Related
In the current issue of PCPro magazine (UK) the Orange version of the Kaiser is chosen as the best smartphone in a comparative test.
I notice that the test lists the huge range of features that the Kaiser has as a big plus point, plus the keyboard.
Having had the Kaiser now for about three weeks, I am coming to the conclusion that the Kaiser is the technological equivalent of a Spork. A spork is a cross between a spoon and a fork. At the risk of being a little unfair, its not a very good spoon and its not a very good fork, but at least its one utensil rather than two. I wonder if the PCPro guys really tested out all of the Kaiser's functions (such as the camera - slow and no flash); or the video; or the less than intuitive functions, of which there appear to be quite a lot? In my experience, easy to use it ain't (although I admit to being a smartphone novice).
It has occured to me that the Kaiser is probably best suited to techno geeks rather than to your average user. I remember that years ago I bought an Iriver MP3 player rather than an Ipod, because it had more functions. Most of the iRiver message boards were concerned with how best to tweak the player, so that it would be easier to use (as easy to use and as intuitive as the Ipod). Eventually, I got fed up with the iRiver and bought an Ipod.
My conclusion after three weeks is that the Kaiser sells mainly on multi-functionality, whereas the Iphone sells on useability (and looks). As a non-techie (as most punters are) I think that the Iphone would probably have suited me better for internet and email. I hope to change my mind as I persevere with trying to get its various functions to work.
Who are you calling a techno geek?!?!
Oh yeah, that is me in a nutshell!
Thats why i got the Tilt over the iPhone though. I knew that i could customize and do tons more stuff on the tilt over the iPhone...maybe that just means i have too much time on my hands...
ps, i also got an iRiver over the iPod. my reasons were that i could treat it like a hd instead of tying myself to iTunes (i though you can go around iTunes, but thats besides the point).
If you wanted to browse the internet, the Kaiser is the way to go.
3.5G Kaiser v 2.5G iPhone............
rienzi said:
the Kaiser is the technological equivalent of a Spork.
It has occured to me that the Kaiser is probably best suited to techno geeks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Possibly, as I do like to play with things! I kinda think of it as a Swiss Army Knife. Lots of little functions, and possibly a compromise as a result. Could it have a better GPS, Wifi, etc? Yes, but I bet that would effect battery life. Better multimedia support? Personally, I haven't had an issue with it, but out of the box an iPhone is tied to iTunes (does it have the issues with MP3's and WMA files that iPods have / had?). I like being able to sync my Kaiser with Windows Media player, or just pop my memory card into my laptop and copy over an MP3 manually.
Can I play with my phone, and just factory reset if it needs to go in for repair? Yes. Could I do that with the iPhone? Well, wasn't there that little issue with iPhones getting bricked when applying an official Apple upgrade on certain networks if you had 3rd party apps installed and voiding the warrenty?
You do need to play a bit with a Kaiser to get the most out of it, but this is a wonderful community and resource for doing just that. What are your issues with Internet and email? Have you tried the Opera browser to get around the internet issues? Personally, for sending / receiving email with and without attachments I have no issues. Maybe this is because I am a techno geek and have used PDA's for years. I'm sure that once you get your Kaiser setup the way you need, you'll be perfectly happy. I know that this has been the best 'out of the box' device I have had and any geek stuff I have done is just personal preference, I could have lived without it and not compromised the end result.
who called me techno geek!!?? x3!!
yup the kaiser is more like a swiss army knife x)!
with a world of possibilities!!..
just think a little .. microsoft has more time on the mobile market than apple x)
Steve-C said:
Possibly, as I do like to play with things! I kinda think of it as a Swiss Army Knife. Lots of little functions, and possibly a compromise as a result. Could it have a better GPS, Wifi, etc? Yes, but I bet that would effect battery life. Better multimedia support? Personally, I haven't had an issue with it, but out of the box an iPhone is tied to iTunes (does it have the issues with MP3's and WMA files that iPods have / had?). I like being able to sync my Kaiser with Windows Media player, or just pop my memory card into my laptop and copy over an MP3 manually.
Can I play with my phone, and just factory reset if it needs to go in for repair? Yes. Could I do that with the iPhone? Well, wasn't there that little issue with iPhones getting bricked when applying an official Apple upgrade on certain networks if you had 3rd party apps installed and voiding the warrenty?
You do need to play a bit with a Kaiser to get the most out of it, but this is a wonderful community and resource for doing just that. What are your issues with Internet and email? Have you tried the Opera browser to get around the internet issues? Personally, for sending / receiving email with and without attachments I have no issues. Maybe this is because I am a techno geek and have used PDA's for years. I'm sure that once you get your Kaiser setup the way you need, you'll be perfectly happy. I know that this has been the best 'out of the box' device I have had and any geek stuff I have done is just personal preference, I could have lived without it and not compromised the end result.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, the Swiss Army Knife analogy is a good one. The scissors and screwdrivers never seem to work well, but the knife is a good bit of kit overall.
I really do want to love my Kaiser and am making some progress with it. I can now receive the emails (i.e. those of my main pc email account) but still can't manage to send them. I keep getting the following error message from the server: '550 Administrative prohibition - relaying not allowed'. No idea what it means. I think I may have the outgoing mail server wrong somehow.
Incidentally, if I click on streamimg media and see the rtsp:// what do I do next in order to get, say a BBC broadcast?
well i constantly sign on aim and u cant do that on iPhone...among other things.
It has it's faults, we all know, but what phone with all these functions doesn't?? OH, thinking about it...no other phone has all these functions in this small footprint!!!
JUst a simple comment...I LOVE IT!!!
Sold two laptops as a result of using this phone and made a profit!!!
Can't beat that...
