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I recently bought an ETEN M500 because of the announcement that it would be upgradable to WM2005 and the size of the device. The extra software on the M500 is nothing short of amazing. Never have I seen a pocket pc with so many apps out of the box. I did not have to install SPB Pocket Plus, Pocket Zen or Voice Command. It had similar programs already. And voice dial over bluetooth, WOW, it's about time. So why am I returning to the XDA II. Signal strength. The M500 has horrible reception, I get 4 bars in my house with my XDA II. The M500 couldn't get a signal without me walking outside, not even in the garage with the door open, I had to be outside away from any trees in the open. Yeah, crazy. Maybe they should have spend less time on the apps and focused on building an adequate phone first. None of that matters if you can't use the thing. I also note, even when it showed full bars, the voice of the other person would break in and out. Using my HS820 with the XDA II no one can even tell I am using a headset. Using it with the ETEN, the first thing I heard from everyone was, " what the hell is wrong with your phone". Maybe I just got a defecto, but that would be a reason to keep away as well.
o...is it really a bad machines? How much u paid for it???
I was in the same boat kermit780, but the M500s still a very good device and theres no way in hell I'd go back to a present mda/xda/imate-type product.
This phone was not made with North America in mind (yet) so there are obvious frequency issues- particularly with the 1900mhz range. Eten is on the ball when it comes to issue with this product though. If not the upcoming firmware upgrade, I'm sure the next one will have some sort of radio fix. I'm trying to sell one right now- the primary reason being I needed something with qwerty. The lack of signal as annoying as it was- only secondary because I know it will be a fix to that soon enough.
And no I wouldn't buy a pda2k for that. Its not the size issue- I like going throgh these forums to see whats new out there...not to spend 3+ hours a day searching for a "hack" for something or other. Down right embarassing the amount of money spent on htc phones and the guy standing next to me on the subway with his $200 americanized crap technology Isn't so crap after all because it actually does (did) more than my mda2.
Just my opinion though...M500s a very, very good phone. It will be a great phone once the frequency issue is resolved but doesn't matter if you're not in N American anyway.
For Sale...Cheap. See what real voicedail is like - Plus $20 off for Western Union payment instead of Paypal (avoiding Paypal Final Price Fees so you save...)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5794520477&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MESE:IT&rd=1
I’m going to start this off by saying that this is not a review of the AT&T Tilt, the HTC Advantage, or the iPhone. These devices have been reviewed in depth already. This is more of a reflection on my use of the 3 devices mentioned. My primary phone is the AT&T Tilt, my wife uses the iPhone, and I bought a HTC Advantage 2 week ago.
I wanted to see if the Advantage would augment or even replace my laptop and Tilt, like a true convergence device. I mentioned the iPhone because my wife has one, and so I have access to the use of it along with the 2 other HTC devices.
All of the devices mentioned are box stock so to speak. They are locked to AT&T with the exception of the Advantage, which as you know can work on any GSM network, but for me it is used on AT&T’s network.
I was able to use all 3 while on a week’s Christmas vacation trip to Minnesota (I live in Jacksonville, FL.) to see my parents. I transitioned to the Advantage one week prior to leaving to get used to it. It worked as expected, sync’s to my laptop with Vista and Mobile Device Center no problem, as does my Tilt. Connected to AT&T’s network no problem. I was always able to get my e-mails and made and received calls on it, and Bluetooth worked flawlessly. I paired my Jawbone with no problems. The only software problem I encountered with it so far has been with Windows live services. It would fail to sync completely, signing out and then back in repeatedly. I have had zero lock ups and have not had to reset it yet. The GPS worked without a hitch and was able to use it with both Google maps and Live search to navigate. The only problem I can find to fault this device with is the size and weight, but I knew that when I got it. It is not designed to be carried around with you all day. I found myself leaving it in the car or on the desk and checking it throughout the day. I did carry it with me while walking around the Mall of America in Minneapolis. Throughout the whole trip I had excellent network coverage and the high speed 3g worked everywhere I was at. All and all the Advantage did everything it was advertised to do.
