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Okay, so its been a little over a week, so I thought I would post some objective opinions.
Whilst there a mixed batch of reviews out there, my personal overall feelings on the device are quite positive. Its a sturdy, well built device which in my opinion is let down mainly by a below par screen and a keyboard that is not quite as good as the one on the touch pro 2.
Additionally the paltry 8gb of internal storage borders on an insult! Particularly as microsofts cloud services are not what they should be, and wp7 currently has no apps to support streaming from home media servers.
Having bought it to replace my lost TP2, I honestly think that HTC also should have included a front facing camera and the speakerphone functionality of its predecessor. In terms of hardware, that's where my criticisms end......
Whilst the keys lack the travel found on the tp2,the keyword still works pretty well!
The screen washes out far too easily, but out of direct sunlight it is vibrant with good colour reproduction.
If you are moving from a windows mobile device, whilst wp7 is a delightful interface, you may wish to wait for Microsoft to release the mango update. As slick and intuitive as wp7 is there is still a great deal missing...
No direct sync with outlook
No unified mailbox
No ability to make or send videos in mms form.
No voice guided Sat nav software
No support for Rar files......... No file explorer!
No cut and paste
No pause dialling
And these are just the things I can remember off the top of my head!
To reiterate the user interface is awesome but still very much in its infancy. I think it is absolutely ridiculous that I can no longer drag and drop audio and video onto the device without first going through Zune.
the camera is pretty good as is 720p video recording.
Overall it is a good device that has the potential to be great but only if and when MS decide to pull their finger out.
I've probably forgotten loads of stuff. If any one has any questions please feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer.
I think it's only fair to add a comparison to the HTC Arrive (sprints 7 pro).
No direct sync with outlook
- Outlook works perfectly fine with HTC Arrive, syncs and pushes.
No unified mailbox
- There is no unified email on any WP7 device yet, but will come in Mango release.
No ability to make or send videos in mms form.
- Can't do this on the Arrive either, can send pictures just fine though.
No voice guided Sat nav software
- The Arrive comes with TeleNav, which works just fine. It is voice guided, text to speach and all.
No support for Rar files......... No file explorer!
- Can't do this either, however, you can have a file explorer once unlocked (though, unlocking via Chevron doesn't seem to work with NoDo update. Official Developer unlocking seems to not work also, but I can't confirm)
No cut and paste
- NoDo update enabled this, so the Arrive can do it.
No pause dialling
- I'm not even sure what this is.
Can you force this phone to roam like in WM6.1?
I gotta say that MS nailed the OS in terms of actually working and being vert smoothe and fast!
As mentioned, Zune for syncing blows nasty chunks. It's a shame because I like the Zune app, but dragging and dropping files is a must, just like custom ringers, IMO.
It also sucked that SkyDrive is such a piss-poor excuse for a cloud service. I had to email all of my word and excel documents to myself and save them to the phone, only way I could get them on there.
The hardware is great but the antenna is worse than the TP2, less signal. Also when coming out of roaming, I have had to reset because on the Sprint Arrive, it wouldn't kick back from 1X to EVDO.
92GTA said:
I gotta say that MS nailed the OS in terms of actually working and being vert smoothe and fast!
As mentioned, Zune for syncing blows nasty chunks. It's a shame because I like the Zune app, but dragging and dropping files is a must, just like custom ringers, IMO.
It also sucked that SkyDrive is such a piss-poor excuse for a cloud service. I had to email all of my word and excel documents to myself and save them to the phone, only way I could get them on there.
The hardware is great but the antenna is worse than the TP2, less signal. Also when coming out of roaming, I have had to reset because on the Sprint Arrive, it wouldn't kick back from 1X to EVDO.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In regards to Zune for syncing, what do you mean dragging and dropping files is a must? I was able to drag and drop all my MP3's and Picture folders from Zune onto the phone icon in Zune and it synced up for me just fine.
I haven't messed with skydrive, so no comment on that one.
My phone went into roam a second ago here in my office (always had bad reception here), and when I moved to a better spot it jumped back onto EV without any resets or anything like that.
cyclical said:
In regards to Zune for syncing, what do you mean dragging and dropping files is a must? I was able to drag and drop all my MP3's and Picture folders from Zune onto the phone icon in Zune and it synced up for me just fine.
I haven't messed with skydrive, so no comment on that one.
My phone went into roam a second ago here in my office (always had bad reception here), and when I moved to a better spot it jumped back onto EV without any resets or anything like that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Trying going into roaming in the mountains and no signal at aall, then let me know if it comes back to EVDO ok
What I meant was unless the files are already in ZUNE, you can't drag them to your device. Which means for example when I put my MicroSD card from my TP2 into my computer, I could not drag the files onto my Arrive. Even when I told ZUNE to check that folder, it still wouldn't import the files for me to drag them on.
Yeah SkyDrive is a joke, especially for media...
92GTA said:
I gotta say that MS nailed the OS in terms of actually working and being vert smoothe and fast!
As mentioned, Zune for syncing blows nasty chunks. It's a shame because I like the Zune app, but dragging and dropping files is a must, just like custom ringers, IMO.
It also sucked that SkyDrive is such a piss-poor excuse for a cloud service. I had to email all of my word and excel documents to myself and save them to the phone, only way I could get them on there.
The hardware is great but the antenna is worse than the TP2, less signal. Also when coming out of roaming, I have had to reset because on the Sprint Arrive, it wouldn't kick back from 1X to EVDO.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure I understand your frustration with SkyDrive?
1. Go to www.skydrive.com and login
2. Select the folder you want to upload to
3. Click "Add Files" on the top
4. A new windows pops up where you can drag documents to. You also have the toption to select documents for upload manually.
5. Drag and drop away
Shouldn't be any reason to email files to your phone first.
my thoughts on the HTC 7 Pro (after 2 days)
I've had HTC's for a long time now, XDA2, XDA2i, Tytn, Tytn2, TouchPro, TouchPro2, and now the 7 Pro. Although I'm by no means an expert, I like to think I know what I'm doing...
So I was really excited about getting this phone!! really excited! maybe abit too excited, i incorrectly assumed that this would basically be a WP7 version of the TP2, so maybe i didn't check the spec as well as i ought.
