Why all the hate for Winmo powered HD2 - HD2 General

so i spent a long time trying to decide whether to go with an android phone or hd2
i searched high and wide all over the internet. the only android phone for gsm with a comparable screen is the samsung i9000 which looks like it would come out at about 700 bucks. either that or you take the nexus one/desire which is also in that same ballpark. after all that i went ahead and got the hd2, and i am glad i did. any hardware comparable phone to the hd2 (which there currently isnt because with 1gb rom and 576 mb of ram, beats any other phone)(US version)
After a close look at everything and playing with a friends droid incredible while comparing it to my hd2, the only big advantages i could see to get an android phone would either be the open market place, google maps, speech to text.
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ok so you decide, hey let me dictate this msg. HERE IS AN IDEA, WHY NOT CALL THEM. (you might even get a chance to dictate it to someone listening).
the only place i can find real use for speech to text is while driving, and in that case, you technically shouldnt be using your phone PERIOD at that time.
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people keep griping (pronounce gryping) about googlemaps, but as great as googlemaps is, what happens when you lose your bars or do not have a data plan? *gulp* you are screwed. do yourself a favor and get a non-internet reliant gps software (like actual gps devices use), and i also feel that bing does a good job of matching googlemaps.
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THE MARKET PLACE. I do wish we had a market place, a nice central location where you can find everything you need. But i can tell you this, there are only so many apps you need until you get to the point where you are just trying to justify spending $X on a phone. A friend of mine while justifying how great his mytouch (android) phone is shows me all these apps he has. one app is a barcode scanner, and one app is google goggles. with goggles, the use of the barcode scanner is lost on me. (i think HD2 can also do that though). why go through all the trouble of opening your camera, looking for the barcode sending the item over the internet and all that when you could either just search for the barcode numbers (which funny enough is usually under the barcode) or searching for the items.
granted there are some nice apps like the statefarm pocket agent app out there, and most reputable companies(like banks etc) prefer to release apps for the iphone/android (my bank allows nexus one and iphone users take pics of check and automatically deposits the money into your account) but lets face it, most apps that people will need on a daily basis are also on winmo. An app that is used once or twice a month, while nice to have doesnt seem like that much of a big deal. Its kinda like getting a standby physician. Plus after a quick skim through the top apps on the marketplace, you find that 9/10 of all these apps are games (go figure), and even though they might be nice for your when you have to wait in a line or something, wouldnt a much larger screen be nicer to watch part of your fave tv show instead?
the hd2 has quite a few flaws, but the they are being fixed. Even though app development for windows 6.5 might go down when winmo7 comes out. I still like the HD2. I do not even think i would be switching to winmo7 since if i wanted an iphone, i would go get an iphone, i am not on facebook, twitter or any other social networking site.
only real reason i switched from my att tilt (the first one) was because the screen was so small and it had started to fall apart.
winmo by default sucks ass, but has limitless potential, where else would you find sms spammers, or american idol spammers (lol)
I'm not knocking android either, it has its perks and it would be nice to see what android is like on the hd2, but it makes little sense getting a winmo phone when you already knew you wanted an android phone, and then cluttering the boards asking for android. my winmo phone does everything i need it to do, so i am happy with it, i see my stocks, have my navigation from igo, have my alarm clock, IM, and calendar. ITS JUST LIKE BUYING A LAMBORGHINI AND COMPLAINING IT IS NOT A FERRARI.
only real sore point i can see no way around is flash coming to android. would have been nice to have flash but i guess i just have to take what i get.
Guys wasnt the main reason we fell in love with winmo because of the limitless possibilities?

Could not agree more, and don't forget the selection of UI's available and
the ability to configure your phone as you like it to be. Less than a month ago,
after researching Android and with the option to upgrade to the HTC Incredible
on Verizon vs the T-Mobile HD2, choose the HD2 with no regrets.

I agree too
I am really tired of all the people going i ditch my android phone or iphone for this and blah blah blah it windows mobile people what dont you get you can actual do something with this phone i love windows mobile after the years i know i know how could of like windows mobile with this will sense UI did the work to make the HD2 the best phone i had so far. I had a iphone it was okay I spent so much time fixing it to how i like it and boy it was not that easy at times lol but after a while I got the hang and did it but the apps please I stop using it for a while i would play with it for like a week and then i go boring android another story i never had one but i played with it and i was like wtf is with this crap please i don't want a phone that is set to make it easy to use because i was use to setting things to too and i know if i had an android the first thing i would do is flash it just to get to flash it lol but let get to the point if you want a android then get a android stop complaining about the windows mobile. If you want a iphone then go for it but sop you complaining about windows mobile too lol. I love my HD2 because there is a lot of nice roms and many possibility. And I forgot to mention the huge screen lol

The hard thing is trying to make sense of why a winmo phone is not more like iPhone or Android.
Do I buy Microsoft's arguement that they write the OS, but do not control the hardware that a Mobile Operator and a device manufacturer (OEM) put it on, or do I believe that someone is chasing their own tail?
I have the Nexus One, the Cliq and the MyTouch 3g. All are nice phones that I was perfectly happy with. I also owned an earlier version of the iPhone...and yes...my opinions then...and now...it was awesome...even with any faults. Yet, when presented with the HD2, my Nexus One now sits dusty and on my table.
'Good Hardware' is the key here. WinMo on the PURE...sucks. it lasted 48 hrs in my house. The Hardware package around the HD2 makes WinMo work...better. XDA makes WinMo better. So what if they take parts from here...and there....and produce great stuff....shouldn't that be ok.
I think some body in Redmond is watching. Windows Phone 7 has the potential to be GREAT...and I want one. A winmo OS with Zune...and Zune marketplace...on a 1300+ ghz hardware device....makes my toes curl. I saw a couple of models on PDADB.net the other day. I think that Microsoft, controlling more of the hardware...is the right idea. people do NOT realize how much Microsoft Windows Mobile suffers from Mobile Operator spec and boreware ...until they get to XDA and REMOVE that stuff. Right now I have the EnergyRom on my HD2....If I show it to ANYONE....they are surprised but interested. This is the same for any other ROM I may run. EXCEPT...the stock TMO rom...WP7 is supposed to remove that option....
BUT.....but....a winmo based Marketplace...hmmmm....it would be nice. Don't ya think the Apple ads...."We got an app for that"....are cool? With my androids, I could find anything I wanted,....at that moment...for my Nexus One....at the airport....is the flight on time????? Marketplace...tap tap touch...no...flight is delayed by 20 minutes. Try doing that on Windows Marketplace....you can't. Where's the nearest seafood restaurant....on Android...tap tap touch...get directions.....try doing that on Windows Marketplace...you can't. Or, my favorite....touch button..speak...Starbucks near here...get directions. It's not how many apps you can have....its about getting the apps you may want...when you want them....
But Android (or apple) marketplace did not keep me from the HD2. 5 minutes after holding the phone...I knew I made the right choice...XDA proved that anything can be done with the phone. Now, my buddy with the iPhone....says ....Wow...I can't do that with my iPhone. I just tell him...maybe there's a app for that...
After all....Windows 7...was my idea....maybe they'll listen to me about Windows Phone 7 too....

+1 on all of you.
Explain that to most people is really hard. WinMo is Vast, limitless but at the same time also complicated. I can live with that, the OS is so Fun to tweak and tinker. My earlier desicion was HD2 or Milestone thanks god i choose HD2 otherwise i only had free apps to have fun with and then get bores while with HD2 you have tons of Custom ROM just for start.
I think WM7 is too limited and controlled in comparison to WM 6.x and try to be more like "the other -read Android/IPhone" Not sure if i will upgrade but only time will tell.
I dont want to talk about Iphone, it is just boring.

I dont regret buying the Hd2. Windows mobile is nice for customization.
I just get tired of the layer skinning. My biggest problem with windows mobile is how different the text messaging looks when you get away from the sense ui
I had a g1 and the screen is just to small for me. Love android but hate small screens

well most people want to get these phones and they want it to do everything there is in the world to do. well i say that ITS JUST A PHONE!!!!!!!! sure i have a htc hd2 don't get me wrong its amazing on what it does and what it can do but remember this that its a phone. people want phones to do everything like gps, bank stuff, music, youtube, facebook, and other stuff. I don't really care on what the phone can or can't do, its a phone and its screen is amazing for seeing vids and besides i want a phone for my entertainment, text, calls, and well since it has internet of course use it. Either way The htc hd2 is a multitasker if you ask me and it is one of the most impressive phones out there and thats why i LOVE it.

