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OK..so we are all excited about the Kaiser and some of the lucky ones have it already. We all know the specs and we hear about the fun those lucky ones are having with the devices. Needless to say, with new devices, problems sometimes follow. I know there have been a few minor complaints but, let's use this thread to compile the issues (and hopefully the fixes).
I am thinking of jumping ship from my rather good plan in order to get a Kaiser and hearing both sides of the spectrum can help myself and others make a more educated decision.
I am interested in Kaiser also. One of the most issue that i hope being fix in Kaiser was the screen auto-on issue while changing song when listen MP3 with BT stereo handsfree which happened in D810 and P3600i.
Well, I've had my kaiser since the 7th and I have put it through most of it's paces so far.
The only complaint I can think of is the already known problem where storing pocket IE's cache on the storage card causes it to freeze up. I'm fully confident that someone here will figure it out.
That said it's a really nice upgrade from the Tytn I've been using for over a year. If you consider a different browser, like Opera mini it performs extremely well.
I've had one about a month. Overall very pleased with the purchase. Here are my top nits:
1. Audio clicks or audio cut-out when playing long audio files (>5min). click will happen every 5 min, which might suggest it's reading the file into memory in chunks and having trouble at the transition. I'm hoping a new, faster micro-sd card will fix this.
2. screen doesn't turn off by default, just dims to lowest level. Not that the phone doesn't go into standby when it should, it's just that when you are using it you expect the previous TyTN behavior where the screen goes off after a certain period. Annoying only in certain circumstances; for instance, when you play long audio files at night to go to sleep the screen stays on. Solution is easy: just push the power button. Audio keeps playing. Not a big negative per se, just a new behavior to get used to.
3. Hard to select multiple items (e.g. email) with finger. Used to be you could finger one item and then "drag" down the list, selecting multiple items. Now that causes the email list to scroll. Again not a negative, just a new way of behaving.
4. The camera. Takes forever to actually take the shot. Unless you set it on a stable surface or take long shots in good light, the images are blurry. It's a phone so I don't really care that much...
5. Lack of dedicated button for Comm Manager. You can have a soft button, but whatever... Also I haven't found a way to remap the otherwise useless PTT button.
6. Nobody has uploaded the 'cool' HTC rom. I have to install the HTCHome and Comm Mgr app cabs from the Hermes group. The AT&T roms look boring and are bloated with crapware like Ms PacMan eval version (including the frickin' .cab file) and MP3 files.
7. After hanging up a voice call, d-pad in email stops working. That is, I can use the screen to do actions like select and open an email, but the d-pad and center button don't work. Once the mail is open, I can use the d-pad. Seems like this doesn't happen every time, but it's annoying when it does. I'm sure a software update will fix this.
None of these things would prevent me from buying the product again. I personally find the browser perf about the same as the TyTN - downloading full HTML pages takes a while, but it's a phone so it doesn't bother me like it would if it were a laptop.
M
So how do they handle your #3 issue with the semi-touch flow now? How do you go about selecting multiple items?
I hadn't really thought of it until I wrote this... After some investigation I find that if I hold down my finger on the first selected item, wait, then drag it, it works.
how's the in-call voice quality & signal strength from the kaiser's qualcomm chip, compared to previous htc phones (fo example, ones which featured the TI omap chip)?
and also how's the gps? is it really that much worse than a sirfstar to the point where it would become unusable in a city with many tall buildings?
Here is my very small list of gripes..
1. There is no default hardware button that allows you to change the Sound Volume at any time...like when/if you're somewhere quiet and the phone rings loudly or a reminder pops up loudly. Many devices have Vol Up & Down buttons on the side of the device that will let you do this but with the TyTN II you'll have to either use the default Volume control icon at the top of the screen (which is tough to get to using a finger) or use the HTC Touch panel - assuming you have it enabled in the Task Panel settings. You can however adjust the volume during a call using the thumb wheel--which is nice.
2. For some reason, We can't redirect IE cache, cookies and history to the microSD card. I know there's been discussion about this. When you make the registry change, IE freezes when pulling up sites. When you put it back to the default folder or any folder in main storage memory, all sites work fine. Everything else--email attachments, apps, games, GPS maps, etc. seem to do fine when accessed from the card.
3. No HTC TouchFLO 3D Cube
For some reason, the TyTN II has TouchFLO but without the Cube. I would love to get this iPhone Killer app" working on the TyTN II. I know you guys are working on it!
TEC
I live in the US, and this is the reason why im waiting for the AT&T tilt, i want them to fix all the bugs. When the TyTN came out, the 8525 had less bugs, including the screen alignment thing.
Funny, I had just dumped the VERY unstable GPS enabled HP hw6945 in favor of the then new 8525. I was just about to return the 8525 because it was also pretty buggy and prone to hangs. Then I found XDA, applied the tweaks and eventually new roms and now the 8525 is just about perfect.
I'll have my Kaiser in 2 days and am looking forward to what the XDA wizzards will do with it in the comming months.
But a first release from AT&T is bound to be lacking, and probably bloated with less than usefull widgets.
The good you already know so I wont go into all of that, but after all the hype I'm actually dissapointed with this device.
I am a long time treo user (my last machine being a very stable, but dull treo 680).
Last month I bought the HTC Touch (a FANTASTIC machine, especially with HTC Home). But after the Treo, I still need a keyboard as its basically hard work to enter long messages, even with the SIP keyboard (plus TYTN II has 3G and GPS).
So I got my TYTN II 2 days ago and im not enjoying the exeperience, especially when compared to the Touch which was flawless for me. I find that the machine hangs, isnt that responsive, the sound level is much lower than the Touch (both ear and speaker) and while its supposed to be 2x as fast, it really isnt much faster than the Touch. It does have a better screen than the Touch and many other advantages, but none of these are critical for me. Plus I dont know anyone who uses video calling so I have noone to call with it!!!
But the worst part of the TYTN II is that its a MONSTER in both size and weight. Its like walking around with a brick in my pocket! For example, holding the phone while on a long call is very uncomfortable. I just dont like the form factor (actually I miss my Treos front facing keyboard).
So if you own a Touch, have a BT GPS device, can get by with wifi, and can get the hang of the on-board keyboard then I suggest you upgrade the ROM on the Touch and stick with it. Im sorry i didnt.
That said, now I own this device Im going to try to make it work for me and get used to it, or sell it!
About the size and weight, it should be subjective.
For me, it is perfect, not small, but not too big either.
The thickness is good, less than TyTn but more than Touch.
I have no problem handling and carrying it or making phone, etc.
The device is quite responsive, I dont have problem with it. The built-in keyboard is working fine except that I am not used to it yet, so sometimes I missed the key But, I am working on it (to get used to).
The thing that I dont like:
1. Takes a long time to fully charge from 10% to 100% ! More than 4 hours using USB connection.
2. Need more hardware button to map application I want to be able to switch application by using a hardware button. Well, I can replace one of the button, but ...
3. Camera and video recording sucks on indoor situation (low light), but very good on outdoor.
ekerbuddy said:
The good you already know so I wont go into all of that, but after all the hype I'm actually dissapointed with this device.
I am a long time treo user (my last machine being a very stable, but dull treo 680).
Last month I bought the HTC Touch (a FANTASTIC machine, especially with HTC Home). But after the Treo, I still need a keyboard as its basically hard work to enter long messages, even with the SIP keyboard (plus TYTN II has 3G and GPS).
So I got my TYTN II 2 days ago and im not enjoying the exeperience, especially when compared to the Touch which was flawless for me. I find that the machine hangs, isnt that responsive, the sound level is much lower than the Touch (both ear and speaker) and while its supposed to be 2x as fast, it really isnt much faster than the Touch. It does have a better screen than the Touch and many other advantages, but none of these are critical for me. Plus I dont know anyone who uses video calling so I have noone to call with it!!!
