Database Info

Phone Profiler v1.0 betatest (a Cell based profile manager)

actually i wanted to make it exclusive to the german ppc welt community forum, but i figured this community is very cool too
from the readme:
Phone Profiler v1.0
-------------------
Phone Profiler detects the "Mobile Phone Cell" your PDA is currently logged into.
You can enter a different profile for every cell that gets applied once your PDA gets logged into
the cell.
Features:
-Volume Profile
-Phone Volume Profile
-Ability to execute a programm by entering a cell
-Start the Phone Profiler with windows
-Real C code (no mfc and no visual basic) for a fast programm with a low memory footprint
-Ability to work hidden in the background
-Pocket OOZ (2004)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
get the files here: http://www.ppc-welt.info/community/showthread.php?t=46338
this is the betea demo, you can only change the profile for the first cell(all others will work as default). haven't done any testing yet, but i've decided to go for an public beta test..
if you got ideas for improvements then please post it here i'm open for suggestions until the release
thanks
(screenshots from earlier versions)
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Hello Dutty,
Don't quite understand what this is used for, could you provide a bit more information. I downloaded and it advised it cannot find a cell, what cell is it looking for???

maybe it's only working on XDA2, the beta test just started..
it's like mini-gps for the S60, it uses the cell your mobile phone is logged into to create profiles (with volume, app to execute etc.) which will get automatically executed once you log into a cell.
miniGPS is a powerful tool to locate yourself in the GSM network. Its main goal is to perform defined actions based on your location taken from your network. It also shows the details of the network cell, to which your phone is logged in at the moment. At the current stage, due to some problems in SE firmware the program shows only cell id, but it seems to be good enough for performing events.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's the first application on the xda that allows something like this if i'm right.

changelog:
+possiblity to execute a wav file, simply select wave file *.wav in the filedialog
+signal strength of cell visible in cell info dialog
+sending only one command at every intervall.
PUBLIC BETA 1.0

interesting software, i like it!
useful for day to day operations, leaving my GPS in my car
how much do you intend to sell it for?

This program sounds good mate.
If I understand this correctly I can basically set a profile for say the cell I would be connected to when I'm at work? so that the phone automatically goes to vibrate mode or something ?
I will give this a try when I get home.
Cheers
Neil

Great Program
Great program, worked perfectly on my XDAII in Ireland.
A couple of suggestions for future version that you might consider...
The ability to bind multiple cells to a single profile. While in my house my phone picks up 3 different cells depending on where in the house I am. If I could just have a single profile called home and then add cells to that it would be nice.
Create a Today Screen plugin to display the current profile/cell. I have software that runs in the icon bar at the top and the PP icon causes conflicts with this software.
Can't wait to see the final version of this, it's shaping up very well.

I can't get it working on my XDA 1 (AT&T A30.09 Rom) I am told no cell information available then after 60 seconds it gives an error message stating "Failed to set IoControl" if I OK that error then it throws up back up every 60 seconds when it scans.
If you want someone to test developments on the XDA1 I am more than willing to help out..
Cheers
Neil

probably it won't work on the XDA1 for now, i'll have to finish version 1.0 and then, if it's not working on XDA i'm going to find out why(are you running wm2k3 or ppc2002)
it should work on all xda2 so far it worked on all devices in the german ppc-welt community forums. can you give more informations about your device, what errors etc?
what kind of price would be ok? minigps is beeing sold for 20$ i think, but that's a little bit too much for a ppc software

Re: Great Program
qtzar said:
Great program, worked perfectly on my XDAII in Ireland.
A couple of suggestions for future version that you might consider...
The ability to bind multiple cells to a single profile. While in my house my phone picks up 3 different cells depending on where in the house I am. If I could just have a single profile called home and then add cells to that it would be nice.
Create a Today Screen plugin to display the current profile/cell. I have software that runs in the icon bar at the top and the PP icon causes conflicts with this software.
Can't wait to see the final version of this, it's shaping up very well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes this idea has already been suggested and i'm going to work on it tonight if i have free time!
i'll also add the ability to turn off the notifications popping up automatically.

Hi Dutty,
Hopefully you can get this working on XDA1 because its a great idea.
I'm running WM2003 on my XDA, the only error message I receive is the one posted earlier..
As i said, if you want anyone to test on XDA1 or provide any info just let me know.
Cheers
Neil

once i will release the official version, it contains logging options and stuff like that, we can go on with the xda1 testing!
in the meantime, enjoy this logfile from today
+added logging capabilities to control the network responses
+added 'assign group' dialog ( added possibility of assigning groups.. if you switch from one cell
to another and it's the same group, then there is no notify bubble displayed )
-added 'add group'
-added 'group list'
-added 'delete group'
-added 'assign group'
+added 'cell profile' dialog
-all cellprofile settings displayed there
-added group display
+redesigned cell options
-added 'Assign Group'
-added 'Cell Profile'
-removed all cell profile options
+possiblity to execute a wav file, simply select wave file *.wav in the filedialog
( alarm? possibilitiy.. now possible, that the device tells you when you have to drive slower etc.
or it could remind you with a note you've recorded that you have to do XXX once you enter your homezone )
+signal strength of cell visible in cell info dialog
+one command after init
+sending only one command at every intervall.
PUBLIC BETA 1.0 ----
notes:
if you switch to a new cell and both cell profiles got the same group then there will be no
notification (no icon AND no textbubble)
you can get the signal strength in the cell information dialog
don't enable the logfile if you don't need it, it could grow to the size of 1GB
if you disable popup notification then there will only be an icon displayed if you switch cell/group
if you're in hidden mode to get back into the options of the programm, just execute it again while it's running
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Excellent idea! Seems pretty robust too for a beta. Well done.
Humble suggestion... Please see my post at
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?p=38761#38761
Zendrui has achieved a lot in the profile management area and perhaps you can work with him to combine the great new functionality into his product rather than re-inventing the wheel or should I say, profile ...
qtzar said : "Create a Today Screen plugin to display the current profile/cell. I have software that runs in the icon bar at the top and the PP icon causes conflicts with this software. "
Can you provide an alternative to go at the bottom right hand side of the screen, next to the BT indicator? This may be a good option for people with busy Today screens too.
I was looking at the miniGPS site. Taking the idea from them, sending SMSses from your product would be cool too. Also note you only generate alerts, actions on login. It would also be good to have the option to attibute actions / alerts to logouts.
During the beta phase can you also enable the ability for the user to update the cell info on all cells? It is very hard to test the product where you can only manipulate the first record. Suggest you change to a time based trial mechanism rather than the one record manageability option you have now. Just a humbe "consumer" opinion.
Last but not least, It would be great to be able to stop scanning for new cells but continue to detect login/logouts at the knowns (in database) cells. Example : after you train the application, you have all cells of interest in your database. In the current form the application keeps on recording all cells thats you pass through. After a month in a big city I presume I would have a huge list...
All in all, great job ! Best Regards

Installed it tonight at my xda I device, and it looks running fine.
Played a little bit and found that the tool is very interesting.
I also got some ideas to enhance the tool.
Wouldn't it be better that you can disable the Option "finding a new cell" and get instead a learning mode?
If you use the xda in your car, you get a lot of messages concernig a new cell. And all the time, all the volumes are set to 100%.
Maybe it will also be interesting to set the default values. In my case for example, the telephone volume is always much higher than the normal volume...
HTH
Stefan
PS: Would be nice, if there will be a "low cost edition" for including it into the kitchen....

