Database Info

PDA to XDA help please

Hi guys,
I'm a noobie here as my whopping total of 1 posts indicates. :lol:
I've been reading through the forum over the weekend and have learned a lot from the posts here. Unfortunately its left me more confused over which XDA I should get. So i'm going to take the easy route and ask you guys. :wink:
I've got, and have been happy using an Ipaq H5550 for a couple of years now. Both for work and pleasure, but 'The Powers That Be' now claim I need a mobile as well :?
I've spent a fair bit of time, effort and money on the H5550, what with Accessories, Utils, Apps and Games, which i'd like to keep if possible. So, my question is:
Which XDA would you guys advice as a replacement for my H5550 ?
On spec's my guess is the XDA Exec, but any advice from real world users would be more than welcome.
Thanks ZaForD.

Ah yes the H5550, an oldy but a goody!
Any way, for us to recommend a device we need to know more about your preferences / intended use.
The hottest thing (if you can wait a bit) is the Hermes / TyTN that's about to come out. It's only deficiency is that it is not VGA like the exec.
Personally, I like my Jamin (Prophet) because of connectivity and size and a price that doesn't go through the roof, but some people might say it's a bit slow, and has no keyboard (not that I need one).
And, if you don't mind a big device with a square 240 by 240 screen, there is the HP 6900 that has WiFi BT and GPS (a rare combination in a phone).
As they say to each hi own, so you have to be a bit more specific.
P.S. Welcome to the forum!

Hi levenum,
Oop's, I can see how some info on what features I need/use would be helpful before you give any advice.
Basically, I do mobile repairs, helpdesk/support, for small offices in London. So I need a fairly powerful device to run Network/Daignostic software. WiFi is a must both for connecting to local networks and our office via the Net. BT would be handy for handsfree use, the Ipaq can get pretty heavy when using Skype for a while.
Size isn't really a problem, as i'm used to the H5550. Which from what I gather is bigger than most of the XDA's here. Again the Ipaq has no keyboard so thats not a problem. Neither is GPS, after 10 years as a messenger around London, I think I know my way round. :wink:
I'll check out the Prophet and Hermes, the more options the better.
p.s. Thanks for the welcome.

Well now that I know that your main uses are WiFi and Skype I can tell you that Prophet may not be the device for you after all.
It supports WiFi b and g (where a lot of phones only support b) and it has BT, but from what I've seen on the forums it needs to be overclocked for Skype to work smoothly (although it comes with Skype preinstalled).
I haven't tested this my self though.
One thing I forgot to tell you is that there is a comparison chart in the WiKi for different HTC devices, and there is a nice site www.gsmarena.com that gives specs and user ratings on most GSM phones out there today from different companies.
Check it out.

Thanks for your help levenum,
I checked out GSMarena and came up with a short list of XDA Exec, and Atom Exec there was no real info on the Hermes. But I read alot about it here, so I added it to my list.
After hunting round for most of the afternoon, it turns out that the Atom and the Hermes. Aren't really available yet, so it looks like i'll be getting the XDA Exec. Just gotta see whos got the best deals now.
And start working my way through the Universal forum. :shock:

Welcome to the forum!
Having had xda's for a few years now, (since the 1st one was released) and in my work testing many new devices, im still delighted with my exec, espcially the screen, but mainly the keyboard and connectivity options. For your uses the mini laptop mode the exec on a desk whilst working, in tandem with the keyboard, you will soon wonder how you managed without one!
Down sides to the exec, as a phone its maybe a bit bulky to use as an everyday mobile (pub, days out without the car etc) but not much worse than any other pda phone on the market.
Hope that helps settle your mind to the exec, you wont regret it i reckon!
Cheers,
Bryson

Hi Bryson,
Thanks for the welcome.
I just saw a couple of comments about the 'laptop mode' while getting very confused in the Universal section. :shock:
I have to say I really like the idea of it. I used to use a Thinkpad X21 [lovely little laptop] for work and missed the screen and keyboard when I first swaped over to the H5550. Now it looks like I can have the best of both worlds.
The Exec is around the same size and weight as the H5550, which I usually carry around with me as an MP3 player when not at work. So the bulk shouldn't a problem.
A couple of things i'm still alittle unsure about [due mainly to not having a mobile for years] is how well it works with a BT headset, and is it possible to use it as a phone via the BT headset, while using Terminal Service over WiFi ?
If it can, I may never have to leave the pub.

