I've been toying with the idea of changing to a WM6.5 based ROM, either Miri's or Davideuck's, but I'm so happy with Dutty's Xtreme ROMs that it's going to be a wrench if I do. I love the functionality of TF3D but find it annoying that you have to have a 3rd party UI running on top of Windows just to get a reasonable-looking and easy-to-navigate interface.
The thing that bugs me is the whole Titanium vs Manila thing. Personally, I can't see the point in having both TF3D and the Titanium home screen installed on the phone at the same time.
The Titanium home screen is simple and elegant but links to standard naff-looking WinMo apps (calendar, photos) whilst TF3D has eye-candy aplenty and quite usable and functional manila apps built-in like the calendar, weather and contacts browser (especially in the newest, prettier versions). I'm aware that we can run certain HTC apps within Titanium (Calculator/Album/Camera/etc), but the experience then feels disjointed and not cohesive at all.
So my question (and point for discussion) is this: Can we ever envisage a time when HTC's (or whomever's) bolt-on UIs are not required? Will MS ever produce a UI that is pretty and easy to navigate? Or will we always have to rely on 3rd party apps just to make our phones usable without the need for a stylus?
I quite like the new titanium, don't miss manila at all. Using Miri's 7.2 standard.
I think it will be WM7 that should/will get rid of the stylus once and for all.
The new start menu is more aesthetically appealing, but i find it less functional than the new start menu in manila, my issues w/ the new start menu in manila, is that noone has made a background for all cabs for this version yet, and htc should really have included this by default, seems kind of dumb to me to have only wallpaper support for the home tab.
I've found that even though its monochromatic, i prefer tf3d v2 and its new notifications, context menu's and additional tabs on tf3d more than i prefer what MS has done w/ wm 6.5.
What i like about wm 6.5 is that it gives the visual impression that you have more screen real estate due to the transparent top & bottom bars, but sadly that's only on the start bar & today screens. I also like the new lock screen, and the icons throughout the system, smoother, better antialiasing.
I also miss the ability to select multiple files in file explorer, but i find that functionality has been gone for a while, once the kinetic scrolling was introduced, the ability to block select multiple files was lost. I know that other 3rd party file managers have the functionality built in, but you lose the visual cohesivehness with the operating system.
even though they take up the whole screen and are again monochromatic, i don't know why but i prefer the htc context menus to the wm 6.5 one's, i'm not sure if its the font type or size which could be part of it, but i think the wm 6.5 context menus looks less visually cohesive, even though it shares the theme of the OS.
I honestly am glad that HTC put out the tf3d v2, i wasn't particularly impressed by v1, and took it off the device as soon as i got it, resigned to have to deal w/ wm's ugliness, and millions of menu's, but i think v2 is a noble effort, they've certainly made me enjoy my Touch HD more. a
whole lot more.
Also prefer the HTC calculator, and HTC dialer to the stock MS one's. I'm just over the moon w/ tf3d v2, and i'm also running Miri's rom.
DRTigerlilly said:
The new start menu is more aesthetically appealing, but i find it less functional than the new start menu in manila, my issues w/ the new start menu in manila, is that noone has made a background for all cabs for this version yet, and htc should really have included this by default, seems kind of dumb to me to have only wallpaper support for the home tab. ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is background for all tabs available. mun_rus works great for me and there is another cab available to have both the old start menu and programs tab.
Quite so, but the BG for all tabs doesn't extend to the new Start Menu.
Ive been using Onkolos light WM 6.5 since friday and love it. I havnt used Manila as I like the new Titanium but I have installed Yota contacts and dialer as I dont like the windows contacts and the dialer is faster.
Downside is they dont work in landscape mode but Im using changescreen at the moment to experiment getting windows to rotate but not dialer & contacts. I would prefer to use flip it but didnt know what to enter for windows rotation.
I prefer touch flo and the way htc have tried to hide the boring style of the windows interface. I love all the new htc menus, skins, finger friendly apps etc.
