Might be late but did big up date today - HD7 General

And as I see nothing changed in this update, no clue what is in it, but every thing looks the same, same crap i mean. Back to HD2 till HTC comes out with a better interface.
Good luck to the rest.

rysky007 said:
And as I see nothing changed in this update, no clue what is in it, but every thing looks the same, same crap i mean. Back to HD2 till HTC comes out with a better interface.
Good luck to the rest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Umm, HTC does not have any say in creating the WP7 interface. If you didn't like the interface, then why buy the phone? Plenty of us on this forum love the metro ui.

rysky007 said:
And as I see nothing changed in this update, no clue what is in it, but every thing looks the same, same crap i mean. Back to HD2 till HTC comes out with a better interface.
Good luck to the rest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cause you can only play and see what a phone has so much in the store, it takes time to really tell if you like a phone or not.
After using HTC sense on the HD2, I assumed that HTC would have a similar interface on this good hardware.
Dont get me wrong, the hard ware is nice, the typing is much better then HD2, but the OS by its self is terrible, just like HD2 original OS, but HTC sense on top of that interface makes it better.
But the OS by its self now, even compared to the HD2, is missing a lot of must have things, settings and features which every phone in today's market, hell any phone in the past ten years market should have.
I kept hearing about amazing updates, but each one is disappointing.

rysky007 said:
Cause you can only play and see what a phone has so much in the store, it takes time to really tell if you like a phone or not.
After using HTC sense on the HD2, I assumed that HTC would have a similar interface on this good hardware.
Dont get me wrong, the hard ware is nice, the typing is much better then HD2, but the OS by its self is terrible, just like HD2 original OS, but HTC sense on top of that interface makes it better.
But the OS by its self now, even compared to the HD2, is missing a lot of must have things, settings and features which every phone in today's market, hell any phone in the past ten years market should have.
I kept hearing about amazing updates, but each one is disappointing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe do some research? If you even bothered to google what WP7 is, you would realize that manufacturers have no say it the software and that it still a new OS.
Don't blame HTC or Microsoft, blame yourself for not taking 5 minutes to research anything about WP7.

XPLANE9 said:
Maybe do some research? If you even bothered to google what WP7 is, you would realize that manufacturers have no say it the software and that it still a new OS.
Don't blame HTC or Microsoft, blame yourself for not taking 5 minutes to research anything about WP7.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You guys crack me up, I did research it, but you really dont get a feel for an OS till you use it, you can watch all the videos you want, until you get it and use it and set it up for what you need and use, you dont get a feel for it.
The tiles I have no problem with, its what you cannot do with the tiles and other settings that bothers me, things not discussed by any one until the phone came out and used by many, I have been following this forum since the day the phone launched, and it slowly turned from "omg we love it " to "wtf is this? problem problem problem.
1. Tethering, yeah I know all the lovers will say "its the cell providers who are against it" wrong, if they were HD2 would not have the feature via third party app, LG has it in all of its new phones, Nokia has had it in every phone it has put out for the past 4 years. The cell providers would prefer you have it since it will increase your data usage, especially ones who dont offer unlimited data plans.
2. Select all - Enough said there, hell windows 3.1 had select all, 2010 OS does not? the predecessor did , why does this one not? Why do you need this feature one would ask? well for the rest of us who use the phone for what it can do and not just spend hours checking on our friends via facebook, when u use email heavily as I do and sms, select all is a beautiful and necessary feature. Again, its a feature that every phone out should have hands down, no questions.
3. Custom Profiles - why? again, old invention that is very very very handy. just make sense.
4. Program view - I thought something was off when i saw how it lists all the programs you have installed, until I disabled HTC sense on HD2 and saw that the original WM6.5 does the same idiotic crap.
I believe in the BC era man figured out that you can display data, much more efficiently when you use columns and rows. Then why the hell does a OS released in 2010 list all of it in one long ass list? Oh yeah thats right, its brand new, give it 5 years to develop, no, not a good answer, again a feature that every phone today should have.
5. Tile Colors - yes i know some one made a program that lets you change them, but do we really have to do all that to have a feature that lets us choose colors we want? hell look at the pre set colors we have, its what my 12 year old niece likes. I was using the phone with the default blue in a public place a girl saw the colors and looked at me like i swing the other way.
6. Now lets get into more advance things -
A. To make a call, you first have to go to home page then hit the
phone area of the tiles then type in a number, man if you in life and
death situation, your done. There should ways be a button to
access the one main feature ( make calls) from any were.
A.1 - Most of us hold the phone toward the bottom, but the
answer and hang up button is toward the top of the
screen? last I checked, over long thumbs are not invented
yet.
B. When viewing your contacts, no alphabet slider on the side, hell my
6 year old nokia had that feature, again predecessor HD2 (thanks to
HTC sense) had it, this one, first you have to scroll to nearest letter
then push it, then select another letter you want to jump to. Why
the extra steps?
C. Email - if face book and gmail is all you got, great, what about
business ppl who have several email addresses? In order for me to
track my 4 addresses, I have 4 tiles dedicated on my home screen.
combine that with contacts and phone, and my screen is full, I
have to scroll more on my home page to find the tile i need then
any were else on phone. ( HD 2, had displayed 14 things for you
on home page) this phone max 6 and you have to scroll. So say
I am looking at one email address and need to switch to anther,
on HD2 simple they were all available right there on the preview
page. On HD7, back to home page we go.
Is that what they call efficiency these days? they keep touting this phone to be easy to use, get what you need faster and move on in their nifty commercials.
I counted, it takes more pushes and steps to achieve what you need on HD7 then HD2.
So yes it has the amazing live tiles, but are they really? when I have emails my HD2 tells me that I have email on home page, SMS? same thing, missed call? same thing, reminder? same thing, so what is the advantage to the live tile?
besides their lack of color options and re size ability? Thats right, when your bff takes a dump and updates his facebook profile that he is amazed at the shape it came out in, you will be the first to know.
If some one would of wrote this kind of a review, clearly stating the pros and cons, I would of never touched this OS, but they didn't, you know why the didnt? cause Microsoft paid very well to make sure the reviews and info was positive, they got a xmas phone to sell. And that they did. (those of you who will say that is crap, Microsoft would not do that, trust me they do, im in a very similar industry)
But i know, you guys are going to flame me, call me a idiot, a hater, and that its a new OS bla bla, the Iphone was bad to when it first came out.
yeah that was 5 years ago, you dont start over, you take it up a notch, and that is not what Microsoft did. Why you guys think they are partnering up with Nokia? cause WM7 flopped.
Let the flaming begin

