Related
Has anyone else notice the touch screen being very inaccurate on their kaiser? I mostly notice it in the dialer. For example i press 5 and it does 8 instead. Sometimes i even hit 2 and get 8 which is really bizzare. I'm using the HTC dialer, so maybe thats the issue. I'm going to switch to the windows dialer tonight and see if thats any better. I also have problems getting it to recognize presses at all sometimes. Sometimes i have to press the screen so hard that it distorts (i know thats bad for it but i just get so frustrated, especially when the photo album randomly opens while im on the phone, and then when i need to use the keypad I can't get the damn album to close because the screen doesnt recognize my tap, or thinks im tapping somewhere else. I've ran the screen alignment a few times, and tried doing it with my finger and with the stylus. Do i just have a dud?
Josh
Have you tried realigning the screen? Pretty basic stuff.
I have the same exact problem. Especially with the numbers. I switched to the other dialer (no video cal one) and its still the same. I have calibrated tons butits no better.
Yes, as i said, i've ran the screen alignment numerous times, and tried it both with the stylus and with my finger.
yea, i have teh same problem.. its definiately not a realignement problem.
It happens with the htc dialpad, and somtimes the htc skined calculator
i thought maybe it could be touchflo.. i didnt have this problem at all with the 8525
And I thought it just me!
I get this problem too when using the dialler (both HTC and WM6).
Looks like a few of us have this problem. I notice it on the today screen using HTC home, i go to tap the weather icon and end up opening the clock. Try diabling the touch cube (if you have it installed) seemed to improve things for me.
vlad69uk said:
Looks like a few of us have this problem. I notice it on the today screen using HTC home, i go to tap the weather icon and end up opening the clock. Try diabling the touch cube (if you have it installed) seemed to improve things for me.
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Click to collapse
I've noticed this. I always align my screen with the stylus to get the best accuracy but when certain app's are loaded that are designed for finger use, they change the touch-screen sensitivity so that when you need to use the stylus again for small items, its all screwed up!
I found if I stick to what the unit is designed for its OK!
Farsquidge said:
I've noticed this. I always align my screen with the stylus to get the best accuracy but when certain app's are loaded that are designed for finger use, they change the touch-screen sensitivity so that when you need to use the stylus again for small items, its all screwed up!
I found if I stick to what the unit is designed for its OK!
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Click to collapse
So the Kaiser was not designed to make phone calls? Perhaps you are supposed to only dial people from your contact list (synced from MS Outlook of course) or use MS Voice Command?
jgermuga said:
So the Kaiser was not designed to make phone calls? Perhaps you are supposed to only dial people from your contact list (synced from MS Outlook of course) or use MS Voice Command?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, here we go...
NO, what I meant is that if you want an iPod type interface then buy one. The 'Kaiser' comes with a stylus that gives you precise touch input.
To use a 'grubby' finger to gain access the touch interface has to be 'DE-Tuned' to accept an approximation input and once an app that does this is installed you will have to accept some changes for precise input apps you already have!
For pity's sake, some people expect things out of this device even a Tablet laptop could not provide!!!
Farsquidge said:
Oh, here we go...
NO, what I meant is that if you want an iPod type interface then buy one. The 'Kaiser' comes with a stylus that gives you precise touch input.
To use a 'grubby' finger to gain access the touch interface has to be 'DE-Tuned' to accept an approximation input and once an app that does this is installed you will have to accept some changes for precise input apps you already have!
For pity's sake, some people expect things out of this device even a Tablet laptop could not provide!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. I have always found the phone dialer to be a problem and after 4 device iterations and 3 OS iterations, you would think it could be resolved.
Plus, HTC included TouchFlo on this device, which to me is also severely flawed to the point of being worthless. Even so, this sets the expectation that you can use your "grubby" finger when you need to, not only to dial a phone number but to scroll a contact list.
I don't get why you toss out constant excuses for the Kaiser not being designed to do this, that or the other thing. As far as I am concerned, I paid 3 times the cost of a modest dedicated GPS, dedicated PMP and a phone to get it all in one CONVERGED device. If only I wanted a phone, I would have bought a phone, if only I wanted an MPS player I would have bought an MP3 player, etc, etc, but I opted to pay much (much, much) more for the ability to get all these things in ONE device. So why should I not have a right to be disappointed with problems that linger for years and years, or for poor implementation of features that had better support on lesser devices, such as video playback.
Granted, HTC does not out this product as a media player, but given that it is similar in design to previous models, which did at least an adequate job, has left many people who thought they were upgrading feeling disappointed. Plus, it is VERY difficult to try all these features out before making a decision, and when people come to place like this forum to ask questions, they get flamed.
It seems your solution to the disappointment is to buy a fanny pack and load it up with a camera, a game player, an mp3 player, a personal media player, a phone, a GPS... and what the heck, we'll even throw in a Kindle for good measure.
What's up? Do you sell fanny packs?
jgermuga said:
Well I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. I have always found the phone dialer to be a problem and after 4 device iterations and 3 OS iterations, you would think it could be resolved.
Plus, HTC included TouchFlo on this device, which to me is also severely flawed to the point of being worthless. Even so, this sets the expectation that you can use your "grubby" finger when you need to, not only to dial a phone number but to scroll a contact list.
