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Do you think there will be WM5 for the Magician?

So, what do you think?
(I hope this is not considered a rant)

We're actually just waiting on the Buzz/Raptor news. We'll all kno the answer soon enough I guess.

I agree, if the news is coming from Buzz, I have no doubt whether the ROM exists or not.

well if it's not going to come available, i'm not going to sit and cry about it. I'm still very happy with it as it is :-D
I love my Magician !

well if it's not going to come available, i'm not going to sit and cry about it. I'm still very happy with it as it is :-D
I love my Magician !

tjempeng said:
well if it's not going to come available, i'm not going to sit and cry about it. I'm still very happy with it as it is :-D
I love my Magician !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me too.

What will change with wm2005? There are tons of wm2003 applications for our devices to keep us satisfied for long long time. I am not saying that I am not interested in getting a working rom for magician, but if this doesn't happen in the right way (official upgrade) we will have many problems and no support at all. So apart from satisfying our curiosity what is our gain?
I must admit that I am rather curious mind, so I'll probably be one of the first to try to put the wm2005 rom in my magician, but I am not expecting much and I am sure after some day coping with the problems I and many others would like to switch back to the good old wm2003.
Anyway I wish good luck to Buzz and all the other guys invloved in this "adventurous" project.

If there weren't any improvements Microsoft wouldn't have released it in the first place. It's a bit like asking what's the difference between Win98 and Win XP. Just when it came out everyone was like "Nah ... I'll stick to Win98" etc. When people start using it on a daily basis they wouldn't do without.
Having said that, I'm looking forward to:
1) Permament Storage
2) Better synchronisation with Outlook (inc. Contact Pictures)
3) Improved one-hand operation
4) Improved PIM
and the list goes on and on.
I sure can live with WM2003SE, but a stable WM5 is definitely my preferred option.

kta said:
If there weren't any improvements Microsoft wouldn't have released it in the first place. It's a bit like asking what's the difference between Win98 and Win XP. Just when it came out everyone was like "Nah ... I'll stick to Win98" etc. When people start using it on a daily basis they wouldn't do without.
Having said that, I'm looking forward to:
1) Permament Storage
2) Better synchronisation with Outlook (inc. Contact Pictures)
3) Improved one-hand operation
4) Improved PIM
and the list goes on and on.
I sure can live with WM2003SE, but a stable WM5 is definitely my preferred option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not talking about an official version but for a leaked one. The official of course should be better and have more benefits! That's undoubtable!
And if you are wondering for the difference about win98 and XP, try installing and living with XP on a Pentium 166. Simply you can't because p166 was not designed to be able to handle winXP.

I own a computer shop and people where asking for Windows 98 on a Pentium 4 - 1.4GHz with 256 or 512MB RAM!
Regarding WM5, agreed, I'm only talking about a stable version (whether it's official or not). Mind you, the WM5 we're all waiting for IS MEANT to run on the Magician as it was specifically built for it. Otherwise it wouldn't work in the first place.
And according to Microsoft, the Magician meets the WM5 minimum requirements, mainly being an Xscale compatible CPU, 64MB RAM and 64MB ROM.

http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=726702
Check out the O2 XDA Atom...
1. The O2 XDA Atom will have the same processor (or type) as the HTC Magician.
2. The O2 XDA Atom will have Windows Mobile 5.0 (along with other nice things like a long-awaited FM tuner)
3. HTC could have made a Windows Mobile 5.0 build for the Magician and given it some more life, but new devices is the main reason they didn't. More profit here.
4. You guys will be all over this like a free porn DVD giveaway, and get this ROM ported over to the Magician in total defiance of HTC's abandonment stance.
5. Some of you will buy it anyway.
UPDATE: The Atom is not designed by HTC, so chances of ROM portability to the Magician just got a lot slimmer.

That Atom looks very very nice. I would almost be tempted to bankrupt myself if it weren't for the fact that the price tag is, praise the Lord, far too high for me to even consider it.

'praise the Lord' :?:

AHOY experts!! New PDAs, any match to my XDA II mini.

