Develop Bugs

So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye.

Well, it's been fun.
It was renewal day this weekend, here in the UK as many of you will know all our handsets are subsidised by the network operators. Therefore every so often we have the chance to "upgrade" our handsets, it is a merry dance. Once "out of contract", we can change operators, switch price plans, and get a new handset for "free" or a combination of any of these. It can all be rather confusing, but the long and the short of it is that I can get a shiny new piece of kit, so it's great.
Anyway, I've had the vario II on t-mobile in the UK for one year and now it's been chopped so I thought I'd leave my thoughts. It was good. Obviously I flashed it with jasjamming and more recently schaps plus several others. I reckon I flashed it probably 50 times, reinstalled settings and apps, a compulsive tinkerer I suppose!
Pros...
Full keyboard
High Speed Data on t-mobile was good and genuinely useful
TomTom 6 (with ext. gps receiver purchased on ebay for 30 quid)
Useable web browser (just)
Customisable with firmware flashing!
Amazing forum here full of helpful people
Cons...
BATTERY LIFE (it's appalling, there is no getting away from it)
Heavy as a hod of bricks
Form factor (too big)
------
So what did I go for...
Nokia 6120 Classic.

wtf nokia 6120?!

Nothing like going back to the dark ages
you should have held out for a couple of months and got one of these
http://www.htc.com/product/03-product_htctouch_dual.htm

I myself have bought a new N95 8GB as my second phone.

Bingobob,
Good luck to you. You made the choice you want and that's all that matters. Never quite sure why people think that what they would buy/get is what everyone else should buy/get!
What did you do with the t-mobile device then? Sell it or is it up for sale?
WB

that's the thing, not sure. Flash it with something I suppose and/or use it as a TomTom or ebay it. not sure.

Well if you fancy offloading it and its not too expensive, PM me. I am assuming its in good condition? Also assuming that its unlocked, etc, and you have all the bits for it?
Cheers
WB

It;s also for me the end..
I bought a Nokia N95.
Ciao, Good Bye

Each to their own. Personally I have to stay with touch screen phones... from here it will be the Kaiser or some variant down the line...

Same here, I love touch screens.
Although I'm very happy with my hermes I'm waiting for the the touch cruise.

Well, I'm waiting for a 3G iPhone, no more WM6 device I think.

Same here, when there's a good offer for the iphone I'll ditch the HTC. But as for 3G, that's only a vague rumor, I wouldn't count on it.

I could never go back to a non-Windows phone.
Especially for a Nokia or an iPhone.
I've played with various Nokias over the years and I think that they are the worst mobiles out of any I've ever touched.
As for the iPhone, over-hyped, over-priced, and under-developed.
I'm HTC's ***** now.

kilrah said:
Same here, when there's a good offer for the iphone I'll ditch the HTC. But as for 3G, that's only a vague rumor, I wouldn't count on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They have to make one with 3G or it will not sell in Europe. Also needs mms.

i switched to IPHONE. and i am very stisfied.
i watched this forum for quite a while, but however you will patch the hermes, it will never come even near to the iphone. everybody tries to construct iphone-like UIs. so why not take the original one?
peter

I've moved from my TyTN to an iPhone. I can't see myself going back to the TyTN anytime soon either.

iPhone ist great for design (friggin awesome btw ) and "OS" only (included internet browsing) it's really neat and user friendly.
Otherwise all the rest is total crap, most of the time technology wise
No 3G (TyTN has 3G+) a heresy for a phone that want's to be "multimedia"
Camera 2megapixel (same as TyTN, crap for both )
Bad autonomy (i'm connected on 3G with BBC on all the time for straight 34h without any problems)
No email downloading possible or push mail
So if apple re-considers and brings out a phone that has all those abilities yeah I would gladly change. Moreover, BBC or something equivalent is for me top priority

what do you think about the new htc touch cruise...?

