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Hi guys, I'm really glad i found this place, i just hope i can learn enough to help contirbute down the road as well! But for now....
so, i went to the wiki list of hacks and apps, and i decided to try downloading the phone pad program, just to try.
There's not much literature there to help you out, so i just downloaded it to my lappy, and unzipped.
THe setup file is an XML doc, and i don't know what i'm supposed to do with that to get it on my phone....
Thanks for lending a noob a hand!!
Dillsnik said:
Hi guys, I'm really glad i found this place, i just hope i can learn enough to help contirbute down the road as well! But for now....
so, i went to the wiki list of hacks and apps, and i decided to try downloading the phone pad program, just to try.
There's not much literature there to help you out, so i just downloaded it to my lappy, and unzipped.
THe setup file is an XML doc, and i don't know what i'm supposed to do with that to get it on my phone....
Thanks for lending a noob a hand!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the file was a CAB file then do not extract on PC just transfer the CAB file to the device and double tap it to run it.
Mike
Thank you, i got it on the phone and opened it....
now i just don't know where to get it or how to use it.
BTW, the program i was installing is the phone pad that is posted in the Wiki thread.
No info on it there...
Dillsnik said:
Thank you, i got it on the phone and opened it....
now i just don't know where to get it or how to use it.
BTW, the program i was installing is the phone pad that is posted in the Wiki thread.
No info on it there...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi
This particular application installs an additional way for you to input text and numbers on large touchscreen keys (bigger than the ones on normal touchscreen keyboard)
So for example if you are texting somebody and you touch the little keyboard symbol at bottom of screen you will see a little arrow beside the keyboard symbol. (i.e. don't open the keyboard by tapping it - tap the arrow beside it) A list will pop up allowing you to select different ways to input your text, anything from handwriting to your newly installed Phone Pad!!
This option for the keyboard is now available for all programmes where you would use the on screen keyboard. Keys large enough to save you the bother of using stylus and just use fingers.
Any problems ask here or send PM/e-mail details below
Mike
THanks very much mike, i found it!
Still a little tricky to get used to...It's funny, with all that my new PPC can do, i am finding i miss some of the simplicity of my old flip phone for things like just calling and texting. Maybe ei need more getting used to it still
That phone pad is a little different than i'm use to for texting....its a little tricky figuring out how to just select the word you want...or for ex, if you hit 1 and you want an !, do you select it at the list at top or is there a button that scrolls through the choices? those buttons on the left are a little tight up against the side to hit cleanly it seems, although no real misses yet.
Dillsnik said:
THanks very much mike, i found it!
Still a little tricky to get used to...It's funny, with all that my new PPC can do, i am finding i miss some of the simplicity of my old flip phone for things like just calling and texting. Maybe ei need more getting used to it still
That phone pad is a little different than i'm use to for texting....its a little tricky figuring out how to just select the word you want...or for ex, if you hit 1 and you want an !, do you select it at the list at top or is there a button that scrolls through the choices? those buttons on the left are a little tight up against the side to hit cleanly it seems, although no real misses yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Being honest I agree WM devices aren't the easiest of phones and there is a bit of a compromise between getting all the other fancy stuff and the phone part of the device. You will get more used to it as you say. To be honest I'm never in so much of a rush to call someone that I don't have time to use the stylus on the full touchscreen keyboard. And just think there are all those thousands of freeware application downloads for WM5 out there - just waiting for you to try!! Mind you a lot of garbage as well.
One follow on thought just for info:
CAB files as you now know you install fromm the device
EXE files for WM5 you run on PC whilst connected via Active Sync and they'll install automatically.
If I have a choice I go for the CAB file as I store it on the SD card rather than cluttering up my PC. Also If I need to hard reset all my cabs will be sitting their waiting for a quick tap and their programmes are back on again. Although I do use Mobsync which is an addon for Active Sync that allows me to back up my SD card to my PC and anything I drop into the PC Backup gets put onto my PC card when I do a Sync.
Mike
Mike
Great tips mike....
