Related
I m still on WM2003 SE because of the memory and speed I get in WM2003 SE.
I did have Exec before and sold it within 1month. I really didnt like the slow speed of Exec. Funny, it used to take around 5-6secs to open messaging application(I was using the latest O2 rom with O2 stuff removed)
I m a power user and have to review lots of applications(as u can see in my signature)
So, which OS are the power users runnning on their BAs?
wm5
i`m no any power user, my ba is running on wm5, the speed has increased ever since the new rom is installed. had u tried the new wm5 which is downloadable here...
I'm also using the new WM5 ROM, with the 'speed tweaks'.
It seems to blaze through anything. It boots in 7 seconds, And anything I try to open [with the exception of the camera, still need to switch my driver], pops right up.
lol got BA xda iis running wm5 from the exception of the camera and being unable to break all the bubbles on bubble breaker AND that annoying spalsh screen AND the radio going on and off (which i have used cleartemp to solve ) i guess its ok i cant get new splash screens to go on it my mum likes bubble breaker (Jawbreaker) so i had to switch back to trusty wm2003se could do with an app to speed it all up tho if any1 can help me out there sorry fer the negatives lol but overall wm5 is pretty good and annoying at the same time.........wow my first lengthy post
I have 50+ apps on my BA and I am using WM5 and it works well enough considering all the apps I have on it.
try helmi's aku 3.2 with 16 mb or 32 mb pool (mamaich's speed tweak). trust me, you will forget about wm2003se. speed is better than wm2003se.
Definetly WM5.
Using Helmi latest ROM, work great, no more affriad of Hard Reset!
Imagine u having a 2 yrs old product running WM5 with big screen, better than Atom that small screen, hardly can surf net while on the move.
I am using WM5 on my BA. Latest Helmi ROM. It works fine!
I have seen a lot of posts about cooked rom etc. Just curious what am I gaining by upgrading to WM6? I see there are still bugs to be worked out and community support is definitley the way to do it.
I am a newbie, and I know the upgrade isn't ready for me but I am tempted to test and help the community out but not sure what additonal features are added in WM6 that I should look for and test?
Also which ROM seems to be a all in one upgrade for the Cingular 8525?
Just the faster navi and app run speed will make u wanna upgrade. btw..seems to be more stable than WM5.
PostDeals said:
I have seen a lot of posts about cooked rom etc. Just curious what am I gaining by upgrading to WM6? I see there are still bugs to be worked out and community support is definitley the way to do it.
I am a newbie, and I know the upgrade isn't ready for me but I am tempted to test and help the community out but not sure what additonal features are added in WM6 that I should look for and test?
Also which ROM seems to be a all in one upgrade for the Cingular 8525?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's a MS press release that you can check out:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2007/feb07/02-11WM6SoftwarePR.mspx
As far as which WM6 d/l's out there, you can refer to the stickies in this forum or the wiki.
Your device will faster, stable, nice icons, you get all the benefits from the new upgrade pointed to you and its feels like a new PPC at zero cost.
It's faster!
I can also confirm, that WM6 is much more faster (my subjective impression is about 1.5 to 2 times faster).
And it looks better
soniX
Can somebody post a benchmark, so we can measure the benefit of WM6.
Still there are many bugs, and different bugs in the WM6-ROMs.
Speed & Style aren't the only quality-attributes!
PostDeals said:
I have seen a lot of posts about cooked rom etc. Just curious what am I gaining by upgrading to WM6? I see there are still bugs to be worked out and community support is definitley the way to do it.
I am a newbie, and I know the upgrade isn't ready for me but I am tempted to test and help the community out but not sure what additonal features are added in WM6 that I should look for and test?
Also which ROM seems to be a all in one upgrade for the Cingular 8525?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
popularity amongst your geeky collegues.
A resume about WM6 / Exchnage 2007
A resume about WM6 / Exchnage 2007
If you're coming from the stock cingular rom (1.34), everything just feels a lot faster, and much more stable. You'd have to spend some time reading to get some of your cingular specific settings back. A lot of those settings are floating around the boards.
If you're after all inclusive, it looks like threedes released a rom with several added programs. If you just want a rom that feels like stock cingular, check out lvsw. that's what i'm running on my 8525, and it's great.
