Touch H.D. - A review from a W.M. Virgin - Touch HD General

I was due an upgrade from Orange, after having used a n95 for the last year or so, which was a device I liked. Works straight out of the box as a phone, with the features you would expect a modern phone to have aready implemented in a user friendly manner. Also has the capability to be updated and personailse as you see fit - mine had orange o.s. ripped out within a day of arriving.
Knowing an upgrade was due I spent an afternoon on the net wondering what to go for. Seriously consider decamping to O2 for an iphone, mainly because of the data tariffs there, but had my eye turned by this new Touch H.D. gizmo. Now partly because a few of my mates already have iphones, and partly because I enjoy being contrary, and also because I hate the way "Apple" are trendy and Microsoft hated, the H.D. it was.
Haggled away with Orange and managed to get 1200mins, 500 texts, 0.5gig data for 45 quid month. So in went my order.
The HD arrived the next day. I excitedly opened the very sexy packaging (I have a very sad affection for gadget boxes and keep them for years - even after the device has packed up!), had a quick read of the quick start, plugged her in and off I went.
Nice looking skin,quick to where you want to go. Seems good.
But then things got sticky. I wanted to find out how to bluetooth contacts over to the H.D. Nothing in the quickstart nor the pdf. I know, I know, I could of stuck me old sim in and copied the contacts over, but this is a new toy and we like to play, right? After a couple of hours got an answer over the interweb about how to do this. Phew. Then did the sensible thing of copying these contacts to the sim for safety. Uh oh - the dreaded duplicate contact showing problem.
Then I decided to try the browser. As per another post I could not connect to wifi for an age, then it suddenly started working. Furthermore, I was getting a constant "xml parsing error" when trying to connect via Orange Internet. Had had the phone six hours now, and had only managed to get duplicate contacts on! Arrggghh, fustration of the nation.
Sent a text to a mate, only had I? No sending confirmation. What is going on? Oh, all messages--->sent. Mmm, hardly immediately user friendly.
I was getting tired, so set the alarm. How primitive thought I. More primitive than I realised when I was awoken and finally worked out that three button presses were required to get the alarm into snooze mode. Three! And only then if you had randomly pressed the alarm icon in the top bar in the hope it would do something - couldn't see this advice in any instructions anyway.
So by my second day was getting very dubious about this hardware, even allowing for the mandatory new device learning curve. Happily I stumbled across this place. Installed all the recommended softwares.
Klaxon - hey, my alarm now works like all the other alarms on all other phones.
Adavance Config - hey now I get an sms sent confirmation, and my phone is faster.
Backup -copied my contacts from the storage card, after running this programme, to my pc, deleted the sim contacts and hey presto! No more duplicate sims, and a safe back up.
I then played around with the advanced connection setting and the connection wizard and bang - my browser now works!!!
Suddenly I start to like this phone. Nay love it. It appeals to the very big geek inside of me. Its hard to use, you have to batter away at it to make it user friendly. It's more like a p.c. than a phone - ding dong! It is more like a p.c. than a phone.
And here in lies a problem I believe for the majority of users who will gets this phone and will be flummoxed by it and bin it back to Orange.
It needs to be set up as a phone first if Orange are flogging it as a phone, and not a p.d.a. as they do Blackberry. Little things, like a decent alarm clock, sms confirmation, instructions for contacts, turn off sim contacts option. A much better wlan interface - akin to the N95 would help. On that device selecting the browser gives you a pop up which gives you the option of orange internet, or if one is available a wlan. A simple click on the wlan you want and you're in. All very easy, and in contrast to having to open up communication, wireless lan, wlan, advanced, to swap to a different wlan.
None of these things would take too much effort to implement, and would make the Touch HD excellent for a beginner out of the box.
Your average user though will find these irritatations unforgiveable in some circumstances, and if the rumours of high returns to Orange are right, I bet the above bug bears have a large part to play in this.
However, once the phone is personalised, and once it is accepted as a computer, then I think it is fantastic. It's gorgeous to look at and hold, there's lots of nice little features- cover flow in favourite contacts is good eye candy for example.
And now I realise Ive got another piece of Redmond in my pocket, I'm even happier. This phone is a geeks dream - the "chic of tweak" perhaps? After four days with it I love it. I'm going to love it even more in months to come when some clever peeps get Android running on it, or when WM6.5/7 comes out.
A fantastic computer that does phone calls, as well. But out of the box, not a fantastic phone.
Just my 2p's worth.

Interesting to read your experience. I'll keep some of those things in mind when I get my phone next week. Do you have links to the software you added from here? (like Klaxon, Advanced Config, Backup...) I know I can search the forum, but I thought maybe you had them handy to post.