AT&T Tilt phone is Grand Champion
Top 10 Cell Phone Favorites for 2007 (PC World)
AT&T Tilt phone is Grand Champion.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,140584-c,cellphones/article.html#
To me its like the difference between one of those really basic calculators with the really big buttons on the front (iphone) and a full on scientific graphing calculator that does everything (Kaiser). Yes the first one will do for most people and is easier to use, but for anyone who needs the functionality the scientific is the only option
i really do love my kaiser x)...
i had an iphone but.. i gave it to my sis..
its easy to use.. but.. i got bored with the same things allways!!
(youtube, phone, phone, youtube, music, etc)
now.. on my kaiser i have a C# compiler, it is more interesting for mee!
and a lot of games but.. (yup the drivers suck)
now im waiting for those drivers..
i think the kaiser is an amazing FULL Machine.. x)
Best Pda & Best Handheld
tkalli said:
Top 10 Cell Phone Favorites for 2007 (PC World)
AT&T Tilt phone is Grand Champion.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,140584-c,cellphones/article.html#
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WINNER OF PDA ESSENTIALS AWARDS 2007 - BEST PDA & BEST HANDHELD
The HTC TyTN II (P4550/Kaiser) was given 9/10 from PDA Essentials with the Editors Choice Award "Quite simply as good as Windows Mobile has to offer, this is a stunning handheld"
rienzi said:
yeah, the Swiss Army Knife analogy is a good one. The scissors and screwdrivers never seem to work well, but the knife is a good bit of kit overall.
I really do want to love my Kaiser and am making some progress with it. I can now receive the emails (i.e. those of my main pc email account) but still can't manage to send them. I keep getting the following error message from the server: '550 Administrative prohibition - relaying not allowed'. No idea what it means. I think I may have the outgoing mail server wrong somehow.
Incidentally, if I click on streamimg media and see the rtsp:// what do I do next in order to get, say a BBC broadcast?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That means you are sending via one server but as if from another.
Change your outgoing server to the correct one and use authentification.
To see streaming media, go to the relevant site and click the relevant link
The tilt is meant for geeks. That's true.
I had an 8525. I've never been so impressed and so happy with a phone. I could do literally everything i wanted. Then the iPhone cam out. I love macs, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I was bought by the intuitive browser and phone capabilities.
However, within the 6 months I had it, I felt the iPhone was directing me moreso than I directed the iPhone. I had to type a certain way for the keyboard (which was the weakpt) and had to deal with slow EDGE connections. Also, besides the cutesy programs like the program where you can take a pic and then put pirate hats on them (o wow.), there wasn't really much to offer.
I recently got a Tilt, now I'm wondering - why did I even stray in the first place?
creed said:
To me its like the difference between one of those really basic calculators with the really big buttons on the front (iphone) and a full on scientific graphing calculator that does everything (Kaiser). Yes the first one will do for most people and is easier to use, but for anyone who needs the functionality the scientific is the only option
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is the best analogy right there.
And FWIW, I see no reason to ***** and moan about something NOT being "perfect" None of them are so for the sake of your own health and sanity lower your expectations a bit or you will find yourself constantly dissapointed.
The Kaiser/Tilt is a damn good device that is capable of a whole lot. Which makes it appeal to a very broad base of users Nuff said. You want perfect? Then either customize your Kaiser to fit YOUR needs (and be happy you actually have that option... <cough> iPhone </cough> )
Or design, build/manufacture your own.
rienzi said:
I keep getting the following error message from the server: '550 Administrative prohibition - relaying not allowed'. No idea what it means. I think I may have the outgoing mail server wrong somehow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep that would be the case! My ISP is plus.net in the UK for internet and email, my mobile phone provider is o2. Now on my laptop, to send email I use the server relay.plus.net. If I use the same one on the Kaiser (unless I'm on my home network connected via my wireless router) I get that error message. Changing the outgoing to server to smtp.o2.co.uk allows me to send email from the Kaiser when I'm out and about. The incoming mail server never changes. So what you need to do is find out what the outgoing mail server is for your mobile p-rovider, enter that in your settings and you should be good to go!
Liked your extra analogy to the swiss knife thingy, it may not be perfect, but what else has all the features that kinda do the job?
I confess
Yep - geek and proud - reckon the Kaiser is the best thing since sliced bread. Many moons ago the non-geeky devices were known amongst my fellow techies as "tarts' systems" politically incorrect expression now but I've been too long in the business to drop it and I've yet to find a more apt repost to people who denounce those of us with a healthy appreciation of technology as geeks!
patcooke said:
Yep - geek and proud - reckon the Kaiser is the best thing since sliced bread. Many moons ago the non-geeky devices were known amongst my fellow techies as "tarts' systems" politically incorrect expression now but I've been too long in the business to drop it and I've yet to find a more apt repost to people who denounce those of us with a healthy appreciation of technology as geeks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have an appreciation of technology, but I don't think its good for my health! I am one of those unfortunate persons who love gadgets, but often does not know how to get them to work! At the moment i feel like a failed wannabee geek. I spent hours yesterday trying to get my pc email to synch with my kaiser, without success (the t- mobile wizard didn't work for me!). I still can't get streaming video to work either. I too hope to get to the point where I can say that the kaiser is the best thing since sliced bread
ps pat, I'm in Yorkshire too
First off, I must say I love this site....
It took me some time (tons of coffee & reading) to learn about unlocking the powers of this phone. As it stands now, I'm only 1/2 retarded
The good news is I have just about every program that I think I need with the exception of a "good" financial manager. The problem is, most of the "good" ones are paid softwares. That fine, I don't mind paying, but I'd like to ask the pros/vets of xda before purchasing one. Some come with a 30 day trial, others do not. I didn't find any thread here on financial manager or financial software, but I did see the wiki but, it only included SBP's software & a link to http://www.pocketgear.com/en_US/html/all_titles_list.jsp?categoryId=cat4500055
but forgive me if I don't trust their "highest rated" system...
I came across http://doitech.com/ & it looks promising, but for some reason I can't get it to install.