You are right, i am excited to make the most of my new wonder with all the free (and not free!) ware out there. That is what i think it's probably all about, cause i feel like out of the box it leaves a lot left to be desired.
I need to get myself an sd card quickly for that! Only problem is, i'm sure i'll want/need a 2GB card. A 1GB card is like 20-30, a 2 gb is closer to $90!! i bought this in a large part for nav software and the map data should take up a lot of space on a card. I guess i could get a 1gb for now or even have two, but swapping will suck i'm sure. What do you have for yours?
I have just 1gb, but despite having maybe 20-30 apps loaded and a copy of their cab files, a few photos and usual odds and ends it's only one third full. (Mind you, I put on lots but end up removing almost as many so application numbers only grow slowly) WM apps are really quite small. But certainly nav software and and maps will take a considerable amount. Spotted a package the other day bundling a TyTn + Blue tooth GPS receiver and Tom Tom software all for a price £50UK less than I paid for the Device alone and no SDcard.
Makes yer sick dunnit!
PS In early days I loaded all apps onto device memory and a surprising number it took. BUT it began to seriously slow down device even with quite a bit of memory to spare. Now I load everything to Storage Card with the important exception of those things the device needs to start up. e.g. Phone skins and any programs that run on today screen. It is essential to load these things to device memory as folks have found the phone alarms may not ring or device will freeze when calls come in if something it needs to start is buried on SDcard. The main ring tone as well - although it will work from SD card may cause a ring delay if on SD card leaving as few as two rings for you to hear before voicemail comes on. Live and Learn!!
This forum contains a wealth of info - more than I will ever need. Getting to be too many multiple threads on same issue though which gets confusing as some appear to find no solution to a problem and yet another may have just the answer needed.
Mike
EDIT: By the way if you like paying for apps.!! I think Wisbar Advance and Wisbar Advance Desktop are great. BUT learning curve is quite steep and a bit of an on-going project but allows multiple desktops to hold all those today themes and gadgets that just won't fit on one today screen.
that's some good stuff to know, and it's nice of you to explain all that too me. really helps clear some things up so i'm not asking as many q's later or just generally in the dark.
i've heard of others speak of WA before. in your opinion, what are the biggest must have programs and also some of the best values out there? i'm willing to pay for a good program but I like a free one as much as the next guy!
FYI...I work in sales and managing accounts in different areas will be key for me. so if u know anything that lends well for that I'd be interested.
thanks,
dan
Dillsnik said:
that's some good stuff to know, and it's nice of you to explain all that too me. really helps clear some things up so i'm not asking as many q's later or just generally in the dark.
i've heard of others speak of WA before. in your opinion, what are the biggest must have programs and also some of the best values out there? i'm willing to pay for a good program but I like a free one as much as the next guy!
FYI...I work in sales and managing accounts in different areas will be key for me. so if u know anything that lends well for that I'd be interested.
thanks,
dan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dan
Here's a link to just some of the apps. I have on mine:
Look for the post by TCO who did a great job of finding all the links to the applications.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=283085
Here's a few mostly freeware application sites. Lots of rubbish in these but some maybe worth it. For anything specific for example if I wanted Excel on my device I'd just do a google search on: excel wm5. Freeware sites are everywhere but have your popup blocker on, some are good others are terrible. A google search on freeware WM5 will throw up lots of these. Also there can be the odd Java application that's good so may be worth a try.
I'm no expert in your work areas so guess you'll need to track down the good work related ones yourself though your kind of work would seem ideally suited to the typical tracking and accounting sorts of application. Some sites are nicely categorized.
http://www.pdagold.com/software/list.asp?p=1
http://www.freewarepocketpc.net/tags.php?tag=clocks&order=date&page=2
http://www.getjar.com/software/universal/all/Applications/Email/set2
Mike
My first post.
First of all to all the seniors, gr8 forum u guys got here.
Second, it's got so much information I cant make head or tail of anything
I am going to be purchasing a HTC P3400i WM 6.0 version soon, most probably in the next week or so.