I tried 6.5 but after a while reverted back to manilla because in 6.5 it was still the old interface below. Only the home page and menus had changed. I also tried 6.5 with some htc updated replacement skins and apps but did not like the mix of two styles and preferred to have a consistant theme throughout.
Am using the new topaz manilla 2 - davideuck v5 and am very happy with it and sticking with it. Manilla all the way...
Major_Sarcasm said:
Quite so, but the BG for all tabs doesn't extend to the new Start Menu.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what you do is that you set the background wallpaper for the "today" screen as the same background wallpaper for your tabs, and it will be the same. An extra step, I know, but this also extends to your WM6.5 lock screen as well.
skulk3r said:
what you do is that you set the background wallpaper for the "today" screen as the same background wallpaper for your tabs, and it will be the same. An extra step, I know, but this also extends to your WM6.5 lock screen as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Major_Sarcasm & myself are referring to the new htc start menu in wm 6.1 not wm 6.5
Having tried various flavors of it, I don't give a bean about Titanium (MS in general); I find it cumbersome. TouchFlo to me is simple and efficent enough. Now, if there is a Zune phone (with at least 120 gb), that will be the day.
aabye said:
Having tried various flavors of it, I don't give a bean about Titanium (MS in general); I find it cumbersome. TouchFlo to me is simple and efficent enough. Now, if there is a Zune phone (with at least 120 gb), that will be the day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
manila unfortunately comes with a price.....major hi-jack of memory.
no a problem for me,remember we had pda's before manilla ...
Hi, I have bought pocketshield and found it doesn't work in all applications as manila is set as part of my start process. To make all apps work with pocketshield, am I safe removing manila - sorry to be dim but what is it giving me that touchflo doesn't..?
YES, PointUI
I have to say I'm in the Manila camp. Especially the latest versions of Manila from custom ROMs.
It's good looking, and functional.
And with each new version it goes deeper and deeper into hiding the ugly WinMo interface, which is a big plus for me. Also, I have to say that Manila has been surprisingly solid when it comes to speed and stability, especially for someone like me who's constantly digging around the _manila files and playing with them
The biggest minus for me personally is that HTC didn't take in account that people may want to change the colors and graphics, so visual customization is major PITA.
band27 said:
manila unfortunately comes with a price.....major hi-jack of memory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have no more than 20-30% free memory, and my device is very fast and stable. Memory is there to be used, why else did you pay for it?
vangrieg said:
I have no more than 20-30% free memory, and my device is very fast and stable. Memory is there to be used, why else did you pay for it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I couldn't agree more. I don't see a point in saving up free memory. As long as I can run 2-3 large applications simultaneously and still be able to answer a call or read an SMS, I'm perfectly happy with my device.
Zepiii said:
YES, PointUI
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly. It's amazing what it can do
I'm the biggest fan of it
HastaSSSS
im not a fan of the titanium in 6.5 , i like manila better, but i like pointUI even better as the same for ms3 wich i use the most
I rather quite like touchflow as it give you all of the main features of a phone such as the touch HD without the need to run different apps (ie can view newest text messages without running the ms messaging app).
as for if MS will ever make a really nice UI, i think by winmo 7, MS will have to hav made a new UI (because of pressure from iphone OS) and then, as a major release, all the regular apps (windows media player, album etc) will also get a facelift, with the former already having been confirmed for a new release.
thats what i think anyway...
I was looking at PointUI - seems interesting but i was wondering if it has multiple home screens (like Android or MS3) or is it dependant on each theme as i like the Amana theme but i would prefer having multiple screens to use so that i dont have to have alot on the page
PointUI uses multiple screens as well. Just check out their website. If you hit Community you'll get plenty of information about skins and skinning
Pointui
I have used it .. prefered the old one as this one has small buttons not as thumb friendly.. and not as easy to use as TF3D
Yeah, the UI is good, but TF3D 2 is better, I mean the integration of the TouchFLo over Windows Mobile is greater than PointUI.