try me.. its the next best device regardless if its wm 6.5
very solid points addressed! I use Garmin mobile XT, with 2011 maps 3D moving maps that were released in late April. the maps and program take 2 gigs on my 16 gb sd card. It rarely uses data other than to locate gas prices and weather. POI and everything else is stored to the phone. It has the speech step by step direction. I find it to be annoying, and set it to silence. The radio is really powerful, the satellite are found in seconds... unlike my Tp2 that takes around 10 minutes locate.
cookie Ht has a huge advantage on Sense... why even give windows credit other than better, stable drivers and 6.5 start menu vs 6.0 list..... Sense 2.5 covers to whole interface of the hd2 and paints a beautiful device. i have greatly enhanced my skins on sence, keyboard and dialer.
people complain cuz its not intuitive first time out of the box like the iphone that has beautiful eyecandy UI and they feel good knowing a child could use it. nor do they want to spend a cent more for programs to do actually what they want. its a shame. i really dont think the camera should matter, since their not meant for profession use. just a quick snap shot of a memory, all these camera phones in the dark are terrible. im happy for once, these are equipped with a 3.5 jack for music. i could ask for more. but we know that some people cant to be pleased nor willing to make it better by talking to the community to give us what would be it better.... their lose... our treasure... worth more than in the weight of gold. hehe

ok i''ve owned the g1 and them mytouch 3g. ive rooted these phones n played with them to their extreme . now i own the hd2. trust me the Android operating system is very very good also windows os, but there is two things that will make the windows os outstanding over any os ...1 i think that wm have the most apps than any other os in Apple n what they should do is have a complete make over of the wm market n have every app there is n categorize them according to what os version you have....2 finishing touch to this is creating a new os system which its UI is modern n very attractive because to be honest it feels like im running windows 5 on laptop built in 2010...im not fund of Wphone 7 becauseuUI to me isnt that customizable but one thing i do love about it is the gaming. if this is implemented onnn the hd2 you will have close to perfect mobile os ever

I still have a lot to learn about operating my hd2 – but coming from a Palm (680 and Centro) I really am happy with this phone. I wanted to stop carrying around my media player (Archos 604), my thumb-drive, a small fm radio and wanted to have a gps, real internet access , and a phone that I could listen to books on through my Bluetooth while in boring meetings. I feel I have it all in the hd2.
I picked up one of the many iphone books the other day and went through it to see what I would use on the ipone and couldn’t find any, that I would want to do, that I don’t have on the HD2. I’m not knocking the ipone, everyone I know who has one loves it – I’m just not that into texting, games, fart apps, facebbok, twitter ,or any other social media.
It is aggravating though, to walk into Best Buy and see 50 docking stations, 100 cases/covers, etc. and nothing for the HD2.

if you really wanna see how android is gonna fare on the hd2, just check out your local sprint store and check out the htc sprint evo 4g.
that being said, i own both an hd2 and two android handsets that are rooted.
what i like most about win 6.5 is the ability to customize it as much as i can a rooted android phone i.e. overclock the cpu (i just found an app for it), custom theme, save apps to sd card, play flash videos etc etc.
however, i do feel that it is a bit outdated and is more complicated to use. takes a bit of a learning curve v. android os, which is more simple to use. i see tons of potential for windows mobile 6.5 but it's a damn shame that microsoft is moving on to a more closed platform with windows mobile 7.
long term, i will probably head back to android in that regard due to updates and that it just keeps getting better and better (upcoming froyo update and then the gingerbread update which will allow for the saving of apps to sd card, etc)
engineer14 said:
so i spent a long time trying to decide whether to go with an android phone or hd2
i searched high and wide all over the internet. the only android phone for gsm with a comparable screen is the samsung i9000 which looks like it would come out at about 700 bucks. either that or you take the nexus one/desire which is also in that same ballpark. after all that i went ahead and got the hd2, and i am glad i did. any hardware comparable phone to the hd2 (which there currently isnt because with 1gb rom and 576 mb of ram, beats any other phone)(US version)
After a close look at everything and playing with a friends droid incredible while comparing it to my hd2, the only big advantages i could see to get an android phone would either be the open market place, google maps, speech to text.
Resolution 1:
ok so you decide, hey let me dictate this msg. HERE IS AN IDEA, WHY NOT CALL THEM. (you might even get a chance to dictate it to someone listening).
the only place i can find real use for speech to text is while driving, and in that case, you technically shouldnt be using your phone PERIOD at that time.
Resolution 2:
people keep griping (pronounce gryping) about googlemaps, but as great as googlemaps is, what happens when you lose your bars or do not have a data plan? *gulp* you are screwed. do yourself a favor and get a non-internet reliant gps software (like actual gps devices use), and i also feel that bing does a good job of matching googlemaps.
Resolution 3:
THE MARKET PLACE. I do wish we had a market place, a nice central location where you can find everything you need. But i can tell you this, there are only so many apps you need until you get to the point where you are just trying to justify spending $X on a phone. A friend of mine while justifying how great his mytouch (android) phone is shows me all these apps he has. one app is a barcode scanner, and one app is google goggles. with goggles, the use of the barcode scanner is lost on me. (i think HD2 can also do that though). why go through all the trouble of opening your camera, looking for the barcode sending the item over the internet and all that when you could either just search for the barcode numbers (which funny enough is usually under the barcode) or searching for the items.
granted there are some nice apps like the statefarm pocket agent app out there, and most reputable companies(like banks etc) prefer to release apps for the iphone/android (my bank allows nexus one and iphone users take pics of check and automatically deposits the money into your account) but lets face it, most apps that people will need on a daily basis are also on winmo. An app that is used once or twice a month, while nice to have doesnt seem like that much of a big deal. Its kinda like getting a standby physician. Plus after a quick skim through the top apps on the marketplace, you find that 9/10 of all these apps are games (go figure), and even though they might be nice for your when you have to wait in a line or something, wouldnt a much larger screen be nicer to watch part of your fave tv show instead?
the hd2 has quite a few flaws, but the they are being fixed. Even though app development for windows 6.5 might go down when winmo7 comes out. I still like the HD2. I do not even think i would be switching to winmo7 since if i wanted an iphone, i would go get an iphone, i am not on facebook, twitter or any other social networking site.
only real reason i switched from my att tilt (the first one) was because the screen was so small and it had started to fall apart.
winmo by default sucks ass, but has limitless potential, where else would you find sms spammers, or american idol spammers (lol)
I'm not knocking android either, it has its perks and it would be nice to see what android is like on the hd2, but it makes little sense getting a winmo phone when you already knew you wanted an android phone, and then cluttering the boards asking for android. my winmo phone does everything i need it to do, so i am happy with it, i see my stocks, have my navigation from igo, have my alarm clock, IM, and calendar. ITS JUST LIKE BUYING A LAMBORGHINI AND COMPLAINING IT IS NOT A FERRARI.
only real sore point i can see no way around is flash coming to android. would have been nice to have flash but i guess i just have to take what i get.
Guys wasnt the main reason we fell in love with winmo because of the limitless possibilities?
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Each to its own. Now we have HD2, iPod Touch, iPhone 3GS, and iPad. We also got an Android phone in the family. Instead of pitching them against one another, we make them complement and work together. For example, we have the only mobile data plan we need on my iPhone - beside all the goodies it can offer, we use it as a wifi router for all our mobile devices.
The main reasons I bought HD2 were its beautiful/huge screen, and the xda-developers forum. I don't intend to upgrade to WM7 even if it was available.

The same kind of people that complain about WinMo and think their iphone is so much better are the kind of closed minded people that cant think for themselves, try something new, and actually embrace and learn it.
The iphone/ipad are created for one thing mass consumer media consumption, and apple getting a cut of every itunes/app store purchase, with the iphone having a phone built in. It's definitely a very smart business for apple, but not one that I want to be part of, since im quite capable of figuring out how to get apps, and media on my WinMo device without the need of itunes or an app store
Im sure like many others here happy with their WinMo Phones, you have probably been using WinMo phones for a long time already, and some like myself have been using WinMo before it was ever on phones and just a PDA. I still have my 1st WinMo PDA, a toshiba e750, amazing for how old it is, the processor in it is almost as fast as most of last years WinMo phones. I used to BT tether the PDA to my cell phone to be able to do email and web browsing, then finally got a T-Mobile MDA shortly after it came out to merge the 2 devices into one, though at a performance hit, because of the lower processor speed.
These phones are quite literally like having a desktop PC in your pocket, with android also being similar experience from what i've read, though i've not actually owned an android device to play with
I've been fascinated by "palmtop" portable computing for quite awhile, with my 1st such device being an HP 200LX palmtop running DOS 5. I still have that palmtop sitting on my desk and it works still too! I always wanted to get one of the palmtop format windows mobile devices (windows ce), but couldn't justify the expense at the time having just graduated from HS and in college. I also remember the laptop format WinMo devices.
I also find it fascinating to find windows mobile/ce in devices that people would have never expected it in, nor complain about because they cant see the underlying OS. an example is the car stereo I have, a Roadmaster VR3 VRVD640G. There are hacks for it that somewhat let you get into the underlying OS.

I recently recieved my Hd2 and I love it. It is my first WinMo powered device. I owned a G1 (Dream) and while I really liked it and Android, I think that WinMo 6.5 is a much more customizeable and powerful OS. The level of complexity is alot higher, however. That is what I think turns people off of WinMo. I am enjoying the undertaking of learning this new (to me) OS.
Edit: I do think that in time, as it matures and with devices such as the N1 and the Desire, Android will be a quite powerful OS.

you know im so happy to see that their are others out there that see past winmo on the HD2 and are taking more consideration for the hardware specs...ive had the gsm htc hero,the nexus one,desire,Nokia n900 etc. and honestly, i was completely let down by all of those devices,but,thats just been my experience with them. even though the winmo isnt as snappy as android or the iphone..its still is kick ass phone...not downplay winmos but they are working on the kernals for linux and WM7 and considering most devices,we have one the better devices to date and iam very content with wm6.5 and 6.5.5

Well symbian and windows mobile had been the most hated OS in the US and maybe windows mobile been hated all over the world. I think its a nice OS but I think windows slept on the development, I think it became so critical how much they slept on the OS that alot of people here knows the in and out of the OS with out been hired or took any training about the OS which to me that amazing and probably never seen in any other OS in the world. not to mention HTC took sense and did their part as well but you never see windows team developing anything. I almost didnt buy the HD2 for the simple fact microsoft decided to develop KIN and windows 7 series instead of giving us a better support.

