Multiple Calendars and New Ideas - Windows Phone 7 General

Hi everybody,
Can someone tell me if wm7 will finally support multiple calendars? Windows developers should be spending their time fixing wm6.5 instead of reinventing the wheel.
What about internet calendars?
This is what geek wm users want! Not some fancy menu with crappy kid stuff like 'XBox Live'.
What about the battery? We should already had a more advanced battery application (where we could see how much time's left, advanced setting where we could change between economic mode to normal mode to high performance mode).
Alarm clock! Yes, I would like to have as many clocks as I want, instead of the default 3(a simple "add new alarm" button would do the trick), I have 5 different hours to wake through the week, I really don't like to configure my alarm everyday.
'Fast search Textbox' -> This is one of my ideas that could be implemented! It would be something like the textbox in the start button of vista and windows 7. This fast search could be in the wm start menu too, where we could type in, and the results would come out (avoiding scrolling through a bunch of menus).
'Internet meter'. My internet plan is really a crap, so I would like that wm would have a default Internet meter, I am sick of running out my MB around day 25 (my plan is monthly).
'Profiles'. Based on time, location and a lot of other possible variables it should set automatically some configurations, for example, if my phone is in the cradle in home, it should turn wifi on automatically instead of spending my precious MB of my crappy internet plan or if I am at school, vibration mode should automatically turn on.
'Messenger'. Messenger should already be much better implemented, I mean, Windows owns Messenger, they should be massively promoting messenger in their phones because it's really useful (at least for me).
This is what geek users like us want. Not an easy and dumb phone like iphone. And why developers focus so much in graphics instead of functionality? Are they listening to their geek customers?

Have you ever tried the emulator?
That would answer at least some of your questions concerning alarms and calendars....

The_Emperor said:
Hi everybody,
Can someone tell me if wm7 will finally support multiple calendars? Windows developers should be spending their time fixing wm6.5 instead of reinventing the wheel.
What about internet calendars?
This is what geek wm users want! Not some fancy menu with crappy kid stuff like 'XBox Live'.
What about the battery? We should already had a more advanced battery application (where we could see how much time's left, advanced setting where we could change between economic mode to normal mode to high performance mode).
Alarm clock! Yes, I would like to have as many clocks as I want, instead of the default 3(a simple "add new alarm" button would do the trick), I have 5 different hours to wake through the week, I really don't like to configure my alarm everyday.
'Fast search Textbox' -> This is one of my ideas that could be implemented! It would be something like the textbox in the start button of vista and windows 7. This fast search could be in the wm start menu too, where we could type in, and the results would come out (avoiding scrolling through a bunch of menus).
'Internet meter'. My internet plan is really a crap, so I would like that wm would have a default Internet meter, I am sick of running out my MB around day 25 (my plan is monthly).
'Profiles'. Based on time, location and a lot of other possible variables it should set automatically some configurations, for example, if my phone is in the cradle in home, it should turn wifi on automatically instead of spending my precious MB of my crappy internet plan or if I am at school, vibration mode should automatically turn on.
'Messenger'. Messenger should already be much better implemented, I mean, Windows owns Messenger, they should be massively promoting messenger in their phones because it's really useful (at least for me).
This is what geek users like us want. Not an easy and dumb phone like iphone. And why developers focus so much in graphics instead of functionality? Are they listening to their geek customers?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry to break it to you, but Microsoft legitimately don't give a crap about 'geek wm users'. It's not in their gameplan, and it's certainly not profitable to aim devices at such a small demographic.

To answer you question, YES multiple canlendar will be handled in WP7 series
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vy5raUgtwp4&feature=player_embedded

