Database Users

N00b Questions - Why change ROM? Why Root?

Hi,
Newby n00b here. I received my Magic/Mytouch/Ion/etc on tuesday and am very happy with it. It is fast, and there is a seemingly endless number of (free ) apps to play around with.
Now, I love gadgets and I love playing with them and tweaking them. The Android OS is what attracted me to the Magic. I've been reading these forums with interest for a little while and there is a lot of discussion about this ROM or that ROM, Rooting etc... But there is relatively little discussion about why anyone changes ROM? I can understand the urge to from a nerdish point of view, but why do it otherwise?
What are the benefits? Why change? My Magic runs the stock OS as it comes from Vodafone in the UK, I've loaded a number of apps and widgets which change the look of the phone, so I'd really only be looking at functionality. I also already run Touchdown for synching my work emails.
Rooting? That "opens" the machine doesn't it? allowing me to access further apps, etc...?
Sorry if the questions are a simple.
Note that this is n't so much another "which ROM should I use", more about what am I missing out on by not changing?
Cheers.

Root'ing your phone enables your to do a lot more things.
For me the main driver in rooting my phone was so that I could get paid apps in the market, which I couldn't do yet in NZ without being able to fake my location which root is needed for.
You can overcock your device so that it can run a hero rom better and all sorts of other wonderful things.
If you are a tweaker and want to mod your phone lots then rooting you phone is a must.
But beware with great power comes great responsibility

Cheers. Rooting is definitely something I'm going to do.
But changing the ROM? I'm not really seeing any compelling reason why I'd do this? The Hero ROM looks nice, but I'm OK with the aesthetics of my Magic as it is, so not really that bothered by looks. Functionality? It adds a couple of desktops (or whatever they are called) and Touchflo which lets you do the iPhone pinch and expand? That's about it isn't it? It is MS Exchange capable, but isn't that only over a USB? And I've got Touchdown anyway... Most of the Hero ROMs seem to come at the price of serious performance loss.
What else is it about the alternative ROMs that makes people switch?

njakobs said:
But beware with great power comes great responsibility
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL I like that!
But one of the major thing I like about root is that most/all Devs takes out the bloatware that comes with the phones. There are amazing Devs right now with the G1/Dream that are pushing the limits on the phone.
Also over here T-Mobile US hinders tethering and root can have you up and running. And I personally like tinkering with the possibilities of what the phone can do. Granted the Hero ROM is still not there as far as speed but getting close.

palexr said:
Cheers. Rooting is definitely something I'm going to do.
But changing the ROM? I'm not really seeing any compelling reason why I'd do this? The Hero ROM looks nice, but I'm OK with the aesthetics of my Magic as it is, so not really that bothered by looks. Functionality? It adds a couple of desktops (or whatever they are called) and Touchflo which lets you do the iPhone pinch and expand? That's about it isn't it? It is MS Exchange capable, but isn't that only over a USB? And I've got Touchdown anyway... Most of the Hero ROMs seem to come at the price of serious performance loss.
What else is it about the alternative ROMs that makes people switch?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TouchFLO is the UI hero uses, multitouch is what lets you pinch and stretch to zoom.

AdrianK said:
TouchFLO is the UI hero uses, multitouch is what lets you pinch and stretch to zoom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah
A nice touch no doubt? But by all accounts the Hero ROMs are still too resource hungry for the Magic 32B?
Anyway, i think my inner tinkerer is urging me to flash, so to speak, certainly to Root. I'll see what the advantages are then for myself. Think I'll go for the euro ROM, or nk02's. They seem to be most appropriate for the moment.

AdrianK said:
TouchFLO is the UI hero uses, multitouch is what lets you pinch and stretch to zoom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah
A nice touch no doubt? But by all accounts the Hero ROMs are still to resource hungry for the Magic 32B?
Anyway, i think my inner tinkerer is urging me to flash, so to speak, certainly to Root. I'll see what the advantages are then for myself. Think I'll go for the euro ROM, or nk02's. They seem to be most appropriate for the moment.

I was in much the same position as you - Vodafone UK handset and not entirely sure what point there was to flashing. In the end I thought I'd give the Euro Rom a try and am very glad I did. The speed is much improved, the keyboard is superior, and the built in Exchange support knocks spots off of Touchdown, being properly integrated with the OS. I'm sure I'll try other roms but can't see many of them adding very much to what I have.

