Database Users

Buy a Universal or keep the Magician

Hey guys,
I've got quite a problem: I've got an Magician now, and i'm thinking of buying an Universal. Will I be sorry for it, or be the happiest person on the planet?
The reason I want an Universal, is that the things I use my Magician for, MSN, internet, sending sms and sometimes a short call, is not really what it's meant for. Right now I'm using an SPECTEC SDIO, what means I can hardy download anything. Cause of the Qwerty keyboard, build-in WiFi and larger screen, I think that an Universal is the better choise. Am I thinking right, or are there better options to think of?
Thank you in advance..!

I went from a magician to the universal. The pros are the screen, combined with opera finally you have real internet and dont get me started on logmein . The keyboard is real handy too, this also has a downside, its so handy that all my text messages are two texts long cause the keyboard invites you to type more. A real downside is the size and weight. You cannot put the universal in your pocket (at least I cant). Also the battery life is not that good. I always carry an external accu on penlites for emergencies.
It really depends how you will use it, if you're gonna use it as a phone, stick with the magician, if you're gonna use it as a mini laptop, buy it asap.
And change provider to T-mobile because they offer unlimited data-plan for EUR 9,50 ;-) Because of the unlimited data and UMTS I hardly use WiFi, too much hassle, too much battery drain and too little speed gain compared to UMTS.

You might want to hold off just a bit, I believe the HTC TyTN (Or Hermes) is coming your way in just a few weeks. Do a google search on it if you're not familiar with it, on paper it's almost the perfect phone.
If all else fails, or if you really like the Universal's platform (Clamshell, swivel screen tablet) it's one wicked phone My favorite phone so far. :lol:

That Hermes has the same look as the Wizard, and that's exactly what I'm not looking for. I use my magician to type long pieces of text, and I think the keys are way to small to do that. And ain't it so, that it has an 2.8" screen?
And Kassad, I think T-Mobile Web 'n Walk (Pocket Internet Totaal) is way to slow. With my Magician the internet speed at home stops at 300 kilibyte per second, and I'm still anoyed when I try downloading an MP3file with my phone. (I know, 1meg a second makes people spoiled.. :wink: )
I think when I'm back from vacation I've sold my Magician and the money is there to get my Universal.. (You all don't know one thing about me.. I'm 13.. )

I think universal has everything on it, the keypd is really makes me more typin, and ofcourse UMTS is more benefitial for downloading data quicker.
Battery drain is not a problem if you use it wisely, well weight is a bit prob but it is alright for me :wink:

Michel92 said:
That Hermes has the same look as the Wizard, and that's exactly what I'm not looking for. I use my magician to type long pieces of text, and I think the keys are way to small to do that. And ain't it so, that it has an 2.8" screen?
And Kassad, I think T-Mobile Web 'n Walk (Pocket Internet Totaal) is way to slow. With my Magician the internet speed at home stops at 300 kilibyte per second, and I'm still anoyed when I try downloading an MP3file with my phone. (I know, 1meg a second makes people spoiled.. :wink: )
I think when I'm back from vacation I've sold my Magician and the money is there to get my Universal.. (You all don't know one thing about me.. I'm 13.. )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Web'n'Walk works at 320 Kb/s for me, so I'm quite happy with the speed. And when I need it, I can connect to an WiFi accespoint and get a working 1,6 Mb/s

Sorry guyss.. I was about 10000 kilometers away.. Had a great holiday.. Butt.. Haven't got any phone at the moment.. So I used an old Samsung.. But forgot it was not a Tri-band phonee.. But.. Now I've got the money for an Universal.. Almost.. Spended wayyyy to much in Sri Lanka.. So I bought an few Nokia Chargers there..*Really cheap....* So I can sell them heree.. So0w I can add that to my Universal savings.. Also have to sell an Spectec wifi-card.. So it ain't going to be a problem.. Now I've got to find one I like..

