Develop Bugs

Top 3 third party applications

What are your top 3 third party applications that you would love to have on your Windows Phone 7 Series? Most used applications for your daily routines, works, entertainment, what not ... Top 3 applications that you have in mind when asked about mobile applications.
Interesting to know so we could see what users expect to have on WP7 in terms of application.
It does not have to be Windows Mobile 6.x applications. If you think certain iPhone / Android / BB / Symbian apps thats fine.
I start with my top 3:
1. Offline navigation software
- like TomTom, CoPilot, iGo.
2. Opera Mini
- I just love the speed, thats all.
3. Good Facebook client
- Microsoft has one for WM6, but I expect much better than that. I read that iPhone version is better.

I basically use my phone for calls, messages and development... being last one like the only reason why I didn't keep my cheap old Nokia phone. Sometimes I'm using weather, GPS, reading emails or google for this or that but that's all and I'm just happy that I just can do such things whenever I would need them. I'm not really a crazy apps freak....

Got to be iGo as one of them for me!

gogol said:
3. Good Facebook client
- Microsoft has one for WM6, but I expect much better than that. I read that iPhone version is better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The OS comes with great facebook integration already built in, no need for an app!
My top apps are:
FPSeCE (Playstation Emulator)
Spacetime 4.0 (Graphing Calculator Software)
Pandora

I know that, but I have doubt with that Facebook integration.
Not that I am saying it is not good, but from what I saw ... the integration is split into 2 hubs ... People hub where you can see status update of your Facebook friends and Photo/Pictures hub where you can see Facebook photo albums of your friends.
With dedicated Facebook app, all those will come in the same flow of information.
Well, not a big deal really, because I am using http://touch.facebook.com via web browser (Opera Mini).
Kloc said:
The OS comes with great facebook integration already built in, no need for an app!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

gogol said:
Not that I am saying it is not good, but from what I saw ... the integration is split into 2 hubs ... People hub where you can see status update of your Facebook friends and Photo/Pictures hub where you can see Facebook photo albums of your friends.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which, IMO, is the best approach possible. Heck, I might even start using Facebook this way. Why would I need that information in a separate application? Why would I want to view photos in anything but a photo viewing app? Or where else do I need contact information apart from the contact app?
Also, this approach theoretically should aggregate information from different networks in a way that makes sense. I mean, if you are a member of both Facebook and, say, Linked-In, would you really want two separate applications to handle data from these networks?

1.Opera Mobile 10
To read 3 different newspapers each morning on my Omnia II and have all my desktop bookmarks synced OTA to my phone. Been using Opera since v3.0 or so, love it.
2.GSPlayer
to listen to somafm.com !
3. Googlemaps
Works good enough, could be done much better (font size can not be set !) and leaks 2 DC's each time you start and stop it. Have to take another look at bing maps soon

Coreplayer!!!!!!!!
IGO
BattClock (used to display battery info)

For me, if I can reduce time spent then I will choose that way.
Instead of going into 2 hubs to read status updates AND photo updates, I would prefer to just go once to look them all
Like I said, this is not a big deal because there is facebook website itself which can be accessed via web browser.
Probably because I use facebook a lot
Oh yes, the idea of multiple social network integration is nice, dont get me wrong. Probably just because of that, I would start using Twitter! Atm I am only using FB.
vangrieg said:
Which, IMO, is the best approach possible. Heck, I might even start using Facebook this way. Why would I need that information in a separate application? Why would I want to view photos in anything but a photo viewing app? Or where else do I need contact information apart from the contact app?
Also, this approach theoretically should aggregate information from different networks in a way that makes sense. I mean, if you are a member of both Facebook and, say, Linked-In, would you really want two separate applications to handle data from these networks?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Top applications: 'Real' Map-reader/GPS, Ebook reader,
Well, I might not be a typical user (and actually one of the things I liked about 'Windows Mobile Classic' was that it had a diverse ecosystem, catering for non-typical users!) but these are the two apps I use most:
1) A GPS/map-reader that works with real maps (i.e. topographic maps such as, in the UK, the Ordinance Survey series)
- so ideally, Memory-Map will port their software to WP7
2) An ebook reader that can read EPUB and TXT formats
- actually this is such an important use-case for me that I wrote a program to do it (see this thread). I expect to start porting it to WP7 just as soon as the SDK becomes available.

Windows Phone 7 is a paradigm-shift in how phones operate. Apps will no longer be individual screens, but will be subsumed into the overall user interface. Facebook is the most obvious example of that. If you take Tomtom, for instance, it will be peppered all over the phone in any of the following ways;
People Hub: Select a person and then hit the menu option to navigate to their home or workplace
Calendar Hub: Select a Calendar Entry and then hit the menu option to navigate to the Location of that entry.
Bing Search: Hit a search result to be navigated to its location if it is a real world place like a pizza restaurant, for instance. Once Tomtom is installed, instead of just the one option to be directed there by Bing Maps, you'll have a second option as well to navigate there by Tomtom.
Only once you're actually on the road will you get the Tomtom screen up with the 3D view of the road. The rest of the Tomtom UI will be embedded into these hubs.
I'd expect Twitter, Google Maps, Flickr etc to all melt into the phone's UI as simply extra menu options.
I think this is largely why the App list accessible from the home screen is so basic - it won't be the usual way to start an app. Normally the app will be called from a menu in part of one of the hubs. In this way, apps will organically feel like just an extension of the phone's usual functionality. Heck, I can even see the Photos hub doing something like footprints and recording the GPS coordinates, so you can use the Tomtom menu item in there to navigate to the place in the photo!
This is going to be totally awesome. And I think it's partly why the question of "Does it multitask" isn't so clear-cut...