I also tried splashmoney (was recommended in a pocket PCmag, that shall remain nameless....) & I found it a bit clunky & un-polished, not to mention, my banking institution wasn't in their list, even though its one of the larger banks.
So XDA peeps, what software do you recommend?
Thanks in advance..
I've owned SBP Finance for about 2 years... and haven't thought once about changing it. I like it alot.
It's fast, logical, powerful. I track all my accounts on it... keep my register... etc. The interface is easy to use.
I like the reports and the ability to export and import quicken files.
It takes care of all my needs.
Yeah, I just installed it now that I noticed they do have a trial period.
Once I purchase it, will I be able to maintain my crazzzy ROM flashing lifestyle of changing my rom 10 times a week??
Thanks in advance rickC
Make sure you use the autobackup feature if you become a ROM junky like me
I still haven't found one I like.... SBP is ok... but it doesn't reach out and scream to me... eerrr I mean it doesn't meet all my needs..
I personally like SPB Finance, but you can also try Innesoft Cash Organizer Premium at US$29.95. There is a free trial on their site:
http://www.inesoft.com/eng/index.php?in=premium.html
After over one year of use I just wanted to write few lines about my impression of this PDA.
I travel a lot and I thought that a PDA could be helpful to keep in touch and do the IT chores while on the go. I was very wrong and I regret having bought the damn thing. The device tries to do many things but none of them well. In retrospective it sounded too good to be true.
At the beginning I did make a point of using it to its best potential but after a while I got so tired and annoyed with it that I have used it mostly like just any other phone.
I thought I would give myself some time to get accustomed to the complexity of the device before jumping to conclusions.
Over one year later and I still find it incredibly cumbersome and totally user unfriendly. The guys at HTC should go to Apple to get a crush course in making something user friendly.
Here are just a few things. The list is way longer but I would have to go back and try most functions to recall all the flaws.
- It's super slow. I am no super fast teenage geek but I am always waiting for the stupid thing to react to any command I give. It is very annoying and it's like stepping back to the time of the 286 PCs. The speed is archaic.
- The buttons controls are very difficult to feel with the touch and are very cumbersome to operate. Especially the side ones. I am sure that even blind people would have problems using them.
- Windows mobile is as bad as Microsoft gets. It's slow, counter intuitive, user unfriendly. Early Vista at the power of ten!
- Window media player is a joke. I have been using the PDA to listen to music in the car and it's a miracle I have not crashed while trying to select some music yet.
- The touch screen is also very bad and difficult to use. A lot of the commands are way too small for a man's finger. It is very difficult to select something on first attempt.
- To open a running program is difficult. One has to press the top right menu and than select what is running by touch only. The bar is about 4 mm high and it's very difficult to select using one hand. One cannot select by using the scroll bar and button.
- During phone calls the screen goes out quickly and to get it back one has to look for the hidden button on the side, very bad.
- Voice recognition sucks. Since the controls are so bad I now use the voice recognition most times. It's rare that the damn machine get it right on first attempt. Repeating the name twice helps but not always. I end up having to raise the tone as if I was yelling. Very embarrassing in public.
- The GPS take a long time to get the satellites even when the data has been updated.
- Active sync is a disaster. The guy that design it should be shot. I have given up on it altogether. I had to buy small software to access the data in the PDA and memory card.
Active sync could just not do the most elementary operation in a simple and straightforward way.
- The booting upon starting is the longest I have ever seen. Switching it off is also a chore
The list goes on but I am getting annoyed just to think about it all. This is the first and last product I’ll ever buy from HTC. Unless you are a geek that gets pleasure messing with IT devices do not buy it. Its use will take an unhealthy amount of your time. It will not help your life, it will waste a lot of your time and annoy you in the process.
Stay away from it!
My phone works perfect, it is a delight to use, does everything you mentioned above, great to reasonably well. It is fast, user friendly and I can't wait until I can upgrade to the TP II
My advice to you, since you are clueless, get the ipod that makes phone calls, it is built and over marketed especially for clueless people.
Agreed with denco7,
My HTC Kaiser (TyTn II) is also working fine. It is a great QVGA 2.8" phone!
ActiveSync works and simply works, I have never got any issue like you described.
GPS works, although TT7 is slower than TT6, but thats TT problem, not the phone.
I found Opera Mini works briliant with the D-Pad, which is much better than D-Pad-less phone. You know, press button to zoom, back to unzoom, scroll with D-Pad ... all one handed.
Screen goes out during call? Get a clue You knew this website, it should be the best resource.
My suggestion, dont use PDA Because it might be too complicated for you.
I like my TyTN II.
Maybe some of the things you think missed, you could configure them another way to get the most of the device. I think I'll never finish to get more and more from it. And I exhausted a P4350 before changing to the Kaiser.
denco7 said:
My phone works perfect, it is a delight to use, does everything you mentioned above, great to reasonably well. It is fast, user friendly and I can't wait until I can upgrade to the TP II
My advice to you, since you are clueless, get the ipod that makes phone calls, it is built and over marketed especially for clueless people.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The PDA was also used by a friend of mine who is a blackberry user and talented software developer with many years of experience in IT. He did notice the same things and at times the thing did drive him crazy too.
My friend is also a guy that has switched to Linux long time ago. I have been too lazy and suffered in silence with MS crap but hopefully I will find the time to invest in changing for the better.
My friend impressions made me realize that I am not clueless as you say. In fact being a marine engineer I have dealt with equipment of all sorts for many years.
The PDA is designed by geeks for geeks. It is not a product for normal people. Anybody that buys this device has to spend many, many hours tying to sort it out and make it work better. I did that at the beginning and downloaded many fixes and upgrades. The very existance of this website and the number of people that use it is an indication that this PDA is not a product you switch on and just use. Very far from it.
I think you are like many people that after spending all that money don't want to admit that they got a lemon. The fact that you want to upgrade is a clear indication that you are not that satisfied with the gadget.
