Database Users

Time to move on perhaps?

I've had HTC/XDA's for the past 7 years, starting with the basic XDA through to the XDA2, XDA2s, XDA Exec and currently the XDA Hermes...but they just ain't that cool anymore - I used to enjoy using them, they were original and the OS was swish but now they're slow, cumbersome and just not that funky nor impressive - its a rickety old OS with nothing to get excited about.
Until Microsoft do something interesting with PocketPC I don't think I'll returning for a while, however I'd just like some opinions on the phones to which I'm considering a move to...
My likes...
- Touchscreen ideally (Nokia loses here)
- Navigation capabilities (either built in or addon)
- Good quality camera, quick to fireup/use (unlike PocketPC!!)
- Proper Keyboard (nice but not necessary)
- Ability to use POP3 email practically without hard work
Based on the majority of the above, I am considering these phones...
- Samsung F700 (beautiful looking, nice interface)
- Apple IPhone
- Nokia N95 8Gb
Have I missed anything worth considering, if so what are you recommendations?
Currently with Vodafone and have been offered the F700/N95 for free, 500 minutes, Stop the Clock (free after 3 minutes for an hour), 250 txt's for £30 p/m.
I am put off PocketPC so with the greatest of respect, don't bother replying if its an anti-anything-else style response.
Appreciate your views/opinions, particularly from anyone actually using/with experience of any of the above phones.

I had my hands on the N95 and its awesome. The iPhone is the iPhone, awesome os and navigation, but ultimately i see a bunch of chicks with them so no. Samsung looks promising but will probably be way too expensive straight off unless carrier subsidised. N95 wins, it has GPS, a snappy os, great music player, and tons of software available. Good luck in your choice!

Thanks for your reply mate, the N95 does look appealing but what about the keyboard? Is it genuinely usable on a day-to-day basis? Heard comments that its too small?
Cheers, Ash

I know the iPhone is the rage for alot of folks........but even so...Apple will try to make it grow and advance without end.
Example is the release of the developer package.........I think the iPhone, atleast with the coming introduction of then next version, would be my next choice...........for the resale if nothing else.
My little Hermes has held it's value pretty well too!
Good Luck and stay in touch.

chipsxj said:
I know the iPhone is the rage for alot of folks........but even so...Apple will try to make it grow and advance without end.
Example is the release of the developer package.........I think the iPhone, atleast with the coming introduction of then next version, would be my next choice...........for the resale if nothing else.
My little Hermes has held it's value pretty well too!
Good Luck and stay in touch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I agree with your sentiments, the IPhone 2 I believe it worth waiting for, I don't think I'd invest my pennies in the current release, its just not heavily featured enough, although the firmware upgrades are coming out thick and fast!! Its now got a GPS like technology!! Very impressive!
...but I'm not interested in making my Hermes act like something far superior, I'm just bored of its tired, slow and clunky interface - need something refreshing that allows me to enjoy using my phone, and enabling me to use it properly without having to wait for it to wakeup from standby, wait for the camera to get its act together etc!
Thanks for your comments. Anyone any experience with the Samsung? It looks smart! Has good spec too!

ashleyhall said:
Its now got a GPS like technology!! Very impressive!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you consider a "GPS like technology" - the same thing GoogleMaps does?

to be honest,
You are looking for the
"Sony Ericsson p1i"
http://www.smarthome.com/96001.html
It meets all of your specifications, except it has a suretype keyboard. It has 2 letters to a key, instead of a normal keyboard, or a normal keypad with 3 letters to a key. It's actually the best keyboard to have once one gets used to it.
Key features:
Touch screen
WiFi
Smartphone capability
Not sure on GPS/location.
awesome 3.2 megapixel camera.
I think you'll like it.

vr24 said:
What do you consider a "GPS like technology" - the same thing GoogleMaps does?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, similar in the sense that it doesn't use a traditional GPS utilising Satellites, instead it uses GSM triangulation, still its an impressive addon for a firmware update. Lets face it, when did the last Hermes firmware update (from an official provider, not cooked ROMs) enhance our functionality to that extent!!
Sirgatory said:
to be honest,
You are looking for the
"Sony Ericsson p1i"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the pointer, does look nice but I'm a little put off Sony's after seeing/playing for a while with the P900 and P910 - very large, clunky and easily broken phones with a rather unimpressive slow interface - have things improved since then?

not sure if that's the case any more but many sonyE owners complain about as poor charging connectors as htc had pre extMiniUsb
also suspct sonyE only support their own odd flashCard std.
hope the iphone2 got microSd

Rudegar said:
not sure if that's the case any more but many sonyE owners complain about as poor charging connectors as htc had pre extMiniUsb
also suspct sonyE only support their own odd flashCard std.
hope the iphone2 got microSd
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just watched a video showing the SonyE's interface, looks just like the old P900, slow and not very jumpy to respond.
Think I'll keep looking, what other nice phones are out there right now?
Cheers, Ash

The only one out of your list I would consider is the iPhone.
Some people are sentimental about the devices they use, they deveop a love for it and whenever something clearly better comes out they make a whole lot of excuses defending their old device. While I've loved my Hermes very much, I'm not sentimental, I'm progressive. Within financial reason, I will go with whatever the current-day best device/platform is.
The iPhone has in no way been that, not so far. Unti l I can have EVERY little excellent WM app I use, or an equally good iealternative on the iPhone platform, the iPhone is a waste of money for me. Everything else of course is brilliant, but the No. 1 thing that turns me on phones is the abilty to have multilingual dictionaries on it, an audio recorder, an advanced metronome app (yes, musician here!), access to network mapped drives, a GOOD calendar app (iPhone's is not good enough for me, try Agenda One), ebooks and pocket bible, a scientific calendar (to some people that would be VERY useful), TCPMP (enough said), and ALL the tweaking to my heart's content.
The release of the SDK is what excites (and at the same time worries) me. I'm just wondering how Mr. "closed" and "controlling my devices" Steve Jobs is going to handle the freedom with iPhone that's about to be unleashed.
I'm also interested in what Microsoft is going to do for WM7 in reaction. Are they just going to bloat it up with vista-like "wow"-ness (thereby slowing it to a grinding halt) or are they going to actually make it a powerful platform and compete with the desktop-class iPhone platform. The browser situation STILL sucks after all these years.
And how about Google's android? Will there be a following for that, enough to bring out great apps? If so, AND if it can be employed on my Hermes, I'll stick it out to try that.
So what I love about WM6, is not actually the OS itself. I hate the OS. But all these wonderful developers have made my WM phone what it is, and outweighed its anoying slowness.
Also one single feature which would stop me from going to iPhone, is input. I LOVE TouchPal, try the free edition or professional trial, it's AMAZING. FAR superior to that horrible iPhone keyboard. And the great thing is, it's NOT complicated, only took me half-an-hour to learn. They've done some incredible innovation there. So, will Apple allow third-party developers to make their own keyboards for iPhone? +, will there be a way to sync to my outlook?
I'll wait and see...
Edit: oh yeah, there's also MicroSD. 12GB just got announced, and the SDHC spec can go up to 32GB. That's value being reinvested into my Hermes. There's all these little things that are BIG things in my daily phone experience, and they must all be ticked in the checklist before considering moving.

