Help With Dead HTC Dream - General Topics

Hello everyone!
I am new to your forum but I thought that I might find some help here. Less than 6 months ago, I bought a used rooted and unlocked HTC Dream ( Google G1 ) cell phone on Ebay. I had been using it on AT&T's network. A couple of days ago, I accidentally washed the phone in our washing machine inside my pant's pocket. I have tried everything to dry it out and revive it, to no avail. It will not power on, charge etc. at all. I called HTC. They said that they would replace the mainboard for $378! I called local cellphone repair facilities. All of them said that there was little hope.
I would be willing to ship the phone to anyone who has the ability to cheaply fix it. ( Perhaps by replacing the mainboard ). I have a lot of computer and electronics stuff around the house that I don't use that I could offer the repairer on top of a modest amount of cash ( I really don't want to spend more than $50). The items that I have include an old video card, a fully functional Epson Stylus Color 860 Printer ( its old, but it works, however, the ink sometimes stops coming out if it is not used regularly), and like a typical geek I have drawers full of cables, network cards, etc. I really love this phone! I called AT&T and they offered me the Motorola BackFlip. By all accounts that I can find on the Internet, this would be a horrible choice, and AT&T conceded that they would force me to have a $30 a month data plan (which I did NOT have with the G1.)
Anyway, help would be greatly appreciated. I am a strong Linux advocate, and I run a Linux website: acrossad.org. Thank you! You can contact me by email at acrossad dot oggcast at gmail dot com.
P.S. I forgot to mention that I also have a TON of books on a variety of topics that I could offer as compensation as well: Linux, php, mysql, programming, various engineering topics etc. I have 2 bookshelves full of college textbooks and technical books.

Related

Broken 8925, Tilt needed

I'm not sure if this is kosher or not but my Tilt passed away the other day. I use this for GPS, tethered internet to my umpc and PC's in the field, email, contacts, tasks, calendar, notes, mp3 player, movie player, cell-phone, etc. etc. etc. I'm lost without it but I can't find myself paying another $400 for another one. What happened is the "tilt" part of it got separated from the main piece and when that happened the ribbon cable got cut by some sharp edges. What I want to do is purchase a broken one from someone for a lower cost of a new one so that I can resurrect mine with spare parts. I have looked for videos on how to do this but couldn't find any. I do have the HTC service manual and some of the other docs provided by some gracious users at this wonderful website. I was planning on video taping my efforts to fix this and post the disassembling and reassembling procedures I went through somewhere on youtube and linking it on this site for other people that may be in my situation.
So......if anyone has a broken tilt I will gladly pay you for it. I know a lot of people are still pissed about the lack of video drivers for this thing so even if it's not broken, feel free to sell it to me. I too wish that there was something to be done about those damn drivers but the phone has so many features, and with so many resources this website gives us, it is by far the best phone I've ever used.
I hope I haven't overstepped the boundaries of the site by pretty much posting an "item wanted" ad but I do hope to contribute my efforts when and if I get ahold of another phone. Thanks.
Check ebay.com if you haven't already
just buy a new ribbon cable and housing it'll be about 150 or less

Tilt or iPhone?