But the worst part of the TYTN II is that its a MONSTER in both size and weight. Its like walking around with a brick in my pocket! For example, holding the phone while on a long call is very uncomfortable. I just dont like the form factor (actually I miss my Treos front facing keyboard).
So if you own a Touch, have a BT GPS device, can get by with wifi, and can get the hang of the on-board keyboard then I suggest you upgrade the ROM on the Touch and stick with it. Im sorry i didnt.
That said, now I own this device Im going to try to make it work for me and get used to it, or sell it!
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gogol said:
The thing that I dont like:
1. Takes a long time to fully charge from 10% to 100% ! More than 4 hours using USB connection.
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Click to collapse
You mean USB cable connected to computer - it always was like that. Hermes was not different. If you use wall charger, it will get job done quicker.
3. Camera and video recording sucks on indoor situation (low light), but very good on outdoor.
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Click to collapse
Well.. what else can you expect? This is a phone, not real camera, it would always suck in low light. But camera is still pretty good, as for phone - while in good light conditions, of course.
demione said:
how's the in-call voice quality & signal strength from the kaiser's qualcomm chip, compared to previous htc phones (fo example, ones which featured the TI omap chip)?
and also how's the gps? is it really that much worse than a sirfstar to the point where it would become unusable in a city with many tall buildings?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both are really good. I was impressed by call quality, really. In terms of GPS, IMHO there is also nothing to complain about...
hardware audio control
technillion said:
1. There is no default hardware button that allows you to change the Sound Volume at any time...like when/if you're somewhere quiet and the phone rings loudly or a reminder pops up loudly. Many devices have Vol Up & Down buttons on the side of the device that will let you do this but with the TyTN II you'll have to either use the default Volume control icon at the top of the screen (which is tough to get to using a finger) or use the HTC Touch panel - assuming you have it enabled in the Task Panel settings. You can however adjust the volume during a call using the thumb wheel--which is nice.
TEC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually the jog dial on the side defaults to volume control when you are in a call or running (foreground) an app that has volume aspects, like Media Player or HTC Audio Manager. Agreed that there's no general audio control tho. You can install 3rd party apps to give you one-touch scheme changes - check the Hermes forum for apps like O2+ (DiStefano's cab collection is nice).
Problem after phone calls
There seems to be a problem with the Kaiser. After finishing a phone call on the Kaiser the backlight goes off and stays off and I cannot access the Start menu. I can access all other functions but backlight stays off and one still cant get into the Start menu from anywhere on the screen. I have to press the power off button quickly once and then wait a second, press it again to be able to access the start button or the light to come on. This is definitely a bug in the tytn II and I hope HTC is doing something about this.
Reload63 said:
There seems to be a problem with the Kaiser. After finishing a phone call on the Kaiser the backlight goes off and stays off and I cannot access the Start menu. I can access all other functions but backlight stays off and one still cant get into the Start menu from anywhere on the screen. I have to press the power off button quickly once and then wait a second, press it again to be able to access the start button or the light to come on. This is definitely a bug in the tytn II and I hope HTC is doing something about this.
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Click to collapse
No such problems with my Kaiser. Maybe some specific application is causing such behavior? Try uninstalling some of them, and check - but the best test would be hard reset and check on 'clean' ROM. If problem still persists - get the warranty replacement.
Hi
No such problems with my Kaiser. Maybe some specific application is causing such behavior? Try uninstalling some of them, and check - but the best test would be hard reset and check on 'clean' ROM. If problem still persists - get the warranty replacement.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This has already been reported and confirmed by a few people and happens when you have a password word set on the device. If no device password is set it works okay and you will not be affected. Workaround at the moment is not to set a password or press the power button again after a call to get the device back on.
Regards
Phil
strange, I have a password and do not experience this problem (thru 3 different AT&T roms). I'm happy to test it out on whichever rom exhibits the problem tho.
The problem only seems to exist on the official HTC ROM.
Reading, swimming in the wave of complains (most of them not justified) posted here i felt the urge to write something positive about my\our new Diamond.
Some of the complains are amusing me because are the direct result of a totally unfamiliarity with the WM, a "jumping to conclusions" approach or because very high expectations.
I hate the complains written by ppl that don't owe a Diamond and are feeding us with useless and incorrect information they "heard from a friend". After an ironic answer to one of this kind of posters i even got a PM from a newbie who complained about my luck of patience and overdose of sarcasm.
I do think that in the next 2-3 month we are going to see the prices go down and the quality of the Diamonds go up. We are the pioneers, we have the $ to pay the high prices and the curiosity/balls to buy the first maybe not completely debugged ones that were sold.
Let's not forget also that HTC are constrained by the narrow mind programmers of Microsoft. Now to the subject:
1. I like direct acces from the today screen to the Phone History. It saves a click or two.
2. I like having more than 7 favorites programs at a click\flip of a finger. Now we have the old "7 items only" menu and the programs from Today Screen.\
3. Do i have to tell you how much i like sliding from one application to another in the today screen from the bottom menu bar OR from the top title bar OR from the middle of the screen?
4. I like having larger Storage Memory and Larger Program Memory than my old, faithful Trinity. I like even more the 4 G Internal Memory replacing the 2 G SD. Will i ever fill them up?!
5. I like pressing in the upper task bar to get a full screen with big buttons to check my memory, 3G state, Battery and so on..."System Status"
6. I like the Task Button that really can be finger touched because the screen is no more recessed.
7. I like flipping my favorites' pics. Again we have the option for more favorites contacts. We have 9 or more on speed dial and as many as we like on the contact's pics on the today screen.
8. I like the quality of sound (here a few ppl are going: woooooooo) but i like it.
9. I like using my BT headphones with the impeccable A2DP. No tweaks needed.
10. I like the option to retract the phone dial pad to see more contacts when i am using the smart dialing.
11. I like the 3.2 mp camera with auto focus and the quality of the pics/flics i get.
12. I like the VGA screen and the clarity and size of what is written on the screen.
13. I like the graphics.
14. I like (no, i have to correct myself) I LOVE the way it fits to my shirt pocket.
I am looking forward to:
- The first xda-dev made ROM.
- The extended battery Pack.
- OS Android or WM 7.
In conclusion: give it a chance, you'll might like it
What more I can say ... totally agree *thumbs up*
if you like it buy it, if you don`t like sell it and go elsewhere, if you don`t have it shut up
Adding to that list....
I have to admit that i am impressed with mine as well...
I have "tweaked" the touchflo a bit to mke it more responsive, and i love the fact that i can "scroll" through recieved texts and emails...
I am actually having fun with the diamond, especially as i made the transition directly from a Universal. its amusing to type with t9, i rarely have to grab the stylus. I have to agree that the headset for calls is stunning, and music is clear, both on BT headset and wired.
I still need to work out how to use the damn headset buttons though!
I like the fact that my Wizard's miniUSB charger fits this extUSB of the Diamond as well! Same goes for my car charger! It even works with standard USB -> miniUSB cables to connect to the computer.
Now only for an audio link in the car... maybe I could setup a nice bluetooth thingy with my car radio
Well, I've been using WM devices for quite a while now, and i'll state the point that makes the Diamond stand out based on my experience with WM devices:
1) VGA screen - I can't even see a darn pixel on screen. It's so friggin sharp (my first VGA device )
2) The G-sensor is sweet. The game teeter gives a good user experience. I wish there are more apps for the sensor
3) SIZE! I thought the original Touch was small.. and now this!!
4) I'm a sucker for graphic animation (still not going with iPxxne) So I like TouchFlo3D. Got everything there I need
Well.. thats pretty much makes the device stand out. ANd yea.. the device isnt half as bad as what others complained abt. It's not a decent device.. its an awesome one!