And the integration of TF3D 2 will be higher with the new and shiny TF3D 2.5
I'm a proud owner of the pointui pro. With the scipting of pointui (C-like scripts) you can do amazing things with it.
You can watch two recent video's on it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZXfhsOHerw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDyb-Tq-y3E
That second link is just awesome. Best Sense UI I've seen so far!
Hi:
I have finally configured my TP2 on WinMo 6.1 with everything that makes me happy (MTP which allows the old style Today Screen on a TF3D Tab, SPB Pocket Plus and SPB Diary abd STQ stock ticker on that tab, among other things).
Is it worthwhile for me to install 6.5 and erase everything? Will I be gaining performance, or any other plusses?
Thanks
Steve
yes. WM6.5 is nice. WM6.5.1 is even better.
The official roms will be plain WM6.5 with the start icon at the top. WM6.5.1 uses the new interface and is a joy.
WM6.5 is a good mix between WM6.1 and WM6.5.1. I like the latest though. I have pictures of my Fuze rom in my pics which depicts the new style.
I've flashed the official German Vario V 6.5 upgrade and am happy with it - the Rhodium was barely usable before as it kept choking on lots of apps. Now it appears stable (keep fingers crossed) apart from HomeScreen ++ which prevented in- and outgoing calls.
Robert
Does it show tasks on the Home screen? Soes it have a today screen that I could show SPB Diary or SPB Pocket Plus?
I may not have found out the full potential, but it's just showing the next 5 appointments using the dumbed-down HTC-Calendar that is also used on the calendar tab. If you tap one of the appointments, it takes you to WM's appointment view where you can edit etc. it - but you can't move "back" to the full WM calendar.
In my opinion you'll have to use MTP again.
Robert
and.... where do you find the 6.5.1?
this is my first winmo phone so far
along its good features there are some bad ones
in comparison to other phones i used
its alot more complicated and dinasaur like user interface(at least for finger tapping)
i already lost my stylus which is gay... it caught onto something today and is now M.I.A. (only had it for 2 weeks)
the menus are way too small for normal finger and i dont have any nails.
i didnt nottice any major increases in the amount of tweaks besides registry editor. but that is acomplished by other means in many other phone OSes. like patches and editing the install files.
as far as actual user interface there are random one liners here and there.
for example: a pretty common guide you find in alot fo phone forums is how to create your own skin(theme) even software for it is available and beeing developed. not for WINmo.
you would think there would be much more flexibility in creating your own unique user interface. but as far as i know its opposite.
most of the skins are just wallpaper and color variations.
with same layout and menus.
now heres what i need help with
im using leaked TMO rom with 6.5
today window:
can i move the clock to the top bar?(im not that blind, the digit animations are cool for first few days...) i jsut want something simple.
can i make the weather tab more transparent?
can i get rid of call history and calendar buttons?
can i switch the camera and all people soft buttons?
can i make the shortcuts like they are on blackberry phone so it will show selected shortcuts wen i press one button without scrolling?( one of the cooked roms had something similar where shortcuts were under calendar scroll up)
then.
how can i arrange the start menu in windows style but with medium sized icons i hate scrolling thru a long list of programs.
is there a setting to go straight to INBOX and ALL messages? because the preview is very annoying. i still have to press a button to view. theres no purpose for it besides being cool at first.
thats it for now
forgot one more thins
how can i select an item without activating the link?
in other words "mouse-over" since theres no cursor when i tap it automatically selects and opens the item. i fkn hate that. when you try to select something in order to go to menu and it activates the item so i have to close it and start again.
like tapping on a phone number it starts caling right away WTF. makes me not want to use alot of features when i have to do everything twice..
