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For almost 2 years I used a Touch Diamond. While WiMo is far from perfect in todays world with a bit of tweaking and some extra software I had a device that did what I wanted it to do. Sure, WiMo isnt what you´d call fast but as said, it did what it had to do.
For the past few days I´ve been using android with my new htc legend. I heard a lot of good things about android and that is why I decided to switch. But even after a few days I´m already having a feeling of regret. While android is very fast and finger friendly the OS/apps itself just don't cut it compared to WiMo. About 75% of the things I did on a daily basis with my phone just don't work (properly) on android.
Syncing mail with hotmail is a *****. It for example does not sync read messages so everytime I login with my pc I still have to click all new messages while I already read them on my phone. This worked perfectly with WiMo.
No automatic 3g disconnect. Now this isnt default on WiMo either but there are apps that just disconnect a idle data connection. Now android has a whole bunch of apps like juicedefender but they just dont work properly and are overcomplicated. Just disconnect if I don't use it. Thats all I want. Let apps and whatever connect when they want to and kill the connection when they are done. Simple you'd think but impossible on android it seems.
Youtube is a epic fail. In the exact same place, with the exact same simcard I just can't load a movie. They all stop after 3 seconds and don't load further. Also there is no option for always having HQ. The WiMo app had this and I could always load HQ movies without trouble.
But it gets even worse when it comes to much more practical things. The browser won't save exchange webmail login info. So now I'm expected to loging like 5 times a day to my uni mail by typing my info every time? Not nice.
And what about displaying agenda items? can't do that on the lockscreen. There are apps to do this but not on the htc sense one as far as I've seen. So I have to manually check my agenda which is just a ***** because I'm just to seeing things come up on the homescreen.
Also I can't login to the uni website. You should get a login popup but the android browser doesnt seem to be capable of this. Ofcourse this was no problem at all with a 2 year old browser... So now I can't check schedules and all.
Also there is no way to stream my favorite internet radio station.
Basically I pay 10 euro's a month for internet on my phone but all apps I regulairy use with internet don't work or only work a bit on android.
Don't get me wrong, I love the speed and all but what good is speed to me if I can't use most of the functions that are important to me? What is even more disturbing is that non of the things I want to do are very special. This should all just work but it seems to be far above what android is capable of.
Basically to me android is a disfunctional OS. If the above things would work, I'd love it but now all I got is speed, but no way of doing the things I want.
Nice try, but not quite it.
sjaak1234 said:
Syncing mail with hotmail is a *****. It for example does not sync read messages so everytime I login with my pc I still have to click all new messages while I already read them on my phone. This worked perfectly with WiMo.
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That's hardly Android error - it just seems to be a bug in the mail client app. Maybe yry another one?
No automatic 3g disconnect. Now this isnt default on WiMo either but there are apps that just disconnect a idle data connection. Now android has a whole bunch of apps like juicedefender but they just dont work properly and are overcomplicated. Just disconnect if I don't use it. Thats all I want. Let apps and whatever connect when they want to and kill the connection when they are done. Simple you'd think but impossible on android it seems.
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Click to collapse
It's not as simple as it sounds - android has to have an active data connection to enable IM messages as well as gmail imap notifications. Unlike POP3 e-mail accounts where you have to querry the server for new e-mails once in a while, gmail actually sends information to your phone when you get an email. And this wouldn't be possible if the connection was turned off.
And if you don't want to use gmail or gtalk, just disable background data in android's data sync settings and the 3g module won't eat your battery when unneeded. Don't worry, android is much smarter with power management than winMo and the fact that you didn't disable something by hand doesn't mean that it's eating your battery.
It's like GPS - even if it;s turned on in options/on power control wigdet the module isn't physically powered up until an app requests to use it. And when it's done the module powers down again. But still you see people disabling gps support in options after exiting maps believing that it will save some battery, or even requesting an app that would disable the switch on power control wigdet.
