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I am stuck between three phones that I want until I truly upgrade in August. I don't know what I want between the Tilt 2, the Pure or Motorola Backflip. I have done tons of research for all of these phones and I don't know which one I really want. What I should get?(Please don't be bias!)
Skip-Breezy said:
I am stuck between three phones that I want until I truly upgrade in August. I don't know what I want between the Tilt 2, the Pure or Motorola Backflip. I have done tons of research for all of these phones and I don't know which one I really want. What I should get?(Please don't be bias!)
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Click to collapse
Oh that's an easy question. You just get the one that has the keyboard that feels the best when you play with it (which you have done, right?). Or, get the one that has the OS that feels the best to you. Or, find one that's both. Or.. ok, maybe it's not such an easy question (hint, hint)
My very biased opinion is that if you want a WinMo phone, you should get the Tilt 2.
If you want an Android keyboard phone...I guess the backflip but I have no knowledge of that phone good or bad.
Actually I take it back, you should get the Tilt 2 regardless (it can even run Android, just for fun)
Are you saying what phone should you get in August?
If so, there will be tons of new phones then, so do not decide now.
If you're going to upgrade all the way in August, you shouldn't really be deciding what phone you want now. By then, AT&T should have more Android phones, their own version of the Palm Pre, and hopefully a new lineup for their Windows Mobile devices, like the HTC Tera (Touch Pro3).
You might even want to wait until October, since that's typically when AT&T gets their new sliding keyboard Windows Mobile device, like the Rhodium, and the Raphael before that, and the Kaiser before that, and the Wizard before that, and so on. By the time you upgrade, it's likely that the whole playing field will have changed significantly, so don't lock yourself into a device just yet when there's still plenty that can change between now and then.
Just get the TP2... a friend of mine went from the iphone to the backflip and can't stand it.. The screens small. That said.. Pure is a good phone BUT no keyboard...
Also.. at the rate the android development is going you'll be able to run android in full by the time you're ready to upgrade *lets hope at least*
Right now theres some things missing but I'm able to run adroid 2.1 pretty smooth on my tilt2.
You can read about it here ---> Touch Pro2, Tilt 2 Android Development
All that is missing is:
•BT
•Sound (in call mic and earpiece work, no ringtones or music)
•GPS
•Camera
•Opengles: using software rendering for the time being.
•Battery Meter
Which yes those seem fairly important but keep in mind you STILL have the full fledged Winmo able to run as well... so why get the backflip when you can have android running on this phone?
Just my food for thought!
If you're in the mood for a phone that runs JUST android then you may want to look at this Dell Aero Phone (AT&T)
Built-in 5.0-megapixel camera lets users share snapshots and upload them to Facebook, Flickr, Picassa, YouTube and TwitPic
Large 3.5-inch nHD display, perfect for watching media
Stay connected with social networking apps such as Facebook with an integrated phonebook and events that sync to the calendar
PC-like Web browsing experience with Flash Lite support for streaming audio and video content
Integrated Wi-Fi technology to connect to 20,000 AT&T hotspots
Navigate using the onboard GPS system while talking handsfree
Getting fed up with my blackstone, and the winmo "loading" icon. Looking to upgrade. The desire is my first choice at the moment but reading this forum has frankly terrified me.
Granted when I first got my blackstone there were lots of errors and horror stories posted in the forums and mine has been fine, so on that level I'm willing to take the risk.
The bigger issue is moving from Win6.5 with manilla, to Android 2.1 with sense.
Android seems fairly solid now. But watching the Google I/O Keynote, I wasnt thrilled with the way they intend to deliver adverts...
1) I'm guessing there isnt much difference between manilla and sense - different layouts etc, but 99% of the features in manilla are surely available in sense too?
2) Are there any common WinMo features that Android isnt capable of? I've read that android cant play some of the more common video types?
3) Google seem to be updating android a lot. HTC updates seem at best infrequent. Have HTC updated their previous android devices to the latest version of the OS / Sense?
4) Can anyone speculate on how long the desire will be upgradable? For example, i'm guessing the first 'google phone' the G1 is nowhere near powerful enough to run Froyo? Even in the mobile world 18 months seems a short lifespan for a device, since most contracts are now 24 months.
Thanks for any help. I had planned to nip to my local Orange shop and try to get myself one today, but had a few reservations and found it cheaper online. Anyway, cheers again.
First of all, I moved from a leo (HD2) to the Desire. Overall, the Desire is an amazing experience. Android is also starting to become mature. And Sense ui almost only adds stuff for a even better experience.
Previous devices have been updated once, as far as I know. But HTC is not even that bad: Samsung usually does almost nothing at all regarding updates. The only device that is sure to be updated a lot is the Google phone, N1.
2.2 is coming soon for the Desire. The next version is still far away. But since the Desire's hardware is so highend, there is a chance for the Desire to be updated for the second time.
I recommend the Desire.