Some additional functionality as well. One of the small yet convenient features is the ease of which you can add a recently called number to existing contacts. in wm5 i would have to start as if creating a new contact and copy and paste the number to a new one. just my penny and a half
After a week with WM6 I've decided to go back to South African ROM 1.35 and Radio ROM 1.27.
Just too many bugs and minor flaws with WM6 I tried I just felt it ain't worth the hustle. ROM 1.35 was as fast and more stable with programs than WM6 was.
I will just kick back and wait for a possible REAL WM6 rom to appear from operators or something. Better to have a stable phone with less pretty icons than a flashy looking pda with bugs.
And since you can gain pretty much everything (xcept for those icons) with tweaks/utils I haven't really found WM6 to be any better.
But isn't WM6 at least twice as fast on your tytn? Mine is and this is a big benefit. Changed again from the e61 to the tytn..
SPB Soft works like a charm.. BT and WIFi do work with WPA2.. Vodafone works great as well.. Never had a more clear sound..
I wouldn't like to change back..
My personal view is that WM6, at least the version I have used, is no faster then the WM5 I was using. I think the reason people always claim the new ROM's are faster is because it is a clean install, the same thing happens with Windows on your PC.
Apart from lots of small tweaks here and there, there is nothing major in WM6 with the exception of the themed bars being more curvy. It's more of a WM5 with a couple of service packs to me. Still, worth a look.
Definitely noticed a significant improvemnt in responsiveness on my M3100.
Also, less phone lockups /issues I think.(subjective judgement)
steiale said:
But isn't WM6 at least twice as fast on your tytn? Mine is and this is a big benefit. Changed again from the e61 to the tytn..
SPB Soft works like a charm.. BT and WIFi do work with WPA2.. Vodafone works great as well.. Never had a more clear sound..
I wouldn't like to change back..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well this 1.35 ROM is as fast as WM6 I had. The AKU 3.3 ROM version I had was slow as hell. Speed wasn't the reason to change back from WM6 but the annoying little bugs:
- Windows Update wouldn't close but using Task Manager
- Turn WiFi Off from the balloon
- TomTom 6 ocassional start up problems
- Soft key setup's little change under Text Messages (Where it used to be New now had Delete)
- Pocket MSN/Live problems (constantly tried to open the GPRS connection after sign off and closing the app).
- SPB Backup problem (couldn't unlock a file)
- WiFi annoyance: Even when there were available APs, the
phone didn't announce it but you had to manually go see if there were any
These problems (that I remember off hand) are the reason why Im not going to use WM6 anymore until some legimit party releases one.
@Steiale: You said WPA2 works. Does that mean you can use WPA-AES encryption? If so: what exact version of WM6 are you using - vanilla, ...?
Thanks in advance,
Michael
Can somebody post a benchmark to compare?
2x faster, 1,5x faster isn't much representative.
If a Rom or Radio upgrade is released the signal strenght is always better and always faster and much better battery duration.
If it really was so, we should all have 365 days battery lifetime without charging and always full signal strenght and the program is opened before pressing a button.
Since upgrading to wm6 the most significant changes for me is that it runs faster than wm5 and the pocket outlook (messaging) now does html email
steiale said:
BT and WIFi do work with WPA2...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which wm6 rom are you using?
WPA2 is important to me, and would be a reason to upgrade. You do mean WPA2 with AES?
Are these things improved on the mailclient:
- selection of smtp at time of sending (like is possible on symbian), or support for different smtp profiles
- specification of the imap root folder
- bluetooth pan (would love to use this to connect my laptop via tytn to 3G)
Thanks!
Jörg
Well, after just 1 week, WM6(Most Beautiful Edition) seems
1) much, mush faster than before. Faster than my friends WM5 on Dopod838Pro(Hermes).
2)more RAM even
3)Hmm, looks like I am the only one who likes the delete softkey in messaging replacing the new... Probably because I just use SMS...
4)Stable.
5)Faster reboot(useful if you tend to try new software almost every other day).
6)Widcomm can now power up easier(less or no driver memory error). Yeah, for me, the MS Bluetooth stack still sucks for A2DP).. File transfer seem more faster too, probably a pyschological effect from the faster interface..
Guys,
Been testing the various roms available for some time now, XDALive, Black, Schaps etc but just can't find a single Rom that allows the phone to function as its supposed to, i.e. Fast, efficient and usable.
