Phone skins, Please save my sanity. - General Questions and Answers

I have a nice shiny new O2 zest and like it quite a lot. I removed the spb shell installed as standard and co pilot. It now runs loads quicker than any other xda I have owned (all yet released from O2) and shows little delay when opening anything.
Problem relates to the god-awful phone skin installed in the thing which is a crappy white with black numbers. I have looked for others and am having trouble finding them as someone saw fit to change the layout in windows mobile 6.1, so my old skins are no good.
This is my only problem and I have the thing sorted other than this. And how come they haven't arrived on the xda forum yet seeing as they are xda's when all said and done.
Please save me (again).

Related

the atom

why isnt there a forum dedicated to the xda atom yet when its already been released?
FrontPage said:
The only two things not wrong about the name of this site are the dash and the dot. This site is about certain PDA-phones, made by a secretive firm called HTC in Taiwan.
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Click to collapse
Perhapse because it is not actually a HTC device?
I thought it was xda developers not htc developers... :wink:
I don't think that many people have the device to justify having a forum perhaps.
It's only officially released in a limited number of countries around the world.
I had the pleasure of playing around with my mates Atom- two things that put me right off were 1) the screen contrast- absolutely terrible and 2) considering it has 128MB memory, it is relatively slow and sluggish. Would definitely like to these things fix in the next ROM upgrade.
I just got my Atom and I can honestly say it isn't bad.
The Screen contrast is completely adjustable and it seems better than my XDA II.
Also it is slow however, it gets a lot faster when you remove all the crap out of startup.
Only been using it for a short period but I'm currently happy with it.
cyeoh said:
I just got my Atom and I can honestly say it isn't bad.
The Screen contrast is completely adjustable and it seems better than my XDA II.
Also it is slow however, it gets a lot faster when you remove all the crap out of startup.
Only been using it for a short period but I'm currently happy with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you adjust the contrast? I only played around with it for about 20 mins. Like I said it belongs to a mate.
i actually considered that its a quanta device and not htc but as the other poster said, i think the XDA part of the Atom has more weight than its company of origin.
i dont think its because its only been released in a few countries either.a forum dedicated to the universal was up even before it was released if i remember correctly.
so, again i ask the question: why isnt there a dedicated forum to the XDA atom?[/quote]
i dont think its because its only been released in a few countries either.a forum dedicated to the universal was up even before it was released if i remember correctly.
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Click to collapse
But there are going to far less of these devices than HTC products since O2 Asia is the only carrier of it. The Universal was/is available in many variants by many carriers hence more devices being sold.
All the better if they do have a forum.
sh500 said:
i dont think its because its only been released in a few countries either.a forum dedicated to the universal was up even before it was released if i remember correctly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But there are going to far less of these devices than HTC products since O2 Asia is the only carrier of it. The Universal was/is available in many variants by many carriers hence more devices being sold.
All the better if they do have a forum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but remember, china is the most populous country in the world!!!
My 2 cents,
Simple fact is this forum is for people with these devices to communciate.
People with XDA Atoms will continue using the forum to communicate regardless of whether there is separate forum for it
A separate forum will make it easier to post in the correct location and stop clogging up the General Discussion, so regardless of who makes it and where it is available, it really doens't make sense not to have a separate forum for it.
Cam
I had the Atom for about a week now. The thing looks stunning but performs quite poor. The memory is is a big corncern for me as it's just too low, I've only got 6 Megs left in the storage memory and I haven't loaded half the programs from my Jam yet.
I'm a bit lost and don't know what to do with my Atom because I've also got the K-Jam on upgrade for £30 and it perform much better but just very bulky and not as good looking. I brought the Atom from Expansys and have about 21 days return policy on it.
I really want to keep it but it's such a buggy thing for £552!!
I would suggest not to go in for the k-jam instead of the atom as its WM5 which is the problem (slow) I had the k-jam for 10 days, it was so damn slow I had to get rid of it...I mean if I use the device without installing any other software (WM5 compatible) its fine but as soon as I put 1 or 2 softs its lagged terribly, so stick with the atom & wait for a ROM update...
Also try removing the start up program like the user mentioned above...
There are also registry Hacks to make WM5 faster.
Atom & Dopod 818 Pro (Prophet) are hot machines in Hong Kong market and users are actively arguing about their pros and cons.
However, seems like a new ROM for Atom has been release but only available through service center, even not seen in seeo2.com (official O2 Asian support page). The ROM version is 20051223B2WWE. The general response is the ROM make the machine much much faster and the radio (not FM radio) signal is improved as well. I don't have the machine so cannot verify.
For 818 Pro, we Hong Kong people hearing more and more negative feedback... seems like the bad things raise slowly to the surface, like bubbles in thick oil. On the other hand, a side track news: Dopod is not going to release ROM upgrade as fast as before because so many people do ROM hack. It's really bad news and make me think twice before going for 818 Pro. :x
Not considering the bad reputation and performance during Atom's initial launch, seems like Atom with new ROM patch defeat 818 Pro a little bit... :?:
For me, I have stopped and just wait, to see which device will have a dedicated forum here... if there is no resource and feedback from you guys and play with the device together, no matter how well the device, it's just a consumer gimmick and not compariable to even magician
I have the Atom for the past 3 weeks and I guess I am not overly satisfied with the product,
even though this is my first PPC , I am a regular reader of all forums and have been following all product launches ,
one fo the main reasons for me to go in for the Atom was WM 2005
but it seems the product as such has some HW issues especially in the sound front ,and Data Transfer rate ,
The speakes are just too bad for what is supposed to be a media center PPC and the USB Active Sync Data Transfer rate is at best OK,
I do not know how a ROM upgrade will improve poor speaker quality and the Data Transfer speed, I guess I will have to just grin and bear it
I will be doing the ROM upgrade next week , will give my updates once I observe the perfomance of the Atom after the upgrade
A few more Atom gripes
Apart from the poor response time, I also find the standard alarm function does not work properly. A quick test with the alarm set for 10 minutes ahead works well, but 6am the next morning does not sound at all, until you later go into the alarm section to find out why, and then it goes off. Any ideas anyone?
Also, my Atom turns itself on accasionally for no reason. No incoming call or SMS, no alarm set, no USB or bluetooth connection, etc. It just turns on and sits there. Any ideas anyone?
Also - another poster advised removing items from start-up. How do you do this? Does it require a registry edit?
thanks,
depressed_atom_user
No registry edit to take items out of startup, done it on both 2003Se and WM5.
Programs - File Explorer - Device - Windows - Startup