Hi,
I am looking for a replacement for my xda ii mini (Windows 2003) which i have been using for last 3 years.
I have tried HTC TOUCH, HTC DUAL, TYTN, cruise among the various other windows 5 and windows 6 PDAs available. While the the new PDAs have whole lot of new features, the most important feature (at least for me) - Find / Search was awfully slow.
The mini that i am using now has over 10,000 contacts and few files , no third party softwares or any other tools which take memory and process time. My PDA handles the data with ease.
The same data when i used on the newer phones and tested the search feature it turned out to be very slow. A search in XDA II mini takes 2 secs and it HTCh touch 5 minutes and TYTn cruise take around 3-4 minutes. that is horribly slow.
I tried the same on older XDA II (windows 02) and it turned out to be fast.
It made me conculde that the new phones with windows 5 or 6 must be taking lot of resources, too many features that the basic functions are not paid much attention to.
Simple OS like windows 03 are faster and efficient than the newer ones
I need help -
Is it the OS that is making the difference?
Where can i find a 02 XDA with Windows 2003?
Can i buy a HTC TOUCH or DUAL and format it and install windows 03? Will it work? Can somebody help me with that?
I had tried a few third party search tools , they were not any better? Can i find some fast search tools?
Last
Can somebody help me buy new O2 XDA II mini ? I know they are not manufactured now but it seems the only replacement of my current device.
- Regards
SH

shaileshmanjrekar said:
Hi,
I am looking for a replacement for my xda ii mini (Windows 2003) which i have been using for last 3 years.
I have tried HTC TOUCH, HTC DUAL, TYTN, cruise among the various other windows 5 and windows 6 PDAs available. While the the new PDAs have whole lot of new features, the most important feature (at least for me) - Find / Search was awfully slow.
The mini that i am using now has over 10,000 contacts and few files , no third party softwares or any other tools which take memory and process time. My PDA handles the data with ease.
The same data when i used on the newer phones and tested the search feature it turned out to be very slow. A search in XDA II mini takes 2 secs and it HTCh touch 5 minutes and TYTn cruise take around 3-4 minutes. that is horribly slow.
I tried the same on older XDA II (windows 02) and it turned out to be fast.
It made me conculde that the new phones with windows 5 or 6 must be taking lot of resources, too many features that the basic functions are not paid much attention to.
Simple OS like windows 03 are faster and efficient than the newer ones
I need help -
Is it the OS that is making the difference?
Where can i find a 02 XDA with Windows 2003?
Can i buy a HTC TOUCH or DUAL and format it and install windows 03? Will it work? Can somebody help me with that?
I had tried a few third party search tools , they were not any better? Can i find some fast search tools?
Last
Can somebody help me buy new O2 XDA II mini ? I know they are not manufactured now but it seems the only replacement of my current device.
- Regards
SH
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the answer here is to flash a custom rom made by one of our great cooks here....
I have both HTC Tytn2 and HTC touch running custom roms and i can really notice the difference between custom and shiped roms.
Anyway this is just my 2 cents... lets wait for the gurus to reply
Cheers

farhanali_ said:
I think the answer here is to flash a custom rom made by one of our great cooks here....
I have both HTC Tytn2 and HTC touch running custom roms and i can really notice the difference between custom and shiped roms.
Anyway this is just my 2 cents... lets wait for the gurus to reply
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Farhan and hi to all
Flashing a custom ROM ?
Does that mean that the OS will be changed ?
How and Where does one do that?
I will buy a HTC TOUCH for trying out these things that you told
Please help me proceed
Still waiting for the gururs to reply
-Regards
SH

A lot (if not all) users here have flashed cooked ROM into their devices.
All info about flashing can be found in the Wiki (albeit Device specific). Basic questions about flashing can be found here.
Everything else, can be found on the device forums.

which PDA phone should i buy?