I don't get why you toss out constant excuses for the Kaiser not being designed to do this, that or the other thing. As far as I am concerned, I paid 3 times the cost of a modest dedicated GPS, dedicated PMP and a phone to get it all in one CONVERGED device. If only I wanted a phone, I would have bought a phone, if only I wanted an MPS player I would have bought an MP3 player, etc, etc, but I opted to pay much (much, much) more for the ability to get all these things in ONE device. So why should I not have a right to be disappointed with problems that linger for years and years, or for poor implementation of features that had better support on lesser devices, such as video playback.
Granted, HTC does not out this product as a media player, but given that it is similar in design to previous models, which did at least an adequate job, has left many people who thought they were upgrading feeling disappointed. Plus, it is VERY difficult to try all these features out before making a decision, and when people come to place like this forum to ask questions, they get flamed.
It seems your solution to the disappointment is to buy a fanny pack and load it up with a camera, a game player, an mp3 player, a personal media player, a phone, a GPS... and what the heck, we'll even throw in a Kindle for good measure.
What's up? Do you sell fanny packs?
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Click to collapse
My only advice to people who constantly moan about the device like you do is take it back or sell it!!
It obviously is not what you want so why do you keep it??
Sure, that's easy to say. I'll just go and drop another $500+ on a phone and memory card. What the heck. It's only money, right? And while I'm at it, I'll just plop down another $200 for getting out of my AT&T contract. And then keep my fingers crossed I can get a decent price off eBay. And that's even before spending time reflashing the AT&t ROM to stock and getting an unlock code. Cmon, get real.
If the Nokia N95 had a touch screen or the Sony W960i had support for AT&T bands, I would have already dropped this model. I could use a break from WinMo anyway. To bad Symbian isn't as popular on this side of the pond.
Otherwise, I don't see any non-HTC phones other then the E-Ten X800 that I would consider a major upgrade to my 8125. I sat on the sidelines for the Tytn I because I wanted on board GPS. What a poor tradeoff that turned out to be. It is likely I will wind up going with a T-Mobile Shadow keep the phone and and break the contract, which would still be cheaper than what I paid for the Tilt after the AT&T deal. Hopefully I'll be able to come out even after all is said and done. At least it is smaller and cheaper.
I'd wait for the Cruise but I am not too thrilled to pay nearly 3/4 of a grand for something that can't render video.
Yes, I am frustrated. From the AT&T bloatware to the lack of accessories (it didn't even come with a case????) to the video driver problems, the TouchFlo not working, yada yada yada, I've had it with this phone. I actually liked my 8125 better, and as a basis of comparison, I saw far fewer complaints about that model when it was the top dog.
So sad to say, the Kaiser looks great on paper, but it falls short on implementation.
Reading, swimming in the wave of complains (most of them not justified) posted here i felt the urge to write something positive about my\our new Diamond.
Some of the complains are amusing me because are the direct result of a totally unfamiliarity with the WM, a "jumping to conclusions" approach or because very high expectations.
I hate the complains written by ppl that don't owe a Diamond and are feeding us with useless and incorrect information they "heard from a friend". After an ironic answer to one of this kind of posters i even got a PM from a newbie who complained about my luck of patience and overdose of sarcasm.
I do think that in the next 2-3 month we are going to see the prices go down and the quality of the Diamonds go up. We are the pioneers, we have the $ to pay the high prices and the curiosity/balls to buy the first maybe not completely debugged ones that were sold.
Let's not forget also that HTC are constrained by the narrow mind programmers of Microsoft. Now to the subject:
1. I like direct acces from the today screen to the Phone History. It saves a click or two.
2. I like having more than 7 favorites programs at a click\flip of a finger. Now we have the old "7 items only" menu and the programs from Today Screen.\
3. Do i have to tell you how much i like sliding from one application to another in the today screen from the bottom menu bar OR from the top title bar OR from the middle of the screen?
4. I like having larger Storage Memory and Larger Program Memory than my old, faithful Trinity. I like even more the 4 G Internal Memory replacing the 2 G SD. Will i ever fill them up?!
5. I like pressing in the upper task bar to get a full screen with big buttons to check my memory, 3G state, Battery and so on..."System Status"
6. I like the Task Button that really can be finger touched because the screen is no more recessed.
7. I like flipping my favorites' pics. Again we have the option for more favorites contacts. We have 9 or more on speed dial and as many as we like on the contact's pics on the today screen.
8. I like the quality of sound (here a few ppl are going: woooooooo) but i like it.
9. I like using my BT headphones with the impeccable A2DP. No tweaks needed.
10. I like the option to retract the phone dial pad to see more contacts when i am using the smart dialing.
11. I like the 3.2 mp camera with auto focus and the quality of the pics/flics i get.
12. I like the VGA screen and the clarity and size of what is written on the screen.
13. I like the graphics.
14. I like (no, i have to correct myself) I LOVE the way it fits to my shirt pocket.
I am looking forward to:
- The first xda-dev made ROM.
- The extended battery Pack.
- OS Android or WM 7.
