Develop Bugs

Requested Hermes 100 Mods Help, Thoughts and Advice

Hi all,
I've been a reader (lurker) of this forum since the 8125. I have a Hermes 100 from Cingular which I have played around with, as shown on this forum. I am trying to create a fast, multimedia phone, that runs on the Hermes. I am not a techie, like many of you who know how to program, but I do admire what you've done. I could use your help......
Recently, post the last HTC upgrade, I added Black Satin, the Iphone Slider, and SPB Shell 1.5 , Diary and Pocket Plus 4.0, just to see how things work. Some thoughts (and the questions for which I seek an answer).
Do like the Black Satin add-ons, though Black was never really my color, and the HTC Shell and Diary are nice (though with Pocket Plus, gets very bloated)...still, it runs very slow....how can I:
1. Find a basic HTC shell?
2. If I wanted to ad in an interface, would you suggest the SPB Shell 1.5 + Diary or do you think Pocket Plus 4.0 is smooth, fast and multi-talented?
3. Opera or Explorer?
4. I still cannot watch Youtube, and some websites that require flash to show videos do not like Macromedia 7.0 Flash..they say "upgrade!" Thoughts?
5. I downloaded and installed The Black Shadow Video Dial Configuration, to use 3G video phone calls. But, as I am on the Cingular network, neither my brother (with the Tilt, unlocked) or my Hermes can make video calls on the network. Advice?! This would be super cool.
6. Are there "optimal" cingular internet settings that allow fastest access, or unblocked ports for 3G vid calling, streaming etc?
7. what is the best solution in terms of Iphone like scrolling and unlock? I know 4.0 Pocket Plus has it...its just "ok"...I tried to install Slide2unlock, didn't work for me.
8. I also used RealVGA, but didnt' notice a considerable difference. Is it not there, or am I dreaming?
9. Finally, should I just sell this Hermes 100 (its a "new" refurbished one from AT&T, got it yesterday) and buy a Tilt, or can I do everything I want on this baby!? I've had this type of phoen for a half a year now.....
Wow, a lot of questions, and I know you folks could say "read the 500 pages of the forum"...trust me, I've spent hours in these threads. I would appreciate your help, and I've honestly been trying, but it gets a little too technical for me past installing Cabs and following instructions, to be honest. So, any help you can offer would be VERY greatly appreciated.
All the best, George

Ok, here are answers to some points of yours:
4) There is no flash enabled browser for Windows Mobile. Only workarounds exist for watching the flash videos off Youtube and similar pages. So you will not be able to see those pages in near future.
7)iPhone scrolling - I use fTouchFlo - it works in all of the programs but has its flaws, I use s2u2 on my Hermes with no problem. One more thing to note is that Hermes touchc screen is different form iPhone touch screen and what we have (including SPB scrolling) are workarounds that still need a time to mature.
8) RealVGA? You are missing the point - both Hermes and Tilt have QVGA screen - there is no way to get it to VGA (simply because your screen has four times less pixels than VGA screen). It will not work because it is intended for VGA devices not for QVGA we own.
This is a developer forum - if you want less technical focus you can head to HOFO or other fora... I know lots of people in here read a lot... but they do not seem to think about what they read and then they tend to have really stupid questions. If all you want is media phone go for iPhone - there will not be 3G functions - but the scrolling works - there is no hassle with third party applications and everything can be done in only one way - the Apple way. The WM platform lets you do much more but it comes at price - in here I think you should get your feet wet in some basic techie stuff other than installing CABS. Hope I helped at least little...
PS: I had a hard time being new to the WM too - it needs time - I think right now you do not know what exactly you can expect from your device.

