PointUI Home2: why few users? - General Topics

I noticed that in this forum almost nobody uses PointUI Home2, while SpbMobile Shell 3 is one of the most used interface in here.
I tried the free version of pointui and it seems really good to me, and also more customizable than spb, i might be wrong but i don't understand this big preference for spb...
...can you explain that?

maybe it's still new ?
I use it on my x1 as a panel think it got potential with
a ok sdk and nice well made plug-ins

I agree... i think it is super great and has lots of potential. I currently use it over SPB and TouchFlo. I like the fact that it is open to development through its applets feature.

Also Spb MS 3 is quite new, but just to look "in our house" there are lot of themes & customization...
I found quite strange that an interface flexible as PointUI Home 2 is not so diffuse here...
...it give us the possibility to create "what we want" with applets, we have a 360 degrees cuctomization.

To me, Home2 is just boring compared to the previous release. It just doesn't appeal to me, and I wouldn't use half the features.

I agree that lots of features are useless, but this is a characteristic of every interface...
...is che carrousel useful??
Those features are implemented just to please our eyes, and utility is marginal.
PS: I've never used the old Pointui, so i cannot make a comparison with new one

Related

WM weak spots

Heya
Like any OS< I'm pretty sure WM has some drawbacks.
For example the default file explorer.
Which aspects of WM are 'must-replace'?
(Note: I'm getting a HTC Touch 3G soon, so I'll already have TF2D/M2D)
Thanks in advance!
Thats a matter of personal taste
Which is what is great about this platform, we can make it what we want. Take the Today screen for instance. Almost everyone changes it, but each of us does something different with it. Some go for something like Pocket Informant, or SPB diary or some onther plug in that packs as much info and control functions on that screen as possible. Others (like myself) prefer a much more simple, finger friendly layout, with all of the info a click or two away. I'm using the wm 6.5 skin for SPBMS right now and loving it.
I will say that you will want additional internet browsers and media players for sure, but which ones are right for you is your call. What some consider a weak spot, others might consider a feature. My advice is to dive in and install a bunch of stuff, and see where it takes you. There is so much available, and most of it is free, that you can make your device look and feel right for you.