In conclusion: give it a chance, you'll might like it
What more I can say ... totally agree *thumbs up*
if you like it buy it, if you don`t like sell it and go elsewhere, if you don`t have it shut up
Adding to that list....
I have to admit that i am impressed with mine as well...
I have "tweaked" the touchflo a bit to mke it more responsive, and i love the fact that i can "scroll" through recieved texts and emails...
I am actually having fun with the diamond, especially as i made the transition directly from a Universal. its amusing to type with t9, i rarely have to grab the stylus. I have to agree that the headset for calls is stunning, and music is clear, both on BT headset and wired.
I still need to work out how to use the damn headset buttons though!
I like the fact that my Wizard's miniUSB charger fits this extUSB of the Diamond as well! Same goes for my car charger! It even works with standard USB -> miniUSB cables to connect to the computer.
Now only for an audio link in the car... maybe I could setup a nice bluetooth thingy with my car radio
Well, I've been using WM devices for quite a while now, and i'll state the point that makes the Diamond stand out based on my experience with WM devices:
1) VGA screen - I can't even see a darn pixel on screen. It's so friggin sharp (my first VGA device )
2) The G-sensor is sweet. The game teeter gives a good user experience. I wish there are more apps for the sensor
3) SIZE! I thought the original Touch was small.. and now this!!
4) I'm a sucker for graphic animation (still not going with iPxxne) So I like TouchFlo3D. Got everything there I need
Well.. thats pretty much makes the device stand out. ANd yea.. the device isnt half as bad as what others complained abt. It's not a decent device.. its an awesome one!
I almost like eveything about the diamond,except the memory issues,its a real RAM hog. especially with touchflo3d turned on because its leaks alot of memory.also program memory is lower that the kaiser,only 86mb total and almost 50mb in use already! same for RAM; total 113mb but already 60mb in use! thats not funny. hope the touch pro doesnt have these problems.
but the rest i love about the phone,the size of it, the graphics of the vga screen, the g-sensor apps, the gps thats super quick, touchflo3d for its user friendly simplicity and stunning graphics especially the weather i like very much, i like opera cuz its better than IE.maybe more to come as i use it more
overall: great phone,but needs better ROM thats more memory-efficiant, but a great one add to the collection
KukurikU said:
Reading, swimming in the wave of complains (most of them not justified) posted here i felt the urge to write something positive about my\our new Diamond.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well said my friend. By the way, I used to live in Rehovot
Hello,
I love mine very much too...My main issue the the impossibility to install IGO 8 on this device...May be one day,
Philippe
I think you forgot about the GPS. Its simply amazing. Locks within 10 seconds cold or otherwise. When compared to my clunky TYTN II of which I never used the keyboard the GPS is fantastic. On my old TYTN II it could take about 2-3 minutes to get a lock. Of course there are still some application bugs for the IGO users but my Garmin Mobile XT flies.
Opps time to change my signature. Still says TYTN II
VGA, GPS, G-Sensor, Complete Flush screen, 3.2 MP, Small Size, NO External Keyboard....Opera 9.5 as default browser, Love my Diamond.
Just one word: Amazing!
j0bro said:
I like the fact that my Wizard's miniUSB charger fits this extUSB of the Diamond as well! Same goes for my car charger! It even works with standard USB -> miniUSB cables to connect to the computer.
Now only for an audio link in the car... maybe I could setup a nice bluetooth thingy with my car radio
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how are you doing this? i plugged in my diamond with the standard usb cable, and it is charging. but my computer does not recognize it as a phone. and i cannot activesync.
it might be the cable......
pauljohn54 said:
I think you forgot about the GPS. Its simply amazing. Locks within 10 seconds cold or otherwise. When compared to my clunky TYTN II of which I never used the keyboard the GPS is fantastic. On my old TYTN II it could take about 2-3 minutes to get a lock. Of course there are still some application bugs for the IGO users but my Garmin Mobile XT flies.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
with tomtom v6 it takes a couple of minutes. 2 or 3!!
so i do not like tomtom, but i love the diamond.!!!
i also like the free screen protector
I just got it today. What I like most is the size and the screen.
Compared to my "old" Touch Cruise, where I actually never liked the design, I have the feeling that it's only have the size and weight. No comparison to the sceen too. BtW Diamond is 16,7 Mio colors, isnt' it ?
This device could become the best smartphone I ever owned. Let the testing begin.
I owned a wizard, touch, touch xl, touch dual, but none of these pleased me more than the diamond!
my diamond is the best device ever made! let me point out why:
1. formfactor is outstanding, its small, strong, beautiful.
2. the design is outstanding!
3. the performance of the touchflo3d is very good, the stories about lag are just bullocks. the only lag I felt was during a2dp, wifi, teeter, and many apps opened.
4. speaking of a2dp, the bluetooth radio is the best there ever was on a device, 15 meters from diamond and still listening music
5. opera browser rules
6. teeter is a killer game.
7. g sensor rocks and works great
8. gps has a quick fix
9. camera makes beautiful pics(when a lot of licht is around)
10. love the way scrolling through my music albums with album art(love the non static feeling to it)
11. same with pics and videos
12. youtube player works very well with 3g and wifi(sometimes with gprs)
13. typed this text with opera and xt9 on my diamond so the keyboard works well.