The Iphone is personally not for me. I want to customize the phone when I want to.
Also no 3G is really a deal braker for me.
As to the UI I admit MS has something to learn from Apple but other then that no thank you.

sdemon said:
The Iphone is personally not for me. I want to customize the phone when I want to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the cool thing, you actually can. What interests me and has drawn me to WM was the ability to fiddle with it, do a bunch of hacks and tweaks etc. However, while the thing is very flexible and powerful it's "unusable". 3 seconds to exit from sleep, up to 5-10 after opening the keyboard to let it rotate screen and become responsive again, ...
Once you've tried internet browsing on the iPhone / iPod touch you just realise that WM's IE even with addons is pretty much the worst thing you could think of, only to be used in last resort, while I can be nearly as effective on the iphone than on my PC...
Guys are developing apps for the iphone at the same rate than here on WM6, and having a full Unix-based OS allows for even a LOT more possibilities than a mobile Windows version...
The lack of 3G is indeed a pain. But then, when I use it on my HTC it's by using it as a modem for the laptop, as there's no way to actually make use of it on the device itself...
If there was an official news saying that the European one would have 3G I'd wait. But I'm not dreaming and know there is VERY little chance. We'll know soon, as France will have them in a few days. But for now, the imported ones are selling like hot cakes, suppliers are getting out of stock all the time and prices go up as they have difficulties sourcing them. So I don't think not having 3G will bother anyone. Especially with the sky-high prices for mobile internet around Europe.

The Rumored T-mobile Dash 2

How many of you hope that when/if T-mobile brands this phone it isn't the Cavalier but some entirely new phone?

hopfully not for awhile cuz i just got the dash 3 months ago.

I wouldn't mind the S630 at all.

Where did you hear this... rumour ?

I don't think it will be a Cav, unless the Cav has about double the battery life and is 3G ready. Trying to predict the future from reading Gizmodo/etc. and biweekly Tmobile chattings, I think it doesn't cut the mark for what Tmo US has planned.
However, if they did push it, it would probably get the Cav in widespread circulation enough to get it some decent development, which it currently lacks. Until it is popped wide open, I'm not interested.
So I think the Cav is not the Dash 2. And I think the Shadow 2 will be around looong before a Dash 2. My two cents, now 100% off, one night only.

OrganicM said:
Where did you hear this... rumour ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, he heard about it on this hot phone hacking site: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=388897

I dont know what kind of "development" you're expecting for the Cavalier. I mean... it's a standard smartphone... it's a Dash on steroids. What makes it so special that the current applications developed for landscape smartphones, wouldn't work on it ?

T-Mobile in the US needs to step their game up. Our phones out here suck. When I first got my Dash about a year ago I was one of the only people I knew who had it. Now I see it everywhere because they haven't released anything good. Nothing new. Who wants a Smurf looking phone or a the Shadow (looks cheap)? If there is a new smartphone or PDA from HTC I can't wait to see it for T-Mobile. Does anybody know a loophole I can slip through to get my hands on a T-Mobile UK phone without paying $600?

OrganicM said:
I dont know what kind of "development" you're expecting for the Cavalier. I mean... it's a standard smartphone... it's a Dash on steroids. What makes it so special that the current applications developed for landscape smartphones, wouldn't work on it ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ROM cooking.

I don't see why people have such a problem with the Cavalier! It's an awesome phone. We all love our Excaliburs...and from what I understand, the Cavalier is nothing but a "next-gen" Excalibur. That's a good thing...right? If the Dash 2 is the Cavalier or isn't the Cavalier--either way I'm anticipating it's release.

taylor_b92 said:
T-Mobile in the US needs to step their game up. Our phones out here suck. When I first got my Dash about a year ago I was one of the only people I knew who had it. Now I see it everywhere because they haven't released anything good. Nothing new. Who wants a Smurf looking phone or a the Shadow (looks cheap)? If there is a new smartphone or PDA from HTC I can't wait to see it for T-Mobile. Does anybody know a loophole I can slip through to get my hands on a T-Mobile UK phone without paying $600?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah its called eBay

Rip Syntaxx said:
I don't see why people have such a problem with the Cavalier! It's an awesome phone. We all love our Excaliburs...and from what I understand, the Cavalier is nothing but a "next-gen" Excalibur. That's a good thing...right? If the Dash 2 is the Cavalier or isn't the Cavalier--either way I'm anticipating it's release.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not hating on the Cavalier. I've only heard that all the new smartphones Tmobile US is interested in have to have a much longer talk time on WiFi than, for example, the Dash. Since the Cavalier is similarly sized, I suspect it is similar in battery life. And I am not aware of it being 3G, which they have said all the new high-end phones will be.

