Related
It seems like I have been working on this for a very long time. This is the most complicated thing I have ever done yet at the same time easy to use.
http://odeean.veritel.com.au/programming_files/gsmbeam.htm
http://odeean.veritel.com.au/downloads_files/GSMbeam.exe
GSMbeam is what it sounds like. Two people can use it to beam stuff over the phone. No gprs, no special lines needed. Most sims from most networks (here in Australia anyway), prepaid or account will do this no problems.
The idea is that you leave it on all the time. Don't worry about wasted cpu time or battery life because most of the time the threads are in wait states doing nothing. When you push off there is no processing by GSMbeam, the hardware "wakes up" the device when a call comes in, and then it does its thing.
This beta release has an expiration date at the end of September. After that time it will do nothing.
It can send very small or large files. I have been using it to send pictures from my camera, about 150KB. I have not tested it with VERY large files. One reason why it's beta is that I have not tested it in critically low memory environments. So if you run out of memory the theory is that it will just stop doing what its doing.
I do not recommend changing most of the settings, but if you do, remember that the gsm phone network is slow so it will not get you a miraculous speed increase.
If your phone plan has no flag fall then to send 22kb (mms size) is cheaper. To send a GSMbeam long text message is not worth it for small messages because the connection time of the two modems outways the savings. For long messages it can be cheaper. If you pay 15 cents a message then 10 messages is a $1.50, the same amount of characters costs me about 50 cents.
This also has the built in shortcut generator.
The object this creates is more versatile than what I have used it for here. In future versions I am considering opening it up to be accessed from other programs. I have done a couple of tests using a file as a buffer for data then some named events to signal read and write times. Because of this there is file in the config folder that is only getting flushed when the program is turned off and restarted. if you were to go a month without doing so and had received a lot of data in that time it could grow too big.
..Enjoy.
<edit>
this is embaressing but...
I found a bug alredy. If a file comes in the phone is not getting restarted until after the accept/reject dialog is dismissed. This means that if you receive a file but do not notice you can't receive another call until the os restarts the phone. This normally is about 3 minutes. I will fix for next version.
wow nice app thanks!
i posted it in my blog.
I added a list of known problems at the bottom of its page. If any other bugs pop up just post them here.
oldsap - Thanks for putting it on your site. I would not describe it as freeware. Freeware would not have an expiration date. That is in the about dialog, but I added it to the GSMbeam page to make sure people know whats going on.
OdeeanRDeathshead said:
I added a list of known problems at the bottom of its page. If any other bugs pop up just post them here.
oldsap - Thanks for putting it on your site. I would not describe it as freeware. Freeware would not have an expiration date. That is in the about dialog, but I added it to the GSMbeam page to make sure people know whats going on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool software. Now all I need is more people who I can transfer with.
Thats why the core functionality will always be free (ie receiving any size file/message + sending messages and small size file). When it gets a final release you would be able to purchase a copy to send your big stuff ang give all your friends a copy so you have someone to send to. Can I take it that it worked on your device?.
I have fixed the bug where the phone is not restarted for 3 minutes. The phone now gets restarted about 10 seconds after a call ends. Incoming files get qued for acceptence. The user sees a dialog asking to accept/reject. If more than 1 is in the que a series of dialogs pops up, each in turn after the result of the first (not all at once). also I fixed a bug where the minimize was malfunctioning after one of the modal dialogs was displayed. Hopefully now when GSMbeam is minimised it dose so without disrupting the ok button in other programs. version 0.194 is now at the link.
OdeeanRDeathshead said:
I added a list of known problems at the bottom of its page. If any other bugs pop up just post them here.
oldsap - Thanks for putting it on your site. I would not describe it as freeware. Freeware would not have an expiration date. That is in the about dialog, but I added it to the GSMbeam page to make sure people know whats going on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh sorry, ill try to change it to shareware
could you explain a little more on how many sms equivalent is uses per kb of file sent?
I don't know exactly what you mean. It dose not use any sms to send anything. It uses the same kind of call you would talk over, except instead of talking the modems talk. The numbers of characters in an sms could be sent in much less than 1 second. The only problem is that the modems need around 10-15 seconds to connect with each other. On my phone account I pay 20 flag fall and 1 cent per second. So for a page of text in a message it would cost me around 21 cents. For a much longer message, say 5 pages (on the ppc screen) it would cost me 22-25 cents.
If you are sending files that are bigger than the packet size (most would be) then there is some overhead. There are two "layers" working in GSMbeam each with its own small amount of headder information in a packet for that layer. This is really insignificant though. For sending images the cost is higher. Images are normally relitively large in relation to text. You would have to test it with your own account to see what it costs. with many phone accounts there are free times or free minute from phones in the same network. If you have such free periods then GSMbeam costs nothing to use. When I call my wife it costs me nothing if I have "vodafone to vodafone minutes" left that month.
oh now i get it. ( sorry for being so stupid )
so it uses call time. great! i have free unlimited calls to the same network as mine so that means it would be free to send files to the same netowrk?