Couple of things that disappointed me as soon as i unpacked the phone. Firstly searching for the slot to put my 16GB MicroSD... why would they not allow external memory cards? ALL of the phones i listed above had storage card ports... Secondly, finding ANOTHER different type of interconnect to the phone! grrr... so that means the home/car chargers, the data-cables, the speaker dock, the funny little HTC breakout cable are not compatible. Since the Tytn, i thought HTC would stick with their MicroUSBex port... it always seemed to work well so why change it? Finally regarding the layout of the 7 pro, the interconnect ports seem to be in very odd positions. My car dock has the phone upright, and the arms which hold it in place are in the way because the charge cable is on the side... weird! likewise i think the position of the headphone/mic socket is weird... had my hands free on for the drive to work this morning, and it's dangling in front of the screen... again, put the connector at the bottom! surely that's a better place for it?
so after using the phone for a while i can almost forgive all the draw backs i mentioned above, i love how fast and responsive it is! the camera seems to be of good quality and there also seems to be enough apps available to keep me busy for a long time. however, there are some annoyances from M$ too. wallpaper? very large buttons on the home screen... it's a BIG screen, i can use it with my thumb without the buttons taking up half the screen! where on earth have all the settings gone? i can see they're trying to simplify the operations, which is really good... but! if some people want to drill down into some more specific settings then they should be able to? a clock... on the dashboard, i don't think tiny one in the corner counts as a clock .
i have read that alot of people are unhappy with the Sky drive situation... i don't think it's too bad, being forced into slimming my data down (because of the MicroSD port situation) has probably done me some good, i'm happy that my photo are now stored somewhere safer than just on my phone (and home computer if you count syncing 3 or 4 times a year!). my big problem is the situation with M$ "my phone" i have around 10,000 text messages on there, i don't know why i want to keep them... but i do! and i want to continue to keep syncing them! before my phone was about, i was using JEYO to sync to outlook (i still haven't got around to exporting those out and putting them on "my phone"!). why would M$ stop supporting something that worked well? lastly about data management, file explorer? OMG i had that on windows 3.1! surely it's got to be there somewhere?
I'll try and be positive to finish this up. LOVE the speed, LOVE the screen especially the dual touch, LOVE the apps, LOVE the Xbox360 integration. i really think it's got HUGE potential. i hope someone cares enough to sort out the problems for the HTC 7 pro II
thanks for taking the time to read
After looking closely at my HTC Arrive, I swear I can see 2 small circles just above and to the right of the HTC symbol on the front. One I know is the light sensor but what is the second one. I hear that it is actually a front facing camera... The whole thing looks just like it does on the Evo.
I was just looking at some reviews and noticed the USB port on the side.
WTF are they thinking?
I keep my Tilt2 in an upright dock on my desk for sync.
How do you build a dock for that?
And in my car, i keep the unit in a dash holder with a power connector
out the bottom. A side connector would be real clumsy.
The cord would be under a tight stress angle.
Dave.
Yes - it's VERY annoying! aside from the position, which as far as i can tell is just a poor design, changing to ANOTHER different connector is ridiculas...MicroUSB-EMU was fine, most camera's and other USB devices use MicroUSB connectors, so i have loads of those cables... now i have to buy all new! boo!
WM6.5 for 7PRO?
jb347 said:
Can you force this phone to roam like in WM6.1?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I make the same question: ¿can I have in my 7 PRO the WM6.5? I would be very happy if they could. The WP7 is very poor.
I want to run in my phone apps like Garmin, WiFi-Router, File Explorer, Remote Desktop native, and more.
Is there a miraculous person who can create this ROM?
mikoriad said:
After looking closely at my HTC Arrive, I swear I can see 2 small circles just above and to the right of the HTC symbol on the front. One I know is the light sensor but what is the second one. I hear that it is actually a front facing camera... The whole thing looks just like it does on the Evo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One is Proximity and one is Ambient Light
Ricki_Hunter said:
Yes - it's VERY annoying! aside from the position, which as far as i can tell is just a poor design, changing to ANOTHER different connector is ridiculas...MicroUSB-EMU was fine, most camera's and other USB devices use MicroUSB connectors, so i have loads of those cables... now i have to buy all new! boo!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure the switch to micro-usb is due to the European standardization on that plug. All phones in Europe must comply and it just makes sense to push that to the US (and any other country) as well since it simplifies manufacturing. I've seen news articles where the US is standardizing starting in January 2012.....guess which plug they are standardizing on -- micro-usb. Bite the bullet, it'll be worth it in the long run.
I'm just glad it's getting easier to get USB plugs for the wall and car.....now you only have to swap out the cable instead of getting new chargers.
cohowap said:
I think it's only fair to add a comparison to the HTC Arrive (sprints 7 pro).
No direct sync with outlook
- Outlook works perfectly fine with HTC Arrive, syncs and pushes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I have HTC 7 PRO, ¿can I sync with Outlook "perfectly"? Because now I can't.
udaberrian said:
If I have HTC 7 PRO, ¿can I sync with Outlook "perfectly"? Because now I can't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Syncing with Outlook should really read "Syncs with Exchange" as you sync to the server and not to your local program. I exported all of my contacts from Outlook and imported them into Windows Live Mail (tied to my Live account) and got them across that way.
To begin, I am/was a "fanboy" of Windows and Windows Mobile. My first "smartphone" was the Toshiba 2032 running Windows Mobile 5. My next phone was a PPC-6700 using Windows Mobile 5 and my last phone was the PPC-6800 using Windows Mobile 6.1. I honestly detest the iPhone and Mac computers and go out of my way to stay clear of those "popular" items. I'm not even a fan of the Android operating system. I played on it for a while and it seemed "meh" to me. What I was looking for was an "iPhone Killer" in the HTC Arrive with WP7. What I got was the iPhone/Kiddie Phone Light....
Perhaps I had grown too accustomed to the various customization options offered by previous versions of Windows on cell phones. Perhaps Windows Phone 7 has decided to no longer be a "businessman's phone." I understand that the market was for general consumers but to shift so far away from their original product, well that just sucks.
