Lack of d-pad - HD2 General

I didn't want to hijack the 'lack of stylus/capacitative screen' thread, but I currently have an original Tilt collecting dust while I've been using a borrowed iPhone 3G until something much better comes along (re: TP2, HD2, Droid??) etc
As mentioned in the other thread, one of the key differences between the iPhone and WinMo devices, is that iPhone developers knew they were developing for devices without styluses or d-pads or keyboards etc, so they suited the app for that experience.
With WinMo, there are so many great legacy applications (productivity and most notably games) that rely on a stylus and/or a dpad to successfully navigate and use the applications. I know from personal experience I was apt to use the stylus less and less on my Tilt because I was able to navigate menus quickly with the dpad etc when they were small.
I know the lack of d-pad is the new trend with a lot [most] WinMo devices and I was hoping someone could comment on that from a usability standpoint. I'm even thinking of simple games like Kevtris etc...I know for some games when you have an option to popup the onscreen keyboard that may alleviate some issues, but I know there are other games that go full screen and don't even remotely give that option...thoughts? Am I overlooking something here?
Thanks!

Don't know anything about Kevtris, but a lot of (if not most) games are unusable on Touch HD.
Apart from games, there are some situations when I miss a d-pad, usually in situations of scrolling through lists. Drop-down lists on web pages in Opera is an especially annoying example. In most other cases though there are arrow keys on the HTC keyboard, which do the job, but you only see half of the screen (the other one is occupied by the keyboard).
So, to summarize, lack of a d-pad is a problem sometimes, but on the other hand not a huge one really, and I wouldn't change my HD for anything but HD2, which also lacks one.

vangrieg said:
So, to summarize, lack of a d-pad is a problem sometimes, but on the other hand not a huge one really, and I wouldn't change my HD for anything but HD2, which also lacks one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
quoted for truth ...

When I first began using smartphones, my first one, the HTC Hermes, had a D-Pad. I have to admit, I was addicted to it instantly.
It made everything so simple. Controlling music, scrolling, and notably J2ME apps/games all worked better with it. When I had upgraded to a Fuze, I lost the D-Pad, and did miss it really badly at first. However, over time, I eventually stopped caring so much for it.
The way I used my device had to be adjusted, but it was nothing so major. However, if there is one thing that is annoying about lack of D-Pad, it is that many J2ME apps/games simply didn't work well without it. I got over that because many J2ME apps/games didn't work well with a VGA/WVGA screen either. Still, it was a rather significant blow.
Would I like a D-Pad on all my devices? Yes, but I no longer view it as necessary.

Thanks for the replies guys- it sounds like the consensus is that there is no good 'workaround', and that it's a legitimate issue, but in general the benefits/features of the new device outweigh those cons.

For lack of D-pad on games, someone here on xda has developed a software to use the accelerometer to send the d-pad buttons (not just for games actually).
I think's it's called gpad or something.
The software is still being developed but it allowed me to play worms on a device without d-pad.
There might be other software, anyone else found anything?
If we support developments like that, we can actually eliminate the 'worry' of not having a d-pad, and still enjoy our games, with more fun actually!

Yep, Virtual D-Pad v0.9 is the future way to go...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=466002

galaxys said:
Yep, Virtual D-Pad v0.9 is the future way to go...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=466002
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome! This is why I love all the guys here!

hello, every body! (first post!)
great to see all the work done on this forum.
would be interested in HTC HD2, but lack of pad is really annoying. Lots of app need one, just for example navigate in calendar (agenda fusion for me.)
Could it be a solution to write a virtual keybord with ONLY the 4 arrows and an OK button? (and no others letters, to gain display space)
i am definitively not a developper, can't do anything about coding, sadly.
excuse me for my bad english, btw.
1otherfred

shouldnt be that hard, you have everything already, just rip out the arrows and ok button and replace them, or make new ones... unfortunatly im no coder, but maybe I can play around in photoshop/paint

I have developpid one, based on fingerkeyboard.
you can find it here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=483218

Related

So what Games Work on WM Side?

OK, I know there was a thread that covered games before, but it focused on the Vista side. Though there were some posts about games on the WM side, it was limited.
I've been able to figure out that most applications work (though some REALLY SLOWLY like Touch Commander), but games? This is a completely different issue. I spend a lot of time in airports and would really like my shift to be able to play some of the games my phone (O2 Zinc) does.
Of course we have some problems here - no dedicated soft buttons or application buttons like on a phone (at least none without the Keyboard, and I don't even know if there are "keyboard" ones less the arrors and "Sym"/"OK" keys). Also there is RAM issues, but that should not stop all games. Should it?
So, the question stands - What games do and don't work. So far I know what doesn't:
My Little Tank (Astraware)
Revival (HeroCraft)
Gone in 60 Seconds (HeroCraft)
Of course I do not really why the above don't walk but it probably has something to do with the screen. It does not seem to be RAM as there is at least 15-18MB (pending on my application installation) of free RAM for programs.
Any way - thougts and opinions
Didn't find lots of games working.
Orion doesn't work, and machine at war has some funky touchscreen input.
I was sad finding The Quest from Redshift not working.
Grand Prix Legends runs like a dream.
Especially with the presevation society installer which includes all the latest patches.
I am happily watching my saved replays and they look amazing.
Edit - oh drat, I'm referring to vista side in a WM topic!
My granny says 'oh drat'