i will make it opensource after i got some little profit, i'm living a hard life as a student, coding in freetime is bad, i should go working in freetime
great idea this learning mode, but it's already been implemented like this:
go into the system options, select hide popup notifications..
if it detects a cell then it won't display any popup, just an icon on the top, clicking on it will remove it. to go back into the programmoptions restart the programm
btw, if it detects a new cell it won't set any profile.. maybe i will make the default profile = no profile, it will not set anything until you've set the profile correctly!
During the beta phase can you also enable the ability for the user to update the cell info on all cells? It is very hard to test the product where you can only manipulate the first record. Suggest you change to a time based trial mechanism rather than the one record manageability option you have now. Just a humbe "consumer" opinion.
Last but not least, It would be great to be able to stop scanning for new cells but continue to detect login/logouts at the knowns (in database) cells. Example : after you train the application, you have all cells of interest in your database. In the current form the application keeps on recording all cells thats you pass through. After a month in a big city I presume I would have a huge list...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
both very good ideas!!! i will implement both.. a one week time trial or something will be good enough!
I was looking at the miniGPS site. Taking the idea from them, sending SMSses from your product would be cool too. Also note you only generate alerts, actions on login. It would also be good to have the option to attibute actions / alerts to logouts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i think logouts are not important, since there are soo many cells and you can have an own profile for each cell.. one event per cell change is enough!
sending SMS is good, but what's the use? telling somebody that you're waiting for him? okay, sounds nice but that's not that important too. maybe i will do it for 1.0, maybe for 1.1
qtzar said : "Create a Today Screen plugin to display the current profile/cell. I have software that runs in the icon bar at the top and the PP icon causes conflicts with this software. "
Can you provide an alternative to go at the bottom right hand side of the screen, next to the BT indicator? This may be a good option for people with busy Today screens too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, good idea. low priority too but it's a very good idea. i'm going to do that tonigh if i got free time.

Installed it tonight at my XDA I device, and it looks running fine.
Played a little bit and found that the tool is very interesting.
I also got some ideas to enhance the tool.
Wouldn't it be better that you can disable the Option "finding a new cell" and get instead a learning mode?
If you use the XDA in your car, you get a lot of messages concernig a new cell. And all the time, all the volumes are set to 100%.
Maybe it will also be interesting to set the default values. In my case for example, the telephone volume is always much higher than the normal volume...
HTH
Stefan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey stefan, could you give more details about your XDA1 maybe you can compare settings and installed tools with the other XDA1 device so we can figure out what stops it from working on the other machine.
btw, hast du irgendwas installiert an deinem XDA1 oder wäre es möglich einen hardreset auszuführen cell profiler zu installieren und dann zu testen obs funkt (also von windows default her)
danke stefan ;P

Hi dutty. Thanks for your prompt response. Logout action is good against theft or accidentally forgetting the phone in the cab... Once the phone moves out of your regular circle of cells you get an SMS on an alternate number. This reminds me. Adding a cluster of cells into a cell family seems to be a must. Someone else mentioned this already. I now have 24 cells picked up between my home & office. In my room at the office I got 5 different cells picked up at different times... I am imagining I would create a Home family, one for Office, one for Malls etc that I frequent and then anything else would stay unknown. When you have a new unknown you would have the darg & drop option to throw it into an existing family. Setting profile (sound, alert and executable etc) by family rather than cell would be awesome as well since right now we have to do it for each & every cell. Does this make sense?
Last but not least, I tried to attach an executable to a cell and notice that the file browse box only shows me My Documents folder. How can I navigate to the Program Files folder?
Have a great weekend!!!

sadly you can't. it's a microsoft limitation...
the filedialog box only shows my documents and storage card. and i'm a student i can't invest so much time to develop a new file searching method - and i haven't got money to buy a license for those filebrowsers that search for everything.
so if you want to start programms you should have them on the storage card, but that solution is ok to me.
oh yeah here is the latest changelog, 1.0 seems finished if there won't show up any bugs or stuff like that.
Code:
+added about box
+added logo to mainscreen
+improved main screen, show more information - including groupname
+++++ added an icon to the 'today - tray' in the lower right corner, clicking it will bring up the main screen
it will add the icon once you click on 'hide' or if you've got 'auto hide' selected suggest by k_kirk
+added the ability to 'disable learning new cells' inorder to stop the programm from learning new cells
this is good if you're living in a big city and you already got all your cells in the database
enabling it will not add any cells to the database AND it will never display the 'we found a cell' popup suggested by lumpistefan
+added the ability to 'delete cell' to cell options
+changes to 'ini' file format
+redesigned icons :)
+added 'disable notification popup' inorder stop the bubble from popping up suggested by k_kirk
+added logging capabilities to control the network responses
+added 'assign group' dialog ( added possibility of assigning groups.. if you switch from one cell
to another and it's the same group, then there is no notify bubble displayed )
-added 'add group'
-added 'group list'
-added 'delete group'
-added 'assign group'
+added 'cell profile' dialog
-all cellprofile settings displayed there
-added group display
+redesigned 'cell options' dialog
-added 'Assign Group'
-added 'Cell Profile'
-removed all cell profile options
+possiblity to execute a wav file, simply select wave file *.wav in the filedialog
( alarm? possibilitiy.. now possible, that the device tells you when you have to drive slower etc.
or it could remind you with a note you've recorded that you have to do XXX once you enter your homezone )
+added 'signal strength of cell' to cell info dialog
+added 'cell info' dialog
+one command after init
+sending only one command at every intervall.
PUBLIC BETA 1.0 ----
notes:
if you switch to a new cell and both cell profiles got the same group then there will be no
notification (no icon AND no textbubble)
you can get the signal strength in the cell information dialog
don't enable the logfile if you don't need it, it could grow to the size of 1GB
if you disable popup notification then there will only be an icon displayed if you switch cell/group
if you're in hidden mode to get back into the options of the programm, just execute it again while it's running
left TODO:
-figure out best way to lock features/functions for demo version?
-> users suggest time trial
left for NEXT VERSION:
-send sms message on event

btw, what you requested has been implemented. family=group

And where to download new version?