This is the first time am going to be using a WM device so I was trying to get a feel of things by reading through the posts here.
I have few questions,
1. What exactly is a ROM, why is it called so and will it void my warranty?
2. I understand it is possible to give the p3400i a "touchflow" look can i do it w/o using a "ROM".
3. When using a WM device what are the basic things that one should learn/understand/take care of??
4. Which posts should I go through and what order to understand the whole concept of WM devices, without actually experimenting with my own device.
5 Finally thanks in advance looking forward to your replies and guidance.
P.S: I sincerely hope my post is in the correct section, coz a lot of my questions are of the "General" category.
1. ROM is actually "Read Only files in your pda" ... Its actually the OS and its files running on your gadget........The default OS in p3400i or gene100 comes with lot of junk files and drivers and the RAM will not be sufficient to run all the new Programs....SO dvlpers are cooking faster ROMS than the default one by modifying these files and drivers..... also they make use of files from other faster devices.....YEs it will void your warranty... But normally all the software issues can be rectified.......
2.YEs u can give ur pda touch flo without using by softwares like.......M2D , SPB Mobile shell, Pointui......etc...etc.... But it will faster it will be better if its in a ROM....
3. There are many things.....one advice.....do a research before doing anything stupid on your device,...... Ask lot of questions and doubts...... dont get ur device bricked......
4.Read the Sticky Thread by Sumit before flashing........
Great answer go4thomman Here are my views :
1. A ROM actually is an image, much like images of CDs you create with burning software. It contains the Windows Mobile Operating system, Drivers to run your device as well as Manufacturer made programs to make the best use of device. All these things are packed into a single file, much like you do with zip files. Your phones contains 128 MB of memory for putting things on it. So to provide base functionality to the device, this ROM is written to that memory and that portion is made read only so that things like viruses (and humans ) don't mess around with the important files. The concept of ROM is there only to make this process simpler, as you don't have a CDROM drive in your mobile to pop a cd and install OS into it. Also a phone is expected to come in ready to use condition, not like a computer. So a ROM provides all the software related functionality to your phone. After that, rest of the remaining memory becomes your phone memory.
Device Manufacturers don't allow making custom roms and flashing them to phones as it makes it difficult for them to provide support. So they lock the device using their digital certificates as protection. This locking is done in the special part of the phone called the SPL (Second Program Loader) and the lock is called CID (Carrier IDentifier). SO to unlock the phone, you need to install a SPL that is CID unlocked but this is against the warranty policy of HTC or any other manufacturer for that matter. Plus the process is dangerous and if not done properly can make your device non functional, non booting also called a "Brick" coz the only thing you can then do with it is using it like the one
Fortunately, we have some really good people here who have developed safe unlocking methods as well as unbricking solutions for certain situations (but not all). Two such people that have worked for GENE SPL are Olipro (old gene) and Orefkov (new gene).
For more info regarding this and to know how to do it, ready the sticky post by me.
2. Touchflo refers to two things, Finger scrolling in applications and the Manilla 2D interface. Finger scrolling is something that you will find in recent versions of Windows Mobile OS. So if you upgrade to newer ROMs you will get it. There is also a 3rd party driver available called FTouchFLO but the older versions have problems and newer are not free.
The Manilla 2D interface, which HTC calls TouchFLO in its specs but manilla inside the ROM, is a Today plug in that allows accessing most of the phone functions without going through the usual Windows Mobile OS menus. This plugin is great, looks cool and works nicely. But its disk and ram footprints are quiet large. so HTC only uses it with devices which have 256 MB flash memory and 128 MB of RAM. It is possible to use this plugin on GENE but using it from phone memory is not recommended as it is way too slow that way. When it is cooked into the ROM, it takes half the space as ROM files are compressed and runs smoother. Cons of this plugin are that it acquires all of the screen space so you cant use any other plugin with it, it doesn't even allows to enable any other plugin, It hogs considerable amount of RAM, Decreases the battery backup by 5%, and is not easily customizable.