Got my Xperia. Phone is awesome, Panels are pathetic

Got my Xperia on Friday. I am amazed, it is easily the best hardware on Winmo. I have a Touch Pro also and have had every other previous decent windows mobile phone you can shake a stick at.
First thoughts.
It is great to get away from Touchflo as I didnt really like that but I am sorry, SE your panels are sh/*e up to now and are not fit for purpose. Unlike some commentators I think the concept is great but it is so buggy it is unbelievable. On certain panels once you open them you got a desktop that has delays of 30 seconds to a minute when you click on items. How can something like that leave the factory.
However, if you steer clear of the panels (or at least a couple of them) the hardware is truly amazing and really sleek. Way better than the sloppy touch pro. It feels like it is made of metal (it is of course), the screen is fantastic.
The keyboard is not as good as the one on the touch pro but it is only slightly different and I am quickly adjusting to it.
I have to say that I am delighted with it (bar the panels) but I reckon there is more to come once they release some updates (or someone else does a rom for it).
Has anyone else got problems with the panels like this?
My two worst ones are the silver home screen which goes really slow and the multimedia one that freezes altogether.
stuartforrest said:
Got my Xperia on Friday. I am amazed, it is easily the best hardware on Winmo. I have a Touch Pro also and have had every other previous decent windows mobile phone you can shake a stick at.
First thoughts.
It is great to get away from Touchflo as I didnt really like that but I am sorry, SE your panels are sh/*e up to now and are not fit for purpose. Unlike some commentators I think the concept is great but it is so buggy it is unbelievable. On certain panels once you open them you got a desktop that has delays of 30 seconds to a minute when you click on items. How can something like that leave the factory.
However, if you steer clear of the panels (or at least a couple of them) the hardware is truly amazing and really sleek. Way better than the sloppy touch pro. It feels like it is made of metal (it is of course), the screen is fantastic.
The keyboard is not as good as the one on the touch pro but it is only slightly different and I am quickly adjusting to it.
I have to say that I am delighted with it (bar the panels) but I reckon there is more to come once they release some updates (or someone else does a rom for it).
Has anyone else got problems with the panels like this?
My two worst ones are the silver home screen which goes really slow and the multimedia one that freezes altogether.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The multimedia panel works nice for me without hickups, but Sony Ericsson Panel 1 and 2 are slow and unusable. But I don´t use the panels often, the phone is so nice even without the panel concept
Hi stuartforrest.
I ve one question for you. . Most of the Touch Pro users (included me) suffer of GPS lag (Not time to fix but arrow 3 or 4 seconds behind you). Could you tell us your experience with Xperia and GPS lag issue?
Thanks
Dani
danielherrero said:
Hi stuartforrest.
I ve one question for you. . Most of the Touch Pro users (included me) suffer of GPS lag (Not time to fix but arrow 3 or 4 seconds behind you). Could you tell us your experience with Xperia and GPS lag issue?
Thanks
Dani
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is already discussed here.
Please do not comment on the GPS in this thread otherwise the information gets lost.
Sorry. As you can see I asked in that thread too and only one answer and the owner hadnt a touch Pro so he couldnt compare. I wanted to know the opinion of a user who owned both phones. I dont really think my question is out of topic
why do you think the keyboard is better on the touch pro?
looks like the xperia would be easier to use with the spacing between keys which should them easier to miss. though it is lacking the extra row. do you find the loss of that row worth the added benefit of smaller size and better accuracy?
i have no idea since i have neither of the phones yet.
I suggest trying the Spb Mobile Shell panel.
I like it.
Working to get a proper install of TCPMP with decent plugins to play all media.
Currently flac, wmv, 3gp and avi, all play decently.
mp4 on the other hand does not.
Luckily the built-in WMP plays mp4 just fine.
I have been using my Xperia X1 for over two weeks now and I have to agree with stuartforrest, the panel function sucks. It is a really useless function.
easycure1974 said:
The multimedia panel works nice for me without hickups, but Sony Ericsson Panel 1 and 2 are slow and unusable. But I don´t use the panels often, the phone is so nice even without the panel concept
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, try this...
Say you want to listen to some music, start the multimedia panel and start playing the music that you want. Then why not look up the artist on google, lets go to the google panel. Press the X panel button, what the .... the music stops. So with the panels you can only do one thing at the time.
It is much more practical to use Spb Mobile Shell, I only miss a quick way to turn WLAN on and off.
Why do people call this phone Sony xperia X1 on this forum when the real name is Sony Ericsson Xperia X1? I would say that the "Ericsson part" has the biggest influence on design and development so I would rather call it Ericsson Xperia X1 then Sony Xperia X1.
SCtud said:
why do you think the keyboard is better on the touch pro?
looks like the xperia would be easier to use with the spacing between keys which should them easier to miss. though it is lacking the extra row. do you find the loss of that row worth the added benefit of smaller size and better accuracy?
i have no idea since i have neither of the phones yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll try to explain..
The keyboard on Xperia is not good. The buttons are small and difficult to feel and when pressed the respons is bad. So typing is difficult, but I'm getting better on it every day..
My pevious phone was the Hermes whitch has a much better keyboard with larger keys.
Press the X panel button, what the .... the music stops. So with the panels you can only do one thing at the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I noticed that too since the previews, that sucks so badly; but the important question is, will it also stop if you're using 3rd party music player like coreplayer? if so then it IS BEYOND HORRIBLE!
are you able to turn off the panels? like you can shut off touchflo? i'd rather use my mobile without easier, i think...
eric b
According to SE is it not possible to turn panels off.
No it is prefectly viable to use all third party software. In fact I would say it is much easier to do this than on the Touch Pro or Diamond where you have to get inot hacking touch flo 3d to launch a different calendar app etc.
The SE Xperia X1 is easily the best piece of hardware ever on WinMo. Why HTC didnt make their own device as good as they made this third party one I dont know.
The keyboard is not as brilliant as the T/Pro but it is still damn good and you do get more used to it.
I just need to learn how to reprogam the utterly sh*+e panels button to launch SPB mobile shell and I will be happy.