2) Have both HD2 and Desire. If you are deeply insane on Exchange / Task / Time management Android is a poor's choice for now. No native Exchange support at all (Froyo seems to change this but I haven't tried it yet), average OEM (HTC) client with some rather limited Exchange functionality (no tasks) and a few clients by ISV none of them are close to Pocket Informant. The latter is expected sooner or later but likely not this year.
Noodled24 said:
1) I'm guessing there isnt much difference between manilla and sense - different layouts etc, but 99% of the features in manilla are surely available in sense too?
2) Are there any common WinMo features that Android isnt capable of? I've read that android cant play some of the more common video types?
3) Google seem to be updating android a lot. HTC updates seem at best infrequent. Have HTC updated their previous android devices to the latest version of the OS / Sense?
4) Can anyone speculate on how long the desire will be upgradable? For example, i'm guessing the first 'google phone' the G1 is nowhere near powerful enough to run Froyo? Even in the mobile world 18 months seems a short lifespan for a device, since most contracts are now 24 months.
Thanks for any help. I had planned to nip to my local Orange shop and try to get myself one today, but had a few reservations and found it cheaper online. Anyway, cheers again.
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Click to collapse
1. Correct, before I got my Htc hero I had a Htc diamond (winmo device) and only since I had android I have lot's of funny apps
and games (some useless apps some quite handy) because of the market. And out of the box it has all the things my htc diamond had.
2. True it doesn't play divx files, but convertors are fast and there should be improved support in froyo.
3. A bit of a frustration point with my hero, it was promised an updat to 2.1 in september/december last year... it still isn't there.
Had something to do with an SKU key wich google had to approve for each and every country.
The nexus, desire and legend all have the same SKU so google only needs to approve one 2.2 rom for htc to release an update.
It's supposed to come end june... But still as you can see Htc sense delays updates, but adds to a great android experience imo
4. If google keeps updating like this I can imagine android 2.3 or 3.0 or whatever being released before june next year.
The hero already is a year old and still gets an update (a bit overtime but still...) But I don't know if htc will offer an extra update
to another android version. But I'm sure some dev's will make it work for you
Rooting, which you may or may not want to do, my G1 runs android 2.1 just fine the now. So im not worried about the upgrade path for the Desire.
1) I'm guessing there isnt much difference between manilla and sense - different layouts etc, but 99% of the features in manilla are surely available
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Click to collapse
2. True it doesn't play divx files, but convertors are fast and there should be improved support in froyo.
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Why are so many android users unaware that divx is supported by the player yxflash? It did get bad press when it was first released due to buggy playback etc.
but on our 1ghz superphones it works just great. I use it on my nexus one and have recommended it to friends with the desire who use it without issue.
lynxboy said:
Why are so many android users unaware that divx is supported by the player yxflash? It did get bad press when it was first released due to buggy playback etc.
but on our 1ghz superphones it works just great. I use it on my nexus one and have recommended it to friends with the desire who use it without issue.
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Click to collapse
Probably because the general consensus of opinion is that yxplayer (now renamed) is rubbish. I've never got a single DivX file to play at an acceptable frame rate.
Regards,
Dave
djet said:
No native Exchange support at all
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I don't know where you get this from, but Android 2.1s standard mail client supports Exchange.
Regards,
Dave
foxmeister said:
I don't know where you get this from, but Android 2.1s standard mail client supports Exchange.
Regards,
Dave
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He's confused with 1.5 or 1.6 wich has Htc exchange support instead of androids.
And about the divx, I like thing working straight out of the box, that's what you pay for
so I only commented on this because I think it should just work in stead of using apps
I have had several winmo phones as well as a palm pre. My last phone was an HD2 which is great phone but the desire has it beat, my advice- get one!
winmobile. the one thing i dont miss.
i say goto a mobile retailer and ask to see the desire and try it out.
bet you buy one
^ Probably am going to. I think i'd prefer a nexus one... just because of the more direct approach of google, quicker upgrades etcbut I hate the little track ball, the optical track seems a better idea (does it light up by the way).
Was on the phone to orange cancellations this morning and they agreed to sell me a Desire for £49.99 with the contract being 300 minutes, unlimited txts and unlimited data for £10 per month inc VAT. Which seems pretty good... now I just have to wait for them to get the handset back in stock, which should be monday... and also have a go at knocking them down from 24 months to 18.
foxmeister said:
Probably because the general consensus of opinion is that yxplayer (now renamed) is rubbish. I've never got a single DivX file to play at an acceptable frame rate.
Regards,
Dave
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Click to collapse
Well I'm grateful for being one of the lucky ones! I previously held the above opinion when trying to playback on a Hero, but ever since I have used the Nexus performance has been great. This is coming from an old WM user who experienced the "wonder" that is TCMP/Coreplayer. That said, comparing playback today between my Nexus and friend's Desire, the Nexus certainly came out on top.
Anyway it just bugs me when I hear people saying that DivX playback is an impossibility on Android. It is a possibility. Although the interface is ****, for me and others I know it works well, so hopefully the OP will not be put off.
Here's to hoping that the DivX Player/Framework will be ported from the upcoming Samsung phones ASAP!!
Regards.
