Develop Bugs

REVIEW: First v3.4 Technical Preview of great Web browser NetFront out!

NetFront (NF for short), the alternative Web browser for the Pocket PC, is constantly evolving. It was in last summer that the last, 3.3 version has been released and, now, the first Technical Preview (TP for short) of the forthcoming, 3.4 version is out, with a lot of advertised new features; for example, AJAX support. No wonder I was more than eager to (thoroughly – after all, I’m also a HTTP / programming / AJAX megahacker / pro!) test it. Let’s take a look at how it compares to the previous version!
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
(Note that this is NOT a beginner's introduction to what NetFront is. Play some hours with it to discover it OR make sure you read my previous Web browsing-related articles to get a picture how previous versions compared to other Web browsers on the Pocket PC and what niceties and secrets it has.)
Availability
The download page is here; the product homepage here. Note that the list of restrictions has a mistake: “User Agent cannot be edited” is, fortunately, not true.
Also keep in mind that this version can only be used in January; this, fortunately, also means there will be a new TP version before the end of this month.
Two important notes: coexistence with NF 3.3 and WM5 only!
As with the 3.3 Technical Previews some 1-1.5 years ago, the new, 3.4 TP’s can safely co-exist with 3.3. That is, if you already have 3.3 on your device, you can still safely install the 3.4 TP version(s) on the same Pocket PC. They are completely independent of each other.
Furthermore, the current version is WM5 only. Sorry.
“Hacking”
Unfortunately, it’s not possible to hack the commercial 3.3 Java / Flash / SVG plug-ins into the 3.4 TP version. That is, for example, it’s not worth trying to create a registry import file to create the above-listed registry values in the registry.
The same stands for the User-Agents defined under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ ACCESS\NetFront34\UADataX – even if you import the UAData2… UAData7 subkeys, they won’t work.
There aren’t files to hack (by, for example, copying binary config files from 3.3) either
All in all, it’s not possible to hack the TP version to have the same functionality as the commercial one – don’t even try it.
Changes from version 3.3
In Menu / Tools / Browser Settings, the Misc tab has an additional “Enable Visual Bookmark” checkbox to en/disable the new Visual Bookmarks functionality (old 3.3 screenshot here). When it’s enabled (it is by default), this mode instead of the “boring” traditional bookmarks, a graphical representation is used. Unfortunately, this TP version doesn’t seem to save the thumbnails as yet, which makes this feature, for the time being, useless. That is, make sure you disable the by default enabled checkbox in the current version.
The Browser Settings dialog itself has also changed: now, it’s the right menu that has the tab names and tabs aren’t used any more. This way, it’s easier to access invisible tabs. (3.4 screenshot, 3.3 screenshot)
There is no “Security” tab any more; its contents have been transferred to a brand new “Security Settings” menu in the Tools menu. I don’t think it was a good move: after all, it’s very rarely used and, therefore, it’s better not to crowd often-used menus with submenus like this.
As far as the default settings are concerned, they’re the same; for example, in View / Advanced Settings, the default Courier is still not changed to a proportional font (you’ll want to do this first thing after the install; unfortunately, it’ll also result in another reboot). Similarly, General / Advancerd Settings / Software Keyboard / Auto pop-up is disabled by default. You will need to enable it if you want to enter anything in the Address Bar in full screen mode using any on-screen (not hardware keyboard based) input method. The only difference is that the contents of the “Range to hold decoded images” in View / Advanced Settings is changed from All to Viewport Only (with Margin).
In the protocol level, the “Mozilla/4.08 (PDA; NF33PPC3AR/1.0) NetFront/3.3" User-Agent HTTP request header value has been changed to "Mozilla/5.0 (PDA; NF34PPC/1.0) like Gecko NetFront/3.4" (see THIS for more info on all this.)
As far as the Registry is concerned, there are, naturally, no "ACCESS cvmplugin", "SVG" and "Shockwave Flash" values under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ ACCESS\NetFront34\ Plugins
In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ ACCESS\NetFront34\UAData*, the values of "Platform" ("Pocket PC" -> "Windows Mobile"), "AppVersion" ("3.3" -> "5.0 (Windows; en)") and "AppName" (“ACCESS NetFront" -> "Netscape") have all been been changed. They have, however, absolutely no effect on the HTTP headers passed. That is, just disregard the people that tell you to set any of the text input fields except for the User-Agent text input area.
Under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ ACCESS\NetFront34\BrowserPref, there are some new values related to the new Visual Bookmark feature (state; saving thumbnails): "VisualBookmarkSaveThumbnail" and "VisualBookmark". Also, there is two new values, "BrowserProfile" and "ScrollType"; "DOMDocumentAll", which was related to the in-memory HTML parsed representation, is gone.
In some cases, it’s more intelligent at rendering multi-column stuff in the Normal mode, with all settings being the same. For example, my Game-Over test page looks this in 3.4 and this in 3.3. The 3.4 rendition is indeed much better. (Incidentally, 3.3 TP versions (for example, 1.04) had problems with this page too – that is, they haven’t rendered the contents in Full rendering at all as can be seen in this screenshot. This is no longer a problem in the final version of 3.3.)
As opposed to 3.3, it has no longer problems with IHT. For example, my test IHT page is rendered correctly, as opposed to the 3.3 way of rendering (that is, not displaying the main article at all)
Fortunately, there's no change in the SmartSKey support either: it's working just great for full page scrolling, independent of what scrolling method is set in Misc / Cursor Key. That is, you can set the D-pad to link scroll mode (if you, for example, prefer one-handed navigation) and use the volume slider to scroll pages. Then, you get the best of both worlds. (Now, I wish Opera Mobile supported SmartSKey + volume slider-based scrolling!)
It, however, has some problems. For example, the Google ad is completely misplaced in 3.4 while it’s rendered OK in 3.3. Both, again, using exactly the same (Normal display mode) rendering settings. (This is a problem with ALL Game Over pages!) Switching to the Smart display mode (which isn't so important with 3.4 as was with 3.3) fixes this problem.