Related

Thinking of switching over to the Desire from WinMo

Hi Everyone,
I am seriously thinking about switching over to the Desire and Android but I have absolutely no clue about Android and my experience is only with Palm OS and WinMo.
Can anyone out there give me their experiences and advice about switching over to Android. How is it different from WinMo. How difficult is it to get apps (this is one reason I am hesitating, I have so many WinMo apps).
Is it an easy system to use, etc. I would welcome any feedback you have. Thanks!!!
Before the Desire, my last 3 devices were Windows Mobile (ie, Touch Dual, Touch Diamond, Touch Pro2).
The jump to Android has been a godsend for me. I no longer have to worry about RAM usage. Everything is finger optimized and there's plenty of eye-candy. Performance has been top notched. This last statement may vary from user to user but my Desire has been able to do everything my Touch Pro2 can do; it just does everything faster and prettier.
There are several things that Windows Mobile has over Android at this moment though. So you should put these into consideration.
-Exchange support. You can sync email, contacts, and calendar in Android. But not notes and tasks. (There's no native notes and tasks applications)
-Microsoft Office. You can view Office files but you'll need to spend some money if you want the ability to edit. (Docs-to-go cost me USD10 and it's quite worth it.)
Thanks for the initial thoughts. It helps.
How are the apps out there for Android? Are they limited because it is a new OS or is there a wide range?
Do you happen to know what Navi programs are compatible?
I have recently switched over from a touch hd and i have to say i am loving the desire and android. It's very obviously better adapted to finger use and a smartphone, it's faster (much faster) and doesn't have the erratic behaviour, winmo sometimes can offer.
The apps market makes it really easy to find apps (i believe there are 30.000apps on the official market plus some others out there on the web) and they are easy to install, keep updated on thier own and always offer high quality intergation with the os (say goodbye to low res icons for your apps).
Just as an example, i can tell you (and i'm sure it's the same for you) that with winmo, with every rom i included fixes, tweaks and programs that did the things my phone wouldn't allow (automatic locking, screen off in calls, perfomance boost, etc etc) and sice android, i have installed no fixes at all (and havn't needed any!!!)
As far as navigation goes there are many competent navigation programs; i'm using copilot wich has radars and works very well, sygic is also quite satisfying, i believe igo amigo is also ready for the desire's resolution now and unless i'm mistaken, i think tom tom might be floating around (and thet's only to state some, n-drive and others are also available).
On the whole, i'm very pleased with the change, apart from a better os, better screen (beautiful colours) and very senistive with good multitouch, in my case i'm glad to have the harware buttons back (touch hd is resistive buttons), very nice form factor and overall good use.
Well, before you do here are some voices of unhappiness from WinMo users.
Some of their complaints are not valid but one of them may be a deal breaker for you.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=667055
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=667265
Read my Sig
Best choice I've ever made, infinitely better than the hd2
Would recommend the desire to anyone
First Android phone and I'm loving it so much
Android is my favorite, after symbian
But im using my android phone only 1 week so my thaughts can change !
Read my Sig
Best choice I've ever made, infinitely better than the hd2
Would recommend the desire to anyone
First Android phone and I'm loving it so much
Thanks everyone, for your continued help and experiences. It makes my decision easier.
For you WinMo users out there, how expensive was replacing your apps on Android. For me this is one thing that I am finding difficult to let go of, even though it doesnt seem like a lasting excuse. I guess at some point you have to do it.
Can someone give me the address of the apps store. Does anyone know what the payment methods are? I am not a big fan of credit cards. Are there alternatives?
Thanks. my decision is coming a lot closer.
Hi ohyeahar,
I had a quick question about Syncing. You said that Outlook Calendar syncs. Do you know if all of the tweaks that you can make in Outlook such as categories and the notes field, does that also sync?
For me that is an important factor because of work. I think I can live without the tasks and notes (plus, who knows, maybe some future app will take care of that).
I think my questions are almost over and after watching a few review videos, I am also thinking that I am going to abandon WinMo forever, and take the Droid HTC Desire plunge.
Thanks for all of your comments and support.
I destroyed my HTC HD2 by shutting the back door of my estate on it. It craked the screen and smashed the camera, and it was the best thing that could have happened. I went for the Desire, and it makes the HD2 on winmo look like a calculator. Android is excellent, and will NEVER go back to Winmo. Put android on an HD2 and that might be nice.
I switched 2 weeks ago (from an oldish WinMo phone) and it was dead easy. Android with htc sense on top has some real parallels to WinMo with add-ons like SPB shell etc - except it's blindingly faster. Barely opened the user manual.
A few confusions over how the phone handles different contacts and phone lists but worked those out. Really great keyboard that does a fine job of correcting for 'big thumb syndrome'. Fabulous screen and so easy to add and remove apps directly onto the phone. Intelligent handling of WiFi when it's in range and 3G when it's not. Web browser is a dream - have had to train myself to use it rather than automatically going to a laptop given past experience with WinMo.
Seven home screens and I only use 5 'cos everything is so easily accesible from the built-in functions. One of those five only has family photos on it and one has the pretty but rather silly weather application (one area where I still use Windows - I look out of them).
Don't really feel like adding a lot of apps 'cos it does most things. Have added and paid for Nitrodesk Touchdown to get reliable sync with Exchange Server at work (email, contacts, calendar, tasks but no notes). Also added a note taker app for free (Note Everything) and Bubble (because my childish sense of humour enjoys seeing a £400 spirit level in action). Some concern that the memory may get filled up because you can't (yet) install apps to the SD card.
A few niggles but none major
- Exchange Active Sync (the native one) doesn't work with my office server, hence the Touchdown app
- Could do with an improved ability to put shortcuts to groups of contacts on the home screen
- HTC Sync (equivalent to Activesync) seems problematic. However, I suspect I won't be connecting by cable much anymore
- It's all a teensy bit too tied to Google (inevitably!). I am not a gmail fan and don't really want to sync outlook to gmail then down to the phone but am still having to do that for contacts since Touchdown contacts are not properly recognised