Just upgraded fom the blackstone last week. At first I was a little unsure whether it is a good idea, since i was not at all unhappy with my phone. Sure, I cannot watch videos that easy (just copy dvdrips onto the phone... done) but just about everything else is just amazing. It is sooooooo damn fast, the internet experience (now you may call it that) is nearly as smooth as on a desktop pc. Also the screen looks fantastic, the colors are just so intense, you really have to see it yourself. I heard lots of horror stories too, pinkish screen, straigth lines seem jagged, no 'real' multitouch etc. But you have to try and look really hard to find these. These flaws are not noticeable during daily use.
lynxboy said:
Anyway it just bugs me when I hear people saying that DivX playback is an impossibility on Android. It is a possibility. Although the interface is ****, for me and others I know it works well, so hopefully the OP will not be put off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem with yxplayer is that it is still interpreted Java - there's no reason why a decent DivX player couldn't be written using the NDK. Still, I can't see any reason whatsoever why it should work better on the Nexus One than it does on the Desire when they are practically the same phone.
DivX support for Android is out there - Archos have it, as do LG and Samsung - the difference is that they almost certainly built support into core Android rather than just as an application. HTC also announced that the Desire would be getting an update to support DivX, but they seem to have gone very quiet on that subject.
Having said all that, I'd imagine that the Froyo JIT would help yxplayer tremendously.
Regards,
Dave
I have been playing with it all day, my HTC Surround is quite a toy. While this is version 1.0 of WP7, its pretty good. There are maybe 125 free apps in the market place and most paid apps are $1-$3 or more. I see a lot of potential. The interface is responsive. It's not perfect but I expect MS will address all of its shortcomings. I lost all of my favorite installed apps I had on my Dash 3G - all the TV and radio apps, my MIRC app, most of the things I really care about, so I am holding onto my Dash for now. But I am SURE most of these apps will be ported over sooner than later. If I get desparate, I'll pay AT&T the $10 they want for their streaming app. Video quality is OK using the Zune software. I used it convert my smaller .mp4's using the Zune converter. I may get sharper pictures if I convert from the original .avi's. There are a few free radio apps that work well. So far I don't see any 3rd party video news apps, maybe Netflix is good, so haven't figured out how to get Sky video news, but again i am sure it will be available soon. There's a glitch in windows live causing some people to get error messages, but MS says they will have that fixed shortly. IExp works great, as does the weather maps and search. My contacts downloaded fine from my sim card and synced fine to my computer. All in all this was a good move....can't wait for the rest to come!
Congrats!! And a few questions please
Have you ever played with an HTC Aria and its Sense touch technology? Is the HTC touch interface the same or as stunning on your new phone? I love my Captivate (which askpcguy just helped me unbrick ), but have really always loved Windows' PC OS and the HTC Sense on my Aria just really seemed snappier to me than Samsung's TouchWiz. My fiancee will get my Captivate, but I'm torn between one of the new AT&T 7 phones or a decent touchscreen/real keyboard Android if and when AT&T gets one. I miss my real BB keyboard, but the Torch is too underpowered and the screen is to small for my aging eyes.
Also, I read a few reviews on your excellent phone at PCmag, CNET and Endgadget earlier today, and Endgadget mentioned the fact that the speakers are muffled when closed and you have to really have them open to hear well. That seems logical, but is it as noticeable as they lead one to believe please? Can you hear a call come in well? Endgadget indicates those are the only speakers on the phone, and if muffled, would I still hear my ringtones? For a totally useless question, can you set a whole song as a ringtone, or are you limited to a certain file size like most phones nowadays (my old Krzr, which I used today while Captivate was out of service, can handle a whole song, why not smartphones? One of those things that make me go hmmm?). The same review had issues with the kickstand. What have you noticed please?
I read an interview with HTC's owner and founder in Businessweek this past week, and he is truly a trendsetter. HTC came out of nowhere and are making the best touchscreens I've seen to date (just eclipsed by Samsung and Apple for now in crispness - but that won't be the case for long).
HTC Sense Hub
this is one of the reasons I went with the Surround instead of the Samsung (ok the screen is a bit smaller but I like the build and HTC seems to have better continuing device support)
Well back to the HTC hub, it is very sense like but not as we are used to on WM/Android devices, imho there is a bit too much animation but it is very cool and the device seems to handle the graphice very well. the hub mainly consists of the basic clock/weather combo with links to additional HTC free apps that are many of the unique value added apps we all know and love, Flashlight, calc, a very cool picture enhancer and some others that must be installed, the few att bloat ware present can be easily removed (a first i think) it's not the same as we are used to but they did a nice job of adding the HTC feel as a component to the metro interface. these are just my observations/thoughts and your milage may vary.
Cheers
BR
1toadfacedfrump said:
Have you ever played with an HTC Aria and its Sense touch technology? Is the HTC touch interface the same or as stunning on your new phone? I love my Captivate (which askpcguy just helped me unbrick ), but have really always loved Windows' PC OS and the HTC Sense on my Aria just really seemed snappier to me than Samsung's TouchWiz. My fiancee will get my Captivate, but I'm torn between one of the new AT&T 7 phones or a decent touchscreen/real keyboard Android if and when AT&T gets one. I miss my real BB keyboard, but the Torch is too underpowered and the screen is to small for my aging eyes.