I have magician too,and I'm going to buy Universal.Can anybody specificates the duration of the battery in the different situation(phone,navigator,pda)?And which is the range of the wi-fi connection?

nobody can help me?

zanfo said:
I have magician too,and I'm going to buy Universal.Can anybody specificates the duration of the battery in the different situation(phone,navigator,pda)?And which is the range of the wi-fi connection?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i think the battery is quite good, disagreeing with the complaints on it. even so, i bought a second battery, very cheap and came with its own external batt charger woo hoo. but i bought it only because i'm a battery maniac
you can also get loads of extended batteries for cheap, 3000, 3200, 3800, 4400, 4800 mAh.. the 3000 and 3200 ones are quite cheap and readily available.
if you just use it as a phone, with the 1620 mAh default battery, and have the brightness at 10% (i always have it at 10% because it is bright enough even at that level! seriously 100% brightness burns my eyes ok outdoors i sometimes crank it up to 40%), then i *think* you can use it for two or three days or if you make too many calls it will still probably last 1 day easily. i dunno, i never make calls, just write a lot of sms's.
if you use it as a pda, at the same brightness, and you read ebooks, at 10% it will last 8 hours easily (with phone turned on most of the time). normal pda usage (with some wifi and umts), 4-5 hours; umts (continuous), 3-4 hours; wifi (continuous) 3. these are estimates from my experience.
oh and dunno about navigation. i don't use it for that.
finally, wifi range is average, it is ok in most situations.
did this help?

There are a lot of things to like and a lot of things to dislike about the Universal. The ones that I dont like are:
Battery Life... used to be around 7/8 hours when I first bought it 7 months ago, now its down to 3 hours. But I do make a fair number of calls on it. Even then, the battery life is horrible. 3 hours is a joke and the battery now crashes at 60%.
Bulk: Its a bulky phone, not easy to fit in your pocket, not easy to carry around. Remember, size matters ;-)
Slow: Load a few today programmes and its slow. Compared to my earlier XDA II, its about 60% as fast. On the XDA, everthing was instantaneous, here I have to wait for an application to open. Probably due to the miniscule memory in the phone.
Reception: Signal strength is not on par with most phones but that is true of the XDA too so guess its a HTC issue. Nokia with the same sim card will show full signal and with the Universal, its at least one bar less all the time.
Just few pet peeves........
If I were to do it all over again, I have to confess that I wouldn't buy the Universal.
Cheers, Vikas.

well, buy a new battery, very cheap on ebay & dont use crappy today plugins, i don't and my universal is fast. i do have a today plugin but it is simple and doesn't consume any resources.
maybe this could help..
but the universal is primarily for those who appreciate this form factor. IMO i love the form factor

I decided: It'll be an Wizard.. Think the Universal maybe really is to big for me, I tried one in a phone shop, but didn't manage to get it into my pocket. Than I would always have to carry a bag with me, which won't be any of a problem going to school.. But that's not the only thing in life.. :roll: A wizard can't be any problem, because it is not that much bigger than the magician I had. Now I'm looking for an wizard.. 150euros.. Offers, someone....? Only in the Netherlands, taxes are way to high from foreign countries.

vikasmal said:
Battery Life... used to be around 7/8 hours when I first bought it 7 months ago, now its down to 3 hours. But I do make a fair number of calls on it. Even then, the battery life is horrible. 3 hours is a joke and the battery now crashes at 60%
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess you have not used the battery properly or you have done something that has caused the battery to malfunction
Bulk: Its a bulky phone, not easy to fit in your pocket, not easy to carry around. Remember, size matters ;-)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it is bulky but then, does any other phone offers you VGA display ?? Nope. You want big screen, keyboard too,then, why yammer about the size :evil:
Slow: Load a few today programmes and its slow. Compared to my earlier XDA II, its about 60% as fast. On the XDA, everthing was instantaneous, here I have to wait for an application to open. Probably due to the miniscule memory in the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine is very fast. It depends how you have set up your pocket pc. If you use awful apps like spb P+ which make you PPC crawl and use their memory hungry plugins then why r u complaining about the speed bro
.
Reception: Signal strength is not on par with most phones but that is true of the XDA too so guess its a HTC issue. Nokia with the same sim card will show full signal and with the Universal, its at least one bar less all the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you using the latest radio ROM ?? I too live in new delhi and the signal is great !!

hi kdskamal,
i was wondering what you use in the place of today plugins like P+.. i find it quite hard to replace and have been living with the speed of my Universal.. but i'd love to hear alternatives..