REVIEW: Teksoft's brand new Pocket PC utility suite Smart Bar

Teksoft, developer of the excellent BlueMusic application (see for example this article & the links), has just come out with a brand new suite, Smart Bar, of system management applications. I decided to give it a try as it’s a pretty capable suite of utilities with some really excellent modules.
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They even promise an application capable of recording both (!) parties in a phone conversation (so far, this has been impossible with all Pocket PC Phone Edition devices of both HTC and ASUSTeK (Fujitsu-Siemens T8x0)); I think it’ll work by directly “tapping into” the Bluetooth unit as can be seen for example in here.
Availability, price
The suite is available here. To review the (pretty good and recommended) manual, visit this link. There is a(n unfortunately, pretty restricted) trial version too.
The “price” of the suite is 200 credits; that is, between 20 and 25 euros (depending on the amount of money you transfer to your online credit account). The registration is a one-device only (that is, CPU ID- and not PPC owner name-based); licenses can be transferred to other devices in case of a device change (for example, when the previous one bites the dust and gets exchanged).
Install
Use smartbar_setup.exe for pre-WM5 and the CAB files for WM5; see install.en.txt for the latter case.
Compatibility
It’s stated to be compatible with strictly QVGA devices with at least the WM2003 operating system. (I’ve also tested it on Pocket PC 2002; it indeed doesn’t work.)
You can, of course, try to install it on VGA devices, but I don’t think you should give it a go. I’ve tested it on three different VGA devices (Dell Axim x51v A12, WM5 iPAQ hx4700 2.01, WM2003SE Pocket Loox 720). On the hx4700, the PowerPlugin Today screen plug-in was absolutely useless; on the two other devices, it was shown, but not anything else. On the Dell Axim x51v, I’ve received frequent gwes.exe crashes after a reboot, because of which I had to entirely disable PowerPlugin.
Of the PowerPlugin, few features were accessible on these VGA devices; in the following chart, I’ve summarized all this (note that it also contains HTC Wizard-related info):
Note that, as far as the Wizard is concerned, I’ve listed two ROM’s: the O2 2.21.4.1 WWE (3/9/0) ROM and the “cooked”, widely known AKU3.2 one by KTamas / bepe. This means there are differences between different ROM versions / builds – all icons may work with your particular ROM version. The developer has promised they would test the suite with other ROM versions.
As can clearly be seen, the majority of the features PowerPlugin has can’t be used - not even on the QVGA HTC Wizard (with some ROM versions).
One of the central features of the application, Smartbar, wasn’t accessible either on any of my VGA devices. Self-standing apps like the screen capture, the network troubleshooter and the task manager applications, however, did work on VGA devices.
Also, it’s very important that you BACKUP (see the Backup Bible if you’re unsure) your device before installing the application. My absolutely clean, freshly hard reset WM2003 HP iPAQ 2210, after the install, couldn’t boot in at all and I ended up having to hard reset the PDA (I’ve tested this two times). I haven’t tried to boot into Safe Mode (read this roundup & tutorial if interested in Safe Mode on the Pocket PC); it may have helped .
Today plug-in (PowerPlugin)
It’s a simple plug-in with shortcuts to en/disable wireless units, suspend the device, show whether it's connected to the Net (IMHO, this is pretty useless on a WM2003+ device - after all, the Connectivity icon is always visible on the taskbar) and a backlight slider. It doesn’t contain for example battery or memory meters, unlike most other Today launchers (please see this iLauncher review and the links to earlier reviews to find out what a decent Today launcher should offer.)
Unfortunately, the majority of the functionality it’s supposed to offer didn’t work on my test devices. For example, as far as en/disabling wireless functionality is concerned, it was only on the x51v that it was able to both en- and disable Wi-Fi; on the Wizard, it was only able to enable it and on the PL720, wasn’t able to do anything. As far as Bluetooth is concerned, it didn’t work on any of my test devices in any direction. The backlight slider only worked on the PL720. (See the chart at the top, in the Compatibility section for more info.) The only exception is the HTC Wizard with the O2 ROM, where everything worked. (Again, more information on the compliance with other HTC Wizard ROM versions will be published / announced later.)
Also note that, while it has, in addition to the backlight slider, a backlight icon. It, now, doesn’t do anything. Hope the Teksoft folks wire it to the backlight / brightness applet of the device as is the case with all the other, similar Today plug-ins.
Task manager
This is one of the best features of the suite.
Pretty cool. Better than the built-in task manager: it lists the memory used, whether it’s a windowed app/process and if yes, is it visible; the title and the window class name. However, it doesn’t display other advanced & useful stuff like CPU usage and has no “Stop all processes”. Also, it’s not possible to “hide” system processes either – that is, for a newbie, this task manager can prove pretty dangerous.
Ultra Keyboard
This is probably the most unique feature of this suite: it allows for controlling some functionality using the keyboard. The most important of this is text insert macroing capabilities, which has always been missing from Pocket PC’s (except for some, not very capable Software Input Panels (SIP's) like Resco Keyboard Pro and Biomobility’s CopyText Pro; also see this thread for more info if interested).
When you use text insert macroing and assign a macro to, say, the series of characters “bye”, Smart Bar will constantly monitor the keys you press on the built-in (or external) keyboard of your PDA and when it sees the keys b, y and e pressed in order, it’ll delete back the three characters and insert the replacement text.
It's really cool but, unfortunately, only works with built-in keyboards or external ones (like those of desktop-based PDA controllers; see this roundup for more information on them.) Even in this case it can prove useful - most built-in thumb boards are pretty awkward to enter text on them.
You can initiate the following functionality from the keyboard: Replace with phrase; Execute a file; Turn device off; Reset device; Call number and Screen Capture. Note that if your keyboard has a different layout than your current ROM language, the default layout will be used. For example, if you have a German MDA Vario (= HTC Wizard) with English ROM but use the keyboard in German mode so that you find all keys at once, you will need to enter ‘bze’ instead of ‘bye’ for the ‘bye’ script to be executed. Also, note that not even in this case will everything execute – that is, try not to use anything that have relocated letters.
In my tests, all these functions worked OK.
Smartbar
This is a shortcut bar at the bottom of the Today screen for accessing active apps (closing / activating them) and activating other built-in apps (and the Desktop mode) of the Smart Bar suite. Unfortunately, task control-wise, it is probably the worst module in the entire suite; hope this will be greatly enhanced in subsequent releases.

Compared to (better) task managers like iLauncher, Magic Button or Spb Pocket Plus, its disadvantages are as follows:
It can only be accessed on the Today screen, not on the taskbar (and / or the Close / Minimize icon itself)
It supports no mass operations like “close all but this one”, “close all”, unlike with Magic Button or the built-in iTask of Compaq / HP iPAQ’s
It doesn’t override the Minimize / Close (x) icon
Hope these disadvantages will be soon be fixed and the task management functionalities of the application greatly enhanced.
Note that while it doesn’t have explicit scrolling icons / menus (unlike Magic Button as can be seen in here but NOT iLauncher 3, which is suffering from the complete lack of scrollbars as can be seen in this and this screenshots), you can scroll the active task icon list if there are more than five (Portrait) / seven (Landscape) of them.
I’ve also tested the CPU usage of smart.exe to see whether it causes any CPU load, particularly with more than a handful programs active. (For example, Magic Button causes a constant CPU usage of about 1-3% all the time.) The results are acceptable and not much worse than those of Magic Button:
Desktop
Yes, a WisBar Advance Desktop (WAD) clone! It’s in no way so advanced as WAD; still, if you like these kinds of applications, you may find the one in Smart Bar suitable.
Screen capture
Smart bar also contains built-in screen capturing capabilities. Please see the Screen Capture Bible for more information; in the following pros/cons list, I build on the information and explanations of that guide.
Compared to other screen capturer applications,
Pros
Uses a 3-second delay by default; that is, it can be used to make menu screenshots (without using the periodic screenshot capabilities)
Able to capture images periodically (albeit with some limitations, particularly when it comes to the frequency of taking shots). Note that it’s the “Stop interval” drop-down list that lets you fine-tune the interval it’ll take screenshots (between 10 seconds and 10 minutes as can be seen here and here)
If you use it on a device with a built-in thumb/keyboard and you enable screen capturing through Ultra Keyboard, you will be able to capture almost any game screen any time (!) by just entering the Ultra Keyboard shortcut (“CAP” by default). In this respect, the suite is unbeatable and unrivalled.
Periodic screenshot capturing is fast and, therefore, gaming-friendly (unlike, say, BeniSoft ScreenShotCE)
Both BMP and JPG output; the latter with settable quality
Can save files to anywhere, not just the main storage
Can capture images, in addition to the original (100%) size, at double and triple (200% / 300%) size – very useful on QVGA devices to avoid further enlargement and unique among all the screen capturer applications
Landscape & VGA compliant even in SE VGA mode
Cons
Multishot (periodic) capabilities are a bit limited – you can’t instruct the app to make shots less frequently than every two second
While the screenshot utility is a self-standing app, it cannot be invoked from a custom-written nScriptm script to fine-tune periodic screenshot making parameters
(Trial version useless: it inserts a message in the captured images)
All in all, the screenshot capabilities of the app are excellent, especially when you take the price of the suite into account and the only problem with this module are the too frequent screenshots in auto mode. Also, as has already been pointed out, the ability to make hardware keyboard-based screenshots of games is unbeatable and unique.
Network Tools
The suite also contains a simple (it’s in no way as advanced as, say, vxUtil) network troubleshooting utility, Network Tools.
It’s able to ping and traceroute to find out possible networking problems. It also uses DNS lookups; that is, if you for example enter www.yahoo.com, the contents of the input field will revert to 209.73.186.238 (or something very similar, with a different ending), showing the IP address of the given computer (it doesn’t do the reverse).
It also exports the traceroute results to a file. (Note that I didn’t have a “real” wireless connection during the tests and the utility had problems accessing the net via USB (in both WM5 AKU2+ networking modes); I could only access the desktop computer my PDA was hooked up to; this is why there is only one entry in the tracelog.)
It’s pretty cool to have if you don’t happen to have Windows Mobile Network Analyzer PowerToy or vxUtil around.
Verdict
This app is certainly promising. Hope subsequent builds / versions will fix the issues / implement the missing functionality (most importantly, overridden Close / Minimize button) I’ve elaborated on. Then, I’ll recommend it heartily, without conditions. Now, in the present state, I do recommend it too – but conditionally.
First, the bad. It does have compatibility issues. If it does work on your PDA model, it won’t likely to support all the features of the Today plug-in (PowerPlugin) and has no for example storage meters. Also, the task management functionalities / program shutdown capabilities of Smartbar are certainly inferior to most similar apps like iLauncher, Magic Button or Spb Pocket Plus. I find this the biggest stumbling block of the application.
Second, the good. It’s, as an all-in-one application, is really good. That is, if you don’t want to struggle with installing many applications (say, WAD + Magic Button + some advanced (!) screenshot app + vxUtil) to achieve the same (or even better! See for example the screenshot utility) functionality (without keyboard macros, of course), give it a go. Also, if you need keyboard macroing (again, it won’t work with on-screen keyboards, only hardware ones!), this is the application to go.
The same stands for taking screenshots: this application clearly excels in this area (except for the too frequent screenshot taking in repetitive mode – hope the developer fixes this too), particularly when it comes to making screenshots of anything (most importantly, games) that inhibits hardware button access and, therefore, renders hotkey-based screen grabbing impossible. Then, Ultra Keyboard’s excellent keyboard-based shortcuts will prove highly useful.
All in all, if you still don’t have any application to implement the above-listed functionalities or, for example, losing the excellent task management functionalities of other task managers isn’t a problem, definitely give it a go. Remember, however, that
do NOT get it if you are a VGA user; wait for the soon-to-be-released VGA-specific / compliant version
do backup your device before installing or, at least, make sure you have an active Safe Mode application