Chainfire @ MWC2009, Barcelona

Typing this up really quickly as im waiting for lunch, will expand later.
I got lots of pics and vids already, which i may post later if there is any interest.
Android stuff seems to be decidedly absent so far.
@Microsoft: You all probably already heard about WM 6.5, saw some demos live, looks like a decent UI improvement, but its still no iPhone. Also saw some new devices here, including Acer stuff.
@nVidia: I did get a chance to play with a Tegra device, which was really snappy and smooth, but also the size of a small house. Very promising. They did have two normal Tegra devices on display, with names I had seldom heard before, but behind glass.
@HTC: Played with the Touch Diamond 2 a bit. I dont like the new form factor much. It wastes space at the bottom, and introduces a zoom slider that I couldnt get to work in either IE or Opera. They did do some more HTC integration, new startmenu, better contacts list etc. The Touch Max is just an HD with WiMAX.
@Qualcomm: They demod snapdragon, but it didnt seem as impressive as Tegra. Also, I was not allowed to touch the device. The now infamous Toshiba was also there, but again, no touching. BTW Nokia just made a deal with these guys, so abandon ship!
@LG: I was surprised to learn they are switching to WM as primary OS. They had some nice Omnia-like devices though, and the wristwatchphone was also fun.
@Samsung: Biggest surprise here, it seems the OmniaHD is running Symbian! No idea yet if there will also be a WM version.
---
The open eco system keynote with Microsoft, Nokia and AT&T CEOS was interesting. AT&T guys was the best, Ballmer a close second with his energetic ways and content, while the Nokia guy almost killed everybody due to excess boredom. The keynote itself was mostly a call for more working together and being generally more open with things, which they all agreed was necessary.
---
BTW, I dont know who CBOSS are or what they do, but they do employ an army of hot models!
More later, lunch is here, and I want to find myself a Palm Pre to play with!
ok, just tell me which device to get and that's it. so many out there i can't decide what i want.
JUST TELL ME! AHHH!
Omnia HD!!
HTC's hardware seems to be stuck in 2007 compared to Samsung and LG, heck even Sony Ericsson.
Kinda worrying how ppl are moving towards Symbian, but can't blame them windows mobile really is starting to show its age and no amount of skinning will disguise the fact that it needs a major revamp.
Okay, I was seriously thinking of abandoning the HTC ship for the nokia N97, so I could keep my tilt screen, but now? So if it is not too much trouble, my contract is up in April, could you please corner the AT$T guys and ask them when my new Touch Pro II ( Fuze II ? ) will be available on AT$T? Thanks
Some more stuff... First, somebody at HTC really needs to be fired for putting XT9 on the TP enabled when keyboard is extended. Annoying like hell, finally its off
Found some very nice Android devices that should be out by Q2. The company didnt decide on the brand name yet.
Unfortunately you cant play with the Palm Pre unless you are press.
@Gigabyte (GSmart): some very nice upcoming WM devices. Some were running 6.5 and I played with that. I think somebody made a mistake there!
@iMate: They drowned some of their WM phones. Waterproof!
can you attempt to get the new WM6.5 build ?
Chainfire said:
Some more stuff... First, somebody at HTC really needs to be fired for putting XT9 on the TP enabled when keyboard is extended. Annoying like hell, finally its off
Found some very nice Android devices that should be out by Q2. The company didnt decide on the brand name yet.
Unfortunately you cant play with the Palm Pre unless you are press.
@Gigabyte (GSmart): some very nice upcoming WM devices. Some were running 6.5 and I played with that. I think somebody made a mistake there!
@iMate: They drowned some of their WM phones. Waterproof!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any more info on these very nice Android phones?
