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Many many moons ago I initiated a thread telling all of the impending sale of my Ameo, and my reasons for doing so. Since then I have owned umpteen handsets including a Toshiba Portege G900, Nokia E90, Tytn ii, HTC Touch Diamond and finally (to my own surprise) an Iphone 3G.
I recall an overbearing distaste for the Iphone and its supposed lack of a software scene, however it seems that times have changed: the iPhone, for all its flaws now has a huge modding scene and an almost limitless array of applications to cover all of Apple's oversights. For what it's worth the iPhone is the most enjoyable handset I have ever used.
Now here's the thing.
I've been offered a very good price for my Iphone and have recently acquired an INCREDIBLY cheap HTC ADVANTAGE. From the quick look at these forums I've had there seem to have been some great developments and I WANT to fall back in love with the Advantage (though I accept that the device is in itself a completely different handset!)
I suppose on a deeper level I want to know if windows mobile can offer me the solutions that I have on my Iphone and enjoy every day. Obviously each device has HARDWARE differences that can never be changed - the Advantage will never have multitouch just as the iPhone will never have a VGA display; but considering the HUGE software library Windows Mobile supposedly offers can it provide solutions to the following tasks....
Google Contacts OTA sync - with Gsync I can synchronize my contacts every day and ensure I never lose a number. This also updates my contact photos stored on Google's servers. I don't use Outlook, never have never will and want a simple over the air solution.
Podcasts. With Mobilecast on the iPhone I can search for an download podcasts which download in the background and update as and when new shows arrive. It supports both video and audio podcasts.
YouTube downloader - allows the download of high quality YouTube videos to keep and supports multiple simultaneous downloads.
Email with properly formatted HTML support. I recall the Windows Mobile html email client displaying weirdly formatted and ugly messages, shifted to one side/ I will happily pay for a replacement email client if it is as beautiful and useable as the Iphone's.
Browser - the iPhone's browser is far from perfect, but I'm able to happily type out a new thread on Safari right now. I recall many problems with the Touch Diamond's Opera browser - most irritatingly the cursor moving back in the paragraph you're typing for no reason. Have most of the flaws with Opera Mobile been resolved? Is it now better than the iphone's Safari browser?
That's pretty much my list. They might seem pretty banal but they make me enjoy my iPhone, and if I can get the Advantage to do all those things then I'll probably sell up. I'm not worried about the size of the Advantage.
Hi Leoni,
Good to hear from you again after such a long period of absence.
I still give the same advice: define your requirements first, and be comprehensive in doing so.
- Do you need navigation software? If yes, iPhone is out, Athena is in.
- Do you want hugh screen and not mind the size? If yes, Athena has a tick.
- Do you do word, excel, and power point, or at least often receive attachment of such and want to read them on the device? If yes, iPhone is out, Athena is in.
- Could you tolerate weak signal strength? If no, iPhone is out.
- Do you have the habit of using handwriting recognition, or write Chinese/Japanese/Korean characters? If yes, iPhone is out.
- Do you want to use the GPS for traking, or prolonged use without access to power source? If yes, iPhone is out, as you can't swap in spare battery.
- Do you a extremely fussy person in wanting really really smooth video playback? If yes, consider iPhone. However, if you'r willing to wait, Coreplayer is going to address this issue very very shortly and poor video playout is likely to be history.
- Do you placed lots of value in internet browsing wihtout having to zoom in and out? If yes, nothing beats Athena. But Opera Mobile would never be as smooth as Safari. As to your questions on typing using Opera, it depends on which version you use. You need to try out all of them to see the difference.
- Are you a fashion conscious person who want to be "cool". If so, iPhone is a cool looking phone, but so is HTC Touch HD (Which I have just bought).
- Do you do presentation as required by your work? If yes, HTC Touch HD is out, and Athena is in, because HD does not have TV-out. Although iPhone has TV out, it does not have presentation software, so iPhone is also out.
- Do you want FM radio? If so, consider Touch HD.
- Do you want good camera (say 10MP camera) and video recording? If so, consider Samsung SBH B600.
You get the idea... You need to know what your requirements are, then gather information to see if your target phones meet your need.
Yes, a lot has changed for the better in Athena since you last left it, but there are still many areas which are unchanged. You could post all your specific question after you've considered your requirements, and we'll be very happy to answer your questions. You have already posted some of those question, but it's a good idea to think more comprehensively to make sure you cover all aspects of your needs.
I may not be able to answer some of the questions as your needs are different from mine, but I'm sure others would respond to your questions.
Cheers.
Hi Eaglesteve - I had a feeling you'd be in here - good to hear from you.
My circumstances are that I already have an iPhone and have an Advantage coming in the post today. I'm not after turning the Advantage into an iPhone, simply wondering if there are one or two bits of software which would sell the idea of keeping the Advantage to me.
I'm surprised you'd go for the Touch HD Eaglesteve as its screen is quite a bit smaller than that of the Advantage. The device does interest me, although its price is more than the combined costs of my iPhone and Advantage! I wonder if I'd just be better off keeping two devices once again. What are your feelings on the HD versus the Advantage? How does the overall responsiveness and also audio and video performance compare with the Advantage?
Regards
Check this out: http://www.goosync.com/
F2a said:
Check this out: http://www.goosync.com/
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Click to collapse
Hi thanks for that. Unfortunately you have to pay, and 20 quid seems a rip-off considering I'd only be syncing my contacts. The solution I have for Iphone cost me £1 or something like that.
I'm seriously thinking of just throwing my Advantage straight onto Ebay. Windows Mobile doesn't seem to have the scope of free software it once had. I don't think the idea of free (or very cheap) Google contacts sync software is that ridiculous an idea - certainly it's enough of an issue for more than one iPhone developer to come up with free or cheap solutions. I bought the Advantage because it was cheap and i thought it would be something fun to play around with but I seem to have made a poor decision.
If every little solution costs me £20 then I'm going to be severely out of pocket by the end of the week!
It don't sync with google but....
Sync = www.dashwire.com is the best over the air sync up I've used. Photos, videos, contacts, photocontacts, emails and txt for free! Also snap2face (free) facebook app can sync up with your facebook contacts images too.
Rss video and audio = Beyondpod 3.0 (free) brilliant software. Use this in conjunction with Mort's Player and the Mypod skin (free). You won't look back with a 16GB SDMicro (w/adapter) in your advantage.
Browser = Netfront or even better Skyfire if you can get it. Netfront has so many different configs that you should be happy with one or two.
Email = I get by with outlook as any major media mails I get tend to need my home pc!
I don't download youtube vids but do use vTap as the wikipedia side of it is cool.
I tried to replace my Athena with an iphone and failed by a long way. I'll be using this Ameo for a couple of years I think. (Unless the 4g HTC Max kicks ass)
The one thing I would recommend is putting MichyPrima's 5.1 rom it as it is so damn rock solid and just works so good. All the sensors work with the new 'G' software knocking about and I have only hard reset once to clear out a couple of programs.
Long live the X7500. Best comms device I have owned, by a mile.
leoni1980 said:
Hi Eaglesteve - I had a feeling you'd be in here - good to hear from you.
My circumstances are that I already have an iPhone and have an Advantage coming in the post today. I'm not after turning the Advantage into an iPhone, simply wondering if there are one or two bits of software which would sell the idea of keeping the Advantage to me.
I'm surprised you'd go for the Touch HD Eaglesteve as its screen is quite a bit smaller than that of the Advantage. The device does interest me, although its price is more than the combined costs of my iPhone and Advantage! I wonder if I'd just be better off keeping two devices once again. What are your feelings on the HD versus the Advantage? How does the overall responsiveness and also audio and video performance compare with the Advantage?
Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As for software for Athena, you should always have FtouchSL, Wktask and the like. But I'd strongly recommend SPB Mobile Shell as one of the most transforming software IMO. Not only it is finger friendly, it will also enhance the camera function, puts all the Opera mobile history and favoutries on the launch menu, but also give you lots of useful tools. Don't forget the latest Resco File Explorer and Registry editor. Of course Opera Mobile is a must, but you need to experiement with the various version to find out which is suits you. I find surfing with Opera mobile on Athena to be way way better than using Safari on iPhone, primarily due to the large screen and not having to zoom in and out. Try out FL3 and directly play youtube using Opera 9.5, something which was impossible the last time you had your Athena. When using Opera Mobile, go to the configuration to make minimum overview zoom 85 percent to allow you ability to activate links in zoom out mode if you so wish.
Don't forget youtubeplayer 1.0.0.10 which allows you to either play directly or download youtube videos.
I can't remember if I had already posted this info in my previous entry, so please excuse me if there's any duplication.
Regarding my using the Touch HD, it's the closest replacement available in the market today. I'm not sure if I could get used to the near 4 inch (3.8 precisely) screen or not, but would give it a try. I think 4.5 inch would be real nice, but let's see..
It has many things that I thought an Athena replacement should have: smoother rounder form factor, embedded ear piece, more dated 7.2mb/s download speed, FM radio, better camera (hopefully), and no keybaord (always much prefer without hardware keyboard).
I'm still waiting for my unit to arrive when I make this post. It is too soon for me to comment on performance, etc. I'd want to make sure that if I make a review it is going to be honest, truthful, and helpful.
I never let cost to influence my decision too much. I just want to the best available, if you know what I mean. Actually while considering HD, Mackaby influenced me to give iPhone a serious consideration, which I did. iPhone would have cost me nothing with a plan, but as you already know, it was a frustration and disappointment for me, so I chosed the HD, which cost me AUD1225, which is much cheaper than my Athena, that cost me about AUD1600.
I'd still keep my Athena, in case I could'nt get use to the small size in HD. Won't know until I try it. Unfortunately nobody in Sydney is selling HD, so the only way to try is to buy.
Enough rumbling. Will let you get back to your Athena. Welcome back, my friend.
Lioni,
Forgot to mention podcast. I've never used this myself, but there should be two ways of doing this in winmo devices. You could do it in Opera mobile
In the address bar, enter the URL address of the web page that contains the RTSP link to the desired *.3gp, *.mp4, or *.sdp file, then click on the RTSP links.
Another way is to to use the Streamin Media program. The media is sent in a continuous stream to winmo devices and is played as it arrives, along with the audio. You could play 3GP, MPEG-4, and SDP files. To use this program, go to start/program and start the streaming media program (I think most of MiChy's ROM has it, if I'm not mistaken), then click connect. On the next screen, enter the URL for the website, then tap connect. You can play/pause, rewind, fast forward, etc.
Hope this helps and hope it satisfies your need.
Cheers.
Regarding Opera mobile versus Safari, my opinion is that Safari is still better in terms of being fluid and smooth. Opera tends to be jerky and unsteady in comparision. However, speedwise, there is probably no difference. Safari tends to require some waiting for the blurred webpage to turn clear before you could take control of it (during this time, it is temporarily frozen). Opera also has this pause. I would rate Safari the better browser overall. However, Opera on Athena clearly triumph over Safari on iPhone in my honest opinion, because of the big screen.
I'm currently using my athena again, as my x1 developed a serious flaw yesterday. It jumped under the wheels of a lorry!
Awaiting replacement device from Vodafone as their insurance department is a bad joke.
Anyway, I'd got used to the comparitively tiny screen of the X1, but having gone back to the athena there's a couple of observations.
Both Screens are fantastic, the X1 is noticeably sharper (small screen hires), but using the athena again I can't see how I can cope with the X1 when I eventually get the replacement. It's like using realvga on a screen half the size of the athena, yet I have been coping with it, it's amazing how much you adapt really quickly.
There's a massive speed difference, the x1 does things nearly instantly, all that memory does it I suppose, it's like running an XP machine on 256mb then sticking 1gb of memory inside instead.
Gps is near instantaneous, screen rendering is the same,opening applications don't bring up the spinning wheel of doom, the athena crawls along in comparison yet it didn't feel that slow when I was using it before. It's all relative I suppose (it's not really that slow, maybe 1/4 of a second or so).
But having said that I love the athena, I mentioned before that I don't find it too big to use as a phone, and the screen is amazing. It's a pity we can't squeeze a newer motherboard in there ;-)
When I get my replacement X1 through I'm not certain what to do, I'm very tempted to sell it and get a touch HD, the form factor certainly works better. But then I could keep using it and have the Athena as a wifi tablet for websurfing.
As for browsing speed (noticeably this forum), I find Netfront on simple browsing to be the fastest there is especially across gprs, not very pretty but who cares about the backgrounds when the info is so important!
to throw a spanner in the works, I had a decent play with the blackberry storm while waiting for Vf customer service and their insurance & repairs dept to sort out my x1. The hardware is the best I've seen, not sure how long the funky screen would last, but the form factor is great and build quality looks good, but the OS doesn't look amazing, and I'm not sure how much you can get access to change stuff, plus there's no wifi !
how stupid is that?
Sorry to hear about your SEXXI mishap.
Are you using MiChy's ROM? His ROM should be noticeably faster.
The screen size is the thing that I would miss most about Athena. No doubt about that. A larger screen with the same resolution would off course appear to be less sharp. I hope just like you I could adapt to the tiny 3.8 inch screen in HD.
You should be able to get almost instant GPS signal with Athena. There is a thread that I started on this on how to get that result.
Talking about speed, Asus has just released a 800 mhz winmo phone. This is the fastest on a winmo phone. But sadly it has only 2.8 inch VGA screen, which I would never be able to live with.
yep im running michys latest, and with gps ive never been able to get less than a 35second fix, usually its much more like 5 mins, despite all the tweaks
Beyondpod 3 looks to be EXACTLY what I'm looking for - well done Arctic Matt!
Now here's a stupid question....
I've relied on my iPhone and 'sync in a blink' (a Google OTA contacts sync application) to back up my phone contacts. Now I know that I can back up all my contacts to my Windows Address Book with Itunes, but does anyone know how to put my contacts from my Windows Address Book OR my online Google Contacts onto my Athena (just as a one-off)? I feel stupid even asking this but in the past I've always relied on having my contacts on the SIM card but a few weeks ago I got a new sim and threw the old one away. I don't use Outlook or anything like that, wondered if perhaps I could just do it with Activesync.
Thanks in advance.
leoni1980 said:
does anyone know how to put my contacts from my Windows Address Book OR my online Google Contacts onto my Athena (just as a one-off)?
Thanks in advance.
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I have an account in Live.com, when I setup Windows Live in my X7510, there is an option to use another email account. I am not sure though if it can use Google (GMail), but to make the story short, upon setup, it will ask you if you want to syncronize your email and contacts to your device.
If Windows Live won't work with GMail, how about creating an account in Live.com. They might have an option to copy your contacts from GMail to Live.com then use Windows Live from your device to syncronize.
Just some thoughts...
fards said:
yep im running michys latest, and with gps ive never been able to get less than a 35second fix, usually its much more like 5 mins, despite all the tweaks
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Which GPS Navigation do you use???
cktlcmd said:
Which GPS Navigation do you use???