HEY I DISAGREE......... but i must say thank you for the info u gave me more info then any carrier could give the hd2 is a bigger & faster device but the differences u pulled the hd2 also hav hd2 has googlemaps it also has text to speech wat people people fail to see and realize is that the andoid market allows u to demo the product winmo doesnt which is suck and thats why u hav guys like me that searches the web for the product for free its out here it just cost but most of the apps that the andoid market hav winmo also has its just a matter of searching for it. my job on here is test multiple software to see if it can run and work together without issuse and or bugs and to run on the hd2 without error its crazy i go to a site find software and its free then find it at another site that charges for it .... now i dont think i can list the sites because of forum rules and regs but there out there waitin on u but u hav googlemaps with buzz also microsoft myphone and microsoft voice command

ryan562 said:
if you really wanna see how android is gonna fare on the hd2, just check out your local sprint store and check out the htc sprint evo 4g.
that being said, i own both an hd2 and two android handsets that are rooted.
what i like most about win 6.5 is the ability to customize it as much as i can a rooted android phone i.e. overclock the cpu (i just found an app for it), custom theme, save apps to sd card, play flash videos etc etc.
however, i do feel that it is a bit outdated and is more complicated to use. takes a bit of a learning curve v. android os, which is more simple to use. i see tons of potential for windows mobile 6.5 but it's a damn shame that microsoft is moving on to a more closed platform with windows mobile 7.
long term, i will probably head back to android in that regard due to updates and that it just keeps getting better and better (upcoming froyo update and then the gingerbread update which will allow for the saving of apps to sd card, etc)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wait it out and u will be able to run both the drod and winmo on the hd2 without problems

ryan562 said:
however, i do feel that it is a bit outdated and is more complicated to use. takes a bit of a learning curve v. android os, which is more simple to use. i see tons of potential for windows mobile 6.5 but it's a damn shame that microsoft is moving on to a more closed platform with windows mobile 7.
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I personally wonder if WinMo is as dead, atleast from a MS prospective as people are saying. Yes WinMo is used in many consumer phones which is what I see WinPhone7 replacing, but WinMo is used in MANY other places still.
Like my example of my car stereo in the post lastnight.
Symbol uses it in the "LRT" devices that many stores use for stock tracking. You see target employees carrying them all the time. hell APPLE stores used them with WinMo until they managed to hack a card reader onto their iphone.
The Symbol price check scanners you find at many retail stores are WinMo based. I've seen them crashed at walmart with the floating WinMo keyboard on top of their price check app.
I've seen symbol Pin entry/signature capture/card swipe terminals at stores like JC penny and the now defunct circuit city that i highly suspected to be running windows mobile due to the sound tones played while using the touch screen, they were the default for WinMo.
I highly suspect that Symbol is a huge WinMo customer of MS.
I've also recently been to the Seminole hard rock casino here in Tampa and noticed on some slot machines that the little screens just shows small ads had WinMo intenet explorer windows that had apparently got stuck while loading the next ad and you saw the default IE could not load page screen. I have no idea if the entire slot machine is WinMo based or just certain functions like that screen.
Yes i understand from a consumer prospective its pretty much dead because there will be no more releases for phones and app development is likely to die off as time goes on.
Also in alot of these cases it is more technically Windows CE, which windows mobile is a subset of, but its quite literally all the same code base, just a matter of what modules the OEM loads in their distribution
God knows how many other places it's running, you never know till you see one crashed or notice a few telltale signs. Some ATMs used to be Win98 based. Yes I quite literally saw an old style Win98 BSOD on one of my credit unions's ATM's years back. it was a Diebold machine. Would not surprise me if alot of them are WinMo or embedded XP now.

Related

Marketplace???

