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Hi guys, I'm new to this forum and it's a pleasure to be a new member! As a brief introduction, I'm completely new to HTC, Windows Mobile and any non-Symbian device! I've used Nokia's, Sony Ericssons & Motorola's all my life and Symbian is all I know, I think you get the picture......
Anyhow, I should be getting my HD2 within the next few days because I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it and I just want to know where to start?! This looks like the most comprehensive forum I've seen on the net and I couldn't think of a better place to start learning. I know it's a bit of a broad question and I have had a look through a number of posts to get my bearings, as such. I've seen posts about Roms, registry modifications, patches...... and it all sounds very interesting and I want to know all the functions and information I can about my new device.
Coming from the Symbian background, everything is pretty straightforward but Windows Mobile sounds a lot more technical and something I'm looking forward to learning about. Any information or tips about what I should & shouldn't do to help improve performance/tweak the device would be much appreciated and I'm a fast learner. PS I've seen this post:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=583638
and will work my way through it when I get the device, but it seems to be aimed at people with some previous experience with this platform. I'm sure you guys see these tpye of 'Help Me!' posts all the time but thanks in advance.
Hello Gargon, welcome aboard!
I too am new to these forums and I've spent a not-insignificant amount of time browsing threads on the HD2 since I made the decision to finally ditch the venerable nokia 6030 that has served me so well all these years. Being a self-confessed techie the HD2 appealed to me the very instant I first caught a glimpse of it in all its Kubrick monolithic glory and as soon as O2 release info on their tariffs I will be seriously weighing up my options.
Now, let's get down to the nitty gritty. As a disclaimer I've only been here a short while so I wouldn't be surprised if I get a few facts wrong. Hopefully someone will correct me if I do!
The HD2 is powered by Windows Mobile 6.5 edition and as you might imagine it's not too dissimilar in how it operates to the PC desktop version. You have a desktop, start menu, program files etc. with all the various settings held by the registry. The beauty of WinMo is that it is far more customisable than the iPhone OS/Symbian in that you can change pretty much everything you see and also how you interact with the device. For example, a developer on these boards has released an application which enables the vibration feature on almost every keypress whereas the default HD2 only goes so far. Another dev has released an app which changes HTC's desktop from a 3x3 grid of shortcuts to 4x4. You can even do away with HTC's superb frontend entirely and install something like SPB Mobile Shell which has a snazzy rotating cube effect desktop and many other alternative enhancements (although you will have to pay for this). And this is only the tip of the iceberg! There are thousands of applications and games out there on the internet, and with Microsoft finally getting into the appstore gig we can expect a well-stocked central repository for software sometime in the near future. Failing that, google is our friend
With the help of the talented and selfless developers here at xda-dev almost anything is possible, including the potential for changing the operating system entirely, so you can't rule out the HD2 one day running Android or WM7 somewhere down the line, however this depends on one crucial bit of software -- the Hard SPL. Without this essential bit of kit, peons such as myself are unable to reflash the device to a different operating system or even a different version of the current OS (e.g. a lite version to save valuable ROM space, or an enhanced version with greater functionality). Everything hinges on this being developed by the code masters behind the scenes however such projects require a lot of skill, time and effort and such is the support of the community here that monetary donations are pledged in gratitude for past endeavours and in the hope of new enterprise.
As for installing applications themselves, I haven't yet delved deep enough to give you a comprehensive answer, however I suspect that there are FAQs on the parent forums which will give you all the information you need. From what I can tell, applications are released in .cab format which are executed from the phone and self-install. I can't wait until I can get my grubby paws on this masterpiece and get busy pushing buttons! I'm sure I've missed a whole lot of information but my lids are getting heavy and my battery needs charging. I hope this wasn't too patronising for you and I'm sure some other people here will gladly fill you in on anything I've missed.
Welcome aboard, great first posting. Showing the threads you read already makes many people want to help you more.
If you come from Symbian, some stuff will be the same, i.e. you use icons for programs.
What differs the most is the customization possibilities and the level of deep control you have over the behaviour of your new machine.
Get to grips with Microsoft Mobile Device Center, (syncing your data).
Do you have an Exchange account or Gmail ? You can setup your device to have pushmail connectivity with GMail or Exchange.
If you don't own an Exchange Server, you can setup your own free
Custom Domain at http://domains.live.com and have your own email adress as a LIVE-ID and have pushmail with it (free).
Then, I would dig in to the many cool free applications around.
Yes, hunt for .cab files as they will install over the air (OTA) and from your device.
Another tip: When you get your device, start at the first Icon, view it, try and dig deeper in the menu's, always. Press and hold the screen/text to see if there are context menu's.
Then work your way through all the settings and icons available. It will take you about 3 days to see all the menu's and options, although the first 80% you will discover the first day
Hope you will enjoy the transition.
Hey guys
First off, this a awesome site with heaps of help. And advice which is great
Secondly I amnew here too and hopefully getting my hd2 soon. Can't wait!!