I am in the market for a new phone(we are switching from Sprint to AT&T) mainly because of dropped calls and no service in many areas with Sprint. I have decided I am either getting the AT&T Tilt or the Apple iPhone. I will explain my usage habits and hopefully you readers can help me decide which one would be best for me.
I am a commuting college student who works part time. The degree I'm working on is in Computer Science. I get wi-fi access at work, school, and home. I still live with my parents and have two jobs. I am contributing 30% of one of my jobs' paychecks to a 401k and am about to make a large one-time investment into a Roth IRA for retirement. I have a good bit of time imbetween classes and it would be nice to have something to do either for fun or productivity. I will be getting $5/mo phone insurance with whichever phone I get. Another plus would be an easy-to-use calendar so I can get rid of my paper calendar. Using the T9 texting method to enter things into my current phone for the calendar function is just too tedious, so I don't even use it.
Apple iPhone:
-Nice touch screen interface
-Very intuitive and easy-to-use
-Good battery life
-Internet access should be easier to use than with tilt due to interface
-App store makes finding new applications much easier
-Can use one-handed
-Multi-touch technology
-Ambient light and proximity sensors
-It would be nice to have something in my life that "just works" without hours of tweaking
-Required to pay $30/mo for a data plan
-Phone Cost $200, Data plan $30/mo*2 yrs=$720, Final cost 2 yrs $920
AT&T Tilt:
-External keyboard
-Could take notes in class with Microsoft Office and an external bluetooth keyboard(wouldn't have to lug around my laptop or as many spiral notebooks)
-Okay battery life
-Could use wifi and not have to pay $30/mo for internet access
-Can take videos
-Many complain it's more of a two-handed phone
-Sucks at playing videos or gps navigation due to driver issue htc will not fix
-Takes time to learn to use
-If purchased, I would not get a data plan, although it would be nice to have internet anywhere, it's not necessary
-Phone cost $150(refurb) $300(new), Final cost 2 yrs $150, if there's a problem because it's refurbished after 3 months, $125 extra(insurance deductible)
Both have:
-Phone
-Music device
-Accelerometer
-Slide to unlock(could be downloaded for Tilt)
Other points:
-I know it may be going out on a limb saying this, but the iPhone is going to cost me $645-$770 more in the 2 years that I'd have a contract for it. Internet access anywhere would be nice, though(especially on vacation, long drives, and waiting).
-The refurbished tilt is currently "temorarily out of stock." I think it'll probably come back in though. If not, it'd cost me $300, making the iPhone $495-$620 more over the 2 years I'd have it under contract.
I know all of my information is a bit strown about, but which phone do you guys suggest I purchase and why?
Tilt. Because.
i don't think the tilt has an accelorometer... never had or played with a tilt, but i'm pretty sure it doesn't
I have been contemplating getting an I-phone because the newer version is very nice and since you only pay $30 for internet, I would interchange the sims and use the internet on my tilt. The tilt does ahve video but it usually sucks along with the camera unless you have the ideal lighting... The I-phone is limited in what is does such as taking pictures and sendign it to friends. Your friends have to log online just to see your photos. It's pretty sad... However even though the I-phone is limited, what it does do; it does very well. The MS office suite is very nice and has helped me out numerous times during college as well as the WiFi. So my bottom line answer is this. If you want to use it for work, business, college then I would go with the Tilt or even a newer version such as the diamond and use a different Rom. For fun I would go with the I-Phone. The downside is that you cannot change roms though. It is almost like getting a new phone everytime you put a new rom onto your Tilt which is still not utalizing all the drivers at this time. Thanks to the hard working people in in these forums, that is close to being changed. I hope this helped.
tilt...
only cause its the balls!
With the iPhone, what you see is what you get. It works very well, but everything comes from Apple.
The Tilt can do virtually anything. It may get buggy sometimes, but pretty much, if you can think it, you can do it.
honestly?
iphone.
tilt's old.
now if you ask "diamond or iphone", you know my answer.
Thanks for the insight guys. I decided to go ahead and get the iPhone simply because it'd be nice to have something that "just works," not to mention I don't have the time to mod it the way I want it. After running several linux servers and desktops, some of you may see where I come from(where nothing ever works like it should!). I ordered the iPhone from the AT&T store(business account, can't use apple store) and they said they'll email me when it arrives in 7-10 days.
It would have been nice to be able to get a wireless keyboard and type notes on my phone like I could have with the Tilt, but I think for a phone the iPhone fits my needs better. If I had the time, though, I'd get the Tilt in an instant. I'll probably be buying an Asus EEE for note typing so I don't have to carry my 15" laptop or a bunch of notebooks around all day.
This reply might be a bit late ... but ... what about the Touch Pro?
never heard of the touch pro until you just said something about it.. too expensive anyway though since it won't be subsidized by the cell carrier for a service contract

Tell us your stories/reviews about your device

I think mobile computing got a kick in the ass witht he release of the Apple iPhone. Microsoft and Palm beat Apple to the punch but Apple made it a lot easier and more friendly to use. if you would like to comment on any funny, sad, or a review of your device, post them here.
i will get the ball rolling... I own a Windows Mobile 5.0 powered device that i purchased back in december 2007 as a christmas present to myself. i won my device at auction in spite of the condition it was in. the mic is broken so i have to use my bluetooth earpiece to make phone calls. the device itself was in ok shape (i added some more body damage to it. but nothing major). i was always skeptical about smartphones and such. i test drive the iphone and liked it but expensive. the phone i currently use was not expensive at all (again with its defects). i overlooked all those and saw the potential my phone had. it is an ETEN G500 in case any readers were wondering. Being in college, my phone made my life a lot easier and being connected everywhere made me rethink my position and now i am all about my phone. Since it is GPS enabled with one of the best chipsets out on the market (SirfStarIII), i can go anywhere i want. it blew me away after i got it to work with TomTom 6 software. i am late to the game with smartphones and such but i did my thorough research before i made an offer on ebay, where my phone came from. i am glad i never regretted purchasing it at all. having a device that can compete with todays devices made me take even more pride in my phone. i don't care if it is bulkier and heavier. for my phone being relatively old since it is an '05/'06 phone. it is far from being obsolete by my standards. once i get enough money together i will upgrade to a better one, but for now, my phone i konw will last me another few years at least.
one success story i would like to share. i was with a friend and he needed some books to help him with a paper for a class. we were in borders store and he bought the first book ($20) b/c of the amount of info it had. the second book he was gonna buy had some info (a lot nonetheless) that was missing from the first book he bought. So he took my phone and typed all the info he needed in Word Mobile. After he was done, i sent it to him through e-mail on the spot and he was able to retreive it and open the document with no problems at all. i saved him $30 (which what the price of the second book) and helped him get a good grade on his paper.
there you have it. i maybe just obsessive with my phone, but i feel like with situations like this, my phone came in handy. i am a technology fanboy, not a microsoft, and not an apple fanboy. But, having a pocket pc/phone powered by microsoft certainly helps a lot especially in a school setting.
Tell me about your stories!
I use my device as a flashlight almost everyday thanks to VJCandela. It also does everything I need and if it doesn't I just have to install some software and it will. It's highly customizable, allows for countless mods and not anyone has one.
With affordable data plans coming to Canada there will be even more features unlocked on my phone like instant Wikipedia access, on-the-go blogging...
Unlike the almost obsolete PalmOS, Windows Mobile is here to stay.