Has anyone noticed how ridiculously expensive and overpriced applications are in the Windows Mobile Marketplace?
For one, their selection of applications are terrible. So far they're just a bunch of badly designed generic apps that don't feed any real purpose. The games are horrible too.
The only decent application I wanted to buy was Pac Man, but that's like £5 !!! for a measly game that probably only has 5 levels and I'm only going to play when I'm bored.
. I just want a decent Twitter application that has kinetic scrolling and doesn't show that horrid side-bar control.
. A decent media player with visualisations and coverflow.
. A few nicely designed touchscreen games including ones like Tweeter that makes use of the G-sensor.
It makes no sense for Windows to release all these devices and advertise that WM is a social device when their marketplace is a bunch of bollocks.
ilabstudios said:
. I just want a decent Twitter application that has kinetic scrolling and doesn't show that horrid side-bar control.
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http://code.google.com/p/pocketwit/
I agree. I am very disapointed with the marketplace myself. I was expecting thousands of high quality cheap and free apps but that's not what we have yet. I am hoping that this is only due to the fact that it's been 10 days since its release and must be hard to get thousands of apps ready to go in the first few months. I am confident though that microsoft is ready to compete with android and iphone so must surely have something more in mind than they currently have.
Unfortunately it has nothing to do with Microsoft. The WinMo software companies haven't adjusted yet to that fact that there is a central place for the average user to hit and find their competition. Something like SPB could be as pricey as it wanted, because it could take the average user forever to find any quality alternatives. They have the advertising dollars, placement on carrier websites, etc. Now there's a spot for a smaller competitor to get the same exposure. But it'll take time for them to pop up.
$30 for any mobile app is retarded. I'm really disappointed that since release day, I'm only seeing 10 new apps in the store. Maybe the "what's new" button is broken, but there's a couple on the results page I installed day 1 of Marketplace being open
The lack of apps is probably not helped by the fact that, as I understand it, Microsoft charge an extra $10 or so for each country to list the app in (and require that the app be localized for that country) so I'd assume that a good chunk of people developing apps in the US aren't going to push their apps beyond the US (I'm no developer so haven't read the full pricing details but that's the gist of what I've seen in some MS developer forums with people questioning why their apps aren't available)
It'll especially be true for free or cheap apps - if you've made a free app, would you pay out to make it available to other countries?
The only reason I can see for restricting apps to a country is if they are purely regional - TV schedules for a particular country, or train schedules or something.
Steve.
Well, I'm in the US, so not really an issue. Trust me, not missing much if they are actually holding out on pushing to other countries.
I'd also guess the word is out to developers that Marketplace is a good spot for their software to turn freeware and end up on a torrent so perhaps they are holding off until Microsoft fixes the security.
Jesus shoe tapping finger clicking Christ, give it a chance its only just started. I have already seen a lot on there for free and under 70p... just wait and be a bit patient.
give it a chance its only just started
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I would if that were the case. Unfortunately, Marketplace has been exposed to developers months before it was officially released, which is why I am confused as to why there are so many cheap applications. I'm sure that there will be more applications coming soon, but I'm more concerned about the pricing and quality of applications. When I watched the first keynote last year on the coming of Marketplace I had higher hopes than his.
I realise that some iPhone developers have investment from other companies and some of them even have a development team working on the apps, but still.. look at the type of stuff Android have compared with Windows, it's ridiculous. It's as if no real developer wants to develop on the WM platform.
I feel that their advertising campaigns are misleading. They're trying to get across the fact that WM is now social and more application orientated when so far all I can find on the marketplace are overpriced applications that seem like it was developed for WM5.
Personally I don't think 6.5 is going to be a huge success, TechCrunch has already given it a bad review. WM7 better be different.
Btw. In the world of technology, there's no room for 'Oh give it a chance' type attitude. Technology companies usually have once chance of pulling something off. Hence the reason why companies like Google or Apple spend millions of dollars on market resource, trial testing and development research.
Marketplace? Pah!
http://www.freewarepocketpc.net/
I've been relying on the RSS feed from this fine site for the past couple of years or so, since my original TyTN, TyTN II and now my Touch Pro 2. It's a great site, has introduced me to great programs like NoniGPSPlot, has new applications all the time and finally - it's all free (and not warez free, but genuine software).
Great stuff - Microsoft saw what Apple were doing too late and have done too little me thinks to succeed.
I love my Windows Mobile phone; but Apple's iPhone taught Microsoft and other mobile developers how important eye candy in a phone OS was. Google's Android OS will be taking the lions share of future mobile phone sales and I see Android phones surpassing the iPhone.
Unless Microsoft do something right, not many peeps will want a Windows Mobile device in a few years time...
So far the only good to come out of the app store is Zenonia...badass rpg... 10 bucks though But well worth it in my opinion! If you like old school snes hack and slash rpg's, this game is for you. Full sound, decent story, just great overall. For me, there's point in playing my old favorite snes games on my phone because with sound, to me its pointless. and not using sound is the only way to get an snes emulator to run smooth; regardless of which one it is ( morphgear, smart-whatever its called, or pocketsnes
Paulplex said:
...
Great stuff - Microsoft saw what Apple were doing too late and have done too little me thinks to succeed.
I love my Windows Mobile phone; but Apple's iPhone taught Microsoft and other mobile developers how important eye candy in a phone OS was. Google's Android OS will be taking the lions share of future mobile phone sales and I see Android phones surpassing the iPhone.
Unless Microsoft do something right, not many peeps will want a Windows Mobile device in a few years time...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see plenty of commercials for iPhones and Google phones on TV but absolutely none for WinMo phones. MS really needs to start promoting itself in this market.
S
How about the annoying fact that I don't get a chance to choose where to intstall the app. They all go directly to device memory. That sucks balls!
Paulplex said:
http://www.freewarepocketpc.net/
I've been relying on the RSS feed from this fine site for the past couple of years or so, since my original TyTN, TyTN II and now my Touch Pro 2. It's a great site, has introduced me to great programs like NoniGPSPlot, has new applications all the time and finally - it's all free (and not warez free, but genuine software).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nice one !
Theres a cab floating around here to fix that...
moSess said:
How about the annoying fact that I don't get a chance to choose where to intstall the app. They all go directly to device memory. That sucks balls!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mpicart said:
Theres a cab floating around here to fix that...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=568806
@Paulplex - Thanks for the link. I know I can get free applications quite easily, that's what I've done so far. However most of them aren't to 6.5 standards, the majority of them are still coded for use on old WM5 phones.
When you spend hundreds on a phone you expect to install applications on it that are intended for such a high-end device. The only application which is worth installing is the Myspace and Facebook app, and even those aren't great.
I regard my phone as my house in a way. When we buy a house, we intend to fill it up with furniture, usually the more expensive the house, the higher quality the furniture. The same should apply to phones, in that instead of furniture we require high quality applications. But where are they? SPB is the only one I can think of.
do you people think that bill gates and the people at microsoft are just gonna sit around and allow apple to dominate the app frenzy in the market for pdas and devices? dont u think that most people at microsoft all have winmo devices? do u really think any employee would have an apple iphone?...so of coursse thousands of new gsensor apps are on their way of being placed on the marketplace or in development...obvious with android showing that they have developers also who are pumpin out apps for them..microsoft is doin the same thing..give them time the winmo app store just came out..and a gsensor phone for a winmo device first showed up only a yr ago..so they have a bit of software catching up to do with these new devices. HTC thank god...droped 6 new phones for the north american market just this month alone..with the tp2 being the first in september..(htc pure,htc hero,htc tilt 2,htc imagio,htc mytouch) so basically with 6.5 also droped...htc has done their part by stacking microsoft with a heavy set and multy array of phones to crush the competition i.e iphone 3gs or whatever version its at now. microsoft is not gonna sit around and allow apple to dominate the app market..and they sure as hell arent gonna let android..a new OS that has no business gettin their OS on htc devices, surpass them either...remembr bill tried to buy out google but they rejected a couple yrs ago. And u all know bill gates has a winmo devices,prolly a htc touch hd or the new imagio...dont u think he wants a huge selection of apps himselve? trust..were not the only ones on the heals of microsoft to get these developers in line..and get these apps rolled out...plus half the apps apple has for the iphone are useless and they are just puttin them in commercials to show that they have a **** load of apps...half the apps they have could be bunddled up with other apps like how a spb traveler or mobile shell app is but they are just tryin to show off how many apps they have..plus most of all the developers for apple just have the change a couple scripts around in their apps and all the same apple apps could be made into cabs and become winmo apps...so the **** isnt hard..the microsoft winmo team execut8ves or w/e u wanna call them need to get their marketing department working full throttle and start shipping new apps with these new phones...i repeat HTC has done their part..now its time for the software to catch up...
"Windows" isn't a device, "Windows" doesn't release devices, and "Windows" doesn't sell devices. "Microsoft" isn't any of those things, either. Microsoft is a company that produces an OS that runs on LOTS of devices (some phones, some PDAs, and a whole lot of things that are neither).
Plenty of time for this thing to get up to snuff.
But that said, the real problem is that while there aren't that many WM OS out there, (5, 6, 6.1, 6.5) and most apps will pretty much install in either, the different hardware config makes it a different ballgame, especially with games, no pun intended. Some phones have buttons, some don't. Some games will work only in landscape, some will not, some will work on both. And not all phones are exactly finger friendly. They're meant to be used with a stylus for the most part, the finger's a secondary thing.
So yea, these developers will have their hands full, unless of course they want to limit their market to particular devices only.
So that being said, my gripe is that none of these apps are telling me they're to be used in a particular hardware platform.
@moegdaog, I'm a developer myself, so I realise the number of new applications that will come soon, however that's not what I was specifically talking about.
I'm more concerned about the level of development on applications and games. Why so many developers opt to develop for iPhone isn't because of a bias view-point, it's because the tools they provide mean that they can develop a high-end application and start earning money as soon as it's in the marketplace.
However the type of developers are not the same. iPhone developers are usually younger, multimedia orientated so they probably have skills in web, graphics and illustration, where as Microsoft developers are usually a lot older and more prone to developing utility (function) based apps and have very limited skills in anything else. Most developers aren't able to outsource and so they are left with a rubbish application.
My worry is that yes there will be many applications within marketplace but will they actually be worth all that money and will any investors support the development of these apps. Also how will these applications differ from what we have seen on Android and iPhone.