Partial comparison with iPhone

Hello
I have been a happy HTC Touch (regular not HD) user for 12 months, doing extensive customisation on my phone. Recently, mainly because my Touch was really slow (only 64Ko of memory, still slow even after replacing with a faster ROM), I bought an iPhone 3G.
After a few months of use, there are pros and cons of course. Now that the HD is out, I am wondering if I should switch back to the HTC Touch HD.
So here are my first conclusions, but of course since I don't have a Touch HD, I cannot answer many of the points.
Please use this thread to complete a really detailed comparison between the iPhone and the Touch HD, not what you can find on standard sites comparing basic features.
General response time: big disappointment as this was my main driver. The iPhone (I have 4 pages of apps installed, so what, I should not use the phone fully???) is really slow. Calendar or contact can sometimes takes up to 5 seconds to open: UNACCEPTABLE. Inside the apps sometimes it is slow as well. Hope the Touch HD is better than the Touch
Calendar: Iphone standard Calendar is much easier to use with a finger than default WM version. However I was using ThumbCal and it was fine with finger even on small HTC Touch screen. Not sure if HTC Touch HD enlarges standard WM calendar (everything is larger) or simply packs more info on a signle page? Also I don't like the fact in iPhone that tasks are not managed by Calendar, annoying!
Contacts: iPhone is much better than default WM or HTC Touch features (one again mainly because easier to use without a stylus). However replacement app such as PocketCm does a better job on WM than on the iPhone: Easier scroll through contact on main page by showing the first letter that will be displaid if releasing the finger. SMS are visible from the contact directly, no need to open SMS app like on the iPhone. Much better group and filter management also: ability to filter contacts by groups (ok also on iPhone, but management of groups creates constraints in Outlook), by city, by company... no equivalent on iPhone.
Phone: better on iPhone: the screen locks itself while speaking, to prevent pressing keys, this is good, don't think it's available on Touch HD? Bigger keys on dialer. Better display format of phone numbers on dialer (grouping of digits). Good pad showing up when on the phone to have the need options on iPhone (speaker phone, contacts, calendar...). And finally Visual Voice mail is useful!
Internet browsing: hard to compare, as I could not really use opera mini on the Touch. I must say Safari does the job quite well, allowing you to access most sites, without flash of course. Does Opera allow to see flash sites? Safari sometimes crashes, but still acceptable. Speed depends on quality of connection. One great thing is integration with iPhone programs: for instance you look on Google for a store. You find it with phone number displaid on Google search page. CLicking on the phone number allows you to call it directly. If you make the call, in call history it will diplay correctly the name of the store to be entered directly in contacts! Fantastic, probably not available in WM and Opera?
Mail: hard to compare as I was not using it on Touch. But the iPhone feature is excellent. I use Yahoo mail. Configuration was very simple, and mails are pre formatted to the iPhone scrren, making it easy to use. Does Touch HD reformat properly mails?
Other programs in general: I would say most progams are more mature on WM, but harder to use since designed to use with a stylus. Not sure once again if the Touch HD enlarges same surface on the screen or simply packs more info in one page, still requiring use of stylus.
Profile Management: my biggest problem with iPhone: Apple does not allow to create a progam that will switch automatically several profile parameters. What is this? A profile is a set of parameter such as screen brightness, ring tone/vibrate, blue tooth on/off, wifi off, 3G on/off, GPS on/off... With Phoneweaver I was able to create as many profiles as needed and change at the touch of a finger. In iPhone, a real nightmare. Let's say you want to activate 3G and GPS: it takes at least 15 clicks... just for these 2 options. UNACCEPTABLE.
SpringBoard: this is the ability to use icons on the today screen: much better on the iPhone by default, but once again with additional program in WM such as iLauncher I was able to get a better result by creating categories which is not really possible in iPhone (I tried Categories, way too slow! and Stacks is odd to use).
GPS: well without TOmTOm I don't see the use of the GPS in the iPhone...
This is a first shot, please give some input!
Olivier
How is this a comparison if you don't even have the Touch HD? It is just your opinions of the iPhone 3G.......on a Touch HD forum of all places.
You can not compare the htc touch with the iphone 3G
the iphone 3G is a newer model which was released 1 year after the htc touch
Also the HD has all the phone features you are saying are better on the iphone and unavailable on the HD. You can either autolock phone when you make a call or use the light sensor on the earpiece. And you get the pad type thing.
i suggest you actually use the HD before posting a comparison in here.
I dont think this guy has used a windows mobile device at all, let alone the Touch HD. he sounds like an apple fan who has just 'heard a bunch of stuff' about Windows Mobile.
Most of it is unfounded.. I mean, how are iPhone contacts better than the Touch HDs? Which is VERY finger friendly.
Calm down with the fanboi defensive stuff guys.
I've had both (sold the Iphone).
Touch HD pro: great form factor, fabulous screen, the resolution makes it so much more usable for bigger webpages. The tweakability of WM too.
Touch HD cons: lots of little irritating things - it's a shoddy unfinished product in a lot of ways. GPS popping offline, wifi problems, those damn freezes, the incompleteness of T3D, the need to tweak all sorts of things that should already have been done (eg opera tweak so you don't need to zoom before clicking). Youtube app doesn't work at all on mine. No BBC iplayer (not HTC's fault of course, but still an issue for consumers). Lots of other small things that should never have happened with a finished product, let alone one costing more than most laptops.
Now that looks like a lot of cons relative to the pros, but the thing is the hardware is just a baseline, a starting point. The excellence of the screen allows it to be whatever product you want - none of the failings are critical for me, and by tweaking/customizing I've fixed/bypassed most of them.
Basically, the Touch HD is a better product than the Iphone, but let down by software quality control.
arfster said:
Calm down with the fanboi defensive stuff guys.
I've had both (sold the Iphone).