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memory-map
eaglesteve said:
- Do you a extremely fussy person in wanting really really smooth video playback? If yes, consider iPhone. However, if you'r willing to wait, Coreplayer is going to address this issue very very shortly and poor video playout is likely to be history.
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what's the core news?
Don't forget to....
leoni1980 said:
Beyondpod 3 looks to be EXACTLY what I'm looking for - well done Arctic Matt!
Now here's a stupid question....
I've relied on my iPhone and 'sync in a blink' (a Google OTA contacts sync application) to back up my phone contacts. Now I know that I can back up all my contacts to my Windows Address Book with Itunes, but does anyone know how to put my contacts from my Windows Address Book OR my online Google Contacts onto my Athena (just as a one-off)? I feel stupid even asking this but in the past I've always relied on having my contacts on the SIM card but a few weeks ago I got a new sim and threw the old one away. I don't use Outlook or anything like that, wondered if perhaps I could just do it with Activesync.
Thanks in advance.
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Click to collapse
Go into the advanced settings of Beyondpod 3 and access Beyond Scheduler! You can automate so much stuff on your Athena without having to program in Mort Script. Via this software my x7500 goes into flight mode at 11pm, wakes up at 6am, connects to my home wifi, downloads all my podcasts, downloads all my emails, syncs with dashwire, switches on realplayer and wakes me up to live BBC radio (I live in Norway - NRK would send me back to sleep.).
Oh and
Once you have all you contacts on your phone I really think you should give Dashwire a go. It is rather spiffing.
Hello
I have been a happy HTC Touch (regular not HD) user for 12 months, doing extensive customisation on my phone. Recently, mainly because my Touch was really slow (only 64Ko of memory, still slow even after replacing with a faster ROM), I bought an iPhone 3G.
After a few months of use, there are pros and cons of course. Now that the HD is out, I am wondering if I should switch back to the HTC Touch HD.
So here are my first conclusions, but of course since I don't have a Touch HD, I cannot answer many of the points.
Please use this thread to complete a really detailed comparison between the iPhone and the Touch HD, not what you can find on standard sites comparing basic features.
General response time: big disappointment as this was my main driver. The iPhone (I have 4 pages of apps installed, so what, I should not use the phone fully???) is really slow. Calendar or contact can sometimes takes up to 5 seconds to open: UNACCEPTABLE. Inside the apps sometimes it is slow as well. Hope the Touch HD is better than the Touch
Calendar: Iphone standard Calendar is much easier to use with a finger than default WM version. However I was using ThumbCal and it was fine with finger even on small HTC Touch screen. Not sure if HTC Touch HD enlarges standard WM calendar (everything is larger) or simply packs more info on a signle page? Also I don't like the fact in iPhone that tasks are not managed by Calendar, annoying!
Contacts: iPhone is much better than default WM or HTC Touch features (one again mainly because easier to use without a stylus). However replacement app such as PocketCm does a better job on WM than on the iPhone: Easier scroll through contact on main page by showing the first letter that will be displaid if releasing the finger. SMS are visible from the contact directly, no need to open SMS app like on the iPhone. Much better group and filter management also: ability to filter contacts by groups (ok also on iPhone, but management of groups creates constraints in Outlook), by city, by company... no equivalent on iPhone.
Phone: better on iPhone: the screen locks itself while speaking, to prevent pressing keys, this is good, don't think it's available on Touch HD? Bigger keys on dialer. Better display format of phone numbers on dialer (grouping of digits). Good pad showing up when on the phone to have the need options on iPhone (speaker phone, contacts, calendar...). And finally Visual Voice mail is useful!
Internet browsing: hard to compare, as I could not really use opera mini on the Touch. I must say Safari does the job quite well, allowing you to access most sites, without flash of course. Does Opera allow to see flash sites? Safari sometimes crashes, but still acceptable. Speed depends on quality of connection. One great thing is integration with iPhone programs: for instance you look on Google for a store. You find it with phone number displaid on Google search page. CLicking on the phone number allows you to call it directly. If you make the call, in call history it will diplay correctly the name of the store to be entered directly in contacts! Fantastic, probably not available in WM and Opera?
Mail: hard to compare as I was not using it on Touch. But the iPhone feature is excellent. I use Yahoo mail. Configuration was very simple, and mails are pre formatted to the iPhone scrren, making it easy to use. Does Touch HD reformat properly mails?
Other programs in general: I would say most progams are more mature on WM, but harder to use since designed to use with a stylus. Not sure once again if the Touch HD enlarges same surface on the screen or simply packs more info in one page, still requiring use of stylus.
Profile Management: my biggest problem with iPhone: Apple does not allow to create a progam that will switch automatically several profile parameters. What is this? A profile is a set of parameter such as screen brightness, ring tone/vibrate, blue tooth on/off, wifi off, 3G on/off, GPS on/off... With Phoneweaver I was able to create as many profiles as needed and change at the touch of a finger. In iPhone, a real nightmare. Let's say you want to activate 3G and GPS: it takes at least 15 clicks... just for these 2 options. UNACCEPTABLE.
SpringBoard: this is the ability to use icons on the today screen: much better on the iPhone by default, but once again with additional program in WM such as iLauncher I was able to get a better result by creating categories which is not really possible in iPhone (I tried Categories, way too slow! and Stacks is odd to use).
GPS: well without TOmTOm I don't see the use of the GPS in the iPhone...
This is a first shot, please give some input!
Olivier
How is this a comparison if you don't even have the Touch HD? It is just your opinions of the iPhone 3G.......on a Touch HD forum of all places.
You can not compare the htc touch with the iphone 3G
the iphone 3G is a newer model which was released 1 year after the htc touch
Also the HD has all the phone features you are saying are better on the iphone and unavailable on the HD. You can either autolock phone when you make a call or use the light sensor on the earpiece. And you get the pad type thing.
i suggest you actually use the HD before posting a comparison in here.
I dont think this guy has used a windows mobile device at all, let alone the Touch HD. he sounds like an apple fan who has just 'heard a bunch of stuff' about Windows Mobile.
Most of it is unfounded.. I mean, how are iPhone contacts better than the Touch HDs? Which is VERY finger friendly.
Calm down with the fanboi defensive stuff guys.
I've had both (sold the Iphone).
Touch HD pro: great form factor, fabulous screen, the resolution makes it so much more usable for bigger webpages. The tweakability of WM too.
Touch HD cons: lots of little irritating things - it's a shoddy unfinished product in a lot of ways. GPS popping offline, wifi problems, those damn freezes, the incompleteness of T3D, the need to tweak all sorts of things that should already have been done (eg opera tweak so you don't need to zoom before clicking). Youtube app doesn't work at all on mine. No BBC iplayer (not HTC's fault of course, but still an issue for consumers). Lots of other small things that should never have happened with a finished product, let alone one costing more than most laptops.
Now that looks like a lot of cons relative to the pros, but the thing is the hardware is just a baseline, a starting point. The excellence of the screen allows it to be whatever product you want - none of the failings are critical for me, and by tweaking/customizing I've fixed/bypassed most of them.
Basically, the Touch HD is a better product than the Iphone, but let down by software quality control.
arfster said:
Calm down with the fanboi defensive stuff guys.
I've had both (sold the Iphone).
Touch HD pro: great form factor, fabulous screen, the resolution makes it so much more usable for bigger webpages. The tweakability of WM too.