Chris Cross said:
Interesting to read your experience. I'll keep some of those things in mind when I get my phone next week. Do you have links to the software you added from here? (like Klaxon, Advanced Config, Backup...) I know I can search the forum, but I thought maybe you had them handy to post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anything for our German friends ( 2-1 ;-) ) :
Klaxon:
http://www.koushikdutta.com/search/label/Klaxon
Advance Config:
http://julien.schapman.free.fr/touchxperience/advanced-configuration-tool.php
Backup:
http://www.dotfred.net/
Gyrator:
http://gyrator.brins0.net/
Remember also when you get your phone to add "file manager" to your list of programmes. The software is already on the phone, and you need it to navigate to your storage card to run new programmes.
Enjoy!

mooro1973 said:
Anything for our German friends ( 2-1 ;-) )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2-1 LOL
Thanks!

excellent review that provides a good insight for winmo newbies, and I sure recognize my first experience in this, winmo is an acquiered taste and it gets addictive with time because yes, this phone really is an ultraportable PC with a phone slapped onto it. I'm gonna send this to some people I know still sitting on the fence

Related

New MDA Vario user questions

Hi! I've just upgraded my T-Mobile account and got a shiny new MDA Vario, which is great - but I'm sure I'm going to have one or two questions for the gathered experience of this excellent forum which I've just spend a good deal of time looking through. So far, I've unlocked the unit from T-Mobile, installed some stuff like RegistryWizard, Smartskey and OmapClock, and added a nice big 2Gb memory card for fifty quid thanks to all the helpful topics here.
Now, a few quick questions which I can't seem to find answers for so far. Can anyone help me?
1) Can I set the Calendar to default to starting up in the "Month" view, I can't seem to find a setting that lets me.
2) I'm sure I've seen an option in a menu somewhere to set the unit so that it comes out of standby into the keyboard locked status. At present, when I receive a text message it brings the unit out of standby and activates the buttons and the touchscreen - which if the unit is in my pocket is not an ideal state for it to be in! I've found an option to password lock the device after a set period, which isn't quite what I want, but I can't find that other option again.
3) Can I use Wi-Fi (which I've got working fine to access my home broadband via my router) to access the contents of the shared folders on my Windows XP PC or Notebook, or the contents of a Freecom network harddrive which is connected directly to the router?
4) Sometimes when I wake the device up from standby, Windows Media Player pops up a box saying that it has found a new Memory Card and should it scan for files (the card has not been changed since the unit went to sleep). Is there any way to stop this box popping up?
5) Any thoughts as to what this Today plugin is (below)? It looks really useful to have on the main screen. And suggestions for a daily/hourly updating news/weather tab would be neat too. Is there anywhere special I should look for this kind of thing?
Thanks for anyone's help - and sorry for all the questions!
Regards,
Andre
I can only really answer question 5. That is SPB Pocket Plus. Head over to http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/ & get it, best thing I ever bought for my Vario
Sorry I can't answer your other questions
Big D said:
I can only really answer question 5. That is SPB Pocket Plus. Head over to http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/ & get it, best thing I ever bought for my Vario
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that, looks like that might well be worth spending a bit of money on. They do a nice weather plug-in too, which will go nicely with pretty-much unlimited internet access on T-Mobile's new £7.50 tarif, which appears to be coming out next month. (If that's true, I can see a lot of UK users migrating the T-Mobile way)
Anyone else got any comments on my other questions at all?
Cheers,
Andre
andrewilley said:
4) Sometimes when I wake the device up from standby, Windows Media Player pops up a box saying that it has found a new Memory Card and should it scan for files (the card has not been changed since the unit went to sleep). Is there any way to stop this box popping up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Qtek-9100 did the same thing untill I updated its firmware from 1.1.7 to i-mate's 2.16.9. There is no such a message since then.