Touch HD pro: great form factor, fabulous screen, the resolution makes it so much more usable for bigger webpages. The tweakability of WM too.
Touch HD cons: lots of little irritating things - it's a shoddy unfinished product in a lot of ways. GPS popping offline, wifi problems, those damn freezes, the incompleteness of T3D, the need to tweak all sorts of things that should already have been done (eg opera tweak so you don't need to zoom before clicking). Youtube app doesn't work at all on mine. No BBC iplayer (not HTC's fault of course, but still an issue for consumers). Lots of other small things that should never have happened with a finished product, let alone one costing more than most laptops.
Now that looks like a lot of cons relative to the pros, but the thing is the hardware is just a baseline, a starting point. The excellence of the screen allows it to be whatever product you want - none of the failings are critical for me, and by tweaking/customizing I've fixed/bypassed most of them.
Basically, the Touch HD is a better product than the Iphone, but let down by software quality control.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree, although the Opera thing is not a bug, it's a feature We are spoiled with the HD screen which allows you to actually read huge pages without zooming. On other devices, you hardly can, let alone click a link in any accurate fashion, so you will want to be able to zoom first without accidentally clicking some link in the process... Everyone has their opinion about this of course but this is the reason behind it.
nin2thevoid said:
Agree, although the Opera thing is not a bug, it's a feature We are spoiled with the HD screen which allows you to actually read huge pages without zooming. On other devices, you hardly can, let alone click a link in any accurate fashion, so you will want to be able to zoom first without accidentally clicking some link in the process...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hrrm, don't see why. What's the benefit of zooming first? You can still do it if you want.
Looks to me like HTC just installed Opera and didn't bother testing/tweaking it.
arfster said:
Hrrm, don't see why. What's the benefit of zooming first? You can still do it if you want.
Looks to me like HTC just installed Opera and didn't bother testing/tweaking it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apparently the meaning of this is that one click in zoom out mode means hovering the mouse to that area. Some websites depends heavily on mouse and hover menus, and without this these sites would be unusable.
I have only 1 thing to say...I had Iphone and HTC X7500....Sold both of them and bought Touch HD...I am really happy with it
Why do people insist on compare a toy with professional devices with all features need and many more ? OMG and even comparing devices you don't have with toys, iPhoney is just a toy with many limitations, there's absolutely no way to compare it with the HD, for those who like to use the expression "iPhone killer" you can stop that, that device was already killed by past HTC devices and others. Stop creating Threads like this one.
Best regards
PJMDS said:
Why do people insist on compare a toy with professional devices with all features need and many more ? OMG and even comparing devices you don't have with toys, iPhoney is just a toy with many limitations, there's absolutely no way to compare it with the HD, for those who like to use the expression "iPhone killer" you can stop that, that device was already killed by past HTC devices and others. Stop creating Threads like this one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, but that's just silly. Of course you can compare them - as cameras, as music players, as web browsers, as video players etc etc. Same as any other multimedia phone. Personally my take is that the Iphone still has the best interface going, and benefits from a mass captive market that others don't have. It took until the touch hd before I actually bought a replacement - none of the other potential "iphone killers" were was good as even the original device (including previous HTC products).
What is with all the fanboi rubbish for and against the iphone? It's a device. If you like it you buy, if not you don't. People seem to take to "supporting" their favourite product like a football team.
There are just a few basic things in my opinion that make the HD far superior to the iPhone.
1. iPhone has no copy and paste...how stupid is that?
2. iphone has no working GPS software with built-in maps and voice navigation...huge omission.
3. iPhone doesn't multitask, you have to close an app to start another...OMG!
If these points don't convince someone that they should get the HD over the iPhone then that's fine, different strokes for different folks. The iPhone is iCandy...period.
concerning web browsing, iphone is much better than the touch hd.
Even though its screen is a bit smaller, the pages load much faster and the scrolling is way smoother.
The keypad is also much better on the iphone, at least for me. When pressing a key, you see above your finger whiwh key you pressed.
Not mentionning the audio part for which the hd doesn't come close to the iphone.
I guess you're wondering what i'm doing here and why i haven't sold my hd yet ? The hd is the best wm based device i've ever had. Being able to install whatever you want and to tweak at will is great.
Now, if a good gps software is someday released for iphone, i may reconsider and leave the touch hd unless it's been improved for web browsing notably in the meantime
...
well, on the other hand some pages in Safari doesn´t work correctly and I don´t understand what you mean the audio part - the quality of 3,5 jack output are comparable (according to independent tests - see gsmarena for example)...iphone´s jack output is just good, not outstanding quality.
catinthehat said:
i suggest you actually use the HD before posting a comparison in here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Second that....
totally useless post, if u actually not even own a HD
hannawald said:
well, on the other hand some pages in Safari doesn´t work correctly and I don´t understand what you mean the audio part - the quality of 3,5 jack output are comparable (according to independent tests - see gsmarena for example)...iphone´s jack output is just good, not outstanding quality.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True. Forgot to mention it's the software side i was talking about : i find it easier to navigate all my music on the iphone. Htc tried to mimic this interface but it doesn't match the original
This is of course subjective, but at least it comes from a guy who has both devices in his pocket =)
well all i have to say on the subject is this....
David Balfour said:
well all i have to say on the subject is this....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hehehe you missed the battery....