14. my first vga screen an I must say, qvga sucks!
15. the build in light sensor is amazing
this device blows every other phone to pieces, I believe htc finally got it!
what I dislike:
- sometimes the dpad doesn't do what I like, but I think I can train myself with that.
- windows mobile sometimes gives a popup:
xxx.exe is not responding. but the device keeps working...
gr bram
The fact that its not a brick or door stop. and its so sexy looking
just because is so typical and ...funny. read it till the end. why FM radio sucks
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=401119
Excellent thread!!
Thanks all for sharing your positive feedback about your 'Diamonds'.
After having read this thread I've decided to return to HTC!! Now that is saying something.lol.
I was uhming and arrhing about the resticted 4GB storage as opposed to the current 12GB and soon to be 32GB cards, but if I am to be honest, yeah...I can use all that space up, but would never really need more than 3GB at any given time. The upcoming Pro version of the Diamond seems to have it all for me, but I just never use the tiny slide-out keyboard (just a novelty on such a small device IMHO), so Diamond...here I come.
All said and done though, you will unlikely ever get the solid type of after sales support that one gets from this forum.
XDA-developers rule!!
P.S. I've read that Open GLES works great with Call of Duty II...don't need my Ultimate i-mate with that Geforce chip anymore .
Looks like I'll be sticking to the Diamond until the new Nvidia APX 2500 enabled devices make it into HTC devices.
Thanks again for this thread and your comments....it has helped me greatly.
These are the first impressions of a power user after a week with the Diamond - I hope they might help others to decide whether to get one.
EDIT: Things have moved on since this post, you might want to look at post #39 too (page 4)
Background
I'm a power user but also a heavy day-to-day user as well. I use my phone for calling people, basic PDA functions, OTA google sync, web access, IMAP mail, GPS and also .NET software development. (I'm the author of 'Touch Settings') I used to have an HTC Touch. Before that, an HTC Prophet. Before that, an HTC MDA Compact.. ..you get the idea. I like HTC devices. I've stuck with them all, put up with their frustrations and watched them steadily improve. But this phone felt like the most exciting release yet. A massive leap forward in terms of specs. I was calling up Orange for about a month to find out the ETA. I actually RAN to the Orange Shop in Oxford Street and managed to get their last one in stock at the weekend!
So, one week in, here we go...
Great things
THE SCREEN
My favourite thing is the VGA screen. I cannot believe the difference it makes to the look of the phone, seriously. I could never go back to QVGA again now, this is a major improvement. Just reading the operator name in a slim, Arial-Narrow type font at the top of the screen and not being able to see the individual pixels, this is a true step forward. Everything, repeat, EVERYTHING looks better.
THE CAMERA
The auto-focus camera is nothing short of brilliant. Still rubbish in low-light levels, still no flash, but this is light-years ahead of the last one! I still get a little smirk of delight on my face when I hear it whirring as it focuses ahead of taking a picture!
A FASTER PROCESSOR
Hooray! FINALLY!... 528MHz ...4 times faster than my HTC Touch!...in theory. See below.
THE NEW ADD-ONS
Having GPS, FM radio, a tilt switch, a light sensor and more is fantastic. Teeter, the game, is awesome and will impress every person you know at a party.
THE SIZE
The Diamond is slightly smaller than the HTC Touch as well - easier to fit in a pocket. And it really does look gorgeous. Well done HTC.
Enough praise. Because then there's all this:
The Not-so-great things:
THE SPEED
Pop Quiz. Take your Windows Mobile phone. Tap the start button. Then tap 'Programs'. Does the window flash onto your screen immediately? No. There's a delay, isn't there? And sometimes you can even see it drawing every individual icon, top-to-bottom. On my HTC Touch, after a day of use, this took about 2 seconds.
On the Diamond, with TouchFlo 3D running, it's worse.
Skip this paragraph if you don't want a rant. Seriously, when are Windows Mobile phones actually going to get responsive enough to be useable? Delays when you press buttons, delays when you bring up menus, switch applications, etc, etc. What the hell is this operating system DOING with those 537 mega cycles per second??? Having patiently waited through my last THREE sloooow devices, I was thrilled at the thought of a phone that actually whizzed along... ...but it's a bit like going from XP on a slow computer to Vista on a fast computer - no noticable increase in speed at all. Such a crushing disappointment. My old Nokia could re-draw a screen faster 3 years ago. In this day and age, and with a processor doing a belting 500+ MHz, this should NOT be happening. Things should appear INSTANTLY and react the VERY MOMENT you touch them. I am running out of patience. The iPhone is looking more attactive every day.
TFL3D - INTERFACE
Fantastic to look at, but surprisngly sluggish to use. The more days that pass, the more it's becoming apparent that this interface is more about form and less about function. It's also often lacking in visual feedback; sometimes a button will move when you drag it (main nav bar at the bottom), sometimes not! You just have to swipe and see! Visual feedback is a very important part of user interface design.