Well, first of all:
Thank you for your reply. True, it is called XDA Developers....and I am, in fairness, not. And as for an Iphone, wouldn't touch it with a 10 ft pool - I like the flexibility of this HTC WM6 phone I have...but frankly apart from some BASIC at the age of 9-11yrs, programming is not a forte ;-)
I'll try your solution to the scrolling.....and of course, I'll keep reading, but I figured (a. You folks know this stuff so well, and b). I can't be the first person to come in with these questions. After all, It's not like I'm not trying,...I flashed something like 20 roms yesterday testing them all out! - on that note, I love your benchmark thread.
Anyway, thank you for your help and the help of anyone else who gives it!
best, George

Ehhm to put some things straight...I know even less programming than you do I have a very same opinion of an iPhone - this thing can not be called "smart" phone at all. What you stumbled upon is the fact that there are two basic groups of users of our PDA phones - first ones are user tha want their phones just work - they are not interested why something does not work, they just want a certain standard to work and as long as it does they are happy. Second group is geeks like me (and the majority of users of this forum) that are just happy to upgrade their phones to whatever newer and try it out. The problem is that for example cooked ROMS have bugs/issues (not that official ROMs have none) - issues vary from small glitches, memory leaks, not functioning buttons to random hardresets. If you go way of the cooked ROMs usually you will have to spend more time with your devices than the first group of users just to fix glitches. The other thing is that cooked ROMs and applications there can enable you do much more with your phone - for example resource hogging HTC Home plugin was not intended for Hermes, touch scroll ability as well and we can continue - but folks over here made it possible - that is what makes this forum so great. Butif you choose to go this way you will have to read, read and read again - because nothing is perfect. Our devices have limitations too - hermes processor has computing power roughly equal to Pentium 100 MHz (that is over ten years old processor for desktops) - so some tasks are hard to be adapted (that is why most of the programs we use are watered down versions of desktop programs - as well as screen size is quite limiting for browsing and so on - if you want a VGA screen than you have to count with: your device being a tad slower (4x more data to be displayed over QVGA) and also bigger battery drain (4x more pixels to power up). Said that you can get some of the things you ask for in your questions, but some are still a challenge...

Use vtap for youtube viewing. Just google it.
Opera. Definitely Opera.
Well, AT&T does not support video calls so unless you go out of the country its useless to you. Besides, your phones dont even have the front facing camera, so it would be hard to do anyways.

Mcorrie:
Thanks, I think right now, I am at:
1. A Basic Shell for speed and customization (not sure which yet)
2. Web Browser: Opera
3. YouTube Browser: VTap
4. Scrolling: TouchFlo or s2u2
5. Additional Scrolling: Possibly Touch Commander
6. Maps: Google Maps
7. Wifi Searching: WIFIFOFUM
8: Microsoft Office
9. Phone Dialer (includes 3G Video??): Unknown
10. Camera/Video Program: Unknown
11. Media Player: Unknown
As for Video Calling, I figured there was a way to bypass the Cingular restrictions, but I have not found it yet. After all, it is a pipe...so it should be possible, right?

Some more from me:
4. Scrolling: TouchFlo or s2u2 (s2u2 is only for unlocking! no other scrolling so you can use both))
5. Additional Scrolling: Possibly Touch Commander or Slither's Flash cube (the same effect, but free)
9. Phone Dialer (includes 3G Video??): Schen's Kaiser dialer 2 (or something like this)
10. Camera/Video Program: CoolCamera - this one is commercial, but best there is
11. Media Player: TCPMP 0.81 - freeware plays nearly everything: audio video, with plugin even .flv and so on...

Karhu,
Dakujem for the additions: I am also adding Radio 1.48 as that seems to be the most stable for Brooklyn, NY according to a June report....I'm going to test myself, but as of now:
1. A Basic Shell for speed and customization
2. Web Browser: Opera
3. YouTube Browser: VTap
4. Scrolling: TouchFlo and s2u2
5. Additional Scrolling: Slither’s Flash Cube or Touch Commander
6. Maps: Google Maps
7. Wifi Searching: WIFIFOFUM
8: Microsoft Office
9. Phone Dialer (includes 3G Video??): Schen's Kaiser dialer 2
10. Camera/Video Program: CoolCamera
11. Media Player: TCPMP 0.81
Now, I just need to figure out what else needs to go in this thing! Trying to avoid bloat, but don't want to leave out needed functionality! I think maybe I'll find someone's mostly stripped down Rom and just add in - its a start.