I almost like eveything about the diamond,except the memory issues,its a real RAM hog. especially with touchflo3d turned on because its leaks alot of memory.also program memory is lower that the kaiser,only 86mb total and almost 50mb in use already! same for RAM; total 113mb but already 60mb in use! thats not funny. hope the touch pro doesnt have these problems.
but the rest i love about the phone,the size of it, the graphics of the vga screen, the g-sensor apps, the gps thats super quick, touchflo3d for its user friendly simplicity and stunning graphics especially the weather i like very much, i like opera cuz its better than IE.maybe more to come as i use it more
overall: great phone,but needs better ROM thats more memory-efficiant, but a great one add to the collection
KukurikU said:
Reading, swimming in the wave of complains (most of them not justified) posted here i felt the urge to write something positive about my\our new Diamond.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well said my friend. By the way, I used to live in Rehovot
Hello,
I love mine very much too...My main issue the the impossibility to install IGO 8 on this device...May be one day,
Philippe
I think you forgot about the GPS. Its simply amazing. Locks within 10 seconds cold or otherwise. When compared to my clunky TYTN II of which I never used the keyboard the GPS is fantastic. On my old TYTN II it could take about 2-3 minutes to get a lock. Of course there are still some application bugs for the IGO users but my Garmin Mobile XT flies.
Opps time to change my signature. Still says TYTN II
VGA, GPS, G-Sensor, Complete Flush screen, 3.2 MP, Small Size, NO External Keyboard....Opera 9.5 as default browser, Love my Diamond.
Just one word: Amazing!
j0bro said:
I like the fact that my Wizard's miniUSB charger fits this extUSB of the Diamond as well! Same goes for my car charger! It even works with standard USB -> miniUSB cables to connect to the computer.
Now only for an audio link in the car... maybe I could setup a nice bluetooth thingy with my car radio
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how are you doing this? i plugged in my diamond with the standard usb cable, and it is charging. but my computer does not recognize it as a phone. and i cannot activesync.
it might be the cable......
pauljohn54 said:
I think you forgot about the GPS. Its simply amazing. Locks within 10 seconds cold or otherwise. When compared to my clunky TYTN II of which I never used the keyboard the GPS is fantastic. On my old TYTN II it could take about 2-3 minutes to get a lock. Of course there are still some application bugs for the IGO users but my Garmin Mobile XT flies.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
with tomtom v6 it takes a couple of minutes. 2 or 3!!
so i do not like tomtom, but i love the diamond.!!!
i also like the free screen protector
I just got it today. What I like most is the size and the screen.
Compared to my "old" Touch Cruise, where I actually never liked the design, I have the feeling that it's only have the size and weight. No comparison to the sceen too. BtW Diamond is 16,7 Mio colors, isnt' it ?
This device could become the best smartphone I ever owned. Let the testing begin.
I owned a wizard, touch, touch xl, touch dual, but none of these pleased me more than the diamond!
my diamond is the best device ever made! let me point out why:
1. formfactor is outstanding, its small, strong, beautiful.
2. the design is outstanding!
3. the performance of the touchflo3d is very good, the stories about lag are just bullocks. the only lag I felt was during a2dp, wifi, teeter, and many apps opened.
4. speaking of a2dp, the bluetooth radio is the best there ever was on a device, 15 meters from diamond and still listening music
5. opera browser rules
6. teeter is a killer game.
7. g sensor rocks and works great
8. gps has a quick fix
9. camera makes beautiful pics(when a lot of licht is around)
10. love the way scrolling through my music albums with album art(love the non static feeling to it)
11. same with pics and videos
12. youtube player works very well with 3g and wifi(sometimes with gprs)
13. typed this text with opera and xt9 on my diamond so the keyboard works well.
14. my first vga screen an I must say, qvga sucks!
15. the build in light sensor is amazing
this device blows every other phone to pieces, I believe htc finally got it!
what I dislike:
- sometimes the dpad doesn't do what I like, but I think I can train myself with that.
- windows mobile sometimes gives a popup:
xxx.exe is not responding. but the device keeps working...
gr bram
The fact that its not a brick or door stop. and its so sexy looking
just because is so typical and ...funny. read it till the end. why FM radio sucks
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=401119
Excellent thread!!
Thanks all for sharing your positive feedback about your 'Diamonds'.
After having read this thread I've decided to return to HTC!! Now that is saying something.lol.
I was uhming and arrhing about the resticted 4GB storage as opposed to the current 12GB and soon to be 32GB cards, but if I am to be honest, yeah...I can use all that space up, but would never really need more than 3GB at any given time. The upcoming Pro version of the Diamond seems to have it all for me, but I just never use the tiny slide-out keyboard (just a novelty on such a small device IMHO), so Diamond...here I come.
All said and done though, you will unlikely ever get the solid type of after sales support that one gets from this forum.
XDA-developers rule!!
P.S. I've read that Open GLES works great with Call of Duty II...don't need my Ultimate i-mate with that Geforce chip anymore .
Looks like I'll be sticking to the Diamond until the new Nvidia APX 2500 enabled devices make it into HTC devices.
Thanks again for this thread and your comments....it has helped me greatly.
These are the first impressions of a power user after a week with the Diamond - I hope they might help others to decide whether to get one.
EDIT: Things have moved on since this post, you might want to look at post #39 too (page 4)
Background
I'm a power user but also a heavy day-to-day user as well. I use my phone for calling people, basic PDA functions, OTA google sync, web access, IMAP mail, GPS and also .NET software development. (I'm the author of 'Touch Settings') I used to have an HTC Touch. Before that, an HTC Prophet. Before that, an HTC MDA Compact.. ..you get the idea. I like HTC devices. I've stuck with them all, put up with their frustrations and watched them steadily improve. But this phone felt like the most exciting release yet. A massive leap forward in terms of specs. I was calling up Orange for about a month to find out the ETA. I actually RAN to the Orange Shop in Oxford Street and managed to get their last one in stock at the weekend!
So, one week in, here we go...
Great things
THE SCREEN
My favourite thing is the VGA screen. I cannot believe the difference it makes to the look of the phone, seriously. I could never go back to QVGA again now, this is a major improvement. Just reading the operator name in a slim, Arial-Narrow type font at the top of the screen and not being able to see the individual pixels, this is a true step forward. Everything, repeat, EVERYTHING looks better.
THE CAMERA
The auto-focus camera is nothing short of brilliant. Still rubbish in low-light levels, still no flash, but this is light-years ahead of the last one! I still get a little smirk of delight on my face when I hear it whirring as it focuses ahead of taking a picture!
A FASTER PROCESSOR
Hooray! FINALLY!... 528MHz ...4 times faster than my HTC Touch!...in theory. See below.
THE NEW ADD-ONS
Having GPS, FM radio, a tilt switch, a light sensor and more is fantastic. Teeter, the game, is awesome and will impress every person you know at a party.
THE SIZE
The Diamond is slightly smaller than the HTC Touch as well - easier to fit in a pocket. And it really does look gorgeous. Well done HTC.
Enough praise. Because then there's all this:
The Not-so-great things:
THE SPEED
Pop Quiz. Take your Windows Mobile phone. Tap the start button. Then tap 'Programs'. Does the window flash onto your screen immediately? No. There's a delay, isn't there? And sometimes you can even see it drawing every individual icon, top-to-bottom. On my HTC Touch, after a day of use, this took about 2 seconds.
On the Diamond, with TouchFlo 3D running, it's worse.
