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First of all, I would like to congratulate you on running such an active worldwide community all linked by just one devotion to technology. This is my first post though I have been following this forum for a while. I am getting a new Tornado ( The deal was unbeatable!!) and I am pretty much excited.
I am searching for a cutting(/bleeding) edge ROM or even a Kitchen to spice up my new Tornado and I am prepared to learn the tricks and tools required to have a fully-functional and bug-free ( I hope I can, with your help!) 6.1 ROM having all the important and offering good usability and functionality to the end user ( ME! ).
So, what do you suggest? I am prepared for a steep learning curve, that usually accompanies this kind of a quest
My Opinion ...
I use actualy BlacKura Wm 6.1 Profesional rom. I like the fonts, are small, and the resolution is like PC screen. I wass able to install SPB Menu Shel 2.14, what i like most, + is a Office build in. What is verry useeful at least for me.
Lacks? Hmmm there are some aplications specialy donne for SP (smartphone) what tell me it can't been instaling on this device, what i understand because this rom is not designed for SP.
If u actually try this rom ( remeber to free your aplication lock) , remember u have a fake cursor ( like a mouse what u can use with joystick ) , what can be enabled by pressing home key for 3 secs ( that one what enable the Start menu)
Other ROms ( beleve me i wass tryd almost all) i dont like, the fact are kinda WM5 ( big fonts , menu like anyother cell without WM ).
Regards Camelia .
Touchscreen?
Actually even I am looking for a ROM with a small font size. And judging by what you say, the ROM supports the programs written for a touchscreen device, right?
So how do you operate the cursor, I mean how do you click or drag? Is this method fast? I found out that the ROM is fast, but I could not get the way it works. So please shed some light on this.
If you like profesional ROMs, try also kamikadze's
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=455950
It is great looking, small font. As for how to use professional ROMs that are ment for touchscreen devices, as kingoldstyle suggested, use SPB Menu Shell application, it allows you to move through menus very quickly using number buttons. Also, sursor can be activated and moved with a joystick, not so fast and comfortable, but I rarely use it with mine phone, only when I need to set alarm. Other than that, I dont need cursor.
Shell?
Thanks a lot for your reply.
And where can I get the Shell?
Apps
Should I install touchscreen or smartphone applications in this ROM?
And what is the performance benefit when compared to the Smartphone ROM?
Will the Professional ROM support Point UI in the Faraday?
You can try them all. Some touchscreen applications are difficult and slow to use, so its up to you to decide what you want with your phone. I use smartphone applications mostly. I installed professional ROM because I like the good look of it (in combination with spb shell). The ROM is very fast, I didnt measure their performance, because when I installed it for the first time I just loved it. Some people here say its faster.
Check your PM.
I tested Point UI Home 1.51 on my Qtek 8310 (HTC Tornado) with WM Professional ROM and works great and I don't need use FakeCursor.
I think that, Professional ROM is faster than Smartphone ROM on HTC Tornado. I use Professional ROM on my smartphone about 9 months and I wouldn't return on smartphone ROM.
Thanks.
Thanks a lot, everybody.
I shall upgrade as soon as it reaches me.
Oh, the wait!!!
Qazer said:
I tested Point UI Home 1.51 on my Qtek 8310 (HTC Tornado) with WM Professional ROM and works great and I don't need use FakeCursor.
I think that, Professional ROM is faster than Smartphone ROM on HTC Tornado. I use Professional ROM on my smartphone about 9 months and I wouldn't return on smartphone ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried SPB shell, and if yes, do you find PointUI better, and why?
Goran_: for me is better Point UI than SPB Mobile Shell. Point UI is faster and nicer for me.
I know the process would be slightly difference for each device but I cannot find a description of how to back up my current rom, load a custom rom, and if need be flash the old rom back onto the device.
I also haven't found a description of what all is entailed in a custom rom. is it that much different than regular windows mobile? whats the difference between a new rom and a serious registry over haul?
I am running a HTC touch pro(ATT version) minus most of the bloatware and with some minor registry tweeks, no matter how I interface with it(touch flo3d, pointui, or the windows home screen) eventually it will lock up on the switch back from landscape. so if there was a rom that was built for high performance, but was able to use touchflo3d if I wanted, or was more finger friendly. . . .
I don't really even know what I want in a rom because I don't know what is offered.
so a little helpful explanation to take me from intermediate level to low end pro would be great thanks
rumpagump said:
I know the process would be slightly difference for each device but I cannot find a description of how to back up my current rom, load a custom rom, and if need be flash the old rom back onto the device.
I also haven't found a description of what all is entailed in a custom rom. is it that much different than regular windows mobile? whats the difference between a new rom and a serious registry over haul?
I am running a HTC touch pro(ATT version) minus most of the bloatware and with some minor registry tweeks, no matter how I interface with it(touch flo3d, pointui, or the windows home screen) eventually it will lock up on the switch back from landscape. so if there was a rom that was built for high performance, but was able to use touchflo3d if I wanted, or was more finger friendly. . . .
I don't really even know what I want in a rom because I don't know what is offered.
so a little helpful explanation to take me from intermediate level to low end pro would be great thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Reading the Wiki always helps to solve questions
Original ROM´s (something like the operating system from factory) is loaded when you buy a device, this great forum have a lot of chefs (Members that improve original ROM´s) with dozens of custom or cooked ROM´s.
ALWAYS a cooked ROM is better than the original!
The best way to knoe which one is the best for you is to enter to the correspondent subforum of your device and READ a lot regarding the ones you are interested in, once you choose one enter to Wiki to learn hot to upgrade a ROM:
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=HTC_Raphael
Good luck and enjoy!
What are the builds like now, everything pretty stable?