Hy guys! long time no see ... i have a question 4 u guys ... i whant to buy a pda phone! can any of you guide me, or tell me please which pda phone is better? i like the htc tytn II, but should i wait for the Xperia X1? or could you recomend me something else? thank you

if you are rich guy then tytn is good . but if you want GPS to work on full efficency then i prefer artimes best phone i have ever used
why artimes is best for me
1.uses sirf gps best GPS quality
2.Lots of roms are there for artimes so you can keep on changing

stylus1828 said:
Hy guys! long time no see ... i have a question 4 u guys ... i whant to buy a pda phone! can any of you guide me, or tell me please which pda phone is better? i like the htc tytn II, but should i wait for the Xperia X1? or could you recomend me something else? thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would recommend HTC HD
But first check here so you can make your own slection based on what you really need form a PDA:
http://www.pdadb.net/index.php?m=pdachooser
Cheers,

Assuming money isnt a problem.
You need to know what you wanna do with the PDA.
1. Do you need GPS?
2. Do you play games?
3. Fast internet?
4. Do alot of typing?
5. Powerful Processor?
6. music and/or video?
7. Advance configuration like changing roms, cooking and major software tweaking?
If all the above is yes. Raphael is the overall best.
Touch HD got no D-pad so gaming is a little tedious. It also does not have a keyboard but has a superbly large screen.
Processor need not be powerful and need not type alot? got for Asus. P750 if u have the budget P320 if not.
Are you intending to learn to cook roms and develop software. Try HTC G1 android.
They're all my opinions only. As Orb3000 wrote "But first check here so you can make your own slection based on what you really need form a PDA:
http://www.pdadb.net/index.php?m=pdachooser"

thank you guys! artemis is HTC p3300?? how about samsung omnia i900? is it good? i like the design and the specs ... i like the HTC HD but the price is so high ... 700 euros ... that's a lot of money that i will never spend on a PDA phone! I had the LG KS20 in may this year and i was very, very disappointed!

stylus1828 said:
.. samsung omnia i900? ..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So far there has only been one good response to your question (Serphinox). You need to identify what YOU want the phone to do and be specific. All you will get is blatent favourtism with the way your question is worded.
Blatent favourtism...... (and my honest, very experienced opinion)
I have owned serveral HTC phones and regreted each one eventually. I now have an Omnia with the HJ5 firmware (a must!) and its absolutley awesome. It kicks some serious HTC booty. I've had a Blue Angel, TyTN, TyTN 2 and currently still own a Touch Diamond (Of all my HTC phones, I've had at least 2 of each due to hardware failures/poor manufacturing). Which phone do I use everyday? The Omnia.... no contest. The Omnia does have a lower res screen than HTC devices but actually, this is well thought out. It allows for a longer battery life, its VERY fast at updating (even my TD with Swiftblade 7.5 don't stand a chance) and .... because its low res, its VERY finger friendly like the Iphone. Put simply, it works. I now have zero issues with it, something I have NEVER been able to say about ANY HTC phone i've used. It simply does its job, everytime, 100% of the time with no fuss. Note though: Because of the screen res, don't buy it if you want to play games as they are generaly written in the standard screen formats of which this is not. Btw, dont use Samsung Widgets, they are for Joe Punter, you want Samsung Today 2... its the daddy!
Oh, who else has 32gig storage in there phone? Currently I have some 2500+ songs and iGO8 with all the world maps ..... and still loads of storage free
You know, i've also owned a Tosh G900 which was FAR from "tosh" and again an excellent phone. I only wish more people realised there was more to life than HTC.
edit: Your signature disagrees with your comments

.....
edit: Your signature disagrees with your comments [/QUOTE]
edited my signature .. thank you for the great answer ! gonna get the omnia ... maybe dont know 4 sure but i believe it's a great deal. you say that the ress of the omnia screen is different from the other phones and i will not be able to play games ... now that's not GOOD
now i own a nokia e71 and i can change the ress of games and than install them into to my phone and they work ... is there a way that i could change the ress for the games that work on wm 6 devices??

stylus1828 said:
.....
.... you say that the ress of the omnia screen is different from the other phones and i will not be able to play games ... ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its not that you WONT be able to play games, its just that you need games that are coded to work with odd screen sizes - and this can be limiting. I think its fair to say that most games written now are for 480*640 (640*480) and this is not the Omnias screen size. That said, the Omnia does seem to be selling very well so I would hope more developers start creating there apps to scale mathmaticaly rather than fixed for a specific size.
Should you wish to use SPB Shell, you are also limited to the amount of custom skins available however, this will grow .... you could even create your own!
As for your games, I would think you will be ok. They should be on your PC in your activesync program. Once you create a new sync between the pc and your new device, you can then go into activesync's add programs section and select to install. Of course, if you have the individual .CAB files (which are also actually on your pc as well) then you can just drag these on to your new device and install.
edit: I cannot stress enough though, you need to update to the HJ5 rom if you buy it. Details can be found at i900.modaco.com.