Page Pilot
In addition to the, in my opinion, pretty useless visual bookmarks, the new version sports another brand new feature, Page Pilot, which is pretty similar (but, unfortunately, still inferior) to the well-known page navigation / zoom-out feature of Nokia's excellent Symbian S60 Series 3 Web browser.
If you long-press the "Down" arrow on your D-pad, then, the view will quickly zoom out entirely to show the entire Web page, with the need for vertical scrolling only on very long pages (like my benchmarking page). An example of such a zoomed-out state are as follows: QVGA and VGA screenshot. There, you can freely move the red selection frame with either the D-pad or with the stylus; after doing this, it'll promptly zoom back to the previous (normal) zoom level.
In most cases, this feature uses a far too zoomed out state, which renders the feature, in general, pretty useless (at least on low-resolution QVGA devices; hope the Access folks come up with a configurable zoom-out percentage), but, at least, it's nice to see the NetFront engineers try to implement one of the killer features of the new Nokia browser.
CSS and AJAX compliance
(See THIS for more info / background on these tests!)
As far as CSS is concerned, as can be seen in this result screenshot, the CSS compliance has only slightly been improved over the previous version. Opera Mobile and Minimo (two excellent alternative Pocket PC browsers) are still way better in this respect.
As far as AJAX is concerned (the new browser is also advertised to have a brand new Ajax engine), the AJAX support has really been improved. NF 3.4 has passed my Test1, Test2, Simple Ajax Address Book - 1 and 2 tests (click for screenshots as usual). It's only the ImageLabeler test that didn't run (it just presents an empty screen). This is very good news! Now, while Minimo and Opera Mobile are still better at this compartment, NetFront is getting closer.
Benchmarks
In these tests, I’ve used my well-known benchmark page (please do read my past articles on how it should be used). I’ve benchmarked both page loading times and memory consumption of the loaded page (NOT NetFront itself!).
As far as page loading times are concerned, they are considerably (about 35%) lower than with version 3.3 and are slightly above the HALF of AKU2+ PIE times (and, therefore, even better than pre-AKU2 PIE's). Impressive!
As far as dynamic memory (RAM) usage is concerned, I’ve benchmarked really unbelievable results with the new version – it even beats Opera Mobile, the, up to now, most memory-friendly full-blown Pocket PC Web browser (note that Opera Mini and Thunderhawk both have even better memory usage but they’re using a simplified page structure) out of water!
All in all, the engine has REALLY been improved, speed and dynamic memory usage-wise! Thumbs up to Access – this is what I call REALLY cool!
That is, Pros
Vastly improved memory usage and considerably decreased page loading times!
Quick reload when you press Back, like in AKU2+ PIE or Opera Mobile (a GREAT feature in a Pocket PC Web browser with an expensive and/or slow connection!)
The general Web compliance has been greatly enhanced (see for example IHT)
AJAX support is getting pretty good (not so good as with Minimo / Opera Mobile though)
The new Visual Bookmarks are pretty cool-looking, albeit a bit slow in use and, therefore, seems to offer limited usability
The same stands for the new Page Pilot functionality.
Cons
Currently, WM5 only – don’t even try to install it on your pre-WM5 device because it won’t work
You may run into some overlapping problems even in unrestricted Normal display mode, necessitating the change to Smart-Fit Rendering (which roughly – but not always, see the Game-Over screenshot! – corresponds to “One column” in the PIE parlance, particularly when the "Simple Browsing" browsing mode is (also) active)
No real plug-ins and the restrictions are pretty severe. The plug-ins / the number of parallel tabs can’t be hacked and, therefore, the browser can’t be “hacked” to become a fully-fledged one, not even for paying customers of 3.3 and it’ll take long-long months if not even a year (as was roughly the case with 3.3) for Access to release the final, commercial, unrestricted version. Note that the lack of the Macromedia / Adobe Flash plug-in also mean I couldn’t test whether the Flash plug-in bug of 3.2 / 3.3 I’ve discovered has been fixed or not
When you change for example the zoom factor, the text size, the browsing and the display mode (all in the View menu), the visual change is considerably slower than with PIE or Opera Mobile because NF still checks whether there is a new version of all the used resources (and reloads them if they've been changed). This behavior, in addition to the (in most cases, little) network bandwidth usage, also makes any of these changes considerably slower. Unfortunately, the cache setting (Network first (only on startup) / Cache first) don't have any effect on this.
Still no hardware button support, including the inability to redefine the WM5 softkeys. A quick note: fortunately, they're better-behaving than those of PIE in full screen mode: when you press a softkey, the submenu will be promptly displayed. With PIE, you need two softkey presses to achieve the same.
Still impossible to hide the scrollbars / tabs in full screen mode
Still pretty bad CSS compliance (albeit a bit better than in 3.3)
Unfortunately, the download dialog is still modal (under WM5), which means you can’t do anything while downloading – this can be a major pain in the back if you, for example, download over a slow (say, GPRS) connection. This is a definite minus compared to almost all the other Pocket PC Web browsers, which do allow for continued Web browsing / navigation while downloading in the background. (VGA screenshot; QVGA screenshot in full screen mode and not in full screen mode) Please see this roundup for more information on all this.
Still has problems with Unicode (for example, with Word punctuation) when using the (default) Western alphabet as can be seen in here; this problem can only be eliminated by after switching to for example Central-European. (Also see this thread on this problem)
Verdict
I certainly welcome the vastly enhanced engine in many respects (except for, unfortunately, the still pretty bad CSS compatibility). Way to go Access!
Give this browser a try particularly if memory usage is a concern (because, for example, you’re accessing VERY big Web pages on a low-end Pocket PC like the 32M RAM (12M usable at most) HP iPAQ rx1950) and the lack of Flash / Java support isn’t a problem.
UPDATE (01/20/2007): AximSite frontpage. It might be worth checking out because there are some additional success / problem reports in there.
Other (also reader) feedback available at http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showthread.php?t=146178 , http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=428534 , http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1091673 , http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1092210 , http://forum.brighthand.com/showthread.php?t=236000 and http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=290504 .

(Review slightly updated.)

Another update (for example, on the Page Pilot mode)

REVIEW: Best, Brand New Java-based Browser Opera Mini 4 beta 2!

I’ve always loved Opera’s Web browsers. On the desktop with a screen having a higher-than-average resolution (say, at least SXGA+), their free desktop Opera browser is by far the best and most useful browser because it’s the only browser with (nearly) flawless dynamic zoom capabilities. On non-dumbphone (that is, in our case, native Windows Mobile) platforms, their Opera Mobile browser is, despite in some lacking functionality and bugs, currently (as of version 8.65 and end of August, 2007) is the best browser. Finally, as far as Java-capable “dumb” phones are concerned, their Java-based and, what is more, FREE Opera Mini is simply the BEST browser out there.
The Opera folks released the first beta of their brand new, 4 series of Opera Mini this June. I’ve reviewed it in the MS Smartphone Web Browsing Bible. Then, it had some annoying bugs and midlet manager (environments to run Java midlets, including Opera Mini) vendor-specific problems (particularly the crashing / quitting problem on (fortunately, only) one Midlet manager and the “too large fonts” problems on all QVGA handhelds).
Fortunately, these problems / bugs seem to have all been fixed. Read on to find out what has changed in the last 2.5 months!
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
(a VGA screenshot)
(Note that the screenshots were done with the Esmertec Jbed Midlet manager on my HTC Vox / s710 (QVGA Smartphone) and the Tao Intent Midlet manager on the HTC Universal. I’ve also published some other screenshots with some other configurations showing for example Esmertec Jbed running on the latter VGA HTC Universal Pocket PC. Also see the “The Midlet Managers used in the article – how come some of the screenshots are full screen, you may ask” section below for more info on all these questions.)
First, let’s compare the new version to the old. Please read the MS Smartphone Web Browsing Bible (and the “original” Pocket PC Web Browsing Bible linked from it) to get a FULL picture of what Opera Mini is, how it compares to other Windows Mobile browsers etc.
The good
In addition to fixing the font size bug (see below), a new font size, “Extra large”, has been added. With that, the screenshots below (which have been made with the default “Medium” size) are as follows:
(VGA screenshot on the HTC Universal running the latest TAO Intent JVM)
For comparison, with “Small”, the same is as follows:
(VGA screenshot; plain Esmertec JVM QVGA Smartphone screenshot)
There is a brand new submenu, assigned to phonepad button “1”, which offers, in addition to quickly changing between fit to width and full layout modes, reloading and page information, also offers a Link context menu, which allows for opening a given link (you can force it to do this without images) and getting information (that is, the link address; unfortunately, you can’t, say, copy it to the clipboard (screenshot)):
Unfortunately, there’s still no way of parallel loading of more than one link – or, to, say, return to the current page so that you can go on reading it if you initiate the loading of a page from your favorites / bookmarks. These would be more than welcome because, especially with large(r) pages and/or slower and/or not frequently accessed servers, loading times can be pretty high – even in the range of 30-60 seconds.