REVIEW: Another great, multiplatform instant messenger client: Palringo

Instant Messaging is, as with, for example, Web browsers, is a constantly improved area of mobile platforms. This means we’re getting newer and newer instant messenger apps all the time.
Palringo is the newest application to enter the Windows Mobile / Symbian instant messaging world. It, despite of being new, is already is a decent contender really worth paying attention to. Their free (!), multiplatform IM client, Palringo, is certainly worth paying attention to because it has some goodies not present in (most) other instant messenger clients.
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(VGA Pocket PC)
(Symbian s60v3)
(176*220 MS Smartphone)
(Current, tested versions: Windows Mobile: 10/25/2007; Symbian s60v3: 0.96 (11) 10/08/2007. Test devices: Pocket PC (HTC Universal, HTC Wizard), MS Smartphone (HTC s310, s710) and Symbian s60v3 (Nokia N95).)
Getting, using
You can download it HERE. Enter your e-mail address twice. It can be arbitrary – that is, on any other server; it must, however, be an existing one so that you can activate the account. Also, create the password you’d like to use with the client. After submitting the info (and signing in with this), you’re taken to the Download page, where just click the “Download” button or buttons, if you select clients for multiple operating systems. Currently, three operating systems are supported: Windows Mobile (Smartphone and Pocket PC), desktop Windows and Symbian S60v3. They also promise a MIDlet (Java) version of their client, bringing IM support to even “dumb” phones, Blackberries and Palm OS-based devices.
Alternatively, if you don’t want to use desktop download / installation, you can fill in your phone number if you want a direct installation link to be sent to you per SMS.
After installing and starting the client, select Menu / Palringo / Online. Enter the e-mail / password pair you’ve registered yourself first at Palringo.
Then, you’ll need to add services to your account. You may want to do this on your desktop computer (with the desktop version if you don’t have a remote controller tool like the excellent Pocket Controller) if you don’t have a decent keyboard for your phone. If you do this on the desktop, the added service accounts will be immediately synchronized to your mobile (and vice versa – and, of course, between mobile phones as well).
Palringo is interoperable with MSN, Yahoo, AIM, GG (Gadu-Gadu), ICQ and XMPP (Jabber). That is, after selecting Menu / Add Service, select the one you’d like to use from the list and, then, just fill in the service login / password as can be seen in HERE. Now, you’ll be logged in. Note that you can add other service accounts any time; you’ll be able to switch between them on the main dialog.
You’ll soon notice Palringo supports multiple logins. Very few IM clients allow the user to log in with multiple accounts into a given IM network: currently, only the, otherwise, not very good Causerie and the band new, beta version of Shape Services’ well-known IM+ for MS Smartphones. (See THIS and THIS threads; their Smartphone homepage is HERE; note that the current (4.45 and 6.15, respectively) PPC and Symbian S60v3 versions still don’t support multiple logins). In THIS screenshot (the same made on a 176*220 Smartphone is HERE and you can see I’ve already logged in with three MSN accounts, and I can still add more MSN accounts by selecting Add Service.
In this respect, therefore, Palringo is without doubt the best.
In addition, it supports groups (pretty much like on the IRC), which is a great way to meet friends or people and is increasingly used by some user communities like that of the infamous XDA-Developers. You can, of course, both create a new or join an existing group. Some screenshots of joining a group: 1 2 3 4 – it’s certainly worth giving a try!
Voice clips, camera stills, clickable links, copy/paste
As with several other clients, it supports sending voice clips. As opposed to, say, Fring (which is without doubt the best IM app in this respect), and just like with Microsoft’s Live Messenger on Windows Mobile (but not on the desktop, where full voice chat is supported), you can only use voice clips, not real-time VoIP. (And, of course, this only works in one direction with non-native Palringo receivers like MSN.) The voice codec is Speex-based, which means it works with acceptable upload speed even over GPRS, while maintaining pretty good sound quality.
Links are clickable on all platforms - certainly good news.
You can paste into the text input field and you can also copy the contents of individual messages (Pocket PC – a HTC Wizard – screenshot HERE). This is good news for Symbian S60 / MS Smartphone (platforms lacking a touchscreen and its mass-selecting capabilities) users but not very good for Pocket PC users, which may want to make mass selection upon wanting to, say, save an entire conversation to a file in one step.
Logging, history
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to log conversations on Windows Mobile at all. On Symbian, however, there’s a separate menu item in the chat window, Options / View Older Messages (or, alternatively, activating the thin bar at the top – in the screenshot, it’s purple-colored). This will retrieve the message from the server, which may take some time, particularly if you retrieve a voice clip or an image.
(Windows Mobile users, see the point in providing Symbian info in my articles? The previous paragraph was one of the tidbits that REALLY make it worth discussing multiple operating system versions at the same time. It’s certainly worth knowing the Symbian version is better in this respect – then, you can “push” the developers to implement the same functionality in the Windows Mobile port as well.)
The problem with this kind of logging is that you must retrieve all older messages one by one by either selecting Options / View Older Messages all the time or, better, pressing the bar. In addition, as the old messages / images / voice clips are all stored on the server, it may take some time to retrieve them. However, it’s still better than nothing at all. Still, in this respect, there’re much more advanced IM clients; most importantly, mov Messenger (for both platforms under Windows Mobile).