Basic SPV M600 questions

Hello there, I hope I have got this in the right forum.
I have been perusing the forums, and you seem like a nice helpful bunch, so I thought I would pass some questions your way.
I am really interested in getting the Orange SPV M600 phone/pda as it has all the features I am looking for. I just have a few worries about usability.
Firstly - is it easy to send texts? I could just see typing on a touch screen quite hard, and I send quite a few texts. Can you write them using the keypad style keyboards (not qwerty, the sort on normal mobiles)? I can imagine on a small screen a qwerty keyboard would be awkward to do - it would be nice if I didn't need a stylus and could just use my fingers.
Secondly - Is it easy to make calls? I know these are very basic questions, but I haven't really read a review that answered them.
I make quite a few calls and I would like to be able to easily access my contacts quickly and without having to use a stylus also.
Lastly - what are your opinions on the phone? Do you like it? Wish you had gone with another / recommend another over it?
Cheers for your time...
I have the M600 and while I don't do hundreds of texts a month I do a fair number. You have the choice of using several different input methods, two of the easiest are probably the keyboard (QWERTY) on screen keyboard, which when you get used to tapping away can be very quick, although may not be so easy if you are on the move as the keys are fairly small. Second you have the PhonePad which is akin to a normal phone keyboard and gives you T9 (or ABC/123) input. If you are at a PC you can also use something like Pocket Controller to give you a view of your Pocket PC on your PC and you can also type from your PC making writing texts very quick.
In answer to your second question, making calls is very easy. From anyhwere pressing the Phone answer button takes you to the phone and from here you can use speed dial, access your call history, your entire contacts list and if you start typing a number you get a filter of your contacts. For me the phone works pretty well. Size wise as a phone I find the M600 pretty good - at least you dont feel like you are holding a brick to your head like when using an XDA2... One of the main differences you may find to a traditional phone is that you need to be very careful if carying it in your trouser pocket - it would be pretty easy to break/scratch the screen - so never put your car keys in the same pocket... I just use the standard case (with the belt clip removed) and this works pretty well for me, although I am always careful.
Personally, I love this device (although I had the Jam before and loved this). I don't watch movies, or use Skype on it and I find the performance really good and the battery life is very good as well. One handed use has been massively improved and the soft keys help a lot with quick and simple navigation. For me this is my alarm clock, diary, phone, sat nav...
Excellent post! Just what I needed to know.
I have read on lots of forums that the processor is really slow and a lot of people have been complaining about it, but I won't be using skype, and I doubt msn on my phone as you say, just viewing docs, sending texts, calls, using the calendar etc.
One other question that springs to mind: What is the synchronisation like with the PC?
If I have my calendar on my phone, does it synchronise well with outlook or whatever?
Oh, and just to keep you all interested, one more question, I want to hear you arguments and reasoning for your choice:
Should I be getting the SVC M600 or the SPV M3100?
As said before, I am looking for something that functions really well as a phone, is reasonably small and compact, but has the added extras of wifi, decent calendar that synchronizes, word doc viewer etc.
Cheers...
PS. Or even the SPV M1500
For me this is my alarm clock, diary, phone, sat nav...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me too. 8)
I have read on lots of forums that the processor is really slow and a lot of people have been complaining about it, but I won't be using skype, and I doubt msn on my phone as you say, just viewing docs, sending texts, calls, using the calendar etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you find it a bit slow, go to this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=55782
The OC tool provided there really works well. Skype will work just fine with this too.
One other question that springs to mind: What is the synchronisation like with the PC?
If I have my calendar on my phone, does it synchronise well with outlook or whatever?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sychronisation works great using ActiveSync 4.1. Yes, it synchronizes with OutLook. If you don't have OutLook, it's provided on a CD in the box.
SPV M3100? Not familiar with that one.
I have the M600 and I'm really pleased with it. 8)
Hi, Ihave the german O2 XDA Neo and finally it's the best cell i ever own! It's very comfortable to use the phone, more than a SE k750i or my Motorola SLVR!
I don't like the PhonePad T9 for writing long texts; if you don't want to use the stylus I recommend you the FullScreenKeyboard bei Spb http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/fsk/?de
All great stuff guys, keep it coming!
Thanks very much
WOW!
Get this, since this morning orange have now released the SPV M3100.
You can now actually buy it from there site!
Linky for M3100:
http://shop.orange.co.uk/shop/show/handset/orange_spv_m3100/detail/pay_monthly
Linky for M600:
http://shop.orange.co.uk/shop/show/handset/orange_spv_m600/detail/pay_monthly
You guys are really selling me the M600 very well though
Extra linkys (because I love 'em!):
http://www.modaco.com/index.php?showtopic=243020
http://www.directmobilephones.com/spv_m3100_orange.htm
http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/hands-on-with-the-htc-hermes-t-mobile-mda-vario-ii/
http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/11/live-from-cebit-htc-wizard-vs-htc-prophet/
http://msmobiles.com/news.php/5011.html
Man! That M3100 looks gorgeous!!
One complaint though...it uses MicroSD! :?
I still want one though..... 8)
Yea I know!
I am going to go into the orange shop tomorrow and try them both out. Have a feel of them in my hand / pocket, see if they are too bulky etc
I will get back to you on it 8)
Just to update this thread as well:
Well the poeple in the orange shop said that they didn't have any in yet to look at, and guessed it would be later that week that they got some...