Skip this paragraph if you don't want a rant. Seriously, when are Windows Mobile phones actually going to get responsive enough to be useable? Delays when you press buttons, delays when you bring up menus, switch applications, etc, etc. What the hell is this operating system DOING with those 537 mega cycles per second??? Having patiently waited through my last THREE sloooow devices, I was thrilled at the thought of a phone that actually whizzed along... ...but it's a bit like going from XP on a slow computer to Vista on a fast computer - no noticable increase in speed at all. Such a crushing disappointment. My old Nokia could re-draw a screen faster 3 years ago. In this day and age, and with a processor doing a belting 500+ MHz, this should NOT be happening. Things should appear INSTANTLY and react the VERY MOMENT you touch them. I am running out of patience. The iPhone is looking more attactive every day.
TFL3D - INTERFACE
Fantastic to look at, but surprisngly sluggish to use. The more days that pass, the more it's becoming apparent that this interface is more about form and less about function. It's also often lacking in visual feedback; sometimes a button will move when you drag it (main nav bar at the bottom), sometimes not! You just have to swipe and see! Visual feedback is a very important part of user interface design.
COMMON ACTIONS, E.G. CALLING PEOPLE
I feel that, action-wise, some things have (incredibly) got HARDER since my HTC Touch. For example, I used to be able to call my favourite contacts with a swipe and a tap.. ..now it's a swipe, a complicated side-swipey thing, a painstaking wait for the piccies to flip around, and finally a tap. Er, hello? This is the MAIN THING I USE THE PHONE FOR - CALLING PEOPLE! I can't even position my favourite contacts in memorable places; again, a big factor in user interface design, hence why you remember where your icons are on your PC's desktop.
HOME SCREEN (TFL3D again really)
I can't add any custom home screen items! What the hell happened to being able to view my list of things to do? (tasks) Seriously, this is a shockingly bad step back. I know there are some apps to work around this, but I'm doing a review of the stock phone and software here.
THE JOYPAD
This should be renamed the joy-less pad. It's virtually impossible to click the Left and Right buttons without frequently mis-tapping and hitting the 'Back' or 'Hang Up' keys instead. There are no markings, you just sort of have to 'guess' where abouts on the flat screen to tap. The actual target area isn't big enough and I'm getting sick of quitting out of screens when I just want to move right or left. I've got fairly big hands but I'm no elephant.
The ipod-style 'whiz-around' wheel seems promising but when you try it, it's under-responsive and jerky in its movements. I would suggest that's why they've limited the applications that support it by default.
NO MINI SD CARD SLOT
Another step back - from 8Gb storage on my HTC Touch (with a mini SD card) to a paltry 4Gb now. Not enough to put all my music on the phone plus nav software, and no slot for more storage.
GROSS GREASINESS
As other forum users have pointed out, all that swiping on this shiny black device - it looks like the back of a transit van after a minute or so of use.
CONCLUSION
Owning an HTC Diamond is without doubt a step forward from an HTC Touch, but it's a smaller step than you might think. Be prepared for a mixed bag of emotions. Joy at the look of the thing, disappointment when you realise it's slower than you hoped, shouts of happiness when you first play 'Teeter', cries of frustration when the screen turns off randomly during calls or you miss-hit the joypad button or you can't swipe the tiny bit of the screen you're meant to.
After all that, I might surprise you by saying this. I would still say this phone is the best option on the market for the day-to-day user who wants an ultra-portable device that packs enough power to do that bit more than just making calls.
Just 24 hours into owning the phone I did my first ROM flash, from 1.37...1 to 1.37...3 - and this helped the speed somewhat and fixed a memory leak. I also tweaked the registry as much as I could. This has helped too, but the above problems are all still too evident, nothing has really improved enough to make me retract any of them. Keep watching these forums, though, because future ROM updates have the power to make this device much, much better.
That's about it, I hope these comments have helped, or given you something to debate in the space below. I'm going to stick with the Diamond for now. But I wouldn't mind betting I'll have completely disabled TouchFlo 3D before the week is out...
Carlos
I too wonder how long I will last with TF3D. However, the joypad is no problem. Simply use the centre button as a reference point. If you rest part of your thumb in there and press any side of it, then it is easy to navigate. At least I find it easy anyway. Hope that might help you.
carlosp_uk said:
I was calling up Orange for about a month to find out the ETA. I actually RAN to the Orange Shop in Oxford Street and managed to get their last one in stock at the weekend!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you were really a fan you would have made sure you were the first, and didn't have to run
mcwtrekkie said:
If you were really a fan you would have made sure you were the first, and didn't have to run
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I may well have been Orange's first online order! Could not wait.
evilskanker said:
I think I may well have been Orange's first online order! Could not wait.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the spirit!
Has anyone managed to add a UK city to the weather forecast page ? I found it almost impossible to scroll down to the last page, it keeps selecting wrong countries, the only way I see - scroll one-by-one using hardware buttons ....
Yes, I added 3. Scroll with finger, well, more of a flick.
evilskanker said:
Yes, I added 3. Scroll with finger, well, more of a flick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I've tried about 20 different ways of scrolling with a finger, always end up with a list of south american cities ... (
Comparing to my old Orbit, I would say I have to press harder for screen to react ..
hertc said:
I think I've tried about 20 different ways of scrolling with a finger, always end up with a list of south american cities ... (
Comparing to my old Orbit, I would say I have to press harder for screen to react ..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's at times like these that it would be good to be able to use the wheel for scrolling down.
evilskanker said:
It's at times like these that it would be good to be able to use the wheel for scrolling down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree, still remember Sony J7 I had long time ago, all these things were so easy with a wheel ..
hertc said:
Comparing to my old Orbit, I would say I have to press harder for screen to react ..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apparently the Diamond is the first PocketPC device to have a tempered glass screen to make it extra tough. This makes it require a little more pressure than other devices.
But much more resilient to damage, and also nicer on the eye.
wasn't to amazed with the stock rom,
but after some days of usage and flashing the first cooked rom,
i am getting more and more into my new mobile..
Totally agree, using my Diamond for a week after three years on I-mate's.
carlosp_uk said:
CALLING PEOPLE
I feel that, action-wise, some things have (incredibly) got HARDER since my HTC Touch. For example, I used to be able to call my favourite contacts with a swipe and a tap.. ..now it's a swipe, a complicated side-swipey thing, a painstaking wait for the piccies to flip around, and finally a tap. Er, hello? This is the MAIN THING I USE THE PHONE FOR - CALLING PEOPLE! I can't even position my favourite contacts in memorable places;
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just a suggestion -
Speed Dialing.
you can place at least SOME off your favorites in the positions you want.. and then it will just be one long press.. and it will dial.
Phone - menu - Speed Dial.
and of course.. there is always voice dialing.
Turn off TF3D. Ive heard is does HUGE things for the interface speed, and you'll get your tasks back (first thing Im going to do when I get a sprint diamond on this side of the pond)
I agree on almost every point
Not having used touch before, I really can't say anything bad about the navigation. To me it's a revolution, but it's not quite there yet.
The biggest flaw is the biggest asset. Let me explain.
The biggest asset to this device is the screen. I have never liked the screen on any of the QVGA devices I have used (Wizard and Hermes). The VGA screen on the Diamond is fantastic! Crisp and easy to read, even in direct sunlight. The words by HTC "Not too big, not too small" really sums up my feelings about it. However. Screen size is relative to what you display on it. I'm sure a lot of research, testing and effort went in to decide the size of the elements on the TF3D interface. Personally I would have designed it differently.
The main professional reason I choose to use a WiMo is Active Sync OTA (Over-The-Air). Having direct push of Mail, Calendar and Contacts to my device is critical in my profession. This HAS to work, it has to be easy to use, and easy to read. On the Diamond it works fantastically. Lots better than on the Hermes. It takes some getting used to, when you have never used touchflo before.
The touch interface has to be finger friendly, demanding finger sized icons and buttons. Having a small screen required HTC to use the entire screen. That makes you wish for a larger screen, yet a larger screen would require a larger device and I dont want that. Dilemma.