Just pick it up and slide the keyboard slightly. It takes 4.8 sec for the display to go from vertical to horizontal and back. If that is fast then you must be very slow.
Cheers
Yeah I also suggest you get an iphone. It's for people just like you.
No customization and power-user options, but your grandma can figure out the basic PDA functions.
TytnII has been great for me.
This is a negative and boring thread from the op! With some effort you can do a lot with the tytn2 as well as the tytn1! Very good devices!
I very much enjoy my Kaiser. I had some of the problems the OP had when I was running the AT&T stock ROM (with bloatware), but all that changed when I started using custom ROMs. The Kaiser is actually a very capable device, the only reason it underperforms is because it's hardware isn't fully taken advantage of (but even that's improving now). Once I flash a ROM and spend a whole 10 minutes customizing the device to how I like it, it runs like a dream.
OP: As the others have said in this thread, if you aren't willing to tweak the device, and customize the living crap out of it in order to get a faster Kaiser, maybe a feature phone or iPhone would be more suitable for you.
Dave
PS: (I have a 286, and it runs fine!)
I have a tytn, tytnII, titan, touch pro and a fuze. I must admit that every one of these devices were less than spectacular in the as-shipped form from the service provider. Thats why I found this site so I could make them all perform up to their hype.
Every one of them, thanks to the wonderful developers here, will outperform an iphown now. I have had very little problems like the OP described that were not simply fixed by changing a setting here or there. I like my tilt better than any of the others I have had (except the fuze.)
My 8525 (TyTn) works great and it has less power than the TyTnII. You can not get the most out of the phone unless you get rid of the stock OS. That's why XDA Devs rocks. Once the stock OS is gone - the phones rock!
mikechannon said:
This is the Kaiser forum. A forum dedicated to supporting Kaiser owners and providing answers to specific problems.
I'm sure you can see that this is not a supportive thread for TyTn II owners.
I'm not actually sure that expressing views about strongly disliking HTC and WM is a wise idea on a website dedicated to both those things.
However, and lest I be accused of wielding evil Moderator censorship powers, I will move this thread to off-topic. There it will take up its place accumulating wise and sensible contributions to the debate.
Mike
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Mike,
It's not about being supportive or not. It's about giving a broad range of perspective so if tomorrow somebody wants to buy the device they can search for information and have a better idea of what they are getting into.
Unfortunately at the time I bought mine the information available was somehow biased towards people who think that is ok to spend 750 $ for a gadget that right away needs all sorts of non OEM twicks and upgrades to perform close to its marketing claims.
In any sector or product if one buys at the very top end of the price range should expect to end up with something that works well right away.
The TY TN II does not. HTC is a company with great potential but it should take a lot longer before releasing a product such this.
I belive that censorship does not help the people behind this site that are happy with the product either. My post is not off topic. They are first hand comments on the device from somebody that owns one, just like anybody else here.
Because of lack of unbiased information many people like me or even less prepared to mess with the device will buy it and up here nagging everyone else for help. Even for the silliest problems.
Let's be clear. This is a very niche product, HTC marketing pitch is misleading. It is not a piece of consumer goods suitable for the majority of people. It has to become a pet project for the buyer otherwise will not delivery to it's full potential.
I would suggest you put this thread in a very accessible location.
I am sorry if have hurt any TY TN II lovers
I suspect that a lot of people here see the device like their own baby.
Cheers
gogol said:
Agreed with denco7,
My HTC Kaiser (TyTn II) is also working fine. It is a great QVGA 2.8" phone!
ActiveSync works and simply works, I have never got any issue like you described.
GPS works, although TT7 is slower than TT6, but thats TT problem, not the phone.
I found Opera Mini works briliant with the D-Pad, which is much better than D-Pad-less phone. You know, press button to zoom, back to unzoom, scroll with D-Pad ... all one handed.
Screen goes out during call? Get a clue You knew this website, it should be the best resource.
My suggestion, dont use PDA Because it might be too complicated for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't want to get this thread to go on and on. The purpose of my post is to just offer an alternative perspective on the PDA. Without it, anybody that stumbles on this site may be lead to think that it is a great PDA. Indeed it is for people that are willing, knowledgeable and happy to mess with it. I don't think that the majority of people fit that category.
I believe that most people when they spend top dollars expect to buy a piece of equipment that works at its best right out of the box. After all PDAs and many other gadgets should make life easier not more complicated. That is something often forgotten.
Your appreciation of Active Sync sounds very odd to my engineering mind always appreciating things that work in a simple and logic manner. I'll comment on this one because is one of my "favorite" about the device and MS.
How can Active Sync be good if you have to install it in every computer you have to exchange data with (actually you can only install it on 2 PCs only!!). That to me is totally counter intuitive, user unfriendly and simply stupid. I should be able to roam the world and exchange data with any PC and Macs by just plugging in without having to install anything. That's what happens with most other gadgets cameras etc. How is it possible that a 750 $ device cannot do such elementary thing out of the box. It's simply unbelievable and as I said very odd to see that there are so many people that are totally fine with it and actually like the feature.
The TY TN II and any top end PDAs also cater to people like me that travel extensively and to different countries. How such elementary need to exchange data in a simple way can be overseen???
If I had know that such basic feature was not available I would never have bought the thing. The problem is that this any many other points about the device are some kind of dirty secrets that are not been told and were not available when I was about to buy the device.
Luckily I found Softick Card Export and solved the problem of accessing the PDA with any computer as if it was an external hard drive. I recommend it.
But again, after I spent 750 $ I should not have to buy and install non OEM software to download a file to a friend computer.
Come on guys, MS does not even pay you! You are paying them!
mikechannon said:
Well yes in the interests of allowing different points of view, the thread has been kept, we are all entitled to a reasoned point of view.
