Related
I was just sitting here using my phone with all the cool stuff that you guys all offer. WM6.1, icontact, SPB shell, custom icons, etc. Well its all good, but it just seems very "disjointed".
This isn't a stab at anyones work, because I think you are ALL making the most of this device, but there are some limitations that just make me wonder WHY we all keep putting up with this.
For instance, why the heck must we all endure poking a tiny X in the corner of the screen for certain programs? Sure I can use touchflo, but then some programs like spb shell use the same gestures to do different things. Can't I do one complete task without busting out that annoying little stick, or cramming my finger into a corner? (disjointed).
Why does it take 3 seconds for the screen to rotate? Shouldn't that be instantaneous? How much processing power does it take to render something 90 degrees? come on. Jeez sometimes i think it should just have a square screen. Then no app resizing.
Or why do I have to go from using my finger on the touchscreen (icontact and htc home, htc cube) to poking tiny one line text in stylus mode? (disjointed).
Or how about waiting for the phone to do things. Like when you make a call, or END IT? Why doesn't it END when you press END. Theres like a 3 second delay, so I always have to watch it to make sure that the other person doesn't end up listening to me banter on in some other conversation with someone else. Why can't it go "doodly doot" like a motorola, or make some other "its hung up" sound? The screen has no tactility so a sound would be nice so I don't have to make sure something happened. (disjointed)
How about WM 6.1. I mean why isn't it faster? I know it should be slowing down with newer releases (like every windows OS) but if I could trade out 10 MB of space for some more speed, I'm all for it.
Why are phones slow anyway? Good grief. This comes from a programmer who prides himself on trying to optimize code for efficiency as well as low overhead. I've seen XP run on a PII 400 at a somewhat bearable pace. AND THATS XP! Not tiny little WM.
Go ahead and post about things you don't like about the hermes or software in this thread. Don't bother telling me how to fix this stuff cause i'll probably just flash a new rom tomarrow and start the frustration all over again This is probably why I enjoy this phone so much, but for once I'd like to just win the battle before I start again. I KNOW that each and every one of you have been frustrated with these phones AT LEAST one time.
Oh, and sorry if i've upset anyone. I'm not making any personal jabs here (on purpose at least). I know you are all working hard to do your best to provide software for a common interface (the hermes). I respect and appreciate that. I know its hard to accomodate everyone.
/me throws out the idea that maybe he should start doing custom programming for WM instead of XP...
Do tell
What ROMs you have tried?
I feel your pain
For instance, why the heck must we all endure poking a tiny X in the corner of the screen for certain programs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you obviously havent heard of ALT + F4 + Map to HW button, also pressing OK allows you to multitask. maybe the iphone would be better suited for you
Why does it take 3 seconds for the screen to rotate?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its near instant on mine, maybe you should try a new rom...?? you know how to flash right? (btw no phone is immediate, all phones have to redraw the screen), the stupid iphone takes even longer because of its retarded animation that you CANT TURN OFF
Or why do I have to go from using my finger on the touchscreen (icontact and htc home, htc cube) to poking tiny one line text in stylus mode?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you know WMPro OS's have about 50 diffrent KB's to choose from, alot of them free, and alot of them even cooked in to roms. dont like the stylus? use a full screen KB like SPB, personally i can type nearly as quick with the stylus using large keys + gestures.
you should also know the hermes has a slide out KB....
Or how about waiting for the phone to do things. Like when you make a call, or END IT? Why doesn't it END when you press END.
are you using a cingular/official rom or something? if so thats your own dumb fault
Why can't it go "doodly doot" like a motorola, or make some other "its hung up" sound? The screen has no tactility so a sound would be nice so I don't have to make sure something happened.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the hermes actually has an END CALL button. try pressing it, also for call disconnects windows automatically has a 3 tone/beep sound
How about WM 6.1. I mean why isn't it faster? I know it should be slowing down with newer releases (like every windows OS) but if I could trade out 10 MB of space for some more speed, I'm all for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FFS try something other than a cingular rom, i sware, your specific phone is only slow becuase your using some POS offical rom. try the super storage rom, its blazing fast, still dont like it? COOK YOUR OWN
Why are phones slow anyway? Good grief. This comes from a programmer who prides himself on trying to optimize code for efficiency as well as low overhead. I've seen XP run on a PII 400 at a somewhat bearable pace. AND THATS XP! Not tiny little WM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
im starting to think you havent flashed a phone in your life... YOU KNOW that you can UPGRADE YOUR OS RIGHT?