Like you said, the TF3D interface lacks in visual feedback. This could be replaced by tactile feedback. The same technology used in the game TEETER could be used to give me feedback on my actions.
Being a WiMo certified pro I know that the main obstacle for HTC is WiMo itself, or rather the Windows CE it is built upon. Win CE 5 is nowhere near a realtime OS and the switch to Win CE 6 (afaik it will be the foundation for WiMo 7) will be a major leap. CE6 is not a RTOS either, but it has the means to enable truly great applications. I look forward to what Developers will create for WiMo7.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Embedded_CE_6.0)
The only thing I really dislike on my Diamond is the scrollwheel. I clearly does not work like you would expect it to. Unintuitive. And the Up/Down/Left/Right navigation around it is near unusable. Using the touch screen works though so it is not a showstopper for me.
Speed of the interface is good once you have used the cache size tweaks. Not great but good.
I fully agree on the speed comment, 527mhz... but it seems it's different mhz compared to my HTC Herald (P4350).
On my Herald I also have WM6.1, a 200mhz cpu (o'ced to 240 mhz) and everything starts faster!
I've got the 1.37.xxx.3 rom on my Diamond, TF3D disabled and still it's slower.
Very strange indeed.
guys i suggest you all to flash duttythroy's diamond project v2 rom. it increased the usability amazingly.
guys i suggest you all to flash duttythroy's diamond project v2 rom. it increased the usability amazingly. and c'mon guys, our shiny precioussssssss is out some weeks. look what they've done with the kaiser within one year... stay patient and keep being excited for that genius piece of hardware.
carlosp_uk said:
These are the first impressions of a power user after a week with the Diamond - I hope they might help others to decide whether to get one.
Background
I'm a power user but also a heavy day-to-day user as well. I use my phone for calling people, basic PDA functions, OTA google sync, web access, IMAP mail, GPS and also .NET software development. (I'm the author of 'Touch Settings') I used to have an HTC Touch. Before that, an HTC Prophet. Before that, an HTC MDA Compact.. ..you get the idea. I like HTC devices. I've stuck with them all, put up with their frustrations and watched them steadily improve. But this phone felt like the most exciting release yet. A massive leap forward in terms of specs. I was calling up Orange for about a month to find out the ETA. I actually RAN to the Orange Shop in Oxford Street and managed to get their last one in stock at the weekend!
So, one week in, here we go...
Great things
THE SCREEN
My favourite thing is the VGA screen. I cannot believe the difference it makes to the look of the phone, seriously. I could never go back to QVGA again now, this is a major improvement. Just reading the operator name in a slim, Arial-Narrow type font at the top of the screen and not being able to see the individual pixels, this is a true step forward. Everything, repeat, EVERYTHING looks better.
THE CAMERA
The auto-focus camera is nothing short of brilliant. Still rubbish in low-light levels, still no flash, but this is light-years ahead of the last one! I still get a little smirk of delight on my face when I hear it whirring as it focuses ahead of taking a picture!
A FASTER PROCESSOR
Hooray! FINALLY!... 528MHz ...4 times faster than my HTC Touch!...in theory. See below.
THE NEW ADD-ONS
Having GPS, FM radio, a tilt switch, a light sensor and more is fantastic. Teeter, the game, is awesome and will impress every person you know at a party.
THE SIZE
The Diamond is slightly smaller than the HTC Touch as well - easier to fit in a pocket. And it really does look gorgeous. Well done HTC.
Enough praise. Because then there's all this:
The Not-so-great things:
THE SPEED
Pop Quiz. Take your Windows Mobile phone. Tap the start button. Then tap 'Programs'. Does the window flash onto your screen immediately? No. There's a delay, isn't there? And sometimes you can even see it drawing every individual icon, top-to-bottom. On my HTC Touch, after a day of use, this took about 2 seconds.
On the Diamond, with TouchFlo 3D running, it's worse.
Skip this paragraph if you don't want a rant. Seriously, when are Windows Mobile phones actually going to get responsive enough to be useable? Delays when you press buttons, delays when you bring up menus, switch applications, etc, etc. What the hell is this operating system DOING with those 537 mega cycles per second??? Having patiently waited through my last THREE sloooow devices, I was thrilled at the thought of a phone that actually whizzed along... ...but it's a bit like going from XP on a slow computer to Vista on a fast computer - no noticable increase in speed at all. Such a crushing disappointment. My old Nokia could re-draw a screen faster 3 years ago. In this day and age, and with a processor doing a belting 500+ MHz, this should NOT be happening. Things should appear INSTANTLY and react the VERY MOMENT you touch them. I am running out of patience. The iPhone is looking more attactive every day.
TFL3D - INTERFACE
Fantastic to look at, but surprisngly sluggish to use. The more days that pass, the more it's becoming apparent that this interface is more about form and less about function. It's also often lacking in visual feedback; sometimes a button will move when you drag it (main nav bar at the bottom), sometimes not! You just have to swipe and see! Visual feedback is a very important part of user interface design.
COMMON ACTIONS, E.G. CALLING PEOPLE
I feel that, action-wise, some things have (incredibly) got HARDER since my HTC Touch. For example, I used to be able to call my favourite contacts with a swipe and a tap.. ..now it's a swipe, a complicated side-swipey thing, a painstaking wait for the piccies to flip around, and finally a tap. Er, hello? This is the MAIN THING I USE THE PHONE FOR - CALLING PEOPLE! I can't even position my favourite contacts in memorable places; again, a big factor in user interface design, hence why you remember where your icons are on your PC's desktop.
HOME SCREEN (TFL3D again really)
I can't add any custom home screen items! What the hell happened to being able to view my list of things to do? (tasks) Seriously, this is a shockingly bad step back. I know there are some apps to work around this, but I'm doing a review of the stock phone and software here.
THE JOYPAD
This should be renamed the joy-less pad. It's virtually impossible to click the Left and Right buttons without frequently mis-tapping and hitting the 'Back' or 'Hang Up' keys instead. There are no markings, you just sort of have to 'guess' where abouts on the flat screen to tap. The actual target area isn't big enough and I'm getting sick of quitting out of screens when I just want to move right or left. I've got fairly big hands but I'm no elephant.
The ipod-style 'whiz-around' wheel seems promising but when you try it, it's under-responsive and jerky in its movements. I would suggest that's why they've limited the applications that support it by default.
NO MINI SD CARD SLOT
Another step back - from 8Gb storage on my HTC Touch (with a mini SD card) to a paltry 4Gb now. Not enough to put all my music on the phone plus nav software, and no slot for more storage.
GROSS GREASINESS
As other forum users have pointed out, all that swiping on this shiny black device - it looks like the back of a transit van after a minute or so of use.
CONCLUSION
Owning an HTC Diamond is without doubt a step forward from an HTC Touch, but it's a smaller step than you might think. Be prepared for a mixed bag of emotions. Joy at the look of the thing, disappointment when you realise it's slower than you hoped, shouts of happiness when you first play 'Teeter', cries of frustration when the screen turns off randomly during calls or you miss-hit the joypad button or you can't swipe the tiny bit of the screen you're meant to.
After all that, I might surprise you by saying this. I would still say this phone is the best option on the market for the day-to-day user who wants an ultra-portable device that packs enough power to do that bit more than just making calls.
Just 24 hours into owning the phone I did my first ROM flash, from 1.37...1 to 1.37...3 - and this helped the speed somewhat and fixed a memory leak. I also tweaked the registry as much as I could. This has helped too, but the above problems are all still too evident, nothing has really improved enough to make me retract any of them. Keep watching these forums, though, because future ROM updates have the power to make this device much, much better.
