[Q] moving from HTC pure, any advice? - Focus General

Hi, I am hoping to get an ATT Samsung focus for christmas (If not, I might just buy it) and I was wondering if any of you have made this journey from windows mobile 6.whatever to phone 7 and if you have any advice for me. I have done my research on the new os and I have been following it since it's announcement in February, so I know how the system works, but maybe you could tell me some details about the phone its self that I might not know. My particular concern is moving from HTC (Who usually makes very good devices and software features for them) to Samsung (who I know makes the really good phone screens).
Any advice at all would help me out!

I moved from the Pure to the Focus, so far. I'm loving my new device.. I have been a loyal HTC user since the Axim x51v.. The only thing that I miss is the navigation software, but I read that MS is going to update the bing maps with navigation.. also I miss the custom ringtones but again, something that is going to be fixed on the new update...
In a nutshell.. I'm in love with the samsung, the quality of the device is great, it feels well made and it's rock solid..
Also you could go to an Att store to check it out by yourself.. thats how I got a focus instead of a surround XD hehehe the focus is sexier XD

Yea i moved from a HTC touch Pro 2 to the samsung focus and I feel like its one of the best decisions I've ever made. WP7 is a great OS and the focus is a beautiful phone...You will be happy with your choice

I moved from the Touch Pro 2 (sister phone) and I love it as well. WP7 is so smooth and stable, I don't see myself going back to 6.x at all. Plus, we'll be seeing more features added by Microsoft over time so it will only get better. I'm sure WP7.1 will impress even more.
I was on the fence too, but I'm very happy with the Samsung Focus. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

I made the same move and am loving it. Just a couple things...
Be ready to use only the internal 8gb storage for stability sake. The sd card update has not been totally flushed out yet. Even so, I am running an 8gb Kingston Class 4 with no problems whatsoever for over two weeks (fingers crossed). But I see that being addressed sooner rather than later. If you need copy and paste, you should wait until early 2011 when the first update is released. If you need you PIM data to sync only through outlook (think activesync) and not through the cloud, wait and see if the update will add this feature. Some people are very particular about this. Also, if you need to connect to hidden wireless networks you should wait for the first update. It may or may not be included.
If none of these issues affect you, you are going to love the upgrade. Having the zune integrated is just awesome. I don't miss the task manager from my Pure. I usually spent most of my time shutting down apps rather than switching amongst them. Jumping back to an app I came from is simple and exactly how I use my phone. The OS is extremely smooth and fast. I would flash custom roms onto my pure to get WM6.5 to run fast but would always run into bugs which would need to be fixed. The screen size increase is the biggest improvement in my opinion. Typing on the Pure was usually pretty frustrating since the virtual keyboard buttons were so small. The Focus screen size makes typing a breeze. If you are willing to embrace the cloud, you will find the user experience to even better. I think you will be very happy with the change.

The Samsung is very nice and given my generally poor experiences with HTC in the past, it was an easy jump for me, especially since there were 2 1/2 years of iPhone between the Focus and the last HTC thing I owned.
The hardware will probably be secondary to the system. WP7 is NOT WM 6.5. It's not based on WM 6.5 and it may never be on par with WM 6.5 as far as features. And, in my opinion, that's not a bad thing. WM 6.5 was slow, unstable, clunky, and completely unusable if you lost the stylus. WP7 is pretty bare bones at the moment but it's very fast, smooth, stable and very finger friendly, all of which I value more than a huge list of features I rarely, if ever, used. Before you hope too much, go to an AT&T or someone that sells them and check it out. Check out settings, the applications included with the phone, the browser and the marketplace and get an idea if there's enough there to make it useful to you. I've seen a number of threads here and elsewhere from former WM 6.5 owners who are fuming over the lack of things like ICS and RDP, completely missing the point that WP7 is not meant to be a replacement for WM 6.5. These things may come in the future but don't buy a phone for what it might one day do, buy it for what it does now.

I've had a long history with WM. I had the Imate Jam, then the HTC Kaiser, then the HTC Touch Pro 2 (aka tilt) and now the Samsung Focus.
hardware wise, this thing is awesome! I've compared the screen to the HTC Surround, and it's seriously mind blowing. The hardware is rock solid, the only little thing is that it creeks a tiny little bit at the bottom of the back cover, but you will barely notice it. Love having Gorilla Glass so no need for stupid screen protectors.
Software wise, WP7 is amazing...I'm really glad Microsoft released it, and I'm hoping that the tiny issues will be resolved with the January update (which is said to be HUGE!!!!, one developer was quoted as saying "They might as well have called it WP8", so they must be bringing a lot of changes.
The only real things I miss are Navigation, and Custom ring-tones...other than that, I'm very very very happy and I don't miss anything. The only other thing is the storage capacity, apparently Microsoft is working on a patch for the whole MicroSD issue, so if reliable storage is important, then go with another phone, but I'm going to take the risk, and worst come to worst, I'll cut down my music to make it fit, because I love this phone that much

wow, thx everyone for the info. I was already aware of the snappyness and awesomeness of Windows phone 7 but I am glad there are so many approvals of my device choice as well! I usually put in earphones for listening to music so I wouldn't really have much use for the HTC surround, and I don't need a phisical keyboard, so the LG quatrum was not for me.
I am very happy that I am not the only one making this jump to WP7.
(oh, and do you ever think that android will be ported to WP7. Is it possible?!)
PS, Can I make the windows phone 7 apps for free, or is that a 5 dollar fee?

As far as I know the tools to create applications are free but it'll cost $99 to access the marketplace, presumably for a year. Same as Apple & iPhone programs.

Related

I LOVE my HD2 (I know, for a change eh!?)