While at my parent’s house in Rochester, I also used my Tilt. Once again it worked as it has always been working. The only problem I have with my Tilt is it has a tendency to drop calls while using the Bluetooth headset (Jawbone). This has happened several times and I have read here on these forums that I am not alone with this problem.
To be honest, after using both devices I think the Advantage is at a slight disadvantage. Now, I realize they are meant for two entirely different types of users. I can do everything I need to do on the Tilt. The Advantage can do everything the Tilt can do, and has way more storage. The size, weight, and portability are just too much to work around for me. I must say though, that looking at that nice big VGA screen on the Advantage will spoil you.
I am more than happy with the performance of both devices, as well as the other HTC devices I have used in the past. (AT&T 8525)
Here’s the other point I wanted to make, and why I have mentioned the iPhone. I pay all my bills online, so I needed to be able to log on to my bank as well as other creditors to make payments. Of the 8 online bill paying websites I needed to access, I was only able to complete 3 of the tasks. The websites would not render correctly no matter what changes to the display I made. As a note I use a program called PIE+ by Rensoft, and it works great on my Tilt and the Advantage. I was able to log on and complete the other 5 transactions with the wife’s iPhone, in the Safari browser no problem what so ever. That’s the only thing I like about the iPhone, and it is not enough of a reason to switch to one, she likes that phone and it’s nice, but I prefer the functionality of windows mobile.
I would like to add that I am not a noob, nor am I an expert at using WM6; I learn new stuff about it every day on this site. I thought it might be interesting for someone to read about my experience with these 3 devices, and how they were used in my everyday life.
In conclusion, I would say that for me, the choice clear. I will stay with my Tilt, and possibly find a new home for the Advantage. I don’t know though, it’s like a guilty pleasure to use the Advantage.
One more thing I just thought of, maybe a HTC Shift is what I need.
Anyway thanks for reading.
why don't you try the full fledged opera browser, you might be able to login to the rest at the websites.
Not a bad idea, I will look into the Opera browser. The Advantage has it on there but, I have not used it much, not used to using it I guess.
I had this phone for almost two months now and I have not experienced anything that has turned me away from another HTC device. I purchased it with only 35mins of call time for only $210 and I believe its worth double that. My life has become more organized, I get much better reception, I can use the internet at decent speeds, hell and the video quality isn't that bad, i got TT6, and so on.
I've really enjoyed this device, xda, and the learning process.
i've paid 800 cdn when it first came out and dont regret one bit...yes maybe there are issues with the phone but which phone is perfect? its all about personal prefs and give and take..to me this phone is good and i can live with whatever wrong with it...having said that its not the perfect phone cuz everyone wants this n that...i'll still switch over to the x1 just because its new and id like to try it out...if its not good then i'll go back to kaiser...if kaiser isnt good...maybe i'll look into another machine...but a phone is a phone...its not perfect...unless we manufacture our own phones
Since most forums are essentially self-help groups, it's not such a surprise. When I think of my previous WM5 i-mate - the hourly soft re-sets, unreadable screen in sunlight, constant need to re-calibrate the screen, poor receptoion (even though at the time I thought it was the coolest thing) - I thank my lucky stars!
chuk
i agree, its not perfect and the camera is rubbish, i still have the hermes and i prefer the camera on that but, updated hardware and built in gps does it for me.
People should start complaining about things that matter!
I'm irritated on principle about the driver issue - I strongly believe they should have supplied whatever software support was necessary to get the best out of the hardware, because we all paid for the latter and we shouldn't have to get it working ourselves.
On the other hand, generally the performance is acceptable and as a whole the device works very well. I'd probably be more annoyed if I'd paid a lot of money for it, but as it was quite cheap for me I'm more than happy with it overall. But HTC need to take note of the driver furore and the damage it's quite fairly done to their reputation.
redbandana said:
Why does everyone appear to complain about their kaiser?