The Good
1. THE SPEED OF THE HTC ARRIVE AND WP7 IS EXCELLENT. Apps load quick and easy and without lag. I am impressed by how quickly my phone restarts once completely shut down. I measured the time it took the PPC-6800 to load the operating system in minutes where the Arrive load time is measured in seconds.
2. THE SMOOTHNESS OF THE SCREEN OPERATION AND WP7. Flicking my thumb, I can quickly scroll across to another page or scroll down a long list of applications installed on my phone. It also works well within applications and using internet explorer.
3. THE MAIN START SCREEN. I like the way almost any app can be pinned to the main start screen for quick and easy access.
4. PLENTY OF PROGRAM MEMORY. I remember how I had to shut down programs on my PPC-6800 in order to conserve memory, especially if I was using Opera 10 for browsing the internet. So far, I have not had any slow-downs or freezes due to have various programs open on my phone.
5. THE PHONE INTERFACE. I like the way the phone works in that the screen goes black when you are using the phone up to your ear so that your cheek, ear, whatever doesn't hit any buttons and when you pull the phone away, it recognizes this and gives you the options to end call or open the keypad.
6. CALLS ARE CRYSTAL CLEAR. So far, the calls have been great, but I've only used it in an office setting or in my vehicle. I have yet to visit a construction jobsite with heavy machinery moving around. I'll see how it works in that scenario soon enough.
7. THE SCREEN. Wow! I love the screen. HD Movies are clear, colors are vibrant, it seems the screen is one of the best features.
8. THE CAMERA. Some may disagree, but I think the camera on this phone is good. Not great, but good. It is good enough to take photos. The only change I would make would be for the camera to remember the previous settings and not default back to 5MP.
The Bad
1. HUGE CHANGE FROM WINDOWS MOBILE. I think the Microsoft Programmers were too influenced by the Apple iOS and Android to stay with what they originally had in terms of "Windows" operating system. The name of the operating system is "Windows" so just keep it with actual windows on the phone. They moved so far away from the standard windows operating system that it isn't even recognizable. Was Windows Mobile really that bad? I was able to be quite productive with WM, let's hope WP7 proves to be the same.
2. CUSTOM OPTIONS. The phone leaves little for customization in terms of giving the user options for color, background, theme or even the transfer of multimedia or files (see Ugly #1). It seems Microsoft has made the statement, "Do it OUR way or not at all!"
3. HARD KEY SENSITIVITY.. I can't count how many times my fingers have accidentally hit the "search, windows, or back" keys on the face of the phone while browsing, texting, or picking up the phone. I like having the keys there, but they are too sensitive to the touch!
4. PHONE VOLUME. The volume maxes out at the number "30" which seems fine for a quite office or home setting but at the gym, driving, outdoors, or at a jobsite, one should be able to crank it louder. I hope HTC or Microsoft can come out with some kind of fix or crack to allow for greater volume on this phone.
5. A KEYBOARD WITH A "SMILIES" BUTTON. Seriously? Is this a kid's phone or an adult's phone. I'm ok with smiley use, but to actually have a key that pops up options for various smilies? My 3 year old daughter uses this, not me. That should have been my first hint that this phone was made more for adolescent teenie-boppers and not a businessman.
6. FORCED INTEGRATION OF CONTACTS. The worst is from Face book directly into the phone. I know I can turn it off when looking at contacts, but why not give me the option to import them or not. There are people that are FB friends that I don't even speak to or haven't spoken to since High School. I should have just downloaded the FB app and skipped logging into the phone's built-in FB app which to me is worthless.
7. NO FOLDERS FOR APPS. At this time, I don't have an overabundance of apps for the phone, but as time goes by, I might have need for more. Why not have folders for apps or the option to place them in folders so that I don't have to scroll down through a long list. Sure, scrolling is quick, but with 100 apps (if possible) it could take a while.
8. PHONE TEMPERATURE. Remember when Dell's laptops would burn people's legs because they became so hot? Well, the HTC Arrive may not cause burns but it is the first smartphone I have experienced that actually radiates heat from the battery compartment. Maybe this is a heat exchange issue to allow the phone to cool off. Maybe it is a big problem to come.
9. BATTERY LIFE. I know many have complimented the battery life of the HTC Arrive but I have to state that it is not as good as it should be. I have to charge the phone at least once a day and it has actually shut down on me twice before I could charge it, whereas the old PPC-6800 gave me plenty of warning before shutting down. I am disappointed with the batter life and will need to purchase a spare for long trips where I can't stop to recharge the phone.
The Ugly
1. TRANSFER OF FILES. Honestly, why are we forced to use Zune to transfer files to WP7? I used a "hack" to allow me to open WP7 in my explorer but now what do I do? Do I just transfer files over? The files on the phone are not in the window so I have no idea where the files are going! And what about "syncing" Word and Excel documents? How do I do that without having to upload them to a skydrive??? I've already had problems trying to transfer a single photo from my computer to my phone. Let me choose how I want to transfer files. I'm not an idiot, I can work with computer hardware and software, I did it flawlessly on WM5 & WM6 but now it seems Microsoft doesn't trust me to do this on my own so I am forced to use Zune!
2. MS EXCHANGE SYNC ISSUES. I am not the only one that cannot sync my e-mail, calendar, or contacts with my Microsoft Exchange Server here at work. I've read numerous items on the net about these issues. I was hoping that a Microsoft Windows Phone 7 would work flawlessly with Microsoft Exchange Server. It used to be a piece of cake to use ActiveSync to establish a physical connection for the option to Sync this data. Why not bring back that option?
3. AUTOMATIC TILT. Honestly, why do I need to have my screen tilt automatically? I understand if I don't slide out the screen all the way I don't have to tilt it, but why not give me the option to tilt like the TP2? HTC really screwed up on this one. In order to type with my thumbs and view the screen in tilt mode, I have to bend my wrists forward to compensate for the angle. What is the reason for the tilt, anyway? The only reason I could come up with for the automatic tilt was to annoy HTC Arrive users so much that they would rather use the onscreen keyboard than to use the physical one. This way, HTC can stop making phones with a physical keyboard which costs more to manufacture in terms of parts and labor!
4. NO REMOVABLE MEMORY CARD. I know one can remove and replace it with skill (at least on the 7 Pro) and with voiding any warranty, but this was one of the WORST ideas yet! After painfully transferring multimedia with Zune and realizing I had to do a hard reset for another reason, I lost all the information that was on the card! At least with the PPC-6800 a hard reset just lost my phone settings and programs but not everything on the memory card!