However IMHO it is off-topic in the sense that keeping it in the TyTn II forum which is specifically to provide help for those who already have a TyTn II would be inappropriate. I did consider the General forum, but againthat is for those who already own an HTC phone and are seeking support perhaps for Windows Mobile issues.
So by elimination if nothing else "off-topic" was the choice. Those searching the likes of Google will still find it regardless of the forum it's in.
I still have my doubts that this is appropriate as a forum to choose for such a review/feedback because it can encourage flaming type posts. I'm sure you know what I mean - would you go to a Rolls Royce owners site to express your views about why they are not good cars? Maybe you would, but I think it would be better to choose a site that reviews different brands, rather than telling folk who already own the product that you think what they have is no good. I doubt folk trying to choose a product would consider a dedicated site to be an unbiased place to gather reliable reviews.
Mike
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mike,
I happen to be one of those Rolls Royce owners (I wish!) that's why I think I should have a say on this site. My views are counter current that's all. I don't feel undermined here despite being a totally "visible minority". If people were to get inflamed about it then there is always the almighty moderator that should straighten things out.
I still think my post does not belong to the off topic section because I think the view of somebody like myself can be beneficial to the majority here. I know that this could be difficult to acknowledge for somebody.
On the wake of the recent purchase and proud of my shiny new device, in the first 6 months of ownership of the Ty TN II I was like most other people here, reading, downloading, twicking. After a while I realized that what I was doing was going against the very reason I bought the device in the first place which was make my life easier and make me save time.
At that point and tired of the constant work that the machine demanded I gave up on it. I bought a new laptop and used the PDA like a phone and navigator only.
If I had found posts like mine before I would have made my natural progression earlier and I would have saved myself a lot of time and headaches.
I am sure there are other people in that position and they should be able to benefit from opinions like mine without having to Google them. To the hard core PDArers it should make no difference. I understand there is a pleasure in molding a machine to you own specification. I respect that; years ago I would have kept on doing it.
I hope you understand my plea and thanks for your work. I and many others did benefit from this great site.
Unfortunately I don't think that I can ethically contribute to the HTC or MS cause in a positive way. The fact that they created the need for a site like this is totally unacceptable.
I believe that it is wrong to offer volunteer work to greedy corporations that totally don't give a damn about their customer base. HTC and MS are clear examples.
I wish the talented work of people like XDA-developers will go towards developing software and service for no profit organizations and not to patch up the shortcomings and disservice of these corporations.
Bill Gates has become a philanthropist to wash his sins. I hope his example will be followed by all the other big fish in the corporate world.
Cheers
olliric said:
I don't want to get this thread to go on and on. The purpose of my post is to just offer an alternative perspective on the PDA. Without it, anybody that stumbles on this site may be lead to think that it is a great PDA. Indeed it is for people that are willing, knowledgeable and happy to mess with it. I don't think that the majority of people fit that category.
I believe that most people when they spend top dollars expect to buy a piece of equipment that works at its best right out of the box. After all PDAs and many other gadgets should make life easier not more complicated. That is something often forgotten.
Your appreciation of Active Sync sounds very odd to my engineering mind always appreciating things that work in a simple and logic manner. I'll comment on this one because is one of my "favorite" about the device and MS.
How can Active Sync be good if you have to install it in every computer you have to exchange data with (actually you can only install it on 2 PCs only!!). That to me is totally counter intuitive, user unfriendly and simply stupid. I should be able to roam the world and exchange data with any PC and Macs by just plugging in without having to install anything. That's what happens with most other gadgets cameras etc. How is it possible that a 750 $ device cannot do such elementary thing out of the box. It's simply unbelievable and as I said very odd to see that there are so many people that are totally fine with it and actually like the feature.
The TY TN II and any top end PDAs also cater to people like me that travel extensively and to different countries. How such elementary need to exchange data in a simple way can be overseen???
If I had know that such basic feature was not available I would never have bought the thing. The problem is that this any many other points about the device are some kind of dirty secrets that are not been told and were not available when I was about to buy the device.
Luckily I found Softick Card Export and solved the problem of accessing the PDA with any computer as if it was an external hard drive. I recommend it.
But again, after I spent 750 $ I should not have to buy and install non OEM software to download a file to a friend computer.
Come on guys, MS does not even pay you! You are paying them!
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So, you're saying that with any other phone you can just connect it to a PC and transfer all the data on the fly? Well, with nokias you can't, you have to install the huge nokia pc suite. At least active sync is only a few megs, so even with a slow connection you can still get it fast. And, i still think active sync is the best or at least the simplest way to synchronize contacts / appointments / notes and emails.
If you want to exchange files i would advice to forget active sync, use a micro sd card reader, it's much simpler and faster.
About your first post, i understand your frustration, but everyone here will tell you, including me, that any windows mobile device is way more powerfull than any nokia, iphone or blackberry. But even with those you still have to know how to use them.
jaugusto said:
So, you're saying that with any other phone you can just connect it to a PC and transfer all the data on the fly? Well, with nokias you can't, you have to install the huge nokia pc suite. At least active sync is only a few megs, so even with a slow connection you can still get it fast. And, i still think active sync is the best or at least the simplest way to synchronize contacts / appointments / notes and emails.
If you want to exchange files i would advice to forget active sync, use a micro sd card reader, it's much simpler and faster.
About your first post, i understand your frustration, but everyone here will tell you, including me, that any windows mobile device is way more powerfull than any nokia, iphone or blackberry. But even with those you still have to know how to use them.
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In this day and age am I too demanding to expect to be able to read and exchange data with my PDA and any computer? The fact that the very little Softick card export software does it very easily shows that I am not asking much. There are no technological hurdles whatsoever. Why having to complicate things, switching off the device, pulling cards on and off, maybe damaging something in the process.
It is one of the features I needed right away and I don't think I am alone there. It should not take a great deal of imagination or creativity to figure this out. What are the HTC or MS designers been thinking?