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I don't! ;-)
No, seriously: I thinks that's a false impression. In this forum you will find a lot of perfectionists who always want to get out the most of their phones. And even if they do, they still look forward in buying the next generation. At least that description fits me. ;-)
I don't complain about mine and I was one of the first people in my area to buy one. I Think someone cried wolf regarding the video driver and now everyone wants to be cool too. I would like to see them but my phone kicks other phones butts for breakfast.
I was perfectly happy with my 8125 (Wizard) until I saw Engadget's preview of the Tilt. I immediately pre-ordered it through AT&T Premier, and had it in hand on launch day. Even though I will probably buy the Xperia sometime next year, I am in no rush to get rid of my Tilt.
As a noob to the whole genre of ppc's... I have to admit from everything i have seen here at work with other pda's and ppc's, My tilt kicks the s--t out of the rest. I know there are complaints about the video drivers but f--k it, i didnt buy my tilt to watch videos... i bought it to take care of my daily needs for when i cant get to my computer....
Probably because it is human nature to complain......
I've had mine since the first of October 07, and haven't really had any issues.
I had to return it because the USB port died. Didn't really like the camera
until the hotfix came out, which pretty much fixed the camera issue for me.
Exactly... Ive upgraded like twice and got the fixes I wanted and I'll tell you I wont get rid of this phone for awhile.
I think the only real reason for a complaint is the driver issue...
people had expectations that the device would out perform a hermes for video playback because of the data sheet and the graphics chip. Then when people got it and it shuddered and such due to no driver support people got mad.
I understand, people bought the phone expecting one thing, spent a lot of $$ and it did not meet there expectations.
Maybe it was their bad for having expectations but, they were founded on qualcomms own marketing for the 7200 chip.
Oh I understand what you're saying about the driver issues, I'd be pissed too if I had bought for those issues. Its HTC/Qualcomms f--- up for putting out the ifo like they did. They have a right to be upset if they bought the phones expecting something that wasnt delivered.
No complaints on my side so far! XDA helped with any issues and couln't be happier. I too will look into the SE Xperia but the Tilt will stay
If it weren't for me finding XDA I probably wouldn't have figured out the possibilities of my tilt. And I have found some really awesome stuff for it.
Sure, I am annoyed that my Kaiser is not being all that it could be as its missing some drivers, but I still like it and don't think I have ever complained.
However, I liked my Hermes. If I had not broken it I would probably not have upgraded when my contract ends in June (I only want a 12 month contract max and am a student, so not a heavy spender and can't really afford £150 for the handset as well as the contract).
I see a note about a HTC Raphael - it might get me to upgrade, but then I might just ignore it as I don't dislike the kaiser. It's not like the Wizard which really annoyed me by the time I upgraded. At the moment the only thing I am interested in is moving to a rolling 1 month contract (which is not a bad deal) and I might buy the Raphael without a contract.
The tilt is the best phone i've ever had. Who says the camera is rubbish?! did you see the panoramic shots some dude took and posted here. Those are clear as crystal. I mean geez people want a perfect cell phone with nikon capabilities. People can't seem to remember that it's a PHONE!!.. if you look at how far we've gotten in technology it isn't a bad device. I personally won't get the Xperia. I'll wait for the next HTC launch. Videos play fine on my phone and I have full movies on my SD card and stream music and videos from my home pc with no problems. People just like *****ing. Like I said before nobody started *****ing until Bill Nye the Science guy started that driver post.
read my signature..
remember people... quest for perfection ends at you feeling empty and betrayed.
I have taken mine to Hell and back ...the fact that it still works is amazing
I realise it has some drawbacks..but I am fine with it. Not changing it anytime soon.
Im quite happy with my tytnII had it for six months now,it is a shame that the drivers are not there for the imageon card,mainly because im a bit of a gamer and was looking forward to seeing what it was capable of.
Unfortunately it seems its not upto much, the slow down on call of duty is laughable i think my nokia 6680 could out peform it.
That aside i am very pleased with it.