That's about it, I hope these comments have helped, or given you something to debate in the space below. I'm going to stick with the Diamond for now. But I wouldn't mind betting I'll have completely disabled TouchFlo 3D before the week is out...
Carlos
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what a crap...
THE SPEED
Put one of the new ROMs on it (Dutty, Walshieau), runs like hell. No delay here!
TFL3D - INTERFACE
Simply switch TF3D off if you don't like it.
And use an existing tool for your today (SPB Mobile Shell ect.).
COMMON ACTIONS, E.G. CALLING PEOPLE
Disable the Diamond dialer, you get your traditional dialer back.
HOME SCREEN (TFL3D again really)
Simply switch TF3D off.
Use an existing tool for today (SPB Mobile Shell ect.).
THE JOYPAD
Get used to it, it works perfect after a few weeks.
NO MINI SD CARD SLOT
Ok, maybe you got a point...
On the other hand: do you really need ALL your music all the time. A sync now and then for other music isn't that hard.
GROSS GREASINESS
Ok, the shiny cover gets greasy. But is't so beautiful,,,
How long have you had your Diamond for and do you wish you had opted for something else? I'm just trying to gauge opinions of people who have owned the phone for a few months. Thanks.
I've owned mine for just 3 days so I'm still getting used to it....I think it's a terrible 'out of the box' product but it seems to improve with various add-ons. So far I've downloaded Diamond Tweak and IContacts.
My latest problem with it is that I'm encountering the notorious TomTom 'no maps found' error (Grrrr....this was never an issue on my old HTC device)
The Diamond is my first HTC or WinMo phone, I've owned it for 7 months and I don't regret it.
It's pretty slow at doing things and the battery life if terrible if you actually use the device, rather than leaving it in suspend mode with 3G coverage switched off. However, charge it at least once daily and it's livable with.
TF3D is crap too, get rid of that and it gets much better!
I have just sold my Diamond. I used it for about 6 months and could never get used to it's very slow speeds. Especially out of the box it was a huge dissapointment, although with a custom rom things did improve.
But still, the thing is just too slow in my opinion. Probably all due to the lovely Qualcomm chipset that's inside it. When you look at the specs (memory, mhz etc) it should fly, be awesome. But it just isn't.
I always compare to my old mda compact (qtek s100). When I used to run TomTom on that one it was smooth with good fps. Even on a device like the Diamond, years later, it runs like crap. And that is a bit dissapointing ofcourse.
Don't get me wrong, you get a lot in return. Nicer UI, VGA screen, much better touchscreen and a much much better looking phone. But in the speed department all of my HTC phones have been dissapointing.
(Yet still I buy them, they are too much fun. qtek s100, qtek s200, htc touch, touch cruise, diamond).
But for now, HTC will have to do without me .
I love my Fuze, I hate my Fuze
This article sums my feelings up very well:
http://www.mytodayscreen.com/i-hate-my-fuze-i-love-my-fuze/
I've never had so much fun hacking a device before, but at one and the same time I resent having to hack it into a proper phone in the first place.
I'm not getting rid of my Fuze any time soon, but with anyone shopping for a new phone I steer them away from it. I'm completely up front with them, and admit to them I've spent dozens of hours scouring message boards and web sites for hacks to get the phone to behave in a way in which I'm happy with.
Users should not have to hack a registry to change ANY of the settings I've wanted to tweak!!!
That felt good to get off my chest.
I love my Diamond and the small sleek form factor more htan the Toch HD I had for a week or so.
I do not go anywhere without my trusty diamond in my pocket, I have tried so many other phones/PDA's and this is the best, the smallest for what it can do.
Its also perfect for a walking GPS device with memory map.
Its a running GPS log, my music device, organiser, camera for meetings and quick memories, reading book, comic book, games, even acts as a spirit level, does practically everything I need, oh yes and its a phone too.
Choose the right ROM and the thing is so quick and responsive.
TF3D is brilliant, I am so used to it now I can't get on with anything else.
Simple answer no it just keeps getting better and better.
I regret not!
But it seems like software is always ahead of the hardware. Before I had my branded Diamond I had the GloFiish X500+, so in comparison to that I'm very happy with my MDAIV.
But WinMo does helps to keep me using PPC's, it's a great platform to work with.
no!
and a comparative with old devices is like ... ach no need any words.
dont forgett, the devices are all at first a phone. all other functions wasnt the premiere function. something was good something cant be good.
i.e. old device open a webside with more speed than a new device.
but how you go to internet? by cable or by gms ($).
and if you are finished with scrolling left-to-right and back you have to scroll up and down. the new device uses wlan to go internet or umts and your scroll-action is minimizing by overview the complete internet-side.
but asking other people for feeling if buy or not buy ... hmmm, be carefull, that are only feelings and oppinnions.
i can say, that all devices (htc, nokia, apple) have good and not-good thinks. my buddy have apple. with standars he have no problems, after installation some progs the apple will be slowly and he do resets his devicxe many time like me. YOUR GUT FEELING IS NEEDED!!!
No regrets at all. Like stated above with the right custom rom, tweaks and apps this is everything I need in a phone/ppc.
And whats fun about getting a phone right out of the box that does everything you want? Heck, modding it to your likings is most the fun.
after 2 years of using WinMob my diamond is the first one that people is asking "What is this?". I mean that has the greatest software (WinMob) and the best design.
What do you want more?
Hate it, but use it!
I have had a Diamond for about 6 months now, and only use it because of the size.
I prefer my TyTN II but it is just too bulky
I hate a touch screen keyboard and prefer the slide out of the TyTN II.
I also find the Diamond's volume very soft as compared to the TyTN II
But in any case this will be my last M$ Windows based device, until M$ issues a decent OS.
PS: The motherboard has already been replaced.
i just love my Diamond....
Hi !
I bot love and hate it equally... After six happy months, new ROMs etc... I am forced to send it back, since from the start, when I stay in H or 3G (I am 30 meters away from a big antenna), I don't get any call... One bar of H or 3G in my home... The phone displays bars, one or two, but is totally disconnected from network, and I miss ALL my phonecalls. Sometimes, two days after, I get messages notifications: twenty voicemails, 50 SMS... all sent two days ago but not received by the phone...
If you have any suggestion... I have tried everything, but I'm forced to leave it on "G" only (GSM/GPRS) which is a serious drawback as I'm always using it to surf the web, mail, TV on phone etc... with my all inclusive plan (French network SFR).
When I go to downtown (one km from my home, so I am downtown!) I have none of the issues stated above.
This phone is probably the worst receiver in the history of mobile phones... All y previous phones gave me five constant bars of H or 3G, this one only one or less... All my friends with cheaper devices have five bars in my place...
I really love my Diamond. Being my first WinMo phone I have to say sites like this here really help improve the phone. Coming from the iPhone I miss the multi-touch and easy surfing on Safari (but I found that Iris is an awesome browser.)
I love the size of my phone, that is what I did not like about the iPhone (too big for me)
In case you are wondering I have had it since it first launched in Canada (Dec 4, 2008)
i wont say that i regret buying my diamond but i am for sure going to buy the new touch pro2 as soon as it comes to denmark. the diamond is good but it aint the best... ive always have a lot of problem with the speed of the diamiond jsut like everyone else but after getting rid of tf3d it has improved a bit. but all in all im not disappointed with the phone.
Cornwall are you sure its because of the device? i dont know anyone who ever had that problem. it might not be the phone but the provider of the net. if that isnt the problem i sure would go to the place i bought the phone and demand to get a new one cause it might be that single phone that is screwed up.
I like the Diamond especially for its size. I have a clip-on pouch that is designed especially for Diamond. I don't like the ROM that came with my operator Telstra but I have since then upgraded to CT6.4 HD Lite ROM. It is fast, lite and stable and good battery. I also like the onscreen keyboard where I can hold the key and it types numbers instead of letters. Very handy.