XDA Live and Black appeared to be great at first, until I installed TomTom and a few other minor apps, at which point they just slowed until the phone took 2/3 seconds to come out of standby, and when ringing the phone, it wouldn't even make a sound until the 2nd/3rd ring!?
Yesterday I flashed to Schaps and its even worse, before installing ANYTHING extra! 3/4 seconds from standby although it is a great looking rom.
Just seems a real shame, is the phone's hardware the limitation or is there a Rom out there that really does make a good job of enabling the best functionality from the Hermes??
ashleyhall said:
Guys,
Been testing the various roms available for some time now, XDALive, Black, Schaps etc but just can't find a single Rom that allows the phone to function as its supposed to, i.e. Fast, efficient and usable.
XDA Live and Black appeared to be great at first, until I installed TomTom and a few other minor apps, at which point they just slowed until the phone took 2/3 seconds to come out of standby, and when ringing the phone, it wouldn't even make a sound until the 2nd/3rd ring!?
Yesterday I flashed to Schaps and its even worse, before installing ANYTHING extra! 3/4 seconds from standby although it is a great looking rom.
Just seems a real shame, is the phone's hardware the limitation or is there a Rom out there that really does make a good job of enabling the best functionality from the Hermes??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same-same feeling here. Tried all, still can't get the reliability and responsiveness of original WM5 Jasjam ROM. It's not a rant and of course I can always go back, but it makes me wander never the less..
Edit 15:30,
Well after such a statement I guess I owe some specifics:
- Hermes 100 and 200
- SPL-2.10.Olipro
- IPL: 1.04
- Radio: v1.43.00.00
- Tried the various available RTM versions, much too slow responding, haven't resolved the SOD problem for me
- reverted to what I consider to be the most stable and comfortable release - LVSW 19/5 (elf edition), still experience SOD but apprx. once in 24 Hrs. Still makes the WM6 Hermes unreliable as a phone, since for those unfamiliar with SOD, it means that while actually frozen, the phone looks externaly to be OK and working, respective LEDs blinking. Tried all solutions known and yet some.. drafted to this some heavy dev colleagues but still there.
Frustrating isn't it, perhaps the Hermes just isn't ready for WM6, would be logical as they haven't launched the Hermes OEM with WM6 yet have they?
Cheers, Ash
If you have a bit, give my latest ROM a try and tell me what you think.
Sleuth255 said:
If you have a bit, give my latest ROM a try and tell me what you think.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can do, how do you believe its better than the rest? Where can I get it from?
Thanks mate!
Click the link on my sig.
My ROM is a graft and is not based on any one m$ hermes build. It has components from a number of different devices.
Sleuth255 said:
If you have a bit, give my latest ROM a try and tell me what you think.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sleuth255, you are counted with the serious in my book, so I should definitely do so. At the moment I kind of stabilized my devices (less than a SOD in every 24 Hrs. time frame), and I am pretty dependant on my phone.. but... at same time I've a XDA-dev soul, so I don't count on myself to withstand the temptation to try yours...
However Ash's quest remains. WTF happens with WM6 on the Hermes. No disrespect to those praising it, but if it doesn't work here, it most probably doesn't work elsewhere if you push it to same limits I do.. And where is HTC's RTM. I would expect it's core to be reasonably well, then use it in the kitchen for "our flavours", but apparently RTM is not there yet, or is it RTM ?
Sleuth255 said:
If you have a bit, give my latest ROM a try and tell me what you think.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sleuth255, you are counted with the honorable in my address book, so I should definitely try yours, thank you. At the moment I kind of stabilized my devices (less than a SOD in every 24 Hrs. time frame) with LVSW-Elf 2.1, and I am pretty dependant on my phones.. However... at same time I've a XDA-dev soul, so I don't count on myself to withstand the temptation to try yours...
In any case Ash's quest remains. WTF happens with WM6 on the Hermes. No disrespect to those praising it, but if it doesn't work here, it most probably doesn't work elsewhere. At least if you push the envelope to same limits I do.. And where is HTC's RTM. I would expect it's core to first be reasonably solid, then use it in the kitchen for cooking our flavours, but apparently RTM is not there yet, or is it RTM at all, and if it is how come it ain't published on HTC support site yet ?