Profezza said:
I'm not hating on the Cavalier. I've only heard that all the new smartphones Tmobile US is interested in have to have a much longer talk time on WiFi than, for example, the Dash. Since the Cavalier is similarly sized, I suspect it is similar in battery life. And I am not aware of it being 3G, which they have said all the new high-end phones will be.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well the cavalier ( at least the ones sold in the UK and japan ) have 3g , dont know if its UTMS or HSDPA. but the only complain people have is the battery life on the device. Since it includes a more robust 400mhz proc (made by samsung i think?) and includes 3g It is naturally have a shorter battery life. (unless they have found another battery with more "juice" to offset the extra power and bandwidth)

Cav Specs
http://http://www.phonearena.com/htmls/HTC-S630-Cavalier-phone-p_2260.html
Iris Specs (CDMA)
http://www.phonearena.com/htmls/HTC-S640-phone-p_2442.html

The Cavalier is buggy and not worthy to succeed the Dash.
http://pocketnow.com/index.php?a=portal_detail&t=reviews&id=977
They should have at least kept the rounded corners.

Cavalier is not significantly better
I bought Cavalier a few months ago to be used on T-Mobile network. I ended up selling it and keeping the Dash. Here is my impression:
- The phone did not feel fast despite the processor, because the O/S was not optimized for it.
- Battery drained in 1 day or less depending on usage.
- T-Mo does not have 3G, so internet was about the same.

I am honestly getting tired of the JOGGR. Makes me want to get another phone. However, I like the HTC's and I do not want a touchscreen device.

Thanks guys, for all the insights and opinions on the Cavalier. I honestly thought it would be just as good (if not, better) than its predecessor... I've been playing around with the thought of getting an unlocked Cav from Best Buy's website, but after reading all these posts--I'm not so sure...

HTC Snap

Looks like the much needed update to the Excalibur, and it's actually going to be picked up by a carrier (most likely AT&T due to the 3G spectrum). It boasts a lot of improved features, it almost seems impossible to fit all of that into a phone that size.
http://i.gizmodo.com/5192944/htc-snap-looks-like-beautiful-black-berry-bold
I personally like it, it retains the beauty of the original phone that just wasn't captured with the Cavalier (read: the Cavalier is ugly).
And WinMo 6.1 to boot!

Wasnt this branded as the HTC Maple? I saw this on BGR's website too. Looks nice, but only a 2MP camera.

HTC_Bradlee said:
Looks like the much needed update to the Excalibur, and it's actually going to be picked up by a carrier (most likely AT&T due to the 3G spectrum). It boasts a lot of improved features, it almost seems impossible to fit all of that into a phone that size.
http://i.gizmodo.com/5192944/htc-snap-looks-like-beautiful-black-berry-bold
I personally like it, it retains the beauty of the original phone that just wasn't captured with the Cavalier (read: the Cavalier is ugly).
And WinMo 6.1 to boot!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, yes, this is old news, we have been talking about this phone for a while, it was called the HTC Maple, and I'm not surprised at them for changing the name. That doesn't mean it won't be called the Maple anymore, like the excalibur , dash , s620 , whatever they want to call it, depending on the carrier, will be the name it will have. But still old news. Just cause it has 3g doesn't mean ATT will be the only one to pick it up, everyone else is already running 3g(unless you're with a company that doesn't) TMO already with 3g and so is Sprint and Verizon.
kr33mo said:
Wasnt this branded as the HTC Maple? I saw this on BGR's website too. Looks nice, but only a 2MP camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It still a nice phone and a 2mp camera is not so bad.

Here are some more pics: http://mobilitysite.com/2009/04/hands-on-with-the-htc-snap/
Looks great, and can't wait to get my hands on it. I can see some potential problems brewing.... I manually lock my phone (hold the end call button), and looks like I wil be turning my phone off out of habit for awhile with the Snap.

roloracer said:
Yes, yes, this is old news, we have been talking about this phone for a while, it was called the HTC Maple, and I'm not surprised at them for changing the name. That doesn't mean it won't be called the Maple anymore, like the excalibur , dash , s620 , whatever they want to call it, depending on the carrier, will be the name it will have. But still old news. Just cause it has 3g doesn't mean ATT will be the only one to pick it up, everyone else is already running 3g(unless you're with a company that doesn't) TMO already with 3g and so is Sprint and Verizon.
It still a nice phone and a 2mp camera is not so bad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
looks nice

It´s very nice!
Hope can upgrade my contract with this candy

There was a thread about this already like 2 months ago.