LOL chainfire,
so you're off to palm some hot models...
xplode said:
can you attempt to get the new WM6.5 build ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just like the old days when we were trying to get our hands on WM5....
ROM DUMP, ROM DUMP, ROM DUMP!!!!!!! (chanting)
Come on Chain, you can do it!
egzthunder1 said:
Just like the old days when we were trying to get our hands on WM5....
ROM DUMP, ROM DUMP, ROM DUMP!!!!!!! (chanting)
Come on Chain, you can do it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol let's hope
mbarvian said:
lol let's hope
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol and then he gets caught and gets on Engadget or something.
But you'll be our hero.
well he just needs some time alone with one device (10 minutes will do) and an sd card (or any variant of it - mini, micro)
Chainfire said:
@Qualcomm: They demod snapdragon, but it didnt seem as impressive as Tegra. Also, I was not allowed to touch the device. The now infamous Toshiba was also there, but again, no touching.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At Toshiba's booth, you can freely play with the TG01. Please see http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=3339526 for more info & a lot of pics & videos (more to come!!!)
Hey Werner!
You're here? Haven't gotten round to Toshiba's booth yet, but if you're interested, PM me your phone number (plus international code bla bla) and we can meet up, schedules allowing... There will be beer!
No ROM dumps people It's a small booth, can't make it happen.
About those Android phones we saw (and I must stress here, I haven't even seen half of all the exhibits yet because of appointments and speeches etc), first, they looked very nice. One of the sexiest phone designs I've seen in a while, but then it was made by a 'design company'. They originally focused on Linux but switched to Android when it was released. According to them, they are using the default Android 'shell' - which is a shame, because their Linux phone had one of the awesomest shells I've seen in a while. I don't think they really understood me correctly, but it seemed they were saying that for these phones you can get apps to run as root without jailbreaking by getting it certified by them (or something.. wasn't really clear).
There were also some Androids coming out under the General Mobile label, but not necessarily those I mentioned above
And no, we're not palming those models (but perhaps we will? ) but we are sure to do some clubhopping here. It's Barcelona, after all! In fact I just got back from a club
EDIT: Also, at SPB's booth we were shown SPB Shell 3.0 (after being persistent), dont have any pics or vids of that. But it's pretty darn cool. I'm going to buy it when it's out, most likely, beats the crap out of TF3D.
Chainfire said:
EDIT: Also, at SPB's booth we were shown SPB Shell 3.0 (after being persistent), dont have any pics or vids of that. But it's pretty darn cool. I'm going to buy it when it's out, most likely, beats the crap out of TF3D.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've taken a video of it; it's at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv8DDNE3lgA
Menneisyys said:
I've taken a video of it; it's at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv8DDNE3lgA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow ! Looks great, very cool. Your right, look out TF3D.
Alright !!!! It looks like Chainfire is coming home with the goods after all.
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,20797,25076342-952,00.html
Well done! A new Touch Pro II and WM 6.5.
hey Chainfire wanna do a beer .
At least i can show u my gratitude for all the work u done.. U here for ur work or what i was looking in to buy a ticket but its simply too expensive
Hehe wasn't me!
Sandbunny: Unfortunately I'm getting on the airplane back home in a few hours