Questions..questions... but it's fun, isn't it ?
HTC's core CE/XIP for hermes was RTM as of v5.2.1238 and is quite stable IMO. It's the IMGFS that's buggy.
Hermes has always had issues coming out of standby and this delay is what affects the time the call connects to the time you hear the first ring. I noticed this the very first time I tried my TyTN (coming from a Wizard).
I've always wanted to uncover the specific code that handles this because there's also a nagging bit that forces portrait mode as a workaround for the magnets in the case Because of this, I have to disable standby whenever I'm using my stowaway bt keyboard.
edit: SOD could be solved as well by dis-assembling this code...
Sleuth, I agree with you (again). And you are also very right on RTM (I happen to be somehow..remotely... connected to them people in Redmond, but I shouldn't exploit this subject too much here.....
Anyway it's pi__ing me off quite a lot and the "Israeli Team" has given SOD a good chunk of time to no result. What amazes me is that this is one Huge issue that doesn't ring an alarm at HTC's.. BTW assuming that under the hood Hermes 100 and Hermes 200 are one and the same (so says my favorite CTO), I can't understand how would my JasJam (original WM5 ROM) be bullet proof in respect to SOD, while my TyTn showed SOD and call delay on WM5 as well. Maybe all Hermesses weren't born equal (and I refer to the latest crop, post childhood issues).
I happened to work with HTC and I know them to take stuff like this seriously. What happens here ....
So can we conclude that the Hermes wasn't ever *supposed* to run WM6, hence why all the WM6 roms just simply don't really work very well once you install just a couple of apps? Some without even installing supplemental programs?
I can't conclude that. WM6 works wonderfully on my hermes. I can conclude at this point that the device has some powersave related ideosyncracies that may or may not be software related. This is why I'm interested in your XP with my ROM.
Sleuth255 said:
I can't conclude that. WM6 works wonderfully on my hermes. I can conclude at this point that the device has some powersave related ideosyncracies that may or may not be software related. This is why I'm interested in your XP with my ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with Sleuth, WM6 works so much better on my TyTn than WM5... In every way.
Ok, the (slight) wakeup delay at phonecalls is there but certainly no more than with WM5. And Sleuth's new ROM is very stabile, pretty fast and with very little memory leaks.
At least it is in my case...
Ive been using WM6 releases for hermes since they first surfaced
my favourites are
Schap's WM6 Pro 3.30c
LVSW (latest June release)
Windows Mobile VI Pro - Black 2.5
I don't use Device for gaming at all
I use It strictly for work, this means:
Organizing my day with SBSH PocketBreeze
Chatting with Live messenger
see the weather news with weatherPanel (Schap's ROM replaced my choice of weatherpanel)
I work with/edit simple word documents on the road and e-mail them
Take many photos and record videos
and also watch big videos 22~50megs in both .wmv and .3gp format
Surely some ROM's were a real pain and unstable
with the above mentioned ROM's
My device Is stable and fast
Reading around thoughts and opinions surely will help many new to the PDA scene and surely will reward them with knowledge and make their WM experience more fun and useful rather than adventurous and experimenting
Definetely my TyTN is more useful fast and stable now with WM6
rather than when It was fueled with WM5
Just my 2 cents
sugardad said:
Definetely my TyTN is more useful fast and stable now with WM6
rather than when It was fueled with WM5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here, I'm very pleased with WM6 (currently vp3G). I've installed some apps and its faster and more stable than before. I have no freezes, no sleeps of dead, no lock ups - with none of the Roms.
Programs in use:
Always running:
.) ILauncher
.) PhotoContactsPro
.) BatteryStatus
Installed:
.) Mobipocket Reader
.) SK Tools
.) Vijay's Brighter Screen
.) enAlarm
.) GS Finder
.) Total Commander
.) PocketIrked
My first WM6 ROM was the XDA Live.. then I started playing with the free storage.. created modified XDA Live ROM ( later called "WM6 Brick" because it wouldn't boot for ppl without MFG BL).. anyway.. a week later I bricked my Hermes completely trying to get it working with all BLs.. Then I was out for 2 months.. as my Hermes was being repaired..