I use my phone as a phone and as a PDA so most of what I need is already there (calendar, alarm, agenda, Excel, etc)
1) But I have to have an ewallet. I use SPB at the moment and fully expect them to port it to WP7.
2) I also would like some ereader that handles most file types (EPUB mostly).
Could care less about the whole Facebook/Twitter thing. Just hope they don't get in the way of how I use my phone. Will have to wait to see how the interface can be changed. If I have to have Facebook/Twitter in the middle of my processes I will probably not get a WP7 phone.

donnaw said:
Could care less about the whole Facebook/Twitter thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry that doesn't make sense? Do you mean you could NOT care less?

I would like to see all my apps on it I hope I will be able to port them!

I love opera and youtube

giggles33 said:
I love opera and youtube
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Opera should be made redundant by the new version of IE contained in WP7S. Youtube will become a subsumed service as part of the Pictures & Videos hub in the UI, and will simply be another source of video from the cloud, in the same way that Facebook posted videos are. I would also imagine that the Bing search engine will return Youtube hits.
Basically, be prepared for apps to function in an entirely different way to what you're used to - they will become simply extensions of your phone's functionality - many apps will be able to avoid having their own screens at all and instead rely on the hubs to provide their input/output.

Jim Coleman said:
Opera should be made redundant by the new version of IE contained in WP7S.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not likely that we'll see a version of Opera on WP7S as it's impossible to do a decent browser engine in managed code, because alternative browser makers will be the last to get access to native APIs (if ever), and probably IE will be much better than what we have now, but alternative browsers will not be made "redundant" by this. I can bet IE won't have text reflow, for example, which I personally love and severely miss when I try to use iPhone's Safari.

vangrieg said:
I can bet IE won't have text reflow, for example, which I personally love and severely miss when I try to use iPhone's Safari.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You would lose that bet.

I would like to see Skype on Win Phone 7

Making competitors (Opera must earn a lot of money with their OEM deals) redundant is just plainly impossible nowadays without some sort of "deal" made. It's really very interesting what will happen soon.

[Q] old mom got a droid

so im a winmo expert and wont be switching to android til my hd2 dies.
but since my mom and sis are on vzw i told them to get the incredible since they were bugging for smartphones.
i already got them setup in terms of using sense and setting up accounts, got them advanced task killer and all that
any recommendation for good apps for basic use, not power users obviously.
then in terms of music is it as simple as drag and drop to the sd like with winmo?
and how about data tethering do i have to root the phone for her or is there a simple hack or app to do it for free instead of paying vzw
thanks guys

lbhocky19 said:
so im a winmo expert and wont be switching to android til my hd2 dies.
but since my mom and sis are on vzw i told them to get the incredible since they were bugging for smartphones.
i already got them setup in terms of using sense and setting up accounts, got them advanced task killer and all that
any recommendation for good apps for basic use, not power users obviously.
then in terms of music is it as simple as drag and drop to the sd like with winmo?
and how about data tethering do i have to root the phone for her or is there a simple hack or app to do it for free instead of paying vzw
thanks guys
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can get doubletwist for MP3 and video playback and theres even a PC program that goes with it, kind of like iTunes, but probably better. You can drop music on your SD card as well.
other apps I recommend
Beautiful widgets
Handcent SMS
Pandora or Slacker Radio, etc.
Google Voice, they can go to google.com/voice and get a free account, you can get free visual voicemail or get another phone number or both

ah doubletwist that came on my hd2 i didnt realize it was a syncing app i might just use that as well, thanks
what videos work on android or do you need different players for codecs like divx and such

being a smart phone and android n00b and a lady hopwefully my list will appeal to your mom and sis
Just a short list of the easy-to-use apps I've really liked so far...
Where's My Droid, fun little app that, at its most basic, will allow you to txt your "lost" phone to turn up the vol to max so you can find it... this seems to happen to me a lot so it is invaluable to me.
Mobisle Notes, simple notes app... lets you make multiple lists, groceries, feelance, what have you... easy to use.
Google Sky Map, self explanatory, amazes my 'rents
Gesture Search, set it up on long-hold of search soft key and draw letters on screen for speedy searching of pics, apps, files, people, etc.
Good Morning, interesting alarm app that will wake you with a custom message, the weather, your choice of song
Some fun and easy to understand games:
Coloroid
Grid Droid
Alchemy
Bonsai Blast
Doodle Jump

dali137 said:
being a smart phone and android n00b and a lady hopwefully my list will appeal to your mom and sis
Just a short list of the easy-to-use apps I've really liked so far...
Where's My Droid, fun little app that, at its most basic, will allow you to txt your "lost" phone to turn up the vol to max so you can find it... this seems to happen to me a lot so it is invaluable to me.
Mobisle Notes, simple notes app... lets you make multiple lists, groceries, feelance, what have you... easy to use.
Google Sky Map, self explanatory, amazes my 'rents
Gesture Search, set it up on long-hold of search soft key and draw letters on screen for speedy searching of pics, apps, files, people, etc.
Good Morning, interesting alarm app that will wake you with a custom message, the weather, your choice of song
Some fun and easy to understand games:
Coloroid
Grid Droid
Alchemy
Bonsai Blast
Doodle Jump
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
some good apps;
paper toss
epic fails
funny jokes
astro file manager
also, there are many soundboards from most movies
Sent from my Incredible using XDA App

Other Useful apps.
yelp: Search for your favorite restaurant, stores, gas station and much much more... along with reviews. Searches by gps location
ziplocal: kind of like yellow pages.. only much better
google shopper (and or barcode): Useful when you want to scan bar codes in stores and see comparative prices online. Can also scan book covers and C/DVD covers
Uninstaller: good program that'll uninstall apps cleanly
Titanium backup: if you want to back up your apps along with user data and system data
guage battery widget: Nice widget that'll show your battery remaining as a gauge
sound manager: good for scheduling/setting ringtone sound, notification sound and vibration setting
Pandora: good for listening music

thanks to all, il forward suggestions to them.
last thing is just the tethering hack, anyone been successful? dont need wifi sharing just usb is fine

lbhocky19 said:
thanks to all, il forward suggestions to them.
last thing is just the tethering hack, anyone been successful? dont need wifi sharing just usb is fine
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
PdaNet works fine for tethering.
Sent from my FroyoEris using XDA App