Touch HD Security - My HD was stolen!

Hi guys,
A bit of bad news... my HD was stolen yesterday - i am gutted!
Orange have blocked my handset and SIM card after I gave them my IMEI number - this is somewhat reassuring, however my phone is using a custom rom, so I am concerned if the block sent by orange will actually get to the phone? Also, orange say the handset and the SIM will be blocked.
Is the "handset" just the phone part of the HD? in other words. is the device still useable as a PDA (without phone access).
I use PIM to backup all my appointments, text messages, phones numbers etc, but as far as I am aware, this data is stored on the memory card (damn it). I also use Sprite backup to backup my phone entirely... it copies the 35mb backup file to my computer which is great (but i dont think sprite stores the text and numbers ifor like PIM does). Does anyone know if PIM would copy the files to my computer?
At worst, I know I have all my telephone numbers and appointments because these are in outlook. But its not clear yet how much "stuff" ive lost for good... I guess its the memory card that im most concerned about. Is the memory card blockable? encrypt-able? password-protect-able? I'm guessing the theif can use my card in their computer and access all my data? Orange said that "if i syncronised the memory card with the phone, the card is only accessible via that phone" - this seems to ring a bell - i think i did see an option to do this when I had the original orange factory rom and I think I did actually do it back then, but since ive been flashing new roms, I havent done it since - should I assume that the "pairing" of memory card and phone has been severed once I changed rom and my card is actually accesible via any phone or computer? Any ideas?
Sprite backup gave me the option to backup my memory cards content as apart of the backup process, but I chose against it because *most* of the files I had on my computer anyway, but now I wished I had done (i guess the fact that it'd probably take a good half an hour to backup a 4GB memory card put me off).
To round off, in the future I would like to protect myself from loosing my phones data. Has any one got any ideas or advice for better practice? Is there a way of protecting my memory card etc?
All help and advice is much appriciate in my time of grief! I was so happy just two days ago (I even posted my feelings in the Rhodium forum recommending ppl stick with the HD and just get Dutty's V3 ROM - how sad am I) lol.
PS. Anyone selling a HD or know where I can get one on the cheap. lol.
Thx.
WizzKidd
How did it happen? Did you leave the HD unattended?
Why you didn't install any anti-theft software? I'm using RemoteTracker (free) and I'm just waiting that somebody will steal my HD .
wizzkidd said:
Orange said that "if i syncronised the memory card with the phone, the card is only accessible via that phone"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fraid not, unless you've specifically activated some encryption. They can just stick it in a memory card reader.
esackbauer said:
How did it happen? Did you leave the HD unattended?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I work in a school as an IT technician, my HD was on charge beside my computer in my office. Students enter the room to pick up work they've sent to the colour printer... one student decided to help himself (even though there was 2 members of staff in the room at the time anyway). Police are involved, we have CCTV footage of students entering the room and leaving, but nothing conclusive. But the odds are against me getting the phone back. And for that extra kick in the goolies, my phone wasnt insured.
That stealing thing is quite a nightmare scenario, they'll know everything about you. What's more, any deleted data can be easily recovered if it was not securily deleted before. Ironically, any normal cell phone is more secure than any WM phone ... What's currently missing is a WM True Crypt type software which allows to encrypt the whole device, with password boot security. That's what RT does not offer you: silent and above all secure remote deletion of all or selected files on the storage card.
johnpatcher said:
Why you didn't install any anti-theft software? I'm using RemoteTracker (free) and I'm just waiting that somebody will steal my HD .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I probably would have installed software of that nature eventually, but I had only just flashed it with Dutty's V3, and the latest radio and the latest SPL (check my signature). The device was fresh... It only had Tom Tom 7 and S2U2 on it.
There is a god!
THERE IS A GOD! I have been reunited with my Touch HD! wooohooo.