To date I would say 9.9/10 and when a few wrinkles get ironed out 9.95!
Hi Alex Bush,
thanks a million for the feedback. it makes my decision much easier.
Just how does the sync work with Outlook? Does it work, or is it difficult? I rely on Outlook for work so it is a must. I have all of my contacts, calendar dates in there,plus I use it both for my work & private accounts.
I hope it isn't a problem because that would be the killer for switching over.
I did it! after 8 years of windows mobile and pocket pc. Windows phone 7 series presentations made me betray the abandoned win mo and switch to Android.
support for Exchange and office viewers are better than in win mo.
performance and quality of applications are excellent.
one warning:
Be careful to choose the right device. Exchange calendar sync is not there by default!
Sent from my HTC Desire using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk
Thx Rdy2go
What can you tell me about syncing the HTC Desire with Outlook (most importantly calendar,, contacts). I dont use Exchange because I work for a small company and I retrieve my email through Outlook via Pop3. However, I rely heavily on Outlook and Office for my work.
Cpt_Chaos said:
Hi Everyone,
I am seriously thinking about switching over to the Desire and Android but I have absolutely no clue about Android and my experience is only with Palm OS and WinMo.
Can anyone out there give me their experiences and advice about switching over to Android. How is it different from WinMo. How difficult is it to get apps (this is one reason I am hesitating, I have so many WinMo apps).
Is it an easy system to use, etc. I would welcome any feedback you have. Thanks!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went from a Touch Diamond to the Desire. I was actually laughing while I was using it. Some people say that the advantage of WinMo is that it's like having Windows with you all the time. It's the exact opposite. It's bad, because it's like having Windows with you all the time. I would randomly freeze for no reason; you needed a stylus to click on crappy little boxes/menus ported from 1024x768 dev environment; the alarm clock was a joke (you needed to hunt around to turn it off - very annoying when it's 6am and you're trying to avoid waking the family; clearly it never occured to anyone at Microsoft that you might want a `Cancel`,`Snooze` choice in big buttons.
The main difference is that WinMo looks like it was designed by people who don't have to use it unless they're paid to (like my experience of Windows generally), whereas Android looks like it's designed by people who want to use it, and who make it as easy and intuitive as possible. The Desire is the best phone I've ever had, and every iPhone user I've shown it to has said that the new iPhone had better be good or they're going to consider getting an Android phone too.
Disadvantages: sometimes apps use images rather than text, and I have no idea what the image is supposed to mean. An example is Google Maps. When you are looking for directions you see an icon of a car, a bigger car and a person walking. I'm pretty sure the middle one isn't alternative directions for people who are driving a bigger car. If only text was used instead, perhaps I'd know what it meant; as it is I'm going to have to google for it. There have been a few other examples (the 'Power' widget, for instance).
Another negative point is when you install apps from the market, you agree that they can access this or that feature (phone number, gps, contact list etc). You accept everything or don't install it. I don't see why a game needs my phone number; I should be able to choose to install it but to block access to some features.
The battery lasts 12 hours if you actually use the phone (maps, email, surfing, reading PDFs etc). The standby time is amusingly quoted at 300+ hours. This is meaningless. That's not to say that it's inaccurate; it's just a little like saying that your car can last 20 years on one tank of petrol if you don't actually drive it anywhere. I'm sure manufacturers crank their devices to be on some insanely low power standby when they are literally just listening for phone calls and texts, which I guess is great if you `just want a phone` but if you're considering getting a Desire then that's not you!
The market doesn't make it very easy to explore new apps. You can choose categories, and click Free or Paid, but if you search you'll get a mixture from both. Also, however you look you'll end up scrolling down some massive list of hundreds of apps. It's annoying to find 40 crap apps by the same person; each one a book of quotes by some non-entity, or yet another set of cartoon characters turned into a "jigsaw puzzle" - there's no proper google search where you can add/remove terms with +,- etc. You'll end up searching for apps on a real computer, and just using the market to actually download it after searching for the app name (or using a QR code if one is available)
But ignore my criticisms and get the Desire. You won't regret it.
I sync using Outlook Anywhere service from Exchange servers not the desktop.
so I don't really know the answer...
Sent from my HTC Desire using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk
After all I read in forums, reviews, saw on youtube and added actually newspages to my information range.
I am sadly have to say, that I will use my HD some month longer. It was a hard decission, but consider the following:
the desire is one of the first "real" android designs... together with the "test flagship" N1.
Samsung anounced super-amoled displays in upcomming smartphone, which compensating the "sun light vulnability" of amoled. snapdragon dual-core was anounced in januar and will be produced maybe in late summer. but still without considering snapdragon development: apple brings the 4g out ...round about july... I hate apple.. but what makes it so delicious is, that other manufacturers will try "to beat it down". this summer will be a king of the hill in the smartphonesector...everyone wants to be there... and everyone has the technology to do so.
android is rising to consumer market... 2.2 rumored.
the waiting will be pretty hard... but hell... I am curious what will be out in late summer.
a "desire" with super amoled is what I am waiting for... and maybe bigger ROM.
till then, I'll stay with my few, but quality build appz for winmo. the ones I will miss on android as long as everyone thinks, the reason for android ist because of the free appz.
as long as this doesn't change... there won't be many highquality appz for android.
oh and btw: I hate HTC sense too.. nearly the same amount as apple. wheres the point if I have on android the same "mobileshell" as on winmo?
sad thing these uniformations. (yeayeah, I know, I can change it)
Thanks everyone,
I guess I will be ordering my new Desire in 2 weeks. I guess it will be time to take the plunge and jump the WinMo ship.
Cpt_Chaos said:
Thanks everyone,
I guess I will be ordering my new Desire in 2 weeks. I guess it will be time to take the plunge and jump the WinMo ship.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ordering mine soon.....just searching for the best deals at min