Touch HD cons: lots of little irritating things - it's a shoddy unfinished product in a lot of ways. GPS popping offline, wifi problems, those damn freezes, the incompleteness of T3D, the need to tweak all sorts of things that should already have been done (eg opera tweak so you don't need to zoom before clicking). Youtube app doesn't work at all on mine. No BBC iplayer (not HTC's fault of course, but still an issue for consumers). Lots of other small things that should never have happened with a finished product, let alone one costing more than most laptops.
Now that looks like a lot of cons relative to the pros, but the thing is the hardware is just a baseline, a starting point. The excellence of the screen allows it to be whatever product you want - none of the failings are critical for me, and by tweaking/customizing I've fixed/bypassed most of them.
Basically, the Touch HD is a better product than the Iphone, but let down by software quality control.
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Agree, although the Opera thing is not a bug, it's a feature We are spoiled with the HD screen which allows you to actually read huge pages without zooming. On other devices, you hardly can, let alone click a link in any accurate fashion, so you will want to be able to zoom first without accidentally clicking some link in the process... Everyone has their opinion about this of course but this is the reason behind it.
nin2thevoid said:
Agree, although the Opera thing is not a bug, it's a feature We are spoiled with the HD screen which allows you to actually read huge pages without zooming. On other devices, you hardly can, let alone click a link in any accurate fashion, so you will want to be able to zoom first without accidentally clicking some link in the process...
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Click to collapse
Hrrm, don't see why. What's the benefit of zooming first? You can still do it if you want.
Looks to me like HTC just installed Opera and didn't bother testing/tweaking it.
arfster said:
Hrrm, don't see why. What's the benefit of zooming first? You can still do it if you want.
Looks to me like HTC just installed Opera and didn't bother testing/tweaking it.
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Apparently the meaning of this is that one click in zoom out mode means hovering the mouse to that area. Some websites depends heavily on mouse and hover menus, and without this these sites would be unusable.
I have only 1 thing to say...I had Iphone and HTC X7500....Sold both of them and bought Touch HD...I am really happy with it
Why do people insist on compare a toy with professional devices with all features need and many more ? OMG and even comparing devices you don't have with toys, iPhoney is just a toy with many limitations, there's absolutely no way to compare it with the HD, for those who like to use the expression "iPhone killer" you can stop that, that device was already killed by past HTC devices and others. Stop creating Threads like this one.
Best regards
PJMDS said:
Why do people insist on compare a toy with professional devices with all features need and many more ? OMG and even comparing devices you don't have with toys, iPhoney is just a toy with many limitations, there's absolutely no way to compare it with the HD, for those who like to use the expression "iPhone killer" you can stop that, that device was already killed by past HTC devices and others. Stop creating Threads like this one.
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Sorry, but that's just silly. Of course you can compare them - as cameras, as music players, as web browsers, as video players etc etc. Same as any other multimedia phone. Personally my take is that the Iphone still has the best interface going, and benefits from a mass captive market that others don't have. It took until the touch hd before I actually bought a replacement - none of the other potential "iphone killers" were was good as even the original device (including previous HTC products).
What is with all the fanboi rubbish for and against the iphone? It's a device. If you like it you buy, if not you don't. People seem to take to "supporting" their favourite product like a football team.
There are just a few basic things in my opinion that make the HD far superior to the iPhone.
1. iPhone has no copy and paste...how stupid is that?
2. iphone has no working GPS software with built-in maps and voice navigation...huge omission.
3. iPhone doesn't multitask, you have to close an app to start another...OMG!
If these points don't convince someone that they should get the HD over the iPhone then that's fine, different strokes for different folks. The iPhone is iCandy...period.
concerning web browsing, iphone is much better than the touch hd.
Even though its screen is a bit smaller, the pages load much faster and the scrolling is way smoother.
The keypad is also much better on the iphone, at least for me. When pressing a key, you see above your finger whiwh key you pressed.
Not mentionning the audio part for which the hd doesn't come close to the iphone.
I guess you're wondering what i'm doing here and why i haven't sold my hd yet ? The hd is the best wm based device i've ever had. Being able to install whatever you want and to tweak at will is great.
Now, if a good gps software is someday released for iphone, i may reconsider and leave the touch hd unless it's been improved for web browsing notably in the meantime
...
well, on the other hand some pages in Safari doesn´t work correctly and I don´t understand what you mean the audio part - the quality of 3,5 jack output are comparable (according to independent tests - see gsmarena for example)...iphone´s jack output is just good, not outstanding quality.
catinthehat said:
i suggest you actually use the HD before posting a comparison in here.
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Second that....
totally useless post, if u actually not even own a HD
hannawald said:
well, on the other hand some pages in Safari doesn´t work correctly and I don´t understand what you mean the audio part - the quality of 3,5 jack output are comparable (according to independent tests - see gsmarena for example)...iphone´s jack output is just good, not outstanding quality.
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True. Forgot to mention it's the software side i was talking about : i find it easier to navigate all my music on the iphone. Htc tried to mimic this interface but it doesn't match the original
This is of course subjective, but at least it comes from a guy who has both devices in his pocket =)
well all i have to say on the subject is this....
David Balfour said:
well all i have to say on the subject is this....
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hehehe you missed the battery....
Hi guys,
SO glad tat I was able to find up this forum...I have a SE walkman series phone for the past 4 yrs and feel its time to change to some touch screen mobile. I have zilch knowledge abt smartphones and wat ever i know r based frm my 2 days of browsing this forum.
My issues are
1)Basically am not appl freak and want my phone to stand out from others..Does mini fit the bill..?that is I want a phone with touchscreen,decent cam, very good multimedia playback capacity,something sleek...and thats how I zeroed in on HTC Mini..
but after reading this forum., got 2 know tat not much appl's r developed for Mini becos of the screen size..(Is tat right..?)..
SO, after some point of time, after launch of Win 7 mob, will the case be like HTC Mini left alone..? I am investing close to 480$(Indian money) and want to find out that does HTC mini really have some shortcomings applications wise or is it enough for a normal user..?there r no smartphones among my friends...
2) we do not still have 3G networks here in India, but expected in 1-2 yrs..IS MINI WORTH SPENDING TAT AMOUNT (480$=24000 Indian rupees) wihtout 3G? Or can I go for low-end models like Nokia 5800 or HTC touch.. and jump the 3G ship wen it comes later?
Again, i am asking too many questions, but pls guide me...
THANKS..........
HD mini, regarding my point of view, a very nice device with a lot of preinstalled very nice apps.
The resolution is effectively a bit strange in Windows mobile environment, but it was the same and even worst when I purchased my Diamond with VGA screen.
Regarding applications, most of them work. Some qvga ones do not fit on the screen, it remains two black bands on top and bottom of the screen because of aspect ratio. But the applications, even a lot of high graphic games run well (secret of Da Vinci, return to mysterious island,...), even emulators such ScummVM.
I found a lot of chess games (majestic, Kasparov,..) they run really fine. I nevertheless had some difficult to find a good Sudoku, “Panoramic ultimate Sudoku” works very fine but it do not have problem solving mode.
In brief, screen resolution is not really an issue, but if you want to play some specific games such Play station emulator or other resource consuming games. In this case, HD2 should be a better choice.
You could also consider other OS such Android. For me there are not an option, because I live in a small town without 3G and downloading and syncing via phone line costs an arm and a leg. With winmo, I can natively upload all the things trough my PC, and it is just fine.
Each customer has different taste, that's why there are hundred of million of different phones out there. But from my personal point of view and for my needs, the Mini is just perfect for me.
Any other smartphone looks like a damn brick next to it, so yeah, it does stand out from others.