So just remember - it's a different OS, it has different rules and the fact that you did something by hand in winMo doesn't mean you have to do it here.
Youtube is a epic fail. In the exact same place, with the exact same simcard I just can't load a movie. They all stop after 3 seconds and don't load further. Also there is no option for always having HQ. The WiMo app had this and I could always load HQ movies without trouble.
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Click to collapse
Again, this seems to be a problem with your rom/app version. I (and many other people) don't have any trouble with YT on android.
As for the HQ, it's turned on automatically when you're on wifi, on a gsm connection it defaults to standard quality. Personally i like this behavior but i agree that there should be an option to change that for people with huge/unlimited data plans.
But it gets even worse when it comes to much more practical things. The browser won't save exchange webmail login info. So now I'm expected to loging like 5 times a day to my uni mail by typing my info every time? Not nice.
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Click to collapse
Weird, but also not android bug, just the browser. You might want to try some alternatives (like dolphin, skyfire, opera mini)
And what about displaying agenda items? can't do that on the lockscreen. There are apps to do this but not on the htc sense one as far as I've seen. So I have to manually check my agenda which is just a ***** because I'm just to seeing things come up on the homescreen.
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Click to collapse
Okay, and since when does WinMo display the agenda without any additional software? But i agree, htc really should make some "upcomming events" widget, and default android could use one as well. For now i use "CalWidget" and i know of "pure calendar widget" (paid). I don't know it they're compatible with sense but it may be worth a try
Also I can't login to the uni website. You should get a login popup but the android browser doesnt seem to be capable of this. Ofcourse this was no problem at all with a 2 year old browser... So now I can't check schedules and all.
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Again, hard to blame android for that. Some alternative browser might help (maybe opera mini?).
Also there is no way to stream my favorite internet radio station.
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There is no way to do that or maybe you just don't know a way to do it? Try DroidLive (it might even have this station in its database) or StreamFurious. Both have usable free versions.
Don't get me wrong, I love the speed and all but what good is speed to me if I can't use most of the functions that are important to me? What is even more disturbing is that non of the things I want to do are very special. This should all just work but it seems to be far above what android is capable of.
Basically to me android is a disfunctional OS. If the above things would work, I'd love it but now all I got is speed, but no way of doing the things I want.
Nice try, but not quite it.
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Click to collapse
Well, seems to me that you don't really have a problem with android but you just got screwed by HTC and their customized version of android
If i were you, i'd just look for an unofficial rom. It might actually fix all your problems.
Also, part of your woes seems to be the fact that you knew winMo, knew the tweaks and apps you needed to make the device do what you want. Going over to android is a fresh start where you have to find out everything again. I know, i had similar feelings on a stock rom on my G1 after being a hardcore winMo user But after some research and grabbing a new rom and few extra apps android is way more functional than winMo for me and i don't feel like ever going back.
Just give it a chance and do some research.
Android platform has to mature a lot.
WM without xda is a hell.
You really need to find a new ROM. I've never had one single issue you're talking about.
Edit: And I'm using a myTouch running 1.6.
mr_deimos said:
That's hardly Android error - it just seems to be a bug in the mail client app. Maybe yry another one?
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Could be, though I doubt that. But I might try a different one.
It's not as simple as it sounds
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I know all that. But for me it does not seem to work perfectly. If I disable data connection always on (I never actually completely disable it), it still leaves it open. I checked overnight compared with just totally disabling it and it made a clear difference in the battery charge left. Its not like GPS where the icon actally dissapears when you don't use it but this doesnt happen with 3g so far as I can see it, it still uses more power than when disabling it.
I understand all the google stuff needs it, but I don't use any of it so for me its rather useless.
Again, this seems to be a problem with your rom/app version. I (and many other people) don't have any trouble with YT on android.
As for the HQ, it's turned on automatically when you're on wifi, on a gsm connection it defaults to standard quality. Personally i like this behavior but i agree that there should be an option to change that for people with huge/unlimited data plans.