[DEVELOPMENT] CycBubbles [Stage 1: Gathering Ideas]

A Small Story to serve as an introductory:
So a while back, when I got my brilliant Excalibur, I started developing small applications. Some of you may recall the, now long dead , thread I had called CycloneApps [By Request]. I started with C#, and did some ok things [in my opinion] and they helped serve as a learning block for bigger and better developments. I have gone from CMail.exe, the command-line replacement to tmail.exe, all the way to FFP_LockScreen [Fake FingerPrint LockScreen], which unfortunately was aimed at Touch-Screen phone users as a project I undertook as I showed interest on a thread in the Software Development sub-forum. I got my original inspirations and 'drive' to develop from this here community, the Excalibur owners or supporters, and I thought it be best that I now fulfill a request made by Ookba, the great Chef who has brought our phones new life.
See, shortly after I started taking requests, Ookba suggested I re-make SMSBubbles to be more functional with the ROM. At the time, with the speeds of the .NET CF, it seemed impossible to really do. But I come back to you all now with the knowledge of C++ So as a token of my appreciation to all Excalibur owners, I want to develop CycBubbles, an SMSBubbles remake with features YOU want!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Having said all of that, I ask now that if anyone has any interest in such a program becoming available to the Excalibur, they reply to this thread with Ideas concerning one of the following:
Soft-Keys: What should the LEFT soft-key and RIGHT soft-key do [ and under what circumstances] ?
Look and Feel: Do you like the SMSBubbles 'bubble', or do you want something different? [Realize that more complex designs = slower speed]
Rules: How about some filter-rules about when the bubble should or should NOT appear.
Positioning: Do we all like the bubble at the bottom of the screen? Maybe we can make it more PPC-Like if it were in the Center, or from the TOP.
Extra Functions: What kind of extras would you like? (i.e. Should I utilize the 0 - 9 keys on the keyboard to do something?)
Once I get the ideas from YOU guys/girls, on what YOU want this program to do, I can start developing
Please consider
if you want to see this program really flourish
Reserved for later use
Rules would be awesome. How about setting bubbles only for certain contacts? Would the .cab install work for other ROM's besides ookba's?
I would most definitely aim to make the program ROM INdependent.
Thank You for the feedback
it would be interesting to make the left and right soft keys customizable...
and as for the location/look of the bubbles, that to would be nice to customize and to relocate wherever the user feels. top, bottom, left, right, center...
the rules sounds good, and maybe apply an ignore feature to certain annoying contacts lol. like a black list on contacts that the bubbles won't show up for.<-- pretty much what Frostmoon said. lol
pretty much make it user customizable friendly.
nice to see you around these parts again.
Due to the rather disheartening amount of feedback on this thread, I will most likely not develop this in the near future .
I am currently consumed with finishing up my next version of Fake FingerPrint LockScreen for Touch-Screen phones, but that should be over in about a week.
I have been pondering re-starting development on my Horizon Home-Screen, if any of you remember that (if not, you can search it). My further knowledge of C++ will most definitely assist me in making this HomeScreen I had dreamed of making a while back when I only knew C#.
So I suppose be on the lookout for any news on that, and check here occassionally to see if I post back. For now, I am going to leave this on Stage 1 (Gathering Ideas), NOT DISCONTINUED, because I do hope to have the time to come back to this soon and give back to the community that started me off
Cyclonezephyrxz7 said:
Due to the rather disheartening amount of feedback on this thread, I will most likely not develop this in the near future .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it's a real shame as the idea was requested by users yet response so small, no longer have an Excalibur but think that the development of a SMS bubble app with more configurable options would be welcomed by many smartphone users and not just Excalibur, maybe worth thinking as a project for D&H rather than just Excalibur users.
>sms bubble duration
>marque of sms
>if recived multiple sms we shuld b able to select the one to view....
>customizable soft buttons becoz diffrent user wants different settings..
>user created themes
> rules is another great idea... coz somtimes service provider sends lots of annoing sms + others
>hide the vip sms.. and it requires password to view the sms( it can b a seperate function to lock the sms bubble with password)
>photo of the sender... if it is from the saved contact...
> a floating bubble would b great the flows from up-down or vice versa.... until the user press a button..
somecuitears said:
>sms bubble duration
>marque of sms
>if recived multiple sms we shuld b able to select the one to view....
>customizable soft buttons becoz diffrent user wants different settings..
>user created themes
> rules is another great idea... coz somtimes service provider sends lots of annoing sms + others
>hide the vip sms.. and it requires password to view the sms( it can b a seperate function to lock the sms bubble with password)
>photo of the sender... if it is from the saved contact...
> a floating bubble would b great the flows from up-down or vice versa.... until the user press a button..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
good ideas!
stylez said:
Yeah it's a real shame as the idea was requested by users yet response so small, no longer have an Excalibur but think that the development of a SMS bubble app with more configurable options would be welcomed by many smartphone users and not just Excalibur, maybe worth thinking as a project for D&H rather than just Excalibur users.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, it is a shame. i was really looking forward to this.
best of luck with you home screen development, will check in on that time to time.
somecuitears said:
>sms bubble duration
>marque of sms
>if recived multiple sms we shuld b able to select the one to view....
>customizable soft buttons becoz diffrent user wants different settings..
>user created themes
> rules is another great idea... coz somtimes service provider sends lots of annoing sms + others
>hide the vip sms.. and it requires password to view the sms( it can b a seperate function to lock the sms bubble with password)
>photo of the sender... if it is from the saved contact...
> a floating bubble would b great the flows from up-down or vice versa.... until the user press a button..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As stated above, good ideas!
@Cyclonezephyrxz7 - This can be a good start don't you think?. Thanks for your work dude, I hope to see this project rolling out
@Mr.Clown (and all others too)
Yes, it did serve as a sort of inspiration to start up. Thank You to those who did contribute ideas thus-far. I have not started up a thread yet, but http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=7166724&postcount=39
Expect something soon (Within a month maybe?)
Also, I am now officially a co-founder, and primary developer for Chicken-Egg Solutions. This will become my main venue for application development and requests, as well as web-design, computer repair, and problem solutions (Most of these will be taken care of by my friend, the other Co-Founder). The website will be up soon (www.chicken-eggsolutions.com), check back every so often
Hi Cyclone,
We met in another thread. But I would like to raise my function request here for your consideration.
I am looking for a delivery note management function that allows my to keep track of my sms receiver. I would like to know who, by name, have received my sms and at what time. I don't know if such function is appropriate for the software you are developing. If so, please consider to add this function into it. If not, appreciate if you can point me to the right direction.
So are you requesting, as opposed to the normal Delivery Requests that Windows Offers, to make a type of 'Delivery Notification' that gets stored in some XML-like file for future reference?
It will be great if the software can list out the receiver name and date/time of the delivery notification. It will ever greater if it can match the sms/delivery notification with the acknowledgement send out by the receiver after receiving my sms.
If it only output an XML, user will have to figure out how to display it on a mobile phone.
how about an option of reading the incoming sms....like in nokia mobiles
Like Text-To-Speech?
Cyclonezephyrxz7 said:
Like Text-To-Speech?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ya... how about that.. i think it shuld be customizable soft button or a different button..
I will see. I feel that that may increase the size of the app distinctly, and also distinctly reduce the speed. Although I could probably figure a way to not let it be affected.
Anywho, Thank you, ALL, so much for these ideas. I suppose that I will start attempting to make this once I am fully done with my FFP_LS pro (Which, by the way, works on Excaliburs! and other non-touch-screen phones ) and when I get my internet back fully.
Cyclonezephyrxz7 said:
I will see. I feel that that may increase the size of the app distinctly, and also distinctly reduce the speed. Although I could probably figure a way to not let it be affected.
Anywho, Thank you, ALL, so much for these ideas. I suppose that I will start attempting to make this once I am fully done with my FFP_LS pro (Which, by the way, works on Excaliburs! and other non-touch-screen phones ) and when I get my internet back fully.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your work and for sharing it, we will wait then
Revised Idea, and then some
Okay, so this post contains a little meat to it
1) I want to let people know about FFP_LockScreen Pro 2.0, now available on my website( www.chicken-eggsolutions.com ). My partner and I do app development as well as web design/development. FFP_LS Pro 2.0 is fully based on C++, has many customizable components, and best of all it is (what I consider to be) a pretty legitimate replacement lock for our phones. I have made this version (and all future versions) compliant with our lovely Excaliburs. Instead of having to press the screen, trick people with a "slight of hand" by putting your finger on-screen while pressing the space-bar with your knuckle (thats how it works for me) and it will start scanning. Trust me, it mystified half my family already haha. Anywho, it is shareware, so there is a free NON-EXPIRING trial. THe trial has its limiatations however. Also, another feature that is in this for our lovely Exca's that is currently NOT available to TOuch-Screen phones is true replacement (sorta) of the default lock. By using specific API commands, I was able to get it to run when we initiate the default lock! Cocky as it may sound, I feel this lockscreen beats S2U2 in 3 ways: (1) Tests have shown it to boot faster, (2) it actually replaces the default lock, and doesn't use some timeout trick, and (3) is actually blocks other windows [unlike S2U2 which can be overridden by pressing the TaskManager key or Messaging Key (on my phone at least)]. So yeah, personally I recommend it, but I made it. I will extend the same challenge here as I did on the Development forums: If you can make an interesting skin for the program, you can win a free license (3$ value)
2) So recently I have become extremely pissed off with tmail.exe. When I have actual 'conversation - length' messages, it is slow and just overall frustrating! So I thought, "Hey, I am already starting CycBubbles...why not make it a whole 'suite' type thing". So I am considering making my own Messaging Client EXE. It would be a major switch, as it would eliminate CE MAPI for the most part (it would keep messages stored there, but its main access would be via XML). Then as an extension to this I can h ave CycBubbles. Generally, I find, SMSBubbles works...and it is reliant on CE Mapi, so I can make one reliant on XML, not CE MAPI, that works comfortably with my own client. What do you think of that idea? This would obviously require a lot more time. But if it is what I imagine I can do, it will be faster and better
So I guess that is it really... If i remember anything else I wanted to say, I will post back again!

