MDA Questions after a week of use... - 8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General

Hello...
I recieved my MDA last saturday, and since then, have been trying to figure everything out. After multiple calls to tmobile, and even a trip back to the store, i'm still stuck with a few questions that i cannot seem to get answered.
1. The MDA came with the default Tmobile theme which works fine in portrait & in landscape, as well as the default blue Windows theme.
However, I have tried to install multiple themes(including some from microsoft themeselves) and i have one annoying error! Whenever I use an "installed" theme, the portrait screen looks fine, but when I open the keyboard...there are two large greyish/white gaps on the side of the theme.
Ex: I'm using a green theme. When in landscape mode, i have a single green square in the middle of the screen with a strip on either side(left or right)
2. My phone is HORRIBLY slow when and if ANYTHING 3rd party is installed. I've tried today plugins that control the memory usage(figured that would help)...however, it just slowed things done. My phone usually runs at about 14mb Free Program Memory, out of the total 44MB(This seems horrible...with just the default programs installed*for the most part* and maybe agile messenger running.). If i install a today plugin, or a game...this drops below 10mb. Therefore, phone usage can be very aggravating. I cannot think of any other way to increase this memory expect for ONE thing. Would it be possible to transfer ALL programs, applications, etc to the miniSD Card(i have 1gb now, with a 2gb in the mail). This way...i certaintly would not be topping out the usage of the card, and hopefully I can free up alot of space on the phone.
3. As we all know, the packaged IM programs are AWFULLY slow and inconsistent. After a bit of research and trials, I have settled on using Agile Messenger. I'm loving it...expect for a few things.
The MAJOR problem I have with it, is the pop up notification. Its annoying to be surfing the web or playing a game, just to have a pop up tell you that you have recieved a message, EVERY TIME you get a new message(which can amount to a great deal in a short time). I've looked all over for a setting, so unless I missed it, is there any way to shut this off?
A side issue with this program, and also the connectivity of the phone is...:
(even WITH the GPRS hack*always on*), I still lose connection(with 2-4 bars of signal) and therefore i get signed off of Agile, rather often. This isnt' such a problem with me, as seeing it takes a short time to log back in. However, when you look at the conversation from another person's point of view...all you see is
"Soandso" Logged off
"Soandso" logged on
etc
etc
(not sure if that last part was a question or a statement, but if theres an answer, i'd like to hear it!)
4.
My girlfriend has a sidekick, and I LOVE the feature of being able to set phone profiles for specific times of the day. Especially during school, it'll go silent, and the second we are out, its back on normal. I have downloaded PZP to try and fix this loss of luxury. However, I personally don't find the program to be very consistent. Sometimes, it seems as if say my "school" profile is fully functioning, while other times, it really doesnt. Call me crazy, but I have taken a shot in the dark and ventured to say that if one touches the volume button on the phone while the phone is on a specific profile...it will throw it out of its cycle. If anyone has some hints/comments/suggestions of their own on this program or other favorites...I would love to hear from you.
5. After I went about and downloaded the Eten dial pad skin, I noticed that all of my contacts were unable to receive contact photos. I quickly realized that any contact that was saved on my SIM card from my previous phone was stuck in this predictament. However, if i were to create a new contact account, it quickly allows me to customize them alot further. Therefore, i was curious if there was any way to transfer my contacts on my sim card>my phone in a fashion that the phone will accept them.
I'm sure i'll think of more questions(these are just the ones that I havent been able to answer after days of searching :-D)
Thank you so much in advance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi,
the speed of the HTC Wizard is very slow. That was my problem too.
for question no. 2:
Moving the apps to the card will result in more free space on the phone, OK, but running the apps from the card will also result in low speed, because the card is slower than the main memory. So I think you won't get more speed by this.
Try to overclock the device with OmapClock. My device works like a charm with 264 MHz (original was 180 MHz).
Use a tool like FreeUp RAM, which is part of the SK-Tools-package.
Running OmapClock and freeing up the RAM from time to time brings significantly much more speed. There is almost no waiting time if you click on an icon. You can even run Skype with OmapClock (many other users do so).
HTH

I have seen tidbits about overclocking through my endless searches the last few days. I've always heard that you have to be careful if you overclock a device, such as a phone. Has anyone had any known issues with the overclocking? Are there risks in having the phone run at that speed all the time?

The Wizard isn't slow. Install a Qtek rom without branding, and it will be much faster.

even the sales associate at tmobile seemed to think it was slow. Upgrading to a different ROM sounds ok, but i'm trying to keep everything via tmobile. thaks for the tip though.

Hi,
Im looking to get the Tmobile USA MDA, but after reading posts like this Im alittle afraid.
I need to run TOMTOM on this device and thinking that this might bring the device to a halt. Now Im starting to think that maybe I should get the 6700. Please let me know what you found out about making MDA faster. Thank you.

TazMan1688 said:
I have seen tidbits about overclocking through my endless searches the last few days. I've always heard that you have to be careful if you overclock a device, such as a phone. Has anyone had any known issues with the overclocking? Are there risks in having the phone run at that speed all the time?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There have been long discussion about what is safe with the Wizard on this forum.
See, for example, http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=40284
Also, the SmartsKey app automates startup of OMapClock.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=41060
(It has a number of other uses as well.
Hope this helps.

TazMan1688 said:
My girlfriend has a sidekick, and I LOVE the feature of being able to set phone profiles for specific times of the day. Especially during school, it'll go silent, and the second we are out, its back on normal. I have downloaded PZP to try and fix this loss of luxury. However, I personally don't find the program to be very consistent. Sometimes, it seems as if say my "school" profile is fully functioning, while other times, it really doesnt. Call me crazy, but I have taken a shot in the dark and ventured to say that if one touches the volume button on the phone while the phone is on a specific profile...it will throw it out of its cycle. If anyone has some hints/comments/suggestions of their own on this program or other favorites...I would love to hear from you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a known problem with backlighting. See http://zendrui.free.fr/PZPForum/viewtopic.php?t=197
Also, check to see what events PZP is handling for profile-switching. For example, if you have calendar-based or time-based rules, they may switch your profile without you doing anything. Go to Settings, Control to see what you Switches you allow. Or check Time and Calendar for your profiles under the Configuration option.

As much as i'm sure overclocking the device may help, especially in my case. I'm just not sure if its worth the risk. Kind of hard to explain to Tmobile why the phone decided to overheat. Seems overly risky to make such an expensive device, run at higher speeds than its DESIGNED to do. But i'm still not sure, it almost DOES seem worth it...decisions, decisions...
Yes, Thank you for clarifying that...I mostly meant, the inconsistency of PZP with the timing of profiles. It seems as if the program will "switch" to the correct profile, but i don't always see a change in the operation of the device itself. Ex: I have it set to go to school mode at 7:30am, this past week(since its spring break, i've noticed that my incoming calls all had the normal ring volume, as well as system tones, etc...
Although it "says" ""School"" i don't really know if its truely in that mode?!
On this note, i have a question about setting the times(which is what i really want to accomplish). My phone goes to LOUD around 5:30am, School at 7:30 am, Normal at 1:55pm, and Quiet at 4pm.
Nooow, do i have to put two times in the school profile such as 7:30 am-1:54(5)???? so that it has an entire time interval...or can i just tell it when to start, and the next profile will automatically kick in and stop the previous.
Also, does putting the phone in standby or shutting it down have any effect on the profile??
I'm sorry in advance if i'm asking very basic questions, i've just been searching for a long period of time, and i usually can't find a specific answer to my question. So I decided I would spend the time to actually discuss MY problem, with hope someone can help. Again, sorry for any inconvienence or redudant questions.

