Kin needs IM Client and Calender ASAP and more..... - KIN One and Two General

I am in the UK and I think the Kin phones would be ideal for my teenage daughter and maybe my wife also. I do not think data pricing is an issue in the UK as I pay only £5 a month for unlimited data.
They will love their photos auto uploading to the Kin Studio and the Zune Pass. There needs to be an option to delete photos from phone only (I think currently if you delete from the phone it deletes from the studio which is stupid).
However my wife will want a Calender for appointments, birthdays etc...
My Teenage daughter would not touch this phone without an IM Client which has Windows Live Messenger, Facebook Chat and Blackberry Messenger ( Iphone has an APP for this).
To seal the deal add BING MAPS with navigation and some XBOX Live Games.
This would succeed in Europe 100% I know in USA data prices also play a part so this would need to be looked at also.......

I agree to some extent. I just bought a Kin Two and am absolutely loving it. and I've had my fare share of phones over the past 5 months. Gone from the iPhone 3Gs (which is awesome), to the Palm Pre (which is also awesome, just a tiny keyboard), to a Droid Eris (not awesome, major problems), to now my Kin Two. Honestly this is a super snappy phone. Navigating through the menus is super quick. However I will say this is totally focused towards social sites and such. Here is where I agree with you. IM would be a definite plus in this department. You think it would make sense you at least give it Windows Live Messenger. Calenders Im okay with not having, but I realize this is a major issue for some people. Recently there was a press conference with reps from both Verizon and Microsoft (I wont post the article because I don't know this site's policy on linking outside sources) who said they will be adding app functionality like on the Zune HD, and their overall plan is to merge Kin OS with Windows Phone 7, which is pretty cool.
Overall I must say that this phone may not do a million different things, but I can say that what it does do it does very well. And after going through so many phones that can do some many things I'm really happy that I got this phone and brought me back to a simpler level.

Related

Time to leave???