If it wasnt that i was put onto this site by someone i probably would have sent it back (HTC TAKE NOTE)...I got this phone free on cotract at the time they were going for £440 pound on ebay i would have been seriously pissed if id paid cash for it outright.
A set of drivers would be sooooo nice,so keep putting in the hard work those who are working on them,and thanks to xda devs a invaluable lifeline to many.
Ok I have been enjoying MobiTv for over a year now due to a file that I put in the startup folder to reset the 3 day trial . But about 3 weeks ago I got a message saying your 3 day trial is over to buy Mobitv hit the "Buy" button on the bottom of the screen. So I removed and reinstalled the program and still the same message. Is there a fix for this or is the free ride over. To tell you the truth I might have used it 2 hours in the year. With the graphics performance of my Kaiser I would not even consider buying this but if anyone out there knows of a work around I would love to hear it.
A few weeks ago I read in the hacking and developing forum about MobiTv contacting some sites threatening to remove all the info about hacking their software. I guess xda and other sites complied. I used it only once for about 3 minutes.
I wish there would be something similar because some of us don't live in USA to be able to buy this feature.
I use it all the time, its works fantastic for me when i have a solid 3g connection. Who can resist watching meercat manor when youve got 3 or 4 hours drive ahead of you.
Yea know them *****ing about pep hacking the software is retarded, i did pay for one month. But after resetting my tilt a few times + new roms etc. i seem to have hacked it without trying. hahahah
Learn to write an app, or quite *****ing eh?
To fix this problem, you first need to contact MobiTV and then second, bust out your credit card and pay for something.
If you need free then use orb. Geez
MobiTV is my favorite app and use it about 30 minutes a day collectively to kill time. I've had it for the past six months and been working flawless. I also pay $10/month for it, rather than pay $15/month for the att branded one. Now with the some the more recent cooked Kaiser (Diamond) roms, the video quality is significantly better and less grainy.They (MobiTV also plan to add more channels as well.
The reason why the re-setter doesn't in the cracked version doesn't work any more because they (mobiTV) upgraded the software. So for the Kaiser users, try using a cook (diamond) rom and the updated version MobiTV for 3 days. You'll notice the difference.
edbutler said:
Ok I have been enjoying MobiTv for over a year now due to a file that I put in the startup folder to reset the 3 day trial . But about 3 weeks ago I got a message saying your 3 day trial is over to buy Mobitv hit the "Buy" button on the bottom of the screen. So I removed and reinstalled the program and still the same message. Is there a fix for this or is the free ride over. To tell you the truth I might have used it 2 hours in the year. With the graphics performance of my Kaiser I would not even consider buying this but if anyone out there knows of a work around I would love to hear it.
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You are actually complaining because something you are stealing isn't working correctly? Wow.
Thanks for all the input guys!
I think I didn't explain myself or maybe I did. I don't believe in using something for nothing and I in no way advocate warez or any type of illegal software use. I am willing to pay for a program if it is worth it. MobiTV is not worth $15.00 a month like I said if the Graphics was working on my tilt and if the service was priced in line with what it offers I would be happy to pay. I already Pay AT&T $165.00 a month for 3 phones, 2 pda plans and I did sign up for this when I first got my Hearms but then quickly found that on top of the PDA plan for the ability to get the internet and MobiTV I would need to pay $15.00 a month for MobiTV which I did then found out that I had to pay $9.99 for HBO tv via MobiTV so I could watch the Sopranos which was the whole reason I went for the MobiTV in the first place I was a Sopranos fan, then I find out that it was an extra $10.00 for XM radio. So it seemed to me that it was a rip off then I saw a post for someone here on our forum about the Trial reseter and I used it and it worked. But I could not get HBO so I never used it much as stated I maybe used it 2 or 3 hours tops. My question was did they change something ,I think I said "was the free ride over" and that was answered in the third reply that the software had been upgraded. So thanks for all your help/ Thank you for the quick judgment but remember I didn't write this software that enabled me to get an extended Trial for MobiTV ,I found it posted here on XDA.