COMMON ACTIONS, E.G. CALLING PEOPLE
I feel that, action-wise, some things have (incredibly) got HARDER since my HTC Touch. For example, I used to be able to call my favourite contacts with a swipe and a tap.. ..now it's a swipe, a complicated side-swipey thing, a painstaking wait for the piccies to flip around, and finally a tap. Er, hello? This is the MAIN THING I USE THE PHONE FOR - CALLING PEOPLE! I can't even position my favourite contacts in memorable places; again, a big factor in user interface design, hence why you remember where your icons are on your PC's desktop.
HOME SCREEN (TFL3D again really)
I can't add any custom home screen items! What the hell happened to being able to view my list of things to do? (tasks) Seriously, this is a shockingly bad step back. I know there are some apps to work around this, but I'm doing a review of the stock phone and software here.
THE JOYPAD
This should be renamed the joy-less pad. It's virtually impossible to click the Left and Right buttons without frequently mis-tapping and hitting the 'Back' or 'Hang Up' keys instead. There are no markings, you just sort of have to 'guess' where abouts on the flat screen to tap. The actual target area isn't big enough and I'm getting sick of quitting out of screens when I just want to move right or left. I've got fairly big hands but I'm no elephant.
The ipod-style 'whiz-around' wheel seems promising but when you try it, it's under-responsive and jerky in its movements. I would suggest that's why they've limited the applications that support it by default.
NO MINI SD CARD SLOT
Another step back - from 8Gb storage on my HTC Touch (with a mini SD card) to a paltry 4Gb now. Not enough to put all my music on the phone plus nav software, and no slot for more storage.
GROSS GREASINESS
As other forum users have pointed out, all that swiping on this shiny black device - it looks like the back of a transit van after a minute or so of use.
CONCLUSION
Owning an HTC Diamond is without doubt a step forward from an HTC Touch, but it's a smaller step than you might think. Be prepared for a mixed bag of emotions. Joy at the look of the thing, disappointment when you realise it's slower than you hoped, shouts of happiness when you first play 'Teeter', cries of frustration when the screen turns off randomly during calls or you miss-hit the joypad button or you can't swipe the tiny bit of the screen you're meant to.
After all that, I might surprise you by saying this. I would still say this phone is the best option on the market for the day-to-day user who wants an ultra-portable device that packs enough power to do that bit more than just making calls.
Just 24 hours into owning the phone I did my first ROM flash, from 1.37...1 to 1.37...3 - and this helped the speed somewhat and fixed a memory leak. I also tweaked the registry as much as I could. This has helped too, but the above problems are all still too evident, nothing has really improved enough to make me retract any of them. Keep watching these forums, though, because future ROM updates have the power to make this device much, much better.
That's about it, I hope these comments have helped, or given you something to debate in the space below. I'm going to stick with the Diamond for now. But I wouldn't mind betting I'll have completely disabled TouchFlo 3D before the week is out...
Carlos
I too wonder how long I will last with TF3D. However, the joypad is no problem. Simply use the centre button as a reference point. If you rest part of your thumb in there and press any side of it, then it is easy to navigate. At least I find it easy anyway. Hope that might help you.
carlosp_uk said:
I was calling up Orange for about a month to find out the ETA. I actually RAN to the Orange Shop in Oxford Street and managed to get their last one in stock at the weekend!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you were really a fan you would have made sure you were the first, and didn't have to run
mcwtrekkie said:
If you were really a fan you would have made sure you were the first, and didn't have to run
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Click to collapse
I think I may well have been Orange's first online order! Could not wait.
evilskanker said:
I think I may well have been Orange's first online order! Could not wait.
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Click to collapse
That's the spirit!
Has anyone managed to add a UK city to the weather forecast page ? I found it almost impossible to scroll down to the last page, it keeps selecting wrong countries, the only way I see - scroll one-by-one using hardware buttons ....
Yes, I added 3. Scroll with finger, well, more of a flick.
evilskanker said:
Yes, I added 3. Scroll with finger, well, more of a flick.
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Click to collapse
I think I've tried about 20 different ways of scrolling with a finger, always end up with a list of south american cities ... (
Comparing to my old Orbit, I would say I have to press harder for screen to react ..
hertc said:
I think I've tried about 20 different ways of scrolling with a finger, always end up with a list of south american cities ... (
Comparing to my old Orbit, I would say I have to press harder for screen to react ..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's at times like these that it would be good to be able to use the wheel for scrolling down.
evilskanker said:
It's at times like these that it would be good to be able to use the wheel for scrolling down.
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Click to collapse
Agree, still remember Sony J7 I had long time ago, all these things were so easy with a wheel ..
hertc said:
Comparing to my old Orbit, I would say I have to press harder for screen to react ..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apparently the Diamond is the first PocketPC device to have a tempered glass screen to make it extra tough. This makes it require a little more pressure than other devices.
But much more resilient to damage, and also nicer on the eye.
wasn't to amazed with the stock rom,
but after some days of usage and flashing the first cooked rom,
i am getting more and more into my new mobile..
Totally agree, using my Diamond for a week after three years on I-mate's.
carlosp_uk said:
CALLING PEOPLE
I feel that, action-wise, some things have (incredibly) got HARDER since my HTC Touch. For example, I used to be able to call my favourite contacts with a swipe and a tap.. ..now it's a swipe, a complicated side-swipey thing, a painstaking wait for the piccies to flip around, and finally a tap. Er, hello? This is the MAIN THING I USE THE PHONE FOR - CALLING PEOPLE! I can't even position my favourite contacts in memorable places;
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just a suggestion -
Speed Dialing.
you can place at least SOME off your favorites in the positions you want.. and then it will just be one long press.. and it will dial.