There are some new hotkeys on handhelds with a dialpad. In addition to the well-known 2/4/6/8 buttons for page scrolling; in full page view, you can use button 5 for quickly zooming in and out (which does the same as the combination of Action and the right softkey, but more conveniently). Furthermore, while the #-prefixed buttons are the same, there is another welcome new hotkey: screen rotation with *# :
This, currently, only rotates between left-handed and portrait view. (In this respect, version 2.04 of the Russian Opera Mini hack (which I don’t link in by purpose – sorry, the app has been declared illegal by the Opera folks) is (still) better: it offers rotating to all the four directions. Not that it’d be that important: on a device with a built-in, slide-out keyboard, it’ll always switch to the right direction when you open/close the keyboard, regardless whether the keyboard opens to the right or the left.)
The biggest bugs have been fixed:
the inability to keep more than 1-2 pages in memory in non-one column mode. An example screenshot of the History list showing this follows:
As can clearly be seen, ALL huge pages were still accessible, requiring no reloading. This is indeed HUGE advantage over beta1!
The font problem has been fixed. The previous beta had too big fonts (even in the “Small” setting) with too much space between the individual rows. The new version is much better in this respect. An example screenshot showing this:
(a screenshot of the same in “Fit to screen” mode. The same on a VGA Pocket PC with Esmertec Jbed using the default Medium font HERE, extra large fonts HERE and Small fonts HERE.)
The bad
There doesn’t seem to be other, new functionality: the menus are the same (screenshot); so is the Settings dialog. In this regard, the above-mentioned Russian hack is still better in some respects (but Opera Mini is indeed catching up and, in many respects, is already far better than the hacked version).
Unfortunately, text using italic is still NOT rendered as italic. This has always been one of the BIGGEST problems with this browser. As has also been pointed out in my related posts (see for example THIS), ALL Windows Mobile-based Midlet managers support italic text – why don’t the Opera folks implement it, then?
Getting, installing
Just point any of your WAP-capable or WAP-enabled (Opera Mobile and IEM are already like this; NetFront must be manually configured to accept WAP pages) Windows Mobile Web browser to http://mini.opera.com/beta/ and click the "Download high memory version" link at the bottom (an IEM screenshot). The installation will automatically start; just make sure you answer Yes / Continue to all questions. After that, just launch the newly-deployed midlet and follow the instructions on the screen.
Compliance
With the current (20070622.2.1) version of Esmertec Jbed (and, therefore, the standard Esmertec JVM coming with most current WM6 devices) I’ve only once encountered a crash: upon having some 10-15 (large) pages open in full page view mode, pressing Save after setting the font size to “Extra large” resulted in Jbed’s getting frozen. This happened to me under TAO Intent too (with one or two pages open); then, just canceling the save operation worked. Then, after re-entering Settings and saving the new configuration again, it already worked flawlessly.
That is, if you encounter hangups after you change the character size, make sure you try to cancel (right softkey) the operation to see whether it helps.
With Tao Intent 11.1.7.1034 (available for download HERE), 11.1.7.1029 (coming with several XDA-Dev cooked ROM’s; I’ve tested it on a Wizard cooked ROM) and 11.1.7.1023 (available for download HERE), I haven’t encountered any crashes so far. That is, (knocking on wood) it seems the Tao Intent crashes have also been eliminated.
The Midlet Managers used in the article – how come some of the screenshots are full screen, you may ask
The QVGA Smartphone screenshots have all been made with the Esmertec Jbed midlet manager; hence the full screen mode on all them.
Don’t mistake the Esmertec Jbed midlet manager for the “plain” Esmertec midlet manager (as of version 20070115.1.1 – the one that comes with the original ROM of the HTC Vox / s710). The latter doesn’t offer full screen capabilities as can be seen in the following screenshot:
(the same screenshot – already shown above – taken with JBed – note that I haven’t used the built-in “full screen” mode of Opera Mini accessible via ** to hide the red bars at the top and bottom). Another reason to install Jbed on top of the Esmertec Midlet manager – in addition to some of its other advantages; for example, much better sound emulation (which can be very important in games). I’ll elaborate on all these questions in my forthcoming Midlet Manager Bible.
The VGA Pocket PC screenshots, on the other hand, have been made using the, in this regard, FAR less recommended TAO Intent midlet manager – hence the unused task- and command bars at the top and the bottom of the screen.
Verdict
This browser is VERY good, particularly when you use it with a decent Midlet manager allowing for real full screen mode. Hope the authors introduce at least support for italic and the ability to, at least, going back to the original page from Favorites while downloading a new page in the background so that you can go on reading the page.
Much as there is still some room for improvement, the bugs of the old, beta1 version seem to be ALL eliminated and even if you didn’t suffer from them (because you used the IBM J9 or the Esmertec JVM and not the Tao Intent one), you’ll certainly welcome the character size and the history list / cache size improvements. If, on the other hand, you’re a Tao Intent user, you will LOVE the stability of the new Opera Mini. (Still, as has already been stated, you’re STRONGLY supposed to upgrade to Jbed – you can just install Jbed on top of your Intent Midlet manager, it’ll work just great.)
All in all, no matter whether you have a Pocket PC or a touch screen-less Smartphone, go get the new Opera Mini – you will LOVE it, I’m absolutely sure!

Has somebody the patched version for the O2 Wap-flat???
I need it .. Pleeeeese

Works great indeed. I have a new cooked rom installed on my Artemis and it's asking me to allow a connection every time. Tried many midlet managers from TAO and none of them give me the security setting where I can change it to 'session'. The Esmertec manager refuses to start. Any tip on this?

this work great with all roms for hermes had a flashing day yesterday and it worked with all thankz for review good for new users
thankz,
jdac21§

I wish it was easier to use this. Having to load the java emulator and run through the questions is kind of annoying.

kiddyl said:
Works great indeed. I have a new cooked rom installed on my Artemis and it's asking me to allow a connection every time. Tried many midlet managers from TAO and none of them give me the security setting where I can change it to 'session'. The Esmertec manager refuses to start. Any tip on this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Give a try to Jbed.
BTW, what Tao versions did you try? 11.x? Did you give a try to the somewhat older (10.x) series? The latter has an explicit Security menu.
I've also elaborated on this in my forthcoming Midlet Manager Bible; did you check out the charts? They are already public - see the dedicated thread at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=326768

maevro said:
I wish it was easier to use this. Having to load the java emulator and run through the questions is kind of annoying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. You mean the questions the first time you start it? After that, you'll be only asked once each time you restart the midlet manager.
2. in addition, if you use the Tao Intent manager (or IBM J9), you can create a direct link to the midlet as has also been explained in my forthcoming article - see http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=326768

One problem on the HTC TOUCH is that if you enter a long text in a text box, for example replying to this thread, then once you press the OK button the browser closes.
I tried preparing this reply with Mini Beta2 but could not due to problem already mentioned. Finally done with Opera Mobile.
Regards

Menneisyys said:
1. You mean the questions the first time you start it? After that, you'll be only asked once each time you restart the midlet manager.
2. in addition, if you use the Tao Intent manager (or IBM J9), you can create a direct link to the midlet as has also been explained in my forthcoming article - see http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=326768
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a direct link on my Ubiquio 503g but it is still annoying and I hope that Opera 9 will be out sooner then later...

kiddyl said:
Works great indeed. I have a new cooked rom installed on my Artemis and it's asking me to allow a connection every time. Tried many midlet managers from TAO and none of them give me the security setting where I can change it to 'session'. The Esmertec manager refuses to start. Any tip on this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Simply search for risidoro's midlet manager in the forum. There you have to confirm only once per session.
Works perfectly on my artemis.

maevro said:
I have a direct link on my Ubiquio 503g but it is still annoying and I hope that Opera 9 will be out sooner then later...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Still no word on Opera Mobile 9's real release date. That is, I wouldn't hold my breath.