About the apps, I was worried about them, but for some reason all the apps I need work without a single problem in the Mini. iGo 8, MSS Converter, ClearTemp, Opera Mobile 10, Skype, Dictionary, TCPMP, Shazam Music, BSB Tweaks, JWMD IconChanger, PocketRAR, Midomi...
Personally I don't give a sh!t about Windows Phone 7, since it's gonna be more "phone like", while WM 6.5 is like having a small Pentium III in your pocket and that's why I like it.
Thanks a lot moscard and NitroNitrous. Positive comments do matter a lot for me..since its a one-time big "investment" for me.
I know its upto me to decide but just want to be well informed and do not want to be over excited.....also wat do you guys think abt the multimedia handling of the phone..does the processor seem dragged in case of heavy multimedia usage..? I would want to listen mp3's, check out tracks in radio and video songs..tat's it......
I do not think so, regarding my old Diamond, the HD mini is way ahead in performance. It is very responsive for all the daily tasks including photo, video, music, multi-media and so on. I use a Bluetooth headset and it connects almost immediately against the 10s used by my old Diamond.
Internet and remote desktop that I use often are simply wow. Do not worry about that. Some leaks, but nothing dramatic: Led flashing is less visible than on Diamond, there is no native voice tag for contacts, there is no native close or ok button especially for office applications. Nevertheless it is a lot nicer with real glass screen and crisp colours.
Another thing that annoying me a little bit regarding HD2, there is no electronic compass. This would be really usefull in hiking using navigators or google map.
I watch a movie almost every night in DVD quality and it handles it with no problem. Besides, with TCPMP player it can reproduce almost any video format. As for the music you just need a proper player like PocketPlayer 4, which is the one I use. It has everything you can ask for a music player. I have around 300 songs in the playlist and scrolling the list with the finger is always smooth.
There are some bad points also, but nothing new for someone who has used WM before and is not hard to get used to them.
I now view my HD2 as "An Android Phone That Also Boots Windows", because there are some daily driver Android builds that I think do a better job now than winmo, so maybe knowing what unsolvable Android issues are solved by windows will improve the Android experience and save hours of searching the Market. I would recommend someone buy an HD2 for Android, but keep these windows apps around as an "android add on pack" just to increase the 'cool factor.'
1.) Movie Maker: with TrakAx movie maker you can make and edit videos on your hd2 and add music photos etc, with cool transitions. It has limited fonts for captions, but it's a good movie maker. The app is fun to use 'only after' you watch TrakAx's tutorial video on their website where a cute English Gal shows you how easy it is.
2.) Movies/TV via your Orb Server that look great and have fast forward and rewind: Coreplayer on winmo is a great media player, with .mkv support, .avi and when used in combo with TCPMP player there are almost no formats that can't be played.
3.) TomTom, Navigon, Igo8, Route66 offline navigation apps: Maybe you want to have a 32gb sdcard and run all the different nav programs? Nav programs seem to be a matter of personal preference, so having ALL available options is something nice.
4.) Fast psx emulation with FPSeCe: If you love psx games watch some youtubes on how to set this up and where to get the good versions and skins of this, and the onscreen controls are multi-touch good if you watch the videos and research how to set it up.
5.) Opera Mini 5 (build 5.1.21594): INCREDIBLY smooth browsing: the inertial scrolling with this browser is so fluid, fast and natural - there is no jitter/chop/lag - the fps is very high. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=486502
6.) Free Hamachi: I think you need to pay for logmein hamachi on the Market (worth it for sure) but there are free clients in WinMo that work very well. If you 'need' to save money here you go.
7.) Free Grooveshark downloading: I love Tiny Shark and MP3 downloader off the market, but in winmo a developer named 'SciLor' has made a great freeware grooveshark downloader called "SciLor's GrooveMobile Downloader." what's also great about this app is that winmo's media players and coreplayer can play the song 'when it begins downloading,' which means Coreplayers graphic equalizer can work that tune 5-10 seconds after you click 'download.'
8.) Torrent Downloading on the phone: I haven't yet found an android app that does what WMTorrent does. WMTorrent is a paid app and there is a new and older version that both have their strengths. Don't expect full speed on wifi or 3g like on a pc, but this app does the job.
9.) Super Tethering via 'ICS Control v0.21': freeware that allows cel->bluetooth pan .. cel -> wifi .. bluetooth->wifi .. wifi->bluetooth .. bluetooth->vpn .. vpn->hamachi .. openvpn->usb. Basically, any interface can be routed to any other interface and subnets and dhcp servers can be added.
10.) Mortscript: 'Tasker' and 'gscript' in Android could be considered better in many ways, but Mortscript was/is a powerful and accessible scripting program for a mobile OS to automate tasks, make apps do cool stuff, enable long-chains of opening apps cutting/pasting/into other apps etc. I turned my old q9h into a 'talking/listening star trek phone' with mortscript by combining 'vlingo's returned speech results' with 'textspeech pro's tts program,' i could verbally ask it to read wikipedia pages for me or read the first couple pages of a spoken google search - and my programming skill is almost zero.
11.) Microsoft Voice Command: it's not as robust as what Android offers, but I don't think there is an Android app that is so 'instantly accurate with basic phone functions,' but then again the list of what MSVC can do in 2 seconds is a little more than basic. Android will catch up in a month or two no doubt.
12.) RemoteTracker phone finder: Android has phone finder apps, but if you lose your phone there is a chance that the sdcard is gonna get wiped. There is also the chance that the the phone will get hard-reset too, but before that happens RemoteTracker freeware is solid.
13.) Run Windows 98se faster on Winmo's Qemu: Windows 98 Second Edition can run on the hd2 reasonably well now, and some devs on XDA recently have been more active in getting different flavors of it to run even better and progress looks set to continue. This requires the 'qemu' emulator for winmo and a backwards-reading of this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com
/showthread.php?t=637889&page=50 (I'm gonna try this right now)
14.) Gestures on any screen with any app: I installed LMT v0.8 onscreen multitouch gestures and I'm very impressed. By swiping left with 2 fingers I activate microsoft voice command, by swiping right with 2 fingers I launch TellMeExpertLauncher.exe and do bing searches (this takes less than 2 seconds from swipe to speak). These are just 14 of the customizable gestures that LMT can do, and it can do them on top of any app, even the camera or a movie, etc. This app also comes with a bonus "on screen game controller" that's multitouch and works great.
15.) Reverse-Bluetooth-Tethering: Lets say you want to pop your sim into another phone, but still have internet/voip on your hd2 via low power bluetooth tethering. Well, noone needs to do that really, but I actually do it a few days a week because I have an 'almost' dirty job where I use a very weather/work resistant q9h and I have it feed the hd2 internet through bluetooth when on break or in the truck.
THINGS MENTIONED IN THIS THREAD BY OTHER MEMBERS:
A.) Good E-Book Readers: like Alreader2, it's felt by some that all Android E-Book readers lack a certain something, though CoolReader comes close.
B.) Good Alarm Programs: like G-Alarm, some reviews praise it for having tons of alarms and features and varying snooze techniques like mazes or 'turning on a light' to activate the light sensor, and it's supposedly very easy to work all this stuff via a finger friendly today-screen plugin if you like.
C.) SPB Mobile Shell: a very elegant and nice UI for WinMo that sets a classic standard for many users.
D.) Office Mobile 2010: I myself have gone searching for office apps in the market a few times and I've been surprised that I DID NOT have immediate success finding good free office apps that were better than Office 2010. NOTE: Using 'BsB Tweaks' free app to add 'screen rotation' to excel and the other office apps might be a good idea.