Ed...
I'm sure that post made you feel better. Orb is still free and you provide the content.
edbutler said:
Thank you for the quick judgment but remember I didn't write this software that enabled me to get an extended Trial for MobiTV ,I found it posted here on XDA.
Ed...
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Your welcome. So since the guy who breaks the car window to steal the overpriced radio didn't make the crow bar, it's OK for him to do it?
holmanm said:
Your welcome. So since the guy who breaks the car window to steal the overpriced radio didn't make the crow bar, it's OK for him to do it?
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LMAO, I didn't make the bullet or the gun either.
Is this phone and company worth switching over too ? Do to Sprints changing my plan without my approval,I have the opportunity to switch to another carrier.Out of the other big 3 Verizon,T-mobile & AT&T is the only one that is willing to put their offer in writting to me. The other reason I am even looking at this phone and company is because both of my sons want the IPhone and my wife only wants a phone offered by them as well..
So..please fellow XDA members tell me staright up..should I stay with Sprint and my Hero for 1-1/2 years more..or start fresh with this phone and AT&T..
Mac
50 views and not even 1 response..?
Is there no one on-line that has this phone wanting to step up and answer the question ?
I really would like to know the feelings of the folks here,since those that have this phone also have AT&T's service..
Mac
Not an easy one to answer really. I would say if you are completely turned of by what Sprint did to you then changing wouldn't be a bad thing. Going with AT&T will get you points with your family. And who couldn't use more points with their family, right?
That being said, you have by now undoubtedly heared about the GPS problems facing the Galaxy S phones. Some have found their phone is better with different versions, some claim all the updates and changes have made their GPS unuseable. If you are in need of a phone that has good GPS then I would say you can find better. Personally, the GPS issue isn't a deal breaker for me. I am also one of the lucky ones that find it works fine for how I use it.
The phone itself is amazing. Being on XDA also helps as there are many helpful and informative people. Also, the Captivate has been out long enough that the mods are becomming better and better every day, that is if you are into modding your phone. Heck, stock it still is a good phone.
So it all boils down to what you really want to do. I think that is why you haven't had anyone jump on giving you an answer. Good luck my friend!
There is no "right carrier". The advantage of AT&T (now) is coverage and GSM. AT&T has better coverage then T-Mobile, but about equal to VZW. GSM allows you take your phone to Europe - VZW CDMA does not;
But the future brings change - VZW has a slew of World phones coming out (they have GSM as well as CDMA) - VZW has LTE coming out - which is supposed to be a global standard - so travel issue may be a thing of the past.
AT&T has the iPhone today, but rumor says a CDMA iPhone on VZW for the holidays. But rumors are rumors.
I don't know what you are looking for in writing - all the carriers plans are on their web site. T-Mo does have the best customer service, and VZW has some great android phones. If you don't travel much, and T-Mo has good coverage where you live, they seem to have the best prices and some of the best phones.
AT&T is fine too - not trying to steer you away. I moved to AT&T for an iPhone years ago - and I travel to EU; so VZW wasn't cutting it.
Anyway If the family wants AT&T and the price for phones and service fits, then make the move. But you are stuck for 2 years.
Sounds like it's 3-1 in your house. I'd go ahead and make the switch if thats what your family wants. I don't think you'll be worse off with one carrier over the other, at the end of the day they will all screw you. Captivate is a great phone if you can deal with the sometimes difficult to deal with GPS.
I agree. Go with what makes your family happy overall. The Captivate is a fine device, and I've been much more pleased with it than I was with my iPhone. Talk it over with your family, putting them first won't do you wrong.
My first phone was from Virgin Mobile and was prepaid. I know they leased out network access from Sprint. It was awful. I never had good coverage, and then they started charging more for everything. I left them.
I've been with AT&T now since 6th grade. They've never screwed us over, they've always been helpful, and whenever we've had problems, like my sister signing up for those joke things they advertise on tv putting huge data charges on our bill, they cleared it up right away and even gave us a credit on the account.