5. FORCED TO USE ONLY ONE LIVE ACCOUNT. This sucks big time! If you enter a live account and need to change it to another one later (I get waaaay too much spam in my hotmail account - and have turned off syncing with it) one has to do a hard reset on the phone to return it to factory settings and delete everything, including what is on the internal memory card. See #4.
6. NO UPLOADING OF VIDEOS DIRECTLY FROM THE PHONE. Sure, I can upload photos I've taken with the camera but I have to transfer the video to my computer (through Zune, see #1) in order to upload it to Facebook? Honestly, quit treating us like children and let us work with what we know! Microsoft has added yet another barrier/step to a process that used to be so simple!
7. NO 4G, NO EASY ACCESS TO WIFI OPTIONS. I understand that "4G" is possibly on its way out, but why not have the phone have that option. I don't even know if I am getting 3G service with this phone! Also, the ONE thing I would have stolen from the Android OS is the ability to scroll to my left from the start screen and access my communication options, Airplane mode, WiFi, 3G, etc... Having to scroll down numerous apps to get to the phone communication settings is just plain idiotic.
If I were grading the phone I would give it a solid C+. No, I'm not returning it for an Android, I am too much of a Windows user to give this up. I'm not sure how much of a "fix" can be done with some of the issues so I guess I will have to wait for a new phone to come out next year. By comparison, when the HTC PPC-6800 came out, I graded that as a B+/A-.
You said it.
Everything you said is correct. I'm with you. They need to fix all these issues.
I have the Arrive and its like they put us on lock down. They need to unlock this.
I agree with your ideas and i...:
VERY, VERY, VERY UGLY
The phone doesn't have the confortable phonepad of wm6.5 that i could use to get the contact of everybody with some pression.
agree with u on some, disagree on some
overall, i find this an upgrade over my touch pro, but although the execution leaves much to be desired, it's ms's fault, not htc's
u didn't mention a nice feature.
tried sliding out the keyboard when using IE in landscape mode vs using ie in landscape mode without the keyboard slid out?
??????
so what's going on!!!
I really love to work with WM or WP .... but the new htc phones have android...
We can simply write program for WM with Visual Studio . and WM is so user friendly and programmable . I Really need a phone like Htc 7 Pro - but with this OS ....
my previous phones are : K-Jam and Touch Pro -- both of them have keyboard and good style and very very user friendly - Touch pro simply upgrade to WM 6.5 with good Roms Like : Tael Rom ..
maybe they force us to use android ??
Sorry guys. You want endless customization and a huge developer/hacker community, Android is the current platform for that. Android has basically become exactly what WinMo is/was: does a lot, can endlessly modify anything and everything, but user experience is mostly poor.
As far as UI and the complete experience, the Arrive is really the best phone I've seen. It is smooth, intuitive, and just looks great. The style is really unique.
That being said, I will be trading for an Epic tomorrow. While I really like the overall experience on the Arrive, the M$ "branding" really limits it for now. I understand they are trying to get a baseline across all carriers/devices, and it is still an early OS, but this isn't really a "smart" phone as far as I'm concerned.
Coming from WinMo, this phone seems just as useful as an iPhone. No real customization options, no Mass Storage device, no way to even download a file from the internet. IE is not bad(or Cube) but there's not even any other browsers that aren't based on IE yet.
I know it's still early on, but I would rather go with a phone for now that lets me do what I want to do, or can be customized to do so. And can multitask. I have used my Touch Pro to fix people's computers, and can run a mostly functional(if battery eating) Android. I can't even change the Arrive's ringtone(although I do like 8-Bit).
This is a great comment that I agree with 100%. If you want an experience that is very similar to what Windows Mobile used to be, Android is the platform for you. There is a huge developer/hacker community out there doing lots of awesome things for an unbelievable number of devices. If you could do it on WinMo, chances are you can duplicate it on Android and it'll be easier to do. So to the OP who doesn't want to go with Android because he's a Microsoft Fanboy - well, your loss.
Personally, I've recently discovered that I'm either no longer a power user, or never really was one. Sure, I tethered used BT PAN and then WMWiFiRouter on the 6700, Mogul, Touch Pro, and then a similar solution on the Evo. But I've since moved to where my smartphone is no longer my primary internet connection. Windows Phone 7 does most everything else that I used my WM/Android phones for. There are still some gaps - I miss multitasking and Google Maps from Android, and I miss... well, I can't really say I miss anything from my WinMo days. Those days were great to begin with, but when I got my Evo, I swore I'd never go back. And yet it only took ten months for my love affair with Android to sour and I was right back to where I was with WinMo - endlessly customizing my device and never being truly satisfied with the results. Basically it comes down to UI performance for me, and right now iOS and WP7 are untouchable. Android has become a laggy mess (this was especially evident last weekend, when my friend showed me his brand new Droid2 Global and it was chugging and stuttering right out of the box). WebOS could have been a contender but terrible hardware and a glacial pace for updates have spoiled any momentum it once had. Which is a damn shame, because I think I'd like a Pre3 just as much as I like my Arrive, but the Arrive is here now and I've already fallen in love with it.
jaqual said:
As far as UI and the complete experience, the Arrive is really the best phone I've seen. It is smooth, intuitive, and just looks great. The style is really unique.
That being said, I will be trading for an Epic tomorrow. While I really like the overall experience on the Arrive, the M$ "branding" really limits it for now. I understand they are trying to get a baseline across all carriers/devices, and it is still an early OS, but this isn't really a "smart" phone as far as I'm concerned.
Coming from WinMo, this phone seems just as useful as an iPhone. No real customization options, no Mass Storage device, no way to even download a file from the internet. IE is not bad(or Cube) but there's not even any other browsers that aren't based on IE yet.
I know it's still early on, but I would rather go with a phone for now that lets me do what I want to do, or can be customized to do so. And can multitask. I have used my Touch Pro to fix people's computers, and can run a mostly functional(if battery eating) Android. I can't even change the Arrive's ringtone(although I do like 8-Bit).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You know, guys... I don't think it was Microsoft's intention to create the ultimate hacker phone.
thanks for the review with the anger.
i knew ms can do it again just like they did on winmo6.5.
now i know for sure not to touch anything cellphone related from ms.