I know what you mean about moving on. My Wizard is barely living (no SIM card most of the time, still an OK PDA), and I really miss using a touchscreen phone now. I would have bought a Kaiser, but after seeing all of the issues it has, no way. I think the iPhone still looks good, even though Jobs wants to lock everything down...but then again, that didn't stop me here, why would it stop me now?

frenchglen said:
While I've loved my Hermes very much, I'm not sentimental, I'm progressive. Within financial reason, I will go with whatever the current-day best device/platform is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very well put, I'm fully agreeing with you on that and I am pleased that the 'Anti-Anything-Other-Than-Hermes' police haven't yet bothered to respond.
The TouchPal system looks excellent but I simply can't imagine it running at the pace that it does via the video's I've watched on my own Hermes - The IPhone I'm tempted by but not until its next reincarnation, which judging by the speed at which Apple plough up new devices, I don't think I'll be waiting long.
Another phone I'm now considering is..
http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2007/...-crowd-preps-m4650-windows-mobile-touchphone/
...although at the moment I know very little about it.
I guess I'll keep looking!

Just to update you all - went into several stores to play with various new Mobile Phones, tried the Samsung F700 - VERY disappointed, tried the Nokia N95 - HORRIBLE piece of cheap tack. Finally, got informed of the new Vodafone 1615 (KAISER) - what a GREAT bit of kit, yes its another WM machine, the natural progression from the 1605 (Hermes) but its actually nice.
Doesn't seem any faster BUT it has lots more RAM, built in GPS (YAY no more Bluetooth GPS!) and a nice tilting screen!!
Got an amazing tariff agreed and expecting delivery of the new handset tomorrow!!!!
Will keep you updated on my progress with it!
Cheers, Ash

Just a quick comment on the N95, I've read (don't have a link to hand currently, sorry) that a lot of users are having problems with the onboard GPS. aparently the chip/antenna is situated on the back/bottom of the handset which, for obvious reasons, affects the ability to get a fix on your position...

Hope Someone Can Answer This : Why?

an iPod Touch/iPhone can play 3d games, utilise the g-sensor and run smoothly - for example racing games. Tilt the iPhone, the car turns.
Why can't our phones run these sort of games? Or is it just the case they haven't yet been produced?
From what I'm aware a Diamond is more powerful than an iPhone therefore these games "shouldn't" be a problem?
Shoot me down in flames if I'm wrong, just kinda thought there should be iPhone-esque software for these phones now.

I am right with you, i keep thinking the same thing.

Because Apple has crazy fanboys and they provided a simple infrastructure to facilitate payment and downloading (appstore). They also gimped the iphone out of the box so as to pretty much require people to sign up for the appstore if they actually want to use it, ensuring that they have the user base they need for it.
Now the iphone has several million users - how many Diamonds do you think are sold? Windows mobile itself is bigger, but the capabilities of the phones running it vary too much that profiting from making advanced games is as feasible.

I have wondered about this as well. I think the problem is 3 fold
Firstly, the Diamond has 3d and graphics performance issues for sure. Sometimes my Diamond will slow down terribly when running some simple animations. I have read that HTC are notorious for providing poor graphics drivers and this could be part of the reason.
Secondly, I actually dont think Windows Mobile is capable of doing what the iPhone UI is capable of in terms of interactive gaming.
Thirdly, Apple provide your at home developers a great business model to go out and develop great games and apps for the phone. Plus with the Appstore they know that if they develop something good, people will see it - there is only one place to get apps from - and the developer will make money.
For me, the iPhone is not the right phone, but I would love Windows Mobile and HTC to be able to do what the iPhone and Apple can do.

The iPhone has v-sync, so the 3d graphics are drawn smoothly with no tearing and sadly win mo just does not. At least that is what my mate said who is a games developer. The power is there but you just can't get it to the wheels! This just makes it fundamentally unappealing to a lot of developers.

yeah totally agree, i love the diamond, but i've been using windows mobile for years now, and each new model HAS generally got better and better. however the iPhone is just something else.. for people who aren't nerds and into mucking around iwth their phone etc, i could never recommend a windows mobile over an iPhone. its just so much more polished compared to the diamond.
i'm an AMD fan too, godamnit why do i always have to back the underdog

Yes, even though i have a diamond and have had great fun tweaking it, i still can't help but envy the iPhone users for their graphically superior games and video playback prowess .
Another explanation would be that iPhone games are developed solely for... u guessed it, iPhones! ...whereas WinMo games have to be developed to run across many different devices, with (or lack of) accelerometers, touch screens etc. Therefore, to achieve this interoperability / compatibility across the many different devices, compromises have to be made.
That said, there are still gd games for our beloved devices, my favourite being PDAMill, whom develop aesthetically pleasing games with intuitive controls, and they're cheap too.

Nudge.
So all in all, will it become possible? And what's vsync? Portable to diamonds?

I think V sync is something to do with the way images are drawn to the screen, and it is just not implemented in win mo, I don't know if it could be written into the drivers or of it is a hardware thing, but then I don't actually have a clue what I'm talking about! Can anyone confirm this?

vsync actually makes bad performance even worse since it forces the back buffer to wait until right after a screen refresh before it copies its data to the frame buffer.
it's great if the device is capable of rendering an FPS that is higher than the refresh rate, but in the diamond case it's just another fps thief

if you want games like iphone get an ipod touch. The diamond never advertised gaming as a capability. Think of it this way: The iphone is like a mac with mediocre hardware but also comes with a mid range video card. The diamond/touch pro are like PC's with raging motherboard/cpu/ram combo, but bottom entry level video card. You can get a lot done with the PC, but the fun factor lies in the mac.
Go buy virtual pool mobile, it runs great and it's very fun. Its the best pool video game ive ever seen actually.

Simple reason
The reason to me is simple: Apple cares about user experience. Just look at win mobile contacts, or explorer. Do you think this software is made for 2008-2009 hardware? Now look at iphone's ones... Seriously, Microsoft has the power to make good things for mobile users, but they released win mo 6.1 one year ago, which is mainly the same OS that existed in 2003.
Silly we when we buy pocketpc running on windows mobile.