Of course you're going to hear horror stories of bad customer service from everyone, but really it's not all that common. I've always thought AT&T had great phones, and they've all last me a long time.
My favorite phones have always been Samsung ones as all but one of my phones has been from them. My first was a Sony Ericsson S710a and it lasted me until one day I was sliding it open, and it slipped out of my hand and into a wall and the LCD shattered. After that I had a Samsung a727, then the SGH-i607 Blackjack, then the SGH-a877 Impression, and now the Captivate.
You will be happier with AT&T then with Sprint. But ultimately, you pay the bill and you decide where your money goes. I'll just add that I don't usually praise any company for no reason.
I love this phone with ji6 gps works completely fine for me it does what its supposed to every time lately gets me there no issues. Im very happy with att besides they make you pay for tethering, but theres ways around that with this phone, hehe ;-)
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Thanks Guys..
I hate spending a-lot more money so soon on moving my service (since may 2010)..but I really don't know how I could stay with them.
As to any cell company posting their policy on line..well..that can and does change (with Sprint almost daily)..and actually having a written signed contract is something the other companies won't do,AT&T will.That does a lot for me..and for my wife peace of mind.My boys have wanted the I phones for sometime..I don't want one..which is why I am asking about the Captivate. BTW...Sprint elected to change my verbal contract given to me at the time of signing..and I fought it the best I could without turning my Lawyers loose..and I most likely would have won,but the cost to do so would have been prohibitive without a written contract,or so what they told me when I spoke to them about it..
So..the phone has a GPS problem..and that isn't a deal breaker for me,but I do want to see it fixed and soon.Having a 2.2 rom is what I am running on my hero now along with one of the best looking themes going right now IMHO..http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=797077 and so hopefully we can get this ported over here at some point..even if I have to learn how to do it myself
FWIW..I looked closely at this phone and also the Ios4 and hands down this one blows it out of the water on anything video..I stopped by T-Mobile and watched the HD Avatar movie on their version when I was looking at what they offered...It was just awesome..simply jaw dropping..
I am looking forward to the 2.2 upgrade and what comes after with it..So..I will be on here more and more reading what I can..
Thanks Again
Mac
Mac, just a heads up. The leaked 2.2 rom we have actually fixed the GPS. There's no real problem anymore. Obviously it will become more refined when the final release comes out but it definitely works now.
Sent from my Captivate
stuffy is a difficult company but I can't feral with poor service so I disk with them. get used to advanced features like tethering being blocked and such. but you can fix that by looking in the dev section. att isn't all bad though mostly because they are stupid, I told them verizon had a 15% vetrans discount (they do) and asked att if they had something similar. well they didn't but the customer service rep put me on an active duty discount because she didn't know better. it needs to be approved at a higher level with pics of my id and a valid military email according to there website, well I put the papers in anyway and had 15% off my bill the next month. so they obviously don't look at it.
verizons version of bloatware is full blown add ware. if you plug an incredible into a windows pc it hijacks explorer and goes to a v cast music site. on the fascinate they replaced the google services with microsoft services.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk
I think it's refreshing to see all the honest answers, not a ton of chest pounding "our phone is the best" posts. Most people on XDA by nature are into tweaking so the out-of-the-box limitations aren't a showstopper.
For me, I really need a world-capable phone. My family also is on ATT so that helped as well. I think all the carriers are converging on offering similar product. ATT has less HTC stuff but has the IPhone. ATT is currently behind on Android, but the Captivate is certainly helping to address that. I like the phone and have recommended it friends. Go for it.
miztaken1312 said:
Mac, just a heads up. The leaked 2.2 rom we have actually fixed the GPS. There's no real problem anymore. Obviously it will become more refined when the final release comes out but it definitely works now.
Sent from my Captivate
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Cool..that is good news..