Here's an excerpt from my fortcoming Midlet Bible on all these issues:
2.4 TAO Intent
This is the MIDlet manager having come with almost all HTC-manufactured WM5 Pocket PC’s and Smartphones. Now that the developer no longer exists, HTC seems to have switched to Esmertec Jeodek / Jbed instead (and independent MS Smartphone / PPC PE manufacturers like Sharp or Samsung prefer Aplix JBlend instead). However, this still means there’s a HUGE number of installed userbase of this MIDlet manager.
Currently, two major releases of these titles are widely used: the 10.1 series and the latest 11.1 series. Of course, if you have a Pocket PC / Pocket PC phone (Windows Mobile Professional / Classic) and not just a Smartphone (where only 10-series MIDlet managers run), you’ll want to go for the latter as it’s compatible with many more standards and MIDlets than the former one (for example, the 10.1 series was unable to run any of the jBenchmark benchmarks I’ve thrown it at – it just exits when starting them. This may have been a memory issue, in which the 11.1 series is also better). In addition, it also supports MIDlet groups (screenshots: 1 2 3 4), which is also a definite advantage over the 10.1 series.
There are a LOT of different 11-series TAO Intent MIDlet managers out there. At first, it’d be very hard for a beginner to choose. In the following section, I explain what these versions are, how they compare to each other etc.
First, let’s start with the latest version, 11.1.7.1034 (or 1034 for short; from now on, I’ll only use the last four, in our case, relevant version numerals to refer to a given version), which is available HERE for download. It’s meant for any kind of PPC PE phones – but NOT for non-phone devices. If you don’t plan to run applications using the Net (for example, Opera Mini), you can safely install this version (even on a storage card). However, if you DO plan to run Net-related MIDlets, forget it right away – this version uses the wrong approach (prompting each time, not each session) network access-wise. And, again, if you have a non-phone Pocket PC, forget about it too.
What does this Net access problem mean? Upon trying to access the Net, they prompt the user to allow the operation each time there is any kind of communication. For example, if you browse the Web with Opera Mini, you’re presented this dialog each time you click a link. This is, of course, unacceptable.
While the 11-series (as with the older, 10-series) Intent MM does have a dedicated “security” setting dialog (just tap-and-hold the icon of the deployed MIDlet and select “Security”) where you can set authentication to the much more user-friendly “session” (which only prompts the user just once, at the beginning of each session – that is, after starting Opera Mini), the publicly available, installable .1034 version doesn’t let for setting anything in this dialog. As can clearly be seen, only “Oneshot” is available – not only with Net access, but also with other settings – even with Local connectivity. Opposed to this are all the other (former) 11.x versions, where “Session” and, with local access, “Blanket” are also available. If this is a problem, you will want to pick a 11-series version that doesn’t suffer from this bug.
In order to 1, getting rid of the Net authorization bug and 2, find non-phone-capable TAO Intent versions, we’ll need to go back in time a while and switch to version .1023. There, basically, are five versions of this CAB file.
The PPC Phone version HERE
The non-phone PPC version HERE
The “turbo” version for PPC Phone is HERE
The “turbo” version for standard (non-Phone) PPC is HERE
The above links point to modified, enhanced versions of the original TAO Intent manager. These modifications have been done by Russian hackers ZuRiUs and dFine1107 and involve the ability to be installed on a storage card and to be installed on non-HTC devices, including non-phones (for example, the Dell Axim x51v). That is, these do contain major hacks and improvements.
Finally, XDA-Developers hacker risidoro’s version is HERE (only for PPC Phones; it doesn’t run on non-phone devices)
Of these, I recommend the “turbo” versions most, for both PPC and PPC Phone Edition models. While I haven’t really measured remarkable speed increase with the jBenchmark tests, many users have reported generic speedup with at least starting / loading MIDlets. This is because many library files have been decompressed by the creator, meaning no decompression needed in runtime. This may indeed result in some speed increase. (Note that this trick doesn’t work the 10.1-series TAO Intent MM’s; this is why only the new series has a separate “turbo” version.) Note that this also means this version occupies about two times more storage than the non-turbo one; therefore, if you have little built-in storage, consider installing it on a storage card.
Note that, while risidoro’s version is very popular, it’s, in my opinion, not as good as the Russian hacks. The sole reason for this is that it can’t be installed on a storage card. This, particularly if you have little built-in storage or plan to install dozens or hundreds of midlets, can be pretty bad news – don’t forget TAO Intent manager stores MIDlets under a subdirectory in its home directory, which means it’ll dump its deployed MIDlets on your storage card if you install it there, leaving your built-in storage uncluttered. That is, even if you instruct it to be installed on a storage card, it’ll install itself into the main storage (meaning the MIDlets will also be put in there later).
Risidoro’s only major advantage over all the other, listed (Russian) .1023 installers (and, for that matter, the .1034 one) is that it correctly sets file associations, unlike the Russian CAB’s. This means if you click a JAD or a JAR file in the local file system (or on a Web page), it’ll correctly deploy it. With the Russian CAB’s, this isn’t possible (if you install them on a storage card; when installed to the main memory, they’ll require no Registry import), unless you import THIS Registry file I’ve created for your convenience. Note that it assumes your storage card is named “Storage Card”. If it’s not the case (because you use a localized (non-English) device or a Pocket PC with two storage cards), make sure you change the occurrences of “Storage Card” to the name of your card before importing the script.
Note that some cooked ROM’s (for example, XPlore 1.1, mUn's aRTM and mfrazzz’s XDA Mobile 6 Release 2a – but not Release 3, which already switched to the Esmertec MM) contain the .1029 version (see for example THIS for more info on this particular version). It has no session problems either. It’s, currently, not available as an installable CAB file, though - this is why you will want to check out the .1023 (or, if the net access bug isn't a problem, .1034) version(s) instead.
So far, I’ve only discussed Pocket PC compatibility. Unfortunately, as has already been pointed out, the above-linked 11.1 series can’t be used on (touchscreen-less) MS Smartphone (Windows Mobile Standard) models. You will need to get THIS file if you want to install TAO Intent (v10.1.7.561) on your WM5+ Smartphone. Should you need a WM2003 one, get THIS (v10.1.0.14) instead.
EDIT & BREAKING NEWS: Risidoro has patched the .1034 version so that it supports session-based Net authorization. This means you will want to go for .1034 even if you want to run apps using the Net.
See his thread at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=1484696 - a worthy read. The direct link to his patched .1034 CAB is at http://www.webalice.it/risidoro/intent/Risidoro_Intent_MIDlet_Manager_11.1.7.1034.cab
He has also published the .1029 CAB in his post.

I have the Emertec Jbed JVM on my Tmobile MDA. Been running Opera mini 4 beta 2 without a hitch. This morning I got up and went to do some surfing and the JVM refused to load. It starts for a second then quits. I have not deleted any files on my PPC. I have no idea why it would just stop working. Any of you run into this problem?
John

UPDATE (09/02/2007): Bad news: the linked Jbed version no longer works. See THIS for more info.

davis4559 said:
I have the Emertec Jbed JVM on my Tmobile MDA. Been running Opera mini 4 beta 2 without a hitch. This morning I got up and went to do some surfing and the JVM refused to load. It starts for a second then quits. I have not deleted any files on my PPC. I have no idea why it would just stop working. Any of you run into this problem?
John
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it's timed out. There was a time-bomb in it. See my related thread.

that sucks. is the pay version offered by handango the same?

davis4559 said:
that sucks. is the pay version offered by handango the same?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dunno as I haven't had the chance to test it. I'll contact them and ask whether they want to release a trial.

Have you seen the Opera Mini MOD versions? It can do some of the things you mention as failings: copy text/images/links to clipboard, open >1 pages in tabs.
http://www.opera-mini.ru/index_e.html
How to get it into english:
http://www.htcwizardweb.net/node/854

Menneisyys said:
Here's an excerpt from my fortcoming Midlet Bible on all these issues:
However, if you DO plan to run Net-related MIDlets, forget it right away – this version uses the wrong approach (prompting each time, not each session) network access-wise. And, again, if you have a non-phone Pocket PC, forget about it too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Menneisyys,
i've solved the problem with Intent midlet manager 11.1.7.1034. Now it will ask connect permission on a per-session basis!
I've published the hacked 1034 together with previous 1029 and 1023 HERE.
Please, update your great guide!!!
Bye and thanks for your always-perfect work!

[31-Jan-2008] CRCs PHKv11 Release 5 Complete ROM

Expanding on Matt's Pandoras Naked base ROM, I've gone and packed in what most people would require on their day to day usage of a hermes device, packed it all together in a lovely gift-wrapped box and passed it onto you. The aim of my ROMs will be to keep everything stable and as quick and useful as possible. I will always include the latest proven Radio ROM - to make sure your device is working as best possible.
Release 5 of this ROM includes:
* Windows Mobile 6 (CS OS 5.2.1622 (Build 18128.0.4.4))
* Telstra NextG support (Australia only)
* .Net framework 3.5
* 1-Calc Lite
* 10 button HTC Touch comm manager
* 3G dialpad
* ArcSoft MMS 4.2
* BT Explorer 1.2 (to enable OBEX file transfers)
* Camera 4.0 Build 28276
* ClearView PDF Viewer
* Flashlight
* HTC Network Wizard
* HTC X-Button 2.0.30740
* HTC Voice Recorder
* Modaco NoData
* PIM Backup v2.6
* Remote Desktop
* Wireless today screen plugin
The following apps are installed from the Extended ROM - meaning you can uninstall and not lose storage space:
* Office mobile 2007 (v6.1)
* Windows Live (10.6.0033.0600)
* Cyberon Voice Commander (v2.0 Build 711091)
Tweaks included:
* 802.11g enabled
* Cleartype enabled in both normal and landscape mode
* SD Card power management fix
* Camera delay fix.
* HSDPA Icon enabled (Displays H when HSDPA is active instead of 3G)
* Added Disconnect button to GPRS windows
* Fix for slow scrolling in Pocket IE
Custom theme and Ringtone included (Ringtone can be deleted to free ~400Kb of storage memory (it's in \My Documents\My Ringtones).
Main storage has about 54Mb free with all extended ROM programs installed. Can be increased to ~64Mb free if you uninstall Office, Windows Live and Cyberon Voice Commander.
Screenshots:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
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"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
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Downloads:
N2As Mirror (USA)
CRCs Mirror (AU)

Revision History
Current Known Issues:
* None!
v11 Release 5 (31-Jan-2007):
* Fixed 1-Calc installation error.
v11 Release 4 (17-Jan-2007):
* Mapped button 5 press to voice dial.
* Added voice dialling to Appbuttons.
* Added fix for scrolling slowness in Pocket IE.
* Changed keyboard skin to match theme.
* Unbundled OS ROM from Radio ROM due to popular request. You can now choose your own radio version.
v11 Release 3 (2-Jan-2007):
* Fixed ClearVue PDF reader. It still has some issues with large PDFs however.
* Corrected X-Button behaviour at default install. This should fix a number of speed issues.
v11 Release 2 (1-Jan-2007):
* Added Bluetooth Voice dialling support for car kits & headsets.
v11 Release 1 (31-Dec-2007):
* Initial Release.