I have appriciated all the help over time here but been doing alot of considering and talking to verizon rep. and alot of posting and looking over at crackberry and think its time to give up on windows and get the new blackberry storm this friday! that thing is sweet and does all i need plus some. my main things are internet and media
i just flashed to dcd's latest 2 days ago but this thing still gets meto mad with the memory issues running movies andso much more.
the new stormhas somuch to offer, larger screen, way more rom memory, 1gb storage with 16gb micro card (comes with 8gb) and so much more
But the BB Storm has no wifi, no flash support, no tabbed browsing. Those are deal breakers right there....and also only 192MB of RAM, nuff said.
dearls said:
I have appriciated all the help over time here but been doing alot of considering and talking to verizon rep. and alot of posting and looking over at crackberry and think its time to give up on windows and get the new blackberry storm this friday! that thing is sweet and does all i need plus some. my main things are internet and media
i just flashed to dcd's latest 2 days ago but this thing still gets meto mad with the memory issues running movies andso much more.
the new storm has so much to offer, larger screen, way more rom memory, 1gb storage with 16gb micro card (comes with 8gb) and so much more
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Decision is yours obviously, so I am not trying to talk you out of it, but you are trying to compare apples and applesauce. The Titan is an apple that can be customized to be everything from apple juice to an apple pie. The storm will only ever be applesauce. Sure it looks more refined but it has no customization ability and cant really be improved. Good luck in your decision, but I would never have a crackberry, especially with a Touch pro in my hand.
maskedlion said:
Decision is yours obviously, so I am not trying to talk you out of it, but you are trying to compare apples and applesauce. The Titan is an apple that can be customized to be everything from apple juice to an apple pie. The storm will only ever be applesauce. Sure it looks more refined but it has no customization ability and cant really be improved. Good luck in your decision, but I would never have a crackberry, especially with a Touch pro in my hand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Applesauce. Nice!
Feel free to try it out.
and you cannot sync email. Like with an exchange server. They only go via blackberry. I would also recomend against it. Go with the HTC Touch Pro/Diamond. Or something else like that. Or iPhone with AT&T. Blackberry is only if your work requires it.
I do tell all of my frinds that are less technically skilled that they are probably better of with a BB.
That way I can continue to dazzle them.
dearls said:
I have appriciated all the help over time here but been doing alot of considering and talking to verizon rep. and alot of posting and looking over at crackberry and think its time to give up on windows and get the new blackberry storm this friday! that thing is sweet and does all i need plus some. my main things are internet and media
i just flashed to dcd's latest 2 days ago but this thing still gets meto mad with the memory issues running movies andso much more.
the new stormhas somuch to offer, larger screen, way more rom memory, 1gb storage with 16gb micro card (comes with 8gb) and so much more
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you have a bad phone obviously, or having user-specific issue, and going to giv eup on windows mobile? lol....my 6800 works flawlessly everyday, with data and calls. I have everything I could possibly want on a 4gb card, I run my multi-messenger client (agile) all day pretty much, constatly IMing people, even while I am driving (probably not safe, but still cool), am able to browse the net, play games, I get a GPS fix with TomTom 7 in 30 seconds or less, etc...I mean the only thing my 6800 doesn't do, is wash my clothes for me, lol. Plus, it runs fast, and no memory problems.
Plus, all your email has to go through a blackberry email, so everything is relayed, and not truly using your email server...Blackberry server basically have a copy of every single email communication u make now...not only is that unsecure, but totally worthless...my 6800 on Windows Mobile connected DIRECTLY to my mail server, no intermediary email account neccesary.
Technically ignorant
I would also have to agree with worwig. We should not try to talk people out of buying devices like blackberry and the iphone because there is no point in hooking them up with a windows mobile device because they will never be able to tap into its potential. You guys have to remember in here we are the select few. Most people are retarded and look at devices like our titans and go, "oh this is definitely no iphone." And they will never understand why intellectual people will never go for devices such as these. Just let them live in their cloud of ignorance and let us live in clarity.
Sweeny Russ said:
I would also have to agree with worwig. We should not try to talk people out of buying devices like blackberry and the iphone because there is no point in hooking them up with a windows mobile device because they will never be able to tap into its potential. You guys have to remember in here we are the select few. Most people are retarded and look at devices like our titans and go, "oh this is definitely no iphone." And they will never understand why intellectual people will never go for devices such as these. Just let them live in their cloud of ignorance and let us live in clarity.
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Click to collapse
Yeah, I was shaking my head for weeks when the iPhone was first announced. People were like "Wow, look at all the new features Apple invented." the first few times I showed them my WM phone, and they were like...That's old, the iPhone is all new! I said "Yeah the case is now and interface, but not the technology" They would say "Yeah, but you can make calls, browse the net, text and use GPS all from the same device" - to which I responded "I can do all those things, plus I don't have to pay for GPS, and I have Word, Excel, unlimited email, IR beam, internet sharing, ettc etc...."
Yeah, u just can't convince them. They have blinders on thinking Apple saved the world, when all it did was put old technology into a shinny wrapper.
People are like flies roaming neighboorhoods at night, and Apple is a big pretty neon Bug Zapper.
crobs808 said:
People are like flies roaming neighboorhoods at night, and Apple is a big pretty neon Bug Zapper.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was thinking flies and a cow field.
But seriously, I found that I can do a huge amount of work on my WinMo phone. But some of it falls outside the built in functions, and there are few people that I know that I would even think about trying to get to do the non-standard setup. But on the other hand, I like the large amoutn of customization.
I mean, on my desktop today screen, I have the temperature AT MY HOUSE from my personal weather station and a constantly updated webcam picture of my driveway. I know how to do that on WinMo, but anything else? And more then once I have shared my connection using WMWiFiRouter. A lot of people couldn't set that up.

I've always wanted an Apple product....