One feature I wish it had was the TV-OUT capability, like that in Touch Pro.
Anyway, for the keyboardless phone, Diamond is the best for me so far. For phone with keyboard, I think Touch Pro 2 is the one to beat.
My Diamond is now 8 months old and the more I use it, the more I love it. But, I surely have plans to upgrade to TOUCH HD. Reason? I want a bigger screen to actually use those pixels. Cramming VGA display into a 2.8" does not bring any huge practical advantage as only Opera Mobile uses those pixels effectively.
Touch Diamond-2 has bigger screen, but it is 3.2" and crams WVGA resolution. Scene won't change much for me. I do not want a hardware keyboard and that rules out TP-2
I've just bought a Nokia E51 to replace my Diamond. The Diamond was my second HTC phone, the Touch was my first. I thought that the diamond would be a massive step up and for the first six months it was. The screen is much better, the touch sensitivity was better and it was loads quicker. However, once the honeymoon period is over the overall usability of the phone starts to show and for me it wasn't good.
The main negative is the battery life. You have to consciously manage the Diamond to make the battery last. Why cant I just put it in my pocket and have one less worry on life! After normal usage I could unplug the Diamond from the wall charger at 07:30 and by 18:00 it was showing critical battery level warnings. By comparison, with the same usage I unplugged my Nokia E51 over 24 hours ago and the battery is still almost full. One less worry!
Travelling abroad quite a lot I use Skype often, with the diamond I had to ensure I carried my handsfree kit with me so I could make a private call and not through the speaker phone. On top of that I had to keep pressing a button on the phone to stop it going into standby so the wifi doesn't go to sleep - A pain in the ass at best. With the E51 I can access the same wifi hotspot, load up fring and instantly use skype (or MSN) to phone home with the luxury of holding the handset to my ear - what a novelty! also knowing that the battery can cope.
Another big thing was the bluetooth integration to my car stereo. I have a Kenwood stereo and granted I could get into my car and turn the stereo on and that was it, I was connected to the handsfree. However it took 3 minutes or so do download the address book and when I finished a call it would disconnect forcing me to turn off the stereo and turn it back on again to initiate a handshake. The E51 establishes automatically, downloads the phone book in about 15 seconds and never disconnects, pretty much everything you would expect (oh, also it connects the audio automatically so I can play music from the phone through the car with no further faffing about)!
I've come to realise that the Diamond and Windows Mobile is a complete pain in the ass taking up far to much of my time to do things that should just happen. I cant believe how good the nokia E51 is in comparison. It does everything better according to my usual usage of a mobile phone.
It's going to be a few years before I go back to windows mobile, probably after WM 7 has been well established. Untill then I've got my Diamond in a draw as my spare phone.
I have owned my Diamond since June 2008.
The greatest thing about it is it's small size. I like my phones small, and would never consider a phone with a 3.5 inch screen.
I leave the Diamond in 2G mode, and only switch to 3G when I want to use data. My battery life easily lasts more than one day - usually 2 days, although I tend to recharge it every day anyway, so that I don't have to worry about the battery life.
I still use the stock ROM. Best thing you can do, is disable TouchFlo 3D and install the finger friendly SPB Mobile Shell. It is just so much faster, and above all, so much more practical to use, than TouchFlo 3D. I have introduced 3 colleagues with Diamonds to Mobile Shell, and each have promptly switched to Mobile Shell and haven't looked back.
No regrets about getting the Diamond. It was (and still is) really special when it first came out. Now however, I would recommend waiting for the Diamond 2 rather than the Diamond. The microSD card slot will come in handy. It is slightly larger than the Diamond, but not too big, with a bigger screen.
I've been obsessing over the N1 since launch. Android is super neat, and unlocked phones rock. The only thing that really held me back from the purchase was the multitouch issue. I could easily see having to reset my screen with a lock cycle would drive me crazy. That said, I love the idea of the N1, and wish to escape my iPhone prison.
I recently purchased a Galaxy S phone, but am annoyed by the lack of support (saw this coming) and non-functioning locational services. The GPS and Compass are totally and utterly busted. Sadly, Google stopped selling the N1 on the day I decided to order one. However, I have been given a second chance, by purchasing the dev phone (which I am now considering).
So, let's make this like ripping off a bandage. Have mercy, internet. I have questions that require honest answers. I'm sorry if you've heard it all before, but this kind of information is annoyingly hard to dig up. Lightning Round, Go!:
Is the multitouch problem with the N1 (inverse axis swapping when two points cross) still present with 2.2?
Do any custom ROMs, apps or tweaks solve this issue? I read that the Moto Droid had a software setting ticked that allows proper multitouch (a sort of software hack), that google had not opted to enable by default? Sounds a bit silly to me, but what's the deal?
Does your screen still lose track of your fingers (inputing the wrong characters on the keyboard), causing you to lock cycle your screen to reset the digitizer?
Are the touch-buttons difficult to use?
A fellow N1 owner I met told me that his phone showed no signs of the multitouch 'bug', when using 'Multitouch Vis Test'. He said he was running the Modaco ROM. Is it true that something in this ROM fixes the multitouch problem?
Thank you, Princes of Internet.
Personally i dont experience any multitouch issues on my n1. Im running stock froyo 2.2. I have only had to re-lock my screen once and it never happened again. The capicative buttons below the screen take a bit of time to get used to at first it might take you a couple of tries to register a click but a few hours of use you get the hang of it.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
Thanks for the reply.
Would you mind taking the 'Multitouch Vis Test' app for a spin, to see if the problem is gone, or if you just don't notice it?
If the issue is gone, would you mind making a youtube vid of it?
The multitouch on the n1 will not be "fixed" unless google/htc decided to use different hardware. If you can live with a device that can only do pinch to zoom, but not true multitouch, then the n1 is fine.
Honestly at this point, I'd hold off until you see the rest of HTC's lineup that's coming up before december.
Jon C said:
Is the multitouch problem with the N1 (inverse axis swapping when two points cross) still present with 2.2?
Do any custom ROMs, apps or tweaks solve this issue? I read that the Moto Droid had a software setting ticked that allows proper multitouch (a sort of software hack), that google had not opted to enable by default? Sounds a bit silly to me, but what's the deal?
Does your screen still lose track of your fingers (inputing the wrong characters on the keyboard), causing you to lock cycle your screen to reset the digitizer?
Are the touch-buttons difficult to use?
A fellow N1 owner I met told me that his phone showed no signs of the multitouch 'bug', when using 'Multitouch Vis Test'. He said he was running the Modaco ROM. Is it true that something in this ROM fixes the multitouch problem?
Thank you, Princes of Internet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) It was possibly noticable in 2.1, in 2.2 in months now I havn't see it once. You can see with the visualiser you really have to know how to force it to get it to go, its just not something which will occur with correct commands you'll be doing.
2) Its down to the hardware, I'm not aware of any custom ROMs which have anything/anything significant.
3) The only time I EVER get this is with beta super bundles of ROMs, which is either the fault of the ROM, something going skitz in dalvic, how I installed it, or just a self generating bug. All of which are easily fixable. However if you were to stay with stock or more tested ROMs, you'd literally never see this.
4) For me they just work, at the start yes they wouldnt act the same a touch screen, but now they'll act like I want maybe 99% of the time. Sure friends using it to start with have to get used to it, but its not 'broken' if you will. The only thing I will mention is if your using it in weird orientations, there is a chance of hitting the buttons [mainly search] without meaning to with parts of your hand.
5) Again, this problem ONLY shows up if you know how to 'break' it. With 2.2+ its really hard to do it if you handed the phone to someone who's never used it before, because also again you wont be doing any commands which would conflict with the limitations, so you have to be misusing it in the first place to get the bug.