Reserved for future use.

downloaded an installed on a 8525
kind of slow, I have had problems with this build before with battery life and overall stabilty.
like you said you tested it on a dopod so maybe there is some hardware incompatabilities.
sorry but right after flash flashed right back to schaps 4.22. Maybe you need to spend more time tweaking to accommodate for user with other devices

shanetheclassic said:
downloaded an installed on a 8525
kind of slow, I have had problems with this build before with battery life and overall stabilty.
like you said you tested it on a dopod so maybe there is some hardware incompatabilities.
sorry but right after flash flashed right back to schaps 4.22. Maybe you need to spend more time tweaking to accommodate for user with other devices
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? What did you use to test this? The hardware between the 8525 and Dopod 838 Pro is identical except the keyboard layout (tytn vs 8525). I used to run schaps ROM on my dopod for quite a while, and I didn't notice any speed difference at all.
EDIT: I've just been thinking - it's probably due to the setting in X-Button to close applications when you press the X - this keeps the most memory free at all times - but can slow down performance - as each application has to start from scratch each time you launch it.. To change this, click on the X-Button icon at the top right, then press the configure 'spanner', tap on the "Button" tab and select the option "End programs by tapping and holding X". This will speed up switching between applications after you've already launched them once.

No problems here
I though I'd give it a try. Even though I can't use the video portion of the 3G dialer - it has everything else I typically use in my personal build.
Nice job!

mattk_r said:
I though I'd give it a try. Even though I can't use the video portion of the 3G dialer - it has everything else I typically use in my personal build.
Nice job!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Matt, although most of the credit should go to you for the kitchen I looked at all the applications and functionality that "most people" would use in a general day-to-day usage of the device and tried to cut something that would save people a lot of time learning how to use kitchens etc just to update. Some of the features that people might want to swap and change I've tried to keep in the extended ROM so that they can be uninstalled separately if the user wants to...
The development will probably track the updates of your kitchen and have a few tweak/updates inbetween depending on what happens (application updates etc).
edit: Oh, and did you like the default ringtone? It can also be deleted as it's in \My Documents\My Ringtones if you want to free up more space or use something else.

Just rolled & uploaded Release 2 of my ROM. This adds Bluetooth Voice Dialing support using Cyberon Voice Commander.

screenshots?
Hi CRC, I think more people will use this ROM if you post some screenshots. Thanks.

knightmedz said:
Hi CRC, I think more people will use this ROM if you post some screenshots. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah - I've been meaning to do these for the past couple of days but got side-tracked with fixes... I'll whip something up now...

Ok, I've fixed the ClearVue PDF issue and corrected the X-Button configuration that was making things look really slow (when really it was a misconfiguration!). Release 3 should be fully functioning and FAST!

I have added benchmark of this ROM to my benchmark thread. You can check the results here.

KarhU said:
I have added benchmark of this ROM to my benchmark thread. You can check the results here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks KarhU... It's interesting that although it didn't get top marks in everything, there is less than 1% across the board different between the top scorers and this ROM. Some of them we missed out on by 0.1fps!
It was kind of expected as I have it running background processes etc for voice dialing etc - which will take up some resources - however it was nowhere near the difference that I was expecting...

CRCinAU said:
Thanks KarhU... It's interesting that although it didn't get top marks in everything, there is less than 1% across the board different between the top scorers and this ROM. Some of them we missed out on by 0.1fps!
It was kind of expected as I have it running background processes etc for voice dialing etc - which will take up some resources - however it was nowhere near the difference that I was expecting...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Current benchmarking apps have their limits. I am well aware that actual differences between ROMs are in magnitude of single units of percents. Problem is that all currently available benchmarking apps are aimed to test different devices, not different ROMs on the same device. Factors like GUI responsiveness although important from end user point of view are omitted completely. I started thread in Development and Hacking forum to find a developer who would address this problem, but except from one vague reply it has no progress...

Release 4 has just been sent to the mirrors.
Changes to this version include:
Mapped button 5 press to voice dial.
Added voice dialling to Appbuttons.
Added fix for scrolling slowness in Pocket IE.
Changed keyboard skin to match theme.
Unbundled OS ROM from Radio ROM due to popular request. You can now choose your own radio version.

Can you tell me how you fixed the "slow camera fix"? I've been looking for this since I've had my Hermes. Thanks in advance.
Chris

noellenchris said:
Can you tell me how you fixed the "slow camera fix"? I've been looking for this since I've had my Hermes. Thanks in advance.
Chris
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The fix is registry based. The registry entry is:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\HTC\Camera\Captparam]
"DelayTime"=dword:00000001

I tried changing that value, it seems like the same. It's a small time difference. I took a picture of a car @30mph and with both settings it seems about a car length off. with shutter sound off, it's about a 1/2 car length. I changed the value in both binary & hex to 1. In these settings. Thanks for the help
Chris

First off I would like to say great ROM. It feels nice and peppy and doesn't have a bunch of things that I don't need. With that being said I do have one problem. Ever since I flashed to this firmware I cannot get my phone and the pc to sync back up. Its as if the computer doesn't even see a device connected to it. Is there someway to fix this?

mercx said:
First off I would like to say great ROM. It feels nice and peppy and doesn't have a bunch of things that I don't need. With that being said I do have one problem. Ever since I flashed to this firmware I cannot get my phone and the pc to sync back up. Its as if the computer doesn't even see a device connected to it. Is there someway to fix this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would say this has something to do with the PC. I've had this happen to me on random occasions with multiple ROMs. Try soft resetting the phone, then reboot your computer. Try changing the USB port your cable is hooked up to.
It's annoying when it does happen, but it isn't related to the ROM.

[ROM][GSM][WWE] AC - Naked ROM - 1(WM:23001,HTC:2.07)

NOW DISCONTINUED. SEE POST ON PG7 FOR ALTERNATIVE
AC - Naked ROM
This ROM is designed for "professionals", that is, someone who needs functionality and raw performance over endless crap, gimmicks and slow animated uselessness.
Testing shows it to be extremely fast, uses 45% of memory day-in-day out.
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(does not include CorePlayer, Garmin XT, Skype or Screen Capture)
Use it if you meet this criteria
1. use the stylus often and dislike big controls designed for fat fingers
2. need raw speed and good looks without animation
3. want minimal installed cabs so you can use your own which you keep in /Storage
4. do all your Comms (phone, messaging, tasks, calendar) from the Today screen
5. use your device as GPS on the move (tested with Garmin, Microsoft Voice command over bluetooth)
6. do not use MMS, upload to facebook or youtube.
7. prefer original WM over HTC apps and feel where possible
8. hate Microsoft Media Player and use CorePlayer or Pocket Player Bundle
9. prefer Voice Command to read out your calls and text messages rather than fancy ringtones
10. don't like Titanium or Manilla that much ('cause it ain't included!)
Installed apps
Adobe Reader 2.5
Office (without Onenote)
Total Commander (replaces Explorer)
HTC: FM Radio, Calc, Camera (inside Pictures & Video)
.NET 3.5
Removed
Windows Media Player & DRM, Titanium, Touchflo & 3D, MS & HTC stuff like marketplace etc
Installation
Once installed it will take a while before Windows starts.
During this time your device will have a blank screen.
It has not been bricked just wait a bit! Also see Known Issues for hints.
Current version & download
1(WM:23001,HTC:2.07)
Recommended Extras
Microsoft Voice Command (working call announcements) - reboot after install & see Settings for reading normal priority txt msgs
HTC Task Manager - reboot after install
Known Issues
prob: no longer asks for screen calibration on install.
fix: Do manually via Settings > Screen until I find a fix.
prob: after installed you'll get a white screen saying "please wait".
fix: Hit one of the top icons and it'll go away.
note: I'm looking for a fix without enabling HTC's RunCC.
prob: clicking the battery icon doesn't do anything (it should really invoke power).
fix: access manually via Settings until I fix.
prob: screen text is default (one size too large imho). Need to find the registry key to notch it down a level.
fix: do manually via "screen"for now.
prob: the background is a gif as I can't workout how to get the compiler to use a jpg for the Default_stwater.
fix: none
issue: slight colour banding because of it.
prob: empty Tools folder on Start-Menu.
fix: delete it from /Windows/Start-Menu/Programs
issue: can't find the location to kill it so you'll need to do manually.