Also, I read a few reviews on your excellent phone at PCmag, CNET and Endgadget earlier today, and Endgadget mentioned the fact that the speakers are muffled when closed and you have to really have them open to hear well. That seems logical, but is it as noticeable as they lead one to believe please? Can you hear a call come in well? Endgadget indicates those are the only speakers on the phone, and if muffled, would I still hear my ringtones? For a totally useless question, can you set a whole song as a ringtone, or are you limited to a certain file size like most phones nowadays (my old Krzr, which I used today while Captivate was out of service, can handle a whole song, why not smartphones? One of those things that make me go hmmm?). The same review had issues with the kickstand. What have you noticed please?
I read an interview with HTC's owner and founder in Businessweek this past week, and he is truly a trendsetter. HTC came out of nowhere and are making the best touchscreens I've seen to date (just eclipsed by Samsung and Apple for now in crispness - but that won't be the case for long).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hate to break it to you, but HTC cuts a lot of corners. Especially lately. It may be due to demand or whatever, but it's one of the primary reasons I'm looking to buy from another manufacturer this time around. I believe they used to make KIRFs, by the way. Though, I have no source on that.
I really don't like my Surround, but HTC never made KIRFS. HTC made just about everyone else's PDA and WinMo phones back in the day though. Including the XDA (hence the name of this forum, which is based on HTC phones). It wasn't until around 2006/2007 that they started trying to be a brand name in their own right though.
Croak said:
I really don't like my Surround, but HTC never made KIRFS. HTC made just about everyone else's PDA and WinMo phones back in the day though. Including the XDA (hence the name of this forum, which is based on HTC phones). It wasn't until around 2006/2007 that they started trying to be a brand name in their own right though.
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Click to collapse
Are you going to give the Focus a try? I played with one at the store today and have to admit, it was pretty nice. Didn't look or feel cheap to me.
No, I own a Galaxy S I9000M that's in for repairs, with that I get the same 4" SAMOLED as the Focus, AND a real OS. Once it comes back, this Windows Phone 7 detour is over. After a day of using it, I'm certain Windows Phone 7 is not for me.
On the other hand, this might just be the perfect OS for my father, who still can't set the clock on his microwave.
ericc191 said:
I hate to break it to you, but HTC cuts a lot of corners. Especially lately. It may be due to demand or whatever, but it's one of the primary reasons I'm looking to buy from another manufacturer this time around. I believe they used to make KIRFs, by the way. Though, I have no source on that.
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Click to collapse
Agreed, agreed, agreed! I don't think I'm ever going to buy another HTC device, ever, which is why I never looked very hard at Android. I've been burned by their corner cutting several times too many. I was also burned by that WinMo phone from LG that was supposed to sell with the snap on projector and had "numerous UI enhancements" from LG which actually made the already lousy WinMo 6.5 UI even WORSE. It was a bad phone and I don't think AT&T tried selling it for very long. So I went with the Samsung Focus and so far I'm impressed. The hardware is nice, it works well and the system, while spartan, works well and hasn't slowed or crashed on me. As was also mentioned, I have a TON of stuff I use on a regular basis on the iPhone so I haven't sold it, nor am I 100% committed to the Focus yet....I have 30 days to return it and I may do that. But so far I have no reason to do so PLUS Slingplayer, my favorite app of all, is already available for WP. I waited almost a full year for Slingplayer for the iPhone and the day after I buy a WP phone, there it is. Now that's impressive!
Lots of interesting ideas and advice, and I love gaining the pros and cons of devices, as well as the history (thanks Croak ). You guys certainly know your stuff, but before you give up on HTC, get last week's Bloomberg Businessweek and read the interview with the top man, because if he knew of the problems you speak of it appears he would be highly upset. Some of what Croak indicated are in that same article. He seems to be a perfectionist like Mr. Jobs; but being human, we will never attain such a lofty goal, but sure have fun trying.
FWIW, the Sense UI blows me away, which is why I miss the underpowered Aria.
After finally getting music onto my HD7 (long story), here are my thoughts on what is turning into a nightmare handset for me.
1. Set up - First of all, the Connector for Mac software will only access iTunes libraries on a local computer, so if like me you have your media stored on a NAS, you're in the sticky stuff. This also goes for USB sticks and external HDDs.
2. Zune - After finally getting some music on to the phone, I checked out the Zune player component. Coming from an i-device, it took a while to find my way around it, but on the whole, it's quite a nice interface. One thing I don't like is when browsing by artist, instead of giving you the albums to pick, it just jumps straight into playing all songs by the artist. Not a big deal, but slightly annoying.
*EDIT* Actually, scrap that last comment. Double tapping on the artist brings up the artist's albums. Excellent!