Well seem as there are endless threads with people moaning how much they dislike the HD2 I thought it was time to have one for people that are actually happy with it, because in fairness it’s by far the best phone I’ve ever purchased.
I’ve owned an iPhone and yes there are things that I miss like the great 3D games and apps in the App store, an integrated music store and most of all the genius playlist feature in the music player. All this is just software features though, and by the sounds of it WM7 will integrate them.
You think how much revenue Apple make through the iTunes music and App store you really think Microsoft are going to miss out on that opportunity? (Well okay there is the Marketplace but let’s face it, it was slapped together in 5 mins and that’s how it looks!)
Rumours of Zune integration have been mentioned several times and what a perfect way to introduce Zune into the European market. (You noticed how it’s been integrated on the Xbox in the past few months...)
Just a bit if patience is all that’s required. Have a feeling WM7 will cover all Windows Mobiles short comings.
However enough of what missing – now the good bit - the hardware kicks ass!
The screens amazing (My iPhone screen looks so tiny and low res when I use it now) and I love how responsive it is... everything’s instant and smooth. The phone looks amazing, love the brushed metal back and that slightly rubbery feeling black plastic, it feels expensive and looks great.
SenseUI is a joy to use. The weather background is a really nice touch and actually useful. More so I love how it uses the GPS and always knows where you are! Music player is good, love the cover flow art (yes they blatantly nicked that idea but least it looks great and works just as well)...
Internet is by far the best on a mobile. The large screen really shines through; it’s not far off a desktop experience and very useable.
Mine also came with CoPilot installed which I purchased (£27 with European map – bargain!) which works brilliantly... as good as a proper sat nav.
Lots of little things finish it off, the screen doesn’t just come on, it smoothly brightens... if someone calls me who isn’t in my phone book it asks me after if I’d like to save that number for future use... the ringer quietens when I pick the phone up... the list goes on...
I’ve had it 3 months and still love it as much as day one.
Okay it has frozen up on me a few times (It runs Windows, I mean come on a version of Windows that didn’t crash? Well that wouldn’t be right would it?) Since the firmware upgrade it’s actually been very stable (so far). Do still get the odd freeze when sliding to unlock which can be annoying. Nothings perfect and it can all be solved with software updates. (Oh and the battery lasts one day, I know, but some of us sleep at night and therefore find time to charge it!)
Anyway that was an essay but thought it was time that maybe we focused on all the great things for a change. Makes you wonder if people dislike it so much they don’t just exchange it? Most networks give you 14 days to swap (Well Vodafone did, I'm sure others do). Its funny how iPhones short comings always seem to get ignored isn’t it? It was launched in 2007 and software wise it was groundbreaking but its 2010 and little has changed... the HD2 makes it look, well... very 2000 and late
Glad to hear this against the backdrop of all the whining and distraught posts
"HTC SCREWED US!" lol.
+1, like this love my hd2 too
+1 love my HD2 really sweet and getting better by the day.
+1 love my HD2
I actually love my wife...
but HD2, I like quite well, too.
Lol... my girl friend has been complaining about me ignoring her and spend most of my free time on my HD2. (she asked me to hug the HD2 to bed! ) but that had changed though..
Love my girl friend first.
then the HD2..
+1 me too, absolutely love this beautiful beast of a phone, especially with the new 1.66 rom its amazing!
Agree
Agree with everything you say, i"ve had many mobiles and PDAs over the years including the iPhone 3Gs but nothing comes close to the HD2 at the moment, Fantastic Screen, Powerful Processor and very Fast and Responsive. Has everything i need. but more Apps will be great.
I had an HTC Diamond before I got my HD2. Its such a big step up.
Loving the GPS Never owned a GPS device before, and it sure is handy.
I love GOD, my wife, my family and I love my HD2!!!! Its "Fantabulous"... the best thing since sliced bread. )
I have to agree with all of the above.
I am somehow new to the smartphone mobile world ... had owned a N73 (nokia was my first love), an HTC Diamond (beautiful phone, also very customizable) continued with an Iphone 3g (very good for a while by my history with the Diamond made me miss it's overall liberty of choice and flexibility. The HD2 brought together all the things I loved about the previous phones; N73 camera (good camera for it's time, same with the hd now), Iphone's capacitive screen (we must admit, they started it) and the Diamond's screen quality, high resolution suitable for the screen size, the customization level (i must thanks MS and XDA).. and more, great hardware (with nice surprises, see the RAM discoveries).
Conclusion: I love this phone with all of its occasional lock-downs
+1.....Fantastic phone and more....Sure there's bugs.....but since the introduction there already have been some new Official ROM updates from HTC, so I guess that they are indeed listening to the people roaming around this place, and I'm sure that more Official ROM Updates will follow the next couple of months, which make it possible for the wonderfull cooks at XDA to perform their magic
I for one, will not be changing to another Mobile device for a long time !!!
I loved it with 148 and love it even more with 166, smooooth
I love my HD2 also.
Before I had a Qtec 2020i with 2003SE. Now the HD2
WinMobile is good and give you still some freedom. Freedom is something that you cant find by Apple. What I like most is the sync with a pc. The agenda and contacts works fine.
Together with a program Pocket Controller Pro, I can remotely type sms and other stuff. It is true that in some cases you need to search for a solution and it is not simple for some of us. But finding the solution give you even a greater satisfaction. The HD2 is not cheap but you get a lot for your money.
I agree too, Best phone i have ever had, definatly gets better every day, customised perfect for my needs, Excellent !
Can I just add to this:
I love God, my wife, my cat and the HD2.
In terms of instant gratification, however, I prefer the HD2. Mind you, the cat comes close.
rjstep3
Upgraded from an LG Secret myself, hell of an upgrade.
+ 1 Happy HD2 owner
love my hd2...check
love my pregnant missus....check
despise all religions and everything they stand for....check
can I still play with only 2 out of 3??
samsamuel said:
love my hd2...check
love my pregnant missus....check
despise all religions and everything they stand for....check
can I still play with only 2 out of 3??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...a bit harsh on the wife Sir, I shall pray for your soul.