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I did some more reachers on this and the problems seems to exist on a lot of different models/rom versions. I got the latest 2.1 rom for legend so I should have the latest (v1.5 I believe).
Weird, but also not android bug, just the browser. You might want to try some alternatives (like dolphin, skyfire, opera mini)
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I reacherd a bit more and it seems to be a IIS and android problem. Wm and Iphone have the same problem but they just ignore the IIS message and continue. I tried Opera and it has the same problem. Btw, I think Opera on android is a long way off from Opera on WM. Still missing lots of functions I think.
IIS problem for the website login btw. Not sure why the exchange site doesnt save credentials but that seems to be misconfiguration. For example it wont even work on most desktop browsers either.
Okay, and since when does WinMo display the agenda without any additional software? But i agree, htc really should make some "upcomming events" widget, and default android could use one as well. For now i use "CalWidget" and i know of "pure calendar widget" (paid). I don't know it they're compatible with sense but it may be worth a try
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Click to collapse
Yes ofcourse with extra software I will try the apps you posted. Thanks.
There is no way to do that or maybe you just don't know a way to do it? Try DroidLive (it might even have this station in its database) or StreamFurious. Both have usable free versions.
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Click to collapse
Thats the problem. They work with their own databases. I just want to load a .pls or m3u file in a player and have it connect.
Well, seems to me that you don't really have a problem with android but you just got screwed by HTC and their customized version of android
If i were you, i'd just look for an unofficial rom. It might actually fix all your problems.
Also, part of your woes seems to be the fact that you knew winMo, knew the tweaks and apps you needed to make the device do what you want. Going over to android is a fresh start where you have to find out everything again. I know, i had similar feelings on a stock rom on my G1 after being a hardcore winMo user But after some research and grabbing a new rom and few extra apps android is way more functional than winMo for me and i don't feel like ever going back.
Just give it a chance and do some research.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe you are right. I know everything about WM and for me android still has a lot of things beneath its skin I don't know. If the apps I want exist I could fix some of my problems.
But some problems are just android related. The whole website thing is a combination of android and IIS configuration that don't play nice. Nothing HTC can do about this, nor can any custom rom. Its something google needs to fix. Ofcourse, if my uni would change their IIS settings it could also fix the problem but I don't think I can get them to change settings just for me.
For me that really needs to work because its a daily function for me.
Also I wonder if some things can be done. For example in WM you can just select to only use your provider. I still havn't found a way to completely disable roaming on android. Fortunatly its easy to prevent data roaming.
Hey there,
I'm a Winmo user/fan and have been for a few generations of phones now. My first Winmo device was the HTC/UTStarcom Apache for Verizon (aka the XV-6700). My next upgrade was to the XV6800, which I loved. It served me very well, even when friends around me went on and on about their iPhones, I couldn't help but say how much I loved my phone.
Now, I have the Verizon Touch Pro2 (Rhodium). It really was a natural upgrade for someone who loved full qwerty keyboards, and this phone really didn't disappoint. I pretty much stuck with stock ROMs for a while, from the original Winmo 6.1, to the MR1 update to 6.5, and finally when MR2 landed, I loaded up Mr X's custom ROM, which was the MR2 with some annoyances fixed (he did a great job with it, I picked it up at ppcgeeks.com). With Sense 2.5, I finally got to mod my home screen with Cookie's Home Tab, and it simply rocks. CHT is a very awesome mod.
So, suffice to say, it wasn't all that long ago, I got my phone to the point where I really really liked it. I'm extremely happy with my current phone; I have over a year left on my contract. Which gives me plenty of time to think about what's next. Where do I go from here?
So, what is next??
Hardware is just going to keep getting better and better. I'm not really worried about that so much as I am what OS I use.
I love Winmo simply because it is so customizable. It isn't all that hard to get it to do what you want it to do. Most times, all you have to do is look around, and someone already solved the problem you're working on.