Now im gettin exiting cant wait for this gettin one for sure. heres another link to a hands on reveiw with more pics! http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/01/htc-snap-hands-on/

1Airborne1 said:
Now im gettin exiting cant wait for this gettin one for sure. heres another link to a hands on reveiw with more pics! http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/01/htc-snap-hands-on/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dis phone is sexy

im freakin pumped man i want one of thses so bad

how much will it cost?

Perhaps it's just me, but is this phone anything more than a Dash with 6.1, 3G and a roller? I read somewhere that HTC plans to offer this phone unlocked and retail. I'm guessing that within a couple months of release, this will fall under the "free phone with contract" category.
I see no reason to get locked into a contact for this phone. My current contract is up in a few days (which means I've had my Dash for 2 years!). I'm going to wait for WM7 or until my Dash goes tits up, as the Dash (with Ricky and Stylez Rose 6.1) serves my current needs just fine. Don't get me wrong, looks great, but not really worthy of "OMG I GOTTA GET THAT ASAP!".

I sort of agree.

The more I see it the more I dislike it, I think it looks too much like a blackberry for my taste, and that phone should only be coming out with wm 6.5, not 6.1. Is not really that much of an upgrade if it will have the same stuff that I have on my dash right now. Anyways the way I see it I'm pointing on a different direction, for me it will be either a HTC Tilt(Kaiser) or a HTC touch pro (Fuze) next.

roloracer said:
The more I see it the more I dislike it, I think it looks too much like a blackberry for my taste, and that phone should only be coming out with wm 6.5, not 6.1. Is not really that much of an upgrade if it will have the same stuff that I have on my dash right now. Anyways the way I see it I'm pointing on a different direction, for me it will be either a HTC Tilt(Kaiser) or a HTC touch pro (Fuze) next.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
roloracer,
I was waiting for people to see this as peeps are now, it's an SPV c550 that's bit hit by a steam roler and had a little joysticky thing or whatever you want to call it.
I watched the vidoe that was posted and ended up looking @ the sea and the sky, did see a bit about a phone, but guess what bit i remember now? You got it the sky & the sand sea

stylez said:
roloracer,
I was waiting for people to see this as peeps are now, it's an SPV c550 that's bit hit by a steam roler and had a little joysticky thing or whatever you want to call it.
I watched the vidoe that was posted and ended up looking @ the sea and the sky, did see a bit about a phone, but guess what bit i remember now? You got it the sky & the sand sea
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's funny that you say that If you look at an SPV c550 and imagine it being flatten up by a steam roler it would look like the maple , When I saw the video myself, found my eyes wondering around the room uncontrollably.

OP should make this a poll,
1. I want one
2. I stand patriotic
3. I think it looks like an spv c550 hit by a steam roller
All bases covered

any word on memory upgrades?

bigboibbp said:
any word on memory upgrades?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It says to include 128MB RAM, 256MB ROM and a 528MHz Qualcomm 7225 Processor, that's what the're saying.

roloracer said:
It says to include 128MB RAM, 256MB ROM and a 528MHz Qualcomm 7225 Processor, that's what the're saying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And M$ are going to underclock it to 450MHz as they read XDA and have seen all the i overclocked and my phone wont boot messages

For users in japan (and others...)

I bought my TP2 from the web (I was usuing previously an Hermes (X01HT)
Been using it for 3 weeks. It works perfectly. Calls quality is excellent, data transmission fast, no particular issue with Softbank network, I am pretty happy about it
What I dont like, and nothig to do with Japan (Dont get me wrong, I am a big HTC fan and I love my phone):
1. Poor built quality. The phone looks great.. out of the box. After 2 weeks in my pocket the Chrome finish starts to crack and let appear some black paint. I am treating my phone well, really not trying to break it, this is under normal use. Honestly very very far from an iPhone built quality (Again I am not an apple fanboy). It's not a "big" problem but for a phone that costs that much it's not really acceptable (I have an Hermes who took way longer to crack...)
Other issue is the Tilt mecchanism a bit soft and sometimes not deploying the screen exactly inline with the keyboard (Some other posts detail this better than me)
2. TF3D is nice... rather fast... BUT too many important menues are lacking compared to WM6.1 menus (for instance it took em a while to find out that what was preventing me from allowing to synchronize some of my activesync folders was the lack of option in TF3D. Similarly the handling of contacts screen misses too many options). Maybe there is a way to have all WM6.1 menus appear under TF3D, in which case I am a taker if you have some trick (registry trick maybe ?)
3. Some GPS issues, but I hope I'll be able to fix this (Or maybe just my model has an issue)
4. Some slowness in the handling of contacts / SMS (granted I have many so it may come from that but my Hermes (with a modified ROM) was way faster)
All in all very happy with the phone, beautiful screen, excellent touch feeling, lots of great functions... Just the external built quality will probably attract the jokes from my friends with iPhones