For tethering I'd recommend EasyTether from the Market. Cheaper than PDAnet and faster to boot. Just don't try playing WoW or Starcraft 2 on it.
Also, task killers kill batteries because of the way Android operates. Android is very efficient at managing resources. Heck, Froyo (the new version of the OS that is rolling out) disables 3rd party task killers.
If battery life is a concern, look into UltimateJuice or Sedio's 1700mah battery. I'm a moderate to heavy user and the combo of those two gets me through the day on a single charge.
Also, they might like the program Foxy Ring. It auto adjusts ringer volume based on ambient noise and a toggle for a "timed" silence mode.
Hope that helps!

apps on the market get around having to pay for vzw's fees for tethering? surprised thats allowed
had no idea task managers did that, so even if 10 things are running in the back they really aren't using power like on winmo?

lbhocky19 said:
apps on the market get around having to pay for vzw's fees for tethering? surprised thats allowed
had no idea task managers did that, so even if 10 things are running in the back they really aren't using power like on winmo?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as you're not using exorbitant amounts of data, it doesn't phase VZW or even come to their attention. So Facebooking and light to moderate YouTube streaming is peachy-keen.
Processes are kept in the background to launch faster and provide better QoS. Unless they are set to sync with the cloud on an interval, they actually aren't doing anything in the background. That's where UltimateJuice comes in with regulating sync and when the APN is on.
Now, if you have programs that came with the phone which you never use, but insist on loading into the background at boot, you can use a Startup Cleaner to nix those, but allow them to be reloaded if they actually are used.
Cheers!

dali137 said:
being a smart phone and android n00b and a lady hopwefully my list will appeal to your mom and sis
Just a short list of the easy-to-use apps I've really liked so far...
Where's My Droid, fun little app that, at its most basic, will allow you to txt your "lost" phone to turn up the vol to max so you can find it... this seems to happen to me a lot so it is invaluable to me.
Mobisle Notes, simple notes app... lets you make multiple lists, groceries, feelance, what have you... easy to use.
Google Sky Map, self explanatory, amazes my 'rents
Gesture Search, set it up on long-hold of search soft key and draw letters on screen for speedy searching of pics, apps, files, people, etc.
Good Morning, interesting alarm app that will wake you with a custom message, the weather, your choice of song
Some fun and easy to understand games:
Coloroid
Grid Droid
Alchemy
Bonsai Blast
Doodle Jump
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Funny to see a list of apps that most of which I've never heard of. Other than Google Sky map and Doodle Jump. Shows the market is getting more diverse.

Just thought of a couple of apps they might like.
Movies: find movie theatre times, reviews, trailers, and manage Netflix queue.
eBuddy: universal chat client for MSN, aim, Facebook, etc.
Mood Agent: quick temp playlist generator based on mood or song.

New to WP7

So I've finally joined the club and boy am I stoked. So, what are the first things one should do e.g. apps to get, slight customisation, games etc, help your fellow comrade.
I don't know if this thread has been done before, if not, maybe it could be a sticky?

the first advice i could give to you is: read the forums

That's the beauty of WP7. There's no real customization to be done and no real apps to get. You're good to go!
Sent from my GT-I9000M

APPS?
download OEM apps.
download what you need. Marketplace got almost everything
customization? you mean changing the color of the tiles? LOL

radeon_x said:
That's the beauty of WP7. There's no real customization to be done and no real apps to get. You're good to go!
Sent from my GT-I9000M
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How adorable, another android troll. There's also no lag, a good music player, no fragmentation (It's good to know I can't buy a new phone and have it be outdated next week) and hell, gaming has already about caught up with Android. You guys have more, we have better.

z33dev33l said:
How adorable, another android troll. There's also no lag, a good music player, no fragmentation (It's good to know I can't buy a new phone and have it be outdated next week) and hell, gaming has already about caught up with Android. You guys have more, we have better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess the problem is that the more you feed the trolls , they keep coming back for more.

i just realize that he is using a sgs...
eww.

saldawop said:
I guess the problem is that the more you feed the trolls , they keep coming back for more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, it's pretty much a greek tragedy how incompetent these android users are "LOL my phone OS is better than yours *tap 3 times before an app finally pulls up then swipe left or right and watch the lag roll in* Yup, totally better, I troll you."

Ha. That wasn't really a troll. I just meant there's no setup or critical apps you need to get the phone running. Just grab whatever catches your eye from the market and you're golden. I like that aspect of the platform compared to Android. Until you want your phone to do something a specific way, it's bliss.
Sent from my GT-I9000M

kappo78 said:
So I've finally joined the club and boy am I stoked. So, what are the first things one should do e.g. apps to get, slight customisation, games etc, help your fellow comrade.
I don't know if this thread has been done before, if not, maybe it could be a sticky?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome to the world of WP7. Care to share which device you acquired?

MartyLK said:
Welcome to the world of WP7. Care to share which device you acquired?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't get it, aren't you the one who was pushing the WebOS users to outvote everything on that poll?