3. There is not much special you have to do to take care of this baby, its quiet sturdy. But do keep these things in mind:
a. Discharge the battery fully atleast once a week.
b. Use a good quality screen protector with the screen, never ever do cold lamination on the screen, it damages it. Also replace the protector every 6-8 months or so.
c. Avoid hard tapping on the screen, its quiet sensitive and if its not responding, its probably because software is hanging. Dont hit your hardware for that
d. Keep it away from liquids, get cold lamination on the rest of the body to avoid scratches.
e. Keep the volume at a point less than full, speaker sounds good that way.
f. Keep brightness and power settings to the minimum that you prefer, to save battery.
4. This is a forum not a book so i cannot recommend you any particular order, but do read things related to flashing and cooking as well as the threads related to ROMs in the gene section. Wiki is also a good place to learn things, as well as do keep an eye on General Discussions and Development and Hacking section for getting important information and software upgrades.
Always Search before you start a thread or be ready for flaming, respect other members, never demand things as you are not paying for anything and nobody owes you anything, And read thoroughly and between the lines before attempting anything with your phone.
Good luck!
One more thing, rename this thread to "Useful Information for people new to XDA and Windows Mobiles". That way, i guess i wont have to type it all again. You can rename you threads by double cliking besides the title of the thread in the list of threads.
Thanks a lot guys.
Okay, first post, I apologize if I've broke a rule. And I didn't see this question anywhere. So... Is there any way to use Android 2.0 on the Omnia II? I don't really like Windows Mobile and wish I could replace it. Thanks.
Perhaps in the near future.
Two phones have similar hardware to the Omnia II: first is the Samsung Moment and the next is the Samsung Beam.
The three share the exact same CPU and only the latter differs in RAM; the beam has 384mb ram but this is probably because it also sports a projector and I assume it is going to be a very resource intensive app.
Both the Beam and the Moment (well at least the Sprint version) will eventually have Android 2.1 on there. If someone still has an interest in this old device which seemed to have so much support and potential behind it only 4 months ago they may decide to get the software from that phone and do a few tweaks to have it running on the Omnia II.
There presently is an Android on Omnia dev but the fact is he is going to have a really hard time porting Android on a device which is quite different to anything current on the market now (the Armv6 instruction set is quite dated). Hopefully he moves onto porting instead of building from the ground up like he is doing now, though he may elect not to because he has probably done a lot of work. IF he or someone else ports it will be a very good Android phone, if it is built from the ground up i have a strong feeling it will lag and crap out worse then the Omnia 2 with Samsung BloatWiz on it right now.
=====
In my opinion Modus Windows Mobile is not the issue, it is Samsung. They have a very poorly coded user interface called "Touch-Wiz". All you need to do is go into the My Menu, Find "settings " > click "Display and Light" > click "Items on Today" > scroll down and go to the Samsung widget plus and untick the box > Now go to the very bottom and just tick "Windows Default". Click Done.
You have to wait a second now go back to your home screen, you no longer have three screens (a useless feature anyway) but everything is faster now. You can also make it look better by going back into that place and clicking "themes".
Thanks. I'll give it a try and check the forum periodically for Android-on-Omnia2 news.
I've been working on this for quite a time now. (see modaco can't post links yet)
Okay I've uploaded all the necessary files. But no time to make a manual. So please, only those who know what they are doing try it out. For the devvers: in winmo change usb mode to mass storage (my internal storage), stick in into linux, change the size of the vfat internal sd, add an ext3 partition. Make sure you chmod it. And there you go!
My plan is to setup a dedicated website with the full source, split up in to braches for the different s3c6410 devices and supported drivers. This costs money and time, my plan is to do this next week.
For those of you who showed support by donations, I would like to do something extra for you guys. I apreciate this, Please PM me if you need any help and have considered the above but can't get it to work.
Paypal:
EDIT:now it is working
rapidshare:
--Alpha Release--
Note: to accomplish booting android requires reformatting the internal sd, this might brick your phone, I only recommend it for the more advanced (linux) users. I will take no responsibility for this. This release is soley for a proof of concept purpose. For the non-devvers: you could try to see if it works from vfat, you'll have to use mmcblk0p5, I know it gets to the android screen or make .img from these files and use an initr and mount the images.