When it came back I started flashing it with different WM6 roms.. (I guess I liked it much more when there had been only one wm6 rom available). They've all looked nice.. but none of them have been stable. I don't care so much about the speed.. but I hate when it freezes while I am scrolling the file list in the built-in Explorer.. and this happens with all WM6 roms I've tested.
I guess that at some point it will be stable enough for me to use it.. but as I don't need html-emails.. or sd-card encryption I guess I'll stick to WM5 for a while :/
I've tried:
Custel 2.5
ALL of the Blacks
Elf's 2.1
LVSW
Faria
I am with Custel 2.5 right now and I love it. No sleeps of death here.
I'm running:
SPB Pocket Plus
SPB Weather
SPB Phone Profile
IM+
Today Agenda
MobiReader
Google Maps (Latest Build)
MortgageCALC
After being "awake" for 12 hours, I still have 23.4 MB of memory avail. with normal usage.
I don't do any media on my phone; I don't even have the media net settings loaded to my connections. I use it strictly for business: direct push mail, text message between the contractors, phone calls, scheduling and looking up houses, google search quite a bit and the PIM software.
Perfect ROM for me:
4mb pagepool
HTweak 1.5
Windows Media Player (for ring tones only)
Office 2007
RedEdit
NO Task Manager
Java Manager
Internet Sharing
NO Streaming Media
NO Audio Manager
PocketRAR
The updated file explorer that's floating
NO Live
NO Messenger
Unfortunately I'm not a cook.
Jim
I have tried both the Elf V2.1 and the BlackShadow and both have worked very well for me so far. I have so far only added the following external apps:
1. Ateksoft Webcamera Plus
2. Adobe Flash Lite 2.1
3. Adobe Reader LE 2
I definitely love my phone now even more so than when I first bought it when it came with WM5.
ROM, Radios, Carriers, Phones each has its own benefits, if you put some together they dnt work, you can change one thing it could work.
i can honestly say that i have only had problems with the early blacks, shadow works fine for me, wheras others worship black 2.5.
personally i always use sleuths roms they definately the fastest & most stable (for me anyway!!)
One last tip
Unless you are in the UK dont use radio 1.43 it is designed for the UK and not too good elsewhere
Newb-Tech-Realtor said:
I've tried:
Custel 2.5
ALL of the Blacks
Elf's 2.1
LVSW
Faria
I am with Custel 2.5 right now and I love it. No sleeps of death here.
I'm running:
SPB Pocket Plus
SPB Weather
SPB Phone Profile
IM+
Today Agenda
MobiReader
Google Maps (Latest Build)
MortgageCALC
After being "awake" for 12 hours, I still have 23.4 MB of memory avail. with normal usage.
I don't do any media on my phone; I don't even have the media net settings loaded to my connections. I use it strictly for business: direct push mail, text message between the contractors, phone calls, scheduling and looking up houses, google search quite a bit and the PIM software.
Perfect ROM for me:
4mb pagepool
HTweak 1.5
Windows Media Player (for ring tones only)
Office 2007
RedEdit
NO Task Manager
Java Manager
Internet Sharing
NO Streaming Media
NO Audio Manager
PocketRAR
The updated file explorer that's floating
NO Live
NO Messenger
Unfortunately I'm not a cook.
Jim
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think my v3.0 *almost* fits your "perfect rom"
Is the original WM6 for Artemis more responsive in general use than the WM5 version? I'm also interested if the cooked ROM's (Touch 4.02 for example) have any speed advantages when running TomTom. In my WM5 TomTom is quite slow. Can anyone comment on the performance of TomTom using different ROM's? Is there any visual difference?
About battery life, I've read a lot about some experiencing power drain but others getting even better battery performance with the same ROM. Is it even possible to say whether WM6 increased battery life vs WM5 or not? Please post your experiences, as I am trying to decide to upgrade or not to, because it is a small risk aswell.
in general: DUMP WM5 !
Advantages ( amongst others) of WM6:
- no data loss when out-off battery !!!!
- tomtom and other apps run more smoothly/quickly (subjectively)
The battery-drain for sure is a concerning matter, due to being based on gsm polling problems on certaain machines/radio versions!
he last tested and afaik original artemis radio rom is version 02.98.90.
greetz
totally agree and i suggest go forward to WM 6.1
WM5 is only history
thormdac said:
in general: DUMP WM5 !
Advantages ( amongst others) of WM6:
- no data loss when out-off battery !!!!
