluding Google closed source ones as he said in comments). Also with stylus navigation on 70B resistive touchscreen is much easier than with fingers.
'NightTimeification' mentioned: "the only good thing about the A70B is the "c-paper" screen if you read a lot ". Confirming that screen looking pretty good for such a cheap model also color wise.
Checking blogeee forum using Translate from French.Google as: www.blogeee.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=480&t=20537&sid=5c81e90baf766f186ff0c6595748807f

Summary on the device
Product looks alike (except A70b as Android 2.1): Nextbook Next2 7" eBook Reader:
URL: www.nextbookusa.com
PREVIEW: www.youtube.com/watch?v=11KiiL4cMjs
FCC application A70b including Internal photos:
https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas...Frame=N&application_id=420383&fcc_id='SOV7702
= Summary from the French forum (first 13 pages):
- Only temporary root with Z4Root (till reboot)
- no known access to boot manager or Froyo
- apps to be compatible with enlightens 2.1
- Suggested modification: Zeami launcher + home switcher + alternative market (Slide me)
- Office app - Quickoffice - http://gallery.mobile9.com/f/1618835/
- Opera Mini browser 5 is considered as the best browser
- Google calendar via - GCalendar Widget
- A transitional model because Archos is switching to Arnova brand later this year - www.generation-nt.com/archos-arnova-chine-strategie-tablette-android-actualite-1166241.html
- Most of people are pretty happy with functionality for this money
Now I'm not sure any more ...

i have this
http://www.jbmm.fr/2011/02/08/archos-70b-ereader-mes-impressions/
http://www.jbmm.fr/2011/02/04/deballons-larchos-7ob-ereader/
i prefer the 7 IT
the "big" interest for this ereader is the "ADOBE DRM" !
for use epub/pdf with drm

Adobe DRM
cajl said:
the "big" interest for this ereader is the "ADOBE DRM" !
for use epub/pdf with drm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed, but there is one problem with it - CPU is pretty slow, so any serious PDF is taking ages to load (like a minute to load every page). So I would not count on this device as being a good PDF reader. In emergency situation - yes, but any complex PDF - no.
PS: On my SGS phone with 1 Ghz CPU reading PDF is much more smooth, but the screen is only about 1/3 of 70b. No perfection in this world

Played with device the whole weekend. Here is a summary of how I think about this device:
For:
Size and weight are just right (for me)
Screen type (c-paper) meaning brightness levels, contrast and colors
Overall functionality for this money
Contra:
Resistive screen
Configuration of a single Home screen is just stupid
Immature and obsolete OS version (full of small bugs)
Incompatible with many Android apps I need (not installing)
The only reasonable usage is as e-book reader. All other are inconvenient in a sense
Low chances that it would be ever properly supported by Archos
PS: I've complained to Archos. Waiting for their reaction.

ppav1776 said:
Contra:
...
PS: I've complained to Archos. Waiting for their reaction.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It looks that Archos never would contact me. So I'm bringing device back to the shop.
For others who are interested, some workarounds:
> Resistive screen
You need a stylus or something alike (finger nail) with small contact surface. Any scrolling easier to do in diagonal style: bottom_left to top_right.
Combining these two, the interface does not look so ugly any more.
> Configuration of a single Home screen
Get a different Launcher and make it default
> Incompatible with many Android apps
It should be a way. Probably in Archos Internet Tablets section they should have more information about this. May be just some libraries to be installed, may be this is just an Installer bug.
> reasonable usage is as e-book reader
It is not bad already.
WiFi driver is not power consumtion friendly - just keep it connected to charger
Browsing is not easy - just try different browsers
> not properly supported by Archos
Who cares! They are a commercial company, but there are a lot of enthusiasts around who might help.
> No bootloader or real permanent root
Get Titanium Backup and z4root, make a full backup (including System settings). So the applications could be easily re-installed and most of settings preserved.

ppav1776 said:
(will keep posting with info) Good news:
User 'shinset' posted very interesting video on Youtube "archos 70B ereader" : www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOqbPI3aqDQ
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Brought it for less than 100 euro. I've followed the instruction, making a very usable tablet. Even Angry Brids runs on it . I am however looking for a calendar app, which doesn't required the stock calender as it is removed by Archos.