o2 Orbit

Hello,
I am new to the site and I have just purchased myself an o2 orbit. I am really happy with it but also very keen to understand how I can enhance its performance or tweak it.
Will their be a section for this phone?
Sorry if I am being impatient but I am raring to go.
Has anyone else got this phone yet? if so what have you done with it? Also where can I buy accessories for it?
I look forward to your responses.
Steve

hi all, this is also my first post and i have also purchased this phone today and what a beauty it is....sorry, hope you dont mind me juping on the thread with you btw.
can anyone tell me what are the best games that i can find for wince at the moment and also a good texas hold 'em game for it as i am not really interested in the preloaded games.
thanks in advance to all who reply
Danny =)

Orbit and TomTom
Hi
i am very new to this thread, so hello and i thank you in advance for any help people are willing to offer.
I am going to be picking my Orbit up tomorrow from my local O2 store. I was wondering if anyone can confirm that TomTom is definately included with the UK models. I have seen on a couple of forums that some people are saying it isn't.

I think your phone is in the Artemis forum http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=316

Obit
Hi all,
I have never owned an XDA but thought I would put a post about the Orbit that I purchased 2 days ago.
It is an excellent piece of kit .. By default it does not come with TomTom (I was offered CoPilot with a £40 contract but I already had TomTom so I declined. I have put TomTom on the device and it works brilliant .. it seems much more accurate than my palm version (probably more accurate GPS device inside).
I used TomTom for an hour today and my battery went down 2%! Brilliant.
Everything is good about the device .. the only gripe I have is that the microphone socket is mini usb (but I am sure there is a convertor out there for that).
The radio is good too (this also seems to have a minimal drain on the battery).

Thanks to all the Wizard forum members!

All,
Just wanted to add my thanks to all the talented people who roam these forums ! I've benefited greatly from your work. Particular thanks to faria who provided me with working ROMs when I was beginning to wonder if I should just go buy another phone. Also to funman who guided me through building my own Roms when I thought that was beyond my skills.
I'm heading over to the Hermes forums now. A friend gave up on figuring his out and so he sold it to me for $200 (he didn't know about xda-developers!). I couldn't pass that up! I hope the guys over there are as nice !
Best wishes to you all!
saeba
Proud new owner of a Cingular 8525 !

saeba said:
All,
Just wanted to add my thanks to all the talented people who roam these forums ! I've benefited greatly from your work. Particular thanks to faria who provided me with working ROMs when I was beginning to wonder if I should just go buy another phone. Also to funman who guided me through building my own Roms when I thought that was beyond my skills.
I'm heading over to the Hermes forums now. A friend gave up on figuring his out and so he sold it to me for $200 (he didn't know about xda-developers!). I couldn't pass that up! I hope the guys over there are as nice !
Best wishes to you all!
saeba
Proud new owner of a Cingular 8525 !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lucky Dog!! Bring back the ggod stuff you find over there!

You're in good company over there...
A few of us are in the Hermes FORUM, myself and Jose included.
Jump in, the water's fine!

See you there
Got myself a hermes today. Insurance company typo so got a vario 2 instead of 1 .
Just flashed olipro hard spl followed by pro black 3. Happy days
Helpful bunch too

Great to hear!
I've gotten off to a terrific start thanks to the Hermes forums. Installed Custel 2.5 WM6 and I'm back to almost the same setup that I had on my Wizard. I was very happy to find most everything transfered over (PocketBreeze, iLauncher, PocketWeather, phonealarm, rlToday, IM+, muns keyboard skin, and the JPL big button phone dialer !! About the only thing missing is BatteryStatus. The FAQ says there's no overclocking software for the Hermes?
And the speed using 3G! WOW!!! Absolutely worth it !!

To everyone that has a hermes,
There are already offical WM6 versions out.. maybe you should test some first before you brick your phone... i dont mean to sound the way it does but i'm still hoping t-mobile or at&t are gonna release an offical Wm6 for my MDA.. so i do haev to say good luck to everyone with there new hermes

nstefanelli said:
To everyone that has a hermes,
There are already offical WM6 versions out.. maybe you should test some first before you brick your phone...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did. The first thing I did upon receiving the phone was load the official Cingular WM6 rom on it. Given that there was a WM6 for the hermes, I thought that maybe I'd just stick with that version.
However, I ran into some small annoyances (activesync problems) and it was missing some software apps that I gotten used to having (Task Manager as an example), so that's when I decided to try one of the "unofficial" roms. I did my homework and read through the load process and basically followed the instructions. Custel focuses on making Cingular compatible roms, so it was a good fit for my needs.
I guess I was very cautious about installing custom roms when I first got my wizard (prior to my hermes). But after all the annoyances with it (daily soft-resets, monthly hard-resets, ongoing network problems, etc., etc.), if I hadn't installed one, I would have given up on the phone. Another example of that: I got my hermes because a friend got fed up with it and got a Treo instead. From installing custom roms, I got into customizing them myself using faria's kitchen apps.
It's not for everyone and I understand that, but I've greatly benefited from the efforts of the guys who work so hard to build these custom roms !