Correct. Thats beautiful hey! In Australia they make us pay through the nose for anything to do with data, but now there is a way around it. Imagine, here it cost 75c for a 22kb mms. The picture quality is not that good and there is complication in getting the correct sim and configuring it.
this is a very useful app. thanks again. btw, any chance of porting it to smartphones and also nokia phones?
I can't do smartphone because I do not have one. This kind of thing dose not work properly on the mulator. As for nokia, I have no idea how to program one.
Thanks a bunch
Great Shareware
works on MIO A701
NAdavi.
Thank you for the confirmation assasins. The hope of definite works/fails feedback on the functionality is the main reason I post here. If anyone finds it dose not work, thats what the diagnostic logging mode is for in the settings. After veiwing the log it may be possible for me to find any bugs.
I just found a new bug. In 2003 and 2005 devices, if you change the settings it crashes. It looks like it still works but really its kapoot and needs to be turned off then on again. I was testing on an old xda a lot and it did not happen there so I failed to notice it. I will update with a fix soon. I also thought I fixed the problem hiding the main window, but again its popped back up, but it only seems to happen on my mini.
<edit>
I have fixed this. Version 0.195 is on my site now. The problem was I was calling free on a pointer pointing to memory not allocate by malloc or realloc. I wouldn't have expected it to go so badly.
The OK button thing has really beaten me. I have changed the main dialog minimize to the X and it seems to work. The funny thing is, it is still producing an IDOK and I am still responding to it in the same way. Only now when the dialog get hidden so dose the menu.
version 0.196 is now at the link.
This fixes the on/off functionality of the call filtering so now you can set up the black list and turn it off at will. I also streamlined code in various threads to allow a more swift response to incoming calls. This lets the phone be turned off faster on slower devices so there is less chance of the phone giving a ring.
Get GSMbeam for FREE
I think GSMbeam is finished now. I have fixed many bugs including a malfunction in the stop button. I have added functionality like a que for incomming text messages so more than one can be stored. The incoming messages can now be sent to the clipboard or log file after reading. I added the option to have a sound notification. I added a preview window for image files in the file open dialog. I also put in the password registration. Its based on the hardware ID of the device.
I would like more people to use this before I feel happy calling it finished. If anyone would like to download this and post their hardware ID in this thread (the one generated by GSMbeam) I will pm the first 20-30 a registration code - that is if there is anyone interested.
http://odeean.veritel.com.au/programming_files/gsmbeam.htm
Hi
Great work! Ill try this later. Thanks! You are great!
My Hardware ID
3570360001858401680BF3F51730
i really wish you could develop the same app for WM5 smartphones
this is a nice app. great work!
i'll try this.
My Hardware ID is: 0087687800303051380BF3F51730
Thanks for this app.
BTW, i have a BA running on WM5. It's running ok. but i still have to test sending and receiving files. will post feedback soon.
Hello Everyone,
I just got my 8525 in the mail yesterday and upgraded the boot loader, radio, and WM6. I had a little trouble but in the end, all that I can't get working right is the internet for Cingular. I really appreciate all the hard work everyone puts into this. Here is my thank you, this is my first app so go easy on me.
nomb
nombCrypt
nombCrypt is an encryption program I originally made for the desktop but then decide to port it over. It uses a password you provide and encrypts either a block of text or files using 256bit Rijndael (AES). This level of encryption was given the ok to encrypt Top Secret documents. It can of course decrypt as well. This is for Windows Mobile 6. Please enjoy and every developer of course likes to get back feedback.
Planned/Requested Improvements
Truecrypt like encrypted containers
Implement Encrypted Backups (P)
Get File Encrypt Status Bar Working (P/R) <-- I'm dreading writing the working class :'(
Use Device ID As Salt Option (P)
Randomize Salt More (P)
Add More Encryption Algorithms (P)
Change File Open Dialog To Open Less (R) completed - now initially looks for *.nen (nombCrypt Enc. Files)
Encryption Password Confirmation (R) completed
Clipboard Paste Button (R) completed
Clipboard Clear Button (R) completed
Take Off Start Menu Icon (R) completed
Change Icon (R) completed
Add Exit To The Menu (R) completed
Add Time Out Feature (R) completed - (see page two for details)
Integrate nombCrypt Into WM6 More (P)
I. Encrypt MS Certificate Store (R)
Other Fixes
Improved Text Encryption So The End TextBox Is Opened Less
Added file error checking to the file decryption process
Two screenshots and the cab file are attached.