TazMan1688 said:
As much as i'm sure overclocking the device may help, especially in my case. I'm just not sure if its worth the risk. Kind of hard to explain to Tmobile why the phone decided to overheat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a german T-Mobile MDA Vario (= HTC Wizard) and I'm overclocking it permanently with OmapClock and SmartSKey. There is no overheating as far as I can say/feel. I can speed up to 264 MHz (original = 180 MHz). If I try more, the device softresets itself without any damage or loss of data. It's a kind of security mechanism. Of course, battery life is a little bit shorter when overclocking it. But I'm sure, slightly overclocking doesn't damage the device! Maybe the lifetime of the device will be a bit shorter, lets say 6 months in 5 years, but you won't realize that, because you won't be using your device in 5 years. You will sure own some other phone when the CPU dies. Together with the tool "FreeUp RAM" (comes with SKTools), I can reach a comfortable speed for everyday use. But never forget: The Wizard IS quite slow, compared with other devices. You can find smart workarounds for that, but don't close your eyes on that fact.
For running any GPS navigation tools I would consider buying not a Wizard, but a much faster device, if you would ask me. I'm using my Wizard only for addresses (~ 700 items), calendar (~ 1200 items) etc., and without overclocking and using a program like Pocket Informant 2005, that would be an annoying, maybe impossible thing. At the beginning, I had to wait almost 10-15 seconds until e.g. the month overview was created. Switch to the following month - wait again. Choose a specific day - wait again. Oh my god! That needed more patience than I had.

Are you running a basic install without all the phone networks customisation bloat?
you can do this by hard resetting (you will loose data doing this) and then doing a softreset when the customisation dialogue pops up after setting time zone etc.
this will speed things up over an install with tmobiles bloatware. I run tomtom and my device is in general as reponsive as the magician it replaces.
good luck with your phone
R

So guys based on your opinions and experience is it worth for me to get the MDA or should I go with a different carrier and a XV/PPC-6700 ?

Hi yozh,
I don't know the 6700-device at all. Maybe we don't have it here in good old Germany, or maybe under a differnt name. Does it have a bigger display (better for navigation)? Does it have a faster CPU? Then take that one! In my eyes I would never like to use the Wizard for navigation. It's only a better phone, not more, not less. For all other purposes I would buy a bigger machine. I do not want to talk bad about my own device, I have bought it and I use it and it's OK for the everyday things I do with it. It has nothing to do with "I'm proud of my device", like some people seem to be here. It's a phone, man, not a Ferrari or a Rolex. You would tell yourself lies, if you would call the Wizard a powerful device. I had a Palm Tungsten T5 before, and THIS is a powerful device. 2600 items in the calendar (true!), and the reaction time was half a second if you tap on the screen! You can go and have a coffee if you do that on a Wizard.
Just think about it. If you buy a Wizard, try it for a day and then write to me what you think about that phone.
Mh. My english should be better, I know.
Just my 2 Cents!

Hi well the 6700 is the apache I belive and the CPU is 416mhz but its not a "dual core" everything else screen adn such is pretty much the same. Thanks for the reply

SO any one on this forums can recoment apache over MDA ?

yozh said:
Hi,
Im looking to get the Tmobile USA MDA, but after reading posts like this Im alittle afraid.
I need to run TOMTOM on this device and thinking that this might bring the device to a halt. Now Im starting to think that maybe I should get the 6700. Please let me know what you found out about making MDA faster. Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See my posts on http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=48448 regarding processor speeds and TomTom.

Wow really TOMTOM runs better on the MDA then on a 400mhz DELL ? Then Im set defenatly getting the MDA, I like GSM network provide3rs better anyway and plus there are so much choices with the phones. I wish I was able to aford the JASJAS that looks really good.

Also don't forget that when you 'close' an appliation it does not really close, it just goes in to background, thus slowing the system down.
Check out your running processes and close all the ones that are not needed or load an app that really closed things.

TazMan1688 said:
1. The MDA came with the default Tmobile theme which works fine in portrait & in landscape, as well as the default blue Windows theme.
However, I have tried to install multiple themes(including some from microsoft themeselves) and i have one annoying error! Whenever I use an "installed" theme, the portrait screen looks fine, but when I open the keyboard...there are two large greyish/white gaps on the side of the theme.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Themes built for portrait screens look wrong in landscape view. Easy solution: build a theme that works in landscape view. The Guava Bubbles theme works fine in both because the background image is larger than portrait size.
TazMan1688 said:
4. My girlfriend has a sidekick, and I LOVE the feature of being able to set phone profiles for specific times of the day. Especially during school, it'll go silent, and the second we are out, its back on normal. I have downloaded PZP to try and fix this loss of luxury. However, I personally don't find the program to be very consistent. Sometimes, it seems as if say my "school" profile is fully functioning, while other times, it really doesnt. Call me crazy, but I have taken a shot in the dark and ventured to say that if one touches the volume button on the phone while the phone is on a specific profile...it will throw it out of its cycle. If anyone has some hints/comments/suggestions of their own on this program or other favorites...I would love to hear from you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use PPC-Profiles-Pro, but you can't slave this to a time. Besides, I'd rather just put it on Silent mode by holding the connection manager button for three seconds (top left side button). Otherwise I use PPC Profiles to switch from Work (BT) to Home (Wifi, no BT) to Sleep (No Wifi, no BT, no email alerts or reminders, just ringer). Walking into a theater, I just go to silent mode.

bilbo_28 said:
Also don't forget that when you 'close' an appliation it does not really close, it just goes in to background, thus slowing the system down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know. I'm using MagicButton. And OmapClock with SmartSKey. And FreeUp RAM. In deed, I do almost EVERYTHING to make my device run faster.

Related

i-mate JAMin Issues

Hi all,
Pretty much got this thing working OK now. I do have a few 'issues' which maybe you could help with:
1. Speed is just about bearable except in one case: It takes 6 seconds (!!!) to switch between keyboard and transcriber when in notes (or any other program needing input). This makes it nearly unusable for me Any ideas what might be causing this?
2. I really miss the old WM2003 functionality in phone of clicking the left d-pad to access speed dial and the right d-pad to access histroy. Is there any way of restoring this funcionality?
3. This is probably a silly one but hte camera seems to default to landscape mode. I find this hard to use. Is it possible for it to come up in portrait?
Hope you can help.
Regards
Neil__C said:
Hi all,
Pretty much got this thing working OK now. I do have a few 'issues' which maybe you could help with:
1. Speed is just about bearable except in one case: It takes 6 seconds (!!!) to switch between keyboard and transcriber when in notes (or any other program needing input). This makes it nearly unusable for me Any ideas what might be causing this?
2. I really miss the old WM2003 functionality in phone of clicking the left d-pad to access speed dial and the right d-pad to access histroy. Is there any way of restoring this funcionality?
3. This is probably a silly one but hte camera seems to default to landscape mode. I find this hard to use. Is it possible for it to come up in portrait?
Hope you can help.
Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree that switching between different text entry types is PAINFULLY slow. I thought it was a problem with mine, in fact I was thinking of doing a hard reset to try and fix the problem. I'll wait on that now.
Yes the camera is in landscape mode. It took me a few days to get used to it, now I don't even notice it.
its purely down to the slow cpu. if you clock the chip to 252mhz, its a lot quicker.
quite frankly, there is no excuse for HTC to use this cpu in the latest products. everything else about this device rocks! my first pocketpc was 200mhz like what? 5 - 6 years ago?
(im not trying to start a flame war)
Cant say i've noticed speed to be an issue, but then again, i'm used to using the xda exec. I've had my prophet for 5 1/2 hours now and i'm loving it - sooo much quicker than the exec.
I've not noticed the slowness changing between input types either, but i'm sure in time i will.
What rom are you running? mine is the i-mate jamin :
Rom : 1.0.9.25 WWE
Date : 09/01/06
Radio : 01.14.20
Protocol : 4.0.13.25
ext rom : 1.0.9.114
Only one issue i've noticed, the loudspeaker on the back is piss poor - it distorts even when i receive a text message
Cheers
Paul
Same software here exactly. This thing isn't massively slow, it just manages to lag enough on just about everything to be irritating to the point that I'm about to get shot of it
Regards
input methods
Switching between input methods is painfully slow for me as well. I also occassionally have the problem where an alternative input method (such as the phone pad, or the keyboard for CE Star) fails to appear at all, and instead I'm given the standard virtual keyboard.
Re: input methods
Zoltair Wright said:
Switching between input methods is painfully slow for me as well. I also occassionally have the problem where an alternative input method (such as the phone pad, or the keyboard for CE Star) fails to appear at all, and instead I'm given the standard virtual keyboard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Overall I'm really happy with my Jamin. I came from using a Jam. The battery life is great compared to the Jam, especially while using WiFi. At this point the only thing that bothers me as far as speed goes is the text entry method change everything else is fine.....However, I have done all the reg hacks for speed improvement and installed the overclocker app which I only use with video or on some really heavy web pages,Skype etc. With this device it is really worth the time and effort to do the tweaks. The easy way is to get Tweaks2K2.net, it is a program that will do the reg tweaks for you.
everyone raves about the battery life. i get average 5-7 hours of usage which is around 2 hours more than my original jam. the sad truth though is that if you put the same 416mhz intel chip in the jamin as the jam, i bet that the battery life would mirror that of the jam. ie, the effectively half cpu speed is what gives us all the extra batt life.
i want to test my jam clocked at 200mhz for a week, would be interesting to see what happens. should i get another couple of hours, then... i will be very angry
This is probably a silly one but hte camera seems to default to landscape mode. I find this hard to use. Is it possible for it to come up in portrait?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks at digital camera on my desk... Now what would I do if I wanted to take a portrait shot with that? Turn it on its side perhaps? Sorry, but come on.
Used omapclock to get up to 264Mhz, runs much smoother now.
Major problem for me in the ear piece speaker volume Not even half as clear as my SDA.
MS Voice Command is the program causing the text input method box to be really slow. Does anyone know a work around?
I too find the phone app lacking. Coming from a Treo600, i found very usefull the 4 assignable d-pad shortcuts.
That is right:
MS Voice Command is the app that does the 6 seconds pause on switching text input methods. Also cleaning the registry with SK Tools had this effect on my wizard (the Wizard has the same problem). One thing worked for me:
I did a backup with Spb Backup, made a hardreset and restored the backup. Text input change speed was back to normal (<1 second). Try it, maybe it will help.
But a warning: Spb Backup isn't as reliable in restoring your messages as Sprite Backup is. So to go the safe way make a backup with Sprite Backup, too, so that you can restore the Spb Backup without text messages and can separately restore the messages only from the Sprite Backup.
Post here whether this has worked for you!
Greetings
I think I'm going to leave well enough alone for now. MS Voice can wait until the next ROM upgrade which i've read should be coming any week now :roll:

Wizard Overall Performance... are u satisfied?

I have a Cingular 8125. I bought it only a couple weeks ago, and I have to say that if it wouldn't have been for these forums and all the tips tricks and hacks that are being discovered here - I would have taken this devvice back to the store... I have days when I love it and days when I hate it - but overall I have to say that I just barely satisfied with the performance. It just feels like the OS (wm5) is to intensive for the processor in these devices.... and is it just me ... or does anyone else feel like they also are a BETA Tester for this devices and this platform in general .... cause let's face it - these things are not for everyone - it takes a über-geek like me and you to use one
Anyway, I am rambling, but - share your thoughts...
Yes i am, with it overclocked, upgraded rom and various hacks lol... Plus it gives this forum a boost - most problems are fixable
The 195 Mhz of the Wizard are enough for PDA/phone activities. But it's too little if you want to do more wiht your device. For example, when streaming mp3 via WiFi and then immediately encode to A2DP, the machine CRAWLS.
And it is getting worse with WMV video: it won't playback any QVGA WMV videos, too slow of a cpu (tried both WMP and TCPMP).
So, it depends how you use your device.
the 8125 processor 195/200mhz is just as fast as the Verizon/Sprints Xscale 400mhz process just different chips that clock speeds differently. it's like comparing a Intel Centrino 1.5ghz to a 2ghz mmx the centrino can blow past the mmx chip in a benchmark... but anyway the device is pretty fast being that it's small and can hold a decent battery life.
a lot of people add tons of plugs to there device that really slows it down. crappy coding in a plugin can make the 8125 really slow
I have to concur with phlojo on this: I migrated from a Himalaya (XDA2) & WM2003SE onto an MDA Vario. I was seduced by the prospect of built-in wifi, smaller footprint and WM5, but I have been severely disappointed by speed, memory space and stability. The poor stability is probably due to lack of memory, but there are other 'features' :x that infuriate, like a hit and miss alarm. Today I got 2 at the same time - but I have known it to miss alarms or to lose WEP keys, which is a PITA to type in as you can't paste the key on WM5; you have to type manually.
It was suggested in this thread that these issues were caused by additionally installed user applications. All I can say it that I'm only trying to run the same apps as I did on my xda2 (GPS map finding, opera & TCMP). At the moment I give it 6/10. If I find a smaller memory footprint rom to download, this might go up.
I think those considering the upgrade version of this phone need to check the hardware specs before taking the plunge. I've got this on a 18 month contract, so I'm stuck with it for a while.
running wm5 on a vario is like running winxp on a celeron 700
definatley needs more ram as well
Hi everyone,
I was quite concerned when I went from my Dell Axim x50v to the MDA Vario.
I was worried that the jump from 624Mhz to 180Mhz would be a bridge too far!
And it nearly was.....until I upgraded my ROM to 2.17.x.x, now it is reliable, doesnt randomly reset without warning and the performance is very good.
I use Tube 2 quite a bit and Tom Tom 5.21 and find there is little noticable difference to the Axim.
I am sure media encoding and streamng would be a totally different kettle of fish though - 180Mhz is just not enough for this kind of 'work', I am sure the Axim would struggle with this too!
The question is, is this really what you want to do with your Phone/PDA when theres such good 'tools for the job' such as the Sony PSP?
Mark
as a new user to the ppc scene. i dont really know what to expect. i should be receiving my 8125 very soon..
It set to come stock with whatever cingular puts on it..
any advice from the start? im really new to this whole rom thing so dont know what to do exactly..
ive read on here that overclocking boosts performance?
Im really impressed with mine, it works twice as good as i expected it to and thats with minimal hacks, its not even overclocked
im using the latest O2 ROM and i cant say i notice any slowdowns at all.
as i've said before, it performs so much better than my old XDA IIi and thats a 500Mhz WM2003 device!
i honnestly cant complain about it in anyway ... well 1 thing i spose, the stock headphones are horrible, but they work
Mediocre phone barely useable for business
I came from a kyocera 7135, treo 650 to this phone. I had two purchase 1 program and install 3 third party apps to get the functionality of the 7135 on the treo. As for the 8125 wizard this phone is a toy. I use my phone and pda functionality to the fullest and its just been extremely frustrating. DPAD navigation is a joke if it exists for the application. Phone integration with the PIM is worthless just try to copy a phone to the clipboard it only allows to save as new contact. MS made a big deal of respond to missed calls with an sms on the treo 700. Why exclude that feature on this version. Like everything they do nothing is consistent. My favorite flaw though is something that palm does very well. Hard reset the device and your screwed. Apparently not everything is backed up. You are required to reinstall many apps.
Performance the device has to be overclocked. Its performance isn't even acceptable out of the box.
To make the device usefull you need to overclock, install a few apps for menu navigation, a few progs for system maintenance, upgrade rom, make varios registry changes. If it this forum didn't exist I would have sold the phone bought another Treo.
The device or WM5 is good on two items. Wifi and web browser. Palm droped the ball on this big time although the newest version of blazer is supposed to be much better there is still no wifi.
MS needs to work on their PIM/Phone integration and the dpad for the device. the dpad hould navigate to all controlls and menus on the screen.
anyway just my gripes.
- Richard
I love my Vario. Everyone I show it to loves my Vario. That's even without google maps mobile, which I got working today.
Yes it is slow out of the box, I ran it for my first 2 months at default speed, I only setup overclock a few days ago, but now I have it overclocked 20% 24x7 and it's so much better.
I am totally happy with it. Of course I would love the faster CPU and UMTS and scrollwheel of the Wizard II, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
I am happy with the software side. Very happy. It is the first XDA that I can rely on for receiving phonecalls, which afterall is what its for. Hell, its the first one where caller display works properly.
An overclocked XD mini-s plays QVGA videos fine for me.
I bought it knowing it would need hacking, but yeah, were it not for these forums and me being a phone nerd I'd wanna take it back.
I am not happy with hardware. The gap between the botom of te screen and case is appauling. Stuff gets down there, then the touchscreen stops working and its an arse to get out. The stylus falls out and the black paint flakes off.
Also, it randomly fried my 2GB mini-SD card, something which I have never forgiven it for as I still have not managed to replace it. Using this device without a card is impossible. If you have more than 5 photos on it, it constantly comes up with low memory errors.
The main reasons for the dreadful performance are two.
first, the processor has very small data and instruction caches. second, wm5 has this great nifty trick where system calls from a user-space process gets intercepted by the os, run, and then the results go to the process. Or something like that.
Plus, a significant portion of the os and user interface must be .**** i mean .NET which makes it even slower.
I use the custom 2.17 rom available on this site and I'm quite happy with it. Granted, I don't use it's every available feature or play mp3s and video with it often, but I do now and then, either as files or streaming off the web, and it all works fine. I was overclocking for a while but found I didn't really need it and haven't used it since the 2nd or 3rd week I had it. It's definately slower than my old Blue Angel but WM5 is so much smoother in operation than 2003SE which makes up for it. Also, just like with a pc where the keyboard is faster and more convenient than a mouse, the keyboard is much faster and more convenient than the stylus and I avoid pulling out the stylus when at all possible.
I guess everyone's milage may vary but my experience has been a very good one.
Wizard Performance
I must begin by saying that I really love the Wizard after using the ROMs and hacks on this site.
My first Windows device was a n xv6600 with verizon's EVDO network. The xv6600 has a 400 mhz processor. It was very fast but had horrible battery life, poor reception, and had to be soft reset all the time.
When I first got the 8125 Wizard, I almost sent it back. it was slow and locked up often. Next, I tried the Qtek Test ROM which worked better and had A2DP. However, I was still resetting all the time.