I vote for the Touch Pro.

In my opinion HTC devices I own or owned (Universal, Tytn and Touch) are great devices, never had problems with them, so that makes me stick to HTC because their experience manufacturing WM powered devices, also the great support and the main reason because of this wonderfull site!!.
If you decide for the Omnia you will not have the support form this site has for HTC devices (I´m sure exist another sites for Omnia)
So once again I´ll recommend an HTC device absolutly
Just my personal opinion
Good luck on your decision!

orb3000 said:
...
If you decide for the Omnia you will not have the support form this site has for HTC devices (I´m sure exist another sites for Omnia)
....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you do, search and see! Windows Mobile is Windows Mobile You can also get cooked roms also from various sites.
However, OP, you have not really said what your requirements are and you need to. Be specific and people can really recommend properly rather than our phones

Monty Burns said:
Yes you do, search and see! Windows Mobile is Windows Mobile You can also get cooked roms also from various sites.
However, OP, you have not really said what your requirements are and you need to. Be specific and people can really recommend properly rather than our phones
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hhmm ... this would be the important specs: big screen (minimum 2.8 inch), gps, bluetooth, wireless, 128 ram, 256 rom, 400 mhz procesor, 3.2 mp camera with autofocus, qwerty keypad !

Whats got two cylinders, does 0-60 in 3.8 seconds and holds the production record for top speed in its class?
OFFTOPIC! Monty is this your bike ???

yup. And I love it.

Monty Burns said:
yup. And I love it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nice bike hope you're not to crazy to go full speed with it anyway ... i'm gonna get the omnia i900 ... i think =))

stylus1828 said:
nice bike hope you're not to crazy to go full speed with it anyway ... i'm gonna get the omnia i900 ... i think =))
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as long as you upgrade to latest firmware (see i900.modaco.com) you won't regret it. I would recommend though you try and see if you can get an Omnia-T. As mentioned, same phone but has DVB-T and 800*480 screen - although this will decrease battery life a little.
Anyway, enjoy!

Monty Burns said:
as long as you upgrade to latest firmware (see i900.modaco.com) you won't regret it. I would recommend though you try and see if you can get an Omnia-T. As mentioned, same phone but has DVB-T and 800*480 screen - although this will decrease battery life a little.
Anyway, enjoy!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Double resolution?????? DVB-T Support ???? BUT,
Omnia -T is for Korea??? if yes I dont know how i'm gonna get it!

Ebay is your friend (if you can stretch to a non-contract phone) or im sure it will be available in the UK/Europe soon

finally got my OMNIAAAAAA ! it's such a beautiful phone and smart 2 !

Monty Burns said:
I only wish more people realised there was more to life than HTC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I only wish more people realised there was more to life than a HTC forum.

Android or Windows Mobile ?

Hi,
im searchin for a new mobile... i wanted to buy it in the next 2 or 3 weeks, but there is a big problem:
i dunno what mobile would be the best for me :S
I am thinking about Windows mobile and Android ... The windows mobile phones i have used till now are quite nice, but no one really made me fully happy ... i always tried to port other interfaces and so on my lg ks20 and htc diamond.
i´ve seen that android has a quite nice interface with very good touch friendly options...
my windows mobile candidate would be of course the HTC Leo , what the android canditate would be is just open till now ...
I often browse in Wifi networks , like facebook, gmail, icq, etc. and therefor i am searching for an mobile with good browsing quality ... what camera there is ... i dont care about that crap ... just being comfortable in networks , chatting , sharing files and so on...
Hope you can help me ..
else any questions ? just post, i will directly answer.
See ya
Sallal
//EDIT: I saw now some androids and i think nexus one and desire are very good but , what is the difference between them ?