But I've never bought one! Every time Apple come out with a new product I want to rush out and get one. Then, I don't. This has happened for the iPod, Apple TV, iPhone, new iPod, Mac, etc. There is always some limitation that is a deal breaker (and the high prices). With the iPhone, it is locked to AT&T or O2 or whoever. Take it overseas and your going to be paying incredible roaming fees. You can buy an unlocked 3GS in Europe (Italy) but it costs around $1100 (that is US dollars) and you probably won't find one without a contract. It won't play xvid/divx etc. The Apple TV looks awesome. Ahh, but you're locked in to iTunes and supported formats are not that great. The iPod Touch - wow, that looks fantastic. But I keep having to pay for upgrades? And it's not a phone? It just goes on an on.
So I went out and bought the HTC Hero. I absolutely love this thing. I'm not saying it is perfect, but there are only a few faults so far. Once I turned off that silly clock on the home screen it became quite snappy. The browser is amazing. Bookmarks are easy to access, though I wish you could do it with a finger swipe. Or at least cycle through open pages that way. Integration with Google accounts (maps, gmail, contacts) is fantastic. The maps work great with both GPS and just the cell tower information. Using Google street view and sky is really cool. The device knows its orientation at all times. Enable compass mode in street view and when you face North, the phone will show you that view. Turn in a circle, it will follow. I bet Google will eventually do turn by turn and 3D navigation. Why not? They'll make loads of money on it. The PDF reader is actually very useful. Since the Hero did not come with a manual, I downloaded the manual (all 220 pages) and actually skimmed it very easily with the PDF reader! That was amazing. Come to find out, the manual was actually on the included SD card, but there was no file manager to access it (but there is an app!) Now maybe this phone is so awesome because I'm getting ~4mbps throughput (yes, throughput) with my HSDPA connection....but it works pretty good on Edge too. The Wifi antenna is reasonable for the size of the phone, though my laptop usually gets a stronger signal. The ability to switch from the Sense UI to the normal Adroid environment sweet. I don't know why they have to still call it Touch Flo though. That is just confusing (but I can deal with it!). Start up time (boot) for the Hero is abysmal. I have not timed it but probably on the order of 1 minute. Hope you don't need to call the hospital or something. Have no idea how the iPhone compares. My solution, just leave the phone on.
The day after I bought the phone I set it next to my friends iPhone. I thought, ohh no! His screen is much bigger. This is going to be a train wreck. After a week, I much prefer the Hero size screen. It is so much easier using with one hand. I can type and browse fairly easily with one hand. Plus, when you actually use the Hero as a phone (to your ear) you don't look like you're talking into a small TV. It fits in my pocket much better than the iPhone. Still looking for a really good case that protects and is small. I do wish the "back" button was on the other side of the phone as it is a bit awkward. I guess the designer was a lefty. I can deal with that. The build quality is quite nice, though the back panel is quite flimsy. I hope they sell replacements because it is going to break sometime.
HTC Hero, what I always really wanted my Dell Axim X51v to be.
clobber said:
..... I do wish the "back" button was on the other side of the phone as it is a bit awkward. I guess the designer was a lefty. I can deal with that....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
... bought mine couple a days ago, when breaking my Diamond.
just to say: I love the "hero". and as Im "lefty" I love it even more...
Now just waiting for decent outlook calendar syncing program (funambol) for android to be ready and good offline navigation option, as usually I need navigation when out in foreign country and roaming fees are quite high then.
P.S. I will never go back to WM... never ...
Another satisfied Hero customer here as well And I second the WM opinion, I had a XDA Exec for years - and although the hardware was good the OS just ruined it!
clobber said:
You can buy an unlocked 3GS in Europe (Italy) but it costs around $1100 (that is US dollars) and you probably won't find one without a contract. It won't play xvid/divx etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have an android divx player? Link please!
Kudos to the thread starter, I agree completely!
Hear hear(o)!
I had the iPhone 3g , good phone loved it , but I hated apple , their restriction have ruined it for me , I felt like if I was renting it and not actually owning the thing , but over all good phone .
You're right. I don't see a divx/xvid player yet.
clobber said:
You're right. I don't see a divx/xvid player yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You had my hopes up.
guys ... what should i say ... i was WM usr for years ... and tested one interface after the other (wisbar advanced desktop, touch flo 2d manilla, and so on)
but this here (YES I GOT A HERO, TOO) is just awesome... will be a hard fight for microsoft to bring me back ... (maybee windows mobile 7 - we will see)
but this phone is the best i ever had my hands on ... and i'm workin for a big german provider, so i touched much phones
LOVING THE HERO

Who bought this?