HD2 vs Hero vs iSheep

Hi
I recently lost my Hero and have been offered (by my bank insurers) a replacement Hero or an HD2 (or other phones I'm uninterested in). I loved the Hero, although it was laggy and generally underpowered, but the whole Android thing was/is pretty damn good. I've also had a Tytn II, so I'm aware of the WinMo foibles. My other half has also given me her Hero (for the time being at least) because she just doesn't get on with it. So, what do I do from here:
1) Opt for replacement Hero and either sell it or give my gf's one back to her?
2) Take the HD2 and make it my primary phone
3) Take the HD2 and sell it so I can buy a iPhone 3GS (or upgrade early and get a 4)
Day to day, I need to be able to run the following:
Evernote
Remember the Milk
MP3
Video
RSS feeds
Solid browsing
RSS feeds
Good calender integration (with Googlemail preferably)
Good Twitter app
Good Facebook app
Separate work and personal contacts (currently all work contacts are on Exchange and all personal ones are on Googlemail - handled perfectly by Android)
Solid and reliable GPS (for both driving (if possible) and tracking my running/biking - Android has 3-4 great apps for this)
Integration with Exchange (inc tasks preferably) as well as Googlemail (inc Calendar if possible)
The Hero does the above very well, but like I say is a laggy - a Desire would be great but not really an option.
The iPhone does it all (not sure how it manages/separates contacts though) and obviously has the huge app store.
The HD2 has a luscious front end and possibly does all the above - but does it separate work stuff from personal stuff? And do you still have to dig around in the WM backend to get it to do things?
Anyway, that's generally where I'm at. What do you recommend? Would appreciate any thoughts and comments.
Thanks in advance.
SC
PS I'm in the UK and use Vodafone.
EDIT: I should add that I've checked out loads of HD2 reviews and the concensus seems to be that the front end is really quick n slick, but ultimately it's still a WinMo OS - the former looks great and certainly looks the part, but does the latter really cause "problems?"
EDIT: I've also read that the HD2 can develop lag/hanging - but I guess every phone can. Is there a fix to this? I've heard that flashing the ROM can sort this, but returning the phone to HTC seems OTT to me. What say you? Cheers

I've also heard that the XDA forum has links to various (unofficial) WM app stores - haven't really found them yet, so can anyone say whether these "additional" apps are genuinely good?

I'm gonna be honest here, bud. The hd2 probably isn't for you. It is essentially a tweakers phone. here's why:
The lushus front end you speak of is painfully slow out of the box and to get it running smoothly you need to install a couple of apps (a 3d driver patch and a program to force the cpu to run at full speed all the time).
The facebook app is ok but i would not call it excellent and that's after you install the update from MS marketplace.
Opera 9.7 is a solid browser and if you want flash have a look at skyfire or opera 10.
The GPS rocks as long you configure windows to use it properly and get the latest version of google maps. The inbuilt mp3 player sucks and sounds like a 3 year old bashing saucepans with a wooden spoon (this is coming from a partially deaf person so it's bad) there are alternatives but none of the ones i tried sounded much better until i installed SRS WOWHD 2.1 for windows mobile.
I did check to see if you could get evernote for windows mobile and you can. The reminder system is as good as outlook 2010 but you can't split your contacts into groups. Although, coz it's windows mobile exchange integration is flawless and supports ssl secured direct push (and if you have exchange 2010 and outlook 2010 you can enjoy having your text messages viewable in outlook on the pc)
For video you'll probably want to look at tcpmp or it's big brother coreplayer and WM includes the MS rss feed application.
I love the Leo but i'm an IT engineer and messing about with computer hardware and software is what i do for a living (and for fun). A lot of people find it irritating because they have a lot of problems with it, or they find the battery life is too short but from my experience it is because they are just not IT literate enough to deal with the small glitches, that 9 times out of 10, they themselves have caused.
So to summarise, if you want a quiet life, aren't interesting in tweaking or modifying your phone and want all the features on your wish list get the desire. If you want a half assed attempt at a phone, that only lets you do one thing at a time and locks you into 2 different proprietry technologies, get the iPhone and if you love tweaking and modding, want the freedom to do anything you want with your device, a massive screen and a phone so fast that, once tweaked a little, could beat the holy hell out of that windows 98 desktop you had back in the day, get a HD2
P.S. If you do get a hd2 the first thing you should do is get the office mobile 2010 update from ms because it's not included by default and is much better than OM 2007
P.P.S. Just to put my speed statement into context. The iPhone 4 which is as yet unreleased still won't be as fast as the Leo which is almost a year on the market

Going by the price of the Hero in NZ, that's a pretty good deal, no? At the very least, you could take the HD2, try it, and sell it to buy another Hero and then some, no?
I'd honestly recommend the HD2 - best phone I've ever used, and the current dev community is making new apps and mods on a daily basis. Re: listed apps, the majority are integrated in Sense UI, and the rest of the functions are fine - unsure on Remember The Milk since it's not an application I'm familiar with. Tasks/reminders?
As for the unofficial app store, check out Omarket - or just browse XDA!
EDIT: As noted above, it's a phone for those who love tweaking everything they possibly can. If you want an out-of-box experience, iphone's the way to go - Personally, I get irked every time I find something I can't change.

Thanks guys - I appreciate the lengthy replies.
Having mildly tweaked my Tytn II and Hero in the past, I'm happy to do the same with the HD2 - which I've just ordered as a replacement. I don't really want to get into rooting and custom ROMs but I've no problem digging around to a degree. I trust the developers here and generally look forward to getting the most out of this phone.
BTW, does it integrate well with Googlemail for contacts and calendaring? All my personal stuff is on there. Or do you have to use the SIM or memory and proprietary apps?
Also, do most market apps utilise the WM UI or does the HD2's skin kick in and make the experience more lush?
Thanks again
SC

Iphone 4 slower then HD2 yeah right> hahaha

Googlemail works fine mate just set it up as an outlook account and the mail will be pushed instead of searched for every hour or so, my contacts and calender entries sync fine from gmail.
and @brushednwhite check the specs

You can integrate with google as an exchange server and sync calendar/email/etc. There's a thread in the T-mobile HD2 forums about it, I use an actual Exchange account so Gmail's just sync'd as an additional email account. It's pretty versatile.
As for the UI, each application has its own. Sense UI is just a front end for HTC's applications and menu skins. There are applications that have the same look though, and you can change/replace anything in the default WinMo menus anyway - I have no problem with 6.5's look myself.
Rooting Android isn't really comparable to WinMo - you may have to disable security warnings to install unsigned apps, but the highly recommended BSB Tweaks will do that for you. Hard SPL is the closest to rooting, it basically lets you install custom ROMs and radios. I have no problem with the stock ROM myself, and it's the first time that's been the case for me - your mileage may vary.
brushednwhite said:
Iphone 4 slower then HD2 yeah right> hahaha
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What a totally helpful and impartial reply!