Thanks a lot for the replies guys, very informative H2D2 and thanks for the tips lucid. It's good to know that there are other people in a similar situation to myself! If anyone can post any relevant links to any apps or roms/cab files that might be useful for a first-timer then it would be much appreciated. In the meantime, I'll keep doing the research and, if I find anything myself, I'll post it here. Thanks again.
Well I'm new as well so hi everyone!
I used to have a wm phone but that was a few years ago and things have changed a lot since then... so have a bit of catching up to do. Been browsing on here the last few days and ordered the HD2 this morning.
Gargon, I'm sure you'll get used to it all in no time, I know it all looks confusing at first but really it's not that bad and I'm sure the nice people on here will help if you're stuck.
Greetings our new community members
I was in the same situation as You guys half year ago when I purchased my first WM device, the Diamond2. And now Im awaiting my HD2 already ordered
As for the Windows Mobile platform, it is the most powerful, sophisticated and versatile mobile platform ever made, and that's why it has always attracted more advanced users. But on the other hand, it is in many ways very similar to Windowses on your PCs At first you may feel a little overwhelmed of all the functions, tips, tricks, registry hacks and so on. But what's great about Windows Mobile platform, is that once you start to "feel" it, then playing around with your phone becomes extremely addictive. I remember my first week with the Diamond2, it was nothing else than playing with it, installing and testing every trick i could possibly find
Moving on to the relevant stuff:
First of all, you should equip your device with a decent file explorer, as the native WM one is a bit clunky. I recommend Resco File Explorer. Second, equip yourself with a registry editor, as you gonna need it for tweaks. Resco Explorer has a plugin for registry editing and there are even desktop PC editors which you can use when device is connected to the PC.
As for application installation, it can be performed in 2 ways:
1).cab files. These are like .sis in Symbian. You run them directly from the device just by executing them from any file manager.
2).exe files. Those can be installed from your PC when the device is connected to it. Sometimes developers make small apps for phones which are in form of exe files which are designed to run directly from the device. This is possible because every app after installation usually has its folder in Program Files where an exe file of the app itsself is stored (exactly the same as on Your PC Windows)
Moving on to the interface. One of the biggest advantages of Windows Mobile is that it enables you to change practically the whole interface with minimum effort. The native WM interface is unfortunately very old and not finger friendly, and thats why every major company designed their own interfaces. On the HD2 it is called Sense. In fact Sense is only a further developement of an interface which was called TouchFlo 3D. And one thing more you should know. Developers on this forum use the code name of this interface, which is Manila. HD2 has the latest Manila v2.5. So basically Manila=TouchFlo=Sense.
Feel free to ask any questions, everyone of us was a newbie at first I personally am very happy to see new people being attracted by new fantastic WM devices. I myself was a Nokia/Symbian fan for many years, untill half a year ago I discovered that I was living in the darkness all these years
The XDA-Developers is one of the greatest, biggest and oldest communities on the whole internet. This makes this community concrete, mature and serious. This means that members are very helpful to each other and they always communicate with a certain level of etiquette, so You surely won't hear any offensive words, swears or any vulgarisms
So enjoy your new devices and this community, as it will bring you many happy moments, i guarantee this to You
the wiki is a great tool (not much on the HD2 in there yet) but background reading on other devices is good.
As long as you're willing to take time to learn to use the search (often searching around the term you're looking for) then you'll solve issues you may have quickly as well..
several of us are happy to discuss stuff on PM as well..
and don't forget if you find something that you think others would find useful,
The WIKI is always there, to be edited at your leisure
Welcome
Very nice attitude from Gargon01 and H2D2.
You are on the right track about the winmo os.
In itself it is clunky on the surface but the structure sits on the registry database which is accessible through a registry editor.
This forum is quite unique and must be the largest of It's kind, that is, a community of smartphone developers/hackers.
I have been dropping in for 4 years but only started flashing recently after buying an HD.
The HD came with an earlier development of Touchflo and I saw rom versions on Youtube etc of more advanced versions from XDA Devs.
I took the plunge in flashing roms and have been addicted ever since.
I am running the latest version of sense on my HD but am awaiting an HD2 from clove tech on the uk for which sense was made.
There are many brilliant people in this community who generously offer their creativity, time and energy.
You are in the right place. More will be revealed.
Thanks a lot for the responses guys, exactly what me and I'm sure a lot of other new users are looking for! I'll look for the Resco File Viewer jgal, there was a similar app called Modo on Symbian that was also used for deep-file exploration/modification purposes.
Also, it's good to know that there are a lot of similarities to the desktop version of Windows. I'd like to think that I'm pretty proficient with that so I'll look forward to taking that knowledge and applying it to the HD2.
A big thanks to all the other users who have contributed to the post as well! I was pretty sure that my thread would fade away into non-existence but it's good to know that people seem genuinely interested in offering help and advice.