More comments:
I think if you are looking for less bloated system you should stick with basic WM5/6 look - Wisbar advance that can customize the whole look of the system runs on the top of the basic shell and thus takes up some precious RAM space. The same goes for bells and whistles like s2u2 or slither's Cube - function of s2u2 is to lock/unlock the device - but a part of the program runs in background as a service and consumes 200k of RAM even when you use the device - it is not much but as you proceed to customize the device the amount of bloat grows.
I think you should also look for some decent task managers: I personally like wktask and Quickmenu, but pBar is also nice. HTC xButton is quite a bloat in this matter. You should think what is the main purpose you will use your phone for - CoolCamera is nice but due to hardware limitation of the Hermes those pictures will always look....like taken by a phone.
When it comes to extra lite ROMs beware - they tend to have memory leaks and some Super storage ROMs even random bricking - hardreset needed to make them work again.
Several other variants:
Peek Pocket in wifi scanner (just one small exe)
Core Player instead of TCPMP (Core player is the commercial succesor of freeware TCPMP)
You should also consider some backup program if planning to fiddle more with your phone:
If you want to save your messages, mails, contacts and stuff go for free PIM Backup.
Hope that helps a little

1. Find a basic HTC shell?
What do you mean? If you want HTC TouchFLO-like shell (the basic one is TouchFLO 2D), get ThrottleLauncher. You can install TouchFLO, but you need to flash your ROM. You also can use Spb Mobile Shell 2 with Diamond theme (search Diamond theme for Spb Mobile Shell in xda-developers forum)
UPDATE : Now it's possible, http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=541750 It's the TouchFLO 2D from HTC Touch2 (HTC Mega).. Download the "PATCHED MANILA FOR WM6.1 and non-HTC devices" if you have 6.0 or 6.1
2. If I wanted to ad in an interface, would you suggest the SPB Shell 1.5 + Diary or do you think Pocket Plus 4.0 is smooth, fast and multi-talented?
Spb Mobile Shell!
3. Opera or Explorer?
I usually use Explorer for short time browsing, and Opera Mobile for long time or serious browsing, because we must wait for about 5 seconds for Opera to boot up
UPDATE : With Opera Mobile 10, the Opera is not slow anymore, I'm currently using Opera Mobile 10 as my only and favourite browser on my Hermes..
4. I still cannot watch Youtube, and some websites that require flash to show videos do not like Macromedia 7.0 Flash..they say "upgrade!" Thoughts?
Download the YouTube app, you cannot view on the Windows Mobile browser..
UPDATE : With SkyFire browser, you can..
7. what is the best solution in terms of Iphone like scrolling and unlock? I know 4.0 Pocket Plus has it...its just "ok"...I tried to install Slide2unlock, didn't work for me.
Upgrade your Windows Mobile to Windows Mobile 6.1 or 6.5
UPDATE : Use Slide2Unlock2 (S2U2), it works on my Hermes (running official WM6 ROM)
8. I also used RealVGA, but didnt' notice a considerable difference. Is it not there, or am I dreaming?
Hermes's screen is QVGA (320x240), so you cannot force Windows to view VGA (640x480)
9. Finally, should I just sell this Hermes 100 (its a "new" refurbished one from AT&T, got it yesterday) and buy a Tilt, or can I do everything I want on this baby!? I've had this type of phoen for a half a year now.....
No, I think Hermes' body is more sturdy than the Tilt (Kaiser)

Epic necro. Another month and a bit and you'd have had 2 years!

Timing is everything when replying to a thread. Especially when it's almost 2 years old!