Do you have pics of your version ?

coming up

I can not download the rom file. bad link

It's working fine and has been for hours

Sounds like nice ROM. May I ask you for some pictures?

Of what? It has the default Windows dialer and the start and program screenshots can be found at the top post (I added them). Regards, Andrew

Sounds good... But can u publish yo kitchen, m8, becoze i need to integrate a cirillic dialpad and keyboard to yo ROM?
And make a mirror, plz...

snoopy20 said:
AC - Professional ROM
This ROM is designed for professionals.
It is extremely fast and uses 41% of memory whereas most take 60-70%.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't you think it would be fair to mention that those "most" roms are using TF3D, and you are not?
There are many roms, in which you can have this "professionalism" in memory and speed if you switch off all interfaces and leave bare WM.
So, be fair, and change this line. Compare it ONLY to bare roms without manila. Then it may be not so super-special, but just another rom without manila....
But of course the "professionals" will see it. It's the "not professional" who may fall for this advert....
P.S. If I switch off manila, then I have 39% after boot-up (with lumos, and other software in background). Is that something special? Not, it's standard. At least with Nataly roms.....

mjaxa said:
Don't you think it would be fair to mention that those "most" roms are using TF3D, and you are not?
There are many roms, in which you can have this "professionalism" in memory and speed if you switch off all interfaces and leave bare WM.
So, be fair, and change this line. Compare it ONLY to bare roms without manila. Then it may be not so super-special, but just another rom without manila....
But of course the "professionals" will see it. It's the "not professional" who may fall for this advert....
P.S. If I switch off manila, then I have 39% after boot-up (with lumos, and other software in background). Is that something special? Not, it's standard. At least with Nataly roms.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude cut him some slack.. The guy is just contributing his work. It wouldn't hurt to make a general comparison of his rom with others regardless if it is with touchflo or not since he is not asking money for his rom. At least he did not name 'whose roms were those.' If he wants to call it a professional rom then so be it, nobody has monopoly over that word is it not? Let the user judge for himself if this rom is worth his while or worthy of such title.

Here's two reasons ...
1. there are no startup or scheduled services running so battery life is rather good. In standby last night with no activity and full charge the battery still shows as full (that's 8hrs standby!).
2. there is no Manilla OR Titanium. Which other ROM does that? There is no Windows Media Player. Which other ROM does that?
You'll have to try it out and see why.
Other poster >> I'll zip up the kitchen and post as soon as I get a moment. What are these two packages - if they really add value I'll include them for next release.

Look, I'm cutting slack, etc but... If you publish something, then it's up to public to judge it.
So, it's good there's another cook, only let's be fair. It used to be, that such roms were called inthe thread title [naked] or [no manila] or anything else, BUT it was clear.
reason 1 - hmm, to me it looks like the common fault of all diamonds - battery metering, especially at full charge isn't reliable. For me the way to check it is to measure the mAh drain of the battery. This is closer to being objective.
reason 2 - every rom which is provided with kitchen can do that (remove manila), and lately there are lots of those, so practically everybody can adjust the rom to their liking with or without manila or titanium.
Anyway - what I'm suggesting is a clear and consistent naming and comparison of the roms. Since pietrucci stopped doing benchmarks there are no reliable scores to compare speed, memory etc, so people look at descriptions. Therefore those descriptions should be as accurate (and fair) as possible especially when you are trying to compare one rom with the other.
Good luck with your project.

Well I agreed with what you were saying and made the changes you suggested. I've also changed the 41 to 45% memory as this is what it uses with constant usage over a couple days.
A.

snoopy20, will you make a new b.23004 ROM with 2.09 drivers? And kitchen actually yet...

snoopy20 said:
Here's two reasons ...
1. there are no startup or scheduled services running so battery life is rather good. In standby last night with no activity and full charge the battery still shows as full (that's 8hrs standby!).
2. there is no Manilla OR Titanium. Which other ROM does that? There is no Windows Media Player. Which other ROM does that?
You'll have to try it out and see why.
Other poster >> I'll zip up the kitchen and post as soon as I get a moment. What are these two packages - if they really add value I'll include them for next release.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, so you've got a fast and stable rom... but a rom that doesn't do almost nothing...!
In that way, it's better buy a cell phone instead of a PPC/PDA...

Ignore the whingers...
..., their venal sniping and their inane comparisons with the work of others.
As the saying goes: "There are none so blind as those that will not see..."
I like that your ROM is geared towards using your phone as a tool, not a toy.
Looking forward to seeing what you come up with in the future...

mjaxa said:
Don't you think it would be fair to mention that those "most" roms are using TF3D, and you are not?
There are many roms, in which you can have this "professionalism" in memory and speed if you switch off all interfaces and leave bare WM.
So, be fair, and change this line. Compare it ONLY to bare roms without manila. Then it may be not so super-special, but just another rom without manila....
But of course the "professionals" will see it. It's the "not professional" who may fall for this advert....
P.S. If I switch off manila, then I have 39% after boot-up (with lumos, and other software in background). Is that something special? Not, it's standard. At least with Nataly roms.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, cut the chef some slack. I take "Professional" as in 'professional users only'. Naked roms do take some patience and skill to tailor to your needs. Some people want a rom that takes little effort others do want more control.

I''m agree with huisie. You make a good job and this ROM realy needed. First, I d't know any other naked wm6.5 ROM with fresh build within. Sec, I d't know any ROMs without WMP and so many deleted trash.
I think You wrong to call your ROm 'Professioal", but the name "Bussiness" are fit correctly: this ROM not for a play, it's for job.

Truely speaking... I am loving this ROM... Thanks a lot....

Excellent, the first happy customer.
I will update to 30004 soon and aim to wrap up the kitchen asap.
If anyone knows how to or where to ask in order to solve these little bugs please let me know or ask away on my behalf.
PS) I'm after stability and bug-free operation over compiling to the latest XIP release so I wont be doing daily updates. Most XIP updates seem to pertain to fixing OEM compatibility and Titanium issues anyway so it's not so much an issue with my ROM.
PS2) I think TaskManager is mandatory but when compiled into the ROM it doesn't run automatically, hence I provide as a separate package. The compiled voice command doesn't read out calls/messages either which is why that is as a package too (tested and working this way).
A.

[ROM] NuVogue 8.0 - WM6.5 28014 - Updated: Oct 13, 2010 - SenseUI, Generic & Sprint