Windows fanboy has committed a crime

Right I want to be honest here and admit to my crime. I have been the biggest winmo fan for as many years as I can remember. In fact since the Compaq Ipaq first product. Prior to that I was a dedicated Psion fan from the Psion Organiser 2 so I have been round the block a bit. I have also owned probably more than 100 devices! I have always purchased the next best device on the first day you could get it paying over the odds. I think you get the picture.
Now people in my office are Mac fans and I have listened to them bleating on about their IPhones and have spent my life making fun of their choice of toy smartphones. At first it was easy with all the silly faults the IPhone clearly had. Crap camera, No cut and paste, No MMS, No video, No Exchange email
Recently my wife has gone over the the dark side against my advice. I have spent years telling her just how crap the IPhone is because I love(d) winmo but.............
After days of playing with my wifes IPhone 3gs I realised just how wrong I possibly was. Yes there was faults still with the OS but frankly they were much less than I thought. I started comparing it to my clunky, totally unreliable, buggy and frankly pathetically over responsive screen of my Touch HD2 and had to decide to buy myself and IPhone an give it a try (I mean I could always go back couldnt I) so.........
I went out and purchased an IPhone 3gs last week and I am sorry to say that it is simply head shoulders, body and tail better than any windows device I have ever tried.
I have spent the last week chuckling to myself about how stupid and ignorant I have been and how lucky I am to have made the move. The IPhone is awesome. Its operating system is unflappable and never crashes or falters or slows down.
The apps (and there is a ridiculously massive choice) just work flawlessly. Some of the things I thought were faults are not so bad (background apps not working) and although it would be nice if it had a camera as good as the HD2 (it doesn't), I wouldnt sell my Iphone for any windows device. In fact I cannot believe anyone wouldnt feel exactly the same if they tried one.
I know its a cop out having enjoyed installing new roms etc for years but seriously I urge every one of you to try one. You may feel just like me if you do. It would take something special to get me back to windows mobile and HTC should be ashamed of themselves for releasing the HD2 with so many bugs. Having had so many HTC devices I feel a little betrayed that they didnt get this one right and it made me switch to the DARK SIDE!!!
For me I doubt there is ever any going back now. I am writing this just so other can experience the pure OS and hardware pleasure that is the IPhone.
I have had iPhone 3g and still own a 3gs along with a blackstone and a leo.
You are right about the fast & stable system of the iphone os & its hard to decide to leave the iphone once you fell in love with it (Thats why i still have the 3gs, cant decide )
The problem lies within the operating system and not the device. Its the Microsoft windows which is the culprit and not the htc device. Have you ever used a mac. It is way more faster, stable & safe than the Windows PC even mac having lower specs as compared to windows pc.
HD2 has great specs but the same damn system running behind it.
I wonder if there is a way to run iphone os on htc hd2 ?????
I've read somewhere on the net that people had tried to run mac os on windows pc with success. Have my fingers crossed.
Best of luck with your 3gs
Hm...i have to wonder if you seriously played / configured / flashed your HD2 or if you just judge by the stock rom experience?
With an up to date 6.5.3 rom, i don't see any problems with the HD2. You praise the iphone OS, yet compared to WM, there is hardly any accessible OS. The iPhone is a grid of shortcuts that each launch a program. Nothing else to do there, nothing much to tweak, to setup. It's perfect for your wife i am sure, but you as a former WM user,... are you sure you will not get bored? The greatest pleasure of my HD2 is flashing new roms and trying new tweaks, hacks and themes. I can personalize it more than any iPhone user could personalize their iPhone! That's what makes it great. In terms of performance, again, an up to date WM6.5.3 rom does neither lag nor run slow in any way. On top of that you have a screen with a vastly higher resolution. I would not want to downgrade from WVGA any longer.
Bottom line: Yes the iPhone has lots of apps, no they are not all useful, and yes you can do similar things on WM. It just requires more knowledge and work, which us XDA users do have, i think!
i have both the 3gs and HD2 .. both are great but the 3gs has the EDGE-
/T
Yes I agree but the hardware is some part of the problem. I had a HTC Touch Pro2 previous the the HD2 and could type perfectly on the screen without using the hardware keyboard. Switching to the Touch HD2 I expected it to be great with the new capacitive screen but it wasnt. Despite various patches and having the knowledge to be able to try various roms I still couldnt get it to type reliably at a decent speed. It was just rubbish. That was the same Winmo version I had on my Touch Pro2!
I agree the form factor on a HD2 is great but spoiled by some dodgy hardware and s**te software in hindsight. The Iphone OS is great and it makes me wonder if I have been as wrong about Macs as I have about Iphones. I am going to have a play on the Mac in our office now!
Yes in fact I tried about 5 different roms. I did also try ones with 6.5.3 but they were no better. I also tried two different HD2's as I purchased a second on a contract for my wife then sold it and purchased her the Iphone.
I know what you mean about getting bored and I also agree about the grid. Its a shame you cant organise it better but they are tiny faults I feel to the incredible ownership experience. Its early days having it only a week but my HD2 was driving me mad at this point. I found myself verbally complimenting the Iphone while I was out in the garden listing to music today. I know I must be going a bit mad but I am deleriously delighted about the Iphone so far.
stuartforrest said:
Yes I agree but the hardware is some part of the problem. I had a HTC Touch Pro2 previous the the HD2 and could type perfectly on the screen without using the hardware keyboard. Switching to the Touch HD2 I expected it to be great with the new capacitive screen but it wasnt. Despite various patches and having the knowledge to be able to try various roms I still couldnt get it to type reliably at a decent speed. It was just rubbish. That was the same Winmo version I had on my Touch Pro2!
I agree the form factor on a HD2 is great but spoiled by some dodgy hardware and s**te software in hindsight. The Iphone OS is great and it makes me wonder if I have been as wrong about Macs as I have about Iphones. I am going to have a play on the Mac in our office now!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did steve jobs need to create 4 screen names to say the same thing?
Yawn. Good for you. Whatever.
So how is this a general HD2 thread? Please let this drivel die now, rather than later when it turns into a slanging match, because that is clearly what the OP intends.
Have fun kids.
and in fact I have to say that when my iphone arrived I was still very unsure if I had done the right thing but once you play with one for a few days its then you realise. There are little things everywhere that make you smile. Type a url that is longer than the box and the font reduces to fit it on screen, try selecting something and the magnifying glass pops up to make it easy etc etc. The list goes on and on and I expect that Apple will keep adding to rom's. Microsoft have done next to nothing with theirs in ten years!
I was only trying to let others know my experience. I have been a member on here for years and contributing so this is no flash in the pan posting. Anyway think what you like. I have been totally honest but you can lead a horse to water but not make it drink!
stuartforrest said:
I was only trying to let others know my experience. I have been a member on here for years and contributing so this is no flash in the pan posting. Anyway think what you like. I have been totally honest but you can lead a horse to water but not make it drink!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not getting into it mate. Say whatever you like.
my local prison has an excellent reputation for good food, brilliant sporting facilities and cable tv in every cell, but I'm not moving in!
johncmolyneux said:
I'm not getting into it mate. Say whatever you like.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, let's be perfectly honest here : there is not a single Windows Mobile device on the market that can match and the general responsiveness, consistency and easy of use of an iPhone 3GS. Nor the consistent UI experience or simplicity - sure, Windows Mobile may have more options and abilities to tweak and mess with, but to dismiss the iPhone would be a stupid thing to do.
It's got very nice hardware, with and extremely well written OS underneath - it lakcs things yes, but what it does have, it usually out performs that of Windows Mobile, avaliable on the market today, and for many people iPhone 3GS would be a much better choice than any Windows Mobile phone, there's no getting around that whether you like it or not. As much as I dislike the saying, "it just works". It's something that you can apply far more easily to an iPhone than a WinMo device.
Still though, it's not fore everyone, and I'm quite happy to have a device with an inconsistent UI, spats of Lag and random freezes, as long as it does it's job as a phone. Am I satisfied with my HTC HD2? Not really. Would I be more satisfied with the experience of an iPhone. Probably. Would I buy one? Hell no
I know it's a difficult one but then typing my reply and watching the screen scroll around while I type is just class.
I felt exactly the same for a while. I am not totally trying to put down the HD2. I have spent weeks telling everyone in my office that it was an IPhone but without all the faults but I was wrong. Actually it's like an Iphone but with a really poor os. The screen isn't as good on the iPhone but it just used more cleverly. The lack of background apps is just stupid on the iPhone but mostly its just great.
Just out of interest I also purchased a motorola milestone (droid) expecting android to be good but frankly it was truly awful. Windows mobile was a breath of fresh air after using that horror for a single day!
Closing this as relevant points now made.
WB

REPORT: HTC HD Mini an indepth customer review

Hello everybody!!
It's been a while since I have posted.
I decided to post a little story of me using the HTC HD Mini, and the conclusion and consequences thereafter.
During the almost 7 months I have used this phone daily; intensively, I experienced a great many things of which I made a report.
I decided to write this report because I want to help people who want an opinion.
And I will give it based on a user experience and of course some people are not going to agree with me and that's that.
And that’s ok! I didn’t take an hour of my time of thinking this through for the haters, but for the people who want an honest opinion on a product that we love.
I started with windows mobile 5 and after I bought the HTC Touch HD with Windows Mobile 6.0.x I wanted a phone that was faster, had better graphics and more user friendly apps. I wanted a phone I could have more fun with!
I chose the HTC HD Mini and in the end.. I still love it.
But not all is said with that opinion!
Now this was important to me because it made me change my mind about a lot of things regarding HTC AND Windows Mobile...
A view of the Mini…
The design of the mini was striking to me from the beginning, from its small, but workable size to its practical but esthetically pleasing exterior. And don’t forget the big yellow surprise on the inside!
It is cute and looks stabile at the same time. It has a big pocket factor and for someone of my posture its quite ergonomic. ( I am a small guy with small hands and fingers).
And so the mini found the mini
Interface
* I really liked the new sence interface, easy to use and more user friendly then touch flow 3D was.
* I liked the way windows mobile 6.5 is cloaked so to speak, in a way that it doesn't bother you, nor makes things unnecessarily complicated.
* The weather animation and wallpapers really made me smile the first time. I really loved that one
* HTC Peep made me use twitter for the first time and I really got the hang of it afterwards.
 
Media
* I was happy with the camera performance and liked the way I could take pictures and upload them if I desired to.
* The photo gallery was very nice to look at and easy to use.
* The video quality was good and I was satisfied. Although editing really would have made my day!
* The music player and the download option for various album covers made it fun to listen music, although I later decided not to use the function too much because I have a LOT of music…
I have experienced the fact that my mini became sluggish, in overall performance after I loaded up a few gigabytes of music.
That really bugged me because I had a more than capable memory card.
*The Facebook app and YouTube app were easy to use, though I would have liked the YouTube app to have more options regarding viewing profiles, comments, etc. My feeling was that it wasn't complete in a few aspects.
Performance
* One of the most positive things I have experienced was the good use of battery life. The Mini takes a good 2 days use with use of various media, 3g connectivity and viewing video's.
* With the connectivity I had some mixed feelings. Although I rarely lost a phone call due to signal loss I was not always happy with the results while tethering, and sharing internet connections. But the overall internet experiences were good and I rarely had problems with it.
Browsing and Web usage
- I was satisfied with opera. This is a stable browser and it is easy in use.
- The overall web experience was good but "mini". I have realized that I don't mind the mini size of the phone, but eventually prefer a little bigger screen for internet browsing. Though it wasn't really a big deal in practical, daily use.
- I rarely have had problems with sites loading the media, or slow loading of sites.
Overall I am satisfied with the web experience.
 