NES/SNES/SEGA GEN Emulators

Anyone had any luck with emulation for the TP2? I knew this thing didn't have a D-Pad so... portrait mode is out of question. Now landscape should work but doesn't... at least in full screen(1/6 of the screen to be exact!). The only ones that worked somewhat were Morph Gear (shows 1/6 of the full screen in landscape mode) and Pocket Nester (only portrait works but doesn't rotate when opening keyboard (YES, I tried pocket nester plus also and checked landscape with no avail). I have to admit something... I've been away from WM for a year now and have grow fond of Android. The app store is nice and everything is compatible. WM MAIN PROBLEM is most dev. have left for Apple/Android/Palm...(jk! about Palm, lol) and/or haven't updated their programs in 2 years. Plus, having 8 different common screen size resolutions doesn't help much either. Emulation (albeit, sounds silly) is (or should be) big part of my pda's functionality. The screen isn't as responsive as I had hoped for a smartphone without a d-pad/trackball either. Android/iphone's touch screen is super responsive and I figured WM would be better is they had added the newer capacitive type of touchscreen. I'm really thinking of returning this phone. For $300, it should have been a lot better. I bet developers will come back when WM6.5 comes around with the marketplace and all. But who knows... Before you all start flaming, please remember I've been here for several years and am just a little frustrated after hours of trying to figure out what works and what doesn't with my old programs. Also, if anyone finds a solution for better emulators, PLEASE feel free to post something. I will do the same as soon as I regain my composer and get some sleep. I really hate to completely abandon WM and would like to find a solution. The TP2 really has a lot of good points but I'm sure most know what they are and what are some of it's shortcoming (which are aggravating me right now). It is pretty new and will sure to have a lot more folks working behind this sub-forum section soon enough. It is a pretty damn cool phone... just pissing me off right now. Please make a comment or suggestion below.
Good night!
I believe Morph Gear WILL work out as a good all-around emulator. As resting my mind somewhat, I realized there is an option to stretch rom image to full screen in the individual emulator console settings (example: SNES console). Combined with the k for Raphael app., landscape mode WILL work. And about the touch screen and D-pad, more force on the touch screen DOES help for better responsiveness for use without the stylus. The D-pad is somewhat made up for with the zoom bar (which sometimes zooms or scrolls (depends on what app you're using). Since I have answered my own questions (without any help from you all! ), let this be a lesson to all newbies... even old folks (members, I should say) make mistakes. I think I'll keep the TP2 (major dilemma avoided) but WM should take a lesson from apple/android and get capacitive screens!
I guess we'll have to wait on WM7 for that though
I had the same problem with Pocket Nester. I actually had to revise my comment. This is basically a bump.
I have the (telus) TP2 and have got morph gear working if you have a ctrl key there is and easier way but to get it working on my phone i downloaded KforTouchPro and morphgear start KforTP and hit switch to M$ IME then minimize then slide out my keyboard and open morphgear (i have found sliding after causes plroblems) and then im free to play (however another issue if i touch the landscape Right side of the screen if gets all screwed up but if i touch the landscape Left side of the screen it goes full screen.
If you really wanna go portrait this MIGHT work http://www.slipperybrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/bt_gamepad.jpg
shawndh said:
I had the same problem with Pocket Nester. I actually had to revise my comment. This is basically a bump.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got pocket nester plus to work along with k for raphael. The up down left right arrows are backwards so it'll take a second to figure it out.
On my Wing, Pocket nester would work in landscape mode when I turned GAPI off in the graphics settings. haven't tried on the TP2 yet. The lack of a dpad is a game killer.
toadlife said:
On my Wing, Pocket nester would work in landscape mode when I turned GAPI off in the graphics settings. haven't tried on the TP2 yet. The lack of a dpad is a game killer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, it takes some getting used to, for sure... I had PLENTY of practice with my good old HTC Dream (which has a trackball) but actually once you get used to the arrows and keys on the landscape physical keyboard, your gameplay improves. Mainly, becasue there is more room for your fingers. I used to use my HTC Wizard with the D-pad and it was great but some games were hard to play with the dpad and two hardware softkeys. BOY, that was a great phone! It had so many keys to map for portrait mode (5 plus the dpad! Another small flaw with the TP2. only volume keys and a back button are mappable. I'm sure we'll get the speaker/mute button working on the back soon enough. well, a bad strom is here and I am afraid for my pc's life... so I must go! lol... I hope my surge protector works well. **** it, I'm pulling the plug...
I use Morph Gear for my emulation. Although it slower then other programs it's still playable. I can use the keyboard for playing and can stretch the screen so It looks pretty good especially with the image smoothing on.