E.) Cookies Home Tab Editor: HTC Sense on hd2 winmo is 'excellent,' but what takes it to a whole new level is Cookie's Home Tab Editor for making customizing your homescreen 'fun+productive.' When investing time choosing a good ROM to boot android, keeping CHT in mind might make HD2 a more enjoyable weapon of total annihilation.
F.) File encryption with FreeOTFEPDA: This is something I should be more proactive with, and on page 3 it's explained further, but my brother is 'security bent' and he is always upset at me for 'not encrypting my files.'
G.) rSAP Bluetooth Profile for VW/Audi Group Cars: Integrated bluetooth calling and contacts management in these cars requires what the HD2 has - rSAP Bluetooth Profile. Want your car to turn into your phone just by sitting in it? Also, some premium sound systems exist in these cars and I've read the connection to the HD2 is quite stable. (I had to read what rSAP is)
H.) Hide Your Caller ID Number To Strangers: someone brought up a good point that in winmo you can shield your caller ID from everyone except those in your contacts list. (I didn't know this)
I) Garmin XT: We all know Garmin - a clean running and reliable 'offline nav' app with maps that are always up to date. (I have this myself on an old q9h I keep in the glove compartment - shoulda remembered it earlier.)
What are other good things to know?
Igo8 works just fine in android.
I write in the spirit of love but I gotta take issue with some of your points:
1.) Movie Maker: Can't comment as I don't use, mainly as I'll always do this on a PC
2.) Movies/TV via your Orb Server: Thing is, I could never get this working easily on WinMo, but for me it works flawlessly on Android, using the default Web Browser to select the file, and then default video player or VPlayer to play.
3.) TomTom, Navigon, Igo8, Route66 offline navigation apps: Agree, I keep WinMo around purely for TomTom (and booting )
4.) Fast psx emulation with FPSeCe: Wow, PSX4Droid works so perfectly out of the box for me, and with RomBuddy I can even download the games direct to my Droid. I donated to FPSECE and followed it closesly and praised it, but the bugs and the constant controller set-up are WAY behind PSX4Droid. Give it a go (free version available, otherwise $3) if you haven't already.
5.) Opera Mobile 10 Final INCREDIBLY smooth browsing: Fair enough. Personally I've been happy with the default Android experience, as well as trying Opera, Dolphin and one or two others on Android.
6) I'll add e-book readers to your list: I was addicted to Alreader2 on WinMo, and all of the e-book readers on Android lack something (and I've tried them all). Either missing night-mode, or file compatibility, or saving restrictions, or just plain ugly when reading. Only CoolReader has come close (in fact, very close except for a couple of issues).
7) I also find myself trapped using HTC Sense on Android as I love it's email widgets, and can't find decent equivalents for other launchers.
... Oh, and I do miss Cookie's Home Tab. It is amazing software which could have been the saviour of WinMo if it had arrived two years earlier, and was built into official ROMs. Microsoft completely dropped the ball with UI and with AppMarkets.
pandollar said:
Igo8 works just fine in android.
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how did you manage to get it to work? I keep getting "Insert SD card with IGO8 files" or something like that thanks...
You are right about psx4droid, it is awesome. There are a few games I was addicted to back in the day, like Twisted Metal 2, and it runs at 60fps in FPSeCe, whereas it's kinda choppy in a couple Android builds I've tried - maybe I just need to try the right build, and yes the controller setup in psx4droid blows FPSeCe. The browsing experience in Android is excellent, I just am addicted to that Opera Mobile 10 Final.
smeddy said:
I write in the spirit of love but I gotta take issue with some of your points:
1.) Movie Maker: Can't comment as I don't use, mainly as I'll always do this on a PC
2.) Movies/TV via your Orb Server: Thing is, I could never get this working easily on WinMo, but for me it works flawlessly on Android, using the default Web Browser to select the file, and then default video player or VPlayer to play.
3.) TomTom, Navigon, Igo8, Route66 offline navigation apps: Agree, I keep WinMo around purely for TomTom (and booting )
4.) Fast psx emulation with FPSeCe: Wow, PSX4Droid works so perfectly out of the box for me, and with RomBuddy I can even download the games direct to my Droid. I donated to FPSECE and followed it closesly and praised it, but the bugs and the constant controller set-up are WAY behind PSX4Droid. Give it a go (free version available, otherwise $3) if you haven't already.
5.) Opera Mobile 10 Final INCREDIBLY smooth browsing: Fair enough. Personally I've been happy with the default Android experience, as well as trying Opera, Dolphin and one or two others on Android.
6) I'll add e-book readers to your list: I was addicted to Alreader2 on WinMo, and all of the e-book readers on Android lack something (and I've tried them all). Either missing night-mode, or file compatibility, or saving restrictions, or just plain ugly when reading. Only CoolReader has come close (in fact, very close except for a couple of issues).
7) I also find myself trapped using HTC Sense on Android as I love it's email widgets, and can't find decent equivalents for other launchers.
... Oh, and I do miss Cookie's Home Tab. It is amazing software which could have been the saviour of WinMo if it had arrived two years earlier, and was built into official ROMs. Microsoft completely dropped the ball with UI and with AppMarkets.
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thanks for being the first to add something to the list, I appreciate it. I think the hd2 is quite special (been playing with computers since 1979) and you helping build a list that helps other members here have a pocket computer that does anything is cool.
Twisted Metal 2! That remains my ultimate game ever ever ever, and its the game I got Psx4droid for. For me it works perfectly on the Black & Blue remix Rom. The Paris level stole years from my teenage years I am either Spectre or Warthog
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App
smeddy said:
constant controller set-up are WAY behind PSX4Droid.
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Lol no. You can set up your own way of controler in FPSEce while PSX4Droid have only pre set type of controller (i would even go as far as to say that there is only one controller).
Anyway, lack of other options in not a plus for simplicity.
Back to the topic: I agree with the Navigation and FPSEce points. I dont really mind others. Also winmo have better alarms (G-Alamr for example). I wasnt able to find good one in Android (created my own with tasker though).
so for PSX4Droid how do we specify the bios in our build? I am using HD2ONE.
Well... this might not be crucial, but I've been using WinMo with SPB Mobile Shell on it in almost all my WinMo devices (countless). There's nothing that cool in Android
KowboyBebop said:
Lol no. You can set up your own way of controler in FPSEce while PSX4Droid have only pre set type of controller (i would even go as far as to say that there is only one controller).
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I guess I do agree with you, but I just got so sick of configuring FPSECE that I enjoyed the "pick ROM and play" approach, and have been happy with the default controller. But point taken
SorenStirner said:
Well... this might not be crucial, but I've been using WinMo with SPB Mobile Shell on it in almost all my WinMo devices (countless). There's nothing that cool in Android
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I had been using SPB Mobile Shell on my phones, too. However, SPB Apps are poorly supported. If you try Android you would find that the apps are better, easier to install and uninstall, many more options using Android. Have you tried LauncherPlus? That really is better than APB MS. JMHO
pandollar said:
Igo8 works just fine in android.
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If you tried both versions you would know about huge difference between those two
SorenStirner said:
Well... this might not be crucial, but I've been using WinMo with SPB Mobile Shell on it in almost all my WinMo devices (countless). There's nothing that cool in Android
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Not crucial, but quite valid actually. I know there are many fans of spbshell, because it is awesome, and an spb shell version for android would be quite cool. Im not familiar with spb shell, but have seen it many times.