WM6.5 = Worst UI

I have an old Trinity, and tried WM6.5 ROMs. Twice.
WM6.5 seems a bit faster for me, than 6.1. It is also stable.
But, it has, IMO, the WORST user interface of any OS out there!
It's cluttered. It's busy. It's hard to navigate.
The file screen is pure visual mess: something a grade student with bad taste would create, and think it's "cool."
And of course, below it all, it's still the old, old WM.
I love HTC hardware. But with WM7 beyond the horizon, I am taking a hard look at other options. Maybe the new iPhone coming out in June, maybe HTC Android, if they polish up a bit.
Has MS completely lost it? Or do people actually like WM6.5?
Umm, whats wrong with the interface? i love it, its easy to navigate, I really dont know what ur complaining about. Im using it on my tilt and it works great!
Same here, I'm using it on my kaiser, and in addition to being much more responsive, the UI is a big improvement over previous versions. Titanium is finger friendly, and nice looking too. The large start menu is nice and finger friendly, as well as more convenient than navigating through endless menus just to open a program. And speaking of menus, the finger friendly menus are really nice; I barely have to use my stylus anymore.
The only thing I don't really like about the UI is the start menu's meager level of customization, but I'm sure someone here will come up with a tool to fix that. If you want the old WM interface back, you can always just install an old WM theme, and everything but the start menu will go back to Windows 3.1 style.
Dave
If u think WM 6.5 has the worst UI then u haven't used WM 5 or below.
Agree with original poster, in fact i've listed my polaris on eBay and am just buying a nokia - and I've been using HTC's (about 6 of them) since the original xda.
Given up on MS.
it's the the best but it is one of the simplest UI to navigate. also, with WM6.5, i dont have to install 3rd party apps for sms (because of the big and scrollable UI), contacts (same as sms), and with all the titanium plugins being developed, no more favorite contacts launcher, pograms launcher, weather forecast, twitter, etc. but then again it's not the best UI
Havent tested personally, but from a graphical/friendly point of view I´m not rushing for testing...Not like it at all
Just my opinion,
Im quite a fan of the new interface
I find it incredibly easy to navigate around it.
The only thing i dont like about it is how you return to the desktop after using an app, i would prefer it to return to the start menu where it was last.
It's their first attempt for a finger-friendly UI. It's still ugly (compared to iPhone), and seems a bit too serious, that's why nobody uses the Windows Today screen and everybody installs custom roms or "today screen" alternatives like SPB mobile shell 3 and other similar products.
6.5 is a bit more operable when using it with your hands, but you still need the stylus or a nail for some operations. That's because WinMob started as a PDA OS and now that it's a Phone/pda OS they should redesign it from scratch.
Well, instead of making all UI parts big for a finger touch, Microsoft said that 6.5 will only be available on devices that have a dedicated button for "Start menu".
And I still don't like the honeycomb. (And I'm not gonna buy an iPhone because I like their UI )
For some reason I think this not-so-long development improved WM UI a lot more than HTC with all those touch flos...
meh...its not the best, but its not the wost..lol
meh...its not the best, but its not the wost..lol
Actually VanAuberjim, they changed the upgrade to 6.5 requirements a month or two ago. Requiring a hardware start menu was a stupid idea, and I think they caught on to their mistake. Now, a minimum of a 400MHz processor and 128MB of RAM are the only things one needs to be eligible for an official upgrade. Unfortunately, it's still at the manufacturer's discretion, so older devices won't get an official upgrade. Of course, that's why cooked ROMs were invented .
Dave
I agree too.
They messed up Windows Mobile 6.5 completly.
The improvements are not enough, I expected a lot more from the "new" windows mobile.
In my oppinion it doesn't deserve the adjectiv "new" because it isn't. They made the buttons bigger (like we have a long time with finger menu), the scrolling better (there was no possibiliy to make it worse then it was) , a new start menu (which is nearly like the one from TF3D 2) and new lock screen (which is pretty good).
Wooow.
And the rest?
The UI is still like from a nother, old time,, but the UI of iPhone, Android and Palm, yeah, they look new and fresh.
The Windows Mobile 6.5 UI still looks like Windows 95.
And why we still have to use the stylus on Windows Mobile 6.5.
Hellloooo M$ welcome to the non stylus finger friendly century!!!
That's why I'm selling my Xperia right now to buy the new iphone in this summer. Just beause of the interface.
I hate apple and I would love to keep my Xperia. But not this way.
If M$ isn't able to create a nice new Windows Mobile, they will lose in the next years, the won't have a chance against Android and iphone when this OS will have things like Office which is one of the main arguments for a Windows Mobile device.
i agree with the OP and a lot of posts here, 6.5 is just not enough and im sick of the mediocre updates to winmo and they keep pushing back wm7 that i think it might not even stack up as well with the competition when it hits due to the fact that the give us real updates and it may not be up to par by the time it releases...... Im moving on come september or sooner when my contract is up and get me an iPhone 3rd Gen or a Palm Pre
at least they know how to bring the big updates to their OS (Palm gave us the Upgrade that M$ should have done and in a BIG WAY)
and apple (even though they are air tight) at least gave us copy-paste/mms and a lot of things that they were behind on so all iPhone haters can look for something else to complain about now
I like the new interface, and now more compared to the overloaded TF3D 2, I must say that WM6.5 is not the best thing out there in matter of usability and design, but it represents a big improvement over the older version, I just love the scrolling, and the new menus. I would like to see improvements on tasks switching and the control on the icons on the topbar, but I think that at this stage that's not gonna happen.
The real promise is Windows7 but they're taking tooooooooo long. I think the most interesting OS out there is the OS of the Palm Pre. Apple? well, I just realize that I don't want a phone with virtual keyb, I can't type without seeing the screen.
I have recently installed the WM6.5 ROM on my Diamond and I really like the responsivness of the new OS, especially with the new HTC Album, Camera, etc. So the underlying code must have been greatly enhanced.
When it comes to the visual of the home screen, I think I still prefer the HTC TouchFLO 3D. So together, they are a winner
I too agree with the original poster here. It is really terrible in my opinion. In fact, after installing it and using it for a few days, I came to the conclusion that microsoft is incapable of delivering any credible handheld OS for the foreseeable future at least, and have already switched to iPhone. I'm really very very happy with iPhone. WIth it jailbroken, I can multitask, cut and paste, do video recording, do bluetooth file transfer, do MMS, and many other things which everyone says iPhone can't do. Not only that, I find that other than GPS navigation software, which is still terrible on iPhone, the third party applications on iPHone are a lot better. Everything is so well thought out in iPhone, although it has just one button. Easy to switch tasks, VOIP and phone calls are of much better quality, volume control that could be adjusted in small increment, so much room for customization and tailoring (when so many incorrectly says that you can't customise iPhone).
I now use my HD to run my Tom Tom, iGO, Garmin and Mapking only. Once similar application exist on iPhone, I'd be 100% done with winmo.
WORST++
Definitely one of the most pathetic attempts of MS. Sucks big time, what on earth were they thinking?
For instance, if i've scrolled the menu down somewhere and the clock/date is not in the screen....and i leave it there and come back to my today screen....boom! i got to scroll back just to see the damn date!
A today screen is to give a quick glance on all the important stuff. This is plain ridiculous....all you get to see is some boring menus in font size 32.
boo MS....booooo!
I'm not going to tell anybody what they should think, but I think a lot of negative opinions in this thread are because people are misunderstanding what 6.5 actually IS.
It's a patch job. It's a little facelift to buy time for WM7, which is an actual overhaul. Based on comments that have dribbled out from the WM team, I don't think WM7 really has been "pushed back." Instead, WM8 was pushed FORWARD and rebranded as WM7. The "original" WM7 was drastically reduced and rebranded as 6.5.
IMO, 6.5 is MOSTLY an improvement over 6.1. The menus and scrolling are definitely better. There's a handful of little tweaks and changes that are definite improvements. CHome is a bit flashier and more "current" than a bare Today screen (and, remember, you can easily disable it and use the "classic" Today screen if you want).
The only part I'm not very fond of is the Start menu. The design is questionable, and it's too darn clunky to rearrange. They really should have made a fullscreen "smart" menu that works more like the Vista / W7 Start menu.
Also, the new version of IE is absolutely useless. Slow, clunky, and lousy page rendering. Older versions of PIE were lousy for the "real" web but great for mobile sites. The new IE is good for neither. Luckily, that can also be reverted.