Customization
Here came the real deal breaker for me....
After I bought the mini I was under the impression that with the development of this phone, a window would be opened for the HVGA format and the windows marketplace. I believe this has failed. For me, in Holland there are really not that many apps available for the Mini. I missed that for a great deal!!
 
Updating the mini and customer support
What really got on my nerves (I think everybody's nerves) were some of the updates... I strongly believe that there is a lot to be said about FAILED support for this device.
The very badly worked out updates that is, HTC provided us with.
A lot of problems later, and very very crappy customer service, we still experience user interface problems that in most high end phones, are shortly dealt with.
I read XDA a lot and it surprised me to see still a lot of problems, which HTC SHOULD have fixed, modified or kept working on some problems hinting to things that could have been thought out better because they are really development issues.
Just to name a few...
- Problems with notifications sound as well as LED notifications.
- Problems with the phone not waking up when it should
- Problems with proximity sensors
- Problems with memory cards
And so on.
 
Personal conclusion:
I really do love this Mini! I love its exterior and I love its interior.
But.....
I don’t like the way it has been treated. It deserved better in a way.
I have the feeling this is the Cinderella story of an HTC ending line of windows mobile 6.5.x phones…
It closes a chapter, but leaves a lot of things open…
HTC made my regard for them fall, I was disappointed.
Windows Mobile 6.5.x is saying goodbye in a way, now that Windows Phone 7 is operational, but it doesn’t close with a bang. It closes very silently in my opinion.
In February, my contract expires and I can get a new phone.
And after several years… I am sorry to say, I’m saying goodbye to HTC and Windows Mobile. It wasn't the phone... it was it's broken potential in a way that made up my mind.
My interest now lies with the Iphone, it’s development and continuing evolution, it’s appeal to me has a great deal to do with the expandability, where Windows mobile 6.5.0 on the Mini ends, and Windows phone 7 constricts within it’s not even fully developed capability. I chose a different way.
My mini stays for the time being. But it will probably be my last HTC phone in a while.
I hope HTC improves it customer support, doesn’t make on-the-side-phones anymore, and develop their continuing support for their existing models.
And MOST of all not to make progress for the sake of progress or money.
Because in the end the money creates the product, but the consumer MAKES the product.
Note:
I just hope some people will find this report helpfull, and I hope it contributes to XDA's motto of finetuning the user experience, because that's what it's all about isn't it? Together we grow.
Take care guys!
Joey
O yeah i forgot to add, that I probably will try to make a review of every device I own. And in medio 2011 I believe, I will be posting things on youtube.
I think this review was very biased cos I have htc hd mini and I really don't like it. Sometimes, I feel that I made a mistake buying it. If you have a friend to buy one, I will sell mine for $100 less than the market price.
I wasn't trying to be biased really, If I didn't like it at all I would have said that out front.
And giving in the fact that I did expect more, it was more the fact that I wanted more options to do something with it than it being a crappy device.
Sorry can't help you there, with selling your phone.
Take care!
I basically agree.
I bought the mini because of its size and functionality of which i heard of from someone else ... not gonna do this kind of mistake anymore. When i bought it i was satisfied .... first month.
After this month full of euphory and for me new experience with hellabuggy HTC Sense, there was bitter awakening waiting for me. The system it uses (WM 6.5-ish) was announced to be droped right after i bought this device, but well, **** happens and there gonna be new system and new ROM i told myself. Oh dear i was wrong .... the device is obviously too slow to run the new OS.
Another cold shower came with the HVGA resolution. It took me a lot of effort to make apps iam used to working on this mini device, developed by some retard who thought HVGA on WiMo will rock. When i see the insane amount of apps for HVGA Android devices and the amount of apps for HVGA WinMo devices which i can count on fingers of one hand of a guy whos working in sawmill i understood theres something wrong with the mini.
The last drop was HTC failsupport (which i was used to to be honest) and the fact that if XDA wouldnt have existed, ill be totally lost ... hence the conclusion and advice for anyone who is even briefly playing with the idea of buying this phone ... DONT DO THAT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!
As for me, ill sell this "great phone" on e-bay and buy myself iPhone, which actually have support and gazzilion apps for lol prices in appstore. This way iam done with anything from HTC ... i had Touch Diamond and Trinity and i still have mini and EVO .. all i can say is HTC always lacked good support and this is not gonna change in the future anytime soon.
Well, ShammanCZ, I knew that before I bought my Mini. I knew about the HVGA and Windows Phone 7. But however I bought it. Because (with looking to the minimum specs of WP7) I concluded that a WP7-device with this dimensions won't ever come.
Second was the price, a WP7 device would be much more expensive (too because of the minimum specs).
And last but not least, I have had an iPod touch (which is actually the same as iPhone), and I didn't like it at all. Apple just limits you too much. I like the freedom you have with a WinMo device, and 'till now, I'm very satisfied of it!
Okay, HTC Support is very bad, but we can't help it. Thanks to XDA, where you can find lots of good devs and tweaks, this isn't a big deal to me.
in my opinion the biggest minus of hd mini is it's screen resolution (you can improve or eliminate the others minuses exept for the resolution ,and here i mean the fact that you can hardly find apps that fit this res) .
For me (and for the other buyers i guess) the plussez are:
-nice handy shape that fits well in every hand and every pocket
-light weight ,you dont get the heavy pocket sensation
-it has dedicated hardware phone button (answering,hanging) ,this was a thing i wanned when i was looking to buy a phone
-the signal is very good even in low signal area and better than other phones (i had an iphone 3g and the signal was much whorst than on mini)
-gps antenna is accurate and faster in finding the sattelites whithout network help,compared to other devices
-resistant case (i have it from more than 6 month now and it looks new even if i'm whering it in the pocket without protection shield except for the screen offcourse ,here i've mounted a shield)
-in conversation sound is loud and clear
THere would be some others but these are the first that came to my mind
Thank you all for your response to this all.
I agree with almost everything.
I found it interesting that there are so much differences in user experience .
As to this day I am counting off for the iphone 4.
Closed off as ios may be. It offers a more consumer friendly enviroment to my opinion. Than the stand alone feeling I get from HTC.
I had HTC universal and Raphael before , I bought HD mini just because of that dimension and that's perfect style.
but it's mean a toy for me after that two devices !
I cannot compare this one with that two ! but I think HD Mini is not such a bad thing that everyone says !
the worse thing of this device is HVGA resolution and you can find applications so hard for that resolution.
if it was VGA ! maybe we loved it ! but now.....
I agree HVGA has not been the top of game for me.
But then again.. battery life is great on my mini..
calls also.. and it remains a phone so that counts as well
Hi All.
I Think every one made a mistake by looking exterior sleek design. Even me, I bought this HD mini but not happy with this.
In the market thousands of free applications available but this phone doest support.
Even, I cannot install TCPMP player and lot of java based applications...
I dont know what to do. May be I will go for android phone.
shasman said:
Even, I cannot install TCPMP player and lot of java based applications...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not a HTC HD mini fault if you're not able to: it's only yours!!
Hmmz sleek design...
shasman said:
Hi All.
I Think every one made a mistake by looking exterior sleek design. Even me, I bought this HD mini but not happy with this.
In the market thousands of free applications available but this phone doest support.
Even, I cannot install TCPMP player and lot of java based applications...
I dont know what to do. May be I will go for android phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think he has a point... And I am wondering myself, how much this has played a part in me purchasing HTC HD Mini.
I think it did play a part. Because I think it's a great design. Perhaps Shasman is right and some people perhaps, did thought only of the sleek design and did not pay more attention to the specifics.
I myself loved the design, but knew about resolution. I just expected it to pick up. When there is a new Iphone... new games come out for that iphone.
And so I thought , would it have gone for HVGA.
So that's the big bummer for me.

[Q] Switch from Tilt2 to Focus?