howe said:
hi kdskamal,
i was wondering what you use in the place of today plugins like P+.. i find it quite hard to replace and have been living with the speed of my Universal.. but i'd love to hear alternatives..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, depends on what features you use from spb+. i just need a taskmanager which has a better close button than spb (spb is so stupid) and one that doesn't slow the device down so much.. so i found magicbuttons which is free and consumes very little resources. and it even puts icons of the running programs on the "taskbar".
i also needed a battery meter: magicbuttons takes care of this with the help of uptime.
if you need a PIE plugin, there are alternatives again, but i don't use PIE so i can only quote their names, multiie, pieplus, ftxpbrowser (latter is free). but opera is much better
that's all i can say for now, but let us know what other features you need.

finally I buy the universal!I immaginate it less heavy,but it's ok.
Today I use it for 2 hours as navigator,2 short calls,and the battery is at 32%(total time used 3 hours).Is it normal?
Does anybody know which is the latest italian rom?I have 1.13

zanfo said:
finally I buy the universal!I immaginate it less heavy,but it's ok.
Today I use it for 2 hours as navigator,2 short calls,and the battery is at 32%(total time used 3 hours).Is it normal?
Does anybody know which is the latest italian rom?I have 1.13
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try decreasing the brightness! as i said i have mine on 10% of brightness (backlight). this will surely help. and 10% is always enough. 40% is more comfortable outdoors on a sunny day but 10% is still very good even then as this is a transflective screen, not transmissive. 8)
anyway your usage means 4 hours of battery life, it is not bad.
(oh and don't try 0% it means backlight off, unusable)

I already follow your suggest!
How many free ram have you after hard reset?And which rom do you use?
I thing I have to buy a bigger battery!

howe said:
hi kdskamal,
i was wondering what you use in the place of today plugins like P+.. i find it quite hard to replace and have been living with the speed of my Universal.. but i'd love to hear alternatives..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For today plugins, you can try iLauncher from sbsh.net
http://www.sbsh.net/products/ilauncher/
something extra:I use handy switcher for task switching. I have assigned my video call button to this app. It can also close the apps without touching the stylus. On top of that, it just occupies 60kb.

Touch Dual Reviews

After you have your new Touch Dual and played it for awhile, what do you think?
Share your thought please
Built quality, speed, responsiveness, battery life, etc.
At least how do you rate it? 1 (worst) - 5 (excellent)

I did a video review for italian forums :
http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=VsOF5JrmHug

In the last year or less I've owned a S710, Tytn, Touch (elf), tytn2, S730 and now Dual (nike).
I've given up on smartphones, the 730 was a mistake I had it 1 day and just couldn't cope without the full PPC interface. The tytn2 was very good, but for me was just too heavy and bulky, I loved the Touch (elf) but it was not 3G and was slow for me. So the Dual does a very good job for me. I dont need the wireless as I never used it on any of the phones I had. Its quick and looks good. Overall happy so far..... but then the Cruise is out next, so you never know (although it looks a bit ugly!)

i like mine ... but here are more thougts:
http://www.coolsmartphone.com/article740.html
http://www.theunwired.net/?item=review-o2-xda-star-windows-mobile-6-professional-smartphone

I like it.
But it is not a 5 for me, just a 4,75, because i miss wifi. Since i got a T-mobile Hotspot flatrate, i am sad, not being able to use it with my Touch Dual. I can use it with my Communicator, but the Nokia is quite bulky and i love the size of the Dual.
I know, i cannot have everything i want; actually i would have stayed with the Communicator, if it would have had UMTS; but this way i end up to have two smartphones, two worlds and each of them missing a feature, the other one offers.
And i also wanted to give a shot at Windows mobile...
So to make a short story long:
Pros:
- Display
- Ease of use (keys & touchpad)
. quite fast
- customisable
- might support 16 GB micro SD card.
- no prob with connecting to my car's bluetooth; first try, and it worked. The Nokia is a real pita, since it seems to loose the connection to the car every two or three weeks or so and it takes several tries to pair them.
Cons:
- no wifi (this really bother me, but if the device is able to do it, i would pay for upgrading it)
- no gps (this doesn't bother me at all, but if the device is able to do it, it should be upgradeable to enable it)
- I'd like to have a real carrying case not just this kind of sock....
- They should give you a micro SD card (i have an unbranded, unlocked HTC phone)
Perhaps there are some more issues later, but as of today i like it.
The other options include the Cruise, but it doesn't have a hardware keypad and the heralds/kaisers are too bulky...
Best
we

