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Like a lot of people here I had been waiting rather impatiently for the real VGA hack for my Jasjar. Now that it's here and I've been using it for a week or so, I'm definitely beginning to see why MS didn't make this an option from the beginning, and I'm also beginning to wonder how much it's really worth.
Real VGA has two big benefits for me... it allows me to shrink the size of the bars on the top and bottom of the screen so I get more usable screen space, and it allows Pocket IE to run without it's stupid pixel doubling 'feature'... that's a big one for me.
Unfortunately it's got a lot of disadvangages too... it makes the bars on the top and bottom of the screen so small that they're difficult to use normally, and all but impossible to use while driving. Like I said above, making them smaller would be an advantage, but it's simply way too small. A lot of applications don't work well in real VGA mode... including the phone dialer, the calculator and others. The font size can't be changed for a lot of things... the start bar, the caller ID info screen, and others. This makes a lot of the information displayed quite difficult to read... again, especially while in a car.
As I've been thinking about it more and more, I realized that the only thing that I really need is for PocketIE to work without pixel doubling... then I'd be quite happy in non-VGA mode. While I doubt that will ever happen hopefully we'll get some third party browsers that will work nicely in non-VGA mode. Until then I think I'm going to be using non-vga most of the time and I'll just switch to VGA mode when I need to do a lot of browsing.
Anyone have any other thoughts on this?
Brett
I think that makes sense. We need dynamically switching VGA really. For day to day use, the thumb is just too fat for VGA. It's barely ok to use for QVGA driving/walking etc.
But for browsing, VGA is great. But it's too much and too tiring all the time I think.
V
yea...we need a button like the screen rotate button that lets us change the res whenever we want
I think I would also agree. There are only two advantages to using the o2vga fix. 1) The only app that it improves is the browser, But as Brett stated, in the car it is too small. It works well for some sites very well and others it is too small. 2) the best advantage is that after I applied o2vga, ms voice command now shows the contact info when i say show "contact".
I also am beta testing the wm5 thunderhawk browser. It allows 640 x 480 and 800 x 600, and 640 x 320(?). The font that is used in thunderhawk is hard to read and the app is very slow. Due to the slow speed and font, I'm not sure the thunderhawk browser on wm5 universal is worth it. ALL in all, the original IE browser with zoom to small or medium seem to look the best.
Brett: Couldn't agree more. It was great to see what the device can do, and how the screen really is, tiny! But in truth, the eyestrain was no joke, and finger operation became impossible. I did a lot of toggling between the two, and ultimately decided that what I was is the standard resolution, but with some hacks for:
- Smaller scroll bars (VJ mentions this somewhere)
- Shrunk edge bits in XL
- Smaller edges for Terminal Services (altho central area surprisingly gives same res)
- and of course a hack for PIE.
Now, surely the latter is manageable? It's simply how IE is rendering. Perhaps MS will fix this soon, or maybe someone can intercept the rendering engine. I even don't care if my images lose every second pixel in order to come to the right size at half the res.
Real time Resolution Switching
See the attached link to a bit of software, which once released for WM5 may solve the VGA issue. It allows switching between resolutions on the fly.
I tried it on my Blue Angel, and it worked great, albeit a little unstable.
Note the site says they've been working on WM5 compatibility since Feb, so this may be wishful thinking.
http://www.nyditot.com/Products.asp
It's certainly not ideal, but besides web browsing I would add that word processing is nicer in VGA. Fortunately I don't have to do that much, but when I did need to for a meeting, I appreciated the VGA. With the keyboard and VGA, the term Pocket PC is more than just wishful thinking.
It's certainly not ideal, but besides web browsing I would add that word processing is nicer in VGA. Fortunately I don't have to do that much, but when I did need to for a meeting, I appreciated the VGA. With the keyboard and VGA, the term Pocket PC is more than just wishful thinking.
I agree it is to much hassle to work smoothly in everyday conditions, personally I think its down to programmers to make font options more accessable, take the new version of pocket breeze, in qvga or vga it stays the same size on screen, and gives the user total control over all font sizes.
This is the sort of programming we need to utilise such a great display!!!
lol
kinda bull---- lol
i remember when whe had 640 resolution on the pc.. everyone hated it when we started to use 800 res.. and lets not speak about 1024 haha..
i see loads of people using 1600 res nowedays.. higher res means better image quality!!