I think this may be a no-brainer. I spend so much on my Phone bill, that ATT is going to give me a Focus for free. (or one of many other phones of my choice).
I just got my Tilt 2 is running the exact way I want it to. Should I upgrade? How happy are you with WINMO 7 and Focus?
Yes I know it's a freebe, but if ATT is planning on coming out with another phone, I don't want to use up my free turn now. That's the only thing holding me back. Thanks.
Will
william8004 said:
I think this may be a no-brainer. I spend so much on my Phone bill, that ATT is going to give me a Focus for free. (or one of many other phones of my choice).
I just got my Tilt 2 is running the exact way I want it to. Should I upgrade? How happy are you with WINMO 7 and Focus?
Yes I know it's a freebe, but if ATT is planning on coming out with another phone, I don't want to use up my free turn now. That's the only thing holding me back. Thanks.
Will
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have the Tilt working the way you want it to, why would you switch? The Focus has functionality pretty much on the level of a severely retarded iPhone. It's nowhere near and nothing like the old Windows Mobile. Mine is sitting on my desk without a sim while I wait to see if Microsoft is actually serious or if I'll be getting an Android phone this summer. I've actually used my old Fuze more recently than the Focus because even tho it was slow, unstable and barely usable half the time, the other half of the time it did almost anything I needed to get done.
I am a previous Tilt and Tilt2 owner. I am now a Focus owner. The limitations of WP7 are out there and pretty well known. If any of those are critical to you, then don't switch. If you want a completely refreshing experience, no memory problems, apps that actually close when you close them, and not having to worry about constantly tweaking your phone, go with WP7. I don't regret it for a minute. Everybody is so worried about c&p (which is coming) and multitasking... there is something to be said about the WP7 experience. It has really grown on me. I go days without a soft reset. Marketplace occasionally hangs, which is my only complaint. The beautiful thing is that they are still on the first release. The most under talked about feature of WP7 is the People hub. It is really amazing how simple it is yet how it integrates all my contacts. I'm also a big OneNote user and I love this version. I do like a hardware keyboard, but this soft keyboard is just as good as the iPhone. Critics like to say the iPhone's keyboard is better because how could something be as good as an iPhone? Well, it actually is. I had an iPhone between my Tilt and Tilt2 and the WP7 keyboard is just as good. WP7 is not perfect (yet) but it's a great start. I don't even think about my Tilt2 anymore. I figured I'd buy the best of the first set of phones (Focus) early, then wait for a good second gen one to come out and get that in a year. I don't regret my decision for a second and would never go back.
FUZE
I moved from my FUZE to a Focus on December 27th and have never looked back. Like you, I got my FUZE where I wanted it with a custom Energy ROM and lots of tweaks and apps. It was an ongoing process that I had learned to live with. I had the Focus for 4 days before I swapped the SIM out of the FUZE. In fact, my FUZE is still on the charger.
All of this crap about C&P and multi-tasking is a tempest in a teapot. I haven't missed either and I use my phone hours each day. It is smooth, seemless and everything just works like WM 6.5 should have. I can't explain here what I love about WP7, it would take too long. You have to experience it to really understand.
This summarized my thoughts exactly.
smuook said:
I am a previous Tilt and Tilt2 owner. I am now a Focus owner. The limitations of WP7 are out there and pretty well known. If any of those are critical to you, then don't switch. If you want a completely refreshing experience, no memory problems, apps that actually close when you close them, and not having to worry about constantly tweaking your phone, go with WP7. I don't regret it for a minute. Everybody is so worried about c&p (which is coming) and multitasking... there is something to be said about the WP7 experience. It has really grown on me. I go days without a soft reset. Marketplace occasionally hangs, which is my only complaint. The beautiful thing is that they are still on the first release. The most under talked about feature of WP7 is the People hub. It is really amazing how simple it is yet how it integrates all my contacts. I'm also a big OneNote user and I love this version. I do like a hardware keyboard, but this soft keyboard is just as good as the iPhone. Critics like to say the iPhone's keyboard is better because how could something be as good as an iPhone? Well, it actually is. I had an iPhone between my Tilt and Tilt2 and the WP7 keyboard is just as good. WP7 is not perfect (yet) but it's a great start. I don't even think about my Tilt2 anymore. I figured I'd buy the best of the first set of phones (Focus) early, then wait for a good second gen one to come out and get that in a year. I don't regret my decision for a second and would never go back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thresher said:
This summarized my thoughts exactly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Double ditto. Also went from Tilt -> Tilt2 -> Focus. Minor bugs are annoying, but the upsides win over the downsides
william8004 said:
I think this may be a no-brainer. I spend so much on my Phone bill, that ATT is going to give me a Focus for free. (or one of many other phones of my choice).
I just got my Tilt 2 is running the exact way I want it to. Should I upgrade? How happy are you with WINMO 7 and Focus?
Yes I know it's a freebe, but if ATT is planning on coming out with another phone, I don't want to use up my free turn now. That's the only thing holding me back. Thanks.
Will
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Focus is a great phone. To say that it's as functional as a severely retarded iPhone is extremely shortsighted and entirely subjective. If you find usb thumb drives to be too cumbersome for mass storage, need wifi internet sharing (the Focus tethers great with my Win 7 x64 laptop via usb), vcard support, or to send video via mms (although the camera in my TP2 sucks so bad I never used it) then stick with the tp2.
That being said, the Focus is MUCH faster and way more stable. Even oc'ed to 748 MHz my tp2 was extremely laggy, especially when sliding out the keyboard. I never thought I'd be able to do w/o a hardware keyboard, but, this one is fantastic. Unlike the iPhone, the auto-correct is right 95% of the time.
I, personally, can live w/o the missing feature for the time being.
Also, you may want to wait for the LTE rolling out later this year. If you're in one of the cities that will get it, it should be much faster than the current 3G and WP May introduce phones supporting it by the end of the year.
A lot of really nifty new hardware got announced at CES this past week. But then, if you're willing to wait, something better is always going to continually be coming down the pipe. If you're looking at what's out right now, you can do much worse than a Focus.
Personally, I much prefer using my Focus over my old Tilt2. About the only thing I really miss is the ability to connect to IRC. That one does irk me. Other than that, I really am digging the new toy.
I went from an HTC Wizard to the Tilt - I never got the Tilt2 - to a Samsung Focus. Only rarely do I miss a physical keyboard. I miss some of the apps - SPB Wallet, Vito Audio Notes Touch and Mobipocket Reader. I miss syncing Office docs but I don't miss Activesync issues. Occasionally I miss the Tilt's scroll wheel and Dpad but I'm getting over it.
The Focus' screen is so beautiful and the WP7 interface is really a joy. I love this phone - it's fast and responsive and pretty as hell. I know that I'll find new apps to replace my old ones in time and I'll adjust to the differences.
My advice is that if you have programs on your Tilt2 that you can't live without then you should think twice before moving on. But if you go into a store and take a look at the Focus you might just get one anyway.
As mentioned before if you're into social networking the People Hub just handles that integration really well. Also if you use Windows Live Photo Gallery Online and or Facebook for pictures the Pictures hub handles this great.
I'm not a gamer so the Xbox live thing doesn't do it for me.
So, I love the Focus but I'm waiting for the apps to catch up.
Here are my two choices.
1. go from tilt2 now to focus
2. wait and use my freebe on another phone in the future that ATT will carry.
???
wspaw said:
The Focus is a great phone. To say that it's as functional as a severely retarded iPhone is extremely shortsighted and entirely subjective. If you find usb thumb drives to be too cumbersome for mass storage, need wifi internet sharing (the Focus tethers great with my Win 7 x64 laptop via usb), vcard support, or to send video via mms (although the camera in my TP2 sucks so bad I never used it) then stick with the tp2.
That being said, the Focus is MUCH faster and way more stable. Even oc'ed to 748 MHz my tp2 was extremely laggy, especially when sliding out the keyboard. I never thought I'd be able to do w/o a hardware keyboard, but, this one is fantastic. Unlike the iPhone, the auto-correct is right 95% of the time.
I, personally, can live w/o the missing feature for the time being.
Also, you may want to wait for the LTE rolling out later this year. If you're in one of the cities that will get it, it should be much faster than the current 3G and WP May introduce phones supporting it by the end of the year.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not short-sighted, it's the way it is. I bought a Focus the day they went on sale but every day brought about at least a couple situations that the iPhone and Fuze could easily meet and the Focus had nothing. If it did any less Walmart could package it with a prepaid card and stick it on the rack with the $25 Nokia phones that come with $30 of talk time. I don't give a damn about copy/paste, the thing that made me put the sim card back into the iPhone was that the camera doesn't save it's settings. How asinine is that? Doesn't anyone at Microsoft even use a camera? Didn't anyone bother testing it? And *I'm* the short-sighted one? That's why I don't buy that rubbish about how it doesn't have any useful features because "it's two months old". And as hard as it was to believe, the browser is actually WORSE than the WinMo browser which, in the very least, could play audio and video streams. I'm half surprised WP7 didn't come with Trumpet Winsock to make a data connection. WP7 is stable because there's practically nothing to crash or freeze. WinMo is fast, too, when it has nothing to do and a 1 GHz processor to do it on. So if I had a Tilt2 and wanted something that was actually responsive and approached the same level of functionality, I'd get an iPhone or a decent Android phone for, I'd guess, the next year given how long it took Microsoft to get the current rendition of WP7 out the door.