Why root?

Hi guys,
I was wondering why someone would want to root their desire?
If I don t need apps2sd of 720 recording, isn t it than better (more stable?) to stick with the current official 2.1 ROM that came with the phone and wait for the official Froyo release for the Desire?
I guess it boils down to how you use your device
personally i like being rooted so i can access more of the system, tell it what i want it to do and such, not to mention themes and apps etc etc
its like compairing Linux to Windows
Kinda what I wanted to ask, I've got a T-Mobile Desire and I had been thinking of trading it for something like a Dell Streak but I think that having a rooted Desire would let me play around with it a bit more, is it as customisable and open as Windows Mobile is? I enjoyed messing around with this on my old HD2.
Is it worth rooting my Desire to get the unofficial Froyo update? What else does rooting give me?
5 Reasons to root
lifehacker's website said:
A real performance boost
Android, as an alternative, open-source smartphone OS, is pure geek bait, but the hardware it's been officially released onto so far, in the U.S. at least, has been hard to love. Pushing a button and having to wait even just a second or two for something, anything to happen is a buzz kill; having to wait a second for a virtual keyboard press to show up is just plain aggravating. Using the CyanogenMOD ROM on my G1, it's definitely a better experience—not perfect and instant, but my phone seems to be actively trying to do what I want now. New browser windows snap open, the multi-part home screen doesn't lag when swiping between screens, the top "window shade" and bottom app menu don't hesitate to show me what they've got—I've been using this phone for just a few months, but I could go on and on. Cyanogen's developer himself notes that his ROM actively works the processor, RAM, and memory partitions harder, so you may get (even) less battery longevity from your phone. Having spent a late night and excited morning with this ROM, I will gladly pack a recharging cord and accept the trade-off. Photo by NathanFromDeVryEET.
Easy tethering over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth
After installing your custom ROM, grab this android-wifi-tether app by heading to that URL directly in your Android browser (or using the Barcode Scanner app to pick up its QR code) and clicking the .apk link. The app will ask for root access to enable and disable itself.
Once it does, that's about all there is to it. Power up your laptop, connect it by Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to G1Tether (or your similarly-named ad-hoc phone connection), and you've got a data connection where none might have existed before. It will be slower than you anticipate, useful mainly for text-based email and browsing, and not something you'd want to use heavily, lest you tip off your cellular provider to your creativity. That said, it's not restricted to web traffic only, like previously mentioned PdaNet, and it's easy to use.
A better keyboard
The standard Android keyboard has its issues, and leading Android phone maker HTC knows it. They made their own keyboard for the HTC Hero, and the CyanogenMOD makes it available in any Android phone. Enable it by heading to Settings, Locale & Text, then turning "Touch Input" on and adjusting its spell/suggest/feedback settings.
"Better" is this editor's own opinion, though Matt Buchanan from Gizmodo agrees: The keys are "puffed up" and easier to hit, the "long press" is faster than reaching for an Alt key, once you're used to it, and the auto suggestions and replacements are, if not subtle, generally helpful. What's definitely better is the responsiveness and snappiness, which is crucial when you're blazing through text and don't want to guess what three letters you last selected.
Multi-touch browsing
It's not as responsive as the iPhone's iconic pinch and expand capabilities, and the browser isn't as good at adjusting the page to meet your rapid zoom demands. That said, most folks would rather press their fingers once to get a bigger view on text than tap once, click + and - buttons to get the right zoom, then re-adjust their screen position. Until Google decides to go ahead and look away from Apple's patents, we can just hope that unofficial multitouch improves from version to version.
Bonus apps and widgets from other builds
G1 users don't get the same built-in apps as myTouch owners, and myTouch fans can't grab all the neat stuff from the HTC Hero, not yet available in the U.S., or the Android Donut build not yet distributed by carriers. That's a strange condition for a phone built on openness. Cyanogen and other custom ROMs cherry-pick those neat exclusives and deliver them to anyone who wants them. The best of the pack, from a phone use standpoint, is the Power Control widget, which turns Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, data syncing, and screen brightness into simple toggles. Those bemoaning the lack of Microsoft Exchange support on G1s should check out Work Email, and anyone needing to do a little doc browsing can get it done with Quickoffice and PDF Viewer. There are other software goodies to geek out over—a full terminal emulator!—but those are the highlights.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Dear Steve Ballmer and Microsoft (WP7 Related)