To cut a long story short, the thief/student in the school who was suspected pretty much sh*t themselves so much after being interrogated by the schools head teacher and internal police officer, as a result my phone is back in my hands (albeit without a battery - don't ask me where or why that's missing, but 95% of the phone is back with me, I've been told the battery will be back with me by tomorrow too - I cant even be bothered to ask questions, i'm just like "yeh? ok cool, thanks". lol.
Now what should I install on my phone from a security perspective? I feel like putting an electrocuting circut on the damn thing now. lol
WizzKidd
wizzkidd said:
THERE IS A GOD!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If so you phone shouldn't been stolen, should it .
wizzkidd said:
Now what should I install on my phone from a security perspective? I feel like putting an electrocuting circut on the damn thing now. lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally I'm using RemoteTracker, however there are many others out there, just hit a search with the keywords "anti theft".
that remote tracker sounds like a good thing to have. which version will i need? my htc touch hd is alsmost straight out of the box. dont want to mess with it too much incase i break it lol
Take a Look at SpritTerminator,
it's a nice Tool like Remote Tracker, but with more importent features.
automatic sending a sms with gps-data and sim-card-numer, if a unauthorized SIM is used, partner phones are configurable, auto lock after succesfully sending
remote control your device from authorized phones only via SMS-Comands like
"lock phone"
"remotly send phone book or call history"
"delete all data" - format storage card
"display a warning message" like "Wow, you have find my phone, bring it back, our position is tracked"
i like this tool
but the better way is, to integrate SpriteTerminator in the own custum ROM with correct config, so that it resist a hard reset (my plan for future)
sethos said:
Take a Look at SpritTerminator,
it's a nice Tool like Remote Tracker, but with more importent features.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to hear the OP got his phone back, albeit sans-battery.
http://www.spritesoftware.com/products/sprite-terminator looks good.
I'm just wondering though, does the application access the GPS functionality in the back-background to find out where it is (meaning it's not obvious GPS is being used / no loading of Google Maps or anything silly like that!).
US$14.95 is not bad for data security and curiosity (if it gets stolen) purposes.
sethos said:
automatic sending a sms with gps-data and sim-card-numer, if a unauthorized SIM is used, partner phones are configurable,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
RemoteTracker does quite the same thing .
I guess Remote Tracker is a good idea. Nonetheless, there is also the need to protect your data on your phone (even if it were only the storage card)... something like Truecrypt ...
Check this, kinda like truecrypt, but works on PDA's
FreeOTFE
Haven't tried it though
wizzkidd said:
THERE IS A GOD! I have been reunited with my Touch HD! wooohooo.
To cut a long story short, the thief/student in the school who was suspected pretty much sh*t themselves so much after being interrogated by the schools head teacher and internal police officer, as a result my phone is back in my hands (albeit without a battery - don't ask me where or why that's missing, but 95% of the phone is back with me, I've been told the battery will be back with me by tomorrow too - I cant even be bothered to ask questions, i'm just like "yeh? ok cool, thanks". lol.
Now what should I install on my phone from a security perspective? I feel like putting an electrocuting circut on the damn thing now. lol
WizzKidd
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
now get it insured!!! £5/month with orange. covers damage,loss, thiefed etc
with an access of only £15.. worth it i think, as i have my HD covered by this
i hear good things about WIMP (Where Is My Phone)
Georgeous2008 said:
I guess Remote Tracker is a good idea. Nonetheless, there is also the need to protect your data on your phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't anything critical on my device, and if a thief is keen on the phone numbers there are better ways to get them .
sparky steve said:
now get it insured!!! £5/month with orange. covers damage,loss, thiefed etc
with an access of only £15.. worth it i think, as i have my HD covered by this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me this is wasted money at all, but I guess it is a philosophery question. I can't remember to have lost anything like that in the last couple of years, so you just need to have an eye for your device(s) .
I personally use http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=464336
It's awesome
I asked Sprite about Terminator and was told it is not compatible with Orange, dont know why.....