How many people actually bought this, I heard from 3 or 4 verizon stores near me that they have yet to sell a kin. If you did purchase one is it your only phone or your main phone? Really curious considering the more obvious choices out there, even on verizon.
I'd want one, but they're not available in Europe. And it would be my second phone, since i've got a Nexus already. I REALLY want to toy with WP7.
I bought a Kin Two. This phone is awesome. I won't go through a whole review or anything about it but I can say that I'm loving it. It really is a simplistic phone. I came from an iPhone 3gs, to a Palm Pre, to a Droid Eris, finally to the Kin Two all in 5 months (believe me, you dont want to hear that story). In any case, coming from so many phones with so much functionality I'm really happy to get such a simple change. It may not do 40 bajillion things, but what it does, it does really well. Let me know if you have any actually question about the phone or the OS itself and I will be happy to expand on it.
I actually got one in the mail for free. I haven't activated it yet, but so far it's a pretty cool device judging from what I can do over WiFi. It lacks games, but I've heard they are coming. The music quality is comparable to a Zune (which has superb audio quality) when played over proper speakers/headphones (IE not the phone's external speakers). There's a good deal more I want to toy with, but I have to get it activated first.
You guys are really lucky, getting free phones and all that. I have to pay good money just to toy with these things...
NeoS2007 said:
You guys are really lucky, getting free phones and all that. I have to pay good money just to toy with these things...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The reason I got it for free is that I am a member of projectkin.com, which helped MS shape the device. They had a drawing on the site for 5 people to win a KIN device. I happened to win.
Link9228 said:
The reason I got it for free is that I am a member of projectkin.com, which helped MS shape the device. They had a drawing on the site for 5 people to win a KIN device. I happened to win.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice, congrats.
Ontopic: I wouldn't buy it, there is no development in the UI yet.
I for one would probably won't buy it either, but I definitely want to toy with it. So I might as well save up for it.
I just saw the Kin1 at my local Frys for $75 no contract. I came home and started looking to see if there are any hacks to get Android or WinMo on it. So far I found nothing so it looks like I won't be buying one.
gedster314 said:
I just saw the Kin1 at my local Frys for $75 no contract. I came home and started looking to see if there are any hacks to get Android or WinMo on it. So far I found nothing so it looks like I won't be buying one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its sad right? I wish I was better at hacking phones!
I just
picked up the Kin Onem from Verizion $19.99. Been enjoying the heck out of it BUT Bluetooth has me scratching my head. From what I have been able to find out, the Kin will not transfer phone book and will not use Voice dial in car kits. HUH!! Whats to use of BT if not hands free.
There is a possibility that if the car kit has it's own phone book that will work. The phone works fine in my G8GT but no with my Garmin 1490T or Motorola T505. Both receive calls fine but you need to actually place a call from the phone for outgoing.
OH Well for $20 I'll live with it.
I did, sorta ...
Seems like most are giving up on the KIN for valid reasons (volume of devices, Vz/Ms support, etc.). I specifically selected the KIN Two for another reason, so if your interested in some light reading ...
I have poor hearing. Hence I select my phone based on that. I currently use a Samsung Sch-a670 (circa 2004?). Its loud, has excellent coverage and I can text every once in a while. And quote a Vz service tech "Its bullet proof." I had one go through an entire wash cycle in my pants pocket and three days later, after it dried out it worked. After hitting it with worse than a "bullet", I bought the same phone on ebay for $12, works great.
So why the Kin Two. I read an article in the NY Times that said Vz will end the "New Every Two" plan. I really had no reason to upgrade but I figured I'd look as I had a freebie coming.
When I read about the Kin I got an idea. In the summer, I frequent the Beach with many friends. We all have a great time including lots of food, party and, of course tunes. My old mp3 player was failing (buttons from the sand). Problem was this was an old Sansa M260 that uses AAA batteries. Many days we are on the beach 12 hours. Most MP3 players will go dead in the middle of the day. With the M260, I just pop in another AAA.