Dear Steve Ballmer & Microsoft,
Before I begin my rant, please allow me to say that I have used many many many PDA phones. And WP7 has without a doubt, some of the most GLARING problems I have ever seen in a mobile OS.
My phone history (in no [particular order]:
-T-mobile Pocket PC (the 1st one)
- SE P800, P900, P910I
- Xperia X1
- Many different WM 5.0, 6.0 6.5 phones (maybe 10 or more). If I were to list them all this would take all day. My most recent WM phone before this HD7 was the HTC TyTN II.
- Nokia N93i, N95, N900 (still got it)
- Nokia Communicators 9210 and E90
- Iphone 1st Gen
- Kyocera Palm OS phone
- Probably other stuff I forgot about along the way.
(Btw, all of these phones had address books which worked great)
I am in no way saying that I am some PDA expert, but I think its safe to say I've used alot of PDAs.
Good afternoon. I really hope somebody from Microsoft or Steve himself or some MS dev is reading this.
I recently bought a HTC HD7 and after using it for 1hr my initial impressions were very good....THEN i used it a bit longer and I started to realize something.
Cons:
1. The contact list function is really really bad. You guys replaced the standard address book function with the Facebook contact list. It is horribly bad. It is so bad that it leads me to believe that NONE OF YOU have actually used facebook in your life. If any of you developers were actually familiar with Facebook, you would have realized that most consumers definitely do not want 80% of their Facebook contacts cluttering/polluting their cell phones address book. Also, why am I not able to browse through my Facebook contacts photos? Am I missing something? Why cant I simply just tap the portrait of my facebook friend and look at his profile pictures?
2. The WP7's media playerss seek function needs to work like a STANDARD portable TOUCH SCREEN media player. Why am I not able skip to the part of the video I want to watch by simply sliding my finger along the time bar until I reach my target moment? Why am I forced to press a seek button instead? I thought this was a touch screen phone, not to mention the fact that Pocket PC, Pocket PC 2003, WM 5.0 WM 6.0 WM 6.5 all included this missing function. Do you guys even watch movies on your cell phones? Or are you guys still using Nokia 5200s?
3. Xbox Live is buggy as hell. I download a game through Xbox Live and it says I need to connect my phone to my computer or connect to wifi (It was already both) in order to complete the install. There is no easy way to check the progress of the installation of download unless I try to download another application. Is the ability to check the progress without downloading another app hidden somewhere? If so, why is it hidden?
4. When I try to visit a previous webpage and I press the hardware backwards arrow botton, it kicks me out of IE.
5. The hardware buttons have great sensitivity, but I am constantly pressing them by accident (with my palm), thus closing my active program unintentionally.
And let me tell you, I do not have large hands.
6. I dunno why it doesnt work as a USB drive natively. Perhaps this is some sort of piracy control measure or you are trying to mimic apple.
7. Cant copy and paste. I dunno why this is so hard for you guys. You guys could have some sort of hardware button, that when pushed activates a 2nd function to the screen pressing. Instead of clicking on a link, if the hardware button is pressed, it would allow the user to select the letters and highlight them. Then copy/paste somewhere else.
8. I cannot delete/hide my recently browsed youtube video history. I was looking at videos of girls shaking their butts and afterwards when I went to my zune application, I saw the video thumbnails there! I cant delete or hide them? Where is the privacy?
9. Doesnt support Divx codecs, which it should because this is a phone for a "mobile life style". Why would I want to sit at my computer for hrs waiting for my videos to convert? Why do you guys and apple insist on your own proprietary formats?
Sub-Score: -9
Pros:
1. Works fast, very smooth. Is this a result of the reduced interface .
2. Web browsing is pretty good, except I cant fast forward through youtube videos by sliding my finger on the time bar.
Sub-Score: +2
Total Score: -7
I do not believe this phone is beyond saving. Surely you guys must have noticed some of the things I mentioned. Why you did not remedy these issues before the release? I do not know. If you guys were unaware of the problems I mentioned, well now you know. Please fix these issues soon and FFS, please add a proper address book application and allow me to use my finger/time bar to seek through a video/song/youtube vid.
Currently, I would have to say this phone is nothing more than a portable media player with some phone functions built in. And you guys already screwed up with the media player part.
If I could go back in time (which was only yesterday) I would have bought a HTC Desire HD. But I cant so I can only pray that you guys fix some/most of these issues.
If I am sorely mistaken and some of these functions actually are included and hidden somewhere, why are they not intuitive?
Thanks.....for nothing.....
I always liked the N95 symbian address book that allowed me to create groups for my contacts and I liked all WM previous phone dialers which would cross reference all incoming and outgoing calls with the numbers I was pressing.
Microsoft should atleast make a dialer thats as good as their previous ones, and maybe learn a thing or 2 from Symbian.
Edit: I just read that it was possible to cut down the number of contacts from facebook that appear in your phone, but it still should not be this difficult. I should be able to simple long press the contact and select delete or hide.
Nice One Star thread repeating issues in about 20 other threads
One thing I'd like to agree with the OP about is the Capacitive buttons. They're a good idea in theory (the Vibrant has them as well), but they're practically terrible. They are very prone to hitting by accident.
Lots of OSes can learn from Symbian, but being the Jack of All Trades has not worked for any OS to date. Windows Mobile also supported a ton of stuff and it's marketshare in the US suffered a lot. Symbian has great marketshare overseas because the OS is used in low-end feature phones as well. They aren't strong in the mid-high end smartphone market.
And they would be, if they didn't put such small NANDs in the phones, skimp on the RAM in the phones (it uses a Virtual memory architechture, but the phones still need at least 348 MB RAM, IMO), and have such an embarassing user interface. I really like that it has the most flexible development environment of any smartphone OS, though (similar to [again] Windows Mobile on that front).
Blazerfan722 said:
Dear Steve Ballmer & Microsoft,
Before I begin my rant, please allow me to say that I have used many many many PDA phones. And WP7 has without a doubt, some of the most GLARING problems I have ever seen in a mobile OS.
My phone history (in no [particular order]:
-T-mobile Pocket PC (the 1st one)
- SE P800, P900, P910I
- Xperia X1
- Many different WM 5.0, 6.0 6.5 phones (maybe 10 or more). If I were to list them all this would take all day. My most recent WM phone before this HD7 was the HTC TyTN II.
- Nokia N93i, N95, N900 (still got it)
- Nokia Communicators 9210 and E90
- Iphone 1st Gen
- Kyocera Palm OS phone
- Probably other stuff I forgot about along the way.
(Btw, all of these phones had address books which worked great)
I am in no way saying that I am some PDA expert, but I think its safe to say I've used alot of PDAs.
Good afternoon. I really hope somebody from Microsoft or Steve himself or some MS dev is reading this.
I recently bought a HTC HD7 and after using it for 1hr my initial impressions were very good....THEN i used it a bit longer and I started to realize something.
Cons:
1. The contact list function is really really bad. You guys replaced the standard address book function with the Facebook contact list. It is horribly bad. It is so bad that it leads me to believe that NONE OF YOU have actually used facebook in your life. If any of you developers were actually familiar with Facebook, you would have realized that most consumers definitely do not want 80% of their Facebook contacts cluttering/polluting their cell phones address book. Also, why am I not able to browse through my Facebook contacts photos? Am I missing something? Why cant I simply just tap the portrait of my facebook friend and look at his profile pictures?
2. The WP7's media playerss seek function needs to work like a STANDARD portable TOUCH SCREEN media player. Why am I not able skip to the part of the video I want to watch by simply sliding my finger along the time bar until I reach my target moment? Why am I forced to press a seek button instead? I thought this was a touch screen phone, not to mention the fact that Pocket PC, Pocket PC 2003, WM 5.0 WM 6.0 WM 6.5 all included this missing function. Do you guys even watch movies on your cell phones? Or are you guys still using Nokia 5200s?
3. Xbox Live is buggy as hell. I download a game through Xbox Live and it says I need to connect my phone to my computer or connect to wifi (It was already both) in order to complete the install. There is no easy way to check the progress of the installation of download unless I try to download another application. Is the ability to check the progress without downloading another app hidden somewhere? If so, why is it hidden?
4. When I try to visit a previous webpage and I press the hardware backwards arrow botton, it kicks me out of IE.
5. The hardware buttons have great sensitivity, but I am constantly pressing them by accident (with my palm), thus closing my active program unintentionally.
And let me tell you, I do not have large hands.