Notification, vibration, Pocket PC suspended state, Unicode
It seems to support system-level settings on all Windows Mobile devices (as opposed to Symbian); for example, it had no problems with vibration on the HTC Universal and HTC Wizard PPC. I’ve encountered no vibration and/or system-level audio / vibration switching problems with the HTC Oxygen (s310) and HTC Vox (s710) MS Smartphones either. Notification bubbles / taskbar icons are supported on Pocket PC’s; a taskbar icon is supported on the Smartphone platform; they’re all animated. Notification LED’s are also used.
No such icons under Symbian (for example, on the Standby screen), though.
I haven’t had any problems with receiving notifications on Pocket PC’s in suspended state (tested on the HTC Wizard and Universal), which is certainly very good news, battery life-wise. Of course, always-on platforms not using a suspended state (Symbian, MS Smartphone) have worked all the time.
It has no problems with Unicode chars in either direction (tested with MSN).
Symbian issues (and goodies)
While I had no problems with vibrating alarm (in “Meeting” mode) on ALL of my Windows Mobile devices, it didn’t work on my Nokia N95.
The camera interface is inaccessible under Symbian as can be seen in HERE (before capturing – as can be seen, no interface is accessible, unlike under WM – I’ve tested this on all the three WM test devices), HERE (after capturing) and HERE (transferring the resulting shot) but NOT under WM (example screenshot, taken on the Oxygen, HERE and HERE – incidentally, they show my Universal and N95, both running Palringo), where the real interface is used. This means for example the inability to manually switch to macro mode, switch off the flash etc.
Fortunately, under Symbian, you can set a default access point so that the client can automatically reconnect as can be seen in THIS screenshot. Incidentally, this shot also shows that under Symbian, you can independently set the notification volume, unlike under WM.
Also, on Symbian, it isn’t shut down when the free RAM decreases. This is a definite plus on RAM-lacking models like the Nokia N95.
Windows Mobile issues, CPU / memory benchmarks
I’ve had no problems at all. It worked on all my test devices I’ve installed it on (HTC Universal VGA Pocket PC, HTC Oxygen / s310 WM5 176*220 and HTC Vox / s710 QVGA Smartphones) in both Portrait and Landscape orientations. There were no keyboard problems at all and no orientation change flaws; not even on the Vox (which, before the latest version of mov Messenger, had caused problems to the latter.)
CPU / memory usage while actively waiting for incoming messages: 0% and 300…700kbytes on WM, independent of the “Power/Data Saving Mode” checkbox in Settings. That is, very good.
Some other screenshots
Contact list (on a 176*220 MS Smartphone)
Adding a contact: 1 2
Chatting interface on Symbian
Photo, clickable and voice clip sending works from Palringo to MSN – but, of course, not in the other direction.
Verdict
This is an excellent IM client all supported mobile platforms (Windows Mobile Smartphones and Pocket PC’s and Symbian), particularly if you look for a client capable of joining pre-existing IRC-like groups like that of XDA-Devs and/or want a messenger application capable of multiple logins to the same network. It’s only the lack of logging and copying large blocks (not just one row) of text on touchscreen-enabled platforms (Pocket PC) that I really miss.
Related (Windows Mobile-only) articles
The MS Smartphone Instant Messaging Bible
The Pocket PC Instant Messaging Bible (Cross-posts: PPCT, MobilitySite, AximSite, XDA-Developers - 1, XDA-Developers - 2, FirstLoox, BrightHand, HowardForums, TheSmallPicture)
A pretty nice list & quick comparison of the brand new (year 2007) IM apps (that is, Octro, Mundu and Palringo.)

Great article, this is by far my favourite IM client out there.
You should add to the review the fact that it works on http only connections (XMPP over Bosh, probably) and that they have a battery friendly setting (¿HTTP Binding?).
Those last facts are on my own, but I'm pretty sure I'm right

stickman said:
Great article, this is by far my favourite IM client out there.
You should add to the review the fact that it works on http only connections (XMPP over Bosh, probably) and that they have a battery friendly setting (¿HTTP Binding?).
Those last facts are on my own, but I'm pretty sure I'm right
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does it support proxy configuration?
I still haven't seen *ANY* IM clients out there supporting (or 'inheriting' wm's) proxy configurations.
My dataplan doesn't allow proxyless connections, everything must go through their proxy - otherwise it won't work.
So im stuck without no IM client. anyone has any suggestions?

Good but...
Sound input from the Sprint Mogul and Touch does not function properly in Palringo. It has horrid clicking and choppiness, and although Palringo has been aware of the problem for some time, no solution yet. (Fingers crossed though). I think there are 3 main problems other than the sound bug.
1: Battery life is absolutely atrocious with palringo open. My mogul burned through 50% of a fresh 1500mAh battery in 3 hours.
2: No way to add new contacts
3: Whenever you close a conversation, like to return to the contact list, next time it opens there is absolutely no history...so this is definitely not for ADD people or anybody messaging more than 1-2 people at a time.

Crash after installing Fring
Here's my story I wanna share in case others encounter the same difficulties:
My Hermes is crashed right after installing the latest Fring (cab over the air). The device now blocks seconds after restarting. The screen remains normal, but it is completely frozen, and no command is possible.
I regret not having made a backup beforehand I'm still trying, but I think the only way out at this stage is to hard reset.

another issue is you have to sign in to parlingo, to use a service.
e.g. i cant use my own IM server in my own network if i can not reach parlingo server.

Never seems to connect to their network for me.
Could be that it's somehow blocked by my school's firewall (I'm on their wifi and don't get cell signal in the building). Anything with HTTP binding usually gets through but I can't find an option for enabling HTTP binding. If only Talkonaut wasn't a java app...

UPDATE (02/27/2008): there's a great review of the app HERE. There's some user feedback worth checking out HERE and HERE. Also note that MoDaCo also has a Palringo usergroup.

Is this review correct?

http://www.itpro.co.uk/606879/htc-touch-pro
Or with XDA's help can some of these problems be fixed?
Or are these problems not that big a deal?

Could you quote (copy - paste) the problems here?

There’s an accelerometer in it too so it can do the flip to landscape mode when you turn it round. Unfortunately, this isn’t as responsive as I would have liked, due to the delay in re-rendering the page.
Unfortunately there’s no 3.5mm headphone socket, so you’ll either need to use the typically poor supplied headphones with their mini USB connector, or invest in a Windows mobile remote into which you can plug your own headphones.
However, while it should be possible to scroll up and down between messages like this I found that I instead found that I usually just opened the email as soon as I touched the screen. Once you do, you’re left with the regular clunky Windows Mobile interface, which means getting out the stylus.
A true indicator of the limits of Touch Flo 3D is that it doesn’t present a consistent interface across the whole device. When in regular portrait mode, pressing on the on-screen soft menu buttons in any given application will bring up a list of enlarged, and therefore easy to use with the fingers, menu options, but when you open the keyboard and turn it sideways you get standard Windows Mobile menus.
The inconsistencies carry over to web browsing. While in portrait mode the default page gives you a search box. By contrast, when you open the keyboard and select the Web Search button, it fires up Google.com instead. Furthermore, in portrait mode, double tapping the address bar brings up the search box, into which you can type using the on-screen keyboard. However if you flip open the keyboard and try and do the same the box keeps on disappearing, which is slightly maddening.
Furthermore, while Opera Mobile does a great job of reflowing text to fit the screen, and is generally very good, it does seem to strain the processing power of the device and the browser has a hard job differentiating between taps to cause the page to zoom, and taps to click through on links. Try converting currencies at www.xe.com using the Opera browser as an example – it’s an exercise in frustration.
However, while it all seems smooth at first, when one gets to use the phone for a prolonged period problems start to surface. The issue is that Windows Mobile as an operating system is decidedly sluggish and nothing HTC has done on the surface can disguise this. When the phone rings, there seems to be an unnerving hesitation between pressing the answer button and the call connecting – and ending a call is worse.
Other bugs encountered include the camera application having a tendency to freeze up, and frequent ‘manila.exe’ crash messages that seems to occur when it’s asked to do too much, too quickly.
If you put up with these, you’ll find a very capable device, that’s brimming with useful features but it has to be said that there are rather too many for it to earn a recommendation.
There’s much to be impressed about with the Touch Pro, and much of the time, impress it does, but the irritations of the interface of Windows Mobile and the responsiveness are never too far off, despite HTC’s best efforts.
If you’re set on, or restricted to, Windows Mobile, and want a keyboard, the Touch Pro has to be recommended as the best of the bunch. If you’re happy to cast your net wider however, we’d have to say that we’d choose a Blackberry Bold, Nokia E71, or indeed iPhone over this every time.

sounds like an apple fanboy IMO...