Don't bother telling me how to fix this stuff cause i'll probably just flash a new rom tomarrow and start the frustration all over again This is probably why I enjoy this phone so much, but for once I'd like to just win the battle before I start again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i doubt that you have flashed a phone or else you would not have said any of the above comments.
please just go back to an iphone....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didn't read your entire message. As for the first point, why don't you hit the hardware close button to close an application. The fact that WM phone supports touch screen and gesture doesn't mean you need or should use it in all cases. For a phone without hardware button, yes everything has to be done on the screen. But for Hermes, there are plenty of buttons for for specific tasks. Use that.
Indeed I have tried the Slither Cube (in C++). It was fast in spinning the Cube with finger. Yet it also supports spinning the Cube by the D-Pad which I prefer as it saves me from having to swipe the finger which there is not way would be quicker than a click of the button.
So my point is use finger, stylus and buttons where it suits most. Right tool for the right job.
Lord_BlackAdder said:
But for Hermes, there are plenty of buttons for for specific tasks. Use that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes the hermes is button plentiful, which is why i dont like the kaiser... they took out the comm manager button!!!!!!!! WHY!!!
Hi Carcomp,
I don't have any problems, issues or dislikes with my device.
I simply took time out to customise it to the way I like to operate and voila, consistent performance every time. By customisation I mean choosing the right rom then sifting through and choosing the most appropriate applications for my needs.
Keeping it simple is a rule of thumb that tends to work.
Cheers
WB
PS - For all you guys who hate your Hermes so much, I'm happy to consider taking the devices off you if you don't need them.
i also think like you mate. i hate my hermes, too.
i'm using ultimate launch with up to 7 today plugins and then wm stucks like hell -.-"
i hope htc raphael is going to be our dream-device.
girls - nokia 3310 the best device for you.
no function - no bugs.
if you cant use your hermes - it is mean you don`t need it.
mine works greate.
Most ROMs use a 4 or 6MB PP. I've seen posts where people have gone to larger PPs (12MB) to get better performance. Comments? Optimal PP size?
schwert said:
i also think like you mate. i hate my hermes, too.
i'm using ultimate launch with up to 7 today plugins and then wm stucks like hell -.-"
i hope htc raphael is going to be our dream-device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
since the Raphael is built on the same OS i doubt it will improve your experience much.
I and probably the majority of users here have found the Hermes great and would never go back to a standard cellular device ever again.
On some points I agree, on some I don't.
I agree on the end-call button thing. I also watch and wait and it usually takes 3 seconds before it really says "Call Ended".
I also agree on the turn-screen thing. Portrait or landscape shouldn't really matter that much. I also have another irritation here. When in landscape mode, the "unlock phone"-screen has such tiny buttons that you have to be a bloody sharpshooter to hit them. On most dialpad-skins it's the same. You can hardly hit the right number with your finger. Zero problems in portrait mode, nice big buttons, easy to hit.
The overall speed is indeed disappointing, as is the graphics performance. I recently played around with an iPhone and the interfacing was ALOT faster. No, I don't like the iPhone but I did like the performance of it. I also use my Hermes for Navigation using TomTom and sometimes it's a fricking slideshow instead of proper navigation. My old Qtek Himalaya even did better here.
Another grief I have which you didn't mention is batterytime. I went to Greece on holiday for 8 days. I packed my Hermes and my Nokia 6021. After 2 days, the Hermes starts beeping with an empty battery and it needed a refill 3 times in total during the 8 days(did 3 phonecalls, rest was standby time). The Nokia didn't need need a refill at all and I also made a couple of phonecalls as well as sent some textmessages. Yes I know I can purchase high-performance batteries but then I can't use my carholder any longer or fit it into the standard beltcase. Why can't the device be more economical with it's powerconsumption? Nokia does it out of the box. (yes I know you can't compare a 6021 to the Hermes but other phones of Nokia also have better battery-usage while having simular functionality). It was better in the past. I owned a Himalaya, it did about 4 days on a battery, I still own a Wizard and it almost does 5 days on a full load.
And yet.. I do like the WM interface, the multifunctionality, the integrated keyboard (whoever invented the 9-key-type-function to enter text-messages like on my Nokia 6021, should be shot) the fact that I carry only 1 device for phone, calendar, memo's, navigation and even more (mobile internet, phonebook, citymap, yellowpages etc etc). Actually, I especially LOVE that last fact because that is the exact reason I bought the Hermes in the first place.
My Hermes now is about 2 years old and I'm starting to look around for a replacement. I still want the keyboard feature, the Windows Mobile and all the things I love but I am looking for better graphical performance, more speed and better battery endurance. I would also like a higher screen-resolution while maintaining the compact format of the device. The Kaiser is definately not the solution for this so I am eagerly waiting for a new release from either HTC or any other competition (E-Ten, Asus, whatever).
mrvanx said:
since the Raphael is built on the same OS i doubt it will improve your experience much.