Windows Phone 7 doesn't really appeal to me. I can certainly see why it would appeal to other people, but it doesn't look like its going to really be my type of phone OS. Honestly, if I wanted the type of OS Microsoft iss building, I would much rather go with an iPhone. And, for that matter, if a CDMA version of iPhone hits the big VZW I might really think about it.
And then there is the new kid on the block (sort of). Android.
Android intrigues me. So much so, that I tried installing the Project Android Port on my TP2. Gotta love Haret. I started with the basic ROM that looks a lot like the UI for the Motorola Droid. It wasn't too bad, but the ROM ran rather poorly on my device. Then, later on, I installed the Klinux version, that has the Sense UI on top of Android. I think I really like that interface. It rocks. The port is still a little slow, but its also running off of a SD card, and its not really a 100% working port yet.
Now, I think I like the Sense UI implementation in Winmo more than I do the implementation in Android. However, HTC has done a fine job with it on Android, and it's got a lot of potential.
So, I'm really starting to think now, "Could my next phone be an Android device?" And to be honest, it doesn't sound like a bad idea. It's an open platform, it's very customizable (why I liked Winmo so much), and it seems to be picking up steam in the Apps category (sometimes I'm jealous that I can get an app for something on my Android port and not on Winmo).
But, what would be nice to have, in my mind, is a little more help from the big G itself. Google already has a feature with its Gmail application that allows you to basically tell Gmail to log into your other email address (that you are presumably trying to switch from) and it will pretty much import all of your old messages and contacts, etc.
I think it would be really spectacular if they could do the same thing for Winmo users. Basically, have a new site --> phone.google.com (or something similar), and have it be your cloud based backup location for everything that doesn't get synced now from Google. Sync up all of your SMS Text Messages, your documents stored on your phone, music, videos, and photos. Also, it can be a portal linking you to other Google apps like your calendar and contacts. And then, give this new site the ability to log into myphone.microsoft.com and pull all of the old stored data from there.
It would be perfect for someone like me who has all of his content there. Bam, all of your saved SMS messages... pulled over from MS to Google, and you don't miss a beat with them. Seriously, SMS is becoming as important as email for a lot of people. I hate having to lose texts, so when MS offered MyPhone and the ability to back them up, I was all over that.
Heck, Google could even improve upon what MS started. Have customizable settings, where if any SMS is older than a certain date, it gets archived in the cloud (so its still stored and searchable), but your device doesn't have to get bogged down with actual files, and older messages that have been archived get automatically removed from your device. If your device gets wiped, and you reinstall everything, when it syncs up, you pull back all of the messages that are newer that "X" date, while everything else older than "X" stays in the cloud in your archives. They could make the data exportable... its just data in a database, you could export to a spreadsheet like Excel, or Google Docs equivalent. Give people options, they'll love you for it.
I'm sure that there is only a small fraction of their userbase that is coming from Winmo over to Android, so I really don't expect them to do this... but wouldn't it be nice. They'd surely win me over with it. I know, somewhere out there, there is an SMS backup application for Android, but it sends your SMS messages to an email account to be backed up there. I think a dedicated system in place for backing up, restoring, and archiving SMS would be better. To me, its one of the missing pieces to Android's way of doing things.
If any of you out there have any thoughts on this, why not comment. I'd love to hear other ideas that people have regarding this.
(Also, I couldn't really figure out a good place to post this, so "General" seemed as good a place as any. If any mods see fit to move this to somewhere better, go for it.)
I agree with this completely. I'm a big Winmo advocate, and I love the customiseablity that it gives. I've pretty much got my device to the point of perfection, and I'm practically in love at this point. Anyway so I decided to give android a go on my device, and at first I was pissed that they tried to force me to register a google account, which I was unwilling to do. I somehow got it to work and I quite liked it in all honesty. I bought my topaz outright, so I don't plan on getting a new phone anytime soon, but Android intrigues me and if there isn't any new WinMo or something in the future, that will be what I will switch to.