Hi,
In term of memory management Windows mobile is far way better and for the interface also you have a lot of ui for windows mobile that are now very close to the Android style that you are searching for(if not even better).
I first bought an HTC Hero and was very happy the first two months but then it became so boring because of that lack of programs for it.
Now I am on a Leo and I can assure you that the moment you will put this device in your hand,you will be impressed by his speed.
Hurry up before the HD3

what about the htc desire ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5T4gEQKThsg
this video impressed me

Sense La Révolution for Windows Mobiles SPB Mobile Shell:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKzIT5DhUZA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QydHxYziKwY

Here it is in a nutshell,
Android is the new kid on the block, rough around the edges, not fully functional yet, short on apps, in dire need of updates, but with the genuine potential to be an actual iPhone killer ( hence Apple vs HTC suit solely filed to slow down Android ). Android is on it's way, but not going to be great until, after whatever Android phone you buy now, is old and tired.
Windows Mobile is tried and true, tons of free apps, full bluetooth functionality, full Exchange and Office functionality, easy to sync, fully customizable to your needs, but it is what it is and will not get any better. Whatever you buy now, will not be upgradeable to Windows Phone 7 Series, and WP7S would appear to be that " make it or break it " for
Windows Mobile.
In short ? Android = up and coming, but not quite there yet. Windows Mobile = Already mature, but could be on the down slide soon.
If you are living for today, Windows Mobile hands down. Come this fall ? Phones with Android 3.0 ? Windows Phone 7 Series ? Who knows.
The Nexus One is Googles Android device made by HTC, The Desire " was " the Droid Eris, but has since been reassigned to the HTC branded Nexus One.

@die_Leuchte: Danke für die videos, ich hab mich entschieden / Thanks for the Videos , now ive decided what to take
@denco7: i know it is a nutshell, but if i see what android showed on mwc for example, it seems that it has millions of apps and is just now the iphone killer ^^
just crap what they are sayin ?

sallal said:
@die_Leuchte: Danke für die videos, ich hab mich entschieden / Thanks for the Videos , now ive decided what to take
@denco7: i know it is a nutshell, but if i see what android showed on mwc for example, it seems that it has millions of apps and is just now the iphone killer ^^
just crap what they are sayin ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://phandroid.com/2009/11/23/android-vs-windows-mobile/
Add to that limited Bluetooth capabilities and ( important to me ) limited M$ Exchange and Office capabilities it just isn't mature enough yet to be a serious multitasking phone for business.
Don't get me wrong, I think Android is the future of Mobile OS' . WP7s is going to have to do a lot to convince me otherwise. And I am leaning towards an Android phone after Android 3.0 and WP7s come out, just from what I have seen of Android 1.5, 1.6, 2.0 and 2.1 on the Nexus, I just still don't think that it is capable yet.

so you think that if you would buy a smartphone now, you would choose winmo...
if you could buy it in 2 years , you would choose maybe android ... right?

Do not be fooled by a shiny interface just like I was.Besides what you are seeing on an Android phone is the Sense UI made by HTC.
If I am not wrong the Nexus one doesn't have the Sense UI.
I am not telling that Android(in reality Linux) is not a good phone.On the contrary you will find it with very useful applications but in some cases just like what happened to me you will not have a wide range of choice for the same application.
For Ex:If you want a Virtual Keyboard,because Android is still new you will have only 2 or 3 keyboards(maybe there is more now) to choose from but on Windows Mobile you have more than 15 competitors to choose from with years of experience in that field .
So,
Android is for you if you can be satisfied with what you have.
Windows is for you if you are thirsty of applications
Hope this helped

thirsty guy
well, i always need to get more apps to have another quit unuseful thing on my mobile, like wifi router or so
then i take the leo ^^
EDIT: @forcefield: i recieved an email , that swype for android is out your problem is solved now

Here is a quote from another german forum
there is no "better" one, some like winmo and some android more ...
before i buyed my new phone i thinked about the hd2 and the milestone... i choosed the milestone and i dont regret nothing !
looking at the amount of apps i would choose android because its just much easier and uncomplicated .. with more apps than windows mobile.
i dont know whats the difference between the desire and the nexus one , but you can wait until they get on the german market to see more information..
pointing on the battery strength maybe its disapointing but i have to be honest, its normally just between 1 and 3 days depending on how you use your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i still think that windows mobile has more apps.. but the problem is , they are just widespread in the www.
battery: an issue what wont be solved in 500 years.
Original Post from http://www.handy-faq.de/forum/handyberatung/128679-suche_gutes_browsing_handy.html
Sry for the bad translation, it is freely made by me ^^

another question ... i you would have the choice between touch pro 2 aka rhodium and hd 2 aka leo , which one would you take ?
with reasons please =) ...
sallal