It also means better games better everything. So 640 res on the exec is SUPER, we only need adjust (like the pc) font size and get larger better resolution icons for those people who like to nagg (just like on real pc's)
VGA resolution is the future, and i am sure we get 800 res soon also and maybe even higher.. better looking programs etc etc..
and if your fingers are to thick for dialpad then you must have problems with any normal gsm LMAO
Just get a skin where the ok button close button are larger and nicer..
but that is just my penny worth :twisted:
I have installed a few freeware programs which I think have not got as much attention and praise as they deserve at this website.
Instead of File explorer, I am using Total commander, which still will be my main file tool. But I have missed the opportunity to find files and to search for files by writing a word in the file. GSFinder+ offers these opportunities. Go to http://page.freett.com/todamitsu/GSFinderE.htm
The built-in graphics software is very limited. If we want to make major revision of graphics, we will of course do it on the PC. But it is still nice to have a few more possibilities on the Universal. This is offered by XnView Pocket. The program loads the graphics faster and lets you resize the pictures, adjust brightness, contrast and gamma, convert it to other file formats, crop, sharpen, smooth and reduce noise. It is also reads 13 different graphic formats. Go to http://www.pocketpcfreewares.com/en/index.php?soft=877
I have also installed Pocket Notepad. Strictly speaking, a notepad is not important on the Universal which loads Word Mobile so quickly. But I somehow feel that the suite of programs is more complete with the notepad. Go to http://tillanosoft.com/ce/pnotepad.html
Thank you....
Thank you very much hansof! I have been looking for a light and freeware tif image viewer and I finally found one with your help! Great softs! Keep those recomendations coming!!!
N
There have been lots of postings on how to achieve real VGA. I became interested when someone told me that I would achieve good presentations using Adobe Acrobat Reader with real VGA. So I read page after page on how to do it. I concluded that having real VGA all or most of the time, created so many problems that I would prefer the more limited solution - adding the file with the mystical suffix .0904.mui to the folders with the programs that really needed high resolution. In my case, that is Opera and Acrobat Reader.
This selective use of real VGA is what the producer has built into the Universal. It has been used to achieve the needed high resolution in the programs that really need it, such as Internet Explorer and ClearVue PDF. And probably in some other programs. In the \windows folder, four .exe files have been equipped with the .0904.mui files. And 19 .dll files have been equipped with the file.
Some posters have mentioned that when they were using real VGA in all applications, the strain on the eyes became almost unbearable. And I can well image the problem, although I personally have the advantage of being short-sighted, so by taking off my spectacles, I can read any details.
In my opinion, the producer has been wise, using real VGA when it is needed. A problem arises when we install additional programs which require higher resolution - then we have to use the .0409.mui files.
They have been slightly wise not entirely
the mui trick doesnt work with every application, ie the default Calendar. I prefer the larger VGA based calendar you get when using the VGA Hacks however this is outweighed by the strain of other applications/uses as you have mentioned.
hrmm I suspect the wise way of implementing it would have been by giving us the choice to opt in and out of VGA I mean the mui trick covers most apps but VGA on the desktop, explorer, programs and the calendar is just so very handy and the mui trick cannot resolve that, well maybe the explorer part if I mui'ed resco but still.
I'm sorry for my naivety, but what and how does this work ".0904.mui "
Do I just go and find the .exe and change the file extension, or is there more to it than this?
I've been using VGA hack for a while against Pocket IE and really like the way it renders pages. But I hate the way VGA Hack works with almost everything else.
Can VGA Hack (or similar) be applied to specific apps only? Say PIE, Word and Excel only?
Failing that, what rival browsers exist?
Opera mobile and opera mini. Never used either and will try them out, but I never use the "1 column" mode in PIE and basically want pages to be as close as possible to a VGA desktop computer. I want framed sites to render well in particular.
Tabbed browsing *would* be nice but I certainly don't care that much.
Faster page rendering would be a real bonus. A couple of sites I visit (say http://www.todayonly.co.uk ) seem to take forever in PIE.
So, what else is there? There's some Japanese browser too, iirc, but how stable is that? How good is the rendering?
Opera is definitely the one you want. Works flawlessly with VGA, automatically and intelligently scales framed pages to display nicely, and will switch to classicl desktop view at a quick click. It even allows your device to identify as a desktop computer when querried by a page.