So long Leo

If you are the kind of person who gets emotionally attached to the gadgets you buy, please stop reading this post.
I'm not trying to start an inflamed discussion about which is the best device or manufacturer.
I’m not an Apple fan, in fact, I hate being “Apple locked” and that’s one of the main reasons I’ve bought the Leo after owning an Eten x500, a Kaiser, a Blackstone and finally, an iPhone 3GS.
I could go over and over describing the differences and the pros and cons of each device but I won’t. I’ll just try to tell you guys a few things we don’t have to accept.
We don’t have to accept …
the endless steps (gold card, hardSPL, regEdit, dictionary hacks, you name it) needed to get the phone speaking your language. You just have to say: I want “THAT” system language and “THAT” input language and that’s it. That’s how it’s done on the iPhone. And I’m not talking 3 or 4 languages. I’m saying over 30 different languages and oh, you also have voice control on YOUR language. You don’t need to hack Voice Command…
an SMS conversation that gets all messages out of order (doesn’t HTC know how to do time calculations?)
a Gigahert processor which can’t smoothly scroll a web page. I know it’s probably due to bad Opera coding but… have you ever scrolled an iPhone Safari?
a whole bunch of bad designed apps which you can’t effectively control / interface with because Windows Mobile programmers really don’t seem to realize that “user friendlier” is better. Have you ever used a same App on both platforms? Take Trapster for example (It’s available at Micrsoft app store). The windows mobile version of it makes me feel sorry for the programmer while the iPhone version feels very nice. Of course this is not the only example…
a lot of small bugs on the first ROM. Apple got it right on the first and they had never (ever) built a phone before! How many phones will HTC have to make before they get a stock ROM right? The small things are often the most annoying...
I could go on but there is something I realized that made me feel really hopeless (yes, I would really like to like a Windows phone). While HTC (and other manufacturers) keeps on launching device after device in a short time frame and thus creating new bugs and issues to deal with, Apple keeps on improving its one and only iPhone OS, for its one iPhone device (ok, different versions but very similar) which keeps getting better and better.
While iPhone developers have to deal with interface and compatibility issues for 3 very similar devices, a Windows Mobile developer has to deal with hundreds of them, some very poorly designed and a few very good (like Leo) but in the end, there is no way to develop a very good app for so many devices without a huge effort (and cost). Also, developing an App exclusively for one Windows phone wouldn’t be cost effective as a single model doesn’t represent a large enough consumer market.
Apple, with the iPhone, didn’t create a device as we are used to. Instead, they created a product with a long roadmap, mature SDK, sufficient market share, providing the necessary ecosystem for developers all around the world to make it even better.
It won’t be possible for any manufacturer, using any OS, to compete with such a mature product if they don’t realize it’s not a device we need. It’s a product.
Sadly, I’m going back to my 3GS… (god I hate iTunes…)
fmcastro said:
a lot of small bugs on the first ROM. Apple got it right on the first and they had never (ever) built a phone before! How many phones will HTC have to make before they get a stock ROM right? The small things are often the most annoying...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Couldn't agree more on that.. Actually some people believed that HTC guys were deaf to provide us with such a loud distorted audio quality. I can't forgive HTC for the SMS bug.. I can't load all my SMS, device becomes really really slow and laggy.. How come they did not run a proper test to ensure their HTC Messaging application was working fine with dozens of SMS? This is really unprofessional. What where they busy with? The weather animation?
HTC support will contact me today to collect some symptoms and bugs I found but they did NOT ( as they claimed ).
Hopefully a hotfix will be available ASAP.
Xeon said:
Couldn't agree more on that.. Actually some people believed that HTC guys were deaf to provide us with such a loud distorted audio quality. I can't forgive HTC for the SMS bug.. I can't load all my SMS, device becomes really really slow and laggy.. How come they did not run a proper test to ensure their HTC Messaging application was working fine with dozens of SMS? This is really unprofessional. What where they busy with? The weather animation?
HTC support will contact me today to collect some symptoms and bugs I found but they did NOT ( as they claimed ).
Hopefully a hotfix will be available ASAP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, one thing we can safely assume by now is that no one at HTC actually uses their devices. Unless they are all deaf, send and receive SMSs only to/from their one and only imaginary friend and probably spend too much of their time watching the weather channel...
fmcastro said:
Well, one thing we can safely assume by now is that no one at HTC actually uses their devices. Unless they are all deaf, send and receive SMSs only to/from their one and only imaginary friend and probably spend too much of their time watching the weather channel...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some bugs are bearable.. I had too many with all my previous XDA/HTC phones. But for such basic bugs to be found, the device primary tasks ( phone calls / SMS ) should never be affected because it makes the device useless...
fmcastro said:
the endless steps (gold card, hardSPL, regEdit, dictionary hacks, you name it) needed to get the phone speaking your language. You just have to say: I want “THAT” system language and “THAT” input language and that’s it. That’s how it’s done on the iPhone. And I’m not talking 3 or 4 languages. I’m saying over 30 different languages and oh, you also have voice control on YOUR language. You don’t need to hack Voice Command…
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uh... you do realise that the reason these hacks exist is because the HD2 probably hasn't been officially launched in the country / language of your choice, and that people are hacking so they can use the HD2 in their country sooner than as decided by the carrier?
fmcastro said:
an SMS conversation that gets all messages out of order (doesn’t HTC know how to do time calculations?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's Microsoft's fault - having said that, I haven't had the problem with the HD2 itself - only the custom ROMS cooked with Leo packages on a Touch HD.
fmcastro said:
a whole bunch of bad designed apps which you can’t effectively control / interface with because Windows Mobile programmers really don’t seem to realize that “user friendlier” is better. Have you ever used a same App on both platforms? Take Trapster for example (It’s available at Micrsoft app store). The windows mobile version of it makes me feel sorry for the programmer while the iPhone version feels very nice. Of course this is not the only example…
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And this is more due to laziness on the developer's part and nothing to do with Windows MObile or the HD2 in general. Take a look at S2U2 - have you seen how nice the settings page is? Or GAlarm, *the* best alarm program ever.
fmcastro said:
a lot of small bugs on the first ROM. Apple got it right on the first and they had never (ever) built a phone before! How many phones will HTC have to make before they get a stock ROM right? The small things are often the most annoying...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. Wish HTC would get their act together.
If you hate iTunes so much why not wait a few more months for the Xperia X10, running Android with Snapdragon? Or the Motorola DROID for that matter?
aussiebum said:
Uh... you do realise that the reason these hacks exist is because the HD2 probably hasn't been officially launched in the country / language of your choice, and that people are hacking so they can use the HD2 in their country sooner than as decided by the carrier?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Humm... not exactly. Most people here at XDA were trying to switch from an oficial ROM to another. That said, we're talking about official languages. I was trying to flash a WWE ROM on a french device for example. The HTC excuse for this terrible language mess is, of course, microsoft: "Unfortunately, due to licensing restrictions put in place by Microsoft, it is not legally possible for us the change the language of a device once it has been loaded" - Quoted from an HTC support email I received.
aussiebum said:
That's Microsoft's fault - having said that, I haven't had the problem with the HD2 itself - only the custom ROMS cooked with Leo packages on a Touch HD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you realise it shouldn't matter whose fault it is? It's a faulty device sold by HTC, period. I don't feel any better knowing it's an OS fault.
aussiebum said:
And this is more due to laziness on the developer's part and nothing to do with Windows MObile or the HD2 in general. Take a look at S2U2 - have you seen how nice the settings page is? Or GAlarm, *the* best alarm program ever.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know but I think it's a bit more complicated as I said on the original post. Besides the laziness, WM developers face a too heterogeneous ecossystem that makes things really harder. "Ok, I've finished my app, now I just have to port it to 640x480, 480x640, 480x800, 800x480, 320x200, and who knows what else, despite the fact that standard WM UIs are really crap so every developer has to start from scratch if they want to make something look good. In short, only a few very brave souls will be capable of that.
aussiebum said:
Agreed. Wish HTC would get their act together.
If you hate iTunes so much why not wait a few more months for the Xperia X10, running Android with Snapdragon? Or the Motorola DROID for that matter?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because Android is not that good also. It seems like a better OS than WM but when it comes to user experience and, most important, a consistent user experience across all apps, it fails for the same reason WM fails. Lack of a product design and roadmap. It's just trying desperately to be installed on as most devices as it can.
Regards
And yet, the reasons people still use Winmo/Android is because the Iphone OS has serious deficiencies in some areas.
There is no perfect phone....all we can do is make the best of each OS.
Honestly you'd be better off with an iphone. I love my HD2 despite some minor problems, because I enjoy messing around with my phone. Also browsing the net on the HD2 is much faster than on the 3GS and you don't have to zoom in in order to read anything on the screen.
Let's not forget that the device is going to be upgradeable to winmo 7 as well.
Solution - keep HD2 and get ipod Touch - best of both worlds. Connect ipod via Wifi to HD2.
I owned iphone 3gs...
I read all you've been writing and i, as former iphone 3gs user, must say that everything you say is corect but... why don't you say to all of us why you gave up your iphone... or why you really hating go back to itunes... and of course why in the close future you'll give up again, and sell the iphone???
The answer, real answer is that with iPhone you have everything right in place as you say but there is no fun... no joy... like trying to have the best sex but not in the mood... if know what i mean...
I had moments when i pulled out my iphone, from my pocket, and i wanted to play arround with it and...come on, really boring!!!
Iphone is the best in terms of everyday use, but if wm 7 will get better in terms of use it's going to be a strong iphone killer!!!
I really like my HD2, in spite of all the hiccups, because it's fun, you can lose yourself for hours doing nothing but looking inside of it... settings, registry, HKLM, HKCU... does ring a bell, than entering here at xda and finding that someone did something and you hold your breath till you see if that is working or not...
I only say that i like playing... and HTC HD2 is giving me that!!! i don't need silly games to have fun from my device...
By the way...
No OS can have better handle of e-mail attachments than wm... for sure!!!
I HAVE NO REGRETS FOR SELLING IPHONE OVER HTC HD2!!!
Cheers!
jimbo29 said:
I really like my HD2, in spite of all the hiccups, because it's fun, you can lose yourself for hours doing nothing but looking inside of it... settings, registry, HKLM, HKCU... does ring a bell, than entering here at xda and finding that someone did something and you hold your breath till you see if that is working or not...
I only say that i like playing... and HTC HD2 is giving me that!!! i don't need silly games to have fun from my device...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for perfectly expressing my thoughts
Toss3 said:
Honestly you'd be better off with an iphone. I love my HD2 despite some minor problems, because I enjoy messing around with my phone. Also browsing the net on the HD2 is much faster than on the 3GS and you don't have to zoom in in order to read anything on the screen.
Let's not forget that the device is going to be upgradeable to winmo 7 as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I must say i have had an iphone 3g and i'm more happy with my HTC HD2. One of the reasons is because i simply think you pay way to much for the piece of hardware itself still no 5mpx camera while 8 is almost normal and 12 is high end. The new gs is worth more the money tough but the camera keeps me off and i kept hearing a annoying resonance while calling and the software isn't perfect as well and not that stable after a few days plus the battery life of the HTC HD2 is better as my iphone 3g and way better as the 3gs.
I like the default windows mobile software HTC Sense is annoying, camera flip, weather animations can't be turned off. Emails why show the email in the way it is shown now? i just rather had opened the whole email app so i can view the emails like your supposed to and not like a letter.
While calling you have to slide to get the extra options, why? there is a hang up button on screen wich you can press so why not the other buttons?
HTC tried to make a nice looking skin but not a functional one.
I use the default titanium skin with some modifications like a task manager added to the options and msn and the camera. But the apps for calling and the communications manager work great.
About windows mobile 7:
Windows mobile can be great. But i still have the idea they haven't learned from their mistakes. Look at the buttons a phone is supposed to have according to microsoft for windows mobile 7. a Pickup, a home, a start, a back and a hang up button. Why so many? Home and start could be one, 1 press to go home another to go to start and press again to go home again, simple and effective. Why a back button? when would you use that? Press the home button and your back in the home screen and applications usually have their own back button when needed. So pick-up home and hang-up would have been enough. Since Microsoft asks for these buttons they still think to complicated and i bet windows 7 will to complicated as well all though it will be more complete compared to 6.x.
But i love how i can change things to the user interface and multitasking is great, the iphone can't do that by default and that really sucks. And backgrounder that does make it possible, makes the phone more unstable as a windows mobile one. It is stupid windows mobile doesn't use it's greatest advantage for marketing and battling the iphone with it, this is where windows mobile could stand out with.
I'm writing this from my macbook on os x snow leopard and even i still prefer my windows mobile HTC HD2.
Windows Mobile 7 will simply use CE7 Kernel, compiled for new ARM CPUs and will use the new ARM instructions.
Now we're running Windows Mobile 6.5 that runs on CE5.2 kernel.
It's like running Windows98 on a Phenom X4 quadcore CPU
Even on other MSM chipsets that has got an ARM11 CPU, that potential isn't seen because of that.
When WM7 will be released, we'll see our device performance unleashed
I've had my HD2 for a week now and I must say I'm more than pleased with it. I did consider the iPhone as an option, but as I want to connect my phone to my Exchange Server then it was a no brainer to opt for a Windows Phone and the hardware specs of the HD2 are way above the iPhone. A big thing that put me off the iPhone was it's reliance upon iTunes to synchronise my calendar & contacts - it's dreadfully buggy toy software and I don't want a music application on my work PC.
If anyone has any doubts as to the iPhone's reliability and stability just Google "iPhone faults" and you'll see the problems users have experienced with their iPhones are considerable, with many being bricked through their hardware faults. Interestingly the most common reported faults are similar to those reported by the HTC dissenters such as slow SMS sending - maybe these are network issues? On top of that there's now the 'Astley' virus which Apple helpfully explain away as "the users' fault".
The emergence of open source Android phones whill hopefully spur the mainstream smartphone OS writers to concentrate their efforts on developing their own platforms. It's true to say that Microsoft haven't trerated their Windows OS as a mainstream product and there's still too much legacy code in 6.5, but it's still a decent OS for its intended purpose Hopefully that will be addressed in Version 7 which looks likely to be available to HD2 users as an (free?) upgrade. There's masses of quality third-party apps avaiable to maximise its smartphone potential for just about all users,.
There isn't a perfect smartphone out there and as we demand ever more features of them I doubt if there is likely to be in the forseable future, but the nice thing about the Windows Phone OS is that it is eminently hackable.
HD2 Simply Put...
Depth & Customization!
iphone got it right???
I remember hearing complaints about iphone for at least the first year, and as omneity says:
"If anyone has any doubts as to the iPhone's reliability and stability just Google "iPhone faults" and you'll see the problems users have experienced with their iPhones are considerable, with many being bricked through their hardware faults. Interestingly the most common reported faults are similar to those reported by the HTC dissenters such as slow SMS sending - maybe these are network issues? On top of that there's now the 'Astley' virus which Apple helpfully explain away as 'the users' fault' ".
fmcastro said:
We don’t have to accept …
5. a lot of small bugs on the first ROM. Apple got it right on the first and they had never (ever) built a phone before! How many phones will HTC have to make before they get a stock ROM right? The small things are often the most annoying...
Sadly, I’m going back to my 3GS… (god I hate iTunes…)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
p.s. I am a former Apple user. Iphone is more of Jobs' controlled user experience.
I couldn't stand it.
I find it ironic that Apple started out supporting open source while Gates worked hard at controlling users choice.
Now it is the reverse.
New things r always trapped in some trouble, and that's why i have paid close attention to leo, but i didn't buy it! im just waiting for a staid one.
To put it simply - the HD2 is the best phone I have ever used. I think it is awesome. I've had an iphone, etc - but the truth is there is no phone that hasn't got problems. The Iphone is falwed because it has no multi-tasking, crap camera, poor messaging (in my opinion), limited configurability, and its tied to iTunes which is horrible. The HD2 has non of the above. Yes it has flaws itself, but in my eyes less than any other phone out there at the moment.
Teneka_Khan said:
To put it simply - the HD2 is the best phone I have ever used. I think it is awesome. I've had an iphone, etc - but the truth is there is no phone that hasn't got problems. The Iphone is falwed because it has no multi-tasking, crap camera, poor messaging (in my opinion), limited configurability, and its tied to iTunes which is horrible. The HD2 has non of the above. Yes it has flaws itself, but in my eyes less than any other phone out there at the moment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I FULLY agree with you ; I also have a iphone 3G 16 GB but is now in the drawer collecting dust. As saying goes, One man's meat is another man poison . No point debating about how good/bad the HD2 and iPhone and any other PDA. It will never end
As far as I am concerned , the HD2 is my choice now vs iPhone
gavinfabl said:
Solution - keep HD2 and get ipod Touch - best of both worlds. Connect ipod via Wifi to HD2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, I totally agree...and that's just what i've now done