I should hopefully be getting the handset on Monday so I'll give it a good examination and keep you all posted should I run into any problems. Keep the tips/links coming though, my brain is like a sponge!! Cheers.
Hey guys,
it's my first post here, but I'm still some days here in this board, consuming the contents for my HD2 with apreciation.
HD2 was and still is -hardwaresides- a milestone. When it comes up to the stock OS, there are some major things that I don't get. M*cr*s*fts OS is making this device a cripple, if you ask me. But that's another discussion and even more I was excited when I firstly saw a good friend these days holding me his Leo up the nose with Android embedded.
Now, I'd like to know some things before "flashing" my Leo - if you can say so, as the only thing to do seems to apply some kind of bootloader instaed of cleaning and rewriting the ROM. Which leads me to the
1. Will the installer overwrite the WM6.5 ROM or will it run in a dual-boot system?
2. Will a physical hardreset (volume-buttons) return to the stock-Rom?
3. Which of the local Froyo versions is the most stable with nearly all components working and - if possible - NO skin customizations except SENSE?
Thanks for your help and I hope that Android will bring my Leo to a whole new level.
Prepare yourself for a flaming of a lifetime.
Postaldude said:
Hey guys,
it's my first post here, but I'm still some days here in this board, consuming the contents for my HD2 with apreciation.
HD2 was and still is -hardwaresides- a milestone. When it comes up to the stock OS, there are some major things that I don't get. M*cr*s*fts OS is making this device a cripple, if you ask me. But that's another discussion and even more I was excited when I firstly saw a good friend these days holding me his Leo up the nose with Android embedded.
Now, I'd like to know some things before "flashing" my Leo - if you can say so, as the only thing to do seems to apply some kind of bootloader instaed of cleaning and rewriting the ROM. Which leads me to the
1. Will the installer overwrite the WM6.5 ROM or will it run in a dual-boot system?
2. Will a physical hardreset (volume-buttons) return to the stock-Rom?
3. Which of the local Froyo versions is the most stable with nearly all components working and - if possible - NO skin customizations except SENSE?
Thanks for your help and I hope that Android will bring my Leo to a whole new level.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, why are you afraid to spell out Microsoft?
Second, Winmo didn't cripple HD2 at all, you have fully function phone.
Now, if you put Android on this phone, this make HD2 a cripple phone.
To answer your questions
1. No, Android will not overwrite the wm 6.5 rom, it need wm to run and it runs from sd card.
2. see #1, it will not alter wm rom, wm will be wm after reboot, you dont need to hardset.
3. This is like... personal preference, you have to try to see which build is for you.
the core here is kernel, if you try this build and you have problem, and you see another the build with the same kernel, it likely not going to fix your problem.
justwonder said:
First of all, why are you afraid to spell out Microsoft?
Second, Winmo didn't cripple HD2 at all, you have fully function phone.
Now, if you put Android on this phone, this make HD2 a cripple phone.
To answer your questions
1. No, Android will not overwrite the wm 6.5 rom, it need wm to run and it runs from sd card.
2. see #1, it will not alter wm rom, wm will be wm after reboot, you dont need to hardset.
3. This is like... personal preference, you have to try to see which build is for you.
the core here is kernel, if you try this build and you have problem, and you see another the build with the same kernel, it likely not going to fix your problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Why shouldn't I? There are enough examples, that anonymity is not given in every way these days on the web...
2. No, it did run well. But it
-isn't nearly as smooth as the iPhone-OS or Android
-HTC Sense seems to stuck several times with WM 6.5, which brings me to conclusion that HTC wasn't allowed to create a consequent GUI without corrupting MS license restrictions
-Browsers (Stock Opera, Opera 10, Opera Mini, Skyfire) are really slow
-I got a bunch of crashes even with updated stock ROMs and CF 3.5 installed
-the response between OS and touchscreen is still very laggy which results in the over-sensibility and the so-called ghost-effect, when the screenkeys begin jerking out/ the screen is working commands that had been given more than a minute along
-pinch-to-zoom only seems to be a gimmick clearly running in the SENSE environment and apps based upon it. The WM GUI isn't compatible to it in many ways
- and most important, it still is giving me white knuckles that MS at last decided to make WMP 7 NOT available, needless to say, AFTER several Leos were sold with prediction for WMP 7 being available sooner or later
Sure, you got a working OS for everydays use, but it is as unattractive and as imperformant as it could be the day it came on such a steroidic device like the HD2. MS has epicly failed in giving attention to the mobile phone market, that's for sure. It isn't done with borderless synchonization of Outlook e-mail and contacts - because todays smartphones are capabale of so much more. For something like this, you don't need a 1 GHz Snapdragon, together with 512 MB systemmemory. And after making such hard license restrictions for developers that are in charge to use WMP7, I think this won't ever change.
And sure, you're able to customize this OS as far as you want. But take the usual Jon Doe, excited by HD2-Ads and offended by an OS, that feels and looks like it is 10 years old under the SENSE-surface, with an app-catalogue that's growing slower and slower. And Jon Doe's not the man to deal with custom roms and tweaks.