I disagree.
Pie+ for me is the most stable and feature packed browser. Not really a browser as such but a load of extensions to Pie.
In my view Netfront 3.3 is also a good option. Specially the fact that it supports Flash which Opera doesn't.
By the way I have also tried Mini Opera and in fact am writing this post using mini opera. Give it a try
Regards
Please check out the Web Browser category ( http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&cat=61 ) on my blog (the later articles have also been cross-posted to the General forum here at XDA-Dev) - it answers ALL your questions. It's really woth checking it out because, based on the info there, you will be able to make an informed decision on which browser to choose.
just try opera 8.6 version it will surely solve ur problem.
I have to Second the Netfront Suggestion
I have used a number of IE addins, and I used Opera during the Beta testing process. I find the in the end I keep coming back to Netfront. I like it enought that I finally did purchase a copy. It renders well in VGA. It has a number of layout formats so you can get a desktop like experience. What I like to use is the following.
Virtual resolution: 800x600
Zoom: 75%
Rendering: Smart-Fit
I also like to set quick render. This causes the page to display in a text layout while the browser retrieves the images and other layout information. This way if you just need a link from the page, you can click it before the whole page is drawn. This can be annoying though if you are trying to read the page because as soon as the browser was retrieved everything, it redraws the whole page, inturupting your reading. For me, this has not been a problem, but Netfront is flexible enough to suit most tastes.
They do offer a short free trial. I suggest checking it out.
Update:
OK, tried Opera for a few days and really, really liked it. However, sometimes it seems like it just doesn't respond at all. When it works, it great. When it's slow, it unusable. Basically, for features it's spot on but for responsiveness I've had to rule it out entirely.
I'm trying Netfront now and so far I'm hugely impressed. Accurate, rapid page rendering and seems to do everything it is supposed to do. I'll give it a week or so before I decide but it certainly looks like a bargain to me (under GBP£20 iirc - the price of a good sandwich)
still mostly happy with netfront,but how do you turn off the irritating way is fills the screen with the focused frame? Nice feature for 240x240 screens, but for vga it just slows me down.
xiasma said:
still mostly happy with netfront,but how do you turn off the irritating way is fills the screen with the focused frame? Nice feature for 240x240 screens, but for vga it just slows me down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure what you're referring to, but you can always change the rendering mode.
To disable focus on frames navigate to "menu / tools / browser settings/ misc (tab) and uncheck box "enable smart frame operation"
This box is checked by default. With this box checked netfront fills the whole screen with a particular frame you have tapped upon.
Regards
xiasma said:
Update:
OK, tried Opera for a few days and really, really liked it. However, sometimes it seems like it just doesn't respond at all. When it works, it great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think its bcoz ur cache is saved on ur phones memory thus try to change its cache on ur storage card so it will free up the memory & will use less resources.
niketkumar said:
I think its bcoz ur cache is saved on ur phones memory thus try to change its cache on ur storage card so it will free up the memory & will use less resources.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me disagree. It's mostly with other Web browsers (most notably, NetFront) that seem to "freeze" when writing to (comparatively) slow (say, flash ROM-based) storage.
Of course, it's worth relocating the Opera cache (see my tutorial at http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&p=916&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1 ), but also make sure you only relocate it to a well-optimized card.
By the way do u know that how can i change the location of cache (PIE) on to the storage card ?
niketkumar said:
By the way do u know that how can i change the location of cache (PIE) on to the storage card ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah. Please read for example http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/articles.php?action=expand,42768
I think Opera for PPC works only with an acceptable speed if you relocate the cache NOT to a faster card BUT to virtual memory card.. there is a driver which does that. I'm greatly impressed with it..
http://www.mobiletechworld.com/2009/11/18/opera-mobile-10-beta-available-on-windows-mobile/
Did anyone try it on the HD2?
ooh thanks for the tip, downloading and trying now.
First impression: Wow it loads up quick. Probably at least 1 third of the time of 9.5
It uses HTC keyboard rather than the Opera one as in Mini 5.
Just tested loading engadget on 10 and 9.5 and they came out about the same, around 16 sec on low strength wifi connection.
Tried testing a few sites and if anything 10 might be slightly slower at downloading and rendering, only by a second though and I might not be timing that accurately. Overall though it's much faster to load so one benefit there.