I just don't see any good reasons for the lack of such basic features. The only reason I see is corporate greed that calls for gadgets and software that don't quite work so people keep on buying new ones.
We are a bunch of consumer cows being milked, I am afraid that's the sad reality.
The fact the the potential of a MS based PDA is greater than the competition does not make me feel any better. However, thanks for trying to help and for the kind words
olliric said:
In this day and age am I too demanding to expect to be able to read and exchange data with my PDA and any computer? The fact that the very little Softick card export software does it very easily shows that I am not asking much. There are no technological hurdles whatsoever. Why having to complicate things, switching off the device, pulling cards on and off, maybe damaging something in the process.
It is one of the features I needed right away and I don't think I am alone there. It should not take a great deal of imagination or creativity to figure this out. What are the HTC or MS designers been thinking?
I just don't see any good reasons for the lack of such basic features. The only reason I see is corporate greed that calls for gadgets and software that don't quite work so people keep on buying new ones.
We are a bunch of consumer cows being milked, I am afraid that's the sad reality.
The fact the the potential of a MS based PDA is greater than the competition does not make me feel any better. However, thanks for trying to help and for the kind words
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I prefer to think that technology is being developed, rather than big companies are just "milking us". Every new product is an evolution from something done before, not only with technology, but with everything manufactured in the capitalist markets we live in.
Basically, i think we have two choices: ware out our equipment untill we really need a new one (in case of a mobile phone for me i would say that it's about 3 years), or sell our semi-new equipment and buy a new one every year or so. I usually choose the first one, but i'm not always sure that it is the cheapest.
About speed, I know that the tytn II's are far from being the best phone HTC made, heck, my old magician (qtek s110) was way faster. But it didn't have to deal with gps, wifi, 3G, HSDPA, hardware keyboard, etc. They're only three years apart from each other, and look at the differences!
I actually agree with you that the kaiser is slow for a 2007 PDA, but it can do a lot. So, like everyone else in this forum, i've been reading, and trying, and failing, and trying again. The best Rom i've tried is shifu's v8, i do like it a lot. And the advantage of WM is that you can really do everything you want to change the look and the way you interact with your phone, and there are thousands of programs to do whatever you need your phone to do.
There's so many software out there, that it is hard to get to the best one for you. Some prefer SPB Mobile Shell3, i prefer Manila 2D. There's also the new Titanium in WM 6.5, PointUI, Throttle Launcher.... I compare this situation to the photography industry: there are hundreds of camera models, most of them give very similar image quality for the same price, but if you visit photography forums you'll find people that just can't get used to a certain model of a certain brand, and normally for reasons you wouldn't even think of.
That doesn't turn that model into a lemon, but usually makes it more special to the ones that actually like it.
So, my question is, is there any phone on the market that works like a simple usb pen? Does the iphone do that? Blackberrys? And you could use bluetooth to transfer data, have you tried that?
Just trying to help, as i don't consider myself a geek, but i do prefer windows mobile over symbian.
jaugusto said:
So, my question is, is there any phone on the market that works like a simple usb pen? Does the iphone do that? Blackberrys? And you could use bluetooth to transfer data, have you tried that?
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Actually yes the BBs do USB File transfer when plugged into a PC with nothing extra installed. You get prompted on the device to enable Mass Storage Mode.
jaugusto said:
I prefer to think that technology is being developed, rather than big companies are just "milking us". Every new product is an evolution from something done before, not only with technology, but with everything manufactured in the capitalist markets we live in.
Basically, i think we have two choices: ware out our equipment untill we really need a new one (in case of a mobile phone for me i would say that it's about 3 years), or sell our semi-new equipment and buy a new one every year or so. I usually choose the first one, but i'm not always sure that it is the cheapest.
About speed, I know that the tytn II's are far from being the best phone HTC made, heck, my old magician (qtek s110) was way faster. But it didn't have to deal with gps, wifi, 3G, HSDPA, hardware keyboard, etc. They're only three years apart from each other, and look at the differences!
I actually agree with you that the kaiser is slow for a 2007 PDA, but it can do a lot. So, like everyone else in this forum, i've been reading, and trying, and failing, and trying again. The best Rom i've tried is shifu's v8, i do like it a lot. And the advantage of WM is that you can really do everything you want to change the look and the way you interact with your phone, and there are thousands of programs to do whatever you need your phone to do.
There's so many software out there, that it is hard to get to the best one for you. Some prefer SPB Mobile Shell3, i prefer Manila 2D. There's also the new Titanium in WM 6.5, PointUI, Throttle Launcher.... I compare this situation to the photography industry: there are hundreds of camera models, most of them give very similar image quality for the same price, but if you visit photography forums you'll find people that just can't get used to a certain model of a certain brand, and normally for reasons you wouldn't even think of.
That doesn't turn that model into a lemon, but usually makes it more special to the ones that actually like it.
So, my question is, is there any phone on the market that works like a simple usb pen? Does the iphone do that? Blackberrys? And you could use bluetooth to transfer data, have you tried that?
Just trying to help, as i don't consider myself a geek, but i do prefer windows mobile over symbian.
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I think corporations do plan to make every gadget quickly outdated. Hardware and software companies help each other in that regard. Software is designed to require more and more computing power even though is often not necessary. We could be a lot farther ahead after 20 years of consumer computers. MS is probably the main cause of this troubled development and we are still stuck with it. Window mobile may be better than others but is still very far from being good. That was also the idea of a MS project manager friend of mine who eventually left Seattle and MS. I remember venting my frustration with him and he had no excuse to offer.
I did do ROM upgrades early on but then I had to remove them after developing other problems. If one day I run into somebody that will do it for me I may give them another try. I just had it with this PDA I don't to waste anymore time.
I have a lot of other things in my life and I just don't want to spend time on something that should save me time. It just does not make any sense to me.