i think they left out gps and wifi for marketing reasons. there is surely space for at least one antenna. the wizard had a telescopic stylus and that wasn't so bad. and there is space underneath the battery if they wouldn't be using such a bulky battery cover.
but who would take a polaris or a kaiser??

Check out this review I posted 18 days ago when I got my Touch Dual
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=346999

I've had mine for a bit over 2 weeks now. Very happy with it. No wifi is not a big deal for me since I find it quite difficult to locate free hotspots anyway. Besides 3G is not too expensive in my area. The only thing that can be done better would be to make the screen more sensitive a-la the iPhone/iPod Touch. I find I have to use a considerable amount of pressure to fingerscroll on the Touch Dual.

I'm going to try to compare it to the S730 and TyTN II (should be interesting to see which wins...)
http://www.clieuk.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=14706

stmcgill said:
I'm going to try to compare it to the S730 and TyTN II (should be interesting to see which wins...)
http://www.clieuk.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=14706
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would compare it to the TyTN II but not the S730... I don't think it's just to compare a PPC with a Smartphone... the PPC will always win

Not convinced by that- there S730 has some very worthy attributes

I got a Dual and a Tytn II at the same time and am trying to make up my mind which of them remains and which one gets sold... I decided to give each a week. The Dual had it's week and now it's the Tytn II. I must say it took me a day or two to get used to the Dual (had a Trinity before) but I liked it better with every day. Now it's the Tytn II turn and I kind of miss the Dual. Much nicer and better feel. I only wish it had GPS enabled somehow and that would have nailed the decision for me. It's a close tie as it is right now (day 3 with the Tytn II).
With the Dual, I switched the camera button into "OK" button which I missed alot. Other than that - I got used to the sparse hard key layout (or lack of).
Get me that GPS working!!!

Wrote a quick review in my blog about it.
Summary?
I'm close to being in love.

I really hope there is a OK button on the keyboard. That should be standard for all PPC! The location of charging port is really annoying! I like it to be placed at bottom. However, memory card slot is brilliant idea. Wat a split character the designer is!

Why did you buy a D2?

Would like to have a thread where people gave their thoughts and stuff why they bought a D2 instead of some other device and so on. So let me start of here:
I upgraded from Diamond to Diamond 2 because the screen is bigger, it got memory card, it got 4 much better hardware keys and the D-Pad is gone (I hated it on my Diamond). Also because it got more RAM and memory built in than the Diamond.

my first winmo phone was an O2 Flame. massive bulky thing, though it sported a nice big 640x480 screen.
id briefly used a touch pro through work and i loved manila and also the great aesthetic design of their phones... well most of them. after pouring over the specs of the phones in my budget it came down to 2 devices, the HD and the D2.
in the end i went with the d2 as the main difference was screensize. having previously done the whole GIANT PHONE thing, i turned to the D2 as it packed the same punch in a slightly more compact and classy frame. dont get me wrong, the blackstone looks sharp, but with its all black design its a bit plain for me. nothing compared to a little brushed metal here and there.
i'm mighty impressed with the phone so far, extremely clean and crisp screen, fast fast fast, great video playback etc. and although it sounds funny, it feels like you get your moneys worth because its a solid little brick to hold. none of this flimsy plastic nokia stuff. not only does it feel good but its taken a beating. ive dropped it countless times during my drunken shenanigans and so far its got a slight split in the digitiser between the 'H' in the htc logo in the top left corner and the frame, and a few dints in the metal casing. still works a treat.
another good thing, which should also apply to the blackstone, is that the two devices are similar enough that alot of community built software that will work on one, works on the other with minimal or no tweaking. this gives us access to much more apps/customisation/themes than we could normally expect from a device that has unique hardware/software

I've been using a Dell Axim x50 for years and symbian phones (Noika's).
Just got sick of carrying two units around (and I could get a sim free TD2 from work for 100 quid, I'd be daft not too).
Getting tomorrow morning and I've got the afternoon off to play with it, flash a few cooked roms and load lots and lots of pointless software I'll never use (as usual...)