Note: Just realised I've been doing above tests with Opera Turbo off. doh. Re-testing with new sites now.
OK, with turbo on, thinkbroadband.com loads just under 5 seconds on Opera 10 and on 9.5 it's just under 9 seconds.
Biffy said:
First impression: Wow it loads up quick. Probably at least 1 third of the time of 9.5
It uses HTC keyboard rather than the Opera one as in Mini 5.
Just tested loading engadget on 10 and 9.5 and they came out about the same, around 16 sec on low strength wifi connection.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try activating the opera proxy
Thank you for letting us know. It looks promising.
Does multitouch work naturally like in original 9.7 version included in hd2?
What I mean is, does the multitouch gesture zoom in the web page (enlarging the textsize etc) or does it zoom in the window (like non-supported applications manually added through registry)?
Thank you.
I think it's 9.5 included with HD2, but no, the multitouch isn't working in 10 beta.
Also need to find a way to replace it as the default browser...
Edit: Updated tests above with turbo on
Edit 2, I was wrong, it is 9.7 sorry.
No auto-rotation like in 9.7 either.
Another noticeable difference is the page updates way quicker. E.g. browsing my rememberthemilk.com tasks page on 9.7, there's a lot of the checked pattern when swiping around the page. On 10 there is none at all.
@ Biffy
Thank you for your quick response.
Is the executable named as "OperaL.exe"?
If not, did you try to rename it? This might restore multitouch gestures and auto-rotation
Will check the OperaL.exe, but won't I need to move it to the overwrite the default folder maybe?
Also tried swiping around engadget.com, in 9.7 it's not hard to get a bit of the checker pattern even after the page is loaded. On 10 I can't seem to get any and think it may be smoother overall too.
Edit: Renamed exe to OperaL.exe but now no pages seem to load...
It's nice to see the tab limit has been increased from the tiny amount on 9.7
I'm not sure if this new version will be work good with our htc hd2... because the opera version by default are optimised for our devices, not likely the beta version of opera.
(omg sorry for my poor english)
Biffy said:
Will check the OperaL.exe, but won't I need to move it to the overwrite the default folder maybe?
Also tried swiping around engadget.com, in 9.7 it's not hard to get a bit of the checker pattern even after the page is loaded. On 10 I can't seem to get any and think it may be smoother overall too.
Edit: Renamed exe to OperaL.exe but now no pages seem to load...
It's nice to see the tab limit has been increased from the tiny amount on 9.7
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think that it is necessary to have it in the same location. But it may be necessary for the executable to have the same filename, window name & class name (you can check the last 2 using a task manager, but the filename is the easiest to start with).
You can increase the maximum number of tabs in version 9.7.
See the tips & tricks thread or type opera:config in your opera mobile
Just trying to sort out my wifi problem, as no connections were working. Then will retry as OperaL.exe
I knew about the tabs in 9.7 but it's still nice in 10 it's better by default, one less thing to have to tweak.
My connection is working again after a reset, don't know what happened there...
Renaming to OperaL.exe hasn't changed anything. The default executable is Opera9.exe, would it be worth trying that, or something else?
Edit: Opera9.exe doesn't help either. Guess it's not going to be such a simple fix.
Got to say, I like the way the interface is heading.
Not too worried about the lack of HD2-centric optimisations, that will surely come later.
Loads fast
Biffy said:
My connection is working again after a reset, don't know what happened there...
Renaming to OperaL.exe hasn't changed anything. The default executable is Opera9.exe, would it be worth trying that, or something else?
Edit: Opera9.exe doesn't help either. Guess it's not going to be such a simple fix.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for trying.
Hopefully there will be a solution, so that Opera 10 will remain optimized for our device.
I think the thing I miss most is the auto-rotation. As it makes zoom un-necessary on lots of pages.
Pinch & zoom doesn't work, either auto rotate and no much differences from 9.7, better ui, opera turbo and little more.
and opera turbo loads faster yes, but it is a ****ty compressor that makes the images looks like crap.
I still with 9.7
been playing with Opera 10 this morning - FAST.
i guess you either love or hate Turbo, but I love it.
The only issue I am having is that the links from the sense browser page still open in 9.7, but 10 has made itself default for mail links, so a little muddled.
Turbo got better .. it can play animated gifs now for example (it couldn't before). But you can;t set image quality, and the default quality is very bad.