So, the Kin has the sound of a Zune, a 8 mp camera and takes HD video. I figure with all the radios turned off (for good-Airplane mode), the battery would last a couple of days playing MP3s. So I loaded the Zune software, ratified the ID3 tags in my 4 G music collection and have a great new MP3 player. (Zune application expounded on id3 tag abnormalities in my music files not seen using copy and paste to the M260).
Some things I've found with the Zune ...
(1) It would always come up with the "activate" process, an annoying first step. There is a character sequence to bypass this (SHIFT+ALT+L) but you have to do this every startup. I turned the radio on, activated once (*228) then turned the radio off and reactivated my Samsung. Now the Kin starts up directly to the Home apps page.
(2) The battery was nearly discharged when I got the phone. Charged to 90% in a couple hours. Took two days of non-use to get to 100%. Now it gets to 100% fairly quickly. First time battery issue?
(3) For anyone not using the Zune software for mp3, picture, video library, it's a pretty nice application, does a nice job managing the media on the Kin Two - syncing is great. Cons: its large, its no roadrunner. But with any recent hardware, thos are non-issues. In perspective, I have and will never again load iTunes on my PC.
(4) WI-fi works and is easy to set up if you set-up your router. Make sure wi-fi is on (settings, wireless controls), select "other" enter your network name (SSID), select the encryption type used on your router and enter the encryption key. If your cable/FIOS/telephone guy set up your router, it may auto detect (no wireless security) or you may need to call customer service to get the wi-fi security settings.
I've rearranged the Home screen based on my planned usage. The only other thing I like to do is change the welcome/ending screens when I power the device. But i think that requires modding the firmware rather than a simple file download. From what I've gathered on these boards that ain't happening - the phone will fade away as quickly as it appeared (has once already). But I'll be happily dancing on the dunes for at least the year warranty.
Regards ...
Actually, I think this phone is selling rather decently as a feature phone. It shouldn't be surprising, because it easily out-guns Verizon's other feature phones in terms of hardware, it's the only one that has wi-fi (besides the one-m), it easily has a better camera, a larger touch screen, better processor, and more onboard storage than anything sold in their feature phone fleet. The main things that turn people off to this phone now are the stupid lack of common features like no forwarding messages, no timestamp on every message, no microSD card slot, the bluetooth doesn't work, no VZ Backup assistant or for that matter anyway to input your contacts any other way than manually. I have this phone, and for a feature phone, it absolutely owns, but it should do SO much more. It can't even view MS documents, I mean, seriously Microsoft? A document viewer shouldn't be too much to ask for. I agree, millstonemike, the built-in Zune is great. It's one of the redeeming features of this phone, in my opinion. I am never going back to my iPod or iTunes.
i just bought one for company testing... id love to see custom roms on it, especially with more feature filled bluetooth.
Just ordered a KIN TwoM
I have been using my Verizon Razr for just over 4 years now. I've been thinking about getting an Android smartphone, but in the end I just didn't want to pay $30 / month / line for the required data plan.
When I found that the Kin TwoM has web browsing via WiFi, and no data plan requirements, I was instantly sold.
I haven't gotten the phone yet, so can't comment much further. I really hope that more people will try this phone and that there will be some progress on developing the KIN platform.
Sent from my KIN
This Kin TWOm is pretty cool. I`m still getting used to it, but so far no complaints.
Regarding importing contacts, I took my old RAZR and my new Kin into a Verizon store and they transferred the contacts for me in about 10 minutes. Piece of cake.
Jon
-Sent from my Kin TWOm

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.
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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.

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