I need as much help on this question as possible.

Hi guys.
Currently i walk around with a G1 in my hands. It's rooted with the latest jf version. I've had this phone since it came out and i like. Now here is where things are getting tricky. Two months ago, i received a promotion at work. I am now the administrative assistant at my company. I know people say that is just a glorified secretary but definitely not the case here. I run projects for my boss analyzing the amount of business we bring in and which one of our competitors is taking away our business. i tend to us Microsoft outlook daily alon with word, excel and powerpoint. (me and access can't get along). My sweet,sweet g1 is not up to snuff. It's a cool phone, but for what i'm doing, it lacks the software and syncability i need. (prove me wrong on this one if you can).
So, to all at xda, i'd like you to point me in the right direction for a true business phone. The is no limitation on provider, at most 300 dollars (before rebate and with a new customer 2 year plan with a provider other then T-mobile). I have to be able to edit and view Microsoft documents. A good amount of internal memory or an expandable slot. A physical keyboard. I need a proverbial work horse who when i say jump, ask me how high. Now any suggestions don't necessarily have to be out now. if there is a great phone coming out within 2 months (like the touch pro 2), i can wait. But i can't wait past august 15th. guys, i really need your help with this one. I just don't have time to go around and test so many phone. I like to run a potential phone through it's paces for 4 days before i decide on keeping it(love t-mobile for letting me do that. one week i tested the slide, blackberry curve, pearl, wing and dash) So guys please, help me out. Thanks
sidenote- why do phone company's want to make a cell phone so much like a laptop, Why not make a small laptop that can make phone calls. most professionals today carry briefcases and bags and push come to shove, they can use bluetooth.
rickyteddyb said:
Hi guys.
Currently i walk around with a G1 in my hands. It's rooted with the latest jf version. I've had this phone since it came out and i like. Now here is where things are getting tricky. Two months ago, i received a promotion at work. I am now the administrative assistant at my company. I know people say that is just a glorified secretary but definitely not the case here. I run projects for my boss analyzing the amount of business we bring in and which one of our competitors is taking away our business. i tend to us Microsoft outlook daily alon with word, excel and powerpoint. (me and access can't get along). My sweet,sweet g1 is not up to snuff. It's a cool phone, but for what i'm doing, it lacks the software and syncability i need. (prove me wrong on this one if you can).
So, to all at xda, i'd like you to point me in the right direction for a true business phone. The is no limitation on provider, at most 300 dollars (before rebate and with a new customer 2 year plan with a provider other then T-mobile). I have to be able to edit and view Microsoft documents. A good amount of internal memory or an expandable slot. A physical keyboard. I need a proverbial work horse who when i say jump, ask me how high. Now any suggestions don't necessarily have to be out now. if there is a great phone coming out within 2 months (like the touch pro 2), i can wait. But i can't wait past august 15th. guys, i really need your help with this one. I just don't have time to go around and test so many phone. I like to run a potential phone through it's paces for 4 days before i decide on keeping it(love t-mobile for letting me do that. one week i tested the slide, blackberry curve, pearl, wing and dash) So guys please, help me out. Thanks
sidenote- why do phone company's want to make a cell phone so much like a laptop, Why not make a small laptop that can make phone calls. most professionals today carry briefcases and bags and push come to shove, they can use bluetooth.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Take a look at the HTC x7510
Dirk
thanks
thank dirlan. If i could find that for 350, i'd be very happy. But the 899 price tag i see floating around is just killing me.
rickyteddyb said:
thank dirlan. If i could find that for 350, i'd be very happy. But the 899 price tag i see floating around is just killing me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very sad you live in the US In Europe , the boss would be the one that pays for it ...
Dirk
would go for the touch pro, very comfortable phone with its 5 row keyboard imo and not very expensive, or wait for the touch pro 2. The main problem with the tp2 is that its very big. big and expensive. Besides the winmo phones, the only other option would be a blackberry, like the curve. Since you already tested it, you got to decide yourself which platform is the one of your choice ;-) blackberries are usually easier to get along with but by far not as powerful as the winmo devices But blackberries run muuuch longer on battery power, if thats necessary to you.
Sidenote: To get a nice office suite for blackberries, theres no way around but to pay for one. Only readers are included. Thats an advantage with winmo ;-)
I had a Blackberry Curve and Flip, and have now switched to a Touch Pro and Touch HD. Battery life is good enough, but not nearly as comfortable as with the bbs. But I really love the devices in terms of expandability, thats why I would never trade them back in - but thats not a reasonable factor if you havent got time to mod and tune your device