I and probably the majority of users here have found the Hermes great and would never go back to a standard cellular device ever again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that the Raphael will be my next one, if it does what it promises. We'll see how it goes but I am not sure if this is the phone they want to place in the same line of business as it's called Touch Pro (or that is what I found out about it) and I always thought that the touch series where for non-professional users.
carcomp said:
I was just sitting here using my phone .....but it just seems very "disjointed".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no offence bro, but by the sound of the things you've mentioned, it's obvious that somehow/somewhere you've radically messed up with your phone. God knows what rom you've used and in what process you did the upgrade.
"3 seconds for the screen to rotate" ?? you must be joking. my phone/rom does it in less than a sec.
"I know it should be slowing down with newer releases" - another amusing joke. Only this single baseless generalization is enough for me to consider all your other claims with too much hesitation.
Who on earth would claim that Windows Vista is slower than WIN XP or WIN 95?
I recommend that you read the forum a bit more closely and change/upgrade roms more carefully and properly. Then you will not be this much annoyed with ur device and its OS.
Good luck
Great job everyone! Just what I was looking for! A 50/50 split between "I totally agree" and "you are a moron for thinking that".! Haha. Some good points were raised. I would like you all to know that I have flashed my phone with Schaps Lite / Full, some TNT releases and am currently running the new CRC 6.1.
Oh, my grief with the end button isn't that it doesn't exist, lord no. I know I can hit the end call button to get out of things, but WHY does it act like the "Show Desktop" icon. I usually just want to go back to the last task I was using (such as spb shell).
one point i also doesn't like is to add new appointments in your calendar or manage them. i need the calendar so much.
there is this finger-friendly actionscreen where you can select new appointment. but then, you need your stylus to set the time and rotate the screen because you want to write a subject and so on.
i also used other calendars, but they are the same.
i have tested an iphone, too. it has the best performance i have ever seen. typing sms was no problem. i dislike only one thing. you can't sync it with your pc -.-"
My Opinion
I grabbed my Hermes about a year ago and just jumped in man.. totally new to the wm scene.. and this phone rocks... love it! Totally customizable! I have learned (self taught) with the help of all xda peeps how to tweak my phone to the max...Seriously this phone can do almost anything (if you take the time to customize and tweak it) a friend of mine ownes a kaiser and beotches all the time.. it's hilarious cuz if he just took the time to learn and tweak his phone he probably could be as happy as me!
lata guys!
-josh
I just think that we should be able to do the most basic things without busting out the stylus. Like adding a contact, sending a txt message etc. All windows functions *may* be used with a stylus. But when "phoning", just a finger should suffice.
I agree with every single point you made and have a few of my own. You can use apps like Mobile Shell and it makes everything mobile shell uses better but anytime it has to use a built in app instead of whats in the shell you run back into the same problems. I used to do a lot of work with Samsung phones and it always seemed like I could flash them into something WAY better than it started by making it faster and giving it more features. With this Hermes I have now it feels like Im just trying to make it do what it should have done when I bought it. Like Im trying to fix the mistakes someone else was too lazy to solve. I too agree that the only reason I still own this phone is because of that challenge but I too am becoming sick of it. I just hope we will be able to use Android or Linux or anything else on our phones soon because if not I dont know how much longer I can tolerate WM. True there are some designers like Binkys and MRH that are making strides but it doesnt feel like they can change enough to really turn it into what I want.
This probably should be moved to the General forum, since it isn't really Hermes specific.
With that said, I've been a Windows Mobile user for close to 4 years now. (Starting with the Audiovox SMT 5600 on AT&T Wireless.) I've also carried a BlackBerry for almost two years, and an iPhone for just under 6 months. (No Symbian OS experience)
With access to these three platforms, I can see the strengths and weaknesses of each. I think many/most of the Windows Mobile weaknesses stem from the fact that it is based on a general purpose OS (Windows CE), where it wasn't really designed to do any one thing very well. The BlackBerry OS was designed first and foremost to sync email, etc and the experience is better than Microsoft's ActiveSync (which I do use). Yet, the third-party app and browser are fairly poor. The iPhone is game-changing because the user interface and web browser set new standards. The unofficial third-party apps also show potential.
There is no perfect phone, but the competition does drive improvements. I'm a Microsoft fan, but unless they make drastic changes in WM7, I think it will be an incremental update just like WM6.1, WM6, and even WM5. (Seriously, things haven't improved much since WM2003SE.)
I do appreciate all the work that the cooks do improving what we do have; keep up the good work!
So, are there any ports yet for the Kaiser that have ALL of the following working?