Just to revive a dead thread for quite a good reason..
I've seen a few videos on Youtube and also a few write ups on the wonderful Tinterweb in relation to Windows Mobile devices running and successfully playing iPhone games through emulation.
Is this just simple hear-say or fake ? I've been thinking for a long time about focusing simply on making the graphical capabilities of the diamond better through customising the graphics drivers. That's the main flaw for me.
According to a few posts the graphics card has 64MB dedicated memory.. is this right?
If so, these things SHOULD be capable of running bloody good games but the drivers are just nowhere near good enough. I did hear about changing to ATI drivers - is this right? If so, where can I find the info on this cause I would like to maybe bash at hybrid-combining the drivers and modifying them a bit as to allow maybe a bit more fluid graphics. If you check one of my other posts on the Diamond, I've been complaining about split-graphics. It's really getting on my nerves as I'd rather just see a full picture move around my screen fluidly. None of this "split it up" rubbish.
Cheers

Driver dev
This seems to be a good thread with most/all of the available drivers posted.

well I have been enjoying copy + paste and fully working GPS on my Diamond ever since
now why hasn't Apple offered this so far?
I guess each company chooses their own battles

glumetu said:
well I have been enjoying copy + paste and fully working GPS on my Diamond ever since
now why hasn't Apple offered this so far?
I guess each company chooses their own battles
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hrrm.. In the new 3.0 SDK update for iPhone 3G and iPod Touch which will be released soon there is copy and paste + redo.. in a very stylish and functional way.
And there will be mms + almost every single function that the iPhone was lacking before + some more.. many, many new stuff for improved gaming, new OS improvements etc.
I watched the presentation on the apple website..

Shoddy_me said:
Hrrm.. In the new 3.0 SDK update for iPhone 3G and iPod Touch which will be released soon there is copy and paste + redo.. in a very stylish and functional way.
And there will be mms + almost every single function that the iPhone was lacking before + some more.. many, many new stuff for improved gaming, new OS improvements etc.
I watched the presentation on the apple website..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stuff that should have been released last year. The only reason Apple is releasing it when they are is because people's 2 year contracts are starting to expire, and Apple wants to try and persuade them from leaving by finally giving them features they've been demanding from day 1.
Honestly, it doesn't surprise me in the slightest. I knew Apple would do that.

Heres my question:
Smart phones and windows mobile operating system have been around for something like, oh, 15 years now. Why is it some EMO company like Apple releases a phone (badly I might add) and it becomes THE Benchmark for mobile devices? Its just purely unbelievable to me that so many people obsess over "well the iphone can do this, and it can do that.. I want my ______ to do what the iphone does..." If you like the turd and all its glory so much, why don't you just buy one and get it over with??

the iphone is so easy to use, thats why so many people bought one. when everyone has something, it becomes the norm to judge other things by. think of the model t from ford

Model T?
Confused.com. Is that the foreign (for me) Focus? lol
Anyways, I've looked about and the ATI drivers have given me the power boost I'm happy with. However - My images are still split on the screen.
Still trying to get this fixed...

Jumping ship to the new iPhone?

You don't have to read this, you can just vote.
Ok, we have all heard about OS 3.0.
Faster, multi - tasking, A2DP, other bluetooth improvements such as file transfer, MMS, video capture, onboard video editing software included, etc..
The new iPhone to be released end of June is also going to have a few hardware changes. Have heard that it is 16 to 32 gb, that there is a 5mp autofocus camera with a quality lens on back, and a 3mp on the front (compared to our VGA), thinner (of course, pretty much a guarantee), possible bigger and sharper screen, etc...
It seems to me as if Apple has really (unlike MS) done what a company should...analyze the competition (primarily Android but also webOS and RIM), and redesign and improve their product accordingly. They have gotten rid of pretty muh all of the stupid annoyances, made it faster and smaller, and given developers much more access to different system level things for their apps, along with about a million other changes and improvements that you can and probably have read about. I am also really thinking that they will have good integration with things such as facebook, gmail, and outlook.
I really think there will be no question and that it truly will be the #1 device really without any competition. The only competition I can see is maybe something such as the HTC Magic that is thinner, has a larger, higher res screen, and comes stock with unbranded Android 1.5 (such as some of the HTC line up we have seen).
I just DESPERATELY hope that Apple isn't so stupid and naiive as to not put on MORE BUTTONS! Buttons are always better...always having to quit what you're doing and go back to the home screen to do ANYTHING would drive me insane...I love texting on my HD, then pulling up the phone and calling someone, sticking it on speaker, then going back to texting...that's not too much to ask I don't think.
So vote!
As for what I'm doing. I am jumping ship to the new iPhone. If I find it doesn't satisfy me, I will sell it and get the best Android handset I can find. Hopefully something like the Magic, but thinner, having a bigger, more high res screen, and comes stock with unbranded Android 1.5. If no new non - keyboard Anroid handsets are out by that time...Magic it is! (if it is ever released)

im gonna have to see the official specs and the actual device before i decide anything,if what is mentioned is true then perhaps. but im looking more at the Palm Pre than the iPhone, we will see

Ok, firstly MS is doing something about it, they are working on two new OSs at the moment, secondly its not MS that makes the phone, this is the problem and the holy grail with WM phones, firstly its a problem because MS has no say what hardware is used with its OS, this means like its desktop cousin it needs to support many things well and i believe to an extent it achieves this, but it doesnt excel at any of them. Its the holy grail because with the Iphone, you get 1 phone, 1 set of gear, 1 design for every possible usage, with WM devices you get exactly what you want because you have the choice to choose different phones, different specs and design for your needs.
Im leaving out Android here for 1 reason, it sucks, no no hear me out, apple has a HUGH following with its iPods which translate in to potential iPhone sales, android has a "bunch of Hippies" style of following, they are not classy, they are not even that good but its an alternative to the evil of Microsoft and ties of Apple which makes then appeal to others and thats fair enough, its a market as good as any.
But here is the reason ill be sticking with my Microsoft Windows Mobile based PDA, it works, it works fairly quick, it looks as good as an iPhone and i can install pretty much anything i want on it. Weres Tomtom for android or the Iphone? where is memory Map? where is the ease of use when syncing with Outlook? wheres Igo8? core player? world card mobile? the various language programs? all my security and tracking programs, the million and 1 apps available on the net, free or paid that have a propper support base if it all goes wrong, data retrivel?
some of those i use every day, i use many others every day, and yes there may be alternatives for some, but unless i can get them ALL working on one of the other two devices ill not change because i need them all and thats as simple as it gets.
With a desktop OS you can dual boot or virtual PC it, an thats fine if thats your thng, but you cant do that at the moment on the PDA and even if you could i doubt i would because its a hassle i can do without, WM works and works well enough and im sure its only going to get better.

And what will be the screen resolution of new iPhone?
Current iPhone is a no go for me - with such low screen resolution reading eBooks and surfing the internet is really, really bad.

Waiting eagerly for the new iPhone so definitely jumping ship...
I've got a Mac and syncing is nearly impossible. I've tried all sort of apps but none worked perfectly. I really need to sync address book and calendar and I've had enough of transferring mp3 files one by one, artwork not working etc etc.
the mp3 function is very important for me and the iPhone is perfect for that.
only problem I've got is I don't like the iPhone's current design. It's so 2 years ago. Hopefully they'll come up with a nice sleek design.