Thanks
Mac
I will give my two bits. My experience has been good with att. Cs has never been bad, but at times there were moments that did not go smoothly. Always quick to address concerns of mine and they love giving credits out to keep me happy. I have been one of the lucky that never had major problems out of the box with the captivate. But coming from a storm running on atti think my standard were lower. Gps on froyo still doesn't work perfectly but has had improvement with locking and tracking. Dev support is actually really good so that is a big plus. My wife loves her captivate and she is not a techie at all. Hope my input helps.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
flashman2002 said:
I will give my two bits. My experience has been good with att. Cs has never been bad, but at times there were moments that did not go smoothly. Always quick to address concerns of mine and they love giving credits out to keep me happy. I have been one of the lucky that never had major problems out of the box with the captivate. But coming from a storm running on atti think my standard were lower. Gps on froyo still doesn't work perfectly but has had improvement with locking and tracking. Dev support is actually really good so that is a big plus. My wife loves her captivate and she is not a techie at all. Hope my input helps.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
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It does,and greatly appreciated..
I understand the gps issue,and I am wondering if the delayed release of FroYo on this phone is partly because of it. Rooting and adding on customs roms has been working great for me on my Hero..and that phone is finnally acting the way it should have all along. Removing AT&T's bloatware will be my first priority after 2.2 is released..
I am curious about one thing..I know you can't load 3rd party apps unless rooted and a custom rom..but can you direct push them with the sd out of the phone and in a reader from a pc ? If we are working out of windows and a terminal..we should be able to insert any .apk or what we want.. anywhere we want..can't we ?
Thanks Again Guys
Mac
mobius911 said:
I think it's refreshing to see all the honest answers, not a ton of chest pounding "our phone is the best" posts. Most people on XDA by nature are into tweaking so the out-of-the-box limitations aren't a showstopper.
For me, I really need a world-capable phone. My family also is on ATT so that helped as well. I think all the carriers are converging on offering similar product. ATT has less HTC stuff but has the IPhone. ATT is currently behind on Android, but the Captivate is certainly helping to address that. I like the phone and have recommended it friends. Go for it.
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Same here..I know folks have their favorites and also know there will always be folks that have problems..but it is refreshing to see a honest straight forward discussion with out any of the fan fair these types of threads always seem to degenerate into.
Mac
Mac11700 said:
I am curious about one thing..I know you can't load 3rd party apps unless rooted and a custom rom..but can you direct push them with the sd out of the phone and in a reader from a pc ? If we are working out of windows and a terminal..we should be able to insert any .apk or what we want.. anywhere we want..can't we ?
Thanks Again Guys
Mac
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You can push them using ADB or even easier, if you google something called the "Android Central Sideload Wonder Machine" or just sideload wonder machine, someone created an app to so that you don't even have to use the command prompt or hack the phone. No need for a custom rom, and I don't believe rooting is needed.
Here, I'll link you to it.
SIDELOAD WONDER MACHINE
I made the switch you are thinking of about 1.5 years ago and I have no regrets. One thing to keep in mind is the data cap ATT now has on their new subscribers. I signed up when unlimited was an offering, and honestly I don't know that I would have been comfortable using 1 smartphone, let alone 3-4 of them with limited data usage. ATT also had better coverage where I lived last year but would say Sprint is on par within the city limits now. The Evo is a really nice phone (Several people I know have them and are pleased) but I won't go back to Sprint after all the horrible customer service I had with them for 8 years. My local ATT business rep does an incredible job and is a big reason that I just renewed with them(they let me keep unlimited data). Ultimately, if I was in your shoes, I would probably do what made my family/wife happy as long as it isn't going to cause financial heartache when you exceed the data limit. I think they charge in blocks of 200mb for overage but you should definitely look into how much data your family has/will be using. My .02
Edited to add: Depending on what kind of user you are (business/personal) you might want to leave that cog. 2.2 alone until it works. I loaded it last weekend, went out to a job, and was unable to d-load an important pdf that was in my e-mail. Fortunately I had a laptop but in the past I would have been able to count on my phone for a quick blueprint reference. Sounds like it may be a fun thing to play with as long as you don't REALLY need everything on your phone to work. Also, the GPS was horrid on cog. 2.2. Needless to say I flashed it back to the original software when I got home. My GPS works just fine after the JH7 OTA update was installed. Worked yesterday on a 2 hour drive where I only had phone coverage for 20-30 miles. I haven't "tweaked" the GPS settings, just whatever they changed with JH7 is working.