Switching for me wouldn't be a problem, I don't really have anything that I can't backup to an sd card so thats not a problem for me.
Android is 3 thime more customizeable than winmo, I switch from winmo to android and LOVED WINMO but now I can't stand it GET ANDROID
Sent from my myTouch 3G Slide using XDA App
The wonders of the cloud... seriously. MS had a good thing going with the KIN and KIN Studio, where it would upload every single thing to a server in the cloud- pictures, videos, favorites, status updates, etc. And everything you put on the cloud from your PC would beam back down to your phone (contacts!).
Google could probably easily push this very easily- their cloud services are extremely powerful already, so I don't see why they couldn't and shouldn't.
I have a loyalty towards WinMo from having used the Touch Dual, Touch Diamond, and Touch Pro2.
But it's getting very difficult to defend WinMo. It basically comes down to WinMo gives users the option to tweak everything about the OS. You can make the OS look like whatever you want it to. You can tweak it for performance. But let's stop and think about this for a moment.
1. Why do we tweak the aesthetics of the OS?
We do it because the the OS looks ugly and outdated. The main look of the OS hasn't changed in over 10 years! We do it because it's not fingerfriendly since the OS was designed to be used with a stylus.
2. Why do we tweak the OS for performance?
We do it because despite the OS being known for multi-tasking, it just doesn't now how to handle RAM very effectively.
So far with Android, I've been able to do everything I could on WinMo. Plus, the OS looks modern and performance is excellent. Aesthetically and in terms of performance, Android is significantly much much better. So what's the reason for staying with WinMo? I can't think of a legitimate reason anymore...
Thanks for the input folks! ohyeahar, you make some very good points, and its some of the things that I have been mulling over myself.
I think my biggest point, is that Google has a chance to really improve its cloud based services with their phones, and I hope they do.
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).
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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
Hey all,
I’m thinking of switching from my Galaxy SII to a Windows Phone 7 based phone. As of now, the switch is temporary till SIII comes out but maybe who knows if I like it, I might just stick to WP7 after all.
Major usage of my phone is in Emailing, Messaging, VOIP, Calls, Navigation, Music, Browsing and News reading. I’m dependant on the following apps on the Android :
Swype
Google Reader
Gmail
Google Docs
Google Maps
Google Talk
YouTube
Any.do (Task management Application)
Dropbox
Polaris Office (Full fledged document editor)
IMO (Multi-messenger)
Skype
Teamviewer (Remote desktop)
My Data Manager (App to keep a track on bandwidth consumption)
and some less frequently used :
Zedge (just an easy to use source for wallpapers and ringtones)
SoundHound
Facebook
So given the above usage pattern and apps that I’m on dependant on, do you think I could switch to WP7 painlessly ? Are there any alternatives available for my apps ? (Swype or something similar is a must)
Couple of more queries..
Also, I’m thinking of getting the Samsung Focus so if I get an unclocked device would there be a possible scare of getting it locked again once I update the firmware (either officially or custom) ?
How is the battery life on the Focus ?
I am not much aware of Sideloading/Jailbreaking of a WP7 device and the Custom ROM scene , is it similar to Android ?
Can I debrand Focus or should I consider Omnia 7 instead ? (I’d prefer Focus as its thinner than Omnia)
What is the best ROM out there and when updating to a newer ROM does it wipes all the data ?
Is there any lag in the phone ? Maybe after installing too many apps (like how some Android phones lag)
Is multi-tasking experience (apps/services running in the background) similar to Android ?
are there any other limitations worth mentioning on WP7 / Samsung Focus?
and what about the plus side of WP7 when comparing to iOS and Android ?
Thanks
There is currently nothing remotely similar to Swype on WP7.
WP7, currently being a closed OS, does not have the option of swapping the native keypad for a Swype version. There's an app called Slyde that attempts to be like Swype, but it cannot until the ecosystem changes.
You will have access to document editing for Word and Excel docs via Office. It's quite handy, especially being able to pin files to your home screen.