Now I'm running Exelencin's 2.17 Custom ROM for TMO. It works very well. The unit performs all tasks just as fast or almost as fast as the xv6600 (Blue Angel) which I still have and use as a benchmark.
I'm hooking up to the Wifi at work and home between 900 and 1200 kbps. That's faster than the EVDO speeds on the Blue Angel. The Wizard streams video from the web very well on Wifi. I'm getting Edge connections through TMO in SLC from 60 to 95 kbps. Though the EVDO is supposedly 3 to 4 times faster, it sometimes takes just as long to download some pages.
I use a ton of BT devices, including but not limited to:
I-PHONO 450RX and MOTO BT820 stereo headsets; Jabra headsets, my HP laptop with BT, and my Audi A6. The Wizard works much better than the Blue Angel. The Wizard even transferred all my contacts directly into the Audi. The BT connections are clearer and work from a longer distance.
I use a variety of foreign language dictionaries, read my mormon scriptures on the wizard. These memory intensive programs actually run faster on the Wizard than the BA. I put all programs on the sd card except one's like voice command which must be in device memory to work well. I also keep all pictures etc. on the mini sd card. Voice command can also be activated with my jabra or moto stereo headsets.
All in all, the Wizard rocks with the right ROM and settings. The battery life is simply outstanding. I can go one to one and a half days without a recharge.
The only time I get the wizard running slow is when I have half a dozen programs running. I wish programs would close when closed. I'm tired of going in the memory settings and shutting down programs I've already closed.
All in all
I have an imate Kjam which I got in MArch this year. I have installed and removed TONS of software and only had to do one hard reset as a result of crap dictionary software. I only have a speed issue when opening large Word docs with tables in it. Otherwise I am a happy camper with my device. I will not use the overclock software as I believe you are looking for trouble.
I will never go back to a regular cellphone now.
I regularly use mortplayer, TCPMP with full feature movies, Media player and Real One Player, and I have NEVER had speed/memory issues.
Remember guys that this little sucker has a DUAL CORE processor!!! It handles graphics BETTER than other faster clock speed processors.
ENJOY!!!
Something else to keep in mind for those with issues with video playback is that the 1.0 version of TCPMP is basically built from the ground up. They are reporting a VERY large increase in speed all round.
Yes you may have to fork over some cash to get all the codecs but for a player like TCPMP I dont think that $20 or so is that big an ask.
Lastly - and something I think is overlooked often - The wizard is a pretty fair phone with good battery life. I bought the unit because it was reviewed as a useable phone, sure I wanted a PPC as well but the phone had to work and not die in 1hrs use.
If all I had wanted was a PPC I would have bought something else, but I hate single taskers and to me the wizard is a great multi-tasker.
Good and bad
After applying a bunch of the tricks available on this site, I am overall quite happy with the T-Mobile MDA, over the Treo 600. I also agree that this site is necessary, but treocentral's forum was necessary, too: every advanced device needs educated users to achieve full functionality.
The biggest nuisance to me is not the speed but the fact that it is not responsive for a long time, 20 seconds or even more, occasionally.
The second biggest nuisance is that I can't search my 700 contacts for a keyword and get an answer in a realistic amount of time. On the palm, that took a couple of seconds; here, even overclocked at 240, it takes 20 minutes. What is with that?
The third nuisance is caps/shift lock, which is mostly that I am used to the Palm method and partly that the palm method makes more sense (turn on sticky with a double press, turn off with a single press of the caps or shift key).
Better things about the MDA: multitasking. wifi. VOIP. Today screen with SPB weather and diary. Runni8ng programs from the mini-SD card. Sound quality (phone and music).
8125 Works Like A Champ
My Cingular 8125 Is absolutely Fantastic...
Previous History...
I had a Samsung x427m freebie Phone and a Used Hp1910 Pocket Pc Off ebay...(150bucks) Did everything I wanted at the time... Played movies encoded at 220bit just fine... Plus I'm Cheap... had games... NES Roms... Mobipocket.... mp3's Liked the 3.5 screen...Kept it for 3-4 years...
8125...MINE...lol
1gb minisd Card
Motorola h500 Bluetooth Handsfree
1 Delux Black aluminum Case...
Firest thing I did was Update the Rom...
Cingular_RUU_225111_BETA_Custom_A2DP_THMS_RNGRS.exe
I knew That I would need to do that Much before I started any Computer geek will tell you you to find the newest Firmware/Drivers...lol
added vjvolubilis.cab to use my motorola H500 Bluetooth Handsfree To listen to music...works good...
Did the Wifi Update so It would actually connect to my wifi... I like WIFI...lol
Kept Wisebar Advanced off... Decided that it Slows up stuff a little, and doesn't like landscape with the only theme I'd actually use...no big deal,
Installed Battery Pack Pro... A MUST HAVE... lets you setup custom little icons to quickly pick application or game to run.... and will let you endtask Without having Wisebar on there... also shows battery time left and memory...
Installed MS Voice Command...
Installed Sprite Backup Another MUST HAVE... Make a quick backup when everything you want is running perfect and everything is installed...
Mobipocket reader Pro.... BOOKS>>>>BEST PROGRAM EVER FOR THIS...
Full Screen, From TXT and other pda formats... Scrolls Best way to Read a book in the Known universe...
TCPMP --- VIDEOS --- Need I say More.... full lenght dvd is about 100mb an hour... at 248 bitrate
Age Of empires Gold ---- Works Good... Good Game.... Still Wishing for AOE2 on PPC
Pocket Tombraider... Works Good... Amazing....
OverClocking Utilities
I've Tested it with the defaults 200mhz 240mhz and 252mhz, seems stable with all haven't compared battery test with them yet
Cingular 8125... Finally SET ME FREE....lol
Music
I still need to Put Pocket Music Player on there... Don't care for Mediaplayer10 but media player 10 works ok...
Movies...
I encode movies from dvd using Lathe around 248 bitrate... Plays them Perfect... without needing to overclock over 200 don't know why anyone would want higher bitrate on such a small screen...
Games - Havn't tried NES yet, but SNES was still too slow...Oh well... I'm fine with Super Mario Brothers 3 --- I'm Still afraid to Remap the phone on and off buttons for games... don't want to miss a call...lol
Tested Battery at 200mhz... thats what I keep it at... looks like playing a movie 248 bit and music and movies, reading, with blutooth off, wifi off,
will give you somewhere about 6-7 hours... WOW... my old PPC only would go for 2h 35min... Oh... the Screen Brightness was at 50% which is what my old pda looks like at 100% and looks great... brightness could go Way higher but not Necessary (wow did I just say that)
Bluetooth... H500... number 2 Handsfree device Cost me 35 bucks including shipping on ebay... Works Very Well When Close to device... Like 7-10 feet...
I use a phone like almost never.... But using the BT to Voice Dial Numbers Is Great...
I was afraid to get this because of the suposedly slower 200mhz processor... what a joke... This is way faster than my old Pda clocked at 300mhz...
I'd say the only drawback is the 2.8 screen, but it seems no to make much difference...
Price... $400 bucks... I bought it New Off Ebay... Unlocked... payed about 50 bucks more than cingular sells it for but keeps me from their stupid 2 year contract... seems worth every penny...
a friend of mine returned hers after about 5 days because she didn't know any computer stuff... had lockup problems because she didn't update Rom... The usuall stuff...lol These arn't for the completely computer illiderate...(at least straight out of the box) But I'd be hard pressed to find a better Device...
I'm pretty happy with my 8125. It's zippy enough for me. I even have Wis Bar Advance 2 loaded along with a bunch of other today plug ins and it's fine at the factory 195mhz clock speed (Though I've recently up'd the clock speed to 228 just because I can, feels zippier w/menus and webpages). It's never frozen up on me, I use Explorer A LOT (3-4 hours a day minimum) for browsing email and webpages at work. I have my Motorola H700 BT headset with me at all times so bluetooth has been turned on since I've had the device. This is the best phone I've had so far. Kicks the **** out of my Treo 650. I was a hardcore Palm user (Owned many Clie's and a Treo 600+Treo 650) and it took me a lot of convincing to "try" the 8125 but now I'm just in love with it :wink:

Rants about the Touch Dual? comments pls.