rysky007 said:
yeah that was 5 years ago, you dont start over, you take it up a notch, and that is not what Microsoft did. Why you guys think they are partnering up with Nokia? cause WM7 flopped.
Let the flaming begin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didnt care too much to read your long response, because as the other said, research would have stopped you from buying this phone. If you knew what the OS was about, you would have stuck with the HD2.
Anyway, isn't it Nokia who are flopping with Symbian and wanting WP7 to up their phone sales?

I agree to the most of the missing features in WP7 he wrote about.
The wm users are spoiled, they could give their smartphone an individual style and they could customize their apps and design. WP7 is boring in this way. But i flashed my HD2 back to wm 6.5.x, and after one day i felt, that i went back to yesterday. The control of WP7 is modern and in many ways more efficient.
After this desicion i bought a native WP7-Phone, the HD7, and hope for future ways to individualize it. At 1st the start screen... i hope for a chance, to make it more elegant and have a wallpaper background. Then i hope for smart dialing (native, not with a program) and for an email hub with all my accounts. Also i hope, i can create indidual hubs for system, internet, comm apps and so on, so that the start menu is not five miles long and more properly. I hope, to have a chance for a music player, which can open and play my folders...like mortplayer before, and a video player with mpeg and avi support. Also a way, to get advanced memory by using sd cards.
The best way for MS would be, to give back the features of wm 6.5 in a new and modern smartphone with more abilities. Because they made smartphones long, before Aplle and Google woke up. They used the experience of microsoft and give these phones a modern staff and electronic. Why didn´t use MS it´s own experiences and why must they go a seperate way with an unready OS?
So we have to wait, for MS, Chevron and many other creators. Maybe in two years we look much more lucky...or WP is at it´s end.

rysky007 said:
You guys crack me up, I did research it, but you really dont get a feel for an OS till you use it, you can watch all the videos you want, until you get it and use it and set it up for what you need and use, you dont get a feel for it.
The tiles I have no problem with, its what you cannot do with the tiles and other settings that bothers me, things not discussed by any one until the phone came out and used by many, I have been following this forum since the day the phone launched, and it slowly turned from "omg we love it " to "wtf is this? problem problem problem.
1. Tethering, yeah I know all the lovers will say "its the cell providers who are against it" wrong, if they were HD2 would not have the feature via third party app, LG has it in all of its new phones, Nokia has had it in every phone it has put out for the past 4 years. The cell providers would prefer you have it since it will increase your data usage, especially ones who dont offer unlimited data plans.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tethering on the HD7 is indeed restricted by T-Mobile. Other WP7 handsets on other carriers can tether.
rysky007 said:
2. Select all - Enough said there, hell windows 3.1 had select all, 2010 OS does not? the predecessor did , why does this one not? Why do you need this feature one would ask? well for the rest of us who use the phone for what it can do and not just spend hours checking on our friends via facebook, when u use email heavily as I do and sms, select all is a beautiful and necessary feature. Again, its a feature that every phone out should have hands down, no questions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While not a real ctrl+a or select all, the latest update allows you to select as much text as you want by tapping a word, and adjusting the slider. Effective for massive amounts of text? No, but how often do you need to select massive amounts of text on a phone? This method, in my opinion, works fine for a paragraph or two.
rysky007 said:
3. Custom Profiles - why? again, old invention that is very very very handy. just make sense.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not to me it doesn't
rysky007 said:
4. Program view - I thought something was off when i saw how it lists all the programs you have installed, until I disabled HTC sense on HD2 and saw that the original WM6.5 does the same idiotic crap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Expect in WP7 the program screen flies in either direction, getting you to what you want fast. Mango will also add the ability to jump to a given letter, like contacts.
rysky007 said:
6. Now lets get into more advance things -
A. To make a call, you first have to go to home page then hit the
phone area of the tiles then type in a number, man if you in life and
death situation, your done. There should ways be a button to
access the one main feature ( make calls) from any were.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Two taps versus one tap is that much of a deal-breaker to you?
rysky007 said:
A.1 - Most of us hold the phone toward the bottom, but the
answer and hang up button is toward the top of the
screen? last I checked, over long thumbs are not invented
yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As a right-handed person, I hold the phone in my left hand. My thumb easily taps the end call button, and I did not star in Even Cowgirls Sing the Blues.
rysky007 said:
B. When viewing your contacts, no alphabet slider on the side, hell my
6 year old nokia had that feature, again predecessor HD2 (thanks to
HTC sense) had it, this one, first you have to scroll to nearest letter
then push it, then select another letter you want to jump to. Why
the extra steps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go into contacts, tap the letter A. SIMPLE.
rysky007 said:
C. Email - if face book and gmail is all you got, great, what about
business ppl who have several email addresses? In order for me to
track my 4 addresses, I have 4 tiles dedicated on my home screen.
combine that with contacts and phone, and my screen is full, I
have to scroll more on my home page to find the tile i need then
any were else on phone. ( HD 2, had displayed 14 things for you
on home page) this phone max 6 and you have to scroll. So say
I am looking at one email address and need to switch to anther,
on HD2 simple they were all available right there on the preview
page. On HD7, back to home page we go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because tapping the Home capacitive button and then a different tile is THAT big of a pain?
rysky007 said:
Is that what they call efficiency these days? they keep touting this phone to be easy to use, get what you need faster and move on in their nifty commercials.
I counted, it takes more pushes and steps to achieve what you need on HD7 then HD2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can say with all honesty, that the 20 people I migrated from HD2's to HD7's couldn't be happier. Literally. My mobile support calls dropped to ZERO. No
rysky007 said:
when I have emails my HD2 tells me that I have email on home page, SMS? same thing, missed call? same thing, reminder? same thing, so what is the advantage to the live tile?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It also tells you all of this on the lockscreen. Tap your power button, glance at the screen, turn it back off. Also, all these things you mention are on your home page, just like your HD2. Not sure what the issue here is.
rysky007 said:
If some one would of wrote this kind of a review, clearly stating the pros and cons, I would of never touched this OS, but they didn't, you know why the didnt? cause Microsoft paid very well to make sure the reviews and info was positive, they got a xmas phone to sell. And that they did. (those of you who will say that is crap, Microsoft would not do that, trust me they do, im in a very similar industry)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should read Engadget.
If you don't like it, that's fine. However, just about everything you mention here is personal preference, not missing or lacking features.