When this PDA will crap out I'll be very careful of what I may buy. I think I have learned the lesson. The only thing that I have appreciated is the navigator which is neither HTC or MS. I travel a lot so I keep the bastard only for that. I have to bear the bulk and weight of it for navigation and the occasional email.
I don't know if there are PDAs that can be used like a USB pen. I really hope so. It is such a simple thing, if there aren't any then it's really bad out there.
Thanks for your help
Cheers
I agree with everything you posted originally. Although, it's not HTC's fault as much as it is Microsoft's. I happen to love the G1
I've had a tilt for a year now and, while flashing ROMs does make it bearable, Windows Mobile just sucks in general imo.
mbarvian said:
I agree with everything you posted originally. Although, it's not HTC's fault as much as it is Microsoft's. I happen to love the G1
I've had a tilt for a year now and, while flashing ROMs does make it bearable, Windows Mobile just sucks in general imo.
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Great to hear that I am not the only unhappy here. Actually I believe there are a lot more but they don't want to admit it.
So you guys de-lurk yourself and get it off your chest. You'll feel better. After all we just bought the PDA, we did not do anything terrible. There wasn't much choice anyway. If I made it or the OS then I would feel really bad about myself.
Cheers
Just thought I'd introduce myself real quick like.
The names Kjell (say it like shell, but with a German accent) and currently living in Norway. I've lived most of my life in the US though. (Primarily in the south.)
I was a Nokia kind of guy, specifically the 9x series, like the 9000, 9110, e90 etc. (Owned each one at least once.) Then I switched to an old QTec (QTek?) phone a few years ago, and hated it. Went back to Nokia and just last year jumped onboard the horrible iPhone bandwagon. (It's a great phone, just, hate being tied down...)
I bought a used HTC Touch HD last week seeing how I've been eying the HD2 for a couple now. But I'm not sure how I'll like Windows on my phone again. So I'm taking it slow.
But needless to say, I'm quite happy with the HD1. It's got a great screen, it's pretty fast and I enjoy the many, many customization options.
My iPhone is being used as an MP3 player/gaming console for my little one.
I'm thinking about testing out some custom roms for the HD. Anyone got any suggestions? Maybe a rom with the possibility to change your local weather to a non HTC chosen location? (I tried doing this on my own via the XML file, but can't. I'm just not that leet lol.)
Anyways, I've said too much. Thanks for having me.
KSon
KSon82 said:
My iPhone is being used as an MP3 player/gaming console for my little one.
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It is a toy for children (or the simple-minded)
KSon82 said:
Just thought I'd introduce myself real quick like.
The names Kjell (say it like shell, but with a German accent) and currently living in Norway. I've lived most of my life in the US though. (Primarily in the south.)
I was a Nokia kind of guy, specifically the 9x series, like the 9000, 9110, e90 etc. (Owned each one at least once.) Then I switched to an old QTec (QTek?) phone a few years ago, and hated it. Went back to Nokia and just last year jumped onboard the horrible iPhone bandwagon. (It's a great phone, just, hate being tied down...)
I bought a used HTC Touch HD last week seeing how I've been eying the HD2 for a couple now. But I'm not sure how I'll like Windows on my phone again. So I'm taking it slow.
But needless to say, I'm quite happy with the HD1. It's got a great screen, it's pretty fast and I enjoy the many, many customization options.
My iPhone is being used as an MP3 player/gaming console for my little one.
I'm thinking about testing out some custom roms for the HD. Anyone got any suggestions? Maybe a rom with the possibility to change your local weather to a non HTC chosen location? (I tried doing this on my own via the XML file, but can't. I'm just not that leet lol.)
Anyways, I've said too much. Thanks for having me.
KSon
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Welcome aboard
Have a look on Blackstone section and in the Wiki
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=451
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=HTC_Blackstone
Read, Search, Respect and Enjoy!
Good luck,
JAguirre1231 said:
It is a toy for children (or the simple-minded)
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THUMBS UP
I love the people at XDA!
Thanks all for the welcome.
I've been looking at the HD roms, going to read up a little about the flashing technique first. Don't want to brick anything.
Welcome and enjoy XDA! Happy Flashing!
Well first off, Welcome to XDA.
As a starter I'd advise you to read the wiki's and stickies for your device.
If unsure about anything feel free post a query in the Q&A forum (generally for each device a Q&A thread has been created for queries) or to contact a moderator for assistance
Rick
First of all you will have to either know WM6.5 like the back of your hand and use the calender feature with it, or have a WM6.5 phone available to change stuff and see what I'm talking about to answer this question.
I had a Touch Pro 2 TMOUS. I hate SENSE because one, it looked like a kids toy and I'm an adult and two, boy did it drain some battery life, and three, taking it off gave me exactly what I wanted in a phone.
I'm a simple business man and I send a few hundred texts a day, get emails, and use outlook to sync my calendar stuff. Now.....
If you go into the home screen options and turn "sense" off and then turn on message notifications, and date, and calendar. then you will have what I have been looking at for almost 2 years now, and I love it. With this configuration all emails and texts and anything else all show up on the same one line so it takes up as little space as possible and THE MOST IMPORTANT THING all my calendar info appears on the home screen in a nice no nonsense list form with block letters in normal print. I miss that the most.
I would put WM6.5 on my new HD7 just for that alone. but I'm hoping someone out there knows what I'm talking about and can give me a solution or an idea. And if someone suggests to buy a HD2 I'll just hunt you down and slice your throat lol. I do not have an HD2, I have an HD7, get over yourself, and do not wast my time with asinine comments like that.
all I want, is that format like the WM6.5. Simple and small block letters with one line for all notifications and the rest of the screen free for a no nonsense small print, block letter form, list configuration for my calendar items.