Dropbox isn't so dandy yet, IIRC, but you will have access to 25GB of SkyDrive storage.
With what you've mentioned, I'm not sure WP7 will be a smooth transition for you. It's definitely worth a shot to see if you might like it, but will take some getting used to. See what you can live with and what would be a deal breaker.
The WP7 software keyboard is much nicer than I expected, expecially on a largish phone (I have an HD7) but it's true that there's currently no Swype or equivalent available.
There are lots of Google Reader apps available, some quite good.
Gmail integrates pretty well with the phone when you add a Google account. My phone is the primary way I access my Gmail now.
You might be able to access Google Docs through the web browser; I haven't tried. For actually reading and editing Microsoft Office documents, Office Mobile wors very well indeed.
Google Maps is available (via apps, or somewhat awkwardly via the web); Bing Maps is built into the phone and works well for me.
There are IM clients that support GTalk on the phone, but the only messenger network currently built into the phone is Live. That said, IM+ handles my GTalk-using friends very well.
There are a multitude of YouTube apps. You can also use HTML5 on YouTube via the browser just fine.
I don't know Any.do. There are a lot of task management apps on WP7, but I don't know how they compare.
Not sure how good Dropbox access is on the phone (obviously, you can download via the browser, and there are apps which use it as a way to transfer data, but I've never looked for a real DropBox client).
I would be quite shocked if Polaris Office is more full-fledged than Office on WP7. It's not impossible, but for a phone-based office suite it would be very impressive.
I don't know IMO, but there are a number of multi-network IM clients on WP7. My preferred choice is IM+ but that's just personal preference.
Skype is (finally) coming to WP7. The current app is actually pretty good, and it's still in beta. Considering MS now owns Skype, the future for Skype on WP7 should be very good.
I don't know if TeamViewer is available for WP7 yet. Remote Desktop (as in, Terminal Services Client, the built-in Windows feature) is, though... Also, SSH clients.
T-Mobile provides an app for tracking usage for my phone. I don't know what's availble for whatever carrier you'd be on.
There are a couple of cool apps that provide wallpapers and ringtones, with frequent updates (weekly or more). Never heard of Zedge, though.
There's a SoundHound-like feature built into WP7. Shazam is also available. SoundHound might be; I'm not sure.
Facebook is definitely available (both as OS integration, and through a now very good app).
Responses to a few select questions:
3. The homebrew and custom ROM scene is smaller than Android (though growing) but the Focus (gen1 phone, not the Focus S or Focus Flash) does support "interop-unlock" hacks through WindowBreak, can run WP7 Root Tools (run any app with full privileges, under your control though), and has custom ROMs.
4. If for some reason you get a branded Focus, yes, it can be de-branded. I'm not convinced that it's a good idea to do so (without just installing a custom ROM or some such anyhow) but it's possible. The update story on WP7 is generally much better than on Android, and you can force updates anyhow if the carrier is taking too long. Not many other reasons to debrand are coming to mind...
5. I can't answer the first part, but as for the second, yes you will completely erase the phone when installing a custom ROM. If you want to do so, I suggest making it one of the first things you do (this will save on trying to back up and later restore things, which - aside from contacts and media files - sadly is not automatic on WP7).
6. No. There are a number of technical reasons, but the simple fact is that a single-core 1GHz WP7 device has a significantly smoother UI than a (for example) 1.5GHz Android device. Since apps are *extremely* limited on what they can do in the background (by default), there's no risk of them slowing the phone's UI down no matter how many you install.
7. Not really. It's much closer to Apple's approach. The advantages are better battery life and no lag. The disadvantages are that apps pretty much can't do anything real-time while backgrounded, and need to resume (although it's very fast on apps built for Mango or later) when returned to the foreground. You can switch between apps quickly, though.