M3PH said:
I'm gonna be honest here, bud. The hd2 probably isn't for you. It is essentially a tweakers phone. here's why:
The lushus front end you speak of is painfully slow out of the box and to get it running smoothly you need to install a couple of apps (a 3d driver patch and a program to force the cpu to run at full speed all the time).
The facebook app is ok but i would not call it excellent and that's after you install the update from MS marketplace.
Opera 9.7 is a solid browser and if you want flash have a look at skyfire or opera 10.
The GPS rocks as long you configure windows to use it properly and get the latest version of google maps. The inbuilt mp3 player sucks and sounds like a 3 year old bashing saucepans with a wooden spoon (this is coming from a partially deaf person so it's bad) there are alternatives but none of the ones i tried sounded much better until i installed SRS WOWHD 2.1 for windows mobile.
I did check to see if you could get evernote for windows mobile and you can. The reminder system is as good as outlook 2010 but you can't split your contacts into groups. Although, coz it's windows mobile exchange integration is flawless and supports ssl secured direct push (and if you have exchange 2010 and outlook 2010 you can enjoy having your text messages viewable in outlook on the pc)
For video you'll probably want to look at tcpmp or it's big brother coreplayer and WM includes the MS rss feed application.
I love the Leo but i'm an IT engineer and messing about with computer hardware and software is what i do for a living (and for fun). A lot of people find it irritating because they have a lot of problems with it, or they find the battery life is too short but from my experience it is because they are just not IT literate enough to deal with the small glitches, that 9 times out of 10, they themselves have caused.
So to summarise, if you want a quiet life, aren't interesting in tweaking or modifying your phone and want all the features on your wish list get the desire. If you want a half assed attempt at a phone, that only lets you do one thing at a time and locks you into 2 different proprietry technologies, get the iPhone and if you love tweaking and modding, want the freedom to do anything you want with your device, a massive screen and a phone so fast that, once tweaked a little, could beat the holy hell out of that windows 98 desktop you had back in the day, get a HD2
P.S. If you do get a hd2 the first thing you should do is get the office mobile 2010 update from ms because it's not included by default and is much better than OM 2007
P.P.S. Just to put my speed statement into context. The iPhone 4 which is as yet unreleased still won't be as fast as the Leo which is almost a year on the market
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@M3PH, what program(s) did you use to crank up the CPU speed on the HD2? Been looking for one but could do with some advice on what programs/tweaks to use
Thanks

why not keep your gf's phone and buy her something else to use?

sam29792 said:
@M3PH, what program(s) did you use to crank up the CPU speed on the HD2? Been looking for one but could do with some advice on what programs/tweaks to use
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The programe you are looking for is LeoCpuSpeed v3.
brushednwhite said:
Iphone 4 slower then HD2 yeah right> hahaha
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's certainly no faster.
I'd be inclined to agree with M3PH's summary of the HD2. Given the choice now I'd go for an Android based OS. Not to say I don't love my HD2 and WM 6.5.x. But it does seem dated in comparison. How about getting the more expensive phone, selling and getting an unlocked say, Desire?

Spacechimp said:
.....EDIT: I should add that I've checked out loads of HD2 reviews and the concensus seems to be that the front end is really quick n slick, but ultimately it's still a WinMo OS - the former looks great and certainly looks the part, but does the latter really cause "problems?"
EDIT: I've also read that the HD2 can develop lag/hanging - but I guess every phone can. Is there a fix to this? I've heard that flashing the ROM can sort this, but returning the phone to HTC seems OTT to me. What say you? Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally i love WM. The lag/hanging you speak of was there for me from the moment i turned the phone on for the first time and it is caused by the that lovely UI (sense). The way to solve it is to increase the filsesystem cache, use LCS to remove the autoscaling on the CPU and then set the clock speed to the maximum. I then went off and installed chainfire's 3D driver patch and tweaked the screen BPP. There are some other performance tweaks that i did but there is a thread full of them (BSB tweaks has most of them).
The sms app has major performance issues but there are newer versions available on the forum that you can install. Version 2015 seems to be the best.
I've i had the choice again i would still buy the Leo over anything else but i do recommend it to people thinking of getting one, that aren't nessecarily that patient, with words of caution.
Anyway, i'm off to burn a few litres of nitro fuel and annoy the neighbours with my poorly silenced r/c car (it's a big boys toy )