I have a full time job, full time kids, full time wife, and full time "Grace Jiu-Jitsu" hobby/business, and a full time life. At any given day I could have 3 or 15 calendar reminders for that day between childrens Dr. appointments, aniverseries, querterly car check ups, meetings with cliants, trash day tomorrow, kids games, shopping for food, multiple private lessons that day, etc etc etc etc.
Very busy life and the simple fact is I can not remember it all in my head. I need this. and I need my calendar to be on my home screen constantly every day so it's always in my face so I don't miss anything that day. If there is a theme that makes your home screen just like that, just like the WM6.5 optional home screen that would be perfect.
Does anyone know how to help me with this? And yes I actually have considered just getting the HD2, but I thought I would start here first and then work my way toward spending money to solve the problem.
Don't buy WP7. Maybe there's an Android Widget that'll do what you need.
I think you already know Live Tiles aren't going to do what you want.
There are plenty of Android Forums on the net.
You could buy a HD2 lol
But unless someone finds a way to remove the metro hub i dout it, and before anyone can look at getting 6.5 on these we would need a hard spl first
I'm sorry, but if your Touch Pro2 did everything you wanted, then why would you change devices? Stick with the Touch Pro2. Its still a very viable device and according to you it did what you wanted.
The HTC HD7 and Windows Phone 7, at this point in time, cannot do what you have found the Touch Pro2 can do. They are two different phones, with completely different platforms. Both these platforms go in different directions, so you'll probably just want to stick with the platform that works for you.
Windows Phone 7 does not have themes (aside from dark, light, and your accent color), or multiple home screens, or have anything from Windows Phone 6.5 built into it at all. So you just aren't going to get the same functionality. Windows Phone 7 does have a great calendar, but it does not function the exact same as you seem to be describing (although pinning the calendar to the home screen always shows you your very next appointment).
But in all honesty what makes you think suggesting an HD2 is so terrible? You clearly want a business phone, and although WP7 has the office suite, it certainly isn't (and has never been advertised as) a business phone. The market WP7 has been pointed at is pretty much the same market as the iphone market. People who want to watch films on there phone, listen to music, and just generally get things done without wasting time.
If you rely on the features you've stated so much, i hate to say it but you've made a terrible decision in investing in what is essentially a brand new OS.
I think someone needs to get over themselves, but it certainly isn't the person/people who suggest you get a HD2.
So.. My calendar live tile serves me exactly as you state. I see the most recent appt on the tile itself. Tapping said tile takes me to all appointments for that day.
WP7 (not WM7), is nothing like WM6.5.
Ironically, the answer anyone here would give you, is to buy an HD2. They're by and large the same phone, and there are those that would argue the HD2 is better.
However, WP7 is light years ahead of WM6.5, imo. I've got 20 of them in a business and very few people complain. The platform isn't even a half year old.
"I do not have an HD2, I have an HD7, get over yourself, and do not wast my time with asinine comments like that."
You're lucky anyone took the time to respond to you at all. However, given you work with Gracie Jiu Jitsu, you attitude is more or less expected.
Thats a long ass message for such a busy guy Mr. BJJ. Learn something before asking for help in such a demanding fashion in this forum. And dont be so silly as to act like you are the only one with a smart phone who can fight.
What you want isnt possible on WP7. Why not sell it on eBay and buy an HD2? lol
Ok, let's try to answer in order.
Yes, this would not be the first time in my life the word "abrasive" has been used to describe me, but I find most people who do a ton of things all at once all the time are like that. too many people out there want to waste your time so you loose a lot of normal people patience. my apologies.
The reason for my words is because I've been a member here for some years now and know better than to post without reading and searching first. I have read all threads for the HD7, so I already knew what people would say. That's why I preemptively mentioned the HD2. I have already read everything.
That does not mean I am a developer or know anything, it just means I took the time not to be annoying by posting things that have already been posted. As such, I already knew the kinds of responses I would get such as "Get an HD2" and "just get a phone with WM6.5" and "why get a HD7?"
That's why I stated that I don't want to hear about the HD2 (because I already know) and stated that I already have an HD7 (to avoid people say "don't get an HD7.") etc. etc.
There is nothing terrible about the HD2, I think it sounds great, but that is not what I have, nor what my question was about, and wanted to avoid hearing about what I already knew and had read.
Anyway....the reason I get the HD7 and did not stick with my Touch Pro 2 is because I have gone through (3) TP2s all because I have pretty much mangled the keyboards over time.....that gets expensive...I looked into the problem and other people who are having the same problem all said to get a touch screen phone and those problems would go away, because it did for all of them. so of course I looked at the HD2 and the HD7 to compare and guess which one still had (4) hard buttons to potentially mangle and which one did not.....HD7. See, all my answers are logical as I am a logical person. No nonsense.
unfortunately.......you guys have all answered my questions just as I feared. so now, yes, I will be cregslisting my HD7 and yes, I will be getting an HD2.
And to the person who said "Thats a long ass message for such a busy guy" Just remember.....anything worth doing, is worth doing right. Why bother posting a half as question when most likely it will only yield half ass answers. My thoroughness has caused you guys to better understand me and there for better answer my question. If anything......you should take note
I have my HD2 right here next to my HD7 and I must say.....the HD2 wins on so many levels. cregslist this HD7 goes!
BECAUSE IT'S A USELESS OS AND PHONE! (who doesn't love a little flaming )
Good stuff and good luck with the hd2 mate.
If only those other few HD7 owners who litter the forums with "I don't like the OS" posts would take note of your logic and understanding. I suppose that day will come when a Pig travels by my upstairs window...
Don`t get what all the fuss is about. My calendar is pretty busy (at least 3 or 4 entries a day, sometimes many more)
Next appt appears on lock screen. Unlock the phone and there is is again on my calendar livetile.
Both me and the wife use google calendar so thats on another live tile so a single press takes me into my wifes calendar.
Loads better (IMO) to WM6.5 which I came from.
Once the Calendar API gets opened up, expect to see all sorts of applications to augment these functions.