3. Sound quality - I use some high quality Denon 'buds and have to say, the sound quality is so much better than my iPhone. It's also very loud. Unfortunately, you do get some background hiss when you're flicking between the icons and have no music playing. There was also some feedback as mentioned below in point 4, but when NOT on a call.
4. Call quality - I found this to be pretty decent, UNLESS you're using headphones. You know that feedback ditt-ditty-ditt noise you get when you put a cellphone next to a radio? Well I got that constantly when on a call. Not sure if this is a fault with my phone itself or whether they're all like this. Either way, it's not a good advert for HTC.
5. The screen - After reading about the 'screen tearing' and wondering what it was all about, I now have first hand experience of it. The handset is only 1 day old, so I'm not exactly happy. Does anyone know if this is a hardware of software fault? Have the Mozart or Omnia 7 had the same problem?
6. No gapless playback - A big one for me is this. I've got 200 or so live/dj mix albums, so not having this feature has pretty much made this phone worthless to me. I just don't understand why MS haven't implemented it. If there are no plans to add this, then my HD7 will have to be returned.
Right, that's my take on the HD7. Admittedly, it's not exactly positive, but I have been honest and hope that it will give prospective buyers something to think about.
If I'd have known about some of these things in advance, I would have given the WP7 format a wide berth. This is a shame, as the UI is excellent and there are so many good things about it.
in response
1. good to know, i didn't know this and hopefully MS will improve on it as they threw it together pretty quick, but who knows... doesn't zune detect the files on NAS though? mine does (well videos anyways, and i've got all sorts of videos formats which all worked), maybe try the k-lite codec pack and see if zune will pick it up then?
2. cool! i'm still getting use to zune myself. i found that if you try and sync an item, and then decide not to sync, there isn't any easy way to just clear it from queue. what you have to do is goto the device, then to sync groups, and remove it from there... bit od, but worked it out.
3. the hissing is most likely hardware related not software related. it is possible that the software could be outputting something to check if it's alive, but i think it's more hardware related.
4. same as 3, i don't believe this is OS related but more hardware related. best thing to do is ask to borrow someone's samsung/LG phone and see if you experience the same?
5. screen tearing? would be hardware as well... i have a HTC trophy which was the phone to show all these screen defects, but luckily i haven't noticed it with mine.
6. gapless playback, that is OS related... and yea they should implement this. Some were saying that it could be to do with the i3 tags? Could you try something for me? try ripping a cd using zune and then see if it plays gapless on zune, if it does, sync it to the phone and see if it's gapless. note though that cross fade (start playing just before the end of the previous sone) isn't available from what i've read.
DaveyBoy72 said:
6. No gapless playback - A big one for me is this. I've got 200 or so live/dj mix albums, so not having this feature has pretty much made this phone worthless to me. I just don't understand why MS haven't implemented it. If there are no plans to add this, then my HD7 will have to be returned.
This is a shame, as the UI is excellent and there are so many good things about it.
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Click to collapse
What is a shame is the fact that you're returning the phone because of #6. Are you friggin kidding me ? Wow...
The Gate Keeper said:
in response
1. good to know, i didn't know this and hopefully MS will improve on it as they threw it together pretty quick, but who knows... doesn't zune detect the files on NAS though? mine does (well videos anyways, and i've got all sorts of videos formats which all worked), maybe try the k-lite codec pack and see if zune will pick it up then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He's using the Connector for Mac instead of the Windows based Zune client. The Connector for Mac is still Beta if I recall correctly so issues like this are gonna get solved eventually I guess.
Basically your complaining about software issues or using a phone as a music player.
Im on my third day of using HD7 all day long and have no problems with it at all.
Zune loaded all my photos and music.
Have not had any screen problems, that could be your one hardware problem.
Sound is fine, though could be louder
No LED alert for notifications. My one complaint.
Everything runs smooth and fast.
I have to say its a nice piece of hardware.
NRGZ28 said:
What is a shame is the fact that you're returning the phone because of #6. Are you friggin kidding me ? Wow...
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For someone who uses their phone primarily as a music player (why carry two things in your pocket), no, I am not kidding you. I could go on all day how iPod/iPhones work with this without problems, but we'd be covering old ground.
Also, it's not just live/DJ mix albums that are gapless these days. I don't know if you listen to a lot of continuous albums, but having a 1 or 2 second gap in a seamless DJ mix kind of defeats the object. It works on the Zune players (and iDevice), so why not on WP7?
To those who suggested using Zune PC to rip new files. I'm on a Mac, so at the moment the Zune software isn't available. I will try a 3rd party ripper though, which might give a different outcome to iTunes. I did try .M4A and .MP3 files from iTunes, but got the same result.
With regard to Connector for Mac, the external drive problem is being looked at and will hopefully be fixed when it moves from a beta release.
Unfortunately I don't know anyone else with a WP7 device, but will try another HD7 in the shop to see if the call interference is there. As mentioned, the earphones act as an antenna for the radio, so maybe it is this that is causing it. After digging around, I've found the screen tearing may be a driver fault and not the hardware itself.
One other minor (good) quirk, is that my Shure iPhone MPA remote/mic partially works with the HD7. It can only stop/start music, but a bonus nonetheless.