Hmm, who has the anger issues?
I have upgraded from Mogul -> Touch Pro 2 -> HTC Arrive. All I can say that I am really happy with the update
I just got the Arrive and honestly, I love it. I haven't had any problems at all of any kind, ever.
I think the auto tilting thing will drive me nuts too... WHen I got my TP2 I used it a few times but, I can see how it got annoying and it's very rare that I tilt the screen now, unless it's got perfect with no light lost at a angle...I'd hate it
Longtime winmo user with t-mobile since mda vario so have gotten used to tweaking the registry direct and finding/installing ARM cabs off the internet, but as Android seems to be the way to go i feel now is a good time to take the plunge, so just a few noob questions about android to make me feel at ease
#1 Can you save direct from the browser files such as mp3s zips rars etc to be viewed later? having used a friends iPhone i noticed it streamed music and video files rather than a save as option.
#2 Do you have control of the directory structure eg a form of file explorer,so you can rearrange where things are located on your device or card.
#3 given I'm not very likely to mess around with roms and the like, and this phone has htc's sense front end, will I find the migration from the HD2s interface to the sensation easy? i love all the Facebook, YouTube and twitter integration so I'm hoping it will all be there in some form or another.
I realise a lot of this is subjective and rather depends on the individual, but I would appreciate feedback on these less techie issues, as im more likely to base my upgrade on functionality than specification.
cheers!
major_otaku said:
Longtime winmo user with t-mobile since mda vario so have gotten used to tweaking the registry direct and finding/installing ARM cabs off the internet, but as Android seems to be the way to go i feel now is a good time to take the plunge, so just a few noob questions about android to make me feel at ease
#1 Can you save direct from the browser files such as mp3s zips rars etc to be viewed later? having used a friends iPhone i noticed it streamed music and video files rather than a save as option.
#2 Do you have control of the directory structure eg a form of file explorer,so you can rearrange where things are located on your device or card.
#3 given I'm not very likely to mess around with roms and the like, and this phone has htc's sense front end, will I find the migration from the HD2s interface to the sensation easy? i love all the Facebook, YouTube and twitter integration so I'm hoping it will all be there in some form or another.
I realise a lot of this is subjective and rather depends on the individual, but I would appreciate feedback on these less techie issues, as im more likely to base my upgrade on functionality than specification.
cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) yes
2) yes (Astro File manager works very well)
3) you shouldnt have a problem making the transition.
I'd like to add in a questions since I'm doing the exact same thing (MDA>Tilt>TP2>HD2).
Is there any way to backup my text messages to my PC & read them from there? I currently use Jeyo Mobile Extender to back up my HD2s texts to Outlook & can read them there.
Also, I use Outlook to sync my calendar & contacts, is it an easy transition from this to using Google? I've seen how you can use the HTC Sync program to sync with Outlook but that doesn't look as easy as using Active Sync/WMDC
When I used WinMo/Outlook last (2008), I imported my contacts directly into Google. A search will get you multiple ways I'm sure.
Handcent is widely considered the best replacement SMS client on Android, and it offers some cloud features for SMS.
Alternately, you could port your number to Google Voice or simply use Voice for all of your SMS needs so it's all managed withing the Android app and available on the web.
There are many SMS backup app utilities also.
Ok more questions.
-How easy/hard is it to change the various icons & stuff in Android. I currently use DINIK's custom just about everything on WM6.5 & would like to do something similar in Android.
-Can the camera timestamp pics on the image like in WM?
-If you add a birthday to a Contact & sync does it automatically add it to the Calendar (& put it all the way back to the year) like in WM?
I may have more. Also, sorry OP for hijacking your thread.
I've never seen a reason to change any of the icons in Android. The stock Android icons are just fine, and Sense might change that. Can't answer that one.
I'm not sure why you'd want to put a timestamp on the actual photo. All of that information is in the EXIF data embedded in the .jpg. My Nexus One has no apparent means of adding the timestamp, but there are many, many camera applications available and I'm sure it's a feature elsewhere. Also, the Sensation might not use the Android camera, and that feature could be present in an HTC camera.
I always did like the birthday thing in WM, and I've not fiddled with it enough to see if that's a feature that has been retained. The stock Android calendar widget is crap, as it's only one event per day, so perhaps Sense and/or a Calendar app, of which there are many, can facilitate this.
(As I said, I've used WM6 in the past, but it's been a while. My Herald with WM6.5 was okay, but the last time I used it as a primary phone was November 2008 on the MDA.)
I understand all the info in in the EXIF data, but I do like having the timestamp so I can see the date of the pic right away.
So the stock Calendar app kinda sucks huh? Hmm I'll have to look in to that when I get this phone. I rely on this app a lot for reminders of birthdays, bills, tasks, etc.
As for the icons, I'm just curious. WMs icons sucked (as everyone knows) so of course everyone wanted them changed. I'd just like to know that the option is there for Android in case I want to do it.
Fair enough.
The calendar app is decent, and you can set alarms and notifications with ease. One of the greatest things about the Google integration is that your changes done on the device or web are synchronized, which I'm certain you're aware of.
The Calendar widget is my complaint. You can have 10 events happening on a day and it'll only display one of them. Not two, or an indicator that there are more events to be seen. One.
There are other free and paid calendar widgets that make this much less an issue.
Google app icons are, like most things Google, simple and effective.
kampf said:
The Calendar widget is my complaint. You can have 10 events happening on a day and it'll only display one of them. Not two, or an indicator that there are more events to be seen. One.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ah ok, thanks for the clarification. Sadly WM is the same way but the mod Cookie's Home Tab was able to fix that & let's you decide how many to show. I guess I'll have to find a replacement.
I'm actually shocked people still use winmo on HD2. Android is a breath of fresh air.
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App
I tried it once, couldn't get the MMS settings to stick & just forgot about it. I like WM6.5 but I'm ready for an OS that still has support for new stuff.
Another question: my girlfriend has the MyTouch4G. I've noticed the screen doesn't turn on when receiving a text message. Is this standard on Android? Is there anyway to fix that?