M3PH said:
Personally i love WM. The lag/hanging you speak of was there for me from the moment i turned the phone on for the first time and it is caused by the that lovely UI (sense). The way to solve it is to increase the filsesystem cache, use LCS to remove the autoscaling on the CPU and then set the clock speed to the maximum. I then went off and installed chainfire's 3D driver patch and tweaked the screen BPP. There are some other performance tweaks that i did but there is a thread full of them (BSB tweaks has most of them).
The sms app has major performance issues but there are newer versions available on the forum that you can install. Version 2015 seems to be the best.
I've i had the choice again i would still buy the Leo over anything else but i do recommend it to people thinking of getting one, that aren't nessecarily that patient, with words of caution.
Anyway, i'm off to burn a few litres of nitro fuel and annoy the neighbours with my poorly silenced r/c car (it's a big boys toy )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just to let you know of a different experience...
I've never experience the lag spoken of and have never needed to set my HD2 to run it's CPU at full all the time.. (i understand thats what the CPU speed tweak does but may be wrong)
Likewise my SMS app never lags... (depends how many sms's you keep i guess)
I have installed a custom ROM (its really easy my 3 yr old could manage it) and have never looked back.
More stability, extra features and generally faster than the stock ROM.
The unofficially app stores are available. (o-market is the common one) and coupled with the windows app store means you can get nearly anything.. not to mention all the other apps that are available on XDA!!
It's a great phone and you can spend your time tweaking it or just use it.. mine's fast and stable with it's custom ROM.. no need to tweak it further.....

crispy514 said:
Just to let you know of a different experience...
I've never experience the lag spoken of and have never needed to set my HD2 to run it's CPU at full all the time.. (i understand thats what the CPU speed tweak does but may be wrong)
Likewise my SMS app never lags... (depends how many sms's you keep i guess)
I have installed a custom ROM (its really easy my 3 yr old could manage it) and have never looked back.
More stability, extra features and generally faster than the stock ROM.
The unofficially app stores are available. (o-market is the common one) and coupled with the windows app store means you can get nearly anything.. not to mention all the other apps that are available on XDA!!
It's a great phone and you can spend your time tweaking it or just use it.. mine's fast and stable with it's custom ROM.. no need to tweak it further.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally agree with the custom rom bit and the lag disappeared on the stock rom once i had tweaked a lil (the one that really help is a tweak to allow manila/sense more memory to use) i will always have sms lag has i have over 5000 messages in my database and the most popular contact has a little over half of that to herself .

M3PH said:
I totally agree with the custom rom bit and the lag disappeared on the stock rom once i had tweaked a lil (the one that really help is a tweak to allow manila/sense more memory to use) i will always have sms lag has i have over 5000 messages in my database and the most popular contact has a little over half of that to herself .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess I'd have sms lag with that many texts!!

Thanks all.
I'll see how it performs when it arrives and use the CPU tweak etc if necessary.
It looks like a very capable phone out of the box, so I guess I won't be wanting to customise too much - but the odd performance/functionality tweak may well be on the menu.
Cheers
SC

Get a HTC Desire. A Hero with HD2 power!!
Online it is cheaper than the HD2, so you could sell the HD2 & buy a Desire.

Spacechimp said:
It looks like a very capable phone out of the box, so I guess I won't be wanting to customise too much - but the odd performance/functionality tweak may well be on the menu.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, don't fool yourself, I give you a month tops before the allure of flashing a decent custom ROM sucks you in!

Kalavere said:
Haha, don't fool yourself, I give you a month tops before the allure of flashing a decent custom ROM sucks you in!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's why I said "I guess" ... I don't want to go as deep as playing with custom ROMs but you never know ...

omar302 said:
Get a HTC Desire. A Hero with HD2 power!!
Online it is cheaper than the HD2, so you could sell the HD2 & buy a Desire.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had the Hero for nearly a year and in a way fancy a change, even though the Desire is a very sorted device. Besides, the missus is kind of giving me her Hero because she doesn't get on with it - so I'll stick 2.1 on that if and when it finally arrives.

Total NOOB looking for advice on going to Android

Hey all
I got my HD2 a month or two ago, and I really like it. Especially the HTC Sense interface. A thing of beauty, truly. Especially once you get the tweaks done to improve battery life a bit and add on some extra features.
BUT, I'm hugely disappointed in the lack of decent apps via Windows Marketplace, and trying to find an app that works properly on the HD2 by searching online seems to be marginal, at best. (I've tried several that seem to simply...not function.)
So, I'm wondering if it's possible to get Android on this hardware. I'm a total noob when it comes to phones--never flashed a ROM before--though I've built my own desktop computer, so I'm not a technical idiot. Basically, I'd feel comfortable doing it IF someone tells me that a) it's possible, and b) it's worth it.
Is it possible to put Android on my HD2? And is it worth it?
Things I consider 'necessary' to having this be 'worth it':
--Can make calls, text, MSMs, etc
--Internet access with 3G working well
--GPS works well (I'd LOVE to get a decent geo-caching app)
--Music player (Big fan of Slacker Radio)
--Camera/Video player that works well
Any thoughts? Is it worth it to try to go Android?

TheUkieVillain said:
Hey all
I got my HD2 a month or two ago, and I really like it. Especially the HTC Sense interface. A thing of beauty, truly. Especially once you get the tweaks done to improve battery life a bit and add on some extra features.
BUT, I'm hugely disappointed in the lack of decent apps via Windows Marketplace, and trying to find an app that works properly on the HD2 by searching online seems to be marginal, at best. (I've tried several that seem to simply...not function.)
So, I'm wondering if it's possible to get Android on this hardware. I'm a total noob when it comes to phones--never flashed a ROM before--though I've built my own desktop computer, so I'm not a technical idiot. Basically, I'd feel comfortable doing it IF someone tells me that a) it's possible, and b) it's worth it.
Is it possible to put Android on my HD2? And is it worth it?
Things I consider 'necessary' to having this be 'worth it':
--Can make calls, text, MSMs, etc
--Internet access with 3G working well
--GPS works well (I'd LOVE to get a decent geo-caching app)
--Music player (Big fan of Slacker Radio)
--Camera/Video player that works well
Any thoughts? Is it worth it to try to go Android?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While they have made a great leap towards getting Android on the HD 2 it is not yet available. Do a quick search for "Android on HD 2" and you will find the thread where they are talking about it.