Bluetooth
Camera
GPS
WiFi
It's either find a ROM with everything working (as this is my only device and everything needs to work out of the gate), or jump ship with T-Mobile, move to Verizon, and snag the Incredible.
Thanx.
yes.......
Okay, which one(s)? I've looked through all the posts (I think...lost track), but haven't found one yet that isn't missing at least one of those prereqs. Thanx.
Myn's Warm Donut.
Of course, this depends on your definition of working, I know that camera works, gps, wifi, and bluetooth, however all still have some issues, so if you require these to work with the same efficiency and stability as winmo, we simply are not completely there yet.
No eclair builds have working camera yet.
However not everyone is fortunate enough to always have all of the above working reasonably well in any single build, not without a little hacking and patching at any rate.
To be honest, if your kaiser is your only phone, test drive with a haret install, and decide if you can live with android, personally I can't live without it now
That's just what I needed to hear. I'm off to port my account to VZW and pick up that incredible Incredible! Thanx.
If I had the option, I'd do the same, lol, I love my Kaiser, but sooner or later I will have to upgrade, and now only Android will do
zenity said:
If I had the option, I'd do the same, lol, I love my Kaiser, but sooner or later I will have to upgrade, and now only Android will do
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
haha quite right. Once you try android, theres no turning back, not to winmo atleast. Its amazing how stupid ms has been and lost all their power users, and most normal users too, even with the release of wp7.
And of course M$ has shot themselves in the foot (again), saying that 'older' devices will not be supported in WM7 so no upgrades. Someone needs to tell M$ we're in a resession! as not all of us can afford a new phone, so with no support and our phones now out of warranty we can do what we like, so bye bye M$ !
I actually like my phone, paid a lot for it, so if I can breathe new life into it with better software then that's good news, its certainly up to the job, just have to be patient and wait for the ports to mature and bugs to be fixed, but that's the great thing about open source, we can fix it without having to wait for M$ to do it, fantastic, just wish I was clever enough to develop/tinker with, the code.
Funny thing is, I have a Diamond and a Blackstone, both are obviously newer and more advanced than my kaiser, but neither can run Android in Nand yet, so they usually sit in a drawer, until the day that someone figures out how to do what has only been done on older hardware so far, namely a bootable Android that does not depend on M$, or HTC for that matter.
My kaiser is the envy of a number of my colleagues, two of whom have Android phones, but having used mine they say that it may be a little slower, but it looks and feels much nicer, and I have had more than one request to swap my kaiser for a Dream, which tempted me for about 15 seconds.....
xPreSiDenT said:
haha quite right. Once you try android, theres no turning back, not to winmo atleast. Its amazing how stupid ms has been and lost all their power users, and most normal users too, even with the release of wp7.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait a second. I just tried Android(Warm Donut) on my Tilt and I am about to go back to WinMo(AthineOS) which has everything working great and seems to be much cooler to use. I wonder what is so great about Android such that there is no turning back for you? Is it the apps cause I have WinMo stacked with some apps that can do much of what im seeing with Android if not better. The TouchFlo in WinMo is much more fluid than in what I experienced with Android. The interface looks better.
Hopefully, some of you can elaborate more on why Android on the Kaiser is considered better (or even worth it) considering what WinMo can do.
Maybe I am missing something cause I thought Android OS would be something special.
Not sure quite what it is, yes, Android may be slower than winmo, however unless you stick with Stock 6.1 you are always walking that fine line between stability and instability, on either OS.
I tried various custom roms, 6.1 and 6.5, and all of them suffered from small niggling annoyances, ( personal opinion, my use of my phone differs from that of the chef, and consequently what may be a great rom for some, may not be for others), Android has been the same really, however what I get from it is 'look and feel', I know thats a bit of a cop out, but thats what the difference is to me, winmo, with any ui, just felt awkward to use for some things, for me Android is smoother and more intuitive, and thats after a lot of years using windows pda/phone devices, from my ipaq 3660 to date almost everything else I have used has been windows based.
I know others will perhaps disagree, or see things differently, but for me windows on mobile devices will never seem the same, thats why I chose Android, with all the bugs and problems we have on devices it was not designed for, over an old, and dare I say, obsolete, OS.
And having been around since the early days of porting Android to kaiser, it's been damn exciting too, something I never felt with Windows Mobile for a long time.
zenity said:
Funny thing is, I have a Diamond and a Blackstone, both are obviously newer and more advanced than my kaiser, but neither can run Android in Nand yet, so they usually sit in a drawer, until the day that someone figures out how to do what has only been done on older hardware so far, namely a bootable Android that does not depend on M$, or HTC for that matter.