Hi guys, considering getting a Touch Dual as my next phone, currently using a HP6300 series
would like to gather some feedback on some of the complaints i have seen on other forums on this model. this is impt as i feel that when getting a device, i need to like both the features and also be able to accept the faults as well
1. Battery life - with 3G turned on my Dual can't get through a day of normal busines use without charging. With 3G turned off I have to charge it every night to get through the next day. The M600 used to survive the weekend at least (if I turned the radio off at night).
2. Signal strength - the M600 managed to hold on to its signal for most of my daily train journey to work (up the main line from Basingstoke to London). I could expect to hold onto a call for a few minutes most of the time. Unfortunately the Dual doesn't cope. In 3G mode it barely holds signal long enough to dial a call. In GSM mode, it usually drops the call before I can introduce myself. It also seems to take forever to retrain to a new cell. This drives me (and my customers) mad when someone else is happily continuing their call a few feet away at the same time.
3. Keyboard - I echo all of the points Gears made. I was pretty quick with the stylus on the M600 and hoped the keys would speed things up as the Dual has a smaller screen so is more fiddly to use with a pen. That the keyboard driver isn't clever enough to switch context sensibly just makes me laugh - insanely. That it can't display the letters as fast as I can (sensibly) type them on the keyboard is pathetic.
4. Speed and crashing - it's a joke that the software can't cope with displaying numbers on the screen as you dial them the keyboard. It's painful that often the SMS application locks up so you can't read the messages. It's ridiculous that the memory management doesn't clean up properly after you force quit these applications in an attempt to resolve these issues and you've got to reboot the phone.
I'd love to love the Dual. At first glance it's good looking and slim and light and for all its faults I'm trying to continue to use it but my blood pressure won't stand it for long. I don't want to say that there is nothing good about the Dual - WM technology has come a long way for sure - it just drives me mad that HTC, Microsoft and Orange combined can't or won't put in a little extra effort to make it do the basic things properly. I don't need a flashy media player, I need to read my emails; I don't need to make video calls over 3G, I need to make voice calls reliably; I don't need GPS but I'd love a battery which lasts better than my first GSM mobile in 1994. At the moment the Dual doesn't do it. And I'm sad about that because I don't think this specific product needs to be as frustrating as it is to use every day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the above is a rant from coolsmartphone forumer.....
based on the above...the Touch Dual sounds almost unusable!!...
anyone care to comment on the above?? would really appreciate it
Please see following link for some of my comments on this device: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=370336
Regarding the comments about the battery, signal strength, and keyboard, I really haven't encountered any of those problems. I happen to find all these things quite alright.
The stability thing is a little true. But if you look around this forum, ppl have found various tweaks to fix most of the problems and make the device a joy to use. The comment about the phone not being able to handle numbers as you dial is quite ignorant. There is a little lag, but that's because as you dial, the phone searches through all your contacts in real time to select and display those contacts who's number and/or name matches what you are dialing. I find this feature to be extremely useful.
ohyeahar said:
Please see following link for some of my comments on this device: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=370336
Regarding the comments about the battery, signal strength, and keyboard, I really haven't encountered any of those problems. I happen to find all these things quite alright.
The stability thing is a little true. But if you look around this forum, ppl have found various tweaks to fix most of the problems and make the device a joy to use. The comment about the phone not being able to handle numbers as you dial is quite ignorant. There is a little lag, but that's because as you dial, the phone searches through all your contacts in real time to select and display those contacts who's number and/or name matches what you are dialing. I find this feature to be extremely useful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yup been searching around, read several "mini" reviews including views in this f0rum....but this rant seems to be the worst lol..just wanted to know if those complaints were really that bad...
although i knoe this will be a big leap from my 6300 LOL...just want to make sure i can accept its flaws...
1.is the ringing volume really as soft as mentioned above? my 6300 is really soft..can it get any worse than that lol
2. stability of course is of utmost importance...as long as there are tweaks to improve this...i'm cool
generally happy with the stability. Especially after latest ROM update, have not had any impromptu phone restarts.
Tend to agree with signal strength - I have been getting drop-outs that never happened when I had a nokia E65 (also a slider).
Battery life is fine for me (ie same as all phones these days - expect to charge every night), I do not use bluetooth very often though.
I will say, though, the most annoying design is the USB port. It's exposed, and has long, thin pins. The pins in mine have gotten bent (easy to do if you put USB cable in upside down, or your child thinks it's a good place to jam the stylus), and although I can straighten with some fiddling, it's gotten pretty bad, and I will have to return to get it repaired properly.
I admit that the out-of-the-box touch dual is far from perfect. I have been using it for 6 months and I am still trying to 'tame' it. I think I have made so progress now so here it is:
1) Flash to a wm6.1 rom for the latest drivers
2) Use pocket plus instead of the HTC X-button. You have to uncheck everything in the X-button, reset, then install pocket plus
3) I use spb mobile shell 2.0 and spb diary on today only. No HTC home.
4) Disable cube --> http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=368269&highlight=biotouch
After I have disabled the not-used cube, not only do I have about 7megs of memory more, but I seem to notice a significant improvement to the battery life. With spb mobile shell you absolutely don't need cube. Recommended.
Please delete
hellogts said:
I admit that the out-of-the-box touch dual is far from perfect. I have been using it for 6 months and I am still trying to 'tame' it. I think I have made so progress now so here it is:
1) Flash to a wm6.1 rom for the latest drivers
2) Use pocket plus instead of the HTC X-button. You have to uncheck everything in the X-button, reset, then install pocket plus
3) I use spb mobile shell 2.0 and spb diary on today only. No HTC home.
4) Disable cube --> http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=368269&highlight=biotouch
After I have disabled the not-used cube, not only do I have about 7megs of memory more, but I seem to notice a significant improvement to the battery life. With spb mobile shell you absolutely don't need cube. Recommended.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wow that sounds pretty extreme........lol
can spb mobile shell really fully replace the cube n htc home?? especially in terms of functionality and customization possibillities?
hmm...pocket plus....what about wisbar advance?
comments appreciated!!
ReDeViL said:
wow that sounds pretty extreme........lol
can spb mobile shell really fully replace the cube n htc home?? especially in terms of functionality and customization possibillities?
hmm...pocket plus....what about wisbar advance?
comments appreciated!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is personal preference. I don't like pocket plus.
But I use Ultimate Launch, Mobile Shell 2, Wisbar Advance 3, BatteryStatus and PhoneAlarm to accomplish what I need.
Somewhere along the line, my volume button stopped working (it now locks up my phone) and I am too lazy to hard reset and figure out why but will do it soon.
But I'm with everyone else - while the niki is not perfect, fiddle with it a little and you'll get what you want. It's a great phone.