I hope you guys enjoy...
nomb
Hey! I wanted to do the same thing too! Just that I use my own XOR method (One Time Pad-like) instead. Of all the thing, it works alright, except that I can't get it to do a Copy-Paste. (see here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=321014)
Also, from what it seems, I would presume that (since you uses AES), the end result would be in 'relatively' binary format (right?), which may not be very program friendly.
I was going to do about the same thing, except that I'll have my end result Base64 encoded, such that I can have them pasted to Notes and have it sycned to outlook. And I have my PC based software to do the job there (if required).
Previously, I used a software called Ccrryyppttoo, which did quite alright, but it seems that my PC is doing some coding, when synced, that makes it goes funny (i.e. cannot be decrypted anymore).
I'll PM you a demo of what I did (in Java web), of which I intended to do it in PPC
With Rijnael the resulting encrypted string/file gets encoded into base64 as well because if it didn't, all the characters wouldn't be represented. You can paste this into notes just fine.
Mine is programmed in c# so there is a clipboard function which works relatively well. If you'd like to help with this your more than welcome to. Or if you want to join your project with mine that would be cool too. I plan to support all major and a lot of minor encryption algorithms that I can find. Plus people were complaining about how the encrypted backup on the ppc should use the device id to encrypt instead of the randomly generated key so I plan to implement that as well.
I'm looking forward to seeing your demo.
nomb
Hmm.. so it is b64 encoded.. niicceee. Hmmm. . I should try out C# soon.
Anyway, there is a suggestion, I'm not sure if you have the library for it. After my symmetric cipher program, I'm in thinking about a asymmetric-public-private key cipher, which people can exchange short messages in secret (e.g. via email, IM, SMS) without the need to exchange the key/password. It is relatively done now, I'll show you the web base version once it is done. It runs on the Java security class, which I'm not sure if C# has those library or not.
The idea is, Alice go to my page, generate a pair of keys. Alice then send Bob her pub key. Bob use pub key, go to my page, encrypt the message. Send it to Alice. Alice decrypt message at my page. No software to install, no secret key exchanged.
Yup c# has the ability to do that built into its cryptography namespace.
That is a cool idea, but instead of having Alice send the key to him. You should just make a db to keep track of the keys and then have him answer a question about Alice or something like that to use the pub key. that way thats even one less step they have to worry about. Or have Alice put in his email address and have your site auto email him the pub key. That would be good too.
But sweet idea, maybe I'll make my program talk to your site.
Have you tried mine yet?
nomb
I dont like the "answer a question" method, as in that case, you might as well use the answer as the password?
Anyway, the emailing the pub key is an idea
I'm not in my own PC yet, can't send it to my phone from this PC. Will try it out later tonight.
hanmin said:
I dont like the "answer a question" method, as in that case, you might as well use the answer as the password?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ya I'm at work and was hungry so I wasn't thinking strait. I don't like that idea either. ^^
I think my next step in mine is to build the background worker class to update the progress bar when you encrypt/decrypt a file.
If you just point your phone to the cab above it will install it for you. You don't need a comp unless u don't have a dataplan.
nomb
I dont have data in my plan.. although O2 gives me 1MB+ a month free.. I'm not using it.
Anyway, I've tested your software, a few comments.
Slightly major problems:
[1] It is not wise to do a 'All folders' and 'All Files' upon browsing (for file to be de/encrypt). People (e.g. me) has gazillion files around and it may take ages to load the list.
[2] You may want to pop up a Window, asking the user to confirm his/her password upon encryption (one of the thing I intended to add on mine )
[3] I'm not able to paste any data onto the 'start text' area. E.g., I have encrypted my stuff, saved it into Notes. Later, I wanted to get it back, I copy the encrypted code from my Notes, and no way of pasting it into the 'Start text'
[4] You already knew this, but, good to have some kind of progress bar to indicate the progress
[5] Hmmm.. on the browsing, there doesn't seems to have a way to find files on my Storage Card's root directory
[6] For security reason, probably it is good for you to add a 'Clear Clipboard' button?
Minor:
[1] I find it annoying that once I had the software installed, it is on my Start menu
[2] You could use a better icon, I just see a black square on my not so bright screen. I can help you on this.
[3] Add an "Exit" on the menus below?
Other possible suggestions:
[1] Have a time out on your software, such that, e.g. if there is no activity on software after a certain amount of time, it will do one/some/all of these (a) close itself (b) clear the password, input, output (c) clear the clipboard
Good suggestions, I'll have those done by tomorrow. I can't play with the storage card aspect yet because I don't have one. :'( Soon though I'm hoping to get a 4gb. And ya, i can't make icons worth any.
Oh, to past it back I always did ctrl+v from the keyboard. But I'll throw a button up there to do that. And I'll make sure to take it off of the start menu.