Also, for the MMS settings on hers, there's no way to choose how to download the pic. With WM on my HD2 it gives you the option of original resolution & other, smaller ones. Is there a way to do that in Android as well?
The MT4G has some serious tweaks to it, but the SMS behavior is probably normal. I recommend Hancent again because not only does it wake and notify, but you can send a reply without unlocking the screen, though it does not unlock the device.
MMS saving is pretty much save-what-you-get, which sometimes is not that large. There are also MMS-saving apps.
xnifex said:
I tried it once, couldn't get the MMS settings to stick & just forgot about it. I like WM6.5 but I'm ready for an OS that still has support for new stuff.
Another question: my girlfriend has the MyTouch4G. I've noticed the screen doesn't turn on when receiving a text message. Is this standard on Android? Is there anyway to fix that?
Also, for the MMS settings on hers, there's no way to choose how to download the pic. With WM on my HD2 it gives you the option of original resolution & other, smaller ones. Is there a way to do that in Android as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If she is on stock? The stock screen turns on briefly then turns off. The mms setting is weird it took me awhile to find out how to do it. You don't click the picture you click and hold slightly above it and then there is an option to save.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA Premium App
MaxReality said:
I'm actually shocked people still use winmo on HD2. Android is a breath of fresh air.
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty much a stickler for stock roms. i know, call me old fashioned but I'm probably going to mess about with my HD2 once it isn't my only phone
major_otaku said:
I'm pretty much a stickler for stock roms. i know, call me old fashioned but I'm probably going to mess about with my HD2 once it isn't my only phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fair play. what got my goat, was windows mobile has been out for a looong time. And it didn't really change much. then iphone came along, with a million quality apps, and nothing really changed with winmo. and then Android came along with a million free apps, and after a while in the UK we got the Marketplace in the UK with, erm about 8 apps, and then they charged you like £20!
After playing with these other phones, as soon as a reliable android rom became available, I gave winmo the 2 fingers. I've used them for 10 years, so have a right to be miffed. But yeah, roms not designed for the device were flakey. and like you I prob won't mess with my next phone.
Was just shocked that people stuck to winmo, with there being an alternative, - unlimited amount of android fun.
Anyone not used these android phones will be blown away with the amount of free useful and gimmicky apps.
kampf said:
MMS saving is pretty much save-what-you-get, which sometimes is not that large. There are also MMS-saving apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it sucks. I'll send her a pic from the HD2 & when she gets it it's been shrunk down a lot. When she sends me a picture it's still fairly big because of the setting on WM.
Killbynature said:
If she is on stock? The stock screen turns on briefly then turns off. The mms setting is weird it took me awhile to find out how to do it. You don't click the picture you click and hold slightly above it and then there is an option to save.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's not the saving that I'm worried about, it's the fact that pics that I send her that should be a lot bigger are shrunk down in size. If someone sends me a pic, I want it to be as big as possible & not be messed with before it gets to me.
major_otaku said:
I'm pretty much a stickler for stock roms. i know, call me old fashioned but I'm probably going to mess about with my HD2 once it isn't my only phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, I like stock ROMs. The 3.14 ROM is nice & I have it set up perfectly with CHT. I'm going to do the same thing tho with my HD2 once I get the Sensation.
There's no good reason to use MMS between you two. Get Dropbox accounts and share a folder. Upload photos there and they're full size and accessible anywhere.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
yeah but there's still a reason to MMS between me & my mother/sister/brother/buddy/friends that don't have Android phones.
Your reasoning is kinda like the reason Apple kept MMS out of the iPhone for so long: they thought it wasn't needed because you can just email it. Sorry but MMS will be around for a bit.
Oh man, good on you for reminding me of how Apple resisted MMS for so long. Heck, most people forget that the iPhone HAD NO APPS for a year after it was released.
@OP
Are you looking about upgrading to the Sensation, or is this about android on the HD2
If it isn't about the sensation, do you mind if I move this to HD2 Android.
Anyone else got the ChaCha yet?
Picked one up for my wife yesterday and I have to say I'm quite impressed. Solid build, nice weight, quite speedy too.
Has the Sense 3.0 lockscreen with shortcuts. No Weather\Stocks\Friendstream on the lockscreen though, just a background.
Also comes with a HTC version of Facebook chat, seems ok but can just use the inbuilt chat in the facebook app if you prefer.
Facebook integration is pretty tight, the same as with the other HTC Sense handsets. The Facebook button is quite handy and cool for uploading photos to facebook.
Will update further once we've played with it a bit more
yes
just bought one for myself as I need a keyboard (white/silver)
basically screen looks like wildfire S. very sharp
keyboard is excellent
and surprised there is forward facing camera and radio
signal quality is good and phone quality is good
even the charger is white
very nice so far
please keep updates coming
Thanks both - please keep updating us on your experiences
can't wait to play with my htc chacha..i do expecte to have it delivered by royal mail in 1 week.
ChaCha is nice!
I had same feeling. ChaCha is nice. I did not expect the keyboard is so good.
I installed Morelocale2 for Japanese use.
Japanese font is installed, and Open Wnn worked smoothly with the hardware keyboard.
It may replace my Blackberry Torch.
Further usage continues positive impressions.
Personally I wouldn't have bothered with the camber in the middle for aesthetic reasons. However for ergonomic purposes it is positive, in that it puts the screen at a better viewing angle when holding it and also wraps to your ear more nicely when making calls.
I would also have made the facebook button a more general assignable button, perhaps that will come with software
Its nice to have real "make" and "cancel" call buttons. This is always much better for people using their phones to actually make calls but seems to have been dropped on virtually all new iOS, Android and WP7 touch smartphones now.
For folk who thing this is a generic Android implementation, its not, its been tweaked alot for a landscape screen. HTC have obviously thought about how the device will be used and it has lessons learned from the excellent S620 and SNAP.
As well as sense and the display being optimised for landscape, window 1 is now the furthest left of the horzontal scroll (to go to different windows). I prefer this over the standard Android where extra windows are to the left and the right of the main windows.
Marketplace is also adapted for the size of the screen and landscape.
Note that by default, the web browser and other apps hides the status line on the top. thisis a good thing, as its a waste of space (maybe learnt from WP7 which has the perfect hidding of status symbols from permanent display !!!).