Manila versus WM6.5 Titanium

Many of you who flashed WM6.5 are happy with Titanium but face the problem of decide to keep better looking and fresh WM6.5 Titanium or going back to dull Manila because of its better functionality accessing applications.
I am happy with Titanium since i installed Touch Commander and got two scrolling pages, one scrolling up for Photo Contacts and another scrolling left or right for applications, links or folder access.
I suggest everybody facing this situation to try it and will never want to go back

Manilla vs wm6.5
thanx for u comment i think if the rom is fast and steady why chanced
better look ???new drivers new interface,better performance really don't know i
very happy whit manilla of course not the standard one

any screens/vids of what this might look like?
I don't think manilla is dull, I actually lik the GUI better than WM home page since it is cleaner and slicker, and has functionality at every tab rather than just one giant menu with small rectangular blocks that you cant fit anything inside of. It will just take you longer to do what you wanna do.
I want to wait for a speedy, stable WM 6.5 rom with TF3D2 from the Topaz ROM HTC finalized and fixed the major issues in. I that they cleaned up the scrolling bars and tabs found in the uglier WM 6.1! But the menu enhancements on the new Topaz rival the finger friendlier menus of WM 6.5 in my opinion.
Just my two cents but you sound pretty ecstatic about the marriage of WM 6.5 with Touch Commander so I am curious what that looks like, how it performs, etc.

looks are debatable; but titanium definitely feels much more responsive than manila (rhodium or otherwise)
it'd be nice to get manila up to that speed; or at least add in little things to titanium onto the main wm tabs (like weather)

but i think u can hv both Manila and Titanium from WM 6.5 at the same time
i flashed a WM6.5 rom with XBMod Rhodium Manila installed, and it works fine except for the Windows Live Application

I am liking titanium and I think it will be better than manila in the end one more and more tabs become avalible for it.
I think Manila2 > Titanium > Manila
I just love the extra facebook functionanlity of the Rodium manila and HTCs music player is much better to use when compared to WMP, the calender is prettier on Manila 2, as is the contact launcher.

I just love titanium, but i miss some thing from it.
Here it is my thread about it:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=503045

Actually im begining to prefer titanium now, the fact that it doesnt hog the memory anywhere near as much and you can customise it quite a bit is good. I think that alot of extra tabs will start to appear soon and I will definetly be using it over manila

I never liked manila in the first place.
Sloppy.
Titanium uses only ~3Mb of RAM and the ease of access to base apps > manila.
It's relatively easy to skin the basic components. Some ppl have begun doing it.
Just decompile a WM6.5 theme (it's basically a CAB), study the install xml and you'll know all there is to know to get you started.

off topic 21613 ????

diaramja said:
off topic 21613 ????
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
seemingly fake...

manila versus spb mobile shell 3

here is something that i need your opinions, and it concerns spb mobile shell 3 and manila. based on what i have seen on the forum, it appeares most people use manila a lot because when ever a cooked rom is released by any one of our master chefs there is always mention of either something not working on manila, and judging by the number of concerns that people have towards manila, it appeares to me that most people actually use it a lot. i myself however the first thing i do, when ever i flash a new rom is to disable touch flo, which i believe is manila and instead use state of the art spb mobile shell 3, however, i just need your own opinions as to why you would just either manila(touch flo) instead of spb mobile shell 3 thanks

i use spb about one month and my opinion is , a very good program!!!!