1 good comment would have been nice. Altho criticism is good.
nomb
Haha.. sorry for the lack of good comments, I was trying to think of something to suggest. But come to think of it my post on top are good comments (e.g. niiiiccceee Base 64 encoded), and the fact that it has the simple string->string encryption.
I did googling a bit, and found these
http://www.entity.cc/ICONS/security-icons.php
http://www.hscripts.com/freeimages/icons/computer/lock-icon.php
http://icons.qarchive.org/
which you may want to use as your icons?
Ya I was just teasing you. The icon I have now I got off of your last link at somepoint I just don't remember when. But I think I will probably use one of the others. But ya, I'll work on those fixes and then attach the updated program. Then once I get those fixes done, I'll work on adding the differnt encryption algorithms and the encrypted backups.
nomb
Did you wrote any backup software before for the PPC? I'm not really sure, but it seems that backup-ing can have a lot of issues. You have the "Copy everything" backup, the PIM only backup, etc. Some backups are ROM-flashing/upgrading friendly, some are not. You can have a backup software all standalone by itself. I would recommend you to have the backup software seperated and have encryption onto it as a plugin. Take a look at PIM-backup, it is very popular here.
Hi,
This is a very interesting thread. Thanks for your efforts so far (is there a donation link anywhere?)
A basic question...I understood that to carry out really secure encryption it would be necessary to write a filter driver that worked within the core ROM Image. Is this not the case?
Can I encrypt the MS certificate store too? The crypto protection on this store could be beefed up...
Once again I am very pleased that this thread has appeared and will be testing your software with interest,
Well done for your work so far,
Sam.
Hey there PianoSam,
First I just want to make it clear I'm not doing this to make money. If anyone donates I want it to be because they like the software. I am at work so PayPal is blocked but I'll put my donation link on the front page later today.
Also, I am going to try and incorporate the encryption as much as possible. If that is a feature you'd like, then after I get all of the previously requested changes done, I'll start on that for you.
And thank you for your kind words.
nomb
***EDITED***
Sorry I didn't answer you question at first.
Question: A basic question...I understood that to carry out really secure encryption it would be necessary to write a filter driver that worked within the core ROM Image. Is this not the case?
Answer: I pondered over this for a little while and I can't think of a reason this would be necessary. However, I've only had my phone for two days. Can you find where you saw that so I can read it as well and maybe gather a little bit on information so I can do some research on the topic? If thats what needs to be done then thats what I'll do but I can't see why. Let me know!
Added another cab with all the fixes I've completed.
nombCrypt-beta.cab <-- On the front page.
I added the donate link.
I added the timeout feature and thought I would make a comment on it.
It is a two minute timeout. Whenever you fucos on a textbox the timer is stopped and when the textbox looses focus, the timer is on. The downside to this is if you were in the middle of typing and set your device down, it wont timeout. I could make it so when you start typing into the textbox it restarts the two minutes and you have two minutes to complete your message but I didn't know if that was a good idea or not.
Also, when you copy, and go to another program to paste it in, you have two minutes before the clipboard is cleared and the program shutdown.
When the encryption program is encrypting something, the timeout is not running. It starts afterwards.
I can tweak this as much as you guys would like, just let me know.
nomb
I've tested your Beta.. niiiiiccceeeeee.. it is gooood. Almost prefect. Few things (OH NO! )
- The "Clear" button doesn't seems to be working. It is suppose to clear the clipboard only? Should you clear off everything as well?
Other requests/suggestion
<rant>
- I'm not sure why I thought I need it.. but it would be good to have a copy function for the "End Text" as well. I thought I may need it one day. Not sure why. It ought to make the screen a bit crowded, I thought.
Anyway, slightly related to the suggestion above, I've just revisited the design I made on my copy-paste-failed PPC attempt, I have this idea which I thought you might want to use it. For my design, I do not have "Start Text" and "End Text", I only have ONE TextField "Message" (and another for the password). The user enter the encrypted/plain text on this "Message". Click on the button "Encrypt" or "Decrypt", the result will then overwrite whatever that is in "Message" TextField.
Example:
(1) "Message"=<plain text>. User key in password, click "Encrypt", "Message"=<encrypted text>.
(2) "Message"=<encrypted text>. User key in password, click "Dencrypt", "Message"=<plain text>.
In such cases, you only need a pair of copy-paste to perform copy-paste on both (in a way) encrypted and plain text.
</rant>
As for the time out issue, I thought the typing-sensitive time out would be a better choice. The moment that you are worried about your data being seen is when you are away from your phone. You can have focus on your TextField but you can be million miles away from your phone. But, you ought to be around to be typing stuff, right?
BTW, I'm also wondering on the working of this time out feature. I thought there ought to be a 'clock' running and when time's up, it will clear the stuff needed to be cleared, right? So, if I were to forget to switch off the application, the timer will not be another running software that drain my battery, right?