New phone
It's interesting each time a new or updated OS and phone comes out we don't really know what to expect or what the limits of the device will be. I went thru this last year (and every other previous year) with Win 6.5 on my Dash 3G. In the end I managed to get 100+ apps installed and the phone did everything except my laundry. I have a good feeling about WP7 (and my HTC Surround)....I've only had it 3 days and I've customized it, I see more (free) apps every day, and I will bet anyone MS will be implementing a lot of tweaks and new features i.e. spending a lot of money to insure these phones will compete with the others. We are all tweakers here and we want to push the limits..a little patience may be necessary.....it's only 3 days old
DaveyBoy72 said:
For someone who uses their phone primarily as a music player (why carry two things in your pocket), no, I am not kidding you. I could go on all day how iPod/iPhones work with this without problems, but we'd be covering old ground.
Also, it's not just live/DJ mix albums that are gapless these days. I don't know if you listen to a lot of continuous albums, but having a 1 or 2 second gap in a seamless DJ mix kind of defeats the object. It works on the Zune players (and iDevice), so why not on WP7?
To those who suggested using Zune PC to rip new files. I'm on a Mac, so at the moment the Zune software isn't available. I will try a 3rd party ripper though, which might give a different outcome to iTunes. I did try .M4A and .MP3 files from iTunes, but got the same result.
With regard to Connector for Mac, the external drive problem is being looked at and will hopefully be fixed when it moves from a beta release.
Unfortunately I don't know anyone else with a WP7 device, but will try another HD7 in the shop to see if the call interference is there. As mentioned, the earphones act as an antenna for the radio, so maybe it is this that is causing it. After digging around, I've found the screen tearing may be a driver fault and not the hardware itself.
One other minor (good) quirk, is that my Shure iPhone MPA remote/mic partially works with the HD7. It can only stop/start music, but a bonus nonetheless.
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Is your music DRM? With the Zune HD gapless works great as long as it's not with DRM so with my zune pass everything from the pass fails at gapless but works fine with the music I brought to the table without drm
DaveyBoy72 said:
6. No gapless playback - A big one for me is this. I've got 200 or so live/dj mix albums, so not having this feature has pretty much made this phone worthless to me. I just don't understand why MS haven't implemented it. If there are no plans to add this, then my HD7 will have to be returned.
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Why don't you support this idea on the WP7 wish list here
http://windowsphone7community.userv...ral/topics/85023-i-suggest-you-/filter/recent
Done.
None of my music is DRM as I've only ever downloaded 2 tracks in the last 5 years in iTunes.
Most of my music is from CD rips, with the occasional BitTorrent download.
I've still not had a chance to check another HD7 to see if it also produces feedback through the earphones. Has anyone else with an FM radio equiped handset ever had the same thing happen?
honestly I was shocked at the quality of calls on my HD7. I wouldn't call it decent, I'd call it excellent.
jz9833 said:
honestly I was shocked at the quality of calls on my HD7. I wouldn't call it decent, I'd call it excellent.
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is that coming from an ex-iphone user?
There are many problems with Wp7, but people have to remember this is a 1st release and only a couple of weeks old. I've had mine for 3 weeks and dispite the shortcuming it's my best phone yet.
I've only had the screen flicker problem once in Zune.
When you say gapless are you talking nearly instant vs absolutely instant or 2 seconds vs nearly instant/absolutely instant?
I have a few albums, some Linkin Park ones in particular that are compiled as a continuous album and i tried it first on the PC zune player. the transition was instantaneous. Then i synced the same tracks to my HTC Surround and played a few and there was about a tenth of a second skip before the next song started. Is that what you are talking about?
*Update*
I've made some progress with the HD7.
1. Finally got Connector for Mac to work properly. It now mirrors any changes in iTunes (eg adding media, playlists, etc) and accesses my NAS no problem. It also syncs ok. Previously I had to use the iTunes library on a local drive, but now it works with the NAS. I had to do a fresh install of iTunes, but it seems to be working now.
2. I've not had any further screen tearing issues. There were a few updates to the HTC apps/front end showing up, so I installed them. Not sure if this has fixed it, or whether I've just been lucky.
3. Gapless playback - Hopefully MS will implement this in the next OS update. I take gapless to mean totally seamless. At the moment, I get gaps of 1-2 seconds at least. Obviously on shuffle or with a regular album it's not a problem, but with an album like Radio Soulwax by 2manyDJs (45 tracks in 60 minutes), it's kind of annoying.
4. The interference! I'm going back to O2 at lunchtime today to try another handset (providing they have one). Still getting that noise when using earphones (my Denon or the supplied headset) and this is noticable with calls, when listening to Zune or the radio, and even when there is no music playing.
Do any other HD7 (or Desire HD) users have this problem??
Note: This is ONLY when using the headphones.
Thanks.
I don't know how you are getting such a long delay in between tracks.. Its barely a split second between mine. Not even close to 1-2 seconds.
Further update.