The Sprint HTC Mogul... just sad :(

I just ventured into the PDA world with a Sprint Mogul and it's been nothing but disappointing so far. I have been on the phone with Sprint and HTC practically everyday. Can anyone shed any light on these issues??
- Memory, says roughly 49 MB of which over half is taken when no apps are opened.
- Tremendous problems accessing mobile websites, such as my bank, which has a mobile site (I can see it, just can't get into it... well twice I did, then error messages).
- The phone seems to drop my e-mail services for no apparent reason... e-mail works, then all the sudden, asks for my user names and passwords, which when I enter, says it's wrong. Reboot the phone, and back in business.
- It will not download and use many of the sites/programs made for mobile (gmail, AOL instant messaging, youtube - gotta do something sitting in airports).
- Screen useless in sunlight.
- Locks up constantly. If you are performing a function, and something else kicks in (text message, e-mail, phone call, etc) everything locks up, and you have to reboot.
- Locks up constantly. (see above)
- Locks up constantly. (you get the point)
- I have to reboot roughly 6-7 times per day.
- If performing a function, and something else kicks in (phone call, message, etc.)--and it does not lock up completely--the current function is blown out and you have to start over.
- If using Sprint Navigation, basically everything else is is unusable.
- Battery life is somewhat poor. And it appears re-charging in the car is much slower than from AC electric at home.
- Because I do not use Microsoft Outlook (Notes user here), the sync is not possible, since everything Windows Mobile is via Outlook. I found a nifty, free back up program for the phone and back it up to the memory card daily. That works, but I can't "sync."
- The HTC Tilt from AT&T (basically the same as Mogul) has 100 MB of RAM, while the Mogul shows less. Any ideas why?
I love the phone and love the concept, but really feel that it cannot perform as HTC and Sprint say it should. Don't know if it's conflicting software, or RAM, or what, but the overall performance is very substandard for this type of phone.
I only have a few days to return it for a service cancellation or a swap, so not real sure what to do. I am very disappointed, because if it could infact perform, then it would be the answer to my PDA needs. Anyone else having similar issues?
sorry
I'm in no way a power user, i just like to **** around with my phone. However i don't experience most of your problems, however i will address some of the issue you presented us with
First of i would suggest running a cooked rom (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=385336 this is for dcd 3.0.4 its what i run), however if you don't want to for what ever reason then:
as for your first point (and last point) of memory we all know that it blows on the mogul and the tilt is a newer phone that is why i think that the tilt has more memory
The internet, i personally use pie normally, and i have been able to do banking and such with pie. however pie plus, opera and whenever skyfire comes out (demo video here http://www.skyfire.com/product/index/demo08) are some good alternatives
The email issue i don't know what to tell you, i have two gmail accounts set up on my phone, and one for my school email phone and they always work for me. There is a setting to have your phone remember your password, so maybe that will help
As for things to do in an airport, it is possible to watch youtube vids (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=343397), gmail i already talked about, and if you know the right .coms you will find aim (i use it all the time)
The screen is kinda bad, however with the brightness setting on one of the higher settings i can you my mogul in direct sunlight (true it's kind of a pain but doable)
Your lock up issue, i don't know what to tell you. Mine never locks up. I have my mogul on pretty much twenty for seven and like once or twice a week i reboot, but i don't have a lock up problem.
i found a program that will back up your contacts and such, i haven't used it and can't find the thread about it, but it was on this forum and people really seemed to like it.
sorry that you are having problems with your mogul, i think the mogul is a very good phone and i really like mine. Any issues that you have with your phone is already solved somewhere in this forum (thats how it was for me)
sean
mark33139 said:
I just ventured into the PDA world with a Sprint Mogul and it's been nothing but disappointing so far. I have been on the phone with Sprint and HTC practically everyday. Can anyone shed any light on these issues??
- Memory, says roughly 49 MB of which over half is taken when no apps are opened.
- Tremendous problems accessing mobile websites, such as my bank, which has a mobile site (I can see it, just can't get into it... well twice I did, then error messages).
- The phone seems to drop my e-mail services for no apparent reason... e-mail works, then all the sudden, asks for my user names and passwords, which when I enter, says it's wrong. Reboot the phone, and back in business.
- It will not download and use many of the sites/programs made for mobile (gmail, AOL instant messaging, youtube - gotta do something sitting in airports).
- Screen useless in sunlight.
- Locks up constantly. If you are performing a function, and something else kicks in (text message, e-mail, phone call, etc) everything locks up, and you have to reboot.
- Locks up constantly. (see above)
- Locks up constantly. (you get the point)
- I have to reboot roughly 6-7 times per day.
- If performing a function, and something else kicks in (phone call, message, etc.)--and it does not lock up completely--the current function is blown out and you have to start over.
- If using Sprint Navigation, basically everything else is is unusable.
- Battery life is somewhat poor. And it appears re-charging in the car is much slower than from AC electric at home.
- Because I do not use Microsoft Outlook (Notes user here), the sync is not possible, since everything Windows Mobile is via Outlook. I found a nifty, free back up program for the phone and back it up to the memory card daily. That works, but I can't "sync."
- The HTC Tilt from AT&T (basically the same as Mogul) has 100 MB of RAM, while the Mogul shows less. Any ideas why?
I love the phone and love the concept, but really feel that it cannot perform as HTC and Sprint say it should. Don't know if it's conflicting software, or RAM, or what, but the overall performance is very substandard for this type of phone.
I only have a few days to return it for a service cancellation or a swap, so not real sure what to do. I am very disappointed, because if it could infact perform, then it would be the answer to my PDA needs. Anyone else having similar issues?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The moguls only has 64MB of RAM, of which some is required for the OS and various other functions. 24MB free is at bootup is a pretty good number for this phone -- and achievable.
Mobile websites don't seem to be a problem for me, maybe it is the version of PIE that you're running, are you using the stock ROM?
E-mail... never had that problem, maybe something is going wrong with your actual servers?
Turn the brightness completely to maximum in sunlight and it will be usable, just not perfect. You need something like SPB Mobile Shell to be able to access the backlight brightness quickly.
Install dcd's 3.0.4 to address the lockup issues.
Use TomTom, iGuidance, Google Maps, or some other navigation. You have to pay for Sprint Navigator monthly anyway.
Get mail2web free pushmail and sync to their online exchange. It's much more convenient that way anyway.
The Mogul is a generation 3 device while the Tilt is a generation 4 device. The comparison is like trying to put the 1993 BMW M3 against the 2008 Mercedes Benz S-Class four door saloon. There is no comparison! You'll have to wait until CDMA carriers have generation 4 or 5 devices and by then GSM providers will probably have generation 5 or 6 devices. Vicious cycle...
Goodluck!
best thing you can do is just sit at your pc and read read read, and when your done read some more.
the people in here are truly good people and will help you with your questions and youll get it goin just how you want it. just takes alot of hard work to even half way figure this thing out. to me the mogul is the best phone out there and this site is the best one out there as well.
mark33139 said:
I just ventured into the PDA world with a Sprint Mogul and it's been nothing but disappointing so far. I have been on the phone with Sprint and HTC practically everyday. Can anyone shed any light on these issues??
- Memory, says roughly 49 MB of which over half is taken when no apps are opened.
- Tremendous problems accessing mobile websites, such as my bank, which has a mobile site (I can see it, just can't get into it... well twice I did, then error messages).
- The phone seems to drop my e-mail services for no apparent reason... e-mail works, then all the sudden, asks for my user names and passwords, which when I enter, says it's wrong. Reboot the phone, and back in business.
- It will not download and use many of the sites/programs made for mobile (gmail, AOL instant messaging, youtube - gotta do something sitting in airports).
- Screen useless in sunlight.
- Locks up constantly. If you are performing a function, and something else kicks in (text message, e-mail, phone call, etc) everything locks up, and you have to reboot.
- Locks up constantly. (see above)
- Locks up constantly. (you get the point)
- I have to reboot roughly 6-7 times per day.
- If performing a function, and something else kicks in (phone call, message, etc.)--and it does not lock up completely--the current function is blown out and you have to start over.
- If using Sprint Navigation, basically everything else is is unusable.
- Battery life is somewhat poor. And it appears re-charging in the car is much slower than from AC electric at home.
- Because I do not use Microsoft Outlook (Notes user here), the sync is not possible, since everything Windows Mobile is via Outlook. I found a nifty, free back up program for the phone and back it up to the memory card daily. That works, but I can't "sync."
- The HTC Tilt from AT&T (basically the same as Mogul) has 100 MB of RAM, while the Mogul shows less. Any ideas why?
I love the phone and love the concept, but really feel that it cannot perform as HTC and Sprint say it should. Don't know if it's conflicting software, or RAM, or what, but the overall performance is very substandard for this type of phone.