One thing I do recommend is FPSeCE this is a playstation emulator. You can search around google for version 9.6 it works great in landscape. The framerate is a bit slow on some games but most are playable. FFVII puts out around 30-40 frames for me with sound off and keyboard works great. Just make sure you have the GFX set to GAPI, Landscape right, and that you start the program with the keyboard open. If you do that you won't need the WVGA fix to use it.
I'm really curious if it might be possible to use a bluetooth controller... I would totally rock a BT modded SNES with my TP2... ::dreams::
toadlife said:
On my Wing, Pocket nester would work in landscape mode when I turned GAPI off in the graphics settings. haven't tried on the TP2 yet. The lack of a dpad is a game killer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i just cant for the life of me figure out why people still use these poorly written old fasioned emulators when SmartGear exists!!
http://www.bitbanksoftware.com/private/smartgear.zip
full screen in landscape on my tp2 with FULL keyboard mapping support.
NES, TG16, GG, Gen, SMS, GB, GBC
tgwaste said:
i just cant for the life of me figure out why people still use these poorly written old fasioned emulators when SmartGear exists!!
http://www.bitbanksoftware.com/private/smartgear.zip
full screen in landscape on my tp2 with FULL keyboard mapping support.
NES, TG16, GG, Gen, SMS, GB, GBC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never heard of smartgear. That's why I still used those old fashioned emulators. Unfortunately even the best software can't give the TP2 a dpad.
Thanks for the heads up. Ill give this a whirl.
toadlife said:
Never heard of smartgear. That's why I still used those old fashioned emulators. Unfortunately even the best software can't give the TP2 a dpad.
Thanks for the heads up. Ill give this a whirl.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
W A S Z work just fine as a dpad. then I O K L for X Y A B
tgwaste said:
i just cant for the life of me figure out why people still use these poorly written old fasioned emulators when SmartGear exists!!
http://www.bitbanksoftware.com/private/smartgear.zip
full screen in landscape on my tp2 with FULL keyboard mapping support.
NES, TG16, GG, Gen, SMS, GB, GBC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried Smartgear and its good!
Now it needs SNES and GBA support
WaLshy11 said:
Tried Smartgear and its good!
Now it needs SNES and GBA support
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ya, thats the only thing lacking.
feel free to let the author know you would like him to finish SNES:
http://www.modaco.com/content-page/...o-gameboy-emulator-for-sp-beta-test/page/940/
toadlife said:
Never heard of smartgear. That's why I still used those old fashioned emulators. Unfortunately even the best software can't give the TP2 a dpad.
Thanks for the heads up. Ill give this a whirl.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The days of the dpad are over unfortunately. Android ( G1-Magic) devs are now making touchscreen virtual dpads that work great for their emulators.
Hopefully we will see those soon here. They have some really nice emulators already.
tgwaste said:
W A S Z work just fine as a dpad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe for you, but not for me. I play games where pressing diagonal directions is important. That doesn't work out so well when using a keyboard. Smartgear doesn't emulate the sound correctly on my favorite game, Bases Loaded. It's still a pretty good emulator though.
kable said:
The days of the dpad are over unfortunately. Android ( G1-Magic) devs are now making touchscreen virtual dpads that work great for their emulators.
Hopefully we will see those soon here. They have some really nice emulators already.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Without a multi-touch screen, I think screen controls are a non-starter. Lack of tactile feedback is also a bummer.
toadlife said:
Maybe for you, but not for me. I play games where pressing diagonal directions is important. That doesn't work out so well when using a keyboard. Smartgear doesn't emulate the sound correctly on my favorite game, Bases Loaded. It's still a pretty good emulator though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the phone doesnt support multitouch though, so onscreen controls are going to be much worse than using WASZ
tgwaste said:
the phone doesnt support multitouch though, so onscreen controls are going to be much worse than using WASZ
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check this out!
If I can get this to work, I'll be in business!
After the Dream
After seeing the amazing emulators for the G1/Dream (especially the gba emu) I am somewhat disappointed that the winmo emulators that are out are really no where near as good as whats running on android. My theory is that android has proper support for the graphics chip on board and this is just one more reason I think android running on a TP2 would open up so much potential for the TP2's hardware. But hey if someone could get an emulator running at full speed at the 800x480 resolution that would rock. I would even take 640x480 with black borders if it had good frame rates. Imagine running the tv-out and having your own console emulator. I really hope that the marketplace will open up doors for more support for these kinds of things like it did for android. My G1 has been out for a year next month and boy has it come a long way. Winmo has had a huge headstart which I think will help jumpstart the market.