My kaiser is the envy of a number of my colleagues, two of whom have Android phones, but having used mine they say that it may be a little slower, but it looks and feels much nicer, and I have had more than one request to swap my kaiser for a Dream, which tempted me for about 15 seconds.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Despite that XDA seems to be more about newer phones then outdated models like ours, more people own those older phones then HD2 or Nexus One's. Simply because even with the discount from carriers, it still costs too much to upgrade.
Plus, a lot of these phones do end up as hand me downs. So they don't go away that easily. Plus, my Kaiser is built like a brick. Despite it's crazy flip up screen (which I love), it didn't break.
Despite being old, it's hardly outdated. The hardware is more then capable of doing 99% of the things I wanna do on my smart phone. About 25% surfing the web, 25% playing games, 10% as GPS, and 40% as a music or movie player.
My only complaint is the battery life sucks, and the camera sucks. More concerned about battery life then camera though.
Battery life is a bigger problem in Android, however as with everything android, new habits are good, like putting it on charge every night, always sees me though the day, which usually consists of music playing, facebook, news, texting and occasional gps use, never been below 40% battery at night, apart from once or twice when i forgot to switch the music player off and drained it completely.
I completely agree with zenity, its mostly about the look and feel of android, somehow it just seems much more better and actually like an OS for a phone, instead of a stripped down version of windows 95 or something. Ive been using winmo for a very long time too, going through wm 2003 to wm5, wm6 and wm6.x, and it was my firm belief that it was the most advanced, if not the most user friendly mobile OS out there. And if you look at the direction winmo is headed to now, youd steer clear of it for precisely the same reason.
But android is much more finger friendly, and even though it may not have equivalents of the most advanced software that winmo had(although I admit I havent looked around that much, android is based on linux and well it certainly doesnt lack the capability), I've found equivalents of all of the software I used in winmo. And the apps are free and nicer, with better UIs. Plus android seems to be well thought out, both in functionality and design. Ofcourse there are problems, but those are mostly due to the porting part of the process. I also had to go through minor changes in habits, but everythings settled down now.
I would like to add my 10p's worth to this debate, I got my Kaiser 2nd hand in 2008, I updated the ROM from O2 when it became available but after that there were no more updates, certainly O2 where not going to release a 6.5 Rom for it, I am not confident enough to put an Unofficial Rom on my device but I wanted to update it. I could not afford a new phone, yes sure I'd like one, but I'm not prepared to pay out £450+ for a phone, I just don't have that kind of money. Anyway I have been looking for ways to update my phone, a while back I found a program called Mobile Shell, by SBP, now this is pretty good, it gives you multiple desktops, cool widgets, but its really only a skin over WM6.1, it is cool though, but left me wanting more. I have friends with Android and WM6.5 devices which I've tried and this did make me want to do something about mine. Also last year, I suffered a detached retina, which left me blind in one eye, (very long story), I was already visually impaired, and now I have lost the sight in, what was, my best eye, which left me struggling to see my phone. Many of my friends, (who are blind) use Iphones, as they have speech output, but I didn't want an Iphone (I like my hardware keyboard, and I am not a 'Follower'). Windows left me lacking again, no speech output, text was tiny, even on largest settings, etc etc. When I was doing some research on accessibility on mobile, Iphone came top, but I noticed an article on Android, about it having accessibility features and speech, which led me (eventually), to ask if it was possible to run Android on my phone to try to get these features and allow me to use my mobile again.
With Zenity's kind guidance, I have Android running from my SD card while I test it out, sadly the Accessibility options will not enable for some reason, but I'm having a look at the market place to see what aps are available. I hear that 2.1 has better features, but as yet, that port isn't fully working on the Kaiser, so as soon as it is ready, I'd like to try it.
The end game is to replace WM with Android and have all the accessibility options in place so I can finally use my phone (normally) again. This must seem crazy to you guys, you are probably saying, "why don't you just get the Iphone and be done with it", well if you knew me, you'd know why, I don't like taking the easy road, if I can get this to work, I can say that I've done it (beaten my disability), just a sense of achievement, just the way I am
leona said:
The end game is to replace WM with Android and have all the accessibility options in place so I can finally use my phone (normally) again. This must seem crazy to you guys, you are probably saying, "why don't you just get the Iphone and be done with it", well if you knew me, you'd know why, I don't like taking the easy road, if I can get this to work, I can say that I've done it (beaten my disability), just a sense of achievement, just the way I am
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is perfectly understandable, and iphones nowhere near android in terms of functionality and user control. Hope you get it done and find a config that works for you. I dont know if it would be possible to add accessibility into our roms due to our limited memory, but hopefully some devs can look into that. myns warm donut has speech synthesis built in. It is used in many accessibilty apps like these. dont know which of these work on Kaiser though...
leona said:
The end game is to replace WM with Android and have all the accessibility options in place so I can finally use my phone (normally) again. This must seem crazy to you guys, you are probably saying, "why don't you just get the Iphone and be done with it", well if you knew me, you'd know why, I don't like taking the easy road, if I can get this to work, I can say that I've done it (beaten my disability), just a sense of achievement, just the way I am
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I totally understand, my mother suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, and is probably the most stubbornly independent woman I have even known, at 70+ she's still more active than half a dozen 30 year olds put together, and when she decides how things will be, then that is how they will be.