[Q] Andoid without a carrier?

I haven't found any discussion about using Android devices without a phone carrier at all, is this possible or must the device be activaed on a carrier before it does anything at all? What I'm thinking of is basically the Android equivalent of the iPod Touch. It's still a smart device, still does wifi, still runs all those apps, but there's no phone service at all. More than blocking data plan that I have seen discussed, I want no voice plan either.
I know that some people think it's stupid enough to want a smartphone with no data plan on a carrier, you guys will probably think I'm retarded to want to leave out voice service as well. Well, I'd use it as a phone if I didn't have to pay for data plans and stick to wifi, as those other discussions want to do, but now that the monthly fee is absolutely mandatory on my carrier, well, I'm just not willing to pay that much. I've thought about buying an iPod Touch to compliment my dumb phone, but I'd rather have the Android equivalent so I'm not limited to apps approved by Apple.
I suppose some might say the Phillips GoGear Connect is what I should get, but I'll be annoying and say I want a front facing camera so maybe Evo 4G with no carrier service is even better so I can video skype with it. Would the Evo 4G work for me, or is it a useless zombie util it's activated on a cell carrier? What about other smartphone devices, do they all work or all not work?
Well you can buy uncontracted devices like I have and there are also plenty of tablet android devices that dont come with a plan. as for actual phone devices most of them come with a plan because its presumed that you will use it to make calls. Thats where tablets come in, usually contract free (Galaxy Tab exception) and allow for full use of the device using WiFi or another connection source.
Captainkrtek said:
Well you can buy uncontracted devices like I have and there are also plenty of tablet android devices that dont come with a plan. as for actual phone devices most of them come with a plan because its presumed that you will use it to make calls. Thats where tablets come in, usually contract free (Galaxy Tab exception) and allow for full use of the device using WiFi or another connection source.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My only problem with tablets is they are too big. I want something phone sized or iPod Touch sized. (which is about the size of a phone)
As long as the device is running 2.0+ (I think) , you won't need it tied to a carrier to use it. You can do it with older FW too but it would need a data plan so you can sign in and get to the home screen and use it. Newer FW, you can activate wifi during setup so you can log in to your gmail account.
Once logged in, you can use it like a iPod touch, download from the market, etc.
I have a Captivate, Incredible, and a Fascinate that I've been able to use while not hooked up to a carrier. I've even had a G1 without a carrier. Just had to borrow a friends SIM to log in to my gmail for activation but then works after that without it.
Did this with my HD2 running Android
So I'm an adventurous 19 year old guy living on Maui in Hawaii. I'm also a sponsored almost professional scooter rider. So I look up behind me and what do I see? a 10,023 foot tall volcano called Haleakala. So I was looking around for something to do and saw my scooter. The nearest skatepark is too damn far so I hiked 13 miles up this volcano all the way to the summit at 10,023 feet and took pictures then bombed down the perfectly smooth paved rode 28 miles to the bottom at about 45 miles an hour on my kick scooter.
Blah blah blah, anyways...
I jumped over a nice dip in the rode and my HD2 which was just bought the day before flew out of my pocket at about 25 miles an hour and hite the ground once on the corner then flew off in to the grass. I found the battery, cover and phone itself after about 30 minutes of looking. The screen was good besides a few deep scratches and a nice sized dent in the battery cover. The plastic of the phone was pretty scratched as well.
Mad? Nahh not at all. I was looking for a reason to get a new phone already after 24 hours and this gave me a good reason to go get that sexy looking G2 I saw...
So Now I am happy with my G2 and also use my HD2 as my mobile computer with the Ubuntu and android OS on it. Ubuntu is for word processing since I am a writer. Android is for my camera and music and games. It works out amazing and I love the look of peoples faces when im messing around with two phones on the bus...
Go for it. You wont be dissappointed and it beats the IPOD touch hands down. Sorry I capitalized ipod, it didnt deserve it...
Now that's a story! You better take care of your G2, did you sell your HD2?

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