JCopernicus said:
Honestly at this point, I'd hold off until you see the rest of HTC's lineup that's coming up before december.
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Agree with this.
Multitouch is completely crap on the n1. I loved it otherwise, yes every now and again it goes wack and registers the wrong thing... the capacitive buttons also suck and are hard to get used to... on Multitouch test its wacky and registers the wrong finger and won't register more than 2...
Great device, but galaxy is better.. I don't have any gps issues so can't complain about that.
No. No roms will fix the Multitouch issue. Nor make it any better.. if your into gaming with controls on the same axis forget about it, if ya want Multitouch keyboard forget about it...
I still have yet to ever experience the actual axis switch issue using this phone in real world. Sure the issue exists, but it just doesn't effect a single thing unless you use a certain game. But even that works fine, watch YouTube videos showing emulators on the nexus.
The point is, if you're looking for a reason to not get the nexus, The axis switch issue is not the reason that should sway your decision.
I recently came from an iPhone and I haven't noticed any difference in the multi-touch screen (except maybe in the typing on occasion, which I just attributed to my big fingers). I'd say for a good 95%+ of what you would do on the phone you can't tell any difference between the iPhone or N1 multitouch.
With the touch buttons on the bottom of the screen... Sometimes I hit one while typing, which takes me back to the home screen, but since the N1 has true multitasking all I have to do is reopen the app. A minor inconvenience. Or I could just type in landscape mode and not have any trouble at all.
RogerPodacter said:
I still have yet to ever experience the actual axis switch issue using this phone in real world. Sure the issue exists, but it just doesn't effect a single thing unless you use a certain game. But even that works fine, watch YouTube videos showing emulators on the nexus.
The point is, if you're looking for a reason to not get the nexus, The axis switch issue is not the reason that should sway your decision.
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Games like toonWarz or nova will mess up. Has the controls on bottom right and shooting on bottom right. So when your running using the left controls and shoot real quick with the right, it'll now wig out and keep shooting even when you let go and the dude will walk a different way be cause now the sensor thinks your touching in a different spot..
Now you can let go of the left finger then shoot but when ya need precision in some shooting games you will be dead if you do that....
Pinch to zoom is fine and emulators with controls on the top and bottom vs just the bottom ( same axis), but for games like nova, heavy gunner, modern combat, ps1 emulator (unless it has opposite axis controls) which mine don't, took Warz, etc. It will not work properly ....
smashpunks said:
Games like toonWarz or nova will mess up. Has the controls on bottom right and shooting on bottom right. So when your running using the left controls and shoot real quick with the right, it'll now wig out and keep shooting even when you let go and the dude will walk a different way be cause now the sensor thinks your touching in a different spot..
Now you can let go of the left finger then shoot but when ya need precision in some shooting games you will be dead if you do that....
Pinch to zoom is fine and emulators with controls on the top and bottom vs just the bottom ( same axis), but for games like nova, heavy gunner, modern combat, ps1 emulator (unless it has opposite axis controls) which mine don't, took Warz, etc. It will not work properly ....
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this is a good explanation of what is effected. if you're a big gamer then consider it, but things like pinch to zoom in the browser, maps, pics, works just as great as ever.
Thanks for the feedback, guys.
Coming from the Galaxy S, I imagine I will miss a few things. One of them being: media playback and overall storage.
I guess with the N1, I'd need to find a non-bootlegged 32GB microSD card. But my other question would be: is there an easy way to play all of the content that the Galaxy S can handle, or is the GPU in the Samsung phone so much better that the N1 can't keep up?
I really like that about the SGS: I just drop movies (mp4, xvid, divx and so forth) onto the internal ROM and they play without issue. Media capabilities are very nice.
Does the N1 play lots of videos like this out of the box? If not, is there a decent media application?
Also, about HTC's other devices: I'd love to wait, but I'm worried that the newer phones won't have nice accessories. The N1 has that awesome car dock, that I would use all of the time. The SGS doesn't have any accessories like that, and it makes me sad. Most of HTC's N1 follow-up lacked similar docks and cradles.
If I return this SGS (likely), I will probably be jumping to the N1, just for that 'official' feel of it (very sturdy, solid first-party accessories).
You have no idea how sad I was, when Google announced they were giving up on creating their own phones. Hate them all you want: but Apple really has that system (solid build, quality integration / lack of fragmentation) nailed. I was really hoping that Google could bring that unification to Android with their own branded devices.
Loving Android, though. Never going back to iOS.
Anyone saying the n1 doesn't suffer from multitouch issues is sadly mistaken. The one thing that bugs me about the n1 is the touch screen issue. You won't be able to play games like nova, or certain games on emulators (when using dpad plus buttons that are at the same level it has issues) and it does have issues when crossing the axises.
mjm128 said:
Anyone saying the n1 doesn't suffer from multitouch issues is sadly mistaken. The one thing that bugs me about the n1 is the touch screen issue. You won't be able to play games like nova, or certain games on emulators (when using dpad plus buttons that are at the same level it has issues) and it does have issues when crossing the axises.
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everyone said the issue exists it just doesnt show up unless you...play....games. otherwise its a non issue.
The N1's touchscreen is totaly crap. There is a thread about touchscreen issues at oficial forum. It has more than 2000 posts explaning all problems of nexus one touchscreen. Check it out.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
Jon C said:
Thanks for the feedback, guys.
Coming from the Galaxy S, I imagine I will miss a few things. One of them being: media playback and overall storage.
I guess with the N1, I'd need to find a non-bootlegged 32GB microSD card. But my other question would be: is there an easy way to play all of the content that the Galaxy S can handle, or is the GPU in the Samsung phone so much better that the N1 can't keep up?
I really like that about the SGS: I just drop movies (mp4, xvid, divx and so forth) onto the internal ROM and they play without issue. Media capabilities are very nice.
Does the N1 play lots of videos like this out of the box? If not, is there a decent media application?
Also, about HTC's other devices: I'd love to wait, but I'm worried that the newer phones won't have nice accessories. The N1 has that awesome car dock, that I would use all of the time. The SGS doesn't have any accessories like that, and it makes me sad. Most of HTC's N1 follow-up lacked similar docks and cradles.
If I return this SGS (likely), I will probably be jumping to the N1, just for that 'official' feel of it (very sturdy, solid first-party accessories).
You have no idea how sad I was, when Google announced they were giving up on creating their own phones. Hate them all you want: but Apple really has that system (solid build, quality integration / lack of fragmentation) nailed. I was really hoping that Google could bring that unification to Android with their own branded devices.
Loving Android, though. Never going back to iOS.
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The gpu is OK. But definitely a lot less powerful than the sgs, you will notice in movies, live wallpapers and especially games... there's a decent video player called rockplayer that plays a lot of stuff like avi and xvid , but its not ad good as the sgs player ...
Put it this way, either stay sgs and have a not so well navigation but awesome everything elsex or go nexus with good GPS but a old touch sensor that will hardly recognize both fingers on anything other than pinch to zoom.....
The only real world scenario i have encountered the axis switch is when you do a pinch on an album in the gallery to have it flick through them, it switches often when doing that.
Nexus One multi-touch sucks for games. I've tried some fancy gameloft games that req two fingers on screen, or PS & gameboy emulators that req this and it drives me insane. Can be so frustrating for gaming and is the only thing that I find a let down for this device. I wish I knew before I purchased it because the gaming although not the only thing I brought it for is something that I thought would be cool on my phone.
Simply put, don't get the N1 if mobile gaming is important to you. I'm not talking about simple single tap games, but the intricate ones (PSX Emu, EA Sports, Gamesloft, etc). If you could live without it, the touchscreen is fine for regular day to day use.
Or just root and carry your favorite bluetooth game controller. I have a mini bt keyboard that works great for emulators