I only have a few days to return it for a service cancellation or a swap, so not real sure what to do. I am very disappointed, because if it could infact perform, then it would be the answer to my PDA needs. Anyone else having similar issues?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF WINDOWS MOBILE!
First things first. Read the upgrade forum for instructions on how to ditch the BS ROM that Sprint ships with your phone. Get on DCD's rom. Its screaming fast and doesnt lock up.
As far as your problems accessing websites and downloading things, 99% of your problems can probably be attributed to internet explorer mobile. Ditch that piece of crap. Get opera. Its worth the money or try to find some place to download the new opera 9.5 beta. There should be some cabs somewhere around here...
As far as your navigation slowing down your phone, again its attributed to Sprints crapware ROM that slows down your phone. Get on DCD's.
Make sure your screen brightness is turned all the way up. It could help you see. WinMo auto adjusts this setting sometimes depending on certain conditions. Always check first.
And as far as syncing? Are you just talking about your contacts? ActiveSync (on XP) and Mobile Device Center (Vista) will sync pics and vids and everything without Outlook installed. Or do what I do and get Outlook and just use it for your contacts. you dont have to use it for email.
If you have any other questions ask, we would love to help you love your Titan
Mills00013 said:
If you have any other questions ask, we would love to help you love your Titan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes! I think this sums it up. If you find a user who maybe complained about their phone as their first posts before coming here, then search their user name in the search feature, you will find they changed their tune almost every time. Do like they said and read, read, read, and we will help you love your titan
Mills00013 said:
WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF WINDOWS MOBILE!
Get opera. Its worth the money or try to find some place to download the new opera 9.5 beta. There should be some cabs somewhere around here...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure this is correct? Opera mini is at 4.1 beta, right? Opera full for windows is 9.5. Please correct me so I don't look for hours.
serfboreds said:
Are you sure this is correct? Opera mini is at 4.1 beta, right? Opera full for windows is 9.5. Please correct me so I don't look for hours.
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Click to collapse
opera has two flavors for windows mobile, opera mobile which is at 9.whatever, and opera mini, which is at 4.1 beta.
opera mini is the best browser ive used so far on the mogul. i am a beta tester for skyfire, and while the video,java,flash, and sound support is pretty sweet, it doesnt feel refined for a mobile device like opera mini does. i like putting my web pages in mobile mode and scrolling a page at a time by using the directional pad. if skyfire could do this, then it would be my fulltime browser. until then, ill only use it when i want to see flash,java,video,etc...forgot to mention skyfire eats RAM like a slot machine eats my hard earned wages
YMMV though
kmart is right, two different versions. opera mobile is a software that you have to pay for as opposed to opera mini. opera mini is mostly designed to work on java based handheld phones (like razrs) but it works well on ours. The current version of opera that you download off of their site for windows mobile is 8.65, and its good but its a big piece of software and sometimes can eat a lot of ram for our tiny titans. check out this link, i uploaded a mirror on my site of the beta for you.
@kmart, i just got my skyfire invite two days ago. its definitely cool, but still needs some work. I love how fast it is but to be completely honest, i had no idea before i downloaded it that it used server side rendering. It loads everything i ask it to pretty perfect. I am happy with that for sure.
found one thing skyfire wont load though. speedtest sites. No matter which one, or if i have searched for it or typed it manually, it refuses to load a speedtest site. strange, huh?
flash
flash
flash
and watch your problems disappear
agreed, the one thing worse than a stock winmo rom from a carrier is the stock windows operating system on your computer. effing norton....
Also, while MS does push outlook (and this is the first Windows Mobile/Pocket PC I've ever seen that doesn't come with a full version of Outlook on the disc... What's up with that?!), its not the ONLY way to sync.
You could get a free exchange server with mail2web which would sync all your stuff over the air to their server in real-time. It may use data (I'm assuming you have unlimited data) and add a little drain to your battery, but you never have to back anything up manually (constantly in sync) and you can access your information by going to live.mail2web.com from any PC browser, and anything you enter will be pushed immediately to your phone.
Problem with this method is that its web-based, so its not was smooth to use and enter info as a localized application (plus you're relying on having a net connection).
There are some open source and free outlook alternatives, such as EMClient ( http://www.emclient.com/screenshots/ ) which claims it will support direct sync with activsync like outlook does in the new version due out soon.
There's also funambol, which like exchange above, uses over the air sync routines so you don't need wires or even be near your PC. Advantage to this is that its fully customizable and can be synced with almost any desktop client since it uses an open source platform and based on the standard SyncML (from linux) protocols.
They have a free server at my.funambol.com you can use, or you can host your own to do some fancy configuring.
As far as locking up... Look, this is a powerful OS, and I've seen far too many people get into it without knowing what they're doing, and be instantly turned away (later going with something simpler and more spoon-fed, like palm or the iPhone). If you don't want to take the time to learn how to use it to its potential, this device is not for you.
If you do have the patience, you'll wonder why you ever considered anything else. Just for reference: I go for weeks without a reboot required, and my battery can last almost 2 full days of moderate use, using a live over-the-air sync (currently on funambol).
I have to second the notion of those that say to upgrade to DCD's 3.04
Been running that for a week now and it really is much more stable than even the stock roms!
As for the memory issues people need to remember that the memory use is dependent on what the device is doing...
You could have very few apps running in the background yet still wind up with very little memory if you have a lot of graphically intensive programs running. Hell you will eat up as much ram running a small launcher with 10 icons as you will by running any full program!
Every thing you see displayed on your screen eats up program memory.
Every today plug you run does too...
Background services like the GPS chip will eat up ram as well even if you have it shut off!
So you really have to be thrifty with what you have run by default and load things as you need them instead.
I also find it useful to reset the phone once in the morning to start off fresh each day.
Asphyx said:
I also find it useful to reset the phone once in the morning to start off fresh each day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Amen to that. Amen.
can't stress enough how much better your winmo experience will be if you shut it down once in a while. And check your task manager too. you might be running a lot more apps than you are expecting.
Eh, that shouldn't be required.
Unfortunately, Windows Mobile cache files don't always let go of the memory when u need it most, and this effect varies from rom to rom.
DCD and no2chem's are both better at this than the stock rom.
But either way, if you run a tight ship, properly closing apps and running a strategically placed hibernate command every now and then, you should be able to go for weeks without needing a reboot.
Personally, I end up rebooting a couple of times a week, but not on purpose.
Usually because I actually have to turn the phone for a moment to either save battery or going someplace they don't allow phones. I rarely reboot "just because" anymore.
im running quite a bit of software full time on my titan and sometimes that software crashed (read: wisbar and wisbar desktop). this forces me to restart. but you are right, on my base config (running a custom compiled version of DCD's 3.0.4 currently) i never have to really restart. Windows mobile is great, if you just give it some RAM breathing room and dont turn the processor into a puddle of mush inside your phone trying to play crysis... it just doesnt work well...
IF the unit had the 128 ram the unit would avoid most of the problems people have with it...
WM has always been a system that you had to stay on top of the Ram. But that has always been because Ram was so limited...
Using HTC X Button set to close apps on X Press greatly decreases the problem of running low on memory.
Using the DCD ROM and the PPCG Kitchen, I was able to find a setup thats leaves plenty of RAM available.
The key was not to install too many Apps that need to run in the background on boot.
SPB Phone suite took the place of about 4 or 5 different apps so I could leave them out of the ROM.
I have found however that some graphic and data intensive apps work better if you do a reset first...GarminXT comes to mind.
If the unit had 128 Megs of Ram it wouldn't be an issue...
I also save a lot of problems by having an 8Gb SDHD card to install all the apps that don't require installation on the device...
my phone pissess me off from time to time but I am a power user. I use my phone for navigation, mp3, watching tv (slingbox, not that bootleg sprint tv), and your standard features. Everything is installed on my 8 gb memory card to avoid any weakness in memory, yet my phone freezes from time to time, screen doesnt work (rarely) and i get memory low messages when attempting to do certain things. Its the only phone that really fits my needs and i'm kind of overloading it with applications but as a power user, these are the issues I face. Some of your issues...seems like phone may not be setup properly? I would take it to a sprint store, let them look at it. Much easier to deal with someone face to face rather than over the phone.
That was a helluva 1st post. Welcome to the board.
Like others have said, use a custom rom; it's much cleaner. The stock rom out of box probably needs a few things added to make it stable. I've used the stock rom just fine (don't prefer to, but it works).
Sounds to me like a you may be doing a poor job managing your program memory. Simple things like the X-Button, help a lot.