And here are the changes the updates bring, for the curious...
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsphone/en-us/howto/wp7/basics/update-history.aspx

HTC sense slows down the device.... i never liked it i was using it on my TP2 and i gave it up as it craped up my TP2, used the energy titanium roms only...
i want to see what you will complain about afte MANGO is out....
some things will not be there on WP7 and the rest of them and more will follow with MANGO update...
Nokia will show there first WP7 device soon.
HTC sense will never be on WP7 devices...

Although I agree to lot of stuff being discussed here (good or bad) Mobiles now a days a more of a personal choice
I went and got the HD7 just to feel how WP7 was as I had never used a WM before having come from nokia symbian and android, I found it interestingly different.
for me the email is the best part of the OS and browsing is a joy on the HD7, but I am definitely looking forward to a NOKIA WP7 as I am sure two heads will be better than one

Related

what is the point of the cube?

I have been using dutty's rom with cube for the tilt and maybe I just don't get it by why is anyone putting it on their kaiser?
Don't get me wrong, I can see the point of it on the touch but why with the kaiser?
Yes, it is kinda cool to show it off to other people but it is such a waste to use. For example, slide finger over and over till you find the internet button and hit that OR just one quick hit for the internet button on the front of the phone.
Use the same cube moves to get to contacts or just one quick click on the front of the htc rom.
Using the cube is MUCH more time consuming then just using the phone as it was meant to be. Is everyone just so caught up with the "wow factor" of the touch cube or am I missing something?
Wow factor... It's rather retarded IMO
I agree with argo. At some point you still have to whip out the stylus to input information, doesn't matter if you used the cube to get you to contacts or if you used the hardware key to get to contacts. I've installed some of the finger friendly add-ons (not the cube) and it helps with simple taks, but if I'm opening an app, I usually still do it from the stylus. Old habits die hard...
yup, eye candy.
Mostly Eye Candy...
..but also for me, it's an attempt to have a fully functional device with one hand/one finger---without any need for the stylus.
With THE CUBE, FTOUCHFLO, Home Plugin, FFF, OtO, TekSoft FingerTouch and a few others, I don't remember the last time I actually had to whip out the stylus...
...oh WAIT! It was earlier today!!!
Oh well!!
TEC
I am using Touch-Commander simply to multiply the number of contacts I can speed-dial while driving without scrolling down an endless list. I also like the fact that I can SMS my faves as well as call them from their icon.
I was playing with the HTC Photo Album, but it is just not as efficient at finding the pics you want as is the Resco app.
Of all of the "touchy-feely" apps that have come along recently, FFF is, IMHO the one really fantastic one.
dgduris said:
Of all of the "touchy-feely" apps that have come along recently, FFF is, IMHO the one really fantastic one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also agree that the Cube, and the obsession around it, is kinda overkill. Functionally, I don't see the sube as an advancement. Yes, the other parts of TouchFLO are valuable to me, and the recent creations to make the phone more finger-friendly otherwise like FFF are also useful to me. But the cube? I could do without.
I almost think the general obsession with the cube became more of a Mt Everest type of "we have to climb that mountain" quest more than anything else. Yes, its eye candy, but to be honest, its not even that great of eye candy. The iPhone "eye candy-wise" has it topped by far, and believe me, I'm not an Apple fanboy in any way shape or form. So, congrats to those who were able to scale the mountain. I envy your skill and your determination. Really, I do.
As for the recent programs that I like and think are functionally great, and to be honest minimize to very large degree the need for me to use my stylus are:
- FFF (easily the greatest, little, free, simple programs ever IMO)
- HTC Home
- S2U2 (much better at locking and yes its pretty also )
- PCM Keyboard (not the contacts prog, but the keyboard)
- Opera Mini 4
- Google Maps and Live Search
- PocketPlayer 3.5
Just my 2 cents. Honestly, since I installed these apps, I go days without even touching my stylus...Only when I do something non-routine, would I need to do so.
i think it would serve alot more purpose if we were able to customize it, maybe we can, but i know i have no idea how to. half the apps in it i never use. bout all i use it for is for the fav. people side. just a quick flick of the finger and i can free up some space on home screen
I seldom used the cube...on my old device, herald p4350
But I cooked roms, and ofcourse the cube was something ppl would say "wow" to, and then tell me how impressed they are..blahblah.
Some ppl drive stick, some automatic.....a matter of taste I guess.
Well, I think the cube is a cool invention, but the consept has a long road ahead before I will implement it again in my own rom.
But im sure HTC has a plan, and im sure they have many cool apps waiting, or in development that will make our devices more and more independent of the stylus.
HTC is spitting out cool devices faster then my granpa changed underwear....And im pretty sure all the new future features will be quite available for us all as they come.
I heard a rumor they are developing a touch type calendar, operated "similar" to htc album and some part the random access, but dont ask how that will operate, cant picture it exactly, but im sure its fun
Another rumor I heard is that htc are making a new innovative web browser, witch can operate over wifi/bluetooth against activesync/mobile center, zooming like htc album, flicking your finger left-right gestures to move forward and back..there was something about support for streaming many types of fileformats directly in the browser...
But...its just rumors I heard, I have not seen any proof of this anywhere...
Hoping someone has heard similar rumors????
And this is the one thing I like about the iPhone. Is I think it was sort of a wake up call for software developers to think of new programs and new ways to interact with existing functionality. So I thank them for spawning alot of disucssion and ideas about how to make a convergence device better and more practical/usable!
Now, if we can just get HTC to implement a screen as nice and sensitive as the one on that other thing...
I installed the cube successfully and gave it up twice. The main reason is that when I touch a small fav photo on the dialer of the HTC Home pluggin, the call goes out immediately to the ONE phone (mobile or home or whatever) of the person that I have assigned it to. With the cube, it just goes to the contact, and then I have to press the specific phone of the two or three assigned to the contact to make the call. Overall (one stroke to turn on the cube, another to get to the fav icons of the dialer, another to get to the right phone choice) it takes three keystrokes to make a call versus just one in the HTC Home plugin. Cube is nice, but not convenient.
cube
well I think everyone is correct it is eye candy it is mt everest and can be (or is now less effective) the cube is kinda a waste of memory ill agree. but the kaiser has only been out for 10-11 weeks that's it. the cube now is trying to catch up to what the elf is. with the elf the cube and the on screen keyboard is very effective. I've played with it. right now the elfs cube is a touch snapier (probaly because of the bugs still in there). but lets take that contacts situation from before htc home is 2 moves and 3 on the cube now. but what if u edited the registry so it dials mr jones mobile instead of mr jones subscreen (its been done already look in the elf thread). then u set the cube to always launch the contacts page (not done yet but the cube gods are discussing it). when the cubes final it will probaly behave better and quicker. so half a swipe up and the cubes launched and u land your finger on your contact. now your action took one quick fluent movement and it looks cool. not only that the original htc cube is three faces not too exciting but what if they make it a real cube with 6 sides. along with some original apps as previously discussed we might be very close to being without a stylus
In my opinion, the cube has some advantages. For example somtimes I wanna write my girlfiend an SMS, somtimes I want to call her, so for me the Contact Menu ist no disadvantage. Another example is, that the move with my thumb to open the cube is much more easier, than klick the smaller icons on the home screen. And the Cube opens on the Side it was closed. So in my case, I only need one thumb move to get to my contacts.
The Cube is 2008. No cube is oldsk00l
Now but I just like the design of it. I personaly only use the first screen and sometimes the contact screen. But IE, Comm, E-mail etc I never use cause i have keys that open those things.
Hmmmm....I do find it weird that there are people complaining about the cube on the Tytn II simply because last time I checked...it didn't ship with the cube
If you don't like, you don't have to go through the hassle of putting it on your device. Simple as that. Some people like it for the "wow" factor...good for them. Sometimes when you pay a lot of money for something, you may want to show of a bit (I know I do lol)
Personally, I use Dutty's rom with built in cube and I use the cube quite a lot for media such as my photo's (as it directs me to HTC Album which I like a lot), Video (which directs me to TCMP player) and my Music (Audio manager)
Anything that makes you feel good about owning something, even if it's purely aesthetic, can't be a bad thing.
Which is why I'll never get an i-Phone. I played with my mates one the other day and although its very seductive, its too limited fot me and I quickly got bored.
Personalisation is the key!
kireol said:
yup, eye candy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, I still don't have a Tytn II, I have a HTC Touch, I never use the cube, I only show it to people.
its all 4 show..
cube off = the way to roll.
Yeah, I stay away from roms with the cube
I like the cube!!
Is interesting to see the comments, because I actually like the cube for a few reasons...
But before that a little side comment. The cube (at the moment) is still probably aesthetics over functionality but you have to wonder if this is such a bad thing...look at the iphone - the ultimate example of style over true substance. It had my wife's total attention for 20 minutes in the O2 shop the other day - something my PPC had never done. Now that might be a comment on my wife but the sales figures would suggest otherwise
I'm using slither's cube and what it has done for me is allowed me to clean up my today screen of all those icons I used just enough to want to have close but not every 5 minutes.
The end result is my whole device runs faster for a few thumbswipes worth of effort.
As the cube develops it will get better and functionality and aesthetics will improve because you can bet the iphone wont stand still and we musn't either because I CANT STAND APPLE and the tripe they pour out.
Rant over. I'll get my coat now