Good work.
hanmin said:
- The "Clear" button doesn't seems to be working. It is suppose to clear the clipboard only? Should you clear off everything as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The "clear" button is in the clipboard row, i think i tagged it on the left, and only clears the clipboard. If you go to menu->reset it will clear everything like your looking for.
hanmin said:
- I'm not sure why I thought I need it.. but it would be good to have a copy function for the "End Text" as well. I thought I may need it one day. Not sure why. It ought to make the screen a bit crowded, I thought.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The "Copy" button copies the end text to the clipboard. Not the start text.
hanmin said:
Anyway, slightly related to the suggestion above, I've just revisited the design I made on my copy-paste-failed PPC attempt, I have this idea which I thought you might want to use it. For my design, I do not have "Start Text" and "End Text", I only have ONE TextField "Message" (and another for the password). The user enter the encrypted/plain text on this "Message". Click on the button "Encrypt" or "Decrypt", the result will then overwrite whatever that is in "Message" TextField.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I originally had it setup this way, however there was a time when I had wrote a huge paragraph in it and encrypted it, and then found out I had forgot a line. I switched it so this wont happen.
hanmin said:
As for the time out issue, I thought the typing-sensitive time out would be a better choice. The moment that you are worried about your data being seen is when you are away from your phone. You can have focus on your TextField but you can be million miles away from your phone. But, you ought to be around to be typing stuff, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The timeout I have running in it now, (new version that isn't up yet), is completely off of the user's actions. Whenever you do anything in the program the timer resets. Except for encrypting/decrypting. The timer is off for those functions incase you encrypt a file that takes longer.
hanmin said:
BTW, I'm also wondering on the working of this time out feature. I thought there ought to be a 'clock' running and when time's up, it will clear the stuff needed to be cleared, right? So, if I were to forget to switch off the application, the timer will not be another running software that drain my battery, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The timeout feature does not clear everything in the program. I have it so it actually completely closes the program. So if you forget to close it and walk away, the program will end so it doesn't drain your battery.
hanmin said:
Good work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, wait till you see the next version...
nomb
I got the progressbar working for encryption, now for decryption.
Just got my Dash 3G, and I have found my first issue. The builtin HTC Home Weather app isn't updating. I have it checked to automatically update, but it doesn't. I have also tried doing a manual refresh, and still no luck. The only time it does seem to update is if I change my Homescreen, and it reloads. Anyone one having a similar experience? Any solutions?
thats a common issue with T-Mobile for years.
theres a few threads already constructed with possible solutions dating back to 2007.
just go thru the search function, see what comes up, theres way too many for me to post.
Later!
I had searched, but most of the posts were for other phones/OS's (6.0 instead of 6.1). Plus, I am not sure if the HTC Home Weather has changed since these other fixes were posted. I don't want to be mashing old fixes into my new phone unless I can be assured it will work. Probably means I will have to wait for someone else to be the guinea pig. Can anyone point to a fix they have confirmed to work?
Just restart phone and notice that it reloads. Myfaves automatically reloads no matter what homescreen you choose.. Have vista need to stop the sync
The problem is with connecting to the network, Mine refused to update until I changed my connection to always on, now it works perfectly. All you need to do is edit the reg:
This wont drain your battery as this is only a GSM network state flag and nothing is transferred, all it does is eliminate the connection wait time.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Comm\ConnMgr\Providers\
{7C4B7A38-5FF7-4bc1-80F6-5DA7870BB1AA}\
Connections\*your connection name*\AlwaysOn = 1
There will be two *your connection name* to look for, one is Data the other Internet
Bupahs,
Thanks for the reply. I tried your suggestion, but still no luck. I am now having issues trying to get the initial update. (Had to do a hard reset). I've been looking at the registry entries at:
HKLM\Software\HTC\HTCHome\Weather
HKLM\Software\HTC\HTCHome\SlidingPanel\HTCWeather
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Chome\HTCWeather
but I don't know what to edit to try, and fix the issue. I've changed the State and Status values at HKLM\Software\HTC\HTCHome\Weather. These seem to control which message the app displays such as "Add City", or "Unable to download..", etc. I've noticed the WeatherApp.exe process isn't running in the background by default, and that the value of the key HKLM\Software\HTC\HTCHome\Weather\Settings\UpdateCmd\ seems to be a date followed by a time. (2009,7,19,12,21,43) Any suggestions on what else to look at? Do apps referenced in the Registry default to the Windows directory? I noticed CommandLaunch references WeatherApp.exe, but I get no action when I hit refresh. Just wonder if that had anything to do with it.