markgamber said:
It's not short-sighted, it's the way it is. I bought a Focus the day they went on sale but every day brought about at least a couple situations that the iPhone and Fuze could easily meet and the Focus had nothing. If it did any less Walmart could package it with a prepaid card and stick it on the rack with the $25 Nokia phones that come with $30 of talk time. I don't give a damn about copy/paste, the thing that made me put the sim card back into the iPhone was that the camera doesn't save it's settings. How asinine is that? Doesn't anyone at Microsoft even use a camera? Didn't anyone bother testing it? And *I'm* the short-sighted one? That's why I don't buy that rubbish about how it doesn't have any useful features because "it's two months old". And as hard as it was to believe, the browser is actually WORSE than the WinMo browser which, in the very least, could play audio and video streams. I'm half surprised WP7 didn't come with Trumpet Winsock to make a data connection. WP7 is stable because there's practically nothing to crash or freeze. WinMo is fast, too, when it has nothing to do and a 1 GHz processor to do it on. So if I had a Tilt2 and wanted something that was actually responsive and approached the same level of functionality, I'd get an iPhone or a decent Android phone for, I'd guess, the next year given how long it took Microsoft to get the current rendition of WP7 out the door.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not saving camera settings is just dumb (I seriously doubt this will be an issue for long). The browser is far better on WP7. It accesses and renders pages faster than my wife's iPhone, let alone the TP2 (IE, Opera, Opera Mini, Skyfire, etc.). At least it WILL support flash compared to the iPhone. Can you edit Office docs on the iPhone? Kinda. But, the Office hub on the Focus is considered to add great functionality to the phone by many people. TP2 can do some of this, too, if you don't mind the lag. Typing is far more accurate for me on the Focus, coming from a hardware keyboard. Believe it or not, that affects the functionality of the phone, at least for me. The Focus can tether without additional cost. If you care about music the Zune Pass is outstanding. The Focus might not have much functionality for you, perhaps, but many others would disagree. Then again, maybe all of us happy Focus users are just retarded Walmart patrons.
All I have to say is I loved my Tilt2! I got a Focus with my upgrade. I figured I keep my Tilt2 to fall back to if I didn't like it. Needless to say I loved the Focus so much I gave...did you hear me... gave my Tilt 2 because I couldn't even justify putting a price on it. That's how different the Focus is. I've read all the complaints and ironically it's the exact same ones people gave as a reason the Iphone would fail. Hell I even mocked Iphone owners. Well we know how that turned out.
As far the browser, here in New Orleans(signals vary in every region) WP7 IE is faster than any WM browser I ever had Opera 9,9.5,9.7, 9.7 with Flash,10 beta,10 Mini,Skyfire, UCWeb6,6.7,7,7 release2, NetFront 3.4,3.5,4,4 updated, Bolt,Iris, Pocket IE, Uzard. The sad thing is all of these damn browsers were installed on my phone because none were good enough. With the Focus I released much like the Iphone people I mocked, I don't need most of that bullcrap. I don't know if the IP4 has a different browser version than the 3GS, but WP7 IE is just as fast and accurate. as my nephews 3GS.
As for saving camera settings, I never taught of this till you mentioned it. Now that you mentioned it, it sounds crazy to me to save the settings. I constantly take pictures with my phone for work. Unless I'm in the exact same conditions then saving the settings would be just a big pain. Obviously, someone in the Microsoft meeting must have mentioned this. Damned if they do damned if they don't.
bennyj71 said:
As for saving camera settings, I never taught of this till you mentioned it. Now that you mentioned it, it sounds crazy to me to save the settings. I constantly take pictures with my phone for work. Unless I'm in the exact same conditions then saving the settings would be just a big pain. Obviously, someone in the Microsoft meeting must have mentioned this. Damned if they do damned if they don't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You still are using a fixed set of settings, the default ones. If you are OK with those is no problem, but a user should still be able to customize the settings and then save them instead of always going back to default.
I am in my first day of "playing" with a Focus, coming from a Tilt 2. Sometimes I think I should have not started.
I love the simplicity but I miss the flexibility.
So far the biggest con for me is the small font used in various places that I find hard to read after using the phone for a while. Maybe it is time for glasses but get them only for the Focus? Too bad the font size cannot be adjusted other than the places where zooming works. Speaking of zooming I miss the reflow of text, so now after zooming I constantly have to scroll sideways to read a page.
When I got the Tilt 2 I thought I was going to use the slide out keyboard more. Turned out that I rarely used it so that was not an issue moving to the Focus. I do find the Focus keyboard very sensitive. The slightest touch or even coming close enough to the screen without actually touching registers on the touch screen. Even though the Focus screen keyboard keys are very close in size to the Tilt 2 screen keyboard I have lots of typos with the Focus. I guess though that this is something that gets overcome with time.
WiFi... cannot connect to hidden networks??? Please Microsoft, reconsider this.
Once connected to WiFi what is there to do other than using WiFi for data instead of 3G? I cannot connect to my Windows Home Server to save pictures and other documents or to load some documents for the road. I know I can go thru Skydrive but that's extra steps and maybe I have documents I would rather not upload to a third party server.
I would like a common email tile on the home screen instead of individual tiles for each account. The visible home screen is limited. HTC Sense does this beatifully.
Various apps that I use save their data somewhere in the phone's memory. I would like to be able to back it up at least by copying it to my laptop or home server. I do not see any sort of file management at the OS level where I could do this. Some apps save their data in the cloud... again a third party server.
But I do have another 25 days or so to play with the Focus. I'll see how things change.
Started with a Tilt --> iPhone --> Tilt2 and now Focus. The phone does have its quirks but I believe the pros outweigh the cons. The onscreen keyboard easily rivals or surpasses that of the iPhone. Transition between programs is fluid and seemless. The link with Xbox Live is awesome!
This is only day 2 of playing with this guy and I'm already hooked.
Just upgraded from the Tilt 2 (prior to that I used the original Tilt and then the Fuze) to the Samsung Focus -- and I will not be looking back. Finally a phone that works when I need it to! I'll trade a few, very minor limitations that I can work around for the lightning fast responsiveness of the WP7.
I can't count the number of times with the Tilt/Fuze/Tilt 2 that I stood outside an elevator needing to quickly look up a meeting room number or sitting in a meeting and needing to look up a phone number only to have it slowly lumber through the process at a snails pace with people waiting all around me in frustration. I need a phone that works in real world - real time - business situations. So I really value the simplicity and responsiveness of the Focus.
It's a keeper.
I also came from the long line of HTC phones and the iPhone3Gs. I upgraded to the Focus the day it hit the streets and as others have said I have never looked back. I do miss some of the customizing and some of the apps but in time they will come. I knew the limitations going in and while some of them have been a pain the pros way outweigh the cons. If MS keeps their word and gets the updates out and keeps them coming they have a big winner on their hands.
JamesAllen said:
I moved from my FUZE to a Focus on December 27th and have never looked back. Like you, I got my FUZE where I wanted it with a custom Energy ROM and lots of tweaks and apps. It was an ongoing process that I had learned to live with. I had the Focus for 4 days before I swapped the SIM out of the FUZE. In fact, my FUZE is still on the charger.
All of this crap about C&P and multi-tasking is a tempest in a teapot. I haven't missed either and I use my phone hours each day. It is smooth, seemless and everything just works like WM 6.5 should have. I can't explain here what I love about WP7, it would take too long. You have to experience it to really understand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My sentiments exactly. As a former Fuze owner, the only thing I miss are the physical keyboard, and specific apps. I purchased my Fuze the day it came out, and used it heavily during that time. I still find myself clicking on the search button to end a call, but that's a habit I'll break soon enough.
The keyboard is probably the best soft-keyboard I've tried, and I'm still learning little tips to make it even easier. That said, I really do miss the hard-keys.
The only other area of concern are the apps. I had a number of apps that I used daily, which sadly aren't yet available for Win7, and possibly may never be available.
Still, this phone is just amazing. It is extremely responsive to gestures, screens load quickly, and the screen will blow your socks off. Everyone who gets their hands on it just love it.
Now I purchased mine off contract on eBay for an incredibly good price. I doubt I would take on another contract with a phone this early in its development. If I were you, I'd wait it out a little longer. The Tilt2 is a good phone especially with custom ROMs loaded.
Wait until after the MWC in February. Some new WP7 phones might be announced then.