best iphone clone apps

Probably been posted before but I find its nice to get a fresh new post every now and then.
Well I'm impatiently waiting for my new HTC Kaiser as I'm upgrading from an HTC Magician so I'm looking at sprucing it up as soon as I get it. I know how programs get outdated and replaced so often in the WM world and I havn't updated my Magician in a long time. All I had was spb diary & weather, AE Button, cl launch, pocket agenda on my Magician and it did the trick but nowadays it seems so rudementry especially compared to my girlfriends new iphone lol...
I'm not looking to make an exact clone of the iphone, but to steal some of its more useful features such as kinetic scrolling and finger swipes and gestures to make my phone more appealing and finger friendly for day to day use. So far I've found a few very nice efficient and free programs such as icontact and slide2unlock, and some others you have to pay for like SPB Mobile Shell 3 and Vito Winterface, as well as Opera and Skyfire browsers.
Are there any other good programs along these lines? What would you guys suggest? Such as media players and such, as well as game emulators (Big reason why I bought the Kaiser, hope it doesn't let me down!). I can't wait for my Kaiser to finally come in so I can mod the crap out of it. I'd like to remove most traces of the ugly default windows mobile look without bogging my Kaiser down too much.
Thanks!
I cant imagine why an HTC/WM owner should want his/her device look like iphoney...
But in case you want to, have a look on developing & hacking section there are plenty of them
orb3000 said:
I cant imagine why an HTC/WM owner should want his/her device look like iphoney...
But in case you want to, have a look on developing & hacking section there are plenty of them
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No not to just look like one, mainly to add its finger friendly interface, the iphones gesture based system is the way mobile touchscreen phones should be as far as I'm concerned, very intuitive, but without the iphones limitations, as for looks I would make it look quite different than an iphone as most WM programs are re-skinnable and very modable.
The problem is knowing WM I'll need a nice set of programs to have a fully touch friendly phone, as in phone/texting, contacts, pim, launchers, media, browsers, today plugins, office. So I'm just looking for the best ones atm, I love icontact for one and spb mobile shell 3 looks like it covers most of the others.
RedruM said:
No not to just look like one, mainly to add its finger friendly interface, the iphones gesture based system is the way mobile touchscreen phones should be as far as I'm concerned, very intuitive, but without the iphones limitations, as for looks I would make it look quite different than an iphone as most WM programs are re-skinnable and very modable.
The problem is knowing WM I'll need a nice set of programs to have a fully touch friendly phone, as in phone/texting, contacts, pim, launchers, media, browsers, today plugins, office. So I'm just looking for the best ones atm, I love icontact for one and spb mobile shell 3 looks like it covers most of the others.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok
Now I understand
Have a look on the section I told you and if you need any special app I can help you to find it
I´m agree with you
WM for itself is not very good, but with several apps you can have a great device!