Let's face it: HD2 has many problems.

No need to hide. This phone has many problems, still many people seems to ignore them completely. No need to start the "It's your phone, it's strange, I use it a lot and it never happens" saga. The problems are there. And for everyone. The fact you don't notice some bad behaviours doesn't mean the phone is perfect or that your baby is exempt from problems. Let's start:
1) Suboptimal WI-FI performance. On a 802.11g wireless network, connected to an 8Mbps internet connection, the phone can't even saturate the badwidth of the network. Speedtest.net reports an approximate 2Mbps download capacity (EDIT for those who cannot distinguish: 2 megabits, not megabytes). Test it yourself: try to download something from a fast website and try to figure out which is your maximum download transfer speed. You will be disappointed. As a comparative, this means the phone can use 1/4 of the available bandwidth. A SonyEricsson Satio can fully use the available bandwidth, instead (someone told me "tell me a phone that can do it. Now you have one).
2) Stanby freeze: it's there. The phone freezes randomly while in stanby draining all your battery juice. Sometimes happens rarely, sometimes happens frequently.
3) Poor memory space handling: after just 20 days of use from a fresh ROM update, my free memory space on ROM is just 36MB. Without installing big things or hacking anything. Sure, there are fixes produced by the community, log cleaners, temp files deletion utilities, etc. etc. Still, it's a quite a disappointement: it means this phone can't work properly in a "factory state" for much time.
4) "Always on" features: nice, apart the fact in random periods of time the services just stop to download data. The Twitter client doesn't work well. Sometimes you can hear a tweet sound, sometimes it downloads data without the sound, sometimes it downloads nothing until reboot.
5) Poor stability in general: the OS crashes frequently. Less frequently than the first shipped rom. Still it's not very stable.
6) Poor support in general with the updates: finally the SMS stuck problem has been fixed but they spent 3 months for it without a valid solution. The camera fix doesn't hide the fact the sensor is defective.
I don't say this to start a flame, of course, but only because I'm frustrated with these problems. And people, instead of spreading words about them, just pump the hype, including some notorious web sites that have no scope but pushing the hype even further. But the truth is another: this phone doesn't work as expected.
I honestly do not have the problems you're describing..
Your "truth" is very different from mine, but ne1 is allowed to have no
Can't comment on all those, but i hear you, defo had some of them and i'm on my 2nd unit after 2 weeks.
With Nokia it took them at least 6 months to iron out the flaws in their released phones, defo the case with N95 & N96, i didn't expect it to be the case on this phone.
SMS fix? is it? or only in 1.66, because the hotfix's don't work on the 1.44 ROM
I would like to add the Audiobooster problem to that list
well, I don't pretend mine is perfect but there are more things to love than to hate about it. regarding the problems, I think you cannot generalize because I've never experienced some of your issues but I'm bothered by other myself. finally I guess it's just a subjective call anyway...
I had some of your problems when my HD2 was on the original 1.48 WWE Hong Kong ROM. However, since I flashed HSPL, Merlion LEO V1.90 ROM and Radio version 2.07.50.27_2, it's been faster and absolutely stable. No more freezing/"Sleep of Death"/etc...
jonbaker76 said:
I would like to add the Audiobooster problem to that list
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That one really annoys me too. Still can't find a way to get video and audio in sync without manually adjusting the offset whilst encoding. And HTC still can't get the hang of getting Audiomanager to handle AAC files properly (ie sort albums in track order, or show.their album art). Still, it's a lot quicker than my Touch Pro was ; )
Yeap! I'm very happy that I could be refunded. Too many bugs for such a device.
^
If you want something that works out the box, get an iPhone
I have none of your issues and i can prove it with tests and videos.
I wish i had an "unlike" button to use it here. You are frustrated because either you don't know how to work with this phone or you have some bad software or even a bad phone. Replace it!
You are emitting false statements here!
PS: I have the phone for 2 months.
I'd love to see a phone or device that was perfect.
Every piece of hardware has its own problems.
I've been waiting for so long for someone to start a thread entitled as "Let's face it: HD2 has many problems". Eagerly watching this thread for some positive and negative input.
All in all, HTC Sense is at it infant stage. This "is" the culprit. Perhaps by end of this year, we will worship it someday...
To the developer/creator of HTC Sense, please use your common "sense" when trying to convince people to buy your idea. The first major mistake was SMS failure. Totally non-Sense.
1. have to say the WiFi (at work) is slow (2.2Mbps) but speedtest.net is SO unreliable I'll hold off commenting until I try at home tonight on my O2 LLU connection.
2. never had it
3. doesn't happen to me, currently got 107MB free of storage and 266MB of program memory free
4. other than Twitter client being a bit crap it's fine
5. mine doesn't crash
6. updates are fine but I've not had any of the issues others have had in the first place, less so now running a custom ROM
Return your phone and get an iphone/android device.
This kind of issues, even if I haven't myself had most of those you list, have been around with EVERY WM phone that has been made.
Of course WM is far from perfect, but as someone already said to me the advantages far outweigh them, and I can live with them and the need for tweaking.
1) Wifi speed, show me one phone that can transfer at full G speed. The processing power/memory bandwidth/flash memors speed can't handle that.
It also depends a LOT of the software used.
I do get 1-1.5MB/s (8-12Mbps) transfer on wifi between the HD2 and one of my home computers, with WiFi remote access, and on balanced wifi performance. With Resco explorer, I get 150kB/s...
2) Never had one.
3) Depends... could be just normal, now that the album and browser caches have reached their limits, and would stop there. Stock ROM has a lot of useless stuff on it.
etc...
dgtel2 said:
To the developer/creator of HTC Sense, please use your common "sense" when trying to convince people to buy your idea. The first major mistake was SMS failure. Totally non-Sense.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sense is fine, but the vanilla Win6.5 fails hard.
And if this thread gets to about page 5, it would probably just turn into another Leo vs iPhone flame war.
For the WiFi "problem": ~ 2 MByte /s is just the normal average speed, even with my laptop I won't get much more on 802.11g .. It also depends on with how many other devices you share your WiFi-channel.
btyeh said:
Sense is fine, but the manilla Win6.5 fails hard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is manila win6.5?!?! Do you even know what manila is? manila = sense!!!
I think there are a lot of 'duff' units, this must be the case with the 'sleep of death' and the crackley call as many of had it but most don't.
I took mine back, got a new one yesterday, no crackles no sleep of death... yet
But true, there are always gonna be problems, it will take months before a near perfect firmware, sorry, rom is out
Thank god for my HTC HD2. No problem here beside the screen shaking. But I hardly notice it.
kilrah said:
1) Wifi speed, show me one phone that can transfer at full G speed. The processing power/memory bandwidth/flash memors speed can't handle that.
It also depends a LOT of the software used.
I do get 1-1.5MB/s (8-12Mbps) transfer on wifi between the HD2 and one of my home computers, with WiFi remote access, and on balanced wifi performance. With Resco explorer, I get 150kB/s...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SonyEricsson Satio, for example. I download at 900Kb/s with it on the same network (using the same browser, Opera Mobile 10 Beta 3). Poor implementations doesn't mean it's not possible. Do we need 4Ghz quad core processors to use a wireless g network? Obviously not.
3) Depends... could be just normal, now that the album and browser caches have reached their limits, and would stop there. Stock ROM has a lot of useless stuff on it.
etc...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A bad behaviour, even when happens at factory settings is still a bad behaviour. You have a strange definition of "normal". Surely a phone that in 20 days saturate all the available space on the rom cannot be considered "normal". It's a poor implementation of things. A good implementation would have addressed it from the start by allowing the user WHERE to store that files or giving him an option to clear that files without an hard reset. No, it's not normal. Software design it's a much more complicated thing than those "normal" things.
You know you have problems when your best programs are Hd2tweaks, Bsbtweaks and Resco registry editor. And you are continually wiping out your system and trying new roms. Although Xannytech evolution was a good one.

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