What works:
-frame buffer
-s3c6410 cpu
-internal sd
Android is now in a state where you could open up almost anything, watch a slide show But because of the TC you need to press a little below/left on what you want to click due to faulty calibration.
What is in the making:
-ALSA support
What needs to be done
-hardware keys (using haret) (then we can shuw down the phone, because often you have to reformat the partition due to corruption)
-ADB/USB connection (shouldn't be too hard)
-UART/RIL/DPRAM config (to make 3G/PHONE/text work)
The first two will speed up development, that's why they need to be appended first.
Then:
-Touch screen should be better calibrated
-optimizations/speedups (G2d, G3d, armv6, VFP) + memory layout issues should be resolved. Now only 128 mb is used.
-external SD support (the s8000 android devvers are working on this)
-BT (I don't use it so it has no priority for me)
Which devices are supported?
I think theoretically every s3c6410 omnia/jet/acer iteration should work. But I know some devices will require a small patch to change the frame buffer adress. So please report back failures/successes.
EDIT: ofcourse I will still make a manual these days for the non-devvers, first thing i do when i have time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
almar2 said:
I've been working on this for quite a time now. (see modaco can't post links yet)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey there Almar, how is the speed of the device? Has compiling the drivers been an ok task and what do you think of the new phones coming out soon, will they be of any use to you?
What version of Android have you installed and if it is 2.1, would you say it is at least as fast as pre-2.1 android?
Edited: Contact mod.
For $1k I'd buy JTAG and do it . And keep the rest (RIFF BOX is 119€ and a bit of soldering/getting board for another 10€ to avoid soldering).
Haha, this reward smells like scam
mysymbol said:
Hello
Can someone tell me if it posible to replace/change just one character in Rom in Windows Mobile 5 Device, knowing where it is (memory address)
Device is not listed anywhere on this forum, and really it does not matter, since it runs Windows Mobile 5 and I can connect to it with ActiveSync (USB or Serial)
Willing to pay $1000 for solution.
Honestly, will paypal the money to someone that can help
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why would you pay $1000 for a solution for a Windows Mobile 5 phone when you can get a Windows Mobile 6.1/6.5/WP7 phone for HALF the price.
Response to your concerns
This is not a Mobile Phone and I do not have one but several thousands of these in my posetion. Again this device is very rare and you will not find it anywhere. Solution to my problem can be used over and over again.
Simply its just like a phone running Windows Mobile 5 and I just need to change few lines of memory addresses in ROM. Please help.
For those that think its a scam, fine, I will offer $10 for solution, but for someone that can believe I will paypal $1000 instantly upon working solution.
I would agree with JTAG but I have several thousands of these in my hand and I need faster solution. Please help. I can run any files, commands for you on my device and provide results. Thanks again
You might want to try also itsutils's app "pdocwrite", that might do the job too. Or psetmem, if it is in RAM and not ROM.
wouldnt Jtag be just as quick as connecting a phone to a computer... booting into the rom, changing code etc etc etc? over and over and over again?
That said... Your best bet is to send one of these "devices" to a developer on here who can take the rom and make the changes that need to be done and make a custom rom for you.
Thats my two cents!
You are a little silent on the details of what you want to change in the device. There is hardly a universal solution for the task you have sketched. Let me outline the levels of security that have to be passed:
Running programs e.g. for manipulating memory (RAM or ROM) may in the first place be restricted by OS security (policy). This must be overcome and is also know as "Application Unlocking" of the device.
Some files on a device can simply be replaced by RAM copies and those will take the function of the ROM part after copied to the device and a subsequent reboot.
If really the ROM itself must be changed (as 2. does not work) then you have to be able to read out the ROM, dis- and re- assemble its parts (aka "cooking") and finally load back the results to the device. Several security mechanisms are in place for devices to ensure that only the legitimate authorities can do this.