Thanks
Thanks for the heads up. Answers my question. Perhaps I'll just have to be content with WinMo for a while and keep making tweaks.

Watch out for the fake vid on youtube if your going to be google searching!

While there has been a huge leap forward in getting a bootable Linux kernel on the HD2, the time window for a "fully functioning with all the drivers" Android is still a ways out. If you want Android, go to the Nexus One (for the best GSM Android phone out there). If you're willing to switch networks to a non sim card, CDMA network, check out the Incredible on Verizon or the EVO on Sprint.
Hope this helps.
Also, try the search feature. XDA-Developers has an incredible website and it'd be a shame to let all of its fun forum search tools go to waste. I can think of tons of threads where people have asked this question. It's out there, just find it.

Thread Closed

Many questions...HTC-HD2 vs Vibrant

I'm getting increasingly disappointed with the issues on the Tmo HD2. Aside from the fact that Android phones/OS are gaining in popularity and Windows 6.X is just a buggy dead horse, there are other TMo HD2 annoyances like:
- Bloatware stupid apps and sample crippled apps hard-coded into ROM.
- Firmware random lockups.
- Lack of a good full-featured tethering solution.
- Lack of a good WiFi router/sharing app that supports good security encryption.
- Lack of better selection of applications that actually WORK.
- Lack of a better performing touch screen that won't freeze up.
I know that there's limited knowledge out there on the TMo Vibrant, but it's safe to say that given the vast amount on knowledge here in these XDA forums, there's sure to be a few users her that can answer at least some of my questions. Especially since I am TOTALLY Android ignorant.
My Questions:
1) Is it safe to assume that ALL Android apps out in the Android world will work on the Vibrant?
2) Are there Tethering, WiFi, Router apps ou there that will work with Vibrant?
3) Is the Vibrant Camera & Flash (assuming there's a flash) comparable to the HD2?
4) Since Android is a "Google" thing, will it run Bing and other popular search engines/browsers?
5) Will Vibrant support Microsoft Mail, ActiveSync or compatible clients?
6) Are apps installed the same way (.cab style) as HD2?
7) Is the Android OS/Vibrant easily susceptible to Trojans/Viruses/Worms?
Like I stated, I am tottaly ignorant on Android and this new phone. Any help in answering the above would be appreciated.
Thanks

i don't have my vibant yet but have had a MyTouch 3G running android since last year
learned real quick, not all apps run well (whether free or paid apps)) some create other issues in the android system. Best bet before installing an app is to float it up on a forum and ask others experience and not install too many at a time
i got to the point i would install one, and run it 3-4 days to make sure no problems had crept in before thinking about installing another new app

The GrCornholio said:
My Questions:
1) Is it safe to assume that ALL Android apps out in the Android world will work on the Vibrant?
2) Are there Tethering, WiFi, Router apps ou there that will work with Vibrant?
3) Is the Vibrant Camera & Flash (assuming there's a flash) comparable to the HD2?
4) Since Android is a "Google" thing, will it run Bing and other popular search engines/browsers?
5) Will Vibrant support Microsoft Mail, ActiveSync or compatible clients?
6) Are apps installed the same way (.cab style) as HD2?
7) Is the Android OS/Vibrant easily susceptible to Trojans/Viruses/Worms?
Like I stated, I am tottaly ignorant on Android and this new phone. Any help in answering the above would be appreciated.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was running the Droid for awhile before switching to Tmo because of cost reasons, and here is what I know of android from the past couple months using it and loving it.
1. Yes, since it won't be running some outdated archiac version of Android like 1.5 or earlier all the apps on the market should work.
2. Without root there is pdaNet. Once root happens, you have the option of downloading wifi tethering, or until 2.2 comes out.
3. Vibrant won't have flash on the camera, but what I have seen from the Galaxy S camera it looks good. (Can't be worse than the Droid camera)
4.That actually depends on carrier, I.E. the Verizon version of the Galaxy S will have bing on there. Tmo just uses Google. There are a couple different browsers that you can download from the market. I personally recommend DolphinBrowser HD.
5. You are required to have a gmail account signed into the phone, and you can if need be forward all your emails to that gmail account, but also it comes with Activesync support.
6. Apps are installed via the market or sideloading (unless you have an AT&T phone because they love crippling their phones). And that is all done with the .apk's that can be loading on to the SD card.
7. As far as I know, no. I haven't experienced that yet *knock on wood*
Hopefully that answers your questions. Obviously I haven't used this exact phone yet. These are just answers that I have from using other Android phones

The GrCornholio said:
I'm getting increasingly disappointed with the issues on the Tmo HD2. Aside from the fact that Android phones/OS are gaining in popularity and Windows 6.X is just a buggy dead horse, there are other TMo HD2 annoyances like:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the HD2 and I enjoyed mine up until I broke it 2 weeks ago, maybe try a custom ROM because none of those issues occurred on my device.