So far can continue to confirm that all radios (bluetooth, wifi and 3G) work well and calls are clear. Data also seems to be fine, marginally ahead of my Desire S in terms of keeping the signal (perhaps this is an illusion).
There IS an accelerometer, but most built-in apps seem to ignore it. e.g. the web browser does not go to portrait if you tilt the screen. It also seems that the orientation for portrait is not currently picked up by most market place apps/games. i.e. install "sky ball". You will see that to control the running ball you need to tilt left and right, but on the ChaCha, you need to tilt back and front. Clearly the game is not playable like this.
On the subject of "auto-rotate" screen, I have just found an option in the display settings called "auto rotate screen - after market downloaded applications"
I can confirm when ticking this box, most of my downloaded applications auto-rotate when I turn the phone. however this does not effect built in applications (e.g. mail, web browser, etc.)
some other things to note:
1. Chacha has 800mhz new design cpu (faster then 600mhz one in salsa and wildfire S)
2. Chacha does have an FM radio (bizzarely many previews on the internet say it hasn't)
3. The camera is 5mp with face detection and flash.
4. Note that with the latest version of Android (on the ChaCha - 2.3.3) you can move most applications you install from the marketplace to the SD card. so internal memory is not really an issue.
Lastly the keyboard is nice to use. Each key is spaced nicely and has a positive click
rgds
colonel said:
Further usage continues positive impressions.
Personally I wouldn't have bothered with the camber in the middle for aesthetic reasons. However for ergonomic purposes it is positive, in that it puts the screen at a better viewing angle when holding it and also wraps to your ear more nicely when making calls.
I would also have made the facebook button a more general assignable button, perhaps that will come with software
Its nice to have real "make" and "cancel" call buttons. This is always much better for people using their phones to actually make calls but seems to have been dropped on virtually all new iOS, Android and WP7 touch smartphones now.
For folk who thing this is a generic Android implementation, its not, its been tweaked alot for a landscape screen. HTC have obviously thought about how the device will be used and it has lessons learned from the excellent S620 and SNAP.
As well as sense and the display being optimised for landscape, window 1 is now the furthest left of the horzontal scroll (to go to different windows). I prefer this over the standard Android where extra windows are to the left and the right of the main windows.
Marketplace is also adapted for the size of the screen and landscape.
Note that by default, the web browser and other apps hides the status line on the top. thisis a good thing, as its a waste of space (maybe learnt from WP7 which has the perfect hidding of status symbols from permanent display !!!).
So far can continue to confirm that all radios (bluetooth, wifi and 3G) work well and calls are clear. Data also seems to be fine, marginally ahead of my Desire S in terms of keeping the signal (perhaps this is an illusion).
There IS an accelerometer, but most built-in apps seem to ignore it. e.g. the web browser does not go to portrait if you tilt the screen. It also seems that the orientation for portrait is not currently picked up by most market place apps/games. i.e. install "sky ball". You will see that to control the running ball you need to tilt left and right, but on the ChaCha, you need to tilt back and front. Clearly the game is not playable like this.
some other things to note:
1. Chacha has 800mhz new design cpu (faster then 600mhz one in salsa and wildfire S)
2. Chacha does have an FM radio (bizzarely many previews on the internet say it hasn't)
3. The camera is 5mp with face detection and flash.
4. Note that with the latest version of Android (on the ChaCha - 2.3.3) you can move most applications you install from the marketplace to the SD card. so internal memory is not really an issue.
Lastly the keyboard is nice to use. Each key is spaced nicely and has a positive click
rgds
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MANY thanks my friend - great info!
Where in London did you buy it from? I'm thinking of picking it up at the Carphone Warehouse sim-free today (8 June)
Do you find the screen is too small? The chacha resolution is better than other similar phones such as Samsung Galaxy Pro and Acer Betouch E210 (I returned the Acer cause I found it hard to read web pages etc on its resolution).
How is the battery life? Do you think it'll last a day?
Sorry for all questions!
colonel said:
Further usage continues positive impressions.
Its nice to have real "make" and "cancel" call buttons. This is always much better for people using their phones to actually make calls but seems to have been dropped on virtually all new iOS, Android and WP7 touch smartphones now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
EDIT - pls ignore I quickly read they weren't used to make calls, but VERY glad they are
Cheers!
hanybanoub said:
MANY thanks my friend - great info!
Where in London did you buy it from? I'm thinking of picking it up at the Carphone Warehouse sim-free today (8 June)
Do you find the screen is too small? The chacha resolution is better than other similar phones such as Samsung Galaxy Pro and Acer Betouch E210 (I returned the Acer cause I found it hard to read web pages etc on its resolution).
How is the battery life? Do you think it'll last a day?
Sorry for all questions!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought from carphonewarehouse simfree on cheapside it was £229
The battery seems the same as the Desire S. i.e. 2 days if you don't use, 1-1.5 days if you get email & browse
The screen is small (2.6"). I bought this over the samsung galaxy pro due to the 480x320 resolution. Its a sacrifice for this type of device, however the resolution is fine (same as HTC Legend, etc.)
Hi All,
My wife has noticed an annoying bug, can someone check for us to see if it s common bug or just our very own
When typing in Gtalk or SMS and a smiley is used, it can turn blue, enlarge a little and stay on the screen with no way to get it off (reboot phone)
anyone else seen this? I haven't done any of the obvious things yet such as uninstall Gtalk and re-install or do a factory reset
leon5373 said:
I had same feeling. ChaCha is nice. I did not expect the keyboard is so good.
I installed Morelocale2 for Japanese use.
Japanese font is installed, and Open Wnn worked smoothly with the hardware keyboard.
It may replace my Blackberry Torch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow! It's so nice.
Please tell me how the Japanese font is.
Is it a CJK one?
raikesy said:
Hi All,
My wife has noticed an annoying bug, can someone check for us to see if it s common bug or just our very own
When typing in Gtalk or SMS and a smiley is used, it can turn blue, enlarge a little and stay on the screen with no way to get it off (reboot phone)
anyone else seen this? I haven't done any of the obvious things yet such as uninstall Gtalk and re-install or do a factory reset
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't used gtalk. When you say smiley with SMS, just tried from SYM key. Doesn't seem to do this, but just text, i.e. : )
colonel said:
I haven't used gtalk. When you say smiley with SMS, just tried from SYM key. Doesn't seem to do this, but just text, i.e. : )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah right - Not sure about the SMS just what she told me over the phone. I've walked her through a factory reset and all seems OK at the moment. If it returns I'll uninstall Gtalk and put it back on.