SPB Mobile Shell 2.0 (What do people think?)

Just curious what people think about this app? Currently I am using Slueth v3.0 and love it but am looking for a little more customizability.
nothing exciting for me
I think it is great I have stopped using Pocketplus and InesoftAddressBook. I am very happy with it, took me a couple days to really get used to it.
-McMex
Me too
I think it's the best ready to use application. Install and enjoy
But on the now page, bluetooth and wifi state are missing
its ok not to wild about it
I tried it for 2 days and really like the fuctionality of it. BUT I had to remove it because it slows down the switch to phone enough that I have missed over half of my calls. It will ring only for about 5 seconds even though the caller can hear it ring for about 25 seconds. So even if I am fast in getting to phone it has already gone to voice mail. I removed it and now everything is back to normal.
JohnKHome said:
I tried it for 2 days and really like the fuctionality of it. BUT I had to remove it because it slows down the switch to phone enough that I have missed over half of my calls. It will ring only for about 5 seconds even though the caller can hear it ring for about 25 seconds. So even if I am fast in getting to phone it has already gone to voice mail. I removed it and now everything is back to normal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think u need to check your phone... I've had 2.0 since the beta leaked and no problems whatsoever! Runs smooth, doesn't slow down my device at all, everythings perfect.
To be honest the programs more for an "oooh" factor then functionality, it'll always be easer to pull out the stylus and do it the good old fashioned way. BUT it does help a BUNCH when driving...
To the original poster, theres a 14 day trial from SPB, why dont u try it, see what u think. U don't like it? then simply uninstall it.. no harm done.
i like the interface but one thing i feel that the smart gesture doesn't work on my tilt somtimes, i need to try very hard to call out the interface (something similar to alt-tab in pc)
overall, i am happy with the functions
The gesture works best if you start at the 'start' icon at the top and drag your finger to the middle of the screen.
I think it's a great program, I keep finding things I like. It works better than HTC's touchflo in my opinion.
Cheers
Its a bit of a step down in some cases, You cant have as many tabs as pocket plus, and you cant add more than one plugin. In fact I found that if you install SPB Mobile Shell and remove it from your home screen, that pocket plus allows you to add many of the unique Mobile Shell tabs but with more customisation such as adding additional content to the tab.
I quite like the quick screen you get while switching on from standby but it doesn't always work and seems to argue with the homescreen about who opens up, also it would have been great if you could literally have this screen as a homescreen. Rather than having a hybrid of the two.
Im dissapointed, I think there are much better innovations being made to homescreen customisation that this, and it looks very little different from SPB MS 1.0.
a bit bum then really.
See the long running thread in the general section.
Redundant thread, killed...