I'm happy to have helped, and hope this inspires someone to take a look at the accessibility options
xPreSiDenT said:
That is perfectly understandable, and iphones nowhere near android in terms of functionality and user control. Hope you get it done and find a config that works for you. I dont know if it would be possible to add accessibility into our roms due to our limited memory, but hopefully some devs can look into that. myns warm donut has speech synthesis built in. It is used in many accessibilty apps like these. dont know which of these work on Kaiser though...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
zenity said:
Actually I totally understand, my mother suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, and is probably the most stubbornly independent woman I have even known, at 70+ she's still more active than half a dozen 30 year olds put together, and when she decides how things will be, then that is how they will be.
I'm happy to have helped, and hope this inspires someone to take a look at the accessibility options
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you guys, yes we can be a suborn bunch
I am happy to run the OS off the SD card if memory is limited, from my use so far, it seems fast enough, so is it possible to create a fully operational version, even if its SD only?
I had not thought about how much space is needed for the roms, I just assumed that the kaisers had enough room as they have a 256Mb Flash.
This thread is really helpful to me. My T-Mobile Wing's screen just broke, and I'm now wondering what kind of phone to get.
I'm looking at used ones: I could get an old Wing (not great hardware wise), a Kaiser or an Android. I'm not sure if I'm ready to jump ship quite yet, so the possibility of running both Android and Winmo is quite appealing to me. Can you switch easily between the two? I understand certain things are not working in Android (mainly keyboard and camera), but it can be used on a daily basis as a phone? Also how's the battery life when running Winmo?
Having had a pocket pc running first mobile 2002, then 2003, and then 6.1 and 6.5 on my phone, I'm quite invested in the Windows mobile platform (however, Mobile 7 doesn't appeal to me from what I've seen).
Because I have several programs I've developed myself in use on a daily basis (some not published), I'm not sure about the Android platform. Any of you have experience developing for apps for Android?
ajige said:
Can you switch easily between the two?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are running from SD, switching from winmo to Android is as simple as running haret.exe, from Android back to winmo requires a soft reboot however.
ajige said:
I understand certain things are not working in Android (mainly keyboard and camera), but it can be used on a daily basis as a phone? Also how's the battery life when running Winmo?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Keyboard works fine, no issues apart from having to be careful how you set up haret's default.txt file to avoid using the wrong keyboard type. Camera works if you use a Donut build, it's not working on Eclair builds yet.
I have used Android ( both donut and eclair, various builds), since early this year, and for the last 4 months it's been my only OS on my kaiser, it's completely useable as a phone, battery life in winmo is good, in android, not as good, however it will last through the day unless you use it for high power demand functions such as wifi or gps for extended periods, but the same can be said for winmo.
The main issues with running from SD are speed and stability, it is slower and less stable running from SD, installed to nand is better, but not as flexible if you need winmo functionality.
All in all, if it is your only phone, don't flash android, unless you are fully committed to it.
I was reading through lifehacker.com the other day (my SECOND favorite website ) when I came across a link to an instructables guide on turning a netbook into a tablet and it got me thinking. Why should I have to buy a $500+ tablet every year or two, or settle for a crappy $200 one when I can buy a used netbook and make it new again for half the price of the high end ones and probably better performing than the low end? Plus I'd have upgradability when it starts being sluggish in the future.
Here's the thing: I'm not content with essentially making a netbook into a slate that runs WinXP and calling it a day. I want it to run Android and have (most of) the bells and whistles. All on a budget of $250. What I'm thinking of so far is this:
10.1" Intel-Atom tablet, ebay ~$70
CAPACITIVE touchscreen overlay ~$110
SSD ~$60
Which leaves me with about 10 bucks for stuff to make it look good.
There is an x86 android port floating around on the internet that I plan on using and I've seen netbooks with built in GPS/gyro/accelerometer/etc. Although, I'm not so sure if just booting Android will get all of that to work of if I'll have to somehow write my own drivers... Honestly, I would have no idea where to start on that. Does anyone have any insight into how that might/might not work?
I don't have any of the parts yet, but have begun bidding on some stuff on ebay. If anyone would like to sell me something that might help, PM me. If you all are interested, I'll post updates and pictures as I'm working on it, however if not, then I'll probably just post something of the finished product. Functioning hardware or not.