Alcibiade, thank you SO much for starting this thread! I'm in the same boat I guess you were 2 months ago. I'm an x01ht user (actually, i remember seeing your name in the forums). but i think my x01ht's better days are behind it and i'm very ready to move on to my next pda phone. i'm staying with softbank, but refuse to buy anymore of their handicapped phones. so i'm considering buying the Touch Pro 2 (online).
i'm a bit confused though as to if there is a particular model I need to get. the whole GSM versus CDMA thing really confuses me. can you let me know where you bought your touch pro 2 from and which network band. i assume CDMA since japan is WCDMA, right?
again, thanks for any help/info you can give.

shunsai said:
Alcibiade, thank you SO much for starting this thread! I'm in the same boat I guess you were 2 months ago. I'm an x01ht user (actually, i remember seeing your name in the forums). but i think my x01ht's better days are behind it and i'm very ready to move on to my next pda phone. i'm staying with softbank, but refuse to buy anymore of their handicapped phones. so i'm considering buying the Touch Pro 2 (online).
i'm a bit confused though as to if there is a particular model I need to get. the whole GSM versus CDMA thing really confuses me. can you let me know where you bought your touch pro 2 from and which network band. i assume CDMA since japan is WCDMA, right?
again, thanks for any help/info you can give.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was not sure either and asked the shop (Expansys in HK)
I bught the European model an it works perfectly: 3G is the same in Europe and in Japan (Whereas US carriers use different frequencies). So it will (and does) work perfectly. 2G wont, but it didnt either on your X01HT
If you buy it you wont regret it, I really love mine (But the Hermes was an excellent phone... Just needed a bigger screen...)

thanks for the informative reply. i'm leaning heavily towards ordering mine within the next 24 hours. $700 is a lot of money. out of curiosity, how much did japanese customs duty charge you for the import of the phone?

Alcibiade, still waiting on you to come back online friend! Guess I need to bump this thread up! I'm looking for some of your expertise and experiences using this phone in Japan. I'm curious as to which ROM you had installed in yours (any chance you can put it in your sig?).
i have another thread going where i'm trying to get other people's experiences with japanese input ability. for some reason, i just can't get Japanese input on my phone. I can see kanji and kana fine in texts, webpages, emails, etc. but i can't enter any myself. when you installed the raphael/diamond Japanese IME, and Softbank MMS on your phone, were you able to write Japanese?

No WP7 for me thanks to network exclusives :(

I had been eagerly following WP7 news in the run up to release, and despite there being several areas that narked me, I really liked the look of it. Anyway, those areas that were/are a problem will no doubt get dealt with in future updates.
So, I am now pretty much at the end of my current contract and was getting quite excited about the prospect of getting a shiny new WP7. I have been into the O2 shop with my wife to have a play with the HD7 (they are the only shop that have real working handsets for you to try). We BOTH love it. And by it, I mean both the WP7 OS and the device itself. This is where the problems begin... network exclusivity.
O2 have the HD7 (16GB).
Orange have the HTC Mozart (8GB)
Vodaphone have the HTC Trophy (8GB)
and I believe that the Samsung Omnia 7 (8GB) & LG Optimus 7 (8GB) are available on various networks.
I have had HTC Windows based phones since the original SPV. I both really like & trust HTC devices. The Samsung looks and feels cheap & tacky. The LG is just plain ugly. The HTC Trophy & Mozart only have 8GB storage and are both too small for what we want. So the only option for us is the HD7 and we both love it!!!
So, no problem then? Think again. O2 exclusivity is the problem. I cannot use either O2 or Vodafone as both networks have sub-standard coverage where I live. To the extent where it is a real no go. On top of that, as there is no competition for this handset, O2 just do not offer a good tariff/ handset price deal. I will not spend over £35 a month, but may consider spending a bit (but not a small fortune) on the handset. I must also have reasonable data allowance. In fact, WP7 demands this too. 500MB? Just doesn't cut it anymore.
Long story short, as a result I now have to turn to Android and the HTC Desire HD, which is available from all networks on some really competitive deals. This is a real blow considering how much I have been looking forward to WP7.
I just hope that there aren't hundreds of thousands of other people who have had to make the same decision. I hope that a couple of years down the line that WP7 is going strong & that there will be a good variety of handsets available on all networks, so as to give the consumer real choice, and to allow me to finally get the WP7 handset I want on the network of my choice.