Phone - menu - Speed Dial.
and of course.. there is always voice dialing.
Turn off TF3D. Ive heard is does HUGE things for the interface speed, and you'll get your tasks back (first thing Im going to do when I get a sprint diamond on this side of the pond)
I agree on almost every point
Not having used touch before, I really can't say anything bad about the navigation. To me it's a revolution, but it's not quite there yet.
The biggest flaw is the biggest asset. Let me explain.
The biggest asset to this device is the screen. I have never liked the screen on any of the QVGA devices I have used (Wizard and Hermes). The VGA screen on the Diamond is fantastic! Crisp and easy to read, even in direct sunlight. The words by HTC "Not too big, not too small" really sums up my feelings about it. However. Screen size is relative to what you display on it. I'm sure a lot of research, testing and effort went in to decide the size of the elements on the TF3D interface. Personally I would have designed it differently.
The main professional reason I choose to use a WiMo is Active Sync OTA (Over-The-Air). Having direct push of Mail, Calendar and Contacts to my device is critical in my profession. This HAS to work, it has to be easy to use, and easy to read. On the Diamond it works fantastically. Lots better than on the Hermes. It takes some getting used to, when you have never used touchflo before.
The touch interface has to be finger friendly, demanding finger sized icons and buttons. Having a small screen required HTC to use the entire screen. That makes you wish for a larger screen, yet a larger screen would require a larger device and I dont want that. Dilemma.
Like you said, the TF3D interface lacks in visual feedback. This could be replaced by tactile feedback. The same technology used in the game TEETER could be used to give me feedback on my actions.
Being a WiMo certified pro I know that the main obstacle for HTC is WiMo itself, or rather the Windows CE it is built upon. Win CE 5 is nowhere near a realtime OS and the switch to Win CE 6 (afaik it will be the foundation for WiMo 7) will be a major leap. CE6 is not a RTOS either, but it has the means to enable truly great applications. I look forward to what Developers will create for WiMo7.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Embedded_CE_6.0)
The only thing I really dislike on my Diamond is the scrollwheel. I clearly does not work like you would expect it to. Unintuitive. And the Up/Down/Left/Right navigation around it is near unusable. Using the touch screen works though so it is not a showstopper for me.
Speed of the interface is good once you have used the cache size tweaks. Not great but good.
I fully agree on the speed comment, 527mhz... but it seems it's different mhz compared to my HTC Herald (P4350).
On my Herald I also have WM6.1, a 200mhz cpu (o'ced to 240 mhz) and everything starts faster!
I've got the 1.37.xxx.3 rom on my Diamond, TF3D disabled and still it's slower.
Very strange indeed.
guys i suggest you all to flash duttythroy's diamond project v2 rom. it increased the usability amazingly.
guys i suggest you all to flash duttythroy's diamond project v2 rom. it increased the usability amazingly. and c'mon guys, our shiny precioussssssss is out some weeks. look what they've done with the kaiser within one year... stay patient and keep being excited for that genius piece of hardware.
carlosp_uk said:
These are the first impressions of a power user after a week with the Diamond - I hope they might help others to decide whether to get one.
Background
I'm a power user but also a heavy day-to-day user as well. I use my phone for calling people, basic PDA functions, OTA google sync, web access, IMAP mail, GPS and also .NET software development. (I'm the author of 'Touch Settings') I used to have an HTC Touch. Before that, an HTC Prophet. Before that, an HTC MDA Compact.. ..you get the idea. I like HTC devices. I've stuck with them all, put up with their frustrations and watched them steadily improve. But this phone felt like the most exciting release yet. A massive leap forward in terms of specs. I was calling up Orange for about a month to find out the ETA. I actually RAN to the Orange Shop in Oxford Street and managed to get their last one in stock at the weekend!
So, one week in, here we go...
Great things
THE SCREEN
My favourite thing is the VGA screen. I cannot believe the difference it makes to the look of the phone, seriously. I could never go back to QVGA again now, this is a major improvement. Just reading the operator name in a slim, Arial-Narrow type font at the top of the screen and not being able to see the individual pixels, this is a true step forward. Everything, repeat, EVERYTHING looks better.
THE CAMERA
The auto-focus camera is nothing short of brilliant. Still rubbish in low-light levels, still no flash, but this is light-years ahead of the last one! I still get a little smirk of delight on my face when I hear it whirring as it focuses ahead of taking a picture!
A FASTER PROCESSOR
Hooray! FINALLY!... 528MHz ...4 times faster than my HTC Touch!...in theory. See below.
THE NEW ADD-ONS
Having GPS, FM radio, a tilt switch, a light sensor and more is fantastic. Teeter, the game, is awesome and will impress every person you know at a party.
THE SIZE
The Diamond is slightly smaller than the HTC Touch as well - easier to fit in a pocket. And it really does look gorgeous. Well done HTC.