Whether or not any of you take an interest in this project, I would appreciate any comments or advice that you can offer. I'm sure that as I go along I'll have questions to ask and hopefully one of you will be able to help.
I read the same thing and I would interested in how you go about it. I was not impressed with the lifehacker.com instructions or any of the other ones I found on line.
Thanks for the interest, glsooter. I still plan on completing this project sometime this summer probably and will update with pictures and what I am doing, but unfortunately I've had to make a few changes. It won't primarily run Android, although I could dual boot. My main reasoning behind this is that it would be impossible for me with my skill set to add the required hardware and then get it to work (such as accelerometer and gyroscope). Also, the capacitive touch screen I want to get is apparently Windows only. I'm thinking of using the Windows 8 preview or alternatively loading Win7 and using Rainmeter or something similar to give it a touchscreen functional layout. I also want to take a Bluetooth keyboard and make some sort of dock, like the Transformer Prime. My newest goals for the project is to have a portable tablet-esque gadget that I will use for retro gaming with a BT controller or mobile (android) gaming and productivity using BlueStacks. If I need laptop functionality I can use the BT keyboard/mouse combo for word processing or note taking. There are obviously some details to be hammered out, but I'm now thinking it will be closer to $350, which I feel is reasonable for something like this.
I was thinking about installing android on my 12.1" asus eepc with intel atom but i cant do it now (i get it in next month). I want to try how it works with android (maybe there are no need for drivers or only some of them?). If i get it earlier i try it and i can write here results how it works for me.
PS.
Could u give me link to android x86 and installing market on it (i heard that it must be installed other way). thanks
PS2.
I will be using it without touchscreen
that sound like a really good idea, but maybe not as a tablet alone but as a laptop+tablet, like the Thinkpad X Tablet series.
So i tried and installed android-x86 on my eeepc 1201nl and only froyo is working I wanted ics but i take what i can.
Working on it is very easy (even without touchscreen). I have problems only with wifi (cant connect to router). I found that some other people have similar problems.
However i will be trying it again and again. I want ics
Sent using r800i with DoomKernel v11 (1.21ghz)
So I am about to start my install in a 08 Chrysler Aspen. I have everything I need to swap the stock radio for a Nexus 7, I have been messing around with all the software and hardware for a week or so and think that most issues are worked out. I am running CM12 nightlies just because I am a bleeding edge type of guy and I like Cyangoenmod's implementation of extra features. They run on the ElementalX Kernel so that OTG charging and deep sleep are possible. Now the fun part that I have not seen anyone else do, that I can find anyway. I have two outdated, barely working, please replace me 7" no name linked DVD players in the headrests. Honestly, the market for those is utterly pitiful and overpriced, full of hardware that is practically obsolete, and runs on proprietary software. No thank you. Luckily I have two Nexus 7's, soon to be three.
I am software engineering student, so I have skills in that department, and I dabble in all things electronic. I can usually find a way to make anything work. So far on first thought I have successfully set up Nexus2 to wake from deep sleep when power connects, then via Tasker open Allcast Receiver. Which I can then cast media from Nexus1 to be viewed on Nexus2, then to Nexus3 via Koush's Mirror Beta. The great thing about Allcast and Allcast Receiver is that only a WiFi connection is needed, no need to have internet access. This setup works better than I expected, with very minimal lag on the Mirror( I tested this using my Gs3 as the third device). Ultimately I would like to pass video through hardware instead of software. Herein lies my question. I can accept a video stream, but I have been unable to find any examples of sending media to essentially a second monitor through hardware alone. I am sure there is a way through SSH, similar to this, but I would like 2 and 3 to be able to be used independently as I am going to make them easily removable. For example if my kids want to play a game , they can just take it out and it is back to normal tablet form.
If there is nothing available, the casting/mirroring route will suffice for the time being. I would just like something a little less vulnerable. Casting/Mirroring are relatively new and there are occasional crashes. Anyone who has young children knows that patience is not a word in their vocabulary. Plug and play, no crashes is my optimal goal.
Sorry for the essay, I hope that someone can help. I will post pictures of the install process here, and I'll start a new thread for a complete DIY.
One more thing, has anyone seen headrests made specifically to mount a Nexus 7? I can modify my current ones, but a prefabbed like this for iPad mini would be ideal.
I can't advise on the mirroring of the screens, but mounting the nexus in the headrests is something I can help with. Head over to my website www.rtafabrication.com
If your fabrication is up to scratch you could get a few Dash Panels and mount them yourself or I could do the fabrication for you. Location doesn't matter as I ship worldwide.
Just thought it might be something you're looking for.