Why are Windows Mobile Apps falling behind IPhone ones?
One of the things that has always interest me when making such a decision is: What do developers think? How do they view developing for iPhone versus for winmo platform?
To gain insight into the thinking of developers, including some rather big names in winmo application development, you guys might want to read these extremely interesting threads:
http://www.4winmobile.com/forums/ed...s-mobile-apps-falling-behind-iphone-ones.html
and
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=6481405#post6481405

dazza9075 said:
Ok, firstly MS is doing something about it, they are working on two new OSs at the moment, secondly its not MS that makes the phone, this is the problem and the holy grail with WM phones, firstly its a problem because MS has no say what hardware is used with its OS, this means like its desktop cousin it needs to support many things well and i believe to an extent it achieves this, but it doesnt excel at any of them. Its the holy grail because with the Iphone, you get 1 phone, 1 set of gear, 1 design for every possible usage, with WM devices you get exactly what you want because you have the choice to choose different phones, different specs and design for your needs.
Im leaving out Android here for 1 reason, it sucks, no no hear me out, apple has a HUGH following with its iPods which translate in to potential iPhone sales, android has a "bunch of Hippies" style of following, they are not classy, they are not even that good but its an alternative to the evil of Microsoft and ties of Apple which makes then appeal to others and thats fair enough, its a market as good as any.
But here is the reason ill be sticking with my Microsoft Windows Mobile based PDA, it works, it works fairly quick, it looks as good as an iPhone and i can install pretty much anything i want on it. Weres Tomtom for android or the Iphone? where is memory Map? where is the ease of use when syncing with Outlook? wheres Igo8? core player? world card mobile? the various language programs? all my security and tracking programs, the million and 1 apps available on the net, free or paid that have a propper support base if it all goes wrong, data retrivel?
some of those i use every day, i use many others every day, and yes there may be alternatives for some, but unless i can get them ALL working on one of the other two devices ill not change because i need them all and thats as simple as it gets.
With a desktop OS you can dual boot or virtual PC it, an thats fine if thats your thng, but you cant do that at the moment on the PDA and even if you could i doubt i would because its a hassle i can do without, WM works and works well enough and im sure its only going to get better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. We all know MS is doing something about it. But we also all know that virtually all MS products suck. We also all know that MS is SLOOOW...therefore (like I said), by the time winmo 7 is released, it will already be behind. It will be released around 3rd quarter 2010...that's ridiculous. Another year from now Android will no longer be so new, and Apple will have put out something entirely new as they know ppl will be getting tired of iPhone by then. Not to mention what RIM and Nokia will be doing.
2. Where is the basis that Android sucks? It is faster than WM, that much is for sure. It is also more customizable. It is more modern. 3rd party app support does not make an OS good or bad....your argument that they suck cuz they don't have apps is no good to me. Sure it can make or break the success of the OS but...that's got nothing to do with the OS itself. Android has a LOT on WM and WM has...virtually nothing on Android. It looks ancient, it runs ancient, and it's that simple. I think we can all agree on that last line there.
3. "android has a "bunch of Hippies" style of following, they are not classy, they are not even that good"
- Gotta admit that you really lost me there.
4. Windows Mobile is in fact rather slow, even on good hardware with good drivers.
5. Windows Mobile crashes all the time even fresh after a hard reset, no apps installed, on an official ROM (just like the desktop Windows!)
6. iPhone has better syncing solutions that ActiveSync and Outlook.
7. Just FYI to all reading this...I am a Windows user and have been for years (all my life). I am not an outsider looking in and criticizing Windows w/o due reason and experience. I recently installed OSX86 on my PC however and...it truly is really nice. MS sucks. Bottom line, and there is really no avoiding it.
8. All OS's have pro's and cons. There are just as many if not more arguments against all your arguments for Windows Mobile. My point is simply that the new iPhone truly is a lot better than any Windows Mobile device running the latest WM 6.5.
MrYdude said:
And what will be the screen resolution of new iPhone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No kidding. Couldn't agree more. Coming from a Touch HD and having looked at a lot of friends iPhones...their screens look terrible when reading text (altho they do have 16 million colors compared to our 65,000. Side note: Android also has 16 million colors).
Sadly though I have read that they plan not to change the resolution in order to keep all apps usable. I reallly hope not.

It's true, MS does not have any influence on the phone hardware.
However, an operating system's success is not about hardware potential or software potential or about a combination of both: it's about a tangible offer of potentially attractive software which can be easily obtained via a single entry point, i.e. an APP STORE. That's currently the BIGGEST drawback of the WM platform. I love the customization part of WM but it took me ages to get there. Many users won't take that road and therefore go for the iphone.
There's also a lock-in effect to this -> More users to an OS platform means that developing for that platform gets attractive, thus attracting developers and making the apps offer even more powerful. That in turn increases the chances of attracting new users to the platform, etc.
Honestly, considering all this, do you really a 50 megapixel camera or a nVidia Geforce 8800 GTX in your phone ?? What about all the already hidden potential in your phones which never gets explored because developers and users do not get a realistic chance to discover all of its limitations ?

I'm pretty sure that the new iPhone does not support multi-tasking, you're still stuck to doing one thing at a time. I believe Apples official unofficial stand on it is that they spent way too much time and money on their failed push notifications, and they're not going to allow multi-tasking. (Apple does not like to say it's wrong...and if they would release multi-tasking, I'm sure they'll call it something else, and put a patent on it for no reason).

You know what...
I just love the WM and WM based devices.
They have ALL i need
They are fully customizable and have fully multitasking support.
With iPhone, you will get what it is, and you will get stucked with iTunes and online store
Many iPhone apps (though looks amazing) are not so usable
I just need functionality much more then a great user interface
Peace all

Well i won't go for the Iphone i have my HD and i'm stuck on it to change something that good you need to buy something "special" and from the looks of it the new Iphone will be a bit better than the last one so why do i give a great amount of money to switch to something "a bit" better.Let's see Palm Pre and other Android devices now the market will be devided not only for WM an Iphone but Android and Palm OS also so i won't hurry to go for the new stuff as you can never know which one is better until you try them for at lesat 4-6 months maybe even more....so let's wait and see "newer" is not the same as "better" .

andes83 said:
Well i won't go for the Iphone i have my HD and i'm stuck on it to change something that good you need to buy something "special" and from the looks of it the new Iphone will be a bit better than the last one so why do i give a great amount of money to switch to something "a bit" better.Let's see Palm Pre and other Android devices now the market will be devided not only for WM an Iphone but Android and Palm OS also so i won't hurry to go for the new stuff as you can never know which one is better until you try them for at lesat 4-6 months maybe even more....so let's wait and see "newer" is not the same as "better" .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really think it is going to be more than "a bit better".
As you saw there are hundreds of features and fixes in the new OS, plus new hardware changes such has considerably better CPU, double the RAM, better camera, thinner etc..

iori said:
You know what...
I just love the WM and WM based devices.
They have ALL i need
They are fully customizable and have fully multitasking support.
With iPhone, you will get what it is, and you will get stucked with iTunes and online store
Many iPhone apps (though looks amazing) are not so usable
I just need functionality much more then a great user interface
Peace all
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
iori,
There are lots of misconceptions about iPhone, so I don't blame you for having incomplete or wrong information.
iPhone is extremley customizable too, and you too can have multitasking once jailbroken. Therefore, you do not get what it is - you get what you want it to be. You don't get stucked with iTunes and online store. You get the benefit but you can also get things outside iTune and online store.
Whoever gives you the idea that the iPhone aplls are not useable does not know what he is talking about. When app store was first available, many low quality applications did get listed. Not anymore. Whether you're an advanced IT network adminstrator, sales executives, finance director, web site marketer, shipping agent, there are really nice applications for you. Trust me on this one. Don't just anyhow believe people who tells you that iPhone is just a toy and winmo is for corporate use. iPhone can be as corporate as you want it to be.
Cheers.