If you only get two games, get...
Ilomilo
Aphajax
Both will blow your mind into little wobbly pieces of grey blancmange and raspberry sauce. And all will be well in the world.
Wait! Someone's just put QUORUM down on a TW! Bastard!

radeon_x said:
That's the beauty of WP7. There's no real customization to be done and no real apps to get. You're good to go!
Sent from my GT-I9000M
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It depends on how you look at it.
Lacking the need for customization at a low level is good (Rooting to uninstall bloatware, etc.), but there are tons of instances where you have to hack the system up just to achieve trivial tasks. Adding Ringtons to you phone, accessing Camera Shutter options, changing the default Search Engine in the Browser (T-Mobile sets it to Google, and some Euro Carrier sets it to Yahoo!). Things like that. You can't even set a home page in the browser (so even though I can't stand searching through Google, there's no way to Set Bing as the home page and just open a new tab and search from there). The OS is literally devoid of options/settings that matter. Can't even toggle between EDGE and 3G to save battery without hacking the phone (and that hack doesn't even work for some phones).
These aren't deep customizations on any other smartphone platform, but for WP7 it requires going beyond rooting or jailbreaking an Android phone. It makes Android a bit easier to use than WP7 when you factor in OneClick Root apps and the ability to sideload applications without scouring threads/the internet for information to get this done (and installing a ridiculously big SDK on your computer - nevermind the fact that it requires a Windows PC as well).
Microsoft got it wrong.
The issue with Android settigs is not that there were too many. It's the way they are presented to the user. They're generally (especially in third party applications from independent devs) just thrown in the user face on one huge page. Decently organized options in groups or tabs... there's nothing wrong with that. They need to add tons of options for the system and stock applications, because making even trivial changes to some behaviors is impossible without going through more work than loading a custom ROM on an Android phone is right now.
Minimalistic is good if you do it right (iOS). Microsoft took it to the extreme and all it does is create a ton of usability faux pas.

z33dev33l said:
How adorable, another android troll. There's also no lag, a good music player, no fragmentation (It's good to know I can't buy a new phone and have it be outdated next week) and hell, gaming has already about caught up with Android. You guys have more, we have better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, you're trolling him.
He means that the stock functionality in the WP7 system is above and beyond Android and iOS. And it is. Everything comes from Microsoft, integrates nicely, and performs well. Aside from Microsoft and Manufacturer Apps (i.e. HTC, LG, Samsung Apps), there aren't that many apps that you need on a WP7 device to be functional - besides games. Twitter is missing in the People Hub, so that's a biggie, and the Facebook integration doesn't include all functionality, so you need that.
I suggest Twitter, Seesmic, Facebook (Seesmic because it includes both and is a nice hub to use when you don't need heavy duty FB/Twitter functionality). Microsoft has a ton of free apps that are useful. Your manufacturer (especially if HTC) will fill in many of the other gaps. Foursquare is in the Market.
Adobe Reader is in the market. Amazon and Amazon Kindle is there. eBay has a very nice App in the market. Messenger by Miyowa sadly I have to recommend it because it's the best of any Messenger app in the market at the moment.
If you have an HTC phone you don't need a weather app. The HTC Hub Tile is Live for Weather. If not, I recommend Weather bug or Microsoft's little weather app. Weather Channel is a 9MB app and I can't see how that ridiculous size is justified given how WeatherBug and Microsoft's weather app are both < 2MB (if not 1 or below).
Microsoft has a few free games to try out. AlphaJacks is like Words With Friends for Windows Mobile ("Try It" version is free forever, but Ad Supported). Haypi Kingdom is a nice strategy game that is multi-player (also available for iOS and Android, so there is no shortage of people to play with/against).
Office Apps aren't needed (Office Mobile)
NoteTaking Apps aren't needed (OneNote Mobile)
Exchange Clients aren't needed (In-Built Functionality)
Music Players aren't needed (Zune)
Radio Apps aren't needed (Zune)
Slacker and Last.FM exist for Internet Radio.
Shazam is available with Unlimited Tagging.
Microsoft has a List App in the market (and HTC has one in their Marketplace).
Poynt, AP Mobile, IMDb, Fandango are all there.
But there aren't many needed apps, TBQH. Most apps are slower to use than the web browser because they tend to take excessive amounts of time "Updating..." Loading a web browser or performing a voice search often outperforms them, IME.
I'd get the biggies. Personally I'd avoid crap that you don't necessarily need and use the space for stuff that matters (Music, Pictures, Documents, etc.).
You can save documents from SkyDrive to your computer by opening them up from the Office.Live.com website and saving them to your Office Hub in Office Mobile. OneNote Mobile Syncs perfectly. There is an option to keep your Camera Roll in Sync with SkyDrive (this can use a lot of data if you take lots of pictures).

N8ter said:
Actually, you're trolling him.
He means that the stock functionality in the WP7 system is above and beyond Android and iOS. And it is. Everything comes from Microsoft, integrates nicely, and performs well. Aside from Microsoft and Manufacturer Apps (i.e. HTC, LG, Samsung Apps), there aren't that many apps that you need on a WP7 device to be functional - besides games. Twitter is missing in the People Hub, so that's a biggie, and the Facebook integration doesn't include all functionality, so you need that.
I suggest Twitter, Seesmic, Facebook (Seesmic because it includes both and is a nice hub to use when you don't need heavy duty FB/Twitter functionality). Microsoft has a ton of free apps that are useful. Your manufacturer (especially if HTC) will fill in many of the other gaps. Foursquare is in the Market.
Adobe Reader is in the market. Amazon and Amazon Kindle is there. eBay has a very nice App in the market. Messenger by Miyowa sadly I have to recommend it because it's the best of any Messenger app in the market at the moment.
If you have an HTC phone you don't need a weather app. The HTC Hub Tile is Live for Weather. If not, I recommend Weather bug or Microsoft's little weather app. Weather Channel is a 9MB app and I can't see how that ridiculous size is justified given how WeatherBug and Microsoft's weather app are both < 2MB (if not 1 or below).
Microsoft has a few free games to try out. AlphaJacks is like Words With Friends for Windows Mobile ("Try It" version is free forever, but Ad Supported). Haypi Kingdom is a nice strategy game that is multi-player (also available for iOS and Android, so there is no shortage of people to play with/against).
Office Apps aren't needed (Office Mobile)
NoteTaking Apps aren't needed (OneNote Mobile)
Exchange Clients aren't needed (In-Built Functionality)
Music Players aren't needed (Zune)
Radio Apps aren't needed (Zune)
Slacker and Last.FM exist for Internet Radio.
Shazam is available with Unlimited Tagging.
Microsoft has a List App in the market (and HTC has one in their Marketplace).
Poynt, AP Mobile, IMDb, Fandango are all there.
But there aren't many needed apps, TBQH. Most apps are slower to use than the web browser because they tend to take excessive amounts of time "Updating..." Loading a web browser or performing a voice search often outperforms them, IME.
I'd get the biggies. Personally I'd avoid crap that you don't necessarily need and use the space for stuff that matters (Music, Pictures, Documents, etc.).
You can save documents from SkyDrive to your computer by opening them up from the Office.Live.com website and saving them to your Office Hub in Office Mobile. OneNote Mobile Syncs perfectly. There is an option to keep your Camera Roll in Sync with SkyDrive (this can use a lot of data if you take lots of pictures).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Eh, no real apps to get doesn't exactly sound right. It makes it sound like anything released on this platform is bad.
To OP though, Ilomilo and Twin Blades are the only games I have that live up to my XBL expectations (and sadly I have most of them) there are other good games but Ilomilo overall. other than that Netflix is the only other one I'd deem necessary.