Is it ok that I'm completely overwhelmed?

I literally just bought my at&t tilt today, and when I bought it the guy I got it from suggested I come here to do some digging on modifying/personalizing my Tilt to my liking. Now, I'm somewhat of a computer nerd. I can work through most issues with my PC without having to call customer service or hit up forums or anything. I have no experience with pocket PCs or windows mobile however.
I've read the multiple notices here advising to read around first before asking dumb questions, but I have to say that I'm still completely lost and don't even know where to begin. I really don't have complicated intentions, I'm almost 100% satisfied with the phone as-is...regardless, I still just have no idea what to even start with, so I figured I would just throw that out there and hopefully get pointed in the right direction. Hopefully I'll be able to take it from there, but the tutorials, wikis, and FAQs that I was advised to browse through first (and I apologize if I'm just not seeing it, again I'm a WM noob) just aren't getting me there.
All I'm really interested in doing is changing my home screen. Other things I want to do I don't even know if it's possible to do so, or if I even have to download anything!
So maybe just one more shove in the right direction?
Try This
This is not going to change your rom......This will give a new look totally...I think you'll like it...Install it from your desk top
Peace
Mike
You should get a good start at the wiki here:
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=HTC_Kaiser
IMO You can't beat SPB Mobile Shell even though you have to pay for it, it's well worth it.
deXtrous said:
IMO You can't beat SPB Mobile Shell even though you have to pay for it, it's well worth it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree here
pointUI
Wisbar advance (check out the skins for this app..)
If you know a bit of XML try RLtoday
oh, and search for "Ultimate launch" on the forum...
ummm check out the second link in my sig.
I'm in the same boat as you. There is so much information here, it's quite overwhelming. I want to get the most out of my device, but I just don't have he time to really get into it.
Well you have to start somewhere, so just say where you want to go.
Would you like to make the phone look different?
Would you like to add your own ringtones?
Themes?
gps stuff?
roms?
seriously look at the second link in my signature.
I suggest that you use it for a while to get used to it, then read, then try changing it. Just my 2 cents.
I'm guessing your question is more basic than the answeres provided. If you just want to change your today screen, check out the "Today" applet under "Settings" on the start menu. You can choose from a variety of default plugins, and some of them have options you can change (simply click the options button if it's enabled). As you install more apps, they may have Today Screen plugins as well.
DO NOT GO THROTTLE LAUNCHER.... i like the guy that developed it but it has become obsolete with manilla 2d, personally i stayed away from flashing for a long time but now that i have started i'm addictted it provides alot better preformance from your ppc, i would highly recommend it
my favorite rom right now is the garmin dk4 manilla just make sure you read up before, its not that complicated once you get the hang of it. biggest thing is make sure to flash hard spl before you flash anything else
Here's some advice from someone who has had pocket pc's for a long time. I am also half a century old, so this advice comes from experience and not theory.
Keep your Kaiser/TyTN II/Tilt, whatever it is, as stock standard as possible. Do not flash new roms etc etc. This is the cause of most problems here unless you are really clued up on this, which it seems you are not at the moment. I won't even try it.
There are many third party apps out there and in here which will not affect the normal functioning and enjoyment of your device. Most of them are freeware.
Today themes are dime a dozen, heck, you can create your own with freeware apps like ThemegenCE (Desktop app which creayes the Tsk file for your device theme and even TKCreator which is a theme creation app directly on your device I (Also freeware and more basic than the former).
You need Total Commander, a freeware File Explorer much better than than one shipped wth the device. Quickmenu 2.7 makes using the device a pleasure and hardly requires the stylus. This provides a task manager, drop down menus, controls for device utilities like bluetooth, wifi, soft resetting etc. You also need Mortplayer which is the best MP3 player and is freeware and of course TCPMP with flashvideo bundle for video clips/movies/flash video from websites etc. This all for free. Heck, here are even freeware GPS apps for navigation out there, eg Amaze GPS and Nav4All, or just go full hog and buy the best like TomTom. TodayAgenda is a Today Plugin for calendar appointments and is one of the best and totally free. S2U2 developed by A_C from XDA is a cool screen saver/slide to unlock app which is free and highly customisable with animated gifs as wallpaper etc.
This would be a good start for you.
Regards,
MAC
MACkjam said:
Here's some advice from someone who has had pocket pc's for a long time. I am also half a century old, so this advice comes from experience and not theory.
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I am also more than half a century old (now grand father !) and I agree with MAC advices !!!

what is the point of the live tiles?