Anyway, iPhone is still quite poor on the GPS domain.
6 or 7 apps (park lane, radar, around me, traffic, etc) to do all that my iGO can natively do... and still no turn-by-turn soft buyable on the iPhone.
I want a real all in one, and neither the actual iPhone or the next one won't be a real one. My friends who own an iphone have all get a specific GPS, and well, everything's said...

Roupette said:
Anyway, iPhone is still quite poor on the GPS domain.
6 or 7 apps (park lane, radar, around me, traffic, etc) to do all that my iGO can natively do... and still no turn-by-turn soft buyable on the iPhone.
I want a real all in one, and neither the actual iPhone or the next one won't be a real one. My friends who own an iphone have all get a specific GPS, and well, everything's said...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, that's tue still. If you're in US, there is an application called G-Map, which on the surface looks quite decent, but nothing outside US yet. However, this is expected to change with Firmware 3.0. The reason why there was none in the past was because Apple did not allow any such application, thanks to their stupid policy. Respectable company like Tom Tom would of course refuse to release it into the "underground" cydia store. With the policy change by Apple, TomTom is expected there soon.
I'm all for having everything in one device too, and GPS has been a sore point for me. The other sore point is the fixed battery, but that I can accept because iPHone's battery life is not bad.

1, im sorry but your statment about everything MS produces are rubbish, is in fact rubbish, i cant comment what you do with your PC / Mobile but i rarely have system crashes, on my mobile i cant even remember the last time i was forced to do a hard reset, on my desktop im using one of the most stable OSs ive ever used and its BETA! I do agree it takes them time to produce the software and i do agree that in the past SOME of their projects are flakey but not all.
"2. Where is the basis that Android sucks?"
You miss the point of an OS here, if nothing good works on an OS NO ONE will use it, its that simple, If i cant use the programs i need then that OS is useless to me, it may have a place in the linux following groups who challenge everything MS and claim to be better than everything else but in the real world if i cant use what i want to use its useless. MS also has a massive software base including various distribution sites, some free some not, everything is cated for. Android looks no better than my WM device with Touch flo, its no quicker, i know this because i have both of them sitting in front of me.
Because something is more modern doesnt make it good, take the Pentium 4 over Pentium 3 as an example. but i agree android IS more customizable
"Android has a LOT on WM and WM has...virtually nothing on Android"
Really? a LOT is a big statement that i bet you cant quantify with factual information and not hand back subjective reviews and "feelings" about things.
"It looks ancient,"
The core OS does yes, but tell me, is android not a Shell over a command line? i believe it is, So technically the core OS on android looks crap too but thats just nit picking!
"it runs ancient"
that makes no sence, only and new programs work on it fine, quick and responsive so what makes an OS ancient?
3. "android has a "bunch of Hippies" style of following, they are not classy, they are not even that good"
- Gotta admit that you really lost me there.
Ah yes i was refering to Linux and its intresting cult of followers but i retract that statement as it was below the belt.
"4. Windows Mobile is in fact rather slow, even on good hardware with good drivers."
nope, it isnt to me, graphics wise its slow compared to hardware excelerated devices, whats bizzar is that the phone can still pump out ok graphics on its CPU and still multi task, if qualcomm released graphics drivers for many of the 7xxx based chipsets i think you will find a near perfect device. but even without that it works....just!
"5. Windows Mobile crashes all the time even fresh after a hard reset, no apps installed, on an official ROM (just like the desktop Windows!)"
I really cant comment, since WM2002 ive not had that on a multitude of different devices. and Windows doesnt do that either, perhaps the common denominator here is the user.
"6. iPhone has better syncing solutions that ActiveSync and Outlook."
quantify please?
"7. Just FYI to all reading this...I am a Windows user and have been for years (all my life). I am not an outsider looking in and criticizing Windows w/o due reason and experience. I recently installed OSX86 on my PC however and...it truly is really nice"
I too have used Linux, OSX and all the different versions of Windows and they have there places i do agree that in different markets different OS's suit different people. but tell me which one of those is the best for all markets all be it perhaps not as good as the other OS's designed for those markets?
"MS sucks. "
you lose all credibility with that statment attact a spacific product if you choose but to say Apple sucks or MS sucks is crazy and wrong.
"Bottom line, and there is really no avoiding it.
8. All OS's have pro's and cons. There are just as many if not more arguments against all your arguments for Windows Mobile. My point is simply that the new iPhone truly is a lot better than any Windows Mobile device running the latest WM 6.5."
You started off well there, but lost it at the end, PROVE to me that the new OS is better on the Iphone? without using speculation and subjective views an opinions.
I believe MS will be increasing the colour depth on the new devices but i doubt it will make any significate difference, except in its speed. what the WM based devices need is some new tech that uses resistive screens without the 70% (about that) loss of light, that in turn would increase battery life. Dont say capacitive screens, a stylus can be very useful, but definitely a combination of the two somehow.

there are 3 killers for me with the iphone
1. no gps (it has a chip but nothing other than gimmickey apps for it)
2. resolution too small
3. no multi tasking - if I can't listen to mp3's while driving on my bluetooth stereo whilst having TomTom tell me where to go its no good.
Now we know that the new iPhone is gonna ship with TomTom but unless they sort the other 2 issues I wont even be looking at it, let alone ditching my beloved HD.

lancemate said:
there are 3 killers for me with the iphone
1. no gps (it has a chip but nothing other than gimmickey apps for it)
2. resolution too small
3. no multi tasking - if I can't listen to mp3's while driving on my bluetooth stereo whilst having TomTom tell me where to go its no good.
Now we know that the new iPhone is gonna ship with TomTom but unless they sort the other 2 issues I wont even be looking at it, let alone ditching my beloved HD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Lancemate,
How do we know that the new iPhone is gonna ship with Tom Tom? I must have missed that information somewhere.
I'm too disappointed with Steve Jobs for not providing multitasking. So, looks like we still have to jailbreak to get that.
HD's resolution is very nice. No doubt about it. Although vast majority of the applications (phone, weather, music player for example) would not really miss this. Web surfing is in my mind a leading exception, as it would be nice to be able to clearly read the font without zooming in. It is for me a compromise, although an acceptable one for myself. I guess one has to take everything into account (multitouch vs resistive, number of applications available, speed, smoothness, stability, user interface, etc) and decide for oneself if such a compromise is worth it.

its all over the internet mate and has been for a while
example
http://www.appleinsider.com/article..._0_app_highlights_tomtom_gps_line_6_more.html

lancemate said:
its all over the internet mate and has been for a while
example
http://www.appleinsider.com/article..._0_app_highlights_tomtom_gps_line_6_more.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm aware Tom Tom and Navigon will be available, but as separate purchase rather than being shipped with the phone. Guess I misunderstood what you said. Thanks anyway.