I knew exactly what he means when I read the post. Perhaps English isn't his first language, but it wasn't a hard statement to decipher...
Netflix is useless if you're not a subscriber, so I wouldn't deem it necessary at all. No one is going to subscribe to Netflix just to watch movies on a phone. Just doesn't make sense, IMO. If you're a subscriber, though, have it's nice to have...
The only necessary apps are those for social networking, and XBox Live Extras.
The Manufacturer Hub Apps (some/most of them) are a given.
TBQH, most smartphone OSes are like this. If the platform is missing something, like Android is, the Manufacturers usually add it in (ThinkFree Office, Amazon MP3, MobiTV, Exchange support, etc.).
One thing most of us forgot is Navigation Software. At this point if you want decent navigation with Turn-By-Turn directions, you're basically required to pay a subscription fee for TeleNav or whatever the phone comes with.
I've tried A-to-B Navigation. It's useless for all practical purposes.
Social Networking and Navigation Software are the only ones I'd say are necessary.
Also the Carriers are allowed to change the default search provider in Internet Explorer, so if you're a Bing user like me the usability of in-browser search is... terrible. T-Mobile Maps the Search button (and address bar search) in IE to Google and some Euro Carriers change it to Yahoo. Severely inconsistent and bad considering most people use the address bar to perform searches.
There is no option to change the default search provider. And performing that hack requires more manual labor than rooting and installing a custom ROM on an Android computer (and involves making registry changes, etc. on your Windows PC).

N8ter said:
I knew exactly what he means when I read the post. Perhaps English isn't his first language, but it wasn't a hard statement to decipher...
Netflix is useless if you're not a subscriber, so I wouldn't deem it necessary at all. No one is going to subscribe to Netflix just to watch movies on a phone. Just doesn't make sense, IMO. If you're a subscriber, though, have it's nice to have...
The only necessary apps are those for social networking, and XBox Live Extras.
The Manufacturer Hub Apps (some/most of them) are a given.
TBQH, most smartphone OSes are like this. If the platform is missing something, like Android is, the Manufacturers usually add it in (ThinkFree Office, Amazon MP3, MobiTV, Exchange support, etc.).
One thing most of us forgot is Navigation Software. At this point if you want decent navigation with Turn-By-Turn directions, you're basically required to pay a subscription fee for TeleNav or whatever the phone comes with.
I've tried A-to-B Navigation. It's useless for all practical purposes.
Social Networking and Navigation Software are the only ones I'd say are necessary.
Also the Carriers are allowed to change the default search provider in Internet Explorer, so if you're a Bing user like me the usability of in-browser search is... terrible. T-Mobile Maps the Search button (and address bar search) in IE to Google and some Euro Carriers change it to Yahoo. Severely inconsistent and bad considering most people use the address bar to perform searches.
There is no option to change the default search provider. And performing that hack requires more manual labor than rooting and installing a custom ROM on an Android computer (and involves making registry changes, etc. on your Windows PC).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not only that, but I wouldn't subscribe to any version of Netflix because of the cost. I watch maybe 2 to 4 rented movies a month. And some months, none. To have to pay a fee just to use Netflix is wasteful. Yet that's how NF works. I would, however, subscribe to NF if there was no fee. The only cost would be the rental charge.

I have to say the best game for Xbox Live is the Harvest. Feels like diablo with a sci fi twist. The bad thing though is if your a typical Xbox console gamer, you won't find much that will interest you on WP7.
I swear its a new puzzle or tower defense game ever week.

you can of course customise your lock screen, you could also install "pin to start" which apparently offers customised live tile (don't have it myself, not my type of thing". Apps wise, get the HTC You tube app if you have an HTC device, would also recommend pdf reader and the amazon kindle app (if you like books) beyond that, there are nearly 9000 apps to choose from - I think there are even a couple of "fart" apps if that floats your boat...........

I've already mentioned Adobe Acrobat Reader X and Amazon Kindle.
Not all applications have Live Tiles, and TBH without a Live Tile an app would have to be very important to merit a spot on you home screen (no one wants a home screen that scrolls for miles). I have issues keeping Seesmic/Twitter/Facebook on the Home Screen, for example, without a Live Tile. Games like AlphaJax are good cause the Tile is Live (tells you when it's your turn and how many games you have waiting on you, for example).
The HTC YouTube app is good, but it's only for HTC devices (I already said the Manufacturer apps were a given since they fill in obvious gaps in functionality i.e. YouTube, NotePad/List App, Flashlight, Attentive Phone, Live Weather Tile (HTC), Sound Enhancer, etc.).
The customization that I say is missing isn't really "customization" in the XDA-Developers sense.
Setting a Home Page in the Browser, Setting the Default Search Engine in the Browser, and Options for things like how long you want Toast Notifications to stay on the screen aren't any type of deep customization. It's simply a trivial setting that Microsoft needs to add. These things are missing all over the OS and need to be added in ASAP. It acually makes the OS a chore to use in many instances.
They also need to make carriers unable to alter the default search engine. It sucks for people who use a certain search engine, and makes it take 3x longer to perform searches if you don't want to go through Google. There just need to be an option for the three biggies (Bing, Yahoo, Google) or the ability to allow the bing homepage to set itself as the default search engine (or Yahoo, or Google).