Love this WM
I have used S710 before and lost that. Also used HTC Touch for few days . Since then I am in love with WM phones.
I opted for TD2:
1) One of the BEST WM phone that I could get in my budget.
2) Bigger screen
3) Better touch
4) Upgrade for WM 6.5 will be FREE (May be WM 7 will work on this )
5) Better H/W (CPU, RAM, Available Free space etc)
6) GPS is inbuilt + has 3G + FM Radio
7) Last but NOT last, it is from HTC

Upgrade from P3400
I had an HTC P3400 Gene for 2 years and the time came for an upgrade.
My criteria were:
It had to be HTC
It had to have GPS, WIFI, 3g, Touchscreen
The Diamond 2 was the right solution at the right time at the right price!

This is my first handheld device
I think this one includes every new technology, including the ones mentioned above this post
I cant wait for the new free 6.5 + manila 2.5 update

... because it told me to.

I went backpacking around Europe for 5 weeks (great fun!), but before I left I wanted a new phone with Wifi & GPS.
I watched some Touch Diamond 2 reviews and I really liked the interface and some of the stuff you can do with WinMobile. I was sold!
- Bored on a 13 hour flight? Watch some TV shows!
- Lost in Spain at 3am? Use TomTom to find the hostel!
- Want to share photos from Croatia? Find a wifi hotspot!
- What does that sign mean? Use Google Translate!
- Lost a printed copy of your booking? Open the PDF backup!
This phone made backpacking too easy

Best winmo phone I've ever used!!
I had the original HTC Touch (ELF) and really liked its form factor but it was kinda slow.
I then bought the Samsung Omnia but was really disappointed with it's performance. Really bad lag on the Omnia.
I then saw the review for the D2 and was really impressed with the performance. Just had to have it. Takes great pictures too.
Beats the Omnia by a mile.

previous previous phone is nokia 7610 which sucks because of it physical keypad.
previous phone is htc touch (elf) which attracted me because it is mainly touch screen and windows mobile has a wide selection of applications.
it served me well although little internal disk space and ram.
upgraded to topaz, because of xda-developer community, which has selfless cooks like NRGZ28(EnergyROM), windows mobile 6.5, good hardware, good battery(can last around 1.5 day), and time to trade in my old phone for a new one.

Before I had the htc P3300 a very good and complete pda, but my actual htc D2 is better than P3300 for all points of view:
- camera
- display (size, sensibility and risolution)
- rom e ram size
- general performances
- 3g connectivity
- form factor
- software included.

Actually I started to love D2 because of its default wallpaper. It's a pic of fire and at the first look it looks like a phoenix. Really beautiful! And then I started to know this phone. Big touch screen, GPS, WIFI, 3g, and more beautiful than Diamond. So I got it.

TD2 or Ominia 2? Ominia 2 actually has got better specs.
Bought TD2 as I used to own a Himalaya which lasted 4 yrs. But I was dead wrong as my TD2 earpeice died within 2 weeks.

Ckth said:
TD2 or Ominia 2? Ominia 2 actually has got better specs.
Bought TD2 as I used to own a Himalaya which lasted 4 yrs. But I was dead wrong as my TD2 earpeice died within 2 weeks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Omnia may have better specs, but HTC has always been a clear choice for me, I never liked Samsung or any other carrier. And who uses the original headset anyway?

I had 5 or so Palm organisers, but left Palm behind and jumped to Windows Mobile about 3 years ago when Palm were unable to offer a reasonably compact phone/organiser. Never needed a keyboard, but wanted wi-fi, bluetooth and hi-res screen in a compact package. HTC with TouchFlo seems the best ergonomics so went for the TD2 (Topaz).