Now take Android on the other hand. Based on the Linux-Kernel, which is known to give you every possible freedom, together with every possible brick to handle - which you're able to fix by yourself and what makes it attractive mostly for enthusiastics - it's a good blend of functionality ergonomics/ease-of-use. These two words together exclamated each other more or less in the past and this is one of the reasons, why Linux as a desktop-system hasn't become more popular over the years of development. Besides this, linux distributions are the fastest and most stable running OS I ever used on a PC. Now, Android is in charge and able to become as popular as MS is on desktop-systems, because it's working good. Most of the start-up problems that occured on early Droids are eliminated, this phone-OS becomes more and more performant. And it seems to be a lot more flexible than any other phone-OS
Finally, this discussion turned right the way i thought it would end. I'd like to thank you all for your information at first. If you'd like to make further dialogue affecting the goods and bads of WM, please contact me PM.
Are you using wp7 on your hd2 until the updates come out to see if they give us the simple features the os lacks?
If so will you buy a real wp7 phone?
Or wait for another rom for the hd2?
Or wait to see what new wp7 phones come out this year?
I tried android but "force close" errors would happen & the phone would always freeze up. So I just went back to 6.5 without sense. After installing Wp7 it's a big plus for me being stable even with its drawbacks & the first rom for the hd2.
I would like to have the following updates on my phone:
1. Copy/paste witch is coming
2. Usb mode even if it only shows pictures, music, office, pdf & such
3. Tethering
4. Easy way to make custom ringtones & text
5. sms draft
6. flash
7. all the rest of the regular things....
Greed
It truly amazes me how people think, Not Just You
Create threads like this.
This community is all over the place. I go to this forum that forum, You have 7 threads talking about the same damn thing.
Hats off to the Mods trying to clean it up. (I've posted a couple things in the wrong thread)
Back on topic,
A real Windows Phone?
I don't know maybe I consider the HD2 a REAL Windows Phone 6, 7.....
As far as the updates go.
It took the I-phone what 2 years for copy and paste, they still don't actually support Flash.
Regular things
Microsoft is far from Perfect, Who is?
SMS draft - You really need that for 160 characters
Usb Mode - Do some searching, start here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=915664&page=8
Tethering - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=922000
Custom Ringtone - Ever heard of Chevron
These things ae not official, but for the most part they work.
To make threads like this is useless, Do the right thing and have the mods delete it along with this message.
First and foremost... This thread is about Winmo/Android decsision/criticizm. if its in the wrong section (which i hope its not) please say so.
About a week (or so) now i have been messing around with the NAND Android and i am having all sorts of drama about with it. not only is it too slow and sluggish to use but it just doesnt look complete or rather feels like its missing something as compared to a device that has anroid native on it (e.g. htc desire).
There are lots of Android ports out there for the HD2 in some form or another and not all are bad... some are fast like the imilka's Stock Froyo which runs completely from RAM and even the MIUI roms are quick.
Then came windows mobile and the new windows phone 7.
For some reason i am leaning towards installing winmo6.5.x on my hd2 due to the fact everything hardware related works fine and its ... fast... only problem is winmo isnt finger friendly like Android or W7.
at the same time i really would like to have W7 however due to its limitations in almost all the basic tasks and the ability to not even have a simple market deletes it from my list completely.
so with this delimma i'd like your feedback.... Have you tried Android then went back and put "Winmo6.x" on your device or are you happy with android?
I'm on android right now. WM 6.5 was ok, but with android I feel like I have a new phone, everything I use works very well, the only thing I didn't get working straight out of the "box", was the g-sensor, but after reading the same thread (link below), I found how to calibrate it (faced down and then hit calibrate).
This is the one I'm using in case you want to give android another shot:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=901576&highlight=g-sensor
PS. WM 6.5 is finger friendly, is it not? I never had any problems with it. The only reason I switched initially was to get more apps.
well mate.... I am on android (bauner's nand stock desire) and I will never comeback to winmo. I don't really know what You did wrong, but my hd2 flies with it and every single thing works (wifi tethering, fm radio, 800 x 480 video, etc.).
as a matter of fact it runs so well, that I am going to keep my leo much longer than I was planning to.
... well, at least until moto atrix launch in UK.
so OP… what did you end up doing?
bronx said:
as a matter of fact it runs so well, that I am going to keep my leo much longer than I was planning to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^^^ This
I can only assume that there was a problem with your setup because Android runs like a DREAM! It really is like having a brand new phone, and I've had this phone for 14 months now so I'm very happy about that
Longest I've ever had a phone in my life!
Well the only builds i'll never try again, due to lagg, are desire hd builds. They're just too laggy for me, and they run out of ram too quickly for me to appreciate.
Currently i'm using projection's desire build, and I must say, it's a really fast and smooth build, so fast i haven't found the need to flash another build, since it came out.
cylent said:
First and foremost... This thread is about Winmo/Android decsision/criticizm. if its in the wrong section (which i hope its not) please say so.