Facebook Notifications: Not Getting Any?

So the subject says it all. I'm new to WP7 (not new to tech by any means)... Maybe I missed something obvious but I can't find it.
I had two notifications. But- my phone told me of neither of them by itself. I had to open the app to see them.
We're talking they were a good 45 minutes old, too.

TexUs said:
So the subject says it all. I'm new to WP7 (not new to tech by any means)... Maybe I missed something obvious but I can't find it.
I had two notifications. But- my phone told me of neither of them by itself. I had to open the app to see them.
We're talking they were a good 45 minutes old, too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The FB app does not support live tiles and push notifications and neither does the people hub, so yeah u need to open the FB app to check out updates.

You can turn on email notifications in your FB Account. Than you will get an email for New Messages or something Else.
Sent from my HD7 T9292 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

Yeah its very lame. BB and Android have notifications.
Sent from my SGH-i917 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

goldenpipes said:
Yeah its very lame. BB and Android have notifications.
Sent from my SGH-i917 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
iPhone does as well but my experience with them has always been sporadic at best

thank a lot of

No .........................................

hjx .....................................

I note on the Facebook for Windows Phone Facebook page, they've promised a new version with "features that [we've] been asking for".
It seems it has gotten delayed, probably owing to the recent messages bug, but maybe - just maybe - this may support notifications through the OS or a live tile?
The notifications issue, along with support for FB chat, seems to be the biggest request on there, so we might be in luck.
Casey

Casey_boy said:
I note on the Facebook for Windows Phone Facebook page, they've promised a new version with "features that [we've] been asking for".
It seems it has gotten delayed, probably owing to the recent messages bug, but maybe - just maybe - this may support notifications through the OS or a live tile?
The notifications issue, along with support for FB chat, seems to be the biggest request on there, so we might be in luck.
Casey
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah the App is definitely gonna support chat, toast notifications and live tiles for sure. Its just a matter of when.

goldenpipes said:
Yeah its very lame. BB and Android have notifications.
Sent from my SGH-i917 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BB and Android OS have been around for longer than 5 months.

It should be supported natively with the rest of the Facebook features.
Sent using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

DatDereX1 said:
BB and Android OS have been around for longer than 5 months.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your point being?
Live tiles, or rather "at a glance" was the big selling point for WP7. Sure, you get "at a glance" information galore for the people pinned to start but not being notified about messages on FB is weak - should definitely have been in the app from day one. Not to mention they still need to sort out the scrolling issues.

emigrating said:
Your point being?
Live tiles, or rather "at a glance" was the big selling point for WP7. Sure, you get "at a glance" information galore for the people pinned to start but not being notified about messages on FB is weak - should definitely have been in the app from day one. Not to mention they still need to sort out the scrolling issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
need I remind you that fb push notifications didn't come till last august on android? Let's be real, android's FB before last summer was a piece of crap compared to the apple platform..and even then there were some bugs till fall of last year...and android's been around since 08...and it still doesn't go without bugs...with toasting or push notifications
I mean i admit the facebook xap is paltry and has a lot of issues in coding which should be corrected but I say give it time

I can't believe that the Microsoft-coded stuff (even Facebook app) wouldn't have Live Tiles or push support. That one surprises me more than anything on WP.
However- I never recall my iPhone not supporting Push and doing it well.
Android was certainly sketchy, even after running 2.3.
Right now my best "solution" seems to be as suggested and setting up email notifications.

emigrating said:
Your point being?
Live tiles, or rather "at a glance" was the big selling point for WP7. Sure, you get "at a glance" information galore for the people pinned to start but not being notified about messages on FB is weak - should definitely have been in the app from day one. Not to mention they still need to sort out the scrolling issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My point is that this is not a mature OS and I think (hope lol) MS will add that feature in the future. There's a lot of things that could have been added from day one, but MS wanted to focus on the most important features and making sure they work perfectly before implementing them.

TexUs said:
I can't believe that the Microsoft-coded stuff (even Facebook app) wouldn't have Live Tiles or push support. That one surprises me more than anything on WP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not really suprising. They didn't even launch with Copy and Paste...
However- I never recall my iPhone not supporting Push and doing it well.
Android was certainly sketchy, even after running 2.3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android supports PUSH well. All of Google's services are pushed, and let's get real... Google didn't add C2DM (their PUSH service) until Android 2.2.
Facebook Chat is pushed on Android, and it's as fast as ever. I know because my Vibrant is going off everytime I'm having a Facebook Chat conversation in Widnows Live Messenger/Facebook.com . I also get all of my Facebook Notifications (Posts/Replies/Messages) really fast.
Flory on WP7 has fast Push/Toast/Live Tile notifications, but the application takes so long to load and/or resume that it's virtually useless. Since the first day I've installed it, I've never gotten it to load my contact list for GTalk or Facebook again... So I uninstalled...
I have my Facebook Background Sync interval (Both in the App, and in TouchWiz/SocialHub) set to 12 hours so I know it's not polling, BTW...
Right now my best "solution" seems to be as suggested and setting up email notifications.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The biggest issue I have is that it's clunky, waste data and battery life (downloading emails uses way more battery power than getting a Push Notification) and is simply impractical for people with busy Social Networks. Do you REALLY want 30+ Facebook emails a day? 1 Hour or more less battery life (these smartphones are already working overtime trying to provide decent battery life)? People with low data plans won't want to do that, either...
Also, on other platforms you get to set different Notification Ringtones for Different Applications, which let you know whether or not you need to even bother looking at the phone when something comes in.
Microsoft needs to implement this.
For me, personally, the Push Notifications isn't that big of an issue (Toast), but a Live Ticker on People Tile would be good.
The biggest issue is that People Hub is a gimmick. It's nothing but a glorified RSS feed for social networks. It doesn't support Facebook Messaging or any of that, only posting and replying... That's why if you are a Facebook user you still need the Facebook application installed on your phone. People Hub barely passes for an alternative, if it does at all... It is too functionally thin to be truly useful and the fact that it doesn't update its information in the background makes it not really worth using over the Facebook application which does much more and has a better user experience.
WP7 has really good voice recognition (at least for English) and Bing is good now, so there's hardly a need to open the People Hub when you can just "Call PersonX Mobile/Work/etc." and the phone gets it done faster than you could if you went through the contact list (if it is of factorable length/size). Hell, the other day I just said "Call Pizza Hut" and it got the city right and everything. One less number in my contact list