Is Windows Mobile an application desert?

I'm fairly new to smartphones, having had the Tilt2 for only about six months after about four years with a Treo 650, but one thing seems to be increasingly true about Windows Mobile phones: If you want the greatest capabilities, you just have to get an iPhone, not a Windows phone.
It just drives me crazy that all the good apps are iPhone. Deposit checks to Chase Bank without deposit slips or going to the bank using your iPhone camera AND THE CHASE DEPOSIT APP FOR iPHONE! Netflix, play movies on iPhone or trailers on Windows. AT&T U-verse download and play movies...on your iPhone. These are three fairly new ones that come to mind, but it is this way for seemingly everything. Even TCM's new movie schedule app is for iPhone, Droid, and Blackberry...Blackberry for crying out loud...but not Windows.
It's another 18 months before we can upgrade for a reasonable price from our two HTC Tilt2 phones to iPhones. If Microsoft wants to increase its market share, it needs to offer subsidies to developers. Windows 7 Mobile is not the answer...we don't buy computers for the sake of the operating systems. It's for the programs that run on the OS. Isn't it the same with smart phones? They all make calls and take bad photos. It's the other stuff that is the difference.
Am I wrong?
Youre absolutely right, however with over 300,000 downloads of the windows phone 7 SDK already, I think the next version of windows will have plenty of apps to enjoy. Microsoft is also wanting developers to release a free demo of all software, so we can check out any app to make sure we want to buy it. With the integration of XBOX Live, playing games online with other windows 7 users and the focus on gaming, WP7 is going to be awesome. UI definitely looks great and there are rumors that the day the marketplace opens up there will be over 100,000 aps submitted and available. Things really are looking up for microsoft phones. I know I'm getting one!
MPlayer: will let you stream hulu and bbc and others.
Movies for rental: Check out Amazon Unbox. It's part of amazons video service, where you can rent and buy movies and tv shows. You can have the settings set to automatically download a mobile version of the movie or show you are getting. Though I've never tried it with a rental. I usually just buy tv shows for 99 cents. Downside is it is not streaming, but download to pc and then transfer to your phone. Another option is to use
It's true that some of the very new apps will probably never see a WinMo 6.x port since the platform is switching to WP7, but calling it an "application desert" is a stretch. I have over 100 different programs installed to my phone, with everything from musical instrument simulators to various business tools and games. There's a huge number of free programs as well as a lot of high quality paid-for programs. Check the "apps worth installing on the tp2" for a good sample of the free applications you can get.
bowserb, as you said, you are new to smartphones, so with a lot of respect i want to share something, my experience with smartphones is a little more than yours, motorola q, blackberry, htc 8125, samsung epix, samsung blackjack, htc touch and know i have a tilt2, and beleive me its much more phone than the iphone
windows mobile and iphone are two differents worlds, windows is more for professionals and business people, focussed in getting the job done, excellent in word, excel, pp, (create and edit), emails capabilities, outlook and exchange sync, etc,etc, then as a second priority is the music, videos, etc,etc
on the other hand iphone is the phone for teenagers, to play, to think they have the ultimatte machine (go to a high school and teel me if dont see al least a hundred of them in 110 kids), you need aplications for everything, let me explain, when you are to compare a phone you have to do it from the box, which one is more capable without going to itunes or marketplace, there the iphone dont have a chance, in others words if you dont jailbreak the iphone its almost useless, my sister and my brother have them, so i know what im talking about
if you want real games and real tv, you have xbox, playstation and a flat screen
MS doesn't care about its market share for Windows Mobile 6. Mobile is a tiny part of MS's business, completely insignificant compared to sales of PC operating systems, Office, etc. It remains to be seen how much MS will even care about Windows Phone 7. With WP7, its possible they can make money off the mobile market like Apple and Google have, but that remains to be seen. It would require a whole new level of support and financial commitment than MS has shown in the past. MS has proved they can make money from a new market (XBOX), if they see it as a viable potential opportunity and throw enough resources at it. But if they go into half-hearted, they will fail now that Apple and Google already have a substantial hold on the market.
Yes, commercial developer support for WM6 is drying up with WP7 coming in the next couple months. But there is still a huge user supported base, many will argue. If you want more support from MS and other commercial developers, its not going to happen. They have all moved on.
The underpinnings of WM6 is just too old for developers to make backwards compatible applications. All the WM products up to version 6 are based on the same Windows CE code from 2000. So you can see why there is little desire to make an application for this outdated OS, when there is a modern updated version coming out in a few months.
And don't forget about Android. The iPhone is all the rave for the uninformed. But if you want a OS that has a huge user community, and tons more customization and function than the iPhone, then Android is what you want. Unless MS can really turn things around, I'm almost certainly going Android for my next phone.
Since you want an Iphone so bad.....
Here is my two cents on an iPhone.
Yes, I agree with you it has a lot of nifty apps, in various categories. On of the other side, a "phone" is for making calls. I have 3 cousins, and a few family friends who have Iphones, they hate the "phone" part of it because it drops calls, and lags on the phone screen severly. I know many people who have smartphones who send internet to their iPhone's to do what you were talking about with the Chase banking things and stuff. The new iPod Touch has a camera and mic if I'm not mistaken.
My dad used to be subscribed to a PocketPC magazine, and they ranked iPhone top of the line for apps, but worst for phone usage. Even worse than regular phones (ie non-smartphones).
Whatever you want to do is up to you though.
App desert?
Thanks for the comments, guys. I had no idea that WM6.5 was an update of Windows CE. Last time I used that OS was on a Casio PDA...a really long time ago. (Note for the younger crowd: A PDA was smartphone without the phone.) About Windows 7 mobile--will I have to buy a new phone to get it, or will there likely be an upgrade available from HTC?
MS Office. I can't imagine iPhone Contacts being a clumsier, more limited application than on the Tilt2, where contacts show up multiple times and all with m next to the name. Word and Excel are OK, but I almost never use them, even though they are indispensable on my desktop computer.
Dropped calls on iPhone. I suspect that is an AT&T problem, not iPhone. My Tilt2 drops calls all the time, as did the Treo 650 before it and the Sony/Erikson before that. Isn't that the reason people are clamoring for iPhone on Verizon?
iPhone is for teenagers? How do you know I'm not one? And even though I'm not, why should they have all the fun? No I don't really care about music and movies on my phone, but the ever growing list of useful and practical apps for the iPhone would seem to make that platform the choice of all age groups!
Anyway, this reply is mostly rhetorical. In 18 months, it will be time to survey the smartphone landscape.
redpoint73 said:
MS doesn't care about its market share for Windows Mobile 6. Mobile is a tiny part of MS's business, completely insignificant compared to sales of PC operating systems, Office, etc. It remains to be seen how much MS will even care about Windows Phone 7.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They better start caring, mobile phones are going to be replacing PC's for many folks in the future.
txrider said:
They better start caring, mobile phones are going to be replacing PC's for many folks in the future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They do. They are investing billions into WP7.
bowserb said:
About Windows 7 mobile--will I have to buy a new phone to get it, or will there likely be an upgrade available from HTC?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WP7 will be for new phones only, and an official upgrade is out of the question. The Tilt2/TP2 does not meet the stiff hardware requirements mandated by WP7. From the processing power all the way to the hardware button layout, it doesn't meet the new WP7 standards. Wouldn't be surprised if the smart folks on XDA will get some form of hacked version to work on Rhodium, but propably won't be quite the same experience as on a phone that runs WP7 natively.
redpoint73 said:
WP7 will be for new phones only, and an official upgrade is out of the question. The Tilt2/TP2 does not meet the stiff hardware requirements mandated by WP7. From the processing power all the way to the hardware button layout, it doesn't meet the new WP7 standards. Wouldn't be surprised if the smart folks on XDA will get some form of hacked version to work on Rhodium, but propably won't be quite the same experience as on a phone that runs WP7 natively.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even the high end HTC HD2 will not get an official upgrade to WP7, it has been said by Microsoft and HTC....
If the people on here can do it...that's another story...