About a week (or so) now i have been messing around with the NAND Android and i am having all sorts of drama about with it. not only is it too slow and sluggish to use but it just doesnt look complete or rather feels like its missing something as compared to a device that has anroid native on it (e.g. htc desire).
There are lots of Android ports out there for the HD2 in some form or another and not all are bad... some are fast like the imilka's Stock Froyo which runs completely from RAM and even the MIUI roms are quick.
Then came windows mobile and the new windows phone 7.
For some reason i am leaning towards installing winmo6.5.x on my hd2 due to the fact everything hardware related works fine and its ... fast... only problem is winmo isnt finger friendly like Android or W7.
at the same time i really would like to have W7 however due to its limitations in almost all the basic tasks and the ability to not even have a simple market deletes it from my list completely.
so with this delimma i'd like your feedback.... Have you tried Android then went back and put "Winmo6.x" on your device or are you happy with android?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got my HD2 a few months back, stuck with WinMO 6.5 until some good stable NANDs started appearing.
I am now using "IAMGPC - Gingerbread NAND" and it works great, no lag, good battery life with drain about 4-6ma in standby. Far superior OS to WinMo 6.5.
Take a look here "android.hd2roms.com/" each day and check for updates and read the posts for issues. I recommend using a well know cook/chef's builds.
Thats my opinion, take it or leave it.
yelsew_aknor said:
so OP… what did you end up doing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
honestly... i am stuck. because although you guys all say winmo 6.5 is old and gone i still feel its magically fast on my HD2.
i tried running android off of SD (from winmo6.5) yesterday and it worked great.. almost like it was a NAND version.
to be honest ... and i dont want to get flamed for saying this... but i wish wp7 rom was usable with a market and not this activation crap you have to go through because when i ran wp7 on my hd2 it flew! and the animations are great!
so we'll see. i am gonna try CMYLXGO's Topia HD(2) ROM and see how that goes.
Droid
I really liked WM 6.5 for about three months until it started freezing a couple times a day and freezing for 10 seconds every time i received a new text so i put MDJ's CyanogenMod 7 v2.6 NAND gingerbread mod and it is great except for aTAKEphone doesn't seem to be working on it for me but besides that I think that it is awesome and will stick with this till some of the windows 7 roms get a little more developed, especially since i heard that Msoft might be putting out a major update for wp7 soon
johncmolyneux said:
^^^ This
I can only assume that there was a problem with your setup because Android runs like a DREAM! It really is like having a brand new phone, and I've had this phone for 14 months now so I'm very happy about that
Longest I've ever had a phone in my life!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wrong with my setup? like what could i possibly be doing? this isnt a PC with different hardware. its a HD2 and the whole world has the same unit (almost)...
the only thing you can blame is the SD card but its a new one and its 16GB/Class10 ...
cylent said:
wrong with my setup? like what could i possibly be doing? this isnt a PC with different hardware. its a HD2 and the whole world has the same unit (almost)...
the only thing you can blame is the SD card but its a new one and its 16GB/Class10 ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cylent said:
i have been messing around with the NAND Android and i am having all sorts of drama about with it. not only is it too slow and sluggish to use but it just doesnt look complete or rather feels like its missing something as compared to a device that has anroid native on it (e.g. htc desire).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have never had a NAND build (or even SD builds from about December onwards) run slow or sluggish, and I have never had a build that doesn't look complete etc.. That's why I suggest that there is a setup issue here. Setup is obviously your hardware and software, together. You're not gonna change the hardware, so try a different build.
Incidentally, if you read through the forums you will see some people having some issues, while others do not have them. This is normal for every issue reported on the HD2, so it's not simply a case that we all have the same hardware so they all work the same. That's not true.
And thanks for pointing out that my phone is not a PC, and it's a HD2. I obviously needed that pointing out to me. I did wonder how I could fit my PC in my pocket.
cylent said:
First and foremost... This thread is about Winmo/Android decsision/criticizm. if its in the wrong section (which i hope its not) please say so.
About a week (or so) now i have been messing around with the NAND Android and i am having all sorts of drama about with it. not only is it too slow and sluggish to use but it just doesnt look complete or rather feels like its missing something as compared to a device that has anroid native on it (e.g. htc desire).
There are lots of Android ports out there for the HD2 in some form or another and not all are bad... some are fast like the imilka's Stock Froyo which runs completely from RAM and even the MIUI roms are quick.
Then came windows mobile and the new windows phone 7.
For some reason i am leaning towards installing winmo6.5.x on my hd2 due to the fact everything hardware related works fine and its ... fast... only problem is winmo isnt finger friendly like Android or W7.
at the same time i really would like to have W7 however due to its limitations in almost all the basic tasks and the ability to not even have a simple market deletes it from my list completely.
so with this delimma i'd like your feedback.... Have you tried Android then went back and put "Winmo6.x" on your device or are you happy with android?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you feel like is missing?