As Dell VP enters its last half of life, what phone is next for you?

I was one of those that pre ordered the Dell VP way back in November 2010. By the time I finally got the phone, it became my primary phone for several months, before moving on to better hardware. I recently turned the phone back on and decided I preferred the Windows Phone OS to other platforms.
But, I found the DVP too slow and missing key items that similar primary phones had. I have an HD7 and I tried that too. But the HD7 hardware is close to 2yrs old if not more.
I eventually found a deal at T-Mobile for the Lumia 710 and purchased that. The deal was essentially a duh because it added nothing to my contract and cost $20US. Of course the 710 is low end hardware with 4g.
I've seen other new gen Windows Phone hardware out there.....
Titan
Titan 2
Lumia 800
Lumia 900
Radar
Ominas.
I was just curious, if you're staying with Windows Phone, what will your next one be?
Me, I have the Lumia 900 in site.
I REALLY like my DVP and I REALLY like WP7. There aren't any other WP7 phones out there that catch my eye so I'm going to stay put for the next 3-6 months.
I hope that Microsoft can find a way to get core apps like Pandora and services like VOIP to work like they do on Android/IOS. If so, I will have absolutely zero reason to go with another platform when it is time to upgrade.
BTW Alodar1, what runs slowly on your DVP?
Given the chance I would love to move to a Lumia 900 or a higher model from Nokia. The Titan II also looks interesting but I really dont like HTC so would probably not buy that. Also not really interested in owning anything from Samsung.
However as I am still on T-Mobile and am likely to stay here for the forseeable future I will have to stick with my trusty DVP.
bbowman said:
I REALLY like my DVP and I REALLY like WP7. There aren't any other WP7 phones out there that catch my eye so I'm going to stay put for the next 3-6 months.
I hope that Microsoft can find a way to get core apps like Pandora and services like VOIP to work like they do on Android/IOS. If so, I will have absolutely zero reason to go with another platform when it is time to upgrade.
BTW Alodar1, what runs slowly on your DVP?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I moved from the DVP to android G2x and evenutally the Bionic. Both are superior hardware wise, having 4g and several other functions like wifi N, and more.
I knew that android was just a fad for me, and that became true when I saw the Lumia 900. But still...I'd never had a nokia and the lumia 710 provided me some exposure. the 710 is faster than the DVP data wise. Since data is the primary way I use the phone, it is important. There is a significant speed difference here both by wifi and on radio.
The integration of Mango is almost the same so thats not a problem. Getting used to people hub is the biggest thing to get used to, but I'm good with it now. Calendar and contact integration is good on most devices. The skydrive app helps with visuals there.
I found an app, Cloud Music that links with Skydrive and will play stored music there. Its a v1 app, but works ok on the 710. I used Google lattitude for connections with my kids....but its somewhat flaky, working when it wants to....so its no longer the draw for me. Though its pretty cute when I'm in the restaurant and my daughter pings me and asks what I ordered....
As for Pandora...MS has come out and said, they consider Pandora a competitor. So I doubt we will see resolution soon on that. For me, the starbuck app is more important. Its the #1 app I use on android.
Most WP devices, first gen, were old design and hardware. the OEMs simply did not invest in them. With Nokia on board and a potential opportunity slipping away from the grubby money hungry mobile operators, Windows Phone is seeing some of the love of up to date hardware. It won't go dual core , yet...but, the 710 is a nice device. Gives me great hope for the 900.
I too used to be an HTC fan. But recently I've stepped away. From the Sense rendition on Android to the WP rendition...its a disappointment.
has anyone looked at the Omnia's out there? The new ones???
alodar1 said:
I moved from the DVP to android G2x and evenutally the Bionic. Both are superior hardware wise, having 4g and several other functions like wifi N, and more.
I knew that android was just a fad for me, and that became true when I saw the Lumia 900. But still...I'd never had a nokia and the lumia 710 provided me some exposure. the 710 is faster than the DVP data wise. Since data is the primary way I use the phone, it is important. There is a significant speed difference here both by wifi and on radio.
The integration of Mango is almost the same so thats not a problem. Getting used to people hub is the biggest thing to get used to, but I'm good with it now. Calendar and contact integration is good on most devices. The skydrive app helps with visuals there.
I found an app, Cloud Music that links with Skydrive and will play stored music there. Its a v1 app, but works ok on the 710. I used Google lattitude for connections with my kids....but its somewhat flaky, working when it wants to....so its no longer the draw for me. Though its pretty cute when I'm in the restaurant and my daughter pings me and asks what I ordered....
As for Pandora...MS has come out and said, they consider Pandora a competitor. So I doubt we will see resolution soon on that. For me, the starbuck app is more important. Its the #1 app I use on android.
Most WP devices, first gen, were old design and hardware. the OEMs simply did not invest in them. With Nokia on board and a potential opportunity slipping away from the grubby money hungry mobile operators, Windows Phone is seeing some of the love of up to date hardware. It won't go dual core , yet...but, the 710 is a nice device. Gives me great hope for the 900.
I too used to be an HTC fan. But recently I've stepped away. From the Sense rendition on Android to the WP rendition...its a disappointment.
has anyone looked at the Omnia's out there? The new ones???
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I just reread this and realized my thoughts may sound anti android. Not really. Its nice...but its extremely fragmented now...and hard to keep up with. I have a Xoom tablet with ICS. Love it. do MOST of my work on the tablet. But with the volume of android phones coming out....its a real mess...my opinion only....
Have you played with Windows 8? Just got an Acer W500 and waiting for the beta, personally looking forward to the final immensely. Love the integration of Metro UI and traditional Windows if I need it.
efjay said:
Have you played with Windows 8? Just got an Acer W500 and waiting for the beta, personally looking forward to the final immensely. Love the integration of Metro UI and traditional Windows if I need it.
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I'veonly touched the rawest of builds. Nothing optimized and nothing on the tablet. I;m going to reserve judgement on the tablet. Traditionally MS has had a MS uber alas attitude for periphials. I hope that changes. I think a fully funtional Windows tablet...that works....is unbeatable. when I say...that works it means:
touch works as it should, not as a work around
smart choices with thumbdrives and other external storage
sync ability with devices
remote syncing
skydrive access that is smart, not the limited interface we see now.
If MS gives us a functional tablet and a flexible os....I think the android OS will dry up. I love the idea of open source, but....within in reason. How do you globablly support open source and maintain security and compatibility? Use Android and netflix for example....OS v2.3.3 won't run net flix...but 2.3.4 will, if its a certain device. But how about 2.3.7...etc??? Right now its a cluster and not getting better. ICS supposedly offers stability, but the fragmentation has started with that one already and its only a month old. MS has an opportunity to drive a stake here....if it gets it close to right.
The difference between Seven and Mango is a breath of fresh air. But, Mango was in the path of seven all along. Features that showed up in mango, were finished and ready to go before NODO...this is a long, well thought out process for windows phone....I hope they stick to their guns.