6. I dunno why it doesnt work as a USB drive natively. Perhaps this is some sort of piracy control measure or you are trying to mimic apple.
7. Cant copy and paste. I dunno why this is so hard for you guys. You guys could have some sort of hardware button, that when pushed activates a 2nd function to the screen pressing. Instead of clicking on a link, if the hardware button is pressed, it would allow the user to select the letters and highlight them. Then copy/paste somewhere else.
8. I cannot delete/hide my recently browsed youtube video history. I was looking at videos of girls shaking their butts and afterwards when I went to my zune application, I saw the video thumbnails there! I cant delete or hide them? Where is the privacy?
9. Doesnt support Divx codecs, which it should because this is a phone for a "mobile life style". Why would I want to sit at my computer for hrs waiting for my videos to convert? Why do you guys and apple insist on your own proprietary formats?
Sub-Score: -9
Pros:
1. Works fast, very smooth. Is this a result of the reduced interface .
2. Web browsing is pretty good, except I cant fast forward through youtube videos by sliding my finger on the time bar.
Sub-Score: +2
Total Score: -7
I do not believe this phone is beyond saving. Surely you guys must have noticed some of the things I mentioned. Why you did not remedy these issues before the release? I do not know. If you guys were unaware of the problems I mentioned, well now you know. Please fix these issues soon and FFS, please add a proper address book application and allow me to use my finger/time bar to seek through a video/song/youtube vid.
Currently, I would have to say this phone is nothing more than a portable media player with some phone functions built in. And you guys already screwed up with the media player part.
If I could go back in time (which was only yesterday) I would have bought a HTC Desire HD. But I cant so I can only pray that you guys fix some/most of these issues.
If I am sorely mistaken and some of these functions actually are included and hidden somewhere, why are they not intuitive?
Thanks.....for nothing.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. There's a separate Facebook app in the marketplace. If you don't want to integrate everyone, get it.
2. Agree on this point.
3. Never happened to me. If you want to see the progress stay on that page. A little bar begins to fill up. So I don't know what you're talking about.
4. Only time that happens to me is when I exit IE and then try to come back in.
5. Sorry, but that's user error.
6. There's already a workaround. You can use it as a mass storage device.
7. Its coming in the update. Why is that so hard to get?
8. Don't browse inappropriate videos? Or play a few more things after to make it replace the history items.
9. Kinda agree, but its not unheard of at all. So why would they do it?
EDIT: Poster above was more succint.
The problem isn't DivX as far as I understand, it's avi. Divx is just an implementation of MPEG-4 Part 2 Advanced Simple Profile, which is supported. And the strange part here is that avi is Microsoft's own proprietary format, while mp4 is Apple's. Strange times.
Scrubbing is needed not only for long videos, I use it all the time for YouTube and music (especially podcasts, many of which aren't properly separated into chapters).
WOW, only the 20th "I hate WP7" thread for today so far? Hmmm, the trolls are slacking.
eternalemb said:
1. There's a separate Facebook app in the marketplace. If you don't want to integrate everyone, get it.
2. Agree on this point.
3. Never happened to me. If you want to see the progress stay on that page. A little bar begins to fill up. So I don't know what you're talking about.
4. Only time that happens to me is when I exit IE and then try to come back in.
5. Sorry, but that's user error.
6. There's already a workaround. You can use it as a mass storage device.
7. Its coming in the update. Why is that so hard to get?
8. Don't browse inappropriate videos? Or play a few more things after to make it replace the history items.
9. Kinda agree, but its not unheard of at all. So why would they do it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He got the phone. It has many limitations he doesn't like.
So what's your problem?
"Coming in the update" means nothing. It may be month or 5 months.
Nobody buys a device to wait for update, well, maybe only tech geeks, but that's not the phone for them.
doministry said:
He got the phone. It has many limitations he doesn't like.
So what's your problem?
"Coming in the update" means nothing. It may be month or 5 months.
Nobody buys a device to wait for update, well, maybe only tech geeks, but that's not the phone for them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And he, like everyone else who bought one, should've known the deficiencies the devices carry atm. So, what's your problem?
You don't like the features a phone has or is lacking, you don't buy it. Simple, no?
And the update is expected in January.
f1restarter said:
WOW, only the 20th "I hate WP7" thread for today so far? Hmmm, the trolls are slacking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, no, I'm watching ....
Blazerfan722 said:
Dear Steve Ballmer & Microsoft,
1. The contact list function is really really bad. You guys replaced the standard address book function with the Facebook contact list. It is horribly bad. It is so bad that it leads me to believe that NONE OF YOU have actually used facebook in your life. If any of you developers were actually familiar with Facebook, you would have realized that most consumers definitely do not want 80% of their Facebook contacts cluttering/polluting their cell phones address book. Also, why am I not able to browse through my Facebook contacts photos? Am I missing something? Why cant I simply just tap the portrait of my facebook friend and look at his profile pictures?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do know that you can disable Facebook friends as contacts in the settings, don't you?
CR1M1N4L said:
You do know that you can disable Facebook friends as contacts in the settings, don't you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
People these days expect the phone to pop up push messages from the microsoft servers for days after they buy it detailing every single detail of the device.
Reading, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking... These sorts of things are out the window these days.
N8ter said:
People these days expect the phone to pop up push messages from the microsoft servers for days after they buy it detailing every single detail of the device.
Reading, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking... These sorts of things are out the window these days.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bet your house on that. Our society is getting dumber, lazier and more malleable by the minute. Though I digress...
LOL... This guy's not a troll!
He's genuinely disappointed with his purchase and has every right to complain about it. If you WP7 sympathisers were honest with yourselves, you would recognise that there are currently plenty of problems with this platform, and disaffected users have every right to complain.
There's no point pretending the problems don't exist.. it's obvious they, perhaps you only ever read Microsoft blogs and listen to Channel 9. If you want a true indication about how many users are feeling, just read the Microsoft questions and answers forum.
Guys,
This is still a new OS, it's been out for ONE month, many of these things gonna be replaced or added with updates. Just wait and see. The most important thing now is that's a fast and simple OS. Just remember what ****ty phone iPhone was, look what it became now... Time does miracles!
Alright guys, I'm leaving this open thread to know the answer, if it occurs.
And also for others to vent, but we will maintain an acceptable level before they start fighting funboys because of companies.
AceofSpades25 said:
LOL... This guy's not a troll!
He's genuinely disappointed with his purchase and has every right to complain about it. If you WP7 sympathisers were honest with yourselves, you would recognise that there are currently plenty of problems with this platform, and disaffected users have every right to complain.
There's no point pretending the problems don't exist.. it's obvious they, perhaps you only ever read Microsoft blogs and listen to Channel 9. If you want a true indication about how many users are feeling, just read the Microsoft questions and answers forum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed,
Unfortunately I have the feeling that most people here now refuse to see the obvious problems with this platform (no USB, no DivX, and so many others...)
Seems like there is no right to judge and criticize the OS.
We shall not become like the iPhone fanboys. Seriously.
I also think that WP7 is a truly disappointing experience as I don't like to be forced to use all these external MS services (Zune, Skydrive, Marketplace, etc...) that just make me waste my time.
And I expect nothing from the so-called January update.
I love threads like this. Keep em coming lol jk. But man the pole jockers in here have fits when anyone say something about wp7. I dont know what everyones country rules are. But mine is freedom of speech. So if the dont like what the guy or troll have to say, dont feed him. Case Closed.
To the OP, I suggest you spill your mind on these boards http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/windowsphone7/threads
At least it gets some exposure for Microsoft.
lqaddict said:
To the OP, I suggest you spill your mind on these boards http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/windowsphone7/threads
At least it gets some exposure for Microsoft.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good tip, if OP find interesting; closure here, and this link is for future users to enjoy!
Thanks!