SilentBob said:
I had been eagerly following WP7 news in the run up to release, and despite there being several areas that narked me, I really liked the look of it. Anyway, those areas that were/are a problem will no doubt get dealt with in future updates.
So, I am now pretty much at the end of my current contract and was getting quite excited about the prospect of getting a shiny new WP7. I have been into the O2 shop with my wife to have a play with the HD7 (they are the only shop that have real working handsets for you to try). We BOTH love it. And by it, I mean both the WP7 OS and the device itself. This is where the problems begin... network exclusivity.
O2 have the HD7 (16GB).
Orange have the HTC Mozart (8GB)
Vodaphone have the HTC Trophy (8GB)
and I believe that the Samsung Omnia 7 (8GB) & LG Optimus 7 (8GB) are available on various networks.
I have had HTC Windows based phones since the original SPV. I both really like & trust HTC devices. The Samsung looks and feels cheap & tacky. The LG is just plain ugly. The HTC Trophy & Mozart only have 8GB storage and are both too small for what we want. So the only option for us is the HD7 and we both love it!!!
So, no problem then? Think again. O2 exclusivity is the problem. I cannot use either O2 or Vodafone as both networks have sub-standard coverage where I live. To the extent where it is a real no go. On top of that, as there is no competition for this handset, O2 just do not offer a good tariff/ handset price deal. I will not spend over £35 a month, but may consider spending a bit (but not a small fortune) on the handset. I must also have reasonable data allowance. In fact, WP7 demands this too. 500MB? Just doesn't cut it anymore.
Long story short, as a result I now have to turn to Android and the HTC Desire HD, which is available from all networks on some really competitive deals. This is a real blow considering how much I have been looking forward to WP7.
I just hope that there aren't hundreds of thousands of other people who have had to make the same decision. I hope that a couple of years down the line that WP7 is going strong & that there will be a good variety of handsets available on all networks, so as to give the consumer real choice, and to allow me to finally get the WP7 handset I want on the network of my choice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, from my experience with DesireHD on my HD2, I would say you are coming out of it on top by going with the DesireHD. This is an Android version like no other. It's gorgeous and offers excellent customization features like the skins and such. Plus the actual DesireHD hardware is also purely gorgeous.
You may think you are losing by not being able to go with WP7, but I see it the other way. You get so many features with DesireHD that WP7 doesn't have. And if the actual DesireHD UI is anything like the HD2 DesireHD ROM, the UI is silky smooth and a luscious. It's as smooth as WP7.

I know this is not what you want to hear but the HD7 is only £360 on Pay&Go I bought it on pay & go and now use my T-Mobile sim in it.
You'd be looking at a £30 a month contract anyway so that's the equivalent of 1 year so you'd save £360 which can be used to get a cheap sim only deal.

MartyLK said:
Actually, from my experience with DesireHD on my HD2, I would say you are coming out of it on top by going with the DesireHD. This is an Android version like no other. It's gorgeous and offers excellent customization features like the skins and such. Plus the actual DesireHD hardware is also purely gorgeous.
You may think you are losing by not being able to go with WP7, but I see it the other way. You get so many features with DesireHD that WP7 doesn't have. And if the actual DesireHD UI is anything like the HD2 DesireHD ROM, the UI is silky smooth and a luscious. It's as smooth as WP7.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No... it isn't. Don't get me wrong though, the Desire HD is a very capable phone and with Sense 2.5 it provides what I think is the best Android experience but it isn't quite as smooth as WP7 or iOS yet.

paperclips said:
No... it isn't. Don't get me wrong though, the Desire HD is a very capable phone and with Sense 2.5 it provides what I think is the best Android experience but it isn't quite as smooth as WP7 or iOS yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like I said, I don't know about the actual DesireHD, but my HD2 with DesireHD is. And I do have an HD7 to compare it to.