[ROM] NuVogue 8.0 - WM6.5 28014 - Updated: Oct 13, 2010 - SenseUI, Generic & Sprint
--Big thanks to Does_It_Matter for getting me back online! I have restarted development on this ROM in early August!
THANKS to those of you who have voted my thread up a little bit and those who have donated to the project... much appreciated, glad people are enjoying NuVogue!
To install, follow the instructions in this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=592964
This ROM is CARRIER GENERIC (note: 8.0 users do have the option of downloading a Sprint Specific build), so don't forget to install your carrier CAB or else data won't work. ( Downloads: http://winbreak.com/winmo/voguegoodies/ ).
Recommended SIP (keyboard) can be downloaded from: : http://winbreak.com/winmo/voguegoodies/ (below the carriers). Now included with NuVogue Care Pack.
October 13th, 2010:
Version 8.0 Changes from 7.0:
--==SPRINT SPECIFIC BUILD INCLUDES==--
-Sprint Football Live
-SprintTV PPC QVGA 1.7.1.85322 (latest)
-SprintNAV PPC 2.1.23 (latest)
Version 8.0 Changes from 7.0 for both SPRINT and GENERIC builds:
-Converted to newer version Manila: SenseUI 2.0.20163224.00 (Enabled by default, to go back to Titanium, simply Click Start > Settings > Home Screen, move right to ITEMS, & Select Windows Default).
-XPR Compression (while the RAR is still gigantic, the overall phone memory used is now nearly 50% lower!).
-Re-Added Titanium Customizer
-Updated CHome Editor (in Utilities)
-Removed Blue Frog Dialer (sometimes graphical glitches covered up smartdialer results)
-Removed Windows Mobile 7 theme by Dan (sometimes slowed the system too much)
-Removed COMM Manager Skin (returned to Vogue Default)
-Removed HTC Performance
-Removed Titanium "Application shortcuts" widget
-Added TCPMP
-Added Skinny Signal Bars for more accurate signal readings
-Added PHM Reset for perforing quick Soft-Resets
-Added ##Code Shortcuts
-Added BAF MSL Grabber (MSL Code Required for some ##Codes)
-Added xTask
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"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
>>>DIRECT DOWNLOAD 8.0 SPRINT SPECIFIC<<<​I have had some problems with SprintTV but everything else seems to work fine, please provide your feedback!
>>>DIRECT DOWNLOAD 8.0<<<​
__
October 3rd, 2010:
Version 7.0 Changes from 6.0:
-Switched to Office Mobile 2010
-Added Titanium theme "Windows Mobile 7" by Dan.
++++This removes "Phone / Voicemail / Text Messages" items from the Titanium Home Screen - replaced with Notifications.
++++To make a phone call, you can choose Phone from the Start Menu or the Notifications Pane, or press the green hardware button on the phone itself.
-Removed Titanium Customizer
-Added CHome Editor
-Added Titanium plugins (these can be individually disabled using CHome Editor):
++++Comm Manager
++++Titanium Weather (was added / removed in the past, but if you don't want it you can Disable it!)
++++Notifications (missed call, voice mail, sms, email) - this replaces the TEXT, PHONE, and VOICEMAIL items in this theme. Select any of these to compose new text, make a call, etc...
++++Facebook / Facebook IM
++++Favorite People contact shortcuts (customizable / can rename appearance on Titanium)
++++Application Shortcuts (note some applications shown by default were not included and may be added to a future build)
++++Office Mobile 2010 Shortcuts (note: Office Communicator not included)
-Added HTC Audio Manager
-Added MortScript
-Added IETools
-Added SQLCE3.0
-Added System files needed for Voice Command (some apps can now take advantage of Voice Commands).
-Switched to more plugin-compatible version of HTC Jade Album
-"Conneting" Data notification disabled by defalut.
-Added MINLA 2D interface: note: I know practically nothing about Manila - I got it to work, my city was already in the weather databse, I don't know how to add cities, etc... don't ask me, I can't help you! For help, visit:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=554857
++++To enable Manila2D, Click Start > Settings > Home Screen, move right to ITEMS, and Select TouchFLO (note, the TouchFlo cube is NOT included with this build).
-Added many more programs to NVogue Care Pack:
++++Swype for Vogue (install 1st)
++++Swype for Vogue QVGA Theme (install 2nd) - must be installed.
++++Microsoft MyPhone latest
++++Opera Mobile (small, very fast, but sends your info to Opera proxy for processing) latest
++++Opera Mini (Forces your phone to do the work that Opera Mini's proxy would do, but protects your privacy) latest
++++Google Maps latest
Most impressive about NuVogue 7.0? Even with all of these new features (Titanium Plugins, Manila2D, etc...) the phone still boots EXTREMELY qickly. The "First Boot after flash" will take a little longer, but once everything is properly installed and you're using the phone day-to-day, NuVogue 7.0 is still extremely fast and stable!
As with 6.0 - to free up space on your device, you can delete the entire folder for the NuVogue Care Pack - it will warn you that these are system files, but will cause no problems if deleted.
>>>DIRECT DOWNLOAD 7.0<<<​note - this bad boy is whopping 92.3MB!
__
September 19th, 2010:
Version 6.0 Changes from 5.0:
-Back to Glossy 1 column 6-Button COMM Manager from earliest builds of NuVogue.
-Added latest Facebook client.
-Added Pocket Uno to Games.
-Added HTC Performance (Start\Settings\System\Performance) supposedly compatible with HTC Vogue.
++Allows changes CPU clock speed from 400Mhz-constant to 300-520Mhz-dynamic (not responsible for any damage that may result from use). Can also overclock to 624 Mhz, but I do not suggest this.
-INTRODUCING THE NuVogue Care Pack!!!: CAB files that cause problems or when "pre-installed" or that some users may have no need for - but saved in the phone's "NuVogue Care Pack" directory so you can install them with no need to download! PLEASE feel free to suggest future additions to the Care Pack! This is to save you time with repeated downloads from your phone!
+++HTC Touc Input CAB - EZ Input SIP (better keyboard than the one cooked in to the build).
+++Windows Live Client for Windows Mobile (latest version).
+++Windows Mobile Marketplace Bootstrap (installs the small file which will donwnload the latest Windows Mobile Marketplace).
++++WinMoSquare - latest beta version of Touchality's Foursquare client for Windows Mobile.
NOTE: Once you have the CABs installed or if don't want to install ANY of these, you can simply delete the entire folder from the root of the phone. It will warn you that these are considered "system files" but it will cause no problems, stability issues, or errors when starting the phone. You are free to delete the folder to free up space on your phone!
---FYI from 5.0 - with SmartDialer added, it will auto-complete email addresses in the default or Windows Live for Windows Mobile Phone E-Mail clients.
>>>DIRECT DOWNLOAD 6.0<<<​
________________________
September 8th, 2010:
Version 5.0 Changes:
-Included EZInput SIP. THANKS LMILLER!!! (note, I still recommend the slightly updated version from the URL above)
-Added SmartDialer
-Back to 6-Button COMM Manager from Diamond (no wifi in the device, no need for 10-button). (this will change probably back to the one from 1.0-3.0 in a future build).
-Removed HTC GPS Routing Tool
I have been experimenting with adding BatteryStatus / HomeScreen Plus Plus, but since I use Titanium and not Manila it doesn't seem to work too well - and have no ability to overclock (which is why I wanted the software in the first place). I have removed it from 5.0 but am considering it for future builds.
>>>DIRECT DOWNLOAD 5.0<<<​
________________________
August 12th, 2010:
0.1 "Bare" ROM: As requested, NuVogue version 0.1 BARE: Added the SMS Timestamp Fix, Calculator, Long Press End Key, Camera, and Album 2.0. I consider these essentials. If anyone would like a truly naked build of 28014, let me know.
>>>DIRECT DOWNLOAD 0.1<<<​
August 12th, 2010: Version 4.0 changes:
-Captain Shared Modules patches.
-10-Button COMM Manager.
-Additional Ringtons, Themes, and Sounds.
-HTC Album 2.0 - slighty different from the 2.5 album in NuVogue 3.0.
-HTC GPS Tool to check GPS Status.
-Switched back to MSN Widgets for Weather, Money, and Live search - removed Titan Weather.
-Removed Ubuntu Theme from Titan Interface.
>>>DIRECT DOWNLOAD 4.0<<<​
I have no pictures at this time, can get screenshots if you'd like.
________________________
Version 3.0 changes:
I called this 3.0 because I feel the changes significant enough, though not numerous.
-New Dialer: Blue Frog Big Button dialer - very similar to the default for the Touch, but easier to see.
-New game: Dope Wars.
>>>DIRECT DOWNLOAD 3.0<<<​
________________________
July 7th, 2010: Version 2.0 changes:
-New Titanium Weather Plugin added.
-New Titanium Theme "Ubuntu" layered on top of the HTC Black Theme.
-New Dialer: "iPhone Minimal Dialer" - iPhone style, should fix number alignment issue from the previous dialer. Note that this does cover up the call history screen (screen shots below), feedback welcome!
-New HTC Calculator replacing the Windows Mobile Default calc.
-Fixed Problem with task manager overlapping with the clock.
-Removed WM6.5 Widgets, now that weather is part of the Titanium theme.
Currently, all other features are the same as NuVogue 1.0, and is still based on 28014 for enhanced core stability.
>>>DIRECT DOWNLOAD 2.0<<<​
Version 2.0 Screen Shots:
__________
June 27th, 2010, NuVogue 1.0
This ROM is speedy, has the purportedly revised version of Internet Explorer, but most importantly is EXTREMELY stable. Reboots seem optional, and I haven't had a single freeze with this build - with a previous ROM I was using, it would seem stable until I used Task Manager to endtask a few things - that would cause it to freeze. I haven't been able to make this freeze yet!
NuVogue1.0
WM Build 28014
Built with PPCk-BuildOS.
Special thanks to JustPCTech for his support and the contribution of the SMS 2016 Timestamp fix.
Also, thanks to PPCKitchen.org user Mattsm for support and advice!
To install, follow the instructions in this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=592964
This ROM is CARRIER GENERIC, so don't forget to install your carrier CAB or else data won't work. ( Downloads: http://winbreak.com/winmo/voguegoodies/ ).
Includes SMS 2016 Timestamp Fix
Does NOT include Manila, if you wish to install it, you can choose your favorite flavor. Rumor is the one at the following URL is good:
http://www.bytetips.com/manila-3d-for-qvga-device/
I cannot confirm the reliability of the above linked program since I don't use Manila (thus the reason I have not included it with my build). The rest of the build is as follows.
Default Vogue 8-Button Comm Manager
Total Commander File Manager for Registry Editing
HTC Vogue Camera / HTC Album 2.5
.NET CF 3.5
Dialer from HTC Diamond
Default HTC Touch Keyboard, but if you install your own, I have included SIP Changer.
HTC Task Manager 2.1 & XButton
Titanium Customizer
Windows 6.5 Widgets (Weather, MSN Money, Live Search)
Long End Keypress - Hold END to Toggle things like Airplane Mode, to Lock The Phone, etc...).
Adobe PDF
Office Mobile / OneNote Mobile (I chose this older version intentionally because if you have purchased Office Mobile 2010 from the Mobile Marketplace, it will do an in-place upgrade with no errors).
Games (just because): Kevtris, Pocket Sand, Pocket Snake, Frogger, Bubblebreaker & Solitaire.
>>>DIRECT DOWNLOAD 1.0<<<​
Screenshots:
Thanks for your interest!
-NuAngel

Congrats on the release! Why did you choose such an old build, if you don't mind me asking?