Do others have this working? Sorry for the rambling post. Useful input or suggestions are welcomed.
mine wont update either tried 3 different networks.
well its a discovery to me, and i haven't seen anything about this here so i though i would post this
also, long time reader, first time poster. lol
anyways, i have been trying to figure out why voice command would not do what i picked it up for: announce caller id.
well everyone said you had to go to settings an enable caller id, well alot of us couldn't because we don't have the settings shortcut and i was one of them.
well i found how to access to settings, for at least me. i use nrg roms, but i don't use sense even though its pretty sweet, i prefer spb.
but anyways i was playing with the settings "pane" in sense and noticed another entry called "other"-"misc settings" so i opened it up and there was voice-command settings????
the strange thing is that now that i have accessed the vc settings from sense now i can access these settings from the start menu and spb in addition to sense.
so now i am able to enable caller id announcements, but it still wont send the announcement to my bluetooth, which i believe is a known issue that hopefully can i can figure out
i believe all of this worked before i started using custom roms.
oops i guess i have posted on a non related topic before
Thread dedicated to the initial challenges when changing from a Tilt 2 to an LG Quantum.
Why is this thread needed?
AT&T insurance for the Tilt 2 is now sending the LG Quantum as a replacement.
The phones are hardly comparable. Windows Phone 7 is vastly different than Windows Mobile 6.5. It is not HTC. Does not have Sense.
Windows Phone 7 has some very annoying characteristics that can be avoided if you set things up with specific care and knowledge originally.
I just got me replacement phone today. I will continue to update this thread with information as I find it. Hopefully it will help others in the process, since there will be more of us as insurance replaces people's phones.
Tips from day 1 of use
#1. Your intial live account can not be changed without a hard reset. Do not use an old hotmail account as you Windows Live ID. Create a new one. I recommend one that you will only use for this purpose. If you need to change it, you must wipe your phone (hard reset) to replace this. Your primary hotmail account cannot be removed and there is no way to not sync the contacts from it.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2430020
I recommend telling no one this id. Do not use the email for anything. Include some number or something, so it will not be guessed. do not store information in this account, such as emails or contacts, if it can be avoided. Plenty of other options like gmail for this purpose.
#2. Common email domains are easy to setup. Even custom ones are. But it first will try, then let's you configure.
#3. There is a list that has settings. Swipe from right to left to get to the list. Then go to settings. Now you can change things how old of emails to get and how much of it.
#4. Open an email with an attached pdf. Get the viewer. better to do this earlier than later when you need it. By default, the phone has no ability to view a pdf. The pdf viewer lets you do this.
#5. Stop looking for tasks, you won't find them. They don't sync with Exchange.
#6. There is not a built in twitter app. I am downloading moTweets, because I liked that before. I am using the Try option. There is also a free Twitter and a free Foursquare.
Looks like there is some map software. Not sure if it costs money yet.
Not finding Bing or Google Maps.
Bing is built in. just press the button in the lower right. Not sure why that is the only way to launch it though.
#7. Installed Zune with no issues on Windows Home 64 bit. It updates the software on the phone. You do not loose settings during this. Not like a ROM flash. Synced Videos, pictures, and music.
#8 Blue tooth paired easily. Remember most devices are 0000 for the pin.
#9 Found my WiFi and I connected it fine.
#10 Uninstall the bloat that AT&T puts on. It's not much, but you don't want apps that cost a monthly fee when free ones exist.
First impressions after 1 day
Allthough the look and feel is not customizable, it is very consistent.
A few things are not 100% obvious, but once learned is not difficult.
Things do just work.
Very fluid display. Nothing lags.
It's easy to get your stuff onto it. I need to still test copy and paste with Office.
I was thinking that I would be totally unhappy with the phone. But, I think it might just be doable. A non technical person should have no trouble with this phone.
Marketplace has alot of free apps.
Day 2
Not all clock alarm apps are equal.
Big Clock, which I downloaded from the marketplace failed to wake me this morning.
Tested the normal Alarms this morning and it did work with the screen locked.
As always test your alarm before you need it.
Annoyed that there are no snooze options. Just 5 minutes.
Glad Mango is coming soon. Mango gives all the snooze options we used to have.
Back in Windows Mobile 6.5 Digital Outcast gave us the snooze options that we were used to. M$ had taken them away.
For Win Phone 7, I haven't found a short term solution to this yet. Going to have to wait for Mango.
Liking the OS more and more. Marketplace makes the downloading and installing of apps very painless. Wish it was more clear about what has live tiles though.
AccuWeather weather app appears to be live. LG Clock and Weather does not appear to have a live tile, but lets you put in multiple cities.
Wish I could find the HTC tile with weather and clock. HTC Hub is not it.
Post #5
Intended to later have more info.
I like to have 5 posts of each thread I create.