The latter android builds are a lot faster and more stable than even the best WM6.5 roms in my experience. I've got a lot of friends who are EVO users, and the HD2 with a custom Android ROM is practically the same phone as the EVO.
I'm dual booting WP7 and Android, personally would never go back to WM6.5. I can, however, understand the reasons why people prefer it to Android and WP7, but speed, stability, and performance are not any of the reasons.
cylent said:
First and foremost... This thread is about Winmo/Android decsision/criticizm. if its in the wrong section (which i hope its not) please say so.
About a week (or so) now i have been messing around with the NAND Android and i am having all sorts of drama about with it. not only is it too slow and sluggish to use but it just doesnt look complete or rather feels like its missing something as compared to a device that has anroid native on it (e.g. htc desire).
There are lots of Android ports out there for the HD2 in some form or another and not all are bad... some are fast like the imilka's Stock Froyo which runs completely from RAM and even the MIUI roms are quick.
Then came windows mobile and the new windows phone 7.
For some reason i am leaning towards installing winmo6.5.x on my hd2 due to the fact everything hardware related works fine and its ... fast... only problem is winmo isnt finger friendly like Android or W7.
at the same time i really would like to have W7 however due to its limitations in almost all the basic tasks and the ability to not even have a simple market deletes it from my list completely.
so with this delimma i'd like your feedback.... Have you tried Android then went back and put "Winmo6.x" on your device or are you happy with android?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, the glory of the HD2 is if you don't like a particular OS you don't have to run it. I'd just suggest running WM6.5 and boot your favorite Android ROM via SD etc until a build of either WP7 or Android is released that you feel fits your everyday usage needs.
I'm sticking with WM. I find that Android need more physical button pressing than WM. I rarely have any crashes/freezes with WM.
I don't play games and that's the only thing that would pull me towards Android.
I've had Android and WM for the same amount of time. For my experience and usage, there is no reason for me to go to Android at this time. Other people have different usages, so their needs may be different.
I'm trying to decide whether I'll even bother to try Android. I don't really play games on my HD2.
I use the calendar, contacts, word, excel, powerpoint, tasks, notes (MS Office) and Outlook. (The HTC Contacts app doesn't hold enough info, even for family.) I use Total commander, weather, maps, search, camera/camcorder, dictionaries, music, books, rss, internet (usually wifi), etc. However, I rarely play anything but solitare or majong.
WHY, specifically, do you like android? or WP7? or WM 6.5? PLEASE be extremely specific.
ElaineD said:
WHY, specifically, do you like android? or WP7? or WM 6.5? PLEASE be extremely specific.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WM because it's solid and just works. Has all the important apps I need. Extremely smooth and finger friendly with SPB MS3.5 instead of sense. There's a logic to it's layout and settings which I find android lacks. It's mature and refined. Browsing with Opera 10 is near perfect, it can handle the pages I go to, it responds how I expect a mobile browser to respond, unlike the browsers in android.
Android has 2 good points that WM doesnt, other than them I do not believe it is anywhere near as good as WM.
1. Ability to connect to more than one exchange account, it means I can get my personal mail and my work mail. Too bad the mail client is frustratingly basic.
2. Kindle reader. The advantages it has over MS Reader is of course it's desinged for finger swiping rather than trying to tape on the forward/back triangles, and Amazon's kindle library.
I'm also stuck between WinMo and Android.
WinMo:
- iGO
- stability, speed, everything just works
- Sense is better*
- all those little tweaks and regedits that made the phone better
Android:
- notifications!!!
- GMail
- GTalk
- FB
- browser (flash)
- not dead
* Tabs are just nicer, people tab is not auto sorted, photo animations are nicer, slide to answer/ignore is better and consistent. Also, I'm not sure if there's PhoneAlarm and TouchLock alternative on android.
after trying many android sd- and nand-builds, as well as wp7, I went back to wm 6.5.3.
wm is just working as it should be. thanks to cht 2.0 and sense, I can change everything perfectly to my needs. opera 9.7 isn't as good as the android browser, but it gets the job done. I really don't care about any additional apps. everything important I need, is already there and that fever to always have the newest rom and apps vanished a long time ago - luckily.
the biggest problem with android is in my opinion the really bad implementation of basic functions. no smartdialing, no mark all as read in the email app, way too many limitations in customizing the homescreen, no decent agenda widget and so on. and call me paranoid but I dont like the calling home functions of many apps either.
for wp7, its a whole other story. I really like the userinterface to some point. its easy to read, clean and fast. what I hate is the wasted space on many screens. you have basically only 3/5 of the screen to show relevant information, instead of 4/5 on other platforms. and of course there is the horrible homescreen. I really dont understand what microsoft thought when designing this useless waste of space. where I have 5 shortcuts, 8 calendar entries, a big clock, the date and the weather with android or wm6.5, wp7 only shows a maximum of one calendar entry (only today and tomorrow), 4 way too huge shortcuts and a small clock. and of course to show other shortcuts you need to scroll one big ass list down ... seriously, what is that?