domineus said:
need I remind you that fb push notifications didn't come till last august on android? Let's be real, android's FB before last summer was a piece of crap compared to the apple platform..and even then there were some bugs till fall of last year...and android's been around since 08...and it still doesn't go without bugs...with toasting or push notifications
I mean i admit the facebook xap is paltry and has a lot of issues in coding which should be corrected but I say give it time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google didn't implement C2DM on Android until FroYo.
Facebook Getting Push on Android in August means they were very fast in implementing it after Google added C2DM, which destroys your argument/excuse/justification.
When you cut through the spin, Facebook was fast as hell at getting Push Notifications to Android, and Launched Facebook chat in that client as well.
I simply don't think they wanted to implement their own Push Solution, with 500+ million users... It't just too much. Better to use a native solution and and allow Android/iOS/WP7/BB users get their stuff pushed through Google/Apple/MS/RIM instead...

DatDereX1 said:
My point is that this is not a mature OS and I think (hope lol) MS will add that feature in the future. There's a lot of things that could have been added from day one, but MS wanted to focus on the most important features and making sure they work perfectly before implementing them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Facebook integration was, according to MS, a very important feature. Since the FB app is a MS commissioned app you would expect them to have taken full advantage of their, so called, killer features.
My point here isn't so much that it's a missing feature but rather that it's a missing feature which has all the necessary building blocks available for use - and they decided not to utilize them.

Maybe I'm wrong but I swear that WeatherBug Live Tile is updating itself. I'm going to consciously not open it and see if it updates again this morning. If this is true: why can't other apps do this?
As far as the people hub, I don't use it much. Alot of it is as I've already said... None of the apps cache data. That sucks. These apps should be able to poll and cache in the background, but they don't. The People Hub is one such app. I might as well use the Facebook app.
I can see the People Hub having some use but as you said, it seems more like a replacement to Facebook... And unless it has the full functionality of the Facebook app, why use it?
I also agree with your statements on Flory. It never loads my contact list. Maybe I'm not patient enough- but it doesn't even matter... If it takes more than 15 seconds to load it, it's useless.
I must say one thing I miss from Custom ROMs... Headphone amp. I listen to a podcast that, when I'm driving 75mph- you can't freaking hear it with the volume on the radio and phone all the way up. On a Custom ROM I had a headphone amp that I was able to crank it up and hear it with plenty of extra volume. I sorely miss this.
A question... How do I voice dial/search? I realize if I go into the search- I can hit the mic button and do it from there. However from the main screen, holding search does nothing. ????????????
Also... On large contact lists, how do I scroll to say, the M's? I cannot figure this out at all. On Android/iPhone you have a alphabet on the right and you slide your finger down it to the letter you want.

Why are IM clients still terrible on WP7?

I thought Mango was suppose to bring full support for IM clients? Yet IM+ and WhatsApp are still awful. WhatsApp is such an incredible app on iOS and Android, using it on WP7 makes me cry literally on what monstrosity they've created. I get a toast notification for a new message, I click it and it takes a good 3-4 seconds for message window to open (why not instantly?) and it takes nearly 10-15 seconds for the new message to appear. It's the exact same behavior in IM+. It's very laggy and very choppy and a far cry from the general smoothness of Mango.
So can someone tell me why this is?

Developers are human beings prone to imperfection. Give it time, allow them to learn the ropes of this new platform and iron out the kinks.

The WhatsApp developers said they wanted the app to be available as soon as possible so they purposely made it barebones. They also promised several updates to make it on par with the other versions.
As for IM+ they haven't updated the app to Mango yet but it's coming.

Peew971 said:
The WhatsApp developers said they wanted the app to be available as soon as possible so they purposely made it barebones. They also promised several updates to make it on par with the other versions.
As for IM+ they haven't updated the app to Mango yet but it's coming.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i'm staying on IM+ cos miyota's messenger suck. but the new versions of IM+ has no more messenger support, and i doubt future updates will have it any time soon
so it's actually quite irrelevant to me cos
1. i lose messenger functionality if i update it
2. it is still quite laggy if i don't
oh well...

blanket said:
i'm staying on IM+ cos miyota's messenger suck. but the new versions of IM+ has no more messenger support, and i doubt future updates will have it any time soon
so it's actually quite irrelevant to me cos
1. i lose messenger functionality if i update it
2. it is still quite laggy if i don't
oh well...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why the heck would you need any 3rd party app in order to use live messenger or facebook? oO

blanket said:
i'm staying on IM+ cos miyota's messenger suck. but the new versions of IM+ has no more messenger support, and i doubt future updates will have it any time soon
so it's actually quite irrelevant to me cos
1. i lose messenger functionality if i update it
2. it is still quite laggy if i don't
oh well...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I (and others) updated twice and still haven't lost WLM. The way I understand it, as long as you update and don't reinstall it stays there. But just in case you're unlucky I'm not telling you to go ahead and do it
---------- Post added at 07:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:19 PM ----------
dkp1977 said:
Why the heck would you need any 3rd party app in order to use live messenger or facebook? oO
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually like having dedicated apps for IM, same for twitter. The only app I've stopped using is facebook because the implementation is quite complete in WP7.
I would say it's probably down to UI for me, I find IM+ easier to manage than the built-in messaging for whatever reason (same for twitter) but they really need to upgrade it to Mango.