thehyecircus said:
There’s an accelerometer in it too so it can do the flip to landscape mode when you turn it round. Unfortunately, this isn’t as responsive as I would have liked, due to the delay in re-rendering the page.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, it depends on the webpage you are viewing. If it's a heavy one, you will notice a delay but nothing that you can't handle. Most of the times is pretty snappy.
Unfortunately there’s no 3.5mm headphone socket, so you’ll either need to use the typically poor supplied headphones with their mini USB connector, or invest in a Windows mobile remote into which you can plug your own headphones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No 3.5mm. If you really need to use a 3rd party handset to listen to mp3 etc, you have to use an adapter...
However, while it should be possible to scroll up and down between messages like this I found that I instead found that I usually just opened the email as soon as I touched the screen. Once you do, you’re left with the regular clunky Windows Mobile interface, which means getting out the stylus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you need the stylus when reading an email? I don't get this...
A true indicator of the limits of Touch Flo 3D is that it doesn’t present a consistent interface across the whole device. When in regular portrait mode, pressing on the on-screen soft menu buttons in any given application will bring up a list of enlarged, and therefore easy to use with the fingers, menu options, but when you open the keyboard and turn it sideways you get standard Windows Mobile menus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can enable the enlarged menus in landscape too...
The inconsistencies carry over to web browsing. While in portrait mode the default page gives you a search box. By contrast, when you open the keyboard and select the Web Search button, it fires up Google.com instead. Furthermore, in portrait mode, double tapping the address bar brings up the search box, into which you can type using the on-screen keyboard. However if you flip open the keyboard and try and do the same the box keeps on disappearing, which is slightly maddening.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When in portrait mode the icon is called Opera so pressing it just loads the Homepage. In landscape mode the icon is Web Search so... it loads google!
I am using Opera 2392 and clicking on address bar in any mode brings up Search bar as well.
So, no problem here...
Furthermore, while Opera Mobile does a great job of reflowing text to fit the screen, and is generally very good, it does seem to strain the processing power of the device and the browser has a hard job differentiating between taps to cause the page to zoom, and taps to click through on links. Try converting currencies at www.xe.com using the Opera browser as an example – it’s an exercise in frustration.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well... You can use the phone's Page UP\ DOWN, TAB, ENTER keys... Just like a PC...
However, while it all seems smooth at first, when one gets to use the phone for a prolonged period problems start to surface. The issue is that Windows Mobile as an operating system is decidedly sluggish and nothing HTC has done on the surface can disguise this. When the phone rings, there seems to be an unnerving hesitation between pressing the answer button and the call connecting – and ending a call is worse.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could disable HTC Dialer and let Windows Mobile Dialer take over. Few more tweaks and problem solved!
Windows Mobile is still based on a 10 year old core. No matter what, it is outdated... However, on the right hardware (i.e. Touch Pro) Windows Mobile works like a treat!
Other bugs encountered include the camera application having a tendency to freeze up, and frequent ‘manila.exe’ crash messages that seems to occur when it’s asked to do too much, too quickly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never happened to me! Probably he used an older rom...
If you put up with these, you’ll find a very capable device, that’s brimming with useful features but it has to be said that there are rather too many for it to earn a recommendation.
There’s much to be impressed about with the Touch Pro, and much of the time, impress it does, but the irritations of the interface of Windows Mobile and the responsiveness are never too far off, despite HTC’s best efforts.
If you’re set on, or restricted to, Windows Mobile, and want a keyboard, the Touch Pro has to be recommended as the best of the bunch. If you’re happy to cast your net wider however, we’d have to say that we’d choose a Blackberry Bold, Nokia E71, or indeed iPhone over this every time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So... I am guessing they don't like Windows Mobile too much... They didn't really give any of the device real flaws (Like the sound it makes when sliding in\out the keyboard, you have to remove the cover to change the microSD card).
You could buy Google's Dream, but a more polished operating system is not a good reason to buy such an ugly and poorly thought over device...
You could also buy Xperia X1 but you stilll have to face Windows Mobile flaws. You do get better build quality and bigger screen. But the keyboard is graded as one of the worst ever, screen is not flushed, you won't have TF3D (you could get TF2D though...) and the overall appeal of the device seems to be worse than TP.
That's all....

Whats wrong with the noise it makes when you slide out the keyboard?
What happens when you use Windows Mobile Dialer? Is it ugly? Or bad looking? I am used to just a simple Nokia list of names to call so I have no idea what to expect.
And can't the phone's speaker work for FM Radio? Or maybe Slingbox Mobile?
No other cell phone out there right now looks good. I'm interested in Android but it needs to actually get out of the trial first phone stage.

I just want to know when I can write a review that matters. I want to write a stock vs modded review that details every issue before and after..
oh the pains of waiting to upgrade...

marios96 said:
You could disable HTC Dialer and let Windows Mobile Dialer take over. Few more tweaks and problem solved!
That's all....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for addressing the issues, I am a tentative Pro buyer and have read that review too and it did make me hesitate a bit. Now I'm more convinced, again
Just quickly (this is my first EVER WM phone), how do you disable/enable windows/HTC dialer?
Furthermore, I was hoping that you can point me to a place where I can learn how to tweak/change settings/flash the phone. I checked out the database and Wiki's (I swear I did!) but all it seems are explanations as to what does what - it doesn't really tell you HOW to do the tweaks - like, I know I need to change registries here and there - but HOW? How do I make a backup of everything before I change anything/flash the phone? HOW do I find out the CID? etc. No need to teach me here, just want a good tutorial as to what I can do with a WM phone (and how!), thanks a MILLION in advance!

l3it3r said:
I just want to know when I can write a review that matters. I want to write a stock vs modded review that details every issue before and after..
oh the pains of waiting to upgrade...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can write it here. In fact please do.

Lord Farkward said:
Thanks for addressing the issues, I am a tentative Pro buyer and have read that review too and it did make me hesitate a bit. Now I'm more convinced, again
Just quickly (this is my first EVER WM phone), how do you disable/enable windows/HTC dialer?
Furthermore, I was hoping that you can point me to a place where I can learn how to tweak/change settings/flash the phone. I checked out the database and Wiki's (I swear I did!) but all it seems are explanations as to what does what - it doesn't really tell you HOW to do the tweaks. No need to teach me here, just want a good tutorial as to what I can do with a WM phone (and how!), thanks a MILLION in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can do all sorts of tweaks (including changing the dialer) with a registry editor (like Resco's or PHM etc). It is really not hard to find or use one. It's a bit like using File Explorer to find a specific file and edit its' name or properties...
Or you can use one of the programs that are ment for specific registry tweaks. Like Advance Config or Diamond Tweak. Both programs contain all the necessary tweaks in a well presented way so it is a matter of switch on and off a registry edit (or something close to that...)
All in all, the best way to start is either Advance Config or Diamond tweak and when you feel like editing registry by yourself use one of the Registry Editors.

marios96 said:
You can do all sorts of tweaks (including changing the dialer) with a registry editor (like Resco's or PHM etc). It is really not hard to find or use one. It's a bit like using File Explorer to find a specific file and edit its' name or properties...
Or you can use one of the programs that are ment for specific registry tweaks. Like Advance Config or Diamond Tweak. Both programs contain all the necessary tweaks in a well presented way so it is a matter of switch on and off a registry edit (or something close to that...)
All in all, the best way to start is either Advance Config or Diamond tweak and when you feel like editing registry by yourself use one of the Registry Editors.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a perfect place for me to start, thanks!
Just curious - other than editing registries and flashing with ROM's, what other fun modding can you do?

thehyecircus said:
Whats wrong with the noise it makes when you slide out the keyboard?
What happens when you use Windows Mobile Dialer? Is it ugly? Or bad looking? I am used to just a simple Nokia list of names to call so I have no idea what to expect.
And can't the phone's speaker work for FM Radio? Or maybe Slingbox Mobile?
No other cell phone out there right now looks good. I'm interested in Android but it needs to actually get out of the trial first phone stage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't get me wrong, the keyboard feels extremely solid! The sliding mechanism is strong and has a good feel when you use it. However, when you slide out the keyboard the spring does a sound which some may find weird. I would just prefer it to be a tiny bit more quiet!
A skin for the WM Dialer is this one: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=434934
The loudspeaker could be used for FM Radio with the hansfree cable attached to the phone (it acts as an antenna).
The speaker that you use for phone calls can't.

Lord Farkward said:
That's a perfect place for me to start, thanks!
Just curious - other than editing registries and flashing with ROM's, what other fun modding can you do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How is this:
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"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}

Or this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tiEji2sTyA

marios96 said:
Or this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tiEji2sTyA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how is that done?!?