Thanks to joint efforts et XDA-developers many popular devices could be hacked at that level to foster the popular cooking activities.
So if you give some more hints on what character you want to have changed and where you see it (but want to see a different one) then even other options may come up, e.g. changing data in the databases that are use for translating user interface parts (control panel), other data-driven options (e.g. registry) and so on.
So in the end there may be a much simpler solution to your problem that you thought about so far?
are these some chinese knockoff model and you need to change something to sell them on without non chinese people having problems? i would help but got rid of my chinese to english rom hardware last year
reward still availble
can someone help? I can read files from ROM, but how to write back? utility is there but its uncompiled.
I don't think you've made enough threads on this issue. I think you should post 5,6,7 maybe even 8 more and see if someone responds...
what device are u meaning to change?
Thread closed, contact me to talk about the thread.
Hi everybody,
I have been grappling with this damned issue with OneNote 2007 on my HD2 forever. I have extensively searched the net and also the XDA for a work around but to no avail and so I decided to come out with it. It’d be nice if some of the top dogs here at the XDA took a minute or two out of their busy schedules to fix us up with a way to force OneNote to SD card. I mean come on people, don’t you leave us at the mercy of windows unpredictable array of hangs, crashes and total system annihilations, give us a way out.
I have personally wormed around the registry and found a way for one note to save its bulky attachments, wave voice files and pics to the SD card but that’s half the story. HD2 being a windows phone is prone to crashes and halts and since I am using the OneNote as an invaluable tool for my office duties and personal note taking on the go, I don’t plan to be left high and dry in case of OS crashes, which happened a few times and did indeed left me with no way to access my invaluable OneNote files.
I would appreciate any help from the masters of the XDA
Thanks in advance
P.S
I have also figured out the location on the main memory where one note actually saves its files to and already set up regular and scheduled back ups to my SD from the folder, but since my note taking happens at very short intervals and high quantities, my back up scheme is hardly adequate.
I'd hazard a guess and say you're half way there in the registry if you can change paths of saving other files, maybe not under the same sub index but elsewhere there'd be something, sorry to sound so vague but haven't used Windows since about July time!
I don't think save location is in registry key as such, it is within application itself.
a workaround may be possible with mortscript for moving them from device to storage card on a daily basis scheduled automagically.
Not a perfect option but better than no option. Also may be worth looking into a better ROM build upgrade to improve reliability. My current 23699 build is very reliable, not soft reset in over 3 months & never hard reset yet !
Will be doing some registry fiddling this evening so will browse around & post again should I find anything relevent.
bates_1974 said:
I'd hazard a guess and say you're half way there in the registry if you can change paths of saving other files, maybe not under the same sub index but elsewhere there'd be something
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply
I am indeed and believe you me when I say I did look a lot around the registry trying to find a way for it and all that I got in return was bricking my phone 4 times in a row , when you play with fire eh!!
It might still be buried deep down there but with my limited knowledge of windows mobile registry I'm afraid someone else has to pick up where I left off
Mister B said:
I don't think save location is in registry key as such, it is within application itself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I second that opinion but quite much like much else in HD2 it should have been hidden by the HTC for some wicked reason and the key to make it appear again has to reside under registry
Mister B said:
a workaround may be possible with mortscript for moving them from device to storage card on a daily basis scheduled automagically.
Not a perfect option but better than no option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have, as I mentioned previously, already set up a backing up scheme via sprite which backs up my files twice a day. But I am still not satisfied due to the nature of my note keeping and my job. Maybe I am over reacting but I just can't feel safe until I figure this out
Mister B said:
My current 23699 build is very reliable, not soft reset in over 3 months & never hard reset yet !
Will be doing some registry fiddling this evening so will browse around & post again should I find anything relevent.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I forgot to mention but I have the unlocked HD2 and already upgraded my ROM to the most updated version on the HTC site as part of my attempts to get around this bug. My system has been stable for the past four months with only one serious bricking episode, other than the times I did it myself trying to fix the damn thing of course