MartyLK said:
Actually, from my experience with DesireHD on my HD2, I would say you are coming out of it on top by going with the DesireHD. This is an Android version like no other. It's gorgeous and offers excellent customization features like the skins and such. Plus the actual DesireHD hardware is also purely gorgeous.
You may think you are losing by not being able to go with WP7, but I see it the other way. You get so many features with DesireHD that WP7 doesn't have. And if the actual DesireHD UI is anything like the HD2 DesireHD ROM, the UI is silky smooth and a luscious. It's as smooth as WP7.
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TBH, I have been keeping an eye on what's happening with Android too. You know, just in case WP7 completely failed. I understand it is better for customisation (which I am used to on WM). However, I get the feeling that with WP7 I wouldn't feel the need to customise beyond wallpaper & ringtone. It looks like it just works so well.
I realise how similar the hardware of the HD7 & Desire HD are, hence why this seems to be the sensible alternative. The DHD even has some advantage, such as Alu-body & SLCD screen.
It seems that (unless you are loaded) there always has to be compromise. In this case:
- Handset/hardware
- Network (and therefore service)
- O/S
And unfortunately it seems that O/S is the one to give. Although, as you said, I am sure it won't be a disappointing experience.

brummiesteven said:
I know this is not what you want to hear but the HD7 is only £360 on Pay&Go I bought it on pay & go and now use my T-Mobile sim in it.
You'd be looking at a £30 a month contract anyway so that's the equivalent of 1 year so you'd save £360 which can be used to get a cheap sim only deal.
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I had considered this...
but only for a couple of seconds.
Unfortunately I do not have the £700+ needed to buy one for me & one for the wife outright. Hence why there always has to be compromise somewhere.

paperclips said:
No... it isn't. Don't get me wrong though, the Desire HD is a very capable phone and with Sense 2.5 it provides what I think is the best Android experience but it isn't quite as smooth as WP7 or iOS yet.
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Perhaps what it needs is a custom ROM to get the best experience? But, despite not having any experience, I certainly feel that HTC are doing some good stuff with Android. Just as they did with WM. It is a shame though, 'cos the short while I spent playing with WP7 was pretty amazing.
Damned network exclusives! That's exactly why I ended up back on Orange (for the original HTC Touch HD).

SilentBob said:
I had considered this...
but only for a couple of seconds.
Unfortunately I do not have the £700+ needed to buy one for me & one for the wife outright. Hence why there always has to be compromise somewhere.
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Another option is the HTC Mozart. Like the HD7, the SD Card in the Mozart can be replaced.

brummiesteven said:
Another option is the HTC Mozart. Like the HD7, the SD Card in the Mozart can be replaced.
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Yeah, I have looked at that. It is good looking & very well built, but...
- After trying out the HD7, the screen just seems too small (hard to think that 2.8" was the norm just a couple of years back).
- The storage upgrade would immediately invalidate the warranty.

SilentBob said:
Yeah, I have looked at that. It is good looking & very well built, but...
- After trying out the HD7, the screen just seems too small (hard to think that 2.8" was the norm just a couple of years back).
- The storage upgrade would immediately invalidate the warranty.
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I would assume it is possible, albeit tricky, to do it without voiding the warranty. If it broke you'd just pop back the original SD card in.
It does suck, there should be more with 16gb storage or even 32gb. The Samsung Omnia 7 is an awesome phone btw and far better than any of the HTCs (although it's 8gb anyway).
I don't know what else to suggest though when is your contract up? If it's not for a while you could wait a bit for the Dell Venue Pro. 4" screen, Micro SD Card slot, Gorilla Glass. Shouldn't be too long for that.
Edit: Turns out you don't have to wait, buymobilephones has it http://www.buymobilephones.net/mobile-phones/Dell/Dell-Venue-Pro/108,56273
I would seriously consider getting that phone, I wanted it but it was delayed so just went with the HD7

brummiesteven said:
I don't know what else to suggest though when is your contract up? If it's not for a while you could wait a bit for the Dell Venue Pro. 4" screen, Micro SD Card slot, Gorilla Glass. Shouldn't be too long for that.
Edit: Turns out you don't have to wait, buymobilephones has it http://www.buymobilephones.net/mobile-phones/Dell/Dell-Venue-Pro/108,56273
I would seriously consider getting that phone, I wanted it but it was delayed so just went with the HD7
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Now that is interesting! I do really like the look of that phone. It would be nice if I could see it in person somewhere, as I am concerned that it could be a bit chunky. But it is certainly classy looking. May have to see if I can track one down somewhere so I can size it up.