itsjustaphone said:
I made the switch you are thinking of about 1.5 years ago and I have no regrets. One thing to keep in mind is the data cap ATT now has on their new subscribers. I signed up when unlimited was an offering, and honestly I don't know that I would have been comfortable using 1 smartphone, let alone 3-4 of them with limited data usage. ATT also had better coverage where I lived last year but would say Sprint is on par within the city limits now. The Evo is a really nice phone (Several people I know have them and are pleased) but I won't go back to Sprint after all the horrible customer service I had with them for 8 years. My local ATT business rep does an incredible job and is a big reason that I just renewed with them(they let me keep unlimited data). Ultimately, if I was in your shoes, I would probably do what made my family/wife happy as long as it isn't going to cause financial heartache when you exceed the data limit. I think they charge in blocks of 200mb for overage but you should definitely look into how much data your family has/will be using. My .02
Edited to add: Depending on what kind of user you are (business/personal) you might want to leave that cog. 2.2 alone until it works. I loaded it last weekend, went out to a job, and was unable to d-load an important pdf that was in my e-mail. Fortunately I had a laptop but in the past I would have been able to count on my phone for a quick blueprint reference. Sounds like it may be a fun thing to play with as long as you don't REALLY need everything on your phone to work. Also, the GPS was horrid on cog. 2.2. Needless to say I flashed it back to the original software when I got home. My GPS works just fine after the JH7 OTA update was installed. Worked yesterday on a 2 hour drive where I only had phone coverage for 20-30 miles. I haven't "tweaked" the GPS settings, just whatever they changed with JH7 is working.
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Dam good advise..Thanks
They charge in 1 gig allotments for overages now..not 200 mb. I too was worried about doing just this..and this is per line..not per plan. I went back through all of my bills and no-one has even come close to 1gig..let alone 2 gigs..but I understand that can change too.
The main thing for me and my family is getting a phone that is going to work..every time. I've run into some issues with mine on my job where I needed it and something crashed it. Also it's so tiresome for me to hear all the complaints and moaning when something crashes or FC's on their phones..I can deal with it happening on mine cause I am used to tinkering with it..but I have to say I am very tempted some by the I 4's simplicity...it would be nice just to not have to worry about updating mine almost daily,and just use the durn thing. I just don't know if I could deal with it or not as a day to day phone. I am at a loss in that regards..I know you can jailbreak them and do similar things we do with our Androids..but..I don't know enough about that to even consider doing it right now. I most likely would just so I could download apps and movies on it to watch from my pc..I got a week to figure this all out..and you all here are helping a-lot..
Thanks
Mac
I honestly liked the iphone4, and had one for a week. It was fun and all, but it had the same problem as my 3G, the ability to make and MAINTAIN a phone call. Obviously that isn't much of an issue for younger kids since you can still text with spotty coverage(my 13 yo uses about 60 min. a month and 1,000,000,000,000 text messages) I don't know if the iphone is somehow on a different signal than the other phones, but I have been very pleased with the PHONE CALL ability of the captivate. My wife loves the iphone (though she keeps eyeballing the captivate now) and like you, I do not enjoy fixing problems, so I have tried my best to keep her interest in my phone at a minimum. I can honestly say I do not miss the iphone for anything. I also enjoy the *cough cough* wireless tethering of my captivate(free app) that iphone never did get right(and when it did work, there was the whole loss of signal issue). The iphone is good at running apps and texting, outstanding even. I just really need to make phone calls and MAINTAIN a call when I make it. But like I said in my previous post, if your use is personal, iphone might work. If you make important calls, it fails.