wm6.5 might not have nice transitions (in fact the flickering when changing apps sucks), nor a good marketplace, but its finger friendly (at 99% of the programs), has the best customizable homescreen (thanks to cht) and the fastest to use userinterface without the need to swipe or scroll 100 times to get to the information you want. in my opinion its the most undervalued OS of all of them.
though, I might change to android sometime in the future, as it progresses and the flaws are taken care of. but I'm not holding my breath for that ...
chalid said:
after trying many android sd- and nand-builds, as well as wp7, I went back to wm 6.5.3.
wm is just working as it should be. thanks to cht 2.0 and sense, I can change everything perfectly to my needs. opera 9.7 isn't as good as the android browser, but it gets the job done. I really don't care about any additional apps. everything important I need, is already there and that fever to always have the newest rom and apps vanished a long time ago - luckily.
the biggest problem with android is in my opinion the really bad implementation of basic functions. no smartdialing, no mark all as read in the email app, way too many limitations in customizing the homescreen, no decent agenda widget and so on. and call me paranoid but I dont like the calling home functions of many apps either.
for wp7, its a whole other story. I really like the userinterface to some point. its easy to read, clean and fast. what I hate is the wasted space on many screens. you have basically only 3/5 of the screen to show relevant information, instead of 4/5 on other platforms. and of course there is the horrible homescreen. I really dont understand what microsoft thought when designing this useless waste of space. where I have 5 shortcuts, 8 calendar entries, a big clock, the date and the weather with android or wm6.5, wp7 only shows a maximum of one calendar entry (only today and tomorrow), 4 way too huge shortcuts and a small clock. and of course to show other shortcuts you need to scroll one big ass list down ... seriously, what is that?
wm6.5 might not have nice transitions (in fact the flickering when changing apps sucks), nor a good marketplace, but its finger friendly (at 99% of the programs), has the best customizable homescreen (thanks to cht) and the fastest to use userinterface without the need to swipe or scroll 100 times to get to the information you want. in my opinion its the most undervalued OS of all of them.
though, I might change to android sometime in the future, as it progresses and the flaws are taken care of. but I'm not holding my breath for that ...
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Click to collapse
EXACTLY my assessment so far; I keep thinking that I must have missed something about android because I keep reading so many raving reviews.
I am starting to like the way this thread of mine is heading. peaceful but nice opinions are being shared here.
so while doing more and more browsing and more rom "tryouts" i found out the following: The video driver on the android system for HD2 is not accelerated. it means android is rendering This is obvious for anyone how the system stutters and does odd things.
just wanted to point that out.
Call me a dork, but i check the DFT got Nodo Working link EVERYDAY! I have yet to post anything remotely like "when will we get Nodo"! Simply because, I know it can't be easy doing what those devs like Cotulla and DFT do and I think it is rude to rush them, especially if you're not making any donations! Furthermore, that thread is only becoming a bit*hfest. So here is something to discuss while waiting for Nodo.
So, I was doing some reading in the Android and WM 6.5 sections of our wonderful HTC HD2 device and I saw that Android is the only section with new things to play with! So, after nearly 4 months of having the same WP7 ROM on my HD2, I flashed a NAND Android yesterday.
Played with it a bit, set it up while I read about some other Android ROMs. Downloaded those, while setting up and playing with current install. Then flashed another, and another.
I remembered that this is what it was like before WP7 came out for HD2! I was expecting an important phone call this morning 9am, but at 8:10, flashed another Android ROM. Got it all ready to go before the phone call came in! (oh, and the ROM worked perfectly for the phone call)! Currently still on that one (which one is irrelevant) but yet still looking for more! "Why?", I ask myself!
I was content with WP7 and still am, but just waiting for Nodo and I'll go back. I just wanted to share my take on WP7 vs Android vs WM 6.5 and why I think I flash all the time with Android and WM 6.5 and not with WP7.
WM 6.5 - I love it. I think the the HTC sense made it buggy and that the DEVs did a great job with custom ROMs and made it less buggy. I loved how open it is to save, delete and install files and better yet, copy and paste! OMG I miss that! I consider myself a power user of my Windows phones because I've been flashing them since Win CE days in 2003. I know how they work and what to do when I mess it up. The average user could really mess some stuff up because of it's freedoms so to speak (which is why WM 6.5 didn't take off like iOS and Android) I feel I flashed a lot because of the different customizations made available and the fluidity of some. However, even the best ROM was not as fluid as WP7 and lack of Apps and games is an issue. With the latest Bing we finally got a decent turn-by-turn navigation with good search ability.
Android - I like it. I didn't at first because I was biased toward WM. It isn't as open and free as WM 6.5 is, but it is close. It is buggy and not as fluid as WM 6.5, and it does have copy and paste and some decent games. A good variety of builds and ROMs are available for us flash-oholics to satisfy our customization needs. A real good selection of games and apps and decent turn-by-turn navigation (with a British voice on some ROMs) make the Android system a good choice. And the ease of trying new ROMs without losing all your settings is an awesome feature that WP7 needs.