- tomtom and other apps run more smoothly/quickly (subjectively)
The battery-drain for sure is a concerning matter, due to being based on gsm polling problems on certaain machines/radio versions!
he last tested and afaik original artemis radio rom is version 02.98.90.
greetz
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wm5 is faster in my opinion that wm6 and wm6 totally kills your battery time which is a big nusience..
also wm6 seems more complicated with the simple phone functions....
I have tried some of the cooked rom's and have so many problem with the screen auto rolling when I don't want it to and sometimes I will click on "ok" and it doesn't seem to register for 3-4 seconds....
in general for phone and email use I am going back to wm5 to get back the battery time and general usability of the phone itself...
with wm5 I hardley ever ran out of battery time however with wm6 there has been a few occassions where I have not had a chance to charge the phone in one or two days and it has gone flat when I really needed it... simple things like this make the upgrade not worthwhile IMO, even if there are better features and nicer look in wm6..
Still confused what to do then with my xda orbit!
Just found this thread.
Mixed advice it would seem.
I've just bought an XDA ORBIT. It's still got Windows Mobile 5 and has TOMTOM 6 installed.
I still don't know whether I should UPGRADING TO WINDOWS 6.0 OR NOT?
Some say TomTom6 runs better on Windows 5, some disagree.
I also have copilot 6.0 discs which I could use instead. Anyone have a preference between Tomtom6 and Copilot 6 on the xda orbit?
Thanks in advance,
Matt.
I strongly reccomend skipping WM6.0 and going streight to WM6.1, and go for the "Touch 4.01" rom. I'd personally reccomend the vanilla one, as it's the fastest, and most of the installed stuff will be useless on the bulkier roms.
TomTom 6 runs very well on WM6.1, better than I remember on 5.0, however, i'm using a much later version I got from an unmentionable place. Takes only 3-4s to load from the today screen.
As for the data loss with WM5, that's actually a bit of a fib. Non-volatile storage was introduced with WM5, and enhanced for WM6. It was WM2003/SE when there were issues with volatile storage, and the in-ability to actually turn a device off.
Hope this helps
thormdac said:
in general: DUMP WM5 !
he last tested and afaik original artemis radio rom is version 02.98.90.
greetz
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Latest official o2 wm6 rom is shipping with radio version 3.06.90, which I found very good.
Wish there was stand alone install for this one, so I could use it with touch 4.02.
I searched and didn't find answer to this question.
While I understand there are still some things to work out between 6.1 on Hermes, how does Wm6.1 perform on Hermes versus on Kaiser?
Or, is it just not a fair comparison?
Depends on why you're asking this question. Flashed several 6.1 roms on the hermes before it crapped out, just got the kaiser a few days ago and flashed even more 6.1 roms on it, guess what, not a huge difference in performance. Yea the kaiser has more zip, but it's hardly a revolution. In fact, I went back to schaps wm6 4.30. If you like wm 6.1 though, stick with the hermes for now, it's more than adequate
Performance wise its all the same. The only advantage i see is more RAM, which means i can use touchflo applications more easily in a kaiser than a hermes. Also in opinion this means less resets! But they are all crapy usual WM LOL.
Kasier vs Hermes
kaalgoosy said:
Depends on why you're asking this question. Flashed several 6.1 roms on the hermes before it crapped out, just got the kaiser a few days ago and flashed even more 6.1 roms on it, guess what, not a huge difference in performance. Yea the kaiser has more zip, but it's hardly a revolution. In fact, I went back to schaps wm6 4.30. If you like wm 6.1 though, stick with the hermes for now, it's more than adequate
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's good to know. I am using a variant of Schaps 4.31 (WM6) for some time now. Looking into to flash a WM6.1 mainly for zippier response on my Hermes and also comtemplating to get a Kasier. After seeing a few YouTube demos on Kaiser showing how smooth and fast the Kaiser is was tempting me to get a Kaiser. Perhaps I should hold for now and go to HTC diamond later.