What does the peoples live tiles do besides drain battery? I notice it only shows certain profile pictures
ariel123 said:
What does the peoples live tiles do besides drain battery? I notice it only shows certain profile pictures
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Click to collapse
Well, if ur a kid or a face book addict, you set up your face book account and get updates on your friends, you know spy and stalk them
For the rest of us, nothing, messaging tile, phone tile, email tile, all do the same thing as every phone out there does of telling you on home page that you have a message or missed call or email, so in my eyes not much advancement here.
Tiles are bigger, take up more space and the color options were given again confirm that they are designed for teens. Nothing better then a nice pink tile right right
Once you go over to the side to view you apps, call me a moron, but hasn't the advancement of multi columns to see more on one page developed in the past 100 years when displaying data not known at MS? I dont get why they just line them up in one column? They advertise it as simple phone, yet by the time u tag all you need to home page, because the the size of these tiles, ( non adjustable size) i have to scroll down just as long to find what I need as I did tapping with other phones.
Just my two cents
Couldn't say it any better
rysky007 said:
Well, if ur a kid or a face book addict, you set up your face book account and get updates on your friends, you know spy and stalk them
For the rest of us, nothing, messaging tile, phone tile, email tile, all do the same thing as every phone out there does of telling you on home page that you have a message or missed call or email, so in my eyes not much advancement here.
Tiles are bigger, take up more space and the color options were given again confirm that they are designed for teens. Nothing better then a nice pink tile right right
Once you go over to the side to view you apps, call me a moron, but hasn't the advancement of multi columns to see more on one page developed in the past 100 years when displaying data not known at MS? I dont get why they just line them up in one column? They advertise it as simple phone, yet by the time u tag all you need to home page, because the the size of these tiles, ( non adjustable size) i have to scroll down just as long to find what I need as I did tapping with other phones.
Just my two cents
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Click to collapse
I thought the Live Tiles were one of the selling points of the OS.
The grid layout will scream it is an iPhone clone, and the home screen customization will scream an Android clone, and you know MS is trying to be different.
The last thing that went through my head when I first saw the tile interface was this being an iPhone copy.. my first thought was iPhone finally got pwnd.
Steve Jobs MS has no style, they do have now
lqaddict said:
I thought the Live Tiles were one of the selling points of the OS.
The grid layout will scream it is an iPhone clone, and the home screen customization will scream an Android clone, and you know MS is trying to be different.
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In theory yes, but its the same concept that I will wear a bucket on my head to look different, but it doesnt make it efficient or practical.
No matter what they do they will all look similar, just like windows and mac and linux, they all have the same style, look diff but same format to follow, and that is because that format works.
Like cars, they all have an engine, and wheels and seats, they just dress them up differently to stand out.
What WM did here is take away what is needed and gave us a shell of a car, and said hold on, we might get u teh wheels and doors later.
yly3 said:
The last thing that went through my head when I first saw the tile interface was this being an iPhone copy.. my first thought was iPhone finally got pwnd.
Steve Jobs MS has no style, they do have now
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Click to collapse
HD 2 was different then anthy thing out there, and I liked the home screen, it showed me all i need on once screen with no scrolling needed. Then droid adapted it from HTC so now WM wants to look diff and I think they went the wrong way personally. It not efficient at all, have to do more scrolling now then before.
rysky007 said:
In theory yes, but its the same concept that I will wear a bucket on my head to look different, but it doesnt make it efficient or practical.
No matter what they do they will all look similar, just like windows and mac and linux, they all have the same style, look diff but same format to follow, and that is because that format works.
Like cars, they all have an engine, and wheels and seats, they just dress them up differently to stand out.
What WM did here is take away what is needed and gave us a shell of a car, and said hold on, we might get u teh wheels and doors later.
HD 2 was different then anthy thing out there, and I liked the home screen, it showed me all i need on once screen with no scrolling needed. Then droid adapted it from HTC so now WM wants to look diff and I think they went the wrong way personally. It not efficient at all, have to do more scrolling now then before.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually find the live tiles helpful and with one flick of the finger I get the info I want. The problem with the HTC Sense UI (although they have pioneered the ideology of glancable information on the mobile phone), is that it also required add-ons to make it workable (Cookie home tab or maxsense) because navigating wasn't always that straightforward.
The Live Tiles are supposed to be big to display info (look at how Weather Channel App is using the live tile) and to be glancable. Another problem I found with the HD2 was that everyone was trying to shove way to much info on one screen, there are limited.
Going back to the original question, the live tile is really just the Contact Tile, it provides no real information (from what I can see) other than it is easy to spot on the phone amongst the other tiles. Since this is one of my main ways of contacting people, the visual changes (it animates more than any other tile) helps me get to people without hunting for it.
I reallt don't see why this should be deemed a "Teen" feature?
Anyway my final point is, some will like and some won't.
rysky007 said:
In theory yes, but its the same concept that I will wear a bucket on my head to look different, but it doesnt make it efficient or practical.
No matter what they do they will all look similar, just like windows and mac and linux, they all have the same style, look diff but same format to follow, and that is because that format works.
Like cars, they all have an engine, and wheels and seats, they just dress them up differently to stand out.
What WM did here is take away what is needed and gave us a shell of a car, and said hold on, we might get u teh wheels and doors later.
HD 2 was different then anthy thing out there, and I liked the home screen, it showed me all i need on once screen with no scrolling needed. Then droid adapted it from HTC so now WM wants to look diff and I think they went the wrong way personally. It not efficient at all, have to do more scrolling now then before.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the hd2 fit your needs so well, why did you jump at launch to a brand new OS that all of us knew was going to be missing a couple of features???
As for the live tiles, the point is to give you info at a glance. Yes currently, only weather apps, and contacts tiles are really taking advantage of it, but that is going to change. Beezz twitter app today will use live tiles to give you mentions and direct messages. Other programs hopefully will follow suit.
The live tile is a tool. As with all tools it can make things that are useful and useless.