my thoughts on blackstone....

i've been using this phone for approximately 6 months now, and now i feel rather disappointing to it ((
the phone is expensive, and it seems that it's equiped with good hardware specs, but its performance is just sucks imo.
these are the things that disappointing me....
1, there is siginificant lag with regard to its screen responsiveness (and almost everything)
2, its camera function is quite hard to use, it takes about 3-4 sec to get a shot, and the picture is easily turns out to be blur if the phone/focal slightly moved/not in steady condition by the end of the shot.
3, the phone is also very easily to get overheated.
4, games for wvga version are really few as well as software; the only emulator works good for this phone is morphgear, but its fps is too low while playing gba and snes games and that is when sounds turned off... on the other hand, due to the fact that wm 6.x does not support multitouch, so there is really no point to use such emulators, cos even rpgs requires multitouch.
in additonal, I still remember that my original 8 gb sd card died after 2 weeks since i bought it, and the customer adviser told me that i have to wait for monthes in order to get my replacement which was really pissed me off.
actually, I have considered iphone as an alternative before i bought this phone, but at the time, it seems everyone owns an iphone and I want something different, so I finnally bought blackstone.
i'm not some crazy iphone fan but blackstone has been easily beated after I compared my phone with my friend's iphone; games on iphone look great and they have tons of 3rd party software and games, its gba emulator which is called gpsphone runs pokemon between 150fps- and 225 in full speed and when sounds turned on and etc....
I know there are certainly something good about blackstone(maybe wm device), but for the price, i think i will only rate blackstone 6 out 10.
whatever, I feel grateful to these chefs who cook ROMs for us, my phone has already improved a lots because of them, and I really appreciate that!!
but for me, I think I won't buy htc's phone anymore.....

lynne02191 said:
i've been using this phone for approximately 6 months now, and now i feel rather disappointing to it ((
the phone is expensive, and it seems that it's equiped with good hardware specs, but its performance is just sucks imo.
these are the things that disappointing me....
1, there is siginificant lag with regard to its screen responsiveness (and almost everything)
2, its camera function is quite hard to use, it takes about 3-4 sec to get a shot, and the picture is easily turns out to be blur if the phone/focal slightly moved/not in steady condition by the end of the shot.
3, the phone is also very easily to get overheated.
4, games for wvga version are really few as well as software; the only emulator works good for this phone is morphgear, but its fps is too low while playing gba and snes games and that is when sounds turned off... on the other hand, due to the fact that wm 6.x does not support multitouch, so there is really no point to use such emulators, cos even rpgs requires multitouch.
in additonal, I still remember that my original 8 gb sd card died after 2 weeks since i bought it, and the customer adviser told me that i have to wait for monthes in order to get my replacement which was really pissed me off.
actually, I have considered iphone as an alternative before i bought this phone, but at the time, it seems everyone owns an iphone and I want something different, so I finnally bought blackstone.
i'm not some crazy iphone fan but blackstone has been easily beated after I compared my phone with my friend's iphone; games on iphone look great and they have tons of 3rd party software and games, its gba emulator which is called gpsphone runs pokemon between 150fps- and 225 in full speed and when sounds turned on and etc....
I know there are certainly something good about blackstone(maybe wm device), but for the price, i think i will only rate blackstone 6 out 10.
whatever, I feel grateful to these chefs who cook ROMs for us, my phone has already improved a lots because of them, and I really appreciate that!!
but for me, I think I won't buy htc's phone anymore.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
why dont you try android there is alot of stuff for it

TC,
Based on what you're telling me (with gaming being a strong criterion), I strongly suggest you just get an iPhone or wait for the GSM-Pre which should be coming in about a month or two (assuming a next-week announcement).
I've been using the TouchHD for a while, and I can agree that the phone gets warm, but by no means hot, so how hot are we talking about here (I understand that the perception of heat is indeed a subjective one)?
And what exactly do you mean by "significant" lag on screen responsiveness? I honestly have not experienced that. Have you installed programs to the brim on your phone on the device memory? Do you actually close your applications? (If you have too many programs running, it'll turn into a tortoise). For the first week, my roommate had no idea that the X-button was not close, but a mere minimize on his Toshiba. He had a constant 10 ~ 11 applications running in the background!
Cheers.

Honestly, i would not buy an iPhone. it's a good device but it's for kids!
have you considered flashing a cooked ROM?
there are plenty out there in the Roms Section of blackstone, personally i prefer Dutty's ROMs, try few of them as most of them have updated Video Drivers which gives you a better graphical and more enjoyable experience.
let us know how things will go

PoisonWolf said:
TC,
Based on what you're telling me (with gaming being a strong criterion), I strongly suggest you just get an iPhone or wait for the GSM-Pre which should be coming in about a month or two (assuming a next-week announcement).
I've been using the TouchHD for a while, and I can agree that the phone gets warm, but by no means hot, so how hot are we talking about here (I understand that the perception of heat is indeed a subjective one)?
And what exactly do you mean by "significant" lag on screen responsiveness? I honestly have not experienced that. Have you installed programs to the brim on your phone on the device memory? Do you actually close your applications? (If you have too many programs running, it'll turn into a tortoise). For the first week, my roommate had no idea that the X-button was not close, but a mere minimize on his Toshiba. He had a constant 10 ~ 11 applications running in the background!
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WOW you mention games 5 separate time if you include Pokemon (how old are you) buy a ps3 or Xbox and a cheap phone to make phone calls, this is a high end device that when used by people who know what there doing responds excellently I have only run a game to play with my kid period

ozmoran said:
WOW you mention games 5 separate time if you include Pokemon (how old are you) buy a ps3 or Xbox and a cheap phone to make phone calls, this is a high end device that when used by people who know what there doing responds excellently I have only run a game to play with my kid period
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ozmoran,
I believe you quoted the wrong person. Lawl. Having said that, well, if he wants to have a gaming device and a phone in one, I guess that he is entitled to his own. But yes, usually, I'd say that Windows Mobile is for business/professional use. I highly doubt it was built for gaming.
Cheers.

everyday we have new roms, how about iphone????? i think hd has its own attraction. good luck!