my Review (or rant if you will)

hmm where do i even begin.........
This phone is actually not bad from a hardware standpoint, its fingerprint resistant (rubberized coating) with a responsive touch screen.
-CPU is very fast, never hangs up or goes jittery, all the animations are very smooth
-the keyboard has good feed back, you know for sure if a key is pressed or not, though it feels kind of cheap, as
-long as it holds up to my crazy texting for 2 years ill be happy.
-shift and function keys just piss me off, they are not in a very convenient location nor are they easy to find in
the dark, they don't illuminate, which leads me to my next point.
-the keyboard is not evenly lit, the right side has some buttons half dark however... with keys that require the function button to be pressed, you can also press and hold the button to use the special character like onscreen HTC keyboards
-the camera sucks, but then again i think all cell phone cmos cameras are junk. i also cant turn off the freaking camera sound, its so loud and annoying.
okay now to the software... here we go
we'll begin with the things that are right...
-animations are super smooth and very aesthetically pleasing, i would even venture to say its better than android and the iphone animations
-maps is amazingly fast and fluid, when you zoom into the max position it will auto change to sat view
-app store isnt bad, lots of cool free apps already (only time will fix this properly)
Onto the bad......
so many things are missing from the basic OS itself its ridiculous! its unusable out of the box..
- battery %, please dont use a retarded batter icon that doesn't tell me anything, not even the iphone is this crippled
- cant connect to hidden networks, this make the device totally useless as alot of companies choose to hide the SSID, i dont CARE if it doesn't add another layer of security, you hide it so guests connect to the public shown SSID and employees connect to the hidden.
- cant connect to exchange, this is completely unacceptable, i cannot type in a space on this device to connect, alot of companies use First Space Last as the user name for simplicity, short names or garbled user names dont identify a user as easily. when setting up your exchange connectivity, space is disabled.
- after getting the network admin to change my user name (ridiculous, i really shouldn't have to do that), i got connected only to find i cant sync text messages or Tasks, now this phone is as useless as android and the iphone. i have a ton of info in tasks that i need, and the SMS sync was for ease of use, in outlook 2010 i can send and receive text msgs right from the email window so i dont have to take my phone out.
- no file browser, we arent retarded apple users, why is this missing?
- bluetooth is completely crippled like the iphone, windows mobile 5 had more functionality! (cant send files, cant receive anything, cant do ****)
- proprietary drivers, wtf is this? again, crippled like the iphone doesnt show up as a removable drive, i cant access this phone on other computers (android and WM6.5 asks you if you want to charge, show up as flash drive, act as modem, etc)
as it stands now, i cant replace my sony X1 with this trash, basic functionality is GONE, i guess we can thank apple for making everyone retarded. this OS was obviously WAAAY too rushed.
In fairness, WP7 is not aimed at the business market, WP6.5 will continue I believe for precisely that reason.
It's a very different take on the OS that we're used to. They're looking to make it as user friendly as possible and quick and intuative to navigate.
Personally I think they've done a great job, and I'm a hardcore WM5,6,6.5 user. This is NOT a techy phone - hence why a lot of stuff is locked down, because 95% of users would have no idea of all the options you have for say bluetooth in WM6.5.
I really like what they've done with WP7, it's a new direction, and there are bound to be niggling bugs and features that aren't yet included, they've written this from the ground up so it's always going to take time to add features. I got one for my wife at the weekend, and she absolutely loves it - coming from an HTC Hero on Android 2.1 which she liked the apps and stuff, but hated the fiddliness of it all. Now she has what she loved without what she hated.
From your review above, it's clear that WP7 is not the kind of OS you want, but that doesn't mean it's bad.
rob_p said:
In fairness, WP7 is not aimed at the business market, WP6.5 will continue I believe for precisely that reason.
It's a very different take on the OS that we're used to. They're looking to make it as user friendly as possible and quick and intuative to navigate.
Personally I think they've done a great job, and I'm a hardcore WM5,6,6.5 user. This is NOT a techy phone - hence why a lot of stuff is locked down, because 95% of users would have no idea of all the options you have for say bluetooth in WM6.5.
I really like what they've done with WP7, it's a new direction, and there are bound to be niggling bugs and features that aren't yet included, they've written this from the ground up so it's always going to take time to add features. I got one for my wife at the weekend, and she absolutely loves it - coming from an HTC Hero on Android 2.1 which she liked the apps and stuff, but hated the fiddliness of it all. Now she has what she loved without what she hated.
From your review above, it's clear that WP7 is not the kind of OS you want, but that doesn't mean it's bad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah i get what your saying and i think that this is a REAL competitor to the iphone, i am still using the LG phone and for the first time in 3 or so years i used the zune software again (had an original zune) and WOW, its a HUGE freaking change from what it was before, the animations and downloaded content is far better than itunes.
its pretty painless for a regular user to put music and videos on, any videos seen are auto trans coded and thrown on the phone, i honestly prefer the phone to be able to play any file that is dragged and dropped over
the smoothness of the UI is actaully what i wanted in a windows mobile phone with all the features. if microsoft can add the things WM6.5 could do, im sold, even if i have to use the zune software to transcode.
How did yall get a Quantum already?
Could you post a pic and movie example from the phone?
I'm holding out buying a new WP until I can play with all 3 in the store.. So far, every phone I have had has had a slide-out keyboard.. I have a Fuze now, so even with the Quantum's quirks it will still be a huge upgrade..
I just got back from the AT&T store where they had a Quantum on display. The phone seems smooth and fast, and the keyboard is great (I like it better than my Touch Pro’s keyboards). It is slightly longer and wider then the Touch Pro, and almost as thick. The screen is rather small, it is only 3.5” which I believe makes it the smallest of all the WP7 screens. I did pop off the battery cover and look what was there. The SIM card is easily assessable, but no signs of a hidden/covered micro SD card.
I've been waiting to play with the Quantum to make my decision on which phone to buy..
I have a broken Fuze now, so the 3.5" screen will seem huge to me..!
I'll check the store tomorrow and see if they have it..
I must agree with the first post as far as limitations are concerned, with one specific addition. I have to pay 14.99 in the Marketplace to get RDP functionality.
Okay, two additions: WTF is with the ringtones?! Please MS, please, please let me have a couple ringtones.
All I want for Chistmas is: RDP, a file manager, and ringtones.
(my exchange server works fine, and i'll have my sharepoint up in the week, so i'm good on that)
Hey,
can you please check the RAM on your C900 QUANTUM?
There is conflicting literature on this phone. Some sites say it has 256mb RAM and others say 512mb RAM.
Can you let me know what the actual phone says if there's a way to pull this information from the phone?
Thanks
pezius said:
I must agree with the first post as far as limitations are concerned, with one specific addition. I have to pay 14.99 in the Marketplace to get RDP functionality.
Okay, two additions: WTF is with the ringtones?! Please MS, please, please let me have a couple ringtones.
All I want for Chistmas is: RDP, a file manager, and ringtones.
(my exchange server works fine, and i'll have my sharepoint up in the week, so i'm good on that)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Quantum is supposed to arrive on Monday (from Amazon). I couldn't for the life of me figure out the right DataPlan from AT&T. I had one of their old school unlimited plans that let me do everything, but had to change over to get the new phone. I chose the DataPro 2GB Smartphone personal plan, and am worried I won't be able to setup my gmail to use Push Mail via activesync. Can you enlighten me on which plan you have? I'm afraid I may have to switch to the more pricey "Enterprise" plan to get this functionality.
Thanks In Advance,
Skorpyo
vst2010 said:
Hey,
can you please check the RAM on your C900 QUANTUM?
There is conflicting literature on this phone. Some sites say it has 256mb RAM and others say 512mb RAM.
Can you let me know what the actual phone says if there's a way to pull this information from the phone?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just picked mine up frm the ATT store. The outside of the box Def says 512mb of RAM.
Sent from my X10i using XDA App
Well, my Quantum cam early and while it took some acclimating from my fuze running 6.5 the UI experience is fabulous. It definitely is a UI groomed for the average joe/jane rather than a power user. I'm bummed there's no file manager and that many of the customizations available in 6.X aren't in 7.
As for the quantum it is a great piece of hardware. The screen is beautiful, the build quality is great and the keyboard slide is solid. The keyboard is an adjustment for me. My fuze sported a 4 row 54 key keyboard while the quantum has a large button 4 row 38 key keyboard with separate fn/shift keys. Overall the keyboard is nice for fat finger guys like me though the space bar is a bit clunky.
so far I'm thrilled with the unit, and look forward to wider app support. Oh, and itd definitely 512/512 RAM/ROM.
Skorpyo
honestly one of the nicest feeling phones i've held in my hand ina loong time.. win phone 7 is a brand new thing.. so don't expect there not to be a few things that aren't quite rite.. but hey... this forum will straighten most of that out i'm sure... def glad i got this phone all the way around.
Skorpyo said:
My Quantum is supposed to arrive on Monday (from Amazon). I couldn't for the life of me figure out the right DataPlan from AT&T. I had one of their old school unlimited plans that let me do everything, but had to change over to get the new phone. I chose the DataPro 2GB Smartphone personal plan, and am worried I won't be able to setup my gmail to use Push Mail via activesync. Can you enlighten me on which plan you have? I'm afraid I may have to switch to the more pricey "Enterprise" plan to get this functionality.
Thanks In Advance,
Skorpyo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for the derail. So you had AT&T's grandfathered unlimited plan and they wouldn't let you transfer it to a new phone when you renewed your contract?
If that is the case, it's utter bullcrap.
EDIT: I found the answer to my own question. If you have the unlimited data plan, it remains grandfathered in as long as you are upgrading laterally (smartphone to smartphone). It won't allow me to post the link to where I found it but the relevant solution ID is KB110282.
gillbell said:
Sorry for the derail. So you had AT&T's grandfathered unlimited plan and they wouldn't let you transfer it to a new phone when you renewed your contract?
If that is the case, it's utter bullcrap.
EDIT: I found the answer to my own question. If you have the unlimited data plan, it remains grandfathered in as long as you are upgrading laterally (smartphone to smartphone). It won't allow me to post the link to where I found it but the relevant solution ID is KB110282.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, to be honest I probably would've still changed to the new plan cause I've never gone over 900mb in the two years I've has it and the new plan was $60 a year cheaper. Not much, but in today day and age every penny counts.
Five Quantum Days
Today is day five with the new Quantum. The keyboard is great and the odd fn and shift keys are easy to get used to. IMHO, there is no question that the Quantum feels better in your hand than any of the other WPs. It is REALLY solid feeling!
I have flashed many custom ROMs on my Fuze and had to go through the eMail setup many times with varying levels of success. When you fire up a new WinPhone for the first time it asks for your ‘Live’ account, and it sets itself up flawlessly the first time.
My wife is just emerging from the stone age with a flip phone and I have her using the Quantum with her SIM card, trying to spur her interest. Every so often I hear "Cool" or she says "Sometimes I turn on the phone to look at the purple birds” (one of the lock screen wallpapers). She has a couple of favorite websites and she has them pinned to the bottom of the home screen and sometimes looks one up while we are driving. BIG step for her!
Most of our family has iPhones and she likes some of the iPhone apps. Apps are lacking on the WP platform and there are some real shortfalls in the 1.0 version of the OS, but Microsoft is serious about competing in the Smartphone arena and I am willing to give them a chance. The December issue of MaximumPC magazine surprisingly rated the new WP OS number one in the field of: Blackberry, iOS, Android and WP.
We should see the first update to the WP OS soon and that should give us some indication as to how serious MS is about keeping the old WinMo fans in the fold.