8. SD cards don't work the same as on Android. They are used for permanent increases to device storage. You can't use them to transfer data onto or off of the phone, and if you want to add or remove/replace one, you'll need to hard-reset the phone. That's the main thing not already mentioned that an Android user might find odd. Oh, and stock ROMs don't allow replacing things like the dialer and such (you can install alternates, you just can't replace the built-in one completely).
9. Faster, and smoother UI (even with theoretically slower hardware). Essentially no risk of malware from the Marketplace (apps are checked before approval). Timely updates, even for older phones (of course, "older" for WP7 only means about 18 months so far). Xbox Live games. Zune Pass streaming (costs money but it's awesome). Great integration with Facebook (pretty good with Twitter and can pull LinkedIn contacts, too). Excellent email and calendar, especially if you use any Exchange servers. Hardware-accelerated rendering in the browser. Consistent UI style in apps. All phones have very similar hardware specs, so fragmentation is not a problem. Live Tiles are great for at-a-glance info, and the app list is (for me) much clearer to use than the "grid of icons". Dedicated double-action camera button and dedicated rocker buttons. Local Scout is a pretty cool built-in feature. Really good developer tools make writing apps very easy and quick.
I'm sure there's a lot more, but it's 5AM and I need to sleep.
Swype -None, WP7 native keyboard prediction works impressively!
Google Reader - 6 or more apps available. Fuse seems to be popular.
Gmail - Syncs natively without any glitch.
Google Docs - You might have to save your docs onto Skydrive which integrates natively on the WP7 (free 25GB storage too!)
Google Maps - GMaps Pro or Bingle maps. But Bing works fine, integrated too.
Google Talk - IM+
YouTube - YouTube Pro or Prime Tube.
Any.do (Task management Application) - don't know this app's functionality.
Dropbox - BoxShot for Dropbox, 3rd party client, works without any issues for me.
Polaris Office (Full fledged document editor) - I've heard of this one. But Office built-in won't make you feel the need of Polaris. However, what sort of editing do you normally do?
IMO (Multi-messenger) - again IM+ (?)
Skype - there is a beta that won't run in background, but otherwise very much working, excellent call quality. It should come as an app in a month or two and hopefully integrated with Apollo (rumour).
Teamviewer (Remote desktop) - RemoteDesktop7
My Data Manager (App to keep a track on bandwidth consumption)- Very limited apps, one that might work is - Call Credits, but never tried it. Only read a review.
Zedge (just an easy to use source for wallpapers and ringtones) - Plenty of these sort of apps and can easily sync other websites too other than Zedge. Ringtones is an app that uses 3 different clients in a single app.
SoundHound - Yes, you won't need it though, music search is inbuilt.
Facebook - Yes inbuilt and there is an app.
Plus side of any windows phone in my opinion is, it's rapidly developing new platform which is a fresh UI, security is top-notch, integration works well, it's never frozen on me, I did not have to restart my phone once in last 7 months of using it, Zune and Xbox integration is amazing if you are a music freak or a gamer, 25GB of Skydrive access from your phone for documents, pics, music streaming - will only get better once you start using it. Integrated Bing maps, local scout, music discovery and search, accessing camera without unlocking the phone, search from lockscreen etc.
"You don't need an app for this or that and it just works!"
GoodDayToDie said:
Responses to a few select questions:
The disadvantages are that apps pretty much can't do anything real-time while backgrounded, and need to resume (although it's very fast on apps built for Mango or later) when returned to the foreground. You can switch between apps quickly, though.
I'm sure there's a lot more, but it's 5AM and I need to sleep.
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Thanks a lot for the indepth response, it cleared a lot.
When you say that apps can't do pretty much anything, I hope at least apps like IM+ and Whatsapp can retrieve and send messages in the background.
drupad2drupad said:
Polaris Office (Full fledged document editor) - I've heard of this one. But Office built-in won't make you feel the need of Polaris. However, what sort of editing do you normally do?