I'd been running Hermes for almost 2 years years, just got a used Tilt (Kaiser) from a friend for $250 because they want to upgrade to the new iPhone 3G. I've had it now for about a week. It's definitely a better phone in my opinion -- not revolutionary, but incrementally better. Things that are better:
1) better bluetooth radio range - I can wander pretty far away from the phone (15 feet or so) before I get the "crackly" bluetooth sound, my Hermes would get crackly just a few steps away
2) GPS built in - way too fun, already used it several times! (Using iNAV iGuidance 4.0, Google Maps, WiFiFoFum)
3) More RAM - really does make a difference, you can leave programs running, I think memory leaks from bad programs don't bring you down as fast
4) Faster memory card access - when running apps from the memory card, they load faster
5) LED based backlight - it can get way brighter than Hermes, and won't age and dim like the Hermes one over the long run
6) Slightly thinner and sleeker
7) Better radio reception in places that used to be dead zones no matter which radio I used on my Hermes
8) 3MP camera - loads faster, takes pictures a little bit faster, but the quality does vary, the auto-focus algorithm doesn't always work right.
9) That "tilt" function actually works pretty nicely when reading an e-book.
10) The phone wakes up much more quickly when pressing the power button, and the clock is always up to date (my Hermes always took a few seconds to wake up when pressing the power button, and then you had to wait a few more seconds for the clock to update when checking the time).
11) I like the spring-loaded keyboard slider, even the stock ROM is very fast to rotate the screen for the majority of apps
12) Earpiece speaker quality is slightly better.
I'm using the latest stock AT&T ROM, WM6, Rom date 01/17/08. I just uninstalled and/or moved most of the AT&T shortcuts out of the way so it looks like a clean ROM.
Downsides of Kaiser versus the Hermes:
1) I haven't ventured into hacking and updating the ROM on it yet - it looks more complicated than ROMs on the Hermes. You have to flash different SPLs depending on what ROM you are using, different radios don't work at all with various ROMs, there are "radios from hell" that can't be removed without serious hackery -- it's a much more complicated landscape. Our ROM cookers for Hermes do a great job of simplifying this stuff for us.
2) It's a bit heavier than Hermes, even though it's a tiny bit thinner.
3) No CommManager hardware button. I figured out how to remap the PTT button for this with help from the Kaiser forum.
4) Weirdness with AT&T proxy manager. Even on the stock ROM, MediaNET still requires some manual loving to get MMSs to work.
5) I like the feel of the Hermes keyboard just a bit better (subjective)
6) The buttons on the bottom aren't flush -so I accidentally rejected several calls while pulling the phone out of my pocket until I installed S2U2.
7) MS Voicecommand doesn't seem to be as accurate on Kaiser as it was on the Hermes.
8) No LED Flash - I miss the flashlight from the Hermes. I still can use the screen, which gets much brighter than the hermes, but that LED light was cool.
9) Camera frame rate goes way down in low light - pretty unusable. There is some kind of fix for this I'm still looking into.
Programs in use: Haali Reader (ebook reader), GMail & Opera Mini, (both of these with GC Java Pack 1.2.4 - it's great!), Google Maps, Total Commander v2.5, Laridian Pocketbible 4, SBSH Weather, SPB Time, WM5torage 1.8 with Kaiser fix and 'disable concurrency ' and 'disable RNDIS on Activate' selected, Microsoft Live Search 3.0.3047.24749, PocketCM (to put hi-res contact pictures in place), iContact 0.741, BatteryStatus 1.05.127, MS Voicecommand, Mortplayer, S2U2 v1.05, SPB Pocket Plus 4.0.2, VITO Audio Notes Touch 1.02, installed NETCFv35, KaiserTweak (to soup a few things up, which really helped), HTC Audio Manager, MortPlayer, and syncing with an exchange server. I can't believe how stable this is.
Kaiser vs Hermes
thedogger,
Thank you very much for the insight. It does sounds like Kaiser is a refinement of Hermes whch provides the stability that everyone using Hermes has been screaming.
Again, thanks. Your experience in the switch and insight is very helpful.
I agree with thedogger with all the pro's and con's with the Kaiser, all that said, if you're due for an upgrade or can find a kaiser within around 150 american or less, it's definitely worth an upgrade. The Kaiser just feels more sophistocated; much more stable, Gps is a huge plus, faster installs, brighter screen, tilt keyboard feels awesome, etc...I wouldn't worry about the Diamond($$$), all I've heard so far is that it's kinda slow for a next gen phone. After a week with the kaiser, its the best upgrade I made so far for the pricetag.