Hello early adopters!
Ok, my Gemini is in my hands now, and I have a day's worth of dinking around Android on it. Eventually I want to either make it a pleasant dual-booting PDA, or leave the Android stuff to live on my phone.
I have some questions to start off:
Q1: For dual booting linux/Android, how is the storage partitioned, and is there a shared partition where I can put my files? I have text files, pictures, spreadsheets etc that I have kept under my own control all these years. These contain passwords, lists of contacts, accounting info, bookmarks, journals, etc that I have never entrusted to the 'cloud' or someone else's walled garden..
Q2: Honoring the P in PDA, is something like 'FreedomBox' for debian feasible? Perhaps this q is better asked elsewhere. Someone tell Eben Moglen about the Gemini.
Q3oes the linux side of a Gemini have access to the Android file system? Lets say I wanted to share a bookmark to Android directly, without external services like Google or email.
Q3:What is the plan for the phone services in a dual-boot setup? I assume for now the phone wants to run in Android, but it could be independent of either OS, or depend on a particular linux flavor. I had planned on a wifi-only Gemini, but apparently thought better of that and ordered a 4G one. I have not decided whether to buy a sim for it, or wait and transfer from my existing fone, or get a dumbfone now that I have a Gemini.
drakester said:
Hello early adopters!
Ok, my Gemini is in my hands now, and I have a day's worth of dinking around Android on it. Eventually I want to either make it a pleasant dual-booting PDA, or leave the Android stuff to live on my phone.
I have some questions to start off:
Q1: For dual booting linux/Android, how is the storage partitioned, and is there a shared partition where I can put my files? I have text files, pictures, spreadsheets etc that I have kept under my own control all these years. These contain passwords, lists of contacts, accounting info, bookmarks, journals, etc that I have never entrusted to the 'cloud' or someone else's walled garden..
Q2: Honoring the P in PDA, is something like 'FreedomBox' for debian feasible? Perhaps this q is better asked elsewhere. Someone tell Eben Moglen about the Gemini.
Q3oes the linux side of a Gemini have access to the Android file system? Lets say I wanted to share a bookmark to Android directly, without external services like Google or email.
Q3:What is the plan for the phone services in a dual-boot setup? I assume for now the phone wants to run in Android, but it could be independent of either OS, or depend on a particular linux flavor. I had planned on a wifi-only Gemini, but apparently thought better of that and ordered a 4G one. I have not decided whether to buy a sim for it, or wait and transfer from my existing fone, or get a dumbfone now that I have a Gemini.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android telephony is shared with Linux. See this video
jah said:
Android telephony is shared with Linux. See this video
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, that helped. Interesting thought they presented re the possibility of downloading a phone number.
Also, finally a nice piece of hardware with opensource bootloader and kernal, that can boot off usb.. Should be fun.
it´s possible with the 4g version to use the gemini as a mobile phone? calls and sms work with sim card inserted?
Yes. I use a Plantronics BT headset but you can use the speaker and mic built into the top/bottom of the device.
so this is also a mobile phone, i don´t understand why they don´t explore this as a mobile phone with dual boot linux capability, because "pda" didn´t manage to survive especially because of old hardware and didn´t have gsm capability
this is indeed great device, little expensive, but i understand the price, if this have a external small lcd with touch ability + a decent camera, i will defenitly buy this, i will manage to survive without external lcd, but camera this days is fundamental, it can be not so good as the google pixel camera, but at least ok
this can be a mobile phone + personal small computer, you will don´t need tablet or netbook anymore
this is the future by the way, love to see gadgets like this or the gpd pocket
The Gemini is very much an Android touchscreen smartphone with a QWERTY keyboard.
They probably call it a PDA because smartphone keyboards tends to be rather lacking, making people think of BlackBerry or the Nokia E-series, while the very reason the Gemini exists, is to offer a keyboard on which you can actually type a few pages per day in relative comfort. The keyboard design is very much a replica of the Psion Series 5mx keyboard, which in its day was considered to be pretty much the best keyboard on a device you could (kind of) fit in a shirt pocket. While the Gemini is a lot sleeker, the keyboard is the same size. The Psion keys had significantly more resistance. Personally the "lighter" keys of the Gemini suits me better, but that's just my opinon.
There is no external screen, but there is a set of five RGB LEDs that supposedly can be made to flash for various events, once the software for that becomes available. The built in camera is a fixed focus, user facing 5MP video telephony camera. There is a slot behind the lid cover, where an add-on 5MP rear-facing camera can be installed, when available. Since it hasn't shipped yet, I can't comment on its quality, but given the size of the slot, I wouldn't hope for much. As photography seems to be an important part of smartphones these days, that's maybe another reason they call it a PDA.