How r u guys coping without a stylus?

Hi Guys,
Just wanted to know from those who are moving from HD to HD2.. how are you guys coping without a stylus??
I am so much in a habit to pull out the stylus from the blackstone...
Are the OK and the X easy to press... scroll bar??
Thanks guys!!
Having moved from a HD to a HD2 about six weeks ago (with 1st batch from Clove Tech) I have one reply for you "what's a stylus ?"
Seriously, it's very good. I have moved to using the Resco keyboard as the standard one is too sensitive and sometimes I use Swype which is amazingly accurate.
So far, I only miss the little metal pointy thing for SPB finance (vintage 2008) which really needs a stylus for operation. But, I'm now using http://sites.google.com/site/maximusmobileproject/Current-Apps/winmoFinance which seems a good alternative.
So, here's one delighted user that the stylus is gone. Second-hand HD with spare stylus anyone ?
Never used my stylus on my HD so not missing it at all. The down arrows in certain menus are a little tricky to operate some times (like changing the text message notification) but if you get the screen alignment right then you get it used where to press. But then, that's the OS problem rather than the phone so when WM7 comes along hopefully it'll all be great!
Moved from a Xperia, which is not useable without stylus, to HD2.
No problem.
well, just fine sometimes I hit the wrong thing, but now I'm adjusted to the sensitivity, I feel that I can text easier than on my iphone. I don't notice anything in the GUI that winmob was designed for a stylus. well,not really, though
Totally agree with the above, and I too came from a HD to a HD2, but had a very similar ROM on the HD, and had already got that as finger friendly as possible, so not much of a transition.
With respect to one particular question...
prateekgujral said:
scroll bar??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh they're actually fun to use! It goes wider where you put your thumb on it, so it's actually easier to use than it was with a stylus!
Sounds good.. thanks
I came to the HD2, from an Athena (X7500) for me the lack of a stylus has turned out to be a big issue*, I cannot enter data reliability nor use applications such as Cash Organizer or Pocket Informant reliably. It is a fine media phone though. I rather hope that the rumoured HTC patented stylus may be a help here
*(This is an opinion, because it may differ from other peoples opinion, it does not make me a Troll, Stupid, or a member of a vast anti-Windows-Mobile conspracy)
Coming from a Kaiser to Leo I thought I would miss both hardware keyboard and stylus, truth is I have missed neither. My typing speed is still not as quick but is getting better all the time.
I had an HTC Touch and then an MDA Compact IV (HTC Diamond). Of course, I still go for the stylus (conditioned reflex) but always realise that I really do not need it. I was very apprehensive when I ordered the HD2 but the apprehension vanished when I tried to use it without the stylus. No need for it at all. I even ported my Sudoku Mastersoft 2.0 and play it every time with no problem! It's true that, eventually, you come across bits that need a stylus and where finger pinching does not work, but that's once every 99 times you use the HD2. Fear not. Go for it. And take advantage of all the .cabs available here. I dowloaded a dozen of them, so had no need to touch the registry.
I've been using Touch Pro for more than a year now. After around 7 months I stopped using the stylus completely, even for Solitare. Without any problems.
HD2 is going to come to me next week and there is no way it could be worce, since it has a capacitive and huuuuuge screen.
Don't worry / don't hesitate to get one.
Using HD2 for 3 weeks. At first I thought I'd go to buy the HD2 stylus as soon as it is available, but now I have second thoughts.