SPB Mobile Shell
Too long try to minimize writings so people dont get bored
have you checked SPB Mobile Shell? .. its a really good customizable UI
http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/mobileshell/
It sounds like you just don't like the HTC Sense interface. As mentioned, SPB Mobile Shell is a very popular alternative. Otherwise, there are countless other Today screen plugins available (but many are outdated and require stylus). Or perhaps the default WinMo 6.5 Titanium interface will suit your needs?
im not sure if it comes with the winmo 6.5
whats the difference between sense and touch flo? if any
fuzzysig said:
im not sure if it comes with the winmo 6.5
whats the difference between sense and touch flo? if any
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
default WinMo 6.5 Titanium interface is the normal Windows Mobile 6.5 UI, the one with the one list and you go up and down and scroll vertically.
Manila 2.0 = TouchFlo3D 2.0 (No weather on the clock and no shortcuts above the tabs)
Manila 2.1 = TouchFlo3D 2.1 = Sense 2.1 (Weather on the clock, and no shortcuts above the tabs)
Manila 2.5 = Sense 2.5 (Weather on the clock + Shortcuts above the tabs)
you probably have WM6.5 with Sense 2.1 (A.K.A TouchFLo3D 2.1 A.K.A Manila 2.1)
you can either use the default WM6.5 UI (A.K.A Titanium interface) or Sense 2.1 (A.K.A TouchFLo3D 2.1 A.K.A Manila 2.1) or install SPB Mobile Shell for a whole new experience.
hope things are a little bit clearer
what about the inboxes is there any way to get rid of that dang preview screen and go straight to inbox for txt and email?
Well, I finally finished getting my TP 2 set up, so naturally I wanted to fool around some. So I enabled the Sense menu in the Today and disabled SPB Mobile shell to see what I thought of the two.
Memory: Sense took up about 14 Mb, SPB Mobile Shell 3.5.3 takes up about 16 Mb.
Pro for Sense: I liked the weather display. It is very slick. I also liked the stock display.
Dislike for Sense: I think that the manner in which one moves between favorite people and reads emails is over done and not useful. I found it hard to use in actual practice. Also, I noted that one generally got back into the WM 6.5 menus (for actually reading emails, for example) quite often. I also found myself restricted when it came to customizing the Sense interface. You can add Weather locations, stock symbols, favorite people, and rearrange the tabs. That is about it.
I went back to Mobile Shell. It is fully customizable, with 10 screens of icons, all of them touch friendly (or not, depending on your preferrences). I find that I prefer that method of input. In some ways it is similar to Sense, in that one uses the finger scroll to go between the 10 screens, but unlike Sense there is no bottom list of tabs - one has to know which screen is which. But there are lots of other things I like in Mobile Shell. For example, recently used programs are very quickly accessed, and one can set up links to start up internet pages with a single finger tap.
My summary: I think that SPB Mobile Shell is more attuned to the WM operating system. The OS is really designed such that the user needs to know how to use it. For such users, Mobile Shell provides the extreme customization that makes the device absolutely sing - I can execute any desired command while the Sense user is still dragging tabs.
However for the novice, I suppose Sense is easier to use. But to me, WM 6.x will never be as user friendly as an android or iphone, and the Sense software is just window dressing over what is essentially a small computer with a "geek" back end.
yeah, but pay $29.99 for to save about what? one second of time? gwah!!
Actually, that is only the cost if you have no other SBP products, but yes, I should have mentioned that Shell is not free. But the user experience is so customiziable that I save many minutes per day because the entire array of information is there in one screen, the exact way I want and use it. I don't need the weather tab, for example, because the built in weather has a "large" skin that presents the entire weather and forecast at a glance, and I have configured every scrreen with an analog clock and a lock icon. Those are my design choices, not someone at HTC. But these are only my opinion, of course.
I got it just before Xmas when it was on sale for $15, so watch for the sales coming up. Subscribe to the email notifications from SPB and Handango.
Well...
With the help of a custom rom, I have actually switched from a long time user of SPB to a Sense 2.5 lover. It is just more polished, and HTC has skinned almost the entire OS to be very finger friendly
It is also way faster then the sense. All you have to do is disable sense all together, and install SPB and make it your default UI. The usage and amount of response your phone will get will be unbelievable.