Personally, I disable TF3D on every rom as well. In fact, I look for the versions without TF3D.
I really like TF3D, how everything is laid out and how it gives really easy access to so much information and ties so deeply into everything... However... it is slow.
Every time I'd start up my device I'd have to load up each tab once into the ram so I'd get fluid movements when I need it. (Contacts tab takes several seconds to load up the first time.) Not only that, I found myself disabling nearly all the tabs. As cool as it was, it was just too heavy for me when I only need really basic information.
I used SPB Mobile shell 2 back on my Hermes for the longest time, nearly the entire lifespan of the device, truly a great program. (That was until TF2D came out, then everything changed.) Allowed really quick access to the most important information without getting in the way of normal windows mobile. Sadly it wasn't very pretty no matter how many skins one tried.
SPB Mobile Shell 3 however, seemed very awkward to me. Accessing simply information was a pain and involved complex maneuvers to get to something that should be very simple. The 3rd version while filled to the brim with eye candy is bloated for me. All I need is a today screen, calendar, contacts and programs. I don't need a carousel nor do I need an absurd amount of buttons or cool animations to get me there either.
My choice:
Titanium on wm6.5
It has enough eye candy for me and is very simple and very fast. I'd kill for a full calendar on the today screen, but thumbcal off the appointments tab does enough for me.

version i tried was ugly, unworthy of the screen and resolution HD has, also confusing, didn't like the layout, contacts look....actually, didn't like anything
TouchFlo is simpler and better looking, really shows the screen in all it's glory and i could spend time just flicking through it to see how pretty and smooth it is, the new calendar, weather tab, people tab, sms tab....i'm shallow :/
now i use Titanium, both pretty and easy to use and customize :/

I prefer Manila. I do not have bugs on my rom. I tried SPB MS 3 but it's not as smooth as manila, no way. Icons has to load every time, then I do not have the "smooth" impression. However, scrolling in MS 3 is very fast.
For now, Manila is the best interface I tried. This is just my personnal opinion, not a judgement of MS 3.

thanks a lot guys i have used spb for a while and i must admit the new version spb 3 is the best and it is very fast as well in my opinion. i think once you learn how to use it, it does become very easy to use, ecspecially the new widgets, but what then are the advantages you guys see in manila

SPB Mobile Shell 3
suisen said:
version i tried was ugly, unworthy of the screen and resolution HD has, also confusing, didn't like the layout, contacts look....actually, didn't like anything
TouchFlo is simpler and better looking, really shows the screen in all it's glory and i could spend time just flicking through it to see how pretty and smooth it is, the new calendar, weather tab, people tab, sms tab....i'm shallow :/
now i use Titanium, both pretty and easy to use and customize :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don`t know which version you have tried, but if it has been version 3, I guess that your comment would be completely opposite. When you try the third version, and you still like better TouchFlo - then it is only question of taste...

it was, it was green, green should be illegal....those tabs at the bottom left and right are ugly, but nothing compared to those icons in between them Contacts tab cannot compare with the TF3D People tab, weather widget cannot compare to the weather tab, point by point it's just not as pretty, glossy, shiny, eye-candy, TF3D and Titanium are both a very functional eye-candy....everything is 1 or 2 pretty icons away
i like things simple but shiny, SPB MS is neither :/
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=3844438&postcount=1117

I am using both for about 4 weeks. Spb Mobile Shel 3.0 for work and Manila after work. I wish i could change the taskbar of spb to manila style or even to make the background complete black and not grey so i would use only spb.

I did try them all and right now I am using manila with certain tabs active ... sms, music, internet, photos and vids, progs and thats it. plus sometimes i activate a program that i just keep there for certain times its called winter face a very light smooth application that gives you an iphone like interface and its free.
i used spb keyboard and paid for it and replaced it now with fingerkeyboard which is free but far better and the same happened when i tried spb 2 and 3
now i have no spb application on my HD and i am happier
I think i will stick manila and winterface till i get Titanium on wm6.5 when winmo is officially out

I did try them all and right now I am using manila with certain tabs active ... sms, music, internet, photos and vids, progs and thats it. plus sometimes i activate a program that i just keep there for certain times its called vitto winter face; a very light smooth application that gives you an iphone like interface and its free.
i used spb keyboard and paid for it and replaced it now with fingerkeyboard which is free but far better and the same happened when i tried spb mobile shell 2 and 3
now i have no spb application on my HD and i am happier

Both TF3d better
I have used both .. answer :
TF3D is more intergrated eg with TXT's pictures and music .
with the shell you have use the phone own txt inbox and not the raher cute scroll in tf3d , this is the same with the music etc..
I want everything in one place .. and if possile not have to see the under bonet ..