Popped into O2 at lunchtime. The guy knew exactly what I was talking about when I mentioned this interefence noise, and said they'd had a few others with the same problem.
Anyway, swapped the phone and gave the new one a try in the shop. This worked fine, so hopefully it was just a one-off for me.
Re: Gapless - I was probably exaggerating with the 1-2 seconds, but it's around 0.5-1 second. There's no click and chageover, it's a definite gap.
DaveyBoy72 said:
Popped into O2 at lunchtime. The guy knew exactly what I was talking about when I mentioned this interefence noise, and said they'd had a few others with the same problem.
Anyway, swapped the phone and gave the new one a try in the shop. This worked fine, so hopefully it was just a one-off for me.
Re: Gapless - I was probably exaggerating with the 1-2 seconds, but it's around 0.5-1 second. There's no click and chageover, it's a definite gap.
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I continue to wonder why HTC is regarded as being a top hardware maker, here is yet another indication they are anything but.
efjay said:
I continue to wonder why HTC is regarded as being a top hardware maker, here is yet another indication they are anything but.
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Yes, actually they look like a quite faulty hardware maker...
Software is definitely better from HTC.
i haven't had a bad run with HTC, but I would have easily swapped to samsung (omnia 7) if the carriers here really made it worth while...
Hi folks,
Noob here - I'm currently running a Tilt2 with an Energy rom, and am pretty happy with the interface... just not the size of the display. (gettin' old & cranky).
I use the FM radio (on external speaker) while I'm working, so that's a must. I also have a GPS program that works well with the Tilt2 (NoniGPS). I find that the audio (speaker) from the Tilt2 is really pretty good (in my old-ears opinion).
I'm thinking that I may miss the keyboard tho, as I've got big fingers and find that most of the on-screen keyboards are too small.
I've looked at many of the comments here - some are lamenting the lack of apps... can you run the 'older' 6.x version apps on this platform?
I played with one at the ATT store the other day, and couldn't figure out how to get to all of the tools settings like the Tilt2... maybe AT&T turned it off so folks couldn't mess with their demos.
I'll continue looking and reviewing, just figured I'd ask a few questions.
Thanks!!
Tim
The FM radio only works on headphones, unless the phone is unlocked (which we haven't done yet). GPS will come with the Lumia (Nokia Drive).
The keyboard is one of the best I've seen in a phone, very accurate and responsive.
And no, you can't run the WM 6.x apps in WP7.
tim051 said:
Hi folks,
Noob here - I'm currently running a Tilt2 with an Energy rom, and am pretty happy with the interface... just not the size of the display. (gettin' old & cranky).
I use the FM radio (on external speaker) while I'm working, so that's a must. I also have a GPS program that works well with the Tilt2 (NoniGPS). I find that the audio (speaker) from the Tilt2 is really pretty good (in my old-ears opinion).
I'm thinking that I may miss the keyboard tho, as I've got big fingers and find that most of the on-screen keyboards are too small.
I've looked at many of the comments here - some are lamenting the lack of apps... can you run the 'older' 6.x version apps on this platform?
I played with one at the ATT store the other day, and couldn't figure out how to get to all of the tools settings like the Tilt2... maybe AT&T turned it off so folks couldn't mess with their demos.
I'll continue looking and reviewing, just figured I'd ask a few questions.
Thanks!!
Tim
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You will be unhappy with the lack of customizability.
You will be happy with the reliability.
FYI, former Tilt, Tilt2, Fuze owner here.
Former Tilt2 owner (last one was sold on eBay this past week). Most of the apps that are missing from WM6.5 are utilities that you don't need/cant use on WP. Like Total Commander for example.
WP is very short on customization, so you won't find tools and menus. Ultimately, the choose is yours, so take this for what it's worth. I was so convinced that WP would be too immature an OS for me in 2010, I bought two backup Tilt2s to compliment the one I already had. Figured it might take a year or two to mature. Spent an hour with the HTC Surround on launch day, and knew I had to have it. Yes, I miss a little from WM, but there is so much more. And WP is so buttery smooth. The L900 is the best phone I have ever owned.
Sent from my Lumia 900 using Board Express Pro
Hi guys,
Thanks for the inputs. Wow, 6.x apps won't run on 7. Guess I'll have to see if there are 7 versions for the stuff I use. I figured all the 6.x would do ok... figured that's a big marketing thing that Msoft wouldn't let go.
Can it sync with outlook? (I don't use it for e-mail, although it's where my contacts are.
I don't really have any issues with the current Energy ROM & tilt2, it's <pretty> stable... haven't had to do a hard reset yet. Just looking for a larger display.
Guess I could keep the Tilt2 & use it every now and then!
Oh, I read in one of the on-line reviews that the FM radio can play through the speakers.. if not, guess I can wait till the unlock comes around... I didn't have that capability until I upgraded to the Energy ROM
But hey, Amazon has them for $20, so I guess I can't complain. Just have to re-up for another couple of years contract. Shouldn't be any more $, as I already have unlimited text/data plan, etc.
Again,
Thanks!