Yes, it is much easier to work with a stylus. Even after practice, the finger is not as precise. Working with Listpro is a really difficult when I have narrow columns that shows exactly a checkbox. I hope listpro will soon release its finger friendly version, or another product will attract me to leave listpro.
I think many "old" applications will have similar troubles. Even some of the Windows screen (like the Connections setting screen) have small UI elements and are not really finger friendly. I can only hope things will improve in the future.
At first, the capacitive screen (and thus the lack of stylus) was a factor that nearly drove me to buy Omnia II instead of HD2. I still am not convinced whether one of these two devices is better than the other, but I heard the WM7 is going to be capacitve and so finger is the future.
PS: for legacy applications, it is very difficult to control the scroll bar when the list is long. When the list is short (say 100 entries), the finger sized scroll button is rather good to use. For big pages (say 300 entries, or the help file of swype), I found that it is nearly impossible to scroll. The list keep jumping around uncontrollably. For big lists, I am forced to use the swype page up page down buttons.
Within Sense UI it is very easy to use finger-only. Once you jump into WM it can get difficult to hit certain lists/buttons.
I have my HD2 for about38 days already. In the first week I was hunting high and low for a stylus and eventually bought 2 types ( meant for iphone). However I found is a waste of money as it takes a lot of hard presses to get the stylus working well; so both stylus gone into the trash can. Then I realized I just need to "exercise" my fingers to make best use of it. I am proud to say now I do not miss the stylus and I find that my finger presses had improved dramatically and accuracy of keys input is 99.99 % and pretty fast. I was on Swype for keyboard input for about 2 weeks ( a fantastic piece of software - highly recommended). However now I go back to use the default touch input for normal use as I have now find it very easy to use now. I now swype only for cases needing lots of data input .
Has the HTC HD2 Capacitive Stylus been released yet ?
I see it's being advertised here:
http://www.clove.co.uk/viewProduct.aspx?product=83E47B82-89E5-4C33-95D5-84F7AE3C3F50
no problem without stylus at all if somebedy have problems with any app, you can add this app to pinch to zoom whitelist, and than just zoom in and click on it
i sometimes miss my stylus, there is really a problem but others advantages of finger scrolling make no turning back! i have accepted the inconveniences!
can't play All Mobile Minesweeper anymore... and many other games...
Moved from the SE X1 where I did use my finger for some things (even typing with FingerKeyboard - brilliant piece of software). Haven't missed the stylus much except for using TotalCommander which can be a real pain!
Most of the time it is OK. But I wish there was an accurate stylus. All Mobile Mines was a favourite of mine. I find Total Commander impossible to use. Data on the Run 5 (a database app I use to record all my books) is a swine to use, as it is designed for stylus. Some apps do not show a scroll bar that expands, so are very difficult (Opera for one!) Zooming in can be hit and miss, and can zoom back out when you do not want it to.
Keyboard is OK (but I was quicker on hx4700) when desensitised (I use BsB 1.6).
Sense UI is very clever, but the icons are huge "off the shelf" and waste so much space.
I really miss easy access to task manager; on my hx4700 I used Magic Button but it is not happy with WM6.5, and I don't want more memory hoggers running. The small icons it creates for runing programs are too easy to miss-hit, and WM6.5 could not show as many as WM2003SE, so it was pointless using it. Now I have Task Manager shortcut in my home screen to switch between progs. I have not found a 16 icon home screen fix that works for me, but it is to my mind a must.

Categories

Resources