i had the HD2 and i can say it was a huge hype a machine and tremendous let down. i had high hopes for that phone and it just did not deliver.
I have been using the vibrant these past few days and i can say its everything i hoped the hd2 would be and so much more.
it runs 2.1 so all the apps in the market will work fine.
for tethering, right now all you can do is run PDAnet as mentioned above, but its supposed to get 2.2 Froyo by summers end, which should have tethering built in. As long as Samsung doesnt pull a Behold 2 on us, and i doubt tmobile would cripple android.
the camera is stunning! i hate the lack of a flash but ive used it at midnight with nothing more than a porch light and pictures look amazing! no noise or blurring. I heard theres a night mode on it but i have yet to use this feature. but the camera is definitely better than the hd2s. and it records 720p videos.
And if Bing is in the market you can definitely use it. there are a ton of browser in the market u can use instead of the stock one, and what i like best (over the hd2) it can be set as your default browser. The stock browser is aazing and with the snappy processor and sensitive touchscreen it works wonders.
Android has exchange support built in, it should sync emails, contacts, and calendars.. i cant say i have used it tho.
Most apps are installed thru the market but can also be loaded through the memory card using a file browser. The phone does have one built in called "Files".
Ive had an android phone since the first g1 and can say virus have never been an issue.. not that the phones are invincible, but i doubt ull have issues. there is antivirus software in the market tho if u need it.
Other than that, the Super amoled screen screams amazing. u look at it on a black screen it doesnt look like its even on. This is the best screen ive ever seen! it rivals my hdtv lol. One look at the Avatar movie and ull be sold.
The app launcher, unlike the start menu on the hd2, is fully customizable. u can reorganize the apps and dock in any order. The dialer and applications/home shortcut cant be moved however. it can also be set to be orangized alphabetically or in list view.
My favorite feature is the dlna support. i love android but theres never been a true multimedia phone for me. this does it all. i can stream movies from my networked drive onto my phone, or i can send stuff from my phone to my ps3 (xbox 360, or dlna tv would work too).
And the phone has the screen size of the hd2 minus all the bulk. this phone is anorexic skinny! the thinnest android phone ive seen. and in a good way.
I prefer the phone over a nexus one due to the screen quality, and 16gb internal memory. And my friend has an evo 4g, the two things i like about that phone that this doesnt have is the front facing cam, and a flash on the camera. but the evo is bulky compared to this.
Hands down, the Vibrant is the phone to get on the Magenta!
Hope this helps.

Wanting to go to WP7 from Android.. Advice?

I'm wanting to try and get the HTC Trophy, and wanted to get some thoughts from you guys. I apologize if this is already started, but I couldn't find it... Anyway:
-Is Google lacking from WP7?
As in, can I integrate my Google Account with WP7 as in use my gmail for Email, Google Music as media store, etc... What would the limits of that be?
-Is the HTC Trophy a good/reliable device?
I played with one at the Verizon store and I loved it, but I never used it beyond tinkering around to check it out. Does the phone keep a consistent service and good network speeds? Should I wait for the next WP7 device to come to Verizon?
-Camera?
I use my x2 as a personal camera, It has 8 MP and can record 720p video. That sounds good, but truth be told, the Video recorder SUX and the only way to get 720p is to put CM7 on it(and we just got that ROM like in January; 8 months after the release of the x2) and it is still a little buggy. The Camera however is pretty nice, I like it a lot anyway.... How does the Trophy Perform in the Camera area?
-Market Apps?
Is there a decent amount of games and market apps available for WP7? All that would really matter to me is a few key apps that I use on a regular basis; one of which is Evernote. I use this as my lyric notebook for my music that I write for when I'm on the road or away from a notepad, I can use my phone to jot down a few lines of a song or try to complete a song when I get spare time. YouTube.. I think I saw this on the phone by default but can't quite remember. And just a good assortment of games. Also, is the paid/free apps a good combination and not ridiculous prices? Android offers a great combination of free and paid, on the iPhone, the only thing I see that is decent is like 4+ dollars so just wondering on what the users feel about the market?
-Rooting?
Is the development pretty spiffy with the HTC Trophy? Android offers Rooting and I see something like HSPC or w/e for WP7. What exactly is this and what would the benefits be if I tried to do this?
-Overall opinions?
For those that came from Android can you let me know what the biggest 'let-go' you had to take? and just an overall opinion of your satisfaction with WP7.
I thank anyone that would answer these. If anyone knows of someone that would want to sell the HTC Trophy or trade for a Droid x2, would you please PM me or post on here. I'm a contributor for the Droid x2 and many users can vouch for me in the Droid x2 area of XDA. My ROM is headlined on DroidForums.net in their forum area for the x2 and it is also here on XDA(which is where it is mainly supported).
Again, Thank you for your time,
Peperm1nt