What is The Big Deal with WM6.5 ?

I have recently seen alot of ROMS for WM6.5 and they all look the same from the screenshots.... ugly!
I mean what is with all the HUGE text listed down the screen, am I the only one who thinks this is a stupid setup? What happened to the Start Menu and clean today setup?
Are people just updating to WM6.5 just 'cos its 6.5, or do you actually like the look of it? Please give your opinions on WM6.5, and more importantly what is the difference between WM6?
I am using WM6.1 on 2 of my devices as I like the Today Screen feel and the way everything is set out. I am contemplating putting 6.5 on a device just to test it out, is it really worth it? is it customizable to make the home screen not just BIG words down the screen? maybe a clock even lol.
thanks everyone for your opinions.
i think it looks great.
As long as you have good apps installed to cover nasty WM UI no matter if you have 6.1 or 6.5
I personally do not like the honeycomb, but I do like that the hole UI is more finger friendly
Let´s see the WM7!! hope they really impress us
I like it because its 6.5 that .4 of more awesome 1337ness!!!! lol.. I actually just like the better slightly larger menu buttons. the new start menu is neither here nor there for me.. I don't like titanium, it has potential, but till you can have more than one link on click per panel it is pretty lame to me.. seems to take more effort to get to my necessary apps with it than without it.. I have been using wad2 on my last few flashes. My device is i910 Omnia, with the BlazingWolf 7.1 rom.
On my observation, the main advantages of WM6.5 over WM6.1 are:
RAM Managemenet: In WM6.5 I never need to run the apps to clear RAM. Any time I quit a program, the RAM will be released imediately.
Power Consumption Controll: The battery life is noticably enlonged copare using WM6.1, on same load.
Connectivity: One example is on WM6.1 any time I'm using Internet Sharing I need to manually switch phone band to WCDMA to ensure stable fast data connection. And if I forget to switch it back to GSM or Auto after finished the Internet Sharing, phone calls on 3G mode will drain the battery very fast. But on WM6.5, I noticed that I don't need to switch phone band again, just leave it as Auto. The OS is so smart that it knows what time to switch to what band. Example, when I use internet sharing, it will stay at 3G for most of the time. When I make or receive a phone call, it will switch to GSM immediately after the phone connected.
Finger Touch Experience For this I don't explain more, it's just much more comfortable on finger/stylus responds.
Third Party Apps Interface: Well I'm not a developer, but from the changes on some registry structure, I can definitely tell that WM65 will be more friendly to third party application developers.
These are very core elements of a mobile os. The progress of wm65 on these points is obviously noticable.
But because the change of the core. It causes a big problem on legacy apps compatibility. People find that a lot of apps running well on wm6 just can never run on wm65.
But I think currently both Microsoft and third party software vendors are working tight on this issue. At least for most part of popular softwares, we can find a wm65 compatible version now. But for some speciall software, we can not find it if the developer did not upgrade it.
For sure, there are certain advantages of using 6.5 over 6.1. (The advantage is not only 'skin' things that you can see it, more important is on the 'core'.)
Hence your choice just depend on what softwares you're using. If for all your 'must-have' softwares you can find a WM6.5 compatible version or its replacement, why not use WM6.5.
Edit: I don't like the Titanium & the headache to customize it either. I just disabled it & leave an 'empty today', but with HButton, I can reach all frequently used apps within one single touch.
The RAM used by Titanium is 3.5MB+, compares to HTC Home @1.5MB+, & M2D @ 7MB+.
I like the looking of Honeucomb,(for showup only), but I also use QuickMenu, which is more functional.
Must to say that above experience are from the single ROM I've used only, maybe there are performance variaties on different ROMs & devices.
And at last, one of my most favarite part is the new PIE, it definitely can display whatever a desktop ie does except only one tab allowed.
I like 6.5. I find it runs pretty well on the kaiser, and I prefer its look to the old Windows 3.x interface found in the older versions. Plus, the finger scrolling is superb. And if you don't like the honeycomb, there are other start menu layouts, one example here. WM6.5 is just a band-aid to hold us over until WM7, but it's still a step in the right direction for Microsoft.
Dave
Yes, I think i will be waiting for wm7, but i just can't help myself any longer and I am going to take the plunge to wm6.5 on my Elfin or Wizard just to give it a go, I think it should run well on the elin with the RAM it has and without really checking out the custmizations, my assumptions is basically on the interface on standard screenshots i have seen.
thanks for the input guys, only a flash will i be able to add further opinions, as i am a heaver modder, and would need this to offer proper insight into the OS.
I've bounced back and forth between a couple 6.1 and 6.5 ROMs. I use TouchFLo because I hate 6.1's today screen and Titanium is pretty bland. I think that the current touchflo manila 2.1 is about the best you can get for WM6.1 currently, but I don't think manila 2.1 is streamlined for WM6.5. I feel like I'm taking a step back in integration and fluidness when I use Touchflo 2.1 and WM6.5. Not much, but it just seems off. This leads me to think that the new manila 2.5 is HTC's update to bring that integration and fluidness to WM6.5. The specualtion is that manila 2.5 is going to be for the new Firestone. While that is probably true, HTC has also mentioned that the new Topaz and Rhodium will get WM 6.5 upgrades. I would like to assume that this upgrade will also include manila 2.5 because if I feel that WM6.5 and TouchFlo 2.1 is lacking a complete feel then I would take that HTC has also noticed this. Yeah, I'm rambling I know. Just my thoughts. Bottom line on WM6.5 is that it seems like Microsoft just made a piss poor attempt at skinning there relic OS. That just pertains to the aesthetics though. I know there were unseen changes that do have their benefits.
(Sorry for all the "I feel and I would assumes", just ponderings)