Thanks!
Well, in my head, the build number was higher, so I figured it was newer. It wasn't until after I was tinkering with different builds that I learned a little bit more of how the numbering system worked.
Still, the more I tinkered with different build numbers, flashing some basically "naked" ROMs on to my phone, just to play with them for a day at a time or so, the more I really started to like this one.
Simply put, STABILITY was my biggest issue, and this build seems to have it!
I just hope others tinker with it for a little while, I don't expect to be the new chef around here, 1.0 might be my only release! But I thought I'd toss it out there to see if anyone was interested.
NuAngel

Okay Start
This is a nice start. However, some annoyances:
Did you notice the quick menu where the clock is? It isn't accessible.
The dialer is not aligned when I type in some numbers.
Have you've tried other HTC Applications?
HTC Calculator, HTC Album has better scrolling by the way. Perhaps you would love that, etc.
I hope you have not given up. Are you going to progress on this build?

Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it! Yeah, I noticed a few problems with the dialer as I was using it - unfortunate, because it's my favorite for ease of 'redialing' someone after a disconnect. Which happens between my girlfriend and I alot!
Also, with the quick menu, I noticed the problem (as seen in the first screenshot) - but don't know how to go about fixing it, yet. I'll look in to alternate albums and the like, and adding calculator.
I did want to update the thread and say that yesterday was my first reboot in 8 days!
NuAngel

Prowess,
Thanks again for the feedback - I have released a version 2.0 if you're intersted in checking it out. I kept the album that I have because I actually really like it. But other than that, I took quite a few suggestions that you made, you can see the change log for 2.0 above.
NuAngel

Nice ROM!
Flashed v2.0 yesterday and so far, so good. Keep up the good work!

Dial-bug
Very clean.
What I've done is I went to dial in my voice-mail. So I pressed the send key (green button) to open dial-pad. Pressed and hold 1 to get to voice-mail. It says to enter password, but I couldn't hear it well so I went to switch off dial-pad to get to speakers and turned them on. But I wasn't able to get there because twice, I've tried and froze, only the woman kept on saying 'please enter password' until it hung up. Tried getting back but the only option was the reset bottom button.
I've tried too many ROMS and was thinking that one day I will take in the knowledge to create one myself. Thanks for the inspiration,

Hey, Prowess! You're absolutely right, no ROM may ever be exactly what you're looking for until you decide to do your own. I look forward to trying to what you'll be releasing!
What's interesting was I tried to mimmick your problem - I could switch the speakerphone off and on a few times on different phone calls. However, one time, I was able to freeze up the phone when I tried to hide the dial pad, but I have succesfully hidden it multiple times to use the swap or speakerphone or other buttons (as seen in the screenshot above). Very strange.
Overall, the fastest way to switch the speaker off and on is to click the menu icon at the bottom right of the screen (to the left of the "X") then press up a few times to turn speakerphone on.
I'll keep tinkering to see what happens with this problem... I certainly haven't settled on a particular dialer. I appreciate the feedback!
NuAngel

Nice, and very fast boot. Some issues I like addressed next go is the dialer. love the big dial buttons. But it over laps your contacts that it tries to match the number with. And hard to see the number you are dialing in the top right hand corner. Especially at night. because it's dark blue. I would suggest white. But my biggest thing is the Keyboard. Would love to see a nicer one besides the defaults But besides that. A great fast bootable ROM. Thanks for the hard work man

Been trying to find out what keyboard was used in the Baroqi44's release. I'd LOVE to add that keyboard, but have no idea what it was. Any keyboard suggestions?
I've been tinkering with other dialers, but haven't found a good 'different' one - considering going back to the default Vogue dialer.
Currently I'm running Android and beta testing some software for a Germany company, so I have sort of put this project on a short hiatus, but I will be back to it soon.
Thanks for your feedback, ern88, and I'm glad you enjoy the boot speed! Thanks hope you enjoy the stability, too!
NuAngel

Hey NuAngel,
I haven't had any stability issues to report. Runs great. I am just impressed how fast it boots from start up. Hopefully future builders will take some pointers on what you have done in the aspects. ABout the keyboard, too bad you couldn't use something modeled after an apple iphone keyboard. But anything besides stock would be great. Thanks again

Updated with v. 3.0! Also, added a new SIP for download here:
name: HTC_Touch_Input_QVGA2.1.2014.cab
http://winbreak.com/winmo/voguegoodies/
NuAngel

Sent you a PM

Hello,
Just tried out the 3.0 ROM tonight, it looks pretty sharp. I have a few quick questions and comments.
Do Sprint customers need to install the mmssprint.cab Sprint MMS settings fix?
Is there a way to access the Block Recognizer input? (I was a Palm user for many years.)

Thanks for the feedback!
You should still use the mmssprint.cab file (If you need it, I have it hosted on my web page) for Sprint. If you don't install it, the only difference I've noticed, so far, is that when you get an SMS message, it will just be some garbled text with a link you can click in to take you the the sprint page - instead of "click to view" showing up as it does when you have the patch installed. Either way, you can still click the link and go to the web address, so I actually don't even bother installing it half of the time, on my own phone.
As far as block recognizer, it was removed from HTC products in Windows Mobile 6.5, from everything I've read. I don't know how to get it back, but after reading a large chunk of another thread, I found this post, where the user offers links to a couple of 3rd party programs that may work for you, and this post which has the WM6.1 "Block recog.cab" file which may or may not work for Touch 6.5 ROMs. Sorry I can't be of more help with that! I'll try to see if I can add it to any future releases, if I get another working phone in the near future.
NuAngel

Thanks to Does_It_Matter, this project will be back on track shortly. Stay tuned!
NuAngel

Installed this ROM, and it is very stable. It doesn't freeze up as often as other ROMS.
My only preferences, and perhaps you can help with, would be
-to revert back to the stock taskbar on the top, which allowed easy switching of programs
-be able to customize where camera photos are stored, etc. (perhaps it has this function, but I am unable to find it)
The biggest issue (and only one really, congrats!) is that I am having issues with the swype keyboard on your ROM. I've tested it with others, but Nuvogue seems very delayed and gives double suggestions (above the typing area, and also within a box). I'm not sure if this is an issue with the keyboard or the ROM, but it's the only thing that is preventing me from making this my permanent ROM.
btw, I really appreciate the late nights put into making these ROMs, and thank you for making such a stable one.

I'll try cooking Swype directly in a future build to see if it solves your problem. I, myself, prefer the EZKeyboard I point to in the original post - it's my favorite for Windows Mobile.
I sincerely appreciate your feedback, I'm doing a LOT of work to make 4.0 a big release, so I really hope it has everything you like and then some! As always, my biggest personal goal is increased stability, above all features. I hate rebooting my phone: you should, too! Once 4.0 is released, I look forward to your feedback about how Swype works for you, as well.
NuAngel

Just wanted to update everyone on the bad news that makes 4.0 a bit more lack luster than I really wanted.
First, I wanted to make a different build of WM6.1 style with the Start Menu on the TOP of the screen - but I can't get a stable enough build for all the things I want to do, and since Stability is my primary objective, it was sad.
Second, I am unable to cook in ANY new keyboards (SIPs), so I cannot add EZInput or Swype - and my research has shown that Swype is not very compatible with this particular build of Windows Mobile, very sorry!
Tip: for easy task switching, go to SETTINGS, then PERSONAL, then BUTTONS and assign the Camera Button to launch Task Manager instead of the camera... how often do you use camera that it's not just easier to go into the Start Menu, when you could make that button your Task Manager shortcut! Very easy!