I'm suprised that no one has brought this up, but, if you got a Windows phone, don't you always have the option of running Android on it? I don't think it works the other way around. Please, PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong.

jadesdan said:
I'm suprised that no one has brought this up, but, if you got a Windows phone, don't you always have the option of running Android on it? I don't think it works the other way around. Please, PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android proted to WM is still a port. It runs within WM and some of the features of Android don't work and some of the features of the phone won't work with the Android port. It will never be as fast or as smooth as Android running natively.
sallal said:
another question ... i you would have the choice between touch pro 2 aka rhodium and hd 2 aka leo , which one would you take ?
with reasons please =) ...
sallal
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would take the Leo, faster processor, bigger more beautiful display, more ram. The only plus for the Rhodium is the slide out keyboard.
But just remember that neither phone is going to be upgradable to Windows Phone 7 Series.

of course take the LEO!!!
I own Touch Diamond 2 (which is basically like TP2 without the slide out keyboard) and it's really great and everything. But then I also have access to Samsung Omnia II with 800 Mhz CPU and it's running so much faster and more smoothy. And the big display is insane!! Then go figure because HD2 even comes with 1 GHz!!!! IMO it would be stupid to buy the OLD TP2 with only 528 Mhz.....

jadesdan said:
I'm suprised that no one has brought this up, but, if you got a Windows phone, don't you always have the option of running Android on it? I don't think it works the other way around. Please, PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, there's no fully working Android version for any WM phone. They all have bugs and stuff not working.

Hard to decide between three phones

X10, N900 or HD2.
So now I need you guys and gals to help me solve this problem; which one to buy ? Last one I had was Kaiser, and it was god awful, but I loved it anyway and HTC made phones has got this site as a plus side and ehh... TOO HARD
just a good list of pros and cons would be good because I don't know any of them, since I have been out of this scene for a long time and haven't had time to follow any reviews. Has there been any problems with drivers or anything with any of those phones ? How is the build quality etc, can I upgrade X10 to A2.2 ?
Personal experiences are more than welcome, specially if you have tried all three phones.

like a hard keyboard: N900 runs with Linux and nice interface
wanna play around with an easy interface: X10 running android combined with sony ericsson games and apps
like a big screen with big processor: out of the three i would go with this devices because of it's big screen making it good for watching movies and browsing xda also it is very fast with it's 1Ghz processor!

I would go for Leo with no doubt as it´s HTC and very powerful device with nice big screen!
Have a look here to make a detailed comparision

Can I upgrade Android like Winmo ? Just flash it and it's done ? I read somewhere that this isn't like in WinMo and I would hate to wait until SE releases new version to their devices : / And I also read that there is some hardware related multitouch issue with X10 ?

orb3000 said:
I would go for Leo with no doubt as it´s HTC and very powerful device with nice big screen!
Have a look here to make a detailed comparision
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sayin mine wasn't

I recently got to play with an HD2 from the list you've provided, it'd be best to go with it WM FTW 8)

kareeem said:
I recently got to play with an HD2 from the list you've provided, it'd be best to go with it WM FTW 8)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it is good but flipping expensive even on Ebay!

Lokioki said:
Can I upgrade Android like Winmo ? Just flash it and it's done ? I read somewhere that this isn't like in WinMo and I would hate to wait until SE releases new version to their devices : / And I also read that there is some hardware related multitouch issue with X10 ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android is a bit different in that you have to obtain 'root access' before flashing a custom ROM - think 'run as administrator' on a PC. You also get a recovery partition which you can flash and put enhanced features on, which can be nice.
Basically, once you get root and flash a HardSPL then you can flash a new ROM as easily as WM - easier in fact, as you normally do it by SD card.
Anyway, you won't be able to flash a HardSPL or a custom ROM until that root is available, which it currently isn't for the X10 (although it's only a matter of time, really).