As a potential future WP7 Device owner, I can't think of a better thread to follw than this one, so on behalf of myself and other TP2/Tilt2 owners who may one day move on, thank you very much for creating this thread...a lot of people move on from a deice earlier than the majority but don't leave the majority much of anything to work with in regards to what to move on to or to stay away from, or how to dial in the new device a better way than what the manufacturers have configured, so this thread is indeed very much appreciated...at least by me, and I am sure others as well.
While you will be missed in the Energy thread, I'm glad I have someone familiar to work with the new OS so should the time come, I will be versed as well as can be on what to expect, and do or not do...thank you for all you did for us with the Rhodium, and thank you in advance for all you will do for the WP7 community...you better the community here wherever you go or whichever thread you are posting in ....
Now for my first WP7 noob question...can the live tiles color be changed...and are there alternatives on this device to the live tiles?
GT247 said:
... Now for my first WP7 noob question...can the live tiles color be changed...and are there alternatives on this device to the live tiles?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. They can be changed, but you get to change them all from 1 color to another.
slide the panels to the left. This now shows a list. Slide down to settings.
In the section titled Theme, tap it and pick a different color.
Other tiles, like music and video, and pictures get the image from what you have played or viewed.
The Me tile gets it's image from Facebook.
And apps can choose to follow the theme or provide their own image.
For the pictures tile, you can manually set it, by: "Open the Picture hub and tap and hold on an empty space and you'll get the option to select the picture you want." source of quote
End of day 2
Realizing that I do not dislike the phone or Windows Phone 7. This is very hard to admit.
With Windows Mobile 6.5 and 6.5.3 and Sense 2.5 with Cookie 2.0. It was fun figuring out all the ways to make the phone do what it should just do. With Windows phone 7. It just does them the way it is supposed to do it. It might not do it how you are used to it doing it, but it does it and it does it well. It can't do everything you're used to it doing, but it does what you actually need it to do and want it to do.
I was expecting to be extremely disappointed in the phone. But I'm not. Things work. You rotate to landscape. They still work. Energy Roms are much prettierand NRGZ28 did a fantastic job at making it do what it should do.
But Windows Phone 7 does a great job.
The things it falls short on will soon be corrected with Mango.
And no M$ did not pay me anything for this post. I am totally surprised that I would feel this way after just 2 days.
I suspected this would be the case....when everything runs faster and smoother and better without having to tweak it to do so, and the initial worry of not being able to tweak to your hearts content to make something you want to work work...when that worry wears off because you dont have to tweak it...well...when any worry wears off and you realize the new phone with the new OS actually really does improve a lot of things.. when everything opens up as your finger is leaving the screen and just starts doing what it's supposed to do...really...how can that be beat?
I'm glad you're giving us positive feedback, as I knew everything would run butter smooth, like yourself, I had reservations about liking the new platform and the new appearance and other changes you're going through with the new device could be overcome by functionality (lol)....
Yep....Mango should come out and lock you in my friend...I imagine after that you'll be glad that usb port died (just please, if you do end up happy about it, don't tell me so...cuz I'm bummed it happened still lol)
I'm curious as you explore...if there will be little things wp7 doesn't have, that the old winmo did...as I have two android devices and the tilt2, I'm finding some things lacking in "the other OS"...little settings (that are sort of kinda actually big deals, to me) are missing...one is...on the tilt2 I can select to show my caller ID to everyone, noone, or just to contacts...can you do that on the Quantum? Have you noticed a need to wonder how ram is controlled? Have you tried opening a zip?.....I'm happy you're on wp7 now (kinda)....I will want to buy a wp7 if someone I trust tells me theye tested it out, put it through it's paces and that it's a solid performer that's user friendly that I can count on to keep me connected to my customers and employees calls and messages and navigates me through my day and gives me awesome browsing and streaming media over the net between my appointments...yep...I'm paying attention to your thread my friend...my usb could go any day too....lol
Thought I found something that I could not do
Thought I could not accept an appointment from Outlook.
In the email, there is a link that takes you to your calender. You accept it from the tentative meeting. I like this better, because you can actually see what your day looks like when accepting it.
Have not found a free twitter program with a live tile.
For weather, the only free one with a live tile update seems to be The Weather Channel. Weather bug does not show anything on the tile. AccuWeather is not updated live.
As plain as the tiles look, they are clear too read. And everything scrolls so fast and smooth. I'll take plain with function for that responsiveness any day.
GT247 said:
I suspected this would be the case....when everything runs faster and smoother and better without having to tweak it to do so, and the initial worry of not being able to tweak to your hearts content to make something you want to work work...when that worry wears off because you dont have to tweak it...well...when any worry wears off and you realize the new phone with the new OS actually really does improve a lot of things.. when everything opens up as your finger is leaving the screen and just starts doing what it's supposed to do...really...how can that be beat?