WP7 - I kept waiting and waiting for WP7 to come out for HD2 and finally 1-23-11 it hits! A bit buggy at first with the Chevron unlock and side loading apps, but for the most part, very solid OS. We have a ever growing selection of decent apps and games and recently got am alright navigation program (with horrible search options) from Telenav (T-Mobile) but it has a monthly fee! A newer free one I'm sure is just around the corner as with a bunch of other stuff like flash (expected for a new OS). I'd like to see google maps on WP7 as well as Multitasking. I know Microsoft designed WP7's back feature with tombstoning to be a form of multitasking, but let's say you are using a GPS calorie program while walking and a phone call comes in and you answer it, the GPS software is tombstoned (put to sleep exactly where it was when the call was answered) but it isn't counting calories or tracking your location anymore. Basically, WP7 is fast and stable and has a quick and unique way of connecting with facebook, and like the commercials say, "it's designed to get you in and out of your phone and back to your life."
But why was I satisfied with WP7 for nearly 4 months when I flashed nearly every day before? That is my question to all of you. Is it the lack of ROMs available or the lack of customization or what. Is there anyone else that has wondered the same thing?
I have to agree WM6.5 was awesome, but missing one thing which is important to me: the apps and games. It did have some great games, but not as much as android and wp7. Right now I'm (just like you) waiting for Nodo and using Android on a very nice build (Imilka's GB Sense), but with android and WM6.5 I was, and am, flashing several times a week. I really like WP7, but it's missing some nice features too (copy & paste, file browser, installing XAP, browsing through your phone when connected to PC instead of only being able to sync music, videos and apps with zune etc.). But the most important reason for me why I don't use WP7, I can't sideload!! There was only one build which did work with sideloading, and that was the first LEO70 (I was really excited about it), but it needed so much regedits before I could sideload, use file explorer, keep it unlocked etc., that I decided to use the custom builds with build-in regedits and chevron, but those just can't be sideloaded (if anyone had this problem and/or has solution, please tell). I think I'll just buy the class 10 micro-sd 16gb for €21,49 (yes that cheap, yes trusted site) instead of my stupid 8Gb sandisk ultra (which appeared to be a class 2 ultra, so not too impressive), so I can dual boot WP7 and Android, without being low on storage.
BTW here is link to SD card if you're interested: http://www.play.com/Mobiles/Mobile/-/1005/1250/-/19254851/PNY-16GB-Micro-SD-Memory-Card-Class-10/Product.html?source=9593&_$ja=tsid:11853|prd:85386
Now I have tried most of the WP7 ROMs and I could side load xaps on all of them. The first Leo70 was lot more involved to enable that feature.
Not sure exactly what I did other than install the DEV tools and change the HOST file to prevent relocking.
Open the drive please
I like WP7, I was using Android, back from 1.6 to 2.3, and have a dual boot right now (Android 2.3 CM7 and WP7).
Currently I am using the WP 7, but i am getting frstrated with nto beign able to simply drag and drop photos, music etc to the device.
As for side loading, I have not found that to be an issue for me, as there doesn't seem to be much out there that is not from the marketplace (maybe I am missing out on a bunch of stuff).
Looking forward to NoDo, and hopefully a crack to allow easy sideloading and direct memory access.
I alos have a ZUNE and it has the same structure (only loadign throug the software) but I know there are ways to load directly to the memory. I believe that the change is actually to regedit you PC to stop the PC from lockign out directa access.
Hopefully someone figures this out for our WP7's
Good luck the then and thaks to all the devs working on WP7
But do you find that you flash a lot use Android? How long did you run WP7 before going back to Android?
[email protected] said:
But do you find that you flash a lot use Android? How long did you run WP7 before going back to Android?
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Yup.. lots of flashing. I think that's because Android has idk how many different styles, builds, themes whatever (sense, gingerbread, cyanogenmod, honeycomb, t-mobile mytouch you get the point), but wp7 has one simple, easy to use and yet graphical interface, which doesn't change a lot (there is one which has custom tiles, xboxmod I thought, don't know for sure). I've been on the first leo70 for about 2 weeks, which is very very long for me. I'm a ms person, but until wp7 gets better I'll just use Android. And believe me, I can't wait to raise my gamerscore from ~16000 to ~17000 thx to wp7.
Sent from my HD2 GB Sense using XDA App
WM6.5....lack of apps and games?
ok, give you the games, but WM had shed loads of programs, and more importantely you could freely install anything you liked, i will admit that the marketplace does have a lot, but like android and iOS much of it is ****e
I use WP7, i love it, but i also love WM6.5, that OS is a beast, it will do anything , yeah its a bit sluggish and not as pretty but hay it works. If it wasnt for HTC and QC screwing us over drivers WM6.5 would be a viable modern day OS.