Exit Internet Explorer

Sorry for the noobish question, but I just got a S621, and I'm trying to figure out why Internet Explorer doesn't seem to have an exit option.
Please tell me there's a way to exit without resorting to the task manager.

Because Microsoft seems to think you want to leave most of their apps running all the time LOL
Use Task Manager to close it when you are done.

Gah. I was afraid that would be the answer. I wonder why they do this on a phone with such limited memory. And whats the point of keeping the apps resident when there's no task switcher? I suppose the recent programs partly serves this function, but it doesn't show which apps are running.
Quite the opposite to Apple's approach - not allowing apps to stay resident on the iPhone, which I believe has at least double the RAM of the s620 & a much faster CPU.
By the way, are there any freeware alternatives to IE that do not require server-based rendering?

Opera Mini.
Download opera mini from the usefull apps post. Its truly amazing.
I still have IE there for certain things like thestreamcenter.com so it knows im on a mobile phone. I use celetask shortcutted to the Tmobile key(nrg rom) to kill it and regain lost ram.
If you are using the tmobile rom I suggest switching off it as fast as you can.
Good Luck.

I'm using the 3VO 6.5 rom. I've used Opera mini before (while traveling in India & China) & I agree it's great, but I'm looking for a browser that renders pages natively, without connecting to a proxy. Is there any freeware one besides IE?
Also, what's the best way to map a button to the task manager with the 3VO 6.5 rom?

dforestb said:
Also, what's the best way to map a button to the task manager with the 3VO 6.5 rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought it was the red t button on the bottom right of the phone. Thats if your using the same 3vo 6.5 as me...

There's Opera Mobile which isn't freeware but probably the best given the phone's limited memory. Apart from that the options are limited - Iris (free) which is based on WebKit is the other option that is a native browser (not through a proxy) but it's designed for a phone with at least twice as much memory really, so although it'll run, once you start hitting large pages it runs out of memory rapidly. Which is a shame because it's nice.
I use Opera mini unless I absolutely have to use a native browser (e.g. for logging into a wireless hotspot, Intranet etc.). It's remarkable just how fast it renders pages!

Opera Mini 5 + TP2 = :)

http://www.opera.com/mini/next/
I used OM4 for years on a i760 but this new beta version 5 is just amazing on a Tp2. Highly recommended.

I prefer the Opera Mobile 9.7
it works great on my Rhodium!

currently using OMini 4.2 with Esmertec Jbed Java client. love it. better than OMobile or PIE in my opinion

xnifex said:
currently using OMini 4.2 with Esmertec Jbed Java client. love it. better than OMobile or PIE in my opinion
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Truth! it is just sooooo much faster, there's no comparison. And Mini5 has a LOT of nice new stuff, including thumbnails of favorite sites, *no more separate text entry field* (yay!), more robust bookmark tools, and ...well, more.
NOTE: On a Tp2 I first installed this VGA version of E-Jbed before DLing the Mini5 Beta, but I think the old version will work too:
http://www.mediafire.com/?qwhoqymytjj
and then DL this from your TP2:
http://www.opera.com/mini/next/
Enjoy!

I've used both mini and mobile before...
I gotta say that for a big juicy screen and a phone with enough RAM, mobile and its extra features is just a better choice IMO.
but to each his own.
anything is better than IE. Skyfire even, or fennec.

browsers on tp2
rajuabju said:
I've used both mini and mobile before...
anything is better than IE. Skyfire even, or fennec.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sometimes only IE will work on some sites ... and if there is video or audio streaming embedded in a page Skyfire + wifi or 3.5g is pretty much the way to go.
I have struggled with 9.7opera - I like it but it makes the phone a lot less stable.
Try www.tvcatchup.com on skyfire! (from the uk only tho I think)
(its not as polished as iphone.tvcatchup.com but it works!)