Where to Start?

Hello everyone.
My RIZR kicked the bed at work the other day so I treated myself to a T-Mobile MDA on eBay. The auction said that it was already unlocked. Now, I'm a computer science major, so I'm pretty good with computer problems. However, cellphones confused the heck out of me! I've been lurking on these forums trying to read articles on what to do, but I'm just lost...
Basically, I want to have all the downloads ready for when I get the MDA in the mail this upcoming week. I want to do a few things, like only use the WiFi and not the GRPS (I can't afford the extra $). Also, does the MDA worth wire wireless G and/or N? Can you upgrade the RAM from 128MB? What is the biggest MicroSD card we can use on the MDA?
My main concern however is Windows Mobile itself. I have no experience with WM, but I want to upgrade it to the newest version possible. I don't know all the terminology here yet, but for a clean cut and fast version of WM6.X, where should I turn to?
Let me know if you guys need any other kind of information from me. I have a feeling I'll be on these boards a lot.
Thanks,
Ricco
The GPRS data connections can be disabled using a cab called nodata read about it “HERE”.
The Wi-Fi is B/G.
I couldn’t find any place that does RAM upgrades for the Wizard.
The largest SD card that the Wizard is supposed to be able to support is a 4GB NON-SDHC.
For the rest you really need to have the phone so you know exactly where to start.
Thanks. My MDA should be here in a few days, so I'll know what model it is soon enough. I was just looking through the forum and didn't know which WM6.X rom (is 'rom' the right word here?) to pick from.
Also, I went ahead and ordered a case for my MDA that's a black metal case with a Plexiglas screen. I hope its a decent case!
I don't know about that case, but some case is certainly a good idea. The wizard phones don't like to sit in your pocket. First, they are too big to be comfortable. Second, the touchscreen gets wacky. I don't know if it gets too hot or what, but it becomes totally unresponsive.
This Wizard > Wizard Mobile 6 Forum is the right place to lurk.
I'd suggest reading the threads about how to burn a ROM, and those describing how to do it with a G4. Those instructions will say to be careful that the ROM is safe for a G4, but all of the latest ones are. You want to choose a good radio ROM and separately a good OS ROM.
Your choices in OS version are pretty much:
WM 6.1: fast, lots of free RAM, and pretty stable. Look at Final Final Angel, CR96, and X2H, or anything else made in the last six months or so.
or
WM 6.5: a bit slower, less free RAM, and a few unresolved issues, but very touch-friendly. The choices in my opinion are CR96, X2H, or a pre-pre-pre-alpha by Ham3r. None are perfect, but the first two cooks in particular are working hard and making great progress.
For user interface:
barebones, the old wm5 standard home screen (nobody likes this I think)
HTC Home: was popular until about a year ago. I still like it
Manila 2D: more touch friendly, nice for WM6.1 Final Final Angel has a nice customization of this.
CHome: the default for WM6.5. There are two variants of this but I've only used one.
SPB Mobile Shell: I mention it because it is very nice, but is not free.
There are options I haven't mentioned because I haven't tried them.
Many programs and utilities are nice. If you use the barebones or htc home interfaces, look for "home screen plus plus" which has nice features including dynamic over/under clocking.
Good luck! The Wizard is a bit old, but it still has good support via this site as well as others.
Welcome, Ricco.
When you have no experience with WM, I would suggest you leave the device as it is for a short while and give yourself the time to get used to it. Even when WM6.x has advantages, it is not that the Wizard is unusable with the WM5 it normally has.
Be shure to read a lot here and learn enough to make the upgrade a smooth one - remember, a false or hasty decision or action can turn your Wizard into a nice door stopper...
But have a look here, this will provide a lot of useful information: http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=Wizard Windows Mobile 6 for newbies
Right now there are two utilities I can recommend:
The Wizard Service Tool provides useful information about your device: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=329170
And Homescreen Plus Plus, a nice software that e.g. gives you the possibility to underclock your device to get more standby time, as well as to overclock it for better performance, e.g. with a navigation software. http://www.chi-tai.info
EDIT: Another IMHO very useful program is PIM Backup. It allows you to backup/restore your contact information in seconds, very nice if you try different ROM versions. http://www.pocketpcfreeware.com/en/index.php?soft=1806
BTW: My Wizard stayed in the original condition for a year, until I decided to (successfully) flash WM6.1 on it. So keep cool and do not try to upgrade it without knowing exactly what to do.