What software version is everyone on? I notice the latest update is 1.18.401.1 but I'm sure my wife's is still on 1.17 I tried to initiate an update last night but was told it's up to date.
raikesy said:
Ah right - Not sure about the SMS just what she told me over the phone. I've walked her through a factory reset and all seems OK at the moment. If it returns I'll uninstall Gtalk and put it back on.
What software version is everyone on? I notice the latest update is 1.18.401.1 but I'm sure my wife's is still on 1.17 I tried to initiate an update last night but was told it's up to date.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mine is 1.15.401.2
its a generic non-branded one
mine also says up-to-date when I check software
colonel said:
mine is 1.15.401.2
its a generic non-branded one
mine also says up-to-date when I check software
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1.15 - that's the one, ours is on that also.
Can the ChaCha record HD Video?
Nice phone indeed! Good quality.
My call and end buttons dont work! Can anyone help please?
Just picked up mine yesterday and I'm absolutely loving the keyboard!
I came from an HTC Tattoo as I was finding it increasing frustrating to type on a touchscreen. I guess I'm a physical keyboard guy!
Sent from my HTC ChaCha A810e using XDA Premium App
hanybanoub said:
Nice phone indeed! Good quality.
My call and end buttons dont work! Can anyone help please?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FYI for others: Took it back and they gave me another...apparently the first batch sometimes is buggy.
Buttons now work
Good phone for facebook fan.
How to get Email description in notification bar instead of generic "1 unread message
When I receive an email with the gmail app, there is a description of the email i.e. subject line shows up in notification bar. With the stock email app there is just a generic "1 unread email" that shows up.. Ive looked at all the settings and searched.
nimski62 said:
When I receive an email with the gmail app, there is a description of the email i.e. subject line shows up in notification bar. With the stock email app there is just a generic "1 unread email" that shows up.. Ive looked at all the settings and searched.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately this isn't an option on the stock email app. It's possible that ROMS will allow you to do this in the future but you need an unlocked bootloader in order to do that.
NextNexus said:
Unfortunately this isn't an option on the stock email app. It's possible that ROMS will allow you to do this in the future but you need an unlocked bootloader in order to do that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As an iPhone user for the past 4 years, I just don't see the Android hype. Why can't personalize the phone the way we want.. it's an ANDROID for Pete's sake. So far, my push email has been delayed, the phone heats up for no reason and drains battery, and there are no Google voice missed call notifications for android, all things that I could do and/or worked perfect on my iPhone.
Guys, have I got a great app for you.
Notifier Pro in the Play Store, sorry to lazy to link it to you.
But there is a free version and it does the notifications way better and somewhat iPhone like.
It has made a big dif for me coming from the iPhone 4S
nimski62 said:
As an iPhone user for the past 4 years, I just don't see the Android hype. Why can't personalize the phone the way we want.. it's an ANDROID for Pete's sake. So far, my push email has been delayed, the phone heats up for no reason and drains battery, and there are no Google voice missed call notifications for android, all things that I could do and/or worked perfect on my iPhone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you dont like android im fairly sure nobody forced you into it. If you truly think the iphone is better, then you can easily switch back. BUT, if you really want a different experience than every other iphone user on the planet, you wont get it. Give these developers a little time and an unlocked bootloader and you can make your phone YOURS. Want something tweaked in the notification bar, chances are someone here can do it. Concerned about battery drains, chances are they will get fixed.
Androids not perfect, but luckily we have all these amazing people to make it as close as it gets. The way i see it, you can either have your phone be Apple's experience, OR you can have it be a personal experience, the way you want it.
nimski62 said:
As an iPhone user for the past 4 years, I just don't see the Android hype. Why can't personalize the phone the way we want.. it's an ANDROID for Pete's sake. So far, my push email has been delayed, the phone heats up for no reason and drains battery, and there are no Google voice missed call notifications for android, all things that I could do and/or worked perfect on my iPhone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hear ya bro...you should return it for iphone 4s....Android is not for everyone...especially android phone with locked bootloader...
Trying the One X too - from a 4S
Nimski62, I get what you are saying - there are aspects of the Android OS that have been surpassed such as the email notifications you are describing. And I can relate - I've have every iPhone (all were my daily drivers) and have been trying out different android models to see what the hype really is about. (AT&T- Inspire, Atrix, Atrix 2, SGS 2 & VZN - TBolt, Razr, Rezound, DINC2) and now the One X.
Different doesn't always mean worse. For me, I'd rather see a single notification saying there are 4 unread emails, instead of a mini preview entry for each one.
But the Google Voice notifications for missed calls IS REALLY NICE - especially if you are out of a service area, but have a WIFI connection - those notifications still come through.
For me, I keep trying to find a handset that is at least as good speed, battery, and feature-set as the latest iPhone. With each phone, I get a chance to re-evaluate what I think is important for what I want in a phone. For now, I think that MAY be the One X but the BIGGEST factor is getting over the idea of what you are used to using. If you have a 4S, then getting over the one-handed ease of use (along with the instant functionality of Siri [when she works]) is rather difficult. There aren't many droids that are butter smooth and have near instant UI responsiveness as the 4S. Photostream and iMessage rocks
But I love Swype, SwiftKey X, and the faster and more accurate google voice to text (IMHO) as well as the built in navigation. I love the bigger screen and hate it at the same time each time I pull it out of my back pocket. I love the part that you can add software to almost any part of the phone - launcher, dialer, lock screen, file and video viewers, etc. Thats what keeps me coming back to android.
The issue I have now is that I've been trying to find out myself about why the Google Voice missed call notifications are not coming through all the time on my 1X - but yet they works faster on my 4S. go figure. Its still new and updates are coming - I'm sure and I still have about 24 days to go before I have to commit.
Since I added a line to my account, I'll still keep the 4S as a backup on the other number. But so far, Im really impressed.