Official Windows Phone Survey

From @windowsphone on twitter: http://newwp.it/i6NfzI
On the last page there's this question, "What, if anything, would you change about your Windows Phone 7?" Bombard away with what MS needs to be working on (file management or at least local document sync, direct Outlook sync, etc.) Please make sure what you guys write is thought out and most importantly, grammatically correct.
* Give us an official support page and a contact number for issues
* Clear outline & timeline of future updates
* More frequent updates and force carriers to deploy them in maximum of 45 days
* Enable to use own MP3 ringtones
* Sync directly to Outlook
* Allow tethering
* Turn by turn navigation for Australia with better maps
* Allow unlocking of the device for a one of fee! Only charge per year when someone wants to submit to marketplace
janemanno1 said:
* Give us an official support page and a contact number for issues
* Clear outline & timeline of future updates
* More frequent updates and force carriers to deploy them in maximum of 45 days
* Enable to use own MP3 ringtones
* Sync directly to Outlook
* Allow tethering
* Turn by turn navigation for Australia with better maps
* Tom Tom,Garmin etc GPS compatible software
* Allow unlocking of the device for a one of fee! Only charge per year when someone wants to submit to marketplace
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Amen to all of these.
Just changed one thing for every other country.
More recent hardware, and I am in.
agp64 said:
Amen to all of these.
Just changed one thing for every other country.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
agreed
Zune Pass in australia. Our zune hub isnt very pretty without it
Well, I would like to see multitasking, some options on the right of the home screen, let's say a button, that would open a line of Wifi on/off and etc., Copy paste, better browser. And what's important- update devices, give more info about the updates, what is coming and when
janemanno1 said:
* Clear outline & timeline of future updates
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FWIW, remember a little thing called "Longhorn" (aka "Vista")? So many promised features and released dates missed. I doubt you'll ever see anything other than vague descriptions and nebulous dates, Microsoft has been slapped around too much in the past for missing promises.
My comment:
- SkyDrive if you dont have sharepoint in the officehub.
- More reliable push notifications.
- Expanding Facebook integration with ability to send private messages from the message hub to facebook and other services... but this will probably not happen so hope the fb app gets better with notifications.
I would love to have a bug free ZUNE , it is crashing all the time and sometimes with BSOD'S
Turn-by-turn voice nav
User selectable ringtones and sounds
User created email folders
More themes and UI customization
Screen capture
Copy & paste
A good one:
http://wmpoweruser.com/the-art-of-stalling/
doministry said:
A good one:
http://wmpoweruser.com/the-art-of-stalling/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is unremarkably sad. I didn't know it was that serious.
That is unremarkably sad. I didn't know it was that serious.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you mean remarkably sad?
And android wasn't the same way at launch?
I purchased the HTC Magic on launch day from Rogers.. Android market wasn't made available to us in Canada until roughly 5 months later..
I didn't get turn-by-turn until aprox a year or so later..
No voice search until ...what...3 updates which took roughly a year and half (1.5, 1.6...2.1)
They day I dumped my HTC magic I still didn't have local search.. unless I opened a browser and went to Google.CA and specified my city in the search field.
WP7 wil catch up eventually, it's still a baby OS compared to the others. Android didn't really become great until after 2.XX
I agree with other with the timeline business. I'd like to see that as well.
I just put a CDMA version of WP7.... It is about time we have the option of getting one.
Things to change about Windows Phone 7
--------------------------------------
1) Password protection on email. This is needed when you hand your phone to someone to check out or use and don't want them to be able to just click on your email while that happens and read private emails.
2) The marketplace should have an option to download first and install later. This is because public wifi or data plans in general are not nearly as fast as using your local wifi. You might pop into a coffee shop or mcdonalds to try some new apps on the go and you want to maximise your use of the wifi while you are there to get through the download queue. Installing/unpacking can take quite a long time but that can be done when you are no longer connected. This also aids in saving on limited data plans. With this approach, if there is no more space currently left to unpack the queue should move on and unpack successively but keep downloaded packages on the device to be installed later once the user frees up some more space.
3) Better managaement of marketplace download queue. I have had stuck downloads before, particularly at pending or corrupted downloads that were stuck at the installing phase. You should always be able to cancel or retry something. These options only come up when "attention is required". Queue reordering is also a strong "nice to have".
4) Better Management of phone download history. For example, when I restore a phone I don't want it to queue up literally everything I have ever "purchased", especially many trial or free apps. There should be a special "restore" queue for indispensible games/apps that you do want to automatically redownload when this happens.
5) Better lock phone i.e. android combination swype. The current 4 digit system is too easy to see over the shoulder and easily brute forceable, even more so if someone remembers only some of the digits.
6) Complete application data/isolated storage sync. Anytime you are at a local computer or connection to sync, you should have an option sync the latest application data for example news feeds and media as well. This way data connection apps are still useful in places without a connection i.e. subways. I understand this is a major feature just by itself
7) VPN options
8) Local file management/drag and drop.
9) Ability for Zune to play and organise media by folders with 8 implemented.
In general I think WP7 should be stronger with local/isolated storage features and not be so cloud dependent. The combination of cloud + local services will be a killer combination. In addition I think WP7 should be going after Android's #2 spot right now and not iPhone which it currently cannot compete with. Android has many weak spots including lower requirements on apps and games resulting in weaker quality when compared to WP7, lack of SD installability for many apps. and generally unpolished "iphone knockoff" feel. Secure #2 spot for now, which will be a good base to attack iPhone from. WP7 is already superior to Android in UX now and can gain quickly in app diversity and features.
Right now the OS feels like a beachhead but a strong one. There is good work, but unpolished and incomplete but the war can still be won. Keep fighting the good fight
The bottom line is that if MS wants this OS to fly for real, in the long term, they need to get their act together.
stillriza said:
I think you mean remarkably sad?
And android wasn't the same way at launch?
I purchased the HTC Magic on launch day from Rogers.. Android market wasn't made available to us in Canada until roughly 5 months later..
I didn't get turn-by-turn until aprox a year or so later..
No voice search until ...what...3 updates which took roughly a year and half (1.5, 1.6...2.1)
They day I dumped my HTC magic I still didn't have local search.. unless I opened a browser and went to Google.CA and specified my city in the search field.
WP7 wil catch up eventually, it's still a baby OS compared to the others. Android didn't really become great until after 2.XX
I agree with other with the timeline business. I'd like to see that as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So what I hear you saying, any company that puts out products should not consider the current state of the industry? What should Apple do with the next iPhone? Put one out without all the current features and then migrate those features into it over the course of a year? Or how about the car companies, they should put out cars without navigation or high tech stereos or computer aided engine controls and just migrate those features into them over the course of a year?
Far be it from MS to stay up with even itself on new products and put out a smartphone without the current state of the industry features. Let them put those features in over the course of a year...or two. It's unwise to bring a mature product to market. People might begin to expect that kind of thing. Bollocks!
My feedback on the online survey:
-Current phone - WM 6.5
- Next phone - (i) Android
(ii) Other- Windows Mobile, if it is revived , will be preferred over Android
Suggestions:
(i) I don't like the Homescreen, it should be more customizable and at the very least the tiles
should be resizable.
(ii) There should be a favorite people hub with the option to pin a contact directly to this hub from
the contacts list (tap and hold on contact should give at least 3-4 options viz. pin to favorites, pin
to start, edit & send)
(iii) After device purchase, the user should have the option to replace the homescreen with an
approved one from reputed developers(I will prefer a solution from SPB software).
(iv) There is too much scrolling in the program list, option of grid view should also be there.
(v) Size of headings too large in the hubs. The headings should either be in a background layer or
they should Auto Hide after somtime and be replaced with blinking arrows on the left/right edges of
the screen.
(vi) File Explorer + Multitasking.
(vii) Office applictions should be more powerful.
(viii) Availability of powerful Calendar & Task management applications like pocket informant.
(x) Revival of Phone/End hardware buttons.
Forgot to add - (xi) Revive Smart-dialling
(xii) Bring back outlook sync
MartyLK said:
So what I hear you saying, any company that puts out products should not consider the current state of the industry? What should Apple do with the next iPhone? Put one out without all the current features and then migrate those features into it over the course of a year? Or how about the car companies, they should put out cars without navigation or high tech stereos or computer aided engine controls and just migrate those features into them over the course of a year?
Far be it from MS to stay up with even itself on new products and put out a smartphone without the current state of the industry features. Let them put those features in over the course of a year...or two. It's unwise to bring a mature product to market. People might begin to expect that kind of thing. Bollocks!
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Click to collapse
I agree with you.. but what I was saying is Android was the same way. Apple already had a pretty good grip on the market at the time Android launched. As per what you mentioned above.. it was clear Android didn't have a grasp of the then current state of the market. Several updates later.. and look at them now.
Basically, any company that puts out a product should consider the current state..but sadly that just doesn't always happen. The phone is pretty complete to I would like to say 70% of the general phone using public. It seems MS had targeted the OS to those switching from 'dumb' phones, if you will, to smart phones. The only people who are really hurting would be the power users. The updates will come.

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