How can we get this ball rolling?

okay ive had a fair few htc devices, and im a fan of flashing custom roms etc.
i've just ordered an s740 as i think they look like lovely devices and have heard good reviews so far.
Now i've seen olipro's thread which went off topic..
so how shall we get the development ball rolling?
how about a collection to get olipro one of these devices
(going for about £180 - £230 on ebay)
and im sure if we all donate £5 - £10 (or more or less if need be) it wont take us long before we get some good custom roms etc
i know i can't be the only one out there thinking this!
Let me know what you guys think
comon guys
50 views and not one comment?
is everyone really that happy with their device???
Hi,
I only find 1 thing annoying. When the keypad is locked I am still able to use the keys for volume.
For the rest I think the device is pretty good.
Ray
r-jansen said:
For the rest I think the device is pretty good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it is pretty good as well but could still use a few tweaks. I would contribute to any of the following on an otherwise clean ROM...
OS
Windows Mobile 6.5 - Well this is an obvious update, especially if HTC never offers one.
Usability
Tx9 - Sometimes Tx9 is used and sometimes not in various applications on the ROM. Would be much better if it were one or the other.
Browser System Command Warning - Warning on dialing phone numbers from the browser seems unnecessary if the dialer is going to 'verify the number is correct' anyway.
Key backlighting - Frequently I get a reminder late at night and the phone is locked but the reminder doesn't turn on the key backlighting so I can see which option is which. Other applications are inconsistent as well.
Home start menu All Programs - I would prefer to have the option to not see 'all programs' there.
Home start menu scrolling - I don't like having to choose 'more' there. I would much prefer the scrolling through each panel of nine icons.
1,2,3,4 app - I suspect this is an HTC feature but I really dislike having one more UI to learn. When you flip the keybaord open it shouldn't prompt you with a 1 SMS, 2 email, 3 messenger and 4 exit menu even if it is for 5 seconds. Better to keep whatever menu you are in.
Features
Weather Panel - This seems like it should use the GPS and pick a city. Also, if you turn the phone off or in flight mode and turn it back on it should recheck the GPS and change the city or prompt to change the city.
Option to keep keyboard locked even if open - Well some of us have little kids and they figure out how to get the keyboard open pretty quickly
Codecs
I don't know what ships by default but some obvious codecs would be AAC, AC3 and any other standard codecs.
Additional Applications
Impromptu Meeting App - The automatic ring feature is great if you use exchange since your phone will go into vibrate mode in meetings. In fact you get kind of dependent on it handling that for you so if you go to the movies or dinner or an impromptu meeting you forget to switch to vibrate or afterward you forget to switch back. It would be nice to have an app to put a placeholder appointment on your calander for an hour or two (which would switch to vibrate) . Even better if it would remove the appointment afterward.
Shortcuts - It would be nice to create shortcuts to applications in something that shipped with the ROM.
Settings
Home Page - I know this can be changed in the registry but while someone is at it change the web homepage to igoogle or google mobile.
If I like something on Rose, it is boredom with her when setting/tweaking. Without any "exciting" seeking/trying/zilions of reflashings of ROMs.
And, to be honest, MOST of things on your list ARE included in basic settings and some others are easy to be changed by simple (permanent!) tweaks in registry. I'm lazy to collect here what's where, so just two examples:
Rose IN STANDARD supports not just AAC, but AAC+ and eAAC+ as well, others are H.263, H.264, MPEG-4...
Function of your lovely Impromptu Meeting App you can activate on standard Rose in seconds: just activate Auto in Profiles. OK, it does not vibrate (it switches into quiet mode), but it exactly switches automatically ringing behaviour based on calendar events IN STANDARD. And they're much more such things (avoiding Action Menu, keylock not deactivated by sliding of te keyboard)...
So instead of calling for extra ROM, which will do what's already there, my recommendation would be classic: Read the f..... manual first. And if anybody would see gimmicks like iGoogle on homescreen or GPS based weather as so exciting that it will deserve tens (if not hundreds) of working hours on extra ROM just for these - you'll be a lucky man.
IMHO, spending few hours with searching around for settings and these few tweaks would be much faster and time efficient...
we don't need HardSPL, SSPL would be fine. Perhaps we bribe Olipro
$10 each ? whats his price
I'm sure if one of you lent oli your rose for a bit he could work his magic and get the job done
fuk i am on board. can we have some info from olinex(olipro+cmonex) as to how much donations is needed to get this done! i am getting one but shocked as to the lack of dev activity here. come on guys support yourn device.........once we have some solid feedback from the olinex crew then we can get ball rolling! they would really need the device but it is so similar to the touch pro in form factor that HDSPL for touchpro might need slightly tweaking to work on s740
I think this forum is dead no one poast here no one wants to do something with this model..are you so happy with your phones as they are without any improvements?
Maybe if someone could give as a tutorial how to make an HSPL we could do it more fast and we could make the ball rolling can someone do this?i am would be glad to help and do something for this device cuz it`s too awsome :d
shingers5 said:
fuk i am on board. can we have some info from olinex(olipro+cmonex) as to how much donations is needed to get this done! i am getting one but shocked as to the lack of dev activity here. come on guys support yourn device.........once we have some solid feedback from the olinex crew then we can get ball rolling! they would really need the device but it is so similar to the touch pro in form factor that HDSPL for touchpro might need slightly tweaking to work on s740
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Click to collapse
well, I guess if it's enough to buy a htc rose for testing it'd be good.
cmonex said:
well, I guess if it's enough to buy a htc rose for testing it'd be good.
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Click to collapse
how much would be needed to get this device? i got mine pretty cheap through the trade contacts..............
shingers5 said:
how much would be needed to get this device? i got mine pretty cheap through the trade contacts..............
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Click to collapse
I have no idea... how much is pretty cheap? I don't mind if it is SIM locked. can make SIM unlocker no problem