The standard tiles maybe unnecessarily big but tiles like Weatherbug that display information without having to run the app are great.
They can also be fun. It's nice to see album art from the last Zune artist you played or your Xbox avatar or pictures of friends.
They also allow you to do things you can’t do on other phones. You can pin a specific FM radio station to the start screen, or a web page, or a map with directions or a favourite album. With one tap you’re exactly where you need to be. It doesn’t get more efficient than that.
Personally I'd like to see an option of grouping four tiles into one. I don't need massive tiles for things like IE, messaging, hotmail and Marketplace. That would free up space for more useful tiles.
digime said:
The live tile is a tool. As with all tools it can make things that are useful and useless.
The standard tiles maybe unnecessarily big but tiles like Weatherbug that display information without having to run the app are great.
They can also be fun. It's nice to see album art from the last Zune artist you played or your Xbox avatar or pictures of friends.
They also allow you to do things you can’t do on other phones. You can pin a specific FM radio station to the start screen, or a web page, or a map with directions or a favorite album. With one tap you’re exactly where you need to be. It doesn’t get more efficient than that.
Personally I'd like to see an option of grouping four tiles into one. I don't need massive tiles for things like IE, messaging, hotmail and Marketplace. That would free up space for more useful tiles.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice point which I agree with, I have 4 emal addresses, so after the phone tile, people tile, messages tile and then 4 diff email address tiles, i have to do a lot of scrolling to see other things, so having a small icon for sms alert, and email alert and missed call alert would free up an entire page for me.
If i was developer of this OS, id give an option to either have it tile mode, or smaller active tiles as app launchers like we had on HD2 along with time and small notifiers bottom of screen, give ppl options to customize.
digime said:
They also allow you to do things you can’t do on other phones. You can pin a specific FM radio station to the start screen, or a web page, or a map with directions or a favourite album. With one tap you’re exactly where you need to be. It doesn’t get more efficient than that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how's that different from shortcuts on Android?
lqaddict said:
how's that different from shortcuts on Android?
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Click to collapse
amen every one that has been praising this phone i dont get, i dont see what is so special, hardware might be nice but OS is nothing different
rysky007 said:
amen every one that has been praising this phone i dont get, i dont see what is so special, hardware might be nice but OS is nothing different
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Click to collapse
+1, last time I asked about the usability of the OS, and without getting a clear answer the thread went into a flame war.
just something else i thought about.
Many saying that MS wanted to develop something different.
How does putting the lock and unlock button up top JUST LIKE IPHONE has had for a while now, make this phone diff?
They sereously went the wrong way. . . This BS OS can not be compared to Android. The Android OS is 99% customizable. . . This. . . I can't even describe. It's like the Apple OS, just uglier. . . Good work Microsoft. . . They should have called it VistaMobile instead of WMO7. . . Now the question is, will they just give up and bail on this OS or actually make it better.
Too bad, the hardware is so nice.
samson_420 said:
They sereously went the wrong way. . . This BS OS can not be compared to Android. The Android OS is 99% customizable. . . This. . . I can't even describe. It's like the Apple OS, just uglier. . . Good work Microsoft. . . They should have called it VistaMobile instead of WMO7. . . Now the question is, will they just give up and bail on this OS or actually make it better.
Too bad, the hardware is so nice.
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Click to collapse
In the past week everywhere I went and pulled my phone to use it everybody was like "wow such a nice phone" so I am pretty sure there will be success sooner or later. And Microsoft didn't put so much money in this to just give up after a few months because some people with much better phones and so infinitely more freedom than any WP7 who need to play Linux Brotherhood on their device 24/7 would say different.
Live tiles are similar to widgets in android, they offer information at a glance without having to go into the app. For example, weather bug shows the temperature and current weather of your location from the homescreen. ITN News displays a picture of the latest news article.
Some tiles also have animations making the home screen look better.
The difference between Widgets and Tiles is that Tiles get information using Push rather than Pull. When you receive a new message it will be pushed to the tile so that it displays a 1, when new news hits ITN the image is pushed to the tile.
This, rather than the traditional way of polling a source ever x amount of minutes ensures that connection is only made when need to thus saving battery.
Other advantages tiles have over competitors is the fact that all tiles are uniform, in the same format and style meaning nothing looks out of place on the homescreen.
rysky007 said:
just something else i thought about.
Many saying that MS wanted to develop something different.
How does putting the lock and unlock button up top JUST LIKE IPHONE has had for a while now, make this phone diff?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seriously, what are you on about? If you are referring to the physical unlock button on the device then this quite clearly has nothing to do with phone manufacturers and not Microsoft. Also, on/off buttons have been at the top of most devices since God knows when.
lqaddict said:
how's that different from shortcuts on Android?
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Click to collapse
It isn't, it's just a different approach. All OS's have copied from each other in some way or another. Whilst the same, the Microsoft way does have some advantages which I've highlighted in my post above.
My friend just ditched sprint and the evo for the hd7. I think ms did a great job with this os. Yes we are currently missing a few features but I think ms is trying to market to the noobs in the smart phone community. Making this a easy phone to use. Slowly within time they will make this os more customizable. I hear there already meeting with the guy who's been working on jailbreaking the os to make his apps official through market place. You guys have to remember that 90% of smartphone buyers don't even know the true features of a smartphone. Why do you think apples sells so much
ariel123 said:
My friend just ditched sprint and the evo for the hd7. I think ms did a great job with this os. Yes we are currently missing a few features but I think ms is trying to market to the noobs in the smart phone community. Making this a easy phone to use. Slowly within time they will make this os more customizable. I hear there already meeting with the guy who's been working on jailbreaking the os to make his apps official through market place. You guys have to remember that 90% of smartphone buyers don't even know the true features of a smartphone. Why do you think apples sells so much
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm one of them, I ditched my evo for the HD7, so far so good, the interface is a refresh and looks "new" compare to the rest.
I have use all major platforms and they all have something over the others, to be the more the merrier
Sam