There really isn't anything that interests me much. I refuse to buy a phone without a physical keyboard and there are basically no good ones out/coming out soon that we know about. The Galaxy Note interested me due to its sheer size, but the PenTile screen puts me off. I hated my Nexus One PenTile screen and while the DVP's isn't as bad, I don't want to buy another device with a PenTile screen.
I don't know why you're complaining about speed. Everything is really fast even if it is really old hardware.
I bought the DVP because of the hardware keyboard and the amoled screen. In the past few months, I've opened the keyboard maybe 10 times... that's how much i like the on-screen keyboard in windows phone.
A hardware keyboard will not be in my next phone's future although a super amoled or clearblack display most certainly will. I'm also holding out until Apollo gets released hopefully bringing in new screen resolutions and other features like NFC and I'm leaning very heavily towards Nokia unless HTC finally releases a WP with a super amoled display.
I don't see how people prefer on screen to physical keyboards. Physical isso much more accurate and faster.
I hope TMOUS releases the Nokia Lumia 900, or as rumor says the 910 with upgraded camera. I am also a fan of the HTC Titan.
Either way, the stock OS is great and doesn't require much modification to do exactly what it was designed to do which is work.
holding out until microsoft fixes the orientation lock thing. then we'll see if nokia makes a keyboard phone.
weatherx said:
holding out until microsoft fixes the orientation lock thing. then we'll see if nokia makes a keyboard phone.
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Someone made a homebrew fix. It was published on the portal the other day. Sorry I don't have a link right quick. I have a headache and its making thinking and looking at a bright screen difficult.
jelliottz said:
Someone made a homebrew fix. It was published on the portal the other day. Sorry I don't have a link right quick. I have a headache and its making thinking and looking at a bright screen difficult.
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yes, i saw that homebrew. problem is, it disables the accelerometer completely, rather than stopping the orientation switch, and requires a reboot to re-enable IIRC. this setting really should be a quick access setting (like volume) rather than having to go thru an app.
i'll be honest, about 1/3 of the time i slide the keyboard out on the DVP just to lock orientation.
petard said:
I don't see how people prefer on screen to physical keyboards. Physical isso much more accurate and faster.
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Totally agree, I think physical keyboard is more accurate and I have small fingers.
petard said:
I don't know why you're complaining about speed. Everything is really fast even if it is really old hardware.
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Not complaining. Ever ride in a Mercedes, then go home in a low end KIA or something. You become spoiled....even though the Mercedes is out of reach. With data speeds on the G2x and the Bionic, and now the Razr series, the data speed is blazing. Since most of my time on a phone is indeed data related of some sort, its noticable. Not like the Mercedes which is out of reach $$ wise, getting a dual core, 4g, android beast is very affordable. And I got used to it. If I never tried it, I could be of a different opinion...but it did.
With that said, the 710 with low end hardware, does indeed close the gap, alot. I've seen the reports from the TItans and some other devices, which lead me to no longer concern myself with the dual core question. But simple 3g vs 4g is an issue, and so is WiFi N availability. Both of these leave the VP in second place.
But, the VP is old hardware now. Its not so bad that you have to update, now. But, in the next several months, you will do it....as a normal progression.
crav4speed said:
I bought the DVP because of the hardware keyboard and the amoled screen. In the past few months, I've opened the keyboard maybe 10 times... that's how much i like the on-screen keyboard in windows phone.
A hardware keyboard will not be in my next phone's future although a super amoled or clearblack display most certainly will. I'm also holding out until Apollo gets released hopefully bringing in new screen resolutions and other features like NFC and I'm leaning very heavily towards Nokia unless HTC finally releases a WP with a super amoled display.
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Agreed, mostly. When the Dell was introduced, I had anHD7 in my hand. A Dell rep was at our work and pulled out the VP. INSTANT love affair. When he opened the keyboard...bing.....I was sold. During the entire time I used the Dell, I opened the keyboard ONLY to access the EM menu. Never did anything else. I eventually learned the feel of the phone and mistakes were rare. I was always impressed by Joe B's launch demo of WP7...with his wild typing...but it works...usually. But so does android and apple...but who cares.
I do know that MS is working on an NFC solution, and has been. I'll be interested to see what comes up....but for now that won't impact my next decision.
Regarding screen resolutions, I believe....MY OPINION ONLY, ... that first in MS's mind is the proper mix of resolution, speed, power overall, and battery life. Until they can master the issue of battery life, dual core and any other high power drains will not be part of WP. The Droid Razr MAXX was released today with a whopping 21 talk time claim. Of course, they doubled the pwer of the battery, so the efficency is the same as before....I believe MS is looking for efficiency improvements and not battery claim.
The truth is, I guess, I only purchased the 710 to see if I could handle a Nokia. I would not use this phone as my primary everyday phone. But, I now have faith in the 900, 910,930's I've seen reported by Engadget. Its better than even money I'll have 1 of these by June.
weatherx said:
i'll be honest, about 1/3 of the time i slide the keyboard out on the DVP just to lock orientation.
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Same here, especially if I'm using it in bed at all.
I actually bought a used DVP a couple days back to replace my stolen iPhone 4 until something better comes along. So far, I'm actually a bit disappointed. Everything is great with the exception of the screen (stupid Pentile) and battery life.
I'm really looking forward to the Nokia Lumia 900, but until then, I'm not sure what to do. I suppose I can live with the screen for a couple months, but I don't know what to do about battery life. I really don't want to have to turn off push, but I also don't want to spend money on another battery when I'll probably replace the phone in a couple months.
I have been a DVP owner for over 1 year - switched from iphone 4 - and the Mango update breathed new life in to the phone - the lack of Internet Sharing is the only major problem I have with the phone given my 5 year old Palm Treo has this feature.
I recently cracked the screen on the DVP and was looking for a new option - I picked up the Nexus S and installed ICS 4 on it. Overall a great phone, ICS is complete and Android offers much more selection of apps and 'internet sharing' built in - you must spend a lot of time customizing as it is rather 'vanilla' out of the box.
Installed Swype on the Nexus S and it was decent - however, I am a physical keyboard guy and use the phone for work and email is the most important feature for me.
Long story short, after 5 days with Android I am back using the DVP with a cracked screen - as a business user I find the Windows 7 interface is much easier to "get in and out" for making a call, sending email, sms, webpage, etc. Also, I have ridiculously fast typing speed on the DVP keyboard, almost the same as a PC keyboard.
I am shocked that the portrait slider format is effectively dead - other than a BB Torch 9810 I haven't seen anything else on the market with a physical keyboard.
I would love to hear other people's experience transitioning from a physical keyboard, maybe I need to give it more time...
Also, if anyone has any rumors or just wants to make something up about a new portrait slider for WP7 or Android please post here...

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