PoisonWolf said:
Ozmoran,
I believe you quoted the wrong person. Lawl. Having said that, well, if he wants to have a gaming device and a phone in one, I guess that he is entitled to his own. But yes, usually, I'd say that Windows Mobile is for business/professional use. I highly doubt it was built for gaming.
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oops LOL my bad.........
Just finished working it was only 4am in Thailand

It sounds like iphone is more suited to what your needing a phone for.(op) I agree that wm is more a business device with gaming as an after thought. I do like teeter if I'm stuck someplace and need to kill a few min.
The sheer number of awesome cooked ROMS and the options that brings to the table is what keeps me going. Never boring!

that's not my first intention to bring you down on blackstone, and I admit that gaming is 1 strong part for me, and I still believe that there are a lots of people out there have the similar feeling as mine.
cos I think generally, if a phone has good performance on gaming, than it should also perform good on many other things. e.g. with regard to pc, gaming pc can do everything that normal(i don't know whether it is the correct word or not) pc can do, cos it got better cpu and gpu and other hardware components.
and i think same things apply to a mobile device as well; people compare hardware specs carefully before they bought a new phone, what they do that for? i can't think of other reasons apart from gaming and strong performance, and I think they are always closely related to each other.
maybe i'm wrong on this opinion but before somebody refering me as kid or childish, show me examples of what gaming device can't really do in comparison to other business or professional oriented phones, and what the difference?
I complaint about htc is becasue I feel they contributed very little to my phone after I bought it, cos all the improvements i got are from these chefs who cook roms for us, and i already mentioned that in my first post on this thread.
on the other hand, neo2007 is trying to develop graphics driver pack in order to improve the graphics performance for our phone, i don't knwo what's the final results gonna be, but at least he is trying atm.
we paid alot to this phone(at least for me), however, what we get from htc?aren't the apps and games on iphone make our phone look stupid, they already got more than 10000 useful things in their app store(maybe even more) to make their phone better, but what we got? there are still a lots of software and games don't fully support wvga and etc..
and that just makes me feel that microsoft/htc does not pay great attention on our device and their phone users.

lynne02191 said:
that's not my first intention to bring you down on blackstone, and I admit that gaming is 1 strong part for me, and I still believe that there are a lots of people out there have the similar feeling as mine.
cos I think generally, if a phone has good performance on gaming, than it should also perform good on many other things. e.g. with regard to pc, gaming pc can do everything that normal(i don't know whether it is the correct word or not) pc can do, cos it got better cpu and gpu and other hardware components.
and i think same things apply to a mobile device as well; people compare hardware specs carefully before they bought a new phone, what they do that for? i can't think of other reasons apart from gaming and strong performance, and I think they are always closely related to each other.
maybe i'm wrong on this opinion but before somebody refering me as kid or childish, show me examples of what gaming device can't really do in comparison to other business or professional oriented phones, and what the difference?
I complaint about htc is becasue I feel they contributed very little to my phone after I bought it, cos all the improvements i got are from these chefs who cook roms for us, and i already mentioned that in my first post on this thread.
on the other hand, neo2007 is trying to develop graphics driver pack in order to improve the graphics performance for our phone, i don't knwo what's the final results gonna be, but at least he is trying atm.
we paid alot to this phone(at least for me), however, what we get from htc?aren't the apps and games on iphone make our phone look stupid, they already got more than 10000 useful things in their app store(maybe even more) to make their phone better, but what we got? there are still a lots of software and games don't fully support wvga and etc..
and that just makes me feel that microsoft/htc does not pay great attention on our device and their phone users.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
to some degree i agree with u...
for the price paid for this phone, it does NOT measure up to its 'standards'...
i initially was irritated all the time, but have gotten used to it now..
it's actually not dat bad at all... has good hardware, can be used to do alot of things with..
but not many good games are out there for the HD...
one thing that REALLY dissapointed me was the camera not having a flash.. cuz with the amount i paid for this phone the LEAST they cud have provided me with on the phone is a flash (which actually aint that much of a request to ask for, for such and advanced phone).. and of course the video taking.. both camera and video recording in the dark suck.. but otherwise i am satisfied with it...

REPORT: HTC HD Mini an indepth customer review

Hello everybody!!
It's been a while since I have posted.
I decided to post a little story of me using the HTC HD Mini, and the conclusion and consequences thereafter.
During the almost 7 months I have used this phone daily; intensively, I experienced a great many things of which I made a report.
I decided to write this report because I want to help people who want an opinion.
And I will give it based on a user experience and of course some people are not going to agree with me and that's that.
And that’s ok! I didn’t take an hour of my time of thinking this through for the haters, but for the people who want an honest opinion on a product that we love.
I started with windows mobile 5 and after I bought the HTC Touch HD with Windows Mobile 6.0.x I wanted a phone that was faster, had better graphics and more user friendly apps. I wanted a phone I could have more fun with!
I chose the HTC HD Mini and in the end.. I still love it.
But not all is said with that opinion!
Now this was important to me because it made me change my mind about a lot of things regarding HTC AND Windows Mobile...
A view of the Mini…
The design of the mini was striking to me from the beginning, from its small, but workable size to its practical but esthetically pleasing exterior. And don’t forget the big yellow surprise on the inside!
It is cute and looks stabile at the same time. It has a big pocket factor and for someone of my posture its quite ergonomic. ( I am a small guy with small hands and fingers).
And so the mini found the mini
Interface
* I really liked the new sence interface, easy to use and more user friendly then touch flow 3D was.
* I liked the way windows mobile 6.5 is cloaked so to speak, in a way that it doesn't bother you, nor makes things unnecessarily complicated.
* The weather animation and wallpapers really made me smile the first time. I really loved that one
* HTC Peep made me use twitter for the first time and I really got the hang of it afterwards.
 
Media
* I was happy with the camera performance and liked the way I could take pictures and upload them if I desired to.
* The photo gallery was very nice to look at and easy to use.
* The video quality was good and I was satisfied. Although editing really would have made my day!
* The music player and the download option for various album covers made it fun to listen music, although I later decided not to use the function too much because I have a LOT of music…
I have experienced the fact that my mini became sluggish, in overall performance after I loaded up a few gigabytes of music.
That really bugged me because I had a more than capable memory card.
*The Facebook app and YouTube app were easy to use, though I would have liked the YouTube app to have more options regarding viewing profiles, comments, etc. My feeling was that it wasn't complete in a few aspects.
Performance
* One of the most positive things I have experienced was the good use of battery life. The Mini takes a good 2 days use with use of various media, 3g connectivity and viewing video's.
* With the connectivity I had some mixed feelings. Although I rarely lost a phone call due to signal loss I was not always happy with the results while tethering, and sharing internet connections. But the overall internet experiences were good and I rarely had problems with it.
Browsing and Web usage
- I was satisfied with opera. This is a stable browser and it is easy in use.
- The overall web experience was good but "mini". I have realized that I don't mind the mini size of the phone, but eventually prefer a little bigger screen for internet browsing. Though it wasn't really a big deal in practical, daily use.
- I rarely have had problems with sites loading the media, or slow loading of sites.
Overall I am satisfied with the web experience.
 
Customization
Here came the real deal breaker for me....
After I bought the mini I was under the impression that with the development of this phone, a window would be opened for the HVGA format and the windows marketplace. I believe this has failed. For me, in Holland there are really not that many apps available for the Mini. I missed that for a great deal!!
 
Updating the mini and customer support
What really got on my nerves (I think everybody's nerves) were some of the updates... I strongly believe that there is a lot to be said about FAILED support for this device.
The very badly worked out updates that is, HTC provided us with.
A lot of problems later, and very very crappy customer service, we still experience user interface problems that in most high end phones, are shortly dealt with.
I read XDA a lot and it surprised me to see still a lot of problems, which HTC SHOULD have fixed, modified or kept working on some problems hinting to things that could have been thought out better because they are really development issues.
Just to name a few...
- Problems with notifications sound as well as LED notifications.
- Problems with the phone not waking up when it should
- Problems with proximity sensors
- Problems with memory cards
And so on.
 