Why do YOU choose an Android?

Hi everyone, yes it's me again
With the HTC Aria being my first smartphone (my previous cellphone is a Sony Ericcson W890), I'm curious about several things. I gotta tell you first that I'm absolutely unfamiliar with programming language.
I chose the HTC Aria because it's an Android (even though I have absolutely no idea what Android is fully capable of!), and a pretty looking phone it is!
Secondly, I'm tired of the peer pressure from all my Blackberry friends, especially because they are always in their own little world all the time even when we meet!
Anyways, I managed to get my hands on a rooted Aria last week and loving it. My only understanding of a rooted phone is so that I can have all the features open, that otherwise would be disabled by AT&T and/or HTC. Sounds great to me because I've been eyeing the Aria for some time — and it's not even launched yet here in Jakarta. What else can I do right?
I'm not a developer or programmer, and I probably don't need to do fancy stuffs with my Aria besides:
1. Making & receiving calls
2. Sending & receiving SMS
3. Being in touch with friends via Fring (any suggestions on better IM services?)
4. Being able access my Gmail and other email account anytime I need
5. Play games once in a while (waiting at the dentist or what-not)
6. Access to Maps and GPS cos I tend to travel now and then
7. Having a reminder in my pocket all the time (using the default Calendar)
8. Take notes occasionally (with Textedit)
9. Access to useful widgets/programmes that I may not even know yet at this time (ie. live traffic, stocks, etc).
Simply, I just wanted a phone that:
• Gives me access to the internet at all times
• lets me be in touch with overseas contacts via instant messaging
• has GPS & Maps capabilities
• looks great!
Call it a waste but perhaps someone can point me in the direction of taking full advantage of the available features/capabilities? Should I even bother to upgrade to Froyo if my use is pretty basic? Why do YOU choose an Android?
I guess I'm trying to justify the real reason I got this phone LOL
Thanks!
Being a former Windows Mobile user, I made my choice to go with Android last spring after Microsoft announced Windows Phone 7. For me I didn't see the benefit of moving to a new 'verison 1.0' even though Microsoft was behind it and I sure didn't want to wait until November to even get a chance to see one.
With Android, you can see the progress that has been made in 2 years to make a stable and mature product and it remains open for customization unlike the move Microsoft made with Window Phone 7.
Personally I love the Aria form factor and now Froyo 2.2 thanks to the group who brought us CM 6. The phone features just flat work and the apps that are available just add to the usefulness.
Regards,
Tom
I didn't want an iPhone... so the Aria won me over.
Sent from my Liberty using XDA App
Noz85 said:
I didn't want an iPhone... so the Aria won me over.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ditto. I much preferred the chic form factor and working GPS vs the captivate. It just feels good.
I like android OS. I call ATT and ask about upgrading and they try to push the iPhone on me I told them I wanted an android phone. Then they tried to push a Windows phone so I told them i wanted a android phone. So I order the aria from amazon.
Sent from my HTC Liberty using XDA App
Cause Android is probably the best Mobile OS I have ever used. My best friend had the G1, and I loved it. Then after all of the other carriers jumped on board, more of my other friends were getting an Android OS phone. I got the Aria, cause it is an HTC phone, and every friend of mine that has Android, has an HTC, and they have never had any problems.
I am also a graphics designer at heart, so the availability of being able to customize the phone is an added plus.
.
I've been following Android development since there was the news about Google purchasing a small company making a new OS for phones and it being named Android. Regrettably, I didnt had the money to buy one. And then the iPhone came out, with it's blazing fast OS that no Android could compare (heck, even today some top android phones are a bit laggy, I know why, but still).
So I wanted the Android experience of a truly customizable OS (coming from a S60 Nokia), the beauty of Sense (I fell in love when I saw it the first time in WM) that joined to the reliable hardware of HTC, a snappy phone (I hate lags), a small phone (idk why everybody goes for the 3,7+ inch screens) and then, the Aria came out, with its screws in the back, rubberized, sober, yet like a powertool in the inside.
What, can I say, InstaFav :]
Now I just need to get used to a battery-hungry phone...
Thanks for participating in this thread.
Meanwhile, I'm still browsing the forum and tinkering with exploring the phones' settings and pretending to be busy at the office
Android is just too awesome
One word...Tasker.
Sent from my Liberated Intruder using XDA app.
I got an android because I didn't want to have to carry a desktop pc or laptop around with me everywhere like you would with an iphone (everything has to be done through itunes etc..)

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