Noob

Hello Folks,
Noob just joined as I just purchased an M3100 from ebay. Its unlocked and has been upgraded to WM6. I was offered a M3100 as an upgrade (with orange) back in august but I chose the Nokia N95 instead. I'm a phone/gadget freak. Always loved playing with phones, upgrading, changine software etc. Had a few smartphones in the past and have had one windows based phone (SPV E200).
I liked it, I thought it was a nice change from the usual simple phone menus and software. Mucked about with that too, installing unlock software etc. My N95 I've already debranded and added several after market progs.
Anyway enough babbling. Followed this forum for quite a while as I've always hankered after a TYTN even though I have an N95. Had some extra cash (birthday) so I got myself one . Cant wait to muck about with roms etc. Oh yeah umm, and hi!!

A senior member with a junior attitude, very nice

Welcome to the hermes forums.
Most new members find in a short time that asking questions that have been asked already will get them flamed by other members, espically senior members.
Wait I'm a senior member....
Seriously though you will love tinkering with all the stuff here. I love it. But this is not a forum where you can introduce yourself as a new member(as you have seen)That's a HowardForums or Brighthand kind of thing..
You will hear this more than once: "read the wiki". Words to live by.
For a head start:
Install HardSPLv7 (2.10 Olipro)
Find a rom you like (cant go wrong with shaps or Vp3g)
Perhaps a new radio (gotta try em all to see if they are good/bad for your area)
Lots of guys have done great work in here, so enjoy the fruits of their labor...
Oh yeah and if you find your incall volume to low, try the vp3g with setacoustic i served up.. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=342174
Anyway welcome and good luck, hopefully it's your only flame....

very nice intrglctcrevfnk
I would only add one thing...
truscotsman72 should also check out THE MRVANX GUIDES for great upgrade assistance.
Otherwise, a very nice introduction to the forums. One other thought (now that I think of it) which may help explain the rather cool reception our noob friend received. These forums got their origins as an exchange of very technical information between devlopers - like the nearly-godlike Olipro, pof, MrVanx, duttythroy, sleuth, jasjamming, vp3g, schaps, faria and many, many others.... The more mundane "support-like" helpers like lowly old me is a rather new phenomenon that only starts once the ROM world gets more stable. We have achieved that in Hermes WM6 world. It is (as you have witnessed) a mixed blessing.
Either way, welcome to XDA-Developers, warts and all.

Thx guys, yeah I have the wiki page bookmarked and been reading through this site for hours. Very informative and interesting, which is why I joined. As for the welcome, it was just force of habit as with most forums you introduce yourself. Didn't mean to p*ss anybody off, just thought that was no way for a noob to be spoken to for saying hello (ok I did go on a bit). And I have the MRVANX guides bookmarked too, cheers

Well I received my M3100 this morning, nice machine, instruction book like a bible, but I'm having fun with it anyway. The GPRS doesn't work (something about settings) but google is my friend, oh and Device Information is:
Rom: Pro Black 3.0.1
Radio: 1.16.00.00

truscotsman72 said:
Well I received my M3100 this morning, nice machine, instruction book like a bible, but I'm having fun with it anyway. The GPRS doesn't work (something about settings) but google is my friend, oh and Device Information is:
Rom: Pro Black 3.0.1
Radio: 1.16.00.00
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I assume you are in scotland? In your profile you can save what carrier and location you are. Helps for others to know in case you need help.
There is a page around here somewhere that has connection settings for different carriers somewhere....
I'll add it to this post when I find it.

Its ok, I got the GPRS settings from this site by searching, its up and running now. I can surf the net, only problem I have now is, how to disconnect when done surfing. I guess I should RTFM
As for Device Info, yeah I'm gonna stick it in my sig

Got a new WM after a few years, what's changed? Please get me up to speed!