LG eXpo

got it today, it's up and running like a champ! was wondering if anyone had some app or customization tips for me while I wait for the ROM chefs to catch up. I've heard quite a bit about mobile shell, is it worth it?
So far I have found the phone to be very fast and smooth, the keyboard is almost too big but I'm getting used to it. The touchscreen is very responsive, easily as good as the tilt2 I tried out, though as I've seen others opine, it's best when using fingernails I think. I'm still getting used to navigating the OS right now though.
Any word on when this phone might get dedicated forums like the others?
treiz said:
got it today, it's up and running like a champ! was wondering if anyone had some app or customization tips for me while I wait for the ROM chefs to catch up. I've heard quite a bit about mobile shell, is it worth it?
So far I have found the phone to be very fast and smooth, the keyboard is almost too big but I'm getting used to it. The touchscreen is very responsive, easily as good as the tilt2 I tried out, though as I've seen others opine, it's best when using fingernails I think. I'm still getting used to navigating the OS right now though.
Any word on when this phone might get dedicated forums like the others?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Congratulations on your new device! Unfortunately, XDA-Developers is an HTC device forum, and therefore won't create dedicated forums for non-HTC devices. Every device on this board, including the Sony Xperia and both Palm Treos, is an HTC, and I doubt that the HTC-only rule will change soon. However, most of the apps here will still work fine on your eXpo, and you're still welcome to discuss the device in places like the General Forum.
I'm gonna look at this phone when the pico projector comes out, but the Expo isn't at the ATT store to even touch it, yet
im using the xperia, iphone, and tilt 2 right now...i was very excited about this phone because of the snapdragon processor...but being LG i dunno if i should...maybe u can post a small review...hows video playback on it there and camcorder so on etc...waiting for the pico add on as well.
indeed mine is on the way. and i'm sure spb mobile shell 3.5.1 will be one of the first few things i try out on the phone. and i'd like to check out touch response and i'll probably put chome and reStart on depending on what build of 6.5 it comes out of the box with. i hate not being able to arrange my start menu the way i like. chome and total commander really help with icon changing and subfolders. i'd look into those if you want to mod. id also check out advanced config tools. all those should work on your 6.5 smartphone without a problem
p.s. if you feel up for it and really wanna get down and dirty. you could try dumping your rom. and uploading it for us to take a look at?
also feel free to stop by and join my new social group for the lg expo / iq / monaco
http://forum.xda-developers.com/group.php?groupid=159
meh
Do I need to unlock it before it is dumped? I'll do it if you have a walk through or some instructions that you can point me toward.
Well, I spent all last night and every spare moment at work playing with the device. Installed Bing, Skyfire, Opera 10, and a few others. I made it through the day without needing a recharge. While the hardware is great, I like the heft and size very much, I think the software is still a bit rough. There's a lot of reduntdancy, and it's not as finger friendly as I'd like, even some of the newer apps, but the sensor and arrow keys and the finger nails have managed just fine. All in all it feels as though the software in general could use some optimization.
My only complaint so far is that the touch sensor isn't quite as good as the one on the new blackberries, but it works. I'm starting to get the hang of Winmo 6.5, there are some quirks with the back button that I can't tell if it's Winmo or the LG software, but the apps work with it fine.
I tried out the camera and I can safely say it beats the pants off my old G1, but that's not saying much. It has auto focus and white balance, as well as a really nice touch control interface, and the flash is powerful.