Nobody really knows... (Except from the uploader ofcourse)
The video seems real though...
Anyway, for all the new members of Raphael forum, just a reminder:
Since Touch Pro is basically a Diamond with keyboard, you can find a great deal of information, applications, mods, themes and many many many other usefull stuff over at the Diamond thread Themes, Applications and Software

To the OP:
As per the very detailed post on the preceding page there are ways around pretty much everything they say, except for the lack of a 3.5mm jack, since thats hardware.
The Touch Pro is my first WinMo phone (coming from various N-Series Nokia's, the N82 I still have), and I find it excellent after only a little time spent here learning some tweaks (like 4 program icons across in the program menu, large icons in landscape, a couple of registry tweaks to really speed up TF3D, Diamond TF3D configurer to order the tabs in a logical way for my use etc). You hear lots of bad things about WinMo, which it deserves to be perfectly frank (seriously, needing to use a stylus is just awful, so user-unfriendly), but the reality is that when properly skinned to can pretty much alleviate nearly all its shortcomings.

NZtechfreak said:
To the OP:
As per the very detailed post on the preceding page there are ways around pretty much everything they say, except for the lack of a 3.5mm jack, since thats hardware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.expansys.com/p.aspx?i=169477
and there you have it.... 3.5mm jack=p

Yeah, I have one of the adaptors too - but its quite large and I only use it in the car. That doesn't really qualify as a real solution in my book, having to carry around another piece of kit that is quite large (the picture makes it look deceptively small).

marios96 said:
How is this:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh myyyyyyyyyy
how can I ever forget about skinning?? now THAT's really awesome. I'm sure I'll find out how I'll do that later (at least I know who to ask if/when I'm stuck now )
BTW, are you personally using the WM dialer now? or have you done enough tweaking that even the HTC dialer is fast enough?

Bare WM 6.5 23028 Cooked ROM with unnecessary items removed ~ Witschey

Bare WM 6.5 23028 Cooked ROM with unnecessary items removed.
UPDATED on Sept 4, 2009 - 6:05 pm US Central Time
Starting with with September 10, 2009 I have decided to consolidate Bare WM 6.5 builds into only one (1) thread. I suggest you subscribe to the following thread to be kept abreast of future updates:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=4469872&postcount=1
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=4469872&postcount=1
This ROM was cooked with the osKitchen (by OndraSter) which can be found here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=540704
The ROM follows the principle of getting rid of unnecessary items in the Windows Mobile 6.5 source files in order to make as much RAM available on my Kaiser as possible after the installation of WM 6.5. However I didn't want to 'cripple' features that I needed/wanted to have installed.
The result is a vROM that uses about 32 MB of RAM while the Kaiser is idle (and before you install your own applications). That means that you will have close to 70MB of free RAM with this cooked ROM. The size of the cooked ROM flash image (the NBH file) is: 51 MB, leaving 154 MB of storage space available on the Kaiser.
What I may consider 'unnecessary files' may not be considered the same by others. Therefore I am listing the WM 6.5 items that I removed so that you can determine if this cooked ROM fits your needs. I am also enclosing a folder titled "XXXX- Kitchen Removed Sources.zip" which will show you EXACTLY what was removed. If you miss one of the removed items, simply move it back (to the same directory) and cook a ROM.
** General overview of what was removed:
- All of the non-essential OEM and EXT applications which normally ship with "Os Kitchen". I left only the OEM and EXT items which I found to be necessary for the normal operation of the ROM on the Kaiser. If through your own testing you find that one or more are unnecessary please let me know (as I would want to get rid of it as well!)
- Ringtones and other sound files which are not necessary for the normal operation of the ROM (if you miss one or more of those files you can easily put them in an SD card and access them from there)
- All files (CPR, Images, etc.) that relate to a resolution that is not supported by the Kaiser.
- The 'Calculator' application because there is plenty of great calculators for WM PPC out there, and I don't like to have software duplication.
- All "Windows Live" related stuff, because I don't use it.
- All 'games' that come with WM 6.5 because I don't use them, and there is much better games in the marketplace.
- IPSEC related files because I don't use that type of 'virtual tunnel'.
- LiveSearch because I prefer Google.
- Unnecessary Mobile Office templates
- Remote Desktop (because I don't use that software. I prefer RDM+, which I install separately...not in the ROM)
- Task Manager (because I prefer to install Advanced Task Manager...separately, not in the ROM)
- Skybox (because I don't use Microsoft 'My Phone' and related services.)
- Skymarket (because I don't need a software store on my phone)
- All Themes except for 'Classic Blue' (because I prefer to install my own themes...separately, not in the ROM)
- VOIP (because no VOIP application comes with WM 6.5, and VOIP applications like Skype work without these files. So they seem to be a waste of space. If anybody disagrees and can explain the purpose of those files please let me know.)
- Welcome Center (Because I am experienced enough with WM 6.5 that I don't need somebody to guide me)
- All Windows Mobile Widgets (because I prefer to install my own ....separately not in the ROM).
*****
In addition to the file removals that I describe above, I made a few changes which apply to BOTH Chocolate and Vanilla Flavors of the ROM.
- I changed the boot screen back to the original HTC screen that says "smart mobility"
- I changed the animation screen back to the original HTC screen that has an animated HTC logo
- I changed the boot up sound to one that uses aprox 100K
- I changed the Windows start up screen to that of Windows Mobile 7
- I added software to fix the animation start up sound (which didn't work in the original build)
- I added software to fix the animation boot up screen (which was mixed with some other stuff that I removed)
- I added a registry entry that changes the default skin on Windows Media Player to Diamond Portrait.
- I added code to install 'Random Access' in the Contacts Screen. (allows quick access to people by clicking letter on the right margin)
- I added code to change the Start menu to a single column vertical list. I consider that MUCH more useful than the hexagon grid.
- I added a registry entry to remove the 'tap time' that is required when selecting items in WM 6.5 folders.
- I added a registry entry to allow two way phone conversations to be recorded with any 3rd party software.
- I added a registry entry to display 'Recording' in the phone menu (shows up in the menu only during a call)
- In addition the "Chocolate" flavor has these changes:
- Replaced the battery indicator for one that shows the percentage remaining (in increments of 10%), and changes color (White/Orange/Red) depending on the amount of battery remaining.
- Added Advanced Task Manager
- Replaced regular Comm Manager with a 6 item Comm Manager to replace the 3 item one that comes standard with WM 6.5
Screen shots of the "Chocolate" flavor are here:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Screen shots of the "Vanilla" flavor are here:
NOTE: For those who do not like the Chocolate or Vanilla flavors, I am making available the source files so that you can make any necessary changes to suit your taste. All my changes are in the EXT folder and are clearly labeled with "-PW" after the folder name. So you can choose to keep them or remove them based on your personal needs.
And here is an Spb Benchmark test on a fresh copy of this ROM. I don't know if this type of tests are trustworthy, and I have no benchmark to compare it with. All I can say is that the OS feels very fast and responsive. Don't base yourself on the benchmark. Try it and see if it works for you. It does for me.
Here are the files:
a)You can download the "Vanilla" flavored cooked ROM (which is ready to be flashed directly on your device) from here:
http://www.4shared.com/file/126466054/a9cb5e22/ROM_v23028_-_V_-_1.html
b) You can download the "Chocolate" flavored cooked ROM (which is ready to be flashed directly to your device) from here:
http://www.4shared.com/file/126449658/86532d8d/ROM_v23028_-_C_-_1.html
c) You can download the OEM, SYS, EXT, MSXIPKERNEL, and Bootup and Windows & "Bootup Start up Screens" folders (which have been purged of unnecessary items), and replace the respective folders that are in the "sources" directory of osKitchen from here:
http://www.4shared.com/file/126438245/ec6c73d8/WM_6523028_-_Kitchen_Sources.html
d) You can download the "Vanilla" flavor osKitchen configuration file (which you MUST use in combination with the OEM, SYS, EXT folders shown in item "c" to cook your ROM in osKitchen) here:
http://www.4shared.com/file/126466054/a9cb5e22/ROM_v23028_-_V_-_1.html
e) You can download the "Chocolate" flavor osKitchen configuration file (which you MUST use in combination with the OEM, SYS, EXT folders shown in item "c" to cook your ROM in osKitchen) here:
http://www.4shared.com/file/126442055/2b6eaa83/osKitchen_Configuration_File_v23028_-_C_-_1.html
f) You can download the 'removed' OEM, SYS, and EXT folders (which you can use to verify what I removed....or to move back something that I removed but that you want) here:
http://www.4shared.com/file/126442044/4572ab54/WM_6523028_-_Kitchen_Removed_Sources.html
Enjoy!
IMPORTANT: The only thing that I ask in return for my contribution is that if you find more space savings you share them with me. I left several items in the OEM and EXT folders because I know for a fact that some of those items ARE needed for the correct functioning of critical features such as movie file playback. However some of those items may not be necessary. If you find out that they are not necessary, or you find other files in the SYS folder that could be removed without affecting performance, please let me know by posting a message on this thread.