Tim
tim051 said:
Hi guys,
Thanks for the inputs. Wow, 6.x apps won't run on 7. Guess I'll have to see if there are 7 versions for the stuff I use. I figured all the 6.x would do ok... figured that's a big marketing thing that Msoft wouldn't let go.
Can it sync with outlook? (I don't use it for e-mail, although it's where my contacts are.
I don't really have any issues with the current Energy ROM & tilt2, it's <pretty> stable... haven't had to do a hard reset yet. Just looking for a larger display.
Guess I could keep the Tilt2 & use it every now and then!
Oh, I read in one of the on-line reviews that the FM radio can play through the speakers.. if not, guess I can wait till the unlock comes around... I didn't have that capability until I upgraded to the Energy ROM
But hey, Amazon has them for $20, so I guess I can't complain. Just have to re-up for another couple of years contract. Shouldn't be any more $, as I already have unlimited text/data plan, etc.
Again,
Thanks!
Tim
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you cant use the WM6.5 appa as this is a new OS..
cant sync outlook but you can load outlook connector on your outlook and move your contacts and calande to your windows LIVE account, whic will sync with your WP7 (lumia 900). i was worried about this as well but now tis the best thing. i changed from HD7 to Lumia 900 and all i had to do was log in to my windows live ID and and all my contacts and calander items were in my phone at the telco counter...
but if you are happy wit tilt 2 then you shoud not change it...
So as a fellow Tilt2 user. How often do you need to soft reset? On my L900, I never need to. But I might every few weeks, just for the heck of it.
Sent from my Lumia 900 using Board Express Pro
I knew it was a new OS, but figured they would keep some kind of compatibility like 95 - 98 - XP. Guess it's too major of a change.
On the soft resets... with the original rom (the newest 'official' one), it seemed that I needed to do it pretty often for major lockups.
With the new Energy ROM, it seems about once a week I need to for minor issues.
However, I'm really happy with most features of the new rom - on the original one, internet (even over wifi) was poor at best. The new energy rom really makes it work better. Can't seem to run netflix with it tho (on wifi). It comes back and gives me an error saying it can't run with the browser. Maybe there's something that needs to be changed. (maybe the OS)?
But, there's still the display size issue.
Tim
The onscreen keyboard on either the Lumia 900 (4.3") or HTC Titan (4.7") are plenty big enough for my clumsy mitts, I use both phones and apart from the odd typo never seems to create a problem, Bear in mind you can type in landscape mode giving you a bit more keyboard to play with ;-)
Hi Andy,
Thanks for the info.
Since you have both phones, what differences do you see between the 900 & Titan? (other than the larger screen) Build quality, durability, speed, etc.
I figure they are pretty close, perhaps some of the software bundled with the Nokia may be different than that of the HTC.
Thanks,
Tim
Yes the software bundle with the Nokias is very good, Nokia Drive being the most prominent and Free compared to HTCs Locations which you have to pay for As for build quality well the Titan is a sturdy and quite slim build but the fact it comprises of two parts ie: Screen & Rear housing & then you have gold contacts to worry about for antenna & wi-fi etc, These need to be checked once in a while or you can experience connection issues, Funnily enough it doesn't feel too big and is similar in overall size to the Lumia 900.
The Nokia Lumia 900 is a solid single piece of Polycarbonate which is as tough as nails and although the screen is slightly smaller than the Titan the amoled screen reallly does make up for that difference & it is made from Corning Gorilla Glass, The Titans slcd screen really appears somewhat washed out in comparison, Not a problem as it still displays nicely and if I hadn't experienced the Lumia then I would be more than happy, One advantage of the Titan is you can remove the battery and swap it for a higher capacity one although I do get very good battery life from both handsets under moderate usage,
Performance wise there really is not much in it and to be honest, Both are super esponsive which is partly down to the OS to some degree, The Titan can be a smoother experience as I have encountered very slight lag when scrolling on the Lumia on occasion, Nothing drastic though.
Pros and cons for both depending how you look at it.
If I had to choose one it would be the Nokia for the simple reason it is more durable with a nicer display and great bundled software, There is nothing I dislike about it, It also stands out clearly away from the mundane looking HTC and is in a different class where looks are concerned.
I have to agree on displays. I had a samsung super amoled and when the upgrade came up my choices for HTC didnt hold a candle when I put the samsung next to it. Oddly enough I prefered HTC for almost 5 years prior and until I actually did the side by side I thought the HTC was great. Little did I know. I suggest an in-store side by side before deciding. And I mean literally side by side. The fact that amoled can be seen in sunlight outside was enough for me. The color richness and the fact that it doesnt look washed out completed the sale.
Thanks Andy,
Nice comparison!
Tim
tim051 said:
Hi Andy,
Thanks for the info.
Since you have both phones, what differences do you see between the 900 & Titan? (other than the larger screen) Build quality, durability, speed, etc.
I figure they are pretty close, perhaps some of the software bundled with the Nokia may be different than that of the HTC.
Thanks,
Tim
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This will help answer your question too: http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_lumia_900_vs_htc_titan_2-review-755.php