Hi Guys n Girls,
Well I've been a member since '05 but haven't really played with WM's since the Magicians and Alpines. I've had a TyTn but didnt like it and didnt really play with it and then lost an XDA Orbit on the first night down the pub with it. I've been using an N95 lately.
I've just got myself a Polaris and it looks great! I used to love modding my other WM's but it's been a while and I was just wondering what's changed and what's new. I've had a bit of a read but just need some advice on what software to buy and what steps to take.
So here's a few questions I have:
What's the best media player?
I will listen to a lot of music and watch films while on the go. I used to use TcpMP I think. I need one that supports a lot of codecs and don't really wanna use more than one.
What's the best keyboard software?
I had SPB full screen keyboard and it was a lifesaver. Is this the best? I like the zoom fuction on the ipod keyboard.
Is SPB pocket plus still a must?
I felt this package covered bits left out by MS (such as the real 'x' close button etc.) Is it still recomended or are there other ways around things nowadays.
How do I get this touch flow stuff? It looks cool - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=y78EB0rahQA
I love the way things are more fingertip oriented. I think Apple innovated this.
Is there still a program to design themes?
Or where can I get cool themes? I like the dark styles and windows 7 looks nice.
Is ROM flashing still risky?
I've got the o2 branded ROM at the moment. I used to love trying the community's ROMS but I've just started a family and I'm real skint. I bought my Polaris PAYG and really can't afford to brick it. Mind you cooking ROMs was half the fun!
The best PDF reader?
I read a lot of PDF's and remember never finding one up to standard. Ideally it will be fullscreen with no need to scroll along the lines.
What else do you guys recommend I do to get the best out of my HTC device?
I've forgotten loads and feel like a noob again and just need some advice about what you guys consider 'must have steps'. I remember things such as installing the widdicomm BT stack as the MS one is crap. I use bluetooth stereo headphones (motorola S9s) for music.
Hope you guys have some pointers for me and I'm looking forward to playing again!
I'm off to the read the Polaris Wiki
Thanks,
Gareth
p.s. Oh by the way it's great to see this community has gone from strength to strength. It really has grown! It seems to be the HQ of the WM world now. Congrats!

garethsimpsonuk said:
Hi Guys n Girls,
Well I've been a member since '05 but haven't really played with WM's since the Magicians and Alpines. I've had a TyTn but didnt like it and didnt really play with it and then lost an XDA Orbit on the first night down the pub with it. I've been using an N95 lately.
I've just got myself a Polaris and it looks great! I used to love modding my other WM's but it's been a while and I was just wondering what's changed and what's new. I've had a bit of a read but just need some advice on what software to buy and what steps to take.
So here's a few questions I have:
What's the best media player?
I will listen to a lot of music and watch films while on the go. I used to use TcpMP I think. I need one that supports a lot of codecs and don't really wanna use more than one.
What's the best keyboard software?
I had SPB full screen keyboard and it was a lifesaver. Is this the best? I like the zoom fuction on the ipod keyboard.
Is SPB pocket plus still a must?
I felt this package covered bits left out by MS (such as the real 'x' close button etc.) Is it still recomended or are there other ways around things nowadays.
How do I get this touch flow stuff? It looks cool - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=y78EB0rahQA
I love the way things are more fingertip oriented. I think Apple innovated this.
Is there still a program to design themes?
Or where can I get cool themes? I like the dark styles and windows 7 looks nice.
Is ROM flashing still risky?
I've got the o2 branded ROM at the moment. I used to love trying the community's ROMS but I've just started a family and I'm real skint. I bought my Polaris PAYG and really can't afford to brick it. Mind you cooking ROMs was half the fun!
The best PDF reader?
I read a lot of PDF's and remember never finding one up to standard. Ideally it will be fullscreen with no need to scroll along the lines.
What else do you guys recommend I do to get the best out of my HTC device?
I've forgotten loads and feel like a noob again and just need some advice about what you guys consider 'must have steps'. I remember things such as installing the widdicomm BT stack as the MS one is crap. I use bluetooth stereo headphones (motorola S9s) for music.
Hope you guys have some pointers for me and I'm looking forward to playing again!
I'm off to the read the Polaris Wiki
Thanks,
Gareth
p.s. Oh by the way it's great to see this community has gone from strength to strength. It really has grown! It seems to be the HQ of the WM world now. Congrats!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might want to read my roundups - they give you a definite answer to some of your q's (multimedia, Spb Pocket Plus when it comes to the IEM plug-in, theme management with the latest tools etc.)

Thanks,
I've just bee reading your sticky on browsers and I'm gonna take your advice and use opera mobile and flash package, i'm downloading the cabs from RS now.
I'll have a look for more of your writeups.
Thanks

The iPhone now has more and better apps, thats whats changed. WM app development hasnt progressed much at all..

darthbane2k said:
The iPhone now has more and better apps, thats whats changed. WM app development hasnt progressed much at all..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not really true - at least not yet. (Albeit, highly possible, given that at least game development for WinMo has almost entirely ceased in the last half a year....)
It's only at some categories that iPhone is MUCH better than WinMo (with much more SW titles); the most important being games.