Everything has gone downhill in the application scene after the mango... Didn't they released the so called APIs? So where are the new applications which were not possible to make before? Since mango all we saw were updates for 'fast app switching' which btw is not fst at all... And than we saw saw a dozen applications to pin a settings tile on front page... And than it just died. No new apps, no new games, everything in MP just died and came to a stall.
So much so far for the hyped API release..
Sent from my OMNIA7 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

Agreed, the marketplace is depressing and the APIs were released ages ago.
Sent from my Samsung Omnia 7 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

Agreed. Not sure what more MS could do to entice developers. They will even write your code for you ffs. We need developers to show some initiative, or will we have to wait for Windows 8 & WP8 integration to get it?

Purple11 said:
Everything has gone downhill in the application scene after the mango... Didn't they released the so called APIs? So where are the new applications which were not possible to make before? Since mango all we saw were updates for 'fast app switching' which btw is not fst at all... And than we saw saw a dozen applications to pin a settings tile on front page... And than it just died. No new apps, no new games, everything in MP just died and came to a stall.
So much so far for the hyped API release..
Sent from my OMNIA7 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How much faster could the app switching be lol
I say give it some time. I am expecting we'll soon see apps like the announced Skype, Tango, Spotify apps etc. Mango hasn't even reached 100% roll out yet. Perhaps too they're waiting till the Gen 2 phones launch in the US.
Just within the last few days apps like LastFM, iHeartRadio, Tunein Radioa and Vevo got background audio streaming, pinnable stations and yes fast app switching So I think the pace is fine in terms of current apps getting updated. New apps will come soon.

This is going off-topic now, but I can probably guess at why developers have been slow with updating their apps for Mango.
When Microsoft released the Mango tools, they told us (the developers) that once we updated our apps to Mango, then we wouldn't be able to update our NoDo apps. They changed that, but quite close to Mango release so there wasn't all that much time to get on and update.
It also takes time for developers to actually implement the new features and APIs into their programs.

Does the built-in live messenger functionalityi n the WP7 messaging app support "see when they are typing" yet? You know, the "..." visual that tells you the other person is typing a message? That's kind of the whole point of messaging over data rather than texting (like BBM and iMessage).

@Casey_boy that explains the slow pace of updates but not the lack of new apps.
Sent from my Samsung Omnia 7 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

dkp1977 said:
Why the heck would you need any 3rd party app in order to use live messenger or facebook? oO
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is why the heck...firstly, I'm using my outlook account which tied to Australia region for my main account. While,my main account which is the one with all my messenger buddy is tied to my US. Therefore, I can't use the outlook account for messenger. And I even tried the following steps:
1)my main account is created few years ago, and it is tied to US. However, until now I still unable to change the live ID or merge with my current Australia account.
2)M$ don't support messenger for secondary windows live account.
3)tried to move all my active messenger buddy to outlook account,but M$ don't allow me to use live messenger on this outlook account. It keep showing error and need me the fix the password.
4)not willing to create a new live messenger account as I have spent around 30dollars on apps.

Peew971 said:
@Casey_boy that explains the slow pace of updates but not the lack of new apps.
Sent from my Samsung Omnia 7 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This ..
And lets not forget Mango has been available to developers for months now.. I think like 3 months already.
madmaximillian said:
Does the built-in live messenger functionalityi n the WP7 messaging app support "see when they are typing" yet? You know, the "..." visual that tells you the other person is typing a message? That's kind of the whole point of messaging over data rather than texting (like BBM and iMessage).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It dosent have that functionality..

Peew971 said:
@Casey_boy that explains the slow pace of updates but not the lack of new apps.
Sent from my Samsung Omnia 7 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What lack of new apps? We're at 33k

madmaximillian said:
Does the built-in live messenger functionalityi n the WP7 messaging app support "see when they are typing" yet? You know, the "..." visual that tells you the other person is typing a message? That's kind of the whole point of messaging over data rather than texting (like BBM and iMessage).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For most people the point of instant messaging is simply that it doesn't use text/ sms messages, it uses your data plan.

PG2G said:
What lack of new apps? We're at 33k
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
your 'we have 33k app' rebuttal is like a toddler saying 'what game? i have rusty's poop to play with'..
here is my penny to keep you thinking and demand quality:
sms scheduler to automatically fire up and send sms on particular day and time.
call sms blocker.
dedicated agenda and appointment app. Pocket Informant.
a wallet app. code wallet pro.
last decent game which i didnt finish in a day was released on 5/18/11: plant vs zombies.
audio recorder to record incoming and outgoing calls automatically. resco audio recorder.
data monitor which records all ur wifi and data connection and gives a monthly/weekly/daily/yearly view. spb data monitor.
an app to collect total call duration peak/offpeak/weekends to warn when reaching calling plan limit. phone dashboard.

Most of what you just listed isn't possible with the Mango APIs

PG2G said:
Most of what you just listed isn't possible with the Mango APIs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ya than stfu and dont tell people to look at your 33k apps.
apps after mango, apps after mango, microsoft will release APIs after mngo.. everyone had hopes on mango.. and now i dont know what APIs did they release.. because everytime i ask for any app i know the other person will come up with the same old 'oh thats not possible because MS didnt release that API..' bullshi*.
according to you the only apps developer can make with present API is to pin a tile and another RSS reader, combine it with flaslite and tip calculator and we have your 33K app you mentioned.