Plus side of any windows phone in my opinion is, it's rapidly developing new platform which is a fresh UI, security is top-notch, integration works well, it's never frozen on me, I did not have to restart my phone once in last 7 months of using it, Zune and Xbox integration is amazing if you are a music freak or a gamer, 25GB of Skydrive access from your phone for documents, pics, music streaming - will only get better once you start using it. Integrated Bing maps, local scout, music discovery and search, accessing camera without unlocking the phone, search from lockscreen etc.
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I sometimes edit Word and PPTs on the move.
Not much but basic formatting in word and the ability to edit the layout and slide design is what I need.
Yeah thats the most exciting part of WP7. Its a rapidly developing platform and on top there's gonna be a unification of the mobile and desktop OS. I hope they build a deep seamless integration between the two and they play well with each other.
anseio said:
There's an app called Slyde that attempts to be like Swype, but it cannot until the ecosystem changes.
With what you've mentioned, I'm not sure WP7 will be a smooth transition for you. It's definitely worth a shot to see if you might like it, but will take some getting used to. See what you can live with and what would be a deal breaker.
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Click to collapse
I couldn't find any info on Slyde app ?
Well, the responses here have cleared a lot for me. I m definitely gonna give it a shot. Now my only gripe is Swype, I'm far too dependent on that. I hope there is something out there in the homebrew community.
Btw, is there a possibility that the current generation phones would get the WP8 update ? Well there are rumors that it wouldn't but then Windows Tango is primarily being released to make sure WP7 can run on lower spec devices.
It is confirmed all WP models will get Apollo update will pretty much be like with iOS some features will not be available. The next major update is no promise but that is over 2 years so if you have not updated your phone by then not much can be said.
tricurious said:
I couldn't find any info on Slyde app ?
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Click to collapse
My bad. It's called Slydr, not Slyde.
It is NOTHING like Swype. Since it cannot replace the native keyboard, in order to use it you have launch the app, type what you want, put it on the clipboard or choose an option to send it as sms or email.
It does not work from within SMS or email, so replying while using slydr will mean that you have to leave the message, open the app, type what you what, copy it, return to the email using back arrow long press and then paste.
Looking forward to the options that WP8 may make for.
IM+ and Whatsapp and the like can use Push Notifications to receive messages while the app is not in the the foreground. Technically it's not the app doing the receiving (it's not running); instead the app tells the OS to listen for messages from a specific server, and to mark them as being intended for that app. When the messages arrive, the phone will display a notification and, if the app's tile is pinned to the Start screen, can also show a number of waiting notifications (typically, the number of messages received). When the app is run again (either resumed, or launched anew, or launched directly by tapping on a notification "toast" popup) the app will check with its server for all the messages that arrived while it was "out".
The overall effect is very much like the app continuing to receive messages in the background, except in weird edge cases (for example, if you try to resume the app while there's no data connection available, it won't be able to retrieve the messages that arrived earlier). On the plus side, the push notification system is much easier on the battery than almost any third-party app running in the background would be. It is technically possible to have apps actually run in the background (there are a couple ways, with varying degrees of official support and different limitations) but the battery hit for doing so tends to be pretty harsh (one reason why Android has a reputation for awful battery life).
Everybody is welcome to post their opinions but flame is against the forum rules.
PLEASE USE REPORT BUTTON.
Hi
I am due to move on from my trusty old iPhone 4 to a new Android.
I currently have access to corporate email on my phone via MobileIron.
I very much want to get an Android phone, but IT doesn't support Android. Apparently when testing, the email client (didn't say which one) did not render HTML properly. They are now 'testing' compatibility with Android, but this is on the backburner.
There's no way to argue with IT, as they are not going to change their policy (I work in a large company with bureaucracy).
My iPhone is jailbroken and I use xcon to trick MobileIron into thinking I'm not.
Is there any way of getting MobileIron to work on an Android phone? For example, tricking the client into saying I'm on iOS, or perhaps loading the MobileIron app and just calling IT to activate my phone and tell them that it's an iPhone?
I ONLY want email, nothing else. Perhaps that makes it a little easier for me to just connect despite being on Android?