Something that was mentioned in another forum was that in FPSeCe you can have a different custom controls for each individual game: gsensor on/off, different layouts, etc. Now, it's a different .ini file each game, and making custom controls for each game is laborious, but I've done it and benefitted by it. Psx4droid will have this soon I'm sure. (I also need to try psx4droid on some of those mentioned builds.)
smeddy said:
Twisted Metal 2! That remains my ultimate game ever ever ever, and its the game I got Psx4droid for. For me it works perfectly on the Black & Blue remix Rom. The Paris level stole years from my teenage years I am either Spectre or Warthog
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App
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I am either spectre or warthog -- you rock smeddy! I am starting to think Twisted Metal 2 should become one of my benchmarks for testing build/rom/radio combos.
I totally agree with the sentiments of this post. I loved my HD2. It was a remarkable device. I also loved all the programs you mentioned. However, i really wish the phone had been Android right from the get go. The hardware was so awesome, pictures we actually clear and didn't look grainy. (This was a first for HTC.) For us hackers WM was great. Now Android is great and becoming greater by leaps and bounds. It's hard to beat Google Navigation and also all the cool voice commands offered by Android.
I would have bought the EVO 4G to replace my broken HD2, but I cannot stand the sprint network. I'm waiting for an HD2 device that has a 4.3 screen and is GSM.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
"all the cool voice commands" by both google and vlingo are going to change human history starting this year. You are right to highlight those. Its the dawn of a new era in computing (is my hd2 a 'Monolith' from the Arthur C Clarke books?)
Oh yeah, and Android doesn't have "TellMe" -- can't overlook that GoogleKiller.
Office 2010
CHT 2.0
You do know the thread title is an oxy moron?
This shouldn't be in the Android forum. It looks and smells like a troll thread to me.
Ive been using my hd2 for a long while now on android and its been superb. But I still look over at WM7 forums am im very tempted to give it ago.
Is everything working now on the newer releases?? Whats the battery life like?
Some one sell me WP7
Thanks for your help
Cheers
Baker0
i have my htc hd2 long time i test more then 150 roms on 6.5 version , and andorid , i admit android is a nice room , i start using wm7 nodo version ,its realy amazing rom , very fast rom ( similar iphone) no bugs . this room was made for internet and entretainment users.
1-the battery life is ok almost 40h using like a normal mobilephone, but need a ]trick ,]bcs wm7 on hd2 have a drivers problm in camera its make drain battery more then normal but with the trick u resolve that , the other problem is no aplication to use wifi router on wm7 .
2-in wm7 we cant type the number and show the name like in 6.5 rom , u need go to your phone list to search the name you want to call.~~
3-wm7 not suported outlook to sync the contacts , u need have a Key FROM microsoft to conect ur windows live acount and from there u can pass all your contacts
since hd2 official not suported wm7 , and wm7 is so good on hd2 , try using that u will never go back to others roms
i hope this information is helpful for u change....
Baker0 said:
Ive been using my hd2 for a long while now on android and its been superb. But I still look over at WM7 forums am im very tempted to give it ago.
Is everything working now on the newer releases?? Whats the battery life like?
Some one sell me WP7
Thanks for your help
Cheers
Baker0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried WP7 and it is truely a smooth operating system on the HD2. For me, there are two fundamental problems with WP7 which ruin the experience. The camera driver is still terrible - never use flash and no auto focus. Also the multitouch only works if you place your two fingers down at exactly the same time.
If you don't use the camera, and you can live with the dodgy multitouch - it is a great ROM.
there is a software camera .006 it correct the problem about the auto focus . with that, the pic show nice.
Lynehammike said:
I have tried WP7 and it is truely a smooth operating system on the HD2. For me, there are two fundamental problems with WP7 which ruin the experience. The camera driver is still terrible - never use flash and no auto focus. Also the multitouch only works if you place your two fingers down at exactly the same time.
If you don't use the camera, and you can live with the dodgy multitouch - it is a great ROM.
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Click to collapse
On top of these what kills it for me is that there is not a good navigation program. Other than that it is pretty damn awesome.
The current non-Sense Android ROMs are actually working perfectly on our HD2s, the biggest problem (for me) is the battery life. WP7 however has some issues on the HD2.
First of all you have to have an SD card that works (correctly) with WP7. Then, if you move to WP7 you will find yourself in a less open environment: less apps, no usb drive option, less control of your phone. You will also lose some Google functionalities you had in Android (Navigation app, sync multiple calendars, maps). You will lose flash support. You will have to call Microsoft for an activation code if you want the live services (access to market apps). This brings a lot of pain in the a$s...
BUT! If your installation is successful you will have a very smooth OS with a great integration of facebook and google contacts synchronization. With Zune software you can synchronize your phone with your movies and music. You will get a pretty good battery life and a fully functioning phone. I flashed a WP7 ROM last week and i think I'll stick with it for a while.
Hope this helps
Thank you for your help, camera is a big one for me.... Does USB tethering work?
I'll chime in not to necessarily "sell it" but coming from a strictly WinMo background. I have Android on SD, but I've refused to have it as a main OS simply because WM has been everything I needed for years. I'm not an "app"er, could care less about market saturation, as long as I can find, somehow, the tools I need for day to day.
Coming from that background, I decided to give WP7 a go about 2 weeks ago when finally nodo was available to us on HD2. So far its been a double edged sword to me. I miss my openness already. That's my first thoughts. I miss being able to transfer files on the fly and even as simply as move files internally to deep level private folders. In WM6.5 I was to the point of using my phone as a boot-able agent for PC repairs. I would have said I miss syncing directly to Outlook, because for almost 10 years that's where all of my contacts have been stored and backed up, but MS forced me to make an exchange server with Office 2010. I think I'd be damned if I had to move my info online to an external server. Though I did activate my phone to Live, the only cloud service I use is the marketplace. Another thing I miss a lot is Sense, lol I know silly but I absolutely loved that interface.
And what I'm liking about WP7 so far, is one of the main pushes for the phone, that it is a nice neat little interface (though I really wish someone would hack sense into it). Its fast, very fast, and easy to use (which isn't really that big a deal to me because I thrive on difficult and complicated, and used to love having a phone I knew not many people could just pick up and get into), but it is very easy none the less. The marketplace has so far had a ton of apps that I do use almost daily now (which is making it harder for me to think about re-flashing 6.5). Actually the apps are the only things that's keeping me from going back at the moment. I kind of feel like I want to wait for Mango and more hacks so I can have my control back, but damned if I won't miss some of the apps.
Battery life is a bit spotty for me, because I live in a rural area at the moment and if I don't turn on airplane mode when I get home, drain down to nothing in a matter of a hours. I did a test the other day while I was out and had full H and staring from almost 100% went through about 45 min of a 93 min movie from netflix and battery was almost dead. I've learned though, the way I use my phone no matter what OS, I have to charge it all the time anyways.
That's my report, hope it helps ;-)
edit: there is a workaround for tethering with DFrouter but its sort of like the USB Storage workaround.
Long time WinMo user that made the switch with NoDo. I haven't shot any photos that required flash, but the photos I have taken with the camera were fine. I got an activation code via chat in 5 minutes or so, so that wasn't and issue. I went through the hassle of formatting my card to allow me to load Android, so when I do need to tether, I have that option.
My biggest complaint so far is the sound is overdriven, which seems to be fixable via registry tweak. In spite of loading Tom's xap, I haven't been able to successfully side-load an app that will let me work the registry a bit. But that's operator error, at some point I'll figure out what I'm doing wrong.