My first smartphone was the Diamond 1 and it's possibilities and this forums really blew my mind.
TD2 was the natural upgrade, more screen size, ram etc. and overall SMALL SIZE. I still miss a good camera with flash and TVout, those two features would make the phone perfect.

my td2
i had the htc touch, like it, but went onto the sony p1
loved the p1 but it was getting old (i still use it every so often)
but liked the look of it
was going for the pre, but the constant delay, annoyed me so i got this and love it

Because i liked the Elf, Polaris, Diamond, and now the Diamond2

Had qtek 9100 previously and after that I had Hermes for almost 2 and a half years -that got old (and I got it paid) so I searched for a new phone. Looked at Touch HD but it was way too expensive compared to TD2 (altough I would have liked the 3.5mm headphone plug).

the reason i bought a TD2
I was naive
honestly...it's the worst phone i've ever had
Ever since getting one, i always hated the Iphone and would always slag people off if they had one...but you know what...I bow my head in shame and confess that i should've got one.
Iphone waste too much money on tv adverts...they should just make that says
''The Iphone....Atleast it works'' because it does.
My TD2 is absolutely useless...I've had it for about 4-5 months
It just doesn't work most the time. Or it crashes loads. Or just does stupid things that i don't tell it too
The battery is also useless...
If someone says their battery lasts longer than 1 day with normal usage...they are LYING! and lots of other people will agree.
At first, when they said the battery would last 4-5 days, i was teasing all the iphone users because they get max 2 days...but now i keep the fact that my battery is useless a secret. because theirs is better.
I've tried TF3d and SPshell but at the end of the day a pig with make up on is still ugly.
It's really the worst phone i've had (and i've had a lot) and i will never be going back to HTC
now that iphone has hspda...i can't think of a reason why not to get one. At least it works!

thinking of buying a Diamond 2 - some qus

1. whats the battery life like - does it last two days or the traditional HTC one (i am a light user - email, a bit of weather and one call a day)
2. Do the latest builds make good use of the screen ? (last time I use a 480x800 HTC winmo, the fonts were all scaled upwards)
3. Has the bad signal quality with the original release (donkeys years ago ) been resolved ?
this seems to be the best value and lightest 480x800 screen phone at the moment with a decent amount of memory
many thanks all

colonel said:
1. whats the battery life like - does it last two days or the traditional HTC one (i am a light user - email, a bit of weather and one call a day)
2. Do the latest builds make good use of the screen ? (last time I use a 480x800 HTC winmo, the fonts were all scaled upwards)
3. Has the bad signal quality with the original release (donkeys years ago ) been resolved ?
this seems to be the best value and lightest 480x800 screen phone at the moment with a decent amount of memory
many thanks all
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Battery life is pretty standard, 1 Day with moderate use.
2. The latest builds and manila theming are optimal for screen size.
3. Signal quality has been in line with other devices, you can still flash different radios if you're CID unlocked.
The phone has been great, issues I've seen are from people putting it in their pockets and developing "Newton Rings" as they colapse the layers of their screen between the LCD and Digitizer. I have not has this issue as I bought a snap on case.
BUT.... there is the HD2 coming out with a 1gb processor, also LG has released the Expo which is that Phone and projector, also 1gb processor.
Hope this helps.

Bruce Inman said:
1. Battery life is pretty standard, 1 Day with moderate use.
2. The latest builds and manila theming are optimal for screen size.
3. Signal quality has been in line with other devices, you can still flash different radios if you're CID unlocked.
The phone has been great, issues I've seen are from people putting it in their pockets and developing "Newton Rings" as they colapse the layers of their screen between the LCD and Digitizer. I have not has this issue as I bought a snap on case.
BUT.... there is the HD2 coming out with a 1gb processor, also LG has released the Expo which is that Phone and projector, also 1gb processor.
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
very useful thanks
I was also thinking about the 1gb cpus, but they are all quite pricey.
The 528mhz cpus phones are very good value at the moment, I can get a new diamond 2 for only £229.
I will wait until next year and probably then also go for a nexus one or a hd2

one more thing, you can run Android in this device, eventhough it still need to be fast, but I believe, maybe not long you can use dual OS, WIndows Mobile and Android at the same time.., cool device...

wow im getting the compact V of tmobile can i put android on that if i want ?