Personal conclusion:
I really do love this Mini! I love its exterior and I love its interior.
But.....
I don’t like the way it has been treated. It deserved better in a way.
I have the feeling this is the Cinderella story of an HTC ending line of windows mobile 6.5.x phones…
It closes a chapter, but leaves a lot of things open…
HTC made my regard for them fall, I was disappointed.
Windows Mobile 6.5.x is saying goodbye in a way, now that Windows Phone 7 is operational, but it doesn’t close with a bang. It closes very silently in my opinion.
In February, my contract expires and I can get a new phone.
And after several years… I am sorry to say, I’m saying goodbye to HTC and Windows Mobile. It wasn't the phone... it was it's broken potential in a way that made up my mind.
My interest now lies with the Iphone, it’s development and continuing evolution, it’s appeal to me has a great deal to do with the expandability, where Windows mobile 6.5.0 on the Mini ends, and Windows phone 7 constricts within it’s not even fully developed capability. I chose a different way.
My mini stays for the time being. But it will probably be my last HTC phone in a while.
I hope HTC improves it customer support, doesn’t make on-the-side-phones anymore, and develop their continuing support for their existing models.
And MOST of all not to make progress for the sake of progress or money.
Because in the end the money creates the product, but the consumer MAKES the product.
Note:
I just hope some people will find this report helpfull, and I hope it contributes to XDA's motto of finetuning the user experience, because that's what it's all about isn't it? Together we grow.
Take care guys!
Joey

O yeah i forgot to add, that I probably will try to make a review of every device I own. And in medio 2011 I believe, I will be posting things on youtube.

I think this review was very biased cos I have htc hd mini and I really don't like it. Sometimes, I feel that I made a mistake buying it. If you have a friend to buy one, I will sell mine for $100 less than the market price.

I wasn't trying to be biased really, If I didn't like it at all I would have said that out front.
And giving in the fact that I did expect more, it was more the fact that I wanted more options to do something with it than it being a crappy device.
Sorry can't help you there, with selling your phone.
Take care!

I basically agree.
I bought the mini because of its size and functionality of which i heard of from someone else ... not gonna do this kind of mistake anymore. When i bought it i was satisfied .... first month.
After this month full of euphory and for me new experience with hellabuggy HTC Sense, there was bitter awakening waiting for me. The system it uses (WM 6.5-ish) was announced to be droped right after i bought this device, but well, **** happens and there gonna be new system and new ROM i told myself. Oh dear i was wrong .... the device is obviously too slow to run the new OS.
Another cold shower came with the HVGA resolution. It took me a lot of effort to make apps iam used to working on this mini device, developed by some retard who thought HVGA on WiMo will rock. When i see the insane amount of apps for HVGA Android devices and the amount of apps for HVGA WinMo devices which i can count on fingers of one hand of a guy whos working in sawmill i understood theres something wrong with the mini.
The last drop was HTC failsupport (which i was used to to be honest) and the fact that if XDA wouldnt have existed, ill be totally lost ... hence the conclusion and advice for anyone who is even briefly playing with the idea of buying this phone ... DONT DO THAT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!
As for me, ill sell this "great phone" on e-bay and buy myself iPhone, which actually have support and gazzilion apps for lol prices in appstore. This way iam done with anything from HTC ... i had Touch Diamond and Trinity and i still have mini and EVO .. all i can say is HTC always lacked good support and this is not gonna change in the future anytime soon.

Well, ShammanCZ, I knew that before I bought my Mini. I knew about the HVGA and Windows Phone 7. But however I bought it. Because (with looking to the minimum specs of WP7) I concluded that a WP7-device with this dimensions won't ever come.
Second was the price, a WP7 device would be much more expensive (too because of the minimum specs).
And last but not least, I have had an iPod touch (which is actually the same as iPhone), and I didn't like it at all. Apple just limits you too much. I like the freedom you have with a WinMo device, and 'till now, I'm very satisfied of it!
Okay, HTC Support is very bad, but we can't help it. Thanks to XDA, where you can find lots of good devs and tweaks, this isn't a big deal to me.

in my opinion the biggest minus of hd mini is it's screen resolution (you can improve or eliminate the others minuses exept for the resolution ,and here i mean the fact that you can hardly find apps that fit this res) .
For me (and for the other buyers i guess) the plussez are:
-nice handy shape that fits well in every hand and every pocket
-light weight ,you dont get the heavy pocket sensation
-it has dedicated hardware phone button (answering,hanging) ,this was a thing i wanned when i was looking to buy a phone
-the signal is very good even in low signal area and better than other phones (i had an iphone 3g and the signal was much whorst than on mini)
-gps antenna is accurate and faster in finding the sattelites whithout network help,compared to other devices
-resistant case (i have it from more than 6 month now and it looks new even if i'm whering it in the pocket without protection shield except for the screen offcourse ,here i've mounted a shield)
-in conversation sound is loud and clear
THere would be some others but these are the first that came to my mind

Thank you all for your response to this all.
I agree with almost everything.
I found it interesting that there are so much differences in user experience .
As to this day I am counting off for the iphone 4.
Closed off as ios may be. It offers a more consumer friendly enviroment to my opinion. Than the stand alone feeling I get from HTC.

I had HTC universal and Raphael before , I bought HD mini just because of that dimension and that's perfect style.
but it's mean a toy for me after that two devices !
I cannot compare this one with that two ! but I think HD Mini is not such a bad thing that everyone says !
the worse thing of this device is HVGA resolution and you can find applications so hard for that resolution.
if it was VGA ! maybe we loved it ! but now.....

I agree HVGA has not been the top of game for me.
But then again.. battery life is great on my mini..
calls also.. and it remains a phone so that counts as well

Hi All.
I Think every one made a mistake by looking exterior sleek design. Even me, I bought this HD mini but not happy with this.
In the market thousands of free applications available but this phone doest support.
Even, I cannot install TCPMP player and lot of java based applications...
I dont know what to do. May be I will go for android phone.

shasman said:
Even, I cannot install TCPMP player and lot of java based applications...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not a HTC HD mini fault if you're not able to: it's only yours!!

Hmmz sleek design...
shasman said:
Hi All.
I Think every one made a mistake by looking exterior sleek design. Even me, I bought this HD mini but not happy with this.
In the market thousands of free applications available but this phone doest support.
Even, I cannot install TCPMP player and lot of java based applications...
I dont know what to do. May be I will go for android phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think he has a point... And I am wondering myself, how much this has played a part in me purchasing HTC HD Mini.
I think it did play a part. Because I think it's a great design. Perhaps Shasman is right and some people perhaps, did thought only of the sleek design and did not pay more attention to the specifics.
I myself loved the design, but knew about resolution. I just expected it to pick up. When there is a new Iphone... new games come out for that iphone.
And so I thought , would it have gone for HVGA.
So that's the big bummer for me.