Peperm1nt said:
-Is Google lacking from WP7?
As in, can I integrate my Google Account with WP7 as in use my gmail for Email, Google Music as media store, etc... What would the limits of that be?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google Account works fine. You can use it to sync your calender, contacts, email, etc. Google Music and such... still no support as far as I know, its not a service I use.
User snickler is working on an app for Google Music called "CloudMuzik." I don't know anything about it, but.. well.. its there.
I take normal mp3's and load up my phone with music via Zune sync, and that works just great for me. The Last.fm app rocks imo... I love using that to stream music.
Peperm1nt said:
-Is the HTC Trophy a good/reliable device?
I played with one at the Verizon store and I loved it, but I never used it beyond tinkering around to check it out. Does the phone keep a consistent service and good network speeds? Should I wait for the next WP7 device to come to Verizon?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The HTC Trophy is much better with reception and speed then my last two phones, the HTC Eris (Android) and Touch Pro2(WM6.5). I do still feel that the network speed is being held back by something, but I have yet to test it right next to a VZW tower to see if its simply my imagination.
When I was using the shipping radio (that came with NoDo), the phone had issues staying in 3G mode and switching from 1X to 3G was really slow and iffy, but this is resolved with Mango v1+ radios installed.
However, due to my situation of using my phone as my primary internet connection, it sits in the window sill whenever I am at home. To improve reception in situations like that, I have a beast of a heavy duty case on my Trophy (that and since the phone has a tenancy to fall off my window sill with my dogs go crazy...). This makes a huge difference in my reception.
Peperm1nt said:
-Camera?
I use my x2 as a personal camera, It has 8 MP and can record 720p video. That sounds good, but truth be told, the Video recorder SUX and the only way to get 720p is to put CM7 on it(and we just got that ROM like in January; 8 months after the release of the x2) and it is still a little buggy. The Camera however is pretty nice, I like it a lot anyway.... How does the Trophy Perform in the Camera area?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the camera is great for still shots, but keeping it clean is key. The 720p video recording leaves much to be desired, as it seems speed is much slower then the 640x480 mode.
Peperm1nt said:
-Market Apps?
Is there a decent amount of games and market apps available for WP7? All that would really matter to me is a few key apps that I use on a regular basis; one of which is Evernote. I use this as my lyric notebook for my music that I write for when I'm on the road or away from a notepad, I can use my phone to jot down a few lines of a song or try to complete a song when I get spare time. YouTube.. I think I saw this on the phone by default but can't quite remember. And just a good assortment of games. Also, is the paid/free apps a good combination and not ridiculous prices? Android offers a great combination of free and paid, on the iPhone, the only thing I see that is decent is like 4+ dollars so just wondering on what the users feel about the market?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Evernote appears to be available for the phone, and is rated currently at 3.5 stars. I think that most apps are decently priced. The most I have paid for an app is $9.99 (Natural Japanese), but for what the app does, its still a fantastic value. I do think that the games market is fairly mature now. You can still get classic games like Angry Birds (that they even give XBL points if your into that!), with new games/apps launching every day.
There is also the "Bazarr" app store for full unlocked phones that has awesome stuff like Opera for WM6.5 ported to work on WP7.
Peperm1nt said:
-Rooting?
Is the development pretty spiffy with the HTC Trophy? Android offers Rooting and I see something like HSPC or w/e for WP7. What exactly is this and what would the benefits be if I tried to do this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"Unlocking" this phone by installing HSPL is a straight forward process (I wrote a guide to doing it on the Verizon Trophy), and it is WELL worth doing. HSPL allows flashing of 3rd party roms to the phone, but the Verizon Trophy (and Sprint Arrive) were only made available on 2-15-2012, so no public roms have hit for the Verizon Trophy yet. You can private message mwang to test DFT Freedom for Verizon Trophy... it's worth it.
Peperm1nt said:
-Overall opinions?
For those that came from Android can you let me know what the biggest 'let-go' you had to take? and just an overall opinion of your satisfaction with WP7.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I first moved to Android, the biggest let go was Internet tethering. Using the stock Verizon rom, tethering is not enabled.
However, with the advent of HSPL, DFT Freedom for Verizon Trophy includes Internet Sharing, so the phone can be used as a 5 device hot spot.. and it is awesome. Compared to using my Eris as a hotspot, its just sweet. The rooted free tether on Android is crap compared to Mango's built in support, as NAT support is completely supported (so my XBox 360 logs on and works perfect vs not working at all).
The other big draw back for me was no Swype. I wouldn't mind it so much if Verizon would of gotten the HTC Arrive (GoldC) instead of the Trophy (SparkW), but the advantage of the Trophy is that it is a world phone, so you can still put a GSM Sim card in and roll with that later if you wanted to switch carriers or travel.

Thanks for the reply. I really want to get this phone, but no one is messaging me back for trades or buys. Do you know anyone?
Btw, I play xbox all the time, so the xbl integration has me too.
Tapin' the Talk on the xSquared

Unfortunately no, I know no one that wants to trade. I know I have mine, and I am keeping it close. lol

Lol its fine,i get paid monday, probable going to get one on ebay.
Forgot to ask this in the op:
Battery Life:
I use my x2 throughout the day moderately...one full charge gives me 8 to 15 hours of battery life. I disconnect the auto sync and try my best to increase battery life, but the display DRAINS the life horribly...like 1 hour of display will put the phone to 10 % or lower. What are the thoughts on that?
Development:
I develop for android. What is the developm went like on wp7?
Tapin' the Talk on the xSquared

The Trophy produces similar battery results for me, but I charge it everyday and I live in a fringe region. I turned on Mango's battery savor feature when the power is low, but I haven't really been able to use it yet.