I mainly use Opera, TomTom 7 (legally purchased) and lots of SMS so nothing too taxing.
All opinions gratefully received.
Easy Answer
Yes. WM6.5 runs as well or better then the WM6.1 counterpart. I fancy the new homescreen as well as the new finger scrolling that is built in. The WM6.5 finger scrolling feels much more fluid and "iphone-like". Simply a bliss to use.
The new redesigned menu's allow a lot more finger friendly use. I also like the new transparent startmenu and task bar. The actual start menu takes some getting used to but if you organize your icons into folders, it helps a lot.
Most of your basic apps are the same as before; Messaging specifically. Everything pretty much just works.
Once you try WM6.5 for a few days, you could never go back to WM6.1 without a fight.
Da_G is pretty much leading the pack and provides basic barebone versions to download. If you download his rom, you'll have JUST the WM6.5 OS with all the basic stuff. If you never used a barebones OS you'll find a few HTC customizations being missed. For example the Volume Control, Phone Dialer, and Task Manager are all HTC specific apps that aren't included with a clean Windows Mobile OS.
While it would be educational and fun to see what a pure WM6.5 OS feels like without the extra crap, for daily use, you might want to hit up some of the custom roms.
I typically like trying Da_G's rom first before cooking my own, so I can see what has changed and explore the new updated rom in its greatness.
player beat me to it. 6.5 is pretty amazing. I haven't found one bug. By the way Da G just released a new build.
do they have a sprint tp compatible version of wm6.5 yet? i havent been able to find one yet.
i'v been using the 21198 build for two weeks now. i haven't gotten around to adding HTC customizations yet as i'm a believe microsoft needs to step up and make an OS with solid with solid core functionality (think apple and iphone). i like 6.5 but there are some application incompatibilities at the moment, eg. epocrates and some other medical software.
opera 9.5.15613, i'm not sure if there are newer builds, doesn't display properly--some tearing in the screen when scrolling. but tomtom7 works fine.
Right now im using his new 21500 build, and i have to say, it is godly. Windows 6.5 runs soo smoothly, and almost no glitches that i can find so far. Battery drains a little fast, but its managable if you charge it every night. Opera is working like a charm, everything is a little small though.. gps is working great also.
Thanks all. Sounds like its time to give it a go.
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)
I am just wondering what will be happen to HTC when windows mobile 7 is out ? Right now, we have the great Manila, which is in my opinion much more important for my daily use than the underlaying mobile OS. So I don´t care about windows mobile 6.1 or 6.5 it is not important for me, I need just ANY windows to use all my windows mobile tools. But everey new version of manila is the great new development at the moment: New tools, new usage, new design ! I could say for years with 6.1 when htc would update manila fast and steady. I have no problem to have nearly all tools twice, one from windows mobile and one from htc, for example calculator, contacts, calendar...
But what happens when v7 will arrive and Microsoft did everything new and hopefully better ?
First: If the ned design and UI is really great, we don´t need manila anymore. I don´t belive this but maybe it will happen and there is a problem for htc, because nobody wants manila and they are back thrown to just a hardware manufacture.
Second: Windows 7 UI is not so good. In this case we need manila, but we are still in the same situation than today: Everything is double on the device, one time from MS and one time from htc, which is not the best solution in terms of hardware resources, speed and funcionality compared to other mobile phones.
What do you think about this future ?
hans
Okay....
Just so I understand this clearly, your primary worry is regarding Manila's compatibility with Windows Mobile 7.
First: Yes, it's true that if the new Windows Mobile 7 is great, then Manila will be less needed, but I find that doubtful. Unless Microsoft copies Manila directly, then there will still be those who needs HTC's unique interface for whatever reason.
Also, I'm not sure if you realize this, but developing Manila actually cost HTC money. Companies often develop an interface for WinMo (Manila, Touchwiz, etc) because it is to hide the ugly original interface and to improve productivity. If they no longer have to do this, it would actually save them money. Hardware is, in fact, HTC's primary method of making money (after all, they don't sell Manila; it comes free).
Second: Yes, if WinMo 7's interface is not good, then more resources will be needed for the OS and the secondary interface, but the performance drop may not be as great as you think. One of the things about Windows Mobile 7 is that it is supposed to better utilize modern hardware, which will make it far more efficient. The increased resources needed will probably be more than offset by WM7's increased efficiency.
Secondly, if, for some strange reason, the combination of WinMo 7 and Manila ends up being too resource heavy, I really don't see this being a huge issue as hardware will inevitably be improved to handle any extra needed resources. Or XDA will end up taking care of any slack HTC has (and if the past few years have been any indication, there will be plenty of slack on HTC's side).
After all, one must remember that the WM6.1 stock ROM with HTC Manila is not exactly the fastest thing in the world.
Perhaps this is a little too much optimism, but I don't think we need to worry about WM7's interface. MS have been making a lot of great interfaces lately -- Win7, the Xbox 360, and the Zune all have extremely nice interfaces. WM7 is a big deal to MS, and I'm sure they're giving a lot of resources to developing a good UI. WM6.5 may seem like a disappointment, but all indications seem to be that 6.5 was purely a low-priority patch job.
As has been said, HTC will probably be BETTER off if they DON'T have to reskin the OS. Maybe instead they can spend those development resources on useful add-on tools instead of basic functionality.
And if the core WM7 UI is lame and HTC DOES feel the need to step up, I bet it'll be possible. MS knows that customization is practically the one thing they really still have over the competition, and I doubt they'll squash that.
What makes me optimistic is also that WinMo 6.5's titanium does not look so bad to me, as well as the new locking system...
Even if it does not provide as many functionnalities as a good old manila, it's still some improvement over the classic naked WinMo look and feel. What do you think ?