Being limited by carrier coverage and subsidies is a pretty lousy situation, but all we can do about it is make the best of it. Due to the coverage where I live, I've signed my life away to AT&T, and thus was able to get the Samsung Focus, which I enjoy very much. If I had the option, though, I think that I'd have held out for the Venue Pro. +0.1" on the screen and a physical keyboard? Yes, please.
Either way, best of luck on your hunt!

SilentBob said:
Now that is interesting! I do really like the look of that phone. It would be nice if I could see it in person somewhere, as I am concerned that it could be a bit chunky. But it is certainly classy looking. May have to see if I can track one down somewhere so I can size it up.
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I don't think you will find one, Dell released the Venue Pro via Dell.com, buymobilephones obviously bought a bulk of these and is selling them with contracts.
My best advice to you would be to phone BuyMobilePhones and talk about their cancellation policy. I'm fairly sure they need to give 14 days to return the device under far distance regulations, confirm this with them. Then, go and order the phone. Use it, see what you think and if it's for you.
If not, send it back and cancel the contract. Although, I'm fairly certain you will have found your new phone
Edit: Also, if you're willing to consider o2, they have a pretty good deal on the HD7, compared to o2's contracts anyway:
http://www.buymobilephones.net/mobile-phones/HTC/HTC-HD7/O2/O2-25-(24mths)-Free-Internet/7479785
I've used this site before and didn't have any problems btw.

SilentBob said:
I had been eagerly following WP7 news in the run up to release, and despite there being several areas that narked me, I really liked the look of it. Anyway, those areas that were/are a problem will no doubt get dealt with in future updates.
So, I am now pretty much at the end of my current contract and was getting quite excited about the prospect of getting a shiny new WP7. I have been into the O2 shop with my wife to have a play with the HD7 (they are the only shop that have real working handsets for you to try). We BOTH love it. And by it, I mean both the WP7 OS and the device itself. This is where the problems begin... network exclusivity.
O2 have the HD7 (16GB).
Orange have the HTC Mozart (8GB)
Vodaphone have the HTC Trophy (8GB)
and I believe that the Samsung Omnia 7 (8GB) & LG Optimus 7 (8GB) are available on various networks.
I have had HTC Windows based phones since the original SPV. I both really like & trust HTC devices. The Samsung looks and feels cheap & tacky. The LG is just plain ugly. The HTC Trophy & Mozart only have 8GB storage and are both too small for what we want. So the only option for us is the HD7 and we both love it!!!
So, no problem then? Think again. O2 exclusivity is the problem. I cannot use either O2 or Vodafone as both networks have sub-standard coverage where I live. To the extent where it is a real no go. On top of that, as there is no competition for this handset, O2 just do not offer a good tariff/ handset price deal. I will not spend over £35 a month, but may consider spending a bit (but not a small fortune) on the handset. I must also have reasonable data allowance. In fact, WP7 demands this too. 500MB? Just doesn't cut it anymore.
Long story short, as a result I now have to turn to Android and the HTC Desire HD, which is available from all networks on some really competitive deals. This is a real blow considering how much I have been looking forward to WP7.
I just hope that there aren't hundreds of thousands of other people who have had to make the same decision. I hope that a couple of years down the line that WP7 is going strong & that there will be a good variety of handsets available on all networks, so as to give the consumer real choice, and to allow me to finally get the WP7 handset I want on the network of my choice.
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if android is an option, I'd wait a couple more months. Lots of android devices being released with tegra 2 processors that should finally smooth android out (maybe).

MartyLK said:
Like I said, I don't know about the actual DesireHD, but my HD2 with DesireHD is. And I do have an HD7 to compare it to.
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It jas worse hardware than a desire hd and I installed the nand android yesterday to try it out. No, doesnt even compare. And it still had a crappy battery.
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