Battery life on the Trophy is okay... You should be able to make it through the day no problems with moderate usage. If you're on the edge or frequently go out of service the phone will drain very quickly. On the flip side there are days where I rarely use the phone, and with the stock battery it will go almost 3 days with no usage.
One thing that I found out is that the EVO / ERIS battery is almost the same... It fits in the phone and the phone will use it, but the back cover won't snap on correctly. If you were looking for a larger battery the first thing you'll need is an extended battery cover. Also, the snaps for the regular trophy and Verizon are slightly different which makes it even harder to find the cover. I think you can just break a few of them off and it will fit.
The camera is okay but it's definitely nothing special. If you have good light and still shots it will produce a decent image. It's about on par with the D2 which I think is slightly worse than the X2.
The one thing that I'm kind of missing is a few networks apps. There really isn't a good app to do things like ping, wifi scanning, or speed tests. Since there is no flash you can't just load up speedtest.net in the browser.
For music I would say that using Zune works fairly well. It loads the songs very quickly over wifi, and if you had it setup to sync automatically you should be able to just put songs into the folder and the phone will download them whenever you're at home.
Youtube is not officially supported but at one time there was an HTC Youtube app but I think they had to pull it from the market. It looks like there is an app called youtube pro that gets good reviews and is free. The nice thing about the marketplace is that there are a lot of decent free games and apps like there is on android, but there are also trials of paid apps so you can try it before you decide to purchase.
My overall satisfaction with the phone is pretty high. It's definitely a step up from a D2. Just using it for simple tasks it performs a lot better although there are still some gotchas that you might have to work around. (If you use skydrive putting documents on the phone is easy, if you don't want to use skydrive then it becomes a lot harder)

That's odd.. my Eris and Touch Pro2 batteries are identical in size and fit... but neither are hi-capacity.

Thanks guys.. ordering one for Monday hopefully unless I can get one for trade on here
Tapin' the Talk on the xSquared

Found a trophy!! Lol hopefully be deving here soon.
Tapin' the Talk on the xSquared

Awesome. I hope it works well for you. Poke around the dev forum for guides on HSPL for SparkW...
I will soon be writing a guide to keeping the newest (Mango V2) radio while still retaining HSPL. I will probably be adding it to my radio guide sometime today/this weekend. I need to upload some files/roms that will be needed to make it work.
Also, a word of warning, do NOT install any updates via Zune!!! I recently discovered when performing the Zune upgrades that the Mango V2 drivers might disable the availability to flash roms the normal way, and force using the GoldCard method (which I will add to my HSPL guide soon enough).

Thanks for the heads up.
In android we can sbf to fix bootloops and make our phone stock for warranties and such. Also to get on specific kernels or android versions. How exactly does wp7 do this or is there an option? Also HTC has unlocked bootloaders in android. Is it the same here... most of this will probably get answered when I get the phone. Just wanting to get a start in the right direction.. again, thank you for the help.
Tapin' the Talk on the xSquared

My HSPL guide covers returning to stock at the end. It involves loading the bootloader and running DFT's unlocker tool, but flashing the OSPL (Original SPL). You then flash the factory rom as I have outlined.

Peperm1nt said:
Thanks for the heads up.
In android we can sbf to fix bootloops and make our phone stock for warranties and such. Also to get on specific kernels or android versions. How exactly does wp7 do this or is there an option? Also HTC has unlocked bootloaders in android. Is it the same here... most of this will probably get answered when I get the phone. Just wanting to get a start in the right direction.. again, thank you for the help.
Tapin' the Talk on the xSquared
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey peperm1nt, at Microsoft Stores, they are letting you trade in any smartphone, android, iphone, blackberry, etc towards a free, new in box, no contract WP7. you can choose from the trophy, titan, focus, radar or nokia 710 until Mar 29. link (http://slickdeals.net/f/4120241-Swa...-contract-Microsoft-Store-B-M-Only-thru-3-29?)

Thanks, there aren't any microsoft stores in my area, but I got the Trophy the past week.
Thanks tho for the info
BTW, I wish I had got this phone instead of my x2!!! like seriously, I love this phone. Only problem is the graphix of games aren't as smooth as my x2, but i guess thats the difference between nVidea & qualcomm. But other than that, this phone rox!!! UI is so smooth and the Facebook integration is nice. I'm looking into the whole modding aspect of this, still haven't got the grasp of 'rooting' this phone and making buckups to later restore if something goes wrong, my ultimate question is this:
In android you can 'sbf'(flash the phone with stock firmware). Is that a possiblity on here?
I read the restore thread; is that the equivilent to what I'm looking for?

Yes, in the HSPL thread, restoring to stock is the equivalent. You replace the moded SPL (HSPL) with the OSPL (or original SPL), and then flash a stock rom.
As for backup, I have yet to find a backup method that works after flashing a different rom, or even flashing back to a rom that I made the backup on. I'm not sure if this is an issue with CDMA Trophy or not.... perhaps I should start a thread on this since you brought it up (yes... I think I will do that now). lol

I'll look into the setup once I get the 'guts' to HSPL'ing my device, and break into the file structure. Once, I do that, I'll look at making a script or something to auto install like android does with the system folder, if this is possible or w/e.
I'm sorry for bringing android into this, But I'm not good with terminology on the WP Platform yet, but I do this to compare and show you what I'm talking about if that makes since.

Well, your Windows Live login that you used will have a record of your apps you installed, much like your Google login for the Play Store. Your contacts are on whichever account you choose, I keep mine on my Gmail account still, since I switch between my Trophy and other Android device. I also have an unlocked HD7 that I use for travel.
Just like when you were first learning to root Android, you followed the guides step by step. As long as you do the same here, you will be fine. DFT has done some awesome work, and WP7 would prolly not be where it is without them.
If you have your Trophy activated, you can use it as a hotspot, but only with HSPL and a custom rom. I never bothered doing it with my Trophy, but it's definitely an incredible thing to have, especially if you have any wifi devices you carry around.

Its great to see the development for the Trophy taking place, I had one last year but moved onto another OS/Device. Considering a return to the Trophy again and will read a bit more into the custom ROM's.