Unsatisfied with HD7

My main idea was to buy an HD2.. My father travelled (HTC almost dont exists in my country) and I asked him to buy me the HD2. He came with the Hd7 and I was really surprised (There were no more HD2, and it was just 30 dolars less than the 7). I liked it a lot,but in the moment I tried to download an app from the market or pass music via zune, I hated wp7!
Its not that the OS is bad, is just new. I think that the phone is good too, but I dont really like the softkeys, cuz they are really easy to touch and everyone who picks the phone, enters at least 3 times to Bing search. Almost I do sometimes..
I just dont know if my fathers decition was ok, but one day i think I should sell it and buy me the HD2, or even an DesireHD, but others days i love my phone.. IDK what to think right now.. What do you think?
I've had an HD2 for awhile and even though I never unlocked, jail broken, or used any ROM's to use different operating systems (android, winmo7, etc) I do find that HD7 is overall an improvement. Mostly too cause is has a lot of room to grow. HD2 was awesome but it had limits. No flash support and with adobe not working on any for winmo 6.5 (even though I was told it was by the retailer -.-), I had to get WP7 phone. The only downside I have found with the HD7 so far (well downsides that matter the most) are few and far.
1. No Micro SD slot... well not one that's easily accessible. I usually don't tamper with the phone, but I have seen and looked into tutorials on expanding to a 32g card and the hardest thing about it is... buying the SD Card. Those things are fricken' expensive!!
2. Limited customization. The interface doesn't let you customize it as much as its predecessor the "HD2". Like having your own wallpaper (other then the lock screen), but I find the interface it does have very appealing anyway. Simple, classy, easy to use, and very fluent in switching between the screens.
3. Settings. The settings are very limited. Not much you can change, but I do plan on seeing a lot of updates.
4. Loading Apps and Music. Even through Zune is a wonderful program, I hated being dependent on a third party program to load on my music, pics, apps, and what not. I detested iTunes!! I soon realized though, once you understand how it works, it is a lot more organizable.
Not all the bad stuff is out, this is what I love about the HD7 compared to HD2.
1. No more front keys. Hate keys. Just another crevice for junk to get into or part to get broken, or space for a liquid to leak into.
2. Windows Phone 7 OS. To be able to properly use this without having to ROM it is a big thing for people who can't afford to brick their phone. Though the HD2 has ways to implement other OS's, people like me rather just stick with whats installed for safety.
3. The kickstand. Duhh!! Got tired of using the space between the numbers and function keys to watch a movie. Plus is kinda works like protection for the camera too.
4. Dedicated Camera Key. The tap screen to take a picture made taking a picture a chore for me, because I would shake the picture right as i was taking it.
5. Improve App Store. Being able to install, download, and buy apps without having to be on the phone to do it saves me a lot of time. My land line will always be faster then my data line on my phone.
6. Up To Date Info. Last but not least is the start page. On one simple face you can see all your updates from Facebook, email, messages, apps updates, and probably more. The Facebook app for HD2 was a mess, and the email and messaging updates were boring and to simple. HD7 hyped it big time. I love it.
This is all my opinion, but it is new and expect a lot to happen. Especially once Adobe releases flash support.
eldonmixer said:
I've had an HD2 for awhile and even though I never unlocked, jail broken, or used any ROM's to use different operating systems (android, winmo7, etc) I do find that HD7 is overall an improvement. Mostly too cause is has a lot of room to grow. HD2 was awesome but it had limits. No flash support and with adobe not working on any for winmo 6.5 (even though I was told it was by the retailer -.-), I had to get WP7 phone. The only downside I have found with the HD7 so far (well downsides that matter the most) are few and far.
1. No Micro SD slot... well not one that's easily accessible. I usually don't tamper with the phone, but I have seen and looked into tutorials on expanding to a 32g card and the hardest thing about it is... buying the SD Card. Those things are fricken' expensive!!
2. Limited customization. The interface doesn't let you customize it as much as its predecessor the "HD2". Like having your own wallpaper (other then the lock screen), but I find the interface it does have very appealing anyway. Simple, classy, easy to use, and very fluent in switching between the screens.
3. Settings. The settings are very limited. Not much you can change, but I do plan on seeing a lot of updates.
4. Loading Apps and Music. Even through Zune is a wonderful program, I hated being dependent on a third party program to load on my music, pics, apps, and what not. I detested iTunes!! I soon realized though, once you understand how it works, it is a lot more organizable.
Not all the bad stuff is out, this is what I love about the HD7 compared to HD2.
1. No more front keys. Hate keys. Just another crevice for junk to get into or part to get broken, or space for a liquid to leak into.
2. Windows Phone 7 OS. To be able to properly use this without having to ROM it is a big thing for people who can't afford to brick their phone. Though the HD2 has ways to implement other OS's, people like me rather just stick with whats installed for safety.
3. The kickstand. Duhh!! Got tired of using the space between the numbers and function keys to watch a movie. Plus is kinda works like protection for the camera too.
4. Dedicated Camera Key. The tap screen to take a picture made taking a picture a chore for me, because I would shake the picture right as i was taking it.
5. Improve App Store. Being able to install, download, and buy apps without having to be on the phone to do it saves me a lot of time. My land line will always be faster then my data line on my phone.
6. Up To Date Info. Last but not least is the start page. On one simple face you can see all your updates from Facebook, email, messages, apps updates, and probably more. The Facebook app for HD2 was a mess, and the email and messaging updates were boring and to simple. HD7 hyped it big time. I love it.
This is all my opinion, but it is new and expect a lot to happen. Especially once Adobe releases flash support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, in my opinion I do like the hardkeys on the HD2 (at least the appearence because I never had an HD2 in my hands), because is just too easy to confuse and press one softkey..
The camera button it's a good idea, but i would suggest an on-screen shutter, because no one knows how to take pictures or they just dont let a time on the first stop for focus...
I think in WinMo you are able to change a lot of settings, in WP7 we cant even calibrate the screen.. But well, today was a happy day.. And i should say I love the atention of having a phone that maybe we have only 10 in the country, not just for the Huge screen, also the solidity, camera and the sprakers/microphone at the sides of the screen..
The HD7 has its touch keys (back/Home/Search) little bit too close to the screen. It makes user too easy to touch those keys by mistake. I know because i do touch those keys a lot by mistake , mostly when playing Fruit Ninja.
the soft keys ( power button/ volume buttons/ camera button) lacks the "click"-feeling, make it kinda hare to press it everytime . HD7 also lacks in serving time with its limited-battery (1230mAh), HTC put the eye-candy above the build quality in their chart for HD7.
about the OS, i have no question about it because WP7 serve me well on daily processes and it is still in develop
Strike_Eagle said:
The HD7 has its touch keys (back/Home/Search) little bit too close to the screen. It makes user too easy to touch those keys by mistake. I know because i do touch those keys a lot by mistake , mostly when playing Fruit Ninja.
the soft keys ( power button/ volume buttons/ camera button) lacks the "click"-feeling, make it kinda hare to press it everytime . HD7 also lacks in serving time with its limited-battery (1230mAh), HTC put the eye-candy above the build quality in their chart for HD7.
about the OS, i have no question about it because WP7 serve me well on daily processes and it is still in develop
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The softkeys seems to be part of the screen.. I tried pinch to zoom at pictures touching the screen and (with the second finger) touching the softkeys.. Thats why the keys should be near the screen...

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