Samsung Intrepid 6.5.3?

would it be possible for anyone to make a wm 6.5.3 rom for the samsung intrepid?
i have a feeling sprint/samsung are never going to release it...
would it really be that hard to go fro 6.5 to 6.5.3?
please anyone help
Probably not coming...
While I wouldn't mind knowing the answer to this myself, I'm pretty sure it's a resounding no.
I've contacted both Samsung and Sprint multiple times, and they won't give a definite yes or no answer.
6.5.3 was designed to be more "finger friendly" than 6.5, and the Samsung Intrepid's screen does not lend itself well to finger friendliness. 6.5.3 moves the start menu and function buttons to the bottom of the screen, and makes them pretty big... I doubt there's enough real estate on the Intrepid's screen to handle it.
Even SPB Mobile Shell (a fantastic addition to WM) is forced to put it's toolbar over on the right hand side of the screen rather than along the bottom due to lack of screen space.
As far as cooking a ROM... xda primarily focuses on HTC's, and the Samsung Intrepid is, unfortunately, small potatoes. If someone's willing, I'd definitely d/l it... but I'm not holding my breath.
what about the hp ipaq
ive seen phones with qvga screens and wm 6.5.3
also i hate that samsung/sprint disabled screen rotation on this device so i had to force enable it with nyditot
Just Noticed...
The sony ericsson aspen (the first 6.5.3 device) has the same form factor as the intrepid.
IMHO, this is the bastard child of samsung/winmo and it will die without an upgrade.
A new Upgrade/Update for the Samsung Intrepid SPH-i350
Well, there is now an upgrade for the Samsung Intrepid (SPH-i350) from Sprint, which is about 220MB and can be found [Here] making it a whole WinMo package. After installing it, now I get this information from the about screen:
Code:
Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional
CE OS 5.2.21887 (Build 21887.5.0.86)
It is still copyrighted 2009 by Microsoft, so I'm not expecting they even did much.
After installing it, things are definitely more bearable on the phone, and texting is now possible without hiccups, crashes or lagging keyboard input, wich makes me a happy camper . There are other things that might pop up along the way, so I wouldn't actually say it IS in fact better than before.
In a side note, the release of this upgrade utility opens up some possibilities to be able to cook some ROM's for this phone as well, that is, if anyone ever wants to work on it.
Horay
could someone use the update installer for Samsung Intrepid to make a kitchen for it or unlock it to install custom roms. The package updates the phone so theoretically we could make customs roms and use this package to install custom roms right?
anyway, here is the link to the update package:
http://shop.sprint.com/en/software_downloads/pda_smartphone/samsung_intrepid.shtml
Please someone has to be able to do this
if anyone tries....
and no1 will go figure
selkie707 said:
and no1 will go figure
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well it seems that way LOL. I've moved on to the HTC Hero. Don't mind it, it's so much better anyway!!
The real reason I've got a Hero is because the Intrepid's charging port got f'ed up, so instead of going for a refurb of the same troublesome phone, I decided to go back to HTC, and boy was it worth it!
force to EVDO only
somebody pls help me......
Anyway, how to switch or set this phone (samsung intrepid sphi350) to EVDO mode only, when i used packet data, there is always move to 1X network
can't download,can somebody upload it to another place?thanks!!

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