Tips:
- After the ROM loads, go to phone settings (Start-Settings-Personal-Phone) and in the "Phone" tab select the Ring Type that you want to use. You can put Ringtones in any folder of your Kaiser and they will appear in the "Ring Type" pull down menu. I put them on external storage (SD Card) under a directory called "My Ringtones".
- Missing MMS Options. Standard Builds of WM 6.5 DO NOT come with MMS. To get MMS read other threads such as http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=500869.
- HTC Task Manager missing. The source files do not have the HTC task manager and I don't like it anyway; so I am keeping that away on purpose. If you want the HTC task manager please install it on your own, or cook your own version of my ROM.
- OEM/EXT folders - If you cook your own ROM using my files, you will be able to identify what OEM/EXT packages were added by me, because I follow each package with "-PW". Packages that do not have "-PW" came with the osKitchen, and they appear to be necessary for the proper functioning of the ROM, but I am unable to provide an explanation since I didn't put them together. Contact OndraSter (the maker of osKitchen) in case you have a question about an OEM/EXT package that do not have "-PW" after it.
- Aligning Screen - After you install the new ROM, remember to align the screen. You can do that here: Start - Settings - System - Screen and align your screen from there.
- Move your Kaiser configuration from an old ROM to a new one - Unfortunately the upgrade ROM feature of spb Backup doesn't seem to work properly for this new build of WM 6.5; I successfully upgraded from WM 6.5 build 23009 to 23028 using spb Backup's upgrade ROM feature, but when I tried to upgrade from 23028 to 23034 I got many errors.
- SIM Manager - Left out on purpose. Read solution here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=4372512&postcount=79

Known Issues:
Small Fonts get blurry on Titanium / Today Screen, and sometimes images on Today Screen plug-ins (such as Artesea Twmr 6.5r) get distorted. - This issue has been confirmed by other people cooking WM 6.5 23028 regardless of the cook or kitchen used. It seems to be an issue related to the Microsoft code, and I am unable to fix it.

Reserved for future use by the owner of the thread. This is the last space I need.

good job ..thanks

Great Work

Downloading Vanilla

Thanks for providing this. This is exactly what I've been looking for. The base OS so I can install just the apps I want loaded and not have all the stuff I don't care about but have no way to remove.
One thing that would be nice to leave in would be the align screen process that starts up after loading the new ROM. I understand that if you're making your own ROM you can enter the alignment points into the build but when providing it for others it's kind of pain to try and get into the alignment setting when your screen isn't aligned in the first place. It's a minor thing process to go through after loading and you only have to do it once so leaving it in wouldn't be that big of a deal.

wau the available free storage is so massive compare to other 6.5 rom
i will try it over the weekend , install with m2d which is my prefer interface

TomH123 said:
Thanks for providing this. This is exactly what I've been looking for. The base OS so I can install just the apps I want loaded and not have all the stuff I don't care about but have no way to remove.
One thing that would be nice to leave in would be the align screen process that starts up after loading the new ROM. I understand that if you're making your own ROM you can enter the alignment points into the build but when providing it for others it's kind of pain to try and get into the alignment setting when your screen isn't aligned in the first place. It's a minor thing process to go through after loading and you only have to do it once so leaving it in wouldn't be that big of a deal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I purposely didn't include the screen align screen at the start and I don't plan to do it in the future either. But that doesn't mean that you align your to fit your screen. After you load the ROM go to Start - Settings - System - Screen and align your screen from there.

chteh0721 said:
wau the available free storage is so massive compare to other 6.5 rom
i will try it over the weekend , install with m2d which is my prefer interface
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to see somebody from KL in here! I have very good memories of the time I have spent in KL. I was there about 2 years ago leading a project at the Petronas Towers. Really like your country.

witschey said:
I purposely didn't include the screen align screen at the start and I don't plan to do it in the future either. But that doesn't mean that you align your to fit your screen. After you load the ROM go to Start - Settings - System - Screen and align your screen from there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand you left it out on purpose and I understand how to fix it. I'm just pointing out that the settings only work for yor device and it's a pain to get to get to without having your screen aligned. Since everyone that downloads this ROM will have to run it why not have run automatically the first time it boots up?
Just a suggestion to make it a bit friendlier. It's your ROM so it's up to uou.
Thanks again for providing it.

TomH123 said:
I understand you left it out on purpose and I understand how to fix it. I'm just pointing out that the settings only work for yor device and it's a pain to get to get to without having your screen aligned. Since everyone that downloads this ROM will have to run it why not have run automatically the first time it boots up?
Just a suggestion to make it a bit friendlier. It's your ROM so it's up to uou.
Thanks again for providing it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A pain to navigate a few menus in order to align screen? I think that's a gross exaggeration. This version of WM 6.5 is finger friendly so you can navigate menus without super precision. So even if the settings are off a bit relative to your device, they will be close enough that you can navigate fairly easily.
I won't incorporate the welcome menu because they use up space and only work ONCE (during installation); so I think that between 'avoiding the pain of navigating a few menus) and having something stuck in memory that only gets used once, I favor the later.
I understand your point, but I will politely disagree.

I just want to say great Roms. I found your 23009 build a couple of days ago and thought it was great..it's just what I've been looking for! Today I upgraded to the 23028 build.
Theres 1 issue that I'm noticing in the 23028 build that I'm not sure is something with your ROM or with the build of WinMo OS itself. The issue is that I cannot setup a sync with Google to have my contacts and calendar synced to my phone. This worked fine on the 23009 build just fine. I have double and triple checked my settings with no luck. It tries to sync..but nothing is actually imported.
Just wanted to give you the heads up!
Keep up the great work!

deafening.quiet said:
Theres 1 issue that I'm noticing in the 23028 build that I'm not sure is something with your ROM or with the build of WinMo OS itself. The issue is that I cannot setup a sync with Google to have my contacts and calendar synced to my phone. This worked fine on the 23009 build just fine. I have double and triple checked my settings with no luck. It tries to sync..but nothing is actually imported.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am afraid that I don't sync with Google. I use Microsoft Exchange and it works perfectly. What do you use to sync with Google. A third party application or an application that is built into my ROM? If it's a third party application you need to report the bug there. Otherwise perhaps somebody else reading this forum uses Google Sync and can help you.

Unable to set ringtones or "auto set" time
yet both work on 23009; so not sure why.

drbowden said:
yet both work on 23009; so not sure why.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I set a ring tone by placing it on my SD card, tap and hold the file and it will ask if you want to set it as the ringtone. once you do this you will be able to use the "auto set" time.

Thanks for helping!
betrayed said:
I set a ring tone by placing it on my SD card, tap and hold the file and it will ask if you want to set it as the ringtone. once you do this you will be able to use the "auto set" time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I'll try it!

Would this be something I should get if I wanted a bare bones ROM and wanted Manilla 2D? Is that even possible or do Today screens like cHome, M2D, Moto, etc. have to be cooked in to the ROMS? If its possible, will a simple CAB do the trick to install M2D?
Thanks! Much appreciated.

pndragon said:
Would this be something I should get if I wanted a bare bones ROM and wanted Manilla 2D? Is that even possible or do Today screens like cHome, M2D, Moto, etc. have to be cooked in to the ROMS? If its possible, will a simple CAB do the trick to install M2D?
Thanks! Much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have no idea. I have never used Manilla as I don't see the need for it.