Enough praise. Because then there's all this:
The Not-so-great things:
THE SPEED
Pop Quiz. Take your Windows Mobile phone. Tap the start button. Then tap 'Programs'. Does the window flash onto your screen immediately? No. There's a delay, isn't there? And sometimes you can even see it drawing every individual icon, top-to-bottom. On my HTC Touch, after a day of use, this took about 2 seconds.
On the Diamond, with TouchFlo 3D running, it's worse.
Skip this paragraph if you don't want a rant. Seriously, when are Windows Mobile phones actually going to get responsive enough to be useable? Delays when you press buttons, delays when you bring up menus, switch applications, etc, etc. What the hell is this operating system DOING with those 537 mega cycles per second??? Having patiently waited through my last THREE sloooow devices, I was thrilled at the thought of a phone that actually whizzed along... ...but it's a bit like going from XP on a slow computer to Vista on a fast computer - no noticable increase in speed at all. Such a crushing disappointment. My old Nokia could re-draw a screen faster 3 years ago. In this day and age, and with a processor doing a belting 500+ MHz, this should NOT be happening. Things should appear INSTANTLY and react the VERY MOMENT you touch them. I am running out of patience. The iPhone is looking more attactive every day.
TFL3D - INTERFACE
Fantastic to look at, but surprisngly sluggish to use. The more days that pass, the more it's becoming apparent that this interface is more about form and less about function. It's also often lacking in visual feedback; sometimes a button will move when you drag it (main nav bar at the bottom), sometimes not! You just have to swipe and see! Visual feedback is a very important part of user interface design.
COMMON ACTIONS, E.G. CALLING PEOPLE
I feel that, action-wise, some things have (incredibly) got HARDER since my HTC Touch. For example, I used to be able to call my favourite contacts with a swipe and a tap.. ..now it's a swipe, a complicated side-swipey thing, a painstaking wait for the piccies to flip around, and finally a tap. Er, hello? This is the MAIN THING I USE THE PHONE FOR - CALLING PEOPLE! I can't even position my favourite contacts in memorable places; again, a big factor in user interface design, hence why you remember where your icons are on your PC's desktop.
HOME SCREEN (TFL3D again really)
I can't add any custom home screen items! What the hell happened to being able to view my list of things to do? (tasks) Seriously, this is a shockingly bad step back. I know there are some apps to work around this, but I'm doing a review of the stock phone and software here.
THE JOYPAD
This should be renamed the joy-less pad. It's virtually impossible to click the Left and Right buttons without frequently mis-tapping and hitting the 'Back' or 'Hang Up' keys instead. There are no markings, you just sort of have to 'guess' where abouts on the flat screen to tap. The actual target area isn't big enough and I'm getting sick of quitting out of screens when I just want to move right or left. I've got fairly big hands but I'm no elephant.
The ipod-style 'whiz-around' wheel seems promising but when you try it, it's under-responsive and jerky in its movements. I would suggest that's why they've limited the applications that support it by default.
NO MINI SD CARD SLOT
Another step back - from 8Gb storage on my HTC Touch (with a mini SD card) to a paltry 4Gb now. Not enough to put all my music on the phone plus nav software, and no slot for more storage.
GROSS GREASINESS
As other forum users have pointed out, all that swiping on this shiny black device - it looks like the back of a transit van after a minute or so of use.
CONCLUSION
Owning an HTC Diamond is without doubt a step forward from an HTC Touch, but it's a smaller step than you might think. Be prepared for a mixed bag of emotions. Joy at the look of the thing, disappointment when you realise it's slower than you hoped, shouts of happiness when you first play 'Teeter', cries of frustration when the screen turns off randomly during calls or you miss-hit the joypad button or you can't swipe the tiny bit of the screen you're meant to.
After all that, I might surprise you by saying this. I would still say this phone is the best option on the market for the day-to-day user who wants an ultra-portable device that packs enough power to do that bit more than just making calls.
Just 24 hours into owning the phone I did my first ROM flash, from 1.37...1 to 1.37...3 - and this helped the speed somewhat and fixed a memory leak. I also tweaked the registry as much as I could. This has helped too, but the above problems are all still too evident, nothing has really improved enough to make me retract any of them. Keep watching these forums, though, because future ROM updates have the power to make this device much, much better.
That's about it, I hope these comments have helped, or given you something to debate in the space below. I'm going to stick with the Diamond for now. But I wouldn't mind betting I'll have completely disabled TouchFlo 3D before the week is out...
Carlos
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what a crap...
THE SPEED
Put one of the new ROMs on it (Dutty, Walshieau), runs like hell. No delay here!
TFL3D - INTERFACE
Simply switch TF3D off if you don't like it.
And use an existing tool for your today (SPB Mobile Shell ect.).
COMMON ACTIONS, E.G. CALLING PEOPLE
Disable the Diamond dialer, you get your traditional dialer back.
HOME SCREEN (TFL3D again really)
Simply switch TF3D off.
Use an existing tool for today (SPB Mobile Shell ect.).
THE JOYPAD
Get used to it, it works perfect after a few weeks.
NO MINI SD CARD SLOT
Ok, maybe you got a point...
On the other hand: do you really need ALL your music all the time. A sync now and then for other music isn't that hard.