The rubbishness of windows comes through very quickly

I got a bit suckered by all the good reviews for this phone on so many websites and bought it yesterday. I've had a long time [misplaced] affection for windows phones. I say misplaced because every single model I've owned has let me down.
The sense interface is great. Windows is not. I've just made 16 attempts at trying to login to windows live, struggling each time to input a 20 char secure password on the dinky keyboard and when i finally got the password right, i succeeded in invoking the 'too many failed logins' mode of windows live. Nice.
why is this stuff so difficult for windows mobile phones? why does the phone not go into landscape mode for EVERY application? why is that so difficult to implement? Why did HTC not put a bloody switch for landscape mode? you have a wide screen which would make an onscreen keyborad far more friendly yet you're still stuck trying to hit the 'sweet spot' on a portrait-mode keyboard!??! Not only are you stuck in portait mode but you no longer have a stylus to help you hit those keys!
The initial WOW factor has disappeared for me and I've only had the phone for a day!
can someone help me with some tips on landscape mode? is there some way i can map one of the hard keys to be a landscape mode switch? or some software that does something similar?
thanks!
Install BSB Tweaks this allows landscape for any appplication
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=589305
I tried but didn't seem to work for me. maybe i was doing something wrong?
i enabled the tickbox for IE and after the soft reset i tried running it but it did nothing when i rotated the screen. Am I missing something here?
try using Gyrator .. It works on every application
aloms said:
can someone help me with some tips on landscape mode? is there some way i can map one of the hard keys to be a landscape mode switch? or some software that does something similar?
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Click to collapse
I've just made an app that does just that. Have a look at PLToggle in my sig.
Calm down mate, trust me, windows mobile is by far the best OS out there for mobiles. The only reason everyone prefers the iphone is because of its usability, apart from that theres not much you can do but 'get an app for that', however thanks to this forum, you can do almost anything with a windows mobile device, especially one as powerful as the leo. You just need to get used to it, if sense is bugging you, get spb shell or another ui. And of course theres gonna be loads of problems with it, its pretty new, but its good points strongly outway its bad points (oh and might I add, you'll be getting all your tech support from this site, not htc, trust me), so just give it some time and you'll realise, after 'making it yours' how awesome a phone it is.
If the keyboard isnt doing it for you, download a new one! (thats the great thing about winmo) the two popular ones at the moment are swype ( a completely different style of keyboard) or finger keyboard. I personally like the one htc supply you with, heres a tweak taken from this thread which will lower the sensitivy of the screen which makes typing much easier. Alternatively, bsb tweaks can do this all for you from its menu.
Oh and about the rotate thing, on xanny tech's pandora rom, he has a little execuatable file in the start menu with rotates everything, and its mapped to a long press of the send key, so thats pretty useful, im not running his rom anymore but if you know anything about flashing, flash his first, its very good indeed and has lots of tweaks and useful stuff preinstalled.
Hope that helps a little, if not just ask
thanks for your help mate. having bought into a 24 month contract I'm pretty much stuck with getting to learn the phone whether i like it or not.
aloms said:
thanks for your help mate. having bought into a 24 month contract I'm pretty much stuck with getting to learn the phone whether i like it or not.
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Click to collapse
I agree with [★]. Once you know it better, you'll get to love it. There's so much under the hood of this thing that yes, you'll find a few things that you don't like, but they'll be outweighed by the things that you do
aloms said:
The sense interface is great. Windows is not. I've just made 16 attempts at trying to login to windows live, struggling each time to input a 20 char secure password on the dinky keyboard and when i finally got the password right, i succeeded in invoking the 'too many failed logins' mode of windows live. Nice
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Click to collapse
You, Sir, need to check out my thread, which would surely have come up if you had used the search function. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=5197442 Windows Live/Hotmail etc seem to only take 16 characters. Anything after that is ignored. But the Windows Live application on mobile accepts more than 16 and will try and authenticate with everything you type in. 20 character password will not work. Reduce your pass to 16 characters or less and it should work. Post back in this thread to let me know if this sorts your issue out.
If it's a keyboard you're after then try Swype. Have a search for it. I too had a lot of sensitivity problems with the keyboard and it would take ages to type a simple email. Swype solved that. It's a lot less sensitive than the native keyboard and I used SIP to make it my default. In terms of landscape mode, try using Opera instead of IE (although Opera lacks flash). BSB Tweaks will handle the rest although I don't use it myself.
Trust me, stick with the phone and, with a few tweaks to have it running how you like it, you won't look back!