Stupid things in 6.5 & 6.5.x

Despite some minor improvement in 6.5 and 6.5.x in compare with 6.1, it’s so strange to me why Microsoft always forget some basic assumptions and doing very stupid modifications?! For example I cannot understand why in 6.5 and 6.5.x drop down start menu which is contained recent opened application is missed, while it was so useful!
Another Foolishness thing is the new lock screen! Why instead of locking the home screen or today screen which is contained user required information, a new lock screen created? And then due to the shortage of information in lock screen many developers are working to make it as complete as possible!? Also why there is a lock button just in Start menu page? If it’s useful to be available, why it does not exist in other pages?
Anyway, it’s always been fault of Microsoft! Day after day creating new things, but loosing basic concepts like ease of usage and simplicity. You can see this matter from moving from XP to Vista and then to W7!
I wish somebody were in Microsoft to listen to customers carefully and check their ideas by himself.
Well said....
I dunno, I disagree. While the recently opened apps was handy at times... it created a lot of clutter on the start menu.
As far as the lockscreen... the new one is awesome. It's VERY awesome. Try setting up an autolock after display goes out. The new lockscreen still displays calendar appointments and lists all missed notifications. It also has a call and alarm feature built in. Very awesome.
I admit the stock theme doesn't look appealing but I've skinned my lockscreen and it is very attractive.
I'm quite happy with just about all I've got, and everything on my phone is running stock. No skins, everything plain and OEM.
That being said, I didn't really play around with any WinMo phones with 6.1, but on a touchscreen device like mine, the almost everything about 6.5.x is better than earlier versions.
In Poland we have a saying: Employer pays just enought for you not to quit and you work just as much that you will not be fired.
microsoft makes crapy programs but good enought for us not to quit using it. And as long as we will be buing they will not get it any better.
To put it simple - im disapointed with my new TP2 because of new "obstacles" microsoft prepared... thnks to this forum most of them are gone alredy
Thread moved as it is not Development and Hacking.
Fully agree

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