GROSS GREASINESS
Ok, the shiny cover gets greasy. But is't so beautiful,,,
Been trying to google this for a while, but is the Diamond multitouch capable?
Been playing the Maggot Pinball and seems like you can touch both flippers at the same time. Or hold down one flipper and use the other. If so, can't someone write a decent drum kit app for the Diamond? Iphone's killing us in this area.
Well, even if the diamond is screen itself multitouch (which I doubt), could WM6.1 handle it ? I thought it was for WM7
Don't know if it's related, but I just discovered that trying to slide with the stylus is impossible for me, I can do it with the finger only, no matter how strong I press...
hard for me too, but not impossible
my opinion is that multi touch sucks ass, 99% of the time you hold your phone in one hand, with only your thumb available for touch.
Its useless for normal use, and its battery draining since the screen must handle more parameters at once.
so i think iphone lacks something to wm.
grr
multi-touch may be good for some things but bad for others, it depends really on the application at hand (or game).
i'm not sure if this is correct, but i had read somewhere that multi-touch is purely driver and software related, and not related to the hardware itself. i remember the old macbook pros were originally single-touch until they were given a driver/software update which enabled multi-touch functionality. please correct me if i'm wrong as i don't read up too much on macs.
It's not purely software, the hardware has to support it. I dont know much on the topic but i do know there are only a few types of touch screen and only a certain type supports it. I think they normally use an X Y grid and send pulses down the x and the Y and see where they meet, and then thats where your finger is. However if you have 2 fingers then it doesnt know what to do. Multitouch requires a different kind of hardware.
surface_rom, i think you're being a bit harsh on multi-touc, it's most deffinitely not battery draining.
ljames28 said:
It's not purely software, the hardware has to support it. I dont know much on the topic but i do know there are only a few types of touch screen and only a certain type supports it. I think they normally use an X Y grid and send pulses down the x and the Y and see where they meet, and then thats where your finger is. However if you have 2 fingers then it doesnt know what to do. Multitouch requires a different kind of hardware.
surface_rom, i think you're being a bit harsh on multi-touc, it's most deffinitely not battery draining.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for clearing that up for me. I do find that multi-touch on the diamond wouldn't be that beneficial, considering the screen size and device size (in comparison to that of the iPhone, which has a larger screen and overall size) and the fact that you would use the phone 1-handed majority of the time (I do, unless I am typing where I would hold the phone with 2 hands to type with 2 thumbs).
Huey85 said:
Thanks for clearing that up for me. I do find that multi-touch on the diamond wouldn't be that beneficial, considering the screen size and device size (in comparison to that of the iPhone, which has a larger screen and overall size) and the fact that you would use the phone 1-handed majority of the time (I do, unless I am typing where I would hold the phone with 2 hands to type with 2 thumbs).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, bit too small for multi-touch. You could only do that zooming in thing diagonally, theres not enough room sideways.
Btw the fact you can actually use the Diamond one handed is quite a good thing that people may take for granted, how many other non-smartphone WM phones can you type one handed, or even use one handed for that matter? Normally you need the stylus or you need the other hand to steady the phone while you use your nail to move around the phone.
Yes, quite true. I absolutely love the Diamond's size and being able to use it 1-handedly for majority of the tasks which I use it for.
surface_rom said:
my opinion is that multi touch sucks ass, 99% of the time you hold your phone in one hand, with only your thumb available for touch.
Its useless for normal use, and its battery draining since the screen must handle more parameters at once.
so i think iphone lacks something to wm.
grr
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree! 100%
Just found this on some other site:
HTC Diamond's Hidden Multitouch Revealed
If you're reading the back of the HTC Diamond's box, it doesn't show some little child laughing with glee as he pinches in and out of webpages or draws with two fingers at once, in fact, it doesn't even list multitouch as a feature at all. But just because you can't see something doesn't mean it isn't there. When using the program NavDbgTool, HTC's secret weapon is uncovered—the entire front case supports tandem touching.
So I was messing around with the bluetooth on my coworker's 7 this morning and paired it with my Apple BT trackpad. Much to my surprise it showed up with 10+ point multi-touch support (tested in markers app)
it doesnt appear that the touch radius stuff is supported, but its still kinda interesting.
For comparison on my DZ running ICS i get a cursor and you can click but thats about it.
Interesting, does the N7 it's self support 10 touches? That is very impressive to me. I love when the amount of touch data a screen can handle greatly exceeds what is necessary. That means it won't ever be a problem.
Take screens for example, if the max the human eye can see is 300 dpi. Just make all screens at least 600 and we will never have screen issues again. Well...Resolution wise XD
But serious, were you able to control the N7 with that thing?
Locklear308 said:
I love when the amount of touch data a screen can handle greatly exceeds what is necessary. That means it won't ever be a problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Until we evolve an extra finger on each hand, or use our nose/other body parts to click stuff!
yeah, its actually pretty intuitive to control using the external pad. its not quite as natural as touching the actual screen, but i could see it working for something like a presentation or app demo where you didnt want to obstruct the view.
amusingly it crashes markers with 12 touches (i think the trackpad supports ~50 but i may be wrong)
I can only test 10 at the moment but the internal touch hardware does handle at least 10.