I just checked into NRG's 6.5 thread to see if there was anything new, a habit that will take me a long time to break. At this point, I don't see myself going backwards. I much prefer WP7 over Android, and though there is one app I really miss from WinMo (SplashID), I've found workarounds for the rest. I much prefer the e-mail and calendar interfaces on WP7, and it I'll admit it is kind of nice to have some cool, high graphics games on my day-to-day OS. Having been a smart phone user forever, I'm used to having chargers and battery spares, so battery life isn't much of a consideration for me.
I highly recommend you give it a try. Worst case, you just flash back. Good Luck!
I was in the same boat you are in right now, but there was no way to move away from Android. My love for Android and my loyalty are true to the core. What did I do? I got both. I have 16GB MicroSD Card Class 10 and with sick video guide from 96edwy I now have Dual Boot HTC HD2 running XBmod v1.10 NODO and American Android 2.3.2 !!!
Like everyone else I had my period of "Flash Madness" where I flashed about 5 times a day but it slowed down few months ago with new job and all. My ultimate solution: I have best of both worlds!!! Nirvana state of mind....
I love my Android, but I also love WP7 and right now mobile device gods are smiling on me
What OS to use...
Hi all, I tried them all on HD2 WM 6.5, 6.5.X,Froyo on SD,WP7 and finally stuck on Ginger in ROM. What is best for you depends on what kind of user you are. For example - I'm not into gaming on my phone, I don't have a facebook or twitter acc and couldnt care less about social networking,I use email extensively, care about outlook integration, office docs, use a lot of browsing, watch a lot of youtube and news aps...
WM 6.5(.X)
GOOD
- Looks great (the weather animations are so cool, the tabs are functional and fun way to use the phone)
- Has USB storage mode
- Has USB and WiFi tethering capability
- Can sync with outlook mail and contacts or any other mail with such ease that flashing and putting it back to running state takes less than 5 minutes
- Has a ton of GREAT GPS apps like iGo etc
- Best battery life of HD2 is of course on a original 6.5 ROM, nothing you flash will top that
- Skype works, although a very old version that you have to install yourself
- Can be used until the battery is dead and then recharged without a problem (not like android or wp7 ports)
- You can customize the home screen with addons like cookies home tab etc, lo limited customization is available (no widget support like in android etc)
- From just a month ago you can enjoy high res YouTube videos
BAD
- Sometimes laggy
- Browsing experience is ages behind Android and WP7, no flash support etc
- Camera is bad compared to the one on Andoird for example
- Live wallpapers are not as good as the ones on android and theres so few to choose from
- No universal search option (like on Android or BB devices)
- Gaming suck
- Development is dying or almost dead
WP7
GOOD
- Soooooo cool looking, fastest interface ever, extra intuitive and modern
- Mail app is great, very well thought trough and nice looking
- The best social networking integration, deeply into contacts
- Great gaming experience with xbox live
BAD
- Camera is only usable trough an external app, the built in is ****ty
- No direct outlook sync
- Has to be activated with MS
- No usb or wifi tethering
- No usb flash mode
- No GPS apps whatsoever, not even Google maps
- Live tiles are cool but third party apps cant really use their full potential (solved in upcoming Mango release but you'll have to wait for like a year to get it)
- No skype
- No universal search option (like on Android or BB devices), the search button is reserved for Bing search (maybe I'm wrong on this one, but as I recall you cant get to contacts so easly)
- A very long and thus very hard to use app drawer
- Cant use your own mp3 ringtones (might be wrong on this one correct me if I'm way off here)
- No real multitasking
- multitouch is implemented poorly
Android
GOOD
- Great looking interface, live wallpapers etc
- A lot of apps and games (best YouTube app ever, Skype is working fine etc.
- I just cant live without the universal search option I use all the time, so where ever you might be in the interface you are one button click away from your contacts or google search
- Has available GPS navigation software from Google maps to iGo etc.
- Great social networking apps but those options are not so deeply built in to the OS like in wp7
- USB and wifi tethering is working (not in my build for some reason but I can live without this option)
- USB flash mode working
- Multitasking
- The best camera on HD2 (a lot better than the one on the original rom)
- multitouch wirks just fine
BAD
- Battery life is bad even on phones designed for Android, let alone on ported ones
- No direct outlook sync ( a big minus for me, but not necessarily for everyone)
So, if you look at the pros and cons, the result is - your HD2 is the most functional with Android, then with good old WM 6.5 and at the end with WP7. WP7 needs to be polished, regardless of the quality of the HD2 port which is very close to the real thing. Mango update is coming this fall, but a lot of things are not addressed in it and MS need in my humble opinion another year to fix all missing bits...
Well i think everyone has said pretty much everything there is to say, i think all the bad points have been mentioned
all i would say is this,
WP7 is a different OS, its nothing like previous OS platforms on the HD2, you cant compare them as they are for different markets.
I was/am a heavy WM user, WM is a beast of an OS and there is nothing it cant do except games, had Microsoft not been completely shafted by OEMs, QC and the networks, WM would have been a modern day contender, as it is however it may be a beast of an OS but it isnt pretty and its laggy.
I tried Android for quite a while and i just found it fragmented, apart from games which isnt something i use there is little to know benifit over WM, yeah it looks good and is smoother but i just got board with it to be honest. its less functional than WM but is smoother, the UI is not much of an improvment in my opinion.
So i tried WP7, to start with i thought it was crap, very little functionality to the other two, very smooth, but then something odd happened, the UI just grew on me, the intigration of the OS became somthing i thought was great, it took about 2-4 weeks before i suddenly realised i absolutely love the thing, so i tried dropping back to Android for a while and i hated it.
in short, WP7 changes the way in which you use the device, the best and most accurate way of looking at it is, Windows Mobile is the best pocketPC platform out there (not including games) Windows Phone is the best SMARTPHONE out there, there is a difference, i have a second device which runs WM now, im longing for the day someone can port WM to an SD card
Yep, couldnt agree more with dazza. WP7 is all about PHONE experience! Most of us are not app freaks and use our PHONE primarily as a communication device, not a gaming platform or a replacement for a compass or a GPS device... All those devices do a better job on their own than any hybrid will so bottom line, WP7 takes me where I wanna be - focused on communicating with people - I can quickly get to my contacts, check what they've been up to, read and send emails and texts, send them a pic or two, surf the web a bit... And no other OS right now does that better, faster and cooler than WP7. Period.
superpeca said:
Yep, couldnt agree more with dazza. WP7 is all about PHONE experience! Most of us are not app freaks and use our PHONE primarily as a communication device, not a gaming platform or a replacement for a compass or a GPS device... All those devices do a better job on their own than any hybrid will so bottom line, WP7 takes me where I wanna be - focused on communicating with people - I can quickly get to my contacts, check what they've been up to, read and send emails and texts, send them a pic or two, surf the web a bit... And no other OS right now does that better, faster and cooler than WP7. Period.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only if the battery life is better Its only 6 hours from the last full charge and the battery is already down by half
Roxxx
Yeahhh..
I think WP7 on HD2 is awesome!
I also at first thought, that its missing functionality, like file managers, copying files to device and back etc.. The GPS and so on.
But i must say, WP7 is awesome, the integration into Facebook, the browser, the mail client is fantastic. It was not made to be like WM 6.5 etc, this is something on its own....
And it is really growing on all of us
Looking forward to the updates, and more software to be added.
We just have to live with the short battery life!
Windows Phone Device Manager
Also....
I am not sure if some of you guys have checked this out?
http://www.touchxperience.com/
This is a beta project, and its awesome! Allows custom ringtones, copy files to device and back. This is going to be great.
Try it out!