Just return the darn phone, smack it to the floor and trample it good, or learn to use it since you've bought it. Please save yourself over a high blood pressure leading to a stroke, my friend. It's only a phone.. (but then there's always iPhones for usability's sake, whatever it means)
aloms said:
The initial WOW factor has disappeared for me and I've only had the phone for a day!
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Click to collapse
Ok, you need to calm down a tad. Ok, the phone is not perfect. However, there is endless configurability for the phone. The best thing you could ever have done was to come to this site where there is a tweak for almost anything.
Sit down, fasten your seatbelt and take a look around. You need an open mind. The HD2 is no iphone. It's the iphone killer. Just needs a little tweaking that's all.
Alternatively, you could ditch it and join the bandwagon, I mean iphone!
Try Swype, best KB I hve used on a phone, my mate with an Iphone thought it was great and was going to look for it for the Iphone, once tweaked the HD2 is the best mob by far!
I was doubtful when I first had it like you say I thought I should have gone for the Iphone but now I am so happy with it
Windows is rubbish because of the HTC keyboard?? Ok...
Isnt the whole ADVANTAGE of winmo that if you dont like something you can change it?
The advantage of WinMo is the tweaking and Office Mobile My wife had a HTC Hero for 2 months and at the end she begged me to get her a new Windows Phone because the freaking Android won't open rich text format files (unfortunately in her job she is obliged to use rtf as standart file format) without great hassle even with all possible office replacements I cound find on the net. Not to speak of that, that even the enhanced HTC mail client for Android can't open messages that are sent from mail.bg (a very popular bulgarian web mail service). That was the end for Android
Hotmail mail on the HD1 was a pain, same on the HD2. Gmail is working perfectly though which is very annoying when like me, you use Hotmail on your desktop to access your Gmail emails...
aloms said:
I got a bit suckered by all the good reviews for this phone on so many websites and bought it yesterday. I've had a long time [misplaced] affection for windows phones. I say misplaced because every single model I've owned has let me down.
The sense interface is great. Windows is not. I've just made 16 attempts at trying to login to windows live, struggling each time to input a 20 char secure password on the dinky keyboard and when i finally got the password right, i succeeded in invoking the 'too many failed logins' mode of windows live. Nice.
why is this stuff so difficult for windows mobile phones? why does the phone not go into landscape mode for EVERY application? why is that so difficult to implement? Why did HTC not put a bloody switch for landscape mode? you have a wide screen which would make an onscreen keyborad far more friendly yet you're still stuck trying to hit the 'sweet spot' on a portrait-mode keyboard!??! Not only are you stuck in portait mode but you no longer have a stylus to help you hit those keys!
The initial WOW factor has disappeared for me and I've only had the phone for a day!
can someone help me with some tips on landscape mode? is there some way i can map one of the hard keys to be a landscape mode switch? or some software that does something similar?
thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all get rid of that IDIOTIC iPhone imitation keyboard and replace it with the divine fingerkeyboard from xda.
And then deactivate the utterly unpredictive xt9 "predictive" (more like vindictive) text input.
I did these steps and now I can FINALLY type.
An $800 phone and it takes a donationware sw keyboard to make it usable
Aloms - I had the same problem with my Ipod Touch in the beginning. Don't worry, you will get use to it. BTW HD2 keyboard is better especially in landscape
I will join this thread with my three questions.
I have converted to the dark side and bought iPhone 3GS after having gone through a lot of phones and OSes. I have given up on WinMo (using HTC Pro) basically because of 3 issues:
1. Phone app in the sense of its responsiveness. I mean, someone is calling - first 2 seconds the hardware buttons light up, next 2 seconds the phone starts to vibrate, next 2 seconds there is a sound. Is it happening on the HD2 too? How responsive is it? Plus does it have a good gsm reception? With my HTC Pro I had to keep on testing different radio roms and have not been satisfied ever...
2. When you use HD2 say 4-5 days or longer, does it slow down over time. I mean especially when you use contacts with 1000 entries etc, or is it instant?
3. On a brand new HD2 just charged, when you load in your 1000 contacts, does it have an instant search of a contact in the contacts app? Or an email address in the "To" section when you want to write an email?
Frankly speaking, HD2 looks very tempting, but I am afraid mainly of the 3 above areas and am thinking to wait for Windows 7 or something?
PS. HTC Pro is still with me, but in the drawer...
OliveUK said:
Hotmail mail on the HD1 was a pain, same on the HD2.
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Click to collapse
I've had a Diamond, a HD, and now a HD2 and I can say with 100% confidence that I never had 1 single problem with Hotmail. I've seen a very small number of users on here with issues and every single one of them has turned out to be user error.
I suggest the same in this instance as it works flawlessly when set up correctly, which 99.9% of users do.

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