I'm glad you're giving us positive feedback, as I knew everything would run butter smooth, like yourself, I had reservations about liking the new platform and the new appearance and other changes you're going through with the new device could be overcome by functionality (lol)....
Yep....Mango should come out and lock you in my friend...I imagine after that you'll be glad that usb port died (just please, if you do end up happy about it, don't tell me so...cuz I'm bummed it happened still lol)
I'm curious as you explore...if there will be little things wp7 doesn't have, that the old winmo did...as I have two android devices and the tilt2, I'm finding some things lacking in "the other OS"...little settings (that are sort of kinda actually big deals, to me) are missing...one is...on the tilt2 I can select to show my caller ID to everyone, noone, or just to contacts...can you do that on the Quantum? Have you noticed a need to wonder how ram is controlled? Have you tried opening a zip?.....I'm happy you're on wp7 now (kinda)....I will want to buy a wp7 if someone I trust tells me theye tested it out, put it through it's paces and that it's a solid performer that's user friendly that I can count on to keep me connected to my customers and employees calls and messages and navigates me through my day and gives me awesome browsing and streaming media over the net between my appointments...yep...I'm paying attention to your thread my friend...my usb could go any day too....lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had no idea that you could control the caller id being sent on a per contact basis with the Tilt 2. I imagine it was just inserting *82 or something before dialing. Ultimately the carrier needs to handle the *82 since they do know your number when sending from the tower to the rest of the phone network.
Still early in the testing.
I don't know WP7 settings, on the tilt2, to control caller id setting, I go to start menu>settings>personal>phone>services and then from there I can select "call barring" "caller id" "call forwarding" "call waiting" and "voicemail and text messages"....once an item is highlighted I can click "get settings"...once "get settings" is selected it checks the network settings and then displays the current setting on the network...on the TP2 caller id settings they can be changed on the network from the device...I'm hoping this is possible on WP7
Another question I have is if pinch to zoom works in emails and other apps, not just the browser
GT247 said:
I don't know WP7 settings, on the tilt2, to control caller id setting, I go to start menu>settings>personal>phone>services and then from there I can select "call barring" "caller id" "call forwarding" "call waiting" and "voicemail and text messages"....once an item is highlighted I can click "get settings"...once "get settings" is selected it checks the network settings and then displays the current setting on the network...on the TP2 caller id settings they can be changed on the network from the device...I'm hoping this is possible on WP7
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GT247 said:
Another question I have is if pinch to zoom works in emails and other apps, not just the browser
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
pinch to zoom works when reading emails, but not when replying or text messaging.
found the setting about sending caller id on the Quantum
Settings - Apps - Phone. You can pick send to everyone, no one, only contacts
when the device is on a call does the lockscreen lock the buttons and touchscreen? ie: is it a waste of time to try to lock the device while on a call? lol
GT247 said:
when the device is on a call does the lockscreen lock the buttons and touchscreen? ie: is it a waste of time to try to lock the device while on a call? lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The exchange server that I use for work pushes a policy forcing the phone to lock.
Pressing the power button on the top not only shuts off the screen but it also locks it.
When I answer the phone, it is easy to unlock, if I want. Just slide up, and enter the code. Then I can do anything while on the call.
The proximity sensor disables the touch screen when you have it by your ear, so you don't actidentally hang up.
Something the phone does not have is physical talk and end buttons. But, I honestly have not had a need for them.
Custom Ringtones and Alert Sounds
Although it's real eay for a developer add ringtones to their device or for anyone that has unlocked it. It is annoying that they have locked this down.
Mango is supposed to allow custom ringtones, so just need to wait.
Supposed to be on September 15th.
Wow...ringtones are locked down? Amazing....really. Please don't think I'm knocking them for doing it, I'm sure there's a reason for it, I just find it surprising is all. Have you examined the GPS Capabilities?
GT247 said:
Wow...ringtones are locked down? Amazing....really. Please don't think I'm knocking them for doing it, I'm sure there's a reason for it, I just find it surprising is all. Have you examined the GPS Capabilities?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GPS works great.
Good news is that the LG Quantum has a built in reg editor. Kind of clunky. Nothing like the good old Total Commander or Dot Fred Reg Editor.
And the location of there is an app the runs on your computer to make a xap files for ringtones.
And you can then sideload the xap onto the device and the ringtone remains.
First you need to unlock the device.
I have not unlocked mine yet. I should be able to unlock with just a few reg ediits. Haven't done it yet though.
On the 15th Mango officially will be available, and that allows custom ringtones without any hacks.
Some Good threads
Use your Windows Phone as a thumb drive.
Registry mods for WP7 - NoDo
Custom Ringtones
mp3 files work just fine, at least with the NoDo 7392 update.
All the built in ringtones seem to be mp3 as well
Lot of good links here