I get 2d battery life by using a 'clean' 6.5.3 ROM.. the new MS apps for mail & sms etc are v good now so you don't actually need all the Manila sense stuff (which is v heavy on the battery) to make the phone useable. What you probably do need is a nice shell because you may find the standard titanium UI a bit spartan.. there are plenty of these & more on the way. Great phone though. - the form factor is fantastic.

not to trash any of the pluses the TD2 has...
but since this now happened to me, i did an experiment:
browse to xda home page (where u can scroll down and see all the phones)
select any phone that came out in 2009 and newer.
now, use "search this forum" (to search the specific phone forum)
type "newton rings"
compare results.
(diamond and diamond 2 get at least 12 hits, whilst capacitive screen (HD2, Nexus One) get NONE.)
i wish i had never got this phone.

My TD2 also developed newton rings, within 2 months after purchase date, using HTC's original flip case and being extremely careful with it, carrying it only in my jacket internal pocket (zero pressure on the phone). So it is definetely NOT only a case of careless users, putting their phone in their pockets (which by the way is absolutely natural for a phone, especially a 400 euros one, but since the manual states otherwise, i complied with HTC terms of use) Now back to the store hoping that HTC will aknowledge their faulty hardware, fix it on warranty and have it sold as soon as possible. Hence my advice to you would be, dont buy this phone. If you think that the MSM72xx (528 MHz) processor is adequate (which i also doubt, but that's a personal opinion) why dont u try the HTC Hero (android 2.1, capasitive multitouch display) instead? HD2 also, even though expensive, is surely a great phone. Even in this case, read as much comments about the product before buying it as possible. I know i didnt with my TD2.. There are plenty of users here that would gladly help and advice thru their experience. Hope this helps, good luck with ur choice..
Peace

How long have you been using Mega?

this is my first HTC phone, take sometime to decide because i heard the battery died quickly. However, im from thailand and right now i see many people are getting rid of their mega here, some even bought for only few months. Maybe they are looking for a new android or win 7.
Would like to ask member here, is there any more than a year user and any of you are thinking about replacing? why?

I have Mega about 1 year. It´s good phone, quick, but i miss 2 things:
g sensor
video hardware acceleration - so you can´t run touchlo3d
qvga display isn´t problem, maybe wqvga or wvga will be better.
and battery live is one day (from 6am to 11pm)

about 6 months for me...sometimes I love it sometimes I hate it.
like mine has a tendency to just lock up for no reason.....at that point I hate it.
my wife has one also and i dont think shre likes it much but she has only had it a month and has never really used WM6 before so give it time.
yes battery life (for me at least) is terrible but then I do spend hours a day messing with it, customizing it and I have a lot of tweaks and programmes installed which obviously don't help. I don't mind though as I just plug it into my PC every night when I go to bed and away I go again, no big deal
in short I love my Mega but it does have it moments still

got it since May this year.
+ points
Thin and compact
Very very light for a smartphone
Durable - I've dropped it a few times and there wasn't any problem. There was once it flew out of my pocket while I was cycling. I was very very surprised that it only had a small nick
WM6.5 is very customizable.
GPS is lightning on this thing, I compared it to my Garmin 255, my Garmin actually took longer time to get hold of any signals. (probably bcos of 3G triagulation?)
Max Volume is very loud, nice.
- points
Can sometimes be very slow, this could be WM's problem.
No accelerometer, this means no portrait-landscape auto change (might no be a bad thing)
No graphics accelerator
QVGA, it's pretty small but it's what I want (a compact phone)
Typing SMS can take a long time to get used to (especially using QWERTY)
Overall it's quite a fun phone to have. Mostly because I love to tweak and to change stuff on my phone. It's what I feel a good phone for 1st time Touchscreen phone users.
battery life can go for 1.5 days on standby. if you use it all the time, the shortest I had was 10 hours.

been using mega for 3 months now. only 2 things i hate about mega were no front camera so no video calls, and no 3d accelerator so no touchflo3d and 3D games. but other than that, i'm loving this phone.

hello
i have a mega for about a year. works pretty well. yeah, me also missing g sensor, and the video hardware acceleration.
battery? still works pretty well, about two days in a low-moderate usage ( calls, sms, 5-10 youtube clips).